Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders

Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders,
by
by King, J. Sands Elliot, Ada G.
Patterson, C.E. Matthews and J. Beck

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Title: Mental Defectives and Sexual Offenders Report of the Committee of Inquiry
Appointed by the Hon. Sir Maui Pomare, K.B.E., C.M.G., Minister of Health
Author: W. H. Triggs, Donald McGavin, Frederick Truby King, J. Sands Elliot, Ada G.
Patterson, C.E. Matthews and J. Beck
Release Date: July 29, 2006 [EBook #18932]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MENTAL DEFECTIVES
AND SEXUAL OFFENDERS ***

Produced by Jonathan Ah Kit, Cori Samuel and the Online Distributed Proofreading
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1925. NEW ZEALAND.
MENTAL DEFECTIVES AND SEXUAL OFFENDERS.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY APPOINTED BY THE HON. SIR
MAUI POMARE, K.B.E., C.M.G., MINISTER OF HEALTH.

* * * * *
Laid on the Table of the House of Representatives by Leave.
* * * * *
CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMITTEE.
HON. W. H. TRIGGS, M.L.C., Chairman.
SIR DONALD MCGAVIN, Kt., C.M.G., D.S.O., M.D. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.),
Director-General of Medical Services, Defence Department.
SIR FREDERICK TRUBY KING, Kt., C.M.G., M.B., B.Sc. (Public Health) (Edin.),
Director Division of Child Welfare, Department of Health.
J. SANDS ELLIOTT, Esq., M.D., Bac. Surg. (Edin.), Chairman of the Council of the N.Z.
Branch of the British Medical Association.
MISS ADA G. PATERSON, M.B., Ch.B. (N.Z.), L.M. (Dublin), Director Division of
School Hygiene, Department of Health.
C. E. MATTHEWS, Esq., Under-Secretary for Justice and Controller-General of Prisons,
&c.
J. BECK, Esq., Officer in Charge Special Schools Branch, Education Department.
Secretary: J. W. BUCHANAN, Esq.
* * * * *
CONTENTS.


PART I.--INTRODUCTORY AND HISTORICAL.
PAGE
Section 1.--=Origin and Scope of Inquiry=: Mental Deficiency, Increase of; North
Canterbury Hospital Board and others suggest Inquiry; Committee, Personnel; Nature of
Inquiry; Places visited and inspected; Sittings, Date and Place of; Witnesses examined,
and Work done; Appreciation of Services rendered; Value of Memoranda supplied by Sir
George Newman, Secretary of State for the United States, Dr. E. S. Morris (Tasmania),
Dr. Helen MacMurchy (Ottawa), and Dr. Eric Clarke (Toronto); Secretarial Services 2
Section 2.--=Two Distinct Questions=: Mental Defectives and Sexual Perverts,

Comments on 5


PART II.--PROBLEM OF THE FEEBLE-MINDED.
Section 1.--=A Menace to Modern Civilization=: Feeble-minded, Danger of Unrestricted
Multiplication; Lothrop Stoddart's Views; American Army, Psychological Test of;
Results and Deductions 5
Section 2.--=Heredity= v. =Environment=: Genetics and Heredity; Heredity and
Environment, Aspects reviewed; Degenerate Families, Life-histories; Dr. Macgregor,
Deductions from his Report; Degenerate Stocks imported, Effect of; Environmental
Factor, Importance of; Pre-natal and Post-natal Care, Value of; Housing Problem;
Relationship of Impaired Nutrition, Debility, and Disease to Impaired Control; Dietetics
and Child Welfare; Picture-shows, Effect on Children, and Recommendations; Venereal
Disease Committees' Report as to Effect of Syphilis, &c.; Director Division of School
Hygiene, Attention drawn to Report; Excessive Competition, Effect on School-children 6
Section 3.--=Illustrative Cases of Hereditary Degeneracy=: Juke Family; Kallikak Family;
New Zealand Cases cited; Sir Robert Stout's Comments 7
Section 4.--=Elements of the Problem=: Basic Phases, Registration, Educational Care and
Training of Feeble-minded Children, Oversight and Supervision; Educational Curriculum
for various Groups; Residential Schools; Farm and Industrial Colonies for Segregation 11
Section 5.--=Estimates as to Numbers of Mental Defectives=: Education Department
Returns; Retardation, Problem of; Feeble-minded and Epileptic Cases, Return showing
12
Section 6.--=Study of Feeble-minded and Delinquent Children=: Methods employed in
other Countries; United States of America; New Zealand; Need of Psychological Experts;
Tredgold, Quotation from 14
Section 7.--=Method of dealing with Mental Defectives in New Zealand--Present Legal
Provision for Notification and Education of Feeble-minded Children and for Care of
Custodial Feeble-minded Adults and Children=: Education Act, 1914; Provision of;
"Feeble-minded," Definition of; Mental Defectives Act, 1911; English Mental Deficiency
Act; Public Schools, Special Classes; Epileptic Children, Education of; Otekaike and
Richmond Special Schools; Nature of Institutions and Training, with Suggestions;
Caversham Industrial School; Weraroa Boys' Training-farm; Committal, Nature of;
Value of Home Life in Comparison with Institutional 14
Section 8.--=Children's Courts=: Committee's Recommendations; Clinics for Physical
and Psychological Examination 17

Section 9.--=Policy for the Future=: Notification; English Commission, 1908, Basic
Principles laid down; Register of Feeble-minded; Eugenics Board; Dr. Gray's
Suggestions; Psychiatrists, Suggested Appointment; Eugenic Board, Proposed Duties and
Powers; Departments to control Feeble-minded; Marriage and Carnal Knowledge with
Feeble-minded; Parents' and Guardians' Responsibilities 17
Section 10.--=The Question of Sterilization=: Operations, Nature of; X-rays, Use of;
American Laws; Dr. H. Laughlin, Chicago,