Mr. Asquith, who closed the debate, declined to reply in
a controversial spirit to the points raised by Mr. Balfour. He protested against the assumption of the Opposition that the Bill was to be put forward as the last word which the Government had to say on the subject. On behalf of the Government, he stated that they were ready and anxious to listen to any suggestions or criticisms for the modification of the terms and conditions under which facilities were given which were not inconsistent with the fundamental principle of the Bill. In this respect they had " an elastic and open mind." Mr. Asquith, after justifying special treatment of the Roman Catholics on the ground of their standing in a separate category from the Anglicans, noted that the objections of Mr. Redmond and Mr. Dillon were not so much questions of principle as of terms and conditions, and declared that the Government were sincerely anxious to translate their desire for conciliation into legislation, subject always to one transcending condition,—. " the maintenance by the central authority of an irreducible and always rising standard of educational efficiency." On a division, Lord Balcarres's amendment was rejected by 165 votes (370 to 205), and the Bill was read a second time.
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