school for education, and the schools lie at considerable distances from one another. In fixing the uniform fee, if regard is paid to the best class of the neighbourhood, wrong is done to all with lower incomes who require schooling; but if to the worst, the equitable interests of ratepayers are overlooked. In one of the large school board schools the weekly fee is 4d.; in four it is 3d. (including one temporary school); in six it is 2d. (likewise including one temporary school); and in two of the new permanent schools, besides several temporary schools, it is id.

Mr. Stokes has a very interesting paragraph on the way in which board schools are drawing scholars from private schools in Southwark. There is much to be said on both sides of this question; and, doubtless, in introducing the Act of 1870 Mr. Forster had no idea of this kind in his mind. It was not to draw the children of well-to-do parents from private schools that the Act of 1870 was passed, but to sweep the street Arabs out of the gutters, and compel them to come in. At the same time, the tradesman class has to pay heavy rates in support of education, and why should it not share in the benefit it helps to provide? Private schools, taken as a whole, must always be inferior to schools which have the benefit of an annual inspection. Yet there is perhaps no class more estimable than that of private schoolmasters, and it seems a thousand pities that owing to our heterogeneous educational system they should be exposed to such calamitous vicissitudes :

So little is known about the condition of private schools, and indeed that condition appears to vary so considerably, that I am unable to estimate the benefit accruing to children from a change to the new school board schools. The parents, in many cases, give a preference to the private schools, chiefly, perhaps, because being small they are thought to be select, but send their children to school board schools under the influence of a lower charge. Not only is the school fee lower in the board school than in the private school, but the board school fee covers a variety of incidental charges which swell the cost of a private school. Thus, for example, in the Monnow Road Board School, for a weekly fee of 4d., a boy obtains not only careful and efficient instruction in a clean, warm, well-ventilated room, but also the use of a liberal supply of school books and materials, all the copy-books and home-task books he needs, and even the paper and compasses he employs in drawing. The keeper of a private school, who has to pay rent and support himself by payments from his limited number of scholars, is wholly unable to compete with a public school so liberally conducted.

Southwark has about 250,000 inhabitants, and is thus a borough nearly as large as Birmingham. Mr. Stokes thinks its connection with London advantageous in this respect-that it has lessened the school board rate; but he is of opinion that if it had had a school board of its own the deficiency in school provision would not be so large as it is. The whole of Mr. Stokes's report is written in a sensible and businesslike manner, and he confines himself in every papagraph to the state of the schools in Southwark. Those elaborate dissertations which Mr. Lowe thought better fitted for the Edinburgh or the Quarterly, he has managed successfully to steer clear of.

Mr. Turnbull occupies nearly a page in informing their lordships concerning the change in his district. Lord Sandon and the Duke of Richmond are both ordinarily supposed to attend to this very thing;

but here is an inspector, with infinite detail, informing them what towns have been added to his district and what towns have been taken away. Possibly Mr. Turnbull would reply that Lord Sandon knows, but it is for the sake of the public that he gives the information. The short answer to that is that the public do not want to know. Mr. Turnbull's report is almost too local; and it deals with a part of the country which is not the most charming. But the inhabitants are quick-witted; and when the school board, leaving the art of persuasion, tries to force them. to send their children to school, they have various ways of successful opposition. In the district of Dudley private adventure schools are very popular. The clerk states that great difficulty is experienced in making children attend efficient schools, in consequence of the large number of private adventure schools in the district. There are more than 47 of these schools, and more than 1,400 children profess to attend them. Parents like these schools "because they know that registers are not kept, and that they can send their children at any hour, and that it is therefore difficult for the school officers to prove before the magistrates absence from school."

But the inhabitants of West Bromwich oppose the school board in a more open manner. They have read the Act of Parliament, they know the utmost the school board can do, and they leave the school board to do it. The school board, owing to the number it has to deal with, can only summon them once a month. The maximum fine is only 5s.; so, with great intelligence, they have come to the conclusion that their children will earn sufficient in the twelve months to yield a considerable sum after the payment of a monthly fine of 5s. This is what Mr. Turnbull says about West Bromwich :

:

It is estimated that about 1,800 children who ought to be at school are not there. Two causes for this fact are stated. (1) Parents, knowing that the board cannot compel the attendance of a child under the age of five years, do not send their children to school so young as formerly. (2) Fear of the board has diminished, and parents have relapsed into old habits of carelessness and indifference, sending their boys to work, and keeping their girls at home for all kinds of trifling reasons. It pays such parents to send their boys to work, for if the board could summon the parents once a month (which is as often as the board can, there being so many offenders), they would receive in wages during that period six or seven times the amount of the highest fine (5s.) which can be imposed under the Elementary Education Act. A higher penalty can be imposed under the Factory Act, but the factory inspectors are too few to cope effectually with the evil.

Mr. Turnbull has many sensible remarks in his reports, but he makes what he must be quite aware is a foolish suggestion. He recommends that in future no school shall receive an undiminished grant unless something, not now required, is satisfactorily done. Let our readers make a guess what it is, and if they guessed a dozen times they would not find it out. Mr. Turnbull shall tell them in his own words, and then they will (will they?) thank him for his suggestions :

The power of an examining body is immense. What is asked for teachers will try to supply. It is so in university examinations. It must be so with your lordships' standards of examination. It must be so in all cases in which prosperity depends on satisfying an examiner. I venture to recommend that the Code be so modified that no school for boys or girls may be certain to receive an undiminished grant if the three upper standards be found not fairly expert in the use of the dictionary, that is, able to find a given word with fair speed, to pronounce the word so found, and to read aloud what the dictionary says about it; and that express permission be given to the inspector partially to substitute examination in this subject for examination in reading. The intelligence of the children might also be further tested in respect of the meanings of words found in the dictionary. The examination, irrespectively of this further test, could be conducted very quickly. A list of words, one or two for each child, could be shown on the blackboard; then a minute could be allowed for finding and marking, the words, and the books could all be laid face downwards on the desk. Then each scholar might be asked for his words and their meanings in his turn.

Mr. Turnbull makes a wise observation when he says, "In all teaching, it seems a poor thing to dwell solely upon errors." With what he says on the necessity of model reading we cordially agree. We are glad to see also that he recommends their lordships to encourage the formation of school libraries.

Mr. Turnbull gives the following answer from a girl pupil-teacher, as what she is accustomed to do in an ordinary day of her life. He rightly judges her case to be somewhat extreme, but we shrewdly suspect there are some hundreds, perhaps thousands, who could tell a similar tale. Labour so continuous, prolonged, and exhausting, becomes indeed a curse. The italics are the inspector's :

An ordinary day of my school life as a pupil-teacher is spent as follows: I rise at 6-45, get downstairs at 7-15, breakfast till 7-30, walk to school three-quarters of a mile; morning lessons [her own] from 7-45 till 9-5, teaching from 9-15 till 12-15, stay for sundries till 12-30, reach home at 12-45, dinner from I till 1-30, walk to school, teaching from 1-50 till 4-30. On one day in the week I stay and take charge of school [instead of going home to dinner]. During that time keep in late children till 12-30, and fix sewing for 15 minutes on that day and on one other. Tea from 5-15 till 5-45; evening lessons from 6 till 9, music from 9 till 10. From 10 supper, reading, meditation, and prayer; retire at 12. During nine months in the year I come to school on Saturday mornings from 9 till 12-15 for needlework.

The Rev. F. Williams has a long account of the changes of his district. From what he says, inspectors choose their districts of their own sweet will. "To accommodate my colleague in the Black Country,' who, not unnaturally, desired a little country air, I gave up the district of Penkridge." It seems done in a quiet way between the inspectors themselves, and they inform the Duke of Richmond and Lord Sandon in their next report.

Mr. Wilkinson has a great deal to say about himself, Mr. Turnbull, his brother, his assistant, and Mr. Turnbull's assistant. If something had not been done that was done Mr. Wilkinson, or his assistant, or both of them, would have broken down. It would have been pitiful, no doubt; but let him think of the many poor cab-horses which break down from overwork in the streets of London every day. He

had some extra work to do, and he would not have undertaken it if he had not known that Mr. Turnbull's assistant was a willing worker. We should not wonder if Lord Sandon considered such remarks as these but little better than old woman's gossip; but perhaps he has not read them.

Mr. Wilkinson rejoices to think he has been able to devote several days to acting in a manner which he forcibly characterises as a detective in plain clothes." He is anxious in this agreeable way to visit every school in his district next year (i.e., this year). What he has to say on this point has much that is sensible and conciliatory in it, but it has a "detective-in-plain-clothes" odour (to use his own phrase) that we cannot relish :

When the amount of work involved in the above figures is taken into consideration it will readily be understood that I have had but little time for paying visits without notice. I have paid but very few, and, knowing as I do the importance of these visits, I rejoice that since I recommenced work after my last summer's vacation I have been able to give several whole days to this work. In paying these visits I have not been to those schools only where I had suspicion all was not right. I was anxious teachers should not look upon me in these visits as a detective in plain clothes. In my selection of schools for visits without notice, I have been guided mostly by their geographical position, so that I might visit as many as possible in the shortest time. With the extra help I am anticipating next year I hope no schools will be left by me without at least one visit without notice annually. In the visits I have already paid I have occasionally met with irregularities which I felt it my duty to report immediately to your lordships. In the majority of cases I have met with a few almost trifling irregularities, while in the remainder I have found everything exactly as I could wish. I should like here publicly to mention by name the schools that come under the last head, but as I forbear to name those that come under the first, it is perhaps as well I should mention none at all. These visits are important, not only because they secure closer attention to the regulations laid down for the marking of registers and other work, but they also serve to fortify the inspector in the opinion he has formed of a school at his last visit for the examination of scholars. I dislike to turn my back on a school after the annual visit of inspection without feeling that I know why better results have not been produced, and if I entertain any doubt on this head it may, I think, invariably be removed by one of the visits of which I am now speaking. The occasion on which these visits disclose gross irregulaties would be reduced to a minimum if managers would but really manage their schools. Many schools are left year after year almost without a visit of any description from any of the managers. Teachers are thus left entirely to their own resources, and it is but natural they should lose heart in their work when it enlists no sympathy from those around. Other schools are visited on the other hand too frequently; I say too frequently, because the visits I now speak of simply interrupt the ordinary routine of school work. A manager drops in and has a few minutes' chat with one or more of the teachers, and leaves, having done by his visit more harm than good. At least once a quarter, and once a month would not be too often, the managers should make a point of carefully testing the accuracy with which the registers are marked; they should know that the work in their schools is being honestly carried out; their visits should be sometimes at the opening of school, sometimes at the close, sometimes at one hour and sometimes at another. They should know, too, at what hours the pupil-teachers should be receiving their instruction, and they should see that this instruction is not neglected or made, as it not unfrequently is, a complete farce. Managers, in my opinion, are not called upon to teach, and I would earnestly deprecate too much interference with teachers in their work. In the majority of cases teachers know how to discharge the duties of their calling far better than managers can tell them. When managers or visitors are disposed to teach they should at all times place themselves in the hands of teachers, and take whatever class the teacher thinks most desirable.

Mr. Wilkinson says things are worse in board schools. Teachers. complain bitterly that members of school boards never visit them, nor take, apparently, any interest in their work.

The last report in the Blue-book is the one by Mr. Colt Williams, on the schools in the counties of Hereford and Radnor. Mr. Williams' report is exceedingly local. It appears incidentally that he is qualified to act as tailor as well as inspector of schools. He is a Bachelor of the Arts in which instruction is given at Oxford, but he is a Master in the Art of Cutting Out. That our readers may have satisfactory evidence of this we subjoin his own words :

Two years ago I required all female pupil-teachers and candidates to cut out in paper in my presence at the collective examinations. This year they have cut out at the examination the calico garments which they will make up during the current year in a very creditable manner. They have also darned stockings, pocket handkerchiefs, &c., in my presence, and can knit well. I therefore hope that whatever other shortcomings the training college authorities may detect in them needlework may not be

one.

We wonder if Mr. Colt Williams follows the example of an inspector we have in our mind, who, on being told that the children had worked for inspection any distinctively female garments, reverently placed them. aside without examination? Further on Mr. Williams again refers to his favourite topic:

Great improvement has been shown in the needlework and cutting out done by the children, both in quantity and quality. In three schools in Hereford the girls have cut out garments in paper and model at the examination with commendable skill, and in other schools the girls can do the same.

Knitting, darning, and patching are well attended to. I have adopted, with a few alterations needed for the country, the syllabus of needlework for children, and that for pupil-teachers, drawn up by the lady examiner of needlework to the London School Board, and have issued them to all schools whose examination takes place. after 1st April, 1876. Six hours a week are, as a rule, devoted in this district to this most important branch of girls' education.

Perhaps we ought not to laugh at him, but he evidently prides himsel on his knowledge of cutting out. We will quote one more paragraph from his report, and then we will leave him

:

I am extremely glad to find that your lordships have granted a certain number of pensions, tenable by the older certificated teachers. The younger ones, who are getting salaries never dreamed of 10 or 15 years ago, ought to be able to save enough to make pensions for themselves.

We believe Mr. Williams will be entitled to a pension on the expiration of so many years' service, but, by his own reasoning, "he ought to be able to save enough to make a pension for himself." The phraseology is not elegant, but we will let that pass. Perhaps Lord Sandon will deduce from this statement that Mr. Colt Williams does not want a pension. He is paid much more liberally than school teachers, and if they ought to be able to make a pension for themselves," so ought he. He was not called upon to make such an offensive observation, and we trust he is sorry it has escaped him. The golden