§ MR. DILLONTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord - Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the date on which a copy of the new Rule 127 (b) was first submitted to the Commissioners at a meeting of the Board of National Education, the number of Commissioners present, the names of the Commissioners so present; the date, or dates, if any, on which the new Rule 127 (b) was submitted to the Commissioners of National Education, or to a Committee of the Board, for the formal and detailed discussion of the rule, with all its serious consequences; the number of Commissioners so present at these meetings of the Board or Committees of the Board and their names; the date on which the new Rule 127 (b) was approved by the Board, the number of Commissioners present, the number who voted for the new rule, the names of the Commissioners so present and voting.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) The principle involved in Rule 127(b), viz., that junior boys should be educated by female teachers, had long been recognised and approved by the Commissioners, who were fortified in their judgment by a consensus of opinion on the part of managers, inspectors, and other educationists. The subject was carefully considered by the Commissioners at special meetings held on 1118 March 30th, April 13th, and April 27th, 1904, and as a result the formal regulation now embodied in the rule was framed. This regulation was first submitted to the Commissioners at a meeting of the Board held on October 25th, 1904, when it was adopted unanimously by the fourteen Commissioners present. The new Code, including Rule 127 (b), was unanimously approved by the thirteen Commissioners present at a meeting of the Board on December 20th, 1904. The rule was not discussed in detail after its adoption on 25th October, for, in the circumstances mentioned, the necessity for such discussion did not arise. The names of the Commissioners who were present at the meetings of October 25th and December 20th, 1904, are set forth in my reply to the Question of April 17th† last, put by the hon. Member for North Leitrim.