( 10 )
Annual Report on the Lunatic Asylum Nagpur, for the year 1883.
TABLE I.
There is no striking difference between the figures for the year under report
and those for 1882, nor do the figures point to anything unusual in the year's his-
tory demanding special comment; a few general remarks on them will there-
fore be sufficient. The number in the Asylum then at the commencement of
the year was almost similar to that for 1882. 109 as against 110, or 20 less
than in 1878, which year showed the highest number for the decade. During
the past four years admissions have been much fewer than formerly, thus 16, 14
and 13 as against 38, 37, and 33 showing that greater care has of late years been
taken in sending to the Asylum those only who cannot properly be cared for
outside by their friends. The total population was just in excess of the previous
two years but much lower than formerly; thus 125 — 129 during the past three
years as against 139—161 during the previous eight years.
2. Of the four shown re-admitted, one only was a re-admission after cure,
two were discharged having been considered by the visitors fit to make their
defence, and were sent back to the Asylum after trial; and one was discharged
from the Criminal List sentence having expired, and was admitted to the non-
criminal.
3 The five shown as " discharged cured" were non-criminals, they were
inmates of the Asylum as under respectively six, eight, ten, twelve and thirty-
three months. Of those shown " discharged otherwise," one was transferred
from the criminal to the non criminal list (I am not sure that he should be shown
as "discharged'' not having left the Asylum, but it is the custom here to so treat
these cases ) One man escaped and was found in a tank, and the third was con-
sidered by the visitors as fit to make his defence and so was discharged and sent
for trial. Thus the total discharges, 8 with 12 for each of the two previous
years, were much fewer than formerly ; the figures ranging from 15 to 27 in
the previous eight years. Regard being had to the open state of the Asylum
grounds, an escape need not necessarily be due to the carelessness on the part of
keepers. They are as a rule efficient and careful, but a perfectly unprotected
place like this—and it cannot be closed by walls—offers facilities for escape
which on the whole rarely occur.
4. The daily average sick was a little lower than in the previous year but
higher considerably than any of the preceding nine. Lunatics are not given to
bringing their diseases to notice and so, as Dr. Rice puts it, these must be looked
for. It may be that this matter was looked into more carefully during the past
two or three years than formerly, a larger daily sick being the rseult.
5. Of the four deaths, three were non-criminals, two died from diarrhæa,
one from cholera—the only case in the Asylum—and one from epilepsy One of
the diarrhæa cases was sixty years of age : he was very emaciated having been
ailing for a long time : the second had been in the Asylum twelve years. The
cholera case was a thin feeble woman, she recovered from the attack but sunk
from debility. The man who died in an epileptic fit was admitted to the Asylum
in 1875 labouring under chronic dementia, latterly he refused food and was fed
with the stomach pump ; he became very emaciated and worn out, a severe
epileptic fit coming on he sank under it.
6. The general result of table 8 then is this, that of 112 admitted to hospital
with 12 remaining from the previous year, 4 died as above stated ; 7 were dis-
charged improved and 108 were cured. Fever in one form or another gives 58
cases or 46 per cent of the whole ; bowel diseases give 18 or 14 per cent, abscess
boils, and ulcers give 13 cases or 11 per cent, the remaining diseases do not
require comment.
STATEMENT II.
7. Of the total in the Asylum 29 were criminal lunatics : four of these
were admitted in 1883, their offences were theft, assault, grievous hurt and murder.
Of the two re-admitted both were murder cases sent for trial as fit to make their
defence ; one was acquitted on the ground of insanity and one again became
unfit to make his defence, and was sent back to the Asylum ; of the three shown
as " discharged transferred,'' one was transferred from the criminal to the non-
criminal list, one was sent for trial, and one escaped.