than the abolition of compulsory vaccination would be; and he had always held that it was to the highest credit of the medical profession that they had supported compulsory vaccination-the side which was entirely against their own interest. Therefore he included them, if anywhere, under the heading of ignorant persons. There were two kinds of ignorance:-simple ignorance, which was the ignorance of the person who did not know the facts of the case, and who was aware that he did not know them. That was simple ignorance, like the ignorance for instance of a labourer on a farm, who knew nothing about chemical analysis and who knew that he was ignorant of it. Then there was compound ignorance, which was the ignorance of a person who was ignorant of the subject, or of the true conclusions to be drawn from the facts, and was unaware of the fact that he was so ignorant. The opponents of vaccination were the possessors of that kind of ignorance. They were for the most part ignorant of the main facts and of the true conclusions drawn from these facts by the general body of the profession, and they ignored the fact that they were ignorant. That was their fault. But he would say still that there were a certain number of gentlemen who were exceedingly able men, men high up in the profession, certainly very able men, and men who had written very important treatises on this and other subjects who were ignorant; and they were ignorant for the following reason-they were unable to deduce from the facts the only conclusion warranted by those facts, and the reason was this: that there were two kinds of methods of argument, deductive and inductive: compulsory vaccination was supported by the most powerful inductive argument that had ever been brought to bear upon any fact known to the medical profession. It was acknowledged by the medical profession and by the governments throughout the civilised world. There were a certain number of minds, and some in the medical profession, that were incapable of appreciating the force of inductive argument. They must have everything shown by deductive arguments, and those eminent gentlemen to whom he referred were in that predicament. They were totally unable to appreciate the force of the most powerful inductive argument that had ever been brought to bear upon any fact in the history of medicine. They were therefore incapable of drawing the true conclusion from the facts they had studied, and must therefore remain in the ranks of the ignorant. The resolution was agreed to. On "Some of the Vital and Mortal Statistics of Dublin," by SIR CHARLES A. CAMERON, Superintendent Medical Öfficer of Health, Dublin. THE mean death-rate of the Irish towns is decidedly greater than that of the English towns. On the other hand the rural death-rate in Ireland is below that of England. Dublin formerly had general and zymotic death-rates considerably above those of the other Irish towns, taken together. Lately, however, the Dublin death-rate from all causes has almost completely come down to that of the Irish towns, whilst its zymotic death-rate has fallen below that of the other towns. Some years ago the state of public health in Dublin was very bad, but it has improved considerably during the last decade. A few figures will show how great the improvement Thus it will be seen that whilst there has been a substantial reduction in the general death-rate, the mortality caused by the principal zymotic diseases has been reduced more than one-half in the five years ended in 1895, as compared with the semidecade 1875-80. The Dublin death-rate is still decidedly higher than that of the English towns, but as regards the zymotic death-rate Dublin now shews a slight superiority. Thus the rate in the thirty-three largest towns* in the five years ended in 1895, was 2.7 per 1000, whilst in Dublin it was 2.3. In the first half of 1896, the zymotic death-rate in the thirty-three largest English towns was 2.8, and in Dublin only 1.2. The decline in the zymotic death-rate in Dublin is very much greater than in the English towns. As will be seen by the following figures :-Periods 1876-80, 3-8, 1881-85, 3.3, 1886-90, 2.9, 1891-95, 2.3. First half of 1896, 2.8. * I have recalculated the rates, between 1882-1891, on the basis of actual population ascertained by the census of 1891, the figures annually published in that period being based on estimates of population. Zymotic Death-rate, Five Years ended 1895. Death-rate in Dublin (whole area) during Five Years ended Death-rate in Belfast during Five Years ended 1895. The infantile death-rate was formerly very high in Dublin, but for some years past it has differed but little from the mean rate in the great English towns as regards the relation between the deaths and births. The ratio of deaths of children under one year of age to deaths of persons of all ages is, however, very different in the English towns as compared with Dublin. Death-rate of Children under One Year of Age in 1894 and 1895. Without claiming that the great reduction in the Dublin zymotic death-rate is chiefly due to the sanitary reforms which have been carried out during the last sixteen years, it seems only reasonable to infer that these reforms have to some extent contributed to bring about that happy state of things. The chief improvements effected in Dublin during the time referred to are as follows:-Two extensive insanitary areas have been cleared, and nearly 2,000 insanitary dwellings have been closed. The scavenging of the yards and sanitary accommodation of the tenement houses has been established. The domestic scavenging clause of the Public Health Act has been put in force. Two open spaces have been formed, and contributions towards three open spaces not in charge of the corporation have been made. An abattoir and baths and wash-houses have been erected. Large sums have been expended in improving the roads, paths, and sewers. There has been a large increase made in the sanitary staff, and the inspection of tenements, factories, and workshops, is now vigorously carried on. Loans amounting to £136,000 have been or are being expended in the erection of artisans' dwellings. Disinfection is free to everyone. The best forms of ambulances for the conveyance of fever patients to hospital have been adopted. A great scheme of main drainage will soon be in use and will be probably the last great sanitary reform needed, with the exception of improved hospital accommodation for fever patients. Dublin is by no means a rich city, but has expended the following large amounts on sanitary improvements: SANITARY LOANS ACCOUNT, PUBLIC HEALTH (IRELAND) Аст, 1878. Statement of loans sanctioned or inquired into to 30th June, 1896: Erection of Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings 141,296 0 0 Sewer Works ... ... ... ... 44,900 0 0 Pumping Stations (pumping up sewage to prevent undue accumulation of sewage in sewers) Construction of Abattoir ... ... 157,700 0 0 9,500 0 0 Urinals, Latrines and Underground Conve Open Spaces ... Erection of Baths and Wash-houses Structural Alterations at Disinfecting House Erection of Refuge for persons whose dwellings are being disinfected Mortuary ... ... 12,500 0 0 £497,107 1 7 Average Annual Cost of Sanitary Department, £4,533 3s. 4d. Large sums have also been expended on Improved Paving (£345,305), Erection of Sanitary Offices, &c., Improved Markets, &c. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECTION (Professor Corfield) said the Section was very much indebted to Sir Charles Cameron for his exceedingly interesting paper, and would congratulate him on the excellent results produced in the health of the city of Dublin by his work for the past twenty-nine years, during which time he had been the Medical Officer of Health. The paper was a paper of statistics, and he remembered that an eminent countryman of Sir Charles Cameron's said in his hearing, on a certain occasion, that he always looked upon statistics with some amount of suspicion; he thought they were like sausages, because "you ought to know the young woman that made them." They knew who made these statistics and so they knew that they were correct, and they would congratulate Sir Charles Cameron upon them. Sir CHARLES CAMERON, in answer to a question, said that the death rate in Dublin was calculated in the usual way-the number of deaths per thousand of the people; and the deaths in institutions of persons remitted from country districts were eliminated. The calculation is made on a population of 349,000. Dr. CHARLES PORTER (Stockport) asked Sir Charles Cameron how the question of the disposal of excrement had been met. Sir CHARLES CAMERON replied that as soon as he got the power into his hands he at once tried to get rid of every permanent storehouse of excreta in the city. He went in for the water carriage of filth, and now almost every tenemented house in Dublin had that method of sewage removal. |