From a return made in this year (1846) showing the total number of lunatics in the district, local, and private asylums and jails on the 1st of January during each of the previous ten years, I observe that in 1837 there was a total of 3077, and in 1846 a total of 3658, thus distributed:—
| Year. | District Asylums. | Local Asylums. | Private Asylums. | Jails. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1837 | 1610 | 1236 | 152 | 79 | 3077 |
| 1846 | 2555 | 562 | 251 | 290 | 3658 |
| Inc. 945 | Dec. 674 | Inc. 99 | Inc. 211 | Inc. 581 |
Of the 3658, as many as 2473 were incurable, leaving only 1185 curable patients. For 1846 there is also a return of the number in poor-houses, 1921; wandering idiots and simpletons, 6217; lunatics under the care of Court of Chancery not in asylums, 76; making a total of 11,872, of whom 327 only were private patients.
In the following year the annual report of the Inspectors thus speaks of non-restraint: "The non-restraint system has been introduced, and is generally acted on, mechanical restraint being seldom applied except where the patients are very violent, and even then it is not often resorted to, as a temporary seclusion is now substituted as a more effectual means of tranquillizing the patients without the risk of personal injury often resulting from the application of bodily restraint, and arrangements are being made to have apartments fitted up for this purpose in each asylum."
The percentage of cures and mortality during the previous seven years was as follows:—Per cent. on the admissions, 38.65; mortality calculated on average number resident, 8.39—not an unsatisfactory return.
In 1849 the proportion of lunatics (i.e. ascertained) to the population in Ireland was 1 to 900, while in Scotland it was 1 to 740, and in England 1 to 870.
In their report of this year, the Inspectors of Asylums express their regret that no provision exists for the insane who, not being paupers, are legally inadmissible into the public institutions, and are unable to meet the charges made in private asylums, the only mixed institutions being St. Patrick's Hospital and the Retreat in Dublin, managed by the Society of Friends.
The number of patients in the district asylums in 1851 (exclusive of Cork, 394) was as follows:—
| No. | Opened. | |
|---|---|---|
| Armagh | 131 | 1824 |
| Belfast | 269 | 1829 |
| Carlow | 197 | 1832 |
| Clonmel | 197 | 1834 |
| Ballinasloe | 312 | 1833 |
| Limerick | 340 | 1827 |
| Londonderry | 223 | 1829 |
| Maryborough | 192 | 1833 |
| Richmond | 279 | 1815 |
| Waterford | 115 | 1835 |
| Total | 2255 |