14
THE METROPOLITAN CIRCLES.
Fever.
Secondly—Epidemic fever was devastating the country, the people were
dying all around, and not unnaturally looked with indifference on the proposition
to vaccinate. They wanted medicine and food,—relief from the dread disease from
which so many suffered, and cared but little to be protected from a possible
future attack of small-pox. Fever was much worse than I had expected from the
report of the Civil Surgeon of Burdwan, received in August; indeed later than
this, and after we had commenced vaccination, the fever invaded fresh tracts of
country.
Caste prejudices.
Thirdly—The people are mostly very orthodox Hindoos, and therefore diffi-
cult to induce to accept new customs.
Floods.
Fourthly—In Nuddea the heavy floods made vaccination impracticable
during the first three months of the season.
A late Poojah.
Fifthly—The Doorga Poojah fell very late this year, and as people will
rarely take vaccination until this is over, the month of October was almost a
blank month.
Less efficient staff.
Sixthly—That the vaccinators were not so efficient as usual; many were
struck down with fever, rendering them totally unfit for work. In their places
men comparatively unskilled were taken as substitutes. The outturn of work
by young men is never equal in quantity to that of more experienced hands,
although by constant and careful supervision the quality may be maintained.
The tract taken by the first circle was less affected by fever than any other,
and here the numbers vaccinated are slightly in excess of last year; the villages
are, however, very few in number and far between.
In the second circle the falling off is most marked; these men were most
unhappily situated. Fever prevailed more in the thannahs of Khundghose
and Roynah than in any other part undertaken; then the removal of two of the
divisions to Nuddea in the middle of the season, in order to fulfil my promise
to continue vaccination there, necessitated a recommencement of work with but
small results.
Conduct of the
establishment.
In the third circle the numbers are little more than half what they were
last year, but still the numbers are the highest of the year. The fact that Baboo
Jadub Chunder Ghose has for years placed his circle first in the list in point
of numbers, is very creditable to him, and shows clearly how well he is fitted
to carry on the difficult task of persuading a prejudiced and ignorant people.
Although I have specially commended Baboo Jadub Chunder Ghose, yet I
think that the greatest credit is due to the whole of the department for the
manner in which they have worked during this very trying year. Both
Baboo Ram Soonder Ghose and Buddynath Brummoh have been unremitting
in their endeavours to carry on the work : had they been slack in their efforts
there would have been no work at all.
The head and ordinary vaccinators have worked well in the face of great
difficulties. Struck down again and again with fever, they have returned to their
duty as soon as sufficiently recovered to work. I have seen them working on
in spite of fever, crawling about from place to place although weak and reduced
from frequent attacks. I beg particularly to mention Tarruck Chunder Chatterjee
of the third circle, and Chunder Mohun Ganguli of the second circle, for their
persistent efforts to carry on work, although themselves suffering long and
frequently.
Reasons for persist-
ing to work in
Burdwan.
It would have been possible, on finding that the difficulties before us were
so great, to have retired from Burdwan and taken up work in Hooghly or
the 24-Pergunnahs, but such a course would, I think, have been very
injurious to the cause of vaccination. In the first place we should have had
to commence afresh at a late period of the season, after having lost much time
in our attempt to vaccinate in Burdwan, and the number of operations would
probably not have been very large. Moreover, if there are difficulties, we must