§ MR. L. HASLAM (Monmouth Boroughs)To ask the President of the Local Government Board if he will state the number of Poor Law children at present maintained in the district and separate schools, and in the village communities of London and the provinces, respectively.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) The number of children in separate establishments belonging to guardians of Poor Law unions in England and Wales on 1st January, 1908, was as follows:—
§ any steps can be taken to suggest to public bodies requiring loans or public money for their contracts that, when inviting tenders for granite, the practice 481 of excluding Cornish granite by definitely specifying in the forms of tender that the granite must be from Norway, should be discontinued in the interests of the ratepayers, owing to the fact that Cornish granite has been proved considerably cheaper than Norwegian by the recently published tenders for the Birmingham Council House extension, and also from the fact that Cornish granite has withstood the severest tests for all purposes for many generations, whereas the Norwegian granite has not been so proved in this country.
§ (Answered by Mr. John Burns.) I do not think that I can make any general suggestions to local authorities of the kind referred to in the question. If Cornish granite is cheaper than that imported from Norway, the local authorities would no doubt prefer to use it, other things being equal; but I am advised that it has not at present been proved that in all circumstances Cornish granite is cheaper than Norwegian.