The Story of a Great Delusion in a Series of Matter-of-Fact ChaptersWhite, William
History
The Story of a Great Delusion in a Series of Matter-of-Fact Chapters
White, William
Vaccination
Sir THOMAS TURTON good humouredly replied, that the Jennerian
Society, in whose interest the preceding speaker exhibited so
much untempered zeal, was not instituted till 1803. The original
Vaccine Pock Institution was established by Dr. Pearson in 1799.
The Institution to which the petition referred was established
in 1806, chiefly by members of the Society of Friends, a sect to
whose virtuous principles and behaviour it was his privilege to
bear testimony. Since 1806 the Institution had communicated the
vaccine matter to 81,000 persons in every situation of life. The
petitioners only desired to have the facts they adduced inquired
into, and hoped for public aid only in the event of being entitled
to it on public grounds.
This application for assistance by Walker’s Institution rendered
its concession to the Jennerian Society impossible: it was not for
the Government to get into hot water by showing favour to either;
and as both could not be subsidised, it was determined to vary the
application, and to ask the House of Commons to provide means for
the maintenance of a new and independent institution from which
“the Genuine Vaccine Virus could be distributed without expense
throughout the British dominions.” Mr. GEORGE ROSE, Treasurer to
the Navy, took charge of the measure, which he introduced to the
House on 9th June, 1808. After dealing with a notorious failure of
Vaccination at Ringwood, he proceeded to observe, that whilst it
could no longer be said that Vaccination was a certain security
against Smallpox in all cases, yet the evidence showed that the
failures were not one in 300. He would therefore move that the
House having the testimony of the Colleges of Physicians and
Surgeons of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, that Vaccination was
salutary and generally effective, it is desirable that a Central
Institution be formed for the provision and distribution of Real
Vaccine Matter, and that its administration be committed to the
Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons in London. The expense
would not be more than £2500 or £3000 per annum.
Mr. DAVIES GIDDY said he should not oppose the resolution, but it
would have been much better to have refrained from interference.
The people would neglect inoculation, and then smallpox would break
out with tenfold severity.
Mr. FULLER observed that Smallpox had been annihilated in Calcutta
by systematic and enforced Vaccination, and he believed the same
result was attainable in this country. He thought that even those
who hesitated to resort to general compulsion, would not object to
the Vaccination of all children in workhouses.
Sir T. TURTON would have preferred a committee of investigation.
There were already three Institutions in London for the express
purpose of propagating cowpox, and the object Mr. Rose had in view
was more likely to be attained by private subscriptions and by
assistance from Government than by a special Institution formed and
endowed by the State.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account