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132] special interests of the Church of England. Mr. Balfour replied that the claim of the Church was not a demand for alms, but a claim for justice. Coming to more important points, he stated his belief that the courts of law had not interpreted the statutes relating to this question rightly, and the effect of the measure would be to put the clerical tithepayer in the position which he ought always to have occupied. Mr. Courtney's arguments that the rates were not to be considered as paid by the clergyman at all, and that to diminish the burden on a property was to endow that property were preposterous. He reminded the House that Nonconformist chapels enjoyed freedom from rates, but Nonconformists did not protest against this rate aid. If the class whom the bill would benefit were not the clergy of the Church of England, the measure would not be resisted with so much vehemence. The division was then taken, and the second reading was carried by 314 against 176 votes.

On more than one occasion, in letters to correspondents and in public meetings, Mr. Balfour had explained his attitude towards the establishment of a Catholic university for Ireland. On the debate on the Irish Estimates (June 23) he was able to speak from his place in the House, but still expressing only his own personal feelings. He dealt especially with what he regarded as the three causes that made the settlement of the matter difficult. The first was the failure of large portions of the community to realise how essential the highest education was to the true development of any community. Next came the extreme Protestant objection, which was largely due to ignorance of what was already being done in Ireland in the way of grants to Roman Catholic teaching. The third difficulty was the misapprehension as to the form of university to be set up. The university was, of course, not to be without chairs of philosophy or history, but these were to be the outcome of private endowment. Mr. Balfour ended by a statement of his position on the whole subject. He reminded the House that before the grant of Catholic emancipation, members of the same Ministry expressed opposite views on that question. It was, in fact, in accordance with our best political traditions that certain questions should be left open. Until, said Mr. Balfour, a change had taken place in public opinion, it would be impossible to make the establishment of a Roman Catholic University in Ireland a Government question. He would, however, himself endeavour to remove one by one the difficulties in the way arising from prejudice and ignorance. Mr. Dillon (Mayo, E.) welcomed Mr. Balfour's recognition of the illogical state of the subject. Elementary and technical education, both supported by parliamentary grants, were almost wholly applied to Roman Catholics without protest, but a Catholic university for the benefit of those who had already received State aid was not to be entertained. He urged Mr.