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Chas. T. Pearce, M.R.C.S.
Vaccination was made compulsory by an Act of Parliament in the year 1853, again in 1867, and still more stringent in 1871. Since 1853 we have had three epidemics of small-pox.
| Date. |
Deaths from Small-pox. |
| 1st. |
1857-58-59 |
14,244 |
| 2nd. |
1863-64-65 |
20,059 |
| 3rd. |
1870-71-72 |
44,840 |
| Increase of population from 1st to 2nd epidemic |
7 per cent. |
| Increase of small-pox in the same period nearly |
50 per cent. |
| Increase of population from 2nd to 3rd epidemic |
10 per cent. |
| Increase of small-pox in the same period |
120 per cent. |
| Deaths from small-pox in the first ten years after the enforcement of vaccination by Parliament, 1854 to 1863 |
33,515 |
| Ditto in the second ten years, 1864 to 1873 |
70,458 |
—From a Letter to the Right Hon. G. Sclater-Booth, M.P. February 1877.
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