The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-25 00:00:00

THE REFORMATORY ESTABLISHMENT

AT METTRAY.

The following notice of the establishment a t
Mettray is from the pen of Lord Leigh, who has
employed a short visit in France in the useful ob-
ject of gathering personal experience and informa-
tion of the various institutions of this class in the
country of our neighbours and allies. They were
addressed in a letter to a member of the committee
employed in carrying out the plans of such an in-
stitution in Warwickshire, in which the noble
writer has from the first taken an active part. The
letter, intended only for the use of those acting in
his own county, may be equally useful in others :
"According to your request, I propose to send you
a short account of one or two of thereformatory institu-
tions which I have seen in France, but I shall confine my
observations chiefly to Mettray. The conduct of the Co-
lonie Agricolo of Mettray has the advantage of resting
entirely with our admirable friend M. De Metz, who
first set the institution on foot about 17 years ago, in com-
pany with a friend, the Vicomte de Bretignieres de Cour-
teilles. It has been supported by private subscription,
by his own and by his friend's benevolence, and by as-
sistance from Government at the rate of 70c., or 7d. per
head a-day, with a gift of 35f. on the admission of the
child into the colony, and 3M. at the close of two years
more, with an annual subscription of 50,000 f. (2,0001.
English money), lately diminished to 25,000 f., or 1,0001.
The present number of children is 681, and of einplo?gs
fed at the expense of the institution 56. The buildings
stand in the middle of a flat open plain, remote from any
town or large village, without wall or enclosure of any
sort, for the purposes at least of confinement. The church
stands in the middle of the buildings at the further end.
It is open at all times, but service is only performed in
it on Sundays. M. De Metz observed on this point that
he objected to daily service, on the ground that the work-
men in every-day life would be unable to attend it, and
that to drop a duty which had been inculcated as one
had an injurious effect on the mind. The co/on, when first
he found himself unable to attend daily service, would feel
that he was neglecting a duty, and when at war with his
own conscience would soon give up going to church at
all. In speaking also of La Grande Trappe, which
is in the bands of monks, M. de Metz said that, although
he had not seen it, he feared upon this principle
that it was probable, that when once the young detenu re..
stored to the world found out how dissimilar real life was
from what he had hitherto seen of it, and the impossibi-
lity of carrying out the religious practice to which he
would have been most likely trained in La Graude Trappe
there would be great danger that, his eyes over-opened,
and the constraint once removed, he would become wholly
reckless and neglectful of the observances which the law-
ful business of the world still gave time for. At the
same time the children have full liberty, the church
doors being open, if they wish to spend a few minutes
in prayer to do so, but if they desire to do this it must
be during the hours placed at their disposal for play.
These hours are the hoar after dinner and the two half-

hours after breakfast and tea. The boys are divided
into families of, in general, from 30 to 50 each, to which
families they remain attached during the whole period
of their detention ; and when they return to visit Met-
tray, when out of a situation, they invariably seem to
turn again to their old family. We ourselves saw a pro-
mising young soldier who had been wounded in the Cri-
mea, and was now quartered at Tours, revisiting his
old haunts and the house in which he had been brought
up, and when the children were being marshalled, as they
always are to the sound of music in martial order pre-
paratory to meals or return to labour—assisting in get-
ting the little ones of his former family into their proper
rank and place. There are 12 houses (exclusive of the
farm-houses) for the boys, divided into three storeys ; the
two upper firm the sleeping and living rooms, while the
ground floor is used for a workshop ; the family divi-
sion, however, is not carried out in the workshops, as
boys of various families are brought together to learn
the same trade. M. De Metz observes that it is very'
desirable to teach boys who corns from towns, and who
belong to families practising them, trades, as he says
that lie has found by experience and former failures the
impossibility of inducing town boys to attach theinselyee
to country life. He started with the idea that he night
exclude trades altogether, but his long experience has
taught him that this did not answer ; nevertheless, he
makes a very great point of agricultural occupations, and
something less than half the whole number of children
are employed directly upon the farms. To return to the
family division, to which I conceive the success of Met-
tray to be greatly due. I am of opinion that this system
alone allows of attention to every individual child, which
is indispensable to the reformation of each individual
character, while it procures for children, who have per-
haps never experienced them before the happy influences
inspired by the love of home. A chef de fanalle or cot
ploy(' has the constant superintendence of one of these
families. He is assisted by one of the (leas, or young
men in training to become masters hereafter, who does
not, however, remain permanently attached to one fa-
mily ; and by two freres aim-s, who are chosen from.
among and by the boys themselves. The freres
are in the position of monitors, and are distinguished by
a red mark upon the sleeve of their jackets. M. De
Metz is at very great pains, in introducing new boys, to
place them judiciously as regards the families. For ex-
ample, in France there is a great difference of diameter
observable in different provinces, and he takes care that
the volatile nature of one disposition shall be balanced
by the steadiness, not to say stolidity, of another. The
family division presents great advantages on the intro-
duction of any number of boys into the institution ; for
when there is an accession of bad boys—who, if turned
in with ever so great a number of others, would remain
a nucleus of evil, attracting all the evil round it till it
swelled and corrupted the whole mass—by a careful
subdivision, and by introducing but one or two boys
into a family of improved and improving cha-
racter, the spirit of evil is probably soon repressed
by the preponderating good around, and no per-
manent injury is done. To return to chef de famille.
He occupies a little closet at the end of the children's
bed-room, which is in shape an elongated square ; there-
fore it is the more possible for him to overlook the whole
through a little window opening into his room, added
to which the children lie with head and feet alternating.
No conversation whatever is allowed during the hours
for work, meals, or sleep. The hammocks (which the
children at Mettray all sleep in) were recommended to
us on many grounds, although I am not prepared to
give a decided opinion myself upon them. M. De Metz
said that in summer the boys lie in them in comfort
and decency, with scarcely any covering whatever, and
in winter very little makes them snug and warm, not to
mention the great economy of material and of space.
The supports for the hammocks on the outer side are in
the daytime hooked to the walls, and at night, at a
given signal from the chef, are dropped into grooved sup-
ports, projecting from the posts which support the roof,
and stand out in the room. Though stout beams, they were
easily lifted by the children together. All retire to rest
at the same hour, only the little ones get up later in the
morning. A light is kept burning in the rooms all
night. Haif the children sleep on one floor, half on an-
other. The chef de fccmille sleeps near one half, and the
elhe near the other. The children have three meals
a-day--meat twice a- week. The cost of their diet averages
45 centimes, or 4id. The trades the children learn are
various tailoring, shoemaking' saiot making, with
blacksmiths', wheelwrights', and carpenters' worn ; and
they also snake agricultural implements. They take
turns to assist in the domestic services of the house and
kitchen. Washing is done every day in an admirably
organised leundry, and the boys wash their own clothes.
It is the chef cr atelier who adjudges the little rewards
in money which are given to the best workmen among
the colons at the close of every three months, to the
amount of shoot 3f. for the best, with a graduated scale
down to the Bth, if the family consists of from 40 to 50
boys, but only down to the 4th if it consists of from 20
to 30.

"The chef de famine, however, puts his veto upon the
reward if the conduct of the child in the family has not
been satisfactory. Whatever the reward may be, it is
always doubled if the recipient is in the position of a fare
(tine. Part of the money is put into the savings-bank at
Tours, and, I believe, one-fourth is at the disposal of the
child, at the discretion of the chef, but the account-
hooks are entirely in the hands of the controller of the
finances of the establishment. A boy in receipt of any
money has to make payment for any part of his dress
which requires to be renewed before the stated time ar-
rives at which fresh clothing is given out, which other-
wise is all furnished by the institution. On the other
hand, if his clothes are found in good condition at such
time he receives the benefit of it by having the money
which would have been laid out in clothes placed to his
account. The dress is uniform and extremely simple,
and just what would be if working at home—viz., a
plain brown blouse or short tunic, canvas trousers,
sabots, and straw hat. The money in the bank is paid
to the boy on his leaving Mettray, unless, by his desire,
it is allowed to remain yet longer. The boys wash in
open sheds, attached to the various houses, and connect-
ing them at the back. There is a largo fountain at hand,
from which they carry the water in large tubs to the
sheds. Twice ;a-week they are taken in divisions to a
reservoir to baths and learn to swim in summer.
" The strictest discipline is observed, and nothing is
overlooked. Dry bread is an occasional punishment,
but the cell is a more frequent one. Every fault which
has called for reproof is registered, and a most careful
and detailed conduct-book is kept, showing the be-
haviour of every child. Here are seen at a glance his
name, previous residence, habits, health, appearance in
detail, the crime for which he was convicted, every pos-
sible information which can be gleaned with regard to
himself and his family, with a most careful. and complete
aeport of his behaviour since ad. reissTn. When a fault
calls for punishment, before it isinflicted upon the child
he is made to retire into a cell, which takes for the time
dire reviews his
being the name of Salle de Reftexiwt; he is kept there for
an hour or so, and meanwhile the cteur
conduct-book, takes into careful consideration the pre•
virus circumstances and conduct of the boy, his general
character, his advantages and disadvantages, and, hav-
ing carefully weighed them and taken time to collect
himself, and give the boy leisure to reflect upon his fault,
he is in a position to pronounce, as far as human discern-
ment goes, the exact measure of punishment deserved
by the child. Those confined to cells have an hour's ex-
ercise a-day in chopping wood, or in some similar occupa-
tion. The cells are bare rooms, with sufficient light and
airier breath. Punishment is administered for apparently
trifling faults. We found four boys in four cells on the
occasion of our visit. One was there for refusing to sing
the day before, two for taking chestnuts, and the other
for being found near the cellar, where he bad no busi-
ness to be. I think it will be allowed that these are not
offences of a very grave nature, and, as the discipline is
so strict, that it is satisfactory there are so few boys
from a larger number. The cells are so placed and
arranged that those in them, although unseen, can be
admitted to take part in the church service, at the back
of the altar of the church, on Sundays. Eight Sisters