A very painful case of suicide has occurred in the
Bluecoat School. A little boy of the name of William Arthur Gibbs, who had run away for the second time, and had been flogged for it on the first occasion, hanged himself last week, while waiting for the punishment he expected to receive on the next day. Some of the evidence as to the condition of the School goes to show that bullying and severe flogging have been too common there, and though the authorities deny that there was any abuse in this case, and the coroner's jury seem to have agreed with them, and to have re- turned a verdict of suicide in an unsound state of mind, there is obviously the greatest need for a thorough inquiry. The late
bead master, Mr. Bell, in a letter to Friday's Times, admits that in a town school like this, with so large a number of boarders, and. no houses for masters in the neighbourhood, the dormitories can- not be and are not kept under proper supervision, and suggests that the true remedy is migration into the country. In any case, there must be no excuse for thinking that boys are bullied or terrified into suicide,—and yet this is the impression which has evidently got possession of a good many who have read the story of poor little Gibbs's case. We trust the inquiry will be both thorough and independent.
Previous page
