[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I was surprised and,
I confess, grieved, to gather from the discussion in your columns that the caning of girls is in vogue in England ; it seems so strangely incompatible with the general educational spirit of the day, of England in particular, and its keen sense for individual freedom. What ean be gained through caning ?
If it is n question of touching a child's *honour, bodily chastisement is hardly likely to effect a change of conduct. If it is a question of physical pain, the fear of this will not turn the heart" for the better, which I presume should be the object of training. Moreover, it lies within human nature that a thoroughly exasperated master might be tempted to alleviate his feelings through corporal punish- ment ; perhaps, speaking plainly, as Comprehensible from this standpoint, as it is undesirable from an educational one.
I may add that in this country, where education is on a high standard, corporal punishment at school is strictly prohibited throughout.—Yours, &c., Vienna, Austria. MINNIE EMILY FORSTER-EAMBERGER.
[This correspondence is now closed.Er). The Spectator.]
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