§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYmoved that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty to refuse her assent to the scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners for the management of the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth at Heath, in the borough of Halifax, in the county of York, and of all the endowments thereof. The only question at issue in this matter was whether this school was or was not a Church of England school. The school was founded by the Vicar of Halifax in 1584, by a patent from Queen Elizabeth, under which the Archbishop of York was to have the power of making statutes for the management of the school. The school had been, since its foundation, a Church of England school on the strictest principles. As often as it had been dealt with by the Court of Chancery the consent of that Prelate had always been obtained, and its scholars had always up to the present time received a religious education according to the doctrine of the Church of England. To all intents and purposes, therefore, it had been a Church of England school. But the Endowed Schools Commissioners had refused to recognize that character in the constitution of the new trust. The Vicar was no longer, as all his predecessors had been, one of the ex officio members of the Governing Body—the Archbishop of York disappeared; and, in fact, the school was filched altogether from the Church of England, and handed over to the chances 598 of management and co-optative governorship. He thought this scheme ought to be set aside.
Moved that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty to refuse her assent to the scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners for the management of the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth at Heath in the borough of Halifax in the county of York, and of all the endowments thereof.—(The Marquess of Salisbury.)
§ THE MARQUESS OF RIPONwas understood to say that the Archbishop of York offered no opposition to the scheme of the Commissioners. Neither by the will of the Founder, nor according to the scheme settled by the Court of Chancery in the reign of George II., was the Vicar of Halifax constituted an ex officio member of the Governing Body, and he had never been one of that body except as an elected member. There was no desire to deprive the Vicar of his position, and by the present scheme not only the present Vicar, but every one of the existing Governors, was placed upon the Governing Body. Therefore he did not think the scheme was fairly open to the objection of the noble Marquess. There appeared to be a disinclination on the part of the Governing Body of this school to have an interview with the officials of Education Department for the purpose of discussing its condition with reference to the provisions of the Endowed Schools Act. He regretted that the noble Marquess should have thought it his duty to propose this Motion, when no complaint had been made with reference to the new plan for the government of this school either to Mr. Forster or to himself.
After a short discussion, in which Lord Cairns, the Marquess of Ripon, and the Marquess of Salisbury took part, but which was almost inaudible,
§ On Question? Resolved in the Negative.