Chapter XI: Part 11

Although there is a record of a hospital established by St Basil at Caesarea, Cappadocia, in the 4th century, a refuge by the hermit St Lymnee (d. c. 455) at Syr, Syria, in the 5th century, and an institution by St Bertrand, bishop of Le Mans, in the 7th century, the first public effort to benefit the blind was the founding of a hospital at Paris, in 1260, by Louis IX., for 300 blind persons. The common legend is that he founded it as an asylum for 300 of his soldiers who had become blinded in the crusade in Egypt, but the statutes of the founder are preserved, and no mention is made of crusaders. This Hospice des Quinze-Vingts, increased by subsequent additions to its funds, still assists the adult blind of France. The pensioners are divided into two classes--those who are inmates of the hospital (300), and those who receive pensions in the form of out-door relief. All appointments to inmates or pensions are vested in the minister of the Interior, and applicants must be of French nationality, totally blind and not less than forty years of age.

From the time of St Louis to the 18th century, there are records of isolated cases of blind persons who were educated, and of efforts to devise tangible apparatus to assist them.

Girolamo Cardan, the 16th-century Italian physician, conceived the idea that the blind could be taught to read and write by means of touch. About 1517 Francesco Lucas in Spain, and Rampazetto in Italy, made use of large letters cut in wood for instructing the blind. In 1646 a book, on the condition of the blind, was written by an Italian, and published in Italian and French, under the title of _L'Aveugle afflige et console_. In 1670 a book was written on the instruction of the blind by Lana Terzi, the Jesuit. In 1676 Jacques Bernoulli, the Swiss savant, taught a blind girl to read, but the means of her instruction were not made known. In 1749 D. Diderot wrote his _Lettre sur les aveugles a l'usage de ceux qui voient_, to show how far the intellectual and moral nature of man is modified by blindness. Dr S.G. Howe, who many years after translated and printed the "Letter" in embossed type, characterizes it as abounding with errors of fact and inference, but also with beauties and suggestions. The heterodox speculations contained in his "Letter on the Blind" caused Diderot to be imprisoned three months in the Bastille. He was released because his services were required for the forthcoming _Encyclopaedia_. Rousseau visited Diderot in prison, and is reported to have suggested a system of embossed printing. J. Locke, G.W. Leibnitz, Molineau and others discussed the effect of blindness on the human mind. In Germany, Weissembourg had used signs in relief and taught Mlle Paradis.

Prior to the 18th century, blind beggars existed in such numbers that they struggled for standing room in positions favourable for asking alms. Their very affliction led to their being used as spectacles for the amusement of the populace. The degraded state of the masses of the blind in France attracted the attention of Valentin Hauy. In 1771, at the annual fair of St Ovid, in Paris, an innkeeper had a group of blind men attired in a ridiculous manner, decorated with peacock tails, asses' ears, and pasteboard spectacles without glasses, in which condition they gave a burlesque concert, for the profit of their employer. This sad scene was repeated day after day, and greeted with loud laughter by the gaping crowds. Among those who gazed at this outrage to humanity was the philanthropist Valentin Hauy, who left the disgraceful scene full of sorrow. "Yes," he said to himself, "I will substitute truth for this mocking parody. I will make the blind to read, and they shall be enabled to execute harmonious music." Hauy collected all the information he could gain respecting the blind, and began teaching a blind boy who had gained his living by begging at a church door. Encouraged by the success of his pupil, Hauy collected other blind persons, and in 1785 founded in Paris the first school for the blind (the Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles), and commenced the first printing in raised characters. In 1786, before Louis XVI. and his court at Versailles, he exhibited the attainments of his pupils in reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and music, and in the same year published an account of his methods, entitled _Essai sur l'education des aveugles_. As the novelty wore off, contributions almost came to an end, and the Blind School must have ceased to exist, had it not been taken, in 1791, under the protection of the state.

The emperor of Russia, and later the dowager empress, having learned of Hauy's work, invited him to visit St Petersburg for the purpose of establishing a similar institution in the Russian capital. On his journey Hauy was invited by the king of Prussia to Charlottenburg. He took part in the deliberations of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin, and as a result a school was founded there.

Edward Rushton, a blind man, was the projector of the first institution for the blind in England--the School for the Indigent Blind, Liverpool. In 1790 Rushton suggested to the literary and philosophical society of which he was a member, the establishment of a benefit club for the indigent blind. The idea was communicated to his friend, J. Christie, a blind musician, and the latter thought the scheme should also include the instruction of young blind persons. They circulated letters amongst individuals who would be likely to give their assistance, and the Rev. Henry Dannett warmly advocated the undertaking. It was mainly due to his co-operation and zeal that Messrs Rushton and Christie's plan was carried out, and the Liverpool asylum was opened in 1791. Thomas Blacklock of Edinburgh, a blind poet and scholar, translated Hauy's work on the _Education of the Blind_. He interested Mr David Millar, a blind gentleman, the Rev. David Johnston and others in the subject, and after Blacklock's death the Edinburgh Asylum for the Relief of the Indigent and Industrious Blind was established (1793). Institutions were established in the United Kingdom in the following order:--

School for the Indigent Blind, Liverpool 1791
Royal Blind Asylum, Edinburgh 1793
Bristol Asylum 1793
School for the Indigent Blind Southwark (now
removed to Leatherhead) 1799
Norwich Asylum and School 1805
Richmond Asylum, Dublin 1810
Aberdeen Asylum 1812
Molyneux Asylum, Dublin 1815
Glasgow Asylum and School 1827
Belfast School 1831
Wilberforce School, York 1833
Limerick Asylum 1834
London Society for Teaching the Blind to Read, St
John's Wood, N. 1838
Royal Victoria School for the Blind,
Newcastle-on-Tyne 1838
West of England Institute for the Blind, Exeter 1838
Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Manchester 1839
County and City of Cork Asylum 1840
Catholic Asylum, Liverpool 1841
Brighton Asylum 1842
Midland Institute for the Blind, Nottingham 1843
General Institute for the Blind, Birmingham 1848
Macan Asylum, Armagh 1854
St Joseph's Asylum, Dublin 1858
St Mary's Asylum, Dublin 1858
Institute for the Blind, Devonport 1860
South Devon and Cornwall Institute for the Blind,
Plymouth 1860
School for the Blind, Southsea 1864
Institute for the Blind, Dundee 1865
South Wales Institute for the Blind, Swansea 1865
School for the Blind, Leeds 1866
College for the Sons of Gentlemen, Worcester 1866
Northern Counties Institute for the Blind, Inverness 1866
Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the
Blind, Upper Norwood 1872
School for the Blind, Sheffield 1879
Barclay Home and School for Blind Girls, Brighton 1893
Homes for Blind Children, Preston 1895
North Stafford School, Stoke-on-Trent 1897

Many of the early institutions were asylums, and to the present day schools for the blind are regarded by the public as asylums rather than as educational establishments. With nearly all these schools workshops were connected. In 1856 Miss Gilbert, the blind daughter of the bishop of Chichester, established a workshop in Berners Street, London, and since that date workshops have been started in many of the provincial towns.

After the beginning of the 19th century, institutions for the blind were established in various parts of Europe. The institution at Vienna was founded in 1804 by Dr W. Klein, a blind man, and he remained at its head for fifty years. That of Berlin was established in 1806, Amsterdam, Prague and Dresden in 1808, Copenhagen in 1811. There are more than 150 on the European continent, most of them receiving aid from the government, and being under government supervision.

The first school for the blind in the United States was founded in Boston, Mass., chiefly through the efforts of Dr John D. Fisher, a young physician who visited the French school. It was incorporated in 1829, and in honour of T.H. Perkins (1764-1854) who gave his mansion to the institution was named the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum (now School) for the Blind. Aid was granted by the state from the beginning. In 1831 Dr Samuel G. Howe (q.v.) was appointed director, and held that position for nearly forty-four years; being succeeded by his son-in-law Michael Anagnos (d. 1906), who established a kindergarten for the blind at Jamaica Plain, in connexion with the Perkins Institution. Dr Howe was interested in many charitable and sociological movements, but his life-work was on behalf of the blind. One of his most notable achievements was the education of Laura Bridgman (q.v.) who was deaf, dumb and blind, and this has since led to the education of Helen Keller and other blind deaf-mutes. The New York Institution was incorporated in 1831, and the Pennsylvania Institution was founded at Philadelphia by the Society of Friends in 1833. The Ohio was founded at Columbus in 1837, Virginia at Staunton in 1839, Kentucky at Louisville in 1842, Tennessee at Nashville in 1844, and now every state in the Union makes provision for the education of the blind.

STATISTICS

England and Wales.

In England and Wales the total number of persons returned in 1901 as afflicted with blindness was 25,317, being in the proportion of 778 per million living, or 1 blind person in every 1285 of the population. The following table shows that the proportion of blind persons to population has diminished at each successive enumeration since 1851, in which year particulars of those afflicted in this manner were ascertained for the first time. It will, however, be noted that, although the decrease in the proportion of blind in the latest intercensal period was still considerable, yet the rate of decrease which had obtained between 1871 and 1891 was not maintained.--

+------+-----------+-------------------+-------------------+
| Year.| Number of | Blind per Million | Persons Living to |
| | Blind. | of the Population | one Blind Person. |
+------+-----------+-------------------+-------------------+
| 1851 | 18,306 | 1021 | 979 |
| 1861 | 19,352 | 964 | 1037 |
| 1871 | 21,590 | 951 | 1052 |
| 1881 | 22,832 | 879 | 1138 |
| 1891 | 23,467 | 809 | 1236 |
| 1901 | 25,317 | 778 | 1285 |
+------+-----------+-------------------+-------------------+

The following table, which gives the proportions of blind per million living at the earlier age-groups, shows that in the decennium 1891-1901, as also in recent previous intercensal periods, there was a decrease in the proportion of blind children in England and Wales generally; it thus lends support to the contention, in the _General Report_ for 1891, that the decrease was due either to the lesser prevalence, or to the more efficient treatment, of purulent ophthalmia and other infantile maladies which may result in blindness.

+----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Age-Period. | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 |
+----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Under 5 years | 198 | 196 | 185 | 166 | 155 | 129 |
| 5-10 | 297 | 256 | 259 | 288 | 188 | 192 |
| 10-15 | 365 | 366 | 359 | " | 290 | 323 |
| 15-20 | 416 | 415 | 404 | 388 | 370 | 239 |
| 20-25 | 481 | 443 | 451 | 422 | 385 | 359 |
+----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Total under 25 | 339 | 322 | 317 | 298 | 269 | 261 |
+----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+

In 1886 a royal commission on the blind, deaf and dumb was appointed by the government, and, after taking much valuable evidence, issued an exhaustive and instructive report. Following on the practical recommendations submitted by this commission, the Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act 1893, was passed, under which the education of the blind became for the first time compulsory. In terms of this statute, the school authorities were made responsible for the provision of suitable elementary education for blind children up to sixteen years of age, and grants of L3, 3s. for elementary subjects, and of L2, 2s. for industrial training, were contributed by the state towards the cost of educating children in schools certified as efficient within the meaning of the Elementary Education Act 1876. The principal aim of the Education Act of 1893 was to supply education in some useful profession or trade which will enable the blind to earn their livelihood and to become useful citizens; but the weak spot was that no provision was made therein for the completion of their education and industrial training after the age of sixteen.

In England and Wales, in 1907, there were twenty-four resident schools and forty-three workshops for the blind. In many of the large towns, day classes for the education of blind children have been established by local education authorities. There are forty-six home teaching societies, who send teachers to visit the blind in their homes, to teach adults who wish to learn to read, to act as colporteurs, to lend and exchange useful books, and to act as Scripture readers to those who are aged and infirm. All the home teaching societies for the blind and many public libraries lend embossed books. The public library at Oxford has nearly 400 volumes of classical works for the use of university students.

A society was instituted in 1847 by Dr W. Moon for stereotyping and embossing the Scriptures and other books in "Moon" type. The type has been adapted to over 400 languages and dialects. After Dr Moon's death in 1884 the work was carried on by his daughter, Miss Adelaide Moon, and the books are much used by the adult blind.

In 1868 Dr T.R. Armitage, being aware of the great improvements which had been made in the education of the blind in other countries, founded the British and Foreign Blind Association. This association was formed for the purpose of promoting the education and employment of the blind, by ascertaining what had been done in these respects in various countries, by endeavouring to supply deficiencies where these were found to exist, and by attempting to bring about greater harmony of action between the different existing schools and institutions. It gave a new impetus to the education and training of the blind in the United Kingdom. At that time their education was in a state of chaos. The Bible, or a great part of it, had been printed in five different systems. The founders took as an axiom that the relative merits of the various methods of education through the sense of touch should be decided by those and those only who have to rely on this sense. The council, who were all totally or partially blind, spent two years in comparing the different systems of embossed print. In 1869 and 1870 Dr Armitage corresponded with Dr J.R. Russ in regard to the New York Point. No trouble was spared to arrive at a right conclusion. The Braille system was finally adopted, and the association at once became a centre for supplying frames for writing Braille, printed books, maps, music and other educational apparatus for the blind. All books printed by the association are printed from stereotyped plates embossed by blind copyists. About 3000 separate works, varying in length from 1 to 12 volumes, have been copied by hand to meet the requirements of public libraries and individuals. About 700 ladies, who give their services, make the first Braille copy of these books, and they are recopied by blind scribes, chiefly women and girls, who are paid for their work.

The National Lending library, London, was founded in 1882. It has over 5500 volumes in Braille and other types. Books are forwarded to all parts of the United Kingdom.

There are fourteen magazines published in embossed type in the United Kingdom.

There are thirty-six pension societies--the principal are Hetherington's, Day's, the Clothworkers', the Cordwainers', the National Blind Relief Society, Royal Blind Pension Society and Indigent Blind Visiting Society.

The Gardner Trust administers the income of L300,000 left by Henry Gardner in 1879. The income is used for instructing the blind in the profession of music, in suitable trades, handicrafts and professions other than music, for pensions, and free grants to institutions and individuals for special purposes.

Scotland.

According to the census of 1901, Scotland had 3253 (or 727 per
million) blind persons, as against 2797 in 1891, but in a paper read
at the conference in Edinburgh, 1906, the superintendent of the
Glasgow Mission to the Out-door Blind stated that there were 758
employed or being educated in institutions, and 3238 known as
"out-door blind," making a total of 3996. There are in Scotland ten
missions, so distributed as to cover the whole country, and regular
visits are made as far north as the Orkney and Shetland Islands. In
carrying on the work, there are twenty-four paid missionaries or
teachers and a large number of voluntary helpers. These societies
originated in a desire to teach the blind to read in their own homes,
and to provide them with the Scriptures and other religious books, but
the social, intellectual and temporal needs of the blind also receive
a large share of attention. These teachers afford the best means of
circulating embossed literature, therefore the library committee of
the Glasgow corporation has agreed to purchase books and place them in
the mission library instead of in the public library. As the
institutions provide for only a small number of the blind, strenuous
efforts are made by the committee and teachers of missions to find
some employment for the many adults who come under their care.

In Glasgow, a ladies' auxiliary furnishes work for 150 knitters, and
takes the responsibility of disposing of their work. In Scotland there
are five schools for the young blind, and in connexion with each is a
workshop for adults. In Edinburgh the school is at West Craigmillar,
and the workshop in the city, but both are under the same board of
directors.

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 institutions, a home mission and home
teaching society; nine of these institutions 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 institutions for the blind at Melbourne,
Sydney, Adelaide, Brighton, Brisbane and Maylands near Perth. In New
Zealand the institution 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 institution 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 institutions, the M'Kay Institute
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 municipality. 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, sex, 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 Sex._

+----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+
| | The | The | The |
| Sex. | 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 sex-- | | | |
| Both sexes | 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. | Classes. | 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
classes, such as native and foreign-born whites, or white and
coloured, the age distribution of the population of each class 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 classes of population of identical ages that
their relative liability to blindness can be properly inferred."

Table II. shows the classification, 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 classes 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 institutions are the Institution Nationale
des Jeunes Aveugles, the Ecole Braille (founded in 1883), the
Etablissement 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 institutions was 28, nearly all being
educational, with a total of 2139 pupils. All these institutions,
except two which are supported entirely by private munificence, are
largely assisted 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 Buttner, director of the institution for the blind in Dresden,
to the royal commission, concerning the care and supervision
(_Fursorge_) of the blind after their discharge from the
institution:--

"When twenty years of age, the blind are usually discharged from the
institution. Long experience has taught us that the care and
supervision of the blind after their discharge from the institution
are quite as important as their education and training in the
institution. 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 document relating to him, are entered in a
register kept at the institution. 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
assistance 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
institution 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 institution. The number of those assisted 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 assistance from their second paternal home, the institution."

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 institution, 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
institution has been established by government, i.e. the Royal
Institution 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 association for
promoting the self-dependence of the blind assists 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 Classes._

+---------------------+--------+----------+----------+---------+-------+
| | | | |No Blind | |
| | | |Collateral|Relatives| |
| Consanguinity | | Blind |Relatives |or Rela- | Not |
| of Parents. | Total. | Brothers,| or De- |tives by |Stated.|
| | |Sisters or|scendants |Marriage | |
| | |Ancestors.| alone, | alone, | |
| | | | Blind. | Blind. | |
+---------------------+--------+----------+----------+---------+-------+
|All Classes-- | | | | | |
| The blind | 64,763 | 8629 | 2338 | 46,759 | 7037 |
| Totally blind | 35,645 | 4378 | 1215 | 25,349 | 3703 |
| Partially blind | 29,118 | 4251 | 1123 | 20,410 | 3334 |
+---------------------+--------+----------+----------+---------+-------+
|Parents cousins-- | | | | | |
| The blind | 2,527 | 844 | 149 | 1,456 | 78 |
| Totally blind | 1,291 | 435 | 78 | 739 | 39 |
| Partially blind | 1,236 | 409 | 71 | 717 | 39 |
+---------------------+--------+----------+----------+---------+-------+
|Parents not cousins--| | | | | |
| The blind | 53,980 | 7395 | 2095 | 43,368 | 1122 |
| Totally blind | 29,892 | 3720 | 1090 | 24,541 | 541 |
| Partially blind | 24,088 | 3675 | 1005 | 18,827 | 581 |
+---------------------+--------+----------+----------+---------+-------+
|Consanguinity of par-| | | | | |
| ents not stated-- | | | | | |
| The blind | 8,256 | 390 | 94 | 1,935 | 5837 |
| Totally blind | 4,462 | 223 | 47 | 1,069 | 3123 |
| Partially blind | 3,794 | 167 | 47 | 866 | 2714 |
+---------------------+--------+----------+----------+---------+-------+

Sweden.

The number of blind persons in Sweden, according to the census of
December 1880, was 3723, being at the rate of one blind person for
every 1226 of the general population. At the beginning of the year
1879, the instruction of the blind in Sweden was completely separated
from that of the deaf and dumb, on the grounds that it hindered the
intellectual development of the blind--a conclusion which experience
shows to be tolerably correct. Since July 1888 the Royal Institution
of the Blind has obtained a new building at Tomteboda, near Stockholm.

Norway.

The law of the 8th of July 1881, concerning the instruction of
abnormal children, has imposed on the state the duty of establishing a
sufficient number of schools for the blind in Norway as well as for
the other abnormal children. All the blind of the country, from 9
years of age until the age of 21, are compelled to be educated, with a
maximum of 8 years of instruction for each pupil.

Finland.

The census of 1873 showed that in Finland there were 7959 blind in a
total population of about 2,000,000 inhabitants, the proportion
reaching the very high figure of one for every 251 of the total
population. Nevertheless there were only 160 of school age. For these
there are two institutions, one at Helsingfors where the instruction
is given in the Swedish language, and where there are about 12 pupils,
and another at Kuopio, where the instruction is given in the Finnish
language, and where the pupils number about 30.

Austria.

According to information received from the I.R. Central Commission for
Statistics, the number of blind in the provinces represented in the
Austrian Reichsrath amounted to 15,582 in the year 1884. Of these,
2345 were children up to 15 years of age, namely 433 below 5, 779 from
5 to 10, and 1113 from 10 to 15 years. The total number of
institutions for blind children in Austria amounts to 8. The blind
children of school age who are not placed in special institutions are
compulsorily taught in the public general free schools, as far as
practicable. The number of blind in the whole dominion of the crown of
St Stephen was 208,391.

Italy.

The number of blind persons in Italy was 21,718, according to the
census of 1881, and those of school age were estimated to form 25% of
the whole, or about 5429 in number. But no special cognizance of the
blind is taken in the government census. There are 20 institutions,
schools and workshops for the blind.

Russia.

Statistics with regard to the number and condition of the blind in the
Russian empire are of a very limited character, and it is only of late
years that any attempt has been made to draw up any accurate returns
with regard to them. The total number of the blind throughout the
empire is generally reckoned at from 160,000 to 200,000, thus making
1600 to 2000 per million inhabitants. In Russia there are 21
institutions for the support of the blind.

Egypt

"In Egypt the blind are very numerous in comparison with other
countries, and although no exact statistics are at present obtainable
on this point, it is computed that the proportion is at least one
totally blind person to every 50 of the population. This is
principally the result of acute ophthalmia occurring in infancy, and
it is fostered by the superstitious observance which prevents the
mothers from washing their children from the time of birth until they
are two years old, at which late date only they are weaned. There is
also a great deal of infection carelessly and ignorantly conveyed
direct from eye to eye, by means of unwashed fingers, and this is
accountable for the occurrence of much more eye-disease than any that
may be caused by the proverbial flies. The only employment followed by
the blind, both Mahommedan and Coptic (or native Christian), and that
only to a limited extent, is recitation aloud--the former repeating
portions of the Koran at funerals, and the latter chanting the
church-ritual in their services; the blind girls and women are without
occupation. Practically no education is given to the blind as a class,
and anything which they learn has to be acquired orally by frequent
repetition. The blind were not always so completely neglected, as the
native ecclesiastical authorities (Wakf) gave an annual grant of L2000
for the continued maintenance of a school for the blind and the deaf
and dumb in Cairo, which taught about 80 day-pupils; the latter years
of the school were passed under the ministry of education, and it was
ultimately discontinued. Such a condition of affairs appealed to Dr
T.R. Armitage, and explains his motive in trying to establish some
proper means for affording the blind in Egypt the necessary scholastic
instruction and other training. In Egypt, as in other countries, it is
occasionally very difficult, and takes some time, to start any
enterprise such as this on a satisfactory and practical footing, and
it was left for Mrs T.R. Armitage to be the means of successfully
carrying out her husband's wishes in this particular. In 1900 Mrs
Armitage asked Dr Kenneth Scott to prepare a scheme for the education
and welfare of the blind in Egypt, on lines suggested to her. This,
through the British and Foreign Blind Association, was submitted to
Queen Victoria, who graciously commanded it to be sent, through the
foreign office, to the khedive, who in mark of approbation and
encouragement generously gave a handsome donation towards its
realization. The Institution for the Blind was established at Zeitoun,
Cairo, early in the year 1901, through funds provided by Mrs T.R.
Armitage. The object of the institution, which is wholly unsectarian
in character, is to educate and train the blind mentally and
physically and in industrial occupations, and at the same time to
improve their moral standard, so that eventually they may become in
great measure, or even completely, self-supporting." (Dr Kenneth
Scott.)

India.

India has a large proportion of blind inhabitants, ranging from one in
600 in some provinces, to one in 400 in others, with a total of more
than half a million. Until recently, little had been done in the way
of organized effort to educate them, though many of the missionaries
had helped individual cases. At Amritsar a large and well-organized
work for the blind has been carried on for many years. This school has
now been moved to Rajpur, and helps 70 blind women and children. In
1903 a government school and hospital were established at Bombay as a
memorial to Queen Victoria. Reading, writing, arithmetic, tailoring,
typewriting, carpentering, lathe-work and carpet-weaving are taught.
There are small schools at Parantij, Calcutta, Palancottah, Calicut,
Coorg, Chota-Nagpur, and at Moulmein in Burma. The memorial to Queen
Victoria in Ceylon took the form of work for the blind. J. Knowles,
with the help of L. Garthwaite of the Indian Civil Service, devised a
scheme of oriental Braille, which has been adopted by the British and
Foreign Bible Society for the production of the Scriptures in Eastern
languages.

China.

Blindness is very prevalent in China, and to eye-diseases, neglect and
dirt, must be added leprosy and smallpox as causes. Blind beggars may
be seen on every highway, clamouring for alms. As in India their
pitiful condition attracted the attention of the missionaries. W.H.
Murray, a Scottish missionary in Peking, made a simple and ingenious
adaptation of the Braille symbols to the complicated system of Chinese
printing, in which over 4000 characters are required. It was necessary
to represent at least 408 sounds, and each one was given a
corresponding Braille number. When a pupil reads the number he knows
instantly the sound for which it stands. A school for the blind was
established at Peking, and the version of the Scriptures printed at
Peking can be read in all the provinces where the Northern Mandarin
dialect is spoken (see Miss Gordon Cumming, _The Inventor of the
Numeral Type for China_). A Braille code has recently been arranged
for Mandarin, based on a system of initials and finals, by Miss
Garland of the China Inland Mission. At Foochow there is a large
school for boys and girls in connexion with the Church Missionary
Society. At Ningpo, Amoy, Canton and Fukien work for the blind is
carried on by the missionaries.

Japan.

The blind in Japan have long been trained in massage, acupuncture and
music, and until recently, with few exceptions, none but the blind
engaged in these occupations. From three to five years are required to
become proficient in massage, but a blind person is then able to
support himself. In Yokohama, with a population of half a million,
there are 1000 men and women engaged in massage, and all but about 100
of these are blind. In 1878 a school for the blind and deaf-mutes was
established in Kyoto, and soon after one in Tokyo. Japan has four
schools for the blind, and seven combined schools for the blind and
deaf-mutes.

Palestine.

As in other Eastern countries, blindness is very prevalent in
Palestine. Ophthalmic hospitals and medical attendance are now
available in the larger towns, and the missionary schools have done
much to inculcate habits of cleanliness, therefore there is a slight
decrease in the number of the blind. The home and school for blind
girls in Jerusalem is the outcome of a day school opened in 1896 by an
American missionary. There is also a small school at Urfa under the
auspices of the American mission in that town.

EDUCATION

Early training.

As more sensations are received through the eye than through any other organ, the mind of a blind child is vacant, and the training should begin early or the mind will degenerate. Indirectly the loss of sight results in inaction. If no one encourages a blind child to move, he will sit quietly in a corner, and when he leaves his seat will move timidly about. This want of activity produces bad physical effects, and further delays mental growth. The blind are often injured, some of them ruined for life, through the ignorance and mistaken kindness of their friends during early childhood. They should be taught to walk, to go up and down stairs, to wash, dress and feed themselves.

They should be carefully taught correct postures and attitudes, and to avoid making grimaces. They should be told the requirements of social conventions which a seeing child learns through watching his elders. They have no consciousness that their habits are disagreeable, and the earlier unsightly mannerisms are corrected the better. It is a fallacy to suppose that the other senses of the blind are naturally sharper than those of the seeing. It is only when the senses of hearing and touch have been cultivated that they partially replace sight, and such cultivation can begin with very young children.

Blind children have a stronger claim upon the public for education than other children, because they start at a disadvantage in life, they carry a burden in their infirmity, they come mostly of poor parents, and without special instruction and training they are almost certain to become a public charge during life.

Public authorities should adopt the most efficient plan for preparing blind children to become active, independent men and women, rather than consider the cheapest and easiest method of educating them. We cannot afford to give the blind an education that is not the best of its kind in the trade or profession they will have to follow. There are many seeing persons with little education who are useful citizens and successful in various industries, but an uneducated blind person is helpless, and must become dependent.

The surroundings of the blind do not favour the development of activity, self-reliance and independence. Parents and friends find it easier to attend to the wants and requirements of their blind children than to teach them to be self-helpful in the common acts of everyday life. A mistaken kindness leads the friends to guard every movement and prevent physical exertion. As a rule, the vitality of the blind is much below the average vitality of seeing persons, and any system of education which does not recognize and overcome this defect will be a failure. It is the lack of energy and determination, not the want of sight, that causes so many failures among the blind.

Physical training.

A practical system of education, which has for its object to make the blind independent and self-sustaining, must be based upon a comprehensive course of physical development. A blind man who has received mechanical training, general education, or musical instruction, without physical development, is like an engine provided with everything necessary except motive power.

Schools for the blind should be provided with well-equipped gymnasia, and the physical training should include various kinds of mass and apparatus work. Large and suitable playgrounds are also essential. Besides a free space where they can run and play, it should have a supply of swings, tilts, jumping-boards, stilts, chars-a-bancs, skittle-alleys, &c. Any game that allows of sides being taken adds greatly to the enjoyment, and is a powerful incentive to play. The pupils should be encouraged to enter into various competitions, as walking, running, jumping, leap-frog, sack-racing, shot-pitching, tug-of-war, &c. Cycling, rowing, swimming and roller-skating are not only beneficial but most enjoyable.

Mental training.