Industrial Schools Act of 1866 No 13a (NSW)

No. II.

An Act for the relief of Dest i tute Children.

[12th September, 1866.]

Assembly of New South Wales in Parliament assembled and by the	BE it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative
authority of the same as follows:—

Public Industrial Schools.

1. The Governor with the advice of the Executive Council may by proclamation in the Government Gazette declare any ship or vessel or any building or place together with any yards enclosures grounds or lands attached thereto to be a " Public Industrial School."
2. The Governor with the like advice may appoint a Superin­ tendent and such chaplains teachers officers and servants as may be necessary for the management of every such school.

3. The Governor with the like advice may from time to time as occasion may require make regulations for the conduct management and supervision of every such school and for the employment educa­ tion correction and restraint of such children as may in manner hereinafter mentioned be ordered to be sent thereto and such regula­ tions shall immediately after their publication in the Government Gazette be in force Provided that all such regulations shall be laid before Parliament if then sitting within one month after the publica­ tion thereof or if Parliament be not then sitting then within one month after the next meeting of Parliament.

4. Every child whose age in the opinion of the person appre­ hending or ordering the apprehension as hereinafter mentioned shall not exceed sixteen years who shall be found lodging living residing or wandering about in company with reputed thieves or with persons who have no visible lawful means of support or with common prostitutes whether such reputed thieves persons or prostitutes be the parents or guardians of such child or not or who shall have no visible lawful means of support or who shall have no fixed place of abode or who shall be found begging about any street highway court passage or other public place or who shall be found habitually wandering or loitering about the streets highways or public places in no ostensible lawful occupation or who shall be found sleeping in the open air may be apprehended by any constable or peace officer or by any other person and taken before any two Justices of the Peace to be dealt with as hereinafter is directed.

6. I t shall be lawful for any two or more Justices of the Peace in Petty Sessions assembled before whom any such child shall be taken or brought as aforesaid summarily to inquire into the matter and for that purpose to examine on oath such witnesses as may be called for or

5. I t shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace upon oath being made before him that any child believed by the person making such oath to be under the age of sixteen years is living in any of the conditions specified in the last preceding section of this Act to issue his warrant directing such child to be apprehended and brought before any two or more Justices of the Peace in Petty Sessions assembled to be dealt with as hereinafter is directed.

or against such child and if such child shall appear to such Justices to be under the age of sixteen years and it shall be proved on oath to the satisfaction of such Justices that such child is living or has been found in any of the conditions aforesaid it shall be lawful for such Justices to order and direct by warrant under their hands and seals in the form or to the effect set forth in the Schedule to this Act annexed marked A that such child shall be sent to any such Public Industrial School as aforesaid.

7. The Superintendent of any Public Industrial School to which any child may be sent as aforesaid shall have the custody and control of such child until such child shall attain the age of eighteen years or be discharged or apprenticed as hereinafter mentioned.
8. If any child sent to any Public Industrial School shall before such discharge or apprenticeship be absent therefrom without the leave of the Superintendent thereof it shall be lawful for any constable to apprehend and convey such child to such school to be delivered into the custody of such Superintendent.
9. I t shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace on oath made before him that any child has left any Public Industrial School without the leave of the Superintendent thereof to issue his warrant directing such child to be apprehended and taken back to such school and delivered into the custody of the Superintendent thereof.
10. I t shall be lawful for the Superintendent of any Public Industrial School to punish any child above the age of ten years who may leave the school without permission by placing such child in close confinement for any period not exceeding fourteen days.

11. After any child shall have been at any Public Industrial

School for a period of not less than one year it shall be lawful for the Superintendent thereof provided such child shall then be not less than twelve years of age with the consent of the Colonial Secretary to apprentice such child to any person for any period not exceeding the period during which such Superintendent is hereby given the custody and control of such child and upon such terms and conditions as such Superintendent with such consent as aforesaid may think fit.
12. Any child so apprenticed shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished for absconding or for other misconduct in the same way as any child apprenticed by his father with such child's consent.
13. I t shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace on complaint
made to him by any Superintendent of any Public Industrial School

that any person to whom any such child may have been apprenticed

is not performing the conditions on which the contract of apprentice­	ship was entered into or is unfit to have the further care or control of
such apprentice to summon such person before him to answer such complaint and on proof thereof on oath to order such apprenticeship to be put an end to and direct the apprentice to be sent back to the Public Industrial School from which he was apprenticed and such child shall thereupon be subject to the like custody and control as under the original order sending him to such Public Industrial School.
14. I t shall be lawful for the Colonial Secretary to order the removal of any child from any Public Industrial School to any other Public Industrial School when and as often as may appear to him expedient and every Superintendent of any Public Industrial School to which any child shall be so removed shall have the like custody and control of such child as if such child had been ordered to be sent to such school in the first instance.
15. I t shall be lawful for the Colonial Secretary on any order being made by two Justices as hereinbefore mentioned for the sending of any child to any Public Industrial School and before such child

shall

shall be so sent to direct by writing under his hand indorsed on such order that such child shall be sent to any other Public Industrial School than the one mentioned in such order and such indorsement shall have the same effect as if the order had directed the child to be sent to the Public Industrial School mentioned in such indorsement.

16. I t shall be lawful for the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council to order any child sent to any Public Industrial School to be discharged therefrom at any time.

17. No child shall in pursuance of this Act be detained against his consent in any Public Industrial School after he has attained the age of eighteen years.

18. Every child sent to any Public Industrial School shall so far as religious teaching is concerned be placed under the guidance and control of clergymen of the persuasion to which the parents of such child shall belong or in which such child shall have been brought up and in the event of such parents not being known or of their religious persuasion not being known and of the child not having been brought up in any religious persuasion then such child shall if under the age of twelve years be placed under the guidance and control so far as religious teaching is concerned of the clergyman of such persuasion as the Colonial Secretary may direct Provided that in such last mentioned case the child may on arriving at the age of twelve years select the persuasion in which he may desire to be educated And provided also that whenever the religious persua­ sion of any child or of the parents of any child if not known in the first instance shall become known to the Colonial Secretary he shall at once order such child to be placed (if not then so placed) under the guidance and control of clergymen of such persuasion so far as religious teaching is concerned.

19. Whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of any two Justices of the Peace in Petty Sessions assembled before whom the father or the mother where the father is dead of any child sent to any Public Industrial School shall be summoned at the instance of the Superintendent of such school that such father or mother is able to contribute towards the maintenance of such child then it shall be lawful for such Justices to direct by order under their hands and seals that such father or mother shall contribute for such period as the Justices may direct such weekly or other sum as such Justices may find such father or mother able to pay not exceeding the rate of ten shillings per week towards the maintenance of such	child such contribution to be paid into the Treasury and form part of
the Consolidated Revenue Fund and in default of payment within
twenty-four hours after the time when any such payment shall be directed to be made it shall be lawful for the Justices to direct the same to be levied by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such father or mother as the case may be.
20. I t shall not be lawful to send male and female children to the same Public Industrial School.

21. Public Industrial Schools shall be maintained by such

funds as may be appropriated by Parliament to such purpose.

Private Industrial Schools.

22. The Colonial Secretary may upon the application of the Managers of any establishment in which industrial training is provided and in which children are clothed lodged and fed as well as taught appoint such person as he may think fit to examine into the condition of such establishment and to report to him thereon and if satisfied with such report he may by writing under his hand certify that such

establishment

establishment is fitted for the reception of such children and such establishment shall thereupon become and be a " Private Industrial School" within the meaning of this Act.

23. Every Private Industrial School shall from time to time and at least once in each year be inspected by a person to be appointed by the Colonial Secretary and it shall be lawful for the Colonial Secretary if dissatisfied with the condition of such school as reported to him by notice under his hand addressed to the Managers of such school to declare that the certificate is withdrawn from and after a day to be specified in such notice not less than two months after the date thereof.

24. Such notice may be served on the Managers of such school by delivering the same personally to any one of them or by sending it by post to any one of them at the school.

25. The Managers of any Private Industrial School may upon giving six months previous notice of their intention so to do in writing under the hand of one or more of them require the Colonial Secretary to withdraw the certificate given to such school and accord­ ingly at the expiration of six months from the date of the notice such certificate shall be deemed to be withdrawn and from thenceforth it shall not be lawful to send or receive there any more children under this Act but the Manager of a Private Industrial School shall not except in manner provided by this section have power without the consent of the Colonial Secretary expressed in writing to withdraw from the obligation of educating clothing lodging and feeding any children that at the time of giving such notice may be in the school in pursuance of the provisions of this Act until the certificate be withdrawn or until such children be removed to some other Industrial School by an order of the Colonial Secretary and if such Managers make default in so doing they shall incur a penalty not exceeding five pounds for each default to be recovered in manner hereinafter mentioned.

26. I t shall be lawful for the Colonial Secretary from time to time by writing under his hand to remove any child originally sent to a Public Industrial School in pursuance of this Act therefrom to a Private Industrial School and to remove the child so sent to such Private Industrial School from such school to another Private Indus­ trial School or back to a Public Industrial School so that the whole period of detention of such child at Industrial Schools be not thereby increased Provided that on sending a child to a Private Industrial

possible an Industrial School conducted in accordance with the	School it shall be the duty of the Colonial Secretary to select if
religious persuasion to which the child or the parents of the child may appear to him to belong.
27. I t shall be lawful for the Colonial Secretary on any order being made by two Justices as hereinbefore mentioned for the sending of any child to any Public Industrial School and before such child shall be so sent to direct by writing under his hand indorsed on such order and subject to the direction as to religion contained in the last preceding section that such child shall be sent to any Private Industrial School and such indorsement as well as any other order made by the Colonial Secretary for sending any child to any Private Industrial School shall have the same effect as to placing the child named therein under the custody and control of the Manager of such Private Industrial School as the original order for placing such child in a Public Industrial School would give the Superintendent thereof.
28. I t shall be lawful for the Managers of any Private Industrial School to make all necessary rules orders and by-laws for the regula­ tion and management of the school under their charge not repugnant

to

to the provisions of this Act hut no such rules orders or by-laws shall be enforced until they have been submitted to and approved by the Colonial Secretary.

29. If any child absconds from a Private Industrial School he shall be liable to be apprehended sent back and punished at such school in the manner hereinbefore provided in the case of children absconding from a Public Industrial School.
30. The Colonial Treasurer shall pay towards the main­ tenance of children in any Private Industrial School such sums as may be appropriated by Parliament for that purpose.

Harbouring or assisting Absconders.

31. Any person who directly or indirectly withdraws a

child from any Public or Private Industrial School to which he has been sent previously to his attaining the age of eighteen years or to being duly discharged or who induces or aids him to abscond or who knowingly conceals or harbours him or in any way prevents his return shall for every such offence on conviction before any two Justices of the Peace in a summary way incur a penalty not exceeding five pounds or shall be liable at the discretion of the Justices to be imprisoned for any period not exceeding twenty days.

Recovery of Penalties.

32. All Penalties imposed by this Act may be recovered and all payments hereby directed to be made may be enforced under this Act in a summary way and in the manner provided by the Act of the Imperial Parliament eleventh and twelfth Victoria chapter forty-three as adopted in this Colony by the Act fourteenth Victoria number forty- three.

Evidence.

33. Whenever the Colonial Secretary shall grant a certificate to or withdraw it from any Private Industrial School in pursuance of this Act he shall cause a notice of such grant or withdrawal to be published in the Government Gazette within one calendar month and such publication shall be sufficient evidence of the fact in all pro­ ceedings before Justices and other Courts.
34. The order made by the Justices sending any child to a Public Industrial School or by the Colonial Secretary sending any child to a Private Industrial School shall be forwarded to the Super­ intendent or the Managers thereof respectively and shall be a sufficient warrant for the detention of the child.

35. Whenever it is necessary to prove that any Private Industrial School is duly certified under this Act the production of an attested copy of the certificate or of the notice published in the Government Gazette shall be sufficient evidence thereof and the production of the order under which any child has been sent to or is detained in any Public or in any Private Industrial School or a copy of such order with a memorandum signed by the Superintendent of such Public Industrial School or by one of the Managers of such Private Industrial School or by the Superintendent or Master or Matron of any such school that the child named in such order was duly received into and is at the time of the signing thereof detained in such school or has been otherwise disposed of according to law and the production of any order made under this Act or a copy thereof certified by the Justices making the same or the Clerk of Petty Sessions at the Court at which the same was made to be a correct copy shall in all proceedings whatsoever be sufficient evidence of the due making and signing of all or any of such orders memorandum and certificate respectively and of the sending detention and identity of the child or parent named in such orders memorandum or

or certificate respectively without proof of the signatures of the Justices or other persons appearing to have signed the same respectively.

36. No summons notice or order made for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act shall be invalidated for want of form only and the form in the Schedule to this Act annexed or any form to the like effect may be used in the case to which it refers and when used shall be deemed sufficient.
37. This Act shall come into operation so soon as the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council shall by proclamation in the Government Gazette declare that it shall take effect.

38. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the " Industrial Schools Act of 1866."

SCHEDULE A.

Whereas A.B. a child under the age of sixteen years has this day been proved to the satisfaction of us two of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace to be living under the following conditions [here describe the conditions established as nearly as may be in the words of the Act] Now we the said Justices do hereby order the said A.B. to be sent to the Public Industrial School at [here mention the locality of the school] there to remain under the custody and control of the Superintendent thereof pursuant to the Act of Parliament in such case made and provided.

Given under our hands and seals at

this day of A . D .

C. D.	J .P .	( L . S . )
E . F .	J .P.	( L . S . )