THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL AND THE ORPHANAGE.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2623, 2 September 1882, Page 3

THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL AND THE ORPHANAGE.

The Globb lately oalled attention to the question of arrears duo to the above institutions by persons whose duty it is to direotly contribute to the inpport of their children who have been committed to either the School at Burnham or the Orphanage at Lyttelton. Such persons will regard any publio referenoe to this subjeot very distasteful, no doubt, but if the faot that there ia now about £ISOO due to the Orphanßge alone ba but onoe realised by the publio, the opinion held by those who have quietly evaded paying for the care of these children will have little weight. Possibly were a list of the delinquents, with their names and addresses published in the daily papers onoe every three monthe, the publio eye weuld be just opened sufficiently wide to Bee that a gross abuse of obarity was being systematically carried on. Snob, a step, however, would be perfectly juetifUble, and might reasonably be demanded as a matter of public right, seeing that the cost of maintaining the Orphanage, paid out of the publio purse, has exceeded what it should have done by just the amount of these arrears, the subjeot is plainly one of too much importance to be winked at. What the administrators of the moneys drawn to keep up the Orphanage propose to do about these defaulters the publio may wall ask. An equally important subjeet is involved in the question whether the penalties incurred by peisoifl whose children are being maintained at the publio expense have not a tendenoy by their extreme mildness in the first place, and secondly, through the indifftrant manner in whioh they are enforced ugtinst suoh persons to encourage negligence amongst a certain class in providing for their families. The observations made in connection with some reoent committals both to the Orphange and the Industrial Sohool have oaußed not a few to think that suoh is the case. It ia a subjeot, however, to whioh we may have occasion to further write upon shortly.