"We have eight grades of primary schools," he said, "from kindergartens, which receive pupils three years of age, up to the eighth grade, which corresponds very nearly to that of the public schools in America, with pupils fourteen or fifteen years of age. We have a compulsory education law, but it is enforced according to the local conditions of different districts,--a sort of local option which is applied where the people of the counties of the districts desire it. The schools are practically free. By the reorganization of 1892 certain schools were permitted to charge fees, but no more than 1 per cent of them do so, and they are all Protestant. No Catholic school collects tuition. "The schools of Ireland are controlled by a national board of twenty members, appointed nominally by the lord lieutenant, one-half Protestant and one-half Catholic, and an executive council in charge of administration, also appointed by the lord lieutenant, one of whom, that is myself, is always on duty at the headquarters of the board in Dublin. "Funds for the support of the schools are voted by parliament every year with the usual budget, which are absolutely controlled by the board, who make an annual report of their disposition. This year we have £1,600,000, which is equivalent to about eight million dollars in your money. The larger amount, which is about £1,250,000, goes to the payment of the salaries of teachers; the next for the construction of new buildings and repairs; the next item is for the maintenance of central model schools, which are object lessons. The rate of expenditure per pupil is about £3, or $15, a year, and has been gradually increasing from time to time with the allowances that have been given us by the government. Ten years ago the allowance for primary education was about £1,250,000 or $6,250,000 in American money, and the _per capita_ was about $12.50. "There are now about 8,600 primary schools in Ireland, with 16,000 teachers and an average daily attendance of 490,000 out of a school population enrolled of 730,000. "The following table will show the number and the average daily attendance at the different schools: No. Schools. Av. Attend. Ordinary schools . . . . . . . . . . . 8,100 401,000 Model schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 6,955 Convents and monasteries . . . . . . . 384 80,712 "The money is divided among these different schools as follows: Amount. Per Capita. Ordinary schools . . . . . . . . . . £1,038,854 £2 13s 10d Model schools . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,755 3 19s 10d Convents and monasteries . . . . . . 164,048 2 7s 6d