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Les diagrammes suivants lllustrent la mdthode. errata i to 9 pelure, on d D 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^i^iw^^afe^s*.^*"^*^^ WitXiW*" -'■*«*•"■ mMMmmmm^^^^^^^^^ A D T) 1^ K S S BEFORE THE SELKCT COMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, APPOINTED TO INQIHRK [NTO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, IN OPENING THE DEFENCE ON BEHALF OP UNIVI^RSITY C0LLI:GI^ ; BY D^lSriEL ^VsTILSOlSr, LL.D. PBOKESSOR OF HISTORV AND ENOIJSH LITERATUBE, UNIVKRSITV GOU.EQE, TORONTO. ♦♦ ■ REPORTED BY J. K. EDWARDS, ESQ. TORONTO: 18G0. " I TUVoT, whilst attacking oilicial aggre^-sion, I have not forgot the sanctity which fjclongs to private life and its innocent pastimes. This contest has been carried on with weapons novel to mc as the strange fire with which Pyrrhus was withstood. In the use of personalities, I lay claim to no skill. Th'! science of such projectiles is strange to me as that of the boomerang of the Australian savage, which in unfamiliar hands, wouuds only him who throws it. In the art of flinging dirt, I own myself defeated. It is an art to which, I believe, a gentleman must serve a long apprenticeship before he can master it ; and when he has done so, it will only be to find that he soils himself far more than did the foulest missiles of his opponent." Franm IIorner''s Reply to Lord C . UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE. ^1 ■ ■» PROFESSOR WILSON'S SPEECH. »«« «» Qu£=£^ Saturday, April 21, 1860. Dr. Daniel Wilaoi; . Professor of History and English Literature, Univer-.ity College, Toronto, appeared before the Committee to-day, and spoke as follows : — MR. CHAIRMAN, I observe from the minutes of this Committee, that you have now been sitting fur a month, and up to tnis time no representa- tive of University College has appeared before you. You wisely determined that those who have prayed for an inquiry into the management of the University and College should in the first place submit to you the grounds on wliich they preferred tlieir charge iigainst us, and that after- wards we should be heard in reply. 1 am deeply conscious of the responsibility of the position 1 occupy as the sole representative of University College. I should have been better pleased if some of my colleagues who have been longer in this country, and are more familiar with the habits of Canadian society and the feelings of Canadian legislators, had appeared in our behalf. Nevertheless, I feel this confidence that I have a good cause, which can be subjected to the closest investigation, without any apprehension on our part OS to the result. Had I addressed you at an earlier stage, the many details of the course of study, the matriculation examinations, the honour work, &c., which have been objected to, would have naturally formed subjects of com- ment by me, but they have already been so ably dealt with by the Vice-Chancellor of the Univer- sity that I feel myself at liberty to omit much, which at an earlier period I sliould have deemed it my duty to submit to the Committee. THE VICE-CHANCELLOR AND ONE OF " SEVERAL EMINENT INDIVIDUALS." As members of the Senate we have felt no slight satisfaction in having as our representative a gentleman who, after graduating in the Univer- sity of Cambridge, has spent the most important years of his later life in Canada, and alike &s a member of the Legislature, and in the occupa- tion of offices of high trust and res;ionsibility, has won for himself a charact€r of undoubted probity and sterling worth. To our Vice-Chan- cellor, therefore, as one familiar with the de- tails of tue English Universities, I may fitly resign the defence of our Canadian system on all those points on which wo have deliberately and advLsedly departed from such ancient models. But there is one statement in your evidence, of a somewhat personal nature, to which it seems indispen.sable that I should refer at the outset. i he Ilev. Dr. Ryerson has paid me the un- looketl-for compliment of selecting me as the foremost of " Bcveral eminent individuals," from whose writings he has presented eztracta to you on the subject of education. As the passages will appear in his printed evidence, along witli my own, I need not read the (quotations, which occur in a review article, written ujjwards of four years ago. I presume it must be ascribed to some accidental overaight that he has represented two pas.sagcs occurring in the same brief article, within a few pages of each other, as opinions published, the one in " March, 1850," and the other in " August, 1858." It i.s not always convenient, a.s Dr. llyerson must by this time be well aware, to have the opinions of former years thus repro- ible in the course lie has pur- sued before this tJommittee, lii- errors would he vcni d indeed. For it can be chavRod as l)lamo- able to no man, tint iie receive.! liis education in thi- province at a time wiien tliere was not only no Uiiivorsily, but when there was scarcely n. thiamin ir school within its borders. He is not to bl line for this. But he is to blame fn* i;isistin'j; on laying down the law, on matters in whieh he h i,s not na 1 the slightest cxi.erience, and to men v/lio h ivc been trained in the best Uaiver.si'ties iif Ore it Britain. To this cause I m.itit ascribe tlio fict that Dr. llyerson was m inifes ly nn.uvare of the distinction very cleiily apparent to all fimiliar with th(! English Univer.-ity s\slem, th it my remarks referred ex- clnsively to h monr men. 1 am confirmed in this beliel' by tho quotation of another passage. trom the very next pa:e in wliich 1 relencd to the fact that Oxford a;id ,ambrid;.^e furnish piofC' or.i of classic.', and mithematics— their own speei il depariments — to all schools and coUec^es of tiie empire. But wliat has tiiis to d.) Willi ■ r. Ryerson's views on options, matri- cal.iiion, &e. ? I'lie present prof ssor of m ithe- mttie's in Eiinburj^h University, was a senior wrin;j:er of Cr.n'iriilge— the highest honour mm of his ye ir ; but d .cs Dr. Ityerson, there- f.irq, assume th it the poll men, who constitute the great mijority ofiJambiidire students, would form " hiiihiy qualilied tc ichers" even fir com- mon s.-hools .' And yet when I remeniber that in a letter Dr. llyer.son his given in in evidence, relative to his own scheine for gr.imm.ar school saholar.-ibips in University College, h;-> actually P'.'op >se., to omplete their whole college educa- tion in a single ye ir. I miy assume that he did s ■ en ir. ly misunderst ,nd me as to interpret my rcnarks as equ Uly applicable to every graduate of Cambridge or Oxford. It could not need tho wnight of any tostl- m< ny fiom me to conhrm tlio value of tho language of I'lato and Aristotle, or (jf Cicero ntid Tacitus ; nor was it for any sucii pur- j)oso it was quoted ; but to make nie appear, per force, as a witncs.i in favour of the liuo of atgument by which Dr. Kyersoii has ca- de, ivoured to (iiscic lit the system of options tidoiited liy the University of Toronto. Tho trmii is, it is just becausi! Latin was almost tho solo l.inguage in whi( h all works on 'i heology, I'hilosophy and Science were written ; and tliat Aristotle constituted the recognised loimtain head from whence they drew : that in the lOih and 17th ei'iiluries Oxf..rd wisely ga\e the pre- eminence to classical st .ilies in her University curricuhmi ; and it is just bocausi? this has ceased to be the case, and that (lerman and French arc now the keys to so much modern riiilosophy and Science, that all wise University re.'ormers un^ learning to give to modern lan- guage.^ the place they ju.'jtly claim in a liberal education. A STRANGE CONTRAST ! In calling in question the Bystcmof options introduced into our University, Dr. Ryerson con- tr.isted in very strong and unfavourable terms the advantages enjoyed by the students of Yale and Vl.irvard Colleges in the United States, with tho i iferior an I lowering sy.stora of Toronto Univer- sity. He has spoken of Harvard and Yale, as if these American Colleges presented a course of instruction altogether superior to what we h ive been pstablishing for the benefit of Canadi n youth. But yet in this very article fiom which he found it convenient to (juote detached frag- ments of wiiat I had written years ago, for a mere teinporaiy purpose, it iiy no means tallied with his object to notice this passage quoted from Mr. Bristed, an honour graduate of Cam- bridge, and a distinguished American scholar of the present day. " Were I to be questioned," 6 iv-i he, " by an educated foreigm r. Englishman or Frenchnum, Gi rman, Hollander, or Dane, about the standard of scholarship in our Uni- ver,siti s in the United States, 1 would be ob- liged to answer it is exceedingly low. When I went to Yale College in 1835, the first thing tiiat struck me was the classical deficiency of many of the students and of some of the instruc- tors. Harvard is no better off, and the state of othiT colleges through the country, many of which derive instructors from these two New Engla-d colleges, may be easily inferred." Such is the impartial testimony of an Americ^au scholar with respect to those very Ameiican col- leges which Dr. Ryerson has found it suit his purpose to laud, in contrast with Toronto University ; the graduates of which, I hesitate not to say, would not only compare favourably, but would contrast strikingly in their attain- ments with the graduates of either Yale or Har- v.ard. I my remark also that it is a curious illustration of Dr. Ryerson's knowledge of the requis'tes of a university scheme of education, to find him urging that whereas for a i>articn.lar examination we name certain definite and pre- scribed portions of books on which the student sliall be examined. — thereby guaranteeing that those rortiims shall be well and thoroughly got up, — Harvard requires the " whole" of Ctesar, nnd the " whole" of Livy, &c., insteoil of pre- scribing, In ttccordimce with the practice of all the Uritittli imiverHities, cc- ►iiln portions, and aticertuliiing liy (^xtvniinutioa tliat tliu studunt has tlioroughly maHtercd them. UNWISE, BE 'AUSE UNTENABLE ClIAKL.i;s. A great deal of work 1ms been made in tlilsdls- cusaion i\bout the (inestion of options. But 1 al- most venture to think, from what I liavcfiln.'tdy soen in relutiou to thi- feelings vt j^cnllt.nicn on botli sides, tlmt l)y tins time there are some of tliose Migiiged in iidvoaitiug tlie cause (ij(iii;ist which 1 havetodeiend rriiverhit\(,V,lle^'c, wlio re- gret tlmt this (juu.stion of options was evir hrou^hl up, or that they based tlieir claims on untenable charged against us. Y(nr have before you the representatives both of Queen's ami Victoria Colleges, and had they appean.'d here,- -as, hud they been left to their own unbiised judgment, I believe they would havi^ ilone— presi'Miting their claims in the aspect in wiiieii Dr. look is now prepared to rest his caust; ; and saying : Uni^orsity education ought to bo denomina- tional, and that i;2.f)00 added to the annual in- come of Queen's (\)llege, Kingston, would bi^ a great advantivge to its funds ; these arc sim- ple propositions wliich you could have discussed temperately and impartially, and which we might have found it didicult effectu.dly to resist. ]}ut tho.se gentlemen, the represen- tatives of Queen's and Victoria Colleges, have been betrayed against their better judg- ments into bringing up a set of charges against the University and University College of Toronto which, I venture to saj , are utterly un- tenable, and which the Principal of Queen's College has already declared himself ash.anied of. OUR NEW MODEL FOR A CANADIAN UNIVERSITY ! You had a curious exhibition before the Committee yesterday, which was to me, at least, exceedingly instructive. We had the pleasure of seeing the Provost of Trinity College, and one of the masters of Dr. Ryerson's model grammar school, formerly a professor of Trinity, cross-examined by the Doctor, on the peculiar chn-icteristics and spe- cial virtues of Oxtord and Cambridge Universi- ties. You know, gentlemen, what these Univer- sities are — wealthily endowed institutions, where the accumulated bequests of centuries have been gathered together ; vhere a large number of colleges are collected, and where chiefly the aristocracy of England receive theii education : colleges where, unless a mvn cm give his son, at the very least, something like S750 a year, to sustain him during his brief term of residence, he had better keep him at home. And these are the institutions you are to accept as your models for training the youth of Canada in thi-- nineteenth century ! But, besides that, there was something amusing in the special points to which your attention ws directed. I have no great familiarity with the systems of Oxford or ■Cambridge. I was educated in Scottish halls, and it must have been scarcely less puzzling to Dr. Cook and other gentlemen of Scottish Uni- versity training, than to myself, while listening to Dr. Ryerson putting Provost Whittaker and Mr. Ambery through their questions as to the virtueii of Acts and Opponeuciei» at Caml)ri(l);«, and Rcponsions ai.d other mysterious forms oi medlev.i' Oxford, which iiave survivci lo our tl;iy ; very admirable thiiiL's, probabiy, in ilieir way, iiul on which I cm pini(.',,s to tlinTw ex- ceedingly liule light. Dr. Byerson, however, his got him.iulf up on them : anil, perhap-, if .-ubj-etedtu cro.ss-c\an\in.Uion we miglit suc- ceed in ct)mpreliendin^' tin- merits of tin.'se pre- ci'ius relics of ancient ( ".xfnrd, wbieli are to in vigiiraie and restore our l;niv(Msily sy-,tciii. With le.'.'ani to tln! system (jt oplioi i which we hive introduced, I need not go into details, ns tliese liave 'incn so well and so h.itisfactoiily ex- plaii'.i:d by tlie Vicc-Ch.inccllor. I woi.lj re- mind yon, h'lwevei', of tiiis, that the very Act uadLM' whieli our iliiiversltv and College exist, sperilies Loudon 1,'iavcrsity, and notOxl'or.l or Cambridi; ■, as our niodi;.- London University, c-italilisiied in the ninctccnlh century, with a view ti> mectint:; all the advanced re8titiition a gentle- miti who tooli the f()rem'>st rank in 'i'riiiity C'ol- lei;c, Dublin, car yin^ off the udd metlal a the hijrhest cl issical fchoar of hi- year. In the Pro- fessor of Mctaphyaifs wo hnvea repn^entative of till! ancient University of O.xford ; ii representa- tive of its Rpcci d cliaract eristics as well as of its learning. We liavc two Rraduates of Caml)iidgo, both men who took distinguised honours in their respective ycirs ; Professor Chcrrinmii. who not only attained hifrli rank a^ a wrangler, but also obtained a fellowship in St. .John's College, Cam- bridge ; Dr. Croft, who, after receiving liis earlier elucation in Kngland. completed his studies in the f imcd University of Perlin, and mastered his special K'iencc of Chemistry under Mitscherlich, one of the most celebrated chemists of Europe. Tlio bcietitt; of tiis knowledge thus acquired you now enjoy in freciucnt cases in the Courts of Law. as well as in he College and University. Another of the College st .ft, ProfesRor Hinckn, r(!signed or his present duties the correspond- ing chair of Natmal History in Queen's College, Cork ; ond Professor Chapman,— who as a Mine- ralogist takes a rank not inferior to any in the old woild, — before he was tianpferrcd to a chair in Toronto, occupied with distinguished credit tliat of Mmeraldgy in University College, Lon- don. Of myself I may be permitted to say this at least, thai having some familiarity with the spec! ilities of our Scottish educational system, mv experience may not be with( iit its value, when arlded to tliat of others, looking on the rcTiiremcnts of our Canadian Univer.-ity from RU'h varied points (f view. I tins*, therefore, it will not seem altogether unreasonable if wc ven- t'lre t" appeal our case in tids form — Are wc not fit to be trusted with advising in .some decree in refc'CMce to a course of study for Caiiadisin students? Or. do you believe a class of men thiip selc'tcd from the dilTerent Universities of Britain arc Tkely deliberately to pursue a plan for dijterinrating Mie education of t :is country, by admitting into the University, youths not fit t ) enter a Grammir School, nnd by giving dc- gre '8 to men who^e inferiority will degrade the c'lvic'-er of th'i Uiiver-ity of our adopted country, nnd on which our own future reputa- tion depends? I hink I might fiirly stake the whole q-iesMon on such ground. But thitis not the gMund on which we shall appeal; for I maintain that the course we have adopted is one which will «t«nd the thoroughest InrMtlflfatlon. 1 know that during the time it wa«indelil)eration sincj I had a seat as member of the Senate ; wo have mfit week after week, and sat patiently over every detail of the systciu many a time long after midnight. CONDUCT OF PROFES-iORS ON THE SENATE. It h IS i deed been strangely enough ad- vanced by Dr. Rycrson, in his defeuco against certain complicity in objectionable acts of the Senate, that he, being appointeil to a scat there specially in his ollicial capai ity as Super- intendent of Education, attended rarely except when he hid some particular purpose in view I It seems, moreover, that it is actually maile a charge against certain of the Professors that since our appointment as members of Sen ite our names are tx be found frequently on its sedc- runts ! I confess 1 have exposed myself to this chirire. It his not been my ptactice to acci.'pt the membership of any Hoard without infending to fullil its duties. During the whole time that I have been a member of the Senate 1 believo I have only been absent twice from its meetings, and on those two occasions from indisposition ; and from the meetings of the College Council during the seven years that I have been a mem- ber of that body, I have, I believe, only been absent once. My colleagues could render a similar account of their stewardship. We have fulfilled our duties carefully and patiently, and have earnestly tried to mature a system of study adap'cd for Canada ; neither taking Oxford, nor Duldin, nor the Scottish Universities, nor the Queen's University of Ireland, asour sole model ; but trying to get from each what was specially fitted for the reiiuiicments of this ntnv country, whi'jh occupies a position difTerent from all. THE MATRICULATION EXAMINATIONS. We have also turned our attention to the con- dition of the Grammar Schools. And no fact is more obvious, or commends it^eli n>oro clearly to your common sense, than 'his, that— if the University and College are to l)0 for the benefit of the people at large,— there can bono g»p or interval between the Grammar Schools and the University. The Grammar Schools train the youth up to the point at which the University receives them, and are we to adopt a standard for matriculation placed at a point which these Grammar Schools cannot reach ? I liold in my hand the original matricu- 1 ition examination of the Univeisity of To: onto, inherited from the old King's Cojlpge, wliich was again borrowed from that of Trinity College, Dublin, and which, I do not hesitate to siy. it persisted in l^y us, would have been the most so- lemn farce educated men ever attempted to per- petrate in a new country. It actually requires a youth at his examination for admission to the Univer-ity to have read Homer's Iliad, Xeno- phon. Lucian. Virgil, Ovid, and, if he competed for a sc'^olarship to have read more of Homer, the Iliad and dyssey bo h, Horace's Odes, Vir- gil's iEicid, Ovid's Fasti, Lucian's Menippus — to have gone in fact through nearly all the chief cla-sics of ancient times. "That is a higher re- quirement ban a man can take his de rec not only in any University in Scotland, but in Ox- ford or Cambridge, or ia the University of Lon- don, whirh hns been cxp esnly auRfffned hy fho LcRltl ituro iiH our iikkIcI ; nml jct wc arc iir- r.iiKiicd Itcloio vr--devotc \\ nr chief attention to youi malhemitics, g oh gy, and mineralogy. If a firmer— and I hope tii.it is a class of students wliicii will be found to muU tip!y every year for 1 trust we are to educate not merely protessiomil men, but the youth of Canada generally ; and men will make all the b(;iter f.irmers and merchants ami tradcfmen for having iiighly cultivated minds— if a f.irmer, we suy, go on witli Modern l-angiiages, and still more, with Natural Sciences, which will be of practical use to you in all the future duties of life. Is there not common sense in that ? Is not that the most rational system for (; nada, whiitever may be the jiroper system for Oxford and Cam- bridge— a system wiiicli the Chief Superintend- ent of Etltication seems disposed to dictate to us imd to you .' In reference to the whole system of options, I am sur|>rised that the gt'iitlcmen who ad- voctto the interests <'f Vctoiia and Qticen's Colleges fail to perceive that, so far I'lom in- volving any injustice to afliliated colle;:cs with an inferior staff to University College, they arc the very means of pb cing idl on an equiUity. Under the University system of options, a college with only mathematical, clas- sical, and mentid philosophy chaiis, may send in its men to c mpele fortitst class honours, and tocirryoff the classical or mitlicmatical schol- arships, aga'nst the best of Univei>ity Collego students wilh all their advantages of Modem Linguriges and Natural Sciences, which ac un- available in till se special competitii ns. I'cimit mc to add that po opinion i.s more unfounded th in that which .supposes that the Pn. feasors of University College desiie any monopoly of the University of Toronto, its examinator.-hips, scholarships, or other privileges. Tne veiy ar- ticle referred to by- Dr. R>erson was written with the earnest desire to bring aliout a union of Canarlian Colleges under one University— as I venture to hope may be percdved by any candid reader who will peruse it as a whole, and not in imperfect and detached extracts. MEMBERS OF THE SENATE. But it i.s a singul irly one sided view of the case for the advocates of the interests of Victoria College to pro' est indignantly at certain Proft^ssors of University College, — four in all — being admitted to the Senate of the University to which their College is at- tached, and for which alone it can train its stu- dents, whi'e there were sitting on that same Board the membeif of another, and independent University which disclaimed all collegiate lela- tioa to it. Before University College had moro than its President on the Henate, tliere siit on that Board, the Rov. llr. Nclles, Principal of Victoria College, the Uev. Dr. KyerKon, a mem- ber of the College Board, and Dr. Barrett — who it has been found convenient to re[)r(^scnt as a teacher in Upper Canada College — li'.t who, it is well known, never luul a seat at the Senate in any otlicr capacity tluin as President of Dr. ilolph's or the Toronto School of Medicine ; and who, as sucli, toolv hi.s scat for the first time to represent the Xledical Faculty of Victoria Vv\- lege at the meetings of tlie University of To- ronto, wliile its students were sys^teniatically prevented from graduating there. It may sound very plausitjle to those wlio knownotliing about the f ict"! of tiie cise to talk of the injustice of four Professors sitting on a Board Jiumbcring forty-three members, which had the entire con- trol of their conrses of teaching and system of study. Let it be remembered, however, t^uit until they were added to it, the sederunts of the Senate freipiontly presented the anomaly of a university and college controlled in all their ar- rangements by those who systematically with- held, not only the students of Cobourg, but the medical stuilents of 'I'oronto. from the very Uni- versity over which they c.Kercised so nnich con- trol. Had Victoria. (^Hieen's, or Trinity College actually recogiiized the University as such, while maintaining a thorough independence as sepa- rate colleges, the Senate would never have been driven to ilie necessity of giving so large ashare in the oversight of the University examinations to Professors of Univc-rsity College ; although, as 1 shall hereafter .-how, the amoimt of tliis share has been greatly exaggerated. If, as seems inevitable in the pres'it('. collegiate institution for secular tr.aining. ('hairs of natural .listory, logic, metaphysics, ;ind moral pli'losophy, wcr-- lillc 1 !iy able men, l"or whom silaries were [irovi led on a mire li'ier.d scale th m those now p lid to liie t'rof.'ssors of Univer- sity College, Torimto — ac.Kur of chemi.^tiy was also i 1 contemplation ;and a complete organiza- tion WIS thus provided for the perminent est.ih- lishment of a rival denoiiun ition il college. Foi- tan i'e!y for Sjo:! i id, at this st ige t.f her Uai- versiiy system, t'.ie A';t w.-.s p isse 1 whieli, by abolishing all religious tests for secular chairs, entirely deprived them of their denomi- national character. In the Scottish uiiversiiics as now const. tuteJ, the Th''o!o:.;icil i''.iculty ex- ists as a pirt of the Established (.'huicli ; b;it in the Fiiculties of Art, Law, and Me Heine, every trace of denominational o\'ersii;ht h is liccn re- m ovinl. An i what is the result? llow did tlio iudgment im I discretion of Protrstanti.-m in Scotland pronounce on the system ? The ro:.ult his been tint the New College, Ediid)urgh, ! .as ce.iscd to he more than a 'I'h ologieal College ior the clergy of its own chnrch. 'ihe chairs of ?.Toral I'hilosophy, Meiapliysics, and Natural History, succeessive'y hecinie vacant, ami were not tilled up; the students of lliit gether free from that element which now shackles and compli- cates every eflfort in Great Britain for the devel- opment of a truly national system of public instruction, to transplant to its free soil the rival sectarian educational institutions which are only defensible by reason of the injustice that closed the halls of Oxford and Cambridge against all but the adherents of one fav )ured church. But the most recent action in England has been to a great extent in the strictly non- denominational direction ; and since the cstiib- lishment of the University of London, on a truly liberal and national basis, colleges have been founded a.id liberally endowed, entirely inde- pendent of denominational control or super- Tision, such as those of Hull, Wakefield, Chel- tenham and Manchester. University College, London, had already been estiblished by pri- vate enterprise, before the State provided the requisite University organization. But that done, the separate colleges, whether denomina- tional or otherwise, were left in Britain to rely for their support on the liberality of a wealthy country. In I2 eland, however, it was other- wise ; for there, as in Canada, the private wealth was wanting, and the State fo nded and en- dowed both the Colleges and the University, and placed their honours and advantages alike free to all. Such institutions the Slate may justly endow with public funds, and it is for the members of a free community for whom such in- estimable advantages arc secured, to place such national institutions under the control of a gov- erning Board, which shall adequately represent the Irishes and desires of a Christian people in relation to all the essential non-sectarian ques- tions which pertain to the discipline and train- ing of the rising generation. But in a free oonntry like ours, where the separation between Church and State is absolute, the existence of a Ghorcb Institution, supported by the State is an meonffniUy; the supervision of it by the State is fu tnipoMth'My. DENOMINATIONAL COLLEGES AND THEIR TESTS. The tendencies suggested by modern experi- ence in relation to national Universities, and superior education are abundantly illustrated by the new Universities and Colleges of En- gland and Ireland ; the removal of all denom- inational restrictions from the faculties of arts, law, and medicine, in the Scottish Universi- ties ; and the throwing open to all denomina- tions the privileges of Oxford and Cambridge. It is manifestly, therefore, totally at variance with facts to say that "the experience ot all ' ' Protestant counttics shows that it is, and has " been, as much the province of a religious per- " suasion to establish a College, as it is lor a "School municipality to establish a School," unless by such statement a mere denominational theological institution is meant. On the con- trary, the experience of Canada sufficiently il- lustrates how " religious persuasions," by going out of their province, and interfering with secu- lar education, may retard the development of a well organized system for a whole generation. That Queen's College, Canada, is purely the educational institution of the denomination under whose control it exists, is shown by the report presented to the Synod of the Presbyte- rian Church of Caniida, on the 25th of May last ; which, if reported correctly in the puijlio prints, stated the number of students in attendance as eleven in theology and fifty-three in arts ; but a' Ided : " In aU,forty-fweare dudyingfor the Minis- try." Credit has been repeatedly cLaimed of late for Victoria College, that it has no tests, but such a statement is a mere play upon words. What real difference is there between requiring that a Professor shall sign the prescribed creed of a Church — be it the thirty-nine articles, or the Westminster Confession of Faith — or that he shall satisfy the Wesleyan Conference, or other Ecclesitvstical Court ? In reality, the latter is the more stringent of the two. 1 speak on this subject feelingly, for I have had reason to feel strongly upon it. I ha^l a brother once, a man of high personal character and blameless life, admitted to be one eminently dis- tinguished among the scientific men of his native land— and from among whom he has recently passed away, mourned with an earne^^tness of public grief not often manifested even for Scot- land's most gifted sons — yet that man was long shut out from honours justly his due, and many students were deprived of his instructions in his favourite science, because he was too conscien- tious to make falsely or carelessly a declaration of faith in the prescribed te^ts of the dominant Church. It was not because he was indifferent to religion that he was thus excluded, for no more earnest Christian was to be found among British scientific men ; and when at length better times came, and such antiquated absurdities of the dark ages were swept away by the abolition of all religious tests in the Scottish Universities, he was appointed to a Chair in bis own University of Edinburgh ; and was acknowledged there, not only as one of its most distinguished men of science, but as one cf the most upright and con- scientious Christian men of his day. But, again, it is affirmed that Victoria College is not sec- tarian, but proTincial, because, it is said, the 11 President of the Executive Council, tlie Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and other high offi- cial dignitiiries arc named on the College Board. Might it not be well to ascertain how often tliey are named on its sederunts? I put the question to the Rev. Mr. Ormiston, formerly a Professor of Victoria College, and liis answer wmb that during the years he sat on its board he never saw one of them, or heard of their being sum- moned to its meetings. For any practical pur- pose, therefore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Lord High Chancellor of England might as well be named for the iluty. lUit metvnwhile this is unquestionable, that the Victoria College Board is one of the Committees annually up- pointed by the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, and that no man can be appointed to one of its Chairs who does not satisfy the requirements of the Conference, or its ai)poii)ted delegates ; nor can any doubt exist that the whole management is in the hands of the Wesleyan denomination, — a Christian body justly held in admiration for its earnest zeal and self-denying missionary labours ; but not therefore to be selected from among other denominations for State patronage, or educational oversight, in a cointry where all connexion between Church and Stjite has been utterly abolished. VICTORIA COLLEGE. In Victoria College there is, of course, no lest for students. It is only too well known, that — not in Methodist Colleges only, but also in Roman Catholic Colleges — all are wel- come who are prepared to submit to their teaching. But from the returns made to Parlia- ment in l'-66, the denominational statistics pre- sent the significant ligures relative to the matri- culated students of Victoria College of twenty- eight Wesleyan Methodisis to three Presbyteri- ans, one Church of England, and one Baptist. Or, again, taking the Wiiole pupils in the Insti tution, there were only 39 belonging to other denominations, including children at the pre- paratory school, while UK) were Wesleyan Me- thodists. It is stated in the Conference Memorial that no aid is asked " towards the support of any Theologiciil School or Theological Chair in Victoria College ;" and Mr. Nelles, in answer to the question, •' Is there anv Theological Chair, or Divinity students in Victoria College!" re- plies: "Neither. We have students attending " the College who are preparing for the ministry. " but are not pursuing theo' -;ical studies, hut " general studies ; and are nui known in theCol- "lege as Divinity 8tunent8,but as general stu- " dents. They receive no allowance or considera- " tion from the funds in any shape whatever." It appears, however, from the 7th of the Miscella- neous Resolutions adopted by the Wesleyan Con- ference at its last meeting, that "when preachers on trial are allowed to attend Victoria College for two years during their probation, the two years shall be counted butasoneyear in their probation." Again, in answer to the thirteenth question ; — " How are the ministers and preachers stationed for the ensuing year V " Under- graduates and students" to the number of twenty, are named in the " Cobonrg District" as at Victoria Col- lege. In the previous year, 1858, they num- bered seventeen ; and in the report furnished by the President of Victoria College to the Con- ference in the same year, he remarks : " Judg- " ing from present indic.nions, the college is " destined to furn sh very valuable accessions " to the Christian Ministry, and the attention " of the Conference and the Churcli is earnestly " invited to this Important result, as a reason " fi ir more ardent and united exertions in be- " half of the Institution." It is obvious, there- fore, tliat whatever difference may be enter- tained as to tlie designation of " preachers on trial during their probation" at Victoria Col- lege tiiat is, the Wesleyan d nominational col- lege. It supplies for the Wesleyan Methodist Ciiurch the same purpo.^es as Queen's College docs tor the Presbyterian Church of Canada. Accordingly, in thcsjuno report of the Principal of Vi( loria College to the Wesleyan Conference, IMr. Nelks says : " It is necessary to show that " I lui college is a connezioiial necessity — that itU " un t:itlons all include subjects in arts. 1 may also add that among the examiners of the London University. Professors of the colleges arc named ; while in the Queen's University — which in relation trotlif peculiar circumstances of the country, and the national non-denominational colleges connected with it, more nearly resemhles ovir Provincial Lniversity and College — the Professors of tiie Queen's Colleges are systematic dly ap;.ointed members of the Examining Poavd, It is easy for Oxford and Cam aidge, with a large staff of wealthily endowed fellowshi|)s and numerotis resident graduates, to place any restrictions they may plea.se on the choice of examiners ; but iho Queen's University has been compelled to resort to the Professors of the National Colleges, as those best qualified fen- the duties, until such time as a numerous cUxss of well-trained gradu- ates shall enable them to adopt a wider choice ; and in this respect the University of Toronto labours under still greater disav. S. S. Nelles, M.A., President of \ I luria (College; Rev. A. Lillie, I). D., Theological Professor of the Congregational Institution; K.'V. ,). Taylor, M.l),, Theolo- gical I'rofcssor of tlie United Presbyterian l)ivi;iity Hall : Rev. fi. P. Young, M.A., Pro- fessor of Logic and M(jt4ipliysics, Knox's College ; Itcv, {>;. .J. Senkler, M.A., ofCaius College, Cam- bridge ; Rev. E. Schluter, M.A. ; Rev. W. Sten- nett, .M.A., Principal of Upper Canada College ; Rev. W (trmiston, B.A., late one of the masters of the Normal ScliO(d ; Adam Crooks, LL.B. , harrister-at-law ; James Brown, M.A. ; T. J. Roliiitsoti, M.A., head tnaster of the Normal School ; Robert Checkley, M.I).; Thomas Ilidout, Esf|., F. Montivani, LL.l).; E. Cromble, M.A., ))anister-at law ; .dichael Barrett, B.A., M.D., President of the Toronto School of Medicine ; L. S. Oille. M.A., M.D. ; G. R. R.Cockburn, M.A., Rector of the Model Grammar School ; William Wcild, M..\., classical master. Upper Canada College ; II. Haacke, French tran'-lator to the iygislative Assembly ; Emile Coulon, French niiistor. Model (irammar School ; E. Billings, Esq., pala!ontolo,!;ist to the Provincial Geological Survey. With such gentlemen, selected, as they liav<; been, with an anxious desire to secure able and independiint examiners, 1 feel confident that no University examinations have ever been ctniductcd with stricter impartiality than those of the University of Toronto, under the very system so unjustly mali^zned. MOKAI. AND RELIGIOUS OVERSIGHT OF SITJDENTS. Returning, however, from this digression, suggested by analogies in the University of London and the Queen's LTniversity of Ireland, I revert once more to another aspect of the questi(m of sectarian, in contra-distinction to ))rovincial or national, education. It is assumed in the memorial of the Wesleyan Conference that under the system of a provincial non-de- nominational College, the youth educated in it must be placed beyond the reach of religious training and pastoral oversight. If by pastoral oversight is meant the placing of each student, while in the College, under the care and teaching of resident ministers of his own denomination, this is manifestly beyond the reach of any sys- tem but one which limits all education to the 14 training of each youth in Bchools and colleges of Lis own sec, and it is as impossible under the constitution of Queen's or Victoria, us of Uni- versity College. When Vlctorlii College admits a Wesleyun Metiiodist student, the desired end is secured for him. Hut when it admits an Epis- cjpalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, or Roman Ca- tholic student, he must be dealt with precisely a.s he would be by University College, and as is done by the Normal School of the Province. In University College, daily religious services are jtrovided, the lesident students are placed under the charge of the ministers of their respective denominations, their parents or guardians are consulted as to the place of wor-hip they are to attend, and the minister of religion whose teach- ing they are to wait upon. The resident Proies- 8or— who has beeiisc'ccted with a special view to his fitness for the duties—has prayer and rciiding of the Scriptures daily, morning and evening, in the College Hall, for all who do not object themselves, or by their guardians, on con- scientious grounds, to be present ; and it is his duty to ascertain that tlicy attend regularly at their respective places ol worship. Per- mit me to read to you the circular ad- dressed by the resident professor to the parent or guardian of each student, on hla coming into residence ; it will show the systematic care with which we aim at fulfilling this part of our duty. " As your son proposes coming into residence in this College, I beg to inf irm you that it is the desire of the council that, where there is no conscientiou'- objection, all the students under their charge sho Id be piesent in the Hall at daily morning and evening prayers, with read- ing of the Scriptures. It is also their wish, that they should regularly attend on Sundays their respective places of worship, and receive such other religious instruction as their parents and guardians may desire. I have to request that you will be so good as to let me know whether you desire your son to attend such daily prayers in the College, and that you will also mentioti the minister under whose charge you wish to place him. The council will allord every fa- cility for the carrying out of y.ur intentions, and with this view, will exercise such control over your son during his rtisidence, as may be best calculated to effect your wishes. In the event of your not informing me of your desire on the subject, the coimcil will assun.e that you have no objection to his being required to at- tend the daily prayers of the college, and will exercise an oversight as to his attendance on the ministrations ot a clergyman of the deno- mination to which he belongs." PROVINCIAL OR SECTARIAN COLLEGE EDUCATION ? Looking to the system thus in force, it is mani- fest, therefore, that the Provincial College, — though strictly non-denominational, is not therefore non-religious ; nor can there be any need that it fi'iiould be so in a Christian country. In this, io- deed, is illustrated the only possible system for a pnblicly endowed national education. It is the same principle which pervades our Common Schools, Provincial College, and University ; a public Bjstem in which no sectarian distinctions are recognized, and in which no denomination meddles as such— equally open to all, and under public control. It is the national educational system of the pi!0[»le, consistent thioughout. 'i'he tjachors, trustees, county bo.ards, and in- spectors ; the Deputy and Chief Superintendent, and Council of Public Instruction ; t'ae College Professors, University Senate, and Chanceli(yr, are all chosen by tlic juople : — through direct election in local cases ; through the E.xecutivo in the provincial departments. Tlie estiblish- lucut of a well appointed College and University is necessarily a costly thing. TIks Province can- not hope to command tlic services of men of the highest class without offering salaries and all requisite equipments of lectine r{ Victoria College was l.ilOO less than the mere amount of the .salaries st ited to you by its own Ihirsar, Dr. Green ; and thiit, not to multiply details, the sum stater! as tlu; cost of Trinity College incidciitids, and sinei; triumphantly printed, witli doul)l(' marks of ex- clamation, in your own evidcuieo. as only one thirteenth of the corresponding chiir^e of To- ronto University, has aelually been made ti> suggest this false impression, by clianging tiie Trinity pounds into dollars — when, I say. Mr. Langton pointed out these grave, misleading errors. Dr. Uyerson diselaimed the responsibility of his own statement, and blamed anotlier jn-r- Bon, who had fiirnislio;inLryon, but a written statement handed in to this ('ommittee, printed by the «'>)inmitt(;i\ and circulateil with- out correction amons all its members. Yet, when Mr. Ijangton referred to it, there was n cry of "Shame! Had not Dr. Uyerson repudiated it? Had he not corrected it two days before ?" If he did, it still stands on ynur records un- amended, and I say Mr. Langton was thoroughly justified, and simply did his duty, in poinJng out those inaccuracies ; and Dr. Uyerson must have a singular iit himself. But on examining Dr. Ryerson's own manuscript, it turnci! out that the comparisons in question Avere not in writing, but clipped out from some publication, having already done duty elsewhere, l)tfore they were thus produced to complete the work of mis- representation here. PERVERTED EVIDENCE. Nor is this the only story which has done duty against us elsewhere, but which would not bear investigation. There is another point I must speak upon, and I feel it the more my duty to speak upon it, because I see present the chief adviser of the representative of Her Majesty in the Government of this Pro- vince, the Hon. Attorney General West. Dr. Ryerson, in the written statement which he handed in to this Committee, presented origin- ally in his own manuscript a paragraph which has since been withdrawn. I received in Tor- onto a proof of this statement, as printed for you from his own manuscript, which I pre- sumed was the evidence as finally given in to the Committee ; and it is only since I came down to Quebec that I learned this passage had been suppressed, though not before it had be«n read to you, and w'dely circulated elsewhere. It is a statement with reference to Qrammur School teachers educated in University College. Dr. Uyerson said in that passage : — "'Hie reports of the Inspectors of Gram- mar Schools shew that Toronto University supplies only eight masters to seventy-five Grammar Sciiools, while (Queen's (.'(jUege sup- plies ten. The same reports show that tin; grad- uates of Toronto University as a whole are less eliicient masters of Grammar Schools than those of Queen's College, Victoria College, or Tiinity (.'ol.ege, of Toronto or Dul)lin." This, Sir, is u very grave charge, which, when I read it, not knowini!^ that its author had since repented of it, received my very special attention. I felt that, even if true, wo could answer that our Univcr-i'" had only been six years inoperati(jn, and that 1, was not till the year before last, wo had been able to turn out a graduate at all. It would have seemed only reasonable, if it had been found expedient, that wf> should be allowed a little time to deveb^p the institution, before a Committee of Investigation sat upon it. Never- theless, with every consideration of the circum- stances in which we are placed, 1 was surprised at tlu! statement, and wrote to the Uev. Mr. Ormiston, one of the Inspectors of Grammar Schools, a graduate of Victoria College, and who, having been one of the teachers of the Toronto Normal School under Dr. Uyerson, could have no especial leanings in our favour. Jlr. Ormiston came down to Toronto, and fa- voured mo with an interview, in which he as- sured me that whatever motive or reason could have induced Dr. Uyerson to make such a state- ment, it was unsupported by his reports. He gave me comments, which he permitted me to wTite down from his lips, relative to the gradu- ates of the University, on whom he had reported as Inspector of Schools. He had specially re- ported two graduates of Toronto University, as inefficient masters. One was a good scholar, but his eccentricities marred his success. And is it imagined that the wisdom of the Legislature can devise a University that will cure a man's eccentricities ? But I found on examination that we were not responsible for him at all. He was a gentleman who had taken his whole course of education at Trinity College, Dublin, and having produced evidcrcu ot that before the Senate of Toronto University, was admitted to his degree adeundem. And, in strange contradiction to the statempr.is'made by Dr. Ryerson, Mr. Ormiston added that there were two Trinity College Dublin men, whom he had been obliged to recommend to withdraw. In another bad case of a Toronto University graduate, it was re- ported he would never make a good teacher, and this is very likely, as he is now an inmate of the Lunatic Asylum. [Dr. Wilson con- t'nued to read the notes fuinished him by Mr. Ormiston, which were altogether at variance with Dr. Ryerson's statement, and proceeded :] It w IS a very serious charge to bring against a University ; but I say unhesitatingly, in the pre- sence of the head of Her Majesty's Executive Government, that the reports from the inspec- tors of Grammar Schools do not bear out Dr. Ryerson's statements ; and it is a most grave charge against the Chief Superintendent of Edu- cation, that he should have so far betrayed his 17 trust, or Ro far have permitted prejurlico to wnrp his judgnipnt and pervert the evidence of liis official leports, ns to Hubmit to you, and to pive in writing a statement of tills nature, which, wh( ciiallengcd, he iias Icen compelled to will'.!, iw. Gentlemen, call for and examine these ri'i)orts of the inspectors of Grammar Schools. You will tind in them no evidence; to bear out Huch allcnati ns. Mr. Lan^'ton has in- spected them, and I have perused tlie e.xstracts niiide from tiionc manuBcrii)ls now in Dr. Uycr- iion's jRissession ; and tlicy abundantly account for his withdniwal of the unfounded diarge. Let him summon those inspectors bet'ore >ou, if he dure. It was on Mr. lian^ton's calling I'or their appearanc(,' as witnesses that the statement was erased. They are not men tohide the truth on our liehalt, tliey owe their upioiniments to Ur. Kyerson, and are, or have' ludli been teach- ers in his schools. Nevertiieless, they are men of honour aiid |irol)ity, aid tliat is all that we require in v.itnesses on our Ix'half. Had T cf-nsulted my own feelings, or ap- peared here merely in my own defence, I should have left this unsaid. Dr. Rycrson well knows I have no personal feeling a- gainst him. On the contrary. I have had inucVi friendly intercourse with him in former yerirs; and when lie went home to select a rector for his Model Grammar School, he owed it to my introductions, and to my biother's aid, that he obtained his present efiicient rector. Nor did I come to Quebec even now with un- l:ind!y feelings towards him, though his conduct before this C'.inmitteoEeemecl strange anrl indeed inexj)licable. I'ut the aiumus he has shown be- fore this (,'omnuttee, since I have been present at its sittings, h;is not only changed my opinion greatly, but has led me to look back upon past events and the circumstances of my foimer in- tercourse with him, and to see them in a new light. I read with scorn his state- ment to tlii.s Committee, as I find it re- corded in the evidence, that " If the committee should order the minutes of the pioceedings of the Senate to be la'd bcf(jrc them, and marlc who were ptesen^, and what was done at each meeting, they would see how the system has been woiked, and how parties cimnected with the University and Upper Canada Colleges have directed as to expenditures, studies, scholarships, &c.;" and again, " The minutes will show that those expenditures have been chiefly directed by a f imily compact of gentlemen receiving their salaries from the University and Upper Canada College endowments." Why did he put in the word "■ gentlemmV I read, and I believe my colleagues also have read, his statement as equivalent to characterizing us as a pack of Bcoundrels. I have not been much engaged in duties like this. My habits have been acquired in the pleasant retirement of years, chiefly ex- pended in literary pastime and study. I have not been accustomed to appear befoie such Com- mittees, and perhaps, therefore, I may seem to .attach too much importance to language, which maj'^ not present itself in the same aspect to men accustomed to confront the bold and rough usages of Parliamentary life. But I can conceive of no explanation that can be put upon thill langunpe, characterizing us aa a family compact, directing as to expenditures, studies, scholarships, and salaries, other than that wo were soinetliing closely allied to a pack of swindlers ; u set of men aliusing the great trust committed to tiiem. Cor their (jwn private en(h, and personal aggr ndisement. I believe Dr. Kyerson wili be able, in his exi)lanati(jn of stute- mentb hi; has betsn compelled to make to you, to show that he advocated the expenditure of a smaller sum than was ultimately ai)i)ropriated for scholarships in the University ; but he can- not deny tliis, thit wj bore no part in relation to the largest of the expenditures which has Ikm'u speciiilly brought as a charge against us: thit appropriation of £75.0(JO, — that Irightful extravagance of ours for a new build- ing. Dr. Kyerson stated in Ids evidence that he bidieved that appropriation wa- made during his absence from the country. 1 doubt not he stated so in perfect sincerity ; liut I find on looking at the minutes that he was not absent on the 17th .March, 18-VJ, when Chief .lustice Draper gave notice of an Address to His Excellency, with a view to the appropriation o a sum for buildings. I tind, too, tliat Dr. Kyerson was i)rpsent, and there is no record on the miniites that ho ob- jected, when on the 2Uh March, Chief Justice Draper, secondiMl by Ih^i. J. C. Morrison, moved the Address to his Excelient'y. And on the 25th ^larch, wlien that Address was read a second time and carried, Dr. llyer.son again was pre- sent, and tht! minutes record no protest or op- position to the appropriation as recommended. 1 iiad an interview this morning with the Solicitor Geneial, who is prepared to 'jive evidence that Dr. Ryersoii was ])resent and offered no opposi- tion to that Address, which was to lead to such '•frightful extravagance." And I believe there are other charges brought against us, of which we are equally innocent, but on which Dr. Kyer- son cannot clear himsc;f. The salary of the Presidentof Univer- ity College w-s -eoommended on his motion. That large, o;.: . ot excessive, salary now enjoyed by the President, was moved by Dr. Ryerson. And he canno* deny that to that same motion, in the absence of the Profes- sors who had not then a seat on the frenate, and without the slightest instigati( n from them, he made an addition, declaring that we were under- paid, and that our salaries should be raised. I of all men in the world need not object to that act, enjoying as I do at this present moment an increase of salary owing to that motion; but I wisli to show that we did not, as we have been charged, ourselves vote that addition to our salaries, or even Icnow that such a proposition was entertained. Nor can lie deny that he voted tlie present salary of the Principal of Upper Ca- nada College, which ho has declared to be extra- vagant, but apologized for it by saying he did not believe aCan.idian would have been appoint- ed. He cannot deny that, in opposition to that very family corap ict of Professors, he was one of the most active leaders in getting a pension to Mr. Maynard, dismissed from Upper Canada College foi improper conduct, and who, many think, ought to have been dismissed long before. And nothing can justify Dr. Ryerson for having preferred this abominalde and baseless charge of a family compact, for this simple reason, that all the e M penditures on buildings, library, 18 ■choUrsbins, Mlaries, and ponoiona with which he chargeil them,— witli tlie i olitary exception of tiie pension to Mr. Mayiiard,— were iiuthor- ized long iief(^rc a slncile Professor of University College, except Dr. McCaul, us its Presideuf , had a teat in the Senate. This, guntlcinen, is a upecimcn of the lniHoleHU i ti.irges tliat liiive been clrculiited tlirough the country, and have iielped to mislead the minds of luindreds, and to bur- den your tal)lc with petitions originated by inis- representation, and founded on error. And I asic yon now, us nn impartial trilnnuil, if you think the Cliief Su[)erintendent of Kducatioii for Upper Canada, — wlio liad sat on tiie pKisent Senate ft-om its organization in iSo.'J till 1867, when Professors of University College, for the first time, took tlieir seat at ih.it Board, without ever recording a single protest, counter-motion, or other evidence of practical opposition to all the chief expenditures, and other acts, now charged against us, — I ask if he was justilied in making this family compact charge which ho has recorded on your evidence ? 13ut 1 >r. Ryer- 8on has asued that the minutes be prol ilic count i y f And if iii)t, thou 1 may 1»(! jii-iiiiitkil to iihU ifsiiili nuin iix 1 Imvo fe you on the details of a collet^iate system, are you prepared to Huhmit yourselves to the advice (/f I'r. I'yer- sori, who W'Vrv was in a colle;n, propounded in his volu'uinous letter addressed to the Hon. l''raucis lliueiis, in 18r)2, that he meditated it on s<>me ol'the hi,:;lKst moiMitains of l>in'ope--a circumsiaui^e which abuiulaidl,\ acco-.mts for the windy and insub- stantial characterof its re«'ommeridations ! \ 11 Kill SJANDAHl) OF KDUt ATION MAINTAINKI). In order to meet the arguments which have been addue(!d a^?ainst the system adopted ly the Uni- versity of ioruuto, the ^'ice-('haIuc]lorhas pro- duced in evidence the reromnieiidatious ot the (.Jommissioneis of Oxford and l'and>ridge ; the practice of the Universities of l/mdon aiul Ire- land, &c., — and eviilence having; thus been pro- duced in proof, 1 may now he permitted to re- attirm, in concluding my defeme, that the one aim of the Senate, and of the Oollejje (.'ouncil, lias been to devise a system of study wliercby the youth of this I'rovinco may acquire those higher branches of education best calculated to lit them for liecoming intelligent and useful members of flie community. In Cani'.da, at least, education must be practical. It may be all very well for certain Oxford men, and their indiscriminatinf.'; admirers, to maintain that the highest aim of a perfect collegiate training coji- si^jts in the ma:-!tery of classical learning, but the scholarship of Oxford, if fiuced without restric- tion or choice on the yontli of Canada, would in most cases prove of comparatively little practical avail. Nevertheless, let me not be mis- imderstood. I have freely admitted that the standard of matriculation, or the entrance exa- mination, has been lowered ; but I have not ad- mitted, and I do most positively deny, that the utatidard of education has been lowered. A student wdio goes through the whole classical course of the Univcr.sity will compare favourably with a graduate of equal ability in any other Uni- versity in the IMtish Empire; and if, in the exercise of options, he abandons classics at the prescribed point in his course, he can only do to in order to take in lieu of classics the defined substitutes of modern languages, natural sciences, and mathematics, which will no less thorongldy train his mind, and in many c?.ses will supply him with far more imeful acqidre- ments for the future course he is to ptirsue. The lluglish Univerhities luiiler their old rigid syii- t( nt turned out a class of educated m<.'n, with whom too fre(iuently the peoph' foimd little sympathy; but the Scottisli University system, by the very laxncts which left the stuilent'g dioice of sluilies so muih to himself as practi- cilly to aiU'iuut t() a compreiuiisive system of options, has made «« tdunilal /icape; and the latter I conceive is what Caiuida desirca. OUIl CANAOIAN HoNtd'U-MKN. Only one till ther point seems to reijuire attcnti m. 1I( ferring to our system of hnntaus and scliolar- shipii. Or. liyers,>n has spokrii of one I alf of the tini" of the I'rofe-isors ti( University College beiii;,' taken up with teaihiug the Honour Men, who. iu an Knglish Uidversity, cmiiloy Ihi'irown tutors. 'I'lie charge in realitj amounts to this : that by its liberal endow nieiits for the highest (hparlmenis of education, at the l'rovin;ivo to till* i'ni.Hidtsntot I'nivcrHity (N)il('V't^ to trciit in liltodi'tiiil the Hpcci.dilic.s (KMtiinin : to tiio rol- |f!;n, cxii'piin'.' in so tui i\n tlir Ooinniittoi' nviy d(!(*iro to (] lostion inc on tlin Mnlyiv 1 liiivn only to miy, wo Imvc iiinoliittdy notliin^, to con- 0(m1. U'o widconio tlTiH (MKiiiiry iw fi me iiiH ol hrinj^inu: to tiie tent of proot n tlionnind Idinidcr- ins nli.s^tlll^!m(!ntH iind ulundcronri iiiHinnatii'iiH thiit li kvt! i)ocn fircnliitod llironRli tlu^ I'lovinc*! for inontliH piist, witliont the pofihiiiility of ton- tnvliotion. I rout conlident in tin- iiH.suninn.' that tlio (!oniniitlco will In* rf.vtiiillcd liy tlio evi- di'ncc prodm lid on nil tin' viirlous cliiirKt'H, — find Hi ill inori', It) thr inconi'lslfncirH, Id iiideiH, iind rontrudittiiiDrt wli ili linvc niiirkt'd tlio HtiittJiniMits in wliiili tlicy iiro iuail(',--tliiit llity iire^ onlindy foinulcfl in error. Tin* rn'voiHity nnd ('ol!<';ii' liiivo only now l)(aMi finni.xlnnl for tile I'n'Ht tiino witli tlio means of uocomplisliing till! olijncts fo" wliioli tlioy wore ostalili-liod ; Iind I rest in full conlidoncc tliat tlio wisdom of the lA'Klxliitnro will permit tliom Htill, nninim- nudled, to oariy out, with Huoh moiiMH. tlie noldo and piitriotio ohjocis iilroidy inaiit^niatiMl hy Hum, under many difiiiniltiort iind impedimeatu, to RUCCCBS. 9- ill m svl- ',— tlio litv tor inff :>l ; lof kill- itH,