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cember were the only months during which I was free to tour for purposes of vaccine
inspection. Moreover these two months were spent in thinly populated districts away
from the main lines of traffic, where the children to be inspected were far and far
between. In previous years the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner's presence at Allahabad
during the Magh Mela has been only required for a few days only, and having no
idea that I should be required for a longer period I planned my tour under the idea
that, after inspecting these little frequented districts, I should still have a full three
months of the most fruitful portion of the vaccination season for inspection work in
the more populous districts. Practically, however, my time for vaccine inspections
ended with the month of December, as during nearly the whole of February and the
greater part of January, I was on duty in executive charge of the Kumbh
Mela, and when I got once more on the road, my tour resolved itself into one
of cholera investigation, necessarily along the main lines of road used by the
dispersing pilgrims, the exigencies of which prevented my being able to effect more
than a very trifling amount of vaccination inspection. The most practical result indeed
of my second tour was the discovery of a most utter neglect of the villages near the
main line of road in the Benares district, the vaccinators probably calculating on the
known custom of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner to avoid the main lines of road.
The largest increases reported are in the districts of Fatehpur 6,422, Basti 10,476
and Garhwál 4,306, while the smallest increases are recorded from Azamgarh 618,
Gházipur 651, Ballia 695, and Mirzapur 1,065. In Ghazipur and Ballia the large
number of operations performed by each vaccinator leaves comparatively little scope for
improvement, and the other two are, it will be seen; the two so-called " backward "
districts in which as I have already pointed out in this office No. 2311, dated 22nd
December 1893, the real cause of the scanty results is the short-handedness of the
vaccination staff in comparison with the exceptionally large area and population of
these districts.
The only point remaining for notice is the transfer of the control of District
Vaccination staffs to Civil Surgeons. The increased inspecting power is, of course
enormous—as assuming each District Superintendent to complete his 60 days in camp
we have an added 22 months of inspection which is equivalent to a four-fold increase
of European supervision. The one drawback will be the want of continuity of policy
in dealing with subordinates, but, on the whole, I think, that the results cannot fail
to be excellent in those districts where the Civil Surgeon is able to go on to camp. On
the other hand, in those districts where the Civil Surgeon's duties are too onerous to
admit of his being permitted to go on tour, the change can hardly fail to be one for the
worse. Really effective inspection of vaccine work can only be effected by an officer
holding in his hands the power of punishment and reward, and the result is that districts
such as Benares, Allahabad, Cawnpore and Gorakhpur are deprived of all effective super-
vision. Moreover, the Civil Surgeon being debarred of all opportunity of seeing his
subordinates at work, is necessarily in no position to be able to judge of their qualifica-
tions and tendencies. With these reservations, however, I believe that as far as vaccina-
tion is concerned the results of the change as a whole can scarcely fail to be beneficial.
Judging indeed from what I have seen, I am of opinion that in the districts in
which the Civil Surgeon is unable to go on tour, vaccination is likely to fall off in
efficiency, unless the direct powers of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner be restored.
On the other hand, there is little need of the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner de-
voting more time to the other districts than may be occupied in marching through
them by the shortest route that will carry him from one first class Civil Surgeoncy to
another, saving in those districts which have so large an area that it is impossible for
the District Superintendents to reach their outlying portion within the ten days to
which he must limit his absences from headquarters.
G. M. GILES, SURGEON-MAJOR, I. M. S.,
Deputy Sanitary Commissioner,
3rd Circle, N.-W. Provinces and Oudh.