The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-24 00:00:00

TUE STOURTIRIDGE OBSERVER.

tures in the arm, the vaccine not taking effect Mr.
Emery was present at that inquest, and having lost
his child from the same cause, pressed for an inquiry.
His child was then buried at Highgate Cemetery; but
in conforraity with the wishes of the father the body
was exhumed, and the present inquiry held.
The Coroner, In opening the case, said the inquiry related
not merely to a single death; it was really an inquiry into a,
system,
namely. the Compulsory Vaccination Act. lie re-
marked that dming the last century forty-five millions of
persons died from small-pox, but in the present century,
thr 'ugh the introduction of vaccination. the number of
c..at 5 was exceedingly small, showing that vaccination was
beneficial in saving life in the community.
Mr. Aaron Emery, father of the deceased, identinad the
body as that of hie lon, who was vaccinated at Dr Allen's
establishment on the 31st May, being then eleven uncle, old.
Four wounds were made in the right arm, one of which ap-
peared to be very deep, and bled very much. On the 7th June
the child was taken buck, the four vesicles having taken, and
two of them were opened, and some of the matter introduced
Into the arm of another child. Two days utter, mptoma
of a dangerous character set in, principally proceeding
from the largest wound, from which the matter had not been
taken. The inflammation spread all over the arm. and it
swelled to double its former size. Dr. Allen and his assistant
attended and the swelling decreased in the arm, but ex-
tended to the hack, legs, and scrotum. From the 9th of
June till its death on the 4th of July the child appeared to be
conscious. It only dozed, and started up shrieking with
agony.
By a Juror Witness was not biassed by the Anti-Vaccina-
tion Society. Be knew nothing of it. Ile thought it strange
that his child should thus die, and others in the neighbour-
hood were suffering, If not then dead, from a similar cause.
Mrs. Rachel Emery, mother of the deceased, confirmed her
husband's testimony, and said her child was a very tine,
healthy child, arid Dr. Allen attended at the birth.
Mr. Throat Massey Harding, F.R.C.S., said he had been
a public vaccinator for more than twelve years. Me had
made a post-mortem examination of the deceased, and
found, notwithstanding its illness that it was a very tine,
well-nourished child. On the right arm there were four
marks, the result of vaccination. Ile cut into the tissues of
the arm, neck, and back, and he found fluid deposited there.
All the abdominal viscera were healthy. The immediate
cause of death was exhaustion from erysipelas, produced, he
thought, by the vaccivation.
By the Coroner : Witness had vaccinated from 4,000 to
6,000 children, and had never had a death His brother arid
Dr. Ballard, of Islington, had also vaccinated some thousands,
and they had only had one death each.
By the Jury: If erysipelas set in after vaccination he might
not know of it, as parents would take their children to their
own doctors.

By the Coroner: An unclean lancet or other Instrument
used for making the excoriation for the reception of the
lymph might possibly produce erysipelas. It matter were
taken from an arm and introduced into another after the
eighth day, it was likely to produce erysipelas, the mstter
becoming deteriorkted.
By the Jury: The matter was never taken from the cow.
Ile had vaccinated from 4,000 to 5,000 children, and it was
not taken from the cow, but from arm to arm. The cow-pox
was similar to the small-pox.
Some discuwion here ensued, in the course of which
it was shown that out of 1,600 patients admitted into
the small-pox hospital, 1,300 had been previously
vaccinated, but those who had been vaccinated re-
ceived the disease (which only came once in a life-time)
in a very mild form. Of those successfully vacci-
nated thirty out of every 100 were susceptible, and
liable to small-pox if exposed to it, but it would not be
fatal.
r. Harding said he had seen the child from which deceased
had been vaccinated, and it was perfectly healthy, as was
also the father and mother.
Dr. George Allen, of 11, Soho-square, said he had
been a vaccinator since he was fifteen years old, and had
performed as many as Mo operathois in a day, anti he
had never seen a fatal case before. the believed the
erysipelas was produced after vaccination through some
disease in the child. Be knew nothing of the children who
were vaccinated before or after Mr. Emery's child. Before
he administered the matter to a child he did not inquire
whence it came. The matter was not direct from the cow,
and for years it would not deteriorate. He had used such
matter for thirty years.
Mr Harding said 51r. Bradmarsh. of Brighton, used to
supply the institutions with lymph born the cow.
After some further discussion, the jury returned a
verdict of "Died from erysipelas, caused by vaccina-
tion."