REFORMATORY SCHOOLS ORDINANCE, 1901

REFORMATORY SCHOOLS ORDINANCE, 1901

No. 10 of 1901, repealed by No. 1 of 1903.

No. 11 Of 1901.
An Ordinance to consolidate andthe latv8 relating
to Reformatory Schools.

[7th August, 1901.]

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Reformatory
Schools Ordinance, 1901.

2. In this Ordinance,

(a) Expenses, when used with reference to a child
detained in a Reformatory Se iool, includes the expenses
of the custody, Industrial training, education, and mainten-
ance of the child.
(b) Order of detention meanan order of detention

made in pursuance of this Ordinance.


(c) Parent, when used in relation to a child, includes a
guardian and every perso h S by law liable to maintain
the child.

(d) School means a Reformatory School.
(e) The Superintendent means the Superintendent of
Reformatory Schools.

3. The Governor may make ord rs for any of the following
ptirposes:-
(1) to set apart any available site and buildings for the
purpose of a school;

(2) to appoint fit persons to be respecively superintendent,
masters, chaplains, and surgeons pf schools, and also such
subordinate officers for the service of schools as the Governor
may think necessary;




(3) to discontinue the use of any school and appropriate
the site and. buildings thereof to any' other lawful purpose;

(4) to remove . children from one school to another; and,

As amended by Law Rev. Ld., 1924.





(5) on the recommendation of the Secretary for Chinese
Affairs, to send a niale child who appears to the Governor to
be less than foruteen years of age, ot a school in any instance
where such child is not and does nto appear liable to be
brought before a magistarate for the purpose of being dealt
with under the provisions of section 5.

Proceedings with respect to childrenfound begging, etc.

5-(1) In any of the following case:-
(a) Were a child is brouht before a magistrate having
been found in any of the followig circumstances:-
(i) habitually begging ro receiveing alms (wherthere actually
or under th epretext of selling anything or offering anything
for sale,) or beign habitually in any street or public place for
the purpose of so begging or receicving alms; or

(ii) habitually wandering and nto having any house or
settled place of abode; or

(iii) found repeatedly in the company of reputed thieves;
or

(b) where a child is charfe with any offence, whethere
previously convicted or not,

the magistratemay, in addition ot or in lieu of sentencing
such child according to law, if stisfied oninquirly that the
child was so found as aforesaid or had committed any such
offence, in the case of a male child-

(a) if of opinion that th child is less than fourteen years
of age, by an order of detention, oreer that he child be such
to a school; or

(b) if opinion tht the child is less than ten years of
age, order that he be placed in charge of ath Superintendent
for the purpose of his being boarded out; and,

in the case of a female child, order that she be placed in
charge of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs for the purpose
of being boarded out.

(2) In th case of female children, all th powers which
are conferrd upon the Superintedent by this ordinace
shall be vested in and may be exercised by the Secretary for
Chinese Affairs.





(3) The magistrate -shall, in any eh order as aforesaid,

specify, so far as is possible the relig us persuasion to which
the child appears to belong.
(4) The magistrate may require th parent of any child
alleged to have been found in any of the circumstances
aforesaid to produce the child before t court.

(3.-(1) Before making an order under this Ordinance
with regard to a child, the magistrate before, whom the child
is brought, ill order that inquiries may be made as to the
circumstances and antecedent of child and as to the
circumstances of the parent of the child and his ability to
contribute to the maintenance of the child and in order that
inquiries may be, made with a view itertaining whether
the parent has rendered hilnself liable to be prosecuted
under section 22, shall remand the pro pedings for a time
not less than seven and not exceeding ourteen days, and,
without prejudice to any other powers the court, direct
that the child be taken to a school or to any other place., not
being a prison, which the magis binks 'fit and the
occupier of which is willing to receive hilp, and bc detained
therein until an order is made for his being brought again
before the court, or for his discharge or, for his being sent
to a school, or otherwise dealt with und r this Ordinance;
and the niaster of such school and any such occupier as
aforesaid are hereby required and empowered to detain the
child accordingly, and, if the child escapes, he may be
apprehended without warrant and brough back to therla
(2) The magistrate shall also, before ia king ally such

order, unless it appears to him impracticable to do so, sum-
mon the parent of the, child to appear before the court
necessary, issue his -warrant for apprehending such parent

and bringing -hini before the court, ofr the purpose of
enabling the parent to make any repesentations whcih he
may think fit as to the making or terms of the order or the
amount ot be paid by th parent on account of the child
while the child is being detained in a school or boarded out.

7. Whenever proceedings have been institt, led respecting
a child under this Ordinance and the magistra e is of opinion
that the child is less than fourteen years of ageXand ought to
be dealt with tinder this Ordinance, he may in lieu of
ordering him to be sent to a school or to be placed in charge





of the Superinte . ndent for the purpose oAbeing boarded ont,
direct that the child be replaced in the- c arge of his parent,
and may require the parent to give secuity with or without
sureties for the g.6od behaviour of the phild and in such a-
slim and for such term as the magistrate nay think fit.

8. In the case ot any proceedings instituted inider this
Ordinance with a vidw to having a child 'placed in a school
or in charge of the,Superintendent for the purpose of his
being boarded out, the grounds of such pi.oc6edings shall lie
formulated and recprded in the court,l and all evidence
tendered respecting the circumstances under which the child
was. found or respeting the charge brought against him,
and, so far as possible, all evidence. tendened respecting the
surroundings and antecedents of the child, shall be given
upon oath.

9. *Whenever a ma-istrate orders a child to be detained in
-a school or placed in charge of the Superintendent for the
purpose of being boarded out, he shall report the fact to the
Governor, and shall also state whether any criminal proceed-
ings have been direded to be tak en against the parent under
section 22.

10 * A magistrate shall, before making any order linder
this Ordinance with respect to a child, make dne inquiry as
to: the age of the. child, and for that purpose take such
evidence as mav be forthcoming a the hearing of the
and, failing such evidence, the magistrate may - presume the
child to be of such. age as the child appears to the magistrate
to be; but the order, when made, shall not be invalidated by
any subsequent proof that the age of the child bad not been
correctly aseertahied or presumed by the magistrate; alid
the age presumed or declared *by the magistrate to be the
age of the child shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be
deemed to be the true age of the child.

11-(1) Where a magistrate makes an order for the
detention of a.child in a school, the magistrate shall specify
in the order the casuse for which and the school in which the
child is to be detained; and the child shall, be delivered,
with the ordertinto the custody of the master or other per-
son in charge of the school,





(2) The Order shall be a sufficienit authority for the con-
veyance of the child to the school an for his detention.
therein or in any other placelo which he is transferred in
pursuance of this Ordinance, during the period for which
he is liable to be detained.

12. A minister of the religious persusion pecified in the
order as that to which the child appears to belong may visit

the child at the school on such days, at such times, and on
such conditions- as may- be fixed- by thh -Governor, -for the
purpose of affording religious assistafibe to the child, and
also for the purpose of instructing him in. the principles of
his religion; and,,CYery child detai.ned in a school shall have
reasonable facilities, so far as circumstances admit, for
attending the religious services of his cr.ed.

13. When a child is ordered to be d tained in a school
the order shall be in force until the chil attains the age of
eighteen years: Provided as follows:-
(1) the child, on attaining the age of sixteen years, shall
te entitled to be discharged from the school, and niay, if the
Governor so orders, be discharged. froiri the school at any
previous tirne;
(2) it shall be the duty of the Snpe ntendent to apply
for the clisdharge:of a -child detained in a school, or. to grant
him a licence to live out of such school, at the earlies lawful
date which. is, in the opinion of the Superintendent, con-
sistent with the welfare of the child;
(3) where a child is discharged from a chool in pursuance
of this Ordinance, he may be so discharge either absolutely
or conditionally, that is to say, on such conditions as to the
disposal of the, child on.his discharge and as to his conduct
thereafterand otherwise, as the Governor may, by general
or special order, direct;
'(4) wliere a -child has been conditionall discharged from
a school in pursuance of this Ordinance an fails to conform
to :any one or more of :the conditiions on which he was
discharged, the Governor may, on being satisfied of the
failure, revoke the the order of discharge and order th child to
returen to the order of discharge and order the child to
in the order (so, however, that he be not detained in the
school after attaining the age of eighteen years), and, if the
child disobeys the order, hemay be dealt with as if he had
escpaped formthe school; and




(5) on the revocation of all order of discharge, any obliga-
tion to contribu-fe to the expenses,of the child shall revive
and be in force during the period for which the child Is
detained.

Licences to children to live out of school.
14.-(1) The Superintedent ay, at any time after a
child has been detained in a school for eighteen months,
permit him, by licence,to live out of hte school, with any
trustworty and respectable person named int he licence
who is willing to receive and take discharged.

(2) Any such licence shallbe in force for a period specified


in the licence, not exceeding three months, but may, at any
time before the expiration of that period he renewed Tor a
further period not exceeding three months, to comillen.ce
from the expiration of the previous period, and so from time
to time until the child is' discharged,
(3) The Superintendent may also at any time, by order in
writing, revoke any such licence and -order the child to
return to the school in which. he was deflained previously
to his being licensed.

(4) A child escaping escaping the person ivith whorn lie is
placed in pursuance of this sction, or refusing to returen to
the school at the expiration or on the revocationof his
licence, may be apprehended and otherwise dealt with in
like manner as if he had escaped form the school.




Boarding out of children
15.-(1) The Governor nlay make rules consistent with
this Ordinance for the boarding out of children, and for the
inanagenlent of children wheri boarded ou,t in pursuance of
this Ordinance, and for the' duties of the
with respect to such childrefi, and for the Hispection of such
children.
(2) While a child is'under the charge of the Superintendent
for the purpose of being boarded out he shall continue
under the control of the Sni)erintendent and of any person
with whom he is boarded out uAdei. the supervision of the
Superintendent, notwithstandinol. that he may be clainted by
his arent ; and the order of the magistrate shall be a
sufficient authority to the Superintendent and to such person
as aforesaid for retaining the child under their control.





16. The Governor may at any tinie ordei he Superintend-
ent to transfer to a school:any child boarded ut in pursuance
of this Ordinance or to. board out any cild ordered to be
sent to a school, and, in either of these ea s, the- provisions
of this Ordinance shall apply as if the child had been in the
first instance sent to a school or board out, as the case
may be.

17. The provisions of this Ordinance with respect to a
child detained in a school shall, so fail as appli a
in the case of a child boarded out in pursuance of this
Ordinance, as if the place, where the child. is boarded out
were a school: Provided that the Goyernor in Council illay
make such further modifications of th6se provisions as may
appear to him to be necessary or proper for adapting them

to the case of children boarded out in pursuance of this
ordinance.

Apprenticing, enlistment , and emigratiion of children.

18 If a child who is detained in or liveing out on licence
form a school or is being boarded out conducts himsself well,
the Superintendent may, if th child consents thereto,
apprentice hm to or dispose of himin any trade, calling, or
service, or by enlitment in His Majesty's naval or military
forces,or by emigraiton, notwithstanding that his period
of detention has not expired; and such apprenticing or
dispostion shall be as valid as if the Superintendent was
the parednt of hte child: Provided that where the child is to
be disposed of by enlistment or by emigration, and in any
case unless the child has been detained for twelve months,
the consentof the Governor shallalso be required to the
exercise of any power under this section.

liability of parent for expenses of child.

19-(1) The parent of a child detained in a school shall
be liable to pay for his expenses therein.

(2) At the time of makeing the order of detention, the
magistarate shall also make an order on the parent to
contribute such sums towards the expenses of the child
during his detention as may seeem proper, aftere due
examination into the ability of the parent to pay and after
considerationof all the circumstances fo the case, but the
sumto be contributed shall nto exceed the expenses of hte




child. It shall be the duty of t e magistrate to reconsider
the amount of the contribution on receipt of an application
from the Superintendent, or from the parent, for a revision
of the order.

(3) The parent shall pay the sum named in the order
monthly to the Captaifi Superintendento of Police, who may
sue the parent for payment.

(4) A magitrate may at any time, on just cause being
shown, rvoke or vary any order made under this section.

offences in relation to schools.

20. If a child who is ordered tobe detained in a school,or
is living out on licence frm a school, or is beign borarded
out escapes form th eschool, or form the person with whom
he is living out on licence or is being boarded out, he may,
at any time before the expirationof his period of detention,
be apprehended without wwarrant and brought back to th
school.

21 Everyperson who commits any of the following
offences:-

(1) knowingly assists or induces, directly any of the following
a child who is detained in or living out on licence form a
school or is being boarded out, ot escape form the school or
from any person with whomhe is living out on licence or is
being borarded out; or

(2) knowingly harbours, conceals, or prevents from re-
turning to a school,or to any person with whom he is living
out on licence or being boarded out, a child who has so
escaped, or knowingly assists i so doing;
shall upon summary conviction be liable to a fine not
exceedign two hundred dollars, or to imprisonment for any
term not exceedign two months.

22-(1) The parent of any child who has been found in
such circumstances or has committed such an offence as has
rendered him, in ht opinion of a moagistrate, liable to be
dealt with under sectio 5 shall be libale to be prosecuted
as for a criminal offence, and shall if the magistrate is
staisfied that the child has rendered himself liable to be





dealt with under th said section, ither wholly or in part
through the neglect of his parent, be sentenced to pay a
fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, and in default of
payment,to be imprisoned for any termnto exceedign one
month.

(2) In case of any loss or damage to any person resulting
form such action o fthe child as may have rendered him
liable to be dealt with under the said section, the magistrate
may further direct that the parent of the child shall pay in
compensation for such loss or damage a sum nto exceeding
fifty dollars.

Supplementary.

23.-(1) The Governor may appoint, with their consent,
fit persons to constitute an Advisory Committee to the Super-
intendent for periods to be specified in such appointments.
(2) Members of the Advisory committee shall, at frequent
intervals, visit the schools and bring to the notice of the
Superintendent anything which they consider deserving Qf
comment, and shall generally assist the Superintendent with
their advice on all matters con ected with the schools.
(3) They shall also assist the Superintendent in finding
suitable persons under whosele arge to place those children
whom it is desired to license ko live out of school, or those
placed by a magistrate in gharge of the Superintendent for
the purpose of their beign boarded out, and shall help in
exercising a constant supervision over such children.

24. Every officer of a school authorised by the Superin-
tendent to take charge of any child ordered to be detained
under this Ordinance, for the purpose fo converying him to or
form te school, or of apprehendign and bringing him back to
the school, in case of his escape or refusal to return, shall for
that purpose and while engaged in that duty have all the
powers, protection, and privileges of a police constabel.

25.-(1) A certifcate purporting tobe signed by the
Superintendent or by the master or other person in charge
of a school to the effect that the child therin named was
duly rceived into and is, at the date of the signing thereof,
detained in the school, or has been otherwise dealt with
according to law, shall in allproceedings relating to the
child, be evidence of hre matters therein stated. (2) A copy of rules purporting to b11 the rules of i a school
and to be signed by the superintendent shall be, evidence of
the rules of the school.

(3) A school to which any child i's directed to be sent in
pursuance of th' s Ordinance shall, until the contrary is
proved, be deemed to be a Reforinatdiy School.

26. The Superintendent may, subject to the approval of
the Governor, make rules consisten.~ with this Orchnance -for
the management and discipline of n chool.

27. Any notice may be served on the Superintendent by
being delivered personally to him,or by being sent by post
or otherwise in a letter addressed to him at his office.

28. The Governor may preswibe the forms to be tised in

cases under this Ordinance, and any form so preseribed may
be used in the case to Which. it Plefers, with stich variaLlons
as circumstances may require, and, when used, shall be.
sufficient; but a summons notice, or order, inade for the
purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Ordi-
nance, shall not be invalid forpant of form only.
[Originally No.14 of 1901. Law Rev. Ord., 1924.] Short title. Interpretation. Power to governor to make orders relating to schools. Modes of dealing with children according to age. Remand of case and notice to parent. Replacing child in charge of parent. Grounds of proceedings and evidence. Report as to detention or boarding out of child, etc. Inquiry and presumption as to age of child. Conveyance of child to school and detention therein. Provision as to religious assistance. Period of detention and discharge from school. Licence for living out of school. Rules relating to borading out of children. Transfer to or from school from or to place of boarding. Application of the Ordinance in case of child boarded out. Disposition, by apprenticing, etc., of weel-conducted child. Making and enforcement of order on parent. To contribute towards expenses. Apprehension in case of escape. Assisting escape or harbouring escaped child. Liability of parent to prosecution in certain cases. Appointme and duties of Advisory Committee. Officer to have in certain cases powers of constable. Evidence. Rules for management, etc. Notices. Forms.

[Originally No.14 of 1901. Law Rev. Ord., 1924.] Short title. Interpretation. Power to governor to make orders relating to schools. Modes of dealing with children according to age. Remand of case and notice to parent. Replacing child in charge of parent. Grounds of proceedings and evidence. Report as to detention or boarding out of child, etc. Inquiry and presumption as to age of child. Conveyance of child to school and detention therein. Provision as to religious assistance. Period of detention and discharge from school. Licence for living out of school. Rules relating to borading out of children. Transfer to or from school from or to place of boarding. Application of the Ordinance in case of child boarded out. Disposition, by apprenticing, etc., of weel-conducted child. Making and enforcement of order on parent. To contribute towards expenses. Apprehension in case of escape. Assisting escape or harbouring escaped child. Liability of parent to prosecution in certain cases. Appointme and duties of Advisory Committee. Officer to have in certain cases powers of constable. Evidence. Rules for management, etc. Notices. Forms.

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