MEMORANDUM from Sir Thomas Thornhill Shann, Chairman of Manchester Education Committee, giving particulars of the method of dealing with neglected or badly nourished school children in Manchester-prepared for the information of The Royal Commission on the Poor Laws.

Sir Thomas Thornhill Shann desires to bring before the notice of the Royal Commission the following statement, and, in doing so, expresses a strong opinion that all matters dealing with the administration of relief to school children (on the lines of The Education (Provision of Meals) Act, 1906.) should continue in the hands of local education authorities, and the power should not be entrusted to Poor Law guardians.

Particular attention is drawn to the statement regarding proceedings against negligent or cruel parents, referred to on page 5 of this Memorandum.

Historical Survey.

The feeding of destitute and badly nourished school children is no new departure on the part of the education authorities in Manchester. As far back as 1879, when Mr. Herbert Birley was Chairman of the School Board, the work began, and up to 1905 was continued by means of voluntary effort. The historical survey of the work in Manchester between 1879 and 1905 is of interest, and the following particulars thereof are given :

The giving of free meals during the winter to destitute children attending the day schools was commenced by the School Board in 1879, and was continued by the Education Committee up to 1905.

The work up to the passing of the Education Act, 1902, was restricted to schools controlled by the late School Board, and the cost was defrayed by voluntary contributions, such expenses not being a legal charge upon the School Fund. The work was also assisted by the proceeds of school concerts, etc., promoted by the teachers.

The operation of the fund was considerably extended during the winter of 1903-4. This was in consequence of the extension of the scheme to include some of the non-provided schools of the city, which came under the control of the authority under the Education Act, 1902. The extended provision was also maintained during 1904-5, and applied to twenty-three municipal schools and eighteen nonprovided schools; total, forty-one schools.

In 1904-5 the experiment was tried of charging one penny each for dinners, whilst cases of necessity were furnished to the office by the teachers. The demand for penny dinners gradually decreased and when the number of meals supplied was at the highest point, there were about 200 paying pennies and 2,300 who were on the free list. (One meal per day for five days.)

The meals consisted of pea soup and bread, varied in certain cases by the provision of milk and bread on Fridays.

The meals were served in the schoolrooms on the school desks, and the teachers kindly gave voluntary assistance in serving the children.

There was no expense of administration other than a small allowance made to the school caretakers, and practically the whole of the money raised was spent upon the relief of the children.

In all cases where relief was afforded, enquiry was made through the school attendance officers into

the circumstances of the parents and due care was taken that only really necessitous children were relieved.

A poverty scale was applied in dealing with each case and the cases were revisited monthly.

It may here be stated that for the purpose of dealing with the evil of overlapping the sub-committee during the winter of 1904-5 arranged a conference of representatives of various organisations dispensing relief to children, and well-attended meetings were held at regular intervals during the winter months.

The monthly conferences thus held with representatives of various voluntary bodies giving relief to children, though tentative, were in many respects satisfactory, and the sub-committee had no reason to be dissatisfied with their attempt to organise the work of giving relief from charitable sources. It is true that no binding arrangement was entered into, yet by the full and free discussion at these monthly conferences much valuable information was obtained; and, apart, from the new position of affairs created by the Order of the Local Government Board, it is believed that in the future better results would have ensued in the distribution of charitable aid by means of improved organisation for dealing with the general relief of distress, particularly in the direction of avoiding overlapping in the work of the different voluntary bodies.

The particulars here set forth as to past procedure show that the education authority in Manchester has for almost thirty years been fully cognisant of the vital need of supplementing school instruction by the feeding of hungry children. This voluntary work was discontinued in 1905 owing to the issue by the Local Government Board of the Relief (School Children) Order, 1905, which made the Poor Law guardians primarily responsible for the administration of relief to necessitous children. The work was undertaken by the guardians upon their own lines up to the passing of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act, 1906, which gave permissive powers to local education authorities in England and Wales to deal with the matter. POWERS UNDER the EducatION (PROVISION OF MEALS) ACT, 1906.

Under the powers of The Education (Provision of Meals) Act, 1906, which came into force on January 1st in the present year, local education authorities may, on adopting the provisions of the Act, provide meals for children attending public elementary schools.

The following is a summary of the provisions of the Act:

Administration.-The local education authority may associate themselves with any committee, on which they shall be represented, who will undertake to provide food for the children. The title of the committee to be "The School Canteen Committee."

Financial aid may be given by the local education authority for the provision of land, buildings, furniture, apparatus, and officers necessary for the preparation and service of meals, but, save as provided,*

*The local education authority may, under special conditions, subject to the approval of the Board of Educati›n, spend out of the rates such a sum not exceeding an annual rate of d. in the pound as may be necessary to defray the cost of food furnished for meals for school children. (Section 3.)

the authority shall not incur any expense in respect of the purchase of food to be supplied at such meals. (Section 1.)

Payment for Meals.-Parents to be charged such an amount as may be determined by the local education authority in respect of every meal furnished to a child, and unless the authority are satisfied that the parent is unable to pay, they must require such payment, and the same may be recovered summarily. When the meals are furnished through a canteen committee the local education authority to pay over to the committee such an amount recovered as represents the cost of food furnished by the committee. (Section 2.)

Franchise of Parent.-The franchise of a parent is not to be affected by relief granted under this Act unless during the qualifying period the parent has been convicted of cruelty or neglect in respect of a child to whom a meal has been furnished. (Section 4.) The Manchester City Council passed such a resolution on January 9th, 1907, and it then became necessary for the education committee to appoint a canteen committee and carry out the Act.

In a Report presented to the education committee by the Director of Elementary Education on January 28th, it was pointed out that if the committee resolved to advise the council that there are children resident within their area unable to take full advantage of the education provided for them, and that funds, other than public funds, are not available for the purposes of the Act, it would be necessary to apply to the Board of Education for authority to spend money out of the rates. The amount provided by the Act is not to exceed the proceeds of an annual rate of d. in the pound. Subsequently, this course was adopted, and after some correspondence the committee received the following authority, dated May 13th, 1907:

"The Board of Education hereby authorise the County Borough Council of Manchester, being the local education authority, to spend out of the rates during the year ending March 31st, 1908, such sum (not exceeding the amount which would be produced by a rate of d. in the pound over the area of the authority in the financial year) as will meet the cost of the provision of food furnished in meals under the Education (Provision of Meals) Act, 1906."

In the same Report it was also suggested that generally the scheme set forth in the Report on the feeding of children, presented to the council in October, 1905, should be followed. It may be noted that this Report was drawn up by the education committee at the time when a scheme for combined action (under the Local Government Board's Relief (School Children) Order, 1905) between the education committee and the various boards of guardians having jurisdiction in Manchester had been under consideration-without, however, any practical result being

officers being utilised for the investigation of the circumstances of the parents, etc.

(3) The food to be all cooked at a temporary kitchen fitted up in premises belonging to the education committee in Lloyd Street, Deansgate, and conveyed to the different centres by means of milk carts hired for the purpose.

(4) The food to be supplied as a mid-day meal on each of the five school days, and varied as set forth in the following outline of a week's supply :Monday: Pea soup and bread. Tuesday: Hot-pot and bread. Wednesday: Suet pudding and treacle. Thursday: Irish stew. Friday: Hot milk and bread and jam, or bread and cheese.

An estimate was given of the cost of hot-pot, with approximate cost of materials. The cost slightly exceeds one penny per meal. For the other kinds of foods specified in the foregoing list the cost will probably not reach this cost per head.

The scheme came into operation on January 29th, 1907, and all the children relieved have been certified by the committee's medical officers to be badly nourished or in need of food. All the cases have been visited by the school attendance officers, who have gone to the homes and reported on the circumstances. For admission the income of the family, after payment of rent, must come within the following scale :—

5 or more in family

3 or 4 in family

1 or 2 in family

per head. s. d. 2 6

Where the income of the family is over this scale, one penny is charged for each meal supplied.

In the majority of the cases over this scale, when it has been intimated to the parents that payment must be made for the food supplied, the children have been withdrawn from the dinners. So far it has been felt that the work this year must be of a tentative character so that the committee may gradually develop a sound scheme, and no action has yet been taken in what will prove to be the most delicate and responsible portion of the work of feeding necessitous and neglected children, namely, the bringing home to careless criminal parents the responsibility for feeding their children when the income of the family is equal to the expense. The Report of the special committee of October, 1905, already referred to, touches upon the prosecution of delinquent parents and the recovery of the cost of supplying food. Whilst the Act of 1906 simply refers to the recovery of the cost by summary procedure before the magistrates, it may be pointed out that the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, 1894, can be put in force in the case of persons who criminally neglect to feed their children, such cases coming within the provision of Section 1 (1) of the Act, which runs as follows:

"If any person over the age of sixteen years who has the custody, charge or care of any child under the age of sixteen years, wilfully assaults, ill-treats, neglects, abandons, or exposes such child, or causes or procures such child to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned, or exposed in a manner likely to cause such child unnecessary suffering or injury to its health (including injury to or loss of sight or hearing, or limb, or organ of the body, and any mental derangement) that person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour."

The penalty on conviction is subject to the discretion of the Court, a fine not exceeding £25 or in default, or in addition thereto, a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months.

WORK OF THE SCHOOL CANTEEN COMMITTEE. The school canteen committee have appointed Miss Alice Frost as superintendent. The food is all cooked on the premises adjoining the offices of the education

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committee in Lloyd Street, where a temporary kitchen has been fitted up with a gas oven, etc. (provided by the gas committee) and boilers. The cooking is all done by gas. During the summer months, when the numbers having dinners had somewhat decreased, a large quantity of jam has been made for use at the meals. The food is all carried by milk carts to the various centres, and satisfactory arrangements have been made with a firm of milk sellers who can spare their carts for an hour in the middle of the day. Although some of the centres are several miles from the kitchen, the food can be delivered quite hot for the dinners, which are served at 12.30 p.m. on the five school days of the week.

The following places are used for serving the dinners, and women are employed two hours each day for serving the food, washing utensils, and keeping the rooms clean :

(1) Parade Room, Albert Street Police Station. (2) Parade Room, Cavendish Street Police Station, All Saints.

(3) Parade Room, Mill Street Police Station, Bradford.

(4) Room at New Islington Hall, Ancoats.

(5) Rooms at 62, Shakespeare Street, Chorltonupon-Medlock.

(6) Room at Chorlton Street.

(7) Rooms at Sunday School, Great Jones Street, West Gorton.

The first six centres are held in premises belonging to the city council. They are conveniently situated and are in every way suitable for the purpose. It has only been found necessary to hire premises for one centre, viz., No. 7 in the list, where a very reasonable arrangement has been made with the trustees for the use of the premises.

During the coming winter the number of centres will need to be extended. At the present time (October 15th) there are 745 children having dinners.

In the financial estimate for the year ended March 31st, 1908, the city council have allowed a sum of £1,500 for the expenses of the school canteen.

The idea for holding a conference for the purpose of re-organising labour at the docks emanated from Colonel Hornby and Mr. Grisewood. At their suggestion the distress committee called a meeting of the representatives of the large employers of labour at the docks and also representatives of the dock labourers.

June 8th, 1906.-The first meeting of the conference was held on this date and a scheme was submitted. The conference approved of the main principles embodied in the scheme and appointed a committee to consider the details and report.

June 29th, 1906.—A meeting of the committee was held on this date and the scheme received careful consideration.

The following resolution was also passed: "That it shall be mutually agreed between employers and representatives of the workmen that no man shall work more than twenty-four consecutive hours, except in the case of finishing off a ship for tide."

This resolution was sent subsequently by direction of the conference to employers of labour at the docks, and the representatives of the dock labourers.

July 20th, 1906.-A further meeting of the conference was held on this date. A scheme for the re-organisation of stands was approved and the clerk was instructed to draft a report to be submitted to the conference.

The question of classification of workmen was postponed to await a scheme to be prepared by Colonel Hornby and Mr. Grisewood.

October 12th, 1906.-At a meeting of the committee held on this date, the following draft report for presentation to the conference was approved :

ORGANISATION OF LABOUR AT THE DOCKS.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE
CONFERENCE.

The Committee begs to report that it has held three meetings and taken into consideration the matters referred to it by the Conference.

(1) Re Organisation of Stands.

A scheme proposed by Mr. A. L. R. Rathbone, seconded by Mr. James Sexton was considered clause by clause and discussed very fully, with the result that it was decided to make the following recommendations::

(a) That each employer shall hold his stand or stands as at present.

(b) That arrangements be made by the Distress Committee whereby convenient offices may be provided along the line of docks at the following places :(1) At the foot of Horsfall Street. (2) At the foot of Hill Street.

(3) At the foot of James Street, near the harbour master's office.

(4) At the Clarence Dock, under the Overhead Railway.

(5) No. 1, Huskisson Dock.

(6) Alexandra Dock, between Nos. 1 and 2 branches, and that the said offices be connected with each other and the Central Office of the Distress Committee by telephone, and further that facilities be provided by notice boards or otherwise for the publication of particulars with regard to dock labour.

(c) That employers be requested, as far as possible to inform the clerk in charge of the nearest office, say at about 5 o'clock p.m., how many men they are likely to want at their own stand or stands next day, such information to be posted by the clerk on the notice boards and communicated to the head office.

Your Committee recommend that the office3 established by the Committee be opened each day (Sunday excepted) from 6.30 a.m. to 8 a.m. from 12 noon to 1.30 p.m., from 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., except Saturday, when the office will close at 1.30 p.m.

It will probably be found necessary for a man to be installed in the office at the bottom of James Street, but the other offices could be efficiently staffed by youths of between the ages of sixteen and twenty. It might be roughly estimated that the wages will amount to £6 10s. per week, and beyond this and the initial outlay, which should not be great, there should be practically no additional expenditure.

(2) Excessive Overtime.

The following resolution was passed by the Committee with regard to this question: "That it shall be mutually agreed between employers and representatives of workmen that no man shall work more than twenty-four consecutive hours except in the case of finishing off a ship for tide."

(3) Classification of Workmen.

This question is of a very intricate character, and the Committee have it under careful consideration and hope to report further at a later date.

November 23rd, 1906.-At a meeting of the conference on this date the consideration of paragraph 1 of the report relating to the re-organisation of stands was postponed until a report upon the classification of workmen was submitted.

December 14th, 1906.-At a meeting of the committee held on this date draft proposals prepared by Colonel Hornby and Mr. Grisewood, and also draft proposals prepared by Mr. Charles Booth, were submitted. Neither of these met with the approval of the committee. Mr. Sexton, however, stated that he thought he could devise a scheme which would meet with the approval of both the employers and workmen and a special sub-committee was appointed for the purpose of considering his scheme. June 21st, 1907.-At a meeting of the committee held on this date, Mr. Sexton said he had not been able to devise such a scheme as he had thought possible, and the committee, therefore, have to report to the conference that they are unable to devise a scheme for dealing with the classification of workmen.

The organisation of labour at the docks is a question which has been raised from time to time. The late Mr. William Rathbone took a great interest in the matter and attempted to bring about a better condition of affairs at the docks and Miss Rathbone has also closely identified herself with the question. The question was prominently before the public during the Lord Mayoralty of Mr. W. B. Bowring, but with no satisfactory result. This conference at this, its last meeting, has also to confess its failure to grapple successfully with the problem. It would appear that neither the employers nor the workmen desire any change in the present conditions, and until the desirability of making some change is brought home to them both, especially the employers, it will be impossible for those who are not directly concerned in the questior, however good their intentions are, to bring about any reforms.

Copy of a Resolution passed by the Committee appointed by the Conference.

Resolved, That this committee after giving the question its most careful consideration regrets that it has not been found possible to devise a scheme for the classification of workmen which is acceptable both to employers and workmen.

Copy of a Resolution passed by the Conference at the Meeting held on Friday, June 28th, 1907.

Resolved, That this conference is of opinion that the scheme for the re-organisation of the stands at the docks cannot be carried into effect unless some scheme for the classification of workmen can be agreed upon to work in conjunction therewith and as the committee appointed by the conference to consider this question have reported their inability to devise any scheme for the classification of workmen this conference has with regret to record its failure to find any remedy for the present system of employment of labour at the docks.