§ MR. REA (Gloucester)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in view of recent decisions of the Law Courts excluding women from the exercise of public functions, unless the contrary is expressly provided by Act of Parliament, he will state whether women will be eligible, under the Education Bill, to serve as nominated Members of education committees; and, if not, whether he will undertake to make such alteration as will confer upon women this privilege.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI suppose the hon. Gentleman's Question is due to the fact that women are not specifically mentioned in the first clause. The clause was not so drawn with a view to excluding women—quite the contrary. There is always apt to be some confusion in the Bill unless the word is introduced throughout. The wording amply covers the case of women, and it is certainly contemplated that women should take their full share in the work of education