It is the wrongly fed, insufficiently rested child that most readily develops physical deformity. The fatigued nervous system is expressed in general bodily slackness. There is deficient muscular and ligamentous tone. The typical faulty posture is thus acquired, with drooping head, flat chest, wing shoulders, prominent abdomen. Vitality is depressed and the bodily mechanism out of gear. The grosser bony deformities so often found in older lands associated with rickets are rarely seen in New Zealand, but less evident manifestations of faulty diet and regime are frequent. It is fortunate that in this country we cannot altogether escape, however we seek our pleasures in stuffy rooms or dark, ill-ventilated places of entertainment, those powerful and beneficial agents for promoting healthy growth--sunlight and fresh air. For the prevention of defect it is essential that the classroom should offer hygienic conditions--_e.g._, good lighting and ventilation, suitable furniture, &c. Another contributory factor in poor physical development is the use of incorrect clothing and footwear. It is a common thing to find from six to eight layers of tight garments constricting the chest even in a child whose legs are scantily protected from cold. Shoes which are too tight or too short, or which have heels so high as to prevent correct body-balance, are very harmful. Clothing should offer adequate protection, but should not prevent the most absolute freedom of movement.
The Prisons Department has furnished the following return of sexual offenders serving sentences in New Zealand prisons in 1924: The total number of sexual offenders, 192; the total number of sexual offenders born in New Zealand, 126; the total number of sexual offenders born out of New Zealand, 66; the total number of persons in the prisons serving sentences exceeding three months, 980; the total number of New-Zealand-born prisoners, 673; proportion of sexual offenders--New-Zealand-born to total number of New-Zealand-born criminals, 18.722; total number of prisoners born outside New Zealand, 307; proportion of sexual offenders born outside New Zealand to prisoners born outside New Zealand, 21.498.
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF SEXUAL OFFENDERS SENTENCED UNDER THE RESPECTIVE HEADINGS IN NEW ZEALAND PRISONS AS ON 31ST AUGUST, 1924.