THE CANADIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTE^r. 563 



may appoint an official trustee to perform all the usual func- 

 tions of a board. The local board of trustees is not, however, 

 burdened in every instance with the task of raising funds. 

 When the school district is situated in a town, the trustees re- 

 quisition the amount re(|uired for school purix)ses, and the 

 munici|>al council is responsible ifor assessment, levying and col- 

 lection of taxes to the amount required. In rural municipalities 

 the council is also entrusted with the collection of the tax, but 

 in village districts these duties and responsibilities rest with 

 the school board and its officials. 



So much of the work of education being in the initial 

 stage, si)ecial i)ro vision is made for school l)uildings, and these 

 are usually erected from the ])roceeds of school debentures. 

 Such debentures must first be authorised by the Department, 

 and when issued, registered and countersigned by the Depart- 

 ment before they are marketable. In order to secure a good 

 market for these, it is usual for several districts to combine in 

 their issue. The revenue required for these, and all other school 

 expenditure is derived from Government Grants and local 

 taxation. The grants are apportioned in such a way as to give 

 the greatest proportional aid where Government assistance is 

 most needed, so that a newly-organized district usually gets a 

 relatively larger amount than an older district. The more popu- 

 lous districts are thus thrown more and more upon their own 

 resources, though not without some compensation, as Govern- 

 ment provision is often made for special instruction in such 

 centres in subjects like manual training, music, art and agri- 

 tulture. 



The revenue for the last available year was — Government 

 Grants £111,536, I.x>cal Assessments £605,755, Debentures 

 £199,270, and other amounts £554,276, a total of £1,470,837. 



The system provides for 12 grades of teaching, of which 

 one to eight belong to the Public Schools, and children are 

 required to attend until these are passed, or they have completed 

 their tifteenth year. The higher grades merge into University 

 work, as a candidate may enter on the first year of his University 

 course on completing liis i ith grade, or on the second year's 

 work on completing his 12th grade. 



British Columbia. — In this Province the system dates back 

 to an earlier period than in those last named. As far back as 

 1872 a complete system of free education was established. The 

 central control is vested in a Council of Public Instruction, which 

 consists of the members of the Executive Council, the Provincial 

 Secretary carrying the portfolio of Education. A Superintendent 

 of Education has the supervision and direction of inspectors, 

 teachers and schools, subject to the control of the Council of 

 Public Instruction. The unit of local administration is the 

 school district with elected trustees, and these districts are defin- 

 itely divided into three classes, controlling municipality schools, 

 rural schools, and assisted schools. The municipality schools 

 are divided into three classes, according to average daily atten- 



