A STATE INIQUITY: ITS RISE; EXTENSION AND OVERTHROW. A STATE INIQUITY: ITS RISE; EXTENSION AND OVERTHROw/ A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE SYSTEM OF STATE-REGULATED AND LICENSED VICE; ITS PAGAN ORIGIN; 3t5 iJnfroiiuctioit :nt0 antt ^^tcnsiott in €\jvistzntiam; ITS ADOPTION BY THE BRITISH LEGISLATURE ; THE STRUGGLE FOR ITS SUPPRESSION, AND ITS TRIUMPHANT OVERTHROW IN GREAT BRITAIN AND HER CROAYN COLONIES. WITH APPENDICES. "Quisi^orat masimam illecebram esse peccandi impunitatis spem." Cicero, pro Miloiie. BENJAMIN SCOTT, F.R.A.S., Chamberlain of the City of London; Hon. Secretary to the City of London Committee for Repeal; and Chairman of the late London Committee for the Suppression of the Traffic in British Girls for the Purpose of Continental Prostitution. LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Lt^^ 1S90 \iy I " Make not pi'oviaiou for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof." St Paul. " When the Law falls to i-egulato sin, and not to take it utterly away, it necessarily confirms and establishes sin." John Milton. "National crime is a thing which God will recon with." Oliver Cromwell. " The avowed toleration, and in some countries the licensing, taxing, and regulating of public brothels, has appeared to the people an authorizing of fornication. . . . The Legislators who have patronized receptacles of prosti- tution ought to have foreseen this effect." Archdcncon Palei/s Moral Philosophy. "That which is morally wi'ong can never be politically right." Burke. " The law ought to make virtue easy and vice difficult." IF. E. Gladsto7ie. " From fornication and all other deadly sin, Good Lord deliver us." Prayer of the Church of England. TO THE RT. HONBLE. JAMES STANSFELD, LL.B, M.P., WHO — TAKING HIS STAND ON THE UNASSAILABLE PRINCIPLE THAT WHATEVER IS MORALLY INADMISSIBLE CANNOT BE POLITICALLY, SOCIALLY, OR HYGIENICALLY ADVANTAGEOUS — CONTRIBUTED VERY MATERIALLY TO INDUCING A RELUCTANT LEGISLATURE (WHICH HAD BEEN BEGUILED BY SPECIOUS REASONING AND SPURIOUS STATISTICS) TO RETRACE ITS SIEPS BY REPEALING ENTIRELY THE, SO-CALLED, CONTAGIOUS DISEASES (vVOMEN's) ACTS OF 1866-1869; THIS VOLUME IS, BY PERMISSION, VERY RESPECTFULLY BY THE AUTHOR. 3H;j{i8i PREFACE. The following pages have been compiled, not for the purpose of prolonging contention on a most painful subject, nor as a mere record of personal service rendered by many in a well-fought campaign in favour of purity, liberty, and righteousness. Early in the year 1889, Mrs. Josephine Butler wrote : — " The want of a solid history of our crusade is sorely felt. It is to be hoped that a good, statistical, and exhaustive history of our conflict, giving every move of the adversary as well as of the Abolitionists, will one day be written. In the face of such a record it would be difficult to revive an agitation for the restoration of the foul slavery." These words impressed me irresistibly with a con- viction, which I had long felt, that it was incumbent viii PREFACE. upon some oiw enj^agcd in the struggle to record its incidents and progress, lest the results already attained should not be enduring ; lest the work attempted should continue incomplete ; and, most of all, lest tlie principles which uiulerlaid the struggle, and for which it was entered upon, should be lost sight of. One and another, better qualified than myself by earlier and continued connection with the fight, having declined the task, it presented itself to my conscience as a dut)- which I could not avoid. I deeply regret that it has not fallen into abler hands. Even now, I hope that what I have attempted on a succinct scale, may be some day expanded by one who, by his connection with the National Association throughout its whole career, is better qualified than any other to compile a complete and standard history. The task has been to me, personally, a difficult one, arising from advancing years, and incessant distractions incident to the performance of official duties ; but there arc elem.ents of difficulty connected with the subject itself. The late Professor Sheldon Amos, in his ex- haustive work, A Survey of the Laws for the Regulation and Licensing of Vice, puts this into words which I may quote in illustration of this remark : — " The subject,'' he says, '' of this treatise encounters PREFACE. IX peculiar obstacles in the way of public and thorough discussion. It receiving only scant notice at the hands of public journalists. It can never form a topic of common conversation. It carries with it a reminder of shame, miseries, and wrongs, which must be always distressing, and, therefore, instinctively shunned. One side of the subject, again, is appropriated for the most part by very special members of a special profession. On all these grounds it might be expected that the subject would resemble those plants which prosper best or only, in the shade." He further makes remarks which are peculiarly applicable to this work : — " In a few years what value still attaches to the present treatise may be only historical ; though when the time comes that it records what Jias been, and no longer ivJiat is, the work may still serve to illustrate and enforce lasting principles of just government, by minutely recalling the story of the great ' falling away ' and ' strong delusion ' which led to those principles being forgotten or neglected." Another difficulty encountered by me has been the vastness of the subject — involving a review of the history of a twenty years' war ; giving rise to a flood of literature, only a trifling portion of which could be rUEFACE. made available ; some idea of the extent of w hich may- be tleri\ecl from a L;lance at the List of Publications — incomplete as it is — contained in Appendix B. Had it been desirable — w hich it was not — to fill five volumes, it would have been an easier task than to have condensed the history into one. With its many and manifest imperfections, the book is submitted especially to those who are engaged in the never-ending strife between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, as a trifling help to their cause, in the belief and humble hope that it will not be altogether without effect for good ; for — " The smallest effort is not lost ; Each wavelet on the ocean toss'd Aids in the ebb-tide or the flow ; Each ram drop makes some floweret blow ; Each struggle lessens human woe." B. S. London, January, 1 890. ERRATA. Page 9, line Z.for " Astrue " read '' Astruc/' Page 176, line T.for " 1884 " read " 1874." Page 232, line \ifor " Church of Scotland " read " Free Church of Scotland." Page 227, foot note,/or " Commons '' read " Lords. ' CONTENTS. PART I. THE SYSTEM OF LICENSING AND REGU- LATING VICE. CHAP. PAGE I. Its Early Origin, and Introduction to Various Countries i II. The Hygienic Pretext 7 III. The System as Established in England, 1864— 1886 II IV. A Missionary Government 23 PART II. THE PRACTICE AND RESULTS OF THE SYSTEM IN ENGLAND. V. The Practice 29 VI. The Alleged Hygienic Results in the Army . 43 VII. Alleged Hygienic Results IN THE Navy . . 57 VIII. Hygienic Results among Women . . . .61 IX. Hygienic Failure Inevitable .... 69 X. Alleged Moral Results 75 PART III. OPPOSITION TO THE SYSTEM, AND ITS OVERTHROW. XI. Commencement of Opposition . . . .81 XII. Women Combatants — the Women's Protest . 99 xu CONTENTS. (MAP. PAGE XIII. The Beginning OK THE End . . . ... 105 XI\'. The First Repeal Bh.i., 1870— the Colchester Election ........ 123 XV. The Royal Commission of 1S70— i . . .129 XVI. Times OF Trial, Testing, AND Temptation . 149 XVII. Hope Deferred 165 XVIII. The Hour and the Man. A Woman's Speech . 173 XIX. Various Accessions. 50,000 Working Men Enrol Themselves 193 XX. The City of London. The Select Committee OF 1879—83 203 XXI. Victory 219 PART IV. SUPPLEMENTAL. XXII. The Colonies. The Indian Empire . . .231 XXIII. A Cry from the Indian Missionary Field . 263 XXIV. Conclusion : False and Fallacious Statistics, Beneficent Sequences OF Repeal . . .281 APPENDICES. A. A List of Members of the Leading Repeal Asso- ciations, Committees, etc 295 B. A List of Publications 329 C. Memorial of the National Association, Feb., 1886, — A Specimen of Papers Addressed to the Legislature 355 D. Fac-^lmile of Government Certificate to a " Common Prostitute" .... {Folding Sheet) Index 385 fart h THE SYSTEM OF LICENSING AND REGULATING VICE. CHAPTER I. Its Early Origin, and Introduction to Various Countries. Vice, in ethics, is any voluntary action which deviates from the rules of moral rectitude. Such a deviation is the traffic in the bodies of women for the purposes of fornication, its licensing or regulation by the State. This traffic evidently existed in Pagan countries before the time of Moses, who, in enunciating the Jewish law rigorously forbade it (Deut. xxiii. 17, 18, and Lev. xix. 29),* and fornicators were visited with terrible punishment (Numb. xxv.)„ Though, in later times, and, in consequence of a too close acquaintance with the debaucheries of contiguous heathen nations, the Jews grew lax and dissolute, and venery spread among them, they, at no time conceded to prostitution any * Vide, also, Gen. xviii. 21, margin Revised V^ersion, " A'adcs/ia, that is, a woman devoted to impure heathen worship." .sititus, or made any attempt to license or to regulate its commerce. This traffic in vice is the JMiiiiv Pkciduci' of I\\gan Depravity. Among I'agan nations idolatrous priests called it into alliance, and made it an adjunct of religion. At Babylon young girls were publicly crowned with flowers, and went in procession to the Temple of Astarte to offer their virginity to the goddess, who was represented in the persons of the priests. The obscenities of Pagan ritual are indescribable. Their temples were nests of prostitution. The women of the Temple of Venus were (at least at Sicca, vide Val. Max. II. 6, 15) the harlots of the city. But, though kings and queens shared their voluptuous excitements with female and male prostitutes, they regarded the traffic as infamous, and at no time gave to it the sanction of State recognition. It was 594 years before the Christian era, in a country where the divinities of the people were sots, harlots, and panders, where the temples were brothels and their ritual vice, at a time when rulers, statesmen, philosophers, priests and people were wallowing in licentiousness, and genius devoted itself to the invention of monstrous pleasures, when woman was regarded as a mere purchasable carcase, when, as Plato said, "Man had sunk below the basest of brutes," that S'lATE-PIMPlNG WAS FOUNDED BY SOLON. He first planned the concentration of debauchery in recognized brothels, where it might be overlooked and taxed by the State. He purchased women, put them in apportioned quarters, and let them out upon appointed terms. The scheme was praised in Attic verse by Philemon, and so enchanted were the Greeks with it (and not the less so, because Solon made a large pecuniary profit out of the enterprise), that the Athenian Oligarchy took over the business and extended it. They lodged their lust-slaves in the avenues of Ceramicus and under the arcades of the Long Portico, and drew from them a considerable revenue, in consideration of which they were accorded privileges and distinctions. It is to be observed that this scheme was limited to the supply of a merchantable article at a price which remunerated the State so as to provide an easily collected and not unpopular revenue. In the early and robust days of Rome prostitution existed unobtrusively in liipatiars, hid in vaults in the outskirts of the city, whence comes the word fornication {fornix, an arch, or vault). Conquests led to luxury and licentiousness, and harlotry grew rampant and daring. In 1 80. B.C., Marcius, an ^•Edile of Rome, one of the municipal officers charged with the maintenance of order in the city, entered a brothel to quell a disturbance which had arisen therein. He was attacked by the women and driven out with stones. In revenge, he and his fellow ^diles instituted A Register of Prostitutes, And made regulations for the conduct of brothels and their inmates. Each prostitute was required to inscribe her name on this register, and the .^diles authorised her by license {licentia stupri) to carry on her trade in a prescribed quarter of the city, to which she was confined together with the other registered women. This system was begotten by, and was the expression of, malignity. Thenceforward this system accom- panied the Roman armies whithersoever they went, and permeated remote countries. It was established under the Republic, it luxuriated under the Emperors. Caligula actually established an Imperial brothel in his palace, and his servants collected the fees paid by the debauchees who went there. The system was a fertilizer of vice.* * Vide also " The Social Results of Early Christianity^^ by Professor Schmidt, pp. 42 — 44. {W. Isbister, London.) Until inoculated from Rome with the licensing system, the northern tribes of Europe regarded prostitution with abhor- rence, and treated prostitutes with severity. The Goths con- demned every woman who gave herself to prostitution to receive three hundred lashes with a whip, and, if she survived that punishment she was exiled for ever. But Rome impreg- nated Europe, and, during the Middle Ages, the system of licensing prostitutes and regulating their occupation as a trade guild, was acquiesced in without surprise in all the Catholic countries of Europe where the celibacy of the clergy was enforced. Each country had its particular rules, as decreed by Kings and Popes, but in every one the prostitutes were allocated to prescribed quarters, and were subjected to a special tax. In many places they were compelled to wear a special uniform. It was in a.d. ii6i that the Church induced the King to permit prostitution to exist with State Sanction in England. At that time, and for a long time before then, there stood at Bankside, in Southwark, adjoining the Episcopal palace of the Bishops of Winchester, brothels, then called " stews," from the fact that they were erected on the sites of fish ponds, or stews, in the Bishop's garden. They belonged to, and were licensed and regulated by, the Bishop, of whom they were farmed by capitalists. In 1381 they were farmed by William Walworth, then Mayor of London.* These "stews" created disorder about the palace, and Henry 11. assented to an enactment " For licensing of the stews in Southwark, "f * They were sacked by Wat Tyler, as a protest against the licentioHS- ness of the rulers and clergy. — Vide " A Compejidious Survey of the Laws for Prohibiting, Regulating, and Licensing of Vice in England" by Professor Sheldon Amos, pp. 514 — 522 {Stevens and Son, London); also, *' Ancient La-vs in Relation to Vice in London " {Dyer Brothers, Lotidon"). t Act 8lh, Hy. II. 5 which prescribed what was not permissible to the keepers and frequenters of those houses. This statute was con- firmed in 1345, and again in 1391 and 1393, and modified in 1506. The Reformation party viewed these "stews" as pillars of the clerical celibacy, and to inflict a severe blow upon the clergy stirred up Henry the Eighth, and in the 37th year of his reign, " this row of stews in Southwark was put down by the King's commandment, which was proclaimed by sound of trumpet, no more to be privileged and used as a common brothel." Thus in the words of Dr. Fuller, " this " Regiment of Sinners was totally and finally routed." Thenceforward, /.(?., from a.d. 1545, until the year of grace, 1864, England condemned brothel-keeping, and only noticed prostitution when discouraging or repressing it. In France, the capitularies of Charlemagne (a.d. 800) made an attempt to repress public prostitution by severe punishments. The ordinances of Saint Louis, in 1254 and 1259, renewed the prohibition of public prostitution, with the great difference that it was ordered that no harlot should ply for hire without "A Royal Permit." This tolerance of prostitution was emphasised in the ordinances of 1360, 1367, 1374, 1395, 1420, and in letters patent of Charles VII., in 1424, whereby he granted to Toulouse a tax upon its brothels. In 1778 Louis XVI. approved the ordinance drawn up by M. Lenoir, the Lieutenant of Police, which, with the ordi- nances of 1 7 So and 1785, forms the basis of the existing system of morals police {police des 7nceurs). The police were entrusted with the oversight of the prostitutes and their haunts, were to keep a register of them, and to regulate them. In lyijf) a new Register was begun in Paris, and the Revolution employed agents to find and register the women. Buonaparte re-established the Workmen's Guilds, amongst which that of the prostitutes was reckoned, and these guilds were put entirely under the control of the police, who kept the prostitutes as a distinct caste, in a prescribed quarter of the city, and enforced registration and submission to their regulations. In other countries prostitution was tolerated and regulated, but France has the bad pre-eminence of being the most forward and most devoted copyist of the vile Grecian and Roman systems of vice-licensing. It is not necessary to recount the vicissitudes of the system of State-regulated vice in other countries ; but it is worthy to be recorded that when, in 1792, a new code of regulations for the prostitutes of Berlin was issued, the King of Prussia insisted that it should be a " police regulation " only ; " because," said he, " it cannot, without impropriety and consequences injurious to morality, be established by the public laws, which must not contain any sanction whatever for prostitution." This corresponds with the teaching of Dr. Paley, in his Moral Philosophy : " The avowed toleration, and, in some countries, the licensing, taxing, and regulating of public brothels, has appeared to the people an authorizing of forni- cation. The legislators who have patronized receptacles of prostitution ought to have foreseen this effect." CHAPTER II. The Hygienic Pretext. It was said to be for the preservat ion of public order that prostitution was tolerated, regulated, an d license d d own to , thfs century, ~^c^S~VciQ"de7iavtour of the prostitutes, not their. bo'dies, was the object bfjpoTice attention. The invention_of the "hygienic theory" has resulted in an access of filthiness to the system. It has been made the pretext for the ofificial inspection of the bodies of the women^ and to secure opportunities for this loathsome practice, Periodical Examinations have been instituted as part of the licensing system. This practice is said to have been suggested by Joan I., Queen of Naples, in an ordinance dated 1347, but that has been demonstrated to be apocryphal. Some person of evil imagi- nation fabricated the document, and directed the police mind into a new course, wherein they have called to their aid medical men, philanthropists, and even Christians. Since the introduction of the hygienic theory, it has been the creed of those who license this vice, that they do so to preserve the health of the^men who buy the services of the prostitutes, by a mir.ute and careful attention to the health of the latter. They plagiarise the system of Greece and Rome, they add to it a practice of which the sensual of those times did not conceive, and they mask the whole by a Hypocritical Hygienic Thkory. The Pagan invention has been clad in the garb of Christian benevolence, Satan has clothed himself as an Angel of light, to suit modern proclivities, to gratify empirical doctors, to impose upon a careless but advancing civilisation, and to accommodate it to the professions of a perfunctory Christianity. Having grafted the indecent exploration of the bodies of the prostitutes upon the old system, the authorities have persuaded themselves that it is for the sake of the graft that the system exists, and they have developed it into great luxuriance. They now assert that it were better to have no system, than to have an incomplete or inetificient examination. The Nineteenth Century System, therefore, is an elaborate machinery for encompassing all prostitutes, or suspected prostitutes, subjecting them to such frequent surgical inspections, that men may be secured — if, indeed, this machinery can secure them — from being infected with venereal disease. To encompass all prostitutes they must be discovered when clandestine by police agents, who are social spies ; and when tenants of brothels, they must be denounced by the keepers of those houses. Bawds find it to their interest to be servilely attentive to the demands of the police, and the police know it to be greatly serviceable to the system to be on terms of mutual admiration and friendly association with the bawds. The licensing or benevolent toleration of bawdy-houses is a sine (jua ?ion of the modern, as of the Solonic, plan of organising prostitution. It was in Paris, in the year 1802, that the first "Health Dispensary " was opened to give effect to the then new theory that men should be saved from venereal disease by the com- pulsory examination of women, and by the incarceration of such of them as were suspected of having any such disease until declared to be cured of it. Yet, far from there being any epidemic or sign of increase in venereal diseases, Syphilis (compared with which the other venereal diseases are of no moment) had been Dying away for Centuries. So long ago as the middle of the last century, Astrue wrote, " Whatever might formerly be the power of the venereal disease, when it was new and in vigour, while the poison violently effervesced, there is nothing like it to be feared now, as it is weakened, become old, and its force almost quite spent." The invention of a health basis for the plan of vice-licensing was not a medical contribution to a contest with a militant disease, it was a police artifice for sustaining in Christendom a sensual and materialistic scheme of providing women for the lust of men. As the regulations promulgated in Paris by the decrees of M. Delavan in 1823, of M. Mangin in 1830, and of M. Delessert in 1841, have been the pattern for other countries, including our own, it is expedient to briefly note the Parisian system ere turning to an exclusive consideration of that set up in England. The Paris Regulations provide for the registration of every " public " woman in the city, and the inscription of her age, country, dwelling, and antecedent occupation. They divide ])ublic women into two classes : the isolated (who have their own house or apartments), 2in6.filles de maison who dwell in itiaisons tolcrees. At the time of registration a card is given to each woman bearing her name, etc., with columns wherein the surgeon may enter his opinions of her health after his examinations of her. Filles de maison are examined once a week, isolated women, at least, once a fortnight. If any one of them is thought to be affected with lO a venereal disease, she is inlcineci in a Government hospital at once. Police agents {poliic des imcurs) are employed to compel the registration and regular attendance of public women at the medical examinations. The hours during which these women may solicit in the streets are appointed. The authorities formally sanction in every case the carrying on of an immoral establishment, and the number of women in each is regulated "according to the needs of the neigh- bourhood.'' Breaches of these regulations are punished by the police authorities without judicial i?iquiry or control. In Taris, and in at least one other continental city, there exists, in relation to State recognition and sanction of vice, "in the lowest depth a deeper still." Of this it is impossible to write^ for it is unspeakable. It should, however, act as a warningyto those who comfort themselves under the conviction that it is^^possible to stop when once on the decline of regu- I lated deprajiity. CHAPTER III. The System as Established in England, 1S64 — 1886. In days of old the vice of prostitution was condemned by the laws of England, though the Episcopal brothels at South- wark were licensed for a period, as before stated. In 1650, the Puritan party obtained an Act "for suppressing the detestable sins of incest, adultery, and fornication." A hundred -years after, the legislature noticed the question again. In 1752, 1755, and 1763, by a series of repressive Statutes, attention was called to the Common-law rule that the keeping or the frequenting of a bawdy-house may be indicted as a common nuisance, and by these Statutes provision was made for facilitating prosecutions. It was reserved for a Liberal Government in the reign of a virtuous Queen to launch in England the Pagan system of organizing, licensing, and pro- tecting prostitution with the added iniquity of enforced surgical examinations of the bodies of the women. Wherever else the system existed it was the result of gradual police usurpation of power. // stood upon police regulations only. In England, for the first time, it was adopted by a popularly elected assembly, ordained by Legislature and Monarch, and solemnly recorded in the Statute-book of a Christian nation. The Government which babbled of chastity. 12 of luininnity, and of Jesus Christ, adopted as a working policy the Exp loitation of Women for t he satisfaction of the lusts of sensinl-jnen. History has no i)arallel for such stupendous hypocrisy. The filthy scheme skulked biJi ind the ma sk^of a fair-seeming. name. Ihey called it "Contagious Diseases Prevention"; but behind that mask was the Pagan malignity to wards wom ^n^jjui the stealthy purpose to officially organize debauchery by reducing women to mere examinable masses of flesh and blood. It was the fashion at one time to palliate the crime of the Government and the Legislature by saying that the scheme was smuggled through Parliament by interested officials without considered approval of that Government or of the Legislators. It is not necessary to stay to consider whether, if the state- ment were accurate, it would be a good plea in mitigation of the condemnation awarded, and ever to be awarded to the Government and to Parliament, for the facts do not warrant the statement. They demonstrate that the scheme was a maturely considered one, that it received the approval of the then Premiers, that it was discussed in both Houses of Parliament, that it was Amended and Extended again and again, after use and enquiries, and that it was maintained during a tempest of opposition by the Government and the Parlia- ment. The people 7ia1g wViprpin wnmpn infprtprl with venereal disease might be officially housed. The Act provided only for Avornen declared to be common prosti tutes, no pro- vision was made for the cure of diseased ;«g;?, or the ir wives, or for their innocent children inheriting disease. To get hold of women a superi"ntendent or inspector of the special police or a medical man might lay before a magistrate an information against any woman whom the informer believed to be "a conmi on prost itute," and ihe infQrmerIcoiiId~de&Qe th at ph rase for himself^f or the Act declined to Jh^^\miJjliLJiLji-n.kci tfj omen by ajix^d^fijiition. The magistrate was to issue a summons calling upon the woman to submit herself at once to a medical i6 examination of licr person at one of the certified hospitals, or to appear before him. If unsubmissiy^e, the woman was to be ordered by the magistrate to be examined when he had had the information substantiated on oath. Then she was to be apprehended, haled away to a lock hospital, forcibly examined, and if fhoug'hTTO' have a venereal diseas^cTtb be detained till the magistrate made a further order, enabling the hospital authorities to keep her as long as they pleased, provided they did not please to keep her more than three months. Any resistance to examination, or to the rul es of the ho spi tal, m ight be punished by a magistrate, who could sentence the woman to one month's imprisonment for the first offence and to two months'. Imprisonment for each subsequent offence. If any person harboured a common prostitute known to have a venereal disease, such person might be fined ^lo, or sent to prison for three months. It was an Act to enforce the physi cal e xploration of pros- titutes, in order to see whether any fornicator had so injured her as to make her ^a ngerous material for the use of other fornicators. Dr. Jeannel, the great P>ench authority, has enviously said, " the English, after having meditated upon our principles, \\:ive perfected oio- practiced The pious Government of Puritan England audaciously determined to make a national and improved imitation of the Obscene Continental System. The Government was not unconscious of the high and important moral considerations involved in their departure into the prostitution sustentation business, for the Duke of Marl- borough asserted, in the House of Lords, on behalf of the Government, when subsequently (May 15th, 1868) challenged on this point, "Although he was free to admit that there were very high and important moral considerations involved in the treatment of this subject, he thought that Parliament could hardly he legitimately called upon to deal with themP This grossly immoral statement was allowed to pass unnoticed by 17 His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other prelates who were then present, though His Grace, and the Bishop of London, joined in a discussion on Church Ritual at the same sitting. Let us hope that they were imposed upon, as were many others, by hypocritical assertions, made in both Houses. There was no whisper of opposition in the country, whilst an Association for extending the operation of the Act which existed under the patronage of the medical profession went to and fro in the country representing the Act to be a bentvolent endeavour to aid and save the wretched women of the garrison towns. The Act of 1864 would expire in 1867, and the members of this Association wished it to be replaced by a more stringent Act, operating all over the country. The Military and Naval authorities were like-minded. They did not delay action to secure support. They appointed, in October, 1864, Another Committee, To inquire into the pathology and treatment of the venereal disease, with the view to diminish its injurious effects on the men of the Army and Navy." In February, 1866, this Com- mittee reported on so much of the evidence as they had collected and as dealt with the prevention of this disease. The Committee recommended that an Act of Parliament should be obtained to compel the periodical examination of known prostitutes, and " that the entire control of prostitutes might be safely confided to a judicious police administration, under the imme- diate sanction of a Secretary of State." This accorded with the views of the advocates of the system at that time, but the fear of public opinion prevented their adoption, and the subse- quent rise of public opposition caused the views themselves to contract. During the sitting of March 15th, 1866, Lord Clarence 2 Paget introduced a Hill founded on this Report. Six days later it was read a second time, but not without Severe Condemnation. The Right Hon. J. W. Henley thought it was a queer Bill on a very queer subject. Its object was to preserve the health of Her Majesty's troops, and its endeavour was to remove all the penalties which a Higher Power imposed upon sin, and to give the opportunity of sin without its consequences. Mr. Ayrton said bluntly, but truly, that it was simply a Bill for keeping public women, at the public expense, for the gratification of our soldiers and sailors. " No useful or moral end was intended, the end in view being vice, unmitigated vice, the administration of the Army and Navy being so inefficient that Government was obliged to propose this Bill for the Sustentation of Vice. The proposal was a disgrace to the country. The Chancellor of the Exchequer would assume a heavy responsibility if he allowed the Bill to pass into law." The Chancellor of the Exchequer was the illustrious Mr. W. E. Gladstone, who hoped there would be no objection to having the Bill read a second time, it was merely a con- tinuation of a system which had received the sanction of Parliament. This statement availed to prevent the growth of opposition. The subject was not a topic of party controversy, and seemed to affect only a non-voting and degraded portion of the com- munity. Members of Parliament, for the most part, consider a question concluded when sanctioned by Parliament, unless incited to dispute it by personal or party influences. The state- ment was inaccurate, as will presently be seen, but no one blames Mr. Gladstone for that. In the House of Commons an official mis-statement of fact has no relation to the rectitude of the official who makes it. In any other assembly it would 19 be otherwise, but Members of Parliament have their own code of morals, by which the impeccability of the individual is separable from, and untainted by, the deception of the official. The Bill received the Royal assent on June nth, 1866, and was to come into operation on September 30th of that year, when the Act of 1S64 was to expire. Like its forerunner, it was entitled "An Act for the Better Prevention of Con- tagious Diseases at certain Naval and Military Stations." It extended the Areas of the places named in the Act of 1864 (adding the town of Windsor to the number), and the powers to appoint Surgeons and to make regulations for Lock Hospitals, the power to detain women supposed to be infected with venereal disease, the penalty for harbouring a diseased prostitute, and conferred the power to Enforce a Periodical Surgical Examination of the persons of women whom the police believed to be " common prostitutes " (a phrase always undefined) by summary proceedings before a Magistrate such as those described under the 1864 Act. It provided that any woman might subject herself to such periodical examinations for a year by signing a form. This Act, in addition to the lesser changes, founded a " Register of Prostitutes," and instituted regular periodical exminations of them, the two main features of the French system. It was not " merely a continuation of a system which had received the sanction of Parliament," as Mr. Gladstone assured the House of Commons. It established a system admired for its com- pleteness by the French Regulationists, whereby prostitution was organised as a legitimate employment, watched, and tended, and controlled by Government Agents, the object of whose zeal was to discover all prostitutes, register them, 20 and keep them clean. And the country was silent, for the Enj;lish arc a busy people, patiently acquiescent in what- ever Parliament may ordain, having the conviction that there are many who are on the look out for encroachments upon personal liberty, who will sound the alarm when Parliament is going wrong. It was these " look-outs " who were bamboozled by the title given to the system, and the statement made by Mr. Gladstone. The Regulationists were satisfied with the system as created by the Act of 1866, but they were dissatisfied with the extent of its application. They wished it to be extended to the whole country. On June 29th, 1868, the Marquis Towns- hend introduced into the House of Lords a Bill for Extending the Act to London, and any corporate Borough which chose to adopt it. He was urged to withdraw it, as a Committee had been appointed by the Lords on the 19th of the previous month, to recommend what extension should be made in the operation of the Act. The Bill was therefore withdrawn. This Committee reported in July 2nd in favour of applying the system to eleven more military stations ; but nothing was done that year. On June 8th, 1869, the House of Commons appointed a Select Com- mittee to inquire into the subject, which reported a month later in favour of extending the operation of the Act. The faith of Parliament in Select Committees is remark- able, and the implicit confidence of legislators in the advice of these Committees is quite touching at all times. A i^yj gentlemen are appointed to consider a subject. The views of the majority, if not of all these gentlemen, upon the subject are well known. The character of their Report can be fore- told from the moment of their appointment. Presently the expected Report is brought in. Thenceforward to every objection made to legislating upon the lines of that Report, it is replied, " The Committee has reported this, and that, and 1l 21 the other thing." To these Committees Parliament relegates the task of making up its mind, and rarely wavers after it has been told what to think. When Government ceases to be a struggle for the Treasury Bench, and the sole object of the great parties is no longer limited to seizing and holding the seats on the right hand of the Speaker, then, but not till then, probably, will Committees merely report the evidence they take, and leave to Parliament the task of forming a judgment thereon. Directly the Government received the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, and were able to say that Committees of both Houses had reported in favour of extending the area of the operation of the Act of 1866, a Bill was introduced into the House of Lords by Lord Northbrook, was rapidly driven through both Houses, and received the Royal assent on August nth, 1869. This was The Last Regulation Act. It added six more places, viz., Canterbury, Dover, Gravesend, Maidstone, Winchester^ and Southampton, to the places named in the Act of 1866, making 18 in all, and increased the areas of those places. It tightened the meshes of the previous Act in a few particulars, but there was Httle that could be done to make the system more complete. All that was wanted was to make it universal. The system was not a complex one. It may be stated in a few sentences. It formed a special body of police, whose duty it was to force all prostitutes in the areas named to be sur- gically examined once a fortnight, and as to this end they " must make investigation into the habits of all women of the humble classes; they were clothed as civilians, that they might the better make close scrutiny as private detectives. A Register of the women examined was kept, from which no woman could remove her name without formal permission, 22 and any woman ordered to be examined, who refused to regularly submit herself to physical examination, might be imprisoned. Women condemned by the examining surgeons as diseased with a \ encreal disease were immediately interned in hospitals, where they were detained as prisoners. Brothels were recognized, and not interfered with, if women having the particular disease were not permitted to remain in them. The system was intended to save soldiers and sailors, if possible, from catching these diseases, without limiting their intercourse with prostitutes. And the system dealt with those diseases only as they were to be found in the bodies of 7C'omeji, each of whom it regarded as outside the pale of human society, as, in the words of Mr. Lecky, " the priestess of humanity, blasted for the sins of the people," and sought to keep each priestess fitted to perform her sacrificial functions. CHAPTER IV. A Missionary Government: The English Government so well understood the nature of the system it had obtained from Parliament, and was so well satisfied with it, that it began to preach to the British Colonies and Dependencies the New Gospel of Improved Syphilisation. The Crown Colonies could make no choice. Ordinances were issued definitely licensing in some places women as prostitutes and houses as brothels. An Ordinance was issued in Hong Kong, in 1867, declaring that " no person shall keep a brothel unless the same shall have been licensed and registered'^ and ordering each brothel- keeper to pay a tax of four dollars a month, which brought into the Exchequer over ^1,000 a year. Prostitutes were to be registered, and to be "liable at all times " to physical inspec- tion, A " Chief Inspector of Brothels "* was appointed with * Her Majesty's Inspector of Brothels ! Curiosity is aroused lo inquire what were the attributes, duties, rank and status of this official. From the evidence taken by the Commission, we gather that he kept a register of " Queen's Women," saw that their names were duly inscribed on the door-posts of the Government establishments, as lawyers' names are inscribed on nests of Chambers in the Temple, and those of merchants and traders are written on offices in the City. lie comptroUed the receipt of the fees paid by the women into the Colonial Treasury, and was responsible for the display of a lamp, conspicuous by day as well as assistants, and they might arrest any woman whom they sus- pected of immorality, and who did not possess a " Government certificate." She mi<;ht be imiuisoned for three months. It is not within the scope of this sketch to refer at length to the working of the system elsewhere than in England ; but as it was less disguised in the Crown Colonies than in England, and as it is useful to know to what lengths the advocates of the system went, and may be willing to go again, the following extract from a speech made by Sir John Pope Hennessey, on July 28th, 1882, then Governor of Hong Kong, is given. Before quoting it, however, it must be said that towards the close of 1877, soon after the appointment of Sir John Pope Hennessey to the Governorship of Hong Kong, he was startled by disclosures which were made at an inquest on two native women, who, after being tempted to immorality (in a house not licensed for debauchery) by two Government informers, with money supplied from the Secret Service Fund of the Government, were chased by the special police, and in attempting to escape over the roofs of adjoining houses, fell, and were killed. The revelation of these facts led His Excellency to appoint a Commission to inquire into the working of the system. Sir J. Pope Hennessey, said : — " V/e get from Great Britain some European police. They are men selected with care for good conduct, and they are sometimes married men ; their passages, and their wives' passages, have been paid to Hong Kong, where married police quarters are provided. But by night, so that custom should be diverted to the Imperial bagnios. But, what was the fashion of his uniform ? Did he attend the receptions of His Excellency and of the Port Admiral ? Was he allowed precedence of the chaplains, or how otherwise ? and was he expected to dine with the Bishop ? Was he decorated on the abolition of his office and allowed a good service pension ? or is he still in the service of "our religious and gracious Queen ! " 25 what transpired when that Commission of mine was held? The Registrar-General had recorded in his book, morning after morning, the evidence of informers selected from that police force, whom he had employed to commit adultery with un- licensed Chinese women ; and some of these men were married police, whose wives were brought to Hong Kong ; so that, in point of fact, he was not only encouraging adultery, but paying for it with the money of the State. . . . " At the head of the Registrar-General's Department in Hong Kong, we appoint an officer, as we believe, of the highest character. One of the gentlemen so employed puts on a false beard and moustache, he takes marked money in his waistcoat pocket, and proceeds to the back lanes of the Colony, knocks at various doors, and, at length, gains admission to a house. He addresses the woman who opens the door and tells her he wants a Chinese girl. There is an argument as to the price, and he agrees to give four dollars. He is shown up to the bedroom with the girl, and gives her the money. What I am now telling you is the gentleman's own evidence. He records how he flung up the window and put out his head and whistled. The police whom he had in attendance in the street, broke open the door and arrested the girl. She is brought up the next day to be tried for the offence; but, before whom? Before the Acting Registrar- General — before the same gentleman who had the beard and moustache the night before. He tries her himself, and on the books of the Registrar-General's Office (I have turned to them and read his own evidence recorded in his own hand- writing) there is his own conviction of the girl, of the offence, and his sentence, that she be fined fifty dollars and some months' imprisonment ! I mention this for this reason — that the officer who did that was appointed because he was sup- posed to be a man of exceptionally high moral tone, and good conduct and demeanour. But what would be the effect on any man of having to administer such an Act ? "There was laid before my Legislative Council a case of one of the European Inspectors of brothels, and I was struck 26 by this fact in his evidence. He says — ' I took the marked money from the Registrar-General's Office, and followed a woman, and consorted with her, and gave her the money; and the moment I had done so, I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the badge of office, and pointed to the Crown, and arrested the woman.' She was, henceforth^ "A Queen's Woman." Canada was induced in 1865 to pass an Act for regulating vice, and the bribe offered by the British Government was set out in the preamble of the measure as the consideration for passing it. This bribe was an undertaking to pay the expenses of carrying out the Act. Barbadoes was offered ^2,500 down, and ^20 to £^2^ a-year, to pass a similar measure, accepted the bribe, and passed the measure in i868, a year after Ceylon had adopted the Act. Gibraltar, Malta, the Straits Settlements, Labuan, and all other military settlements were placed under the system by ordinances. St. Helena in 1865, Jamaica in 1867, and Trinidad in 1869 adopted the system. The Fiji Islands were ceded to Great Britain in 1874, and in 1882 the system was thrust upon the islanders. The Self-governing Colonies, Cape Colony, New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, and Victoria passed Acts based on the English system. Victoria called hers "The Conservation of Public Health Act," and Queensland contemptuously substituted " female " for " woman " in the Act. The system was adopted in British India by Acts of the Council passed in 1864, 1868, and 1880, and by means of Military Cantonment Regulations, which set it up 27 in over seventy places in that country. The fourth section of "The Indian Contagious Diseases Act, 1868," said, "No woman shall carry on the business of a common prostitute, and no person shall carry on The Business of a Brothel-keeper, without being registered under this Act, and without having in her or his possession evidence of registration," and the certifi- cate of the prostitute stated, " this is to certify that the under- mentioned woman, who carries on the business of a common prostitute, has been duly registered under the provisions of the Indian Contagious Diseases Act, of 1868."* This was out- spoken and clear. Prostitution and brothel-keeping were licensed as legitimate businesses, upon condition that these tradespeople were licensed and placed upon the Register. By intimidation and bribes the missionary efforts of the English Governments, between 1864 and 1874, were eminently successful. When, in the latter year, Mr. Gladstone's Government was driven from office, the Cabinet and Legis- lature could boast that during the preceding ten years the legalization and regulation of the vice of fornication had been secured throughout the Queen's dominions. Cernit Omnia Deus Vindex ! Vide fac-simile of Registration Ticket, in Appendix. fart IL THE PRACTICE AND RESULTS OF THE SYSTEM IN ENGLAND. CHAPTER V. The Practice. The Act of 1864 was put into operation in Portsmouth, Devonport, Sheerness, and Chatham in 1865, and in Woohvich in 1866. That Act was but the scout for the main system established by the Act of 1866, the practice of which is the subject of this chapter. The system was put into operation in 1867 at the places already named and at Aldershot, in 1868 at Windsor and Shorncliffe, in 1869 at Colchester, and in 1870 in the other nine places of the eighteen Districts named in the extending Act of 1869. These places were not coterminous with the Municipal or Parliamentary areas so named, but included Very Large Areas Beyond. For example, the district named Colchester included sixteen parishes, and Aldershot included twenty-three. In some of the Districts several Boroughs were grouped together 30 under one name. A yet wider extension was given to the system by a provision that the Acts (by which word hence- forward the Acts of 1866 and of i86g will be meant) should apply to any woman resident within ten miles of either of the districts, or to any woman found within fifteen miles of either of the districts "within fourteen days of the laying of an information " against her (Sched. E. of 1869 Act). As the compulsory periodical examinations of women ceased in 1883, because in that year the House of Commons condemned them by a Resolution, and as these examinations were the essence of the system, which itself was thereafter practically suspended till extinguished by the Repeal Act in 1886, the period of complete operation of the Acts was sixteen years, from 1866 to 1883. The Police charged with the execution of the Acts were termed " Metro- politan Police." They received five shillings a week each extra pay. They were wholly independent of the local police, and of the local authorities, subject only to the orders of the Metropolitan Police authorities, and of the Admiralty and War offices. This imperiiim in imperio created much local dis- content and conseejuent friction. They were clad in the garments of civilians, and were allowed two shillings a week each in lieu of uniform. Personation was easy, and was practised with intimidation and extortion. In 1872 the Govern- ment prosecuted in a case of personation, and The Times said, on April loth, that the Government undertook the prosecution because " such cases were of frequent occurrence." Colonel Henderson, the Chief of the Metropolitan Police, in an Official Report for 1873, made a boast of the Terror Inspired p.y these Police. He said, " The presence of the officers employed is well known to the class of girls most likely to go astray, and the dread of 31 detection is very salutary. In proof of this, young women in the position of domestic servants and others, after nightfall, leave their male acquaintances directly the police employed tinder the Acts appear in sight." They were the cats amongst pigeons, scaring honest girls from the company of their relations or lovers at the only time when, daylight's toil being passed, they could speak to them. It was highly discreditable to the system that it should make decent open courtship amongst poor folk difficult, if not impossible. This result tended to decrease reputable marriages amongst the poor, and to increase the number of girls' names inscribed upon the police register of examinable girls. The object of the Acts being to prevent any woman capable of passing on a venereal disease from being at large and at liberty to do so. The Task of the Police was to strain every energy to discover clandestine prostitutes and those women who occasionally committed fornication, to bring them, together with the self-advertising harlots, by persuasion or compulsion, to attend periodical surgical ex- aminations, and having securely locked up those diseased in hospitals, to set the rest free to pursue again the practice of vice. The Acts spoke only of " common prostitutes," but leaving tha t phrase undefined, the police gave it an exte nsive meariing so as to include clandestine prostitutes, for they knew that The FrenclTdocTors say concealed prostitution is~the rock on which" allforeign s ystems of reg ulation have broken down, and unless it was to track out hidden practices why should they be clad as private detectives. It was unconstitutional, Jo say jhe [lea st, to leave to the police who executed the Actjhe_chQice_.of the individuals to whom they would apply it. —inspector Anniss of Devonport, who said " every woman I 32 know is a proslitule," also said he would put on the Register a wonum who received men in a private way in her own house. Other police officers would put on the Register women who occasionally committed themselves with men, or who associated with prostitutes, or who solicited in the streets, or who resided in a brothel or in the same house as a prostitute. In the case of one C. Wybrow, a pure girl of Chatham, the only ground alleged by the police for compelling her to come upon the Register was that " she lived in the same house with prostitutes." It was true. She lived with her widowed mother in an attic of a manj'-storied house in a poor court, and on the ground floor of the same house two prostitutes lived. One of these police published a pamphlet on " The Social Evil," in which he asserted, " In all mihtary centres nearly every woman of the lower and lower middle classes who may happen to possess personal attractions is of a loose character. .... That youth and beauty are always of questionable character is indisputable To say that ' all young women lead that kind of life at the present day ' is no idle or false accusation Contentment with one partner absolute is a property seldom if ever found in a woman, no matter how free her choice at marriage." This candid avowal of these envenomed views of the special police who were free to set what bounds they pleased to the application of the Acts to women in their districts, enables the reader to perceive the peril in which every young woman stood in those districts, for these men had only to swear they had " cause to believe " a woman was a prostitute, to brand her as such for life. There were many cases in which it was proved that the police upon receipt of Anonymous Letters about respectable women and girls, went to their houses and attempted to drive them to the surgical examinations. These 33 domiciliary visits cast upon virtuous women public suspicion, and subjected them to grievous taunts and insults. The police watched at the doors of factories, and in broad daylight followed and spoke in the streets to girls employed there. They visited the houses of decent people and ordered them to send their daughters, even girls of tender years, up to the examination room upon mere suspicion. They dogged the steps of respectable women, particularly those of domestic servants, and frequently ordered them to attend the surgical examinations on the chance of being obeyed. All day long /• , j (f -^ they were to be seen going from house to house in the humble quarters, hunting for women. At night they dressed up as gentlemen, sea-captams^ etc., to entrap women. The public view of the thoroughness of their espionage may be gathered from the fact that sailors at sea wrote letters to them asking for reports as to the conduct of their wives. To bring the women to the surgical examinations the police had to obtain a " voluntary submission," or the order of a magistrate. The signing of a "Voluntary Submission" form was the method almost exclusively adopted. The Act of 1866 in providing for voluntary submission seems to have intended that the form should be signed by women, who freely admitting they were prostitutes, would willingly submit to the consequent examinations, Therefore the Act provided no punishment for refusal to be examined after such submission. But, in fact, the women would not attend the examinations. They had to be compelled, and to make the submission effective the Act of 1869, by section 6, gave to it the same effect as a magistrate's order. Thereafter the woman who signed the submission form was registered as a prostitute, and if she refused to be surgically examined every fortnight, or if she refused to go into the hospital when ordered to do so, might be imprisoned with hard labour. It was a self-inflicted sentence accepted by the State as binding without 3 investigation. 'I'his was the more reprehensible because many signed the t"orm in consequence of jMisapprehension, Threats, or Cajoleries. The War Oftice and Admiralty issued a printed instruction saying, " All women subject to the provisions of the Acts are to be called upon to sign the ' volujitary ' submission paper. Should any woman object to sign, she is to be informed of the penal consequences attending such refusal," and in a return made to the House of Commons (No. 388, July 27th, 1871) of the proceedings under the Acts, one column was headed, " Women proceeded against for refusing to sign the voluntary submission form." This form was signed by the women in the room of the police inspector, who attested the signature. No independent witness was allowed to be present, and the form was not explained. Mr. Ryder, a Justice of the Peace for Devonport, and friendly to the system, said to the Royal Com- mission in 1S71, " I believe that almost every woman who has been brought before the Justices has complained that she has signed the submission withojit being aware of what she tvas doing." The House Surgeon at the Royal Albert Hospital, Devonport, said, "The women have often told me that they did not ktiow what they were signing. Many of them could not read. ... I think the greater number of those women who signed the voluntary submission were induced to do so by pressure, and that many of them were ignorant of the character of the document which they signed." Mere children were induced to sign it. A submission form might be made to avail for any period up to a year, and the police invariably filled it M^ for a year without consulting the person signing. When the police could not get a woman or girl whom they wished to have examined, to sign the miscalled " vobmtary " submission, they proceeded to obtain A Magistrate's Order. They laid before a magistrate an information, saying they had 35 " good cause to believe " the woman named to be "a common prostitute." The magistrate issued a summons calling upon the woman to submit to examination or appear before him on a day named. If she did not submit, the magistrate on " oath being made before him substantiating the matter of the infor- mation," made the order sought for. Magistrates differed in their opinions of the meaning of this phrase. Some interpreted it as meaning that they could investigate the grounds of the police, " good cause to believe ; " others held that all they had to do was to hear the police make oath that the statement in the information was true. The police, and the legal represen- tatives of the Government when they appeared in any of these cases, asserted that the latter construction was the true one, and claimed an order without offering anything but the oath of a policeman that he had " good cause to believe " the woman was a " common prostitute." They generally had their way, and there was no redress. As a commentary on this procedure some observations made by Lord Hardwicke in 1737 may be pertinently recalled. A proposal was made in that year to give a magistrate the power to convict any one against whom two witnesses swore they had " good cause to believe " the person charged to be a smuggler. The proposal was rejected. In the debate in the House of Lords, Lord Hardwicke said, " Facts only are ad- mitted as /r^^ by our laws; and by these facts a judge and jury are to form their opinion of the character of the accused. A great security of our liberties is this, that no subject of this realm can be imprisoned, unless some felonious and high crime can be sworn against him or her. This with respect to female persons is The very Foundation-stone of our Liberties; and if we remove it, if we knock off a corner, we may over- turn the whole fabric." The alluring nature of the inquiries before the magistrates was evidenced by the invariable crush to get a place in the court when such a case was to be heard. At those times prostitutes and men and youths jostled each other in rough play, and vied with each other in making suggestive obser- vations. Having been made subject to the Acts, the woman's name was entered upon a police Register (upon which were found the names of quite young children as being " common prosti- tutes ''), and she was ordered to report herself once a fortnight to the police inspector, who passed her on to the examining room for examination by the appointed surgeon. The Fortnightly Surgical Examinations were the life of the system. Thither the eyes of the special police always turned, and thither every purpose they had tended. The examining-room was in some places at a certified hospital, but in most places at a house taken for the purpose. Usually this house was in a bye-street, with the houses of poor respectable people beside and opposite to it. In one case it faced a factory luhere matiy girls were employed. The women had to attend between eleven and two o'clock. The sensation created in the neighbourhood was A Gross Public Scandal. Some of the women arrived in carriages or cabs attended by officers of the Army or Navy, or by other men, who awaited their return from the examination-room, for if they were passed as sound, the first subsequent intercourse with them was considered safe for the men. Roughs were accus- tomed to gather about the place of examination, and lavish their gibes and coarse jokes upon the women as they entered and left. The nature and objects of the examinations were openly and freely discussed, not only by adults, but also by young boys and girls ; little children Played at Ex-\mination in the open streets ! The women awaited their turns in a waiting-room, their names having been entered by the police in the order of their arrival. A number of women of every grade, the worst and the best mingled together, and the scenes which took place were not all of a seemly character. A nurse was present at the examinations. If a woman was suffering from a natural periodical flux, the surgeon might order her, as though she were a criminal, to be coinpulsorily confined for five days, or until she could be examined, in a certified hospital, where she might be subjected to solitary confinement in a cell, on bread and water diet, if she com- mitted a breach of its rules. The surgeons in charge of wards of the Royal Albert Hospital informed the Admiralty, in 1869, that during only thirteen weeks, ending August 28th, 1869, and in that place alone^ a weekly average of fifty-two women came under this category — or two Ivuidred and eight cases of such gross cruelty in one year ! Pregnant women were examined once a month, sometimes instrumentally, up to within six or seven weeks of their confinement ! The time occupied in each examination, including pre- paring for it, was on the average from three to five minutes. There was no common code of instructions for the guidance of examining surgeons. Originally the Admiralty issued instructions to examining surgeons to use the speculum, but these instructions were withdrawn, and they were merely told to satisfy themselves that the women were properly examined. Some specula are very liable to cut in a rapid use of them, the expanding one, for instance, and one medical man, giving evidence on this point, said of any kind of speculum, " if not judiciously managed, a rough introduction might create an .'{H.'iG81 38 abrasion." Some women comiilained tliat tliey had been wounded by the examination. The specuhmi ought to have been properly cleansed and disinfected after each successive use of it. Syphilis is easily transmitted, and the greatest care is required in the cleansing of the instruments ; this was often impossible. For instance, evidence was given of 200 examinations in a day. Dr. Giersing [Co/igrt's de Gtfies, p. 39) states that the increase of the number of inspection days at Copenhagen resulted in an ificrcasc of disease, and attributes this to "infection transmitted from prostitute to prostitute by means of the speculum." Tardien {Ann. d'Hyg. et Med. Legale, 1S64, torn, xxi., p. 371) says, " Syphilis has been transmitted by means of a contami- nated speculum." It was alleged that enough care was not taken by the examining surgeons to thoroughly cleanse and disinfect their specula between their examinations. If this were so, com- pulsory examination would mean, as no doubt it did, co7n- ptdsory ififection. One of the police employed in the execution of the Act told the Royal Commissioners, " The women showed symptoms of shame and degradation on the first occasion of their coming to be examined. It was very clear to those who had the opportunity of seeing their conduct and hearing their conversation, that there was with many, at first, a considerable amount of shame and sensitiveness, and afterwards, a marked spirit of boldness and of A Hardening Influence. I had frequent occasion to remonstrate with them about drinking (on the morning of the examination), and their reply was generally that they were oftentimes obliged to get drunk before they could come up to the hospital and submit to the ordeal they had to pass through by the examination." The Royal Commission reported that there was evidence 39 that the women considered they were a privileged class, and that some of them called themselves "Queen's Women," If, upon examination, a woman was found to be affected with disease, the surgeon gave her a certificate to that effect, stating the certified hospital in which she was to be placed. The police took her straight from the examination-room to the hospital. This was a source of bitter complaint amongst the women. They were taken away suddenly to hospitals a long distance away, sometimes from Southampton to Portsmouth, or from Maidstone to Chatham, and often from Aldershot, Chatham, Canterbury, Deal, Dover, Shorncliffe, and other places to the London Lock Hospital. They had no oppor- tunity afforded them of making any arrangements for a prolonged absence from their homes, though they were often kept in hospital for several months. Many of them had children, for whose support it was necessary to make some provision; and many lived in lodgings, with no one to care for their effects in their absence. They had good cause to complain. When they returned they found children neglected or put into the workhouse, and a big accumulation of rent ; or their homes broken up ; or their lodgings let to others, and their goods sold to pay for the arrears of rent. The Hospital Regulations were stringent and severe. They were, in fact, prisons for the punishment of disease. Thus, at Devonport and Ports- mouth, one of the rules was, that a woman interned there could only receive one letter per week, and that only after it had been read by the Chaplain. In 1874, Emily Hayes was sent to the Portsmouth Hospital, though she protested that she was not diseased. Mr. Harfield, a solicitor, went to the hospital, and asked to see her as her legal adviser. He was refused admission, and a letter he sent informing her of the power she possessed of appealing to a magistrate was withheld 40 from her during the several weeks she was detained there, and was only j^i7y/i to Iter Jitsf ht'forc she ions discharged and loas leaving the hospital. No criminal would have been so cruelly treated. The woman had, under the Acts, the nominal protection of claiming to be taken before a magistrate if she thought from the state of her health that she was entitled to her discharge from the hospital, and the medical officer would not grant it. }jut this protection was in practice merely nominal, from the difficulty in the way of a poor woman in hospital obtaining access to a magistrate, and being able to satisfy him that she was in good health in face of the opposition of the hospital surgeon. The certified hospitals were state prisons for the women condemned by the examining surgeon without potver of appeal. Some of the women were confined in cells for considerable periods by the mere orders of the hospital authori- ties, and without any judicial intervention. And yet many were sent Into these Prisons in Perfect Health. Four surgeons at the Devonport Hospital reported that " Jiiimerous eases have been admitted to the hospital from time to time in which no symptoms of contagious diseases have been found present on their admission to hospital." Every woman upon the Register, whether she had ceased to be a prostitute or not, ereti though she had married in the meantitne, was subjected to imprisonment if she failed to attend the periodical surgical examinations. Some of the recorded instances were peculiarly cruel. Susan White, having been in- duced to sign a "voluntary" submission retreated to one of the Homes of the London Rescue Society, where her conduct was exceedingly good. Presently she left the Home to be married from her mother's house at Dover, and there she was appre- hended by the police, and imprisoned for fourteen days ivith hardlabouriox not having attended the fortnightly examinations! The cogent evidence of her complete reformation failed to 4i placate the police, who thoroughly understood that the object of their employ was not the rescue of the fallen from an immoral life, but the supply of prostitutes to the State. One other case may be cited. J. Featherstone, at Canter- bury, refused to sign the '■^voluntary" submission, was subjected to the Acts by a magistrate's order, on April 25th, 1870, and was ordered to attend for examination on April 29th. She left the district at once, and put her children and herself under the care of the Rescue Society in London. Her children were placed in an orphanage in Canterbury. Featherstone obtained a respectable situation which she held for eight itwnths and then married. In the. following year, she and her husband went to Canterbury to see her children, and as they were walking together in the street, she was seized and carried off to Maid- stone gaol where she was imprisoned for seven days with hard labour under an old sentence for not attending the examina- tions ! There were two ways in which the Law appeared to enable a registered woman to obtain Exemption from Registration. Under the 33rd Section of the 1866 Act, she might apply to a magistrate, and invite a formal inquiry for the purpose of proving she had ceased to live an immoral life, and if, after proving this, she was able to enter into recognizances with or without sureties for good behaviour during three months, she might get exemption. Under the 9th Section of the 1869 Act, she might apply in writing to the surgeon of the certified hospital for exemption. This application had to be forwarded to the Superintendent of the Police, who reported whether the applicant had, in his opinion, ceased to be a common prostitute. If he reported in the affirmative, the surgeon might discharge the woman from examination. In either case it was difficult. The police were zealous in 42 the maintenance of their register of prostitutes. They were loatli to let go their hold upon a woman, and so lose their control over her. In the one case there had to be a public renunciation of her past, in the other a dependence upon the personal favour of the police and the surgeon. She could not free herself. She could not slip away from her life. She was allowed to give up a vicious life as a matter of indulgence and by favour of the police only as a matter of indulgence, not as a matter of undoubted right. CHAPTER VI. The Alleged Hygienic Results in the Army. The victories of the applied sciences have been so many and so marvellous during this century, that few persons have the temerity to refuse any demands made upon their credulity in the name of Science. In that name empiricism has grown insolent, and, taking advantage of the dominion of Science, has imposed upon humanity the tyranny of experimentalists. Science has pierced the outer cuticle of knowledge, and empiricists, having guessed at what is below the lower cuticle, have persuaded Parliament {omne ig?iotum pro tnagnifico /) to decree that a series of varying guesses shall be the scheduled faith of the people, and thus we have had imposed upon the public the Contagious Diseases Acts. The system created by those Acts was nothing but A Medical Experiment for preventing the infecting of soldiers through venereal diseases, by providing them with physically examined women, who should not infect them with such diseases. Lord Hartington, in 1883, being then Secretary for War, said, in the House of Commons, "The main p.urpose of the Acts was not to promote order or morality ; but it was the preservation of The health of soldiers and sailors." Did it succeed in preventing the infecting of soldiers ? To answer this question one must ascertain, first, the condition of the Army at the point of its contact with the system, then its condition during the impact of the system, and, finally, if there was any alteration, then to ascertain whether that alteration was the unqualified result of the system, or whether it was the result 44 of other causes, or whether it was the result of the system plus other causes, and, if the last, then to differentiate the causes. At the outset of this inquiry it is needful to speak of the diseases denoted by the term " venereal." The Government officials and medical experts divided them into three classes : (a) Primary Venereal Sores, (/>) Secondary Syphilis, (c) Gonorrhoea. Syphilis is the gravest of venereal diseases, and is essentially distinct from gonorrhoea. The latter is never the starting point of the former, and is never followed by constitutional symptoms. The diseases (a) and (c) can be reproduced on the same individual for an indefinite number of times, but syphilis cannot. T/ie Zancei sa.id (Aug. 28, 1869), "Gonorrhoea and local venereal ulcers weigh as nothing in the scale when compared with true syphilis." Syphilis is a constitutional as well as a local disease, which may be transmitted to offspring. The other two diseases are purely local, and do not produce any injury to the general constitution. Syphilis is never transmitted otherwise than by contagion, either direct or mediate. At its com- mencement it is so small an affair that M. Fournier (Za Syphilis chez la Femme, p. 49) says, " I may, without exaggera- tion, describe it as the smallest, the most superficial, the most benign, the most insignificant of all possible erosions. So to speak, it is not anything ; it is less than nothing." Mr. Acton says death from syphilis occurring in private practice is a thing unheard of. The British Medical Journal said, " There is no doubt that the professional mind has been, under the Contagious Diseases Acts, unduly exercised upon the subject of syphilis of late years, and diseases have been called syphilitic which were not formerly so designated." Unquestionably, A Panic was Created, as though syphilis were becoming a plague ; when, in fact, of / / 45 those who contracted venereal disease sixty-six per cent, at the very least suffered only from gonorrhoea, and, of the remaining thirty-four per cent., not more than one in three or four had anything worse than simple sores, non-constitutional, and of less consequence even than gonorrhoea. Those who contracted true syphilis were, generally, readily and permanently cured, not suffering from relapsing illness themselves, or entailing disease on their offspring. On one occasion, 5,830 militia men at Aldershot were examined, and only one case of trice syphilis was found in the whole number. According to the Registrar-General's returns, the average mortality from heredi- tary syphilis during twenty-five years, from 1848 to 1872 inclusive, was only forty-one per million deaths, /.f., four-tenths of I person in 10,000 ! In estimating the value of the statistics hereafter given, it must be remembered that statistics relating to human beings are always difficult to compile, as stable terms of comparison are so rarely to be found. Those relating to human diseases are peculiarly difficult to compile. Between the Government statisticians. Sir W. Muir and Mr. Lawson, there arose a conflict concerning the relative values of their discrepant figures presented by them to the Select Committee of the House of Commons which sat from 1879 to 1882, inquiring into the operation of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Their figures in turn were attacked and their value much depreciated by the antagonists of the Acts, particularly by Dr. J. Birkbeck Nevins, of Liverpool, who proved to be a most able statistician. The inherent weakness of these statistics was enhanced by the fallacious basis of comparison adopted by the Government statisticians, and still more by the fact that from 1873 to 1S78 there existed an Order by the Secretary for War under which the pay of soldiers in hospital for venereal disease (except secondary syphilis) was stopped, and the men, in consequence, concealed their diseases as mucli as possible. It will be seen that this disturbing factor caused an immediate fall from 50 to 42 per thousand of men sent into hospital. 46 The Basis of Comparison adopted by the Government statisticians was the selection of fourteen military stations where the system 7ms in operation, and of fourteen military stations where it was 7wt in operation, and comparing the health of the soldiers in the two sets of stations. It was at first avowedly only an experimental com- parison, but as the figures seemed to indicate some beneficial result, they were put forward as conclusive statistics. There was not a single feature of resemblance in the two sets, but great essential differences. In i860 the Army was divided for sanitary purposes into groups, namely : — Seaports. London and Windsor. Dockyards. Dublin. Camps. Depot Battalions. Manufacturing towns. "Remaining" stations. All the beneficial agencies urged by Lord Herbert's Commission were applied with great earnestness and speed to the " seaports," the " dockyards," and the " camps," and with such good results that before the Act was in force venereal diseases had fallen by 33 /^r cent in the ^'seaports,'' by 2^ per cent, in the "■dockyards " and by 28 per cent in the '•'■camps" On the other hand, London, Dublin, and the manufacturing towns were supplied with them slowly and imperfectly, with the result that London increased in disease, and Dublin and the " manufacturing towns " only improved by 2 1 per cent. The Act of 1866 was passed, and the whole of the camps, the whole of the seaports, and a majority of the dockyards, which had all improved so largely already, were put under the Acts. Windsor was removed from London and put under them, the number of 14 was filled up by four or five from the " remaining stations," and the beneficial agencies already at work were pushed on in the so called " protected " (?) group, with still greater energy. For the "unprotected" stations, on the other hand, Dublin (the worst station throughout), London (which had 47 fallen off instead of improving), and the four i.. facturing towns, Manchester, Preston, Shefifield, and Be. which had already shown their largely diseased and cou paratively unimproving character, were " selected " ; one dock- yard was added, and the number of 14 was filled up from the "remaining" stations, and this collection of the six worst stations, of one improving one, and of seven others of no specially marked character, was left poorly supplied with those improvements which had previously worked such benefit in the stations to which they had been liberally furnished. The comparison was obviously an unfair one, and the figures were shown by Dr. J. Birkbeck Nevins to be open to so many serious objections that the Government officials com- piled further official returns showing the ratios of venereal disease, respectively at the stations under the Acts and all stations tiot under the Acts ; but any comparison of the "protected" stations with the "unprotected" stations in the aggregate is untrustworthy, because of the essential differences in the character of those stations as already pointed out. There were other vital differences which vitiated the com- parison. The "protected" stations had the advantage of ample hospital accommodation for the women, and a system of examination of troops entering their districts, but in the " unprotected " stations there was little (and in some places no) hospital accommodation for the women, and there was no such examination of arriving troops. Again, the evidence is conclusive that a large number of prostitutes when diseased fled from the " protected " districts to avoid the yoke of the hospital regulations, and, being " soldiers' women," they re- sorted to the "unprotected" military districts, where they spread the disease they had contracted under the Acts, and it will be seen hereafter that the nature of the disease was more severe in the " protected " than in the " unprotected " districts. Taking the Official Figures with all their various discrepancies settled in favour of the Acts, we have the following results : — adopt^' for~ tj 2 P3 6 2 -goos- es S-t;<=^ == » a S d o M 03 -*^ <0 ■<1 WOO "OtH 48 PRIMARY SORES, /» Hospital., Ratios per i,ooo ;«^«. ex < u iS6o ("' i86i 1862 1S63 1864 W1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 (d'1874 1875 1876 1877 (e) 1878 1879 1880 1881 V)i882 ~. .. stations Stations I u^t ,„„|gi. umlorActs.i ^^fg 146 142 117 107 102 95 87 91 83 66 («^55 51 131 1 22 99 108 loi 99 lOI 95 106 93 81 54 90 50 81 42 66 35 59 ■hz 64 35 68 40 88 47 82 74 119 74 125 (0)75 124 Observations. [a) Windsor is counted with Stations not under Acts till 1867, then counted with Stations under the Acts. [b) It is to be observed that this disease was steadily and largely dechning be- fore the Acts were intro- duced. Probably due to the wise sanitary im- provements made by Lord Herbert. [c] There was a regular and continuous decrease in all Stations, but the ratio of declension in Stations which came under the Acts was less after the Acts. [d) Lord Cardwell's order, which led to concealment of disease, operated from 1873 to 1878. {e) Reserves were out in 1878. (/) From 1878 to 1882, the last year of the com- pulsory examination of women, there was a continued increase in stations both under and not under the Acts. 49 PRIMARY SORES. Diagram Showing the Changes in their Amount in THE Stations under the Acts, from i860 to 1882 (the Last Year of Full Operation of Acts. Ratm per 1000 so OS 00 CM 00 to 00 00 00 00 t^ 00 00 oa tr> vo r- 00 oc oc CM cb - r" oc CO <1 . r- 00 CO CO • 00 . r- 00 00 . 00 00 CO 00 CO 00 150 1 n-o i3o 1^0 ItO too 90 80 70 60 50 40 3D 1« \ l4t \ \ i 117' \ ' M Ac u 107" '.??' V ,^ t^2 J <6 .91 vN 1/ vN 85 4r,/ fi^ s^ G -ac 'ux r7 ixt 'JVf. wr\ of. '4 ,,^ UO^i tWl- ^oi \JiP- Oxt 7'., ^ ^ 6(S fc f£Ci , uJ of> cts / \ N ^ ^ ^ ;? "ftc 7- f^ / \ ^42 1 '/ ■47 3^ s^ d The rate of reduction in amount diminished as the stringency of the Acts got appHed, and at last an actual increase of disease set in, which raised the amount very nearly to that which existed in 1866, before the Acts were brought into operation. This may be also seen in the fol- lowin": table : — 50 Average rate of rise or fall in the Stations under the Acts. Fall. Yearly Fall of 146 to 87 in years i860 to 1865 . . (No Acts) . . 8.09 per cent. 87 „ 66 „ 1S66 „ 1869 (Introduction of Acts) 8.27 „ ^ Complete operation of~\ tQt. TC>7r> -^ ■'^'^'^' ^"' partial con- ( 54 » 47 „ ^^/J » *^79SceaIment, under Lord r'-'-^ " V Cardwell's order. J Eise. ^Complete operation of \ Yearly Eise 47 to 78 „ 1880 „ 1882^ £-- ^-^Xirs S --95 p. cent. ( being removed. /■ Table showing the fluctuations of Primary Sores in the largest Army Stations during two years when the Acts were in full force in those Stations. From 1879 to 1880 per 1,000 men. Plymouth rose from 33 to 50 = rise of 51 per cent. Portsmouth ;> 27 „ 76 = „ 181 Woolwich ;> 44 » 73 = „ 66 Windsor 5> 46 „ 106 = ,,130 Shorncliffe '> 68 „ 86 = fall of 26 Cork !> 29 „ 72 = rise of 148 Curragh )> 77 ,,124 = „ 61 From 1880 to 1881 per 1,000 men. Plymouth rose from 50 to 51 = rise of 2 percent. Portsmouth fell ,, 76 „ 57 = fall of 25 Woolwich fell „ 73 „ 63 ^^ )> 14 Windsor rose „ 106 „ 163 = rise of 54 Shorncliffe fell „ 86 „ 34 = fall of 60 Cork fell „ 72 „ 53 = 26 Curragh fell „ 124 ., 63 ^^ 5) 49 A general rise in the chief stations under the Acts, is observable. 51 Average duration, in days, of cases in Hospital. 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878. Stations under Acts Stations not under Acts 26.85 27.36 27.00 27.64 28.58 28.57 27.05 26.31 25.11 24.80 Showing a rise under the Acts of 1.73 days, i.t'., virulency was increasing. Showing a fall not under the Acts of 3.77 days, i.e., virulency, was decreasing. GONORRHCEA. In Hospital, Ratios per i ,000 men. Stations under Acts. Stations not under Acts. 1860101869 126 112 1869 106 loS 1870101878 I 82 (Acts in full operation) 81 The rate of reduction was better in Stations not under the Acts than in other Stations. Men Constantly in Hospital. 1861 to 1866 10.44 of diminution. 1867 to 1872 6.83 34.6 ... 1873 to 1878 3-83 43-9 •■• 8.35 5-78 3-34 Percentage of diminution. 30.8 42.2 9-3 11.4 An increase in the rate of improvement in favour of the Stations not under the Acts. Average duration of cases in Hospital. ... 28.1 days. ... 20.0 ,, 16.6 „ Rate of improvement and severity of cases throughout in favour of the Stations not under the Acts. Average ratio per 1,000 men from 1S60 to FS84, 14 Stations under Acts. All Stations not under Acts. 116 Men. 109 Men. 1861 to 1866 30.4 days 1867 to 1872 21.7 „ 1873 to 1878 20.0 ,, 52 SYPHILIS (the only serious disease) In Hospital^ Ratios per i,ooo men. Average from i860 to 1884 14 Stations under Acts ... 14 „ not under Acts All „ ditto 100 Military Stations Men admitted to Hospital in Stations under Acts 29.48 34-51 30.63 26.33 Year 1866 — 67 — 68 —69 — 70 — 71 —72 — ']■}, — 74 23.39 I 22.26 I 30.29 I 26.33 I 25.01 I 20.30 I 24.26 I 23.19 I 24.5 Year 1875 —76 —^i —78 28.7 I 27.4 I 23.78 I 26.64 It will be seen that no improvement, but rather the reverse, resulted from the operation of the Acts. In the Army, as a wJiole, this disease increased 7.89 per cent, during the years the Acts were in operation on the average of the whole period from 1866 to 1884. Average duration in Hospital, in days. Ratios per 1,000 i)ien. Year — 1870 — 71 — 72 — -;■}) — 74 In 14 selected Stations 28.22 | 29.37 ! 28.99 [ 30.51 | 29.57 under the Acts Year — 1875 — 7^ — n — 78 Average 29.26 I 30.61 i 30.99 I 27.18 = 29.41 Year — 1870 — 71 — 72 — "j-}, In all Stations 7iot 27.27 [ 27.00 | 28.20 | 26.98 under the Acts Year— 1874 —75 —76 —-]■] —78 26.63 I 27.00 I 27.89 I 24.85 I 24.60 = 26.71 There was, therefore, greater severity of disease in the Stations under the Acts. 53 Percentage of Secondary Syphilis on primary sores. Stations under Acts. Stations not under Acts. 1861 to 1866 34.1 29.8 i857 „ 1872 37-6 31.2 Complete operation of 7 ,. Acts 1873101878^ 56.0 42.4 The proportion of syphilitic cases to primary sores increased in Stations under the Acts, particularly during the complete operation of the Acts. Table showing fluctuations from time to time in amount of Secondary Syphilis. Stations under Acts. Plymouth, 2,Z 21 36 27 32 II Portsmouth, 45 59 27 22 16 20 Chatham, 28 43 17 25 12 16 Woolwich, 68 25 14 31 89 21 Aldershot, 47 29 17 22 38 34 Dover, 39 19 39 8 25 12 Stations not unde r Acts. Isle of Wight ,31 54 60 32 12 27 Warley, 17 37 16 29 13 35 Hounslow, 72 2,0 70 19 12 21 Sheffield, II 32 yi 26 56 37 Preston, 14 53 30 94 31 18 Athlone, 21 62 24 10 55 12 The figures above, and those which follow, are extracted from the Evidence before the Select Committee, 1879-82, up to the date of Report ; those beyond that date arc taken from Returns to Parliament by Dr. Birkbeck Nevins. 54 The Tables of fluctuations in individual stations show that very great fluctuations in the amount of disease occurred both in Stations under the Acts, and in those not under the Acts, and were so great as to prove that the Acts had no controlling influence over the amount of disease. Concerning the mortality from syphilis, Mr. Humphries (then senior clerk in the Statistical Department in Somerset House) published a communication in the British Medical Journal'm 1876, wherein he definitely asserted that there had been no reduction in the mortality from this disease in the Stations under the Acts. The figures purport to show with respect to primary sores, which are not syphilitic, that they diminished in the Stations under the Acts at a greater rate than they diminished in other Stations, but the rate did not exceed the rate 0/ decrease which existed before the Acts were put into operation. It appears that gonorrhoea diminished in all Stations, but at a lower rate in the Stations under the Acts than in others, whilst there was a greater virulence of the disease in the Stations under the Acts than in the others. With respect to syphilis, the most important disease, it is worthy of special observation that the figures show a ratio of only 2.02 men per 1000 constantly in hospital in the Stations under the Acts, and a ratio of only 2.39 men per 1000 in the Stations not under the Acts, before the Acts were put into operation, conclusively disproving the exaggerated ideas con- cerning the amount of syphilis in the Home Army, which prevailed at the time of passing the Acts, and which furnished the pretext for their enactment. The number seems to have diminished in the Stations under the Acts a little more than in the other Stations, but in the former the disease became more severe, and it increased in proportion to the non-syphilitic sores. 55 The Select Committee of the House of Commons were singularly divided in opinion upon the saving which could be claimed for the Acts (accepting the figures of the statisticians); but the result was insignificant, even taking the higher figures. The claim per i,ooo men per annujii saved io active service was put By the Majority Report : By the Minority Report : Primary Sores, ^ of a man. | to f of a man. Gonorrhoea, |^ to f of a man. "possibly " ~ of a man. Syphilis, | to i{ of a man. 2T of ^ "^^"> o^ Total actual ") 5.38 men, or savm : aciuai / 5. 35 men, or 1 . • 4.1, ^ ^ j a g from [269 in the protected 4 m the protected Army hospital J "Army of 50,000. j °^ 50,ooo. The expense of the Acts was ^^30,000 per annum. The question, " Did the system succeed in preventing disease among the soldiers?" may now be answered. The most favourable answer of the thick and thin supporters of the system, is "To the extent of 269 men in 50,000, in hospital, in the course of a year." But this answer must be qualified by the statement that in it all the advantages of peculiarly careful sanitary pre- cautions which were taken to prevent disease in the Stations under the Acts, are ascribed to the system, though they formed no part of, and existed before the system — precautions which produced before the introduction of the system, great and always increasing success in preventing the invaliding of soldiers from venereal disease. The answer must be further qualified by the statement that the statistics upon which it is based were vitiated by inaccuracies in details, and by Fallacious Comparisons. The "most favourable answer," assuming that it were accurate, could not be said to be satisfactory, or to supply 56 material for much boasting. But it is not accurate. The fact is, that if a curve line be drawn representing year by year the amount of venereal disease in the Army, or of any particular form of that disease, or the amount of that disease at any particular Stations, and if the line begins five years before the Acts were put into operation, and is continued for five years thereafter, it would be impossible for anyone looking at it to say when the Acts were put into force. They manifestly made no appreciable variation in the curve of disease. They did NO GOOD. CHAPTER VII. Alleged Hygienic Results in the Navy. In the Navy venereal diseases, of all kinds combined, increased to a very large extent while the Acts were in full force, as the following figures show : — hi Hospital^ Ratios per i,ooo men. Of Priinary, Secoftdary Syphilis, and Gonorrhcea. 1866 (No Acts) 89.5 1869 (Gradual extension of Acts) 93-6 1879 (After ID years of perfect operation) ... 117.8 18S2 (After 13 years of perfect operation) ... 135. Men in Hospital froin Priniary, Secondary Syphilis, and Gonorrhcea. Ratios per 1,000 men, {loss of service ~\ 20,000 men. ^ iSSzi^ff 3 >''="'?°nii.? = do. do. of 230 „ ( perfect operation ) ^ 58 c na a d c O J= r". 3 P cu o P-, ^ UJ C, (l> 1- »M O w5 &, o o < rt S5 -C a w o o ~. ►J Ph 1^ < o X2 o Pi o> p ^ w rt rC H d) V^ -^ , o o "^ c o ■ J 4 )_ rt >% 0) >-l tiO > 0) -< lin *C/3 a >. r75 CJ to > ^ < c; >*- ' ^ ^ -^ o § ■^ \ s 1 L^ ^^ ^ OO ^^ eo ' 1 <- / / a. 00 ^ •v Kl \, 1 en ^ X CK. ~ ^ -- ^-^ ...^^Tt ^^ S5 ^ - ^ /* i: -% J y / ^ c^ -^ --^ Y /• • — -^ _^ in "" / i o o o c OO V- o >c fo ro fO cv. O O ^ .CM 59 That there was no possible connection between the presence or the absence of the so-called " protection" of the Acts and the ratio of disease, is evidenced by the preceding diagram and by the following list, showing the relative health positions of the Naval Stations : — Average Ratio -per i,ooo men of Venereal Diseases of all kinds on the average of seventeen years, 1 866 to 1 882 . 1. S.E.America — Not protected ... ... ... ... 67.47 2. W. Coast Africa and Cape Good Hope — Protection occasional, and very slight ... ... ... ... 77-92 3. ^Mediterranean — Fully protected ... 89.34 4. Australian — Almost wholly protected 91-25 5. East Indian — Protection slight and intermittent ... 92.67 6. N.American — Protection very slight 99-7 7. Home — Protected in larger ports, Chatham and Sheer- ness ; and, some minor ones, Dartmouth, Dover, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Queenstown, and South- ampton 105.20 8. Irregular — All over the World 105.28 9. Pacific— Protected in some places ... ... ... 129.66 10. China— Alore stringently and longer protected than any other naval station 193-25 With such results as the foregoing, it is not surprising that the thick-and-thin supporters of the Acts, who constituted the majority of the Special Committee of 1879—1882, forbore to investigate the Statistics of the Navy, although empowered to do so by the House of Commons, CHAPTER VIII. Hygienic Results among Women. The Contagious Diseases Acts were based upon the idea Jhat less disease amo ngsFpro s titutes meant le jsjdanger to the soldiers anH^iaiiors! To lessen the disease Jjnongst them, periodical examinations of the jDersons__Q£_women-were instituted. But mark the fact that, under the system, disease increased atnotig the prostitutes, and it may fairly be said that the increase of disease in that quarter meant increase of danger to the men who resorted to the women, and a Consequent Total Defeat of the Examination Scheme. The Annual Reports to Government, issued by the special Police, gave the ratios of disease yearly. The period under the Acts is divided into sections of three years each in the following table, which shows the percentage of disease among registered women : — Per cent. 1866 (Before the system was enforced) .. 121. 6 1870 to 1872 (ist period of compulsory examination)... 143.5 1873101875 (2nd do. do. )... 135.5 1876 to 1878 (3rd do. do. )... 1437 1879 to 1 88 1 (4th do. do. )... 169.5 The number of admissions to hospital gives an average of 1.2 times for each woman in the year at first, which increased to 1.69 times a year at last. The Royal Commission of 1870 said the object of the system was to make recourse to prostitutes " much less dangerous;" in fact, it made such recourse much wore dangerous ! 62 The above-mentioned results are based upon observation in England ; it is instructive to be able to show that precisely similar results have followed the Examination Systicm in Paris, where it has been longest in operation and most effectually carried out. In Paris, also, Government and Municipal statistics are gathered with a completeness of which we have no parallel in this country. M. Yves Guyot, lately a member of the Municipal Council of Paris, now a Member of the Chamber of Deputies, and Minister of Public Works, in his exhaustive work on Prostitu- tion,* affords valuable and reliable information as to the Hygienic effects of the system, as regards women treated in the several Hospitals of Paris. He proves conclusively that the health of the women has been in the inverse ratios of THE FREQUENCY OF EXAMINATIONS ! ! In that city prostitutes are divided by the Police into three categories, i. Women interned in registered houses {i7iaisons tolerees). 2. Women " isolated," living in their own lodgings ; and 3. Clandestine women not inscribed on the register at all. There are also those of the latter class, who are arrested by the Police, placed on the register, and, if diseased, sent into hospital. The first class are very frequently examined and under the most strict medical surveillance ; the second class are less frequently visited for examination ; the third class (being clandestine) escape compulsory examinations ; the women arrested have had no previous examinations. Now M. Guyot furnishes the two following tables of results, for the years 1872 to 1880 inclusive — the one relating to syphilitic and the other to non-syphilitic diseases. * " Prostitution under the Regulation System ; French and English." Translated by E. B. Truman, M.D,, 1884. (George Redway^ London.) 63 ^1 M t^ u-1 o r-^ On „ CO CO ^5 n " " -' O O - - Cl Q O « •^ H S l-O M-t Cn r^ t— 1 CO ra- On CO •a O n I^ Cl CO On CO On ON o >-<-> rl- CO C) M CO CO NO ^ H O ;zi ^5 B o |1 Pi o C7\ CO „ r-^ _ i-n o u-l -=J- M C) C) " Cl Cl CO o •^ ro -t- M '^ ON On rv. CO r^ /3 -rf o t^ CO ON •^ o r^ O CO CO M M HH ^ "-• •-« CI >> K -2 ON o o CO lO On NO O CO O o\ r^ O vO NO :^ -* LO CO M M •^ CO t^ O r^ ^ o t^ OS o ON CO t^ t^ NO l-H '-0 o ul ON NO N t^ NO CO ON l-O i-n n — ON o ON p n n CI M Cl Cl •—1 Cl •— • « o H ^ •-^ 1— 1 CO ir\ CO CO CO NO NO l-O ,i3 vO CO CO ON NO "*t •rt •^ O W W ri CO C-1 O M c^ d N C) a CO H r— a 0) ^ - « ? o CO r\ O lO CO CO CO N-l M -1- O -1- •+ nO r^ CO ■^ 1^ 1^ Cl " o_ *<-s ON Os ri ^ in ON O On o lJ-> \o O U1 ■^ CO CO •^ -t Q s o ,-, sO » Cl en O O n CO -1- CO li-i ri "— • O ri CI •-< ^ —' ^ *"* ^ w 02 d vO o CO o CO ON ON r^ CO vO lO On -1- Cl 1^ «-■ s ro CO fO -t CO co CO CO cP ci cP CO -t lO NO r^ oo ON O M I~^ r^ t^ r^ CO CO CO CO CO CO CO oo CO ^ "^ " 64 ii „ o Ov o\ *o rO lr^ CO n fi,« N N « -' l-l « »-^ O « H o c H H •«S t^ VO n -f- ro CO n VA 1/-1 < ^i ro n CO i^ Ov *-« uo vO CO vO O tr> u-i ro ■^ '* M CO ( ^ OQ O o !« a 3 8 'J ^ -J CO o r-. Cv CO N vO o (iiS ro M f< N M CI , o F-i m O HH ui O 1- M 00 00 Ov .J M ^■ m t^ CO vO t^ hH r^ cs n n C^ *"' «-ai o fl ^. o ON o o ro Ln O vC t— 1 CO Sa o ON i^ O vO VO I^ •+ -2 « w-1 CO M ri •* CO r^ o t--. vO r^ Ov O CV CO r^ r^ o '-' -t.^ ro o r^ ro vO vO 00 o o a O t-^ c^ •* w-i n ov CO -* ;-i ri ri ro rn ri n CO p C-i w +j c -*-= ^ Cv o ■* — +- ■* rf ro u-i vO H ;^l o r^ ov ov vO un LO -^ PS ri ro ro ro r< o N kH H s .J w j- o CO Cv Ov U-V CO CO 00 1-1 - n ■^ O -1- -1- vO r^ 00 -1- :a ^ ^-t >~* ►-< N- t— ' I— ri HI o Jz; i-r> ro rn t^ ri o Ov o CO ^ \0 vO Ln u-i U-1 r<-) CO C) O o o -*^ *J3 M On t-^ ro vO Cv 't o \J-\ lU !^1 ■^ 1— 1 O r-^ vO CO VO ■■ ri CI ri " K-t *-( o m CQ O o CO vO CO Ov Cv r^ CO ,Q I— 1 VO vj-l Ov '^ C4 t^ Ov HH B i-> -* 'd- •<:t- ro CO \r\ CO 1^ CO CO ro ro ro fO f) M (M "l pi n ro -* tri VO t\ CO Cv O -«i t^ r^ t^ J^ t^ t^ r^ t^ CO H CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO r- " " 65 In order to place the results before the eye M. Guyot adds the following Diagrams, which speak for themselves : — Percentage of Syphilitic Women According to their' Different Categories. -■10 7- •i.872 1873 \B7'^ ]B75 1876 1877 1878 187? I880 66 Percentage of Women Suffering from Venereal Diseases in their Diffkrknt Categories. PER c 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I ^^ j ' 1 W 1 \"r> \>/ 1 \?i 1 Vl 1 ^ ^ N\ 1 \^ r» \ \ ' \ \^ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ^^^^" y' ^ A oJrficrl '>r" /- , i^^jeli cLj y "~-~-^^ -^^ "^---^ ■^^ ~--^^^ 4rregCc \&- _^ ^ Noth rrQ vsberexL __ r ^^ ^^ -^ _^ "^ -^ «872 (8X3 4874 4875 1876 i877 1878 1879 t88o M. Bulsj a burgomaster of Brussels, gives similar testimony, although an advocate of the system. There entered hospitals in Brussels in the years 1S71 to 1880, certain women, of whom some were closely interned in registered houses, while others were " scattered," as he termed it, through the city, and could not consequently be under strict medical supervision. The result was as in Paris, that there was a larger percentage of disease among the women most strictly looked after. Here are the percentages.* Entered Hospital. Women from Registered Houses. Women Scattered. I87I 47-9 per cent. 22.2 per cent. 1872 44-4 )> 24.8 )) 1873 47-3 • 1877 50.5 n 36.9 )> 1878 65-5 )J 30-4 I) 1879 60.8 11 47.0 )5 1880 53-1 !> 31.0 >J These figures could be multiplied to any extent, but enough has been said to show that whatever results may 1 ave Guyot, page 241. 68 been obtained by the regulation system, women have invariably sufTcred in health in proportion as they have been brought under its influence. The hypocritical pretext that it is an angel of mercy to women, is so completely disproved that it is hoped that it is buried for ever. The alleged reformatory or moral results of the system will be treated of in Chapter X, CHAPTER IX. Hygienic Failure Inevitable. The pro- Acts party boasted that_if_ they— Ciiiild. put _e_V£iy prostitute undeflTie inspecting eyes of surgeons 6nce_£ye.ry fortlnight, the surgeons would discover the presence of venereal disease if it existed among the infecting class of persons, and, having the power to intern the diseased women in hospital until cured, venereal disease would be encircled by a medical cordon, which would gradually draw in, stamping out the disease as the circle became constricted, until the disease, becoming small by degrees and beautifully less, soldiers might have indiscriminate intercourse without fear of being infected with a disease painful and debilitating to them and injurious to the public service. This contention assumed (a) that prostitutes were the only infectors, (^) that examining surgeons trou/d detect -,the pTesence of^enereal disease by introspecting the prostitutes, (c) that the abse7ice of disease in a woman rendered her a non-infecting subject, {d) that examination once a fortnight was sufficient to keep her safe, {e) that all fornicators could be brought up for examination. These assumptions being false, vitiated the contention upon every point, because they were mere speculations con- tradicted by indisputable facts. It is obvious that any scheme for stamping out venereal disease which in no way dealt with it among men, was doomed to fail in its object. I'rostitutes are not the only infectors, or the chief infectors. It is a fact that more ///(•// die of this class of disease then -liwmen ; the inference is that there is more disease among the male sex. Women are the repositories of the diseases of the men who have inter- course with them. If the examination of a prostitute could warrant the assertion that she would not infect with disease a man having intercourse with her to-day, it does not follow that she will be a non-infectant to-morrow. The great French doctors are very positive on this point. MM. Ratier and Sandouvillc say the examinations should be made every four days, M. Langlebert says at least twice a week, M. Ricord says every three days, M. Lancereaux says every other day, and M. Mireur says every woman who has had syphilis ought to be inspected daily for eighteen months. None of them admit that examinations once a fortnight can be efficacious to prevent infection. The Contagious Diseases Ordinances for India required the examinations to be made every day, yet under these ordinances disease vastly increased. But it is fiot true that the examining surgeons can always detect the presence of venereal disease by even prolonged and careful introspection of a woman, and it is not true that the absence of disease in a woman renders her a non-infecting subject. Upon these points Dr. Andrews, Professor of the Principles and Practice of Surgery in the Chicago Medical College, remarks : — " There is a most mischievous error abroad as to what medical men can accomplish, even on those who are under control. The general supposition is, that when a phj'sician has examined a woman and found no disease visible, she is entirely safe to her paramours. This is a fatal blunder, as many a man has found to his cost. The following facts, well known to professional men, but not so much so to non- 71 professional readers, will explain my meaning : — There are three venereal diseases : two are purely local, and do not produce an injury to the general constitution ; the other is essentially a constitutional, as well as a local disease, and is the dreaded syphilis, which may break out anew after years of dormancy, and may be transmitted to offspring by inheritance. This last disease is the only one sufficiently important to demand public sanitary management. Now, the first two diseases may be experienced over and over again by the same person, but still individuals acquire a sort of partial insus- ceptibility to them, so that a practised prostitute may receive the poison without taking the disease herself. In this way a woman, who is herself perfectly healthy, and has nothing about her which a physician can discover to be wrong, may give disease to twenty men. " There is a peculiarity about the last mentioned disease, which places the matter in a still stronger light. This, the only really dangerous one of the diseases, like measles and smallpox, can usually be had only once by the patient. The prostitute usually gets the disorder early in her course, and THUS BECOMES INCAPABLE OF IT THEREAFTER. So far aS that disease is concerned, therefore, she can carry the poison WITH IMPUNITY TO HERSELF ; but woc to all the men who consort with her. In this case the physician is utterly power- less. He examines with the most conscientious care, and finds nothing in her condition which he can see to be wrong, and yet within the very hour some patron may receive from her a disease which shall cause his death." He adds, " In VIEW OF WELL KNOWN FACTS, IT IS A MATTER OF UTTER ASTONISHMENT THAT ANY SURGEON, or cven any man of uneducated common sense, should suppose that a medical EXAMINATION CAN GIVE THE LEAST SECURITY TO COHABITA- TION WITH PROSTITUTES." M. Fournier says : " The slightest lesions of the secondary period are those which arc most dangerous as agents of con- tagion. And they are most dangerous simply because of 72 tlieir benign appearance. Tlicy may very easily remain com- pletely unperceived. " M. Rigat says : " In women the chancre is rarely proved to exist de Tise. It is developed in almost all cases in an in- sidious way, without any kind of pain, and the woman becomes an involuntary source of contagion." Mr. Berkeley Hill, an advocate of the system, in his work on Syphilis (p. 40), says : " Syphilis in women often causes so little inconvenience that it escapes detectiofi, the eruption may be very slight, it may have faded or exist only in the flexures of the joints. To discover it at all, as Lancereaux has remarked, the woman must be stripped and every inch of skin examined, the mouth, throat, and arms must be introspected, as well as other organs, and, after all, it may escape detectiofi." But the examinations under the Acts Were Rapid, in the Extreme, and from beginning to end they did not occupy more than three to four minutes. They were entirely inefficacious, above all, for the discovery of syphilis. Yet another fact tended to make the examinations illusory. The women tampered with themselves to prevent their incarceration in hospital. General evidence of gonorrhoea can be easily removed before going up for examination. Some of the women in order to escape examination, stained themselves to simulate the appearance of monthly courses. The practice of tampering with themselves is so common among the prostitutes in France that Dr. Mireur, and MM. Lagneau and Uiday suggest they should be sequestered before examina- tion in order to prevent it, that is to say, the system requires a preliminary Imprisonment of the Women before the examinations are made, in addition to its other horrors. 73 But were every other assumption of the pro-Acts party well-made, the system was doomed, because all female forni- cators could not be brought up for examination. It caused an increase in clandestine prostitutes. Men sought for clandestine prostitutes. Mr. Acton told the Lords' Com- mittee, "The Continental police have not succeeded in getting them under control ; neither in Paris, in Vienna, nor in Belgium could the police do it." Clandestine prosti- tution is the rock on which all foreign systems of regu- lation have broken. Only one-tenth or one-seventh of the women who propagated disease were brought under the Acts in England, and those who were brought under them did not attend the examinations regularly. The system was in most complete order in the Devonport district, and had been so for years prior to 1878. That year the lowest number of prosti- tutes upon the Register was 450, yet the average attendance for examination was only 346, showing that at least 104 of those registered did not attend for examination. If, to this number, the number of clandestine prostitutes in the district could be added, it would probably be seen that the system, under the most favourable circumstances, was unable even to secure the regular examination of the greater number of the prostitutes in the district. The hygienic value of the system was a delusion which was kept alive by the pro-Acts party, and promulgated by them so as to offer a spurious security to men, who, befooled by it, imagined the brothel was a safe resort, and became infected in consequence. The police had constant evidence of this in the angry denunciations of prostitutes by men who asserted they had been infected by them. Whatever hygienic value the system might have had if applied to unreasoning and unresisting beasts of the field, and to both sexes of those, it was foredoomed to failure amongst human beings. Conceived in the interests of vice, and, there- 74 fore, against nature, applied to one sex, and only to a small projiortion of that sex, promulgated in the abused name of Science, and executed in the name of the Crown, with the support of all the resources of the Government, it failed, because it was Vicious Charlatanism. CHAPTER X. Alleged Moral Results. The Acts were not passed to secure any moral good for anyone, but, when they were challenged by opponents, the pro-Acts party did not hesitate to claim that in practice they were found to be morally beneficial. It was replied that the Acts ought not to be credited with the alleged moral benefits, because they contained no provision against juvenile or other prostitution, or against solicitation, or against brothel-keeping, unless when combined with harbouring diseased women. This reply was a good one as against the statutory expression of the intention of the Legislature, but it was open to the advocates of the Acts to make a rejoinder that the special police, having their attention concentrated upon the persons to whom the Acts were designed to apply, had many opportunities of restraining open immorality, of repressing juvenile prostitution, and of reclaiming adult prostitutes, and that effectively availing them- selves of those opportunities, good moral results followed, and were the consequences of, though not expressed in, the Acts. These alleged consequences have to be examined. It is not surprising that the brothel-keepers were almost unanimously in favour of the Acts, for, by the common law, keeping a brothel is a common nuisance, and may be indicted as such; but the Acts recognized their existence, and by 76 providing that their keepers should be prosecuted in the v7ie. case of housing a diseased woman, they naturally inferred a toleration of them when such an offence was not committed. In the annual reports of Captain Harris, of the special police, to the Government, it was claimed that brothels, and public-houses and beer-houses used as Brothels, had been Reduced in Number by the operation of the Acts by the large number of 825, of which 400 were public-houses and beer-houses. Mr. McLaren moved in the House of Commons for a Parliamentary Return of every case in which the special police initiated or assisted the local police in taking proceedings against these houses. The return was granted, and, when made, the 825 houses dii'i?idled dowti to 2, in one of which the prosecution was not because the house was used as a brothel, but because a deserter had been harboured therein. This astounding Exposure of Gross Inaccuracy in one important branch of the special police reports, makes it impossible to rely upon the other portions of those reports. In some places under the Acts the number of brothels ificreased. The action of the ordinary police tends every- where to a reduction of these houses, and this action was more effective in places Jiot under the Acts, than in the places where the Acts operated. Captain Harris also reported that in seventeen places under the Acts a great Reduction in Juvenile Prostitutes had occurred, and, nearly the whole of this reduction was said to have taken place in Devonport under the influence of Inspector Anniss. This Inspector reported that 646 common prostitutes under eighteen years of age were in Devonport when he entered upon his office there in 1865, and he claimed 77 to have reduced them to just one in iSSi. According to Anniss, who gave evidence to the Royal Commission in 1870, every tenth woman in Devonport, and one in every fefi girls between thirteen and fifteen years old, must have been a common prostitute in 1865. He was inclined to magnify unduly the need of his office and its usefulness. He asserted that there were 212 prostitutes of fifteen years and under in 1865, but the local police utterly denied the truth of his state- ment, and asserted in turn that there were not, at that time, more than 20 prostitutes under sixteen years of age. The magistrates, police, and people of Devonport were indignant, and Anniss was called upon to explain. His explanation was, that the number he gave as prostitutes when he took office was the number suspected, and his last figure was got from the register. He found only one on the register. This was the method of supporting the claim of the special police to have reduced the number of prostitutes by 645. They made a guess at the number suspected in a place when they began to act ; they put the figures high, then they looked at their register of prostitutes, which was grossly incomplete, and claimed the difference between the figures as a reduction made by the operation of the Acts. It is impossible to accept the figures thus arrived at as being of the slightest value. But these figures were warmly welcomed, and gladly, though rashly, accepted as trustworthy by the advocates of the Acts, and, in 1875, their opponents were challenged to show any- thing like such a reduction in the number of prostitutes in places not under the Acts. The challenge was accepted with alacrity. An Elaborate and Searching Enquiry was instituted, and returns were obtained from the chief constables of the large Cities and Towns in l-lngland and Scotland, and from the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland concerning that country. 78 A report of this enquiry was presented to the Home Secre- tary in March, 1876, and showed that in the eighteen places under the Acts the number of prostitutes was said to have been reduced 42. S per cent., but in thirty cities and towns not under the Acts, inchiding London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Man- chester, and the large seaports Glasgow, Liverpool, etc., the number was reduced 43.2 percent. The result of the challenge was to show that upon the police figures the reduction in the places not under the Acts was slightly greater than in the places under the Acts. Mr. Acton, a high authority on the subject of prosti- tution, says the average length of time that women continued to practise prostitution previous to the Acts was four years, that is to say, 25 per cent, left prostitution every year. According to Captain Harris' returns only 13 per cent, of the women in the subjected districts left prostitution yearly, and 87 per cent, of those who went into hospital returned to prostitution immediately on their discharge from the alleged reformatory influences acting upon them there. A large proportion of the prostitutes have some hold upon respectability, and cherish a hope of reformation and respect- able marriage, a hope which they not unfrequently realize. But when arrested by the police, or put upon the police register, and compelled to attend notorious examinations, they were rudely deprived of this hope, robbed of their hold upon respectability, and plunged into an abyss of infamy subject to the public gaze. They became publicly committed to the shameful life from which they thenceforth had little or no prospect of emerging. The Rev. Flavel Cook, U.D., Chaplain to the Lock Hospital, Westbourne Park, London, who was called to support the Acts, when giving evidence touching the alleged reclamations of the women under the Acts, spoke of them as " Government Women," 79 and stated that he could at best say " he had hopes of some of them," he emphasized " the comparative irreclaimability of Government women," and said, " of course, the reclamation was a charitable assumption or hope." From the evidence adduced before the Committee of the House of Commons it is clear that the visits of the special police to the brothels were made, not for the purpose of rescuing or reclaiming girls, but for the purpose of discovering persons to bring them upon the register of prostitutes. The reclamations claimed by the special police included those reclaimed by the London Rescue Society and other benevolent societies, and those lost sight of by the police who were marked "returned to their friends," and women who were discharged from the register, but were subsequently re-registered, were counted again and again as having been '•reclaimed" as often as they were so discharged. The machinery of the Acts which provided no homes or places of refuge for the women did not facilitate, but greatly hindered, the work of rescuing and reclaiming prostitutes, as the Rescue Societies have affirmed. But it was said, the good moral influence of the Acts was to be seen in an increased Outward Appearance of Decency in the behaviour of the women in the streets. This decency, if it existed, was not due to any improvement in the morality of the women, A number of witnesses connected with Rescue Homes gave strong evidence to the Select Committee of the House of Commons upon the hardening influence of the periodical examinations under the Acts upon the women, and the almost insuperable difficulty of reclaiming women who had once been subjected to them. The Rev. Flavel Cook (([uoted above) said, the women admitted to the hospital under the Acts, were, as a class, much harder to deal with, and much less open to any remonstrances or entreaty, or to any spiritual So or moral agency, that he had ever licen able to bring to bear upon them. There were words of Holy Scripture that always came into his mind about them, " who, being past feeling, have given themselves over." That was the horrible impression that he had about them. It must be remembered that the Acts contained no pro- vision for regulating the behaviour of the prostitutes in the streets. They are limited to the single object of providing machinery for enforcing fortnightly examinations of all female prostitutes, and compulsorily curing those infected with venereal disease. The machinery failed to do more than partially effect its purpose, and inflicted grievous wrong uncompensated by any cures effected. The reason for creating this machinery was the presence of venereal disease in the Army and Navy, which was to be stamped out by it. In this it Completely Failed. It stamped out nothing but the moral susceptibilities ot the women, whom it patched up, not with a view of per- manently keeping them from infecting men, but in order to make them temporarily fit to be used by men who, themselves diseased, would cause them to be returned to the hospital to be continually repaired and refitted for such use. The disease was not perceptibly lessened in extent, it was intensified in virulency (as has been shown). Suffering was increased among men and women by the existence of the Acts. If the Acts made an infamous calling a little more decorous (which is denied), they failed to make an impure and immoral indul- gence more safe, which was their avowed purpose, as expressed in the Reports of the Royal Commissions. fart ffi. OPPOSITION TO THE SYSTEM, AND ITS OVERTHROW. CHAPTER XI. Commencement of Opposition. The first time a measure was introduced into Parliament to regulate vice in modern times was in 1864; but in 1S63 the advocates of this measure were sounding public opinion on behalf of their experiment, by means of the press. One news- paper alone, The Daily j\'ews, in a series of leading articles, published in the month of September in that year, protested against the scheme, which it declared was "set about in an indirect way, with the cunning of conspiracy," and which assumed " steadily, without pause, intermission, or a hint of doubt, that police supervision is, in the case of this vice and disease, a specific safeguard." The writer of these articles was the renowned Miss Harriet Martineau, who was in this way the first to raise the alarm, and whom we shall presently see renewing, at a more favourable juncture, 6 82 her attack upon the system of vice regulation. It is strange that no one heeded the warning, that no one else joined in the protest, and that, save ft)r a slight opposition in the House of Commons, which was easily silenced, no other sound of opposition was heard unt^l the year 1868. Encouraged by the success of their endeavours to fasten on the nation a system of State-managed prostitution, the pro-Acts party proceeded to institute an agitation by meetings of a semi-public character for the extension of the Acts to the whole country. The strategy of silence had succeeded, but publicity damned them. On May, 1868, a meeting was called in support of this agitation, and was held in the Mayor's Parlour, Newcastle-on-Tyne. The advertisement of this meeting was seen by Dr. Hooppell, then the Principal of the A\'interbottom Nautical College in South Shields, who did not go to the distant meeting, believing that there would not be lacking eminent and able advocates of purity who would attend and prevent any mischief arising from the gathering. He looked with keen interest for a report of the meeting, and was astounded and horrified to learn that the meeting, though small, was unanimous in resolving to petition Parliament for the extension of the Acts. There were present twelve medical men, twelve other laymen, and three clergymen. Dr. Hooppell immediately wrote a letter, which appeared in The Shields Gazette of May 7th, 1868, in which he explained and denounced the system as it then existed in certain places in the South of England. This was the First Public Declaration of War against the system after its adoption in this country. In that year, and about that time, the " Association for pro- moting the extension of the Contagious Diseases Act, 1866 to the civil population of the United Kingdom," issued its first report. Its existence was centred in Mr. Berkeley Hill, who was one of its honorary secretaries, and who was its most 83 enthusiastic proselytizer. The report was devoted to an exaggerated insistence upon the prevalence of venereal diseases, to the assertion that the spread of these diseases was to be easily checked by precautionary measures, such as those then enforced under the Contagious Diseases Act of 1866, and to the declaration that an inevitable result of such measures was the improvement in the moral and social condition of the women. The report also contained a list of the Members and Com- mittee of the Association, which subsequently became a black list for Repealers, and some who were too easily seduced into membership had reason soon after to regret the too great publicity given to their slip. It counted amongst its members some Bishops, Church Dignitaries, Members of Parliament, and others who subsequently became candidates for Parlia- ment, and found their membership a cause of Hindrance to their Success. For the most part, they had to thank the misleading eloquence of Mr. Berkeley Hill for their error. That gentleman visited many of the large towns in this country, and delivered addresses setting forth the great sanitary and moral benefits which he alleged the Acts had produced. Branch Associations were formed in forty-three towns, and men of great repute, whose benevolent interest in the diminu- tion of disease and in the reformation of the fallen could not be doubted, joined these branches. U'his " benevolent interest " was the alleged basis of the Association. But the most active demonstration of truly " benevolent interest " was to be found in the work of the Society for the Rescue of Young Women and Children, known as the Rescue Society, of which the late Mr. Daniel Cooper was the Secretary, Mr. Cooper was widely known because of the many successful results of his earnest and disinterested efforts to rescue and restore the wretched, the helpless, and the outcast. To him Mr. IJcrkeley Hill went 84 to hold a consultation upon the subject. Mr, Cooper had become acquainted with the introduction into several towns of the Contagious Diseases Acts, but their working was shrouded with so much secrecy, that though he wrote letters, made enquiries, paid visits to the towns, and interrogated the women on the streets, and became convinced that some mischief was at work, yet his efforts to discover what the mischief was, were baffled until Mr. Berkeley Hill called upon him. From that gentleman he learned all about it, and from that minute he was the Active and Resolute Foe of the System which was hateful to him as a Christian, and as an English lover of freedom. He spoke of it to many members of the Rescue Society, who joined him in the struggle, though the Society itself always kept aloof from the movement, and though large parts of the Society's reports were devoted to the consideration of this question, the cost of printing them was paid for, not out of the funds of the Society, but out of monies subscribed specially for the movement. Mr. Cooper was speedily joined by Mr. R. B. Williams and by Professor Sheldon Amos, who brought to the controversy great legal knowledge and acumen. Mr. Cooper's efforts were directed to the exposure of the operation of the Acts, and the prevention of their threatened extension to other towns, and in the fifteenth Annual Report of the Rescue Society, published in 1868, he inserted, under the title of "A Dear Remedy," some powerful arguments against the Continental System, which, he said, "there appeared to be a strong disposition on the part of some persons in this country to introduce." As soon as this Report came into the hands of the Extension Association, they regarded it as the token of an awakening opposition, and endeavoured to get their Bill for the extension of the Act forced through Parlia- ment at once. Jn the month of June, 1868, the eccentric Marquis 8s Townshend introduced into the House of Lords a Bill for extending the operation of the Act of 1866 to the Metropolis, and to any corporate borough which chose to adopt it. In the meantime the Rescue Society's report had been sent to every member of Parliament, and a Lords' Committee had been appointed to consider the operation of the Act. It was after the publication of the report of the Lords' Committee, made on July 2nd, in favour of extending the operation of the Act, that a counter movement was launched. Mr. Cooper secured a conference of workers connected with other Refor- matory Associations, enlightened them as to the character of the new legislation, and gained their adhesion to his plan. A strongly-worded protest was drawn up and sent to every member of both Houses of Parliament. Townshend's Bill was Withdrawn, and nothing was done that year. The Extension Association were disappointed, and its members were called together to protest against Government inaction, and the non-fulfilment of its pledges to introduce a measure such as they desired. The views of this Association were given full publicity in the daily papers, tvhich refused to admit cotnmu?iications on the other side. Great pressure was put upon the Government, and a Committee of Enquiry was appointed by the House of Commons. Three at least of the members of that Committee were closely connected with the Association, and several others were known to be prejudiced in favour of the measures it urged. In the meantime Mr. Cooper and his friends had not been negligent. They entered into communication with the Home Secretary (Mr. Bruce), and requested an interview. He assented to Mr. KnatchbuU-Hugessen (his Under-Secretary) receiving a deputation which should be of a quite private character. The interview took place on March 2olh, 1869, and Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen, at its close, invited the depu- tation to forward to him any papers or suggestions on the 86 subject which they might wish to submit to the Government. Accordingly, a Memorandum was prepared and signed in April, 1869, on behalf of the Committees of the Metropolitan Institutions for the reclamation of Fallen Women. It objected to the further extension of the Act, the moral effect of which would prove injurious to the nation at large, as it had proved to be injurious to the peoples on the Continent. They earnestly desired the mitigation of contagious diseases^ and believed this could best be effected by the provision of addi- tional and sufficient hospital accommodation, which women would voluntarily accept, and remain till cured. They did not object to the existence of measures for the detention of women in hospitals till cured, which might be effected by hospital regulations, or by the adoption of a clause in the Poor Law Act of 1867, authorising the detention of poor persons " suffering from bodily disease of an infectious or contagious character." They urged improvements in the hospitals. They protested solemnly and emphatically against statutory provisions or police regulations, which enjoined or sanctioned the summons or arrest of prostitutes as such. They held that the Act amounted to public and State recognition of, if not direct connivance at, prostitution. They quoted figures to show that the measure would utterly fail to effect the end desired, and appealed to their own experience in support of the statement. This document w^as printed and extensively circulated, a copy being forwarded to every Member of Parliament, and to the principal Clergy of the Metropolis and principal towns in England, and to the leading Nonconformist Ministers. From many of these letters came expressing the utmost astonish- ment that such an Act should have been passed, and at the proposal made for its general application. Letters and petitions against the Act began to pour in upon Members of Parliament. «7 The House of Commons Committee, Refused to Receive any Evidence in opposition to the Acts, Dr. Hooppell offered himself as a witness against the extension of the Act, basing his claim on his identification with, and experience of, seamen, but he was not called. Otily those favourable to the extension were called, but the Committee did not venture to do more than advise that the scope of the Act should be widened so as to take in other garrison towns, and that the area of, and control around, those places should be greatly extended. This advice was accepted, and a Bill was introduced in the House of Commons, and hurried through both Houses so rapidly and quietly, that, notwithstanding there were many on the alert to oppose such a measure, it passed its successive stages without opposition, and received the Royal Assent August II, 1869. Whilst Mr. Daniel Cooper and his friends were gathering their forces together, and making war in London, war hrd broken out in the North of England and in the Midlands. Dr. Hooppell v.'as raising the North Country. The Extension Association held a meeting at Newcastle-on- Tyne on May 24th, 1869. Dr. Hooppell saw the advertisement of it, and, not trusting, as he had done the previous year, to the instincts of the people for opposition, he set about creating a public antagonism. He obtained the insertion, in each of the three daily morning papers published in Newcastle-on-Tyne, of a strong letter denouncing the Acts. He interviewed the clergymen who, in 1868, lent the countenance of their presence to the Association, and succeeded in securing their absence from the meeting. He also laid the matter very fully before Dr. Rutherford, of Newcastle, who combines in his own person the physician and the di\inc, and obtained his cordial co-operation. The mceling was held at the Mechanics' Insti- tute (now the Free Library), New Lridgc Street, Newcastle. 88 Dr. Hooppell and Dr. Rutherford disputed the ground inch by inch with the promoters of the meeting, and, though the promoters carried their resolutions, they did so only by the votes of a minority of those present, for many voted with the two opponents, and a yet greater number abstained from voting either way. The next day all the newspapers had long reports of the meeting, and some of them had leading articles on the subject. It was with dismay that the extensionists perceived the rising of a storm of public disai)probation in the North as well as in the South. At Nottingham there lived an eminent physician and oculist, Dr. Charles Bell Taylor, who had become aware of the presence, in the country, of the Continental system of State- guaranteed larlotry. He had resided in Paris, Berlin, and other Continental cities, had attended their hospitals, and knew what that system was. He knew it was worse than useless as a protection from disease, he detested the tyranny and the outrages inseparable from it. He tried to rouse his countrymen to a sense of the evil amongst them, and which a small but energetic and influential section, chiefly of medical men, were endeavouring to extend over the whole land. He sent, in one week, forty letters to as many different public journals, and Only One \vas Printed in a Newcastle paper, at the time that Dr. Hooppell's letters were also appearing therein, and that champion's heart was greatly cheered by the advent of a friend who had written under the 7wm de plume of " Humanitas." After overcoming some difficulties, Dr. Hooppell discovered that the writer was Dr. C. Bell Taylor, and wrote to him. Their correspond- ence speedily brought them into close friendship, which developed into the most cordial and strenuous united action, destined to largely contribute to the final overthrow of the system. In the autumn of 1869 the Social Science Congress 89 was held at Bristol. Dr. Bell Taylor offered to read a paper thereat on the subject of the Acts, but received a letter in reply, in which, he understood, his offer was declined. Under these circumstances, Dr. Taylor suggested to Dr. Hooppell that they should hold a meeting in the large room of the Royal Hotel, Bristol, on one of the early days of the Congress. Dr. Hooppell joyfully assented. Dr. Taylor secured the services of Mr. F. C. Banks,* of Nottingham, who conducted the necessary correspondence. Several influential gentlemen and ladies rallied to the call, amongst whom were the late Mr. Robert Charleton, of Bristol, a well-known and greatly beloved member of the Society of Friends, who undertook to defray all the expenses of the meeting ; the Rev. H. T. Roper, Congregational Minister, at Bristol ; and Miss E. C. Wolsten- holme (afterwards Mrs. Wolstenholme-Elmy), to whom Dr. Bell Taylor had written in consequence of seeing her name associated with the movement for the Higher Education of Women. Miss Wolstenholme proved a most valuable and efficient ally. She it was who telegraphed and wrote to Mrs. Josephine Butler, then on the Continent, to the effect that the dreadful Continental system was in England, and so was the first to attract to the question the attention of one who was to be the Great Leader of the Movement for Repeal. Miss Wolstenholme also brought to the small band of workers many other devoted helpers. Stirred by one of these admirable women, Professor Francis W. Newman, then resident at Clifton, attended the meeting at the Royal Hotel, where about seventy were present. After a powerful expose of the system by Dr. Bell Taylor, and stirring addresses by Dr. Hooppell, Mr. (afterwards Alderman) Thos. Worth, M.R.C.S., of Nottingham, and Professor Newman, a strong denunciatory * Subsequently the active Secretary of the National Association. 90 resolution was carried, with but six dissentients. This meeting had an enormous effect upon the subsequent history of the struggle. It happened that Dr. Hooppell was to read a paper on Nautical Education at the Congress. After the meeting already referred to, he went to the office of the Social Science Asso- ciation to procure a programme of its proceedings. On glancing through this, in order to find when his paper was to be read, he discovered that Dr. Bell Taylor's name was down for a paper on the Contagious Diseases Acts, though the Secretary had declined it. There were also two other papers, in favour of the Acts, to be read — one by Dr. W. P. Swain, Surgeon to the Royal Albert Hospital, Devonport, and the other by Mr. Berkeley Hill, of the Extension Association. Dr. Hooppell, with great alacrity, carried this news to his friend, and together they resolved to give battle, with all the means at their disposal, on the coming Monday. A large number were present at the fray. Dr. Symonds occupied the chair, and the papers were duly read by Dr. Swain, Mr. B. Hill, and Dr. Bell Taylor. Then followed a discussion, in which a score of gentlemen took part. Dr. Hooppell began it, taking the course he followed with great success during many years afterwards, and in which The Right Hon. James Stansfeld and Dr. Birkbeck Nevins, of Liverpool, achieved fame— the course of proof from the statistics of the pro-Acts authorities themselves that the Acts were physically a failure. The other speakers were (italics denoting supporters of the Acts), Mr. T. Woolco}>ibe, Chairman of the Royal Albert Hospital, Devonport, R.ev. Wm. Arthur, ex-President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, Mr. Christopher JBulteel, of Bristol, Professor Newman, Mr. P. H. Holland, Mr. Robert Charleton, Dr. David Davies, Medical Officer of Health, Bristol, Mr. Thos. 91 Worth, of Nottingham, Dr. Druitt, Editor of the " Medical Times and Gazette," Rev. W. Caine, of INIanchester, Rev. Hy. Solly, of London, Dr. Stallard, Rev. W. L. Clay, Mr. Palmer, Rev. E. Matthews, of Manchester, Rev. H. Martin, Vicar of St. Nicholas, Bristol, Dr. Edmunds, of London. Mr. W. H. Michael who, during a part of the proceedings acted as Chairman, and Dr. Sytnonds, the President of the Section. The supporters of the Acts, when they found themselves in a minority, as they soon did, were very anxious to prevent the sense of the meeting being recorded. Great determination was evinced by the opponents of the Acts, and ultimately, after several hostile amendments had been defeated, a resolu- tion which had been drafted by the opponents of the Acts before entering the room, and which had been moved by Rev. William Arthur, and seconded by Professor Newman, was triumphantly carried by a Majority of Two to One. "That this meeting request the Council of the Social Science Association to take such steps as may seem to it desirable to record a protest against the secret legislation which has marked the progress of the Contagious Diseases Act in all its phases, and against the extension of the Act to several towns, in no sense garrison towns, which has recently been legalized without the knowledge or consent of the people, and without any public or proper discussion of the subject, and that it resist the extension of the Act to the civil popula- tion generally, inasmuch as it would fail to arrest disease, and would be fraught with the greatest injury to the best interests of Society." It is worthy of record that the meeting, estimated by The Times to have numbered over a hundred, was composed, with one exception, entirely of men. The solitary lady was Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. The word had gone round that ladies 92 wore not to ho admitted, but Dr. lUackwcU insisted on her right to be ]ircsent, and bravely sat through the discussion. The debate in the Congress was followed by a meeting next day in one of the Committee Rooms of the Victoria Hall, to form a " National Association " to resist the extension of the Acts, a step suggested by Dr. Hooppell and provided for before the Congress meeting. By some misunderstanding the lady friends of the movement were not present at the meeting, a circumstance which led to their subsequently deciding to form a separate Association under the title of "The Ladies' National Association."* There can be little doubt that, although the incident was thought untoward at the time, the independent but concurrent action of the two Associations, which always worked in the greatest harmony, tended powerfully to advance the cause. At this meeting, held on Tuesday, October 5th, 1869, the memorable birthday of the National Association, Mr. Robert Charleton presided, and Dr. Hooppell acted as Secretary. The Divine guidance and blessing were sought for its delibera- tions and efforts, and the following resolutions were, after full discussion, unanimously adopted : — 1. On the motion of Rev. S. A, Walker, Rector of St. Mary-le-Port, Bristol, seconded by Dr. Edmonds, of London, it was resolved, " That a National Association be formed to watch the progress of legislation in connection with the, so- called, Contagious Diseases Act, to use every means to enlighten the public mind respecting its real character, and to resist by all lawful means all legislation tending towards the encouragement or legal recognition of ])rostitution. 2. On the motion of Mr. Thomas Pease, of Bristol, * Vide further particulars of Association in Appendix. 93 seconded by Mr. Thomas Worth, of Nottingham, it was resolved, "That the name of the Association be 'The National Anti-Contagious Diseases Act Extension Association,' a name sufficiently cumbrous to need a modification, which it got at a later date. 3. On the motion of Rev. H. J. Roper, of Bristol, seconded by Dr. Bell Taylor, of Nottingham, it was resolved, " That all persons approving heartily the objects of the Society, and subscribing to its funds at least five shillings a year, be members." 4. On the motion of Mr. W. S. Capper, and seconded by Mr. Polglase, both of Bristol, the following first officers of the Association were appointed : — Vice-Presidents. The Rev. William Arthur. Professor Geo. Newman. Thomas Pease, Esq. Treas7irer. Robert Charleton, Esq. Secretary. Mr. Frederick Charles Banks. Committee. Chas. Bell Taylor, M.D., F.R.C.S. The Rev. R. E. Hooppell, LL.D. The Rev. Henry Martin. Thos. Worth, M.R.C.S. The Rev. H. Gale, LL.D. The Rev. H. J. Roper.* The Committee appointed Dr. Hooppell and Mr. Worth *For list of Auxiliary Associations and other particulars, vide Appendix. 94 to be Honorary Secretaries, and Robert Charleton, Dr. Bell Taylor, and Professor Newman, with the Honorary Secretaries, to be the Executive Committee. These gentlemen forthwith devoted themselves to spreading far and wide the news of the existence of the disgraceful laws which were in force in certain places in England and Ireland, and of the efforts which were being made to extend the scope of their abominable influence and operation to the whole of the United Kingdom. They founded a vast number of auxiliary Associations in the country. Here we must pause to look back and record some literary efforts which had been made, and mark the efforts which were also being made by others who were beginning to understand what had been done, and the evil principles which had been established by the State legalization of vice. In the spring of 1S69 Mr. Thomas Worth of Nottingham, whose name had been already mentioned as one of the pioneers, and who was a great leader in the movement, published " A Letter to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, First Lord of the Treasury, upon the proposed further extension of the Contagious Diseases Act to the Civil Population." This brochure of twenty pages went very fully into the subject, dealt in a masterly way with the evils of the system, and exposed the wickedness of its true character in most convinc- ing terms. It had a wide circulation and great effect. In the North of England, Rev. William Watson, of Hough- ton-le-Spring, a Wesleyan Minister, issued a very trenchant pamphlet of eight closely-printed pages, entitled " Secret and Iniquitous Legislation Unmasked and Exhibited," by A Patriot. We have already spoken of the publication of the report of the Rescue Society for 1868, by Mr. Daniel Cooper, of his observations on the system under the title of " A Dear Remedy." In the sixteenth report of that Society, published 95 in 1869, Mr. Cooper returned to the subject under the title of " The Remedy Worse than the Disease." This portion of the report was pubUshed in a pamphlet. He pointed out that the thing he had feared in 1868 was now in existence in the land, and that so insidious had been its intro- duction that even those who were engaged, as he and his Committee were, in daily striving to counteract the ravages of vice and folly, had only then become aware of its actual establishment. He proceeded to expose the true character of the legislation by extracts from the Report of the House of Lords Committee (to which reference has been made above), which had been taking ex parte evidence with respect to the Acts, evidence which was of a most frank and astonishing kind, for the witnesses were unaware of any controversy on the subject and did not modify the expression of their opinions to suit the public ears, but bluntly said what they meant, a practice avoided subsequently when they knew publicity would be given to their statements. Then frankness gave place to adroitness, and their opinions, though unchanged in character, were expressed in measured phrases. The state- ments then made merit some attention, because they expressed desires which existed, and to return to which there is a possibility some attempt may be made. One witness thought ' periodical medical examination should be carried out quite generally over the whole class of persons known to the police as prostitutes.' Another advocated 'the control of brothels to enforce cleanliness and good order, the registration of pros- titutes, who should carry a card bearing the date of the last inspection, and the compulsory periodical examination of all females known to be prostitutes, and of all unmarried soldiers and sailors.' Another witness said, " The public opinion of the present day would sanction that which might be represented to be a recognition of the continued existence of brothels and their inmates by legislation. I think," said he, " that that 96 hypocrisy is all gone." Another observed, "You should have grades, and allow the women to go into different wards, if you have different wards, according to the stains of the women, on a fixed payment for that accommodation." Another " Saw no reason why it should not be an indictable offence when a woman, knowing herself to be diseased, gave disease to a man," and thought it " desirable to enact that a woman who had been brought up and sent to a hospital a certain number of times in a diseased state, should, if brought up again, be sent to a penitentiary, or be otherwise penally treated." There was no suggestion that it should be " an indictable offence " for a man to give disease to a woman, the suggestions were all in favour of male prostitutes. The frankness which existed amongst the Regulationists at that time may also be gathered from the remarkable statements made by Sir Henry Storks, ex-governor of Malta, who wrote to the Extension Association a letter, which was read to the Committee, wherem he said, " I am of opinion that very little benefit will result from the best devised means of prevention, unti-1 Prostitution is Recognized as a Necessity." Mr. Cooper and his Committee appear to have shrewdly foreseen wherein the greatest strength of the movement against the Acts would be found, for they said, and the italics were theirs, " if no other means are found to avail, the ivomen of England must be roused to protest against iti" The Rev. T, Markby of Cambridge, the first secretary of the Cambridge Local Examination, wrote a letter upon the subject to Dr. Bell Taylor, which was printed and widely cir- culated. Mr. Markby spoke so plainly about the Acts that threats of suppression were made. It seems now difficult to understand, but the fact was that so thoroughly had the Regulationists misrepresented the character of the Acts, and so completely won the confidence of unsuspecting philanthropists 97 and politicians, that it was with the greatest difficulty, and at the risk of having to endure obloquy and serious inconveniences and unpleasantnesses that anyone in those early days of the controversy, and for a long while afterwards, was able to make known to his neighbours and fellows-countrymen the true character of the abominable system established by the Acts. To Tell of the Atrocities Committed or authorised by the Acts was considered infinitely more reprehensible than to commit them. The filthiness of this " whited sepulchre " was its best protection. One of the earliest and most remarkable contributions to the literature of the growing antagonism to the Acts was a series of elaborate articles in The Westminster Review, begun in 1869, and extending over three of its quarterly issues, in which the Editor, Dr. John Chapman, scathingly exhibited the folly and inutility of the Regulationists' plan. In 1S69, too, Mr. Simon, F.R.C.S., First Medical Oflicer of the City of London, and subsequently Medical Officer of Health to the Privy Council, made an official report to that Council on the proposed extension of the Contagious Diseases Act to The Civil Population, in which he not only proved that, for medical reasons and on economic grounds, any extension of the Act to civil com- munities was inexpedient, but reiterated that amidst foreign communities sanitary regulations of this character, carried out with a completeness and stringency which could never be obtained here, had proved failures. Thus we see that towards the close of 1869 there existed a growing party opposed to the extension of the operation of the Act of 1866 and that passed in [869, and material for the imminent strife was being created in the form of sound, clear, 7 98 and powerful literature.* But before that year closed " opposi- tion to extension " was merged in a demand for TiiK Repeal of the Execrated Acts. The movement moved from its merely defefisive position and became aggressive in its character. Vide Appendix, List of Publications. CHAPTER XII. Women Ccmbatants — the Women's Protest. Other means not availing, it became necessary to rouse the - women of England t o oppose the Co ntagious Diseases Acts. The'natiTre of the Acts made it necessary and just, but at the same time indescribably difficult for women to publicly refer to and actively combat the Acts and the system created by them. Men avcided the subject as much as they could, and preferred to let the Acts exist rather than incur the frowns of incredulous people by stating in public the disgusting details of the system. The press only broke its almost uniform and perpetual silence by publishing occasionally some officially communicated paragraph, which asserted in words or in figures that the Acts were conferring incalculable benefit on the men and women of the districts wherein they were in operation. The two great political parties eschewed the question until towards the close of the struggle for repeal, when the Liberal party adopted the principle of repeal and accepted the votes of Repealers. With but one or two exceptions, none of the party leaders ever referred to the question in or out of the House of Commons, save to answer the question, which, in course of time, was frequently put, "Will you vote for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts ? " 100 Politicians arc, parlizans firsl. and moralists afterwards, liccause the managers of the i^arties looked askance on the repeal movement, the rank and file of the parties did the same. Repealers had everything against them in the world of politics. The Acts were in existence ; by the few who knew of them they were regarded as military ordinances necessary to the maintenance of the Army and Navy ; they were carried by a Liberal Government, they were publicly supported by the leaders of both parties, and by military and naval men, by several Bishops and many Clergymen, by some Nonconformist divines, and by crowds of doctors. They had the silent accjuiescence of the press, even of the religious press, and they had the protection of the universal silence about them because the discussion of them savoured of nastiness. The Repealers themselves were, at the outset, a small band of persons, who had to study the system and make known the facts as they discovered them. They were of no great influence in the country, and were regarded and spoken of by politicians as sentimental faddists. It was clear that to obtain the repeal of the Acts, some new force was required in public affairs ; that force was The Voice of the Women. It is only of late years that women have ceased to regard their " angelic reach of virtue " as properly confined to a " Potential faculty in everything Of abdicating power in it." They had been left outside by politicians. They were free from the dominion of party prejudices ; they were not bound by the bonds of party allegiance ; they were able and fitted to give to moral and religious ])rinciples their due prominence in the consideration of public (]uestions. Already, before the repeal 103 movement b England ; inasmuch as a moral restraint is with- character hacawn the moment the State recognizes, and provides education, nvenience for, the practice of a vice which it as moralists ereby declares to be necessary and venial, for themselv Since then tjse these measures are cruel to the women who the great pj)me under their action— violating the feelings of force in publose whose sense of shame is not wholly lost, 'd further brutalising even the most aban- We havetned. called public before the AcC^ ^^^ disease which these Acts seek to remove in 1863 writte ^^^^"^ ^^^" removed by any such legislation, attracted little advocates of the system have utterly failed to infirm and incap ^y statistics or otherwise, that these regulations heard once mor^" ^"^ ^^s^' ^^^^^ ^^^'^""^^ ^^^^^^ ^^'^^^' ^"^ ^''^^" Ne7c>s four letters,'^ ^° °"^ ^^^ °"^y' diminished disease, reclaimed ' len, or improved the general morality of the We have, on the contrary, the strongest to show that in Paris and other continental re women have long been outraged by this in which she renew ,g^^jQj^^ ^^^ public health and morals are system. They appear ^^ ^^^^^ year 1869, and it was 1 by a formal Women's Protions of this disease, in the first instance, was entirely in sympati physical. The moral evil through resigned his position as Ec;e makes its way separates the case Hill, who was as strongly opp of the plague, or other scourges, his determination to put his focnlaced under police control or But Mr. Walker bargained with old that we are bound, before should be permitted to appear, aiment of legalising a revolting hshed on New Year's Day, 1870, anae causes of the evil, and we News was silent upon the question for wiser teaching and more s would not be beyond This protest was drawn up by Miss IV. signed by many honoured women, amon. Harriet Martineau, Florence NiGim.^es were subse- Carpenter, and Josephine Butler. I04 quently added) was rightly regarded at the tunc of its publica- tion to be of such importance that news of it was telegraphed to every place where the Acts were in operation, and it attracted the attention of the chiefs of the police dcs mxurs of Paris and other Continental cities. CHAPTER XIII. The Beginning of the End. In the summer of 1S69, the Rev. George Butler, Mrs. Butler, and their family were staying in Switzerland, and with them was Mr. James Stuart, a professor at Cambridge University, now a Member of Parliament. Mrs. Butler and ]Mr, Stuart had been working together for years in women's movements, and had, with Miss Clough, Miss Wolstenholme, and others founded the movement for Higher Local Examinations from which sprung the University Extension Lectures. When at Geneva they called together a few people to talk about the education of women in that country. Mrs. Butler gave an account of what was being done in England, expressed her satisfaction that women there were being put upon a better footing, and enquired what could be done in Geneva and Paris in the same direction. Madame Goegg (now deceased) spoke, and said, " How happy you are in England ; you are entirely free from the horrible legislative difference which lies between men and women on the Continent. You have no State Regulation of the degradation of women. We are talking about the advance of women, but we can make no advance, we, who are afflicted with such Regulation, until we have got rid of it." This led to a conversation about the Regulation system, in which both Mrs. Butler and Mr. Stuart expressed an infinite pity for the Continental women. They may have had some shadowy notion of the existence of something of the same io6 nature being existent in iMiglancI, hut they did not realise that it was vigorously in action here, and actually in course of extension. In an address delivered at Edinburgh, Feb. 24th, 1871, Mrs. Josephine Butler feelingly said : — "It is many years ago that I first became acquainted with this system as it existed in Paris. I was one of those persons — they were few, I believe — who read that very brief debate in the House of Commons in 1866, when Mr. Henley and Mr. Ayrton alone, but clearly and boldly, entered their protest. It was in that year that the knowledge first broke upon me that this system, which I had so long regarded with horror, had actually found a footing in our England. It seemed to me as if a dark cloud were hanging on the horizon, threatening our land. The depression which took possession of my mind was overwhelming. A few days ago I found a record of those days, in an old manuscript book long laid aside. In turning over its leaves, I found a note of that debate in the House, the date, and a written expression, which I had since forgotten, of a presentiment which at that time filled my mind, that in some way or other I should be called to meet this evil thing face to face — A Trembling Presentiment which I could not escape from, that, do what I would, I myself must enter into this cloud. I find there recorded also a brief prayer, beseeching that if I must descend into this darkness, that Divine hand, whose touch is health and strength, would hold mine fast in the darkness. I can recollect going out into the garden, hoping that the sight of the flowers and blue sky might banish the mental pain, but it clung too fast for a time for any outward impression to remove it; and I envied the sparrows upon the garden walk, because they had not minds and souls capable of torment like mine. But ncu\ when I look back, I see that that prayer has been heard — the Divine hand has held mine — often when I knew it not." Presently they returned to England, and Mr. Stuart left the Butlers at Dover, and went to Scotland. Two days afterwards, I07 Mr. Stuart received a note from Mrs. Butler, written with pencil and in haste, in which she said, " Is it not an extra- ordinary thing that one of the letters I have received on landing was from Mr. Cooper, of the Rescue Society, in which he says that the system of which Madame Goegg had spoken is in existence in England, and had been extended by an Act of Parliament whilst we have been abroad." Very soon Mr. Stuart learned that Mrs. Butler's enquiries had verified this statement, and that she felt called upon to take part in the movement to overthrow its existence. She \vas Admirably Fitted for the Great Work which was laid on her. Her father was John Grey, of Dilston, a man of great simplicity and purity of life, from whom she inherited a brave, tender, firm and enthusiastic spirit. Mr, Grey was always among the leaders in his own county in whatever really generous movement was before the public, and was careful to educate his children in the love of liberty and in a spirit of unselfishness and of earnest devotion to every good cause. Mrs. Butler married in 1850 the Rev. George Butler, M.A., now a Canon of Winchester Cathedral, who has ever subordi- nated all personal considerations to the good of others, and has ever sustained Mrs. Butler in her labours by his perfect sympathy and support, which contributed largely to the power which sustained her in her difficult work, despite the weariness and anxieties of that work, and the violent and cruel criticism with which she was assailed in many quarters. Long before Mrs. Butler was called to the repeal move- ment, she had evinced her sisterly love for the fallen women, and her profound consciousness of the power of Jesus Christ to rescue and save them. While Canon IJutlcr was Principal of the Liverpool College, Mrs. ]>utler sought out the poor disgraced women in the workhouse, in the night-shelters, and elsewhere, and with loving tenderness strove to help them in every way. Such women she received into her house, and io8 kept them there, endeavouring to win them back to ways of purity. She revolted against the prevalent view that the woman should bear all the condemnation for sexual vice, the immorality of the man being regarded as a necessary evil to which women must be the unhappy victims. It is easy to understand her divine wrath when she learned that this shameful view had received legislative sanction in the Con- tagious Diseases Acts. It will be seen that the repeal movement was intensely religious throughout, and Mrs. Butler, who became its leader, never failed to base her assurance of success upon her faith in God. Her faith was not benumbed by the clasp of the frigid and unstable doctrines of political opportunism. It found expression in her labours, and the success of her work was the fruit of her prayers. Mrs. Butler went with Mr. D. Cooper and Mr. B. Williams, of the Rescue Society, on a pilgrimage through the subjected districts, and gathered such information as determined them to make a strenuous attack upon the system. Then she called together the people with whom she had been working hitherto, amongst whom were Mrs. Jacob Bright, Miss Wolstenholme, and others, and, with the assistance of Mrs. Celia Walker, of Leeds, held a small meeting of women in the Friends' Meeting House in that city. Till then Mrs. Butler had not spoken in public, but it was peceived at once that she was peculiarly fitted to do so, by a gift of great eloquence, a voice of singular sweetness and clearness, a manner always graceful, and a spirit always brave. It required great courage for anyone to speak in public on this subject, and it required unparalleled courage for a woman to do so, at a time when women were expected to be silent in public affairs. Only those who have had to wade through the nauseating details required for the discussion of the subject can appreciate the sacrifice any one must have made to study so painful and horrible a subject. At the outset, Mrs. Butler and Professor Stuart wrote 109 private letters to a great number of people, with the feeling that they would be as horrified by the information of what had been done as the writers were when they first heard it. Such letters went to J^Iembers of Parliament, to Bishops, to Clergy- men, and to a crowd of other representative and distinguished men. The few replies that came excited profound astonish- ment, for they showed not only a failure to denounce and attack the system, but, in most cases, even an approval of it. Some sneered at the folly of those who gratuitously interfered in so filthy a matter. Only one Member of Parliament replied, that one was Mr. Mundella, who wrote in a most friendly strain of sympathy with the opposition to the Contagious Diseases Acts. The only reply that came from the Bench of Bishops was one advising that no steps should be taken in the matter. The leaders of public opinion were unwilling to exert their influence to compel the withdrawal of the Acts ; repealers were compelled to appeal themselves to the public. The ladies formed A Ladies' National Association for the purpose of obtaining the repeal of these obnoxious Acts. The General Central Committee consisted of Mrs. Reid, Mrs. Nichol, Miss E. Wolstenholme, and the two officers were the Treasurer, Mrs. Jacob Bright, and the Hon. Secretary, Mrs. Butler. The two Associations, the National, and the Ladies' National, set to work to inform the country concerning the Acts, by literature, and presently, by speeches at public meetings. The opinions of Rev. William Arthur, ex-President of the Wesleyan Conference, Rev. W. H. Rule, D.D., a very eminent Wesleyan Minister, and for many years Wesleyan Chaplain to the Forces at Aldershot, and the Rev. Dr. Cuthrie of Edinburgh, were strongly expressed in favour of repeal. These opinions were printed on leaflets and circulated by hundreds of thousands from Nottingham, where the home of the National Association then was. The issue of the Women's Protest on New Year's Day no 1870, gave rise to widely extended and keen criticism, and roused to action the defenders of the Acts. Dr. Elizabeth Garrett, in the columns of the Pall Mall Gazette, defended the system. She was promptly answered in the columns of the same paper by an anonymous writer, who adopted the nom de plur!H\ " Justina," and who manifested a thorough acquaintance with the whole subject, and a masterly grasp of it in all its bearings. Then Mr. Berkeley Hill, one of the Secretaries of the Extension Society replied to " Justina " in the Pall Mall Gazette, who sent a rejoinder to the same paper, which was refused admission to its columns, but got printed in The Medical Mirror. Mrs. W. T. Malleson issued an excellent pamphlet of thirty-six pages, of a thoughtful, practical character, entitled, "A Reply to Miss Garrett's Letter on the Contagious Diseases Act in the Pall Moll Gazetted Mrs. Josephine Butler wrote at this time "An Appeal to the People of England on the Recognition and Superintend- ence of Prostitution by Governments." It was published in the beginning of 1870 at Nottingham, anonymously as " By an Enghsh Mother." In it was an indignant repudiation of the theory that the good ever perishes out of woman so far as to justify man in treating her as a chattel, and without rights, an expression of horror of the compulsory examination, " that Torture Intolerable to Womanhood, which does violence to the deepest and most indelible instincts of her nature," a vindication of the absolute and inalienable right of woman to the sovereignty of her person, and a clear identification of the Contagious Diseases Acts with the French system, and its terrible consequences. In it Mrs. Butler took the ground which she ever occupied, that the opponents of the system must not content themselves with simply resisting the existence and extension of the Continental regime, but must also strive for measures which should lessen both the demand for, and the supply of, victims, which would diffuse a sounder morality through the land. Professor F. W. Newman wrote an able tractate, entitled Ill " The Cure of the Great Social Evil," which was published by Triibner, and from which extracts were made, reprinted, and widely circulated. A flood of literature poured from the National Association Press, much of which was from the pen of Dr. C. Bell Taylor, who dealt with the question from a professional and statistical point of view. For the statistics, Dr. Hooppell was always responsible. He made them his especial care, and proved year by year, and continually, in every possible way, by the official figures of the Administrators of the Acts, that the advocates of their extension or retention had absolutely no justification for their persistent efforts and reckless assertions. The Ladies' National Association trans- lated and circulated widely a valuable paper by Mademoiselle J. Daubie, entitled "French Morality under the Regulation System." The first meeting of working men was held at Crewe early in 1870. At that time Professor Stuart was giving a course of Lectures to the artizans at Crewe. He suggested to Mrs. Butler that she should go with him to one of these lectures, and should address them. Hitherto she had spoken only to those of her own sex ; but she consented to make the trial. The "Appeal to the English People" was distributed in the room, and the men were asked to stay after the lecture was concluded, and listen to Mrs. Butler. They did so. Mrs. Butler won their attention and sympathies. It was a new thing, and, withal, a startling one at that time for men to hear a political address delivered by a woman. The result of that meeting was to satisfy Mrs. Butler that the hope of Success Lay in the Working Men, who never listen unmoved to appeals for " wife," " daughter," " home," and " liberty." She forthwith called such meetings in many parts of the country, and by the end of 1870, her position as the foremost of the antagonists to the Acts was made. Her success as a public speaker was wonderful. It was surprising and refreshing to men to find themselves spell-bound by the passionate eloquence of a gentle sweet- voiced woman, who lifted 112 their minds out of the commonplace political controversies, and carried them up into an atmosphere of inspiring clearness, wherein they could behold the Divine pathway of Right. Their imaginations were aroused. They felt themselves called into a heroic and historical struggle for religion and liberty. They responded with enthusiastic acclamations to appeals such as this :— " No man will dare to follow a gleam of conviction which tends to overturn a world, unless he is sure that he is but the interpreter of a Power who gave him that conviction and can guard it after His interpreter is gone. Meanwhile, each day, until this tyranny be overpast, so long as man, with the sanction of law and custom, continues to lay a tyrannous and indecent hand on women for outrage and for lust, our appeal, the appeal of the women of England, is the dread appeal made by the Countess of Arundel, who, in the face of the tyrannical King Henry HI., first invoked the broken liberties of England, and then said: 'Therefore I, a woman, with all your natural subjects, do appeal from you to the tribunal of God, the great and terrible Judge. He shall avenge us.' " — (Lecture at Freemasons' Hall, May 6th, 1872.) The following extract from an address, delivered by her at Croydon, on July 3rd, 187 1, will afford an indication of the character of Mrs. Butler's eloquence. She said : "'Midnight is past; and the cross begins to bend,' is the cry of the sailor in the Southern Seas when he marks the inclination of that beautiful constellation called the Southern Cross, and knows that the darkest hours of his midnight watch are drawing to a close. I have often thought of these words of late. We have borne a heavy cross in contending against the introduction into England of the worst of all the immoral customs and institutions of France ; and we were scarcely aware how great had been the strain upon us, until the weight began to be lightened by the dawning hope of success. Now, I trust, we may say, '^Midnight is Past; the Cross Begins to Bend.' 113 But when we shall have obtained the repeal of these Acts, our great work will only be at its beginning. The bitter contest to which we have been called by God's providence in opposing these Acts has but opened the door to future work. I: has revealed to us our vast responsibilities ; it has quickened thought ; it has awakened extraordinary energies ; it has brought about powerful combinations of workers; it has pro- moted grave and deep friendships ; and it has opened up to us a mighty work in the future. ... If I were a preacher, I would choose for my text to-day the words, ' The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God, and of His Christ.' I believe it with all my heart and soul. As long as Christians doubt that all our social end political relations can be purged and leavened with holy principles, just so long will Satan retain his grasp upon them ; for ' according to your faith will it be unto you.' We need a vast and deep renewal of faith — vital faith. The faith I speak of means a hope, a con- fident expectation that the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. For lack of the faith, we do not and cannot succeed. Let us rebuke our unfaithful hearts ! Let us cast away our unworthy narrowness, and look boldly forth tov/ards the dawning day. At this crisis of our history I will yet dare to prophesy of good. I will yet speak of the undying promise of God which has not yet been accomplished, but which will be accomplished. " Valuable as individual efforts are, they can never accom- plish the work, to which we are surely called at this time, of a wide, a national purification ; nay, they will not even prevent the increase of the evil on every hand. . . . Women have been told that they must be silent on this subject. Can the soul of my sister be defiled, and my own soul not be the worse for it ? It cannot ; unless indeed I rise up in wrath for her redemption, and through the long toils and pains and anguish of my life I render back to God my soul for hers. Is it possible that pure and Christian women can bear any longer to look on in silence at this costly and impious sacrifice of souls, this wholesale destruction of women born with like capacities 8 114 witli themselves for a life of honour and an eternity of peace? I do not believe they can ; and when they rise by thousands to the rescue, it will not be as now, for the reclamation of their own sex only, but in order to penetrate to the causes of the evil and to elevate the moral standard of men. . . . " It is as if we were passengers in a water-logged ship, when all hands are called to the pumps. We are all called to labour for the salvation of our country. It is absolutely necessary to get rid of all unjust, partial, oppressive, and imjiure laws ; for the laws may have little power to make men good, but they have very great power to increase wickedness. Certain laws for the protection of children, and to remove injustice to which women are subject, are rightly and loudly called for, and we mean to have them. But the great thing that has to be done is to create a Pure Moral Tone Among Men. It will be our duty to require sternly of men that they be pure; to demand it of them as they have hitherto demanded it of us." But the great difficulty experienced by Repealers was to get information of the system to the people. Men and women, save those of the baser sort, when they understood the Acts and their operation, instinctively condemned them. Most people get their opinions and their facts from the newspapers, and are apt to question the existence of anything else worth at- tention which does not find a place in their chosen daily paper. The newspapers, the organized means of disseminating infor- mation, either excluded all reference to the subject, or inserted the Army and Navy Medical Reports and the Reports of Captain Harris, of the Metropolitan Police, which claimed great moral and physical advantages from the existence of the Acts. Some publications, notably The Saturday Revieiv, not only recited the praises of the Acts, but also flung offensive and filthy epithets at the opponents of them. The Press was not urged by any party reason to recognize 115 the opposition to the Acts. In the early days of the struggle, no prominent public man was associated with it. The subject did not lend itself to general discussions, and was too un- savoury to attract enquiry. It could be omitted, and the Press left the agitation alone from the moment when The Daily News perverted. But the newspapers are all powerful only when they reflect the character of the people, and this move- ment demonstrated that a movement may become popular, and may succeed, despite a " Conspiracy of Silence " by the Press. Another difficulty Repealers had to surmount at the beginning of this agitation. In 1865, the Extension Committee sent round a circular to many philanthropic and religious people, in which they represented the medical argument as being subservient to their purpose of helping the poor women in garrison towns. Many good men were captured by this circular, men like W. Denison Maurice, who, when he found that the system was a licensing and State sanitation of vice, changed his views and opposed it. The circular had occupied the field uncontroverted and uncontested for nearly five years before the opposition started : it represented, in effect, that Repealers were in opposition to A Movement ok Mercy to a miserable class, and willing to give absolute immunity to prostitution. The Extension party, too, circulated paragraphs in the newspapers intended to foster the panic which had been excited concerning the awfulness of venereal diseases and the growth of their ravages — paragraphs which at first were answered by Dr. Simon, Physician to the Privy Council, who per- sistently contradicted or minimised the effect of such state- ments, especially dealing with the number of children who were said to die from these diseases. Assistance was, how- ever, given by other Government officials to the Extcn- sionist party. One official connected with the Board of Trade, ii6 a Afr. dray, aclually went down to Liverpool and other sea- ports, and urged the skippers to adopt the regulation system. Everything but the righteousness of their cause seemed opposed to the repeal party, yet so swiftly did its numbers increase, and so rapidly did auxiliary associations multiply, that it seemed to the sanguine as if they would win at once. In London, a Ladies' Committee was formed in the first week of 1S70, in connection with the Ladies' National Asso- ciation, of which Mrs. F. R. Malleson became Honorary Secretary, and Mrs. Hale was the Secretary. Its members were — Mrs. McLaren, Mrs. Lucas, Mrs. W. Hargreaves, Mrs. W. T. Malleson, Mrs. W. B. Hodgson, Mrs. W. Howitt, Miss Helen Taylor, Mrs. F. Pennington, Mrs. P. A. Taylor, senior, jNIadame Venturi, and Mrs. Jacob Bright. A few days after the formation of this Committee, a meeting was held (on January 19th, 1870), at which "the Metropolitan Anti-Contagious Diseases Acts Association " was formed. It was a remarkable gathering. It took place in the Guildhall Coffee House. About forty gentlemen were present, clergy- men. Nonconformist ministers, medical men, editors, philan- thropists, free-thinkers, merchants, barristers, and seamen. Rarely, if ever, has so varied an assembly met to confer on a topic which touched so many interests and excited such mingled feelings. The resu't was highly satisfactory. The resolutions were carried almoit, if not quite, unanimously. Mr. Robert Charleton moved, and Professor F. W. Newman seconded, the first resolution, which was — "That the extension of the so-called Contagious Diseases Acts to the civil popula- tion of the United Kingdom would be highly inexpedient, inasmuch as the provisions and operations of the Acts are entirely contrary to the first principles of English law and custom, are inimical to morality and destructive of liberty, without being at the same time effectual for the prevention of disease ; and this meeting is further of opinion that The Acts already Passed should be Repealed." The second resolution was moved by Mr. Robert Alsop, 117 and was seconded by the Rev. G. W. McCree. It was — "That a Metropolitan Anti-Contagious Diseases Acts Asso- ciation be now formed, and that the following be the General Committee, with power to add to their number, to appoint the necessary ofificers, and to form an Executive Committee, and to act in cordial co-operation with the existing Ladies' Association " The General Committee included nearly all who were present at the meeting. They met the next day, formed an Executive Committee, and appointed ofificers. The Executive Committee was a strong one. Its members were — Mr. Jacob Bright, M.P., Mr. A. J. J^Iundella, M.P., Mr. D. McLaren, M.P., Mr. John Stuart Mill, Rev. F. D. Maurice, Professor Sheldon Amos, Dr. Chapman, Dr. Drysdale, Dr. Bernays, Rev. W. H. Rule, D.D., Mr. Edmond Beales, Dr. Guy, Capt. Gardiner, Mr. Baxter Langley, Mr. D. Cooper, Mr. J. Stubb, Mr. T. Beggs, Mr. W. T. Malleson, Mr. F. R. Malleson, Mr. E. D. J. Wilson, with Mr. R. C. L. Bevan as Treasurer, and Rev. D. J. Evans as Convener. Dr. Chapman, Editor of the Westminster Review, became Chairman, and Dr. Drysdale, Honorary Secretary. Later, Mr. William Shaen (firm of Shaen and Roscoe) became Chairman, and Major Remnant was engaged as Secretary. At Edinburgh, on January 8th, 1S70, a Ladies' Association was formed for repeal, at a meeting held in the Bible Society's Room, St. Andrew Square. Mrs. E. Pease Nichol and Mrs. Priscilla Bright McLaren had sent round a private note to the ladies whom they knew to be interested in the welfare of women, inviting them to a conference on matters of deep importance. Sixty earnest women came together, who seemed to have been watching and waiting for the opportunity of pouring out the feelings of their hearts on this question. It was a solemn but enthusiastic meeting, which resolved itself into the new Association, and arranged for petitions to Parliament to be started, for the circulation of repeal literature, and for calling into alliance the help of the Ministers ii8 of the I'Minhurgh churches. The names of the ladies who were the first workers in Scotland, were, in addition to the two already mentioned, Miss Jane Wigham, Mrs. Bonar, Miss Heriot Maitland, Mrs. Swan, Mrs. Wellstood, Mrs. Hope \\'ishart, Miss Hunter, Miss Craig, Mrs. Dr. Thomson, Mrs. John Millar, and Miss Blair, the most of whom remain to this day, the rest having " fallen on sleep." One of the earliest acts of the Edinburgh Association was to send a deputation, consisting of Mrs. Nichol and Miss jNIaitland, to Glasgow, to enlist the co-operation of the ladies of that city. Shortly afterwards, another and larger deputation was sent, and the Glasgow Ladies' Society was then formed, in which Mrs. Nairn, and Mrs. J. McLaren were the most prominent workers. Presently a very important power arose in Glasgow. Robert Wilson, a working man, but a skilful and powerful writer, published appeals, which had a great influence ; his " Prostitution Suppressive, and Resistance to the Contagious Diseases Aces a Duty," and " Digest of the Evidence Laid Before the Royal Commission," being works which contributed much to the progress of the repeal move- ment. In response to his appeals the working men of Glasgow organized a most efficient staff of fearless workers, who did not abate their energies until repeal was obtained. In Edinburgh, too, the working men organized a repeal party, and often, when the toils of the day were closed, these men met with members of the Ladies' Association to devise means for pushing forward the work of preaching the principles of the Association, and of collecting signatures to petitions to Parliament. The chief ally of these working men was Hope Wishart, a fragile gentle little lady, whose passionate earnest- ness overcame a natural timidity, and enabled her to direct the efforts of the men. But the work consumed her energies, her delicate frame was too frail for such ceaseless labours, and, in the midst of her work, she died, one of the Scottish Martyrs to the Cause. On the 2oth January, 1870, the first meeting of gentlemen, "9 in Edinburgh, to consider the subject of repeal took place, and amongst those present were Rev. Dr. Guthrie, Rev. Dr. Duff, Rev. Professor Calderwood, Rev. Principal Rainy, Rev. W. Moffat, David McLaren, Stephen Wellstood, and David Dickson, with many others of the best citizens of that city. They then formed the Scottish Association for Repeal, which rallied to the strife many a hero, such as Bishop Ewing, Dr. Mackenzie, of Inverness, the Rev. Dr. Ker, William Ferguson, of Kinnundy, and others too many to enumerate. From Balgarnie, Miss Isabella Stuart went forth to lecture in the early days, and with remarkable eloquence stirred the men of Scotland to an Implacable Hatred of the Acts; and of Margaret Runton Meire, of Kelso, it must be recorded that she gave generous aid and earnest service to the good cause. Dr. C. Bell Taylor read a paper, at the Medical Society of London, which gave rise to a vigorous debate, concluded on January 31st, 1870. So animated a discussion had not taken place at the Society for a long time, and the prevailing feeling of the meeting; which was a crowded one^ seemed decidedly adverse to the extension of the Acts. On March 2nd, Dr. C. Drysdale read a paper on the same subject, before the Dialectical Society, which was followed by a lively debate. The prevailing feeling of the members of the Society seemed to be against the Contagious Diseases .Vc ts ; and this feeling was especially conspicuous throughout the debate, extending over two nights, which followed the reading of Mr. Thomas Begg's paper on the " Proposed Extension ot the Contagious Diseases Acts," read before the Association for the Promotion of Social Science. In March, a meeting of ladies was convened at Belfast, for the purpose of organizing an opposition to the Acts. At Bristol, the ladies of that city and of Clifton united to form a Branch of the Ladies' National Association. They sent some of their number to Dcvonport and Plymouth to in([uire 120 into the working of the Acts. They started, in conjunction with the London Rescue Society, an agency at Plymouth, wliich they maintained there for two years, when the work was taken over by the agents of other Associations. In the spring of 1S70 the Committee had become acquainted with Miss Duffett, a native of l->ristol, who had resided with her mother in Plymouth for thirteen years. She desired to remain therp^ having a good connection in her trade as a sempstress, but left \ after her mother's death, because she had seen that there was No Safety for a Working Woman living alone in a town where a malicious whisper, or the mere suspicion of a policeman, paid in proportion to his success in bringing up unhappy women, was sufficient legal evidence to condemn to intolerable punishment, with consequent loss of character and employment. The Committee encouraged Miss Duffett to return to- Plymouth, and she did so as their agent, to spread information concerning the working of the Acts and the movement for repeal. About the same time, Mrs. King went down from London to Devonport, and opened an office there, and, by letters to the papers, and calls on gentlemen and ladies of light and leading in the town, forced upon the inhabitants a know- ledge of what was going on. At first, she met with unexpected success. Many women, who were ignorant that they had the option of refusing to sign the so-called " zW?^;//rt'r)' submission " fornis, having been assured of the fact, and feeling supported by the presence of friends, refused to sign, and others refused to appear at the examining houses. The police were taken by surprise, but they soon rallied their forces, and attempted to drive away the workers. Mrs. King, who was roughly handled by the police, and Mr. D. Cooper (who, with Mr. Williams, of London, had gone down to assist Mrs. King) were taken before the magistrates, and charged with interfering with the police in the discharge of their duty. Both were fined. Mrs. King remained at Devonport three months longer, when Miss Duffett took over the office. 121 The bitterness of the feehng of the authorities against the Repealers was exhibited in many ways, and was expressed most outrageously in the conduct and words of Mr. W. Lus- combe, at that time Mayor of Plymouth, whose administration, as Chief Magistrate, was denounced by others besides Repealers as a travesty of justice. In October, of 1870, Mr. John Marshall, the agent at Devonport and Plymouth of the National Association, was brought before Mr. Luscombe and other magistrates, on a charge made by the Acts police, that he had interfered with them in the discharge of their duty. He had simply advised a girl not to go to the hospital. Mr. Luscombe and his colleagues sent Mr. Marshall to Prison for a Month without the option of a fine. Early in February a Branch of the National Association was formed at South Shields, the home of Dr. Hooppell. On March ist, a very influential one was formed at Newcastle-on- Tyne, at a meeting summoned by a circular which was signed by a large number of the leading ministers, medical men, and other inhabitants of the ciiy. In a few months, vigorous Repeal Societies were formed at North Shields, Sunderland, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Belfast, and many other populous centres. The Birmingham Anti-Contagious Diseases Acts Asso- ciation was formed on March 3rd, 1870, and in April held a public meeting, under the presidency of the Mayor, at which Rev. George and Mrs. Butler, Dr. Hooppell and Dr. C. Bell Taylor attended as a deputation from the National Association, and a little later members of the Association attended a meeting convened by the Extensionists, in Birmingham, and carried an amendment in favour of repeal, by a large majority. On Dec. nth, 1872, this Association gave place to the Midland Counties Electoral Union. It did most excellent political work. For some years previous to the repeal of the Acts, there was not a candidate or a Member of Parliament within the Midland Counties, who could plead either ignorance 1 22 • of the Acts or want of interest on the question in his consti- tuency. It adopted the excellent method of causing them to be interviewed by, and to receive memorials and petitions on the subject from, the induential bodies and gentlemen in their constituencies. Its Indefatigable Secretary, Rev. W. Wastell, an excellent speaker, did much to win the Midlands for repeal. It was this Union that, in 1881, agitated, within the borders of the repeal party, for a federation of the many existing Societies for Repeal, which resulted in the formation of a Political Committee, consisting of representatives of the Society, with Professor Stuart as Chairman, and Mr. H. J. Wilson as Hon. Secretary. The fruit of this Committee was seen in the adoption of repeal of the Acts by the National Liberal Federation, in 1883. The Shield, the organ of the two National Associations, powerfully aided the work of organization and propaganda. This journal was projected by Dr. Hooppell, who issued it from South Shields as a weekly paper, with a sub-title of "The Anti-Contagious Diseases Acts Associations Weekly Circular," and edited the first twenty-five numbers. Afterwards, it was transferred to London, where it was thenceforward edited, printed, and published. When it was first issued, it made a very considerable sensation. It was not given away, but sold, and speedily acquired a good circulation. It was published simultaneously in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, South Shields, and Nottingham. The War Office and Admiralty got it regularly from their London Agent, and the Extensionists were swift to pounce upon any fancied slip they saw in its columns. It was first published in London on Sept. 3, 1870, when it became the Organ of the National Association, with which the Metropolitan Association had been amal- gamated. It was admirably conducted by Mr. F. C. Banks, the indefatigable Secretary of the Association. CHAPTER XIV. The First Repeal Bill, 1870. — The Colchester Election. The agitation was focussed by the introduction of a Repeal Bill into the House of Commons on May 24th, 1870, by Mr. William Fowler, M.P. Petitions in its favour were started throughout the country. Meetings were held with the definite object of supporting the Bill, which was for Total, Unconditional, and Immediate Repeal. A great meeting was held in the Free Trade Hall, Man- chester, which was organized by Mrs. Butler, Miss Wolsten- holme. Miss Becker, and Professor Stuart. Mr. Stuart collected the money for it. He has gathered the sinews of war for the movement all over Europe for twenty years. Air. Thomasson (father of Mr. J. P. Thomasson, of Bolton) sent p^ioo. This generous donation raised the spirits of the Repealers, who were without funds as they were then without great leaders. But, thanks to Mr. J. P. Thomasson, who placed his purse at their disposal, and to Messrs. E. Backhouse, A. Backhouse, of Sunderland, F. W, Crossley, of Manchester, Arthur Albright and J. E. Wilson, of Birmingham, and other generous contri- butors, they thenceforward were not left in need of the means to cany on the agitation. The enthusiasm of the meeting 124- was high. The confidence of ihc Repealers in an early success was great. They thought the Ciovernment was listening to them and to the people who were rising up everywhere and loudly demanding repeal. They were mistaken. The Government Paid no Attention to the Outcrv until it was made to feel the smart of an election defeat. The Government was a Tiberal one, headed by Mr. W. E. Glad- stone. It was incredible to the Government and the party managers that the Repealers, who were almost all at that time of the same party, would venture to strike at its supremacy. Rut the time was at hand when the party leaders would under- stand that a new force had come into the political arena, that women were entered in to contest for the sanctity of their womanhood, compared with which the Shibboleths of the party counted as naught. It chanced at this time that the Government wanted an army organizer as Under Secretary to the War Minister, Mr., afterwards Lord, Cardwell, who was then making great changes in the Army, and was seeking to pass the Army Reorganiza- tion Bill through the House of Commons. They selected Sir Henry Storks, the ex-Governor of Malta, a great enthusiast for the Acts, who had enforced them with ruthless severity in that island, and who had written to the Extensionists, " I am of opinion that very little benefit will result from the best devised means of prevention, until Prostitution is Recognized as a Necessity." It was impossible for the Repealers to accept such a person. His selection was the clearest evidence that the Government cared nothing for the agitation. The Government knew that he was the btte noire of Repealers, for he had stood for Newark in opposition to Mr. Bristowe, when Dr. Bell Taylor and Mr. Worth, of Nottingham, had followed him all over the town haranguing the people and distributing bills, until he withdrew his candidature. There occurred a vacancy at Colchester, a place under the Acts, and the Government de- termined to bring Storks into the House of Commons for that place. This put the Repealers upon their mettle. They were equal to the occasion. They determined to make it a great struggle, and succeeded. There were two candidates in the field, Sir Henry Storks, the Liberal, and Colonel Learmonth, the Conservative. It was a Liberal seat. The Liberal majority at the last election was 183 out of 2,751 votes polled. It was rightly considered the best strategy to draw off some of the Liberal electors from Storks and let the Conservative in, although he was unfriendly to repeal. Dr. Baxter Langley, then a member of the National Association, which was organising the fight, was chosen as its champion for the occasion. He was run as the third candidate. The Liberal party were incensed to the highest degree. They foresaw a probable defeat from an unexpected quarter and by members of their own party. Mrs. Butler and Professor Stuart, with others, went down to Colchester to join the fray. Their campaign was com- menced by the holding of earnest prayer meetings, whereat they gained strength and courage. Then they went into the streets. They distributed thousands of handbills containing Sir Henry Storks' views on prostitution, and a statement made by him to the House of Commons Committee that " Not only prostitutes, but also Soldiers' Wives ought to de Examined ! " The blood of the Liberal partisans was up. They attacked the hotel in which Mrs. Butler and her friends were staying, and when Dr. Baxter Langley began to hold public meetings they went mad and created a riot. Dr. Langley tried to hold a meeting in the theatre, but he and Professor Stuart were scarcely able to announce their principles before they were driven from the platform and chased to their hotel, which they reached, Langley covered with flour and dirt from head to foot, his clothes torn, his face bleeding, and Stuart wounded in the 126 arm by a heavy blow which some ruffian had inflicted with a chair. The followers of Storks may have justified this play- fulness as one of the amenities of political warfare, but there was no sort of justification for the next thing they did. They posted on the walls an exact description of Mrs. Butler's dress in order that she might be recognized and mobbed. Every day she had to alter lier dress, and her friends never addressed her by her name in the street lest some listener should rally the ever-ready mob to attack her. One after another, hotel keeper and lodging-house keeper dismissed her from their houses. On one occasion, after repeated flights from different houses, a room was taken for her in a Tory hotel, under the name of Grey. There she had gone to bed, and was falling asleep when she heard a knock at the door of her room, followed by the shout of the proprietor, " Madam, I am sorry to find you are Mrs. Butler; please get up and dress at once, and leave the house. The mob are round the house, breaking the windows. They threaten to set fire to it if you don't leave at once. They have found out you are here. Never mind your luggage, leave it here ; dress quickly, and I will show you out at the back door." Then he harangued the mob whilst Mrs. Butler was dressing, and, led by one of the servant girls, ran along a little back street as fast as they could go, until she found shelter in the humble house of a kind-hearted woman. The next morning it was seen that the doors of the hotel had been battered, and the windows had been shattered by stones. The women's prayer meetings were maintained throughout the contest, but the ruffian supporters of Storks, unrestrained if not egged on to their ruffianism by their local leaders, tried to prevent them. They gathered about the door of the hall where the meetings were held, and brandished their fists in the faces of the women as they entered, greeting and following them with oaths and curses, and their ceaseless yells outside almost drowned the praying voices within the hall, which they loudly threatened to burn down. The violence of passion was not limited to the street mob. 12/ A Wesleyan INIinister in the town wrote a letter against Storks, and for thus daring to express a righteous opinion not held by his infuriated flock, these pious folk drove him from his church and the town. There was nothing but the Contagious Diseases Acts to be heard of throughout the election struggle. As the polling day drew near Sir Henry Storks sent a friend to the Repealers to ask for terms. They replied instantly by offering a written form of pledge to vote for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, and it was said, " Let Sir Henry Storks sign that. If not that, then nothing." The messenger went away sorrowful. The circumstances of the contest had attracted attention from all parts of the kingdom. The intense excitement at Colchester spread to the country at large. The result was going to be a serious blow to either the Government or the Repealers. The latter were exultant. Their courage and the brutal cruelty of the Liberals had brought about a reaction in their favour among the more manly part of the constituency. All the women were furiously opposed to Storks, and they had influence, though they could not vote. At the general election in 1868 the voting was. Liberal ... ... ... ... 1467 Conservative ... ... ... 1284 Majority 183 but at this election in 1870 the voting was, Learmonth (Conservative) ... 1396 Storks (Liberal) ... ... ... 869 Majority for Learmonth ... 527 It was a great victory for the Repealers. The Ciovernmcnt were mortified. They saw they had to reckon with this new J 28 party. They must save themselves by silencing these powerful speakers. They did so by immediately announcing the grant of A Royal Commission to consider the whole question. It was a shrewd method of paralysing the action of the Repealers and yet keeping on foot the system they abhorred. Earlier in the year the Government had offered a Committee to inquire into the working of the Acts. On May 24th Mr. William Fowler, M.P., moved for leave to introduce a Bill for Repeal, which was defeated by a motion for the adjourn- ment of the debate, the voting being, for the adjournment 229, and against 88. The Government's contribution to the debate was the offer of an inc^uiry, which was refused, because it would inevitably delay repeal, which was immediately required " as an act of national reparation." It was on the occasion of this debate that Mr. Crawford " Spied Strangers " and had the Galleries Cleared of reporters and visitors^ a course he adopted again on the occasion of the adjourned debate. CHAPTER XV. The Royal Commission of 1870 — i. It was on November 26th, 187c, that the Royal Commission was constituted of t\venty-six_gentle men, s everaL.JcelLJaiown as ardent supporters of the system of the Acts, and warm friends and members of the Extension Society, three were at one time members of that Society, but withdrew their names after the opposition to the Acts commenced, and their real nature began to be disclosed ; of the remainder only one was a member of the anti-Acts Association. It was a " packed " jury, with a foregone conclusion ! It was but one of a series of such enquiries. We have already enumerated those that went before, we shall presently refer to the one which followed it after some years. For convenience sake we recapitulate them. The first Committee of Enquiry was appointed after the 1864 Act was passed, was composed of eight medical men, and recommended the Government to establish the system of vice regulation. The Act passed in 1866 was in entire accordance with their recommendations. The second Committee was composed of nine members of the House of Lords, and was appointed May 19th, 1868, with a view to the extension of the Act of 1866. This Committee recommended the (Government to introduce a Bill giving to Her Majesty in Council power to apply the Act to all naval and military stations, and also to any locality, the inhabitants of which might apply to be included in its operations, and might propose to supply a portion of the funds required for carrying it out. The third Committee was 9 I30 appointed May i^tli, 1869, and was composed of twenty-one Members of railiamcnt, and recommended — 1. That the area over which the Act should be held operative, around each station under it, should be extended to a circle of thirty miles diameter. 2. That Gravesend, Maidstone, Winchester, Dover, Walmer, and Deal, Canterbury, certain villages near Colchester, Ivy- bridge, Plympton, Dartmouth, Southampton, Deptford, Green- wich, Hatcham, Slough, and Datchet, should be brought under the Acts, as new centres of such areas. 3. That the notice of an Examining Surgeon to a woman to attend for examination, should be considered equivalent to a magistrate's warrant, and should be sufficient authority to a policeman to apprehend a woman failing to appear. 4. That the Examining Surgeons should have power to confine women, who could not, from natural causes, be examined immediately, 5. That authority should be given to them to detain women in Hospital for nine months, when they considered it necessary. 6. That the proof of a woman's legal discharge from Hospital should not be given to herself but to the Inspector of Police. 7. That the Examining Surgeons, and the Inspector of Police together, should have power to relieve women from periodical examination, without the intervention of a Magis- trate. 8. That a Committee should be again appointed in the following Session, to ascertain whether it would be practicable to extend the Act to the whole population ; and that, with a view to facilitate the work of such Committee, the Government should order enquiries to be made during the recess, into the working of the system in foreign countries either by writing to foreign Governments, or by asking witnesses, who could give valuable information, to come over to England from abroad. 131 These recommendations were immediately acted upon, and the Act of 1869 was passed. It is significant that For the Information of the Government, M. Lecour, the Chief of the PoHce charged with the surveil- lance of prostitution in Paris, wrote a w^ork printed in the early part of 1870, and M. Lefort, the Chief of the Medical Department of the same service, visited London. The fourth of the series was the Royal Commission to inquire into the working of the Acts. It was first mooted when Mr. William Fowler, M.P. for Cambridge, introduced, in 1870, his motion for repeal. He took his stand upon principle, and refused to be satisfied with any such offer as being no concession to him, but, really, A Tactical Move for Delay. The debate on his motion was adjourned, and the Com- mission was not appointed. It required the rebuff of the Colchester election following upon the return of Conservatives who pledged themselves to oppose the Acts, over Liberals who would not so pledge themselves, for the Isle of Wight and for Shrewsbury, and the determined opposition to the Acts mani- fested in Newport, a borough marked out for subjection to them, to expedite the formation of the Commission. Strong protests against the appointment of any Commission whatever to discuss the details of a system which was altogether inadmissible upon higher and most important grounds, were made by the National Association for Repeal, and by the Ladies' National Association. The last named Association wrote : " The Gladstone Cabinet, in the absence of all dis- cussion, sanctioned this atrocious legislation, and, when the condemnation of the people became dangerous, abdicated its function, and committed to the judgment of a Royal Com- 132 misbion a question more deeply affecting the security of women, and the morals of the people, than any which has been raised in our time. Accordingly, twenty-five men are now sitting in London to inquire into a system established to confer base advantages on men, with power to suggest whether the indescribable degradation it inflicts upon women should be maintained or 'extended ! ' "The Royal Commission gives a number of gentlemen the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the indecent details of an odious system ; it may arrive at the conclusion that the health of one sex is possibly benefited by the wholesale sacri- fice of the other, and it may make a report in harmony with the views of those who created it ; but, when its labours are completed, the great question at issue will in no way be affected by them. It will stand precisely where it stood before. The people, more just. More Manly, than those who Rule Them, will still see a thing too base for them to tolerate — a law branding with infamy poor women, and letting men go free j they will instinctively feel that for the Government to spend the national money in prei)aring prostitutes for men, is the beginning of a course which will undermine the national virtue ; and, bred in a country where, happily, there is still a passion for personal freedom, they will shun the polling-booth with feelings of disgust, as they did at Colchester, when asked to give their votes to man base enough to subject his own countrywomen to the tender mercies of the street spy." " The Royal Commission may have served the purpose of temporarily getting a Government, false to its own principles, out of an embarrassing position. The duty is an ignoble one, but it is the only duty for which it was appointed. In all this we have no concern whatever. Our opposition has been, and will continue to be, against the principles of this legislation, and no Royal Commission, whatever be the ability, or assiduity, of its members, can throw further light upon them." 133 Mr. Stuart tersely said, " The Royal Commission would be able to investigate only two sets of facts: (i) what are the facts with respect to the operation of the Acts ; (2) what are the facts contained in the clauses of the Acts themselves. The (i) did not touch the objection that whether the Acts were worked in an excellent way or not, they were immoral, unjust, and uncon- stitutional. The (2) anyone could judge for himself whether the interpretations put on the clauses were just." Whilst the Commission sat, the Repealers were not silent. All over the country public meetings were held, and Branch Associations were formed. At many of these meetings Mrg-^ Butler was the chief speaker, and never failed to arouse the- enthusiasm of the audiences she addressed. Speaking of the- Commission at Bradford, Jan. 27th, 1871, she expressed the- sentiment of the most zealous Repealers when she said : " What think you, then, my friends, of that Government which has appointed a Commission of twenty-five men to in- quire ! — to inquire into what ? Ah, mark me, if you please. The Royal Commission is not appointed to inquire whether these Acts are consistent or not with our Constitution, with all our' constitutional laws, and with rights guaranteed to us in the- most solemn manner, and in the most indelible characters. The Government might have commissioned these twenty- five men to inquire into the legality and constitutionality/ of these Acts ; for there are constitutional lawyers among us who could and would have thrown light on that question, and such an inquiry would have possessed some dignity, some worth in the eyes of the people, and it would have dealt with at least part of the ground on which the nation fights the question ; but no, the incjuiry of the Commission is to be limited to mere effects ; these twenty-five men arc to inquire how this Frightful Violation of our Constitution Works ! and this is all — the operation and administration of the Acts •34 arc all thcv arc to iiniuiro and report upon. Of what worth, then, is the verdict of such a Commission to us? for this is not tlie ijuestion the peoi)le of England have to decide. The (luestion we have to deal with is — ' is such a violation of our Constitution to be permitted ? ' Vou see these men are not even set to try to patch up the breach made in the Constitution and make it look more seemly, but only to ask how does this surrender of the people's birthright operate ? I have nothing to say against the persons who compose that Commission ; I only affirm that their inquiry does not in any way come near the great (juestion which the people of England have to decide ; and therefore our work, our opposition must go on without intermission until the vital question is decided by the nation through their representatives ; if not through their present, their future representatives." The Repealers were alive to the danger of the success of the tactics of the Government, which, counting on the tendency inherent in man to relax his pursuit of any object, if he cannot clearly see when it will be attained, trusted that another year's delay in settling the question in dispute would lead to the desertion of the least zealous from the ranks, and a diminution of energy in those who remained faithful to the tiag. Repealers counteracted these tactics by continuous agitation, on the ground simple and secure, that the Acts were immoral and unconstitutional, and no investigation by a Com- mission of the working of them could take away the right of the public to declare their refusal to permit such radically bad legislation to exist. When the Report of the Commission, which was signed July 7th, 1 87 1, was issued, it attracted a large amount of interest. Its recommendations were — 1. — That the periodical examination of the public women be discontinued. 2. — That every common prostitute found to be diseased after an examination by a medical officer upon a voluntary 135 submission, or upon a magistrate's order, shall be detained in a certified hospital until she is discharged by a magistrate's order, or by the authorities of such hospital ; provided that such detention shall in no case exceed the period of three months. 3. — That in order to obtain a conviction under 29 Vict. c. 35, s. 36 (the Act of 1866), it shall not be necessary to prove that the owner or occupier of the house therein named had reasonable cause to believe that the pros- titute was affected with a contagious disease. 4. — That 32 and 33 Vict. c. 96 (the Act of 1869), ss. 3, 4, and 5, be repealed. 5. — That the Secretary of State for the Home Department be substituted for the Commissioners of the Admiralty, and the Secretary of State for the War Department in the Act of 1866, and that the police employed in carrying the Acts into force perform their duty in uniform. 6. — That the provisions contained in sections 11 to 21 inclu- sive of the repealed Act of 1864 (with an amendment of section 18 corresponding to the amendment pro- posed in section 36 of the Act of 1866) be extended to any place in the United Kingdom (except the cities of London and Westminster) from which a request for such extension shall be made, and in which proper hospital accommodation shall be pro- vided. 7. — That every keeper of a public-house harbouring prostitutes be deprived of his license. 8. — That every keeper of a common lodging-house harbouring I)rostitutes be subject to the penal clauses of the Common Lodging House Acts. 136 9-— That the certificate of Secretary of State under the 1 9 and 20 A'ict. c. 69, s. 16 (the Police Counties and Boroughs Act), do certify that the third section of the Vagrant Act, 5 Geo. 4, c. 83, and the section of the Town PoUce Clauses Act, 10 and 11 Vict. c. 89, relating to common prostitutes and night-walkers, have been duly observed. 10. — That 24 and 25 Vict. c. ;oo (the Act to consolidate and amend the statute law relating to offences against the person), ss. 51 and 52, be amended by extending the age from twelve to fourteen years. IT. — That girls under the age of sixteen acting as common prostitutes be sent to a home or industrial school for a period not exceeding two years, if they cannot be otherwise provided for to the satisfaction of a magistrate. 12. — That the Acts be partially extended to the Metropolis. In concluding their Report the Commissioners added — " That to the amendment of the law above recommended the title of the Act of 1866 would not be applicable. We do not recommend legislation merely for the better Prevention of Contagious Diseases at certain Naval and Military Sta- tions. We do not recommend special legislation for the purpose of protecting from the consequences of vicious in- dulgence any class of Your Majesty's servants. But we think that for the public good, particular districts which are, from any cause, peculiarly liable to contagious disease should be subjected to special sanitary regulations. We therefore approve of the establishment of hospitals at the public charge, and of police regulations enforced under central authority within such districts. Having regard, however, to the general prevalence of the disease, and to its effect on the health and happiness of the innocent* as well as the guilty, we are of opinion that such regulations should form part of a general measure comprising various amendments of the law. The measure which we recommend includes provisions, which, if adopted and strictly maintained, would, we believe, contribute largely to the pre- vention of the disease, but would be very inaccurately described by the title of the existing Act." To this report the names of all the Commissioners were appended, though some added formal dissents from certain clauses of the report. The alternative presented to the dissentients at the time was, that of either preparing a separate report of their own, or else of exerting themselves to the utter- most to modify the one presented by the Chairman. The former course involved such a delay as would probably have prevented the report from being presented before the close of the Session of 1871, and thereby have rendered immediate repeal, the desire of some of them, impossible. So the latter course was adoped in the strong expectation, not afterwards realized, that if a general condemnation was agreed to of the main principle of the Acts — namely, the periodical examination of the public women, and an equally strong opinion was ex- pressed by a number of them against the revival of the Act of 1864 — the Government would at once bring in a Bill for the repeal of the existing Acts. But though sixteen of the twenty- three Commissioners recommended the abolition of the peri- odical examinations, and fifteen denounced the Act of 1864, The Government Paid no Heed Thereto. * The flagrant hypocrisy of this continued reference to the " innocent " becomes apparent, when it is remembered that no one of the Acts made the slightest provision for the healing of innocent women or children. The wife of an arlizan at Chatham, suffering from the misconduct of her hus band, was refused admission to hospital treatment, unless and until she signed a submission, proclaiming herself a ^^ common prostitute ! V The present writer, interesting himself on behalf of a God-fearing little Sunday School girl, who was suffering for the sins of her mother, he was informed that there was no state provision for her healing unless it could be affirmed that she was a '•^prostitute " — a term, the meaning of which she had not the remotest idea ! ! ! 138 Mr. Mundella. M.P. for Sheffield, in a speech delivered in the House of Commons on the 14th August, 1871, said : " With resjiect to the report as a whole, I am bound to say it does not amount to a report, for it is not consistent with itself, antl any member of the House who expects to find in it the solution of this question will meet with much embarrass- ment. The fact is, the report was introduced by the Chairman as a 'iC'hole. It was fought clause by clause, word by word, just as Bills are fought in this House. It was divided on again and again, and the minority amended it as well as they could to. meet their wishes, and afterwards recorded their several dissents." The report became the arsenal whence many a weapon was drawn for future fights, and was the subject of long-continued and well-directed attacks made by the Repealers. It was said that throughout it there was a despicable evasion of the primary cause of prostitution — that is, the morbid passions and reckless cruelty of the male sex, in an abnormal and excessively luxurious state of society, that it candidly confessed the true purpose of the Acts to be that of rendering " the practice of prostitution, if not absolutely innocuous, at least much less dangerous," and enabling as many persons as possible who " have commerce with prostitutes to participate in the benefit of the Acts," that it Tampered with the Medical Statistics by which it first asserted that " statistical tables which show the working of the Act of 1866 cannot be conclusive as to the physical effects of frequent periodical examinations," and then, that '■'■there is no distinct evidence that any dimi- nution of the disease among the men of the Army and Navy which may have taken place is attributable to a diminution of the disease contingent upon the system of periodical examination among the women with whom they have consorted : " then it was assumed \\\'^^. the most effectual mode of preventing disease is the regular examination of the public women at short inter- 139 vals ; then a joint recommendation was agreed to, " that the periodical examination of the public women be discontinued ; " and, finally, it was said that all these inconsistencies, gropings in the dark, desperate shifts of the struggling reason, hideous and mangled relics of incessant divisions and interminable dissensions, were of themselves enough to stamp the report as one of the most discreditable specimens of political work- manship to which this country has given birth. In February, 187 1, Sir Henry Storks was again nominated for a seat in Parliament ; this time, for Ripon, where a sudden vacancy occurred. The electors were bound hand and foot to the Earl of Ripon, and when Sir Henry Storks was "sprung" upon them as the nominee of the Earl, the Conservatives saw no hope in a contest ; but Repealers were soon gathered together there. Mr. Joseph Edmondson, one of the ablest scribes of the movement, who had gone there from Halifax, was deputed to interview the Conservatives who had been gathered together to consider what could be done. They were utterly dejected. The Chairman gave Mr. Edmondson leave to address the meeting. He told them, at the outset, that he was a thoroughgoing Liberal, but that he was one of a party of Liberals who had come to defeat Sir Henry, if possible. They were not slow to see the bearing of the movement and its probable hold on the consciences of the more thoughtful of the electors. They abandoned the idea, which they had been discussing, of retiring from the contest. They set to work with a new heart. Their Candidate Declared for Repeal. Though the Repealers would not ask anyone to vote for a Conservative, because they were all Liberals, yet they did not hesitate to attack Sir Henry Storks and his views without mincing matters. This made a sensation, for, from time immemorial the townsfolk of all oi)inions had hardly dared to wag their tongues against a nominee of the Earl. Visits were paid to the leading members of the religious bodies, and it was 140 alike painful and encouraging to mark how powerfully their consciences conflicted with their allegiance to the Earl, Party feeling ran very high, and the Repealers had to endure rough usage from even respectable folk. On one occasion, as Mr. Edmondson was walking along one side of the market-place, a shopkeeper rushed out of his shop, struck him, seized his papers, threw them into the air, and fled back into his shop. Mr. Edmondson followed him, told him he had made a note of his name, and that he must expect to hear of it again, as the law operated in Ripon as well as elsewhere. The Earl's man looked very sheepish and surly. The contest was a forlorn hope. The Earl's nominee "got in." But the labour was not in vain. The evidence that "the North was moving " went to the workers elsewhere, and gave them new hope at a moment when they were almost dispirited. In March, 187 1, Messrs. Wm. Shaen and Frederick Pen- nington wrote, on behalf of the National Association, a letter to Mr. Gladstone in consequence of the publication in The Times, on March 13th, of a correspondence between that statesman and the Hon. Secretaries of the Extension Society. The letter called in question the influence of the Extension Society, and showed the weight of opposition which had already gathered against the Acts, and the reasons for that opposition. Mr. Gladstone replied by his secretary that he would bring the letter to the notice of the Home Secretary. In the month of June, Mr. Gladstone refused to receive a deputation on the subject because the Acts did not lie in his department. On March 30th, Mr. Duncan McLaren, M.P. for Edin- burgh, presented to the House of Commons a petition for repeal which was Signed by 250,283 Women. So vast was it that it had to be rolled up to the table of the 141 House, and attracted a good deal of attention. On April 12th, the first meeting on the subject held in Sheffield took place in the Cutlers' Hall. It was addressed by Mrs. Butler, who, the next day addressed a meeting of between six and seven hundred women in the same place. So strong was the feeling against the movement amongst the politicians of Sheffield, that they put every obstacle in the way of holding the meeting, and only one prominent local politician was present on the platform— that was Mr. H. J. Wilson, now M.P. for the Holmfirth Division of Yorkshire, who thenceforward became 'A Zealous and Effective Leader amongst Repealers. He was accompanied on the platform by his wife, the only lady who ventured to give the support of her presence to Mrs. Butler. After this meeting a local committee was formed by Mr. Wilson and the Rev. J. P. Gledstone, a Congregational Minister, who henceforth became an ardent and powerful advocate of repeal. As a proof of the increasing force and extent of the movement, it should be recorded that on May 3rd, the Macclesfield Town Council, at the suggestion of Alderman Jasper, unanimously adopted a petition against the Acts. Two special reasons were assigned for this unusual course. They were, " Because the police employed for carrying out these Acts are supported by a central authority, and not in any way subject to local control, thus striking a fatal blow at Municipal Government," and, "Because the police thus appointed are invested with dangerous powers inconsistent with personal freedom, and quite intolerable in a free country - all women being placed at their mercy, especially the poor and defenceless, who are readily made to become victims of these Acts, municipal authorities having no right to mterfere." 142 When, in July, tl>c report of the Royal Commission was published, a great conference of representatives from all the principal towns in the country was summoned to meet at the Westminster Palace Hotel, London. It met on July 19th, and adopted a memorial to Mr. Bruce, the Home Secretary, which was presented to him on the following day at the 'J'reasury by a deputation of nearly three hundred ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Bruce and The Times professed to be dreadfully shocked, because, owing to the crowded state of the room, there was not that reverential silence which should attend a gathering in the innermost sanctuary of the circumlocution office, in the presence of one of its highest dignitaries ; and because there was not an abashed awe amongst the deputation, some of whom, who thought more of outraged principle than of the greatness of the official, dared to dissent audibly from some of the statements made by the Home Secretary. The sum of Mr. Bruce's statement was this : he agreed with the deputation in subordinating the physical to the moral influence of the Acts, but the Government felt it would be not only dangerous, but impossible to repeal them without sub- stituting for them some other measure of a kindred nature. This deputation, being, in numbers and influence, very important, and having induced a minister to announce the future policy of the Government with respect to the question, compelled the attention of the London press. It broke the " conspiracy of silence," which was succeeded by A Conspiracy of Abuse. One of the deputation had spoken of the possible necessity of making every elector in the country acquainted with the nature of the Acts and their immoral tendency. This was seized upon by the Regulationists, and denounced as a threat to flood the country with demoralizing literature, and was brought before Parliament by a question addressed to the Home Secretary, which asked, "What protection the Govern- ment would afford against the literature threatened to be forced 145 of the next sitting of the House of Commons almost exactly the same incidents occurred. Mr. Mundella, between the hours of two or three in the onorning, moved for leave to introduce his Bill. Mr. Monk threatened to divide the House against it, and the mot on was postponed. The attempt was renewed two days later, when Mr. Crawford counted out the House. There could have been little hope for the success of a measure which could not find supporters enough to prevent the House from being counted out against it. Yet it was seen a few days later that, h;.d the Repealers in the House been properly organized and informed, such a severe blow to repeal might have been averted. On August 14th M-. Wm. Fowler raised a debate on the subject, by moving in a speech which ably covered the whole ground of the controversy, the reduction of the vote in the Army Estimates for the Control Department by ;^2,ooo. He was supported by Mr. Henley on the ground that under the Acts women were subjected to treatment which no women, however fallen, however outcast, ought to suffer, that The Treatment was Inflicted for an Immoral Purpose, and that the sexes were not equally dealt with. The motion was lost by a majority of twelve only, the numbers being — Against ... ... .. 56 For ... ... .. .. 44 Including the tellers, there were 38 Liberals and 8 Con- servatives for the motion, and 38 Liberals and 20 Conserva- tives against it. Of the 38 Liberals who voted against the motion, 22 were members of the Government. The Home Secretary was Member of Parliament for Ren- frewshire, and in September went down to address his con- stituents. He was considerably " heckled" on this subject, and at one meeting an amendment to a proposed vote of confidence 10 146 was liinicil ai::,ii>ist him because the people were dissatisfied with his statement on this question. In yet another way Mr. Bruce had reason to regret thi:5 visit to his constituency. At one of his meetings in the coumy, when defending his friendly attitude towards the Contagious Diseases Acts, he made a statement concerning the terrible state of Devonport before the Acts were enforced there, in order to contrast with it the alleged improved condition of that borough. The statement was an astounding one. but Mr. Secretary Bruce went so far as to " PLicu(.;E His Honour " that the statement was true. The pledge was an unfortur^ate one. Directly the authori- ties at Devonport and Plymouth learned what he had said, they waxed wroth with him, they held solemn meetings of the Corporations, whereat the statement was denounced in terse language and was streuuously denied. Steps were taken to call upon the Home Secretary to substantiate his pledge. He failed to do this. Then it was demonstrated to him that it was grossly utitrue. Mr. Bruce excused himself as best he could by saying that he made the statement on the authority of Inspector Anniss of the Special Police ! The Annual Social Science Congresses were for two or three years regularly used by both Repealers and Extensionists as opportunities for a trial of strength, until, the struggle having passed out of the region of academic discussion, the combatants tested their strength at the polling booths. At the beginning of the movement these Congresses were regarded as important occasions. Invariably they adopted Resolutions Antagonistic to the Acts, though not without fierce struggles. One of the chief officials of the Social Science Association was Mr. G. W. Hastings, M.P., a strenuous champion of the Act^. He it was who asserted at one of its meetings that he never laid his head dowti to rest at flight ivithoiit praying that this system might be extended. H7 In October, 187 1, the Congress was held at Leeds. Mrs. H. N. Mozley read a paper for repeal, and Mr. John Arm- strong, the Secretary to the Royal Commission, read one in support of the Acts. The discussion which followed was memorable for the statement by Mr. Alsager Hill of the true argument in defence of the system. He said, when arguing in favour of the Acts, " I contend that prostitutio7i is a necessary evil in the present complex state of society," and finding this statement cheered, he proceeded to say, " he could not see, when the trading community were hable to have their weights and measures inspected, that there was anything iniquitous or unconstitutional if women, selling their bodies in the public street, offering a tainted article in the market, were open to inspection." He failed to see that the law required all weights and measures to be inspected, and not those used by women only. This bold and bald statement of the views of the Exten- sionists became a powerful weapon for the Repealers. A motion proposed by Mr. J. H. Raper, to memorialize the Government to repeal the Acts, was adopted by a large majority of those present. Nearly every Nonconformist body of ministers, at their annual gatherings, at one time or another, and some of them with perfect regularity, passed resolutions condemning the Acts. So did the Free Church of Scotland. It was not so with the Estabhshed Churches of England and Scotland. On October 12th, 187 1, the Church of England Congress was being held at Nottingham, and a conference of clergy- men had been called together to consider what action that Church ought to take with respect to the Acts. It was a tempestuous gathering. Mrs. Butler sought to address the meeting, and was greeted with a storm of disappro- bation and cheers. The conference became thoroughly 1 48 disorderly, and broke up without any resolution having been proposed. Meanwhile, the I'^xtensionists were not silent. I'hey had been fortunate enough in Birmingham to secure the help of many of the leaders of public opinion there, amongst whom were the eloquent preachers, Mr. (now Dr.) R. W. Dale and Mr. George Dawson. These gentlemen, with some others, went as a deputation in favour of the Acts, to address Mr. George Dixon, one of the Members of Parliament for Birming- ham, who was from the beginning a Repealer. The deputation failed to move Mr. Dixon's allegiance to the cause he had espoused, and was notable only because of the speeches of Mr. Dale and Mr. Dawson. The former subsequently left the Extensionist Society and Declared for Repeal, the latter died. Mr. Dawson's contention was, " If it was lawful to heal men sick through sin, it was lawful to prevent men from being made sick through sin," a catching phrase, which omitted any consideration of the means adopted. It further assumed that the methods adopted to secure the sinner from sickness were successful ; an assumption utterly UNWARRANTED BY THE FACTS. CHAPTER XVI. Times of Trial^ Testing, and Temptation, To every movement there comes a time of trial and weakness, a time of temptation to obtain an early, but incomplete victory, when those who are not deeply groimded in the principles for which they have been contending, and those who have grown weary of the struggle, find an opportunity of moving away from the contest. Such a time came for the Repeal movement in 1872. The year was opened by the setting apart of the i6th and 19th January as days for special and united prayer all over the country for the success of the movement, and in many places on those days special services were held. It was at this time that Sir Harcourt Johnstone (now Lord Derwent), who was M.P. for Scarborough, declared himself in favour of repeal, and thenceforward became an active leader amongst them, both in and out of Parliament. On Feb. 6th, 1872, the Home Secretary (Mr, Bruce) gave notice of his intention to introduce a Bill for the prevention of certain Contagious Diseases, and for the better protection of women, and at the same time Mr. Wm. Fowler gave notice of his intention to re- introduce his Bill for the repeal of the Acts. On Feb. 13th, Mr. Bruce introduced his Bill — a Clumsy Attempt at a Compromise, which he maladroitly described thus — " Although the meshes of the net were wider, the net itself was larger." ISO The Bill, which was to extend throughout the country wherein Army stations existed, propQS£d_Ui_rej)ealjthe existing Contagious Diseases Acts, but went on to set out a consider- able number of provisions in substitution for those Acts, some were for the protection of women and female children, others were to prohioTe^tie dutward^decency of fKFpubirc streets, and others revived ,Tn arTmdirect way, some of the most objection- able features of the Act of rS5^4. Under tHe ])olice clauses, the police-were to reeeirervery large powers of arresting women suspCitcd of prostitution, and every woman thus arrested, and also every woman sent to prison for however short a period, under the Vagrant's Act, was liable to be detained in prison after the lapse of her sentence, for a period of nine months upon a surgeon's order, during which period she was to be subjected to compulsory surgical treatment, unless she should be able to disprove before a magistrate that she was an unchaste woman. That is, unless she could prove a negative ! Sir J. Trelawney at once intimated the opposition of the Extensionists to the Bill, by giving notice that when the Bill came on for its second reading he would move that the Roll of Members of the House should be called over. This was to ensure the presence of Members in their places in order to defeat the measure, the effect of such a motion, when carried, being that every Member absent from the House on the day named would be subject to the penalty of being committed to the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms as soon as discovered. The Committee of the National Association for Repeal resolved not to oppose the second reading of the Bill, but to propose amendments thereto in Committee. This course did not satisfy some Repealers, who, being Resolutely Opposed to any Compromise with a hateful form of slavery, and placing principle above all considerations of policy, were bitterly opposed to the Bill. On February 29th, about two hundred and fifty Repealers 151 from all parts of the country, met in conference at the West- minster Palace Hotel, when the cleavage in the ranks became obvious. Mr. Wm. Shaen presided, and in the course of a long speech, criticised the Bill. He regarded it as a hypocri- tical measure, intended to supply healthy prostitutes for the streets. Mr. Rylands, M.P., strongly urged that as a matter of expediency, every effort should be made to secure the passing of the Bill. Mr. Cowper Temple, M.P., said the Bill was everything he could desire, a statement in which Mr. McLaren, M.P., concurred. Mr. Mundella, M.P., Mr. Wm. Fowler, M.P., and Dr. Hooppell, Mr. Hume Rothery, and Mr. Miller also supported the second reading. The tide seemed set, and running hard in favour of the Bill, when Miss Becker rose and moved on behalf of the Ladies' National Association a resolution asserting the opinion that the Bill embodied the principles of the Contagious Diseases Acts of 1866-9, and covertly provided for the re-introduction — where it did not actually retain them — of the wrongs and abuses to women involved in the original Acts. She contended that the object of the Bill Was to Stifle, not to Satisfy the Agitation. Mrs. Josephine Butler supported that resolution. She dwelt upon the unequal manner in which the Bill treated the sexes, and saw in it the old vicious principle of the protection of men in the practice of vice, and the practical encouragement of profligacy in men by offering them safe companions. There was no course open to the women of England but stern opposition to this principle. Mr. Hopwood, Q C, M.P , wished the good that was in the Bill to be secured and made the best of. He moved, " That this Conference, having carefully considered the pro- visions of Mr. Bruce's Bill on the subject of the Contagious Diseases Acts, desires to express its satisfaction with the repealing clauses, and with the clauses having reference to the better protection of women, and is of opinion that the opponents of the recent deplorable legislation upon the subject 152 should heartily unite in assisting the Government to pass those portions of the measure. But this Conference is, nevertheless, of opinion, tliat the l^ill contains several clauses which are immoral, unconstitutional, and needlessly severe, and deems it essential that these objectionable features should be remedied in Committee." Professor Sheldon Amos supported this resolution, and considered they should take this opportunity of giving the old Acts the first decisive blow, and leave the future course to be decided by the result. Mr. Darton Dell from Ikistol, and Mr. Ainge from Birmingham, agreed with the resolution. Madame Venturi objected that by supporting the second reading of the Bill They S.\crificed Principle, the Rev. E. Kell, of Southampton refused to accept any present from the enemy, and Mr. Alderman Rees, of Dover, thought the ladies were right, they ought to make no truce with dire error and subtle wrong. Mr. Hopwood's resolution was carried. Only six hands were held up against it, but four of them were women's hands, and this 7vas a tvoma7i^s war. It soon became clear, that those six hands represented the most resolute, the most stalwart, the most uncompromising, and the most irrepressible portion of the band of Repealers. With them were — Principle, Zeal, and Eloquence, as the Government and the country soon learned. Letters against the Bill began to flood the editorial table of The Shield, the organ of the National Association. Mrs. Butler published a brochure entitled "The New Era," wherein the Bill, known as " Bruce's Bill," was traced to the regulation system in existence in Prussia, and, in March, issued " A Few Words addressed to True-hearted Women," wherein she urged all the truest-hearted women to petition Parliament against the Bill, and aroused those who were growing slack in 153 their opposition by words of earnest entreaty and encourage- ment. " There is no rest," said she, " except in unceasing work for the alleviation of the world's woes." The Committee of the Leeds Branch of the Ladies' National Association formally stated the attitude of the ladies in a memorial to Mr, Gladstone, wherein they said, "Your Memorialists have seen with satisfaction that the intensity of the national feeling against the Contagious Diseases Acts has induced the Govern- ment to bring in a Bill which, among other things, provides for their repeal. But they most earnestly represent that it is not of the slightest use to repeal the existing Acts, if, at the same moment Parliament passes fresh laws embodying every objec- tionable principle of these Acts, and every objectional provision except one (periodical examination), while it proposes to obtain these ends by means as outrageously unconstitutional, unjust, and partial, as tliose which have aroused so much indignation and resistance. Such a course will produce no quieting effect upon the public mind, your memorialists firmly believe that it will have an exasperating one. They consider that the clauses dealing with bad houses are insufficient, and in their present connection dangerous ; while that, to deal with the better protection of innocent children in a Bill professedly for the better protection of profligate men is a fresh insult to their sex. But, apart from this, they plainly and solemnly state that no law shall be maintained in peace, which decrees the surgical violation of the persons of women by men under any pretence, by any means, or, for any purposes whatever. They hold that there is a limit to what it is lawful for the law to do, and that, what is Intrinsically Wicked can Never be Lawful. Wherefore, they very earnestly pray that the clauses in the new Bill containing repeal may be retained, that the rest of the Bill may be abandoned, and that no legislation may be attempted on the subject, but such as is consistent with the fear of God and with equal justice to all classes of men and women." •54 Tliis belligerent memorial was signed on behalf of the Ladies' National Association, by Lucy Wilson and Celia Walker. On March 25th, the Committee of the National Association moved a step nearer the Ladies' Association. They resolved, "That this Committee, while supporting the second reading of Mr. Bruce's Bill, in order to secure the enactment of the Repealing clauses, is of opinion that the clauses of which they approve (including those for the better protection of women and children) ought to be embodied in a separate measure ; and that the clauses for the prevention of Contagious Diseases would introduce, in a more extended and dangerous form, the worst principle of the existing Acts ; " and, on April 8th, the Committee resolved, " That in view of the Bill of Mr. Charley (now Sir William Charley, Common Serjeant of London), to amend the law relating to illegitimate children and the better protection of women, this Committee is of opinion that Mr. Bruce's Bill ought to be reduced to a simple Repeal Bill ; the clauses for the better protection of women finding their proper place in Mr. Charley's Bill, the remaining clauses being expunged, and the question of the suppression of brothels being dealt with in a separate measure." The last resolution was significant, because of the omission of any expression of an intention to support the second reading of the Bill. The pro- Acts party were not silent. They rejoiced at the contentions which had sprung up in the midst of the Repeal party, but they thought it necessary to influence Mr. Bruce on their side. They organized a deputation of Members of Parliament who waited upon Mr. Bruce on May nth, and presented memorials from medical men. They supported the prayer of these memorials that the main principles of the Acts of 1866 and 1S69 might remain unaltered. The deputa- tion was an influential one, and represented large sections of both great political parties. 155 In the month of May, the ' Society of Friends regularly hold their yearly meeting, which lasts for several days. Mrs. Butler was invited to address the women Friends on the subject of these Acts, which she did on May 30th, with great eloquence and power. Then and there a Committee for the abolition of State-regulated vice was formed, which had a very large and potent influence in the subsequent struggle. About this time, Dr. Brewer presented to the House of Commons a petition from prostitutes at Colchester in favour of the Contagious Diseases Acts. It stated that they did not consider the Acts had injuriously affected their liberty, that they were grateful for the kindness and medical attention they had received in the Government Lock Hospitals, and that they hoped nothing would be done by the Legislature to impair the efficiency of these Acts, as they would consider such a result a calamity to them, and not beneficial in any way to the country. This extraordinary petition was received with exultant shouts of joy by the House of Commons, but careful enquiries were made in the district concerning the methods by which the signatures of women, absolutely in the power of the surgeons and police, were obtained, and the subsequent revelations deprived the petition of any enduring force. It proved to be of most service to the Repealers, who issued a broadsheet entitled Which Shall Prevail? whereon side by side were placed this petition of prostitutes in favour of the Acts, and the petition of the religious bodies in favour of their repeal. This was circulated by hundreds of thousands, and was found to be one of the most useful of Repeal leaflets. On July 9th, Mr. Fowler's Bill for Repeal was " counted out," and on July 15th Mr. Bruce's Bill was withdrawn, amidst 156 the cheers of the Opposition. It had pleased nobody but Mr. ]5ruce. It had been the cause of tlie first and only great internal difficulty amongst Repealers, amongst whom it drove a wedge which separated the uncompromising from the opportunist members of the party. ISIr. Peter Rylands and some others who thought the Bill ought to have been accepted as an instalment, quitted the party, though they remained friendly to it. The ranks of the party remained unshattered. Just a week later, Mr. Jacob Bright during the debate on the Army Estimates, moved to reduce them by ;^3648, the sum asked for for the special police employed under the Acts. He was supported, amid much interruption, by Mr. Brand, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Henley, Mr. Rylands, Mr. Mundella, and Mr. D. McLaren, and was opposed by Mr. Cardwell, Sir John Packington, Mr. Eykin, and Dr. Brewer. In the course of his speech Mr. Mundella drew upon himself the angry resentment of the House by saying of Sir John Packington " the Right Hon. Baronet seems to think that the way to heaven is through a Lock Hospital." Upon a division the votes recorded were — For Mr. Jacob Bright's Motion ... 74 Against ... 140 Majority against ... 66 TJie Times the next morning did not report the debate because it thought it " unfit for publication." On August 1st Mr. Bruce showed that though he had with- drawn his Bill in deference to the strong opposition expressed, yet the Government Programme was Still the Same. To a deputation of working men from all over the kingdom, who urged upon him the repeal of the Acts, he said, *' a very large portion of the Government, perhaps the larger ^57 portion, were of opinion that there was much in these Acts that was doing great good apart from their effect on the Army and Navy." Expressing his personal opinion he thought " there was nothing in those Acts that might not be defended." Although the Government and the House of Commons were against them, Repealers were not disheartened. They knew their strength lay Among the Masses and not with the Classes. To the masses they went. Meetings were held all over the country, and at every bye-election they were to be found early in the field of battle, making themselves heard and their influence felt. One of the most interesting of these bye-elections was that at Pontefract in the month of August. Mr. Childers, the First Lord of the Admiralty, went down for re-election on his appointment. He was extremely popular in his constituency, for which he had sat for twelve years, and he had no reason to fear even a reduction of his former majority. He was opposed by Lord Pollington, who was, as T/ie Times said, " essentially a weak candidate, and the exposure of his relations with the Liberals in 1868 was very damaging to him" with the members of his party. Moreover, many of the Conservatives and Liberals felt that a member who came before his constituents in consequence of his having accepted office should not be opposed except for the gravest reasons, which were not forth- coming, and the place was likely to be re-elected as a military centre under Lord Cardwell's Act for reorganizing the Army, and the electors expected to profit much by it. Altogether the outlook for the Opposition was discouraging. The Repealers felt it was a priceless advantage, notwith- standing the difficulties, to bring A Cabinet Minister Face to Face with his past support of the Acts in the presence of his constituents. 158 Mrs. Butler, Mr. J. Stuart, Mr. H. J. Wilson and Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Edmondson, Mr. Whitehead, and others, went down at once to Pontefract. The people of that town were entirely ignorant on the subject of these Acts, and many of them had committed themselves to support Mr. Childers before they had learned anything about them. But soon the fight raged almost entirely round these Acts, and Mr. Childers found that he had to face the question hour by hour, either in private or in public. Mr. Childers having engaged the Town Hall, at Knottingly, to address the electors there, on the evening of the 13th August, at nine o'clock, the Repealers secured the same hall for seven o'clock, agreeing to move out in time to leave the building clear for their opponents. Then Mr. Childers' party attempted a checkmate, by announcing that he would address the electors at seven instead of nine, and from the windows of the Buck Inn instead of at the Town Hall. This enabled the Repealers to be present, and hear what Mr. Childers had to say. He made the accustomed parade of delicacy on the subject, and asked those who desired the subject to be dropped to hold up their hands. Mr. H. J. Wilson here asked whether he, as a non-elector, might ask a question, and the reply from the window was " No ! you are not an elector, you are not wanted." Groans followed this answer, and a hubbub ensued. Mr. Wilson would have been roughly handled had not a body of working men placed themselves on each side of him, saying, " Stand still ; don't move an inch ; you shall be heard ; ask your questions ; We Want to Hear the Answers." During this time, Mr. Childers' chairman, quite frantic with rage, was striving to reach Mr. Wilson's head with his umbrella. The crowd swayed backward and forwards, and Mr. W'ilson stood firm, with a smile upon his face. Suddenly a voice shouted, " To the Town Hall ! " The cry was taken up, and the crowd started in that direction. Mrs. Butler and several other ladies, who had been watching 159 the scene from a window, and, desiring to proceed to the Town Hall, several gentlemen went to them, and proposed to escort them there by way of a quiet back street. Thereupon, some of the men cried out, " Never go down by a back way ! Come along down the middle of the crowd, before their windows, we'll protect you." And their progress to the Town Hall was thus converted into a sort of triumphal procession, Mr. Wilson walking first, with the Blue Book under his arm, followed by the ladies, attended by Messrs. Stuart, Edmondson, and Fothergill, loudly cheered by the crowd of men and women in whose midst they moved ; while Mr. Childers and his friends looked out of their windows upon their audience, which had gone wholly over to the opposition. Never before had there been a more mortifying scene for a Parliamentary candidate. One of Mr. Childers' friends hurried to the Town Hall, and, reaching the platform before the Repealers arrived, offered himself as chairman. Mr. Wilson proposed another chairman, and a new disturbance arose, which lasted for at least half an hour. Eventually, Mrs. Butler, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Fothergill were heard with much attention and applause. Mr. Childers' party retorted by attacking and dispersing a meeting of women. Mrs. Butler has given the following account of a stormy incident in connection with this election : — " On a certain afternoon, when Mr. Childers was again to address a large meeting from the window of a house, I and my lady friends determined to hold a meeting at the same hour, thinking we should be unmolested. We had to go all over the town before we found any one bold enough to let us a place to meet in. At last, we found a kind of large hay-loft over an empty room on the outskirts of the town. You could only ascend to it by means of a kind of ladder, leading through a trap-door in the floor. However, the place was large enough to hold a good meeting, and soon filled. Stuart had run on in advance and paid for the room in his own name, and looked in to see that all was right. He found The Floor Strewn with Cayenne Pepper, i6d to make it impossible for us to speak, and there were some huntlles of straw in the empty room below. He got a poor woman to help him, and with buckets of water he managed to drench the lloor and sweep together the cayenne pepper. Still, when we arrived, it was very unpleasant for eyes and throat. We began our meeting with prayer, and the women were listening, with increasing determination never to forsake the good cause, when a smell of burning was felt, smoke began to curl up through the floor, and a threatening noise was then heard underneath at the door. The bundles of straw beneath had been set on fire, and the smoke much annoyed us. To our horror, looking down the room to the trap-door entrance, we saw head after head appear ; man after man came in, until they crowded the place. There was no possible exit for us, the windows being high above the ground, and we were gathered into one end of the room like a flock of sheep surrounded by wolves. They were mostly 7iot Yorkshire people ; they were led on by two or three gentlemen (/), one of whom became afterwards a candidate for Parliament. " It would hardly do to describe in words what followed. It was a time which required strong faith and calm courage. Mrs. Wilson and I stood in front of the company of women, side by side. She whispered in my ear, ' Now is the time to trust in God ; don't let us fear.' And a wonderful sense of the Divine presence came to us both. You understand, it was not so much personal violence that we feared, as what would have been to any of us worse than death ; for the indecencies of the men, their gestures and threats, were what I would prefer not to describe. Their language was hideous. They shook their fists in our faces, with volleys of oaths. This continued for some time, and we had no defence or means of escape. Their chief rage was directed against me ; half-a-dozen fists were in my face at once, and the epithets applied were such as one only hears of in brothels. They filled their foul talk with allusions to the ' z'/V/V^i' ' under the Contagious Diseases Acts, with which they all seemed minutely familiar. It was very clear that they understood that " their craft was in danger." The i6i new teaching and revolt of women had stirred up the very depths of hell. We said nothing, for our voices could not have been heard. We simply stood shoulder to shoulder — Mrs. Wilson and I — and waited and endured. But it seemed all the time as if some strong angel were present, for when these men's hands were literally upon us, they seemed held back by some unseen power. There was a young Yorkshire woman, strong and stalwart, with bare arms, and a shawl over her head, among our flock behind us. She dashed forward and fought her way through the crowd of men, and escaped down the ladder, and, running as hard as she could, she found Mr. Stuart on the outskirts of Mr. Childers' meeting, and said to him, 'Come! Run! They are Killing Mrs. Butler.' He did run, and came up the ladder stairs into the midst of the crowd. As soon, however, as they perceived that he was our defender, they were down on him. A strong man seized him in his arms ; another opened the window ; and they were going to throw him headlong out. I ran forward between him and the window. This was enough to give him time to slip cleverly from between the man's arms on to the floor, and glide away to the side where we were. He then asked to be allowed to say a few words to them, and, with good temper and coolness,, he argued that he had taken the room, that it was his, and if they would kindly let the ladies go, he would hear what they had to say. A fierce argument began. Meanwhile, stones were thrown into the windows, and broken glass flew across the room. While all this was going on (it seemed to us like hours of horrible endurance), hope came at last, in the shape of two or three helmeted policemen, whose heads appeared one by one up through the trap-door. Now, we thought, we are safe ! But no ! These Metropolitans had been hired by the Govern- ment, and they simply looked at the scene for a few moments with a cynical smile, and left the place without an attempt to defend us. My heart grew sick as I saw them disappear. It seemed now to become desperate. II 1 62 " Mrs. Wilson and I whispered to each other in the midst of the din, ' Let us ask God to help us, and make a rush for the entrance.' Two or three Yorkshire working women put themselves in the front, and we pushed our way, I don't know how, to the stairs. It was only myself and one or two other ladies that the men really cared to do violence to ; so if we could get away, the rest would be all right. I made a dash forward, and took one flying leap from the trap door on to the ground-floor below. It was a long jump, but, being light, I came down all right. I was not a bit too soon, for the feet of the men were ready to kick my head as it disappeared down the hole. I found Mrs. Wilson after me very soon in the street. Once in the street, of course, these cowards did not dare to offer us the same violence. We went straight to our own hotel, and there we had a magnificent women's meeting. Such a revulsion of feeling came over the inhabitants of Pontefract when they heard of this disgraceful scene, that they flocked to hear us, many of the women weeping. We had to turn the lights low, and close the windows for fear of the mob ; but the hotel was literally crowded with women, and we scarcely needed to speak — events had spoken for us, and all hearts were won. " On the day before the polling day, the Repealers held a serious consultation of friends in their hotel, and agreed to work all that day and night, and leave the town early in the morning, before the polling began ; as the place had got rather hot for them, and they could be of no further use. They drew up A Last Appeal to the Electors of Pontefract, and wrote it quickly. It was very solemn, asking them, whatever party they belonged to, to consider the great principles which had been laid before them, and to abstain from supporting a man who had said so-and-so (quoting Mr. Childers' words). The appeal was short ; and it was printed in good large type, on orange coloured paper, that being the Liberal colour. i63 When night came, the gentlemen, about a dozen in number, got a plan of the town, and mapped out their operations, each taking a certain district with the intention of going to every house, and pushing this leaf under every door, so that it might catch the eye of every householder first thing in the morning. They would not trust the task to any agency but their own. It was nearly midnight, and the town was perfectly still. The residents and roughs had been thoroughly tired out with the excitement of the last few days. Before the morning light dawned a copy had been put under the door of every house in Pontefract, and when the people found them the Repealers were gone. But this last shot, and the fact that the Liberal colour was used, so exasperated some of the Liberal party that they searched everywhere for the offenders, and could they have found them, there would have been some cases of very aggravated assault. The result was that, though Mr. Childers was returned, it was with a much reduced majority. In 1868 he had been returned by 913 votes against 680 pclled by his antagonist; at this election he was returned by 658 against 578 polled by Lord PoUington. His Majority fell from 233 to So. Out of 1 941 electors, 705 abstained from voting. The London Press was indignant. The Daily News screamed with passion. The Saturday Revieiv, after reviling " those dreadful women," whom it dubbed " indecent Moenads," significantly added, " It is as well that future candidates should know that an accjuaintance with these subjects, and a capa- bility to solve the most hypothetical cases, will be imperatively demanded from them." On every hand it was asserted that the candidature of Lord PoUington derived its force from the opposition to the Contagious Diseases Acts, excited and fostered by the brave little body of Repealers, who were strangers to the place and the people, but who appealed to their consciences, and were able to strike a blow at the guilty 164 Government, wliich profoundly affected the Cabinet. Mr. Childers, himself, discovered the immoral tendency of the Acts, and subsequently voted for their repeal. The Workers at Ripon and at Pontefract had gone there without previous concert, and most of them simply of their own motion. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Edmondson felt that further organization in the North was imperatively needed, in order that there might be preparation for any future elections in that part of the country. Accordingly, on August 29th, at Sheffield, the Northern Counties' Electoral League, for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, was formed. Mr. Jos. Edmondson, of Halifax, was appointed the Treasurer, and Mr. H. J. Wilson, its Hon. Secretary. This League was of the greatest service to the movement in after days, and not only did Mr. and Mrs. Wilson originate it, but down to the last hour of its existence they were its life and soul. Less furious were the fights at Preston, at Richmond (Yorkshire), and at Tiverton, and less notable were they ; but in them Repealers were present and boldly held their public meetings, distributed their literature, heckled the candidates, roused the constituents, and made the question of repeal the question of the contests. The Midlands began to be organized by the Midland Counties' Electoral Union for Repeal, formed in Birmingham in November of this year, and was the reply of Repealers to the deputation of Exten- sionists which waited upon Mr. Dixon, as we have already described. The Provinces were rising, and the provincial press took notice .of the many indignation meetings which were held. The storm in the country was waxing fiercer and fiercer, But it had not Driven the Government as yet. CHAPTER XVII. Hope Deferred. The Repealers were always sure of sympathy and support from the working men. In their ranks they found their staunchest and most numerous adherents. They availed themselves of every opportunity of appealing to them. In January, 1873, the Trades' Union Congress was being held at Leeds, and the delegates were invited to meet Mr. and Mrs. Butler, Mr. Stuart, Mr. Edmondson, Mr. Wilson, and others, on Friday the 17th. More than a hundred delegates assembled, indeed, with one or two exceptions, all who remained in Leeds were present. They were addressed by Mrs. Butler with touching simplicity and tenderness. She expressed her sympathy with their trials, their grievances, and the efforts they had made and were making for the moral elevation of their class, and then appealed to them for equal sympathy, and for help for those far more cruelly injured, and far more helpless than they. The Men were Deeply Moved by her arguments and appeal. Several of the leaders of the men then spoke, expressing great sympathy with the move- ment. The seed sown at that time bore good fruit, and was found in the Working Men's League, which was subsequently formed. It led to a great awakening amongst the working classes. i66 The increasing strength of the political influence of the party excited the fears and animosity of the political partisans, who now endeavoured to crush the awkward and annoying agitation carried on outside, and independent of the wire- pullers, so as to destroy their electoral calculations, and their reputations as party managers. The method adopted was not very reputable. Nearly everywhere Repealers went, they found their meetings attacked, and, in many cases, broken up by Disorderly Mobs of Squalid Men. The National Association attempted to hold a meeting at Gravesend, but it was broken up by a rabble who amused themselves, and destroyed the meeting with squibs, crackers, and other fireworks. At Weston-super-Mare, on March 12th, the ladies were forcibly driven out of an uproarious meeting. Croydon, Devonport, and other places treated the Repealers in a somewhat similar manner. On May 21st, Mr. Wm. Fowler moved the second reading of his Repeal Bill, and Sir John Packington moved that it be read that day six months. The debate was notable chiefly for the warm eulogium paid to the women of the movement by Mr. Henley, who said, " The women have put their feet on the Rock of Ages, and nothing will drive them from their position." The result of the Division was — For the Second Reading ... ... 128 Against ... 251 Majority against ... 123 The great increase in the voting strength of the minority gave vast satisfaction to the Repeal party, and The Shield spoke exultingly of " the fast rising tide " in their favour. The Times could not remain silent longer, and said, " it was impossible to ignore the loud and passionate agitation." The 167 majority against the repeal was large, and gave little prospect of repeal during the life of that Parliament. But it was a great thing to have done that which Repealers had done ; they had convinced One Hundred and Twenty-eight Members of the Parliament which passed the Act of 1869 without opposition, to vote for its repeal, and the overthrow of the system which it completed. The majority might be against them, but the Parliament was expiring, and better things were hoped from its successor. Everywhere, candidates were getting allocated to the constituencies, preparatory to a general election, and not one was allowed to escape "heckling "on this question. The hopes of Repealers had never been higher than at the close of 1873. They had held two hundred and fifty-six public meetings, and fifteen important conferences during the year. They had informed the country. They were confident of the favourable response of the people to their appeals. They ooked for an early end to their labours. But, alas ! they had to fight many years longer before they touched the object of their struggle. In January, 1874, Mrs. Butler and Professor Stuart were making a speaking tour in the North. They had gone from Liverpool, through Lancashire to Carlisle, to Whitby, to Scar- borough, Normanby, and had reached Hull, when a telegram was delivered to them from a friend in the Ministry announcing that there would be a Dissolution of Parliament on the morrow. They sped to Leeds to meet their friends, who were hurriedly summoned to consider the best method of fighting at the general election. But the Repeal party were almost wiped out at the election. The movement had One More Grudge against Mr. Gladstone for his hasty and ill-considered appeal to the country when only the Conservatives were prepared. The Repeal party had i68 the great majority of their friends amongst the Liberal candi- dates, and it was the Liberal party which was routed at the polls. The suddenness with which the country was plunged into the seething turmoil of the contest destroyed all hope of anything but the great party issues being considered. In the sound of the great struggle the cries of detached bodies were lost. One incident afforded great joy to Repealers. Mr. T. D. Lewis, who had said, " it would be better for Devonport to be disfranchised than give up the Acts," was defeated. Then a vacancy occurred at Oxford ; Mr. Cardwell, who had been returned for that city, having accepted a peerage. Mr. Lewis was chosen as the Liberal candidate for the vacancy. The Repeal party were indignant, and immediately put forth all their strength to defeat him. He was one of the ablest of their opponents, and it was of supreme importance that he should be converted or defeated. They tried to convert him, but whilst ready to admit that the Acts were open to many objections and capable of modifications, he firmly declared "He Would Rather Lose Five Seats than at present vote for unconditional and total Repeal." His opponent declared against the principle of the Acts. Repealers then gave all their support to the Conservative candidate. They started the Oxford Daily Messenger, a daily paper devoted to their cause, which was maintained throughout the contest. Mrs. Butler addressed a powerful letter to the women of Oxford, in which she said, "As a Liberal my sympathies would naturally be in favour of your Liberal candi- date, were it not for this all-important question. . . . You have much influence on your husbands, brothers, and friends, who are voters. I entreat you, women of Oxford, to use that influence in the interests of purity and morality, and for the defence of outraged womanhood. Remember that God — the God of purity — is on our side, and that the question before us 169 is a more solemn one than any which has hitherto found a place in election contests. Ask your male friends, then, to pause before they exercise their solemn trust as voters, and to consider whether that man can be worthy of their support who is so deeply committed to the principle of this immoral law ; charge them, as they will have to answer at God's judgment bar, to wash their hands of this wickedness, and at least to abstain from supporting by their votes one of the professed champions of this indecent and oppressive system of legalized vice, even if they cannot go so far as to record them in favour of his opponent." This appeal had a great influence on the result. Mr. H. J. Wilson also wrote a powerful letter to Mr. Lewis, which was published, wherein he said, " I devoutly trust those Radicals of Oxford who believe in God and morality will firmly refuse to vote at all at this election." Every house was visited by Repealers disseminating leaflets and pamphlets calculated to enlighten voters as to the facts of this immoral legislation. They met with an extremely encouraging reception, and they soon found that the opposition to Mr. Lewis was fierce amongst the women. Mr. Lewis tried an open-air meeting at Sumnertown, But the Women Would Not Hear Him, and then the men who were present took their part, and Mr. Lewis had to give up the attempt. Dr. Lyon Playfair, one of the most strenuous advocates of the Acts, went down ta his assistance, but his support availed nothing. He was compelled to hold only ticket meetings, because of the excited state of public feeling against him, whilst Mr. Hall, his opponent, who had been refused by the Mayor and Town Council the use of the Town Hall, held three open-air meetings, which were vast and enthusiastic. Yet it was believed that Mr. Lewis must win the election, owing to the strength of the Oxford Good I/O Templar vote, which could not be recorded in favour of Mr. Hall, because he was a brewer. Mr. Lewis was, however, defeated by a majority of 462. He polled 200 votes less than the lowest Liberal candidate polled six weeks before, and his opponent received 550 more votes than he did on the same occasion. His defeat was ascribed by his friends to his zeal for the Acts, a fact which contributed to the jubilation of Repealers. The SJiield spoke hopefully of the results of the general election, though sixty-seven of the members of the late Parlia- ment were not re-elected. ]>ut it was only shouting to keep up the spirits of the party ; in fact, it became quite clear that the movement had entered upon a new, an unexpected, and to many a disappointing phase. The Repealers had failed to capture the enemy's stronghold by a rush, they had Now TO Settle Down to a Siege. They had expected to win after a brief struggle by the force of enthusiasm. They found they had to wearily and warily plod through all the ways of party warfare, except the tortuous paths of deceit. It was thought to be a mere temporary cause of estrange- ment from the Liberal party, now it seemed to be probable that the cause would endure and the cleavage might be per- manent. Some who were willing to stand outside their political party for conscience' sake during a little while were loath to commit themselves to a final separation. They quietly stepped back into the ranks of the party. There was no prospect of success during the continuance of the Conservative Government. Repeal was to be Wrung Only from a Liberal Government, I/I which would thereby purchase the support of Repealers. Conservatives knew that they had nothing to gain as a party by the gift of repeal, but rather that they would then lose the benefit of the division in the Liberal ranks. Governments are moved by party considerations. They run on strategical lines laid down by the party managers. If they chance to tend Heavenwards, so much the better, since whilst running in that direction they can make a great noise and demonstrate to the world how trustworthy they are ; and if these lines tend in the direction of an opposite place, well, they can still make a great noise and demonstrate to the world that they have gone right before, and are now, at least, making progress. Governments are not turned from the party rails by appeals to morality, or even by appeals to religion. We try to persuade ourselves otherwise, and we never think well of the event which forces us to see that in truth Governments are made up of party men whose constant aim is power and place for their party, they sharing the patronage. All that militates against this purpose is accursed. The faddists, so called, are an abomination to Governments. No favour is granted to them. Repealers were counted as most objectionable faddists, and being for the most part Liberals, they could not purchase Repeal from the Conservatives by the offer of their allegiance. They had to wait patiently For the Turn of the Political Tide. Meanwhile, they sorrowfully took in some of their canvas. From May ist The Shield was published monthly instead of weekly, as before, and the medical press talked of the agitation for Repeal as having largely faded away. It was a period of discouragement, but the Repealers were not disheartened. In time they blessed this delay in the fulfilment of their hopes. They subsequently saw clearly that, had they won at that time, it would not have been an enduring victory, for the country had not then understood and grasped 1/2 the principles for which they were fighting, and in some other guise the wickedness of the Acts might presently have been slipped into the Statute Book. All legalization of vice had to be made impossible, because understood and hated by the nation. The prolongation of the struggle enforced wider, and deeper, and more prolonged education of the public mind, and WHEN THE VICTORY CAME, IT CAME, WE BELIEVE, FOR ALL TIME. CHAPTER XVIII. The Hour and the Man. — A Woman's Speech. Sir Harcourt Johnstone, M.P., became, this year, the leader of the party in Parliament, Mr. W. Fowler having lost his seat at Cambridge ; but there was a greater Parliamentary figure coming to the aid of the party. Mr., now The Right Honourable James Stansfeld, has been Member of Parliament for Halifax since 1859. He was ever an ardent Liberal from his college days ; his moral instincts were pure and strong, and a blameless life only oroved and intensified his loyalty to them. Those who were most intimate with him did not doubt, when the question of Repeal arose, but that he would sympathise with the movement. As he himself said, on April 3rd, 1872, to a deputation of Repealers, " No person at that table had clearer convictions than he had entertained, perhaps, at an earlier period than they had been entertained by any other person in the room, upon the subject in question." But he was a member of the Government, and had been long connected with official life. He was a Lord of the Admiralty in 1863 and 1864, Indian Secretary in 1866, Third Lord of the Treasury in 1868 and 1869, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1869 and 187 1. From the 174 lH"'ginning of the Repeal movonient he was one of its sympa- thisers and friends, though he felt it Due to Official Etiquette that he should be silent on the matter, feeling that the pressure on the Government should first come from the outside. In 187 1, Mr. Stansfeld went down to address his con- stituents. Two days before he arrived, a public meeting was held in Halifax, to which the electors were invited by placards, directly referring to Mr. Stansfeld's position. The Royal Com- mission was then sitting, and he had deferred expressing his opinions concerning the Acts until the Report of the Com- mission had been issued. The meeting was a crowded one, with Mr. E. Crossley in the chair. Mr. Edmondson moved, and it was unanimously resolved, "That a deputation be appointed to wait upon the Right Hon. James Stansfeld, to urge him to supi)ort the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, 1866 and 1869, by all means in his power, and to request him to convey to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, as head of Her Majesty's Government, a copy of the first resolution of this meeting. The first resolution was one calling for immediate repeal. The speech of Mr. Edmondson was greeted with applause, which was significant. He said he hoped that they would tell Mr. Stansfeld plainly what they thought upon the point, because, if they did not, they would be traitors to their town, their country, and themselves. What they needed from Mr. Stansfeld was a distinct avowal that he would oppose the Acts. He would do an honour to himself and to his con- stituency if he were to resign his ofifice in the Government, rather than be implicated in the maintenance of such a huge wrong for a single day. The meeting for Mr. Stansfeld to address his constituents on January 19th, was called for the usual meeting-place, the Mechanics' Hall, which holds 1,300 people. When Mr. Stansfeld arrived, with the Chairman of the Liberal Asso- 175 ciation (who was to preside), the hall was so crowded that they could not get in. The meeting was adjourned to the Drill Hall, where between 6,coo and 7,000 persons assembled. The reporters were some time before they could get to the Drill Hall, and by then Mr. Stansfeld had got well into his speech. The consequence was that the first part of it was not reported, and in The Times, next morning, the report com- menced with his observations on the Acts. He said he in- tended to act upon his convictions, but he desired to hear the conclusions to which the Commission arrived. No balance of material advantage would for a moment weigh in his mind against ihe question of the moral tendency of such a law. Mr. Crossley moved, as an amendment to the resolution, " That this meeting, having heard Mr. Stansfeld's account of his Parliamentary experiences during the past Session, and his opinions on the various questions connected with the Govern- ment of the country, fully recognizes his valuable services to the Liberal cause, and expresses its general confidence in him as its representative, except as regards the Contagious Diseases Acts, on which question the meeting regrets that it must reserve its confidence." This vote of suspended confidence was carried by the meeting, a circumstance which inflicted acute pain upon Mr. Stansfeld, and created a great feeling of animosity to Repealers amongst the weak leaders of the Liberal party, who were sur- prised and mortified to find that they had lost the supreme control of the constituency. Later on, in that year, Mr. Stansfeld was offered the post of President of the Poor Law (Local Government) Board, and accepted it only on condition that when the Royal Commission had reported he was to have perfect liberty of action on the question of the Acts; and after that report was issued his avowed resolve to use that liberty at all costs in reference to the then pending second reading of the Repeal Bill, was of great service to the Repeal cause. It was generally believed, and with good reason, that his influence in the Ministry caused the insertion in Mr. Bruce's Bill of the Repeal clauses, a Bill which Mr. Stansfeld recommended his constituents to accept as " a conversion of principle." The defeat of the Liberal party at the general election in February, 1884, destroyed Mr. Gladstone's Government, and freed Mr. Stansfeld from the restraints of office, and when in July of that year, Sir Harcourt Johnstone, Bart., invited a number of Members of Parliament to meet at his house to consider the position of the Repeal question, Mr. Stansfeld went there with others, and he proposed to the meeting that Sir Harcourt should move in the House for leave to bring in a Repeal Bill. On the 1st of October, 1874, a great Conference was held at Glasgow, and to it Mr. Stansfeld sent a letter promising public and parliamentary action for repeal, in which he said : — " The movement against the Contagious Diseases Acts has been passing through a critical phase. A period of discourage- ment and of inaction followed hard upon the displacement of parties which was the result of the late general election. " Some have hoped that your movement was dying out. My firm conviction, on the contrary, is that all such peril has been passed, and that, to-day, you have to bear witness to a renewal of a Struggle Never Again to be Suspended until its great object be attained. " The present law is, in my view, a battlefield on which opposing principles have to fight it out. It is not a position which can be permanently occupied by those who, at present, believe in the moral and hygienic benefits of this mistaken and unhappy legislation. They must retreat or advance. To retreat will mean the abandonment of the Acts and their repeal ; to advance would signify their extension to the whole country. 177 ■" It has only been by stolen marches that their advocates gained the ground they hold for a time. The Contagious Diseases Acts are laws passed without the justification of previous public knowledge, or of full Parliamentary discussion. They could not be enacted now ; they will be repealed. " I am well aware that the subject is one which is painful, if not difficult, to discuss. There are good men, to my know- ledge, who say ' the law is bad, but its public discussion is even worse ; it has been passed by surprise ; now — for aught that we can do — it must remain.' I am unable to accept their doctrine. I do not believe that it is given to us to wash our hands of the responsibility of a Profoundly and Insidiously Immoral Law, because we have suffered it to become law whilst we were asleep. " I cannot for a moment submit to the belief that, largely viewed, anything but good can result from awakening the people to the consciousness of an immoral law, and to the determination to secure its repeal ; and I foresee no difficulty, for myself, in so handling the subject as not to lay myself open to any deserved reproach. " There is no alternative ; the question must be made a public and political question — one for the constituencies and for the ballot-box. There is no other way of procuring the repeal of a law which neither party cares to touch whilst it can be let alone. By a political, I do not mean a party question. The present Government is not as yet committed, and many of its members individually, as far as I know, are not yet committed, to support the Contagious Diseases Acts. I will do what I can to enable them to consider these Acts indepen- dently of party, and on their merits alone. They are forewarned ; I trust that they will prove forearmed, and not accept a 178 responsibility not yet theirs, but which, if they carelessly adopt it, sooner or later, Some ok them will Repent. " For myself, a deep and special feeling of responsibility has led me to join the ranks of the active and persistent opponents of these Acts. I care not to measure the greatness or the duration of the task : it may be that the longer the conflict, the greater will be the moral victory in the end ; but that the victory, in due season, will be ours, I, who am not given to rash prophecies, have the fullest faith." This letter gave the greatest gratification to the Repealers, and was for them the signal of a fresh onslaught begun with renewed confidence and vigour. On October 15 th, at a public meeting held under the auspices of the Ladies' National Association, at Colston Hall, Bristol, Mr. Stansfeld made his debut as an advocate for Repeal. It was a notable occasion. For the first time a "Right Honourable " was seen upon a Repeal platform. For the first time A Distinguished and Recognized Leader in one of the great parties placed his sword at the disposal of the Repeal party. It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance and value of such service to the cause. But Mr. Stansfeld brought not only a great name, but a splendid eloquence and courage. This, his first speech on the subject, attracted the attention of the whole country, and led to a dis- cussion of the Acts by the whole press of the country, even by those leading London journals which had so long and per- sistently ignored the question. The Times sincerely regretted " To find a statesman of Mr. Stansfeld's eminence identifying himself with the hysterical crusade against the Contagious Diseases Acts, ... in the discussion of which it is impossible to take sides without 179 herding with prurient or with cynical fanatics." The Saturday Review was very angry with Mr. Stansfeld for " Waving the reddest flag ... in the face of those who support the Con- tagious Diseases Acts," and being of that party described by The Times as "cynical fanatics; " the Saturday Review pro- ceeded to say, " Governments with real responsibility on them cannot regard life with this primitive straightforwardness, and must be content to trust that what is really required for the health and security of a people is also the most in harmony with Christianity," which was a supremely haughty way of saying, " If the methods of Governments and Christianity do not agree, so much the worse for Christianity." " I do not come here," said Mr. Stansfeld, "to attempt to inflame your imaginations with any recital of the horrors which attend the policy of these Acts. I come here to-night to say to you not only in my own name, but in the names of many others, that we renew this evening an opposition to this immoral and indecent legislation — an opposition which will never again be even suspended until these Acts are Blotted for ever from the Statute Book of this realm . . . they were smuggled through ParliameJif. Every one of us, myself included — who happened to be a passive or unconscious participator in that process — were responsible for it, and I desire to rid myself of that responsibility. . . . The laws were passed sub silcntio, because the subject was unsavoury, and now that they are laws, we are told that we may not meet to discuss them, because we sin against the laws of decency by that discussion. The constitution of this country and the moral sense of the community is not to be cheated by arguments of this description, and we meet you here to-night to say to you and to the upholders of these Acts, that whether they will or not, in open public meetings of men, ay, and of women, too, this legislation affecting women even more than men, shall be discussed unto its fall." i8o In l.iyiiii; down ihe course he purposed to follow, he accurately forecast the course he invariably took. "I," said he, "will always speak from my conscience. No unnecessary statement of horrors shall escape my lips, but where it is necessary to speak plainly, I will speak plainly. I will never — and I am speaking of a future agitation which may be long enough — I will never think only of the men and women before whom I may have to speak. I will think of our opponents, and I will wrestle with them in argument, and I will seek, if I may, to persuade and to convince their minds, and my appeal shall ever be to that general public opinion which ultimately must decide between us. These laws are immoral, they are unconstitutional, and they are necessarily and inevitably hygienically a failure. On no occasion will I advance a less comprehensive proposition than this. . . . These laws are immoral, and therefore they cannot contribute, in the long run, even to the physical health of the population. If we believe that humanity is governed by a providential law, that law can come only from one source, and can be but One, and it is impossible that A Human Law which Sins Against the Law of Morals can contribute permanently even to the physical well-being of mankind." Mr. Stansfeld then dealt at length with the hygienic arguments, "for the purpose," as he said, "of showing that the present law is not a permanently tenable position — that it is simply a battle-field gained by a surprise by the advocates of these measures, a battle-field from which they must be driven or from which they will advance. . . . These Acts are immoral, and therefore they cannot work for any good. . . . There is no physical evil consequent upon vice which can compare with the physical evil which comes upon a race from the utter corruption of morals. Never was there a people in the history of the world which became universally corrupt, which, under the providence of God, did not become i8i enslaved or pass away. . . . The history of continental Europe upon the subject shows that humanity, however degraded, revolts against so arbitrary and indecent a law, and that the attempt to enforce such laws has invariably stimulated clandestine prostitution. . . . And now about these poor unfortunates — The Daughters and Sisters of Men. I charge you look upon them as yoitr daughters and yotir sisters. As yet, there is a door of escape, and they do escape by it. There is a chance of return to the peace and to some of the happiness of a home ; but imagine these Acts uni- versally applied, and the name of every unfortunate branded indelibly — branded upon the pages of one huge, foul book of sin; for her henceforth there would be no escape and no return. This is called a Christian country, and our legislators profess to be guided and ruled by Christian morality and Christian law. Where do they find in the teaching of Christ, who came to save the unfortunate, where do they find the sanction for a law that walls her in ? that so deals with her by the arm of police and of doctors as to Outrage the Last Feeling of Womanhood left in her, and to degrade her below the brute, so as to make redemption impossible, humanly speaking, on this side the grave ? " Then, having pointed out the work before them, he con- cluded, "Full of a sense of special responsibility, I have dived down into their very depths, and I have impressed myself with the profound conviction that these Acts are immoral, uncon- stitutional, and calculated to degrade and debase the manhood and the womanhood of this country. I have watched this insidious materialism creeping over the country and entangling in the meshes of its wide and sweeping net many good men and good women, blinded by, and unconscious whither they were going, and deceived by appeals made to them in the name of benevolence and for the sake of diminishing physical suffering. I have seen good men and women, brave men and l82 braver women, master the intense repugnance which refined and sensitive persons must feel on such a subject. I have seen women with all their exquisite sensitiveness, as well as refinement, coming before the public to plead The Cause ov \^irtuk Against that of Legalized Vice, and I have marked these women hounded down, hooted at, with unseemly language, gesture, and even threat ; and I know that were not the spirit of law in this country too strong, their lives and persons might have been exposed to danger and to outrage, like the lives and persons of the Abolitionists of the United States of America at the hands of the men-stealers and slave-holders of the South. I have marked these things ; I have put my hand to the plough ; I have made my choice ; I have cast in my lot with those men and women — For ever Reverenced be their Names — who hitherto have led a hope which too long has seemed forlorn, and never will I desist, and never will they desist from this sacred agitation until these degrading laws are blotted out from the Statute Book for ever." The adhesion of so powerful a speaker and so distinguished a statesman inspired Repealers everywhere with new hope and fresh vigour. Nor was this adhesion a mere formality. From Bristol Mr. Stansfeld went to Liverpool, thence to Bradford, from there to Scarborough, and then to Sheffield and Birming- ham, delivering stirring speeches at these, and at many other places, to thousands of persons. He revived the flagging energies of Repealers, and won many notable additions to their ranks. He gave to the movement, in the eyes of the politicians of the great parties, respectability, consideration, importance. This was what was needed. The movement had on its side the sympathies of the common folk and the religious bodies of the country, it needed to win the respect or the fear (at least the notice) of the politicians who managed elections, i83 and laid down the lines of parliamentary action. Mr. Stansfeld attracted their attention, but it was a long time ere the cause commanded their respect sufficiently to compel them to satisfy its demands. It has been said the movement had on its side the sympathies of the religious bodies. The clergy of the Established Church had, to some extent, disapproved of the Acts. The Bishops of Exeter, Lichfield, and Salisbury, and over 2,000 of the clergy, had formally expressed their dis- approbation. From 1869 to 1873 inclusive, the Wesleyan Methodist Conference had annually expressed the strongest disapproval of the Acts. In 1872, seven hundred of its ministers, at the Conference in the City Road Chapel, signed a memorial to the Prime Minister, urging immediate repeal. Immense numbers of petitions to Parliament had been sent from Wesleyan congregations, and early in 1874, at the Wesleyan Mission House, a Wesleyan Society had been formed to secure immediate and total repeal. The Society of Friends formed a Repeal Committee amongst its women members in May. 1873, and on Nov. 10 of that year a Friends' Repeal Association was formed, and it was resolved to raise ;^i 0,000 to secure their object. The United Methodist Free Churches, in 1872, unani- mously resolved that a deputation of preachers should wait upon the Home Secretary, to present a memorial against these Acts. The deputation, including the President of the Assembly^ was received by Mr. Bruce on November 28th of that year. In 1873, as many as 885 ministers of the Congregational Denomination memorialized the Prime Minister against the Acts, and, at the annual meeting of the Yorkshire Congre- gational Union, held at Leeds in that year, 435 ministers and delegates being present, a resolution condemnatory of the Acts was unanimously carried. The Methodist New Connexion, the Primitive Methodists, the English Presbyterians, and the Baptist 1 84 Union had repeatedly memorialized and petitioned for entire repeal. In Scotland, the religious opinion of the country against the Acts had been strongly manifested. The Fkkk Church General Assembly had petitioned year after year, and had also appointed a Special Committee, to bring the subject before all the ministers from time to time. The Unmtei) Presdvterian Synod had appointed a similar Committee, and in May, 1S74, had renewed its regular protest against this legislation, and passed a resolution recommending office bearers and members throughout the Church to use all constitutional means to secure repeal. The other churches and religious bodies in Scotland had acted in a similar manner from time to time. In Ireland, the Presbyterians, the Wesleyans, the Society of Friends, the Primitive Methodists, and other religious bodies had adopted similar resolutions and modes of action in support of Repeal, year by year from 1869, when the agitation commenced. There existed in 1873 at least a dozen different societies in the United Kingdom, working in accord for the Repeal of the Acts, and having committees and correspondents in Over Six Hundred Towns. There were the National Association, the Ladies' National Association, the Northern Counties' League, the Midland Counties' Electoral Union, the Friends' Association, the North-Eastern Association, the Scottish National Association, the Edinburgh Ladies' Committee, the Glasgow Ladies' Com- mittee, the Dublin Branch of the National Association, the Cork Branch of the National and of the Ladies' National, and the Belfast Branch of the National and of the Ladies' National. On Nov. nth, 1874, the Northern Counties' League held a conference and a public meeting at Bradford, which was addressed by Mr. Stansfeld, Mrs. Butler, and others. Such 1 85 conferences and meetings were being held frequently in various parts of the country, under the auspices of the different societies for repeal ; but this conference is specially referred to, as affording an Example of Mrs. Butler's Eloquence, for it was the spirit that breathed through her words which had made the movement what it was, and which subsequently raised it to the height of its great success. Elsewhere, an example of her speeches at a public meeting is given ; this was addressed to her friends and co-workers. The conference was presided over by Mr. Edward Back- house, of Sunderland, the Chairman of the League, a constant and most valuable friend of the movement. It was addressed by Mr. H. J. Wilson, Sir Harcourt Johnstone, Bart., M.P., Rev. C. Butler, M.A., Rev. A. C. Russell, M.D., and Dr. Whittle. Then Mrs. Butler said — " Others will have practical questions to bring before you. I hope it will not be considered impractical, however, it I dwell for a few minutes on that which it is needful for us all to think of frequently — the far-reaching character of our movement, and the radical nature of the principles which it involves. I venture particularly to remind electors, those engaged in the electioneering and parliamentary part of the work, and those representatives of the people who have now become our fellow-workers (for these, I think, require more than women do to be often reminded), that the particular contest in which we are engaged, for the repeal of a law, is only a small part of a far greater controversy — a controversy, the seeds of which have lain dormant since the beginning of the world, and the ripened fruits of which will herald the approach of the Reign of Peace and Justice on Earth. i86 The question which we have raised in this nineteenth century, hes at the root of all that most vitally affects the life of nations, and the progress of the human race. Looking back over the five short years of our labours, sve cannot but be struck by seeing how, under the energizing influence of a searching test- question addressed to the consciences of men, the field of our operations has widened, and the evil has deepened, since the time when we first challenged public opinion on this root question of human life — the true relation of the sexes. We may well become conscious, as time goes on, of intellectual and spiritual inadequacy for the greatness of the work. At first we seemed to look over it, as we might over our own private field of labour. Then wider fields, and broader lines of country beyond, came into sight ; the horizon retreated more and more; and now we see that the truth, which we, in our weakness, stood up to declare, is co-eternal with all that we know of God's truth, and it fills us with awe to think what we have set our hands to do. Our movement, small in its beginning, has increased, and will increase, and not cease until it has embraced in its onward flow all the nations of the earth in which the governing power, and the stronger portion of society, are now allowing and patronising this profane and costly sacrifice of souls to the demon of lust. We are but the Heralds of the Dawn. Let us be faithful to our task, and those who come after us will rejoice in the fulness of the light of day. " Our hopes are not the hopes of fanatics ; our anticipa- tions are sobered by the conviction that there is a severe conflict before us, and the two armies of good and evil must yet meet in a deadly encounter. Opposition will increase ; hatred will deepen. Passion and interest will combine to present to us a wall of obstinate resistance, the strength of which we have not yet fully tested. But who will dare to say That Evil will Finally Master Good ? My husband has told you something of the echoes of the i87 storm in other lands. There are voices reaching us from far countries ; a shaking among the dry bones ; some little per- turbation even, at last, among the upper classes of society, who, as a rule, care for none of these things. It is manifest that on all sides it begins to be felt that the principle is to be decided whether male profligacy, at the expense of women, is to be condoned, excused, and darkly perpetrated, or to be sternly condemned and pertinaciously resisted. This question has got to be answered — to be answered first by England, before Europe and the whole world. The answer to this question involves the sweeping away of that whole corrupt fabric of injustice and inequality in matters moral, and in the relations of men and women, upon which, alone, was it pos- sible for men to erect this Last Abomination of Legalized Vice and Slavery. In the answer to this question is involved the expulsion from men's minds of the radical and woe-working error that a woman was made for man, and not, equally with himself, for God — a being, not permitted merely, but morally bound before God to command the uses of her soul, alone, upon the threshold of her individual being, to appear and answer before God, with no sacrilegious and impotent interposition of man, for vicarious responsibility or selfish protection. " When, in the whole course of the life and teaching of Him whom we call Lord and Master, do we find Him sub- jecting women to the will, government, or caprice of men, or in any way sanctioning the notion that superior physical strength is to constitute the ultimate appeal in deciding the relations to each other of immortal and spiritual beings? When do we find Him assigning her a place as a mere minister to the male sex, for his convenience or pleasure, or even for his highest good, save in the sense in which we are all divinely called to minister to, and not to hinder each other's moral and spiritual growth? When do we ever find Him showing such a partiality for the stronger sinner, man, as to ' stamp out ' the remotest possibility of moral recovery, or the feeblest sparks of lingering humanity, in the most wretched of outcast women, in order that the Stroxger Sinner Mic.ht Sin Without Suffering? On the contrary, be it observed, His dealings with women, even more emphatically than with men, expressed a setting free, a loosing of bonds, an elevation to equality of dignity with man ; not by increasing the weight of her skull, or adding strength to her muscles, but by bestowing wisdom, humanity, holiness, and power ; and I think few will deny that it was evidently intended by that Holy Teacher that these spiritual forces should supersede muscles and weapons of war in the government of societies and states, and that it would have been better for the world if they had done so. Contagious Diseases Acts, framed for the careful superintendence of women devoted to the systematic service of the lusts of men, will disappear from the face of the earth, together with their originators and patrons, when we shall have succeeded in bringing our accepted and conventional morality Face to Face with Jesus of Nazareth. The work is widening rapidly. The challenge has gone forth, not in ELngland only, but in the countries of Europe and in America. We shall have to acknowledge that it was provi- dential that the corrupt doctrine was at last p2it into legal shape in England, and vice openly licensed ; for when this is done, discussion arises, the license of men and the oppression of women are brought to light, and then the fight begins, and once begun, it cannot end till the one or the other principle rule. When we shall have won our Parliamentary battle at home, England will become a great lever-power for the rest of the world, and it will be her duty then to supply the moral force needed for the purifying of society elsewhere. Prin- ciples, if they are to be permanently established, must be universally established. We have heard of consular conven- 189 tions and international agreements. We must defeat them. There is no time to lose, for the work of corruption is rapid, and will not be counteracted by efforts made in the few spare moments of men who are so taken up with their money- making, their dinner-parties, their church and chapel affairs, and their own family matters, as to have neither time nor money to spare for this pressing cause. Each day. More and More Appalling Evidence reaches us that the regulation system creates horrors far beyond those which it is supposed to restrain. " Vice once stimulated by this atrocious system, imagines and dares all unutterable things ; and such things perplex with misery the lives of parents of missing children in continental cities, and daunt the courage of rulers, and madden the moral sense, and gnaw the conscience of whole orders of sinners and sufferers of whom we can form no con- ception here. We shall have entered upon our national decline whenever we slacken our efforts in opposing such a system. Farewell, then, to the distinctive honour and privilege of our country and people — the adoption of the family as the basis of society, and the reverence and love of the sacredness of the home as the security for all that, as a nation, we have and hope for. Just as this great typical abomination of harlotry comprises within its bosom all other abomina- tions — 'All evil thoughts and deeds, Anger, and lust, and pride ; The foulest, rankest weeds, That choke life's groaning tide ; ' so does the opposition to this typical abomination, and the moral revival implied in that opposition, include the germs of all that we hope for in that day when the earth shall be released from her bondage, and the rod of the oppressor shall be broken ; when there shall be no bewildering inconsistencies. no hollow virtues nor specious crimes ; when none shall hold advantages bought by the blood and tears of his fellow. " But in order to attain our immediate and specific object, as well as to grasp and reach the wider and deeper aims, we want devoted and self-denying men and women. Once more, from the retirement of my home, from the seclusion of my own chamber, I come before you, to ask you, friends, to receive my message, for I am but a messenger, and to hearken to this call to greater self-devotion. We have seen persons coming out, here and there, one by one, to give themselves to this work, a spark of living fire has kindled in their hearts, and, as we look at them, we know that these are The People who will Move the World. Some of our former conferences have been marked by an im- pulse of greater zeal in individual workers ; and I pray God that from this day, and from this conference, may date an earnest re- dedication of many to the cause, for this cause will not be won without sacrifice. The fact that work is done so much by large associations now-a-days, tends to lessen the sense of individual responsibility ; yet it is certain that the progress of this, as of all great reformations, depends on the devotion and constancy of individuals. To the awakening of the private conscience has God committed the real history and progress of mankind. There is a power among us, which is not recognized by T/ie Times newspaper, or by the press or public in general — the only power which can defeat the powers of darkness — I mean, The Power of the Spirit of God; and when this power is put forth irresistibly, for the subver- sion of evil, it is chiefly manifested through influences the most human, and agencies the most personal. It makes itself felt through the warm pressure of human hands stretched forth to help — through the earnest affection of human eyes, accus- tomed to penetrate the unseen. "The miracles of men's lives are the only miracles which will convince and convert, and which will overthrow the 191 materialism of the day. We hear much talk about Christianity, we want the reality now. We want men like those of old, who passed through life as ' unknown, yet well known ; as dying, and behold they live ; as chastened, and not killed ; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing ; as poor, yet making many rich ; as having nothing, yet possessing all things ; taking pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecu- tions, in distress for Christ's sake.' We want men who will live as those live who are watching on the eve of a great crisis towards which all their efforts are directed ; who feel how slight and small are all minor considerations ; how little it matters to plant and to build, and to plan and to establish themselves in comfort, how little it matters whether they have in this life a little, more or less, of success or happiness ; men who will count not their own hves dear unto them, who will go forth whither- soever the Divine decree shall ordain, pressing on to labour in the great harvest-field before the sun goes down; men who will cease to make any nice or niggardly calculations of how much of the world, of ease or wealth, or pleasantness they can manage to give up, or of how much they may retain ; but who will question rather, how they may give up their all, and make of Their Lives a Complete Holocaust. " In the contest against slavery in America, men and women gave up fortune, home, friends, and life itself The system against which we contend is one which has as deeply corrupted the life of nations as Negro Slavery has done ; the evil we oppose is rooted in a yet 7nore cruel negatio7i of Imman brother- hood, and a more immoral violation of the principle of liberty. There is a gaping wound, a yawning gulf in the midst of us, which, like that of the Roman Forum, will not close until warriors, brave, undaunted, clad in the impenetrable armour of purity, shall fling themselves into the breach. ' His strength was as the strength of ten, Because his heart was pure.' " Many are conscious that these words are an armoiii 192 which docs iidI fit tlicmselvcs. lUit let those who cannot look back over their past life without regret and pain, recall to-day the everlasting truth, that perfect and everlasting oblivion of the past is held forth by God Himself at the portal of the new life, for all the erring sons and daughters of God. Is it too much to hope that men will learn to spare a little more time from the dreary pursuit of wealth, which, when it comes alone comes like the apples of Sodom; that of that wealth itself some will be willing to dedicate a large share to this work, and that others may from this day begin to give what is more than all silver and gold — The Self-denying Labours of a Consecrated Life. " The victory, which may not be near, but which is certain, will be not merely the repulse of an attack by the enemy of all good, but a turning point in the history of our country and the world. Our battle belongs to a great and extensive field of spiritual war; we are standing at a key position, and are called to promote a revival of faith on the earth, with higher views of righteousness and purity. No matter, if we, the pioneers, lay our bones in the dust, others will pass over them to victory. Let us remember the cry of the Crusaders (and ours is a better crusade), ' God wills it, God wills it ! ' '' CHAPTER XIX. Various Accessions. — 50,000 Working Men Enrol Themselves. The Midland Counties Electoral Union held its Annual Meeting on December Sth, 1874, and was notable from the fact that it was the occasion on which Dr. R. W. Dale gave his adhesion to the movement, and when Mr. Joseph Chamberlain (now the Right Hon.), the Mayor of Birmingham, took the chair, because he joined with them in their abhorrence of the legislation which the meeting was called to condemn. It was in 1874 that the British and Continental Federa- tion arose out of the action of the Triennial Medical Con- gress, which was held that year at Vienna. At a Conference of Repealers held at York on June 25th, Dr. CoUingwood, of Sunderland, called attention to the fact that at the Congress it had been proposed to establish a League throughout the world for the control of the system of regulating prostitution, so that fugitive women should be Caught and Handed Back to the Regulators, and it had been proposed that England should take the lead in forming such a league. Dr. Jeannell, in his book on pros- titution, also urged England to summon a Congress to establish such a league. It is not a little astonishing that the first concrete proposal before the people of Europe, capable of being put into law, 13 194 made when democracies were getting to the front, was this one of an International League for the Regulation of Prostitution, With England at the Head ! It was this proposition which caused Mrs. Butler to under- take a mission to the Continent, for the expenses of which the F^riends' Association made itself responsible. She took leave of her friends in the autumn of 1874 at a Woman's Prayer Meeting at Birmingham, and left England in November. She went first to Paris, thence to Lyons, Marseilles, Antibes, Genoa, Rome, Naples, Florence, Milan, Turin, Geneva, Neuchutel, Chaux-de-P'onds, and Lausanne. Everywhere she interested men and women in the cause of purity and freedom. Mrs. Butler returned to England in February, 1875, and almost immediately after this, on March 3rd, a small conference of friends was called to meet her at the Euston Hotel, to hear her report of the great and encouraging success which had at- tended her efforts to call into action the strong, though hitherto latent, feeling of abhorrence at the system of State-regulated vice existing in many of the best minds of France, Switzer- land, and Italy. At this conference the idea was started of arousing a powerful public opinion on the Continent in support of an agitation similar to the repeal agitation in this country, which had been commenced abroad. The result was the forma- tion of the British and Continental Federation for the Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution, which has now its branches in almost every European country. Its first meeting was held at Liverpool, March 19th, 1875. Its scope is the abolition of female slavery and the eleva- tion of public morality among men. Its object is comprised in the following resolutions, adopted as the rule of its actions : (i) everything relating to prostitution must be made subject to the common law of each country ; (2) all legal guarantees of per- sonal liberty must be equal for the two sexes ; (3) the law must not provide or tolerate any official registration of prostitutes, or any official recognition of prostitution as the status of a social 195 class ; (4) the law must not sanction or tolerate any violation of the rights possessed by any woman over her own person ; (5) the law must not allow imprisonment except upon a judicial sentence passed in open court upon evidence on oath or affirmation of a legally defined offence, and after full oppor- tunity of defence for the accused ; (6) all policemen when performing executive duties must be in uniform; (7) all officers of the law must be fully responsible for all their acts before the ordinary courts ; (8) no regulation of prostitution may exist, whether established by the State, by the Commune, or by any other authority. These bases of the Federation are set out because they are a succinct statement of the political grounds upon which the Contagious Diseases Acts were opposed in this country. This Continental pilgrimage was an important element in the struggle in this country, because it introduced continental opinions concerning the system, and an accurate knowledge of the system as it existed on the Continent. An account of this mission to the Continent, and of the subsequent events, in a work entitled " The New Abolitionists," was written by Professor Stuart, and published at this time. Throughout 1875, there was increasing activity amongst Repealers, particularly in the north of England, where by the unflagging energies and persistent personal efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, of Sheffield, a number of great meetings of women were held which were most successful, and a host of small meetings for men and for women separately were called. In some places ministers invited their congregations by circular to attend meetings in the vestries, where they were able to discuss the details of the system in a manner unsuitable to public mixed meetings. Great meetings were held at Liverpool, Edinburgh, Ports- mouth, Chatham, Sheffield, Newcastleon-Tyne, at which Mr. 196 Stansfeld, Mrs. Butler, and others of the principal repeal orators spoke. There were also two great meetings in London, one on March 3rd, at St. James's Hall, and another on June 8lh, at the Great Central Hall, Bishopsgate Street. On April 5th, 1S75, Mr. Gourley moved in the House of Commons the reduction of the Army Estimates by the amount required for the special police charged with the execution of these Acts. Mr. Campbell l^annerman, from the front Liberal bench supported the Government opposition to this motion. No notice had been given to anyone by Mr. Gourley of his intention to make his motion, and, therefore, no effort was made to secure the attendance of Repealers. The voting was 18 for Mr. Gourley's motion, and 62 against, the motion being defeated by a majority of 44. On June 23rd, the longest debate in the House of Commons upon this subject took place, when Sir Harcourt Johnstone moved the second reading of his Repeal Bill, Colonel Alexander moved the rejection of the measure. Mr. Hopwood, Mr. Childers, Mr, Henley, and Mr. Stansfeld sup- ported the second reading, and Mr. Stephen Cave, the Judge Advocate General, Mr. Massey, and Mr. Gathorne Hardy opposed it. Sir Harcourt Johnstone spoke in a manly, straight- forward, and extremely temperate manner, and Colonel Alexander successfully imitated the moderation and courtesy of his tone and manner. The whole tenor of the debate afforded satisfactory proof that the gravity and importance of the question was, at last, recognized by the House of Commons. The Tone of the Debate was Higher, The opponents of repeal rendered due homage to the character and intentions of the ladies who had taken part in the agitation, Mr. Stephen Cave said : " I say all honour to them for it, and I should be the last to join in the outcry which has been raised against those who have so devoted themselves," 197 The division list was pleasant reading for Repealers, though the figures were unsatisfactory. The numbers were, including the tellers, For the Repeal Bill, Cons. 20, Libs. 108 — Total 128 Against „ 238 „ 72 ,, 310 Majority against ... 182 It was clear that the Conservative Government was more openly and unanimously committed to this legislation than the previous Liberal Government. But the pleasing part of the division list was the number of the most prominent members of the late Government who voted with Sir Harcourt John- stone. Mr. W. E. Gladstone was Amongst the Number — a fact that filled the Repealers with the hope that when next the Liberal party were in power the x\cts would be swiftly repealed. It was in March, 1875, that the first number of The Medical Inqtdrer appeared, a paper which subsequently had great influence as a medical and statistical advocate of repeal. It was the organ of the National Medical Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. This Association was founded in the spring of that year, and its members were soon found in all parts of the United Kingdom. It founded an organ of its own in consequence of the refusal of the weekly medical press either to admit articles against the Acts, or to conduct the controversy which raged about them with impar- tiality. It was published monthly, and contained a series of original investigations into questions which eminently required investigation, such as the real amount of venereal disease in the country at large, the amount of disease in the mercantile marine, etc. These investigations were made by Dr. Birkbeck Nevins, of Liverpool, who, in 1875, declared for repeal, and 198 thenceforward rendered invaluable assistance to the cause, not only by his service in the founding of the National Medical Association, in the editing of The IiKjuirer, and in his many and laborious imiuirics, but also by his masterly criticisms of the figures which were put forward by the pro-Acts party in support of the Acts. Dr. Nevins held aloof from the controversy at first, for the subject was so disagreeable a one, but being a teacher in a medical school, it appeared to become a duty to make himself acquainted with the operation of the Acts, and accordingly he did so. He examined only official reports laid before the country by the Government in order to form an opinion in the first instance. The result was, he found that as sanitary measures there was No Proof that they had Reduced Venereal Diseases in the Army, or among the registered prostitutes. The investigations made and reported in The Medical Inquirer were of the highest value to the cause of repeal. They were made with great care, and often demanded a most precise examination of great masses of figures involving almost incredible labour and difficulty, and frequently required most patient and wearisome wading through the involved Army and Navy and Registrar General's Statistical Reports. The opinion, which has been most loudly, and still is, perhaps, most generally expressed by the medical profession, has been for some years in favour of the Acts. This has not been the case uniformly in this countr}'. At one time the system of examination of women in France, of which accounts were brought into this country by students who had been to Paris, was held to be horrible, and that which nothing could justify. As the professional intercourse with that country increased, London medical men and Army and Navy surgeons became more familiar with it, and The Uncontrolled Disgust with which the descriptions of speculum examination of women 199 was at first received gradually gave way under the influence of familiarity, and a few medical men of great metropolitan influence induced the Government to sanction the introduction of this very thing. At the same time most appalling accounts were spread abroad as to the amount of venereal disease prevalent throughout the community, and the benefits of such legislation as the Contagious Diseases Acts in France were loudly asserted. At first the British Medical Journal and The Medical Times and Gazette published articles and editorial protests against the system. On September 22nd, 1869, The Medical Times afid Gazette had the following editorial remarks, " There is nothing which would more tend to deprive medicine of the rank of a respect- able calling than the fact that practitioners should be found willing to Lend Themselves to the Dirty Work of Examining prostitutes, in order to enable them to carry on their trade, and even, as has been proposed, instructing them in the art of injecting, so that they may sin with safety. If the heads of the profession or the colleges ever desired an opportunity of protecting their members from degradation, here is one." But when a few men, to whom the profession looked up, said that the Contagious Diseases Acts had already done wonders in the places where they had been applied, the impression in their favour became general, and was adopted by the medical press, as well as by individual medical men. Soon after the opposition to the Acts sprang into existence. Dr. C. Bell Taylor, of Nottingham, originated a medical protest, which was signed by all the medical men of Nottingham and the neighbourhood. In 1872 a similar memorial was also signed by 120 medical men in Liverpool, and sent to the Home Secretary ; whereupon a memorial in favour of the Acts was circulated throughout the country, and when pre- sented to the Home Secretary, it bore the signatures of 2,500 200 medical men. About a year later, the Council of the Metropolitan Branch of the British Medical Association set on foot a memorial in favour of the Acts, But it was not Carried Forward, as objection was taken to the action of the Council in com- mitting the Association on the subject. From that time there was no public expression of a collective medical opinion upon the Acts, though the subject was discussed in ^Medical Societies, but without any division being taken upon it. A public medical discussion took place in Sheffield, in February, 1S76, in the Albert Hall, the largest building in that town, between Mr. J. E. Taylor for, and Dr. J. B. Nevins against, the Acts. It was a crowded meeting, and, after an animated discussion, it resolved, by a large majority, " That this meeting Condemns the Contagious Diseases Acts, and desires their repeal." The Association for Extending the Acts had by this time ceased to make public appeals for support. Its Honorary Secretary, Mr. Berkeley Hill, was, in 1876, invited to speak in favour of the Acts at a meeting in Manchester. He accepted the invitation. Then arrangements were made for a reply to his speech. As soon as this was arranged, and became known, Mr. Hill wrote to say that he had a professional engagement which would prevent his going to Manchester. Once or twice during the subsequent struggles in Parliament they were heard of in memorials or petitions, but the factitious influence the Association acquired in early days had passed away. On May 14th, 1875, it was resolved, by a Provisional Committee of Ministers and Laymen, appointed to consider how best to secure the support of the Congregational denomination in favour of repeal, to form a Congregational Committee for the Abolition of State Protection and Patronage 201 of Vice. Samuel Morley, Esq., M.P., was elected chairman, Edward Crossley, Esq., treasurer, and Rev. J. P. Gledstone, hon. secretary. The title of the Committee was changed in 1877 to "The Congregational Committee for the Abolition of State Regulation of Vice." It was of great service in organising in various ways the opposition to the Acts amongst the Congregational body, and obtained the adhesion of 1,900 of the ministers of that denomination to the cause of Repeal. On July 19th, 1876, the House of Commons was again invited to pass the second reading of the Repeal Bill, but refused to do so by a majority of 122. The votes were, in- cluding tellers, for the second reading, 104; against, 226. It was observable that the tone and the character of the debate \Vere Immensely Higher than when the subject was discussed six years before. The continuance of the struggle had effected, at least, the good work of raising the moral tone of Members of Parliament. In this year the Working Men's National League made London its headquarters. In 1S73, Mrs. Josephine Butler addressed a public meeting in St. George's Hall, Liverpool, on the working of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Her statements so strongly moved Mr. Edmund Jones and other prominent working men in Liverpool, that they resolved to organise an Association amongst working men. This was done, and the leaders amongst working men in all parts of the country agreed to unite with the League— " I. To adopt measures to make working men fully acquainted with the nature and character of the Contagious Diseases Acts. — 2. To ensure the question of their repeal being made a prominent one at every election (whether con- tested or not), and at every appearance of a member of Parliament before his constituents. — 3. To take such measures for influencing the Government and Parliament as shall from 202 lime to time appear most expedient for securing the total, immediate, and unconditional Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. — 4. To promote the discussion of the prin- ciples of the League in working men's clubs, trade societies temperance societies, or any other organised body, and urge them to become atitiliated branches of the League." Edmund Jones was elected the president, and occupied that position until his decease in 1882, when Mr. Benjamin Lucraft was chosen to succeed him. The central ofifice was at Liverpool, until its removal to London. Mr. Joseph Joyce was its devoted Secretary. This League did good work, and succeeded in Enrolling 50,000 Working Men as Members. It had a journal of its own, entitled The National League Journal, which was begun in 1875, and was published monthly. In December, 18S6, when the League had been disbanded after repeal had been obtained, this journal was incorporated with The Sentinel, a monthly magazine devoted to social purity subjects, and which exists to this day. The Regulationists had been endeavouring to obtain a foothold in the United States of America. The Repeal party in this country perceived the need there was to enlighten the American people concerning the character of this legislation. Accordingly Mr. H. J. Wilson, of Sheffield, and the Rev. J. P. Gledstone went, in April, 1876, as a deputation to the States, and aroused the attention of religious and moral persons there to the evils of the system which it was sought to establish amongst them. On their return, they published an interesting account of their eminently successful mission. The Philanthropist, a monthly journal, published by Mr. Aaron Powell, at New York, maintains the protest against State regulation in America; and is the organ of the New York Committee for prevention. CHAPTER XX. The City of London. — The Select Committee of 1S79— 82. The City of London has always taken part in all questions of social and political progress ; it is, therefore, a remarkable fact that the conspiracy of silence in the London press had so succeeded in keeping in ignorance of the system some of the most influential citizens, that many years elapsed before it attracted their attention, and, indeed, before some of them even heard of the agitation. Early in 1877 a powerful ally of the Repeal party was formed in the constituting of the City of London Committee for Repeal. Its origin was on this wise : Alderman Sir Wm. McArthur, M.P., happened to sit beside the author of this work at a public dinner, in the early part of the year, and in the course of con- versation they exchanged their respective experiences of visits made in 1872 to the scenes and sites of the battles of the great Franco-German struggle of 187 1 — 2. Both had visited Metz, and both had witnessed for themselves, and had learned from high authority, of the awful hygienic conditions of the French army in that city and fortress, arising from the encouragement given to sexual vice by the regulation system as carried out in France. Mr. Scott learned from Sir William that the same system, in effect, had been then recently and stealthily introduced into the British Army, Navy, and garrison towns by Parlia- mentary action. The result of an earnest conversation 204 on the subject was, that Sir William, in his well-known abrupt, but imjircssive, manner, exclaimed, " I'll tell you what it is, Scott, if you will act as Honorary Secretary, I will help with money and otherwise ; we will have a CiTV Committee for the Repeal of the Acts." A bargain was at once struck, and a meeting was convened at the Cannon Street Hotel for February i6th, 1877. There were present, among others, the Rt. Hon. Jas. Stansfeld, M.P., Sir Wm. McArthur, M.P., Alex. McArthur, Esq., M.P., J. Holmes, Esq., M.P., Mr. C. J. Tarring (now Assistant-Judge of the British Consular Court at Constantinople), Mr. B. Scott, Chamberlain of the City, Mr. George Gillett, and Mr. J. C Banks, Secretary of the National Association for Repeal. Mr. Scott, who acted as Secretary to the meeting, made a statement of his personal experience of things at Metz, after the capitulation in 1872. He was followed by Sir William McArthur, who confirmed all that Mr. Scott had said in every particular. When in Metz, in 1872, he had observed dreadful instances of suffering and disfigurement from disease of a venereal origin, which had induced him to make specific inquiry as to the cause of such a condition of things, which exceeded all he had previously known or heard of. The French Troops at Metz were Decimated by disease, thousands of them were either drafted out of the army or were incapable of active service. Hundreds of them were working on the railways or the fortifications. So bad was the hygienic condition of the troops, that one of the main reasons for the surrender was, that all medical stores were exhausted, although provisions and ammunition would have enabled a six weeks' continuation of the siege ; notwithstanding there were twenty-seven tolerated houses for the use of the army, strictly regulated and medically inspected. The Germans, who were well informed of all that was passing in Metz, on entering the city after the capitulation, placed sentries at the doors of every " tolerated " house, with 205 strict orders to run through any German soldier who should attempt to force his way into any one of them. Sir William went on to point out that the regulation system, so far from protecting men from the consequences of immo- rality, operates in the contrary direction ; and he stated a marked diminution in the ratio of disease in the British Army, before the Acts of 1866. Which ratio had been arrested since those Acts had been put into operation. He concluded by proposing the first resolution, for the formation of a Repeal Committee, confined to the City of London, to co-operate with the already-formed and active " National Committee." This was seconded by J. Holmes, Esq., M.P., and sup- ported by the Right Hon. James Stansfeld, M.P., who, inter alia, said, " that there is no army or navy abroad that is not full of the gravest form of disease." Alluding to the official reports and Blue Books on the subject in this country, Mr. Stansfeld said " that they were fraudulent — got up to support a case; and, further, that every case of rescue effected, and every brothel closed, were claimed by the advocates of the system as the result of the Acts. The hygienic failure of the entire system abroad was openly confessed by the highest authorities. M. Lecour, the head of the police des mceicrs, in Paris, acknowledged the tremendous difficulties of the subject, and he now seeks to obtain further accessions of arbitrary power. With us, the greatest objection to the system was its inherent immorality. We started from that standpoint, but we have since become aware of the grave constitutional and medical objections." The Resolution was adopted unanimously. The basis of association was settled as follows : — " To secure the total, immediate, and uncondi- " tional Repeal of the so-called ' Contagious Diseases " Acts, 1866—69,' on the grounds of their unrighteous " and immoral character ; their violation of the first " principles of law and justice ; their revolting in- " decency and cruelty ; their arbitrary and despotic 2C6 "character; the dangerous power conferred by them " on a disguised police force, irresponsible to the " local authorities ; and because of their demoralizing " tendency, especially in their indirect educational " influence upon the public mind — leading the " young, especially, to regard prostitution as a lawful ' "calling, and only injurious to themselves and to " society when it is followed by physical dangers." It was resolved: — That Samuel Morley, Esq., M.P., be invited to act as Chairman; that R. C. L. Bevan, Esq., be the Treasurer to the Committee ; and that Benjamin Scott, Esq., be Honorary Secretary. It was further resolved : — That the Committee should consist of fifty members, and that an Executive Committee of a smaller number should be appointed for active work. The following gentlemen, with others, 50 in all, formed the first Committee, or subsequently joined it : — The Rev. E. Abbott-Abbott, D.D., Head Master of the City of London School ; Professor Sheldon Amos, M.A.; R. C. L. Bevan, Esq.; Sir Arthur Blackwood, K.C.B.; Sir Thomas Chambers, Q.C., M.P., Recorder ; J. J. Coleman, Esq., M.P. ; George Gillett, Esq.; C. H. Hopwood, Esq.; Thos. A. Jones, M.D. of Paris, M.R.C.P., London; The Rev. Stanley Leathes, Canon of St. Paul's ; Alderman Sir Andrew Lusk, Bart., M.P.; A. McArthur, Esq., M.P.; Alderman Sir Wm. A. McArthur, M.P.; Samuel Morley, Esq., M.P.; The Rev. Joseph Parker, D.D.; The Rev. Morley Punshon, D.D.; Sir Charles Reed, M.P., Chairman of the School Board for London ; Septimus R. Scott, Esq., Chairman of the Stock Exchange ; Benjamin Scott, Esq., F.R.A.S., Chamberlain of London ; C. J. Tarring, Esq.; Frederick Tompkins, M.A., D.C.L.; S. D. Waddy, Esq., Q.C., M.P. j Messrs. Alfred S. Dyer, and Robert C. Morgan. Mr. Chas. J. Tarring acted as Assistant Secretary till his appointment as Assistant British Consular Judge at Constanti- 207 nople; when Mr. James B. Porter, Barrister-at-Law, took his place, and rendered active service until this day. It will be seen that the above list includes the names of men who are, or were, leaders in connection with the Estab- lished, Presbyterian, Independent, and Methodist Churches, and of the Society of Friends, respectively. The following stirring appeal was at once issued by the Committee, signed by the Chairman and Hon. Secretary : — " Originating, in modern times, in the darkest and most de- praved period of French history, the system, notwithstanding its acknowledged failure there, was stealthily introduced into this country a few years since, under the pretence of hygienic ame- lioration. It is already bearing the bitter fruits which have rendered Paris a sink of immorality, and made the French Army the most diseased in the world. Grossly exaggerated statistics were made use of to terrify the Legislature into the adoption of the French system, and under the influence of panic, and without public discussion, the Acts were passed. The eminent surgeon, Dr. John Simon, F.R.C.S., First Officer of Health for the City of London, and subsequently Medical Ofificer to Her Majesty's Privy Council, in a report on this subject, Prep.ared, at the Request of the Government, points out some grossly exaggerated statistics which had been put forward in support of an extension of the iVcts. In one case it had been implied that disease of the ' gravest character ' existed amongst a certain class of sick to the extent of from twenty to twenty-three per cent., which Mr. Simon states to have been one-half of seven, that is, three and a half per cent. In another case in which disease was suggested as existing to the extent of twenty per cent.. Dr. Simon shows that it was only to the extent of one and a ho/f\)ex cent ! This is but a sample of the superficial and empirical way in which the subject has been treated. Many of our leading statesmen now see their error, and would gladly retrace their steps ; but false and 208 fraudulent statistics in opposition to repeal, are still supplied by the interested upholders of the system. Hence the necessity for the diffusion of reliable information, and it will be one of the duties of the City Committee to ventilate refutations of false statements, and to demonstrate that the Acts are working solely for the recognition, regulation, and registration of pro- stitution as an acknowledged ' necessity,' by which its victims are elevated to The Rank, of a Licensed Profession. The Royal Commission on this subject reported that the women subjected to the Acts ' regarded themselves as a privileged class, and claim a distinction as " The Queen's Women ! ! ! " ' Thus vice is made to appear salutary, hygienic, and reputable, ignoring alike the declarations of Scripture, and the teaching of Providence, that, ' they who sow to the flesh, must of the flesh reap corruption.' " The Acts are as unfair and unconstitutional as they are immoral, and, if long submitted to, must result in the loss of our civil liberties. One half of society — and that the weaker half — are made subject to the grossest indignity to which a human being could submit, on the men suspicion [real or un- founded] of a police cotistable. (The special police, like those in France, are irresponsible to the local magistracy, and are in plain clothes.) Women so suspected! are made amenable, without further evidence, and without any appeal to a jury or otherwise, to be imprisoned with hard labour ; the only alternative allowed by law being to be registered voluntarily or compulsorily in the ranks of the most abandoned of their sex. Hundreds of females have been so condemned and incarcerated for declining to submit to this unspeakable degradation, and instances have occurred, and are occurring, in which the vilest insults have been offered to women of undoubted virtue and stainless reputation, through the blundering — or, it may be, the corruption — of the spy police. "More than eight hundred Provincial committees have been 209 formed in the United Kingdom in opposition to this iniquity ; more than eight thousand petitions, With Over Two Million Signatures, have been already presented to the Legislature demanding repeal. The City of London has not hitherto moved in the matter, although the Municipality of Paris is now engaged in an inquiry into the working of the system, which, it is fully anticipated, will result in its condemna- tion." (And did result in condemnation and the refusal of supplies.) "The subject is uninviting, and would not willingly be dealt with, but it is now impossible to avoid its agitation, however painful it may be. The Legislature, in an evil hour, was betrayed into an imitation of the French institution, and must be compelled to retrace its steps ; the more active and prompt the agitation for repeal, the sooner shall we be free from this unpleasant discussion, and the sooner will this painful chapter in our social history be closed. " Every friend of humanity would rejoice in any legislation for the simple cure of the diseases in question, the discourage- ment of the vice from which they spring, and the rescue of the perishing victims of immorality ; these are not, Jwzvever, the objects of the Acts in question; they seek only to make that which is naturally hideous appear less repulsive ; they deceive by illusory promises of security to the vicious of both sexes ; they render the retracing of a false step by a female all but impossible ; they place the reputation of every poor and friendless woman (in the subjected districts) at the absolute mercy or discretion of a secret police agency ; while they recruit the ranks of prostitution, in order that, as was stated by a Right hon. Member of the Legislature, ' clean vice may be provided at the expense of the State.' "As you would protect and hand down to your children the civil liberties we enjoy (for which our ancestors in this city have striven and suffered) ; as you would shield the helpless 14 2IO and reclaim the fallen ; as you would preserve our beloved country from the moral blight which rests on some continental states; and as you would maintain untainted in our midst the sweet, domestic fountain of Christian wedded life, you are solicited to afford the sanction of your name and influence by joining the above Committee. It is, and will be, composed of men of all political parties and religious denominations. " {Signed) By Order of the Committee, " Samuel Morley, Chairman. " Benjamin Scott, Honorary Secretary^ Sir Robert Fowler, when Member for the City, always supported Repeal. The formation of the City Committee was speedily followed by the adhesion of three of the then Members for the City— PhiHp Twells, M.P., John G. Hubbard, M.P., and Alderman (now Sir) William Lawrence, M.P. His brother Sir James C. Lawrence, INLP., Alderman Sir Andrew Lusk, ]NLP., Sir Thomas Chambers, M.P., Recorder, and Samuel Morley, M.P., representing London constituencies, were won to the cause. In September, 1877, the International Medical Congress held its annual meeting at Geneva. The subject of venereal disease was upon its programme, and Dr. Nevins sent to the organizing secretaries a paper on the subject, strictly complying with the published conditions. This paper was accepted, but as soon as the Council learned that it would be in opposition to the Acts, though upon purely medical grounds, it altered the original programme of the proceedings, and decided that venereal disease should not be discussed at all at the meeting. This professional shrinking from the public discussion of the subject had earlier in the year been exemplified in this country. In the spring the National Association for Repeal held its annual meeting in Birmingham, and sent an invitation by circular to every medical man in the Midland Counties, to a public meeting of the profession, in which the subject might 21 I be discussed under the chairmanship of the president of the Midland Medical Association. In order to secure the most accomplished advocacy of the Acts, Mr. Berkeley Kill was officially invited to attend the meeting. He did not Attend. At the close of the discussion, which was entirely open to the profession, the meeting resolved, " That this meeting records its conviction of the sanitary failure a?id inww?-al tendencies of the Contagious Diseases Acts, and hereby calls for their repeal." The British, Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of State Regulation of Prostitution, held its first Congress in Geneva in the week following the Annual Meeting of the Medical Congress. It was attended by the flower of the Repeal Army and by a crowd of Continental Abolitionists, and was a signal success. It made the Hygienic Section of special importance. This section was held under the presidency of Dr. De la Harpe, of Lausanne. Some of the members of the Medical Congress were still in Geneva, and were invited to attend the discussions. These were conducted by distinguished medical men from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Holland, America, and England, and occupied a whole week. At their conclusion resolutions were passed unanimously by the Section^ Condemning the System. The year 1878 was remarkable amongst Repealers for the presentation to Parliament of a petition signed by 113,767 WOMEN, in support of the Repeal Bill, the second reading of which was moved on May 22nd, and "talked out." That year the Exeter Town Council applied to the Govern- 212 mcnt for an cxionsion of the Acts to that city,* but tlicir appHcation was refused by the Government. The City of l.ondon Committee at once memorialized the Exeter Town Council on the subject. This conduct of the Council caused great excitement amongst the people of Exeter, who were furious and held indignation meetings condemning the action of the Council in the plainest terms. The result showed that the Government was not so infatuated as the Council. The fact is the Government was feeling uncomfortable upon the subject. The constant pressure of the repeal agitation was making itself felt amongst their supporters in and out of Par- liament. To stave off this pressure the Government resorted to The Tactics of their Predecessors. On March 17th, 1879, Colonel Stanley, the Secretary of War, gave notice in the House of Commons of the determina- tion of the Government to appoint a Select Committee of Inquiry into the administration, operation, and effect of the Acts. This Committee was appointed on June nth, 1879, and sat during the Sessions of three years. The conclusions of the Committee were reported, in 1882, to the House of Commons in two reports, one adopted by nine of its members was spoken of as "The Majority Report," the other called "The Minority Report " was adopted by six. Many changes in the constitution of the Comrhittce occurred, which were caused chiefly by a dissolution of Parliament in 1S80, resulting in a considerable change in the * The Town Council had been moved to this step by certain medical admirers of the Regulation System, who based their appeal upon the statement that certain "innocent" children had died of inherited disease. So ignorant of the facts were these medical enthusiasts that they were not aware that " the healing of innocent children " was not included in the provisions of any of the Acts. 313 personnel of the House of Commons, and in the substitution of a Liberal for a Conservative Government. In the following table of Members of the Committee at the time of the conclusion of its labours, those who were members of it all through its existence are signified by an asterisk. LIST OF SELECT COMMITTEE. Voted for Majority Report. Connection with Official Military Class. Political Party. Dr. Farquharson ... . General Burnaby Mr. Bulwer, Q.C •Viscount Crichton ... Colonel Digby Colonel Tottenham ... IMr. O. Morgan, Q.C. . *Mr. Cavendish Bentinck SirH. D.Wolff Ex-Surgeon in Army General in Army Lieut. -Col. in Volunteers ... Ex-Lord of the Treasury ... Colonel in Army Colonel in Army Judge Advocate-General for Army Ex-Advocate General for Army Ex-Diplomatist Liberal. Conservative. Conservative. Conservative. Conservative. Conservative. Liberal. Conservative. Conservative. Did not Vote. None *Mr. O'Shaughnessy Home Ruler. Mr. Hanbury Tracey Captain Yeomanry Cavalry Liberal. Voted for the Minority Report. Ex - President of Local ♦Mr. Stansfeld Government Board ... Liberal. *Mr. Ernest Noel None Liberal. Dr. Cameron, M.A.,M.D. None Liberal, *Mr. Burt None Liberal. Mr. W. Fowler None ... Liljeral. Mr. Hopvi'ood, Q.C. None Liberal. The Select Committee had been carefully selected, with a foregone conclusion in favour of the Acts. The result cor- responded therewith. Out of nine signatories of the Majorit)- Report it will be seen that seven were, or had been, connected 214 with the Army ; while out of six who signed the Minority Report tlicro was no member of the fighting services. The Medical members — Dr. l-'arquharson and Dr. Cameron — took opposite sides ! The Majority Report of that Committee was not a serious, well-considered judgment upon the evidence given before them, but an Exultant Shout uf Rapturous Approval of everybody and everything connected with the Acts and their administration. It was a partisan statement, injudicious in many ways, and chiefly in the obvious extravagance of its praise. It refused to grant the possibility of any weakness in the system, or any shortcoming amongst its administrators. It made no reference to the many serious contradictions which were discovered by means of cross-examination in the evidence of the official witnesses for the Acts, relying, with some astuteness, upon the inability of the public to ascertain from out of the depths of voluminous Blue Books the untrust- worthiness of the evidence, of the value of which it gave a Seriously Misleading and Exaggerated Estimate. The Report boldly claimed national confidence in conclusions based upon a partial consideration of the self-contradictory evidence of one side only. The scope of the Committee extended to the hearing of evidence touching the results of similar systems in the British Colonies, and in other countries. The Majority refused to enter upon siidi an inquiry, yet the Official Report did not hesitate to express an opinion upon the operation of such systems abroad for the purpose of praising, by an unwarranted and misleading comparison, the system in England. The Committee was to make investigation into the effect of the Acts upon the Navy as well as upon the Army. The Majority declined to pursue such ati inquiry, yet they were not deterred by this fact from declaring the effect of the system upon the Navy to be satisfactory ! ! 215 The Majority Report said : " The Acts have successfully served the two objects to which they were directed — the diminution of venereal disease and the increased efficiency of the Army, although they have had in reality but an inadequate trial. . . . The benefit conferred is great, but it is only an earnest of what the Acts may be expected to do hereafter for the health and efficiency of the Army." It inferentially suggested an extension which should be gradual, because " it is often unwise hastily to press its extension while any con- siderable body of opinion, even though that of a minority, condemns it." It recommended— (i.) The establishment of lock hospitals in unsubjected districts. (2.) More absolute powers of entering into brothels to be conferred upon the Contagious Diseases Acts Police. (3.) Extension of the power of those police to prosecute brothel keepers. (4.) The housing of girls under sixteen for prostitution to be made a misdemeanour, and power to be given to Magistrates to issue warrants to search premises for such girls. The Minority Report, on the other hand, said, "The following conclusions appear to be established by the evidence : — I. That even under the unequal conditions obtaining in favour of the stations protected by the Acts, venereal disease in the Home Army has not substantially diminished in those stations to a greater comparative extent than in the stations not under the Acts, except in the one particular of " non - syphilitic " sores. II. That the percentage of cases of disease among the regis- tered women has increased continuously during several years, and is still increasing. III. That the only real good effected by the police employed under the Acts is entirely beyond the scope of their statutory duties, and could be better effected by other means. 2l6 I\'. 'I'liat tlic religious, moral, and constitutional objections pre- sented to the Acts, and the system established under the Acts, are valid in principle, and are confirmed by the practical results of their operation. We are of opinion, therefore, that these conclusions afford amph reasons for The Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts." The prolonged inquiry by the Select Committee, whilst it did not prevent the progress of the agitation in the country, hampered and frustrated Parliamentary action. In August, 1 88 1, an International Medical Congress was held in London, when a rare opportunity for free medical discussion and weighing of the sanitary results of legislation, such as the Contagious Diseases Acts, was afforded in the section of State Medicine, and, again, in that of Military Surgery. The subjects to be discussed had long been known from the published syllabus of the future proceedings of the Sections. Abstracts of their papers had been furnished by the authors themselves, and were in the hands of the members on the day of the meeting. The gathering of medical men of high competence for judging between the combatants was large in both meetings. In the State Medicine Section, papers were announced by Dr. Gihon, the Medical Director of the United States Navy, and one of the most ardent and un- hesitating advocates of such Acts ; another by Dr. Bellem, of Lisbon, on the same lines. This Dr. Gihon at the Annual Meeting, in 1879, of the Medical Association of the United States, America, urged that " A well organized sanitary service with its agents, be established in every hamlet, village, town, and city of the country. . . . Let them track syphilis to its lair ; and, whether in man of woman, in any way, and at any cost, let them make it impossible for another human being to come within its baneful influence." Dr. Gihon Did not Appear, 217 and his paper, a surprisingly rnoderate one, was read by the Secretary of the Section. The Lisbon advocate of the system Neither Appeared nor Sent his Paper. Papers were read by Professor Henry Lee, which left nothing to be desired by the opponents of the system ; by Dr. Drysdale^ who exposed the working of the system in Vienna; and by Dr. H. A. Allbutt, of Leeds, to expose the great danger of contracting disease which is incurred in so- called " protected brothels." Then followed a discussion, in which nine speeches were delivered in opposition to the system and five in favour of it, but Not One of these Five was by an Englishman. The w'eight and earnestness of the debate had been in favour of the opponents of the Acts. On the last day but one of the Congress, the Military Surgery Section assembled.to hear a paper by ex- Inspector General Lawson on the " Sanitary Results of the Contagious Diseases Acts in the British Army," and here, also, the opponents of the Acts had reason to be well satisfied with the debate. The room was well filled, and it was evident that the Army Medical Depart- ment furnished the principal members. When, on the con- clusion of the paper, Dr. Nevins rose to speak in opposition, his remarks at first were received with the good-natured, slightly-contemptuous forbearance of a combatant who feels so confident of the victory that he can afford to spare and even pity his antagonist, but a change of expression and demeanour gradually presented itself as first one and then another damaging assault was made upon Mr. Lawson's position, and chiefly from his own evidence and admissions, before the Select Committee. The discussion proceeded with vigour until Mr. Lawson commenced his reply. It consisted so largely of admissions of all that his opponents had urged that the interest of his supporters broke down, and an exodus of half the meeting occurred long before it was finished, and the room was nearly empty before he concluded his speech. 2l8 On former occasions of this great International Congress being held — in Paris, in Brussels, and Vienna, where no oppo- sition appeared — strong resolutions were carried in favour of the extension of the system, but no attempt was made at this gathering To Proposk a Resolution in Favour of the System. The medical opponents of the system won a well-fought battle. But the time was fast hastening when success should be achieved. On December 19th, 1882, at the Annual Con- ference of the National Federation of the Liberal Associa- tions, which was hel^ at Ashton-under-Lyme, Professor Stuart was chosen to second a vote of confidence in the Liberal Government. The significance of this choice and the fact that Professor Stuart accepted it, lay in the well-known identification of that gentleman with the Repeal cause. Every- one saw in it an assurance that the Liberal party would sup- port Repeal, and that Professor Stuart and other leaders of the movement were satisfied that the Government would GRANT IT. CHAPTER XXI. Victory. The campaign of 1883 opened with a great Christian Con- vention for Prayer and for the consideration of the question of Repeal which was organised by the Friends' Association, and was held on January 24th and 25th, at Devonshire House, Bishopsgate, the headquarters of the Society of Friends. Meetings of vie7i were held at the East London Tabernacle and at Devonshire House ; meetings for women only were also held at Devonshire House, and a vast mixed meeting of members of the various religious denominations, was held at Exeter Hall under the presidency of Mr. Benjamin Scott, Secretary of the City of London Committee. These meetings were addressed by representative and well- known Christian men and women of London and the Provinces, and the influence and fame of them spread throughout the country. There was at those meetings a general, nay, an almost universally expressed opinion that these gatherings preluded victory ; men and women combatants separated under the conviction that the end was near. They were invigorated in spirit for that which was to be the Final Struggle and Success. Another decisive sign of the near approach of Repeal was the unanimous adoption on April 12th, by the Genera 220 Committee of the Nationai, Liberal Federation of the resolution, " That it is desirable that the Contagious Diseases Acts of iS66 and 1S69 Should be Repealed Without Delay." The Liberal party managers thus declared for Repeal, and made its advent a party demand from the Government. The effect of this resolution was seen on April 20th, when Mr. Stansfeld moved in the House of Commons, "That this House disapproves of the compulsory examination of women under the Contagious Diseases Acts." As this examination was the keystone of the whole system, the pro-Acts party fought against this resolution with vigour and passion, but they failed. When the House met, even a stranger unused to Parlia- mentary ways might have seen that something important or unusual was about to take place. There was a great array of members, and the Strangers' and Speaker's Galleries and the Lobbies were crowded. The House generally gave Mr. Stans- feld's speech a most patient and respectful hearing. It was evident that he had taken particular pains with this speech, in which he attacked the Acts in all points. He made a deep im- pression on the House, and was loudly cheered when he sat down. The division was an exciting one. When the tellers (of whom Mr. Stansfeld was one) formed up in row in front of the table, and it was seen that the paper of the numbers was held by Mr. Stansfeld, there was a great cheer, for that fact Told that Victory was on his Side. When the numbers were read out there was a pause on both sides, half of doubt, half of astonishment, and then the pent up feelings of the Repealers found vent in cheer after cheer of delight. Their victory was a magnificent one. The Acts 221 were condemned by 'a majority of 72. The voting on the Resolution was — For ... ... ... ... ... 182 Against ... ... ... ... no Majority 72 Perhaps on no occasion— certainly on no modern occasion — was there witnessed within the walls of the House of Commons, such an amount of outside popular pressure on the Members as on this occasion. It will long be remembered by those who organized and took part in it. Mr. Stansfeld performed his part admirably, but the motion was practically carried before the debate began. There were gathered 310 opponents to Sir Harcourt John- stone's Bill in 1875, only no votes could be brought against Mr. Stansfeld's motion in 1883 : A Loss OF Exactly 200 Votes. There were over 344 absentees, of whom 38 only paired. How was this ? The Secretaries of the Associations for Repeal alone can answer this question. It is a practice in Parliament, on second readings and other occasions of importance, for interested parties to send round with the votes daily delivered to all the members, Reasons, pro or con., on payment of a prescribed fee.* On this memor- able occasion thousands of such papers were addressed to the Members by the National Association, The Ladies' National, The City of London Committee, The Midland Counties' Union, The Northern Counties' League, The Working Men's * In the Appendix will be found a specimen of such Reasons, issued by the National Association. It forms a t/nil/itm in parvo statement of the whole case against the Acts. 222 League, The Friends' Association, The Church of Scotland, The Wesleyan, The Congregational, and probably other Asso- ciations. In addition to this circulation of arguments and opinions variously stated, MS. letters were addressed to Members, largely by ladies, urging them individually to vote for the motion. An amusing and illustrative incident was the arrival in the lobby of a Member, whose vote was doubtful ; he was clad in a shooting coat with side pockets, which stood out as though filled with many brace of birds. Enquired of whether he was going to vote for the motion, he replied, slapping his pockets, " I should think so ; look here, I was never so bothered before." The Repeal of the Acts, although delayed for a while, was Virtually Carried on this Occasion. It only remains to be stated that Mr. W. E. Gladstone paired m favour of Mr. Stansfeld's motion, and that 19 other members of his Government either voted or paired in the same direction. The Liberal party, which was mainly responsible for the passing of the Acts, and for their world-wide extension, was now manifestly on the side of Repeal, for 168 Liberals supported Mr. Stansfeld by their votes, while only 29 voted against him. The Constituencies had triumphed, the Representatives had obeyed their behest. The following figures will make this plain : There voted for Mr. Stansfeld's motion, in- cluding tellers, 184 Members, with Constituencies amounting in all to ... 1,096,317 voters. There voted against that motion, includ- ing tellers, 112 Members, with Con- stituencies amounting in all to 369,364 voters. Majority 726,953 voters. 223 The London press admitted with reluctance that this was the " Death-blow of the System," and confessed that the whole fabric must soon come down. On May 4th, the Marquis of Hartington announced in the House of Commons that in consequence of the vote of the House on Mr. Stansfeld's resolution, the Government proposed to introduce a short Bill providing for the following main points : — I St. — To repeal all sections of the Acts of 1866 and 1869 which directed periodical or compulsory examination of women, including all police action. 2nd. — That any woman, voluntarily presenting herself at a certified hospital, may, at her own request, be examined by a duly-appointed surgeon, and if found diseased, may, on the certificate to that effect of such surgeon, be admitted into such hospital, and detained there in accordance with the provisions of the present Acts. 3rd. — That in places under the Acts where no certified hospitals exist, any woman may, at her own request, be examined by a duly-appointed surgeon, and, if found diseased, may, on the certificate to that effect of such surgeon, be admitted into a certified hospital, and detained there in accordance with the provisions of the present Acts. 4th. — That anything in the present Acts not inconsistent with the above should be retained. The Government immediately suspended the Acts so far as the employment of the Metropolitan Police for enforcing them was concerned, until a measure could be passed giving full effect to the resolution, and 224 Those Police were Withdrawn accordingly from the subjected districts. The proposals ol" the Government were eminently imsatis- factory to Repealers, and a powerfully written paper exposing the evils of the Government scheme, written by Mr. Joseph Edmondson, of Halifax, and entitled "The House of Commons, the Ministry, and the Contagious Diseases Acts," was immediately circulated by the Northern Counties' League amongst the Ministry and Members of Parliament. The action of Repealers at this stage had great influence, and the scheme was never again heard of in the House of Commons. On June 28th, the Marquis of Hartington obtained leave to introduce " The Detention in Hospitals Bill," which was read a first time, but was never printed, and was replaced on July 5th by "The Detention in Hospitals (No. 2) Bill." When this Bill was printed, it was found to contain an im- portant section (the 5 th) which, though its effect was not obvious until collated with the existing law, would have made every woman in the subjected districts, who was committed to prison for a term not exceeding six months, liable to com- pulsory examination. It was energetically opposed by Repealers throughout the country, and Eventually it was Dropped. In 1885 there occurred a general election, when hvo hundred and fifty-seven candidates, definitely pledged to vote for Repeal, were returned to Parliament, and on March i6th, 1886, Mr. Stansfeld moved in the new House, "That in the opinion of this House the Contagious Diseases Acts, 1886 and 1869, Ought to be Repealed." An amendment was proposed by Sir J. Kennaway, " That 225 alongside with the repeal there should be due provision for the continued maintenance of hospital accommodation, with adequate treatment of women voluntarily seeking admission, and medical care." Sir Joseph Pease seconded this amend- ment, which was defeated by a majority of 114, the voting being, for the amendment 131, against it, 245, Mr. Stans- feld's motion was then agreed to without a division. The next morning, The Times and The Daily News, not without grimaces, endeavoured to take comfort in the thought that the coitroversy was at last ended. Mr. Stansfeld, directly after his victory, on the same evening, gave notice that, on the next day, March 17th, he would move for leave to Introduce a Repeal Bill, and Mr. Cavendish Bentinck, the leader of the pro-Acts party, as quickly gave notice that he would oppose the application. In consequence of this " block " nothing could be done on the 17th, beyond notice that this effort would be renewed on the 1 8th, and again Mr. Bentinck gave notice of opposition. On the iSth, Mr. Bentinck did not appear to do battle for his " crotchet," and Mr. Stansfeld's Repeal Bill was introduced and formally read a first time. With somewhat more than half the House of Commons on his side, the Government could not do otherwise than afford Mr. Stansfeld exceptional facilities for carrying the Bill through the House ; but, unlike the hurried and secret passing of the Acts, the Repeal hurry was open, and known to the whole House and to the whole country. On Thursday, March 25 th, the Bill was read a second time. It had been previously agreed amongst our friends in Parliament that they should not lose or waste time by speeches, unless in defence of the cause. When the Speaker called on Mr. Stansfeld to move the second reading, our leader simply rose, raised his hat in the regulation 15 226 meihod and sat down. Mr. Cavendish Bentinck rose to move that ilie Bill be read a second time that day six months. Respecting his speech we need say but Httle. It is fully re- ported in The S/iiM (No. 514, April yd, 1S86), with critical notes appended. There was a spice of personality running throughout it which amused the House without in the least influencing it, and this effect was heightened by the e.xcited manner of the speaker and some grotesque ambiguities of utterance. One after the other, this eccentric leader of a lost cause called up the ghosts of the pro-Acts declarations of Ministers and ex-Ministers ; but it was felt by everyone — perhaps by Mr. Cavendish Bentinck himself — that they zcen' ghosts. Mr. Puleston, M.P. for Devonport, seconded Mr. Cavendish Bentinck's motion, not, as he admitted, with any hope of defeating the Bill, for he said almost at the commence- ment of his speech, " I see it is useless to prolong the debate and to resist the passage of this Repeal Bill." His confessed object was to obtain some further promise of a subsidy to the hospitals in the districts affected by the Acts. Sir William Harcourt's speech was a confession that the natter had been Settled bv the Constituencies; he drew attention to " the eloquent absence of all the leaders of the Conservative party," in order to show that all parties in the House were agreed on the necessity of Repeal. When he sat down, the Speaker put the question, "That the word 'now' stand part of the question."' On his declaring that "the Ayes have it," Mr. Cavendish Bentinck called out " No ! " The House was then cleared for a division — a division which would have given an overwhelming majority for Repeal ; but, when the question was put a second time, No Opposition was Raised to the second reading of the Bill. No one appeared willing to 227 GO-operate with Mr. Cavendish Bentinck as teller. The Bill was therefore read a second time, and so ended this memor- able debate. Mr. Stansfeld said not a word ; but he looked very happy, as he deserved to be. The Bill was referred to Committee on March 26th, but was not reached, being blocked. The Committee stage was deferred to the 29th, but was not reached. It was postponed again to March 31st, when it was still blocked, and was once more shelved to April 2nd, when Mr. Puleston withdrew his notice of obstruction and Mr. Cavendish Bentinck took it up in his stead. About eight o'clock, however, on the night of April 2nd, when the Bill came on again, Mr. Bentinck was, for some reason known to himself, silent ; so the Bill passed unopposed through Committee in about two minutes. The Speaker then retired to his chair and put to the House the question that the Bill be read a third time, and in two minutes more Repeal had Finally Triumphed in the House of Commons. In the House of Lords the Bill was read a first time on April 5th. On April 9th, Lord Sandhurst moved its second reading, and Viscount Cranbrook (the Gathorne Hardy of old days) said the last words in defence of the Acts. Then the House accepted, without further comment, the second reading. On April 13th the Bill passed Committee, and was read a third time; on Thursday, the 15th April,* the Queen signified her Royal assent, which, on Friday, x\pril i6th, 1886, the Speaker reported to the House. The Bill (now an Act) was singularly compendious, and, like many things of greatest value, was comprised in smallest compass. * It was gratifying to Mrs. Butler, who had laboured so hard for Repeal, that the Bill passed the House of Commons on the 13th April — being her birthday. It was a coincidence gratifying to the author that the Bill received the Royal Assent on the 15th April — being his natal day. 228 It was as follows : — " Contagious Diseases Acts Repeal Act, 1886. [49 Vic. ch. 10.] "An Act to Repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts, 1866 to 1S69. [i6th April, 1886.] " Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assem- bled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : Short Title. "I. That this Act may be cited for all purposes as the Contagious Diseases Acts Repeal Act, 1886. Repeal of Acts. "2. The Contagious Diseases Acts, 1866 to 1S69, are hereby repealed. " Provided that their repeal shall not affect — " I. Anything duly done or suffered under any enactment hereby repealed : " 2. Any penalty, forfeiture, or other punishment incurred in respect of any offence against any enactment hereby repealed." The victory of the Repeal party was thus final and com- plete. They had done something more than blot out the stain of these Acts upon the Statute Book. So said Mr. Stansfeld in his speech which ushered in the triumph of Repeal. This brief sketch of the movement, which owed so much to that statesman, cannot more fitly conclude than with his words. He said : " I have spoken of our seventeen years' work. Our difficulties have been enormous — from the nature of the subject, from the unwillingness of this House, or a 229 former House, to entertain it, from the [unwillingness of the Press to ventilate it in their columns. But there is one sense, and that the highest sense, in which I make no complaint. Very early in this movement, I came to the conclusion that it was not desirable to seek to obtain a Too Speedy or a Mere Tactical Success, and those honourable Members who have been Members of this House during the years in which I have advocated this measure, will bear me out when I say that I have never made a tactical movement with the object of carrying Repeal by surprise, because I knew what the object was for which I, and hundreds and thousands of other men and women in this country, had determined to make every necessary sacrifice, for any necessary number of years, to accomplish ; and that it was not merely the repealing of these Acts, but something far deeper, far higher, far more mo- mentous than that : it was the arousing and the awakening of the popular mind to the dangers, and the degradations, and the crimes of the growing sexual vice of this country. ... I have the strongest conviction that when we shall have turned from this hopeless legislation, and repealed, and rejected, and destroyed it — when we shall have turned our minds to the better and truer belief that vice is capable of diminution, and that law and Government should be On the Side of Virtue and not on the Side of Vice — I say that when that time shall have arrived, I believe each and all of us will become conscious of a great relief — become conscious of the possession of a new and higher ideal, a new and sustaining and well-grounded hope, a general rise in the moral health of the community, and in the spirit of true manliness — A Spirit which will Respect Women, even when Unreformed ; 230 and that will be our permanent justification and reward for the course we have adopted." Thus fell in Great Britain the Giant Iniquity — the State- recognition, regulation, and sanitation of a degrading vice. " So let all Thine enemies perish, O Lord." A few words must be added, however, by way of supplement, on the sequences of Repeal in Great Britain ; as it affected its Crown Colonies, the Indian Empire, and elsewhere. fart IV. SUPPLEMENTAL. CHAPTER XXII. The Colonies : The Indian Empire. The immediate sequence of the passing of the Repeal Act was the disbandment of several of the Repeal Associations, which had mainly contributed to the success of that measure. Among these may be particularly mentioned the National, with its 500 branch associations; the Working Men's League, with its 50,000 enrolled members, and its 1,600 district Secretaries ; the Midland Counties' Electoral League ; and the London Ladies' Association. This was unfortunate ; for although a complete stop had been put to the system in Great Britain and Ireland, yet the vast and varied dependencies of the Empire still suffered from infection derived from the evil example and encouragement of the parent State. It was unwise in the extreme for so many divisions of the great army to throw down their arms because of a successful engagement which did not end the campaign. The main stem of the moral Upas tree had been cut down, but its collateral shoots remained in the soil, and it is in the nature of such noxious vegetation to spring up and flourish whenever and wherever the quagmire of depravity shall favour its growth. It soon became apparent that considerable pressure would be needed to force upon certain reluctant (lovernmcnt ofticial the conviction that consistency demanded that a principle of Ciovernmcnt adopted advisedly at home must be also respected and acted upon abroad. A delay of two years occurred before iliis idea entered the official mind, and it has not entirely penetrated it at this date. A change of Governn)ent brought the Right Hon. Sir Henry Holland (now Lord Knutsford) to preside over the Colonial Office, and we are indebted to him, in a great degree, that he set himself honestly and honourably to supersede the system in the Crown Colonies, and to carry out the clearly-expressed intention of the British Parliament — Fiji is, however, an exception to this statement, on what principle it is difficult to understand ; while our settlements and trading ports on the coast of China have re-established the regulation system, suspended for a time in consequence, it is reported, of an Admiral of the Fleet in the China seas having threatened to withdraw his flag-ship from any port which followed the lead of the British Legisla- ture. Nothing can better illustrate the ignorant clinging of officials to an exploded sui)erstition than this fact, for it has been shown earlier in these pages that the regulation system was carried out in Hong Kong to an extent and with an efficiency attempted nowhere else ; and yet those ports after very many years' experience, were more exposed to disease than any other ports in the ELmpire. This is a question which demands the attention of Parliament, which will hardly permit the devolution of its responsibility of Government upon an Admiral. This is the more important as the regulations are especially obnoxious to the Chinese, whose daughters are sold into the slavery to vice for the use and behoof of Europeans. As it regards the Self-Governing Colonies, 233 it is understood that, at this date, the system has, either not entered, or has been repealed, in Canada, AustraUa, the Cape and New Zealand, with the exception of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, and of Wellington, New Zealand ; in both which places, however, it is vigorously opposed. It is in our Indian Empire that the system survives in all its pernicious luxuriance ; and this notwithstanding the Repeal Act, and, also, an all but unanimous resolution of the House of Commons on the 5th June, 1888.* Early in that year, intelligence reached this country that the regulation system, was in full swing at every station in India, at which our soldiers were quartered. There was, it was asserted, no intention on the part of the Vice-regal and Military authorities to conform to the authority of the Home legislature. Indeed, a copy of a "Circular Memorandum" on this subject, addressed to General Officers, by the Quarter- master-General of India, reached this country, testifying that the system was being pushed by the Military authorities with- out regard to reason or common decency. Brothels were stationed in close contiguity to the Cantonments ; Prostitutes were to be allowed free quarters therein ; matrons (Dhais) were to be appointed, and to be paid liberally out of Government funds, to examine the women daily and to superintend this disgusting traffic. It was, inter alia, stated in this Memoran- dum issued by desire of Sir Frederick Roberts, the Com- mander-in-Chief, that " it is 7iecessary to have a sufficient number of women ; to take care t/iat they are sufficiently attractive ; and to provide them with proper houses." That is to say, the Military authorities of Her Majesty in * Some modifications and some show of compliance with the Repeal Act took place while Lord Ripon was Governor-General of India. 15iit the system is in full operation in Bombay, Madras, and in some seventy other places, under Cantonment ordinances at this day. India, arc rcciuircd to keep State brothels, rent free, and to " procure " continually women and girls, " SuFFICIF.^'TL^ Attractive " for such brothel-keei)ing — proceedings which, under English Law, would subject the parties concerned to fine or imprison- ment for the former offence, and to criminal proceedings, subjecting to imjuisonment with hard labour, for the latter. It is hardly necessary to say, after what has been written above, that disease kept pace, and more than kept pace, with the encouragements to immorality held out to the soldiers. The number of men per thousand in hospital through immorality were, in 1873, 166.7 j the ratio increased steadily, till, in 18S5, it reached 342.7 per thousand; and it is reported to be still on the increase, as we should have expected. Here are the figures from 1873 to 1885 inclusive: — * 1873 ... . 166.7 1880 ... ... 249.7 1874 ... • 192.7 1881 ... ... 260.5 1875 ■■• • 205.1 1882 ... ... 265.2 1876 ... . 189.9 1883 ... ... 270.3 1877 ... . 20S.5 1884 ... ... 393.9 1878 ... ■ 271.3 1885 ... ... 342.7 1879 ... ■ 234-8 The publication of this "Circular Memorandum," and intelligence from India having aroused public attention and indignation in England, Mr. Stansfeld put questions in the House of Commons to Sir John Gorst, Under Secretary for India, on the 14th May, 188S. The following is the report in the Times of 15th May : — " Mr. St.\xsfeld. — I wish, Sir, to ask the Under Secretary for India whether he is now prepared to make the statement he promised as to the recent correspondence with the Govern- * From Government Report on Sanitary Measures in India, dated 1885-6, p. 97. 235 ment of India on the subject of the Contagious Diseases Acts." " Sir J. GoRST. — In consequence of the action taken by the Secretary of State upon the questions put to him in another place last year by the Lord Bishop of Lichfield, what is known as the regimental system has been absolutely stopped. The Commander-in-Chief has prohibited women from accom- panying regiments on march or to camp, and also from residing in regimental bazaars. The administration of the Contagious Diseases Act in Bombay, Madras, and Bassein, the only places in which it is in force, has been suspended by tie Government of India under a power contained in the Act. The Government of India is now engaged in a revision of the regulations made for preventing the spread of venereal disease in Cantonments, under Section 27 of Act III. of 1880 ; and a despatch is going out to India from the Secretary of State in Council, which will prohibit the compulsory examination of women and the making of any regulations which can be justly construed into a legalization of prostitution." It was at once asserted by persons of probity in India, and by Indian journalists, that this reply was, if not absolutely untrue, yet, entirely misleading as to the facts of the case. Indeed, they charged him with " paltering with words in a double sense." If intelligence which reaches this country at the date of this writing be reliable, the system repealed by Act of Parliament in 1886, and condemned by resolution of the House of Commons in 1888, is even more completely and systematically carried out at the present time than it was before the passing of the Repeal Act* Whether the Legis- lature of Great Britain or the officials in India are supreme, remains to be seen. On the 5th June, 1888, Mr. Walter McLaren brought the * Vide Sentinel for December, 1889, under the signature of Mr. Maurice Gregory. 236 suhjcct before the House of Commons, in the following important resolution : — "That, in the opinion of this House, any mere suspension of measures for the compulsory examination of women, and for licensing and regulating prostitution in India, is in- sufficient, and the legislation which enjoins, authorizes, or permits such measures ought to be repealed." Mr. McLaren supported this resolution in a speech forcible and comprehensive, which was listened to with deep attention by the House. A few extracts are given, as follow : — He commenced by disclaiming any intention of making party capital out of the subject, and pointed out that, though himself a Ijberal, his motion was to have been seconded by Captain Cotton, a retired Army officer ; but, in his unavoidable absence, it would be seconded by Sir Robert Fowler, member for the City of London — both of them of the Conservative party. He proceeded — " Our demand is a simple demand. It is a demand for the total and immediate repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act and those portions of the Cantonment Acts bearing on this subject, and the legislative regulations made under those Acts. We repudiate any compromise ; we demand total repeal, as we have had it in England, and as it has been carried out by the Secretary of State for the Colonies in the greater number of the Crown Colonies, and will be in all. "We are resolved not to take anything that will place India on a different footing to those Colonies. As this is the first debate that has taken place on the subject of these painful Acts relating to India, I hope the House will allow me to tell them what these Acts really are, because there has been great ignorance in this matter ; because it is only from the beginning of this session that anything has been known of this subject, and it is with considerable difficulty that we have got 237 the information we do possess. (Hear, hear.) The first is the Contagious Diseases Act, known as Act XIV. of 1868 ; but the operation of this Act is purely optional with the Viceroy and Government of India. He may put it in force in whatever place he and his Council think fit, and they may suspend it whenever they think fit. In fact, it is only in operation in the town of Bombay, the town of Madras, and in the town of Bassein, in Lower Burmah. Clause 4 states: — ' In any place to which this Act applies, no woman shall carry on the Business of a Common Prostitute, and no person shall carry on the " business " of a brothel- keeper without being registered under this Act at such place, and without having in her or his possession such evidence of registration as hereinafter provided.' I desire to call attention to the atrocious wording of this clause. It speaks of ' carrying on the " business " of a prostitute,' as if this were a legitimate business to be placed under the control of the Viceroy and the Indian authorities. I will not trouble the House about the examination of these unhappy women. Further on there is a clause by which they may be compelled to live in certain parts of the town ; in fact, they may be driven to any part of the town which the Local Government may have assigned to them, while other parts of the town may be closed to them. They are to be put into some small district, according to the discretion of the authorities charged with the carrying out of the statute.' .... The Act says, ' The Health Officer, on receiving information that a particular woman is a common prostitute, shall cause inquiry to be made, and, on being satisfied, he shall cause to be served on her a notice containing the declaration under this Act, and she shall then come up before the officials and enter herself for voluntary examination.' Failing such voluntary submission, she receives a threatening letter, as follows : — " ' Having received information that you arc carrying on -^3« the business of a cummon prostitute, I hereby request you to attend at my office at on the day of for the purpose of registration ; and I further hereby give you notice that, in the event of your not complying with this request, you will render yourself liable to be prosecuted ; that it will be my duty to prosecute ; and that I shall prosecute you before a magistrate of the town of Madras under " The Indian Contagious Diseases Act, iS68," and the rules framed by the Government of Fort St. George in conformity therewith ; and that, on your conviction of carrying on the business of a common prostitute without being registered, you will be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one month, or to be fined in an amount not exceeding loo rupees, or to both.' (Signature of the Health Officer.) So that any woman who does not voluntarily submit may be sent to prison for one month or fined loo rupees. That is called ' voluntary ' submission under these Acts. If she does submit, she goes up for examination, and the examination takes place at the registered office. This office is in a public part of the town. It is well known. The Act provides that — 'A board shall be affixed outside each such office in a conspicuous posi- tion, having on it, in English, Marathi, and Gujanithi, the words " Office for Registration under the Contagious Diseases Act for the district of ." ' These registration offices are placed in some cases in the most unsuitable situations. One is close to a young men's college, and within a hundred yards of a Roman Catholic cathedral ; and I think it would be difficult to imagine a more unsuitable place for such a house than near a college for young men.* When she has been examined, she receives a certificate, of which I hold a copy in my hand. The certificate is: — 'This is to certify that the undermentioned woman, who carries on the business of a common prostitute in * In one Cantonment, the brothel was so placed that the men had to pass it every Sunday when they were taken to pray " from fornication and all other deadly sin, Good Lord, deliver us." 239 the city of Bombay, has been duly registered under the provisions of the Indian Contagious Diseases Act of 1868.' Then follows the number on the register. It then gives her height, general appearance, complexion, colour of hair, colour of eyes, special marks of identity, and her residence. This is signed by the Commissioners of Police, and on the other side are the different dates of examination, and the results of each examination. {See facsimile of Certificate in Appendix D.) This shows the portion which constitutes the gist of this Act itself, but that, of course, is but a small portion of the whole system. And then we come to the ' Cantonment Acts,' which are a different matter. The ' Cantonment Acts ' were passed about 1866, and relate to a large number of military matters. The one I hold is a copyof the Madras Act of 1S66. " The clause under which these regulations are framed is the 7th section of clause 19, stating that regulations may be made for the control of houses of ill-fame for preventing the spread of contagious disease. There are other sections pro- viding for regulations on public nuisances, but it is not under these wider references the rules are made, but under the 7th section of the 19th clause, and the regulations that are made under this 19th clause are practically the same or similar to those which exist under the Contagious Diseases Act, but whenever they differ they differ for the worse. I am going to mention one or two of these in order to clearly prove my con- tention that the whole system in India is directly a system for legalising vice, for placing vice under legal patronage and control ; and it is idle to pretend that the Acts do not legalise vice, or that it is possible to have any enactments of this kind which do not legalise vice. One says : ' No woman known to be a public prostitute shall reside or practise her trade within the limits of the Cantonment, unless she shall first have her name registered in the manner provided by these rules.' That, of course, covers the statement that a woman who is registered is legalised. Another says : ' Any woman reported under Rule 29, and convicted of practising prostitution without being registered; shall, upon conviction, be entered in the register 240 and become liable to all the regulations prescribed for the observance of registered prostitutes.' This, of course, does away with the pretence of a voluntary submission. It is further provided that — ' Every registered prostitute shall pay monthly to the Lock Hospital Fund such sum, not exceeding one rupee, as may be determined by the cantonment committee. In case of non-payment, the amount may be levied by distress and sale of any movable proi)erty of such prostitute which may be found within the limits of the Cantonment.' " I will read the whole thing : ' Every registered prostitute shall be furnished with a printed ticket, to be renewed annually, in the form prescribed in Schedule B of these rules, or in such other form as the Local Government may from time to time prescribe. She shall also be furnished with a printed copy in English, and in her vernacular language, of the abstract of regulations prescribed for her observance, and referred to in Rule ii.' So long as she has that annual ticket, and is healthy, she is licensed to carry on her trade, and is protected. Brothel-keeping is also a Licensed and Protected Trade in India. ' Every applicant for permission to keep a brothel within the limits of a military cantonment shall state in his application the number and street in which he proposes to establish such brothel, he shall also state the number of prostitutes to be kept in such brothel.' I am now quoting from Rule 36, on page 37, as well as Rule 37, which states, 'After an inspection and approval of the premises and situation of the proposed brothel, the^ applicant shall be registered as permitted to keep a brothel for (here enter number) of prostitutes. Every registered brothel-keeper shall be furnished with a copy of the rules prescribed under clause 7, section xix., Act I., of 1866, and shall be required to afifix these rules in some conspicuous part of his brothel.' So that the Government of India licenses and permits people to keep brothels providing that the 241 premises are inspected and approved by the Government. But that is not all, because not merely are the unhappy women to be examined and registered, but every woman-servant and brothel-keeper, if under forty years of age, are to be perio- dically examined, whether they are prostitutes or not. Rule 50, page 49, provides : ' Brothel-keepers shall furnish a list to the " Sanitary Officer of the Cantonment " of all female servants in their employment, and these female servants, if below forty years of age, shall be submitted to medical examination similar to those prescribed for prostitutes who are borne on the register of such brothels. It shall not be lawful for any brothel-keeper to receive as an inmate of such brothel any female who has not been registered as a prostitute or as a female servant attached to such brothel,' and rule 51 provides : ' Female brothel-keepers below forty years of age shall be subjected to the same medical examination as prostitutes, the inmates of such brothels.' I regret to have been obliged to read these horrid details — (cheers) — but I do venture to think that nothing more horrible, nothing more harmful, nothing more utterly discreditable, has ever been enacted in a civilized country. These are the regulations which were framed at the commencement of the Act. These regulations are enforced in 70 places. They are enforced in 54 places in Bengal, and the regulations are similar in seven places in Madras and nine in Bombay — 70 places in all, and the Con- tagious Diseases Act is in force in the towns of Madras, Bombay, and Bassein. These are the regulations which have been developed under Major-General Chapman in the Memo- randum of June, 1886, which has been so thoroughly dis- credited by the Secretary of State. It is obvious to the House that the whole system is based upon the fact that immorality must be licensed, based upon the theory that immorality must be protected. It is based upon the theory so brutally pro- pounded, I believe, by Dr. Gross, of Missouri, who said, ' I am sometimes inclined to believe that prostitution is the normal condition of the human race.' That is a principle which the House ought to repudiate. I am satisfied that 16 242 TnK Nativks of India Bitterly Resent this system. (No, no, and Hear, hear.) If any hon. member says * No, no,' I will furnish him with proofs of my statement. In 1S79, when this Act was first brought under notice in Bombay, the Bishop of Bombay and 60 influential British and native residents petitioned against it, and their petition will be found in Return No. 200 for 1883. They petitioned against it on the ground that it was highly immoral. The authorities replied, that their objections had been fully met when the Act was passed, but they would adopt measures to prevent annoy- ance to ' respectable persons' The report goes on to say, ' We accordingly instructed the Commissioners of Police to be careful not to interfere with or attempt to register women in the position of mistresses of wealthy persons or kept women.' These are the ' respectable persons ' who are not to be inter- fered with, and the reason to be given is given with the utmost callousness — because they are wealthy persons they are not to be interfered with. These are the people whose susceptibilities are not to be wounded. The unhappy poor, who have nothing to defend themselves with, are to be put in prison or fined ! but the mistresses of wealthy persons are to go entirely free. The Municipality of Bombay resisted the enforcement of that Act, and ^i'ere ofily finally compelled to accept it by the Government stopping 15,000 r^ipees fivm the an?iual grant for other purposes. " Lord Ripon, in a despatch dated 1 6th June, 1882, argues that general funds should not be used to pay for putting these Acts into force, as they are local in operation, and he adds, ' But the Act is so Much Disliked by the People that, were Municipalities left to do as they like in this matter, they would certainly act exactly as the Bombay Municipality has done, and decline to contribute anything whatever towards the cost.' Lord Ripon further pointed out in the same des- patch the evils that attend this Act, and must attend it, and shows the ill-feeling of the native population. He says 2+3 ' There has been throughout, on the part of the native public and Press, a bitterness of denunciation of the Act and of the police operations in connection with it which may be taken to indicate a more than merely abstract objection to its policy and working, and this is not to be wondered at when it is remembered that the local government has hitherto found it impossible to administer the Act effectually, without straining its provisions and laying down rules of procedure which the High Court has now declared to have been illegal from the outset.' I would like to know who were punished for this illegality ; I suppose no one. There is a remarkable passage in the correspondence distributed this morning, which I would ask permission to read to the House. It is a statement made by the Honorary Secretary of the British Indian Association, Babu Reary Mohun Mookeyee. He says — ' The Committee have no hesitation in saying, that the operation of the Con- tagious Diseases Act is wholly repugnant to the feelings of the entire native community, and that it is attended with an " Incalculable Amount of Cruelty and Oppression in this country.' " Hon. gentlemen will find it in this return which was dis- tributed to-day, in page 73. It was in Calcutta. As might also be expected, the whole religious community is up in arms against it. There has been a memorial sent from India. It was signed during the present year by 434 missionaries as representatives of forty missionary societies, who have memorialised their Home Boards against the system, and by army chaplains also. " To go to another branch of the question, Lord Cross says, in one of his despatches, that the protection of the health of the British garrison is a paramount duty. But the effect of the whole system has been to Increase the Disease in India o an alarming and extraordinary extent ; and I will venture 244 to read lo the House very brief extracts from the Sanitary Report of India for 18S4-5, presented in 1886: 'Venereal diseases yielded an admission rate of 294 per 1000, against 270 in 1 883. Each of the three Presidency armies shared in the increase, particularly Bombay, where the admissions rose from 21S per 1000 in 1883 to 290. Madras again recorded the highest rate, viz., 307 against 289, and amongst the Bengal troops the rate was 291, or 10 per 1000 higher than in 1883. In spite of police and Lock Hospital precautions the admis- sions from these diseases continue to increase, and for the whole army have risen from a 10 years' average (1870-79) of 203 per 1000 to 294 in 1884.' " ' The whole subject,' the Sanitary Commission state, ' appears to be surrounded with insurmountable difficulties, for in every Government the disease has advanced in the face of every means of prevention which have been adopted.' On page 153, the Sanitary Commissioners write: 'Active police and Lock Hospital precautions have been in force everywhere, and special attention was drawn by us formerly to the apparent success of these measures in Bombay, But the statistics show that, including the periods before and since the precautions were introduced, the syphilitic rate has risen from a ten years' average (1870-79) of 191 per 1000 to 292 per 1000 in 1884. Madras is supposed to have an efficient police and Lock Hospital system, and yet in 1884 its venereal admissions were 485 per 1000.' In another passage the Surgeon-General writes : ' Regarding the Madras Presidency we are forced to admit that Lock Hospitals have hitherto been Kept up for the Propagation of Venereal Disease among British soldiers, though originally established with a very different intention. In the Cantonments where there are no Lock Hospitals, women can prostitute themselves when inclined without fear, and the health of the soldier benefits by the rivalry which is so severely checked where the Lock Hospitals are established.' The Sanitary Report for 1885-6, 245 published 1887, the last out, says : ' Each year witnesses to an increase in admissions from venereal diseases. From all forms of the disease the admissions per 1000 of strength in 1885 were 343, against 294 in 1884. At all the stations in Bengal, excepting Barrakpore, the number of registered women found diseased at the periodical examinations and detained in hospital for treatment was greater than in 1884.' This is strong evidence to show that, during the existence of these Acts, the increase of disease has been an alarming fact, but I will not dwell further on this, as no doubt other hon. members will go into the statistics. " I wish to come to the position we should have occupied if the Government of India had been allowed to have their own way in 1882, because it is an exceedingly important point in regard to the question now before us. Lord Ripon, who was Viceroy in 1882, came to the conclusion that the Contagious Diseases Act ought to be Abolished. I hesitate to read long extracts from his reports, but I hold them in my hand, and I could read if necessary. He says : ' The money spent in carrying out the Contagious Diseases Act, no matter from what source it is derived, might with greater advantage be devoted to the construction of such sanitary works, and to other measures much more likely to benefit the health of the community at large, than any system of Lock Hospitals.' In a despatch dated June i6th, 1882, addressed to Lord Hartington, then Secretary for India, Lord Ripon says he has dealt chiefly with Calcutta, because only there has the Act been thoroughly worked, and if it fails there, it must fail everywhere. In Madras it seems to have had no beneficial effect on the health either of the European troops or on the civil population, the hospital admission rate for syphilis in the case of the former having risen from 159 per 1000 in 187 1 to 390 per 1000 in 1879. He concludes by saying, ' For all these reasons we are of opinion that the time has come to abandon a measure which has never in practice been 246 a complete success, which is odious in the eyes of our native subjects, and in those of a large and influential class of Europeans. We shall be glad to know that your lordship concurs in these views, and consents to the early repeal Act XIV. of 1S6S.' If the noble lord, the member for Rossendale (the Marquis of Hartington), had seen fit to allow Lord Ripon to exercise that unfettered discretion which the hon. baronet, the member for Evesham (Sir R. Temple) desired, this Act Would have been Repealed in 1882. It was because the Secretary of State interfered to prevent the repeal that the Act remained " We have always considered that the Acts are not merely infamous in their nature, and not merely a total failure, but have made the army much worse than it was before. Dr. Ferris, in the report of the Calcutta Committee of Enquiry, says, ' j\Iy opinion is that the Act has failed entirely in the object Government had in mind in passing it ; it has worked injuriously and had a most degrading and demoralising effect.' If hon. members will turn to the correspondence issued to-day they will see that disease has gone on in an almost unvarying ratio ever since the Act passed. Though all the circumstances that could be urged in favour of the Act by the authors of it have been urged, the facts that have been brought forward have little bearing on the case. The broad fact remains, that along with the introduction of these Acts there has been an increase of disease, and that The Amount of Disease is Greater to-day in India than it was before those Acts came into operation. There is a despatch in these returns issued to-day from Mr. Colman Macaulay, Secretary to the Government of Bengal Municipal Department, in which he states his opinion, that the Act in Calcutta could not possibly have been worked if it had not been worked illegally. If it could not be worked in Calcutta, 247 where it is now suspended, it could not be worked in Bombay or Madras. " It has long been our conviction that increase of vice is the inevitable result of all such legislation. You promise the soldier safe vice, and to promise safe vice is to increase vice ; but, although you promised them a safe vice, you did not keep your promise. It is a delusion and a snare. You Entrap the Soldiers into Prostitution, but you do not, and cannot, provide them with healthy women, whatever the character of your Acts may be. The Govern- ment of India have got very nervous about this subject. They have seen the effect of the agitation in this country. They suspended the operation of the Acts in twelve or thirteen places, and from that suspension they have produced a report showing there was an increase of disease concurrent with the closing of the Lock Hospitals. We deny entirely the validity of that conclusion. It was A Sham Experiment from the beginning, and failure was inherent in it. If you put every possible inducement to men in the way of immorality, and tell them vice is safe, and then suddenly take away all the miserable protection there is, it is only human nature to expect to see vice go on and disease spring up. You cannot expect all at once to cut down the disease and vice you have been building up with so much care. " Here is a most infamous Return ; and I want to know from the Secretary of State for India why it was not laid on the table. It is the thirteenth Annual Report of the working of the Lock Hospitals in the North- West Provinces and in Oude for the year ending December 31st, 1S86. I have a copy of it, and it is an exact facsimile, line for line ; and I want to know why it was not laid on the table of the House. (Cheers.) I am unwilling to charge the Indian Government with suppressing it ; 248 But it has been Suppressed, whether they desired it or not. *' I hope the Government will inquire why it was not in the India Office, and why Major Chapman's 'Memorandum' is not in the India Office ? I shall read one or two extracts from this report on the working of Lock Hospitals. I will read a few lines from the one with regard to Lucknow. On page 4, it is reported, regarding Bareilly, 'Simultaneous with this abolition of the part of the Lock Hospital system relating to Bareilly city, it is proposed to endeavour to induce a greater number of prostitutes to reside in Cantonments by making their residence there more attractive. To effect this they would be permitted to live in their own houses, or in houses provided for them, in whatever part of the Bazaars they chose. Assist- ance would be given from the Cantonment funds, which are in a flourishing condition, to enable the women to furnish their houses so as to make them convenient both for themselves and their visitors.'' The hoped-for result being ' increased con- venience for soldiers and prostitutes.' There is one paragraph, however, in the report for Ranikhet, paragraph 51, in which the Commissioner makes the following remarks, which are given in full : — ' The Commissioner agrees with the remarks of the Cantonment magistrate. The proposals of the Medical Officer would throw the cost of repressive measures on the Civil Department ; but the work of repression is a work of military discipline ; and, if military authorities would make men suffer for becoming non-effective by self- imposed disease, there would be less of it. There would be still less if the men had more healthy work to do, and less temptation put in their way.' Here the Civil Government are asked to Give the Men more Healthy Work to do, and to put less temptation in their way, instead of sanctioning the making of those houses more attractive for the 249 increase of customers. I will only read two others. One is a report on page 13, Muttra, — 73. 'The registered prostitutes live in the sadar and regimental bazars, and are supervised by a matron. He suggests that the prostitutes of the sadar bazar should have special quarters provided for them, as in the case of those residing in the regimental bazar. It is only by such an arrangement that the mahaldarni, or matron, he thinks, can keep them under effectual supervision. He com- plains that the regimental matron lacks energy and does not take trouble To ATTRACT GoOD-LOOKING WOMEN. He suggests that she should be got rid of, and a more suitable woman appointed.* The regimental quarters provided for the registered prostitutes are said to be in a bad state of repair. It is surely only necessary to bring this defect to the notice of the local authorities to have it remedied.' At Fatehgarh, the Commissioner of the division, commenting on the great prevalence of venereal diseases during the past year, thinks if there had been no Lock Hospital at all, the results could not well have been zvorse. The repression of unlicensed prostitu- tion in and around Cantonments, he thinks, should be effected by military patrols. The magistrate of the district thinks ' the disease is one which can best be avoided by the exercise of some prudence on the part of the soldiers, in the absence of which police precautions are futile. The police in Canton- ments are very few, and have several duties to perform, which leave them little time for prowling among ravines after prostitutes. In getting women registered there is a legal difficulty too. The Cantonment Act does not empower the magistrate to compel a woman to go up for examination ; and in several cases the order of the magistrate in charge, for * There is, or has been till lately, a notorious " procuress " in London, who has been twice prosecuted. Would it not be logical to appoint her as matron in charge of a Cantonment Bazar ? 250 prostitutes to be sent to the Lock Hospitals, has been can- celled by the Judge, on appeal, as illegal' "Tlie House will no doubt agree with me in commending the opinion of this magistrate, and in thinking that the police ought to be employed in a very different manner. All these extracts show the length to which the supporters of the system are prepared to go, and the utter failure of all their en- deavours, and the report concludes by stating, that although there has been a very decided decrease in the prevalence of these diseases as compared with 1885, the ratio is still higher than the mean of the previous five years, and also than the mean of the five years prior to the opening of the Lock Hospitals. " I venture to think it is impossible to conceive anything more atrocious than the system which these extracts reveal, and yet the authors of them declare that their recommenda- tions are necessary for the success of the Acts. But bad as these are, they do not show the height of enthusiasm that may be reached. " The height of enthusiasm is reached in Major-General Chapman's memorandum of June 17th, 1886. 1 will only read two paragraphs from that most infamous document, and I rejoice exceedingly to say, that I do not blame Her Majesty's Government for this, because they were ignorant of it, and Major Chapman concealed it from them. In it Major-General Chapman says — The Commander-in-Chief desires him to give prominence to the following points. He says among other things — ' In the regimental bazars it is necessary to have a sufficient number of women, to take care that they are suffi- ciently attractive, to provide them with proper houses, and above all, to insist upon means of ablution being always available.' ' Frequent medical inspections should be ordered, and every endeavour should be made to make the men realise their own responsibility in assisting their officers, by indicating the women from whom disease has been acquired. Much may 251 be done to encourage a feeling amongst the men, that it should be a point of honour to save each other, where possible, from risk in this matter.' The way they are to exercise this point of honour is by handing over the names of women from whom they suppose they may have contracted disease to the military authorities. (Hear, hear.) If that is the way miUtary honour is to be exercised I think it must be at a very low ebb. We think it should be a point of honour on the part of these men to refrain from association with these women altogether. " Though this memorandum has been cancelled, I want to know what is to prevent Major Chapman from issuing another similar order and again trying to conceal it from the Govern- ment, as was done with this one. He seems capable of it. I will read a passage written by him which I venture to say is absolutely untrue. The date of this memorandum is June, 1886. On the 19th of July, 1887, the Bishop of Lichfield asked a question on the subject in the House of Lords as shown to-day on page 14 of the correspondence laid on the table, as follows : " Telegram from Secretary of State to Viceroy, dated 9th July, 1887. Bishop of Lichfield calls attention in House of Lords to existence of official regulations for provision of prostitutes in regimental bazars, British and Native. I apprehend system is indefensible and must be condemned ; meanwhile, please prepare full report in your Military Depart- ment, and send home with copies of all orders and regulations in your (Department) bearing on this subject as distinct from the Indian Contagious Diseases Act, against which also very strong representations are being made throughout the country.' " This was sent to Major Chapman, and here is his reply to Lord Cross, which is an unblushing falsehood. On page 25 of the same Blue Book, Major Chapman writes to the Secre- tary to the Government of India. He goes on to say, ' That, for many years past, unceasing efforts have been made to control prostitution, and to mitigate, so far as may be, its attendant evils ; but neither the Government nor its officers, either directly or indirectly, encourage prostitution.' That is 252 written by the man who a year previously said, ' we must have more attractive women provided, and a sufficient number of them.' " Now, can you conceive, Sir, a man of common honour, common truth, common conscience, writing this memorandum in August, 1SS7, with the knowledge of having authorised the other memorandum in 1886. I venture to say that man is capable of doing anything. Although the Government are suspending the Contagious Diseases Act in Bombay, Madras, and Bassein, and modifying these other regulations, those in charge are perfectly capable of putting these Acts in force again. Chapman's part would again be played. "This infamous document soon bore fruit. In furtherance of the instructions it contained, the officer commanding the 2nd Cheshire Regiment at Solon caused an application to be sent to the cantonment magistrate, Umballa, for extra attrac- tive women for the soldiers' regimental bazar. He goes on to say, that there are 400 men in the regiment who have six women, and require six more. He says 'Please Send Young and Attractive Women, as laid down in the quartermaster's circular, dated Simla, 1886.' He then says — 'Some of the women now with the head-quarters of the 2nd Battalion Cheshire Regiment are 7iot very attractive, and application has been made to the can- tonment magistrate, Umballa, for others, but up to date none have arrived ; therefore it is presumed a great difficulty exists in procuring the class of young women asked for.' '• I Protest as a Cheshire Member. " I do not know whether this is an exceptional case, but whether it is or not, I do protest against the name of a Cheshire regiment being dragged through the mire in this infamous manner. What is the Government of India going to do ? They say they are going to suspend operations under 253 the Contagious Diseases Act. That will be totally unsatis- factory by itself. If we do not get what we demand to-night, we shall carry on the agitation until we do get it. Lord Cross has endeavoured to do the best he could. I desire to thank him for what he has done so far. So far as it goes it is good, and I am glad he has recognized the evil to the extent that he has done. He says there is to be no compulsory examination in future. But if there is to be no compulsory examination the whole system breaks down. The moment you suspend compulsion Your Whole Act is Suspended. If we are to have no compulsion in India, what is the use in keeping in the statute book Acts which are a disgrace to the country, and which have no practical value ? Lord Cross is also going to regulate the Cantonment Acts. Lord Cross very properly says he will not tolerate any regulation which ' assumes the appearance of any encouragement of vice.' (Hear, hear.) Encouragement of vice ! Now if that is to be carried out literally, then I say you are compelled to abolish the Acts. It is an impossibility to have a shred of these Acts which does not assume the appearance of an encouragement of vice : and if we were to bring Lord Cross to examine how the Acts work, he would see that the regulations do very much more than assume the appearance of an encouragement of vice. The health officer of Bombay says— ' To the women themselves the Act was the greatest benefit both physically and professionally ; the registration ticket was equivalent to a clean bill of health, and a certificate of competency.' I want to know what a certificate of competency is Except an Encouragement of Vice? There is another and higher ground for objection — the ground of immorality and the inherent wickedness of the Acts. Even -54 if you could prove to mo that those Acts will abolish disease, it would not mitigate my hostility in the slightest degree. I maintain, and we are prepared to maintain, that whatever is Morally Wrong cannot i?e Politically or Physically Right. " We are also prepared to maintain that those Acts are a violation of the unity of moral law. The moral law enjoins only one standard for women and men alike, and whatever is morally wrong for women is morally wrong for men. What- ever is morally right for men is morally right for women. From this we will not depart, and we are prei)ared to fight the battle of the Contagious Diseases Act upon that platform. These Acts destroy morality. Not only do they demoralise women, but they demoralise those who carry them out. General Adams, writing on the 13th of January, 1888, says, ' It is asserted that the system is unjust to women, being directed unfairly against one sex for the benefit of the other ; that women are hardly and unjustly treated in order to provide gratification for men. This is simply a sensational misrepre- sentation.' Is it a misrepresentation ? No, it is only too true. " I want to know if this House has no pity on these poor women. I say, and t challenge contradiction, that one of the poorest of our Indian female fellow-subjects is as valuable as the daughter of any member of this House, and her safety and purity should be as well guarded by this House as are the safety and purity of the women of this country. They deserve our protection more, from their helplessness and poverty. For whose benefit are these regulations kept up ? Are they kept up for the benefit of the women of India ? This system is not kept up for the benefit of the women of India. No, the system is kept up for the supposed benefit of English- men. It is urged falsely that it is kept up for the benefit of English women, whom they may afterwards marry. If that is the case why are we to sacrifice poor Indian women to them ? The logical system is for the Government to send out English women to meet the demand. That is an extreme statement 255 to make, and I should be sorry to see it carried out. You dare not carry it out. You maintain that these Acts are for the benefit of Enghsh men and EngHsh \vomen, and you sacrifice Indian women for them. You would not dare to send English women. Why ? The reason is, because Indian women are black, and English women are white, and because they are a subject and inferior race, therefore you think they may be trodden upon. " I am glad to believe that there is indignation arising in this country against these Acts. (Hear, hear.) The English people have not known of their existence for long ; but I may say, what is within the knowledge of members of this House, that there has rarely, if ever, been a question which in the short time it has been before this country has excited so much indignation as this question has done. I doubt if there is any question on which so many memorials have been received as upon this. The whole religious feeling of this country is against it. The clergy and ministers of religion are against it, and will never cease to agitate against it. " I rejoice to think that in addition to the religious senti- ment^ you have, if you continue these Acts, to face a new power, a new force. The women of this country have taken this matter up. The Women of England are Aroused upon this question. They will not cease to agitate until you abolish every vestige of these Acts. If you think the agitation of this question is injurious, and painful, and undesirable, then I would invite you to vote with me for the immediate abolition of these Acts. The women of England will denounce this system as long as it continues to exist, and will so conduct the agitation that every man and every woman in the country shall become familiar with every detail concerning them. They shall be dragged forth into the light of day, if that course is necessary to their destruction. They shall be made known, because, if they are made known, they cannot be sustained. (Hear, hear.) Therefore, I ask the Govern- 256 merit to save us the necessity of this agitation — to do what is right at once and to abolish them. But whether we are defeated or not to-night, this accursed system — the vilest ever brought to the knowledge ok the house of Commons — shall he swept away for ever." The Hon. Member sat down loudly cheered. The convincing speech of Mr. McLaren was followed by others on the same side, particularly by Professor James Stuart and Sir B. W. Foster, both of whose speeches deserve quotation. Mr. Stuart attacked the statistics furnished by Indian officials. " He referred particularly to what he called the piece de resistance in the whole of the statistics — namely, the report by Surgeon-Major Barclay, relating to the averages of disease at different stations, and said that, incredible though it seemed, there was not one single average in the whole report but was taken wrongly. Any conclusion, therefore, which the Government founded upon it, and they had founded conclu- sions upon it, were worthless and misleading; it was a disgrace to any man who dared to interpret statistics to the Indian Government and the British public, that he should be guilty of mistakes for which a schoolboy would get a sound thrashing They claimed that that which was now the Settled Policy of England should be extended through the responsibility of the Ministers of the Crown to every portion of Her Majesty's dominions, over which they had direct control. The Government had to decide whether they would or would not aid them in carrying out these views. The flimsy pretext was cut from under their feet, that they had no right to interfere, and they stood face to face with the question whether they would that night get rid of or maintain a system which was founded on vice, built up of injustice and cruelty, and bolstered and buttressed by fraud.' (Cheers.) 257 Sir B. W. Foster said, *' That on his side of the House they had to consider not merely the independence of the Indian Legislature, but also the character of the English nation. (Hear, hear.) At one time, the medical profession was very much in favour of an extension of these Acts, being actuated by the noble desire to do good to the community ; but these Acts had Altogether F.\iled in India, for while they had been in force there had been a steady growth of the diseases they were intended to suppress. As a medical man^ he repudiated the odious duty which this system threw upon the Medical Officers in India — a system which would sap the manliness, self-respect, and courage of our soldiers." (Hear, hear.) The motion was feebly opposed by the Government, which evidently felt that it had been badly treated by the false statis- tics of its Indian medical officers, and by the outrageous " Memorandum " of the Quartermaster-General, and by the concealment of documents which had taken place. They made feeble fight accordingly, devolving the amendment on Sir Richard Temple, who was not a member of the Government, although an old Indian official. It was understood that the Government would support this amendment, but Sir Richard was too old a politician not to notice that the Fates were opposed to him ; he, consequently, spoke as if under the con- viction that his case was hopeless, and he ultimately withdrew his amendment, throwing the paper on which it was written upon the floor of the House. The Government saw that the game was up and did not venture on a division ; the Speaker declared the motion carried — only one member venturing to rise for a division — it was adopted by the House with practical unanimity. The Associations for repeal were not inactive on this critical occasion ; for had the House declared for the regulation 17 2SH and licensing system in India, the resolution would have furnished a logical lever for lifting it back again to the position from which it had been displaced in Great Britain. The Ladies' National Association, the City of London Committee, and some other associations which had, fortunately, not been disbanded, addressed arguments to the members which doubtless had their weight. The latter Committee, amongst other reasons, made reference to the protests of the Bishops and Clergy, and of the whole Protestant Missions of India, against the immorality of the system, and the hindrance which it caused to the spread of Christianity. As these are very remarkable documents they are inserted in the next chapter.* A few words are necessary in reference to a volume of documents issued by the Indian Government, in 1888. (^Printed Return^ House Commons, i^th May, 1888.) — It appears that during the Governorship of Lord Ripon, the Indian Council made enquiries as to the working of the system, consequent on the passing of the Repeal Act of 1886. It was candidly confessed by certain Indian Medical and other officials, that the figures showed that disease had continually increased in the Indian Army since the imposition of the system in 1864 and 1865 — the ratio per 1000 of admissions to hospitals in the " protected " stations having risen from 229 in 1865, when the Act was first in force, to 280 in 1883. Surgeon-Major Sir A. D. Home reports on the 9th October, 1884, that the Acts, tested by statistics, were Practically a Failure. He says — "With reference to the specific point on which I am directed to report, namely, the comparative statistics of the prevalence of venereal diseases at stations which have * There can be little doubt that the Roman Catholic Missionaries would have joined in this protest had they been invited to do bo. The head of that Church in England has always protested against the system. 259 Lock Hospitals, and at those which have not, I beg to state that taking the statistics for the period from 1864 to 1S83 as an illustration, it will be seen that of the 42 " protected " stations, omitting a few stations the statistics of which are not complete for the whole term, there are 26 stations at which the rate of prevalence of venereal diseases has increased, whilst there are only 16 stations at which it has diminished. " But the full significance of the statistics is not shown by the bare comparison made above. Taking the group of important stations, that is, those stations having not less than the strength of one battalion, it is seen that the rate of venereal diseases is higher in 18S3 than in 1864, at 17 stations, whilst it is lower at only 5 ; and, further, that every one of the very largest stations shows an increased rate of prevalence. " The value of protection may, I think, be estimated from this comparison, which, in my opinion, contains no fallacy." The Surgeon-General of the Bengal Forces states, further, in a letter addressed to the Director-General of the Army Medical Department, London, and dated 9th June, 1882:— " The repressive measures have now been in force for nearly 17 years; and, according to statistical evidence, these are the results : In 1864, the year preceding the enactment of the Cantonment Act, 254 per 1000 of the non-commissioned officers and men in the command were admitted into hospital on account of venereal diseases, whilst for 1881 the rate is 259-1 per 1000 men. From the year following the introduc- tion of the measures referred to until 1877, the rate of preva- lence of venereal diseases in the command decreased, but not quite progressively ; for the year noted, the rate of admissions is 202 per 1000 men only, showing an apparent advantage on the year 1864 of 52 per 1000 men, or about a fifth of the whole amount. This improvement, cannot, however, be certainly laid to the credit of the new regulations, as the dimi- nution had begun in 1859. For that year the admission rate is 359 per 1000 men; thus, before the institution of the 26o measures consequent on the Cantonments Acts, venereal disease had in five years diminished considerably more than a quarter.* " The degree of apparent success which followed the introduction of the regulations for the repression of venereal disease did not, however, Come up to the Expectations of those who believed in their efficacy, and the authorities were repeatedly, or, more correctly speaking, were con- stantly urged to use greater diligence in enforcing them. It is not to be assumed that no attention was paid by the local authorities to the serious remonstrances of their official superiors. On the contrary, it is reasonable to suppose that they put in practice all they knew, in order to effect a much- desired end ; the statistics show with what success. The admission rate for venereal diseases in 1878 — a year in which it may fairly be supposed that all the repressive machinery was in the best order — exceeded that of the year preceding the enactment of the Act by 34 per 1000 men." But statistical arguments against the system were varied by opinions which condemned it on the ground of native dislike, oppression, cruelty, and police corruption. The British Indian Association memorialized the Governor of Bengal, and, inter alia, they stated : — "The Committee do not wish to gainsay for a moment the fact that for the purpose of affording protection to the public against a necessary evil, State interference is not always and everywhere harmful. But looking to the character of the people, to the feelings and susceptibilities even of public women in this country, and to the agency indispensable for the working of the measure, the Committee have no hesitation in * This is precisely what happened in England. The five or six years before the Acts passed showed reduction year by year, at a ratio which was never afterwards reached. Vide Chapter III. p. 13. 26l saying that the operation of the Contagious Diseases Act is wholly repugnant to the feelings of the entire native community, and that it is attended with an incalculable Amount of Cruelty and Oppression in this country. That it is impossible to work the Act with proper caution and due regard to the feelings of the community could not have been more clearly shown than by the fact that out of the thousands of women examined for the first time during the eleven years the Act was in force only 14 to 34 per cent, were found to be diseased in different years. No amount of sanitary benefit could compensate the outrage committed on the remaining women and through them on society. Nor is it at all a desirable state of things in a country where the Police are Virtually Irresponsible as regards poor people, that there should be arrests of twelve women a day on an average for breach of rules. The Com- mittee submit that it should be further borne in mind that even in England, where statistics are more reliable and police oppression is at a minimum, it has been deemed necessary, after considerable discussion, to repeal the corresponding Act." Colman Macaulay, Esq., Secretary to the Government of Bengal, in a despatch dated January, 1888, confirms this view of the utter untrustworthiness of the Indian Police to carry out the delicate and responsible duties imposed on them by the system. He says : — " Sir Stuart Bayley feels that he cannot too strongly insist on the fact that the reintroduction of Act XIV. would be absolutely useless. On the other hand, if the Legislature could be induced to pass an amended Act of the stringent nature requisite to give it any real efficacy, it seems quite certain that, in view of the decided tone taken of late years by the British Parliament, the Secretary of State would be com- pelled to refuse his sanction to it. These considerations alone 262 would suffice to make the Licutenant-(iovernor advise the rejection of the Health Society's application ; but, even if the Legislature and British Parliament did not stand in the way of adopting their recommendations, Sir Stuart Bayley would still say that there is no country where the police could less be trusted to exercise powers of interference with women Without Oppression and Scandal, and no country where popular feeling would be more surely and vehemently aroused by instances of such interference. Our police are already so badly supported, and so little esteemed by the public, as to render their proper work infinitely more difficult and less efficient than it otherwise would be ; and the Lieutenant-Governor would not willingly intensify this feeling by again bringing them into collision with the public on a point on which native opinion is so intensely sensitive as the honour of their women." It is noticeable that all through the official volume from which the above extracts have been taken, the Indian Government and its officials never mention the system excepting as that for maintaining " Lock Hospitals." The maintenance of such Hospitals, if supported by funds raised in India, would not be objected to, under proper limitations, by the people of this country or by religious teachers in India. It is the oppressive and useless compulsory examination of women for immoral purposes ; the " procuration " of numerous and attractive girls and women, and the ''brothel keeping " carried out under the Cantonment Acts, against which the people of Great Britain Protest, and will Continue to Protest until they are brought to an end. CHAPTER XXIIL A Cry from the Indian Missionary Field. It has been stated in the preceding chapter, that the City of London Committee, on the occasion of Mr. INIcLaren's motion, brought to the notice of the House the fact that some 434 Indian Missionaries, representing forty Protestant Societies, had forwarded to England A Protest against the Regulation System in that Empire. It was directed to the above Committee for safe custody and publication ; the original still remains lodged with them. It was an undesigned coincidence that this unique memorial arrived in London during the session there of The International Missionary Conference of tS88, to which Missionaries were invited from all parts of the globe. On the 20th June, 1888, the closing meeting of the Confer- ence took place at Exeter Hall, which meeting had been set aside for the consideration of the effect on Missions of three great hindrances to the spread of Christianity, viz.: "The Opium Traffic ; the Drink Traffic with Native Races ; and the Governmental License of Sin in India." Mr. Scott, Honorary Secretary to the City of London Committee for Repeal, attended with this Memorial or Pro- test, and, to his extreme astonishment, just as he was rising to present the Memorial, so germane to the occasion, an official who had charge of the proceedings of the Conference came to him, and, in an authoritative tone, said — " The presentation of the Memorialis inadmissible.^'' Believing that the message came 264 t'roiii the respected Chairman — Sir Arthur Blackwood — Mr. Scott, not wishing to disturb the harmony of the proceedings, left the hall, determining that at some future opportunity the document entrusted to him should not be boycotted, but should be given to the world. It is accordingly inserted below. It only remains to be stated that Sir Arthur Black- wood was entirely ignorant of the action of the official referred to, who, being a merchant trading to the East, probably sympathized with the Regulationists. Here follows the Memorial in question : — MEMORIAL* TO THE BOARDS OK DIRECTORS OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETIES REPRESENTED BY MISSIONARIES IN INDIA. " It is impossible for us as Ministers of Christ to be neutral in view of the conflict which is going on against the licensing of impurity by the British Government in India. " We are bound to uphold the obligation of the Seventh Commandment. We cannot admit that it is ever expedient to break the Law which has been ordained by the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and the Creator of Mankind. " It is, therefore, with sorrow and shame that we behold the Government of India recognizing prostitution as a lawful business, providing houses for the free occupation of numbers of women engaged therein, and issuing to the said women certificates authorising them to pursue that course of life which God so repeatedly and so emphatically condemns, prohibits, and warns against in His Written Word. " The action of the Government in this respect cannot do otherwise than seriously hinder the work of Christian Missions among large masses of the people of India. " We, therefore, solemnly invite the Managing Boards of the respective Missionary Societies with which we are con- nected, to make such representations to the Imperial Govern- * A few names have been omitted from the above, as, being in Oriental writing, they are difficult of transcription. 265 ment of Great Britain as will help to speedily remove the unholy institution of licensed impurity from India." Signed by the Following : — Name of Missionary. i Name of Society. Address or Station. John M. Macdonald Church Missionary ... Bombay. H. Latevvard Propagation of the Gospel... Bombay. D. Mackichan ... Free Church of Scotland ... Bombay. Edward S. Hume American Marathi Mission... Bombay. W. W. Bruere Methodist Episcopal Mission Bombay. George W. Clutterbuck.. Wesleyan Missionary Bombay. H. C. Stuntz Methodist Episcopal Mission Bombay. G. Ledgard Propagation of the Gospel... Bombay. J. St. Diago Propagation of the Gospel... Bombay. W. E. Robbins Methodist Episcopal Mission Bombay. Ben. Mitchell Methodist Episcopal Mission Bombay. A. W. Prautch Methodist Episcopal Mission Bombay. D, O. Fo.x Methodist Episcopal Church Poona. W. Latham Church Missionary Jubbulpore, C. P. C. E. Delamater Methodist Episcopal Mission Baroda, Gujarat. Alfred S. Jervis Irish Presbyterian Mission... Surat. William Beatty Irish Presbyterian Church ... Surat. Robert Boyd Irish Presbyterian Church ... Borsad, Gujarat. J. F. Steele Irish Presbyterian Mission... Anand. J. D. Webb Methodist Episcopal Mission Khandwa. D. 0. Ernsberger Methodist Episcopal Mission Gulbarga. H. G. E. de St. Dalmas Friends' Foreign Mission ... Sohagpur, C. P. J. Taylor Propagation of the Gospel... Ahmednagar. John Stuart Church Missionary Aligarh, N. W. P. J. Husband U. P. Church of Scotland... Ajmere. H. Lewis Church Missionary Lucknow. A. J. Birkett Church Missionary ... Lucknow. Edmund J. Jones Church Missionary... Nasik. A. W. Baumann . . Church Missionary Faizabad. Joseph A. Elliott Wesleyan Missionary Faizabad. Enoch Jeffries ... Methodist Episcopal Church Ajmere. Wm. Lee Clarke Methodist Episcopal Mission Poona. A. Stark Church Missionary Bhagaya, Santal Ferghs. H. E. Perkins Church Missionary Amritzar. James Erhardt ... Church Missionary ... Secundra, Agra. John Browne Church Missionary ... Secundra, Agra. George Macalister U. P. Church of Scotland.. Jeypore, Rajpootana. James Sommerville U. P. Church of Scotland... Jodhpur, Rajpootana. Francis Ashcroft U. P. Church of Scotland... Ulwar. !66 I Name of Missionary. Tlionias E. F. Morton. Hui;h R. Scott ... K. \V. Sinol.iir ... S.iimiel Baker ... A. Wcstcott W. Relton Walter Joss George Isham ... J. D. Bate J. M. Alexander J. G. Hawker ... John W. Roberts Bernard Lucas ... Thomas Haines... F. J. Cole Edward P. Herbert . n. F. Beutel ... Daniel Jones James A. Macdonald E. Mortimer Charles King A. P. Kelso David Herron ... Th. Digel S. Limbach W. Niibling J. Waidelich Joseph Redman... A. J. Shields ... James Lyon Albert T. Leonard Noble L. Rockey G. L Stone Jos. H. Garden... W. H. Stephens A. S. E. Varden C. L. Bare Wm. E. Cooper K. A. Iwar E. F. Ward O. S. Palmer ... G, L. Wharton... Thomas McAnlis Alex. Robertson Name of Society. Address or Station. Methodist Episcopal Mission Irish Presbyterian Mission... Irish Presbyterian Church ... Friends' Foreign Mission ... Propagation of the Gospel... Propagation of the Gospel... London Missionary... Methodist Episcopal Mission Baptist Missionary ... American Presby. Mission.. London Missionary... London Missionary... London Missionary... London Missionary... Church Missionary ... Church Missionary ... Church Missionary ... Baptist Missionary ... Wesleyan Missionary Wesleyan Missionary Propagation of the Gospel... American Presby. Mission... American Presby. Mission... Basel German Mission Basel Evangelical Mission... Basel Evangelical Mission... Basel German Mission Church Missionary... Church Missionary ... Methodist ICpiscopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Church Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Church Evangelist ... Swedish Ev. Lutheran Miss. Pilgrim Faith Mission North Berar Mission Foreign Christian Missionary Irish Presbyterian ... Free Church of Scotland Mhow. Rajkot, Kathiawar. Gogha. Iloshangabad, C. P. Madras. Madras. Madras. Vepery, Madras. Allahabad. Allahabad. Bel gaum. Belgaum. Gooty. Bellary, S. India. Mandla, C. P. Patpara, Mandla, C. P. Clarkabad, Panjab. Agra, N. W. P. Dum Dum, Bengal. Jabalpur. Ahmednagar. Saharanpur. at present, Mhow. Honawar, Canara, B. P. ; Dharwar, Bombay Pcy. Hubli. Hubli. Hyderabad, Sindh. Godda, Bengal. Hyderabad. Rae Bareli, Oude. Bijnor, N. W. P. Chadderghat, Deccan. Tandur, Deccan. Kamptee, C. P. Burhanpur. Shajehanpur, N. W. P. Cawnpur, N. W. P. Betul, C. P. Ellichpur, Berar. Akola, Berar. Hurda, C. P. Broach. Nagpur, C. P. 267 Name of Missionary. John Lazarus R. D. Shepherd L. Ilekhnis Jacob Chamberlain Wm. I. Chamberlain ... W. W. Scudder W. Marshman Spencer.. R. Bion B. H. Badley J. H. Schively T. J. Scott James Chappie Lawson.. W. Pryce Byers... Sidney Long Thomas Tracy ... J. M. Goheen C. Hole E. Schmidt J. Knobloch Ed. Halbrock C. Feuchter Oscar Valentin ... William A. Moore C. S. Harington K. S. Macdonald W. Milne Charles Jordan ... John Newton ... Henry C. Velte... J. H. Orbison, M.D. .. E. S. Busby E. P. Newton Hugh F. Lord J. C. Sharrock ... W. J. Price Stephen S. Thomas A. Dillon A. Andrew W. Calderwood... W. Schmolck ... W. Sikemeier J. Krapf. I. L. Weismann E. Winkel Name of Society. Address or Station. Danish Mission Propagation of the Gospel American Arcot Mission American Arcot Mission American Arcot Mission Reformed Church of America Wesleyan Missionary Baptist M. S. (London) Methodist Episcopal Church Methodist Episcopal Churcl Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission London Mission American Presby. Mission... American Presby. Mission... Basel German Mission Basel German Mission Basel Evangelical Mission... Basel Evangelical Mission.. Basel Evangelical Mission... S. E. L. M CuUis' Faith Mission C. M. (Acting Min. Old Ch.) Free Church of Scotland ... Free Church of Scotland ... Baptist Missionary (London) Am. Presb. Bd. Fr. Missions Am. Presb. Bd. Fr. Missions Am. Presb. Bd. Fr. Missions Methodist Episcopal Mission American Presby. Mission Propagation of the Gospel... Propagation of the Gospel.. Baptist Missionary ... Baptist Missionary ... Baptist Missionary ... Free Church of Scotland ... Am. Presb. Bd. Fr. Missions Basel German Mission Basel German Mission Basel Mission Basel Mission Leipsic Ev. Luth. Mission... Madras. [M. P. Mutyalepal, Chagelmurr, Arcot, Madras P. Madanapulli, Madras P. Madanapulli, Madras P. Palmaneir, Madras P. Barrackpore. Monghyr. Lucknow. Lucknow. Bareilly. Sitapur, Oudh. Assansol, Bengal. Coimbatore. Etawah, N. W. P. Kolhapur. Malabar, Codacall. Malabar, Codacall. Calicut. Calicut. Calicut. Chindwara, C. P. Basim, Berar. Calcutta. Calcutta. Calcutta. Calcutta. Lahore. Lahore. Lahore. Lahore. Lodiana. Kolhapur. Tuticorin, S. India. Benares. Delhi. Poona. Chinglcput, Madras P. Muzaffarnagar, N. W. P. Chombala. Kotagiri. Cannanore. Cannanore. Magaveram. \ Name of Missionary, 268 Name of Society. H. Harms \V. L. Voss H. Lorl)eer Th. Naether A. II. Baker ... Charles W. De.Souza Wm. li. IIollLster D. Downie Thomas Francis George F. Hopkins A. G. Danielsson J. Ruthquist A. Juliebo J. Brown W. S. Sutherland J. G. Cooper Edwin Lewis G. McCallum Bullock John Morrison ... Frank L. McCoy C. M. Miller ... Frank W. Warne Robert Scott ... Wallace J. Gladwin R. B. Leembruggen Ben. W. Reynolds George Milne Rae J. Colville Peattie T. S. Johnson ... T. E. Slater ... Walter Sackett . . . W. L. King ... T. E. Coverdale C. H. Plomer ... Albert E. Ball ... Theo. Holden ... Johann Worrlein H. C. Schmidt ... Wilh. Groning ... E. Dachselt T. M. Kempff ... E. Matthey M. Th. Walz ... Christian Koford Address or Station. Lutheran Mission G. E. L. (Gossner's Mission) Gossner's Mission ... Lutheran Leipsic Mission ... Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Am. Baptist Telugu Mission A. E. L. Mission ... M. E. M. & Offict. Prb. Chp. Ev. N. Society of Stockholm Ev. N. Society of Stockholm Ev. N. Society of Stockholm Wesleyan Missionary Church of Scotland ... Free Church of Scotland ... London Missionary... London Missionary... Church of Scotland... Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Free Church of Scotland ... Colporteur Evan. Mission ... Colporteur Evan. Mission ... Colporteur Evan. Mission ... Free Church of Scotland ... Free Church of Scotland ... Methodist Episcopal Mission London Missionary... Wesleyan Missionary Methodist Episcopal Mission Church Missionary ... Methodist Episcopal Mission Church Missionary ... Church Missionary ... Hermannsberg Luth. Mission American Ev. Luth. Mission American Ev. Luth. Mission Leipsig Ev. Lutheran Leipsig Ev. Luth. Mission... Leipsig Ev. Luth. Mission... Basel German Missionary ... Danish Mission [M. P. Nayucluputa,NelloreDt. , Muzafferpur, Tirhoot. Ghazipur. Tranquebar. Bangalore. Roorkee. Nagpore, C. P. Nellore, Madras P. Guntoor. Cawnpore. Chindwara, C. P. Amarwara, C. P. Narsingpur, C. P. Calcutta. Kalimpong. Nagpur, C. P. Bellary. Raniket. Calcutta. Calcutta. Calcutta. Calcutta. Bombay. Bombay. Bombay. Bombay. Madras. Madras. Lucknow. Bangalore. Bangalore. Bangalore. Lahore. Lahore. Karachi. Kangra, Punjab. Kodur, Madras P. Rajahmundry. Rajahmundry. [Cntry. Puducotah, Tandiman's Poreyar, nr. Tranquebar. Chidambaran. Betigeri, Gadag. Shervaroy, Hills. 269 Name of Missionary. F. H. T. Hoppner John Redmond Bacon .., \Vm. H. Findlay E. Webster B. Evans R. Maplesden Robert Hoskins... Charles G. Conklin Samuel Knowles (For) S. Paul ) „ P. Grayt „ W. Fisk ) J. W. Conklin George Walker Jackson J. Fredk. Robathan .. G. E. A. Pargiter William Seetal ... Nathaniel P. Baksh . . John Gregory Pike Eli Brearley T. L. Scott William Walker W. Bonnar F. Anderson Brown Robert Stewart ... D. S. Lytle S. Martin Geo. H. Ferris ... Niels Madsen ... John Forgan D. Morison, M.D. W. Dalrymple ... A. TurnbuU C. A. Neve Rowland Bateman Thos. J. Lee Mayer Charles St. Thompson. J. Tunbridge W. Kiefel R. Riemann ... H. Uffman C. Pusching Fred. Hahn Name of Society. Address or Station. Propagation of the Gospel... London Missionary... Wesleyan Missionary Wesleyan Missionary Baptist Missionary ... Amer. Baptist Missionary U. Methodist Episcopal Church Methodist Episcopal Mission Methodist Episcopal Mission Ordained Native Pastors, ] Methodist Episcopal } Mission ... ... •' American Arcot Mission .. Foreign Chris. Missionary, Cincinnati, O., U.S. A, Church Missionary ... Church Missionary ... Church Missionary ... Church Missionary ... General Baptist Missionary.. General Baptist Missionary.. Am. United Presby. Mission Church of Scotland Mission. Presbyterian Mission U. Pres. Church of Scotland Am. United Presby. Mission Am. United Presby. Mission Am. United Presby. Mission A. B. B. F. M Methodist Episcopal Mission Min. Free Ch. of Scotland... Presby. Church of England. Presby. Church of England. Church of Scotland Church Missionary... Church Missionary... Church Missionary... Church Missionary ... Church Missionary... G. Ev. L. Gossner's Mission G. Ev. L. Gossner's Mission Gossner's Mission, Berlin Gossner's Mission, Berlin Gossner's Mission ... Roorkee, N. W. P. Cuddapah. Negapatam. Negapatam. Monghyr. 1 Secunderabad. Shajehanpore. Multan. Gonda, Gudh. Gonda, Gudh. Arcot. Bilaspore, C. P. Agra. Agra. Agra. Agra. Sambalpur, C. P. Sambalpur, C. P. Jhelam. Chamba, Punjab. Rajputana. Rajputana. Sialkot. Sialkot. Sialkot. Panhala, L. M. C. Calcutta. Bombay. Rampore Beauleah, Bgl. Rampore Beauleah, Bgl. Darjeeling. C. M. S. College, Cot tayam Amritsar. Bannu, N. W. Frontier. Kherwara, Rajputana. Santal Pergannahs. Hazaribagh, Bengal. Ranchee. I'urulia. Purulia. [pore. Lohardagga,Xhota Nag- NAUieof MiMionary. Name of Society. Address or Station. O. liemsky G. ¥.. L. Mission ... Lohardagga. ). r. Pahl G. E. L. Mission Ranchee. L. J. Frohnmcycr Basel German Ev. Mission.. Tellicherry. A. K. Schaal Basel German Ev. Mission.. Tellicherry. I'h. Strobel Basel German Kv. Mission.. Tellicherry. Albert Ihle Danish Lutheran Mission ... Tirukoilur, South Arcot. S. K. Berg Danish Lutheran Mission ... Tirukoilur, South Arcot. Morten Anderson Danish Lutheran Mission ... Tirukoilur, South Arcot. A. Catheni Seonesashum, Native Minister Danish Lutheran Mission ... Tirukoilur, South Arcot. Masilemony Jasudass, Native Minister Danish Lutheran INIission ... Tirukoilur, South Arcot. C. F. Lindtolh Swedish Ev. Luth. Mission. Narsinghpur, C. P. E. Unangst American Ev. Luth. Mission Guntur, Madras P. L. B. Wolf American Ev. Luth. Mission Guntur, Madras P. J. Knowles London Missionary Quilon, Travancore, S. L John Henr)' Budden ... London Missionary Almora, N. W. P. H. Coley London Missionary... Almora, N. W. P. W. Spink Wesleyan Missionary Bankura, Bengal. J. A. Vanes Wesleyan Missionary Bangalore. H. Gulliford Wesleyan Missionary Tumkur, Bangalore. T. F. Burdill Amer. Baptist Missionaiy U. Udayagiri, Nellore Dist. S. I. Hatch Canadian Baptist Mission ... Cocanada, Madras P. E. J. Cummings Amer. Baptist Missionary U. Bapalta, Madras P. E. G. Phillips Amer. Baptist Missionary U. Tura, Assam. ?. H. Moore Amer. Baptist Missionary U. Nowgong, Assam. E. E. Silliman Amer. Baptist Missionary U. Kurnool. [Dominions. A. A. Newhall Amer. Baptist Missionary U. Hanamaconda, Nizam's Z. F. Griffin Amer. Free Baptist Mission. Balasore. A. B. Boyer Amer. Free Baptist Mission. Balasore. J. F. Ullniann Amer. Presb. Board of Miss. Rawul Pindi, Punjab. James F. Holcomb American Presbyterian Jhansi. E. W. Parker Methodist Episcopal Church Moradabad. V. L. Neeld Methodist Episcopal Mission Bareilly. S. Dease Methodist Episcopal Mission Pithoragarh. M. B. Fuller North Berar Mission Akola, Berar. Henry E. Crudgington... Baptist Missionary Delhi. Herbert J. Thomas Baptist Missionary Delhi. k. Morrison Amer. Presb. Board of Miss. Rawul Pindi. Fawcett Shaw Anglo-Indian Evangelical ... Baroda Camp. E. Diez Basel German Ev. Mission.. Balmatthat, Mangalore. James G. Potter Baptist Missionary Agra. S. Walter Basel German Ev. Mission.. Waniyankulam, Malabar. K. Thackwell American Presbyterian Dehra Dun. 2/1 Name of Missio nary. Name of Society. Address or Station. H. Ramme ... Hermannsberg Lth. Mission Gudur, Nellore District. J. Fraser Campbe 11 ... Presby. Church in Canada... Indore, C. L R. Garside ... Canadian Baptist Mission ... Cocanada. John Craig ... Canadian Baptist Mission ... Cocanada. Edwin F. Frease ... Methodist Episcopal Mission Bombay. W. St. Clair Tisd all ... Church Missionary ... Bombay. [Dehra Dun. E. Droese ... Church Missionary Annfield, Rambag P. 0., J. Small ... Free Church of Scotland ... Poona. B. Robinson ... Wesleyan Missionary Shimoga, Madras P. Morton D. Adam s ... F. C. Miss., Cincinnati, Ohio Bilaspur, C. P. A. Norton ... Koorkoo Mission ... Betul, C. P. Jas. \V. Waugh . . ... Methodist Episcopal Mission Naini Tal. H. K. Wilson .. ... Methodist Episcopal Mission Dwarahat. W. R. Carrall .. ... Methodist Episcopal Mission Calcutta. Arthur B. West.. ... Baptist Missionary Calcutta. John D. Morris .. ... Baptist Mission Barisal. J. H. Anderson.. ... Baptist Mission Barisal. John G. Kerry .. ... Baptist Mission Barisal. Alfred Teichmanr 1 ... Baptist Mission Barisal. Herbert Andersor 1 ... Baptist Mission Barisal. M. J. Coldren .. ... Amer. Free Baptist Mission. Chandbally, Orissa. J. E. Clough ... Amer. Baptist Telugu Miss. Ongole. E. A. Kelly .. ... Amer. Baptist Telugu Miss. Ongole. John Kiernan .. ... Amer. Baptist Telugu Miss. Ongole. M. C. Mason .. ... Amer. Baptist Miss. Union. Tura, Assam. C. E. Burdette .. ... Amer. Baptist Miss. Union. Ganhati. Arthur William C otton... Church Missionary Sukkur, Sindh. W. Johnson, L,.. [I.C.S., and L.R.C.P., Ed. ... Church Missionary ... Mandla, C. P. J. C. Evans ... Welsh Calv. M. Missionary. Cherrapunji. John Reberts .. ... Welsh Calv. M. Missionary. Cherrapunji. Griffith Griffiths.. ... Welsh Calv. Meth. Mission.. Mawpblang, Shillong. R. Schenkel ... Basel Evangelical Mission... Basrur, South Canara. r. Eidnaes ... G. E. L. (Gossner's) Mission Chaibasa. ^Villiam Bell .. ... Baptist Missionary ... Bombay. R. MacOmish .. ... Free Church of Scotland ... Bombay. J. Murdoch ... Chris. Vernac. Education ... Madras. A. L. Allan ... London Missionary Travancore. M. Thomas ... London Missionary Vizagapatam. H. Bothmann ... Scleswig Holstein E. L. M. Salur, Vizagapatam Dis. E. Pohe ... Scleswig Holstein E. L. M. Salur, Vizagapatam Dis. W. H. Knittel .. ... Basel German Mission Guledgudd. B. Luthi ... Basel German Mission Guledgudd. 6, Paternoster Row.) The National League Journal (Monthly), from 1875 to December, 1884. {0 7-0 an of the IVorkin^s^ Men's National Lea_^ue, Dyer Brothers, London) The Sentinel (Monthly), from April, 1880, continuing. {Dyer Brothers.) The Medical Inquirer (Monthly), from March, 1S75, to March, 1S78, then Quarterly till January, 1880, and subsequently at various dates. {Dyer Bj-ot Iters, Lo7ido)i, and T. Brakell, 53, Dale Street, Liverpool. ) The Occasional Paper (published Occasionally — mostly Monthly, by Midland Counties' Electoral Union), first number, January, 1877, the last. No. 77, on February 12th, 1886. Powell, Aaron, Ed. The Philanthropist, New York. Rainy, Principal, D.D. Impeiial Legislation for Regulating Vice. (1877). The Contagious Diseases Acts : Their Character and Necessary Tendency. Renzy, A. C. C. De, B.A. (1871). The Contagious Diseases Acts in India. Richard, Chas. (1882). La Prostitution Devant le Philosophe. Russell, J. M. A Cry from the Depths. A New Abolitionist Poem. Reports (1868). Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Contagious Diseases Acts, 1866 (1868). First Report of the Association for the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Act. 347 Reports — continued. (1868). Report from the Committee appointed in 1864 by the Admiralty and the War Office to Inquire into the Pathology and Treatment of \'enereal Disease, etc. (1869). Report from the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Contagious Diseases Act, iSo'o. (1869). Sixteenth Annual Report of the Rescue Society. (1870). Seventeenth Annual Report of the Rescue Society. Third Report of the Association for Promoting the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Act. First Annual Reports of the Ladies' National Association. {Arrowsmilh, Bfisto/.) (1871). Report of the Royal Commission upon the Ad- ministration and Operation of the Contagious Diseases Acts, with Evidence. Vols. I. and II. Report of the National Association for Repeal. Eighteenth Annual Report of the Rescue Society. Report of the Agency at Devonport from April, 1870, to April, 1 87 1. (1872). Third Annual Report of the Ladies' Nationrd Association. Report of the Third Annual Meeting of the Ladies' National Association. Report of the North Eastern Counties' .Association for 1871. Fourth Report of the Association for Promoting ihe E.xtension of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Nineteenth Annual Report of the Rescue Society. (1873). Twentieth Annual Report of the Rescue Society. Report of Bristol Branch of the Ladies' National Association. Fifth Report of the .Association for Promoting the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts. (1874). Report of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Ladies- National Association. First Annual Report of the Northern Counties' League. First Annual Report of the Mulland Counties' Electoral Union. 348 Reports— confi'nuci/. (1875). Sixth Report of the National Association. Sixth Report of the Association for Promoting the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Report of Speeches at Meeting of Wesleyan Society for Repeal. Second Report of Northern Counties' League. Sixth Annual Report of the Ladies' National Association. Report of the National Association for 1872 — 73. Second Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1876). Third Annual Report of Northern Counties' League. Sixth Report of the National Association for 1874—5- Third Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1877). Second Report of the Federation. Fourth Annual Report of Northern Counties' League. Fourth Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1878). Report of Northern Counties' League. Fifth Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Union. (1879). Tenth Annual Report of the Ladies' National Association. Sixth Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1880). Fourth Report of the Scottish National Association. Report of Northern Counties' League. Report of the Annual Meeting and Conference of the North Eastern Association. Report of the Commission appointed by H.E., J. Pope Hennessy, Governor, etc., of Hong Kong, to Inquire into the Working of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Printed by House of Commons. Seventh Annual Report of the Midland Counties Electoral Union. (1881). General Report of the National Association. Second Report of the Clifton Branch of the Ladies' National Association. 349 Reports — continued. First Report of the London Committee for Sup- pressing the Traffic in British Girls. Reports on the Discussion on the Acts at the Meeting of the Congregational Union. Report of the Northern Counties' League. Report of the London Committee for the Suppres- sion of the Traffic in English Girls. Eighth Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1882). The Minority Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons. Second Report of the London Committee for Suppressing the Traffic in British Girls. Ninth Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1883). Report of the Northern Counties' League. Tenth Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1884). Eleventh Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. 1885.) Sixteenth Annual Report of the Ladies' National Association. Fourth Report of the London Committee for Sup- pressing the Traffic in British Girls. General Report of the National Association for 1883 and 1884. Twelfth Annual Report of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1885). Fourth Report of the London Committee for Suppressing the Traffic in British Girls for purposes of Continental Prostitution. {Dyer Brolhcrs^ London. ) 1886). Seventeenth Annual Report of Ladies' National Association. Final General Report of the National Associa- tion. Thirteenth Annual Report of the .Midland Counties' Electoral Union. (1887). Eighteenth Annual Report of the Ladies' National Association. 350 Reasons (1S7S). In Support of the Second Reading of Sir Har- court Johnstone's Bill for the Repeal of the Contagious l^iseases Acts. (Congregational Committee.) (18S2). In Support of the Repeal Bill. (Friends' Association.) Do. do. (Working Men's National League.) Do. do. (Wesleyan Society.) Do. do. (General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland.) Do. do. (City of London Committee.) Schmidt, Professor C. The Social Results of Early Chris- tianity. [Isbister, London^ Scott, Benjamin, F.R.A.S. (1881). Seven Reasons for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, 1866 — 1869. {Dyer Brothers, London.) (1881). Is London more Immoral than Paris or Brussels .? {Dyer Brothers, London.) (1885). Six Years' Labour and Sorrow, in Reference to the Traffic in English Girls. {Dyer Brothers, and Morgan and Scott, London.) (1885). Speech on Social Purity at Exeter Hall. (1886). State Regulated Vice as it Existed Anciently in London. {Dyer Brothers, London.) Scotchwoman, A. HospitalPrisons, a Warning from Scotland. Shaen, Wm., M.A. (1870), Aid and Defence Operations. (1877). Suggestions on the Limits of Legitimate Legislation on the Subject of Prostitution. (1880). The Common Law in its Relation to Personal Liberty and the State Regulation of Vice. (1881;. Evidence before the Select Committee, 1881. Simon, John, P.R.C.S. (1869). Report to the Privy Council on the Proposed Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts to the Civil Population. Simpson, W. (1S75). The New Morality. 351 Society for the Rescue of Women and Children (1869). Licensing Prostitution. ( ViWe Annual Report.) (1870). A Grave Subject. (Fz^^^? Annual Report.) (1873). The Greatest Moral Hypocrisy of the Day. {PYdc Annual Report.) Stansfeld, Rt. Hon. J., M.P. (1874). Speech at Bristol October 15th, 1874. (1876). On the Validity of the Annual Government Statistics of the Operation of the Acts. (1877). Speech in Free Trade Hall, Manchester, Dec. 4th. (1881). On the Hygienic Failure of the Acts, as Proved by the Official Evidence Submitted to the Select Committee of the House of Commons, 1879. 1880, and 1 88 1. (1882). Introduction to a Critique on Lord Kimberley's Defence of the Government Brothel System at Hong Kong. (1882). Letter to Belfast Committee on the Present Position of the Warfare against Legalised Vice. (1883). Speech in the House of Commons, April 20th, 1883, in Support of Abolition of Compulsory E.xami- nation. (1885). The Liberal Programme and the Contagious Diseases Acts (from the Coiitetnporajy Revieiu). Stead, William T. (1887). Josephine Butler, a Life Sketch. (1888). The Right and Wrong Relations between Men and Women. Stuart, Prof. Jas., M.P. (1876). The New Abolitionists. A Narrative of a Year's Work. (1881). Speech at Annual Meeting of Ladies' National Association. (1882). Ditto. (1884). Ditto. (1886). Ditto. (1888). Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts in India and the Colonies. Taylor, Charles BeU, M.D. (1870). Observations on the Contagious Diseases Acts (Women, not Animals). 352 Taylor, Charles Bell, M.D. — continued. (1 871). Substance of an Address to the Medical Society of London. (1872). The Statistical Result of the Contagious Diseases Acts, in Two Parts. Army Statistics and Hygiene 7-e the Contagious Diseases Acts. By a Physician. (1873). Brief Replies to Three Parliamentary Papers. By Dr. Taylor and the Rev. Dr. Hooppell. (1875). The Contagious Diseases Acts Examined (in Three Parts). Letter to the Hon. Secretary of the City of London Committee. (1879). Speech to the Working Men of Exeter. (1883). Speech to Nottingham Parliamentary Debating Society. {Dyer Brothers, London.) Tanner, Mrs. (1877). A Bristol Lady at the Geneva Congress. Thorpe, Mrs. (1885). Translation of the Social Results of Early Christianity. By C. Schmidt. {Rediuay^ Lofido?}.') Tod, Isabella M. S. Abstract of a Paper read at the Inter- national Congress at Geneva. The Necessity of Stronger Representation in Parliament of the Religious Feeling against State Regulation of Vice. {Dyer Brothers, Lojidon.) Trestrail, Frederick (1874). Letter to the Baptist Union on the Contagious Diseases Acts. Varley, Henry. Reply to Sir W. Harcourt's Speech. Vicars, Mrs. Murray. A Letter Addressed to the Chairman of the Committee of Convocation. "Weylland, J. M. Memoir of the late Daniel Cooper. "Wheeler, Frederic (1876). An Authentic and Shocking Illustration of the Working of the Acts. (1877). The Working of the Contagious Diseases Act?. (1882) (1882) (1884) (1884) (1884) Further Important Testimony from Chatham. The State Regulation of Vice. Facts about Chatham. Chatham Controversy. Medical Alarmists. 353 "Wheeler, "Frederic— conh'm^ed. Legalized Vice in the Colonies and Dependencies of the Queen of England, with a Fac-Simile of a License Granted to Prostitutes in India. (1887). The Remarkable History of the Contagious Diseases Acts in England for the last Seven Years of their Operation. Williams, J. Carvell, M.P. (1886). Speech at Annual Meeting of the Ladies' National Association. Williams, R. B. (1875). Letter by D. Cooper and R. B. Williams to the Mortiing Advertiser. Wilson, Robert (1871). Prostitution Suppressive, and Resist- ance to the Contagious Diseases Acts a Duty. (1872). A Digest of the Evidence laid before the Royal Commission. Wilson, H. J., M.P. (1876). Report of a Visit to the United States by H. J. Wilson and Jas. P. Gledstone. Worth, Thos., M.R.C.S. (1870). A Second Letter to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone. The following were, inter alia, published or printed by the National Association {see observation ^«/. 329) :— (1871). Facts and Arguments in Favour of Voluntary Hospitals. (1871). Correspondence between Captain Harris and Mr Robt. Applegarth. (1872). What are the Contagious Diseases Acts? and Reasons for their Repeal. (1872). Alleged Moral Results of the Acts. (1872). It is Most Remarkable how Comparatively Few seem to be Aware of What is Going On. (1875). Something New in Englisli History. (Undated). A Collection of Opinions on English, Colonial and Continental Laws and Police Regulations for llie Sanitary Supervision of Vice. (1875). An Address to Working Men and Women, relative to a recent distressing case of Suicide at Aldershot under the Contagious Diseases Acts. as 354 (i877)- An Englishman's Mouse is his Castle. (iSSo). An Idea of the Extent of the Agitation for Repeal. (1882). A Memorial to Sir John Pope Hennessy, K.C.M.G., on the Contagious Diseases Ordinance in Hong Kong. (1883-4). A List of over 4400 of the Clergy of the Church of England who desire the Acts to be Repealed. (1884). On the Moral Condition of the Subjected Districts shice the Suspension of Compulsory E.xamina- tion. (1886). Memorial of the National Association for Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, addressed to both Houses of the Legislature, 1886. (See also Appendix C. See Note at head of this List, p. 329. APPENDIX C. A SPECIMEN OF PAPERS ADDRESSED BY ASSOCIATIONS AND COMMITTEES FOR REPEAL TO THE LEGISLATURE. THE MEMORIAL OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE TOTAL REPEAL OF THE CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ACTS, 1 866 — 69, ADDRESSED TO HER majesty's GOVERNMENT AND TO THE MEMBERS OF ROITI HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, 1 886. [Being a ' ' Midtum in Parvo " Statement of the Case against tJu Acts. ) 2, Westminster Chambers, London, February, 1886. Lords and Gentlemen, — Your Memorialists deem the opening Session of a New Parliament a fitting time to call your attention to some facts concerning the principles and operation of the Contagions Diseases Acts, 1866—69, relating to Women, and the agitation for their repeal, and we earnestly appeal to all who arc entrusted with the grave responsibility of legislating for the religious, moral, and social welfare of Great Britain and her dependencies, to seriously consider the following points, which sum up the case of those who are opposed to legislation of this kind. 356 Ever since 1S69 and 1870, a large and increasing number of the people of Great Britain and Ireland have protested p ■ ■ les of ^S^'"st the Contagious Diseases Acts, on the objection to ground that they are immoral in principle, and the Acts. arbitrary, unjust and unconstitutional in prac- tice : — immoral, because based on the theory that vice is a necessity to man ; arbitrary, unjust, and unconstitutional, because their penal clauses are applied solely to the weaker sex, deprive women of the protection hitherto afforded them by the Common Law, and place the personal freedom and dignity of all women in the subjected districts at the mercy of members of the Central Police in plain clothes, over whom the Municipal and other Local Authorities have neither supervision nor control. In those countries wherein Governments have endeavoured, by regulating prostitution, to provide for its sanitary safety, the ™, . attempt has failed. The medical evidence given rheir ^ ° hygienic before the Royal Commission of 1870 and 187 1, failure. ^^ Select Committee of the House of Commons of 1869, and that of 1879 to 1882, shows that the case in favour of the Acts on hygienic grounds has broken down ; and Parliament should proceed to act at once upon that evidence. The hygienic failure of the Acts is, however, the lowest ground upon which their repeal can be demanded. Con- _, . , siderations of public morality, of constitutional This the . ' . ^ lowest ground right, and of the equality of all classes of citizens for demanding before the law, far outweigh all such considera- Repeal. . . tions of minor expediency ; and, even if some physical benefits were proved, they could not justify legislation of which the aim is to remove the direct danger to health involved in the practice of prostitution, at the expense of the creation of a class of women without the pale of constitutional right and the protection of the Common Law, and involuntarily subject to the arbitrary control of the military or naval authorities. 357 In regard to the effects of the Acts on disease in the Army, you are respectfully urged not to be content with an examina- tion of the Report of the Majority of the Select Hygienic Committee of the House of Commons, 1882, but effects of Acts to examine also the Report of the Minority of that °^ ^"^^' Committee contained in the same Blue Book, pages Ix. — Ixxxvii. The utmost benefit claimed in the Majority Report (p. xvi., par. i) is that there is a saving to the Army in con- sequence of the operation of the Acts of 5*38 men per 1,000 daily, on parade instead of in hospital. The data on which this computation is based are, however, incomplete ; and the conclusions based on them are misleading. By the insertion of the omitted data the result is, instead of a daily saving of 5-38 per 1,000, a daily loss of 1*47 per 1,000.* The latest Return as to Disease in the Army is Parliamen- tary Paper 325, House of Commons, August, 1885, giving statistics from i860 to 1884 inclusive, as to all increase of three forms of Contagious Disease. The benefit worst form of the Acts to the Army, t/ it existed, must have ^^f^J^y-J^' manifested itself during the years of their full administration, in a reduction of that form of disease which some of the highest medical authorities admit to be the only one of consequence to the community, namely, secondary or constitutional disease. But, if the figures in this Return, commencing with 1869, be divided into four equal series of years, the ratios per 1,000 of troops admitted to hospital for Constitutional Disease in the districts subjected to the Acts, are respectively 21-25, 22-25, 24-25, and 24-50. Each period shows an increase upon its predecessor ; or, in other words, the proportion of this form of disease had increased oyer 15 per cent, during the full admitiistration of the Acts ! The figures in this Return for the only complete year since the * The omitted data referred to can be had on application to Mr. F. C. Banks, 38, Ashchurch Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, W. 358 partial suspension of the Acts (1884) show no mcrease in this most serious form of disease. The same Parliamentary Paper also classifies disease among Registered Women ; and the result, as regards the form of disease alleged to be chiefly influenced by the Increase of r ^ ^ , 1 1 t disease operation of the Acts, must be extremely dis- amongstKegis- appointing to those who support the Acts. If the tcred Women. , . , . , , . . . . twelve years for which the requisite information can be obtained be divided into two equal periods, the ratio of admissions in the second is 33*64 per cent, higher than that of the first ; if into three periods of four years each, the ratio for the second is 7*09 per cent, higher than that of the first, and the ratio for the third 35*93 per cent, higher than that of the second ; if into four periods of three years, the ratio for the second is 4*07 per cent, higher than that of the first, the ratio for the third i5'i7 per cent, higher than that of the second, and the ratio of the fourth is 35 '71 per cent. higher than that of the third. This result cannot be surprising to those who know that no effort whatever is made to prevent access to Registered Women by diseased men, and it gives point to the statement in the Report of the Royal Commission r , (paragraph vii., page 10), that "There is no View of the ... ' ^ o / Royal Com- distinct evidence that any diminntmi of disease mission con- among the men of the Army and Navy, tiihich may firmed. , , . -j , , ,. . have taken place, is attributable to a diminution of disease cotitingent upon the system of periodical examination among the women with whom they have consorted." Your Memorialists are able to supply a Table showing the fluctua- tions of disease amongst registered women and troops in the subjected districts. The contrasts in it are very striking, and being calculated from the Police Returns up to 1881 (the latest issued) substantiate still further the views of the Royal Commission.* In regard to the Navy, Contagious Diseases of all kinds * See The Shield, No. 506, October, 1885. 359 combined increased to a very large extent in spite of the Acts, being 52 per cent, higher in 1882 than in 1866, when the first Act was passed ; and higher by all forms of 18 per cent, on the average of the whole 16 years disease in the during which the Acts have been in force than in ^^' 1866. And the loss of service in consequence of men being in hospital from these diseases had steadily risen from an average of 172 per 1,000 in 1866 {previous to the Acts) to an average of 230 per 1,000 in 1882, the last year of the un- hindered operation of the Acts, the average strength of the Navy being 20,000 men throughout. The Navy Health Report for 1883, p. 25, shows an in- crease in the " more serious form " of these diseases in the Home Navy, of one man per 50,000. That for 1884, in the introductory letter, pp. xv. and xvi., while affirming an increase, declares that : — " The most that can be said is that, so far as may be seen by examining the figures, the first sudden rise in the ratios that took place after the 7oithdrawal of the compulsory examination clauses of the Acts does not seem to have been maintained ; " and on p. 37, " // is a noteworthy fact that the severity of the cases, as evidenced by the time under treat- ment, or the number of invalidings, as shown by the ratios, /las not increased in any appreciable degree.^'' On the same page, touching the less serious form in the '■'■ constitutional group" it says : " The question, what course these diseases will pursue under the changed condition of the law, must await solution by time ; " and on p. 42, touching the remaining classification of these maladies, it reports "a decrease' o( 1 78 /<'/■ 1,000 when com- pared with last year's ratio." The misleading character of Official Reports in several important points is shown by the following facts. In the Navy Health Report for 1876, and in each subsequent Misleading year, an important Table (headed "Summary" ) Oflicial Re-^ has been published in the Appendix, comparing ''""''• ^'^' the amount of disease in five ports under the Acts, with that in five others not under them, and purporting thus to prove 36o the sanitary benefit produced by the Acts in the Home Navy. From this Table it would appear that the amount of disease, "/>fr I, GOO pf force, '^ was much less in the "protected" than in the "unprotected" ports; and this difference has been strongly dwelt upon in the Navy Reports themselves, and largely made use of, both in this country and in America, by advocates of the Acts. This comparison was first published as a separate Return, by order of the House of Commons. Im)iiediately after its issue, and months before its embodiment in the Navy Reports, it was pointed out to the Admiralty, in a pamphlet, the receipt of which was acknowledged, that the comparison was fallacious and misleading, because the vessels in the five " pro- tected " PORTS included LARGE TRAINING SHIPS CONTAINING MANY THOUSANDS OF BOVS, WHILST THERE WERE NO SUCH SHIPS IN THE " UNPROTECTED " PORTS J AND THESE THOUSANDS OF Boys were all ranked as MEN in the " Comparison." The absence of disease among these Boys was put down to the credit of the Acts, the Comparison nowhere stating that *^ per looo of force ^' included thousands of Boys in the one set of ports, and no boys at all in the other set ! The President of the National Medical Association for Repeal of the Acts, after much correspondence, obtained an acknowledgment from the Admiralty in a letter signed G. Tryon (May 4th, 18S3), that the "comparison is open to considerable objection," and that " my Lords propose to omit the Comparison altogether." Notwithstanding this, the " Com- parison " was republished, without chatige or 7varning of its misleadini:; character, in the Navy Report for 1882, which was issued by the Admiralty a iew months afterwards ; and the Introductory Letter in that Report called attention in a prominent paragraph to this " Comparison," as illustrating " the working of the Contagious Diseases Acts." Further remonstrance brought from the Admiralty (January 22nd, 1884) an expression of " regret," and a confession of " inadvertence " and " mistake ; " and, on February 8th, 1884, assurance was given that steps had been taken to withdraw the 36i Table from the Report before it was issued to Parliament, and, " as regards the copies which have been distributed to news- papers, etc., their lordships have directed that a corrected page shall be issued with a request that it may be substituted for that which contains the Table." This, perhaps, was done, but the mischief caused by such fictitious returns does not cease with their silent withdrawal. The La?icef, January 2nd, 1886, seeks to induce its readers, by quotations from this discarded and discredited Table and Comparison, to pin their faith to the alleged sanitary benefits of the Acts. The Editor being asked to accept a letter concerning this and other misrepresen- tations, says, " We cannot devote more space to the subject at present." — {Lancet, p. 139, January i6th, 1886. Reply to F. C. Banks.) It is no new thing for the medical press to be short of space for adverse criticisms of the Acts, after devoting many columns to their praise. This is only one illustration of the way in which the opinion of the medical profession, who are supposed to be " experts " on the subject of the Acts, is manufactured. No doubt some improvement has taken place, from time to time, in the Army and Navy in regard to these diseases in general, but an emphatic protest must be made ^jj imnrove- against the official habit of gratuitously giving to inents credited the Acts all the credit for any such improvement. '" '^^ '^'^''*- In the official Reports, so far as decrease of tliese forms of disease is concerned, the effects of Religion, Temperance, Reading and Recreation Rooms, Improved Barrack and Lavatory arrangements, thebad or good character of regiments for morality, and the example and teaching of any Commanding officers of high religious and moral character, are completely ignored. With regard to the alleged reduction of prostitution, especially Juvenile Prostitution, no doubt some women were driven to reside in other places, outside the j),,iice Returns operation of the Acts : but, as an indication of iiroycd mis- ^ , _ ,. „ Ic.idinp. Ju- the unreliable nature of the Police Returns on ^.^,,11^. ..j^.^. „qj this subject, it may be pointed out that Juvenile si.ami)C(l out. Vice was reported as " stamped out" in Plymouth, Dcvonport, 362 and Stonehouse, which may be regarded as the citadel of the Acts. From page 15 of the Contagious Diseases Acts' Police Report for iSSi, the latest return available (Parliamentary Paper 291, House of Commons, [882), it is made to appear that from 1873 to 1881, inclusive, there were only Twenty- O-N'K " known " common women under 18 years in the Devon- port District, which includes Plymouth, Stonehouse. and Dartmouth. On page 34 of this Return, another table is given wherein the police show, in the same years and the same district, that no less than 203 other girls under that age had become prostitutes for a time ; and, on page 31, another table shows, also for the same period, that 567 more girls of the same tender ages had been seen by the police in " improper places, and in badcompan)," but of whose character the police were " not certain," It is true that the police declare that all these 770 girls, under 18 years of age, became of good behaviour, on being simply " warned ; " but it is easy to see that the whole matter turns on the mere assertions of the ])olice, which are scarcely likely to be adverse to the system in whose administration they are employed. As these figures are reported by an Inspector of Police under the Acts, in whose veracity on other similar matters the Town Council of Devon- port, on two occasions (187 1 and 1882) officially and publicly expressed their disbelief in plain terms, the assertion as to the extinction of juvenile vice in those towns by the Acts, has evidently no sufficient basis. In the whole of the Subjected Districts in England (there being no similar Returns for Ireland accessible), the Police Report, on page 14 of the same Return, shows only 510 known common women under 18; but, on page 34, another table shows 349 others under that age who had been occasionally prostitutes, and page 31 shows 896 others of the same ages of whom the police "were not certain," making 1,245 juveniles, more or less under the notice of the police, but not accounted for in the table on page 14, from which the " stamping out " of juvenile vice is inferred. These figures are given in tabu- lated form only from 1873. It is a singular coincidence that 3^3 this information should be systematically given from the year when a Bill to Repeal the Acts was divided upon for the first time in the House of Commons, when public opinion was much roused on the subject. It is curious also that when public feeling ran high in 1870, 1871 and 1872 against the registration and periodical examination of children, the numbers of such registrations of girls under 17 years suddenly dropped from 123 in 1869 to 74 in 1870; 43 in 1871 ; and 9 only in 1872 (Parly. Paper 149, 1872, H. of C); but, in his introductory remarks, the Chief of the Police, in Paragraph 6, states that there were in 1872 " Seventy-one young creatures between the ages of twelve and seventeen .... who were known to have commenced immoral practices," whose names were not placed upon the register, and the reason assigned is that all these girls became moral on simply being "warned" by the Police. It has been asserted in both Houses of Parliament, and it will probably be said again, that since the partial suspension of the Acts, prostitution has largely increased. • T^i 1 1 T^ 1 1 No increase of Here agam Plymouth and Uevonport have been ^j^g gj^^g pa^. specially referred to. But as recently as June, tialSuspension or, , ^1 • /■ ^ ,1 1 .• of the Acts. 1884, the Chief Constable gave an emphatic, pubhc contradiction of this statement at the Devonport Petty Sessions ; and about the same date the Chief Constable of Plymouth gave a similar official denial to the Local Board of Guardians. Each of these officials declared that there was less and not more prostitution, and that their respective towns were no worse off in this respect than under the full operation of the Acts. Whatever there may be of truth, or falsehood, as to the effects of the Acts on juvenile vice, such laws can no longer be required for that purpose. Under the ^^^_. ^^^ ^^ Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, it is quired for ihis felony to unlawfully know a girl under 13, and Purpose, misdemeanour to unlawfully know a girl above 13 or under 16 years of age. Under this law, therefore. oi)cn juvenile vice 3^4 under those ages ought to be impossible in the subjected districts or elsewhere. Further evidence of the delusive character of the Reports of the Contagious Diseases Acts' Police to Parliament is fur- F k stit • nished by the "Annual Report of the Assistant ments .is to Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis he and hcer^^' ^°^ ^^^ >'^^^ ^^^^ " C^^' -9^' ^ouse of Commons, house brothels July, 18S2). Each page of that Report is headed, by the Acts. « q^^ ^j^^ Operation of the Contagious Diseases ^r/j," and on page 19 a reduction of 140 public-house and 260 beer-house brothels is stated to have been effected by the Acts. Mr. C. B. B. McLaren, M.P. for Stafford, asked for a Supplementary Return, covering the same years and the same districts, to show whether these houses had been closed by the Local Police, or by the Metropolitan Police, who enforce the Contagious Diseases Acts. This Return (No. 375, Session 1882) shows, on page 32, that during the 16 years of the Acts, and in all the places where they are in force, including the district of F/y mouth and Devonport, only ONE public-house and ONE beer-house of bad character have been " deprived of licenses " " by action of the Metropolitan Police." Both these houses are in the Devonport district, and the Supple- mentary Return referred to further shows, on page 28, that the public-house was proceeded against under the Contagious Diseases Acts, not because it was a brothel, but solely because the landlord had " harboured " a diseased woman. The beer- house was proceeded against, 7iot under the Contagious Diseases Acts at all, but under the " Navy Act," for har- bouring a deserter from the navy, and the statement that this was done " by action of the Metropolitan Police " is ambi- guous, since the Return does not show whether the beer-house was closed by the action of that portion of the Metropolitan or Dockyard Police who administered the Contagious Diseases Acts, or another portion of the same body of police employed in Devonport and the other dockyards for the protection of Crown property. 365 It is a significant circumstance that, since the issue of this Return, which so completely exposed the trick of crediting the Contagious Diseases Acts with matters outside of their operation, the officials have not imposed upon port?shi?e^' Parliament a similar Return. Parliament, how- above expo- ever, has just cause for complaint, that this impos- ^""^^^ ture continued for sixteen years. The Rev. Canon Ellison first exposed this deception, with regard to Windsor, in his evidence before the Royal Commission in 187 1. He said that eleven beer-houses were closed in October, 1869, under Sir Henry Ibbotson's Act ; upon which the Chairman asked : " Then these public-houses have been closed in consequence of the activity of the police in carrying these Acts (the Contagious Diseases Acts) into effect?" Answer: "They had nothing to do with the Acts. The action of the mayor was taken on the representation I made to him." (Q. 20,264 ; 20,271 2.) A reference to the Contagious Diseases Acts' police return for i88r, page 21, will show that this reduction of beer-houses of low character in Windsor has been put down, ever since 1869, to "the operation of the Acts " ! As regards the suppression of private brothels, the Conta- gious Diseases Acts were not intended, and contain no power for such work. On the i8th August, 1883, the , , tt • ° ' '^' Lord Harting- Marquis of Hartington declared in the House of ton on the Commonsthat he believed " that everything in Ac's and public order. THE DIRECTION OF THE PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY WHICH IS CLAIMED AND WHICH IS DESIRED BY THE INHABITANTS OF THESE TOWNS, MAY lUC GIVEN ALTOGETHER APART FROM THESE PARTICULAR ACTS." On April 20th, 1883, a majority of the Ilcnisc of Commons condemned the compulsory examination of women under the Acts ; and, so far as periodic compulsion goes, it ^, . ,. ^ ' ' I o ()l)jccli()ns to is satisfactory that the Acts were suspended soon comiiuKory afterwards by the Government. But, as the lamination. Acts still exist and may be restored to full power by any 366 Governn-.cnt, without further appeal to Parliament, it is neces- sary that your Memorialists should reiterate their objections to such examinations under any law whatsoever, ist. Because such examinations are in themselves essentially immoral and degrading, and an unjustifiable outrage on the women com- pelled to submit to them ; 2nd. Because police and surgeons and nurses are alike degraded into tools for preparing prosti- tutes for the use of the men of H. M. Army and Navy ; 3rd. Because, as a sanitary measure, the examination is unscientific and absurd in theory, and ineffective and useless, where it is not positively injurious in practice ; 4th. Because we have it on high medical authority that " even under strict systems of police, prostitutes in very large proportions escape the intended supen'ision ; and that in their evasive traffic so large a dissemi- nation of disease may be kept up as to leave in nett result very little apparent success to be boasted of; " 5th. Because even if it be assumed, that, in any place where circumstances are favour- able, these diseases in mass may be reduced under such a system, there remains the fact that " this reduction might least of all affect those sorts of diseases in which society is incompar- ably most ijiterested ; " and, lastly, because the support of such a system by taxes forcibly levied compels persons who are conscientiously opposed to the entire system of the Acts to become, however unwillingly, participators in it; and makes Virtue tributary to Vice. As was stated by Mr. Simon, F.R.C.S., Medical Officer to the Privy Council (1869), "there are swarms of persons tuho already find it no easy matter to satisfy the collector of rates and taxes ; . . . they would remember, in contrast, for themselves wonderfully little is done by authority to protect them against adulterations of food, or against false weights atid measu?-es ; and they might regard it as a strange caprice of law which should oblige them to contribute to the cost of giving an artificial security to their neighbour s loose- ness of life.'''' The recent judgment of a Comitia of the Royal College of Physicians in regard to the examination of girls is in this 367 respect of great importance. They declared that " It is, in the " opinion of the College, a grave, professional ^ , , rr r , • • • Examinaiion " and moral offence for any physician to examme condemned by " physically a young girl, even at the request of ^°y^^ College . , , . . ... of Physicians. " a parent, without having first satisfied himself " that so//ie decided medical good is likely to accrue to the patient " from the examination, and also without having first explained " to the parent or legal guardian of the girl the inadvis- " ability of such examinations in general and the special " objections that exist to their being made. Moreover, the " College feels that a young girl should on no consideration " be examined excepting in the presence of a matron of " mature age, and, so far as the physician can know, of " good moral character." — {Lancet^ p. 1,210, December 26th. 1885.) So far back as September 22nd, 1S69, the Medical Times and Gazette boldly said : — " There is nothing which would tend more to deprive medicine of the rank of a „ , , ^ . . Condemned respectable calling than the fact that practitioners also by McJi- should be found willing to lend themselves to the '^^ '^'"'" ''"'^ dirty work of examining prostitutes in order to enable them to carry on their trade. If the heads of the pro- fession or the colleges ever desire an opportunity of protecting their members from degradation here is one." Yet, not only have many surgeons lent themselves to this practice under the pay of the State, but at least one (Mr. Barr, of Aldershot) has described how he taught registered women Mr. Ban's processes to protect them in the exercise of eviaence. their dreadful trade, whilst in the same paragraph he testifies to the spread of disease amongst men, despite these processes and despite his regular examinations. (House of Commons, Evidence of Select Committee, 1869, page 41, Q 75I-) The severest censure of the College of Physicians should surely fall upon those surgeons who, for years past, have per- 368 formed disgusting and indescribable instrumental examinations upon the unwilling bodies of young girls, some- gcons deserve times under t2 years of age, and even upon preg- censiire. j^^^j. ^yomen, for the sole object of protecting vicious men in the Army and Navy from the physical risks of prostitution. Even the excuse of "de- Half a Million ., , 1- , 1), 1 1 1 cases of need- cidcd medical good to the women themselves less outrage. [^ lacking. In more than Half a Million of cases such examinations were useless outrages, the women being perfectly well* In justification or mitigation of this grave charge of out- rage, the State Surgeons and Police have declared that nearly all the women submitted '■''voluntarily'''' to this Submiss'ion of treatment. Now it is, on the face of it, an Women not absurd contention in favour of a compulsory law that its victims voluntarily submit to it; but " voluntary " submission of a woman to a periodical outrage which she hopes to keep private, when the only alternative is to appear publicly in a police court and defend herself against an official charge of prostitution, is not difficult to understand ; and Mr. Sloggett, a prominent examining surgeon, has con- fessed that " without terror " women " would not come." (Ev. House of Commons Committee, 1869, Q. 28, page 2.) Still, it cannot be doubted that this allegation of the practically voluntary submission to examination has had great weight with Members of the Legislature, to whom an enforced examination of this kind would naturally be abhorrent. The division of 20th April, 1883, may be taken to have proved this. The Acts demand submission or imprisonment, and the submission once obtained, imprisonment follows if the woman * Vide Report for 1881 of the Contagious Diseases Acts Police. 4th column of Table on page 5. The total of such cases up to that date was 492,330, During fen years the lowest number of surgical outrages on healthy women was 34,000 per annum, and the highest 48,000 As there is no Return for a later period than 18S1, and the Compulsory Examina- tions did not cease till May, 1883, the number of such cases most probably exceeds 530,000. 369 withdraws it within a specified time, generally twelve months, no matter how pained or disgusted she may be at the treat- ment she receives. Since the condemnation of compulsion by the House of Commons, the women have not had con- stantly before their eyes the fear of the Magistrate's Court and of repeated terms of imprisonment for non-submission, and now we find these same officials complaining that women refuse to submit. The Report of the Majority of the Select Committee of 1882 (p. XX., par. 2), seeks to palliate these Medical Inspec- tions by the astounding statement that Registered Women are " co7?ipelled to submit to measures n^issjon on which are not in themselves indecent, and which Examination virtuous women often undergo volutitarily" — not- withstanding that their attention was drawn to the fact of the absurdity of such a comparison by reference to the Report of the Royal Commission (paragraph 48). On this point the Royal Commissioners expressed the opinion that the cases are very different. "Assuming that in either case the operation is conducted with an equal regard to decency, the object with which it is performed makes all the difference. In the one case the examination is voluntarily, occasional, and may never be repeated. In the other, the examination is compul- sory and regular, and instituted, not because the woman is diseased, or even suspected of being diseased., biit because she may be diseased.'' The absence of diseased women from the union workhouses in the subjected towns, during the .full working of the Acts, has been put forward as proof of the diminution Disease in of disease. Not one official had the frankness Workhouses, to explain that, instead of being in the workhouses, the diseased women 7C>ere in the Government hospitals, undcri^oing treatment at the expense of the State instead of the parish. These women have now the option of placing themselves under the Acts in hospital prisons, or in the workhouse infirmaries where their detention is also compulsory, but against 24 370 iJie interests of the ratepayers ; and it is not surprising that many should prefer the latter, where doctors and attendants are responsible to the Poor Law Guardians, and through them to the ratepayers, rather than a Government hospital where the officials are responsible only to the Admiralty or the War Office, and care little or nothing for the expense, while the inhabitants hail with satisfaction every increase of State expenditure in their midst. As the cry of increased disease in workhouses has been raised more than once recently to alarm the ratepayers, and to T f influence the Legislature to restore the compul- Increase of ° '■ Disease in sory power of the Acts, all persons should or ouses. j.£(;;giyg such assertions with caution. The medi- cal officer to the Medway Board of Guardians, in February, 1884, declared that " he had been connected with that Union ever since 1864, and he never knew so many male persons with the disease as at the present time ; and that if disease increased at that rate it would soon be necessary to enlarge the wards." Mr. Cavendish-Bentinck, like many other persons in and out of Parliament, appeared to be horrified by this state of things, said to be due to suspension of the Acts. That gentleman put a question on the subject to the President of the Local Government Board on February 21st, 1884, for whom Mr. George W. Russell answered that there were " THREE cases at that time in the workhouse, and on the corresponding date of 1883" (prior to suspension) "there was One." Nothing is said or shown to prove whether the three cases were tramps or local residents ; but enough is proved to indicate the sensa- tional and delusive character of these alarming and misleading statements. It is not denied that the Acts have attained a certain degree o£ popularity in the subjected districts ; but many illustrations Opinion in the ^ould be given of disingenuous statements on subjected dis- this point. The assertion has often been made that "the clergy and other residents in the subjected towns are universally opposed to Repeal." 371 Amongst others, Mr. Puleston, M.P. for Devonport, made a statement to this effect in regard to Devonport and Plymouth, in the House of Commons. Now, in regard to the general public in the towns where the Acts apply, from 1870 to 1885 inclusive, 642 petitions, bearing 101,015 signatures, prayed the House of Commons to repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts entirely, whilst only 77 with 3,874 signatures (including the signatures of 1,112 Registered Women) from the same sub- jected districts, demanded that the x^cts be kept in operation. Sixty-six of the petitions for Repeal from the subjected towns were adopted at public meetings, many of them crowded meetings, and open to all persons regardless of their views as to the Acts ; whilst only four such meetings, on a small scale, have petitioned in favour of the Acts. Amongst Petitions from the subjected places for Total Repeal there were 209 Petitions with 4,237 signatures from churches, chapels and religious meetings ; but there is not one Petition of that nature from those districts (or elsewhere) in favour of the system. And, whereas upward of 23,000 signatures from women have been obtained in the subjected towns, in favour of absolute Repeal, only 1,290 women have petitioned for the Acts, of whom, as before pointed out, 1,112 were scarcely free agents in the matter, being Registered Prostitutes, more or less under and accustomed to the arbitrary and despotic control of the examining surgeons and the police, by whom, or in whose presence, their signatures were mostly obtained. These figures are collected from the published Official Reports of the Com- mittee of the House of Commons, appointed to examine and report to the House on all public petitions year by year. In regard to Ministers of Religion, recently (1S84-5) the signatures of 71 of the Episcopal Clergy and 153 Noncon- formist Ministers resident in the various sub- clerical jected towns were obtained in support of total opinion. Repeal. Twenty-five of these are resident in Plymouth and Devonport. It is a fact that much support is given to the Acts by the clergy and other Ministers because of the 372 exaggerated statements and misrepresentations already referred to ; and it is equally a fact that vigorous public support of Repeal is withheld by very many clerical supporters of total abolition because of a natural repugnance to the whole subject. It cannot even be said that Military opinion is universally for the Acts. The first donation of^ioo received by your Military IMemorialists came from officers in the Indian opinion. Army, who expressed their earnest hope for speedy Repeal. The movement has on several occasions received public support from retired or half-pay officers, some of them distinguished for military service ; and others in active service are known who, if the regulations or miHtary etiquette permitted, would openly take sides against the Acts, both on hygienic and moral grounds. At least one distinguished army surgeon, residing in a large subjected town, acquainted with the working of the Acts at home and in other portions of the empire, would be glad to publish his reasons for desiring the repeal of the Acts, had he full liberty to do so. His experience of the Acts leads him to the conclusion that Army Medical Officers ought to lead, and not oppose, the Repeal movement. The Medical profession is divided on this subject as upon other questions of hygiene. Your Memorialists once appealed Medical haphazard to about 4,000 medical men in various Opinion. parts of the country, and obtained nearly 800 signatures in favour of Repeal. A list of these names was sent to the Home Secretary in 1872. One of the most distinguished living surgeons in England in regard to the pathology and treatment of these diseases. Professor Henry Lee, was a witness before the Select Committee of the House of Commons (1881), and his evidence was entirely opposed to the Acts. Your Memorialists not only desire the speedy and total 373 Repeal of the Acts, but they protest also against any law which would provide for the forcible detention and Detention in treatment of women for this special disease in hospital. State Hospitals, and more especially in Military Hospitals, the authorities of which are practically irresponsible. Such forcible detention and treatment is objectionable on prin- ciple, and in practice certain to lead to abuse and oppression. The importance of the last observation is illustrated by the following facts, to which your Memorialists crave your atten- tion : — It appears from the evidence of Dr. Wolferstan, a Civil Surgeon formerly attached to the Certified Hospital at Devon- port, given to the Royal Commission of 187 1 (Q. 3,125 to 3,132) that 609 women who had been sent to that Hospital by Mr. Sloggett, the State-appointed Examining Surgeon, had been discharged within ten days of their admission, between October, 1866, and December, 1869, as free from disease. Mr. Sloggett, who had sent many, if not all, of these women to the Hospital, was subsequently called to deny this serious charge ; but, on the other hand, Mr. Wolferstan produced a copy of a letter, signed by the four civil afid independent stirgeons of the Hospital, and addressed to the Lords of the Admiralty, in which they declared that " numerous cases " had been sent to the Hospital by the Government surgeons for compulsory detention ; and they added that " Some of them had been purposely kept a few days without specific treatment, and still found, after repeated examinations, perfectly free from ' disease.'" (Q- 3,142.) A similar case occurred in Bombay in 1880. The cry was raised that disease had largely increased, and that as the hospital for women was full, a much larger hospital was necessary. This induced Surgeon-General Beatty to test per- sonally the reports sent in by the State-appointed examining Surgeons. The result was the appointment of a Medical Com- mittee, which included Dr. Knapp, a strong advocate of the system, who has reported to Her Majesty's Government in former years on the working of the Acts in India and Hong 374 Kong. This Medical Committee, after careful inspection of the women who were being forcibly detained and medicated, discovered that of the nearly 200 alleged cases of contagious disease, ninkty of the H'otneii were not siifferitig from that form of disease at all, and the surgeon in charge frankly confessed that he had been mistaken in his diagnosis. {Bombay Gazette, Dec. 25, 1880.) The question of Special Hospitals for this form of disease seriously occupied the attention of the National Association Special and ^"^ kindred organizations in 1875, in consequence general hos- of suggestions made by a Member of the House P''* ^" of Commons. After a prolonged conference, twenty of the largest of these societies unanimously agreed that " in arrangements for the gratuitous treatment of this class of disease, its relation to the vice which originates and propagates it, is an element which ought never to be ignored. In this respect it is unique. In this, as in no other case of practical importance, does one person become the means of gratifying the lust of another. In this, as in no other case, is the absence of disease in the former a desideratum naturally sought after by the latter. When, therefore, venereal diseases have special hospitals devoted to them, or have sub- sidies granted on their behalf, those whose vices make them, on the one hand, pecuharly liable to such diseases, or, on the other hand, peculiarly desirous of consorting with those who are free from disease, are placed in a privileged position ; and these provisions become an endowment of immorality ; a quasi sanction is openly given to the practice of fornication ; the moral sentiment against this vice, which it is disastrous to weaken in the public mind, is deadened ; and the bounds of a true humanity and mercy are overstepped. " A further serious objection to special hospitals for venereal disease is found in the circumstance that those who suffer as the result of their own vice enormously outnumber those who are the innocent victims of the vices of others. This circumstance casts a suspicion on the character of all the 375 inmates of venereal hospitals, the fear of which deters from applying for admission many innocent victims, and many who, though fallen, are struggling after reformation, and who yearn to bury their past sad life in oblivion. Thus the virtuous and the penitent are driven away, while the vicious reap the benefit. Here, then, is another phase in which these special hospitals inevitably become an endowment, and therefore an encourage- ment, of vice. The Associations are convinced that the evils of these special hospitals may be avoided by the simple plan of declining to signalize venereal disease as of peculiar import- ance, and allowing it to take its place as one among the many forms of suffering zvhich it is the purpose ^t/" General hospitals and infirmaries to relieve. It is only in such institutions that relief may be attainable by the innocent victims of the vices of others in a way that would leave them free from suspicion, and when the penitent may accept it without the stigma of their pas: life being thrust back upon them, and where even the vicious may participate in the mercy without feeling that their evil career is condoned." The above facts, occurring under the system of State Regulation and medication of women " for the protection of the troops and the population generally," in England Certainty of and our Indian Empire, show how certainly pro- abuses, ductive of abuses is any and every system which withdraws the women of any district in the empire from the protection of the ordinary law, and places them under the control of the military and naval authorities — a system which the Detention in Hospitals (No. 2) Bill (Sessions, 1883-4) was framed so as to extend and perpetuate, and for which your Memorialists are utterly at a loss to imagine any sufficient ground. Your Memorialists are not aware of anything in the status of women in the subjected districts, or of any contract between them and the State, which justifies withdrawing from them the ordinary constitutional safeguards of personal liberty, and thus placing them under arbitrary control, like those who have voluntarily become members of Her Majesty's naval and military forces. Those who rcali/e the extreme danger of removing the ordinary securities for personal liberty, will not require concrete instances of abuse under such a system as that embodied in the Contagious Diseases Acts. Personal liberty, which is not less precious for women than for men, must, if it is to be a reality, not depend on the discretionary caution of the police. Thore can be no doubt that the powers of the poUce are very considerable, and, as observed by John Stuart Mill, ^^ when power is given which may easily be abused, we ought always to presume that it 7vill be abused ; and although it is possible that great precautions tvill be taken at first, these precautions are likely to be relaxed in time. We ought twt to give powers liable to very ^teat abuse and easily abused, and then presume that those powers will not be abused" (Evidence Roy. Com., Q. 19,995.) If every woman wronged under the Acts had a prompt and certain remedy against the wrongdoer, without exposing herself to public obloquy, there would in that alone be a certain pro- tection against abuse. But there is practically no remedy at all for the victim of excess of duty or misconduct on the part of police or doctors employed under the Acts. If the police and other officials responsible for the working of the Acts in this country come out of the ordeal with com- The system in P^^'^tively clean hands, it is not the case in seme ihe Colonies of the British dominions where public watchfulness is not aroused, and where public opinion is neither regarded nor dreaded. Whatever abomination or iniquity English officials are capable of perpetrating in British possessions, under cover of laws of this kind, for the supposed protection of the health of the Army or Navy, and at the bidding or with the connivance of officers in both services, they are capable of doing in England, if permitted. It has been said that public opinion here is not yet ripe enough to permit of extending the Acts. If that day ever comes, public opinion may soon become over-ripe, and finally tolerate fouler wrongs and injustice than the following, which God forbid ! No Government has yet dared to propose the systematic 377 licensing of brothels and prostitution in England, as is done in some of our dependencies. Take India as an _ ,. I T-> T-. /- 1 • India, example. Dr. Ross, formerly surgeon m the 92nd Highlanders, gave evidence before the Royal Commission, of a system of public prostitution under the orders of British officers, for which few will be prepared. He said he had had experience of the Acts in India, China, and at home, and testified that : " When a regiment arrives in India, a certain establishment is told off for each regiment as it arrives, and amongst others there is an establishment of prostitutes w/io arc housed in the bazaars, and regularly looked after by the matron appointed for the purpose, and superintended and examiricd by the surgeon of the regiment" He was asked — " That is the system now ? " Ansiuer : — " That has been the system all along sijice I have hiown India, and it still continues, in addition to the Lock Hospital system now in operation." He then said : " As I told you, when a regiment marches into a station there are certain persons of every description, what wc call camp followers, told off for that regiment, and, in fact, when a regiment in India goes on a line of march, there is a form to be filled up, and in one column there is amongst the camp followers one for prostitutes, showing the number who are per- mitted to follow the regi?ne7it, and those women we made a point of examining every fortnight." ..." There is a head woman under the name of the matranee, who is at the head of the kusbees, or prostitutes. She selects the women. She is told that such and such a regiment is coming into the station, and, according to whether the regiment has had a name " (good or bad nam.e) " sent before it or otherwise, she gets a small or a large number of women to come to her.'' " Is any limit set to the number of these women?" ^;mx/^r .—" There is no limit. When I got into India with my regiment, three years ago. there were only twelve women came, but I desired that they should increase the rmmber, because I knew it would only Ijc a source of disease afterwards, having such a small number of women for such a large number of men." (Iwidencc Roy. Com., Q. 15,129, 15,13°; 15.'^-^. '5.179. 1.^.180.) 378 This de])lorable evidence was confirmed in much the same strain by Lieutcnant-Ciencral Lord Sandhurst. His Lorship was asked if there was any opposition to this system in India ? He replied : — " There was a considerable agitation ten or twelve years ago in India amongst Europeans, who were Tcry serious in their ways of f/iinking, but it was purely on tlie religious ground, and on no oilier ground at all." And of course the religious ground was of little consequence ; yet he confessed later on to a " rather strong feeling " that gener- ally "the operation of Acts of this kind, with reference to either sex, has necessarily the effect of reducing the moral tone." (Roy. Com, Ev. 15,217 and 15,255.) On the 28th of July, 1882, His Excellency, Sir J. Pope Hennessy, received in London a large deputation of gentle- -- -. men interested in the Abolition of the system Hong Kong. of licensed houses of ill-fame and licensed prostitutes under the Hong Kong Acts, known as the Contagious Diseases Ordinances of 1857 and 1867. Of the abuses and crimes under this system perpetrated under British rule and by Englishmen, His Excellency spoke as follows : — " I saw in the Colony abuses existing, which have effect far beyond the range of Hong Kong. Let me instance one or two only. We get from Great Britain some European police. They are men selected with care for good conduct, and they are sometimes married men ; their passages, and their wives' passages, have been paid to Hong Kong, where married-police quarters are provided. But what transpired when that Commission " (of Enquiry into the working of the Hong Kong Acts) " was held ? The Registrar-General had recorded in his book, morning after morning, the evidence of Serious crimes i"formers selected from that police force, whom he under local HAD EMPLOYED TO COMMIT ADULTERY WITH ordinances. _, , /- 1 UNLICENSED CHINESE WOMEN ; and some of these men were married police^ whose wives were brought to Hong Kong; so that, in point of fact, he was 7101 only encouraging 379 adultery but paying for it with the money of the State. \anks, ^Ir. V. C, Secretary of National Repeal .\ssocialion, 89, 93, 122 ; signature memo- rial, 384 Baptist Union, the, supports Repeal, 1S3. Barbadoes, regulation in, 26. Bayley, Sir Stuart, on police oppression in India, 261, 262. Beales, Judge Edmund, joins Metropolitan Repeal Asso- ciation, 117. Beatty, Dr. (Surgeon - General, Bombay) finds Medical Ex- aminer's report grossly erro- neous, 286. Becker, iVIiss, advocates Repeal, 123 ; opposes compromise in 1872, 151. Beggs, Mrs. T., joins Metropolitan Repeal Association, 117; reads paper at Social Science Asso- ciation, 1 19. Belfast, disease in, 47 ; organizes opposition to Acts, 119. " Belief," mere, of police subjects a woman to examination, 15, 16. Beneficent sequences of Repeal, 289- 292. Bentinck, Mr. Cavendish, M.I'., opposes Repeal, 225-7. Berlin, regulation in, 6. Bernays, Dr., joins Metropolitan Repeal Association, 117. Bevan, Mr. R. C. L., Treasurer Metropolitan Repeal Associ- ation, 117; and City of London Committee, 206. Bill, the first, for regulation, 1864, 14; Bill, 1866, 18; Bill, 1869, 21 ; Bill of 1872, 149. Birmingham Anti-C. D. Association formed, 121. Bishops of Bombay, 242 ; Cal- cutta, and Madras, 275-9. Blackwell, Dr. Elizabeth, 91. Blackwood, Sir Arthur, K.C.B., member of City of London Committee, 206 ; presides at Missionary Conference, 264. Blair, Miss, an early worker in Scotland, 11 8. Board of Admiralty and false sta- tistics, 286-8. Bombay, Bishop of, protests against Acts, 242, 275. Bombay Gazette Budget quoted on manufacture of statistics, 285, 286. Blanc, Dr., Bombay, exposes medi- cal statistics, 286. Bonar, Mr., an early worker in Scotland, 118. Brewer, Dr., presents a petition to Parliament from prostitutes, 156. Bright, Mr. Jacob, supports Repeal, 108. Bright, Mr. Jacob, M.P., member of Metropolitan Association, 117; attacks vote for special police, 156. British and Continental Federation formed 1S74, 193-4 ; its ob- jects, 194-5 ' fii'st Congress of, 1877, 211; Congress, 1889, 292. British and Continental Fede- ration formed, 194; success of, 292. Brisbane, 233. Bristol and Clifton branch of National Association, 119. Brothel keepers licensed in India, 27, 240, 241. Brothels not closed as alleged, 76, 284. ^ Browne, Mrs. Woolcott, President of Moral Reform Union, 291. Bruce, the Right Hon. H. A., M.P. (Lord Aberdare), receives deputation as Home Secretary, 142 ; pledges his honour, 146 ; attempts compromise by Bill of 1872, 149; first deputation to, 155; Bill of 1872 withdrawn, 156. Brussels, failure of regulation in, 67 ; clandestine prostitution in, 73 ; traffic in girls from Eng- land to, 289, 290. Buls, M. (Burgomaster of Brussels), shows failure of examination of women, 67. Bulteel, Mr. C, supports acts at Social Science Congress, 90. 38; Buonaparte (Napoleon) places pros- titution under the Police, 6. " Business " of a common prostitute, 27, 237-40 ; Appendix D " Business " of a brothel-keeper, 27, 240-41. Butler, Mrs. Josephine, commences opposition to Acts, 89, 105-6 ; protest of in Daily Nezvs, loi ; her fitness as leader of Repeal movement, 107 ; appeal to people of England, iio; ad- dresses first meeting of work- ing men, 11 1 ; her eloquent speeches, 112-14, iSSi 1^5, 192 ; supports Mr. Fowler's Repeal Bill, 123 ; attempts to address Church Congress, 147 ; attacked by mob at Colchester, 125-7; addresses meeting at Sheffield, 141 ; publishes the New Era, 152; opposes Mr. Childers, M.P., 158; in dan- ger of her life from Mr. Childers' partizans, 161 ; at Oxford election, 168 ; address at Northern Counties' League Conference, 185-192; forms British and Continental Fede- ration, 194 ; Repeal Bill (1886) read a third time on her birth- day , 227; success of federation under her leadership, 291. Butler, the Rev. Canon, opposes the Acts, 107. Caine, Rev. W., opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 91. Calcutta, the Bishop of, memo- rialiees against Acts in India, 275-7. Calderwood, Professor, Edinburgh, one of first Repealers in Scot- land, 119. Caligula had brothel in his palace, 3- Canterbury, Archbishop of, did not protest, 16, 17. Canterbury, police and magisterial abuse at, 41. Cape Colony, regulation at, 26, 233. Capper, Mr. W. S., joins National Association at formation, 93. Carpenter, Miss Mary, protests against Acts, loi. Cave, Right Hon. Stephen, M.P., opposes Repeal, but honours the laay combatants, 196. Ceylon, adopted Acts, 26. Chamberlain, the Right Hon. Joseph, M.P., takes the chair of Midland Counties' Electoral Union, in favour of Repeal, 193- Chambers, Sir Thomas, M.P. (Recorder of London), joins the City of London Committee for Repeal, 206, 210. Chapman, Major-General, his sup- pressed memorandum, 241, 248 ; incorrect statements to Secretary of State for India, 250-2. Chapman, Dr. John (editor of Westminster Revieiu), his powerful articles against regu- lation, 97. Charleton, Mr. Robert, opponent of Acts, 89 ; assists to form National Association, 92. Charley, Sir William, M.P. (Com- mon Serjeant for London), obtains Act for benefit of children, 154. Chatham, regulation in, 15, 29; police abuse in, 32 ; artizan's wife compelled to declare her- self a "prostitute," in order to obtain State aid, 137. Chicago Medical College. — The Professor of Suigery declares against examination of women, 70. Chief Inspector of Brothels, his attributes, 23. Childers, the Right Hon., M.P., opposed by Repealers at Ponte- fract, 157 ; nearly defeated, 163 ; converted to Repeal, 164. Child, a, inheriting disease refused State aid, 15, 137. Children play at examinations in open street, 37. Children, Act for Prevention of Cruelty to, 1889, 291. China and Repeal : Admiral tlireat- ens, 232. Christian convention for prayer for Repeal, 1883, 219. 388 Church of England Congress de- clines to hear Mrs. Butler, 147,8. Circular Memorandum on the In- dian, 233, 4, 250, i. City of London Committee, its for- mation of, 203 ; appeal of, 201-10; memorialize Town Council of Exeter, 212; en- trusted with memorial from 434 missionaries in India against the regulation of pros- titution, 25S, 263-275. Civil population, proposed exten- sion of Acts to, 97. Clay, Rev. W., opposes regulation at Social Science Congress, 91. Colonies, the, and repeal, 231-3. Colchester, regulation in, 15,29; riotous election at, and un- manly attack on Mrs. Butler, 125-8 ; Sir Henry Storks de- feated at, 127 ; Government grant Royal Commission, 128. Colman, Jeremiah J., M. P., joins City of London Committee for Repeal, 206. CoUingwood, Dr., on prospect of world-wide regulation, 193. Commencement of opposition to Acts, 81-9S. Committees of enquiry, various, 129 ; appointed by Admiralty, report kept secret, 14. Complete operation of Acts, years 1866- 1883, 16. Compromise attempted by Mr. Bruce, 1872, 149. Compulsory exammations (see Examinations). Conflict of medical statistics, 45-7. Congregational Committee for Repeal, 129; formed, 200, 1 (and vide Appendix A for names of members of), 296. Congrega- tional ministers protest against Acts, 183. Cooke, Rev. F., Chaplain to Lon- don Lock Hospital, his evi- dence as to non-reclamation of women under the Acts, 78, 9. Cooper, Mr. Daniel, Secretary of the Rescue Society, opposes Acts, 83-7 ; writes *' Remedy worse than the Disease," 94 ; writes to Mrs. Butler, 107. Conspiracy of silence in press, 115 ; broken, 142 ; abuse of ladies, 143. 163. Constituencies, the, carry Repeal, 222, 226. Cork, regulation in, 15. Cowper-Temple, Mr., M.P. (Lord Mount Temple) on Mr. Bruce's Bill of 1872, 151. Craig, Miss, an early worker for Repeal in Scotland, 118. Cranbrook, Viscount (Mr. Gathorne Hardy, M.P.), opposes Repeal, 196 ; defends Acts to the last, 227. Crawford, Mr., M.P., "spies strangers " during debate on Acts, and has the House cleared, 128. Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885, passing of, 290. Cross, Lord, Secretary of State for India, his action, 243, 251, 253. Crossley, Mr. E. , M.P. , moves vote of confidence (qualified) on be- half of Mr. Stansfeld at Hali- fax, 175. Cruelties of examination, 37, 38. Cruelty to women sent to Hospitals, 39. 41- Cry from Indian missionary field, 263-280. Curragh Camp, Dublin, regulation at, 15. Daily News, the, articles in, by Miss Harriet Martineau, against Acts, 81 ; protests against Acts, 101-104, 144. Dale, the Rev. Dr. R. W., first pro-Acts, then becomes anti- Acts, 148, 193. Daubie, Mdlle. , on French morality under regulation. III. Davies, Dr. Edward, supports Acts at Social Science Congress, 90. Dawson, Mr. George, Birmingham, in favour of Acts, 148. Declaration of War, the first, 82. Delavan, M., promulgates regula- tion in Paris (1823), 9. Dell, Mr. Barton, on Mr. Bruce's Bill (1872), 152. 389 Deputation to Mr. Bruce (Lord Aberdare), 187 1, 142; of ex- tensionists to Mr. Bruce, 154. Derwent, Lord {vide Sir Harcourt Johnstone). Devonport, regulation in, 29 ; women of, according to Police- inspector Anniss, 31 ; the House Surgeon at, as to trap- ping women, 34 ; on other abuses at, 37-40; cl?ndestine prostitution in, 73 ; Town Council contradicts police evi- dence, 284, 5. Diagrams of disease : army, 49 ; navy, 53 ; of hygienic results, 65, 66. Dialectical Society, paper read at, 119. Dickson, Mr. David, one of earliest Repealers, 119. Disbandments of associations un- wise and unfortunate, 231. Disease in army decreasing when Act of 1864 passed, 15; in- crease in India, under Acts, 234-253- Division of opinions on Mr. Bruce's Bill of 1872, 150-154. Dissolution in, Jan. 1874, 167. Dixon, Mr. George, M.P., pro- Acts deputation repulsed, 148. Druitt, Dr., opposes Acts at Social Science Association Congress, 91. Drysdale, Dr., a member of Na- tional Association, 117 ; reads paper at Dialectical Society, 119; also at International Medical Congress, 217. Dublin, disease in, 46. Duff, Rev. Dr., one of earliest Repealers, 119. Dufferin, the Earl of, Viceroy of India, Memorial to, of Method- ist Episcopal Church in India, against regulation, 279. Duffett, Miss, left Plymouth from fear of the secret police, and subsequently returns to Ply- mouth to work for women there, 120. Dyer, Mr. Alfred S., Member of City of London Coftimittee for Repeal, 206 ; his revelations respecting traffic in girls, and their treatment in Brussels, 289 Edinburgh Ladies' Association formed, 117, 118. Edmunds, Dr., opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 91 ; assists to form National Asso- ciation, 92. Edmundson, Mr. Joseph, opposes, as a Repealer, Sir Henry Storks, 139, 140; opposes Mr, Childers, M.P., 156; powerful paper against decep- tive Government Bill (1883), 224. Election at Colchester, the result, 127; at Pontefract, 157-163; at Oxford, 168-170. Elphinstone, SirJames,M. P., abuses the lady Repealers, 143. England, when regulation first sanctioned in, 4 ; condemned, 6 ; history of regulation in, under the Acts, 11- 13. English Presbyterians favour Repeal, 183. Europe, celibate clergy and prosti- tution, 4. Evans, Rev. D., joins Metropolitan Repeal Association, 117. Ewing, Bishop, one of earliest Repealers, 119. Examinations, public scandal of, 37 ; scenes at, 36, 37 ; children play at, 37 ; convey infection, 38 ; increase disease at Copen- hagen, 38 ; have a hardening moral effect on women, 38, 78, 9; repealed England, 220,1; Italy, 292 Exeter, Town Council of, applies to have Acts extended to, 211, 12. Extension of areas subjected, 29, 30 Experiment, Medical, a, the system, 43- Fac-simile of certificate of" common prostitute," Appendix D. Failure of system inevitable, 69-74. P'ailure of system in India, 257-259, 261 False statistics, 207, 281-89 Fawcett, Mrs. Henry, her work on behalf of children, 291. 390 Feathcrstone, Mrs., cruelly treated by police, 41. Federation of Repeal Societies formed, 122. Ferguson, Mr. William, one of earliest Repealers, 119. Ferris, Dr., shows failure of the regulation system at Calcutta, 246. Fetishes flogged, 281-283. Final triumph of Repeal, 227. Fiji Islands, regulation introduced in 1882, 26 ; still continued in, 232. First Repeal Bill, 1870, introduced, 124. Flogging the fetishes, 281-283. Foster, §ir B. W., M.P., denounces, as a medical practitioner, regu- lation in India, 256, 257. Fothergill, Mr., opposes Mr. Chil- ders, M.r., 159. Fournier, M., his opinion as to syphilis, 44 ; on the useless- ness of examination of women, 71- Fowler, Sir Robert, M.P., supports Repeal, 210; seconds Motion, 210. I'owler, Mr. W., M.P., his Repeal Bill of 1870, 123, 128; moves reduction of Army estimates, 145 ; his Repeal Bill counted out, 155 ; his Bill, 1872 ; lost, 166. France, toleration of prostitution in, 56- French Army decimated by disease, 204 ; garrison at Metz (1871-2), diseased state of, 204, 5. Free Church of Scotland support Repeal, 184, 222. Friends' Repeal Association formed, 183 ; they raise ;^io,ooo, 183 ; they issue reasons for Repeal, 222. Gale, Rev. H., assists to form National Association, 93. Gardiner, Captain, member of Metropolitan Association for Repeal, 117. (Jarrett, Dr. Elizabeth, defends the regulation system in Pall Mall Gazette, no. Gibraltar, regulation in, 26. Giersing, Dr., says, the more inspection the more disease, 38. Gihon, Dr. (United States' Navy), ardent supporter of regulation, 216. (iillett, Mr. George, member of City Committee for Repeal, 206 ; makes revelations as to traffic in British girls and their treatment in Brussels, 289. Gladstone, Right Hon. W. E. , facili- tated passing of Bill of 1866, 18-20 ; his Government- aided extension of system throughout the Empire, 27 ; letter of Mr. T. Worth to, on extension of the system to the civil popula- tion, 94 ; his Government deaf to Repealers until fear of defeats, 124, 131 ; declines to see depu- tation of Repealers, 140 ; ulti- mately he votes for Repeal Bill, 197 ; pairs in favour of motion of Mr. Stansfeld, against com- pulsory examination of women, 220. Glasgow, working-men's Repeal movement in, 118 ; ditto. Ladies' Society formed, 118. Gledstone, Rev. J. P., advocate of Repeal, 141 ; his rescue work at Aldershot, 291. Goegg, Madame, on Continental degradation of women, 105. Gonorrhcea defined, 44 ; statistics as to, 51, 55. Good-looking women to be pro- cured in India, 233, 249, 250, 252. Gorst, Sir John, M.P. (Under Secretary for India), state- ments of, in Parliament re- specting action of Indian Go- vernment, 234, 35. G{ ths, severity of, to prosti- tutes, 4. Gourley, Mr., M.P., attacks the estimates for the Special Police, 196. " Government women," 78. Government, the, disregarded cry for Repeal, 124. 391 Gray, Mr. (of Board of Trade), his report as to extending regu- lation, ii6. Gross inaccuracy of police returns, Gross, Dr., his opinion of prosti- tution, 241. Gross public scandal, the examina- tions, 36, 37. Guthrie, Rev. Dr., Edinburgh, favours Repeal, 109, 119. (iuy. Dr., joins Metropolitan Asso- ciation for Repeal, 117. Guyot, Yves, M. (Minister of Public Works, Paris), Tables of results in Paris on women suffering from syphilis and non- syphilitic diseases, 63, 64 ; diagrams of said results placed before the eye, 65, 66. Hale, Mrs., Secretary of Ladies' Repeal Committee, 116. Halifax election, 174, 5. Harcourt, Sir WilliamV., M.P., his confession on Repeal Bill, 226. Hardening moral effect of exami- nation on women, 38, 78. 79- Hardwicke, Lord, opinion in I737) facts ^ not " beliefs,'" ought only to be admitted as proofs in law, 35- , , Hardy, Right Hon. Gathorne {inde Viscount Cranbrook). Harfield, Mr., a Solicitor, not allowed to see a client in hos- pital, 39. Hargreaves, Mrs. W., a member of Ladies' Committee, 116. Harpe, Dr. de la, President of Hygienic Section of British and Continental Federation for Repeal, 211. Harris, Captain (of Metropolitan Police), inaccurately returns numbers of brothels closed by the special police, 76; his statement as to the number of women who left prostitution annually, 78. Hartington, Marquis of, M.P. , announces an unsatisfactory Repeal Bill, and introduces a Detention in Hospital Bill, 223, 4 ; he fetters Lord Ripon's Repeal action as Viceroy of India, 246. Hastings, Mr. G. \V., M.P., sup- ports the Acts ; prayed every night for their extension, 146. Hayes, Emily, wrongfully sent to and confined in hospital at Portsmouth, 39, 40. Health, dispensary, the first, 8. Healthy employment of troops re- commended, 248. Henderson, Colonel (Police Com- missioner for the Metropolis), boasts of the terror caused by the police under the Acts, 30. Henley, the Right Hon. J. A., ]NI.P., strongly opposes the Acts from the first, 18, 106, 145 ; on women, 166. Hennessy, Sir J. P. (Governor of Hong Kong), appoints a Com- mission of Enquiry as to abuses under the Acts, 24, 25 ; grossly deceived by a Government medical officer's return, 285. Henry HL, King, the Countess of Arundel's defiance of, 1 12. Henry VHL closes the Southwark brothels, ■;. Herbert, Lord, Secretary of War, appoints a Commission in i860; on report of the Commission he devotes himself to raise the character of the men ; most salutary results follow ; disease falls 40 per cent., 13. Bene- ficent results of Commission, and of his Lordship's action, in seaports, dockyards, and camps, 46, 281. Her Majesty's Inspector of Brothels, 23- Hill, Dr. Berkeley, as to ineffective- ness of examinations of women, 72 ; Secretary to Association for Extending the Acts, 82 ; supports Acts at Social Science Congress, 90 ; replies to " Jus- tina," no. Hill, Mr. (Editor of Daily News), desires to exclude Women's Protest from its columns, loi. Hill, Mr. Alsager, declares prosti- tution a '* necessity," 147. 392 Hodgson, Mrs. \V. R., a Member of the Ladies' Committee, Ii6. Ilollaml, Mr. P. H., supports Acts at Social Science Congress, 90. Holland, Sir Henry, M.P. (Lord Knutsford), and the Colonies, 232. Holms, Mr. J., M. P., joins City of London Committee, 204. Home Secretary, the, pledges his honour, 146. Home, Surgeon-Major, Sir A. D., reports regulation system a failure in Lidia, 258. Hong Kong, contagious diseases ordinance working in, 23-26, 232-2S5. Hong Kong, Commission of En- quirj' appointed by Governor of, 24. Hooppell, Rev. Dr., strong oppo- nent of the Acts, 82 ; offers himself as a witness against the Acts, 87 ; opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 90 ; assists in forming National Association, 92, 93 ; projects "The Shield," 122. Hope deferred, 170-172. Hopwood, Mr., Q.C., M.P., on Mr. Bruce's Bill (1872), 151 ; Member of City of London Committee for Repeal, 206. Hospitals, severe and cruel regula- tions at, 39-41. Hour, the, and the man, 173, 176- 182. House of Commons refuse evidence in opposition to Acts, 87, 214. Hewitt, Mrs. W., a member of Ladies' Committee, 116. Humphries, Mr. (Statistical Depart- ment, Somerset House), affirms that no reduction of disease had taken place under the Acts, 54. Hunter, Miss, an early worker for Repeal in Scotland, 118. Hygienic pretext, the, 7. Hygienic results in army, 44-56 ; in navy, 57-59 ; on women, 61-68. Hygienic failure inevitable, 69-74. Hypocrisy, flagrant, 8, 12, 137. Inaccuracy of police returns, 76. India, regulation in, 26. 27,233-262. India, system under sentence in, 292 Injurious moral elfects ; opinion of King of Prussia, 6. " In lowest depths, a deeper still," 10. Inspector of brothels, his duties, 23. International Medical Congress, proceedings of, 210, 216, 218. Ireland, Presbyterians in, Friends in, and Primitive Methodists in, oppose Acts, 184. Jamaica, regulation in, 26, 232. Jasper, Alderman, Macclesfield, moves the Town Council to petition against Acts, 141. Jeannell, Dr., affirms that England had " perfected " French regu- lation system, 16 ; urges world- wide regulation, 193. Johnstone, Sir Harcourt, M.P. (Lord Derwent), a leader of Repeal, 149, 173 ; moves second reading of Repeal Bill, 196. Jones, Mr. Edmund, President of Working Men's League, 202. Jones, Dr. T.W., of Paris, joins City of London Committee for Re- peal, 206. " Justina,"a writer against the Acts in Pall Jllall Gazette, no. Juvenile prostitution not abated by Acts, 76.80. Kell, the Rev. E., on Mr. Bruce's Bill (1S72), 152. Kennaway, Sir John, M.P., moves amendment on Mr. Stansfeld's Repeal motion, 224. Kerr, the Rev. Dr., one of the earliest Repealers, 119. King, Mrs., her f\.epeal work at Devonport ; punished by the magistrates for, 120. Knapp, Dr. (one of Commission- ers), exposes untruthfulness of Medical Examiners' reports, as to disease at Bombay, 286. KnatchbuU-Hugessen, Mr., M.P. (Lord Brabourne), interviewed by Repealers, as Under-Secre- tary of State, 83. 393 Knutsford, Lord (Sir Henry Hol- land, M.P. ), as Colonial Secre- tary, fairly carried out the Repeal Act, 232. Labuan, regulation in, 26. Ladies' Repeal Committee (1870), 116. Ladies' National Association formed, 92, 109. Lancet, The, 288. Lancereaux, Dr., examination of women useless, 70. Langlebert, W.^ examinations use- less, 70. Langley, Mr. Baxter, joins Metro politan Association for Repeal, 117; Repeal candidate for Colchester mobbed there, 125. Last Regulation Act, the, passed (1869), 21. Lawrence, Alderman (Sir William), M.P., a supporter of Repeal, 210. Lawrence, Alderman (Sir James Clarke), M. P. , a supporter of Repeal, 210. Lawson, Mr., his pro-Acts statistics untrustworthy, 45 ; speech at International Medical Con- gress, 217. Learmonth, Colonel, preferred by Repealers to Sir Henry Storks at Colchester election, 125. Leathes, Rev. Canon, joins City Committee for Repeal, 206. Lecky, Mr., his contemptuous definition of fallen women, 22. Lecour, IVL (chief of Police des Matirs, Paris), affords informa- tion to British Government, 131- Lee, Professor Henry, reads paper in opposition to Regulation, 217. Lefort, M. (chief of Medical Department, Paris), affords information to the British Government, 13 1. Lewis, Mr. T., M.P., defeated by Repealers, 16S. Liberal Party, the, resolve to sup- port Repeal, 220. Lichfield, Bishop of, asks question in the Lords respecting im- moral action of Indian Go,vern- ment, 235, 251. Literature, Repeal, 97, 98, IIO, III, and Appendix B. Liverpool aroused, 89, 90. Lock Hospital, Report (1886), 247, 248. If none at all, results could not be worse, 249. London, the Mayor of (W. Wal- worth), farmed brothels in Southwark, 4 ; Bill to place London under regulation, 20 ; disease in, 46. London, the City of. Committee for Repeal formed, 206. London, great Repeal Meeting at, 196. London Ladies' Association for Repeal formed, 116; dis- banded, 231. London Medical Society, paper read at, 119. Lord Knutsford and the Colonies, 232. Lord Ripon and Repeal in India (1882), 233-242; Act ought to be repealed, 245, 6. Louis XVI., of France, originates register of prostitutes, and establishes Police des Maursy 5- . , Lucas, Mrs,, Member of Ladies Repeal Committee, 116. Lucraft, Mr. Benjamin, President of Working Men's League for Repeal, 202. Luscombe, Mr. (Mayor of Ply- m.outh), violent partizan against Repeal, 121. Lusk, Sir Andrew, Bart, and Alder- man, joins City of London Committee, 206. Macaulay, Mr. Colman (Secretary of Municipal Department, Ben- gal), affirms that the Acts could not be worked, unless illegally, 246, 261 ; on police, 261, 62. McArthur, Alderman Sir William, K.C.M.G., M.P., originator of the City of London Com- mittee, 206. 394 McArthur, Mr. Alexander, M.P., joins the City of London Com- mittee for Repeal, 206. MacCree, Rev. G. \V. , member of Metropolitan Association for Repeal, 117. MacKenzie, Dr., one of earliest Scotch Repealers, 119. MacLarcn, Mr. David, M. P., one of the earliest Repealers, 119. McLaren, Mr. Duncan, M.P., ob- tains a return, showing gross inaccuracy of police reports, 76, 284; presents great petition for Repeal, 140. McLaren, Mrs., member of Ladies' Committee for Repeal, 116; invites Ladies' Conference, 117. McLaren, Mr. Walter S. B., M.P., his forcible speech against im- moral action of the Indian Government, and carries im- portant resolution in House of Commons, 235-256. Macclesfield, Town Council of, pe- tition against Acts, 141. Madras, Bishop of, presents a memorial against regulation in India, 275-277. Maitland, Miss Heriot, an early worker for Repeal in Scotland, 118. Majority of Select Committee, 1879, declines enquiries, 214. Majority Report of Select Com- mittee, House of Commons, 214. Malleson, Mr. W. T., replies to Dr. Elizabeth Garrett's letter in favour of the Acts, no, 384. Malleson, Mrs. F. R., Hon. Secre- taiy to Ladies' Committee, 116. Malta, regulation in, 12, 26. Manchester, disease in, 47 ; great Repeal meeting at, 123. Manchester Examiner, The, de- nounces regulation, 144. Mangin, !NL, promulgates regula- tions in Paris, 1830, 9. Marcius, a Roman ^dile, registers prostitutes at Rome, 3. Markby, the Rev. T., denounces regulation, 96. Marlborough, the Duke of, on morality in legislation, 16. Marshall, ]\Ir. John, agent for Re- peal at Plymouth, imprisoned, 121. Martin, Rev. H., opposes regulation at Social Science Congress, 91 ; assists in forming National Association, 93. Martineau, Miss Harriet, sounds note of alarm in Daily News, 81 ; draws up Women's Protest against regulation, 81, loi. Matthews, Rev. E., opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 91. Maurice, W. Denison, from being a supporter of, becomes an op- poser of Acts, 1 15. Malta, prior to Acts, 12. Maurice, Rev. F. D., member of Metropolitan Association for Repeal, 117. Medical discussion at Sheffield — Acts condemned, 200. Medical Inqnirer, The, in favour of Repeal, 197. Medical journals, their opinions, 199. Medical members on the Select Committee, House of Com- mons, were divided in opinion, 214. Medical profession protests wi^h 2500 signatures against Acts, 200. Medical Society of London, paper read at, 119. Medical statisticians in conflict, 45- 47- Members of Select Committee, House of Commons, how they voted, 213. Memorial from 434 Indian Mission- aries against Acts, 263-75. Meire, Mrs. Margaret Runton, of Kelso, a generous supporter of Repeal, 119. Methodist Episcopal Church in India memorializes Governor- General, 279. Methodist New Connexion, ports Repeal, 183. Metropolitan Anti-Contagious Dis- 395 eases Acts Association formed, ii6, 117. Metz, dreadful condition of troops at (1871, 2), 204, 5. Michael, Mr. W. H., opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 91- Midland Counties' Electoral Union formed, 121 ; disbanded, 231. Midlands organized for Repeal, 164. Militia, 5,830 men of, examined — the result, 45. Mill, Mr. John Stuart, M.P., mem- ber of Metropolitan Association for Repeal, 117. Millar, Mrs. John, an earl)' worker in Scotland, 118. Minority Report of Select Com- mittee, House of Commons, 215, 216. Mireur, Dr., as to uselessness of examination of women, 70, 72. Mission of Mrs. Butler to Continent (1874), 194. Missionaries, 434, in India protest against Acts, 263-75. Missionary Government, A, 23, 27. Mobs disturb and break up Repeal meetings, 166. Moffat, Rev. W. , one of earliest repealers, 119. Monk, Mr., M.P., his opposition to Repeal, 144,5. Mookeyee, Baba Reay Mohun, affirms that regulation is op- pressive and cruel in India, 243- Moore, Rev. H. O. (Chaplain to Bishop of Calcutta), addresses the Bishop's memorial to the Indian Government against regulation, 275. Moral considerations not to be considered, by Parliament, 16. Moral results alleged, 76-80. Morgan, Mr. R. Cope, joins City of London Committee for Re- peal, 206. Morley, Samuel, M.P., Chairman City of London Committee for Repeal, 206, 210; ditto. Con- gregational Committee, 201. Morley, Rev. T. (Chaplain of Bishop of Madras) addresses the Bishop's memorial against regulation to the Indian Go- vernment, 277. Moses, in Old Testament, forbade traffic in women, I. Motion, important, carried in House of Commons (5 June, 1888) respecting India, 257. Mozley, Mr. H. N. , reads paper against the Acts at Social Science Congress, 147. Muir, Sir William, his statistics in favour of Acts doubtful, 45- Mundella, the Right Hon. A.J, ,M. P. , one of the earliest members in favour of Repeal, 109 ; stigma- tises the Report of Royal Commission, 138 ; moves to introduce a Bill for Repeal, 144. Napoleon Buonaparte, established Guild of Prostitutes, 6. National Association, The, for Repeal, formation of, 92 ; first officers, 93 ; disbandment of, 231 ; memorial of (1SS6), a midtiim in parvo statement of the case against the Acts, vide Appendix C. For names of leading workers, see Ap- pendix A. Natives of India, The, bitterly resent Acts, 242, 261. "National Liberal Federation, The," adopts Repeal, 122, 220. National Medical Association formed (1875). 197- "National Vigilance Association, The," formed, 290 ; its func- tions, 290 ; closes 33 brothels at Aldershot since Acts, 290. Navy, alleged hygienic results in, 57-59-' . , Necessity, prostitution recognized as, 96, 124. Nevins, Dr. Birkbeck, demon- strates falsity of pro-.'\cls statistics, 45, 47, 53, 90 ; 396 declares for Repeal, 197 ; paper read at International Medical Congress, 210 ; speech at, 217 ; exposes false statistics of Admiralty, 287. Newcastle-on-Tyne, meeting to oppose regulation, 82, 87. Newman, Professor, an early op- ponent of Acts, 89 ; opposes at Social Science Congress, 90 ; joins National Association for Repeal, 93 ; writes "The Cure for the Great Social Evil," III. New Zealand, regulation in, 26, 233 New South Wales, regulation in, 26,233. Nichol, Mrs. E. Pease, invites ladies to conference on Repeal, 117. Nightingale, Miss Florence, protests against Acts, loi. Nineteenth century, the, The system of, 8. Xorthbrook, Lord, introduces the last Regulation Bill (1869), 21. North country, the, raised for Repeal, 87. "Northern Counties Electoral League, The," formed by Mr. J. H. Wilson, M.P., and Mrs. Wilson, 164. Nottingham, Dr. Eell Taylor, and Mr. F. C. Hanks, 87. Nonconformists condemn the Acts, 147. Origin of Regulation system, 1-3. Oxford, Repealers win the seat at (1874), 168-170. Opposition to regulation system commenced, 81-98. Only health of "prostitutes" pro- vided for by the State, 15, 137 Packington, Sir John, M.P., con- cealed the fact that Committee appointed by Admiralty had condemned regulation, 14. Pagan invention, the, clad in garb of Christian beneficence, 8. Pagan origin of regulation and licensing of vice, 1-3. Paget, Lord Clarence (Secretary of Admiralty), brings in Con- tagious Diseases Bill, 14, 17, 18. Paley, Dr., denounces regulation, 6. Palmer, Mr., opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 91. I'anic, a, created as to disease, 44. Paris, sanction of vice in, 10 ; registers prostitutes, 5, 6, 9 ; examination of women, 8, 9, 62 ; failure of regulation in, 62-66 ; clandestine vice in, 73 ; " in lowest depth a deeper still," 10 ; system in ruins, 292. Paris Municipality condemn system, 209. Parker, the Rev. Dr., joins the City of London Committee, 206. Parliament, its faith in Select Com- mittees, 20. Pease, Mr. Thomas, Bristol, as- sisted in forming National Association for Repeal, 92. Pease, Sir Joseph, M. P., seconds Sir J. Kenna way's amendment to Mr. Stansfeld's Repeal motion, 225 Pennington, Mrs. F., member of Ladies' Committee, 116; her letter to Mr. W. E. Gladstone, 140. Periodical examinations first insti- tuted, 7. Petition from Edinboro' signed by 250,283 women, 140. Petitions with 2,000,000 signatures presented for Repeal, 209. Philanthropist, The, New York organ for protection against regulation and for social purity, 202. Playfair, Dr. Lyon, supports pro- Acts candidate at Oxford, 169. Plymouth and Devonport, action at, 119-121. Plymouth, regulation at, 15. Polglase. Mr., helps to form National Association for Re- peal, 93. Police precautions in India futile, 249, SO, 61, 62. 397 Police virtually irresponsible in India, 261. Police, Indian, cruelty and op- pression of, 261. Police, their "belief," sufficient to blast the reputation of woman, 15, 16. Police, in plain clothes, 21 ; keep registers of women, 21 ; are Metropolitan, not local, 30 ; the Chief of Metropolitan, his boast, 30 ; terror inspired by, 30, 31 ; construe the term "prostitute" for themselves, there being no definition in Acts, 31 ; make the meaning as extensive as possible, 31 ; one of them, at Plymouth, says that every woman is a prosti- tute, 32 ; they acted on anonymous letters, 32 ; they dressed up in character to trap women, 33 ; exercise espionage over sailors' wives, 33 ; how they compelled signing of "voluntary" submission, 33, 34 ; mere children induced to sign, 34-36 ; the power of, over women, 41, 42 ; returns made by, grossly inaccurate, 76 ; abuses of, 208, 26 1 ^ 2. PoUington, Lord, aided by Repeal- ers, nearly wins Mr. Childers' seat. 163. Pontefract, ruffians help Mr. Childers' candidature at, 159- 163. Porter, Mr. J- B., Assistant- Secretary to City of London Repeal Committee, 207. Portsmouth, regulation in, 15, 29 ; abuses at, 39. Powell, Mr. Aaron, New York, editor oi Fliilaiithropist, 202. Prayer, special and united, by Repealers (1872), 148 ; (1883), 219. Prelude of victory, prayer-meetings (Jan. 1883), 219. Preston, disease in, 47. " Priestess of humanity, the, blasted," 22. Primitive Methodists support Re- peal, 183. Prison hospitals, 39-41. Progress of Repeal at home and abroad, 292 Prostitutes at Colchester petition the House of Commons, 155. Prostitution recognized as a neces- sity by Sir Henry Storks, 96. Prussia, king of, on effects of system, 6. Public declaration of war against system, the first, 82. Punshon, Rev. Dr. Morley (Presi- dent of Wesleyan Conference), joins City of London Committee for Repeal, 206. Purpose of the Acts, as stated by Royal Commission, 138. Queensland (Brisbane) regulation in, 26, 233. Queenstown, Ireland, regulation in, 15- " Queen's women," 23, 26, 39, 78, 208. Rainy, Rev. Principal, one of earliest Repealers, 119. Raper, Mr. J. H., carries Repeal resolution at Social Science Congress, 147. Ratier, Dr., as to uselessness of examinmg women, 70. Recapitulation of enquiries, 129-31. Reduction of Army Estimates moved, 145. 156, 196. Remnant, Major, Secretary to Metropolitan Anti-Acts Asso- ciation, 117- Resolution against examinations carried, 220-222. Results of examinations at Paris, 62-66. Rees, Mr. Alderman, Dover, on Mr. Bruce's Bill (1S72), 152. Reed, Sir Charles, M.P. (Chairman of London School Board), joins City of London Repeal Com- mittee, 206. Register of Prostitutes, the first, 3 ; the first in England, 19. Regulations Act, the last (1869), 21. Repeal Bill (1876), second reading, 201. Repeal Bill (1886) passes both Houses, 227. Repeal Bill (18S6) set out, 228. 398 Repeal Bill of Sir Harcourt John- stone, 197 ; Mr. Gladstone votes for Bill, 197. Repeal in the Indian Empire, 233 262. Repeal demanded from 1869, 97, 9S. Rescue work aided l:)y Repeal, 291. Ricord, Dr., as to uselessness of examining women, 70. Rigat, Dr., ditto, 72. Riots at Colchester, 125, 6. Ripon, the Earl of (Viceroy of India), uses influence at Ripon for Sir Henry Storks, 139; as Viceroy, declares the Acts unpopular in India, 242 ; Acts ought to be abolished, 245 ; is fettered by Lord Hartington, Secretary for India, 246. Roberts, Sir Frederick, immoral action as Commander-in-Chief in India, 233. Roman Catholic Missionaries, 258. Rome furnishes etymology of word " fornication", 3; spread regulated prostitution in Eu- rope, 4. Roper, Rev. H. T., opponent of Acts, 89 ; assisted to form Na- tional Association, 93. Rothery, Mr., on Mr. Bruce s Bill (1872), 151. Royal Albert Hospital, the House Surgeon of, exposes police abuses under the Acts, 37. Royal Commission (1870) was practically "packed," 129; Professor Stuart on, 133; recommendations of, 134 ; Mr. Mundellaon the report of, 138. Royal permit for prostitutes, 5. Rule, Rev. Dr. (Wesleyan Army Chaplain) favours Repeal, 109. Russell, Rev. A. C, at Northern Counties' League Conference, 186. Rutherford, Dr., opponent of Acts, 87. Ryder, Mr., J. P., Devonport, thinks women are trapped, under the Acts, 34. Rylands, Mr., M.P., on Mr. Bruce's Bill (1872), 151. Saint Helena, Island of, regulation in, 26. .Sandouville, Dr., as to uselessness of examining women, 70. Satisfactory results obtained before the Acts, and outside of Acts, 13, 46. Saturday Reviezo, The, scurrilous abuse of Repealers, 114, 143, 163. Scott, Mr. Benjamin (Chamberlain of London), formation of City of London Committee for Repeal, 203, 206, 210 ; pre- sides at great National Meeting of Repealers at Exeter Hall, 219 ; attends International Mis- sionary Conference with protest of 434 Indian missionaries against Acts, 262 ; Royal Assent to Repeal Bill given on his birthday (1886), 227. Scott, Mr. Septimus R. (Chairman of Committee of Stock Ex- change), joins City of London Committee for Repeal, 206. Scottish martyr, a, to the cause of Repeal, 118. " Scottish Repeal Association, The," formed, 119. Sentitiel, The, monthly organ of Repeal and Social Purity, 202. Select Committee of House of Commons on Acts, appointed 1879; sits three years, 212; makes two Reports, 213 ; names of members, and how they voted, 213 ; forbears to investigate statistics of Navy, 59, 214. Shaen, Mr. \Vm., M.A., Chairman of Metropolitan Repeal Asso- ciation, 117; letter to Mr. Gladstone, 140 ; criticises Mr. Bruce's Bill (1872), 151 ; signs memorial of 1886, 3S4. Sheerness, regulation in, 15, 29. Sheffield, diseases in, 47 ; election struggle (1 87 1), 141. Shield, The, organ of the two National Associations, 122. Shorncliffe, regulation in, 15, 29. Simon, Dr. J. (Sir J. Simon, Phy- sician toPrivyCouncil), exposes 399 false statistics of pro- Act party, 115,207,282; on failure of the Acts, 97. Six hundred towns had societies or branches, 1S4. Social Science Congress protests against system, 91. Social spies, the police employed under the Acts, 8. Solon, State-pimping originated by, 2. Soldiers' wives should be examined (Sir H. Storks), 125. Solly, Rev. H., opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 91. Speech of Mrs. Butler, most eloquent at Bradford, 185-192. Special and united prayer by Repealers(i872), 148, 9, (1853), 219. Southwark, licensed brothels in, in Middle Ages, 4, 5 ; closed by Henry VIII., 5. State sanction of prostitution in England, temp. Henry II., 4. Stallard, Dr., opposes Acts at Social Science Congress, 91. Stanley, Colonel, as Secretary for War, gives notice of Select Committee, June, 1879, 212. Stansfeld, Right Hon. James, M.P., exposes falsity of pro-Act sta- tistics, 90 ; leader of Repeal party, 173, 176; his letter to Glasgow Conference, 176; first speech on Repeal, 178-182; his motion carried in House, condemning compulsory exami- nations (1883), 220-222 ; his motion for Repeal carried (1885), 224 ; carries the second reading of Repeal Bill (1886), 225, 227, 8 ; his question to Mr. Gorst, Under - Secretary for India, on immoral action of Indian Government, 234. Stead, Mr. W. J., advocate for Repeal, obtains Criminal Law Amendment Act, 290. " Stews, The," in Southwark, 4, 5- Storks, Sir Henry (ex-Governor of Malta), on prostitution as a necessity, 96, 124 ; opposed by Repealers at Newark, 124; defeated at Colchester, 125, 127; opposed at Ripon, 139, Stuart, Professor James, M.P., early commencement of opposition to Acts, 105; supports Mr. W. Fowler's Repeal Bill, 123 ; attacked by mob at Colchester, 125 ; on the Royal Commission, 133; opposes Mr. Childers, M.P., 158; writes " The New Abolitionists," 195 ; chosen to second vote of confidence in Liberal Government, 218 ; his speech in House, attacking Indian Government Medical statistics, 256 ; his speech at Geneva Conference (1889) quoted, 292. Stuart, Miss Isabella, eloquent lecturer against Acts, 1 19. Stubb, Mr. J., member of Metro- politan Association for Repeal, 117. Stuntz, Rev. H. C. (Secretary of South Indian Methodist Episcopal Church), forwards memorial against the Acts, 279. Swain, Dr. W. P., supports Acts at Social Science Congress, 90. System, the, adopted by British Legislature, 11. System amended and extended, 12. Swan, INIrs., an early worker for Repeal in Scotland, 118. Symonds, Dr., supports Acts at Social Soience Congress, 91. Tables of disease — Army, 48-55 ; Navy, 57-59. Tables of hygienic results, women, 63,64,67. Tarring, Mr. C.J. (Consular Assistant- Judge, Constantinople), first Assistant-Secretary to City of London Repeal Committee, 206. Tasmania, regulation in, 26, 233. Taylor, Miss Helen, member of Ladies' Relief Committee, 116. Taylor, Mrs. P. A., memjjer of Ladies' Repeal Committee, 116. 400 Taylor, Dr. Bell, early opponent to Acts, 83-03 ; assists in forming National Association, 93; rcaiis paper at Medical Society of London, 117; originates pro- test by Nottingham medical men, 199 ; exposes mode of falsifying statistics in Navy, 2S7, 288. Temple, Sir Richard, Bart., M.P., attempts to whitewash Indian Government, and to oppose motion of Mr.Walter McLaren, condemning regulation in India, 257. Thomasson, Mr., his generous support of Mr. A. Fowler's Bill for Repeal, 123. Thomasson, Mr. J. P., an equally generous supporter of Repeal, 123. Thompson, Mrs. Dr., an early worker for Repeal in Scotland, 118. Times, The, recognizes strength of the Repealers, 166. Tomkins, Fredk., D.D., Member of the City of London Com- mittee, 206. Townshend, Marquis of, introduces Bill to extend Acts to London, 20, 85. Trafific in girls, 289, 290 Trelawney, Sir John, M.P., opposes Repeal, 150 Triennial Medical Conference pro- poses a world-wide League for regulation, 193. Trinidad, regulation in, 26. Trial, testing, and temptation, times of, 149-154- Tummon, Miss, her successful rescue work, since Acts, at Aldershot, 291. United Presbyterian Synod appoint Committee to obtain Repeal, 184. United Methodist Churches present memorial, 183. United States of America, depu- tation to by Repealers in 1876, 202. Venus, prostitution in Temple of, 2. Venereal diseases defined, 44. Venturi, Madame.member of Ladies' National Committee, 116. Victoria (Australia), regulation in, 26, 233. Victory "certain, for God wills it,' 192. Victory for Repealers at Colchester, 127. Vienna, clandestine vice in, 73. Vigilance Record, The, organ of National Vigilance Association, 290. "Voluntary "submission, 33, 34, Waddy, Mr., Q.C., M.P., joins City of London Repeal Com- mittee, 206. Walker, Mrs. Celia, assists Repeal, 108. Walker, Mr. (Editor Daily News), inserts women's protest against Acts, loi. Walker, Rev. S., assists to form National Association, Walworth, Sir William, Mayor of London, farms the licensed brothels in Southwark, 4. Wastel, the Rev. W., Secretary of the Midland Counties' Electoral Union, 122. Wat Tyler, sacks the licensed brothels, 4. Watson, Rev. Wm., Wesleyan Minister, trenchant pamphlet by, against the Acts, 94. Waugh, Rev. Benjamin, Act for prevention of cruelty to chil- dren, 291, Wellington, New Zealand, 233. Wellstood, Mrs., early worker for Repeal in Scotland, 118. Wellstood, Mr. Stephen, worker for Repeal in Scotland, 119. Wesleyan Methodist Conference (1869-1873) disapproves of Acts, 183. Wesleyan Society formed 1874 for Repeal, 183. Wesleyan ministers (700) memorial- ize for Repeal, 183. liestminster Hcview, The, powerful articles in, against the Acts, 97. Whitbread, Mr., M.P.,as Chairman of Admiralty Committee of 1862, reported against regulation, 14. 401 White, Susan, a sufferer from police tyranny, 40. Whitehead, Mr., opposes Mr. Childers, M.P., 158. Whittle, Dr. , at Northern Counties' League Conference, 185. Wingham, Miss Jane, an early and energetic worker for Repeal in Scotland, 118. Williams, Mr. R. B., an opponent of the Acts, 84. Wilson, Mr. E. D. J. , a member of Metropolitan Committee for Repeal, 117. Wilson, Mr. H. J., M.P., Hon. Secretary of the Northern Counties' Electoral League, 122; becomes a leader of Repealers, 141 ; opposes Mr. Childers, M.P. ,158; in danger from mob at Pontefract election, 159-162 ; in the North (1875), 195- Wilson, Mrs. H. J., the only lady whose support and presence were given to Mrs. J. Butler at Sheffield meeting, 141 ; active in the North (1875), 195. Wilson, Mr. Robert, appeals to working - men of Glasgow against Acts, 118. Wilson, Mr. J. E., supports Mr.W. Fowler's Repeal Bill, 123. Winchester, the Bishop of, licences brothels in Southwark before the Reformation, 14. Wife of an artizan refused State aid, 137- Wishart, Mrs. Hope, an early worker in Scotland for Repeal, 118. Wolstenholme, Miss, opposes the Acts, 89, 105 ; supports Mr. W. Fowler's Repeal Bill, 123. Women's protest, the, against the Acts, issued New Year's Day (1870), 109. Woman, a, the first to sound an alarm, 81. Women of England, the, must be roused, 96. Women and children (other than prostitutes), health unprovided for by State, 15, 137. Women, petition signed by 250,283, 140. Woolcombe, T. (Royal Hospital, Devonport), supports the Acts at Social Science Congress, 90. Woolwich, regulation in, 15, 29. Working Men's League for Repeal formed, 165, 201 ; disbanded, 231 ; for officers and members of Council, see Appendix A, under letter W ; enrols 50,000 members and starts National League /ounial, 202. Worth, Mr. T., opposes the Acts at Social Science Congress, 91 ; assists to form National Asso- ciation, 93 ; his letter to Mr. W. E. Gladstone, 94. Wybrow, Miss C, an object of poHce tyranny, 32. ^* Names of Workers not found in the above Index will be in Appendix A. Simmons & Botteit, Printers, Shoo Lane, London, E.G. 26 5^ L University of California Library Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. iMism. Wn 1998 WAY « ^"'^ KiRe ^ Qt JANi 1 2000 ^ qZOOO rm L£ ?Qfl7 987 1996 mi i