seize
tobacco in the possession of any person apparently under sixteen found
smoking in any street or public place, as well as to search them; it
also empowers a court, of summary jurisdiction to prevent automatic
machines for the sale of tobacco being used by young persons. The act
also contains useful provisions empowering the clearing of a court
whilst a child or young person is giving evidence in certain cases (e.g.
of decency or morality), and the forbidding children (other than infants
in arms) being present in court during the trial of other persons; it
places a penalty on pawnbrokers taking an article in pawn from children
under fourteen; and on vagrants for preventing children above the age of
five receiving education. It puts a penalty on giving intoxicating
liquor to any child under the age of five, except upon the orders of a
duly qualified medical practitioner, or in case of sickness, or other
urgent cause; also upon any holder of the licence of any licensed
premises who allows a child to be at any time in the bar of the licensed
premises; or upon any person who causes or attempts to cause a child to
be in the bar of licensed premises other than railway refreshment rooms
or premises used for any purpose to which the holding of a licence is
merely auxiliary, or where the child is there simply for the purpose of
passing through to some other part of the premises. It makes provision
for the safety of children at entertainments, and consolidates the law
relating to reformatory and industrial schools, and to juvenile
offenders (see JUVENILE OFFENDERS).
In the act of 1908, "child" is denned as a person under the age of
fourteen years, and "young person" as a person who is fourteen years and
upwards and under the age of sixteen years. The act applies to Scotland
and Ireland. In the application of the act to Ireland exception is made
relative to the exclusion of children from bars of licensed premises, in
the case of a child being on licensed premises where a substantial part
of the business carried on is a drapery, grocery, hardware or other
business wholly unconnected with the sale of intoxicating liquor, and
the child is there for the purpose of purchasing goods other than
intoxicating liquor.
_British Possessions._--Legislation much on the lines of the acts of
1889-1908 has been passed in many British possessions, e.g. Tasmania
(1895, 1906), Queensland (1896, 1905), Jamaica (1896), South Australia
(1899, 1
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