Mr. MONTAGUE BARLOWI desire to raise a question—I said I should yesterday at Question time—as to educational administration, and to make an appeal to the President of the Board of Education. It is not a partisan matter. I raise it at the urgent request of those interested in denominational schools, both Church of England and Roman Catholics, and especially of the Roman Catholic Cathedral authorities connected with my own constituency for Salford. I venture to hope, as many of them are my opponents in politics, that I shall receive support from below the Gangway in this matter, and, if he were present, from the temporary dictator of the House, and I would urge him to use his potent influence with the Government in so good a cause while he has the power to do it. The change of Presidents of the Board may give us the hope of a change in policy. We do not wish to press hardly on the President, because we know what the difficulties of his great office are; but we understand a Nonconformist deputation has already been seen, and we think it is true that the case were stated on behalf of the Church authorities. In our view, the policy of the Government up to the present, at any rate, has been a wrong policy. It has been conceived in the interest, 1364 not of the whole community, but of one section of the community alone. We have not forgotten the statement of the late President of the Board that where Dr. Clifford led the President of the Board was prepared to follow. In our view it is to, say the least of it, not a very dignified position that the President of a big Government Department should be driven in a sort of harness tandem with a minister of religion. It is true that there has been recently a truce, but in certain areas of education irritation still prevails—although it may not extend over the whole field of education. But we have not forgotten recent events, especially in the Law Courts. There is, for the moment, something in the nature of an armed truce, and in regard to training colleges it is something like what lawyers might call an armed neutrality. We have, however, to submit to a modus vivendi, which we do not accept, but which we have to put up with. I propose to say nothing with regard to the inspectorate or the Holmes circular except that we in Manchester and Salford have a particular grievance. We were attacked by the Holmes circular directly, and a weighty resolution was come to by the Manchester Council——
§ Notice taken that forty Members were not present. House counted, and forty Members not being present
§ The House was adjourned at Half after Eleven of the clock, till to-morrow (Wednesday).