30
Clerks... Dismissed ... ... ...
Resigned and discharged ...
2
0
Government servants.
Truthfulness of the
returns.
63. The inspections of the superintendents and their assistants give
ample testimony to the truthfulness of the vacci¬
nators' returns in British territory. In native states
there have been ten instances of falsifications report-
ed by Dr. Blomfield in Kathewád. About the beginning of the current year
(1875-76), the Gadinglaj vaccinator in Kolhapur native state was dismissed
for falsifications. But as far as I can make out in both circles the falsifi-
cations were to a very limited extent. The returns even of most native
states appear to be fairly correct, but I will not vouch in any way for the
returns from Baroda and Kutch, where there is no real supervision at all.
The
practice
of
inoculating with small-
pox virus.
64. The practice of inoculating with the virus of small-pox has been
said to be, by several writers, of ancient date in India,
but there is no real evidence of its practice previous
to the Mahomedan invasion.
Within my own
recollection the practice was common in this presi-
dency ; now, it has all but ceased. The inoculator has been driven to the
wall by the vaccinator without the necessity of any legal penalty or even
restriction ; this is a first-rate testimony to vaccination : but it is probable that
inoculation will not be quite abandoned until the old practitioners have died out
of the land. Dr. Cody mentions in his report that inoculated small-pox had been
introduced into three villages of the Mahad táluká, and adds that, owing to the
Kolábá collectorate being so well vaccinated, the disease did not spread. Two
inoculators were also detected in Thar Parkar district, one a native of the dis-
trict, and the other from Jodpur state. Dr. Williams states that the practice in
Kutch has been the means of keeping up small-pox there for the last few years,
but the report from Kutch makes no mention of this. Speaking of the small-
pox in Kolábá zilhá, Dr. Cody says : " I can fully account for how a portion
" of this small-pox had its origin, and if I detail in full here the circumstances,
" it is only to use them as an argument in favour of the introduction of
" prohibitory measures against inoculation. In the course of the year the
" vaccinator for the Mahád táluká, and Mr. Mahádeo Vináyak, the assistant
" superintendent for Kolábá, both reported to me the presence of small-pox in
" three villages of the Mahád táluká, viz., Chandwe, Parle and Selwade, at the
" same time stating the origin of the disease was with some children who were
" inoculated. The assistant superintendent stated in his report that he had
" personally seen the children and found the marks of inoculation on their left
" forearms—the usual place for inserting the inoculating virus by the Kumb¬
" hars who practise it. I sent these reports to the táluká mamlatdar with a
" request that he would find out who the inoculator was and prevent a practice
" so dangerous to the public health and safety. In the course of time I got
" these reports back with some answers from the village patels and others,
" endorsed by the mamlatdar who submitted them for my information. The
" purport was that they all deniedan inoculator had been at the villages at all
" and stated the disease broke out of itself. There the matter ended, and so
" will like cases always end until such time as local authorities are empowered
" to punish inoculators. At present their hands are tied, and this is undoubt¬
" edly the reason why they treat such cases with an only too evident luke¬
" warmness. Why inoculation or the practice of it cannot be classed under the