46
SONTHAL PERGUNNAHS.
direct, subject to my supervision and inspection. The first two alone have done work during
the season, and the rest have done little or nothing. Of these Ramrutton Mundel had come
forward at the end of the season.
Work of ex-inocu¬
lators.
Unsatisfactory
Bany Madhub Chuckerbuttee vaccinated a total number of 490 cases in 5 villages in
Rajmehal sub-division; and Bycunt Nath Banerjea operated on 312 cases in 4 villages in
the same sub-division. They had at first operated only on one point on the forearm in
males and upper arm in females; but subsequently upon my insisting on them to observe a
uniform system with my vacccinators (the object of which will be perceived below) they
had operated in a few cases on two points on the upper arm. The work of both of these
two men was inspected by me two or three times during the season; and with the exception
of a few cases in which good vesicles were at all seen, the results on the whole have not been
very satisfactory. Each time, however, that I inspected their cases I took occasion to point
out their defects and warn them to be more careful for the future.
The inadvisibility of allowing these men to practise in the neighbourhood of Govern-
ment vaccinators, was hinted at in my last year's report. This has however been more
strongly felt this year. These inoculators are courted by the people chiefly upon the suppo-
sition that they were practising their old method and they make it their interest to keep up
this impression. It is on this account that they generally operate on the forearm, especially
in males. They cannot, through fear of losing their practice, give out that they were carry-
ing on vaccination. They might have a few staunch clients, who, out of veneration for
them, might submit to anything they do. But still people of low means generally look to
their purses more than to anything else, and when they come to know that these men were
carrying on the same sort of work for fees, which the Government people perform gratis,
they are apt to declare themselves for the latter, and even to deny the fees to which the
inoculators are entitled.
Difficulties.
On the other hand, if these inoculators are allowed to have their own way, the interests
of vaccination are likely to suffer a great deal. The people have still a great veneration for
the time-honored custom of inoculation, and when they see their old inoculators practising
it (as they are made to believe) amongst them, and that, in defiance of all the measures
taken by Government (as they imagine) for its suppression, they make bold to decry vacci-
nation and to deny it all access to their villages. Thus I do not think it a good policy to
allow inoculators to practise vaccination in the neighbourhood of Government vaccinators.
The interests of both are liable to suffer to the great detriment of vaccination. I had
however tried to obviate this difficulty by placing these two classes of vaccinators far apart
from each other. But this again is not always practicable without sacrificing the interests
of either. For the inoculators think it a great loss to go and work in distant places
leaving their old clients, and on the other hand vaccinators cannot be told to leap over to a
distant place without interfering with the gradual and steady progress of vaccination. In
order that vaccination might be self-supporting it must first have a firm hold upon the
confidence of the people, which cannot be the case, if it is allowed to be interfered with by
any disturbing cause however slight. I do not at all mean to deny the importance of
allowing inoculators to practise vaccination, but I am only pointing out the disadvantages
which result from allowing these men to practise in the midst of Government vaccinators.
I earnestly hope that these difficulties may in future be overcome by assigning to either
class different areas in separate sub-divisions and by at the same time prohibiting
inoculation.
Vaccine census
11. The subjoined statement, drawn up chiefly on the authority of my vaccinators
who furnished the necessary information, will convey some idea of the degree of protection
enjoyed by the people.
Class of people examined
Inhabitants of 10 villages in Rajmehal sub-
division, chiefly Sonthals ... ... ...
Inhabitants of 4 villages in Pakour sub-divi-
sion ; about ¼th Paharias, more than 1/3rd
Sonthals, and the remainder Hindus ...
Boys of Rajmehal school, chiefly Hindus ...
Total ...
Number examined.
6,512
2,562
56
9,130
Inoculated
4,496
1,731
28
6,255
Per cent of total
examined.
69.04
67.56
50
68.51
Vaccinated.
1,860
645
13
2,518
Per cent of total
examined.
28.56
25.17
23.21
27.57
Had small-pox.
110
83
3
196
Per cent of total
examined
1.68
3.24
5.35
2.14
Unprotected
46
103
12
161
Per cent of total
examined.
0.70
4.02
21.42
1.76