160 STATISTICS OF THE JAIL POPULATION OF BENGAL FROM 1859 TO 1876. [Section III.
The ten-year standard which I have based on the statistics of 1867-76 is a fair average.
It is arranged by months, and detailed for administrations; it is
a valuable record illustrative of the relation of disease to the
conditions prevailing at different seasons in the various pro
- v i n c i a l a r e a s . T h e s e a r e a s a r e i n s o m e i n s t a n c e s m a d e u p o f s u b - d i v i s i o n s w h i c h c a n b e
recognised as natural; and the statistics of these I have thought it worth while to show separ
-ately. Again, some jails are healthy, and others are unhealthy; some are typical, and some have
special characteristics which necessitate special illustration. On this account, I have selected
for permanent record a few jails whose statistics teach something which it is important to
recognise, and every one of these cases will be found of suf f icient interest to justify the selection.
The standard is made up of a series of fifty-six tables, and the general scheme may be comprehended by a perusal of the Table of Contents prefixed.
The phenomenon so strikingly illustrated in the case of the Native Army is here repeated;
the prison population remains healthy up to August, and be
- t w e e n A u g u s t a n d J a n u a r y 6 5 p e r c e n t . o f t h e t o t a l m o r t a l i t y
occurs. October, November and December tell upon the
health of those who are old, or debilitated by the influences of
the monsoon season; and it is the effect of cold which immediately determines the high death-
rates of these months. In August, fevers, dysentery and diseases of anæmia begin to prevail;
and towards the and of October, pneumonia comes in to carry on to a fatal termination what
has been in progress during the three unhealthy months preceding.
This is shown in the statistics of the ten years by these proportionate ratios:—
DISTRIBUTION OF MORTALITY BY MONTHS.
Died out of each 100 death—Jail Population, 1867—76.
All Causes.* Fevers. Dysentery.
G e n e r a l D e b i l i t y . Phthisis.
R e s p i r a t o r y D i s e a s e s . Apoplexy. All other Causes.
January
9.8
8.7
8.9
9. 9
9.1
14.7
4.0
10.0
February
6.7
7.9
5.3
7.1
6.4
9.9
4.6
7 . 4
March
6.0
9.8
4.2
6.3
7.l
8.3
4.0
5.9
April
5.7
8.2
4.6
5.4
7.1
6.4
3.1
6.1
May
5.7
7.0
4.3
6.0
8.2
5.8
13.4
6 . 8
June
5.5
4.9
3.9
6.0
8 . 7
5.2
37.9
6.8
July
5.4
4.0
5.0
5.8
7.4
4.9
9.4
7.4
August
7.7
6.2
8.7
9.0
8.6
4.5
5 . 1
7.9
September
9.9
8.7
12.2
9.1
7.7
6.2
4.3
9.2
October
12.2 12.7
14.5 11.0
9.0
8.4
6.8
9 . 8
November
13.0 12.7
14.9 12.4
10.8
10.7
4.3
1 1 . 8
December
12.4
9.2
13.5 12.0
9.9
15.0
3.1
10.9
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1 0 0 . 0 100 . 0
100.0
100.0
At least three-fourths of the mortality of prisoners is caused by diseases of debility.
Diarrhœa, spleen disease, and anæmia, low forms of chest affec
-tions and pulmonary consumption. Towards 100 deaths, these
in our standard contribute 75. Nor is the ratio much varied
under the different administrations. Taken in the aggregate,
this class of disease contributes to the total mortality in Bengal
82 per cent.; in the North-Western Provinces 78; in Oudh 70; in the Central Provinces 76;
and in the Punjab 58. In the Punjab fevers give double the mortality in proportion,
as compared with any other administrative area; and these fevers are in many instances the
expression in another form of the influences of the cold season on the debilitated prisoner.
Adding in non-contagious fevers, 78 per cent. of the jail mortality of the Punjab falls under
the same heads.
Composition of the Death-rate of the Presidency and of the Jails under the different
Administrations—Standard of 1867—76.
( EXCLUDI NG CHOLERA. SMALLPOX AND VI OLENT DEATHS. )
Dysentery
and
Diarrhœa.
45.2
Respiratory
Diseases.
13.9
Non- c o n t a g i o u s
Fevers.
10.7
Spleen
Disease and
Anæmia.
9.9
Phthisis.
6.4
Contagious
Fevers.
2.3
Apoplexy.
1.6
Heart
Dseases. Hepatitis.
.5
A l l o t h e r C a u s e s .
8.7
*Leaving out cholera, smallpox, and violent deaths.
Ten-year standard of 1867-76. Its
general arrangement.
Distribution of jail mortality by
months. Special diseases as related
to the monthly mortality.
Diseases of debility. Proportion
of deaths from this class of diseases
under the different administrations.
The death-rates from all causes com-
p a r e d .