§ MR. HEYGATEasked the Vice President of the Council, If he can now state to the House, the number of Public Elementary Schools (Church, British, Roman Catholic, and Board, respectively) in England and Wales on the 31st August 1874 and 1875, respectively; the number of scholars on the register, and the number of children in average attendance at such Schools at the above dates; the amount of voluntary contributions for maintenance of such Schools in each of the above years; and, the number of civil parishes (exclusive of London and Municipal Boroughs) under School Boards, as compared with the number not under School Boards, on the 1st January of the present year?
§ VISCOUNT SANDONIf I were to answer all the details to which my hon. Friend's Question refers, I should occupy an inordinate portion of the time of the House with a mass of figures very difficult to follow. I propose, therefore, to lay on the Table of the House a full statement of the facts he wishes to know, and only to give now the leading figures. The total number of voluntary public elementary schools in England and Wales in August, 1874, was 11,341; and in August, 1875, 12,081. The number of board schools at the same date in 1874 was 826; in 1875, 1,136. The number of scholars on the register in 1205 voluntary public elementary schools in 1874 was 2,276,576; in 1875, the number was 2,392,333. The number of scholars in average attendance in the same schools was, in 1874, 1,540,466; in 1875, 1,609,895. The number of scholars on the register of board schools in 1874 was 221,026; in 1875, 351,967. The number in average attendance at the same schools was, in 1874, 138,293; in 1875, 227,285. The amount of voluntary contributions to the voluntary public elementary schools was, for 1874, £602,836; for 1875, £675,565. The number of civil parishes, exclusive of London and municipal boroughs, under school boards, was, on the 1st of January, 1876, 2,005; the number of civil parishes without school boards was, at the same date, 12,077.