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79
Victoria, chapter 29, entitled ' An Act to extend the practice of
vaccination,' received the Royal Assent.
By that Act the Guardians and Overseers of every Parish
or Union in England and Wales were empowered, and they were
thereby directed to contract with their medical officers or with
any legally qualified medical practitioners for the vaccination of
all persons resident in such Unions or Parishes respectively.
Payments were to be made dependent on the number of persons
who, not having been previously successfully vaccinated, should
be successfully vaccinated by the contracting medical officer or
practitioner. In making their arrangements Guardians and
Overseers were, by section 2, to conform to regulations made by
the then existing Poor Law Commissioners, who had power
conferred on them for the purpose.
By the eighth section of this statute inoculation of the
Small-Pox was declared to be illegal and the use of it was
made penal.
In the next year, on the 21st June, 1841 (4 and 5 Victoria,
chapter 32), there was supplementary legislation (1) charging the
expenses of carrying out the Act of 1840 on the poor rates and
(2) enacting that ' the vaccination, or surgical or medical assistance
incident to the vaccination of any person resident in any
Union or Parish, or of any of his family, should not be considered
parochial relief,' nor should he, by reason ' of such vaccination or
assistance be, deprived of any right or privilege or be subject to
any disability or disqualification whatever.'
These Acts were repealed by the Consolidation Act of
1867, but the Act of 1840 is important historically as being the
first of the series of Acts relating to vaccination ; and especially
so because of the terms of the eighth section forbidding
inoculation ; and, again, because it not only speaks of vaccination
itself, but of surgical or medical assistance incident to the
vaccination, which contemplates the duty of providing the surgical