§ Mr Shawpresented a Petition from Plymouth signed by 300 persons, twenty-four of whom were clergymen, another from the diocese of Ross in the county of Cork, and a third from the Sunday-School teachers residing in Dublin, against the new plan of Education in Ireland. The last of these was, in his opinion, a most important petition; it emanated from a body of most respectable persons, who devoted their time gratuitously to attendance upon the schools. He had other petitions upon the same subject, but he rose chiefly to notice the assertion made in another place by the noble Earl at the head of the Government. The noble Earl, in quoting the observations of the Commissioners of Education Enquiry with respect to a supposed discrepancy between the number of schools returned to them by the Kildare-street Society and the number apparently in connexion with the Society, according to the Returns made by the clergy said, that, according to the Returns of the latter, there were but 900 schools in connexion with the Society, while that of the former made the number 1,500 who received aid from their funds. This statement was most satisfactorily answered in the Sixteenth Report of the Society, which showed that half the number were not connected with that Society until after the clergy had made their Returns, and the other half were schools which they returned without being aware of the connexion between them and the Society. 465 He had stated this to give the noble Earl an opportunity of correcting his mistake which he was sure he had made unintentionally.
Mr. James E. Gordonsupported the petitions, and stated, that he had upwards of thirty petitions to the same effect to present.
Colonel Conollycomplained, that sufficient attention had not been paid by the House to petitions of so important a nature, and which were well worthy its best attention. He most cordially supported the prayer of these petitions.
§ Petitions to lie on the Table, and be printed.