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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
PC.O.882/11
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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could be taken at Hongkong to reduce the prevalence of venereal disease in the China Squadron.
2. I am to request you to inform the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that the measures proposed in your letter would evoke much opposition in Parlia ment and in the country and that, in view of the representations that he has already received in regard to similar proposals elsewhere, the Secretary of State consider's it very unlikely that he would be able to sanction the suggested measures.
3. I am to suggest that the proposed conference should be informed of the difficulties, and invited to make any alternative proposals they can. They might also be invited to consider the enclosed memorandum* which has been prepared by the National Council for Combating Venereal Diseases.
18368
No. 10.
I am, &c.,
ALEX. FIDDIAN.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 16th April, 1924.)
(Confidential.)
SIR,
16th March, 1924. WITH reference to my Confidential despatch dated 7th August, 1923,† forwarding the Report of the Venereal Diseases Committee and your Confidential telegram of the 18th October, 1923, I have the honour to inform you that the Report has been published and was laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 17th December, 1923. The Appendices in Volume I, with the exception of Mr. Stirling's memorandum, were published with the Report.
2. At a meeting of the Legislative Council held on the 18th of February the Attorney-General made on behalf of the Government a statement of the remedial measures which, subject to your approval, I propose should be adopted in conse- quence of the Committee's Report. I enclose a copy of the Attorney-General's statement and of the speeches of the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council which followed it.
3. It is impossible to give effect to the recommendations of the Committee without legislation, and I enclose for your approval a copy of a draft Bill which I am convinced should be introduced without unnecessary delay. The necessity for the measures contained in this Bill is clearly demonstrated in the Committee's Report, and it is unnecessary for me to repeat the arguments. I would, however, call special attention to the section on pages 2 and 3 of the Report entitled "Social Conditions in Singapore," which describes a state of affairs unknown in any European town and hardly to be met with on the same scale even in Asia. It is necessary to emphasize this side of the question, as any opposition to the proposed Bill is mainly to be expected from those who are not well acquainted with local conditions. No reasonable person acquainted with the conditions described in the Report supposes that brothels can be abolished-any attempt to suppress them could only result in a large increase of far more undesirable practices and it is therefore, in my opinion, the clear duty of the Government to control them in such a way that the grave conditions disclosed by the Committee's Report shall cease to exist. The proposed Bill does not provide for the compulsory isolation of the infected prostitute, and I am doubtful whether its provisions are sufficiently far- reaching. I think, however, that it is bound to have good results, and should be given a fair trial before the introduction of any more stringent regulations is contemplated.
4. The Press of Malaya has strongly supported the recommendations of the Committee, and the speeches of the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council on the occasion when the policy of the Government was announced are representa- tive of public opinion in the matter. The Bishop of Singapore has written and spoken against the proposals and has sent me a letter addressed to you which I will *Not printed here. + No. 1. ‡ No. 5.
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I am
forward as soon as possible with my comments in a separate despatch.* satisfied that there is a general public demand for action on the lines proposed by the Committee.
5. I enclose a copy of a memorandum by the Solicitor-General giving the reasons for the apparent harshness of the definition of prostitute in Section 2 of the draft Bill.
6. Mr. W. H. Lee-Warner, who was Chairman of the Committee, left for England on the s.s. "Morea" on 28th February, and will be available if further information on any point is required.
I have, &c.,
SIR,
Enclosure 1 in No. 10.
L. N. GUILLEMARD.
STATEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL.
I HAVE been requested to make on behalf of the Government a short statement of the measures which the Government propose to adopt in consequence of the Report of the Venereal Diseases Committee which has recently been published.
It must be clearly understood that these measures which the Government proposes are subject to the approval of the Secretary of State, and they are now being, or shortly will be, submitted to him.
These proposals are contained in a draft Bill, the substantive provisions of which I will now state.
By the Bill, the Governor in Council may direct an official, to be called the Controller, to keep in any specified area a register of brothels, and no brothel may
be kept which is not registered. Only females may keep brothels, and every keeper of a brothel must be licensed and must reside on the premises.
With regard to the prostitutes, they must all be licensed. They must submit to medical examination by approved doctors as the Colonial Secretary directs.
Doctors and infected persons must, under penalty, notify infection. Infected persons must remove from the brothels. Their licence will be immediately with- drawn and, if they like that is rather an important phrase, because there is no compulsion as the Bill stands they can go into a hospital or hostel for the treat- ment and cure of the disease. The hospitals will be Government institutions where treatment, board and lodging are free." Hostels will be private institutions for the cure of venereal diseases, but treatment will be only by approved doctors, and all hostels must be registered.
Powers of entry and arrest are taken to secure the suppression of unregistered brothels.
A Venereal Diseases Fund is established, the source of revenue being fines recovered under the Ordinance. The objects of the Fund are principally to assist prostitutes to relinquish their calling and to enable them to be repatriated if they desire.
Further, power is taken for the making of rules by the Governor in Council for various purposes, for instance, to prevent the selling of alcoholic liquors ór of chandu in brothels and for the inspection of brothels and, generally, for the good conduct of all brothels and hostels.
These, shortly, are the measures which the Government propose to submit to the Secretary of State.
MR. CAMPBELL: Sir, I am very glad indeed that the Government has taken this opportunity of stating publicly what it proposes to do in connexion with the Report of the Venereal Diseases Committee. I must confess that the question is one in which I never took very much interest prior to the publication of this Report, but on reading that Report I came to the conclusion that if the Report is true-and there is no reason to believe that it is not the state of affairs is appalling. The Committee was a strong one, and I am glad to be able to congratulate the Govern- I feel myself that in a ment on following the findings of so strong a Committee. case of this sort we must follow expert advice and support the findings of the medical profession. (Applause.)
*No. 11.
I.