2
females, as compared with 230 males and 35 females in 1912, and 179 males
and 34 females in 1913, the average admissions and readmissions for the
triennium being 190 males and 34 females against 199 males and 41 females of
1909-1911.
Since 1913 a downward tendency is noticeable in the figures for admis-
sion. While they steadily rose from 206 in 1909 to 222 in 1910, to 228 in
1911 and to 237 in 1912, they came down to 186 in 1913 and to 178 in 1914.
This fall in the admission rate may be due to fewer committals to asylums on
the part of Magisterial officers, i.e., to the probability that only those insanes
are sent to lunatic asylums who are boistrous or actually maniacal, and for
whom therefore admission into an asylum is absolutely necessary. This step
also may have been prompted by a desire on the part of the Committing
Officers not to overcrowd the asylums unnecessarily. This downward ten-
dency is most marked in the Dacca Lunatic Asylum where the admissions
decreased from 111 in 1911 to 96 in 1912, 82 in 1913 and 46 in 1914. The
closing of this asylum to all lunatics from Assam was also to some extent
responsible for the lessened admissions, as it would appear that there were no
admissions from Cachar and Sylhet in 1914, against 31 in 1911, 30 in 1912
and 29 in 1913.
In the Berhampore Asylum there was an increase in the admissions
during the past year as compared with 1913, but a decrease in comparison
with 1912 ; the figures being 128, 99 and 112 in 1912, 1913 and 1914 respec-
tively. The figures of the Bhowanipur Lunatic Asylum show a fall of 8 in
1913 and an increase of 15 in 1914.
The number of insanes readmitted, which was the same in each of the
three years of the previous triennium, i.e., 21, rose to 28 in 1912 and 27 in
1913, but fell to 17 during the past year. The decrease was again very
marked in the Dacca Lunatic Asylum where only 7 insanes were readmitted
in 1914, against 16 and 13 in 1912 and 1913, respectively.
Fifty per cent. of the total number of readmissions during 1912 and over
50 per cent. of those of the subsequent two years, came from the criminal
classes. They had mostly been discharged to undergo trial, and were
readmitted afterwards. The interval between their discharges and readmis-
sions was consequently short. In one case, however, this interval was
30 years. The patient, an ex-inmate of the Berhampore Lunatic Asylum
was, on becoming apparently sane, sent to stand his trial, but was acquitted
by the Court. The intervals in the cases of non-criminal lunatics who had
been discharged cured varied from four and five years. In four cases the
interval ranged between 12 days and five months, but in these cases, the
insanes had not been discharged " cured, " but on petition had been made
over to the care of their relatives, who found the responsibility too great and
were compelled to bring their insane relatives back to the asylum.
6. Discharges.—As stated before the average number of lunatics dis-
charged during the triennium was 125 as compared with 117 in 1909—1911.
But during 1914 there were 18 fewer discharges than in 1913, and 61 less than
in 1912. the figures for the three years being 99, 117 and 160, respectively.
The decrease is shared by all the Asylums, the Dacca Lunatic Asylum record-
ing the largest falling off, viz., 43 against 83 and 52 in 1912 and 1913. This
decline is probably attributable to the unwillingness, on the part of relatives
and friends, to take charge of lunatics who seem to have recovered or at least
improved. Seventy-four lunatics were discharged cured in 1914, against 117
and 86 in 1912 and 1913, the average for the triennium being 92 as compared
with 71 of the previous triennial period. The proportion of patients dis-
charged as cured to total discharges was 74.74 per cent. in 1914 against
73.12 and 73.50 per cent, in 1912 and 1913, respectively. In relation to the
daily average population of the lunatic asylums, the proportion was smaller
in 1914 than in the previous two years, viz., 6.92 against 11.00 and 7.93 in
1912 and 1913, respectively.
Recoveries among Indian lunatics numbered 57 males and 14 females in
1914 (or 5.58 and 1.37 per cent., respectively, of daily average strength
of both sexes), as compared with 73 males and 9 females (or 7.01 and
86 per cent.) cured in 1913, and 92 males and 21 females (or 9.05 and
2 06 per cent.) cured in 1912. The proportion of cures to daily average
strength of the Berhampore Lunatic Asylum was 4.84 per cent. among males