§ MR. P. O'BRIEN (Monaghan, N.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is in accordance with the spirit of the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, that teachers under the Board should be members of the Orange Society; and, whether it is true that Mr. James A. Irwin, teacher of the Carrick-awilkin (County Armagh) National School, in which a number of Roman Catholic children are pupils, is a member of the Orange Society, and attached to the Lodge of the District in which the school is situate; and, if so, what action the Commissioners of the Board of National Education propose taking in the matter?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Sir MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH) (Bristol, W.)Under the Rules of the National Education Board in Ireland teachers should avoid political meetings, and I am informed that the Commissioners would regard attendance at an Orange Lodge as a breach of their Regulations. The Commissioners have no knowledge of the circumstances alleged in the Question as to Mr. Irwin; but they will direct their Inspector to make inquiries.