§ LORD R. CECIL (Marylebone, E.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education whether, in the estimates made by the Glamorganshire County Council for the year ending 31st March, 1908, the amount estimated to be received in respect of Government grants for voluntary schools is £19,000, and the amount estimated to be spent in the maintenance of the same schools is also £19,000; and whether, seeing that no part of the salary 371 of teachers in voluntary schools is estimated to fall upon the rates in that county, he will except the voluntary schools in it from the provisions of the Education (Special Religious Instruction) Bill.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION (Mr. MCKENNA,) Monmouthshire, N.I do not consider that the financial estimates of the Glamorganshire County Council, framed before the Education (Special Religious Instruction) Bill is passed, afford any ground for anticipating by an amendment the state of affairs which will exist when that Bill becomes law. I should in any case be unable to adopt a course the effect of which would be to maintain the existing statutory obligation upon the local education authority to defray the cost of giving special religious instruction in voluntary schools.
§ *LORD R. CECILWill the effect of the Bill be to remove the statutory obligation to defray the cost of religious instruction?
§ MR. MCKENNAThe effect will be to throw on the managers the cost of giving special religious instruction.