During my residence in town in the summer of 1805, Lady Crewe happened in conversation to tell me how much Lord Henry Petty wished for a conference with me on the vaccine subject; and that she would like to bring us together. We met at her villa at Hampstead, and went so fully into the matter that his Lordship, convinced of the injury I had sustained, expressed his determination to bring something forward in the ensuing session. Before the session arrived Mr. Pitt died, and Lord Henry Petty became Chancellor of the Exchequer. In the early part of 1806, I again saw his Lordship, and found that his ardour in my cause had suffered no abatement. This was soon after proved by his Lordship’s motion in the House.[137]
Lord Henry brought Jenner’s case before the Commons on the 2nd of July, and recited the fabulous matter communicated to him with the force of personal conviction. Vaccination was a preventive of smallpox, that loathsome disease which spreads death throughout the world. It was in 1777 that Jenner obtained some obscure knowledge of the peculiar virtue of Vaccine; and from that period he meditated profoundly on the subject, accumulated information, and instituted cautious and decisive experiments. At length he perfected his discovery, and published it for the benefit of mankind. Lord Henry then proceeded to relate the triumphs of Vaccination, not only throughout Europe, but China and India! Wherever the practice was introduced, there smallpox diminished and vanished. There was Vienna, for instance, where the average mortality from smallpox was 835 annually. Vaccination was commenced in 1799, and the mortality dropped in 1802 to 61, in 1803 to 27, and in 1804 to 2. Thus in Vienna there was an annual salvation of 833 human beings. This undoubted fact had made a deep impression on his mind [as well it might!] But, alas! what was doing so much good abroad was neglected and distrusted at home. In the City of London the deaths from smallpox had been on an average 1811 annually, and this mortality had been gradually reduced by Vaccination to 629. Through the diffusion of the disease by variolous inoculation, the deaths last year (1805) had been raised from 629 to 1685. This dreadful destruction of life, especially shocking when a certain preventive existed, demanded their most serious attention, and in the situation he felt bound to propose a plan to bring forward a mass of evidence, to elicit the truth, and enlighten the public. He would therefore move—
That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that he will be graciously pleased to direct His Royal College of Physicians to inquire into the state of Vaccine Inoculation in the United Kingdom, and to report their opinion as to the progress it has made, and the causes which have retarded its general adoption.
Should this report from the Physicians corroborate the favourable opinion of Vaccination entertained by foreign nations, it must greatly tend to subdue those prejudices against the practice which have been fomented here. And in that case, the House may consider whether the ingenious Discoverer has been remunerated conformably to the liberal spirit and character of this country.
Dr. Mathews seconded the motion, and contrasted the safety of the vaccine with the dangers of variolous inoculation. He had no doubt the country would hasten to testify still further its gratitude to the learned physician to whom they owed this inestimable benefit.
Mr. Wilberforce did not approve of the reference to the College of Physicians. He would have preferred an investigation by a committee of the House, and another committee of the House of Lords. The opinions of such unbiased persons would be more congenial to the feelings of the people, and far more satisfactory than any medical report from the College of Physicians. The latter might be suspected of being influenced by professional motives, whereas a report from the Lords and Commons would be universally received as proceeding from a pure desire to promote the general good. It did not surprise him that Vaccination had made less progress at home than abroad. The resistance was due to that curious principle in the human mind which accepts what comes from afar with admiration whilst what is familiar is neglected and despised. The remedy would be found in diffusing information as to the complete success of Vaccination in foreign countries. They would thus disperse those absurd prejudices which are engendered and fostered by certain selfish and interested individuals.
Mr. Windham did not concur in the advice of Mr. Wilberforce to refer the matter to a parliamentary committee. It was a question for medical men. To a committee of the House the adage might be applied, Ne sutor ultra crepidam. Let them enforce with their approval the report of the physicians, and then let them proceed to remunerate that meritorious individual to whom society owed the utmost gratitude. He could not help thinking he had not yet received what was due for the expense and trouble the discovery had cost him.
Mr. Banks was of a sceptical turn. He wished the motion had been made earlier in the session, for then he should have supported the suggestion of Mr. Wilberforce. They wished to know whether Vaccination really did afford reasonable security from smallpox. It was not a question for medical men for which the House was incompetent. They were as capable of determining the point, and setting it clearly before the public, as the most learned body that ever existed. He wished too, since the motion would be carried, that the Royal College of Surgeons might be united with the Physicians in the production of the report. As for Dr. Jenner, if Vaccination were as efficacious as asserted, he might be left to find his reward in its practice.
Lord Henry Petty in summing up the debate expressed his satisfaction with the general approval extended to his motion. He did not think the House competent to form a judgment on Vaccination. They could not decide whether cowpox was genuine or spurious, or whether the affection resulting from its inoculation was regular or otherwise; nor could they determine whether eruptions that might break out after Vaccination were induced by the operation, or were due to other causes. Such delicate questions could only be solved by medical men. As for the proposal to annex the Royal College of Surgeons to that of the Physicians, it was superfluous. The College of Physicians would not only consult the Surgeons, but the Medical Colleges of Scotland and Ireland likewise. If the report should prove favourable, it would then be his duty to propose that remuneration be awarded to Dr. Jenner for his inestimable discovery.
The motion was then put from the Chair and agreed to unanimously.