A Recurring Fiasco.

Manawatu Herald, 18 August 1898, Page 3

A Recurring Fiasco.

It would be interesting to know how often the farce played by the Truant Inspector for this end, (says the. Patea Press,) of the Wanganui Education district; is going to be repeated. On Friday last Mr Taylor again brought up two parents of children who had not put iv the requisite - number of attendances under the School Attendance Act. It will be remembered that on the last occasion that Mr Taylor ap peared in our Court, ho had eight cases down for hearing, of which be himself withdrew four*, and the Magistrate dismissed Ihe rest for him ; and on Friday last Mr Taylor brought two cases before Messrs H . 0. Clarke and J. A. McKpnna, J's.P., vfhn dismissed both of them. It would soph) to be necessary to make application to the Magistrate to grant expenses against the Inspector on the ground of frivolous, not to say illegal, prosecution, as in all cases the Inspector- baa shown unmiatak

ably that be is either culpably negligent in preparing his cases, or ex* cessively careless in collating his facts, and it is certainly extremely unfair to parents to be made to break into, if not lose, a day's work merely because a Truant Inspector neglects the most ordinary precautions of ascertaining the facts in reference to the cases he brings for ward. It is not that Mr Taylor is ignorant of the requirements of the Act., because he has had these laid down very distinctly by the Magistrate from the Patea Bench ; and it was evidently not the first time that he had been so instructed, as on the last occasion of his bringing the prosecutions before Mr Northcroft he was told very distinctly that he had already had Ihe Magistrate's ruling of the application of Clause 7 of the Act, which the Magistrate said wa?, " That in accordance with law, Section 7 of the Act, (School Attendance), where it conflicts with section 3, must override it, and section 7 said when any child required by this Act to attend a public school has been enrolled on the register ot the school and being in good health does not attend etc." " Being in good health was therefore the foundation of the mandate to attend/.' and consequently when a child was not "in good health " there ceases to be any mandate for co attending. The Magistrate also added " the Court could not disbelieve the word of mothers, without strong reason, as to the health of their children, and he was not going to require a doctor's certificate, as he knew that doctors were very often wrong in their ideas about children^' health when mothers were right." Nothing could have been plainer or more straightforward than that ruling ; yet, despite that, the Truant Inspector deliberately lays informations against parents of absent child-' ren — one of whom was the subject of a dismissed case on the occasion under notice— and is again met with the defence of sicknesp, supported on this occasion by a medical certifi cate. It is idle lo suppose that the Truant Intpector could not, by one single enquiry, have ascertained the information as to the sickness of the children ; but no, the Truant Inspector is far to important a personage to trouble himself about reasons or anything else ; it is less trouble (pro bably ?) for him to simply fill in the printed form of" information," and bring the parents before the Bench ; but we certainly think that a continuance of such unjust and uncalled for interference should ba visited by pome distinct mark of disapproval by the Bench in the shape of cost 9 n gainst the persecutor for the loss of time and annoying persecution. This is the only hope for parents, as every effort has been made by the local School Committee to be relieved by the. Education Board of the incubus of such useless and mi?, ehievous interference, but absolutely without avail ; that august body declines to any relief, consequently it will be necessary to make a direct appeal to the Court for protection, the most effective way of granting which, will, no doubt, be to make the Truant Inspector pay the piper when he chooses to have inopportune music.