8
ANNUAL REPORT ON THE
treated as others on the register. A Native Police Sergeant is attached to the hospital, who
serves notices on the women who attend weekly for inspection; their tickets are returned to
them filled up, if healthy; if not, they are detained in hospital, and when discharged are made
over to the Police. The detective agency consists of five constables and one European Chief
Constable, who, besides his ordinary duties, superintends the work of the constables. The
Assistant Superintendent of Police also details two European Chief Constables once a week
for the purpose of visiting all European soldiers admitted into hospital for venereal disease,
with the view of finding out from the men the prostitutes who diseased them.
Registration has been well carried out, though the number on the register is considerably
below that of last year; but this fact is mainly attributable to the departure from Bangalore
of a large number of famine-stricken women who were compelled by their necessities to
practise prostitution, and who, now that the famine is over, have returned to their villages.
The attendance of the women at the periodical examinations has been very regular with .
one exception—a woman who has been very long on the register. She is now in hospital and
will be sent to the Police on her recovery. The newly-registered women have been somewhat
irregular; 50 were reported for non-attendance to the Assistant Superintendent of Police; of
these 7 were warned, 6 imprisoned., and 5 under treatment will be taken before the Magistrate
when recovered; the remainder have absconded and have not been found by the Police.
The disease among the women has been of a mild character, the chancre usually yielding
to a few applications of caustic. Of the 639 admissions during the year, 113 were admitted for
non-venereal affections and 161 were detained for their monthly illness.
The present rules cannot work satisfactorily as long as the detective agency is continued
on so limited a scale.
Extracts from the Annual Medical Report of the Lock Hospital, Bellary,
by Surgeon-Major J. MATURIN.
Remained on the register on the 31st December 187
...
... 108
Registered during the year 1879
...
...
. . .
... .. . 52
Total ... 160
Number who removed their names, absconded and died ...
... 66
Do. remaining on the register on the 31st December 1879
... 94
Number of Sick.
Remained on the 31st December 1878
...
. . .
...
... 48
Admitted during the year 1879
1.6
...
...
...
... 343
Recovered
...
...
...
...
... ...
. . .
... 348
Absconded from the hospital ...
...
... ...
...
... 11
Died in hospital during the year
...
...
...
...
. . . 1
Remaining in hospital on the 31st December 1879 ...
... 31
Daily average number of sick
...
...
. . .
...
... 61.33
Average number of days in hospital ...
...
...
. . . ... 57'03
P.
Average cost of each patient in hospital
... . . .
...
RS8. A5.
Do.
do.
for contingencies
-...
...
2 5 11
The control of prostitution is under the Police; one Head Constable and three constables
are deputed for this special duty; a constable attends at the regimental hospitals daily, and
soldiers admitted for venereal diseases proceed with him and point out the woman from whom
they contracted the disease; the woman is then taken to the Lock Hospital, examined, and, if
found diseased, admitted for treatment; the women so pointed out have always been registered
prostitutes, and in the majority of cases were found free from disease; consequently I am of
opinion that the accuracy of soldiers' statements was to be doubted. The disease was also
frequently contracted from women among the rocks and not in any brothel. The regimental
authorities assist in preventing all prostitutes frequenting the lines.
I consider the registration has been inefficient; it only includes the 1st class, and extends
to a radius of four miles from the cantonment. The number registered during the year was
slightly more than the previous years being 52 against 47 in 1878 and 79 i.n 1877; the decrease in
the two past years has been attributed (and I think for the most part correctly) to the subsidence
of the famine; many women when advised on their discharge, after being a long time in hos-
pital, having told me they intended returning to their native villages, as they could now find
work and food. Sixty-seven non-registered prostitutes sought for and obtained admission; they
were mostly in an enfeebled and miserable state, their disease neglected, and unfit any longer to
carry on their trade; these alone were sufficient to account for all the disease among the troops,
although many of them stated that they came from distant villages for admission, but few of