8TH JUNE 1892, No. 1075, JUDICIAL.

                             GOVERNMENT OF MADRAS.

                               JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

READ—the following paper:—

From the Surgeon-General, dated Madras, 5th May 1892, No. 368.

ABSTRACT.—Submits the annual report on the working of the three Lunatic Asylums of
the Madras Presidency for 1891.

ORDER—dated 8th June 1892, No. 1075, Judicial.

The report upon the administration of Lunatic Asylums during 1891 is of a
more complete character than usual, but it was not received until three weeks after
the prescribed date; such delay should not be allowed to recur.

2. The following statement exhibits certain particulars regarding the population
of the Asylums during the last five years : —

The only feature of this statement which calls for notice is the excessive mortality
which it shows to have occurred in 1890 and 1891, in which two years the death-
rate amounted to no less than 18.38 and 18.57 per cent. respectively. The principal
causes of mortality during the last three years are shown below : —

The high mortality of 1891 is seen to be due to the prevalence of diarrhoea and
dysentery, to which 45 persons out of 182 attacked have succumbed. It appears to
Government that the general unhealthiness of the year—which is, no doubt, a fact—is
hardly sufficient to account for this outbreak of disease. The death-rate among
females in this Asylum continued remarkably high without apparent cause. It is
observed that the daily average sick-rate at Madras was low; and this is attributed