INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN

Evening Star, Issue 15268, 21 August 1913, Page 7

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN

THEIR MAINTENANCE. Mr W. T. Talboys, in a carefully-prepared nimutc submitted the following L'JZZ HnS i Tn Dt Commi "ee of tho Otago Hospital and Charitable Aid Board this week on the committal of children to industrial

iJ}\ numW . or applications tbafc have lately been received by me for the coimniUa! ot. children to an industrial school coninoh 1 sew5 ew lo £omo ">>ef being obtaincd irom the enormous expense to which this board is put to every year for the main tonance of children in industrial school Section 85 and its subsections of the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act 1809 deals with this matter. Attention is par i) U S y "SV° ? art ° f Bub » ec «™ W, viz.. iiiat the cost ot maintaiuintr children committed under certain port on of the statute law shall be defrayed out of the moneys of the board of the" hospital d strict m wmch the order for sending the chid to the industrial school is or ruade." tntt *j? , conf ? re "ce of hospitals and cbariMil?W. b b oards M ld in Wel!i °gtoa in June, 1911 this same matter was brought up and at the request of the Southland Board an Sved n V* Ulis board ™ s i™ cd ; sl The re I mxt from the Otago Board *a»: In regard to section 85 of the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act 1909 re the maintenance of children in an'inch,S !f h °°>' «"}* «" same be amended to poI' 111 b ?, ards may have more authority in regard to the committal of such children by recevmg notice of intention to brin- such children before the Court, so that evidence sSA° ,^ duc ? d ' if , p - ossib,e - o f «y n 0 f f r e ?q l rf S / lell " ed^ n the Destitute v l9lo ' io contribute towards the cost, of maintenance of such children." The bouthland Boards addition read: "That seciqnq "ftf U <>» fl), of the Hospitals let, 1909 should be amended by striking out the words at the close of the section after the word '.district,' and substituting the words wherein the chi d- in or has been domiciled prior to tho making of the order'" Neither of these has received attention by the (roverument, although the first portion is fit „ i- wrt , am «£?nt by the courtesy of the police and the Magistrates in notifying r^rFT 4 aU ?? J te , nde . d a PPHcation S to the Com 6 for committal or children; but the board should be able to demand it as aright V ° l ' il ? n is the moro important from the financial aspect, and it is the ban pemngs of the last'week or so that L? caused me to submit this minute It appears that when a single woman find'! herself m trouble she endeavors toTave thtown of her shame and to journey to some place where she is not known, with a v£w to concealing the facts, more esn-chliv Z the smaller to the larger ctntrt. fi DuT SIH miy - -' S o,l ' ered to Prevent pSbhcity by the provision of the Maternity Ho=Home 3 Vff o hC n Salvat |. 011 Materdt> wftw i "" e c , ollfl,le mcnt. these women, with a desire to return to their work, or in many cases to return to their evil life find the baby an encumbrance, which it no doubt is, and app y to have it committed to an industrial school Now, if this board a4e to such committal, it is by law the board responsible for the maintenance of such cm d as the board of the hospital districts wbfch the order tor sendmg the child to the industrial school is made. This beinc the case these applications have been declined, and the parties interested are advised to go back ..to the district to which they belon- with a view to applying to tho Court in their own district for tho committal, and thus preventing the wrong board being saddled with the expense. In many cases, where the parties belong to this district, the Magistrate has made an order for maintenance~a"aiust tho parents—generally the mother, as the father 13 not to be found-ami later on the usual happens: little or no payment is made and when the amount due becomes a and the party hopelessly in arrears, an applil cation is made to the Court for a reduction ot the amount and at times for a reduction of the original order From tho evidence given the Magistrate finds he can do little else than grant the application, and with the vsual consequence, that this board has to pay _ My object in bringing this matter forward is to ask the board to endeavor to induce the Government to amend the Act in the direction approved of by tho conference of hospital ond charitable aid boards before referred tew j -si m 'lne uenevolent Committee decided to' forward Mr Talboys's minute to the Hospital Board for approval.