THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7071, 12 April 1901, Page 1

THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY

A meeting of the Children's Aid Society ■wVi's held last evening, for the purpose of meeting the Canterbury members of 1 Parliament, who. had been invited to be present, to discuss matters upon which the Society desired further legislation. Mr W. Chrystall occupied the chair, and there was a go:>d attendance, but the only member of Parliament' present at ten minutes past eight was Mr G. W. Russell. % It was decided, however, to proceed with the conference.

The Chairman explained the objects of the meeting, and said the Society had been considerably 'hampered in its work in dealing with -children; as there was not sufficient ' legislation to give the. necessary power to deal -with 'cases which came under their • notice. 1 The principal difficulties •were in dealing with imbecile children amd tho' children of undesirable parents. The question of providing cottage homes -would also . be referred to.

At this stage Messrs H. G. Ell and W. W. Collins arrived, and apologies for absence were receiv&d -from Messrs G. Laurenson, R. Meredith, 'W. . W. Tanner and C. A. C. Hardy. The Rev A. C. Hoggins brought up the matter of the Education Act. He would like to see the Act wiped out, and a> fresh start made. If education were left in the hands of the State they had a right to expect that they would have the very best, and not a system suited for, thirty y&ars ago. The restrictions as to attendance at schools were too lax, and they would like to see the Act amended so as to make no provision, for absence except in cases of sickness, and that there should be a compulsory attendance of at least 80 per cent for every week the school was in session. In order to assist the. Truant Inspector the fines for absence should be largely increased for any but «• first breach ot the attendance Act. In England the fine was £1, while here it was only 2s. Some provision should bo made for incorrigible children, who, for various reasons, should not be allowed to mix with other children. They suggested that -the Truant Officer should have access to private schools to see that the children on the rolls attended regularly. He held that the education system could never be complete until private schools were subsidised, and placed under Government inspection. Iho system of cramming in some of the schools was a crying shame, and often caused the # total ruin of the brain. It was pro-posed to amend . the- Act in the direction of not allowing children to leave school before the full age, which should be raised to fourteen, whether they had passed the Fifth Standard or ; npt..- In the majority of tho American States children were not admitted to school -until they were seven yeais of age, and were not allowed to leave until they were sixteen. Mrs Wells brought up the question of the 'need for cottage home for destitute children. The committee had decided to approach the Charitable Aid Board with z, v.ifcjv to ' ''endeavouring to. got the Board j tii make an experiment in this direction. ; The State now looked after children until they reached ' the age of fourteen, but no | provision was made for- teaching them ! trades. The boarding-oufc system was satisfactory when children were taken for love, but in many cases where they were taken for! pecuniary' 1 consideration me re- ■■ suits were not so- satisfactory. Many of the homes were not suitable; and the surroundings were not of a desirable character. ' The suggestion was that cottage homes should be set up in -curious parts oi the town and suburbs, taJcing a dozen | children ' each, and the children to attend the public schools. These homes should be ■ managed by women who were peculiarly ] fitted for the position, and the children should be made to feel that they were in their own homes, and not aliens. Under this system classification could be more satisfactorily arranged, and the sanitary conditions would be better than at present. The cost 1 was estimated at about £257 per annum for each home, making the cost of each child £21 per annum.

Miss Henderson brought up the question of amendments in the Adoption of , Children Act in the direction of providing ! ■proper safeguards to compel persons adopting children to show that they were suitable people to have the care of children, j The magistrates who had the adoption under their control should have power to consult with such a society as this as to^ the suitableness **of the people, and the magistrates should have power in cases where money was paid for, the adoption to have the mousy tied up for the use of the child. '

Mrs Blake brought up the question of the need for inebriate homes, and in this connection power should be given to remove children from the control of inebriate parents

Mr Ell here had to leave the conference, and as> the other persons who were to bring forward subjects were not present, the Chairman invited the members of Parliament to speak on those which had been introduced.

Mr W. W. Collins, in speaking on the education question, said that he had always resented the bringing of parents into the Police Court to answer for the absence of their children from school. It was a" ■ very bad thing to familiarise^ these- people with the courts. He suggested that the English system should be adopted, and the cases should be tried in a special educational court by a departmental officer. He was aware that many children were kept away solely by the stem necessities of the case, and in some cases they might, in compelling the 80 per cent attendance, in-

flict further hardships on families who already suffered enough. He would not object to the fine being raised to £1 in cases where the parents were culpable, and where they were in a position to pay it, but there were cases in which the payment of the present fine 01 2s meant less bread for the family for the week, and this must be taken into consideration. He was quite with the committee as to a separate place for incorrigibles. The whole education system was a system of cram, and he knew of plenty of children who had passed the Sixth Standard 'before reaching the age of fourteen, and who were in ai position to assist their parents, and he could not agree with the Society in raising the age. He would give every assistance in the matter of establishing cottage homes and homes for imbeciles. As to the establishment of inebriate homes, all the machinery for setting them up had been passed, and he could not understand why it had not been put in motion. Personally, he thought that a good deal of the money spent in' other ways would have been better employed in starting these

homes

Mr G. W. Russell took objection to the Rev Mr Hogging's remarks as to the wiping out of the Education Act, which must remain as it is — free, secular, and compulsory. The reasons for non-attendance of children at school were various, and m many cases were due to the economic conditions. If they adopted the suggestion to inflict heavy fines in cases where children had not an 80 per cent attendance they mia;ht do a grave injustice. He would rather give greater power to Magistrates, and would advocate women justices dealing with such cases. He would be glad to assist in any scheme proposed for dealing with incorrigible children. He could not go so far as Mr Hoggins in the matter of compulsory inspection of private schools. Although he was in favour, of making the beginning of the age seven, he knew that there were great difficulties in the way, as different children were differently constituted, and the same remark applied to raising the age of leaving school. He would be in favour of the establishment of cottage homes, but he was satisfied that they could not be kept up for the amount stated by Mrs Wells, but he did not think the matter of cost should be allowed to enter into the question. He agreed with the necessity for the proposed amendments in the Adoption of Children Act. ' There should be a searching investigation as to the character and surroundings of those who proposed to adopt children, and no. money should be allowed to be paid. He endorsed all that Mr Collins had said in respect to inebriate homes, and he could not understand why the Govern 1 ment had not already made a move in ihe matter, more espec'ally as they had what was known as the North House at Sunnyside Asylum, which had been built for the specific purpose. He would be especially pleased to assist the society in any steps it might take for. the amelioration of the lot of the women and children o*f the colony.

Mr J. O'Bryen Hoare introduced the question of amendments in the Industrial Schools Act. From what had come to his knowledge, he was satisfied that it was impossible to make a success of a dual system of industrial and reformatory schools, and this was particularly noticeable at Burnham, with which most of them were acquainted. The criminal class fhould be separated from the unfortunates. There was a very grave necessity for a trainingship for boys, and" this was shown by the fact that several of 'the boys. had actually run away from Burnham to go* to sea. 'He hoped that the members of Parliament would take up the question of providing a training-ship which was introduced by the late Mr Joyce, and carry it through. The boys would be thus provided for, but some .steps should be taken to train the girlsin a manner which would give them an opportunity, to earn their own living. Although power was given to the police to take children found amidst undesirable surroundings, before the nearest Magistrate, great difficulty was found in getting the police to act and the society suggested that the Act should be altered so as to allow of two of the neighbours laying an information.

The Rev I. Sarginson introduced the question of the necessity for homes for imbecile children, and pointed out the necessity for scientific treatment in such cases. He estimated that there were at least 500 of the?e children in the colony, and the London School Board had discovered by practice that a large per centage of such children could be. improved.

Mr Russell said he was in entire sympathy with the remarks of Messrs Hoare and Sarginson, and would be glad to assist in any way possible to get the necessary legislation put through the House.

Mr H. G. Ell (who had just returned to the meeting), said that being thoroughly familiar with the work of the society and the proposals made that night, he would be glad to co-operate with the other members of the House in getting the desired amended legislation. •

The Chairman pointed out the urgent ne-necc-ssity for funds for the society, which, in addition to its ordinary work, had been carrying on kindergarten schools, and he 'hoped the members would endeavour to get the amount collected by the society subsidised by the State.

The Chairman thanked the members for their attendance, and the meeting closed.