ABSTRACT
It was the pressing need for elementary-school buildings which led to the first Government grant for education in 1833, and the desire to exercise control over its disbursement which lay behind the decision to appoint a Committee of the Privy Council on Education six years later. A Treasury minute of August 1833 had stated that local subscribers must raise at least half the estimated cost of a new school before a grant could be made, and that applications for a grant must be supported by either the National or British School Societies. More elaborate conditions were laid down in 1839: the Committee of Council reserved the right to inspect all schools aided by grant, the building plans had to allow at least 6 square feet per child (the standard which already applied in National and British schools), and applications for a grant, instead of being forwarded through the two societies, had to be made by the school promoters direct to the Committee. The National and British School Societies could, of course, continue to make their own building grants, but they were now relieved of all responsibility for Government assistance to schools. 1
