H.—9

10

disheartened all efforts that have been made to keep the place in propel- Order. No efforts of mine have been or will be spared to remove this difficulty, and I hope on my next visit to find a very different state of things. It is a great satisfaction to be able to say that the internal organization and management of this asylum is highly creditable to Dr. Hacon and his staff, except in so far as it is necessarily dependent on and paralysed by the miserable surroundings. In a wonderfully short time the amount of labour available ought, if properly directed, to be sufficient to keep the grounds like a garden without unduly fatiguing either the patients or their attendants. The total number of patients at present is 337 : males, 210; females, 127. Four are out on trial, 2 males and 2 females. As regards the feeding, bedding, and clothing of the patients this asylum is all that can be desired. Part of the beef for dinner on one of the days I was present was badly cooked, but lam assured that such a thing seldom or never happened before, and in this instance I found it was due to a defect in the steam-supply. I saw no restraint of any kind in use, and found ample evidence on all hands of its absence. Indeed, it is impossible for any one to go through the asylum without being convinced that the utmost that constant kindly care and skill can do is done by the doctor and his staff to secure the comfort of the patients. I made a special examination of all the sick and infirm who were under medical treatment, as well as of all the recent and acute cases, and found that they were all most carefully and skilfully treated. I had all the male patients, except eleven who were feeble or confined to bed, paraded for my inspection, and it was most gratifying to find how clean and orderly their appearance was. I made a careful examination of the fire-extinguishing apparatus, and had " fire-drill " both on the male and female side. The result was very impressive, confirming in every respect the condemnation so frequently expressed in the official reports of Colonel Lean, the Deputy-Inspector. 1 examined all the books and found them all properly kept. lam glad to be able to say here that I find Mr. Harrap, the clerk, most careful and conscientious in the discharge of his duties. I read'and destroyed a great many patients' letters, which had all been properly detained. Tenders for the central block will be accepted in a few days. During the progress of this work a great deal of care and watchfulness will be required of the whole staff, but the effect of providing suitable means of administration will be to make their work very much more satisfactory and pleasant for the future, and mark a new departure in the history of the asylum. The grievous overcrowding on the female side has been met for the present by erecting six temporary wooden rooms, and the day-room of the female refractory ward is being greatly improved by the additions now in progress. Wellington. 7th August, 1886.—1 inspected the Wellington Asylum on the Ist and 30th July, and on the 6th August. The number of patients at present is 114 males and 88 females ; total, 202. I saw and examined every inmate and found none improperly detained. Five males and five females confined to bed were carefully examined, and found to be receiving proper care and attention. One of these, a case of puerperal mania, with symptons of peritoneal mischief, who on my previous visit I feared was dying, is now progressing towards recovery (Mrs. A). T. W. is in a very prostrate condition, from what seems to be miliary apoplexy; J. P. S. has a slight attack of erysipelas in the face, and A. M. is suffering from a recent apopletic attack, probably induced by heavy drinking. • The others were slight and temporary cases; two of them were patients lately transferred from Napier, and had to be secluded and dressed in canvas. One man, who was in the habit of biting and otherwise injuring himself, had his hands fastened by the wrists to a waistbelt, himself approving. One old epileptic woman and two idiot children w Tere confined in armchairs. I found no others under any kind of restraint. Some of the more excitable and violent cases are secluded for short periods, and I quite approve of Dr. Levinge's practice in such cases, for it is a much more rational mode of treatment than securing quiet by what has been called " chemical restraint." I am delighted to find that in this asylum every effort is made to provide some suitable employment for all who are capable of profiting by it. Nothing in my opinion is a better test of the skill and energy of an asylum superintendent than his success in getting his patients interested in any kind of work that will distract their morbid feelings and procure natural sleep. Thirty-two of the male patients are regular outside workers. I found eleven females engaged in sewing in the workroom, while from sixteen to eighteen women are regularly employed in the laundry. The dietetic arrangements of this asylum are most admirable. Every day there is a change of dinner, and it is abundant in quantity, excellent in quality, and admirably cooked. The tables are neatly laid ; the basins, plates, spoons, knives, and forks are all scrupulously clean, and the organization is such that no time is lost in distributing the food while it is warm and stimulating to the appetite. Owing to the difficulty of procuring suitable earthenware in the colony the crockery is not what I should like to see, but this I understand will soon be remedied by means of supplies already ordered from home. The clothing of the patients is carefully attended to. This was a cold, raw morning, and I found all the patients who were in the airing-courts well and suitably clad. The women had, all of them, shawls, cloaks, or jackets, and I found none outside who were not properly shod. The sleep-ing-rooms were all clean and comfortable, and the supply of bed-clothes was ample ; each bed had three single blankets and a coloured quilt, with a sheet and blanket underneath. All the patients are regularly bathed, and their persons are kept very clean. The kitchen appliances, ample in some respects, are yet so badly designed that, while cooking is going on, the place is enveloped in clouds of steam. The gardening and farming operations are evidently well