§ MR. HOLTasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether the Reverend John Stevenson Lyle, of Saint Thomas' College, Colombo, whose name appears in a list of the members of the Society of the Holy Cross, recently condemned by the English Bishops in Convocation, is chaplain to the Bishop of Colombo; and, whether the duties which Mr. Lyle has to discharge, in connection with Saint Thomas' College, render him in any way responsible for the theological education of native candidates for Holy Orders?
§ MR. J. LOWTHERI am afraid I can give my hon. Friend no information 541 upon this subject beyond the fact that no person of the name and description referred to in his Question holds any office under Government. The chaplain of the Bishop of Colombo is not appointed by Her Majesty's Government, and neither the Bishop nor his chaplain are in any way under our control. On a somewhat similar subject the other day I remarked that it was not advisable to bark when one is unable to bite; and therefore my hon. Friend will understand why I express no opinion upon the subject he alludes to.