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causes at Nagpur 80, at Jubbulpore 44. The question is a medical one, but
seems worthy to the Chief Commissioner of notice. The cost of each lunatic,
including extra-diet, clothing, medicines and contingencies was Rs. 90-12-6 at
Nagpur, against Rs. 79-0-3 at Jubbulpore. The cost for sweepers at Nagpur
seems large when compared with Jubbulpore, since as many sweepers were
employed for a smaller number of patients and at almost double the monthly
wages. In paragraph 24 of the resumé by the Inspector General of Gaols and
Dispensaries some rather startling figures are given showing great differences on
diet expenditure in the two institutions. The more startling figures are as
follows : the average cost per head per annum for diet was at Nagpur Rs. 35-10-8,
against Rs. 28-12-0 at Jubbulpore ; and the excess at Nagpur would seem due to a
fuller scale of diet, and also to meat entering largely into the dietary. The cost
of clothing was also very large at Nagpur.
5. It appears to the Chief Commissioner that the Inspector General of Gaols
is the proper person for seeing that the diet scale should assimilate at both insti-
tutions. There seems no reason why different scales should exist, and the
Inspector General will be asked to consider the question and lay it with such
information as he may get from the Superintendents before the official visitors
of the institutions.
6. The earnings of the year are shown in paragraph 28 of the Inspector
General's review for both institutions. At Jubbulpore some really good work in
the way of building, &c., appears to have been done by the lunatics, and credit has
been taken according to rates approved of by the Public Works Department after
an inspection of the work. At Nagpur the Superintendent has continued farming
and agriculture as an employment for the lunatics, and his profits do not show so
well. The Chief Commissioner is disposed theoretically to agree in the opinion of
Dr. Beatson that gardening and farming are the employments best suited to lunatics
most of whom belong to cultivating classes ; but the fact remains that other kinds
of works have been done at Jubbulpore with greater benefit to Government, more
lunatics there have been discharged cured, more made over to their friends in an
improved state, and the bill of mortality has also been less than at Nagpur.
7. In the last paragraph of Dr. Beatson's report he refers to the circumstance
of a lunatic woman, who had for years past been an inmate of the asylum, having
been delivered of a child in December last. This matter the Chief Commissioner has
separately dealt with, and I am only now to say that the Chief Commissioner took
advantage of that occurrence to impress on the official visitors of the two asylums,
the necessity for greater activity in inspection and supervision. He believes that
hitherto the visitors have hardly realized that they were responsible for the
management of these institutions. An anomaly was found, in that the Superinten-
dents of the two asylums were also visitors, but on the representation of the
Chief Commissioner, the Brigadiers Commanding at Kamthi and Saugor were good
enough to allow a Medical Officer under their control to be appointed a visitor,
so that the anomaly of the Civil Surgeon being visitor of the institution of which
he is the Superintendent has now ceased.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
LINDSAY NEILL,
Offg. Asst. Secretary.