MR. H. A. BRUCEsaid, that in laying a Minute of the Council of Education upon the table of the House, it might be convenient if he made a short explanatory statement. The House was aware that at the time when the Revised Code was passed, no change was made with respect to endowments. The result was that if an endowment did not provide more than 30s. a head upon the average attendance of 1536 the children in the school, no deduction was made from the annual grant. It was consequently found that in many cases payments in excess of the actual expenditure of schools to the extent of 20s. or 25s.
§ MR. AUGUSTUS SMITHsaid, he rose to order. He wished to know whether it was competent for the right hon. Gentleman to make a statement when the papers had only just been laid upon the table of the House.
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, there was nothing out of order in the course which the right hon. Gentleman was pursuing. He was moving that the Minute be laid upon the table. He understood that the right hon. Gentleman purposed to make a statement not of a nature to invite discussion at present, but calculated rather to furnish the House with information which might be available for a future occasion.
§ SIR JOHN PAKINGTONsaid, that he also rose to order. He was aware that the right hon. Gentleman had fairly enough given notice on the previous evening of the course which he intended to pursue, and that notice was, no doubt, recorded in the newspapers, but it was impossible for them to obtain their information from the newspapers. When he heard of the intentions of the right hon. Gentleman, he looked upon the Votes without being able to discover any notice of the course which the right hon. Gentleman proposed to adopt. He thought it very desirable that explanations should be given, but he submitted, at the same time, that it was not desirable that statements should be made without there being any opportunity afforded for answer or debate.
MR. H. A. BRUCEsaid, he had no desire to enter into any explanation contrary to the wish of the House, but if he did not do so, the only course which remained open to him was to lay the Minute on the table of the House without any explanation whatever, and to leave to some other hon. Member the task of raising a debate upon it at some other time. He had adopted the course which he was now pursuing because he was informed by the authorities that it was not competent for him to place the notice upon the Orders of the Day. If it was not the wish of the House that he should proceed with his statement, he had no desire to do so. His only object was to give to the House that information which was often not sufficiently afforded by the Minutes themselves. By the present Minute it 1537 was proposed to extend to all schools that concession which was made by the Minute of March, 1864, to rural schools alone. A rural school was defined to be a school—
§ COLONEL FRENCHsaid, he rose to order. He objected to the right hon. Gentleman making any statement, as no notice had been placed upon the Votes. The right hon. Gentleman, by the course he had adopted, was anticipating other Motions which were coming on that evening.
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, the fact that the paper was laid upon the table of the House by command caused a distinction as to the necessity of giving notice. The right hon. Gentleman, however, had said that he had no desire to proceed with his statement if it were contrary to the wish of the House.
§ SIR LAWRENCE PALKsaid, he wished to know, if the right hon. Gentleman proceeded with the statement, whether it would be competent to raise a debate in reply to the information given.
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, that if the right hon. Gentleman concluded with a Motion that the papers should lie upon the table of the House the subject would be open for debate.
MR. H. A. BRUCEsaid, that he had no desire to proceed with his statement unless such a course were unanimously approved by the House. He should, therefore, content himself with laying the Minute upon the table.