rule, decisions as to acceptance for training are only made three tinies a year, when all applications considered during the interval are reviewed. If, after due consideration, a candidate is accepted on probation, she is required to undergo a period of special missionary pre- paration, the method and duration of this training being determined by the Candidates' Sub-Committee. The usual length of train- ing is two years, but it may be extended. It may also be shortened for those who have gone through some university or professional course of training. The S.P.G. Hostel and Training Home The special training given here depends entirely upon the kind of work which the student intends to take up in the future. Devotional classes are held in the hostel for all students, and all attend the theological lectures given at the Rochester Deaconess Home. The afternoons are generally devoted to parish work in the neighbourhood ; dis- trict visiting, club work, and Sunday-school teaching forming a valuable preparation for missionary work. When the locality to which the future missionary is going has been decided upon, she begins, whenever possible, to study the language and history of the country to which she is allocated. Instruc- tion in Sanscrit is very useful to all who are going to any part of India, as it forms the basis of all Indian dialects. Students studying Chinese attend lectures at King's College. Many students further specialise in their own particular subjects during the time spent at the hostel. A doctor will perhaps attend special lectures on the eye or throat, etc., and a cookery teacher take her diploma at the Polytechnic. Every student has her own special time-table arranged for her particular requirements. S.P.G. missionaries are also trained at St. Andrew's Home, Portsmouth, at St. Denys', Warminster, and at the Home of the Epiph- any, Truro. The cost of training amounts to about £40 a year, a grant up to this amount being provided by the S.P.G. Candidates' Fund when considered advisable. The special needs at the present time are for workers under the three following heads : educational, medical, and evangelistic. I. Educational No teacher can be too highly trained for work in the mission field ; degrees, diplomas, and certificates are required there as here. Every variety of teaching is required abroad as it "is at home. Every kind of school is to be met with, from the village hut-school up to the university. Domestic science is also called for, especially in South Africa. Per- haps even higher qualifications are necessary, for those taking up work in the mission field than for those teaching at home, for the missionary has not only to teach scholars, but to train native teachers. The elementary school-teacher, the high- school mistress, the lecturer on domestic economy are all needed, provided their first desire is for the spread of Christianity. It 673 RKLIQION should be fully understood by those vishing to teach abroad that they must hold the same certificates which are required in England. Both in India and in South Africa government grants are given to certificated teachers. Grants towards professional train- ing are sometimes made by the S.P.G. to those desiring to devote tneir educational talents to missionary work. 3. Medical Under this head are included doctors and nurses, and here again the best is required ; and not only must training have been undei - gone and examinations passed, but practical work should have been done as well. The doctor must have her degrees, and the nurse her certificates, and both mu.st have had experience after training. The doctor's training is a long one, and usually covers a period of at least five years. Ihe expense deters some who feel that they would hke to qualify in this direction ; but if they are anxious to combine medical with missionary work the difficulty may be met. The Society for Promoting ' Christian Knowledge will, on the recommendation of a Church society (such as the S.P.G.), allow a grant of £50 a year for five years to medical students. In the case of a student having no private means at all, this grant is some- times supplemented by the S.P.G. in order that the full cost of training and maintenance may be covered. The woman who wishes to train as a nurse need incur no expense in doing so, as she can enter as a probationer in almost any hospital without paying a premium, and in most cases will receive a salary commencing at the end of the first month." The salaries vary in different hospitals from ;^io to £12 the first year, £1^ to ;^i8 the second, ;^i8 to £20 the third, and ;^20 to £2^ the fourth. In all the principal Lonaon hospitals the training lasts for four years. 3. Evang^elistic Evangelistic workers should have had some experience in home mission work. The study of psychology, pedagogy, and sociology is of great value. Should they hold the archbishop's diploma of " Student in Theology " (S.Th.) a most excellent foundation would have been laid. The scheme inaugurated by the Archbishop of Canterbury is for the purpose of training women to become duly qualified teachers of theology. The diploma is conferred by him upon candidates who give satisfactory evi- dence of (a) systematic study, (6) proficiency as shown by examination or otherwise, {c) teaching capacity. The Archbishop's licence to teach theology is further conferred by him at his discretion upon holders of the diploma who desire to make Church teaching their special work, and who are communicant members of the Church of England. Further particulars may be obtained from Miss Bevan (Hon. Sec), 39, Evelyn Gardens, S.W. Other societies will be dealt with in subsequent article?.
