Sitting of 15 August 1904

Preamble
The House met at Five of the Clock.
PETITIONS.
  LICENSING BILL.
  Petitions against; from Branston; Sleaford; and Tattershall Bridge; to lie upon the Table.
RETURNS, REPORTS, ETC.
  [BENEFICES ACT, 1898.
  Return presented, relative thereto [ordered 12th August; Lord Hugh Cecil]; to lie upon the Table, and to be printed. [No. 366.]
  EDUCATION (IRELAND) (COMMISSIONERS' ORDERS).
  Return presented, relative thereto [ordered 11th August; Mr. Boland]; to lie, upon the Table, and to be printed. [No. 367.]
  INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION (IRELAND).
  Copy presented, of Rule made by the Intermediate Education Board for Ireland for the Examination in Music [by Act]; to lie upon the Table.
  INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION (IRELAND).
  Copy presented, of additional Rule mad by the Intermediate Education Board for Ireland as to the French Course [by Act]; to lie upon the Table.
  LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1888.
  Copies presented, of Orders made by the various County and County Borough Councils in England and Wales under Sections 57 and 59 of the Act, as confirmed by the Local Government Board [by Act]; to lie upon the Table.
  PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.
  Mr. SPEAKER Mr. SPEAKER laid upon the Table, General Index to the Bills, Reports, Estimates, and Accounts and Papers printed by Order of the House of Commons, and to the Papers presented by Command, 1890 to 1899; to be printed. [No. 368.]

  MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS.
  That they have agreed to—Shop Hours Bill; Outdoor Relief (Friendly Societies) (No. 2) Bill; Education (Local Authority Default) Bill; Expiring Laws Continuance Bill; Reformatory and Industrial Schools (Scotland) Bill; Indian Councils Bill; Weights and Measures Bill; Bishoprics of Southwark and Birmingham Bill; Anglo-French Convention Bill; Isle of Man (Customs) Bill; Irish Land Bill; Prisons (Scotland) Bill; Public Works Loans Bill; Consolidated Fund (Appropriation) Bill; Cunard Agreement (Money) Bill; Capital Expenditure (Money) Bill; County of Suffolk Bill; Local Government (Ireland) Provisional Order (No. 5) Bill; Post Office Sites Bill, without Amendment.
  Amendments to—Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Amendment) Bill [Lords], without Amendment.
  Amendment to—Electric Lighting Provisional Orders (No. 3) Bill [Lords], without Amendment.
  Amendment to Amendments to—Licensing Bill, without Amendment. And do not insist on their Amendments to the Bill to which this House has disagreed.
  Wireless Telegraphy Bill, with Amendment.

  WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY BILL.
  Lords Amendments to be considered forthwith; considered, and agreed to.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CIRCULATED WITH THE VOTES.

  Erection of New School at Drumglass.
  MR. CHARLES CRAIG: To ask the Secretary to the Treasury when the revised plans, which the committee of the proposed new school at Drumglass, Dungannon, county Tyrone, have been waiting for for over eighteen months, will be ready.
  (Answered by Mr. Victor Cavendish.) I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given to him by the Chief Secretary for Ireland on the 4th instant as to the facts in this case.† The general question of revised plans is being considered with the other matters alluded to in Mr. Dale's Report [Cd. 1981].

  Sphere Allotted to England in Macedonia.
  MR. MOON: To ask the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the sphere allotted to England in Macedonia is so much smaller than that allotted to the other Powers, viz., containing, in the matter of population, approximately, one-seventh of that in the French sphere, one-fifth of that in the Russian sphere, one-fourth of that in the Italian sphere, and one-tenth of that in the Austro-Hungarian sphere, and, in point of area, approximately, one-fifth of the French area, one-seventh of the Russian area, one-fourth of the Italian area, and one-fourth of the Austro-Hungarian area.
  (Answered by Earl Percy.) The area of the sphere allotted to Great Britain is
  †See (4) Debates, cxxxix., 990.
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  1,580 square miles and not 1,080 as stated in a previous Answer. The distribution of the areas was governed by considerations of administrative convenience and arranged by the Gendarmerie an Commission consisting of the oreign staff officers and presided over by General de Giorgis. In view of the paramount importance of arriving at a prompt solution of the question, the various Powers endeavoured as far as possible to meet each other's wishes. An equalisation of areas on the basis of population and geographical extent would have been hardly practicable, and the British officers have ample scope for their labours in the district assigned to them.

  Stoning of Rev. Father M'Brien at Cookstown.
  MR. DOOGAN: To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland who supplied him with the inaccurate information with reference to the stoning of the Rev. Father M'Brien, at Cookstown, on the 1st August; whether facilities will be given to identify the constable who failed in his duty to report to his superiors that the rev. gentleman was insulted and threatened on his journey, and apprehensive of personal violence when returning by the same road to his home; whether, in consideration of the excitement in the town on the occasion, and seeing that on this road Canon Rice, parish priest of Cookstown, and two nuns were stoned last year and several Catholics since, he will explain why no patrol was placed on the road between Cookstown and Stewartstown; whether he is aware that Father M'Brien has written to the district inspector disclaiming the statement attributed to him that his assailants consisted of six or eight boys and girls only, and asking for a full inquiry into all the circumstances of the case; and whether such inquiry will be made.
  (Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) The information upon which I based my reply to the hon. Member's previous Question of the 8th instant was supplied by the district inspector at Cookstown. The Rev. Mr. M'Brien has communicated with him in the sense mentioned, and

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  full inquiry will be made into the matter referred to in that communication.

  Captain and Crew of the "Knight Commander."
  MR. BOUSFIELD: To ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he can give any further information as to the captain and crew of the "Knight Commander;" whether they are kept at Vladivostock as prisoners; and, if so, whether he is in a position to take any steps to secure their release and to facilitate their return to this country.
  (Answered by Mr. A. J. Balfour.) In answer to my hon. friend I have to say that we are informed by His Majesty's Ambassador at St Petersburg that the crew of the "Knight Commander" have been released, and that every facility has been accorded to them. There is no ground for doubting that the term crew includes both officers and men; but special inquiries are being made.

  The Indian Council.
  MR. T. L. CORBETT: To ask the Secretary of State for India if he will state what is the number of members of the Indian Council; whether it is proposed to reduce the number; and whether there is any precedent for one of the members undertaking employment for an indefinite period under another department of the State without first resigning his position as a member of the Indian Council.
  (Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) The number of members of the Council of India was formerly fifteen; but under the Act 52 and 53 Vie., c. 65, it may be gradually reduced to ten; by the exercise of this power it has been reduced to twelve, at which figure it now stands. There is at least one precedent for one of the members undertaking employment under another Department of the State, for a period not strictly defined, without resigning his membership of Council. I refer to Sir James Mackay's recent Mission to China.

  Promotion of National School Teachers in County Down
  MR. MACVEAGH: To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieuten-
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  ant of Ireland whether he can state if any national teachers in the counties of Down and Antrim have been promoted from second grade to second division of first grade on three reports of good, as indicating progress of pupils.
  (Answered by Mr. Wyndham.): In the case of one teacher in county Down, whose school was noted at first as "Good" by the inspector in three successive years on forms of report not providing for the term "Very Good" as regards progress of the school, it was decided that the reports were of such a character as to warrant promotion in accordance with the standard laid down by the Commissioners. But apart from this case no teacher, the official record of whole school, as regards the progress of pupils, was of the nature indicated in the Question, has received promotion from second grade to second division of first grade.

  Extension of Urban Districts in England and Wales.
  MR. FULLER: To ask the hon. Member for North Huntingdonshire, as representing the Board of Agriculture, whether he will state to what extent, in rateable value and in acreage, the total area under the jurisdiction of the rural sanitary authorities has been reduced by the formation and extension of urban districts in England and Wales between 1873 and 1903.
  (Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) My hon. friend has asked me to reply to this Question. The returns made to my Department do not enable me to say to what extent the rateable value and acreage of rural districts have been reduced by the extension of urban districts between 1873 and 1903. A statement could be prepared from the returns showing to what extent the reduction is due to the formation of new urban districts between these dates, and if the hon. Member would wish to have this partial information, I will, on hearing from him to this effect, cause it to be got out and sent to him. I could also give him the acreage of rural districts in 1881 and 1903, respectively. If, however, his object is to obtain a comparison of the rateable value of lands at

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  some such interval as that to which he refers, I would draw his attention to the Return as to Rateable Property (England and Wales) made to the House of Lords in 1900, Parliamentary Paper No. 150.

  Report of Superintendent of Sorting Office, Dublin, on Witholding of Increased Salary from Sub-Postmasters.
  MR. NANNETTI: To ask the Postmaster-General if he will state on what date was the report, made on the 5th of May, 1903, by a superintendent of the Sorting Office Dublin, ascribing to design and fraud the withholding of increases of salary which had accrued to five town sub-postmasters, submitted to his predecessor; and what were the respective salaries of the town sub-postmasters of Harcourt Road and Harcourt Street, Dublin, when the clerical error which is alleged as the reason for the nonpayment of the increase of salary at the former office was made.
  (Answered by Lord Stanley.) The report referred to by the hon. Member was laid before my predecessor on the 27th of May, 1903, and again on the 20th of July, 1903. The respective salaries of the town sub-postmasters at Harcourt Road and Harcourt Street, Dublin, at the time alluded to by the hon. Member were £41 14s. and £17 12s.

  Tunbridge Wells Telephone Service— Stamp Duties.
  MR. GRIFFITH BOSCAWEN: To ask the Postmaster-General whether, seeing that under the deed transferring the Tunbridge Wells Municipal Telephone undertaking to the National Telephone Company it is provided, inter alia, that any resident within the Tunbridge Wells area, shall have the right to an unlimited telephone service for a prepaid rental of £6 per annum, the National Telephone Company is justified in imposing an additional charge of 5s. for stamp duty, and in refusing, where such rental of £6 has been prepaid or tendered, to supply a telephone service until such extra charge of 5s. has also been paid.
  (Answered by Lord Stanley.) The deed referred to by the hon. Member is an
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  agreement made between the Corporation of Tunbridge Wells and the National Telephone Company, and I am, therefore, not in a position to offer any opinion as to its legal effect.

  Telegraphic Facilities at Streamstown, County Westmeath.
  MR. J. P. FARRELL: To ask the Postmaster-General if he will explain why there is not a telegraph office at Streamstown, county Westmeath, although there is a railway station and small village and a number of private residences in the neighbourhood; and will he direct that an office be opened at the railway station for the receipt and despatch of telegrams if same cannot be done in the local post office.
  (Answered by Lord Stanley.) Application for a telegraph office at Steamstown was last made in December, 1902, and my predecessor offered to establish it under guarantee, but the offer was not accepted. At the railway station telegrams are despatched and received; but the company have hitherto been unable to deliver them outside the station premises. I will inquire whether the circumstances are in any way altered, and let the hon. Member know.

  Creation of County Boroughs—Power of Local Government Board to Award Costs.
  MR. DUNCAN: To ask the President of the Local Government Board if he will state what number of orders have been made by the Local Government Board awarding cost to promoters and officials, respectively, of schemes promoted by local authorities for the creation of county boroughs or the alteration of Local Government boundaries; and on what principles such orders are made.
  (Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) I understand that the information which the hon. Member desires is as to the number of orders issued by my Department awarding costs to promoters and opponents, respectively, of schemes of the kind referred to in the Question. No such orders have been issued.

  Compulsory Retirement of War Office Abstractor Clerks.
  SIR THOMAS ESMONDE: To ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the actual and several amounts by which the Imperial Exchequer benefited through the compulsory retirement from the War Office of three efficient established "Abstractor Class" clerks, at the respective ages of sixty, sixty-two. and sixty-three, instead of their serving until the age of sixty-five; and whether, seeing that by this action their employment under the Crown, with full pay at increased annual increments of £5 instead of £2 10s., up to the age of sixty-five was thus lost to these clerks as also the increased super-annuation allowance to be earned by service until the age of sixty-five, he will state if the Comptroller and Auditor-General reported to Parliament upon this retirement of established Civil servants, and will he now take steps to refund to these clerks the moneys thus compulsorily obtained from each of them.
  (Answered by Mr. Victor Cavendish.) I am not prepared to give the hon. Baronet the details he desires in the first part of the Question. The figures asked for would require considerable actuarial calculation, which would produce no good result and would throw unnecessary labour upon the Department concerned. Ample information concerning the retirement of the three clerks has already been given to the hon. Baronet in reply to previous Questions on the subject. The reply to the last part of the Question is in the negative.

  Game Licences in Longford.
  MR. J. P. FARRELL: To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that Monday, 25th July, was the day appointed to grant licences to deal in game in Longford; that on that day Mr. Kilkelly and Mr. S. Wilson were on the bench and an application was made on behalf of Messrs. Devine, Shenlin, Farrell, and O'Shaughnessy for licences to deal in game, whereupon Mr. Kilkelly said that he would not hear the application unless the local magistrates were in attendance; that from this view Mr. S. Wilson dissented, and the applications were
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  adjourned for a week; that on the next Court day Mr. Kilkelly did not attend, and that a majority of the magistrates then present refused to grant a new licence to one of the applicants, a man named O'Shaughnessy, although nothing had been proved against him nor any reason given; and, if so, will he direct the resident magistrate to grant this man a licence.
  (Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) I have no authority to issue directions of this character to the resident magistrate.

  Poor Law Officers' Superannuation in Ireland.
  DR. THOMPSON. To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the position of certain Poor Law officers in Ireland, who are liable to have the resignation of their offices accepted without receiving any retiring allowance; and, if so, whether he will issue such instructions to boards of guardians as will protect these Poor Law officers, disqualified for superannuation and anxious to retire from active duty, from the danger of being refused retiring allowances.
  (Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) With the exception of those officers who upon retirement are entitled to a retiring allowance under Section 118 of the Local Government Act of 1898, the grant or refusal to grant a superannuation allowance to Poor Law officers under Section I of the 28 and 29 Vic., c. 26, is within the discretion of boards of guardians. It would not be competent for the Local Government Board to issue instructions I calculated to interfere with the discretion of local authorities vested in them by statute in this respect.

  The Fishing Industry in South-East Ireland.
  SIR THOMAS ESMONDE: To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state what he proposes to do for the support of the fishing industry on the south-east coast of Ireland; and whether, seeing that Irish county councils cannot levy a rate for the construction of a pier costing over £300, either by themselves or by the Department of Agriculture, will he state

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  how piers are being constructed or to be constructed in cases in which the works have already commenced, or in respect of which money has been already allocated, either by the county councils or by the Department of Agriculture, and what steps he proposes to take to remove this difficulty.
  (Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) I am in correspondence with the Commissioners of Public Works and the Department of Agriculture, and will communicate with the hon. Baronet in the matter.

  Estate of Madam de l'Herault.
  MR. SWIFT MACNEILL: To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that Mr. Cullen, the legal personal representative of Madame de l'Herault, who in 1879 paid to the Crown a sum of £4,594, a moiety of the personal estate of her husband, who died intestate and without ascertained next of kin, through her solicitor applied, with the consent of the Lord - Lieutenant, for a copy of the account of the estate since the fund was handed over to the Treasury, and that in the account furnished certain sums were left out and numerous details in receipts and payments were omitted, the account furnished being in 1883, although the fund was paid over in 1879; and whether, having regard to the fact that the sum originally handed over to the Crown, £4,594, in the year 1879 amounted in 1897 only to the sum of £5,689, India 3½ per cent. stock and £380 cash, and that the application of the solicitor for Mr. Cullen to be furnished with a copy of the account as it stands in the books has been refused, the Lord-Lieutenant will, in order to facilitate the further consideration of this case by the Attorney-General, direct that an account may be furnished of this estate, showing the disposal and disbursement of the fund, and the charges for inquiries, expenses, and costs of opposing the only claimant, and explaining the reason of the small increase of the original sum after the lapse of twenty-five years.
  (Answered by Mr. Wyndham) I have referred the further matters mentioned in this Question to the Attorney-General for consideration.

QUESTIONS IN THE HOUSE.

  Arbitration Treaties with Norway and Sweden.
  MR. CREMER: I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs a Question of which I have given him private notice, viz., if he can state whether treaties of arbitration have within the last few days been arranged and signed between France, Sweden and Norway, and also between this country and Sweden and Norway.
  The UNDER-SECRETARY Of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Earl Percy)being absent, no reply was given.

NEW BILL.

  WOMEN'S ENFRANCHISEMENT BILL.
  "To enable Women to vote at all Parliamentary Elections," presented by Mr. Crooks; supported by Mr. Shackleton. Mr. Bell, Mr. Arthur Henderson, Mr. Keir Hardie, and Sir Albert Rollit; to be read a second time To-morrow, and to be printed. [Bill 304.]
  Message from the Lords Commissioners, desiring the attendance of the House in the House of Peers.
  The House went; and the Royal Assent was given to a number of Bills. (See pp. 544–548.)
  And afterwards His Majesty's Most Gracious Speech was delivered to both Houses of Parliament by the Lord High Chancellor (in pursuance of His Majesty's Commands).
  Then a Commission for proroguing the Parliament was read.
  After which the Lord Chancellor said—
  My Lords and Gentlemen,
  By virtue of His Majesty's Commission, under the Great Seal, to us and other Lords directed, and now read, we do, in His Majesty's Name, and in obedience to His Commands, prorogue this Parliament to Thursday the Third day of November next, to be then here holden; and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Thursday the Third day of November next.

RETURNS, REPORTS, ETC.
  VAGRANCY.
  Report to the right hon. Walter H. Long, M.P., President of the Local Government Board, on methods of dealing with vagrancy in Switzerland, by H. Preston Thomas, Esquire, Local Government Board Inspector. Presented (by Command), and ordered to lie on the Table.

  INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION (IRELAND).
  Rule made by the Intermediate Education Board for Ireland for the Examination in Music;
  Additional rule made by the Intermediate Education Board for Ireland as to the French course.

  LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1888.
  Part I. Orders under Section 57 of the Act, as confirmed by the Local Government Board, of the following county and county borough councils:—
  Brecon.—For uniting the parishes of Llandefailog-Trergraig and Llanfillo to form the parish of Llanfillo;
  Burton-upon-Trent (County Borough).—For uniting the parishes of Burtonupon-Trent, Burton Extra, Horninglow, Stapenhill, and Winshill to form the parish of Burton-upon-Trent;
  Cardiff (County Borough).—For uniting the parishes of St. John, St. Mary, Roath, and Canton to form the parish of Cardiff;
  Chester.—For the conversion of the rural parish of Handforth into the Handforth Urban District;
  Cornwall.—For the conversion of a portion of the rural parish of Antony into the urban district of Torpoint, and for the constitution of that portion of the parish a new parish, to be known as the parish of Torpoint;
  Derby.—For transferring a part of the township of Great Longstone to the parish and urban district of Bakewell;
  Derby.—For the division of the parish of Pleasley into the two parishes of Pleasley and Shirebrook;
  Derby and Stafford.—For transferring part of the parish of Rolleston to the township of Marston-on-Dove and the rural district of Repton;
  Essex.—For altering the boundary between the parishes of South Weald and Great Warley, and the rural districts of Romford and Billericay;
  Glamorgan.—For uniting the parishes of Neath Higher and Neath Middle to form the parish of Neath Higher;
  Hertford.—For transferring part of the parish of Watford Rural to the parish of Watford Urban and the urban district of Watford;
  Lancaster, West Riding of Yorkshire and Burnley (County Borough).—For uniting the township of Heyhouses with parts of the townships of Goldshaw Booth, Higham with West Close Booth, Northtown, Read, Pendleton, and Wiswell to form the township of Sabden;
  Leeds (County Borough)—

  (a) For uniting the townships of Armley, Bramley, Wortley, and Farnley to form the township of Armley and Bramley;

  (b) For uniting the townships of Holbeck and Beeston to form the township of Holbeck;

  (c) For uniting the townships of Leeds, Headingley - cum - Burley, Potternewton, and Chapel Allerton to form the township of Leeds;

  Leicester.—For uniting the parishes of Thurmaston North, and Thurmaston South to form the parish of Thurmaston;
  Lincoln (Parts of Holland and Parts of
  Lindsey).—For transferring parts of the parish of Coningsby to the township of Langriville;
  Middlesex.—For the conversion of the rural parish of Feltham into the Urban District of Feltham;
  Monmouth.—For the conversion of the rural parish of Mynyddislwyn into the urban district of Mynyddislwyn;
  Norfolk.—For the definition of the boundaries of the parish and urban district of New Hunstanton;
  Somerset.—For the division of the parish of Meare into the parishes of Godney and Meare;
  Southampton.—For the conversion of the rural parish of Fleet into the urban district of Fleet;
  Stafford.—For the division of the parish of Sedgley into the parishes of Sedgley and Coseley;
  Stafford.—For the conversion of the rural parishes of Wolstanton, Silverdale, and Chesterton into the Wolstanton United Urban District, for the extension of the urban districts of Kidsgrove, Smallthorne, and Tunstall, and for the abolition of the Wolstanton Rural District.
  Stafford, Worcester, and Birmingham (County Borough).—For uniting an area formerly part of the parish of Beoley with the parish of Redditch;
  Suffolk, East.—For the conversion of parts of the rural parishes of Carlton, Colville and Oulton into the urban district of Oulton Broad, and for the division of the parishes into the parishes of Carlton Colville, Oulton, and Oulton Broad;
  Westmorland.—For the conversion of part of the rural parish of Shap into the urban district of Shap, and for the division of the parish into the parishes of Shap Rural and Shap Urban;
  Yorkshire, North Riding of.—For altering the boundary between the townships of Snape and Well;
  Yorkshire, West Riding of.—For transferring a part of the township of Newallwith-Clifton to the urban district and township of Otley:
  Part II. Order under Section 59 of the Act, as confirmed by the Local Government Board, of the following county council:—
  Middlesex.—For amending the county of Middlesex (Cowley and Hillington East) Confirmation Order, 1895, and the County
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  of Middlesex (Yiewsley) Confirmation Order, 1895.
  Part III. Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890:—
  Borough of Swansea.—Statement of further modification permitted by the Local Government Board to be made in the improvement scheme confirmed by the Board by Provisional Order dated 19th June, 1876, which was confirmed by the Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (Artizans and Labourers Dwellings) Act, 1876, subject to provisions of that Act.
  Laid before the House (pursuant to Act), and ordered to lie on the Table.

  CONSOLIDATED FUND (APPROPRIATION) BILL.
  Brought from the Commons. Read 1a. Then (Standing Order No. XXXIX. having been suspended) Bill read 2a. (The Earl Waldegrave). Committee negatived. Bill read 3a, and passed.
  CUNARD AGREEMENT (MONEY) BILL;
    CAPITAL EXPENDITURE (MONEY) BILL.
    Brought from the Commons. Read 1a. Then (Standing Order No. XXXIX. having been suspended) Bills read 2a (The Earl of Selborne). Committees negatived. Bills read 3a, and passed.
  EXPIRING LAWS CONTINUANCE BILL;
    REFORMATORY AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS (SCOTLAND) BILL;

      INDIAN COUNCILS BILL;
      WEIGHTS AND MEASURES BILL;
      BISHOPRICS OF SOUTHWARK AND BIRMINGHAM BILL.
      Read 3a (according to order), and passed.

PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO CHILDREN (AMENDMENT) BILL [H.L.]
Commons Amendments consider (according to order).
THE LORD CHANCELLOR (The Earl of HALSBURY): My Lords, since we last met I have had an opportunity of examining these Amendments. They

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are more or less verbal Amendments, with the exception of one which appears to me to be a very great improvement of the Bill, and I have no hesitation in recommending your Lordships to agree with them.
Moved, "That this House do agree with the, Commons Amendments."—(The Lord Chancellor.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.

ANGLO-FRENCH CONVENTION BILL;
  ISLE OF MAN (CUSTOMS) BILL;

    IRISH LAND BELL;
    PRISONS (SCOTLAND) BILL;
    PUBLIC WORKS LOANS BILL.
    Read 3a (according to order), and passed.

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY BILL.
Bill read 3a (according to order).
THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (The Earl of SELEORNE): My Lords, before this Bill passes I have a verbal Amendment to move which is consequential upon an Amendment made in the other House and which was omitted by accident. As they stand the words are meaningless.
Amendment moved to the Bill—
"In Clause 5, Sub-clause 1, lines 1 and 2, to leave out the words 'except with respect to the grant of licences.'"—(The Earl of Selborne.)
On Question, Amendment agreed to.
Bill passed, and returned to the Commons.

NATIONAL SCHOOLS IN IRELAND.
LORD EMLY: My Lords, on a recent occasion I called the attention of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland to the delays in connection with the building and repairs of national schools in Ireland. The Question I put to the noble and learned Lord was as follows—
"To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have taken any action, and, if so, what action—and, if not, whether they will take any action in the near future—to terminate the vexatious and mischievous delays almost invariably experienced by managers of national
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schools in Ireland with regard to the building and repairs of said schools."
I thoroughly understand that the Lord Chancellor is only the mouthpiece of the Irish Office, and I do not impute any inaccuracy to him personally; but this was the reply I received—
"There has been no avoidable delay in dealing with applications for grants towards the building of national schoolhouses. The number of applications for building grants received by the Commissioners since the 1st January, 1901, is 286. Within the same period grants have been made according to the existing scales in 168 cases, which include ninety-five grants made in respect of applications received prior to 1901. Twenty-four applications have been rejected; twenty-three have been withdrawn; and in fifty-seven cases investigation is proceeding. In the remaining 109 cases the applicants have decided to postpone their applications pending the decision of the Government on the revised plans and estimates. The Financial Secretary to the Treasury has stated that a decision on the recommendations of the Committee on Building Grants in respect to a revision of the plans and estimates would be deferred until the inquiry into the educational system in Ireland is completed. The Report on that inquiry is at present receiving the consideration of the Government."
Now, from that reply one would imagine that there was no delay whatever. But the contrary is the fact. Mr. Dale, in his Report on Primary Education in Ireland, pointed out very emphatically the scandalous condition of the national schools. Mr. Dalton a senior inspector of national schools, was also referred to the delays occurring in the building and repairs of national schools in Ireland. Then there is the Report of the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, from which I cannot quote direct inasmuch as it is not before your Lordships, as it should be. But the following summary of the Report appeared in The Times newspaper—
"The Commissioners of National Education in Ireland in their Report for 1903, just presented to Parliament, reply to the adverse comments of Mr. Dale, one of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools in England appointed last year to report specially on the condition of Irish schools. Mr. Dale severely criticised the condition of the primary school buildings in Ireland, and pointed out the serious defects in the schools under the management of the National Board. The Commissioners admit that a large number of schools are in a wretched condition; but they defend themselves on the ground that for many years past they have been urging successive Governments to make adequate provision in the annual Estimates for building and maintaining schools which are

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under the management of the National Board. As the result of these representations, an Inter-Departmental Committee inquired into the whole system in August, 1902, and reported to the Government; but up to the present neither a copy of the Report nor the decision, if any, arrived at by the Government and the Treasury has been communicated to the Commissioners, and nothing has yet been done by the Executive to give effect to the recommendations of the Committee. The Commissioners complain that this inaction on the part of the Government has not merely been indirectly injurious to the provision of suitable schoolhouses, but that it has actually brought to a standstill in hundreds of cases the work of building. Replying to the comments upon the dilapidated state of the school buildings, the Commissioners say that, as a rule, there are no organised local funds for repair and maintenance, and they have no funds at their disposal for such purposes, and no means of enforcing such reforms unless by resorting to the inadvisable expedient of withdrawing the grants, which would punish the teachers and not improve education. The Commissioners hold that these unsatisfactory school buildings are largely responsible for the slow rate of educational progress and for the irregular attendance of pupils. With regard to the progress of primary education in Ireland, the Commissioners claim for the national system that, while in 1831 education was at a very low ebb in Ireland, and even in 1851 47 per cent. of the population was illiterate, in 1901 the percentage of illiterates to the population was only 14 per cent. This is regarded as creditable, in view of the fact that the Board have not had sufficient funds at their disposal to provide suitable schools and to maintain them in a satisfactory condition."
If what the Commissioners of National Education say in their Report be true, the Answer which the noble and learned Lord gave me the other day is inaccurate. I think we are entitled to know who is in the right and who is in the wrong. In an interesting speech in another place Mr. Wyndham made several very important admissions as regards the system of national educational in Ireland. Among other admissions was this one, that it would cost £40,000 to put the national schools of Ireland into a state of sanitary repair, and a further £12,000 to put proper heating appliances into the schools. This means that the little children attending these schools, frequently inadequately clothed and having had but a scanty repast before leaving their homes, which are often a considerable distance from the schools, have to sit shivering, not infrequently in wet clothes, in damp, unventilated, and overcrowded rooms. There is plenty of money obtainable for such purposes as the Uganda Railway and the Tibet Expedition, the latter of
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which is costing £50,000 a month money is gaily forthcoming when the virtuous direction is the lap of purveyors of drink, degradation, and demoralisation; but when it comes to a question of £40,000 to be devoted to such a mean purpose as the putting of the national schools of Ireland in a sanitary condition, Oh, that is regarded as an exorbitant amount? As a manager of national schools myself, I have been trying, without success, to get the Board of Works to undertake the repair of my schools, and what I say may be said by almost every school manager in Ireland. The question is a very serious one.
THE LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND (Lord ASHBOURNE): My Lords, if the noble Lord had given me notice that he intended to raise this question I should have fortified myself by inquiries in the proper quarter so as to have given a full answer. I can assure the noble Lord that I will have his statement considered and I am sure that those who are responsible will attend to the matter and see how it really stands.
Honse adjourned during pleasure.
House resumed.

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY BILL.
Returned from the Commons, with the Amendment agreed to.
House adjourned during pleasure.
House resumed.

COMMISSION.
The following Bills received the Royal Assent:—

1. Consolidated Fund (Appropriation).

2. Railways (Private Sidings).

3. Registration of Clubs (Ireland).

4. Wild Birds Protection Acts Amendment (St. Kilda).

5. University of Liverpool.

6. Electric Lighting (London).

7. Leeds University.

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8. Post Office.

9. Poor Law Authorities (Transfer of Property).

10. Public Health.

11. Expiring Laws Continuance.

12. Reformatory and Industrial Schools (Scotland).

13. Indian Councils.

14. Weights and Measures.

15. Bishoprics of Southwark and Birmingham.

16. Shop Hours.

17. Outdoor Relief (Friendly Societies) (No. 2).

18. Licensing.

19. Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Amendment.)

20. Anglo-French Convention.

21. Isle of Man (Customs).

22. Irish Land.

23. Prisons (Scotland).

24. Public Works Loans.

25. Wireless Telegraphy.

26. Education (Local Authority Default).

27. Cunard Agreement (Money).

28. Capital Expenditure (Money).

29. Dean Forest.

30. County of Suffolk.

31. Post Office Sites.

32. Local Government Provisional Orders (No. 9).

33. Local Government Provisional Orders (No. 10).

34. Local Government Provisional Orders (No. 11).

35. Local Government Provisional Orders (No. 13).

36. Hamilton Gas Order Confirmation.

37. Gas Orders Confirmation (No. 1).

38. Gas Orders Confirmation (No. 2).

39. Gas Orders Confirmation (No. 3).

40. Local Government (Ireland) Provisional Orders (No. 1).

41. Local Government (Ireland) Provisional Orders (No. 3).

42. Local Government (Ireland) Provisional Orders (No. 5).

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43. Dundee, Broughty Ferry, and District Tramways Order Confirmation.

44. Glasgow Corporation (Police) Order Confirmation.

45. Greenock Corporation Order Confirmation.

46. Newburgh and North Fife Railway (Extension of Time) Order Confirmation.

47. Kirkcaldy Corporation Order Confirmation.

48. Electric Lighting Provisional Orders (No. 2).

49. Electric Lighting Provisional Orders (No. 3).

50. Electric Lighting Provisional Orders (No. 4).

51. Electric Lighting Provisional Orders (No. 6).

52. Electric Lighting Provisional Orders (No. 8).

53. Tramways Orders Confirmation (No. 1).

54. Tramways Orders Confirmation (No. 2).

55. Gas and Water Orders Confirmation.

56. Glasgow Corporation (Tramways, etc.) Order Confirmation.

57. Pier and Harbour Provisional Orders (No. 2).

58. Pier and Harbour Provisional Order (No. 3).

59. Water Orders Confirmation.

60. Aberdeen City Improvements Order Confirmation.

61. Edinburgh and District Water Order Confirmation.

62. Glasgow and South-Western Railway (Darvel and Lanarkshire Railway Transfer) Order Confirmation.

63. Perth Corporation Order Confirmation.

64. Glasgow Corporation (Sewage) Order Confirmation.

65. Ayr Corporation Tramways Order Confirmation.

66. Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway.

67. Portmadoc, Beddgelert, and South Snowdon Railway.

68. Cardiff Railway.

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69. Derwent Valley Water Board.

70. Great Western Railway.

71. London United Tramways.

72. Tottenham Improvement.

73. Barnet District Gas and Water.

74. Strabane, Raphoe, and Convoy Railway.

75. Surrey Commercial Dock.

76. Thames River Steamboat Service.

77. Torquay Tramways.

78. Tyneside Tramways and Tramroads.

79. Holywood Tramways.

80. Lothians Electric Power.

81. Great Yarmouth Corporation.

82. King's College Hospital.

83. Leeds Corporation (Waterworks) Railway.

84. Manchester Corporation Tramways

85. Manchester Ship Canal.

86. North Wales Electric Power.

87. West Riding Tramways.

88. Felixstowe Gas.

89. Radcliffe Tramways and Improvement.

90. South Shields Gas.

91. London and India Docks Company.

92. Ilford Urban District Council.

93. Newcastle-upon-Tyne Corporation.

94. Saddleworth and Springhead Tramways.

95. Bridlington Corporation.

96. Bristol Corporation.

97. Buxton Urban District Council.

98. Trafford Park.

99. Stretford Urban District Council.

100. Barry Railway (Steam Vessels).

101. Belfast and North-East Ireland Electricity and Power Gas.

102. Belfast Corporation (Tramways).

103. Neath, Pontardawe, and Brynaman Railway.

104. London County Council (Tramways and Improvements).

105. Rotherham Corporation.

106. Selby Urban District Council.

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107. Swindon Corporation.

108. Manchester Corporation (General Powers).

109. Newcastle and Gateshead Water.

110. Bristol Tramways (Extensions).

111. Oakengates and Dawley Joint Water Board.

112. Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (Steam Vessels).

113. Levton Urban District Council.

114. Loch Leven Water Power.

115. Clyde Navigation (Works).

116. Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, and Thornaby Tramways.

117. London County Council (General Powers).

118. Carlisle Corporation.

119. Lord Tredegar's Supplemental Estate.

120. De Trafford Estate.

THE KING'S SPEECH.
And afterwards His Majesty's Most Gracious Speech was delivered to both Houses of Parliament by the Lord High Chancellor (in pursuance of His Majesty's Command) as followeth:—
"My Lord and Gentlemen,
"My relations with Foreign Powers continue to be of a satisfactory character. I have paid visits to the King of Denmark at Copenhagen and to the German Emperor at Kiel. My reception was in each case of the most cordial description.
"Agreements have been entered into between My Government and that of the French Republic for the settlement of a series of questions involving the interests. of both countries in different parts of the world. These agreements will not only be advantageous in themselves to all concerned, but will have the effect of materially strengthening the ties of friendship which now so happily unite My subjects and the citizens of the French Republic.
"Agreements for referring certain classes of questions to Arbitration have been concluded between My Government and the Governments of Italy, Spain, and Germany.
"The King of Italy has pronounced his Arbitral Award with regard to the Boundary between My Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Brazil, with the result that a long-standing cause of difficulty between the Colony and the neighbouring Republic has been satisfactorily removed. Arrangements will be made at once for putting the Award into effect.
"The military operations in Somaliland have ended in the infliction of a severe defeat upon the Mullah's forces, and, with the exception of a temporary garrison to cover the work of organising the tribes with a view to their own defence, My troops and those of the Emperor Menelek, who were acting in co-operation with them, have been withdrawn.
"Hostilities are, I regret to say, still in progress between Russia and Japan. Upon the outbreak of the war, I issued a Proclamation declaring My neutrality, and enjoining upon all My people the strict observance thereof. Important questions involving the treatment of neutral commerce at the hands of belligerents have arisen in connection with these operations. The issues involved, which are of the gravest moment to the trade of My Empire, will, I trust, be amicably settled, and without prejudice to the vast commercial interests of this Country. My Government will energetically support My subjects in the exercise of the rights recognised by international law as belonging to neutrals.
"The scheme for the reorganisation of the Macedonian gendarmerie has been put into operation, and the Foreign Officers appointed by the Powers are now employed in the areas assigned to them. Their efforts, under the able direction of General de Giorgis Pasha, promise satisfactory results. A scheme for the reform of the tithe system has been elaborated by the Civil Agents, and has been applied experimentally in certain districts.
"On the advice of My Government, I have decided to sanction the introduction of an elective element into the Legislative Council of the Transvaal, and I trust that all classes of My subjects in that Colony will unite in rendering this step in the direction of ultimate self-government conducive to the welfare and development of this part of My Dominions.
"The political mission which, with the concurrence of the Chinese Government, I found it necessary to dispatch into Tibetan territory, in order to secure the due observance of the Convention of 1890 relating to Sikkim and Tibet, has encountered some resistance in its advance. Its safe arrival at Lhasa affords Me the greatest satisfaction, and reflects the highest credit on the officers and men composing the small force employed. I trust that, by conference with the Tibetan authorities, in conjunction with the Chinese representative at Lhasa, terms may be arranged which will facilitate trade and put an end to the difficulty and friction which have arisen on the northern frontier of My Indian Empire.
"Gentlemen of the House of Commons,
"I thank you for the satisfactory provision which you made for the requirements of the public service.
"My Lords and Gentlemen,
"I have been glad to note the attention which you have given to the important questions affecting the reorganisation of My Army and its central administration. I trust that these reforms will conduce to the defensive strength of My Empire.
"The enactments contained in the measure for reducing the number of existing licences for the sale of intoxicating liquors, and for regulating new grants, constitute a sensible improvement of the present law, and, while calculated to further the cause of temperance and public order, avoid any injustice to those interests which have grown up under the prevailing system.
"My assent has been given to a Bill for securing that the educational reforms embodied in the Act of 1902 shall be impartially applied for the benefit of all children attending public elementary schools in England and Wales.
"A measure has been passed to give approval to the arrangements which are included in the Convention which I have entered into with the Government of the French Republic.
"A Bill designed to facilitate the earlier closing of shops throughout the

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United Kingdom has received My assent.
"In bidding you farewell, I pray that the blessing of Providence may rest upon all your labours."
Then a Commission for proroguing the Parliament was read.
After which the Lord Chancellor said:
"My Lords and Gentlemen,
"By virtue of His Majesty's Commission, under the Great Seal, to us and other Lords directed, and now read, we do, in His Majesty's Name, and in obedience to His Commands, prorogue this Parliament to Thursday the Third day of November next, to be then here holden; and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Thursday the Third day of November next."