616 



REFORMATORIES AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS 



for it* being removed to such school if not origin- 

 ally committed to it No school cnn tie eoni|ielled 

 to receive a child. The selection of the school is 

 in practice generally a matter which the governor 

 of the prison arranges with the managers after the 

 sentence is panned, except when a local authority 

 baa a general agreement with Mime school. 



A reformatory mny lie established wholly by 

 private individuals, or by quarter sessions in 

 counties, or by town-councils in quarter sessions 

 boroughs, or by private iinliviiluals with contribu- 

 tions from these local authorities, but the state 

 provides no reformatories, and the local authorities 

 are not obliged to do so. Plans of any buildings 

 proposed to be used as a reformatory must be sub- 

 mitted to and approved by the Secretary of State. 

 The rules of reformatories are made by the 

 managers, but must ! submitted to and approved 

 by the Secretary of State. The expenses of main- 

 taining the reformatory are met partly by private 

 contributions, partly from local rates, partly from 

 funds provided oy the Treasury, and partly by pay- 

 ments exacted from the parents or guardians. By 

 the report for 1890 of the inspector it appears that 

 there were fifty -five reformatory schools in Great 

 Britain, including three ships. Of these ten were 

 in Scotland. There were seven in Ireland. 



The growth of the reformatory system in Great 

 Britain U shown by the following figures. In IS.">4 

 twenty-nine children were committed to reformatory 

 schools in England ; in 1857, 1304 ; in 1877, the 

 largest number recorded viz. 1896 ; and in 1890, 

 1299. The total population of the reformatory 

 schools in Great Britain seems to have risen 

 gradually until 1881, when it attained its maxi- 

 mum viz. 6738 ; since which it has fallen gradually, 

 and on 31st December 1890 there were under 

 detention 5031 males and 823 females, or together 

 5854, of whom 4164 males and 737 females were 

 actually in the schools, the remainder being mostly 

 on license, but 52 had alsconded or were in 

 prison. The cost of these schools in the latter 

 year was 119,336, of which 78,862 was provided 

 by the Treasury, 5488 by the parents, 24,055 by 

 local rates, 2793 by subscriptions and legacies, 

 799 by voluntary associations, and 2619 interest 

 on investments and sundries. This leaves a 

 balance of expenditure over receipts of 5519; 

 and, as the inspector's report shows that there 

 was a profit on industrial operations of over 

 13,416, it is presumed that the deficiency was 

 supplied from that source. The net cost per head 

 in 1890 after deducting profits of labour may be put 

 at about 19 per annum, for both hoys anil girls 

 in England. In Scotland the boys cost about CI7 

 and the girls over 22. Testing the result of the 

 reformatories and industrial schools by the com- 

 mittals of juvenile offenders to prison, it appears 

 that, taking for comparison the number so com- 

 mitted in 1856 vi/_ 1 1,808 there were up till 1873 

 01 1*74 more years in which the number was above 

 Hi (00 than bwow it. Since the latter year it has 

 fallen, until in 1890 there were only 3456 boys 

 committed to prison in England and Wales. The 

 young persons who commit crimes needing the 

 punishment of detention in a reformatory are 

 therefore evidently largely diminishing, a result 

 which corresponds with the diminution in adult 

 crime, with which it is HO closely connected. 



The industrial schools may to Mid to have grown 

 out of the reformatory schools the first act rehii 

 ing to and recognising them having Ix-en passed in 

 1854, since which their history much resembles that 

 of the reformatories, the consolidating act which 

 now regulates them having with that for reforma- 

 tories been passed in 1866. Subsequent acts have 

 much extended their KCO|>C, especially those which 

 followed the establishment of compulsory educa- 



tion, and encouraged or enjoined school lioards to 

 establish and make use of them. Industrial schools 

 are intended for children who have not been con- 

 victed of crime, and this is their distinctive note as 

 compared with reformatories. A child must U- 

 under fourteen, and cannot be detained above the 

 age of sixteen. The circumstances which justify a 

 magistrate committing a child to an industrial 

 school are if he has been found begging, wander- 

 ing without settled abode or proper guardianship 

 and visible means of subsistence ; who is destitute, 

 an orphan, or having a surviving parent in prison ; 

 whose mother has lieen twice convicted of crime ; 

 who frequents the company of thiexes, \'c. It a 

 chilil under twelve is charged with a punishable 

 offence, but has not previously been convicted of 

 felony, he may be sent to an industrial school ; so 

 also may a refractory child on the application of 

 its parent or guardian ; a refractory pauper child, 

 or one either of whose parents has been convicted, 

 may also be sent to an industrial school. The 

 Education Act, 1876, requires the school authority 

 to take steps to send all children to industrial 

 schools who are liable to be sent for the above 

 reasons, unless it is in any case inexpedient, and 

 further requires it to apply to justices for orders 

 compelling the attendance at school of children 

 over five and under fourteen whose education is 

 habitually neglected by their parents, and author- 

 ises the committal of such children to an industrial 

 I school. 



Day industrial schools, in which, as their name 

 implies, children can be trained and fed, but not 

 lodged, were authorised by the same act. The 

 mode in which an industrial school may be estab- 

 lished is substantially the same as has been de- 

 scribed for reformatories, but in addition the school 

 authority has the same power as the prison author- 

 ity. The provisions to ensure proper buildings 

 and suitable rules, and as to inspection, are also 

 similar in the two cases, and a child may be licensed 

 from an industrial school as from a reformatory. 

 So also are the provisions for meeting the expenses 

 of these schools. The report for 1890 of the 

 inspector of reformatory and industrial schools 

 shows that there are now in Great Britain 141 

 industrial schools, including 8 ships, 10 truant 

 schools for school board cases, and 19 day industrial 

 schools. Of these 7 are established by county 

 authorities, 1 by the corporation of Birmingham, 

 and school boards manage 8, besides the truant 

 schools and day industrial schools. 



The development of these schools is shown by 

 the number under detention in each year to l>e in 

 the direction of steady increase. In 1864, 1668 

 children were under detention ; in 1890 this had 

 risen to 22,735. These figures include the truant 

 schools, but do not include the day industrial 

 school., which commenced in 1879 with 287 scholars, 

 and in 1890 had 3698. The numlier of admissions 

 coi responds in steadiness of increase with the fore- 

 going figures. In 1861, 608 boys ami 400 girls were 

 admitted; in 18(W, 4'."2 boys atid 16!) girls; in 1866, 

 tlie year of the consolidated act, the numlx'rs rose- 

 to I -1 14 !K>VS and 539 girls; and in 1890 there were 

 3483 boys' and 849 girls, besides 1510 to truant 

 schools, and '->.~>17 to day industrial schools. (A 

 small deduction should apparently be made from 

 these figures for transfers.) The foregoing liguies 

 giving the number under detention in xarious years 

 are apparently to be taken to mean that these 

 nnmtierH were all under order of detention at the 

 same time. 



The cost of ordinary industrial schools in 1860 was 

 l'.~>s,701. The year of highest cost was 1885, when 

 it rose to 386,400. In 1890 it was 360,947. This 

 includes truant schools. Of this latter the Treasury 

 contributed 194,403; the rates. 42,198; school 



