4
triennium, 148 suffered from mania, 52 from dementia, 41 from melancholia and
21 from idiocv. Of these 61 were discharged as cured or improved, 46 being
cases of mania, 13 of melancholia and 2 of dementia. At Jubbulpore, where 221
lunatics were treated, 145 suffered from mania, 35 from dementia, 19 from idiocy,
17 from melancholia and 5 from delusional insanity. Of these 53 were discharged
as cured and improved, 45 being cases of mania, 4 of melancholia, 3 of delusional
insanity and 1 of dementia.
STATEMENT VII.
Alleged causes of insanity.
12. More care was taken in 1905 than in previous years in ascertaining
the cause of insanity of persons relegated to the asylum.
At Nagpur in only a few cases did the Police supply the
required information. In most cases it was obtained from relatives and friends
who visited the patients. In Jubbulpore, in only one instance was the cause of
insanity not traceable, the patient being a " silent" woman who gives no
account of herself. Her name is not known, and she has not, so far, been
identified by any one. In the majority of admissions to both asylums, ganja-
smoking, spirit-drinking, epilepsy and heredity were the chief causes. In the
case of 12 in Nagpur and 19 in Jubbulpore the insanity is attributed to moral
causes, such as religious impressions, grief, loss of property, etc.
STATEMENT VIII.
Finances.
13. The receipts from "paying patients" in the Nagpur Asylum during
the past year amounted to Rs. 2,618 against Rs. 2,147
in 1904 and Rs. 2,539 in 1903, while at Jubbulpore they
were Rs. 1,912 in 1905, Rs. 1,469 in 1904 and Rs. 1,426 in 1903. These amounts
include (1) contributions made by the Native States and British cantonments
outside the limits of the Central Provinces, for the maintenance of lunatics sent
by them, and (2) sums paid by relatives and friends towards the main-
tenance of patients.
The heading is misleading, and I think, with Major
Hendley, that the column should be sub-divided to show these items separately.
Of Rs. 1,912 received in Jubbulpore in the past year, only Rs. 97 were paid
for the support of a patient by his friends, the remainder being contributions
paid by the States to whom the lunatics were chargeable.
The total charges at the Nagpur Asylum amounted to Rs. 24,372 in 1905
against Rs. 35,960 in 1904 and Rs. 21,892 in 1903. In 1905, the erection of
an air-motor, certain improvements to the dairy, an increase in the scale of
diet with substitution of wheat for jowar as the staple food, and the purchase
of extra cattle for the dairy have contributed to the increased expenditure, while
in 1904 the erection of two wards, a block of six solitary cells and matron's
quarters increased the expenditure.
The excess expenditure under "Estab-
lishment" proper is due to revision of establishment, and that under the head
"Clothing and bedding" to the supply of additional blankets to the inmates.
The large increase under " Contingent" charges is due to the purchase of a
cream-separator and other utensils for the dairy, and the slight increase under
" Rates and taxes " is made up of the extra water tax which had to be paid for the
supply of Ambajheri tank water when the hand pumps attached to the wells failed to
work.
The total expenditure in the Jubbulpore Asylum for the past year amounted
to Rs. 13,696 against Rs. 15,601 in 1904 and Rs. 11,301 in 1903. The large
expenditure in 1904 is accounted for by the erection of a hospital and two
solitary cells. The increase in " Establishment" charges during the triennium is
due to the revision of establishment in November 1903, and that under the head
" Diet" to the revision of the diet scale and to the rise in the price of food-grains.
Incidence of expenditure.
14. The incidence of expenditure in Nagpur in 1905 was Rs. 107-14-1, the
highest recorded during the past six years, and is due to
the revision of establishment and of the diet scale In
Jubbulpore, for the same reasons, the incidence of expenditure rose from Rs. 60.8-5
in 1903 to Rs. 68-8-10 in 1904 and to Rs. 75-15-11 in 1905.
STATEMENT IX.
Establishment.
15. The pay of the warders and keepers was increased at the close of 1903,
so that a better class of subordinates might be entertained
for the watch and ward of the inmates. The establish-
ment of the Nagpur Asylum is still inadequate, and proposals are now under con-
sideration to increase it.