8
an Honorary Magistrate of great local influence. In that season only 167 were
vaccinated in the Betul town and circle. Small-pox appeared in the town in
May, continued throughout the hot weather, and spread towards the south and
south-east to Bordye and the Mailghat district of Berar. It was found necessary
to resort to energetic measures. Children suffering from small-pox were segre-
gated and their dwellings cleaned and fumigated, one of the results being that
1,906 were submitted to the operation during the season under review.
Dr. Hall visited the neighbourhood where the epidemic was present, exam-
ined a large number of children who had been recently vaccinated, and had 1,540
more operated upon in his camp.
32. The plan of having children collected at convenient centres is that
which I have always recommended and carried out. It is one that I have found
the simplest and best. The villagers are accustomed to travel long distances to
the weekly bazars and seldom object to take their children two or three miles.
On their journey to and fro they encounter persons on the same errand from
neighbouring villages, are able to compare notes, and mutually support one
another. It is a journey that does not recur frequently and I have when inspect-
ing generally found the parents pleased to have the countenance and congratula-
tion of the Sahib.
33. Chhindwara.—In this district the vaccination increased by 1,253, suc-
cessful cases by 1,314, and the percentage of success of primary operations was
as 94.58 to 93.41 ; about 990 per mille of the children under one year of age
were operated upon,—numbers eminently satisfactory and which I accept unhes-
itatingly. Mr. Price the Medical Officer is most zealous, painstaking and care-
ful in his inspections ; his Native Superintendent not very brilliant but careful
and hitherto proved to be trustworthy.
During my recent tour I carefully examined many hundred children from
numerous towns and villages in different circles, compared the cases before me
with registers and village lists, and did not detect a single important error.
Against a very large proportion of the names there were Mr. Price's own remarks
or initials, showing that he had already carefully examined the results. The feel-
ings of the people were nearly everywhere favourable, and as Mr. Price writes,
" the vaccinators had little or no difficulty in carrying on their work."
34. At Pandurna the Malguzar, an Honorary Magistrate, had persistently
omitted to exert his influence or to assist the Vaccinators in any way ; little work
had been done in his town and its immediate neighbourhood, and on the intro-
duction of small-pox from without the disease soon began to spread.
Colonel Waddington, the Deputy Commissioner, at once adopted my sug-
gestions, and the unprotected children were then brought forward without delay.
35. It is occasionally advanced as an objection to the operation, that chil-
dren recently vaccinated have been attacked by small-pox. Mr. Price was kind
enough to make careful enquiries where small-pox had appeared, and in only
one instance could he find that a child with (2) good vaccination marks and
whose name appeared in the village register as successfully vaccinated in 1867
had suffered subsequently from small-pox. I gather from his remarks that she
had it in a mild form, for he adds that a brother whose name did not appear in
the list of successfully vaccinated, had the disease very badly.
Except in cases where the reporters are wishing to deceive I believe that
most of the cases of small-pox said to follow vaccination are either chicken-pox,