cant is satisfactory to the committee of teachers on permanent certificates, the list of questions and answers, with all other papers accompanying the application, shall be forwarded to the department of public instruction, and if approved by the superintendent of public instruction, he shall issue and forward to the applicant a permanent certificate, in accordance with the recommendation made by the committee, as now required by law; Provided, That the questions shall be answered immediately and in the presence of the committee.12

Permanent certificates issued on recommendation of committee elected by county institute. Exceptions.

576. Any permanent certificate granted or hereafter issued on the recommendation of a committee of teachers, duly elected at the annual session of the county institute, shall be a valid certificate, and shall continue to be valid in all the districts of the county where issued, including the several cities and boroughs within the county, except such cities and boroughs as may be authorized by law to hold separate annual teachers' institutes, and empowered to recommend the granting of permanent certificates, which certificates shall be valid only in the city or borough where issued 13

Election of certain grades of teachers for two or three years. Dismissal.

577. Local school boards of the various townships, boroughs and wards, and boards of education, boards of control and other bodies having authority, under the laws of this Commonwealth, to elect principals and assistant teachers of public high and state normal schools of said Commonwealth, may elect principals and assistant teachers, holding the grade of "professional certificates," for two successive school terms, and those holding the grade of "permanent certificates," or diplomas, issued by state normal schools of this Commonwealth, for three successive school terms: Provided, That any of the aforesaid boards shall have power, at any time, to dismiss any principal or assistant teacher in

12. Act June 22, 1883, Sec. 1, P. L. 156. 13. Act June 22, 1883, Sec. 2, P. L. 156.

their employ for any of the causes mentioned in the act of May 8, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, of the school laws of this Commonwealth.14

School board of a township may employ teachers for the term of three years under act of June 25, 1885.

578. In accordance with this action of the school board, the president and secretary entered into a written contract with the plaintiff, employing her to teach in the schools of the district for a period of three successive school terms at a salary of $45 per month. It was admitted upon the trial that the plaintiff has a diploma from the state normal school. Under the contract above mentioned, the plaintiff taught one of the schools of the defendant district for two successive years, and was prevented from teaching the third year by the election of another teacher, who was placed in charge of the school formerly taught by the plaintiff and who refused her permission to teach therein, although offering to do so for a number of successive days at the open. ing of the school term.

The present action is brought to recover the amount of the plaintiff's salary or wages as a teacher for ten months from August to May. A recovery was had in the court below for the full amount. On appeal the Superior Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court.

The defendant school district seeks to evade payment on the ground that contract with the plaintiff is invalid because the school board had no authority to enter into such a contract for three years.

The contract entered into by the president and secretary, in accordance with the power granted to them by the board in the resolution, as recorded in the minutes, was a sufficient contract upon which to base a recovery, if the board had authority to employ the plaintiff for the period of three terms, and this involves the construction of the act of June 25, 1885, P. L. 175, in which it is provided:

"That, on and after the passage of this act, local school boards of the various townships, boroughs and wards, and

boards of education, boards of control and other bodies having authority, under the laws of this Commonwealth, to elect principals and assistant teachers of public high and state normal schools of said Commonwealth, may elect principals and assistant teachers holding the grade of professional certificates for two successive school terms, and those holding the grade of permanent certificates or diplomas issued by state normal schools of this Commonwealth for three successive school terms."

It is claimed by the appellant that this does not relate to the election of teachers of ordinary public schools, inasmuch as there is no comma between public and high. At the time the said act was passed, however, there was no authority to establish high schools within the townships of the Commonwealth, that power having been conferred by the act of June 28, 1895 P. L. 413. The power to make the contracts for three years was based substantially upon the qualifications of the teacher, and, if qualified to teach in a high or normal school and authority was given to make a contract for three years under such circumstances, it is difficult to see why the school directors of a township should not have the power to elect for a similar period for schools of a lower grade. In the publication of the school laws by the school department, it is proper to say that a comma appears after the word "public" without determining whether or not we have the power to read a commna into the act, it is, nevertheless, apparent that it applies to schools below the grade of a high school which were then in existence in the several townships of the state. If the word "public" simply qualifies the word "high," it would have been simply conferring a power upon the school directors of the townships to elect teachers for schools which had no existence and no legal authority for existence at the time the act was passed.

The contract, under which the plaintiff claims, having been, therefore, authorized by law and voted by the school directors substantially in compliance with the terms of law, and the plaintiff being admittedly qualified, we are of opinion that the contract of employment bound the township for the full term stipulated therein and that, having been

deprived of the right to teach, in accordance with the terms of her employment, and having been unable as she testifies, to secure employment elsewhere, she had the right to recover in this action.15

Permanent state teachers' certificates. To whom granted.

579. The state superintendent of public instruction be empowered to and shall grant, without examination, permanent state teachers' certificates to all applicants therefor, who are graduates of recognized literary or scientific colleges legally empowered to confer the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (B. A.), Master of Arts (M. A.), Bachelor of Science (B. S.), Master of Science (M. S.) and Bachelor of Philosophy (Ph. B.), and whose course of study embraces not less than four collegiate years: Provided, Said applicants are at least twenty-one years of age and have taught at least three full annual terms in the public schools of the Commonwealth Provided further, That each applicant shall produce to the said state superintendent of public instruction a certificate from the school board or boards, countersigned by the county superintendent of the same county where he or she last taught, showing that the said applicant is a person of good moral character; has been successful as a teacher in the public schools during said term: And provided further, That said certificate shall be granted by the state superintendent of public instruction, after having received satisfactory evidence from the said applicants that they have complied with the requirements of this act.16

Forms of applications. Power of superintendent of public instruction to annul permanent state teachers' certificates.

580. The forms of application shall be submitted by applicants, and the certificates to be issued in accordance with the provisions of this act shall be prescribed and determined by the superintendent of public instruction, and he shall have authority to annul such certificates granted by himself or his predecessors in office, upon complaint duly

15. Burke vs. School District, 28 Pa. Superior Ct., 16, 1905.

proven, of incompetency, cruelty, negligence or immorality on the part of the holder thereof."7

Granting of permanent state teachers' certificates to college graduates.

581. Attorney-General Hensel said: "I beg to acknowledge your oral request for a construction of and for advice upon the act of May 10, 1893, relative to the grant of permanent certificates to graduates of certain literary institutions "legally empowered to confer " certain degrees, etc. The title of the act relates to graduates of "recognized literary and scientific colleges," but in the body of the statute these vague and indefinite terms are supplanted by words of exact and precise meaning.

"Literary or scientific colleges" legally empowered to confer" the degrees specified in the act, in my opinion, comprise only such as have the express "authority of law" to confer them. Such authority must be found either in the special statutes incorporating them or in the general corporation laws enacted since 1873, providing a uniform system formation of corporations for "the support of any literary, medical or scientific undertaking, literary association, or the promotion of music, painting or other fine arts."

A

"The powers of a corporation must be given in plain words or by necessary implication. All powers not given in this direct and unmistakable manner are withheld. corporation can take nothing by construction." wealth vs. E. & N. R. R. Co., 27 Pa. 339.

Common

"Before the Constitution of 1873 and the corporation act of 1874 were adopted, literary institutions, such as classical and scientific colleges, were chartered specially by the legislature, and they were invested with express power to confer degrees by the statutes erecting them into corporations. So far as this power was ever delegated to the courts, its limitation was long ago made the subject of judicial construction. In the case of St. Mary's Church, 6 Serg. & Rawle, 505, Tilghman, C. J., said: "In this business of charters, the court acts under the grant of an extraordinary

17. Act May 10, 1893, Sec. 2, P. L. 39.