I'm curious. Where did the idea of using a cane originate. I'm curious because in the states most things used were readly available. The canes used don't seem to have any other use. They seem too thin to use as a suportive cane.

In the US
Paddle probably the most common easy to make
belt every guy has a few
hairbrush every female has one
shower brush very available
extension cord very available
switch just need a willow/hickory/peach tree
strap use to be widely available
riding crop every farm has one
hockey stick used on me by pe teacher available inpe
whiffle bat used by several teachers pe has

Is the previous message a poem?

Forgot to add
plastic rod very similar to a cane taken off bicycle flags

I also forgot

pvc pipe found everywhere

no not a poem, but it's not a bad idea!

My point is you brits must really be into whacking, if you have to special order an item to do it! In the US it seems people just use whatever is available

Yes, and written in the style of T.S. Eliot.

I wrote the following under the influence of Auden and a bottle of meths:

In England's green and pleasant schools
The cane replaced the birch because
Of the growing suspicion that the
Bearing of bottoms for punishment
(Until this point a sine qua non)
Might be considered
Indecent and an offence to sensibility.
But that did not stop our
Distinguished Headmaster George
From removing the trousers
Of little boys.

I think the cane became popular in England because of the coincidence of the British Empire's extending to far eastern countries where the rattan cane grew at the same time as Victorian prudery made the baring of schoolchildren's bottoms unacceptable. The birch, previously the most widely used implement, is only really effective on the bare bottom.

As i understand it the cane replaced the birch as the instrument of choice in English schools because of Victorian prudery. The cane could be applied to a clothed posterior with satisfactory results whereas a birch could not. Perhaps one of the reasons why on this side of the atlantic we use instruments specifically designed for corporal punishment is that we are more fond of ritual.

I don’t know if you are correct there, James, as the Cane was used alongside the Birch quite happily in schools and other institutions, the Victorians having private practices very different from their public views. In fact you could say during this long period that corporal punishment arguably reached its climax in severity.
I speculate that the Cane was in use because the material was imported cheaply into Europe in large quantity for domestic, gardening and building use. It is a material which is light and durable, so very effective to keep as an aid to discipline, whereas a switch or a Birch quickly deteriorates. Indeed, the freshly made birch usually fragments in use and so schools were obliged to have several to hand and then, Students had to pay for them! In the UK, the Birch was considered the more painful and appropriate option for older teenagers and young adults and continued to be used in Prison until at least the 50s.
It is often claimed that other cultures followed the European practice of using the Cane, but it is clearly recorded in some countries for hundreds of years. In fact, “Birches” were made from several thin rattan canes woven together, I imagine for judicial use, corporal and capital punishment always being favored above the expensive, cruel and usually fatal practice of imprisonment.
Canes were also native and grown in small quantities in the West Country. I remember the freshly cut green flexible slim canes that would cause excruciating stinging through the thickest gray shorts of the day.
Matt

The rattan cane is use because it can still be effective thru 3 layers of clothing,i got 6 strorkes of it last year & i could still remember how painful it was.!Even with skirt,petticoat & pantyhose on,!

Veron - the 'Emily Howard' of the Far East.

He's a LADY!

Certainly never met any M'sian or Singaporean student who wore pantyhose to school -- girl or boy!!!!! Man, its 35 degrees Celcius all the time, every day.

My school got AIR CON now,Furthermore my skirt is knee length & i wear socks up to the middle of the lower leg,so no one noticed i wearing a pantyhose.