IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V A O A '<° €P.. .%/ '*>:« § 45 1.0 I.I I4^|2B |2.5 1^ U^ 12.2 IS lia IlilM 1.8 L25 iu ill 1.6 p /i 7 '/ V ^ \\ ^ '«i> IE CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques 1 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il iui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. 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The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire fiimd fut raproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de l'6tablissement prAteur suivant : La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul ciich6 sont fiim^es d partir de I'angle sup6rieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mithode : 1 2 3 1 a s : :4r) ■•■■ :•.■.: xVDDRESS ■ »■ , , •; AT THE C0:> VOCATION OF THE 'f'^i, ■ €ittiv(t)Sitg of ioi'onto, JUNE 10th, 1890, BY THB CHANOKLLOK, THE HON. EDWARD BLAKE, LLJ)., Q.C.M.P. TORONTO: ROVVSELL & HUTCHISON, POINTERS. 1890. ADDRESS AT THE C0N"V0CAT10N OF THE UNIVEPuSITY OF TORONl^O, JUNE 10th, 1890, BY THE CTIANCKLLOB, THE HON. EDWARD BLAKE, LL.D, Q.C., M.P. Y first words must bo an expression of cordial and grateful ^'-■- thanks to my fellow-graduates for my re-election to tlie chair, aud to my fellow-senators for that last and signal mark of the regard of the Uni\'ersity which I now wear. I gladly acknowledge myself to be bound even more closely than before, and by links I have no wish to break — by links of heartfelt gratitude for kindness undeserved — to the maintenance and {id vancement, so far as in me lies, of the interests and the honor of the University of Toronto. I begin, as is customary, b}^ a few figures, l)ut by fewer than are customary ; and, indeed, I shall omit much I could have wished to say, because I must trespass on your patience by other figures and unusual topics before I close. Our statistical progress has been, if not very rapid, yet on the whole satisfactory. I take the last four years. The results are in the Faculty of Arts : '8G-7 '87-8 '88-9 '89-90 Matriculants 187 217 220 232 Bachelors 77 8.5 78 84 Persons examined 694 751 784 855 2 These increases are very largely clue to tlie rapidly widening use of our provisio>' for female university education, and to the practical realization in our hiohcst institution of learning of the results of the old cry, " The Girls in the Gn^mraar Schools." The girls have grown, in matriculants from fifteen to forty-three, in persons examined from twenty-eight to one hundred and eight; and you will see by the class lists that they are taking in some departuients, notably in modern languages, excellent places. I hope they will excel in other departme its too. I see that j-esterday Philippa FaW'Cett, who comes of good stock on both sides, the daughter of Millicent Garrett and Herny Fawcett, came out at the head of the mathematical tripos in Cambridge, and that two other ladies are amongst the wranglers. What may we not hope for the advancement of learning when we realize fully the benefit of doubling the sources of supply ? What may we not hope for the spread of intellectual enjoyment when we accomplish the fuller particii)ation of that half of the race who have hitherto found their way into those pleasant fields, at disadvantage, over fences or by stealth ? As an old advocate of the higher education of women, I rejoice in the.se results ; and I earnestly hope that our experiment in co-education, with its obvious theoreti«/al difficulties and its still more obvious practical ad\aMtages, may go forward as it has begun, unuuirred by checks or drawbacks, and justifying our confidence in the Canadian vouth. I shall not trouble you with figures in Law or Medicine. But I must be allowed to eongi-atulate the Province on the re-establish- ment of those great faculties. I do not enter into the subject of certain recent attacks on details with which I am not familiar, and for the discussion of which this is not a fitting occasion. Waiving these, I rejoice that the Legislature has recognized the great facts that these professions exist for the pul)lic, not the public for the profe.ssious ; and that it is of the highest general concerri that those who are set apart for and entrusted with the duty of caring for the bodies and the estates of the community should be fitted for their task, and sliould to that end receive all the facilities which the equii»ment of this great institution, pri- 8 inarily desif^noJ for general higher eflucation.enaMo.s it to provide in the Imiiiehos specially useful to th ; (ioctof and the lawyc^r ; so that thus, without appreciable added cost, we may help to turn out better doctors and better lawyers than could otherwise 'le produced. Our great Biological department enables us to do this for the doctors. Our new professorships in those branches of General Jurisprudon(;e and Constitutional Law which are so important to every educated citizen — too few, and most inade(piately rem'merated as they are — enable us to do this for the lawyers. And I liope for tl e continue I development of the new, which is but a revival of the old idea, under changed conditions and with improved methods. I hope, too, for a rapid advance in the important dtipart- mt'ut of Political Science, which .seems to be so favorably recer-' d. Professor Asldey has refused an ap])ointm(Mit in Australia with double his emoluments here. He asks for no increase for himself ; )>ut he does ask for some assistance, by the appointment of a Fellow, not to sherten his own hours of labor, but to enable him to use them to the best advantage of the University. The l)ankers of Toronto are recognizing the value and practical importance 'of the new department in the branch of Kcononuos, and are offering material encouragement towards its development. Here, as on every side, the eternal question of finance obstructs us ; we are crain])ed wherever we turn ; but I do trust we may find 8-500 or {JfiOO to meet Professor Ashley's request. I ol.>s(^rve with regret tVie large and increasing number of men who have wholly o partially failed in pass subjects. I fear this is a growing weakness, not confined to pass men, but extemling to honor men in their pass subjects. Excuses have been sug- gested : the old one of tiu^ sciverity of the examiners ; and new ones, to wit, the grippe and the fire. But making all due allowances, I think therj is here a weakness to be remedied. It may be partly traceable to the relief properly given some years ago in respect of the then excessive ninuber of exami- nations, which were reduced from thirteen to five. It was hoped that the coincident assignment of certain of tlie remaining exami- nations to the faculty would serve as a sufKcient stimulus to the pass-men to prodnco systematic attendance and ofticiont pre- p.'iration. I ibar it has not done so. A strong conunitteo of the Senate is now ehartJjed with the (question ; and it is probable that a solution will be reached, securing regular term work by means of exercises and catechetical tests, the results of which shall count in the examinations. I'his is the general rule in the States, and even in England. Under ditl'erent systems it is yet widely hi.'ld tliat useful university education must involve in some form exercises by the student and inquiry by th(! teacher. Here again we are met by the eternal question of finance. The growing number of our classes makes efficient arrangements impossible without furth(!r tutorial strength. We must meet the difficulty if we are to maintain our efficiency ; and this particularly in cer- tain large departments, where, with great classes, wo liave almost to bcixin at the foundation. I want to touch on one other point. Our hard-working students must beware lest the}' allow tlu; growing and inevitable tendency towards specialisation to lead to exclusive concejitration on their specialt}', to the detriment of that general training which is of the greatest practical advantage in life, and of that general learn- ing which makes all the more valuable their special attainments. I cannot impress too strongly on the minds of students whose bent may be towards matheujatics, or metaphysics, or natural sciences, the importance of giving a considerable part of their time to languages, and at any rate to that sometimes neglected, but always noble Englisli tongue in which it is our privilege to speak. No man should quit our halls without a competent acquaintance with our own language, without learning to appreciate, and so to love, its literature, and clearly to express in it his thouglits by tongue and pen. Especially should the art of expository compo- sition be cultivated. What you know is of but little use unless you can commvniicate, and explain, and enforce your knowledge. Therefore, even should you make loss apparent progress in 3'our specialty, your practical advance would Jt^till be greater, because you would know how to uso your knowledge. But y(ju will not make less progi'oss ; you will niake more. Cliunge of labor is rest ; and your specialty itself will gain, not lose. Beyond all utilita- rian advantages is tlie enormous gain of aeqniring, what siieh studies will surely give, a iove of English letters, a love which will grow with use, and will secure to you the cheapest and most satisfying, the highest and most enduring, of earthly pleasures and consolations. So that, whether we look to success or to enjoy- ment, wc find one course chalked out. I have at hand a letter from a fellow-graduate, an eminent specialist, who writes from his experience, both as a student here, and in later life as an employer of other specialists in his own important work. For himself, he says that while he was here ho found lie could give two hours a day to French and English, to history and biography, and 3'et go further in his specialt}- than when he copfinedUiimself to it alone. For those umler him, he; says his difficulty is that these keen and able s])ecialists have not developed the faculty of clear, expository and controversial state- ment of their views and thoughts; in a word, they are un.skilled in Engli.sh composition ; and thus, strong in their thoughts, they are weak in the presentation of them. Let me, then, press on all students, and from all points of view, the i;iastery of Engli.sh letter.s. And now I turn to that sad event which has left us hojneless, which obliges us tc meet to-day on a grassj' floor, under a canvas roof, hard by those walls, " all rootless and storm-broken,"' which were at once our shelter and our pride. In a few short hours the stately pile we loved so much, round which so many plea.sant memories clung, the principal home and seat of learning in this Dominion, the chief glory of this city, was left the ruin we deplore. The authorities of the University were called to deal on the in- stant with questions of the greatest moment. Early the next morning the able .and devoted President, the most active figure dui-- ing the conflagi-ation, had assembled the Faculty, and, b}^ the kindly co-operation of kindred institutions, was enabled to arrange for the uninterrupted prosecution of the work of the University. And hero I must be your organ in cxpro.-v^ing our warm and cordial tliaiiks for ihc, outl)roak of s5Mn[)athy, tin; off'ors of assist- ance, and tho liberal acts of sinter in'-titutions, of educational, literary, and |X)litical ori,'Hnisatlons, inchnling the nei;,'bbouring Province of Quebec, and of friends of Canada and lovers of letters in the old world and the adjoinini^; Uin'on. We have been pleasantlj' reminded that the rep'ddic of letters recof^nises no narrow or pofitical lines of demarcation ; but that she, at nny rate, aspires in her domain to realise " the brotherhood of man, the federation of the world." It became the duty of the Trustees, of the Senate, and of Convocation at once toijrai)ple witli the serious pi-oblems involved in the repair of our losses, and to strive to prevent any permanent damage to our work. It was the general voice that the exterior features of the old pile shouM be substantially reproduced. To the best use and necessary remodelling of the interior much time and thought have been devoted. The aim has been to secure, having regaixl to modei*n views and methods and to the lessons of our own experience, the accommodation needed for (nir existing numbers, with reasonable space for proximate devel- opment. A general plan has been devised, so renjodeiling the interior as to give us an increased number of lecture rooms of various suitable sizes, with professorial rooms and needed apart- nients for tl\e students of each sex, and the officials of the University. This plan devotes the old Library and Museum to the purposes of examination halls and occasional lectures, and the space of the old Coiivocation Hail to general educational objects such as I have described. Special care is being given to questions of heating, lighting, and ventilation, '^ll defective in the old build- ing, and difficult to perfect within its lines, but susceptible of great improvement. You will miss the rich ornamentation and elaborate carving of the interior. Economy demands this sacrifice in order that we may bring the cost of reconstruction within the estimate of §250,000, which is provided for by the insurance of -I » ;-5f)(),000, and the lerjislativa grant of SlGO.OOO, freely given within a few (lays of the event, on tlie assurance that the authorities would look to private and nuinicipal liberality for the large rc(|uirement.s beyond. In estimating those requireintrnts we desire to regard economy on the one hand, and the ne(v.ls of tlie University on the other. What are the remaining requirements ? They are four in number. First the books. Our loss has been calculated, I believe, at $1 50,000, of which :?.")0,000 is covered by insurance. The exertions of a comniittee of the Senate, and a connaittce of ("Convocation, of which Mr. Walter Barwiek is the ind.'fatigable secretary, aided by local comiriittces of our Graduates, have resulted insubstantial progress towards meeting the deficienc}' of S100,000. The Cana- dian list has reached .'?43,000, payable in instalments, and, of course, subject to shrinkage. It is very largely the offering of our gradu- ates, aided liberally by friends. Various societies and distinguishod friends of learning and of Caijada, on this aiid the other side of the Atlantic, have come forward. A most inliuential committee has licen formed in London on. the initiation of Mr. Staveley Hill, and under the ehaii'snanship of Lord Lome. Several foreign Governments and the great Universities have liberally responded to our appeal. We have b< en given the advantage of free trans- port l)y sea and land, and are relieved from that most odious tax on knowledge, tlie book tax. Considerable contributions of books have been made by our graduates out of their scanty stores, cOs well as by others at home and abroad. It is impossible as yet eVen to cr- ''»cture the results already realized. The best guess I can mal ' !.o value all, including the subscription list, at S70,000. Thus there would remain §30,000 to be still provided in l>ooks or money in order to make good our lo.ss in books. I ho]»e this sum may be provided without delay ; it would be matter for deep regret if we were obliged to recognize a permanent loss in the matter of our books. Oar next want is a home for these books ; and on this, as well as other points on which I am alwut to touch, you willnn.lorstand that, no formal decisions having been taken, I spealc t'ov myself alone as to phms, opinions and advice, and that my estimates are only api)roximate. You will have already learned that the home is to be found elsewhere tlian in the old structure. We must then erect an isolated Library, which I should like to see on th(i cast side of tliis lawn, near the ravine. This building, I hope, will be the heart, or rather uhe shrine in which shall be encased the heart, of tlie University. We have learned that the laboratory, the experi- ment, the work in the tield, original and practical investig.'ition by the student, are the keys that unlock the stores of knowledge in the departments of physics and the natural scitsnces. But we are only be'dnninn- to recoiinize to the full extent the fact that the main function of the professor, at any rate for the lovers of learning, in the belles-lettres and kindred departments, is, after all, very like that of the professor in those other branches. The library is his iaborator3', and books are his too!s and machines, and, in a sense, the sul»ject of his experiments. His highest duty is to teach the student the use of books, to quicken the student's spirit, to point out his path, to remove his difhculties, to cultivate his love and his eaj^a- city for indei)endent investigation. But I am trespassing (ni grcjunds on wliiel\ it is, perhaps, tlangerous for me to sti'ay. Enough to say that I believe vre shall soon find nmcli more professorial work of this kind, and that there is even .now a general ]'ecognition of the library as a laboratory. Th(^n it should be so planned as t(j make its use genend, easy and convenient ; it should be the central force, the hearthstone, the focal point, the " common room " for the intellectual repasts of the dlite of the undergraduates. 1).> its arrangement we .should study the modern developments of the great, and even of the secondary universities of the Republic, and the systems they have in' oduced with such great advantage, in part original, but mainly borrowed from the German Seminar and the cours praiiqihes of France and Belgium. Under this plan the bulk of the books are concentrated on the stack system, in a fire proof room, of moderate size, but yet holding many thousands of 9 v^olumcs, easily accessible and thoroughly oatalognc