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The temptations to the soldier to have intercourse with unregistered rather than
with registered women are various :—
1stly.—He obtains the former at a much lower cost than the latter.
2ndly.—Registered women are forbidden to solicit publicly, while the others are
constantly on the watch to waylay him in his weaker moments.
3rdly,—There is a greater amount of privacy and, if I may be allowed to use the
term, " romance" in meeting a woman whom he does not look upon in
the light of a regular prostitute than in going to the bazár with deliberate
intent and consorting with women whom he knows are visited by num-
bers of his comrades.
The means which I would therefore suggest for suppressing this evil are the insti-
tution of a system of intelligent and trustworthy lock-hospital police, if such can be
obtained, for exercising supervision over unregistered women, and with regard to the
men stoppage of pay while in hospital and while suffering from primary venereal
affections. I understand that this step has been taken in England with the happiest
results, as far as the diminution of disease is concerned ; and I am sure that if a similar
system were put in force in this country it would be attended with a similar effect.
At present the soldier is financially a gainer when laid up, and on his discharge finds
himself provided with a store of accumulated pay wherewith to begin a fresh debauch.
There may of course be paramount reasons with which I am not acquainted for object-
ing to such ameasure, and I only put it forward as seeming to me to strike more at the
root of the evil than any of the means at present in force.
Registered women are frequently reported to the medical officer as having com-
municated disease to certain men, and in such instances after careful examination
they are almost invariably found healthy. The only explanation of this circumstance
seems to be that men contract disease from other sources to which they do not wish to
confess, and to avoid doing so, attribute the infection to bazar women whose names
they know. Such a habit not only causes a great amount of trouble and annoyance
to the women concerned, but also tends to conceal the true origin of the evil, and I
think some means should be taken with a view to verifying or proving the falseness
of their statements. For this purpose I would suggest that each prostitute be pro-
vided with a book in which her visitor would be requested to enter his name, with the
date and hour of his visit, and were such or a more suitable check provided, I am confi-
dent that nearly all the reports made would be found to be without foundation.
6. Registration.—Registration is carried out efficiently in cantonments among
those who practise public prostitution. In the city, however, only a very small pro-
portion of such women are on the list ; 49 names were added to and 69 removed from
the register in cantonments, leaving a balance of 75 at the end of the year. In the
city the number added was 10, and deducted 23—balance 56. The numbers on the
register at the beginning of the year were for cantonments 95, and the city 69. There
has thus been a decrease of 20 and 13 in cantonments and the city respectively.
7. Registration fees.— None were levied during the year.
8. Attendance at periodical examinations.—The number of absentees from
the cantonment examinations was 22, causing 72 absences. In the city the respective
numbers were 32 and 44. In cantonments fines to the extent of Rs. 28-8-0 were levied,
and in the city to the extent of Rs. 15, making a total of Rs. 43-8-0.
9. Examination and treatment of women.—The cantonment prostitutes were
examined once a week, and the city prostitutes once a fortnight, during the year. In
the former instance the examinations were made by the medical officer in charge, and
in the latter by Assistant-Surgeon Johns in a room hired for the purpose in the city.
The speculum was invariably used at both places of examination, and it is difficult to
see how any diseased women could have escaped detection.