Parishmouse Free Resources For Family Historians

Frederick and Theresa Reynolds, a labourer and his wife of Warmstry Slip, Worcester, were summonsed by the NSPCC for allowing their child, William, aged under eight years of age, to sell newspapers in the streets.
Mr Maund, the prosecuting solicitor, said the NSPCC desired parents to know that no child under 11 years might sell anything in the streets, while girls between 11 and 14, and boys between 11 and 16, might not be out after 9 o'clock at night and before 6 a.m. The boy in question was out at all hours of the night, dressed sometimes in only a light muslin shirt. The mother, when cautioned, said she was glad of the boy's coppers.
The magistrates held the father responsible and fined him 20 shillings with the alternative of 14 days hard labour, hoping the case would be a warning to other parents. The mother was bound over.

Originally published in the Worcester Journal