y<", ■♦•'»j • j!»;'i,'> 
 
 THE RELATION 
 
 OP 
 
 
 McGill University to Legal Education. 
 
 [Lettter by Sir William Dawson, LL.D., Etc., Montreal Gazette, April 19th, 1887.] 
 
 TO THB EDITOR OF THE GAZETTE 
 
 Sir, — The subject of professional education 
 Is not usually very interesting to the f;eneral 
 public, but at a time when we are practically 
 told that all we have labored toeKtabiish here 
 in connection with our Protestant universi- 
 ties must be abandoned in favor of the sys- 
 tem of the French mnjoriiy, and that our 
 univernities and professional schools are not 
 needed in a province already provided with 
 education supposed to be suitable to the 
 greater part of its people, it is well that the 
 friends of education sliould give a little atten- 
 tion to the subject. Dr. Heutker ha« already 
 ably argued on public grounds the 
 claims of the law courses of the universities, 
 as well as those of the iuvtitutions of general 
 education in connection with the preliminary 
 examinations, and I now wish to follow this 
 Hp with some special statements respecting 
 the law faculty of McQill, the older of the 
 two connected with the Protestant univer- 
 sities, and which seemx particularly aimed at 
 in some statements which have been made in 
 yoUr columns and elsewhere. 
 
 The time was when orofei^sional education 
 was limited to an apprenticeship with a prac- 
 titioner, but that has long since passed away 
 in all civilized countries, and systematic 
 teaching by leirned and able professors is 
 held to be indispensable. This work has 
 in every country devolved largely on the 
 universities, and has been carried out 
 most successfully by them. In this 
 province, and in the case of a university in- 
 tended specially to provide for the higher 
 education of the Eoglish-speaking minority, it 
 appeared from the first essential that profes- 
 sional educition should be attenijed .tQ, . and 
 McQill has taken a leading plelct&'tiol.iAAy ih- 
 
 this province but in the Dominion of Canada, 
 in its schools of law, medicine and applied 
 science, and this greatly to the advantage of 
 Blontreal and of the province generally. 
 
 The McGill faculty of law was organized 
 immediatAJv after the amended charter of 
 1852 had been secured, and was an object of 
 special iuterest to two members of the board 
 of governors who have now passed away, 
 and to whom Canadian education owes much, 
 rhe lare chancellor of McGill university, the 
 Hon. Judge D<iy, and the Hon. Judge Dunkia. 
 Both of these gentlt^men gave much time and 
 thought to the regulations of the new faculty, 
 which consisted at first of the Hon. Judge 
 Bidgley, the Hun. Mr. Abbott and the late 
 Hon. Judge Torrance, but has since been en- 
 larged, until ut present it has seven profess, 
 ors and a lecturer, wtiile its cour-e of study, 
 originally planned by the eminent men above 
 named has, like those in our other faculties, 
 been greatly extended and improved, and this 
 to such an extent that the number of lectures 
 delivered since 1872 has been double that in 
 the earlier sessions of the faculty. Even 
 since 1885 the course has been still farther 
 enlarged and rearr>inged. 
 
 It might almost be inferred, from some 
 statements which have been circulated, that 
 students can enter into the classes of the fac- 
 ultv without any matriculation examination. 
 On the contrary, every student must pass an 
 examination before entering into the first year. 
 As stated in the calendar, in which its details 
 are annually advertised, this includes Latin, 
 English and French, mathematics, history, 
 and even a certain amount of rhetoric, logic 
 and ethics, which take the place of 
 the <' philosophy," respecting which so 
 '^ijcb . P$9, ipeea said. Graduates in 
 a;ts;ai)3«:oifpciir8e. received without examin- 
 
 
 * * * » i * 
 
 56235 
 
)'3'2.5(m 
 
 ation. The course of Htudy extendn over 
 three yearH, and provides for a vety wide 
 range of le^al acquiremeut, the detaiin of 
 which are stated iv the university calendar 
 It has been said that the lectures are not ac- 
 tually delivered, but this is quite incorrect. 
 The session is divided into two terms, each 
 professor delivering a daily lecture during 
 one of these terms, so that four of the pro- 
 fessors lecture iu the first term and three in 
 the second. According to the returns made 
 by the secretary of the faculty, over 300 lec- 
 tures were delivered in the session just closed. 
 I do not admit, however, that the value of 
 our course in law is to be estimated merely 
 by the number of lectures. Quite as much 
 depends on the natHre ot the lectures and ou 
 their tendency to aid and stimulate reading, 
 study and independent thought on the part ol 
 the student. Much also dapend^ ou the 
 judicious division of the nuljfcts between the 
 diixerent years. It is thus quite conceivable 
 that, under favorable oircumslanceB, four or 
 five hundred lecture^' may be more valuable 
 to a student than the one thousand or more 
 which the secietary of the ( nncil of the Bar 
 desires. It is also to be observed that law 
 students are usually under apprenticeKliip, 
 and are obliged to devote the ureater part of 
 their time to office work. 
 
 The students are required to attend regu- 
 larly and punctually, and exHminatious are 
 held at the end ot each term with a final exa- 
 mination for the degree, so that each student 
 h«s to pass six examinations conducted by 
 written papers, in addition to the matricula- 
 tion examination, and has also to prepare a 
 thesis before graduation. That occasional 
 interruptions should occur in some sessions 
 in certain courses of lectures delivered by 
 professors engaged in active practice, is in- 
 evitable, but such blanks have been supplied 
 as far as possible by additional lecturers, and 
 when professors, by reason of legislative or 
 judicial duties, have been una. le to 
 attend to their lectures, they have 
 retired in favor of others, or have 
 been placed on the list of emeritus 
 prof'ibsors. It is quite easy, however, for 
 persons disposed <o be critical to magnify the 
 omission of a few lectures in one course, 
 owing to some accidental cause, into an 
 entire failure to deliver lectures. The names 
 of Kerr, Trenholme, Archibald, Lareau, 
 HutcblneoD, Robidoux and Davidson, who 
 constitute the present faculty, are a«ufficieDt 
 
 t ;•',■,•••••*. 
 
 *- 1 .. . ' I ' • « • • • • 
 
 guarantee for the character and good faith of 
 the course. 
 
 When the great importance of the legal 
 profeKsion is consi 'ered. and the fact that the 
 judicial bench as well as the balls of legis- 
 lation and many important public offices de- 
 maud a high legal training, it is evident that 
 the continuance of such a course of study 
 is of the greatest value to the com- 
 munity, and the public may entertain 
 the utmost confidenf* that the university, 
 for its own credit and in the interet^t of the 
 higher education which it is its spe iai busi- 
 ness to sustain, will neither permit students 
 to enter without preparation nor to graduate 
 without a regular course of studj and a 
 searching examination, while it also offers a 
 gold medal, honors and prizes, as rewards to 
 stimulate to special eilurt. All this can and 
 will be done quite independently of the coun- 
 cil of the Bar, and without any legal compul- 
 sion ou the part of that body. I may add 
 that while I object on every principle of 
 sound education and of civil right to place 
 the curricula and examinations of our Pro- 
 testant education in the h<iuds of the profes- 
 sional councils, I feel confident that their in- 
 terference in the manner indicated in the 
 recent regulations of the council of the B ir, 
 will degrade and not elevate the legal pro- 
 fesbion. 
 
 The results of the system which this uni- 
 versity has pursued are apparent in its lis ; of 
 graduates. We have at present a little over 
 400 bachelors of civil law, of whom a few 
 have been removed by death and some have 
 settled in other provinces of the Dominion or 
 in the United Slates, but the greater number 
 are actively and creditably pursuiog their 
 profession in this province. In glancing 
 over the names on our list, I observe 
 that at least forty represent men who 
 are, or have recently been, members of 
 the Dominion or local Governments or 
 legislatures, or who are occupying judicial or 
 other important public positions, and several 
 of these are graduates in arts as well as iu 
 law. This is an evidence that here, as in 
 the mother country, the university training 
 tells IU the higher walks of professional and 
 public life, and that the particular form of 
 such training represented by our Protestant 
 educational system is highly efficient in this 
 respect. The large number of French names 
 on our list of graduates reminds me that we 
 b^ve . li^fifi , . .working in this depart* 
 
 ••••♦••••• 
 • • .••••.• 
 
 lif 
 
 rs 
 
 < • t • • • 
 
 
3 
 
 ment for both sectiona of our people, 
 •Dd that no diHtinctioDa of creed 
 are known in our profeHHJonal 
 classeH. The university has a right to expect 
 tb«t in the present crisiH all itn gradustep, of 
 whatever race or creed, will remember the 
 benefits they have received Irom it and will 
 actively defend its educational righta. 
 
 The above statements will, 1 hope, serve 
 to show that it is the duty and interest of the 
 public to sustain the general educational sys- 
 tem of the countiy and the universities 
 against the encroachments ot the professioual 
 councils, however well meant these may be, 
 on the ground that systematic education of a 
 high type and suited to the wants of the 
 present age can be given by the higher schools 
 and the universities alone, and not by 
 the professional boards, and that the 
 interference of the latter, except under very 
 strict limitations, is as bad in principle as it 
 would be to hand over the general element- 
 ary education of the country to the tradeh' 
 unions representing the several departments 
 of industry. Any country taking such a 
 course cannot keep pace with the progress of 
 the age. In the peculiar position of the Pro- 
 testant minority in this province, there are, 
 of course, special reasons why such deviations 
 fiom sound educational principles become 
 unjust as well as inexpedient. 
 
 I may add that this is not a matter of 
 pecuniary interest to the university, which 
 derives no revenue from the faculty of law. 
 The faculty has b.d but one endowment, 
 "The Gale Chair" founded by the liberality 
 of the daughter of a late eminent judge. The 
 univerpity contributes only a small sum 
 towards its fAunual expenses, and even this 
 with some difficulty. Still the work is so 
 important that we are willing to continue it, 
 in hope that like other departments it may 
 grow in its resources, unless driven from the 
 field by hostile legislation. We feel also 
 that if we submit tamely to such legislation, 
 the time may soon come when our young 
 men will be unable to enter into the practice 
 of the higher professions without conforming 
 to the educational methods of the m»j »rity, 
 in which case they would lail to obtain that 
 kind of training which we believe to be 
 essential to their highest usefulness and suc- 
 cess, and which has enabled Qreat Britain 
 and the United States to take the high posi- 
 tions which they bold among the nations of 
 the world. Nor need we limit this statement 
 to ourselves. If our friends, who are so zea- 
 
 lous to reform the Protestant Bcboola and 
 universities, would turn their attention to 
 the educational system of France, and es- 
 pecially to the improvements which have 
 been introduced within the last fifteen years, 
 they might learn much to their advantage. 
 
 Since writing the above, I have seen the 
 letter of Mr. Pagnuelo in your issue of Mon- 
 day. I do not propose to reply to this com- 
 munication, which relat«8 principally to the 
 preliminary extminations, and to points suf- 
 ficiently discussod by Mr. Rexford and Dr. 
 Heneker. It may be useful, however, to point 
 out some errors connected with the subjects 
 referred to above. (I) The degree of B. A is 
 not given to pupils of high schools and 
 academies " by affiliation.' They may 
 matriculate, but they mast siudy for 
 three or four years before graduating in 
 arts. This is the reason why we wish to re- 
 cognize the degree of B.A. and to encourage 
 young men to proceed to it ; but in doing so 
 we have no wish to Hcton the majority except 
 by our own better example. (2) Mr Rex- 
 ford's position as to philosophy is entirely 
 misstated. He referred to the academies and 
 hi^h schools and not to the universities. We 
 attach little importance to the philosophy 
 which can be taught to schoolboys, but we 
 value greatly that which can be 
 studied by men of more mature 
 minds. Hence again we wish to have 
 the degree of B. A recogniz>^d, but without 
 prejudice to those who, without such a de- 
 gree, can pass a proper entrance examination. 
 (3) Our objection does not lie agaiost an 
 tqiial standard of examination fur all, but 
 against tha testing of out men by a standard 
 different fiom and, as we hold, inferior to our 
 own in the more essential subjects, while at- 
 taching a high value to others which we do 
 not think necessary. (4) It is further to be ob- 
 served that the Eoglish minority in the pro- 
 vince of Quebec has not insisted 
 on separation, but has desired as 
 far as possible a system of common schools. 
 The existing separation, now fully recognized 
 by our educational law, has been produced by 
 the action of the majority, and as a conse- 
 quence of the strictly denominational charac- 
 ter of its system; and this renders it peculiar- 
 ly unjust to deprive us of separate examina- 
 tions, which are the necessary complement of ' 
 a separate and distinct system of instruction. 
 Those interested in the educational welfare 
 of the English-speaking minority in this 
 ptcviiioe rthuvld oate.'ully read and 
 
ponder Mr. Pagaaelo'8 letter. The 
 tone of that letter, the ioability of 
 the writer to comprehend the Htatementa 
 of the univerMilies and of the Protestant com- 
 mittee, the dense and multiform ignorance of 
 the nature and tendency of our Protestant 
 educational system apparent throughout, con- 
 stitute the strongest possible arguments in 
 favor of the entire separation of the two sys- 
 tems, and should convince the English people 
 of the danger of hai'ding over our educational 
 rights to the ••generosity " of those whom 
 Mr. Pagnuelo represents. I trust, however, 
 that the moderate and reasonable claims 
 of the Protestant minority, relatiug 
 
 entirely to their own rights and not inter* 
 fering with those of others, will meet witb 
 due consideration on the part of the profes- 
 sional councils and the Legislature, and that 
 the dangers which at present appear to 
 threaten educational privileges which we 
 highly value, not in our own interest merely, 
 but in that of the province as a whole and of 
 the Dominion at large, may happily be 
 averted. 
 
 I beg to remain, 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. WM. DAWSON. 
 April 19, 1887. 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 < • 
 
 < < 
 
 * • • 
 
 i •! • 
 
 • • • 
 
 • > • • • 
 • • > 
 
 • • •