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H' : "< '..^T ■ !t-i!;; ^ : :•!', •*.v^-1*'' :''-<:,r*f' :Wm 't^:. *i f- ■ ■\ «..t^- r r I ■ -, . ti t f - * } ^v^ .*, i'\a '*il« '1' -.''It- ,'^ ■J^ mm^ s-yt" si-' j|<': *^'i'^yh s-',;'X. H- 61^' V '♦ hK' i't' vf 1 [Si w "^ .0 * -» ^ .''•n I ^ -^ , ^^>. ,, :'':^■^:•^^^v^•^^^''^''■' ; ^^ w r--- ^•^r ■ ^OVA SC0TJ4 v>" ■^ r, .r--- -. SV- ..>■ >^"-'^^.''-'^'^^'-'"x'.u"--v'| PROVINCE HOUSE "/ ., • ■ V J, ' ''^ '" ■■' '^■- >■,; 1. >-N* •.■:S M \ » (,. y ■y '/• 1 1 • -^ \ . V U ''■*■?. TO THE PEOPLE OF NOVA SCOTIA, ■' .1. ON THii: si:Ji»i*o:RTr OF THE COMMON SCHOOLS. .; «^;;.«-;,;j BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION. .;.#'rf:v: T HE situation I hold, requires me not only to present annually to the legislature an account of the educational condition of the Proviope, biit> also to offer such suggestions us may appear best fitted to promd«its im-- provement. In pursuance of this duty I have, for fiye successive years, urged and pressed on the attention of the Legislature those views respectr; ing school districts and school houses, the grading of schools, the qualifica-t,; I tions of Teachers, the appointment of Inspectors, the establishment of a Provincial University &c., which I consider essential for our educational I advancement; and, more especially, have I insisted, in my oval addresses to the public and in my reports to the Legislature, on what appears to me to be the best method of supporting the common school education of the land: and yet little or nothing has been done by the Lfgislature for t^e accomplishment of one or other of these objects. ^, , ,, .. , The Icnger I continue in office, I am the more thoroughly impressed ' with the conviction that until something substantial is done with the Com- nion Schools of the Province, we can neither keep pace with the general UAjteUigence and progressive advancement of the age, nor furnish anything ^e an adequate supply of duly qualified students for the higher academic ^K4^x>r«ollegiate institutions of the land. I have canvassed this subject in altits length and breadth. Since I entered on ray present duties I have kboured^OB^an average eight hours a day, with a view of training up a k. P\ ■^\T ,>*' % JSfc tr I v^ ■I.' v ■<■■■ ''■ !, « i I ! class of duly qualified teacherri for tin supply oi' these school!! — and thougfr 8orae improvein.''nt hns been effected by the voluntary efforts of the peo- ple themselves in the matter of school-houses and of the emolument of teachers, that improvement has been confined to a few of the more fa- voured and advanced localities, whilst the general condition of our com- mon schools, both in point of (luantity and quality, has been retrograding instead of advancing. If then, a sound and an eflieicnt system of com- mon school education constitute the basis of all national intelligence, in- dustry and morality, surely it is high time that we bestir ourselves, and, calmly yet earnestly, enquire what, in present circumstanceu, can and ought to be done. To mc, il appears plain and palpable that, whilst ma- ny things may and ought to be done for the removing of clamant defects and putting us on a career of high and ennobling progression, there Is ono thing lying at the bottom of the whole, without which all other remedial measures will prove of comparatively little avail, — I refer to the method of suppoi'ting these schools by compulsory assessment, giving cfFect to the principle * that the property of all should be taxed for the edncati'on of all.' This, in my opinion, forms the grand specific for the removal of many of the ills under which we are at j)resent labouring, as well as for the diffu- sion of a more healthful spirit throughout our educational system; and, in this respect, T believe, I have the sympathy of a large majority of my fellow-provincials. At all events, I am perfectly satisfied that the time has now arrived, in the history of Nova Scotia, for putting this point to the test, and ascertaining the ajuount of support you are prepared to give it. B^or this end, I have felt it my duty to forward to the different loca- lities forms of petitions to the Legislature, in its behalf. Should these petitions receive the signatures of the greater proportion of the intelli- gence and induence of the province, I have little doubt that the Legisla- ture will give the subject their immediate and careful consideration, if, on the other hand, they do not, I shall, at least, have the satisfaction of feeling that I have rid my conscience of no ordinary load of responsibility, and shall crave the liberty, in time to come, of laying the contiimance of our present educational defects and blemishes, not at the door of the Le- gislature, but at your own. That there may be no misapprehension or dubiety as to the way of car- rying out the above mentioned principle, I may state, that whilst I would not hesitate for a moment to assume the obligation of raising the whole sum required for the maintenance of our Common schools by direct tax- ation, being persuaded that such a coarse would operate most beneficially for the accomplishment of the grand object contemplated — the universal education of the young — yet I scarcely think that the Province is ripe for -^- L J ■ ■■ y, F' Mt'mi&^ liii^k <•,'^».l'i*^f:-tiu^i^iLtL.l i\ilMM(i Till tt# V its juloption at the outset. In so far as the erection of commodious school- houses id concerned, I would have no hef*i(ation in going tiie full length. After a careful revision of the School Districts, an enactment, in my o- pinion, ought to be passed, rccpuring the erection of a suitable school house in every legali/tnl District, and, after a certain i)rescribed period, enjoining the withholding of the public funds until such a school house is provided. For this [)urpose, three or four plans of school houses, with specifications and general cost, ouglit to be put into circulation, and the inhabitants of each District formally summoned to make the selection, and, wh.itever be the expense of the one chosen by a clear majority — pro- vided it possess the requisite dimensions for the population, — immediate steps should be taken fur raising the requisite sum by com[)ulsory as- sessment. In reference, however, to the' support of the teachers, 1 would recommend that a modified form of assessment be adopted : — for example, that a third, as heretofore, be [)aid out of the general revenue, of the Province, that another third be raised l)y a compulsory County tax, and the other by the rateable inhabitants of the di, ' 1 1*11" •5' "?-! UU^ ^ our principlo, earnestly bosnccliinn^ tli(?m to ponder these wiifi tin- prejiHlicc'd ivnd impartial minds, ami we have little fear of the result. Rkason 1st. — Direct taxation is the most rffectnal way of aioakin;/ in the mimh of ail an interest in the cause of ediicnlion. Wo know not a greater impediment to the prognss of edueation in this or any eonntiy than the general indid'crence that obtams, the all hut universal prevalence of the notion that nobody in the District has any- thing to do with its educational atfairs, save the individual who happens to have ehildrcn to be educated. Thf; Uachelor, the parent whose chil- dren are already educated, and a host of similar characters, seem to ima- gine that th(>y are altogether free from any oltligation to give of their substance for the su[)port of the education of the District. They may as an act of charity, or of liberality, or lor the accom[)lishment of some sel- fish end, dole out a paltry sum for the erection of the new District school house, but this they do with the significant intimation that not the slight- est claim can be made upon th(!m for any such contribution. And what does such a notion necessarily lead to ? It leads plainly to the reducing of the wh(jl(^ support of the education of the District to some twelve or fifteen families out of the twenty-live or thirty, and these oftentimes thr least able in the district to support schools. Ts it then to be wondered at that in a third of the legal school Districts in the Province, there are either no school houses at all, or, if there are, they are utterly untenanta- ble, save during a few months in the heat of Jummer ; or, that in a third more the schools should be in sessiim scarcely the hali of the year ? And what is to be done to remedy this state of things to rouse these parties to take any interest in the matter ? Will appeals to their bene- volence, their patriotism or their christian philanthroj>y prove of any a- viil? Or, failing in these, will the most j)alpable demonstrations of the innumerable indirect benefits which they and their property will derive from the sound and thorough education of the children in their midst, be productive of a more salutary influence ? Alas ! we tear, that these and similar pleadings will be allowed to pass away, like the idle wind, unheed- ed and unfelt ; and that nought will produce the desired result but a di- rect and immediate appeal to their selHslmess — their pockets. Let such be compelled by the law of the land to contribute according to the value of their property towards this object, and we guarantee an immediate rev- olution in all their views and feelings regarding tlie education of the young around them. Then wiP the rich old Bachelors and the venerable grey- headed Patriarchs manifest the deepest concern in education as regards both its quantity and quality — and this concern instead of decaying or dying will be but deepened and extended by every subsequent annual r 'Mj ,¥sM4»>i ■MM .■ii».ii*fc ■s. iiJm r - > visit of the collector, and all this simply because thoy have so much in- volved, 80 much at stake. Say not that this is a low and secular and grovcllinp; view to take of the whole subject, rirantinj^ it to be so, we ask, Is it sinful ? We trow not. Ami if it is not .*inful, and if there is no other way by which, in the present imperfect state of humanity, the same result can be reached, then we hold that it is perfectly warrantable to betake ourselves to it, and the sooiu'r, the better, — the better for the Province, the better for the rising generation, the better for all parties concerned. RicASON 2nd. — Direct taxation for the support of our common schools will aid larcjchj in securimj the adequate amount of education ; in other words, it icili vastly increase the quantity. That every (jhild born in a professedly Christian country possesses an indefeasible riglit to a common school education and that it is the bounden duty of every such country to make provision tlierefor ; and not only so, but to see that every schoolable child, that is every child between tlve imd sixteen years is actually receiving it, are propositions wliicli however imperfectly carried out are all but universally admitted in theory. To attain this state of things, a lifth part of the population would require to be at school, and that not for five or six or seven but for ten months in the year. In these respects Nova Scotia is sadly deficient. From the utter want of machinery to obtain anything like a reliable body of statis- tics, we cannot pronounce with absolute certainty in the ca^e ; but we fear that there are not more than an eighth of our population at school, and that the average period of attendance of each scholar dees not exceed six or seven months in the year. We venture to assert that neither in winter nor summer are there more than two thirds of all the schools ac- tually in session. It is in this latter aspect, that we consider our educa- tional condition as specially deplorable, and as demanding the immediate application of some remedial measure. If the average period ol' attend- ance of those who are actually at school, does not exceed six or seven months in the year, it is but too plain that their education must be so limited and circumscribed as to be of comparatively small practical benefit in after life, either for their own progressive improvement or for the benefit of their fellow creatures. Now it is our decided conviction, that direct taxation would operate very l»eneficially in obviating this state of things. It could not fail to add largely to the numb(;r of children attending school — in all probability, a third more in the course of two or three years. It has done so in Upper Canada and in other countries where it has been fairly tried ; and we do not see why it should fail in producing equal if not greater results in Nova Scotia. But we believe ■iiigH»w|iw* i ii [i i i w pi MMMfpai / tf*k.^ lUn that such a measure would operate still more exir^nsivcly upon the lonj^th of time and regularity of attendance at fcliool. Ih it at all likely that f)eople after payinj; for a hoon will not avail themselves of its full hciK-fif, and avail themselves to an extent exactly proportional to its cost ? Not to do so would be to act in diamittric opposition to their usual procc^dure in other undertakings nnd pursuits. The interest awakened by tli(! ap plication of the money i)rinciple would also naturally direct attention to the advantages of a thorough education and call forth a determined effort to obtain it ; and for this it would soon b(! found that something more was nccessnry than soundness and excellence of system, or a well equipped <'lass of teachers, even the regularity and punctuality of attendance on the part of the scholais. And if these are the effects of the application of this principle, if the im|)osl of a tax would secure the attendance of at least a third more scholars, and give an etlucation vastly more efficient and use- ful ; surely no one possessed of a spark of humanity, of patriotism or of chrintiatjily, no one who looks at education in its transcendant results, in- dividually or relatively, could fail to hail its introduction or begrudge for a moment its payment. Such a measure would do more for the prosper- ity of Nova Scotia than the richcvst mines of California or Australia have done for their respective countries. Rkasox 3rd. — This method of supporting schools icill also evhimce their quality. Jf the (piantity of education given is sadly defective, much more is its quality. This is owing to a great vari(!ty of causes : — such as, the small- ness of some school districts, and the mal-assortment of others, the num- ber of schools in the District in direct opposition to the present school Bill — necessarily reducing the number of children in attendance to a mere handful and frittering down to a very trifle all the available re- sources of school support, — the utter inadequa^'y of the teacher's salary and his consequent lack of literary and professional qualifications, as well as his frequent changes from place to place ; — the supineness and careless indifference of too many parents with the irregidarity of the attendance of the children; and the months if not sometimes the years intervering be- tween the leaving oflf'of one teacher and the commencing of the operations of his successor — these and similar causes ccndtine in rendering the qual- ity of the education of two thirds of the schools as low as can well be imagined. And in addition to all these, and as one of the direct results of the above mentioned causes, many of the most enlightened, the best educated and the most influential of the parents withdraw their children altogether from the common school of the district and send them to schools where they will receive a higher style of education, transferring thereto N V ¥ ^J'-' I'f mMMM ■fklMM ^ ^ aill their cdiicntionnl inlorc»t, niul leaving the whole local ufiiiirA to the nianagemetit uf a few individiiuls, (h'void nlikc of the means and ability of doiii;; so with any inetisiirc of .succ(!.ss. TIic compulsory assessment would alter, in this respect, the whohs fuc« of things. All heiiij; obliged to contribute, according to their means, the rich as well as the poor, the educated as well os the uneducated, they would feel the necessity of exerting themselves to the uttermost and uni- ting their energies to obtain an ellicient school in the district — such a school, in fact, as would lay the Ibundution of intellectiujl and moral cuU ture for any sphere of life, tor any business or profession. The [dun we have already briefly indicated would soon provide every District with a commodious sclioolhouse, the necessary furniture and apparatus. The next step would be to procure a qualified and suitable schoolmaster for the situation, and here comparatively littl(i dilliculty would be experienced. The Trustees would now be prepared not only to hold out a competent remuneration, but without U»e least fear or apprehension that their doing^ so woidd involve them in any porsotuil risk or liability. With such an eijuipment, a higher appreciation of a more elevated education would grow apace and would speedily pervade all ranks and degrees. The attend- ance of the children would gradually increase, and the very idea of hav- ing the sclioolhouse door shut except during the usual vacation period, would soon be considered as savouring of semi-barbarism. In consequence of the number of scholars and the regular and sufTicicnt supply of the ne- cessary means and the growing appreciation of a still higher standard of education, the proper steps would speedily be taken for graded schools,— Primary, Intermediate and High ; — male and female teachers would straightway be engaged ; a thorougli classification of the s(!holars efTected ; and the whole establishment put into working order. Who can fail to perceive the high toned style of such an education, or over-estimate the benefits flowing from the division of labour among the teachers, the en- tiro devotement of their time and energies to two or three classes instead of ten or a dozen, — Jie real development of the mental powers of the scholars by the communication of wholesome instruction, — the feeding of the higher departments of the school by the lower, in consequence of the same system being pursued in all? &c., &c. Thus the lower and middle ('lasses would obtain the best possible education for their children ; the higher classes would get in their own immediate neighbourhood as good an education as they could find anywhere abroad, at one fourth the ex- pense, and with the immense advantage of their children being all the while under the parental roof, for which the finest Boarding establishment however well or domestically arranged, could never compensate. m I ,;Wi wmp m :M' -■d-^-JU- ^ .^^ IlKASftN Itli. — Agnin, this method of snpportiufj the common sthooU of tht himf, is the chcujtest as well (is the must pffivivnt, W(! art! jiware tiiat iIkj very iiicntioii of tin; word cIk aptioss in cdu- oatioiiiil ma(lcr!<, IiiIIh liko music un tlic ears uC not a few. Ignorant of what education really la, and, tlieret'ore, incnpublo of realizing its results, either in reference toman personally or collectively; and yet feeling h )rt of odiicfttion. All iho ncrompj\nirneiil;4 of cnrry- iii;5 into ciroct Hucli a rtclu'tnc, .■>iicli us tlie (;iilurgt!iniMU of school I)is- trict.«, till! rlitAsifu'atioii iiiiti griKliii;:; of .scliools, the higher apprcciutiuii of ochicatioii gcnt'rnlly. Jcc, will have the tendmicy of diminirthinp; the number of ti-aclmrs, and yet increasinjij by one-third, if not by one-half, the number of ohildri'n rccoivin;^ inMtriietion. And who iloeH not see that thirt must cheapen and ehcapen largely the general cost, and that in perfect eimslsteiiey with, in the full working out of, u more ellicient system of education. In confirmation of this view of ihe case, Dr Rycrson, chief Superiii- femleiit of Kducation for Upper Canada, thus write? : — " I will select the example of one district rather better than an average specimen ; and the same mode of reasoning will apply to every district in Upper (Canada and with the same results. In one District there were report- ed 200 schools in operation in 1818; the average time of keeping open the schools was eight months; the average salaries of teachers was £ir> 7s. Id , the total amount of the money available for the teachers' salaries, including the Legislative Grant, Council Assessment and Ma- terial Bills was £7,401 18s. 4^; the whole number of pupils between the ages of five and sixteen years on the school Register 9147 ; the to- tal number of children between those ages resident in the District, 20,-' 000 ; cost per pupil for eight months, about sixteen shillings. Here it will be observed that more than one-lialf of the children of school age in the District were not attending any school. Now, suppose the schools he kept open the whole year instead of two thirds of it ; suppose the male and female teachers to be ecpial in number, and the salaries of the former to average £G0, and those of the latter £40 ; suppose the 20,000 children to be in the schools instead of 0147 of them. The whole sum required for the salaries of Teachers would be £10,000, — the cost per pupil would be less than 10s. — less than os. per inhabitant — which would be reduced still farther by deducting the amount of the Legislative School Grant." The above statement is just .:3 applicable to Nova Scotia as it is to Canada, and proves to a demonstration that the assessment principle would reduce the cost of the common schools at least one-third, though the attendance of scholars were doubled. Reason 5th. — 77ic principle for which tve are contending ivill also operate benrjicially in the matter of local supervision. It is impossible for the inhabitants of a District to carry on their edu- cational affairs without representatives, and, accordingly, th' law makes provision for the appointment of local Trustees — and who that knows -T" "jV tifmUU 10 anything of our educational condition is ignorant licw much depends on their instrumentality ? Generally speaking it will be found, that the education of ll.e Distr'ct waxes or wanes according to the efficiency or incfliciency of these Trustees ; and when tried by this criterion, our •state is low enough. Out of about a thousand school Districts there are not more than the half that have regular Trustees, and, even of these, perhaps, not more than three hundred legally appointed. And how few of those in office really discharge the duties prescribed by law, the great majority contenting themselves with merely signing ;he Teachers' Kelurns when presented to them. And low often are these documents signed, knowing that the people have not fulfilled their en- gagement to the teacher, or paid the sum s' bscribed. Much of this state of things is plainly to be ascribed lo tlie imperfections that cling to the present system, ilovv often, for example, are tiicse Trustees themselves obliged to make up the deficiencies in the subscription list ; and this even after they have been subjected to no ordinary amount of drudgery and toil in their endeavours to gather in the outstanding debts — need we be surprised that the office should be in such discredit, or that so rr.?.py of those lawfully appointed, demur to act, except in the matter indicated above. Indeed, the wonder is, that any, in these cir- cumstances, should undertake the duties of the cifice at all. The assessment principle would do much to remedy this deplorable state of things. There would then be no such difficulty, as there is now, to get the most eligible parties to act as Trustees, or to carry out the full terms of their instructions. They would be under no risk or lia- bility to make up the defalcations of others ; for all would be compelled to pay according to their means. The growing interest taken in the education of the District, would not only render their duties light and ea»y, but the oflice would become one of honour and respectability. They would labour, and labour zealously and perseveringly in the dis- charge of their duties, feeling satisfied that their labours would be duly appreciated, that they would not only have the approval of 'lolr own conscience but the gratitude of the wise and good around them. Nothing delighted me so much, on occasion of my educational visit to the Uni- ted States, as the spectacle of so many men of business, some of them princely merchants, gratuitously devoting so much of their time and energy to the furtherance of the interests of the schools in their neigh- bourhood ; and all because of the high estimate in which education is held among their fellow countrymen, as constituting the very bulwark of thei." republican institutions. Were a modified form of taxation in- ^ IfM* T" . ^I'l iLi 11 troduced Into Nova Scotia, a complete revoluiicn uouIJ take place the matter of educational supervision. Reason Gtli. — Ihe 2'eac/iers too icould share largely tn the benefits accruing fiom the adoption of this principle. Tlie saying ' The Teacher makes the school' is not less trite than true, and cannot be too oft repeated. Let tli' intt rnal and external systems of education be what they may, no justice can be done to the one or the other without a statf of thoroughly quu'ified teachers, — teach- •^rs imbued with the spirit of their oince and who have sat at the feet of the Great Teacher of Nazareth. To secure, retain and extend such a class of teachers, two things are indispensably necessary. 1st. They must Iiave an adetiuate renuinera'.ion for their services ; and 2nd., they must have every encouragement in the way of stimulating to higher attainment in ttieir calling. Now 1 have no hesitation in avow- ing my conviction that the ti'achers generally in Nova Scotia do not receive, an adequate remunerati(jn, whethe'- we regard their avocation in ii3 own intrinsic importaiiC(% or in its relation to other pursuits or undertakingis. True tiiere are here, as in almost every case, some hon- ourable exceptions. There are some localities where the people exer- themselves most nobly in raising a fair emolument to the teacher, and, there are others where they evince a proportional indifference and callousness. The grand evil, however, in the wliole matter of emolu- ment, is the dilFiculty experienced in too many cases in realizing the a mount promised and subscribed. Then, as to the second point, — the holding out of suirieicnt encouragement to the teachers, so as to stimu- late them to greater dilig«^nce in the acquisiton of higher profcjsional qualifications — they have, in my opinion, still greater room for mur- muring and complaining- Here nothing, literally nothing is done for the benefit of teachers as public officers, either in the way of rewarding real merit, or of impelling to higher attainment. A teacher in this Province may make the most rapid strides in all the departments of his profession, and at the end of six years, he may, in all probability, re- ceive the same endowment, as he (!id at the commencement, or even less. Or, a teacher may attend the Normal School and expend both time and meiins, .I'oO or £G0, to qualify him.-elf for a more eflleient dischaige of duty and may have received the highest honours of that institution, and yet his share of the public money may be exactly the same as that of the adjoining teacher, wliose professional acquirements have not cost him a day or a farthing. Now the principle of assessment will most materially afTect both these points. It will equalize the endowment all over the Province IPWW mttmitmtit 12 -s»,' and above all, it will secure th j full payment of the sum promiseJ. It will also indirectly affect the. latter. It will involve a thorough grad- ing or c'assification of ihe teachers, and this will demand competitive trials both in scholarship and in teaching powers ; and thus elicit real merit in every department. Rkasox 7th. — This mode of supporling educnlion will tend to diffuse H spirit of unity and mutual affection among the inhabitants of the Dis' trict. It is lamentable to observe the heartburnings, disputes, and divisions that but too frequent'y take place in settlements in connection with our present eciucational system. Sometimes the higher classes are seen contending with the lower; at other times, the iniiabitants of one ex- tremity of the District, withthose of the other, — it may be about the school-site, or the teacher ; and, at other times, politics and denomina- tionalism creep in with all their train of evils and leaven not a few with their baneful ioduence. Thus too often is the Dijtrict torn in pieces, and the cause of education, and the interests of the young sacri- ficed. Now, though much of this discord may be ascribed to the corrupt propensities of humanity, much, very much, we are persuaded, is owin^; to the present arrangement of things. Not only is there nought fitted lo arrest the outgoing of such a spirit but every thing seems ad jpted to foment and '/oster it. The whole sys-era savours of selfishrass. In many Uistricis Hu're are comparatively few who take any interest in the cause of education at all ; and even those who do, frequently manifest nought but a spirit of selfish isoh\tion, of world!)* aggran- dizement. They profess to take a lively interest in the i-MXH) of edu- cation; but this is but too evidently confined within the precincts of their own domestic circle. They cheerfully aid in the erection of a new schoolhouse and liberally contribute towards the support of a duly ({ualified teacher, but all because they have two or th''ee children to be educated ; and it would neither suit their worldly pla^.s nor their fa mily pride, to send them abroad without such an amount of schoiaivhip as would enable them to earn a decent livelihood or, per^^hance, rai^e themselves to tcmpoial aflluence and respectability. Such is the na- ture of their educational zeal, demonstrating but too plainly, tliat it is selfish, isolated, grovelling and degrading to the very core ; which, in- stead of strengthening the social bond, but loosens and rends it asunder. Let, however, the compulsory system of supporting schools be intro- duced, let all be bound to pr.y in pro|)ortion to the value of their pro- perty; and, we are persuaded, that some at least of these evils would be ^ 18 v» removed. The fact of each contributing according to his means and not according to the number of children he has to educate, wouKl na- turally beget an interest in the general cause of education ; and there- by generate and diffuse a fine spirit of mutual affection and of fratern; 1 harmony among all ranks and degrees and parties. With the same ob- jects, aims and interests, the social bond of the District would be strengthened, and those strifes and divisions, so injurious to society and go disastrous to the cause of education, be, to a gr;;at extent, averted. Reason 8th. — 2^ Ids principle is in consonance luith the purest equity, and the strictest justice. We have now looked at our subject in all its direct effects upon the various parties concerned. We have considered it in its bearing on the nation at large, and we have seen how well fitted it is to arouse an in- terest in the general cause of the education of the young. We have discussed the principle of direct assessment, too, as it affects the matter of quantity, quality and economy, and here again have we been brought to the conclusion, that it is the most likely way of securing a universal, an efficient and a cheap education. We have gone farther still and we have contemplated its cffeccs upon Trustees, Teachers and the people at large in their social relationship— and here again we have found it in every way salutary and profitable. AVe might leave the whole subject here and allow the observations already advanced to produce their legitimate influence, but we cannot. We would fain for a litde take you to a higher vantage ground and bid you look at our principle in the light of the soundest ethics and of the plainest dictates of revelation. And surely no proposition can be more in accordance with the law of equity, with the highest principles of moral philosophy than this : — " IViat as the property of alt is henejited by the education of all, so omjhl the pri-i£'^ln:j'jl 14 that country's territory. Let it present t!ie poorest and most unpromis- ing appearance — the barren heath or the craggy rock — if the inhabitants are signalized by tlie qualities above specified, they will in course of time convert the wilderness into a garden, the rock into a mine of gold. And this will be no enipty,liollow show, no mere external gilding,no phantom form. All will be reality. The garden will produce satisfying fruit, the gold will stand the test of the severest crucible. Or, to speak with- out a figure, pauperism, and vice, and crime will, to the extent to which these qualities are diffused, be comparatively unknown, and taxation, for their support or punishment, be but slightly felt. All will be last- ing, substantial gain. And the result of all tliis state of things will bo the increased and the ever increasing value of property. It signifies little as to the nature of that property, whether it be the house or tiie field, the loom or the cloth, the ship or the freight, the personal or the real, — or as to its extent, for all will be benefited, — the labourer, the tradesman, the farmer, the manufaciur* v, the merchant, the rich and the poor, the learned and the unlearned. And what is the instrumen- tality or agency by which a population possessed of these qualities shall be reared and perpetuated and extended ? It is education, and edu- cation alone, — education universal and elTicient, such an education as will embrace all the component parts of our nature, — as will consist not merely in the imparting of knowledge, but in the training up of the young in the way they should go. The connection between a sound and thorough system of popular education and national prosperity in the highest sense of that term, requires no argumentation of ours ; it is written as with a sunbeam on the page of past history ; it is palpa- ble in the present condition of the civilized world. " Take any two neighbourhoods," says Dr Ryeison, "equal in advantage of situ- ation and natural fertility of soil — the one inhabited by an ignorant, and therefore unenterprising, grovelling, if not disorderly popula- tion ; tho other peopled with a well educated, and, therefore, enter- prising, intelligent and industrious class of inhabitants. The differ- ence in the value of all real estate in the two neighbourhoods is ten, if not an hundred fold, greater than the amount of school tax th;\t has ever been imposed upon it — and yet it is the school that makes ^he difference in the two neighbourhoods; and the linger the field of ex- periment, the more marked will be the difference. Hence in Free school countries, where the experiment has been so listed as to become a system, there are no warmer advocates of it than men of the largt^st property and the greatest intelligence — the profounde.«t scholars and the ablest statesmen." Who that has read the account of the Ragged ^ V « % ^:'^f.; ^ Vf, '> ^ ' •^ >■>■'' 15 MY. f ^ Schools in the City of Edinburgh, as recently laid before the Social Science Association meeting in Glasgow, under the Presidentship of Lord Brougham, without perceiving the reality and glory of the con- nection of which we are now speaking — in ten years diminishing the number of juvenile delinquents from 550 to 130. An education, how- ever, that will be productive of such results nationally, must be univer- sal f.nd efficient, and this, we are persuaded, can be secured by assess- ment alone. And who can be so blinded to his own interest as to re- pudiate such a principle or demur at the payment of his just propor- tion ? Who can be so brimful of predilection and of prejudice as to de- ny the righteousness of the proposition ? " That as the properly of all la benefited hj the education of all, so is it right and proper that, for the securing of this end, the property of aU he taxed. Reason 9th. — But we proceed a step Jurther, and maintain that this method of supporting schools is not only consonant toith the law of equi" ty hut with the true principles and ends of civil government. Are any natural rights more fundamental and sacred than those of children to such an education as will fit them for their duties as citi- zens? If a parent is amenable to the law who takes away a child's life by violence, or wilfully exposes it to starvation, does he less violate the inherent rights of the child in exposing it to moral and intellectual star- vation ? It is noble to recognize this inalienable right of infancy and youth, by providing for them the means of the education to which they are entitled, not as children of particular families, but as children of our race and country. And how perfectly does it harmonize with the true principles of civil government for every man to support the laws and all institutions designed for the common good, according to his ability. This is an acknowledged principle of all just taxation. And it is the true principle of universal education. It links every man to his fellow men in the obligation of the common interests ; it wars with that great- est, meanest foe of all social advancement — the isolation of selfish indi- viduality ; and implants and nourishes the spirit of true patriotism, by making each man feel that the welfare of the whole society is his wel- fare — that collective interests are first in order of importance and du- ty, and that separate interests are second. Rkason 10th. — But we take you a step higher still, and maintain that the principle involved in the assessment method of supporting educa- tion, is in perfect accordance with the teachings of revelation. The Almighty Proprietor and Disposer of all things, hath committed to every individual of the human species certain talents or gifts, with specific instructions as to their use or application, and, with the distinct ,%,■ #: if: ^&M t'f^ ifejui IW: IG slipulation, that, at a ceriain porioJ, He will demand an account of our stewardship and will reward accordingly. These talents or git'tg are exceedingly diversified both in kind and degree, and they are so for the wisest and most benign purposes, whether as relating to the duties of the first or the second table of the moral law. More especially, is this diversity admirably fitted to furnish an opportunity for the reciprocating process of giving and receiving, and thereby of cementing the social, bond, the bond of christian love. And what is the grand principle laid down in Sacred Scripture for our guidance in this interchange of giv- ing and receiving. It is just that every one give according to his abili- ty. '• As every man hath received so let him give." If the Almighty hath entrusted to him ten talents, Ilo will demand an account of the ten taknts ; if five, of five; if one, of one. " For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath and not ac- cording to that he hath not." If, for example, the Almighty hath crowned our agricultural or commercial undertakings with success, and if He requires a certain portion of the means or substance thereby ac- cumulated for any philanthropic purpose, then it is plain that in har- mony with this principle, we ought to give bountifully. If on the con- trary, our undertaking has proved a failure, in that case, it is not less clear, that we ought to give sparingly. In the meting out of our own means for the promotion of any object, the welfare of the human fami- ly, whether temporally or eternally, intellectually or morally, much must depend on the importance of the object, as contrasted with others, whether we give much or little. If the object be for the advancement of the education of the young, then who can scan its magnitude, who can es- timate its efTects. You may range throughout all the Associations or Corporations of individuals that have for their object the amelioration of the human species; you may take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost ends of the earth, and contemplate man in every stage (»f civilization, in every phase of condition, in every complexion of character; and you may consider all the schemes or measures which his benevolence or charity has devised for the alleviation or removal of all the ills to which man is lieir, nowhere will you find a sphere of use- fulness so attractive, s-o promising, so encouraging, so fraught with bles- sings to the human race, so deeply and extensively affecting the inter- ests of man both in time and eternity — of man individually — of man collectively — as that of the education of the young. Surely, Ah ! surely, such an ennobling object may well prompt every one who has a spark of humanity, of patriotism, of philanthropy, or of Christianity in his breast, to give according to his ability, aye, and beyond his power. V Dmm I *•»(€, X- n i V IT Such ."^re the effects and the inherent excellence of the principle for which we have been pleading. We think we have satisfactorily shown its soundness, whether weighed in the scale of equity, of patriotism, or of Christianity. We think, too, that from its effects, we have establish • ed it^ incalculable value in the great cause of the education of the young. But some one may say " All that has been advanced is but supposition and conjecture, and however forcible and clear the reasoning may bti it is nothing but words after all ; it has never been subjected to the touch- stone of exp riment." Now it is this very circumstance that imparts a stability, a culminating glory to our whole argument. Never, we believe has a principle been more thoroughly tested, or come forth from the fiery ordeal more unscathed and with brighter radiance. Upwards of two hundred years ago, and but a few.years after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on the American Continent, when the entire population con- sisted of not more than 21,000 and their external means were small, aye, when they were exposed to the most severe privations and dangers, did the colony of Massachusetts conceive the magnificent idea of a free and universal education for the people ; and, amid all their poverty, they stinted themselves to a still scantier pittance ; amid all their toils they imposed on themselves still more burdensome labours ; amid all their perils they braved still greater dangers, that they might fii>d the time and the means to reduce their p rind conception to practice. Two di- vine ideas filled their great hearts, — their duty to God and to posterity. For the one they built the Church ; for the other they opened the School. And, however great the innovation upon all pre-existing poli- cy and usage, time has but rectified its soundness and illustrated its be- nign and blessed effects. Two centuries now proclaim it to be as wise as it was courageous, aa beneficent as it was disinterested. Look at the influence and tendency of the system in the case of the New England States. Where a people on the face of the earth to be found more sig- nalized for their general intelligence and enterprise, their self-reliance and economy, their industry, their social order and morality — than arc the inhabitants generally of these States. Look more particularly at the State of Massachusetts. Why is it distinguished above all the other New England States for its advancement in all mechanical and manu- facturing skill, in all literary and scientific institutions, in all useful discoveries and inventions, in all the refinement and comfort of civiliza- tion ? Why, but just because it was the pioneer in all educational im. provement, and especially in the imposition of a tax for the support of Free Schools. Look again at the case of Upper Canada. How often has it been stated by Dr. Ryerson that since the introduction of thif ' « mm mm '^^.Mi^M^ ,^^ i n . ni l jt i ji ii ■■1 . i \ ' ■" ^ItCK'iy '-l^iSI^ «.. •:x 1 18 t I system some ten or twelve years ago, education, both in its quantity and efTicicncy, iias increased ^'^urfold. But the most remarkable fact con- nected with its history is, that, in no state or city where the Free School System has been fairly tried, has it ever been abandoned. What a testimony this to the excellence of the system ! How vastly does it transcend the panegyrics of a hundred volumes! Although we have already extended these remarks far beyond our original designed limits, we must still notice a few of the more promi- nent objections urged against the scheme we have been advocating. Objection Ist. — Some object to it because they d* not sec how teachers are entitled to any other guarantee for the payment of their salary or wayes than any other labourer, or mechanic, or man of busi- ness. The ground they take is this: — The teacher engages with the parents or guardians of his pupils to educate them for the time being at a certain rate per annum, the parents, if the teacher performs his engagement, are obliged to pay the sum promised,and, if they do not, he may sue them in a court of law. The whole of this objection evidently proceeds upon the idea that education is to be conducted on the volun- tary and not on the national system, and by consequence that the teach- ers are to be regarded in the light of private adventurers and not as public oflicers. With such a view of education we have no sympa- thy. On the contrary, we raise against it our most unequivocal and decided protest. We hold it to be far more the duty and interest of the State, as such, to countenance and make provision for a national system of education than it is to support a police or constabulary establishment. No nation can subsist without education, and no other means can sup- ply the adequate amount. Look at England with its Voluntary Sys- tem, aided and abetted by munificent Parliamentary Grants, and, after thirty years of huge struggle it presents the appalling spectacle of nearly three millions of children capable of attending school actually receiving no instruction at all. The Belgian Netherlands tried this plan in 1830, and what was the result ? In five years, educational desolation spread throughout the kingdom, and the Legislature had to interfere to pre- vent the people sinking into semi-barbarism. We know of no party (supporting this view but a small section of the Independents in Eng- Jandj and >x^ nee(^ npt travel out of that country to see how completely Utopian it is. Objection 2nd. — Many maintain, that whilst such a method of sup- porting education may be very suitable for the States or Canada, it is altogether unsuitable for Nova Scotia. Of course these individuals are bound to show percisely in what the J. J" "jj m \ ) ^4- V > 19 dissimilarly between the countrea referred to, consists, so as to substan- tiate tbc position that what is suitable in the one case, is unsuitable in the other. Tills, however, they cantiously avoid, contenting themselves with mere general statements or vague assertions. We maintain that in all essential points, aifucting the matter of taxation, these countries are, as near as may be, in the same situation. When Massachusetts passed in 1C47, the direct taxation principle, it was n British colony ; 80 was Upper Canada when it did the same, and so is Nova Scotia. The inhabitants o^'thfse colonies are, in the main, sprung from the same stock, from men signalized for their high-toned patriotism, for their erc- alted views of civil liberty, founded as these views were on the only in- fallible standard of faith and morals. There exists, too, in these coun- tries the same variety of religious denominations, and of political par- ties. If there is any difference between these countries and Nova Sco- tia, it argues fiir greater capabilities and facilities on the part of the latter to carry out our principle. Objection 3rd. — Another objection, urged principally by the higher classes, is, thai the Common Schools are of such alow and inefficient char- ttcter, that they — the higher classes — cannot send their children to themt and therefore it is unreasonable that they should be taxed for their sup- port. Granting, for the sake of argument, that the common schools are really of this description, what, it may be asked,has mainly contributed to render them so, — what but the conduct of these objectors them- selves ? Instead of encouraging, in every possible way, the common schools of the District, they have sent their children elsewhere, to what they considered select schools, and thus left the support of these schools to a few families and these not the mocit competent, whether in respect to means or influence or educational qualifications to do so. Let all and sundry in the District come forward and give their cordial support to these schools, according to their capabilities?, and, so far as the ele- mentary branches of education are concerned, they will soon risQ to the highest excellence. Let a thorough system of physical, intellectual, and moral training be in*,rodaced into these schools, and let duly quali- fied teachers be appointed to preside ovei* them, and a few months will elevate their whole standard, both externally and internally; and not only so, but the schools thus conducted will produce the mos^ be- nign and hallowing influence over the whole future career of those who receive their instructions and their training. But, supposing that the higher classes in the District still stand aloof frvnn ics common school, and, instead of countenancing and encouraging^ .* ^ A .J * -7, ^\ rr' .i*^f ts^ '*^ M 1'.- (leprecinlc itA charncter, and, by their conduct, lessen its influence, are they thereby released from ali obligation of contributing to its support ? Not one whit ; and that simply because the support of the education which is essential for the good of all, should be made obligatory upon all. Objection 4th. — Others object to our principle aiA maintain that it it unfair to be obliged to contribute towards the 'maintenance of schools from which they derive no immediate benefit. If this objection is well founded, let it be carried out and made of uni- versal application, and what would be the result? To maintain and act out suoh a view, would render the impost of taxation for any object what- ever next to an impossibility, and, by consequence, sap the very foun- dation of civil government. On the same ground, might one and ano- ther come forward and plead exemption from paying for the support of the administration of justice, for they do not patronize either the civil cr the criminal courts ; another, for the erection of a jail, because he derives no direct benefit therefrom ; and another, for the upholding of a Lunatic Asylum, because neither he nor his relatives stand in want of any such place of protection. In all good governments, the interests of the majority are the rule cf procedure ? and in all free governments the voice of the majority determines what shall be done by the whole population for the common interests, without reference to isolated indi- vidual cases of advantage or disadvantage, of inclination or disinclina- tion. Surely the common schools involve the common interests of the nation far more than Jails, or Bridewells or Penitentiaries, and, there- fore, it is perfectly justifiable for the state to impose a tax upon all for their support. But the objection is groundless because it proceeds on an aosumptioo in direct antagonism to the truth. It assumes that none are benefited by common schools save those who patronise them, by sending children to them. This is the lowest, narrowest, and most selfFih view of the subject, and indicates a mind contracted and grovelling in the extreme. It is quite true that Bachelors, Parents whose children are already edu- cated, and such like, do not derive any immediate benefit from the common schools of the District; but to argue from this that they do not derive any benefit, is just as absurd as to suppose, that none derive any benefit from the administration of Jurisprudence but those directly en- gaged therein, such as Judges, Lawyers, Jailors, Police, &c. ; or that none get any advantage from a Railroad passing through a country, but the Car Manufacturers, Engine Drivers, Station Masters, and other ofii- cials of the establishment. We reiterate the sentiment which we b»f e r^ \. \ IV >f . t«3r ■>».*. — J. , -'^ _''ji]^iij^Qj(j(_' ^^' .•'i y-i*''tffc*^v'- '■ a/fe^ '^'^i*" **•■■'■ -- -^ einbornted at length in the body of this address, that there is not an in] dividual in the settlement who is not benefited, less or more, by the com- mon school, and that in exact proportion to the stake involved. The objection manifestly assumes, as a fact, a glaring untruth, and arguea accordingly. Our position thus remains untouched. — " That as the tlie properly of all is benefited by the education of all, so ought th« property of all, in proportion to its value, to be taxed for thd accom- plishment of this object. Objection 5th. — Bat othen object to thttchtme we have propounded because it does not go far enough. '^ Let the whole sum" say they, " requi- site fer the support of the common schools be raised by direct taxation, and we are prepared to give you our cordial support." So say we. Nay, we are ready to maintain that such a taxation would prove in every y,^y advantageous to the cause of education, and that the contributors to this fund would not, at the end of the year, be one whit the poorer but all the richer. Still there may be some, there may be a majority of the friends of educational taxation unprepared to go this length, and, therefore, it would hn inexpedient at the outset to attempt such a measure. We are persuaded, however, that such will be the felt advantages of the introduction of the assessment wedge to the extent we have indicated, that in the course of five years there will be not only a disposedness, but a demand on the part of the rateable population them- selves to go the full length. In the mean time, let the friends of educa- tion and advancement be united, and insist on the immediate payment of a first installment. Let the Legislature grant, as usual, a third part out of the public Treasury, and enact that another third be raised by County compulsory assessment, and let the other third in its mode of exaction, be left to the option of the people ; and we have no fear of the result. And now, in conclusion, I commend the whole matter to your most serious consideration. If I have satisfactorily made out and substantiated the various points submitted, you cannot fail to perceive how deeply and extensively the carrying into efTect even a modified system of taxation, will affect the whole of our educational condition. Though, strictly speaking, the matter appertains only to the exterior departments of edu- cation, it influences every other — quantity, quality and cheapness, the pa- rent and the child, the teacher and the taught, the employer and the em- ployed, the individual recipient, the state and the church ; and, therefore, by moving in this matter, you are using the most powerful means for touching the mainspring of our educational machine and remodelling the whole of this branch of ihe public service, — lying as it does at the foun- dation of all the others. And in what way can you lend your aid in m-'^^'mm^wm^^ ^ eonfrrilug a greater boon on the land of your nativity oi a.1 "> 'V Form or I»etition. I beg leave to append the form of a I'etition to the Legislature rcn- pecting the matter discussed in the foregoing address. Of course ttiat Petition may be modified according to circumstances. Unto the Honorable the Members of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia in Parliament convened — The Petition of the undersigned of Humbly sheweth. That your Petitioners are deeply sensible of the vast importance of the common schools of the Province, and of th« necessity of every legal provision being made for their maintenance, so an to secure the universal education of the young in our midst. That your Petitioners are thoroughly persuaded that, until a complete (or partial or modified) system of direct compulsory taxation for the sup- port of the same, bo passed into an enactment by the Legislature, this end will not be accomplished. May it therefore please your Honourable House to take the foregoing piemises into consideration, and pass such a measure, as, in your wisdom you may deem advisable ; and your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will «ver pray. ^^■) f^ ' ' V^