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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. errata to pelure, >n d D 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 F P ( ■p^f>-' PROVINCIAL POLITICS, 1890. 4 XHB PREMIER'S ADDRESS TO HIS CONSTITUENTS, ON THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. MAY 31st, 1890. -♦ ♦ »- PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO. 1890. K;;ti-.'jt»rjcracnr-' THE PREMIER'S ADDRESS TO HIS CONSTITUENTS ON THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. l^.A.-Y- 31st. X8©0, To the Electors of the N'oHh Riding of Oxford : Gkntlemen, — I accepted gi*atefuUy ray nomination by the Reform party of North Oxford to represent for another term the banner Reform constituency of the Province. I was glad to receive this fresli evidence that the interest of the electors is as strong as ever in Reform principles, and in the Reform party, and in myself as for the time its leader in Provincial affairs. I have now had the honour of representing you for eighteen continuous years, a much longer period than any of your former members, resident or non-resident. During all these years I have had none of the usual influences to help ine which I should have had if I had been a resident of the riding. The bond between us has been our common love for the Reform cause, and our common views on public questions. Having been so long your represen- tative, and having now been elected by acclamation for another term, for which I thank you all, I take this opportunity of saying that, should I live out this term, and remain in public life, I should be glad in the Parliament which follows to welcome as member for North Oxford in the Legislative Assembly, in place of myself, one of the many resident Reformers who have been active supporters of the good cause, and have the qualifica- tions which the position requires. A selection may be difficult, there being so many to chooso from, but before the time conies public opinion may settle on some one of them whom all will rejoice to support. Though in the last years of my public life J I may represent another constituency, I shall never forget what I owe to North Oxford. You are aware that during the whole of the present conteijt I have been prevented from taking an active part at public meet- ings by reason of a cold which I caught some weeks after the close of the last session of the Legislature, and which has left me with a hoarseness that for the time makes public speaking impossible fpr me, though otherwise my health has never been better. Though you have no election work in North Oxford, yet some of you are assisting elsewhere, and all of you are interested in the principal questions discussed. I wish to state to the elec- tors of the Province in some form some of the things which I should have said at public meetings if I had been able ; and T know no titter way of doing this now than in this letter of thanks to my own esteemed constituents, THE REFOBM RECOKD. ' I have the satisfaction of knowing that after eighteen years of office, the Reform Government has tlio increased confidence of the great body of Reformers througliout the Province, and has to a large extent the approval of Conservatives also, many <^f whom have heretofore voted for the Reform candidates for the Provin- cial Legislature, though they vote the Conservative ticket at the Dominion elections. It is gratifying thus to know that the great body of our friends are satisfied, or more than satisfied, with our record of useful legislation, of prudent, economical, effective anonents have always either taken actively the side of the Dominion, oi- endeavored otherwise to justify to the people of Ontario the course of the Dominion. Sir John cannot go for a Protestant cry in Dominion elections, but he is vriliing that a Piotestant cry should be used at these Provincial elections as the only cliance of his Lieutenant getting into power in the Province. The great body of Reformers see all this, and they are not de- ceived by the pretence that Mr. Meredith is politicall}'' any better than Sir Jolm. . "-'" • ' ' THE government's DEFENX'E Of OiNTARIO. Then there are other considerations to which the great body of the people are alive. Thev know that the Ontario Government has had matters to deal with which were of the greatest import- ance to the Province, and in which the Dominion Government was opposed to the Province ; that we have in every instance successfully maintained the rights of the Province ; that other im- 8 portant questions are now pending between the Dominion and the Province ; and that new queations of importance must bo ex- pected to arise from time to time hereafter. Thus, it was the nottled policy of the Dominion Government that Ontario should not bo per)nittod to have the recently dis- puted territory ; that wo should he compelled to give it up to the Dominion law or no law ; and measures were taken to accom- flish that ohject throu<,'h Manitoba. The party newspapers of the 'rovince in the interest of Mr. Meredith and Sir John Mac- donald denoimced us as virtually guilty of almost all the crimes in the calendar for holding on to the possession of the ter- ritory which the Province claimed. So, it was the policy of tlic Dominion Govornmepit to claim that, though every other Province was recognised as owner of the Ciown lands, similarly .situated as regards title to the lands in the disputed territory, yet Ontario should not be allowed to own one acre of .such lands, or one stick of tlie timber, or onr. pound of the minerals, even if the territory should bo held to be within its boundaries. The territory embraced lialf the Province) i.^^ rich in minerals, contains extensive forests of valuable timber, and in- cludes much land suitable for agricultural purposes. I liave no doubt it is capable when developed of .s.ipporting, and is destined to contain, a population of millions; this may not be its popu- lation in niy time; we are prei)aring for generations that are to follow us If tlie Ontario Government had been in the hands of the same party as the Dominion, this iuiuiense territory, with its timber and minerals and lands, would in all probability have been lost to our Province. So with mo.st of the Provincial Legislative rights which we have successfully maintained against the policy of the Dominion. The role of Mr. Meredith, in reference to (juestions of legisla- tive jurisdiction, is to make light of them. As )ie makes light of them now, he would not, if in power, deem them important eno'igh to be maintained against the Dominion. But our people do not think light of them, or deem them not worth notice ; they prefer to be ruled, as far as practicable, by themsolves through their own representatives ; they are loyal to the Dominion with- in its sphere ; they do not desire that sphere to be enlarged by encroachments on Provincial Legislative authority. Let no one suppose tnat other impoitant questions will not be constantly arising. At this moment we are endeavoring to settle accounts with the Dominion, and the policy of the Dominion Government is to insist, for the relief of the Dominion, on certain unjust claims which in the interest of Ontario we dispute, and which involve many hundred thousa,nds of dollars. For the Pro- 9 )n. nt I be ind I'O- vinco to have a Provincial Governiuent in close party alliance wit'u the present Govt'rntnent at Ottawa, is for the Province to /];ive up every ri^ht or claim which may V)e in opposition to any policy adopted, for party purposes or otherwise, by the Doiuiuiou ^Government. In view of such facts and considerations as these, the ^'reat body of Reformers and of our other sui)porter8 perceive the im- portance to Ontario that its Government should not be in party adianoe with any Dominion Govoinment which in the supposed interest of the Dominion has an anti-Provincial policy, or as re- gards certain matters an anti-Ontario policy. PROVINCtAL LEGISLATION. There are still other reason^ -vhich give us the continued con- fidence of the great l)ody of the Boformers of the Province. They know that darini::^ th last eighteen vears we have been active and somewhat successful legislators ; that we have availed ourselves of every Ijranch of Legislative jurisdiction which under our sys- tem a Province has, to promote the well-being in all directions of all classes of the people. Observers know that, amongst our measures of legislation, there have been Acts for enlarging the electorate from time to time, as public opinion was prepared for the enlargement ; Acts giving to the Province the ballot, first at Provincial elections, and after- wards at municipal and certain school elections; important Acts for improving or perfecting our municipal and educational .sys- tems; important Acts for the benefit of farmers, one of the most important classes of the * 'anadiaji people, and for whose special benefit wo have provided a Minister of Agriculture, that no interest aflTecting agriculture should be overlooked; important Acts for the benefit in various ways of mechanics and wage- earners — Acts respecting employers' liability, railway accidents, liens, etc.; Acts respecting the public health, which, as adminis- tered, have already saved hundreds of lives ; Acts for reforming and simplifying the administration of justice ; Acts for improving the laws of property ; and Acts for improving the laws on every other subject within Provincial jurisdiction. They know that during my Premiership we have twice had our whole Statute Law revised and consolidated under the personal supervision of members of the Government, with the assistance and approval of judges of the land and others, experts in the ad- ministration of statute law or the preparation of statutes. One I \ ' 10 revision was in 1877, and one in hSSV. On tlie occasion of each Revision, the whole .system of Provincial Statute law wau made as easy of consultation as in the nature of the case was practicable. All kiiow that we have done this with an eeononiy of which no example elsewhere has hitherto been discovered. The Dominion Government has consolidated the Dominion statutes but once dur- ing this period, viz., in 1886 ; and the work was no greater than the first of our two revisions, but it cost much more. I am not sure but it cost more than both of our revisions together. As regards MATTERS OF ADMINISTRATION, all Reformers and many others give us just credit for being hon- est in the administration of public affairs ; and they know that honesty of this kind is by no means universal in all provinces, states or countries. They know that we have employed usefully and beneficially the revenues of the Province, and that that cannot be said of all Governments or Legislatr.res. They know that we have executed with economy and due re- gard to the public interest the public works of the Province, and have observed like economy and care in all other objects of ex- penditure witli which wo have had to do ; and they know that these things cannot be said of all Governments. They know that our institutions relating to Agriculture, to the Public Health, our institutions for the insane and the blind, and the deaf mutes, have been managed with an efBcioncy which has from time to time been observed and remarked on by experts from other countries who have visited these institutions ; they know that this eiiicient management has been effected with an economy which has no known paraliel anywhere ; they know that the Ad- ministration of Justice, also belonging to our jurisdiction, ha« been carried on with a vigor and an energj'- defying attack. They know that whatever matters of administration admits of just comparison with like matters elsewhere, the comparison is never against Ontario., and is generally very greatly in its favor. They know that wherever the comparison can be made with Dominion action, the contrast in favor of our Province is very striking. An illusti'ation of this is in sales of timber limits. TIMBER POLIOIES CONTRASTED. The Opposition pretend that no sale of timber limits should take place until after that particular sale has been submitted to th} Lggislature and approved. That has never been the rule in 11 this Province or elsewhere, before our time or since, and has never been the law or practice in the Dominion. Legislation long before our time assigned to the Government of the day the duty of de- termining when Bales of timber limits should he made ; and Domin- ion legislation is to the same effect. Our sales are made as the progress of settlements and the danger of fires require, and as, in connection with these considerations, the condition of the market appears favorable to sales. It is not pretended that the On- tario Government has omitted any means of getting the best prices, or that the prices obtained were less than at the time might nave been got. The fact is that, on the contrary, the sums ob- tained at the first sale under* Reform Government, that of 1872, Mr. Blake being then Premier, were larger than any one except the then Commissioner of Crown Lands anticipated. The Hon. Mr. MacDougall, at that time a prominent member of the Opposi- tion, took the ground that the sums obtained were excessive, and that the sales would in his opinion be set aside for that reason by the courts. The subsequent sales were in my time, and were not leas successful. In order to obtain the best prices, the Govern- ment advertises intended sales in the same manner as a private proprietor wo\ild in order to make the most of his property, and the .sales ;we made to the highest bidders, whether they are poli- tical friends or political opponents. On the other hand, Dominion sales of timber limits are, as a rule, private sales, and are not ad- vertised beforehand to invite competition. What is the practical result? .; S, DOMINION SALES. Take the case of the Indian reserve called, the White Fish Re- serve. This reserve was one of the limits sold by the Province in 1872. It was not then known to be an Indian reserve, and was supposed to belong to the Province. The price obtained was $9,000, or about SlOO a square mile. The country was at that tirne wild ; there were no railways of which advantage could be taken, and the limit was in consequence difiicult of access. The Do'ninion Government afterwards discovered that the limit was an Indian reserve, and, in 1885, they resold it privately and secretly, without advertising, without communication with us, and without our knowledge. The limit had increased in value since 1872, the 0. P. R. having been constructed through the limit, the country opened up, good facilities created for getting in sup- pliea and getting out the logs and timber ; and theVv. had been no depreciation in any other respect. With all these reasons for an increased price in 1885, what did the Dominion Government accept from their friend who purchased ? Not only not an increased -Si wpsBsap 12 price, but, on the contrary, not one-tenth of what our sale of 1872 had produced, in fact not much more than one- thirtieth ; the sum of JiSSlG was accepted instead of the 80,000 which we had got 13 years before ; or ^S.50 a mile instead of our SlOO a mile. The pur- cliaser shortly afterwards sold his interest for Slo.OOO, which, or more, the poor Indians ought to have got. In a short time after- wards there was a re-sale at a still larger sum. Then again, take the case of Hunter's Island. This island was in the disputed territory, and contained a large quantity of most valuable timber. Long after the award had been made deciding the island to be v/ithin our boundaries, and while the Dominion Government was, notwithstanding, dis])uting witli u.^as to the title, that Government undertook, without any communication with us and without advertising, to sell this limit to a number of persons without exacting any bonus whatevei'. The ]Mirchasers immedi- ately |mt the limit into the market at $000,000, and would have got that sum fi-om Cliicago purchasers, but fortunately for them- selves the intending ])urchasers discovered in time that the Ontario Goverujuent claimed the island, and they therefore de- clined to pay. Take again the scandalous purchase by Mr. Kykert which has recently been ventilated. That gentleman got at private vsale without any bonus a limit for which he and his partner in the transaction almost immediately afterwards received 3200,000. These are but illustrations of the different methods pursued by on the one hand the Reform Government of Ontario, and by on the other hand Mr. Meredith's party where they have had the power. . , I have now mentioned some ■■)f. many reasons why the great body of Reformers are of Ojtiiuon that the present Ontario Government should be sustaine and those of the Church of Rome fundamental dilierences — differences recognised by both to be of the gravest moment; and it is natural that the discussion of important dif- terences in a matter so momentous as religion sliould create excitement. Taking advantage of the disturbed state of Protest- ant sentiment in consequence of the r«!cent measures of the Legis- lature of Quebec, they now pretend to tind great wrong to Protest- antism and to the Roman Catholic laity in enactments of the Ontario Parliament, passed unanimously many years ago, viz., in 1S77 and 1870. Tn connection with this pretence, they go about assertina: that the Ontario Government is under the controllinof influence of the Romish Hierarchy; that we have made a bargaiu with the Hierarcliy for the support of themselves and their people on condition of our doing their will ; and that it was through that influence that the Separate School enactments of 1877 and 1879, and the less important ones of subsequent years, were passed. Now, what ground is there for these charges ? It is not religion for any Protestant to believe them if they are not true ; on the contrary it is irrcligion ; it is not sound Protestantism ; it is the reverse of sound Pi-otestantism. Every Protestant Reformer who be'ieves these charges is believing what is not true. He is alhnv- ing himself and his Protectant principles and sensibilities to be used by his old opponents for their party purposes, to the detri- ment of the country, and of the political principles which Reformers hold dear. I understand that one reason much pressed by our opponents to make Reforniers believe in our subserviencv ^o the Church of Rome is, that tliey ex[>ect us to have a pretty solid Roman Catho- lic vote on the 5th of June. The argument is that there must le some baigain in the interest of the hierarchy, or there would not be so solid a vote of their people. I should like to believe that we are to have thei)* solid vote, for the more votes we get the better ; but as a matter of fact I hear of Conservative Roman Catholics in almost eveiy constituency who are supporting Mr. Meredith's candidates, and I am told that in some con- stituencies the number is considerable. Is it not a wonder that any Roman Catholics vote for Conservative candidates in a contest in which the chief capital of the Conservative party consists in i . 14 attacks on the Roman Catholic clergy, on the Roman Catholic Bchools, and on the Roman Catholic religion ? These attacks may naturally have led Roman Catholics to unite to a larger extent than ever before against the party which has adopted this policy; but there has been no bargain on our part for this support. So far as it comes to us, it comes from the spontaneous action of the Roman Catholic laity and clergy (so far as the clergy take an interest in it), and is the natural outcome of the hostile attacks on Roman Catholics and their institutions. If any intelligent man cannot see this, and believes, notwithstanding iny denial and the absence of all other evidence, that the only and proper explanation is an anti-Protestant bargain on our part with the hierarchy, lean only wonder at him. I am afraid that to reason with him would be in vain. AT THE ELECTIONS OF 1886 the grand proof of Roman Catholic influence was the Scrij^oure Selections, recommended (and partly prepared) by Protestant clergymen for use in Public Schools. This supposed proof is now abandoned. Until a few months ago another proof was the exercise of the public patronage, it being asserted that Roman Catholics got an undue share. This alleged proot aisi; has now been abandoned. The aggregate value of the offices which Roman Catholics hold, as compared with that of offices held l»y Protest- ants, is less than the proportion which the Roman Catholic popu- lation bears to the Protestant ; and such additional facts as there being of the forty-three sheriffs of the Province but two Roman Catholics, and of the sixty-one registrars but six Roman Catholics, made the pretence too absurd for further use. THE SEPAKATE SCHOOL AMENDMENTS. . ': . With respect to the enactments of 1877 and 1879, and the sub- sequent ones, respecting Separate Schools, the opposition are in the extraordinary position, which probably no party ever were in before, that the facts on whicli they have principally to rely for political capital took place, years before, with their own concur- < rence, and with the concurrence of all parties in the Legislature and the country, and were not objected to until years afterwards. Again, while the enactments referred to are now relied on as proofs of our " truckling to the Roman Hierarchy," yet there is not pretended to be the slightest evidence that any of these enact- ments were even suggested to us by the Roman Hierarchy or Romish clergy, in case that were important. I myself do not know th at any one of them originated in that way, and some of 15 them, I know, di'i not. But whoever suggested them, they were enactments of such a character that they passed the House unan- imously, and were not objected to at the time outside the House from any quarter, clerical or lay. I have mentioned in some of my published speeches that the Hon. George Brown, the cham- pion of Protestantism, wa.s alive when the principal enactments now attacked were introduced, and he .saw no objection to them. Rev. Dr. Ryerson, for so many years Chief Superintendent of Education, was alive also, and saw no objection. IS ot only was no objection seen at the time, but none occurred to anybody until the Opposition began to hunt for capitel to aid in the no-Popery cr}'' which they got up for the elections of 1886. Under these cir- cumstances, the great body of Protestant Reformers, and of our other Protestant supportei-s, justly regard it as the height of ab- surdity to say that such enactments manifest subserviency to the Romish Hierarchy on the part of the Ontario Government. It is alleged that the enactments of 1876 repealed the provision of law previously in force requiring a written notice on the part of a Roman Catholic ratepayer in order to the appropriation of his school tax to a Separate School. The practical importance of requiring the notice is much exaggerated, and much hypocritical indignation is expressed on account of the falsely alleged repeal. To the statement, when first made, we had the answer that, not only had we never repealed the original provision as to this notice, but that the Ontario Legislature had actually re-enactetl it three times in consolidated Statutes, two of these times being after the alleged repeal. Tlie High Court has affirmed our construction as to the continued obligation of the notice, and our Act of last ses- sion has placed the matter beyond possible doubt on the part of any intelligent man e::.ercising his own judgment. What does that Act say ? The following are the sections which bear on this subject ; — 1. The clerk of ©very intmicipality nhall forthwith after the Municipal paseiug of this Act enter ia a convouient index book, and in *^^®''|f 'J *" '*^*I' alpliabetioal order, the name of every person who has given to ^j^^ Notices him or any former clerk of the municipality notice in writing that 8ucl> pefBou ia a Roman Catholic and a supporter of a iSop- arate School in or contiguous to the municipality, as provided by the -lOth section of the. kSoi)arate i^ichools Act, or by previous Acts respecting SJoparato Schools ; the clerk shall also enter op- posite t<3 the name, and in a olumn for this purpose, the date ^ on which the notice waj received, and in a third columu oppo- site the name any notice by such person of withdrawal from supporting a Separate School, as provided by the 47th section of the said Act, or by any such other Act as aforesaid, with the TIHHEsnSBE^ 16 111 Aneessor is to give dJBtinct notice to every ratepayer whether he is OHReRBed as a Public «>r a Separate Scnool sup- porter. Assessor is to be guided by the Index in ascertaining who have given the no- tices which en title Eonian Catholics to exemption from Public School tax. Municipal Coimcils may correct taxes in cases not appealer]. date of such withdrawal ; or any diaallowance of the notice by the Court of Revision or county judge, with the date of such disallowance. The index book may be in the form sot out in the Bchediile to this Act, and shall be open to inspection by latepayers. Second. The clerk shall enter in the same book, and in the proper alphabetical place therein, all such notices hereafter from time to time received by the clerk. Third, It shall be the duty of the clerk to file and carefully preserve all such notices which have been herttoforo received or shall hereafter be received. 3. In the case of a municipality in which them are support- ers of a Roman CiUhoHc Separate School therein or contigno\i3 thereto, there shall be printed., in conspicuous charactofa or written across or on the assessor's notice to every ratepayer, provided for by the 47th section of the Assessment Act ami set forth in schedule B to the aaid Act, in addition to the proper entry heretofore required to be made in the column respecting the school tax, the following words ' ' You are assessed us a Sepa- rate School supporter," or " You are assessed as a Public School supporter," as the case may be ; or these word=< may be added to the notice of the ratepayer set forth in the said schedule. 3. Where the list required by the first nection of this Act ia prepared, the assessor ia to be guided thereby in ascertaining who have given the notices which are by law necessary in order to entitle supporters of Roman Catholic Separate Schools to exemption from the Public School tax. 4. The statement made under the second sub-section of the 48th section of the Separate Schools Act, the l2Uth section of the Public Schools Act, or the 14th sub-section of the Assess- ment Act, means, and has always meant, a statement made to the URHessor on beliaif of the ratepayer or by his authority, and not otherwise. 5". In case of ila appeariii'r to the Miuiicipnl Council of any municipality after the linal revision of the aesessment roll that through some mistake or inadvertence any ratepayers have been placed in the wrong school tax column, either as support- ers of Separate Schools or supporters of Public Sohools, it shall be competent f' r the Municipal Council after duo inquiry and notice to correct such errfirs if such Council sees fit, by direct- ing the amount of the tax of such ratepayers to be paid to the proper school board. But it shall not bo competent for the Council to reverse the decision of the Court of Revision or tho County Court judge as to any ratepayer. Second. In case of such action by a Municipal Council the ratepayer shall be liable for the same amount of school tax as if he had in the first instance been entered on the roll properly. Ofl an| lee Tl ofl in I Cr MR. MEREDITH'S BILL RESPECTING SEPARATE SCHOOL SUPPOliTERS. A pretence of undue influence of the Roman Catholic Hierorchy is contended to be made out by the rejection of the Opposition School Bills at the last session of me Legislature. I believe that the great body of Protestant Reformers and supporters 17 of the Government approve of the rejection. For the sake of any who have l)y misapprehensions or misrepresentations heen led to take a different view, let me examine what took place. The Opposition had four bills, which the House rejected ; two of of them were in charge of Mr. Meredith himself; another was in charge of Mr. French ; and the fourth was in charge of Mr. Creightou. One of Mr. Meredith's bills was entitled, An Act respecting Separate School supporters. It had this recital : Whoreaa every ratepayer ought to be by law 'prima facie a Public School supporter, and no one shoukl be rated as a Roman Catholic Separate School supporter unless he, by his own voluntary act, declares his intention to be a supporter of Separate Schools in accordance with the provisions of theliiw.' And the first clause was this : — NotunthstandiHg the provisions of any Act or law to the. contrary, no person otherwise liable for Public School rates shall bo exempt from the payment thereof, or be liable for the payment of rates in support of a .Roman Catholic Separate School, unless he shall havo given the notice provided for by sec- tion 40 of the SepaTi'.te Schools Act. These parts of the bill assumed, for party purposes and con- trary to the fact and to the finding of the High Court, that the notice originally required needed another re-enactment and otherwise was not obligatory, thai the law therefore needed amendment in order to make the notice necessary. These parts of the bill were therefore inadmissible as well as unnecessary. Another clause of the bill if adopted would have made a change, namely, the second clause, which proposed to enact as follows : — It shall be the duty of the clerk of the municipality in prppaving the col- lector's roll thereof to place in the column of PuMic School ratea tho rates of every ratepayer who shall not have given the said notice, so as, according to the pro\i8ions of the aaid section and of this Act, to entitle him to exemp- tion from Public School ratea for the year for which such collector's roll is being made up, but any error of the clork iu making up his roll shall not be conclusive on any ratepayer who shall be erroneously rated or entered therein, nor shall the assessment roll be any evidence as to whether such ratepayer is a supporter of the Public Schools or of the Roman Catholic Separate Schools. Now observe the difference between this proposal and the law as it stands under the Government Act of the same session. Mr. Meredith's bill proposed that iu order to distinguish Separate School supporters the clerk was to mark the entries on the col- lectors' roll without any previous inquiry by the assessor or any one, and without any previous notice to the ratepayer. No pro- vision was made for correcting any errors, yet the clerk's entries were not to bo conclusive, * 18 ...WL-l. ] 'I 1 !- ! i I ii ! 1 Our legislation, on the other hand, requires the assessor to ascertain in the first instance who are entitled to be entered as Separate School supporters. To enable hirn to do so, tlie clerk is to keep a book containing in alphabetical order the naraes of all who have given the notices. Where this book is kept "the assessor is to bo guided thereby in ascertaining who have given the notices which are by law necessary in order to entitle supporters of Ronuin Catholic Separate Schools to exemption f( r the Public School tax." Ho is then to give a written notice to every ratepayer as to whether ho i.s assessed as a Public School or a Separate School supporter, and the ratepayer can have any error corrected by the assessor before he completes his roll and returns it to the clerk. If, notwithstanding all these precautions, there are any errors in tlie assessor's return to the clerk, any rate- payer may appeal to the Court of Revision, as in other cases, against the classification of either himself or any other rate])ayer, before the clerk makes his entries on the collector's roll ; and the clerk has the same authority as to the entries on the collector's roll for the purpose of the school tax as he has in regard to other particulars, and no more. The Act goes further lo prevent errors, in providing, as already mentioned, that in case of its appearing to the Municipal Council of any i inicipality after the final revision of the assessment roll that through some mistake or inadvertence any ratepayers have been [)laced in the wrong school tax column, either as supporteis of Separate Schools or supporters of Public Schools, it shall bo competent for the Mi^nicipal Council after due inquiry and notice to correct such eri'ors, if such Council sees fit, and to direct the amount of the tax of such ratepayers to be paid to the proper school board ; but it shall not be competent for the Council to reverse the decision pf the Court of Revision or the Coimty Court judge as to any ratepayer. No intelligent man, Protestant or Roman Catholic, can lionestly say that this law is not immeasurably superior to the law propos- ed by Mr. Meredith's rejected bill "respecting Separate School supporters." Notwithstanding all this evidence of the notice being still necessary, the Opposition, in their desperation, continue to harp on a clause in the old Act of ] 879, which provided for an asses- sor's accepting, under certain circumstances, the fact of a man's being a Roman Catholic as prima facie evidence that he is a Se[)arate School supporter ; and, though for party purposes so much stress is now laid on the non-repeal of this clause by the Government Act, not one of the four billa brought in by the Op- position contained a clause ptrporting to repeal the procisiori. The j^'ovisions I have quoted from the Government Act of last sed abl to in^ m jm 19 session make the Opposition argument on the Act of 1879 absohitoly ridiculous in itw absurdity. Another of the four Opposition bills way a bill by Mr. French, to deprive Separate Schools of tlie privilege they have ofa|»point- ing a trustees to the High School Board. Tiiis privilege was given in 1885, and the reasons for it I explained in a former speech as follows : AMENDMENT OF 1885 — HIGH SCHOOL TRUSTEES. An amendment made in 1885 re.specting High Schools in cer- tain caaes is the next in order, and was also a.ssailed in the cam- paign of 188G, though it had passed unanimously in the previous year after some very mild remarks by Mr. Mowidith. This is another of the amendments passed in what was believed to be the interests of Protestants as well as Roman Catholics. By the amendment referred to, now constituting Section 20 of the High School Act, RS.O., c. 22(5, power was given to the trustees of Separate Schools to appoint a member of the High School Board. Why was this ? The Municipal Council being Protestants, they hardly ever appointed a Roman Catholic to the High School Board. Indeed, not one instance of it was known to the House when this provision was passed. The Minister of Education after- wards discovered that there were a few instances, not in all twenty (so far as known), out of the G24 High School trustees in the Province. To give the Roman Catholics a trustee on the High School Board where there were Separate Schools would he agreeable to them, and I perceived that the suggestion wg,s a good one from a Protestant standpoint as well. Protestants pretty generally desire to encourage mixed schools of every class. We think it a good thing for the whole population that our youth of every creed should be educated together. Any measure which, without doing harm in another direction, would lead to this end, it is, from our point of view, desirable to adopt. Roman Catholics were not, as a rule, sending their children to our High Schools. These schools being under exclusively Protestant management, they looked on them as Protestant schools, and as schools which were for Roman Catholics equally objectionable with the Public Schools, and not so necessary to be made use of thorugh they had no High Schools of their own. If our giving to the Roman Catholics the privilege of appointing a trustee to the High School Board, in localities where there are Separate Schools for the less advanced children, would tend to give them confidence in our High Schools and induce them to send their youth to them, wliy should "we not avail ourselves of this means of attracting them I ' .J :' '-I- nnsz rssRsesBean J._,.WillU 20 I ' to our High ScIiooIh ! To add to the P^igh School Board another member, a Roman ( 'iitholic, chosen by Roman Catholics them- selves, while it could do no harm, might, as wo all thought, be of Hervice in the very interest of these mixed schools, and therefore in. the common interest of Protestants and Roman Catholics. It has since been suggested that in such cases still another member should be added to the Board, to be chosen by the Pub- lic School trustees ; but Protestants are already fully represented by the appointments of the Municipal Councils which are Protes- tant, and the policy of the law is to give these appointments to the Municipal (Councils, and not to the Public School Boards. Speaking of the addition of a Roman Catholic representative of Sepatatc Schools to the High School Board, an (3pposition journal has saitl . " We do not see that any great harm can result from this arrangement." I should think not. No harm at all can result. On the contrary, good ; and good, it is to be hoped, alike to Roman Catholics and to Protestants. The wisdom of the amendment lias since been indicated by the fact that there has been a large increase in the number of Roman CathoUc pupils attending the High Schools. i-it QUALIFICATION OF TEACHEllS. Another Opposition bill, which the House rejected in tlie session of 1890, was the bill of which Mr. Ci-eightou had charge and which contained this provision : " Section 61 of the Separate School Act is hereby repealed, and the follow- iug substituted therefor : " ' The teachers of a Separate School under this act shall be subject to the same examinations, and receive their certiticntea of (qualification iu tlie same manner, as Public School teachers generally.' " That is the law now, with one exception ; the new cJause being the same verbatim with tlie first part of the enactment which the bill proposed to repeal, but omitting the second part of the existing enactment, which is this : "All the persons qualified by law as teachers, either in the Province of Ontario, or, at the time of the pasf,infi of tht British Norih America Act, in the Proiince of Quebec, shall be considered qualified teachers for the purpose of this Act." The reason for this part of the existing enactment was that the Legislature is considered to have no jurisdiction to exclude as teachers the classes of persons named in this nroviso. The ^pi^ 1 1 Upper Canada law in force at the passing of the B. N. A. Act provided that "persons qualified by law a« teachers in Upper or Lower Gana/lti shall be considereil qualified teachers for tne pur- poses of thi8 Act," viz., of the Separate School Act of 18G3 (26 Vic, chap. 5, sec. 1 3), and the B. N, A. Act limited the powers of the Provincial Legislatures with respect to education laws by this restriction; '* Nothing in any such law shall prejudioially affect any right or privilege with respect to denominational Bohool« which any class of per otts have by law in the Proviuce at th« Union." r- ■ Thus, supporters of Separate Schools had the ri^ht to employ As teachers persons qualifiod according to Quebec Taw as it then stood, and persons so qualified had a right to receive such appoint- ments if Separate Scnool trustees chose to make them. Mr. Crooks, when Minister of Education, hold, I believe, that the privilege referred to certain teaching ordei-s in the Church of Rome, and to them only. The advantage to Separate Schools of employing these teachera was, that many of the .schools are poor, and that such teachers, being unmarried, could be obtained at much lower salaries than othei-s, while some of thera were as fully qualified as those who have certificates of qualification as Public School teachers. They were excepted from the general law as to examination of teachers, on the ground that the Legislature had under the British North Aiuerica, Act no jurisdiction to exclude them. I observe that Mr. Armour, one of the Conservative Equal Rights candidate for Toronto, a legal gentleman of ability, is said to take the same view of the Act TEXT BOOKS. The Opposition had no bill with respect to the text books to be used in Separate Schools, but they moved a resolution on the subject, and the Opposition journals and Opposition speakers mitke many false statements as to the position of the Government Math respect to this resolution and to the subject of it. Profes- sional adtisers of Separate School Boards have advised them that the choice of all text books by these schools is incident to the right of having Separate Schools. That this is so as to books used to convey religious instruction is admitted on all hands, and the question of legal right is as to Other text books. Now there are no better text books than those in use in the Pub- lic Schools, and none cheaper. Indeed, nome at once, so good and so cheap can be got. There is, therefore, no reason why the trustees of Separate Schools should not, as a matter of I 1 (. N •\ i M T^ 22 choice, adopt them ; and our text books have accordingly been adopted in a lar^e nuiubor of the Separate Schools, and are ;,'radu- ally being introduced into all. If we were contemplating inimed- iato compulsory regulations on the auhject, the trustees should of coufHe have an opportunity of first having the right determined by the Courts. There being the difference of professional opin- ion on the subject, and the question not having yet l>een bolor© the Courts, the Government does not see any .suthcient reason of at present assuming a compulsory attitude ; and we hope and expect that by the voluntary adoption of the Public School books in all the Separate Schools the occasion for litigation and compulsion will be avoided. The school law has always been administered in that spirit, as well under Dr. Ryerson as since, and it is the true spirit. ■} Ml THE BALLOT FOR SEPARATE SCHOOLS. I have now explained three of the Opposition Bills and why they were rejected- The remaining Bill of the four is Mr. Mere- dith's Bill respecting the Ballot for Public and Separate Schools. A great effort is made to disturb Protestant sensibilities by re- ferring to and misrepresenting the position of the Government and their supporters with respect to this bill. What was the pro- posal submitted by the Opposition Bill ? It proposed to make the ballot compulsory on both Separate and Public Schools in every city, town, and incorporated village, and in every township in wbich there is a township board. By the present law the adoption of the ballot for Public Schools is optional, and not one-half of the school boards have adopted the ballot, the people in nfore than- half the localities preferring the open vote for school trustees. I saw no sufficient reason why the ballot should be imposed against their will on three-fifths of the Public Schools having this option. When Mr. Meredith wanted to make the ballot compulsory as regards Sepa- rate Schools, he saw the difficulty of making it compulsory in their case and leaving an option as now in the case of Public Schools. He would therefore change the system preferred by th« majority for the Public Schools, in order to force the ballot on Separate Schools. That was the proposal which the Opposition made, and which we did not see our way to accepting. The com- pulsion of the Public Schools against their will was too heavy a price to pay for the compulsion of the Separate Schools, and this we regarded as of itself a conclusive objection to Mr. Meredith's bill No alternative was submitted by the Opposition. Several other considerations intensified the objection to this interference with the Public Schools against the will of 23 ya to of their supporters. It was plain that the mass of the Roman Catholic laity of the Province were not prepared for the applica- tion of the ballot to tl eir Separate Schools, and did not want it. There ia beyond all doubt no antaj^onism, but on the cj)ntrary, the utmost respect, confidence and affection, on the part of the great body of the Roman Catholic laity of this Province towards their clergy; and it would be blindness not t<;> see that the groat mass of their people do not regard themtjelves as needing P^ote^;tant pro- tection against their priests, and look on such a suggestion on the part of Protestants as an impertinence and an insult. Some Ro- man Catholics desire the ballot ; these are comparatively few yet, are mostly confined to Toronto, and, for all I know, desire the bal- lot for the same reasons as Protestant ratepayei-s desire it in the localities m which it has been adopted for Public Schools, and not for protection against the clergy. Of those Roman C^atholics who want the ballot, none hid been asking us for it. The Sepa- rate Schools are for Roman Catholics themselves to manage, and if at present they so geneially prefer the present system of voting that none are asking us for a change, it did not seem a defensible thing for us as Protestants to be in a hurry to make the cliange. As a Government we are in favour of the ballot system. We got it adopted for legislative elections, then for muni- cipal elections, and then for Public School elections wherever the Board of Trustees of a locality chose. Mr. Meredith and other Conservative leaders were against the ballot at first, though now they a:e clamorous that it should be compulsory on Public Schools against the wishes of the majority of the ratej^ay- ers, and compulsory on Separate Schcjols though in but oiie locality have even a minority ot Roman Catholic ratepayers expressed de- sire for it. I think that time will bring about the ballot with the general consent and approval of all, for both Public and Separate Schools, as it has for Parliamentary and municipal electoins ; but the attempt to impose it on Separate Schools in connection with a Protestant agitation for repealing all Separate School legislation, and even abolishing Roman Catholic Separate Schools, may delay any movement in favor of the ballot among the Roman Catholic people or clergy. This result I should regret, and the unprincipled party tactics of our opponents are responsible for it. If any con- siderable number of Roman Catholics had asked or should ask for the ballot, and the change were admitted or decided to be within our jurisdiction (which Roman Catholic lawyers dispute), a Pro- testant Legislature would not be disposed to refuse the necessary legislation. If a case were established of the Roman Catholic ratepayers needing the ballot as a protection against undue cleri- cal interference, and the change appeared to be within our Legis- -ST ! I I ! I i 24 lativ? jurisdiction, the change would probably be made, though the 3 mniber asking for it should be smR,lL But the case dealt YfiiY last session was a proposal by the authyi-s of an anti-Roman Catnolic agitation to interfere with institutions belonging to Ro- ma i Catholics, against the will ot practically the whole body of th(; Roman Catholic people, unasked by any of those to be afl'ect- ed by the change. The objection to the proposal to make the ballot compulsory on Publ' 3 and Separate Schools, against the opinion of the ma- jjrity in the case of Public Schools, and against the almost unan- imous desire in the case of Separate Schools, was further enhanced by the small amount of possible or probable result to be antici- pated from the compulsion. As regards the Public Schools that do not want the ballot, and have not adopted it, no good i;j es^ pected or pretended from the compulsory change : the several localities which have decided not to adopt the ballot are the best judges as to whether the ballot would do good in their localities. As regards Separate Schools, there are but 239 of them in the Province ; there were contests in but seven of thdse at the last Separate School elections ; and there is not the slightest reason for assuming that as respects any of the other Separate Schools, where there was no contest, *here was any difference of opinion as to who should be the .trustees. Mr., Meredith would require a ballot, for 239 Separate Schools, while, so far as we know, there are but seven of these that need any voting at ail, open or secret, in the choice of trustees. Further, it does not appear that in more than one of these seven elections there was any antagonism between the clergy and any section of the voters, as to the trustees to be elect- ed ; so far as known, the voting in the other six was m conse- quence of the same kind of differences as leads to voting in the case of Public Schools. The case may by excitable Protestants be assumed to be otherwise; but Protestants, who would be just, can- not make any such assumption without evidence. "We cannot assume without evidence that antagonisms exist between the Roman Catholic clergy and their flocks. Again, what on the whole is the practical use which this com- pulsory measure, if adopted, might accomplish ? Really nothing more than the chance that with the ballot the Separate School ratepayers nxay in one or more of perhaps seven localities elect trustees unacceptable to the clergyman, and the chance that if they <.io these trustees would manage the school better than the trustess dosired by the clergyman. There may be a chance of all this occurring, but it is not a very probable thing, con- sidering the cordial relations which exist between the R oman Catholic clergy and the great mess of the Roman Catholic laity, 25 . and considering the dogmas of the church to which they choose to belong, witli resj)ect to educational matters. Is the chance referred to of such importance that any Protestant Reformers should overlook the merits of the Reform party and Reform Gov- erment in all other r6dpect3, because that Goverimient did not see its way clear to impose tiie ballot last session ? Is this chance of sufficient importance to justify imposing the ballot at the same time on Public Schools that do not want it ? The importance of the chance, as compared with other public matters, has been enormously exaggerated, and I cannot imagine any Protestant Reformer being deluded by it when he understands the facts. All the Roman Catholic members of the House, except one, were against the bill, though several of them, and perhaps all, are in favor of the adoption of tlie ballot by-and-bye. The one Roman Catholic member who took a different view is certainly no reprboGiiuative of Roman Catholic sentiment in the matter. It was under all these circumstances that the House rejected Mr. Meredith's ballot bill ; and the great body of the Protestant Reformers and Protestant supporters of the Government sustain the action of the Government in the matter. I hope that all, without exception, will be reasonable enough to take the same view on the 5th of June. I may mention hei-e the well-known fact that those Roman Catholics in Toronto who desire the ballot are at this moment amongst the strongest supporters of the Government, and of the Government candidates there, notwithstanding that the ballot was not imposed on Separate Schools last session. Why any Protestant Reformers should be expected to oppose a Reform Government because of the ballot not having been so imposed, when the strongest Roman Catholic friends of the ballot do not on that account oppose the Government, is a mystery to me. I should think such Reformers when they know the facts must be preciously few. ABOLITION OF SEPARATE SCHOOLS. The position which we have taken on the question of abolish- ing Separate Schools is referred to as another evidence of the undue influence with us of the Roman Hierarchy. It is strange that any one slionlu make this a ground for weakening the pres- ent Government or strengthening Mr, Mer(?dith and his associates, when that gentleman does not himself go for the abolition of Separate Schools. This is what he has said on the subject in his address to the electors of the City of London, dated Nov 25, 1886 (Mail 2Hth) :— 26 i " The maintenance'of the Separate School system of the Pro- vince is guaranteed to our Roman Catholic fellow-citizens under the Constitution," * * * * It is " the duty of the Government honestly to administer it and to make it as efficient as possible, to the end that it may properly perform the functions for which it was designed." In his speech at London, on the 16th December last, as reported in the Empwe on the 17th he said : — " We have implanted in our Constitution the decree that there shall be Separate Schools ; ancl that decree prescribes that they shall exist on a basis upon which thuy existed at the time of Coidfederation. We cannot alter that if we would." 1 believe that Mr. Meredith has spoken to the same eftect on several occasions. My own position with regard to Separate Schools is this : It is a duty to do all the practical good one can with the means at command. For a public man to take up an in practicable thing, or a thing not prac*".icable at the time, may be to deprive him of the ability to be useful for other good things which are practic- able. Now, being a Protestant, I do not pretend to be, or to have ever been, in favor of the Separate Schools, but they have been guaranteed to the Roman Catholics by the British North America Act at the instance of both Ontario and Quebec. That fact has changed essentially our position now, as compared with our posi- tion before Confederation. ^ CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES. There is no power now in either the Provincial Legislature or the Dominion Parliament to abolish these Separate Schools ; that can only be done by the Imperial Parliament. This is so clea that no one disputes it. It is said, however, that the provisions of the B, N. A. Act may be changed where objectionable ; that the Imperial Parliament has made some changes already ;.and that I was party to a proposal at Quebec in 1887 for further changes. No doubt changes in the B. N. A, Act may be made, and may pro- perly be made. No doubt the Imperial Parliament would with- out difficulty make almost any change which the pec pie of the Dominion desired and had no difference of opinion about. That was the character of the only changes which have been hitherto made. As for the changes proposed at Quebec in 1887, these were so proposed at a CONVENTION OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVEUNMENTS, were agreed to by all that were represented at the Convention, and were afterwards approved of by theiir respective Legislatures. 27 The Dominion Government had been asked to send representatives to this Convention; the two unrepresented Provinces, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island (the c»mallest in population of th« Provinces of the Dominion) were also invited ; but neither the Dominion Government nor either of these two Provinces sent representatives ; and their Parliament and Legislatures have not hitherto intimated concurrence in the chaii'own and his political associates were ; no man was more vigorous or persever- ing in his attempt to get rid of Separate Schools, and have all children taught together in the Public Schools, than he was ; but all his efforts had failed. In his o|)position to them he was largely supported in Ontario, more largely than any who are agi- tating the subject now are likely ever to be. He got no support from the Protestant population of Quebec ; and in the Constituti- onal negotiations of 1864 he felt, as the other opponents of Separate Schools did, that a new Constitution which, while leav- ing those schools in possession of the privileges which they then had, should (subject to these) place any further legislation in the hands of the Protestant majority of Ontario, would be a boon to the Province, and was (from a Protestant standpoint) the best thing practicable then, or likely to be practicable in the future. Mr. Brown, therefore, with the concurrence of his Protestant friends in the Legislature, and of the people generally in the country, accepted that compromise. At the time of the agitation under Mr, Brown, the Separate Schools were thought to be a constant menace to the Public Schools, as laws were constantly passed by the Canadian Parlia- ment over the heads of an Upper Canadian majorit}'-. The Pro- testants of Upper Canada were more than content to acquiesce in the Separate Schools as they existed if further legislation in their favour were made to depend upon the will of the Protestani population of the Provinces. By the 43rd of the resolutions afterwards passed by the dele- gates of all the Provinces tvt the Convention of Octobei-, 1864, it was provided that the Provincial Legislatures should have juris- diction to make laws with respect to education, but with this ! ■ I 29 exception : — " Saving the rights and privileges which the Protest- ant or Catholic minority in both Canadas may possess as to their denominationl schools at the time when the Union goes into opera- tion." The resolutions were afterwards approved by large majori- ties in the Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada ; and the provisions in the B. N. A. Act on the subject were designed to carry out the resolutions adopted by the delegates and approved by the Canadian Legislature, Thus, though the Separate School Act of 18G3 had not the approval of the people of Upper Canada at the time of its passing, yet it is a matter of history that the B. N. A. Act, including the limitary clauses as to denominational schools, was at the time and afterwards satisfactory to all Ontario, including the strongest Protestants of both political parties, and those of no political party. I cannot conceal from myself, therefore, that if, as lias been said, the Province is " by fetters compelled to main- tain and perpetuate a dual system of school.,, the Province itself had asked those " fetters " to be put on ; that if Ontario or Queijec has less liberty in dealing with the subject than the other Pro- vinoes have, it is because Ontario and Quebec, for reasons thought by all to be satisfactory, chose to have their liberty curtailed in this respect in order to secure the other advantages which the British North America Act afforded ; and that if the limitary clauses of the Act are an injustice to the Province, the Province itself was the author of the injustice. Personally, I should be glad if the children of Protestants and Roman C^.,tholics were educated together in all the Public Schools of the Province, as they arc in its colleges an 4 High Schools, and in most of the Public Schools ; but I am not prepared, any more than Mr. Meredith is, to join in useless etForts for the abolition of Separate Schools. It is to be remembered also, that the Protest- ant population of Catholic Quebec are as anxious to retain the Dissentient Schools, as the Roman Catholics of Protestant Ontario are to retain their Separate Schools, t^d would object as strongly to the repeal as the Roman Catholics would. The Legislature of Quebec would oppose the repeal as to either class of schools, and the Roman Catholic population of the Dominion would concur zealously in that opposition. I may observe here that there are far more Protestant Dissen- tient or Separate Schools in Roman Catholic Quebec than of Roman Catholic schools in Protestant Ontario. The number of Protestant Dissentient schools in Quebec last year was about 1,000, according to the statement of the Rev. Mr. Rexford, the Protest- ant Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction in Quebec ; while the number of Roman Catholic Separate Schools in Ontario I," ""'^'^mmmg' wm ■■■ I i ! 30 is only 239. The Protestants of Quebec liave never supposed that their schools would be safe in Quebec if the Roman Catholic Separate Schools in C>ntario were to be by Act of Parliament abolished. It is also to be remembered that to Protestant states- men in England it would give no shock to find Roman Catho- lic Separate Schools recognized in this country. A public state- ment lately made by the Hon. R. W. Scott shows that there are at this moment 910 Roman Catholic Schools in England receiving State aid, to the amount of ^800,000. Further : Many amongst ourselves think that it would not be just or right for Ontario to ask for the repeal ; that^ having by means of the compromise got a settlement of our constitutional difficulties which was satisfactory to the Province, and having been for 23 years in possession of the fruits of the compromise, and meaning to retain those fruits, it would not be just to take ^ back the price, or part of the price, by means of which those ad- vantages had been obtained ; and that, if the Protestants of Ontario, through their dislike to Separate Schools, should not see the injustice, tht< Imperial Parliament, viewing the matter from outside, would certainly regard the repeal as unjust, and would refuse to be a party to the injustice. In /iew of these considerations, a» a student of politics and pol' -icians in a somewhat long public life, I am perfectly certain that, under the undisputed and indisputable circumstances, no British ministry would propose or sanction the repeal of the pro- visions in nuestion against the will of some of the parties to the con promise, or of those now representing these parties. I regret, therefore, an agitation for the abolition of Separate Schools which, so far as abolition is concerned, will certainly be futile as long as Quebec is Catholic, and as the population of the Dominion is considerably more than one-third Catholic, and as long as the Protestants of Quebec object to the abolition of the dissentient schools of Quebec. But though it is quite certain that the Imperial Parliament would not feel at liberty to repeal the clauses of the B. N. A. Act which guarantee to the Roman Catholics of Ontario their Sep- arate Schools 'xnd the privileges which these schools possessed at the ti'" - ' - Union, the agitation may he used, and is being used, '•> r 'i/-., ,'• 'V political party, for the party purpose of get- ting ill • c T ' - 11 ihey cannot otherwise get of some Protestant Reformox i ■; I^ere who are not aware of the futility of the proposal :or aLoi.:.' a, or do not fully appreciate the situation in that respect. Intelligent Reformers when they understand the facts ■v? ill not permit themselves to be used for this purpose. Ij-i 31 POSITION OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION. Dr. Caven, like some other upright members of the Equal Rights Association, does not like to think that Separate Schools may not be abolished, but he and they see the impropriety of allowing the question to influefice votes at the present election. Dr. Caven has said : " Till public opinion declares itself with sufficient author- . " ity it were unreasonable to expect that any Govei*nment she aid " stake its existence on definite action in relation to this matter." So, in the recent address of the Equal Rights Association, it is admitted that any movement in the direction of abolition "should " bi? preceded by a deep-seated conviction that the continuance "of the system is fraught with consequences perilous to the " welfare of the country." How far does such deep-seated con- viction prevail? Mr. Meredith and those for whom he speaks have not reached that deep-seated conviction, as he has declared (i;ic?e London speech, 16th December, 1889) his readiness "to afford every facility for the purpose of improving these Separate Schools iniheiv machinery, their work'mg and in their development." It is said that the recent address of the council of the Equal Rights Association of Toronto has made some of our Protestant friends for the time cool towards a Government of which other- wise they approve, or has even for a time made them hostile to it. Now it has been stated by Mr, Charlton, and has not been dis- puted, that the meeting of the council at which the Address was adopted was called without any consultation with the President, and without his authority ; that the resolutions afterwards em- bodied in the Address were prepared without his knowledge ; that neither Dr. Caven nor Mr. Charlton, who is one of the a\ost pro- minent members of the A.9sociation, was permitted to see the resolutions until they were produced at the Council for adoption ; that they were adopted by a majority after a " desultory discus- sion and rapid consideration," and without " that degree of con- sideration necessary to a thorough comprehension of their purport and character ;" and that Mr. Charlton refused to have his name signed to them. Dr. Caven allowed his name to be signed ; but from the construction afterwards placed on the address by Oppo- sition politicians and public journals, and from the use made of his name for partisan purposes, he published a letter stating what his personal views are. The following are some extracts from this letter : — "The document issued by the Equal Rights Aseociation is not intended to be, as in my judgment it is not capable of being fairly, used against one party rather than another. I must repeat what 1 said in a letter which you were ijiiuijijpui moi jii. ■T^^W""lB"!ri! 82 good enough to publish on the 30th of April, that all attempts to make party capita! out of the Separate Suhool question are either ignorant or di lonoat, and will bo discountenanced by every fair-minded man who knows a little of Canadian history. It wore a shameless thing for cither party to make the other r^snonsible for extending the privileges of Separate Schools, and almost equally buameleaa for the community or any considerable section of it to lay the responsibility exclusively upon our legislators. What has been done, whether for good or evil, was done with bu<, little criticism or remonstrance. " Questions relating to Separate Schools have now been raised, and for my own part I am bo anxious to have tlicse considered on their merits, that I must regard as an enemy to our cause the man who would prejudice the dis- cussion by making it subserve party interests, ('oracientioualy representing principles which they believe to be important. Equal llights men will, 1 am flure, be faithful to them and look straight forward, seeking rather to gain the adhesion to our cause of all who lo^e equity and freedom than to taka ground which would neceaaarily ensure, for a tim<} at least, the antagonism of one or other of the political parties. * *■ * I desire therefore to say {I speak for myself) that the measures adopted in regard to French schools appear to be satisfactory, as does the legialation of last session respecting Separate School siupporters. Whether the entire provisions of the statute on this lat- ter subject are in the best shape is a point on which I am hardly qualified to offer an opinion. " With the exception of what is said regarding the abolition of Separate Schools, there is nothing in the recent address which is not contained, ex- plicitly or implicitly, in the resolutions adopted by the Convention in June last. This larger question, I humbly think, should be earnestly considered by our people, and is not prematurely brought forward ; but till public opinion declares itself vnili sufficient authorittj it were unreaso7i,ablc to expect that any Oovernment shoxdd stake its exiatcmc on definite action in relation to ii,' (The italics in this and other quotations are, of course, mine.) Some months before the last session of the Ontario Legislature Dr. Caven in a public letter to a Lindsay paper had given this answer to a statement that he was opposed to the Ontario Govern- ment and to myself as first minister : — " The inference that my connection with the Citizens' Committee implies opposition to Mr. Mowat is entirely gratuitous. I claim the liberty to speak freely on the whole subject of ultramontane aggressiveness wherever it reveals itself, but I have never stated, nor has anything done by me afforded just ground for the conclusion that I wished to see Mr. Mowat superseded." The reverend doctor further said that to hold me responsible for the Jesuit Estates Act seemed to him " quite singular." After the recent session of the Ontario Legislature, and at a public meeting in Ottawa on the loth April, Dr. Caven said : — " He had no fault to iind with the legislation of the session." Mr. Charlton at the same meeting said, "He thought that Domin- ion politics was the field of the Equal Rights Association." He ad- ded : — " Whatever legislation had been passed by the Ontario Government had been in the direction of progress. If the Roman '^^^^ / 38 Catholics did not want the ballot it should not be forced on them. As a Protestant Liberal he had no hesitation in saying Mr. Mowat had his contidence so far as he had gone. Mr. Meredith would be allied with the very party they were now fighting in Dominion politics. He would vote for Mr. Mowat. He deprecated the at- tempts to unfairly prejudice the public mind against Mr. Mowat." Mr. Charlton has since published letters and made speeches [)ro- testing against the principles of the Equal Rights Association being made to do duty against the Ontario Government. It was the proceedings of the Dominion Government and Parlia- ment whicli gave rise to the Equal Plights Association, not any proceedings of the Ontario Government or Legislature. Mr. Sutherland and Mr. Barron, two other Reform members of the House ot" (Commons who were in the minority of 13 that voted for the di.sallowance of the Jesuit Estates Act, have spoken to the same effect as Mr. Charlton. In fact, ail the Reformers who were in that minority have testified that their action implied no com- plaint against or dissatisfaction with the Ontario Government, and they are giving to us their hearty support. MR. MC'CARTHY AND MR. RYKERT. Mr. McCarthy, the principal author of the Address, is making spoerhes in different parts of the Province to induce Reformers and others to vote against Reform candidates. Now, Mr. Rykert was a prominent speaker against Mr. O'Brien's motion for the disallowance of the Jesuit Estates Act, and, besides, was so ob- jectionable a man that his conduct in certain grave matters was unanimously declared by the House of Commons to have been " dishonorable, corrupt and scandalous ;" yet Mr. McCarthy made no speech against him in the recent election in Lincoln. Mr. Mc- Carthy wants Protestant Reformers to reject all candidates who support the Ontario Government, though that Government had nothing to do with the Jesuit Estates Act, nor with Mr O'Brien's motion to disallow it, nor with the Separate Schools iu the J»Jorth- west ; but Mr. McCarthy is quite willing that the Conservative Mr. Rykert should be re-elected, notwithstanding his position on these subjects and all his misdeeds. That single fact demonstrates that Mr. McCarthy's course in endeavoring to promote the rejec- tion of the Reform candidates for the Ontario Legislature is dictated by ])olitical and not religious motives. Most Reformers see this perfectly, and refuse to be used for this purpose. It ought before the 5th of June to be equally clear to all. Protestant Reformers should, in view of the facts, regard the Address of the Equil Rights Association as the Address of the S4 CoDHervative Mr. McCarthy and the other Conservatives of the Association, and of no others. The Address contains many statements wliich, in the sense in which they are read by Conservative journalists, Dr. Caven felt it his duty to repudiate. Other things in it I have observed upon in other connections. A few things 1 may remark on here. The Address speaks of the line between civil and ecclesiastical author- ity requiring to bo defined. This suggestion, 1 presume, when affirmed originally by the Ecjual Rights Association, referred to the Jesuit Estates Act; but that Act is not mentioned in the pro- sent Address, and the observation as it appears in this document was intended by its author to be reaent, except as the people who belong to that ehurch may choose, in 37 the exorcise of their legal rights, to defei to the opinion or wish of those who to them represent their Church. " (8) Mowat inaintainHthal Rominh nchool trustees ihall bo elected by open vote, to thnt thu priuats may contrui im electioin " It is not true that I desire the priests to " control the elections." Tlie " open vote " has been the only mode of election for the half century that there have been Separate School trustees ; the mass of the Roman Catholics are not yet prepared for, and do not yet desire, a different mode, and no Iloman Catholics have been ask- ing us for a 'different mode, or have been saying to us that a new mode is needed for their protection. The matter concerns Roman Catholics and not Protestants, and what 1 have said is, that the propose change should not under these circumstances be hastily im})08ed on Roman Catholics by Protestants. " (0> Mowat maiataius that Romiah convents and nunneries may draw Government support, while Protestant ladies' schuola and colleges may not." I maintain no such thinnr. o " (10) Mowat raaintaiiis that Roman Catholics may at their will or their priests' will change from supporting one school to another." A Roman Catholic who has been supporting the Public School may, by giving the proper written notice, change to the support of the Separate School of the locality. But this has been so for nearly half a century ; it is a right which is now guaranteed by the Constitution ; and is a right M'hich all e.dmit that the Pro- vincial Legislature has no power to take away. " (11) Mowat maintains that only the Romish Church authorities can repeal Separate School laws, viz., their consent muut be obtained before repeal.'' Neither Mowat nor anyone else maintains any such nonsense. On the contrary, instead of the " Romish Church authorities " having the sole power to repeal Separate School laws, the}' have no power at all to repeal one particle of any Separate School law, and they do not pretend to have. The document says : " Their consent must be obtained before repeal." No one maintains any such thing. Whatever in the Separate School laws the Provincial Legislation has the power of repealing, they require no consent of the Romish authorities or anyone else before repealing ; and what- ever can only be repealed by the Imperial Parliament, that body may repeal without the consent of tlie Romish authorites or any other. All this is too clear to ne*)d being " maintained " by any- one, and the contrary is maint«.ined by nobody. i 38 " (12) Mowat maintainB that thepeople's repreaontativea in Parliament, or out of it, may not say what shall be the nature of the religious instruction given in Separate SchooU ; the Romish priesthood alone decides that, even the Roman Catholic ratepayers have no say." Everybody knows, that the very purpose of Separate or de- nominational Schools is to enable their supporters to determine " the nature of the religious instruction " given to them. But it is not true that " the Roman Catholic ratepayers have no say." On the contrary, .so far as the law is concerned, the Roman Catho- lic ratepayers and the trustees whom they elect, have everything to say on the subject. The only authority of the priesthood is the authority which the Roman .Catholic people choose, as a mat- ter of duty or just deference, that they should have. On this subject the church has doctrines, and as members of the church, the people (1 presume) accept those doctrines, but without one single Legislative enactment requiring them to do so. "(13) Mowat maintains that Separate Schools shall be perpetuated." On the contrary, I should be glad to see Roman Otholics attending the Public Schools and abandoning Separate Schools, Their abolition is not for us a questio". of practical politics. "(17) Mowat maintains Governmtnt shall be on the basis of pandering to the Romish Church Hierarchy — who hitherto hr.ve held the balance .^f power." I maintain no such thing. The Ontario Government is not and never was, and never will be " on the basis of pandering to the Romish Church Hierarchy ; " the hierarchy, have not " hitherto held the balance of power ; " and so far as I know, they have not pretended or claimed to do so in this Province. "20. Mowat maintains that in elections to the Legislative Assembly the ballot shrill be numbered, and for Roman Catholic Separate School trustee elections voting shall b open. This enables the Government and the Romish hierarchy to traci nd control the votes of liquor sellers and Roman Catholic electors." The Ontario Ballot Law, which requires the ballot to be numbered at elections to the Legislature, is taken in that respect from the Ballot Act of England, Ireland and Scotland, where the system has been in force ever since 1872, and with the approval of all parties. It had its origin in the Australasian colony of Victoria, and is the same as the Ballot Acts ot some of the most importan*^ Australasian colonies : Victoria, New Zealand, Queens- land and Western Australia. No ballot system is perfectly secret, but this system is practically as secret as the ballot system of S9 the Dominion, which the opposition pretend to desire to substitute ; and incomparably more secret than the United States, system. It does not " enable the Government and the Ilomish hierarchy to trace and control the votes of any class." It was adopted without any thought of " liquor sellers and Ro- man Catholic elei^tors" The numbering of the ballots, as provid- ed in the Imperial and Colonial Acts uientioned, and adopted with the concurrence of both sides of the House in the Ontario Act which followed them, has for its object to prevent the stuffing of the ballot box with false votes which can not otherwise be sepa- rated from the good votes. No access to the ballots is permitted except under the orders of the Courts, and then only to the ex- tent necessary for tracing and withdrawing ballots not put in by electors entitled to vote. The system is in advance of the Domin- ion system, and pi-actically quite as Recret as rega' ds all genuine votes of electors. The whole crusade of the Opposition would amount to nothing but for their many misrepresentations, I hope that all our people will see in time what the truth really is, and that none of our old friends will be found on the 5th of June voting against the candidates who support the Government. I am sure that the Re- formers of North Oxford unanimously unite with me in this hope. If we lose some Reform votes which we should receive, their places will, I believe, be more than supplied by new yotes, from all classes and creeds, which are to be given to our candidates ; but I shall be sorry to lose one old friend anywhere, and that i^ tlie reason of my writing so long a letter. I remain your faithful friend, and grateful representative, 0. MOWAT. APPENDIX. ; Note. — The compromise in the Quebec Resolutions of 1864 with re- Bpect to Separate Schools was at the time eo acceptable to the public generally, that a recent search failed to discover but one journal in Ontario, the Newmarket Eruy in which the propriety of the compromiee was questioned. The Globe of 28th November, 18G4, contained the fol- lowing editorial article in reply to the Era : THE SCHOOL QUESTION. The Newmarket Era complains that by the resolutions of the~ Quebec Conference the continuance of the Upper Canada Separate School law " has been guaranteed for all time to come." This is true — with the exception of course that no constitutional arrange- ment is for all time. In a free country no constitutional system ought ever to be put forward as a finality. The new constitution which it is proposed now to adopt, in these Provinces, is simply represented as being the most satisfactory which can be carried in the present state of public sentiment. If there should ever be a great change in the feelings of the people of the Confederation — if we should ever happily reach the daj^ when all creeds will be content to see that their religious liberties are not Dound up in the principle of state paid religious education, it will be possible to amend the constitution in accordance with the altered require- ments of our circumstances. But for some " time to come " we shall undoubtedly be obligecj, in accordance with the proposed regula- tions in the new constitution, to continue the Separate School law of Upper Canada where it is. The guarantee which displeases our contemporarj^ however, does not in any sense make matters worse than they are now. We now have Separate School law. We could not repeal it in the present Parliament nor in any other which could be elected with- out a marvel of change in public opinion. We have never had and could not get Upper Canada to be at all unanimous on the ques- tion. There are nearly or quite a scure of constituencies in this section which will always return members friendly to Separatism. Lower Canada, on the otlier hand, has usually been just as unani- mous against ua even when the question was one of granting new 41 privileges, and would be quite as ceitainlyso when the question was that of taking away from the Roman Catholics privileges which are already in existence Thus we are certain that until sound views of public education become much more prevalent than they are we should always have a two-third majority in the Canadian Parliament against any attempt to repeal the Separate School law of Upfj^r Canada. That fact, of course, is practically quite as good a guarantee to the Separatists as any constitutional regulation will be. Nothing short of a revolution in popular sentiment in Lower Canada can affect either the one or the other, and for such changes we fear we need not look for many years. The arrangement. relative to education which was made at the Quebec Conference has very great advantages for the friend of non-sectarian schools. Though the reservation is made on behalf of existing privileges for the Separatists, the power to enforce ■ -ther concessions and to make further inroads upon our school em will be taken from them. Legislation upon educational tions will devolve upon local legislation and so long as the people of Upper Canada are determined to maintain their excel- lent educational system they will be able to resist any attack from its enemies. Hitherto the great fear has been that the assaults of sectarianism upon our school system would go on until not only should the Romish clergy succeed in withdrawing the whole Romish population of Upper Canada from the support of the common schools, but also that ultimately different Protest- ant sects would obtain the same privileges and thus complete the ruJa oi: c-^ir system. Happily these evils have never been real- ised. The Romish clergy, though*^ repeatedly getting the school law amended in their interest and making strong efforts to get their people to take advantage of its provisions, have never suc- ceeded in establishing much more than 100 Separate Schools in "all Upper Canada nor in getting more than a very small fraction of their people to patronize them. The Protestant sections who have agitated or petitioned for Separate Schools have never even made a serious effort to get the Legislature to give them the priv- ileges which they profess to think that they ought to have. When the Local Legislature of Upper Canada becomes an author- ity on all school legislation there will be little danger of either class of Separatists making much further progress. The little injury resulting from privileges already in existence will be all that we will be obliged to suffer. If any further concessions are made, if any fresh blows are struck at our educational system the fault will be our own. We are now, as we have been, at the mercy of a parliamentary majority whose views upon this vital question do not accord with our own ; and much that we deem utterly wm \ 42 wrong has been forced upon us by that majority. Under the new constitution that will not be the case. We will then be the pro- tectors of our own rights, and notwithstanding the blemish which the Separate School provisions form wo will be secure in the pos- session of a noble and invaluable school system, a boast which perhaps we can hardly make with justice under existing consti- tutional arrangements. The guarantee which it is proposed to give to the Roman Ca- tholic minority of Upper Canada carries with it moreover, a very valuable guarantee for the Protestant minority of Lower Canada. The claim of the Protestants of the Lower Province to Separate schools is, as our readers are aware, a vastly different thing from the claim of the Roman Catholics of Upper Canada. In this Province the common schools are strictly non-sectarian and their teachings do violence to the consci^^nce of no one. All creeds are alike free from the possibility of insult or tampering. In Lower Canada, on the contrary, the public schools are undisguisably sec- tarian. The dissentients have only the choice between paying their monej^ to the teaching of the creed which they do not believe, and the establishment of dissentient schools. Notwith- standing the difference in the character of the common schools, however, the minority in Lower Canada have far less advantages than the minority in Upper Canada, who have so vastly less to complain of. Not only will the guarantees relative to education which are embodied in the proposed new constitution ensure to the Protestants of Lower Canada the continuance of their rights under the existing law, but it is also proposed next session to annul the Lower Canada school law, in such a way as to make it more just to the Protestant minority. This, it is to be remem- bered, is a point of great importance inasmuch as in some par- ticular that law is now very unjust to the Protestants. We could never have secured this boon for the minority in Lower Canada without the compromise which has been arrived at respecting the whole question. Without that we could never have secured to them the guarantee of the continuance of their present limited legal right. If we could have obtained for Upper Canada the right to repeal all her Separate school legislation we should also have had to concede to Lower Canada the right of repealing all the Separate school laws now in existence there, and of making the whole population of that Province contribute to the support of the sectarian system. Surely we do well to obtain so much both for ourselves and for the minority of Lower Canada by simply consenting to the continuance of privileges in Upper Canada which we have not the power to abolish. le new »e pro- which le pos- which ionsfci- m Ca- i very mada. parate ; from n this their is are -lowor y sec- aying 3 not with- liools, itages 3SS to iation ire to ights on to ike it nem- par- We ower d at lever their pper Q we lit of , and te to )tain Qada pper