the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant." MR. BRUCE said, there would be only only one Inspector for Ireland, and it was desirable that he should be under the same jurisdiction as the other Inspectors. MR. DELAHUNTY, in supporting the Amendment, expressed a hope that before another year elapsed the office of Lord Lieutenant would be abolished. Amendment negatived. Clause agreed to. Clauses 70 to 72 agreed to. Postponed Clause 15. MR. BRUCE said, the clause contained two sub-sections, one providing that no wages should be paid in public-houses, and the second, that all wages should be paid in money by the immediate employers of the men. He proposed to omit the second of these sub-sections, as the miners would be sufficiently protected by the Truck Acts. Next Session he should be prepared to introduce a Bill relating to the subject of wages generally. SIR ROBERT ANSTRUTHER was satisfied with the right hon. Gentleman's statement, and said he would not press the Amendment of which he had given notice. Clause, as amended, agreed to. Committee report Progress; to sit again To-morrow, at Two of the clock. GRAND JURIES (IRELAND) BILL. On Motion of The Marquess of HARTINGTON, Bill to amend "An Act for enabling Grand Juries in Ireland to borrow money from private sources on the security of Presentment, and for transferring to counties certain works constructed wholly or in part with public money," ordered to be brought in by The Marquess of HARTINGTON and Mr. ATTORNEY GENERAL for IRELAND. Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 226.] RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK (DISTRAINT) BILL. Select Committee on Railway Rolling Stock (Distraint) Bill nominated: Mr. FORTESCUE, Mr. SOLICITOR GENERAL, Sir DANIEL GOOCH, Mr. LEEMAN, Mr. TIPPING, Mr. HEYGATE, Mr. CHADWICK, Mr. STAVELEY HILL, Mr. HINDE PALMER, Mr. CAWLEY, Mr. TREVELYAN, Mr. ELLIOT, Mr. PRICE, Lord EDWIN ILL-TREVOR, and Mr. MUNTZ:-Five to be the quorum. WILDFOWL PROTECTION BILL. Select Committee on Wildfowl Protection Bill to consist of Twenty-three Members:- Colonel BARTTELOT, Colonel BERESFORD, Mr. BERESFORD HOPE, Mr. ALEXANDER BROWN, Mr. CowperTEMPLE, Mr. CHARLES DALRYMPLE, Mr. Dillwyn, Captain GREVILLE, Mr. VERNON HARCOURT, Mr. AUBERON HERBERT, Mr. ANDREW JOHNSTON, Sir Colonel PARKER, Mr. PELL, Mr. WALTER POWELL, MASSEY LOPES, Mr. MAGUIRE, Mr. MUNDELLA, Mr. CLARE READ, Mr. RIDLEY, Mr. HENRY SAMUELSON, Mr. SYKES, Mr. ARTHUR VIVIAN, and Sir DAVID WEDDERBURN: — - Seven to be the quorum. House adjourned at a quarter after Two o'clock. GALASHIELS JURISDICTION ACT AMEND MENT BILL. On Motion of The LORD ADVOCATE, Bill to amend the Act of the thirtieth and thirty-first years of Victoria, chapter eighty five, intituled "An Act to include the whole of the Burgh of Galashiels within the County, Sheriffdom, and Commissariat of Selkirk," ordered to be brought in by The LORD ADVOCATE and Mr. ADAM. Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 225.] SCHOOL BOARDS BILL. On Motion of Mr. WILLIAM EDWARD FORSTER, Bill to confirm certain Orders of the Education Department, and make further provision with respect to the Election of School Boards, and for passing Resolutions for an application for a School Board, ordered to be brought in by Mr. WILLIAM EDWARD FORSTER and Mr. WINTER BOTHAM. ARMY RE-ORGANIZATION-DEPOT CENTRES-OXFORD.-QUESTION. THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 224.] asked the Under Secretary of State for Mr. Bruen no doubt, was a temptation to the tradesmen of Oxford who had the good fortune to be the constituents of the right hon. Gentleman at the head of the War Office. The relations between a representative and his constituents were of a tender character, and he did not like to interfere with them; but the interests of the University in this instance were still higher. Then it must be remembered that, during the last year, the Government had treated the University as "a national institution," subjecting it to all the evils and drawbacks attendant on an institution of that character. They had pulled it to pieces, or turned it upside down, taken its money, and distributed that money as they pleased, and now they had in view a measure which would only add to these evils, instead of trying to mitigate them as much as possible. Whatever was done in a case of this kind ought to be done permanently; but whatever was done in opposition to the distinct wishes of the teaching body of the University could not be done permanently. These considerations ought to outweigh any advantages which Oxford might possess. He hoped the noble Marquess would be able to give their Lordships an assurance that the project had been abandoned; or, if not, that he would promise them that it should not be carried out until the whole of the teaching body, who were scattered, should have an opportunity of speaking their feelings to the War Office. War, Whether his attention has been called to the proposed establishment of a Military Depôt at Oxford, and to the strong objections expressed by the University to that measure? The noble Marquess said, the proposal to which his Question had reference met with the unanimous opposition of the University. Beginning with Professor Rogers, whose advanced Liberal opinions were well known, and ranging from him upwards or downwards, as their Lordships might wish, the political and theological opinion of every man in the University was opposed to the measure which the War Office had in view. In the first place, the military and academic lives did not fit in well. Officers in the Army had a considerable amount of duty to perform, but they had plenty of leisure, and with it high spirit and abundant animal health. The experience of the teachers in the University led them to conclude that the facilities of amusement for the students were already sufficient, and that it was not necessary to adopt means to stimulate the students to avail themselves of opportunities to amuse themselves. The luxury of our age made University life more expensive than it was formerly, and rendered it more difficult to restrain the young men from habits which were inconsistent with the pursuit of their studies. It was felt that the existence of a military mess of even a small number of officers in the vicinity of the University would not lessen but increase the evil. Again, if a military depôt were once established at Oxford, the War Office could not abolish it hereafter, even if it were found to be very objectionable. There was another point of objection, to which he would not refer further than to say there was a fear that the establishment of a military depôt would have a tendency to introduce the Contagious Diseases Act in Oxford. The War Office were, he believed, of opinion that Oxford was a convenient centre, being the junction of several lines of railway; but he would ask the War Office authorities to consider whether in this respect High Wycombe did not possess sufficient advantages in these respects, while in respect of being surrounded by a large area and being nearer to London it had recommendations superior to those of Oxford. It was said that the depôt would cause the expenditure of £70,000 a-year in Oxford, which, THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE wished, in the first place, to assure the noble Marquess that the arguments he had urged with so much force had not only been considered, but fully and patiently considered by the War Office. The Committee, to whom had been entrusted the task of recommending certain divisions of the country into districts for military purposes, had weighed with the utmost care all the advantages and disadvantages of the different centres that were proposed, and that extreme care had been equally exercised by those on whom would fall the duty of giving effect to the recommendations of the Committee. But he must tell the noble Marquess that it was not in his power on the present occasion to give any assurance as to the selection or non-selection of Oxford. The decision must, in fact, depend on circumstances connected with adjoining districts, and till these had been fully considered he could give no answer to circumstances, in the non-training period the Question of the noble Marquess. of the year there would only be 250 men The objection founded on the supposed stationed at each centre, of whom 200 disadvantages in a moral respect of the would be recruits undergoing a severe presence of a body of troops had been course of training, and 50 old soldiers argued from other quarters. There was invalided or to be drafted. There would another objection founded on the argu- be in all about 15 officers; but he was ment that it was inexpedient to make informed on authority that the number any encroachment on ground likely to of dining members of the mess-that be required for University extensions, mess to which the noble Marquess looked and a further one founded on the argu- with so much apprehension-was not men that the proximity of a barrack likely to exceed six, besides which the would lead to a deterioration of property majority of the officers would be, in all in Oxford. He would preface his answer probability, married men. He thought to these objections by making two state- that if the noble Marquess looked at the ments, the first having reference to the map, he would find that Oxford possessed site of the proposed depôt, and the much larger railway facilities than High second, to the time and place of the Wycombe. With regard to the suggesannual training which might or might tion of the noble Marquess that the not take place hereafter at Oxford. Most Secretary of State for War might have of the arguments of the noble Marquess a bias in favour of Oxford because the would be disposed of by this statement citizens were his constituents, he did not -that should the depôt be fixed at Ox- think it necessary to defend his right ford it would be neither within or near hon. Friend from that suspicion, and he the University grounds, but at a dis- would pass it by. As to the argument tance of two or three miles. With re- that if the depôt were established at gard to the training of the Militia, if Oxford there would be a difficulty in Oxford were selected, that would take removing it hereafter, if such an arguplace in vacation and not in Term time. ment were allowed to prevail against One of the recommendations of the present practical advantages it would Committee proceeded on the belief that, not be easy to come to any decision on as there was probably a natural attach- such a subject. While he believed that ment felt by the Militia corps for their the arguments against Oxford were not traditional headquarters, it would be so gigantic as the noble Marquess seemed expedient to retain High Wycombe for to suppose, their Lordships might be the Buckingham Militia, so that if Ox-assured that the matter had not been ford were selected for the depôt, that decided, and that no decision would be arrangement would diminish by one-half come to on it without mature considerathe number of troops which would be at tion. Oxford. Should any inconvenience be found to arise from the assembling of large bodies of Militia in or near the University of Oxford, it might be possible to have the training of that body carried on at Aldershot, or some other military station, and so relieve the University from any dangers that might arise from that source. The number of troops that would be stationed in or near Oxford would be very inappreciable for interfering with the order and discipline of the University. In most of the proposed centres throughout the country a mistaken impression prevailed as to the number of troops that would be stationed there, and their conversion into what were known as garrison towns, because, by a reference to the Report that had been laid upon their Lordships' Table, it would be seen that, under ordinary The Marquess of Lansdowne THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH said, he should have thought, only for the last sentence in the speech of the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Lansdowne), that the question had already been decided by the War Office. What was it that enabled the noble Marquess to say that the site of the barracks would not be within two or three miles of the University? THE DUKE OF RICHMOND said, he would be very glad if the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Lansdowne) would kindly give the House the basis of his calculation that the number of dining members of the mess would be only six, and that the majority of the officers would be married? THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE replied that no site had been selected at Oxford. What he meant when speaking of the distance of the site was, that care | occupied young men in close proximity would be taken that it should not be of the University would be an incentive nearer to the University than two or to idleness in persons in statu pupillari three miles. As a considerable number that would not otherwise exist. The noble of the officers would have lodging-money, Marquess (the Marquess of Lansdowne) he believed he was correct in saying that seemed shocked at anyone suggesting the dining members of the mess would the possibility of the Secretary for War not exceed six. He believed it was pro- being influenced by his constituents; bable that the commanding officer would but the noble Marquess himself, in the arrange so that the majority of the debate on the promotion of officers of officers in the depôt would be married the Scientific Corps, did not hesitate to officers. state that noble Lords on the Opposition side were influenced by personal motives. Sic volo sic jubeo seemed to be the principle of the War Office. He should not move an Address, or propose to invite the House to expose itself to the insults of the Secretary of State for War; but it was possible that a legislative opportunity might arise without their being exposed to such rebuffs for ventilating the subject, and, if necessary, he should not scruple to ask their Lordships to avail themselves of it. LORD SANDHURST said, that some of the objections that had been raised by the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Salisbury), which had been heard in different parts of the country in the treatment of similar questions, depended rather upon his appreciation of the character of military officers than otherwise, and, perhaps, evinced a want of acquaintance with the facts on the part of those who permitted themselves to make such observations on the condition of society as affecting the officers in Her Majesty's service; but having been so many years connected with the Army as regimental and commanding officer he took exception to any suggestions which impugned the character of the officers of the Army and the depreciation of their character, and more especially of the younger officers. It was impossible not to attribute the statements of the consequences that were likely to flow from the establishment of depôt centres as given in all the representations that had come from various quarters, to the ignorance of military society. He was confident that everyone who had had an opportunity of forming a judgment on the matter would say that no small communities in civil life exhibited a higher morality or better order than the small military communities represented by officers' messes. That being so, he did not think any civil community, even an academic one, would be exposed to any danger from the presence of a depôt, whether the number of the dining members of the mess were six or sixteen, or whether the majority of the officers were single men or married men. THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY explained, or rather he protested against the involuntary statement of his opinion by the noble and gallant Lord opposite (Lord Sandhurst). He did not state or suggest anything derogatory of the Army; but that a number of imperfectlyVOL. CCXII. [THIRD SERIES.] EDUCATION (SCOTLAND) BILL—(No. 183.) (The Duke of Argyll.) SECOND READING. Order of the Day for the Second Reading, read. THE DUKE OF ARGYLL, in moving that the Bill be now read the second time, said, it was now three years since he had the honour of directing the attention of the House to the subject of education in Scotland, and of asking the assent of their Lordships to a measure to amend and extend the law which now existed in Scotland on that subject. Three years might be a very long or they might be a very short period in a Parliamentary history. He thought he might say that the three years which had elapsed since 1869 had been a long period in the Parliamentary history of Scotch education. It had been a period, however, which had not been allowed to remain idle-during that time the question had been most keenly debated. had been debated by all political parties and all religious parties, and discussed in its principles and incidents, in all its bearings and in all its probable results, all over the kingdom. He thought he might say, too, that, whatever might be their own individual opinions or predilections as to what in the abstract would be the best system of national education, their Lordships no longer stood in the Z It same position that they occupied in 1869. | Bill. Some things had been conclusively established; some things had been carried out by Parliament from which their Lordships could not now retreat, and the consequences of which they must all be prepared to accept. These changes were well worth reviewing. Three years since there was no such thing, properly speaking, as national education for England. The Parliament of the country had never acknowledged it to be its duty to see to the complete education of the people. For 30 or 40 years Parliament had been granting sums of money to various Churches and Societies, under certain conditions, towards the education of the people. During that period very great efforts had been made-especially by the Church of England-to turn to the best advantage the educational resources placed at their disposal. He did not think that too much praise could be bestowed upon the clergy of the Church of England for the self-sacrificing zeal they had brought to bear in the cause of education, and for the efforts they had made-often without due assistance from the laity-to fill up the great blank which had been left through the carelessness of former Parliaments. Parliament had not during those three years stood indifferent; but notwithstanding such aid and such exertions, they came to the conclusion that the system then in existence was inadequate and inefficient, and they set it aside. For his own part, he had no hesitation in saying three years ago that he had no objection to the denominational system of education. He still thought it was about the most natural organization to which the work of education could be entrusted. His theory of education was simple. It was that the duty of education lay first on parents. There was a call on parents in their collective capacity in any educational organization that might be formed; and, therefore, the organization of Churches fully agreeing on religious teaching was one of the most natural that could be formed. Failing that duty being performed by the parents, and failing its being performed by Churches, he thought the duty of the State came in. And this was very much the theory acted on in the matter of education by Parliament since 1869, and this was what was proposed to be done in regard to education in Scotland by the present The Duke of Argyll Notwithstanding the energetic exertions of the Church of England and other Churches, assisted by the Foreign and British School Society, the population had so outgrown the organization that it was impossible the work could be done; and Parliament, having come to the conclusion that hundreds and thousands of children were growing up without religious or secular education, passed the Act of 1870. Now, the Act of 1870, establishing national education in England, was, like almost every great Act in this country, a compromise. It did not take any abstract principle and follow it to a legitimate conclusion; but simply took the practical view, that, as the Churches had failed to perform the work, and as every other voluntary organization had either neglected or failed to perform it, the Legislature ought to step in. This principle was then laid down-that it was the duty and right of the State to see that the education of the people was ample and sufficient. The Act of 1870 gave compulsory power over parents in case of neglect, and it gave certain powers as to the rating of communities for the purposes of education. Very powerful forces had to be overcome before that Act could be passed. In the first place, there was in this country an extreme objection to the multiplication of rates; in the next place, the Bill of 1870 had to overcome what was a still more powerful feeling-namely, the attachment of Churches to their own denominational schools. Lastly, the Bill of 1870 had to break through the sincere fear as to the danger to the religious education of the people in any system of national education. Now, as regarded Scotland, it could not be denied that for a very long time an admirable national system of education had existed in Scotland to a considerable extent; but it had been outgrown by the national want. He did not deny its quality, which was good; but something more was rendered necessary by the great increase in the population, by the growth of large cities, and by the development of mining industry-there was a great necessity in respect of the enormous increase of the population in the counties and the great cities, for additional school accommodation, and a fresh geographical distribution of those schocls. was not going to trouble their Lordships with the statistics which he gave on the He |