( 15 )
for the time being. The higher classes of Brahmins, even educated men in
Government employ, who ought to know better as to the value, the aim, and
t he object of vaccination, do not willingly bring forward their children,
though they affirm they have no religious objection to the operation, and
resort to all sorts of excuses to put off the vaccinator.
Dr. Hume thus states his experience in the town of Amraoti:—
" I personally went round on several occasions to the most stubborn opponents of vac-
cination, viz., the Marwadies, and talked to them, offering to do every case with my own
hands ; they received me with utmost politeness, they agreed with me in every thing I
said in the most cordial manner, told me I was kindness itself, but when I asked them to
produce their children, they put on that excellent mask of stupidity which they can well
assume, and did not understand me ; their children had all had small-pox—anything but
produce their children. I was accompanied by both European and Native Magistrates
on these occasions of visiting the city, and by men of influence who are in favour of the
operation. Their persuasive powers were as inefficient as my own."
Of Yeotmal, Mr. Chamarett, the Civil Surgeon, writes : —
" This year I found it the greatest difficulty in obtaining children for vaccination at
head-quarters. The poor and lower orders of people such as Gonds, Pardhans, Koolams,
and Dhers rapidly attend to the calls of vaccinators and submit to the operation being
performed on their children; while I regret to notice that Mahomedans, Brahmins, and
even some Christians, display much unwillingness and sometimes positive resistance to
vaccination."
It is a very small section, however, of the population who thus oppose
vaccination, and this opposition is most entirely met with in our municipal
and larger towns where a large number of unprotected persons, amongst
the wealthy classes chiefly, accumulate and fall victims to small-pox when
an epidemic occurs.
Vaccination work in municipal
towns.
14. The following table compares the
work done in our municipal towns during the
season with that for the previous year :—
TABLE No. 17.—Showing the work done in Municipal Towns of Berar during 1882-83,
compared with last year.
Municipality.
Amraoti
...
...
...
Akola ... ... ...
Khamgaon...
...
...
Basim
...
...
....
Ellichpur ... ... ...
Sheagaon ...
...
...
Total ...
Total
...
1881-82...
1882-83...
1881-82 ...
1882-83...
1881-82...
1882-83...
1881-82...
1882-83...
1881-82...
1882-83...
1881-82...
1882-83...
1881-82...
1882-83...
Population.
23,550
16,614
12,390
11,576
26,728
11,079
101,937
Total vac-
cinated in-
cluding re-
vaccinated.
545
1,477
849
777
319
419
156
246
1,591
1,015
456
429
3,916
4,363
Total suc-
cessful.
359
1,259
698
653
264
386
144
237
1,494
920
446
412
3,405
3,867
Persons
success-
fully vac-
cinated per
cent. of
population.
1.5
5.3
4.2
3.9
2.1
3.1
1.2
2.0
5.6
3.4
4.0
3.7
3.3
3.8
The increase in the numbers vaccinated at Amraoti is due in a great
measure to the panic caused by the epidemic of small-pox, but as soon as
the epidemic has passed away the people will again become careless and
negligent of vaccination.
In Amraoti, I am glad to be able to state that this year the members of
the municipality rendered considerable assistance to the vaccinator. The
municipality defrayed the cost of keeping up animal vaccination through-