It may be objected to this scheme, that the poor would refuse to employ the inoculators: this difficulty is easily removed. A small premium to enable mothers to attend their children while under the disease, would be a sufficient inducement; besides, the success attending the operation would soon banish all objections to it. Even considerations of profit would induce the poor to embrace this plan. They often bring up their children to the age of ten or twelve, and when they come to be useful, they are snatched away by this malady, to the great loss of their parents, and detriment of the public.
The British legislature has of late years shewn great attention to the preservation of infant lives, by supporting the foundling hospital, &c. But we will venture to say, if one-tenth part of the sums laid out in supporting that institution, had been bestowed towards promoting the practice of inoculation of the small-pox among the poor, that not only more useful lives had been saved, but the practice ere now rendered quite universal in this island. It is not to be imagined what effect example and a little money will have upon the poor; yet, if left to themselves, they would go on for ever in the old way, without thinking of any improvement. We only mean this as a hint to the humane and public-spirited. Should such a scheme be approved, a proper plan might easily be laid down for the execution of it.
But as public plans are very difficult to bring about, and often, by the selfish views and misconduct of those intrusted with the execution of them, fail of answering the noble purposes for which they were designed; we shall therefore point out some other method by which the benefits of inoculation may be extended to the poor.
There is no doubt but inoculators will daily become more numerous. We would therefore have every parish in Britain to allow one of them a small annual salary for inoculating all the children of the parish at a proper age. This might be done at a very trifling expence, and it would enable every one to enjoy the benefit of this salutary invention.
Two things chiefly operate to prevent the progress of inoculation. The one is a wish to put the evil day as far off as possible. This is a principle in our nature; and as inoculation seems rather to be anticipating a future evil, it is no wonder mankind are so averse to it. But this objection is sufficiently answered by the success. Who in his senses would not prefer a lesser evil to-day to a greater to-morrow, provided they were equally certain?
The other obstacle is the fear of reflections. This has very great weight with the bulk of mankind. Should the child die, they think the world would blame them. This they cannot bear. Here lies the difficulty; and till that be removed, inoculation will make but small progress. Nothing however can remove it but custom. Make the practice fashionable, and all objections will soon vanish. It is fashion alone that has led the multitude since the beginning of the world, and will lead them to the end. We must therefore call upon the more enlightened part of mankind to set a pattern to the rest. Their example, though it may for some time meet with opposition, will at length prevail.
I am aware of an objection to this practice from the expence with which it may be attended: this is easily obviated. We do not mean that every parish ought to employ a Sutton or a Dimsdale as inoculators. These have by their success already recommended themselves to crowned heads, and are beyond the vulgar reach; but have not others an equal chance to succeed? They certainly have. Let them make the same trial, and the difficulties will soon vanish. There is not a parish, and hardly a village in Britain, destitute of some person who can bleed. But this is a far more difficult operation, and requires both more skill and dexterity than inoculation.
The persons to whom we would chiefly recommend the performance of this operation are the clergy. Most of them know something of medicine. Almost all of them bleed, and can order a purge, which are all the qualifications necessary for the practice of inoculation. The priests among the less enlightened Indians perform this office, and why should a Christian teacher think himself above it? Surely the bodies of men, as well as their souls, merit a part of the pastor’s care; at lead the greatest Teacher who ever appeared among men seems to have thought so.
Should all other methods fail, we would recommend it to parents to perform the operation themselves. Let them take any method of communicating the disease they please; provided the subjects be healthy, and of a proper age, they will seldom fail to succeed to their wish. I have known many instances even of mothers performing the operation, and never so much as heard of one bad consequence. A planter in one of the West India islands is said to have inoculated, with his own hand, in one year, three hundred of his slaves, who, notwithstanding the warmth of the climate, and other unfavourable circumstances, all did well. Common mechanics have often, to my knowledge, performed the operation with as good success as physicians. We do not however mean to discourage those who have it in their power, from employing people of skill to inoculate their children, and attend them while under the disease, but only to shew, that where such cannot be had, the operation ought not upon that account to be neglected.
Instead of multiplying arguments to recommend this practice, I shall just beg leave to mention the method which I took with my own son, then an only child. After giving him two gentle purges, I ordered the nurse to take a bit of thread which had been previously wet with fresh matter from a pock, and to lay it upon his arm, covering it with a piece of sticking-plaster. This remained on six or seven days, till it was rubbed off by accident. At the usual time the small-pox made their appearance, and were exceedingly favourable. Surely this, which is all that is generally necessary, may be done without any skill in medicine.