Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction: The Revolt of the Women
- Part I Prostitution, Social Science, and Venereal Disease
- Part II The Contagious Diseases Acts, Regulationists, and Repealers
- Part III Two Case Studies: Plymouth and Southampton Under the Contagious Diseases Acts
- 8 Plymouth and Southampton Under the Contagious Diseases Acts
- 9 The Repeal Campaign in Plymouth and Southampton, 1870–4
- 10 The Making of an Outcast Group: Prostitutes and Working Women in Plymouth and Southampton
- 11 The Hospitals
- 12 The Local Repeal Campaign, 1874–86
- Epilog
- Notes
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
12 - The Local Repeal Campaign, 1874–86
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction: The Revolt of the Women
- Part I Prostitution, Social Science, and Venereal Disease
- Part II The Contagious Diseases Acts, Regulationists, and Repealers
- Part III Two Case Studies: Plymouth and Southampton Under the Contagious Diseases Acts
- 8 Plymouth and Southampton Under the Contagious Diseases Acts
- 9 The Repeal Campaign in Plymouth and Southampton, 1870–4
- 10 The Making of an Outcast Group: Prostitutes and Working Women in Plymouth and Southampton
- 11 The Hospitals
- 12 The Local Repeal Campaign, 1874–86
- Epilog
- Notes
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
Summary
By 1874, repeal work in the subjected distorts had reached a virtual standstill, in part a reflection of the general state of discouragement that pervaded the national movement. In Plymouth, Littleton and Marshall were involved in a “holding action” and frequently turned their attention to defending indigent women in court who were charged with offenses unrelated to the C.D. acts. In that year, James Stansfeld tried to revive agitation in the dock and garrison towns through the organization of the Subjected Districts League and a new emphasis on “rescue and defense” work among the inscribed women. Beginning in 1874, but reaching a climax in 1876, deputations were once again sent down to the Three Towns, local committees were reactivated, and large public meetings were planned. In conjuction with this new agitation, the Shield carried extensive coverage of C.D. acts trials with the hope of creating another cause célèbre akin to the 1875 Percy case in Aldershot.
Although similar attempts were made to revive interest in Southampton, plans for large public meetings and rescue efforts found meager local support. Reports by national agents sent to stir up the Southampton district were discouraging; in 1875, Mr. Bligh was so disheartened by the local response that Henry Wilson of Sheffield offered to spend a day there “for the purpose of calling upon influential friends.”
The new wave of agitation was more successful in Plymouth than Southampton, probably because the old leaders and spokesmen for repeal were willing to join in the fray again.
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- Prostitution and Victorian SocietyWomen, Class, and the State, pp. 233 - 245Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1980