^ ^^v:. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 |5o "^" IKttB U 1^ 112.2 HI 2.0 1.4 1.6 V] 7] y A '/ /A iV CIHM/iCMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. n D n Coloured covers/ Couvertures de couleur Coloured maps/ Cartes gAographiques en couleur Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachetdes ou piqu6es Tight binding (may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin)/ Reliure serr6 (peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdrieure) L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a AtA possible de se procurer. 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The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour fttre reproduites en un seul clichd sont filmies d partir de Tangle sup6rieure gauche, de gauche A droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la m6thode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 •i J^(\» EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION FOB THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. AD13RKSS S)')" BV THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL TO THX PEOPLE OF ONTARIO, DEALING MAINLY WITH SEPARATE SCHOOLS. prnLir.nED by THE EQUA.L RIGHTS ASSOCIATION, 9i ADELAIDE STREET EAST, T01102^T0. Copies of this letter and other literature of the Asnociation may he obtained on application to W.BANKH, Secretary^ at the aUove uddreis. / The principles of the Equal Rirjhts Association arc set forth in the platform adopted by the convention wiiich met in Toronto in June last, and are now before the people of Ontario : to all of these the association steadfastly adheres. Principles which re- cognize the proper distinction between the civil and the ecclesias- tical domains are by no means new to the people of this a)untry. They were formally accepted by the Legislature of Canada many years before Confederation, and we had a right to exi)ect that the policy of the Dominion and of its constituent Provinces would not nave sanctioned or permitted any flagiant violation of them, such as we find in the Act which bestows public funds upon the Jesuits and other religious agencies of the Church of Rome in Quebec. The leading position of our Association is that civil authority and ecclesiastical authority should not be confounded, that Church and State should, each in its own sphere, accomplish its own work with its own resourcas, and that the Church should not give law to the State any more than the State should trench upon the freedom of the Church Were this rule in all its legitimate applica- tions invariably observed, any difficulties which might arise in our country between French and English, between Roman Catholic \ and Protestant, would, we are confident, come to an end. We mib;ht look for a gradual and happy unification of feeling and in- terest in the Provinces of the Dominion : we should at least avoid the excessive friction which will continue to exist if Churches are to enter the political arena, coerce legislation, and strive for sub- sidies from the public treasury. The true friends of Confedera- tion are they who would obviate the bitter contention which measures like the Jesuits' Elstate Act will inevitably breed, — not they who would allow false principles, unhindered, to work per- manent discord .%nd confusion. Our platform condemned the Jesuits' Estates Act on this, among other groMnds, that "in flagrant disregard of the sovereign rights of the Queen, and in clear violation of the Supremacy Act," it '• recognized the right of the Pope to interfere in the affairs of Canada.' This, our contention, has been amply sustained by the interpretation of the Act since given by the press which supports Mr. Mer'''er and by the emphatic avowals of Mr. Mercier himsel£ No reasonable msn can any longer maintain that the Act intro- duces the name of the Pope merely aa an arbitrator between par- ties in his own Church, without conceding to him any authority in civil afiairs. It is now professed that in things which atfect the Church in Quebec the canon law has supreme authority, and when it comes into conflict with the civil order mupt carry the day. The situation is thus sufficiently grave. In order to give effect to the principles embodied in our plat- form, the convention of June deemed it necessary to extend our organization throi^ghout the Province. Over seventy branches '•are already been formed, and steps are being taken to have the work actively pushed forward- In delivering our protest against j\o incorj;0( atJon of the Jesuits and the Jesuits' Estates Act, we liave not discharged our whole duty. Powerful forces are con- stantly at w(»rk in opposition to us. A resolute and skilful an- tagonist, flushed with victory, will not abandon his aim and cease to urge his pretensions ; nor will political parties cease to bid for the support of a power which has so often decided the fate of Government? and their leaders. Ultramontanisni may judge it prudent to be quiescent for a time, but if the lesson of the past year is not laid to heart and due preparation made to defend the '^reat principle of civil and religious freedom and equality, the battle will go against us, and we shall be seriously to blame. Con- scious as we are that we have no sinister end in view, and that wo desire to vindicate the rights of friends and opponents alike, we must go forward in the propagation of our principles, and in com- pleting the organization required to give them practical effect. Sor- rowfully has the conviction forced itself upon many minds that, in their eagerness for votes, the parties cannot be confidently trusted to repel ecclesiastical aggreiisi on and to avert a real danger at once to civil society and to the Christian Chuich. May our association prove not altcgtther unv^orthy to bear some part in keeping bofuro tbt mind and conRoi<^no« of the community im- 8 portant principles wliich seem to be imperilled at the present time. The pktform of the Equal Rights Association was not hastily Adopted, but it was not, and in the circumstances could not be, •complete. Fundamental principles were correctly enunciated, but it was inevitable that they should be applied to important que.'t- tions not mentioned in the platform. At a meeting of the Provincial Council of the Association held in September, a resolution in favor of the abolition of Separate Schools and of the dual language in the North- West was adopted. Whatever arguments might be advanced in support of the official use of the French language in Quebec, there could be no plausible defence of the dual system in a province and in territories where only a small fraction of the population spoke the French tongue ; 3ior could Separate Schools be vindicated where the overwhelm- ing mass of uie people were opposed to them. In deference to French Canada and the Church of Rome, the one and the other had, subsequently to Confederation, been fastened upon largo territories which were sure to seek deliverance from the incubus as soon as a free public li(e should begin to assert itself. The council was encouraged to adopt this resolution by the announced intention of the Government of Manitoba to abolish Separate Schools. The Provincial Council again met on Ihe 27th of December, -when another step forward was taken; and should this iiction of ■the Council be finally ratified, our platform will, in accordance -therewith, be enlarged and made more definite, and the work pro- posed for the Association will assume the utmost importance The •Council resolved as follows : — " Whereas, the chief feature of the history and constitution of Canada is the acquisition of local, popular, and responsible 8elf-,Tovernment ; and whereas, by the ■education clauses of the British North America Act, the Provin- cial Legislatures are restricted by the Imperial Parliament in their power to make laws respecting education ; and whereas, in con- .sequence of this restriction the people of Ontario are not free to make such laws respecting education as they may from time to time deem prudent ; therefore, it is the opinion of this council that the full measure of responsible government should be granted ^o the people of the Province of Ontario by the abolition of all restrictions upon the power to make laws respecting education." It was further resolved that a manifesto or address announcing jthe policy of the Equal Rights movement as defined by tl^e resolu- tions passed at the convention in June, and also setting forth the 'views of the council on the resolution above recited, should be prepared and issued. The restriction of provincial liberty involved in the education •clauses of the B. N. A. Act is a very serious one. The Legislature ot each Province may exclusively make laws in relation to educa- 'tion, but no Province in which denominational schools existed at ^onfeacration, under public sanction, has any liberty to abolbh such schools or to curtail their privileges. Why should it be so ? If, in the distribution of legislative powers, educatiou properly belongs to the Provinces, why should they be prevented from dealing with the whole matter ? Is their wisdom inade(juate to the handling of this important interest ? Has the Dominion any reason to apprehend that the rights of minorities would not be respected by the Provinces? If so, should it not be sutticient that the Dominion, in tlie exercise of the veto, can negative un- just legislation ? The restriction seems to imply distruht of the Provinces, and is a reflection on their competency to deal with a iibject which is placed within their jurisdiction. Apart from any ([ue.slion as to the continuance of Separate Schools, there are thu.** strong reasons why the subject of education in its whole extent hhould be entrusted to the Provinces. The inca of the constitu- tion is not fully carried out, and provincial liberty is unnecessarily limited, while this restriction remains. We have therefore come to the conclusion that such moditieation of the B. N. A. Act as- would empower the Provinces to deal with the whole subject of" ■ult. Nothing, we apprehend, but the suppression of the moral life of the people could prevent this question from being re-opened. We cannot here enter into details respecting the establishmentr of Separate Schools in the Province of Ontario. There are clauses- in the Schools Acts of 18+1, 1843 and 1846 authorizing Separ- ate Schools. In 1855 an Act containing extended provisions for a Separate School system was adopted by the Lejiislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Canada. In 1863 the Act was considerably modified, and it retained the form then given to it till the B. N. A. Act decreed that " nothing in any such law (law- touching education) shall prejudicially affect any right of privi- lege with resj)ecc to denominational schools which any class of persons nay have by law in the province at the union," and further provided that when any right or privilege of the adher- ents of Separate Schools should be affected by provincial legisla- tion an appeal should lie to the Governor-in-Council. Thus were Separate Schools engrafted upon our Constitution. The -Triajority of the people of this Province, there can be little doubt, were always opposed to Separate Schools. The Act which completed the system — that of 1863 — was introduced by tho Hon. R. \V. Scott, and in the final vote upon it in the Legislative Assembly twenty-two members from Canada West voted for it and thirty-one against it The votes of Canada East carried the measure, which, we may thus say, was thrust upon a reclaim- ing Province. The same influences which carried the Act of 18G3 secured the provisions of the B. N. A, Act above refeired to. There is nothing therefore in the histoiy of the esttiblishment of Separate Schools which need forbid the freest discussion of the subject by the people of Ontario, the frankest expression of their view3 upon the whole matter. Let us only stipulate that discus* sion shall be conducted in a charitable spiiit, and with remem- brance of the great importance of the interests involved. The following remarks are offered on Separate Schools in Ontario : — 1. They violate our fundamental proposition, that public money should not be given for sectarian purposes. The term sectarian is not here used in any offensive sense, but as designat- ing teaching which is peculiar to some religious persuasion. We might go further, and say that, in a country such as ours, it i» doubtful whether public funds can be warrantably devoted to the formal and express teaching even of the great doctrines as to which we have nearly a consensus ; but however this may be de- cided, it is clear that denominationalism can have no claima upon the public exchequer. The principle of denominational sub- sidies is radically unsound, and no compromise or arrange- ment founded upon it is entitled to last. That Separate Schools are liable to the objection here ad- duced is well known io alL It is the avowal and boast of the ad- vocates of these schools that the doctrines and observances of re- ligion are thoroughly taught in them, and it is ardently main> tained that no other description of school is worthy of the confi- dence of Catholics. To promote the type of faith peculiar to the floman Catholic Church and to form the character of the youth upon this type is the leading aim of the Roman Catholic Separ- ate Schools. Now, we have no right to quarrel with this aim, but we are entitled to complain if public funds are used for its promotion. Just as well give public money to support Churcu and clergy. Nor is the force of our objection lessened by the fact that the Roman Catholic people contribute their share to the public revenue. Neither they nor any other '»lftss of people may argue that, having paid their dues and taxcv.. oaey should -receive back their quota, to be expended in such a way as they may deem best. We object to the State's putting its imprimatur, directly or indi- rectly, upon denominational peculiarities and lending its aid to advance them. This irf clearly to go beyond its province. 2. Separate Schools tend to injure the State by vigilantly keep- ing apart in youth those who should grow up together in a com- mon citizenship. Their tendency (though there are many par- tial counteractives) is to promote distrust and disunion among those who, as compatriots, should cultivate mutual acquaintance and cherish mutual confidence. Nor is this objection met by mm saying, with a writer in the Catholic World, that " the contact the children have with one another in the Common Schools is so nlight and superficial and short-lived as to bo unworthy the ex- jiggerated emphasis now put u{>on it." If this be so, much of the iirgument for Separate Schools on the ground of their power to form character has evidently disappeared. 3. It is believed by Protestants and admitted by mnny Roman Catholics that the teaching in Separate Schools is ginerallv in- ferior to that of the Common Schools. It is within our knowledge that not seldom would Roman Catholic parents, on this account, be disposed to prefer the school whose teachers possess the higher qualifications, and which, in its proper educational character, has the better vouchers. 4. In the minds of Roman Catholics the preceding considera- tions could not be expected to have weight should it actually be found that the faith of their children was tampered with in the Common School, or that a system of proselytism prevailed. But, so far as we are aware, no such thing is alleged. The Roman Catholic children attending Common Schools are to those attend- ing Separate Schools as five to three ; so that were there any dis- position on the part of Protestant teachers to assail or undermine the faith of Roman Catholic pupils abundant evidence of the fact would be to hand. These are some of the considerations — imperfectly stated — which must be weighed in relation to Separate Schools ; and our conviction is that, whether we have regard to the interests of edu- cation or to the freedom of provincial legislation, the great ma- jority of enlightened citizens must contemplate with little satis- faction the clauses in the British North America 7ict which deny us the right to deal with an important branch of the subject of education. Even should the Province of Ontario not desire to re- peal the Separate School law such action should lie within its competency. In the Maritime Provinces there is no Separate School system ; why should Ontario be forced to perpetuate an arrangement to which the majority of its people were always op- posed ? No thoughtful man can well regard the present state of things as a satisfactory solution of an educational difiiculty ; and no denunciation of those who would disturb the Confederation set- tlement can prevent so vital a question from being fully considered. That Roman Catholics must not be under disabilities in Ontario any more than Protestants In Quebec is sufficiently clear, and no educational system which would infringe upon perfect religious liberty can be sanctioned in any province of Canada. The right of appeal to the Governor-General, which minorities at present have, must remain. Nay, the entire power of the Dominion is the proper guarantee for equality of dealing on the part of Provinces with the adherents of the various Churches, and noth- ingbeyond this should be sought. We are not here I'equired to delineate the arrangements which should be adopte i by Ontario should the Provinces become in- vested with plenary powers to deal with education, and should I ' the desire to abolish Separate Schools prevail. We do not see that the present Public School system would in such case require essential change. A purely secular system — a system perfectly neutral as regards the Christian faith — would not, we are certain, secure the approval of this Province. Nor can it be shown that a due regarcl for religious liberty, or a proper conception of the relations of Church and State, make such a system necessary. A large proportion of the Roman Catholic children of Ontario, pro* tected by the conscience class, attend our Public Schools, and we are not aware that there is any evidence of their faith being treated with diarodpect Certain it is that just complaint as to such a matter would insure immediate and decisive redress. Should it be said that the B. N. A. Act confers upon the di»- sentient schools of Quebec the same powers and privileges which pertain to the Separate Schools of Ontario, that the balance is thus fairly held between Catholics and Protestants, and that neither Province, therefore, has any grievance, we must reply that no parallel exists between the school systems of these Provinces. Quebec schools are denominational schools of the Roman Catholic type, whereas the Public schools of Ontario are in no sense de- nominational or socbirian. This fundamental difference in the schools of the two Provinces cannot be denied. There is no teaching in the Public Schools of Ontario which controverts the tenets of the Church of Rome, but in the schools of Quebec the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church are systematically taught and inculcated. Should such modification of the Federation Act be obtained as would allow the Provinces to deal with the whole question of education, and should Ontario in the exercise of her liberty abolish Separate Schools, there is no fear of Quebec mak- ing reprisal upon the minority in that Province. Quebec would . undoubtedly recognize the obvious and important distinction here pointed out between the Public Schools of the two Provinces ; and should she adopt the course of making her schools unsectarfan throu^^hout, no person in Ontario would have groigid of complaint, or would desire to see Protestant dissentient schools continued. Even-handed justice is all that would be asked. No one wishes to claim for Ontario anything which would not be conceded to Quebec. All the Provinces should be placed on exactly the same footing. And should Quebec, in the exercise of her liberty, de- termine to continue her Public Schools as Catholic Schools, it is clear that equity towards the minority would not permit the abo- lition of dissentient schools. To what extent the views as to Separate Schools here S'^t forth prevail in Ontario we do not certainly know. We hope they are widely entertained, but in any case they appear to us just and true, and this must be our vindication in proposing them for the earnest consideration of our fellow-citizens. la advocating these views we shall study to avoid all that might cause unnece'wary irritation, and no suggestion of procedure that is not conbtitutional and upright will emanate from this Council 8 > or the Association which it represents. Our appoftl is made to the intelligent regard ot our people for sound principles ; but no word will be addressed to prejudice or passion. It is hardly necessary to avow that we have no party endi to serve. Our only desire is to see Canada advance in the right path, and from this path we would gladly assist in removing anything which violates equity, which engenders discord or which perverts, vitiates, or weakens our national lifg. As already intimated, this address does not venture to extend the platiorm of the Equal Rights Association : a future conven- tion i perhaps, alone competent to do so ; but we have spoken fieel} L a subject which cannot be kept back from public discus- sion, and upon which the principles of the association have a direct* bearing. Our principles obviously condemn every amend- ment of the Separate School Act which would extend its operation, and which is not necessary to the efficient working of the Act as it stood in 1SG7 ; but more : they require us to regard with dis- favour any compact, any legislation, which appropriates public funds for sectarian purposes, as Separate Schools in this Province certainly do. If our views and contentions are unsound they will not endure the ordeal to which the public intelligence will surely subject them ; if they are sound no misrepresentation of them and their advocates can prevent their final acc