§ MR. ASSHETON CROSSsaid, he rose to ask the Vice President of the Council, How far any change in the system of certificates to schoolmasters will be rendered necessary by his Bill? And if he contemplates any alteration in the management of or in the grants to Training Schools; and, if so, to what extent?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERsaid, in reply, that in the Education Bill no allusion was made directly to certificated masters; but Clause 7 provided that, after a certain date, all schools would receive grants of money, subject to certain regulations and conditions. In the 83rd clause it was stated that one of the conditions referred to in Clause 7 was a compliance with Minutes issued from time to time by the authority of Parliament, and sanctioned by Parliament. Of course, if the Bill passed into law, as he trusted it might, it would be the duty of the Government to reconsider the existing conditions, with the view of adapting them to the altered circumstances of the case; but until the Bill became law it would be impossible to say how the conditions would finally stand. Certainly the Government would consider with attention the modes in which certificates were given, and probably this was a matter in which revision would be required. There was no reference to the training schools in the Bill; but the management and the amount of the grants to these schools were subjects which, after the passing of the Bill, would have to be duly considered.