MR. HERBERT ROBERTS (Denbighshire, W.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he will state the number of public elementary schools in England and Wales which are connected with the National Society; whether he is aware that one of the conditions of affiliation with this society is that the 201 masters and mistresses of the schools shall be members of the Church of England; and whether, in the event of the Education Bill becoming law, this religious test will continne to be imposed upon all the teachers in these schools.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURNo records exist of the actual number of public elementary schools in England and Wales that are connected with the National Society. The terms of union with the society are, I believe, correctly stated in the Question, but are, I am informed, very frequently departed from in practice. Schools marked N. in the Board of Education Return are not necessarily in union with the National Society; and therefore no inferences can be drawn from the Return.