BRITISH EDUCATION BILL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 443, 5 December 1908, Page 3

BRITISH EDUCATION BILL.

London, December 3

. In committee of the House of Commons, Clause 2 of the Government’s Education Bill (in which clause the concession of the right of entry to country schools, for the purposes of religious teaching, was strongly attacked by Nonconformists and Liberals) was carried. The voting was: For the clause 276 Against the clause ... 66 Majority for 210 In committee on the Education Bill, there was a lively debate on the Government’s resolution authorising the payment of grants for education.

Mr John Redmond (Leader of the Nationalist party) complained that a grant of 50s. per child meant ruin to Catholic schools.

Mr A. Lyttelton (formerly Unionist Under-Secretary for the Colonies) read an important communication from the Archbishop of Canterbury to Mr Runcimau complaining that the proposed payments on account of transferred voluntary schools were utterly insufficient, and would involve an annual average deficiency of 14s 6d. per child. Regarding contract-ing-out schools, if they were to maintain their efficiency without imposing an impossible strain on voluntary subscribers, the grants must be increased by at least 8s per child, and must rise automatically year by year. The Archbishop of Canterbury concluded that unless these essential demands were conceded he must be forced to the conclusion that the schedule of the Bill took away what the Bill purported to give. Consequently the settlement which was seemingly attainable would not be carried out.