INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS

Press, Volume L, Issue 8591, 19 September 1893, Page 5

INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS

OUR SPECIAL

FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.

AUCKLAND NOTES.

September IS.

Mr F. G. Ewingtou, Official Visitor of the Asylum, visited that institution on Saturday last, and found 408 patients. Ha moved freely among the patients, none of whom made any complaint. He inspected the food, bedding and clothing, and found good and adequate provision made for the patients. On inspecting the buildings, he found things satistactory, except for overcrowding in the dormitories and the scarcity of single rooms. His official report for the Government was very favourable to the management, and Mr Ewington thinks the Auckland Asylum specially fortunate in having such an excellent staff, as Auckland is worse off than any Asylum in the colony as regards single rooms. Mr Ewington thinks about twenty more single rooms are required, and it might appear evident even to the uninitiated that it is not desirable or right that noisy and dangerous patients should be pub into dormitories where there are possibly sixteen or twenty beds. The absence of casualties amongst over 400 insane patients show- that the institution is well managed. The question of public charitable relief is at present attracting a considerable amount of attention in Auckland. The Inspector of Police wrote to the Charitable Aid Board stating that lib intended to ask the Court to commit a number of children, representing two families, to the Industrial School, bub the Board decided to oppose this course. The Chairman stated that there were fully 150 obheii children in the district as much neglected as those mentioned by the Inspector, aid if these were held iv the same way ib would ineau an expenditure of over £2000 a year to the Board.