as "delinquents" rather
than as offenders against the law arose in Illinois in 1899. This
experiment in social welfare was followed in other States of America,
and the principle was introduced into New Zealand in 1925.

There has been, and still is, much misunderstanding concerning the
procedure in these Children's Courts and the duties of Welfare Officers.
As some recommendations about to be made by this Committee could not be
properly appreciated without a knowledge of the procedure of that Court,
and the way in which Welfare Officers perform their duties, it is
desirable to make the following brief explanation:

Under the Act of 1925 it is the parent and _not_ the child, who is
summoned to appear before the Children's Court. Section 13 (1) of the
Act reads:

On the complaint of any constable or of any Child Welfare
Officer that any child is a neglected, indigent, or delinquent
child, or is not under proper control, or is living in an
environment detrimental to its physical or moral well-being, any
Justice may issue his summons addressed to any person having the
custody of the child requiring him to appear before a Children's
Court at a time to be named in the summons, _either with or
without the child_, in order that the child may be dealt with in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.

This new feature in our law did not displace the jurisdiction of
Magistrates to deal with offences charged against young persons. Any
doubt regarding the continuance of their powers was removed by the
passing of the Child Welfare Amendment Act of 1927. All offences by
children (except murder and manslaughter) are therefore still dealt with
by a Magistrate, but in the Children's Court. In other words, it is not
at present mandatory upon a parent to attend the Children's Court when a
child is charged.

In practice it is frequently found that the parent comes to Court with a
child who is charged with a breach of the law. This may be due to a
family interest; it may be due to a direction by a Magistrate in some
district that he will not deal with a child in the absence of the
parent; it may be due to a misunderstanding of the law that, because a
parent is summoned for having a delinquent child and may be required to
bring the child with him, therefore when the child is summoned the
parent must also attend.

This distinction between summoning the parent of a delinquent child to
the Children