Western Branch Meeting in Glamorgan. Dr. A. H. Norris on The Children and Young Persons Act
| Published date | 01 January 1934 |
| Date | 01 January 1934 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455053400101804 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
278
WESTERN
BRANCH
MEETING
in
Glamorgan.
Dr.
A.
H.
NORRIS
on
The
Children
and
Young
Persons
Act.
T’FIE
Fourth
Half-Yearly
Meeting
of
the
Western
JL
Branch
of
the
National
Association
of
Probation
Officers
was
held
at
the
Glamorgan
Farm
School,
Neath,
on
4th
October,
where
magistrates,
justices’
clerks
and
probation
officers
came
into
conference
at
the
invitation
of
Sir
D.
Lleufer
Thomas,
M.A.,
LL.D.
(Stipendiary
Magistrate
for
Pontypridd
and
President
of
the
Branch)
under
the
Chairmanship
of
Sir
Edward
Marlay
Samson,
K.B.E.,
K.C.
Dr.
A.
H.
Norris,
C.B.E.,
M.C.,
of
the
Children’s
Branch,
Home
Office,
addressed
the
meeting.
Sir
Edward
(who
is
Chairman
of
the
Council
of
the
Magistrates’
Association,
as
well
as
Vice-President
of
the
Western
Branch
of
Probation
OfEcers )
on
taking
the
Chair
paid
a
tribute
to
Sir
Lleufer
Thomas,
the
Branch
President,
who
had
just
retired
from
active
service
in
his
office
of
Stipendiary
Magistrate.
The
National
Association
of
Probation
Officers,
said
the
Chairman,
would
join
in
placing
on
record
their
sincere
appre-
ciation
and
affection
for
Sir
Lleufer.
N.A.P.O.
and
the
Magistrates.
The
present
meeting
which
had
been
convened
under
the
auspices
of
the
Western
Branch
gave
another
opportunity
for
referring
to
the
progress
of
the
National
Association
of
Probation
Officers
which
had
been
advancing
by
leaps
and
bounds.
The
magistrates
owed
so
much
to
the
National
Association
that
they
should
give
to
it
all
that
lay
in
their
power.
The
duties
of
probation
officers
were
increasing
daily,
and
their
work
was
becoming
steadily
more
arduous.
It
ivas
wonderful
to
see
the
devotion
with
which
the
W’elsh
probation
officers
travelled
tirelessly
up
and
down
the
hills
and
valleys
in
carrying
on
their
work,
and
it
was
difficult
to
see
how
the
work
of
the
courts
could
be
carried
on
without
the
probation
officer’s
help.
He
was
reminded
of
the
story
of
a
Pembrokeshire
clergyman
who
trudged
many
miles
every
Sunday
from
one
valley
to
another
to
take
service
in
very
far
distant
parts.
The
clergyman
was
catechising
the
children
in
one
of
his
Sunday
Schools.
&dquo; How
is
it
we
describe
Sunday ?
&dquo;
he
asked.
&dquo;A
day
of
rest,&dquo;
answered
a
small
boy.
&dquo;No,
my
lad.
not
a
day
of
rest,
a
day
of
earnest
religious
exercise,&dquo;
said
the
clergyman.
The
probation
officers
of
the
west
country
enjoyed
plenty
of
similar
healthy
exercise,
both
of
body
and
of
mind.
- The
present
moment
was
one
of
very
great
importance
(n
the
history
of
probation
and
of
the
N.A.P.O.
The
matter
had
been
brought
home
to
him
when
he
was
reading
the
other
day
a
long
memorandum
that
had
been
drawn
up
for
the
Magistrates’
Association,
by
his
predecessor,
Sir
William
Clarke
Hall.
Sir
William
had
foreseen
the
present
time
when
the
new
Children
Act
would
be
introduced,
and
had
given
liberally
of
his
mind
and
time
to
prepare
for
it.
The
Children
Act
contained
valuable
contributions
by
Clarke
Hall.
It
was
not
for
him
(Sir
Edward)
to
discuss
the
Act,
but
he
would
say
just
a
word
or
two
on
Section
35,
which
so
much
affected
the
work
of
the
probation
officer.
Definite
duties
were
laid
down
by
that
Section
for
probation
officers
and
for
officers
of
local
authorities,
and
there
appeared
to
some
extent
to
be
a
duality
in
those
duties.
Upon
the
justices
is
thrown
the
responsibility
of
deciding
how
the
requirements
of
the
Section
should
be
put
into
operation.
He
would
not
himself
give
an
opinion
on
this
point.
Whatever
the
justices
might
decide
in
the
matter,
he
felt
sure
that
their
decision
would
not
carry
any
doubt
about
the
useful
work
of
probation
officers.
The
boys
and
girls
of
to-day
have
before
them
a
very
difficult
passage,
during
which
he
felt
they
might
be
called
upon
to
endure
far
more
than
had
been
endured
by
the
generation
that
had
gone
before,
very
many
of
them
were
destined
to
step
out
of
school
into
life
without
employment,
and
thus
must
face
conditions
that
called
for
special
endurance.
Dr.
Norris
Commends
Probation.
DR.
A.
H.
NORRIS,
in
addressing
the
meeting,
said
he
desired
to
support
Sir
Edward
Marlay
Samson
in
all
he
had
said
about
the
debt
they
owed
to
the
National.
Association
of
Probation
Officers
for
the
invaluable
work
it
was
doing
all
over
the
country
in
bringing
together
the
magistrates
and
the
probation
officers.
To
appreciate
that
work
one
had
only
to
consider
how
probation
work
had
improved
during
the
past
three
years.
He
had
recently
made
a
study
of
the
statistical
returns
of
probation
for
the
whole
country.
It
was
not
always
easy
to
get
a
true
reflection
of
the
work
by
reading
the
figures
of
what
cases
were
described
as
satisfactory
or
unsatisfactory,
but
he
thought
it
was
indeed
a
good
indication
to
read
that
the
probation
officers
had
succeeded
in
retaining
contact
with
69
out
of
every
70
probationers
during
the
year
under
review.
To
have
lost
sight
of
only
I
out
of
70
probationers
committed
to
their
care
was
indeed
an
achievement
of
which
they
might
well
be
proud.
Probation
and
the Press.
We
had
grown
accustomed
to
hear
attacks
made
upon
the
Prisons,
and
upon
Borstal
institutions :
occasionally
we
read
attacks
upon
Home
Office
schools.
It
was
remarkable,
however,
that
for
a
long
time
past
he
could
not
remember
any
serious
attack
upon
Probation.
That
could
probably
be
accounted
for
by
the
fact
that
the
probation
officers
maintained
good
contact
with
the
Press,
and
so
the
Press
got
to
know
the
facts
about
probation
and
the
work
the
officers
do.
If
the
National
Association
of
Probation
Officers
only
continued
the
policy
of
co-operation
which
it
had
so
successfully
followed
during
recent
years,
he
felt
the
success
of
the
probation
movement
was
assured.
Not
long
ago
a
lady
came
from
Geneva
to
glean
information
about
English
methods
in
Juvenile
welfare
work.
She
visited
Courts
and
institutions,
and
studied
(Continued
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