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42
paupers, must be attributed the great falling off in the
number of children now submitted to the operation, compared
with the number to be found duly certified to and
recorded in the books of the Local Registrar before such
notion came to be promulgated.
From some statistics in my possession I gather that in
an entire year just expired, 88 children only of 203 born
in the parish were, within three months of their birth,
vaccinated under the provisions of the statute, thus leaving
the somewhat large number of 115, upon whom it would
be very difficult indeed to say, without a general inspection,
whether vaccination had been performed or not, since
but few private certificates are given, or any systematic
registration attempted of cases other than those which have
come under the cognizance of the Public Vaccinator.
That the Legislature in passing the several Vaccination
Acts could have contemplated such a result as this, in a
comparatively small community, none but the most prejudiced
will believe. The terms of the Vaccination Extension
Acts themselves, and the very strong and decisive
opinions that have been from time to time published with
regard to them by the Poor Law Board and other authorities,
render it most difficult to understand upon what
grounds it can possibly be contended that "public vaccination"
can mean only the vaccination of the pauper! It is
also a proposition almost too absurd for serious refutation
that a Public Vaccinator, whilst strictly complying with
the provisions of the Statute, and gratuitously inserting
the vaccine lymph into the arms of " every person who
shall apply to or be brought to him for that purpose," must
afterwards render his private professional aid to all such
persons in forma pauperis, and in no other way! Such a
reading of the law can hardly be the one adopted by the
Poor Law Board when we find that Board, in their
instructional letters proffering such advice as the following
:
"A literal as well as a virtual compliance with a Statute is obviously
preferable in all cases to a merely virtual compliance. In the present case,
more especially, the duty of the Guardians is to give the whole of the residents
the benefit of the measure." — Instructional Letter, September, 1840.