2
5. Statement IV— Occupations.—Agriculturists furnished 22 admissions-
labourers 8, begger, 2
servants 8, document writers 1, sadhus 1, car
penters 1, toddy sellers 1, water carriers 1, tailors 1, hakims 1, sweepers 1,
herdsmen 1, goldsmiths 1, wanderers 1, dependents 1 ; and in 20 cases the pre-
vious occupation was not known.
6. Statement V—Ages.—As regards age, the total of 72 is made up of
admissions of 4 patients under 20 years of age, 59 between the ages of 20 and
40, 7 between 40 and 60 years, and 2 above 60.
7. Statement VI—Types of Insanity.—A physical cause was alleged in
34 cases, a moral in 1, and no cause in 37 of the total admissions. Of physical,
ganja and alcohol are the commonest, 25 per cent. as verified by the Commit-
ting authority and usually admitted by the patient. Syphilis is rarely alleged
though its stigmata are not uncommon in patients, and in fact in the
parasyphilitic affection general paralysis is not frequent. Heredity was
alleged in 3 cases, epilepsy in 4. If one may judge from what was seen on
admission, privation and masturbation must be common causes. Beyond what
one actually sees and can learn from the patient very little can be known as
to causation. The descriptive rolls of lunatics sent to the asylum are too
of ten perfunctorily made out probably from unreliable Police reports on the
previous history of the patients.
8. Statement VIII—Finance—Expenditure.—The
total receipts from all
sources aggregated Rs. 27,791 against Rs. 24,926 in 1911 and Rs. 27,439 in 1910.
This increase over 1911 was due to increased average daily strength, higher prices
of some articles of diet, and cost of new buildings. There was an increase of
Rs. 121 in the receipts from paying patients, but a falling off of Rs. 122 in
receipts from stores manufactured.
The charges for establishment, contingencies, medicines, clothing and bed-
ding, diet and works done by Public Works Department, amounted during the year
to Rs. 9,099, Rs. 2,982, Rs. 276, Rs. 866, Rs. 11,707 and Rs. 2,623, as against
Rs. 9,128, Rs. 2,936, Rs. 299, Rs. 1,169, Rs. 9,465, and Rs. 1,817 respectively, in
1911. The average cost per head was Rs. 111-13-10 as compared with
Rs. 107-12-10 in 1911, an increase due mainly to public works and to higher rates
paid for food-grains.
9. Statement IX— The conduct of the superior staff was good, but it
becomes more difficult daily to secure a good class of attendants for asylum work
at the pay offered. Something must be done to make it easy to secure more
intelligent men and a larger number of them. To provide only 20 attendants
for 215 males and 6 attendants for 39 females is to ensure the minimum of
attention. In fact it seems futile to expect better personal attention from
caste-ridden men and the only hope of the asylum is from some Christian
brotherhood and sisterhood.
10. Statement X—Manufactures.—There
have been actually no manufac-
tures during the year as the workshed had to be dismantled and has only just
been rebuilt.
11. General remarks.—The proposal to build a central asylum at Ranchi
has for some years paralysed all efforts to improve Patna, but it has in the
new province been realised that something must be done at once to make this
asylum suitable for the needs of the next few years. Before the close of this
financial year it is expected that accommodation will be provided for 45 lunatics,
and it is hoped that representations already made will lead to the amelioration
of most of the defects pointed out above.
The 13th February 1913.
C. E. SUNDER, M.D.,
LIEUT.-COL., I.M.S.,
Superintendent, Patna Lunatic
Asylum, Bankipore.