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energy, and results in the Vaccinator doing work sufficient, and no more, to enable him
to retain his appointment. Before I made a point of selecting Native Superintendents
from those promoted to Municipal Vaccinators, and if a man appeared unfit for the duties
of a Native Superintendent, he had his promotion for past good work, and the risk
of going back to the establishment if he showed any carelessness or want of energy.
The Native Superintendent under notice was a very good operator, well educated, and
apparently respectable, and was promoted for the good work of last year, but not-
withstandiug the examples I have made of reducing Native Superintendents for laziness
and neglect, when they have reached the highest grade of promotion, this man, in
addition to being lazy and careless, allowed serious irregularities to be performed by
some of his Vaccinators, which I detected in my inspeetion, and of which he must have
been well aware, but which I fear he left unreported for some pecuniary or other con-
sideration. Had not Mr. Palmer in his vernacular order, alluded to hereafter, ex -
pressed his wish that these four Vaccinators should confine their work to the towns to
which they were nominated, I might have been induced to keep on the Vaccinator at
Meeranpore, but I felt he would have vaccinated all he could get to submit to the ope-
ration in this town before the end of January, 1872, and thus the returns for February,
1872, would have shown little or no work. The following are extracts from my letter
to Mr. Palmer, No. 45 of 1872, dated 19th January, 1872, and though I may appear
to enter into too minute details, yet I considered the efforts of Mr. Palmer to promote
the good of the people entrusted to his charge demanded a detailed report from me of
the causes which led to my recommending a discontinuance of the grant to vaccina-
tion in the towns under notice.
" If I may judge by the last month's returns of the four Vaccinators at these
towns, I cannot feel myself justified in asking you to continue the grant for vaccina-
tion to these four towns after 1st February, 1872, more especially as it seems to be
your wish, as expressed in Vernacular order No.—, dated 27th November, 1871, to
the Native Superintendent of Moozuffernuggur, that the operations of these four men
should be confined to the towns themselves, and that they were not to go into the vil-
lages near. Such being the case I suspect by the end of this month, that they will have
vaccinated not all the cases requiring vaccination in these towns, but all that they can
get to accept the prophylactic."
" For some, to me unaccountable reason, there is abroad in the Moozuffernuggur
District not a simple objection to vaccination, but a positive opposition to the scheme,
as may be shown in the case of a village (Nurdhunah) where one of my best and most
respectable Vaccinators was told by the villagers that they would sign any document to
show that the Vaccinator had visited their village (which they did), but they added at
the same time without an express order that their children were to be vaccinated, they
would not permit the operation to be performed on them. It would be a simple waste
of time to spend it in arguing with villagers like these, as this opposition is systematic
and is based upon the voluntary nature of the present scheme, which in some districts
has been so carefully and repeatedly brought to their notice, that at last, in the case of
some pergunnahs, many of the villagers view this voluntary character of the scheme
as a proof of its want of utility, or rather necessity, and dismiss the Vaccinator with
the remark that " we dont want the prophylactic for our children."
" Another reason has now appeared to me in the case of the female infant mur-
dering Thakoor Jats. The new laws have made it not an easy thing for them to kill
their female infants as of old, but by rejecting vaccination for them, they have a safe
way of losing them in infancy at the rate of 60 per cent. and more, when they want
to lose the infant by the disease regarding which no questions are asked; and all this will
occur before the age is reached when the risk of shame to their house is likely to
happen by having unmarried daughters in their families. I enter thus fully into the
subject, as I am sorry your efforts to benefit these helpless children have been frustated
by their parents, but, as I said before, I do not feel justified in asking you to continue