§ SIR W. EVANS GORDON (Tower Hamlets, Stepney)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the comments on the evils arising from child insurance which were made by the magistrate at the Clerken-well Police Court in a recent case; and whether he contemplates taking any action in the matter.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. HERBERT GLADSTONE,) Leeds, W.I have seen the comments of the magistrate upon the case to which the hon. Member refers. The criminal law on the subject could 507 hardly be made more severe than it now is. A parent who insures her child and then is guilty of cruelty or culpable neglect is liable to penal servitude for five years under Section 1, Sub-section 4, of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, 1904. The imposition of further restrictions on the insurance of children involves questions of much difficulty, and various proposals for legislation have not met with success; but I will bring the question to the notice of the Treasury, who are, I understand, considering other aspects of this matter.