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Las diagrammas suivants illustrant la mithoda. i: f ; , i 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^' •'-f?v'''^-4f^' "^ ■f^' ^i. ^3i^!She§r THE CfflEF SUPERINTENDENT'S /REPORT O UCATION •1 , • HEAR .^50. >'ii AL J'ABLES AND APPENDIX. / ;'A5i *,*< TORONTO: tUmTED FOR THE DEPARTMBJIT OP PUBDIC IJ^STRUCTIOK FOR VPP&tkOAXAph^ BY LOVELI. AND GIBSON. ;.■ . . 1857- 'iS^sA^^i±^ ^:.';^*y:^' 'A t* % " r'^iS^ /#f . 5'A '> THE CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT ON EDUCATION IK UPPER CAIS^ADA, FOR THE YEAR iSSQ. OMITTING THE STATISTICAL TABLES AND APPENDIX. ' ■ I ■^^ -"^m m TORONTO : PRIHTED FOR THE DEPARTME-VT OF PUBLIC LVSTRUCnOX FOR UPPER CANADA, BY LOVELL AND GIBSON. 1857. • -'M "7 ^ ''■ 'i'^"'fT/,;^;prf'.. i I I f * r'' 1 . '"in # 1 ^ ^'^v^lJi " I' ? ^'',f I ^ I ilU i^.'J i tl '"•••^•w*^ t , f-;- r' ■'* mwrn 'im CONTENTS. PAOI lolradMtory ' 1. Tablb a. — Common School Moneys * 5. Tjuua B. — Pupils attending the Common Schools ' a. Tabu 0.— Common School Teachers, their Religious Faith, Salaries, &o 1 4. Table D.— Schools, School Houses. Visits, Lectures, Time of Keeping Open the Schools 7 6. Tablb K — Religious Exercises, Text Books and Apparatus used in the Common Schools 8 •. Tablb F. — Maps, Olobes, School Apparatus ^ 1. Tablis O, H, I. — Orammar Schools ® 8: Tablb X. — Normal and Model Schools 11 9l Tablb M.— Free Public Libraries 1* IOl Bztracts from the Reports of Local Superintendents 1^ IL EdooaUonal Museum, and School of Art and Design l' >% Department of Public Instruction for Upper Canada 24 ^I. Miaoellaneons Remarks • :.'jiSiv TUB CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT ON EDUCATION IN UPPER CANADA, FOR THE YEAR 1856. OMITTING THE STATISTICAL TABLES AND APPENDIX. TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR EDMUND WALKER HEAD, BARONET, GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA, die. Ac. Ac. Mat it please Your Excellency, In presenting my Report of the condition of the Normal, Model, Grammar and Common Schools of Upper Canada, for the year 1856,lt is my grateful duty, as it has been each preceding year, to state that the school returns from the several counties, townships, cities, towns, and villages, exhibit a still unprecedented pro- gress in every branch of the school system — illustrating as it does the growing con- viction and interest of the people at large, as to the education of their children, and their appreciation of the powers with which they are invested fur that purpose, since the school system recognizes no power in the Legislature to levy a sixpence tax upon the people for school purposes, nor any power in the Government to erect [or furnish a single school house, or employ a single teacher, but a simple power in B th« fr('(h(»I(l(rsnti(lli<)ii''o!i()l(Iorii (if OHfli munici|mlity iiikI schixd division to provide for llu' hcliool I'diiciuioii of tlifir cltildrrn, in llirirown way and to iiny extent tlii-y plfiiHt', iiidid by the counxL'l.s, and tiuililirM, nnd co-operution wiiicli it is witliin the means and |irovini-e of government to ati'ord, witliout atteinpiing to HiipefHede local niaini|.reiMeni, but only develt)ping and fiieouraginn locid exertion. Tiie sciiools arc einplialically tlie hc1ioo!» (if tlie people, in their CHfabiirtlnnt-nt and wnpport, as well u>: in their objects ; and whatever progrcHs is made in the »chooU redonnds both to the honour and advantage of the {K'uplc in their several sehoul diviutunN and muni- cipalilics. 1. Tablb a. — Common School Moneys. The Legislative School Grant is ay)portioned to each Municipality, upon the condition that such Municipality shall provide an equal sum by assessment for tlie payment of teachers. The Legislative gran, apportioned t() Municipalities for 18'>{!, amounted to £21),8«J9 ; the amount provided by the local nuniicipal assessment wnn £54,526, £24,057 more than the sum re(piired by law, and an increase of £9,402 over the amount of the local municipal assessment of the preceding year, for the payment of teachers and other educational expenses. The amount of School Trustees^ assessment for the same purpose was £135,354, being an increase ovei that of the preceding year of £25,043. The amount of rate-bills was £34,9G0, being an increase of X4,159 over that of the preceding year. The amount paid for maps and apparatus, was X2,440, being an increase of £375. The amount expended for school sites and the erection of school houses was £42,807, being an increase of £8,534. The amount expended for repairs and rents of school houi»C8, was £10,106, being an increase of £4,275. * The amount expended for fuel, stationery and other contingencies, was £19,162, being an increase of £6,628. The amount paid to teachers was £194,920, being an increase of £24,893. The total amount of expenditure for all common school purposes, for the year 1856, was £269,527 ; to this may be added the salaries of local superintendents, £6,060, making the total £274,587, for one branch of the system of public educa- tion in Upper Canada, being an increase over the preceding year of £44,708. , When it is considered that these are the voluntary doings of the people them- selves in their several municipalities, they are facts of great significance in the edu- cational and social progress of the country, and point to a future grateful to the feelings of the noblest patriotism. vy cul iirc or ihe nt Nvn* t\)T tUc 135,354, over il»«^ ncrcaac "f tiouses was ,3 £10,196, ;enc\c9, was £24,893. ,, for the year jerintetitlents, pttbUccduca- £44,708. .e people them- „ce in the edu- grateful to the 2. TaBLK H. — PuiMLH ATTKNDINd THE CoMMON SciloOLH. TIk' n?»ums of tlu' School popnlntion hotwecn ihi' ages of five nrul »ixt«'rn years iirr too dofcctive to \w giv«'n ; and the niiiiilx'r of children not reported an uttendin^ nny Hc;h(H)l, nnd the pprccritn^c of the |K)pidati'>n re|H)rte(l in roch miinieipality hh not i)ein^ ahh' to read, are professed estimates hy the Local Superintendents and 'i'nislees, rather than exact returns. In this table several new siiitistics will be found which have not appi-an-d in any prj;vious report, showing the number of pupils that have attended schools less than twenty days in the year, between 20 and 50 days, between 50 and 100 days, l)etw«'en KM) and 150 days, between 150 and 200 days, between 200 and 200 dayw. The returns of another year ar(> requisite in order to ascertain the comparative attendance of pupils under these several heada. The number of boys attending the schools was 137,420, being an increase of 11,742. The number of girls attending the schools was 113,725, being an increase of 11,539. The total number of pupils attending the Common Sch(xjls was 251,145, being an increase of 23.281. Ihe table also sliows, in the classification of pupils, a very gratifying increase in the higher subjects of Common School Education, 3. Table C. — Common School Teachers, their Religious Faith, Salaries, &c. The whole number of Teachers employed during the year was 3,689 — increase, 124 : male teachers, 2622 — increase, 54 ; female teachers, 1067 — increase, 70. Members of the Church of England, 684— decrease, 32. Roman Catholics, 414 — increase 18. Presbyterians, 905 — decrease, 93. Methodists, 1102 — increase, 145. Baptists, 224 — increase, 41. Congregationalists, 92 — in- crease, 35. For teachers belonging to minor religious persuasions, see the Table. It will be seen that the salaries of female teachers vary from £50 to £125 ; that the salaries of male teachers vary froni £60 to £350. 4. Table D. — Schools, School Houses, Visits, Lectures, Time of Keeping Open the Schools. The returns in this table in regard to school houses, are so imperfect, and involve so many inconsistencies when compared with those of the preceding year, as to render them of little value. According to the returns received, there is a decrease in the number of frame school houses of 178, and in the number of log school houses of 128; while there is an increase of 118 in the number of brick school houses, and an increase of 128 in the number of stone school houses ■ •imv * ."J 'JJ iT ^''-^ 8 ^ I think llicre must be mistakes in the returns of the past or of the preceding year, or of both. I cannot imagine so great a change in the character of the scliool houses in any one year. But after making every allowance lor errors in the returns, it is evident thtire is a rapid and very gratifying improvement going on in the character of school houses and their furniture, as well as in the character of their schools. The number of visits to the schools reported is as follows : By Local Super- intendents, 7544— increase, 628 ; by Clergymen, 3417— increase, 82 ; by Muni- cipal Councillors, 1838 -increase, 442 ; by Magistrates, 1496— increase, 97 ; by Judges anH i^'-mbers of Parliament, 352 — decrease, 13; by Trustees, 16,270— increase, 371; by other persons, 13,189— increase, 1796. Total school visits 44,106 — increase, 3402. The only class of paid officers among all these school visitors are Local Superintendents. This large and increasing number of gratu- itous visits by the most intelligent classes of the community evinces their growing interest in the public schools. The number of lectures by Local Superintendents reported is 1,995— de- crease, 87 ; not two-tliirds as many lectures as there are schools. Lectures by other persons, 428 — increase, 168. But the Local Superintendents give many instructions and counsels, in their visits to school sections, which they do not return as lectures, though tiiey arc perhaps to some extent substitutes for them. The number of School Sections reported is 3,634— increase, 109 ; the num- ber of sclio.ils reported is 3,472— increase, 147; number of schools closed or not reported, 162— decrease, G8 ; number of Free Schools, 1,263— increase, 62 ; number of schools pjirfly Ace, 1,567— decrease, 98 ; number of schools with a rate-bill of Is. 3d. per mouth (the highest rate-bill allowed by law in the Common Schools,) 1,149— decrease, 4 ; number of schools with a less rate-bill than Is. 3d. per month, 543— decrease, 1. These returns illustrate the discretionary power of the inhabitants to support their schools as they please, while they show the gradual and steady progress of Free Schools. « Tlie time during which the schools have been kept open in cities, towns, and villages embraces, with scarcely an exception, the whole period required by law ; and the average time of keeping open the schools, in both townships, cities, towns and villages., vvas 10 months and two days, an increase of twelve days on the preceding year, and about two months longer than the schools are kept open in any State of America. 5. Table E.— Religious Exercises, Text Books and Apparatus used in the Common Schools. The number of schools reported as opening and closing the daily exercises with prayer is 1,001— decrease, 2 ; in which the Holy Scriptures are read, 1,854 — decrease, 109. 9 ear, lool the gon acter uper- Muni- ;by ,270— visits school gram- Towing i95—de- tuTcs by !e many y do not r them. the num- ed or not ease, 52 ; ,1s with a J Common lan Is. 3d. ry power of show the The National Readers are reported to be used in 3,054 schools, and the National Arithmetics in 3,000 schools ; the other text books recommonled by the Council of Public Instruction are used to an equal extent, so that the text books authorised and printed in the country may be considered as all but univer- sally used in the schools. Although it is the master, and not the text book, that makes the school, yet educationists in all countries regard the use of an uniform series of good text books as essential to the best interests of schools, and to the completeness of a system of public instruction. That object, so nearly attained in Upper Canada, has not been accomplished in any of the neighbouring States, beyond the cities and towns. 6. Table F. — Maps, Globes, and School AppARATUr*. The number of schools provided with tablet lessons is 697 ; with globes, &c., 415; with blackboards, 2,480 ; with maps, 1,924 — a gratifying increase under each of these heads. The number of maps, &c., furnished by this Department during the year is as follows: maps of the World, 136; of Europe, 266 ; of Asia, 201 ; of Al'ricn, 185 ; of America, 222 ; of Canada, 277 ; of British Isles, 196 ; of nfmi>t)h(Mcs, 267; chissical maps, 78; other mai)s, 192; of globes, 103; of complete sets of Holbrook's apparatus, 14 ; of parts of ditto, 14G ; of sundry philosophical appara- tus, 141 ; of nattir.il history object U'ssons, 6,046 ; of Scripture history ditto, 1,480 ; of other object lessons, 316 ; of tablet lessons and prints, (i,458 ; of various other articles, 959. The whole nuinbiM- of maps sent out in 1855 was 1,304; the whole number sent out in 1856 was 2,020 — increase, 716. The number oi globes sent out in 1855 was 48 ; in 1856, 103 — increase, 55. There is a corresponding increase under each of the other heads, and there has been a greatly increased demand for these articles since the commencement of the current year. ties, towns, required by ships, cities, slve days on re kept open 8 USED 1» THE aily exercises re read, 1,854 7. Tables G, H, I. — Grammar Schools. The whole number of Grammar Schools in operation in 1856 was 61, of which twenty-six were Senior County Grammar Schools, each receiving £100 per annum, independent of the apportionment out of the fund arising from the sales of Grammar School lands. The amount apportioned from tlie fund to Grammar Schools was £6,661— increase, £lll. The amount derived from fees, £4,990— decrease, £131 The amount granted by Municipalities, £3,417 — in- crease, £1,817, chielly for buildings. The total amount for salaries of masters and teachers, £11,914 — increase, je350. The amount expended for maps and apparatus, £201 — increase, £139. The amount expended for books and contin- gencies, £1,563 — increase, £1,081. Total receipts for Grammar School pur- poses, £19,248— increase, £3,761. K'n^mumtimmm Wfih^Ui^itliM 10 From the necessary process of relieving the Grammar Schoi,.; of elementary Common School j)ii|)ils by requiring an entrance examination in order to admission, the agj;re;;ate nutuber of jjupils in the Grammar Schools has been reduced from 3,720 to 3,38(1 ; while there is only a nominal increase in the nmiiber of pupils studying Latin and Greek. The number of pupils in Latin was 1051, increase 12. The number of pupils in Greek was 257, increase 22. The number of pupils in French was 4G2, increase 97. There is therefore a little more than one-third of the pjipils in the Grammar Schools studying Latin — a little more than one-ttoe(flh stu- dying Greek — and a little more than one-aeventh studying French. From the tables there appears to be a respectable increase in the number of pupils in the other, and some of the higher subjects taught in the Grammar Schools. The ave- rage number of pupils per school, was, in Latin, 17, in Greek 4 ; in French, 7. But from the table it appears that some of the schools have no pupils in Greek, and less than half a dozen in Latin. There is a manifest improvement in several of the Granunar Schools ; the provisions of the law and the regulations to reduce them to a system and to classify the studies in them, &c., to secure properly quali- fied masters, have operated beneficially. But considered as a whole, the Grammar Schools, with a few honorable exceptions, are in an unsatisfactory state, more so than any other class of institutions in the country. The powers and resources of trus- tees are wholly insufficient to enable them to pr )vidc proper school-houses, or fur- nish them, or secure competent salaries to masters. In several instances County, City, or Town Councils have honorably responded to the applications of the Board of Grammar School Trustees, in providing means for the erection and furnishing of Grammar School-houses, and for making up the salaries of masters ; but in most instances, these applications have been unsuccessful. County councils have object- ed to levy a rate on the county, or to make a grant from county funds, in aid of a Grammar School, upon the ground that if aid were granted to one, it must be granted to each of the Grammar Schools established in the county ; that the city, town, or villa;j;e where a Grammar School is situated, should provide for its support ; that the few country pupils who may attend a Grammar School, contribute to the support of the school and to the advaritage of the city, town, or village within the limits of which it is situated, and the whole country should not ihcrefore be taxed on account of the attendance of such pupils. On the other hand, the Municipal Council of a city, town, or village objects to levy rates or make grants in behalf of the Granniiar School, because it has no voice in the management of such school, since the County Council appoints the Board of Trustees. It is thus that the Gram- mar School so partially and remotely connected with the county in regard to inter- est, and severed from the city, town, or village in respect to ontrol, obtains no aid from the Municipal Council of cither. It is true when the Boards of Grammar and Common Schools unite and form one board, such united board possesses the powers of both boards separately, and can thus provide for the support of both the Gram- mar and Connnon Schools. But it is yet problematical, and I think very doubtful, whether the union of Grammar and Common Schools is advantageous to either, and is not, in the majority of instances, injurious to both. Every one must admit that 11 )in 12. in the stu- the llic ave- 7. reck, veral ;duce qiiali- iinmar ) than f trus- or fur- >mnty, ; Board ihing of n most z object- 1 aid of must be the city, support ; te to the ithin the be taxed Municipal in behalf ich school, the Gram- d to inter- ains no aid ammar and the powers 1 the Gram- ry doubtful, ) either, and admit that Grammar Schools and their Boards of Trustees ought not to be placed in a posi- tion of inferiority to Conmion Schools and their Trustees, as to means of support. If it is proper to have public Grammar Schools at all, as all will admit, it is proper to provide for their ellicicncy, 1 believe the Boards of Trustees, with scarcely an exception, have employed all the means in their power to render the Grammar Schools entrusted to their charge, as efficient as possible ; but they have no power to raise a six-pence for the erection and furnishing of the School-house, or for the payment of their master or masters, exce[)t by the fees of pupils. It is impossible that the Grammar Schools can improve or flourish under such circumstances, or that they can otherwise than flag and languish in comparison of Conunon Schools. I believe that no considerable improvement can be effected in the Grammar Schools, until they are made the property of the city, town, and village municipal- ities, within the limits of which they are established, and under their control, anel the fund apportioned in aid of their supp'.rt be paid upon the same conditions ns that on which apportionment from the Legislative Grant in aid of the Conunon Schools is made, and until the Boards of Trustees of Grammar Schools be placed upon the same footing, and invested with the same powers as the Trustees of Com- mon Schools. I believe also, that the multiplication of feeble and inefficient Grammar Schools is an evil rather than a good ; that it is much better to have one or two first-rate Grammar Schools in a county, than half a dozen poor and sickly ones, such as are wholly inefficient, whether as Grammar or Common Schools. It can not be other- wise than a wast? of the School Fund, a burden and loss, to establish or continue a Grammar School, unless means are provided for its efficient support, and unless there is an average attendance of at least ten pupils who are studying the languages, and subjects for the teaching of which Grammar Schools have been erected. For a practical view of the state of these Grammar Schools, and valuable ob- servations respecting them, see the Reports of the Inspectors, the Rev. William Ormiston, M.A., and T. J. Robertr.on, Escj.jM.A., in Appendix B to this Report. 8. Table K. — Nohmal and Model Schools. These important institutions continue to fulfil their great mission with una- bated efficiency and success ; and their influence is felt in every part of the country, in the construction and furnishing of school houses, the organization and management of schools, and the methods of descipline and teaching. The Model Schools — one for boys and the other for girls — are limited to 210 pupils each, are arranged and furnished, with the appendages of play yards and sheds, gymnasia, calisthenics, &c., and are taught and conducted in a manner designed as a model for the common schools of the country. In these schools the students or teachers in training in the Normal School attend, first as observers, then as assistant teachers, a few hours each week — thus reducing to practice (^by teach- ing) the subjects of their lectures and exercises in the Normal School. 12 The original objects of tlie Normal School are inflexibly adhered to — to ground the ftudont-teachcrs as thoroughly, as far as the period of their attend- ance will admit, in the subjects of common school instruction, and to instruct and practice them in teaching those subjects after the best methods, and to organize and conduct their schools in the manner best adapted lo secure the ends of school discipline, lo form and develope the minds and characters of the pupils. These objects are of course not equally attained in all cases ; but the ages and c|iialiiieations recjuisite for the admission of student-teachers to the Normal School are such as to qualify them to teach common schools ; the great majority of those attending the iXormal School have been teachers (and some of them licensed as teachers of the first class by County Boards) before coming here, and the number in attendance at the present time is larger than it has ever been since the estab- lishment of the school. The increased demand for teachers trained in the Normal School — so much beyond the number of teachers trained there, — the increased salaries offered them, and the testimonies of local reports, attest the importance of the institution, and the value which experience places upon the services of those trained in it. There is no longer a doubt expressed, if entertained, in any quarter, that a teacher who has studied the science and art of leaching and governing children has a great advantage over one who undertakes that important and dilFicult work without having learned how to do it. There is undoubtedly many an excellent self-made teacher, as there is many an excellent self-made scholar ; yet it is plain that good teachers cannot be produced and multiplied without a training school and college for teachers, any more than good scholars can be produced and mul- tiplied without ordinary schools and colleges ; that if a lawyer or physician, a carpenter or mason, must serve an apprenticeship of study and practice before pursuing his profession or trade, so should a le leher serve an apprenticeship of study and practice before linderlaking a work ihc most difficult and important to perform efficiently, as well as the most honorable in itself, of any work involved in the development of mind and the progress of society. Those remarks apply with as nuich force to the teaching of Grammar Schools as to that of Common Schools. The inefficiency of a large number of the Grammar Schools arises, it is believed in most cases, not so much from the want of scholar- ship in the ordinary sense of the term, as from the want of a thorough normal school training m all the subjects of Grammar School instruction, and the best methods of teaching them. The contemplated Model Grammar School (the building for which is now considerably advanced,) will fulfil the functions of a Normal School for the Granunar Schools, while it will serve as a model for their organization and manage- ment ; thus sustaining the same relations, and rendering the same services to the Grammar Schools as are now sustained and rendered to the Common Schools by the present Normal and Model Schools. The only objections yet made to the training of teachers, as far as I know, is 13 to id- act to nds )ils. and nool lose 1 as nber stab- much lliem, .1, and There ;r who L great athout f-made plain school id mul- cian, a before eship of jrtant to Lnvolved Schools rrammar scholar- nal school lethods of for which ool for the d manage- ces to the ools by the 1 know, is that many of them do not pursue the profession, but leave it for other employments. Were this true to the full extent imagined, the conclusion would still be in fuvor of the Normal School, since its advantages arc not confined to schools or neighbour- hoods in which its teachers are employed, but are extended over other neighbour- hoods and municipalities. No one can read the extracts from thn reports of local superintendents, given in Appendix A. to this Report, without being convinced, that the influence of the Normal School is felt throughout the whole country, by the example and success of the teachers whom it has sent forth, stimulating other teachers to improvement and exertion, and elevating the general standard of school organization and teaching. Several who have attended the Normal School for a longer or shorter period have died ; a number, by their diligence and cconotny, have qualified themsclvesfor theChristian Ministry, or for the professions of Law, Medicine, and Surveying. Eight (after having taught some time) have entered the University, six obtaining scholarships on subjects in which they had had the advantage of training and exercises in the Nomialand Model Schools; and are thusqualifying them- selves for the higher departments of public instri>ciions. A considerable number have established or engaged in private schools ; a number also are employed as teachersin the Grammar Schools ; one as professor, and three asteachers in the Normal and Model Schools of Lower Canada, besides one or more in Victoria College and the Belleville Seminary, &c., &c. It is not und rstood that females, trained in the Normal School, are under obligations to teach after marriage. Some of them have been employed as governesses ; and a large number are teaching in the best Common Schools in nearly all the principal cities, towns, and villages of Upper Canada, and in many of thn best country schools. Though it may he presumed that many of them have married, yet large numbers of them are thus employed in teach- ing, and some arc known to continue teaching after marriage. After making all these deductions, and accounting for the employment of teachers trained in the Normal School in teaching other than Common Schools, the very imperfect returns report 430 Normal School teachers as employed in the Common Schools at the present time, teaching about one eighth of the Common Schools of Upper Canada, and exerting a salutary influence over the character and teaching of a large pro- porticn of the other seven-eighths. On this point it may be further remarked : 1st. That no candidate is admitted into the Normal Scnool, except upon the declaration, that he will devote himself to teaching, and that the object of his attend- ing the Normal School is to qualify himself better for his profession ; accompanied by a certificate of character, signed by a Clergyman. This is the same condition re- quired foradmission intothe Normal Schools of the New York and the Eastern States, where the change of employment and profession, and removals from one State to another are much more frequent than in Canada. 2. That no student-teacher receives the small pecuniary aid of five shillingt per week towards the payment of his board, before the end of the session ; nor then 14 unless by good conduct, and on examination in writing, (extending over several days,) on all the subjects of Normal and Model School instructions and exercises, he ia ad- judged entitled to at least a second class certificate. 3. That the period of instruction in the Normal School only extends over two sessions of five months each, — ten months in all ; and that the hctures, teaching, and exercises in the Normal School, and the practice in the Model Schools, are not those of ordinary school or college, but form a system of practical training for the work of teaching, and, therefore, present comparatively little inducement for the attendance of any who do not intend to devote themselves to the work of teaching* 4. That of the 105 candidates, (91 males and 74 females,) who have beon ad- mitted to the Normal School during the current session, 91 of them, (66 males and 26 females,) have already been toiuhers of Common Schools, thereby furnishing the strongest practical proof that their oljject in attending the Normal School for a few months is to become better qualified for the work of teaching. In all professions and pursuits there are changes from one to another. I do not think it is just or wise, or expedient to deny to the Normal School teacher (be- cause of his attendance at the Normal School a few months) this liberty or discre- tion, if opportunity presents to improve his position or increase his usefulness — motives for which, however, arc daily becoming feebler, as the salary and position of the teachers are improving, while greater difficulties, if not less gains, attend the entrance and pursuit of other professions and employments. In whatever position or relation of life a Normal School teacher may be placed, his or her training at the Normal School cannot fail to contribute to their usefulness. In Prussia no candidate is admitted into the Christian Ministry without a certificate of his having attended a six months course of lectures and exercises on "Pedagogy,'' or school-teaching. In whatever light, therefore, the Normal and Model Schools are viewed, and the more carefully their cbiracter and operations are examined, the more important will they appear as one of the vital parts of a system of public instruction, as pro- viding not only the most important schools of the several counties with e£Bcient teachers, but as exerting a powerful influence upon the teaching and character of most of the public and private schools throughout the country, as well as in contri- buting to the general education of so much of the population of the Province a» attend that Institution. I t I 9. Table M. — Free Public Libbakies. In previous reports I have explained the origin and nature of our system of Public School Libraries. During the year 1856, 13,701 volumes were supplied fro n this Department; but from the 1st of January to the 1st of July of the current year, 24,765 vohimes have been called for, — nearly twice as many as were applied for during the whole of 1856. This large increase during the last six 16 lays,) is ad- er two icbing, arc not for the for the caching' )ccn ad- ,a\c3 and shing the for a few her. Ido acher (be- y or diacre- sefulness— ,nd vositiop ;, attend the vex position ainingatthe no candidate ,ing attended lool-teaching. e viewed, and aore important action, as pro- s with efficient ^nd character of rell as in contn- the Province a» of our systetn oi es were suppUed julyofthecuri^nt ,y as were applied ing the last ^ months, is chiefly owing to some discission which took place at the beginni» of 1857, relative to ttie public libraries, and llie application, by municipali- ties, of portions of the Clergy Reserve Funds to iho purchase of libraries. The whole number of volumes sent out by ihi-- I>bp'irtment during ihe three years the system has been in operation, is 155,726. The subjects of these volumes are as follows: History, 26,935 volumes; Zoolugy, 11,313; liotany, 2,033 ; Natural Phenomena, 4,517; Moral and Physical Science, a,521 ; Gi^ology and Minerolugy, 1,315 ; Natural Philosophy, 2,407 ; Chemistry, 1,141 ; Agricultural Chemistry, 682 ; Agriculture, 6,980 ; Manulactures, 7,300 ; Literature, ir),;n8; Travels, 11, 32l> ; Biography, 17,223; Pruuticul Life, 41,970; Teachers' Library, 1,679. Total, 155,726. The useful occupation, instruction and entertainment afforded by the circula- tion of so many books on so grreat a variety of subjects, cannot be easily estitnated. The number of libraries established, is 289 — subdivided into nearly 1,1)00 sectional libraries. The number of libraries established during the last six months is 70 — subdivided into upwards 200 sectional libraries. It is not to be expected that these libraries should be equally appreciated and read in every neighbourhood where they are established. As in the different members of the same family there is the widest difference in this as in other respects, in different parts of the country, in difterent municipalities, and in dif- ferent neighbourhoods of the same municipality. In some neighbourhoods there is little taste for reading among either young or old ; in other neighbourhoods the young very generally avail themselves of the books in the library, or section of it ; in others again, all classes and ages are eager to procure and read them. In the selections of books for some of the libraries, the local authorities were anxious to provide, in the first instance, a series of standard works on different subjects ; and in doing so they had but little means left to procure smaller works, and more attractive and popular as reading books for young people. I think this circumstance has, as in a few cases, rendered the libraries less useful and attractive than they would have been had a more varied and popular selection of books been made. But as the catalogue is large, and the selections from it entirely at the discretion of the local parties establishing libraries, I have not thought it advisable to interfere in the least with that discretion, unless expressly desired to do so. But on the whole, the selections of books for the libraries have been made with great discrimination. It is also gratifying to know, that the method adopted for supplying the mnnicipalities and school sections with libraries, maps, school apparatus, &c., is highly approved by intelligent visitors and educators from other countries, and is regarded as a feature peculiarly favorable to the Canadian system of public instruction. N 16 I \ 10. Extracts from the Rei'obts of Local Supewntendentb. These extracts are 150 in number — all that have been transmitted with the Re- ports from the Township, City, Town and Villftge Municipalities. These extracts are witnerscs as to the working of the school system and the operations of the school law, they j)rcscnt the dark as well as the bright side of the picture ; the failures and defects as well as the successes and excellences of the Hysteni. I wish to con- ceal no defect, but to discover and remedy it ; I wish to hide no failure, but to ex- pose it, and, if possible, to prevent its recurrence. From the extracts of local reports which I gave in the same impartial manner in mv last Aimual Report, an attem])t has been made to prove the school system a failure. Passages have been selecJed from two or three of these local reports, stating in each ease, in substanc.', that the school-house was in a state of dilapidation, that the school was badly attended, that the teacher was unfit for his office, and there was a general feeling of indifference in regard to education ; and then these state- ments have been held up as illustrations of the slate of the schools and the results of the school system thnnighoul Upper Canada. Of the fairness of such reasoning, and the honesty of such a proceeding, every intelligent reader is competent to judge. In the same way might it be proved, that agriculture is declining in a county or township, because sonje farms in such county or township are in a wretched state, and some fanners are indifferent to all agricul- tural improvement. In the same way might it l)e proved that agriculture is declin- ing throughout Upper Canada afler all that has boen granted, and done by agricul- tural societies, because there are some municipalities in which the farms generally arc as badly managed, and the farmers are as inactive as they were many years ago. In the same way might it be proved that Canada is declining in population and commerce and wealth, and that its whole system of government is a failure, because there are portions of it in which population is as sparce, and villages are as poor, and trade is as limited, as in former years. With the same kind of fairness and in- tilligence have some European travellers landed and spent a few hours upon some non-commercial and non-agricultural, and ),on-i)rogressive spot in Canada, or seen some portions of it frontiers, and then published that the country was stationary -and retrograding, and was unworthy of being a part of the British Empire, while all the rest of America was advancing with rapid strides. Now to all such fallacies and falsehoods, one reply would be deemed sufficient namely, an appeal to the general statistics of agriculture, of trade, of population, of property. So in regard to schools and the school-system, whatever may be the state, or neglects of a particular neighborhood or municipality, the general statisti- cal returns show an advancement not equalled by that of any other state in Ameri- ca, and the extracts from nine out of ten of thr local reports show an exertion, a progress and success in the great majority of the municipalities, of the most grati- fying and satisfactory character. For example, if it be stated in the report of one 17 ; Re- ts are ichool .ilures I) con- to ox- rimnner ^9tem a stating that Ml, ',(3 there :se statc- ic results inj?, every ovcd, t^at ich county all agricul- e is declin- by agricul- is gene rally y years ago. ulation and ire, because arc as poor, rness and in- -a upon some tiada, or seen was stationary Empire, while ;med sufficient of population, ver may be the general statisti- state in Ameri- ,, an exertion, a f the most grati- ,he report of one munici{)ality, that the public library is not appreciated — that the books are not read or applied for — that all classes urc indifferent to them, is it therelore to be inferred that the system of libraries is a fuiiurc, and that the law and regulations provided for libraries are bad? On the contrary, if it be stated in the report of another municipality, that the public library is highly appreciated — that the regulations arc strictly observed — that the books arc very generally sought after, and eagerly read ; would it not be inferred from the different working and results of the same system in different municipalities that the failure in one case could not be attributed to the system, while the success in the other ease shows what aids and facilities the system affords to the people where they choose to avail themselves of it. The same remark applies to school operations. If in otie school division the school-house is convenient and well furnished, and the school efiicient and well attended, and if the reverse is the case in another school division, the difference in the two cases can not be ascribeil to the system, for it is the same in both school divisions, but must be owing to other causes. In extract No. 139 of the local reports, we have an account of the development and vvorkinjjj of the systcnj in a city, and where all the teachers have been trained in the Normal School ; while in extract 103, will be found a statement of the rise, progress, and working of the system in a township. Other extracts evince an equal success in other municipalities. What is done and witnessed in these municipalities may be done in all Upper Canada, if similar feelings prevail and similar means are used. The extracts from the local reports, will satisfy the attentive and candid read- er on the following points : 1. That the improvement and progress of the schools throughout the country at large is very great, that the inhabitants are making noble and successful exer- tions for the education of their children, notwithstanding the backwardness and indifference in some of the municipalities. 2. ThcU the school law places the education of the children in the hands of the people themselves ; that it invests the inhabitants of each municipality with powers to provide for the education of all their children, and they are responsible if this be not done. 3. That while the religious rights of each pupil and of its parents or guardi- ans, are equally protected, it is in the power of the School division to make their school or schools as decidedly religious as they desire. 4. That in municipalities where the schools are reported to be in an unsatis- factory state, this painful fact is in no cause ascribed to the defective provisions of the school law, except in the frequently expressed earnest desire that the Legisla- ture would amend the law so as to make all the schools free. 11. Kd»cational Museum, and School of Art and Desigh. The School Act 13 & 14 Vic, cap. 48, sec. 41, authorized the expenditure of 18 ■t-^ I *' II sum not (xn cdiiif: two linndrcd pouiuU in any our vcar. to pninirc- plmis nnd ()iil)lic-ati()iis for the iiiiprovcnifiit of school nrchiteclnrc and praoiiial Hcirnco, in conMcotion with coiiimoii Kchoolst," unU the Act ItJ Vii-., cap 185, Hor. 2'\, author- ized the expenditure- of " a sum not exceodinj^ five Innidred pounds per annum, in the purchase of liooks pnhiications, specimens, modds nnd olijeet.s, suitahlv* for a Canathan I-ihrar}' mih! Museum, to l)e kept at the Normal School hinldiiK/s.'' In the Act 12 Vic, cap. 88, five hundred poinids was ;^ranted f(tr the e.stahli.shment nnd support of n School of Art and Dosign for I'ppor Canada, to be in cormection with the Normal School, and under iIk; control of the Council «)f Public Instruction. Two rooms were provided for this purpose in the Normal School buildin;:. but on the proposal to establish a chair of civil eiifrineerin<: in the iVovincial I'niversitv, I siifr^'eKted the establishment of the school of Art and l>esi|rn as an apj)en(hi^c or hrnnch of the chair of civil cnlishing the school of Art and Design in connection with the Normal School, and more especially as drawing forms one branch of the coiu-se of instruction in both the Normal and Model schools, and will be taught to a greater extent in the model grammar school, and there are here the greatest facilities for the economical establishment and sufi- port, as well as usefulness of such a school. Accordingly the re(|uisite steps have been taken to accomplish that important object. By the provisions of the Acts above mentioned, I have been enabled to intro- duce ])ubiicalions and plans for the improvement of school architecture into all the municipalities of Upper Canada ; to obtain models and instruments and apparatus for teaching and illustrating different branches of natural history and science in the schools; to commence a collection of specimens of the Canadian birds and animals, of the geology and mineralogy of the different provinces of British North America,' models of agricultural implements, &c., &c., together with several hundred books, publications and objects relating to education and other de])artments of science and literature. I have also been anxiously desirous of preparing the way for, and as far as possible, of giving effect to what was contemplated in connection with the school of Art and Design. In England, schools of Art and Design are becoming prominent fbatures of popular instruction in the principal cities and towns. In connection with some of these schools, interesting collections of objects of art, consisting chiefly of painting, sculpture atid drawing, plaster casts of statties, statuettes, and busts, models in marble, alabaster, ivory, wood, bronzes, terra cottas, models in wax, plas- ter, &c. In connection with the Royal Schools of Art and Design in London, (kept in the Marlborough and Somerset Houses,) upwards of a thousand of these speci- mens arc collected ami arranged. In addition to these schools, the Committee of the Privy Council on Education have established an Educational Museum, at the new buildings. South Kensington, west end of London, the books and objects of 4* nnd in »or- in or a In iincnt ction ,ct'n)n. lilt on iiy, I \\\ic or ihincnt idea of ig l)cen t consi- .' the specially nial and |ir school, anil sM\f tops have A to intro- ^^o all the 1 apparatus cncc in the nd animals, h America, drcd books, science and iiul as far as he school of r prominent connection isting chiefly 3, and busts, in wax,pla3- ,ondon, (kept f these speci- Commiitee of 5cnm, at the ind objects of which arc grouped Milder tlie iollowitig divisions: I. School buihliiiir nnil flttin^^s, fortiiN, deuks, 8lateN, |i|hi)s, iiiodelH, «.\:c. 2. GeiierHl ediUMitinnal, including rending, writing, grniiiiimr, arithineiir, inatlieiiii.tiefi, foreign InnguageH and liistories. 8. drawing and the fuie artH. 4. Music. 5. Hoiiscliold eeonoiMy. G. (ieography and Astronomy. 7. Natural History. H. Cheniislry- !•• I'liysies. 10. iMccha* nicH. 11. Apparatus for teiiehin^' the lilind and deaf. A late Kn^lihh paper cun- tniiis the following l)rief aeenunt of this Kdiieational Museum; "The South KfMsin<;tou Museum is u result of the School of Design, founded in 1838, and the Cireat JAliihition of IH51. The School of ' 'csign, under the influence of the feeling generated by I he Hyde i'ark I'ulnce, rx|)nnded into the present Department of Science and Art, under the Committee of I'rivy Coijncil on Education, nnd tli<' nucleus ot a i>ermnrient. innscum of arts was lonned at Marl- borough-lwrnse. 'I'he De|)nitnicnt of Science nnd Art has .•lehieved a huildipg in which its schemes for trainiiii; may he Kyslcniatieally carried out, and its curiosities constantly exhibited. Thitlier are transferred all the orniimental sjieeimens from Marlborough-house, the entire collection of the Architectural Museum, together with many articles helonging to the ('ommissioners for the Kxhibition ot IH51. Thus decorative art and practical Kcienoe have a permanent home, \^hieh, more- over, is nobly adorned by the fine collection of pictures and drawings munificently given to the nation hy Mr. Sheepshanks. The olhces of the ilepartnient and the training schools arc under the same root as the museum, which, while it will be a source of rational recreation to tlje general public, will also, it is hoped, he r\n im- portant agent in the instruction of the students. The collection of works belonging to the department of ornamental art first attracts the notice ot ih(! spf ctaior, occu- pying, as it does, the corridor in wliich I.e will find himsclt immediately after his entrance. Only a portion of the entire collection — vvhicli numheis upwards of 4,000 objects — is at present exhibited inasmuch us ahout a loiirtli i art, including the whole of the acquisitions from the liernal collection, have been sent to Man- chester. " The Educational part of the museum occupies the centre of a large iron building, which forms a wing ot the entire edific^e. It comprises spccimeiis of scientific instruments, objects of natural history, models of school-rooms, casts of classical statues, and a library of 5000 volumes, all admirably arranged. ' Educa- tion' is a wide word, as will be obvious enough, when we state the official subdi- vision of the department into 'school buildings and fittings, general education, drawing and the fine arts, music, household economy, geography and astronomy natural history, chemistry, physics, mechanics, apparatus for teaching the tleaf and dumb, idiots, &c,, and physical training.' To this collection, which will probably be the most popular of the whole exhibition, the 'Commissioners of Patents' Mu- seum ' form a sort of supplement. In this department the history of the steam engine is copiously illustrated. " The nucleus of a collection of Sculpture has also been formed by the 20 I ,!l ,, asHPtriMiipp nt' nixiiit fifry works contriliiifcti , twmiy-fivc nrtlntn, RmonR w!i'»m are Messrs. Hjiily, 11 II, Kolry. Mritiro. (Jaldcr, MarHluill, and tlif Intp Sir R. West- macott. My tin- mllechon of tin; ArcliilJ-cturttl Munriirn, which <)cciJ|'it's ii 1 . i?e portion of thr UfilN'ry and (IfHcuitlH Into tlui lowor corridor, ii complet*- history of tho tiirdiiiviil architj'clurr of Fruico und MiiKland is represfiitcd by nltiiosi num- bcrlcsN CHHts of decorativf! dftiiiU. "The 'Trade CoHeetior ,' which i« likewise in the gallery, and is the pro()erty of the ('lete state. It is ohieOy co > in oi thi; natural pHnlucts used in the various arts, und of these the aniinn' iiroUu Ub n jlone to he retained, the others hcinc too CraKMieniary tojuHtil'y their retciMion in a distinct museum. Specimen*, ther<'lnre, of mineral and ve^'< .ii'do proiluce will bo distributed amonjf various national and provincial museums which adniit of improvement. "Another department is the ' Kcotiomic Museum,' formed by Mr. Twining, and i)resented by liiiii to the (iovernment. " Kverylhin<4 has been done to render the new Museum a source of instruc- tion and amusement to all cl.isses alike, the e\i(;encies of time being taken into consideration, .-is well as the exii^cnoies of the pocket. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, beini,' students' days, the price of admission will bo 6d. ; on the other duys of the wet^k admission will be free. •' The hours will extend from 10 to 4, but the Museum will likewise be open on the evenings of Monday and Thursday, from 7 to 10. The catalogues required cost Id. each. The following are the rules sanctioned for admission to this Museum: — 1. " The collections of objects relating to education, architecture, and trade of pictures, soul|iture, ornamental art, and models of patented inventions, will be opened to the public daily, from 10 till 4 in the day-time, and from 7 to 10 in the even'"' oii Mondays and Thursdays, except during the appi)inted vacations. 2. "« ) ' "\' . .(lays, ''' lays, and Saturdays, and daily during the Easter and Chrisiiims weeks, the public wili be admitted tree ; but on these days, books» examples, models, casts, &c., cannot be removed for study. 3. " On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, the public will be admitted on payment of Gd. each person. This sum during the day-time will enable any person to consult any books, diagrams, etc., in the collections i»i education and to ropy any article in the collections of Art ; except mod rn paintings, for which special per- mission in writing must be obtained. In the evening, works cannot be removed. An annual ticket of admission to all the collections, morning and evening, may be obtaired for 10s. 4. *' Sticks, umbrellas, parcels, &c., must be left at th« doors. ii ill its in the others siiuens, various 'wining:, instruc- ken into 'liursday, the other be open 11 required i: — and trade ns, will be a 10 in the itions. Easter and ayg, bookSf idmitted on 3 any person to copy any special per- be removed, ung, may be 6. ** I'iXCcpt the fVes ab«f» iMentioncd, no tec or gratuity is tu be received by any oflicer of the er»on. fl. •' The lihrary of Art ,9 open every day. from II a.m. to p.m., except Sal- urda} , \Aum it is closed ni 4 p.m., and tlio usual vncutioiis. 7, " All r< Kij«tef."(! studrntH of the Central School of Art haro free ndtnission tft tta library, 'k-casional .students are admitted upon payment df Gd., which will entitle them toentraiicc for six *v s from the day of the payment of the lee, inclu- sive. A ntonthly ticket may obtained for Is. n,— ol vhich the Rijr'il Hon. Earl Granville, is Presi- dent, un«l the l{i^ht II m. W. C per Vice-rresidtnt. It would be too nil ^h to a mpt n Eduiational Museum in Canada on so exffnsivr a scale ; but ut- have mr- ;»,i in the Normal and Model Schools what mi^ht be eum, and as an essential ei-m'^nl of a School if Art and Design, was strongij pressed upon me both by what I saw, and by to opinions and advice of learned and practical men. Col. Lefroy (better kn' wn in Canada as Capt. f^efroy) addressed me a very interesting and able letter on the subject, from which I extract the following paragraph : " My >uggcstion, in respect to the purchase of casts of statuary, and of specimen pictures, for the Normal School, proceeds upon the assumption that what is every year felt to acquire fresh claims as an element of popular education at home, can- not be less worthy of attention in Canad.i — that if we find that a taste for art, where many facilities for its culture have always existed, is still at so low an ebb in the country as to call for systematic efforts to extend it ; much more must it re- quire and deserve public encouragement in a community which as yet possesses no facilities of this kind. Li fact no one can deny that this taste is deplorably wanting in America universally — much that gives intellectual rank and dignity to a people is wanting with it — and life is deprived of a source of manifold pleasures 22 of the highest kind in consequcni . Now the Provincial Normnl School occupies a position which can hiinily be parallelled in advantages for initiating a belter order of things. Not only docs a very numerous class of the community pass under its influ.nce and receive its mora! and mental stamp, hut that class is of all others the one which haw prohably the greatest influence in forming the minds of others. Even the clergv of a country must yield in some respects to its school-masters in the privilege and rcsj)i;nsibility of forming the character and influencing the judge- ments of its people — alike of parents, as of children. B''or many years at least, I suppose all common school Teachers will pass through your Institution — but this is not all. From its metropolitan position, its attractions to visitors and the liberality witii which it is thrown open, objects of art collected there would, in a material degree, stand in the position of a j)ublic collection, and thus without interfering with their special purpose they would indirectly instruct classes with which the Normal School has nothing to do. Stronger grounds cannot bo wanted to justify the very moderate expense which my plan would entail." The Earl of Elgin not only favored me with his advice, but afterwards en- closed me (with a very kind and suggestive note) a pamphlet containing a copy of an address delivered at Glasgow, in January, 1855, by C. H. Wilson, Esq., " On the Formation of Provincial Museums and Collections of Works of Art." Mr. Wilson remarks : " There is no difficulty in carrying out this idea. The Museums of Europe furnish the means ; casts can be had of the busts of the great men of nearly every age, at a cost which renders it easy to form such a collection, and the youth i)rocceding to his class rooms, might pass through an av(>nue of images of the great, the learned, and the benefactors of mankind. Students occupied with history, might see in the Glyptothek of their College, each page illustrated by the ancients themselves — Grecian history by the Greeks, Roman history by the Ro- mans. The arms, dresses, instruments, utensils, in fine, nearly everything which it is thought so important to read about in our seminaries of learning, might be rendered as familiar to the eyes of the students as the description of them is to their thoughts, and this without difficulty, and at a cost which, is absolutely tri- fling, when the benefits to be conferred are estimated. Whilst truer ideas on all these subjects would thus be formed, taste, and that appreciation of the arts which ought to be an accompaniment of our civilization, would take the place of that absence of both which we are painfully called upon to acknowlege. " When Museums are spoken of, I have no doubt thoughts instantly cross the mir.ds of all, of rare and precious marbles and bronzes, of co:5T!y pictures by the great masters, and of other works of art of equal rarity and value, and it may be, that this idea of Museums deters from all attempts to form them, seeing that the cost of such collections is so great ; but I look at the whole subject from a totally difi'erent point of view, from one which, instead of presenting us with the prospect of an outlay which it would be hopeless to attempt to meet, renders r r P 23 a collection of works of art of standard excellence comparatively easy and economical. " It is desirable to preserve original and precious works of art in a si^eat central museum in the metropolis, and it seems reasonable that the jiower and wealth of the nation should be principally concentrated upon this central collec- tion, yet provincial museums slioulii he I'urnished with casts of flu^ sculpture, and copies of the pictures, electrotypes of the bronzes, and surli transcripts or imita- tions of other works of art as could most readily he made by a staff of artists em- ployed for the purpose in the central establishment. ■' By means of oasts, ail the heauly of form of the oiigiiial is rendered with such perfect fidelity, that they rtlay be termed in every respect, except material, duplicates of the original works, fhis system has been .-ictetl upon at Berlin ; and a suggestion which I had the pleasure of submitting to the linyal Scottish Society of Arrs in 183G, has heen eouiplett ly realized hy Monsieur D'Olters, the Director of the Gallery at Berlin, to whom the same idea had occurred, and who has been enabled, by the liberality of his government, to form the most perfect collection of casts in the world, illi;strating the whole history of art during a period of three thousand years. By a process which he was so good as to describe to me, these casts have heen rendered durahle, their appearance much improved, and iheir re- semblance to the original works increased. Preserved in a series of halls, quite unsurpassed in heauty and fitness, they are chronologically arranged, and certainly form the most perfect and interesting series existing. " The electrotype process, by which statues and other works in metal may be copied for provincial museums in a perfectly satisfactory manner, and at a very moderate cost, is another apt and econfimical method of furnishing provincial Mu- seums with faithful copies of fine works of art." A collection of such objects has double the value in Canada that it possesses in any city or town in Europe, in every country of which treasures of Art abound in the Royal Palaces. National Museums, and private mansions, all of which are opened to the puhlic with great liberality. And even there, where the facilities of travelling are so great, the public museums are so numerous, and the different countries are so near to each other, many travellers, not content with having seen and contemplated the original objects of art themselves, purchase copies of the most famous paintings and casts, or sculptured or bronze copies, of the most cele- brated statues, busts, &c., for the gratification of their own tastes, and the orna- ment of their mansions. But in Canada, where there arc no such Art Treasures, where we are so remote from them, where there is no private wealth available to procure them to any extent, a collection (however limited) of copies of those paintings and statuary, which are most attractive and instructive in European Museums, and with which the trained teachers of our public schools may become familiar, and which will be accessible to the public, cannot fail to be a means of 24 social improvement, as well as a source of enjoyment, to numbers in all parts of Upper Canada. The copies of paintings which I have procured present specimens of the works of the most celebrated masters of the various Italian Schools, as also of the Flemish, Dutch and German. The collection of engravings is much more extensive ; but they are not yet framed or proposed for exhibition. The collection of sculpture Includes casts of some of the most celebrated statues ancient and modern, and busts of the most illustrious of the ancient Greeks and Romans, also of Sovereigns, Statesmen, Philosophers, Scholars, Philanthropists, and Heroes of Great Britain and France. Likewise a collection of Arclntectural Casts, illustrating the differ- ent styles of architecture, and some of the characteristic ornaments of ancient Gothic and modern Architecture. But these are not j'ct exhibited as there is no room for them until the new model Grammar School Building is completed. And until then, the rest of the collection cannot be properly arranged nor seen to ad- vantage. A list of the principal instruments, models, and objects collected, will be found in the appendix to this report. 12. Department op Public Instruction for Uppkr Canada. As very imperfect and, in many cases, mistaken ideas exist iu regard to the nature and duties of this Department, it may be projjcr once for all to state them in as few words as possible. The Department has to do with the popular instrnction of the country, embra- cing the Common or elementary Schools, and the uraimnar or Classical Schools ; but not the Universities or Colleges, from whicu returns are obtttiiied only by cour- tesy There are included in it: 1. The Education Offices proper, in which, under the (lin>ctiou of the Chief Superintendent, the Common and Granunar School laws are administered, school Acts, forms, regulations, &c., supplied to all the scliools of the country (3500 in number,) information of any kind is given, appeals decided : — the whole revolving under the head of corrcspomlence alone, between six and eight thousand letters a year, or upwards of six hundred per month, besides the examination of all local financial returns ;iud reports, and the preparation of the Annual General Ileuort. 2. T/ie Council of Public Instruction, by which all a])pointments to the Nor- mal and Mtxlcl Schools are made, all ex{)enditur(^s for their establishment and sup- port are ordered and audited, all the regulations for the Normal, Model, Grammar and Comniou Schools, anil Public School Libraries, are authorized, and the text-books for the schools, and the books for the libraries, approved. The Chief Superintendent is required to prepare all these regulations, and to examine all these books and re- port upon them ; also to have the oversight of the Normal and Model Schools, 26 :hool )0 in iviiig Icrs a llocal Inort. for- I '^"P" and looks Ident re- 3. The Normal School for the special traioiog oi teachers, about one hundred of whom arc sent out per year. 4. The Model Common School limited to 420 puj)ils, in which studcni-tcachers in the Normal School, observe the best methods of school organization, classifica- tion, teaching and discipline, and practice teaching. 5. The Model Grammar School^ which will consist of pupils equally distributed among all the Municipalities of Upper Canada, and is designed to sustain the same relation to the Classical Grammar Schools of the country as the present Model School does to the Elementary Common Schools, to be a standard and pattern for their imitation, and an instrument of training teachers for them. The buiidin"- for this school will be finished in a few nioiuhs. 6. The Diposilory of School Blaps and Apparatus, from which all the public schools of the country are supi)licd at cost price, the Chief Superintendenl also apportioning one hundred per cent, upon whatever sum or sums may be transmitted by municipal and school authorities for the purchase of them for their schools. The best maps published in Great Britain and America are here procured, together with maps in relief, or raised maps, (preferred in France) globes, tellurians, charts collections, instruuijnts and apparatus, to illustrate lectures and instructions in Geo- graphy, Natural History, Geology and Mineralogy, Mathematics, Chemistry, Mechanics, Astronomy and other branches of Natural Philosojihy ; indeed all sub- jects taught in the Common, Grammar, Model and Normal Schools. In order to bring these facilities for improving and benefiting the ScIkkjIs promincntlv into public notice, I have deemed it expedient to send selections of the Apparatus, Globes Maps and Charts, &c., to the Provincial Exhibition each year. The report of the Exhibition for last year, which was highly successful, will be found in the Appendix. 7. The Depository of Books for Public School Libraries, embracinf» a careful selection of more than 3,000 different works, and several thousand volumes. These books are furnished in no case to private individuals, but to municipal and school authorities at cost price, with the addition of an apportionment by the Chief Super- intendent of one hundred per cent, upon all sums transmitted from local sources. Upwards of 150,000 volumes have already been sent out from this depository 24,689 volumes during the last six months. From the official catalogue for public libraries, selections of the best illustrated works, reward cards, &c., have been made for prizes in the public schools of Upper Canada. 100 per cent, is also allowed on all sums above $5 tranj^mitted to the Department for the purchase of these prize books. 8. An Educational Museum, embracing a large collection of school models, apparatus, fittings, &c. About 150 copies of paintings, illustrative of the works of the great masters of the Italian, Flemish, Dutch and German schools of painting, architectural casts, and some three or four hundred casts of Greek and iloman and Modern Sculpture, being statues and busts of personages and characters celebrated in ancient and modern history. (For List s^e Appendix.) 26 9. Grounds sut rounding the Buildings ; designed not for ornament merely, but as a botanical g.'irdcn, the flowers, plants and shrubs being labelled and accessible to students and others, to illustrate the lectures in vegetable physiology, and the lessons in botany, and from uiiich specimens are selected and useU in the schools for analysis and illustration. The object of the construction and arrangements of the buildings and premises is to combine taste with necessity and convenience, to spend not a penny on mere ornament, but to render ornament subservient to utility, to impress upon all classes that an establishment symbolical of what the system of elementary and grammar schools of the country ought to be, and the |)rimary agent in promoting what con- cerns the great mass of the people, and lies at the basis of our national civilization and advancement, should be second to no oilier institution in the country, in the comprehensiveness of its arraugements, the simplicity and perfection of its details, and the chaste elegance of its appearance — such as the eye can look upon with pleasure, and the mind contemplate with satisfaction. I believe the influence of every thing appertaining to such an establishment, identified as it is with the coun- try at large, and such as the people may especially call their own, is by no means small ; and 1 hope that in the course of another year, we shall be able to render the cstalilishment imich more efficient and complete, much more acceptable to the country and worthy of it, I i 13. Miscellaneous Remauks. 1. In my last two annual reports I have discussed at largo the provisions of the law and the character of its administration in regard to separate schools and the rcli"'ions instruction of youth. I have shewn that to the churches and parents, and not to the government, or to any one paid out of public funds, appertains the duty of giving special religious instruction to children and of [iroviding for their religious education. I have shown that what has been further claimed on the part of certain supporters of separate schools was inconsistent with what is granted to supporters of dissentient schools in Lower Canada, is inconsistent with what is required of trustees of common schools in Upper Canada, is an infringement of the rights and powers guaranteed to municipalities by successive Acts of Parliament, and incon- sistent with any national system of public instruction. It is worthy of remark that though I have been personally attacked, and though successive attacks have been made by these parties on the school system, no answer has been attempted to the facts and authorities I have adduced in my reports referred to, showing how falla- cious and unfounded are such attacks, and how much easier it is to repeat them ad nauseum than to reply to the exposures of them and the defence which has but made of the justice, the liberality, and the necessity of the existing provisions of the law. I may be excused, therefore, from travelling over the same ground in this report, as no new objections have been made to the law which I have not answered and replied in to my two last reports. %1 f 2. As to the Christian character of our school system and it principlcsand regulations in regard to special religious instruction, its relations and influence in regard to the morals of youth and juvenile crime, what I have said in my preceding reports has remained unanswered and need not be again repeated. There are, however, two statements or charges made on this subject, which it may be proper for me to notice. The first charge is, that numbers of children in our cities and towns do not attend the schools provided for them. This is no valid oI)jcction to the school system — that numbers of persons will not avail themselves in behalf of their children of its liberal provisions for their instruction. As well might it be objected that the climate and soil of our country are bad, because numbers of per- sons do not avail themselves of cither, but ruin their health by neglect and irregu- larities, and live in poverty by their indolence and vices. As well might it be ob- jected, that the system of churches and their places of worship are had, because there are numbers for whom they are provided who do not avail themselves of them. The neglect of many children in cities and towns, and even in country places, may argue the necessity of some further police or penal regulations in order to secure their attendance a portion of each year to some school, public or private, but can be no argument against the school system, or public schools, unless it can be shown (which is not pretended) that they do not sufficiently provide for the education of all the children of such municipalities. >n3 of id the and ity of igious Ttain irters ed of and icon- that been [o the falla- m ad but lus of this o.red 3. Then as to the pretended array of the statistics of crime, and its alleged increase in our cities and towns, and the responsibility of our Common Schools for it, it may be sufficient to reply that, no proof has been adduced, or even attempted, to show that if crime has increased our Common Schools have ?jeen the cause of it. Nay it has never been shown, — not even in a single instance so far as I know — that the youthful criminals of our cities and towns, or of country places, have ever been attendants, much less regular attendants, at our Common Schoolsi On the contrary, every intelligent man in town or country, throughout Upper Canada, is a witness, that just in proportion as parents are sedulous to send their children to the Schools, and as children are punctual and diligent in attending them, are both those parents and children industrious and exemplary ; and just in proportion as children turn their backs upon the school, and especially if allowed and encouraged to do so by their parents or others, are they idle, profligate and vicious. There is an increase of churches, of church ministrations and catechelicai instructions, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, in our cities and towns ; as well might the alleged increase of juvenile crime be charged upon this increase of church operations, as upon the increase of public school accommodations and teachers. Then of the sta- tistics of juvenile crime and ignorance in proportion to population in the cities of Upper Canada be compared with those of England or Italy, where denominational schools alone are established, the result would show what abundant reason we have to congratulate ourselves, rather than lament, on account of the existence of a system of public schools which reaches out an uplifting hand to the poor and offers equal privileges and advantages to all classes. 28 No onu can analyse the circumstances and character of these isolated but reiterated attacks u[)on our public schools and school system, without feeling that they originate in the s.inne source and have a common object: the spirit of secta- rian bigotry, against Catholic Christianity, the spirit of ecclesiastical despotism against j)ublic liberty and general knowledge, the spirit of individual selfishnesB against public patriotism and national progress. While the local reports show, upon the whole, a gradual extension and ad- vancement of our school system in all its aspects and ramifications, beyond that of any preceding year, they add to the accumulation of evidence furnished by the facts of the year from almost every municipality in Upper Canada, of the deter- mination of the landholders and householders to maintain inviolate their individual and municipal rights in behalf of themselves and their children, and to extend and perpetuate that system of national education which will elevate Upper Canada to its high mission of virtue, intelligence, and greatness, and make its future gen- erations justly proud of their ancestors. By the blessing of God, 1 doubt not the achievernent of this result ; and I hope that each reader of this report, as well an myself, may contribute to hasten it. 1 have the honor to be. Your Excellency's Most obedient and humble servant, E. K YE US' »N. Education Office, Toronto, July, 1857. e isolated but ut feeling that pirit of secta- [cal despotism uai selfishness nsion and ad- beyond that of •nishcd by the , of the deter- lieir individual and to extend Upper Canada its future gen- doubt not the port, as well as 4*' jrvant, RYE US' 'N. T>in' 27 but 9 f 2. As to the Christian character of our school system and it principles an d regulations in regard to special religious instruction, its relations and influence in regard to the morals of youth and juvenile crime, what I have said in my preceding reports has remained unanswered and need not be again repeated. There are, however, two statements or charges made on this subject, which it may be proper for me to notice. The first charge is, that numbers of children in our cities and towns do not attend the schools provided for them. This is no valid objection to the school system — that numbers of persons will not avail themselves in behalf of their children of its liberal provisions for their instruction. As well might it be objected that the climate and soil of our country are bad, because numbers of per- sons do not avail themselves of either, but ruin their health by neglect and irregu- larities, and live in poverty by their indolence and vices. As well might it be ob- jected, that the system of churches and their places of worship are bad, because there are numbers for whom they are provided who do not avail themselves of them. The neglect of many children in cities and towns, and even in country places, may argue the necessity of some further police or penal regulations in order to secure their attendance a portion of each year to some school, public or private, but can be no argument against the school system, or public schools, unless it can be shown (which is not pretended) thai they do not sufficiently provide for the education of all the children of such municipalities. 3. Then as to the pretended array of the statistics of crime, and its alleged increase in our cities and towns, and the responsibility of our Common Schools for it, it may be sufficient to reply that, no proof has been adduced, or even attempted, to show that if crime has increased our Common Schools have been the cause of it. Nay it has never been shown, — not even in a single instance so far as I know — that the youthful criminals of our cities and towns, or of country places, have ever been attendants, much less regular attendants, at our Common Schoolsi On the contrary, every intelligent man in town or country, throughout Upper Canada, is a witness, that just in proportion as parents are sedulous to send their children to the Schools, and as children are punctual and diligent in attending them, are both those parents and children industrious and exemplary ; and just in proportion as children turn their backs upon the school, and especially if allowed and encouraged to do so by their parents or others, arc they idle, profligate and vicious. There is an increase of churches, of church ministrations and catechetical instructions, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, in our cities and towns ; as well might the alleged increase of juvenile crime !)e charged upon this increase of church operations, as upon the increase of public school accommodations and teachers. Then of the sta- tistics of juvenile crime and ignorance in proportion to population in the cities of Upper Canada be compared with those of England or Italy, where denominational schools alone are established, the result would show what abundant reason we have t.o congratulate ourselves, rather than lament, on account of the existence of a system of public schools which reaches out an uplifting hand to the poor and offers equal privileges and advantages to all classes. 28 r No orm can analyse the circumstances and character of these isolated but reiterated attacks upn our public scliools and school system, without feeling that they originate in the same source and have a common object: the spirit of secta- rian bigotry, against Catholic Christianity, the spirit of ecclesiastical despotism against public liberty and general knowledge, the spirit of individual selfishnesB against public patriotism and national progress. While the local reports show, upon the whole, a gradual extension and ad- vancement of our school system in all its aspects and ramifications, beyond that of any preceding year, they add to the accumulation of evidence furnished by the facts of the year from almost every municipality in Upper Canada, of the deter- mination of the landholders and householders to maintain inviolate their individual and municipal rights in behalf of themselves and their children, and to extend and perpetuate that system of national education which will elevate Upper Canada to its high mission of virtue, intelligence, and greatness, and make its future gen- erations justly proud of their ancestors. By the blessing of God, 1 doubt not the acliievernent of this result ; and I hope that each reader of this report, as well a» myself, may contribute to hasten it. 1 have the honor to be, Your Excellency's Most obedient and humble servant, E. BYERS- >N. Education Office, Toronto, July, 1857. se isolated but [)ut feeling that spirit of secta- ical despotism luai selfishness msion and ad- beyond that of rnislicd by the I, of the deter- heir individual and to extend Upper Canada ! its future gen- l d«iubt not the iport, as well as ervant, RYE US' »N. T-'O: