§ MR. SIMONDSasked the Vice President of the Council, Whether Sergeants of Militia, enlisting and employing as drummer boys children above ten years of age and under thirteen, who have not obtained the necessary certificate of proficiency or of school attendance, are liable to the penalty of 40s. as provided by "The Elementary Education Act, 1876," section 6?
§ COLONEL STANLEYI have conferred with the Vice President of the Council on the subject, and my noble Friend has advised me that sergeants of Militia, enlisting and employing as drummer boys children above 10 years of age and under 13 are not liable to the penalty, inasmuch as they are not in the position of employers and the boys not being in their service. If the parents of such children are, as they are in many cases, non-commissioned officers, they are bound to attend schools; and it is not the intention of the Government, even where that is not the case, that the spirit of the Elementary Education Act should be in any degree violated.