§ MR. D. A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydvil)asked the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education, Whether he can give an assurance that the Education Code of 1889 will carry out the unanimous recommendations of the Royal Commission on Elementary Education in England and Wales; that in Wales permission should be given to take up the Welsh language as a specific subject; to adopt an optional scheme to take the place of English as a class subject, founded on the principle of substituting a graduated system of translation from Welsh to English for the present requirements in English grammar; to teach Welsh along with English as a class subject; and to include Welsh among the languages in which candidates for Queen's Scholarships and for certificates of merit may be examined?
§ THE VICE PRESIDENT (Sir WILLIAM HART DYKE) (Kent, Dartford)Welsh has been accepted as a specific subject for the last two years, with the result that in 1887 192 scholars in 12 schools were examined, and in the year just passed 369 scholars in 16 schools. 150 The other points to which the hon. Member refers will receive most careful attention in connection with any changes made in the Code.