The guardian, especially one who belongs to the lower classes, is without experience, is ignorant of the law, is ignorant of the methods of procedure of the local authorities, and fails to inspire respect in the strangers with whom he has to deal. Often the guardian, far from assisting the poor-law authorities in their work, puts needless obstacles in the way of these latter, and renders it difficult for them to carry out their aims. This last remark applies even more forcibly to the other legal representatives of minors, viz. to their parents. It often happens that the legal representative endeavours to exercise an evil influence upon a child under the care of the poor-law authorities; while the child is still quite young, he ignores its existence, but as soon as it attains an age at which it becomes competent to earn any money, he demands that it should be handed over to his care. If the Board surrenders the care of the child, all the trouble previously taken to bring it up properly will usually be found to have been wasted, for the child now returns to the evil environment from which it had formerly been removed. In England, a law passed in the year 1899 gives the Poor Law Guardians the right to refuse to accede to the request of parents that a child should be restored to their care in cases in which the parents’ life is such as to make it impossible for them to provide for the child’s regular education, or when the parents are persons with vicious habits. Attempts are being made to improve the system of individual guardianship, by a thorough reconstruction, by the organisation of the guardians, &c. It is mainly owing to the defects that have been pointed out in the system of individual guardianship that official (general or collective) guardianship, and institutional guardianship, have come into existence.