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I think it may be stated that there exist no very serious obstacles on the part of the people
in Sind generally to the spread of vaccination, but at the same time I am of opinion that the
majority submit their children to be vaccinated, more because they know that Government
wish them to do so, than from any desire of their own to protect their children from small-
pox, and I fully believe that if the people were not influenced by the known wish of Govern-
ment, few comparatively would be vaccinated; it is true that generally the people are acquainted
with the prophylactic power of the virus ; still indifference, and among many Hindoos positive
aversion to vaccinating their children exist. I have made many inquiries on this subject, and
find that one substantial reason every where exists for objection, viz. the objection that a pa-
rent naturally has to carry his child from his home to another village for the purpose of
supplying lymph wherewith to vaccinate others ; in many places I have been told by the
people, " we have no objection to have our children vaccinated, but object to carry our chil-
dren to other villages, and to have the lymph taken from the vesicle to vaccinate other
children." Among many Hindoos there are objections to every thing in connection with vacci-
nation, for reasons which are well known, but it is pleasing to be able to state that the
Brahmins and other influential Hindoos as well as Mussulmans in Tatta gave me every
assistance in persuading the ignorant, and set the example of submitting their own children
to be vaccinated ; the Bhatias of that town are incorrigible, and I believe they are every
where the same in Sind, as regards vaccination, but they are only a small body. The Brah-
mins object to let the lymph be taken from the arm, apparently from no other reason than
the fear of giving the child pain : at present in Sind no other method of carrying on vaccina-
nation exists, than from arm-to-arm, and it is still doubtful if tube-lymph will remove the
necessity for always carrying a child with the vaccinator. To diminish the inconvenience arising
to parents from having to carry their children to other villages, I have given strict injunctions
to the vaccinators, that they shall never take a child further than is absolutely necessary, and
always to pay the parents in cash, for the loss of the wages of labour for the time they may
detain them. To ensure as much control in this matter as I possibly can, I have issued a cir-
cular on the subject, and instructed each vaccinator to send me a weekly report, from which
I can form a tolerably correct notion of his movements, and of his payments to parents. In
the month of September I visited Colonel Green (then Acting Commissioner) in Kurrachee,
and in a conversation regarding the introduction and spread of vaccination in the Northern
Frontier District he said that the Belooches there had as much aversion to vaccination as
they had years ago, that he had personally endeavored to persuade some of them to submit to
vaccination, but had not succeeded, and that probably any attempt to spread vaccination
there at present will be unsuccessful. I have not yet visited that district, and personally know
nothing of the feelings of the people, but I think if Colonel Green could not persuade them,
it is not likely I will be able to do so.
There are several ways of testing the truthfulness of the vaccinators' reports :—1st. By
making the vaccinators send the crusts to me ; 2nd, By asking the Collectors to ascertain by
means of the Nominal Roll whether the children have been vaccinated or not at the various
villages ; and 3rd, By the Superintendent visiting the different fields of operation of the
vaccinators. The first method by crusts is clearly liable to objection, because a vaccinator
might take a dozen crusts from one child and represent them as taken from so many children,
besides a vaccinator could not always get the crusts—this method then could only be useful in
ascertaining that vesicles had been formed, but could not afford any actual test of the number
vaccinated. The second method involves the employment of Native subordinate officials, and
it is not in the nature of things to expect they could discriminate between good and bad
vaccination. There is another great difficulty,—suppose a vaccinator is employed in a place