THE Meetings of the Committee of the National Society have been attended during the last month by his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Oxford, Lord Lyttelton, Rev. Lord John Thynne, Rev. Sir Henry Thompson, Bart.; Ven. Archdeacons Sinclair and Harrison, Rev. Canon Jennings, and William Cotton, Esq.

Annual Meeting.

The Annual Meeting of the Society is fixed to take place on Thursday, the 18th June, at 12 o'clock, in the Central Schoolrooms, Sanctuary, Westminster. Tickets will be issued to Members of the Society on and after the 20th May. Application may be made personally at the office, or by letter to the Secretary.

Secretaries' Meeting.

The Annual Meeting of Secretaries is arranged to take place on Wednesday, the 17th June, in the Central Schoolrooms, Sanctuary, Westminster. The chair will be taken at 12 o'clock. The following are the subjects proposed for discussion:

1. Is it desirable that the principle involved in the Factory-School Act should be brought to bear by legal enactment upon the case of children of all classes of the community; and if so, in what form?

2. Would it be desirable for the Legislature to discourage the total withdrawal from education of children of tender years by an assessed tax levied on their employer, on a sliding-scale graduated inversely according to their age, and voidable in certain cases by certificates of partial attendance at school?

3. The regular establishment of evening-schools, aided by parliamentary grants, as the obvious remedy for the evils threatened by the present premature employment of boys, especially in the rural districts.

4. The expediency and best mode of carrying into effect a system of diocesan examinations, with prizes, for children above thirteen years of age. The prizes to consist of apprenticeship-fees, places of domestic and other services, and pupil-teacherships. 5. Whether in many cases the school-hours may not be changed from the present usual hours to a single attendance, from 10 to 4 o'clock, allowing no return home. 6. The expediency of establishing district-schools for several contiguous small parishes, leaving a good dame-school in each.

7. The possibility of introducing quarterly payments of pence in advance, taking, say, 10d. for 13d. now paid.

Building Grants.

The following Grants have been voted by the National Society during the past month in aid of building Schools:

The Treasurer has been authorised to pay the Grants voted to the Schools in the following places, the several buildings having been reported as completed:

The Committee have again to express their warmest acknowledgments for the following remittances made during the first quarter of the present year. The increase of the sum remitted over that of the previous year is in some instances very gratifying; and to that large body of gentlemen who have so kindly accepted the office of Local Treasurer during the past few months do they look very hopefully for their first returns.

The following Donations and new Annual Subscriptions have been contributed since the last announcement, and are hereby thankfully acknowledged. The List is made up to the 15th April.

Parochial Collections Fund.

(Parochial Collections, continued from April Number.)

The following collections are a portion of the sums already remitted to the Society, being in lieu of those heretofore made under the authority of the Royal Letter triennially granted in its favour. In the majority of dioceses the Bishops, in conformity with the recommendation of the Archbishop, have issued a Pastoral Letter, requesting the Clergy to preach a sermon and make a collection in behalf of the Society. In most cases the suggestion which emanated from the Committee of the Society has been added, that the proceeds should be divided between the Parent Society and the Diocesan Board of Education.

The returns are those received from the undermentioned counties since the last announcement (17th January) at the Receiver's office up to the 15th of April. They comprise, in some instances, the whole amount collected; in others only the moiety, the other half having been forwarded to the Diocesan Board. Collections received since 15th of April will appear in future Numbers.

Collections forwarded for the Society's General Fund are not included in this list, but have been acknowledged in the monthly list of contributions to the Society.

BEDS.

Leighton-Buzzard

East Hendred

Beenham Val

.£4 16 2 Sudbury

Peasemore.

BUCKS.

North Marston

St. Sidwell's 12 13

0 16 4 Widworthy

1 5 9 Crediton

3 12 1 Dunkeswell Ab

bey
High Bicking-

ton.

Hope

Trinity
Stanford-le-

Great Totham

Birchanger

Kelvedon .£7 6
Little Baddow
Springfield-

1 6

All Saints

1 6

0 14 11

1 17

Lucton.

0 11 0

0 12 9

2 3

0

1 9 4

Little Clacton.
Witham

2 16 8

4 5 3

0 17

The Forty-fourth Annual Report of this Society states, that while no very remarkable progress in the diocese has to be reported, there is every evidence that the work of education is proceeding satisfactorily. The Report notices the arrangement made for supplying the National Society with funds in lieu of the amounts hitherto collected under favour of a Royal Letter, and urges the Society's claims to support, as well as the claims of the Norwich Society.

A review of the operations of the Society with respect to its Training Institution at Norwich is given, showing the obstacles which have been surmounted in placing the institution in its present state of efficiency, and providing it with suitable buildings. It appears that the entire number of female teachers trained since 1840 is 400, exclusive of young persons sent out from the Model Schools as assistants. The Report invites the clergy to call the attention of parents, Sunday-school teachers, and others, to the Minute of the Committee of Council of the 2d June 1856, which is as follows:

"To open the examination for Queen's scholarships to all competitors who might be selected and presented by the authorities of the several colleges on their own responsibility, subject to no other condition than that the candidates were more than eighteen years old, and (if pupil-teachers) had not deserted their service."

The Report further adds:

C "The importance of this measure as regards the required supply of qualified stu