THE WHITE RIBBON.

White Ribbon, Volume 33, Issue 398, 18 September 1928, Page 6

THE WHITE RIBBON.

they carry such a poll, it shall not have effect' unless National Restoration is carried m well. It prohibits the payment of goodwill for licensed houses, and provides for a registration of all barmen. The register to be kept by *he police, and registrations may l»e endorsed The Bill will go to committee, and if looks as if it would meet the same fate as last year’s measureThe Licensing Act Amendment Bill introduced by Mr Mason, of Bden. has been referred to the Commerce and Industries Committee for a report. This is to provide increased facilities for wine-makers, to sell their wine. The N.Z. Alliance and the W.C.T.U. are both giving evidence before this Committee. We are strongly against any increase in the facilities for procuring wine or any other alcoholic liquor. MENTAL DEFECT IVES AMENDMENT BILL. This provides the addition to the definition of mentally defective person of a clause which secures the inclusion in this class of persons socially defective. The difficulty will be in administering this clause to determine exactly who are socially defective A special Board is to be set up, consisting of the Director-Ceneral of Mental Hospitals. Director-General of Health. DirectorGeneral of Education. Controller-Gene-ral of Prisons, a medical officer on staff of Department, who has special psychiatric training, two other members, one of whom shall be a woman. We do not think It good to have the Controller-General of Prisons on such a Board, and the two members to he appointed should l*oth be women, and neither of them medical women. I» is not to be desired that the Board should be all experts in mental science; its out-\ look would be too circumscribed. Two capable, sensible women, with experience in social reform work, should he on the Board; they would be able to take the non-professional view We would enter a protest against the many border-line cases being handed over entirely to the expert, whose tendency is to be over scientific and a little less than human Also we would like to see the quorum allowed to conduct business increased above three. A register is *o be compiled of all mentally defective persons resident in the Dominion. To compile this, the

Director-General of Education and Coj troller of Prisons are to furnish evi deuce they may have, and auy Magi Irate or Justice is to report to th Chairman of the Hoard any person brought before him whom he think mentally defective. Persons on the register have the righ’ of appeal, and in the case of minor?; their parent or guardian may appeal. This register will he difficult to compile, and is almost certain to be def* tive. Any person entered on such register is not allowed to marry, an. penalties are provided for issuing marriage certificate or for procuring th*solemnisation of matrimony between persons on the register. Guardians of these persons are also required to tak* reasonable precautions against t mating with any other. It is also an offence to supply intoxicating liquor to persons on the register unless by medical prescription There is also a provision for sterilisation of mental defectives. It is only to he done with the consent of the persons themselves or ot parent or guardian. While all admit the need of preventing the unfit from reproducing their kind, there is diversity of opinion as to whether a surgical operation is the best means. So long as it is not made compulsory, it has this in its favour It doe« not stop sexual intercourse, and the spreading of venereal disease, hut it does s*o’ the birth of children who are a charge upon the State, a menace to others, and a great factor in racial degeneration When one has been through our Homes for Defectives and seen the many pathetic sights there, and realised the awful j»athos of such broken lives, one is tempted to consent to any scheme which will stop such a terrible blot upon our civilisation.