Report from the Select Committee on Contagious Diseases Acts, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence, and appendix, 1882.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on the Contagious Diseases Acts.
Date:
1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report from the Select Committee on Contagious Diseases Acts, together with the proceedings of the committee, minutes of evidence, and appendix, 1882. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    N D E X. l_N.B.—In this Index the Figures following the Names of the Witnesses, and those in the Analysis of Evidence of each Witness, refer to the Questions in the livideiice; the Figures following yipp. refer to the Pages in the Appendix; and the Numerals following Hep, to the Pages in the Report] ACTS OF 1864, 1866, AND 18G9 ; 1. Concurrence of Evidence adverse to the Acts on Moral, Religious, and other Grounds. 2. Memorials, Petitions, and Resolutions in condemnation of the Acts, and in favour of their Repeal. 3. Evidence in general approval of the Acts. 4. Petitions against the Repeal of the Acts; Extension suggested. 5. Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee, 1. Concurrence of Evidence adverse to the Acts on Moral, Religious, and other Grounds: Strong denunciation of the Contagious Diseases Acts, as in operation in the Chatham district; improvement in the moral condition of the town owing to causes entirely irre- spective of the Acts, Wheeler logj et seq. Admission that some good may have resulted from the Acts (good often conies out of evil), tiiouyh the evil effects are infinitely greater, z6. 1521-1523. 1562. 1566-1568. 1736-1739. 1830-1836. Details in support of witness' objections to the application of the Acts to Woolwich, Baker 2018 et seq. Condemnation of the Acts on moral and religious grounds, more especially as providing for the commission with impunity of a sin forbidden by God, ib. 2098-2100. 2128-2132. 2223-2251 Argument that the law should not regulate vice but should abolish it; condemnation of the Acts as regulating and recognising prostitu- tion rather than as tolerating it, ib. 2151. 2223-2238. 2287-2294. Explanation that witness, thoush preferring that women should perish from disease rather than continue in prostitufion, fully approves of hospital treatment of venereal patients on the voluntary principle, but not of compulsory examination and treatment under Act of Parliament, Baker 2159-2162. 2220-2222. 2239-2251. 2295-2298. 2332- 2335 Heavy balance of evil influence against the Acts, though in incidental cases good influence may have been exercised by the persons who administer the system, iVheeler 2382-2389 Mischievous results from the publicity and general notoriety of the Acts, and of the machinery by which they are carried into operation, Rimbault ^Q^Q- 3552. Strong denunciation of the Acts generally, witness not seeing a single characteristic in their favour. Cooper 3937-3940 Belief that philanthropic and religious people everysyhere are totally opposed to the Acts, ib. 4173. 4i9i. As a Congregational minister witness submits strong objections to the Acts on moral grounds, and forcibly condemns the principle on which they are founded, as well as their vicious operation, Gledstone 4416 et seq. Even with a highly satisfactory hygienic result the Acts are so essentially bad that such result would not influence witness' mind in their favour, ih. 4587-4591. 4621 Reference to the views expressed by Mr. Galbraith that the Acts were an attempt upon the part of man to abrogate a penalty which God had inflicted upon vice; strong objection to the Government giving guarantees beforehand that men should be safe from tiie penalties of vice, z'i. 5514-5519. 5592.