the provision for the separate control of Catholic and Protestant schools. This dual character illustrates both the religious and national influences under which the system has gradually developed. During the French régime1 (1615-1760) education was left to the religious orders that had come out to New France for the purpose of carrying on missionary work among the Indians. Of the five principal orders that established themselves in the province three were devoted to the education of boys; the other two were concerned solely with the education of girls. The separation of the sexes in elementary grades, which is still characteristic of the Roman Catholic schools, is thus seen to be a natural result of their origin. The religious orders were supported in their work by grants of land from the French kings, by private benefactions, and by the contributions of the church.

After the capture of Quebec (1629) the religious orders experienced some difficulty in continuing their work. Two of the orders, the Recollects and the Jesuits, were indeed temporarily obliged to withdraw. The Recollects did not return until 1670, but the Jesuits returned in 1632, immediately after the restoration of the country to the French. They resumed their educational work with great vigor, and established schools which rapidly developed, and which have had powerful influ ence in shaping the history of the province.

Among existing institutions which are traceable to the efforts of these religious orders are Laval University, the outgrowth of the "Petit Séminaire de Quebec," founded by Bishop Laval in 1668, and the Ursuline Convent, founded in 1639, the first girls' school in Canada.

The conquest by the English in 1760 prepared the way for many new agencies, and between that date and the date of the union of Upper and Lower Canada (1841) the number of schools was greatly multiplied. The Christian Brothers began their efforts in 1837 as teachers of elementary schools. Here, as elsewhere, their work took deep hold of the community, and it forms to-day one of the most important features of Roman Catholic elementary education in the Province. The Protestant churches and Protestant societies were also very active in establishing schools; and the germs of a public-school system were implanted by settlers from the New England States, who established themselves in townships. "During the first year of their life in Canada the children of near neighbors were gathered in one of the dwelling houses, and taught by one of the older and better instructed of their sons and daughters. Very soon log schoolhouses were erected in many of the townships by the voluntary efforts of the settlers, and in these the children were regularly taught. The cost of erecting schoolhouses

1 The résumé of the early history of education in Quebec is compiled from the introduction to the Manual of School Law and Regulations, prepared by Rev. Elson I. Rexford, B. A., formerly secretary of the department of public instruction. An important source of information is the History of Public Instruction in Canada, by M. Chauveau, formerly minister of public instruction for the Province of Quebec. The following sources are cited in Canada and the Canadian Question, by Goldwin Smith: The Relations des Jésuites, and Le Clercq's l'Établissement de la Foi, Mr. Parkman's Narratives, and the histories of Garneau, Christie, Miles, MacMullen, and Kingsford.

and maintaining schools had to be defrayed by the settlers themselves. Not satisfied with providing elementary schools for their children, the residents of the more thickly settled centers of the township endeavored, at an early date, to provide more advanced instruction by establishing 'academies,' or superior schools. The persons interested contributed to the erection of a suitable building and elected a board of trustees, to which was intrusted the management of the school. In the earlier years the teacher had to depend mainly upon the tuition fees for his salary. This was sometimes supplemented by subscriptions and other special provisions, and when grants were given by the legis lature and by the Royal Institution, these institutions were recognized." These different agencies, with their diverse and often opposite aims and methods, have been continued to the present time, with such modifications as were inevitable from the effort to include them in a Stateaided system.

The first public elementary school act for the Province was passed in 1829. The subsequent law of 1846, amended in 1849, is substantially the same as the laws passed in 1869, 1876, and 1888.

Central control. The law of 1841 provided for a superintendent of public instruction. The council of public instruction was instituted in 1856, and in 1869 the council was organized in two committees, one for the charge of Roman Catholic, the other of Protestant schools. The religious distinction was thus incorporated into the legal system and pervades its entire organization. For example, the school inspectors appointed by the lieutenant-governor are chosen from persons recommended by the committees. Among the requirements for the inspectorship is experience as a teacher, the possession of a diploma, and success in an examination before one or the other of the council committees.

Each committee makes regulations for the inspectors of the schools under its own charge, and has absolute control over the inspectorate, since it is also within the province of the committees to recommend the dismissal of teachers for causes specified.

Certain public officials are also recognized as "school visitors, who may visit the public schools as often as they think desirable, but visitors are entitled to visit only the schools of their own faith." It is further provided that the following are visitors only for the municipality in which they reside:

1. Roman Catholic and Protestant clergymen.

2. Members of the council of arts and manufactures.

3. The mayor and the justice of the peace.

4. The colonels, lieutenant-colonels, majors, and senior captains of the militia.

Requirements for teachers.-The religious distinction is maintained. also in the appointment of teachers. Candidates are examined by boards appointed by the lieutenant-governor upon the recommendation of one or other of the committees. All persons desiring to act as ED 98-12

teachers must undergo examination unless provided with a diploma from one of the normal schools. Nevertheless, "every priest, minister, and ecclesiastic, and every person forming part of a religious order instituted for educational purposes, or being a member of a religious community of women, is exempt from undergoing an examination before any of the said boards."

Local control of schools.-The local unit of school administration is a "school municipality"-i. e., any territory erected into a municipality for the support of schools under the control of school commissioners or of trustees elected by the ratepayers.

The commissioners are empowered to divide a municipality into school districts and to maintain one or two schools in each district.

"If in any municipality the regulations and arrangements made by the school commissioners for the management of any school are not agreeable to any number whatever of the proprietors, occupants, tenants, or ratepayers professing a religious faith different from that of the majority of the inhabitants of such municipality, such proprietors, occupants, tenants, and ratepayers may signify such dissent in writing to the chairman of the commissioners.

"The notice having been duly served, the dissentients may proceed, after the lapse of two months, to elect three school trustees, who will have the same power with respect to dissentient or separate schools as the commissioners have with respect to the schools of the majority. The trustees alone have the right of imposing and collecting the taxes upon the dissentient inhabitants." So complete is the provision for minorities that trustees have the same powers and duties as school commissioners for the management of the schools under their control. The division of school authority out of regard to sectarian predilections and the consequent preservation of original forms has resulted in a diversity of schools, whose scope it is not always easy to express in terms applicable to other systems.

A certain degree of uniformity is imposed upon the schools by the conditions for obtaining a share in the public funds.

Sources of school income.-Schools are supported by local taxes, fees, and provincial appropriations. The rate of fees is fixed by school commissioners and trustees, but may not be more than 40 cents nor less than 5 cents a month.

PAYMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE COMMON-SCHOOL FUND.

The sums constituting the common-school fund of the province are paid to the superintendent in semiannual payments, and the superintendent pays their respective shares to the several boards of school commissioners and trustees in two semiannual payments.

To entitle any school to its share of the general or local school fund it is requisite and sufficient

1. That it has been under the management of school commissioners or trustees in the manner directed by this law.

2. That it has been in actual operation during at least eight months.

3. That it has been attended by at least 15 children (periods of epidemic or contagious diseases excepted).

4. That reports have been made to the school commissioners or trustees by the teacher and by at least two of the commissioners or trustees.

5. That a public examination of the school has taken place.

6. That a report, signed by the majority of the school commissioners or trustees and by the secretary-treasurer, has been transmitted to the superintendent every six months, the first before the 15th day of January and the second before the 15th day of July in each year.

7. That a sum equal to the grant made by the legislature for the municipality has been raised, as herein provided.

8. That teachers with diplomas have been employed therein.

9. That the teachers have been paid every six months.

10. That only those books authorized by the committees of the council of public instruction have been used.

11. That the regulations of the committees and the instructions of the superintendent have been observed.

All sums arising from school grants, school taxes, and from any source other than monthly fees form the school fund in each municipality, and are distributed and employed by them:

1. Either in proportion to the number of children from 7 to 14 years of age in each school district residing therein and capable of attending school; or,

2. By making a common fund, out of which the school commissioners or trustees pay the expenses occasioned by the payment of teachers' salaries, the maintenance of schoolhouses, the purchase of books, school furniture, and other contingent

expenses.

The school commissioners or trustees after having adopted one of the two methods mentioned in the preceding article can not change it within two years, unless by the authority of the superintendent.

In all cases the school commissioners or trustees are required to deduct from their share of the school fund the sum of $80 for the support of a model school, if there is one in the municipality, in addition to the share which such model school is entitled to receive from such fund.

The sum annually voted by the legislature in aid of poor municipalities is distributed by the superintendent according to the division made by him, and which has been approved by the committees of the council of public instruction.

Public appropriations are also made for superior institutions-i. e., for universities, classical colleges, academies, etc.-and the money so granted is divided between the total of the Roman Catholic and Protestant institutions, respectively, in the relative proportion of the respective Roman Catholic and Protestant populations of the Province according to the then last census.

Such grants are for the year only, and are not permanent.

Teachers have the benefit of a pension fund maintained by withholding 2 per cent of the annual salaries. The fund is available for teachers who have served ten years and have reached the age of 56 years.

EFFORTS FOR THE REORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

The dual system here outlined has not worked without friction and it is in many respects unequal to the demands of the present time.

A new education bill was submitted to the assembly in the session of 1897, but after passing that body by a large majority was rejected by the council.

The agitation of the subject has, however, awakened public interest in the schools, and the press devotes much space to their discussion. Among evidences of improvement noted by the superintendent in his report for 1896-97 are the abolition of local examining boards.

The new Protestant teachers must have a normal school diploma, and the Roman Catholic teachers will have to get theirs from a central board of examiners.

There are teaching in the Roman Catholic elementary schools 3,860 female teachers with diplomas, and their average yearly salary is $98.

The Roman Catholic committee, with the approval of the executive, has now fixed the minimum salary to be paid schoolmasters and schoolmistresses at $100, and every municipality that does not comply with regulation will forfeit its school grant.

In 1896 the sum of $50,000 was added to the usual grant, and, as a consequence, the grant to poor municipalities has been raised from $10,000 to $20,000.

From present indications it is probable that a renewed effort will be made in the next session of the legislature to secure the passage of a new school law.

SYSTEM OF NEW BRUNSWICK.

In New Brunswick, the governor, the members of the executive council, the chancellor of the university, and the chief superintendent of education constitute a board of education for the general control of public schools. The school district is the local unit of school administration, and the elementary schools are managed directly by trustees elected as in the other provinces. Applicants for teachers' places must show professional classification at the normal school, a license from the board of education, or hold a degree in arts from a chartered college or university, and comply with other requirements according to the position sought. Even graduates of arts without training at normal schools or two years' experience in teaching must give prac tical illustrations of methods of teaching before the principal of the normal school and a professor of the university.

There are three sources from which moneys are drawn for the payment of teachers' salaries: The provincial treasury, the county school fund, and district assessment. From the first-named source an allow ance is annually made in respect of every legally qualified teacher in the service. Male teachers receive $135, $108, or $81, according to grade; female teachers, $100, $81, $63, according to grade.

Assistant teachers receive not more than one-half the above amounts. The county assessment in aid of schools must yield "an amount equal to thirty cents for every inhabitant of the county according to the last