Dated Calcutta, the 26th July 1875.

RESOLUTION—By the Government of Bengal, Judicial Department, (Medical.)

READ—

      Letter No. 134—S, dated 1st June 1875, from the Surgeon-General, Indian Medical
Department, submitting his Report on the Medical Institutions of Calcutta and its
Suburbs for the year 1874.

Read again

    The Report of the previous year and the orders of Government passed thereon.

    In the diminished bulk of the present report, compared with those of
previous years, the Lieutenant-Governor is pleased to recognize the result of
an adherence to the instructions issued at the instance of the Government of
India, with a view to reducing the size of annual reports. Without sacrificing
anything which it was essential for Government to know, Dr. Cockburn has
presented, in a concise form, the history of the medical institutions in Calcutta
and its neighbourhood for the past year. While omitting the most elaborate
of the statements which used to be submitted, he has yet exhibited, in a sum-
marised form, the principal figures relating to each of the hospitals reported
on, and from these, with his explanations, a clear idea is obtainable of the
general working of these institutions, and the measure in which their useful-
ness has been extended.

    2. In some respects the history of the year 1874 was peculiar. Owing
to the scarcity which prevailed throughout a considerable portion of these
provinces during its earlier months, there was reason to apprehend a con-
siderable increase in the number of the destitute poor in Calcutta. While,
however, the influx of persons in search of employment was for some time
considerable, the number of those for whom eventually Government had to
provide in the hospitals was not so great as might have been expected. Con-
trasted with the figures for the previous year, the total number of persons
treated at the various institutions during 1874 was as follows:—

    3. The value of the above figures, for the purpose of comparison, is some-
what impaired by the fact that there has been some change in practice as
regards the manner of filling up the returns. The statement may, however, be
accepted as approximately correct, that the total number of patients treated in
1874 was 263,027, against 241,557 in 1873; and that there was an increase of
2,025 in the number of in-patients, and of 19,445 in the number of out-patients,
to whom relief was afforded during the past year. In proportion to the number