§ MR. CORRIE GRANT (Warwickshire, Rugby)To ask the President of the Local Government Board how many 820 certificates of exemption from vaccination have been granted since the Act of 1898 came into force up to the present time (or up to the date of the latest Return), and whether any of the children so exempted, and, if so, how many, have been attacked by smallpox; and whether any, and, if so, how many, have died from that disease.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) The Returns as to the number of certificates of conscientious objection to vaccination received by the vaccination officers in the year 1903 are not quite complete, but the total number received since the passing of The Vaccination Act, 1898, may be taken as approximately 387,000. By far the largest number were given between the passing of the Act and the end of the year 1898, viz., 203,413. This was due to the fact that certificates could be obtained during the four months after the passing of the Act in respect of all children born prior to that date, whilst in respect of children born after that date the certificate must be obtained within four months from the birth of the child. I have no means of ascertaining how many of the exempted children have been attacked by smallpox, but several such cases have been reported to me.