§ MR. C. BILL (Staffordshire, Leek)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board when the Report of the Royal Commission on Vaccination is likely to be issued?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. HENRY CHAPLIN,) Lincolnshire, SleafordI can only say—as I have stated already, in reply to either two or three different questions—that I am informed that the Royal Commission on Vaccination are actively engaged in the consideration of their Report, and that they hope to be able to present it before long.
§ MR. C. J. DARLING (Deptford)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board, whether his attention has been called to the remarks of the Judge of Assize on the Oxford Circuit, in charging the Grand Jury of the County of Gloucester, to the effect that, the local authorities had been guilty of 1229 unjustifiable conduct in failing to enforce the laws in regard to vaccination; whether, in consequence of the prevalence of small-pox at Gloucester, the Assizes for Gloucestershire were, by direction of the Lord Chancellor, held at Cheltenham; and what steps will be taken by the Local Government Board to ensure the observance of the Law by local authorities?
§ MR. CHAPLINMy attention has been drawn to the observations of the Judge of Assize as to the non-enforcement of vaccination in the Gloucester Union, and I am aware of the fact that in consequence of the outbreak of smallpox the Assizes were held at Cheltenham instead of at Gloucester. I have been in communication with the Guardians of the Gloucester Union on the subject. It is admitted by them that there had been a failure on their part to enforce the provisions of the Vaccination Acts. Since the outbreak of small-pox occurred they have issued notices urging the parents of unvaccinated children to obtain their immediate vaccination. Special arrangements have been made for the attendance of the public vaccinators, and there have been more than 2,000 cases of primary vaccination and revaccination since the outbreak.