§ 69. Mr. KINGasked the President of the Board of Education what amount of money taken from the charities of Ewell, Surrey, has been permitted to be devoted for providing premises for a Church of England school; whether the charities from which such moneys have been taken are ecclesiastical charities devoted to the special use of the Church of England; whether he is aware that a previous application was made that the money from these charities should be used for providing a council school and that the request was refused; whether, before deciding to authorise further expenditure from Ewell charity funds, he will consider the public authorities of the parish, especially as to the benefits which the proposed expenditure would bring to the parishioners as a whole; and whether he will explain why educational charities for the whole parish may be used for erecting denominational schools but not for publicly erected, owned, and managed schools?
Mr. PEASEThe Board have advised the trustees that they may properly apply to this purpose the accumulated income of Brumfield's Educational Foundation and one-half of the accumulated income of Calverley's Educational Foundation. They have also offered to allow one-half of the capital of Calverley's Foundation (consisting of £205 Consols) to be applied to the same purpose. I am advised that Calverley's Foundation is the only one of the charities which is an ecclesiastical charity. The answer to the third part of the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative. As I have already informed him, in my answer to a previous question, I am advised that no part of the funds of the charities could properly be allocated towards meeting the cost of the new council school, but I shall be prepared to consider any proposals which are not 1223 inconsistent with the existing trusts. The fact that the charities may be used for the purposes of the Church of England school to the extent which I have indicated is due to the terms of the trusts.