On the question whether or not, under the Cruelty to
Children Prevention Bill, children shall be allowed to be em- ployed in public theatres and other such places of amusement under ten years of age, a compromise has been proposed and carried in the House of Lords which we hope that the Commons will accept. The prohibition would continue for children under seven, while between seven and ten their employ- ment would be allowed. A good deal may be said for the compromise. On the one hand, there is no doubt that children employed in such places of public amusement do not get sufficient time for sleep and for proper school-teaching, if they perform their duties properly ; so that, in the case of children under seven at least, there is great danger of overpressure if their employment is permitted. On the other hand, children who wish to earn their livelihood in this way must begin very early if they are to succeed at all ; so that to prohibit their beginning till after the age of ten, is in most cases to prohibit their earning their livelihood in this way altogether, though it may be a way for which they may be particularly well fitted. We hope that the Commons will accept this reasonable compromise.
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