In her admirable address at the University last evening, Mrs. Hume Pinsent made a strong case for the compulsory education of mentally and physically defective children. It is clear that under the voluntary system which the present obtains, the results can never be even approximately satisfactory. One authority provides special schools, but its neighbours fail to do so. Then, if parents remove from district to the other, the education ceases, and the children are deprived of the instruction which would otherwise probably afford them a means of earning their own living. Moreover, great waste of public money is inseparable from such a chaotic state affair. The only remedy lies, Mrs. Pinsent rightly urges, in amendment of the law bringing all the authorities in the country into line. Local options will have to go.
Transcribed in whole or part from scanned originals: Presented with or without modified text and punctuation. For absolute accuracy refer to the original newspapers. Source: The British Newspaper Archive.
Referenced
GRO0245 Devonport: Ellen Frances Parker: 1866 – 1949