amounted to $4,596,137, of which the communes contributed sixty per

cent.

By a law passed in 1858, primary schools supported by public funds were prohibited from giving sectarian instruction. As a consequence the several religious denominations established schools of their own, and a movement was soon started to secure government subsidies for these also. This matter has agitated the country for a generation. By a combination of the ultra Protestant and Catholic wings of the AntiLiberal party, the policy of the Liberal ministry was defeated in 1887, and their resignation followed. The new ministry submitted a proposition revising the school law, which has passed both chambers and received the royal sanction. Under the revised law, denominational schools will share in the government appropriations.

OPPOSITION OF ENGLISH TEACHERS TO CERTAIN FEATURES OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

The most intelligent and the most determined opponents of the English cast-iron code and the absurd system of payment upon results are the teachers who have to work under the system. A deputation from the National Union of Elementary Teachers recently held a conference with the Chief of the Education Department, in the course of which they offered a memorial representing the views of upwards of fourteen thousand members of the great organization.

This memorial prays for the abolishment of the present basis for the distribution of the government grants, and calls for greater freedom of classification and a more rational system of instruction. These points were forcibly and eloquently urged upon the attention of the department by the speakers of the occasion, three of whom, viz., Mr. Heller, Mr. Wild and Mr. Rope, have served at different times as presidents of the "Union."

Dr. Fitch's glowing accounts of the zeal and freedom and professional esprit of the teachers of the United States seem to have given a new impetus to the efforts of English teachers in their own behalf.

SALARIES OF PROFEssors.

Apropos of statements as to the salaries of college professors in the United States, the London Journal of Education observes that professorships in the English Universities vary greatly in value. The emoluments of a 66 Regius Professor of Divinity" may reach $10,000, while a subject like Arabic, may fall to $1.500. Scotch professorships are said to be the richest in the world; the fees of one medical pro

fessor at Edinburgh are set down at $45,000 a year. In Germany the highest regular salary received by any professor is $2,625, while the average salary of a German professor is $1,750.

FRENCH NOTES.

In an article in the Rev. Péd., Mons. B. Busson notes the general inferiority of the foreign educational exhibits in the Paris Exposition. He finds least to praise in those of England and the United States. He expresses particular disappointment with respect to our own country which, he says "has done so much in education, and with so liberal a hand, to whose pacific army of more than three hundred thousand teachers, we in the Old World, sighing under the self-imposed burden of armies that are wholly unproductive, look with so much envy."

The new Sorbonne was recently the scene of a brilliant reception, given by the general "Association of Paris Students," in honor of the eminent Spanish liberal, Emilio Castelar. Eloquent addresses were made by Professor Lavisse and Jules Simon, to which their illustrious guest gave a brief but forcible reply.

The Association itself is one of the most interesting in the world. It has a brief history, having begun its existence in 1884. The immediate cause of its formation was a violent and unjust attack upon the students in a daily journal. Their inability to secure either retraction or redress, suggested the need of union for defence, protection, and common interests. The idea once conceived, was carried into execution with a rapidity and completeness unusual even among the ardent French. From feeble beginnings and humble housing, the Association has grown to grand proportions, with accommodations worthy of its purposes. It has accumulated a fine library, the reading rooms are provided with all the leading journals, and the funds are rapidly increasing. All political parties meet here in the spirit of fraternal regard, and political discussions are excluded from the social gatherings.

The fêtes given in honor of this Association and by the Association were among the most brilliant that took place during the period of the Exposition.

EDUCATIONAL SOCIETIES AND CONFERENCES.

The "Educational Society of Japan" was formed in 1883 by the consolidation of two earlier societies. In 1884 the Prince Imperial accepted the title of honorary president of the society, and in 1887 the title of patron was created and reserved for princes of the blood. Under this high patronage the society has developed great strength. The membership has increased to five thousand, from which number a

committee of two hundred is chosen for the management of the affairs of the society. It is organized in seven sections, each of which is presided over by a member distinguished as an authority in the particular subject entrusted to his section.

The month of December, 1889, witnessed the inauguration of a Pedagogic Congress in the capital of the Mexican Republic. A few minutes before the hour of opening, President Diaz and all the members of his cabinet arrived, and after an address of welcome from Mr. Joaquin Baranda, Secretary of Justice and Public Instruction, the president formally opened the proceedings.

A. T. S.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CURRENT PERIODICAL LITERATURE UPON EDUCATION.

The following bibliography of current periodical literature includes articles upon education and other subjects calculated to interest teachers. Only articles from periodicals not nominally educational are mentioned. Articles of special importance to teachers will, as a rule, be mentioned in notes.

Air-Navigation, The Problem of. R. H. Thurston. The Forum, January. Art, Two Phases of American. Mrs. L. C. Lillie. Harper's, January. Assyrian Research, Progress in. Robert W. Rogers. Methodist Review, January.

A scholarly article.

Astronomer, How I became an.
Camille Flammarion. North American
Review, January.

Bellamy (Edward), An Interview
with. Frances E. Willard.
Our Day,
December.

Bimetallists, Mr. Giffen's Attack
J. Shield Nicholson. Nineteenth
Century, December.

on.

Blue Beard, The Original. Louis Fréchette. The Arena, January.

Books, Noticeable. W. E. Gladstone et al. Nineteenth Century, Dec. Boston, By-gone Days in. Charles K. Tuckerman. North American Review, January.

Bubastis: An Historical Study. Amelia B. Edwards. Century, Jan. Calvin, La jeunesse de. Ariste Viguié. Revue Bleue. December 7.

Capital, The Theory of. Franklin H. Giddings. Quarterly Journal of Economics, January.

Capital Punishment, The Crime of. Hugh O. Pentacost. The Arena, Jan.

Cats of Ancient Egypt, The. W. M. Conway. English Illustrated Magazine, December.

Charities for Children in San Francisco. M. W. Shinn. Overland, Jan.

A valuable article.
Childhood, George Sand's. James
Sully. Longman's, December.

An interesting and suggestive sketch of the strange childhood of this romantic writer.

Children, The Employment of, in Theatres. Millicent Garrett Fawcett. Contemporary Review, December.

Chinese, The Philosophy of. John Heard. Harper's, January.

Christmas in Boston. Edward Everett Hale. New England Magazine, December.

Contains a deligtful account of the Children's Christmas at Mrs. Shaw's Kindergarten and other Boston institutions.

Christmas Legends. Vernon Lee and Madame Darmesteter. Contemporary Review, December.

Church, State, and School. Joseph V. Tracy. Catholic World, January. Cities, The Rise of American. Albert Bushnell Hart. Quarterly Journal of Economics, January.

Clark University. G. Stanley Hall. Science, January 10.