3

E.~ 3

783. Those at the Auckland Industrial Home and at the Thames are included in the returns of " public school " attendance ; the rest (684) are children taught at the public expense in addition to the pupils of the public schools. Beside the actual inmates of industrial and training schools and orphanages, there were, at the end of the year, 314 young persons (210 boys and 104 girls) out in service or with their friends, but still subject to the authority of the institutions. The numbers in connection with the several institutions respectively were as follows : Auckla-nd Industrial Home, 26 boys and 13 girls ; Kohimarama, 25 boys ; Thames, 2 boys; Motueka, 4 boys and 7 girls ; Lyttelton, 17 and 3 ; Burnham, 20 and 15; Caversham, 116 and 66.

. No. 2. MEMORANDUM BY MB. HABENS. The brief statements made by the police authorities, when children are committed to the industrial schools, show that in by far the greater number of cases the parents are to blame. Of the 294 admissions entered in Table 8, 12 are cases of readmission from service. Of the 282 cases of commitment, there are 55 not due to the parents' faults, and 51 others in which the returns do not indicate any cause of blame. But in 63 cases both parents are of unsatisfactory character, in 90 one or other of them, and in 23 either one or both. In the following table these 282 children are grouped so as to show the circumstances or character of the parents as reported to the department.

Committed Children Classified according to Parents' Circumstances and Character.

The accounts given of the parents of the children not committed by Magistrates are more satisfactory. One of the 47 children was readmitted from service. The remaining 46 cases may be described as follows : In 30 cases the destitution appears to be due to misfortune ; there are 3 in which both parents are certainly to blame, and 7in which only one of them is at fault ; in 3 cases one of the parents is unfortunate, and the character of the other is not stated ; and as to the remaining 3 there is no sufficient information. The 46 cases are classified in the following table.

Parentage of Non-committed Children.

The ages of the children in the several institutions at the end of the year are shown in the following table. The large proportion of very young children at Caversham is remarkable.

Ages of the Children maintained by Government in Industrial Schools, etc.

Mothers described as Children of T, j Sick, Lunatic, OfGood NotKnown or Of Bad n . * vem. Disabled, &o. Character. Not Stated. Character. eaerters. Total. fathers described as— Dead Sick, lunatic, disabled, &c. Of good character (or poor) .., Not known (or not described) Of bad character Deserters 12 1 12 TO 17 6 11 4 2 6 5 1 2 12 4 4 15 1 '"l7 17 14 10 8 7 22 34 15 4 2 1 6 50 7 53 42 64 66 Totals ... 58 28 38 49 81 28 282

Mothers described as Children of ■n*»A Sick, Lunatic, Of Good KolKnownor Of Bad ,, . ■Ueaa- Disabled, &c. Character. Not Stated. Character. Ueser'e«. Total. Fathers described as — Dead Of good character (or poor) ... Not known (or not described) Deserters 11 7 1 1 4 11 2 3 1 2 3 31 1 7 7 Totals ... 11 13 ii ! 5 -10

Institution. Under .1 Year. 1 and under 2. 2 and 3 and under 3. under 4. 1 4 and 5 and 7 and 10 and 13 and Above m under 5. under 7. under 10. under 13. under 15. 15 Years. Aota** Elowe Street, Auckland ... ■It. Mary's, Auckland ■St. Stephen's, Parnell ... rhames Orphanage Kohimarama .. . 3t. Joseph's, Wellington ■It. Mary's, Nelson Motueka Orphanage Lyttelton Orphange Burnham Pa.Tersham 1 1 3 1 1 5 3 1 4 9 2 1 "2 1 16 6 4 2 12 4 10 30 35 3G 8 7 6 8 13 10 29 51 79 22 14 5 7 35 8 27 4 28 77 68 5 2 3 18 1 11 3 19 39 34 1 3 98 35 18 19 53 20 72 21 93 217 249 1 5 1 4 2 4 14 3 10 5 2 4 1 '"4 Totals 1 6 9 33 33 119 247 295 135 11 895