TE ORANGA HOME.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13062, 12 March 1908, Page 4

TE ORANGA HOME.

i THE ENQUIRY CONTINUED

Tho enquiry into the management of tho Te Oranga Homo was continued

yesterday afternoon by Mr 11. W. Bishop, Commissioner. Miss Howden. an ex-attendant, who had given evidence on the previous day, made a request that Mrs Scale and Messrs Walker and Beck, officers of tbe Department, should be called

as witnesses. She stated that Mrs fcfcale could provo that her salary was tc bo £60. Mr Beck could provo that sho had been told that she would not

b? required to do anything outside of office work, and Mr Walker would prove something tho matron had said about witness getting a fortnight's holiday at the end ot" the year. The Commissioner said that it was rather a big order to bring three Departmental officers down from Wellington to give evidence on what was perhaps merely a i*>rsoual matter b<tween the matron and Miss Howden.

If the Department was not inclined to send the officers down, Miss Howdon could formulate n list of questions. ' and forward them to the Department j through Mr Gtiiv, secretary to tho! Commueion. > After sotno discussion, this coursel was agreed to. } A girl of 22, now a domestic ser- j vant. and formerly an inmate of the. J Home, was the liret witness called j by Mr Russell, on behalf of Mrs ' Branting. She stated that sho had !>ecai in the Home for two years and* nine montlis. Sho had done tree-felling and wood chopping, and rather liked the work, preferring it to inside work. Tl.** girls bad Monday and Thursday evenings off, and from 4 p.m. till bedtime on Saturdays. Tho food was all right, and the clothing was sufficient. - The scrubbing was done with luko- j warm water. Sho had no complaint '■ whatever against the Home, and slh> was quite satisfied that bho had boon benefited by the time she had spent in it. She would prefer to stay in tlie Homo if she came to Christchurch rather than stay at any other place! : ihe girls used to play tennis and cro- j quot during tho afternoon holidays j oi amuse themselves as tbev pleo-sCxL i the members of tho 6taff wore neither ■ harsh nor unkind. She had no <>b- i uctiou to '2d ]k-t month being d*y I ducted for the church from her mark ' money. j

In reply to Mr Salter, the witness stated that sho was in the secondclass division for six months, and was then thum-ferred to tho first-class, fr'he had never been punished while in tho Home. iShe had never seen tho matron or any other member of the staff box girls on tlio ea*rs. Tlio girls had no option but to give 2d per month church money. Tho matron used to advise the girls in front of tho others, but did not discuss their faults publicly. X

In reply to tho Commissioner, the witne*ss said that nho had never heard any "irl complain about the Home. iShe had never been asked to abscond, and the subject of absconding was mn a general* topic of disouss-ion among the girls. She considered that -sii.? owned her present position in life to the training sho had received in the Homo.

Another girl, aged 17. said that she had been in tho Homo for three year.-. •She had been a '* lirst-class" girl for two years. She had- taken part in the tree-felling au<l wood chojipi'im, and preferred outside work to inside. She was good friends with tlie staff. ::nd -ill the staff wero kind to hor. Sho had all tho food, bed-imp. and olothi/14 she wanted. Ivrch uirl had her own clothe.-. The /UYst-elass girl* had h-.t water to do wrubbinp. mid when t-lii' was a second-class gin the others with her got warm water. She had been punished while m the Home. On one occasion sho was put in the cells for impudence, and 011 another .-lie was sent to bed for not knowing her b—sons. Sho did not fool tired at aite;--noon 6chool on account of the work done in the morning. She had no objection to the deduction of -Jd jer month church money; she would give more if 6he could. To Mr Salter: Sho was two hours in the cell. She had never seen any girl get hor eiri boxed, though she had heard of it. No complaint about the food had ever been made in her presence, j A girl of 14, who had .been an tho ■ Home for eighteen months, said that : she was one of the woodehop]>ors, and she liked that sort of work. The staff ; were very kind to the girls, and gave j them time to take a rest whon they : were tired. Sho hod be*en punished by being sent to bed, with dry bread to eat, for not knowing her lessens. The matron was very kind and mother- • ly. • To ALr Salter: SJie had soon th,, matron box a girl's ears. fir*t with one hand and then the other. SpHuiri" timber with o. wedge was th** hard.-" work : she had done that when sho was : a second-class girl. Some girls had com-

plained that they did not got enough to cat. The next witness was a fair-haired girl of 14, who had 'boon in the Homo for over nine- moiHJis. .She ■ she -had <lone -sonio of the wood-cliop-piii-g, and would rather do tluit tlian U» liiwido. Sho had been punished on two occasions by Iveing sent to l>od. iSho liked the matron, and was quite in the Home. I Mr i-Nil.te-r asked tlie gi<rl about tlie monthly church money, and the witness i-<iid that she had no objection to 3d pot month -being deducted. Tho Commissioner intimated that he I did not attach tlio slightest importance to this ■matter. next witness -was a girl ngjed IT J years, who hud Jmwu two years and ton montJi-B in the Home. For five motitlis she had l>een a first-olass girl. The girla spent their -snm-mer afternoon holidays playing tennis and croquet, and in winter they liad in-door gtunes and singling. Two of tho girls had complained in her hearing that they had not enotiglv to eat.. -She had been pint * in tho cell for giving impudence to the staff. Miss Howdon had told her about tlio rows and the intended enquiry. , Miss Howdon said that sho would Like :' to liavo an enquiry of her own,, to see j who would come out on top. She told I witness that the matron treated the ! girls like beasts, and -sometimes -nailed them that. On one occasion Miss Howden mi-ssod soune- blotting-paper, and she said that not only were the girls lxrh-t-lingo red, but the staff as weJl. To Mr Silt-er: Miss Howdon. waft very kuid, but sho made witness ve-j-y dis-

contented. Witnere had not soon the matron box .girls' ears, but she Ikkl s-r-en her thu.nrp them on the --shoulders. There was never a.nytliing unpleasant s::id to girls who turn-ed over in their beds ot night- -.-he. had absolutely.no o(..ni*i>hi.int to make ajrainst the matron. \ domestic servant, who had spent i

three years in the Home, said taut sho was never jriven too much work in the Home. She could not nay that sho was very fend of the wood-chop-ping. The girls who complained of

tiredness were sometimes allowed lo 1 rest. Tho girls never killed themselves with work. .Miss Mills used to ; ; l>o rather sharp with them, but the other members of the staff wero kind, j Tho food "was good and sufficient, - though on < no occasion tainted fish j had lx'eii given. She had to work ; harder in her -pri-Moril position than she had in the Home. She looked ; upi-n Te Or-nima .is a homo, ami on : tl;o matron as a mother. To Mr Salter: The girls ro>tod when ! tlio staff's backs wore turili-d. but they were k.. pi pretty -well at it when the; : staff mis there. As to being com- | < jelled 10 eat a double quantity ot j food, witness was concerned in that ; episode. Thero v. as a new attendant j in the kitchen, and short supplies wore j served, 'lite girls complained, with j the result thai they got rather more j , than they could eat. They were not < really forced to eat it. though it was ' served to them. i Mr Salter: Did not some of the girls who had double quantity feci bad ■ alter it':'--They felt "heavy: they wore: I not really forced to eat it. ■ Mr Russell: Are you satisfied that' the training of the Home ha- made ; you a better girl?— Yes. Tlie Coi-iuiissioner : Anyone who has . seen the girl's record -will admit that. ' Another girl, who hud just come back from service, said that she had j done better since she had been in the , Home than she could have done had | sho remained at homo. She did ! not fool so tired in the Home after a I day's work as she did at service. It j was a p!ea.=ure and a rest to get back I to tho Homo. Mi-s Howdon had told '. her that she would like to have, ntt enquiry. A girl of 19. who had been in the j ELnn-3 for thirteen mouths, toid that •'

j she milked r.vo cows in tho mornings. She liked the woodchopping aad outside work. The stall were kind to her, J and she regarded Te Oranga as a home. She had been punished with the strap I and dry bread for absconding. She j arranged to ah-soond wluvn in the Samaritan Home with the girl who had ! given evidenco the previous day. They i were borh in the Samaritan Home at J the time, and they arranged to meet in j town in a month. Sho Imd no comj plaint* against Te Oranga. To Mr SaJtor : The strapping was not I very severe. She was kept in tho ceil j for a fortnight. j A girl of eighteen, who had bce.n \ sixteen months in the Homo, said that j sometimes she was happy and at other * times unhappy. She had no compiaint to make against the matron or tho Home. The training of the Homo had : done her a lot of good. j To Mr Salter: There was nothing ; I n-bout tho Home fo mako hor nnJiuppj.! She did not o„e th© wood-cutting, but ! she had to do it. A well-grown girl of fifteen raid that wood-out-ting was not very bard work. Sho had no eompJatnt to* mako. Tlie staff did not show any favouritism. The food was plentiful «nd .ill right. • A girl of nineteen said that tho girls were not worked too hard at the woodchoppins;. Sho would (sooner he in tho Home than in -service. Sho was quite happy, and had no complaint to make. Site had soon girls boxed on tho wits j by the matron. j Another girl gnvo similar evidence. \ She had seen the matron bos a girl's ! ears, but- not very severely. Sho had boon to-'d by the st-nff that she worked ' too hard. Two other girls al«> gave evidence i that they were quite happy and con- ; ton ted in the Home. The members of j the staff were very kind indeed to ' them. j At this -stage t.he enquiry was ad- j jo nrived until 2..'>U p.m. to-day.