, 1874-06-13

wv 49, S@DNNN SANC ~ ibtNA ~ VIII
the rights of parents forget the children. Have
they no rights =? Have they not in their weakness
the right of protection against the ignorance
and barbarism of their parents And is it not
the duty of the state to protect the little ones
from the neglect of their parents
1t is further objected that it would be opposed
to the rights of conscience. But to whom does
this objection apply and by whom is it really
urged? COmpulsion would directly affect the
thriftless, selfish, ignorant and criminal classes;
and what do such people know of the rights Of
conscience? They care nothing for them, and
practically the question would never be raised By
them. 1t is only raised for them by others who
benefit by the employment of cheap juvenile labour.
It is the plantocracy chiefly who object to direct
compulsion. Now the employment Of young
people who ought to be growing instead of work
ing, and learning instead of labouring, is a sore
evil. 1t is bad economy to have children work
ing while men and women are starving for want
of employment, Juvenile labour keeps large
numbers out of employment, and the community
loses instead Of gaining by this unnatural ar.
rangement. 1t would be cheaper to keep the
children at school than to let them go to work,
and to keep the displaced adults upon the poor
rates, or out of work. Children ought not to be
put to work before they are IA years of age and
q certificate of age and education from the In
spector should be the first qualification for En-
ployment.
It has also been sought to produce prejudice
against compulsory Education by associating with
it the idea of the policeman. But there IS no
need to employ the police, and even il there was,
who would not prefer to see the policeman sweep
ing the children into the schools rather than into
the prisons. / apprehend, however that the list
Of the children Of school age could be easily OBJ
tanned by Government, who could as easily see
that the children went to some school. l believe
that to prohibit the employment of juvenile
labour under certain restrictions, would OF itself
have the effect of sending the children to the
schools. OF course the application OF the com
pulsory principle should begin with the highest
GLASSES. There should not be one law for the
rich and another for the poor. And all opposi-
ton to cOmpulsion among the lower classes
would be taken away at once if the principle were
applied to the upper classes; and it could be APP
piled to them in q manner with which they would
chee4fullv comply. 1t woulu be simply neccssa-
~ that the upper classes should produce a ccrtii-
cate once in s months to show that their children
were being educated iii private or public Schoolsi
and | ann sure they would be willing to do this
for the good Of the poor. Only one caution
would be required to prevent private schools from
being made an evasion of the law by the lower
classes-thCir character should be ascertalned,
and if it turned out to be a mere ~pretonco the
evil could be exposed and corrected. Parents
who refuse to comply with such compulsory re-
%gulations should be kindly advised and should
they persist III their neglect they should be sum
monod before the magistrate, when, II they tail
to rive a satisfactory explanation OF the absence
of their children from school it would be necossa-
nv to fine them and such fines might be properly
applied 10 the Education Fund. But l am conf
dent such q course would be seldom followed,
Few parents would incur such disgrace when
they knew the law would punish them.
There are many persons who admit the abstract
principle of direct compulsion but who say they
cannot see the way clear to the practical orpIica-
ton oft in these islands. How can 1t be worked
efficiently ! is a question they often sincerely
ask. No doubt there are difficulties in the way
but they are not nsurmountable 1t may be
d ficult while the present drought and extreme
distress continues, to enforce the prjnciple-but
this objection ought not to override the principle.
Its force only lasts while the present exceptional
state of things continue. Let u proyiso be made
that in times of general distress (such as these
islands have occasionally endured, as for instance
after the late hurricane the principle should be
relaxed in order to meet such emergencies and the
force of the objection is at once removed. 1t is
said that tho scheme viii press hard upon the
lowest classes. Admitting that compassion wonld
bear most severely upon those who cannot afford
to lose the labour of their children even this
difficulty is less than would at first sight appear.
All the children of the same family would not be of
school age at the same time, and the graduation
of age would admit Of some being at school while
others were at work, This explanation narrows
the difficulty to the lowest possible point, and
now the question comes. What is to be done
with the residuum | answer that it the parents
cannot afford to live without the labour of their
alslluoo Alo f,nE oOpll Io ocoor%oinNd nn6 SDoh