equipment without limitation as to the amount. For Western Australia, the returns for years prior to 1896 included State-aided denominational schools. From these establishments the Government subsidy was withdrawn at the end of 1895, and thenceforth they are not included in the returns of the Education Department. The private schools are, however, examined by the Departmental inspectors in order to ascertain that sufficient instruction is given in arithmetic, writing, reading, spelling, and geography, while the various registers are supplied to the principals free of cost. This should be borne in mind when comparing the figures with those given for previous years, otherwise the extension of public instruction in that State would seem to be incommensurate with the growth of population. As a matter of fact, the progress has been rapid, and 19 new State schools were opened in 1901.

As shown in the previous table, the total number of teachers employed in the 8,689 State schools was 18,123-8,099 males and 10,024 females-exclusive of sewing-mistresses, of whom there were 74 in New South Wales, 415 in Victoria, 13 in South Australia, 48 in Western Australia, and 176 in New Zealand. New South Wales is the only State where employment is afforded to a greater number of male teachers in comparison with females; in all the other provinces there is a large preponderance of female instructors. In most of the States provision is made for the training of teachers. In New South Wales, the Fort-street Training School for male students had 28 students in training in 1901, 15 of whom held full-scholarships, 10 held half-scholarships, and 3 were non-scholarship students; while at the Hurlstone Training School for female students there were 37 students in residence, 15 of whom held full-scholarships, 10 half, and 12 non-scholarships. At the Fort Street Training College, residence and board and lodging are not provided, but full-scholarship students receive an allowance of £72 per annum, and half-scholarship £36, while no allowance is granted to non-scholarship students. The Hurlstone College is a residential institution, and scholarship students receive free board and lodging with an allowance of £1 per month, half-scholarship students pay £15 a year and receive an allowance of 10s. per month, and non-scholarship students pay £30 per annum. The Victorian Training College, which was closed for some time in accordance with the policy of retrenchment, was re-opened in 1900. On the 1st January, 1901, there were 50 students holding scholarships, while 7 others paid fees for the training received. There were 38 students in the training college in South Australia. A scheme for the more efficient training of pupil-teachers has been arranged, under which, for the first two years of their course, these young people will not be required to teach, but will receive instruction at the Pupil Teachers' School. For the third and fourth years they will engage in practical teaching, and may then be entered as students at Adelaide University for a period of two years. In New Zealand, teachers are trained at normal schools in Christchurch and Dunedin and at the Napier Training School. An interesting experiment in

connection with the training of teachers was the holding of a Summer School in Victoria at the close of 1901. About 600 teachers applied for permission to attend, and of these 120 were selected. Lectures on such subjects as Principles of Education, Kindergarten, &c., were given by experts, and the experiment proved so successful that it is intended to make the institution an annual one.

ENROLMENT AT STATE SCHOOLS.

The quarterly enrolment of pupils at the State schools of Australasia for the year 1901 and the proportion such figures bear to the total population is given in the following table :

It will be seen that the largest percentage of the population enrolled at State schools was to be found in Queensland, and the lowest in Western Australia. Such a comparison, however, is of very little value, because the proportion which the children of school age bear to the total population varies considerably in the different States, being as low as 14 per cent. in Western Australia, up to 17 per cent. in Queensland and South Australia, and 19 per cent. in New South Wales. In Western Australia, which is still at its pioneer stage, there must of necessity be a much smaller percentage of dependent children than in the more widely settled states.

More important, perhaps, than the number of children enrolled is the average attendance. This, for scholars at the State schools during the year 1901, was 558,127, representing about 64 per school and 31 per

teacher, and 12-18 per cent. of the population of Australasia. The figures for the individual states will be found appended :

According to the official returns, the proportion of the quarterly enrolment of scholars in average attendance was highest in New Zealand, the percentage for which colony was 85.1. This was followed by Western Australia with 80-2 per cent., while Queensland was third with 78.7 per cent. The percentage for Victoria was 758; for South Australia and Tasmania, 74·1; and for New South Wales, 72-6. The percentage of the population of New Zealand-15-14shown as in average attendance at the State schools, it must be remarked, is rather higher than it should be, on account of a number of Maori children attending the ordinary schools in districts where there are none established for the "natives," while the basis on which the proportion has been calculated is the population exclusive of aborigines. Still, when full allowance has been made on this score, the percentage is higher than is found in any other State. The "Native" schools in New Zealand, of which the number was 91, had a teaching-staff of 158, exclusive of 14 sewing-mistresses, in 1901, with an enrolment of 3,273 and an average attendance of 2,592 scholars, and the expenditure on the schools during the year amounted to £23,316. Of the 3,273 children enrolled at these schools, 2,632 were Maoris 303 were half-castes, and 338 were Europeans.

COST OF PRIMARY EDUCATION.

The official reports of the various States show that during the year 1901 the cost of administration and maintenance of the State schools of Australasia was £2,335,042, while the revenue from fees, rents, sales of books, etc., amounted to £104,730, leaving a net cost to the State of £2,230,312, excluding a sum of £232,006 expended on school premises. Assistance to private schools where primary or secondary education is

given is not included in these figures. The expenditure for each of the States will be found below. In the case of New Zealand, the amounts given in the table represent the disbursements of the Education Boards, and not the actual capitation grant received from the Government during 1901, as the former figures more accurately represent the cost of the State schools for the twelve months. From the total cost to the State in that colony, the receipts from the Education Reserves, £40,971, have not been deducted, as the capitation grant is now reduced by an amount equivalent to the rents derived from these reserves, so that practically they are paid into the Consolidated Revenue. The figures do not give the whole expense to the State, as most of the principal teachers enjoy residences for which no rent charge is made. In the case of New South Wales, the annual value of these residences is about £38,000:

In the States of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and in the Colony of New Zealand, primary education is free; in the other States a small fee is charged, but, as will be seen from the table, the revenue derived from this source is very small in Tasmania. In New South Wales the fee charged is 3d. per week for each child, the sum payable by one family being limited to one shilling; and the receipts amount to a considerable sum annually, totalling £76,617 in 1901. Free education is, of course, given to those children whose parents cannot afford to pay for them, and the number of children so treated during last year was 28,114-equal to 11.6 per cent. of the gross enrolment of distinct pupils; the average for the last five years being 12.6. In Tasmania, at the beginning of 1901, new regulations came into force, under which school fees, which had till then constituted part of teachers' incomes, are paid into the Treasury, the teachers receiving, by way of compensation, an addition to their salaries to an extent and for a period exactly defined. Free education is

granted in cases of necessity, and for this purpose free public schools were established in Hobart and Launceston; but as it was considered that this system affixed a brand of pauperism to the children making use of them, they have now been abolished, and the pupils find free education at the ordinary schools. In 1899 an Education Act was passed in Western Australia, which had for its chief object the granting of free education to all children of compulsory school age. The work of compulsion was also systematised, and the returns for 1901 show the highest percentage of attendance for any year since 1870.

Although primary instruction is free in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and New Zealand, yet Queensland is the only State where no fees were received in 1901; but, as pointed out on a previous page, the State receives contributions from local districts towards the construction of school buildings, the amount of such contributions in 1901 being £2,901. In Victoria fees are charged for instruction in extra subjects, such as book-keeping, shorthand, algebra, Euclid, French, Latin, Science, &c. During last year extra subjects were taught in 118 schools, and the fees collected represent £2,415 of the sum of £11,087 shown above, the balance, consisting of £8,672, being made up of fines, rents, and the amount realised by the sale of publications; and although not directly applied by the State towards the reduction of departmental expenditure, has been so treated here. In South Australia the receipts during 1901 included £3,733 from sale of books and school materials, and sundry receipts amounting to £113.

It will be seen from the above table that, excluding the expenditure on school premises, the net cost of public instruction in Australasia in 1901 was £2,335,042. This is equivalent to £3 19s. 11d. for each child in average attendance during the year; while, if the expenditure on buildings is taken into account, the amount reaches £4 8s. 3d. per child. The figures for each of the six States and for the colony of New Zealand are presented below: