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and remaining fortwo years, and Donald Currie whose services began February I, 1859. Messrs. Kenny and Curry resigned at the end of June, 1860, when the‘ Central Academy ceased to exist, and the Prince of Wales College became its successor.

An agitation more or less organized throughout the province and sundry peti- tions from different districts induced the Legislature to introduce and pass a bill on April 3, 1852, which became known as the Free Education Act, and which is practically speaking, the foundation of the present school system. Its characteristic features were that the Board of Education of seven members appointed by the Governor in Council should have control of all public schools and should examine candidates for teacher’s license and should license to teach those found fit who had previously been tested in teaching ability and certified by the headmaster of the Central Academy: that all teachers already licensed should be re- examined at the end of the current year, and the period of engagement thereafter should be one of twelve months. The Board of Education should not establish more than two hundred school districts and the schools should be at least three miles apart. The control of the school was vested in a Board of Trustees of five members. All children over five years of age should be admitted to the school of the district, and children outside the boundaries of any school district might attend the nearest school. No sum or amount per head should be demanded of scholars attending a school whereof the teacher received pay under this act. Assess- ment for school purposes should be on all householders residing in the district for a term of six months previous. There should be appointed at a salary of £200 one Visitor

PAST AND PRESENT OF

of public schools who should visit each school at least twice annually; and he should cause' the grant to be'withheld from schools not having thirty scholars in attendance; but in such a case the district was to be permitted to keep the school open and receive from the treasury instead an allowance of twenty shillings for each pupil in attendance throughout the year. There should be three vacations during the year, viz: One week in June, the second week in October, and the period .from De- cember 24th to January 6th. Alternate Saturdays became holidays. There should be but two classes of teachers, first or low- est, and second or highest. They should re- ceive as salaries. those of the first class £45 and those of the second class £50, and the latter if further certified by the Board of Education as competent to teach Latin and the higher branches, should receive in addi- tion ten shillings for each scholar, up to twenty in number, who prosecuted work in these subjects. Teachers were permitted to use the school buildings for evening classes for their own emolument. French Acadian teachers. if certified by a clergyman and re— ported by the Visitor capable of teaching the French language and Reading and Writing in English, should receive £35. No grant was to be made to any teacher receiving as- sistance from the Glebe Land’s Fund. The National School was brought under direct control of the Board of Education. Charlottetown was to have but one teacher of the second or highest class, who should be qualified to teach Latin and should re- ceive £75 as salary; it should have one mas- ter of the first or lowest class, to receive £60; and when the attendance at either school ex- ceeded fifty scholars, the Board of Education might establish one or more schools and ap-