A Statement of Facts Tending to Establish an Estimate of the True Value and Present State of Vaccination

The author examines the adoption of vaccination against smallpox, presenting comparative mortality statistics drawn from bills of mortality across four fifteen-year intervals to assess effects of inoculation and vaccination. He argues that inoculation tended to increase smallpox deaths proportionally while vaccination markedly reduced them, and notes vaccination's low risk and occasional nonspecific protective effects. The essay discusses limitations in the available mortality records, demographic shifts that affect interpretation, and urges careful statistical evaluation to clarify vaccination's public-health value.