At a large meeting of the Standing Committee for National
Schools held yesterday week at the National Society's rooms, with the Archbishop designate of Canterbury in the chair, it was agreed to ask for a Government grant of 6s. a head to all public elementary schools alike, but that in the case of voluntary schools the said grant should be paid to the federa- tions of schools only (nothing to be called a federation which does not include at least three schools). Aid from the rates is also to be asked for, but only in School Board districts, and this rate-in-aid is to be necessarily expended within the School Board district from which it is raised, and the rate, if given, is to be given to federations of schools only. The federation may be either of denominational or of undenominational schools. Subject to appeal to the Education Department, no federation is to be allowed to refuse admission to a contiguous school belonging to the same denomination. The administra- tion of the special grant-in-aid, the rate-in-aid, and (if pro- vided in the rules of the federation) the fee-grant are to be vested in the council of the federation. In denominational schools the appointment of the teachers and the religions teaching are to be retained entirely under the control of the denomination, provided, however, that the rating authority shall be satisfied as to the efficiency of the secular teach- ing and that the rate is economically used. Such are the more important provisions of the scheme. Of course, the conditions fiercely resisted by the Opposition, will be the appointment of teachers by the denominational managers alone, and the refusal of local control.
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