§ SIR CHARLES LEWIS (Antrim, N.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the National School of Marsh Street, Port-rush, county Antrim, was entitled by the numbers of its scholars to have a second monitor appointed in the month of June last; whether the name of a female monitor, one Annie Scott, was supplied six or eight weeks prior to 9th June to the District Inspector; whether the District Inspector failed to forward such name to the National Board, and thereby the school has been deprived of the assistance of a monitor, and has had its 729 teaching staff weakened for a whole year, it being stated that no monitor can be appointed till June next; whether the Board is, through a mistake of its clerk, responsible for ten weeks' delay in dealing with the managers' complaint in this matter, and then failed to remedy it; and whether the Board will, without further delay, allow the appointment of the suggested female monitor, and so stop further injury to the school, especially in the next yearly examination?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe Commissioners of National Education inform me that no school is entitled to have a monitor on the ground of numbers alone. The name of the candidate monitor referred to, was not brought under the notice of the Inspector until the 4th of June. He thereupon declined to recommend the proposed appointment, as the school already possessed one female monitor. The manager of the school wrote some three months afterwards to the Commissioners on the subject. The fact that their reply to this communication went to the wrong address in no way prejudiced the question, the Board being of the opinion that the Inspector acted properly in the matter. The Board is unable to hold out any hope that the candidate will be appointed as second female monitor in this school when monitors throughout Ireland are being next appointed in July.