vaccination. The other day, when the epidemic broke out in London, a regiment of soldiers was stationed at St. John's Wood, near, and so terrified were the Government with regard to the matter that an urgent order came down from the Horse Guards sending the regiment right away to the other end of England, lest the re-vaceinated soldiers should catch small-pox. (Laughter.) I heard an amusing incident the other day about a magistrate who had some of those ignorant fanatics," like some of you—(laughter)—before him. He told the defendants that they ought to be ashamed of themselves letting their children go unvaccinated, and added, "Why, I would not let my children go unprotected from this dire disease on any account." A short time afterwards illness came into his house, and the doctor told him that a servant had the small-pox; and no sooner did the old gentleman hear that than his courage oozed out at his finger tips, and he sent for the nearest fire-escape in order that the children might be taken away through the window, so as to avoid passing the door of the infected chamber. (Laughter.) Then there are those doctors who tell us that not only have they been re-vaccinated, but that if a small-pox epidemic occurred they would be done again, which shows that they have
NOT MUCH FAITH IN RE-VACCINATION.
(Hear, hear.) At Berkhampstead, Sir Astley Cooper, who has been sitting on the Bench, declared in a speech on the subject that he had been vaccinated no less than seven times, and such was his wonderful faith in the operation that he declared, with all the courage of a Roman gladiator, "If an epidemic occurred, I would go and be vaccinated again." (Laughter.) Why, if they had tattooed the old gentleman from head to foot he would still be crying, "Do, pray, give me more vaccination." (Renewed laughter.)
Mitigation.
Then they tell us that vaccination will mitigate the disease; that it will make it milder. I should like to have it proved. (Hear, hear.) How are we to know how severe a person is going to have small-pox? If everybody who had been vaccinated had it milder and every person who was unvaccinated had the small-pox more severely, there would certainly be some ground for the argument. But we know well enough that long before vaccination was dreamed of the usual kind of small- pox was the mild; and, as Dr. Wagstaffe wrote to Dr. Freind in 1721: "There is one kind of small-pox which the doctor cannot cure, and another kind which the nurse cannot kill." That is quite enough to show there were very mild cases of small-pox at the time; and Dr. Plot in 1677, in speaking of an epidemic at Oxford, tells us that the whole of the cases were extremely mild, and that with proper care they all recovered. So that before ever there was vaccination there was plenty of mild small-pox. (Cheers.)
HOSPITAL STATISTICS.
Look at the hospital statistics, and see what they have to say. I find
