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LOCAL TAXATION IN COPENHAGEN. 41 light. Permanently-employed male teachers began at £78 and rose to £140, while female teachers began at the same figure, but stopped at £90. The actual average salaries of 1898 were £106 for male teachers, £84 lOs. for females. The new scale gives each of the existing head-masters an addition of £11 per annum to his salary. Permanent men-teachers are to start at £83 and rise to £166, while women will start at £78 and rise to £111. The upper limits just named do not take effect for a couple of years, pending the assignment of a State subsidy of £9,440 per annum. The upper limits are meanwhile £150 and £100 respeq- tively. In addition to salaries, teachers are and will be entitled to pensions after 15 years’ service.* As to the numbers in a class, they averaged 30 last year, and only one of the 1,260 classes exceeded140 in number. A new law has set on foot a further reduction. Besides general holidays, a free day once a fortnight is the rule, unless a public holiday has oecurred or is about to occur, which may substitute it. Other- wise, except in the lower classes, where there is a slight reduction of hours, 30 hours per week is the time given to school. Absences from all causes have averaged, during the last four years, only '806 day per month for each scholar, and of this loss *697 was due to certified sickness, inclusive of absences due to infectious sickness in the homes of the scholars. Absences without per­ mission are visited with a fine of from ld. to 8d. for each day lost. This description of absence only amounted to 0’37 per cent of the school days in 1898. Besides the regular fine a further fine of 20 kroner (22s. 2|d.) may be imposed in certain cases. The school-age begins at 7 and continues till 14. The following table shows liow the scholars were distributed among the intervening years of age at the end of 1898 :— * Under the Manchester School Board, the highest scale for certificated head teachers is : for meD £150 rising to £225 ; for women, £S0 rising to £120; for certificated and trained assistant teachers the figures aro, men £85 rising to £110 ; women £05 rising to £80. About one half of the Manchester teachers are trained and certificated. It is clear, therefore, that teachers in Copenhagen enjoy salaries fully as high as those in Manchester, although incomes in general are at a lower money-level in that city.