2
Criminal insanes.
Major Ewens makes some remarks bearing on the association of criminal
insanes with ordinary patients. This
system is certainly open to objection, and
it cannot be justified on the ground of economy, more especially as the labour of
the criminal lunatics could be equally well, if not more effectively, employed in
a separate institution or in an annexe to the existing one. And it must be re-
membered that it is not a case of the association of criminal insanes with insane
non-criminal lunatics, for, as pointed out by Major Ewens, the former remain for
long periods in the asylum after recovery, during which they are in daily contact
with ordinary patients, including those awaiting discharge after recovery.
Profits and manufactures.
7. The profits from manufactures which were Rs. 5,479-11-4 in 1906,
rose to Rs. 6,538-10-1 in 1907, but de-
clined last year to Rs. 4,286-13-11, the
decrease being ascribed by Major Ewens to loss of income from the sale of grass,
owing to some of the best land previously available having been taken up as a
site for the new hospital, and to sickness having diminished the working numbers.
But in regard to the latter cause it has to be noted that the average number
employed on manufactures was 148.40 last year as compared with 134.06 in
1907, and 142.05 in 1906. Some difficulty has been experienced in getting an
adequate supply of woollen yarn required for the manufacture of clothing and
bedding. But by giving timely notice of requirements it ought to be possible
to arrange with one or other of the woollen mills for a sufficient supply ; and
articles that cannot be made up in the asylum ought to be got from the Mont-
gomery Central Jail, in which there is a big woollen industry.
8. The garden is a good one, and it affords the means of employing a
large number of the inmates in a pleasant way that must be congenial to them
and conducive to their recovery.
Establishment.
9. It is unfortunate that the large enhancement of the scale of wages of
the attendants, sanctioned by Government in 1907, has been nullified by the
great increase that has taken place in the market rate of labour during the past
few years. The duties the keepers have to perform are extremely distasteful,
and it is very doubtful whether any reasonable remuneration would induce men of
a suitable type to take the service ;
if men of the proper stamp are to be
had at any price in this country. The present keepers are of the same class as jail
warders, and it is to be hoped they will improve with careful handling and patient
instruction in the discharge of their duties, such as they may expect at Major
Ewens' hands.
Major Ewens expresses himself very sympathetically respecting the
excellent service done by the Franciscan nuns, under whose supervision the
management of the female portion of the asylum is conducted. Their presence
is a most wholesome influence ; it has transformed their charge for the better in
a way that could hardly have been anticipated, and it insures a state of discipline
and general well-being among the female patients that is a source of great grati-
fication to every one interested in the institution.
10. A great deal has been done during the past three years to improve
the amenities of the asylum, but it need hardly be said that there is room for
further advance in the same direction. On completion of the new hospital
the spacious enclosure, in which the buildings are situated, will be laid out in
lawns and flower beds ; and by demolishing some of the divisional walls, the
asylum can be made to look less like a jail than it does at present.
Buildings.
11. The additions to the buildings to which Major Ewens refers were
sanctioned by Government in 1907. They comprise an excellent hospital for
150 patients, designed to fulfil modern requirements, and special wards in a
separate enclosure for the segregation of tuberculous patients. As soon as the
new buildings are ready for the reception
of the sick, the existing hospital will
be utilised for the accommodation of convalescents, who will then be placed
under conditions much more favourable to their recovery. With the facilities
the new buildings will afford, it may be confidently anticipated that in future
years the asylum will shew greatly reduced sick and death rates, Major Ewens