Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/267

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241
EURASIAN

that "it appears from the statistics that insanity is far more prevalent among the Eurasians than among any other class. The proportion is 1 insane person in every 410. For England and Wales the proportion is 1 in every 307, and it is significant that the section of the population of Madras, which shows the greatest liability to insanity, is that which has an admixture of European blood. I have no information regarding the prevalence of insanity among Eurasians for any other province or State in India except Mysore, and there the proportion is 1 in 306."

For the following tabular statement of admissions into the Government Lunatic Asylum, Madras, I am indebted to Captain C. H. Leet-Palk, I.M.S.: —

——— Eurasians. Eurasians. Natives. Natives. Europeans. Europeans.
——— Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female.
1893 6 7 110 55 15 4
1894 8 6 104 28 19 1
1895 10 6 113 18 11 4
1896 2 4 82 17 5 -
1897 3 3 84 18 14 1

Leaving out of question the Europeans, in whom, owing to the preponderance of the male sex in Madras, a greater number of male than female lunatics is to be expected, and considering only Eurasians and Natives, the far higher proportion of female as compared with male lunatics in the Eurasian than in the Native community, is very conspicuous. Taking, for example, the numbers remaining in the Asylum in 1894. Whereas the proportion of Eurasian males to females was 33:31, that of Natives was 30.6: 6.8; and the high proportion