§ MR. JOHN O'CONNORCan the right hon. Gentleman the First Lord of the Treasury inform the House when the Irish Education Bill is likely to come on for discussion?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe Second Reading will be taken as soon as possible; but it cannot come on until the Small Holdings Bill is out of Committee.
§ MR. SEXTON (Belfast, W.)Can the Government lay before the House Returns relating to education in Ireland?
§ * MR. JACKSONI am told that the Returns which the hon. Member asks for would involve a great deal of labour on teachers and on the Department, 1781 and would take a long time to prepare. If, notwithstanding that, the hon, Member still desires to move for them, there will be no objection to his doing so.
§ MR. SEXTONWe should like to have the full Returns; but, in the meantime, could the Government not supply us with the essence of the information?
§ * MR. JACKSONIt would have to be derived from the school teachers, and it would take a long time to prepare.
§ MR. JOHN O'CONNORI desire to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether as the people of Ireland take the deepest interest in the Irish Education Bill, and no interest at all in the Local Government Bill, and having regard to the nearness of the General Election, he will so arrange business that he can bring on the Education Bill before the Local Government Bill?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI can assure Representatives from Ireland that if they will show practical interest in the passing of the Bill by abstaining from the discussion of it at very great length, there will be no difficulty in bringing the discussion to a close before the General Election.
§ MR. JOSEPH BOLTON (Stirling)May I ask the First Lord of the Treasury when the Scotch Private Bill Procedure Bill will be taken?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURIt cannot be taken until after the Second Reading of the Irish Local Government Bill.
§ MR. SEXTONI wish to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he has considered the question I raised some time ago as to the separation of the contentious from the non-contentious portions of the Education Bill, in order to facilitate its progress through the House?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURIf I understand it, the hon. Member's proposal is that we should separate that part of the Bill dealing with compulsion from the part relating to relief from school fees. I think my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary for Ireland (Mr. Jackson) has more than once explained this Session, as I explained last Session, 1782 that he could not see how public interests would be served by losing an opportunity to pass the whole of this measure, which I believe a great number of those interested in Irish education desire to see become law.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThat, of course, depends upon the progress made to-night. If, as I hope, we pass the Committee stage of the Scotch Bill, I think the first Bill for to-morrow is the Criminal Evidence Bill.