§ MR. PAUL (Northampton)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has observed the recommendation of the Royal Commissioners on Ecclesiastical Discipline, that the Houses of Laymen should be consulted; what is the composition of these Houses; and whether they have any legal sanction, authority, or existence.
§ MR. GLADSTONEYes, sir. There is in each province a House of laymen composed of lay members of the Church of England elected according to a system based upon population in the various dioceses. So far as I am aware, they are voluntary bodies and possess no legalstatus.
§ [No Answer was returned.]