No. 2994/ 165
FROM
LINDSAY NEILL, ESQUIRE,
OFFG. SECRETARY TO THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER,
Central Provinces.
To
THE SANITARY COMMISSIONER,
Central Provinces.
Dated Nagpur, the 21st July 1879.
SIR,
I am directed to acknowledge your report with the prescribed State-
ments on Vaccination operations in the Central Provinces during the year
1878-79. You explain that the returns have in the present year been made up
to the 31st March only, whereas in previous years they included vaccinations
performed during the hot weather months.
2. Before examining the statements of work done, &c, I am to say that
there seems to be some want of system and uniformity in recording results.
Thus from paragraphs 2 and 3 of your report, the Chief Commissioner observes
that the operations performed in Zamindari estates attached to the Bilaspur
district, and in Feudatory States (one under British management) of the Raipur
district, have been omitted from the returns, whereas the work done in Native
States attached to the Sambalpur district is shown. On this point it seems
necessary to observe that if the population statistics in columns 3 and 4 of
Statement I. refer only to the Government territory (khalsa), then the further
statistics should also only refer to it. But there is a further discrepancy in
regard to the Sambalpur district, for while the returns show the operations in
the five Native States of Pandurpur, Raigarh, Sarangarh, Sonpur and Bamra,
they exclude 11,994 operations in the Patna State, because (paragraph 43) the
work done there was shown in a lump without details. Further, at the end of
paragraph 4 you say that “ the operations performed by Civil Surgeons and
“ Native Superintendents are excluded." The propriety of such exclusion seems
open to question, for the Civil Surgeons and Native Superintendents form part
of the Vaccination staff of the Province, and the omission of the operations done
by them which are apparently nowhere shown, vitiate to a certain extent the
whole figures.
3. Contrasting Statement A.* of the years 1877-78 and 1878-79, it is seen
that the subordinate vaccinating staff was increased from 166 to 170 men ; 4
additional men having been entertained in Sambalpur for service in Native
States ; one vaccinator less having been employed in the Nimar district and one
more in Raipur. The total number of persons vaccinated in 1878-79 was
295,741 against 304,188 in 1877-78. In partial explanation of this decrease,
it has already been stated, that the returns of the previous year included opera-
tions performed after the 31st March ; but judging from your remarks, the
work done in many districts was not only absolutely but also relatively below
the out-turn of last year. In the districts of Sambalpur, Hoshangabad, Nimar,
Mandla, Seoni, Balaghat and Wardha, only, was there any progress, while in all
the remaining districts there was a falling off, and markedly so in the districts of
Saugor, Betul, Chhindwara, Bhandara and Nagpur. In last year's review the
Chief Commissioner commented on the favourable figures presented by the
The Wardha district population is shown as 354,720 in 1877-78 and as 356,511 in 1878-79. These figures
cannot both be right, and as there was no addition of territory to the district during the year, the latter seems
wrong.