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During the past year I have not heard of any Small-pox, except at two villages in the
Gonghur district, and at Burwalla, in the Dhundooka district; in either case, if it existed at
all, it was confined to the villages named. From inquiries made by myself at Gonghur,
Dholka, and Dhundooka, the truth of the report was denied; and in the villages of the
Gonghur district, the Mooknees said that two children had been ill with a rash, supposed to
have been Small-pox, but that none caught it from them. The only obstruction to the
spread of vaccination is in the superstition and credulity arising from the ignorance of the
natives' want of faith in, and suspicious regarding anything done by, the English. An adult
Dher refused to be operated on, although he had never been inoculated or had had the
Small-pox, of which he said he was in great dread ; and when asked to give the reason for his
antipathy to the prophylactic, stated "that he had heard it asserted the Government would take
the Caste from all in India; that vaccine lymph was originally pus, taken from the sores of the
bones of a dead man, so, of course, one of the means employed to destroy Caste." Nothing
more ridiculous or improbable than this could have been promulgated; yet this man, and I
have no doubt thousands implicitly believe it as this man evidently did, so that any benefit
bestowed under the auspices of Government is, however patent the good effects, looked on
with suspicion by all classes of natives. No argument or exposure of the nonsense in the
tales spread alter the facts as they deem them. The only means by which vaccination will
become universally received are either—First, by gentle coersion of all classes with the
indisputable—being self-evident—patronage and support of Government, through the Native
authorities in the districts. [This is not afforded as it should be, in giving assistance to the
operator by a Peon, or in punishing Mooknees and Talattees, who do not help to the best of
their authority and ability, but, as is often the case, absenting themselves, and even taking away
the village Havildar on the day known to be the one for the Vaccinator to visit the place.]
Then, that vaccination does prevent the ill effects of Small-pox—as I have often heard
natives say—will become a received fact; the suspicion on account of caste will die ; and the
prophylactic become duly appreciated and sought after ; or Secondly, to wait until education
shall have opened the eyes of all classes of natives to the beneficence and disinterested
kindness of Government, and the value of vaccination. But this is to my mind a hypothetical
epoch, not likely to occur in this century. Giving pensions to all according to service, or
increasing the pay of the operators, and giving subsistence money to probationers, would
have the effect of bringing a better educated class of natives into the Department; but I do
not think that any permanent increase in the number of operations would be gained.
Pensions are, without doubt, expected by many of the senior operators, who, for thirty or
forty years, have faithfully served the Government.
During the past year, I visited the districts of Radhunpore, Kuttoosun, Pethapore, Bawissee,
Jeytulpore, and Dhundooka in succession, as named, returning to the Sannud district on the
7th of June, where I was employed till the rains drove me into Ahmedabad. With the office
in the city, I visited villages in the Eastern and Western Divisions of Dorkroee, occasionally,
as the weather permitted, going to villages in the district of Sannud, until I was sent to Rajcote
in July ; there I was fully occupied in civil and military duties, until permitted to return in
October. In December I left Ahmedabad and proceeded viâ Vullud, Pethapore, and
Leembodra to Maurissa, where a candidate was employed, the Karkoon having resigned his
appointment. I staid there, visiting the villages and Chiefs, inspecting work previously
done, and superintending the vaccinating operations then going on ; then I moved to Sadra,
whence I could continue to overlook the work of the candidate, who, although very zealous,
was a novice in his duties, whilst I was able, at the same time, to carry on vaccination in
the bazar of Sadra.
D