( 21 )
Also a certain number of women in every year are admitted to hospital and found unfit
for registration after cure. The reports and returns do not furnish exact information
as to the number of newly-registered women found diseased and treated prior to
registration, or the number of women treated who are not afterwards registered. But
assuming that they numbered 500 in all in 1880, it follows that 1,384 cases of con-
tagious disease occurred amongst the women on the register. And without doubt
this is a very serious amount of disease to have to acknowledge to in the persons of
the women who are expected, by the scheme, to provide with safety for the soldier's
wants.
87. The cause of this great amount of disease is not far to seek. It comes from
soldiers who have contracted it from unregistered women, and it comes from native
men, whose visits the registered women receive as a means ofl ivelihood whenever the
soldiers neglect them (paras. 7, 12, 39, 44, and others).
88. Disease amongst the soldiers has been rather more in 1880 than in 1879.
The very unfavourable results at Fatehgarh, where a hospital was newly opened during
the year, has caused this unfavourable result (table IV.)
Deducting the figures for Fatehgarh, which are eloquent in proof of the necessity
of lock hospital management there—and the disease of 1880 will be found to have
been little less than in 1879, in the station of well-established lock hospital manage-
ment—the calculation shows that for these stations the ratio was 255.3 cases per 1,000
of strength in 1880 for comparison with the ratio, 278.2, before lock hospitals were
established—not a very favourable result. That it is not more favourable is due
chiefly to the fact that extraordinarily unfavourable results have attended the endea-
vour during the past year in the following stations :—
Stations.
Ratio in 1880.
Ratio before lock hos -
pital was opened.
B enares
...
...
... ...
485.6
373.0
Moradabad
...
...
...
. . .
445.3
300.0
Muttra
...
...
. . .
378.3
216.0
Shájáhánpur
...
...
...
. . .
344.7
361.0
Fatehgarh
...
...
...
. . .
616.8
...
89. From Benares this unfavourable result is reported to have been due to the
facts that the registered women, who lived scattered in the bazaar, received the visits of
native men; and that the soldiers, especially when in camp at rifle exercise, wandered
far to visit village women (paras. 32, 40, 41).
From Moradabad the report is that excessive disease has happened because the
soldiers have visited registered and unregistered woman alike (para. 44).
Muttra had only 37 soldiers during the year; therefore, apparently, no reason
is given for the appearance of 14 cases of venereal disease amongst them.
From Sháhjáhánpur the cause reported is the arrival of 51 diseased soldiers from
Dum Dum, brought with a marching regiment ; and the partiality of soldiers for
unregistered women (para. 49).
From Fatehgarh the report comes that the excessive disease has undoubtedly been
contracted from prowling women who are not registered (para. 79).
90. The cause of failure, then, is plain. And, in fact, at these stations of failure
there has been very little real protection for the soldier against disease than
would have existed if the lock hospitals had been non-existent. In that aspect of
requirement the endeavour in these stations has been almost useless.
Numerous women have been examined and cured of disease—the redeeming
feature of the undertaking. But this has been chiefly for the benefit of native men
of the general population, because the soldiers do not and cannot apparently be made
to like and support the registered women.
6L