Encyclopaedia Britannica Volume 4, Slice 1 Part 20

Ireland.

According to the census of 1901, there were 4253 totally blind persons in Ireland, a proportion of 954 per million, as against 1135 in 1891.

Of these, 2430 were over 60 years of age and 11 over 100. These figures do not include the partially blind, who numbered 1217. The fact that so many aged blind persons are to be found in Ireland is doubtless due to an ophthalmic epidemic which occurred during the Irish famine. There are twelve inst.i.tutions, a home mission and home teaching society; nine of these inst.i.tutions are asylums, that system having been largely adopted in Ireland. The scarcity of manufacturing industries, except in a few northern counties, entails a lack of work suited to the blind. The Elementary Education Act (Blind and Deaf) does not extend to Ireland.

The following table gives the number of blind in age-groups in 1901:--

+---------------+---------+----------------+---------+ Age-Period. Number. Age-Period. Number. +---------------+---------+----------------+---------+ Under 5 years 10 50-55 392 5-10 38 55-60 314 10-15 64 60-65 617 15-20 73 65-70 382 20-25 95 70-75 540 25-30 116 75-80 306 30-35 146 80-85 372 35-40 146 85-90 118 40-45 205 95 and upwards 95 45-50 224 +---------------+---------+----------------+---------+

British Colonies.

In the Dominion of Canada, South Africa, the states of the Australian Commonwealth and New Zealand, provision is made by the government for the education of the young blind, and in some cases for training the adults in handicrafts. Embossed literature is carried free of expense, and on the Victorian railways no charge is made for the guide who accompanies a blind person.

The following were the census returns for 1901:--

Victoria 1082 Tasmania 173 New South Wales 884 New Zealand 274 (1891) South Australia 315 Natal 68 Queensland 209 Cape Colony 2802 (1904) West Australia 121 Canada 3279

In Australia there are inst.i.tutions for the blind at Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brighton, Brisbane and Maylands near Perth. In New Zealand the inst.i.tution is at Auckland.

In Cape Colony between 1875 and 1891, there was an extraordinary increase in blindness, but between 1891 and 1904 the rate per 10,000 has decreased 23.78%. There is an inst.i.tution at Worcester for deaf-mutes and blind, founded in 1881. It is supported by a government grant, fees and subscription.

Schools for the blind were established by the Dominion government at Brantford, Ontario (1871), and Halifax, Nova Scotia (1867).

In Montreal there are two private inst.i.tutions, the M'Kay Inst.i.tute for Protestant Deaf-Mutes and Blind, and a school for Roman Catholic children under the charge of the Sisters of Charity.

United States.

In the United States the education of the blind is not regarded as a charity, but forms part of the educational system of the country, and is carried on at the public expense. According to the _Annual Report_ of the Commissioner of Education for 1908, there were 40 state schools, with 4340 pupils. The value of apparatus, grounds and buildings was $9,201,161. For salaries and other expenditure, the aggregate was $1,460,732. The United States government appropriates $10,000 annually for printing embossed books, which are distributed among the different state schools for the blind. Beside these state schools, there are workshops for the blind subsidized by the state government or the munic.i.p.ality. Commissions composed of able men have recently been appointed in several of the states to take charge of the affairs of the blind from infancy to old age. The exhaustive summary of the 12th census enables these commissions to communicate with every blind person in their respective states.

At the 12th census a change was made in the plan for securing the returns, and the work of the enumerators was restricted to a brief preliminary return, showing only the name, s.e.x, age, post office address, and nature of the existing defects in all persons alleged to be blind or deaf. Dr Alexander Graham Bell, of Washington, D.C., was appointed expert special agent of the census office for the preparation of a report on the deaf and blind. He was empowered to conduct in his own name a correspondence relating to this branch of the census inquiry.

A circular containing eighteen questions was addressed to every blind person given in the census, and from the data contained in the replies the following tables (I., II., III., IV.) have been compiled.

TABLE I.--_The Blind, by Degree of Blindness and s.e.x._

+----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+ The The The s.e.x. Blind. Totally Partially Blind. Blind. +----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+ Number-- Total 64,763 35,645 29,118 Male 37,054 20,144 16,190 Female 27,709 15,501 12,208 +----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+ Per cent distribution-- Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Male 57.2 56.5 58.1 Female 42.8 43.5 41.9 Number per 1,000,000 population of same s.e.x-- Both s.e.xes 852 469 383 Male 955 519 436 Female 745 417 328 +----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+

TABLE II.--_The Blind, by Degree of Blindness, Age-Periods, Colour and Nativity._

+--------------------------+----------+----------------------------+----------+ White. Degree of Blindness and All +--------+---------+---------+ Coloured. Age-Period. Cla.s.ses. Total. Native. Foreign- born. +--------------------------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----------+ Number-- The blind 64,763 56,535 45,479 10,694 8228 Under 20 years 8,308 7,252 6,937 231 1056 20 years and over 56,165 49,067 38,388 10,420 7098 Age unknown 290 216 154 43 74 +--------------------------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----------+ The totally blind 35,645 30,359 23,636 6,511 5286 Under 20 years 4,123 3,543 3,377 129 580 20 years and over 31,363 26,704 20,179 6,636 4639 Age unknown 159 112 80 19 27 +--------------------------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----------+ The partially blind 29,118 26,176 21,843 4,183 2942 Under 20 years 4,185 3,709 3,560 102 476 20 years and over 24,802 22,363 18,209 4,057 2439 Age unknown 131 104 74 24 27 +--------------------------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----------+ Number per 1,000,000 population of same age-- The blind 852 846 804 1,047 896 Under 20 years 247 250 248 215 229 20 years and over 1,334 1,305 1,348 1,143 1574 +--------------------------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----------+ The totally blind 469 454 418 637 576 Under 20 years 123 122 121 120 126 20 years and over 745 710 708 698 1033 +--------------------------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----------+ The partially blind 383 392 386 410 320 Under 20 years 124 128 127 95 103 20 years and over 589 595 639 445 541 +--------------------------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----------+

The enumerators reported a total of 101,123 persons alleged to be blind as defined in the instructions contained in the schedules, but this number was greatly reduced as a result of the correspondence directly with the individuals, 8842 reporting that the alleged defect did not exist, and 6544 that they were blind only in one eye but were able to see with the other, and hence did not come within the scope of the inquiry. No replies were received in 19,884 cases in which personal schedules were sent, although repeated inquiries were made; consequently these cases were dropped. In 380 cases the personal schedules returned were too incomplete for use, and in 75 cases duplication was discovered. The number of cases remaining for statistical treatment, after making the eliminations and corrections, was 64,763, representing 35,645 totally blind, and 29,118 partially blind. This number, however, can be considered only as the minimum, as an unknown proportion of the blind were not located by the enumerators, and doubtless a considerable proportion of the 19,884 persons who failed to return the personal schedules should be included in the total.

"Blindness, either total or partial, is so largely a defect of the aged, and occurs with so much greater frequency as the age advances and the population diminishes, that in any comparison of the proportion of the blind in the general population of different cla.s.ses, such as native and foreign-born whites, or white and coloured, the age distribution of the population of each cla.s.s should be constantly borne in mind. The differences in this respect account for many of the differences in the gross ratios, and it is only when ratios are compared for cla.s.ses of population of identical ages that their relative liability to blindness can be properly inferred."

Table II. shows the cla.s.sification, by degree of blindness, of the blind under twenty years of age, twenty years of age and over, and of unknown age, with respect to colour and nativity, with the number at the specified ages per million of population in the same age-group.

The relationship or consanguinity of parents of the 64,763 blind was reported in 56,507 cases, in 2527 (or 4.5%) of which the parents were related as cousins.

In 57,726 cases the inquiry as to the existence of blind relatives was answered; 10,967 (or 19%) of this number reported that they had blind relatives.

Of the 2527 blind persons whose parents were cousins, 993 (or 39.3%) had blind relatives,--844 having blind brothers, sisters or ancestors, and 149 having blind collateral relatives or descendants.

Of the 53,980 blind whose parents were not related, 9490 (or 17.6%) had blind relatives, 7395 having blind brothers, sisters or ancestors, and 2095 having blind collateral relatives or descendants.

It was found that, of the 2527 blind whose parents were cousins, 632 (or 25%) were congenitally blind, of whom 350 (or 55.4%) had also blind relatives of the cla.s.ses specified; while, among the 53,980 whose parents were not so related, the number of congenitally blind was 3666 (or but 6.8%), of whom only 1023 (or 27.9%) had blind relatives.

France.

In 1883 the number of blind in France was estimated at 32,056, the total population of the country being 38,000,000; 2548 of the blind were under, and 29,508 above, 21 years of age; of the former 857 were receiving instruction in 21 schools supported by the state, by the city of Paris, by some of the departments, and by some religious bodies. The four Parisian inst.i.tutions are the Inst.i.tution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles, the ecole Braille (founded in 1883), the etabliss.e.m.e.nt des Soeurs Aveugles de St Paul (founded in 1852), and that of the Freres de Saint Jean de Dieu (founded in 1875).

TABLE III.--_The Blind, by Degree of Blindness and Age-Periods._

+--------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+ The The The Age-Period. Blind. Totally Partially Blind. Blind. +--------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+ Number-- All Ages 64,763 35,645 29,118 Under 10 years 2,307 1,262 1,045 10-19 years 6,001 2,861 3,140 20-29 " 4,861 2,851 2,010 30-39 " 5,024 3,077 1,947 40-49 " 6,504 3,778 2,726 50-59 " 8,530 4,791 3,739 60-69 " 10,507 5,835 4,672 70-79 " 11,421 6,132 5,289 80-89 " 7,490 3,885 3,605 90-99 " 1,596 851 745 100 years and over 232 163 69 Age unknown 290 159 131 Number per 1,000,000 population of same age-- All ages 852 469 383 Under 10 years 128 70 58 10-19 years 384 183 201 20-29 " 351 206 145 30-39 " 478 293 185 40-49 " 845 491 354 50-59 " 1,655 930 725 60-69 " 3,396 1,886 1,510 70-79 " 8,136 4,368 3,768 80-89 " 22,022 11,423 10,599 90-99 " 52,746 28,125 24,621 100 years and over 66,210 46,518 19,692 Age unknown 1,446 793 653 +--------------------------+----------+----------+-----------+

Germany.

The number of the blind in Germany was about 39,000, or 870 per million in 1885. The number of inst.i.tutions was 28, nearly all being educational, with a total of 2139 pupils. All these inst.i.tutions, except two which are supported entirely by private munificence, are largely a.s.sisted by the state, the communes or the provinces.

Seventeen of them derive their entire requirements from the state, so that they are quite independent of private charity, while the remainder are only supplemented from public funds so far as the private contributions fall short of the expenses.

Saxony system.

The following extracts were made from an official communication from Hofrath b.u.t.tner, director of the inst.i.tution for the blind in Dresden, to the royal commission, concerning the care and supervision (_Fursorge_) of the blind after their discharge from the inst.i.tution:--

"When twenty years of age, the blind are usually discharged from the inst.i.tution. Long experience has taught us that the care and supervision of the blind after their discharge from the inst.i.tution are quite as important as their education and training in the inst.i.tution. It would, in our opinion, be unjust to remove them from their sad surroundings, educate and accustom them to higher wants, and then allow them to sink backward into their former miserable way of life. After much deliberation it was decided to remain in connexion with the discharged blind, to visit them in their places of abode, to learn their wants, to study the difficulties which they experienced in supporting themselves independently, and, as far as possible, to remove their grievances. Director Georgi began this work in 1843.

Director Reinhard continued it from 1867 to 1879, and the present director has followed the same path. With the knowledge of these difficulties the _Fursorge_ (care) for discharged blind steadily advanced, and has won the confidence of the Saxon people. It was decided that, on the discharge of the blind person, the director should select a trustworthy person, residing in his future place of abode, to give him advice and practical help, to protect him from imposition, and to keep up communication with the director. If this guardian is unable to advise or help, he then writes to the director, who, if necessary, comes to the place, and this is all the easier as he travels free on all railways in Saxony. The result of these visits, as well as all communications from the guardian, the letters from the blind person, and every doc.u.ment relating to him, are entered in a register kept at the inst.i.tution. These guardians are respectable, benevolent, practical men, capable of procuring custom for their wards. But there was no doubt that, in spite of these arrangements, the discharged blind were unable to support themselves without the a.s.sistance of capital, whether in money or outfit. The blind man can do as good work as the man who can see; but as a rule he does not work so quickly, and if the man who is not blind has to use every exertion to support himself and his family, the blind man to do the same requires some special help, without which he will either not be able to compete, or will have to lead a life of great privation.

"The first difficulty when a blind pupil is starting in life is to provide himself with the necessary tools and material. These the inst.i.tution supplies to him, and continues through life to afford him moral and material help; and by this means the greater part of the blind are enabled to save money for sickness and old age. Those who cannot return to their relations cannot at once meet all their expenses, and the weak and old need special help. A part of the money for their board and lodging is paid for those who have to be settled in other places on account of the death or untrustworthiness of their relatives.

"The fund for the discharged blind is administered by the director of the inst.i.tution. The number of those a.s.sisted amounts at present to about 400, who live respectably in all parts of Saxony, are almost self-supporting, and feel themselves free men. For, just as a son does not feel galled by a gift from his father, so they are not ashamed to receive a.s.sistance from their second paternal home, the inst.i.tution."

Holland.

The number of the blind in Holland, according to the census of the 1st of December 1869, was 1593, or one in every 2247 of the general population. The Protestants and Roman Catholics were about equally balanced. No cognizance was taken of the blind in the census of 1879.

There is only one blind inst.i.tution, that of Amsterdam, with 60 pupils, with a preparatory school at Benuchem (with 20 pupils) and an asylum for adults with 52 inmates (unmarried). Besides these, there are workshops at Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, Utrecht and Middelburg.

Denmark.

According to the census of 1870, there were in Denmark 1249 blind (577 males and 672 females), or one blind for every 1428 persons. One inst.i.tution has been established by government, i.e. the Royal Inst.i.tution for the Blind, at Copenhagen; 100 children, aged 10 and upwards, are here educated. There is a preparatory school for blind children under 10 years of age, and an asylum for blind females, most of whom are former pupils of the royal school. An a.s.sociation for promoting the self-dependence of the blind a.s.sists not only former pupils of the school but every blind man or woman willing and able to work.

TABLE IV.--_The Blind, by Consanguinity of Parents, Degree of Blindness, and Blind Relatives of Other Cla.s.ses._