Untitled

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1486, 14 November 1874, Page 2

It is satisfactory to know that Auckland is not particularly aftected by the groundless prejudice against vaccination. We observe that prosecutions for breach of the Vaccination Act are proceeding both in Wellington and Christchurch. This may arise eithel" from wilful intent or simple negligence, which is equally culpable. Much as it may be desirable to not interfere with a man's "conscientious" convictions in relation to the conduct of his family affairs, he must put his conscience in his pocket or himself should be put in gaol, if his conscience is to bring danger to his neighbours. A man's conscience may tell him that a dunghill or a cesspool ought to exhale its odours beside his door step, . believing it to be conducive to health, and his opinion is quite as entitled to respect as is the feeling ot resistance to the great and only prophylactic to variola. It is a happy thing that our people got a good scare in the last visit of smallpox, and to this no doubt is a good deal attributable the fact that nobody now seems to have conscientious opinions against the worth of vaccination. Still there are a few instances —we believe only through negligence—which if persisted in, must call for the intervention of Mr Wayland. It is possible that even in these cases, vaccination has not been neglected, but the law enjoins that not only should-a child have the operation successfully performed within the first halfyear of its existence, but that a certificate to that effect should be returned to the Registrar. Nolessthan three hundred and fifty such certificates have been returned during the past quarter, which pretty fairly testifies to the general acceptance of the principles

Dr. Jenner amongst us. With so much steady vaccination proceeding, we are not likely to see a repetition of the stampede that occurred a couple of years ago, when heifer lymph, versus arm lymph, and sickly cows versus sickly children, was the question of the day, and when everything in business and in pleasure was subordinate to the great cause of vaccination.