§ Mr. KEIR HARDIEasked the Undersecretary of State for India, whether he is aware that, on page 49 of his Annual Report for 1910, the Sanitary Commissioner with the Government of India states that in some districts difficulty was experienced in obtaining the loan of calves for vaccination; whether he is aware that such difficulty is due to the religious objections entertained by the Hindus to the operation of vaccination, and the employment of what they regard as sacred animals for the cultivation of the vaccine virus; and will he say whether these calves are sold for the purposes of human food after having been used as vaccinigers, as in this country?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe Sanitary Commissioner's remark refers to two districts only in the Central Provinces, and is based on a statement made in the Vaccination Report of those provinces. It appears from that statement that the difficulty was not a religious one, that such difficulties seldom occur, and that when they occur the ground of objection is that the withdrawal of the calf may interfere with the milk supply. The superintendent of vaccination in the Central Provinces adds, as the result of his own experience in seven districts, that if on such occasions a small reward is given and concessions made there is no real opposition. The Secretary of State is not aware that the calves are sold for the purpose of food. It is believed that ordinarily they are returned to the owners.