The White Ribbon. FOR GOD AND HOME AND HUMANITY MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1896. Juvenile Immorality.

White Ribbon, Volume 1, Issue 12, 1 June 1896, Page 6

The White Ribbon. FOR GOD AND HOME AND HUMANITY MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1896. Juvenile Immorality.

“ W hat shall wo <lo with our boys and girls ? " is asked by many of our earnest-minded men and women at the present time, and truly the answer is difficult to find.

A correspondent from Wellington writes “ What can be done to clear the streets of these giddy, light-man-nered boys and girls who patrol arm-in-arm, giggling and shrieking, and pass on, going downto the side-streets ? Would it be possible to fine parents or guardians who do not get their children in at a decent hour ? Could we not have a Curfew r Bell ? I don’t know how it is in Christchurch, but in

Wellington it is something surprising. One of our leading papers calls them ‘juvenile prostitutes,’ and thinks the police should have power to clear the streets.” We have heard of the conduct of the juveniles in Dunedin lately ; Auckland has the same story to tell; and in Christchurch the subject is exercising the minds of our Church dignitaries, newspaper editors, the members of the various Women’s Societies, and, indeed, of all who wish to see a better state of things brought about. The fact is that the PROBLEM IS so COMPLEX and many sided that, to find anything like a real solution, we should have to dive deep down into the very heart of things ; and, while such a search might in one sense stagger us by its yet, by an honest attempt to get at some of the primary causes of the evil, we should be more successful than in being content merely to scratch its surface or begin on the outside and work inwards.

but, before stating what we believe are some of the causes which lead to this conduct on the part of our young folk, we would first say that often the evil itself is, we suppose unintention - ally, very much exaggerated. In every hoy and girl there is, or ought to be, a latent energy, which, if it does not find a natural outlet under favourable conditions, will seek one in forbidden paths, which is often the beginning of untold mischief.

Scientists tell us that “ dirt is matter in me wrong place,” and we believe that perverseness in children is energy in the wrong direction. Isolated cases of juvenile depravity arc apt to cause a scare in the community, and create a feeling among good, respectable people that young New Zealand is literally “going to the logs.” Owing to statements of this kind having been made

in Christchurch recently, SPECIAL AND CAREFUL ENQUIRIES were made, the result being that, while it was found that some actual evil did exist, most of the evidence went to show merely instances of rude, rough, and boisterous behaviour, and of keeping late hours. Taking all such favourable evidence into consideration, however, we are hound to admit that the evil is a real one, and the sooner some measures are taken to stop its growth the be tter it will be for the community. In a short article like the present we can only touch the fringes of the subject, and so will only point out what we believe to be some of the exciting caus ‘S of the evil, leaving the question of a remedy for a future issue. Heredity is a factor in the physical, mental, and moral tendencies of human beings, and it is acknowledged that the children of DRUNKEN AND DISSOLUTE PARENTS are those who are easiest led astray, owing to their inherited weakness. Mr. B. O. Flower, editor of the Arena , contends that it is the children of loveless marriages—those “ loveless children ” who are “ cursed a. the beginning of life, and canopied by bitterness and gloom in the pre-natural state ” that swell largely the great well-spring of immorality. But if the inlluences of heredity are strong, those of environment are still stronger. When one thinks of the homes in which some of these children are “ dragged up,” one can hardly wonder that our streets are thronged with larrikins.

Many causes are responsible for these homeless homes. In some cases both parents are drunkards, and the children are neglected in every way, and do much as they like. In others, the father drinks and the mother, between wretchedness of body and spirit, “ lets go,” and the children are again neglected. In some instances a large

family is crowded into a very small house, and the parents are often glad when the children go out. Again, there are families the fathers of which have either died, or have been obliged to go elsewhere to look for work, leaving the mother to STRUGGLE WITH POVERTY and to look after the children. Such children are sometimes more than the mother, single-handed and severely handicapped, can manage, and they often get quite beyond her control. It is almost a foregone conclusion that most of these children are badly fed. Want of money, want of time, want of knowledge, and sometimes want of interest on the part of the mother, all help to produce ill fed children. But it is not always want of money which is responsible for many of our ill-fed children. There is a culpable ignorance among a certain proportion of our mothers, the result of which is incalculable.

Unwholesome foods badly cooked; white bread instead of brown ; too many rich dishes and condiments ; and too much butcher meat, produce “ illfed " children. A diet of too stimulating a character is as bad in its way as an insufficient diet, both producing morbidity of body, and, consequently, oi mind. It has been remarked that “we rarely see a robust, healthy man in the dock,” and that the “ criminal classes are in the main not only under-fed, but illfed.” So that, in considering the causes of juvenile immorality, we must take the question of foods into account. But there are still other causes to be considered. There are homes where the parents are querulous, and impatient of anything like fun and frolic among the children. Is it any wonder that these young folk get as far away from such parents as possible, and gradually form the habit of going out to seek the pleasure denied them at home ?

Then there are parents who, without any reason or excuse, are utterly careless of their progeny. They are supposed to be highly respectable, and would be indignant at any inference to the contrary; yet their boys, ranging from nine to sixteen years of age, stand at corners, smoking cigarettes, and making offensive remarks to the passers by, and especially to girls. In thinking over these varied causes of juvenile immorality, we are forced to the conclusion that, whoever or whatever is responsible for the evil, WE CANNOT BLAME the young people themselves, as they are simply the victims of circumstances. They are not deliberately vicious, and in their pranks and objectionable behaviour they are only trying to satisfy the natural craving for enjoyment which we all share with them. They have therefore a large claim on our sympathy and loving forbearance, and the blame should be reserved for those whose culpable indifference brings about such undesirable results in their offspring.

We have said that we do not intend dealing with the question of a remedy at present. In the meantime we shall gladly receive any suggestions towards a scheme for averting the evil, and earnestly hope that the matter will be taken up by all who are interested in young New Zealand.