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offenders separately from adults, and at the same time it is an endeavour to get away from the purely penaludea when dealing with young oifenders, and to stress more the matter of training and discipline. The Borstal system is well described in a recent circular issued by the Home Office in the following terms : " The object of Borstal detention is training rather than punishment. The aim is to give young offenders whose aims and characters are still plastic a new outlook and a new bent, and, by the personal influence and example of the staff, to create a corporate spirit and a standard of social behaviour while in the institution which may persist after release : to inculcate in the workshops habits of application and industry ; to stimulate intelligence and enlarge interests ; and in sports and games to develop loyalty and the spirit of fair play. To achieve these things it is necessary to require much work and give much training, to allow and encourage recreation, and to create a measure of freedom, a reposing of trust in the individual which shall increase as time goes by, so that each day may not only be fully occupied but see some progress made in the general process of building up a stabler character." The Borstal system has been developed considerably in New Zealand within recent years, and during the past year important steps have been taken to give fuller effect to what is conceived to be a true spirit of the Prevention of Crime Act, and to create an atmosphere at the Borstal institutions that will conduce to the development of those qualities of self-reliance and self-respect so essential to a proper sense of citizenship. By creating wholesome traditions in the institutions, and by fostering a high public opinion, the aim is to break away from the old-fashioned idea of revulsion to the stigma of imprisonment, and to create in its stead an attitude of mind that will stigmatize the actual wrongdoing rather than the institution or the lads detained therein. There is already a changed public attitude towards Borstal. This is manifested both, by a heightened interest in the in-care work of the institution, and by a readiness to befriend and assist inmates after their release. At Invercargill, where the Borstal institution is in the heart of the town, the sympathetic interest shown by the townspeople in the welfare of the Borstal inmates is remarkable. The Department is greatly indebted to the large number of people who visit the Borstal for the purpose of giving lectures, assisting with the sports, in numerous ways aiding the Department in the furtherance of the work of the institution, and in assisting in building up the self-esteem of the lads. In Wellington, the Women's Borstal Association, comprised of numerous Wellington ladies, with associates in other towns, and presided over by Her Excellency the Lady Alice Fergusson, does splendid work in arranging regular weekly visits to the Point Hal swell Borstal Institution, and in undertaking the after-care of all released Borstal girls. Even in connection with the more remotely situated, institution at Waikeria, near Te Awamutu, regular visits are arranged from Hamilton and Te Awamutu, whilst in this district the Superintendent has a waiting-list of nearby farmers who are willing to assist lads when discharged from the institution. The positive nature and the extent of the programmes of socializing work undertaken at the Borstals can be seen from the reports of the Superintendents of the three institutions, shown in the appendix hereto, to which special attention is drawn. That the Borstal scheme amply justifies the care and attention involved is evidenced by the satisfactory results achieved. A summary of the case records shows that of the 2,955 young offenders who have passed through the Invercargill and Waikeria Institutions, only 9-4 per cent, have again been reconvicted during the past seven and a half years. At the Invercargill Borstal, of the 283 inmates who have been, released since the coming into operation of the Prevention of Crime Act in January, 1925, only 38 have been subsequently reconvicted ; while at Waikeria, of the 222 Borstal lads who have been released only 20 have since appeared before the Courts. The total number of committals to the Point Halswell Borstal Institution since its inception four years ago, up to the 31st December last, was 107, and of this number 64 have been released, and only 5 have again appeared before the Courts. As 32 girls have been released for over two years, the small number of failures is encouraging. Industries and Development. In sympathy with the Government's policy that Departments will not unnecessarily enter into competition with private enterprise, the development of prison industries is being directed along lines which, as far as possible, give effect to this policy. To this end, the employment of prisoners on agriculture and land-development continues to be a main feature of the Department's programme. The open-air work on the farm aids in the building-up of a prisoner's physique and in the improvement of his mental and moral outlook. Many prisoners, of course, are quite unsuited to work on the land, while others have skilled trades and callings at which it is desirable they should be employed as far as practicable during sentence to obviate loss of efficiency. Some prisoners are of a type who, for safe custody, must be kept under constant supervision or engaged on intramural occupations. In this respect quarrying provides a fairly simple and reasonably lucrative avenue of employment. Hence in the prison administration the Government's policy is of necessity to a slight degree modified, and industrial activity must to some extent continue to be carried on. It is the practice, as far as possible, to confine the output of goods and services to meeting the requirements of Government "Departments and local bodies. Thus in tailoring, bootmaking, bread-baking, labour contracts, laundering, floor-polish and sandsoap making, mail-bag repairs, and road-construction the output is solely confined to the requirement of Government Departments. The pursuance of this policy results in a direct economy to the taxpayer in respect of the cost for the maintenance of prisons, and expenditure is kept within the Public Account, settlement being effected largely by inter-departmental transfers. Reviewing the industries as a whole, the year just past showed increased activity and revenue over the two previous years. The actual credits for the year amounted to £73,994, which is over 45 per