REPORT
ON THE
LUNATIC ASYLUMS IN BURMA
FOR THE TRIENNIUM 1915-17
Statements
III &VI.
Correction of figures for the first two years of the triennium.—On com-
paring the figures given him by his office for the year 1917 with the figures
published in the Note for the year 1916, the Superintendent of the Rangoon
Asylum found the differences under the sub-headings of column 6 of Statement I
to be so very marked as to cause him to doubt their accuracy. On reference to
the original books and registers from which these figures were supposed to have
been obtained, he discovered that neither set of figures, those given him for 1917
nor those published for 1916, was accurate. On these conditions being brought
to notice, the Superintendent was required to overhaul the statistics for all the
three years, 1915-17. This revision and re-compilation of Statements I, II and
VI have delayed the submission of the Report. The discrepancies found have
fortunately not affected in any material way the conclusions previously drawn
from the figures which had been served up. The figures consequently given now
in Statements I and II for the years 1915 and 1916 will not agree with those
returned in similar statements appended to the Notes for these years.
Statements
I & II.
2. Accommodation and population.—At the commencement of the triennium
under review, the population of the two asylums in Burma stood at 587 (479
males and 108 females), while the accommodation available in these institutions
at that time was for 655 (566 males and 90 females) inmates. On the first day
of January 1916, the population had risen to 641 (529 males and 112 females)
and on the 1st January 1917 it stood at 706 (579 males and 127 females) against
786(651 males and 135 females) at the end of the triennium which has just
closed. Thus, an average net progressive increase of 66 per annum occurred
in the triennium under review against an annual decrease of 11 in the triennial
period covered by the years 1912-14. The increases during 1915-17 were mainly
among the number admitted as civil lunatics, as will be seen from the following
figures giving the numbers in each class (civil and criminal) on the last day of each
year of the period under review :—
Males.
Year.
1915 ...
1916 ...
1917 ...
Civil.
259
291
337
Criminal.
370
288
314
Females.
Civil.
89
103
111
Criminal.
23
24
24
Totals.
Civil.
348
394
448
Criminal.
293
312
338
The average increase per annum of the civil male population being about 37
and for females about 7 against an average annual increase of 21 criminal males
and 2 females. The accommodation at the Minbu Asylum has been made full
use of for criminal males; it does not house any female insanes, civil or criminal.
The accommodation at the Rangoon institution has been taxed to its utmost
and was increased during the year 1917 by the addition of three wooden
cottages each affording accommodation for 30 inmates; one cottage being
placed in the European male section, one on the civil male side and the third being
in the female section. Overcrowding still continues, to relieve which the meal
and day sheds have to be used for sleeping purposes. Proposals to increase the
accommodation still further are under consideration, as, under the existing strain
on finance, the original scheme for building a new asylum at a cost of some 35