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48
The last column in this table shows the rapid growth of indifference
to the protective value of vaccination. It seems it has now
reached such a pass that only by the wholesale destruction of
innocent victims by an outbreak of small-pox, will the public be convinced
of their folly. It may be here pointed out, that in the event
of an outbreak of small-pox, due to the neglect to enforce the vaccination
Acts, individuals will not only sutler loss of relatives and
other losses and discomforts; but it appears from the following extract
from the National Insurance Act, 1911, that the local authority
or even the Central authority may be required to compensate the
the sufferers for their neglect.
THE NATIONAL INSURANCE ACT, 1911.
Excessive Sickness.
"Section (63.—1) Where it is alleged by the Insurance Commissioners
or by any approved society or Insurance Committee
that the sickness which has taken place among any insured persons,
being, in the case where the allegation is made by a society or
committee, persons for the administration of whose sickness and
disablement benefits the society or committee is responsible is
excessive, and that such excess is due to the conditions or nature,
of employment of such persons, or to bad housing or insanitary
conditions in any locality, or to an insufficient or contaminated
water supply, or to the neglect on the part of any person or authority
to observe or enforce the provisions of any Act relating to the
health of workers in factories, workshops, mines, quarries, or other
industries, or relating to public health, or the housing of the working
classes, or any regulations made under any such Act, or to observe j
or enforce any public health precautions, the Commissioners or
the society or committee making such allegation may send to the
person or authority alleged to be in default a claim for the payment
of the amount of any extra expenditure alleged to have been
incurred by reason of such cause as aforesaid, and, if the Commissioners,
society, or committee and such person or authority fail
to arrive at any agreement on the subject, may apply to the Secretary
of State or the Local Government Board, as the case may
require, for an inquiry, and therefore the Secretary of State or
Local Government Board may appoint a competent person to hold
an inquiry."