JR IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) <. ssgnifia "A SUIVRE", la symbols V signifia "FIN". Maps, platas. charts, ate., may bo filmad at difforant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraly includad n ona axposura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand comor. laft to right and top to bottom, as many framaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama illustrata tha mathod: Laa cartaa, planchas. tablaaux. ate. pauvant dtre fiimAa i daa taux do rMuction diffirants. Lorsqua la documant ast trop grand pour dtra raproduit an un saul cliche, il ast filmi d partir da I'angla supAriaur gaucha. da gaucha d droita. at da haut an baa, an pranant la nombra d'imagas nAcassaira. Las diagrammas suivants illuatrant la mithoda. 'ata Blure. a 1 i2X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■ 'iitei:<.'"»«v,'. I I II MEMORIAL. TO THE COUNCIL OF i PUBLIC INSTRUCTION i^ OF UPPER CANADA, FROM THE BOARD OF PUBUO INSTRUCTION OP THE COUNTY OF WATERLOO. PRINTED BY JAFPRAT BROS., " RIPORTKR OFflCB," QALT. ■lr«- \- #et/m, ham newi mid&ifone ani^ Uvi^ion. @/ /amc ma/cii4f cj 4hc midm4 §eml^^:> cj 4/Ui ^c(m4f ham exfmiyind 4fieii deiiH 4o iee 4lme Icoh MJiemded b'\j> ivo'ih of a moie modem chat/oc- 4tk, mid lew- mill vem/km 4o denij 4ha4 a change i:> hi^hlij^ de!>i/udU, 4ha4 4lme Mead^ei!* liave done du.4f loti^ cnomih in cWb Sfclwoh, amd 4iw4 i4 tA 4vme diieiit wei* kid ou4 o^ «46. « §lhe Wa4elloo ^oiin4f ^oaid Ivaw o^tt^d 4ke wi4km oMe^twual 4o 6e itun4ed in kanifikled jo^n joi didlilidion 4o 4ke iemml ^^ooMk oj ^idUc ^m4\ndion in Mfijie/i (panada. ^ have 4he ho^vyo 4o he, yom. oliedH, S'ew'4. HENRY F. J. JACKSON, CJiainnan Board of Public Instruction, County of Waterho. fo 4he ^. ^. # ^fatmon, §4, ^hai^nan ^ouncil cj ^uJiUc ^n^4m^dion joi> ^fijiet' panada, / a nJ 1 r To the Honorahle S. B. Ilarrltioii, Q. C, Churman, mid to the other Members of the Conacil of PahUc Instruction for Upi)er Canada. The Memorial of the Countij Board of Puhlic Instruction for the Conntij of Waterloo. Respectfl'LLY Shewetii, That your Memorialists have from time to time received from many qualified and experienced Teachers, com- plaints of the many defects which exist in the Scries of National School Books or Readers, now in use in our Common Schools, under the authority of the Council of Public Instruction for Upper Canada. The Teachers aver, and in the opinion of this Board, not without reason, that although the present authorised series of Readers possess many excellencies, there is yet room and there exists an urgent necessity for great and important improvements in the compilation of these books in order to render them suit- able to the requirements of our School system in its present stage of advancement. These Readers may at the time of their first publication not unreasonably have been regarded as fully adequate to the pur- pose for which they were compiled, namely for the use of the Irish National Schools, r nd at the time our Canadian School sys- tem was in its infaney it may have been wise to adopt them in the absence of a series feetter adapted to Canada. They have now been in use, however, for a very long period, and have not undergone any revision during .the time they have been used ir. our Common Schools; ofnecesity,therfore, much of the information contained in them has ceased to be matter of fact ; the historical data, geographical and political definitions are incomplete or have passed away, and the books are not only defective but absolutely inaccurate and untruthful, and calcu- lated to deceive and mislead instead of instructing those for whoSe benefit they were designed. Since the introduction of these books into our Common Schools, vast and important changes have taken place in the social and material condition of our common country. The large accession to our population, the rapid opening up of our territory, the ex- tension and perfection of agricultural science, the wonderful discovery and development of our mineral wealth, the marvel- ous fruition of the earth in its rocky depths where the dark pe- troleum fiiows, yielding to both continents through the agency of "^ practical Hcioiicc, tlio uiispcakul)!*' blessing oi'cheap liglit ; the ex- pansion of our TTiarinc :in(l Intcrnnl navigation, our political nin- tations, our groat unman! frst(Hl destiny, all contribute to raise our estimate of the.ejuntrv oi" our birth or of our adoption, and have given to Canada the iirst place iu our affections. In M'hat respect then can tiiese School l)ooks be fairly defined as the *' National Series" when tlie name of Canada is scarcely mention- ed in their pages, or only obtains a paf^sing and contemptuous reference? IShould not every leaf of these little volumes while conveying the seeds of elementary knowledge to the children of the land, stimulate their youtjiful patriotism and exalt their love of country ? Is it too much to expect at this period of our national wealth and social culture, that tlie intellect and acrpiirements of our ad- vanced men shall be put in requisition to produce a series of books for our Common Schools that sludl iustlv be stvled national, and that our children shall no longer be compelled to take their mental food, as it were, at the second table of an elder relative ? Indeed these authorised text books appear to have been compiled for no other country than Ireland, since that island is generally mentioned as '' this country," and its inhabitants are defined pronominally as " Tl^." v anada is invariably treated as a for- eign, a wild and uncultivated country ; as being barren, covered with dreadful forests (some books have "frosts") and hideous marshes, at once offensive to tlio senses and injurious to the human constitution (vid IV l^ook, page 1)9). When comparisons between countries are drawn, it is frequeut:ly done at the ex- pense and to the injury of Canada, as if particular care had been taken by the compilers to exliil)it hostility to Canada and to Canadian institutions. In Book III, page oS, Greenland, Kamschatka, Holland and Canada are represented as countries in which the mode of con- vevinff travellers is bv sledaes drawn 1)V do^'s, and as a matter of curiositv it is mentioned, that even in Ireland we "sSometimes meet Avith this practice." Tn Book IV, page 134, the pupil is informed that the princi])nl productions of Canada are grain, timber and tobacco, and th;it among the animals are the beaver, otter and martin, &e. At page 241, the pupil is led to believe that America is a wild countrv which has no o'overnment, that it is inhabited by tribes of wild indians, that no taxes are paid there, and that people aVIio do not desire to pay taxes should go to America. At page 248, assurance is given that in America landcati be obtained for notliing, tliat the inliabitants are so few that any one may ha-s'e as much land as he chooses to clear. At ■F page 13;i, the youthful reader Is told that the number ol' States composing the American Republic is twenty-lour ; that its cli- mate is like that of other teiui)enite regionw of the j^'lolje ; the soil generally fertile, producing Indiiiucorn and oilier kinds ot grain, with fine pasture, but that the climate of Canada is excessively cold. , . -,. .. ^, Not a word is said about the industry and intelligence ot tlie people of Canada, the fertility of the soil, its agricultural wealth, its gicat water and railway communications, its nianulactures, its excellent public and private institutions, nor indeed of any- thing which the reader can treasure m his young mind, and which shall foster the love of country and the pride of citizen- ship. Canada is to Canadian children with these text books placed in their hands, a /emt i//ro/piiV(<. If the subject matter of these compilations is censurable, certainly the workmanship, the getting up of these Common School Readers is equally open to objection. The privilege of printing these books has been given to a number of publishers, and but little care has been exercised to render them yiniform or accurate. Many serious errors and curious dissimilarities occur in the various* editions; in punctuation and in syllabication they are at variance with each other, and in consequence they are uncertain and capricious guides. Of these defects many examples might be given, but a few will suffice :— In Lovell'a Sequel, page 75, conspicuous is divided into three eyllableg ; in Campbell's into four. In Lovell, page 96, ' tal-ent' ; in Campbell, ' ta-lent'. Misprints are constantly occurring, con- fusing the teacher and pupil. Take for instance :— In Dagg's third Reader, page 169, "proportionately"; in Dredge's edition, " proportionably." In Dagg's third Reader, page 170, " sigh" ; in McPhails, " sign." page 171, " they" ; in Lovell's, " that." page 173," fight" ; in McPhail's, "field." page 182, " to heaps" ; in Lovell's, " in heaps." page 180, " Booshala" ; in others, " Booshalah." page 215, "praise," "naught," "seen"; in others, */ pulse," " naught," " been." And at other places will be found * Harry for Henry' ; * rough for tough' ; ' them for her' ; ' song for sound' ; ' those for whose' and many other discrepancies. In Dagg's edition of the Second Book, in the eleventh lesson—* The Stable"— the pupil is informed that the greatest " amusement" of the stable is the horse. In Dagg's edition of the Sequel the following sentences occur—' The dog who etood a a it « tt a i( l^ 8 (page r>9) ; ' But*'^ America (paj^eSS) ; ' To J^ee Lhx' cldml — speak- ing of two [paj;o lUo] ; * Works wliicli (:xik>i — in the description of the Peak Cavernn.' In the fifth book there are 137 i)a this 26th day of June, A:D., 1865. \ r