Star.
London, England, 1808-08-30 00:00:00

ROYA V JF.NNERIAN SOCIETY,
Under the Patrora,;e of their MAJESTIES and the ROYAL

FAMU.Y.
Salisbury-square, August 19, 1908.
THE Royal JenneriAn Society, for the extermina-
tion of the Small Pox, baying received information, that
considerable alarm had been excited by reports of supposed fai-
lures in Vaccination at Cambridge, requested the favour of Mr.
Ring and Mr. Blair to proceed thither immediately, for the pur-
pose of investigating those reports. In this request of the Society
the above Gentlemen readily acquiesced; and they have since laid
before the Board of Directors a particUlar statement, of which
the following is a general Abstract:

General Result of an inquiry into the unfavoura'ile .Reports
concerning Vaccination at Cambridge, by the D:pdtation of
the Royal Jennerian Society, August 5, 16013.
The Small Pox has been very prevalent and very fatal at Cam-
bridge, for ten weeks Rut : during which period a considerable
number of children, vaccinated at different times, have been
much exposed to the infection of that disorder, which they have
perfectly misted.

In many instances, however, the Small Pox was supposed to
have oieurred after Vaccination; in some of which all eoubts
had been removed ; but sixteen eases were deemed still descrying
of investigation.

These cases may be divided into two classes : one, containing
those in which there was no regular and complete Vaccination ;
the other, those where the patients have not had the Small Pox.
In some instances, Vaccination did not take place in a satisfac-
tory manner ; yet these were reckoned among the failures in
Vaccination, by persons who were prejudiced egainst the prac-
tice.
lo several examples there was only a festering of the arm ; or
the pock was essentially injured, and the security of the patient
thereby diminished. In others, which fell under the observa-
tion of two respectable practitioners at Cambridge, and of the de-
putation who accompanied them, the Chicken Pox was mistaken
for the Small Pox. In confirmation of this remark, it is necessary
to state, that the Chicken Pox, as well as the Small Pox, has for
some time been, and still is, very prevalent at Cambridge.
In two cases the patients were inoculated for the Small Pox in
the manner of a seton, " by a bone-setter, who was formerly a
grocer," together with two of his own children ; and a festering
of the arms was produced. About a month.ago, when the Small
Pox appeared in these four cases, and proved fatal in one of them,
he was applied to; and then, and not till then, he pretended that
he had trot inoculated the children fur the Small Pox, but for the
Cow Pock!

When a child seas inoculated for the eow Pock without effect,
and afterwards successfully inoculated for the Small Pox, this
was represented to be a failure in Vaccination ! and when ano-
ther child, who had been vaccinated, was afterwards seized with
a for.r, without eruptions, this also was represented to be a fai-
hire in vaccination!

Having such prejudices to encounter, it is no wonder that the
failures in this practice at Cambridge were supposed to be fre-
quent; hut, after a minote and careful inquiry into the circum-
stances NI hich had excited so general an alarm, it did not appear
that a single case of the Small Pox occurred there, after regular
and complete Vaccination.

In this inquiry the Deputation of the Royal /ennerian Society
wee assisted by two eminent Surgeons of Cambridge who have
had a considerable share in the ?ractice of Vaccination, one of
them having Vaccinated Three 1 housand Persons. The Notes
of every case which had been submitted to the Deputation were
read to the parents themselves, or the parties concerned, to pre-
vent the possibility of a mistake. JOHN RING.