XV

B.—l

Table U is given in a new form this year ; although it cannot be regarded as accurate in every detail, it gives the fullest information available in respect to the character of the parents of children admitted during the year, and in regard also to the reasons for committal. As to the latter heading, it may be noted that apparently the practice in the various Magistrates' Courts is not quite uniform, cases that appear to be similar being regarded differently in different districts. Again, what is far more important, the clause under which a child is committed to an industrial school is by no means a reliable index of the child's moral character; for instance, in cases of petty theft it is often found that the wrongful act does not necessarily imply a vicious disposition, but is merely a symptom of want of control or of sheer neglect on the part of parents. In this connection there is a somewhat sad significance in the fact that two-thirds (43 out of 64) of the children committed to industrial schools as guilty of punishable offences were described as the children of good (or respectable) parents ; in 30 cases both parents were described as " good " ; in 13 other cases the surviving parent was so described. In regard to religion, the inmates admitted during 1898 were described as follows: Church of England, 85; Boman Catholic, 83; Presbyterian, 28; Methodist, 9; Baptist, 4; Jewish, 1. Of the 210 admissions, 123 were from the four centres —Dunedin, 41; Auckland, 35; Wellington, 31; Christchurch, 16. The rest were from the smaller towns and country districts.

TABLE U.—Admissions, classified according to Parents' Circumstances and Character, 1898.

The balance in the Post-Office Savings-Bank on 31st December, 1898, on account of wages of inmates belonging to Government industrial schools was £10,676 2s. 4d. ; and on account of inmates in private schools, £1,048 7s. Bd. The amount withdrawn during the year for inmates of Government schools was £1,241 2s. 9d. ; and for inmates of private schools, £14. The expenditure on the Government schools (including the cost of inmates boarded out), and the amounts recovered from chaxitable aid boards, from parents, from the sale of farm produce, &c, are shown in Table W.

Prei :edent londitioi of Children ai Lmitted in 1898. 43 "I I 1 § 3 I '3 s o o a go" So || pi Total. Fathers, described as Mothers, described as -2 I CD P 1 M I Dead .. Sick, lunatic, &o. Go"od '.'. '.'. Unknown Dead Good Unknown Bad Dead . Good Dead Sick, lunatio, &o. Good Unknown Bad .. Dead Sick, lunatio, &o. Good Unknown Bad .. * Deserter Dead Good Bad .. Dead Good Bad .. 8 6 *3 *8 3 4 6 1 3 4 1 8 2 14 4 3 3 5 1 "i 1 2 i i 2 io 3 'p 3 *i i i 2 3 1 'a 5 30 1 2 1 11 19 1 10 3 3 17 8 83 4 17 5 3 7 3 14 3 17 8 19 4 5 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 i 4 Bad".. '.'. ■i 1 4 5 1 2 9 Deserter ■" ■• Totals i 14 36 ! 6 87 64 210