14

ANNUAL REPORT ON THE

Table showing extent to which Venereal prevailed among British Troops during the year 1877.

   The Assistant Superintendent of Police keeps a register of all brothels and prostitutes,
and no brothel is allowed to exist without his sanction within the area of 14 square miles, as
implied by the Act ; the same applies to prostitutes who consort with Europeans. The female
keepers of brothels under 40 years of age are registered prostitutes ; tickets are given them,
and they are treated as others on the register. A Native Police Sergeant is attached to the
hospital, who serves notices on the women, who attend weekly for inspection ; their tickets are
returned to them filled up if healthy ; if not, they are detained in hospital, and when discharged
are made over to the Police. Two Constables were employed by sanction of the Chief Com-
missioner for the detection of women who come under the Act, and one Chief Constable was also
employed for the purpose of visiting all European soldiers admitted into hospital for venereal
disease, with the view of finding out from, the men the prostitutes who diseased them. A female
who was supposed to know the haunts of unregistered prostitutes consorting with Europeans
was also added to the list of “specials," but she was found to be useless, and therefore she was
removed from the list on 6th June 1877.

   The famine having brought into Bangalore a very large number of women who carried on
prostitution freely with Europeans and Natives, the detective agency was found insufficient for
their detection, and it was therefore increased to 5, and a chief Constable was also lent from the
constabulary to supervise their work,

   Registration has been efficiently carried out. It extends to Europeans, East Indians and
Natives over an area of 14 square miles. On the 1st January 1877 there were 73 on the register ;
in the course of the year no less than 101 were added to it, making a total of 174, and showing
an increase of 101 as compared with the previous year. This increase was due to the large
number of famine-stricken women who were prowling about Bangalore and carrying on prostitu-
tion ; this is evident from the fact that as the famine declined, 55 of the newly registered
women absconded in the course of a few months, and I have no doubt that great many more
will leave the station hereafter. Five left the station by permission of the Assistant Superinten
dent of Police and 7 died, 1 in hospital and 6 out of it, leaving 107 on the register on the 31st
December 1877. No registration fees are levied in Bangalore. The attendance of those
women who have been on the register for considerable periods was pretty regular at the
periodical examinations, only 2 having absented themselves ; but the newly registered women
were very irregular in their attendance ; 53 of these were reported to the Assistant Superinten
dent of Police for non-attendance : out of these only 2 were punished by imprisonment, 2 were
warned, and the rest were not found by the Police, Venereal diseases amongst the registered
women were not virulent and readily yielded to treatment. 78 women were admitted into
hospital for non-venereal affections, and 158 were detained for their monthly illness.

   One hundred and nineteen unregistered women were also admitted into hospital; some of
them had chancres of virulent and Obstinate type.

   No dhaies are employed. One woman, as stated in paragraph 5, was employed for nine
months ; she was found useless and was dismissed.

   I feel satisfied that at all times the great cause of increase of venereal affections among
European soldiers is due to their indiscriminate intercourse with unregistered women, as well
as with Native female servants employed in various capacities about the barracks and their
neighbourhood,

   It is seldom that registered women who have been pointed out by soldiers as having
given them the venereal are found to be suffering from it ; generally they are found to be quite
clean, and there can be no doubt that gonorrhœa and syphilis are often communicated to
registered women by soldiers who have contracted these affections from unregistered women.

   In a large military station like Bangalore, where clandestine prostitution is carried on to a
vast extent by unregistered women for a trifling sum of money, the registration of a small