§ MR. DAWSONasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether the number of model schools in Ireland is thirty; whether fourteen are in the province of Ulster; whether the cost of their construction was £160,304; whether the annual maintenance amounts to £36,086; whether the Commissioners reserve to themselves all the rights of patrons; whether, out of 11,873 pupils, only 3,198 belong to the Catholic Church; and, whether, out of the total number of pupils, only 6,264 are returned as belonging to the labouring or artisan classes, and the balance, 5,609, as belonging to the professional, mercantile, and private gentlemen classes?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, the hon. Member quotes the exact proportion as regards figures from a Return presented to the House in 1880, and I believe he quotes them correctly. The Commissioners of National Education inform me that the subsequent variation has been very slight. The analysis of pupils contained in the last paragraph is taken 1323 somewhat arbitrarily. I made an analysis of it myself, and I cannot say that the hon. Member seems at all to overstrain the matter. It is the case that the Commissioners of Education reserve to themselves all rights of patrons of these schools.
§ MR. DAWSONIn personal explanation, I beg to say that, as I put the Question, I asked whether Sir Patrick Keenan, who prepared a Report on these schools, did not say that they were occupied by the élite of the districts in which they are situated?