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after the other children left behind at home during her absence. The consequence
is, they prefer to let their children go unvaccinated, and take the chances of swelling
the small-pox columns of the Registrar-General's Returns.
In India the principle is to take vaccination to the homes of the people. The
system in the North-Western Provinces is in its infancy; we are crippled in our efforts
for want of money, and the services of a solitary Vaccinator for each tehseel cannot
reach far; but I am convinced that our principles are right, and would be sorry to see
them changed, for they have proved themselves by large experience to be sound, and,
what is more to the point, successful. I will here sketch what that system is. To
every tehseel in the North-Western Provinces is posted a Vaccinator ; his duties are
to proceed systematically from village to village in one onward direction, vaccinating
as many as he is able during the vaccine season. At the time of performing vaccina-
tion in a village, he has to enter in a return the names of the children operated upon,
together with all particulars as to age, sex, parents' names &c.,; and 7 days afterwards,
he revisits the village, inspects the arms and records the results in the return, which
is then deposited with the headman of the village or the tehseeldar of the district,
to be kept as a record. All these daily proceedings are moreover entered in the
Vaccinator's diary.
To every Zillah is appointed a Native Superintendent; he has himself been a Vacci-
nator, and consequently is acquainted with all the details of the system, and has been
promoted to the position for proved good conduct, zeal, and efficiency. To him is
relegated the duties of supervising the work of all the Vaccinators under him, and he
is held responsible for the correctness of the Vaccinators' returns. To every two Divi-
sions is appointed a European Superintendent, a medical man; he has the control of the
staff under him, and on his tours of inspection devotes his particular attention to the
character of the vaccine virus, the truth or otherwise of the returns (which is readily
ascertained by comparing the village record with the Vaccinator's diary) not only for
the present, but for previous seasons, and in influencing the people generally on behalf
of vaccination. Over the whole is placed a Superintendent-General who is responsible
for the entire working of the system, and maintaining it in a high state of efficiency.
In the North-Western Provinces the Superintendent-General has also (with the assist-
ance of a Deputy Superintendent) the charge of two Divisions, and the vaccine Depôt
in the Hills. I am of opinion that this system might be imitated with advantage
in England. There is no necessity whatever for the actual operation of vaccination
being performed by a medical man ; all that is needed, is that the operator should be
trained and any intelligent neat-handed man who can read and write is fitted for
the post (a small salary of £1 or 30 shillings a week would suffice,) and with due
arrangements as to area and population, the sphere of a Vaccinator's and Superinten-
dent's duties could be readily fixed: and I feel sure that the system would not only work
far better than their existing one (which bears failure on its very face), but would be
also more economical,
There is a tendency to believe that every thing in England is far ahead of what
we are doing or even capable of, in this country; the experience gained by my visit
there has led me to opposite conclusions.
I have the honour to be,
SIR,
Your most obedient Servant,
F. PEARSON,
Offg. Supdt. of Vaccination, N.-W.
P.
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