NELSON LUNATIC ASYLUM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 190, 13 August 1877, Page 4

NELSON LUNATIC ASYLUM.

The fflfto'wfng is an extract from Dr. SM^RM^'on tbia institution, which he visited in Februiary last: — This Asylum was opened for the reception of patients in Juue, 1876. ffc ia >tys&9?- the corridor plan*, aud has accommodation , for thirty males and thir )s^f™.?fe% 7*' haßa pleasant nnd beattrff situation on a slope about a mile from town, arid 7 commands a c-heer-MWiewii- Tiie land' belonging to the Asylum is only eight acres in extent, and ia moch too small for the requirements os , 4fi<.''t._ttieiitß. It is almost oom pje#^ jS.urrouqded by public roads, so tHaV there is not. sufficient privacy. The male airing court and two small yards at the back of the buildiug, in wb,!6hi7di'f'ty(.io r v destructive patients take exercise, are only, separated trom thCLpublic road by a wooden fence, and annoyance is occasionally suffered from persons climbing up this fence aod starttig 1 tft J the patients, or ' "fiaucTmg matches over to the. men. The Asylum _Tas a pleasing interior, but much space is, wasted by its internal arrangements/ The corridors are far to 2aYJ£fi_fe™ e £? P aBBa o es > an d at the same tfmVnbt,wei) ..suited to serve any other purpose^ while' the day- rooms are 600. small, QOjd the single sleeping rooms farfeoo numerous in proportion to theji asßociate'd dormitories for the number of patients.' 5 As yet itw almost entirely unfurnished, t^e being,. little beyond. one or two, tables and benches without bac^Bj, ,,anuy ; no ornament whatever. TheLbeoiare of a very objectionable description. Galvanized iron wires are carried' right through' from end to end of each row of single rooms, aod by means of transverse strapping wires fixTeldj on \to - these, a "bedstead" is for^med^in each room, on which is laid a straw mattrass. It would be difficult to'myent anything more absurdly uncomfortable. The wires are apt to cut thi toa'tlressl If the occupant of any roS-a'iiHbstless,- and inclined to dance about on his bed; all the other patients are disturbed and kept from sleeping by the .violent pulling of the throughgoing wires. The consequence is that most of the patients prefer to sleep on the fioor.r The windows j of the sleeping.rooms have no shutters; they are furnished instead with strong iron bars on <5S?W. We ' The want of shutters, the in.ide iron bars,, and the fixed irou bedsteads, combine to render these rooms very unsafe places for violent or suicidal -patients. The Taranaki refugee buildings are situated in part of the Aey lum grounds, and are now used as a sort of poor' house. It is very desirable that this inaction ahould, if possible, be remo7{?_*».a .n* patients allowed the full>Ba of. the ground they have. ?^f awing court is of large size, is enddsed*- ohly by a moderately high wooden fence, and has a very extensive and cheerful look-out, and does not suggest the feeling of confinement usually associated with a high-walled airing' court. When paths and flower beds are made in it, according to pre-se-iMntention, it will have a very pleasant, garden-like appearance. At the same time, it is not desirable that fio ,'-.^' r "g?" i » number of patients as at present should be actually restricted to so small an extent of ground for exercise^ The number sent out to work in the; grounds should be greatly increased, as also the number enjoying the privilege of walking beyond them. No time should be lost in fencing off an airing 1 court for the women. Except the' soaall back yard already alluded to, and a. still smaller piece of ground in front of the corridor, enclosed with a wooden paling, the women have really no exercise ground at all. Abundance, of good food seems to be given to the patients: they were seen at dinner. The women have lately been {supplied with table-clothe, knives and.forks, aud the same improvements • are about to ba introduced on the male side; the dishes are ot earthenware. The patieuts were very quiet and orderly at their meals. There is no regular diet seal*-*, and uo elore or provision books are kept. I here should certaiuly be a fixed diet scale, which need 1 not in the least interfere wich Variety, or the manuer of cooking or serving. tbe iood, an*! books s'.iould be kept in which the daily consump-ion of ell bought articles, such as butchers' meat;, wine, beer, &*:., should be i,c,'.urateiy entered. Without this' there is no suflicient cheek on extravagance and wast.'.. At present, about 7oT»s of meat are used daily, which is mue*.:. more than can be necessary. It should not be necessary either io supply ttie male patients with beer at 2?. 3J. a gallon, to ioduca them to work, as is done with some of lhem at present The allowance of bedding for each patient consists of a Btraw raattn-es hair pillow, two blankets, and a woolleu coveirlet. The women have sheets in addition to this, which are changed once a week. Much of the bedding ia completely worn out, especially ou the male 1 side, where many of the blankets are mere rags, no longer fit for uae. When new blaukets are got they should be ofjhe ordinary color, aod not like those at present iv use of a dark blue or red, which serves no purpose except to hide dirt, which is certainly not desirable. The men should be supplied with/sheets as well aB the women, and every means taken to chow dirt where it exists,, instead of to hide it. The clothing is also very deficient in quaogity,.ahd much of the male clothing is quite worn out and very untidy. The women are ac a rule, better dressed, bat tfcfeir clothing also is very shabby.

Tha Asylum staff consists of the Medical Officer, who lives so near at hand as to be practically resident; the Keeper, who is also clerk; four male attendants; the Matron, and oue female atteudaufc, and cook. The present Keeper has only been two months ia office j he has ,no experience of Asylum mauagement, but appears auxious to conduct the place in a pYoper manner, and has already much improved on the management of his predecessor, whicli was very negligent. It is earnestly hoped that he will persevere in his efforts to engage ths patients in employment of various kinds, especially out-door work, and to supply them with regular and unostentatious amusements — amusements of a kind got up tor Ihe paiients themselves chiefly, and uot for the visitors, or to secure a newspaper puff. It is strongly recommended tbat he should have an opportunity of inspecting the Christchurch and Hokitika Asyluma. The other servants are all well spoken of by the Medical Officer. The Matron, who makes all the female clothing j and the female attendant, have both too much to -do**, and the latter, who gets only £30 a year, is much underpaid for her services. Uniil an additional attendant be got, the satisfactory management of the female side wilL not be possible, and the patient wili never be enabled to take a sufficient amount of exercisa. There is no chaplain, and no religious services are conductedat the Asylum. A dance is given to the patients about oaee a fortnight in the recreatiou-room, and some ten or twelve of both sexes take part in it. A few visitor? are generally present, one of whom is usually got tb play the piano. An attendant also plays the concertina. It would be aa improvement if these dances took place weekly, on a fixed day, from 7 to 9 o'clock, and if more patients wera present, even if only aa onlookers". There are cards and draughts in the male ward, and about half 0 f the patients play at these games. There is no library to speak of. There is no register of discharges, and no case book. The medical journal is not kept quite in the form, and does not give all the information required- by* the" Lunacy Act. The Medical Officer is very desirous of obtaimug for the Asylum a portion of ground about two acres in extent; lying at the back of the Asylum, as a site for attendants 1 cottages, and accommodation for private patients, the want of which . has been very much felt; and it certainly is very desirable that this piece of v ground should ..be .secured, even though it should not be immediately used for the purpose mentioned, lie also wishes to have a small separate buildiog containing siugle sleepiog-roonas for violent and uoisy patients erected, as in lh9 present wooden building a noiay patient, eveu at the remotest corner of it, disturbs all. the others. But. in consideration of the great expenditure required for the the more pressing necessities of the other asylums of the colouy, which are at present greatly crowded, it will be better to delay the erection of thia building in tlie meantime. By removing the bars from the windows of one or two of the single rooms, and supplying them with shutters, and strengthening the doors thty would be rendered suitable for violent patients. The more pressing wants of the Asylum at present are that it should be painted inside, and that the wards ehould be properly furnis'oed, that bedsteads should be got, that abutters be supplied for the windows, and the iron bars removed; that a proper quality and quautity of clothing and bedding be gor;'that a feaaale airing court be. made; that au additional female attendant ahouli be eugaged; and that addiliuuui ground— ihe piece pointed out Oy the M««i ieal Officei — should be got. lhe liiuing-ball should be furnished with tables, and the men and women should take their meals there at the same time. The female attendants' wages sbouid oe raised to £_0, and ths new one engaged at that rate. ihe regisiers uud case book should t>e registered as required by (he Act. Ihe lence of the smull yard at the tmck ot the Asylum should be heightoueJ, and made so thut the boya could uot climb il, iv order to secure privacy io tin-He courts. There are some very old colonists anions** the pauper population of Melbourne. A report on the condition of the inmates of the Immigrants' Aid Society Home, presented to the* committee of management, shows that seven of the men bave been iv the Australian colonies over 50 years, 6a between 30 and 00 years, and 128 between 20 and 30 years. Among tbe women are 12 who have been in the colonies over 30 years, and 25 who were born iv Australia. There are 82 men iv the home aged 7o years aid upwards, and 17 women above 70 years of age. A correspondent of the Napier Telegraph says :— Gisborne will have a barber in two days. Hundreds of people have 'not been shaved, had their hair cut, or shampooed for months. Several amateur hair cutters have sprung iuto existence, and have caused' many disfigurements. One gentleman has lost naif his right ear, aud threatens to sue for damages Holloway's Owtmrnt and Pills effect wonderlul cures of bad legs and old wounds.' H Un ac ine.ue.nes are use! according to the directions which is wrapped round oaeh pot and box, there is no sort ol bad leg or ulcerous Bore however obstinate that will not yiell to their curative properties Thou.an.ls of peop c who lwd rem p.tients in hospitals, v ider the care of eminent surgeons, without d. riving, th-3 least bauefit, have been cured by Holloway's Ointment aud Phis, when other remedies and treatment had Bignally failed Kor glandular swellings, tumors, ecurvey and distaaes of the skiu there is ao medicint that tan be used with so good an effecr 1 hough potent for good it is powerless fo. harm; and though the cure effected is rapid, it is also complete aud permanent.

ADVioa to Mothers !— Are you broken ia your rest by a sick child suffering with the psin of cutting teeth ? Go at once to a chemist, and get a bottle of Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup. It will relieve the poor sufferer immediately. It is perfectly harmless and pleasant to taste. It produces natural quiet sleep, by relieving the child from pain, and the little cherub awakes •« as bright as;a button." Ie soothes the child, it softens the guma, allays all pain, relieves wind, regulates the bowels, and is the beat known remedy for dysentery and diarrhea* whether arising from teething or other causes' Sold everywhere at Is. lid. per bottle Manufactory , 493 , Oxford-street, Loudon. FloriMhe !— For the Teeth and Brerith — a few drops of the liquid " Eloroline " Bpnnkled on a wet tooth-brush produce a pleasanMather, which thoroughly cleanses the teeth from all parasites and impurities, hardens the gums, prevents tartar, stops decay, gires to the .teeth, a peculiar pearly whiteness, and a delightful fragrance to the breath. It removes all unpleasant odor arising from decayed teeth or tobacco smoke.. '(The Fragrant Floriline," being composed iv part of honey and sweet herbs, is delicious to tho taste, and the greatest toilet discovery of the age. Sold everywhere at 2s, 6d. Prepared by Henry C. Gallup, 493 Oxford-street Londou. 1091

Valuables Diaooifkkr Fok thb 'Hair —If your hair is turning. grey or white, or .falling off, use 'I The Mexican Hair Ranewer." for4frloill positively restore in every cose -Ores' far) White kair 'ta Us original color, without lesV- 1 mg the disagreeable smell Of most ' Restorers.' It makes the hair charmingly beautiful, as well as .promoting the growth ot the haic on bald spots where the glands are not decayed' Ask your nearest chemist 'fbtj "The i-SEe&fcan Hair Renewer," prepared by Henry C. Gallup, 493, Oxford-street, London, andr sojd everywhere at Ss. 6d. per bottle. 9i*t