H.—7

1900 NEW ZEALAND.

LUNATIC ASYLUMS OF THE COLONY (REPORT ON) FOR 1899.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

The Inspector-General of Asylums to the Hon. the Minister of Education. Sir,— Wellington, 14th May, 1900. I have the honour to lay before you the following report on the lunatic asylums of the colony for the year ended 31st December, 1899 : — The number of registered insane persons on the 31st December, 1899, was 2,ss7—Males 1,512 ; females, 1,045. The insane of the colony are distributed as follows:— Males. Pemalea. Total. Auckland ... ... ... ... ... 287 169 456 Christchurch ... ... ... ... .. 282 220 502 Dunedin (Seacliff) ... ... ... ... 387 248 635 Hokitika ... ... ... ... ... 88 41 129 Nelson ... ... ... ... ... 87 55 142 Porirua ... ... ... ... ... 195 174 369 Wellington ... ... ... ... ... 166 115 281 Ashburn Hall (private asylum) ... ... ... 20 23 43 1,512 1,045 2,557 The proportion of the male insane to the male population is,— New Zealand (exclusive of Maoris) ... ... 3-79 per 1,000, or lin 264 New Zealand (inclusive of Maoris) ... ... 3-60 „ lin 278 The proportion of the female insane to the female population,— Exclusive of Maoris ... ... ... ... 2-92 „ lin 342 Inclusive of Maoris ... ... ... ... 2-78 „ lin 360 The proportion of the total insane to the total population,— Exclusive of Maoris ... ... ... ... 3-38 „ lin 296 Inclusive of Maoris ... ... ... ... 3-21 „ lin 311 Admissions. On the Ist January, 1899, the number of insane persons in our asylums was—Males, 1,472; females, 1,007 : total, 2,479. The number of those admitted during the year for the first time— Males, 225; females, 165 : total, 390. The readmissions—Males, 39; females, 82 : total, 121. Deaths. The percentage of deaths on the average number resident during the year was 6-30, as compared with 6-14 for the previous year. Recoveries. The percentage of recoveries on the admissions was 37-58, as compared with 48-07 for the previous year.

I—H. 7.