EDUCATION: STATE CARE OF CHILDREN, SPECIAL SCHOOLS, AND INFANT-LIFE PROTECTION. [In continuation of E.-4, 1919.]

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1920 Session I, E-04

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1920. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: STATE CARE OF CHILDREN, SPECIAL SCHOOLS, AND INFANT-LIFE PROTECTION. [In continuation of E.-4, 1919.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1 — EXTRACT FROM THE FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION. Dependent Children and Child Welfare. The functions of the special Schools Branch of the Department include provision (1) For the maintenance, education, and training of any destitute, dependent, or homeless children committed to the care of the State ; for the maintenance and guardianship of all epidemic orphans who have lost both parents; for the training of uncontrollable and delinquent children and juvenile offenders, and for the supervision of all young persons under the age of sixteen years who are placed on probation by the Courts : (2) for the supervision of all infants and young children under the age of six years maintained apart from their parents for payment either in foster-homes or private institutions, or adopted with premium : and (3) for the education and maintenance of all afflicted children—the deaf, the blind, and the feeble-minded. Probably the outstanding feature during the year was the extraordinary increase in the number of children who for various causes incidental to the economic conditions of the present time have been committed to the guardianship of the Department. The number of new cases actually dealt with was 864, as compared with 381 for 1918 and 358 for 1917. This abnormal increase has thrown a very heavy burden on the receivinghomes and the organization for the boarding-out of children, and has necessitated the adoption of a system providing for children being dealt with in their own districts rather than admitting them to receiving-homes in the various centres of population. During the year agencies for providing for State children were established in Napier, Hamilton, Whangarei, and Timaru, and further establishments are contemplated in such places as Creymouth, Palmerston North, and Invercargill. The juvenile probation system, now firmly established in each of the four centres, has also been extended to such districts as Whangarei, Hamilton, and Nelson, and in all probability will be further extended in the near future to include Wanganui, Napier, Palmerston North, Greymouth, and Invercargill. A boys' probation home has recently been established in Dunedin, so that now there is a probation home in each of the four centres of population. The function of these homes is to provide temporarily for boys who cannot be properly controlled by their parents, or who

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have committed petty offences against the law and are in need of home training and discipline for short periods prior to placing out under suitable conditions, generally with relatives or friends. As a general rule young boys who have been guilty of more serious offences, or who have already been given a chance under the supervision, of the Probation Officer and have failed, to make good, are admitted to the special section for schoolboys at the Boys' Training-farm, Weraroa. The percentage of failures under the probation system is very small indeed (less than 3 per cent.). The number of cases dealt with by the Probation Officers is as follows : Auckland, 401 ; Wellington, 127 ; Christchurch, 196 ; Dunedin, 94 ; total, 818. Children hoarded out. The number of children boarded out in foster-homes at the end of the year was 1,696, showing an increase of 425 when compared with the numbers for the previous year. The system of supervising all these children has been considerably revised during the year, making provision for more frequent visits at shorter intervals to the foster-homes. On account of the general shortage of housingaccommodation throughout New Zealand, considerable difficulty has been experienced in finding foster-homes, especially in the principal cities, but it may be stated that there is no dearth of suitable people in the country districts who are anxious to to provide and care for these unfortunate children. On account of the increased cost of living the boarding-out rate has been raised from 15s. to 17s. 6d. per week for infants under twelve months, and from 12s. 6d. to 15s. for children over that age and up to fifteen years, or longer if the child in question is still attending school. In addition, a very complete initial outfit of clothing is supplied with each child, and the Department provides free medical and dental treatment and medicines. School books and stationery are also provided for children attending school. Epidemic Orphans. In accordance with the policy approved by the Government, the Education Department has taken charge of all children, who lost both parents as a result of the influenza epidemic. In the absence of legislation for this purpose, the machinery of the Industrials Schools Act has had to be utilized for the purpose of vesting the legal guardianship of these children in the Department, and for the purpose of enabling the Department to maintain the children out of moneys appropriated under the provisions of that Act. In actual practice, however, the majority of the Court orders were issued without requiring the actual attendance of the children concerned at the Court, and in no case were such children sent to an institution other than a receiving-home for destitute and neglected children. Admissions of such children even to receiving-homes were regarded as temporary expedients only for the purpose of giving necessary medical or dental treatment and to enable them to be supplied with outfits of clothing. All these children have now been placed either with relatives or in suitable foster-homes. In the interests of each child, however, the Department's system of supervision will obtain. Experienced lady officers visit the children at regular intervals and ensure that they are being kindly treated and that their education, is not being neglected. In connection with the placing of epidemic orphans, it is gratifying to note that through the numerous applications received from generoushearted people all over New Zealand it has been possible to place all the children in good homes —many of them superior in standard to the homes provided by the parents when alive. Boys' Schools. With the extension of the probation and boarding-out system it has been possible to close the institution known as the Boys' Training Farm, Nelson, for the maintenance and education of boys of school age who for various reasons were committed to the care of the State. The Training-farm was actually closed on the 3.lst March, and immediately converted into a special school for mentally backward boys. The boys' Training-farm at Weraroa now caters for boys of all ages who through the commission of offences against the law are not considered fit to associate with the children attending an ordinary public school, at least not until they have undergone a course of training and discipline at Weraroa. The Training-

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farm provides for three distinct classes of boys : (1) the schoolboy varying in age from ten years to fifteen years ; (2) the boys from fifteen to seventeen years who on account of the laxity of parental control have been given too much liberty and have either become uncontrollable or have committed petty offences against the law ; and (3) the elder boys who have been convicted of offences or have failed to make good after one or more trials in situations. The schoolboys are maintained in a cottage entirely apart from the others, and are not allowed to associate with the older boys. This cottage is managed by a suitable married couple, and, on account of the small number dealt with (from ten to sixteen boys), the system provides all the elements of an ordinary home. The intermediate group are housed in the main building, and are managed mainly by the Matron and her assistant. The third group, consisting of the elder boys, are maintained in a separate cottage apart from all the other inmates, under the control of a married couple. The training of the boys in farm-work in all its branches is carried on under the personal direction of the Manager and Farm Overseer. In addition, boys are taught buttermaking and cheesemaking, gardening and orchard-work, and are thus equipped with such experience and knowledge as enables the Manager to place them in suitable employment as soon as it is found that their conduct warrants such a course. The fact that very few boys indeed are returned to the farm after being placed out is ample evidence of the good work that is being carried out by the Manager and his staff. For boys who have no taste for work on the land, provision is made for placing them at trades. The rudiments of bootmaking, carpentry, engine-driving, and motor-car driving and car-repairing are all taught at the farm under competent instructors. The whole of the land attached to the Training-farm, nearly 500 acres, has now been brought under cultivation ; the dairy herd has been extended on right lines, and the rearing of sheep and pigs has now been placed on a satisfactory basis, with the result that the revenue derived from all sources, including the cheesemaking plant, is now of a very substantial nature. So satisfactory indeed has been the development in this direction that it may be claimed that the Training-farm is now self-supporting. Care of the Feeble-minded. Important changes have taken place in the system providing for the care and education of feeble-minded children. The younger boys in residence at the Special School at Otekaike have been, transferred to the special school at Nelson, thus making it possible for the reservation of Otekaike for older boys who, although mentally subnormal and unfit to be at large in the community, are yet quite capable under suitable supervision of earning their keep in such an institution as Otekaike. The removal of the younger boys from direct contact with the elder boys is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. The,training of the small boys at the Special School at Nelson is in the hands of a competent teaching staff, and, while it is yet too soon to look for definite results of such training, the Department has every confidence that the teachers —one of whom has had previous experience in the training of the feeble-minded in Fngland —will work wonderful improvements, in the mental, moral, and physical condition of these boys. The question of providing special day classes in the various centres of population for backward children is now receiving consideration, and in conjunction with this movement it is proposed to establish special day classes with cottage homes attached for the training of the high-grade feeble-minded and for those who are considered unfit for the classes for backward children. The cottage homes would be utilized for the purposes of boarding children whose parents are unable to provide for them or whose homes are in the country districts. By means of these special day classes it is hoped to cater adequately for all feeble-minded children in such a manner as will permit of the majority of them remaining in their own homes under the supervision of qualified officers, who will keep in close touch with the parents and will assist in placing the children in suitable employment when the proper time arrives. For the older feeble-minded children who cannot be adequately looked after in their own homes, or who are unfit on account of mental defect to be placed in the industrial work, or who would prove a menace to the community if allowed their liberty, the institutions at Otekaike and Nelson will be available for the reception of boys, who, under capable supervision, will be employed in farm-work, garden and orchard work, and in the bootmaking, basketmaking, matmaking, a,nd carpentering shop. The older girls will be provided

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for at the Special School at Richmond, and employed in housework and laundrywork, in the workroom sewing, knitting, &<;., and in outside occupations such as gardening and flower-growing. Infant-life Protection. Important changes have been carried out in connection with the supervision of children under the age of six years maintained apart from their parents. This work is now carried out under the supervision of trained nurses who are fully qualified in the care and feeding of infants and young children. It must be remembered that the majority of infants dealt with under this system are illegitimate, and have been neglected to sueh an extent prior to placing in foster-homes that the greatest care is necessary in providing for their welfare. The fact that the death-rate of these children in licensed foster-homes is very much lower than the death-rate among children born in wedlock and cared for by their own parents may be taken as an indication that the system is satisfactorily administered. Education op Deap Children and Children with Speech Defects. During the year the Department has taken in hand the matter of establishing special classes in the various centres for the education of the hard-of-hearing children and for the correction of defective speech among children. Already such a class has been established in Wellington, and as soon as the school for the deaf at Sumner can spare a trained teacher a special class will be established in Auckland. It is necessary, of course, that the school at Sumner should be retained for the preliminary teaching of stone deaf children and young children who, in addition to being deaf, have little or no speech, and incidentally for the training of teachers for the deaf.

No. 2.—REPORT OF THE OFFICER IN CHARGE SPECIAL SCHOOLS BRANCH (INCLUDING CHILD WELFARE). Sie, — Education Department, Wellington, 13tli August, 1920. The work of the Special Schools Branch may be divided into the following sections : — (1.) Maintenance of children committed to the care of the State under the provisions of the Industrial Schools Act. (2.) Supervision of children placed on probation by the Courts. (3.) Supervision of all infants and children under the age of six years maintained apart from their parents for payment. (4.) Education of deaf and feeble-minded children from the ago of six years upwards. The following figures show the numbers of children dealt with under these four sections : — Industrial schools and receiving-homes .. .. .. .. 3,593 Juvenile probation .. . . .. .. . . .. . . 172 Infant-life protection .. .. .. .. .. .. 807 Care of afflicted children — Deaf .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. 96 Feeble-minded .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 150 Total .. .. .. .. .. .. 4,818 The organization providing for the care of destitute, dependent, and delinquent children and juvenile offenders committed to the care of the Department under the provisions of the Industrial Schools Act has been largely remodelled during the last three years by — (1.) Adopting a system of juvenile probation throughout New Zealand : (2.) Extension of the boarding-out system. (3.) The abandonment of large institutions for other than those cases totally unfit to be at liberty, or oases where long periods of training and discipline are necessary : (4.) The decentralization of the receiving-home system by providing lady Boarding-out Officers and accommodation for children in all the smaller centres of population. Juvenile Peobation System. The extension of the probation system to all the centres in New Zealand has involved the establishment of a boys' 'probation home in each of the four centres. The probation homes provide temporarily for boys not necessarily brought under the operation of the Industrial Schools Act. For

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instance, boys, for the time being uncontrollable, are frequently admitted to the home by private arrangement between the Probation Officer and the parents. In addition the Magistrates, in dealing with boys found guilty of petty offences, invariably prefer to see them admitted for short periods to the probation home for purposes of training and discipline, rather than register a conviction followed by commitment to an industrial school. Generally speaking, a boy who comes under the notice of the police and the Court for the first time is allowed to return to his parents or relatives under the supervision of the Probation Officer. For a second offence a probation boy is usually admitted to the probation home for a few weeks, then placed either with relatives or in a suitable foster-home if he is of school age. Boys over school age arc placed either at service on farms or are apprenticed to trades. For boys guilty of a series of offences against the law, or for boys who by their conduct have proved themselves unfit to associate with normal children at a public school, the probation home does not provide. Such boys are provided for at the Boys' Training-farm, Weraroa, where special provision has been made for boys of school age. Such cases are, however, very much in the minority. Generally speaking, few young lads are unfit to attend a public school. At Weraroa at present there are some twelve schoolboys, drawn from all parts of the Dominion, but in the majority of these cases the boys after a period of discipline and training, will be quite fit for placing out either with relatives or in selected country homes. The idea of giving a boy a chance in fresh environment and under the kindly supervision of experienced probation officers lias had a marked effect on the total number committed to industrial schools. Fully 85 per cent, of the juvenile cases are now dealt with under the probation system, and of these less than 3 per cent, fail to " make good." Apart from the financial saving to the State, the probation system has proved a decided deterrent on juvenile delinquency, and has been the means of stimulating the sense of responsibility in the parents. The numbers dealt with by the Probation Officers in each of the four centres during the last year are shown in the following table : —

Children dealt with by the Courts in the Four Chief Centres from 1st January, to 31st December, 1919.

The Boarding-out System. It is admitted by all experienced social workers that the boarding-out system is the ideal method of providing for normal orphan children, or for children whose parents are unfit to have the care of them. The Special Schools Branch lias endeavoured to go further than this by placing out all normal dependent children in selected country foster-homes, and the results have been highly successful. To carry out the system effectively it is essential that the services of experienced Boarding-out Officers should be available not only for the selection of the home suited to the peculiar needs of each child, but also for the purpose of regularly visiting each home and keeping in direct touch with the children while they are of school ago, and on through the difficult period of adolescence until the child in question develops into a responsible citizen. The lady Boarding-out Officer must take a keen interest in the life of each child, and when the school period is finished it is her duty to ensure that the child is placed in employment to the best advantage.

instance, boys, for the time being uncontrollable, are frequently admitted to the home by private arrangement between the Probation Officer and the parents. In addition the Magistrates, in dealing with boys found guilty of petty offences, invariably prefer to see them admitted for short periods to the probation homo for purposes of training and discipline, rather than register a conviction followed by commitment to an industrial school. Generally speaking, a boy who comes under the notice of the police and the Court for the first time is allowed to return to his parents or relatives under the supervision of the Probation Officer. For a second offence a probation boy is usually admitted to the probation home for a few weeks, then placed either with relatives or in a suitable, foster-home if he is of school age. Boys over school age arc placed either at service on farms or arc apprenticed to trades. For boys guilty of a series of offences against the law, or for boys who by their conduct have proved themselves unfit to associate with normal children at a public school, the probation borne does not provide. Such, boys are provided for at the Boys' Training-farm, Weraroa, where special provision has been made for boys of school age. Such cases, arc, however, very much in the minority. Generally speaking, few young lads arc unfit to attend a public school. At Weraroa at present there are some twelve schoolboys, drawn from all parts of the Dominion, but in the majority of these cases the boys after a period of discipline and training, will be quite fit for placing out either with relatives or in selected country homes. The idea of giving a boy a chance in fresh environment and under the kindly supervision of experienced probation officers lias had a marked effect on the total number committed to industrial schools. Fully 85 per cent, of the juvenile cases are now dealt with under the probation system, and of these less than 3 per cent, fail to " make good." A.part from the financial saving to the State, the probation system has proved a decided deterrent on juvenile delinquency, and has been the means of stimulating the sense of responsibility in the parents. The numbers dealt with by the Probation Officers in each of the four centres during the last year are shown in the following table : — Children dealt with by the Courts in the Four Chief Centres from 1st January, to 31st December, 1919. REASON FOB COMING BEFORE COURTS. § ,« I g i i 1 i p. § sols? I? i a s ' ji M t= S 8 ■§ f£ S I I a S H I i 1 v2 o S - » & I II II I fl -Si 8 ! § s S r ? s a ? m * s n I « a 1 s s 11 I, a s f 1 i I 29 1 31 86 7 2 13 .. 22 44 4 4 6 .. 1 111 2 ' 1 2 44 I . 74 1 7 4 . . .. 12 .. 17 6 3 .. 1 1 i 1 .. .. | . 76 I 20 35 1 1 33 I 2 8 10 2 ! 3 3 65 1 15 3 .. 2 .. .. 2 . . 4 J .. .. 1 . 44 4 73 128 8 5 58 2 49 60 13 4 7 1 1 1 1 2 I 1 2 44 1 3 \ 4 I I ! 1 &0 p be a hi oj a S o j i & 1 8 o a I Ph a tab I g PQ o e n "3 S3 a O I o bb fl o 3 p OS <l -4-2 fl cD <D -r) a O a H a fl "5? CO '3 s s fl r,. o 0i 03 fl I ' * 8P ■S & -3 B.I 9 I 00 I o £ T3 rH -j -g »l ■§ £ 1 3 c5 W -fld 1| bi)S fl g I o 3 p K ffl 15 CD Eh too P d W ™ B H Auckland tVei ling ton Canterbury Dtago 129 74 70 -6,5 2 I 2 13 12 33 I 2 22 17 8 2 44 6 10 4 3 2 4 4 6 I 1 1 .. 1 ; 1 1 " 2 44 ! .. .. .. 1 2 44 1 3 3 1 1 i 401 127 196 94 Totals.. 344 5 58 2 49 00 13 4 7 i 1 I 1 1 2 1 3 4 I 1 i 818 no DE. ,LT [TH BY Ci OtTK' s M <D o a a o .2 ■a s> § e HO ft O aj a o &? o a a CD H I -P fl S3 -fl-d II I 1 id 73 1 I 1 | 5 8 (U 3 1=1 c3 u fl .2 p to O 1 O ■+-> <D fl £ p. s a . 8g « O O o g o CI (A © fl CD 02 p 'S ■a fl _<d s p V. O . So *<= P h $ o O t3 fl O 1 i w T3 fl 1 S I Eft O 1. i Is # 5 | 3 § o W s (-1 fl o 02 a; be Q s Auckland Wellington Canterbury Otago 155* 22 66 10 4 83 1 71 2 43 .. 27 7 '224 96 16 19 35 0 .. 7 2 2 30 9 I .. I 1 2 17 7 9 1 3 9 2 2 .. 13 2 15 \ 3 20 2 2 3 i 3 .. 401 .. 127 1 190 94 1 ' 818 I Totals .. 166 28 38 4 34 12 3 20 2 S I i 3 253 * Includes 44 epidemic cases. The Boarding-out System. It is admitted by all experienced social workers that the boarding-out system is the ideal method of providing for normal orphan children, or for children whose parents are unfit to have the care of them. The Special Schools Branch lias endeavoured to go further than this by placing out all normal dependent children in selected country foster-homes, and the results have boon highly successful. To carry out the system effectively it is essential that the services of experienced Boarding-out Officers should be available not only for the selection of the home suited to the peculiar needs of each child, but also for the purpose of regularly visiting each home and keeping in direct touch with the children while they are of school ago, and. on through the difficult period of adolescence until the child in question develops into a responsible citizen. The lady Boarding-out Officer must take a keen interest in the life of each child, and when the school period is finished it is her duty to ensure that the child is placed in employment to the best advantage.

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Properly to carry out their duties Boarding-out Officers must be. in a position to satisfy the following conditions, and so far as the staff permits these conditions an; generally observed :— (1.) Proper investigation and analysis of every new case, so that the proper kind of care may be given to each child : (2.) The placing with a view to adoption of such children only as require or deserve permanent home care in foster-families : (3.) The selection of boarding-homes for those children who do not require institutional care, but require temporary care until the parents are able to re-establish themselves and are in a position to provide for them : (4.) Adequate supervision through visitation of all children in foster-homes with a definite limit in the number of children under the control of each Boarding-out Officer. It must not be concluded that all the children committed to the care of the Department are boarded out. Consideration must be given to the family history of each case, the conduct of the child, and the degree of mentality. In all cases it is advisable that a thorough medical examination should be insisted upon not only for the purpose of tracing and combating physical weaknesses, but also for the purpose of testing the degree of mentality as well. A certain percentage of the children are subnormal, and as such are admitted to special schools for the feeble-minded ; others suffer from hereditary disease, and in that condition would prove a menace to the health of an ordinary foster-parent's family ; while others again, through the continued neglect of the parents, require long periods of training in decent habits before they are fit to enter the home of a foster-parent. The number of children boarded out in foster-homes at the end of the year was 1,696, showing an increase of 425 on the numbers for the previous year. The need for extending the boarding system to all the centres of population in the Dominion is pressing, and it is hoped that receiving-homes will shortly be established in such places as Hamilton, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Greymouth, Timaru, and Invercargill for the temj)orary care of children. Industrial Training. Girls. The greater number of children under the Department's control never enter an institution, but remain at board with foster-parents, and from their foster-homes are placed in situations when, their education is completed. As with boys, every case is specially reviewed by the Department at the age of fourteen years for the purpose of deciding whether the child in question should be given the advantage of higher education, or whether it is a case where education at the public school should be continued until the child is old enough to be apprenticed to a trade. It is gratifying to note the great interest taken by foster-parents in the placing of these children on leaving school, and it is not uncommon to find foster-parents offering to keep them without payment, or for small payments, during the first year or so of apprenticeship or while they are attending the secondary school. For girls who require institutional training the school at Caversham has been reserved. Caversham provides for all classes of girls who for various reasons are either unable or unfit to be placed out in the community. Some three years ago there were two other such institutions- -viz., the industrial school at Mount Albert, Auckland, for young girls and older girls who were not too troublesome, and Te Oranga Home for older girls of the incorrigible type. With improved methods of dealing with girls, however, it has been found possible to close both these institutions. The few girls from Te Oranga who were unfit for placing out at the time of the closing of the institution were sent on to Caversham, and the majority have since been successfully placed in situations and are doing well. For the average girl who requires training and protection the school at Caversham is quite suitable, but in order to deal adequately with troublesome young women there should be provision for transfer from Caversham to a reformatory institution under the Prisons Department. For the sake of the respectable girls who are associated with the school at Caversham such a step is essential. The number of troublesome oases is exceedingly small (not more than three or four in twelve months), but, unfortunately, the public judge the work of the school by the conduct of these few young women (some of whom are really mental cases) who sometimes abscond and while at large commit thefts and associate with undesirable characters. The legislation necessary to provide for the transfer has been formulated and now awaits final consideration. Provision for Older Girls who require Institutional Training. —Under the system now abandoned the three residential schools for girls dealt with the following numbers : — Average Number ~. ™ Net Cost of in Residence. ' ' Upkeep. £ Auckland .. .. .. .. ..40 6 1,800 Te Oranga .. .. .. .. ..85 10 2,390 Caversham .. .. .. .. ..50 7 1,950 175 23 £6,140 The annual cost of upkeep at Caversham at present is as follows : — Caversham .. .. .. .. ..15 5 £1,500 Boys. With the revision of the system for dealing with boys the school at Burnham and the trainingfarm at Stoke have been closed, leaving the training-farm at Weraroa to provide for boys of all ages. For the few schoolboys who, because of repeated offences against the law (usually petty thieving), or

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because of nomadic habits, are not amenable to the control of a foster-parent or probation home, adequate provision is available at Weraroa. The number of such boys is exceedingly small, and the majority of them are fit for a trial at board after a few months in residence at the farm. These boys, who vary in age from ten to fourteen years, arc kept apart in a cottage home under a suitable married couple. During the school hours they are in the care of the housemaster, who, in addition to his ordinary school duties, takes evening classes for the older boys. Some of the lads between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years present a difficult problem. Many of them are stunted in growth, backward in their education, and weaklings generally. As such they are unsuitable for farm-work, and the confinement usually associated with a trade would not be beneficial for them. At the same time they are not usually trustworthy, so that they are unfit, probably for years, for placing out, even in the lightest situations. The older boys (over sixteen years) are generally employed on the farm, or, if they prefer it, in one of the workshops—carpentering, bootmaking, or with the engineer ; a lad with any mechanical aptitude has an excellent chance of learning engine-driving, boiler-work, or motor-driving and the care of motor-cars generally. Some of the older lads arc difficult to deal with in the absence of any definite means of keeping them at Weraroa. Under the provisions of section 25 of the Industrial Schools Act any lad under the age of nineteen years may be transferred from gaol to Weraroa. A lad who has been in prison for a few weeks sometimes proves difficult to hold at Weraroa, where the management has to depend upon moral suasion more than upon bolts and bars for the maintenance of discipline. A certain number of these lads abscond, and, in order to subsist, generally steal food and clothing from the surrounding settlers or from local stores. Generally speaking, they arc not bad lads, but they are infected with the lawlessness and wandering habits of the adolescent, and consequently find it difficult to settle down and to submit to discipline. They are not suitable cases for prison, but certainly it is necessary to provide some means of holding them for a few months until they settle down and finally lose the propensity for roaming at large. Ido not consider it would be wise to establish anything in the nature of a detentionhouse at Weraroa, for such lads, but if it were possible to obtain a ship like the " Amokura " the present difficulty would be adequately met. Such lads could then be held without fear of wandering away, could be taught useful trades, and finally placed with tradesmen under the supervision of the Probation Officers. A ship like the " Amokura " could be regarded as a section of the Weraroa institution ; the staff required would be small, and all the supplies and produce required could be issued from Weraroa. The number of lads placed out in situations from Weraroa is at present 183, and with friends on probation 83. The number in residence varies from 50 to 100. The majority of the boys prefer farmwork to learning trades, and before being placed out they are taught the rudiments of farming in all its branches. Cheesemaking, buttermaking, and milk-testing are also taught; and no difficulty is experienced in placing competent lads in factories at satisfactory wages. Under the earlier system the cost of maintenance of the three residential boys' schools (two of which are now closed), with the numbers in residence, staff, upkeep, &c, was as follows : — Boys in „, „ Annual Net Cost Residence of Upkeep. £ Boys'Training-farm, Weraroa .. .. ..230 28 7,174 Boys'Training-farm, Nelson .. .. ..160 27 6,871 Burnham Industrial School .. .. ..160 32 7,816 550 87 21,861 In addition two visiting officers were employed .... 2 575 550 89 £22,436 Under the present system there are — 1. Boys'Training-farm, Weraroa .. .. ..75 22 3,849 2. Auckland Probation Home .. .. ..12 7 1,256 3. Wellington Probation Home .. .. ..6 6 1,050 4. Christchurch Probation Home .. .. . . (i 5 970 5. Dunedin Probation Home .. . . . . 6 4 500 Also Probation Officers at Whangarei, Wa.nganui, Hamilton, Nelson, and Timaru .. .... 5 1,420 105 49 £9,045 In comparison with years prior to 1917 the. number of children dealt with by Probation Officers has increased threefold. Formerly about three hundred annually wore, committed to industrial schools ; last year nearly nine hundred children were dealt with by the Courts, but only about one hundred and fifty were actually admitted either to probation homes or to the training-farm. In addition the Probation Officers visit all boys licensed out from Weraroa in their own particular districts. Formerly this work was carried out by the Managers of the three institutions (Burnham, Weraroa, and Nelson). Assisted Service, Higher Education, and Employment of State Children over School Age. Particular individual care is taken in the selection of employment for boys and girls over school age The following figures show the numbers placed in the various occupations: At the end of 1919

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there were 16 children at assisted service; at present there are 24. "Assisted service" generally refers to apprenticeship. At the end of 1919 there were 5 Children receiving higher education — 4 secondary, 1 technical ; at present there are 16 receiving higher education —8 secondary and 8 technical. In addition a considerable number of children over the age of fourteen years are still attending the public schools and being maintained by the Department. Nature op Employment at 31st December, 1919, of Boys who have left Primary School. There were 455 farm-workers, 29 skilled in dairy and cheesemaking, and 426 others competent to milk or to carry out general farm-work. There were 35 boys apprenticed, as follows : 2 cabinetmakers, 1 coachbuilder, 1 draper, 2 electrical engineers, 3 carpenters, 7 bootmakers, 2 grocers, 1 boatbuilder, 3 basketmakers, 2 blacksmiths, 1 foundry-worker, 2 plumbers, 6 printers, 1 motor-trimmer, and 1 moulder. Boys otherwise employed (not apprenticed) totalled 1.09, as follows : 1 saddler, 2 painters, 1 grocer, 1 cabinetmaker, 2 chemists, 1 cook, 3 storemen, 1 boxmaker, 1 nurseryman, 5 motor-drivers, 3 household employees, 1 orchardist, 10 general labourers, 1 at sugar-refinery, 4 sawmill employees, 3 at woollen-mills, 4 in Post and Telegraph Department, 5 clerks, 5 railway employees, 2 at freezing-works, .1 coachbuilder, 1 warehouse employee, 4 message-boys, 3 gardeners, 2 timber-yard employees, 6 bootmakers, 1 carter, 1 blacksmith, 12 seamen, 2 butchers, 2 surveyors, 4 factory employees, 2 coal-miners, 1 engineer, and 3 carpenters. Total number of boys employed, 599 (455 farm-workers, 35 apprentices, and 109 others). Nature of Employment at 31st December, 1919, of Girls who have left School. There were 309 domestics ; 13 apprentices (5 dressmakers, 4 tailoresses, 1 saleswoman, 2 shopassistants, and 1 shirt-maker) ; 5 factory employees ; and 7 in other employment, as follows : 2 saleswomen, 1 in Telegraph Department, 1 in woollen-mill, 2 waitresses, and 1 whose employment was unknown. This gives a total of 334 girls employed—3o9 domestics, 13 apprentices, 5 factory employees, and 7 others. Admission during 1919. During the year 864 children were committed to the care of the Department, as compared with 381 for the previous year. The increase is accounted for mainly by the fact that 304 orphans whose parents died during the influenza epidemic of 1918 were taken charge of by the Department. The following table shows the new admissions classified according to age : — Boys. Girls. Totals. Under six months . . .. . . .. 31 24 55 Six months to one year .. .. .. ..21. 8 29 One year to five years .. .. .. ..11l 83 194 Five years to ten years . . .. . . . . 150 107 257 Ten years to fourteen years .. . . . . .. 140 85 225 Over fourteen years . . . . . . . . 76 28 104 Totals .. .. .. ..529 335 864 Attached to this report is a table showing the admissions classified according to causes of admission. It is interesting to note that of the total number dealt with 237 were destitute and 316 not under proper control. Practically all of the 237. destitute children have been placed out either in country foster-homes or with relatives, and of the 316 children charged with not being under proper control, all but 46 have been satisfactorily placed. Had the Department been in a position to handle all these 553 children by means of Boarding-out Officers under such an organization as is contemplated by the extended boarding-out system, it is safe to estimate that a very small number would have been handed over to bo maintained entirely by the State. In many instances the cases could have been adequately dealt with by means of temporary assistance to the parents, or by arranging for the children to be taken charge of by relatives. As it is, the cost to the Department of maintaining these children for the first year will not be less than £25,000, and in the majority of the cases the children will be a direct charge on the State for periods varying from three to fourteen years. Another table (Table I 7) gives particulars of the parents at the time of the admission of the children. From this table I have selected the following figures, showing (1) the number of children of drunken parents, and the cost of maintenance ; and (2) the number of children where either one or both parents are feeble-minded, and the approximate cost of maintenance. Admission of Children during 1919 on account of the Drinking Habits of one or other or of both Parents. Drunken mother .. . . . . . . .. • • .. 6 Drunken father .. • • • • • • ■ • • ■ .. 42 Both parents drunkards .. . . • • • • • • .. 13 Total number of children .. .. .. .. ..61 The. cost to the Department of maintaining children who are neglected or become uncontrollable through the drunkenness of the parents is enormous. Last year the number of cases was 61, but it is safe to state that the average annual increase in numbers is not less than 50, and the average period

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for which they have to be maintained is eight years. The cost to the Department can be estimated somewhat as follows : — £ Ist year- - 61 children at £1 a week for one year .. .. .. 3,172 2nd ~ 61 plus 50=111 children at £1 a week for one year .. .. 5,772 3rd „ 111 „ 50=161 „ .. .. 8,372 4th „ 161 „ 50=211 „ .. .. 10,972 sth „ 211 „ 50=261 „ .. .. 13,572 6th „ 261 „ 50=311 „ .... 16,172 7th „ 311 „ 50=361 „ .. .. 18,772 Bth „ 361 „ 50=411 „ .. .. 21,372 98,176 Loss estimated recoveries from parents at £7 per head per annum .. 13,216 Total for eight years .. .. .. .. ..84,960 Approximate average annual cost .. .. .. £10,620 Children admitted during 1919 on account of Mental Deficiency of Parents. Mentally deficient mother .. .. .. .. .. 30 Mentally deficient father .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 Both parents defective mentally .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 Total number of children .. .. .. .. .. 37 In 8 cases out of 30 not only were the mothers mentally deficient but, the fathers were habitual drunkards. Of these 37 children 18 were brought under the operation of the Industrial Schools Act as destitute children, 17 as being not under proper control, and 2 were guilty of petty offences against the law. In the majority of cases these children are also mentally deficient to a greater degree than the parents, and as such constitute a lifelong burden on the State. Presuming that of the 37 children referred to above 30 are cases for permanent care and control, and that this number will be increased annually by 30, the cost to the Government in maintaining them either in foster-homes or in special schools or mental hospitals during their lifetime, or for, say, a period of thirty years, will be, on an average, £8,268 per annum for the first ten years, £18,824 per annum for the next ten years, and £26,488 per annum for the third period of ten years. I will refer to this matter again at a later stage of the report under the paragraph headed " Care of the Feeble-minded." The numbers of epidemic orphans classified according to ages and districts are as follows : —

Purchase of Supplies. Prior to the year 1915 the managers of the various institutions purchased locally, and largely at their own discretion, the stores and supplies (clothing &c.) required for the institutions. In order to purchase these supplies more economically a Central Store was established, from which the bulk of the supplies of such items as clothing, household linen, bedding, hardware, crockery, cutlery, &c, are now supplied. By purchasing in bulk direct from the manufacturers it was found possible to standardize in all the leading articles either used or consumed. So far as the supply of clothing was concerned, the adoption of anything resembling a uniform was strictly avoided, for it was felt that as the majority of the children are. placed out in families it was desirable that they should be dressed as much like ordinary children as possible. In fact, in dealing with small children it has been found easier to place them if they are nicely dressed. An arrangement was also made for the supply direct from the manufacturers of certain staple articles of diet, and either for contracts or purchase in bulk of items suoh as tea, coffee, cocoa,, flour, sugar, oatmeal, soap, &c. At the same time a complete scheme for the working of the farms, gardens, orchards, &c, attached to the various institutions was instituted. As a result the institutions under the Department are now largely supplied from our own farms with such provisions as vegetables, fruit, jam, bacon, &c. The

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District. Under 5 Years of Age. [ IBetween 5 Years and 10 Years. Over 111 Years. Total. Auckland Wellington Hawkers Bay Taranaki Nelson and West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland 52 10 1 1 2 2 5 5 86 7 :i 2 4 1 6 6 75 8 5 2 7 4 6 4 213 25 9 5 13 7 17 15 All districts 78 115 111 304

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interchange of commodities of produce between the various institutions is now an established concern : one farm, for instance, specializes in growing oats and potatoes for all our requirements ; another will produce fruit and will make all the jam required at the various places; another will grow wheat, that is gristed into flour for all schools, &c. The following is a statement of the revenue and expenditure of the farm attached to one of the institutions —the Boys' Training-farm, Weraroa —for last year : — Revenue. I'J.r.pnid'liirn. Supplies £ s. (I. Cash Sale* and issued and y , f t g lst M h Supplies to other consumed ... L ' Institutions. at the iJI! J ■• ■■ •• 978 ° ° Farm. Implements and repairs .. 1,149 710 £ s. d. £ s. d. Manures .. .'. .. 93 10 4 Butter .. .. .. .. 340 15 5 96 12 S Sheep, &o. .. .. 284 3 i) Cheese .. .. .. .. 1,794 3 S 60 311 Cows .. .. .. 439 12 (i Cream .. .. .. .. • 5 7 7 510 10 Feed .. .. .. 84 13 8 Milk .. .. .. .. 102 1 (i 186 11 6 Cheese .. .. .. 117 18 6 Stock (cattle, horses, &c.) .. .. 306 4 I 52 19 0 Medicines.for stock .. 19 7 0 Hides .. .. .. .. 99 11 (i .. Sundries.. .. .. 75 9 11 Vegetables .. .. .. 201 1 5 306 0 8 Orchard .. .. .. 0 5 9 Poultry and eggs .. .. .. 118 210 30 IS 10 Seeds .. .. . 26 17 7 Pigs * .. 305 19 12 19 7 Poultry 55 10 10 Sheep (mutton, wool, &c.) .. .. 7(i(i 9 0 197 0 5 pigs .. .. .. 10 10 0 Orchard .. .. .. .. 117 10 34 2 (i Salaries .. .. .. 700 0 0 Sales of other farm produce .. 172 2 0 .. Excess of revenue over exMiscellaneous .. .. .. 20 10 8 0 10 6 penditure .. .. 3,002 12 0 4,239 9 3 983 10 5 > , 5,222 19 8 In addition the value of the crops on the 31st March, 1920, was— £ Cereals .. . . .. .. 767 Hay .. .. .. .. 240 Green feed .. .. .. 184 Lucerne .. .. .. 60 Grass seed . . . . . . 15 Root crops .. .. .. 432 Potatoes .. .. .. 172 1,870 0 0 Total £7,092 19 8 Total .. .. £7,092 19 8 Notwithstanding the great difficulties encountered, the Department has every reason to be satisfied with the results of its operations. During the past four years goods to the value of £53,070 have been supplied to the various institutions throughout New Zealand, showing a saving of £20,220 on comparison with warehouse prices. In addition the goods in the store to-day, costing about £45,000, are valued, at a low estimate, at £10,080 more than was paid for them. In the early days of the Central Store great difficulty was experienced in obtaining the services of a buyer who not only knew his own business but who was conversant with the needs of the various schools. This difficulty has been overcome, however, by training one of our staff for this work and by the appointment of a supervising dressmaker and buyer. In those, early days (1915-16) little was done in the manufacture of garments, underclothing, girls' dresses, and children's wearing-apparel. These articles were for the most part made by the seamstresses at the various institutions (eleven in all), but on investigating the question thoroughly it was found that articles could be made in bulk in a factory much more cheaply a.nd of a much better pattern than by the seamstresses at the schools. Orders were accordingly placed with a factory in Wellington, and as soon as a sufficient stock was available at the Central Store for issue to the schools the making at these places was abandoned. This change reduced the number of seamstresses to six, and these women are engaged for the most part in patching and mending, darning, &0., and occasionally, of course, dresses have to be slightly altered to fit odd-sized children. With the increase in the number of children to be provided with clothing, the making of garments has now assumed considerable proportions, and in the present state of the labour market it is difficult to get this work done at all. Every factory at the present time is overwhelmed with work, and the cost of making has increased in some instances 100 per cent. 1 am satisfied that our system of supplies will not be complete until we have a factory of our own where we can utilize the labour of some of our older girls who are unsuitable for anything else. As a business proposition there is no question as to the soundness of it. Many firms with whom we do business have often, expressed surprise that with our volume of business we should be satisfied to pay high prices for making up. At each school and in each, of the centres where we have a boarding-out organization it is necessary to maintain a, subsidiary store, carrying a full range of clothing and footwear suitable for infants, young children, youths, girls, and adults. At the present time there are thirteen such stores, and in the near future it will be necessary to add to this number. Centres are about to be established at Whangarei, Hamilton, and Timaru, each necessitating a store with full ranges of all the different kinds of clothing. Last year £15,481 was spent in the. purchase of goods and £1,139 for making up garments for the Central Store, and goods to the value of £15,070 were supplied from the Central Store to the subsidiary stores. The costing and pricing of all the goods and garments taken on charge in the Central Store is a work in itself, for not only does the Central Store supply for all the infants and young children under the Department's control, but for the young people who are wage-earners as well. In the latter case, however, each youth or girl who is earning is charged for all articles supplied. In the case of children the schools are debited with the actual cost of the garments supplied, but in tin- other cases a charge of not less than 10 per cent, is added. As far as possible the extra charge is regulated so that the

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price is somewhat below the retail price, in this way a certain profit is made for the Central Store and at the same time these young people obtain clothing of superior quality cheaper than they could procure in the local shops. Last year the refunds obtained in this way amounted to £6,633. At the present time the number of children and young persons provided for is as follows : — Table showing Numbers under Control of Industrial and Special Schools for whom Clothing has to be sup-plied from Central Store. In residence at industrial schools, receiving homes, Hoys. Girls. Total, and probation homes .. .. .. 11l 62 173 In residence at special schools .. .. .. 140 11.3 253 Young persons in situations . . . . . . 400 238 638 Hoarded out .. .. .. .. .. 1,010 686 1,696 Totals .. .. .. ..1,661 1,099 2,760 Admissions to Industrial Schools, Receiving-homes, and, Probation Homes during 1919. The total number of admissions during 1.919 was 864, each of whom had to be provided with clothing from the Central Store. The majority of these were young children, as the following figures will show: — „ ~i r,i . i Boys. Girls. .total. Boarded out during year .. .. .. 345 260 605 ■ Placed in situations .. .. . . 23 9 32 In residence at end of year . . . . 73 32 105 The foregoing figures do not, of course, represent the total number of children and young persons under the control of the Department, but merely those who have to be provided with clothing. In the case of boarded-out children an initial outfit only is supplied, the foster-mothers being required to maintain the outfits, but in many cases children are returned with deficient outfits which have to be made good from the school stock. Review op the .Industrial-schools System. Some three or four years ago there were six residential institutions for the detention of boys and girls - viz., the Auckland Industrial School, Caversham Industrial School, Te Oranga Home, Boys' Training-farms, Weraroa, and Nelson, and the Burnham Industrial School. Moreover, the boys' schools were full to overflowing, and the need for additional accommodation in the near future for the inmates in residence was increasingly pressing. The following statement will show definitely the extensions that at that time seemed to be urgently necessary to provide for the increasing number of young people; coming under the, Department's charge: — Capital Annual Cst Expenditure. of Upkeep. C £ («.) Another training-farm for boys .. .. .. .. .. 21,000 6,000 (b.) Subsidiary institution on Burnham Estate for incorrigible youths .. 8,000 2,500 (c.) Rebuilding first division buildings at Te Oranga Home (destroyed by fire) on an extended scale .. .. .. .. .. 6,000 1,400 (d.) Additional buildings at the Auckland Industrial School .. .. 1,500 650 £36,500 £10,550 The reforms instituted by the establishment of the probation system and the development of the boarding-out system have made it quite, unnecessary to contemplate further any of these extensions. During the past two years the following institutions have been closed :—

In addition the following savings were effected by — (I.) Reduction of number maintained at Caversham from 45 to 20 : Annual saving, £650. (2.) Reduction of number at Boys' Training-farm,- Weraroa, from 230 to 100: Annual saving, £2,600. (3.) Systematic, working of farms at Stoke, Burnham, and Weraroa,: Increased annual revenue, £4,500. (•I.) Establishment of Central Store and central purchasing system: Annual saving, £7,580. (5.) Refunds now obtained from inmates' earnings for clothing supplied, £6,500.

Annual Cost of Upkeep. School. Capital Value. q. i .: General Maintenance. 1. Auckland Industrial School 2. Te Oranga Home 3. Burnham industrial School 4. Boys' Training-farm, Nelson .. £ 8,000 20,000 23,500 30,000 £ £ 854 2,126 1,050 1,34.0 4,000 5,500 4,903 5,400 £ 2,126 1,340 5,500 5,400 Total 81,500 10,807 14,366 25,173

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(6.) Saving effected by means of probation system annually representing boys placed on probation in lieu of admission to industrial schools : Auckland, 113 ; Wellington, 74 ; Christchurch, 81 ; Dunedin, 39 : total, 307, for period of twelve months, basing cost of maintenance at 15s. a week less average recovery of £7 per head : Annual saving, £20,696. (Taking the average number for five years, 653 boys are dealt with annually.) (7.) Increased revenue derived through a systematic and improved system of collecting parental contributions : Recoveries, 1914-15, £20,347 ; 1917 18, £27,835 (less natural increase in new cases for year, 300 at £7 per head): Annual increase, £5,388. Grand totals : Capital, £118,000 ; maintenance, £83,637.

Expenditure on New Works and Annual Cost of Upkeep of Probation System.

SUMMARY. Capital Annual Expenditure. Maintenance. £ £ Present saving under new system .. .. .. 118,000 83,637 Contemplated additional expenditure under new system .. 50,300 23,496 Total gross savings .. .. .. £67,700 £60,141 Legislation required to provide for Extension of System. An extension of present legislation is needed to make better provision for the protection, control, maintenance, and reformation of dependent, neglected, and delinquent children ; for the better protection of infant-life ; the supervision of children born out of wedlock ; the custody and care of orphans and fatherless children ; the establishment of Children's Courts, and a complete charter for dealing with children; the licensing and regulation of children trading in the streets,

Capital Expenditure. Annual Cost of Staff and Upkeep of Homes. Staff. Maintenanc.. Staff. Maintenance. PRESENT EX ■ENDITURE. £ £ Auckland Probation Home (formerly Industrial School, Mount Albert) Auckland Receiving-home Wellington Probation Home Christchurch Probation Home Addition Dunedin Probation Home Alterations, &c. .. . . . . Wellington Children's Home Furnishings, &o. Probation Officers and Boarding-out Officers at — Whangarei Hamilton Napier Nelson Timaru Wanganui £ £ £ 8,000 1,110 550 1,110 550 4,250 4,500 2,000 1,750 3,100 450 4,250 1,000 1,250 850 1,240 450 920 340 590 200 1,250 1,240 920 850 450 340 590 200 500 480 340 500 480 340 780 500 340 780 500 340 Travelling-expenses of officers Rent of offices 29,300 8,050 2,390 2,800 420 contemplated EXPENDITURE I D. 5,610 Purchase of properties and furnishings for receivinghomes at Hamilton, Napier, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Timaru, Greymouth, and Invercargill —seven at £2,500 17,500 3 at £280 = £840 3 at £200 = 600 6 at £140= 840 7 at £160 = 1,120 15 at £130 = 1,950 Receiving-home, Dunedin Rents of offices Travelling-expenses of officers 3,500 3,500 5,350 3,500 386 600 50,300 13,400 10,096 Grand total (present and contemplated expenditure) £23,4'

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and. the employment generally of children ; the regulation of the attendance of children under certain ages at picture-theatres and places of public amusement ; and for the proper conduct and inspection of private institutions for children. In view of the drain on the resources of the Dominion during the period of the war, and of the need now to increase our productive powers, it is essential that the, country should protect and foster its children, that it should utilize the most effective means of conserving the, health of the young of the nation, and should so train them that they will be strong and. vigorous to carry on not only the, vocations of peace but also the practice, of war if that be required. In fact, it" is difficult to conceive any more important function of the State at the present period than the care of the children who are the future citizens of the State. A brief examination of the present position shows that destitute, and dependent children are dealt with in a somewhat haphazard manner. There is no controlling authority, and an utter lack of co-operation and co-ordination oven between Government Departments, without including the work carried out by Charitable Aid Boards and the social service agencies of the various Churches. There is no provision for Government supervision of children over the age of six years who are maintained apart from their parents, no provision for supervizing the illegitimate child or the orphan, and no system of supervision of the thousands of children who indulge in street trading or attend picturetheatres at all hours of the day and night. In dealing with delinquent children it will be found that the legal machinery has not been changed to any appreciable extent during the past thirty-eight years, and is now almost obsolete. So far as the law in concerned, at present every detail of the criminal law is worked out against the child. Like the adult, he, is a law-breaker, and as such must be punished. At the present time a child who is destitute, or perhaps an orphan cannot be provided for by the Department until the case has been investigated by the police, whose duty it is to lay an information in the Magistrate's Court charging the child with either destitution or as being not under proper control. The case is then dealt with by the Magistrate (usually in his own room), who, if satisfied that the facts arc as stated, may commit the child to an industrial school. Notwithstanding the limitations of the present legislation, the scope of the Special Schools Branch has been enlarged to allow of its dealing with the ever-increasing need for providing and caring for children who through the economic changes and stress due to the war have been thrown on the State for support and training. In order to cope with the enormous increase in the number of uncontrollable arid delinquent children the juvenile probation system has been established, and is working well. The direct result has been found in the reduction of admissions to institutions by at least 85 per cent., the reduction in the number of institutions, and the reduction in the number of children maintained in the institutions that still exist. Furthermore, the regulation of the admissions to these schools has now passed definitely into the hands of the Probation Officers in each of the four centres. The probation system, which is more remedial in its working than punitive, has demonstrated clearly that for dealing adequately with children the present machinery contained in the Industrial Schools Act passed in 1882 is practically out of date. In nearly every enlightened country in the world it has been realized that the methods adopted for the punishment of adult offenders cannot be applied in the case of children. In most countries the handling of children by the uniformed police, of detaining them in cells, and of recording convictions for petty offences, have all been abandoned. Special Courts have been established, presided over by special Magistrates, who arc selected not on account of their knowledge of legal procedure alone, but mainly on account of their knowledge and experience; of child life and nature. The system of dealing with children under the Criminal Code, has given place to a system of equity whereby the child is not regarded as a criminal who should be punished, but as one who requires the protection and assistance of the Court. A complete children's code has been drafted by the Branch on similar lines to what already exists in most of the Australian colonies, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States of America, and it is hoped that at no distant date many of the provisions so included will find a place in our legislation. The main features of the code are as follows : — (1.) Special Courts for children, and special Magistrates. (2.) Provision for Court being held at a probation home. (3.) Proceedings not to be published except with Magistrate's permission, but names of children not to be published under any circumstances. (4.) Appointment of Probation Officers (male and female), who will deal entirely with children appearing before the Children's Courts. (5.) Provision for child being sent to receiving-home or probation home either on arrest or remand, in preference to being detained in a police lock-up. (6.) In place of conviction and commitment to any particular industrial school, a child, without having a conviction recorded against him, would be declared a ward of the State and his ultimate disposal left in the hands of the Department. (7.) Provision for parents being charged with contributory delinquence. (8.) Provision for juveniles between sixteen and eighteen years being dealt with by Children's Court under certain conditions. At the present time any boy over sixteen years of age and under nineteen years who has been sentenced to imprisonment may be transferred to an industrial school (section 25 of the Industrial Schools Act, 1908). The commonsense view to take is that if a Magistrate or Judge considers that a youth over sixteen years is a fit case for an industrial school he should be sent direct to a school, not after he has served perhaps a month in gaol. (9.) Provision for transfer (by application to a Magistrate) of a ward of State who is found to be incorrigible to a reformatory prison or Borstal institution. (10.) The term " industrial school " has been entirely omitted, thus doing away with the stigma that is at present attached to children who through no fault of their own have been committed to the care of the State.

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Protection of Infant Life and the Supervision of Illegitimate Children. Some months ago 1 prepared a return showing that the, mortality among infants and children under the age of live years amounted to 21,000 when taken over a period of ten years. The number of children under fifteen years of age who died during the period of the war amounted to over 15,000. An examination of the vital statistics shows that the greater proportion of these deaths occurred before the children attained the, age of twelve months, and were due mainly to preventable causes, such as lack of pro per'feeding. In referring to illegitimate children, it is a, notorious fact that the, death-rate is more, than 100 per cent, higher than the death-rate among normal children. The teaching of mother-craft and the supervision of the feeding of infants born in wedlock and brought up under normal conditions may well be left to the Plunket Society, which is carrying out a work of national importance, but in dealing with the illegitimate, child and the infant whose parents are, unfit to look after him it is better that experienced State officials should act. I feel that the State should take a hand, in the centres of population, at any rate, in ensuring that every infant who is artifically fed is provided with pure milk modified according to its need. Probably valuable assistance, in this connection could, be given by the Plunket Society. Illegitimate Children. At the present time no system of supervision exists for tint illegitimate child unless he, happens to lie placed for payment in a foster-home apart, from his mother. Even then the supervision ceases when he attains the, age of six years. The need for assisting mothers of illegitimate children is also a, most pressing one. Not only should the State ensure that an illegitimate child is properly provided for, but it should also assist the mothers in regaining their social status, if possible, and in obtaining assistance, from the men responsible for their condition. Supervision of Dependent Children. At the present time there is no supervision whatever of children who may be handed over by their parents to persons who may be entirely unfitted to can; for children. With my experience in connection with the industrial school system I have been impressed with the need for the prevention of the trafficking in children, especially illegitimate children. Numerous cases have come under the notice of the Department where children have been handed over by parents to persons who have, overworked, ill-treated, and half starved them without running any risk of being interfered with by any State authority. Guardianship of Orphan Children. Provision has been made in the draff legislation for the. State to take over the guardianship of all children who have lost both parents, unless, of course, guardians have already been appointed during the lifetime of one or other of the parents. The need for such legislation has been acutely felt, by the Department in dealing with the children who lost both parents during the late influenza epidemic. As a, matter of urgent, necessity these children have had to be dealt with under the provisions of the Industrial Schools Act, but provision is made in the proposed legislation for the elimination of all the Court records in these cases. Assistance to Deserted Mothers and Widows. At the present time the lot of a deserted wife with children is a particularly hard one. It is true that she can always apply to the local Hospital and Charitable Aid Board for relief, but to this procedure there are objections :it does not provide, for instance, for the proper care and training of children. The present method of dealing with such children is by committal to industrial schools, as destitute. They are taken away from their mothers (who may be thoroughly respectable persons) and placed in foster-homes. At present the Department has no authority to make payments to mothers in such cases. Prom the taxpayer's point of view the anomaly is a serious one, for while it costs at least £1 2s. a week for the first twelve months for each child so placed in a, fosterhome, it is probable, that the child could be kept in his own home for perhaps a, little more than half this sum. Establishment of Convalescent Homes for Children. In the congested poorer areas of our large (dies there are many children who would receive; immense benefit if they could be taken info a, convalescent home, or cottage for a, month or two when they are run down in health, or when recovering from the many illnesses and diseases that childhood is heir to, or for a period subsequent to operations, &c. The Government provides an expensive system of primary education, but it is not good business for the State if the children are not physically fit to take full advantage of the education offering. There is also very great need for providing for the temporary accommodation of children whose parent, either through illness or childbirth, is unable for the time being to look after her children. The expectant mother who already has a family of young children has little or no means at present of obtaining relief from family troubles. Generally she. works on until the very hist day before confinement, and at the earliest possible moment afterwards has to resume her home, duties. Many mothers break down under the strain, and naturally the child who is just born also suffers. During the last two years I have had to deal with many pitiful cases of this kind, and, although'we have no legal authority to do so, yet in many instances relief has been afforded by the Department in placing the children for a few weeks in temporary foster-homes. Child-labour. 'For years past nearly every organization dealing with children- -Truant Officers, school-teachers, Medical Inspectors of Schools, and others have brought under notice, the great need for regulating the employment of children in street trading, selling sweets, &c, in picture-theatres, &c, in delivering milk and newspapers, &c. Up to the present no attempt has been made to cope with this serious question, although the need has been so evident for years past. Fully 85 per cent, of the delinquent

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and uncontrollable boys dealt with by the Courts throughout New Zealand are or have been street traders, and fully 70 per cent, of the boys committed to industrial schools for various offences (particularly petty thieving) owe their downfall to the fact that they were, allowed to indulge in street trading without any supervision. I have prepared a series of clauses dealing with the matter on the lines that have been tried with success in other countries. Attendance of Children at Picture-theatres, etc. This matter also requires serious attention. Children of all ages are, allowed to attend entertainments with little or no supervision. The matter has been brought under the notice of the Department times without number, but up to the, present nothing has been done. From our own records it is possible to say that fully two hundred children are dealt with annually by the Courts for offences committed largely as a result of suggestion and ideas picked, up in picture-shows. When it is remembered that the cost to the State of maintaining these children is not less than 15s. a, week per head, and that the liability generally extends over a period of at least three or four years, it will be realized that in the interests of the taxpayer there is need for prompt action. To meet the case suggested legislation has been prepared which though not altogether adequate, would deal with the matter as far as it seems advisable to go at present. There is great need, too, for a stricter censorship of picture-films. My own opinion is that the censorship should be carried out by a committee of not less than three, one id' whom should be an officer of the Department whose duty it is to deal with children generally, and one should be an experienced officer of the. Police Department. Probably the suggested arrangement providing for the censorship of films as (1) suitable for adults only, or (2) for adults and children, and the proposed legislation providing for the exclusion of children under sixteen years of age from sessions where the programmes do not provide exclusively for pictures for adults and children, together with provision for the exclusion after 6 p.m. of children under fourteen years of age unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, will have some effect in checking the present abuses. Care of Destitute Children, and Payments by Hospitals and Charitable Aid Boards. Under the provisions of section 85 of the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, 1909, the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board for the district is liable to the extent of Bs. a, week for the maintenance of any child committed to an industrial school as a, destitute child in terms of section 17 (a,) of the Industrial Schools Act, 1908. Under this provision the Education Department collects about £f3,000 annually from Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards towards the maintenance of such children. When it is remembered that of this amount fully 50 per cent, represents payment already made by the Hospital and Charitable Institutions Department of the Government, and that in making its claim the Education Department spends a great deal of time and much labour, it is questionable whether the amount collected is worth the trouble. Apart from this aspect of the case it is contended that the Government should be primarily responsible for the, maintenance and care of all. permanently destitute children, and it should not be left to a Hospital and Charitable Aid Board to have the authority to deal with such children, except as a. temporal')' expediency. At present some Boards prefer commitment to industrial schools in such cases as the most economical method so far as the Board is concerned of dealing with the children. Other Boards place children out in foster-homes which are not supervised by the Department; other Boards, again, prefer to admit these children to institutions not specially sot apart for children, but for destitute adults and children generally. Inspection of Orphanages and Private Institutions. During the past five or six years the orphanage system for providing for normal destitute or dependent children has grown with great rapidity. Almost every Church has an orphanage in each of the large centres of population (Presbyterian, Anglican, Salvation Army, Methodist, Baptist, and Roman Catholic). At the present time there is provision under the Education Act for the inspection of orphanages and private institutions, but there is no provision for enforcing the carrying-out of any of the recommendations of inspecting officers. 1 think it may bo admitted without reservation that the social-service sections of the Church organizations an- earnest in their desire to provide for the child who either has no parents or whose parents if alive, are unable for various reasons to provide properly for the child. Unfortunately, however, these organizations have started out on a system that has been condemned and abandoned in most enlightened countries as a means of providing permanently for the orphan or the child whose parents are either deserters or unfit characters to be entrusted with the upbringing of children. To put the matter briefly, the State has allowed private enterprise under the guise of benevolence to step in and handle the children of the State under a system that is obsolete, without any Government supervision either as regards the, establishment of institutions, the selection of children who are, admitted to these institutions, or the training and ultimate destiny of the children so dealt with. Ido not think, however, that the Department can afford to ignore the valuable work that has been carried out and is being performed now by these organizations, but there is great need for co-ordination of methods under a central Government authority. For children whose parents are unable for the time being to provide, them with a home, or for the widower who desires to have his children placed temporarily where he, can see them frequently, probably no better institution than the Church orphanage can be found ; but for the child who is permanently bereft of his parents the system of placing in an orphanage is not, in my opinion, the best method of dealing with him. Few of these organizations, if any, possess an adequate system of after-care supervision, so necessary for the child without friends or family ties when he has to face, the, world. It should be the duty of the State to deal with all such children by providing permanent private foster-homes for them. Provision should be made to enable, the Department to control the growth of the orphanage system and at the same time supervise the children admitted to such institutions. I may state that under the Department's policy no State child is detained in an institution unless he is unfit through certain anti-social characteristics to associate with normal children. Family life is the very cornerstone of society, and should therefore be regarded as the most precious heritage of every child.

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Summary of Suggested Legislation. Briefly, the suggested legislation would provide for the following : — (1.) Establishment of Children's Courts. (2.) State guardianship of illegitimate children and all orphan and permanently destitute children. (3.) Supervision of all children maintained apart from their parents or guardians. (4.) Regulation of street trading and the employment of children generally. (5.) Regulation of the attendance of children at picture-theatres. (6.) Inspection of private institutions for children. (7.) Provision for the transfer of incorrigible, young persons over the age of eighteen years from, industrial schools to reformatory institutions under the control of the Prisons Department. To which may be added : — (8.) Establishment of children's homes for children (1) requiring convalescent treatment and care, (2) whose parents through accident, illness, or childbirth are unable to provide for them in the meantime, and (3) for infants suffering from malnutrition. (9.) Establishment of baby-centres for the examination of babies, and depots for the distribution of modified milk. (10.) Provision for assisting unmarried mothers and deserted wives with families. Care of the Feeble-minded. At the present time almost every public school has a certain number of pupils who are incapable, by reason of backwardness or mental defect, of receiving benefit from the education offering. This type of child is usually found at the bottom of his class, but he manages somehow to drag his way through the various standards until the age when he may leave school is reached, unless in the meantime, by reason of nomadic habits, truant-playing, or by the commission of petty offences, he falls into the hands of the police and is committed to an industrial school. As a general rule the average teacher of the primary school does not in the least understand this type of child, and even if he did is unable usually to devote any of the school time to other than normal children. These abnormal children may be divided into two groups : (1) The backward child who is not to all outward appearances deficient in intellect, but for various reasons, ranging from lack of opportunity when younger to inadequate homo care and control and training, is unable to keep pace in the school with other children of equal age ; (2) the mentally deficient child who by reason of such defect is unable to benefit by the instruction in an ordinary public school. An experienced person has no difficulty in detecting children of the second group. Their physical inferiority is usually evident and unmistakable ; and, while they are not idiots or imbeciles, they constitute a distinct type of lesser mental defect with all the characteristics of the imbecile in a lesser degree inferior physical organization, defective motor power, weak will, and lack of initiative, feeble power of attention and observation, and invariably moral obliquity. Generally speaking, the backward child is a fairly simple proposition to deal with. He is from a moral standpoint not, in general, unfit to associate with normal children, and by individual instruction in a special or auxiliary class attached to a public school it should be possible to train him sufficiently to enable him to take his place in the world, though at a later date, perhaps, than the normal child. The feeble-minded child is quite a different proposition to deal with. He may belong to one of three classes or grades : (1) Low grade ; (2) middle grade ; (3) high grade or moron type. The low-grade cases are usually best provided for by admission to a custodial home. They arc generally regarded as unimprovable from an educational point of view, and as such are fit only for admission to a children's section of a mental hospital, unless the parents are in a position to provide properly for them otherwise. Socially they are not regarded as a menace or danger to the community at large, except in the case of females who have reached the age of puberty. An attempt, however, should be made in training the middle and high grade and border-line cases. Education as applied to the development of feeble-minded children is understood in its broadest sense not as mere intellectual training, but as uniform cultivation of the whole being, physically, mentally, and morally. The end and aim of all our teaching and training should be to make the child helpful to himself and not a burden to others. It is of very little use for the child to be able to read words of two or three letters, but it is of great use to teach a feeble-minded child to dress himself, to be of cleanly habits, to eat tidily, to control his temper, to avoid hurting others, to act with politeness, to be truthful, to know something of numbers, to go with messages, and numerous other such things. The progressive games and occupations of the kindergarten, object teaching, manual training, and other attractive methods now so successfully applied in the teaching of normal children are specially adapted to the training of the feeble-minded. Associated with the strictly mental training, careful attention should be paid to instruction in industrial occupations and manual labour. The idea of " education by doing " not only provides a very valuable means of exercising and developing the dormant faculties and defective bodies of these, children, but at the same time trains them to become capable and useful under intelligent supervision. Such industries as carpentering, bootmaking, matmaking, farming, gardening, and the manufacture of clothing represent work that can be successfully carried on by feeble-minded children. While it is essential that the backward child should as far as possible be associated with the normal child in school as well as out of it, yet on the, other hand the feeble-minded child is best dealt with apart from normal children. As a general rule he is not able to join in the play of normal children, who are quick to notice any defect either mental or physical in another child. It is essential, therefore, that whatever scheme is laid down for the education of the feeble-minded, provision should be made for segregation from normal children at least during the time while under instruction. Some twelve years ago legislation was passed providing for the compulsory education of feebleminded children over the age of six years, and following on this the school at Otekaike was established for boys, and some years later a similar institution was established at Richmond for girls.

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When the special school at Otekaike, near Oamaru, was established the Department was besieged with applications for the admission of children who for the, most part proved to be of the low-grade type, and owing to absence of any other method of providing for such cases the Department was obliged in many instances to admit these, low-grade, cases in the interests of common humanity, and in order to relieve the strain on already overburdened mothers. As a, rule the lower class of idiot, the majority of them with disagreeable habits, often deformed and misshapen or partially paralyzed, cannot be given suitable care in their own homes. Probably there is no greater burden possible in a home. Humanity and public policy demand that, families should be relieved of the burden of helpless idiots. As nearly every low-grade idiot eventually becomes a public burden, it is better to assume their care when they are young and susceptible of a, certain amount of training, than to receive them later on as undisciplined, helpless, destructive adult idiots. But the matter of providing for these unfortunates should, not fall on the Education Department. In comparatively few cases has the Department been able to prevail upon parents to send the children belonging to the higher grades of mental defect to special schools, although as a, class these children are a far greater social danger to the community than the lower-grade types. The brighter classes of the feeble-minded with their weak will-power and deficient judgment are easily influenced for evil, and arc prom; to become, vagrants, drunkards, and thieves. The modern scientific study of the dependent and delinquent classes as a whole has demonstrated that a large proportion of our criminals, inebriates, and prostitutes are really congenital defectives who have been allowed to grow up without any attempt being made to improve or discipline them. Society suffers the penalty of this neglect in an increase of pauperism and vice, and finally at greatly increased cost is compelled to take charge of adult idiots in mental hospitals, and of mentally defective criminals in prisons generally, off and on during the remainder of their lives. As a matter of mere economy it is better and cheaper for the community to assume tin-, permanent custody of such persons before they have carried out a, long career of expensive, crime. , , The tendency to lead dissolute lives is especially noticeable in the females. A feeble-minded girl is exposed as no other girl in the world is exposed. She has not sense enough to protect herself from the perils to which women nre subjected. Often amiable in disposition and physically attractive, they either marry and bring forth a new generation of defectives, or they become irresponsible sources of corruption and debauchery in the communities where they live. There is every reason in the interests of morality, humanity, and public policy that feeble-minded women should be under permanent and watchful guardianship, especially during the child-bearing age. From the industrial-schools records I have selected the following cases which will prove that il only from a business point of view it will pay the State to provide for the proper supervision, and, if need be, segregation, of the feeble-minded. No doubt similar information could be obtained from the records of the Mental Hospitals and Prisons Departments, and from the records of any of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards. „ . . , ~, , Case No. lis that of a feeble-minded woman. In 1902 she gave birth to an illegitimate child, who in 1908 was committed to a receiving-home (an industrial school). This child was found to be mentally deficient, and subsequently was admitted to a special school for feeble-minded girls. She will be a lifelong charge on the State, and, assuming that she survives to the age of thirty-five years, the cost of her maintenance will be, approximately £1,050. Subsequently the mother married a man, also feeble-minded and physically a, weakling. The result of the, union is as follows :A, born 1904 ; B, born 1906 ; C, born 1907. All these boys were committed to one of our receiving-homes in 1911, having been found by the police in a dirty, uncaredfor condition, and upon examination all were found, to be feeble-minded. Two have since been committed to mental hospitals, and the third has been sent to a special school for feeble-minded boys. All arc custodial cases, and will have to be kept in institutions during their lifetime. The cost will be approximately £5,196. , Last year the following additional members of the family were committed to the same receivinghome : D, born 1.910 (described as a mental defective); E, born 1912 (tubercular and mentally deficient)'- F, born 1914 (tubercular and mentally deficient) ; G, born 1916 (mentally deficient, deaf-and-dumb, and suffering from rickets) ; H, born 1918 (suffering from rickets, backward in development, mentally deficient). All these children will be lifelong charges on the State, and their maintenance in institutions will cost approximately £7,800. _ I am not in a. position to state what has already been expended by the local Hospital and Charitable Aid Board and. by sundry local benevolent societies in providing the necessities of life for the parents and. the children while in their own home, but from the foregoing figures it is safe to estimate that the members of this family up to the present will cost the Government not less than £14,046. In the meantime the parents have been freed of their responsibilities, and there is no reason to doubt but that if allowed to remain at large they will, bring more children into the, world for the State to look after. Both this man and his wife are cases for segregation, but at the present time the only Government institution to which they could be admitted is a mental hospital, and I am very doubtful whether any two medical men would' certify that they are suitable cases for such an institution. Case No. 2: A runaway foreign sailor married a feeble-minded girl. The result of the union so far is as follows : A, born 1900 (feeble-minded -a case for lifelong custody in an institution ; committed to an industrial school in 1917 and later sent on to the Special School at Otekaike) ; B, born 1902 (quite normal- a nice well-behaved boy); C, born 1904 (quite normal—staying with neighbours); D born 1905 (feeble-minded— a case for lifelong control ;at present at Special School, Otekaike) ; E' born 1908 (feeble-minded and suffering from phthisis—case for consumption sanatorium as well as for custodial care) ; F, born in 1911 (doubtful mentality—under industrial-school control) ; G,born in 1914 (possibly normal,' but very delicate—in the hands of friends) ; IT, born in 1915 (normal, but probably backward). . Tn this case, it is difficult/to assess the'eost of providing tor the family. Ihe father is a decent man, but gives way to drink and is often out of employment. The, mother is feeble-minded, shiftless, a

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poor housekeeper, and totally unfit to manage a home or care for children. They shift from house to house, paying no rent, and leave the houses in a filthy condition. The children are half-starved and badly clad, and are allowed to run more like animals than human beings. Local aid in the form of money, rations, clothing for the children, and bedclothes is frequently given. Of the family, four are either in industrial schools or special schools, and may be regarded as cases for permanent control ; two are being cared for by friends ; one is quite normal and earning his living ; while the remaining boy (a baby) is with his parents. The cost to the State so far as the four children are concerned will not be less than £3,500, while the amount doled out by way of charitable aid will not be less than £750, making a total of, say, £4,250. This amount does not include the value of the time spent on the case by the police, Health inspectors, Truant Officers, Probation Officers, &c. Case No. 3 : Mother feeble-minded and a helpless invalid. At the time the information was received she was in the public hospital in a precarious condition, and has since died. Father a good-for-nothing drunken waster who neglects his home and his children —a frequent guest at the local gaol. Children not properly fed. or clothed or kept clean. Tim home was in a filthy condition. In 1916, the whole family of six children were committed to the care of the State. Particulars are as follows :A, born 1904 (tubercular) ; B, born 1.907 (mentally deficient; now in mental hospital); C, born 1909 (described as dull —sub- normal) ; D, born 1911 (to be admitted to Special School, Otekaike); E, born 1913 (mentally deficient —admitted to Otekaike); F, born 1914 (backward and badly nourished); G, born 1916 (backward). Of this family at least six will be, permanent burdens on the State, at a, probable cost of £8,500. Case No. 4 : Three sisters, A, B, and C, all feeble-minded, resided with their father. A gave birth to three illegitimate children : 1, born 1905, and 2, Thorn 1907 (committed to re-ceiving-home, 1910) ; 3, born 1910 (committed to receiving-home, 1911). B gave birth to four illegitimate children : I, born 1902, 2, born 1907, and 3, born 1910 (committed to receiving-home, 1910) ; 4, born 1915 (committed to receiving-home, 1915). C gave birth to three illegitimate children : 1, born 1911 (committed to receiving-home, 191.5); 2, born 1913 (committed to receiving-home, 1915); 3, born 1916 (committed to receiving-home, 1916). It will thus be seen that all these ten children have been committed to the care of the State, eight of whom will probably be lifelong charges. The liability of the State will therefore amount to at least £14,040, but there is no guarantee that there will not be further liabilities. At least two of these women are now married and have, other children, who may at any time, be, taken over by the State, while the, other is in and out of such refuges as the Salvation Army Home. Summary of these Four Cases. —No. 1. showing a liability of £14,046 ; No. 2, showing a liability of £4,250; No. 3, showing a, liability of £8,500; No. 4, showing a liability of £14,040: total, £40,836. This expenditure and liability could have, been, obviated by the segregation of eight persons, all of whom are, quite capable of earning their living under supervision. The cases quoted above are not by any means isolated cases. They are, in fact, more or less typical of a common experience. The industrial-schools records, if systematically searched, would produce numerous other cases of a similar kind. The following figures relate to the members of inmates and cost of upkeep of the schools for the feeble-minded :— Schools for the Feeble-minded. Numbers as at 31st December, 1919. ()tekaik „ Ki(;lmlon(l . Total , In residence .. .. .. .. . . . . . . 68 44 112 On vacation .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.5 18 33 In hospital . . . . . . .. .. .. . . 1 .. 1 At board .. .. .. .. .. .. .... 2 2 With friends .. .. .. .. .. .. .... 2 2 84 66 150 Particulars of Expenditure for the Last Financial Year. Otekaike. Richmond. Total £ £ £ Salaries and war bonus .. .. .. .. .. 4,019 1,237 5,256 General maintenance .. .. .. .. ..2,237 871 3,108 Travelling-expenses .. . . . . . . . . 199 37 236 Maintenance of buildings, furnishings, &c. .. .. .. 449 15 464 New buildings, furniture, &c. .. .. .. .. 34 30 64 6,938 2,190 9,128 Less — £ Parental contributions towards maintenance .. .. .. 1,406 Amounts collected from Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards .. 1,502 Sundry other recoveries .. .. .. .. .. .. 115 3,023 Net expenditure .. .. .. .. .. .. .. £6,105 The expenditure for 1918-19 was—Otekaike, £5,323 ; Richmond, £1,092 : total, £6,415. I have, &c, John Beck, Officer in Charge, Special Schools Branch. The Director of Education, Wellington.

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No. 3.—SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, SUMNER. report of the pirector (abridged). Sir, — 1 have the honour to lay before you my report for the year 1920. The number of pupils under instruction during the year is shown in the following tabulated statement :— Boys. Girls, Totals. Pupils of 1918 who returned to school .. .. ..58 42 100 Admitted early in the year . . . . .. . . 6 9 15 Admitted later .. .. .. .. ..2 4 6 Under instruction during the year . . . . 66 55 121 Left during the year .. . . .. .. . . 1.4 10 24 Died .. ' .. .. .. .. .... 2 2 Number expected to return in 1920 . . . . . . 52 43 95 The, average age of the congenital deaf cases admitted, fifteen in number, was six years and eight months, which is a great improvement on past records. There were two cases amongst these, however, in which valuable time had been wasted before admission had been sought by parents. One of these was a boy aged ten years and five months, and the other a girl aged ten years and nine months. Both were bright healthy children with a certain amount of residual hearing. Had they been admitted five years earlier, as they ought to have been, their education would by now have been well advanced, and there, would hnve been reasonable prospects of their eventually leaving school well equipped for the battle of life. As is it, there, is every likelihood of the contrary being the case. Though tin; education of deaf children is legally compulsory up to the age of twenty-one years, if necessary, it is seldom practicable or desirable to retain pupils to such an advanced age. and in the case of those two children it will be quite impossible to give them an adequate education before they reach seventeen or eighteen years of age. It is difficult to suggest any steps that could be, taken that are not already taken to prevent such conditions arising. As a rule it is in cases of partial deafness that the necessity for early admission to the school is most frequently ignored. Parents of totally deaf children usually make some sort of inquiries about the school before the children are greatly advanced in age, but when a child has sufficient hearing to enable it to say two or three words, such as " dadda " or " mumina," its chance of receiving that early education that is vital to its future welfare is greatly diminished. There appears to lie a popular superstition, hard to account for, that the child will be all right when it is seven or in some cases when it is fourteen. Such an erroneous notion has been the cause of the, late admission of many of our pupils in the past, and it is to be hoped that with the spread of knowledge it will go the way of other popular fallacies. Of the 1.21 pupils whose names were on the roll, sixteen attended as day pupils. Of these lattei four were part-time pupils who were treated for stammering, with satisfactory results, a marked improvement being effected in each case. Of the 105 boarders, one was absent on a visit to England during the greater part of (he year, and two others during the last half-year on account of illness. Of the 121 pupils whose names were on the roll, twenty-three came from the Auckland District four from Taranaki, eight from Hawke's Bay, thirty from Wellington, six from Nelson, twenty-eigh from Canterbury, and twenty-two from Otago. One case, that of a girl of the age of eighteen years and seven months, who was admitted toward the end of November in order to learn lip-reading, calls for special mention. As a result of an attao of influenza which occurred four years previously she had gradually lost her hearing, and in spite o medical attention extending over two years had become practically stone-deaf. During the four year of her affliction no attempt whatever had been made to give her any knowledge of lip-reading, and in consequence of her habitual means of communication with others having been cut off by her deafness she had sunk into a, very despondent or even morbid mental condition. Up to the time of her illness she had been a very bright girl, and had passed the Sixth Standard at the age of twelve. There is no doubt that had she, been admitted to this school as soon as her deafness showed signs of becoming serious she would have been spared much depression of spirits, and would have learned the. art of lip reading much more easily and effectively. It was a matter of extreme difficulty for her teacher to get her to grasp the first principles of the art, and by the end of the year she had probably made about as much progress as she would have, made in two days had she been admitted earlier —that is, before her hearing had entirely disappeared. It cannot be too frequently urged that in all cases of serious loss of hearing the study of lip-reading should be commenced without loss of time. The art is much more easily acquired when the eye is assisted by a remnant of auditory power than when the hearing has completely gone, and, contrary to a stupid notion unfortunately prevalent in some quarters, the practice of the art has no prejudicial effect on the organ of hearing. Inasmuch as its tendency is to prevent nervous strain it can only be beneficial. During the first half of the year the general health of the pupils was excellent, but during the latter half a number of minor ailments and two serious cases of illness, both, of which unfortunately terminated fatally, occurred. Oik; of these deaths was due to acute gastro-enteritis and the other to pneumonia. Twenty-four pupils left during the year. Of these five were cases of congenital deafness, four of acquired deafness, and one doubtful. Exclusive of one case, which was removed after two years at school in consequence of the parents going to Australia, the average time under instruction of the congenital cases, dating from admission to withdrawal, was eight years and three months. This average is unduly low. It is not possible under any conditions to give a deaf child a thorough educa-

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tion in such a limited time. Hearing children usually remain at school nine years —that is, from five to fourteen. An effort is now being made to retain all children at school until the age of sixteen years, and it is to be hoped that legislation bringing this about will be enacted. This will mean that ordinary children will have eleven years at school ; and if such is necessary for normal children, how much more is it for the deaf ! A hearing child commences school with a vast store of acquired knowledge that is denied to the deaf child, able to make known its wants and to interchange ideas with its fellows by means of spoken language, whereas the, mind of a deaf child is to all intents and purposes a tabula rasa. Language has to be instilled into it slowly and patiently, letter by letter and word by word. The first years of instruction are passed in giving to it that knowledge that the hearing child gets practically without conscious effort or direct instruction. The hearing child probably learns as much out of school as in school ; but not so the deaf child : during the last few years of his school life he may be able to gather knowledge for himself to some extent, but for the greater part of them he is almost entirely dependent on his teacher. For these reasons it is of the highest importance that the school life of a deaf child should not be abridged in any way, and particularly that it should commence at as early an age as possible. In my last annual report I referred to the fact that many cases of partially deaf children attending the public schools had been brought under my notice, and that in a number of these cases it had been necessary for me to point out to the teachers the absolute necessity of placing such children in the centre of the front row of the classes to which they belong, in ordei that they may be, in the most favourable position possible for hearing what is said by the teacher and by the other pupils. I still find that too little attention is paid in some cases to this seemingly obvious course. When one remembers that the intensity of sound diminishes with the square of its distance, and that the tick of a, watch held one inch away makes 1,296 times as much impression on the auditory nerve, as it does at one yard, it will be easily understood that a child may get on quite well if seated in the proper place in the class-room and miss nearly everything when seated further back. For the proper instruction of such children as are unable to be efficiently instructed in the public schools, even when seated in the most favourable position in the class-room, special classes should be instituted in the different centres. The, teachers in charge should have received adequate instruction in the special methods of instruction required for deaf children, and should be competent also to deal with cases of defective speech, which latter are very common throughout the Dominion. In previous reports 1 have given you details of a general scheme for the carrying-on of such classes, which should be, regarded as branches of this school. What remains to be done is the training of the teachers required for them, and the sooner this is undertaken the better. 1 wish again to urge upon you the desirability of instituting a home for very young deaf children. As I have again and again pointed out, it is extremely undesirable that such children should be in an institution along with older children. There are a thousand reasons why they should be kept apart from the latter, and just as many for their education being commenced as early as possible. When such a preparatory school has been established, and the special classes referred to above been instituted, the education of the deaf in New Zealand will be on a thoroughly sound footing. Kami and gardening operations at the school were again carried on successfully, a plentiful supply of fruit, vegetables, milk, and eggs being produced. The total value; of the produce raised for home consumption during the year, exclusive of sales of surplus produce, was £567 7s. Id. J. E, Stevens, The Director of Education, Wellington. Director, School for the Deaf. EXPENDITURE (UN SCHOOL FOR Till: DEAE. The expenditure on the school for the last financial year (1919-20) is as follows :—- Salaries .. .. ... . . .. .. .. 4,81.8 Maintenance of pupils and sundry expenses .. .. .. 1,969 Travelling-expenses .. . . .. . . .. . . 221 Maintenance of buildings, furnishings, &,c. . . . . .. 495 New buildings and works .. .. . . .. .. 2 7,505 Less Parental contributions .. .. .. .. ..1,155 Amounts received from Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards .. 1,000 Sundry other recoveries .. .. .. .. .. 18 2,173 Net expenditure .. .. .. .. .. £5,332 The net expenditure for the year 1918-19 was £3,973.

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No. 4.—STATISTICS: INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL AND PROBATION SYSTEM, AND SPECIAL SCHOOLS.

Table I1. —Expenditure on Industrial Schools and Probation System.

* The increase in the amount paid lor hoarded-out children compared with the previous year is £10,804. This is accounted for hy the increase in the weekly rate ol' payment from 10s. to 12s. Od. Since the 31st March a further increase of 2a. Gd. per head per week has been paid. Table I la.—Government Expenditure on Private (Roman Catholic) Schools, 1919-20. Gross Expenditure. & St. Mary's, Auckland .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,782 St. Joseph's, Upper Hutt .. .. .. .. .. 371 St. Mary's, Nelson .. .. .. .. .. .. 187 St. Vincent de Paul's, Dunedin .. .. .. .. .. 87 Total .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,427 Recoveries .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,136 Not cost .. .. .. .. .. .. £291 Table I Ib.—Government Expenditure on the Maintenance of Inmates sent to Other Institutions, 1919-20. £ Salvation Army Home, Christchurch .. .. .. .. 19 Mount Magdala, Christchurch .. .. .. .. 36 St. Mary's, Otahuhu .. .. .. .. .. 19 Total .. .. .. .. .. £74

General Maintenance. Furnishings, New Buildings. Juudmgs. Totals. Maintenan tice. Receiving-home, Auckland Boys' Training-farm, Weraroa Receiving-home, Wellington Lahmann Home, Miramar Boys' Training-farm, Nelson Receiving-home, Christohurch Te Oranga Homo Burnham Industrial School Caversham Industrial School Boarding-out Officers Probation Homes— Auckland Wellington .. Christohurch Dunedin Inmates not resident at any institution 6', G £ s. d. 1,635 4 5 7,014 4 4 4,440 10 11 3,421 8 3 1,822 HI 5 Or. 437 19 1 Or. 136 2 3 3,985 17 2 £ S 1,635 4 7,014 4 4,440 10 3,421 8 1,822 HI lr. 437 19 Jr. 136 2 3,985 17 1,256 12 467 9 110 11 44 11 1,269 10 s. d. 4 5 4 4 I) 11 8 3 [) 5 9 1 C 2 3 7 2 2 3 a 6 1 10 I 2 J 1 £ s. d. 18 18 5 1,720 3 7 149 0 3 £ li 1,72( 141 39' 71 Or. i: 60:' 51( 51 3! 397 2 2 79 7 2 Gr. 13 4 0 7 18 4 605 7 10 a s. .8 U !0 ; 19 i »7 i '9 1 3 4 7 I!15 7 6 H i6 e 19 IS 4 12 i. d. 8 5 3 7 0 3 2 2 7 2 4 0 ( 8 4 ( 7 10 6 6 6 I 8 2 2 3 £ 85 1 ; 2,73! 1 4,251 1,17! 28! Gr. 35< Cr. 4< 1 24 251 40S 1,03^ 3,20' £ S' d. 857 0 0 2,739 5 1 1 18 0 4,250 0 0 1,173 16 0 289 18 2 Gr. 354 17 2 Or. 46 17 6 1 15 0 24 2 10 '. S' d. .7 0 0 19 5 1 I 18 0 >0 0 0 3 16 0 ;9 18 2 4 17 2 6 17 6 1 15 0 14 2 10 6 7 9 '2 13 1 14 0 7 i7 7 0 £ d. 1,256 12 3 467 9 6 110 II 10 44 11 2 1,269 10 1 516 16 6 56 6 I 39 1.8 2 4 12 3 256 7 9 402 13 I 1,034 0 7 3,207 7 0 Totals i 24,894 9 0 24,894 9 I (I 3,582 :2 (: 6 9 13,83( ;6 8 10 3,582 6 9 13,836 8 10 Salaries and war bonus Boarding out— Payments to foster-parents Payments to Postal Department for payment of orders Refund of maintenance payments Refund of inmates' earnings Travelling-expenses, rents, &c Sundries 45,90! 46t '3 0 9 0 16 10 42,313 4 7 21,058 2 10 45,903 6 9 460 16 10 40,364 3 7* 846 14 2 306 3 3 7,303 15 6 45 10 4 Less recoveries— From parents and others . . From sale of produce, &o. £22,410 6,1.11 118,237 14 3 28,521 0 0 Total net cost.. £89,716 14 3

22

E.—4

Table I 2.—Total Amounts paid in Salaries and for the General Maintenance of all Government Industrial Schools for the past Five Years. The, figures for the year 1919-20 include the salaries of Probation Officers, Boarding-out, Officers, and Visiting Officers, also the, upkeep of probation and receiving-homes, and the expenditure under the Infant Life Protection system. 1915-11). 1910-17. 1917-18. 1918-19. 1911)20. £ £ £ £ £ Salaries .. .. 14.211 14,788 15,687 11,270 20,152* Maintenance .. 21,513 23,237 24,183 19,217 26,299 35,721 38,025 40,170 33,517 46,451 *This figure includes .salaries of Visiting Officers, Probation Officers, District Agents, Visiting Nurses, and Boarding-out Officers not included in figures for previous years.

Table 12a. —Salaries and Cost of Maintenance of Government Industrial Schools (including Receiving-homes, Probation Homes, etc.) and Special Schools for 1918-19 and 1919-20.

Table I 2b.- -Gross Recoveries from Parents and Others. 1918-19. I !»!!)■ 20 l £ Industrial schools .. .. .. .. .. 15,86.", 16.098 Special schools .. .. .. .. ..2.971 2,797 Charitable Aid Boards (industrial and special schools) . . 16,769 10,008 £35,603 £28,903* * A sum of EB,OOO was outstanding from Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards at 3lst March, Table J 2c. Cash Sales of Produce from Institutions. 1918-19. 1919-20. £ £ Training-farms .. .. .. .. .. .. 5,610 6,111 Special School. Otekaike .. .. .. .. 654 1,125 Special School, Sumner . . . . . . . . . . 55 18 Special School, Richmond . . . . . . . . 5 2 £6,324 £7,256 Refund from industrial-school inmates' earnings for clothing, &c. 1918 19, £5,687 ; 1919 20, £6,633.

Table I2d. —Summary showing Comparative Cost of Upkeep at Special Schools, 1917, 1918, and 1919.

., , Maintenanei ' Sala,l( '' s - and Ag 191S 19. 1919 20. 1918 19. e of Schools jeneies. 1919-20, Uare of State children Special School, Otekaike .. Speoia.] School, Sumner Special School, Richmond.. £ £ £ 14,270 20.152 19,247 3.660 3.778 3.789 3.851 4,818 1,795 1.262 1.1 II 985 £ 26,299 2.679 2,031 1,040 23,0-16 29,892 25,816 32,019

j Number of Pupils maintained. Net Maintenance Expenditure, Average Annual Cost per Head. csonooi. 1917. 1918. 1919. 1917. 1918. 1919. £ £ £ School lor Deal', Sunnier 109 104 95 3,393 3,625 5.332 Schools for Feeble- . 143 138 148 7,364 6,415 6,105 minded 1917. 1918. 1919. £ s. d. , £ s. d. C s. d. 31 2 7 34 17 I 56 2 6 51 9 ll 46 9 9 41 5 0

E.—4.

Table I3.—Numbers under Control at 31st December, 1919.

Table 14.—Admissions in 1919, classified according to Causes of Admission.

23

Governn lent Sc ihool Is. ?rivai :o Schools. All Schools. Particulars of Children he onging to the Schools. be la • I .« §1° ■ 1*3 fsg : _£§ *'Sg HgS .9'S§ i i a . Ho S_S5 cq a H & a c ■9 "6 «.- 'C a o o a.a 00 V,a S3 *% ■ s il-S a coP i3 o 2 aS i3« j>f!< a . y; . oo X CO co B. G. <t. B. I G. , B. j B. G. B. a. oo ra S' ; .£ I H B. B. G. I B. G. B. G. In the schools Boarded out.. With friends At service Under guardianship .. Committed, but on probation In hospitals, convalescent homes, &o. In mental hospitals .. Adopted In refuges or cognate institutions In orphanages, oottage homes, &e. In probation homes .. Absent without leave.. In gaol At School for the Deaf At Special School, Otekaike At Special School, Richmond At Jubilee Institute for the Blind At St. Stephen's College Temporarily at St. Mary's, Auckland Temporarily at Weraroa Temporarily at Boys' Training-farm, Nelson At Otaki College 1 1 3 258 21 17 1 3 16 75 6 5 258 202 6 350 264 21 30 83 63 51 17 62 189 57 59 1 .. 10 2 1 .. .. 4 .. .. 16 202 30 62 6 350 63 57 2 5 264 51 59 1 8 84 87 53 4 5 4 183 12 44 3 16 124 20 57 5 1 113 19 36 21 25 87 26 73 14 7 8 4 68 8 33 14! 3 7:1 8 29 13 68 9 6 9 25 28 1 .. 1 5 4 6 2 5 7 188 251 1,010 686 326 175 416 282 44 6 10 1 439 1,696 501 698 50 11 'i i .. 3 .. 8 4 8 8 4 1 1 1 1 .. .. I 10 11 21 ..4 1 12 4 1 6 1 2 1 1 4 9 5! 5 ..' 29 13 10 29 1 3 2 1 3 1 3 4 1 .. 1 .. 3 1 2 6 4 .. 2 2 2 .. 6 .. .. 3 I .. .. 1 .. 1 .... 1 4| 9 13 8 9 .. 7 3 .. .. 8 23 .. .. .. 1 3 .. .. 9 S 1 3 2 1 2 1 3 1 i 1 1 1 2 1 2 '2 i 25 .. 29 6 5 3 1 3 8 .. I 25 35 8 4 3 1 .. .. 3 .. .. i .. 5 5 5 • r > 5 1 1 .. 1 1 1 .. 1 6 2 5 3 14 .. 15 .. 14 15 14 15 13 " 1 1 .. 1 1 •• •■ Totals .. 312 333 418 502 391 253 255 286 ! 198J I |226 34 128 132 82 17 36 17 30 46 2,112 1,481 3,593 3,593

Government Schools. Private Schools. All Schools. Admitted as 6 oo a § ■o 2 as? aK m o1« 31 -8 2 I 2 tied oo oo •as a a _ a a 3j go go §| i |f Ai "S>a B? a a .2 g -,"1 £-'£ al£ |l Pg *•§ B. B. G. B. li fS ■S ■?, a oa Pifi rt 00 i B. B. G. a 1 h oo t> <s o Ja w a «fg < a a ..»od a W o3" '-S ft CO i 00 -» . _ _ g CO j CO 3q [ oo l>> O B ,3 « •3 o S3 Eh B. G. B. B. G. B. G. G. B. I G. G. B. J Destitute Begging Vagrant .. In disreputable associations Not under proper control (complaint by police) Uncontrollable (complaint by parents) Accused or guilty of punishable offences Transferred from gaol By private arrangement 21 28 1 21 1 68 44 24 16 15 11 4 2 3 133 104 237 4 .. S 1 3 2 i i 2 i 'i 2 i 3 i i 6 8 '8 5 14 18 70 68 9 70 9 8 40 25 6 23 15 4 4 14 17 5 2 182 134 316 1 2 1 1 2 6 3 9 3 1 13 47 21 7 8 2 8 3 1 110 4 114 48 53 10 8 12 9 2 *6 1 12 10 74 1 70 11 150 Totals 143 154 151 84| 14 59 36 36 31 26 20 10 2 529 335 864 23 75

E.—4.

Table I5. —Admissions in 1919, classified according to Status at 31st December, 1919.

Table I6. —Admissions in 1919, classified according to Number in Residence at 31st December, 1919.

24

s,sl «£ gj _a • II S300? il2 ! o« ■o"* 1 IS |2_ |_1 |_o _^ I |3 ! sSi, §9£ 1«4 J?l > n t> -n -«i b. i a. 1 B. a. j b. j 0. I 11. a. \ b. a. b. g. 14 3 1 24 22 1 .. 1 32 . . 4 .. 4 2 2 3 130 94 3 1 ! 32 I 62 65 ..1 1 .. 2 3 I 2 13 .. 1 2 .... 1 1 13 5 I . . 14 .. 4 4 :: :: i :: :: :: :: :: : :. :. :: 4 3 ..1 .. .. 1 4 .. .. 1 1 3 2 .. 1 .. 1 .. 1 .. 1 2 1 .. .. 1 .. 1 3 a o a! Status at 31st December, 1919. 5 (A I a ■a o Totals. B IS I* I B. ! 0. _ In residence . . .. I 71 5 Hoarded out . . . . 112, 94 At service .. .. ! 2, I With friends .. .. 3 1 .. On probation . . .. .. j . . Under guardianship .. . .1 .. In probation homes .. ..! In hospital . . .. 1 .. In mental hospital .. . . j In refuges or orphanages ..J 1 In prison .. ...... Missing .. .. ..! .. Discharged by warrant .. 4-1 1 or writ ten off books Died .. . . .. 3, 1 Adopted . . .. 11 St. Stephen's College .. .. ■ Temporary, Nelson .. .. St. Mary's, Auckland .. . .j .. Temporary, Weraroa .. j ,. Richmond .. . . .. 1 . . Otaki College . . .. . J .. Totals .. 133 104 l_ I r lain n Hotli - 13 - | "' | "■ "• | Sexes 24 130 2 13 4 I I 65 2 4 I .. 73 32 105 . . . . 345 1260 605 II .. 23 9 32 2 .. 38 10 48 .... 2 ! .. 2 .. .. 1 .. 1 .... 7 I .. 7 .. .. 3 5 8 .... I .. I .. 1 .. 7 7 I .. 1 1 2 1 .. 3 : .. 3 2 .. II 5 16 2 i 8 1 2 ...... \\ .'. '.'. '.'. .'. '.'. '.'. 1 '.'. 1 2 1 2 8 9. 1 2 . .... 4 3 7 .... 1 1 2 .. 1 .. 1 .... 3 .. 3 .... 1. .. 1 .. .. 10 .. 10 2 2 .. .. 1 .. I 1 I 2 2 2 I 6 8 8 5 182 134 6 j 3 110 4 J 74 76 182 134 6 10 1 529 335 864 6 8 S 5 76

jfoven unent Im lllstriai Ichooli Pri ivate I ttdustilal Schoi )ls. All Schools. e3 tocS Is Particulars of • "Ste Children in .Residence on % £; 31st December, 1919. , J T S 8 PS 1 co-3 3 m •9° .2 B "rp_; bod as .S'S H J "hi m S'~ M o £ •H V) II r 3 H | a o . =!£ 1| ■° 3 s. o a .a 9 o a pr- £ L-. ig-g _0-w II M rH in _ II O 4i" H co a -""£ a iotd S ftn 3 S S a o a. 3 £& CO ">, a SS :« CO a 43 a a a .a» Cf>rH Totals of all Schools. 1 S. -a oi „ „ Both B - G ' Sexes. B. G. B. Destitute .. .. 1 .. .. Vagrant .. .. .. | 4 .. Disreputable assooiations Mot under control .. 2 5 (complaint by police) Uncontrollable (com- .. .. .. plaint by parent) Accused or guilty of .. '. . . 33 punishable offences Admitted by privato .. j .. 4 arrangement transferred from gaol .... I 1 Totals .. lj' 6| 43 li. G. 2 1 1 .. B. B. G. .. 1 B. G. B. 1 Ii. B. B. G. B. G. 4 2 3.. 1 4 .. .. 3 3 G. G. .. 3 'i .. B. g. O. G. j B. I G. .... 3J 8 :: :; 'i ■; .'.]., 15 18 .. .. I .. i G. G. j B. 7 1 3 7 5 12 1 4 5 3 1 4 .... 3 1 1 .. 1 3 2 6 1 17 4 13 14 13 14 4 2 32 32 22 54 1 1 1 .. 1 2 9 1 45 45 .. 45 45 4 1 4 4 4 .. 4 "I I 3 i 3^ 1 .... 1 .. 1 3 Hi 1 1 72 10 20 15| 7 I I I 2 ...j .. [22 22 91 94 32 126 32

25

E.—4

Table I7.—Admissions in 1919, classified according to Parents' Circumstances and Character.

4—E. 4.

'recedi int Com lition of Childri in admi ,ted iu 11 119. Fathers described as Mothers described as oi 0 a jg -a 1 5? a a c &b > co co 5g "3 r-l ttrH ■93 II CO < 9 9 t9 & ° g Ph Ph-3>-01 H. ja §53 /s O O rS 2 a* a.3 o as 8 a ID *| ■a a -s co" > &<___ 1 a o •a • £0 u ~ co □ cd H a o •e • £0 H ~ m rh CO □ CO G s <*-. tc 0 <U &a a° 0) oS - a Ti H 01 "3 «].- 3 a o o Total. Dead Dead Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink .. Mentally weak Deserter Unknown Dead Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink. . Mentally unfit Deserter Unknown Dead Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink .. Mentally unfit Deserter Unknown Doad Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink.. Mentally unfit Deserter Unknown Doad Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink.. Mentally unfit Deserter Unknown Dead Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink.. Mentally unfit Deserter Unknown Dead Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink.. Mentally unfit Deserter Unknown Dead Good Questionable Bad Addicted to drink.. Mentally unfit Deserter Unknown Physically unfit 75 9 8 95 3 21 3 1 1 125 1 2 1 3 8 4 1 301 22 28 4 1 2 i 2 "2 3 Mentally unfit 1 1 i I >» »» ■>■> 5 "r> >» Good .> '' i> ' ' 1 31 3 5 2 22 18 15 9 1 2 1 1 II 12 20 5 1 5 1 3 4 '3 1 8 42 1 2 2 35 105 20 II 4 7 1 I 19 30 48 5 1 10 Questionable . . 3 8 14 8 2 9 1 6 i 5 i 1 »> * * 3 ti • • Bad .. 4 2 4 ii i i 11 0 4 10 2 6 1 2 ■• i ,, . . . . i 1 1 Unknown 1 3 il 16 4 2 4 1 0 2 '2 5 1 1 9 17 25 7 ., • • .. | .. i I 4 11 2 i 2 4 23 4 1 6 2 i i 4 Deserter "2 "2 ,, ■ • ,, • • ,, '5 "5 Addicted to drink 2 2 5 7 1 i 14 8 24 1 •• i i •■ 4 9 6 .. .. 13 8 Dead Good i I 2 8 8 Totals 237 14 13 316 9 150 11 114 861 The numbers of cl 74 ; Dunedin, 36 ; Pain Rawene, 17; Waihi, 17 Riverton, 9 ; Petone, 9 lildren admitted wi aerston North, 24; ; Napier, 17 ; Wan ; Matata, 9 ; Wha ire—JE Thami Lganui. Qgarei from Auck es, 21 ; Gn , 16; New i, 9; Waik :land, ] eymoul r Plymi :eri, 9: L55; 7 ;h, 21 juth, Hun iVellinj ; Tima L0; Ki iy,8; 'ton, 117; ( ,ru, 19 ; Invi aitaia, 10;' Rotorua, 8 Dhristcl orcargi] Faurani ; TcH lurch, 11, 18; ga, 9;

E.—4

26

8; Westport, 7; Otaki, 7; Waikari, 7; Kaponga, 6; Feilding, 6; Wairoa (Hawke's Bay), 6; Waiomio, 6; Paeroa, 6; Hastings, 5; Waipuna, 5; Mangawai, 5; Houhora, 5; Otahuhu, 5 ; Omarumutu, 5; Hokianga, 5 ; Tautoro, 4 ; Mangonui, 4; Dargaville, 4; Te Awamutu, 4 ; Hawera, 4 ; Stratford, 4; Hamilton, 3; Orepuki, 3 ; Greytown, 3; Te Teko, 3; Picton, 3; Gisborne, 3; Taihape, 3; Coromandel, 3 ; Kaikohe, 3 ; Nelson, 3 ; Te Aroha, 3 ; Onehunga, 3 ; Manaia, 2 , Kakaramea, 2 ; Waikare, 2 ; Mamaku, 2 ; Whakapara, 2 ; Oromahoe, 2 ; Ngaruawahia, 2 ; Masterton, 2 ; Oamaru, 2 ; Waimate, 2 ; Ruatoki, 2; Te Matai, 2; Evansdale, 2; Gore, 2; Fairfield, 2 ; Normanby, 2; Port Awanui, 2 ; Marton, 2; Kauangaroa, 2; Levin, 2; Carterton, 2; Whakarapa, 1 ; Tokomaru Bay, 1 ; Eltham, 1 ; Waihola, 1 ; Kumara, 1; Kaiapoi, 1; Hokitika, 1; Te Karaka, 1 ; Pahiatua, 1; Woodville, 1; Whakatane, 1; Greatford, 1; Motueka, 1; Te Araroa, 1; Raukokori, 1; Wellsford, I ; Piriaka, 1; Ngawha, 1 ; Opotiki, 1; Lower Waitoa, 1; Kenana, 1; Pirongia, 1; Lower Wairoa, 1; Hihitahi, 1; Opunake, 1; Kohukohu, 1. The records show that, of the total number of children admitted, 17 - 94 per cent, were known to be illegitimate. When children are before the Courts the Magistrates, after hearing evidence, direct in what religious denomination they are to be brought up. The orders made in 1919 show the denominations to be as follows: Anglican, 393; Roman Catholic, 187; Presbyterian, 106; Methodist, 37; Salvation Army, 5 ; Plymouth Brethren, 4 ; Baptist, 3 ; Church of Christ, 1 ; Jew. 1; unknown (epidemic cases), 127.

Table I8.—Deaths, 1919.

Table I9.—Inmates discharged from Industrial Schools during 1919.

Under the provisions of the Industrial Schools Act, 1909, power is given for the detention beyond the age of twenty-one years of any inmate who, upon application being made to a Magistrate by the Manager of the school at the direction of the Minister of Education, is found to be morally degenerate or otherwise not (in the public interest) a fit person to be free from control. In the eight years since this Act came into operation there have been 80 orders issued extending the period of control, 56 of the inmates concerned being girls. The Act provides for extension for four years, and gives power to the Court on similar procedure to renew the order from time to time for a period of four years. It is expected that the number of those over whom authority beyond twenty-one years will be needed will always be small in proportion to the whole number of inmates ; but the value of such an enactment in respect of the remainder who have to be detained is obvious, both in their own interest and in that of the community at large.

I Age at Death. Status at Death. Certified Cause ot Death. School to which belonging. Frs. 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 mos. 1 2 7 7 9 10 5 8 9 In residence In hospital At board St. Mary's, Otahuhu At board Debility; enteritis; heart failure Tuberculosis Broncho-pneumonia Hydrocephalus; convulsions Pneumonia; strangulated hernia Double pneumonia Marasmus from syphilis Diphtheria Heart failure in a condition of status lymphatious, accelerated by anaesthetics Oold Wellington Receiving Home. s, J, St. Mary's, Auckland. Wellington Receiving Home. Ohristehurch Receiving Home. In hospital 9 12 14 16 Iti 17 1 7 10 2 4 10 At board With friends In hospital At service In mental hospital.. Tuberculosis Pulmonary' tuberculosis j exhaustion Tetanus Epilepsy Auckland Receivingdiome. Boys' Training-farm, Weraroa. „ Nelson. Wellington Receiving Home.

I I g w rt o .CO 35 a SI I 1 I a p -a S3 t3 o „ <8 a| «« p° fl <—i q, m 4) ,y ti : ll H «B .«j ,ra g't< \t ta to ; PQ bo .a 1 rC 9 s. sa co O ■CM e 3 o w c3 a 2 5 CD H CO 3 Si Ph a> T3 ■Si 11 51 53 3 o H 3 o H Particulars of Discharge. a a, «£ .a o «| B. G. 13 . O •4 4 5 6 --. D JS. B. G. B. B. G. B. G. B. G. B. B. G. B. G. G. G. B. G. Both Sexes. By warrant By death Attained twenty-one years Married Cancellation of committal order Adopted Written off 3 1 I!) 2 5 1 l l 3 6 140 I 3 22 ! 4 16 2 9 5 i 3 l i 40 2 5 1 I 8 2 9 1 5 9 1 4 4 I 3 219 9 5 68 6 32 7 3 287 15 37 7 3 3 1 4 1 8 1 2 3 2 4 4 3 1 8 I (i 1 I 2 4 3 2 3 6 30 9 20 15 50 Totals .. 9 36 14 147! 32 34 7 3 2 50 14 22 11 5 6 1145 414 3 I!) 26!

8.—4.

No. S.—INFANT-LIFE-PROTECTION STATISTICS.

Particulars of Children admitted to and removed from Licensed Foster-homes during 1919.

Foster-homes. The 807 infants in foster-homes at the end of the year were distributed as follows : — In 532 homes each having one .. .. .. .. .. 532 In 92 „ two .. .. .. .. .. 184 In 15 „ three .. .. .. 45 In 6 „ four .. .. 24 In 3 „ five .. .. .. .. 15 In 1 „ seven .. .. .. .. 7 649 807 Twenty-eight of the homes were those in which children under six were boarded out by Charitable Aid Boards. The total number of licensed homes was 981, so that at the end of the year there were 332 licensed homes in which for the time being no infants were boarded. Kates of Payment to Foster-parents by Parents or Guardians. An account of the rates paid is given in the following statement: — 5 at the rate of ss. per week. 99 at the rate of 15s. per week. 2 „ 6s. „ 1 „ 15s. 6d. „ 23 „ 7s. 6d. „ 1 „ 17s. 20 „ Bs. „ 3 „ 17s. 6d. „ 5 „ Bs. 6d. „ 16 „ 20s. 5 „ 9s. „ 1 „ 30s. 360 „ 10s. „ 2 „ 355. | 9 „ 10s. 6d. „ 2 „ 425. 7 „ lis. ~ 8 adopted, with premium (10s. per week). 2 ~ lis. 6d. ~ 2 for whom no payment is being made 48 ~ 12s. ~ but who are still under supervision. 176 „ 12s. 6d. ~ 1 for whom no payment is being made 1 „ 13s. ~ but whose clothing the Department 1 ~ 13s. 6d. „ provides. 7 „ 14s. The following comparison of the rates paid during the last five years shows that the usual payment is about 12s. 6d. per week:— 1915. 1916. 1917. 1918. 1919. Under 7s. per week ... ... 22 31 19 11 7 7s, and under 10s. per week ... 153 128 75 52 53 10s. per week... ... ... 566 539 532 502 368 Over 10s. per week ... ... 137 143 215 294 376

5—E. 4.

27

J 1*8 to «*H 3 . rtS oo o JS "9 SB. _ S d ap a £ cs<l cq CM To CD 0 too cS <| a ° do QQ 00 fn fe g pq co ■* T3 CD T3 CD S _ O too cd <J COS <, CN HH CO HH fl° a ° CD r/j ©to 11 51 "StH 'S>H pq PQ IO T3 p a too cS «t\ -* HH a° CD f « CD K _tS pq CO 13 CD £ a op 3 3<J 00 6 IO HH pH COO a ° <o^ S2 _ «- j $* ° H i On the books at 31st December, 1918 Placed in licensed homes during the year 72 80 182 153 132 107 63 86 875 172 84 116 55 43 36 20 2 528 Totals 244 164 I p 298 208 .175 143 83 88 1,403 Withdrawn from homes — Removed by parents or guardians Deaths Adoptions without premiums In homes to which exemption was granted Brought under the operation of the Industrial Schools Act Written off the books for various causes 30 56 1 3 7 5 3 3 97 5 17 3 83 46 1 13 3 1 2 43 26 15 396 10 5 4 54 1 13 5 1 4 7 8 4 4 4 37 3 8 10 10 8 5 6 36 86 Total withdrawals 49 76 136 115 67 115 52 42 59 596 On the books at 31st December, 1919 92 80 168 137 97 97 72 64 807 I

E.—4

28

Exempted Institutions. From the provision that " it stall not be lawful for any person in consideration of any payment or reward to receive or retain in his care or charge any infant for the purpose of nursing or maintaining it apart from its parents or guardians for a longer period than seven consecutive days unless such person is licensed as a foster-parent " the Minister may grant certain exemptions, and under this authority exemption has been granted to the institutions set forth in the following list, which shows also the numbers dealt with and the deaths. The conditions of the exemptions provide for inspection, and for removal of the infants only with due formality.

Of the above 543 children, 31 have no parents living, 94 have a mother only, and 174 have a father only. The remainder (241) have both parents living. Deaths in Fostee-homes. Of the 1,403 infants that were at one time or another on the books as being in foster-homes during 1919, ten died ; of these, four died in the foster-homes and six in hospitals to which they had been removed for treatment, so that the deaths in foster-homes represented 0-28 per cent, of the total number dealt with. Four of the ten were under the age of twelve months, and five were of illegitimate birth. The following is a statement of the number of deaths during the time that the infant-lifc-protection system has been in the Department's charge : — 1908 .. .. .. .. 26 deaths out of 1,017 infants = 2-56 per cent. 1909 25 „ 1,181 „ =2-11 1910 26 „ 1,183 „ =2-19 1911 .. 13 „ 1,183 „ =1-09 1912 12 „ 1,228 „ =0-98 1913 13 „ 1,330 „ =098 1914 .. 20 „ 1,423 „ c=l-40 1915 14 „ 1,440 „ =0-98 1916 17 „ 1,250 „ =1-36 1917 12 „ 1,361 „ =0-88 1918 .. .. .. ..6 „ 1,341 „ =0-44 1919 10 „ 1,403 „ =0-71

Name of Institution. Ac Xj a O o 13 a & (i.) Imissio: 1919. _ _ cD *3 toe W tH co o 9 <° $ .a la II (a.) 11s, o en < a-a W (80 Deaths. co 2 ■ S • _ CO S, co S . *< a° ?|5 is £ a h3"S _ p pq3 Pig. ! I ) C'..) (0 I On the Bool IllstDecombo ~» S ■ 1 i ■§* r£ £ S p «a (7.) (8.) ks at iv, 1919 I o» _ ■a i -_ GUOCO ■ fl« d s * (9.) I Salvation Army Boys' Home, Russell St. Mary's Industrial School (Girls' Branch), Auckland St. Joseph's Orphanage, Takapuna, Auckland Mission House of the Order of the Good Shepherd, Auckland .. Orphan Homo, Papatoetoe, Auckland Children's Homo, Ponsonby, Auckland Methodist Orphanage, Mount Albert, Auckland Leslie Orphanago, Itemuora, Auckland Manurewa Children's Home, Auckland St. Mary's Home, Otahuhu, Auckland Salvation Army Orphanage, "The Grange," Heme Bay, Auckland Salvation Army Maternity Home, Auckland Cook County Women's Guild Crecbe, Gisborne Salvation Army Samaritan Home, Gisborne.. Children's Home, Palmerston North Salvation Army Bethany Home, Napier Wanganui Orphanage, Gonville, Wanganui Salvation Army Boys' Home, Eltham, Taranaki Presbyterian Orphanage, Berhampore, Wellington Levin Memorial Home, Wellington St. Joseph's Orphanage, Upper Hutt, Wellington Home of Compassion, Island Bay, Wellington Salvation Army Girls' Home, Owen Street, Wellington Salvation Army Boys' Home, Island Bay, Wellington St. Mary's Orphanage, Nelson Nazareth House, Christohurch Sacred Heart Orphanage, Mount Magdala, Christchurch St. Saviour's Home, Shirley, Christchurch .. Methodist Orphanage, Papanui, Christohurch Salvation Army Maternity Home, Christohurch Presbyterian Orphanage, Papanui, Christohurch Children's Convalescent Cottage, New Brighton, Christohurch St. Saviour's Orphanage for Boys, Otipua Road, Timaru . Salvation Army Boys' Home, Temuka, Canterbury St. Mary's Orphanage, Mornington, Dunedin St. Vincent de Paul's Orphanage, South Dunedin Glendining Home, Anderson's Bay, Dunedin Salvation Army Home, 15 Dunblane Stroet, Boslyn, Dunedin Salvation Army Home, Middlemarcb, Otago Presbyterian Orphanage, Gordon Street, Invercargill Victoria Memorial Home, Invercargill 2 15 30 3 14 5 5 25 13 3 2 I 4 20 6 23 7 19 2 8 16 23 4 1 12 1 3 9 1 2 1 43 4 2 15 2 1 14 1 78 56 1 22 6 12 3 1 20 1 64 65 15 4 1 3 8 "a 6 2 9 31 16 2 4 16 2 '2 8 8 25 33 27 5 4 10 14 6 4 11 27 7 3 8 11 5 4 2 i i 6 7 15 4 1 3 8 15 i 1 Totals 52 12 477 2 3 13 16 35 543

E.—4

Deaths in Exempted Institutions. These, with other particulars, are shown in the foregoing table relating to exempted institutions. The following is a statement of the deaths during the nine years in which a record of the deaths has been kept: — 1911 .. .. 17 deaths out of 899 infants dealt with = 5-23 per cent. 1912 .. ..36 „ 911 „ =3-95 1913 .. .. 18 „ 984 „ = 1-82 1914 .. ..37 „ 944 „ =3-91 1915 .. ..11 „ 1,026 „ =1-08 1916 .. ..9 „ 939 „ =0-96 1917 .. ..15 „ 1,136 „ =1-32 1918 .. .. 15 „ 955 „ =l-57 1919 .. ..13 „ 1,050 „ =1-24 Adoptions during the Year 1919. During 1919 one order was made cancelling a previous order of adoption. During the year 381 orders of adoption were made; 23 of the adoption orders provided for premiums, and 358 were without monetary consideration. The following shows the ages of the adopted children : —

The amount of the premiums ranged from £4 to £150. Under the provisions of Part V of the Infants Act, 1908, all moneys paid as premiums in adoption cases are handed over to the Education Department and disbursed by weekly payments to the adoptive parents if desired. During the period for which such payments are made the children concerned arc supervised by the Department's officers under the infants-life-protection system.

Illegitimacy.

29

Age. With Premium. Without Premium. Total. Inder 6 months letween 6 months and 12 months ,, 1 and 2 years .. „ 2 „ 3 „ .. „ 3 „ 4 „ .. „ 4 „ 5 „ .. 5 „ 6 „ .. 6 „ 7 „ .. 7 „ 8 „ .. 8 „ 9 „ .. 9 „ 10 „ .. „ 10 „ 11 „ .. „ 11 „ 12 „ .. „ 12 „ 13 „ .. „ 13 „ 14 „ .. „ 14 „ 15 „ .. 9 3 5 1 2 1 1 1 9 3 5 1 2 1 1 1 71 42 64 43 23 28 18 7 10 12 6 9 5 8 3 9 71 '12 64 13 23 28 18 7 L0 12 6 9 5 8 3 9 80 45 69 44 25 2cS 19 8 11 12 6 9 5 8 3 9 The adopting persons were — Husband and wife jointly .. Widow Widower Spinster Wife only S 23 23 358 358 S 381 360 14 2 3 2 381

Provincial Districts. Numbor of IllcgitiTll ... . mate Children aged Illegitimate _W„ TO Mont! Births registered , . ., , . ,mn or loss brought during 1919. under jj^ Act during 1919. Auckland .. Taranaki .. Hawke's Bay Wellington Marlborough Nelson Westland .. Canterbury Otago Southland.. 311 1 „. 39 f 31 61 ! 43 314 ! i6 2 1 1 28 J l m ) 52 38 ) 56 ] I I 1 1 j 31 43 1 52 56 Totals for 1919 1,051 183 1,051 183 Totals for 1918 1,179 181 1,179 181 i

E.—4

Number of Illegitimate Children under Six Years of Age in Licensed Foster-homes at 31sl December, 1919. Auckland .. .. .. .. .. .. 97 Napier .. .. . . . . .. .. .. 7 Gisborne .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 Wanganui .. .. .. .. .. .. 26 Wellington .. .. .. .. .. .. .'. 82 Nelson .. .. .. .. . . .. .. 8 Christchurch .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 134 Otago .. .. .. .. . . .. .. 100 Total 461

Deaths amongst Illegitimate Children during 1919.

No. 6. —COSTLEY TRAINING INSTITUTION. Balance-sheet for Year ending 31st December, 1919. Assets. £ s. d. Liabilities. £ s. d. Mortgages .. .. .. .. 19,420 0 0 Costloy bequest .. .. .. 12,150 0 0 Accrued interest .. .. .. 259 2 1 Hodge bequest .. .. .. 742 .'! 9 War-loan stock .. .. .. 1,500 0 0 lie venue Account as below .. .. 8,027 3 1 Cash at Jackson, Russell, Tunks, and Ostler .. .. .. .. 816 12 8 Cash in bank of New Zealand .. .. 23 12 1 £21,519 6 10 £21,519 6 10 Revenue Account. Dr. £ s. d. Gr. £ s. d. To Maintenance Account .. .. 63 0 0 By Balance, Ist January, 1919 .. 7,512 17 11 Expenses .. .. .. 51 18 6 Interest rocoived .. .. .. 1,219 3 8 Balance carried forward .. .. 8,627 3 1 £8,732 1 7 £8,732 1 7

Approximate Cost of Paper. —Preparation not given ; printing (86(1 copies), £57 10s.

Authority I Marcus P. Mabks, Government Printer, Wellington.—l92o.

Price 9d.]

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District. Under 6 Months. Over Over 6 Months 1 Year and under and under 1 Year. 2 Years. Over Over 2 Years 3 Years and under and under 3 Years. 4 Years. Over 4 Years and under 5 Years. Over 5 Years and under 6 Years. Totals. Auckland .. Taranaki .. Hawke's Bay Wellington Marlborough Nelson Westland .. Canterbury Otago Southland .. I 23 3 4 26 5 is 4 1 9 i 4 5 i 2 2 1 1 41 3 6 34 i i i 6 1 24 5 1 i i 3 1 i l Totals.. 84 15 121