Proceedings of the Council of the Governor of Bombay Assembled for the Purpose of Making Laws (Volume 18) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1880. Excerpt: ... The Bombay Act does, of course, contain the additional penalty of imprisonment, but even here I consider it objectionable. I therefore hope the Council will see the propriety of striking out the penalty of imprisonment from section 22. The Honourable the President: --In reference to the observations of the Honourable Morarjee Goculdass, I may mention that although it is true that the penalty provided in this 22nd section does not occur in the English Acts, yet from several proceedings at home I think it is not improbable that an addition may be made to the penalties in England by introducing a term of imprisonment. Several cases have lately occurred in which persons of considerable status and respectability have refused time after time to have their children vaccinated, and have been fined time after time, but with no effect. They simply pay the fine and take no notice of the vaccination officer. This section providing for imprisonment was expressly included in the Bombay Act to meet such cases, where gentlemen well-to-do, and with plenty of means, might have, what the law would consider, very wrong notions with regard to vaccination, and might persist in keeping their children from participating in the benefits derived from it. There might be cases where imprisonment--it is only simple imprisonment--would bring a person to his senses, who could not be brought to his senses by any amount of fines. Under those circumstances, it was considered advisable that provision should be made for imprisonment being enforced in extreme cases. It is not to be supposed that this penalty will be enforced under ordinary circumstances, or that ignorant persons and poor people, who do not bring their children to be vaccinated, will be sent to gaol, but this is a power given ..