38
" (i.)—Owing to the reduction of establishment the services of nine vaccinators are for
the present no longer required, but they will be preferred to others as vacancies occur.
" (j.)—All appointments, dismissals, transfers, or alterations of the present rules will be
notified in the Káthiáwád Agency Gazette."
My circular was not received by the vaccinators with much enthusiasm; what I asked
for, 200 primary vaccinations a month, was a very moderate amount indeed ; it only gave
work for three, at the utmost for four, days out of seven, still this was an amount of labour
to which most of them were not accustomed to, and few inclined to do. Several of the
vaccinators resigned. I was not sorry to see them take that step, as evidently such men
belonged to the lazy lot, and as I had been obliged to place nine men on the unemployed
list, it gave me an opportunity of giving employment to some of them. However, the new
arrangement was very shortly afterwards accepted by all, and everything seemed to work
smoothly. But I had soon to contend with two difficulties: first, the system of false entries
which existed to an incredible extent ; and secondly, with the dissatisfaction which arose
from the former batta, which had been allowed by the Chiefs, being stopped, after I had
taken over charge of the department from them. The Deputy Superintendents and myself
found a very considerable amount of false or double entries in the vaccinator's Registers—
this system of falsification had been going on undetected since a long time, and impunity had
made many of them bold. This was doubtless the principle cause, but to this we may add,
as having also contributed to that result: (a) the very little interest the Native Darbárs really
take in vaccination ; (b) the want of proper supervision; (c)the irregular pay, and (d) the bad
distribution of the men. A few vaccinators had under their charge very large and thinly
populated districts, others had only a few villages—the first had to contend with great
physical difficulties in the way of accomplishing their duty, and the second did not find in the
small population of their districts sufficient opportunities to carry on their work properly.
But the question of batta was even more serious, and I did my utmost to obtain it, or at
least something equivalent; I had some correspondence on the subject with Colonel
Anderson, and that officer directed me to attend a meeting of the Representatives of the
Native States, in order that we might come to an understanding on that point, and at the
same time adopt some measures to check the system of false entries so prevailing in
Káthiáwád.
The meeting in question was held at the Kothí of Rájkot on the 2nd of January, and
before it I laid the following proposals : I stated that no supervision, however active, could
completely check the falsification of Registers, and I proposed the introduction in this pro-
vince of Village Registers, which Dr. Turnbull, the Acting Superintendent General of Vac-
cination, informed me have been found to give great satisfaction in the Central Vaccine
Circle. These Registers should remain in the keeping of the village Pátil or Foujadár, and
would be compared by the Superintendent of Vaccination or his Deputies with the vaccinator's
Register. The acceptance of these Village Registers would render the falsification of returns
by the vaccinators almost impossible. The working of the Village Registers I suggested
should be the following :—
" After the vaccinator has vaccinated in a village and completed his work there, the
village Pátil should make, or cause a copy of the Register to be made, and he should be
directed to forward this copy to the District Officer.
" I beg to suggest that the District Officers should, when on tour, be requested to test
occasionally the accuracy of the Village Registers. The health and welfare of the population,
entrusted to their charge, is doubtless a subject of deep interest to them, and I feel convinced
that they will readily assist this department, and use their best endeavours to further the
spread and progress of vaccination."