History of mental health services in South Africa. Part IX. The protection and care of the feebleminded.

Interest in mental deficiency was at low ebb in the 19th century. The invention of intelligence tests in France and the publication of a book in the USA stimulated the Child Life Protection Society in Cape Town to call a meeting which led ultimately to the formation of the National Council for Mental Health. Details of early intelligence tests are given and the mental state of poor Whites is described. The reports of two committees on mental deficiency are discussed.