§ MR. CALDWELL (Glasgow, St. Rollox)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether School Boards have any power by law to examine the school register or roll of attendance of private schools within their jurisdiction; whether he is aware that in filling up the Schedule 33 (a) for the year ending 31st May, 1890, and giving the attendance at the Episcopal school, the School Board of Ardchattan and Muckairn filled in 40 as the number on the roll upon information funished to them by the Episcopal school authorities, and whether to this Return was appended a memorandum by the School Board to the effect that several children were entered on the register both of the Ardchattan public school and the Episcopal school; whether in the Return for the year ending May, 1887, the number on the roll of the Episcopal school was returned, in a similar manner, at 68; whether the accuracy of these Returns is now disputed by the School Board, and whether he will lay upon the Table of the House a copy of the register of the Episcopal school, giving the names, addresses, ages, and daily attendances of the children from the opening of the school in 1886 till date; what was the average attendance at the Episcopal school for the school year completed prior to December last; what were the numbers alleged to be on the roll and the average attendance when an application was made but refused in 1886, and what were the numbers alleged to be on the roll and in attendance when the application was granted in December last; what were the special circumstances, if any, which induced the Department to grant in 1890 an application which they had rejected in 1886; and whether the resignation of the School Board has now taken effect, and what steps the Department intend taking with the view of carrying on the educational work of the parish?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. P. B. ROBERTSON, Bute)Under Section 30 of the Education Act of 1872, a School Board is entitled, but only in so far as is necessary to enable them to discharge their duties under the Act, to access to the school register of any school. Before any such right of access could be exercised, 308 it would be incumbent on the School Board to specify, and, if need be, establish the existence of the duty in respect of which they asked access to the register. I am not aware upon what information the School Board filled up the Return in 1890, the contents of which they certified to the best of their knowledge and belief. A memorandum to the effect stated by the hon. Member as to entry of certain children on the registers of both schools was added to the Return, but it is obvious this had the same bearing upon the attendance at the public school, as upon that at the Episcopal school. In the Return of May, 1887, 68 children were entered as on the registers of the Episcopal school, but a note appended to that Return reduced the number to 31 children of school age. No such note was appended to the form of 1890. I am not aware that the Board has ever disputed the accuracy of its own Returns, although the statements it now makes with regard to the. attendance at the Episcopal school are at variance with them. The Department is not in possession of the information which the hon. Member desires me to lay upon the Table, and it is not such as could properly be made the subject of a Parliamentary Paper. As the Episcopal school has not been on the annual grant list for a year, the amount of its yearly average attendance cannot be given. The numbers alleged to be on the roll of that school in 1886 was 26, but the statement in respect of attendance and the probable continuance of the school did not appear to my Lords to be so proved as to establish a claim that the school should be placed on the annual grant list. As I have already stated, my Lords were of opinion that sufficient proof of the existence of a body of children for whom the school was required, and of the probable continuance of the school, had in 1890 been given to entitle the school to be placed on the annual Grant List in 1890. My Lords have been informed that the resignation of the members of the School Board has taken effect, and they propose to issue an order for a new election.