EDUCATION: INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS (PARTICULARS AS REGARDS CHILDREN IN THE).

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1899 Session I, E-03b

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1899. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS (PARTICULARS AS REGARDS CHILDREN IN THE).

Return to an Order of the House of Representatives dated the Bth August, 1899. Ordered, "That there be laid before this House a return showing the number of children in the industrial schools on the 31st March, 1899, the return to specify separately—(l) The total number in the sohools; (2) the number committed as destitute under section 10, subseotion (1) of ' The Industrial Schools Act, 1882 '; (3) the number committed for other reasons than destitution, showing whether criminal or not, and showing also the number sentenced to imprisonment but sent to an industrial school instead of serving the term of imprisonment." ■ (Mr. J. Allen).

The sections of "The Industrial Schools Act, 1882," as amended by " The Industrial Schools Act Amendment Act, 1895," relating to the admission of children, are as follows ?— 16. Any constable finding a child answering to one or other of the descriptions following, may immediately, without any warrant, take such child before the nearest available Eesident Magistrate, to be dealt with according to this Act, — (1.) Any child having no means of subsistence, or whose parent is in indigent circumstances, and unable to support such child ; (2.) Any child found begging or receiving alms, or being in any street or public place for the purpose of begging or receiving alms; (3.) Any child found wandering about or frequenting any street, thoroughfare, hotel, or place of public resort, or sleeping in the open air, or not having any home or settled place of abode, or any visible means of subsistence ; {_.) Any child residing in any brothel or associating or dwelling with any person known or reputed to be a prostitute or habitual drunkard, or with any person convicted of vagrancy under any Act or Ordinance now or hereafter to be in force. 17. Any parent having a child whom he is unable to control, and wishing him to be sent to a school, may, without any warrant, take such child before the nearest available Magistrate, and if he prove to the satisfaction of such Eesident Magistrate that he is unable to control such child, and give security to the satisfaction of such Eesident Magistrate for the payment of the maintenance of such child, the Eesident Magistrate may make an order such as mentioned in the next section hereof. 19. The Judge before whom, or the Eesident Magistrate by whom, the child shall be convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment, or before whom a child shall be accused of any offence punishable by imprisonment or by some less punishment, which child so accused ought, nevertheless, in the opinion of such Judge or Eesident Magistrate, regard being had to his age or circumstances, to be sent to a school, may, in addition to the sentence which may be passed as a punishment for the offence of which such child is convicted, order such child to be sent, at the expiration of such sentence, to any school, or, in lieu of passing such sentence, or in the case of a child so accused as aforefaid, whether such child be convicted or not, may order such child to bo sent to any such school.

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20. When any child has been convicted by two or more Justices of any offence punishable by imprisonment, such order, as mentioned in the preceding section, may be made at any time subsequently to such conviction by any Resident Magistrate upon the recommendation of the convicting Justices, or upon the application of any other respectable person. 24. Any child may be admitted as an inmate of any school upon such terms as to cost of maintenance and education thereof, and otherwise howsoever, as may be agreed upon between the parent of such child and the manager of such school, or between any such manager and any person authorised by the Governor or any local body to act as a relieving officer for the purposes of this Act. 25. The Governor may, if he thinks fit, order that any person under the age of eighteen who has been sentenced to imprisonment shall, either in lieu of or after serving his term of imprisonment or any part thereof, be and he shall thereby become an inmate within the meaning of this Act. Such order shall specify the particular school of which such person shall be deemed to be an inmate.

Return showing the Number of Children in the Industrial Schools on the 31st March, 1899, and the Enactments under which they were admitted.

The department is unable to state what number is to be regarded as criminal. The following extract from the last annual report of the Minister of Education bears upon this question:— Table Uis given in a new form this year; although it cannot be regarded as accurate in every detail, it gives the fullest information available in respect to the character of the parents of children admitted during the year, and in regard also to the reasons for committal. As to the latter heading, it may be noticed that apparently the practice in the various Magistrates' Courts is not quite uniform, cases that appear to be similar being regarded differently in different districts. Again, what is far more important, the clause under which a child is committed to an industrial school is by no means a reliable index of the child's moral character; for instance, in cases of petty theft it is often found that the wrongful act does not necessarily imply a vicious disposition, but is merely a symptom of want of control or of sheer neglect on the part of parents. In this connection there is a somewhat sad significance in the fact that two-thirds (43 out of 64) of the children committed to industrial schools as guilty of punishable offences were described as the children of good (or respectable) parents ; in 30 cases both parents were described as " good " ; in 13 other cases the surviving parent was so described,

School. a c i CO 3 Section 16. .2 s CO o s £ a o I a> zn 3 o c> I? a) ao ■ i-H I - 1 Sun •" O O § aj in p o o 0 Seofcioni si CJ |1 !§ IS J! o 19, 20, and 25. .■si III o O -a a o o a; I 3 Auckland Burnham 5 21 1 11 A 6 3 "s "<2 1 31 1 4 for 1 hour each *2 for 1 month ea. 1 for 7 ds. +1 for 2 yr. 11 KG Caversham 47 1 10 2 13 75 Totals for Government schools St. Mary's, Auckland St. Joseph's, Wellington ... St. Mary's, Nelson 73 19 33 111 13 5 6 31 20 47 25 50 5 5 3 1 4 45 7 1 8 172 84 64 240 1 8 23 2 14 for 1 hour each St. Vincent de Paul's, Dunedin Totals for private schools 11 11 174 1 42 122 13 1 30 14 399 Totals for all schools 247 1 55 142 18 3 1 4 75 571 22 * Of these two boys, one was I ifter sentence. t This boy wai ;rausfi i tram srred iferrei :o the I to tY schoo ie sohi il four I ool twi ;een jnty lays aft line dai ir sen 'e afte itenoe ; the other twenty-o: 3r senteace. ie days

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TABLE U.—Admissions, classified according to Parents' Circumstances and Character, 1898.

Geokge Hogbbn, Secretary for Education. Education Department, Wellington, 29th August, 1899. Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given; printing (1,378 copies), Si 9s. 6d.

By Authority: John Mackay, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB99. Price 3d.]

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Prei iodent londitioi of Chil Idren ai Imitted in 1898. g. S g h3 I o a § o a CD 1 1 o 2 g a no I P5 1"' Total. Fathers, described as Mothers, described as I 1 a I I Dead Sick, lunatic, &o. Go'od Unknown Dead Good Unknown Bad Dead Good Dead Sick, lunatio, &o. Good Unknown Bad .. Dead Sick, lunatio, &o. Good Unknown Bad .. Deserter Dead Good Bad .. Dead Good.. Bad .. • • 8 6 *3 8 3 4 6 1 3 4 1 8 2 14 4 3 3 5 1 i 1 2 i i 2 io '3 *8 3 i i 1 2 8 1 2 5 30 i 2 i 11 19 1 10 3 3 17 a 88 4 17 e 3 7 8 M 3 17 8 19 4 5 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 i 4 Bad".. '.'. '2 1 4 5 1 Deserter 2 9 " • • . 1 Totals 87 i 14 36 6 64 210