5

H.—3lA.

It will thus be seen, that, apart from time spent in travelling, the Committee have met on thirtyfive days and have heard ninety-two witnesses in person. The Committee would like to express their thanks to the witnesses, many of whom went to considerable trouble to collect information and prepare evidence. They are especially grateful to the British Medical Association for its willing co-operation and assistance ; to the large number of members of the medical profession throughout the Dominion who responded to the Committee's request for information ; to the authorities overseas for their response to requests for information; and to many other persons who by means of correspondence and literature have placed at the Committee's disposal a large amount of information which has been of material assistance in the investigation ; also to the various Hospital Boards throughout the Dominion who so willingly placed their Boardrooms at the disposal of the Committee. Sir George Newman, the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education and the Ministry of Health, England, very courteously supplied the Committee with a valuable memorandum on the care of mental defectives in England and Wales, while the Secretary of State for the United States, through the good offices of the American Consul-General, Mr. Edwin N. Gunsaulus, kindly forwarded information supplied by the United States Public Health Service regarding the legislation and regulations in force in various States where sterilization for eugenical purposes has been legalized. Information of great value and interest has also been received from Dr. E. S. Morris, Director of Health, Tasmania ; from Dr. Helen MacMurchy, Department of Health, Ottawa ; and from Dr. Eric Clarke, Toronto, Assistant Medical Director, Canadian National Conference for Mental Hygiene. The Committee further wish to make special mention of the services rendered by the Secretary, Mr. J. W. Buchanan, whose work has been very heavy owing to the number of witnesses examined and the extent of ground'covered in a comparatively short time. This would not have been possible but for the complete arrangements made by Mr. Buchanan, and the ability and energy which he showed generally in the discharge of his duties left nothing to be desired. Section 2.—Two Distinct Questions. Before proceeding to the subject-matter of the Committee's investigations and the conclusions arrived at it is necessary to point out as clearly and emphatically as possible that the questions submitted to the Committee were entirely separate and distinct from each other. It is true that a certain proportion of mental defectives show their lack of self-control in regard to sex instincts and functions as in other respects. This is particularly the case with mentally defective girls, and constitutes one of the chief difficulties in dealing with them satisfactorily. Some of this class find their way into prison on account of sexual offences, but it is very far from correct to suppose that all feebleminded persons are sexual offenders, or that all sexual offenders are mentally defective. On the contrary, among sexual offenders of the worst type, those convicted of unnatural offences, are occasionally found to be persons possessing intellectual and artistic powers above the average. There is something wrong in their mental, moral, and emotional balance, as will be pointed out in the proper place, but, as a rule, it is not the " intelligence quotient " which is at fault. PART lI.—PROBLEM OF THE FEEBLE-MINDED. Section I.—A Menace to Modern Civilization. The Committee are of opinion that the unrestricted multiplication of feeble-minded members of the community is a most serious menace to the future welfare and happiness of the Dominion, and it is of the utmost importance that some means of meeting the peril should be adopted without delay. The position is the more serious because, while the feeble-minded are extraordinarily prolific, there is a growing tendency among the more intellectual classes for the birth-rate to become restricted. An American writer, Lothrop Stoddart, in his striking book entitled " Revolt against Civilization," expresses the fear that the very foundations of civilization are being undermined. He finds reasons for great pessimism as regards the future in the results of the intelligence tests taken in the American Army during the war. The American War Department made psychological tests of 1,700,000 officers and men, who were graded as follows : — Grade. Percentage. Mental Age. A 4|- 18-19 Very superior intelligence. B 9 16-17 Superior intelligence. C 1 16| 15 Average intelligence. (Rarely capable of finishing high-school course.) C— 25 13-14 Low average intelligence. D 15 11 Inferior intelligence. D— 10 10 Very inferior intelligence. Assuming that these 1,700,000 men are a fair sample of the entire population of 100,000,000 (and Stoddart says there is every reason to believe that it is a fair sample), this means that the average mental age of Americans is only about fourteen; that 45,000,000, or nearly one-half of the whole population, will never develop mental capacity beyond the stage represented by a normal twelve-year-old child; that only 13,500,000 will ever show superior intelligence; and that only 4,500,000