facts and
modified and distorted by the admixture of lunatics whose stayin asylums is accidental and temporary with others who live their 1 unacy out to recovery, partial or complete, or death in them. Another difficulty in stadyang the report consists in the absence of totals. The standard tables are adopted and these immensely facilitate comparison, but in most of the tables the
figures
are
presence of
this
facts of each
asylum are separately shown,
and there is
total of the whole. Nor even in tables containing the previous statistics of individual asylums is any total shown. The numbers can be compared serially^ but without undertaking the labour of troublesome addition, comparison with the averages of past years cannot be made. Nor is a serial comparison of the
no
asylums possible. "Work be executed by the central office in is compiled, and not by readers. It would also be convenient for binding with other reports if the report were printed on paper of united
events of all the
of this kind
foolscap
ought certainly to which the report
size.
The
asylum population in Bombay has undergone during 10 years from 320 in 1867 to 5.99 in 1877. The proportion of females is.smaller than an
BOMBAY LUNATIC ASYLUMS.
in
The report for 1877
(the calendar year) has been drawn up by Surgeon-General W. Gr. Hunter, M.D. It includes the transactions of five asylums situated at'Colaba (Bombay), Poona, Dharwar, Ahmedabad, and
These contained daring the year of 288, 67, 21, 108 and 115 residents, average In giving a total of 599 lunatics under detention.
Hyderabad.
an
relation to the population of the province, the number of lunatics confined in asylums is larger than either in Bengal or Madras. The remarks made in the preceding article regarding the mixing up in the totals of all classes of lunatics applies with even greater force to the Bombay report. The Colaba asylum is used as a house of detention for military lunatics pending their removal to Europe by troopship. These constitute a very special of their confinement is
class, also
and the circumstances
special.
of their statistics in the totals
largely capable
of any significance of being compared
statistics from which this
or
The inclusion
deprives
value.
with
disturbing
them
They
profit
very are in-
with other
element has been
eliminated, and do not represent the facts of insanity of either class. The strength is unduly raised, the rates of admissions and
discharges artificially increased,
the rates of recovery and death lowered, and all the tables intended to exhibit causation, residence, age, sex,
type,
cost of
maintenance, &c.,
rendered
increase
meaning-
less. In fact, in reading the whole report, allowance has continually to be made for these insane exotics, and it is impossible to determine to what extent the
Bengal or Madras. The numbers are 486 males females, or 81 and 19 per cent. This result is probably due to the large number of European soldiers included in the population. Criminal lunatics constituted only 14*5 per cent, of residents against 24 The proportion of fein Bengal and 22 in Madras. males amongst this class was only 5-5. The admissions amounted to 287 (248 males and 39 females, or and 113
47'9 per cent, of strength. This number exceeds those of Bengal and Madras, and the ratio of male admissions was
higher
than of
females,
result is also due to the
51*0
against 34-9). This
large number of
British soldiers
admitted, amounting to 78,5 native soldiers and 3 European sailors having also been admitted. The admission rate of criminal lunatics was only 25'3. The discharges amounted to 240 (205 males and 35 females;, or 40 This also is higher than the Bengal or per cent. Madras figures, and here also males exhibit a preponderance?42-2
discharges paratively low,
against
was
30-9.
But while the rate
of
very high, the recovery rate was com16*5 per cent, (males 16*6 and females
The deaths amounted to 56 (44 males and a rate of 9*35, a number exceeding but considerably below that of Madras. .Men died at the rate of 9 06 and women at 10*6, non-criminal lunatics at 10'3 and criminal at 3*4. The removal of British soldiers and sailors to England renders these figures fallacious both by swelling the base of comparison and increasing the discharges otherwise than by death. The deaths were caused 15-9.
12
females), giving the Bengal rate,
mainly by debility (20),
diarrhoea and
dysentery (12),
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
82 and remittent fever
There
(3).
and 1 in Madras
2 deaths
only
were
12 in
Bengal. phthisis atrophy" of Madras is no doubt represented by the "debility" of Bombay and "exhaustion" of Bengal. Pneumonia" is conspicuously absent from the Bombay due to
against
"
The "
death roll, and represented by only The returns
Madras.
give
one
much the
casualty
in
result
as
same
ages as those of Madras, and, excluding Eurothe great majority of the lunatics belonged to peans, the lower classes of native society. The majority of
regards
the admissions laboured under acute types of
insanity,
greatest proportion of patients remaining at the
and these likewise furnished the The
recoveries.
cases
of
close of the preceding year
diagnosed and redistributed, transferred from
were
under which
they
forms into which
lysis
very properly renumber of them
were
and
a
large
the acute forms of
insanity
had been admitted to the chronic
they had lapsed. blank, and
of the Insane" is
The column
"
Para-
the number of idiots
and imbeciles under detention is small. The reports of other presidencies give similar results. As regards causes, 150 of those admitted owed their insanity to the use of ganja, 44 to alcohol and 10
to
opium.
of 23 cases,
Fever is credited with the causation with 24, puerperal causes with
epilepsy
of the head with
5, injuries
14,
climate
destitution with 19, self-abuse with 5 ; 18 recurrent
insanity
and
14, of
31
hereditary or congenital. grief, fright, excessive study and
Among moral causes religious excitement are
the main items among those
These statements must,
assigned. cepted with reservation, of
with
were cases
because the
however, be acassigned cause
is often not the true cause and in many Da, Murphy, the Superintendent of the
insanity as
cases,
Colaba
Asylum, points out,
several
causes
combine to
the overthrow of reason. The average annual cost of each lunatic is put down at Us. 161. Out of a total cost of Es. 1,05,943, Rs. 6,736 were recovered
produce from
paying patients,
debits
on
2,396.
excess
of credits
over
As in other presidencies occupation consti-
prominent feature in the moral managepatients, and restraint and seclusion are very
tutes the most ment of
and the
account of manufactures amounted to Rs.
rarely resorted
to.
[March 1,
1879.
modified and distorted by the admixture of lunatics whose stayin asylums is accidental and temporary with others who live their 1 unacy out to recovery, partial or complete, or death in them. Another difficulty in stadyang the report consists in the absence of totals. The standard tables are adopted and these immensely facilitate comparison, but in most of the tables the
figures
are
presence of
this
facts of each
asylum are separately shown,
and there is
total of the whole. Nor even in tables containing the previous statistics of individual asylums is any total shown. The numbers can be compared serially^ but without undertaking the labour of troublesome addition, comparison with the averages of past years cannot be made. Nor is a serial comparison of the
no
asylums possible. "Work be executed by the central office in is compiled, and not by readers. It would also be convenient for binding with other reports if the report were printed on paper of united
events of all the
of this kind
foolscap
ought certainly to which the report
size.
The
asylum population in Bombay has undergone during 10 years from 320 in 1867 to 5.99 in 1877. The proportion of females is.smaller than an
BOMBAY LUNATIC ASYLUMS.
in
The report for 1877
(the calendar year) has been drawn up by Surgeon-General W. Gr. Hunter, M.D. It includes the transactions of five asylums situated at'Colaba (Bombay), Poona, Dharwar, Ahmedabad, and
These contained daring the year of 288, 67, 21, 108 and 115 residents, average In giving a total of 599 lunatics under detention.
Hyderabad.
an
relation to the population of the province, the number of lunatics confined in asylums is larger than either in Bengal or Madras. The remarks made in the preceding article regarding the mixing up in the totals of all classes of lunatics applies with even greater force to the Bombay report. The Colaba asylum is used as a house of detention for military lunatics pending their removal to Europe by troopship. These constitute a very special of their confinement is
class, also
and the circumstances
special.
of their statistics in the totals
largely capable
of any significance of being compared
statistics from which this
or
The inclusion
deprives
value.
with
disturbing
them
They
profit
very are in-
with other
element has been
eliminated, and do not represent the facts of insanity of either class. The strength is unduly raised, the rates of admissions and
discharges artificially increased,
the rates of recovery and death lowered, and all the tables intended to exhibit causation, residence, age, sex,
type,
cost of
maintenance, &c.,
rendered
increase
meaning-
less. In fact, in reading the whole report, allowance has continually to be made for these insane exotics, and it is impossible to determine to what extent the
Bengal or Madras. The numbers are 486 males females, or 81 and 19 per cent. This result is probably due to the large number of European soldiers included in the population. Criminal lunatics constituted only 14*5 per cent, of residents against 24 The proportion of fein Bengal and 22 in Madras. males amongst this class was only 5-5. The admissions amounted to 287 (248 males and 39 females, or and 113
47'9 per cent, of strength. This number exceeds those of Bengal and Madras, and the ratio of male admissions was
higher
than of
females,
result is also due to the
51*0
against 34-9). This
large number of
British soldiers
admitted, amounting to 78,5 native soldiers and 3 European sailors having also been admitted. The admission rate of criminal lunatics was only 25'3. The discharges amounted to 240 (205 males and 35 females;, or 40 This also is higher than the Bengal or per cent. Madras figures, and here also males exhibit a preponderance?42-2
discharges paratively low,
against
was
30-9.
But while the rate
of
very high, the recovery rate was com16*5 per cent, (males 16*6 and females
The deaths amounted to 56 (44 males and a rate of 9*35, a number exceeding but considerably below that of Madras. .Men died at the rate of 9 06 and women at 10*6, non-criminal lunatics at 10'3 and criminal at 3*4. The removal of British soldiers and sailors to England renders these figures fallacious both by swelling the base of comparison and increasing the discharges otherwise than by death. The deaths were caused 15-9.
12
females), giving the Bengal rate,
mainly by debility (20),
diarrhoea and
dysentery (12),
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
82 and remittent fever
There
(3).
and 1 in Madras
2 deaths
only
were
12 in
Bengal. phthisis atrophy" of Madras is no doubt represented by the "debility" of Bombay and "exhaustion" of Bengal. Pneumonia" is conspicuously absent from the Bombay due to
against
"
The "
death roll, and represented by only The returns
Madras.
give
one
much the
casualty
in
result
as
same
ages as those of Madras, and, excluding Eurothe great majority of the lunatics belonged to peans, the lower classes of native society. The majority of
regards
the admissions laboured under acute types of
insanity,
greatest proportion of patients remaining at the
and these likewise furnished the The
recoveries.
cases
of
close of the preceding year
diagnosed and redistributed, transferred from
were
under which
they
forms into which
lysis
very properly renumber of them
were
and
a
large
the acute forms of
insanity
had been admitted to the chronic
they had lapsed. blank, and
of the Insane" is
The column
"
Para-
the number of idiots
and imbeciles under detention is small. The reports of other presidencies give similar results. As regards causes, 150 of those admitted owed their insanity to the use of ganja, 44 to alcohol and 10
to
opium.
of 23 cases,
Fever is credited with the causation with 24, puerperal causes with
epilepsy
of the head with
5, injuries
14,
climate
destitution with 19, self-abuse with 5 ; 18 recurrent
insanity
and
14, of
31
hereditary or congenital. grief, fright, excessive study and
Among moral causes religious excitement are
the main items among those
These statements must,
assigned. cepted with reservation, of
with
were cases
because the
however, be acassigned cause
is often not the true cause and in many Da, Murphy, the Superintendent of the
insanity as
cases,
Colaba
Asylum, points out,
several
causes
combine to
the overthrow of reason. The average annual cost of each lunatic is put down at Us. 161. Out of a total cost of Es. 1,05,943, Rs. 6,736 were recovered
produce from
paying patients,
debits
on
2,396.
excess
of credits
over
As in other presidencies occupation consti-
prominent feature in the moral managepatients, and restraint and seclusion are very
tutes the most ment of
and the
account of manufactures amounted to Rs.
rarely resorted
to.
[March 1,
1879.
