PARENT AND CHILD.—This relationship can arise only from a lawful marriage. Its nature is higher than that of guardian and ward, for a guardian, merely as such, is not under any legal obligation to maintain his ward. A parent, on the other hand, is practically bound to maintain his child, though, only to the extent of furnishing it with the necessaries of life. As against the a father is primarily legally entitled to the care and custody of his children, but he may be deprived of the care of them if his conduct is such as, in the opinion of the Court, endangers their morals, or if he is guilty of conduct amounting to an abandonment of parental authority, or if he is guilty of improper conduct hi relation to his marriage, or if it is in the interests of the children that they should be taken out of his care and custody. After the death of the father the mother is the natural guardian of their children. The mother's rights during the life of the father are mainly dependent upon statute, as for example the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1886. By section 5 of that Act the Court, upon the applica tion of the mother of an infant, may make any order it thinks fit regarding its custody, and the right of access thereto of either parent, regard always being had to the welfare of the infant, to the conduct of the parents, and to the wishes of the mother as well as of the father. Section 3 confers upon the mother the right to appoint a guardian of her children after the death of herself and the father. And if, as a result of divorce or judicial separation proceedings, a parent is found guilty of marital misconduct, the Court has power to deprive him or her of the custody of the children. After the death of the parent to whom that custody has been given, the guilty parent is entitled to apply to the Court for the guardianship. The mother has also a valuable right conferred upon her by section 5 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Married Women) Act, 1895, in that under that Act she inay apply to the local magistrates for an order as against her husband, for the custody by her of those of their children who are under the age of sixteen ; but she loses this privilege if she is guilty of adultery not condoned or conduced to by him. Other cases may be mentioned in which the law will interfere in the matter of the custody of children. Thus the Court will divest a parent or guardian of all authority over a female child under sixteen years of age, when that parent or guardian has been shown to have encouraged her seduction or prostitution (Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885, sec. 12). Under the Poor Law Act, 1889, the guardians of the poor may. assume the exclusive custody of a boy until the age of sixteen, or of a girl until the age of eighteen, when the parent is in penal servitude or has been convicted of an offence against the child, or has deserted him or her. And
a writ of habeas corpus may be refused, by virtue of the Custody of Children Act, 1891, to a parent who has been guilty of misconduct or has abandoned or deserted his or her child, or allowed it to be brought up by an institution or some other person, or under circumstances showing that he or she has been unmindful of parental duties. A child can also be taken out of the control of a parent who has been found guilty of an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, 1894, or of one who has been con victed under the Incest Act, 1908.
It has already been said that a parent is bound only to furnish his child with the necessaries of life. But even this limited obligation is not positively recognised by the common law. It rather arises, inferentially, from the operation of the poor law and the criminal law. If a person becomes chargeable to the parish the guardians can obtain from the magistrates an order against his father for his maintenance. A child's mother, grandfather, or step-father or mother conic!, under these circum stances, also be made liable for its maintenance. And so could either of them be ordered to contribute, up to five shillings a week, towards its maintenance in a reformatory. And since a person can be guilty of crime as a consequence of merely passive conduct, it follows that a parent who c,arelessly suffers his child to starve to death may incur punishment for manslaughter, for example. In fact, the criniinal law goes farther than this, for it is expressly provided that a parent who wilfully neglects to provide adequate food, clothing, medical aid, or lodging to his child, being in his custody, under the age of fourteen, whereby the health of the child has been, or is likely to be, seriously injured, is liable to imprisonment. A child, on the other hand, if of sufficient age and means—including a married woman with separate estate (8 Ediv. VII., c. 27)--is liable for the mainten ance of his or her parent or parents.
A parent is bound, by reason of the operation of the Education Acts, to take care that his child enjoys the benefit of the facilities for education supplied by the State, except so far as they include religious teaching, in respect of which he is entitled to exercise a certain discretion. A more extended education than this he need not give his child, no matter what his social position may be. If the child, being under the age of fourteen years, is beyond his control, he can apply to the magistrates for an order that the child be sent to d. reformatory or industrial school.