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UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN LOVER CANADA. 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 VMUTWaMD AT TBI 
 
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 A.N2SrU^A.L MKETIISrG- 
 
 OV TEM 
 
 CONVOCATION OF BISHOP'S COLLEGE, 
 
 LSKNC^VILLE, 0. S. 
 
 JULY I, 1857 
 
 XX 
 
 J. C. SANBORN, EsQ^ M. A^ M. P. P. 
 
 fiUmttaHi 
 
 PRINTED BrnrOHS L0VSLL,8T. XriOHOlAB BTKBET, 
 
 1867, 
 
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ADDRESS. 
 
 
 .» . 
 
 Nothing is more apparent to any refledting mind than the 
 iact that, in Canada, and, particularly in Lower Canada, there is a 
 want of a jast appreciation of the importaofce of aoadeqaic educa- 
 tion. A great majority of the early settlers of thisparrt? the Pro- 
 vince were men of enterprise, men of stout hearts and brawny 
 aiUs, able and willing to contend with the hard necessities of a 
 new country, but poor men ; iben who were forced to exerci<tj9 all 
 thoir physical and mental powers to eke out a livelihood in their 
 forest homes. Their education was little else than what the 
 necessities of their condition compelled them to learn. The 
 numberless vTants of a new country, t^e absence of all the facilities 
 andj conveniences of more advai^ced state of the arts of living, 
 tendered reflection absolutely necessary. The consequence was 
 the mind was not suffered to rust and decay, but ever preserved 
 a keen edge. Inventive talent was brought into requisition, for 
 without contrivance, living was entirely impracticable. A man who 
 has the courage to withdraw from the haunts of society into the for- 
 est, rar distant from mills, from marts, froi^ places where mechanical 
 skill and a division of labor has attained a degree of perfection,, 
 finds himself in a new world of action. He finds obstacles at every 
 turn ^hich his unassisted skill must surmount He must do a 
 thousi^id things which in other circumstances by an exchange 
 of labdr or property he could procure done for him. He h^ to 
 do almost eveiy thing in another way from that to which he has 
 
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 been accustomed, and with other instrumentalit^s. He is, in 
 fact, reduced to the alternative, to tlink, devise, Originate Ind 
 execute, or abandon his undertaking in despair. Kence wo find 
 the inhabitants of a new country possessed of great jvigor of mind 
 and unusual aptitude for excellence in all the raaniial arts. The 
 causes, however, which induced this result oaturallykend t\) beget 
 mdifference to education in its ordinary and piorc legitimate ac- 
 ceptation. The early ihhabitdnts of these townships, atoongst their 
 other privations, were compelled to forego ,the pfivileg^ of even an 
 elementary education for their children, from the\?bs4nce of the 
 facilities for obtaining it.. First, from necessity ha\^pg learned to 
 live without it, theybecame too indifferent to itri importance. It 
 cannot be a matter of surprise under these circumstances that when ' 
 the primitive hardships have partially abated, and poverty and 
 want have given place to a measure of competency, there is among 
 the people too great apathy in seeking for their children a good 
 education. Our societyift-this particular needs to be reformed. 
 Upon this great matter the people need to be indoctrinate. To 
 do it requires great patience, continued effort and unwavering 
 faith in its final achievements. Every literary and sijientiflc ifl. 
 8titut!on seems here an exotic, to which the soil and climate ate uh- 
 propitious. This will not, ipust not always remain thus. T^radi- 
 cal evil lay, not so much in the imperfection of the apJ)liSce8 ^r 
 the inability of the people as in the want of a sustaining, dyal 
 pathizing public sentiment. The aim of collegiate education here 
 should not be merely to qnalify men fbr the professions, leaving 
 tihe great body of society with a meagre elementary education. 
 Jhe people need to learn and feel that education is important 
 everywhere, and is becoming more and mbre important as raptid 
 scientific discoveries render the mechanism of society more com- 
 plicated. We want not merely leartted divines, learned docto^ 
 learned lawyers, and learned professprs. We want a host bf 
 learned teachers, learned engineers, learned artiflana, capable*bf 
 applying the discovered truths of science to practical mechanics, 
 r learned agriculturists, competent to render practical the discova- 
 nes in agricultural chemistry and geology. These cannot be pro- 
 duced by magic. learning cannot be obtained by purchase, 
 
 
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 by inberitaoce, or by letters patent It is the n^ced or 
 paUciit and long continuoatoil. When the scntimwit pievaile 
 among our people, that the attainment of a high order of educa, 
 tion by a large proportion of the aggregate of impiety, ia necessary 
 to mtet the exigencies of the age ia which we live, our collegiate 
 institutioBB wiU thrive ; until this state of tbiiigs is induced, their 
 supjjort will be meagre and their prosperity rather in hope than 
 icalization. The progross^j-however, although slow will be real. The 
 Hiliuence which theyWe enabled to exert upon society as from 
 year to year they send forth more or less of educated men will be 
 reciprocally beneficial to themselves. The a^iv^tage which a 
 thoroughly educated man in any sphere of life, has over the man 
 ol hmited attainmeuu is very soon s^en an.) felt by those around 
 him. The facilities which a disciplined mind gives its possessor 
 for the investigation of any subject and for the expression of his 
 ideaf, necessarily give,^to hima commanding influence. There 
 have been many self-taught m^n who have left their piark upoa 
 society, but they are the rare exceptions. Because they are ex- 
 ceptions they are pointed at, and their fame in many instances 
 exceeds their merits. The existence of self-educated men who 
 distinguish themselves, proves the necessity, not the fujf&y of 
 colleges and universities. We do not draw our inferenJSfom 
 except ional cases, but from the rule which gives rise to the excepttous. 
 Because some two or three geniuses in an age astonish the world 
 with the brilliancyof their powers and a fund of knowledge obtained 
 almost by intuition, we are not to infer that all our children wiU 
 be geniuses. If a person has power to discipline his own mind, 
 he is a great man ; he is one of ten thousand. How many b;u- 
 deots are there, who if deprived of the daily routine of studies, 
 the iucitements of ambition, and the stimulus which the method 
 of the lecture room and recitation room aflbrds, would voluntarily 
 progress from day to day, and educate themselves ? There is uo 
 physical impossibility in the way. Books of science, literature 
 and art are open before them and invite their attention, but the 
 mind naturally shrinks from the task. There is an inertia to b« 
 overcome by the wholesome ditoiplino of the school. There 
 must be a constraint put upon the student to worL There are 
 
 
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 many disadvantages suffered by those who take a by-road to 
 knowledge. There is want of method in their education— want 
 of completeness «nd harmony in its parts. Such men generally 
 * follow the scieilce to which their tastes more particularly direct 
 them, to the neglect of other branches. Knowing much of one 
 thing, they are apt to underrate other departments of knowledge. 
 They are also too much inclined to believe themselves masters of 
 what they know very little , and while actually learned in some 
 particular sphere, are exceedingly pedantic in others. A thorough 
 academic education affords the very best artificial help to our 
 rational powers. There are men who under any influences will 
 not have common sense. Therp are mental idiosyncrases which 
 no education can remedy. They are as incurable as the Kfng's 
 Evil. As a general rule, the man whose mind has been ju<Jiciously . 
 disciplined, is prepared to see truth, and evolve it from the chaos 
 of truth and error in the world. Education obtained through its " 
 legitimate channels has with it the scholarly habit v^fch M a 
 passport among literati everywhere. Self-made men even, when 
 possessed of great attainments, are frequently unable to cast off 
 the garb of ignorance. Their thoughts are too often expressed in 
 ungrammatical hinguage, and their enunciation, accent and quan- 
 tity are rather barbarous than cla?sic. A pure style, a ^ure ver- 
 nacular tongue," and a propriety of expression are as desirable "to 
 the scholar as polished manners are to the gentleman. All these 
 advantages possessed by the educated man, soon become the ob- 
 ject of admiration, and then of ambition, in society. It is wonder- 
 ful to see how silently, yet how. rapidly such influences permeate 
 society, and gradually elevate public opinion. 
 
 The views of this ' age, particularly upon this continent, are 
 eminently utilitarian. Every subject is weighed by troy weight 
 To determine how far any particular course of action is desirable 
 or expedient, first it must be settled, what are the gains in actual, 
 tangible, current coin to' bo derived from it. The value of an 
 education is in a great measure estimated by the same criterion. 
 Men who have sons, in considering whether they will give one or 
 more an education, first consider how much available capital an 
 education will be to a young man. "Writers upon law in discoure- 
 
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 ing of property, tell as of certain species of property' that is in- 
 appreciable, for the loss of which the possessor cannot be fully 
 indemnified. The old honaestead that has been held by the same 
 family, for generations, around which many pleasing memories 
 linger, to the last representatives of the race is al^ve apprecia- 
 tion. Keepsakes are prized not from their intrinsic worth, /^ 
 but as tokens of affection. Education is the highest styl^ 
 of capitiJ. It cannot have a marketable, exchangeable value lixe 
 houses and stocks. It is too mean an ^imate for so high a pos- 
 session. There are men whp would not think of educating their 
 sons unless it could be demomtrated to them how much availa- 
 ble, tiangible worth such education would give them. T^^e sauie 
 spirit that would thus reason upon the benefits of education jrould 
 put a property value upon the lives and health of children, and 
 the best solace you could off€r a parent who has lost the son of 
 promise — who has no higher views of life and its ends than the / 
 acquisition of property, would be the suggestion that the boy was 
 a delicate lad, and had he lived, he might not have been able to 
 earn wages. The practical objects of education are not, however, 
 to be overlooked either by tei^her or parent. Very few of the 
 scholars of this country can expect to spend their lives in strictly 
 literary pursuits or in scientific researches. Their academic edu- 
 cation must be prepar^B^ to some pursuit in some of the de- 
 partments of active lii^TEntirely to ignore the wants of society 
 in our educational economy would be exceedingly unwise. Our 
 educational interests naturally divide themselves into three grades : 
 Elementary or Common Schools, Academies or Grammar Schools, 
 (holding an interiuediate position,) and Colleges. Each of these 
 three institutions has its demands upon the others. The action 
 'of each must hav«f a direct bearing upon thff ^thfirn Their inter- 
 ests as respects society are co-ordinate. In speaking '9f this part 
 of the subj^t, mj^^wn views may perhaps diflfer from sqime who 
 hear me. It is my conviction that one prominent design of our 
 Colleges should be to prepare teachers for our Academies and 
 higher schools. Our Common Schools can never attain anything 
 like perfection till our Academies are supplied with masters, not \^ 
 merely possessed of educational attainments, but of skill in train- 
 
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 - ing teachers for the elementary Bchools. This may be regarded 
 as more legitimately the pfovioce of N\)rmal,8choola. In a more 
 advanced state of society this might to a certain extent be true.; 
 but our Normal .School, however successful, can never meet our 
 oducational wants. The result with us will be thai onr interme- 
 dj'ale academic schools must be supplied fromjibroa4 or at home 
 or our Common Schools must languish. It isof the highest im- 
 portance that those wiio are entrusted with oi/rWio!Oie»^hould 
 be educated in our own Colleges. It woqJd tend tb produce har- 
 mony in the modes of teaching. It would aUay prejndice, and 
 more than all, it would produce a sympathybetween the different 
 departmentB of education, and strengthen and build up the whole 
 fabricr It would make all members of society fe^l that they had- 
 an immediate, home interest in our Colleges. It requires great 
 knowledge of human natureand freedom from prejudice' to be- 
 come a successftil and useful sehoolnyister in another Country, 
 and under different institutions from those in which he T^as bred! 
 It requires discernment of the genius and circumstances of the 
 people. It must be seen here that the education acquired needs 
 to be used at the earliest opportunity, that when one has gone a 
 httle way on the road to knowledge, he must go back for a lit% 
 to give a helping hand to a brother or a fnend. The mejins a?e 
 stinted, and a return^ust be realized without too long credit 
 The art must be discovered of giHng to those who can fr<toi their 
 circumstances only have a limited education, the most advantage 
 -W the tiflje they can devote td study. My corollary from this 
 19, that OUT Colleges, amongst other useful men, should send forth 
 good teachers. They will be, found the best benefactors for their 
 alma mater. They wUl be like true sons of faithful parents,— at 
 once their pride and support. Among us the oflBce of teacher 
 has not the honor to which it is justly entitled. When in the 
 minds of the public it is made an object worth obtaining, ^ prize 
 worthy the ambition of the best min^ and its emoluments are 
 raised above starving jjoint, we shall have good teachers. It 
 ought to ha^ its rank among the professions, the fifth estate, if 
 yon please ; but were I to give it rank accohiing to merit, I would 
 place it inferior to none. In fact, society is made up ef useful 
 
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 avocations, and all men who act their part well in Oieir own/phere 
 ma certain sense, dosferve equal honor, but the\rc8poiv4ilitiea 
 devolviijg upon teachers, J>nd 4he varied attoinmcL tUey ouglit 
 to possess, should give the office a high place in th4,9i^anis^ of 
 ^society. If it be, ohe object of our Colleges to ^ipply to the 
 public the higher class of 'teaphers, the fhtorest to^ustain the 
 Colleges will be at-S^co visible. . They would be<4rae the peren- 
 nial fountains from which the rivulets and rills Would be supplied. 
 Any cause which would tend to dry up ^e fountains w^uld b« 
 , sensitively watched as withering the general interests- of ^ca- 
 tion. - / ■ "'■ 
 
 These remarks, if to any, extAt jus/can only apply tp oucj 
 English educational institutions; becatise the French Canadians 
 have their own system of acaidemic/nstitutions, whieh they, will 
 not be induced t^depart from, ^'mong'our English collegiate 
 institutions,.! can see no occasion for hostility or rivalry other 
 than a commendable rivalry on/the' part of each to render itself 
 worthy of public sympathy^nd patronage. If any where low 
 jealousies can find no restin^plaoe, it is in acadfemic halls. In all*^ 
 ^ th> avocations of men, In ^usiness life, self-interest predominate^ 
 and inor^or fess of di^greeable contention must arise froin the 
 imperfection of our n^re. All who incline, may travel the great 
 highway to knowledge without jostling or interfering with others. 
 However much isj^amed, the source is pot impoverished. The 
 fountains of learning are inexhaustible. There need be no stint 
 .or parsimony^ Wre. The more a man acquires, if he has the heart 
 of a true m^the greater will be his desirg to communjcate te 
 others. Tyk pioneers id any enterprise have many obstacles' to 
 encounte^ They need to be men of fortitude and heroic todur- 
 ance, m^epared " to labor and .wait. " The world looks on with 
 ■great/indifference, and seldom applauds till the battle is gained, 
 and4he triumph achj^ved. All our educational" institutions are 
 W in their infancy, and they must be^grepar^ to ^ncounter dif- 
 aculti^andto outlive the apathy and indifference with which 
 /,they are now regarded. Three distinguished colleges of New 
 England— Harvard, Yale, and Dartrabuth— we^e founded in weajT- 
 ness, and for many years maintained an exist|BQce ajnid discow- 
 
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 agementa that would have conqnered men who were not pdesessed 
 of unflinching energy. I find, on reference to the triennial cata- 
 logue of the last of the above named colleges, that in iTVl the 
 Bachelor's degree was conferred upon four graduates. In 1772, 
 ^ upon only two; in 1773, upon six; and through the first fifteen 
 ^ years of its existence the average number did not exceed ten. 
 
 There have been in the same college within fifteen years past, as 
 many as 85 graduates^in a year, and there are seldom less than 
 My. The funds raised in England, and partly through the aid 
 of the Earl of Dartmouth, to found Moor's Charity SchooJ, which 
 gradually grew into acollege under Royal charter, amounted to 
 only £7000. These, and kindred colleges in New England, have 
 become a part of the frame-work of society there. Their anfaiver- 
 saries are heralded by all the newspapers of the day, and are 
 graced" with the presence of the best nten and most learned men. 
 The most accomplished orators, both lay and clerical, consider it 
 the highest honor to be conferred upon them to be chosen to ad- 
 dress the alumni on these occasions. These colleges have been 
 and are the bulwarks of all that is great and excellent, not merely 
 in New England, but in the whole American States. Much has 
 been said in favor of the common school system of New England ; 
 but the common school system has only obtained its fame, and 
 retained its position, as the natural result of the prosperity of these 
 colleges. Look at present at the city schools in Boston, Lowell, 
 Manchester and Springfield ; and these are only similar to others, 
 in other like New England cities. The teachers are graduates of 
 New England colleges. Not the indiflFerent, third-»ate students 
 but the first scholars. And these schools turn out the most finish- 
 , ed classical scholars for the colleges. Things are tending to the 
 same result in Upper Canada. In Toronto the city schools are 
 becoming the very best schools to prepare young men for the col- 
 leges or Universities. So . it is at Belleville. And, en passant, I 
 will take the liberty to say that the educational system of Upper 
 * Canada is fast ripening to a degree of perfection that will not be 
 eutpassed on this continent We hear a great deal said of race, 
 as if a certain race had in it the elements of progress, that develop© 
 as naturdly as |.he physical proportions of the body. To my 
 
11 
 
 mind, race is simply the humanizing, elevating effect of the edu- 
 cation of generations, which gives to a people a habit of progress. 
 Let education flag, and the race, from generation to generation, 
 will deteriorate in its elements of excellence, just as surely and as 
 rapidly as, by the contrary cause, it has risen to fame. We are 
 told that the Anglo-Saxon race has an inherent superiority, and 
 its pushing, progressing tendencies are made the subject of decla- 
 mation on all occasions, when the ambitious representatives of the 
 race are congregated. There may be something in the theory of 
 a natural, inherent superiorty <i^e race of men over another ; 
 but this fact is very noticeable, that sometimes the^econd and 
 almost the third generation of a family who settles in a foreign 
 country, and mixes in foreign society, loses its identity, and 1^ 
 comes entirely merged into the society of which it forms part, and 
 is undistinguishable from the rest What makes a great nation 
 is, in the main, its wise institutions. This is in no respect so true 
 as in matters of education. When the higher academic institu- 
 tions of a country thrive in harmony with the humbler education- 
 al instrumentalities, we find great enlightenment among the pecH 
 pie. It is the policy of some countries to educate only a privi- 
 leged class, and the seats of learning are isolated from the people. 
 The people look upon them with a kind of superstitious awe, but 
 entirely out of the reach of their sympathies. Now and then a 
 man of more means than those around him, seeks a collegiate edu- 
 cation for his son, to put him away up, far above the heads of the 
 common people. When such a state of things exists, the great 
 blcFsings of general education are unknown. The thinking of 
 the mass is all done by the few, and the great body of society are 
 deprived not merely of the personal delights, but of all intelligent 
 appreciation of the advantages and power of education. The 
 spirit of our Colleges ought to be sympathetic with that of the 
 people. A wound to the former should be felt by the latter. 
 When this is attained, the influence of Colleges is far more tixten- 
 tive than what is the legitimate result ot its teachings, tntelli- 
 gent men, who have not the actual discipline of a liberal educa- 
 tion, who have very little science or learning, gather liberal ideas 
 and mental enlargement 'from contact with educated men, whom 
 
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 they recognize as equals in all things except superior acquirements, 
 Prej udice is rendered less bitter. There is less superstition among 
 the populace; less inclination to absurd theories; less devotioe 
 to the isms of the day. Quackery in aU its forms finds less coun- 
 tenance. It is painfully ludicrous to observe the charlatanry that 
 IS palmed off upon the ignorant for explanations of natural phe- 
 nomena. An indifferent cobbler dubs himself professor of phre- 
 nology, psychology, biology, or pathology, and perhaps of aU 
 these with several other hard words of which he has equal know- 
 ledge,— and he straightway perambulates the country to instruct 
 the gaping multitude for a consideration. The papers are filled 
 with his tawdry advertisements, and he is often thronged with 
 listeners while he discourses intense nonsense. If such men could 
 see themselves as others see them, they would surely forbear. 
 They would not so seriously burlesque the sciences. The preva- 
 lence of sound views of education, would tend to check such Un- 
 seemly and fentastic comedies upon popular lecturing. If men 
 can directly or indirectly obtain information enough to realia© 
 how little they know, they will never set themselves up as teach- 
 ers of others on such exceedingly small literary capital. Where 
 true science sheds its light, these false glares disappear juat as 
 iSfnes/atui vanish before the Lght of day. 
 
 Our Colleges have the difficulty of limited resources with 
 which to contend. Like everything else in a young country, they 
 must have their period of gradual developement The number 
 of professors must be small. Libraries are small, and the facili- 
 ties of apparatus for the illustration of the practical sciences are 
 meagik To persons unaccustomed to the necessities of academic 
 in-stitutions, it appears that they need to be manned in proportion 
 to the number of students. There can be no greater fallacy. It 
 requires all the varied learning to instruct one student in all the 
 brandies forming a complete education that it would for a hun- 
 dred. The greater can be the division of labor, the more nearly 
 will the syjjtem approach perfection. In the infant condition of 
 our Colleges a complete division of labor is impracticable, and 
 every professor is under the necessity of perfecting himself as far 
 as possible in many, instead of one department. This is only in 
 
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 13 , 
 
 keeping with everything in a young country. Men in all the 
 concerns of life have to resort to various devices to supply the 
 deficiencies which in an older society are not felt. A person 
 must not only be prepared to multiply himself, but to have as many 
 diversified attainments as he assumes different individualities. If 
 ^e undertake to put on the garments of old countries upon neW 
 Societies, there will be fotond as great a disparity and unsultable- 
 oess as the infant's wearing the habiliments, of manhood. We 
 must apply to all these things common sense, which Coleridge 
 calls the genius of humanity. 
 
 A College under the supervision of one religious denomination, 
 entirely independent of legislative control, appears to me the 
 , b^t calculated to attain excellence and to benefit society. I see 
 no objection, but great propriety, in Government's aflfording assist- 
 ance to our Colleges, if thereby they are not brought under legal 
 responsibility to government. Many object to grants to what are 
 termed Sectarian Schools and Colleges on the ground that, the 
 benefits of such grants are participated in by onlya few. If our 
 Colleges are what they ought to be, this cannot be true. The 
 aim of a College should be to expend its fiinds in the most judi- 
 cious manner for the education of the greatest number possible. 
 This done, surely society has its r6t»rn of An investment of the 
 most profitable character. 
 
 If it be merely the object of a College to amass funds, to edu- 
 cate a mere class who have .no»influence in society except strictly 
 professional or clerical,— if in fact, the funds obtained are rather 
 used to enlarge and strengthen an ecclesiastical system to which 
 all educational wants are made subservient, than simply to edu- 
 cate, these- objections have great weight. Such educational 
 economy, however, is contrary to the spirit of English institutions 
 and Protestant education. Their object is to lay the foundations 
 for large general education. The more the leaven penetrates the 
 mass, the greater the success. Religion presides over such Col- 
 leges as the guardian of the morals and habits of the students. 
 Its high ennobling principles of morality are inculcated more as 
 a perfect system of ethics than as the creed of a church. While 
 the various religioua opiums of students may not be interfered 
 
iiiii£0i^isitiamll!/ltt§i 
 
 14 
 
 with, there is a wholesome recognition of the connexion of reli. 
 gion wi^ learning. There is more self-reliance and unity of ac- 
 tion m Colleges under the entire control of individual denoraina. 
 tions, than when they are subject to state interference or the con- 
 flicting interests of different reUgious creeds. It may appear 
 paradoxical, but I think too, there is more liberality. There it 
 less temptation to urge offensively the peculiarities of religious 
 tenets. It is in such Colleges, impressed with the full import of 
 their high mission, true to themselves and society, that rests the 
 hope of the people. 
 
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