CHILD LABOUR PROBLEM.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 251, 22 October 1919, Page 10

CHILD LABOUR PROBLEM.

A SUGGESTED RESTRICTION. CLAUSE WITH {SEVERAL STINGS. MEMBERS ONE IN SPIRI\I. BUT P_AC_TCA_ aOrFFIOIJLTLES. fDy Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") ■WELLENiG-TON, this day. Wh<_ tho Education "Bill was in com mittoe early this morning the Hon. D. H. Guthrie promised to recommend the Minister of Education that the amount of £7no as a grant to education boards be increased to a maximum of £1000 jo tnnt smaller boards would he placed in a better financial position. The Minister pointed out that if an extra ESU were given to education boards there would be nothing to prevent 00-,it<ls giving help out of it to school committees. The Hon. J. A. Hanan moved to add a new clause, prohibiting the employment of any child under the age of fourteen years for the purpose of gain except under a permit from the Minister of Education, and that any person who employs a child, without such a permit shall bo liable to a penalty of £5. Mr. I l-uthrie asked the member' to withdraw the new clause until the Minister of Mu.-ation had been consulted, when, ii he approved, the clause could be added in the Legislative Council. The Prime Minister said though he was in sympathy with the spirit of the clause. what about boys in large centres of population, employed in celling newspapers. And then 'in country districts a number of youths under fourteen assist*,! i n milking operations. How- would it afTeot them? He did not believe in child labour, tmt before such a drastic clause was agreed to -he would like an opportunity of looking into it. apart altogether from education. MINISTER'S INTEREST IN IT. A number of members on both sides of tho House supported t-ho Premier's attitude, and joined in urging Mr. ITanan to withdraw the olauw, the only members tn give it their uncompromising approval being occupants of the Labour benches. , Mr. Hanan seamed inclined to accept the opinion of the House on an assurance from the Minister to consider protective measures respecting the use oi •hlld labour till Mr. .McCallum rose and indignation at such a child 'ab"iir clause being sprung on the House wit noilt reasonable notice. "How can we •leal with the child labour problem at this time?" demanded Mr. McCallum. adding, -the other night we had slave labour, nnd indentured labour, and now we have child labour. I protest against this method of springing such * thing on the House nt this time." Mr. Hanan declared that after such an expression of opinion he would insist on his clause and demand division to see where they stood. The Premier, in urging the necessity for caution, said the matter wouhl be easy if all children were of equal strength. The thing was right in prin-! eiple, but there ought to be discrimination. He noticed that in certain dis-' tric-ts. foieh as Canterbury, school holi-1 days were arranged to enable children to take part in potato plantine. while in I other districts children were engaged in! strawberry and fruit picking and other| l'ght employment, which were in no! sense prejndical to the health of the' child, but quite the reverse. | Mr Stat ham agreed with the principle urcred by Aft. Hanan that child labour as practised in the Old Country was a blot on our civilisation a-nd progress, hut' if the claus* parsed as it read a parent would be lialile for allowing a child o run messages for a neighbour and be I paid sixpence for doing it. The clause! was unpractical as it stood. I At 1 a.m. Mr. Massey raised a point of order that the clause was foreign to the .bill and should he placed on the Labour Bill. He urged that the clause! he referred to the Ln'bour Bill's Com-' mitftee. He once more appealed to Mr. Hanan to withdraw the clause, for, as! it read, it would be liable to cause a! great deal of genuine and undeserved' hardship. He believed legislation was required dealing with the child labour question, but the bill before the House was not the place for it. The chairman of committees decided j to postpone his recision on the point of] order, and allowed discussion meantime to continue. Eventually Mr. Hanan"s clause was ruled out as irrelevant to the 'bill, t_e third reading was carried and the b_ passed at 1.35 a.m. ______________