VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS. (Hansard, 22 February 1895)

§ *Mr. H. S. FOSTER (Suffolk, Lowestoft)

rose to move:— That, in the opinion of this House, the Voluntary Schools of this kingdom are entitled to the most considerate treatment at the hands of the Education Department, and that this House, while desirous of seeking a fair and healthy rivalry between the School Board and the voluntary school systems, views with disfavour any policy designed either to unduly harass the voluntary schools out of existence or to ignore the special difficulties under which they labour as compared with the Board Schools. The hon. Member said that last year the Education Vote was taken during the last four days of a very exhausting Session, and the discussion was carried on in a very thin House and was of a perfunctory nature. The object of his Resolution was to ask the House to affirm, what it ought not to be necessary to affirm at their time of day, namely, that the voluntary schools of the kingdom were entitled to considerate treatment at the hands of the Education Department, and that the House should do all it could to encourage a fair and healthy rivalry as between Board and Voluntary Schools. He would, no doubt, be challenged by the Vice President of the Council as to the treatment of voluntary schools by the Department, and to the complaint which had now become widespread, of what had been called the undue pressure upon them.