§ LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL (Paddington, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the members of the Order of "Les frères des Ecoles Chretiennes" have been admitted to the position of classed teachers under the National Board in the City of Waterford; and, if so, whether Her Majesty's Government will direct the attention of the Commissioners of National Education to the Report of the Powis Commission, now 20 years old, with a view of making such alterations in their Rules as will, in accordance with that Report, enable the Irish Order of Christian Brothers to obtain State aid for their Primary schools; and whether he is aware that nearly 40 per cent. of the boys for whom results fees have been paid by the Intermediate Education Board during the last three years have been educated by the Christian Brothers in schools primarily intended for the elementary education of the poor; and, if so, whether he will direct the attention of the Intermediate Education Board and the Commissioners of National Education to the necessity of making such alterations in their Rules as will enable the Christian Brothers to obtain the State aid to which their services in the cause of public education entitle them, rather from the funds provided by Parliament for primary education than from the limited amount which ought to be applied to aid Intermediate schools?
§ THE CHIEF SRCRETARY FOE IRELAND (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, E.It is the case that a body of monks who belonged to the Order of "Les frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes" are the teachers of a National school in Water-ford, and also of National schools in other parts of Ireland. These monks, like the Brothers of St. Francis, the Patrician, the Presentation, and the Marist Orders or Communities, have undertaken the charge of National schools upon the rules and conditions applicable to the teachers of all National schools. There are 26 monastic schools at present in connection with the 1250 national system of education. Some of these schools have intermediate education departments attached to them. The same opportunities to obtain the grants of the National Board are, of course, open to the Irish Order of Christian Brothers as those availed of by the Christian Brothers of the French Order, and by the monks of the various other orders or communities who are the teachers of National schools. The facts are as stated in the second paragraph of the question; but under the Rules of the Intermediate Education Board, which came into operation at the commencement of this year, results fees are net now payable on boys who pass in primary subjects only.
§ MR. A. O'CONNOR (Donegal, E.)Is there any national or State reason why the Code should not be modified, in order to enable the Christian Brothers to obtain this aid?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURVarious orders of monks, including the French Order of Christian Brothers, find no difficulty in taking advantage of the public grants and putting themselves under the general regulations of the National Education Board, and therefore I do not see that it is necessary to make a, special modification of the Rules in favour of one monastic order.