HC Deb 09 July 1897 vol 50 cc1461-3
MR. WEIR

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India, having regard to the reply given by Lord Sandhurst as to certain allegations relative to the methods adopted at Poona for the suppression of the plague, and more particularly as to the statement that, in the case of the inspection of the inmates of houses, there was no possibility of indignity to native women, owing to the presence of lady doctors and other ladies with search parties, will he state the number of lady doctors at Poona, and their names?

*THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Lord GEORGE HAMILTON,) Middlesex, Ealing

I am informed by the Bombay Government that the lady doctors engaged with search parties were: Miss Bernard, M.D.; Miss Crawley, L.R.C.P.; Miss Dids, hospital assistant; Mrs. Goodall, a Parsee with some medical qualifications. Other ladies were: Mrs. Taylor; Miss Kelly; Mrs. Fernandez; Mrs. Balubai Awte, Hindu; Mrs. Bhamabai Awte, Hindu; Miss E. Barnard; Miss Tarkhad, Hindu; Miss M' Intosh, the Hong-kong nurse, when not employed as a nurse. As far as I can learn, there is only one other lady in Poona with medical qualifications.

SIR M. M. BHOWNAGGREE (Bethnal Green, N.E.)

said that, arising out of the question, he wished to ask the noble Lord whether, besides lady doctors, many other ladies did not, together with independent gentlemen, at Bombay, Poona, and other plague centres, accompany those search parties which went to private houses to perform the work of inspection and other duties in connection with relief measures?

*LORD GEORGE HAMILTON

Yes, Sir; I believe that such assistance was given; and I understand that the Government encouraged such assistance. ["Hear, hear!"]

MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been directed to a letter of the late Mr. Rand, dated the 9th April, 1897, stating that women in Poona would not in the future be examined in the public streets for plague spots without the consent of the male members of their families; and, whether, having regard to this statement in this letter, lie still adheres to the declaration that no charge of indignity inflicted on females by the officials of the Indian Government at Poona has been substantiated?

*LORD GEORGE HAMILTON

The hon. Gentleman in his question asserts that the late Mr. Rand stated in a letter dated April 9th, 1897, that women in Poona were examined in public streets, for plague spots. The late Mr. Rand made no such statement in his letter of the 9th of April. ["Hear, hear!"] What he said was that no inspection of any females should hereafter take place in the streets if they or their families objected. Upon this word ''inspection" the hon. Baronet, the Member for Banffshire chose to put the interpretation that it meant stripping women in the public streets in order to detect plague spots, and currency to this interpretation has been given by the Press. The following telegram from the Government of Bombay disposes of this legend:— Street inspection mentioned in Rand's letter of April 9th last, arose thus:—When searching was first instituted, women in many houses remained in dark rooms, where it was impossible to see whether they were ill, so householders were desired to cause their women to come into open place, such as reasonably light room or courtyard or street, merely that it might be seen whether they looked ill. If there appeared reason for actual medical examination, it was conducted with every regard for decency, not in public, and in case of women never by anyone but a woman, unless no objection was raised to examination by a commissioned medical officer. Allegations that women were stripped in streets to detect Plague symptoms is malevolent fabrication." [Cheers.] "The native gentlemen and native doctors must have been cognisant of street inspection, as of all that went on. This being so, I adhere to the answer I previously gave to the effect that in the opinion of the Bombay Government no charge had been substantiated that indignity was offered by the search parties to native ladies. [Cheers.]