§ SIR JOHN BRUNNER (Cheshire, Northwich)I beg to ask the Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education whether he can see his way to renew the instruction to Her Majesty's inspectors requiring records to be kept in the logbooks of elementary schools of all cases of the infliction of corporal punishment, which instruction was, as stated by him, withdrawn in 1891 without reason assigned or representations made; and whether he is aware that infants of three and four years of age have been caned in elementary schools.
§ MR. GRAY (West Ham, N.)Before the right hon. Gentleman answers may I ask a question of which I have given him private notice—namely, whether in the opinion of the Education Department many objectionable forms of punishment which were encouraged by the rule in question have not been abandoned since the rule was withdrawn?
§ THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON EDUCATION (Sir J. GORST,) Cambridge UniversityThe statement made by me was that no record of the reasons and representations now exists, not that no reasons were ever assigned and no representations ever made. But the suggestion of the hon. Member shall receive careful consideration when the instructions to inspectors are issued, as they will be shortly. Canes are, I regret to say, used in some infant schools. In regard to the supplemental question, I cannot say that the Committee of Council are of opinion that any such beneficial results have followed from the dropping of the regulation.