NUMBER 14.

Objection was made against the taxing of certain lots of land for the erection of a school-house, because parts of them lay without the limits of the section for which the house was built. The trustees ask how they are to know what property to assess in their section. The following is the answer returned:

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The assessor or collector's roll is your sole guide as to the property you will assess in any school section. It makes no difference whether one-half or the whole of a property lies in a school section; if it appears on the roll included within the limits of one school section, it is all liable to be assessed for the school purposes of such section, and, of course, not for those of any other school section."

NUMBER 15

Objection is made to the lawfulness of two trustees of a school section agreeing with a teacher in the absence of the third trustee. Also, the majority of a school meeting resolved that all the expenses of the school should be defrayed by parents and guardians sending children to it. An appeal is made for an opinion on the lawfulness of these proceedings, and the authority of the trustees in such circumstances. The following is the answer given:

"By the Interpretation Act, 12th Vict. ch. 10, section 5, clause 24, it is expressly provided that the majority of the members of any corporation whatever, have authority to act in behalf of such corporation and bind the minority by their acts. Two trustees therefore, have authority to contract with a teacher and determine the amount of his salary and the terms of paying it.

"In reference to the resolution proposed at the late annual meeting of your school section, stating that the teacher's salary be collected by rate-bill from the parents and guardians of scholars attending the school during the year 1852, I remark, that it is contrary to certain express provisions of the school act, especially the latter part of the 7th clause of the 12th section. The majority of a school meeting may determine, within the limits prescribed by the act, the manner in which their school shall be supported; but they have no authority to say that a certain portion of the inhabitants of their section shall pay all the expenses of their school.

"You, as trustees, have authority, under such a resolution, to levy the rate-bill you may have been accustomed to impose upon parents sending children to the school, and provide for the balance (if there should be any) of the teacher's salary, and other expenses of your school, by assessment upon the property of your school section, as prescribed in the latter part of the 7th clause of the 12th section of the act."

NUMBER 16.

A resolution is adopted at a school meeting to tax each inhabitant of the section according to the number of his children of school age, at a certain sum per child, without reference to his attending the school; and that if the sum thus raised was insufficient to pay all the expenses of the school, the balance should be paid by persons sending to it. An appeal is made on these points, as also enquiry in regard to the number of teaching days in each month. The following is the answer returned:

"In respect to the resolution of a school meeting, a copy of which you enclose, it is contrary to law, as you will see from my remarks on the subject in the Journal of Education for December, p. 183. No school meeting has authority to tax a man according to the number of his children of a certain age; nor has any school meeting authority to say what description of landholders or freeholders shall be taxed for school purposes. Whatever sum or sums are raised in a school section for school purposes, otherwise than what may be raised by subscription and rate-bill on parents sending children to the school, must be raised by rate on all the property of the school section as given in the assessor or collector's roll. See 9th clause of the 12th section of the act.

"Your trustees, therefore, have no legal authority to carry into effect either of the resolutions which you enclose. As no lawful manner has been resolved upon whereby the trustees can raise the balance of the teacher's salary over and above the amount of apportionment from the school fund; they can do so by assessment under the authority of the latter part of the 7th clause of the 12th section of the act. Or, if they think proper, they can call a special meeting to consider the subject again.

"The number of teaching days in each month is, all the secular days of each month not specified as holidays in the 1st section of the general regulations, prescribed by the council of public instruction.

NUMBER 17.

A local superintendent proposes several questions as to the respective powers of school meetings, trustees and others in a school section, the nature of which will be sufficiently apparent from the following answers returned to them:

"1. An annual or special school section meeting has authority to say whether a school shall be supported by rate-bill at a certain amount per quarter; but such meeting has no authority to say whether a child attending one week or one month shall pay for the whole quarter. The last part of the 8th clause of the 12th section of the School Act makes it the duty of the trustees to adopt a monthly, quarterly, or half yearly rate-blil, as they may judge best. Under the resolution, a copy of which you enclose, the trustees can, if they think proper, impose a rate-bill of one shilling and three pence per month, (which is at the rate of three shillings and nine pence per quarter) and raise whatever balance may be required to make up the teacher's salary, &c., by assessment, as authorised by the latter part of the 7th clause of the 12th section of the act.

"2. To your second question, I answer, that trustees have no authority to levy a rate-bill for less than one month.

"3. It is not lawful for any school meeting to adopt a resolution against all school tax, as the latter part of the 7th clause of the 12th section expressly authorises the trustees to levy a tax on property, if necessary, to make up the balance of a teacher's salary and other expenses of their school.

"4. If a majority of a special school meeting, called for that purpose, does not resolve upon any method of providing the teacher's salary, then the trustees have authority to provide for the whole balance of the teacher's salary, over and above the amount of the apportionment from the school fund, by assessing the property of the school section, as authorised by the latter part of the 7th clause of the 12th section of the act. Thus adopting no resolution at such meeting as to the mode of providing for the teacher's salary, is equivalent to resolving in favor of a free school; for, in such circumstances, the trustees have no authority to impose a rate-bill on parents sending children to the school; they must raise whatever balance they require under the authority of the clause last referred to.

"5. The trustees have authority, under the 12th clause of the 12th section of the act, to call as many special school meetings as they please, and for any school purpose whatever.

"6. No other parties than the trustees of a school section have authority to call a legal meeting of the voters of such section.

7. Each annual school meeting must be held the hour of the day, as well as on the day, specified by law. If any annual school meeting under your jurisdiction, was held at 6 o'clock, p.m., instead of at 10, a.m., of the day specified by law, the proceedings of such meetings are null; but according to the 5th section of the act, the old trustee continues in office until his snccessor is elected, as authorised in the proviso of the 9th section.

"8. A trustee can be sued by no other than the majority of his colleagues for any neglect of duty. See 8th section of the act. Therefore, if the majority of voters at a school meeting adopt resolutions according to which the trustees are of opinion

they cannot employ a teacher and justly guarantee his salary,- (such, for example, as a rate of two dollars a quarter for pupils, or any rate-bill so high as to prevent the attendance of the pupils) the trustees can, if they think proper, decline employing a teacher at all, and let the respousibility of having no school, and of losing the school fund (including the local assessment, part of it, as well as the Legislative school grant) be upon those who propose and support such unreasonable resolutions.

"I thank you for the energetic manner in which you co-operate in promoting the circulation of the Journal of Education—a publication from which I derive not a farthing's advantage more than yourself, unless it be an advantage to be responsible for all expenses connected with its publication, besides the labour of editing it."

NUMBER 18.

In a school section where a free school was established, children from neighbouring sections (in which the schools were not free) were sent to the cheap school-crowding that school and depriving trustees of neighbouring sections of a portion of the ordinary means of supporting their own schools. The trustees of the free school section rather favoured this proceeding, and thought they could collect rate-bills for the attendance of the non-resid nt children. A representation having been made to the chief superintendent of schools on the subject, the following is the answer returned :

"In reference to the question you have proposed, I remark, that the trustees of a school section have no legal authority to admit to their school any children not resident

in their section.

"The 11th clause of the 12th section of the act has reference to the collection of rates on the property of non-residents, but has no reference to the assumed admission of non-resident children to the school. The school of each school section is for the children of school age in that section, and for no others; otherwise the consequences would be what you justly state in your letter. In some instances, children have been permitted to go to the school of a section in which they did not reside, but not when it has been objected to by any party residing in the section, either to or from which such children have been sent.".

NUMBER 19.

The nature of the questions proposed by a party concerned, relative to certain powers of school meetings and trustees, is sufficiently indicated by the following answers returned to them:

"In reply to your questions, I remark that no school section meeting has authority to tax any man according to the number of his children of school, or of any age, as you may see by what I have stated at some length on this subject in the Journal of Education for December, p. 183.

"A school meeting has a right to vote that a rate-bill of 74d. per month shall be paid for each pupil attending the school.

"The trustees, therefore, of section to which you refer, have a right, and it is their duty, to levy the rate-bill of 73d. per month for each pupil attending the school; but they have no right, nor can they collect by law the proposed rate of 5s. for each child resident in the school section between the ages of 5 and 16 years, whether such child attends the school or not. But if the school fund apportionment for the year, and the monthly rate bill of 74d. per pupil, are not sufficient to make up the salary which the trustees may think proper to pay the teacher and defray the other expenses of the school, the trustees have authority, by the latter part of the 7th clause of the 12th section of the School Act, to assess the property of the school section for the balance they may require for such purposes."

NUMBER 20.

A majority of persons present at a school meeting passed a resolution against any tax for the support of the school, but did not say in what manner the trustees should

provide for its support. The trustees apply for advice as to what they can and ought to do in the circumstances. The following is the answer to their representation and and inquiry:

"No school meeting has authority to pass a resolution that would take away from trustees a power which is expressly given to them by Act of Parliament. The 4th and 5th clauses of the 12th section of the School Act, makes it the duty of the trustees to determine what expenses they will incur to support their school; and the latter part of the 7th clause of the same section provides, that if the sum or sums provided for at an annual or special school meeting are not sufficient to pay the expenses thus incurred, the trustees shall have authority to assess the property of the section and collect any additional rate they may require to enable them to meet their engagements.

"The majority of the trustees of your section, under the circumstances which you state, have ample authority to levy and collect a property rate for whatever sum or sums they may require, over and above the amount of the school fund apportionment for the year, to pay their teacher's salary and the other expenses of their school. The proceedings of the meeting, therefore, to which you refer, enable and require the trustees to establish and support their school as a free school,-as they have no authority to levy a rate-bill on parents sending children to the school, according to the resolution which you enclose."

NUMBER 21.

At an annual school meeting the resolution, as to the mode of providing for the support of the school having been found to be injurious to the attendance of pupils and not sufficient to meet the engagements incurred, the trustees called a special meeting to re-consider the matter. Their right to call a meeting for that purpose, and the legality of the proceedings of such meeting having been objected to, the trustees applied for advice to the chief superintendent, who returned the following answer :

"As the 12th section of the School Act authorises the trustees to call a specia ineeting of their section for any school purpose specified in such section, a majority of the trustees of your school section have authority to call a special meeting to reconsider the whole question of the mode of providing for the support of your school, and rescinding or modifying any resolutions which may have been adopted on the subject, at the annual or any previous school meeting.

"I may further remark, that no school meeting has authority to say that the trustees shall be confined to what may be paid by rate-bill and the apportionment from the school fund for the support of their school; since the 4th and 5th clauses of the 12th section of the School Act make the trustees the judges as to the sum or sums they will expend for the support of their school, and the latter part of the 7th clause of the same section expressly authorises them to assess the property of the section for whatever sum or sums they may require to meet their engagements, and the payment of which has not been otherwise provided for."

II.-GENERAL REPLY by the Chief Superintendent of Schools to various inquiries as to the duties of School Section authorities, relating to the election of School Trustees, receiving of their annual reports and examination of their accounts, throughout Upper Canada, on Wednesday, the 2nd of January, 1852.

The second section of the School Act requires, "That the annual meetings for the election of school trustees shall be held in all the villages, towns, cities, and townships of Upper Canada, on the second Wednesday in January in each year, commencing at the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon."

As the proceedings of these annual school meetings are of great importance to the interests of schools and the promotion of education, I will offer some directions and remarks respecting them.

1. By the 12th clause of the 12th section of the Act, it is the duty of the trustees of each school section, "to appoint the place of each annual school meeting, and to cause notices to be posted up in at least three public places of such section, at least six days before the time of holding such meeting."

2. It is not necessary that the trustees should specify any of the objects of the annual school meeting, as they are enumerated and prescribed by the act. The following are the several clauses of the 6th section of the Act, relative to the duties of each annual school meeting :

"VI. And be it enacted, That at every annual school section meeting in any township, as authorized and required to be held by the second section of this Act, it shall be the duty of the freeholders or householders of such section, present at such meeting, or a majority of them,—

"Firstly. To elect a chairman and secretary, who shall perform the duties required of the chairman and secretary, by the fifth section of this Act.

"Secondly. To receive and decide upon the report of the trustees, as authorized and provided for by the eighteenth clause of the 12th section of this Act.

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Thirdly. To elect one or more persons as trustee or trustees, to fill up the vacancy or vacancies in the trustee corporation, according to law: Provided always, that no teacher in such section shall hold the office of school trustee.

Fourthly. To decide upon the manner in which the salary of the teacher or teachers, and all the expenses connected with the operation of the school or schools, shall be provided for."

3. It will be observed that the majority of the freeholders or householders present at an annual meeting have a right to elect whom they please to be chairman and secretary, without any restriction or exception; and however few electors there may be present at any such meeting, (if no more than three) they have authority to do all that could be done by one hundred electors. The lawfulness of the proceedings of any such meeting is not in the least degree affected by the smallness of the number of school electors present, any more than the lawfulness of the election of a member of Parliament would be affected by the smallness of the number of his constituents who had voted at his election, provided he had the majority of those who did vote. All electors have a right to attend and vote, if they please; if they do not do so, they have no reason to complain, and are justly bound by the acts of those who did attend and vote.

4. The fifth section of the Act requires that "the chairman of such meeting shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the meeting, and shall give the casting vote in case of an equality of votes, and shall have no vote except as chairman, and shall take the votes in such manner as shall be desired by the majority of the electors present, and shall, at the request of any two electors, grant a poll for recording the names of the electors by the secretary." The same section of the act also requires "that a correct copy of the proceedings of every annual school section meeting, signed by the chairman and secretary, shall be forthwith transmitted by the secretary to the local superintendent of schools."

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5. In the event of a vote being objected to, the 7th section of the Act provides, "that any person offering to vote at an annual or other school section meeting, shall be challenged as unqualified by any legal voter in such section, the chairman presiding at such meeting shall require the person so offering to make the following declaration : 'I do declare and affirm that I am a freeholder [or householder] in this school section, and that I am legally qualified to vote at this meeting.' And every person making such a declaration, shall be permitted to vote on all questions proposed at such meeting; but if any person thus challenged shall refuse to make such a declaration, his vote shall be rejected." The act then renders any person liable to fine and imprisonment who shall be convicted of having wilfully made a false declaration as to his right to vote at such meeting.

6. With these references and explanations, I think there can be no doubt on the part of any one, as to the organization and mode of proceeding at an annual school