THE CARE OF THE FEEBLE-MINDED.
[TO TRII EDITOR. OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—ThOugh I earnestly desire the segregation of the feeble-minded under certain conditions and with proper safe- guards, I bog leave to call attention to two amendments which should be made to the Government Bill. First, the licensed institutions should not be conducted for profit. Since it is for the sake of the community that the feeble- minded are to be deprived of their liberty, the chief considera- tion in the management of such institutions should be the happiness and welfare of the inmates. Institutional life is necessarily more costly than private or family life, espe- cially so when the staff needs great skill and experience, both in teaching and in nursing. The mentally deficient are not only difficult to teach and to control, but are also almost invariably feeble in physique, quite unfit for hard and continuous work. I have visited many homes and insti- tutions and have been much impressed by the contrast in the demeanour and appearance of the inmates. In some they were like good and happy children, in others they were cowed and overworked. The second amendment concerns the definition. It should surely read: Persons incapable "of earn- ing their living even under favourable circumstances through mental defects existing from birth," &e. Even so amended the
Bill would deal with a very great number. Very few, if any, of those who should be caught would escape, and some who should escape would still be caught.—I am, Sir, &c.,
ST. M. BOLDER°, Poor Law Guardian.
Baldursbo, Hampden Park, Sussex.
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