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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1035, 11 February 1882, Page 2

The English mail by the Ringarooina arrived yesterday afternoon. It will be gratifying to persons receiving correspondence by the mail to know that our obliging postmaster, Mr Shkimpton, has spared himself no inconvenience in having the mail, before distribution, thoroughly futniga’ed. Visitors to the Post Office with keen olfactory organs would have no hesitation in real zing the presence of sulphur in the precincts of the building. The s’ep taken by Mr Shrimptox is a judicious one. Without our attempting to be alarmists, the public cannot shut their eyes to the wide-spread prevalence of smallpox which has for a long time continued In Honolulu and parts of America the infection is raging, while for months past the telegraphic news to hand has apprised us of the fact that Sydney, Melbourne, besides other places have been visited by the epidemic. New Zealand has beett singtt larly fortunate, doubtless owing to tinpure atmosphere, and the absence of overcrowded centres of population, for having escaped the scourge in its dangerous form. The precautions taken by Mr Shrimpton will be satisfactory to the whole community. In ■he London Genera 1 Post Office and Telegraphic Office a number of cases of smallpox occurred through the germs of the disease having been brought over in the contents of the mail-bags, and transplanted on English soil. As an indication of the efficacy of vaccination as a preventative, in the London Post Office, where vaccination wacompulsory among the officials, no single instance of death occurred from smallpox, but many deaths happened among the opera’or.s in the Telegraphic Offices, whose apartments opened into the Post Office, and where the same regulations did not exist. We pointed out some time ago that the people in this district were altogether unheedful of the opportunities placed at their disposal for getting vaccinated.