TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION L. Toi. 
the influence of the social environment, operating, however, under a_ bias 
imparted by congenital differences, and enhanced by peculiarities of physiological 
development and metabolism. The congenital differences seem adequately ex- 
plained by natural and social selection, supplemented by alternative inheritance. 
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. 
The following Report and Papers were read :— 
1. Report on the Curricula and Educational Organisation of Industrial 
and Poor Law Schools.—See Reports, p. 301. 
2. The Registration of Schools. By Bishop Wetupon, D.D. ; 
In regard to the compulsory registration of schools it is necessary to state 
two leading principles. One is that in education, as in other professions, the 
age of private adventure is past. The other is that it is desirable to ensure as 
far as possible the unity of every great profession. From these two principles 
it follows that all schools, private and public, should stand in some definite 
relation to the State and to each other. A recent writer in the ‘ Educational 
Supplement of The Times’ has well said that ‘ no occupation deserves to be called 
a “profession” until those who pursue it are constituted in some corporate bond, 
which enables them to speak with the authority of a united voice, not merely as 
servants of the community, but as honoured and trusted servants, discharging 
their office, whether public or private, with a fair measure of freedom and 
independence.’ Hence the value of the Registration Council lately established 
as representative of the whole teaching profession. 
But registration implies both inspection of schools and examination of 
teachers in the schools. Insanitary conditions, noisy, overcrowded classrooms, 
deficiencies of light, warmth, and space have in time past existed in the greatest 
and richest schools, like Etcn and Harrow, as much as in elementary schools. 
Nor can it be doubtful, if attention is paid not merely to the few famous public 
schools but to the multitude and variety of schools all over the country, that 
every teacher ought to possess, and to be certified as possessing, some definite 
qualifications for his or her office. 
It is well to let in the light upon all schools. If mines and factories cannot 
safely be left without supervision, neither can schools. Wherever a repugnance 
to inspection or examination is found, it is probably a sign that something is 
wrong. Even in schools attached to religious institutions, such as monasteries 
or convents, a demand for immunity from public control cannot but excite a 
certain suspicion. 
In public schools I have always looked with disfavour and distrust upon 
masters who did not wish their schools or their forms to be tested by external 
authority. Confidence between schools and the Board of Education will always 
be a guarantee of efficiency, or, at least, a safeguard against inefficiency. 
But if the registration of schools, with inspection and examination as its 
concomitants, is to be the rule, why should it not apply to the schools of the 
Church of England as much as to other schools? I would plead against the 
educational policy which aims, whether by direct or indirect means, at suppress- 
ing denominational schools. But nobody who cares for education as an end in 
itself, and not as something subordinate to a religious end, can help wishing that 
denominationalism should not be made a pretext for lowering the standard of 
material or intellectual excellence in all schools. The Church makes a mistake 
if she does not seek to set herself in the van of every movement which tends to the 
elevation of the people. No doubt it is much to be wished that inspectors and 
examiners, whether they are appointed by the Board of Education or by the 
Universities, should be wise and moderate in judgment, cautious in procedure, 
and impartial in their treatment of different schools. But it is only when all 
schools are related to a central authority that the experience of each school can 
