§ LORD ALGERNON PERCYasked the Vice President of the Committee of Council, Whether his attention has been called to the following inquests and verdicts:—On June 25th, at Dudley, on the body of a girl, Jane Crump, when evidence was given that the child complained on Saturday of headache, caused by her lessons, became ill next day, and died before a doctor could arrive. Verdict, death from natural causes, accelerated by over work at a Board School; on July 1st, at Limehouse, on the body of a boy, W. T. Smith, aged ten, when the evidence showed that the child had had a severe fall when about two years old, and Mr. W. T. Haddock, surgeon, stated that, in his opinion, death was accelerated by over-application at a Board School, "for the boy ought never to have gone to school at 509 all." Verdict in accordance with the medical evidence; whether a third case of a coroner's jury finding a verdict of death through over-work at a Board School, in the case of a little girl aged nine, was not reported to the Wednesbury School Board on Monday last; and, whether, in view of these three cases having occurred within the last fortnight, he will cause inquiry to be made by some one not interested in the management of the Schools in question, or of the Education Department, and will state the result of those inquiries to the House?
§ MR. MUNDELLA, in reply, said, with regard to the first case, that nothing of the kind had occurred. With regard to the Wednesbury case, it had already been inquired into, and the schoolmistress was entirely exonerated. He had only seen the Limehouse case that morning, and had not had sufficient time to look into it; but he would make inquiries into it.
MR. J. LOWTHERwanted to know whether, in a matter affecting human life, the right hon. Gentleman would cause an independent inquiry to be made?
§ MR. MUNDELLAsaid, he had no power to inquire as to what happened at schools, except through the school authorities.