(4) To assist teachers in obtaining situations.”
This action was confirmed on March 16th, at a meeting of the School-Mistresses’ Association, when Miss Agnes J. Ward read her paper on the “Principles and Practice of Thrift among Teachers.” At this meeting a sub-committee was formed to establish the Teachers’ Guild.
The Guild was definitely organized at the Conference of Head-mistresses, held in June, 1883, at Croydon, when Miss Hadland, Head-mistress of Milton Mount College, offered her services as honorary secretary, if the purposes of the Guild might be widened by the omission of the word “Provident.” Miss Hadland also secured the use of an office in the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, lent by her friend the Rev. R. J. Verrall. The clerical work was done at Milton Mount College, with the assistance of the Rev. R. Guest.
A provisional committee met fortnightly, working out the constitution of the Guild, till, on February 23, 1884, the inaugural meeting was held in the rooms of the Society of Arts, with the Right Hon. A. J. Mundella in the chair, and with an attendance of the leading educationalists, whose interest had been excited in the new work.
At this meeting, Mr. Storr stated that he—
“thought it only right that the names should be given of the two ladies to whom mainly this movement owes its initiative. One is Miss Buss—not only the doyenne of head-mistresses, but the mother of us all—I mean of us ‘Brethren of the Guild.’ To Miss Buss’ energy all the earlier results are due before the accession of Miss Hadland as honorary secretary, of whom it may be said that without her unwearied labours during these eight months this meeting could not have been held.”
Miss Hadland resigned her post as honorary secretary to Mr. Jocelyn De Morgan, who was appointed secretary, in the new rooms taken for the Guild at 1, Adam Street, Adelphi. He was followed by Mr. Garrod, at 19, Buckingham Street, and in the present office, 74, Gower Street.
With the appointment of Canon Percival as president of the Guild, Miss Buss and Miss Hadland retired from public view, but for some time they continued to exert a very strong influence. Miss Buss was especially active in the appointment of the secretaries, making full inquiry before proposing the candidate, as she had very high ideas of the qualifications for this office. The value of the Guild in raising the professional aspect of teaching soon became evident to her, and she omitted nothing that could work to this end.
The same feeling for struggling teachers that led to the formation of the Teachers’ Guild moved Miss Buss in the origination of the “Teachers’ Loan Society.” The idea itself seems to come from Miss Beale, who thus refers to it in a letter to Miss Buss, dated November 26, 1882—
“I have not yet had time to give the loan system a fair trial, but I have no doubt of its success.... I think there should be such a society attached to every large school, and a small number—say, a triumvirate—should administer the funds. We have assisted five now.... I do hope something will be done to establish some such system. It is so much better morally than gifts and scholarships, as it makes the pupils think of their responsibilities.”