7. No grant is made for or in respect of

a. Instruction in religious subjects (Education Act, sec. 67 (a).) b. A school established after the passing of the Education (Scotland) Act (6 August 1872), not being a public school unless the Department shall after due inquiry be satisfied that no sufficient provision exists for the children for whom the school is intended, regard being had to the religious belief of their parents, or that it is otherwise specially required in the locality where it is situated (ibid., sec. 67 (b.).)

c. Higher class public schools (ibid., sec. 62-64).

8. Officers are employed to verify the fulfilment of the conditions on which grants are made, to collect information, and to report the results to the Department.

9. These officers are inspectors appointed by Her Majesty, on the recommendation of the Department, and persons appointed by the Department, as occasion requires, in the capacity of acting inspectors, or inspector's assistants.

10. No grant is paid except on a report from an inspector, showing that the conditions of the grant have been fulfilled. The inspector may delegate to an assistant the duty of examining into the attendance and proficiency of the scholars.

11. The Department, at the time of agreeing to make grants to a school, informs the managers in what month to look for the inspector's annual visit. This month remains the same from year to year, unless the Department informs the managers of a change. Notice of the day of the inspector's annual visit is given beforehand to the managers. 12. An inspector may visit any public school, or other school subject to inspection, at any other time without notice. The year

13. Grants are issued to each school only once per annum. for this purpose is reckoned as ending with the last day (inclusive) of the month preceding that fixed for the inspector's annual visit.

14. No undertaking should be commenced in general reliance upon aid from the parliamentary grant. An application for such aid should, in the first instance, be addressed to the Secretary, Scotch Education Department, Whitehall, London, S.W.

Full instructions are thereupon issued according to the particulars of the case.

15. a. The managers of a school must appoint a correspondent with the Department, and must give notice of any change of correspondent. b. Teachers cannot act as managers of, or correspondents for, the schools in which they are employed, nor can they be recognised by the Department as clerks, or treasurers, of school boards, unless very special grounds can be shown for their holding such appointments. c. The term managers includes,—

(1.) The School Board of any burgh or parish.

(2.) The managers of a public school appointed by a School Board under section 22 of the Education Act.

(3.) The managers of any school to which grants are made pursuant to Article 5 b.

BUILDING GRANTS.

16. It is provided by section 67 of the "Education (Scotland) Act, 1872," that

"No parliamentary grant shall be made in aid of building, enlarging, improving, or fitting up any school, except in pursuance of a written application from a School Board, containing the information required by the Scotch Education Department for enabling them to decide thereon, and sent to the said Department on or before the 31st day of December 1873, but without prejudice to applications made prior to the passing of this Act (6th August 1872), being dealt with according to the existing laws; and with respect to any parish situated in the counties of Inverness, Argyll, Ross, and Orkney and Shetland, where a school rate of not less than ninepence in the pound on the rateable value of such parish has been levied, such grant as aforesaid may be made of an amount not exceeding 300l. for each school and 100%. for each teacher's residence, without regard to the amount contributed by the school board out of the school fund or otherwise, or by local subscription, towards the building, enlarging, improving, or fitting up such school or residence.'

(1.) Subject to these conditions, aid will be granted to school boards to build public schools (Article 6) if the Department is satisfieda. That such a school is required in the locality.

b. That the buildings, at the time of application, have not been begun nor contracted for, and that no trust deed has been executed. (2.) The grants made by the Department for building, enlarging, improving, or fitting up schools, shall not exceed any one of the following limits, viz. :

1st Limit. The total amount contributed in the form of—
a. Payments by the school board;

b. Local subscriptions, or collections;

c. Materials, at the price allowed for them by the contractor, or at which sold off;

d. Sites given without valuable consideration (the value to be certified by two professional surveyors);

e. Cartage (the value to be certified by the surveyor of roads for the district).

2d Limit.—2s. 6d. per square foot of internal area in new schoolrooms and class-rooms.

3d Limit.-657. for each teacher's house.

(3) If the School Board of any parish in the counties of Inverness, Argyll, Ross, and Orkney and Shetland, propose to erect a new school which shall cost more than 600l., or a teacher's residence which shall cost more than 2007., then, and in each such case, a grant may be made of an amount not exceeding one half of the total cost of such buildings. (4.) the site, plans, estimates, specifications, title, and trust deed must, in every case, be previously approved by the Department.

(5.) Grants are not made for rooms under places of worship; nor for improving or fitting up schools which have already received the maximum grant allowable under the Articles of the Code in force at the time when such previous grant was made.

(6.) The extension of the area of existing school-rooms to receive more scholars, and the erection, or improvement of teachers' houses are treated pro tanto as new cases under Article 16 (2).

(7.) No application can be entertained if the approved estimate falls below 201. in small rural schools, or 50l. in other schools.

2. Within convenient distance from the homes of the scholars. c. In tenure,

Fee simple (Acts 4 & 5 Vict. c. 38., and 12 & 13 Vict. c. 49).
(1.) Without incumbrance, or rights reserved over the sur-
face.

(2.) Any power granted or reserved to lease or sell the site, or to terminate the lease and resume possession, shall be so conceived and expressed that it shall not be lawful to exercise the same without written consent of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and the possession of the site shall not be resumed without first repaying any grant which may have been paid in respect of the premises.

(3.) Leaseholds are not admissible, if fee simple can be granted. The term must not be less than 99 years, and there must be no onerous covenants, nor more than nominal rent.

The Trust Deed.

(9.) The trust deed must declare the premises to be granted to a school board in trust for a public school.

(10.) When the trust deed has been executed according to a draft approved and sealed by the Department, and (when necessary), enrolled or registered, a copy of it, including all signatures, attestations, and endorsements, must be made on plain unstamped parchment, and lodged in the Office of the Department.

The Plans.

(11.) The plans (with specification and estimate), when approved and sealed, are returned to the school board, but must be lodged in the Office of the Department before a grant is paid.

Payment of Grants for Building, Enlarging, Improving, or Fitting up Public Schools.

(12.) The amount of the grant is not announced until after the draft trust deed and plans have been sealed.

(13.) The grant must be accepted or declined within 14 days.

(14.) The grant is paid on presentation of a certificate (with balance sheet annexed), by the school board, setting forth that the building and conveyance are completed, and that the money in hand will, when added to the grant, meet all claims, and close the account.

(15.) Grants under 50l. are treated as lapsed, if unpaid at the end of nine months, and grants above 50l. at the end of eighteen months, from the date of announcing them.

CHAPTER II. ANNUAL GRANTS.

PART I.-SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN.

SECTION I.-Preliminary Conditions.

17. Before any grant is made to a school the Department must be satisfied that—

(a.) The school is conducted in accordance with the terms of Article 6; and no child is refused admission on other than reasonable grounds.

(b.) The school is not carried on with a view to private emolument (Article 5 b).

(c.) The premises are healthy, well lighted, warmed, drained, and ventilated, properly furnished, supplied with suitable offices, and contain in the principal school-room at least 80 cubical feet of internal space, and in the school-room and class-rooms at least 8 square feet of area, for each child in average attendance. (d.) The principal teacher is certificated (Article 43), and is not allowed to undertake duties, not connected with the school, which occupy any part whatever of the school hours, or of the time appointed for the special instruction of pupilteachers (Schedule I. 4).

Exception:

Evening schools may be taught by pupil-teachers who have completed their engagement with credit (Article 79).

(e.) Notice is immediately given to the Department of the date at which the teacher enters on the charge of the school, from which date the grant is computed.

(f.) The girls are taught plain needlework and cutting out as part of the ordinary course of instruction.

(g.) The infants, if any, attending the school are instructed suitably to their age, and in a manner not to interfere with the instruction of the older children.

(h.) Registers of admission and daily attendance, and accounts of income and expenditure, are accurately kept and duly audited; and all statistical returns and certificates of character (Articles 67, 77, and 80) may be accepted as trustworthy. (2.) Three persons have designated one of their number to sign the receipt for the grant.

Exception:

The treasurer of a school board signs the receipt for grants to schools under the management of the board.

18. The grant may be withheld, if, on the inspector's report, there appears to be any serious prima facie objection. A second inspection, wherein another inspector takes part, is made in every such instance, and if the grant be finally withheld, a special minute of the case is made and recorded.

Grants to Day Schools.

19. The managers of a school which has met not less than 400* times, in the morning and afternoon, in the course of a year, as defined by Article 13, may claim at the end of such year

A. The following sums per scholar, according to the average number in attendance throughout the year (Article 26).

(1.) 48.

(2.) 18. if singing forms a part of the ordinary course of instruction.

(3.) 1s. 6d., if the inspector reports that the organisation and discipline are excellent; or, 1s. if he reports that they are good.

The inspector will bear in mind, in reporting on the organisation and discipline, the results of any visits of surprise (Article 12) made in the course of the school year.

B. For every scholar, present on the day of examination, who has attended not less than 250* morning or afternoon meetings of the school:

1. If above four, and under seven, years of age at the end of the year (Article 13),—

(a.) 8s., or

(b.) 10s, if the infants are taught as a separate department, by a certificated teacher of their own, in

a room properly constructed and furnished for their instruction.

2. If more than seven years of age, subject to examination— 3s. for passing in reading;

3s. for passing in writing;

3s. for passing in arithmetic.

Articles 28, 29.

C. 1. The sum of 2s. per scholar, according to the average number of children, above 7 years of age, in attendance throughout the year (Article 26), if the scholars present on the day of examination, in the classes from which children are examined in Standards II. and III. show an intelligent and grammatical knowledge of the passages read.

2. A further sum of 2s. per head on the same average if the classes from which children are examined in Standards IV.-VI., pass creditably in history and geography.

3. The extent of the examination is indicated by the passages printed in italics in Article 28. In districts where Gaelic is spoken the intelligence of the children examined, under this paragraph, in Standards II. and III. may be tested by

* Exceptions:

i. If a school is employed for the purpose of taking the poll at a Parliamentary clection, under section 6 of the Ballot Act, 1872, the number of meetings during which the managers are deprived of the use of the school, solely in consequence of it being so employed, may, if necessary, be counted in making up,

1. The 400 meetings of the school; or,

2. The 250 attendances of any scholar who was under instruction in the school the week before it was occupied for election purposes.

ii. If a school claiming annual grants for the first time has not been open for the whole year (Article 13); or, if a school has been closed during the year, under medical authority, on account of a local epidemic, a proportionate reduction is made for the number of meetings (400) and attendances (250) required by this Article.