The Report of the Committee of Inquiry
- Author:
Book Reviews & Abstracts.
Appointed by New Zealand Ministry of Health to Inquire into and Report upon the Necessity for Special Care and Treatment of Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders in New Zealand. Wellington. 1925. Is.
A copy of this Report, to which we referred in our July issue, has now reached us from Wellington, through the courtesy of the Acting Director-General of Health.
The Committee dealt separately with the two classes of persons named, as being not necessarily identical, and we only propose to deal with that section of the Report which is concerned with Mental Defectives.
The first part of this Section is largely a summary of the findings of investigators in other countries, chiefly the United States of America.
The Report states: ” Probably New Zealand has much the same proportion of mental defectives as other countries. This is stated by Goddard to be between 2 and 3 per cent, of the population.” This the estimate is far in excess of the figures given for England. It is of course not easy to get a uniform standard of diagnosis even as between one medical man and another, and to get international uniformity is at pre- sent impossible. It was estimated by the Royal Commission that in England the pro- portion of mental defectives to the whole population was 4.6 per thousand, but this figure may have to be revised in view of the fresh data available through the practical work of the last ten years. More recent figures are those of the child population, given by Sir George Newman in the Health of the School Child, 1925, who estimates that among the children of the Public Elementary Schools the incidence is 8.6 per thousand, the Lon- don ascertainment being, however, 12.86 per thousand. Even allowing for unascertained defectives, there is no likelihood of our figures being brought up to 2?3 per cent, of the whole population.
Under the New Zealand Education Act, 1914, the notification of all mentally defective children is compulsory, and Special Classes in connection with the Day Schools, and Special Residential Schools have been established,. It would appear from the Report that the supply of Residential Schools is inadequate. The same distinction is drawn as in England be- tween those children who can be dealt with under the Education Act (though the age under the New Zealand Act is 6?21) and those under the New Zealand Mental Defectives Act, 1911. The administration of this latter Act is under the Mental Hospitals Department. In the Mental Defectives Act, 1911, there is no mention of ‘ moral imbeciles.’ The Report quotes the definition of ‘ Moral Imbeciles ‘ in our Mental Deficiency Act, and adds, ” In the opinion of the Committee it is very important that a similar definition should be included in any amendment of the New Zealand Act.”
The Committee seem to be unaware of the practical difficulty which has arisen in this country in connection with the definition, and before legislating it would appear desirable that the New Zealand Government should give very careful consideration to this subject, more especially as it concerns children and young people. As we noted at the time of the issue of the Board of Education’s Circular 1359, that Circular points out that in the opinion of the Board it is only in rare and quite exceptional circumstances that a child of school age can properly be certified as a ‘ moral imbecile.’ Who will quarrel with this opinion, when it is remembered that the definition of moral imbeciles ‘ in our Act is ” persons who from an early age display some permanent mental defect coupled with strong vicious or criminal propensities on which punishment has had little or no deterrent effect.”
The Committee are not satisfied that the problem of the Mental Defectives is being adequately dealt with in New Zealand. They do not suggest many improvements in treat- ment, beyond advocating an increase in the Residential School accommodation and the establishment of Farm and Industrial Colonies and of Clinics to be attached to Children’s Courts, which they wish to see set up on the model of those in other countries. Their con- cern is less the proper treatment of the defec- tive than the protection of the community. The present system of notification is apparently not sufficiently effective, and they propose the establishment of a Eugenic Board, one of whose duties would be to keep a register of ” all feeble-minded, epileptic and mentally de- fective persons living outside institutional care.” This, in itself, would go far beyond anything attempted in England, for the num- ber of people dealt with by the English Men- tal Deficiency Act is limited, broadly speaking, ^ those who become chargeable to the State.
Among the classes of persons whose names it ls suggested should be on the register, are those who have been discharged from a mental hospital. The adoption of such a suggestion ln England would, we fear, have a very harm- ful effect on the present effort to encourage early treatment for mental cases, to put men- tal and physical ill-health in the same cate- gory, and so to do away with the shame felt m regard to mental diseases, which prevents the patient seeking advice in the early and helpful stages of his illness. It would cer- tainly act as a deterrent to schemes for the admission of voluntary boarders, which we hope to see more widely adopted in our Mental hospitals.
1 he Committee suggest that it be made a legal offence to marry or have sexual relation- ship with any person whose name is on the Agister, and though we are not clearly told whether such a register is open to the public, this proviso appears to foreshadow that it Would be accessible to all, a proposal which is ?pen to grave objections.
We do not know how far such a scheme Would answer in New Zealand, with its less dense population, but we are inclined to think that in England there would be considerable uon-compliance with the Act, from a deep re- luctance on the part of all concerned to publish the facts, especially in the case of the highest grades of feeble-minded. Legislative strin- gency may defeat its own ends, if it tends to exclude from care and protection more and more of those who would otherwise be reckoned as feeble-minded. For it must be remembered that our chief problem lies with the higher grade.
After careful consideration of other views and experiments, the Committee decided to recommend sterilization. They say ” Sterili- sation gives the patient liberty to do useful Work in the community, is less drastic than segregation for life, and on the whole a much slighter interference with the rights of the in- dividual.” . … . “As regards the suggestion that sterilization may lead to new foci of venereal disease, it must be borne in mind that the unsterilized feeble-minded are already prone to sexual promiscuity, and there is no evidence that sterilization would increase this tendency.” This is a most extraordinary point of view, for it is for these very cases that segregation in the interests of the community is so absolutely essential. Surely no one would recommend that such cases should be sterili- zed and allowed to live in the community. It is suggested that the Eugenic Board should have the power, with the consent of parents or guardians, to make sterilization a condition of removal from the register or of release from an institution, the persons so released being on probation and returnable to the institution if leading an immoral life, or unable to sup- port themselves, or for any other reason which the Eugenic Board may consider sufficient.
The Committee do not omit to note that even if a vigorous policy of segregation and sterilization were adopted there would still be defectives and degenerates, since ” mental de- fectives may be the offspring of apparently normal stock?or of persons who have not themselves necessarily shown any marked traits of instability or degeneracy and to whom therefore sterilization or segregation would be inapplicable.”
In considering the question of the steriliza- tion of sexual offenders the Committee have felt considerable doubt and have suggested that the subject should be referred to the Eugenic Board for consideration. In view of the division of opinion amongst experts all equally concerned with the racial aspects of the problem, it would appear advisable that the sterilization of the feeble-minded be also referred to the Eugenic Board for full dis- cussion rather than for immediate action..
We welcome the recommendation of the Committee (Recom. 7) that fuller provision be made by the Universities and Training Col- leges for the special training of teachers, etc. The Report is altogether an illuminating and interesting document, but we feel that it is somewhat academic, and that it would bene- fit before the recommendations are put into operation by a closer examination of the prac- tical working of the Mental Deficiency Act in this country, where the size of the population has enabled many authorities to gather a very considerable amount of data, which is not yet fully available in printed documents.
We shall watch with the greatest possible interest any action which may be taken by the New Zealand Government on this Report.
The Decroly Class : A Contribution to Elementary Education. By Amelie Hama’ide. Translated by Jean L. Hunt. Pp. xxviii., 318. J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. 1925. 7s. 6d% On laying” down this book the reader feels that he has been a privileged visitor in the Decroly class in Elementary School C in Brussels ; that Augusta, Helene and Yvonne are children whose growth and development he has watched and in whose future he is as interested as Mile. Hama’ide herself. For this we are deeply indebted to Mile. Hama’ide who has in this volume given us a vivid and interesting account of the experiment which has demonstrated that the principles for which Dr Decroly stands can be carried out even under the conditions which must hold in a public elementary school.
On reflection, the reader will realise that the book is much more than this. It contains perhaps the most complete formulation of Decroly’s fundamental principles, and of the details of educational practice which follow as corollaries from them.
In the introductory chapters the author traces the development of this type of class from Decroly’s class for defective children held in 1901 to the date of publication (1922), when eleven such classes were being carried on suc- cessfully in the city of Brussels as part of the public school system.
The chapters which follow deal with the fundamental principles of Decroly’s system of education. The conception which underlies the whole of Decroly’s work is that of the neces- sity of self-development through active experi- ence. Learning must come through doing, and education is a long process of develop- ment of personality and adaptation to environ- ment. It is characteristic of human activity that it is purposive. The school-room, there- fore, will be of the nature of a workshop where schemes are worked out, and the prob- lems that are faced are such as arise out of the task which has been undertaken. Decroly is a sound psychologist as well as a zealous educationist, and it is this fact that has made his scheme successful in practice. Since education involves spontaneous activity, it follows that it must be based upon funda- mental tendencies which have their own ” drive.” The Decroly system consists in organising the child’s environment in such a way that it appeals to these fundamental needs. It is not a cut-and-dried programme imposed upon the child from without; it *s rather a living- developing- plan which opens out concomitantly with the widening of his own problems. The Decroly ” Programme is a programme only in its very general characters; the topics studied vary from class to class and from individual to individual with- in a class.
In consequence of the different attitude toward learning, the curriculum of the Decroly class differs from that of the usual school* The whole of the work is grouped around a problem, a ” Centre of Interest,” e.g., Food- getting or House-building. The point of departure is alwavs from facts in actual experience. From the psychological point of view this means the use of senses and muscles in relation to the object studied; the process may therefore be con- sidered as primarily perceptual. To this stage of the study Decroly gives the name Observa- tion. From observation develops naturally the stage of relating the perceptual experience to other similar or connected experiences, either already familiar to the children or such as can be sought out from records. This is the stage of Association. Association in time will give that group of facts known as ” history,” association in space will give details of ” geo- graphy.” But since all activity is purposive, these stages are preliminary only to the stage of Expression. The child wants to do some- thing to or with the object he has been con- templating. Expression may take the form of actual manipulation of the material such as building a hut; or it may be of a more representative character such as drawing a house. At a later stage it may become still more symbolic and take the abstract form of a verbal or written report. Reading and writing, therefore, take their place in this scheme as tools for expression rather than as constitutive ” subjects.” The actual technique of these tools must be acquired just as any other form of muscular skill, and methods of teaching, reading and writing which have proved themselves successful in the Belgian schools are described.. Number and measure- ment are regarded by Decroly as forms of more accurate observation and are developed along with the actual perceptual study of the subject matter.
The third section of the book (Chaps. VIII. and IX.) is a record of the actual experiences ?f Mile. Hamaide during” the four years she conducted the first Decroly class to be held ln a public elementary school. To many readers this section will make the strongest appeal. Chapter VIII. gives a full and interesting description of the class activities, and Chapter IX. a detailed study of several ?f the children. This chapter combines in an admirable manner an objective and scientific study of the children with a sympathetic under- standing of them as individuals. Specimens the children’s work at different stages are included, and the book is generously illus- trated with reproduction of pictures and charts made by the children.
Chapter X. gives typical outline programmes ?f work drawn up on the Decroly plan. These are of great interest in indicating what a Wealth of material the normal environment of a child provides for work. The programmes are regarded as suggestive only; they are not models to be copied. Indeed, it would be contrary to the essence of this point of yiew that any scheme should be adopted ready- made.
Two appendices give an account of an attempt to study and assess the character and emotional equipment of the children and so to supplement the findings of the intelligence tests. A third appendix adds a list of refer- ences to articles written by Dr.. Decroly and his collaborators. As these have nearly all appeared in scattered journals and reports of conferences, it is useful to investigators to have the references brought together in this “Way.
1 he book should be read by all interested in the primary education of children. The prin- Clples for which it stands underlie much of the best work in modern English primary teach- }ng. and are also to be discerned in the ” Pro- ject Method ” in American education. Those educationists whose immediate work lies with abnormal children will realise what a very important bearing this point of view has upon their problems. The only hope of progress with defective children lies in securing some centre of interest ” and building around this. Reading and arithmetic, those bugbears of defective children, when treated as ” subjects,” do fall into the scheme of things if they emerge as useful tools. It is true that they are tools which these children will never handle very skilfully. It is interesting- to note that the less abstract forms of expression mentioned by Decroly are tools of expression used often by the defective with much greater success. Such children will often show a much greater wealth of detail in a sketch than in a verbal account whether spoken or written.
English readers are indebted to Miss Jean L. Hunt, of New York, for the present trans- lation, and to the Committee of Relief in Belgium Foundation through whose co-opera- tion the translation was undertaken. M. McF.
Childhood’s Fears. Psycho-analysis and the Inferiority-Fear Complex. By G. F. Morton, M.A., B.Sc.., Headmaster of the Leeds Boys’ Modern School, Duck- worth. 1925. 7s. 6d.
This book is written from the standpoint of a schoolmaster on a subject of great im- portance to all students of child-life and edu- cation. It is unfortunate that the term ” Psycho-analysis ” has not a more definite meaning and use, as to many people it implies principles to which they may rightly object, especially if they are applied to children.. It might be well if some other term, such as ” Mental Exploration ” were applied to the methods of investigating such cases. As the author says ” Fresh experience daily confirms the writer in his conclusion that sex is only a secondary consideration ” (p. 275). The author divides his book into five parts. The first part he occupies with a brief outline and discussion of the views of Freud, Jung, Adler, Rivers and others. The second part deals with the practical application of the results arrived at in the first and should serve to provide some guidance and, above all, stimulate thought, in those for whom the book is in- tended. It is a book which might, with pro- fit, be read right through and the material contained in it be allowed to settle down in the reader’s mind; after this the reader should think out his own method of approach to such problems as are dealt with, on common-sense lines, guided by what he has learnt. It must, however, be remembered that much harm may be done by faulty handling of the subject and that there are other problems than the in- feriority-fear complex which may arise in the investigation of these cases.
F.. H. D. Report of the Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences Against Young Per- sons. H.M. Stationery Office.. 1925. 2s.
This Committee was appointed in July, 1924, and its Report, which was somewhat de- layed by the death of two of its members, has just been issued.. Miss Clara Martineau, J.P., member of the Council of the C.A.M.W., and Chairman of the Birmingham Special Schools Committee, was one of the members of the Committee and the C.A.M.W. gave evidence.
The Committee was appointed to ” collect information and to take evidence as to the prevalence of sexual offences against young persons and to report upon the subject, indi- cating any direction in which in their opinion the law or its administration might be im- proved,” and was the outcome of a general public sentiment that inadequate penalties were sometimes inflicted for these offences, and that those who committed them were often mentally abnormal.
The Annual Criminal Statistics as at pre- sent arranged, do not separate the offences against young persons from those against adults, so that it is not easy to compile figures showing the prevalence of such offences, but as far as can be ascertained, it appears that the annual average of persons tried for certain sexual offences (and attempts to commit same on persons under 16) for 1909-13 was 884; for 1920-24 1,058, the actual numbers for 1924 being 1,117.
The Committee state that the ” official figures which we have analysed indicate that the worst types of sexual offences against young persons have decreased considerably, and the evidence we have taken convinces us that sexual crimes accompanied by violence have greatly diminished over a long period.” But they proceed to add : ” Various reliable sources of evidence incline us to the view that in the interests of the child some cases of sexual offences are now dealt with summarily on a reduced charge, which would formerly have been dealt with on indictment and tried as a more serious offence at Assizes. Thus, by re- ducing a more serious charge to one of in- decent assault, the gravity of a sexual offence is masked.”
As the Report points out, however, there are many cases of sexual offences against young- persons which are not brought to the notice of the police, either for the sake of sparing- the child from giving evidence or owing to the difficulty of proving the offence. Repetition of evidence and delay, both so harmful to the young child witness, are due to the fact that certain offences can only be tried at Assizes or Quarter Sessions, and the Com- mittee recommend that to avoid this the juris- diction of Petty Sessions should be extended. This would, we believe, greatly encourage the reporting of all cases.
The Committee state that there is evidence that the number of girls who begin to lead immoral lives at 16 is large, and they recom- mend that the age of 17 be substituted in general for 16 in regard to sexual offences. There are many other recommendations equally valuable regarding procedure, sworn evidence, etc., which will repay careful study. We must pass over to that Section of the Report which especially concerns us. We cannot do better than quote at some length. “We have been impressed by the large number of witnesses who have strongly re- commended that there should be a mental examination of every offender who commits a sexual offence against a young person. The demand has arisen, partly, from a general im- pression that many of these offences are com- mitted by men who are insane or mentally defective, and partly from a desire that the problem of mental abnormality should be more closely studied. We have taken careful evi- dence, but we have not found that experts, and those best qualified to know, entirely bear out the opinion that many such offenders are insane or defective. …”
“We have considered an analysis with regard to the mental condition of prisoners. Of 200 men certified consecutively in prisons as being mentally deficient 50 were admitted for com- mitting sexual offences. On the other hand, of 108 men remanded to prison in the three years ending March, 1924, for indecent assault, incest and carnal knowledge, all these offences being against a young person under 16, none could be certified as insane and only 8 were certifiable as mentally deficient. The cases of indecent exposure, however, showed a com- paratively large proportion of mental trouble. Of 150 men remanded to prison for this offence 14 were found to be insane and 24 were found to be certifiable as mentally deficient. Other expert evidence confirms these statistics in showing- that among” the insane and defective, sex obsession or sex perversion is somewhat common, and that in cases of indecent expo- sure there is a fairly large proportion of men suffering from mental disease or defect. …”
‘Many witnesses have drawn attention to the ^ct that Courts are unskilled in detecting the Mentally afflicted, and have little expert assis- tance to guide them in this matter. We have had reported to us the cases of five sexual offenders who were imbeciles, but whose con- dition had in each case passed unrecognised by the Courts which sentenced them to imprison- ment.
High-grade feeble-minded persons are exceedingly difficult to detect as such by those unaccustomed to dealing with them, and magis- trates are apt to consider that if a man or Ionian has not an imbecile appearance, and can answer ordinary questions, he or she can- n?t be a person requiring ” care, supervision and control for their own protection and for the protection of others.” (Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, section 1 (c).) This also applies to that very difficult class, the moral imbecile, whose intellectual attainments are on a much higher plane, but who displays ” from an early age, permanent mental defect coupled With strong vicious or criminal propensities ?n which punishment has had little or no deter- rent effect.” (Section 1 (d).) Our recom- mendation for the appointment of skilled mental advisers should help to overcome these difficulties.
Even when mental defect is recognisable, a further obstacle to certification often arises in the words ” From birth or an early age ” (Mental Deficiency Act, section 1) where it is ^possible to obtain the early history of the defective. We have had reported to us a case in which a man had 50 previous convic- tions for indecent exposure, and was said by the local authorities to be a moral imbecile of a hopeless character, whose offences were aggravated by being committed against school children. Unfortunately, the doctors, while Prepared to say that the man was defective now, were unable to find evidence of mental defect in him earlier than the age of 25, and this would not fulfil the statute’s require- ment of ” from birth or an early age “… . ” Where mental defect or disease cannot be diagnosed there still remains a proportion of unstable, weak-minded offenders for whom at present there is no provision except in prison. …”
” Weak-minded persons are frequently found among- those who are convicted of indecent exposure. Thus, of the 150 men remanded for this offence, 38 were certifiable as insane or feeble-minded, and of the remaining- 112 men, no less than 23 were weak-minded or alcoholic or neurotic. It is evident, therefore, that 41 per cent, of men remanded for indecent exposure were abnormal, but that only 25 per cent, were definitely certifiable.” The Committee recommend therefore :? (1) That the words ” from birth or an early age ” in Section 1 (c) and the words ” from an early age ” in Section 1 (d) shall be deleted from the Mental Defi- ciency Act, 1913.
(2) That in all cases of indecent exposure (as a fairly large proportion of these men have been found to be insane or feeble- minded), the offender should be examined as to his mental condition.
(3) That in all cases of sexual offences against young persons there should be a mental examination where the offender has been previously found guilty of a sexual offence, or where the Court has reason to suspect mental disease or defect either from the pre- vious history or conduct of the accused, from his defence to the charge, or from any special circumstances in the case. (4) Where a mental examination is to take place, that the Bench should remand the offender after conviction, but before sentence, to be examined by a mental expert, and that the Bench should act in accordance with the result of the examination.
(5) Where the number of cases are too few to justify the appointment of a full time mental expert, that arrangements might be made, without setting up new machinery or multiplying personnel, for the Medical Superintendent of the County or the Borough Mental Hospital, or for the Medical Officer of the Mental Deficiency Act Committee, to serve as mental expert to the Courts in the dis- trict.
The Committee Further state their considered view regarding repeated offences. They say ” Where there is no mental disease or dis- order we believe that there would be support for the prolonged detention of men who appear quite incapable of abstaining from indecent exposure or from committing repeated indecent assaults on children. We are aware that the public mind is distrustful of any kind of inde- terminate sentence, but we believe that the period of prolonged detention in a special in- stitution might occasionally effect a cure. In any case it would protect the public more effectively than many short terms of imprison- ment.”
There are many other recommendations on matters of detailed administration, which though apparently less important, would in their sum total make for the further preven- tion of offences, and for more adequate judicial procedure.
Of all the recommendations regarding mentally defective persons, that of the omis- sion, as suggested above, of the words from birth or from an early age ” would have the most far-reaching effects. It is not too much to say that it would greatly increase the number of those subject to be dealt with under the Mental Deficiency Act. We must not lose sight of the fact that the Mental Deficiency Act is intended to deal with persons suffering from a permanent defect, and that the existence of the condition from birth or from an early age is one of the surest indications of its permanence. Such a pro- found modification of the Act appears to us to require very careful consideration and is not one to be lightly recommended. Whilst fully aware of the existing difficulties of estab- lishing defect as having existed from birth or from an early age, we must bear in mind that if the Defective and Epileptic Children Acts, 1899 and 1914 (now Sections 53 to 69 of the Education Act, 1921) were fully administered, practically all defective children would be ascertained sufficiently so as to bring them within the definition of the Act. There would remain a very small number of high-grades, mainly of the temperamentally defective type, whom it will always be difficult to bring within the four walls of any definition. The deletion of the words ” from birth or from an early age ” would in practice bring within the Act many of those persons referred to under the definition in the Act as first drafted as “Mentally infirm per- sons ; that is to say, persons who through mental infirmity arising- from age or the decay of their faculties are incapable of managing themselves or their affairs.”
The Council of the C.A.M.W. has appointed a Committee to consider this recommendation. Everyday Psychology in the Nursery : A selection from Courses of Lectures delivered under the auspices of the National Society of Day Nurseries. National League for Health, Maternity and Child Welfare. 1925. 1/-.
The Call of the Child. By A. Dingwall- Fordyce, M.D., Hon. Physician, Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital. Adam & Charles Black. 1925. 2/6..
We have received these two little books from the publishers and have pleasure in calling the attention of our readers to them. Though they do not fall entirely within the usual scope of our work, they are useful summaries of various truths of general importance to those dealing with children.
” Everyday Psychology in the Nursery ” consists of the following addresses :? The Use and Abuse of Suggestion with Children, by Dr J. R. Rees. The Psychology of the Boy, by Dr J. R. Rees.
Sex Education, by Dr Elizabeth Sloan Chesser. The Part Played by Diet in the Psychology of the Child, by Dr Eric Pritchard.. The Psychology of the Child, by the late Dr Charles W. Hayward. The Children’s Evening Hour, by Miss M. G. Ostle.
Viscountess Erleigh, to whose initiative the Course of Lectures was due, writes a little introduction. Each lecture is followed by a suitable bibliography. Dr Rees’ first lecture is of special interest to those who realise the extreme suggestibility of the sub-normal child. The Call of the Child deals mainly with the basic essentials of health in childhood. Dr. Dingwall-Fordyce says in his section on “Mental and .Scholastic Training” : ” It is im- possible to dissociate medicine and mental nurture?education.” He gives a very clear, well-arranged survey of psychological needs and school methods and aims, and has a short chapter on Physically Defective and Mentally Defective Children.
Criminality and Levels of Intelligence : Being- a Report of a Mental Survey of the Hobart Gaol. By Professor E. Morris Miller, M.A., Litt.D. University of Tas- mania, Director of the State Psychological Chnic. 1925.
This short report gives the results of a survey carried on by Dr Morris Miller, whereby he found that ” nearly three-fifths ?f the Tasmanian prisoners are mental deviates ?f some sort..” This number includes psycho- paths. There was a re-classification of Pnsoners according to the findings, and con- sequent marked improvement in prison dis- ClP’ine. Dr Morris Miller urges a further Provision of appropriate education and train- lng in early life so that the defective may not become the criminal.
Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for the Year 1924. H.M. Stationery Office, 1925. 1/Gd.
Sir George Newman’s Annual Report con- tains, as always, matter of the highest interest, attractively presented, and his remarks deserve the closest attention, whether he is dealing with the general health of the school child, ?Pen-air education, nursery schools, rural schools, etc.., or particular diseases or defects and their prevention or efficient treatment. In that portion of the Report devoted to mentally defective children, detailed reference is made to Circular 1341 (re Supervision of Educable Children not in Special Schools).
There is a pregnant sentence, referring to the argument that our limited money resources should be spent on those whose education Would be most fruitful. Sir George Newman Writes :?” The defective children, the blind, ^alt, lame and mentally defective are from causes beyond their control already gravely handicapped in capacity and in human happi- ness?does it accord with enlightened views ?f humanity and common sense that they should be still further handicapped by lack of such nurture and training as can be provided? I think not. I am convinced that we must do our best for them and not neglect them. For if We neglect them, two things must )nevitably happen; first, they will be retained |n the ordinary Elementary Schools and thus ^pede the whole elementary system of educa- tion; and, secondly, they will subsequently become a higher charge on the State.” Here is stated succinctly the justification of all work among- mentally defective children. Sir George Newman further states : ” Even one-third to one-half of the mentally defec- tive are so much improved that they subsequently become contributory to their own independent maintenance and are safe- guarded from most of the evils inherent in their condition.” Recognition is also accorded to the fact that ” the methods of education employed and ‘ tried out ‘ in the Special Schools, here and in other countries are contributing substantially to the evolution and betterment of all educational methods. Like the School Medical Service itself, the; have helped to show that education of the child cannot be a cast-iron system of uniform imposition, but a growing and adaptive pro- cess of individual culture, which should be modified in accordance with the needs and capacity of each child.” This is indeed true. The figures for 1924 for the incidence of mental defect per 1,000 children show, in nearly all cases, an increase in the number of mentally defective children.. This is no doubt due, not to an actual increase, but to an improved ascertainment. According to the latest returns from the Local Education Authorities for 1924, the incidence is 6.01, as against 5.65 in 1923, which still falls short of the Board’s estimate of 8.6.
The figures suggest, as Sir George New- man says, ” that there are large numbers of physically and mentally defective children who are not yet recorded in the Authorities’ returns. It will certainly be wise always to bear this possibility in mind when estimating’ the total provision required for these children.” A few of the Local Authorities show a decrease in the number ascertained, and there are one or two startling increases such as :?
i 923. 1924. Bedfordshire … .90 7.17 Chester 3.64 15.04 Radnorshire … 5.37 10.93 York 1.00 11.90
The returns represent a total of 30,821 chil- dren (29,278 in 1923) while the Board’s esti- mate is 44,553. For this large number of children there were in July, 1925, only 174 Day Schools, and 6 Residential Schools, with accommodation for 16,569 children. These facts require no comment.
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