The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1876.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 187, 25 November 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1876.

" Worsts are thlnsrs, »n<* » 'bvp of ink failin; upon a thought may produce thai which makes thousands think. "*

The Inquiry into the alleged ca3e of cruelty practised upon the girl JMary Dottio, one of the inmates of the Industrial School, has come to a close, and the finding of the Commissioners has been exactly what we expected it would have been. After a lengthy sitting, in the coarse of which a mass of evidence wa3 taken, the Commission have arrived at the conclusion that the case was a most exceptional one, the girl a most difficult subject to deal with, and while they feel convinced that the Superintendent of the institution was guilty of no conduct cal-

I dilated to substantiate the charge, fyet they have left a record that they could not acquit him of great indiscretion in continuing to use means and instruments, however cautiously and humanely applied calculated to excite public sensation. From the portions of the evidence embodied in the report of the Commissioners it will be seen that the girl was thoroughly incorrigible, that kindness was thrown away upon her, and to keep her in the Institution it was absolutely necessary stringent measures should be adopted. The Master of the School is well known for his paternal watchfulness over the unfortunate waifs who are placed under his charge, and the statistics and reports of the Institution prove that numbsra of the inmates when the term of their detention has expired, and they leave the School to learn the trade provided for them look back with the liveliest gratitude, and entertain the most grateful feelings for those under whose charge they had so long been. The girl Dohig, however, was of different stuff, a kind of female Jack Suei'UEHD, to whom restraint of any kind was a burden not to be borne, and for whom locks and bars seemed to have been provided merely to show with what ease she could set them at de/iance. No doubt there are many who will read the annexed report of the Commission, and consider the attaching of a chain to the girl during the night time a piece of brutality which should not have been practised, and such an opinion we in a | great measure endorse. Still, the fact ! must not be lost sight of that Mr. ; TiTCHENEit, the Superintendent, is responsible for the safe keeping of those placed under his charge, and that times out of number the girl in question had decamped from the school. The very mention of chains being used in connection with a fellow-being causes afeeli::g of revolt in most of us, and although the punishment, as proved in this particular case, was anything but excessive, the objectionable feature presented itsslf, and public sympathy was aroused. We freely admit that there is something which causes our blood to rise in indignation at the bare thought of a child of tender years—for notwithstanding her precocity and criminal career, she is but a child in years—being manacled like a hardened and crime-laden desperado, and although we perhaps would not endorse all that was done by Mr. Titchenek, it must be admitted that Dohio's is one of those desperate cases which requires desperate remedies. The Commission, which was composed of Mr. Stkode, late Resident Magistrate at Dunedin, and Mr. I. Watt, the Sheriff, furnish the following report: " That the girl is ten years of age, and of a very exceptionable temper and character.

" That she was received into the School on the 23th October last. " That without cause she absconded on the 28th of the same month, and was returned to the School by her father the following day, when lie asked the master not to punish on that occasion, but to do so if she ran away again. " That without cause she again absconded on the 31st of the same month, at seven o'clock in the morning, and was found next day by the School attendant, Russell, at her fathers house, and brought back to the School. That, for her insubordinate conduct, she was, on her return, chastised with six strokes of a light willow rod or stick, and sent to bed. " That on the following morning the master took her into the bathroom, intending to confine her there if he could not persuade her to promise not to run away again. That she would not so promise. That, after reasoning with her for some time without effect, he put a pair of ordinary small handcuffs upon her legs to prevent her escaping, whilst he went for tools to mend a hole in the partition, through which she might otherwise get out when losked up. That, in his absence, the girl broke the window, and, manacled as she was, escaped. That, in getting through the broken window, she cut her left ankle witlt the glass. That the cut became a sore, nearly an inch long and half an inch wide. That very soon after, she was missed, and search made until site was found hiding in some tussocks about 300 yards from the road. " That from this, the Ist to the 19th instant (when she last absconded) she was fastened every night by her ankle in the manner following:—A short length of chain, about lOin. long, had at each end locked to it one of the cuffs of two pair of i

ordinary handcuffs. One of the other two cuffs was; fastened to her right ankle, the other to her neighbor's bedstead, which was moved alongside for the purpose. The whole weight of the chain was thus supported by the two beds, none of it depending or causing any weight upon the girl whilst in bed, during which times only the fastening was applied. " That no other ill-treatment has been complained of. "That the treatment of the girl has been otherwise kind and gentle, and that her physical appearance confirms the same. " We are of opinion that by chastising the girl with the rod the master was not guilty of any indiscretion or harshness. " Also, that if guilty of harshness in fastening the girl at night in the manner above described, it is only in thoughtlessly continuing for nineteen days an improvised fastening, which might be justifiable on an emergency ; but we cannot acquit him of great indiscretion in continuing to use means and instruments, however cautiously and humanely applied, calculated to excite public sensation, and cause this otherwise unnecessary inquiry. " Also, that the slight injury the girl lias sustained is due directly and primarily to her own violence and insubordination, and only secondarily to the in part unwise treatment of her in the continued use of the handcuffs.

" Before we conclude we would respectfully draw your attention to the evidence of Mr. Hislop and Dr. Burns, more especially that of the former, to uniform kind and humane treatment of the inmates of the school by Mr. Titchener ; and also to the desirability of providing a day and a night eell for the proper restraint when necessary, of refractory inmates of the school."