29 JANUARY 1927, Page 3

There was a good deal of misunderstanding about the definitions

in the Bill which was abandoned last autumn, but it seems to us clear that any new definitions of mental deficiency in adolescents ought to apply to any mental defect from any cause whatever. Again, a mental defec- tive can receive the protection of the Act of 1913 only if he is neglected, abandoned, cruelly treated or without visible means of support. This provision leaves many very sad cases wholly unprovided for on the perverse ground that the parents of the children are doing the best they can. We join in the hope that the Government will introduce a Bill to effect the necessary improvements.

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