No. 1455, dated LAHORE, 6th May 1885.
From—J. FAIRWEATHER, Esquire, Officiating Inspector-General of Civil Hospitals, Punjab,
To—C. L. TUPPER, Esquire, Officiating Secretary to Government, Punjab.
IN forwarding the reports on the Lahore and Delhi Lunatic Asylums
for the year 1884, I have the honor to offer the following remarks.
2. There were 283 lunatics in the Lahore Asylum on the 1st January
1884, 231 males and 52 females. At the Delhi Asylum there were 87, of whom
68 were males and 19 females. In the former 63 were admitted during the
year, 50 males and 13 females ; in the latter 64, 48 males and 16 females.
3. The total number of lunatics treated at both asylums during the
year amounted to 497, of whom 397 were males and 100 females. Of these,
51 were cured, 39 males and 12 females. At Lahore 9 lunatics were made over
to friends, 4 escaped, of whom 2 were re-captured, and 23 died. At Delhi
10 were transferred to friends, 6 were discharged, proving not insane, and
18 died.
4. Eight criminal lunatics were admitted into the Delhi Asylum during
1884, and six into the Lahore Asylum, including one re-admitted, making an
increase of two over the previous year.
The total number of this class treated
during the year in both asylums was 58, including 3 women.
5. The Superintendent of the Lahore Lunatic Asylum reports that the
year was a healthy one ; but at the Delhi Asylum it was the most unhealthy
year they have had since 1878, and this is only in accord with the statistics of
the neighbouring jail, and of the city and district.
6. The expenditure on account of these institutions, compared with
last year, was as follows :—
Lahore ... ...
Delhi
...
...
1884.
Rs.
28,882
10,818
A.
10
11
P.
3
11
...
...
1883.
Rs.
28,678
10,124
A.
2
2
P.
1
2
The figures for 1883 have been corrected, as they included the amounts
paid into the Treasury on account of paying patients. These amounts, although
necessarily entered both on the receipt and expenditure side in Statement
No IX., should be excluded when the actual expenditure on the lunatics
is shown.
7. The following is a comparison of the average cost per head in both
asylums for 1883 and 1884 :—
Lahore ... ...
Delhi ... ...
1883.
Rs.
95
115
A.
6
9
P.
9
10
...
...
1884.
Rs.
92
110
A.
13
6
P.
3
10
This shows a considerable reduction, especially at Delhi; but the
expenditure per head is still much greater there than at Lahore, and the
Superintendent offers no explanation of this in his report. The cost per head for
establishment is nearly the same in both institutions, but in diet the expenditure
at Delhi is fully Rs. 7 more per head than at Lahore, and in bedding and
clothing and in contingencies it is fully double what it is at the latter. On a
reference to the Civil Surgeon, Delhi, as to the cause of the high expenditure
under these heads, he states with regard to diet that it was chiefly caused by the
number of extras which had to be given to the lunatics owing to the extreme
unhealthiness of the year. This subject, however, requires the closer attention
of the Superintendent, as it has not yet been explained why the cost of diet at
Delhi should every year be so much higher than at Lahore. The larger
expenditure on clothing and bedding is said to have been due to the sickness
and inefficiency of the late Deputy Superintendent, Mr. Cousins, who did not, or