Mr. MELLONasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether it is true that vaccine lymph is sup-plied gratuitously to registered medical practitioners in Great Britain by the 1590 medical officer of the Privy Council; whether it is true that until recently lymph was also supplied gratuitously to registered medical practitioners in Ireland, but that now all applications are refused and applicants referred to the Cow Pock Institution, where lymph can only be acquired by purchase; whether the attention of the Government has been called to the fact that since this change the mortality from small-pox has been much increased; and, whether there is any objection to allow the Irish Medical Practitioners the same facility for obtaining vaccine lymph as is enjoyed by their English and Scotch brethren?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHSir, it is true that vaccine lymph is supplied gratuitously to registered medical practitioners in Great Britain by the medical officer of the Local Government. Board. It was also supplied gratuitously in the same way to registered medical practitioners in Ireland until August, 1871; but the main source had supply had been the Dublin Cow Pock Institution, which received an annual grant of £400 for Ireland alone, and supplemented this fund by the sale of the lymph to persons applying for it and by getting subscriptions from unions and dispensary districts. Since January. 1864, when the Compulsory Vaccination Act came into operation, the medical officers of dispensaries, who are the public vaccinators throughout Ireland, have for the most part derived their supplies from other sources—that is to say, they have vaccinated, as far as practicable, from arm to arm, and have stored lymph for future use in Husband's capillary tubes, which are provided for them by the guardians. So that Ireland was not to any great extent dependent on London for a supply of vaccine lymph when the gratuitous supply was withdrawn by the Privy Council in 1871. It is true that an epidemic of small-pox prevailed to a considerable extent at that time, but although it increased subsequently, yet it decreased in 1873 to the extent of one-sixth of the cases of the previous year, and it is still decreasing. I will, however, undertake carefully to consider whether it is possible to allow Irish medical practitioners the same facilities for obtaining a gratuitous supply of vaccine lymph as are enjoyed in England.