§ MR. A. J. BALFOUR (City of London)said the Government had put down an Amendment to Clause 5 of the Education Bill which they might not reach in time to discuss. He desired, therefore, to ask the Minister for Education whether the intention and effect of that Amendment was not to deprive those who in the future, owing to some movement of population or for some other cause, built a school for denominational purposes from having that appeal to the Education Board which was given under Clause 4. That was a question of vital importance for all those who looked forward to the needs that might arise as population increased or moved from place to place.
§ MR. BIRRELLsaid the words referred to by the right hon. Gentleman were added for the purpose of making quite plain what might possibly otherwise be obscure, though he did not think so, that the provisions as to an appeal to the Board of Education applied only to existing voluntary schools and were not intended to apply to future schools coming into existence.
§ MR. AUSTIN TAYLOR (Liverpool, East Toxteth)asked whether, if a transferred voluntary school under Clause 3, which when transferred was not qualified for the four-fifths facilities, subsequently became qualified, an appeal would lie to the Board of Education.
§ MR. BIRRELLreplied that that did not arise out of the question put to him by the right hon. Gentleman, but he would consider it.
§ LORD R. CECILasked the Prime Minister whether he was aware that, so far, only three lines out of forty-four in Clause 4 had been discussed in Committee, and that many important questions still remained to be discussed, including the Amendments of the Government; and whether, under these circumstances, he would make arrangements to secure reasonable discussion of the remainder of the clause.
§ SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANSuch arrangements as are possible under what we call the guillotine will, no doubt, be made. We cannot alter that. The 958 House has agreed to certain Resolutions regarding the progress of this Bill in Committee, and we cannot depart from those now. But within the time afforded to us it rests rather with Members of the House than with the Government not to spend time on comparatively unimportant Amendments, but to reserve themselves and the time of the House for questions that are of real value and interest.
§ LORD R. CECILCould the right hon. Gentleman say whether, so far, the discussion has been devoted to questions of small importance, and whether he knows that at the time the guillotine Resolutions were passed the Government had not given notice of or put down their Amendments?
§ SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANThe Amendments put down by the Government, so far from making a larger call upon the time of the House, have made a smaller call. ["Oh."] Yes; because they had the effect of focussing and codifying, as it were, certain important Amendments and suggestions which existed on the Paper at the time in the name of different Members. I am certain that the course taken by the Government in putting down a scheme of Amendments, as it did at the end of last week, has greatly facilitated the proper and regular discussion of this clause.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether among the things that have been focussed and codified by the Amendments put down by the Government he could suggest any Amendment which proposed that there should be a new class of schools called State-aided schools?
§ SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANI am under the impression that everything included in the Amendments of the Government had been before the House in one form or another before.