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being expensive. I therefore adopted light moonj mats, which are hung like canvas purdas
from the top of the door of the cells. These have not yet been used ; but I believe that, when
watered, they will be found nearly as effective as khus khus tattees; and, being light, they
can easily be pushed aside for the attendant to look into the cell. Their material is
very cheap, and as they are so simple in construction that they can be made by the lunatics,
the manufacture of them costs nothing.
Management of cases on
admission.
5. In order to avoid the chance of any contagious disorder being introduced into the
Asylum, every insane person, on admission, is put into the quarantine
ward. At the end of 10 days, if no contagious disorder have appeared,
he is transferred either to the general ward or the criminal ward, or to
the hospital, as the case may be. While in quarantine, he is carefully examined,—the cause
and nature of his complaint are investigated; and during the last six months notes of every
case have been taken and copied in a case-book.
Forms and causes of in-
sanity.
6. The forms of insanity during 1871 are shown in the returns, from which it will be
observed that acute mania is by far the commonest. The causes are
also given as far as ascertained ; but this table of causes cannot be con-
sidered very reliable. Often the only information obtainable is from
the lunatic himself, and hence the numbers in the column headed " Unknown" are rather large.
An inquiry was made during the year with reference to the effect of the preparations of Indian
hemp in producing violent insanity and crime, the result of which it may perhaps be well to
embody in this report.
Inquiry was made about the 248 lunatics who were in the Lunatic Asylum on the 27th
November last. The sources of information were necessarily imperfect, being, in fact, simply the
rolls of the insane people furnished on admission or the statements of the lunatics themselves.
It is probable that all the persons reported as addicted to hemp were correctly so reported,
though doubtless there were many other inmates of the Asylum who had been in the habit of
using it, but were unwilling to confess it.
It appeared from the inquiry that out of 248 lunatics 89 were in the habit of
using some preparation of hemp (men 82; women 7; total 89). Of these 17 were criminals,
14 having committed violent crimes. The whole number of criminals confined for violent
crimes was 28 ; hence half, or 50 per cent., probably had been predisposed to commit these
crimes by the use of this intoxicating drug.
Of the non-criminals 72 were reported as using hemp; but only 17 of them were violent.
As, however, any of these 17 violent men, if let loose, might commit violent crimes, they were
bracketed together with the violent criminals that indulged in hemp. Hence it appeared that
of the 89 persons said to be addicted to hemp 31 were dangerous characters, or 34.33 per
cent.
Criminal lunatics.
7. Of the 144 persons admitted during the past year 14 were criminals. Of these
criminals, 10 were either really insane or in a doubtful condition,
which rendered transfer to the Asylum desirable. Two were certainly
not insane when they came to me, and two others were persons that had been previously
discharged from the institution sane. Both of these latter I believe to have feigned
insanity in order to be sent to the Asylum. One of them, indeed, had not done so
lately, but had so persuaded those who had charge of him that he was liable to homicidal
mania that he was sent back to the Asylum for safe keeping. In my opinion the greatest
possible care should be exercised to avoid sending such persons to a Lunatic Asylum, for not only
are they most troublesome inmates, but they defeat the ends of justice, as some of them who
have been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment thus contrive to pass their time in an
institution where there is no hard labor, while others not yet convicted postpone indefinitely
the time of their trial.
Education.
8. An attempt has been made during the past year to teach a few of the patients to
read, and books have been supplied here and there to those who
were able to use them. The head warder is paid a small sum monthly
out of the Savings Fund for instructing the lunatics, and some of them seem to have made fair
progress.
Savings Fund.
9. The proceeds of the sale of the garden produce, of the manure, and old clothing of
the Asylum form a fund called the Savings Fund, the principal part
of which is kept as a deposit in the Government Savings Bank, and
now amounts to Rs. 248-1-6.
Manufactures.
10. The proceeds of the manufactures now amount to Rs. 83-2-1, which is also deposited
in the Government Savings Bank. This sum, Rs. 83-2-1 plus Rs. 100
credited to Government in October (total Rs. 183-2-1), represents
the profit from the manufactures in the Asylum during the past year. This profit is periodi-
cally credited to Government, reserving only a small sum (about 12 rupees per mensem) for
current expenditure on raw material.
Lunatics' money.
11. The money belonging to the lunatics themselves is credited to a separate account
in the Government Savings Bank and kept for them till their
discharge.