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Medical Officer and Officer Commanding. On a report from the former a village
called Kumarhuttie was placed out of bounds.
The admission for venereal diseases amongst the troops was owing prin-
-cipally to the fact that the Cantonment is bounded on every side by indepen-
-dent Native States over which the Cantonment authorities have no jurisdiction.
The consequence is that a number of women in the neighbouring villages carry
on prostitution without fear of molestation, and it is known that very many of
them are diseased.
In June last the Quartermaster-General in India invited the attention
of the Military authorities to Punjab Government Notification No. 817, dated 7th
October 1870, in which it is laid down that the Cantonment authorities have juris--
diction regarding prostitution within a radius of four miles of Cantonments. This
apparently, at the commencement of the year, was not known by the Civil and
Military authorities. The Deputy Inspector of Police was at once sent for by
the Office Commanding the Station, and orders were given to the Police to
exercise supervision and bring in prostitutes for inspection if found practising
their calling within the radius stated, but, as a matter of fact, not one was so
brought in. This from what I can learn I attribute to the ruling of the law,
viz., that a woman cannot be apprehended unless caught in the act. The Deputy
Inspector of Police has informed me that he is aware of women living in the
vicinity of the station, viz , at Kumarhuttie-Kukurhuttie, on the Solon road, and
near the soldiers' gardens, who carry on prostitution with the troops, but his
constables cannot arrest them on suspicion or bonâ fide information received for
the reason above stated.
I believe during the season of 1886 some women were apprehended by the
Police, brought up for inspection, and found diseased ; but, as they would not regis
-ter their names, were turned out of Cantonment limits, where they actually lived
and probably practised their calling with impunity. This action of the Police, I
believe, was made the subject of a report by the women in question to the
Commissioner at Simla, who, I am told, ruled that it was illegal ; that they had
no authority to apprehend women on suspicion, and cautioned them to be more
particular for the future. From this it will be seen how ambiguous the
authority is regarding the control of prostitution by unlicensed women within a
radius of four miles of Cantonment limits.
If what I have written in the above paragraph is correct, it will be seen
how handicapped the Police are, and how difficult the duty is that they are
expected to perform, besides the risk they would incur in arresting a woman
within the ruling of the law. The risk I allude to is the obvious action a soldier
would take under the circumstance if interfered with.
F. —The registration has been efficient for a hill station, and. was ex-
-tended to European troops only in and within a radius of four miles of
Cantonment. The number of women registered during the year was 15. No marked
increase or decrease occurred in this number till the closing of the Lock Hospital,
when they all proceeded on the march to Naushahra with the 2nd Battalion,
Royal Irish Regiment. The number of women registered compares favorably
with previous years.
G.—No registration fees were levied.
The number of admissions for venereal among the troops during the
months of March, April and May was high. A week after the regiment arrived
from Umballa there were 13 admissions. There is no doubt all these cases con-
-tracted the disease at Umballa or on the road up. Tire prostitutes that
accom-panied the regiment were examined by me on arrival ; all were found free from
disease. At the next weekly inspection found three diseased and was obliged to
admit them into the Lock Hospital for treatment. There is not the shadow of a
doubt in my mind that these women must have been diseased by the men of the
regiment. This being the case, the increase in the number of admissions during
April and May among the men for venereal is easily accounted for. The reason is
obvious. Weekly inspections for the men were instituted when a marked.
decrease occurred in the admissions for venereal.