INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FEES. (Hansard, 14 July 1926)

§ Mr. SEXTON

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to abolish imprisonment for arrears of industrial school fees. This may be considered a large order It is not, however, the intention to give it general application. May I explain that the intention of the Bill is to deal with the position of the casual labourer, a casual of the casuals, who depends upon picking up an odd hour's work or an odd day's work, and whose total work does not mean, under normal conditions, more than two-and a-half days a week. The position of this unfortunate man in the industrial world is that in order to supplement his scanty living, his wife is compelled to go out charring; his children, who are of school age, are allowed to go into street trading, and by that means contribute towards the living of the household. The wife being away, and the children uncared for, they play truant. The parents are reported to the Education Committee, and summoned to attend before the Committee. They have a strong objection to attending to undergo what they consider, and in some cases 418 rightly consider, the inquisitorial examination there. The result is that an appeal is made to the magistrates, and to the lay magistrates in particular. I would not object so much if it went in some other direction. The lay magistrates very often are not very sympathetic in regard to these matters.

As a result of the prosecution, an order is made, the children are taken away from the parents and sent to an industrial school. Thus their earnings in street trading—a most iniquitous but in this case a necessary evil—are lost to the family. An order is made by the magistrates for the payment of 1s. or Is. 6d. a week towards the maintenance of the children. The man has no money with which to pay. The result is that a warrant is issued against him, but he does not appear at the police court. These people are ignorant of the law. They do not go to the police court, and as a result the case goes by default. It is carelessness, but it is not so much carelessness, as fear and want of knowledge. A warrant is made out against the man, he is arrested, and taken to prison. He comes out of prison. He goes back to work. As soon as the intimation is received by the police officials that he is back—usually the police officials are sympathetic, but the warrant is there and their duty has to be done—the warrant is hanging over his head all the time, and he may be rearrested.

Let me give a typical ease and one which came within my own experience as a magistrate. I confess that at the risk of disobeying the law I refused in this particular case to sign an order for the man's arrest. It was during the Boer War. This man went through the Boer War. While he was there the arrears accumulated. He came back and as a reward for his heroic conduct on behalf of his country he was arrested, and sent to gaol. The wife and children went to the poor-house. It cost the Poor Law authorities 35s. a week to keep the wife and children, and it cost the Government 17s. a week to keep the man in gaol; this in order to collect the arrears which had accumulated at the rate of 1s. 6d. a week. The worst feature of all occurred when the man was discharged from prison. I brought the matter before the City Council of Liverpool, of which I am a member. The Poor 419 Law authorities hired a taxi-cab, put the family in the taxi-cab, drove them to the gaol gates, and dumped them down in front of this poor unfortunate devil, and told him that he must find a home for them. The home was broken up and the furniture sold to defray the expenses. I submit that the present system, which inflicts such penalties upon a poor man of that character who is not responsible for his economic environment, and who could not possibly meet the demands made upon him, requires some consideration and alteration.

If this Bill is fortunate enough to receive a Second Reading I would suggest that the same system be adopted in these cases as is adopted in ordinary civil cases in the County Courts, namely, that there should be a periodical revision of them, so that the man should not have a warrant hanging over his head and be snapped up as soon as he gets a job, but should be given time to recoup himself. Even if he gets a full week's work his money is mortgaged for expenses previously incurred. Many men to-day are becoming so callous that when the time comes for the warrant to be put into operation—the warrant has been running for 12 months, sometimes—they go to the police station and callously give themselves up to serve their time, thus making them chronic jailbirds all the year round. If there could be periodical revision of the cases, as in the case of the County Court, by the County Court Judge, who is usually a man of more humane judgment than the ordinary great unpaid magistrates, it would be very much better. If that could be done, much of the hardship would disappear. Under the existing conditions these poor unfortunate men vainly search for employment and they do not earn enough to keep body and soul together, and there seems to be no prospect before them except to die in the workhouse, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the poet: Rattle his hones Over the stones, He's only a pauper Whom nobody owns.