§ MR. SHEEHY (Meath, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state when the Treasury first demanded any and what portion of the school fees collected from the pupils in Irish model schools, and on what grounds was that demand made; what proportion of these fees went to the Treasury and what proportion to the teachers: are these fees in the nature of local aid to education, and what is the total amount of these fees which the Treasury has obtained from the date of their first demand to March 31st,1904.
§ MR. ATKINSON (for Mr. WYNDHAM)The model schools have been established out of funds provided by Parliament. In 1868 the amount of fees received from pupils in excess of the emoluments of the teaching staff was paid into the Imperial Exchequer. In 1876 an arrangement was made with the Treasury by which a sum of £2,000 per annum became payable to the Exchequer out of these fees, the surplus, if any, being distributable among the teachers. In recent years, however, the fees collected have not reached the sum of £2,000. The payment into the Exchequer is shown in the Annual Estimates as an Appropriation in Aid of the Vote for Public Education. The total amount of the Appropriations in Aid so realised to March 31st,1904, is £62,447.