sense is afterward explained to them. Every day are added new questions and answers, and the former ones are repeated. Thus they make rapid progress.

The religious instruction is given in Flemish, which is the language of the great majority of the pupils. By their continual intercourse with each other, they learn both French and Flemish rapidly enough; but as a precaution, and not to give any excuse for wrong doing, care is taken to repeat, to the Walloons especially, in French, the instruction which has already been given in Flemish.

I desire here to express my hopes for the future of all these poor children, whom a judicious charity has lifted from a miserable, ignorant, and brutish degradation. The regularity of their conduct, the excellent spirit which animates them, the good order existing continually and every where, the good examples which they furnish to one another, the good habits which they acquire, the willing regularity with which they perform their religious duties, the aid, support, and advice which they continually receive from instructors interested in and devoted to their work, and above all the excellent character of the principal authority of the school, which is the soul of the whole institution, and which is above all praise, are not only presages of a better future, and foundations for hope; they give convincing assurances that from the reform schools of Ruysselede shall conie laborious, honest, moral, religious, and therefore happy men."

38. Order and discipline.

In the absence of any other set of rules, the inspector-general of charitable institutions, who has special supervision of the organization of reform schools, in conjunction with the committee of supervision and inspection, and the director, has made the necessary regulations to insure the discipline and good order of the establishment.

39. Moral accountability.

A system of moral accountability has been established upon a basis at once simple and complete. For each pupil there is a file of papers, in which are preserved the examination at his entrance, the statement of his condition before entrance, his conduct and progress during his stay, his condition at leaving and afterwards. This file contains also other documents concerning the pupil; judgments, certificates, letters, and all information which may inform the authority of the school as to his standing and as to the results of his education in the reform school. These papers will furnish invaluable information for the exercise of judicious patronage. 40. Book of conduct.

The head overseer has charge of a book, in which he enters regularly the communications daily made him as to the standing of the pupils, by the overseers, foremen of the workshops, captains of sections, &c. At the end of each month the director reviews these entries, and makes out the good and bad marks, for 1. general conduct; 2. order and neatness; 3. school studies; 4. religious duties; 5. work.

41. Class and register of honor.

Those pupils who have received no punishment during three consecutive months, and have during each of those months received a fixed maximum of good marks, are admitted into a class of honor, from which the director selects the captains and assistants of sections. The names of those in this class are written upon a register which hangs in one of the principal rooms.

42. Rewards.

The distribution of rewards is the duty of the director. They are entered in the running account with each pupil, in the reports of moral accountability which are submitted to the inspector-general and to the members of the committee of inspection, at each of their visits. The rewards are, 1. honorable mention; 2. public eulogy; 3. admission to certain confidential employments; 4. appointment as captain or assistant of section; 5. registration in the register of honor; 6. permission to learn to play some instrument, and to become a member of the band; 7. walks, short journeys, visits home, &c.

43. Names on the register of honor, January 1, 1851.

The register of honor was made up for the first time, January 1, 1850. At the end of that year, it contained the names of 164 pupils, of whom 58 were registered once; 39 twice; 50 three times; 17 four times.

44. Erasures from the register of honor in 1850.

No favors are granted except accordingly as the name of the pupil appears on

the register of honor. A single fault or bad mark is sufficient to cause the erasure of a name. The number erased during the year is 23, namely:

"gluttony,

45. Punishments.

While good conduct and praiseworthy actions are rewarded, crimes and faults are punished with more or less severity. The punishments used are the following 1. reprimand; 2. detention during play-hours; 3. forced marching, with or without hand-cuffs, and with or without diet on bread and water; 4. loss of place of captain, or assistant of section; 5. dismission from certain confidential employments; 6. deprivation of musical instrument and dismission from band; 6. erasure of name from register of honor; 7. the prison.

No punishment is inflicted except by decision of the director. The captains of sections report to the overseers of divisions, they to the chief overseer, he to the director. Overseers may give a reprimand, and may put the pupils under detention from play-hours.

46. Punishments inflicted in 1850.

The punishments are entered in a book, and carried to the account of the pupils who have incurred them. Their number, and the causes, are as follows:

It has generally been sufficient to administer a public reprimand. In other cases, recourse has been had to the condemned squad, sometimes with hand-cuffs, rarely with diet on bread and water. There has been no use, hitherto, of the prison. One captain of section has been degraded. All the others have felt the honor of their position, have been justly proud of their distinction, and have de

served to retain it.

47. Preservation of morals and manners.

As we have already observed, the preservation of the morals and manners of the pupils is the object of daily and hourly care; among the means used for this purpose, are the following: uninterrupted supervision; the nature of the work, which is performed mostly in the open air; gymnastic and military exercises; correction of habits of position-as, hands on tables in school, in dining room, &c.; inspection and lighting of sleep-rooms-there is a watchman in each room, and the overseer on guard makes frequent rounds; education, intellectual and religious; warnings and advice of the chaplain and director; provisions for special supervision.

48. Meetings and conferences of pupils and officers.

On the first Sunday of each month, after mass, the officers and pupils all gather to a general assembly, under the presidency of the director. He then addresses eulogiums and admonitions to those deserving them, publishes rewards and punishments, appoints the captains and assistants of sections, and discourses upon the proceedings of the past month, with the purpose of keeping the pupils within their duty, of stimulating their zeal, and of rousing within them good sentiments and noble thoughts. These meetings, which hitherto have had a most salutary influence, will hereafter take place every week.

Further, the director proposes every Saturday afternoon to meet the principal officers for the purpose of advising with them upon any necessary matter, and to discuss the interests of the pupils, and the measures necessary to the continued and increased success of the establishment. There will also be kept a book of regulations and a journal of events at the school.

49. State of feeling in the school; results of system.

The state of feeling in the school is at present excellent. The children are

obedient, respectful to their superiors, polite and obliging to each other; disputes are rare; the brotherly feeling prevailing among them is continually strengthened. They are attached to the institution; they have its reputation at heart, and when one of them does any thing wrong, his severest penalty is the disapprobation of his companions, and the solitude in which they leave him. This interdict, put by the good upon the bad, is remarkable; it is a powerful assistance to discipline; and more than one child upon whom the warnings and counsels of the officers had taken no hold, has yielded to the moral pressure and salutary power of the public opinion of the school.

During the year now closing, there have been several opportunities to estimate the influence of the system of education introduced in the establishment. The agricultural and industrial exhibition at Bruges, September, 1850, where the reform school attended with its car, bearing the symbols of agriculture, the band, and the armed company; the distribution of medals for the same exhibition, which took place a little after, at the commune of Ruysselede, and where the pupils attended to receive the premiums given to their collective labor; the agricultural decoration granted to the head farmer for his good and faithful services; the ceremonies of the jubilee at Bruges, in which those pupils took part whose names are in the register of honor; all these have been powerful incitements of encouragement and emulation. By coming thus in contact with society, by seeing themselves surrounded with the evidence of so much care, the pupils have seen that their reinstatement therein was commenced. The wretched little beggar, the young vagabond without home or country, begins to experience the reeognition, the love, and the understanding of the dignity, of humanity. The proofs of this transformation are numerous; we will cite a few at hazard.

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During the past summer the chiefs of sections, with an overseer, went to Bruges to bring a number of children from the alms-house there; they were busy all the forenoon in washing them, changing their clothes, and preparing them to depart; at dinner-time, being invited to take their meal with the others, they all, without concerted agreement for one reason or another, refused. On coming home at evening, fatigued with their journey, the director asked them the reason of that refusal. "We were hungry enough," said they, "but we had rather fast than eat beggars' soup." During the festivals at Bruges, several persons, pleased with the good appearance of the pupils, offered them money; they all refused but one, who accepted a five frane piece ($1.00) which he placed in a box containing aid for children leaving the school. At the distribution of medals at Ruysselede, the burgomaster who presided, offered to one of the pupils a piece of silver. "Thank you, sir," said he, we have all that we need; we should not know what to do with the money; please give it to some one more unfortunate than we." During December last, the chaplain, at divine service, delivered a sermon, taking for his text the two first words of the Lord's prayer; Our Father. This touching address made a deep impression upon the pupils, who spontaneously waited for the chaplain to come out from the chapel, saluted him with unanimous acclamations, and testified their gratitude and affection by an actual ovation. At the New Year it was the director's turn; the pupils had prepared an agreeable surprise for him. At the moment when the clock struck the expiration of the old year, and the coming in of the new, the whole school came together to present to him their congratulations and regards, and to give him a serenade. Some days afterwards there happened the formal emancipation of one of the best pupils, who was placed among the laborers on the farm. On this occasion the director pronounced a feeling discourse, which was heard with religious attention, and which doubtless left useful impressions on their minds. We mention these things, because they appear to us to be the symptoms, we might even say the certain evidence, of a true reform. When we compare the present condition of the pupils with that in which they were at their arrival, we may measure with justifiable pride the distance between those periods, and the progress made in less than eighteen months.

The preceding details will show that the establishment at Ruysselede is not a prison-a place of penitence-but actually a true reform school, as its title indicates. The pupils enjoy a liberty limited only by rules to which they submit almost spontaneously, and with good will; all idea of constraint is avoided; there are neither walls, barriers, grates, nor bolts; so that if the children remain in the

institution, it is because they are contented and choose to. The small number of escapes which have taken place, demonstrates the advantage of a system based upon confidence and persuasion. The officers do not hesitate when a pupil behaves well, if he belongs to a respectable family, to allow him to visit his parents, if in the neighborhood; these permissions have never been abused, and the pupils to whom they have been given have always returned at the hour prescribed. They can also grant other diversions by way of favor, as a reward of good conduct, and an incentive to more; on certain festival days the most meritorious pupils may be allowed to sit at table with the officers; during winter evenings they may be allowed to put off going to bed, and to employ themselves in such study or reading as they please, or to take part in familiar conversations upon instructive and amusing subjects. Games may be played, such as shooting with bow and arrow, bowling, skittles, &c. The institution, lastly, of annual festivals, as in the German schools, and especially the anniversary of the school, contribute to give variety and animation to the daily life of the pupils, to rivet the bonds of gratitude and affection between them and their benefactors, and to furnish agreeable reminiscences of their stay in the school.

50. Agricultural organization; employment of the pupils on the farm. The reform school of Ruysselede, according to the plan on which it was founded, is especially an agricultural establishment. The whole organization of labor is based upon agricultural and kindred occupations, such as may be performed in the fields. The pupils work in the earth, sow and plant; the younger hoe or pull weeds; the older and stronger are employed in harvesting and thrashing. One brigade is specially attached to the farm, where its members in regular rotation are employed at the stables, the hog-pens, the poultry-yard, the manure heaps, the dairy, &c. Another brigade is employed in the kitchen-garden, under the direction and supervision of the gardener and his assistant. During these two first years, it has been necessary to employ laborers from without the school, to assist the inexperience of the children, and to perform some work too difficult for them; but after this year, the establishment can undoubtedly supply all its own labor.

51. Combination and alternation of agricultural and mechanical labor.

During the season of cultivation, it is estimated that the farm work will regularly occupy from 250 to 300 children; these are selected in preference from among the country pupils, orphans, and abandoned children; the town children, who at their dismission are to return to their families, will find employment in the workshops already organized, or shortly to be so; these same workshops will also furnish occupation for the farm-laborers during the winter, and whenever out-door work is necessarily suspended.

52. Choice and nature of occupation, according to the circumstances of the

children.

In the selection of occupations it has been requisite to harmonize the interests of the two classes of pupils, town and country children, so as to give them equal advantages for whatever situation they may take on leaving the school. This object has been carefully considered by the instructors, who, without coming to any very definite resolution on this point, have considered the following occupations as satisfying more or less the conditions required.

Blacksmithing, locksmithing, making and repairing farming tools, edge-tool making, trellis making, machinist's work. The erection of the steam-engine will allow of instructing pupils in managing it, and in the duty of fireman, &c.

Carpentry, joiner-work, wheel-wrighting, cooperage, wooden-shoe making, turning, carving in wood; saddle and harness making; shoe-making and repairing; tailoring and mending; painting, glazing, masonry, hod-carrying, brick-making, plastering, &c.; basket-making, straw-plaiting, hat, mat, and broom-making, &c. ; nail-making, brush-making; making toys and chains; making various woven articles; carpets, slippers, &c.; manufacture of flax; breaking, hatcheling, spinning, winding, weaving, &c.; milling, baking, cooking; domestic labor; education as musicians, soldiers, sailors, &c.

53. Occupations already introduced into the reform school.

Some of the above-named employments are already introduced into the school. The workshops of the blacksmith and locksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights, coopers, tailors, basket-makers, and straw-weavers, are already in operation; the

spinning and weaving shop is entirely fitted up, and contains 60 spinning-wheels, 6 twisting machines, 9 bobbin machines, 1 reel, and 1 warp machine. It is waiting for a foreman, to be put in operation. The tailors' shop is directed by an overseer; over the others are placed good workmen, paid by the day or the month, who work themselves while directing the pupils under them. It has been the practice to choose overseers from among workmen skillful enough to direct the principal workshops of the school. By thus combining supervision and direction of work, strict economy will be conjoined with strict discipline. There are already among the overseers a laborer, a gardener, and a tailor, exercising these duplicate functions.

54. Number of pupils in different occupations.

The 245 pupils present at the beginning of 1851, were occupied as follows: A.-Farm and garden.

It will be seen that all the pupils are occupied, notwithstanding the winter: there is no want of work; and if the number of arms were greater, it would not be difficult to use them. About sixty of the children are under 12 years old. These are employed in the easiest and least fatiguing work; they plait straw and make hats for the whole school. The older and stronger are set at work requiring more strength and intelligence. But whenever weather permits, or an emergency demands, they all leave the workshops for the fields, where they render whatever assistance they are able. There are several advantages in this change of occupations; the succession and variety satisfy the curiosity of the children, sustain their activity, and preserve them from the inevitable fatigue of monotonous and uniform labor; allow of consulting their preferences and aptitudes, and will have the general effect of giving them simultaneous practice in different occupations, which will be of assistance to them hereafter.

55. Inducements to labor; absence of pay.

The pupils receive no wages; before being paid for their work, they should make up the expense of their maintenance, education, and apprenticeship. Besides, an alms chest has sufficed to supply the necessary outfits at their departure. For pecuniary emolument have been substituted elevation to higher classes; emulation; moral encouragements; praises bestowed upon industry and progress. The plan has perfectly succeeded. The pupils labor with gaiety and good will, and they do not even dream of money, which indeed they would not know what to do with while remaining in the establishment.

56. Condition of property at occupation; extension of clearing and cultivation; kitchen-garden, nursery, and orchard.

At

The agricultural operations have gone on as usual during the past year. the occupation of the land, in the end of 1848, the fields presented a most deplorable aspect. Neglected, exhausted, overgrown with weeds, and with couchgrass, which still persists in growing, in spite of care and repeated hoeings, they seemed to defy the most persevering efforts. During 1849, nevertheless, about 63 hectares (160 acres) were put under cultivation. In 1850, the clearing has been continued, and cultivation extended, in the whole, over about 98 hectares (245 acres.) A kitchen-garden has been laid out, occupying about 4 hectares