Parliamentary Grant "unless the school premises are healthy, well lighted, warmed, drained and ventilated, properly furnished, supplied with suitable offices, and contain in the principal schoolroom and class-rooms at least 80 cubical feet of internal space, and 8 square feet of area, for each child in average attendance." From eighteen to twenty-two inches in length of desk and bench should be provided for each child, the exact length depending upon the age of the children.

With reference to the question whether schools held in chapels may be counted as efficient schools, and will be eligible for annual grants, the Education Department have stated:-"No room commonly known or designated as a chapel will be accepted; but schools held in schoolrooms fitted partly for divine service may be included in the recognised school accommodation of a district; provided (1) that the portion of the schoolroom furnished for chapel purposes is divided off during the week by a strong movable partition (not a curtain or light screen) reaching to the ceiling; (2) that the remainder of the room is duly supplied with school fittings and apparatus; and (3) that its use for divine service does not interfere with its occupation during school hours or with the efficiency of the school held in it."

Supply of Schools in case of Deficiency.

6. Where the Education Department, in the manner provided by this Act, are satisfied and have given public notice that there is an insufficient amount of public school accommodation for any school district, and the deficiency is not supplied as hereinafter required (1), a school board shall be formed for such district, and shall supply such deficiency; and in case of default by the school board the Education Department shall cause the duty of such board to be performed in manner provided by this Act. (2)

(1) See secs. 8, 9, and 10.

(2) As to the proceedings of the Education Department when the school board are in default, see secs. 63–66.

Regulations for Conduct of Public Elementary School.

7. Every elementary school (1) which is conducted in accordance with the following regulations shall be a public elementary school within the meaning of this Act (2); and every public elementary school shall be conducted in accordance with the following regulations (a copy of which regulations shall be conspicuously put up in every such school), namely:

(1.) It shall not be required, as a condition of any child being admitted into or continuing in the school, that he shall attend or abstain from attending any

Sunday school or any place of religious worship, or that he shall attend any religious observance or any instruction in religious subjects in the school or elsewhere, from which observance or instruction he may be withdrawn by his parent, or that he shall, if withdrawn by his parent, attend the school on any day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which his parent belongs: (3)

(2.) The time or times during which any religious observance is practised or instruction in religious subjects is given at any meeting of the school shall be either at the beginning or at the end, or at the beginning and the end, of such meeting, and shall be inserted in a time-table to be approved by the Education Department, and to be kept permanently and conspicuously affixed in every schoolroom; and any scholar may be withdrawn by his parent from such observance or instruction without forfeiting any of the other benefits of the school: (4)

(3.) The school shall be open at all times to the inspection of any of Her Majesty's Inspectors, so, however, that it shall be no part of the duties of such inspector to inquire into any instruction in religious subjects given at such school, or to examine any scholar therein in religious knowledge or in any religious subject or book: (5)

(4.) The school shall be conducted in accordance with the conditions required to be fulfilled by an elementary school in order to obtain an annual Parliamentary Grant. (6)

(1) For definition of the term "elementary school," see sec. 3.

(2) No Parliamentary Grant can now be made to any school which is not a public elementary school conducted in accordance with the regulations prescribed by this section (sec. 96). In the case of a school provided by a school board, not only are the regulations referred to to be observed, but no religious catechism, or religious formulary distinctive of any particular denomination, is to be taught in the school (sec. 14).

(3) The term "parent" includes guardian and every person who is liable to maintain, or has the actual custody of, any child (sec. 3). It is not specified in what manner the parent is to “ withdraw" the child from religious instruction and observances in the school. It would be convenient that the notice of the parent's wish in the matter should be given in writing, but a verbal intimation to the managers or the teacher would probably be decmed sufficient. When no such notice or intimation has been received, and the child refuses or fails to attend the religious instruction or observances in

the school, steps should be taken to ascertain from the parent whether or not it is his intention that the child should be withdrawn from such instruction and observances.

The latter part of the sub-section was added on the motion of Mr. Serjeant Simon, and was specially intended to meet the cases of Jewish and Roman Catholic children.

In a case in which it appeared that the vicar had distributed on a Sunday to children attending the National day school—a public elementary school— prizes connected with secular subjects, the Education Department stated that they considered that prizes for secular knowledge given to children in any public elementary school should be open to all scholars, and should be distributed at a time when religious instruction is not given.

(4) When the school is held both in the morning and in the afternoon, the religious observance or instruction may take place not only at the beginning or end, or beginning and end, of the day's secular instruction, but of the morning and afternoon meetings respectively. A parent may withdraw his child "from" the religious observance or instruction, but the child is not to be withdrawn from the school during the observance or instruction when the school arrangements will admit of secular and religious instruction being carried on in different parts of the school at the same time.

It rests with the school board or the managers of the school, as the case may be, to determine the duration of the morning and afternoon meetings of a public elementary school, subject to not less than two consecutive hours in the case of scholars above seven years of age, and one hour and a half in the case of those under seven years of age, being devoted to secular instruction at each meeting. (See New Code, p. 369.) The Education Department do not decide what time shall be devoted to religious instruction.

At a meeting of the Committee of Council on Education, on the 7th of February, 1871, the following resolutions with reference to the provisions of this section were adopted :-"(1) That the time-table of each public elementary school shall be submitted to the inspector of the district, at his first visit to the school after the 30th of April, 1871. (2) That the inspector shall enter on every time-table which fulfils the requisite conditions,' Approved, on behalf of the Education Department,' with his signature and the date of his visit. (3) That the inspector may approve any time-table which, while conforming to sec. 7 (No. 2) of the Education Act in respect of the time or times appointed for religious observances or instruction, sets apart for instruction in secular subjects at least two consecutive hours at each morning and afternoon meeting, and one hour and a half at each evening meeting of the school. (4) That the inspector shall not express any opinion as to the time or times appointed for religious observances, or instruction, or as to the nature of such instruction, but shall confine himself to seeing that the prescribed amount of time is secured for secular instruction. (5) That before signing the time-table the inspector shall satisfy himself: (a) that a copy of the regulations contained in sec. 7 of the Education Act is conspicuously put up in the school; (b) that the time-table is printed, or written, in distinct characters, and that sufficient copies of it are provided to be put up in every schoolroom; (c) that if the school premises admit of it, the children withdrawn by their parents from religious observances or instruction receive, by themselves, instruction in secular subjects during the time or times set apart for religious instruction or observances. (6) That the inspector, at any visit which he pays to a school without notice, shall report to the Education

F

Department if he finds that the work of the school is not being carried on according to the approved time-table, or that the time-table itself is not exhibited in every schoolroom. (7) That if any five parents or guardians of scholars for the time being attending a school make complaint in writing to the Education Department that a time-table, approved by the inspector, is not in accordance with this minute, the Education Department, on receiving such complaint, shall make such inquiry and order in the matter as they may think fit."

The minute of the 7th of February, 1871, relating to the approval of timetables, is modified by a minute of the 2nd of April, 1878, which records the following Resolution of the Committee of Council on Education:

"1. That the time-table of each public elementary school shall be submitted to the inspector of the district at every visit he pays to the school.

"3. That the inspector may approve any time-table which, while conforming to sec. 7 (2) of the Elementary Education Act, 1870, in respect of the time or times appointed for religious observances or instruction, sets apart at each meeting of a school, for the instruction in secular subjects of each class or division of the school, at least the amount of time prescribed by Article 23 of the Code.

66

3(a.) Provided that at each meeting of a school instruction in secular subjects is continuously given for the prescribed time, by or under the personal supervision of the principal teacher, and that there is a class-room attached to the school; a time-table may be approved which provides for religious instruction (in accordance with the provisions of sec. 7, and in board schools of sec. 14 (2), of the Act of 1870,) being given in the class-room to separate classes or divisions of the school, either at the beginning or end of the meeting; and the time of secular instruction need not be the same for the whole school.

"3(b.) If there is no class-room attached to a school, the time for secular instruction must be the same for the whole school."

See also letters of instructions to Her Majesty's inspectors with reference to these resolutions and to alterations in time-tables in Appendix, p. 414, and also note, p. 98.

In a circular letter issued to Her Majesty's inspectors of schools on the 16th of January, 1878, the Education Department state as follows:-" It should never be forgotten that a child withdrawn from the whole or part of the religious teaching or observances of a school, should in no way be subjected to disparaging treatment on account of his parent having thought fit to avail himself of his statutory right in this matter. But, on the other hand, in your communications respecting the arrangements of the time-tables, you will remember that you have no right to interfere in any way with the liberty allowed by statute to managers of providing for religious teaching and observances at the beginning and end of the two daily school meetings. In your allusions to this subject and to the conscience clause, you will be most careful not to lead managers or teachers to suppose that the complete provision which has now been made by the Legislature for protecting the rights of conscience, as an essential part of a system of compulsory attendance, and the limitation of the necessary examination by Her Majesty's inspectors to secular subjects, imply that the State is indifferent to the moral character of the schools, or in any way unfriendly to religious teaching."

Sec. 7 of the 39 & 40 Vict., c. 79, post, renders it the duty of school boards and school attendance committees to report to the Education Department any

infraction of the provisions of this section in any public elementary school within their district which may come to their knowledge, and also to forward to the Education Department any complaint which they may receive of the infraction of these provisions.

(5) An amendment was proposed in committee on the Bill which would have expressly precluded any of Her Majesty's inspectors from inquiring as to religious instruction in a school, or examining the scholars in religious knowledge, but it was opposed by the Government on the ground that the clause was only intended to apply to that portion of an inspector's time during which he was acting as a public servant, and that the adoption of the amendment would amount to an invasion of private liberty. As to examinations in religious subjects of children in a public elementary school not provided by a school board, by an inspector other than one of Her Majesty's inspectors, see sec. 76.

(6) As to the conditions referred to, see sec. 97 and Article 17 of the New Code in the Appendix, p. 363.

PROCEEDINGS FOR SUPPLY OF SCHOOLS.

Determination by Education Department of Deficiency of Public School Accommodation.

8. For the purpose of determining with respect to every school district the amount of public school accommodation, if any, required for such district, the Education Department shall, immediately after the passing of this Act, cause such returns to be made as in this Act mentioned (1); and on receiving those returns, and after such inquiry, if any, as they think necessary, shall consider whether any and what public school accommodation is required for such district; and in so doing they shall take into consideration every school, whether public elementary or not, and whether actually situated in the school district or not, which in their opinion gives, or will when completed give, efficient elementary education to, and is, or will when completed be, suitable for the children of such district. (2)

(1) Secs. 67-71 contain provisions with regard to the mode of obtaining the returns, the local authority by whom they are to be made, the payment of expenses connected with their preparation, the proceedings on default of the local authority to furnish the requisite particulars, and the appointment of inspectors to make inquiries in the case of defective returns. As to the information required by the forms of return issued by the Education Department, see note to sec. 67.

The 36 & 37 Vict., c. 86, sec. 19, post, enables the Education Department, when they deem it desirable, to appoint persons to make the returns which they might require the local authority to furnish.