LUNATIC ASYLUMS IN NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5123, 24 August 1877, Page 3

LUNATIC ASYLUMS IN NEW ZEALAND.

KEPOBT ON THE PR. SKAE, ‘f' ■;' ■■■-'• INSPECTOE.' ' ‘ ‘

When the office of Inspector' Of Asylums :was created bynSir, if; Wogel loud: were, the, outcries at what yrap, jffinirfdejred, a ido?t useless, .piece' of ,wvasteful 'fpitrayagance., , ; The most •complete and'effeotiveVaaswer.,to..such complaints is to be fduUdln, the : desOrjptions: of, the 'yanous . asylums report; The report, tells in , plain* uhcolored language the exact, cbnditidnl and;'management l of each , asylum. : To,'every'- right-thiufcirig; I '.mind,, the, picture drawn horrible as it is, wqcannot ,fielp sqsj^tiqgftbftt. , r: eyen : i‘this ’ picture,.tides.'riot ’sbow -us jail the miseries of a colonial asyhiffii i'e ; moThere i; are ’ in>‘ffjS.W ’Zealand' 1 eight y lunatic asylums;' containing patients;, hut ...into, .this' space area crammed nodess than 783 patients—nearly three tp'srsod3’;.for|cyery ione>tbero, l is room for;'' <3whSg"is this, fact) thfe' Inspector 1 everywhere:,'finds senonsly,,.overcrowded,...are 'and wholly,unfit.„for,dußatic3', I .„Canterbury, everywhere - and'aiways boasts of ,its wondefful ,'chh’ritable institutions, 'putell'2l’ men intq.'a' place biiilt for-fiO; .the. dayroom also serrate as, a bedrqqnpe- night .1$ ~ss full' gjf lunatics who eahand sleep there. | ' a *\ ~. .Till the beginning of this century lupatics were' most, cruelly, treated- At liethleln, in ’liondohj' patients wefS by; r iron 7 .’chains "fixed' ta ifoh^waistbeM. I '' jThey;‘ were treated like wild beasts;; .People,) after : PftJsng !»■ shilling n ea^,,visite.d^he;' J asylumdP' ‘shoals to see the ,lHpat,i c^,'whom J .the f kteherr often struck with up- with, sticks; 'that visitors sy ;i £iid'be amused at ,;themTdraatic''ra'ge:i , l''iThe treatment ;waS brutal —maniacal-patients were held under they tbeeam8 r hHo6hsci6u3*'dnd! after’ undergoing all the horrors of death by drown* ipg;' they; were restored l to life. >. i 'This treatment was said-tO/beCvery efficacious in quieting; raving madmen Many patients were floggfed,) . others, were compelled to walk blindfold jalbfav a .corridor,, and ;• feU -jpnq^pecfedly o^ rom igreat ' heights into. tanks of, water; the fright was supposed' to dO them good. '. Others) were fastened into rotktbiy' r ehffirsj which iwere ; '.whirled round with imnifense; rapidity.; indeed, v one. of them v.’iiirled . sq-f/astv-that .one: patient was whirled into, eternity. . (,' ■> r . o, |_ • 7 -/; "‘’KeSid this extract''from a'book) describing’ 'what . took place iri'thO'lasfclcehtury;i—‘‘ Items [from: the:constable’a.account of .Great StaugH-’ ton, Huntingdonshire.—Paid in charges—;Tak- ■ ing up/ a, .distracted) yvyoipan, watching and whipping hef next day, Bs. 6d.; spent on nurse, • London, to see if. she, wag,with- child; before l ' she was whipped,.thfee of them, 2s'.” Imagine; Inspector Atchesou sending in such a bill, and'the Colonial - Treasurer asking the ,Hoiise to' pass it'in the Estimates. 'Formerly almqat all patients wore; 'confined 7 to f strong rooms, 7 ; of were “handcuffied”or'kept'in seclusion ordm-' 1 prisoned- in ,waisj;coat3;'j' Now all; is changed.* - Scotland every, effort is made toTmake the patients happy and ; •,comfortable. , /They are well fed, well housed,' . welllooked after,- jPerapnal.xestraint is farely .needed. •-, Patieqts are made < to, sWork-f, /Eaulta; are.corrected land little .rewards: giyen-fori good behavior, r, Kindness, 'comfort, and',work '■ are*the three chief factors.iu'the treatment.. )NoW let bur readers, study this .picture, .drawn (from Dri Skae’s report of "the life he, or she Aright* .load if he or she were by..soma /Unhappy fate -1 shut up in an asylum :—The lunatic, is .shown ,'intq a room 22ftr by 10£t., in which are crowded' eighteen:lunatics and ..three-,keepers,' making'■ ..twenty-two in all:; ithas;two.wind.owe:Btrongly ? ..barred with ,iron, some .backless benches, jwith bare walls.and floor, and a most-offensive Jcloae- ■ smell. Day after.day ia spent inithis miserable! prison; or-in.the -dull narrow airing court; 1 'lf refractory the patient is shut up., with! five other patients of .filthily dirty habits in ajtiny room, without aypartude ofvontilation; 1 'lf; , still /worse, - , the * patient gwpuld,be, put ,'into a room, the floor of which ,slopCH to oue conior ■V so as to permfi; the.uripe being carried aW ay,w (With a fixed and stinking privy, in the corner." In, this most awful damp, dark* fetid den hewould spend the weary|hqur3,;r/ood‘would'b,o h a pded' .to him.,by his.gaol.erffithrqngh a narrow; slit in 7 ' tjiken’ away... Imagine so hqrrible a punishment as 7 imprisonment in such, a cell-. /This fearful' )skte of things aqtuatly (| pbtains in, the felling* ! ton' 'Asylum. It is /;j misery,‘:,enough ~to "be - ’hffiictea with madness, 'but ‘whence(madness" is added such a frightful imprisonment, itiS 1 time‘that the sane, population .should &&'■ jnahd that treatment so , degrading., ,and -so :brutal J «hould be at ppce'and ever ..Stopped; 1 Tt Is a 1 marvel that such ever have ; beeii built, but still .greater fyfhe marvel .that 1 ■‘flie'Visitora-of the Asylum)sKo.qld, not have deb nounoed such proceedings, in, the strongest! and moat emphatic terms.'. ,|! I ■! *. The report shows ,'that patients, are .{land-,, cuffed, tied up in strong jackets, and kepi .in shcliisibh for the ’most l triviai.pffeuoe3.,^ l^Vell, may, ’Dr. Skne 'exclaim ',tha't they are .treated; qn the “ wild'beast insanity.’’| ■ In one asylum patients-receive a bath eyery; Saturday morning ; nihe of, them ai’C washed, in; the same water,'which proceeding Dr.,Skae naively remarks “ cahno't .be pleasant, for the ninth.” - Some day ,a, nunjber of, )the,Be ( poof i creatures will be- roasted bb death, in their prisons, for no provision .is.taken oga.inet fire,. 1 In another, asylum the drinking, watgf, i Hough, abundant, is often driimly) ( Patients are farely. made to work. Dr.' Skac -asks,,, "How |can . patients be expected, to .derive any benefit from

spending itwelyp! hours in absolute, idjenqssjdur,--prig, the ,tlje oUier twelve,, dn; their'bed's?" /Many patients are ,claq;in their' beSding is filthy ;} they have.no, hair ! bfushe3t t!! -MbsV-pf ’ tips ‘patients in .'Auckland! eat with' their " fingers. ‘ abound in the; Morantoribs. 1 "App.»fently keepers,;’/inatrciris; and/attendants *doriWhatever they* plbase,;the* ; medical lOfficCra ihavirig little: control/ j - 1 The, total ;bbst.of i these asylums was .in-1876, ;;Tn several,a,[most 'wasteful expenditure , hfs, prey ailed./In.- ithe') W ellington Asylum . the,;average jipmber,, of, luufijipSj rjesident "was '"72 j expenditure ,/in.,spirit?,, qnd tobacco was’ £430, / '|A Hbkitixa,, with, 5,0. luna/ 'tips; it ; was ‘ifi’S' ''JHadj ‘ih'e Wellington exhave' be'em ! £l'2 r ihstead ’of average cost fief bead pef Aririurii ‘varies- gteatly J ;-TAuok- / land, £2O>2s.-'oj:d.', i Napier, l £2 817 s. Otago, £3O 7s, 7d.;. Christchurch, £49’ 18s/ 6d.f Nqldtika, [£5,5 18s. ; 2d;.;;)NelSoni; , £43/7s..B,dt;fWellingtqn, ■i4s9ilOs.-, Thei cost.of maintaining f; paflent ! iri; Wellington!jWfS,; rppryCi F th»p double.lthat "in, jAuckJa«d aqd, Nelson; ,apd, ; almostiidonpie thp., jcost ih jOtagp;/Dr,.Ska.e ; p?ihts- jout/tlje,{very, /latgq'central’asjjlum,'/ mpre. uniVisq and 1 Harmful' thaurthe .building jof one ; ! hhge.‘Usyiri.{u;fofrthe 1 colony. yiOLir'modqrn ex"perieribe : 'tends Tp iljims'‘ , are‘‘- ) alpt to/’prove Vblirt'eS ifi ihstfead. : ‘qf. blessiqgs/i :/:■••■ ’"<l /•■' o' iioiiiy;-;, | Dr. Skae has most carefully perfbriried Jiis‘ dutle4“’/He?h®sSot“hh'silated about pointing feut/ theiirnfiiiyiSevils; existing./-'■ His rqport-is ■thqroughlyf ihiisiilesslike : arid :'practicalj ' We ,cannot: doubt thatithelunaticb will |be ‘made; comfortable, that . the asylumaithroughqut the colony; :vvilli’,now; :be‘ managed ■ like: first/olass asylums- at/Hbine/oand, that/ New' ! Zealand generally ;Will be benefited by theiworfc of fb.q" Inspector.' of j Asylums./ 0 U .’uV. ,iotoil -