THE CARE OF CHILDREN
SIR,—In the House of Commons on November 19th, Mr. H. Wilson Harris, deploring the fact that the King's Speech did not show any inten- tion to give effect to the recommendations of the Curtis Committee, said there would be general agreement with the committee's view that there should be one Government department, instead of several, to deal with " deprived " children. As one who for ten years past has advocated the setting up of a State Department of Childhood, I regard this as one of the most significant of the committee's recommendations— but why should the department be limited to the categories of children dealt with in the report? There is a story in William Langland that, during the Black Death, the mortality of children was so high that people were apt to " spoil " them—not a common tendency in the fourteenth century. Today, again, children have a scarcity value, but instead of " spoiling" them, there is a general anxiety to give them the best possible care, protection and preparation for life. To this end a State Department of Childhood would be more effective—as has been proved in the U.S.A. in some of the Latin American Republics, and in certain other countries—than a multiplicity of Ministries such as now deal with the varied phases of child life in the United Kingdom.—Yours
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