§ MR. TAVERNER MILLERsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to a proposed Exhibition of Reformatory Children, to be held at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, from the 19th to the 25th May next, and whether it meets with his sanction and approbation? He might, perhaps, be allowed to add that the children had all been criminal offenders.
§ SIR GEORGE GREY, in reply, said, his attention had not been drawn to this subject, nor had he heard of any intention to hold such an exhibition till yesterday, when the hon. Gentleman was good enough to inform him of the Notice he had placed on the paper, in order that his attention might be called to it. This morning, however, he had received by post a printed paper, stating that the exhibition, about to take place, was an exhibition of the products of the industry of children in Reformatories, and that on a certain day one thousand of the children would perform certain pieces of music, such as the Morning and Evening Hymn. He certainly entirely agreed with what he understood to be the feeling of the hon. Gentleman, that it was most inexpedient that children who had been convicted of crime and sent to Reformatories should be made a public exhibition of in this manner. He had, therefore, sent to Mr. Turner, the Inspector of Reformatories, to know whether he was aware of the intention to hold such an exhibition. He had not been able himself to see Mr. Turner, but he understood from him that no child who was an inmate of any Government Reformatory would he present—the children proposed to be present at the exhibition were wholly unconnected with Reformatories certified by the Government or receiving any grant from Government.
§ MR. TAVERNER MILLERsaid, that it had been announced that two hundred children would be present from the Middlesex Industrial School.
§ SIR GEORGE GREYsaid, that was not a certified Reformatory. It existed under an Act which there was a Bill now before Parliament to amend; but it was not a certified Reformatory, and received nothing from the Government.