FATAL OVERWORK IN A BOARD SCHOOL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7002, 26 April 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

FATAL OVERWORK IN A BOARD SCHOOL.

The divisional coroner has just held an inquiry at Cheltenham into the case of Elizabeth Rowley, aged eight, who, it was alleged, died from overwork in the Board school. Her mother aaid her daughter often oomplained of headaohe on returning from school, and frequently remarked that her sums were too hard for her. The mistress at' the Board school said she had not noticed Emma Bowley was more worried than the other girls. Dr. Moaoley, the resident medical officer at the branch dispensary of the general hospital, Cheltenham, had attended the girl during her short illness, [and he stated that inflammation of the membranes of the brain waß the primary cause of death. He expressed the opinion that the lessons, as detailed in the evidence, coupled with the time devoted to study, were too great a mental strain for a healthy child of seven or eight years to bear, and that the mental strain she underwent hastened her death. The coroner saidthere was a growing feeling that children were overtaxed in the public schools, and medical evidenos had gone far to confirm it. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the evidence of Dr. Moseley.