( 4 )
Proportion in a hundred of Christians, Mahomedans, high caste Hindoos and
low caste Hindoos in population of circle.
Christians.
.20
Mahomedans.
7.57
High caste Hindoos,
56.01
Low caste Hindoos.
36.20
Remarks.
4.—GENERAL REMARKS ON THE KUMAON DIVISION.
The number of deaths in the hills from small-pox during the past two years, aver-
aging 105 in a population of 743,602, small as it is, may be yet further reduced if the
deaths of plainsmen be eliminated. With hardly a single exception, all the remaining
deaths have occurred in those hill-people only who have avoided vaccination or been
inoculated years ago. If it was possible to get every one to submit themselves to vacci-
nation and re-vaccination, there need be no deaths whatever. Not that I have any reason
to complain of the people, for speaking generally they accept the services of the vac-
cinators very readily, and as each village gets visited every second or third year, practi-
cally the population is vaccinated ; but there will always be a remnant who escape vacci-
nation by being absent from their homes during the vacoinator's visit, either intentionally
or by accident. I observe, in a recent number of the Lancet, that in the seven districts of
Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, Poplar, Mile-end old Town, Whitechapel, Stepney, and St.
George's East, containing a population of 638,878, there were in 2½ years no less than
2,462 deaths from small-pox. In the same period in Kumaon, with a population of 743,602,
there were 219 deaths only. The proportion stands: as follows:—In London, 38.5 in 10,000
died from small-pox ; in Kumaon, only 2.9 in 10,000 died. If London is to be a lamp
to our footsteps, it appears to me that we can in this matter lend her some light. The
native superintendents of vaccination in this division are under-paid; and I am further of
opinion that the appointment of a deputy superintendent of vaccination would be an
advantage, as the establishment do not receive that amount of reliable inspection during
my absence in the plains hich is desirable. So important is Kumaon as a field for the
supply of vaccine virus to the greater part of India, that we cannot afford to neglect
any precaution. I will discuss these matters with His Honor in person. I am aware
that this is not the place in which questions involving increase of expenditure should
be proposed. The percentage of success (95.20) in primary cases is remarkably good;
and the average number vaccinated per mensem by each vaccinator, viz., 368, is also
very creditable to the establishment, taking into consideration the nature of the ground
they have to go over and the scattered character of the population. A good deal of
time is being devoted to the re-vaccination of the people, they having arrived at a point
in their vaccine history when it has become necessary to ascertain if their primary pro-
tection still holds good. I am glad to see that the success of percentage in re-vaccina-
tion is only 27.30, which may be considered satisfactory. The Government, in its
reply last year to my report, rather stumbled over this matter of re-vaccination, from not
understanding it: surprise and implied regret were expressed at the low percentage
of success attained, not knowing that the lower the percentage the higher the success,
and vice versâ. Where re-vaccination is successful, it (within limits) casts a doubt
upon the protection conferred by the primary operation ; therefore a want of all suc-
cess in re-vaccination is a perfection to he strained after. In the same para., my
remarks about fallacies in the returns have been similarly misunderstood, I thought
I had made it sufficiently clear that the fallacies alluded to arose only from the
vaccinators entering as successful results which should have been more properly classed
as unsuccessful, and this only by reason of the vaccinators not being well enough up
to the appearances produced in re-vaccination. The latter work is comparatively a
new field of labor, and requires experience. Time will rectify this, and the attention
of superintendents and native superintendents has been drawn to the subject. There