§ LORD EGERTONsaid, he rose to ask the Lord President of the Council, When the Report of the Royal Commission on Technical Instruction will be presented; and whether the Report on Agricultural Education in Germany, France, Denmark, Holland, and the United Kingdom, by Mr. H. M. Jenkins, could be at once issued separately, before the publication of the general Report? He wished to ask this Question because it was well known that Mr. Jenkins had some time past laid his Report before the Royal Commission; and since the passing of the Agricultural Holdings Act of last Session people were looking forward with great interest to that Report. Unless, therefore, the noble Lord could assure the House that the Royal Commission would report immediately, and would include Mr. Jenkins's Report in its own, he would ask whether it was not practicable that that Report could be laid on the Table as early as possible?
LORD BALFOURsaid, he hoped that the whole Report of the Commissioners on Technical Instruction would be presented as soon as it could conveniently be done, for it was a subject which was regarded with the greatest possible interest at the present time. He should like to say a word in reference to the point which most concerned him. Speaking as a Member of the Royal Commis- 827 sion which was inquiring into endowed schools in Scotland, he must say that they would like to have the benefit of the advice of the Royal Commission on Technical Instruction, and also of the information which they had collected. There were large endowments in Scotland, notably in Glasgow, and a larger one in Edinburgh, which, with the consent of everybody concerned, would be devoted to technical instruction; and it would be quite absurd for their Commission to proceed with any schemes saying how these endowments should be spent until they had got the advice and information of the Commission on Technical Instruction. He would be very glad if anything could be done to hasten the publication of the Report.
§ LORD CARLINGFORD (LORD PRESIDENT of the COUNCIL)said, he knew the interest with which the Report of the Commissioners on Technical Instruction was expected, and also the importance attached to the Report of Mr. Jenkins on agricultural education abroad. The Royal Commissioners had just had a meeting, and had before them the proposal of the noble Lord; and they came to the conclusion that it would be better not to present the Report of Mr. Jenkins separately, but that it should be presented with the rest of the proceedings. They expected that there would be no long delay, and that the Report and the documents would be published before Easter.