No. 189.
FROM
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF VACCINATION,
RANCHEE CIRCLE.
To
THE DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL OF HOSPITALS,
INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE,
DINAPORE CIRCLE.
Dated Ranchee, the 19th May 1869.
SIR,
I have the honor to submit herewith the Annual Return of Vaccination in this
circle for the past (being the second) season, 1868-69, drawn up in the new form prescribed
by the Inspector General of Hospitals, Lower Provinces.
2. Up till the end of last (the first) season, no native superintendents had been appoint-
ed, owing to the want of suitable men; in the recess, numerous enquiries and attempts were
made to obtain such men within the circle, but none could be found. Considerable quali-
fications are necessary for the post; good health and energy, tact and education, thorough
trustworthiness, and a complete knowledge of the practical working details, and of the
system of supervision to be carried out. At last application was made to Dr. Pearson, Super-
intendent General of Vaccination in the North-Western Provinces, at whose request Dr.
Watson, Superintendent of the Allahabad and Jhansi Circle, was kind enough to send down
three of his best vaccinators whom he could recommend and was anxious to promote.
These men joined me as native superintendents at the end of October, two of them,
Mahomed Ishak Khan and Shaikh Ellabee Bux, have rendered most valuable assistance;
they understand the work extremely well and have shown much zeal and activity. I have
a high opinion of them.
The third, Meer Mendhie Hossein, also knew the work well, but in other ways his
appointment has not proved so successful.
3. There were many vacancies also among the sanctioned staff of twenty vaccinators;
some had been discharged as unsuitable and others resigned as soon as they found that they
would be required to work in any part of the circle wherever it might be necessary to send
them. It was desired to fill these vacancies with local men, as being likely to have some
influence with the people, and especially with some of the local inoculators, who otherwise
would certainly be most active opponents.
Moreover, other candidates, of fair education and really desirable men, were hard to
find in sufficient number locally; I was therefore glad to fall back on the Sindooriahs, to
whose employment, however, it is a great drawback, that they are quite uneducated and
totally unable to keep up the necessary records.
A few of them had been employed in the previous season with some success, and now
ten more were engaged, so that eventually out of our twenty vaccinators, thirteen were
Sindooriahs.
4. As, however, was the case in the Darjeeling Circle, in the season 1867-68 (Dr.
Mathew's Report), it has been found here too that the local inoculators are, as a rule, not a
very desirable class of men to turn into vaccinators, if other and better candidates could
be found.
Many of them are lazy and deceitful, apt to absent themselves from their work without
leave, and to make false reports of their work; being altogether unsatisfactory and not to
be trusted. Instances have been found of their taking bribes from villagers not to vaccinate
and to go away without teazing them, reporting of course that, owing to the prejudice of the
people, no work could be done, when really they had made little or no efforts at persuasion,
though at the same time the fact of the villagers being willing to pay for exemption from
vaccination sufficiently proves the reality of their dislike.
It has been necessary to dismiss five of the Sindooriah vaccinators for gross misconduct.
Four of them, however, have really worked energetically and taken much pains.
The remaining four Sindooriahs have done more or less fairly only.
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