Well you know MY views. This practice was abolished after the Labour government were shamed into action by the media and a long campaign in the House of Commons to get the practice abolished. It was the cause, over many years of parental complaints to their MPs about the severity of the punishment and the tissue damage resulting. The campaign against flogging boys in the RN was initality started, for the record by Swift MacNeill MP in the 1890s and continued in the correspondence columns of The Times by G.B.Shaw at the beginning of the last century. (see: The Indictment of Admiralty - cannot remember the author's name).
My principal objection, notwithstanding the various arguments about it being the norm for the times, is the issue of those who couldn't cope psychologically with the regime and absconded. I conceed that when I was at school we were caned for playing truant - that frightened me off doing so when I was being bullied for being different - but I could always cope by one means or another. Others couldn't. Basically I feel very sorry for them. Also, though with benefit of
hindsight... Hmmm... I suggest that it may have led to serious psychological harm for some inmates.
(hindsight, for example, see:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1867458,00.html )
My personal objection is simply that I think that hitting children is morally wrong - if it's illegal to assault a granny how can it be OK to similarly assault a child? If Ganges boys' are not to be viewed as boys, then they should not have been treated in this way at all - but this is purely my opinion - I wasn't there so I don't know how things were after its formal abolition in April 1967. I think that it would be completely unacceptable to use this on recruits today though - I think it's cruel! But I could be wrong! I don't think I am though.

Bear in mind of course that I'm looking at this from a philosophical perspective. I've never raised or worked with children so I really have no idea if my principles would work in practice - I do conceed that point! But we're all fallible. :wink:
Steve.