24 DECEMBER 1943, Page 12

CHILDREN'S MAGISTRATES -

SIR,—Your readers must, I feel sure, be grateful for and agree with almost every word of Mr. Watson's knowledgeable article on this subject. But may we ask him to carry the matter one stage further and give us practical advice on two points?

I. How to find " ordinary unassertive men and women " of, say, 3o to 45 years of age who are prepared to give one or two mornings a week all the year round to the work of their Local Bench and also (as he rightly suggests) to visit Prisons, Approved Schools, Remand Homes, &c., to which children may be sent?

2. Having found these unselfish, public-spirited parents, willing to face such ordeals as the Hereford magistrates recently endured, how is their appointment to be secured without canvassing the County Advisory Committee, which is forbidden, or obtaining the help of Political Party machinery, which Mr. Watson discountenances?

The solution of these two problems would ease the way for younger