The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-28

How the new law IS expected to hl- crease drinking in the case of women was set forth as follows: If a child comes for half a pint of porter for mother, who Is very likely hard at work at the wash-tub, it is served at once and taken off home. But under the new act, the mother, unless she wants bottle of Bass or Guinness, or a pint of beer in a bottle, must come for her beer herself and leave her little ones to chance, or bring them with her, and ten to one she'll meet a neighbor on the same errand as herself, and the result will be quartern of gin between them and the husbands dinner spoilt or forgotten"
 Another publican, looking at the new law from the standpoint of the English workman, makes this plea--"If a man calls in here for his dinner beer to take home he probably comes with one or two of his mates, which means that each in turn will stand treat for some thing, the result being that these men will drink at the bar fully as much as they will take home in their jugs, and at night, when they come for the sup per peer, they Will lluulSG ollii i'oiS freely" This is how the saloon keep CTS of England seek to justify their dis like of the new law which comes into operation on New Years Day But, or course, there a few people around these parts who cannot help thinking that their real objection to it is that it will somehow make for less drinking, instead of more, and by safeguarding the child .ren will reduce somewhat the future army of drinkers.
 From what Englishmen themselves say on this subject it is evident that Legislation for the guarding and saving of children is one of the crying needs of this country. In 8 recent issue, he Daily Mail' declared that lon he threshold of the 20th century London is rearing an army of juvenile criminals who will develop into Hooligans, pock- et-pickers and worse." Itdeclared, too, that 'the worst enemies of the chll- dren are their own parents" Tn Chl- na," is said, two hundred thousand infants are slain annually by their pa rents merely to get them out of the way. and it is estimated that in more enlightened London close upon that number of children roam the streets at night or live in an atmosphere of crime" Then follows, in this striking indictment by the Daily Mail the worst charge of all "A fact none the less real because of its awfulness ana shamefulness is that the mother is gen. orally more blameworthy than the fath- CT in making of their offspring outcasts and criminals" This is dreadful. in- deed It must not, however, be taken as a reproach to English motherhood in general. It only fits the more degra- ded slum- mother, and those women, so numerous, alas, in this country, whose senses are steeped day and night in drink.
 Three specimens of the neglected child life of London appeared recently in one of the police courts. charged with stealing cigarettes. The magls- trate asked one of them, Where IS your homer" "Got none." was the re- ply. Where was your home?" "Ain't had any for years" Where did you sleep last?" Tn field" When did you last sleep indoors?" Dyer mean | in a bed?" Yes About two months ago. To similar questions the others replied in much the same way though in their cases, instead of it's having been two months since they had slept in a bed, 1t was five months. and what makes these distressing instances all the more shocking is that every body knows them to be representative 1 of thousands just as bad. This tree Of i evil" says the Daily Mall. had it's roots in the East End but it has now spread to the West End. The by-ways of the Noting Hill district are full of people who, if they are not actually training their children in crime. do nothing to shelter the little innocents from it's influence" Noting Hill,' 1t adds 'is now as bad as Whitechapel; vet the well-to-do section of its inhab- itants know nothing of the conditions that exist there.'
 Not only, through this widespread parental remissness, are children being ruined in morals, but their very lives are in jeopardy. There is always going on in London a Slaughter of the Inno- cents" as real as that of Herod, though not always so quick and bloody. The main weapon of destruction is neglect. Till the facts and figures are brought home to them, people generally have no | idea of what is going on Until Coro- ner Westcott, at recent inquest, made if known that in 1899 six hundred chill 1 dren were burned to death in the Uni ted Kingdom owing to their being left 1 unattended. who would have suspected such a holocaust of precious, innocent 1 life? Most of these fatalities, said Dr. Westcott. might have been prevented, and the Coroners' society, he said, had brought the matter to the notice of the government which was now seriously considering some new legislation on the subject. It would probably, he added, come to pass before long that where a life was lost by fire, owing to the child being left alone, those responsible would be subject to term of imprfs- onment, and surely they ought to be.
 Surely, too, it will not be long before, in response to repeated petitions, the government will think it wise to pro- | tect young children against the danger of having their lives insured. During a recent month there came to the Soci- ety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children 3,193 complaints. Of these, those coming under the various heads of neglect, starvation or general Ill., treatment. numbered 2700, and out of
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