25
Copy of a letter from the Secretary to the Chief Commissioner, to the Sanitay Commis-
sioner, Central Provinces, No. 2715-259, dated Nágpúr, 17th October 1870.
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 460, of 13th September
with enclosures, and to communicate the following instructions regarding the proposals there
made.
2 The scheme which has been drawn up for introducing a permanent localised system of
vaccination in the Nagpúr district, and partially in the other districts of the Nagpúr Division,
has Colonel Keatinge's warm approval. Your proposals that each vaccinator should be restrict-
ed to a certain defined circle, and should be held responsible for vaccination within that circle,
appears to the Officiating Chief Commissioner to be the only plan calculated to secure steady
and substantial progress in vaccination, and he therefore regards this as the cardinal point in
your scheme. Your further suggestion that vaccinators should not be moved from the circles
to which they are appointed, except under urgent necessity, follows as a corollary to your first
proposition.
3. The Officiating Chief Commissioner also concurs in the expediency of making vaccina-
tion circles conterminous with those which have been fixed for Registration purposes, and the
modus operandi suggested for vaccinators in the 7th para, of your letter No. 450 to the Com-
missioner, Nagpur, recommends itselt to him as likely to prove popular and successful.
† Para 6.—"In the greater number of districts means
are not as yet available for carrying on operations over
a wider area than the Civil Surgeon can effectually su-
pervise, but in the richer and more populous districts
the local funds may be able to maintain a Native Super-
intendent. A trustworthy Native Doctor of good stand-
ing will be most suitable for the appointment, and as
the work will entail constant travelling, the rate of pay
should range from Rs 60 to Rs. 100, according to the
rank of the incumbent "
X Your letter to Commissioner, Nagpur, para 8,—" As regards
the Nagpur district, the duties of the Civil Surgeon
render it almost impossible for him to betsow much of
his time on the supervision of vaccine operations in the
district, but he will carefully supervise the operation
within the city and keep up the supply of lymph, and he
will occasionally visit the larger towns in the district
and ascertain that the work is going on. But for the
supervision of the district vaccination it will be neces-
sary to rely mainly on a Native Superintendent, and
the greatest obstacle to carrying out local vaccination
with efficiency is the difficulty of obtaining reliable Na-
tive Superintendents. I do not think any at present at-
tached to the vaccine establishment are to be relied on,
and the Superintendent sent down from the North-West
turned out so badly that I am not disposed to apply in
that quarter again. I must endeavour to find some
Native Doctor qualified for the work, and I would fix
his pay at Rs. 80 a month, inclusive of travelling
allowance."
§ Letter from Sanitary Commissioner, to Commissioner,
Nagpur, para 9—"To the vaccinators I would give the
same rates of pay all the year through, and fix the rates
at Rs. 15,12, and 10,—two of the eight vaccinators would
bo on the higher rate, three on each of the lower ratels."
* * *
† The Superintendent would
generally be a selected Native
Doctor.
Letter from Commissioner Nagpur, to Sanitary Commis-
sioner, para 4.—"Applying your general principles to
the Nagpur district, you recommend that eight vaccina-
tors be permanently entertained, two for each tahsil;
and that a circle containing about 60,000 souls be assign-
ed to each vaccinator.
As the Civil Surgeon of Nagpur
has other important duties, which will prevent his ins¬
pecting these vaccinators properly, you recommend that
a Superintendent † on
Rs. 80 a month be enga-
ged, who should visit
each vaccinator at least
once in every two months. The Civil Surgeon would
pay visits, whenever possible, to some of the vaccinators.
But the Superintendent would be responsible that the
true vaccine disease was established and maintained in
each vaccinator's circle, and that the weekly returns of
successful and unsuccessful operations were correct'.' * *
4. The Officiating Chief Commissioner
agrees with you in what you urge†as to the ad-
visability of having, where possible, a special
Native officer attached to each district for the
supervision of the vaccinators at work therein.
The appointment of such an official, very de-
sirable as it is in all districts, is necessary in
the case of Nagpúr. You propose indeed ‡
that the Nagpúr Civil Surgeon should occa-
sionally visit the larger towns to ascertain the
progress of vaccination , but as that officer
has already so much on his hands, the Officia-
ting Chief Commissioner does not think it
possible, or even desirable, for him to attempt
this extra work of supervision. The district
authorities on tour will have the best of op-
portunities for judging of the work done,
and having the whole responsibility of the
success or otherwise of the operations in the
district thrown on him, the Native Superin-
tendent may fairly be expected to take the
more pride and interest in his work
5. In the matter of the strength of the
staff and the aggregate of its pay, the Officia¬
ting Chief Commissioner concuis in your views§
The pay of the Native Superintendent might
be fixed at Rs. 80 a month, but in regard to the
vaccinators' pay,while Colonel Keatinge thinks
the salaries of Rs.180,Rs. 144, and Rs. 120year-
ly a very fair remuneration for the several
classes of vaccinators, he would like you
so to dispose of these sums that during the
working months the men might have con-
siderably more than their average pay of Rs. 15,
Rs. 12, and Rs. 10 a month, while in the
slack time they might be allowed alto-
gether to absent themselves on a much small-
er salary.