ANNUAL REPORT ON LUNATIC ASYLUMS.                    23

             ANNUAL MEDICAL REPORT

                                        OF THE

            LUNATIC ASYLUM, WALTAIR,

                            FOR THE YEAR 1880-81.

In submitting the annual report on the Waltair Lunatic Asylum for the
official year 1880-81, I have the honor to state that 59 male and 9 female
patients were under treatment during the year.

Of these 31 males and 6 females remained from the previous year.

2. Admissions.—There were 31 admissions during the year (the largest
number on record)—28 males and 3 females. Of the males 3 are military and 4
are criminal lunatics, and the crimes committed by the latter class are house-
trespass 1, repeating nuisance 1, and murder 2; of the females 1 criminal for
murder.

Of the 5 criminals admitted, the cause of insanity in 1 was epilepsy and in 4
unknown. Of the military 1 epilepsy and 2 ganjah-smoking, and of the 23 civil
admissions it was found that insanity in 1 case was the result of ganjah-smoking,
in 2 religion, in 1 starvation, and in 19 cases it was difficult to come to a conclu-
sion as to the cause, as in most of these latter cases little or nothing was known
of their previous history. The great majority of insanes sent here for treatment,
as might be supposed, are cases which have been of some standing, and the
common history of those admitted is that the friends tired of expense and trouble
of caring for the unfortunate subject allow him or her to wander about from
place to place in a destitute condition to be at last arrested by the police either
for being a source of annoyance to the public or for some misconduct; therefore
the general run of cases are in a bad state of health on admission.

The ages of the several admissions were as follows :—