, 1912-09-25

IGNORANCE OF MOTHERS
The Committee urge the school authorities to do all in their power
to instruct girls at school in the matter OF the proper feeding and care OF
1t is suggested that instruction should also be given to all girls in
,he matter Of the pltnble cooking of cheap foods The importance of
The COMMITTEE also suggest that the Government and Colonial
other fund for the provision Of more denconesses o spread instruction
among the mohersin respect of the proper feeding and treatment of tLeir
NEGLECT IF CHILDREN By MOTHER.
This is in many cases due to the necessity for the mothers to work
There can be no doubt that the best way to raise children is for the
This Ideal state Of affairs is however impo sile Of attainment in Santa
Cruz for a good many years to come. Sometime may however be done
Neglect of the children is often due to he mother living in town
and working as a porter on some estate in the country Now, although
the mother has a chddtns home at which she may leave her child aud
chnd,e en- or under nobodys charge in particular Workiugas a porter,
PLAIN that under such conditions the children must be neglected.
destroyed SC many Of the Estate Iabourers' houses. Instead of rebuild
ing the houses many planters agreed to to pay their l"Oourers 5 cents"
Ihh step is DOW seen to have beena bad one and it is necessary new
to rebuild the houses and offer inducement to the "bourers to come
The Committee believe that the increase in infant mortality since
1899 in spite Of ali that has been done in erecting chldrens homes and
providing deaconesses to visit and advise labouins women about the
When the hbourers live on he estates under the owners u managers
eye it IS much mo- o''eT to ntp tEen the Owner or mnnaseG can al take more NOR"
whether a omn working on his estate has a sick ca1d u if she has
on the estate this might be altered. The manager could see that she
went to her home for TWO hours in the mi'dle of the day to look after
her children, he could see that she did not come ou5 to work too soon
after her confinement, and he could give her work of light kind only,
Dr.. Heyn states as his opinion that n Of the principal causes of the
great infant mortality Is due to n working OF TX women before the
driver when they are not able, Oh account Of Their duties as mothers,
This might be renedied by giving mothets with infants under one year,
task WORK such as farming land, picking or whipping cotton etc.
But how are the people to be induced to return to The estates.
One step which would help TO bring this about would be to pay estates
Mbo ares and porters the same daily wage. The estate mbomr would
then have al advantage over the porter n he gets several privileges
which the porter cannot get.
The Committee also believe that if planters would erect suitable de-
tached cottages IN their estates with one quoter toa half IN acre of
ground abound them properly fenced off, and offer to rent these cottages
at u reasonable rate to hbourers living together a nan aud wife, they
would be able to induce the best class of ltbouing people to live on
their estates and that under such conditions the people would be much
better able to rear a family. Under such conditions it is believed that
thu MAI would work more steadily IN tine estate and the woman not
need to DO o much work in the field. Under these conditions there is
also the additional advantage thas the father of the children being
known he could be held responsible for neglect if it occurred. Mr..
BqunHnn in his special report to the Cha rmln Of the Committee
which, a. already stated, is published Is a. appendix to this report,
suggests the erection of q public village somewhere i'll the middle of
the country on the same lines as those mentioned above. The Com
nittee are in entire agreement with this suggestion and hope that the
Agricultural Society will petition the Government and Colonial Council
to carry it out.
HE INDIFFERENCE OF PARENTS.
The indifference which parents exhibit is, the Committee believe,
in large part due to the general unsatisfactory conditions under which
our hbouFing people live at the present time Greater efforts should
be made to make the lot of the Abouring people u happier oe The
measures already suggested with regard to tie cheapening of food
sufs and to the provision of better homes should do much to better
the lot of he people.
Another measure suggested by The Committee is the provision of
recreation grounds ~ the estates.
Nearly every estate could readily afford to give up an acre of
level ground to provide recreation for the people and especially for the