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the total amount disbursed being £1 ,380 a year , which, in the opinion of
the lercury , now wedded to a policy of severe retrenchment by the Government ,
\'>'as a "perfect waste of money". As the .
Mercury had shown considerab le
tolerance and understanding, even support for Hall's health and social
reforms in the past , its attack on the appointments was surpri sing.
Half that money , or two thirds at the utmost
the paper \'/rote censorially on August 12, 1864 ,
ought to answer every purpose. But Government supporters
had to be rewarded, Government opponents to be punished,
and Government influence to be extended, and these
vaccination appointments seem to have been thought as
good an instrument for the accomplishment of these various
purposes as any other . l2
Tasmania's voluntary scheme of vaccination commenced on
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November 2, 1863, on the understanding that , if it failed, an Amended
Compulsory Vaccination Act \'lould be enacted.
Hall vaccinated every
Saturday morning at the Public School at New Town , moving thence to
O'Brien's Bridge and, later , to Sandy Bay ;
also every Friday at the
Benevolent Society.
He comp iled his statistics careful ly , asking that
all medical practitioners in the island for\>ard a return of their private
vaccinations every quarter;
in this he was disappointed as twenty-six
failed to do so in the first quarter.
At his instigation each vaccinator
\-las issued a printed copy of "Instructions for Public Vaccinatorsn \'lhich
\'/ere also pub lished in the Gazette.
Also, from January 1, 1864, every
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person registering a birth \'1 as given a printed s 1 i p of the Act requiring
vaccination before the age of six months, a practice commonly adopted in
England.
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On December 7, the Advertiser described the arrangements as
thorough and as complete as they well could be and praised the cooperation
of the medical profes sion throughout the island, and, the paper concluded ,
it would be difficult to find a more earnes t, zealous and
abler Superintendent of Vaccinations than the gentleman
they have appointed.
Each quarter, Hall reported to the Colonial Secretary , carefu lly gauging
the results of th e voluntary scheme. After eleven months in operation ,
the House of Assembly declined to sanction the temporary appointments of
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pub lic vaccinators in country districts after Sept emb er 30 , 1864 , though
approving their continuance in Hobarton and Launceston.
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Mercury, August 12 , 1864 .
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