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«EHE FEEBLE - MINDED.

ADDRESS BY MR. GEeNDEKS.

In an interesting address to members of the A.N.A. at the Institute, North-terrace, on Wednesday evening, when Mr. H. Solomon (chief president) presided. Lieu- tenant-Colonel J. C. Genders (secretary of Minda-Home for Weak-minded Children) M d_ thougla the_ Australian Natives' Asso- ciation did not identify itself with party or jiaioelual polities, the care and control of tire- feeble-minded was a matter of grave importance to the future Australian nation, and must therefore be of interest

to the association I rom the backward and fecDly gilted, through the various stages of imbecility to the idiot, there was a regu .ail\ increasing beale of mental defect Ihe diifercnces were of degree, not of kind All who were identified with the care of the feeble minded had noticed with interest the wonderful results wluch had been accom phshed bv surgical treatment, and were looking tor« ard wat li hope In South Am,

tralia, fortunateJy for those so alllicted. the nicdicil profession was not less readj to render help to the sulfenng He was glad lo mention that bctauBe he knew how the doctors had put themselves out to render assistance at Minda, and he desired to offer a tribute of praise to what was looked upon as th<» noolest profession The English Royal Commission on the care and control of the feeble minded was appointed in 1904, sat in Cnsjland for four years, examined 2-U witnesses, visited the Continent and the United States, and considered the reports of previous committees on the subject The Commission alarmed the nation bj pointing out that the great number of feeble-minded who were at large was a menace to the future generation There were 150,000 per sons in England who, though not positively

.bereft of reason, were weak-minded, and

of these at least OT>,000 were without the control required in their own interests and for the public safety. Being exposed to constant moral danger to themselves, they became a source of lasting injury to the community. Of the gravity of the present state of affairs the Commission stated there was no doubt. There were numbejrs of mentally-defective pereons whose train- ing was neglected, over whom no sufficient control was exercised, and whose waywara and irresponsible lives were productive of crime and misery. From that class the Kaol population was largely recruited, it Seing estimated that 10 per cent..of English

«piñonera were feeble-minded.

What should be done with tuose poor un-

fortunates? Tile Mayor of Plymouth has somewhat scandalised public opinion by suggesting tnat they should be given a painless death. Anonymous correspondents in the. Adelaide press bad been at some nains to advocate operative sterilisation, but it lad been pointed out that it was waste of time to discuss a proposal which it was admitted no British Parliament .would ever sanction, and which wouict also leave untouched those whose mental de- generacy fell short of incurable idiocy. The J {oyal Commission stated that publie opinion would "rightly condemn any legis- lation directed chiefly or exclusively to the prevention of hereditary transmission of mental defect by surgical or other arti- ficial measures. The possibility of adopt- ing such measures was referred to by 21 of the witnesses, but only three of them ex- pressed opinions in favor of the practic

ability ot such a course. nomes ior

the feeble-minded had now sprung up all over the world. Humane and considerate, treatment, and kindlier methods of deal- ing with the weak wer« the potent factors which would improve the condition of the feeble-minded in the future. It was cruel to allow the feeble-minded to be at large .without protection, made the butt o£ by the normal, and expeeed to the stress and turmoil of the world. If any Parliament in the Empire woud sanction it, operative vtcriisation could only be applied in ex- treme cases, but it was unnecessary, be- cause in any case they must look forward to the segregation of all feeble-minded in bornes and farm colonies. One factor that had to be taken into account was,the natural love of the parents, which ",w_a generally stronger towards a feeble-minded diild than a normal one. It was a' mis-1

take to look upon the feeble-minded-,or idiotic aa __teachablie or the homes as asylums for- incurable«. The lot' of the imbecile was a sad one, and when' the pupils were first admitted to the homes the material the officials bad to work, upon was generally of the rawest kind, but their plain duty was to take heart and thank God that it could be moulded and shaped, and that by determination, en- thusiasm, patience, and devotion the un- happy child might be redeemed from ne- glect and deterioration, and trained to be- come happy and useful. t The Royal Com- mission strongly recommended that there .Ifould be legal power to commit and de- tain all, feeble-minded in institutions and

indnaf-rinl r-nlnnie«. nnnrt from' the» ortli

nary community, stating that there were strong evidences of ?deterioration if the children were withdrawn from instruc- tion and supervision, and that t'.cre were many feeble-minded who lived in a brutish state 'Of ignorance, idlones.-. and degradation. % The feeble-minded were far better in an , institution surrounded by those who 'were similarly alflicted. And while-it was so much to the advantage of the feeble-minded to have the care and training obtainable at special institutions, it was also so much better for the nation that they should be re- moved ffom, the1 dangers to be met with m the'»treeta. of the cities, and should be prevented ffom propagating thtir race by

rriarriage.' South, Australia had led/ the

«x-av tn,/ifttar» rofrti-ma nnr1 if. wna «mt.iuf:»«»

»»»J .>. V(»s. -"-,

tory to'note that the Minister of Edu- cation ¿(Hon. F. W. Coneybeer) provided in the,Education.Bill, to be brought be- fore iFarliamént during the coming session, for power ' to"x'commit and' detain th<; feebleminded in institutions under pro- per Bnpcryiâioni ' The Bjll did not pro vide for* the/ protection- of -those nnfort'i ratc children afjer Uley,. *cre . 16 years of a^-'-^Tbe^benencent designs * of the Minister^ stopped, Bhort ?- at probably the most 'critical time in the Jife of the feeble-minded. . ' The committee of Mínela proposed/to wait' on the Minister to direct atention to that flaw in the Bill. The evidence contained in the eight volumes issued by the English Royal Commission gave a great mass of information on the care, control, and training of the feeble- minded, and afforded convincing proof that under the close supervision of kind, patient, and expert teach^ra ¿l.ntr litrwl Unmr nnrl nsefnl li v.. s

Teachers in the homes for defectives must have a leb'sicus devotion and enthnsiasm . for the. work, great industry, abundance

of patience, the_ utmost faith -in the_ pos- sibility of achieving excellent results in a large proportion of cases, determination not to be dismaved by t the difficulties of the task, and the ability to adhere to a firm resolution that their pupils, if posses- sed of the free use of their limbs, should be taught UBt»fir3 work. A few victories of .that kind wonld place the teacher on a pedestal as a success. Al\ feeble«-minded were naturally lazy. To overcome this habit was the first step towards progress.

Constant occupation was recognised as of the greatest importance in the treatment of the feeble-minded and epileptic. "Loaf- ing," said one of the experts, "increases fits." The closest supervision was al

ways necessary, because as a rule the pupil would not apply himself even to work lie was perfectly able to_ do. He was often obstinate, sulky, rebellious, and cunning. The utmost vigilance was necessary, and day and ni»ht each inmate should be in the immediate charge of someone who was responsible that nothing went wrong. If manual work was of so much value in the education of normal children, how im- portant must it be in assisting to awaken the dormant intelligence of the feeble- minded, and so they found a tendency in the homes to devote more time to tliat de- partment, and not to teach book work to any extent except to those who showed great promise. Asricultural employment was

of the greatest importance m institutions tor the feeble-minded. They became capable at that class of work. Upon, founding the State Home for the Feeble- minded in Western Pennsylvania, it was specifically determined that the employ- ment of the inmates in the care and rais-

ing of stock, and the cultivation of fruit | I anil vegetables, should be made largely j

tributary to the maintenance of the ínsti- ,

tution. urttanised euons on cx.-ua.11. vu

the feeble-minded were quite of modern origin. Much of the work of the last 50 years had been experimental, and in his opinion there had been too great a tendency to look upon the feeble-minded as helpless. hopeless, and in- curable. He was satisfied that the records of the next 50 years would tell a different talc. For a pupil to realise that he could carn a good part of tile cost of his living was one of the best helps to- wards his improvement. In the near future the segregation of all feeble-minded would, he beheveel. be enforced by law. That would mean that accommodation would have to be provided for a much larger i number-a number which, for a consider«

able time at all events, must go on increas- ing j'ear by year. And with thc-c exten- sions of work in the homes greater atten- tion would have to be paid to the financial problem and to reproductive work, much to the advantage of the inmates morally, intellectually, and physically. There were probably between 300 and 350 feeble- minded and epileptic in South Australia. A very ramil perccntnge, probably not more than two or three per cent, of the cases admitted into the homes, ever im- proved to sueh an extent that would jus- tify either from the point of view of their own happiness or the public safety their discharge. Therefore the scope of the wtrk which was before them could be readily seen. The committee of Minda strove hard to keep out of debt., and they had faith that funds for carrying on the work of the institution would be forthcoming.

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