LORD BALFOUR, in rising to ask Her Majesty's Government, Whether it is their intention during the present Session of Parliament to introduce a Bill into either House of Parliament providing for the appointment of an Executive Commission to deal with the Universities of Scotland? said: My Lords, I wish in a sentence or two to give the reasons which induced me to put this Question on the Paper. During the early part of this year considerable discussion took place with regard to the position of the Universities of Scotland, and as to some reforms which were thought desirable, partly in their constitution, and partly in their practice. There are also various other questions—notably, the necessity of inducing, if possible, Her Majesty's Government to give some further financial aid towards enabling the Universities to keep themselves abreast of the necessities of the time in regard to their staff of Professors and their appliances for educa- 1214 tion. Two or three deputations have waited upon the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Rosebery), and have laid their views before him. I think we are not wrong in gathering that at least the noble Earl personally is in favour of the issue of such a Commission as that suggested in this Question. As your Lordships are aware, a Professor in the University of Edinburgh who was appointed subsequent to that time was appointed on the understanding that he should accept his appointment subject to any conditions which might be imposed upon him by a Commission of this kind. Now, my Lords, though I have placed this Question upon the Paper, I do not want to give your Lordships the impression that I should be entirely in favour of appointing an Executive Commission, certainly not until we have some indication of the instructions to be given to it, and the powers which it is to exercise. I believe a very large proportion of the reforms which are required in the Universities of Scotland might possibly be obtained without the intervention of a Commission of this kind; at the same time, if an application were made, as I believe it practically has been made on behalf of at least one of the Universities, if not more, for a grant from the Treasury, it would, perhaps, be advisable that the administration of the grant should be settled by an Executive Commission. I do not want to raise a discussion upon any controverted point upon the present occasion; but of this I am perfectly certain, that it is not to the interest of the Universities of Scotland that there should be a continued state of uncertainty existing as to whether a Commission should be appointed or not. Though I am prepared to receive from the noble Earl a reply to the effect that the state of Public Business in "another place" has not been such as to favour the introduction of a Bill for the appointment of an Executive Commission, still it would be of importance to have from Her Majesty's Government a definite statement of their intentions, so far as it is possible for them to give one on this subject. Therefore, on these grounds, I venture to put the Question which stands in my name on the Paper.
THE EARL OF ROSEBERYMy Lords, I am very much indebted to my noble Friend for having put his Question, as 1215 it relates to a matter in which, considerable interest is taken in Scotland. He is quite correct in believing that it was the intention of Her Majesty's Government to introduce a Bill providing for an Executive Commission to deal with the Scotch Universities. A Bill is in draft, but there it has stopped. It will not be possible for Her Majesty's Government to introduce any such Bill this Session. The noble Lord gave a sufficient answer to his own Question when he alluded to the distracted state of Business in the other House of Parliament. As to introducing the Bill into this House—in the first place, it was quite possible, though not absolutely certain, that owing to its financial clauses it would have been informal to introduce it in this House; and secondly, it seemed to us that if we had no prospect of carrying the Bill in the other House of Parliament it would be much better to allow it to remain in the pigeonhole where it now is. As to the prospect for next Session, I can only offer as strong a promise as, humanly and politically speaking, I am entitled to do, that Her Majesty's Government will deal with the subject next year.