The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1911-03-11

interest on one million of the Irish |,
church surplus fund, purely Irish |
fund amounting to $4,000 year, and |
secondly the residue, after G7S,000 a |
year is given to the department Of |
agriculture, of Ireland's share OF the |
Whiskey money. 1t is the latter sum
which has fallen to the extent have
set out. But when We come to COM
pare the condition of intermediate ed
ucation in Ireland with it's condition
in England We find that in England, in
addition to the share of the whiskey
money, there is a grant on the esti- I
mates of G63O,000 year for inter.
mediate education in England. That
is the sum voted, and it is rapidly in
cfeasing. AS against that large sum
we get not one farthing. We get moth
ing from Irish sources. For ten years
we have been demanding that total
vote should be put on the estimates
in order that We might be able to dis
cuss the important question year after
year and draw attention to the unfair
ness in regard to Ireland every time
the estimates come up. If in the same
proportion as the whiskey money is
distributed we were to get grant for
intermediate education in Ireland from
the treasury the Irish proportion
would be ;e74,O00 per annum as
against e657,000 for English interme.
diate education. AS matters stand we
get absolutely nothing against that
sum. l may also just in a sentence or
two point to another fact to show that
Irish intermediate education, as COM
pared with English intermediate edu-
cation, is far more in need of state aid.
In past generations, except a very few
exhibitions in the Erasmus Smith
foundation and half a dozen small
grammar schools, all the ancient en-
doWments of Irish education were
confiscated and swept away, while in
England, as everyone knows, you have
in every county, and almost in every
parish, rich endowments of Interme-
diate education and grammar schools,
and therefore England is in a much
better position to do without assist
ance from the state than Ireland. We
see that as a matter of fact England
has grants which Ireland gets no
equivalent for. I respectfully submit
to the chancellor of the exchequer
that the provision he has announced
tonight as substitute in Ireland for
the whiskey money as a grant to Irish
education is utterly insufficient. We
can discuss this more fully when We
come to the second reading of the
budget, but warn him that the Irish
members cannot for a single moment
accept this arrangement as satisfac-
tory or as anything approaching what
would be satisfactory. The average
salary Of assistant intermediate teach
ers in England is very much higher
than in Ireland, although I find that
this moment, through their associa-
tion, they are complaining of the in
sutficiency of their remuneration. The
committee of inquiry in Ireland some
years ago reported that the salaries of
male teachers were ESQ and G45 for
females. The salaries in England con-
trast in a remarkable way with the
salary of eS3, and l am positively
certain that the average Is we'll under
8100. That, OF course is due to the
poverty of the schools, the want of
endowment and government grants.
That is all l have got to say at pres
ent, because | think tine matter will
be fully discussed, but 7 have thought
it right to warn the chancellor of the
eXchequer that the proposal on that
subject cannot be entertained.