[TO TIM EDITOR or THE "SPECTAT011.1 SIR,—Surely Messrs. Whitbread and
Holland-Hibbert state the case for the N.S.P.C.C. in dangerously wide terms, and it would be well to know how far some of their dicta on the effect of the Children Act, 1908, are supported by competent legal authority, and also whether or not the society proposes to limit its active interference with parental folly (in the matter of operations) to cases arising amongst the poorer classes of the community. In the language of the Royal Commissioners on the Poor Law, " Good health is no doubt a matter of the greatest importance to all, but it is not the sole aim in life; and it is possible to exaggerate the part it plays in the attainment of human welfare." It is therefore to be hoped that the executive committee of so useful a society are not to be counted amongst " those enthusiasts who con- template unfettered and unintermittent medical control, supervision, and treatment of every human being from the cradle to the grave" (Majority Report, p. 293).—I am, Sir, &C., AN ADMIRER OF THE SOCIETY.
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