The Parliamentary Debates (Authorized Edition) Volume 125 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 Excerpt: ...hitherto adopted by the London School Board was to conduct its proceedings in the presence of the Press and he would hardly think the hon. Baronet would like to think there was any risk whatever that proceedings which had hithtrto been conducted in public would now be conducted in private. It was not in the interest of peace or public Iranquility that these proceedings should be conducted in private. They could not eliminate the denominational heat from these discussions so long as they had two olasses of schools; and if the proceedings of this body were not reported, .if there was the least suspicion of the suppression of them and their seclusion from the public eye, the suspicion outside would become tenfold more acute than dt was at the present time. It could do no harm to specify in this Act that the Education Committee should meet in public, and if there was any danger of its not meeting in public it was the duty of this House to prevent any such thing taking place. For these reasons he hoped the Amendment would receive the favourable consideration of the hon. Baronet. Sir WILLIAM ANSON gaid that the Amendment had been discussed as if the Government had a preference for private proceedings on the part of the Education Committee. No one had any desire that the proceedings should be in private; and the real question was whether the County Council should be allowed to regulate the procedure of its own Education Committee. With all their confidence in popularly-elected authorities, some hon. Members seemed never able to trust such authorities to do the thing they desired to be done unless they were constrained by an Act of Parliament. The London County Council was quite capable of regulating the proceedings of its own Committee. It was said that great finan..