In Great Britain.

The modern Socialist movement in Great Britain dates from the foundation of the Social Democratic Federation in London in 1884. Inasmuch as many of the leaders of the later and more influential Socialist organisations passed through it in earlier days, the Federation has had an important part in spreading Socialist opinion, but its rigid doctrinaire policy has kept its membership relatively small. Mr. H. M. Hyndman has been its central figure from the commencement; the Countess of Warwick its most picturesque. The S.D.F. was associated with other organisations in the formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900, but withdrew after one year's affiliation on the ground that it could not work with nonSocialists. It has since, under its present name of the Social Democratic Party, undertaken Parliamentary candidatures on its own account but without success. At the General Election of 1910 it promoted eleven candidatures, all of which failed, and, with the exception of Burnley, there were marked declines in the poll in those constituencies which had been previously contested. Indirectly the S.D.P. is represented in Parliament by Mr. W. Thorne, Labour M.P. for South-west Ham. The Party has a sprinkling of representatives on municipal authorities. Its headquarters are at Chandos Hall, 21, Maiden Lane, Strand, W.C. Secretary, H. W. Lee. There are 54 London branches, 116 in other parts of England, 38 in Scotland, 1 at Belfast, I at Gibraltar, and 2 in South Africa. The total membership is approximately 17,000. The Party is chiefly responsible for the 20 Socialist Sunday Schools in the metropolitan area; and it has 15 Women's Socialist Circles in various centres. The Twentieth Century Press (37A Clerkenwell Green) is the property of the Party, and publishes, besides books and pamphlets, its weekly organ, Justice, and its monthly, the Social Democrat, both edited by Mr. H. Quelch.

The Fabian Society, founded almost simultaneously with the S.D.F., sought to propagate Socialistic ideas, more especially among the middle and upper classes, by totally different processes. Its work has been educational, and its plan to "permeate" with Socialist principles local authorities or other organisations working for social reform. The Fabian Tracts, written with great persuasive power and based on careful study of official statistics, have commanded widespread attention. The society has persistently advocated municipal trading enterprise as a step towards Socialism. It early established branches at Oxford and Cambridge, and now has groups in several provincial towns. But its main work is done from London. It is affiliated with the Labour Party politically and has financed candidatures for that Party, but its membership includes many who are Liberals. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Webb, Mr. George Bernard Shaw, and Mr. Chiozza Money are prominent Fabians; Mr. H. G. Wells, who did much to extend the Society's operations, has now withdrawn from it. The twenty-seventh annual report (October 1910), shows a membership of 2,677. During the preceding twelve months, 96,227 tracts and leaflets were distributed. Secretary, Edward R. Pease; Offices, 3, Clement's Inn, W.C.

The main body of English Socialists is enrolled with the Independent Labour Party (to

be carefully distinguished from the Labour Party, a later and larger organisation, of which it is only the definitely Socialist wing). The I.L.P. was established at Bradford in 1893, with the object of securing the collective ownership of the means of production and exchange by means of direct Labour representation in Parliament and on local authorities. Its first President was Mr. Keir Hardie, who is still its most conspicuous figure. The I.L.P. consists entirely of Socialists, but in conjunction with the Fabians and the chief Trade Unionist organisations it helped in 1900 to form the Labour Representation Committee (now known as the Labour Party). Of this larger organisation it is distinctly the driving force.

The membership of the I.L.P. in September 1910 was approximately 60,000 in 900 branches. Upwards of 2000 public meetings are held by the Party every week. Its income last year was £10,342, and its expenditure £8,956. The Chairman is W. C. Anderson; Secretary, Francis Johnson; Offices, 23, Bride Lane, E.C. ing 1909-10 the National Labour Press (30, Blackfriars Street, Manchester) has been purchased and reorganised by the Party. It publishes the Labour Leader weekly, the Socialist Review monthly, and many books and pamphlets.

Dur

The Labour Party (which is more fully dealt with under POLITICAL AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT) was pledged to Socialism at its ultimate aim at the Hull Conference in 1908; and in the same year was admitted to affiliation with the International Socialist Bureau.

The Women's Labour League, now five years old, is a vigorous offshoot from the Independent Labour Party. Its Gen. Sec. is Mrs. Middleton, and it maintains several divisional organisers. Although Socialism is associated in the minds of many detractors with irreligion, it is exercising marked influence through all the Churches. The Guild of St. Matthew and the Christian Social Union sowed the early seed, but it is since the founding, in 1906, of the Church Socialist League that the propaganda has prospered substantially. The joint Secretaries of the League are the Rev. Conrad Noel and the Rev. J. H. Hastings. Organising Sec., Rev. C. Stuart Smith, Red Row, Mellor, Stockport. Membership about 1200. The Rev. Arnold Pinchard is President. There is a smaller Socialist organisation among English Roman Catholics. Many Nonconformist leaders have shown strong sympathy with the movement. Prominent among these is the Rev. R. J. Campbell, under whose presidency the League of Liberal Christian Thought and Social Service was established in 1908. This has had a phenomenal growth. The League has a monthly organ called the Liberal Christian Monthly. General Sec., Robert Stewart; Organising Sec., Rev. F. R. Swan; Headquarters, King's Weigh House, Thomas Street, Grosvenor Square, W.

The Clarion Fellowship, with organisations in all the larger towns and abroad, exists to promulgate Socialism. It supports five travelling vans, with lecturers, who have done successful pioneering work, especially in the country districts and villages. It is a child of the Clarion, edited by Robert Blatchford.

Other Socialistic associations, independent of the above, are: Socialist Party of Great Britain, 10,Sandland Street, Bedford Row, W.C.; Socialist Labour Party, 28, Forth Street, Edinburgh; Christian Social Union, 102, Adelaide Road, N.W.; Socialist Church Union, Hon. Sec., Lewis Watson,

Party press includes three dailies, four triweeklies, nine bi-weeklies, nine weeklies, and many monthlies. A publication department has been established at Vienna. The Young Socialist League, an international organisation founded in 1903, has in Austria 170 branches with 8,000 members. The Czech Young Socialists, organised separately in Bohemia, have a further 6,300 members in 19 branches. In Hungary there are 130,000 organised Socialists (80,000 of them are in Buda-Pesth), but owing to the extremely limited franchise there is no single Socialist member of the national or local governing bodies. No political organisation is permitted, but practically every Trade Unionist is a Socialist. The movement has a wellequipped publication department, which produces, besides other literature, a daily newspaper with a circulation of 30,000.

Belgium notes an increased Socialist vote at Brussels of 10,830 and at Antwerp of 2,000. Chile has three Socialists in its Chamber of 94 Deputies.

In Denmark at the General Election of 1909 the Social Democrats polled one-third of the total votes cast and increased their previous poll by 18,000. They are the largest of the political parties, but the system of seat distribution permitted them to gain no fresh representation. In the Copenhagen municipal election their poll was 44,800, as against 38,800 for the Conservatives, and 11,500 for the Radicals. They hold 20 out of 42 seats on the Council, and the Mayor is a Socialist. There are 1000 Socialists on the provincial Councils, and 32 party newspapers. The Young Socialist League has 6000 members.

In France since 1905 there has been a United Socialist Party, and although it does not embrace all the Socialist sections, it has strengthened its position in 1910. At the General Election the united Socialists increased their poll by 200,000 on the first ballots, and they have now 77 seats in the Chamber, as against 54 in the last. In the departmental Council elections, also in 1910, they raised the number of their representatives from 35 to 56. The official organ is the weekly La Socialiste, but there are also two daily papers, a biweekly, 39 weekly, and two monthly organs, besides M. Jaures' daily L'Humanité.

In Germany the continuous and remarkable successes of Social Democratic candidates in Reichstag by-elections has been the political feature of the year, as it was in 1909. Since the General Election the Party has increased its representation from 40 to 52. The Party membership is 750,000, and it has 7729 representatives on municipal bodies. In the State Landtags corresponding successes have been won. Saxony, which had only one Socialist Deputy till 1909, has now 25 members out of 91; Saxe-Coburg has 8 out of 30; Saxe-Altenburg has doubled its Socialist representatives, from three to six. In the Saxony elections there were 341,000 votes cast for Socialists and only 289,000 for candidates of all other parties. There are altogether 186 Social Democrat representatives in the 19 State Legislative Assemblies. At the Würtemberg municipal elections the Socialists won 110 seats, including 82 new ones, and they now hold 600 seats on municipal bodies in that kingdom. In Prussia the agitation for a reform of the very restricted State franchise has led to a series of magnificently organised demonstrations. During last year

the Social Democrats held 44,000 meetings. Vorwarts, the principal daily organ, returned a profit on the year of £6000. Its daily circulation is 161,000.

In Greece the Social Democrats appeared as a political party for the first time in the General Election of 1910. Ten were elected, and have joined with ten others under Prof. Drakoulos (himself a Socialist) to form a Labour Party. In Holland the Social Democratic Party has 9806 members in 205 branches.

In Italy there are now 44 Socialists in the Chamber. At the Provincial Council elections four seats were gained. At the Milan municipal elections 25 Socialist candidates were nominated, and all were elected. An incomplete return shows that there are 108 Municipal Councils with Socialist majorities, 132 Socialist mayors, 6000 aldermen, and 3139 councillors. There are 186 Socialists on the Provincial Councils.

In Japan there is a young but active party, with several press organs.

In Russia there has been a Socialist movement since about 1870, but it is difficult to estimate its real strength. More than 100 Socialists were, however, elected to the second Duma, in spite of the severely restricted suffrage and close Government surveillance. In Finland the Labour Party accepted the principles of Social Democracy in 1899. In 1902 the Party numbered 8,151; in 1906, the last year for which exact figures are available, the total was 85,027, of whom 18.986 were women. The Landtag was again dissolved in 1910, with the result that at the elections the Socialist Party was raised to 86 out of 200. The Party owns more than 40 newspapers. In Spain Socialism has to contend with severe Government and Clerical repression, and the movement is also complicated by its relations with other revolutionary agitations. At the General Election in 1910 the first candidate ever returned on a definite Socialist programme was elected to the Cortes, where there are 44 other members with Socialistic sympathies. The Party has ico municipal councillors.

In Sweden the Socialists gained three seats at the annual elections for one-third of the First Chamber; they have also one member of the Second Chamber. Municipally they have increased their representation in Stockholm from five to 19, and gained ten seats in other towns.

In Switzerland seven Socialists have seats on the National Council. In Berne the Socialists are the largest party on the Municipal Council. In Turkey a branch of the Social Democratic Federation was started at Salonika in August 1909.

In the United States of America Socialists are divided between the Socialist Party led by Mr. Eugene Debs and the Socialist Labour Party, led by Mr. De Leon. The latter, however, is rapidly dwindling, and numbers no more than 1000 members; while the former has 54,000 enrolled members, of whom 3000 are women. Its organ, the Appeal to Reason, has a circulation rapidly approaching 500,000 weekly. The Party achieved a signal success at Milwaukee, where at the municipal elections they returned 21 aldermen out of 35, elected Mr. Seidel as the first Socialist mayor, and filled nearly all the city offices with their nominees. Milwaukee also sent the first Socialist to Congress by electing Mr. Victor Berger (Nov. 1910).

ENGLAND AND WALES.

The Board of Education. Since April 1st, 1900, the central educational authority for England and Wales has been the Board of Education, established by the Board of Education Act, '99. This Board took the place of the Education Department and of the Department of Science and Art, and concerns itself with the organisation of both Primary and Secondary Education. The Board also exercises certain educational powers of the Charity Commissioners and of the Board of Agriculture. The Board consists of a President, the Lord President of the Council, H.M.'s Principal Secretaries of State, the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The President is appointed by His Majesty, and holds office during his pleasure. The principal officers of the Board are: President, The Right Hon. Walter Runciman, M.P.

Parliamentary Secretary, G. P. Trevelyan,

M.P.

Permanent Secretary, Sir Robert L. Morant, K.C.B.

Welsh Department. Permanent Sec., A. T. Davies; Chief Inspector, O. Edwards, H.M.I. Accountant-General, Sir John Bromley, C.B. Chief Medical Officer, G. Newman, M.D., F.R.S.E., D.P.H.

Chief Clerk, E. B. Phipps.
Architect, G. F. N. Clay.

Chief Inspector for the Training of Teachers, P. A. Barnett, H.M.I.

Chief Woman Inspector, The Hon. Maude Lawrence, H.M.I.

Inspector of Physical Training, Col. G. Malcolm Fox.

Inspector of Music, A. Somervell.

SCOTLAND. IRELAND.

Local Educational Authorities. The elementary education of all children between the ages of 5 and 14 (with some exemptions) has been compulsory since 1880 and free since 1891. The Local Administrative Authorities for these purposes have been (since the Education Act of 1902) committees of the County, Borough, and Urban Councils. These committees include a minority of coopted members, selected on grounds of their special knowledge of educational work. In July 1909 there were 299 such authorities in England and 29 in Wales.

The Cost of Public Education.

The total expenditure of the Local Education Committees in England alone for the year ended March 31st, 1908, may be analysed

thus:

Training of Teachers

Aid to Students.
Administration
Medical Inspection
Provision of Meals

Bruce, C.B.

Chief Inspector, W. C. Fletcher, H.M.I. Technology and Higher Education in Science

and Art.

Principal Assistant Secretary, F. G. Ogilvie, C.B.

Chief Inspector of Technology and Science, F. Pullinger, H.M.I.

Chief Inspector of Schools of Art, S. J. Cartlidge, H.M.I.

Office of Special Inquiries and Reports. Director, H. F. Heath. Assistant Director, H. W. P. L. Jameson (Senior Examiner).

The Welsh Department has been separately organised and officered since 1907.

The total net expenditure out of the Parliamentary Vote for the year ended March 31st,

Total.

520,075

3,198

10,728

428,220

£3.762,790 24,296,946

All these figures (which are for England only) are higher than in the preceding year, save those for the parliamentary grant for elementary schools, which was less by 269,469 and the receipts from fees.

In Wales, parliamentary grants were £886,362; rates, £777,327; other receipts, £95,192. Total, 1,758,888.

Primary Education. Elementary schools are of two kinds. "Council" schools are wholly provided and maintained by the Local Education Committees; undenominational Bible teaching only is given in these. In "Voluntary" schools, the premises for which have been erected and must be maintained by voluntary subscriptions, definite religious instruction is permitted, provision being made for the withdrawal of children whose parents object. In other respects the schools are equally controlled by the Education Committees, and share equally in the public funds. The difficulty in raising subscriptions to maintain the progressive standard of accommodation required by the Board of Education has brought about a continuous decline in the number of Voluntary schools, and a more than corresponding increase in the number of Council schools. The latest revision requires as the minimum for all new schools not less than 10 square feet of floor-space for each older child, and 9 square feet for each infant. Special inspection resulted in the condemnation, conditional or unconditional, of about 660 schools and 970 departments; most of these have now (March 1910) been replaced or improved. a further 1,022 schools and 1,523 departments the report called for condemnation unless improvement were effected, but the requirements were not necessarily extensive. In a great many areas the schools are now reported as "Reasonably satisfactory."

In

The number of public elementary schools maintained by the local education authorities on July 31st, 1909, was, in England alone, 18,815 schools, with accommodation for 6,578,813 scholars, and an average attendance of 4,951,301. Of these, 6518 were Council" schools, with accommodation for 3,480,470, and average attendance of 2,742,038; while 12,297 were "Voluntary" schools, with accommodation for 3,098,343, and average attendance of 2,221,745. During the year ended on that date there was a net increase of 188 in the number of " Council" schools, and a net decrease of 141 in the number of "Voluntary" schools. In Wales the total number of schools was 1823 (1133" Council," 690 'Voluntary "), with accommodation for 522,094 (390,954 and 131,140), and an average attendance of 380,921 (296,166 and 84,755). During the year the "Council" schools increased by 36, and the "Voluntary" schools decreased by 14.

"

lower than in any year since 1904. Most of these are found in the administrative counties of Lancashire, the West Riding, and the county borough of Bradford.

The teaching staff was made up as follows. In England only: Certificated teachers, 29,389 men and 59,632 women; uncertificated teachers, 4828 men and 34,843 women; supplementary and provisional assistants, 218 men and 15,785 women; student-teachers, 510 men and 1017 women. In Wales: Certificated, 2637 men and 3115 women; uncertificated, 840 men and 3871 women; supplementary and provisional, 96 men and 2284 women; student teachers, 53 men and 68 women. Pupil-teachers have now almost disappeared and the proportion of fully certificated teachers steadily increases.

Higher Elementary Schools.

These were first established in 1900, and since 1905 have been classified as New Type and Old Type. The Old Type, of which there were 18 surviving in 1909, will be assimilated to the New Type by the end of 1910. Normally a three-years' course, beginning at the minimum age of 12, is provided, and the aim is to continue the general education of scholars proceeding from the ordinary elementary schools. The total number of both types of Higher Elementary schools in England and Wales on July 31st, 1909, was 44; average number on register 10,626; teaching staff 522, of whom all but 62 are graduates or certificated or both.

Special Schools.

There existed in England and Wales on July 31st, 1910, 40 special schools for blind, 51 for deaf, and 245 for defective children. Scholars on the registers in 1909 were 1659 blind, 3468 deaf, and 14,947 defective. The total number of certificated teachers in the three types of schools was 765, and of uncertificated 562. The London County Council maintained Open-air Schools, with accommodation each for 75 children, from June to October, and similar schools were maintained at Bradford for So children, at Halifax for 60 children, Norwich for 48 children, and at Sheffield. Up till July 1909, 85 Local Education Authorities had been authorised to spend money from the rates to provide food for necessitous school children. Instruction in Domestic Subjects was given at 2315 centres in England and Wales; in laundry work at 492; in gardening at 1573; in dairy work at 5; and in handicrafts at 755 centres.

Medical Inspection.

Most of the 328 local school authorities have undertaken a more or less systematic inspection of scholars by their medical officers for several years past. By the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1907, inspection of each scholar on admission to a public elementury school, and afterwards as the Board of Education may direct, was made compulsory. Power was also given to local authorities to "make such arrangements as may be sanctioned by the Board of Education for attending to the health and physical condition of the children." To assist the local authorities the Board established a Medical Department, with Dr. George Newman as Chief Medical Officer. In his first annual report, Dr. Newman states that up to July 1909, school medical officers had been a cognised" in 307 of the areas. Medical inspection was also in operation in the remaining 21

Attendance on the part of scholars under five years of age has been rapidly diminishing since 1905-6. In 1908-9 there was a further falling off of 14,734 in England and Wales. The number of scholars between five and twelve increased by 39,338, and of scholars over twelve by 14,841. The proportion of scholars under five was 7.5 per cent. in England and 10'58 per cent. in Wales. The percentage of attendance of all scholars on the register in 1908-9 was in England 89'1, and in Wales 87'44. A check occurred in 1908-9 to the number of Partial Exemption scholars for whom additional attendances are claimed; there were 79,152 of them, which is

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