THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2854, 31 March 1871, Page 7

THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.

Since our last visit to this Institution the detached building which was ii course of erection has beeß completed and several improvements have beei effected which are worthy of notice When the site for the institution wa first selected, many persona considered i rather exposed—and it certainly is in j very bleak position—but it has neverthe less been proved to be extremely healthy It is a remarkable fact that not a singl< child has been laid up with sickness during the last twelve months. Sur rounding the building, and fencsd in, there are tweDty-two acres of land, non completely cleared of flax and scrub, anc undergoing the process of cultivation and improvement. There are four acres and a half under a fine crop of oats, and three acres of potatoes, cabbages, and othei vegetables, all of which look remarkably well. Along the frontage to the road, inside of the wooden fence, there is a fine belt of gum trees, in a very promising condition, and on each side of the long road leading from the gate to the building, are ornamental shrubs and flowers. The planting of a few of the best kinds of ornamental trees along this avenue, which we believe is contemplated, _will be a great improvement. The soil is a good strong loam, resting upon clay. The main building is of brick, but the accommodation, after a year's trial, proved insufficient, and an additional building of wood has of late been erected, which has added materially to the comfort of the establishment. On the occasion of our visit we were taken by the Master, Mr Britton, first to the schoolroom. Here we found Mr R. H. Colee, the teacher, engaged in the laborious duty of imparting a knowledge of books. On being asked how the children compared with those in the ordinary common schools, he replied,. "2sTot much inferior; there is no want of intelligence." The older boys attend . four hours on every alternate day, and the girls two hours, the latter giving two hours to sewing, while the younger children attend daily. The average attendance is thirtythree boys and twenty-nine girls. The books made use of are the Scottish School-book Association's Series. Considering the ages of the children—few of them being old enough tq. perform much bodily labour—we are of opinion that the time spent in the school-room is too limited. And again, regarding the improvements that have b6en of late made in the system of infant education, we think that these poor little- wards of the State should be allowed to .enjoy the advantage of the progress made. Instead of the present monotonous system of book-learning, the improved and attractive method of developing their minds by means of object lessons: and by means of symbols of natural things^ should be adopted. , After inspecting the schoolroom, which is weil furnished with^desks, forms, books, maps, &c., we passed on to the new kitchen^ which, is furnished with a large stove and a copper ■; boiler, but which .should certainly, if or an, Institution of this kind, have a properly apDointed cooking range. .The laundry, tne bath room, and the dining room, which is of ample size and suitably furnished, were next visited, and we. then saw the dormitories for the younger children, which were in the new building; The bedsteads are of wood, without sides} and not, we should think, altogether comfortable for the little ones. The bedclothes, however, were good and snowy white. Proper provision is made for ventilation, while the whole of the apartments were scrupulously clean. This institution was opened on the 19th of January, 1869. Theire are in it at 1 presents boys and 38 girls,, between the ages of eight months and 13 years. It speaks well for the management of Mr Britton that, there has been only one solitary attempt to abscond within the. last twelve months, and no, case in which anything like severe punishment was required. The boys ,under. Mr, Britton attend to the various operations of planting, weeding, hoeing, &c, and thus acquire some knowledge of -gardening, while the girls under, the matron, Mrs Britton, are taught sewing, washing, ironing, &c. The system .of labour adopted, so far as the boys are concerned, is very imperfect, and poorly calculated to enable them to make a living hereafter. Some industrial system should be introduced which would aid more, effectually than the present one in making the establishment self-support-ing, and by which the boys would be better fitted for the business of life. However, it is not apparently intended that the children shall remain long in the institution, for when the Master, after having submitted them to a discipline which contemplates, as far as the criminal children are concerned, reform rather than punishment, considers a child fit to send out, he or she is, if possible, provided with a home in some family where they may learn industrious habits. In this way, eight girls and four boys have already been furnished with good homes. They remain in charge of the institution, and receive wages which are collected and saved for them by the Master, until the expiration of the time for which they are committed. This " letting out" of children is* a very wise provision of the Act for the custody of neglected and criminal children under which the institution is established. As Miss Cobb Bays, in speaking of institutions of this kind, "To mass boys together in large numbers, with no home influences or habits, and no attempt to draw out their affections, is dangerous ; to do the same to girls, is fatal." Children taken from the ranks from which it is well'known that the larger porlion of professional vagrants, thieves, and prostitutes are trained, are, until they have been subjected to good moral discipline and industrial training, unfit to send abroad to earn an honest living. The massing together, for a time, is unavoidable, and notwithstanding the objections rained by Miss Cobb and others to this system, there is no doubt but the drilling and moral teaching of such an institution are beneficial. At all events, it is the duty of the State to arrest incipient crime, rather than to punish it, and to rescue from bad influences young persons who are without parental care, before they have received the prison brand. As to placing thorn immediately in an inatitutlon for training, where thoy may rooeivo what they so

much require—healthful and kindl family influences—that would be impos sible. We may venture to assert tha none of the reformatories or industria schools as yet established are conductei m the best manner for the true develop roeiit .if the physical, moral, mental, am spiritual natures of children. It is onl of late years that much attention has bee: given to the solution of the great prol lem of the prevention and cure o juvenile vagrancy and crime, and say ing the poor and outcast childrei to industry and virtne—" a service, says tie Secretary of the Board of Stafc Onarities of Massachusetts, "whicl reaches down to the very bottom o society, affecting not only the conditioi and destiny of individual life, but th very safety and welfare of the State an< nation." This institution is certainly ; credit to the province, and its influenc< will be vast in the prevention of crime but m some respects its efficiency, as w have already hinted, might be great* enhanced. In conclusion, we may sa^ that the management of Mr Britton an pears to be most efficient. He exercise a wise and paternal influence over hii young charges, and in his efforts to carr out the regulations and objects of th institution is ably seconded by Mr Britton, the Matron. It should also to mentioned that the only assistants in th. establishment, are the school-teacher j cook, and a nurse. The Institution' i frequently visited by the Inspector—Mi Weldon, Commissioner of Police—am others who take an interest in its pro gress,and a weekly visit is made by th< medical attendant, Dr Burns.