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^^?^f-^^-^r

APPEAL

ON'

THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW

Its Incongruity and Maladministration.

SETTINa FORTH THE NECESSITY

A imiSTER OF PUBLIC mSTRUCTIOJI, |

RESPONSIBLE TO PARLIAMENT.

I To His Excellency Sir EBMUND WALKER HEAD, Bart,, A

V Governor General of Canada, 4*^., S^c.

B"^ .A.]sra-xjs jdj^XjUuJ^q.

(p <"0 magna vis rcritatis, qufp. contra liominum in^enia, callidilatem, solcrtiam,
K! contraqiie omnium itmdiA.if:, facile se per sdpsam defmUU ! "

I'BINTED AND PUBLISHKJ) AT THE OFFICK OF THE "CATHOLIC CITIZEN-," COHNKR C)!|
J, OF COLBOR^JE STREET AND EXCHANGE ALLEV. — PKICE TEN CENTS. (

1858

ix'D-

cP:

^^^^G>^-|(^XgG^f^^G^°>(tg^'

■(*

APPEAL

THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW

fts Incongruily and Maladministration.

SETTIXa FORTH THE NECESSITY

A MINISTER OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION,

RESPONSIBLE TO PARIJAMENT.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR EDJmND WALKER HEAD, Bart,

Governor General of Canada, ly'c., S,'C.

» ^ »

B'Y A.3Sra-XJS 33A.XiI-.A.S-

« — »

*• magna vis veritatia, qu(V contra hominum ingcnia, cuiuditatevfi, soleriiamy wn-
tra^ue omnium insidias, facile se per seipsam defendat f "

T0I103>TT0:

PRIKTEB AND PUllLISIItD AT THE OFFICi: OF TIIK "CATHOLIC CITIZRH," COANKR OT
COUiORNE STREET AND EXCHANOB ALLEY. — PRICE TEN CENTS.

1858.

'il

iPPElL 0^ TIJE COMMOX SCUOOL LAW.

May it please Your Excellincy :

Seven years experience of the trerking of
ihe Common School Act cf 1850, and it«
Amentlmeiit-s, exhibits a contimious geiies 6f
protestations and remonstrances, repoAled
year after year, by religicus bodies and by
individuals, without having received any
other notice than contempt, nor ar^y other
• reply than insolence fitm tht; officer who
presides over the school depaKraent in this
.><ection of the Pivvince. A circumstance
which IS ascribablo to the' fact that he is, by
law, responsible rftithcr to Parliament nor
to pitblic opinion, My own case furnishes
an exampJe cf the manner in which objec-
tors and their objections havti been treated.
At one tin^e. when I drew attention to the
'.nconsistwicy of clergymen officiating in
a purely secular sy,st(!m from which re-
ligious instruction is discaided, I was said
10 be «a protege of the Bishop," and that
■ '. "evidently intended to secure the mo-
:io})oly of this year's ekM.'tiouecriug business
tt) the clerical editor of the Church, and his
coadjutors." * At another— for questioning
the justice of a compulsory school assess-
ment, such as thiit in ToroutO; without its
necessary counterpart, eouipulsory attend-
ance, 1 was accused of being actuated bv
mercenary motives in enler to save my
property from t^fcxation. For pointing out
the irreligious tendency of primary schools
on an exclusively secular basis, 1 was
called a " sceptic writer,'' and said »• to be
>Hjei)tical as to the Christian religion itsolf."
And when I showed, from an exposition of

» Corre.pwndeiK e .I" "A Layman" and " A
MMober of ibf Coiin< il of Publi/ Inittru«:tJoB." ia
tU« Calvmst »»r 12lh August, 1H61.

[the principle, operation and practical results
cf ithe school system,* that it was imported
I' from. Massachusetts and was designed for
• a Republican and Unitarian community, and
proved Irom official statistics that it had
failed there and was a failure also here, tlie
ordy reply was, that " the professed facts of
this pamphlet are fictions, so far as they
apply to our schools, and so lar as they re-
late to myself personally and to the Normal
School."! I have cited my own case here,
not as exceptional, but as a specimen of
the uniform treatment which others have
received who, like myself, have not felt
tiisposed to submit to a species of sckool
despotism, which begins by violating the
sacred rigltt of conscience, and ends in the
lucrative emoluments enjoyed by the chief
functionary v/hom the law has invested
with a^Ditrary and absolute power.

At- the commencement of the last eeeyion
cf Parliament I addres.-ed tfie lion. Attor-
ney Gcf;erii! .Mncdonald, not only on the
malformatioti and nuiladministration of the
Comnion School i.aw, but I likewise ad-
duced su Illcieiit evidence to show that the
Chiff Superintendent of Schools had misun-
derstood the ditlerence between the objects
of ])opular cdiieation in i::urope and the
United Stales ; and that from this misun-
derstanding had origljKited the whole of our
co;rit!i,'a school misfortunes, and the disin-
gentUHis artifices which have been employed
for the purpose of concealing the latent and

*The Cuniin.)ii 5.-l,ool SvMtiii, ii» Prmciirif,
Operation andliteuila: Tlio.iip»i)ii At Co., J86.5.

t Letter of (be CVimf Superintendfuf to tb«
Hon AUwrnwy GtjueraJ Mfctdwiiald, 2nd April,

\PPKAL ON THE COMMON SCIf(K7L i.WV.

inherent as well a« to {,'loss over the appa-
rent defects of the school syrilem. Since
l! <Mi ilie official Annual Report lias beoii
puhlislieil, contoininfj a repetition of the
hl.ilements and iiifereiu'es, which I had
proved from the odicial statistics wert? false
and perverted. And in addition to tliis re-
petition of the previous jxMverted statements
IS an evasive reply, on several mattrial
points, which are disjx)se<l of with a simple
denial. But this privile^ie of evadin:: pub-
lic enquiry and settinijf public opinion at
defiance, inconsistent as it is with our
1 ousted system of Rtjsponsihle (lovernment,
is still Inrthcr confirmed and rendered less !
M.sHuilable by virtue of the ofTicial circula- i
tion, broadcast, over the Province, of the '
."•aid i)ervcrted statements, eva.Mons and '
(.'M.'iiais at the expense of th(; public revenue. |
Atrainst a school department so invested I
with irresponsible and arbhrary puwcis. ;iil i
appeals to public opinion and to tiie Parlia-
ment of the country on the inetfic;ein'y ot I
ihe schools have failed to obtain an inipiir- j
tial heariiiii'. And it is only after 1ryin(r |
every other availuMe means, aiKJ exhaust-
lati; tl;e ordinary sources of redress, that I
now adopt the ultimate and extrenif' con-
,«tiiii*.ional alternative of appt^alinjjj to Your
ivvcelle-.icy. As the .vltn clause; of the
Common .School Act inakes the Chief
.Superintendent of School.-* •' responsible to
and subject to the liirectiou" of Your Excel-
lency a'une, it is obvious that V ur Ex-
cellency is thereby made ultimately and
directly responsible for the administration
ol tlie depaitiiKiut ; more es!iecially when
It is rriaiJe evident, beyond the possibility
of tlirip-,.t(\ that the manner in which its
duties arc pcirormod, is chaiacterized by
mistin 1eistandin.u; and irictliciency, and pro-
lific of politic".! an I reliuious dissensions,
which tl-reaten the 'iisunion of the Pro-
vince .'ind impcie Vour ICxcellency's
(iovernment. In fddressina: the Hon. li- j
lorney Ceneral Mncionald, I pointed out tlui
necessity of having a Minister of Public In-
striiction. a,s ilie only method by which to

fix the r>-))onsibiIity where it properly
should be. The additional facts wliich
am about to sRpply will sustain that recora-
mendatiou. In thr tneantiine, in appealing
to Your Kxcellency through a public chan-
nel, I do so for the pur[>ose of submitting \o
Vonr Evcellency'si'oiisiileration, a series of
spi'cilic char<,'es a^^aiiist the present admin-
istration of the school law.

Before coiidescencling on these sjiecific
charges, which I shall notice seriatim ; and
in order tn be abh; to estimate more fully
the yrsituitous nature of tiie evils complained
ot, i? may be proper to st.ito thai. ]irevioiis
t(i the intnxhiclion oi the Massachusetts
schooi system by the present Chief Superin-
tendent, and its embodiment in the Provin-
cial School Act (if 1850. the Common .ScIkxjIr
were supported by rfite bill, aided by aiv
annual j^^rant lioiu the provincial revenue
on conilition that each county should raise,
l)y local Irjxation, an amount equal to its
share of :he i^raiil. These schcK>ls whether
Protestant or Konian Catholic were placed
on the same footiuir and enjoyed equally the
protection, the privileyes and financial aid
j^ranted by the Legislature. The unalloyed
harmony wiiich then prevailed was the
eiiect of spontaneous airencies adapted to
the wants and necessities of a population
consi.>tinfjt of various relifjious communions.
This was the old Canadian system. It was
general ; and aimed at the universal educa-
tion oi the youth of the Province. It no doubt
wanted developm<?nt, which it would hare
received in the ordinary and natural
course of events. But the year 1850 wit-
nessed the introduction of the New Eng-
land non-religions element, the non-political
ofiice of Chief Superintendent, independent
Boards of School Trustees, elected by howe-
hold (male and female) suffrage, and com-
pulsory local taxation on property f©r the
sc.pport of free schools ; accompanied by
polen.ical essays, setting forth the moral
and scholastic virtues and achievements of
the New Englanders, as surpassing any
thing recoriled iu the annals of either ancient

APPV.A!. (>\ IHE COMMON SCHOOL I-AW.

or rnoilmt limes. 'I'l.cii commciioed those
ifiuls iiiitl lioart-liiiiniiiuf*, l)y wliicli the last
sr\(Mi years hiive ln'cn si;.'M;ili/.e(l ; and
tlicnee \\\f (k'focts, tin* inconsiMem'ies!, the
pt'rv(M>iinii of facts :iml coiicenhneul of re-
siihs, wMch 1 shall now profeod to specify
in detail.

1. — Tilt: OrriciAi. Statistics not Re-
1.IA05.1:.

Under this head are comprehended the
Teachcrtii' records, th(.' Tmstees' returns, tlie
report.- of the Local SupeiititeiidtMits, and
Die Chief Superintendents' ;uiiiiiij| report. If
would he unreasonable U) expect that, with
» change of teachers (;very six months and
an annual change of Trustees m\d Local
Superintendents, and in the aksence at the
same time of a stall" of vigilant (Government
Inspectors, the statistics should be correct.
Witli a defective .machinery the annual re-
turns cannot be otherwise than imperfect.
It would be unreasonable to look for any
other resuh. We find, therefore, that they
oofrespond with the pieviousiy ascertained
conditions of their being.

1st. The Chief Superintendent says in his
last annua! report for 1856 : '' The returns
of tiie school poj)nlatio". between the ages of
five anti sixteen years are too defective to be
given;" and, "The returns in this table in
regard to school houses, are so imperfect,
and involve so many inconsistencies when
compared with those of the preceding year,
as to render them of little value;" and
again : <' After making all these deductions,
and accounting lor the employment of
teachers trained in the Normal School in
teaching other than Conmion Schools, the
very imperfect returns rejwrt 430* Normal
School teachers as employed in the Common
Schools at the present time." Here, it will
be observed, are three separate confessions,

♦The number so stated is delusive, for the
official tables show only 142 Normal School
Teachers employed ni all the Commuu Schools
during the year 1S66. Vide the chapter ou the
Normal School.

that the returns of the school population, o:
the number of school iiouses and the mua-
ber of teachers are incorrect.

2d. From the extracts of the Local Super-
intendents, contained in the same annual
report, I take the following:

" I am not without hojies ot' hrincing them (iho
Trustcos) to uiulcr.-lniKl the lui-e.^sily ul licia»r
ahle to lay before the [iciiple a cdiret't linaiifial
return and an annual re[n)it." — It'. JJ. Im/i>,
J^fij., EUwardjihin i^k. Puye 134.

" Tlii-re aio, in tins townslnp, trusttt-t'S wli"» can
neither read nor write. I mention tlii.s m urder to
show that the sseleclion ol Mich iiei.Miiis i* mjiiri-
oiis to the carryiiiff out ct' llie ('oiiiniini S'liool
Act, and that men are a|i|>omlcd eiitiifly uiKil Icr
that important mlice." — John Sp'u/L.', £"•»'/,
Storringtoii. Page 112.

" In spite of ail the lecliiriiig and advic* given.
it seems impoMsible to obtain correct ininuie.'s ol
school proceedinics ; indeed 111 some >ections there
is not any minute book at ail, trustees are alraid
of incurring expenses anddilhculties, and arbitra-
tions are the result, i)urti<;iilarly a deletlive an-
nual report." — Tlie Etc. John CI i)uu,Darl ivy-
ton. Page 163.

*' Education is rather backward amoni? us ;
perhaps we would be tlie better of observing the
regulations more strictly. To write this report
from those of the triislces, as f would wish, is not
possible, yet I know they have done their best*'
— David Watson, Esq.^'Thora, Pa;je 157.

" Although the report is not very flattering, the
deficiencies are to be ascribed not to the arrange-
ments but to the managers. Want of informa-
tion and exactness, particularly in the transaction
of business on the part of trustees, are sometime*
a serious hindrance to 8U<;cess." — Tfit; Kev.
Robert Rodgers, Norvirk, North.' Page Hti.

"Although there are some imperfections in the
reports I now transmit, yet I think Ihey are nioie
comprehensive than those of last >ear. In many
sections the trustees aie more alive to their duties
and more prompt and accurate in dischargini;
them, still it is to be deplored that there are many
who are careless or incom|)etent, or both." — Tht
Rev. Edmund Shtppeul, Bayham, Dorchester.
Page 194.

Now the responsibility for the defective,
and in many cases fictitious returns, of thew
ignorant and careless Trustees, cannot be
got rid of, as has been attempted, by fasten-
ing the blame on the parents and others by
whom these Trustees are elected. So long
as Trustees and Local Superintendents,
whether detected or not, can act with im-
punity in the non-performance of their pre-
■cribed duties, the prospect of amendment
must be very remote. Under Government

inspection these irregularities could not

▲PPBAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

occur. Herein we perceive the (lifierence
between the New England and Canadian
•jatem on the one ham!, which entrusts the
local management exclusively to irrcspon-
•ible and uninformed local authorities ; and
on the other, the Irish,. English and German
system, which places the Trustees under
the immediate anil rigid supervision of Gov-
ernment Inspectors. On the ineflicinncy of
the Local Superintendence I submit the fol-
lowing^ :

" On thi.^ eroiintl I take the liberty of express-
ing an opinion wilhregnrd to the ol'Ree of. Local
SiipiTintemlent. Take my own "aae ns an ex-
• mple. Threeyear* sini-e I wjis apprisied of my
present cliarge. Tlie Connty Council allowed
j£l 5» per school, and T hud 35 of them, making
i»n annual silnry ot .£43 1y«. I had necewiarily
to provide and keep a horse, with other tnvellini?
irqnipnipiils, and to meet expenses and postage.
For the (irst two years this wa."« my. only .wnrce
of inooini'. Aficr the l.st April, 1B<j6, my^ pay
wn<< raised to .£1 10s. per suhool, making for the
In'^t 12 Miontlis .£.')2 lOs. I do not say it is too
littlo, hnt with even thissiim, the "Jtery conditions
o(" »'xisten(!e required me '.o seek out s'^nie ad-
ditional means, and attention to other liiities had
materially inierfjred with mysehooi • i..;, * *
A person whose attention is princijii.'; jnd dnr-
ins; the srreater part ot his time directed to mat-
ters onl ot Iccepiiiar with teaching, is not prepared
on entering a school, tn innnifest that readine>ji
and tact, which constant practice and familiarity
with difltrent plans of arrangement and i.iethod's
are fitted to call forih.'" — Roln-t Bri/tlfjn, Esq.,
JJumfrirs North and Watf.itoo. Page 177.

" I never fdt so folly the force of a remark
made by my predecessor, with reference to the
too frequent changing ot Superintendents, as T
Hid in hiiing np. these reports. I had no idea af
the extent of the siatisticnl information required
by yon until the arrival of the forms. The few-
nes" of offiiial visits may be accounted for by the
fact of my prede(u'.«sor visiting none for the la.st
half year, as he intended to resign hi.'* olRce on
account of the in^■lllii^•lenc;/; ot remuneration, a
circumstance whuiv, I (c(u'', will lead to similar
re.suits in more cases t!-ian his." — 77t« R'v.
Thomis MTr))he)soii, Cunnty of Perth. Page
IS2.

*< How can the former (the Local Superinten-
dents), on thesMiall pittance allowed them, attend
the County Hoards an<l pay iheirown expanses
four tiinen in the year, visit all the schools twice,
4eliver ten or twelve lectures, and attend to all
the other affairs of the township. Until he is
better remunerated the duties are not likely to be
etncienlly perlormed, however much he may de-
sire the public good. Then frequent changing of
Superintendents is not likely to amend the mat-
ter, .nnd it must be the case until we are more
justlv compensated "—The Rev. Richard Saul,
Adelaide. Page 187.

On the inefficiency and worlhleMneas of

this American system of lot^il suporinten-

dence> tlie following correajwndence between

tho' County Counoil and'Board of Instruction

for the Count/ of York \* conclusive:

"Mr. Gamble then proceeded to make nome
remarks upon the returns of .vchonl nltendnnce
made by the ^ii|>erir.lendents, and slid that al!
the ntambers ot this Council would rememlnT
that) he had always id)jet.-ted to ih? amployment
of Ministers, m ■ because he ol.jfi ted to relicious
men hawing the control of the .schools, but be-
cause you cannot gel ministers of liie gospel lo
take upon themselves mII the labor connected
with the ofRce. Then again in the making up of
the school returns, there wa.s a general coiiiplaint
of ineflici»»ncy, and hf thought it would l)e well
to consider whether they cculd not carry out a
better system. Mr. Tyre'l followed upon the
subject of i^^egu^^^ity of.'lhe returns, ncducing an
in.atance in -which the ntimber of scholars hadi
l)een exaggerated from pecuniary motives by the
teacher; and several in which the return given
exceeded the amount of the population in the
section. It was not a' together the fault of the
Local Superintamlunts that the returns were in-
correct, because they ba.sed them on the reports
made by the leacihers, without knowing whether
they were right or wronir. He suecrested that the
Assessors should be required to make the neces-
sary returns, in iiddition to their presant duties."
— Promtdins:^ af County Council in the Gloht
of June 13th, KSy7."-

" A communication from the Board of Instruc-
tion for the County of York, stating that they
had considered the question resrarding Local Su-
perintendents, to which their attention was called
by an extract from the proceedings of the Stand-
ing Committee of this Council. The Board diti
not con.sidcr the objections tangible; nttritmted
the specific acts complained of to the nc:jlect
rather of the Tru>tees and Teachers than of the
Local Superintandent.s; and suggested that a
change of peisons would be preferable to a
ohanire of tlie system, where it was found the
Local Superintendents did not do their duty." —
Proree/tin^s of th« Coiniiy Council, in the
Colonist of .Tnnuary 27, 1S58.

" Tn reference to the raamorial from the mem-
bers of the County Board of Public Instruction,
the Coinmittec did not agree in the views .«et forth
bv the Board in the'i (communication to the Coun-
cil. On lookine to the minutes of the Council,
the Commitie%llnd that the retiiedy suggested had
been already tried with but little appa.'-ent suc-
cess. The .salary of th-i Superintendents had
been already incren.sed, and the duty devolving
upon them materially lessened. Still, in many
instances, the Committee had reason to believe
the duties incumbent upon the Local Superinten-
dents were much neglected in many ca.ses." —
Prorffdinirs of the County Council, in the Cula-
7iist of 6th February, IS-OS.

Now what is the value of the tables and
statistics contained in the Chief Superinten-
dent's annual general report, when with this.

APPEAL ON THF. COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

evidence from official local eoHrces the tnie
facts are, that the f^ocal Superintendents do
not perform their diify, that they are unable
H) act up to the requirements of the law, that
the Teachers ajiil Trustees have conse-
quently no check on their proceeding,'??,
and consequently the returns from school
sections are fabricated to suit the pecuni;iry
ititerests or to conceal the incapacity or indo-
lence of the persons makinjr said returns ?
Based on such damnatory testimony, the
tables cannot be otherwise thaji altogether
fictitious.

3d. The internal evidence of the annual
tabular returns of the Cliicf Superintendent,
wherever there is a means of comparison
and detection, bears out their fictitious char-
acter. Tlio way in which the tables are
made up, however, is calculated to evade
and preclude an inspection of the real facts.
In Ireland this evasion is not possible. Jn
referring to the statistics of tlie Commissiuu-
ers (if National Kducation in Ireland, I go
back and take the returns tor 1846, the ysar
In which our present Chief Superintendent
^sumed his present office. I do this more
particularly, for the reason that it may be
seen that the best digested, most perfect and
concise statistical school forms were open
for our acceptance at a time when the intro-
duction of the present Canadian soliool sys-
tem was prospective. From the Irish Com-
missioners' report, for 1846, now lying before
me, I find full statistical returns of the chil-
dren, on the rolls, the number of teachers,
the tinances, &c., &.c., of each school, com-
prised in the 3,637 common schools then
imder the control and supervision of the
Commissioners. Tliey first give a tabular
summary, or birds-eye view, of the working
and financial condition of the schools through-
out the whole of Irnland,, Next the same
information for eaeh province? of the four
provinces into <yliich Ireland is diyitled..
And after\\:ards, under t|he. division of par-
ishes, the. s^^me in/*or.m^ion with respect to
^ach, and eyery school separately in each

parish. So that the teacher, manaper < r
patron of any particular school in any part
of Ireland rea<ls in the annual general report
of the Commissioners the same an<l iden-
tical information which he himsell had sup-
plied' in a separate form. The New-Fnglaud
and Canadian method is to give the town
and county returns in the aggregate. Kct
example, in the County of York which com-
prehends ten townships, no township \h!^\d
of School Trustees can gather any kind <■(
information, either financial or othrr, rela-
ting to the schools of the township, liom tfie
annual general tables. Any sort of r'^turns
may be handed in by the teachers (wi-l trii'--
tees. The Local Superintendc^n! ii;iiy n< t
know whether they are correct or net. This
latter functionary makes up and lurv.jirdH tiis
(I'lirns, the correctness or fictitioije:iets rf
which nobody knows anything ut-out, I e-
cause nobo<lv has any means of knowing.
And the Thief Superintcndenl, fiJiully pro-
pa •>« and publishes a mass of fiiruree, <'(n-
ceiuing the accuracy of which he i«, in tiis
turn , perfectly ignorant. And so the ( Jcvcrri-
ment and the Country are without ariv
guarantee, as io the characterof the OliuiaJ
School Reports.

The absence in o'lr school system, d I'liy
means of detection such as thnse provided
for in the Irish and European sy.stem, fnits
it out of my power to test the annual statis-
tics in the way that otherwise would rinve
been possible. I must therefore content iny-
self with the discrepancies, betweiMi tfie
fiijures in the tables, and those in the verl^a!
evtracts from the reports of the Local Super-
intendents. These, however, are «u!ficieri{
to show, to some extent, the unreluihif cna-
racterof the official general returns, 'i'hey
are as follows :

First. — The 44th Clause of the Common
School Act, on thq granting ot Xoirnal
^hov'l provincial Certificates, cone hales
thus :-^" Provided always, that no such
certificate shall be given to any person who
shall not have been a student in the Nc/imsl

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LA^AT

tJchool." Notwithstanding, in the table of
School Teachers, pages 43 and 45 of the
Ijist Annual Report for 1846, the County of
Dundas is represented as having 1 teacher
holding such certificate who was never in
the Normal School ; Grenville 2, Lanark 4,
Prince Edward 3, the Town of Picton 1,
Amherstburgh 1, the Villa:'e of St. Thomas
1, and the City of Hamilton 20.

Second — Alexander Workman, Esquire,
Local Superintendent for the City of Ottawa,
t^ays in the extract from his lleport, page
'•^03 : " Six of the teachers bearing first-cJass
certificates, were trained at the Normal
?!chool in Toronto ; the others hold the same
class from the County Board of Public In-
struction." Yet on turning to the table,
at page 43, the number stated as having at-
tf iided the Normal School and holding its
certiiicates is only 2 ; the number holding
lirst-class certificates from the County Board
is also only 2 ; while 13 are set down as
holding second-class, and 2 as holding
liiiid-class certificates from the same Board ;
Hud 3 teachers more rank so low that they
iire set down as unclassified.

Third — John Nairn, Esq., says of the
fcii(X)is in the ten townships of which he is
J.ijcal Superintendent, page 183: <' Durhig
liie hist SIX months thirty-five have changed
teachers, and the evil results accruing from
the.st' removals are really deplorable." On
turning to the table, however, page 43, it
stiito^, that of tlie seventeen townships com-
prised in the whole county of Huron, in-
cluJiug the ten of which Mr. Nairn is
Siip-jriniuudent, only 5 schools had changed
teachers during the year.

Fourth — .lohn B. Denton, Esq., Superin-
teiuleiit for the County of Prince Edward,
rMiuuks, pagi^ 145: '<I mubt say that the
majonty of our teachers are femjiles, with
but a very limited amount of information,
both as reganis the science of teaching and
the subjects taught." But on reference to
the >ame table, page 43, the staltMnenl is
OS males and only 19 females.

Fifth — The average attendance, in the
schools of the township of Gloucester, is
stated, by the Rev. Wm. McGill, at page
133, to be 717. Now a little calculation
will prove this number to be exactly double
of what is the truth, and of what should have
been stated. First, the total number of
pupils in all the schools of the ten town-
ships of the County Carlton in 1856, was
5445. Second, the proportion of total pupils
in Glou ester to the total pupils of the
County in 1855 was 17 6-7 per cent. And,
third, the proportion of total average attend-
ance to the total pupils of the county in
1854, the last year for which the average
attendance was given, was 42^ per cent.
From these data it will be seen that 17 6-7
per cent, of 5445, and 42^ per cent, of the
product, will be just about half the number,
717, stated in the Report.

Sixth — To the exclusion of tabular re-
turns for each school in the Province, the
only safe check even where Government
Inspectors are employed, the Annual Re-
port is filled with long prosy diatribes that
in most cases are tissues of baseless assump-
tions. The space occupieil by extracts 51,
103, 126 and 128, would be suflicient to
give a separate return, on the Irish plan,
for every school in Canada West. In place
of this practical business course, the Gov-
ernment is treated every year with sermons
on the blessings of book learning, on the
right of the secularists to tax the property
of all, on the consistfuey between the vol-
untary principle anil compulsory practice,
&c., &c., by a class, in most cases, of ex-
temporized school authorities who have as
much practical acquaintance or theoretical
knowledge, touching the true principles of
education and general polity, as the new-
fledfred school teachers who emanate from
the Normal School, after a five month's
grinding. I have no hesitation in sayi'jg
that the long extracts 103 and 128 (with
others, in which statistics are given, and
thereby an opportunity of detection ii

^5^

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

afforded) are untruthful. Any one can dis-
cover this by making a comparison with the
returns of previous years.

These cases and facts, gathered cursorily
from the official documents, not only bear
out my charge of the unreliableness of the
annual general statistics, published by the
Chief Superintendent ; but more, they de-
monstrate that the returns, taken as a whole,
are fictitious ; and testify, both in the choice

and the working of the present common
school system, to the grossest administralive
incapacity.

The Normal School an Expensive
Fraud.

The object for which the Normal School
was established, in 1846, was to supply the
2736 Common Schools, then existing, wiih
a better class of teachers. At the close of
1856 it had been exactly ten years in
operation. In that time the number oi
students admitted and who received in-
struction, for the purpose of becoming
teachers, is 1398.

During the same period, to the clo»e oi
1856, the number of teachers employed m
all the Common Schools in this section of
the Province had increased from 2736 to
3689. So that the demand I'oi a belter
class of teachers had consequently increas-
ed in like proportion.

Now the success or failure of the Normal
School is to be determiiied Dy the number
and character of the teachers, holding its
certificate, who are found oHiciating in the
Common Schools. And the rule by which
this number and this character of the
teachers is to be measured is the practical
one existing in countries wherein Normal
Schools have been long and suece.ssfully in
operation, wherein they have been tho-
roughly tested, and the lesults recorded in
reliable official returns. lu my letteis
signed *' A Prote;tant," I st 'ed the ru'es

and practice m Europe with respect to the
periods cf attendance and training, and also
the guarantees for the continuance of the
teachers in the profession. With these
necessary safeguards, the Con'mon Schools
in Europe have been supplied with the full
compliment of teachers, which it was cal-
culated the Normal Schools would be able
to produce. In no case that I know of has
there been disappointment on this Lead.
Consequently, making all reasonable allow-
ance for casualties aganiht which no human
prudence is available, the number o! train-
ed teachers employed in the Comuiou
Schools in Europe is that which the Normal
Schools have sent forth. Whether, as at
Potsdam the number of students is limited
by law, to 80, and the c<;urse of training' to
three years, or as in Ireland the number of
students is indefinite and the course ex-
tends to only four months, the results cor-
respond in each case, exactly with the cal-
culations on which they had previously
been based, both as to the number and
competency of the teachers ; for, while at
Potsdam the limited number in attendance
and extended period of training are adapted
to students who intend to become teachers,
the case is very dillerent in Ire and where
the students have been already teachers, and
alteudthe Normal Schucl lor the purpose of
becoming practically acquainted with the
system of discipline. In each case the
design, the means and the results are found
to harmonize, however dillerent tiie cir-
cumstances. Whh such a rule for our
^juidance, the course to be pursued in test-
iii<r the results of the Toronto Normal
School is plain and definite. Accordingly
[ submit here from the ammal olficial re-
ports, for four years from 1853 inclusive ;
lirst, the whole number of Common School
teachers employed in Canada West, in each
year ; second, the whole number ol student-s
who had been mstructed and passed through
the Normal School since its commence-
ment ; third, the whole number who had

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

received Provincial certificates of compe-
tency to teach ; and fourth, the whole num-
ber, holding said ceiliHcates, employed in
the Common Schools.

1863.

1S64.

1855.

1866.

.NiimlKT of rnnimoii Pchool
Ti'iiclitirB ill C'aiinda West..

3530

3539

3565

308«

Numljer of Shidcnts who at-
tended the Normal School
Rince its commoneemont..

918

1091

1316

1398

KumlxT who rpcrived Nor-
mal .School I'rovincial Cer-
tificates...

106

209

289

41t

NoiMber holditnj s.iid Certifl-
Oftteg teaching In the Com-
mon Scbooln . ..

169

160

142

By this, it is seen, that after having been
in operation for ten years, and had been ;'.t-
tended by 1398 .students, of whom 413 had
received Provincial certificates of comp«-
tency to teach, only 142 * holding said cer-
tificates were employed teaching in 1846.
Being 27 less than were so employed in
each of the year,? 1855 and 18.54 preceding.

Notwithstanding this fact, the Chief
Superintendent, enumerating the duties of
the Department of Public Instruction, at
pages 24 and 25 of the la,«t Annual Keport,
says: <*-3. IVte Normal Sr/inol for the
special training of teachers, about one hun-
dred of whom are sent out per year."
This extract forms, in the report, a perfect
pavagraph by itself; a circumstance that

^T\\e Chief Superintemlent states in his raport
"430 Normal School teachers are einployed in the
Common Si-hools at the present time." This is
an error, however; and I finJ I was entrapped
into makma; a somewhat similar mistake when I
supposed in my letters, ."iigned "A Protestant,"
that the 376 and 374 repo-ted as trained at the
Norma] School in the years lS.'54and lt<55 respec-
tively, were possessed of oertitioates. Now no
teacher can be termed a Normal School teaclier
unless he is certified as such, which mark of
qualification cannot he here assumed. Of the
430, only 142 held certificates. The other 288
must be set down as belonginir to th** awkward
sqmd; and therefore being, l)y this very fact, in
competent, cannot be ranked as "Normal School
teachers " The attci.pt to do 9o in the present
oase, whatever the mottv* m»y h«v« been, it an
otfieial irregularity.

makes the fraudulent and dishonest state-
ment which it contains the more flagrant.

As to the competency of 'hese 142 certi-
fied teaclters, whether we take the evidence
of) the Huron Signal, that the certified
teacher at (Joderich was " either not qualifi-
ed for Jie Corrimon School, or the Common
School was not qualified for him ;" or of a
member of the Board of School Trustees in
Toronto that— "He did not attach the slight-
est value to these first class certificates. He
had known first class teachers turned out
from the Normal School, who could not
even spell common English words of one
syllable correctly. There were undue
facilities aflbrded for obtaining such certifi-
cates from the Normal School. He intend-
ed at .some future day to move that all City
teachers be examined by the Superintendent
and a Committee of the Board ;" or of a
" Parent" who a-fended an examination of
the pupils of one of the Toronto Common
Schools that, after the teacher had examin-
ed them in several of the higher and more
showy branches, he, the " Parent " having
been permitted to [nit a question to a class
in which was his own child, "not one in
that cla jS could tell how many coppers it
took to make a York shilling." Or, leaving
these popular evidences, if we turn to the
regulations for the terms of admission and
periods of attendance, of students who have
not been teachers, young ^fuls and girls with
no fixed resolution as to the future, and
influenced by no moral or social obligation
to follow the teacher's calling, — in a coun-
try too surrounded by circumistances
which offer such numberless temptations to
embark in the more profitable speculations
of commerce, we arrive at the same issue,
namelv, that these certified teachers at pre-
sent officiating in the Common Schools are,
as a general rule, the worst and most infe-
rior of the whole number of youths to whpm
Normal School Pipvincial certificatee have.,
been granted.

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

•nest state-
flagrant.

142 certi-
e evidence
e certified
not qualifi-
J Cnmmon
;" or of a
Trustees in
the slight-
icates. He
turned out
could not
rds of one
>re undue
ich certifi-
Ic intend -
at all City
irintendent
;" or of a
nination of

Common

1 examin-

and more

t" having

to a class
not one in
coppers it
'r, leaving
turn to the
ission and
who have
girls with
iture, and
obligation
in a coun-
imstances
ptations to
eculations
ime issue,
3rs at pre-
;hools are^
most infe-
} to whpin
ates hay^;

The- evil then is two-fold. In the first
place the r« are only 142 certified teachers
tmong the 3689 Common School teachers
reported ;. and second, these 142, tested by
lihe European standard, are of the most in-
ferior grade. This too after the Normal
School has completed its tenth years'
operations, at f n expense to the Prormciai
Revenue of over $122,240, exclusive of
the cost of buildmgs and furniture; being
$860 which each such teacher has cost.

Let us now see what the Local Superin-
tendents say about the number and quality
of the teachers, and the absolute dearth
of what they call for as an indispen-
sable condition of a school system. The
complaints of the Local Superintendents,
on this head, are of annual repetition. Of
late, however, they are becoming more
general and the last annual general report,
from which I make the following ex^txacts,
exemplifies this :

" I regret to state that I cannot transmit yon
very fiaitering nccoiints of the procuress of ediu-a-
tion in this township. In my ollicial visits and
examination of pupils, instead of findinsr improve-
ment and pronress, as J fuiticipated, I found
rather an habitual sluggishness combined with
carelessness and inattention, ifet, I found sever-
al of the pupils who could read and spe!l correctly
and distinctly, although I met with f"!;w who
could give m« the detinition of a single word, or
who seemed to comprehend the subject in their
reading lessons. This stale of allairs in our Com-
mon Schools is truly to be deplored. And the
question arises ; to what cause* must be attri-
outed this tardiness and lethargy so signally dis-
played in. our schools ? The answer is i)bvi()us
and easily solved. In the fi.stplace,a total want
of elTicient teachers ; another, and not the least
tause, is a want of will in the trustees and people
to provide able teachers ;. and while our schools
are taught by so.niany inetficient and untrained
persons, who have neither system nor knowledge
to i.npart, how can we hope to see them prosper,
or education to advance? And if illiterate and
seltish trustees arc empowered and sulieied to
engage teachers of the lowest standan', and of
the least capabili'.ies to be the instructors and ad-
nionishers of youth, what els»* can be expected
than a total failure of our expectations in school
improvements " — Iltctor McRae, Esq., Charlot-
teubnrg/i, County Glengarry.

" f have much pleasure in .stating the Free
School system prevails here ; and although it is
lamentable to observe that a large nimiber of
children of proper age in the township do not at-
tend, it is not entirely owing to the inditlerence

or negligence of parents, but in most rase* to the
want of (fficient teachers." — Owen Q»igt*y%
Esq., Lochiel, L'minty Glengarry.

''Another i.s that some teachers, althovgh they
may most creditably pass an examination in order
to acquire their county certificate, yet for want of
diligence and a certain aptitude to leach are, a.s
to success, far behind some of their brethr»*n
whose mental endowments are inferior." — James
Frithy Esq., JPUintagcnet South, County Fret-
eott.

" I should like to see the teacher elevated to a
higher position in society, so that teaching w^'uld
not become a stepping stone to something wise ;
but a profession." — Rfv. Peter Lindsay, A- B.y.
Cumberland, County Rvssell.

" The idea gains on the public mind that the best
teacher is the cheapest ; may it soon become a,
settled opinion in every section of our land, that
there must be a trained teacher in every school.
We have the'raw material — workshops — books —
prtt^rns, &c., br , we want artists of suflicient'
skill to mould this valuable material into the
meful and beautiful forms it is capable of assum-
mg. In other words we want good teachers —
Rev. JoJui Edv.<ards, Clarence, Comity Russell.

"I. think it right, however, that you should be
aware of my opinion that there will never be a
satisfactory condition of educational interests in
this part of the province until all teachers are
trained at the Normal School, and until they are
persons wlio.se heart is in their duty. * # *
VV^ithout the zeal referr<*d to in this quotation, I
think no one can be a succet*ful teacher; if all
teachers with moderate education possessed it,
children would be .so enger to go to school, that
there would not be many nbsentees to be charged
to the inditlerence or nc^^lect of parents." — Rev.
James Godfrey, ILiutlty and. March, County
Carleton .

" In some sections in these townships educa-
tion does not advance so much as could be
wished, in coiisc.'iiicnce of employing incompe-
tent teachers." — Lewis Chipmnn. Esq , Bastard
and Burgess, South, County Uitnville.

"Many of the prejudices existing against the
school system are, 1 think, fast wearing away,
and when we can be sii|>i»lied with a belter class
ol (pialitied teachers, and not until then, will our
Common S( hools become what they should be."
— Arsa Pnrish, Esq., Yonge and Escott Rear,.
County Leeds.

"Upon the whole I am sati.<-fied the schools are
ill an improving condition, liiil it would be much,
more rapid if the trustees could procure a belter,
class of teachers. I believe llicy are willing to
increr e the salaries, but from the pr^isent class
of individuals who mostly resort to teaching with,
no intention of making it a profession, very little
can l)e hoped. Probably the inlluence of the
Normal School may in course of time be bene-
ficially extended to these parts." — Rev, John
Bell Worrell, Elmsley North, County Laf.iri.

"There is an evil which the school law, as it
exists, does not seem to provide against, and that
is, the admission of persons to the rank ol teach-
ers, who are under age. Several mere boys
have ol lata presented themselves at the County

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW

Board fx exHiiiinatinn, and being iiiurally and
mttflleo'ua ly ijiiaiiik-J, wc liiid no jiuwer to le-
lusc liifiii certUJcule."'. Tlie.-e soiiietime.s obtain
school* and aie luund, on account of tlieir youth,
incapaljle otinaintuining order, or oi' securing the
re'!'ii«ct ol" the older pnpil.-^." — kev. John MclMa-
rtne, liamsay, County Lanark.

" I am sorry that I cannot report very favora-
bly o*' the state of our .schools during' tiie past
year. In some cases a change of teachers and in
others a want of conliiicnce in thcni, iiave con-
tributed to interfere wiili the at'endnnce and pro-
gress of the pupils." — R'^v. 6', C Fraser, A. M.,
Mei\cih, Cou)ity R'njrtw,

"The '/rtat oh^lacle to the progress ol educa-
tion ill tins township IS one wlucli is more or less
fell in every locality, viz : the want of thoroughly
educated and well-trnintd teachers." — R^v. R.
M. Hammond, Wtstmeatli, County Renfrew.

"I found that there was not a qiiaiitied teacher
in the township. ??oine had once been, but had
resorted to larming, and from fanning to teach-
ing again. * * * The salaries of teachers
have, in some instances, more than doubled ; tiiis
is owing to a scarcity of the.se u.seful individuals."
— John ^jirini,', -C'Sy , Slorrington, County
Frontenai'.

"I should be glad to see a rather higher quali-
fication f'.T teachers generally ; in some instances
that have come undei my notice there was great
ri»otn for improvement." — "Daniel Fowler, Esq.,
Amherst Island, County Addington,

" I cannot say that there is any great improve-
ruent in the schools of tliis township; one great
cause is the low standiiid ol' the qiialilicatinns o(
teachers. The tri>tt:'es might obviiiie this, by
not employing such iiicificient pcisoiis; but the}
can be hired cheap, and that is too much the con-
sideration. I think the Board of Public In.struc-
tion sliould not triant third class certificates, as
they are too low a ijualitication (or any teacher."
— Freditrirlc \VoAv:%ck, Esq., Tiendinaga, Coun-
ty Hastings.

" In others, matters have been verv dilTerent,
the I'auli chietiy aitribiilable to the Teacher, al-
though not always no."— Rev. R. Monteath,
Reach and Scugog, County Ontario.

''Four Common ai.d the Separate School are
well taught, the remaining live but very indifl'er-
enliy, but 1 hope to be able to improve the teach-
ing by instructing the masters during my oflicial
vi.-iit, and on such occasions as I can get an op-
portunity."— ii«t^. John Camph'M, A. M., Not-
tuwataga, County Simcot.

"This will nevt.r be the case, however, while
we are lelt to the miserable clioiee of ►'iiher em-
ploying a third class teacher, or person of no
class at all, or, as happened in several instances,
sliut the school rooM." — John R. Stewart, Esq.,
Flamborough West, County Wentworth.

" Theie appears to be a gradual and growing
desire among all classes to emplcy efficient teach-
ers. * # # The modes of leaching, however,
are m mosl ca«es not so interesting and instruct-
ive as they might be ; the object being more to
impart a certain amount of information than to
develop and cultivate the growth of the mind." —
Riv, \Vni. Hay, Bui ford, County Brant,

"Thf' habit which .some of our trustees have m
employing a teacher lor a quarter or two, aiiu
then cliaiiging liim tor another, is somt- liindraii'.-«
to us ; but I trust this will soon U* done away
with. I have ni> doubt it would if couipeteui
teachers could be obtained." — Jacob Kennedy,
Esq.,Gi'insb'jrungh, County Liinohi,

" But the greatest evil is the want of properly
qualified teachers ; a .speedy reformation in our
sc'hools might be elfecttd by a sufficient numl)er
of an earnest and energHic character." — Rev.
R. Rodgers, 2^orwich ISorth, Count// O.cford.

" We need a higher class of teachers, and if
Normal school piolicienls would come this way
they would be sure to lind employment." — F.
Cameron, Etq , Norwit.Ii South, County Ou-
ford,

"The want of a better supply of etricient teach-
ers is very greatly fnlt throughout this township.
We find it impossible to meet the demand, and to
a great extent the standard of ipialiticatiors, al-
though meeting the requirements ot the law, is
lamentably low." — Wm. Gunn, Esq., Bruce,
Huron, (J-c, Cou?ity Bruce.

"I would have been happy to report a larger
number of schools opened in 18.56, and I assigned
reasons in my last report tor believing ihat they
would or could only come very gradually into
operation. However, the increase would have
been doubled but for the want of suitable teach-
ers." — Joh7i Erkford, Esq., Brant, Carrich, dj-c,
County Bruce,

"While the literary qualilications of a majority
of the teachers at'o tolerable, their professional
ones are on the whole inferior. * * * The
schools of the county mnv be cla.ssed as I'ollows :
10 good; 1.5 tolerable; 30 middlme; 20 bad."—
David Mills, Esq., Camden, Chatiiam, 4<.,
County Kent.

"In regard to the schools in this township, I
would observe that they are not in such a llour-
ishing condition as our advancement in other
respects would lead us to expect. I impute this
partlv to the indifference of parents, and partly to
the low standard of teachers' qualiiicalions, who
con.stquenlly are unable to perform their duties in
such a manner as to give satisfaction to their em-
ployers." — Rev, Alex. Williams^ Moore, County
La niljton .

"Another difficulty is a want of qualit'ied teach-
ers. Many of the schools have not been kept
open as long as they would have been on that
account, and many of those who have been em-
ployed as teachers are ill qualified for the olTic;."
— Absato^m Dingman, Esq., Somhra, County
Lanibtoit,.

Many others of the Local Superintendents

testify to the same effect, on the bad quality

of the teachers, and the desire for a class

possessed of Normal School training. But

the e.xtracts I have adduced are sufficient to

show the general condition of the schools,

produced by this inferior character of the

teachers. Now compare this testimony

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

*lees have u,
oi- twu, aiici
rut- liinclraiii.-«
(June away
W cojjipfteiil
■oi Ken>iet/y,
>i.

It of properly
laiioa 111 our
ient number
cter."— /^ef.
t>/ Oxford.
■Iiers, and il'
me tl)i« way
■ineiil." — b\
County Ox'

(•ient teach-

s townsliip.

and, and U)

licatiors, aJ-

1 the law, IS

I'-sy-, Bruce,

port a larger
id I assiened
ig that they
radually into
would have
itable teaeh-
JarricA, {^c,

•f a majority
prole.vsional

* * The
1 as I'ollows :

20 ba<l."—
atkuni,, ifC.^

township, I
uch a ilour-
nt in other
impute this
nd partly to
ations, who
eir duties in
to their em-
»'e, County

filled teach-
been kept
sen on that
e been em-
the olTice."
2, Cou7iiy

ntendenta
d quality
r a class
ng. But
fficient to
schools,
Jr of the
jslimony

and the preceding statistical facts, relating
to the Normal School, with the assertion of
the Chief Superintendent, in every annual
report, that : " These important institutions
(the Normal and Model Schools) continue
to fulfil their e-reat mission with unabated
efficiency and success ; and their influence
])? felt in every part of the country, in the
construction and furnishing of school house*,
the organization and managemetit of school?
and the methods of discipline and teach-
ing." Is not this assertion the very reverse
of tiip evidence elicited ? Have we not
seen that 14"2 certified teachers are all that
ofliciatfd, in the Common Scliools in 1856 ;
and that, after the completion of the tenth
yearof tne Normal School ? Is it not ? fact
also, well known to the more ob»ervant of
the Local Superintendents, that the first and
pecond class of youthful teachers produced
at the Normal .School are merely fii^jle
boys aad a:ins. posted up in the formal drill

tent, after I shall have tested the character
of our Normal School discipline and rertified
teachers with the European stantlard. Wlial
has been said only applies to number«.
The worst feature ol our Normal School yet
remains to beconsidered. I shall now show,
from official and reliable reptirJs, that tiie
European standard evpressetl and nctci' on
in the various Normal SchooU under ti'C
supervision of the Committee of Council rn
Education in Englund, in those belon:;;:;''
to the Church of Scotland and also of the
Free Church in Ediul ur::]i and (^Ins^nw.
and in the like seminaries v.\ il;e va'ioi.s
states and cfnuitries of continei.tal Euror'",
is the moulding and forminjrot' tlu- habits,
dispositions ami characters of voutii ; that
It is an establi.-hed condition assented u, ar.i:
practically enforced, by the Normal Scliool
authorities in all these counlrie*, tiiat the
chief and indispensable instrument for the
formation of character is the scliool master.

of the school room, without the remotest ' whose own character has been previously
pretention to a knowledge that the object of i moulded by self ili?cipline or Normal
education is the formation of character, and { training, to the desired conformation ; and
■w:ithout one qualification, fitting them to } that, in the selection ol candiilates. tl;e

act in any other capacity than mere secular
and literary instructors ? I do not refer
here to the few old teachers who have re-
sorted to the Normal School, for a term, in
order to procure certificates : for, as I have
said before, their submitting to this ordeal
was for the purpose of saving themselves
from proscription. The Chief Superinten-

terms of admission, the course of traininc,
and granting- of certificates, every conceiv-
able and practicable agency is employ eti, to
secure the end and specific object for which
Normal Schools have been instituted. On
the other hand, I shall show as satisfactorilj .
that the Toronto Normal School is not a
training school : that the young men and

dent's assertion that the Normal School is girls who freiiuent it t!o not attenil for the
fuifilling its " great mission with unabated I purpose of becoming traired teachers ; ti;at
ethciency and success," in the face of sta- i the necessary conditions and ai'encies for
tistical facts which establish a conclusion j the training and formation of character do
the very opposite, is a perversion of the \ not exist in it, never were provided, were

truth which calls for some explanation.
The privilege of circulating with impunity,
statements kmwn to be false, for the pur-

never conceived by the Chief Superinten-
dent or the Board of Puhlic Instruction to
be necessary, because at the outset they had

pose of deceiving' the (iovernment and the I mistaken the true object of pofular educa-

country, should now be brought to an end.
The iniquity of the practice which has thus
been freely indulged for years with impu-
nity, caa only be perceived, in ilR full ex-

tion — conceiving it to aim at " enlightened
citizenship," through book-learned peda-
gogues — in consequence of having copied
from a secular, non-religiou« and therefore

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

'18

^purioufl pattern. By such a contrast ; by
hliowing what the Toronto Normal School
should have been, compared with -vrhat it
and with its erroneous preten?ions, I
mean to establish it, as an ascertained and
demonstrated fact, that the said School is
nothinjr more aiid nothing less than an ex-
pensive fraud.

In order to be ablo to appreciate properly
the distinction betwetui what is termuii
iraining by European educators, and whtlt
it' is supiwsed to lueun by American Schotl
ahthorities, it is necessary la observe that
the distinction itself consists in the admis-
sion, on the one hand, and denial, on the
other, of the parental character of the teach-
er. It will be observed, in the evidence
here appended, that wherever the teacher
is invested with the attributes and functions
of the parent, and is assumed as a parental
substitute, the precautions and vigilance
exercised in selecting suitable persons, and
preparing them for that important ofTice is,
a necessary consequence in all cases ; and
for this reason also, it follows, that where-
ever this idea of a parental substitute exists,
there we find the obligation on the part cf
the teacher to impart to children the religi-
»)us faith, creeds and doctrines of thei':
parents; and, moreover, another collateral
consecjuence, is the co-operation of the pastor,
as the religious superior of both the parent
and teacher. I wish it to be specially noted,
in perusing the extracts which follow, that
the prominence given to the religious ele-
ment in the elementary schools of Europe,
whether in tho Common Schools, such as
tliose of France, those untlor the Committee
of Council m England, or under the educa-
tion Committee vf the Church of Scotland
and the Free Church respectively, is an
inseparable feature of the acknowledge-
ment that the teacher is a substitute for the
parent. In contrast with this I am desirous
that it should be as carefully noticed that on
this side of the Atlantic only, whether in
ihe United States or iu Canada West, where

the State has assumed the educational duties
of the parent, the teacher is a functionary
of the State ; a secular agent only, in the
work of education^ for the reason, as it ia
assumed, that the State itself is a secular
power. And, as a necessary consequence,
it follows that creeds and catechisms -are
proscribed, religious instruction is declareA
to belotig to the parent at home, and with
which the teacher has nothing to do ih the
school. And correspondingly, the natural
relation between the teacher and the pastor
is violated, by a legal pr«)scription ; the lat-
ter is not recognized in the school room, and
would dare to interfere therewith at his
peril ; because all clergymen are said to be
sectarians, in consequence of all forms of
religion being sectarian, neither of which
are recognized by the State.

Herein lies the reason, why, on one side
of the Atlantic, the teacher is required to be
a religious and well educated man ; in pre-
pared by year.j of discipline for his vocation ;
is selected by the most ' ompetent authori-
ties, after having passed epeated examina-
tions ; and is afterwards subjected to con-
stant Government inspection ; and why also,
the schools are denominational, iind to the
clergy of each denomination is entrusted the
management of theii- own schools. %Vhile
on the other, no qualifications are required
beyond what are necessary to go mechani-
cally through the routine of school exercises,
in conformity with the Normal School pre-
scribei forms ; and the teacher is either a
jack-of-all-trades or makes use of the Nor-
mal and Common School as a stepping
stone to something elsej jL'ioii' ' '> iMlepen-
dent of all official and profe.-, ■ • cstraint,
either from inspectors or any ot; '" iuthork^'.

In submitting the follow^ing .estimony I
shall do so in chronological order, for the
purpose of illustrating the dissimilarity or
resemblance df each national copy with the
original type. I begin^with France, because
the French Government having adopted the
German syiitem in 'every particular, tht

APPKAL ON THK COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

onal dutivB
unctionary
ly, in the
>) as it ia
3, secular
sequence,
lisms -are
declared
and with
do in the
e natural
the pastor
; the lat-
oom, and
h at his
said to be
forms of
of which

one side
ired to be

; 'is pre-
i^ocation;

authori-
sxamina-
i to con--
i^hy also,
nd to the
listed the
While
required
lechani-
nercises,
lool pre-
either a
;he Nor-
'lepping
' ;iepen'
cstraint,
!thori;;y.
tnony I

for the
arity or
vitli the
because
)ted the
ur, tht

iNormal School educational movement in
<the British dominions and the United States
*of America took place in consequence, in a
; great measure, of the lucid and able expo-
'sitions of the German system by French
^writers.

In 1831 M. Victor Cousin, was depilted
by the French Government to examine' the
i system of education existing in tlie several
'German States, and in the same year he
presented an elaborate rtjport, e.vplanaloiiy
•of the parental cluiracttir ■ of tht; German
teachers ; the system of training pursued lor
the purpose of forming thdt character ; the
participalion of the clergy i:i the work of
education ; the denominational character of
the Common and Nortnal Schools ; tyie ex-
ceptional provision for separate religious
instruction' iu localities where'the population
was not sudicit'ut to support more than one
school J the rules for' the granting of govern-
ment aid and relating to local assessments,
and general inspection ; and concluded with
a strong recommendation for its- adoption in
France, declaring the Prussian School Law,

• as a whole, " the most comprehensive and
perfect legislative measure regarding pri-
mary instruction" of which he had any

^knowled^'C. The following yearc meastire,

■ I'ramed on the basis of the Prussian Law,
was introduced to the Chamber ef Deputies

■ by M. Gr.izot, and in 1833, alter having had
- all its details minutely discussed, it receivei!

tiie legislative sanction. In the words of
M. Gui/ot :

•'■■The ttaclier i sii nioiied upon by the parent

lo share his authoivy; this aiiihuiily he must

everfie-e wiih the tiaine vii,Miani;e and alino*!

with the same afiei'tiuii. Nul only i^ tlie health

•of the ciiikiion cuiuiniited to hiui, but the ciilliva-

lion of their alieclilm^^ and intelligence depends

•almost entirely on liini. * * # Vou niu>l I>e

^ aware, liiat in fuiilidiny^ a child to your i-urc,

• every fa.nily expet ts iliai you will send hini baik
•an hune.'l man; the country, that he wil! be
' made a i;ood citizen. You know thai v riue does

not always follow in the train oflii.ovvledjie, and

■that the lessjns received by children niisihl be-

etnne dangeious to tliciu were ihey addiess-ed

• exclusively to the under.-landing:. Leltlie tcaciier,
".hereiore, bestow his first care on the eullivation
"■of the moral qncliiios olhiH pupils. He must un-
''ceaaingly endeavor to propagate and esiablioh

'thoae im|)eri»hable principles of inoralityr and rea-
xun, without which univerMl order is in dan^'er }
■and to sow in the beans oi the yuung those aerds
df virtue and honor, whieh age« riper yearh, and
>ihe paaaiuns, will never destroy. # * * The
intereuuriie between the teacher and parents can
'not fail of being frequent. Over this kindnrM
'must pre.sidK ; were a teacher not to p«>«»e»s tlie
re^pect and fyuipathy of the parent:*, his authority
over their children '<ould Ke uumproniised, and
the fruit of his les^xons lost ; he cannot, tliereiore,
be too eareful and prudent in rettnrd to these con*
uictions. # # * Md.hiiiJf lifside."*, is nu>ie
desirable than a perfect iuidcrs;anding between
the minister of leli^'ion und the teacher; both are
in po>r<es>i'>n of inoial authority; boih require
the coiitideice ol laiiiiies; both can as;ree in
ex»*r(ising ovi«r the chillren coniinitied lo their
care, iu sever&l wu>.s, acoinmon inltuenuu^'

In the meantimo, Uhe adoption of the
German system by France, awakened a
spirit of en:juiry among .periodical writers
both in England and 'the United States.
The consequence was u prevalent dispo-
sition to establish national systems (if edu^
cation ; travellers resorted to Swhzerland
and Germany, to acquire ipersonaUy the
necessary information ; while private socie-
ties and governments were calculating the
contingencies which might attend the edu-
cational experiment, in countriesdis similarly
circumstanced. The first permanent fruit
of this agitation was the establishment iu
1836 of the Home and Colonial Infant and
Juvenile School Society, for the training of
teachers ; of whom, down to the year 1843,
it had sent out over two thousand, thoroughly
disciplined. The character of the Society's
Normal and Model Schools, situated in
j (jray'slnii RoatI, nitty be gathered from the
fallowing exlructs taken from the regula-
tions: —

♦' The Committee receive into their Institution,
in Gray's 1 m Itoad, near Kind's Cro.«s, (or a
limiied period, per.-ons either desirous lo enter
(or the lirst lime upon the work, or those who,
liaviiig emiiiiied in it, leel thmr own deiiciency,
irid are anxious fur iinproveinent. * *= * The
Coiiiiiiittee re< cive tandidatc.x. in the tirst in-
stniur', on probation. * * # All candidates
who arc lo b<:, iecoiiiJnend>id to schools are to re-
main twcnty-lbur weeks in the house, and the
Coiiiii.iUc < aiinot leccive any who will not
come ill fur that time. The wives of married can-
didaies reitiain su('4. time as the Conmiiiue de-
cide in each case, if they cannot remain (as it is
much to be flesired that they should) iho wb«>4e
time. The charge is reduced to 78 a wee4r,
making £8 8s. for the twenty-lour weeks, whitfti

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

indntles rrrry expcniH', except washing. Mar-
ried men are nowadmiued to be trained as ti'aoh-
em of juvenile srhoola, withou* Iheir wives. * ♦
Unmarried men are not trained In the Institution.
Six youn? females, not exceeding seventeen year*
of age, are received as i>npil teachers, for one,
two or three years, according to their age, at an
annual charge of .£25, which includes washing
and books."

Here, it will be observed, no boys nor
unmarried men are admitted ; and the six
young female pupils have to pay £2.5 a year.
They have to board and remain in the In-
stitution, in order to acquire proper domestic
and parental habits. And married men and
their wives are selected, as candidates, on
l!ie calculation that the married .itate indi-
cates a settled life, not incident to clianjre,
and more su.sceptible of tho.se parental sym-
pathies which constitute tlie chief element
of normal education. From the Syllabus of
the lessons, the following evtraots will show
that secular and religious in.'truction are not
to be separated ; that, as they are both obli-
gatory on the parent, they cannot be sepa-
rated in the teacher, who fills the place of
the parent to do what the parent has not the
time, leisure or means to do himself.

"Incidental and systemiitic education, differ-
ence between — The teacher to form a good in-
tellectual and moral i.tiiio.'S|)here round the child.
Means of eflecting ihix— Not to teach religion
alone, but all things religiously — Instruction com-
municated (though the aubje'-l may be clearly
explained) does not prcducethe sair„ good effect,
as instruction employed as a means of mental dis-
cipline — Public education united with priva'e
and domestic — That is the best system which
brings th»i powers of the mind under the best
discipline — Education ought to be essentially
organic and complete, and not mechanical,. super-
ticial and partial ; it should penetrate and regu-
late the entire being — Reasonableness of requiring
the parental spirit in teachers — in what it con-
sists— etTects oi' possessing the spirit manifested
by God — Seen in Christ — The parental spirit
should govern our schools — our debt to Pesta-
lozzi for advo' ating it so powerfully — his funda-
mental principle in all moral development and
training."

The Home and Colonial Infant and Juven-
ile School Society adopted the system of
Peetalozzi as a motlel, between which and
the Prussian system the only diflference was,
that the one was isolated and private, while
the other was public and national. Pesta-
lozzi's bad no other support than his oxrn

private fortune ; while the Prussian was
sustained by Government aid and local as-
sessments, which necessitated a ramified
governmental and popular machinery that
constitutes the only difference between the
two; and that difference not in the funda-
mental principles but only in the adaptation
of the machinery, the one tea limited and
private, the other to an extended and na-
tional field of operations. The principles
of the system in Prussia are Pestaloz/.ian.
After the disastrous campaign of 1806, when
the Councils of the Prussian Government
were directed by such men as Ilardenberg,
Humboldt and Stein, and the revival of the
national spirit had become an affair of the
mcst pressing necessity, and popular educa-
tion was decided on as one of the most effec-
tual means to that end, C. A. Zeller, a
young theologian and one of the most
efficient teachers who had been trained by
Pestalozzi, was invited to Koenigsberg, the
Bominary, for teachers, of which city was
placed under his charge. He afterwards
organized the Normal establishment at
Karalene, and was employed as a general
agent by the Government, in visiting the
educational establishments of the Kingdom,
infusing his own spirit and ideas to the
minds of the teachers. At the same time,
numbers of young men, chiefly theologians,
were dispatched by the Prussian Govern-
ment to study under Pestalozzi ; and these
were employed, on their return, in the same
capacity as C. A. Zeller. So that with the
exception of the national machinery, Prus-
sia had thus imported and nationalized, prac-
tically, all the fundamental principles of Pes-
talozzi, whose system is consequently that
of Prussia. I mention these facts for the
purpose of explaining the reason why France,
desiring a national system, borrowed from
Prussia ; and why the Home and Colonial
Infant and Juvenile School Society, requir-
ing only a private establishment, copied
from Peetalozzi ; notwithstanding that, in all
essentials, both adopted the same system.

APPEAL OIT THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

lan was

local aa-
ramified
lery that
veen the
e funda-
[laptation
lited and
and na-
)rinciple3
lalozzian.
06, when
v^ernment
rdenberg,
ra.[ of the
lir of the
ar educa-
lost efl'ec-
Zeller, a
the most
rained by
sberjf, the
city wag
ifterwards
iment at
X general
siting the
Kingdom,
as to the
ime time,
sologians,
Govera-
md these
the same
with the
ry, Prus-
zed, prac-
es of Pes-
ntly that
Is for the
y France,
ed from
Colonial
r, requir-
t, copied
Ihat, in all
lystem.

In 1837, the JUasKachusetts Board of
EiUication was formed. Following the ex-
ample of France, au agent was dispatched
to (iermany to get the information re(juired
for the organization of a system of Common
Scliools for the State. Unlike"the observant
Cousin or the profound and philosophical
Gui/.ot, Horace Maim could not perceive
that the opposite and antagonistic elements
of society are of divme ordination, and in-
tended for a specific and good purpose. It
did not ap])ear to him requisite tliiit legisla-
tion should conform to the wants and neces-
sities of a people professing different religi-
ous creeds. And to this is to be imputed
the wrong shape which the Common School
system of Massachusetts assume^l. What
he adopted from the Prussian Law, was the
universality ot education ; government aid ;
local assessments ; and compubovy atttrnd-
ance. He rejected the parental character
of the teacher ; claimed for th3 State lim
righ'; to assume that character ; and, as a
necessary consequencejjthe leach(3r became,
ttiereby, a secular and mcichanical State
machine ; religious instruction was discard-
e<i ; the jniluence of the clergy was pro-
Mjribed ; and opposition was created on tr.<j
part of all who were compelled to pay for
the support of schools to which, for con-
scientious reasons, they could not consent
to send their children. Mr. Mann eillier
misunderstood, or assumed to misumierstand,
that cardinal principle of the Pestalozzian
anti Prussian system, that united religious
teaching is the rule, and separate religioiis
teaching the exception ; for he represented
in his reports and writings that the Prussian
Common Schools were non-sectarian: taking
the exception for the mle, and misleailing
those who relied on him as an authority; as
well as causing fatal mistakes to copyists
who were not sufficiently conversant with
the subject. The Massachusetts Normal
Schools being only Day Schools, as the
students do not board in them, there is an
absence of anything approaching to a train-
ng discipline. There are no State Inspec-

tors. The result is that, between the incom-
petency, jealousies and personal objects of
the local authorities, and the vagrant charac-
ter of the teachers, the complaints of school
sections are endless and incapable of re-
dress.*

The Board of Commissioners of National
Education in Ireland, oslablished in 1831,
I have not noticed in the chronological order
intended, as I was desirous to present tlm
continental system entire before noticing the
perversions or modifioations of it, as iik
Massachusetts or Jr^'und. And for the
same reason, though, posterior in point cf
time to the Irish system, I have expkuned
that of Massachusetts first, becausi?, among
all others, it exhibits the widest CDntrast to
the original normal type. The Irish Coni-
niisr^iioners seem to have assumed tliat ilitli-
cuities existed in Ireland v.'hich had no
place, in other countries, where cornnion
schools had been succertsfully introduced.
The chief of these difficulties appears to
have been the jeaIou:<y of the Protestants,
that public money should be expended lor
the education of Roman Catholics in Catbi'lic
school.-. There was only one way of gettin;:
over this obstacle, and that consibte>i in sur-
rounding tlie schools with a preponderating
Prote.ilant influence. Only for this jealousy,
tlie probability is, that the Irish schools would
have been establislied on the basis of tho.-*e
of Prussia — a Protectant Normal School fur
Protestants, and a Catlioiic Normal Scfiooi
for Catholics, with denominational common
schools for each ; and mixed schools wherein
Protestants and Catholics assemble together.
only when the thinness of the popuiatiun,
the madecinacy of financial means, or other
liical cause should render the adoption of
.such mixed schools an unavoidable alterna-
tive. As it was, only one Normal School
was established, and the Board of Commis-
sioners was composed so as to satisfy the
Protestant feeliu:; that the schools would
have a Protestantizing tendency. Thon^'h

* ?e« The Comm'n Sr/iottl Si-stein. Us Pr-.n-
^iplc., Ojwrettioii and llt&uUs,

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW

the parental character of the teacher has
tmen adopted, and also his truinini,' ; and for
()) that purpose liis residence in the boarding

establishment, connected with the Normal
School, is .strictly enlbrced; ami notvvilh-
-tanding that tlie cleriry, Protestant and
Jioinan Catholic, are authorized to enter the
school-room for the purpose of teaching the
creeds and formularies of their respective
churches, still the vant of separate denomi-
national sohoo; juri>li<!lion precludes that
harmony whicii utlK'r\>;.:'» would prevail,
and engenders suspicions and distrust, preju-
dicial 10 the teacheis as well as inimical to
the progriess of the schools. It is in this
'inly that the Irish si'iiool systein is defec-
tive. In (!very other respect it i.> ailmirably
adapted to IIkj purpose for which it is in-
tended, uamely, the education nf the poor.
As a naticnal system, for the whole people,
>uch as in Fi.ince, it would not answer,
i^ut it was not so intended. It has no local
;nachinery. Its primary object seems to
liave been the repression of poverty and
crime, by providin;,' schools connected with
the work-houses of the Poor Law Unions,
and the jails, with a suitable class of trained
teachers. This should be borne in mind
when referring to the Irish system, as a na-
tional system of education. For, properly
r-peaking, it is not what its title aflinus. It
is a national system of education for the poor
of Ireland. Regarded in this its special
character, intenilcd not for a general educa-
tional, but a specific and circumscribed
educational object, great latitude is allow-
able ibr peculiarities, that would be inad-
missible in a .general national svstem. And
iierem is visible the folly of a Chief Super-
intendent of Schools assuming to incorporate
in a national system, intended for the edu-
cation ot all classes, wtiat Avas sj)ecially
contrived lo suit the particular circum-
stances of work-house and jail schools.

In 1S39, after a great many fruitless at-
tempts to introduce a general system of
national schools to England, the Committee
of Council on Education was appointed, and

from this period may be dated the extended
application of the government aid syRteiDw
The Committee of Council selected, as Sec-
retary, Dr. James PJiillip Kay, afterwards
knighted by Her Majesty for his servicoa
rendered while performing the duties of this
oflice. Dr. Kay, who had previously visitotl
Scotland, Holland, Belgium and France,on an
educational lour, liad published some works
on popular education and particularly that of
the poor; and having acted as assistant Poor
Law Commissioner, had some knowledge
and experience of the work, in which he was
about to I>e etnployod. At the time of
his appointment as Secretary, he was en-
gaged maturing the Rattersea Training
School, for the training of parochial school-
masters. As the administrative measures,
ailopted by the Committee of Council, for
the training of teachei s, were altogether tlie
work of Dr. Kay, : .id were attended with ao
large a measure of success, his testimony
and e.\posilion of the true theory and prac-
tice of education, endorsed by the Commit-
tee of Council and carrying the sanction of
the British (jovernment, may well be re-
ceived by the })eoplo of Canada as some-
thing truly British, and on that account no
less than on its own merit, entitled to their
serious consideration. Now see what Di.
Kay says on the parental character of the

educator, and the school as a sphere of house-
hold duty :

•' Tlie moral advantage «f a tax on the poor
in the I'orm of school pence, is, that it appeals to
the sense nl' paternal duty. It eat'orces a lesson
ol" donu'stie pieiy. It establishes the parental
anthurity, and indicated perisuual freeduiii. The
child is neither wholly educated by religioiis
charity, nor by the State. He owes to his pa-
rents that honor and obedience, which are the
sources of domestic tranquility, and to which the
promise of long life is attached. Let no on«
rudely interlere with jhe bonds of filial reverence
an<i allection. Especially is it the interest of the
Slate to make tlie.«e the primal elements of social
order. Nor can the paternal charities of a wiee
roiiimonweallh be substituted tor the personal
ties of parental love and esteem, without under-
mining society at the base.

*' The parent should not be led to rcirard the
school as the privilege of the citizen, so luucb a*
another sceue of hou»-ehold duty. Those com-
m unities are neither most prosperous, nor moit
happy, in which the political or social j el ationi of

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

no oiM
evei'cnoe
St of the
of fcocial
f a wise
personal
Lit under*

the frtiiiily are inort- jiroiiiiticnt than tliedomestir.
That wliicli hu|)|»ily ilisiinguisiies the Siixon aiirl
TciUoiiic raoe.i i«, lln' prcviiliMiiit- uf tlio itieii of
"Awwii';." Til mil ke tln.r houscliolds of the pcior
scenes of Chri.slKni pemo, is thelii'.»l ulijtut ol thi;
school. Why tht'iisliould vc Milisiitute its exter-
nal relations for its intcnKil— the iJeii of the citi-
zen for that of the parent — I he s(,' use; ol'|)c)|iiieal
or social rights for iliuse nf (luinetitie duties — the
claim of jHihlie privilege for the jter«)U!il law of
oenscicnoe ?"

Again, treat in;f of Uic forty Normal

Schools, for t)i<i training of U;ach(!r,s, in

England and Ncollain[ ; twonty-soven of

which are connccttid with tlio CJiurcli of

England ; two with tho K.stuljlishod Church

of kScotland ; two with tho Frco Clinrch in

Scotland ; one with the Roman CatJoJic

Church; one with the VVe.sh?yan Denovii-

nation ; one with tlio Congreirational ; and

other six controlled, in a <ireat measure by

the Church of Enj^land, Dr. Kay remarks :

"TheEnfjlish NnlioiiiU Traiiiine; Colleae iins
thus received a deliiiilc eoH>titiitioii_, in htfriiiniiy
with the separate re.ifiious oryaiiiziUinii <if ele-
mentary schools, and forty sueii establishments
have been ineor|iOrated into a seheine of adminis-
trative action, in which the ediieation of the
future schoo'master etminenees in the infant, is
pursued in the elementary seliool, devolopid dur-
ing his appreiilioeship, and completed as a
Queen's scholar in the Training- College. In
every part of this career, he is siiiiject to the direct
and mdependcnt Jiiiliienee of the religious com-
munion to which he belongs, through the mana-
gers of the schools or college."

By this, we see that, with the exception
of the popular local machinery, the essen-
tial elements of the Prussian system were
adopted by the British Government, and
now constitute the existing national school
law of England. It is not necessary that I
enter into details, to show the extensive and
successful operations of the Normal and
Model Schools, aided and inspected by the
Committee of Council. My ol)ject is simply
to establish the fact that in Europe the duty
of the teacher is parental in contradistinc-
tion to the contrary doctrine acted upon by
American educators. I shall therefore con-
tent myself with one more quotation from a
prominent and recognized authority, to the
flame purport as the quotations from Dr.
Kay. With reference to the first introduc-
tion of Normal School notions to Scotland,

Mr* Cordon, Her Majesty's Inspector ol
Schools for that part of the Kingdom, says :

" It was diservcd that there is a tcndenpy in

the oeen|)itions eonneeted with some of the
liiHindies of inrlustry now iii'iilioiied, to impair
the elmraelrr of doinesiie education ainone the
lalioriim classi-s ; and the remedy was looked for
in the sehool. The ^;(■lnlol came, on lhisaee»)Uiit,
to he i'onsidered rallit r more than it harl been, u.i
a place not merely of instrni'tion, biil of general
education — as ap|)ropriating, in tii' t, Hoinewhat
more of the oiliet- of the parent. Jl followcfl that
till! g(Mieral eharai tcr anil manners ofthe masters
beeaiin', to the promoters of sehools, a matter of
still artiatcr inleresl than before ; and the same
eoiild be, at onee, discovered and formed or, in
some drturee inMiieiired, in the Normal School.
# * # * It be( ame mole commonly known
than before, that institutions of tlie kind had bt;en
tried in Prussia, CnMiuany and France, and with
results that might well tempt the experiment eUe-
vvhere."

Now I come to tlio literary qualifications
nHjuirud in each of the Common School
.Syst(!ms which have been the subject of
coiitr;i.st. On the principle that a teacher
should know a greut deal more than he is
required to teach, the various Normal
Stthools, under the control of the Committee
of Council, train the teachers to rely more on
their own internal resources than on text
books. The subjcjcts of study are diligent-
ly and carefully mastered ; and, by repeated
and frequent examinations,extemporaneous-
ly conducted, in which the utmo.9t precision
is imperative, the students acquire a ready
and familiar acquaintance with the methods
of treating them. And besides the ordinary
branches, including mathematics,*the study
of Latin and Greek has become a common
part of Normal School education. These
languages are taught, more or less, to the
teachers in training, in the Chester Dio-
cesan College ; St. Mark's College ; the Bri-
tish and Foreign School Society's Normal
School, in the Borough Road ; the Normal
Schools of the Church of Scotland, and the
Free Church ; and most of the training insti-
tutions ot the kingdom. In the two latter,
no doubt influenced by the character oft a
parochial schoolmasters, Latin and Grask
form a comprehensive and indispensable
part of the educational course.

'-%

,jli»'"

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

It would take up loo much .space to do-
tail tlie curricula ot' tho.so trainiiii; iuslitn-
lions; to citu the writluii tesliin(Jiiy of iho
Hatistiictory and excellent character of the
teachers pr(jduce<l; ihestalisticsof the num-
ber ot schools and pupils ; ami the amount
lit government aiti and jn-ivate contribu-
tions ; all wliich testily that, in KuLrland,
the basis ot its future national school sys-
tem, on a popular and unexceptionable
;,'eneral fooling, is already laid— has taken
firm lu)ld of the national mind, and oidy
waits ter development in one other diiection,
thai ol' local a.sstissmenls and local nuuiage-
uieni. What proof more cotroborative ot
this, and of tho' uiiuculties surroiniding tl»e
adjuslnient of the religious element iiaving
been surmounted, than tiie simple liiel that
the apjjoin'anenl of government Jiispectors
of Scn'Kjts is made with reienmce to the re-
Jigu)U3 denomim lions to which they belong
and die denominations of the schools which
they are to inspect.

With respect to the notion entertained in
our Normal School, ot what is meant by
I raining, and also concernmg the literary
quahucalioiis of teachers, I n'^ed only to
cite the 5th Rule of Terms of Admission,
wanctioned by the Council of Public In-
hliuciiun.

'• Tiiai a sum at liie rate vt five shillinss per
wceic (|.iual;ie at the end of the f^es-iuii) ^[nM he
^HinveiJ to eacii teai-lKir-iii-iiitMiiiii;, who at the
end 1)1' tlie jint ii(ssiou, sliiill be eiitiiled to a
Proviucidl Cerlilieate."

Here then five months' sessional attend-
ance, fur certain hours daily, in the Normal
School, with the privilege of boarding at
the ordinary boardinir houses, or with private
families, is officially sanctioned, as suliici-
eut to constitute a trained teacher ! 1 need
add no remark to this rule of the Council
of Public Instraclion ; it carries its own
argument and inference ; rendered more
si^'nificaiU by the words ^^Jirst session^^
being placed in italics in the printed rules.

Nov.', on the one hand, I have proved
from reliable ofUcial evidence that the Bii-

tish Goveinmeiit, adopting the syAtem of
I'e.-taloz/i, has. wsotted ami sam'tions in its
legislation the parental cliaracter of the
teacher; thus establishing the governing
principle of all the features and parts oi the
superstructure founilcd thereoti ; which 1
have shown corre.spond liya natural law of
adaptation. On the other hand, for proof of
my charge against the school system ot
iMassacliusetts ami Canada West, that ite.x-
c hides by legislative enactments the edu-
cational ri_rdits of the parnil, and that from
this exclusion has arisfii its contradictions
and impracticable characteristics, I beg to
reler your Kxcehency to the Revised Edi-
tion of the Tenth Annual Report of Horace
Mann, the author ot the Massachusetto
sciiool system ; to the Addresses on Free
Schools in Dr. Ryerson's Annual Report for
lSo'-2 ; and to the re[)orts and proceedings of
the Local Superintendents and Trustees,
both here and in the United Slates.

Finally, for the excelhrnce of the Prus-
sian schooLs, the qualiricatioiis of the teach-
er.^, the re^rularity, cleanliness and proti-
ciency of the pu'ils, the absence of all
strife and the general harmony attending the
work of education — the published testimony
of the various educational authorities froru
tiio United States who have vished that
country in an ofiicial capacity, is unani-
mous. Can any evidence be more satis-
faotory than this ; coming from writers ^ho
in their own practice have repudiated and
excluded the cardinal element which make;-
the Prussian schools w!i;it they represent
them to be. Turning to Canada West, be-
hold the contrast: The oihciai reports of
Trustees, Local Superintendents and Chiet
Superintendent fictitious ; the Normal
School drilling young lads and girls, to pre-
pare them for the counter and for marriage;
an expenditure from the provincial revenue
of $122,240, exclusive of the cost of build-
ings and furniture, for the maintenance of
the said Normal School, and^only 142 Nor-
mal School teachers officiating in all the

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

ftjem (f

>ii3 in H»
ot thtf
overning
•ts oi thu
which I
Eli law of
r proof of
rstom ol
luit It ex-
tho edu-
ihat from
adietiona
, I he<4 ti.
isL'd Edi-
)i Horace
achu^olls
on Free
Report for
sedings of
Trustees,
I.

the PruB-
he teach-
md profi-
ice of all
ndini; the
c'stimony
ities from
itud that
ts unaui-
ore satis-
ittTs A- ho
iated and
ch makch
represent
tVest, be-
•eport.s of
,nd Chief
Normal
s, to pre-
narriage ;
revenue
of build-
nance of
142 Nor-
Q all the

Common SchonJH ; and the local school au-
thorities callinsf for competent teachers,
complaining? of the existing irrei^ularitioH,
and proscribing us many impracticable la-
medies.

The Grammar Schools.

The Utopian idea of pystemizinjr and
ceritralizinc;, ho as to make eventually a gra-
dation of Free Schools from the Common
Schools to the University, has had an (;lK'ci,
which promises to be equally injurious to the
Grammar Schools. Not satisfied with tlio
old an'anirement of having these middlti
seminaries located in places where I lie
population was so iHciently dense lo guaran-
tee, for them, a respectable support, it was
conceived that every man should have a
Grammar as well as a Common School at
his own door. This could only be done by
joining these two classes of schools, under
certain circumstances. Absurd, as the
proposal may appear, it was tarried, how-
ever, into force by the Supplementary Com-
mon School Act, and the amended Grammar
School Act of 1853. Not only this, but the
Grammaa Schools were to be supplied, not
as formerly, with teachers who had gradua-
ted at some Coll(>ge or University, but with
certified teachers from the Normal School.
No account was taken of the incompatibility
of the powers of the two Boards of School
Trustees ; and as little, of the inadmissibility
of a union of two grades of schools, in their
natures and functions essentially distinct.
This change was to have been accompanied
by another, which threatened to encroach on
the prerogative ot the County Councils. It
was the creation, by law, of independent
Boards of Grammar School Trustees, for
counties, similar to the independent Beards
of Common School Trustees already exist-
ing in cities, towns and villages. These
Boards of Grammar School Trustees were
to have been independent of the County
Councils. They were to have been invest-
ed with extraordinary fiscal powers. They
were to have been authorized to erect and

support (irammar Schools when and where
tliey pleased. And to enable them to do
tliis they, were to have authority to call on
the County Councils for wliatever fundw fliey
choose. Ther« was to be no limit to the
amount. And the Councils, deprived of any
consulting ^ ce, must have assessed for Ihat
amount, wliatever it might be.

This cxjieriment was no sooner attempted
under t\w new law for that purpose, than its
impracticability was at once made obvious.
Failing in tliis, the last Annual Report, tor
185(1, now announces the desirableness of
going back to the old arrano'cmL-nt ; that of
having the Grammar Seliools separate, anil
centering in populous localities. And, m
place of County Boards of Trustees over-
ruling the County Councils, as at first pro-
posed, it is now intemled to create city,
town and village Giammar School Boanis,
to be invested with fiscal powers intlepen-
dent of and .lUperior to those of the Munici-
pal Corporations :

So now tlie iVIunicipalities are to be
cursed, in future, not with one only, but with
two Boards of School Trustees, elected by
(male and female) household suflrage, and
acting independent of and controlling the
Municipal Coi-poiations. But what folly to
suppose that this scheme is more practica-
ble than the previous one. As in the former
case, it was found Ihat the County Councils
would not be made the dupes of the species
of official imposture which was attempted
to be practiced on them, so will it turn out
that the Municipal Corporations, equally
alive to their interests, will be as little in-
clined to tolerate a similar attempt, should
it be made. That it M-ill be abandoned
there cannot be a doubt. In the meantime,
however, this doing and undoing — a conse
queace, evidently, of the want of experi-
ence, and a stubborn adhen^nce to visionary
and impracticable plans, cannot be other-
wise than injurious to the schools.

The most weighty objection, however, to
the present management of the Grammar
Schools, with reference to any proposed

c>3

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

alterations, is the present condition of the
Common Schools. If the Common Schools
have been mismanaged, as I have shown in
the previous pages, what guarantee is there
that the Grammar Schools will not share the
same late ? It is no secret that the denial
of parental rights, and the doctrine of en-
lightened citizenship, are to rule in the new
Grammar School Department of the Normal
School. And, as like causes produce like
effects, it is no more than reasonable tluit
we should look for the same complaints, of
the fewness and incompetency of teachers,
of Grammar as of Common Schools ; the
same system of preparing young men and
women for mercantile and domestic pur-
suits, at the public expense ; the same
amount of dy.jeitions from the profession of
teaching ; and the same studious design to
present the Grammar School Returns, so
that the condition of each particular School
may be concealed, and general defects and
irregularities go without detection.

Libraries and Text Books.

That the State should supply reading
matter for the community at large, is no
more than a consistent extension of the
theory that, to it, belongs the right to educate
all. For enlightened citizenship, accord-
ing to the American idea, is, no doubt, as
rrmch dependent on literary reading, after
having left school, as on secular instruction
while there. The paternal care of the
State authorities in Massachusetts, had
therefore provided, at an early stage oi its
educational progress, school section libra-
ries, on the principle of an aid grant of one
iumdred per cent for every equivalent raised
by local taxation ; to which, no doubt, is to
be imputed the transcendental enlighten
ment of the people of thai State. Having
adopted the other features of the Massachu-
setts system, in our school law, it was
natural ,that this appendage should also be
sanctioned; and so it happens, that free
libraries, on the one hundred per cent aid

principle, came tu be established in this
Province.

The unfortunate habit of miistaking the
ends, no less than the means, is a? conspicu-
ous, in this, as m the other cases which 1
have noticed. It does not require any great
stretch of the judgment to discover, that the
books recommeiuit'd anil sold, for School
Libraries, are not adaptetl to the capacities
of children. For this reason, they are not
read by the chiklren attending the schools.
But they are read by the parents and the
adult population of the school sections ; and
even then, wily when, as in isolated cases,
there are sufficient intelligenca and taste to
nppreciate their value. But can it be said
that this is the intention of the law — that
the Canadian Government is to provide
literary pabulum for the adult population ?
If so, why are the libraries of the Mechanic's
Institutes — educational establishments pa-
tronized by the (lovernment aid, not also
provided for out of the public reveime ? The
connecting them with school sections will
not conceal their real character.

The book and publishing business con-
nected with the schools, if properly scruti-
ni/eil, will, I think, turn out to be of the
same character as that of similar depart-
ments, in the school machinery of the
adjoining States. Whatever may be the
ostensible object, it has been found that this
library and book business is uniformly a
commercial department for the benefit and
agrandisement of the functionaries engaged
in its management. 1 would not be justified
in making an excejiliou of the Canadian li-
brary and book department of the Common
Schools ; because having found the irregu-
larities existing under our school adminis-
tration, in every other respect, analagous to
those reported as pervading the school
business of the adjoining States, I reason-
ably expect to witness the same irregulari-
ties in this particular. I have no means of
knowing how the financial business of tho
Canadian library and book department is

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

led in this

staking the
I? conspicu-
Bs which 1
e any great
er, that the

for School
! capacities
ley are not
the echoolg.
nts and the
ctions ; and
lated cases,
and taste to
n it be said
J law — that

to provide
wpulation ?
Mechanic's
iments pa-
d, not also
enue? The
Bctions will

mess con-

erly scruti-

u be of the

lar depart-

ry of the

ay be the

1(1 that this

niformly a

jenefit and

3s engaged

je justified

inadian li-

Common

ne irregu-

adminis-

aiagous to

iie school

r icason-

rregulari-

means of

ess of tho

utment is.

oonducted. During the last two years I have
been trying, in vain, to reconcile the items
and balances in llie Annual Reports of the
Chief .Superintendent and tho Public Ac-
counts of the Inspector Goneriil. I defy any
accountant or anybody else to make out from
the general returns how the monies have
been managed ; and particularly whare
larire balances have beun shown, as accru-
ing from the transactions of eacli year, these
iKilances do not appear to have been car-
ried forward. My method of reasonmg is
therefore indrctive. I find the figures in
tlie tables and the statements in the reports
cnjntradictory and irreconcilable, and, in
many cases, the most d(;liberate and glaring
l>erver?ions of the truth ; and 1, therefore,
justiliably infer, that if 1 bad an equal
opportunity of examining the accounts of
tlie department, I should be able to detect
irregularhies equal to those I have already
pointed out. Having borrowed our State
library and book system from the United
States, and having witnessed the similitude
between the parent stem there and its olf-
spring her.3, let us now see what they have
to say, respecting tho financial manage-
ment, of these library and book departments
among themselves.

"Tlic subject ot tlio scloction of Text Rooks to bo used
In the public schools, is one of iiicreiising inipoitance ami
difficulty. Tho nunibev of persmis couipetent to examine
them is so few — the labor of ex.iniiniug numerous series
of l)Ool;s, oil all the bniiiclies titu!j;ht in the schools, is so
greiit, — tli'i sensitiveness of tlie people to frequent
chaiifies, is so keen, — mul the ccmipllcjited miichinery of
btiok '!i:''i)ts ami publishers is wurkeil with sueli amaziiij;
power, tliiit Committees s* il aghast, and the wlioli!
Comiuonwealth, from one ei il to tlie other, is rinfriiii;
with complaint. Abuses ami impositions of the must
tla^'nint cbarattcr are (jf dnily oecurrancc. A more
eUicieiit power nerds to lie erected ; and men who tlio-
rou'/hly understand the sulijcct, and who shall be inde-
pendent of authors, iiUblislin'^ houses, and atrents, n.'e<l
to be appointed for this special wOrk. — liei). liurmis Seam,
Serrctnrg oft he Hoard nf Educ.atiun, Mussaeliusells — i'Vow
mil Annu'il Report, IsVo.

During the last six months the New York
eity press has teemed with deimnciations of
the mercenary ami corrupt motives, actuat-
ing every oflicial, connected with the city
schools. In specifying the book publishing
practice of the Free Academy, the Tribune
contains some remarks, which apply to a
practice prevailing in the United States, and

tc a similar practice lately introduced to the
Toronto Normal School. I refer here to the
" Geography and History of British Ameri-
ca," by Mr. John George Uodgins, Deputy
Superintendent of Schools, hcuig made a
text book in the Common Schools. — The
Trilmve of l-2lh January last, says :

"Weli'ivea dayy-lins:; slmw of 'TextRooIvS and DooV,?
of Reference a(lopt<'d in. tiu- I'nu Academy.' The li.>t
bei;ins with 'Wayland's Moral Science,' an extraordii.iry
work, anil ends with ' MSS. Doctrines (>f Forms,' which is
not a book at all. The ' FatMi'ty,' however, seem to liav^-
a trreat admiratiin fiir tlicir own produci'.ons. Professor
Owen jiri'sents to the tender youth Ciiniinittoii to his
charii'e bis werld-reiuiwie'd O'lilions of ' X''iio|.hon,'
' Iloiner^ and ' Thiieydid.'s.' I'ril'.ssor Ui-.-nicr ti a<.'hes
theyonnir idea how to shoot in a Kicnch nu-eciion by aid
of his ' Idioms' and ' Ke:ideis'— luur profitable volunu's in
all. The (Jerniau I'rofi ssor bus also a 'Reader.' "iai'
Spani^h I'rofcssor likewise h.'is a 'Reader.' Tlie Profes-
sor of S'ure M.'itlie'uati.'s l'n"iii.~liis tline t( ;;t books oi'
Alirelira. Geometry ond fiLoiioni' tvy, AH tliis nuist Iv
KiMtif;. iiij; to tb,- i'. speclivc .•luthors, and ant unprolilablc
to tliiir piililishe: r."'

Now a monopoly for such a compilation
as that of Mr. Hotigins is not here objectetl
to, on the ground that no school functionary,
who is capable, ought to be excluded, sim-
ply by virtue of his olRce, from the enjoy-
ment of the emoluments thence to Le
derived. Ikit, because it happens uniform-
ly in the United States as it lias happened
here in this particular case, that the text
books so compilcil, are below mediocrity
and not lit for thescliools ; and would not be
oillcially sanctioned, if their aiUliors were
not oillcially copn^ctod with the schools.
Tho adoption of the Geography, as a text
book, for supplying 3634 school sections, is
sufficient to secure, for its compiler, a pecu-
niary independence, in-espectivo of other
oflicial sources of emolument. But we
have to do with the character and fitness of
the book itself. Is it like the United States
te.vt books, got up "in the same way ; ( r is
it possessed of merit ? P^or an answ(,'r to
this question, the best reference, because
unexceptionable, is to a critique, favorable
to the book, and to tho present organization
of tlie schools for which it is inte'.ided. The
Toronto Globe of l"2th November last, htw
a notice of this Geography, in which it
says : " Unfortunately in the very preface
and iu the iuUtxluctory < words to tlie

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

teacher,' several errors have crept in, which

the quick sighted school boy, much more
the practiced t»^aclier, would at once notice

and remark upon." After pointing out the

general ungrammatical character of the

book, tlie writer in the Globe proceeds :

" On p.'icfP Ifi, for area of Lnke Erio, read 0000 nqnnro
tnllcR for (iOOO. On tlie 5aiiio ]Mff) in nn error in calcu-
lating t!io amount of watf-r ]iiissiii|T ovor tho Fall? of Ni-
agara, which is statc'fl to lio 40,000,000 tons ficr hour, or
f)00,000 per minute ! while the aiuoutit dis-charged by the
St. Lawrence into tlio ocoan is imtUown iit ainucli smuller
fit;iire. On pa^e 18, for (Jeorgina road (Jeorfjiaii, On
pai^e 20, red and mnose deer arc i)laeed amongst the
game of Upper Can;ida ; while on pairo 21, tho moosh
DEKK is Raid to he I'Kcimjak to Lower C.'innda. It would
\» an improvement if in sections DO to 6:i, either the pIii-
fiilar or jiluriil noun were used throughout. On jingo 27,
f»tratford is incliidod hotli in tho London and Hamilton
district;;. On jiage 20, section 5 is not int..llii;il..k' — no
ri>a.uoii iK'incr given why the names of .soveral places .arc
repeated. On p;ige 41, the IJidoiiu CmiimI lias.Tii elevation
of 437 f'et. Can this ])q so, if from Kingston to f,:il,c
Kideau he an iis'^ont, and from Lake liiileiiu to Ottaw.i
a descent? On prje 4(i, set'tioii fi, it is said 'forly fr
POmetimes Fix Indiiins constituted a war party.' Surely
war parties were rot cci'iiined to 'hose n'iin!K>rs On pfige
.W. France if said to iia\t mled ('anad.i for SOU ve;'rs
jirior to tho f;\ll of (Jueljcc. 'I'liis would hring us hii'k to
a period anterior to (Ik- airiral either of Calir)t or Culir.n-
Ims. Foi't Niair-'ira is s:iiil, on page fiO, to be rana^i:in.
In the ) io,'r!!)ilui(iI sketches, Lord Durham, Lord .-iydcn-
lia;n, ;ind Kev. I'etcr .iones .are placed anioirjst distin-
guisiiid men now tivioL', while the Woi'iapliV of omcU
closes v.-ith 'he di<'d ;Uid was t.nried.' 'He- lion. M. S.
Ridwell is said to have Ijecn horn before tho American
revolution."

Such i.s tho char.icter of the text book, on
(ieography, whicli has l)een authori.^ed and
is now in the hands of Canadian youth. If
tlie topography and history of these norlhorn
regions be not tar.glitin the genuine Amori-
ran Common Seliool style, h will not be tlio
fault of the sage o-entlomen wiio preside in
the Education OfTice or sit nt the Boanl of
Public Instruction. I think, fo jnevent this
prac(i(!e, a rule should be passed, in time,
l)efore this manufacturing of lexf books be-
come general, that no person connected
with tho department of education be allowed
to use his official influence, fot the purpose
of monopolizing the trade, in any kind of
te.\t books of an unfit and spuriniiP character.

With reference to the numtier of books
sold, the Chief Superintendent of Schools
says, at page 18, of his last report : " This
large increase during the last six months is
chiefly owing to some discussion which
took place at the beginning of 1857, rela-
tive to the public libraries, and the applica-
tion by municipalhies, of portions of the

Clergy Reserve Funds to the purchase of
libraries." What the Municipalities did, in
this respect, was at the instigation of the
Chief Superintendent himself. The recom-
mendation on which they act'cd was illegal,
and had it been tendered by a responsible
officer of the Government, he would have
had to answer for it on the floor of Parlia-
ment. Here is a large sum of public
money, diverted from the purpose to which
it was to be applied by the intention of the
legislature. In short a mis-ap{»[ication of
public money. And what ha? been the
ro.spon.se to those who remonstrated with the
author of this proceeding ? Insult heaped
upon insult, without stint or limit. And all
this has taken place within the knowledge
of Your E.vcellency, and in the face of pub-
lic opinion ; and yet there has been no
accountability, and no mjinifestation of a
desire or intention to vindicate tho law and
protect the public morals.

Making all due allowance for the patron-
age bestowed on school libraries, by that
portion of the adult population, to whom the
reailing of standard works is a source of
pleasure ; it is questionable, if, to otherH,
these books, from their cheapness, may not
be estimated at a depreciated value in res-
pect to their contents. Moreover, there is
neither justice nor public policy in empow-
ering a few trustees to assess a school sec-
tion for a library, which is not fitted nor
adapted to the capacities of children, and
for which the parents and adult resident?
have no desire. Yet this is too generally
the case, as is evidenced by such te.stimony
as the following :

"As regards the librarioa in this township, thero ij>
really no interest tak(.'n in thorn, as iB evident from the
Keport."— iict). //. Jl. Ualcr, Albion, CouiUy "eel.

"Tlic section or township libraries are almost failures,
1 am s.irry to say few books are taken cut to read, and
little inteitst is manifested in this provision." — Rev. R.
Junes h'ltlitims, Culedun, County PeeU

"Tlie libraries also, I am sony to gay, are but little
made use of." — Rev. Tlu/mas Leach, Toronto, County Peel.

" lu some of the sections the inhabitants peruse the
library books with seeming interest; while in otliira they
leave them almost untoucliod ; whether this is owing
to the nature of the books, or disposition of the iieopli;
I cannot Hay ."—i!ei;..i.y. MMMulay, lfa$$ogateega.,ClomUg
liifUvn.

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

chase of
s did, in
1 of the
( recom-
3 illegal,
ponsible
lid have
' Parlia-
pubiic
o which
3n of the
nation of
leen the
with the
t heaped

And ail
low ledge
} of pub-
been no
lion of a

law and

e patron -
by that
rhom the
50urce of
othuiH,
may not
e in res-
there IS
empow-
lool sec-
itted nor
ren, and
resident?
generally
pslimony

_ then> tp
from the
•I.

jst failnres,

[read, (iiid

-Rev. R.

but little
'uuiity Peel.

peruse the

irs they

ia owing

|tlic iiooplu

jOfCowUf

I I"! am tiorry I cannot speak so faTorohlr of our public
ibraries ; the |)Cople Htill show great indifference about
avoiliu^ tlieniselves of the liberal assistance afforded by
(lovernnient." — Richard H. Qradock, Esq., Anauter, Coun-
ty Wtuttoirrlh.

"I had anticipated much good ft'om the libraries, and
expected ii ({pneral interest to be taken In them, but from
the ifeport I find only 91 individuals returned as having
made u.su of tlie books ; and supposing the reading popu-
lation to 1)0 ld03, i ' leaves a total of 1412 who do not
avail theniseh-os of this invaluable privilege."— fieo. Rich-
ard Saul, JtUtaide, Ccurily Middlesex,

"I cannot account for the apathy of the people with
regard to the libraries. They do not seem to appreciate
tlic use of books as was exjiected."— CArMto;>Aer jjliuidvii,
Esq., rtymptoii, County Lambton.

Educational Museum and School of
Art and Design.

These are, properly, industrial institutions,
and have a commercial object. In Italy,
Austria and the States of Germany, and in
France, where they have long been fostered
by the governments of these countries, they
have contributed not only to the promotion
of classical taste, but also to the manufac-
turing industry of comparatively large sec-
tions of the inhabitants. Schools of Art and
Design were scarcely known in England,
before the repeal of the Corn Laws find the
practical adoption of free trade. The Man-
chester commercial school of politicians,
eager, then, to furnish all facilities lor the
improvement of the tastes and capabilities
of the designers employed in the public
factories, and desirous of raising up a new
and additional class of persons, possessing
higher artistic attainments, decided on the
establishment of these Museums and Schools
as the most efficient means for the accom-
plishment of their purpose. In a romraer-
cial sense, this step had become necessary ;
for the superiority of the designs ol foreign
fabrics had secured, for them, a preference in
the English market itself, and the manufac-
turing interests of Manchester, began there"
by, to be sensibly afl'ected. The Govern-
ment also, for the same reason, directed its
influence to the promotion of these Schools.
Their establishment, therefore, in England,
was the spontaneous effect of circumstances
arising out of a reduced tariff on imported
manufactureil goods. In like manner, the
impetus since given to the foreign mission-

ary movement, through Exeter Hall, by the
Manchester manufacturing interest, was
commenced, and is still regulated, by the
commercial object of supplying the heathen
with Manchester goods. Whatever the
reason may be, there is some sense m
adopting institutions, called for by national
exigencies. Anid in this we always find
the English people practical — never led
away by specious theories ; anu seldom
mistaking the end in view, or the means for
its attainment. But tliere is something so
decidedly out of place, in a Canadian Nor-
mal School undertaking to exhibit Italian
statuary and paintings ; and not only to
exhibit but to teach the arts of the great
classical masters of antiquity, that one is at
a loss whether to smile at the pretensions or
scorn the folly of such a proceeding. Not-
witlistanding, tho Chief Superintendent,
mistaking their purpose, says : " A collec-
tion of such objects has double the value in
Canada that it possesses in any city or town
in Europe." Wherein is there evidence of
a taste in Canada for such studies, or what
is the use of specimens of art, that have no
meaning for the class of persons that fre-
quent the Nonnal School ? The Chief Sq-
perintendent has produced a portion of the
letter of advice, from Colonel Lefroy, on the
selection of specimens for the Museum ; but
he has withheld that part of the letter which
refers to classical specimens, in particular.
And seeing that Colonel Leiroy's advice was
not followed — as the collection of antiques
in the Museum is very large and forms its
most prominent compartment, in justice to
that gentleman it should have been stated
that his advice was opposed to the selection
which was made. Without the additional
and exculpatory portion of that letter. Colo-
nel Lefroy is made responsible, ostensibly,
for having advised the large collection of
antiques ; an assumption which is contrary
to the truth. The paragraph immediately
following the extract from Colonel Lefro) 'e
letter, is as follows :

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

" In n.'ii!iril to tho choice of olijocts, I tlunk tlmt ponsi-
Mi^ bcaiitv, jiiii'try or pJillidH, ivdlicr tlinn classic iirlrn..-.t
Bh(>iil'l be till' ilitiTiiiiiiiiiLC iiriiicijU'. In H(nl|itiiio I
s'lDui'l l)('(jriii with ini'ilcni works, !uij not vciitiin' to iii-
troiliiri; iiMti(|iii's uiilil the h'j;itiiiiiili' !iilv;iiici' ol' ]mljlic
tiist>', urid cliissicil fihiciitJDn I'lisiiicd tlii-ir r(>e(']iti<iti —
tlii'ic citi Im- iMi rc.'il relish lor woiks of iirt. ilhistnitinj.'
tilt' l,'iliU"J of Mythology iiiunn:^ tliosd cl.'is.^cH whosi? itlu-
oiitioii stojis short (if iill cl.'i.-sii-.fl loro. An obviiiiis fon-
Bi'i'r.itioii fnitlii'i' limits the choice ' Viigiuituis jiuerisiine
tVuxi.' Nmii' tignre.s geneniUy must bo exclnded,"

Willi as little sliow ot roiusoij wo mijrlii
go to work and ili^' tor coal in ('aiiada, bu-
cau.se they din,- i()r coal in J'^ngiand, as
attempt, by a parallel mode ot jeasoning, to
estabiisli a departmental School of Art and
Design. In other countries, sr.ch schools
ai'e for the use of the maiuifaclnring interests,
But in Western Canada there are no manu-
factures. This is as yet an agricultural
aninlry. If, however, the occa^jon should
arise, which appears at present very remote,
tiiat these schools become necessary, they
slioulii then be placed under the control of
tlic lioaid of Arts and Manrdactures, in
cx)nnoction with the Mechanics' Institutes.
Of all things, the Normal School is the last

place, where one should think of teaching
the liue arts.

FiiEK Schools.

At page -21 of the Aiuiiial Report, the

Cliief Superintendent says :

"Th;it in naniicip.'iiilics' \' iicve tho schools are reported
O be In an unsiitisCiietory state, this luiiiiful liict is in no
cause asciihed to the defective provisions of tho \«cliool
law, e.\ci]it ill t!ie frequently exjiressed eanu st desire that
tlie Iicgislaturu would amend the law ^o as to make all
tlie Kchools free."

Now the complaints, m sections whore
tlie schools are all free, are as common, if
not more so, as in others where fees are
paid ; but because the friends of free schools
CJUinoT divine in what the defect consists,
is no argument that the school law is unex-
ceptionable. This is certainly a crooked
mode of reasoning. A law tluit wont work,
tinder any circumstances, must be a bad
law. The Local Superintendents, in free
Bchool sections, complam that the schools
are bad and irregula.'y attended. That is
enough. But do tliey not also universally
place the fault, in the first instance on the
character of the teachers ? Do they not be-
sides call for an alteration of the law, so as
to make tho attendance of children at school

compulsory? Are not the legal limits of
school sections a source of endless conten-
tion and complaint ? And are there no de-
mands that the sectarian clause of the law
be altered, as in the words of John Roberts,
Esq., Local Superintendent of Stamford —
<< That our schools will never be ^at peace
with the Roman CalhoHcs until they are
either put on an equal footing with Protes-
tants, or else lt;ft out of the question alto-
gether ?" The Chief Superintendent no
doubt knows and lV>els that to look at tho
edecls of the school law, as pictured by the
Local Superintendents, through any other
than a distorteil medium, would be to con-
demn the law as a whole and expose tho
incompetency of its author. Nevertheless,
tho unanimous testimony of tho Local Su-
perintendents, is a protest against the law,
that it is impracticable. Bricks alone are
not sudicient to build a house. There must
be mortar and timbers and fastenings, and
not only these, but they must also be tem-
pered and fitted, so as to correspond with
the intention of the builder, in accordance
with a preconceived plan. So it is with a
school law. If the schools are free and yet
as repulsive as if they were not, this free-
ness, it is evident, cannot be suflicient of
itself to make a good school, any more than
the bricks alone would suffice to build a
house. This fact, many of the Local Super-
intendents, it seems, do not perceive ; and
the Chief Superintendent, in place of help-
ing them out of the dilRculty, has every
motive to foster the delusion.

What the Chief Superintendent stated in
his Free School Essay, page 20.3, of his Re-
port for 1850, has penetrated the minds of
many who have not taken the trouble to
question its truth. The statement is this :

"It is not, therefore, surprising to find that wherevtj
the Free School system lias been tried in L'](per Canada
or elsewhere, the attendance of pupils at school has io"
creased from tifty to three hundred i)er cent.'

Independent of the evidence furnished
in << The Common School System its Prin-
ciple Operation and Results," from tho
leport of Mr. Joseph McKeen, Superinten-

APPEAL Olf THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

.1 limits of
;ss conten-
lere no de-
of the law
lin Roberts,
Stamford —

^at peace
il they are
'ith Protes-
estion alto-
tenilent no
look at the
ired by the

any other

1 be to coQ-
expose the
jvertheless,

Local Su-
jt the law,
3 alone are
There must
snings, and
so be tem-
spond whh
accordance
it is with a
ree and yet
, this free-
uflicient of

more than
to build a
5cal Super-
ceive ; and
ce of help-

las every

t stated in
of his Re-
minds of
trouble to
It is this :

;li.it whorevci
'\)\>Qr Canada
[•)iool has in»

furnished
n its Prin-
from the
uperinten-

dent for the State of New York, and others,
I have, in my letters signed " A Protes-
tant," page 23, given a most signal refuta-
tion to this statement, by shewing from the
oilicial Annual Report, that the average at-
tendance, in all the sectious reported, as
having none but rate bill schools, was greater
in proportion to the school population, than in
all the sections reported as having none but
free schools. I also, at ihe same time, sup-
plied evidence from some of the Local
Superintendents to the same purport. And
now add from the last Report the following :

"I have much plensure in stilting the Free School sys
ti'in picviiils hero ; and ulthouj,'h it is hunuutiiblo to ol-
serve that n large nunilHT of cliilUren of proinT aire in
till' towiisbip do not attend, it is not eutirely owiiij^ to
tiie iniiilleri'iice or neirli.i;once of jiiircnts, liiit in most
ci.'^i'S to tlie want of elheient teachers. — Uwcn (^uigletj,
Esii; Luc/iic/, Cuuiily Ulciignrrtj,

''Tlie sehools were in o|i('ratinn, upon tlie averacre, for
W/t less tiian nine mouths, but tlie attcnilance of cldlilrcn
was not sueh as I can report to you witli .satisfaction;
this is the most serious evil which we have to contenil
with, acting disadvantat^eously in various ways, upon
both teachers and scholars, and does not apiiear to be
Busce])tible of any easy or obvious remedy. Here, at
least, the freedom of the school docs not appear to pro-
duce a more favor.'ihle result." — Daniel Fouler, Esq., Am-
herst Islii lid, Cuunlij Froiilenuc.

*• I iiave little to remark except that tlie Victoria School
beins free, and only on(^ year in operation, is at (jrcsent
nithcr an experiment of the system, th.in an instance of its
Bncciss. The i^reat dilliculty seems to be, that those cliil-
dreii for who.se sjiecial benelit suth schools .are est:d)-
ILsheil, will not avail themselves of tlie boon. Ou due
ri'llection, I have come .o the conclusion tli.at the free
system is unwise, unfair and inoper.itive, unU:.<s thi; at-
tendance of chiblren be ninde cmupulsory by law. I am
aware of the dilliculty in ellectinn this amendment, and
tlierefore merely mention uiy experience of the Hroekville
school, as corroboratinj; an opinion derived from a
r.ation.'tl examination of tlie theory of thi,' free system."
The Rev. J. I'ravers Letcis, LL.D., Vrnckvilie.

Common Schools and Juvenile Crimi-
nals.

At page 31 of the last Annual Report, is
an amusing example of the way in which
the Chief Superintendent tries to get over
two stubborn facts. One, the non-attend-
ance of numbers of children in the Common
School.'^. The other, the increase of juvenile
criminals. He says, in reply to the lir.st,
that the disinclination of parents to send
their children to these schools, is no valid
objection lo the school system. And in re-
ply to the second, that if crime has increased
it cannot be assumed that the schools are
the cause, since it cannot bo shown that

young criminals have been regular atten-
dants in them.

Now, it has never been pretended that
the schools produced young critniniils. Tluj
accusation is that they do not prevent crime.
There is a wide diliereuce between a nega-
tive and a positive accusation, and it cannot
be supposed that the Chiui' Superiiitcndent
made an uninteiitional mi.4iilce. One of hi^
favorite themes has been the tetuleiicy of
free schools and universal education to pro-
vent crime. I finil in his lirst Report for
1845-6, the following :

"There are, tlipreforc, nearly lt2^"ll children of school
a're attemliii!;- no sclioid wh.iti'\ er ; a sl.ilemc'iit ton start-
lin<^ and alaniii:i^ to requiic any rell'itic;ri (roru me, !iiiil
BUllicunt to acciiuiU for iiuich of the eii:iie that sv^ells our
criminal calendar, ami ent lils vast (•xpeiise, IxsiJes imni-
berless otlier evils upon the country."

Also the "Atldies.ses on Free Schools,"
contained in the Report for 18.t2, are empha-
tic on the etricaey of schools to prevent crime.
Yet we have tlie Chief Siiperinteiulent ignor-
ing, in his Report lor ISoti, one of h is most fa-
vorite doctrines. Why this want of candor ?
What is to be gained, in the long run, by
evasion ? Nothing. The accusation still
comes up, that the present school system
does not prevent juvenile depravity and
vai>vancy. This was the puipuit of Judgu
Hagarly's charge to the Ciand Jury ou ihu
8lh March of lust ye<tr. The learned Judge
did not say, nor even insinuate, that thu
schools produced crime. It is, therefore, a
most disingenuous proceeding for tiie Chief
Superintendent to try and pervert Jutlgo
Ilagarty's perspicuous and uneqiiivucai
words. He dares not in the lace of facts
to the contrary, a,^sert now what he pro-
poundeu, as alx)ve, in 1815-6, and 185'i,
and on many occasions since. The fruits
of the system are the reverse of \\ hat were
predicted. Juvenile crime keeps pace with
the progress and duration of the secular
school system, and the Chief Superintendent
tlreads to look at the fruits of his own handi-
work ; and, to avoid the disagreeable ordeal,
he affects to mistake the nature of the chargy
against it.

APPEAL OX TnE COMMOS^ SCHOOL LAW.

So, with reference to the large number
of children not attending school, is not the
argument produced, above, from the Report
for 1845-6, as applicable now as it was
then ? If the school system, existing pre-
vious to the incumbency of the present
Chief Superintendent, was resjwnsible, for
the then swollen state of the criminal calen-
dar, is the present system less responsible
for the iTge increase in the criminal calen-
dar now? If the large number of children
not attending any school be the criterion of
responsibility, justice requires that it should
be applied at one time as well as at an-
other. Atvd, in applying that criterion,
Judge Hagarty only made use of a rule laid
down by the Chief Superintendent himself,
at a time, when, he conceived, that it suited
his immediate purpose. Notwithstanrling,
the Chief Superintendent turns round now
and denies that the school system is to be
judged by the numbers of children not at-
tending school. Independent of this viola-
tion of his own rule, and absence of
memory, it is obvious that the defects,
irregularities and obstructions which char-
acterize the operation of the school law, in
every one of its ramifications, are traceable
to the general principles on which the law
is based. When parents do not or will not
send their children to the Common School,
there must be some potent reasons by which
they are influenced. And a school legisla-
tor who makes no account of these reasons ;
and neglects to take into his calculations
the nature and peculiarities of the social ele-
ments on which he has to operate, is sure
to find his theory and practice at variance.
Many repudiate the Common School be-
cause they have an impression that the
teacher, who is selected by an ignorant and,
'" v:j: I cudes, corrupt Board of School Trus-
;v:t be anything else than ignorant
and having to shape his religious
■■'■■ to please, or at least not to give
. Trustees, holding as many dif-
ferent religious opinions as there are mera-

bars on the Board, he is constrained to sub-
ordinate his own religious convictions, and
abjure, in the school-room and in his inter-
course with the children, any living profes-
sion of Christian faith or belief. Such
parents are not to blame for being scrupu-
lous, as to the character of the person into
whose hands they should entrust the educa-
tion of their children ; and less so, if their
educational convictions lead them to regard
the teacher as a parental substitute. A
school system which does not provide for
this state of parental feeling, must be de-
fective in this particular ; and if there be
other points equally neglected, so will the
system be, in other respects also, inef-
ficient. This is exactly the case with the
school system existing here ; the fault of
which is, that it is not accejJtable. The
school architect has built on an unstable
foundation ; the edifice is not, therefisre,
such as to secure public confidence ; and
prudent people refrain from entering it.
But where does the fault lie, if the building
remain unoccupied ? Is it not clear, that
the ignorance or incapacity of the architect,
in not choosing a suitable foundation, is the
cause of the disappointment ? Certainly it
is. Success depends on the choice of
means. The conditions on which success
is dependent must be observed ; otherwise
the result is failure. Not to be able to per-
ceive these truths, is a misfortune. But to
perceive them, and yet attempt to disguise
the real issue, as in the present case, is not
compatible with honesty of purpose.

Conclusion.

The question of a Minister of Public In-
struction has forced itself on public notice,
not only on account of the incongruity-of the
school system and the makidininistration of
the school law, but also because no satis-
factory compromise of educational differ-
ences of opinion, can possibly take place
through any other means than that of par-
liamentary responsibility. The public
liberties can never be safe if placed in the

APPEAL OH THE COlkiV.C.V SCHOOL LAW.

id to Bub-
tions, and
his inter-
tig profes-
f. Such
5 scrapu-
[jrson into
he educa-
0, if their
to regard
titute. A
rovide for
it be do-
there be
;o will the
Iso, inef-
with the
B fault of
ble. The
unstable
tlierefi3i*e,
snce ; and
itering it.
} building
jlear, that
architect,
on, is the
irtainJy it
loice of
success
jtherwise
e to per-
But to
disguise
su, is not

ablic In-
; notice,
ty-of the
ration of
no satia-
differ-
Ice place
of par-
public
d in the

hands of an irresponsible public ofhcer.
The constitution has guarded every other
department ot the public service with the
greatest circumspection. The Inspector
General, the Receiver General, and the
heads of every other department, are elect-
ed by tlie people, and have to give, to the
people, an account of their stewardship.
They have to listen to the popular voice ;
and to adopt popular suggestions. Not so
with the educational interests of the Pro-
vince. And why this deviation from the
general principle of responsible government,
laid down and sanctioned by the most formal
declaration of the law, as the basis of the
Canadian constitution ? We seek in vain
for an answer to this question. There is no
answer. The Postmaster General does not
hold oiiice, with the proviso, that he shall
bo subject to the Governor General only, for
tho discharge of the duties of his oiiice.
On the contrary, no irregularity, either of
amission or commission escaj;e3 the most
severe scrutiny. He has to defend every
measure and answer every charge, great or
iiiiiall, connected with his department, which
may come up for discussion in the Provin-
cial Parliament. But reverse the case, —
make the Postmaster General responsible
to the Governor General only ; and in ad-
dition to this exemption from popular con-
trol, place at his disposal the entire
patronage of the offices in his department
and arm him with a monthly journal and an
annual vehicle, through whose pages he
may assail and vilify the persons and mo-
tives of every questioner, with» impunity,
and what would be the consequences ?
Would he not also, in like manner, report,
tiiat " the returns of the Post Office busi-
ness are too defective to be given" — " the
reiurns in this table in regard to Post Offices
are so imperfect, and involve so many in-
consistencies, when compared whh those of
the preceding year, as to render them of
little value?" Would not the general
tabular returns be likely to present a jumble
of figures, inconsistent and at variance with

the local Post Office returns ? And would
not the financial reports be so prepared and
so publisheil, as to conceal the net receipt*
and disbursements and the disposal of large
balances, anti to defy the scrutiny of the
most able accountants ? Against the occur-
rence of such irregularities, under a popular
form of government, there is but one pre-
ventive, and that is popular responsibility.
The Post Oflice Department is efficient,
because it is subject to this popular surveil-
ance. The educational is not, because it is
in no way whatever alfected by it, but is in-
depen dent of all popular restramL

From the local reports, the evidence is
overwhelming, in respect to mismanage-
ment. Tiie Trustees, incompetent and
corrupt ; the Local Superintendents, nor
pertonning their duties because they are too
onerous ; school records incorrect, falsified,
or none at all kept. As the eclectical part,
here involved, of our school system, is said,
by our Chief Superintendent, to have been
imported from the State of New York, I
beg to refer to tiie New York Tribune of
2nd March, current, for an exemplification
of its fruits ; and to the same journal as
well as to the Herald, for their daily expo-
sitions of the base and corrupt motives and
doings of the school functionaries, high and
low, and the disgraceful condition of the
Common Schools, both of the city and of the
State. As with us, one perpetual grievance
in New Y'ork and Massachusetts, is the in-
competency and personal motives of Trus-
tees. The school of each section is the
victim of men who have different personal
motives to serve, by their connection with
it. A good teacher cannot serve so many
different masters, each striving, by all un-
deriiand and disreputable means, to accom-
plish a different purpose ; and for that rea-
son there, as here, good teachers are a rare
exception ; the schools being supplied by
vagrants, who are unfitted for any better
employment; and who habitually move from
one school to another, every few months, in

APPEAL ON THB COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

'tbetlierico to tlie caprices of these unscru-
jiulous lucal runctiuiiaries.

I'ut bad as tlio stream is, in its continuous
curn.'iil, lli(j rouutain, the source from which
.It etrianates, is no bettor. We have a Board
of I'ublic Instruction. Why ? Because
they have such in Massachusetts and New
York! Wliat use ihis Board is of, except
to indorse tlio decrees of the Chief Super-
inteniient, and convey llio semblance of
doliberative action on his proposals, it is
diilieult to conceive. It has never done
anything else that any botly knows of ; this
however, it has done. Whether expressed
fir implied, the conduct of the Board of
l^iblic Instruction, lor this section of the
Province, proves it 1o have been an instru-
ment, a conscious and willing instrument
in tlio hands of the Chief Superintendent,
for the accomplishment of all his schemes.
Lot us look at the theories it has indorsed
and the list of measures it has sanctioned.
Tiieyare as follows: The subordination of
ihe educational rights of tlie parent to those
of tlie State — The exclusion of religious in-
struction from the Schools — Enlightened
citizenship, from the book learning provided
by the State, in preference to industrial
habits, acquired from parental and domestic
training — The negation of any influence by
the church upon the school, or of the pastor
on the teacher — A Normal School for grind-
ing boys and girls, on the shortest notice ;
that of fire months daily attendance, to en-
title them to a Provincial certificate — Ex-
pensive and ornamental school houses, a
paramount consideration ; the competency
of teachers, secondary. Public libraries
for young persons ; the books of which are
not adapted to their capacities, and conse-
quently are not read by them — Misapplica-
tion of the Clergy Reserve Funds, to an
illegal purpose — Compulsory assessment for
free schools, under the fraudulent pretext
that they are to educate all, whereas only
a email part of the children of any school
flection attends them — A gigantic book and

publishing patronage — A Normal ochool
Museum to be used as a public show — A
wasteful expenditure of monies from tlie
Provincial Revenue and local sources,
without any adequate return — And finally,
a rendering of the financial accounts, in
such a shape, that they caniio*t be under-
stood. The Board of Public Instruction
cannot deny, that it has be'3n, as I have
said, a conscious and wilhng instrument for
the perpetration of all these :nisdeeds. ThB
membe: s of that Board may not have known
the tendency of their ownitcts; they may
not have understood either tho theory or prac-
tice of the system they have been patroniz-
ing and upholiling. If so, they have been
incompetent for the office to which they
were appointed ; a fact that corroborates
my argument, not only of the ignorance
of the Chief Superintendent, regarding the
principles of his darling system, but also
the ignorance end incompetency of all the
other functionaries engaged ; including the
Board of Public Instruction, Local Superin-
tendents and Trustees.

But being so directly interested, in tlie
purpose and functions of this Board, it may
be profitable to cast a glance at the doings
of the similai body which rules in the Free
School city of New York. The following
is from the city papers :

" With the present year the term of office of one bolf
the muiubers of the liuard of Education expires, and an
equal nuni))cr of new nienibera wiU take their place.
Although but comparatively little public attention has
been given to the openitious of this body, it is, from the
great interests entrusted to its care, and the large amount
of its annual expenses, one of the most important de-
partments in the city. The ex])enditurcB for 1857 are
over $1,200,000, which is more than four times the
amount appropriated during the year lSd2, the expenses
of that year being about $270,000. For this enorraooe
increase we seek in vain for a justification, or even aa
excuse, in an increase of population during this period ;
for while the latter may be set down at fifty per cent, the
fonner reaches the startling dimensions ot four hundred
and fifty. The true cauf^e of this excessive expenditure is
to be found in the fact that the Board of Education, like
other municipal liodies, is, with very few exceptioni^
composed of thoroughly corrupt and dishonest politicly
ans, who grasp eagerly at everv opportunity of making
money at the expense of the tax payers of New York.
Every measure that holds forth promise of plunder is
seized upon with avidity and passed with remarkable
unanimity. Contracts for the erection of school house
in localities where they are not required, are entered into
with builders who oiTer the latest consideration to the
memben ; books that are utterly worthleu for aeboel
porpoMi «re porchaMd on the umc coaditioaa, and bf

APPEAL ON THE COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

ding the

even oa

period ;

;ent, the

liuodred

ditnre is

ion, like

leptionn,

politic!*

making '$■

w York. 4

inder ia 1

uu-kiOtfe 1
houae {(

red into 1

to tba S^

■CbMl 1

maatj 1

tlMSO and other ctiually frnuflnlent and oornipt Hchomofi
ont! Imlf tliP annual approjiriation llmlN its way into tin-
poekotR of di^llonl•8t cnmniisslnntTH and contractors."—
iVt'ic York herald, ';th December, 1867.

"That the mrnilifr:, of the Hoard of Education do not
attend (the oxamiiiationM) is not, jicrimiis, to \>o rcirntti'd,
eince tUey nro notftriously ineoni]ii't(Mit to pronoiinci'
upon the meritnand donicritt! of nii institution of learn-
ing. Hut the citizens of New Yorl; should see to ittiiat
tliere lie some upriirht ti'iliiniMl, eii|iiilile and willing to
ovor.«oe their sehools and iiradiinii'S— sioiic eonind-isioti,
whoso roports should cnaliic tliciu to dciiilo wlici.' to
H-ndthi'ir children toho tauirht, uml whicli sliould lici']i
the public purse siifi.- Croui the drinidations of literary
adventurers tind Iialf educated pedimts." — Acio I'wk Tri-
bune, lOlk I'ebruurij, 1-58.

It will bo said, that the mombers of the
Board for Canada West, do not pocket the
plunder from the appiopriatioii of school
monies, in the way which is done by the
New York Board. So f;ir, tliis is true. But
is the expenditure regulated any better here
than it is there ; and is our Board more
vigilant in this respect than llie New York
Board ? Certainly not. — Read the Cana-
dian Annual Reports. — It is money, money,
money, throughout. This is the criterion.
The more money the more progress. See
the 10th page of the last Annual Report for
a definition of Canadian patriotism, which
is tliere indicated antl measured by the
increase of the legislative school grant, by
the amount of local assessments, amounts
paid for maps and apparatus, for books, the
expenditures for sites and buildings, rents
and repairs, fuel, stationery, &c. The
Board acquiesces in the propriety of this
criterion ; and while the Chief Superinten-
dent's speculations and vast commercial
enterprises, in books, maps, apparams,
plaster casts, pictures, models, &c., are
carried on, to the neglect and detriment of
the proper business of the schools, the
Board tolerates, assents and approves of all
this, — conducts itself as the Chief Superin-
tendent directs, and exercising no active
power, exists in the condition of a passive
instrument ot mischief. j

and if we have not imbibed, from such re-
presentations, an amount of the poison of
self-conceit, sufficient to destroy the con-
sciousness of our own defects, it has not
been the fault of those who have traded,

A Minister of Public Instruction, with
a stair of District Inspectors, would remedy
all this accumulation of mismanagement.
And with a Ciovernmont Board of Exami-
ners, for the granting of certilioates to teach-
ers, the Common Schools might become, in
a few years, the pride and the boast not of
misinformed cntliu.siasts only, but of the
educated ami enlii>htened of every sect and
party. The extent of the educational busi-
ness besides, requires a comprehensive
department. I have ijidicated in my letters
signed "A Protestant," the nature of the
duties of the Minister and Inspectors, and
need not hero repeat what the.«e are. 1
wish, however, to substitute a recommen-
dation for a Government Board of Exami*
ners in place of Local Boards ; because I
find the former more general nnd more
ellicient, in countries, wherein the best
schools are reported to exist ; and because
the observance of the conditions on which
Government aid is granted, could not be
ascertained, in any other way than by sub-
jecting the teachers, trained at different nor-
mal seminaries, to examination by a (iov-
ernment Board.

In looking forward to the growth and
greatness of this yet youthful Province,
many traits of its after character will be
dependent on the shape which its earUer
institutions are made to assume. He is no
honest Canadian who, under the guise of an
effete patriotism, seeks popular applause by
pandering to the prejudices of the ignorant
and fostering the sentiment of self-conceit.
We are yet too young to have much to
boast of; and for what we hare, we are in-
debted to other countries. Our greatness is
prospective. Let us, in the meantime, look
to its foundations ; for, as we sow, so shall
we reap. It has been said, and the saying
has been promulgated through the British
dominions, that, in Canada, there is a system
of education "that is elevating the intellec-
tual standard of the people to an elevation
never before attained by any coirmunity ;"

f: '

APPEAL ON TH£ COMMON SCHOOL LAW.

to gocd account, on Canadian credulity.
The great sin of America, is the endeavor
t'j sponge out all record of the past. The
litrlo esteem manifested for the language of
the ancients, has ahnost elliiced tiie desire
to know much else relating to them. —
^Esthetic discipline is unknown. The stuiiy
of art has, therefore, no habitation. While
the future is to learn its lessons, not from
the accumulated wisdom of former ages,
comprised in the aggregate of humanhy ; but
from the ephemeral uicidents of national life,
developed within its own sectional sphere.
As it will add nothing to our greatness to raise
up divines who know nothing of mythology ;
barristers who cannot make relierence to
the corjius juris civilis, comprised in the
Pandects, Institutes and Novels of Justinian ;
or legislators and statesmen, who have
formed no acquaintance with Cicero ; tliere-
fore is it becoming to hold on by the one
link which binds the present to the past,
which has raised up great warriors and
statesmen in other countries, and supplied
a lasting and solid foundation for all tliat is
illustrious and renowned in liieir annals.
We must cultivate, what are called, the dead
languages in our schools, if we wish to be-
come an educated people. Without ignoring
commerce, that generator of civilization and
its attendants, immorality and vice, it is of
the utmost consequence that it should be
accompanied by the humanizing influences
of the arts ; not by beginning at the wrong
end and establishing a Museum, while we
are yet ignorant of the language by which
the works of the great masters are to be in-
terpreted, but by learning their language so
as to be able to interpret those works. —
Whatever may be the extent of the rudi-
mentary teaching of Latin and Greek in the
Common Schools ; and it is a question with
many whether it should be admitted ot not ;
under all circumstaiices notwithstanding,
the teacher, who should be a man and not

boy^i should be capable to undergo an ex-
amination in both these languages ; and
moio particularly, with the Latin, his ao-
quaintance should be thorough and familiar*
It signities not that he is never to be called
on to teach them. They are a key, in his
hand, for derivation and reference; they
refine his own taste, and incite to the prose-
cution of higher studies ; and finally, they
confer a degree of respect, which is of the
utmost importance to the authority of the
teacher.

In making this appeal to Your Excel-
lency, I confess that L have touched many
sore places, which I would have preferretl
to avoid if it had been possible. But the
nature of the disease, the magnitude of the
imposture, and the dangerous moral ten-
dency of the law and its official administra-
tion, obviously, require something more than
ordinary treatment. My recommendation
is not made with a view to destroy, but to
modify the school system. In fine, to mahi
it practicable by making it acceptable.

It ought surely to be a matter of concern
to the head of the Government in this Pro-
vince, that our institutions should retain a

British character, and that the sacred
principles of civil and religious freedom,
which constitute the safety and bulwark of
the British nation, should not be violated. —
As a watchful observer of the impartiality
and fidelity with which Canadian interests
have been guarded, under Your Excellency's
administration, I am encouraged to hope
that this appeal will receive that considera-
tion, from Your Excellency, which its
importance demands.
I have the honor to be,

Your Excellency's
Most obedient and humble Servant,

ANGUS DALLAS,
Toronto, 10th March, 1858.

•'i

^0 an ex-

iges ; and
n, his ao-
i familiar*
be called
9y, in his
ce ; they
the prose-
lally, they
; is of the
ity of the

ar Excel-
led many
preferred
But the
;de of the
oral ten-
[ministra-
nore than
lendatioa
)y, bat to
,to mdk^
'able.

f conceru
this Pro-
retain a

i sacred
freedom,
Iwark of
dated. —
)artidJity
interests
jllency's
to hope
nsidera-
lich its

Tant,
(ILLAS,