§ MR. EVERETT (Suffolk, Woodbridge)I beg to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education whether his attention has been called to a speech made by a clerical member of the School, Board of Bucklesham, Fox-well, and Brightwell, Suffolk, in which he stated that it was an unwritten law of that Board that no man other than a churchman should be appointed a schoolmaster, and also that in one case a mistress was appointed who did not belong to the Church, but she was only allowed to stay a very short time; and whether, as this is a district where there are many Dissenters, he proposes to take any notice of the matter?
§ MR. ACLANDIt is much to be regretted that there should be in such a case what is practically a religious test for appointments in schools which are supported by public money, and which are attended by children of all denominations. But a School Board is at liberty to choose its own teachers, and the Department has no control over their appointment or their dismissal. For the policy of a Board in this, as in other matters, the responsibility of course rests ultimately very largely on the ratepayers.