H.—2o

There were two escapes during the year, involving three inmates. All were recaptured with in a day or two without having gone many miles. No other serious offences were recorded, though there were minor breaches of the regulations and damage to prison property or clothing, &c., through carelessness, which was punished by decision of the Superintendent, the Visiting Justices, or the Visiting Committee as the occasion demanded. Fewer cases than usual were recorded, and it was necessary to call on the Visiting Justices only three times during the year and the Committee five times. The Visiting Justices are Messrs. C. A. Reilly, J.P., and S. Clark, J.P., to whom I wish to record my appreciation for the work and assistance which they gave willingly whenever called upon. The Visiting Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. F. Quin, consist of Messrs. N. R. Delaney, H. P. Ensor, G. P. Rook, and S. H. Wanklyn, and these gentlemen carry out the same functions in connection with the Borstal as the Justices do for the reformatory section. To them also I wish to accord my appreciation of the manner in which they carry out their duties. The health of inmates has been good on the whole. Minor accidents and sicknesses were attended to at the institution by the Chief Warder, while more serious matters were placed in the hands of the Medical Officer. During 1944 he ordered the removal of nine inmates to the Waikato Hospital; one of them, a Maori with pulmonary tuberculosis, was the only one remaining there at the end of the year, and the only seriously ill case that occurred. There were no deaths. Towards the end of the year Dr. J. B. W. Roberton, the Medical Officer, resumed duty after having been overseas on military service, so I would like to express my appreciation of the good work performed by Dr. Blundell while acting as Medical Officer to the institution. Dental attention is available for inmates at reasonable rates, the charges being deductible from their earnings, if any, and the work being carried out by Mr. W. McKenzie. Should such treatment be required on an inmate for health reasons it is done without charge to him if he has not sufficient money to pay for it. The Medical Superintendent of the Tokanui Mental Hospital has continued to oblige us by coming over to examine any inmates who may require mental treatment or when there is a suspicion that psychological disorders might have contributed to offences ; his reports are always constructive, helping us to understand the cases in our charge and to treat them appropriately. Every Sunday sees at least one religious service for the inmates, and these are made possible by the ministers of various denominations coming out from Kihikihi or Te Awamutu in their turn, each taking a service once a month. Entertainments for inmates have been provided by concert parties and by the departmental sound movie programmes, which were recommenced shortly before Christmas after a spell owing to restrictions on travelling. The Te Awamutu Municipal Orchestra has taken an interest in the institution and given two concerts ; one officer on the staff is a member of the orchestra. Mr. F. Findlay, M.P., of Hamilton, an old friend of the institution, also brought a party over, after having been unable to visit us for a long time, and gave us a Christmas treat with one of the best programmes ever heard here. The average strength of the staff before the war was about 36, but it has fallen to as low as 27—with one member in a sanatorium —dangerously low even as far as safety is concerned. Though officers now work a forty-eight-hour week, there is no opportunity for any recreational or educational activities except for the tri-weekly school classes catering primarily for near-illiterates. The majority of inmates have not had a secondary education, and, if fact, some of them can scarcely read and write, so the school classes are held to assist those most in need of the elements of education. Classes were held on 108 evenings during the year, the average attendance being higher than the previous two years, at about twenty. The routine of English, arithmetic, geography, &c., was varied with films and film strips sent down by the Visual Education Association at Auckland, and discussions, debates, and lectures on special subjects. Two or three inmates were taught to read and write, and some progress generally was made in spite of the difficulties of handling a shifting population. An occasional special course, such as book-keeping or navigation, is taken by one or two inmates under the supervision of the schoolmaster. The dietary scale prescribed by the regulations is followed, though the provision of fresh fruit and vegetables is on a generous scale, since the farm produces so much. Labour is probably more efficient than in other prisons, due not only to the healthy life, regular hours, and good food, but also to some selection of better types to come here. They almost invariably put on some weight when they have been here for a few months. There has been ample work to keep all inmates usefully employed on the farm and on institution activities. In fact, there has sometimes been a shortage of available labour when special work has had to be done. Any prisoners with trades or other qualifications have as far as possible been employed at work that has given them an outlet for their abilities. With the large variety of work performed here there is scope for all kinds of skill, and there is also unskilled work for less reliable types in gangs under direct supervision. There have been many electrical and engineering maintenance and repair jobs to be done during the year, as must be expected with the increasing age of much of our equipment and difficulties of replacement. However, lam pleased to say that all our plant, machinery, motors, and equipment, which now makes an impressive list, is in very good order considering the scarcity of spare parts. The range of farming operations continued very much the same as the previous year, except that the production of vegetables for the Armed Services was not continued this season, but nearly as many were grown because of the general shortage and because we had the ground ploughed up and in better order for intensive cultivation. We substituted potatoes for other root crops, but blight seems to have done some damage to them. The farm is situated on light undulating land which needs regular administrations of artificial fertilizers to keep it highly productive. The shortage of these during the war years has brought about a progressive decline in productivity, which, though it may be disguised when rainfall is constant, always discloses itself immediately in a dry season. The summer of 1943-44 was hot and dry, and the pastures ceased to grow and became brown, dairy production fell away

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