The N.Z. Times. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1907. CHILDREN OF THE STATE.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6315, 16 September 1907, Page 6

The N.Z. Times.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1907. CHILDREN OF THE STATE.

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The quickened sense of the community in respect of the preservation and protection of infant life will result no doubt in valuable lives being saved for the commonwealth which hitherto have been either lost altogether, ot blighted and rendered useless or worse. There is a much -better- chance of converting such children into useful citizens, provided they are fairly dealt with in infancy, than there is in the case of children who become the wards of the State at a later age, when evil, often criminal, habits have been formed; so that the movement to rescue infants from influences hostile to infant life is likely to have an appreciable effect on the future of our industrial schools. Supposing, however, that legislation is provided for securing to nameless, deserted, or destitute infants a chance of surviving to grow up and share the common citizenship of the State, it will always be' an > important question what to do with them when they cease to be infants and reach an age when they may share the indnstrial life of the community. Industrial schools have done good work in their time, but it cannot be held that schools of this kind, where the numbers axe large and where the classification cannot in the nature of the case be very exact, offer the ideal solution of this important question. In England, where schemes for child-resone have occupied philanthropic minds for many years, the Bamardo scheme of homes is perhaps the organisation that haa proved itself the most effectual: at least it ia that which is best known. One moans adopted by the Barnaxdo management is to send rescued children at a suitable age to Canada, where they may ;

be absorbed into the country population, devoto themselves to agricultural or other industrial pursuits, and so sever themselves altogether from injurious or unpleasant early associations. One modest scheme, now being tried by a public-spirited and benevolent English lady, Mrs Close, is well worth tho attention of those who interest themselves in the important work of child-rescue. Mrs Close bought for her scheme a small farm of 180 acres in New Brunswick, about half-an-hour’s railway journey from St. John, from which the mail steamers sail for England. According to Dr Shadwoll, who describes tho Ellinor Home Farm in tho “National Review” for August, this homo for children occupies an idea! situation, on the fertile slope of a beautiful valley, amidst fields and orchards, dn a well-settled district, and within easy distance of a good school where tho children of the home receive their education side by side with the children of the settlers. The residence consists of a farm-house, a comfortable two-storied wooden building with a deep verandah and surrounded by the necessary outbuildings, and is described by Dr Shadwcll as “perfectly simple and home-like, but very attractive.” The Ellinor Home Farm is under the supervision of a local committee, of which Mr A. Fairweather, K. 0., is chairman. At the time of Dr Shadwell’s visit there were twelve children in tho home, ten boys and two girls, ranging in age from six to fifteen, and tho place was managed by a resident lady superintendent with the assistance of a trained nurse, and with a hired woman to do the housework. Tho farm consists chiefly of meadowpasture, with a small amount of arable land, an orchard, vegetable garden, and so on, and is stocked with a horse, cows, and poultry. The children had been less than a year on the farm at the time of Dr Shadwell’s visit, but already the change in their physique and general health was very noticeable. They bad been London slum children, and according to Dr Wetmore, who looks after their health, “they came out, some of them thin and anaemic, their faces showing signs of fatigue and worry, hut now they are all, without exception, robust-looking, have a good colour, and are without the worried appearance.” A good education is provided for these children, they are being brought up in a wholesome and natural way, and are acquiring a knowledge of domestic and agricultural work which will enable them to earn their own livelihood when the time comes for them to do so. The management of the Ellinor Homo Farm lias so far gained the approval of the neighbouring settlers. The boys are “growing up strong and useful, and knowledgeable. about stock and crops,” so' that when the farmer of the home was invalided for a fortnight during the winter the boys did all the work, feeding the animals, milking the cows, chopping the wood, and so forth. The chief elements in this case seem to be the maternal supervision and consequent comfort of the home, the pleasantness of the environment, the limited number of the children who are treated, allowing influences to be felt that could not be brought to hear where the numbers are large and where the children must therefore be more or less dragooned, and finally the absence of anything like stigma, the -children being in no way sequestrated, but sharing in tho education and amusements of the children of settlers. Altogether-this Home Farm seepis a promising solution of a difficult problem, and merits consideration and studs.