On the failure of the Contagious Diseases Acts : as proved by the official evidence submitted to the Select Committee of the House of Commons, 1879, 1880 and 1881 / James Stansfeld.

  • Stansfeld, James, 1820-1898.
Date:
[1881]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the failure of the Contagious Diseases Acts : as proved by the official evidence submitted to the Select Committee of the House of Commons, 1879, 1880 and 1881 / James Stansfeld. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    of the resolution. Perhaps no part of the statement which he had listened to had been so gratifying to him as that in which Mr. Stansfeld had stated that time was come when both in season and out of season this matter should he pi'essed upon the notice of Parliament. (Hear, hear.) One of the most disgraceful facts in Parliamentary history, was the fact that a report like that from the Government Commission of Hong Kong should have been laid before Parliament for two years, a report the contents of which were so terrible, and that not a single question had been put to the Govern- ment of England to know what they were doing or intended to do in reference to the disclosures in that report. No more disgraceful or disgusting statements were ever produced to any Government, ancient or modern, Christian or pagan—(hear, hear)—and they had awakened no response whatsoever in Parliament. After alluding in detail to the horrors of the legalized system of prostitution in Hong Kong (which have been published in our pages), and to the revenue derived therefrom by the Colonial Government, the speaker said they must indeed labour in season or out of season—he did not care much which—to have the whole subject dragged before Parliament and before the public. (Applause.) The speaker then inquired of Mr. Stansfeld whether the introduction of a Kepeal Bill would be likely to be made a reason for dispensing with the further evidence to be produced before the House of Commons Committee. Judging by the summaries which had hitherto appeared in The Shield, he thought that a large portion of the moral and constitutional evidence had yet to be brought forward. He hoped there would be an opportunity of producing evidence on these grounds. Mr. Stansfeld : I cannot deny that there is an element of difficulty and awkwardness in the course I propose, but I have given my reasons for adopting it, and it is evident you approve of those reasons. No course that can be taken is free from difficulty. I shall give some time to it, but if I have to compress much of moral and religious evidence, it will be because they cannot possibly meet us on that ground. It may be that the pro-Act party on the Committee may meet my move by a counter move of their own. But the course I propose meets your approval and your wishes, and I deliberately think the time has arrived when I, who am responsible for the conduct of this
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