the population did increase by 7 per cent., but the small-pox deaths increased by 41 per cent. Between the second and third epidemics the population went up by 9 per cent., and the small-pox by 120 per cent. Small-pox is an epidemic disease, and if cow-pox is to do anything as a preventive of small-pox it should prevent an epidemic. It is all very well to say what a splendid protection it is when there is no epidemic about, but the question is: How will it stand when small-pox comes? But, as Dr. Druitt has well remarked: "You may just as well try to stop small-pox epidemics by vaccination as to
PREVENT A THUNDERSTORM WITH AN UMBRELLA."
In 1880 the Registrar-General reported that although typhus fever and other zymotics had gone down, the only one to show a rise was small- pox; i.e., after thirty years of compulsory vaccination it was 50 per cent. above the average of the previous 10 years. We got rid of the black death and of gaol fever entirely. What did it? Good water, good drainage, and the whitewash brush. (Cheers.) Yet the only zymotic which shows a notable increase is the only one against which a special prophylactic has been used, and so remarkable was this that the Registrar-General had to draw attention to it. Undoubtedly small-pox would have gone too if the inoculators had not taken such pains for nearly 100 years to establish it in this country.
I constantly find that when the pro-vaccinists are driven into a corner as to the failures occurring in this country they always adopt the plan of Jenner, and invite us to look at the brilliant successes in other countries. As soon as ever they are asked to remember the number of vaccinated people who get small-pox they say, "Oh, look at Ceylon," come with me to the plains of India," they ask you to look into Central Africa and "see what vaccination does there." Yes, it is all very well to be carried away to those countries where no Registrar- General is kept and no official statistics have ever been published. (Cheers.) They say,
"LOOK AT PRUSSIA,
and the way vaccination has stamped out small-pox there." Very well, we will look at Prussia, which, I may say, has kept better vaccination records than any other country in Europe, except, perhaps, Sweden. In 1834, which is twenty years before England adopted the Compulsory Vaccination Act, so severe was the Act in Prussia that, in addition to primary vaccination, every child had to be vaccinated over again when he started upon his school life; he had to be re-vaccinated on going from college to college; and re-vaccinated over again when he entered the Army, which meant every healthy male out of the whole of Prussia. And so severe was the Act that if any man refused to be vaccinated it was ordered that he was to be held down and vaccinated by force; and so thoroughly was it done that he was to have ten insertions in each arm. That was stiff enough for anybody, I should think. (Laughter). In 1871-2—thirty-five years after this Compulsory Vaccination Act—came the terrible epidemic which swept all over Europe. It came to Prussia, and what was the result? In that year small-pox carried off no less than 124,978 of her vaccinated and re-
