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94
cinated, and for disobeying the order of a magistrate requiring him
to have his child vaccinated: and although the multiplication of
penalties, rendered necessary by contumacy, may seem to savour of
"persecution," experience proves that it is really the only means
of securing the vaccination of the children of contumacious parents,
and of those who would deny their children the protection of vaccination,
were it not for fear of the consequences of setting the law
at defiance. But had the Government proposition been adopted,
anti-vaccinationists would soon have had their way, for were the
operation to cease to be compulsory, in the sense in which it is now
compulsory, it would practically become optional, and thus, year by
year, an ever-increasing number of persons would exist in our midst,
who, being themselves unprotected by vaccination, and, therefore,
intensely liable to small-pox, would become the means in any future
epidemic of spreading the disease indefinitely. The disease itself,
moreover, instead of appearing from time to time epidemically, as
it does now, would always be in our midst, as in the pre-vaccination
days. Many Sanitary and Poor Law Authorities, following your
Vestry's initiative, Petitioned the House against the measure the
introduction of which served the useful purpose of showing how
strong public opinion is in favor of vaccination, and of the quasicompulsory
law. The opposition was too powerful to be resisted:
the Bill was withdrawn, and it is satisfactory to know that the
Government have no intention of re-introducing the measure.
SANITARY WORK.
Tables VI and VIa (Appendix) summarise the chief items of
Work done by the Sanitary Inspectors during the year. A not inconsiderable
part of their work, however, scarcely admits of tabulation,
many sanitary improvements being carried out at their instance,
and under their supervision, without recourse to forms which take
up time, and are, indeed, unnecessary when an owner or occupier is
ready and willing to abate a nuisance or effect a desired improvement.
The statement as to the "number of houses inspected" applies to
primary inspections only. When a nuisance is found to exist and
it is not at once abated, repeated inspections may be required—as