§ The Bishop of Ferns moved, that there be laid before the House Copies of all Letters received from Charter-schools of Ireland by the Secretary of the Incorporated Society of Dublin, and transmitted by him to the Commissioners of Education, since the year 1824.
Lord King,after adverting to the voluminous evidence of the committee of 1815, complained that the Incorporated Society had not attended to the recommendations in the report on that occasion. It appeared that the usher of Stradbally school who had been dismissed at the instance of Mr. Leslie Foster, one of the commissioners, had since been promoted to a more lucrative situation. In the memorial which the usher had sent to the Board in Dublin he spoke of the gentleman by whom he had been dismissed, in very disrespectful terms, describing him as "a Mr. Leslie Foster." The members of the board, however, seemed resolved to encourage him, their object being to decry every one who wished to correct abuses. The cause of the usher's dismissal was cruelty to the children. But how had the board acted? They advanced him to a more lucrative situation, instead of marking their sense of his conduct in the way that it deserved.
The Bishop of Fernsadmitted, that the conduct of the individual in question had been very censurable. Three indictments for cruelty had been preferred against him, and he was tried the other day before the lord chief baron in the town of Maryborough. The jury was composed partly of Catholics and partly of Protestants, and they acquitted him on the first and second indictment without leaving the box, and the third was consequently abandoned. He did not know that in point of form he could move for the judge's notes of the trial, but if that were allowed, he should wish to do so. The 35 usher had been too severe over the children, and he was removed to a school where he could not exercise his severity, but where his talents, as a practical mathematician, might be highly useful. He had been sent to a school expressly intended for the education of parish clerks and schoolmasters. Another serious charge contained in the report was, the want of religious education in the different schools. It was stated in that report, that in a school in the diocese of Leighlin and Ferns there were twenty of the senior boys who had never heard of St. Paul.
But he would only refer to the passage in the report where the charge was made for its own contradiction. It was there stated, that the scholars were not only acquainted with the church catechism, but with the explanation of it, in which references were made to St. Paul not less than thirty times.
Lord Kingthought it much better that the right rev. prelate should give notice of a regular discussion on this subject than indulge in desultory observations with regard to it. It was said that there were twenty boys who had heard references made to St. Paul, but in his opinion there were very few who had heard one word about Job. He could see no advantage whatever that was likely to result from this sort of superficial knowledge.
The Marquis of Lansdownsaid, he had B motion connected with this subject to submit to their lordships, which would have the effect of bringing one part of the information required before them. He wished to see a return laid on their lordships' table of the number of scholars in all the charter schools of Ireland, distinguishing the different religious persuasions. He agreed with the noble lord, that this question ought not to be discussed without a regular notice, and he should therefore abstain from making any remarks. He must, however, express his hope, that some satisfactory explanation could be given of what had been stated in parliament of the past proceedings in the chartered schools; and which showed the existence of a degree of cruelty and mismanagement quite extraordinary and, when it was recollected under what system of inspection those schools had been placed by parliament, quite unexpected. He thought an inquiry was necessary, and he hoped it would be an effectual inquiry. Something was necessary for the satisfaction of the individuals themselves, 36 and of the public. It could not be, he thought, that all those abuses had taken, place under the inspection of distinguished characters; abuses which, if true, were calculated to throw discredit on the national church, and on all those engaged under the system. He had read with indignation, the accounts of these abuses, as contained in the recorded votes of the other house of parliament; but he hoped to see those statements disproved. The noble marquis concluded by moving for the return, which was ordered.