Book Review: Hayward & wright's office of Magistrate (Ninth Edition)
| DOI | 10.1177/026455055300602408 |
| Date | 01 November 1953 |
| Author | A.H.L. |
| Published date | 01 November 1953 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
OOK
€{Jl€W~
Ships Without Sails, by M. Lloyd
Turner
(University of
London Press, Ltd. 7s.
6dJ.
This
is an account of
the
Barge Boys' Club.
It
is
not
like
any
other
club
nor
is
there
likely to be
any
other
club
[ust-Iike
this
one. From
the
outset
it
has
been an
experiment in youth work. Reading about it in
this
book one is impressed
with
the
scientific
approach
that
was made
right
at
the
beginning
and
which seems to
have
continued.
It
has
not
been
the
simple collecting
together
of
any
group of young toughs by an
enthusiastic
youth
leader,
but
acarefully developed
and
controlled
experiment. At every
point
there
has
been
an
analysis
of
just
what
has
been going on,
both
within
the
group
and
within
the
individual. Not only
that,
but
the
worker
himself
has
been
watching
his own reactions
and
has
been
adapting
himself to
the
many
new situations
that
have
arisen.
It
is
not
often
that
one
can
get inside
such
an
experi-
ment
without all
the
technical knowledge
demanded
of
those
taking
part
in it,
but
the
author
takes
us
with
him
all
the
way, from
the
early days,
when
finance,
the
many
physical difficulties, -
the
selection of
the
right
members,
and
the
fiddling details
brought
their
problems, to
the
time when
the
older members were leaving
the
Barge
with
traditions
for
their
younger
brothers
to build upon.
When I
had
covered
about
half
of
the
book, I
made
a
note
that
the
boys were
"unclubbable"
to begin
with
and
remained such,
that
they
were a closed community
not
even
interested
in relations
with
other
clubs. I felt
something
of
the
futility
that
the
worker
must
have
felt
at
that
stage. Yet, by
the
end
of
this
account,
the
boys
were showing themselves to be most interested in
inter-
club activities
and
their
attitude
towards
the
police
and
law
had
changed. I was able to experience
the
growth
of
this
change
along
with
those who were actually
taking
part
in it. I stress
this
experimental
nature
of
the
Barge Boys' Club because it is
important
that
there
should be
such
careful research in
this
work,
and
because
the
boys themselves seemed at all times conscious of
the
experiment.
It
is
remarkable
how
often
they
seemed to
notice
the
change
of mood of
the
worker
and
of
each
other,
and
how
they
developed 'an
insight
into
their
relations
with
each
other
and
the
worker.
One
major
question is
left
unanswered by
this
book.
How
has
this
type of club,
whether
on a barge or not,
been
started
and
developed elsewhere? We
can
see
here
the
vital need for
the
right
man
as worker.
Other
men
came along
afterwards
but
were
not
able to lead in
the
same
way as
the
original worker. Is
the
experiment one
that
could be extended
with
other
men
in charge?
The
right
man
appears to
have
been
there
at
the
beginning.
He alone knew exactly
what
was involved in all
that
he
was doing,
and
it is
right
that
he
should
have
given
such
acomprehensive account of
the
club as
there
is in
this
book. I doubt, though,
whether
there
are
many
such
men
available for
this
type of work and, without
them
there
could
not
be
such
clubs.
I
have
had
no personal connection
with
the
Barge Boys'
Club,
and
my own sphere of work is in a very
scattered
rural
area,
but
Ihave been impressed
and
stimulated by
this
book.
It
is
an
excellent,
practical
description of
the
gang; it shows
the
importance of intelligent
and
scien-
tific leadership in - dealing
with
boys; it raises
many
questions on
the
meaning
of delinquency,
and
throughout
it is positive in its
attitude
towards agroup of boys who
were expected by some to convert
the
club
into
a
"den
of
iniquity"
but
who instead showed, as
the
book states,
..
that
the
group held
within
itself
the
means
of its own
salvation." H.H.
Hayward &Wright's Office of Magistrate Edition),
by
James
Whiteside (Butterworth &co., 17s. 6d.L
Mr.
James
Whiteside, Clerk to
the
Justices for
the
City
and
County of Exeter,
and
an Editor of Stone's Justices'
Manual,
has
considerably
enhanced
his
reputation
by
revising, rewriting
and
publishing a
ninth
edition of
his
already well known book on
the
office of magistrate.
This
edition brings all previous works up to
date
and
includes
the
Magistrates'
Court
Act, October,
1952,
which came into
operation in
June,
1953.
This
small, handy. convenient book of 260 pages
with
a
first class index is a mine of
information
to all those who
are
engaged in
the
work of
the
Courts of Justice in
England -and Wales.
To
probation
officers,
the
chapters
relating
to
the
punishment
or
treatment
of offenders
are
of
particular
interest.
The
book is also useful to
other
social workers
who
are
not
directly connected
with
the
courts, as it
contains
excellent
chapters
on
marriage
conciliation,
adoption,
and
other
aspects of social work.
There
is no doubt
that
this
book meets
the
needs of lay
magistrates
and
those who
are
about
to
undertake
this
important
duty, as it provides so
much
material
for a
course of
study
written
in a simple, every-day language,
making
it all
the
more comprehensive
and
interesting to
read.
AHL
Crime Prevention, published by
the
tmcknow District
Crime Prevention Committee, Lucknow, India.
This
is a new quarterly magazine
and
the
first issue
contains articles on crime
and
its
prevention, juvenile
dellnquencyvand
interesting
accounts of various prison
activities in
Uttar
Pradesh, India.
There
is a
chart
which
gives
the
causes of juvenile delinquency
at
aglance.
This
has
been
prepared
by Dr. S. J. Singh, who is
the
Secretary
of
the
Crime Prevention Committee
and
also
the
Editor
of
the
magazine.
The
magazine Includes a
report
of
the
Crime Prevention
Committee, in which an account is given of
the
work of
probation officers.
This
is of
particular
interest
to us
at
the
moment
because probation officers in
that
part
of
the
world
have
been
taking
part
in
an
experiment in living in
a
camp
where prisoners
have
been
at
work,
and
doing
welfare work amongst them. They seem to
have
been
able to make very
important
contacts
during
this
experi-
ment
and
it is recommended
that
probation officers be
allotted to
the
camp
permanently.
The
Editor is obviously very
much
concerned
with
the
whole subject of crime prevention,
and
the
magazine
should do
much
to
stimulate
interest. H.
[284]
To continue reading
Request your trial