§ MR. W. J. CORBETasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If he can state the number and value of the scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions open exclusively to the Queen's Colleges, and derived from public funds; whether it has ever happened that there were not as many candidates as there were scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions; and, if so, on what percentage of marks were the scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions awarded on those occasions; whether these scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions are open to all the students in the Queen's Colleges, irrespective of any limit of age; whether the students from the Queen's Colleges are also eligible for the scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions in the Royal University; and, if so, whether, in the interests of education, steps will be taken to open the scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions, at present open to Queen's College students only, to all the students of the Royal University; and, whether he will give a Return, showing the proportion of scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions in each faculty to the number of students in that faculty; the average number of candidates for each scholarship, prize, and exhibition; and the definite minimum 735 percentage of marks on which the scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions are awarded in the Queen's Colleges?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, that much of the information the hon. Member asked for would be found in chapters 9 and 17 of the Statutes of the Queen's Colleges. The scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions of the Royal University, were open to all students. He believed that in every University the number of prizes sometimes was greater than the number of persons competing for them. There was no limit of age, and candidates were eligible to scholarships and other prizes in the Royal University, from whatever quarter they came. He did not think it would be in the interests of education to open the prizes in the Queen's Colleges to all the students of the Royal University.