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was 5°.7, the average of 40 years being 5°.6. Rain fell on 154
clays, the total quantity registered in the year being 25.24 inches,
the average of 40 years being 24.7 inches. Most rain fell in
August, 3.88 inches, and least rain in April, 0.62 inches. The
means of the readings of the barometer were 29.77 inches, the
means of February 29.661 inches, and of May 29.929 inches,
being respectively lowest and highest.
VACCINATION.
Table X (Appendix), is a return respecting the vaccination of
children whose births were registered during the year 1881, and
for it I am indebted to Mr. Shattock, the Vaccination Officer,
whose energetic discharge of the duties of his appointment it has
always afforded me great pleasure to recognise. The return
shows a loss of only 3.3 per cent. of the cases, which is better
than usual, even for Kensington, the loss in 1880 having been
3.5, in 1879, 4, and in 1878, 5 per cent. It must be remembered,
moreover, that the return is only preliminary, the Local Government
Board allowing vaccination officers a period of twelve months
for the presentation of a final return, in order that the statement,
in respect of the children born in any given year, may be rendered
as complete as practicable. I believe I am correct in stating that
the "loss" in the column indicating "removal of children to places
out of the parish unknown, or which cannot be reached, and cases
not having been found" averages, in different years, from 6 to 9
per cent. in the Metropolis generally, so that the Kensington
return is fully 4 per cent. better than the average.
It is due to the Guardians of the Poor, who are the authority
for carrying out the Vaccination Acts, to state that they omit no
opportunity of giving effect to the law. Last year, when smallpox
was so prevalent, they adopted all practicable means, by house
to house visitation, by posters, handbills, advertisements, circulars
to medical men, &c., to induce the public to bring up children for
vaccination, and to encourage the re-vaccination of persons over
12 years of age, who had not already been re-vaccinated. Mr.
Shattock, in an interesting report, dated June 29th, 1881, set out