MENTAL SICKNESS.

Waikato Times, Volume 104, Issue 17466, 28 July 1928, Page 6

MENTAL SICKNESS.

The annual report of the British Board of Control for 1926, which was recently published in England, shows that the board has recently devoted careful attention to several matters which are dealt with in the Mental Defectives Bill which is now before the New Zealand Parliament. The report should therefore possess interest at this juncture. Regarding the sterilisation of mentally defective persons the conclusion lias been reached that sterilisation would not obviate the need for supervision' and industrial training, and that the number of those persons for whom it would render institutional provision unnecessary has been greatly exaggerated. The important point, however, is made that the children of married defectives fare worse as a rule than the children of defectives who have not been married, because, in the latter instance, the children are usually brought up apart from their parents. Nevertheless, the board takes the view that public opinion has not yet realised " that the upbringing of children by defectives should be prevented as far as possible." Public opinion, the report says, remains unformed on the question of the right of mentally defective persons to marry. The board has instances in which local authorities and visitors have actually suggested the discharge from institutions of feebleminded women in order that they might bo married- Strong emphasis is laid in the report on the need of supervision in all cases of mental deficiency which are not receiving institutional treatment. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the report is the section devoted to the menial after-effects of epidemic encephalitis- It is pointed out that most of the persons admitted to mental hospitals and mental deliciency institutions suffering from the after-effects of this disease are young children who, before they fell ill, were well-behaved and industrious. The case histories of several of these unfortunate victims are given in the report and afford an indication of the ruin of moral character which so frequently takes place during the chronic stage of the malady. In one instance a lad, who at 12 years of ago suffered from epidemic encephalitis, became in three years a dangerous criminal and committed numerous assaults on women. Several other cases arc quoted, and it is urged that this dreaded disease must, sooner or later,, be dealt with in a more serious fashion than has hitherto been attempted. In fact, it is claimed that tlie wxaiter is *ue of utsm"""'-