( 4 )
its working as a whole ; and he points out that, in addition to the
control of the registered women, two chief points in the lock hospital
scheme, if it is to be successful, are the reasonable control of the soldiers,
and the management of the unregistered women with whom they consort.
7. The essentials then to the better prevention of disease amongst
soldiers seem to be—(1) to secure an attractive class of registered women
in sufficient numbers; (2) to secure that soldiers shall have intercourse
with registered women only, and not with unregistered women. These
measures would probably re-act upon each other. But both of them are
exceedingly difficult to deal with. In regard to the first of them, it is out
of the question that direct steps should be taken to secure for the use of
the soldiers an attractive body of prostitutes ; and all that can be done
is apparently to hold out inducements in the shape of free quarters to
registered women who settle in or near cantonments. It is in the enforce-
ment of the second measure that hope for the improvement of the lock
hospital scheme as at present worked chiefly lies ; and little can be added
on this head to what was said in paragraphs 8 and 12 of the review of
last year's lock hospital report. In the former paragraph it was mentioned
as worthy of remark that disease at several stations, when it had become
unusually prevalent, had been greatly checked by the adoption of vigorous
measures on the part of Commanding Officers, and the attentive consider-
ation of the military authorities was invited to the Sanitary Commissioner's
comments on this in paragraphs 106-107 of his report. The remarks in
paragraph 12 may be quoted in extenso :—"It is certain that any
amount of pressure which can be brought to bear on the women, or amount
of attention paid to the detection and cure of disease in those that are
registered, in a word the keeping up of lock hospitals in a state of utmost
efficiency, will not alone suffice, so long as measures cannot be devised
to prevent the soldier from promiscuous intercourse with any woman
he may find willing to invite or to accept his offers. The true remedy
would seem to be to hold Commanding Officers responsible for the dis-
cipline and efficiency of their men in this as in other respects, and not to
accept any excuses of inability on their part when disease is unduly preva-
lent. (I am again to refer here to the remarks already made by this
Government in paragraphs 5 and 6 of its letter No. 176, dated 17th
August, 1880, on the report for 1879.) But whether this is straining
their responsibility too far, and expecting too much, is for the military
authorities to consider. The existence of the evil is beyond all doubt,
the mode in which it can be suppressed has been clearly indicated, and it
is one which pertains to military discipline alone, and with which the
civil power is not competent to deal. It can only suggest and point out
the conclusions indicated by the results, as has been done in the forego-
ing review, and leave the military authorities to take such action as they
may think fit."
8. It would not be correct to say that the lock hospital system has
not to some extent been beneficial to the sanitary condition of the British
soldier. But that it is not nearly as efficient as it might and ought to be,
cannot be doubted by the Lieutenant-Governor ; and should this opinion
be shared by His Excellency the Governor-General, it might be advisable