Paragraphs 2 to 8 of the Minute of 10th June, 1897, referred to in the Order above.

2. That for each county the committee shall consist

(a). Of such number of members elected by the county council, whether county councillors or not, as is set forth in respect of each county in Schedule I. hereunto annexed: Provided that in the case of a county divided into districts under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889, the county council so electing shall include among the members of such county committee a representative for each such district;

(b). Of an equal number of members, whether members of school boards or not, elected by the chairmen of the school boards of all the parishes and burghs in the county (excepting the burghs of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Leith, and the parish of Govan): Provided always, that one member be elected for each district of a county divided into districts under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889.

(c). Of one of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, to be nominated, in the case of each county, by the Scotch Education Department;

(d). Of any members who may be appointed under the provisions of paragraph 11 of this Minute.

3. That for each of the burghs of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Leith, the committee shall consist of three members elected by the town council, and three members elected by the school board of each of the burghs aforesaid, as the case may be, whether town councillors or members of the school board or not, together with one of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools to be nominated in the case of each burgh by the Department, and together also with any members who may be appointed under the provisions of paragraph 11 of this Minute, and the following members, viz. :

(a). In the case of the burgh of Edinburgh, one member elected by the Edinburgh Merchant Company, and one member elected by the Governors of George Heriot's Trust.

(b). In the case of the burgh of Glasgow, one member elected by the Governors of Hutchesons' Educational Trust, one member elected by the Glasgow City Educational Endowments Board, and one member elected by the Glasgow General Educational Endowments Board.

(c). In the case of the burgh of Aberdeen, one member elected by the President and Governors of Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen, and one member elected by the Governors of the Aberdeen Educational Trust.

(d). In the case of the burgh of Dundee, one member elected by the Directors of the High School of Dundee, one member elected by the Governors of the Dundee Educational Trust, and one member elected by the Governors of the Morgan Trust.

(e). In the case of the burgh of Leith, one member elected by the Governors of Bell's Trust, Leith.

4. The committee for the parish of Govan shall consist of—
Four members elected by the School Board of Govan,
One member elected by the Town Council of Glasgow,
One member elected by the Town Council of Govan,
One member elected by the Town Council of Partick,

One member elected by the Town Council of Kinning Park,

whether members of the electing bodies or not, together with one of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, nominated for the purpose by the Department, and any members who may be appointed under paragraph 11 of this Minute.

5. A meeting of the chairmen of the School Boards of all the parishes and burghs in each county (excepting the burghs of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Leith, and the parish of Govan) for the election of members of the said committees shall, when the election falls due under paragraph 1 of this Minute, be summoned on 10 days' written notice by His Majesty's Inspector of Schools nominated for such county in pursuance of this Minute.

6. The first meeting of each committee shall be summoned on 10 days' written notice by His Majesty's Inspector of Schools nominated for such Committee as herein-before mentioned.

7. Each committee shall appoint a chairman, who shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote, and a clerk, who shall act as correspondent for the committee, and any minute, notice, report, or other document purporting to be signed by such clerk, or other person performing the duties of such clerk or correspondent, shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be issued with the authority of the said committee. All changes in the offices of chairman, or clerk, or in the membership of the committee, shall be at once notified to the Department. The expenses of each committee may be defrayed from any sum payable to the committee as herein-after provided.

8. The members elected under the provisions of this Minute to serve on any committee shall (subject to the provisions of paragraph 11 as to the tenure of office by representatives of local authorities) remain in office until a new election shall take place, as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Minute. Any casual vacancy caused by the death or resignation of any member, other than His Majesty's Inspector nominated by the Department, shall be filled up by the committee, who shall, as far as possible, appoint a successor having like qualifications, official and other, to the member vacating office. Any member of a committee who may cease to hold office on a school board, county council, or other electing body, shall not thereby necessarily cease to be a member of the committee.

(Circular to Secondary Education Committees).

Circular 359.

Scotch Education Department,

August 1902.

SIR,

My Lords will be glad to receive at your early convenience the Annual Statement of the Accounts of your Committee, together with a Short Report on the work of the Committee and the progress of Secondary Education in their district during the past year. I am accordingly to request that you will be good enough to forward to this Department, on one of the enclosed forms, a certified statement of the Accounts of your Committee for the 12 months ended 15th May, 1902, together with Summaries (on one of each of the enclosed forms) showing the amount paid on account of each School or Scholar during the same period. Additional forms for the Summaries will be

supplied if required.

I am also to call your attention to the terms of paragraph 18 of the Minute of 10th June, 1897, and to request that my Lords may be informed before the 1st November next, whether your Committee propose to distribute the grants available to them for purposes of Secondary and Technical Education during the current financial year under their Existing Scheme, or whether they propose to submit an Amended Scheme under paragraph 14 of the Minute for the distribution of such grants.

If, after due consideration, the Committee resolve to follow the former course it will be sufficient that a certified copy of their resolution be forwarded to this Department, but if a new scheme is adopted the Committee should, as soon as the draft of the amended scheme has been submitted to the Department, announce, by advertisement in one or more newspapers circulating in the district, as nearly as may be in the form shown in Appendix I., that the scheme has been submitted, and should forward to the Department copies of the newspapers containing the advertisement.

The scheme should be submitted in duplicate, and should be so framed as to show clearly, in separate paragraphs, duly numbered, the particulars relating to the proposed allocation of the grant. The report on the work of the past year and the scheme for the current year should not be combined in the same document.

The amount available for distribution amongst the Secondary Education Committees for the year 1902-1903 is the same as last year, and, apart from a fixed grant of £200 in respect of each Committee, is based upon the population in accordance with the census of 1901. Particulars are shown in the Table appended (See Appendix II.).

Your Committee have already been informed of the amounts (if any) payable to them in respect of the year 1901-1902 for purposes of Technical Education under the provisions of paragraph 11 of the Minute of 10th June, 1897.

My Lords would again direct attention to the following considerations which they think should be kept in view by Committees in formulating schemes for the current year. It is by such considerations that My Lords will be guided in dealing with the proposals made.

(1). The primary object of the funds administered by Committees is the promotion of Higher Education-which may, with sufficient exactness be defined to be systematic education beyond the stage of the Merit Certificate by means which supplement the provision which ought to be made for that purpose from the school fund of any particular district, but do not relieve the burden which may fairly fall upon that fund.

(2). Provision for this purpose may be made in two forms :(i) by grants to suitable schools; (ii.) by the provision of bursaries and free scholarships to individual pupils. These two objects are quite distinct, and confusion is apt to result from the attempt to combine them as e.g, by making the grant to a school depend on the provision of a certain number of free places. The grant to each school ought to be determined by the considerations stated in the next paragraph; the free scholarships should be regarded as grants to individuals, and should take the form of paying either through the pupil, or directly to the Managers of the school, the normal fees of the school attended by the pupil to whom the scholarship is granted.

(3). (a) Grants to schools should, unless in very exceptional circumstances, be confined to Higher Class Schools and Higher Grade Departments or Advanced Departments. The amount should not vary directly with the attendance or with the number of Leaving Certificates gained, but should be determined solely by consideration of the needs of the school as shown by a statement of income from fees, grants, Common Good, &c, and of estimated expenditure upon equipment, staff, &c., provided that such expenditure is approved by the Committee as reasonable. The Department will obtain and forward for the information of the Committee such a statement for all schools in their district upon forms applicable to each class of school, copies of which are enclosed herewith.

(b) It is recommended that the Committee's grants should not be of fixed amount (except as regards a maximum limit) but should be a definite proportion of the deficiency as shown by the school accounts at the end of the school year. In no case should they be such as entirely to relieve Managers from the necessity of making some contribution from their own funds, and in all cases the Committee's contribution should secure for the school some positive addition to such normal equipment and staffing as might naturally be provided from the school fund. From investigations which their Lordships have had occasion to make, it is clear that these conditions have not always been fulfilled in the past, and they trust that your Committee will co-operate with them in endeavouring to secure, by a careful scrutiny of the returns made by Managers on Forms S. 14 and S. 20, that any grant made is not used in substitution for, or in relief of, rates (paragraph 20 of the Minute). A certificate that such investigation has been made should be appended to the Committee's annual report, and special mention should be made of all cases where the Committee has reason to doubt the propriety of the expenditure.