On the supposed increase of insanity / by Edward Jarvis.

  • Jarvis, Edward, 1803-1884.
Date:
[1852]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the supposed increase of insanity / by Edward Jarvis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    Without doubt, these are all the pauper lunatics, wherever they may be. It is very certain, that here are all the pay-patients who were under commission. But it is not probable, that there were no others,—none supported by their own or their friend's property out of hospitals or licensed houses, and not under commission. Nor is it probable, that there were only two hundred and eighty- two pay or private lunatic-patients in all England and Wales, out of public and private establishments especially devoted to them. We must therefore conclude, that this is an imperfect census of the insane of England and Wales, especially when the commissioners themselves say, on page 182 of their report, that of patients who have been under pri- vate care, for shorter periods than one year, no return is required, so that a large class of insane persons, under certificate exists, in respect to whose number there are no materials for calculation. Again they say, as regards those of whom return ought to be made, it is believed, that in a very small proportion of instances is the law complied with. We have not taken the class last mentioned, [certificated single patients] into the account, in our estimate of the present numbers of the insane.— Even if these returns were complete and all certificated single patients were comprised in them, there would still remain a considerable class of insane persons of all ranks of life, under the care of guardians or relatives, without certificate, of whose probable number we have no means of forming an estimate. We have then no enumeration nor any complete esti- mate of the insane in even England and Wales. Still less have we two enumerations taken at different times by which we may make any comparison.