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Petition as "very sensible" , the discussion that fol lowed its presentation
as very "creditab le" , and Whyte 1 s opening speech as "worthy of the House
of Commons 11 The periodical , however, ad vi sed against being too
•
fastidious about properly educated vaccinators .
The principles of good vaccination are now condensed into
one or two points such as the following :- choose a healthy
child, vaccinate from arm to arm or at any rate with recent
moist lymph , and make four distinct insertions of lymph.
Any properly educated medical man is quite competent to carry
out these principles , and it is not good policy, especially
in a colony, to create a class of experts over a matter so
simple. One good inspector will make the who le profession
in Tasmania efficient vaccinators.26
As Hall pub licly denied on October 2, 1869 , that the certificates for
competency in vaccination which were given by Crowther to certain students
at the Hospital Medical School had any value in ensuring their emp loyment
as pub lic vaccinators judged by Eng lish standards,2 7 the Lancet 's opinion
revealed a new, modified, relaxed attitude at variance with Hall's,
·proving that he laboured under immense difficulties in attempti?g to keep
abreast of scientific and medical developments in Britain. Although his
"Petition" was well received and an address to the Governor emb odying the
main points carried by the House, nothing came of it. At the next
session in September 1870, he tried again, still on his own , this time in
the Legislative Council , insisting that, since the panic in the early part
of 1869 had died away, vaccination, either by pub lic provision or by
private Medical Practitioners, had almost ceased, not a single vaccination
having been performed at the Hobarton, Launceston and Campb ell Town
hospitals since July 1, 1869; moreover, as far as he knew1 only a single
one. had been performed by a private practitioner in the who le colony;
consequent ly, vaccine lymph was pract ically unprocurab le; in addition,
since July 1, 1869, the population of 27,000 unvaccinated persons in the
island had been increased by at least 3,000 more children, so that at
least one-third of the population was unprepared against smallpox; of all
the adj acent colonies , Tasmania alone did not emp loy paid pub lic
vaccinators . 28
2 7
L:C.J ., 1870/48 .
· ..
However, his warning was disregarded. On May 1, 1871, and
July 27, 1872, he repeated it in lo_ng articles to the Mercury , in which he
26
2 8
Lancet, 1870, Vol . 1, p. 98.
Mercury, Oct . 4, 1869.