TE ORANGA HOME INQUIRY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 138, 5 March 1908, Page 8

TE ORANGA HOME INQUIRY.

•'FURTHER evidence, » - « STATEMENTS BY INMATES. : : - HORE ABOUT FOOD AND PUNISHMENT I - lUY TELEGRAPH— rnESS ASSOCIATION ) Chrlstchurch, March 4 : ..When ; tho inquiry , into . the managomen of To Oranga Homo was resumed to-day Mr . Salter drew attention to tho fact that thgirl .who had given her evidence in clue ... tho.previous day, and was being tcnderec for. cross-oxpminaticn, had been lodged m i coll ■.'during"-, tho interval. The girl gavi s; - . evidenco in support of this, but,under cross examination, sho admitted that sho had beei quito' comfortably accommodated, and thai ■ i it had been -'explained:--.to her. that sho was not being punished by being lodged in tht V . ,t. coll. .When- tho examination of the witness r.as.coticludcd,: Mr. Salter inquired whethei tho-was to bo sent back to the cell. . Mr.: Bishopsaid that it was understood ;• that the girls should.; be' . kept' entirelj v . . separate >from.; the others,;- and. ■ that, thej ( should havo ■no .communication;-'..during \ the - progress, of tho inquiry. - Mr. Salter:: AH, I asked .was that tho girls ' should not bo -interfered--with.: My object 1.--.'■■w'ais :tliat.Mrs. : .Branting should not interfere. I--'-The .fact remains -that sho has been put in a , , -coll, a pjaco used for punishment.- • - • Mr. Bishop:' The girl.-,-admits'.that; it was ; . not:a, punishment- under ordinary conditions. Gho had a: lamp with her, and was perfectly obmfortable.- : I don't see' how otherwise she could have .been provided: tor.. ?::!- V.Mr.;, Salter:Why. not put . her - wii-h the ; other eirls? " "... - ; . _Bishop= r This'girl .Jiad .not: ; ;Completod .. ovidence.; -I,am not going to 'dictate.' to ; . 't-ho matron wh.it she',will' do with any.-.pa'rr •' ticnlarigirl. If .during, tho progress of ..the ~ inquiry.;you. ; can ascertain that -any -of the i ' r.' witness es - a ro ; ' lioing , : troatod in. an improper v«ay as a result-of, or in.any way m.con- : 7. Vi'cction -with, ■' tho, evidence','.tlicy give,, 'Iyshall : ' ' not- hesitate to. deal with, it. At present there-is.nothing ito call-,for. any; remark from . . PlO. . , . ■/. ■ i .'. Mr. Pope osplained that ho had discussed Ov ; . : ; matter.. the, matron,'and it ; was ex;V: ; plained 'to the girl v that beirig' put' into ;the %« cell was in no way as a punishment. ' CROEC-EX AMI NATION. . In. tho .course of her cross-examination - tho •' ■''- .-witness" admitted . various 'breaches oftho v rules while "at service,:. , btit'-, she;; absolutely ;3-/., dem^ ; grave . ;.inisbehayiour. : '.' She was quite prepared to ' stay in the Home if she were treated justly, ." arid..: she wasV^uito'"certain r that ; she : could v b;j; - ;.' cec 'if.."she'Voht.'.away'-'from'!-'tho .-/■Hom,q! a .! She. ;demed. that'; when sho: .caihe liaek she said to;tho matron that she wondered,. how-.long the -matron: was .going, to , , lot.her carry*on as she had been doing. ■ ANOTHER WITNESS. . .."A girl, of ..twenty;' who 'had been in' tho Homo - for four arid''a..half "years,.'-tow -tho next witness.. Sho said that she-had been out at service once. Sho ran- away from -her place .because 'she objected "to; being -in ,1.--.. 1 .-,' the country, .'When she was- brought back . she .was put :into.th'e cells for a month, but , l sne -.-was. only. locked up. for'one -day. .The rest of. the time : the door wa£ unlocked; and she could: got into the!detention yard. : She. slept in the cell for a week. When she was brought back-she received twelve cuts •of,the strap from tho matron. Tho food was . not always (good, vand the girls were foreed . : •' tp eat thin£s they did not like. Tho matron :: had boxed, her ears, and she had seen the matron - boxing other .girls'- ears. WShe- had v ;v» -been, 1 strapped for: sitting .on ariotlier girl's ~ bed... -.'The witness made .-..'.various'- complaints ~\'J■ about the. nature" of the work''and the treat- . ment meted out by tho staff. ' . ,In cross-examination, tho witness was very; reticent about her reasons for.'running-away ■ ( from .her , situationj -and -the .Commissibhcr said that he- would place' his own 'construction on -her sdenco." She denied.-that' she was found. l with a man- in a haystack, at - 2 :: s a.m., -though- the ..police report made that ■ J statement-. It was the matron's to - , - have a chat with the girls in tbo evenings, and to encourage them to tell their troubles; - During the last six-months she had been •very comfortable m tho Home. - THE PUNISHMENT DRESS. Tho next witness,-a .girl of eighteen, said • that sho had .once tried 'to , abscond. ; . Shs ■ was,punished-with a month in tho cells and • detention yard, and was locked for a day in r; .- tho cell. She wore the punishment, dross for two; months and ,\a week. She not Etrapp'ed.. < At one time ■ somo of the girls •; complained about shortage of' food, ; arid they i. - were over-fed for a week.: "If they could:riot ■ ■: cat "it they were.' threatened that the .food y• : ; would be poured down their throats. Sho ;-- • had seen .tlie matron. box a girl's ears,,and v...-knock a girl's .head -against..the wall. , ; [■' ■ ... In reply to Mr. R-ussell, the witness stated ,- ;: that she got on N very;! well in-tho'Home,' and . had ; very few complaints to make. She ;A - ' - didn't, warit. to go to - service,. as' .sho didn't /■ -know'.;what',it was like'.; ''-I,'warit -to s "get ' out 'of^her'e,.' the'Witness'said.; " There : are / other! ways of earning a living besides do- : -. mestic.service. ;I should ,like to bo'a clerk;" V K!;:•••. 'In't?ply -to.Mr.-Hunt,; the witness ; said-that -.". .she Bad never had a'chance to : make' a complaint to the'lady, even if-Vsho had wanted to. • '- ; ■

, This exhausted Mr._ Salterns list, of six.wit- . nesses;- ■ but he obtained-permission call - otliffr girls. * .- - • - .' i 4 ' IN THE . HOME SEVEN. YEARS. V ,^ e next witness was a;'girl- of twenty, wno had been, in the Home tor. seven years. She stated .-that slig. had been. out.'at service V and' ran away. When slip. was. brought back had.three weeks in the ccllj' oiijtwo 'days being visited only by the staff at meal times, and she. got : twelve strokes''.of strap.' Later- on' she' absconded from the Home, and was punished; 'At 'this, tirno sho,' '.: :.was ill. She got dry bread to eat, and when •<; «ne. could not eat it Miss Mills: told her that she was: sulking, and would, not give her tho ~ frash bread. ; Witness: said that slio was guttering from' a' sorb, throat.: The matron , , 'came in'"later,) and .witness , was again strapped. ! She • felt' 'this strapping for three ' Sho. did not'know whether ■.-■■■ Miss. Mills- had told tho ma'trop of: her ill- ;. ness. Some days .'later,'the doctor saw her . ' , an<l ; was sent to tho hospital, where she remained for a month.. ': . 1,1 ■ re E l y.; to , -Mr. Russell witness ■ statbd that she made: her..'first statement to :Mr.- Fountain.'. Ho j came to' see her in the hospital, and showed'.her'a-'letter which" she thought at the time 'was written by' Miss Howden. '••:••• ,/ ho letter, which was produced,- stated that' the girl was lying : in the hospital in a dangei ous. condition j .that been, brought back, to the Homo in'a starving state: that sho was given bread and water' and received ~ 12. cuts; that she-was.in ; a state-of collapso and '.was ordered to a proper bed in the . Homeland finally , removed'to tho hospital - that Mrs. Branting would remove the girl back to-the'Homo - and prevent anyone speaking, to her in the hospital. ; The witness said that sho had .not seen Miss Howden ■ , nor received letters ifrom her. Messrs. Eli and Laurenson saw her at the hospital. Whilo sho was away a man paid her board,-spend-ing about £3 on h'er during a : week ■ A sailor at Lyttelton went out with her, and .... asked her to marry him,, but' she refused She was not m;a. starving condition when she went back to the Home.: At - this stage - the inquiry was adjourned until to-morrow, when Mr. Salter will call Borne ex-inmates of the Home.