MENTAL DEFECTIVES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 392, 28 June 1928, Page 18

MENTAL DEFECTIVES

PROBLEM ON PAR WITH ENGLAND AND U.S.A. DR. MOORE EXPLAINS Press Association. DUNEDIN. Wednesday. The extent of mental disorder in New Zealand, brought under notice by the recent statement by Archbishop Averill in Auckland, was referred to by Dr. Moore to-day. In reply to Archbishop Averill, Dr T. G. Gray, Director-General of Mental Hospitals, stated it seemed Archbishop Averill’s figures were obtained not from the Official Year Book, but from a pamphlet issued by Dr. Moorq, and it was in reference to this that Dr. Moore made a statement to-day. “This pamphlet is a reprint of an article published last year in the ‘New Zealand Medical Journal’ and strong criticism by Dr. Gray should have been given in that periodical months ago,” said Dr. Moore. “All the facts and figures concerning New Zealand given in the article were drawn from official Government returns and any calculations made from them were checked by a chartered accountant. Dr. Gray’s criticism of my facts is therefore criticism of official figures.'* Dr. Moore in his article said: “Id numbers New Zealand seems to lead. It would be rash, however, to suggest that in fact we are in a worse condition than those other countries, as many factors determining the magnitude of numbers differ in many countries.” His criticisms stated in the article were: “It would appear probable that the mental hygiene problem in New Zealand is proportionately about as great as it is in England and the United States of America.” Dr. Moore added that he deprecated alarmist statements.