Report of Royal Commission upon the Administration and Operation of the Contagious Diseases Acts.
- Great Britain. Royal Commission on the Contagious Diseases Acts
- Date:
- 1871
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Report of Royal Commission upon the Administration and Operation of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
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![6. Letter from Commander-in-Chief at Devonport, dated ■I2th May 1871. (Copy.) No. 683. Extension of Contagious Diseases Act. Royal Adelaide, near Hamoaze, Sir, 12th May 1871. Understanding that a petition has been for warded from Devonport and Plymoutli, signed by several of the leading residents, in favour of an extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts at present in force, I am desirous of recording, through their Lordships, my concurrence in the object of the petition. 2. I have already made their Lordships aware by my letter. No. 92, of the 16th January 1871, of the strong feeling I entertain in favour of these Acts, having, from my ofllcial position here, had opportunities of observing the great benelit they have conferred on the community at large, and the tendency they have afforded to reclaim the women themselves ; but not having had an opportunity of expressing verbally my convictions to the Commission now sitting to inquire into this important question, I have to request that this expression of my opinion may be for- warded to the Chairman of the Commission without delay. I am, &c. (Signed) H. Codrington, Admiral. The Secretary of the Admiralty. Let ter from Mr. Newton to CoMsiANDER-iN-CniEir, China and Japan. Sir, Yokohama, January 23rd, 1871- I BEG most respectively to submit the following report of my proceedings for the mitigation of venereal diseases during the quarter ending the 31st of December 1870, for your favourable consideration. Having obtained your permission I proceeded from Yokohama to Nagasaki, in the beginning of November, with the object of 1st, establishing a lock hospital, and, 2nd, to introduce a system for checking the contagion of venereal diseases by means of compulsory medical examinations of all the public prostitutes. The first object was attained after considerable trouble by the governor giving the Temple of Daitokugii for con- version into a lock hospital, and appointing a superin- tendent, three native doctors, and an interpreter to form the staff of officials. After the necessary alterations had been made it was opened for the admission of patients, and by the 25th of December 91 prostitutes suffering from venereal diseases had been taken in for treatment and con- finement until cured. They all expressed themselves thankful for the comforts afforded them, and for the benefits derived from the establishment. The second object was attended with only partial success. This was owing to objections of the authorities to making the examinations compulsory in deference to the wishes of a few brothel keepers. In Nagasaki the prostitutes are confimed to three brothel districts, named respectively Mornyama, Naminohira, and Lomachi. The public women in the two latter districts voluntarily submitted themseh'es to medical examinations weekly. At the first inspection 56'8 per cent, were found affected with venereal diseases, which showed the necessity of the preventive measures being made general and compulsory, more especially as many of the women had sufi^ered for months, even years, and presented sad evidences of the power of the disease. The brothels in which the women who are inspected periodically reside are indicated to the ])ublic by large numerals painted over the doors. I considered it advisable to apply tu the foreign consuls resident at Nagasaki for their official supervision of the lock hospital thus inaugurated, with a view to its permanent maintenance and to its ultimately becoming an efficient institution, conferring benefits alike to natives and foreigners of all nations resorting to that port, and my thanks are due to the consuls for the ready and kind manner they assured me of their best support and countenance. As it was necessary that I should return to Yokohama, Dr. Fishei', of the United States Consulate, humanely undertook the management of the hospital after my departure on the 26th December. Yokohama. On my return, on the 31st December, I found that the duties of the Yokohama Lock Hospital, and the medical examination of all the prostitutes, had been effectually and strictly carried out during my absence, for which I am indebted to my native, assistants, Drs. Hihachi, Matzyama, and Mihajima. Sanitary Surveillance. Number of Detected ■with Venereal Months. Women Diseases examined. detained in Hospital. October 5,061 129 November 4,926 97 December 5,069 112 Total - 15,056 338 Hospital Returns for the Quarter ending 31st December 1870. Disease. Patierits who re- mained from last Quarter. Patients since admitted. Dis •6 6 >eharg •a & o ed. P Patients remaining in Hospital 31st Deer. 1S70. Syphilis and GonorrhcBa 120 338 321 18 1 118 And I have to submit further, for your favourable con- sideration, that as an epidemic of malignant small-pox is e.vtremely prevalent in Yokohama, affecting foreigners and natives, the latter with unusual severity, I offered my spare services through Sir Harry Parkes, Her Majesty's Minister, to the Japanese authorities with the object of establishing stations for gratuitous and compulsory vaccination, and also to organise a system of house to house visitation by native practitioners, and the opening of small-pox hospitals, which I trust wll meet with your approval. Vaccination stations have now been opened in Yokohama and the neighbouring towns, and two buildings set apart for the accommodation of those affected with small-pox. I have, &c., Geo. Newton, Surgeon, R.N. To Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kellett, K.C.B., &c., Commander-in-Chief, China and Japan. No. 38. Ocean, at Hong Kong, 2nd February 1871. [Forwarded for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.] Mr. Newton has now extended his valuable labours to Nagasaki, and intends snortly to establish a lock hospital and a system of compulsory examination at Hiogo also. Their Lordships will no doubt note with pleasure the new advantage we are gaining from Mr. Newton's zealous exertions, and the confidence reposed in him by the Japanese, viz., the establishment of stations for gratuitous and compulsory vaccination. This is a very important point gained, for small-pox is always prevalent in Japan, and is generally of a malignant type. Henry Kellett, Vice-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief, 15th March 1870. From the Southampton Branch of the National Anti-Contagious Diseases Acts Association, asking that the operation of the Act in the borough may be suspended until its provisions are discussed in Parliament. (Copy.) Dear Sir, March 15, 1870. I HAVE the honour of transmitting to you the en- closed memorial of the Southampton Branch Society of the National Anti-Contagious Diseases Acts Association agreed to rt a meeting held last evening at the house of William Westlake, Esq., 10, Brunswick Place, South- ampton. The resolution that the memorial be presented to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty was moved by the Rev. G. Proctor, M.A., of St. James' Church, Southampton, and seconded by E. T. Stace, Esq., of The Lawn, Portswood, Southampton. 5 0 2](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21365945_0941.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
