There was an interesting discussion yesterday week on a resolution
of Mr. O'Shaughnessy's, seconded by Lord Lymiug- ton, in favour of the application of the principle of compulsion to Irish education. Mr. O'Shaughnessy brought out that though 90 per cent, of the children who ought to go to school in Ireland are really on the rolls, this is in reality only nominal, a very considerable number of them not attending often enough to get any real instruction. The average daily attendance is only 453,000, though 1,100,000 are nominally on the rolls. Forty-one per cent, of the children on the rolls make less than 80 attendances in the year, and more than half the children on the rolls make less than 100 attendances in the year. Dr. Lyon Playfair,—who was yesterday week succeeded in the Chairman- ship of Committees by Sir Arthur Otway,—made a very in- teresting speech, in which he brought out the fact that a much larger proportion of Irish criminals than of English and Scotch criminals can read and write,—a fact which he attributed to the inadequacy of their teaching, but which Mr. O'Connor Power attributed, with more plausibility, to the deficiency of remunera- tive labour, seeing that so many more Irish criminals retain, during their criminal practices, the learning they have gained at school, while English and Scotch criminals have been either wholly destitute of learning, or, having acquired a little for a time, have yet lost it again. Mr. Trevelyan accepted for the Government Mr. O'Shaughnessy's resolution, though declining to put it in force at once, and pointing out the great delicacy of the position in relation to the religions difficulty in Ireland, and also the difficulty caused by poverty, distance from any school, and want of proper clothing- Mr. Trevelyan announced that the Treasury had consented to a grant for the organisation of proper training schools for Irish teachers, which would, he hoped, add greatly to the efficiency of the Irish schools,—one cause of the low standard attained by the children. On the whole, the discussion was a very satisfac- tory one.
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