26 February 1937: A ban was proposed in 1932 but the Lords remembered the floggings they enjoyed at public school and firmly rejected the proposalThe seven boys who were recently ordered a birching by the Ealing magistrates have received some attention in the press because the mother of one of them fainted when she heard her son’s screams. There should be no need for drama of that sort in order to beget out a conclusive case for the total exclusion of corporal punishment from our present penal system. The Government did,in fact, propose its abolition for children in 1932, and the relevant clause of the Bill was passed by the Commons; unfortunately the inmates of the House of Lords suddenly remembered the luscious floggings they enjoyed at their public schools and firmly rejected the proposal. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com