Intemperance and dishonesty have always been apparent.  But there have been times when these vices have reared their heads in new ways and in new circumstances which have compelled action by the Legislature.  The consumption of alcohol by persons in charge of motor vehicles is but one illustration of the way in which an old vice may become such a great evil in altered circumstances that stern measures have to be taken.  Stealing was reprehended in the Ten Commandments, and so was covetousness.  Theft was always punishable at common law; but, soon after company promotion became a feature of our commercial life in the latter part of the nineteenth century, firm action had to be taken by the Legislature to protect the public from the effects of a misleading or fraudulent prospectus.

Similarly, in this matter of improper sex behaviour among children, it is not merely its extent, but certain features in its new pattern, which command attention.  These features are: 

=(1) Younger Groups now Affected=

Immorality appears to be more prevalent now among younger groups in the community.  In the Hutt, and also in Auckland, most of the cases were of boys and girls whose ages ranged from twelve to fifteen years; but some of the young girls also associated with boys several years older than themselves.

=(2) Precocity of Girls=

In former times it was the custom for boys to take the initiative in seeking the company of girls; it was conventional for the girls to await any advances.  Nowadays, girls do not always wait for an advance to be made to them, nor are they as reticent as they used to be in discussing intimate matters with the opposite sex.  It is unfortunate that in many cases girls, by immodest conduct, have become the leaders in sexual misbehaviour and have in many cases corrupted the boys.  At one school there were 17 children involved—­10 of them were girls of an average age of 13.2 years and 7 boys of an average age of 15 years.  Another disturbing feature is that in the case of boys more than half were committing their first offence, whereas only one-fifth of the girls were offending for the first time.  The Committee has not overlooked the fact that the offending girls may themselves have been corrupted by a male in the first place.  But the fact remains that four-fifths of the girls involved in the particular cases that prompted this inquiry had an admitted history of prior sexual misconduct.

The following extract from the evidence of a headmaster is impressive of this new feature: 

...  We have not the same worry about boys as we have about girls.  The worst cases we have are girls, and it is quite clear some of them are an absolute menace.  They have dragged boys into this sort of thing.  In general the girls are far worse than the boys.

=(3) Organization of Immorality=