8
LUNATIC ASYLUMS OF BENGAL.
8. Statement III shows the religion, sex of the lunatics, and the district
from which they were received. It will be seen that lunatics from the Chitta-
gong Division are now sent to Dullunda. It was settled in 1886 that on the
enlargement of the Dacca Asylum they should be sent there, and I have recom-
mended (on the 20th January 1895) that this should now be done, since the
Dacca Asylum was provided with accommodation for 50 extra males in 1891
and for four more women this year. As Chittagong sent only 3 lunatics (all
males) in 1894, the additional strain thrown on Dacca will be very small.
9. Statement IV shows the previous occupations of the new admissions.
It does not differ greatly from that of last year, except that greater care has
been taken in preparing it, only 10 patients being returned as of "unknown"
occupation as compared with 29 in 1893.
10. Statement V shows even more strongly than it did last year that
the time of greatest liability to mental derangement is during the most active
period of life—from 20 to 40—rapidly decreasing after 40, and being rare in
youth and in old age.
11. Statement VI.—Types of insanity—Mania gave 114 admissions ; melan-
cholia 21; dementia 6; epileptic insanity 11; toxic insanity 16, of which 14
were attributed to ganja, 1 to alcohol, and 1 to multiple intoxicants. In 6
cases the insanity was consecutive on fevers or visceral inflammations; in 4 to
sexual causes. Twenty-two persons were pronounced not insane.
12. Statement VII.—Alleged Causes.—Forty cases were attributed to the
abuse of ganja; none to charas, bhang, opium-eating or smoking; 4 to alcohol;
one to multiple intoxicants—ganja, opium, alcohol and dhatura; 8 to heredity ;
11 to epilepsy; 13 to other physical causes; 29 were ascribed to moral causes,
chiefly grief or anxiety; while in 94 the cause could not be ascertained.
Forty-five cases are thus attributed to intoxicants against 65 in 1893, the reduc-
tion being mainly due, I think, to the fact that the allegation that the insanity
was due to drugs is less readily accepted than it used to be. My enquiries at
the asylums convince me of this, and though the report of the Hemp Drugs
Commission has not yet been published, I understand that in many of the cases
investigated by them the proof that they were caused by the intoxicants to
which they had been ascribed, was very weak or altogether wanting.
13. Statement VIII.—Sickness and Mortality are shown separately for
each asylum. The following abstract gives the general result:—
Table VII.
Remained in hospital on 1st January ...
Admitted during the year ...
Total ...
Discharged ... ... ...
Died ... ... ...
Remaining on 31st December ... ...
Total ...
Percentage of admissions to average strength ...
Average daily number of sick
... ...
Percentage constantly sick to average strength
Percentage of deaths to average strength
...
1893.
51
647
698
580
77
41
698
69.41
49.25
5.28
8.26
1894.
41
678
719
591
75
53
719
74.07
55.41
6.05
8.19
The year was apparently somewhat more sickly than 1893, the percentage
of sick to strength being 6.05 against 5.28, the admissions being more numerous
by 31, and the number constantly sick by 6.16. The death-rate was, however,
still lower than in 1893, being 8.19 against 8.26. The rates are still marvel-
lously low, for the admission rates of British and native troops in Bengal during