The Blind in Great Britain

THE BLIND IN GREAT BRITAIN at chess and bridge, and hold their own in competition with sighted players.

Many boards have been constructed to enable the blind to work arithmetical problems. The one which is most used was invented by the Rev. W. Taylor (fig. 4). The board has star-shaped open ings in which a square pin fits in eight different positions. The pin has on one end a plain ridge and on the other a notched ridge ; 16 characters can be formed with the two ends. The board is also used for algebra, other type furnishing the algebraic symbols.

Numerous forms of exercise and recreation can be enjoyed by the blind, usually with some sighted assistance and sometimes with special apparatus or methods. These include horse-riding, rowing and sculling, swimming, skating, dancing and walking. Suc cessful efforts have been made to organize field sports, including modified forms of running, goal kicking, jumping, putting-the weight, tug-of-war, etc.

Independence.

Blind people must rely very largely upon sighted assistance in the foregoing and many other matters such as the reading of correspondence, current newspapers, etc. Great efforts have, however, been made by all classes having the requis ite opportunity and education to acquire a degree of independence so far as this is attainable. Much success has attended these efforts, and those amongst the blind community who are not pre vented by physical or mental affections have developed a high degree of skill in attending to their own personal wants, amusing themselves, getting about alone in and out of doors, etc. The blind do not develop a special sense to replace the lost sense of sight, but the remaining primary senses and possibly many secondary and little-used senses acquire added keenness and usefulness with practice. The sense of hearing becomes keener mentally rather than physically, and numerous audible indications of what is going on around him are correctly interpreted by a trained and educated blind man. Sounds of all kinds, echo, and possibly air pressure, contribute to the endowment of a blind person with the power of discerning obstacles` which make it possible for him to walk alone, especially in familiar surroundings, but even sometimes in entirely strange places. Some blind people in the ordinary course of their daily avocation travel many miles alone on foot or by means of the common transport services.

The Mind of the Blind Child.

Those who are charged with the education of the blind, especially children, should give particu lar attention to instruction in the attainment of personal independence.

Two departments of State are responsible to parliament for the welfare of the blind; the Ministry of Health, which administers grants payable out of moneys voted by parliament and is the cen tral authority for all matters relating to the blind under the Blind Persons Act ; and the Board of Education. Both these departments keep in touch with local authorities, local committees and institu tions for the blind by means of inspectors.

Under the Blind Persons Act, 1920, a blind person is "one so blind as to be unable to perform any work for which eyesight is essential." The definition according to the Education Act, 1921, is wider, and signifies a child "too blind to be able to read the ordi nary school-books." It is therefore possible for a child to be edu cated as "blind" and yet remain ineligible for benefits under the Blind Persons Act, 1920.

The number of blind persons stated to exist in any country depends upon the definition of blindness, its interpretation and the extent to which registers are kept. It will be understood, there fore, that statistics of this kind relating to various countries may not be strictly comparable.

The Blind Persons Act, 1920, provides for the keeping of a register of the blind within each area. The operation of the act has led to the discovery of a number of blind persons hitherto un known. The return of the blind for 1927 gave the total num ber of blind persons in England and Wales as 46,822. In 1927 there were 44,010 blind over 16 years of age. Of these 9,16o were employed; 635 trained but unemployed; 1,704 under training; not under training but trainable; and 31,667 unemployable. Over 67.6% of the total number of blind in England and Wales are classed as unemployable.

Voluntary Institutions.

The first institution for the blind in England was founded in Liverpool in 1791 as the result of the initiative of two blind men, Edward Rushton, a bookseller, and James Christie, a musician. Rushton (b. 1756) was travelling to Dominica when malignant ophthalmia broke out in the cargo of slaves on his ship. He was then about 19 and his life had been saved, some years before, by a negro who had sacrificed himself. Rushton went into the hold to help the sufferers, and contracted their disease, becoming totally blind. Sixteen years later he brought about the establishment of the School for the Indigent Blind in Liverpool.

Other institutions were founded in quick succession, many as the result of the efforts of those who had become blind. Scotland took a step in 1793, the interest of several people having been aroused by the translation of Education of the Blind by Valentin Hauy, as made by Thomas Blacklock, a blind Scottish poet and scholar, and the Edinburgh asylum for the relief of the indigent and industrious blind was established by the Rev. David John ston, D.D. It now has 465 beneficiaries on the roll, in addition to a number of outdoor pensioners. Dublin followed Scotland's example 17 years later (Richmond asylum, Dublin, 181o).

In 1853 Miss Elizabeth Gilbert (b. 1826), daughter of the bishop of Chichester, who had lost her sight when three years of age, began to make enquiries as to the position of her fellows. There were then about 3o,000 blind people in the United Kifigdom; 27,000 of these were regarded as "adults" and i,000 of them drew pensions averaging iio per annum from various charities. The remainder were either supported by relatives, or gained a pre carious living as best they might. Of the 3,9oo under 21 years of age about half were receiving training in schools and institutions, but no provision being made for after-care or supervision, these, on discharge, frequently found themselves unable to work at the trades they had been taught. Miss Gilbert saw the need, and determined to establish an out-workers scheme. So the Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind was born (1856), its modest beginning a cellar rented at eighteenpence a week, and six employees—"men who for want of work have been compelled to solicit alms, or who may be likely to be tempted to do so." In 1927 there were 163 blind men and women working in the association and 41 who were too old to work who were receiving pensions. Goods were sold to the value of i32,176.

By 1923, 1,286 blind workers were employed permanently by 25 workshops in England and Wales. These drew i65,255 in wages, and a slightly higher sum in supplement (i65,454)• Goods sold realized i268,926; trade deficit per blind person was i22; augmentation, per blind person; loss to agencies i73 per blind person.

About 186o Dr. T. R. Armitage, then on the threshold of a promising medical career, was threatened with blindness. Re nouncing his profession, he devoted himself to work in connection with those who had lost their sight. Having reorganized the Indi gent Blind Visiting Association he founded the British and Foreign Blind Association for promoting the education and employment of the blind (1868) ultimately to develop into the Natiohal Insti tute, and brought the Braille system into use in England. Four years later Dr. Armitage, as the result of a meeting with Mr. (later Sir Francis) Campbell, was to be instrumental in establish ing the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind, of which Dr. Campbell became director.

The Royal Normal College accepts pupils of both sexes from the ages of five to 21. A good general education and physical training are given, and particular attention is paid to the teaching of music, pianoforte tuning, etc., as a means of earning a liveli hood. Stenography and typewriting are also taught, and good posts have been found for many ex-pupils. Before the establish ment of the college it was a rare thing for a blind person to follow a musical profession or avocation with financial success. Since its foundation many scores of musicians arid piano-tuners have found it possible to earn a living, and degrees and diplomas of high merit, including several Mus.Bac., F.R.C.O., L.R.A.M., etc., have been secured by ex-pupils of the college. The college is recognized as a teachers' training college by the Board of Edu cation.

The National Library for the Blind was to come into being in 1882 through the instrumentality of two women, Miss Arnold and Mrs. Dow, the former being blind. With slates and styles they set themselves to work to produce books in Braille and, aided by a grant of i25, opened a "library" from which books were hired out to a small circle of readers at a charge of one penny per week. Two years after its inception an annual report shows the income to be 158. To-day the National Library ranks with the National Institute for the Blind as one of the great national fac tors serving the blind community as a whole. It has 137,337 vol umes on its shelves, and a daily circulation of 800 books. Its in come for the current year (1927) is ii3,624, and a northern branch was opened in Manchester in 1918. The service is free to all blind readers and the General Post Office delivers an average volume, some 5 lb. in weight, for a penny. In certain cases the library pays this charge. Books are sent not only to readers in Great Britain, but also overseas. When the heavy volumes become worn or pass out of general circulation they are used for the benefit of those suffering from contagious diseases. Some go to leper settlements. The library supplies books on philosophy, psychology, the natural sciences, history, biography and travel, in addition to lighter reading. New novels are occasionally trans cribed within a month of publication; one of average length runs into five Braille volumes. An expert will transcribe a volume in about ten days. Braille can be read at speeds ranging from 5o to iso words a minute.

Although the foundation of the National Institute for the Blind was laid when the British and Foreign Blind Association came into being under the direction of Dr. T. R. Armitage, it was not until 46 years later (1914) that the title of the organization was changed, the work under the inspiration of Sir Arthur Pearson, Bt., having grown too wide for the original name to be truly descriptive. The institute publishes books, music and periodicals tending to raise the standard of education among the blind. In 1927 the total publications (in embossed types) were : Books, bound volumes, 24,213; magazines, periodicals, newspapers, in struction cards, etc., 372,903. The institute also undertakes the establishment of a students' library, research work and the place ment of the blind amongst the sighted in factories; offers facilities for training in massage ; runs homes for blind babies, a college to provide blind girls with a public school education, supplies blind home-workers with raw materials and markets their goods, and also maintains homes for the aged blind and a hostel for blind workers.

Generally speaking, the work of the institute is national in char acter, and it has become since Sir Arthur Pearson was its president in 1914 and introduced new methods of appealing for funds, an important factor in the finances of blind institutions throughout the country. From 1914 to the present time a gradual process of co-ordination of the activities of blind institutions, with the object of avoiding overlapping both in public collections and administra tion, has taken place, with the National Institute occupying a cen tral position of great influence and power. An effort to unify the collecting activities of the blind institutions throughout the country has progressed satisfactorily until by 1927 the majority of important agencies have been brought to operate together and to issue but one appeal to the public.

St. Dunstan's.—St. Dunstan's (q.v.) founded by Sir Arthur Pearson in 1915, as a hostel and organization for the training, settlement and welfare of soldiers, sailors and airmen blinded in the World War is the only important national agency which con ducts its appeals and works independently.

Worcester College for the Blind is an endowed public school for the education of blind boys, run, as far as possible, on normal public school lines. It owes its foundation to the Rev. H. Blair, formerly a master at King's school, Worcester, who saw the need for such a college when a totally blind boy who hoped to enter Trinity college, Dublin, was sent to him as a pupil. The boy ultimately took his M.A. degree, and carried off six open prizes. About 5o% of the scholars are totally blind, and the remainder have too little sight to permit of their education being carried on in the usual way. Boys are accepted from the age of eight. Va rious scholarships and exhibitions are available for students whose parents are unable to afford the usual fees, and there are several valuable leading scholarships tenable at the universities. The college has educated and equipped for life over 24o blind students. About oo have graduated at the universities, and many have obtained high honours. Over 3o have taken holy orders, and many are successful as solicitors, barristers, musicians, schoolmasters, lecturers or business men. A noteworthy figure in connection with Worcester College for the Blind is that of Sir A. W. G. Ranger, D.C.L. Himself a pupil of the college he was for over a quarter of a century honorary secretary of the board of gover nors. Before his retirement from public life in 1922 he was chair man of the National Institute for the Blind, and vice-chairman of St. Dunstan's. Sir Washington Ranger was one of the first to make an outstanding success as a solicitor, though handicapped by blindness from early youth. He was knighted in 1918 for his public service.

A college and association of teachers of the blind has been formed to promote and encourage the training of teachers of the blind, and to raise the status of such teachers.

A number of voluntary organizations have been established for the benefit of the blind in addition to those already men tioned. One of the largest is Gardner's Trust, created as the result of a bequest of £300,000 left in 1879. It has founded scholarships for men and women at the universities, administers a scholarship fund for blind boys for Worcester college students, and in addi tion to helping these towards a professional career, including music, applies a definite portion of its income towards providing instruction in handicrafts and trades. It also pensions certain unemployable blind.

The Cordwainers' Company is another doing excellent work. It was founded by the effort of John Came in 1796, who left £37,000 for the benefit of certain deserving classes, including the blind. The number of pensioners in the last category has steadily increased. Two blind sisters who had been pensioners for several years augmented the charity to a small degree by surrendering their pensions when they inherited property and donating £TOO to the company "in gratitude for kindness shown." Hetherington's Charities for Aged Blind, administered by Christ's Hospital, was founded in 1774 by a clergyman "in the hope that his example would be followed by others." The gover nors now pay out over f8,000 a year in pensions to blind persons from 5o to 7o years of age.

Others of the great guilds, including the Clothworkers' Com pany, the Drapers' and the Goldsmiths', dispense funds to much the same effect for the benefit of various classes of those without sight.

A _number of institutions carry on the technical training of the blind, manage workshops, home-workers' schemes and home teaching services, some of which confine their attentions to the unemployable. In addition county associations have been formed in most parts of England ; these are usually the agents for the county council in their work in the welfare of the blind in rural areas and in towns where no agency is already working. These have been united into a Union of Counties Associations.

The blind community includes two trades unions—the Na tional Union of the Professional and Industrial Blind, and the Na tional League of the Blind. The former is a general association for promoting the welfare of its members, and includes a number of blind persons engaged in professional pursuits. The latter engages principally in propaganda with the object of increasing the extent to which the blind are cared for by the state and the municipality, as opposed to charitable agencies.

Government Service.

The earliest legislation in England concerning the welfare of the blind was the Act for the Relief of the Poor of Queen Elizabeth's day (16o 1) . This laid the responsi bility for the support of blind people together with destitute per sons, upon their relatives, and failing these on the overseers. Spasmodic regulations concerning the establishment of special schools and the education of blind adults followed at wide inter vals of time, and nearly three hundred years later a royal corn mission was appointed (1886) "to investigate and report upon the condition of the blind . . . the various systems of education, elementary, technical and professional, at home and abroad, and the existing institutions for that purpose ; the employments open to and suitable for the blind, and the means by which education may be extended so as to increase the number of blind persons qualified for such employment." At that date there were 32,296 blind persons in the United Kingdom according to the last census, but the accuracy of those figures was questioned. The blindness of 3o% of the inmates of asylums was due to purulent ophthalmia and might have been prevented. There were 61 institutions for the blind, and a few board school classes in the larger towns, but owing to the unsatisfactory state of the law some blind children were receiving no education at all, since compulsory attendance was not enforced. Of those who had been trained in various insti tutions only 58% were following the trades they had been taught, and 15% of these were earning under 5s. per week. The main occupation followed was basket-making, while music and piano tuning, brush, mat and mattress making, chair-caning, rope and twine spinning and weaving were also taught. Earnings amounted to but a few shillings a week, though those engaged in musical occupations earned twice as much as the craftsmen, and the high est earnings of all were recorded by Scripture readers, visitors, teachers and collectors. No provision other than the workhouse was made for aged blind.

The commission reported in 1889 and its report resulted in the passing of the Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act, 1893, which provided for the compulsory attendance at school of all blind children between the ages of five and 16, and for the provision of special schools. A clause in the Education Act of 1902 empowered the education authorities to make further provision for the blind over the age of 16.

In March 1914, as a result of a resolution of the House of Commons, a departmental committee was set up to enquire into the general welfare of the blind. The report of this committee, which was delayed owing to the war, appeared in 1917, and at the end of that year an advisory committee on the welfare of the blind was appointed by the president of the Local Government Board. This body has issued a series of valuable reports, which register what has been done and is being done for the blind.

In August 1919 the Ministry of Health issued regulations and rules governing grants out of public monies to be distributed in aid of certain services carried on for the welfare of the blind, and so enabled the work to be developed. These public monies are voted annually by parliament as part of the vote of the Ministry of Health, and provide for grants to agencies for the welfare of the blind. Under the Board of Education (Special Services) Regu lations, 1925, grants are also made in aid of the education, train ing and maintenance of blind children and students, at the rate of in the case of students nominated by education authorities, and at a lower rate in the case of students nominated by boards of guardians or private persons, etc. Local authorities are also em powered to make maintenance grants to blind students attending institutions of higher education.

Under the Blind Persons Act, 1920, blind persons are entitled to receive the old age pension at 5o instead of 7o years of age. In March 1927, 14.562 persons in England and Wales between 5o and 7o were in receipt of this pension.

The same act imposed the duty of making arrangements for the welfare of the blind, to the satisfaction of the minister of health, on the council of every county and county borough. Each was re quired to submit a scheme outlining their plans for the exercise of their new powers. Before the end of 1927 all the 147 councils had prepared schemes. In general they made provision for : (1) chil dren under school age; (2) education and training of (a) children and (b) young persons and adults; (3) employment either in workshops or as home-workers; (4) hostels for blind workers; (5 ) homes; (6) unemployable blind; (7) home-teaching; (8) regis tration.

Under the Maternity and Child Welfare Act it is possible to have blind children between the ages of two and five who may be found to be living under unsatisfactory conditions sent to one of the special schools certified by the Board of Education.

The responsibility for the education of children between the ages of five and 16 who are too blind to be able to read ordinary school books rests on the local education authority under the supervision of the Board of Education (Education Act, 1921).

It has been found that further education beyond the school leaving age (16 for blind children) is essential for those who are to be prepared for remunerative employment. The responsibility for the provision of this training rests on the local education authority for higher education, namely a county or county bor ough council. Special training courses at a number of training in stitutions have been recognized by the Board of Education and grants are paid to these on account of the trainees they receive.

Training is provided not only for children, but for those who have become blind in later life, provided that the authorities are satisfied that the adult is trainable and, when trained, will be a blind person within the meaning of the regulations of the Ministry of Health entitling him or her to employment under the work shops or home-workers schemes. In practice it has been proved that those who become blind after 5o can rarely be trained for remunerative employment.

When a blind person has been trained for a manual occupation and lives within reach of a workshop for the blind he will nor mally be employed there. Failing such a centre arrangements can be made for him to follow his trade as a home-worker.

There are 57 workshops in England and Wales in receipt of a grant from the Ministry of Health. Some are small, employing only to to 20 workers; the largest has one hundred and eighty employees on its books.

Men's trades are usually basket, mat and brush making, bed ding, upholstery, cabinet making, cane-furniture making, chair seating and boot-repairing. Women's trades are hand and machine knitting, light baskets, bedding, chair seating, wiredrawn brush making, rug-making and, in one or two instances, hand loom weaving.

Ministry of Health regulations provide that "the recognized standards of the trade in which the workshop employees are en gaged, so far as they relate to rates of pay, bonus, hours of labour, and holidays, must be observed." But few persons handicapped by blindness can earn a living wage on a commercial basis, there fore certain schemes of augmentation of wages have been intro duced.

The most recent act for the benefit of the blind was the Wire less Telegraphy (Blind Persons' Facilities) Act, 1926. This gave the privilege of a free wireless licence to blind persons within the meaning of the act. Within a year of the passage of this act (December, 192 7) 10,125 free licences had been taken out.

Other privileges exclusively enjoyed by the blind include the right to keep a dog, as a guide, without a licence, and concessions under which a blind person and a sighted guide may travel on certain railways, tramways, omnibuses, etc., at half rates.

Prevention of Blindness.

The Royal Commission 1886-89 found that a high percentage of blindness was preventable and the same conclusion was reached by the departmental committee on the causes and prevention of blindness which issued its final report in 1922.

As ophthalmia neonatorum was accountable for 20-30% of children in blind schools the committee examined with special care figures supplied by the Ministry of Health from 78 county boroughs, since 1915 when ophthalmia neonatorum was made notifiable throughout England and \Vales.

Peri,000 1915 1916 1917 1918 192obirths . . . • 16.72 17.84 A final opinion as to the increase or decrease of the incidence of the disease was difficult to reach but a more thorough and ex tensive training of midwives in connection with this disease, and the importance of prompt diagnosis, was recommended.

Recommendations were also made as to the educational provi sion for children with impaired vision, and the education of med ical students in ophthalmology, and in connection with the devel opment of works and safety committees with regard to the prevention of accidents in industrial life.

Since the publication of the final report (1922) a clause in the Public Health Act of 1925 has empowered local authorities, with the consent of the minister of health, "to make such arrangements as they may think desirable for assisting in the prevention of blindness, and in particular for the treatment of persons resident in their areas suffering from disease of or injury to the eyes." Scotland.—Following on the recommendation of the depart mental committees on the welfare of the blind which reported in 1917 and recommended the establishment in the Local Govern ment Board, London, of a special department whose function should be the general care and supervision of the blind in England and Wales, and the appointment of an advisory committee, the cabinet authorized the establishment of a special department in the Local Government Board for Scotland, and the appointment of a separate advisory committee for the northern kingdom.

Accordingly a Scottish advisory committee was appointed. This acted in close co-operation with the English advisory committee and made its first report to the president of the Scottish Board of Health for the period 1918-2o. Substantial effect was given to the committee's recommendations in the Blind Persons Act of 1920.

It was advised that legislative action should be taken in regard to (I) the provision of maintenance for children below school age; (2) the provision of technical education and vocational education for adolescents and adults; (3) maintenance for the unemployable blind; (4) the provision of residential homes; (5) workshop ac commodation on adequate lines; (6) provision for the regulation of collections on behalf of the blind.

The State, local authorities and voluntary agencies are now responsible for the welfare of the blind in Scotland and in the years 1919-26 the sum of .183,902 has been paid by the board to voluntary agencies.

Figures supplied by the Scottish Board of Health to 1927 give the total number of blind in Scotland as 6,939, 62.7% of whom are unemployable. Over 2,000 are in receipt of the old age pension.

Northern Ireland.

Though in Northern Ireland, as in Eng land and Wales, the care of the blind is the concern of the councils of counties and county boroughs, under the Blind Persons Act, 1920, only the Belfast county borough has (192 7) put into opera tion a scheme for the welfare of the blind. In other parts blind persons are dependent upon friends, the poor law or district coun cils or eight philanthropic institutions, of which one is a training institution and workshop, one undertakes educative work for the blind, deaf and dumb, two are homes for the blind and the re maining four are hospitals which have special departments for car ing for those who are blind. In September 1927 there were 1,758 persons in Northern Ireland in receipt of pensions under the Blind Persons Act, 1920. Northern Irish ex-service men blinded in the World War are under the care of St. Dunstan's (q.v.).