4
and that great difficulties were experienced in the absence of definite orders
in the matter. Delirium Tremens being a form of insanity, my predecessor,
Surgeon-General Edwards, decided that such cases should be taken to the
Bhowanipur Lunatic Asylum, on a written order previously obtained from
the Commissioner of Police for their admission as non-certified " under
observation " cases. The Association was not, however, satisfied with this
decision as they said " it involved unnecessary hardship on the patient and his
freinds and saddled the person for the rest of his life with the additional
stigma of being a lunatic." In order to satisfy the Association, arrangements
have been made, with the approval of Government, for the reception and
treatment of such cases in the Presidency General Hospital.
20. Statement VIII—Finance—Income.—The average annual receipts of
lunatic asylums during the period under notice amounted to Rs. 2,38,638 as
compared with Rs. 2,13,891 during the previous triennium or an increase of
Rs. 24,747 which is due to larger Government grants for structural additions
and alterations and for the upkeep of the increased population.
The average receipts from paying patients during the triennium amounted
to Rs. 17,377 as compared with Rs. 19,364 in 1912—14. The decrease occurred
entirely in the Bhowanipur Lunatic Asylum and was due to the presence of
a smaller number of higher class paying patients. The credit in the shape
of articles received from the Manufacturing Department for Asylum use
gradually diminished ; it was Rs. 13,565 in 1915, Rs. 13,266 in 1916 and
Rs. 13,173 in 1917. The scarcity and increased cost of most of the raw
materials required for manufacture were responsible for this falling off.
Expenditure.—The gross expenditure of the lunatic asylums amounted
to Rs. 2,14,119, Rs. 2,27,784 and Rs. 2,21,881 in 1915, 1916 and 1917,
respectively, or an average of Rs. 2,21,261 per annum as compared with an
average of Rs. 1,94,527 for the preceding three years The expenditures of
the Insane Ward of the Gobra Leper Asylum are not included in these
figures as no separate record is kept of them, except of the establishment.
This item cost Rs. 474 last year in the shape of the Sub-Assistant Surgeon's
allowance and Warders' pay.
The principal factors that influenced the expenditure have been the
charge for dieting patients and Public Works Department charges.
The cost under Superintendence decreased from Rs. 27,260 in 1915 to
Rs. 25,902 in 1916 and to Rs. 24,345 in 1917. The decrease was due to the
replacement in 1916 of the Deputy Superintendent of the Military Assistant
Surgeon class at Berhampore by a Civil Assistant Surgeon on a smaller pay.
Establishment charges amounted to Rs. 33,275, Rs. 34,668 and Rs. 36,853.
The increase in 1916 and 1917 was due to the revision of the keeper and
menial staff of the Dacca Lunatic Asylum which came into effect from the
middle of 1916.
The average cost per lunatic, calculated on daily average strength, was
Rs. 196-13-3 in 1915, Rs. 214-14-6 in 1916 and Rs. 209-3-6 in 1917, the mean
for the triennium being Rs. 206-15-9 against Rs. 181-6-10 for the previous
triennium.
Excluding Public Works Department charges which are generally a
heavy item of expenditure, but which do not directly enter into the calcula-
tion of the charge for the maintenance of lunatics, the average cost per head
during the triennium amounted to Rs. 184-13-9. The average cost per bead
of European lunatics was Rs. 587-7-7, whilst it was Rs. 162-8-8 in the case of
Indians.
21. Statement IX—Establishment—Owing to the reversion to military
duty of Military Assitant Surgeon McCurtis and Lieut. H. V. Mann, I.S.M.D.,
the posts of Deputy Superintendents of Bhowanipur and Berhampore Lunatic
Asylums are being held by two Civil Assistant Surgeons—the former with
effect from August 1914 and the latter from February 1916—both of them have
done excellent work. The present Deputy Superintendent of the Berhampore
Asylum, Civil Assistant Surgeon Bidhu Bhusan Pal has shown himself
remarkably well up in this special branch of medical work as well as in the
administrative side of the onerous and varied duties allotted to him.
22. Statement X.—Shows the result of the working of the Manufac-
turing Departments. The primary object of these departments is to provide