BORNHAM INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL INQUIRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13286, 19 September 1906, Page 8

BORNHAM INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL INQUIRY.

A DOCTOR'S SUGGESTIONS. ; [BY " TELEGRAPH.— ASSOCIATION.] ■ ChristciidbcHj! Tuesday. The inquiry into the conduct of the Burnham Industrial School was resumed this morning Move Mr. H. W.„Bishop, S.M. Dr. Symes said lie wished to deny a, statement made by a witness. As reported'in the newspapers, a witness had said that he (Dr. Symes) had ordered sick boys to bo brought downstairs instead of visiting them in lied. This was entirely untrue, as ho examined the boys wherever lie was required to. In regard to the incorrigible class, Dr. Symes stated that about* 10 per bent-, belonged to the class of moral defectives of the criminal type. These defectives were not intellectually insane, and their special characteristic was the want .of self •control. Outdoor games, he considered, should be allowed on, Sundays, as they were much better than long, dreary, monotonous walks. The system of corporal punishment in vogue at Burnham, however suitable'for boys, was worse than useless for men. In. undergoing corporal punishment they should be firmly secured, as that produced half the moral effect desired. : John Alexander McCulloch,' tinsmith, said he wrote the article in Truth in which it was stated that there was material for half-a-dozen inquiries at Burnham. He got his information from Mr. Cooper, Mr. Best the boy Lewis, and indirectly from Mr' Tower,, first farm hand. ", In regard to the boy Lewis, it was Mr. Best and Mr. Cooper that told him the boy was compelled to take off his boots and strip off and wash himself 011 a cold concrete floor. Mr. Cooper now said this was not true, and witness admitted that he had misunderstood the position. So tar as the stripping off on the concrete was concerned, he knew the statement was incorrect. As far as he knew the bov had to scrub the kitchen and to take off his boots and socks It was Mr. Cooper who told him that the boy was being treated ia a most inhuman manner, and that the attendants were powerless to act. The bov Lewis, when questioned by witness, was not bitter against the manager, but anpeared to take the matter philosophically. Witney was g„ad that his writing had brought, about the present inquiry, as he thought the inquiry held by Dr. Andrewson h£L"?£ 6 , at f^ to 3 r ' several questions being burked." He considered he had verified the statements he made in his article. 3

Mr. Bishop said little had come out to support the allegation! made against the institution. The most that could be said was-that sufficient discretion was not exercised .in the oversight of the boy Lewis