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of the Reformatory School Act 1566.
To avoid as much as possible any religious difficulty or any objection which might be made on the ground that the religious teaching or influence of the Reformatory was different from the religious persuasion of the offenders, sub-clauses 1, 2, 3 & 4 of Section 12 have been inserted; they provide that, should there be at the time of sentence, more than one certified Reformatory School, the Court or Magistrate shall make the selection after enquiry into the previous education, position in life, and training of the offender.
Should there be only one Reformatory School the Magistrate may order the offender to be therein detained, any one objecting to that order may make application to the Governor. In case the party objecting can make suitable provision for the care, maintenance, and education of the offender the Governor in Council has power upon such terms as to him may seem advisable to set aside the sentence and entrust the offender to the custody of such person as he shall direct.
It is very unlikely that in any of the ordinary cases to deal with which this Ordinance has been passed, any objection will be made, or that these provisions will ever be applied, but as our population is of many different creeds and nationalities, it is just possible that a case might happen, in which it would be felt to be a hardship, if the offender were sent to a Reformatory, where the teaching differed essentially from his religious persuasion. These provisions will, I submit, meet any difficulty that may arise on that ground.
In all other respects the Ordinance follows the Reformatory Schools Act.