Origin of tee. Education Committee of the Privy Council. A committee of the Privy Council with authority to provide for the general management and superintendence of Education,' was first appointed, by order in Council, in 1839, and is now regulated by various minutes of Council, which have been submitted to Parliament from time to time. As early as the year 1833, a sum of 20,000l. was voted by Parliament for the promotion of education in Great Britain; but it was not until 1839, that a separate establishment was created to supervise the distribution of the moneys granted for educational purposes. At first, this committee was altogether subordinate to the Privy Council, and merely consisted of a few Cabinet ministers, who were empowered to meet together in order to dispose of the very small sum which was appropriated in behalf of education. But in 1853, pursuant to the report of a Royal Commission appointed to consider of the subject, an Education Department was or-. ganised, and was placed under the supervision of the Lord President of the Privy Council, with a secretary, two assistant secretaries, and numerous clerks. In 1856, in consequence of suggestions made in the House of Commons by Sir John Pakington, a vice-president was appointed, by order in Council, under the authority of the Act 19 & 20 Vict. c. 116. This functionary is a member of the administration and a Privy Councillor, but is not a member of the Cabinet. He is empowered by the said Act to sit in the House of Commons, in order that the department may be properly represented in that House, and subject to the supreme authority and general oversight of the Lord President, he is entrusted with the active administration of the department.t r Rep. of Commons' Com. on Edu- Report on Misc. Expend. 1860, p. 21. Hans. Deb. vol. clxxv. pp. Rep. Com. on Education, 1865. Evid. 827, 828. ture for The importance of this change, and the extended sphere of the operations of the Education Committee, will be apparent upon referring to the great and increasing appropriations by Parliament for the encouragement Expendiof education. From 1838 to 1841, only 30,000l. per education. annum was voted in aid of public education in Great Britain. It then went on rapidly increasing, until in 1868, the sums appropriated on behalf of public education in Great Britain alone amounted to 842,554l. (This is exclusive of the grant on behalf of Science and Art in the United Kingdom, which has likewise increased, from 1,100l. in 1841, to 239,2907. in 1868.") It must be borne in mind that this vast appropriation for educational purposes is in addition to the expenditure from endowments, and from voluntary subscriptions to schools. Taking these into account, it has been estimated that the annual expenditure on behalf of elementary education in the United Kingdom (exclusive of Ireland, for which separate provision is made) amounted, in 1863, to at least two million pounds sterling." Since then, by the "Civil Service Estimates, 1868-9, Class IV. Nos. 8, 9. Sandford's Bampton Lectures for 1861, p. 148. And see the Statistical Tables appended to the Report of the (Duke of Newcastle's) Commission on Popular Education in England, Commons Papers, 1861, vol. xxi. pt. i. p. 578. This Report, which, with its appendixes, comprises six folio volumes, is one of the most thorough and exhaustive investigations ever made into any subject. It describes the various institutions, whether in connection with the government, or with the great charitable societies of the country, by which the education of the poor is superintended and assisted, and the different classes of elementary schools. It includes accounts of reformatories, naval and army schools, and training colleges, and suggests important reforms in the management of the same. (See Hans. Deb. vol. cxci. p. 106.) Composition for Education operation of the new Revised Code, this immense expenditure has been checked, and considerably reduced. But the additional grants, in 1868, on behalf of day and evening schools, in England and Wales, have again increased the amount." Before proceeding to notice the particular duties assigned to the Educational Department, it will be necessary to explain the position and authority of the presiding officers. As a natural consequence of the additional duties which have devolved, of late years, upon this department, its constitution has undergone a gradual change. The responsible heads for administrative purposes are no longer the ordinary members of the Education Committee, but the Lord President and the Vice-President conjointly. The members who compose the Committee of Council on Education are usually (with the exception of the ViceCommit- President) members of the Cabinet. Accordingly, they vary with every change of ministry. They are always tee. mission. (Hans. Deb. vol. clxxviii. p. X tion in Canada and in certain foreign countries, it fills twenty-four octavo volumes. It being impossible to legislate immediately on the subject, a Suspensory Act was passed, in 1868, to provide that any person appointed to any mastership, &c., in any of the endowed schools referred to in the aforesaid report, shall take the office subject to any provisions that may be enacted hereafter respecting the same (31 & 32 Vict. c. 32). Hans. Deb. vol. clxiv. p. 295. Ibid. vol. clxxiii. p. 1355. The vote for 'public education, Great Britain,' for the year ending March 31, 1868, was only 705,8657., whilst 804,002/. was voted for the same service in 1863-4. For the year 1868-9 the estimates were increased to 842,554.; but owing to the abandonment by the government of their Education Bill, they only took a vote for 781,3241. Hans. Deb. vol. excii. p. 1134. X Rep. Educ. Committee, 1865, Evid. 227. selected by the Lord President of the Council, and are chosen partly with reference to the offices they hold in the executive government, and partly on account of their personal interest in educational questions. At the present time, by declaration of the Queen in Council, on Dec. 12, 1868, the committee consists of the Lord President, the Vice-President, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Secretaries of State for the Home Department, for the Colonies, for War, and for India,; the First Lord of the Treasury, the President of the Poor Law Board; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The latter functionary must necessarily be a member of the committee, because almost every minute, either directly or indirectly, affects the question of money. It is a matter of propriety, also, to have the Home Office represented. Otherwise, there is no absolute necessity for any other office in the ministry to be represented on this committee." tions. It is very desirable that there should be a sort of Its funcstanding committee of the Cabinet for educational purposes. Nevertheless, since the existing organisation of the department has been established, the committee exercise no administrative functions, and take no part in the current business of the office. They are summoned, from time to time, at the discretion of the Lord President, and in his name, to meet in the Council chamber, for the purpose of deliberating upon proposed minutes, or upon questions of importance, involving considerations of general policy, submitted to them by that functionary. members summoned do not all invariably attend. The quorum of the committee is three; but supposing that number not to be present on a given day, the Lord President and Vice-President would undertake of themselves to decide the business upon which the committee Rep. Educ. Com. 1865, Evid. of Earl Granville, 2327-2330, 2064; of Earl Russell, 3052. Ibid. Mr. Lowe's Evid. 810. a Ibid. Evid. 117, 130. The A consul tative body. was summoned; and might, in point of fact, pass a minute on their sole authority. The committee, however, is an active working body; but only for quasi-legislative or consultative purposes. They never originate any measures, but merely advise and concur in the bye-legislation,' which, under the name of Minutes of Council, emanates from their authority. Technically, the Committee of Council on Education are the depositaries of the whole power; in practice, they delegate all the executive and administrative functions to the Lord President; and notwithstanding the responsibility which, in theory, attaches to them, the practice is now established that the Lord President is responsible to Parliament for everything connected with the department. Even were the other members of the commitee to outvote' the President and Vice-President, a case which never occurred, they could not compel those responsible ministers to accept the decision of the majority. But, like the Cabinet itself, the opinions of this committee are usually declared in an informal way; and there is no record kept of their proceedings, unless they pass minutes. In fact, it is only by means of the 'Court Circular' that it could be ascertained how often the committee met, and who attended on any particular occasion." The secretary of the department is not obliged to be present at meetings of the committee; he only attends when specially required.i g While it is entirely in the discretion of the Lord President whether he will submit the consideration of any particular question of policy to the committee or not, it is nevertheless his duty to submit the minutes to them; Rep. Educ. Com. 1865. Evid. a Ibid. 609-614. e Ibid. 763, 776. f Ibid. 118-122.-It would be, no doubt, perfectly competent to a majority of the committee to overrule a decision of the Lord President; but he would have a perfect right to |