§ MR. LEIF JONES (Westmoreland, Appleby)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the case of an able-bodied pauper, named Tasker, who, with his wife and throe children, is at present an inmate of the Malton workhouse; whether he is aware that, in the last twenty-five years, Tasker has been twelve times convicted of various offences; that he and his wife were, in 1903, sentenced to four months' imprisonment for cruelty to their children, and before that date they had drawn insurance money on the deaths of five of their children at the ages of fifteen months, twelve months, ten months, eleven months, and nine months respectively; that since September, 1905, Tasker and his family have been in the Malton workhouse for forty-three and a half weeks, and that when not in prison or in the workhouse Tasker and his wife wander about the country dragging their children with them; whether he is aware that the Malton guardians are anxious to prevent the children from growing up into pauper vagrants like their parents, but are afraid to adopt them, because, if they do so, Tasker and his wife will leave the workhouse relieved of all responsibilty for their maintenance; and whether, in view of this and similar cases he will introduce legislation to prevent parents from deriving profit from the death, through systematic neglect, of insured children, and also to confer upon boards of guardians greater powers of detaining and otherwise penalising parents who ill-treat and neglect their children.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSThe guardians of the Malton Union have written to me on this subject. They do not give all the particulars stated in the Question respecting Tasker and his wife, but I should gather that the case is one in which in the interest of the children it is desirable that their care and control should be taken over by the guardians. I may point out that where this course is adopted the parent is not thereby relieved from liability to contribute to the maintenance of the child. With regard to legislation, I believe that one of the questions before the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws is whether increased powers of detention should be given to boards of guardians, and I will bring this case under their notice. Whether any further restrictions should be imposed on the insurance of the lives of children would be a matter for my right hon. friend the Home Secretary.
§ MR. LEIF JONESDo I understand that the Malton Board, of which I am a member, have power to adopt these children?
§ MR. JOHN BURNSYes, I believe they have.