Taking this view of the office of the schoolmaster,—and in the present scantiness of clerical supervision, his moral influence must always be a matter of most serious consideration,—no organisation would be entirely satisfactory which did not impress upon this occupation something of the character of a profession, so that it might come to be considered as a regular career in life, and that the holder of it might look upon his position as one of permanence, so long as he continued to fulfil its duties.

Perhaps in no respect does the want of system which has hitherto prevailed make itself more sensibly, and indeed it may be said more mischievously felt than in this: that no definite rule has been laid down with regard to the scale at which teachers are to be remunerated. The resolution of the Provincial Council, which was intended to effect this has been absolutely disregarded, and yet it is manifest that some general and uniform rule is not only desirable but absolutely necessary, if the objects here mentioned are to be attained. Not indeed a uniformity by which each teacher or each school should be treated exactly alike, but by which each teacher and each school should receive grants according to certain definite rules. Not only has the administration by three independent denominations introduced a great diversity in the scale of remuneration, but this diversity obtains even in schools connected with the same denomination. One teacher for instance has a salary of £100 per annum, while another in a situation quite as important, receives only £50. In some cases the fees are given to the teacher, and a fixed amount of the grant in addition; in others, the amount paid out of the grant varies according to the average attendance, while in others again, a fixed salary is guaranteed, but anything like system in the matter of salaries is scarcely perceptible.

Of these different plans, the simplest as well as the one most likely to give the teacher an interest in the school would appear to be to consider the fees as available only for the remuneration of the teacher, and to supplement these by some fixed sum paid out of the public treasury from the funds arising from other sources. Thus the salary of each would be made up of two sums—the whole of the fees whatever they might be, and a fixed sum payable out of the Treasury from moneys belonging to the district. It would of course be the interest of the teacher by care and attention to make his school as efficient as possible, so as to increase the income arising from the former of these sources. Any teacher should be allowed, moreover, to charge higher fees for instruction in subjects beyond those prescribed in the ordinary course. This, however, would be left to private arrangement between each master and the children’s parents, the Board only so far interfering in the matter as to see that while higher subjects were being taught elementary subjects were not neglected.

The success of any system of education depends so much upon the class of men placed in charge of the schools, that the Commission cannot insist too strongly or too often on the necessity of obtaining trained persons to fill the office of teachers. It is not only the present efficiency of the school that will be affected by such appointments, but the prospects of a future supply from the ranks of the schools in the province will very much depend upon the amount of care now made in the selection. Although it would be probably premature to attempt any thing in the nature of a normal school or training college at present, still steps might be taken towards establishing some system which might in future develop itself into such an institution. It has been thought that this might be effected by establishing where opportunity offered, some central institution consisting of one complete set of schools, containing, infant, junior, and senior classes, as well as a girls’ department, each under instruction in a separate room of one main building, the whole presided over by one principal teacher whose duty it should be not so much himself to teach any class, as to give instruction in the art of teaching to such persons as might be approved of by the Board as candidates for the office of teacher. The actual instruction of the children being undertaken by efficient masters and mistresses, who should organise their departments and graduate the instruction, according to the direction of the principal teacher, in order that the establishment might form as far as possible a model school in which candidates might see the best organisation, might learn the best or most generally approved methods of teaching, and have an opportunity of observing the most improved kind of school apparatus.

Such an institution would also be of service to those teachers who are at present engaged, but who have not received any previous teaching. A considerable time must, however, elapse before even such a plan as this could be put into active operation, and even then it would only afford a partial and (compared with an English training college) an inefficient supply of teachers. Again, something might be effected by allowing well qualified masters or mistresses to train young persons for the office of teacher. The establishment of a regular system of pupil teachers and assistant teachers would follow upon and spring out of an improved system of school organization, and be perhaps followed in due course by a normal school and training college. In the meantime, however, it seems clear that the chief dependence must be placed upon the supply to be obtained from the Mother Country, and it does not appear that there exists at present any difficulty in the way of the adoption of this plan. It appears that the training colleges at home are annually turning out masters more than sufficient to meet the demand. In England and Wales alone it appears that the annual supply is about 1,500, besides those trained in the colleges in Scotland. The Commissioners in England reported that at the time of their enquiry there was every reason to suppose that the supply of trained teachers would soon overtake the demand, and be more than sufficient to fill up the vacancies; subsequent facts have shown the correctness of this opinion. It appears that out of 46 teachers who left