114 Pauperism in New South Wales. 



from 1850 to 1867, amounted to £13,287. This system of Colo- 

 nial Secretary's orders appears to have originated in circum- 

 stances, when the Infirmary was a refuge for the infirm and aged 

 and those suffering from incurable chronic disease ; but it is an 

 undesirable arrangement in the present state of the population, 

 and is detrimental to the character of the hospital which is at 

 present devoted by the Directors to the treatment of cases of 

 acute and serious disease and accident. It is one also which is, 

 as might be expected, greatly abused. For instance, I find that 

 during the present year persons have obtained admission upon the 

 Colonial Secretary's order, upon whom the following sums of 

 money have been found : — 



1 patient had £170, 1 patient had £193. 

 1 patient had £78, and 1 patient had £215. 



Considering the large number who are unable to gain admis- 

 sion, and that many are in the habit of placing their money in 

 safe keeping, to render themselves qualified as applicants, it may 

 be presumed that a great many accept the boon thus so freely 

 offered, and, by so doing, not only lose that spirit of indepen- 

 dence which it should be the ambition of a Legislature to foster, 

 but entail a serious injustice upon their poorer brethren, who are 

 necessarily turned away from want of room. 



The average cost of each patient in the Infirmary is at present 

 two shillings aud eightpence per diem. 



Two Lunatic Asylums exist, which are supported at the public 

 expense : they contain all the insane in the colony, except ten, 

 who are inmates of Mr. Tucker's private establishment at Cook's 

 River. The patients necessarily consist of members of all classes 

 in society, high and low, rich and poor, those accustomed to the 

 luxuries of well-appointed homes and the comforts of family as- 

 sociations, together with the gutter drunkard, and the obscene, 

 blasphemous, maniac, &c. 



Owing to the want of space for due classification and an ab- 

 sence of the arrangements of a modern hospital for the cure of 

 insanity, all these are mingled together to a degree which is most 

 painful to witness. Of the 1155 inmates of these public asylums 

 a few persons (not more than 25) are supposed to pay the Go- 

 vernment at the rate of 2s. 2d. per diem. 



The husband of one of these patients died a few days since, 

 leaving as I am informed, available property to the amount of 

 £110,000. I am glad to be able to add, that the late Govern- 

 ment adopted the wise course of sending a fully qualified com- 

 missioner to Europe and America, with instructions to visit the 

 lunatic asylums and report upon their construction and manage- 

 ment. This report has just been printed and laid before the 

 Legislature. It contains a vast amount of most valuable infor- 

 mation that cannot fail in being useful, not to this colony alone, 



