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THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — NEW SOUTH WALES

Religion.

An Act abolishing State aid to religion was passed in 1862. Only one of the clergymen who received State aid when the Act was passed is now living.

The Church of England in the State is under the guidance of a Metro- politan who is Archbishop of Sydney, Metropolitan of New South Wales, and Primate of Australia and Tasmania. He is nominated by the Bishops in Australia and consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. There were in 1920 seven dioceses. The affairs of the Roman Catholic Church are adminis- tered by the Bishops of eight dioceses under the Archbishop of Sydney. The following table shows the statistics of the religious denominations in New South Wales at the census of 1911 : —

Denomination

Church of England Roman Catholic Presbyterian . Methodists Congregational . Baptist Lutherans .

Clergy * Adherents

Denomination . Clergy 1 Adherents

491 366 215 243 71 57

734,000

412,013

182,911

151,274

22,655

20,679

7,087

Unitarians Hebrew

Salvation Army Others

Total

1,541

844

7,660

7,418

100,198

1,646,734'

1 Licensed to perform marriages.

2 1,724 persons in Federal capital territory and 2,012 Australian aborigines in the State not.included.

Instruction.

Education is under State control, and instruction is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 14 years ; in the State Primary and Superior public schools and High Schools education is free.

There were during 1919, 3,336 Government schools, divided into 3,578 departments, and classified as follows : — High schools 23 ; public primary schools 2,050 ; half-time schools 146 ; provisional schools 493 ; house-to-house school 1 ; travelling schools 3 ; evening continuation schools 40 ; corre- spondence schools 2 ; subsidised schools 575 ; industrial and reformatory schools 3 ; total 3,336 schools. During 1919 there were 288,965 children enrolled, and an average attendance of 212,873, with 9,002 teachers. The pupils receiving Kindergarten instruction at Government schools numbered 6,698. In 1919 the expenditure on Public Instruction (exclusive of technical education) was 2,236,382/.

Of private schools at the end of 1919 there were 681, with 81,061 pupils and 3,830 teachers, of which 446 were Roman Catholic Denominational Schools, having 2,443 teachers and 65,745 pupils. The figures relating to private schools are exclusive of business colleges and shorthand schools.

The medical inspection of State school children and of many at private schools is conducted by the Government Medical Officers every three years. A travelling school hospital, a travelling opthalmic clinic, a Metropolitan dental clinic, and six travelling dental clinics have been established.

The University of Sydney, founded in 1850, receives from Government a yearly subsidy, amounting, with special aid, to 67,203/. in 1919. The total revenue for 1919 was 125.669Z. There were 2,797 students with 26 professors, 6 assistant professors, 133 lecturers and demonstrators. Degrees or certificates arc granted in all branches of knowledge other than Theology and Divinity, and the benefits and advantages of the University are extended to women equally with men. During 1919 there were 143 degrees conferred by examination to men and 85 to women. There are 4 denoinina tional colleges, Church of Eugland, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and