( 30 )
report " Debauchery," which signifies much the same as " Dissipation," is also viewed
as a physical cause ; this classification seems to call for amendment. It is manifest,
moreover, that such a head as " Congenital" affords information of the type, rather
than the cause, of insanity, and that the boundary between it and the head " Here-
dity " must be very ill-defined.
10. From Statement IX it appears that there was again a decline in the cost of
maintaining the lunatic asylums during the year under review. Taking the totals of
columns 16, 29, 30 and 31 of the above-mentioned statement, the actual cost seems to
have amounted to Rs. 83,562, against Rs. 86,463 in 1888 and Rs. 88,249 in 1887 ;
the cause of the decrease in 1889 has not been stated and is not obvious. Local and
Municipal bodies were relieved of all contribution towards lunatics in Government
asylums from the 1st April 1889, and there was consequently a very large decline in
the receipts from that source. The percentage of expenditure from the treasury on
the principal items of charge to the total expenditure from the treasury appears in the
following table:—
Asylum.
Madras
..
..
..
..
..
..
Vizagapatam .. .. .. .. ..
Calicut
..
..
..
..
..
..
Establishment.
Establishment
proper.
27.04
36.93
29.10
Superintend-
ence.
11.14
9.87
4.37
Diet.
49.55
38.06
49.98
Contingencies
proper.
4.71
4.46
2.02
On the whole, the expenditure on Establishment amounted to 38.04 per cent. of the
total expenditure from the treasury, and varied from Rs. 52-10-2 per head of average
daily strength in Madras to Rs. 50-13-2 in Vizagapatam and Rs. 34-2-9 in Calicut, the
difference between the two last-named asylums being probably ascribable to the small
population of the Vizagapatam institution.
11. The total expenditure upon diet amounted to Rs. 40,100, which represents
a charge for diet in the Madras asylums of Rs. 62½ per annum per head of average
daily strength; in Bombay the figure seems to be still higher—Rs. 67½, but in
Bengal and the Punjáb the cost is only Rs. 33½ and Rs. 40 per head, respectively.
It is possible that there is some reason which accounts satisfactorily for this great
difference, but none is apparent on the face of the statements and the figures seem to
denote a want of economy in this Presidency. The Surgeon-General will give the
matter his careful attention, and will report whether any reduction in expenditure is
possible.
12. Statement XI contains a memorandum of the actual profits accruing from
manufactures in the Madras asylums; a comparison of this table with the corres-
ponding figures for other Provinces decidedly suggests the inference that manufactures
are greatly neglected in this Presidency. The mean lunatic population being 641
and the net receipts from manufactures Rs. 758, it may be said that each patient
earned on the average Rs. 1 1/10 in the year; but in Bengal the corresponding figure
for 1889 is Rs. 2 4/5, and in Bombay and the Punjáb the average earnings amounted to
no less than Rs. 5 4/5. This suggests a defect in management which calls for careful
consideration on the part of the Surgeon-General; he will accordingly investigate the
matter and report his views to Government.
(True Extract.)
J. F. PRICE,
Chief Secretary.