GOVERNMENT OF MADRAS.
JUDICIAL
DEPARTMENT.
ORDER—dated 22nd November 1884, No. 3053, Judicial.
The annual report of the Surgeon-General on the working of the Lunatic Asylums
in the presidency for 1883-84, though dated 24th June, was not received in the
Government office until the 19th October. It should be submitted if possible before
the 15th September in future years.
2. The following table gives the comparative results in these institutions for the
year under report and the previous two years :—
—
Remaining at end of previous year.
Admitted .. .. .. ..
Deduct—
Died .. .. .. ..
Cured .. .. .. ..
Transferred to friends .. ..
Otherwise .. .. ..
Remaining at end of year ..
Daily average strength ..
Do.
sick .. ..
1881-82.
Males.
266
132
29
46
15
17
291
279.34
14.55
Females.
97
43
5
20
9
..
106
97.51
7.02
Total.
363
175
34
66
24
17
397
376.85
21.57
1882-83.
Males.
291
168
35
43
43
21
317
314.17
14.05
Females.
106
52
8
23
9
1
117
109.35
6.83
Total.
397
220
43
66
52
22
434
424.02
20.58
1883-84.
Males.
317
170
19
75
20
4
369
353.22
12.89
Females.
117
48
5
23
9
4
124
121.95
6.12
Total.
434
218
24
98
29
8
493
475.17
19.01
The number admitted during the year was, it will be seen, not so great as in last year,
but the daily average of lunatics present in the asylums during the year was 475.17
compared with 424.02, the daily average of the previous year. The number of criminal
lunatics admitted was 36 compared with 43, the number in the previous year; the daily
average was, however, 93.33 compared with 83.86, the figure in 1882-83. There
remained at the end of the year 102 criminal lunatics in the asylums compared with 87,
the number remaining at the close of the previous year. It must be expected that
every year the numbers of criminal patients under treatment will increase.
3. As far as the health of the patients is concerned the year under report showed
very favorable results. The mortality was low, being only 5.05 per cent. of the daily
average strength, the number reported cured high, being 44.95 per cent. of the admis-
sions, and the daily average number of sick moderate. The small-pox and cholera,
which visited Madras during the year, fortunately did not attack any of the patients
confined in the Madras Asylum. The Superintendents notice that the majority of
insane patients are received in feeble health; they generally improve under the course
of regular food obtained in the asylums. The improvement in the death-rate in the
asylum at Waltair, noticed in last year's report, was, it is observed, maintained during
the year under report.
4. The returns exhibiting the causes of insanity in the patients in the various
asylums show that the probable cause in the majority of cases is the abuse of narcotic
drugs; it is reported, as usual, that it is impossible in the greater number of cases to
obtain any accurate account of the antecedent history of the patients.
5. The management of the asylums appears to have been, upon the whole, good,
although there was some ill-treatment of the patients by the attendants in the Madras
Asylum early in 1884. The offenders were promptly dismissed by Dr. Dobie, whose
method of treatment of the patients under his charge in the Madras Asylum was
satisfactory.
6. The total outlay upon asylums was Rs. 1,09,289 compared with Rs. 96,382, the
expenditure of the previous year. The statements of account in the appendix, however,
show that the former sum contains two items amounting to Rs. 23,661-15-10, money