H.—9

4

One female was admitted from a scarlatina bed, with the cuticle peeling off in large flakes fortunately the disease did not spread to the other inmates. She was semi-comatose, and evidently moribund when received, only survived eight days, and never recovered her consciousness. Another patient, a male, only lived ten days after admission; he was also fatally ill at the time, but, unlike the former case, was in a condition of acute mania, totally unfit to have been taken care of in a private house. The percentage of recoveries on the admissions for the year was —males, 44'89; females, 48'27: total, 4615 —against, males, 42'37; females, 5769: total, 47'5, in the previous year. The proportion of unrecovered patients discharged was very much greater this year than last. The numbers were —2040 per cent, of males, 31'30 of females; total, 24'41—as against 338 males, 1538 females ; or a total of 7'59, the previous year. The percentage of deaths on the average number resident was —males, 930; females, 8'00; total, 890 —against, males, 9 67; females, 101: total, 5'09, in 1880. One death occured from suicide, the particulars of which have already been fully reported to you. Another was from the presence of a foreign body in the windpipe; the patient was ill for a few days with symptoms of inflammation of the larynx. She died suddenly during the night, although not altogether unexpectedly, as her case was considered serious from the first. At the post-mortem examination a button was found in the larynx, firmly wedged, but not in such a position as to totally obstruct the entrance of air; it had probably got into that position during an epileptic seizure. Two cases were moribund on admission, surviving respectively eight and ten days; they have already been referred to. Of the others, nine were of patients over fifty years old, one of whom was a paralyzed old man of seventy-four, whose relatives kept him at home till he got helpless enough to require nursing, when he was sent to the asylum, where he only lived three months, during that time being quite harmless, merely suffering from physical debility and mental decay, the result of old age The male patients were moved into the new wing on the 27th July, without turmoil or confusion. The females were brought from the old hospital in Auckland on the 10th October: the removal was effected in one day, and without casualty. It seems unnecessary to rewrite all that has al-ready been written on the subject of the overcrowding in this asylum. I shall therefore merely point out that in the male department there were, on the 31st December, 174 patients occupying premises built only for 107; in the female side there were 79 patients in a space intended for 50 only. The overcrowding may be partly understood when it is stated that the clerk has to sleep in his office, the head attendant in the Superintendent's office, the cook in the pantry-, six male attendants and the laundress in patients' single rooms ; that the chapel is occupied by thirty beds, and that shakedowns have to be resorted to in the passages and day-rooms; even one of the Superintendent's apartments has been turned into a patients' dormitory. After consultation with the late Inspector of Asylums, and by his direction, a proposition to erect a one-storeyed wooden building on the farm, capable of holding about sixty quiet, industrious patients, was submitted to you, and met with approval. If still approved of, this building ought, if possible, to be erected without delay. Since the female patients came to the Whau the inadequacy of the means of cooking has been very manifest. A suggestion has been already made to you to have the opinion of an officer of the Public Works Department as to the possibility, cost, &c, of so altering the arrangements in the kitchen as to have the cooking done by steam and gas ; the urgency of this will be excuse for my again mentioning it. A very serious disadvantage in this asylum is the want of workshops for male patients. There is no reason why there should be elaborate or expensive buildings—a wooden shed erected on the grounds at a little distance from the main building, with one or two rooms, and a straw-house attached, would answer every purpose. The laundry which was erected during the year was ready for use when the females were removed from Auckland, and in it all the washing has since been done with the greatest ease, and far better than before. The drying closet has, unfortunately, so far, turned out a failure. The attention of the architect has been called to it, and he is endeavouring to have it set right. It is to be hoped he will succeed, as in wet weather some means of drying wet clothes is an absolute necessity. It is expected that the asylum will be lighted throughout with gasoline in about a month; the necessary work is now in progress.* Various most beneficial alterations have been made in the drainage during the year; several further improvements are still needed. The general health of the inmates was, as a rule, good. A slight epidemic of erysipelas occured in the male department, the Superintendent was first mildly attacked, afterwards six patients took the disease, which in all cases but one was very mild: this case was that of a man, aged sixty-four years, whose life was despaired of for some days; he not only got well of erysipelas, however, but was afterwards discharged quite sane. The disease was prevalent at the time in Auckland, so that there does not seem to be any ground for attributing the outbreak to causes within the asylum. The usual number of male patients more or less usefully employed was, in fine weather, from 100 to 110 ; of these, 30 worked on the farm, 10 in the kitchen-garden, 24 in the grounds, 8 at cutting firewood, 7in the kitchen, and 26 indoors, cleaning, bed-making, helping in the wards, &c. The usual number of females employed was from 60 to 65 ; of these, about 20 worked in the laundry on washing-days, 23 at needle-work, and about 20 at general house-work. The rest of the patients, except those sick or too excited, went out for a walk over the farm daily, weather permitting. Only about 10 males and 1 or 2 females were confined to the airing-courts for exercise throughout the day. Divine service was held twice weekly, on Sunday and Wednesday. The numbers attending were — about 80 males, 24 females, on Sundays; from 45 to 55 males, and from 20 to 25 females, on Wednesdays. A fortnightly entertainment was begun after the arrival of the women from Auckland, at which about 55 male and 35 female patients usually attended. In making out the farm balance-sheet the same rules as in the previous year were followed, that is, no account has been taken of growing crops. All articles on the contractor's list, as potatoes and

* This has been done and the asylum is lighted throughout with gas made on the premises.