time, but not oftener than once in every year (sec. 67); see also the 36 & 37 Vict., c. 86, sec. 19, post.

As to the proceedings in the case of a district where there is no school board, see secs. 8-10; and where there is a school board, sec. 18.

MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF SCHOOLS BY
SCHOOL BOARD.

Management of School by School Board.

14. Every school provided by a school board shall be conducted under the control and management of such board. in accordance with the following regulations:

(1.) The school shall be a public elementary school within the meaning of this Act; (1)

(2.) No religious catechism or religious formulary which is distinctive of any particular denomination shall be taught in the school. (2)

(1) For definition of the term "public elementary school," see sec. 7. In order to render a school a public elementary school it is necessary under sec. 7 of the Act that it "shall be conducted in accordance with the conditions required to be fulfilled by an elementary school in order to obtain an annual parliamentary grant." In the case of The Queen on the prosecution of the Buckingham School Board v. The Town Council of Buckingham, which came before the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice on the 15th of November, 1876, a question was raised as to the effect of this provision. It appeared that a rule nisi had been granted for a mandamus to order the defendants as the rating authority for the borough of Buckingham to pay to the school board of the borough a sum of £150 to meet a deficiency in the school fund. The deficiency, at least in part, was in respect of expenses on account of a school which, in the opinion of the Education Department, was not a public elementary school, and it appeared that the town council, in refusing to pay the amount called for by the precept, acted upon the advice of that Department. The school board, according to the affidavits, proposed to purchase a site for a school, and to borrow for the purpose, but as the consent of the Education Department was necessary to enable them to obtain a loan, and that consent was not given, the proposal was abandoned. The school board then hired a chapel, and fitted it up as a school, and it was in respect of this school that the question arose. For the Education Department it was argued that the school board had no authority to incur an expenditure in connection with a school which is not a public elementary school, and that this school was not a public elementary school, as it was not conducted in accordance with the conditions required to be fulfilled by an elementary school in order to obtain an annual parliamentary grant. One of those conditions is, that a "time-table" approved by the Education Department should be kept permanently and conspicuously affixed in the school-room. In the case of this school, no time-table had been approved by the Education Department, and there had been no visit or report on the school by one of Her

Majesty's inspectors of schools-such visit and report being necessary for the fulfilment of the conditions prescribed with reference to the parliamentary grant. It was not alleged, however, that the school board had not fulfilled these conditions, so far as they could do so independently of the Education Department. The Court made the rule absolute, but observed that it would not be satisfactory to come to a decision upon the affidavits then before them, and that they would have better materials for deciding the point, which was one of great importance, when the return to the mandamus was made. decision, however, has since been given by the Court on the question.

No

(2) This section, it will be observed, only applies to schools provided by school boards. It rests exclusively with the school board to determine whether or not there shall be any religious observance or instruction in the schools provided by them. Under no circumstances, however, is the religious instruction in any such school to include the teaching of any religious catechism or religious formulary which is distinctive of any particular denomination. Moreover, whatever religious observance or instruction may take place in the schools must be subject to all the conditions set forth in the regulations prescribed by sec. 7, and in accordance with the "time-table contemplated by that section. The Education Department, by sec. 16, are given stringent powers with the view of their meeting any case in which the school board permit any act in contravention of or fail to comply with the regulations prescribed by this section.

Schools transferred to a school board under the provisions of sec. 23 are, during such times as the school board have any control over the schools, to be deemed to be schools "provided ” by the school board, within the meaning of sec. 14. See also the 36 & 37 Vict., c. 86, sec. 13, post, with reference to schools connected with endowments, charities, or trusts accepted by school boards.

The School Board for London have passed the following resolutions with reference to religious instruction, prayers, and hymns, in schools provided by them :-"1. That in the schools provided by the board the Bible shall be read, and there shall be given such explanations and such instruction therefrom in the principles of morality and religion as are suited to the capacities of children; provided always (a) that in such explanations and instruction the provisions of the Act in secs. 7 and 14 be strictly observed, both in letter and in spirit, and that no attempt be made in any such schools to attach children to any particular denomination; (b) that in regard to any particular school the board shall consider and determine upon any application by managers, parents, or ratepayers of the district, who may show special cause for exemption of the school from the operation of this resolution, in whole or in part. 2. That such explanations and instruction as are recognised by the foregoing resolution shall be given by the responsible teachers of the school. 3. That in accordance with the general practice of existing elementary schools provision may be made for offering prayer and using hymns in schools provided by the board at the time or times' when, according to sec. 7, subsection 2, of the Elementary Education Act, 'religious observances' may be 'practised.' 4. That the arrangements for such religious observances' be left to the discretion of the teacher and managers of each school, with the right of appeal to the board by teachers, managers, parents, or ratepayers of the district; Provided always that, in the offering of any prayers and in the use of any hymns, the provisions of the Act in secs. 7 and 14 be strictly observed, both in letter and in spirit, and that no attempt be made to attach

children to any particular denomination. 5. That during the time of religious teaching or religious observance, any children withdrawn from such teaching or observance shall receive separate instruction in secular subjects. 6. That a copy of secs. 7 and 14 of the Elementary Education Act, 1870, and also of the regulations 1, 2, 3, and 4, must be hung up in a conspicuous part of the schoolroom. 7. That a syllabus of subjects of Bible instruction for one month in advance must be prepared by the teacher and forwarded to the clerk of the board at the beginning of each month."

The following rules have been laid down by the London School Board with regard to corporal punishment: (1) Every occurrence of corporal punishment must be formally recorded in a book kept for the purpose. (2) Head teachers must exercise the utmost caution in inflicting corporal punishment so as never to strike a child on any part of the head, either with the hand or with any instrument whatsoever. (3) Corporal punishment must not be inflicted during school hours. The name of any child to be punished shall be put down, and the cases of corporal punishment be dealt with at a particular time set apart for the purpose. Head teachers may inflict immediate corporal punishment in exceptional cases which, in their judgment, require such a course, but a special report of each case must be made by them in the punishment book, giving in full the reasons for departing from the ordinary rule of the board. (4) Assistant teachers and pupil teachers are absolutely prohibited from inflicting such punishment. The head teacher is held directly responsible for every punishment of the kind.

Appointment of Managers by School Board.

15. The school board may, if they think fit, from time to time delegate any of their powers under this Act except the power of raising money, and in particular may delegate the control and management of any school provided by them, with or without any conditions or restrictions, to a body of managers appointed by them, consisting of not less than three persons.

The school board may from time to time remove all or any of such managers, and within the limits allowed by this section, add to or diminish the number of or otherwise alter the constitution or powers of any body of managers formed by it under this section.

Any manager appointed under this section may resign on giving written notice to the board. The rules contained in the third schedule to this Act respecting the proceedings of bodies of managers appointed by a school board shall be

observed.

The school board are only authorised to delegate "powers under this Act," and it would appear that the regulations set forth in schedule 3 as to the

proceedings of the school board, so far as they are not inconsistent with the regulations prescribed by the same schedule with respect to the proceedings of managers, are applicable to the managers appointed by the school board.

Neglect by Board of Regulations of Public Elementary Schools.

16. If the school board do or permit any act in contravention of or fail to comply with the regulations according to which a school provided by them is required by this Act to be conducted, the Education Department may declare the school board to be, and such board shall accordingly be deemed to be, a board in default, and the Education Department may proceed accordingly; and every act or omission of any member of the school board, or manager appointed by them, or any person under the control of the board, shall be deemed to be permitted by the board, unless the contrary be proved.

If any dispute arises as to whether the school board have done or permitted any act in contravention of or have failed to comply with the said regulations, the matter shall be referred to the Education Department, whose decision thereon shall be final.

As to the regulations under which a school provided by a school board is to be conducted, see sec. 14; and as to the proceedings of the Education Department when the school board are in default, see secs. 63-66.

Fees of Children.

17. Every child attending a school provided by any school board shall pay such weekly fee as may be prescribed by the school board, with the consent of the Education Department, but the school board may from time to time, for a renewable period not exceeding six months, remit the whole or any part of such fee in the case of any child when they are of opinion that the parent of such child is unable from poverty pay the same, but such remission shall not be deemed to be parochial relief given to such parent.

to

The weekly fees to be paid by the children attending a board school, it will be observed, are to be approved by the Education Department. Whilst the Department do not object to a distinction being made between the fees charged to children under and over seven years respectively, they urge the desirability of not raising the fee paid by a child as he rises in the school. Such a regulation, they state, would be both a discouragement to proficiency

and an encouragement of one of the greatest practical evils with which the school boards will have to deal, namely, the non-attendance of elder children.

In a case in which it was proposed to charge a nominal fee-one farthing per week-the Education Department withheld their consent.

When it was proposed to charge a fee of one penny per week for all children attending a school board school, the Education Department drew attention to sec. 17, which enables the school board to remit the school fees in whole or part, when the circumstances of individual parents make it necessary to do so, and they stated: "In ordinary cases it seems to be more consistent with the intention and spirit of the Act that the school board should exercise that power, than that they should weaken the sense of parental obligation by throwing open a school indiscriminately to all comers on the payment of a fee suited only to the very poorest class of the community."

With regard to the question as to the prepayment of school fees, the Education Department have stated as follows:

"My lords approve of the rule requiring the payment of school fees in advance. It is the usual practice, gives parents an interest in securing the regular attendance of their children, and is the most certain and economical mode of collecting this part of the school income. It rests with each board to determine whether they will require prepayment as a condition of a child's admission to a school. If they do so my lords will assist the board in maintaining the rule by not regarding the refusal of admission to a child who does not bring the school fee in advance as a violation of Article 17 (a) of the New Code; but it must be distinctly understood that the board will take such measures as shall prevent the rule from having the effect of depriving children of education. For this purpose the teacher should report every case in which that rule is enforced to the board, who should, without delay, either (1) satisfy themselves of the parent's inability through poverty to pay the fee, and remit it under sec. 17 of the Elementary Education Act of 1870; or (2) take proceedings under their bye-laws to enforce the child's attendance, on the condition-payment of the school fee-provided by the 17th section. If, on the other hand, the board admits scholars without prepayment, they must either, if the school fee is not paid when it becomes due, remit such fee on the score of the parent's poverty, or proceed against him for its recovery. In any event the Education Department consider themselves bound to take such steps as they may find necessary to secure that in every board school the statutory obligations of the Act of 1870 are duly discharged by both school boards and parents before any annual grant is made on behalf of such school."

The question as to the right of school boards under the Education Act (Scotland) to insist on the prepayment of school fees was submitted by the Board of Education in 1875, to the Lord Advocate and Solicitor-General, in consequence of certain school boards having proposed to exclude from schools the children of parents who refused to pay in advance, and to proceed against such parents as defaulters. The opinion given was as follows "We are of opinion that it is within the power of every school board according to their discretion, not only to fix the amount of the fees to be paid for attendance at each school under their management, but also to determine the time and place of payment. It appears to us that the prepayment of school fees is not only a lawful, but a reasonable condition for the board to impose."