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60th Rifles or of the Artillery. Although a daily average of seven military police were
employed in the former, and one permanent and seven periodically employed police in
the latter. Soldiers have given no information leading to the apprehension of the women
from whom they contracted disease. No registered woman has been willing to give
information as to the source of her disease, and this, it is believed, through fear of the
results of informing against Europeans who support these women.
The unregistered women on the contrary, when found diseased, readily gave the
information required, and there is no doubt that 20 cases of syphilis, which occurred
amongst the soldiers in April, were due to intercourse with a gang of such women.
The registered women have been regular in their attendance for examination.
In the cantonment the women were examined once a Week, in the city once a fortnight.
Disease, as a whole, amongst the women diminished, from 303 cases in 1878 to 262
in 1879. But the cases of syphilis were 115 in 1879 against 94 in 1818.
The cause of all this disease is obscure, but it is likely that the disease may have
been conveyed to the women by natives as well as Europeans. The medical officer
thinks that although the results of lock hospital working has lately been unsatisfac
tory and disheartening, yet the scheme could not be abandoned without the certainty
of enormous increase and severity of disease amongst the soldiers.
The cause of recent failure, as regards good results, has been the shameless con
duct of crowds of destitute women, so poor as to court sexual intercourse with a sol
dier for a reward of two and four pice. The medical officer thinks it difficult to devise
a check for prostitution so cheaply sold, but is of opinion that the occupiers of land
where a diseased woman is found ought to be punished, as they would be for harbour
ing a dangerous animal there. The regimental police or soldiers give no help
towards the detection and arrest of these women. And the native police alone are
unable to effect it, or are willing to forego the arrest when effected for two annas.
To counteract this custom rewards might be offered for the arrests.
Further experience has shown conclusively that nearly all the venereal disease
contracted from unlicensed women by soldiers is contracted when the soldier is drunk,
and, therefore, the medical officer favours the punishment of the diseased soldier by
stoppage of his pay while sick, and the subsequent making up of duties escaped
during the time of sickness.
The papers contain no record of opinion or remark by the Cantonment Committee.
18. The Magistrate thinks all that can be said is that the record is an improve
ment on that of last year. The Artillery appear to have been most troubled by disease.
The diminution of disease as the year advanced, and the prospects of the agricultural
classes improved, would seem to support the view that the impoverishment of the
people may have helped to swell the venereal returns. The regimental police have
been useless for the purpose of arresting unlicensed women. The arrest of such
women as a fixed duty of the ordinary police cannot be recommended as tending to
demoralize the force. Occasional action of the police is advisable, and would be more
effective if rewards for arrests were authorised.
The medical officers complain that women infest the vicinity of the soldiers
lines points to a faulty regimental police. The Magistrate supposes that under the
short service system these police are young soldiers, whereas the duties of regimental
police are best performed by soldiers of mature age. Indeed the general youth of the
soldier now, and the comparative fewness of married soldiers, probably accounts for
much of the prevalent venereal disease. With reference to the medical officer's re
mark that the sub-committee assembled whenever specially required to do so, the
Magistrate remarks that at one time of the year the meetings were regularly held.
That their regularity depends on the action of the Cantonment Magistrate. It may
seem ridiculous to call meetings without special object, still the Magistrate thinks
that when the meetings are irregular, the supervision of the work becomes slack.
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