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On March 11, 1869, Hall disclosed that thirteen medical
pract itioners scattered all over the island had written to him to comp lain
of the unvaccinated state of the chi ldren in their districts, to censure
the apaty and inaction of the Government , and to reques supplies of
'
vaccine 1ymph ; others had written to Smart . In reply to the many
questions with which he was besieged, he wrote five long articles to the
Mercury between February 8 and March 30, 1869 , in which he discussed the
need for perfect vaccination, the merits of revaccination, the likelihood
of contagion and so on , calling upon his wide knowledge of vaccination
policies and procedures in England and Europe to substantiate his remarks .
These letters revealed that he had lost none of his enthusiasm for medical
science and his generosity in disseminating it to others , nor his
sensitive, unselfish concern for the pub lic welfar, in spite of the
passage of the years.23
Fortunately, the Victorian authorities were able to contain the
disease at a considerab le cost;
consequently theTasmanian Government and
the people lapsed back once more into a state of indifference and apathy.
Hall1s fears, however , were not allayed;
the lrge numbers of unprotected
chi ldren, the unreliable character of the performance of vaccination, the
failure of the Tasmanian Parliament to enact legislature similar to the
English Act of 1867 - all these things alarmed him immeasurab ly; nor were
his fears unfounded.
On April 28 and May 28, 1869 , he complained directly
i'
to the Colonial Secretary that the Clerk of the Municipal Council of Brighton
and Returning Officer of the Electoral District of Jordan and Brighton,
in short, a public officer, by name of Haskell, who had no medical training ,
was.vaccinating children extensively in his district for a fee , contrary
to all the recognized regulations overseas .
As there was no law
prohibiting such an action in Tasmania, Hall's complaint was eventually
discreetly ignored. 2
On September 7, 1869, he tried once more to arouse Parliament to
a sense of responsibility and action by petitioning the House of Assembly,
entirely on his own, to pass an 11Amended Compulsory Act' b sed on those
which had achieved such satisfactory results in Ireland and Scotland . 2 5
The Lancet on January 15, 1870 , wholeheart dly approved, describing the
2 3
24
25
Mercury , Feb. 10, March 6, 13, 20 & 30, 1869 .
CSD 7/27/252.
H .A.P. 1869/70 .