The tryal of Mr. Daniel Sutton, for the high crime of preserving the lives of His Majesty's liege subjects, by means of inoculation

A courtroom transcript depicts the arraignment and trial of a practitioner indicted for preserving lives through inoculation and secret remedies. Prosecutors call witnesses who attest to large numbers inoculated without fatalities, describe a minute puncture method, and outline a preparatory regimen forbidding certain foods, purging, and a powdered medicine said to contain mercury that mitigates fever and pustules. Defense counsel questions the reliability of the practitioner’s records and the witnesses’ motives. The proceedings alternate legal argument, medical testimony, and demonstrations of contested techniques and remedies.