Sir W. Hart Dyke, in proposing the Education Vote on
Monday night, made the usual statement as to the progress and cost of education daring the last year, adding a defence of the New Code which had been withdrawn for the present owing to the dread of the managers of the Voluntary schools that in large towns, and, indeed, in all but rather small country schools, the New Code would increase the liabilities of the Volun- tary school managers as to space and school appointments, without increasing their resources. Sir W. Hart Dyke stated that the total education expenditure of last year was £3.600,692, and the total estimate for the current year was 23,684,339. The increase is due to an addition of £101,457 for annual grants for day and evening scholars. The number of scholars on the register is 4,687,000, while the average attendance is 3,527,000; so that there are more than a million children on the register who stay away from school every day. The annual attendance, however, is better by 88,000 than in the previous year. The, number of children educated in the Voluntary schools is to the number educated in Board schools as about 22 to 13; so that the Voluntary schools are at present much the more powerful agency of the two, however true it may be, as Mr. Mundella maintains, that the Board schools do a great deal to raise the general level of education. The average cost per child is, in Voluntary schools £1 16s. 4d., and in Board schools £2 4s. 70. The progress of the teaching given to girls in cookery is very satisfactory. In 1884 the number of girls taught cookery was 7,600, while last year it was 42,159, or nearly six times the number of 1884.
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