§ DR. FARQUHARSON (Aberdeenshire, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to a Report by Dr. Willcocks, of the Charing Cross Hospital, by which it appears that out of 82 children, varying in age from three to 16, in the Barrack Schools of Hanwell, belonging to the Central London District, it was found that 30 were suffering from adenoid growths of the throat at the back of the nose, and 23 from enlargement of the tonsils, while in nine cases there was considerable enlargement of the tonsils, and in several cases a discharge from the ear, with perforation of the drum of the ear; and whether he will direct an inquiry to be made by the Local Government Board with a view of the best thing being done for each individual child?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARDI have already given directions, for an inquiry with regard to the cases of the children referred to. I may, however, say that Dr. Willcocks, in his Report, distinctly states that the school life and surroundings of the children cannot be held responsible in any sense for the adenoid disease, the disease being prevalent among children in all classes of society.