§ CAPTAIN NOLANasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, If he can inform the House how many cases of Small Pox have occurred since the 1st of October in the counties of Galway and Mayo; what has been the percentage of fatal results among those attacked; and, in what number of the cases which have 370 terminated in death had the sufferers been vaccinated, and in what number inoculated?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH, in reply, said, he was afraid he was not in possession of sufficient information to enable him to reply fully to the Question. As it referred to the practice of inoculation, which was illegal and would therefore be kept secret both by those who carried it on and by those who submitted their children to it, the cases would, of course, not come to the knowledge of the authorities, except in rare instances. He regretted that he had reason to believe this practice had to some extent been resorted to in that part of Ireland to which the hon. and gallant Member referred. A case had been lately detected and prosecuted to conviction, the defendant having been sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour. He trusted that conviction would have a salutary effect. As to the prevalence of small-pox in the two counties named, he had to say that the cases last year had been very few compared with those in previous years in which small-pox had extensively prevailed.