12
DARJEELING CIRCLE.
its neighbourhood, and was perfectly satisfied with the vaccine operations both as to quality
and number. An outbreak of small-pox in the end of February at Chengrabanda, on the
Julpigoree and Cooch Behar road, having been brought to my notice by the deputy
commissioner, my inquiries could elicit no information of the source to which the disease
could be traced. The people at first declined vaccination on the plea that many of them had
been vaccinated the year before by a native doctor from Cooch Behar, and had suffered from
small-pox equally with those who had not accepted the operation. An examination of
the arms of a large number failed to' show a single vaccine cicatrix of any kind. Opera-
tions of this nature tend to bring vaccination into the worst repute with the people, and I had
great trouble in impressing upon them that they had been imposed upon, and in getting them
to agree to be operated on again. The disease did not spread. A few cases afterwards
occurred in other parts of the state, and an epidemic of chicken-pox. No serious outbreak
of small-pox, so far as I could learn, was afterwards anywhere observed. The total opera-
tions in this state during the season were 7,501.
Rungpoor.
5. The district of Rungpoor was the next visited. Here I have the assistance of a
native superintendent trained under Dr. Pearson in Rohilkund, and
every where I found his work well attended to, and the character of
the vesicle exceedingly good. In the English native and girls' schools at Rungpoor opera-
tions had been performed, and the children of some of the court amlah had been vaccinated.
In only one part of the district, in a jaghire belonging to the Cooch Behar rajah, was it
reported that the people rejected vaccination, most of the wealthy zemindars accepting it
for their families. There was small-pox in this district in the neighbourhood of Peergunge
thannah, produced by inoculation, the native superintendent stated; but on the arrival of a
vaccinator the inoculator appears to have left the place, and the disease did not spread.
Small-pox broke out at Kakeena, on the Teesta, in the month of January, and was checked
by vaccination. In the beginning of April it re-appeared in two places in the district; but
on account of the heat, and cholera being prevalent, the people declined vaccination.
Bograh.
6. Small-pox was reported in the jurisdiction of the Suryakandee police sub-division,
in the Bograh district, in the end of the month of November, and
a vaccinator had been working there since the beginning of the
season, and I found on examination that wherever a case was reported to him he had
vaccinated all the unprotected people in the village with the result of checking the disease
in four or five different places. In only one village had the disease been concealed, and
when I visited it there were nine persons suffering from small-pox. The vaccinator had
several times passed this village, but no information had been given him. It was not till
several fatal cases had occurred, and the chowkeedar had been obliged to report them to the
police, that the matter was known. After talking the subject of vaccination over with some
of the head men the people generally accepted it, and no more cases of small-pox occurred
in the village. The origin of this general appearance of small-pox over a considerable
area I was unable to discover. In February and March, however, the magistrate of the
district reported a general use of inoculation, especially in the jurisdiction of thannah
Modhoopoor, and the consequent spread of small-pox in an epidemic form not only in that
sub-division but several others. No measure was taken to put a stop to the work of the
inoculators, who appear not to have taken the usual precautions to prevent the spread of
small-pox after inoculation. All the strength of the vaccine establishment in the Bograh
district was brought to bear on this epidemic, and continued its efforts up to the 15th April,
when the native superintendent reported that, from the heat, vaccination was followed by
so much inflammation that the people were most unwilling to submit to the operation. The
last report was that the disease was abating, as it usually does with the appearance of the
dry west winds. If this outbreak was not produced in the first instance by inoculation, it
certainly owed the epidemic character it afterwards assumed to it. Inoculation was clearly
unnecessary, as there were five Government vaccinators in the district, and the people were
being vaccinated freely. In such cases I submit that magistrates should have some authority
to control the operations of inoculators, which are being clearly followed by small-pox. I am
aware that it would be a great hardship to the people to forbid inoculation entirely where
Government has not established vaccination; but some provision of law, under which magis-
trates might act when its results are obviously mischievous, would be most useful. Vaccina-
tion has made better progress in the district of Bograh than in any other, the native
superintendent, Tugmul Hossen, having introduced arm-to-arm vaccination ; ivory slips being
rarely used by his subordinates except in cases where lymph has to be carried to considera-
ble distances. I beg to bring the excellent services of this man prominently to the notice
of the Inspector-General of Hospitals. He is one of the most hard-working and conscientious
natives whom I ever met. He had to conduct the superintendence of the Bograh and
Rajshahye districts, in both of which there was small-pox during last cold season. For this
double duty he has only received the pay of the other native superintendents. He is well