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The children sent to residential custodial institutions (reformatories, industrial schools, truant
schools, Acre Lane or Sandwell Hall), who are seen at the head office, come chiefly from the remand
home, where some doubt as to their mental condition has been raised. Most of them present considerable
degrees of physiological variation in their mental capacity. Wordblindness is very frequent among
them, also moral imbecility, the lack of self-control in social relationships from want of power to form
clear conceptions of conventional behaviour. Notes from the cards give some idea of the origin and
previous environment of these children.
Boy 9—Thief, truant, absolutely fearless, but nervous and twitching ; a brother and sister died young
of fits, a brother is on a training ship ; on the father's side, the father himself now steady,
has twice attempted suicide, his brother attempted suicide, another brother dying of softening
of the brain and sister imbecile, a cousin imbecile, and another cousin with brain trouble.
Boy 8—Tiny boy of fair and angelic appearance, but moral imbecile of most hopeless and wicked
kind, has attempted to drown a child, he never needs to be told twice to do a thing, and
never asks a question.
Boy 13—Standard four. Uncontrollable temper if anything crosses him, throws food about, smashes
windows, language awful; threw baby across the room.
Boy 7—Illegitimate son of a prostitute who is in prison, he has cleft palate, harelip, low mental condition
and poor physique.
Boy 10—Much sharper than he appears, very artful, probably drowned his companion.
Boy 12—Hairy pleasant faced impish-looking arab, appears three years younger, two sisters mentally
defective and brother in industrial school.
Boy 9—Four people to get him here, extremely cruel to children and animals ; killed a cat with his
hands.
Boy 9—Healthy appearance ; sets fire to place; grandfather in asylum, brother in Darenth, other
brothers in industrial schools.
Boy 13—Father abstainer, mother died of drink, all six children in industrial schools.

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