MR. PATRIK O'BRIENI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether he is aware that, under the will of the late R. T. Reid, of Bombay, £9,435 was appropriated to the advancement of education in the county Kerry, and that the trustees of the Reid estate authorised a scheme of prizes to be awarded out of the proceeds of the bequest by the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, part of which provided prizes to male monitors of National Schools in Kerry; (2) whether these prizes have been done away with for this and future years; and, if so, could he state by whose authority, and what is now done 413 with the money which was so apportioned by the Reid trustees; and (3) what equivalent, if any, is given to the Kerry monitors?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe facts are correctly stated in the first paragraph. The prizes have not been done away with, nor has such a course of action been contemplated. The only change that has occurred has been to relieve the monitors who have completed three years' service from attendance at the July examinations at the district centres. Arrangements for testing these monitors have been under consideration, and will shortly be decided, after which the prizes will be duly distributed.