§ MR. EDWARDS (Radnorshire)In the absence of the hon. Member for Cardiganshire, I beg to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education whether any Petitions have been presented against the scheme for the County of Cardigan, under the Welsh Intermediate Education Acts; and, if so, whether he can state their purport, the number of signatures attached, and the effect of the presentation of such Petitions, if any, upon the passing of the scheme into law?
§ THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (Mr. ACLAND, York, W.R., Rotherham):No Petition has been presented by any Representative Body or Governing Body of a school throughout the county. But one Petition has been presented by the Principal of St. David's College, Lampeter, signed by 24 inhabitant ratepayers of the borough of Lampeter, praying that this scheme be laid before Parliament. Should the Petition be withdrawn in the course of this week the scheme would become law forthwith; but otherwise the scheme will have to lie before Parliament for two months—which, at the present period of the Session, may, I suppose, involve a delay of four months or more— 1824 during which an Address may be moved in either House praying Her Majesty to withhold her consent from it. If such an Address were carried the whole procedure must begin over again, and it would probably be at least two years before a new scheme could become law.