£.—3b

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entitled to carry more weight than mine, and who certainly have as full a sense of responsibility, consider that this form of punishment is the only means by which you can appeal to the type of boys who are at Burnham. This, of course, implies that the fear of physical pain is the only deterrent from wrong-doing. However this may be, 1 do hold the most decided opinion that when it is considered necessary to inflict such punishment it should only be done with the utmost discretion. There has been given in evidence an account of one occasion upon which corporal punishment has been inflicted on a lad by ex-attendant Crowley that is positively sickening in its details. Such a result as has been described should be absolutely impossible under all circumstances, and lam glad to know that this is an isolated case. Mr. Archey is in no way responsible for- the affair, as he was not at Burnham at the time. (c.) Tbeatment of Inmates in Sickness. All reasonable care shown to the sick. Case of E. A. Lewis. Alligations of cruelty not warranted. In my opinion, all reasonable care is shown to sick inmates. It is, of course, very easy to be wise after the event; but in considering any case —and they are very few —in which, perhaps, there may be circumstances that would appear to point to a certain degree of carelessness or neglect, it must not be lost sight of that there is no attendant in the institution who has the slightest pretensions to trained knowledge of sickness or nursing. With children it frequently happens that symptoms of illness vary greatly, and are often difficult to diagnose. An ailment may thus, to the average lay judgment, appear to be slight and trifling, or to have been overcome, and may afterwards prove to have been but the forerunner of a serious and even dangerous malady. These remarks seem to me emphatically to apply to the case of the inmate Edward Arthur Lewis. This lad is sixteen years of age, and does not give one the impression of being a boy of very robust physique. He was first taken ill on the 22nd May, 1906, and complained of sore throat. To avoid any possible risk of contagion, and to enable his condition to be watched, he was removed into the room of the sub-matron, where he remained for some time, and then back to the dormitory. His condition by this time was so much improved that there was every justification for the belief on the.part of those immediately responsible that he was quite convalescent. On Thursday, the 31st May, and on the following day he was up and about the institution. On the Saturday morning he got up and had breakfast with the other boys. In the afternoon of that day he went to look on at a football match, and returned to the institution about 5 p.m. During the whole of this time he himself states that he was feeling quite well, and his appearance and demeanour certainly gave no indication that there was anything the matter with him. On the Sunday morning he got up with the other boys, and did his turn of work in the kitchen. After morning parade he went for a short walk, and then returned and had dinner. Up to this time he says that he felt perfectly well. In the afternoon he went for a longer walk, and then began to feel stiff and tired. He was given the option of going to bed, but declined to do so, and sat up with the other boys. On Monday he remained in bed all day, feeling very stiff and unwell. On Tuesday he was taken back to the Sub-matron's room, where he remained during the whole of that day and Wednesday. On Thursday, the 7th June, he was brought to the Christchurch Hospital, where he still is, though now convalescent. He was found to be suffering from a severe attack of sub-acute rheumatism, and there is little doubt in my mind that, owing to the boy's low condition of health, aw the result of the first attack of tonsilitis, he contracted the rheumatic attack when standing in the playing-field viewing a game of football on Saturday, the 2nd June—a cold, raw, winter day. Of course, it is most regrettable that the lad should have suffered to the extent he has done, but lamin no wise prepared to hold an) - person in Burnham responsible for it. It seems to me that it is one of those unfortunate occurrences that might happen to a lad at any time, under the most favourable circumstances. There is absolutely nothing in the evidence to warrant the serious allegations of inhumanity and cruelty that have been made against the management, and it seems to me that no person, reading the evidence, can come to any other conclusion. During the progress of this inquiry the cases of other inmates have been fully investigated, which were alleged to indicate a lack of consideration on the part of those in authority. I do not propose to refer to these in detail. I am convinced from the evidence that no blame can reasonably attach to either the Manager or the Matron in connection with these cases. (d.) Duties and Conditions of the Staff. Burnham staff. " • The staff at Burnham is composed of the following, in addition to the Manager and Matron: M a l e —Clerk and assistant-clerk, storeman, labour master, gardener, carpenter, shoemaker, tailor, ' first farm hand, second farm hand, detention-yard attendant, schoolmaster, cook. Female—' Sub-matron, machinist, laundress. Their duties are set out in a return which has been put in as an exhibit. Hours and conditions. Qualifications of attendants. It is certain that the hours are long, and that the conditions under which the attendants work are exceedingly trying. The work is of a peculiar nature, inasmuch as in addition to his ordinary duties each attendant has to take his turn at the more intimate and special work of controlling, supervising, and, I might almost say, humanising, the boys. An enormous amount of special responsibility is thus cast upon each individual attendant, and it must be apparent that no man can possibly do his fullest measure of duty to the inmates unless he has certain qualifications of a special' nature, and takes such interest in the boys with whom he is brought into close and constant contact as will enable him to study and understand their characters and natures. Necessarily a good attendant must be a good disciplinarian; but a great deal more than this is needed. To secure the very best man, and therefore the most valuable service, it seems to me that the conditions of service and life generally should be made as attractive as may reasonably be. Constant changes