§ MR. FETHERSTONHAUGH (Fermanagh, N.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, if he will state the result of the inquiries of the Commissioners of Education in Ireland into the connection between the teacher of Largy School, County Antrim, and the adjacent public-house; is the name of the publican also the name of the schoolmaster, and, if not in fact the same person, what relation is the publican to the schoolmaster; where does the publican reside, and who manages the public-house; and will he inquire as to these matters from the local police if the Commissioners are not aware of the facts.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Commissioners of National Education inform me that, as the result of their inquiries, they have ascertained the following facts in connection with this case: the school is situate within a few yards of a public-house; the licensed publican is John Rainey, who is father of the teacher, William John Rainey; the licensed person does not reside on the premises but on his farm; the teacher's sister resides in the public-house and manages it; the teacher's wife and children reside in the public house when living in the locality, but it does not appear that the teacher himself lives there; he rents a room in a cottage in which he sleeps and takes his breakfast; he states that he is a teetotaller and has been so all his life. The Commissioners have taken measures to enforce a strict observance in future of the rule in this case.