§ LORD ROBERT MONTAGUasked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether 833 it is intended (by sec. 31, p. 15, of the University Education (Ireland) Bill) that, on the first Monday in November 1874, the twenty-eight Ordinary Members of the Council, and the Collegiate Members sent by the Colleges to be mentioned in the First Schedule, shall at once proceed to admit to the University system any other Colleges which may before that time have applied for admission; and, if so, whether provision will be made to secure that those new Colleges shall send their representatives to the Council before the day (January 1, 1875) mentioned in Clause 2; and, whether it is proposed to vary the representation of each College from year to year, according to the number of students which may be matriculated?
MR. GLADSTONEapprehended the meaning of the Bill was that the Council, when completed on the 1st of November, 1874, would be enabled, if it thought fit, to exercise any of its functions in preparation for the 1st of January, 1875. With regard, however, to the intention of the Government or the intention of Parliament, that, he supposed, was to be looked for only in the measure itself, and whatever was not contained in the Bill would be in the discretion of the Council with reference to the purposes for which they were appointed. Supposing they exercised their functions in such a way as to declare certain Colleges to be members of the University, he apprehended that intention would have no effect until the 1st of January, 1875. In reply to the second Question, he had to state that the intention of the framers of the Bill was that the period when the election was to be held should be conclusive and final with regard to the election for the Council.
§ LORD ROBERT MONTAGUwished to know whether there was no provision to be included in the Bill which would cause the Council to affiliate Colleges so that those Colleges might be able to send up members before the 1st of January?
MR. GLADSTONEIt appears to me that the Question of the noble Lord rather anticipates the discussions in Committee on the Bill.