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14
be vaccinated within three months; and "if after such
notice" the father or guardian does not cause the child to
be vaccinated, he is liable to a penalty of twenty shillings.
But all children are not registered to begin with; and it
would be necessary to prove registration and delivery of
the notice before enforcing the penalty; and this is practically
impossible.
Moreover, in order that it may be known what children
a'nd how many are vaccinated, the Act provides that
the Registrars of Births shall keep a register of vaccinated
children. But it also provides that a certificate of
every case of successful vaccination shall be sent by
medical practitioners to the Registrar of the district—not
where the children were born, but where the operation was
performed. Thus, as a child may be born and its birth
be registered at Chelsea, and the vaccination be performed
and registered in May Fair, it is evident that the
Registration gives no clue whatever to what is really desired
to be known; viz. the proportion of vaccinations to births
in any given district.
The Act further makes no provision for re-vaccination.
Whilst thankfully acknowledging the services which
this Act has rendered by providing gratuitous vaccination
for all who choose to avail themselves of it, we may
state that it fails in securing compulsory vaccination,
but we may add our belief that no Act can ever effect
this ; it must be the result of increasing intelligence, and
will be greatly promoted by good-humoured persuasion;
An Act may be useful to hold out in terrorem over the low
Irish, but the enforcing such a law on the English would
be a hazardous experiment.
The recent spread of small-pox has been without
doubt promoted by the residual number of unvaccinated