Vaccination a Delusion: Its Penal Enforcement a Crime

Written in the late 19th century, this pamphlet launches a forceful campaign to overturn England’s compulsory vaccination laws. Drawing heavily on the Royal Commission’s own reports, the author assembles tables, quotations, and footnotes so readers can verify each claim themselves. The work frames the issue as a matter of personal liberty, public health, and governmental responsibility.

The author argues that vaccination offers no real benefit, citing mortality statistics from small‑pox and other infectious diseases, and suggests that improved sanitation alone could eradicate them. Throughout, a blend of moral appeal and data‑driven critique seeks to convince legislators and citizens alike to demand immediate repeal of the law. Its polemical style, dense with period statistics and legal references, reveals the anxieties of a society wrestling with new scientific ideas. For listeners, the text offers a window into the Victorian era’s heated debate over medicine, state power, and individual rights.