HC Deb 15 December 1908 vol 198 cc1577-8
CAPTAIN CLIVE (Herefordshire, Ross)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that at Brierley Hill 174 parents and guardians were summoned by the Staffordshire education committee for not sending their children to school during the hop-picking season, and that fines amounting to about £80 were imposed; that in many cases the defendants pleaded great poverty, and that in some instances the children were said to be taken hopping because they were in ill-health; whether he has observed that similar prosecutions in previous years have been ineffective in preventing parents from taking their children to benefit in health and wealth by hop-picking; and whether he can take any steps to remit or reduce these fines and discourage similar prosecutions in future.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. GLADSTONE,) Leeds, W.

The matter has been very carefully considered by the Staffordshire Education Committee, and I have no reason to doubt that their decision to fix the holidays for the Staffordshire schools so as to end before the hop-picking begins is not only right in itself, but is in accordance with the wishes of an overwhelming majority of the school-children's parents. This being decided, the justices have no option but to enforce the law. I am satisfied that they impose penalties for breaches of the law with discrimination and due regard to the considerations touched on in the question. No cases have been brought to my notice which call for an exercise of the prerogative.

MR. COURTHOPE (Sussex, Rye)

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these unfortunate persons are unable to leave their children behind them and must, therefore, suffer continued prosecution or lose their employment?

MR. GLADSTONE

was understood to reply that many parents were averse to the practice of taking the children into the hop gardens.

MR. COURTHOPE

asked whether hopping was not regarded as a healthy occupation from which children greatly benefited?

MR. GLADSTONE

said it was reported that the children contracted serious diseases while hop-picking. The local education authority had gone exhaustively into the question.

MR. COURTHOPE

Will the right hon. Gentleman go into the hop gardens next season and judge of the circumstances himself?

MR. GLADSTONE

That would not give me the information. Besides it is the local education authority whose officers are responsible in this matter.

MR. ARKWRIGHT (Hereford)

Do the right hon. Gentleman's remarks apply to all the hop-growing districts of the country?

MR. GLADSTONE

I replied to the Question on the Paper.