Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 98

1850.

Letter from B. J. Bettelheim.

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arrives, go aboard of her and return home. This is what I earnestly hope you will do.

"On the 14th of April, I received your letter in which you say, 'Should the ship [Preble] which left here yesterday, or should one or two other American ships be sent hither, the tsung-li kwán (the re- gent) should by no means conduct towards them as he did to the one on the previous day.' Now, when a foreign ship comes here, we treat her with propriety, and never exhibit the least contempt. When the American ship anchored, I sent the treasurer to salute her captain, and prepare the articles he wanted; how could we presume to neglect anything? I am therefore quite at a loss to know what you mean by your remark.

"On the 21st April, I received your letter in which you observe, 'All the children, who have not yet had the small-pox, should come to my house for vaccination.' I thereupon sent a high officer politely to decline the proposition. But afterwards, on the 24th, you wrote again to say, 'That when a man was vaccinated, the pox only appeared on a spot, and did not extend over the whole body, and therefore the disease could not spread among the people; and you sent a volume called Account of a New Mode of Vaccination.' I have before intimated to you that we are already well acquainted with the mode of curing the small-pox; but as this country is poor and its productions scanty, we must ascertain whether or not the year is an abundant one before we commence vaccination, inquire into the ages of the children, and

prepare a store of medicines and provisions, after which we will get pox scabs from China, and distribute them in the land, and require all the children to be vaccinated at the same time. This is our usual practice. But just now, I think it is too early in the year to vaccinate, and the store of medicines is not ready. Furthermore, since 1844, on account of English, French, and American ships com- ing here one after another, every class of people, officers and plebeians, have been obliged to stop at Napa, and attend to the public service, even to the detriment of their own public functions and private busi- ness. And you, Sir, too, by loitering here, have much increased our troublesome public duties, and now the whole kingdomt is greatly im

My stock of medicines is at their service, if they need any. Last year the officers sent cows to me to be examined whether any vaccine virus could be obtained from them, so sensible had they become to the importance of vaccina- tion from my repeated representations on the subject. This year some virus was received by the Preble.

↑ That is, really the rulers.

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