4
in Council is glad that the Surgeon General has pointed out how very much
the Asylums in this Presidency are behind those elsewhere. At Colaba not
one European or Eurasian or Parsee appears to have been employed, while
out of a daily average of 94.0 male Hindoos and 49.0 male Mussulmans,
only 26.0 and 28.0 respectively were employed. At Poona out of a daily
average of 47.4 men only 6.0, at Dharwar out of 19.0 only 7.0, and at Hy-
derabad out of 82.0 only 24.0 were employed, Out of 17 females in the
last-mentioned Asylum 15, and at Ahmedabad out of 18.8 females 8, were
employed, which is an improvement. But at none of the other Asylums was
any female labour made use of at all. In Ahmedabad alone do the results
approach the mark which Government hope all will reach to in time. At
that Asylum out of a daily average of 87 males 61.6 were employed re-
gularly. The Resolution on the Report for 1872-73, in which attention was
called to the necessity of increasing the Lunatics' employment, was issued
too late for any reforms to take place in the year now under consideration
(1873-74), and Government will only again express a hope that the injunc-
tions they have issued will be gradually acted up to. Government are
aware that the space at Colaba is too small, and the Asylum too crowded
to allow any extensive work being undertaken, but are of opinion that more
might be done; while the Asylum at Hyderabad was expressly placed in
an otherwise objectionable site, with a view that the extensive garden around
it might afford occupation to the Lunatics. In reference to this, however,
His Excellency in Council is glad to find that the Superintendent has com-
menced putting the men to labour in the garden, and that he hopes before
long to remove most of the defects of the site. Undoubtedly the present
report shows a great improvement in this Asylum over the year before.
Arrangements are now in progress for the better employment of the Lunatics
at Poona. At the Dharwar Asylum, with respect to which it was reported
last year that the inmates were largely employed in gardening, it is now
stated that only 7 out of 24 can be trusted on that work, but no attempt
to employ the remainder in-doors has apparently been made. There can
be no reason why grinding corn at least should not be undertaken here,
as elsewhere.
10. There were 76 Criminal Lunatics, the same as in 1872-73. Of
these 48 have been guilty of murder or culpable homicide, 6 of grievous hurt,
14 of theft, and the remainder of miscellaneous offences.
11. His Excellency in Council is indebted to the Surgeon General for
the very careful manner in which he has compiled the financial results of
the year in Statement 14. From this it appears that the total cost of the
five Asylums amounted to Rs. 93,063, or Rs. 17,852 less than in the previous
year, the net cost, after deducting cash receipts and the estimated value
of Lunatics' labour, &c., being Rs. 83,713. The average annual cost of each
European and Eurasian was Rs. 310-6-7, being Rs. 71-11-11 less than in
1872-73, the cost of each Native being Rs. 154-11-5, an improvement by
Rs. 28-9-10. The inclusion of Colaba in the general averages last quoted
makes a considerable difference, since, as pointed out, there is a medical
officer there in sole charge; whereas the Asylums at other places are merely
adjuncts to the Civil Surgeon's ordinary duties. The following are the
figures as regards Natives for each Asylum separately, receipts being deduct-
ed from the gross expenditure. At Colaba each Native Christian (includ-
ing Parsees and Jews) costs Rs. 217-1-8 against Rs. 272-4-2 in the previous