THE CUSTODY OF A BOY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 397, 20 September 1911, Page 7

THE CUSTODY OF A BOY.

An application of an unusual nature waa made recently to the Supreme Court in Melbourne by the father of a boy who had been placed on the Victorian training ship John Murray. The father had agreed that his son should remain on the vessel for the usual term of four years, but after a few months tho lad complained to his parents that the food supplied on board was not of the quality prescribed by the agreement, and that he was not receiving the religious instructun for which his father had stipulated. The father applied to the committee in charge of the training ship for release from the agreement, but the committee, which acts under the authority of an Order-in-Council, refused to allow the boy to leave the John Murray. The father at once asked the Supreme Court to issue a writ of habeas corpus compelling the committee to restore his son to him. The application was argued before Mr Justice Hodges the other week, The committee contended that under the conditions governing the training of boys for a seafaring life it was essential that the authorities should have exclusive control of the boys placed in their charge. The parents entered into a definite contract, and it could not be broken simply because they might change their minds. The judge expressed great regret at having to issue the writ for the restoration of the boy to the father. As a matter of public policy, he said, it was desirable that the system employed on a training ship which was maintained by the State should not be disturbed by the removal of boys who had begun their training. Unfortunately the agreements made between the parents and the committee had not been rendered binding by statute and could not be enforced in opposition to the general principle of English law that a father had a right to the custody and care of his infant and a duty to main-