§ MR. COGANsaid, he wished to ask the President of the Poor Law Board, Whether it be true that five Roman Catholic children at the St. Marylebone Workhouse School at Southall have been struck off the roll as Catholics and entered as Protestants; what are the respective periods that the said children have been in the Poor Law School, giving the dates of their admission; what religious instruction has been given to them in that school, and in particular what instruction has been given to them in their own religion; and, whether the parents of the said children be living or not, and, in either case, whether they, or the nearest of kin, have been communicated with on the subject?
§ MR. GOSCHENSir, it is not literally true that the names of five Roman Catholic children have been struck off the rolls as Roman Catholics and entered as Protestants; but it is substantially true that they have been educated 945 for the last two years in the tenets of the Church of England, although they had been entered as Roman Catholics. In April last a Roman Catholic priest was admitted to visit them, but after two visits the five children, whose ages wore about fourteen years each, objected to continue Roman Catholics, and at their own desire they were released from his instruction, fourteen years being considered the age when pauper children can decide which religion is the correct one. They have not been instructed in their own religion, for during the long time they have been in the workhouse they have only received two visits from the Roman Catholic priest, who instructed them on these two visits in the religion of their parents; but, under the circumstances described, the children have refused to be taught by the Roman Catholic priest. One or two of the children are orphans, and some of them have mothers living; but in no one case have the parents, so far as I can ascertain, or the next of kin of the orphans been communicated with. I shall make no comments on the matter, and to-morrow my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Marylebone (Mr. T. Chambers) intends to draw the attention of the House to the correspondence that has taken place between the Poor Law Board and the Marylebone authorities upon the subject.