Progs. No.
From the Commissioner of the Pegu Division, to the Officiating Secretary. to the Chief Commissioner,
British Burma,—No. 364-41, dated the 13th March 1876.
I HAVE the honour to submit report on the working of the Lock-hospital in
this Division for the calendar year 1875. These were worked as below :—
(i.)—Under Act XXII. of 1864, Cantonment Rules
—
(1)—Rangoon,
(2)—Thayetmyo
(ii.)—under Act XIV. of 1868
—
(1)—Bassein,
(2)—Henzada,
(3)—Prome.
In Rangoon I regret to find that the proportion of European soldiery admitted
into hospital from venereal disease has considerably increased ; in fact, upwards of
fifty per cent. over 1874, although less than in 1872. This is a retrograde which
is unsatisfactory, considering, also, that the expense of keeping up the hospital has
risen from Rs. 786 to Rs. 4,408, as indicated by the Town Magistrate in the conclud-
ing paragraph of his report. The reason given for this is not that the women of the
town are more unclean than before, but that the soldiers who require females put
up with a class which it is difficult for the Police or the Magistracy to deal with,
i. e., women who, although practising prostitution, have husbands (low caste, or
no caste, pariah natives of India), who allow their wives to make money by harlotry.
It is considered that the Military Authorities should take measures for reducing
this evil by a more strict watchfulness over their registered and unregistered camp-
followers and over women frequenting the lines as itinerant bazaar-vendors. Of
the registered prostitutes in Rangoon there were remaining at the close of 1874 a
total of 356 women ; in addition to this there were 284 new registrations—total
640 (of whom thirty Europeans). Of these 248 were struck off during the year,
leaving as remaining on the rolls at the close of 1875, 392 (of whom thirteen Euro-
peans). In respect to the European whores, I observe from the return that from the
year 1873, inclusive, there has been a total of 30 each year, the total number being
always made up to that, although the average number remaining on the rolls is a
little more than half that figure. This, I think, is indicative of this class of
unfortunates being under some sort of supervision in the way of their own trade,
and probably it may be found that the market is supplied by importations from
Calcutta or other places. The average sick in hospital is shown to have increased
from 33 to 52. The increase observed in venereal illness led to a weekly exa-
mination of the women. The effect of this was to make a lot of them abscond.
There were seven unregistered prostitutes brought up before the Magistrate, of whom
one was imprisoned and six registered after arrest. Of 157 registered prostitutes
brought up, thirteen were "warned," twenty-three imprisoned, and 121 fined.
Although the admissions into hospital had increased from 352 to 477 (upwards
of what it was in 1873), I observe the Civil Surgeon states that the disease now
prevailing among the women is of a less virulent type than it used to be. That
the disease has spread, however, in the other sex is seen at once by a reference to
the in-door and out-door patients' lists—the totals bein
g —
In -door.
Out-door.
Total.
In 1873
...
...
...
...
64
430
494
1874
...
. . .
...
...
98
531
629
1875
...
...
•••
... 126
732
8 5 8
T h e M a g i s t r a t e o f R a n g o o n a d v o c a t e s t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f a L o c k - h o s p i t a l a t y a n d o o n .
A s Y a n d o o n i s a p l a c e w h e r e t h e r e i s a l a r g e f l o a t i n g p o p u l a t i o n f r o m b o t h t h e
coast and from up-country, which is constantly shifting, and as, accordingly, there
must be necessarily a great deal of prostitution carried on in it, the matter may
have to be taken into consideration before long. But for any Lock-hospital there
to be of the slightest use, there would require not only a competent Medical Officer,
but also a Resident Assistant Commissioner, who would not be liable to be with-