DARJEELING CIRCLE.
35
The villagers who objected to vaccination had equally rejected inoculation. I found
a large tract of country to the north of Rampore Beauleah, in which the inoculators on their
arrival had always been put off till a more convenient season, which certainly had not come
about in five and twenty or thirty years, old, grey-headed people, and the majority of the
adults, requiring protection.
Population ,
vaccine staff
The population of Rajshahye is 1,310,729. The Government establishment consists of
one native superintendent and five vaccinators.
The native superintendent desires one additional vaccinator to be added to his gang to
make it equal in number to those of the other five districts. It is most advisable that this
should be done.
The municipality of Rampore Beauleah and that of Nattore supported one vaccinator
each. Their returns will be submitted by the civil surgeon. I took occasion, when at
Nattore, to see some of the vaccinators' work, and being dissatisfied with it reported the matter
to the deputy magistrate, who in reply informed me that shortly after my visit the vaccinator
had been sentenced to four months' rigorous imprisonment for " lurking house-trespass by
night." This is most unfortunate, and it will retard vaccination in Nattore, that the vaccinator
should be looked upon as a person who may bring the information about families which he
gets when doing his work into use for carrying on intrigues
Maldah district.
10. Maldah.—There was a small decrease in the number of operations in Maldah from
the neglect of the native superintendent in the early part of the season on the plea of
sickness. Much of his work was as easy to get at and inspect as if it had been in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens and he residing at Howrah. The communication by water is as easy, yet
he visited two vaccinators in Bolahat only once in six weeks.
Maldah is one of the districts which I can visit only once yearly: my supervision of the
gang is therefore very imperfect. For this reason I last year deputed the deputy superintend-
ent, Baboo Taroknath Gangooly, to remain with it for some time, get it into good working
order, and above everything introduce as much as possible arm-to-arm vaccination. That he
did anything I could not discover, as at my inspection in December I found matters worse
than last season. An old dispensary vaccinator had indoctrinated the others into every device
for the production of bad vaccination and every possible excuse for it. He and the brother of
a native doctor had to be got rid of before things could be placed on a better footing, as they
repudiated all responsibility in the result of their operations, holding that the persons operated
on were responsible.
Had I not been tied down by a system of inspection inapplicable to the organization
of my circle, I should have myself remained in Maldah for a month and brought about a
better system of working; but that was impossible under my present orders.
A check was given in February to the work by a man said to be vaccinating on his
own account, who spread most alarming reports about Government vaccination. He told the
villagers, among other things, that every male whose name was entered in the village roll as
vaccinated would in time coming be taken by the Government for service as a soldier.
This was too flattering not to meet with a ready acceptance.
Number protected.
The number of villages protected was 269. Each vaccinator operated on 1,523.5
persons.
Number and
character of the
operations.
11. Number and character of the operations.—There is a large decrease in the total number
of operations in 1873-74 of 8,642 from the season before, but this again arises from
vaccination to suppress small-pox having been practised only in 4,976 cases in the hot weather
of 1873 against 13,935 in that of 1872. This steady decline of hot weather vaccination
indicates that the operations of the department are being followed by a great diminution of
small-pox in this circle. Notwithstanding the withdrawal of the vaccinator paid by the
Promothonath Fund, who had 3,063 operations to his credit in 1872-73, the cold weather
operations of 1873-74 were 317 in excess of the year before. Considering the unsettled state
of the country on account of scarcity of food prevailing in all the districts of my circle, this
is satisfactory. The vaccinators being away from their homes felt the pinch very severely.
I beg the favour of your bringing the special cause of the decrease in the season's
operations to the notice of the Surgeon-General, as it seemed to have been overlooked in his
letter submitting the vaccine returns of 1872-73 to the Bengal Government. It is creditable
to the department that less vaccination in the hot season has been required during three
successive years to keep small-pox in check.
Percentage of
success.
Cost of each
successful case.
Each vaccinator operated on 2,327.5 persons. The percentage of success was 95.72.
Each successful case cost 2 annas and 11 pie.
Omitting Julpigoree, where the village system differs from that of the rest of the
circle, 1,838 villages were protected.
A rough sketch map is attached If I could get a skeleton map of the circle prepared
by the Survey Department, showing the district and thana boundaries, I could submit a
much more accurate and satisfactory map of the work done.
Work done by
apprentices.
In addition to these 97,757 persons operated on by the Government vaccinators, the
apprentices, when undergoing instruction or suppressing small-pox, vaccinated 5,745 persons,
with a percentage of success of 95.42.