The Haslingden Gazette. — 1911-04-29 (Haslingden, Lancashire, England)

ADULT SCHOOL LECTURETTE.  At the Aonnington Adult School last Sunday, Mr. JObll Hindle gave a leetunitte onlabour." Mr. R. earterall presiding. Ths lecturer o.a.d it. Willi their duty to make sure net the social condition of the child was all that posably coukl be. The e‘sential function of tine oommunity iota moo building. Which resolved itself into a dceire to create a better tyre of mon, and incidentally mono intelligent citianns, more skilful and versatile workers and an elsetorate more earnest. capable anti far-weing. After alluding to the evils of child labour. Mr. Hindle said it wawa good business puliey for the richest nation in the world to alkiw its ciliildrien to htl.ur when viewed front an intelligent coninnerciail aspect. Ina in the great struggle for industrial supremacy the victory would be to the nation best equipped with healthy. intelligent and will cared for children. To-day this new iphit declared with confidence that ihe betterment of the oliiklosi was the greatest- con%Aeration for all moor. aril it protested sigor°airily against all the utilisation of the child for industrial purpose, Referring to the army of &Phi worker: the lecturer said all the ewidiinee plainly proved that chikl labour was the perennial recruiting ground for future tmemployment, but it would not be rigtnt. to argue that the mirmse of juvenile Law& was the greatest cause of unemployment or that the solution of the unemployed problem could bo brought about by bringing that misuse to an end. The grave evil was perpetuated by looking mon children rut mere instruments of prodtwdion without thinking of their future. Whose was the fatfg? The employers', the patents', or the mitoion's? It wan a joint responsibility anal ropeard joibt effort foe amelioration, the nation taking the inftiative  Toiled:Mg upon the great increase kb cotton mill half-timers and to the disastrous educational effect of the c.p.v.eln. the lecturer said think of the loss at sleep. the lack of play, time hastily eaten meals (makeshift in matw instanoss), the jadol appetites anal daily rude to work and ask themselves if all this would make future Cliti7/0114 who lay character, physioil fitness, and mental alortness would claim the adminition of other netions. Turtling to the " bread and butter" aspect of the question, Mr. Hindle maid the employers' view took precedence and the child was overlooked. There wet-, four causes of child labour: Cheap production; ratof child aeistance by skilled operatives in certain industries; the ellEtolll of a district: and the economic pressure of poverty or idleness. The lecturer went on to show the fallacy of employers' arguments for tins re,tenit ion of juvenile labour that none but childish fingers We,re frmitabre to do the work that die way to the mill was the way to health anal wealth: that the mum were great technical schools where children learnt to be metliodis cal and industrious, and that mills alianorai the wits and brighten 'lie intellect. The German would call cutting off elucation just at the point Where its value was beginning to be appreciated coomiereial suicide. We termed it sharpening the wits. Our system was hound to spell failure RI king as no persisted in developing industry at the expense of ehildren. With regard to the argu• rramt that children must work half-time for the benefit of the struggling family or the poor widow, Mr. Hindle said large fatuities were looked upon as a kind of deferred stock paying dividend at at wage corning age. The number of half-tiliners was no index to poverty or why shonkl tbey has prartienily confined to the two richest. counties in England, Lancashire and Yorkshire? The increme in the number of half-timers corresponded to the boom in trade Own the greatest number of ado:ts mete employed. Was that because parents were in more necessitous circumsfonces or because an opportunity presented itself for concerting child lalour into hard cash?  Stating, that tho revival of apprentiesliip would not. remedy hltis continual sacrifice of t•Ito Thing generation, the loofa:tor said the Skilled Employnront Committee would not melody the evil. Noii.'r would voluntary nor computsory systems of evening education. The propoiels for remedying the evil were lllCAP,—Abolitim of half-time and miring the age of full-tints exemption to 14 (no oxerition.l. Entire probililticn of street. trading' by children under 17. Employment, restricted in tmdesirable occupations w limit ehould he selfedulod.  (turtaiMimi of long hours on Saturday and pro. thibition of Sunday working by boys. Prohibition of work b3fore, between and after sebool hours. RegistraCon of an Immo industries with strict. Rapes vision. The only reliable and enduring wealth was inftilleet nal calamity. and what we lost, wasted. or failed to develop was a direct national liec. State control gave the rsformatory or industrial *about boy a fa, better start towards a decent phyRiot! and mental standard than ninny boys got outside. Did not the adveirt of a eptein of ninislical! inspection. feeding of noormitous school oliihlrm. open-air schools. stir., point to the increasing meownation of our responsibilities? Jo it possible that • the wealth necessary to sustain life can be produced without. obikl labour? If not then we had no right. to call on them until ev,cry unemployed man wan absorbed. In many eases tra-time had been voluntarily a.l,ann!nw Abc limo management of mills. Many mills had either ceased to el11111:0y or had rover employed half-timers, and there was no desire toga back to half-timo whore it had once. Igen abandonl. The fall-timer was nlways preferred. There was nothing to den,?' that the mills where wer, no half-timers wen, any less prosperous than those where they witro still employed. 'The management may often be wiling to dispense with lialf-tirimaw, but they did not (lire to ran countsr to the custom of the district and incur unpopularity with sons, of the parrnts and operatives Let them then welcome reform concerning child labour iThe teachers' art would them give of its best to fo,iter the lore of Om beautiful, to cultivate tits finer human notate in math to add stability of oliaraoter, to encourage worthy ambitions and tellsaen4ice, to lay Vim lads of good citizenship and so take a fall Ethanu in ennobling God's grinteet,