8
LUNATIC ASYLUMS OF BENGAL.
8. Statement III shows the religion, sex, and residence of the lunatics
admitted during the year and calls for no special comment.
Of the 15
received from Cachar in the Dacca Asylum, 14 were non-criminals.
9. Statement IV gives the previous occupations of the admissions, the bulk
of whom, as in former years, came from the labouring classes. Sixteen, however,
have been shown under "unknown" occupation, as compared with 10 in 1894.
10. Statement V, which gives the ages, shows that the most active
period of life—from 20 to 40—contributes the majority of admissions, which
supports the inference previously made that this is the period when a person
is most liable to mental derangement.
11. Statement VI—Types of insanity.—Mania is accountable for 103
admissions; melancholia gave 26; dementia 2; idiocy 5; epileptic insanity 3.
Of the 15 cases classed under toxic insanity, 10 are attributed to ganja smok-
ing, 1 to use of bhang, and 4 to spirit drinking. Seven cases were due to
consecutive insanity from fever or visceral inflammations, and 23 were
pronounced not insane. The question of the revision of the Form of this
statement is under the consideration of Government.
12. Statement VII—Alleged causes.—Twenty-one cases were attributed to
ganja, 1 to bhang, 5 to alcohol, 1 to "all other intoxicants" (dhatura), 8 to here-
dity, 3 to epilepsy, and 9 to other physical causes. Twenty-two were ascribed
to moral causes, of which religion and grief were the chief, while in 114 cases
the cause of lunacy could not be ascertained. In the Government Resolution
on last year's Report, it was remarked that "if in future Superintendents of
Asylums study carefully the mass of information collected by the Hemp Drugs
Commission, it may reasonably be hoped that substantial progress will be made
in the diagnosis and curative treatment of cases of ganja insanity." The
attention of the Superintendents was drawn to these remarks, and a copy of
the Report of the Commission was sent to each.
These officers paid great
attention to the subject during the year under review, with the result that the
total number of cases attributed to ganja have fallen off from 40 in 1894 to
21 in 1895. The Superintendent at Dullunda states that in diagnosing the 11
cases who were reported to be suffering from toxic mania due to the abuse
of ganja, he rejected 4, returning 7 under that head in Statement VI; but of
this number, 3 indulged in spirits as well as ganja, and would properly come
under the head of "mixed" cases adopted by the Commission. Of the remain-
ing 4, he thinks that there was no doubt that ganja was casually associated with
the production of mania in three, as they were excessive smokers of the drug;
but the previous history of the fourth did not throw sufficient light on the
point, and the Superintendent is not certain as to the cause of his insanity.
At Dacca there were 3 cases attributed to ganja against 10 in the previous
year. The Superintendent states that diagnosis in such cases was made after
careful study of the facts, and that the patients were kept apart from others
and provided with occupation, and, as far as practicable, with amusements. At
Patna there was 1 case only, who apparently recovered by the end of the year.
There was another case attributed to bhang. The lunatic was admitted on
the 9th July. He showed marked improvement in a month and was discharged
cured in December. At Cuttack there were two cases attributed to ganja.
Dr. Meadows, who took charge of the Asylum in the beginning of the current
year, states that one was undoubtedly a ganja case, but the other was a case of
melancholia and not attributable to ganja in any way. At Berhampore there
were four such cases; and the Superintendent remarks that their rapid recovery,
their own admission, except in one case, that they were addicted to the use of
the drug, and the report of the Magistrate, all pointed to ganja as the cause
of their insanity. The Superintendents generally report that descriptive Rolls
of the lunatics are now prepared with great care. This is as it should be. The
case-book form submitted to Government for approval with my No. 10914,
dated the 14th December last, will be of great help to the Superintendents
in ascertaining the real cause of the insanity of persons sent to Asylums. The
question of the revision of the Form of Statement VII is under the considera-
tion of Government.
13. Statement VIII— Sickness and Mortality.—These
are given separately
for each asylum, but the following abstract shows the general result:—