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KAMSAY. 1855. i 1 INAUGURAL DISCOURSE or J. W. DAWSON, Esq., F. G. S., PRINCIPAL OF MCGILL COLLEGE, NOVEMBER 1855. Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen, — In entering on the duties to which I have been called in this place, it gives me much pleasure to have an opportunity of bringing before this large and intel- ligent assemblage a few thoughts relating to those great educational objects in which I trust we are all deeply interested — objects which, I believe, can in no way be better or more rapidly advanced, than by the public discussion of the principles on which they are based and the methods by which they are to be attained. Before entering, however, on the proper subjects of this discourse, you will pardon me, as a stranger, for saying a few words on the cir- cumstances in which I appear before you. Invited by the governing body of this University to occupy an important place in its manage- ment and in the work of instruction within its walls, I might, had I con- sidered my own many deficiencies and the probable difficulties of the position, have entertained many doubts as to the propriety of entering on it. Believing, however, that in connection with this Institution, and in this the chief city of British North America, I should have the best opportunities of promoting the study of the subjects to which I have devoted myself, and tt the same time of advancing the cause of edu- cation, I determined without hesitation to cast in my lot with yours ; and I humbly trust that with the blessing of God on diligent effort, I may be able to carry out the objects of my appointment; At a time wlien literary and scientific pursuits are so widely ramified* every one who aims to do anything well must liave liis special field of activity. Mine has been the study of nature, especinlly in thos»» byo-gon« aspects which it is the province of geology to investigate. My only other special qualification for my present position, depends on the cir- cumstance that the wants of my nntive province Imve induced me to de- vote much time to inquiries and pursuits relating to popular education. I come to you, therefore, as a naturalist and an educationist, trusting that T may he enable'.' ir the^e capacities to rend^T rvy-elf vieofnl^ «nd asking for my youth and present inexperience in the affairs of this Jnstit- uti >n, your kind indulgence, and for the work in which I shall be engag- ed, your zealous co-operation. It is of course altogether unnecessary in addressing such an audience as lliti |ire&eiil, (u dwell on iLe valuti of educuliuii in general. All who hear me will admit without hesitation that mental and moral culture are the only true fuunJallons of the usefulness, prosperity, and greatness of individuals and of nations, and tliat no department of the social machine should be more jealously watched, more highly esteemed, or more liberally supported, than that which professes to train for a successful entrance on the business of life, those who will be the men ancl women of a few years hence. JNor need I insist on the truth that, in young and growing countries, where all is in a state of growth and transition, Avhere boundless industrial resources are waiting to be drawn forth, where new social and political institutions are to be built up ; and above 4ill in a free country, where every one must think and act for himself lin the most important concerns of life, and where any one, however humble his original position, may rise to places of the highest trust and influence, we should be content with nothing less than the highest pos- sible education of the greatest possible number. Such principles are now universally recognised in their bearing on Common School education, and they are not less applicable to the higher instruction with which we have now to do. In the higher instit- utions of learning, as well as in the lower, success must be attained by seeking as wide an utility as practicable, with as high a standard as .possible of preliminary qualification and final culture. Nor are the (JitTicuiiius of sucui'ing Ibcse ends in lliu higher walks of cJucution less than In the lower. Experience rather tends to show that they are greater and less easily overcome. It is a great and common error to suppose that collegiate education has reached a pciiit ;vhv..v; It juay aafely iuiiiaia stationary, tliat its course has been unalterably fixed by authority and precedent. It is an eiiuully serious and prevalent error, to take it for granted tiiai it has attained its full extent of developement when its benefits are confined to a few professional men or persons of wealth and leisure. Such views cannot in the present state of the world lead to the highest pros^jurity of collegiate institutions, nor cause their humanising and elevating in- fluences to be extensively felt on the mass of society. IIap])ily in our day wider views are becoming prevalent, and no subject has been more extensively agitated in educational circles than University Reform. This reforming spirit has not only stamped its impress on all the newer colleges, but has made a powerful impression on the oldest universi- ties on both sides of the Atlantic ; and its ten(1ency is to make the carefully elaborated learning oi all the great academic centres become more fully than it has yet been, the principal moving power in the progress of practical science, of useful art, and of popvdar education. As illustrations I need only refer to the reforms now in progress in the great English Universities, to the recent establishment of a Technolo- gical Chair at Edinburgh, to the Scientific Schools of Harvard and Yale, to the special courses of practical science in the new London Colleges, and in the Queen's Colleges of Ireland, and to the similar improvements in Browa University, in Amherst College, and in the University of Toronto. The statutes of our own University contemp- late similar improvements, and in its Medical School we already see an illustration of the splendid success which may attend their full intro- duction. We may well ask, why should it not be so ? In a period of great mental activity, when the world is straining after new truths and new utilities, and casting its old sloughs of prejudice and error, why should the Uni- versities lag behind 1 Should they not rather move in the van, and an- nually send forth their students armed with the newest weapons to do h 6 * buttle witli tliutno.st recent errors, and prepared to explore the regions that lie beyond the circle of our present knowle(?ge. These modern views of University rcfrfrm, in truth, mark most fully and accurately tlie trtie place and utility of the liigher education. 1'he College is in- tended in the first place, to tnke the young man where the School leaves him. and develop its elementary training into the more matured mental habits of the man of businew, the professional man, and the scholar. It fmd» its subjects school-boys ; it aims to leave them men fitted to act creditably in the circumstan'ces of their age and country, and to mark out and pursue those courses in life to which their tastes and powers incline them. In the sscond place, while it is the province of the TTni- vcr.Mty to preserve the literature of the past, it does so for the benefit of the present ; and if it endeavours to gather into one focus the scat- tered sparks of light eliminated in different countries and by differ- ent minds, it does so that it may pour their accumulated radiance on the path of every young aspirant to honour and usefulness. In this view its stores of ancient and foreign learning, are not so much intend- ed to form the character and limit the aims of the student, as to place him on a vantage ground whence he may mature a higher character, and if possible work out nobler results. In the third place, since the maintenance of collegiate institutions must practically depend on the acceptance of the great truth, that the progress of every society must be in proportion to the amount of enlightened mental activity that can be brouglit to bear on it^ it follows that this practical collegiate in- struction should not only leaven all who move in the higher walks of fiife and more learned professions, but should be extended as far as pos- sible to all whose pursuits are in any way connected with science, with literature, or with leiined taste. The practical results to which such views lead with reference to the collegiate instruction suited to Canada, may be summed up as follows: 1st. Our college courses must not attempt to gain support by des- cending to the level of the schools ; but must depend on that portion of the young men of our country who desire a higher and more extend- ed course of instruction, and are willing to devote a few years to this •object. Il ! : 2nd. To merit success, our collegiate institutions must endeavour to provide a course of study embracing all the important sultjccts in- cluded in such courses in other countries, and these taught in such a manner as to establish the value of their degrees by the success of their graduates in active life. 3rd. To secure wide usefulness, collegiate institutions should be pre- pared to give the preparatory instruction demanded for the learned professions^ and special courses of practical science suited to the cir- cumstance: of those who, while they desire instruction in some of the departments of college study, do not require to attend to all. To the illustration of these points, especially in their connection with our institution, I design to devote the remainder of this discourse, even at the risk of dwelling on subjects that to some of my hearers may ap- pear trite and common-pluue, hut which yet are so impottant and so much misunderstood or misrepresented, that I think no apology neces- sary for adverting to them at some length. First then it h essential to the character of college instruction, that it sliall succeed in titne and excel in elevation the teaching of the best elementary schools. The question of time involved in this state- ment, though sufficiently simple and intelligible, is in reality one of the greatest obstacles to the success of collegiate institutions in these Colonies. The demand for labour is so great, and the avenues of lu- crative employment open to any one who has received a good school education are so numerous, that it is dif&cult to induce young men to devote several years to an expensive and tedious course of collegiate instruction, when the time and money so expended might materially advance their fortunes in life. In like manner those who do enter on a college course often arrive too young, and with a too slender amount of previous instruction, and have reason to complain in after life that they have been driven through, their more advanced education while their minds where too immature fully to appreciate the studies in which they were engaged. I am aware that an influence of this kind, rooted in the social state of the country, cannot easily be reached by argu- ment. It ought, however, to be taken into the account that the higher mental training is valuable for its own sake, and even if not directly JSt^"^ necessary fni- the |>articu!ur business wlticb the young man may liavc in viow, may at a future time be indispensable to enable him to act credit- ably and usefully in other positions into which he may rise or be thrown by the varying (luctuations of life. No man can fail to find a liberal cducatiua a plca-«nt aad Uicfii! conpr-nicr. through life, adding ncAv charms to every innocent enjoyment, giving grace and dignity to the ciiaracler, and making iiself practically useful in u thuusunu uncxpucled ways. In the great majority of cases the ultiiiiate loss from hurrying young men from the school into the work of life, is far greater than the immediate gain from the saving of the time that would be occupied by the collegiate course. The higher education of the college does not, however, rise above the instruction of the school, merely because it follows it in time, but because its subjects are changing in their tastes and powers. The perceptive powers and memory very early attain perfection, but the reasoning faculties, the imagination, and the taste, are of slower growth, and the function of the school usually ceases just when they ore begin- nmg to manifest themselves in their strength. The higher course of instruction finds its true place in ministering to these growing powers : it leads the student into subjects for which he had neither taste nor ability ; it stores his mind with new facts in departments of knowledge to '.vhich the teac!>er in the preparatory scl'.oo! roiild not usefully direct his attention ; it leads him to the grouping of the individual items of his knov»ledge uiiJcr the principles to which they arc surbordInate,and thus to arrange and systematise his ideas, and rise to those general views which constitute hcience propeily !»u called. It thus not only enlarges his views of nature, of art, and of his own constitution and relations ; but gives him the mastery of his knowledge for practical purposes. It cultivates his powers of expression and of literary taste and criticism, and thus gives him readiness and self-reliance as a thinker, a speaker, and a writer. It opens up to the mind boundless fields of useful and pleasurable exertion ; thus stimulating it to healthy activity, and caus- ing it to cast aside the lower excitements which the less instructed youth Jeems manly, and to nerve itself for earnest labour, by self- denial and the hard tasking of its powers. It dispels narrow views and 9 |)roju(licc.s, aiul libcrallhos the mind ; wlillu it arms it ngaln>t llic errors ami impostures tliat on every »iiIo make tlicir prey of tlio ignorant. Tt thus has, ill relation to the growing powers of the student, an outward or objective utility, c!cpcuJ;:i^' 0:1 the extent nnd prn^fi'*''' vilno of the iiislriiclion wliich it affords, and a subjective utility dcpiMiding on the high and huiiiiuiiiuus duvclopemeiil which it jjlvts to the powcra of the soul itself; and both these require that it should ho in its nature and scope Siiperior to the instruction of the school, and that it shouM be C'Mnmunicatt;d by the most eminent mr n who can bo obtained in its several departments. ' It may be said that this is what college education shouM be, rathor than what it is. In good institutions of learning, however, it does rise to this position, and under the next branch of the subject wc have to consider more in detail the means by which it does no. IF. To merit success, a colh'giate institution must cndravrntr to jvovidc a coiirsc of studtj enihracing all tJic important mhjrcta in- cludcd in such courses in the more i?n2)roird Zlnivcraltics of other countries, and these tdught in such a mangier as to cstahlish the value of its degrees by the suhsct^uent success of its graduates in the active occujiations required hy our country. When wc enquire, what arc the elements of the course of study adapted to tlioso objects, we enter on one of the battle-grounds of university reform. One au- thority maintains that it is too much the practice to condemn young men to pcra ovev' Greek and Latin during the most precious years of life, when the wide field of modern literature and science lies open before them. Another urges the honoured example, the profound scholarship, the gigantic mental achievements of our ancestors, in defence of the course of instruction which they have handed down to us. Among those who hold the former view, there are many subordinate differences of opinion as to the extent and manner in which scicntitlc studies should be introduced. Among those who hold the latter, there is no s.tiall controversy as to the relative preponderance of classical or mathemat- ical learning. On such a subject it becomes us to exercise a wise caution. Wc 10 !■ I I'' should not blindly follow time honoured precedents, nor rashly venture on new and untried projects. It will bo well for us here, with the wise spirit of eclecticism, which the common sense of the people of this country is daily applying to our political institutions, our school systems, and our industrial pursuits, to study experience abroad, and gather from every source that which approves itself as useful, and suited to our peculiar circumstances. The more ancient English Universities were, in their origin, rather theological and monastic, than educational, in the modern sense of the term. As a writer in the Quarterly Review well expresses it : " the education of young men is one of their objects, but distinctly not the primary one — that is^ ad studendunt et orandum, to encourage the systematic study of the arts, first by way of preparation, and then of divinity, by persons enabled by the munificence of the founders to con- secrate their time to deep reading.'* The first end of the University was thus rather (o preserve learning, and to support those who devoted themselves to it, than to attempt its diflusion. The means adapted to secure such ends must clearly be different from those proper to the ob- jects of Colleges in such countries as this. In the revival of learning, when it began to emerge from the cloister, and to take its place in the active life of the world, the absence of in- digenous literature obliged even the most progressive and original educationists to appeal rather to the learning of the past than to that of their own time. It was only by desinterring the rich treasures of classical antiquity, that literary capital could be obtained wherewith to commence the work of mental elevation. Nothing could, in these cir- cumstances, be more natural and proper than that the best existing models of style and thought should be made the basis of liberal educa- tion. Mathematical science, itself a product of the mind of antiquity, at the same time claimed attention, and some of the earliest education- al controversies turned on the rival claims of classical literature and mathematics, as means of mental training and educational progress. Such controversies were, however, inseparably connected with the greater question of practical science, as contrasted with that barren philosophical spirit " meanly proud of its own unprofitableness, " which 11 runs through the whole of classical antiquity and the middle ages. We greatly err, if we suppose sound practical views on this subject to be altogether of modern discovery, No one can better state the most ad- vanced doctrines of University reformers than Bacon : " Meditor in- staurationem philosophic^ rj'usmodi, quae nihil inavis aut alistracti habeat, guaqtie vita humaticn conditiones in melius provehat. " We are still but carrying into practice this great principle of the Ba- conian philosophy, and the views of out most advanced educationists are but the echoes of that of the great expositor of t!ie inductive me- thod. In proof of this, I may quote the following general statements from the latest discourse of Dr. Wayland, so well known in connection with the improvement of the higher education on this continent : — " First, every branch of study should be so taught as to accomplish both the results of which we have been speaking ; that is, it should not only increase our knowledge, but also confer valuable discipline : and it should not Only confer valuable discipline, but also increase our know- ledge ; and if it does not accomplish both of these results, there is either some defect in our mode of teaching, or the sttidy is imperfectly adapted to the purposes of education. " Secondly, there seems no good reason for claiming pre-eminence for one study over another, at least in the manner to which we have been accustomed. The studies merely disciplinary have valuable prac- tical uses. To many pursuits they are important and to some indis- pensable. Let them, then, take their proper place in any system of good learning, and claim nothing more than to be judged of by their results. Let them not be the unmeaning shibboleth of a caste ; but, standing on a level with all other intellectual pursuits, be valued exact- ly in proportion to their ability to increase the power and range and skill of the human mind, and to furnish it with that knowledge which shall most signally promote the well-being and happiness of humanity. " And, thirdly, it would seem that our whole system of instruction requires an honest, thorough and candid revision. It has "been for cen- turies the child of awthority and precedent. If those before us made it what it is, hy applying to it the resources of earnest and fearless thought, I can see no reason why we, by pursuing the same course, 12 I' n l! i n might not improve it. Cod intondod us for progress, and wc counter- act his design when we deify antiqiiitj, and bow down and worship an opinion, not because it is either wise or true, but merely because it is ancient." To the same effect are th(^ following remarks of the enlightened and scientific nobleman, who presided over the last meeting of the British Assoriatinn, in his introductory address, a pioduttlou which should be studied by every friend of popular education : — " And this, gentlemen, brings me to say that the advancement of science depends above all things, on securing for it a better and more acknowledged place in the education of the young. There are many signs that the time is coming whon our wishes in this respect shall be fulfdled. They would be fulfdled, perhaps still more rapidly, but for the operation of obstructing causes, some of which we should do well to notice. How often do we find it assumed, that those who urge the claims of science are desirous of depreciating some one or more of the older and more sacred branches of education ! In respect to ele- mentary schools we are generally opposed, as aiming at the displace- ment of religious teaching; whilst in respect to higher schools and colleges, the cudgels are taken up in behalf of classical attainment. But surely no enlightened friend of the natural sciences would seek to challenge this imnginary competition. We cannot too earnestly disclaim the idea that the knowledge of physical laws can ever of itself form the ground-work of any active influence in morals or religion. Any such idea would only betray our ignorance of some of the deepest principles of onr nature. But this does not affect the estimate which we may justly put on an early training in the principles of physical research. That estimate may not be the less a high one, because it does not as- sign to science what belongs to other things." " There is one aspect in which we do not require to plead the cause of science as an element in education, and on that, therefore, I shall not dwell. I mean that in which certain sciences are recognised as the essential bases of professional training, as, for example, when ihe engineer is trained in the principles of mechanics and hydrostatics, or the physician in those of I i ill IS chemistry. Of course, with every new application of the sciences to the arts of life this direct influence will extend. But ^vhat we desire, and ought to aim at, is something more. ]t is, that abstract science, without special reference to its departmental application, should be re- cognised as an essential element in every liberal education. We desire this on two grounds mainly ; first, that it will contribute wore than any- thing else to the further advancement of science itself; and, secondly, because we believe that it would be an instrument of vital be- ucfit ill Uio culture and ssiitnglheniiig of the mental powers." As the question stands in our time, it really depends on the fact that the seeds of classical and mathematical knowledge so wisely sown by the revivers of learning, have borne, and are bearing, so vast and varied fruit, in the growth of modern literature and science, that the educator scarcely knows how to select from its overflowing riches. Hence, if we adopt as our guide the utilitarian maxim of Bacon, and define our utility to consist, Hrst, in mental culture for its own sake^and, secondly, in the application of that culture to the material welfare of our race, the questions remain — Are these ends to be attained by a limited or wide course of study, by confining ourselves to the subjects which were originally employed to revive sound learning, or by having recourse largely to modern literature and science ? and, to what extent can these be profitably combined in the limited time allowed to our course of study 1 I shall endeavour to answer these questions by glancing indi- vidually at those branches of study which appear essential to a tho- rough and useful course of instruction, with some remarks on the relative degrees of prominence which should be assigned to them, and their place in our own University. I shall take them in their historical order, rather than in that in which they are taught. First, then, on the distant verge of hoar antiquity, we have that old Semitic literature which may hold to that even of Greece, the language which Plato ascribes to the Egyptian Priests. " Ye Greeks still remain ever children : nowhere in Hellas is there an aged man. Your souls are ever youthful ; you have in them no knowledge of antiquity, no ancient belief, no wisdom grown venerable by age.'' The first and most important representative of this eurl/ oriental light, is tbe sacred literature of the Hebrew — that simplest, yet noblest of the tongues known to our schools, the vehicle of God's earliest communications of His will to man — a literature which sheds a brilliant beam of light along the whole path of civilization, widening and deepening in inten- sity as it reaches our time, and as a more careful and accurate criticism developes its hidden beauties, and makes known more fully its signiB- cance. I could wish that the critical study of the Divine literature of this venerable tongue, in all its varied literary and moral beauties, were more than it ever has been a popular, as well as professional, subject of collegiate instruction. Other early oriental literary remains might, I think, in connection with biblical literature, well claim tbe attention of the student, and should form important branches of our course of history. More especially is this true of tbe interesting his- torical remains of Egypt and Assyria, Avhich bring before us in such vivid reality the oldest empires of the world, revealing the origins and elementary forms of the arts which we have been accustomed to admire in their secondary developement in Greece. Early Oriental literature has hitherto been confined principally to theological educa- tion. It is represented in McGill College by our chair of Hebrew and Oriental Literature, though, I am sorry to say, that as yet we have no class in this department ; but I trust that this and other parts of our course, which might be made useful as preparatory studies for the Christian Ministry, may soon come into demand, in connection with the affiliation of theological seminaries to our University. Descending to a more modern period, we have the noble literature and language of the Hellenic races, themselves learners from the East, and it would seem incapable of fully appreciating the sterner and more exalted religious ideas of the Semitic nations f but gifted with a vividness of imagination, a delicacy of taste, and acuteness of intel- lect, that have enabled them to transmit to us models in literature, art, and abstract science, that cannot be excelled. Certain grand promin- ent points in this literature are landmarks in the progress of the human mind. The greatest of epic poems, breathing^ at once the air of tbe eabt and west, bursts on us at the very threshold of Greek literature. 15 A little farther on the father of Europeaa history presents his enquiring and thoughtful countenance. Passing over a crowd of inimitable poets, dramatists and orators, many of whom still live as powers in the world of mind, we find both in the earlier and later periods of this literature^, mathematicians, physicists, naturalists, and metaphysicians, whose influence is still strongly enstamped on our modern science. Finally, the extensive diffusion of the Greek tongue, after the conquests of Alexander, rendered it the fitting vehicle for the dissemination of the truths of the Gospel, a circumstance which, independently of all other considerations, must forever embalm this fine language in the learning of all Christian nations. Koman literature represents the true middle age of the world, con- necting forms of thought and of civilization which have altogether passed away, with those which under various modifications still subsist ; and linking the language, the politics and the jurisprudence of the pre- sent inseparably with those of the past. Its study thus becomes, without taking into account the merely literary merits and beauties of the Latin authors, an object of undeniable importance to the professional man, the man of science, and the English scholar. The large obligations that we owe to the literature of classical antiquity, as well as its present value, are thus sufficient to retain it as an important element in the higher education. The only danger is that the time of students may be so occupied and their minds so filled with such studies that they may go from our colleges armed with an antique panoply more fitted for the cases of a museum than to appear in the walks of actual life. Such results of the too exclusive devotion to ancient literature have undoubtedly given rise to just complaints, and in some instances have threatened to sweep away such studies altogether from the collegiate course ; while there can be no question that the wide spread dissatisfaction arising from this cause, and from the appar- ent want of applicability of collegiate studies to the ordinary pursuits of life, has been largely influential in withdrawing public sympathy and support from the higher institutions of learning. In avoiding these evils, however, it is by no means necessary to rush into the other extreme. We cannot yet afford altogether to neglect classical 1« ' f ! i.| I ! I I Hi: "i: i.liiiic.jf ever, r.n [I'drdy practical hranc^'»« of Ipnrnlng. No one who woigli.s ariglit tliclr influence on liis own mental growth can doubt this. Lven those of us who have been prevnnteJ by the pressure of other duties and the atlruc lions of other tarjtcs from followipg out these btudies into a matured scholarship, have to thank them for much of our command over our own language ; for much breadth of view nnd culti- vation of taste : for much insight into the springs of human thought and action, and even for some portion of our appreciation of that higher light whicli we enjoy, as compared with those ancient nations, which, with all their wisdom and civillialioD kncv.' not the trv.c God, r»n»1 in consequence of that deficiency appear to our more enlarged views, even in their highest philosophy, but as children playing with the " golden sands of truth." Jt is fortunately a well eslablished principle that the power of verbal memory attains perfection much earlier than that of reasoning and generalization. Hence the lingual drudgery of early classical study is properly the work of the preparatory school, and the student should enter college prepared to relish the higher beauties of classical litera- ture, to study them with a discriminating and philosophical spirit, and in some degree to mature his acquaintance with them without any exclusive devotion of his time and attention. Such, it is to be hoped, with the aid of our excellent High School, will be the course pursued in McGill College ; and I think the public may rest assured that, under the careful and conscientious teaching of Dr. Davies, nothing really important iu this department will be overlooked, while those members of the Faculty of Arts who have the charge of other departments, win take care that it attains no undue preeminence. Turumg to those departments of learning which, in their origin or » full development, belong to our own time, we are bewildered by the - crowd of studies which urge their claims, and it is here that the grand ditTiculty meets us of compressing a sufficiently thorough acquaintance with a sufficiently wide field of learning into the narrow limits of a College course. There are, however, certain subjects of sufficiently large importance to permit no hesitation as to their claims. 1 may here merely refer to the modern European languages, 17 respecting the practical value of some at least of which it is necessary to say one word. The French and German languages are well represented in our institution by Mr. Markgraf, and within the labt few days we have arranged to devote an additional hour to these sub- jects, so as more fully to subdivide the classes ; an arrangement which I have no doubt the students will welcome as a boon. But I would desire more particularly to notice, as deserving a high place in collegiate education, our own English tongue, which bids fair, like the Greek of old, to be the principal vehicle for the world- wide dififusiott of the highest ideas in science, in politics and io religion j and which possesses models of lofty thought and of elegant crpression equal to anything in classical antiquity, and more intimately connected with our better political inslituUuus, our higher itligiuus vl«;ws, uud our greater advancement in the arts of life. The philosophical study of its gruiniuar and philological relations, the priucipleisr uf style and composition, the critical examination of its highest literary productions, and the history of its literature, are of paramount importance to men in any profession or occupation that may at any time require them to speak in public, or to write their mother tongue. Connected with the last mentioned studies in our course of instruc- tion, are Logic, Mental and Moral Science, subjects which it appears to me are invaluable as a means of intellectual training ; abounding in rich and suggestive speculations, and in nice and subtle trains of argument, turning the mind inward to study its mysterious essence and operations, leading the student on the one hand to those obscure regions in which many of the mightiest intellects have stumbled and fallen, and on the other to those clear and beautiful methods which are the working tools of modern philosophical enquiry, it forms, when properly viewed, at once a rich mine of mental culture, and an excel- lent preparation for every day business. It is true, that taken in the mass, no department of knowledge is more overloaded with worthless trifling or dangerous error ; yet for this very reason it demands atten- tion, and all the more labour on the part of the judicious teacher to keep himself abreast of the progress of investigation, and to seise those great leading points which are of real value. The two last depart. la ■ I i f nients belong, in the McGill College, to Dr. Leach, whose scholarly attainments and long connection with the Institution as the head of its Faculty of Arts, have established for him a high place in your respect and confidence, and I hope that the committal of this important depart- ment of English literature and mental philosophy to his care, will be regarded as a pledge that much is to be made of it in our course of instruction. We must novf, howerer, direct our attention to the Physical Sciences, based on mathematical truth and on experiment ; sciences which, independently of their intrinsic charms and value, have in our day established a connection so intimate with every department of mechan- ical, manufacturing and agricultural art, that without them the material welfare of nations cannot be sustained, much less advanced. I fear that the practical busy world scarcely yet recognizes this dependance of art on abstract science. Art, it is true, has often taken the lead of science and " developed results before their causes were understood ;** but this is sometimes rather apparent than real, and on the other hand inventions which have their orgin in scientific principles havfe become so rapidly diffused and so generally practised, that we are apt to forget the long series of investigations, the agitation of obscure scientific questions, and the indirect influences of even the doubts and difficulties of learned investigators, which have conspired to strike out the first bints of such practical applications. The more we enquire into this subject, the more will we be persuaded that the difference between the stationary condition of the arts in some ancient and modem semi-civil- ized nations, and their rapid progress among us, consists, to a great ex- tent, in the more or less active pursuit and general diffusion of abstract science. Science has a double reward, first in the interest of its new facts and the ennobling general views to which it leads, and secondly, in its valuable and often unexpected applications. The long series of inquirers who from Galvani and Volta down to our time, questioned the occult and mysterious principle of galvanic electricity, were each rewarded by beautiful and striking discoveries, though they anticipated as little as the world that looked carelessly on their experiments, the result in that wonderful telegraphic communication, that now, in the 19 hands almost of children, is at once the latest and greatest marvel of practical science, and a potent aid to commerce and civilization. The scientific investigator and the academical professor may not be actual inventors ; but thej furnish the knowledge which leads to invention, and they train the leading minds of mc'wty to npprecintA and bring it iato successful operation. Hence the school of abstract science is really one of the great moving powers in the mateiial prospcvity of nations. Under this head it is unnecessary to refer to the importance of Mathematics as a means of rigid mental discipline, of industrial art, and of scientific progress ; nor is it necessary even to name all those important branches of Physics which come under the denomination of Natural Philosophy. I rejoice to say that Prof. How«, who' has earned so high a reputation as the head of the High School, will in the present month, without, however, withdrawing himself from the oversight of the School, in which he is to have the aid of an additional master, assume the chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the College, and will as soon as possible commence a course of lectures on Physics, illustrated by the excellent apparatus of the Institution, which has been for some time lying idle. Chemistry, whose claims are equally great with those of any depart- ment of Natural Philosophy, has not hitherto formed a part of the un- dergraduate course in this Institution, but it is hoped that, before next session, arrangements will be made to make the course now delivered in connection with the Medical Faculty, accessible to the students of arts in one of the sessions of their course. I come now to the great group of sciences included under the nanoe of Natural History, and comprising all that we can learn hy the obser- ration and arrangement of the works of creation, both in their present aspects and in those which they have presented in past time. Natural History, as cultivated in our time, is young, and of rapid growth, and is even now only taking the place which its value as a means of training the observing powers and of enlarging our conceptions of nature, and as an auxiliary to industrial and fine art, demands for it. Zoology and Botany have for some time been necessary parts of medical education flO ip \i ! f in many of the principal medical schools, and they will henceforth be accessible to students here. Geology and Mineralogy have been recognised by the gorei nments of most civilized countries as important aids to material progress ; and that they are so regarded here is witnessed by the admirable survey now in progress under my friend Mr. Logan, than whom no one would, I am sure, rejoice more in the diffu- sion of such a knowledge of his science as should render his labours more generally useful by making them better understood, and should increase the number of original enquirers. I hope before the close of the present month to commence a course of lectures on Natural His- tory for the benefit of the students of the Medical Faculty and Faculty of Arts, and of such other persons as choose to avail themselves of it. I hope, also, in connection with this department, to form a Museum of Natural History, and shall be very thankful for any aid that may be given by individuals or public bodies toward such a collection. Such is a very general view of the course of instruction adopted by us, and, as we believe, adapted to the present wants of this country, as a preparation for the learned professions and for general usefulness. Can any parent doubt that such a course of instruction is worth its time and cost ; or that when conjoined with the moral and religious training which it is the highest duty of every parent to impart, it will tend to enable his children to do credit to his name and memory.— Many who in this province hare risen to wealth and consideration, have mot enjoyed the benefits of a liberal education, yet these may be neces- sary to enable their children to retain the position which their fathers ihave acquired ; and I can assure them that no man worthy of the name, will ever cease to bear in grateful remembrance the parent whose toil 'has realised and whose affection has bestowed the means of mental cul- ture and of high and honourable usefulness. I was lately informed by a gentlmen connected with Harvard University, that a large proportion, probably a majority, of the principal business men, natives of Boston, are graduates of that university. Perhaps no other city could say as \l or useful, that their pupil* often acquire frivolous tendencies, and habits adverse to business use- fulness. Where numbers of young men are congregated at a distance from borne, and under defective discipline, it must be admitted that such evils are too often produced. They originate mainly in the bad habits which some young men bring with them, and which they are allowed to communicate to others ; and are aggravated by a want of earnest prae . tical character on the part of instructors, and the consequent failure to excite enthusiastic devotion to the subjects of study. They are also promoted by the collection of students in college boarding bouses, often little adapted for any efficient oversight of their manners or morals. By a more domestic system of boarding for pupils from a distance, by attention to the interests of the students, and by keeping them fully em- ployed, we hope here to avoid these evils. One feature of this instit- ution which may be regarded by some as of injurious influence in this respect, is its want of connection with any religious denomination. This, however, by no means implies that it shall be irreligious. On the contrary, it may be the object of careful attention on the part of the college authorities, that each student shall be placed in communication with the authorised religious teachers of the denomination with which he is connected, and shall attend their ministrations. I think I may pledge myself for all tbe gentlemen of the college faculties, that we shall be happy to fulBI this office in the case of any young men whose guardians may entrust us with it, as well as on every fit occasion to cultivate religious sentiments and respect for the great precepts and doctrines of Christianity. III. Our third general statement was that our VniyerBity should provide professional courses of study, and also selected or special courses, far those wlio, while tfiey desire instruction in some depart- ments, do not require to attend to all. if 'I I ':l In the first of thew directions of useful exertion, McGill College already occupies a high and honorable place. Its Medical Facultj in second to none in America, and prusentii one of the noblest instances anywhere to be found, of the results which muy be attained by the al- m3st unaided exertions of able men thoroughly devoted to their work. It< announcement for the present Session shows a staff of eleven Profes- sors, providing for all the important branches of Medical Science. It bis a library of 2200 volumes, an extensive series of preparations, and excellent arrangements for hospital practice aud di&seuliuns. Its pupils in last Session, numbered sixty-eight, derived from all parts of Canada ; one-half of them being from the Upper Province, a proof not of the absence of competition, for there are other good schools, but of the pre-eminence of this. It bas sent forth, since 1833, one hundred and fifty graduates, most of whom are engaged in practice in Canada, a few in Great Britain, and several in the army, to the commissions in which the graduates of this School are now eligible. The value of such a school consists not merely in its furnishing within the Province a tho- rough medical education, but in its power to adapt that education to tha modifications of practice which in every country result from clim- atal conditions and endemic influences. Nothing in connection with education in this city, offers more just cause of pride, or of hope for the prosperity of our institution, than the success which has attended ■the labours of the Medical Faculty. The nature of the preparatory training for the legal profession, prac- ;tically limits the classes of our Law Faculty to the students within the city, but it is gratifying to know that the character of the instruction and the advantage which it affords in shortening the term of appren- ticeship, have secured the attendance of a very respectable proportion of those students. I have much pleasure in stating that the Law Fa- culty will commence its operations in the present Session with an aug- mented staff of Instructors. It will number two Professors and two Lecturers, all men of high standing, and prepared to give instruction in Commercial, Civil, and Criminal Law, Jurisprudence and Legal Bibli- ography, Customary Law, and the Law of Real Estate. Under these new arrangements increased efficiency may be anticipated ; an^ we hope, in connection with a course of commercial instruction, to make at least one of the classes of the Law Faculty more extensively useful than to the merely legal students. The department of Theology cannot be introduced into McGill Col- lege, but the advantages uf the iii!»liiu(ioii aie uvuitable for all the pre- liminary training of a secular character that may be required ; and by the provisions in its statutes for the affiliation uf other institutions, it offers its assistance to any theological seminaries that may be erected in its vicinity. In the direction of a school of practical science, all that has yet been done is to ofler access to any of our lectures to all persons who may desire to attend them without entering themselves as regular stu- dents, and the provision of popular evening lectures for the benefit of the public. It is in great part to facilitate attendance on these means of instruction, that the classes have been temporarily removed from the original buildings of the University to the ball in which we are now as- sembled. Duriug the present winter it is intended to deliver a popular course, which will embrace the subjects of Natural History, Chemistry, Natur- al Philosophy and Civil Engineering, a combination of interesting and important subjects which should atlt act large audiences. It is also pro- posed to make the College Library, now containing a large number of valuable books, available as a public library of reference, by allowing anf person to consult books on obtaining an order from any of the Govern- ors or Professors. These provisions, however, by no means exhaust the field of useful- ness in this direction ; and it is in contemplation, in the Session of next wfnter, to institute in connection with the Faculty of Arts certain special courses, bearing on some of the principal lines of industrial oc- cupation, in the hope that in this way we may induce many young men who would otherwise receive none of the benefits of collegiate educa- tion to attend to certain selected classes. We propose, then, to at- tempt the establishment of the following Special Courses, each to extend over two years, and to entitle the student, on examination, to a certificate or diploma. 24 |[' (ill i\ 1. A course of Civil Engineering. This will embrace English Literature, Mathematics, Natural Fhilosophy, Chemistrf, Geology and Mineralogy, Surveying, and Civil Engineering, including the construct- tion of machinery. Such a course will be exceedingly serviceable, not only to all young men about to enter on the profession of Civil Engin> Cciiu^, uul lu luauy utheis iiiOie Oi' leas clo^ely COnUcCtcd with tciC public works or manufactures of the Province. In this department of Engineering we hope to enlist the talents of one of your Oiyii Engin- eers whose name is favorably known wherever the public works of Canada have been heard of. 2. We also hope to commence a course of Commercial Education, including English Literature, History and Physical Geography, Mathe- matics, Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Natural History, Modern Languages, Commercial Law ; and, if suitable arrangements can be made. Lectures on Political Economy. It is scarcely necessary to point out the advantages to the young men of Canada, and of this city in particular, which must result from the successful establishment of such a course. 3. A farther extension of our Courses of Study may be effected in the direction of Agriculture. Throughout the Colonies attention is now being directed to those scientific principles of farming which have ef- fected such wonders in Great Britain, and the introduction of which is inipbiatiTely dcuiaricicd in all the older and more worn out districts of this country. I have no doubt that there are within reach of Montreal a number of enquiiiug aud intelligent young farmers, who would gladly avail themselves of such a course during the winter months. It would include the following subjects : — English Literature, Natural History, Natural Philosophy, Surveying, Agricul- tural Chemistry, Practical Agriculture, and Management of Farm An- imals. These special courses will, I believe, rather build up than detract from our general under-graduate course, while they will certainly exteud our usefulness, and give us increased claims on the support of the com- munity ; and thus tend ultimately to increase the demand for collegiate instruction, while in the meantime they will give an important impulse to practical science and the arts of industry. 23 I have now closed the view which I proposed to give of the course or collegiate instruction adapted to the circumstances of this country. 1 have endeavoured to give a plain statement of its true place in rela- tion to the lower institutions of learning, of the elements which should euter into its course of studj, and of the modes in which its influences maj be extended and rendered practical ; and I have endeavoured to apply these views to the condition of this University. I have not wil- fully over-estimated the capabilities of this institution, nor promise*' anything that, with our present means, may not be accomplished. I trust I have shown that we are disposed to work for the benefit of the public, and to offer to it substantial advantages in return for such mea- sure of countenance and support as it may afford to us ; and I trust that our efforts may be so far successful that no Canadian may be able just- ly to complain that he is under the necessity of going beyond his native Province for an education that will enable him to take his place side by side with the best educated men of other countries. The present seems to be a time highly favorable lor enterprise in the higher education of Canada. With natural resources and political institutions inferior to those of no part of the ;vorld, British America appears to have entered on a course of industrial and mental develop- ment whose results it is hardly possible to predict. The storms of party animosity which once convulsed these Colonies have to a great extent subsided into an honorable rivalry in the promotion of the great inter- ests of the country. The highest public employments are open to the ambition of all ; great public works and mining and manufacturing en- terprises are calling for skilled labor; agriculture is passing from its first rude soil-exhausting stage to the rank of a scientific art; increasing population and wealth are constantly opening new fields for profession- al labor ; the extension and improvement of elementary education are at once requirmg higher attainments on the part of those who aspire to public positions, and offering to them the support of a more enlighten- ed public opinion. The demand for educated men must thus constant- ly increase, and it is by fostering good collegiate institutions that this demand can be supplied in the best way — by training among ourselves the minds that are required. Vi 11 26 In conclusion allow me to congratulate the citizens of Montreal on the munificent endowment on which this institution is founded, and on the important circumstance that its management and its benefits are limited to no sect or party ; but, as literature and science ever should be, are open to all. Let us hope that, standing on this broad basis. jVlcGill College may ever exemplify the wise motto of your city arms, and that the utmost possible success and permanence may attend the united efforts of its friends in behalf of good learning. .: i I ma'i- W' 1 1 1 ; 1 !■ ■ , 27 M'GUL nOLLKGK. Visitor : His E:;ceII(3ncy, Tlie Goveknou Gknekal. Governors : The Hon. Charles Dewey Day, Presklent, The Hon. James Ferriek. Tiie Hon. Peter McGiia. Thomas Brown Anderson, Esq. David Davidson, Esq. William Foster Coffin, Esq. Hew Ramsay, Esq, Benjamin Holmes, Esq. .' Andrew Robertson, Esq. Christopher Dunkin, Esq. Principal : John William Dawson, Esq., F. G. S. Faculty of Law: J. J. C. Abbott, Esq., B. C. L., Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Commercial and Criminal Law. F. W. Torrance, Esq., M. A., Professor of Civil Law. P. R. Lafrenaye, Esq., Lecturer on Jurisprudence and Legal Bibliogra- phy. R. G. Laflamme, Esq., Lecturer on Customary Law and the Law of Real Estate. The Lectures for the present Session commence on tlie l6th of Novem- ber, and end on the Ist day of May. The Course extends over three Ses- sions, and entitles the Student, after a satisfactory examination, to the degree of Bachelor of Laws. m ill' Faculty of Medicine* A. F. Holmes, M. D., Professor of the Theory and Practice ot Medicinet and Dean of the Faculty. George W. Campbell, A. M., M. D., Professor of the. Principles and Practice of Surgery. Archibald Hall, M. D., Professor of Midwifery and the Diseases of Women and Children. O. T. Bruneau, M. D., Professor of Anatomy. James Crawford, M. D., Professor of Clinical Medicine. William E. Scott, M. D., Professor of Clinical Surgery. William Fraser, M. D., Professor of the Institutes of Medicine. William Sutherland, M. D., Professor of Chemistry. William Wright, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and Pharmacy. Robert P. Howard, M. D., Professor of Medical Jurisprudence. D. C. McCallum, M. D., Demonstrator of Anatomy and Curator of the Museum. The Sessions of the Medical Faculty commence on the first Monday of November, and end on the first day of May. The Course extends over four years, and entitles the Student, after a satisfactory examination, to the degree of Doctor of Medicine and Surgery. Faculty Of Arts : I: III 1! t Rev. Canon Leach, D. C. L., Vice-Principal and Dean of Faculty. Rev. Benjamin Davies, Ph. Dr., Professor of Classical Literature. Rev. Canon Leach, D. C. L., Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic. Henry Aspinwall Howe, Esq., M. A., Professor of Mathematics and Nat'jral Philosophy. Rev. a. De Sola, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature. J. W. Dawson. Esq., F. G. S., Professor of Natural History. Charles F. A. Markgraf, Esq., Lecturer on French and German Literature. I p.. The Sessions of the Faculty of Arts commence on the 10th of Septem- ber, and end on the 1st day of May. The course extends over four years, and entitles the Student, after a satisfactory examination, to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 29 High School Dcpartmeat.. Professor H. A. Howk, M. A., Rector. T. A. Gibson, Esq., M. A., First Assistant Master. Uavid Rodger, Esq., Second Assistant Master. VV. Bowman, Esq., Third Assistant Master. J. D. BoRTHWicK, Esq., Fourth Assistant Master. Alex. Grant, Esq., Fifth Assistant Master. C. F. A. Markgarf, Esq., French and German Master. .Tas. Duncan, Esq., Drawing Master. John Follenus, Esq., Music Master. SEORETART, REGISTHAR, AND BURSAR. William Smith Burrage, Esq.