§ MAJOR RASCHI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he will consider the advisability of appointing a Committee, next Session, to inquire into the working of the Contagious Diseases Acts with reference to the British Army quartered in India?
§ MR. JAMES STUART (Shoreditch, Hoxton)asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention had been called to the views repeatedly expressed by the Army Sanitary Commission, that the system of the Contagious Diseases Acts in India had proved a failure, and that its reinstitution could not consequently be advocated on sanitary grounds; and whether, considering these views and the strong opposition which existed to such measures on moral 112 grounds, the Government would direct the attention of the Indian authorities to the memoranda on the subject by the Army Sanitary Commission, and to the remedial measures suggested by them?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURYIn answer to the Question on the Paper, and that of the hon. Gentleman opposite, I have to say that there is no doubt as to the gravity of the present state of things. We understand that there is a dispute whether, and how far, this state of things is due to recent legislation. The Government will consider the propriety of an Inquiry, either by Committee or otherwise, to decide the controversy as to the facts.