ed for the purpose of
self-protection. The National Union of Teachers is a powerful body,
having a membership of 78,000 men and women teachers. It is directly
represented in Parliament, both on the Liberal and Labour sides, and
owes its influence largely to the voting power of its members.[8]

When the National Insurance Act of 1912 came into force, there were
85,000 elementary teachers to whom its clauses applied, and who
therefore found it advisable to join an approved society. For this
purpose the Teachers' Provident Society of the National Union of
Teachers was re-organised as an approved society under the Act. In
addition to providing protection for its members, the National Union
of Teachers, by means of its Benevolent and Orphan Fund, helps those,
who, through ill-health or other causes are in need of assistance.
It also maintains two orphanages--one for boys in London, and one for
girls in Sheffield.

At the present time there is a strong probability of a dearth of
qualified teachers for elementary schools in the near future. There
are several factors which have been influential in bringing about this
state of affairs--one is, the uncertainty of employment, even after a
long and comparatively costly training. This defect will be remedied
only when a rational method of regulating the supply of teachers
is established, so that each candidate may be certain that, if she
qualifies, she will be guaranteed employment.

Many desirable persons are debarred from entering the teaching
profession, because the rate of remuneration is low, considering
the responsibility of the work; and this drawback is still further
emphasised by the very inadequate pension which is offered at the
close of the teacher's career. This difficulty can be overcome only
when the main burden of the cost of education is removed from local
taxation and placed on the national exchequer.

Another factor which tends to make the teaching profession
unattractive, is the very strenuous life which it entails under
modern conditions. Again, so far as women are concerned, there is not
complete security of tenure, though apart from the regulation that
obtains under some local authorities, requiring women to resign on
marriage, teachers in elementary schools, owing to the efforts of
their various organisations, possess far greater security of tenure
than teachers in any other branch of the profession. Another point in
favour of the teachers in elementary