VISCOUNT MAHONwished to put a question to the noble Lord at the head of the Government with regard to the publication of school books in Ireland at the public expense; and he trusted that if the noble Lord was not now able to give him a reply, he probably would be in a position to do so after the recess. This system, which had been established in Ireland, was felt to be a great grievance by many parties. It was considered an undue interference with private competition; it was a grievance to the publishers, with whose trade it interfered; and it was especially a grievance to many respectable men who had written school books, and whom the Government system had deprived of their bread. Two eminent publishers in London, Messrs. Longman and Co. and Mr. Murray, at the end of the year 1849 addressed a letter to the noble Lord upon this subject; and in a note dated the 7th of January, 1850, the private secretary of the noble Lord stated that the letter had been duly received, and that it was under consideration. Another representation on the subject was subsequently addressed to the noble Lord by the same parties, but they did not even receive the customary acknowledgment that it had reached his Lordship. They again applied to the noble Lord in February last, and the answer of the noble Lord's private secretary, dated February 21, was in these words:—"I am desired by Lord John Russell to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 215 the 20th inst,, and of the accompanying memorial." After a correspondence of a year and two months, then, the parties were wholly in the dark as to the intentions of the Government, and they had, in fact, received no answer to their application. The system adopted by the Government was an interference with the sound principle of private competition, and its effect had been to reduce several deserving men to severe distress.
§ LORD JOHN RUSSELLsaid, the subject was one which came properly under the consideration of the Committee of Privy Council on Education; and immediately on receiving the first letter of Messrs. Longman, he had asked the President of the Council, whenever the Committee should meet, to allow the subject to be brought under their consideration. It was brought under their consideration; and he concluded that all future correspondence would have taken place between the secretary of that Committee, who usually corresponded on subjects connected with education, and the booksellers concerned. The arrangement agreed to by the Committee of Privy Council was, that it was not desirable to publish any books hero, but to treat with different publishers, in different parts of the country, with respect to school books, in order that they might be enabled to afford those books as cheaply as possible to the schools applying for them. The result was, that the publication of the books was abandoned as far as Great Britain was concerned, the books being obtained at the retail price from the booksellers, or 43 per cent cheaper that they used to be. Certainly, however, the Commissioners for Education in Ireland published school books on their own account; but the noble Viscount himself would hardly regret this if he remembered the state of the school books in Ireland before the present system, which had introduced great improvements, was adopted. The Committee of Privy Council on Education did not consider that by this arrangement they had given any advantage to the Commissioners for Education in Ireland. With regard to Great Britain they had not published any works, nor had any offers been made for copyrights. Therefore the whole question resolved itself into this, whether they had given any undue advantage to the Commissioners of Education in Ireland or not? He was unable to give the noble Viscount any further answer to 216 his question at present; but after the Committee of Privy Council for Education had held another meeting, he would be able, perhaps, to afford him more information.
§ SIR R. H. INGLISsaid, that he was no free-trader, but he must assert that the Government had acted contrary to all the principles of free trade. They had not only established a manufactory of school books, but had given a monopoly of the market in Ireland to those books. The noble Lord's answer was far from satisfactory; he admitted that he had received a letter, and had not replied to it. In acting as they had done, the Government were violating their own free principles. It was not enough for the noble Lord to say that there were bad school books thirty years ago; were there not good school-books now? The noble Member for Hertford (Viscount Mahon) had done well in calling attention to this subject.
§ MR. HUMEsaid, he was gratified to find that the hon. Baronet who had last spoken was now in the ranks of the free-traders. The hon. Baronet saw the mote in his neighbour's eye, but forgot that there was a beam in his own. He forgot that a monopoly in the publication of Bibles was most unjustly maintained in behalf of the two universities, supported by a patent from the Crown to a printer in this country. It was admitted to be essential that the Bible should be in the hands of every one; and yet the hon. Baronet upheld this monopoly in the two universities. How, then, could be stand up and protest against a monopoly in the printing of school books, the general circulation of which was not so important as that of the Bible? He (Mr. Hume) hoped to have the hon. Baronet's support when he brought on his Motion on the subject of the Bible monopoly.
§ SIR R. H. INGLIS, in explanation, begged to deny that he was a free-trader. He had never pretended that there should be a monopoly in the printing of school books; on the contrary, he had protested against it.