AUSTIN COLLEGE

powerful impulse to the diffusion of theological science among the clergy. He refused to ordain any one as a priest who had not been educated in his seminary. A number of his pupils established similar institutions in their dioceses; and, when the church of North Africa was devastated by the incursions of the Vandals, the African bishops established seminaries in many of the places where they found a refuge. By his work De catechizandis rudibus, Augustine became the father of Christian catechetics. The work was compiled in compliance with the application of a deacon of Carthage, by the name of Deogratias, who wished to have a guide-book for the instruction of the catechumens. In this work, Augustine demands for the instruction of the catechumens a historical basis, regarding an outline of Bible history as the best compendium of the knowledge that is necessary for salvation. Of the other writings of Augustine, the work De musica, a dialogue between a teacher and a scholar, and De magistro, which treats of Christ as the best teacher, are partly of an educational character. -See SCHMIDT, Geschichte der Pädagogik, II, 59, sq.; BINDEMANN, Der heil. Augustinus, (2 vols., 1844-1855); POUJOULAT, Vie de St. Augustin; MOSHEIM, Ecclesiastical History, vol. 1.; The works of St. Augustine, edited by M. DODS (London, 1874-6). Of the earlier editions of his works, that by the Benedictines, in 11 vols. (Paris, 1679-1700) is considered the best.

palians form the dominant body as regards number. Next to these, are the Roman Catholics, who constitute about 25 per cent of the total population. The Methodists rank third. All other sects are well represented.

As the colonies are independent of each other, each has its own educational system, which, however, in all the colonies is more or less assimilated to the educational law of England or the national system of Ireland. At the head of the system, is a board or council of education, consisting of members appointed by the government. The government establishes schools to be entirely supported and controlled by the state, but also grants aid to schools established by other parties, in case they submit to certain regulations. In several of the colonies, education has been made compulsory. With regard to grade, the schools consist of primary schools, grammar schools, colleges, and universities. Of the latter, two have been in operation for some time,those at Sydney and Melbourne, the former in 1874 with 45 students, the latter with 122. A third university was more recently established at Dunedin, New Zealand, and a fourth, in 1875, at Adelaide. A monthly periodical, devoted to education, is published in Sydney.

The Australian Handbook and Almanac for 1876 gives the following educational facts and statistics for the several countries:

New South Wales. - The number of schools is returned at 1508, with 2334 teachers of both sexes, and 110,287 scholars, of whom 57,917 are boys, and 52,370 girls. Under the council of education, there were 942 schools, employing 877 male and 512 female teachers, with 92,303 scholars of both

Northern Territory. 526,531

Tasmania.

26,215

New Zealand..

66 66

Total.

Australia

Natives

New Zealand

6.

105,000 106,259 299,500 ..3,077,701 sq. m. 2,187,826 inhab. 55,000 45,500 Grand Total...... .2,288,326 inhab. The progress of most of these colonies, especially that of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, has been very rapid; and it may be safely inferred from their vast resources, as well as from their rapid progress in the past, that these colonies will, ere long, hold a prominent place among the civilized countries of the world. Their national language is the English. There is no state church as in England, but the Episco

schools, provisional schools, and half-time schools. The denominational schools under the board number 209, of which 96 belong to the church of England, 87 to the Roman Catholics, 15 to the Presbyterians, 10 to the Wesleyans, and 1 to the Jews. There are also under the control of the board 2 orphan and 3 industrial schools. The private schools of the colony number 555, of which 55 are for boys, 87 for girls, and 413 mixed. St. Paul's College had 12 students, St. John's College 4, the Grammar School 293, the Deaf and Dumb Institution 53. Toward the support of these educational institutions, the sum of £154,220 was contributed by the government, and £67,377 was received in shape of fees and voluntary contributions. The number of sunday schools was 1,023, with an average attendance of 51,478, and 6,497 teachers.

Victoria. Of day schools, including state schools, private educational establishments, colleges, and grammar schools, there were, March, 31., 1873, 1936, with an attendance of 160,743 scholars and 4,257 teachers. The common schools numbered 1,048, with 2,416 teachers, 73,826 boys, and 62,136 girls. The local receipts for the maintenance of the schools, arising from fees and other sources, were £117,868, this amount being supplemented by a government grant of £182,202, making a total of £300,070. The private schools

Upper Austria and Salzburg, are wholly German; besides, the Germans have a majority in Lower Austria (90 per cent), Carinthia (69 per cent), the Tyrol (60 per cent), Styria (63 per cent), and Silesia (51 per cent). The Czechs control two provinces, Moravia (71 per cent) and Bohemia (60 per cent); the Slovens one, Carniola (93 per cent); and the Croats or Serbs one, Dalmatia (87 per cent). In four provinces, no one nationality has an absolute majority; in Galicia, the Ruthenians number 44 per cent, and the Poles 42; in the Bukovina, the Ruthenians 40, and the Roumanians 39; in the Littorale, the Slovens 42, the Italians 31, and the Croats 21.

A greater harmony than in regard to the nationality of the inhabitants, prevails in respect to their religion. The Roman Catholics, in 1869, constituted 91,92 per cent of the total population; the Jews 4,06 per cent, the Orthodox Greeks 2,27, the Lutherans 1,22, the Reformed 0,51, all others 0,02 per cent. Included in the number of Roman Catholics are the United Greeks (11,53 per cent) and the United Armenians (0,02 per cent). The Roman Catholic Church is in the majority in every province, except the Bukovina, and in every nationality, except the Roumanian.

Until the government of Maria Theresa, public education was in a very backward state. As late as 1770, thirty years after the accession of the empress to the throne, only 24 per cent of the children from the 5th to the 13th year of age attended the public schools of Austria; in Lower Austria, only 16 per cent; in Silesia, only 4 per cent. The large majority of the children, especially in the country, grew up without any instruction. The first impulse to the thorough organization of a public school system was given by a memorial which the bishop of Passau,. Count Firmian, addressed to the empress. In accordance with his suggestions, the council of state proposed the establishment of two permanent school committees for the provinces of Upper and Lower Austria for the purpose of improving the methods of teaching and the administration of the schools. The government approved the plan, and the first committee was established May 19., 1770. One of the first acts of the committee was the establishment of a model school at Vienna, in January, 1771, and of a model school fund. The influence of these reforms was so satisfactory, that the establishment of school committees, school funds, and model schools in all the other provinces, was either carried into effect, or at least begun. The establishment of a court committee on studies (Studienhofcommission), February 12., 1774, which was to have the chief control of all the educational affairs of the empire, was another reform of great importance. In December, 1774, the first comprehensive school law was published. It provided for the establishment, in connection with every parish church, of a common (trivial) school, in which religion, Bible history, reading, writing, and the elements of arithmetic, should be taught; for the establishment in each circle of at least one principal-school (Hauptschule), with

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three or four teachers, who should give instruction in the Latin language. geography, history, composition, drawing, geometry, and the elements of agriculture; and for the establishment, at the seat of each school committee, of a model and normal school, which, besides extending the course of instruction pursued in the principal-school, was also to prepare candidates for the office of teacher. Attendance at school was made obligatory after the 6th year of age, and penalties were imposed upon parents and guardians who should fail to send their children to school. All teachers were bound to use the text-books which the government caused to be specially prepared for the Austrian schools. The school law was chiefly the work of Abbot Felbiger, who in connection with Kindermann and other distinguished educators, worked indefatigably to carry into effect the provisions of the law. The emperor Joseph II. regarded the diffusion of education as the soundest basis of his reformatory schemes. He enforced by compulsory laws the education of all children from 6 to 12 years of age; and. in 1781, ordered a general school census to be taken. The patrons of the churches were required to provide for the establishment of a school in connection with every church which was without one. The patent of toleration of Oct. 13., 1781, gave also to the Protestants of the Augsburg and Helvetic confessions, and to the non-united Greeks, the right to establish a church and school for every 500 persons. The Jews, also, were at first authorized, but soon afterward commanded, to establish schools for the education of their youth. Great prominence was given, even in provinces not German, to the teaching of the German language, the knowledge of which was an indispensable qualification for an appointment to any state office. Instruction in singing, mechanical work, and horticulture was recommended. Corporal punishment was limited to extreme cases. A review course of instruction (Wiederholungsunterricht) was to be provided on Sundays and holidays for children who had finished the course of the elementary schools. In the capital of each of the circles into which the Austrian provinces were divided, school commissioners were appointed to superintend the public schools in common with the deans. During the reign of the emperor Leopold, teachers' associations were organized, and delegates chosen by these associations were admitted to the provincial boards of education. A revisory committee on studies (Studienrevisionscommission), which was formed in 1795, under the emperor Francis, prepared a new constitution for the public schools, which was published in 1805, and formed for a long time the legal basis for public education in Austria. The influence of teachers and teachers' associations on the government of the schools was greatly restricted; while, on the other hand, that of the Catholic Church was greatly extended, the inspection and superintendence of schools being almost wholly transferred to the parish priests and the bishop. The organization of the review course of instruction, a peculiar feature of the Austrian system, was completed in 1816 by a special law.

which made attendance at the review course of instruction compulsory until the close of the 15th year of age or the end of apprenticeship. In 1828, the government began to publish statistical accounts of the progress of public education, which, as appears from these accounts, continued to be steady in all the provinces of the empire. A peculiar feature in the educational history of Austria, at that time, was the more general introduction of the vernacular languages of the various nationalities into the public schools, in place of the German, which thus far had been too predominantly used even in some districts not German. Among the first results of the revolution of 1848, which led to the abdication of the emperor Ferdinand I., and the accession of the emperor Francis Joseph I., was the establishment of a ministry of public instruction, which in the same year published an outline of the proposed reorganization of all the Austrian schools. This outline established several important principles: (1) The maintenance of a public school was made obligatory for the communities; (2) Instruction was everywhere to be given in the mother-tongue of the pupils; and (3) For the candidates of teachers who formerly had received only a six months' instruction, a special course of two or three years was arranged, which was gradually to be developed into a teachers' seminary. In 1849, Count Leo Thun was appointed minister of public instruction, who, during the eleven years of his administration, carried into effect some of the reforms proposed in the outline, and organized in the capital of every province a provincial school board, consisting partly of experienced educators who received the title of school councilor (Schulrath), and partly of administrative officers. But the chief aim of this minister was the establishment of a far-reaching control of the Catholic Church over the public school system. The concordat between Austria and the Pope, which was concluded in August, 1855, provides that the entire instruction of the Catholic youth, both in public and private schools, must be in accordance with the Catholic religion; that all the teachers in the Catholic schools are placed under the superintendence of the church, and that the bishops will propose to the government fit persons for the office of school superintendents. The disastrous issue of the war against France and Italy led to the introduction of several sweeping reforms, and the establishment of a national representation, or Reichsrath, in which the Liberal party impetuously demanded the emancipation of the public schools from the control of the church, and the abolition of the concordat. The ministry of instruction, which was looked upon by the Liberals as a tool of the church was totally abolished; but the government showed great reluctance in yielding to other demands of the Liberals. A new organization of the public school system was provided for by the law of May 14., 1869. It substitutes for the former Haupt- und Trivialschulen (high and common schools) a division into Volksschulen (people's schools) and Bürgerschulen (citizens'

schools). The subjects to be taught in the former are religion, language, arithmetic, writing, geometrical forms, the elements of natural science and history, singing, and gymnastic exercises. According to the number of teachers allowed, it may have from one to seven classes. In the Bürgerschule, moreover, composition, natural science, geometry, book-keeping, and drawing are taught. Schools of the latter class have, when complete, 8 classes, or if connected with a Volksschule of 5 classes, only 3 classes. The communities must establish a school whenever, in the circuit of one hour's walk, 40 children are found who attend a school at least half a German mile distant. A second teacher is allowed when the number of children exceeds 80; and another for every additional 80. The school age lasts from the 6th to the 14th year. There are special school boards for the communities, districts, and provinces. The number of Bürgerschulen and Volksschulen in 1871, was 14,769, of which 6560 were German, 5746 Slavic, 1080 Italian, 24 Roumanic, 5 Magyar, 3 Greek, and 1352 mixed. The number of male teachers was 20,904; of female teachers, 3,445. The attendance at school was 941,497 boys and 878,193 girls. In two provinces, the Tyrol and Moravia, the number of children attending school exceeded that of the children of school age; in Upper Austria, Bohemia, and Silesia, it was between 90 and 96 per cent.; in Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, and Carinthia, between 75 and 95; in Carniola and the Littorale, between 50 and 55; in Galicia, 20; in Dalmatia, 15; and in the Bukovina, only 12 per cent. The middle schools, which prepare boys for the higher studies, are either gymnasia, realschools, or realgymnasia. The gymnasia prepare their pupils for the universities, the realschools for the higher technical schools, and the realgymnasia for both. In 1870, there were 97 gymnasia with 27,287 pupils, 24 realgymnasia with 3,210, and 50 realschools with 13,229 pupils. Of universities there are 7: those of Vienna, Gratz, Innspruck, Prague, Cracow, Lemberg, and Czernowitz. They all contain, like the German universities, 4 faculties, except Lemberg and Czernowitz, which have only 3. The number of students, in the winter semester of 1874—5, was, at Vienna 4,223, at Gratz 930, at Innspruck 633, at Prague 2,011, at Lemberg upwards of 1100, and at Cracow upwards of 1,000. There are seven technical high schools: 2 at Prague (1 German and 1 Czechic), and 1 each at Vienna, Gratz, Brünn, Lemberg, Cracow, and, in all, about 270 professors and 3,000 pupils. Male teachers' seminaries were first established in accordance with the new law of 1869, in 1870. Of these, there were, in 1873, 40, with 145 principal and 207 assistant teachers, and 2,111 pupils, of whom 1,093 were Germans, 530 Czechs, 215 Poles, 93 Ruthenians, 128 Croats or Servians, 95 Italians, and 15 Roumanians. For the education of female teachers, there are 21 seminaries, with 105 principal and 111 assistant teachers, and 1,667 pupils. The number of special schools is very large, embracing theological, medical, and industrial schools, schools for navigation, mining, agricul