Examination of accounts.

treasurer, his assistant continues to exercise the duties until the Vacancy is filled.

Examination of accounts of Secretary-Treasurer.-(a) By the School Corporation. He prepares and submits to the school commissioners or trustees in July of every year a detailed statement of the receipts and expenditure of the school municipality for the year ending 30th June of that year. As soon as the statement has been approved by the commissioners or trustees he prepares an abstract of the receipts and expenditure, assets and liabilities, for which abstract he must obtain the approval of the school corporation. This abstract must be read, posted up, or otherwise published at least eight days before the meeting of the ratepayers called by him for the election of school commissioners or trustees (see above). He must furnish a copy of the abstract to any ratepayer upon the payment of twenty cents.

(b) By Auditors.-The school corporation appoints one or two auditors to examine and audit the accounts kept by their secretary-treasurer, whether in or out of office. Such auditors are bound to report respecting all accounts of the corporation and all accounts relating to any subject falling within their jurisdiction, whenever the school corporation may require them to do so.

In the case of a special audit of the accounts of the secretarytreasurer, the chairman of the school commissioners or trustees gives written notice of this audit to the secretary-treasurer requiring him to attend, so as to give all the explanations that may be required of him. This notice is served personally or by bailiff. And if the secretary-treasurer refuses or neglects to attend, the auditor proceeds with his work none the less, and forwards his report to the corporation. They then adopt the report in whole or in part, and certify the amount due to the auditor for his services, and communicate the result of their meeting to the secretary-treasurer by serving upon him by bailiff a copy of the resolutions adopted respecting the report.

The secretary-treasurer must, within fifteen days, pay the amount which is found deficient in his accounts." He may, however, contest the auditor's report by giving notice, within fifteen days, to the school corporation. This notice is served upon the chairman by a bailift. The corporation then forward the auditor's report, together with a copy of their proceedings, of the notice given to them by the secretary-treasurer, and of other documents connected with the matter, to the Superintendent.

The Superintendent then appoints a school inspector or any other person to examine and audit the accounts in presence of the parties or after they have been duly summoned. The inspector or person appointed reports to the Superintendent the procedure followed by him, and the Superintendent then gives his decision, which is final. Debts declared to be such in his decision must be paid without delay, and legal proceedings must be instituted to execute the decision in default of such payment. The decision of the Superintendent fixes the amount of the costs

and expenses of the inspector or other person appointed for this purpose. (For an alternative action open to the Superintendent or the school corporation in such cases see below.)

(c.) By the Superintendent.-Where difficulties arise between the school corporation and its secretary treasurer, in or out of office, or when a written application to the superintendent is made by at least five ratepayers, having for its object the revision of the accounts submitted by the secretarytreasurer, the Superintendent may cause those accounts or copies of them to be laid before him, and may render judgment in detail and upon the whole of them. His judgment has the force of an award of arbitrators between all the parties. The superintendent may, also, himself proceed to the place in question, or appoint a delegate in his stead. The examination must take place on the day and hour and at the place fixed in a notice duly served five days previously by a bailiff upon the corporation and its secretary-treasurer, who shall have a right to attend or to be represented at the examination.

The secretary-treasurer may in certain circumstances apply to the corporation by written notice served by bailiff upon the chairman for the appointment of an auditor to examine his accounts within eight days; in default of his appointment, or in the auditor's default, he may apply by petition to the Superintendent.

Whenever the Superintendent is assured that a secretarytreasurer's accounts have not been rendered, or, having been rendered, are informal, irregular, illegal, fraudulent, or erroneous, he may, in his own individual name, sue the secretary-treasurer before any court of competent jurisdiction, in an action to render accounts, or to secure the reformation, correction, or revision of the accounts so rendered. He may demand that all agreements entered into between the school commissioners or trustees and their secretary-treasurer, or any other person, with reference to such accounts or their rendering be set aside, annulled, or modified in whole or in part. But the Superintendent may not enter into any such suit without first making a demand by notice upon the school commissioners or trustees to institute such action themselves within the delay indicated in the notice. The notice must be signed by the Superintendent, and is served upon the school corporation by a bailiff of the Superior Court. After the delay indicated in the notice has expired, the Superintendent must institute action if the corporation has not done so. The Superintendent has, however, power in any case to intervene to watch proceedings, and advance them in such a suit, if it be brought by the school corporation. And the suits or interventions of the Superintendent are at the expense of the school commissioners or trustees. (This procedure may also be adopted by the Superintendent or by the school corporation in the case provided for above.)

The sureties of any secretary-treasurer may be made parties to any action brought against a secretary-treasurer by the Superintendent.

Lastly, if the school corporation neglect or refuse to institute

Fabrique
Schools.

Statistics, 1898-99.

proceedings, the Superintendent may in his own name sue any secretary-treasurer in or out of office for the recovery from him of any sum of money which belongs to the school corporation, whether that money arise from the Government grants, the collection of school taxes, monthly fees, or other school dues received by him during the term of his office.

There are certain special rules about Fabrique Schools. The Fabrique of a parish is the vestry-board or board of churchwardens. The Fabrique of any parish and the school commissioners or trustees in charge of it may by mutual agreement unite the Fabrique schools in operation with any of the public schools for one or more years. Any Fabrique contributing not less than $50 annually towards the support of any school under the management of school commissioners or trustees thereby acquires a right for the curé and churchwarden in office to be commissioners for the management of that school only, if they were not so before. But no Fabrique may unite its school to those managed by commissioners or trustees of another faith, except under an express and formal agreement between the Fabrique and the school corporation of different faith.

This account of the Local Administration may be concluded by the following statistics taken from the Superintendent's Annual Report for 1898–99.

Roman Catholic and Protestant Schools, Boards of Commissioners and Trustees, Schoolhouses Owned and Leased, Materials of School buildings.

III-FINANCE, PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL.

There is little especially remarkable in the financial arrangements of the Quebec educational system. Accordingly, it will be unnecessary to give the regulations in such detail as seemed desirable in the matter of local authorities.

Schools are maintained (a) by grants from the "Common School Fund" of the Province, (b) by local school taxes, whether usual or special.

To entitle any school to its share, whether of the general Conditions common school fund or of the local school fund (i.e., to grants of aid. from the "Common School Fund" of the Province or to apportionment from the school fund of the local authority, whether it be a corporation of school commissioners or of school trustees) it is requisite and sufficient that the school in question should fulfil the following conditions:—

(1.) The school must be conducted under the management of school commissioners or school trustees in accordance with the regulations;

(2.) The school must have been in actual operation during at least eight months;

(3.) The school must have been attended by at least fifteen children, periods of epidemic or contagious diseases being excepted. (A special indulgence is allowed whenever the school corporation can be shown to have endeavoured in good faith to carry out the law, by which a share of the school fund, general or local, may be paid for each school where there are fifteen or more children of school age, although the school has not been attended by that number during the year.)

(4.) Reports must have been made to the School Corporation by the teacher, and also by at least two of the school commis

sioners or trustees.

(5.) A public examination must have been held in the school.

(6.) A Report, signed by the majority of the School Corporation and by its secretary-treasurer, must have been transmitted to the Superintendent every six months.

(7.) A sum equal to the grant made by the Legislature for the municipality must have been raised. A special exemption can, however, be made in the case of poor municipalities.

The Superintendent may, upon a representation to the fact Exemption of that the School Commissioners or trustees have in good faith municipality. carried out the provisions of the law, and upon proof of this fact to his satisfaction, exempt the municipality from the whole or part of the tax that would otherwise have to be raised in order to entitle the municipality to its share from the Provincial common school fund. He may pay the amount of share in this case, although the amount of the tax actually levied falls short of the amount required, i.e., although the amount locally raised

Distribution of Local

School Fund.

be not as great as the amount of share from the Provincial grant.

(8.) Teachers with diplomas must have been employed in the school.

(9.) Teachers must have been paid every six months.

(10.) Only those books authorised by the Roman Catholic or the Protestant Committee of the Council of Public Instruction should have been used.

(11.) The Regulations of the Council of Public Instruction or of the Roman Catholic or Protestant Committee, and the instructions of the Superintendent, must have been observed.

The sum annually voted by the Legislature in aid of poor municipalities is distributed by the Superintendent according to a division made by him and approved by the Committee of the Council of Public Instruction of the religious faith to which such school municipalities belong.

The Fund and its distribution.-The sums constituting the Common School Fund of the Province may be paid by the Superintendent in two semi-annual payments, under two accountable warrants to the Provincial Treasurer to be issued by the Lieutenant-Governor.

The Superintendent deposits these sums in some bank, according as the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may direct; and apportions it according to law among the various municipalities. He pays to the school commissioners or trustees the shares belonging to the municipalities they represent by cheques drawn upon the bank and made payable to their order; and he must account according to law for all moneys. The shares must be paid to the school corporations by the Superintendent in two half-yearly payments. The school commissioners or trustees may direct the payment, out of the general (local) school fund in their hands, of such contingent expenses as are not specially provided for in the Regulations

Any sums of money which have not been specially appropriated by provision of the donors, vendors, or others, and all sums arising from the allowance for schools, from school taxes or from any source other than monthly fees, form the school fund in each municipality under the control of the commissioners or trustees. The school fund thus formed is divided, distributed, and employed by them;

(1.) either in proportion to the number of children from seven to fourteen years in each school district capable of attending school; or,

(2.) by making a common fund, out of which the commissioners or trustees pay the expenses occasioned by the payment of teachers' salaries, the maintenance of school houses, the purchase of books, school furniture, and other contingent

expenses.