E.—l

XVIII

leave, 21 (11 from "the schools, and 10 from service). Of those thus absent without leave, 11 were included in the number missing on the 31st December, 1898. Out of the total number of 1,668 " inmates," 560 belonged to private industrial schools, and 1,108 were on the books of the three Government industrial schools—viz., Auckland, 89 ; Burnham, 524 ; Caversham, 495. Of those belonging to private schools (560), 390 were in residence at the institutions, 9 were boarded out, 69 were with friends, and 81 at service. The number in residence at the Government industrial schools was 200 (Auckland, 9 ; Burnham, 104 ; Caversham, 87); the number boarded out was 408 (Auckland, 44 ; Burnham, 158; Caversham, 206); there were 69 with friends, and 372 were at service.

TABLE T.—Inmates, 1898 and 1899.

It is now eighteen years since the Industrial Schools Act was passed, and there is no doubt that by means of the powers granted therein an immense amount of good has been done for the "children of the State," and therefore for the State itself. But the time seems to have arrived when the working of the Act and other questions connected with the care of orphan, destitute, neglected, and criminal children may be passed under review. The ideas set forth by Mr. Douglas Morrison ("Juvenile Delinquency"), and by other writers, have changed many of the opinions formerly current in regard to these matters; but in this colony these ideas require some modification in view of the almost entire absence of a hereditary criminal class, and in view of other circumstances in respect of which New Zealand happily differs from older countries. Children that come under the care of the State may be roughly classified as — (1.) Those who are orphans or those who are simply destitute, without any other abnormal characteristics. The duty of the State towards these appears to be that it shall take the place of a parent, and accordingly put them as far as possible in the same circumstances as those in which they would have been placed if they had had parents capable of bringing them up in a normal manner. Boarding-out to carefully chosen foster-parents, under due restrictions, seems at once the most natural and most satisfactory method of dealing with these cases. (2.) Those that exhibit various degrees of juvenile delinquency, including, of course, those who, being orphan or destitute or both, have not escaped a perceptible taint of evil. And. it may be remarked here that the destitute child is more frequently than not of'this class. Unfortunately juvenile delinquency has not shown a marked decrease of late years in any civilised country, but in most countries it has, on the contrary, increased. I. Its causes are to some extent the same as those that operate in the case of adult crime, and the problem cannot be attacked as a whole without dealing with the conditions that produce crime in modern society. The chief external causes of juvenile crime are, — (a.) The stress of the struggle of life; (b.) Bad hygienic surroundings, and consequent inferior physique; (c.) The temptations that result from overcrowding, and from the greater facilities for committing petty thefts with impunity that exist in towns as compared with the country.

Boardi id ou Residence. At Service, &e. Totals. ffi © ""1 « © fl © to ai 3 o fi ? CC rH © 0 CO I o fi ID DQ OS © 5 a hH © © o © fi i r-H ©* © Q i | 1 1 o o 9 o o a % o B » Q Q CO CD © Q I i" £ CD CO ° a 5 5 n 6 CD O iovernment Sohools— Auckland Burnham Caversham 'rivate Schools— St. Mary's, Auckland St. Joseph's, Wellington St. Mary's, Nelson St. Vincent de Paul's, South Dunedin 41 171 191 2 3 6 3 is i.3 2 44 158 206 3 6 11 92 78 78 64 245 5 12 9 18 2 9 104 87 96 51 229 14 27 233 207 15 21 64 9 29 14 7 37 3 *5 36 262 202 29 28 101 3 79 496 476 95 88 315 5 10 28 19 30 89 524 495 125 82 336 17 is 16 2i 12 6 9 Totals .. 414 15 417 573 31 590 567 99 5 661 1,554 120 6 1,668 18 48