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Disease amongst the soldiers in 1880 was slightly in excess of disease in 1879.
Nearly half this disease occurred in the three months of cold weather—January,
November, and December. This was due in great measure to the fact that in those
months the infantry were in camp at the rifle range at Harawah. Then the soldiers
wander far from Cantonments and contract a lage amount of disease from village
women.
The Medical Officer is of opinion that disease was contracted chiefly from unre-
gistered women, and urges the adoption of the recommendations of the Sub-Com-
mittee.
40. The Cantonment Committee remark that disease was very prevalent amongst
the soldiers during 1880, and agree with the Medical Officer that the extraordinary
disease of the three cold months was due to the fact that the soldiers shave access then
to villages beyond the control and supervision of the Cantonment Magistrate, although
within the area of lock hospital rules. Amongst the Artillery, who do not visit
Harawah, there was no excessive amount of disease. The peculiar situation of Benares
Cantonment, in close approximation to large centres of native population, makes the
prevention of illicit prostitution extremely difficult. It is useless to expect co-operation
from the soldiers in regard to this matter.
As many as 40 women removed their names from the register during the year,
which is proof that soldiers will not resort to registered women. Sanction has been
asked by the Officer Commanding the Station to the purchase of a street, and its use
as a brothel, as recommended by the Sub-Committee in December last.
41.The Magistrate and Collector thinks the report is but a further record of the
melancholy failure, acknowledged and bewailed year after year before ; always the
cause of this failure has been the intercourse of soldiers with unregistered women,
and so it remains.
The Magistrate thinks it disgraceful that more than half the European soldiers
at Benares should every year suffer from venereal disease, and energetic steps should
be taken to stop the evil.
All previous measures have failed. They may be described as attempts at extra
supervision of the women by the Cantonment Committee and the Civil and Police
authorities. And either the officers of the Committee and Departments have failed in
their duty, or they have been helpless to do anything in this direction. Without
doubt the failure has been due to the last-mentioned circumstance.
Situated as the Benares Cantonment is, only supervision of the European soldiers
can change the state of affairs, and this can be done only by the Military authorities.
Supervision of the women has failed, and now it is time that the Military authorities
took up the matter and put all possible pressure on the soldier.
The keeping up of a proper supply of presentable women will not alone have, the
desired effect.
The registered women must of course be sufficiently numerous, and of such class
and appearance as to leave no excuse to the soldier for resorting to unregistered
women. But the soldiers must be made to support the women, so that they may be
able to make a good living, and not be driven to accept the visits of natives. As a
commencement it is necessary to subsidize a proper number of women, and the
Magistrate sees no difficulty in this—a proper establishment of women being secured.
The rest remains in the hands of the Military authorities, who should insist on weekly
medical inspections of the soldiers, stoppage of pay during illness of a soldier who.
could not show that he had contracted disease from a registered woman, and com-
pel the soldier to point out the woman who had caused his disease.
A soldier who points out a woman unjustly should be severely punished. A
soldier who declared he did not know the woman from whom disease had been con-
tracted should be confined to barracks or otherwise punished.