§ Mr. HAROLD SMITHasked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the Board collected from Mr. Henry Burgess, inter alia, the sum of one guinea as a teacher's registration fee in pursuance of a scheme of registration adopted by the Board; that the Board subsequently dropped the scheme, but have refused to refund to Mr. Burgess the guinea which they collected from him on the grounds that his application for such refund was received by them twenty-seven days after the 31st August; and, seeing that Mr. Burgess has stated to the Board that he received no notice that the Board would not consider applications for a refund after a specified date, whether the Board will persist in their refusal to pay back to Mr. Burgess the money which they have collected from him for a specific object which they are unable to carry out?
§ Mr. J. A. PEASEThe statements contained in the question are not accurate. The Board, for instance, have at no time collected any money from Mr. Henry Burgess. His fee was paid to the Teachers' Registration Council set up in 1902 and dissolved in 1907. Upon the formation of a new Teachers' Registration Council this year, the Board were authorised to refund to teachers applying before 31st August the fees which they had paid to the old Registration Council. Six months' notice of the offer was given on the 29th February, and was made known to all the teachers' organisations having the power of appointment to the new Registration Council and advertised by the Board in thirty-nine newspapers. In spite of the publicity thus given, there have been a few teachers who have made application to the Board after the expiration of the six months. The Board are at present with-1464W out any authority to pay to these late applicants; but I am considering how far it may still be possible to meet the cases of any of such applicants.