H.—2l

1908. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: TE ORANGA HOME (REPORT OF COMMISSION, TOGETHER WITH MINUTES OF EVIDENCE AND EXHIBITS).

Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Gommand of His Excellency.

KEPOBT. To His Excellency, the Right Honourable William Lee, Baron Plunket, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies : — May it please Your Excellency— ;i I, the Commissioner appointed by Your Excellency's letters patent of the 10th February, 1908, which letters patent were extended on the 14th March, 1908, and by which I was directed to inquire into the management of Te Oranga Home, and the treatment of the resident inmates thereof during the last two years in regard to the following matters, that is to say : — (a.) The "suitability and efficacy of the methods adopted in the said school for the classifica- -■! tion of the inmates in sections or grades of reformatory treatment; (6.) The general treatment of the inmates, particularly as regards the methods of punishment, having regard to humanity on the one hand and the maintenance of proper discipline on the other, and any special treatment as regards punishment to which any particular inmates (whose cases might be brought before me during the inquiry) may have been subjected ; (c.) The duties of the members of the staff, and whether or not such duties, and the conditions under which they are performed, entail any undue hardship ; (d.) The relations between the Manager and the staff of attendants under her control, and the discretion or otherwise exercised by the Manager in respect of her dealings with such attendants; and upon the evidence brought before me in my proceedings as aforesaid, and upon any other evidence that I might in this behalf obtain (but without having regard to the limit of time hereinbefore expressed), to report my opinion as to the extent to which the said school has been successful in improving the moral and social conditions of the inmates, and is generally fulfilling the purpose of a reformatory, have to report as follows: — (a.) Classification. Owing to the lack of sufficient and suitable accommodation at the school, the girls have been entirely dealt with in two classes, the better girls being put in what is known as the first class, and the more troublesome.girls in the second class. At the present time, of the fifty-four girls in the school, eleven are in the first class and the remainder in the second class. Without going into details, the first-class girls have very much higher privileges than those in the second class, and every inducement is offered to those in the lower class to qualify, by good conduct, for the higher class,

i—H, 21,