73

B.—3b

131. Are the boys not afraid of Brother Wibertus?—To a certain extent they are. 132. Have boys come to you with blistered hands, seeking sympathy ? —Not with blistered hands, but with marks on their hands. 133. You are referred to as " the kind Brother "?—Of course, you have to go from home to hear news very often. 134. Mr. Bush.] Would it not be a teacher's duty, if he saw a boy with deficient clothing, to send him to the Brother in charge of the clothes ?—Yes; I have done so on several occasions. 135. Mr. Hogben.] Do you know of the regulations as to punishments in Government industrial schools?—l have never read or seen them. I have heard of them lately, but not before the visit of the Board. When I first heard of them I was in doubt whether they applied to the Stoke School. 136. How did you first learn of the existence of the regulations?— Prom a leading article in the Nelson Evening Mail, a few weeks ago. I had heard of them before the members of the Board came, but I had a very vague idea as to what they were. 137. Do you remember how you first came to hear of the regulations ?—I cannot exactly say. 138. Can you remember whether they ever formed the subject of conversation between the Brothers in the school ?—I cannot remember ; I must have read of them in the papers or elsewhere. Geokge Mahony, examined on oath. 139. Mr. Fell.] You are chaplain to the Stoke Orphanage, and live at the Presbytery in Nelson ?—Yes. 140. You visit the Orphanage frequently ?—Yes ; very frequently—on an average, four times a week. In addition to these duties, I assist Dean Mahoney in parochial work. Sometimes, when I am in the country, at least once a month, Dean Mahouey officiates at the Orphanage. I have held the office of chaplain for about nineteen months. I celebrate Mass at the Orphanage on Sundays and three times a week—in summer at 6.30 a.m., and in winter at 7 a.m. I generally sleep there the night before. All the boys attend Mass. 141. Have you anything to do, in addition to your spiritual duties, in connection with the administration of the affairs of the school ? —None whatever ; but I assist Dean Mahoney in the clerical work. 142. Have you any knowledge of the system of punishments adopted at the Orphanage ?—They came to my knowledge only quite recently. 143. Had you any knowledge of the existence of cells?—No; but I remember that one morning when I was there a boy was being brought into the chapel in charge of a Brother, and there was quite a stampede. On inquiring as to what had happened, I was told that the boy had bolted. I have since understood that he was being brought in from the cell; but I was not aware of it then. 144. Where were you accommodated for the night when you were up there ?—ln the new wing, on the ground floor. I have a bedroom and a sittingroom there. 145. I suppose you sometimes talk to the boys?— Yes; I have mixed with them in their amusements, and have picked hops and harvested with them. 146. What are the relations between the Brothers and the inmates?—l have noticed one or two boys giving impudence to the Brothers ; but, on the whole, the relations are very friendly. 147. Do the boys go to work in a cheerful way?— Yes, very cheerfully. I have had frequent opportunities of seeing them, and I have also seen them starting for the hill-work; and I can corroborate what has been said by other witnesses as to to the pleasure they take in this work. I remember on one occasion, when a question of weather came up, they were very eager to go, rain or no rain. 148. Were their week-day clothes sufficient ?—So far as I can say, they were. These boys are brought up to a hardy kind of life, and do not seem to feel the cold. I have heard no complaints about either food or clothing. 149. Mr. Harley.] Did you speak to the boys in a body, a few weeks ago, about the inquiry then coming? —Yes, I did on one or two occasions. I had occasion to direct them, as there were evidences of a bad mutinous spirit amongst them. 150. Did you tell the boys not to say anything about the Orphanage, and that if they did they would be sent to Burnham ?—No ; but on one evening I said that one boy was evidently the cause of the mutinous spirit, as it bad not been noticed before he returned to the school. I also said that, whereas the hands of the Brothers had been somewhat tied before in such cases, they now had another alternative —that of sending incorrigible boys to Burnham. 151. Did you on that occasion speak disparagingly of Mr. Rout, Chairman of the Nelson Charitable Aid Board ?—I may have referred to him. 152. Did you refer to him as a bad man, and a sly man? —I cannot say; Ido not remember exactly what I said. 153. Mr. Fell.} You say there was a mutinous spirit among the boys ? —Yes; it was evidently caused by the return of a lad from town. He spoke to the other boys about the inquiry, and said that the Brothers could be set at defiance. 154. W T hat were the evidences of the mutinous spirit ?—lt was shown by the behaviour of the boys in the school, in the yard, and in coming to meals. They threw stones at the Brothers, would not keep silence, and when Brother Kilian left the room for a moment ffiey began to cheer. I told the boys that, although the inquiry was to be held, there were steps which could be taken to quell the mutinous spirit. 155. Has the matter quietened down now? —Yes. 10— E. 3b.