§ MR. HUGH LAW (Donegal, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India if he can say what are the reasons which have determined the Government of Bengal to depart from the course, hitherto followed, of selecting a Director of Public Instruction from the Indian education service.
§ *THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (MR. BRODRICK,) Surrey, GuildfordThe Lieutenant-Governor considers that in the present state of transition in which educational questions in Bengal are situated, and in view of the many and varied problems which press for solution, it is essential that there should be at the head of the department a Director of marked energy, zeal, capacity for work, knowledge of the subject, acquaintance with the province at large, and administrative experience. The Lieutenant-Governor reports that he has been unable to find among the senior officers of the department a gentleman combining all these qualifications; and he believes that they are to be found in the Civil servant whom he has selected for the post. As already stated, I see no 946 reason to interfere with the Lieutenant-Governor's discretion in the matter.