Identity Theft in Dundee – 1889.

[Currie]

Identity Theft in Dundee – 1889.

As reported in The Dundee Courier & Argus, Saturday, January 12, 1889.

INFRINGEMENT OF FACTORY ACT BY PARENTS.
CONVICTIONS FOR USING FALSE BIRTH CERTIFICATES.
In the Dundee Sheriff Court yesterday—before Sheriff Campbell Smith—a number of cases of breach of the Factory Act by parents who had allowed their children to work full time in the factories while they were under fourteen years of age came up. The first case was against William Dickson, who, however, failed to appear. Service of the complaint having been proved, a warrant was issued for Dickson’s apprehension.

Agnes M'Donald or Ashford, an old woman, who was remarkable for her deafness and stupidity, was charged with having allowed her daughter Agnes to work in the Grove Mill on full time while she was under the age of fourteen. Mr. H. M. Robinson, factory inspector, stated that the girl was working in the Grove Mill under a false name, and if it had not been for that fact he would not have brought up the case, but cases of children procuring the birth certificates of others, and producing them in order to obtain work were becoming so common that it had become necessary to prosecute in every case in order to put a stop to the practice. The girl states that she was working under the name of Agnes Imrie Robertson, and she went and procured that girl's birth certificate herself. She also stated that her mother was very hard up at the time. The Inspector said that as this case was not so bad as some of the others be did not wish to press it. The girl gave as a reason for being employed that she heard people say there were a great many working under false names. The Sheriff said that these cases were unquestionably a breach of the Factory Act, but they were also a gross breach of the ordinary criminal law of a very serious nature. It was a serious thing for a person to personate, and a very grave offence, which was very much of the nature of forgery. After describing the offence as a disgraceful one, and that it involved many persons, and was a much more immoral offence than a mere breach of the Factory Act, his Lordship ordered the accused to pay 12s, the expenses of the prosecution, and failing payment within a week to undergo imprisonment for four days.

Emily Smith or M'Gregor was charged with a similar offence, by allowing her daughter Isabella to work full time while she was under fourteen years of age. In reply to his Lordship, accused, who pleaded guilty, stated that she was not a widow, but that she was worse, as her husband had deserted her, and she was left with five children, three of them being younger than the girl in question. The Inspector stated that the girl had been working since the 27th July. His Lordship said the girl was a poor whitefaced creature, and should not have been allowed to work, as it might result in the permanent injury of her health. The Inspector did not wish to press the case against her. The Sheriff said that both the prisoner and the child had a respectable look, but the girl should not have been allowed to work, and the factory authorities should have seen that she was not fourteen years of ago. The sentence would be the same as in the previous case—namely, 12s of expenses, and, failing payment within a week, to remain in prison for four days.

Catherine M'Fayden or Gilhooley, Mary Lynch or Cleary, John Tosney Peter Gow, and Catherine M'Aulay or Flynn were all charged with similar offences by allowing their children to work on full time before they had reached the age of fourteen. Gilhooley and Tosney pleaded not guilty, but were convicted on evidence, and were fined 18s, the amount of the expenses, with the option of six days in prison, while the others, who admitted the offence, were fined 12s, the alternative in each case being four days' imprisonment. The Sheriff allowed a week in each case to pay the amount. His Lordship remarked that after these public warnings he would deal more severely with such cases.


DUNDEE FACTORY CHILDREN.
THERE is a constant desire on the part of some parents in Dundee to avoid the provisions of the Factory Act having reference to half-timers. That these provisions are beneficent in their tendency towards those for whose special good they were framed has long been a settled matter. No doubt there are many parents whose penury has a natural tendency to cause them to send their offspring to mills before the legal age, and to get them into full time employment before the age of 14. It is also unfortunately true that there are parents comparatively well-to-do who would, if they could, drive their children to the works before their mother's milk was dry on their lips.

A batch of cases which we report to-day from the Sheriff Court form only too conclusive proof of our remarks. It is seen by these examples that parents will resort to the most daring and criminal shifts to deceive those in charge of mills and factories. It has become a too common practice for parents and guardians to procure the birth certificates of other children, and to present them to mill foremen and managers, the children going under the names written upon these false certificates. This is a much more serious offence than an ordinary breach of the Factory Act, involving, as it does, the crime of personation, and being an offence of the nature of forgery. Those convicted of this crime yesterday may be thankful that they were not sent to prison. The Sheriff, after these latest warnings, would be quite warranted in imposing much more serious punishment in the future than was meted out yesterday.

Now that the staple trade of Dundee is brisker than it has been for many years, there is a stronger temptation than ever for parents and guardians of the poorer class to get their children run into the mill by hook or by crook, and especially to get them employed as full-timers while they are still under 14 years of age. For the prevention of this disgraceful kind of offence by unprincipled parents the public have a right to look for the most earnest cooperation on the part of the owners and officials of works with the Factory Inspector. Sheriff Campbell Smith made some pertinent observations yesterday respecting the youthful and sickly appearance of a female child who had been found by the Inspector working under a false name and false birth certificate. It is quite true that in the delicate appearance of this fragile child the employers had a cause for seeking to ascertain if she had really reached the legal age for full time employment. We trust the cases on which we have commented will not be thrown away upon parents wishing their children into mills, or upon those whose duty it is to engage children at the works.


Hope that's interesting,
Alan

[paddyscar]

Unfortunately, not an unheard of occurence, Alan. Hopefully, it was only the parents that were fined and jailed, and not the children ... jail's no place for them either.

Frances