48 Position of Belfast in Relation to Technical Instruction. 



for technical instruction, and if Belfast County Council 

 would but do its duty and try to make up for 

 past delay it would be enabled to formulate and carry 

 out such a scheme as would equal that of any city in 

 the kingdom, and be worthy of our educational and indus- 

 trial traditions and advancement. The Act provides for the 

 establishment of a Department of Agriculture and other 

 Industries and Technical Instruction, with the Chief Secretary 

 as President, and a Vice-President appointed by the Crown. 

 Mr. Gray mentioned that the technical instruction branch 

 refened more particularly to Belfast, and noted several matters 

 of importance connected with the duties of the Board of 

 Technical Instruction and the consultative Committee. The 

 funds at the disposal of the department, in addition to the cost 

 of administration, will be about ;^i66,ooo per annum, or 

 including departmental expenses, a total of ^200,000 per 

 annum. Of this amount a sum of ^55,000 per annum will be 

 allocated exclusively to technical instruction in Ireland, not 

 depending on an annual Parliamentary vote, but conferred by 

 direct endowment. It is not only possible, but it would be 

 desirable, for the county councils, say of Antrim and Down, to 

 work in unison with Belfast County Borough Council in the 

 working out of their respective schemes. All educational efforts 

 should be co-operative, and for this purpose scholarships may 

 be founded connected with National and other country and 

 town schools to enable students to pass on to the more im- 

 portant central school in Belfast. All educational agencies 

 should be considered in the scheme, so as to avoid friction or 

 overlapping. For this reason no really effective scheme can be 

 formulated unless with the co-operation of all our educational 

 agencies. The actual amount to which Belfast may be entitled 

 will depend upon the division to be made of the £55,000 by the 

 department with the concurrence of the Board of Technical 

 Instruction. Assuming that the division will be in equal parts, 

 then Belfast, in proportion to its population, would receive a 

 little over ;^ 10,000 a year from this source of income, exclusive 



