H.—29

6

With the women, unfortunately, the case is different, it is impracticable to supply insane women with much outdoor employment, especially upon an estate where both sexes are maintained; and the lack of this causes an extremely marked difference in the demeanour of the women as a whole, as compared with the men. One can frequently go through the asylum without coming across a single obstreperous male patient, but it is never so with the women. Walks in the grounds, or even-definite forms of recreations, such as croquet, rounders, dancing, &c, bear no comparison with useful outdoor work in influencing the insane in a healthy direction. It is to be remarked, however, that those women, who are entirely employed in the laundry and kitchen, and even those who will busy themselves with " still '•' work indoors—such as sewing, knitting, &c.—are, as a rule, happy and contented enough. The following is a list of the recreations provided for patients : — (a.) Sports, with the band playing on the front lawn, every Saturday afternoon, unless too wet or cold. (b.) Croquet for women on all fine mornings. (c.) Tennis for special patients. (Two asphalte tennis courts have been made at a total expenditure of about £30.) (d.) General picnic in summer. (c.) Fortnightly dance during six colder months. Music by band. (/.) Entertainments tendered by companies from Dunedin, or given by the staff, throughout the year. ((/.) Optical Lantern Entertainments.- —The first lantern-entertainment devised at Seacliff was given last Christmas Eve by means of an apparatus which we have for the most part constructed in the establishment. The lantern is provided with oxy-hydrogen lime-light, and the image is projected from the gallery of the large hall to the stage, a distance of 80ft., on to a screen 24ft. in diameter—probably the largest in the colony. Total expenditure, £27 9s. Bd. (Vide Appendix 0.) I regret that these and other entertainments have not been so frequent during the last few months as they should have been, owing mainly to the extra work and distraction caused by the long series of newspaper attacks which have been made upon the Asylum. Attendants have been too much occupied with'the small excitements caused b) 7 these articles to devote their wonted attention to providing amusements, and otherwise working voluntarily for the well-being of the establishment. (h.) The Billiard-room. —The billiard-table at the main building was originally in a comparatively small room, reserved solely for the use of attendants, and all the men, with the exception of possibly a dozen, were got to bed as soon as possible after tea, only the favoured few staying up later than 7 p.m. There was no form of evening recreation whatever, except a possible game of cards or draughts in a cold, dimly-lighted corridor. Early in 1890 the principal men's day-room—■ then a bare, barn-like place, without blinds, provided only with wooden tables, forms, and a few sofas in black American cloth—was repainted, polished, decorated, and comfortably furnished to accommodate fifty patients. A large portion of the floor was laid with the best linoleum, the billiard-table was transferred to it, two large tables were provided for newspapers, periodicals, &c; four small tables for cards, draughts, dominoes, steeplechase, and other games; cane chairs, six cretonne-covered sofas, hearth-rugs, cornices, vallances, blinds, pictures, and bracket and hanginglamps. Less than £40 were expended in effecting this change. (Photographs, Appendix P.) At first about thirty patients availed themselves of the privilege of using this room, a large proportion actively engaging in games, and the rest occupying themselves with illustrated papers, smoking, or merely sitting round the fires. The room has been kept open on all week evenings, and the numbers frequenting it have steadily increased, until now there are usually between forty and fifty present. The patients, with as many attendants as care to join them—in addition to the attendant in charge—occupy the room till 8.30 p.m., after which it is reserved for the use of attendants 01113 7. This simple reform, when instituted, caused a storm of indignation among a certain section of the attendants, who considered it a gross infringement of their privileges, and threatened to revenge themselves by spending their evenings at the hotel. Very soon, however, the malcontents succumbed to the inevitable, and I should say that there are now few if any who would wish to revert to the old arrangement. This incident will serve, as well as any other, to illustrate the fact that inside asylums we are not exempt from the law of "survival of the fittest." Indeed, if there are any institutions in the world in which, without necessarily any bad intentions, the stronger tend to override the weaker, unless the balance of privilege be firmly maintained, it is dn lunatic asylums. In the instance which I have quoted the attendants had, during the lapse of time, and no doubt by insensible degree, acquired the sole right with regard to a billiard-table which was presented to the patients as a reward for their own labours by the Eoslyn Corporation. There is also a billiard- and card-room at the upper buildings, with a somewhat inferior billiard-table, which has always been used by some of the patients at meal-times ; but whereas formerty only two sat up, now about twenty engage in games till 8.30 p.m. Besides these there are three other sitting-rooms, with fires, for male patients, and corridors and recesses without fires. All these places are lit up, and are more or less occupied of an evening by, say, from ten to a dozen patients. (i.) The library sitting-room, for patients and attendants, which was opened about a year ago, is a cosy room, furnished in a better style than the main billiard-room, and supplied with a good selection of books. It is mainly frequented by better class of patients. The library, to which we are constantly adding, consists at present of 128 books, and the number lent out to the staff is to-day : nurses, 17 ; attendants, 22. Certain patients have the free use of the library, and others have books lent to them. The following papers have always been received for patients —viz. : three copies Illustrated London Netus"; three copies Graphic, one copy English Punch, and nine copies of daily papers; in addition we have taken since the beginning of the year five copies Otago Witness. Old magazines and periodicals have been purchased from the Athenasum, and recently two copies of the Review of Beviews have been ordered. Besides providing books for recreation, a large number of standard works upon farming,