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ence between the different classes of Public Elementary Schools. As to attendance, Church Schools are everywhere acknowledged to be particularly successful.

As we have seen, Dames' Schools are, in general, a sore hindrance to Education. Their existence, however, is not the only reason, why compulsion is not uniformly enforced. There are still other causes of importance. I will mention first the composition of the local authorities, according to the reports of the Inspectors. In country districts, the school attend- ance committees are largely composed of farmers, who, as a body, though there are very many honourable exceptions, are somewhat naturally opposed to a statute which deprives them of child labour. There is besides often a great deal of apathy and want of method on the part of the local school authorities. Generally speaking, their work is very far below what it should be.„They ought to have more zeal, more educational knowledge and de- vote more time to the affairs of the school.“ It is thus the Inspectors complain.

The attendance officers(that is, those persons who have to control the attendance in Board Schools, to summon the parents, and bring them before the magistrate) ought also to show more regularity and systematical devotion to their work. It is unhappily true, and urged as an excuse for them, that they are badly paid, and the incentive to zeal is thus wanting.

Many Englishmen attack with vigour the present system of enforcing compulsory attendance, and especially the institution of Attendance Officers who are called, even by a former schoolmaster, Mr. Runciman,„an ornamental set of officers who are supposed to se- cure attendance.““ Mr. John Lobb, M. L. S. B., gives us in the Eoho of Sept. 19, 1890, the interesting data that up to March 25 ½, 1890, the enormous sum of£ 515,515 had been expended in enforcing attendance at Board Schools, and that the actual expenditure in the Bye-Laws Department of the London School Board amounts to about£ 40,000, and„in spite of that,“ he says,„the streets teem with truants, not less than 100,000 children whose names are on the roll of the Board Schools, are running about the streets during school hours. — Absenteeism is growing into chronic truancy.“

The magistrates, again, are too lenient in applying the byelaws of compulsion. A witness before the Department Committee complains that compulsion, as at present exercised, is not uniformly applied to all classes of the population— that it is applied to the working classes, but that the classes above this limit escape from compulsion, and may allow their children to be without education.“„There are some small farmers,“ says the Rev. Mr. Roe of Somerset,„whose children never go to school until they are 9 or 10 years of age, and they ought to have been compelled to go long before.“ Mr. Smyth, a representative of the Working Classes, Chelsea, complains also that compulsion is only partially administered and that the richer people escape. ¹

A„School Board Officer“ gives us in„The School Board Chronicle“ of August 30h, 1890, a few specimens which show„the extreme difficulty with which School Boards have to contend in consequence of the action of the magistrates.“ He says that there are but very few magistrates in England, even in 1890, who have the courage and wisdom to carry out the Act of Parliament.„I could furnish facts,“ he continues,„which would prove bey- ond doubt that the Education Acts, as carried out generally during the past 10 years, are simply a farce, and absurd.“

It is interesting to know in what manner magistrates generally have to deal with cases of irregular attendance. According to the Education Act of 1873, Section 24, magis- trates are to first make an order before fining for non-attendance and to give a certain time to allow of better attendance. If this does not improve, the offender is fined, and in case of non-payment, magistrates first„issue distress,“ and if he has no property, then send him to prison, for not more than 7 days, not for debt, but for contempt of court in not obeying its orders. According to the Education Act of 1873, Section 24, Sub Section 4,„Any Justice

TThe School Board Chroniele. Sept. 20, 1890. ² Parliamentary Papers. Vol. 30. 1887. Page 488. ² Parliamentary Papers. Vol. 37. 1888. Page 281.