TE ORANGA HOME.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2109, 7 February 1908, Page 2

TE ORANGA HOME.

FURTHER ALLEGATIONS OF CRUELTY. SHORT RATIONS AND HARD WORK. CHRISTCHURCH, Fen. 6. “Alore trouble,” says the Lyttelton Times, “has arisen at Te Oranga Home, and more charges of mismanagement are made against the manager, Airs. Branting. It is stated that the girls bitterly complain of harsh and unsympathetic treatment, and. that the manager shows no disposition to remedy their grievances. The subject has been brought up again by the fact that- one of the girls who was strapped while in illhealth had to be taken to the Christchurch Hospital. She remained there for some time, but 6he has now been discharged, and is back in the Heme. From the statements made, it seems that the girls complain of the food they are given, of tho work they are compelled to do, of the nature of the punishments, and of favoritism. It is stated that favoritism is rampant in the institution, and that it leads to much injustice, and girls who are not favorites of tho manager say that it is useless to try to please. According to tho statements circulated about harshness, some of the girls say that they carry the marks of the manager’s strap on their bodies for days. The method seems to be to make the delinquent lie on her bed, while the strap is brought down with the full force of the manager’s arm, as many as twelve strokes being given at a time. Girls who have listened to others being punished, it is stated, have cried to hear their groans and sobs. There are two cells in the institution, and they are used for solitary confinement. In one case, according to information supplied, a girl was placed in a cell for two days, for no offence, except what one of the assistants termed insubordination, or because the assistant had been annoyed by the girl. Offenders have been kept in the cells for several weeks without seeing anyone except the attendant who took their feed. Another charge is that tho manager does not give tho girls a chance to defend themselves. They are not allowed to talk at meal times, and aro punished for this minor offence by being sent away from the table, 'if it is thought that a girl has not done a fair day’s work tliey may he given dry bread, and it it quite usual for many of the girls to be on short rations. Tliev rise at 6.30 n.m., and aro out of the dormitories at 7. when they immediately start work. Some do household work, and others milk the cows, clean the fowl runs, tidy the yards, and so on. They have breakfast at S a.m., and after that more work is found for them. They fell trees, out all the firewood, using the axe and tho crosscut saw, plant and dig potatoes, gvuh gorse and broom, an d do other manual work, including tlie painting of tho fences.