5.24 
PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE. 
Mr. P. A. Taylor, in a speech of considerable humour, protested 
against “ grandmotherly legislation ” of this description, and pointed to 
the present unsettled condition of medical opinion in regard to the safety 
of using the ordinary humanised lymph, urging that it is inexpedient 
and unjust to enforce vaccination under penalties upon those who regard 
it as undesirable or dangerous. He complained of the “ conspiracy of 
silence ” on the part of the medical profession and the press, which kept 
the real facts of the case from being known, and ridiculed Dr. Cameron’s 
proposal as an attempt, parodying a well-known street-cry, to get “ new 
iymph from the cow.” He pointed out that the original cow-pox came 
not from a cow at all, but from a diseased horse, and asked why Dr. 
Cameron did not find out that horse, and thus get his matter from the 
fountain head. 
Considerable discussion followed, and in the course of it Mr. Dodson, 
on behalf of the Government, expressed his readiness to see the question 
silted and put upon its trial from time to time, and admitted that if it 
had to be done over again a good case would have to be made out before 
vaccination was made compulsory. But that had been already done, and 
under the circumstances he thought it would require stronger arguments 
than the opponents of the system had been able to adduce before Par¬ 
liament would permit the system to be overturned. As to the proposal 
of Dr. Cameron, however, he showed that recent experience had removed 
most, if not all, of the objections which used to be urged against the use 
of animal vaccine, and that being so, there was no wish on the part of 
the department to be a bar to any experiment which might be desired. 
Arrangements would, therefore, be made by which animal lymph, as well 
as humanished lymph, might he supplied as stock to those medical prac¬ 
titioners who might desire it, but care would have to be taken that the 
start was made from one well-established case of cow-pox. lie was also 
willing to lay down the rule in regard to prosecutions for the non-vacci¬ 
nation of children, that after the full penalty had been obtained in any 
such cases, no further prosecution should be allowed to be undertaken. 
Finally, he assured the House that there was no disposition in the de¬ 
partment to view with prejudice any fresh suggestion or information in 
connection with the subject which could be obtained either in our own 
country or from abroad. 
Mr. Sclater-Booth confessed the satisfaction with which he had heard 
Mr. Dodson’s statement, and hoped Dr. Cameron would be content with 
it, and Mr. Hibbert stated in reply, to a question, that a bill would be 
introduced to carry out the changes proposed by Mr. Dodson. 
Dr. Cameron’s motion was then negatived. 
ARMY APPOINTMENTS. 
War Office, 25£A May, 1880. 
12tii Lancers. —Veterinary-Surgeon F. Smith, from the Royal Artillery, to 
be Veterinary Surgeon vice Wilson, transferred to the Veterinary Department. 
8 th June, 1880. 
Veterinary Department. —Veterinary-Surgeon J. E. Elphick has retired 
on temporary half pay {May 2). The undermentioned gentlemen to be Vete¬ 
rinary Surgeons on probation :—Henry Thomas William Mann and George 
Richard Griffith. 
June 3rd. 
T. Caldecott, gent., to be Veterinary Surgeon on probation. 
June 22nd. 
Veterinary-Surgeon J. Hammond, R.A., to be Veterinary Surgeon First Class. 
