38                                                     REPORT ON THE

are grown in the garden. The new method of supplying articles came into use on the 1st of
September of the last year; the full reduction in the cost of diet, to which it must neces-
sarily lead, will therefore not appear till the close of the present year. Rs. 2,007-10 have
been received in the year on account of the maintenance of patients, and the proceeds of the
sale of manufactured articles, from the 1st of August (when the new system of accounts
came into force) to the 31st December, amounted to Rs. 4,910-7-9. These monies were
duly paid into the treasury.

Overseer.

21. Establishment.—Mr. Bancroft, the overseer, is a most deserving man. Active and
earnest, he is always at work for the welfare of the inmates and good of the asylum. His
post is a difficult one in many respects, inasmuch as the institution is at once a hospital and
a jail, where the patients require far more care and management than children. Thoroughly
understanding the nature of his position and what is required of him, he successfully applies
himself, with rare steadiness and ability, to the discharge of his duties.

Matron.

Mrs. Monteiro, the matron, does her work quietly, steadily, and effectively, and under
her care the women are well looked to and discreetly managed.

Writer.

The writer, Khetter Mohun Banerjee, is intelligent and industrious, and performs his
duties accurately and well.

Attendants.

The keepers, male and female, as a body are worthy people of their class, but in all the
essentials of good warders of insanes, it is not too much to say they are wanting. They are
altogether wanting in, or too indolent to show, tact in their control of the lunatics. In
presence of their superiors they not unfrequently, by their officious and meddlesome inter-
ference, provoke the unruliness which it is their business to quell; while, in the absence of
the superintendent and the overseer, the patients, through their negligence, are too often
allowed to interfere with each other's rights, and otherwise to work mischief. They them-
selves require much care and management.

DULLUNDA, 24th April 1873.

Memo. from the Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, Presidency Circle,—No. 10/E
                                    Dated Fort William, the 26th April 1873.

Overcrowding.

FORWARDS the annual returns and report of the Dullunda Lunatic Asylum for the
year 1872. The increase in the number of inmates treated at the asylum is very marked.
During the year 544 persons were treated; the daily average strength, was 354.86 : this exceeds
considerably the number during any of the previous ten years. The superintendent also brings
to notice the accommodation at the asylum. Allowing 50 superficial feet for each inmate,
the male wards can accommodate 246, and the female wards, 47 ; while the average number
resident throughout the year was males 276, females 78 ; and at no time did the numbers, male
and female combined, ever fall below 319. The overcrowding throughout the year was
steady and continued, and at times excessive.

2. Mortality.—There were 44 deaths during the year, 38 males and 6 females.