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and, further, that in lieu of the present three-paged form of "Notice of Requirement
of Vaccination" (so mystifying to parents and vexatious to medical men) a "Birth
Certificate " in some such a form as the following should be adopted :—
District of Goodman's Fields.
Bk. No. (17.) Entry No. (475.)
This is to Certify that the birth of Eleanor the daughter of Edward and
Mary Barnes, at 100, Leman Street, Whitechapel, on the Fourth day of
December, 1870, was this day registered by me.
Dated this Tenth day of December, 1870.
Richard Grace, Registrar. (Impressed Seal.)
The above-named child has been successfully vaccinated by me. Dated this
12th day of January, 1871.
Chas. T. Blackman, Registered Practitioner.
This joint certificate should be on parchment and should be handed to the parent
of every child upon registration of birth without fee or reward, and I have no hesitation
in saying that such a document would be appreciated by the poor and ignorant
equally with the rich and educated. Indeed its universal adoption would be to render
its possession indispensable. An instance of the value attached to such a document
came under my notice only a day or two since. I was receiving a "Notice of Marriage"
between two parties, natives of Holland, and to enable me correctly to spell
their names, birth-papers, almost identical in form to the above, (minus certificate of
vaccination), one 26 and the other 22 years old, were handed to me, and the careful
preservation of the documents attested the importance with which they were regarded.
Once compulsory registration of birth is established there will be little difficulty
in attaching to the Certificate a simple form of Certificate of Vaccination and requiring
the same to be registered by the Registrar as at present.
The adoption of such a Certificate of Birth and Vaccination would unquestionably
lead to the authorities of schools, public [institutions, clubs, insurance offices, and
employers of labour requiring its production upon all reasonable occasions, and
indeed, with the Elementary Education Act in force the production of such Certificate
might with great public advantage be made compulsory in governmental schools.
Provision would, of course, be necessary for the replacement of certificates lost
or destroyed.
It should further be provided that the production of such certificate (or vaccination
certificate only whore there is no birth certificate) should alone be an answer to
any information before justices under the Vaccination Act; whilst encouragement
might be given to all persons born since the passing of the Registration Act (1836) to
obtain such joint certificate of birth and vaccination. But, in any event, whether
adult or child, and whether registered or not, every person should be required to be
vaccinated and to hold and produce, when called upon, a certificate thereof, such
certificate to be obtainable under proper regulations, upon inspection by the public
vaccinator of the district whether the vaccination bo of recent date or not.
As to the machinery, I am of opinion that it is inexpedient and unnecessary to
require the intermediary action of Boards of Guardians or their Officers at all. I
think it would be found far more effective if the Registrars of Births and Deaths
were in all cases appointed the Officers to enforce the provisions of the Act, with an
adequate fee upon the registration of every certificate of successful primary vaccination.
In this way we should have the compulsory registration of birth and the
compulsory vaccination of every child carried out upon one uniform system and by
one officer, whilst the certificate of registration and vaccination would form one