§ Mr. RIDSDALEasked the Home Secretary if his attention has been drawn to the action of the magistrate at Old Street police court on 3rd May in dismissing a charge against W. H. Taylor, skirt manufacturer, for employing two girls under the age of 16 after the certificate from the district certifying surgeon that they were medically unfit had been refused; and whether, seeing that the two girls were verminous and likely to be a source of contagion, he proposes to take any, and, if any, what, action in the matter?
§ Mr. GLADSTONEA Report has been submitted to me with regard to this case, and I understand that the magistrate dismissed the case under the Probation of Offenders Act, on the ground, apparently, that the offence was a trivial one. The certifying surgeon was acting in accordance with the Instructions issued to him from the Home Office, and I shall take such steps as may be judged necessary to enforce the law on the subject.