7
In the Battery of Artillery I regret to say that venereal disease has increased
to a considerable extent during the same period. Out of a strength of 150 men
there were 63 cases or 420 per thousand. The detail of forms of the disease is
as follows: gonorrhœa, 29 ; primary syphilis, 33, and secondary, 1.
The Senior Medical Officer, British Troops, furnishes the Cantonment
Magistrate with these returns, and they are regu-
larly submitted to me weekly.
IV.—Have the returns been regu-
larly received.
V.—Whether the Sub-Committee
meet regularly, &c.
Regular monthly meetings of the Sub-Committee
are held to discuss the affairs of the hospital.
The following are members :—
Officer Commanding 'the Station,
The Senior Officer, British Troops,
Deputy Commissioner,
Superintendent of Police,
Civil Surgeon,
Cantonment Magistrate.
The Civil Police have frequently been warnea to keep a snarp took out tor
women practising unlicenesd prostitution and bring
them before the Cantonment Magistrate, who sends
them to the Lock Hospital for examination and
registration, and although there is ample reason to
know that a very large number of such women might be detected, such is
not the case,—only four women have been brought by the Police during the year.
The Europeans acting as Regimental Police are also expected to seize any
women of the sort found loitering round the lines, but only three have been so
detected.
25 women have voluntarily come forward and had their names entered in
the register.
The entire number of women who obtained leave during the year was 16 ,
giving a monthly average of 1.33. Although this is below the usual number,
still I think the greatest caution should be taken in the matter, as many of them
over-stayed their leave for months, and for all known to the contrary might be
plying their vocation, making use of their leave as a plea to avoid registration.
VI.—Special measures for control
of prostitution and specially for pre-
venting unlicensed prostitution.
VII.—Efficiency of registration and
area of extent.
The registration extends over an area of four
miles from centre of cantonment.
I do not consider registration has been nearly as efficient as it would be, if
the police and soldiers could be induced to report all unlicensed prostitutes; that
they exist in large numbers in the city and in villages round cantonment, I am
well aware ; and that the majority of them are diseased, I have ample evidence
in seeing in my capacity as Civil Surgeon the very large amount of disease that
exists among the civil population, little or none of which can be disseminated by
registered women, who are most regular in attendance at the weekly examinations,
and if in the slightest diseased, are placed under treatment at once. Registered
women are being constantly sent up by men as having given them disease, and in
not a single instance since I took over charge of the Hospital have I found these
women with disease of any sort. It seems impossible to get the European, and
indeed I find also the Native, soldiers to give any clue to lead to the detection of
unregistered women; but with a fair amount of pressure I should think the Regi-
mental Police ought to be able to suppress this near their lines at all events.
The Battery of Artillery out in camp for the , past few months have been
showing 2 or more fresh cases of gonorrhoea every week in the returns. The
few registered women out with them have from the first been on inspection days
found healthy, still none of the non-registered women near camp have been re-
ported. The .Civil Police could do more in this master, but for their disinclina-
tion to come into contact with the Europeans.