No. 1972a./128
FROM
L. K. LAURIE, ESQUIRE, C. S.,
OFFG. Asst. SECRETARY TO THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER,
Central Provinces.
To
THE DEPUTY SURGEON GENERAL,
Central Provinces.
Dated Nagpur, the 4th May 1883.
SIR,
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of the annual Reports and
Statements of the Nagpur and Jubbulpore Lunatic Asylums, together with your
review.
2. During the year there were admitted into the Asylums 13 criminal and
28 non-criminal lunatics. The number of persons re-admitted was 5. The
number of persons discharged as "cured" or " improved" was 17. There were
eight deaths. Two lunatics escaped (one from each of the Asylums) and two
were made over to the care of relatives under Section 10 of Act 36 of 1858.
There remained, at the end of 1882, in the Nagpur Asylum 109 lunatics, and in
the Jubbulpore Asylum 142. As compared with the return for 1881, these
figures show a decrease of one lunatic in the Nagpur Asylum and an increase of
eighteen in the Jubbulpore Asylum. This increase is due to the fact that the
number of deaths in and discharges from the latter institution was much smaller
than in the previous year. In other respects, the figures do not differ remark-
ably from the statistics for 1881.
3. From paragraph 3 of your review and from the remarks made by
Dr. Rice under the heading of Table III. and by Dr. Brake in paragraph 8 of his
report, it appears that the Lunatic Asylums are from time to time utilized as
places for the custody of persons who are under suspicion of lunacy and whose
conduct it is considered desirable to observe. This procedure is directly contrary
both to the provisions of Act 36 of 1858 and to the instructions of the Govern-
ment of India contained in letter No. 179 of 25th March 1876 to the Secretary
to the Government of Bengal, which was reprinted with additional directions in
Chief Commissioner's Book Circular No. XXXI. of 1877. It is distinctly laid
down in Clause 1 of Section 8 of the Lunatic Asylums Act that, in the mofussil,
no person shall be received into a lunatic asylum except under the order of a Ma-
gistrate passed under Section 4 or Section 5 of the Act, or under the order of a
Civil Court: and in Circular XVIII. of 1866, the Chief Commissioner pointed
out that (with exception to the power of the Local Government and of certain
Military officers) a Magistrate of the first class alone could make such an
order in respect to wandering or dangerous or neglected lunatics only, and a
Judge of the principal Civil Court of a district alone could make such an order
in respect to other classes of lunatics. Furthermore, in Circular No. 251-29
of 1865 it was directed that " supposed (non-criminal) lunatics should be taken
" in the first instance to the local dispensary, where they might remain under
" observation for a few days, and if then pronounced dangerous or incapable
" of taking care of themselves, should, under the proper legal orders, be for-
" warded to the proper asylum." As noted by you in your review, and by
Dr. Rice in his report, this is the course usually followed at out-stations, with the
result that some of the alleged lunatics are speedily returned to their friends.
In Jubbulpore, however, the Superintendent of the Asylum reports, " when