IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^' 4l:« ^ ^ 1.0 1.1 IttlM 125 ■ii l&i 12.2 » DA IB US. ■lUU llill^U4 PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporalion ^^ L"*?''^ %> ;\ \ ^. 23 WBT MAIN STRUT WnSTIR,N.Y. 14SM (716)172-4503 ;\ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CiHI\/l/ICI\/IH Collection de mi Canadian Institut* for Historical IMicroraproductions / institut Canadian da microraproductions hiatoriquas Tachnical and Biblicgraphic Not«a/NotM taohniquM at bibliographiquea Tha Inatituta haa anamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faatiirac of thia copy whielt may ba bibliographieaily unlqua, whicli may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may aignificantly ehanga tha uaual tnathod of filming, ara chaekad balow. □ Colourad eovara/ Couvartura da eoulaur n~| Covara damagad/ D D D D D CoMvartura andommagia Covara raatorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura raataurAa at/ou pailiculAa □ Covar titia miaaing/ La titra da couvartura manqua Colourad mapa/ Cartas gAographiquaa an eoulaur □ Colourad inli (i.a. othar than blua or blaelt)/ Encra da eoulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) r~1 Colourad platas and/or illuatrationa/ D Ptanchaa at/ou illuatrationa un eoulaur Bound with othar matarial/ RaliA avae d'autras documents Tight binding may eauaa shadows or distortion along intarior margin/ Laraliura sarrte paut eauaar da l'omb»* ou da la diaiorsion la long da la marga intiriaura Bianit laavaa addad during rastoration may appear within tha text. Whanavar possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II aa paut qua eertai'iee pagaa blanches aJoutAes lors d'une rastauration apparalssant dnns la taxte. mais, lorsq^^a cela Atait poaaibia, caa pagaa n'ont pea *t« film^as. Additional comments:/ Commentairas supplAmantairas: ti L'Inatitut a microfilm* la meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a At* possible de so procurer. Les dAtails da cat exemplaire qui sent peut-*tre uniquee du point de vue bibliographiqua, qui peuvent modifier una image raproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger una modification dans la mithoda normaia de filmaga sont indiquis ci-daaaoua. r~1 Colourad p► (meening "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol ▼ (meening "END"), whichever appilee. Lee imegea suivantee ont 4t4 reproduites avac la plus grand soln, compte tenu do ki condition et do ki nettet* de I'exempkiira film*, et en conformity evec les conditions du contret de filmsge. Lac axempkiires origlnaux dont ki couvertura en pepler eat imprimte sent flimte en commen9ant par la pramler plot >t en terminent salt per le demMra page qui comporte une empreinte d'impreeeion ou dlilustratlon. solt per le second plat, salon le ces. Tous lee eutres exemplalras origineux sent flimis en commen^ant par ki premlAra pege qui comporte una empreinte dimpreesion ou d'illustretlon et en terminent per le dernMra pege qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symbdes sulvants apparaftra sur la damlAra imege de elieque microfiche, selon le ces: le symbols -^> signlfle "A 8UIVRE". le symbols ▼ signlfle "FIN". Maps, plates, cherts, etc.. mey be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too lerge to be entirelf Included in one exposura era filmed beginning in the upper left hend comer, left to right end top to i>ottom. as many frames es required. The following diegrams illustrate the method: l.es cartas, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent ttre filmAs A des taux de rMuction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grend pour itra reprodult en un seul cllch*, 11 est film* A pertir de I'sngia supArieur geuche, de geuche A droite, et de heut en bes. en prenent le nombra d'imeges nAcssselre. i.es diegremmes suivants lilustrent le mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 i ' \ -^53 AN ADDRESS PROTESTANT INHABITiUiTS OF CANADA DANGEBOnS CHARACTEB THE EDUCATION ACT OF 1846. PBMT or XDVCA^OV WW TBB miKiiirrBM- C K., TO BB »0B M1 TT B D TO LATVBB mmnw tbe SBsnoH or 18^ ' // Awake! MONTREAL: FEINTED BY J. C. BECKET, Sll| ST. PAUL STREET. 88.1H''Hlf> /!'/. I »"t i*» f t| ^^.... ;.,, S12T^^A5IAHt> ^ If. ai*- i 1^ \ I ^ /r'*;^!!":' '■ nooi £ .••'. , . ....'^.. .^?»-' "if*** w,, /.'..-..f bn'i?" fji-.;i'. ■ ! RR noii^i-a \^ »rti(qJ.r)MKih h':. • TftfI'VB ■ 'Ut> PBOTESTAND INIABITANTB f.',; and with enlarged benefit to his country. ^^; The national beneflta aecrutng to the ancients, hovr- "iever, according to their views, trnm their nystenit of education, the efforts for accomftlishing them which thcfy mad«, and the fadllty with whidh they etirrtetl them into effect, ought to stimulate the inhabitants of this free 'lind dnliehtened age and country, to expedite the solu- tion of the question now before them, and to place it on a rational, permanent, and actively useful basis, that the WoHd, wifh this Province, may, As speedily as possible, deriv4 the benefits it is so eminently calculated to con- fer.' Having the advantage of so much experience in the success and fkilure ^ other countrieii before fhem, together with the causes, which, in the one case, have i)perat^d to hinder, and in the other, to facilitate the progreto of Education, there would appear no good rea- son, were the question entertained with candour and ffdod fiiith, apart from political intrigue, and sectarian bigotry, why it should not be speedily settled. The principal hinderance to the settlement of the ques- l,tion in ifurope, is evidently the ppwer and Influence jpf a Hierarchy and Religio^8 Establisliment connected with the Stat^, The matter of Education In those oo^ntries has, been either wholly, or in great part, con- fided to the Prlesthooc), from an erroneous impression (the lurking penumbra of the occulta tion of the dark ageti) that they ». by consequence, were in possession of the largest amount of knowledge, and the requisite skill t5» convey instruction, who, confining this princiDally to doicmas, to creeds, and to metaphysical subtleti^ and 4i8quii*itions, connected vvii,h polemic divinity, or eccle- siaatical policy, and anxious mainly to ^riaintain the po- litical pre■ f •-•s. iT^ if turoi, throtigh Ihe ordinary channels of raading, writing, and ntimberf. The efforts of National Cooncils had been confined to the education of the rich and noble, while the mass of the population werQ left to procure the. pri2e, as best they could* from the casual assistance of private devot- edness, until i>yropa).hiziog with the ignorance, depravity, and wretchedness of the children of the working class, the philanthropic Raikes oathered them together to receive that, on t^e Sabbath, which their country denied them during the week. His example and success, doubtless, roused the country to perceive the bene6ts of popular educr.uon, but still its efforts were confined to a narrow circle of private benevolence, untjl Xtancaster demon- strated the facility and economy with which Iw^p num- bera of, children might receive the benefits of common £ngli;ih education ; and Dr. Bell followed in a modifica- tion of the system to the purposes of education in Indifi. In some cases, despotic governments, which, when the will of the Chief Rulei^ is guided by an enlightened mind, and a benevolent, patriotic heart, can accomplii).h National reforms in much less time, and sometimes with more e^ect, than those enjoying a greater share of liber- ty, established at once systems of National Education, from their plans and suggestions, which have conlerre cation in Ireland, nntl in England, through Corporate lunds or by private contributions. The general question has iMsen several times since mooted in the imperial Parliament, and though it has in some respects oiianged its aspect, and presented new phaset^, in its main features it remains the same, and is. i virtually, as unsettled as ever; nor can it by arty means )■ be settled on a national basis, where a State Church is continued, or allowed interference under any govern- ment deriving part oC its power from the people. 0^1, this France is an instance ; the late revolution in which may, perhaps, bo remotely traced to this very circum- stance — the interference of the Priesthood, favored by the executive, with national education. The people of the United States have had the firmnes.4,and the sagacity, to save themselves from thi^ impediment, and have been thus enabled to establish a general system of popular education by a light property assessment, increased in New York by a volunttiry additional rate, which gener- ally works well, and ensures to every individual citizen, or stranger, a good elementary education, and in many caees considerably more. Attempts have indeed been made, insidiously, to rob them of this advantage, by scmie of the State Churches, which, even therip, are struggling ^or supreniacy, and hoping through the billot ^' .A bot lo ^vail npofi tho Ave jMremiMftt of th« Umltd Stilat to Mddle themMlven with the incitbM of m Sttfe Hiererehj t but the people of tboie StitM hive etfseitj enough to perceive the design, end have wisely, and with • flrmoeaa which does them the highest honor, ra- sifted the effort to oblige them to part with that which ihey Gonaider a principal element in the education of youlh— the use or the Holy Bible, as a reading book in the schools. They have nobly declared ; ** although wc have no Stale religion, we are a Christian nation—tho Bible is the basis on which Christianity and naiional ^ morals rest ; wo will, therefore, not withhold the Bible <^^; I from our yomh, but teach them to read its precepts. *' '] While they remain a nation may they be of the sanio mind, and be guided by the same principles ! In this province we have no Stale religion, every de- jl nomination being guberna mentally on an equal fontingf ; ^ and therefore, there should be nothing to prevent an amicable, a proper, and a practical settlement of the <|uefliion, as far as it is concerned, unless that fatal cur- rent, which appeariD to undermine all the efforts of tho philanthropist for its good, be still permitted to exerciso its power, and submerge the best hopes ol' all who dwell within its boundary. IrtcWpendent, however, of these, and other political oh. stacles, there are diflicuities, which every where beset the cause of education, and render it one which present:} to every parent, as well as to every government, con- sitlerations for serious attention. It ia a fact, humiliating to our nature, that the mind ot man does not, naturally, thirst aAer knowledge for its own sake, nor is it disposed to seek for it at all, until fx- cited by a thirst for fame, or for the wraith with which itf acquisition is supposed to be in some remote way connected ; the labor requisite for its possession, ani the Belf.denial which must be practised to obts n it, are re* pugnant co our natural love of ease, and pleasure — !n %veaker minds and more animal dispositions, this ope. alPs with superior force, and ia a most powerful obstruc- tion to the efforts of the preceptor, in conveying iiiat)*uc- ". lioli to the r.:ind. But were this the only difficulty ^i' ., \ ■• / ptMemed tb' th0 efforli of th« tMeher to ralie tha •tohdard of Irn6wl(>d|0 tnd odtusatt^n tincm aucb wealt eohdMt, not only Ail to afford a aufltbient aupport to tbte lal^rioua teapher, either in their countenance, or by placing ^hciHr ehihlre^ ohder hia cam, until their deficiency is lo^ndan- Meit that it becbktiea humiliating, or they begin toftar tli^ consequences may be . injurious to their temporal interests. They then expect, notwithstanding all the diAeulties of whieh they themselves have been the authors, that (he teseher sHoukJ, in a very short apace of k?B(ie, malM' their db^ldfeit ^'tiinent, perfect, snd ac- ebtriplisheJ sCixolsrs. Others, s||^ ^ng up their children iii sul ' a loose, disorderijr w%. \^!^*^ Mscmrtom them to such loose, (D|<^ H«dient, and (went ,«# habits, and conversation, that, insteatd of r»^{>ectingtH« «is><*her, and paying d'^ference to his auth(»t ty ar^4 mttrurtions, \ ey thwart all his effxits, snd render tti(!lii n^i^tory by thisir late and irregular at«et»danee— by their disi»|?c ^'''>ety« not merely a more general desire four the edncatiior'tlf youth, but a more lively and sincere '^preheittw^'n of that course of discipline and instruction, J#hich is bistt caTeulated to produce an enlightened, talentesrf, and en- ergetic community, which 'it is clear cannot be arrived at under the dictation or guidance of bigotry, or sophism, but must be the oflspring of a patriotism which, paasing by all minor considerations, regards the human mind as of too great value in its intellectual cultivation to b^ either starved by neglect, tampered with by irregular attention, or treated as an exotic ; and perhaps it will require another century or two of time and disappoint* ment, before such a happy consummation can be arrived at. Then, we may hoptj that man will become wise by j9p|fMi9^n i^ %wop will adopt «ucii a futHoiud courae of pO^sica! ao^ mental Iraining, under wise and judicioiM iwiriotwoii »8 abafi produce a raci9 of imelligent nUida m heam^y !hodieai of wbich it xnay be said, aa it is aaid i^,,VMt^nc}^niB9xm^Q$, « they taught their youth loride, '^ jAoot vi^iib t^ bow* 9nd to speah truth. ^** so in, Jike Qtanner of tttf^ip^ j^bey ^vtaught their youth all that was ^ppmmj to (|i»lify them for any ttalion in Mfe— to. les- neiisl jmemselvea, their teachers, and their parents^to .Jfiy» :fjimi 3ihles^ and to fear and obey God^" ^1^^ aiiipddntendent of education in thi«i section of the iv^y'm^ hes ^ered x^n the task of endeavourii^ lo ifuna|pmail9 th^e di^coiPdant elements, with a frankntss ^pich inyitoa di whose popular education has been based on the Word of God. That this is no prejudiced, or fanatical idea with the citizens of the United States, but a calm and experi- enced concern fur the welfare of their children, and generations yet unborn, may be gathered, from their published sentiments ; " The Government of this na- tion," say they, " is soon to pass into their hands, and with it a moral power, which for guod or for evil, will extend to the remotest extremity of our Union. How soon will that Government and that moral power be in the hands of our children 1 Wi)at is to be their •ducation 1 What their knowledge of their civil rights and duties? What their sense of moral obligation 1 What their standard of political morality 1 What their \ 15 slrength of principle to resist the tendeoey of freedom to liMntioiisBessI had what the motives that shall give direction to their mighty energies in the mysteri- ous future oi our country I are questions of great and fearful interest. To tlie present actiyO) responsible generation, is committed the decision of these ques- tions. The fiitnre is, under Dirine Providence, in our hands. It is to be what we shall make it, and we shall make it what we make the present rising race, by the power of education. The character of the risen race is fixed, and little can be done to change it. This is truo cseryinlerti, and it is most fearful truth ;•— our hope is in the next generation. To the children — to the children, tlien, should all eyes be turned ; — on ihem shcHihi the energies of benevolence be con- centrated, and for them should prayer be continually made." \ There are circumstances in the American system, however, which are equally unfiivourable wherever the same causes operate, and which, whenever the assessments upon the inhabitants of Montreal and Quebec shall be enforced, will lead them to wish they had never consented to such a measure. The change of oircumstancwt in the commercial community in the United States, since the bank fiulures of 1836, has led many owners of prt^rty there to the following reason- ing, ** I am assessed for the support of the Public Dis- trict Schools, why should I not avail myself of the convenience to have my children educated in them ? It is true they caimot obtain so good, or complete an education as at the select schools, academies, or col- leges, but I cannot affiird the expence of both, and must bend to circumstances." An effi>rt has been made to raise die character of the schools, to satisfy such citixens, wliieh has been generally successfiil, but what has been the consequence ? — a moral injury has been inflided, wldch the diflference in cost can never repair-— the ohildren of parents who have paid sedulous attention to their moral and polite training, have been brought into constant contact with those M 11 • !' whose training has been in a great measure, if not totally, neglected, by rude, ignorant, and depraved citi- zens, and thua have acquired habits of immoraUty, and licentiousness, which have resulted either in the overthrow and subjugation of the teacher's authority, where that could be efibcted, or in their future resis- tance to parental control, commercial restriction, and even to the just and necessary authority of law. From ' this source of licentiousness, we need not be surprised at the instances of it, which every day's history pre* sents, and which is alike painful and alarming to the quiet citizen, and the patriotic philanthropist. But this is a fiivourite part of the Superintendent's scheme, who conceives, thereby, the idea of amalga- mating the races in this Province. To a certain ex. tent, and under so.tie modiOcations, this is indeed de* sirable, but what reflecting citizen, who wishes his children to become respectable in society by their ac- quisition of knowledge, and by their moral and intel- lectual training, would feel at liberty to allow them to mingle indiscriminately with those of the community at large, a prey alike to the influence of evil example, and the subtleties and sophisms of the dark ages, or, in addition to the employment of those instructors whose services are congenial to his wishes, and which he finds himself straitened to remunerate, to be obliged to contribute towards the education of others, from which he can derive but an incidental advantage. The Superintendent, it is true, proposes a relief in the discretionary power given to the Commissioners, but this is only an ** rg^ran^ntum ad captandum" for every one can see how this power would leave room for continued and increasing abuse, as will be shown in these pages. The Superintendent also, in his 6th exposition of the defects of the present law, proposes to obtain power to compel the corporations of towns to pay the sum required by law, to the Secretary or Treasurer of the School Commisisioners, which would have the immediate effect I record, as exhibited in the United States District Schools, but without the ame. / . 17 liorating circumstances there experienced, and particu- larly in Montreal and Quebec. Requesting a further patient hearing, I remain, FeUow-Citizens, Faithfully yours, Thb School-Mabtbb Abroad. / b2 :i ! ' 7 LETTER III. ( . /*i-^^zZ. FELLow-CiTiZEN{r,r— ft would occupy too much of your time and mine, to wade through all the verbose and lengthy Report of the Superintendent ; I shall there- fore simply conduct you through the Sections of the Act, and his proposed amendments of it, which are to en- gage the attention, occupy the discussion, and call for the decision of the Provincial Legislature, at its ap- proaching Session ; when your doom to endure all the evils which then may be inflicted will be sealed, unless you wake up to consider its provisions, detect its treach- ery, and resist its tyranny ; earnestly requesting you, however, to peruse the whole of the Act and Report fur yourselves. The School Act of 1846 commences by a blow at your independence, in the establishment of Common Schools under Commissioners in the cities of Montreal and Que- bec, through its authority ; when already sufficient pro- vision is made by endowed and independent schools for the education of its inhabitants ; and the Superintendent, finding they cannot be legally compelled to submit to this capitation tax, proposes iu his amendments to obtain power to effect it. The second clause compels you, whenever this shall be accomplished, to submit to be governed by the muni- cipal authorities in all matters connected with the Educa- tion of your children; and you are already aware, from the unsatisfactory character of their proceedings in other Municipal affairs, what you have to expect. The third clause, and the amendment itself, is inno- cent enough, for if the people will not look after their cwn affairs, it is but just they should be punished, after the example of the frogs and King Log. The fourth clause lacks a compulsory clause, requiring a sufficient advertisement of the meetings which is to commit them to the t?nder mercies of the School Com- missioners, and ought to be so constructed as perempto- rily to require that advertisement being posted 14 days. / Id / «t least, on tver^ Public House, Inn, Post-OfBce, cr place of Public Religious Worship, or of Business, in the Municipality ; else, tm has already been the case, a coterie of political or religious partizans get up a snug, silent public meeting, and comfortaUy vote themselves into the power of tyrannizing over, and fleecing the p{3ople. The eighth clause should have enacted, also, that no Minister of the Gospel, or Priest, or other ecclesiastical functionary, should, under any circumstances, be a School Commissioner. The eleventh clause ought to require the public post, ing, by the Chairman of the Commissioners, of a copy of the said return in every public place in the Munici- pahty, for 14 days before making it to the Superinten- dent of Schools. The twelfth section gives too much irresponsible power to the Superintendent of Schools, whose position is al- ready sufficiently anomalous and unconstitutional, and should have empowered the Provincial Secretary, by order from the Governor in Council. The thirteenth section is superseded by the former, but ought, imperatively, to require the Superintendent, or Provincial Secretary, to appoint, subject to the veto of the Governor in Council, as recommended, that re- commendation excluding all Ministers of Religion or Priests. The sixteenth section ought to have provided suffici- ent time for objections by the rate-payers to the Munici- pal appointments, and so have prevented any evil con- sequences which might arise from a precipitate use of powers improperiy acquired, by allowing the expiration of fourteen days instead of seven, before the functions of the Commissioners, &c., commenced. The nineteenth section ought to have fixed a max- imum, as well as a minimum, to the number of children taught in each school, to prevent too great a number being crowded into one Schoolroom, to the great injury of their health, morals, and education, and the serious injulry of the Teacher, except in the case ol a sufficiently roomy and well ventilated Schoolroom being provided ; ^'^^ i 20 U i ' 1:1' «nd the education of the children by monitora, a plan as yet in its infancy in this Province. The twentieth section is too ambiguous, and gives to Commissioners the power of political and religious chi- canery, to prevent dissentients from receiving the benefits of the Act. The third clause of the fourth section should be so amended, to prevent the grants of money, therein allow- ed, from being made, unless such Model and Common Schools are to be conducted on a system of instruc- tion and discipline, laid down by the Governor in Coun- cil, and should provide an allowance for the separate erection of Schoolhouses for girls, apart from the boys. The fifth clause evidently opens a wide field for the ope- ration of religious tyranny, bigotry and intrigue, and ought not to have been introduced at all, as the public are not taxed for religious instruction, nor are the chil- dren sent to the schools for that end, but to receive ele- / mentary instruction in Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, English and French Grammar, and Geography ; studiesj which, if properly attended to, will more tnan fill up their time at school. The sixth clause wants a proviso «>f appeal to the Superintendent of Schools, and the Provincial Secretary, in the event of dissatisfaction with the decision of the Commissioners. The seventh clause ought to authorize thb Commis- sioners to visit the Schools at all times, and require each of them to visit them once in six months, &nd to record their visit and report the same in a book to be kept by the Teacher for that purpose, a copy of which should be transmitted to the Superintendent of Schools. The eighth clause ought to contain a proviso, that the orders or instructions by the Superintendent should have the authority of the Governor in Council, as a check upon improper dictation or domination. The ninth clause should have stated the place where, as well as the time when, the proceedings of the Com- missioners may be examined ; and might have named the house or ofiice of the Chairman for that purpose. The eleventh clause ought to have prescribed what constitutes a Model School, else £20 pertnnum may / it / be drawn to patronize some favourite Sch^^ol of the Superintendent's, or some other party, which has really no title to any such claim. A Model School should hie on the Bell or Lancasterian plan, and be required to teach tho higher brHuches in both languages, having a discipline and course of education prescribed by the Governor and Council, and published by their authority. It must be quite evident, on the most cursory sur- vey of the tweldu clause, that by far too large a discre- tionary power is committed to the Commissioners, in reference to the fees to be charged ; a license is thereby given to the most unjust and tyrannical distinctions, and to the practice of every political and Municipal wrong. The fees ought to be kid at Is 3d per month as the maximum, and the lower rates to be dependent solely upon the course of instrucl'on pursued by the pupil ; fixing Ss 6d as the maximum in Model Schools, and a corresponding reduction ending with 6d per month. In reference to this clause, the amendment of the Superin- tendent is a good one, hut does not embrace all thai is necessary. The thirteenth clause requires, also, a proviso to guard against imposition in the case of indigent persons, who should be required to bring a magistrate's certificate, that they are so. The fifteenth ought to require that the managers ob- tained should not be ecclesiastic^s, and that they should be unpaid Assistants ; all others coming under the deno- mination of servants, for whose pay a return is required to the Superintendent of Education. The twenty- fourth section evidently requires a proviso, that the Commissioners of Schools shall not aljenate property, without authority from the Governor in Coun- cil ; for, as it at present stands, the Superintendent of Schools " suo autoritate,^^ may enable a School Corpo- ration to do so. The twenty-fifth section demands the condition, that any Fabrique Schools united to Common Schools, sbouldy in every respect, be the same as to their gof^ernmea^ and management, or the door is at once opeaed lo rdm ous fraud and collusion. !/ 32 |:^ The twenty-iixth leotion is the mott ambiguoutly worded, and, perhapa, the most objectionable, of all the clauses of this Act ; inasmuch aS| while it professes to accommodate persons of different religious denomina- tions, it is liable to all manner of misconstruction and abuse. No clearer proof of this can be exhibited than in the case of fhe people of Chambly, which is, indeed, only a sample of the evils it is, as at present worded, calculated to produce. Being dissatisfied with the character of the educa- tion provided for their children, or, as they understood ;'the section, "the regulations and r\rrangements made by the School Commissioners" the.e, not offering such an Education as they desired, and required, a few of them met together, and gave such notice, and perform- ed all such other acts, as entitled them, from a feir con- struction of this and the 27th section, as Dissentients, to a share of the School Fund for the Municipality ; expecting, of course, that it would be complied with. The Commissioners of the Schools, (put in in the snug manner already alluded to) being partly Roman Ca- tholics, and partly Episcopalians, had united, as the majority of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, and the next majority, Episcopalians, to establish one School District, and appoint, jointly, two schools ;~-one for Protestant children, and the other for the children of Roman Catholics. Into the one, because it is the pro- perty of the Rector, have been crowded boys and girls to the /number of upwards of 100, though it is too small to accommodate more than half that number ; and here they have been compelled-^in addition to their other learning, of which, from the number, it was fre- quently complained, they received but little-^o learn the Church Catechism ; vihile French Canadian chil- dren, sent there to learn English, have been withdrawn by the Priest, because the master would not teach them the Romish Catechism, and other books. The other, for the French Canadians, was unsuitable in every respect. The Dissentients, understanding the section as it is worded, being Protestants, and difiering, con- sequently, from the majority in fiiith, as they under- 2S ■tood that term, though it if, hy the bye, a most ambi- guoui one, and should be altered to that o^ ** religious denomination, " gare the required notice, on that ground, and on the ground of being dissatisfied with the reffulations of the Commissioners for the Education of children, having engaged suitable Teachers compe- tent to instruct in every branch of Education. The Dissentient School was well attended by Protestant children of every denomination, because no Cate- chism was taught in it, and the Bible without note alone read, and even by some French and English Canadians, anxious to obtain a superior English Education, whose parents expressed an unqualified approval of the Teachers and the management of the School. Judge, then, of the astonishment of these Dissentients, after they had complied with every requisition of the Act, and had gone to considerable extra expense, in order to obtain the best Education for their children, and others in the Municipality ; when they applied for the portion of the School Fund to which they were justly entitled, to be informed, after a good deal of unneces- sary delay, that as a particular denomination of Dissen- tients, they had no right to claim for children of other denominations ; and that having thrown out all such, there did not remain the number of children for whom the Act empowered them to make any claim. Now, in order to show the arrogance and injustice of this arbitrary construction of the clause, it must be observed, in the first place, that the Dissentients claimed on the ground of difference in faith, from the majority, who had established the District Schools, be- ing Roman Catholics ; and secondly, that the Com- missioners took upon them not only to declare that parents, who were Episcopalians, were not Dissen- tients, and, consequently, agreeable to the Act, were not Protestants ; but that many of the parents were Episcopalians by surmise merely, who only casually attended the church service, and, consequently, that they claimed their children as not belonging to the Dissentients. In the third place, it will be seen what lit- tle chance Dissentients have, under such ambiguously 94 !i !,:: fill'- worded clauses, and Jesuitical working of Acts profess-^ ing to benefit the people, when the faiths, or churches, or, denominations, or whatever else you please to call them, who have the presumption or impiety to claim every drunkard, or swearer,ior impious person, no mat- ter what his moral character, with all his posterity, good, bad, and indifferent, as members of the church of Christ; and on that specious ground, endow them with all State and Municipal privileges, are enabled to exclude those denominations, who, more consistently, and Scripturally, claim only those who are really com- municants, of acceptable moral character. On appeal to the Superintendent, it was evident he took the same view as the Commissioners, if he was not the director of their movements, for he justified all their proceed- ings, and with a warmth which made- him almost ap- pear as a partizan ; he argued that the term Protes- tant was too vague a term — ^that there were all sorts of Protestants — Mormon Protestants and Millerite Pro- testants, 4&C. &;c., so that the Dissentients should have expressed exactly what denomination of Protestants they were, «,nd could only claim for the children of that class, and of those persons in that class who signed the notice and made the declaration ; forgetting that the same objection would apply to Roman Catholics, who are also divided into Ronge Catholics, Czerski Catholics, Guistiniani Catholics, Galilean Catholics, " et multis aliis^^^ as equally opposed to one another as any body of Protestants in existence. When re- minded that the Dissentients had fully complied with the wording of the Act, and that it was so ambiguously worded that it might be stretched like caoutchouc, he insisted that was his construction, and that of the Com- missioners. The Comm'/sioners, therefore, afterwards proceeded, by law, to enforce their demands upon the Dissentients for the Capitation Tax upon their children, which amounted to a con'siderable sum, as the families were large, and had been assessed at the full rates. They, conceiving themselves most unjustly oppressed, under the authority of this Act, appealed to the Court in Montreal, but, understanding the Superintendent to itH promise that he would reconsider the claim, if a fresh return were made, it v as withdrawn, and the new re- turns were accordingly made. Having, however, given up all hope of redress, and conceiving there was no remedy, if the sections of the Act might be so con- strued, but such as the united efforts of the Protestant inhabitants of the Province could effect by an amend- ment of the Act, they had ceased to comply with its requisitions, seeing in it nothing but a splendid public deception ; so that when they had made the return afresh, the Superintendent turned round upon them and stated, that the Act could not have a retro-active effect, and that as the Commissioners had now spent all the School Funds in their hands, and the Dissentients had since neglected to make the returns in proper time, there was now no remedy — ^though he admitted an al- lowance should have been made for their children. A further and more aggravated circumstance, connect- ed with this case, occurred, which equally shows how this jesuitically worded Act may be misconstrued, in almost any way. The Dissentients had in their School, or Academy, several children of parents in Montreal and other places, for whom they made a return and claim, on what they deemed a fair construction of the clauses of the 29th section, which the Superintendent threw out because he construes the clause to apply to Schools in the same Municipality only. Here, then, are a number of intelligent Protestant inhabitants of a country Municipality, anxious to give their children the best education they can procure, and equally anxious to extend its benefits to others, at some extra expense to themselves, excluded by the arbitrary misconstruction of several ambiguously worded sections of this Act to promote the cause of education, wronged and oppressed by those whom the Act empowers to promote its apparently beneficial objects, and obliged to give up the employment of their own teachers, and submit to the imperfect provision of the School Commissioners. It has been well remark- ed, that **the welfare of a people is less promoted by good laws, than by the justice, disinterestedness, and Hi ' m 6delity of those who execute them." The Superin- tendent, in page 83 of his Report, recommends an important alteration in the powers of dissentient trus- tees, which, however, he appears to have already neutralized, by the amendment he proposes in page 80, which is to authorise him to refuse to receive a report from School Commissioners, who have not been approved by three visitors, which visitors are by Sec. 33, first, clergymen or priests, who are not likely to report faVourably of schools they have no religious communion with. It is clear then, that before this Act can be made safe or satisfactory to Protestants, the 26th sec. should be freed from all ambiguity, and more clearly define the duties and privileges of dissen- tients, there being no safety for them as it, with the 27th and 29th, stand at present* The 30th section ought to be made imperative, ex- cept that all Girls' Schools, established by religious communities, should be considered as dissentient Schools, and subject to the same regulations, visita- tions, and control; else, the Protestant inhabitants are called upon to support Schools of a very question- able description, in which anything but an intelligent education, suited to the common afiairs of life, is communicated. The 31st section makes evidently too uncertain an allowance to the Secretary-Treasurer, and one liable to great abuse. It might very beneficially be altered to a certain amount, dependent upon the number of children, and the expences to be under the control of the Commissioners, only such as are allowed by them being to be paid out of the School fund. The 32d section should prescribe the visits quarter- ly, and make them compulsory, under a penalty. The 33d section is a most important one, because it proposes such an oversight of the Schools as shall satisfy the public that they are so conducted, as to answer the purposes for which they are assessed ; — and, first, in order to remove all suspicion and appre- hension from the minds of the people, should absolutely exclude all priests and ministers of religion, the schoob I» ■■ not being established for the purposes of religion, but of social and commercial education. It proceeds upon the supposition of their being by consequence the most eligible, which is, de JactOf not the case ; many of them being, neither by education nor position, at all suitable. It ought to exclude the first clause, and so to enact it as in the second clause. Second clause as is enacted by the third. Third as by the fourth. Fifthly, it should appoint Notaries Public and Advo- cates. Sixthly as fifthly, with r,n addition of all the other members of the Municipal Council. Seventh, in addition to the Militia Officers, every inhabitant assessed to a certain amount, say j£5, for education. The powers conferred upon the Superintendent of Schools are so extensive, and of such an irresponsible character, that it is evident they ought not to be ad- ministered by a single individual. Here we have a Roman Catholic Superintendent, in the Lower Pro- vince, superintending and administering funds to Pro- testant Schools ; and in the Upper Province, a Pro- testant Superintendent, superintending and adminis- tering funds to Roman Catholic Schools, at salaries twofold greater than those paid in the United States to those whose labours are more extensive and continued, and with privileges much more responsible and cir- cumscribed ; this section ought therefore to be amend- ed, to appoint a Protestant and Roman Catholic Su- perintendent for the Lower Province, and a Roman Catholic and Protestant for the Upper, at half the salaries, having only one clerk each, and being re- quired in turns to travel round and pay monthly visits to the Schools, as general visitors. As it is at pre- sent, the Superintendent has only a boy as clerk, without a secretary, so that his salary is actually £675 per annum, justifying fully the clamorous opposition he makes against the appointment of any other officer but himself. The 84th section, therefore, should be f^i-i^m 28 I i Lh'. amended to appoint two Superintendents for each sec- tion of the Province. The third clause of the thirty .fifth section should confine the printing ot advice and recommendations by the Superintendents, to the School Commissioners and others, to such merely as are sanctioned by the Governor in Council, or by his order and authority, else the education fund is burdened with the expense of printing any wordy documeJit, of doubtful authority. The sixih clause should require the reports of visitors of the diflferent Schools to be presented in addition, that an effectual check may be kept upon the Superin- tendent and Commissioners. The thirty.sixth and thirty-seventh sections should be amended to grant no further privilege in demands upon property than are accorded to ether creditors, as some propositions in reference to it, from the Superin- tendent, assume a very arbitrary, feudal, and barbarous character. The proposed amendment of the thirty-seventh sec- tion) in page 80 of the Report, is so glaring an effort to supply and circulate religious books, at the expense of the liublic, that it should meet with the most power- ful resistance, and it should be lefl to the School Com- missioners of the Municipalities to procure Libraries out of their surplus funds, consisting solely of scientific and artistical works, or histories and travels. Promis- ing to conclude in my next, I remain, Fellow-Citizens, Faithfully yours. The School-Mastbr Abroad. S9 8 i 8 8 d 8 8 l- 18 e r- I- 18 C i- LETTER IV. FELLOTir-CmxBNB, — ^The amendment to the Act proposed in page 80, of the Superintendent's Report, will evidently give the Commissioners too much power in reference to interference with the Municipal valua- tion roll, by enabling them, in fact, to fix whatever valuation they please upon property, besides inciden- tally bringing them into constant, and probably vexa- tious conflict ¥rith the Municipal Corporations. It is matter of surprise, that the inhabitants of Mon- treal and Quebec should ever havd allowed the fortiet section to pass the Legislature without the most strenu- ous resistance, but still more, that they should have ofiered none whatever, and can only be accounted for by that stran^^ infetuation which sometimes makes men's thoughts to **lose the name of action" under the impresnon that ** every one's business is no one's," inasmuch as it imposes upon them also a capitation tax, which, where families of children are large, would amount to £4 or £5 per eight months in the year, equal to the chaige by independent teachers in the city fer the complete education of one child for one complete year; a tax, which, in addition to the present expense of education, would be wholly insupportable by many femilies, and would lead to all the deplorable consequences experienced in the United States, by femilies being compelled to place their children in company with the rough, rude, and licentious of every description. The power to enforce this clause would at once take away the means of support from those independent and properly qualified teachers, in whom the public have confidence, and cause them to remove from the ci^, which would leave the parents of child- ren in those cities no other alternative but to send them to the very questionably managed Municipal Schools it would establish, or to the High School, whose charges they could not aflbrd. The framers of the Act evidently expected more than they were able c2 ■ n'l 30 ItWf 1 ,/f;/ to accomplish, for it now appears &om the recommen- dation in page 82 of the Report, that they have not had powers to obtain more from the Municipal Cor- porations of Montreal and Quebec, than the property tax for education, previously levied, which is at present incorporated in their other Municipal rates, else why this application for new powers, if those already in ex- istence had been sufficient, and for a special retention of Municipal rates on public houses, tSec, for this ex- press purpose ? The independent teachers of the Pro- .vince have been called upon by one of their body, to sign a petition to the Legislature against this clause, but have not as yet responded to the cull, probably from an undue confidence in the resistance it will meet with by the Corporation of those cities. When, how- ever, it is recollected into what political hands the management of their funds have and are continually passing, there is every reason to fear they will find their confidence has been misplaced, and ^.hat they have erred in allowing private feelings to prevent them from attending to a common interest. The forty-third clause clearly shows that the fra- mors of the Act anticipated an easy victory, in the taxation of the inhabitants of Quebec and Montreal, and to save the Commissioners the trouble of contest- ing the matter with a number of men too intelligent to be deceived by the provisions of the Act, they have proposed by it to tie the Corporation neck and heels, and leave them to contend with private individuals, who might place obstacles in the way. Should the Legislature feel disposed to listen to these suggestions of the Superintendent, the only I'emedy the inhabitants of Montreal, Quebec and elsewhere, have, is to re- ' quire a clause to exempt from the capitation tax, the parents of children who exhibit to the collector, or the Commissioners, a duly authenticated certificate of their children receiving instruction from some independent male or female teacher. The forty-fourth section is too sii.gular in its con- struction to be passed over in silence, for it takes away a large fihai'e of the benefit the inhabitants of those ■ I 81 pities might have anticipated $ and, while they would be taxed for amounts sufficient to endow all the Schools in the city, they must have only a meagre share of the returns ; the injustice would be more seriously felt too in the case of the Protestants, as being the most weal- thy, they would be taxed to the full amount, while the Roman Catholics would be excused, by the powers vested in the Commissioners, from the largest share of it ; and thus, irritation, sufficiently excited already by the intrigues of Priests and Jesuits, would be fanned intOfan unquenchable flame. The forty-sixth clause might very beneficially be al- tered to order, that all surplus monies should be employed in establishing School Libraries in every village, under the sole control of ;the Commissioners. The amend- ment to the forty-ninth section should contain a proviso, that all such grants should be on the application of the the School Commissioners of any District, by petition and statement of the need for such grants, — such grant to be only by order of the Governor in Council — other- wise the Superintendent would have the power to assist parties no way connected with the cause of general Education in the Province, and the establishment of libraries for the propagation of some favourite dogma, rather than that of general information and science. You will at once perceive the necessity for the Boards of Examiners of candidates for Teachers, established by the fiftieth section, being obliged to conduct their exa- minations jointly, and not separately, in order to preserve a proper check upon the admission of incompetent Teachers. All the other clauses of this section are un- exceptionable, except the tenth, which is of too Jesuitical a character to be overlooked, Injiependent of other considerations which might be named, why, I ask, should any Priest, Minister, or female, when they seek to be- come such, any more than any other Teacher, be ex-' j empt from an examination fraught with such important- i consequences, when it is weH known how frequently' ^ <* mitred heads lay careless hands on skulls that cannot teach and will not learn," and that the most incompe- ts tent females often undertake the important duty of teachers of youth 1 The amendment proposed in page 83 of the Report, is well enough, as to the powers of the Board, if they be jointly exercised in the designation and approval of books, provided they be confined to those suitable for the purposes of Education, and not of what he designates morality and religion, with which, w Common Schools, they have property nothing to do. The fifty-fifth sec- tion has hitherto served no good purpose, as has been proved in the unfortunate Ghambly case, where, instead of ** a large beneficial and liberal construction, as would best insure the attainment of the objects of the Act,** a very narrrow, and most injurious and illiberal construc- tion has been made of its provisions, and calculated totally to prevent the attainment of its professed objects. The fifty-first section establishes a Property Qualifica* tion for Commissioners of jS250 currency per- annum, to the operation of which, the Superintendent strongly ob. jects,on the ground that in many Municipalities there are not a sufficient number of persons thus qualified, or that liave sufficient educational qualifications ; and he, there- fore, proposes to alter this section, and to admit personst as Commissioners, on the ground of their being educated. Now, howeyer plausible this objection may be, when taken in connexion with the amendment he proposes, I hesitate not to warn you, that it is fraught with the greatest danger to your civil and religious liberties, and ought to call forth from you the loudest reprobation. When it is known that, at this moment, there is taking place a large immigration of those Jesuits who have been banished from France, and driven away because of their opposi- tion to liberal Education, and their insidious effi)rt8 to undermine and subvert the liberties of the people, it is surely a time for suspicion and caution. Here they have taken refuge ; and here they are seeking a congenial field for their insidious policy and operations ; and what can be more favourable, or opportune, than the one the Superintendent proposes to open before, and present to (hem. Give but the Romish Priests, and the Jesuitic, \ \ 83 the powers of School Commissionere, under this Act| and you poison the very sources of Education, by giving it into the handt^of those whose object has ever been to darken, rather than to illunninate the human mind. In- stead, therefore, of there bewg '