known as the Kirkburton Grammar | the building known as as the Imperial School was undenominational in origin; Institute, and whether he would conwhether, since the Act of 1902 came into sider the advisability of placing the whole operation, the funds have accumulated of it at the disposal of the University. by £93 per annum; whether there is now a balance of £400 in the bank; whether these endowments can be used in furtherance of education higher than elementary; and whether he will order an inquiry into the origin and present administration of the educational endow ments at Kirkburton. MR. CHARLES HOBHOUSE said that he could hardly be expected to answer that Question off-hand, but he might state that the accommodation now provided was very much larger than that which the University had in Burlington-gardens. MR. CHARLES HOBHOUSE: I am informed that £110 has been spent on printing (including paper) in connection with the establishment of the Department of the Public Trustee. No expenditure on account of advertising has been incurred. The total annual estimated expenditure as shown in the published estimates, Class III., Vote 5, for salaries, wages, and incidental expenses, is £6,500, and in addition sums of £810 and £500 respectively are estimated to fall on other MR. CHARLES HOBHOUSE: Cer- Votes in respect of office accommodation tainly. *SIR PHILIP MAGNUS (London University) asked whether the hon. Gentleman was aware that the University was at present housed in only part of VOL. CLXXXVII. [FOURTH SERIES.] and stationery. The estimated receipts in respect of fees are for the first year to 31st March, 1909, £4,000. The fees estimated to be received up to 30th March, 1908, were £400; the fees actually received amounted to £532. 2 Z MR. BOTTOMLEY: In view of the heavy loss on the working of the Department, will the hon. Gentleman reconsider the question of whether he ought to keep the Department open? state if the Intermediate Board intend to make the rules stereotyped for ten years; and when the new rules will be published. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: I am informed that the Intermediate Board have not MR. CHARLES HOBHOUSE: Cer- yet come to a conclusion upon the subtainly not. ject of the Question, and consequently cannot say when new rules will be published. Irish Intermediate Education Board Rules. MR. O'MALLEY (Galway, Connemara): On behalf of the hon. Member for South Kerry. I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any opportunity will be afforded of discussing any objectionable points which may be contained in the new rules of the Irish Intermediate Board; and whether the Board will supply the Joint Committee of the Heads of Secondary Schools with copies of the new rules as soon as they are ready to be laid upon the Table of the House. OF THE THE VICE-PRESIDENT DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR IRELAND (Mr. T. W. RUSSELL, Tyrone, S.): Perhaps in the absence of my right hon. friend the Chief Secretary through indisposition I may answer the Questions addressed to him. The Intermediate Education Act provides the method by which the rules made by the Board and approved by the Lord Lieutenant may be reviewed, that is to say, the rules are not to become operative until they have lain before Parliament for forty days without being disallowed. The suggestion that draft rules should be promulgated for discussion by heads of schools before being adopted is, my right hon. friend is advised, quite impracticable. Upon a former occasion when the Board distributed rules which were afterwards disallowed by this House, much inconvenience arose by reason of the fact that it was found impossible to recall all the copies issued, with the result that some of the schools prepared their students upon the disallowed rules. It is understood that the Board are always ready to receive and consider suggestions which may be made to them by any body or person interested, before submitting rules for the approval of the Lord-Lieutenant.. MR. O'MALLEY: On behalf of the hon. Member for South Kerry, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Irish Secondary School Rules. hon. Member for South Kerry, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Joint Committee of the Heads of the Irish Secondary Schools has on more than one occasion requested the Intermediate Board to appoint a Committee of the Board with a view to the holding of a conference concerning the amending of various rules; whether he is aware that this request has been refused; and can he state the reason for this refusal. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The Intermediate Board do not consider that a conference such as is sug. gested in the Question would be a satisfactory method of dealing with the matter. The Board have informed the Joint Committee that it would be more satisfactory that their views should be submitted in the form of a memorial, as on previous occasions, so that the various points may be fully and accurately stated for consideration by the Board. Kenmare Fair Rent Applications. MR. O'MALLEY: On behalf of the hon. Member for South Kerry, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the number of applications to fix fair rents received by the Irish Land Commission from the rural district of Kenmare, county Kerry, during the nine months ended 31st December, 1907, and the three months ended 31st March, 1908, respectively; and, having regard to the fact that the latest sitting of the Sub-Land Commission at Kenmare was on the 3rd October, 1907, at which only applications lodged before the 1st April, 1907, were dealt with, can he state the earliest date of the holding of a further sitting of the Sub-Land Com MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The number | number of vacancies in the office of of applications received from the Kenmare resident magistrate in Ireland since 1st district during the nine months ending January, 1906; and whether the vacancies 31st December, 1907, was twenty-seven, have all been filled. and the number received during the three months ending 31st March, 1908, was twenty-eight. The Land Commission will appoint a further sitting as soon as possible having regard to the claims of other districts, but cannot at present fix a date. Irish Royal College of Surgeons. SIR W. J. COLLINS: I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has considered a memorial from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland praying that that body may become a constituent college in the new University to be established in Dublin; and whether he will be prepared to advise the inclusion of that college within the University. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: It is not intended to make the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland a constituent college of the proposed new University in Dublin. Royal Irish Constabulary. authorised strength of the Royal Irish MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The authorised strength of the force on 1st December, 1905, was 9,436, but on the following day authority was given to increase the force by fifty men. Since then, the number has been further increased by 414 men, making the total 9,900, at which figure it stood on 1st March, 1908. Irish Resident Magistrates. MR. WALTER LONG: I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what has been the MR. T. W. RUSSELL: Since 1st January, 1906, four vacancies have occurred in the office of resident magistrate. Three new appointments have been made in respect of these vacancies, and one resident magistrate's station has been abolished. Staff of the Estates Commission. MR. WALTER LONG: I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what additional appointments were made to the staff of the Estates Commission consequent on the passing of the Evicted Tenants Act of 1907, and what is the cost of such additional establishment. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: No additional appointments to the staff of the Estates Commissioners have been made consequent upon the passing of the Evicted Tenants Act, 1907, but the services have been retained of the fourteen temporary inspectors who were appointed in April, 1907, as part of the general staff engaged on the purchase and re-sale of land, and in connection with the restoration of evicted tenants. These temporary inspectors are paid £800 per annum each, inclusive of subsistence allowance. A temporary clerical staff of ten persons engaged upon evicted tenants inquiry work has also been retained as part of the general indoor staff, at a total approximate cost missioners inform me that it is impossible of £600 per annum. The Estates Comgaged exclusively on the restoration of to say what portion of the staff is enevicted tenants. They think it probable that if the Evicted Tenants Act had not been passed the whole of the present staff would have been required in connection with their purchase proceedings and with the restoration of evicted tenants under the voluntary provisions of the Act of 1903. It is, in fact, under these voluntary provisions that the reinstatement of evicted tenants is for the most part being effected. Inspectorship of Irish Reformatories. MR. WALTER LONG: I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware Tanderagee Evicted Tenant. that it was proposed by the late Government, SO soon as the opportunity MR. LONSDALE: I beg to ask the presented itself, to amalgamate the In Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant spectorship of Reformatory and Industrial of Ireland whether the Estates ComSchools with one of the Commissioner-missioners will give further consideration ships of the Prisons Board; whether the opportunity has yet arisen; if so, what steps have been taken for carrying out the proposed arrangement; and what is the resultant saving to the Exchequer. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: There is no official record of any proposal by the late Government to amalgamate the offices named in the Question. But when the Medical Commissionership of the to the case of Samuel Rainey, an evicted tenant, of Ballymore, Tanderagee, county Armagh, with a view to placing him in possession of a holding in lieu of that from which he was evicted. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The Estates Commissioners have fully considered this case, and see no reason to alter the decision of which my right hon. friend informed the hon. Member on 17th July last. MR. LONSDALE: Is the hon. Gentle man aware that two inspectors have reported that this is a case for Prisons Board became vacant annum. Mr. Keaneny, J.P. MR. LONSDALE (Armagh, Mid.): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the remarks reported to have been made by Mr. J. Keaneny, a county councillor and justice of the peace, at a public meeting on Sunday, 19th April, at Tulsk, county Roscommon, advising the people, wherever there was a grazier or rancher, to make the place a little hell for him; and whether he intends to take any action in the matter. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: This mitter has been referred to the Lord Chancellor, and is under his consideration. Cattle-Drives in Ireland. MR. LONSDALE: I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state the number of cattle-drives reported to the police, or within their cognisance, during the months of January, February, March, and April, respectively. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The number of cattle-drives reported in January was 35; in February, 31; in March, 57; and in April, to date, 47. reinstatement? MR. T. W. RUSSELL: I have no Land Purchase Annuities. Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant MR. LONSDALE: I beg to ask the of Ireland whether he will state the number of cases in which legal proceedings have had to be instituted by the Land Commission during the last six months to recover from tenant purchasers annuities due under the Irish Land Act of 1903. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The number of cases in which the Land Commission directed proceedings to be taken last month for the recovery of land purchase annuities due on 1st December last was1,074. Payment has since been made in 549 of these cases, leaving only 525 now in arrear out of a total of 38,963 payers of annuities. Charlestown Petty Sessions-Charge of Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant for rent from the rural postman; whether two resident magistrates dissented from the decision of the majority, and one of them stated that he had never heard a clearer primâ facie case put forward by the prosecution; and whether he proposes to take further steps to place these men upon trial for the offences alleged against them. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The facts are substantially as stated by the hon. Member. The question of taking further proceedings has been fully considered by my right hon. friend the Attorney-General for Ireland, who has decided that having regard to the decision of the majority of the bench, the case is not one in which he would be justified in sending up a Bill to the grand jury. Forestry in Ireland. MR. LONSDALE: I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is intended to take any action to give effect to the recommendations of the Departmental Committee on Forestry in Ireland. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The Report of the Departmental Committee on Irish Forestry, which has only recently been issued, is under consideration, but there has not yet been time to arrive at a decision upon the recommendations of the Committee. The importance of dealing with the matter is fully recognised, and the Government will come to a decision upon it as soon as may be possible, having regard to the financial and other considerations involved. Irish Department of Agriculture-Salary of Secretary. MR. WALTER LONG: I beg to ask the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether it was upon his recommendation that the salary of the secretary of the Department has been increased from £1,300 to £1,500 per annum, and what are the reasons for the increase. MR. T. W. RUSSELL: The Answer to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. The salary was increased by the sum stated in order to make it more nearly commensurate with the exceedingly onerous responsibilities of the office, which are not less than those of the permanent heads of other great Departments of State on which the official constitution of the Department has been modelled and in which a higher scale of salary obtains. Orders in Council. *Mr. BELLAIRS: I beg to ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of the Prime Minister on 14th March, 1907, stating that he proposed to confer with the Lord President of the Council with reference to the enforcement of the rule that all Orders in Council should be published in the London Gazette, whether he can now state what action has been taken, and if the rule will be invariably enforced in the future; and whether he is aware that the Secretary of the Privy Council states that Members of Parliament are not entitled to copies of Orders in Council, when applying on a matter in which they are interested. THE PRIME MINISTER AND FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. ASQUITH, Fife, E.): All Orders in Council, where required by Statute, are published in the London Gazette. Some misconception must, I think, exist as regards the statement attributed to the Clerk of the Privy Council, as that officer states that he has not expressed such an opinion. *Mr. BELLAIRS: As the statement was made by letter in answer to an application by me for a copy of an Order in Council, will the right hon. Gentleman communicate with the Clerk to the Council on the matter? Mr. ASQUITH: Yes. Trade Combinations in Great Britain. SIR GILBERT PARKER (Gravesend): I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether he is aware of the existence in Great Britain of trusts, rings, cartels, and other combinations having for their object the monopolisation of trades and markets, by regulating the output or by keeping up prices and stifling competition; and, seeing that such combinations are restraint of trade, and are, therefore, inconsistent with the present free-trade policy of this country, whether he will take steps to restrain the increasing monopolistic operations of foreign trusts. in |