ported by public funds, which was one of the motives urged for the passage of the law of 1902.

The latest code or body of regulations for elementary public schools, passing into effect July 31, 1905, is cited as to its main provisions in Chapter XII. It marks a distinct advance over all previous regulations in respect to the treatment of the course of study, a matter in which the present secretary of the board of education, Mr. R. L. Morant, has shown deep personal interest. Formerly the subjects of instruction were comprised in two groups, one including obligatory subjects, the other subjects which might be taught under appropriate circumstances. The endeavor is now made to combine these subjects in one coherent whole, with directions as to maximum and minimum. requirements. The introduction to the code sets forth a high but eminently practical ideal of the purpose which should control the work of elementary schools.

In addition to the provisions respecting the course of study the code prescribes the minimum requirements with respect to the number of teachers, and the conditions of the school buildings, premises, and equipment, that must be met for a school to share in the Government grant.

Table VI (p. 808), examined in connection with Article XII of the code (p. 814), shows that at present the schools as a whole have not reached the standard in respect to the proportion of pupils to each certificated or adult teacher required by the Government. The rate of grant and the basis of allotment are shown in articles 25-34 (pp. 816, 817).

Chaper VI of the code (pp. 817, 818) relates to "higher elementary" schools, which are now carefully distinguished from the ordinary elementary schools. The higher elementary schools have gradually developed through an extension of the elementary school eurriculum, and in the large cities have come into competition with the secondary schools (endowed, proprietary, and private schools). The purpose of the present regulations is to provide, for pupils who can continue their studies up to 15 years of age, a four years' course of study, in which science shall predominate, and which shall be so correlated with the course of the elementary schools that pupils who have passed the fourth grade in the latter may be transferred to the higher grade school.

By reference to the brief conspectus of the system of public education in Scotland (pp. 820, 821) it will be seen that in this division of the Kingdom secondary schools were recognized by the law of 1872 and have been kept in pretty close relation with the elementary schools, thus avoiding the overlapping of schools and the friction between them which has disturbed England.

Chapter XII also includes a brief survey of the system of national education in Ireland, with an epitome of the results of recent investigations ordered by the Government with a view to devising plans for the better coordination and liberal support of the different classes of schools fostered and supervised by the Government (see pp. 825–827).

The physical condition of the poorer classes in England and Scotland has become a subject of great public interest in the last few years. Chapter XII presents a brief account of three special investigations ordered by the Government with a view to ascertaining the causes of physical deterioration and suggesting means of remedying this evil. The Royal Commission on Physical Training in Scotland, appointed in 1902, produced startling evidence of the low physical condition of school children in the classes, where food is scanty and the living conditions bad. The report of the commission led to the appointment of a special committee by the education department of Scotland to investigate the systems of physical training in use in schools and to draw up a model course of physical exercises suitable for children of school age. These efforts in Scotland were among the causes that led to the appointment in September, 1903, of a Government committee to inquire into the cause of "the alleged deterioration of certain classes of the population in England." The results of the three investigations referred to, as far as they relate to school life, are summarized in Chapter XII. Extensive citations are made from the report of the English committee relative to the existing agencies for supplying food to underfed children (see pp. 828-832).

Education in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.-Chapter I (pp. 1-23) presents a brief survey of education in the British provinces of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Full expositions of the systems of public instruction in these divisions of the British Empire have been given in previous Reports (see references, p. 11). In the present Report emphasis is placed upon the particulars in which these systems differ from those of our own States.

In Canada the traditional regard for parochial schools is manifested by the special recognition accorded them in the chief Provinces, Quebec and Ontario. In Quebec the schools are distinctively sectarianthat is, either Protestant or Roman Catholic-and are organized in two systems separately administered, although under the general direction of a single chief, the superintendent of public instruction. In Ontario the claims of the religious minority are recognized by a provision of separate schools where desired. The privilege is, however, seldom claimed excepting by adherents of the Roman Catholic Church and not invariably by them; although this denomination comprises about 18 per cent of the population, the enrollment in the Roman Catholic separate schools is 9 per cent of the total school enrollment (in 1902 45,960 pupils in a total of 454,088). The

right to establish separate schools was also granted in 1875 by the Dominion Parliament to the Northwest Territories. Since the chapter here considered was in press the establishment of two new Provinces out of portions of the Northwest Territories has been under consideration by the government. Great agitation has been excited throughout Canada by the proposition to provide by constitutional enactment that separate schools for Roman Catholics shall be maintained in the two Provinces. The proposition has been vigorously opposed on the ground that all legislation on school matters by the act of 1867, under which the union was constituted, is left to the provincial legislatures. The reopening of this question revived the bitterness of feeling that was manifested over the similar proposal in 1875, when this section was organized as a Territory, but recent elections seem to indicate that the measure finally proposed by the premier, Sir Wilfred Laurier, is regarded with much favor. In the present form the proposition is that in separate schools, whether Catholic or Protestant, the clergy shall have no voice or part in matters pertaining to secular education from 9 o'clock in the morning until 3.30 in the afternoon, but may then be admitted for half an hour to give such religious instruction as shall be approved by the local elected trustees.

The free school policy has been adopted in all the Provinces excepting Quebec, where it is very generally advocated. In Ontario fees are charged in the high schools, but may be and often are remitted.

The support of the schools in all the Provinces, not excepting Quebec, where the income from fees is small, is derived from provincial grants, local (city and township) appropriations, and local school taxes. The mode of appropriating the legislative grant differs in the different Provinces, but in all there is apparent the purpose to make this grant a means of stimulating local effort in behalf of the schools (see pp. 2–3).

In view of the attention awakened throughout the United States in the matter of teachers' salaries, the detailed statements respecting salaries paid in the several Provinces of Canada, which make up the larger part of the chapter, are of special interest (pp. 5-7).

The statistics of illiteracy for the entire Dominion (pp. 10, 11) show that whereas in 1891 in every group of 100 persons there were 17.5 illiterates over 5 years of age, in 1901 there were only 12.6 illiterates, or a decrease of 4.8 illiterates, over 5 years in every group of 100. The smallest proportion of illiterates over 5 years of age is in Ontario, viz, 7.8 in every group of 100 persons. This is a decrease since 1891 of 2.3 per each group.

Australia and New Zealand.-Under the act of 1900 constituting the Commonwealth of Australia the educational systems of the six

ED 1904 M-III

colonies thus united (now denominated original States), like those of the several Canadian Provinces, are independently administered. In each of the Australian States the control of public education is committed to a minister who is charged not only with the general administration of the system, but also with its local direction. He decides as to the establishment of school districts and schools and controls the school funds and properties. In each State the schools are supported by appropriations from the public treasury.

Before the union the several colonies were characterized by special efforts for adjusting the school provisions to the conditions of isolated rural districts. Recently the plan of conveying children at public expense to a central school has been adopted with great success, especially in Victoria (p. 14).

The question of religious instruction in public schools, which has excited much attention, has been variously settled in the different States; in Victoria and Queensland the schools are strictly secular; in South Australia unsectarian religious instruction is allowed; in New South Wales and West Australia religious instruction is allowed at an hour when children may be withdrawn whose parents so desire. Secondary education is fostered in the several States either by appropriations from the public treasury for that purpose or by State scholarships open to competition. Technical and higher education are also aided by legislative grants.

The chapter presents copious extracts from official reports with respect to the current operations of the several systems.

Detailed particulars with respect to the progress of education in New Zealand during the year 1902-3, furnished to this office by Mr. Mark Cohen, editor of the Dunedin Evening Star, are also given in the chapter here considered. Among the points emphasized by Mr. Cohen are the high rate of average attendance maintained, viz, 84.9 per cent of the enrollment; the effect of recent legislation in reducing the average number of children under the charge of one teacher, and the advance made in the provision for manual and technical education.

A brief survey is given of the efforts made during the last twentyfive years to devise a scheme for the superannuation of aged and infirm teachers. A bill embodying the proposals for a measure of this kind was introduced into the legislature in 1902, but no action has been taken with reference to it. Mr. Cohen expresses the opinion that "the teachers of the colony will be dealt with sooner or later in this regard as a branch of the civil service, which they ought to have been all along."

Higher education in England.-Chapter XIII (pp. 833-861) relates to higher education in England as affected by the law of 1902. The term "higher" in this connection corresponds in part to the term

"secondary" as used in this country; but under the heading "higher education" the English law includes, besides secondary schools distinctively so recognized, science and art schools fostered by the Government and evening schools, all of which are to be carefully distinguished from the "higher elementary" schools referred to in the previous chapter. One purpose of the recent legislation in England has been to bring these various institutions into an organized system in each administrative area with a view to increasing their efficiency and determining how public funds may be best used for extending this provision. The policy of the Government in this respect, however, is to stimulate local activity without impairing that free initiative in communities and institutions which is a cherished principle in England.

The extent of the authority with respect to higher education which the law of 1902 has committed to the county and municipal councils, the supervisory control in respect to this matter to be exercised by the board of education, and the measures already adopted by the central and local authorities in view of these duties are explained in the chapter considered.

The regulations for secondary schools issued by the board of education limit the classification to schools, day or boarding, which carry the education of each of their students up to and beyond the age of 16 years, and thus distinguish secondary schools from the higher elementary schools, which retain pupils to the fifteenth year only. In the category of secondary schools the regulations include three types of schools as recognized by the Schools Inquiry Commission of 1864 and the Secondary Education Commission of 1894, namely, "first-grade schools, leading up directly to the universities;" secondgrade schools, which stop short of that point as regards the majority of their scholars, "and third-grade schools, which do not attempt to carry education much beyond the age of 16" (p. 836).

A summary of the official report of the board, setting forth the classification and the number of "higher" institutions already brought under its supervision, is presented (p. 838).

The local authorities have thus far devoted themselves chiefly to the task of ascertaining the conditions to be dealt with in their respective areas as the first step toward organizing and extending the agencies for higher education. In this preliminary work the educational committees of Sheffield and Liverpool secured the services of Mr. Michael E. Sadler. The results of the exhaustive investigation into the provision for secondary and higher education made by Mr. Sadler in the cities named are embodied in two reports, which are reviewed in Chapter XIII. These reports are not only of great interest for the view they afford of the educational provision in two typical cities of England-one chiefly noted as a manufacturing center, the