Dr. Thompson had no doubt that was the case, but it could have nothing to do with the improvement in St. Giles’s, as the sanitary habits of that place were not very advanced. Let them continue vaccination till small-pox was eradicated, and then they could do without it altogether. Small-pox had only originated once in the history of the world, and if they could only once stamp it out, it might never recur. His attention had been called to some figures which he had omitted to notice in regard to Sweden, where the mortality which was so strikingly reduced after the introduction of vaccination, that in one year there were only two deaths, again rose by degrees till it reached 2,000. This was owing to the carelessness of the people, who thought the disease had gone altogether, and neglected the continuance of vaccination. Strenuous efforts were again made when the mortality rose, and it was reduced rapidly, till there were only 41 deaths in one year. At the conclusion of Dr. Thompson’s speech several gentlemen rose to put questions to Dr. Thompson, when Dr. Pearce asked permission of the chairman to reply to the two medical gentlemen who had just addressed them. Permission being obtained— Dr. Pearce said, he felt happy in meeting his two professional brethren, Dr. Routh and Dr. Thompson, and discussing with them this important question; and he proposed in order to avoid taxing the memories of the audience, to mingle the two speeches, and to reply in the reverse order of their delivery, noticing first the concluding remarks of Dr. Thompson. Dr. Thompson had, unhappily for the cause he advocated, referred to that well vaccinated country, Sweden, where every child born is vaccinated, and where compulsory vaccination has been in operation many years. Dr. Thompson had pointed out that small-pox had declined in that country, in consequence of vaccination, adducing the fact, that while in 1838 the mortality was 1,805, in 1839 it was 1,934, it fell in 1840 to 650, and in 1842 to 58; indeed, in 1846 only two deaths from small-pox were recorded, and this, said Dr. Thompson, was the result of vaccination; but if he had continued his inquiry to later years, he would have found, as he will see there in that table, that the small mortality was owing to the fact that the epidemic had done its work and taken its departure, but that when another epidemic came, the mortality was again raised, and in 1849—31 died; in 1850—1,376 died; in 1851 no less than 2,488 died;—the heaviest mortality for forty years _though every inhabitant of Sweden was vaccinated_. {11}