§ MR. WINTERBOTHAMsaid, he would beg to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, When the Commission of Inquiry into Primary Education in Ireland, appointed in 1867, will make their Report, and what was the cause of the delay in doing so; and, whether their Report and the Evidence taken by the Commission will be laid upon the Table of the House before the Second Reading of the Government Education Bill for England and Wales?
§ MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUEThe best answer I can give to the Question of the hon. Member is to read the following communication from Mr. Dunne, the Secretary of the Commission:—
The Commissioners wove confident that they would be able to have their Report ready by March. They have made very considerable progress, and have settled the larger portion of the Report and all the chief points which it should include. But it is very unlikely that, notwithstanding all their efforts to bring their work to a close as soon as possible, they will be able to have their Report finished in time to allow of its being signed before Easter. Referring to the terms of the Notice, you will permit me to observe that the Commission was appointed in 1868; and not in 1867; that witnesses have been examined from all parts of the country; that very important Returns which have been received from the National Board have been completed only during the past summer; the reports of Assistant Commissioners who examined schools in almost every county have had to be prepared, printed, and examined; and that an educational Census of the country has been taken, and has had to be carefully tabulated and examined. It is not surprising that, under these circumstances, the Royal Commissioners 431 have found it difficult to bring their labours to a close as soon as they desired. I may also observe that the Duke of Newcastle's Commission on Primary Schools in England lasted for over three years, and the inquiry of the Duke of Argyll's Commission into Scottish Primary Education extended over a still longer period.Of course, as soon as the Government are in possession of the Report it will be laid upon the table of the House. The last Question of the hon. Member is quite beyond my province, because I am unable to say on what day the second reading of the English Education Bill will be taken.