STATEMENT No. II.
PER CENT OF STRENGTH.
Admissions,
Daily sick.
Deaths.
Regular Army
. . .
123.03
3.99
1.56
Central India Force . . .
91.98
2.98
.96
Punjab Frontier Force
. . .
167.24
4.63
2.17
Army of Bengal
. . .
128.75
4.03
1.63
Madras Troops
. . .
89.77
2.62
1.42
Ratio of
admissions
and daily
sick.
Number in
-effective from
sickness.
Sick leave.
Mortality.
a marked difference in the numbers absent is in a great measure owing, I pre
-sume, to the Madras sepoys having their families with them, as well as to the
distance of their present stations in Bengal from their homes in Madras.
4. Statement No. II shows the ratio of admissions and daily sick per cent.
of the strength "pre
-sent," or that from
which tthe admissions
into hospital were
fur-nished; but the death--
rate represents the per
-centage
of total deaths
on tota ls t r e . n g t h .
The ratio of admis
- s i o n s a n d d a i l y s i c k o f
both the Bengal and
Madras troops was less
than in 1874, but that
of mortality ,has been
slightly higher; and this excess was mainly dependent on the death-rate of the
men of the Punjab Frontier Force, which was .81 per cent. higher than in 1874.
The ratios of the Madras troops, while again contrasting favorably with those
of the Bengal army as a whole, do not vary much from those of the Central
India Force, a fact tending to prove that an equable climate, in which the
range of temperature is not excessive, is conducive to the preservation of
health. The Punjab Frontier Force still continues to be the least healthy
portion of the Bengal army; but yet its ratio of sickness and mortality has
not been at all excessive, not higher than might have been expected to result
from service in a climate in which extreme ranges of temperature prevail, as
well as from duties which occasionally were of a very arduous nature, and
entailed no small amount of exposure on those employed on them. The re
-gular army ranked next as regards sickness and mortality. The Central India
Force, while slightly in excess of the Madras troops as regards sickness, was
also somewhat under them in the death-rate. But on the whole, and perhaps
for the reasons already mentioned, the statistics of the latter are the most
favorable. The number of men constantly in hospital, whose services were
therefore lost to the Government, was 2,166, or equal to 3.02 battalions of 715
men against 3.27 in 1874. Each case spent an average of 11.02 days in hos
-pital, and each sepoy of the entire army 13.03, against 11.2 and 13 in 1874.
In addition also, 1,267 men, or 2.02 per cent. of strength, proceeded on sick
leave against 1.6, 2.08, 2.4, 2.10, and 1.91 in the preceding five years. The
number of days spent by these men on sick leave was 164,862, which gives an
average of 451.6 men constantly absent on this account, or equal to .63 of a
battalion. It is thus brought out that there were 2,617.6 men continually
ineffective from sickness, or 4.88 per cent. of strength (present)—a number
equal to a loss of 3.6 battalions of 715 men. In 1874, the ratio of men con
-stantly ineffective was 4-86 per cent.
5 . T h e t o t a l n u m b e r o I d e a t n s w a s 1 , 0 2 6 a g a i n s t 8 1 9i
n
1 8 7 4 ;o
f t h e s e ,
674 against 536 occurred in hospital; 33 against 25 in the lines; and 319
against 258 amongst men away from the regiments, or those who constituted
the strength "absent" in Statement No. I. The deaths occurring with regi
- m e n t s , c a l c u l a t e d o n t h e s t r e n g t h " p r e s e n t , " a m o u n t e d t o 1 . 3 2p
e r
c e n t ,
against 1.06 in 1874, and 1.35, 1.03, 1.76, 1.45, and 1.45 in the five previous
years. The percentage of deaths in hospital to the number of sick treated
was .94 against .74, .93, .92, 1.05, and .88 in the preceding five years. The
Punjab Frontier Force, as already observed, had the highest death-rate; the
regular army Came next, then the Central India Force, and the Madras troops
had. the lowest.
Strength and
health of
European
officers.
6. The average strength of the European officers of the native army was
578; from this strength there were 273 admissions and 3 deaths; the former
at the rate of 47.23 and the latter .51 per cent of average strength. The
principal causes of admission were fevers, injuries, bowel complaints, gout,
and liver affections; those causing deaths were gout, sun-stroke, and hepatitis,