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TIlIE STOKE INDUSTiRIAL SCHOOL, NEW
ZEALANI)D.
To the Editor.
Sir,--On the 20th July and 6th of August
a conmmission was appointed by tlhe Earl of
Ranfurly to inouire into certain charges made
agaiist the mnanagemr nt of tlie above institu
tion, which is controlled by a 10G, rgljgious
olrder known as tihe "Marist Bros." The coml
inissioners were Messrs. I. Bush and II. S.
WVardell. Thle clhargos were seven in num
ber:
1. That, although manly of the boys at the
school were very young, the sclsnol is entirely
nader the managemont of unmairnreel men, so
matron having been employed for mnanny years.
2. That tile punislhnent of the boys at tihe
school Ihas been and is more sovere than is al
lowed at Government industrial schools, arid
more severe than should be allowed in such a
school as St. Mary's.
h. That tie boys' food has been insufficient
in quantity, poor in quality, and not suffi
ciently varied.
4. 'lhat the boys have been and are poorly
and inu.fficienl1y clothed.
5. That certaln of thle work required to be
done by thle inmates hlas been and is too hard,
especially for Inds of tender years.
S. That boys I'ho have died at tlhe school
hlvo beei buried in tile grounds connected
with the school.
7. That St. ZMary's Inlrustrial School. beinlg
a privatoe school under "Thi Industrial Schools
Act, 1882," stands on a different footing to
Governmnsnt indlustrial schools, and is not sub
ject to the same supervision and inspection
as Governimeni sclhools, although time mnjority
of the bIoys at the school are committed there
by maniistrates. and are supported by Govern
ment or Charitable Aid Boards.
8. A furtlher charge of indcenit behuaviour
with one of the imnates was made againist a
brotlher of tie manasninr staflf.
Il regard to thie first chlarge the f?acts as
nallesi alre admitted. The soestion was an ab
stract one onl which thile commnissiiers Ihad rio
evidcnce to uidoi thnem, aid on weich, escoci
sllh in relatioii to Iays of tile clss found in
industrial schools, thie commissaionors declaro
a great deal can be said on Ioth sides.
Tho complaint made in the seconid charge
had bedn established. All teachers at Stoke
in charge of boys administer nunishment, and
until quite recently by strokes upon the hand
withl a supslejack, in some cases with great
sd'erity. Two Brothers, Killian and Wyber
tLs, had been guilty of inflicting punishment
outside the rules laid down by the Brothers
for their guidance. In two cases kicks had
been given b Brother Kilian. Both were un
suited for their position. The commissioners
were informed that these Brothers had been
removed from the school.
Corporal punislunent by flogging had been
inflicted for absconding and other serious of
fences previous to 1895. The commissioners
were quito satisfied that there had been no case
of flogging for more than four and a half years.
Cell punishment at Stoke has been much
in excess of that authorisedl by the Govern
meot, and is more than should be allowed.
During the last twro years two boys hnd
been confined in cells for four days, one six
days, six seven days, two eight days, one two
weeks, two three weeks, one two months and
threeo days, aud one three months (seclusion).
In'cases of confinement the boys were fed
as other boys, but on some occasions water
was given instead of tea for oure or two days*
and in two cases strokes of the supplejack
scere given upon the hand at interrals during
confinement. A mattress and sufficient blan
kets were provided at night.
The boy Skilton, who inas confined for over
two moinths, hnad repeatedly absconded, and in
dealing with hnim for a criminal offence (hlorse
steiliig) the Supreme Court had ordered that
he should be sent to Burnhnlam; but that in
stitution not being r?eady to receive him lie
swas sent to Stoke, and as he threatened to
escape on tlhe first opportunity he was con
fined in a cell at night and taken out morn
ing and afternoon for exercise in charge of a
Brother. . .
-The boy who w's confined for three
nonths liad been guilty of a grave offence
against morality, and was punished by seclu
;ion for the period named. He slept in the cell,
vas taken out in the morning and afternoon'
by a Brother, but not allowed to associate
with the other boys.
In the other cases enumerated the punish
nent had been for absconding, insubordina
tioln, and immorality. The commissioners had
to proof, of any boy laving been confined in a
dark cell. Two of the old inmates spoke of a
cell under a staircase lighted only by anl open
ing tIle length of the door and about four
inches wide, but the commissioners had no rea
son to believe any boy had been in it during
the last five years. These cell punishments
were ordered by Brother Loetus without the
knowledge of rather Mahoney. the manager.
were not reported to him, and no record of
the punishments kept.
The commissioners hiad no fault to find with
the cells used at Stoke, except that they were
too isolated. The cells at Stoke were demol
ished on the 1st of June last in compliance
with a suggestion by members of the Nelson
Charitable Aid Board.
As regards t ththird complaint, the com
missionters were of opinion that the food sup
plied at Stoke prier to June last was not suffi
ciently varied, the dietary table for dinner
being a monotonous repetition of srews, com
posed of meat, potatoes, and vegetables, no
joints being served except on festivals, and
puddings but seldom; bu it was snffinibnt in
quantity and wholesome in quality. If it had
beeln otherwise the healthi of the inmates must
have suffered, whereas the medical" witnesses
told the commissioners the boys were healthy
and well-conditioned. Some of the witnesses
complained of the use of drinning or fat, and
of tlhe mode of its lrbparatiosns, but in the
opinion of the oommissioners without justifi
cation.
The fourth complaint was not substantiated.
The celothing in the eninion of the commis
sioners las been sufficiently good in quality
although made of rough material, the shirts
being bf strong coarse linen, the coats, vests,
and trousers of coloured moleskin. Vests were
not usually worn with everyday clothes. Many
of the jerseys, which in winter are worn over
the dac shirt, are thin and some not whole.
Tie school and working clotlhes are old and
patcled, but quite wearable. They have in
addition one Sunday-suit and onoe. pinic or gala
suit. While it may be truly said theyv havo
been poorly clad, thle comnissioners could noat,
in view of tliohe fact that there ad been no
death at the school for over six years, and
no case of pulmonary disease or other illness
for more thian tso years, aind that at piresent
thero is not a cough or a cold amonst 1206
hoys, say they lhave beed insufficiently
cltlhed.
The fifth complaint was not established.
It waus endeavoured to be shown that lads of
toenler years were sent up a hill about 1200
feet high. ascended in a distance of 75 chains,
three or four times a da- to bring down heavy
post and poales.
The commissioners were satisfied that during
the last four or five years none of the boys
had been up the hill more than twice a day.
and but seldom miore timan otnce; but when
the boundary fence wans in course of construc
tion in 94-95, on some occasions boys did make
four trips in the day. The work of bringing
down posts, etc.. was not too heavy; bring
ing thlem upi on the other side of the hill, a
distance of 10 to 20 clains, would have been
if each post was carried by e sinEle boy, but
two or three asslsting lightened the weo rkwses
necessary. The boys w'ent to work int Islrgu
numbers and regarded it more as a hsliday
than work. Residents in tlhe neiglbourhood
say there was no appearancse of severity in eon
forcing labour, but tlhat on the contrary it was
done with hilarity. Some of the boy witnesses
stated they preferred this work to lessons.
rork on the hill was not continuous, but at
intervals as occasion required.
Tle sixth charge is quite true, but the
commnissioners report there is no ground for
complaint.
Tlhose who hlave died at the school hare
been buried in a public cemetery dedicated
and gazetted ten years ago, being 5 acres in
extent, part of thie school estate, sufficiently
remote from the school and perfectly sanitary.
The school is sevenl or eight miles distant by
the nearest road from any other cemetery.
Four boys hIave died at the school and one at
the hospital since 1890, viz., one in '91, two
in '93, and two in '94, and these haveo been
buried in time cemetery. No death of an in
mate has occurred during the last six years.
Thie seveontli complaint the commissioners re
port not to be against the management, but
against law affecting all private schools under
'"ihe Industrial Sclhools Act, 1882," whichl
would be dealt with in the repommeudations
of the commissiontrs.
On a recent occasion, thie report.goes on to
say, thle commissioners visited the school and
gave time boys an opportunity of making ary
comsplaints theyc desired to make. Ten com
plained. They wore examined separately. The
complaints were of strokes of the supplejack
atld rough treatment. Tle commissioners re
port thle complaints trivial; none were serious.
As regards the last, and by far thie most
serious, chrugec I shall give the words of tite
report verbatim.
r'A statement was made to us by William
itaoss, a former inmate, that he had been in
formed an inmate of time school named Thoma;s
Lynch had told some other boy tlat one of
the Brothers liad acted indecently with him.
Wo lihnd thle bov brought to us and examined
hilt carefully, thlo exanmitation being reported
in tit esidenco Imerewithl. with tlme result that
we are iatisfied thle imnputatiop was a fiction,
or, as the boy himself iput it, a lie.1'
Tite following paragraph is also verbatim
from the report of the commlssioners: -
"Reviewing the evidence given by inmates
and ex-inmates respecting the discipline and
managemelit of the school, we feel a great
deal of it was tainted by exaggeration, tilhe
result of streon personal antagonism to cer
tain Brothlers who have now been removed."
Leaving an impartial public to judge on the
facts, nitlhout further comments, I am, Mr.
Editor, yours, ODONOGHUE.
I Bishop's House, Goulburn.
A telegram from Thursday Island states
that the BishopB of Carpentaria was installed
at the Quetta Memorial Church on sunday
morning. The Bishop of New Guinea was pre
vent at the service.
A number of cases were called on' in the
Central Police Court on Monday. in which
slopkoeeneors were charged witlh trading on the
Lord'e Day. Thoe rosceuting police officers
asked for a romand for three weeks, in view
of a possible amendment of the lan, and this
wans granted.
An cleptrio tram accident, which resulted
in a mumf ramed ,olm Smith having his right
leg nmputated, oceurmed iml heorge-street on
Monday afternoon.
Last week's run of thIe Little Rirer dredge
Iroduced 10ozs 2dwt 15gr retorted gold. The
cedgeo has now got a good face in thIe bank,
and thhis week should give imnproved results.
Thle dredgeuSastcr intends to work both tIhe
river and the bank. Thie rain has caused a
slight fresll in the river. The dredge continues
to work well.
On Mondayo the Full Court considered tihe
coses of three solicItors, wnsoao conduotc had
hscns brought before it by the Lawr Institute,
but the only respondent nagainst whmal any
serious charge rwas proved rwas J. L. Byrne,
of Nynsann. whoso name was removed from the
roll of solicitors.
''heo Rev. Ei. Best, of thIe Union Free
Churlch, Auckland, droened dead while con
ductinc service in church on Smunday night.
The causo of death was heprt disease,
$