16
REPORT ON THE RANGOON LUNATIC ASYLUM FOR THE YEAR 1893.
Statement III, showing the religion, sex, and residence of patients admitted
into the Rangoon Lunatic Asylum.—Seeing that the bulk of the lunatics in this
Asylum are Burmese, I think this statement would be of greater local interest if,
instead of including Burmese in Column V, " Other castes," a separate column
were reserved to them.
In the annual Statement No. III hitherto submitted from the Asylum, ex-
cepting that for last year, column " Other castes" has apparently been ignored,
and all inmates other than Hindus, Mahomedans, or Christians have been re-
turned in the column for Burmese. I am unable to explain why this has been
done, nor can I for past years attempt to rectify it. The total shown of other
castes in the return now furnished is 36 and is made up of 30 Burmese, two
Karens, one Chinese, and three Shans.
Of the 69 lunatics concerned in this statement 55 belonged to Lower and 14
to Upper Burma. Seeing this is the only statement in which any reference is
made to the European and Eurasian element, it may be as well to say in this
place what there is to be said about them.
List of Europeans and Eurasians under treatment in the Rangoon Lunatic Asylum
during 1893.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Name.
A. E. ...
J. W. ...
H. J. R. ...
T. H. ...
A. D. ...
G.T. ...
H. B. ...
M.S. Y ...
K. R. B. ...
F. ...
Sex.
Male ...
Do ...
Do
Do
Do
Do
Female ...
Do ...
Male ...
Do
Previous
occupation.
Clerk ...
Head Constable
Captain of a
steamer.
Mechanical En¬
gineer.
Nil
Petition-writer
Prostitute
......
Telegraph Mas¬
ter.
Seaman ...
Age.
30
37
38
33
18
35
30
32
37
20
Race.
Eurasian...
Do ...
European
Eurasian...
Do ...
Do ...
European
Do ...
Eurasian...
European
Date of
admission.
15th September
1890.
25th March
1891.
13th July 1891.
12th
October
1891.
4th May 1892...
25th November
1892.
10th December
1892.
6th June 1893
26th July 1893
2nd November
1893.
Type of
insanity.
Melancholia ...
Toxic ...
Mania ...
General para-
lysis of the
insane.
Idiocy ...
Toxic ...
Insanity asso-
ciated
with
obvious mor-
bid change or
changes in the
brain.
Melancholia ...
Ditto ...
Mania ...
Date of
discharge
or death.
...
...
6th August
1893.
21st Febru¬
ary 1893.
20th June
1893.
7th August
1893.
...
Remarks.
Died.
Died.
The foregoing list is very imperfect, but further information is not available.
It will be seen that 10 came under treatment, of whom two died, two were re-
leased, while six remained in the Asylum at the close of the year. No. 8 was
discharged after a few days' detention by order of the local Government, and
No. 9 made a good recovery and left the Asylum cured.
Of the six remaining under treatment five are hopelessly insane and will
in all probability end their days within the Asylum walls; but it is expected that
No. 10, the Norwegian sailor, will recover.
To have European insanes in the Asylum severely taxes the resources of
the institution, especially when they entertain, as they sometimes do, an aversion
to natives. In the absence of any but native warders they can, under such cir-
cumstances, be given exercise or be bathed only when the overseer, the one
European on the establishment, to the neglect of his duties elsewhere, waits
upon them. I think authority should be given the Superintendent to engage one
or more European attendants whenever he considers necessary. The wages
given to such attendants might be debited to the Municipalities from within
whose jurisdiction the lunatics in question may have come, just as the mainte-
nance charges now are.
Statement IV, showing the previous occupation of patients admitted into
Lunatic Asylum during 1893, and Statement V, showing the ages of patients
admitted, call for no remarks.
Statement VI, showing the types of insanity.—The figures shown in the first
line of this statement do not exactly correspond with those given in the last line
of the corresponding statement for 1892. Thinking there was some inaccuracy