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CANING OF BOYS.
CANBERRA INQUIRY.
Masters Deny Charges.
CANBERRA, Nov. 18.— Allegations of
the severe caning of boys attending the
Telopea Park school, at Canberra, were
vigorously denied today when the public
departmental inquiry was resumed by Mr
A. W. Hicks, Assistant Under-Secretary
and Assistant Director of the New South
Wales Education Department. The in
quiry was concluded and Mr. Hicks's re
port will be presented to the New South
Wales Minister for Education (Mr. Drum
mond).
Mr. Harold John Filshie, headmaster of
the Telopea Park Intermediate High
School, said that he had received no
complaints of severe caning from parents
or others. Referring to the cases under
investigation by the inquiry, Mr. Filshie
said that he had had no complaint from
Mrs McFarlane regarding the corporal
punishment of her son, Tom; he denied
that a sister of the boy Jacobs had seen him ___ the punishment of her brother;
as had been stated at the inquiry; and
he had never received a complaint about
the punishment of the two Keeley boys.
With regard to the case of Raymond
Margules, who was alleged to have been
caned for going to a heater to warm his
hands after permission for children to do
so had been given, Mr. Filshie denied the
statement of the boy's mother that she
had telephoned to him and obtained his
permission for children to warm their
hands at the heater. The boy had been
guilty of gross disobedience in being in
the room. The boy Tom McFarlane was
a refractory lad who had given a good
deal of trouble in the infants' department.
At no time bad he or any of the teachers
had corporal - punishment administered
becausr a child attended school, without
boots, .or with dirty iboptB. He had had
33 years' experience- and he had never
seen blood blisters raised on & boy's- hand
by corporal punishment . -??*.- -?-?, !'??
Mr. Clement John H11L, the master. In
charge of the primary department of : the
Telopea Park School, denied that he .bad
caned the boy Jacobs on- the two dates'
that he was alleged tojhaye done so. At
the time that he was alleged '? to .;- have
caned. . the boy William Keeley— three
months prior to October la—^the.ppy was
not attending the school: Hedenied hav
ing caned Gordon Keeley- for wearing
dirty boots. ' ? .
Mri.AIexanderHenryDyce,lInsp«ctorof
Schools in the Goulburn district, which
Includes Canberra schools, said that- In
his opinion, the -tone of the-, primary
school at Telopea Park was very. good. No
evidence of excessive corporal punish
ment had been brought to his notice. He
considered that. the work of Mr. Hill was
of a very high quality .
i Other teachers gave evidence In sup
port. ' ? ^^^
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