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No. 1244 , dated Lahore, 10th April 1872
From—C. M. RIVAZ , Esq.,Offg. Under-Secretary to Government , Punjab
To—The Inspector-General of Police , Punjab
I AM desired to forward the accompanying extract of the report on the
Lunatic Asylum at Dehli, for the year 1871, by the Superintendent of the
Asylum, and, with reference to Dr. Penny's remarks on the unnecessary violence
which is often practised by the Police in the arrest of lunatics, and on the in-
sufficient enquiries which are made into cases of supposed lunacy, to request
that you will turn your attention to this matter, and instruct the officers of your
department to act up to the requirements of the law in such cases.
LAHORE LUNATIC ASYLUM.
No. 1397 , dated Lahore, 30th May 1872
From—T. W. SMYTH , Esq., Offg. Commissioner and Superintendent, Lahore Division
To—The Offg. Secretary to Government, Punjab
I HAVE the honor to re-submit the Report on the Lahore Lunatic Asylum,
furnished by the Superintendent, Doctor Scriven, together with the further
information called for in your letter No. 1569, dated 3rd May 1872.
Inspection of Asylum.
2. I recently made a careful inspection of every part of the Asylum in
company with Doctor Scriven, and am able to report
that the institution is in a satisfactory state.
Classification of lunatics.
3. No minute classification of the lunatics is attempted. Males are separa-
ted from females. Criminal lunatics, under which
category come those who are awaiting trial on criminal
charges, or who, having been tried, have been acquitted
on the ground that at the time of committing the act charged they were of
unsound mind, are separated from non-criminal lunatics. Dangerous lunatics
are confined in separate cells. In other respects the lunatics are allowed to
associate freely together.
Conservancy arrangements
of Asylum.
4. Great attention is paid to the conservancy arrangements of the Asy-
lum. It is difficult, owing to the habits of the inmates,
to keep the wards and premises always clean, but unre-
mitting efforts appear to be made ; and on the occasion
of my visit I found every part of the Asylum scrupulously clean, and, with the
exception of the latrines, free from smells of every kind. The dry-earth
system of conservancy is followed, but the latrines are not covered, and, as rain
had fallen shortly before my visit, I found that the earth was not quite dry ; the
floors of the latrines were wet, and smells were emitted. Doctor Scriven is of
opinion that it is hardly practicable to erect roofs or other coverings over the
latrines, as there would be a deficient circulation of air, and, in the absence of
covering, it is difficult in wet weather to keep the latrines perfectly free from
smell.
Water-supply.
5. Very great attention is paid by Doctor Scriven to the water-supply
of the Asylum. Nine filters are at work in different parts
of the institution, and we tested the water at each filter
and found it pure and sweet. The kind of filter used by Doctor Scriven is
described by him in his report.
Outbreaks of cholera.
6. But, notwithstanding the attention paid to the water-supply, the
Lunatic Asylum was the first place where cholera made
its appearance at Lahore during the present year. Two
of the inmates of the female ward were attacked with the disease, one of whom
died ; and the disease subsequently attacked four members of a family residing
in the neighbourhood, of whom three died. This would seem to indicate that
it is to causes other than its water-supply that the Asylum owes its pre-
disposition to outbreaks of cholera, which have heretofore been so violent and
and not infrequent.