Marylebone Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League

“ Small-pox had only originated once in the history of the world, and if they could only once stamp it out, it might never recur. His attention had been called to some figures which he had omitted to notice in regard to Sweden, where the mortality which was so strikingly reduced after the introduction of vaccination, that in one year there were only two deaths, again rose by degrees till it reached 2,000. This was owing to the carelessness of the people, who thought the disease had gone altogether, and neglected the continuance of vaccination. ”

“ Watt, of Glasgow, a child had a better chance of reaching its tenth year in the last eighteen years of the last century when small-pox formed 20 per cent. of the whole mortality than it has now, when small-pox mortality is only two per cent.
No one disputes that small-pox is less prevalent now than it was a century ago, but what gain is there? Dr. Farr says, “it is useless to bar the door against one form of zymotic disease, as small-pox by vaccination, while the causes of zymotic disease are suffered to remain.” ”

“ As an individual he was open to conviction, if any gentleman present could prove he was in the wrong, but as far as he at present saw, he should as much expect to see the sun shining in the middle of the night, as to be convinced of the utility of vaccination. ”

“ Jenner for pressing so forcibly upon public notice the system of vaccination, although no doubt he did not discover it. If vaccination did not preserve persons absolutely, neither did a previous attack of small-pox, for he knew a case of a woman who had it seven times, and died from the last attack. A strong point had been made by the other side on the statement that there had been a great increase in the number of deaths registered from chest diseases since the introduction of vaccination. ”

“ Lankester intentionally suppressed the truth, to save his professional brother, but I do say, that it is highly dangerous to the community, to have a medical coroner, whose leanings in favor of his profession may lead him into partial verdicts. The duty of a coroner is to hear evidence, and direct the jury as to the law, not to give opinions with a professional bias. Compulsory vaccination may be defined to be manslaughter by Act of Parliament.
So much for one disease, Erysipelas. Let us now come to another frightfully increasing disease of infant life, Diarrhœa. ”

“ Have we not proof? Appeals have been made to-night to the statistics of the Small-pox Hospital, drawn up by Mr. Marson, its surgeon, in which he very ingeniously makes it appear, that although 84 of every hundred cases are found to have been vaccinated, the disease small-pox is modified by vaccination—this is a new tangled dodge. p. 14Mr. Marson tells us that the mortality in the “unprotected” is 34 or 35 per cent., that in modified cases it varied from 24 down to 7 per cent., and that these modified cases were among the vaccinated. ”

“ Now the celebrated John Hunter, the great Anatomist and Physiologist said, “Any extraneous substance introduced into the blood modifies the vitalized or living fluid. The introduction of animal products from another living body, be it a man, a cow, or even the ass, is infinitely more pernicious because allied to it, being vitalized.” ”

“ Seaton, whose cooked statistics they have quoted to-night; the paper to which I have before alluded, presented to the Lords of the Privy Council in the 12th report of Mr. Simon, and at page 188, they will find the following passage:—
“Striking exemplification of the danger of confiding in animal vaccination during an outbreak of small-pox has been given during the present epidemic in Paris, no doubt a large share of the unsuccess which has notoriously attended the practice, has been due to the hurry, and other unfavorable conditions under which it has been carried on. ”

“ This frightful mortality of infants is the direct consequence of vaccination; a natural result; indeed, Jenner tells us that, that vaccination is alone protective, which is attended by erysipelas; while the spontaneous cow-pox, which is unattended by erysipelas, is not protective. Yet when children die of erysipelas following vaccination, the deaths are certified “death from erysipelas,” while the truth is concealed. The death should be certified properly, DEATH FROM VACCINATION. But when an inquest is held in this parish, under the coronership of Dr. Lankester, on a child of Mr. ”

“ The official return showed the following:—Number of deaths among the unvaccinated, 35 per cent.; vaccinated with one vaccine cicatrice, 7; with two cicatrices, 4; with three, 1; with four, 5–10ths. Well-marked, 2; badly-marked, 18; those who had previously had small-pox, 19. This last average showed that the vaccine was a better preventative than small-pox itself. Dr. Seaton, medical officer of the Privy Council, had published a return showing the annual death-rate in England and Wales. The death-rate per million of population during the 30 years previous to vaccination was 3,000. ”

“ Another passage, page 178, shows that diarrhœa is an accompaniment of the process; “the health of the calf, however, affects the character of the eruption, for it has been observed that when diarrhœa happens in the course of its evolution, the pustules, although they rise as in the healthy calf, are smaller in size, and less full.” ”

“ Thompson (of the Brompton Hospital) sent up then cards.
Mr. Snell, on rising, said that the meeting was, no doubt, acquainted with the account of Do-the-boys Hall, in p. 5one of the works of the late Charles Dickens, in which an amusing description is given of the weekly administration of brimstone and treacle. The boy had to open his mouth and nolens volens, receive therein and swallow the spoonful. Now, said the speaker, we Englishmen are in a somewhat similar position; it is true we are not commanded to open our mouths, but our veins, to receive the poison of a diseased brute. ”

“ So, when a fearful epidemic had just left a place the number of deaths for some time afterwards was much smaller than at any other time during a long period of health. The p. 9reason of this was that nearly all the weak had been killed. ”

“ Mr. Gibbs said, that the League would be satisfied with nothing less than a full investigation of the Medical Trades Unions. He then adverted to the case of the Rev. H. J. Allen, who had appealed to the Court of Queen’s Bench against a second conviction, which conviction had been upheld by the Court, and Mr. ”

“ Hence the average mortality is swelled to 11,944. So much for the first division.
The third division is supposed to prove that the decrease of the mortality from small-pox is due to compulsory vaccination. It must be remembered however, that in the second division there are three epidemic visitations included, while in the third division there is only one. Moreover, if the years 1862–3–4–5, be added, the average annual deaths for the period 1862–65 amount to 5,421, thus—
Dr. ”