d Reforms=

(_a_) It should be made an offence punishable in the Children's Court
for a girl whose age is under 16 years to permit a person to have carnal
knowledge of her or to handle her indecently.

(_b_) It should also be made an offence punishable in the Children's
Court for any girl to indecently assault a male.

(_c_) Consideration should also be given to the desirability of amending
sections 208 and 216 of the Crimes Act and section 203 of the Justices
of the Peace Act. There are three courses which might be followed:

First, to allow the law to remain as it is.

Secondly, to strike out the proviso which permits this defence of
consent to be raised in cases where the accused is under 21 years
and older than the girl.

Thirdly, to alter the wording of the provision regarding age of
consent from--

" ... it is made to appear ... that the accused was under 21 and
had reasonable cause to believe that the girl was of or over the
age of 16."

to--

" ... if the accused (being a person under the age of 21 years)
took all reasonable steps to ascertain that the girl was of or
over the age of 16 years and did as a result thereof believe
that she was of or over the age of 16 years."

Any legislation such as is suggested in this subheading would involve an
amendment of the Crimes Act and not merely an amendment of the Child
Welfare Act. The Committee therefore suggests to the Government that
further information be obtained as to how the law regarding "age of
consent" is operating in other jurisdictions and that the information so
obtained be submitted to the Law Revision Committee for its
consideration.

_XVI. Child Welfare in New Zealand_

=(1) History of Legislation=

In order the better to understand the limits and extent of the powers
under the Child Welfare Act, and how these powers are capable of
improvement and extension, it is desirable to set out briefly the
history of the law pertaining to institutions and homes established in
New Zealand for children in need of care or correction.

The first provisions were contained in the _Neglected and Criminal
Children Act 1867_. This statute provided that boys and girls under
fifteen years of age could be committed to industrial schools or
reformatories for periods up to seven years. In 1873 the Master of any
Industrial School established under the Act became _in loco parentis_ to
children of parents who