Agriculture and Technical Instruction, which has an advisory Board of Technical Instruction. The Department aims at the co-ordination of its work with that of other educational authorities, and in 1901-02 its programme of experimental science was adopted in 152 secondary schools with 6,412 science pupils. Central institutions under the Department are the Royal College of Science, Dublin, and the Metropolitan School of Art, the former of which is being, and the latter is about to be, re-organised. Throughout Ireland technical instruction is being organised under the Councils of county boroughs, urban districts, and counties. In Dublin and Belfast in 1902 there were upwards of 4,000 students attending the technical schools of the councils. Of the annual grant of 55,000/., 25,000l. is allotted for technical instruction in county boroughs, and 30,0007. for similar purposes elsewhere, the equivalent' grants being continued for 3 years to institutions which had formerly received them.

The progress of elementary education in England and Wales is indicated by the decreasing proportion of persons signing the marriage registers by mark. In 1843 32.7 per cent. of males and 490 per cent. of females married within the year signed in this manner; in 1863, 23 8 per cent of males and 33.1 per cent. of females; in 1883, 126 per cent. of males and 155 of females; in 1893, 5 0 of males and 5'7 of females; in 1902, 2.3 of males and 2.6 of females. In Scotland in 1902, 1.80 per cent. of males and 2.55 of females signed by mark; in Ireland, in 1903, 111 per cent. of males and 9.1 of females.

Elementary education in England and Wales is now under the control of the Board of Education, which came into existence on April 1, 1900, taking the place both of the Education Department and the Department of Science and Art. The Elementary Education Act of 1870 and subsequent amending Acts regulate elementary education in England and Wales. Sufficient school accommodation must be provided in every district for all the resident children between the ages of 5 and 14. Under Acts of 1899 and 1900 children between 12 and 14 years of age may (if it is so provided in local bye-laws) conditionally obtain partial or total exemption from school attendance, but for children employed in agriculture the lower age limit for partial exemption is 11. An Act of 1899 requires the school authorities to make provision for the compulsory education of defective children to the age of 16 years. Under the Education Act, 1902, which came into force on March 26, 1903, or within 18 months thereafter, and the Education (London) Act, 1903, which came into force on May 1, 1904, or within 12 months later, school boards and school attendance committees are abolished, their place being taken by the Councils of counties, of county boroughs, of non-county boroughs with population over 10,000, and of urban districts with population over 20,000. These local authorities (but not necessarily the two classes last mentioned) must establish educational committees, each in accordance with its own scheme, which must be approved by the Board of Education. The schemes must provide for the appointment by the Council from its own members, of a majority of the committee (unless in the case of counties the Council determine otherwise), for the appointment by the Council of other persons with special qualifications, and for the appointment of women on the committees. Schools provided by county councils will have managers in the proportion of 4 appointed by the Council and 2 by the borough, district, or parish served by the school. Councils of county boroughs, &c., may appoint any number of managers for their provided schools. Schools aided, but not provided by local authorities, will have 4 'foundation' managers and 2 managers appointed by Councils. Women may be managers.

The local education authorities will maintain all public elementary schools and (except in cases where provision for expenditure is to be made by managers) will control the expenditure necessary for this purpose. In the case of schools not provided by them, their directions as to secular instruction (including the number and qualification of teachers) must be complied with, they have power to inspect the schools, and they must receive, free of charge, the use of the school-house for elementary school purposes. The Act prescribes the funds from which expenditure is to be met, and gives borrowing powers. Income from endowments for such purposes of elementary education as fall within the scope of the local education authorities is to be paid to these authorities and applied in aid of the rates. In place of the grants under the Voluntary Schools Act, 1897, and other Acts, there will be paid annually to the local authorities, out of money to be provided by Parliament, a sum equal to 4s. per scholar in average attendance, and 'an additional sum of three-halfpence per scholar for every complete twopence per scholar by which the amount which would be produced by a penny rate on the area of the authority falls short of ten shillings a scholar.' Under certain conditions, however, the grant may be reduced.

Throughout the Act there is observed the distinction between schools provided, and schools aided but not provided, by the local authorities, this distinction being, so far as elementary schools are concerned, in accordance with that between board schools and voluntary schools.

On August 1, 1904, the Act of 1902 had come into operation in all the areas to which it applies, except the counties of Cardigan, Monmouth, and Pembroke, the county boroughs of Cardiff and Swansea, and the urban district of Edmonton. The number of separate local authorities for educational matters at the beginning of 1903 had been 3,351 (2,564 school boards and 787 school attendance committees). This number has now been reduced to 328, as follows:

On August 31, 1903, the number of Council or Board Schools of various grades was 6,011 with accommodation for 3,069,629 pupils. The number of voluntary schools was 14,253 with accommodation for 3,725,855 pupils. The voluntary schools were :

A 'code' providing in detail for the regulation of schools is annually prepared by the department and submitted to Parliament. In 1891, by a fee grant of ten shillings for each child between 3 and 15 years of age in average attendance, education was rendered practically free in England and Wales. This grant is supplemented under the Acts of 1902 and 1903.

The following table includes the total number of Voluntary and Board day-schools under inspection during the last 5 years :

On August 31, 1903, there were in England and Wales 5,965 Council or Board Schools and 14,208 voluntary schools with altogether an average attendance of 5,037,498 children. In the same year there were 70,906 certificated teachers, 38,255 assistant teachers, 24, 438 pupil teachers, 7,833 candidates, 2,878 probationers, and 17,820 additional women teachers. There were also 28 higher elementary schools with average attendance of 7,839 and 397 teachers. In 1903 there were 47 residential training colleges with 4,488 students, and 19 day training colleges with 1,965 students. The School Inspectors are appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Education Board.

By the Elementary Education Act of 1872, the Scotch Education Department was instituted, and each burgh and parish or group of parishes was required to have a school board to administer both elementary and middle-class schools. Elementary education is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 14, but exemption may, on conditions, be granted to children over 12. In 1889, by a capitation grant, education was made free for the compulsory standards. In 1897 provision was made for grants in aid of voluntary schools. The following table includes the total number of day schools inspected in Scotland during the last 5 years :

In 1903 there were, in all, 3,149 schools, of which 2,793 were public schools with an average attendance of 580,503 pupils; 20 Church of Scotland with 3,630 pupils; 4 United Free Church with 1,830 pupils ; 66 Episcopal with 10,995 pupils; 192 Roman Catholic with 61,713 pupils, and 74 Undenominational with 8,618 pupils. In the same year there were 12,195 certificated teachers, 2,760 assistant teachers, and 4,165 pupil teachers. In 1903 there were 8 training colleges with 1,385 students.

There were also in 1903, continuation classes with 81,681 pupils on whom grant was paid. The instruction given in these schools comprised languages, science, art, manual instruction, domestic economy, needlework, &c.

Elementary education in Ireland, since 1845, is under the superintendence of a body of Commissioners of National Education in Ireland.' The follow

ing table gives statistics of elementary schools for the last five years :-

Of 8,603 schools, 2,981 were mixed Roman Catholic and Protestant with 252,237 pupils; 4, 199 were Roman Catholic with 367,807; and 1,523 were Protestant with 116,521 pupils on December 31, 1902. At the same date there were 8,253 teachers, 3,724 assistants, and 1,020 workmistresses, industrial teachers, &c. The 7 training colleges had 1,068 students.

The sums expended in Great Britain from Parliamentary grants for primary schools, and in Ireland from Parliamentary grants and rates, amounted in five years to :

In addition to the grant these schools derive an income from endowments, school fees, local rates, voluntary subscriptions, and other sources. The total receipts of the school boards in England and Wales in 1901-02 amounted to 13,495,3017.; in Scotland, 2,822,5957. (1902-03); and in Ireland that of the schools under the Commissioners of National Education was (1901-2) 1,394,7457.

Justice and Crime.

ENGLAND AND WALES.

The principal courts having criminal jurisdiction are the petty sessional courts, the general or quarter sessions, the courts of oyer and terminer and gaol delivery, more popularly known as 'assizes,' and the Central Criminal Court. Two or more justices of the peace sitting in a petty sessional court house, the Lord Mayor or any alderman of the City of London, or any metropolitan or borough police magistrate or other stipendiary magistrate sitting in à court house, constitute a petty sessional court. The courts of quarter sessions are held four times a year by the justices of the county. Similar courts can be held at other times, and are then called 'general sessions.' Two justices

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The High Court of Justiciary is the somme mail room in Scotlan It consists of all the judges of the Court of Session, and sts more or less tryquently, as the number of saves before it may require, in Edinlargh or in the circuit towns. One judge can, and usually does my ases for two or more preside in cases of city or importance. It is the only competent court in cases of treason, murder, robbery, rape, fire-raising, deforcement of messengers, and generally in all cases in which a higher punishment than imprisonment is by statute directed to be inflicted; and it has moreover an inherent jurisdiction to punish all criminal acts, both those already established by cominon law or statute, and such as have never previously come before the courts and are not within any statute.

The sheriff of each county is the proper criminal judge in all crimes occurring within the county which infer only an arbitrary punishment, and it the case is tried with a jury the High Court has no power of review on the merits. Even in cases indicted to the High Court the accused is, under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act of 1887, regularly asked to plead in the