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any rate, to exercise all that power which is
necessary for the prevention of the spread of infectious
diseases. This is seen especially in Small
Pox. If one parish takes precautions, and is surrounded
with parishes which do not take precautions,
much of the good it would do, is lost. Thus, if one
parish takes the precaution to vaccinate every child,
and one of the other parishes do not do the same,
it is impossible to prevent the children of families
from the unvaccinated districts carrying a liability
to take this disease into districts where they are
vaccinated. So it is with disinfection. If the
parish sends disinfectants to houses where there
is infectious disease, and an adjoining parish use no
disinfectants, then the disease spreads from the
infected to the disinfected district.
The present epidemic of Small Pox is still
spreading in the provinces, and may go on for a
year or two longer. Should our legislators ever get
to feel that disease and death are worth preventing,
they may stop Small Pox by two great measures :
1. Compulsory Vaccination, carried out by officers
appointed by the Crown, and quite independent
of all local authorities.
2. Public declaration of the existence of Small Pox
to the sanitary authorities. Heavy penalties
to be attached to the neglect of this declaration,
or the neglect of the sanitary authorities to
take steps for the isolation and disinfection of
diseased persons.