SOCIAL LAWS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18405, 11 June 1925, Page 2

SOCIAL LAWS.

AMENDMENT DESIRED.

REQUEST TO M.P.'S

COMMITTEE

Some startling allegations regarding immorality in the Dominion were made yesterday by a deputation from the Society for the Protection of Women and Childreii which waited on the Canter-

bury M.P. 's Committee. Mr S. E. McCarthy said the Society was interested in two amendments to the law. One had to do with illegitimate children and their mothers. He desired to draw the attention of the committee to the great amount of promiscuous immo*ality existing in the Dominion. He quoted figures to show how large a proportion of illegitimates and children bornJjefore their parents had been married for many months there were in New Zealand. There were two causes for such a state of affairs: partly educational and partly economic. Today there was such a high cost of living and a low rate of wages that young men. were shirking their responsibilities so far as matrimony was concerned. The deputation asked that the law should be amended to make the fathers of expected illegitimate children shoulder their responsibilities. The position was that too often in such cases the prospective mother was left to fight her battle alone. Such fathers should be charged with the sairie responsibilities as the married fathers. There should be a legal penalty imposable on a man who knew a woman was shortly to become a mother as a result of his actions. In the event of such a woman or child dying, the man responsible for her condition should be brought before the Court and charged with manslaughter or some other such crime. "A great number of unwanted children are dealt with by abortionists from one end of the Dominion to the other," said Mr McCarthy. "This crime of abortion is more common than you think." Mr McCarthy also asked that the law should be so amended as "to empower Magistrates to commit 'to industrial schools children between fourteen and eighteen years of age.' At the present time, he said, only children up to fourteen years of age could be committed to an. industrial school by a Magistrate, but in respect of children between the ages of fourteen and eighteen only his Excellency the Governor-General qouTcT order them to be committed. There were many y'oung people between the ages of fourteen and eighteen who were going wrong, their parents being unable to control them. To all intents and purposes these young people were leading a. dissolute life. The deputation wanted the. Act so amended that such people could be brought before a Magistrate, who should have the power to place them under the supervision of a'gentleman like the Kev. F. Rule, Probation Officer. ,

Miss E. Cardale pleaded that the law should be altered so as to prevent girls being sent' to the Addington Eeformatory while" it was being decided what place they were to be sent to by order of the Court.' ■ The deputation asked that in such cases the girls be sent direct to a home/ pending-the decision of'the-Court.-;

Mrs E. A. M. Eoberts gave an instance, of a girl of fifteen.who was uncontrollable. -. Mr '%, J. Howard, M.P.: What crime has she committed t" ,

Mrs'Eoberts:. 1 None in the legal sense, but she is running. wild on the streets. V The Son. t). .Buddo,;M.P T , asked if it were not possible to take proceedings against uncontrollable children by means of'an information.

Mr McCarthy replied" that they could bo dealt with in the.Juvenile.Court. He did not approve of their being brought before the Magistrate's Court. Mr J. McCombs, M.P., said that Mr McCarthy had exaggerated the position in regard to. the Government Statistician's figures.- What had been said by the Statistician was that, including illegitimate, there were 52 per cent, of first births born out.of due time. That statement, however, was qualified by the words "occurring within,the first year of marriage,".and as about half of the births occurred in the second, and subsequent years,'' the Statistician's qualification was important in estimating the true position. . .' • Mr Howard said that he vieweu with suspicion which allowed the State to farm out children.

Mr H. T. Armstrong, M.P., said it did not always improve morals by sending children to an industrial school. He thought the reformatories in New Zealand should be reformed.

Mr McCarthy: Our Society does not approve of loaning children out. The chairman (Mr L..M. Isitt, M.P.) said that the matters mentioned by the deputation would receive consideration.