§ MR. FIELDTo ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether his attention has been called to statements reflecting on the management of Vaughan's Charitable School, County Fermanagh; whether any application has been made to him in reference thereto by any responsible body; and whether he will take steps to have an impartial investigation held with the view of testing the truth of the charges made.
(Answered by Mr. Cherry.) My attention has been called to the statements referred to in the Question by the Secretary of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The school, however, is not under Government control, as the governors of it established a claim to be exempt from the operation of the Educational Endowments Act, 1885, and it is not subject to inspection by the Government. The only persons who appear to have responsibility for the management of the school are the governors, among whom are several gentleman of position in the county, and, I believe, the bishop of the diocese of the church to which the school belongs. I regret to say that I have no power to order an investigation into the charges made.