TE ORANGA HOME.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 41, 7 February 1908, Page 2

TE ORANGA HOME.

0 alleged Mismanagement. SlililOl'.S ALLEGATIONS. i'er I'ress Association. Oiirslchureh, Lust Night. _ Jloro trouble, says the Lyttclton Times, has arisen at Tc Orangi Home, and more charges of\ mismanagement lire made against the managress, Mrs. Granting. It is stated that the girls complain bitterly of harsh and unsympathetic treatment, and that the man, agress 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 J ill-health, had to be taken to the Ohristchurch Hospital. She remained there for some time, but she has now been discharged, and is back in the Home. From the statement made, it =ecms that the girls complain of the j fooil they are given, of the work they are compelled tn do, of the nature of their punishments, and favoritism. It is stated that favoritism is rampant in the institution, and that it leads to nincli injustice. Oiiis who a*e not favorites of (he managress say that it is useless to try to please. According to (he statements circulated, harshness is displayed in the punishments. Some, of the girls say that they carry the marks of the managress' strap on their bodies for days. The method seems to be to make the delinquents lie on their beds while the strap is brought down with the full force of the managress' arm, as many as twelve strokes being given at a time.. Girls who have listened to others being punished, it is staled, have cried to hear the groans and sobs. There are two cells in the institntion, which 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 iiisubordination, 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 the food. Another charge is that the managress does not give the girls a chance to defend themselves. They are not allowed to talk at meal times, and are 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, she may be given dry bread. It is quite usual for many of the girls to be on short rations. They rise at f1.30 a.m., and are out of the dormitories at seven. They* immediately start work. Rome do household work and others milk the cows, clean the fowl runs, tidy the yards, and so on. They have breakfast at eight, and after that more work is found for them. They fell trees, cut all the fire-i wood, using the axe and the cross-cut saw, plant and dig potatoes, grnh gorsd and broom, and do other manual work, including the painting of the fences. INQUIRY TO BE HELIX Wellington, Thursday. The Chris! church correspondent of the Tost has telegraphed details of further charges of mismanagement at Te Oranga Girls' Home. These have been brought under the notice of the Hon, C. Fowlds, who states that it will be necessary to hold an enquiry in order to satisfy the public mind on the mutter and to give those in charge of the institution an opportunity of defending the management and methods.