STATISTICAL RETURNS
OF THE
LUNATIC ASYLUMS
IN
EASTERN BENGAL AND ASSAM
FOR THE YEAR
1906,
WITH BRIEF EXPLANATORY NOTES.
INTRODUCTORY.
Introductory.
1. The Lunatic Asylum at Tezpur was in charge of Lieutenant-Colonel J. W. U.
Macnamara, I.M.S., throughout the year; and that at Dacca
in charge of Lieutenant-Colonel R. N. Campbell, I.M.S.,
except for the period from the 27th June to the 2nd October, when Major E. R. Parry,
I.M.S., officiated.
GENERAL.
Admissions.
Statement No. I.
2. The number of inmates on the 1st January 1906 in the two asylums was 425 as
in 1905. The number admitted during the year (includ-
ing 22 readmissions) was 147, against 105 in 1905, the
increase being shared by the asylums. Thus the total
number treated was 572, against 530 in 1905, the daily average strength rising from
259.96 to 275.78 in the Dacca and 168.97 to 178.90 in the Tezpur Asylum. In the
latter the total number (226) treated was the highest recorded up to date. To the
admissions into the Dacca Asylum, the Dacca and Sylhet districts contributed the
largest numbers. The lunatics who could not be moved from the Sylhet jail in 1905,
owing to an outbreak of beri-beri, were transferred to the Dacca Asylum in 1906.
Since the formation of the new province, too, the Dacca Asylum has received
lunatics from the Rajshahi and Chittagong Divisions.
Readmissions.
Statement No. I.
There were 22 readmissions against 10 only in 1905, 15 being criminal and 7 non-
criminal lunatics. Of the criminals readmitted, 14 were
returned after trial, and one (a woman), who escaped from
Tezpur in 1905, was captured and readmitted during the
year. Among the non-criminals, 6 were readmitted after intervals of several years :
one to the Dacca Asylum 8 years after discharge.
Discharges.
Statement No. I.
The total number discharged was 39 from Dacca and 30 from Tezpur, against 50
and 21, respectively, in 1905. The number "discharged
cured" was 52 ; and 17 who had improved were made over
to friends or relatives.
Escapes.
Statement No. I.
There were 3 escapes (shown as "discharged otherwise" in Statement No. I)
from the Tezpur Asylum, against 2 in 1905.
Admissions classified according to
(a) criminal and non-criminal luna-
tics.
Statements Nos. I and II.
3. There were 215 criminal lunatics under confinement (Statement No. II) at the
beginning of the year, and 68 were admitted during the
year (against 47 in 1905), making a total of 283 (against
264 in 1905) at its close, or nearly half the total number
(572) treated; the remaining 289 being non-criminals.
The percentage of criminal lunatics to the total admissions was 56.52 in the Dacca
and 29.09 in Tezpur Asylum, and the daily average strength of the two asylums rose
from 214.23 in 1905 to 229.88 in 1906.
(b) Nationality, religion, sex, and
residence.
Statement No. III.
Out of a total of 147 admissions (including readmissions), 86 were Hindus, 54
Muhammadans, 1 Native Christian, and 6 of "other
castes," against 69, 32, 0, and 4, respectively, in the previous
year. Of these, 119 were natives of the province and 20
of other provinces, while the residences of the remaining
8 could not be ascertained. Only 15 females were admitted against 131 males.