Notes on Lunacy in British Guiana

Extract

Few countries, if any, afford better opportunities for the study of insanity, as exhibited among different races, than British Guiana. Here, gathered together in one asylum, are West Indians, Coolies from India, Chinese, Portuguese, and Africans; and, although the types of insanity are very similar in all, yet there are some distinctive features, worthy, I think, of being noted. Many difficulties arise in investigating the subject, owing, principally, to an inability to converse personally with some of the patients, more especially with Chinese. Consequently, a refinement in classification is unattainable; the strongly-marked features of the case alone giving an index to the form of mental disorder.