6
ANNUAL REPORT ON THE
—evidently totally inefficient registration. The Medical Officer in charge of the
Lock Hospital, referring to registration, remarks : " These women belong to the
very lowest order of the people, are emaciated, broken-down and repulsive-looking.
When registered the woman is generally diseased, and having no money to bribe
the policeman and no grounds to refute his statements, is, registered and brought to
hospital, where she stays more for the sake of food and clothing than for treatment.
Is it at all likely that the soldier will go with a feeble, repulsive-looking woman
when he can get any number of good-looking unregistered prostitutes in the
bazaar ?" The prevalence of venereal at Bellary ceases to be a matter of surprise
after reading these remarks of the Medical Officer.
13. Cannanore.—The admissions for venereal amongst European troops during
the year 1884 were more than double those of the preceding year, the numbers
being for 1883, 83 admissions, and for 1884, 178. This enormous increase cannot
be satisfactorily explained, but there was a coincident increase in admissions into
Lock Hospitals during the past three years-1882, 1883 and 1884—the admissions
being for these periods 271, 311 and 408 respectively.
14. Kamptee.—The ratio of admissions for venereal among the troops in this
station rose from 164·85 in 1883 to 240 .83 in 1884 ; the increase is attributed
to " defective registration." It is stated that only the very lowest and poorest
women are registered, and they inadequately represent the extent of prostitution
practised in the station.
15. St. Thomas' Mount.—At this station also there was a slight increase in
the admissions of European troops for venereal during the past year, the figures
being 56 for 1883 and 65 for 1884. At the same time there was a marked decrease
in the admissions of registered prostitutes for venereal, the figures being 337 in
1883 and. only 204 in 1884. The prevalence of venereal amongst European troops
at this station is ascribed as usual to " inefficient registration."
16. Secunderabad.—There was a considerable decrease of registered women
during the past year. On 31st December 1883 there were 363 women on the
register, and on 31st December 1884 306, showing a decrease of 57. The average
daily sick in the Lock Hospital amounted to 66 .29. 1,033 women were found
diseased at the weekly inspection in 1884 compared with 902 of the preceding year.
There was a remarkable fall in admissions of European troops for primary syphilis
from 320 in 1883 to 133 in 1884 ; during the same periods gonorrhœa rose from
254 to 342. The ratio of admissions for venereal amongst European troops per
1,000 of strength was for 1883 276 .03 and in 1884 253 . 14, showing a slight
decrease.
17. Wellington.—The rate of admissions for venereal amongst European
troops at this station shows a very large increase during the year 1884 compared
with the preceding year, the figures being for 1883 252 . 89 and for 1884 330·32.
There has been a steady increase in admissions for primary syphilis amongst
European troops in 1882, 1883 and 1844, the admissions being 47, 79, and 92
respectively, the average strength of troops for these three years being 555,
605 and 554 respectively. The number of women on the register on the last day
of the year 1884 was 31. The number of admissions into the Lock Hospital for
the year 1883 were—primary syphilis 11, gonorrhœa 74 ; and for 1884, primary
syphilis 29, gonorrhœa 138, an increase of 82 admissions for these two classes of
venereal diseases during the past year.
18. General Remarks.—The successful working of the Lock Hospital system
depends entirely on efficient registration and consequent suppression of illicit
prostitution. On the powers given and exercised with intelligence and vigilance
by the police efficient registration depends. In this country the police cannot be
entrusted with the powers necessary to command success, and the whole system on
which Lock Hospitals are based collapses. Alongside registered prostitutes unregis-
tered prostitutes ply their trade with great success. The unregistered women are
found on the borders of cantonment limits, on roads frequented by soldiers in their
evening walks, and in all haunts of the British soldier except in cantonment
bazaars, the only place where the registered prostitutes find no competitors.