19 
the improvements of modern experience, 
are not inconfiderable ; it is fated by cne 
of the witvefles at about one in every 300 
throughout England (No. 35) ; “by an- 
other, as about ene in every 1090 in Lon- 
don (Noe 38) 3 while the lofs in’ the na- 
tural {mall pox is probably nor Jefs than 
one in fix (No. 37) ; nor ought it to be 
overlooked, that miftakes have been 
known to arife in the inoculated {mall pox, 
and inftances are cited by fome of the wit- 
neffes, in which perfons fuppofed to have 
gone through the {mail pex by inoculation, 
have caught it afterwards in the natural 
way (Nos. 21 and 41) ; the general liws 
of vaccine and variclous difeafe are ex- 
tremely fimilar, and it is not furprifing 
that they fhould refemble each other in 
their anomalies. 
A fpurious or tmoerfe& fort of Cow 
Pox having been mentioned in fome of the 
examinations, Your Committee have been 
particula:ly diligent in their inquiries into 
every individual cafe that came within 
their notice, where fufpicions had arifen 
or facts werealleged, ten ing to bring in- 
to doubt the preventive power of Vaccine 
Incculaticn ; and although, for the rea- 
fons betere given, they have reftricted and 
abridged the proofs in favour of this prac- 
tice, they have thought proper to with- 
hold no part of the evidence that has been 
received relative to tne cafes that appear 
to controvert it ; of which it will be ob- 
ferved that fome (Appendix; Nos. 31, 32, 
ang 33) evidently refolve themfelves into 
variolous infection, taken previcufly to the 
vaccine inoculation ; others (Appendix, 
‘Nos. 33, and 40) into the patient not 
‘having taken the cow-pox at all; others 
again (No. 2<) from the vaecine matter 
being, by want of attention in preferving 
it, dccompoled, or mixed with variolous 
matter, or fiom: the fluid be:ng taken at 
too late a period of the puftule ; to which 
laft caufe it feems probable thit moft of 
the errors and dubious cafes are to be re- 
ferred (No. 20.) A!l the pradtitioners 
‘agree, that there is no difficuity in diltin- 
guifing the real dilorder trom any {pu- 
Fious or imperfect appearance; and that 
the regular progre!s of the puftule itfelf, 
if attended to, cannot be mitiaken. 
The cafes (Nos. 45, 46, 47, 43, and 
49) ae vot explained by any particular 
eviderce appiied to them in a fatistaGtory 
manner: but in leaving them to have fuch 
weisht a3 they may appear to deferve ; 
Your Committee cannot avoid recurring 
to the multitude of inftances in which en- 
deavours have been ufed to communicate 
the fisall-pox to patienis who have been 
Report of the Committee on Dr. Fenner’s Petition. [Aug. T, 
known to go through the regular vaccine 
difeafe, in which neither repeated inocu- 
lations, nor expofure to the moft malig 
nant {mail-pox, bave been able to produce. 
any effect; Appendix (Nos. 6, 9, 16, 
36.) 
_ Upon the fecond head, the whole of the 
oral depofiions, as well as all the writtey 
documents from abroad, are uniform and 
decifive in favour of Dr. Jenner’s claim to 
originality in the difcovery : but as fome 
pretenfions have been advanced to a know- 
ledge at leaft of this practice before Dr. 
Dr. Jenner's publications, it may be pro- 
per to notice thortly what the naure of 
thofe claims is, and in what manner they 
bear upen this part of the petitioner's 
cafe. The extraéts which can be conli- 
dered as in any degree material, are con- 
tained in Ap; endix, (Nos. 50, 51, and 
52.) The diforder itfelf, and its fpecific 
property of fecuring againft fmall pox m- 
feftion, was not a dilcovery of Dr. Jen- 
ner’s, nor of any of thofe whofe writings 
are referred to: for in various parts of 
England, in Gloucefterihire and Devon- 
fhire particularly, there was an opinion of 
that fort current among the common peo- 
ple employed in Dairies, which the obfer- 
vations of inoculaters for the fmall pox 
tended to confirm. Ft appears not impro- 
bable, that in fome very rare initances this 
knowledge was carried one ftep farther, 
and that the cow pox was communicated 
either by handling the teat, or by inecu- 
lation from the animal for the purpole, 
and with the intention of fecuring againft 
the danger of fmall pox : but the practice 
of which Dr. Jenner afferts himfelf to be 
the original inventor, is, the moculation 
from one buman being to another, and the 
mode of transferring, indefinitely, the vac- 
cine matter, without any diminution of its 
fpecific power, to which it does not appear 
that any perfon has ever alleged a tile: 
and the papers and experiments, whatever 
accurscy of obfervation, and Spirit of re- 
fearch, they may evince ia their refpective 
authers, and to whatever extent they may 
be fuppofed to go, as they were never given 
to the public, fo neither is there any in- 
timation that they were impatted to Dr. 
fenner 5 nor is it contended that the world 
became acquainted with this dileovery, by 
any other means than by the courfe of tri- 
als conducted by the Petitioner, and by 
his ample and unreferved communica- 
tions. , 
Upon the laft divifion of the fubje&t, the 
evidence of feveral perfons has been re- - 
ceived who were acquainted with the me- 
dical praQtice, and foimer fituation of Dr. 
a Jenner, 
