The Hon. the Minister of Health, Wellington.
SIR—
The Committee of the Board of Health appointed by you to inquire into and report upon the subject of venereal diseases in New Zealand have the honour to submit herewith their report.
Section 1.—Origin and Scope of Inquiry.
A perusal of departmental files reveals that many persons and bodies have during recent times urged upon the Government the desirability of setting up a Committee or Commission of Inquiry to go into this subject. The appointment of the present Committee, however, arose out of a suggestion forwarded to the Chairman of the Board of Health, under date of the 20th June, 1922, from the Council of the New Zealand Branch of the British Medical Association. The Board of Health duly considered the representations of the Association and passed a resolution recommending the Minister to set up a committee to gather data and to make recommendations as to the best means of preventing and combating venereal diseases. The proposal thereafter took concrete form, following the receipt by the members of this Committee of the under-quoted letter, dated 13th July, 1922, sent out under your direction by the Secretary of the Board of Health:—
"I am directed by the Hon. the Minister of Health, Chairman of this Board, to inform you that, acting upon the recommendation of the Board, he has decided to appoint a special Committee from among the members of the Board to conduct an inquiry into the question of venereal diseases in New Zealand. The following members are being asked to become members of the Committee, and the Chairman trusts you will see your way to accept the position: Dr. Valintine, Dr. Elliott, Lady Luke, Hon. Mr. Triggs, Sir Donald McGavin, Mr. Fraser. The Hon. the Minister has asked the Hon. Mr. Triggs to accept the chairmanship of the Committee.
"I am further directed to state that the function and duty laid upon the Committee is as follows:—
"(1.) To inquire into and report upon the prevalence; of venereal disease in New Zealand.
"(2.) To inquire into and report any special reasons or causes for the existence of venereal disease in New Zealand.
"(3.) To advise as to the best means of combating and preventing venereal disease in New Zealand, and especially as to the necessity or otherwise of fresh legislation in the matter.
"The Minister of Health is anxious that the Committee should hear such evidence and representations on the above-mentioned matters as may be necessary to fully inform the Committee on the items referred to it, and with respect to which it is asked to report, and he further suggests to the Committee that the various organizations and persons likely to be interested should be notified that the Committee will, at a certain place and date, in Wellington, hear any evidence they may desire to tender."
The Committee regrets that owing to ill health Dr. Valintine, Director-General of Health, was unable to act as one of its members. His place was taken by Dr. J.P. Frengley, Deputy Director-General of Health. Unfortunately, illness also overtook Mr. Murdoch Fraser, who has been unable to attend the sittings of the Committee since the middle of August. The remaining members have been present at all sittings of the Committee, details of which are appended in the following table:—
| Places and Dates of Sittings. | Witnesses examined or Work done. |
| Wellington, 26th July, 1922 (forenoon only) |
Preliminary meeting. |
| Wellington, 8th August, 1922 (forenoon only) |
Dr. M.H. Watt, Director, Division of Public Hygiene. Dr. B.F. Aldred, Officer in Charge Venereal Diseases Clinic. |
| Wellington, 9th August, 1922 (forenoon only) |
Hon. Dr. W.E. Collins, M.L.C. Mr. J. Caughley, M.A., Director of Education. |
| Auckland, 17th August, 1922 | Dr. Falconer Brown, Officer in Charge Venereal Diseases Clinic. Dr. Hilda Northcroft. Dr. Frank Macky. Dr. W. Gilmour, Bacteriologist and Pathologist, Auckland Hospital. Dr. C.E. Maguire, Medical Superintendent, Auckland Hospital. Dr. W.H. Parkes. Dr. J. Hardie Neil. Dr. R. Tracy Inglis, Medical Officer, St. Helens Hospital. Dr. E.W. Sharman, Port Health Officer. Dr. W.H. Pettit. |
| Auckland, 18th August, 1922 | Mrs. De Treeby, representing Women's International and Political League. Dr. D.N.W. Murray, Medical Officer to Prisons Department. Mr. R.J. Pudney. Mr. Egerton Gill. Mrs. Harrison Lee Cowie. Mrs. E.B. Miller. Dr. Kenneth Mackenzie. Dr. E.H. Milsom. Dr. E. Carrick Robertson. Rev. Jasper Calder. Mr. F.L. Armitage, Government Bacteriologist. Dr. W.A. Fairclough. Dr. A.N. McKelvey, Medical Officer, Costley Home. |
| Christchurch, 29th August, 1922 | Dr. A.C. Thomson, Officer in Charge Venereal Diseases Clinic. Dr. P.C. Fenwick. Mrs. E. Roberts, President Women's Branch, Social Hygiene Society. Mrs. A.E. Herbert. Dr. A.B. Pearson, Bacteriologist and Pathologist, Christchurch Hospital. Nurse E.M. Stringer, Health Patrol. Dr. W. Fox, Medical Superintendent, Christchurch Hospital. Dr. C.H. Upham, Port Health Officer. Dr. C.L. Nedwill, Medical Officer to Prisons Department. Dr. D.E. Currie. Dr. J. Guthrie. Dr. W. Irving, Medical Officer, St. Helens Hospital. Dr. A.C. Sandston, President, Men's Branch Social Hygiene Society. Major R. Barnes, Salvation Army Officer. Dr. A.B. Lindsay. |
| Dunedin, 31st August, 1922 | Dr. A. Marshall, Officer in Charge Venereal Diseases Clinic. Dr. A.R. Falconer, Medical Superintendent, Dunedin Hospital. Dr. H.L. Ferguson, Dean Medical Faculty, Otago University. Dr. Emily H. Seideberg, Medical Officer, St. Helens Hospital. Dr. J.A. Jenkins. Canon E.R. Nevill, representing the Dunedin Council of Sex Education. Miss Pattrick, Director of Plunket Nursing. Mr. J.M. Galloway, representing Society for Protection of Women and Children. Dr. F.R. Riley. |
| Wellington, 12th September (forenoon only) |
Dr. W. Young. Mr. T.R. Cresswell, Headmaster, Wellington College. Mr. W.W. Cook, Registrar-General. Mr. Malcolm Fraser, Government Statistician. Mr. W.D. Hunt. Rev. R.S. Gray. |
| Wellington, 13th September (forenoon only) |
Dr. Frank Hay, Inspector-General of Mental Defectives. Mrs. Henderson, Representative Women Prisoners' Welfare Society and Wellington Branch National Council of Women. Rev. Van Staveren, Jewish Rabbi. |
| Wellington, 14th September | Dr. Agnes Bennett, Medical Officer, St. Helens Hospital. Mrs. F. McHugh, Health Patrol. Mr. F. Castle, President Pharmacy Board, and Chairman Wellington Hospital Board. Dr. D.M. Wilson, Medical Superintendent, Wellington Hospital. Mr. A.H. Wright, Commissioner of Police. Mr. W. Dinnie, ex-Commissioner of Police, representing Bible in Schools Propaganda Committee. Rev. J.T. Pinfold, D.D., representing Wellington Ministers' Association. Canon T. Feilden Taylor, appointed by the Bishop of Wellington. |
| Wellington, 15th September | Major Winton, Salvation Army. Mr. W. Beck, Officer in Charge Special Schools Branch, Education Department. Dr. D.E. Platts-Mills, representing Young Women's Christian Association. Mrs. Morpeth, representing Young Women's Christian Association. Miss Dunlop, representing Young Women's Christian Association. Mrs. Glover, Salvation Army. |
| Wellington, 26th September | Consideration of report. |
| Wellington, 10th October | Consideration of report. |
| Wellington, 12th October | Consideration of report. |
| Wellington, 13th October | Consideration of report. |
| Wellington, 18th October | Final meeting. |
It will thus be seen that, apart from time spent in travelling, the Committee have met on seventeen days and have heard seventy-four witnesses in person.
The Committee would like to express their thanks to the witnesses, many of whom had gone to considerable trouble to collect information and prepare their evidence. Thanks are also due to the British Medical Association for their willing co-operation and assistance; to the large number of members of the medical profession throughout the Dominion who responded to the Committee's request for information; to Dr. J.H.L. Cumpston, Federal Director-General of Health, Melbourne, for much Australian information on the subject, particularly in relation to Commonwealth quarantine provisions; to Dr. Everitt Atkinson, Commissioner of Public Health, Perth, West Australia, for a most lucid and informative report on the working of the legislation in force in that State; and to many other persons who by means of correspondence and literature have placed at the Committee's disposal a large amount of information which has been of material assistance in considering various aspects of the problems involved.
The Committee desire to acknowledge their indebtedness to their secretary, Mr. C.J. Drake, whose wide knowledge of public-health matters has been of material assistance in their investigations and who has discharged his duties with marked zeal and ability.
Section 2.—Venereal Diseases and their Effects.
One result of the Committee's investigations has been to show that the public in general are very ignorant regarding the nature of venereal diseases, and their lamentable effects not only upon the individuals infected, but upon the health and well-being of the community as a whole. This ignorance of the nature of the problem and of the grave issues involved naturally stands in the way of the evil being grappled with effectually. Furthermore, the policy of reticence which has prevailed in the past, while it has led to the omission of proper instruction of the young, either by their parents or as part of our system of education, has not prevented the dissemination of an incomplete or perverted knowledge of the facts relating to sex, which, being derived as a rule from tainted sources of information, has been productive of a great deal of evil.
In these circumstances the Committee feel it their duty, before making known their recommendations, to state in as plain terms as possible the medical aspects of the problem they have had to consider.
There are three forms of venereal diseases namely, syphilis, gonorrhœa, and chancroid—and of these the first two are the common and most serious diseases. That sporadic syphilis existed in antiquity and even in prehistoric times is probable, but there is no doubt that the disease was a malignant European pandemic in the closing years of the fifteenth century. The first reference to its origin is in a work written about the year 1510, wherein it is described as a new affection in Barcelona, unheard of until brought from Hayti by the sailors of Columbus in 1493. The army of Charles VIII carried the scourge through Italy, and soon Europe was aflame. "Its enormous prevalence in modern times," says Dr. Creighton, "dates, without doubt, from the European libertinism of the latter part of the fifteenth century." Gonorrhœa also has its origin in the shades of antiquity, but that it became common in Europe about 1520 is a fact based on the highest authority.
Syphilization follows civilization, and syphilis is an important factor in the extermination of aboriginal races. Syphilis was introduced into Uganda when that country was opened to trade with the coast, and Colonel Lambkin reported that "In some districts 90 per cent. suffer from it. … Owing to the presence of syphilis the entire population stands a good chance of being exterminated in a very few years, or left a degenerate race fit for nothing." The earliest known account of the introduction of syphilis into the Maori race is in an old Maori song composed in the far North. The Maori population in a village on the shores of Tom Bowline's Bay was employed in a whaling-station on the Three Kings Islands, and there they became infected and carried the disease to the mainland. Venereal disease is not common now among the Maoris, but it made great ravages in the early days of colonization, to which may be attributed much of the sterility and repeated miscarriages in the transitional period of Maori history.
Through the ages great confusion existed as to the origin and nature of venereal disease, but in 1905 a micro-organism, the Spironema pallidum, was demonstrated as the infective agent in syphilis, and the gonococcus as the infecting organism of gonorrhœa had been discovered in 1879. As regards modes of infection, syphilis is contracted usually by sexual congress; occasionally the mode of infection is accidental and innocent, and congenital transmission is not uncommon. Gonorrhœa is contracted by sexual congress as a rule, but occasionally from innocent contact with discharges, as in lavatories.