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MACDONALD, BY A PROTESTANT. 1 TO THE HON. JOHN A. MACDONALD. IVo. I. UnJ^^T^^^ *?® ^^^'^ ^^^^^" ^s that stated in my former series of letters, I again have the honor of addressing you LTe subTect o ?}T^2itttt'''^^^^^ .'" *'^^ ''^'^^ I uLertook t It ha tne system in Western Canada is constructed on a false basis and i greS prinTnlLTf". V"^' T'^* ' '^"'^^^^ -^^^ '^ f-- th governing principles of a Provincial system, the conditions to bp The duty of goremment to promote and control public prlncaH/,,, rests on two assignable grounds ; first, the necess ty of accompany^i Ind^^'/?/ ""^'S"^' civilization by moral and huma2.ngZS^ and second, the inadequacy of voluntary efforts to perform thl office' leSnThe w"""l*"lV'f ' f' ''^''"'- --ina'rLsof leading fo imited m the range of their usefulness. In the lower walks of iTfp unlbTet^rT^u'vr^^^^ t' '^''''' ^^T/ """^V uncerta^ and ' ^^^^^^ ^-"S-S ^\P of large families on neglect parental dn till nf ? ' f v '' ^?^^*^«sarily constrain them to pafnfulircoSous ""^'"'^ '^^^^^'^^^^ *^^^ ^^^ ^^ "^^«* --«es too is impo^^eL'n ™ a State necessity, an important duty i best energies t^ spTtW fiF"''^''^"' "^* ^"^>^ '^^^"«' ^^^^ to exert its are cSSd to accompH^^^^^^^ the right kind, that they instituted, and thaTthTv .r. t ?^^J^^*/or wh^ch public schools are sections of the country L f ^ ^'''''^^ application to all ine country and ol a general acceptance by all sections of people lcorresp< ilitical i [is const Id conti ;ir full experi( Frenc (th Hoi imediat( llvanist le con itholics iitless 'c ly end( 10; w of i The appro i whol |partm( lich hi othe; ind is, releaf iment o|iservar aiEiliatio: ligious >thami lools, loci ] stem ■ law 1 jr series oj subject ol show that isis, and is actory and lo form the ons to be for its per- educatio)! )mpanying i agencies ; this office. 3arning no ded means >y become Iks of life corded, in ir number o provide n both in 3 rendered hools, by ir subsis- imilies on them to cases too 'tant duty! ' exert its that they hools are on to all ictions of B people. The chief requisite in a public and national system is that [corresponds and is in harmony with the form of government, the )litical institutions and religious feelings of the community for whom Ks constituted. It is evident, if, in modeling a system, these active Id controlling elements of society are disregarded or not allowed sir full scope, that perpetual jarring and discordance of the parts will experienced in all attempts to reduce it to practice. At the close of £ French revolutionarv war, in 1815, when Belgium became united Tth Holland, forming "the kingdom of the Netherlands, steps were ^mediately adopted by the government of Holland to impof. t^e ilvanistic Dutch School System on the Catholic population of Belgium, lie contest which ensued and the manly resistance offered by the itholics, during the twenty-nine years of this persistent, long and kitless attempt of one of the worst examples of Protestant intolerance, ly ended with the expulsion of the Nassau dynasty from Belgium m K) • when under the new constitutional monarchy then formed, tree- pn of instruction of creeds and of all religious communions was lablished with constitutional guarantees ; and since which date lldum has taken its place among the best educational nations in irope. No greater error can be committed, by a government, than to ppose that it can do violence to the settled convictions of a large ption of the people without entailing prejudicial results that reflect, I at least an equal extent, in some other way, on the public interests ; a no stronger proof of legislative incapacity can be evinced than the etftine of a dominant and irresponsible department of the public ser- ^e oS a free constitution, every other department of which is con- icted on the principle of responsibility to the popular electoral lice. The present aspect of educational affairs, in this Province, betokens approaching crisis, which seems destined to completely revolutionize ^ whole fabric of public education. Not alone the Common School bartment, but also the Collegiate ; for the same dominant influence lich has afflicted the one has been engaged as steadily to undermine E other. The sentiment at present gaining ground m the Canadian Ind is, that Common Schools, Grammar Schools and Colleges, should released from unnecessary restraint, and should be subject to Gov- etnment interference no further than is necessary to ascertain the olservance of the conditions on which public aid is granted. The ^filiation of religious denominational Colleges with a spurious and non- ligious University, is apparently as repulsive and as great a piece of Vthamite patchwork, as either the junction of Grammar and Common ^ools, under the conjoined management of Grammar and Common looi Boards of Trustees, or an infidel and republican Common School stem which religious people in this British Province .^^-e compelled law to uphold. With the process of school tinkermg which has public opinion is fully prepared In vl ' T^P''" '■''''"«« f"'' ^hich educational history, it mar "ot be onf nf i *l"' ","""' "'^'^'^ "*■ "»' materials with which tC Gov™!! "^ ^}T *" '"'"' " S'''"'=« ** the which it ought to keep steacXr!" '^'" ,^T *° •^"=''' "» *« "''J«" as well for the work^f„ K ^ '"?."',' "'"' t*"* machinery best fitted ZZn. ^^ ^ «=<=o™Pl'*ed as to insure general satis- presei^ Z,:tL:ii^;'i:t::^:p,;^^oou, with wMch i a« . industrial habits among the Zat !« nf /''^ P.'T °"°" «* '"""•al and will be requiied to adinst fhf l! ? / "'^ laboring population, care exactly seL that speiwc obi.ct ^ ^' T"^^"^"^ '° "^^* ^^'^r ^l""" guard against misaE„«nn •■ f i ^"^ *''"''' ''"^ ^'" •>« "ecessary to Cnsion of what 7S-Ts not °L*^'? same means, through misappre- things the CommrScI"" m„sf be";e'i?/f '^"''''^ '"''• ^''°^« ''" which the State aims at thL^^f ''^.'^''S^^^ded as an instrument through I their reflex conseaZcp. nn Pf''-^"*'"" "f ignorance and poverty, and I itself. TheS^'SarenS^tionT't^'l^r'' ^^"^S °t thi'sm. I prevalent in America Srt^ Tt i?J^'"i'^'' ^ '"'''^ formerly adverted, I purpose of maSnrenlShtineH •^''^*'''' *]"*.' '^ '° educate all forth I the world is ent^?fed to fn Xlt?''^^^^^^ *^''' «^«^y ^*'«d ^o™ into i at the expense of the state h»fr ""' ''f/ ''''™ '■°'- " ^^^^ education | worst effects here as well 'as „ th." "Jt -f ^' «f T '"'^^ ^^''"' "^ the I notions produced, byTfahp?v«f f,*^ ^ ''*'="• '^'^^ erroneous I operated to corrupt the m ^d^Tf ' "" *' "^'"^ generation, have I and others, and to sediTre h° T"" f f,"' *^ ^"^^^ "^ f^^ers I of their parents, to seek wha? IT ^"""^'"^ '^'^ professions I ment in towns and citTes it ^^ *'"*''•''» ^''"teel employ- I existence the scarchy of a^WenZ^M^ ^^^t^™ h«« been i„ I more and more a subw if ''^°- *'''''"'" ^f'"l"«"y become I young men to CommeSr Rail„T'"^ ''^''' ^''"^ the influx of I commentary on tKSw ?, ""?'' P^i-room pursuits is a sad I tcld the people of Glas 'w wL^ T "i'*"''*"^ ^^"^^ ^^^d Elgin I to an eleVation never beforlaftlf?*,!"^ °"'' '"*^"*'<^tual standird I told last week by a^rson whn "• ^^ ""? <=''™ra"nity." I was I ment for about a momh To m«v'» "^ ^" advertisement of employ- I tion, that in the space of ab^"^ineiit, the false assij[?nments, the attemplsl at fraud, the false sw(;arini>, the injury suffered by connections and I dependents, and the loss to thousands indirectly atiected by them,! are thing^s of which, in gross or in detail, we generally entertain al very inadequate conception. Tliey are, however, the consequences, I and it will be found so on the examination of individual cases, of a I departure from the path of honest industry to commercial adventures I for which those emjxioyed in them were not adapted. Therefore,! both on national and individual grounds, as well for the welfare ofl the individual members of society as for the protection of society I itself, the duty of the Legislature of Canada in framing a new school I law will be to make it subservient exclusively to this moral and I industrial object. I Having defined the object to be kept steadily in view, while pre- 1 paring a new law for the organization and management of public I elementary schools, I now pass on to the consideration of the means I by which that object is to be attai ned. And the first consideration is, the nature and composition of the governing bodies. In this, as I in the former case, we must submit to be guided by experience. In i Europe, under all the ditlerent forms of political government, we find that, uniformly and without exception, the government of the elementary common schools is placed, both theoretically and practi- 1 cally, in the hands of the general governments, the municipalities and the clergy. These are the three governing bodies. The general government makes the law, and administers it in so far as it has a general bearing on the appropriation of the general school fund, and the character and quantity of religious and secular instruction pre- scribed by law. The municipalities have complete control over all the schools within their respective jurisdictions, in local assessments, the erection and management of school houses, the selection of teachers and the appointment of local superintendents. The Clergy do not occupy the same distinctive sphere of a united authority, such as a general or municipal government, and therefore have not, like them, an independent action. They are, however, recognized by the law as the guardians and exponents of religion and public morality, and by virtue of this recognition they co-operate with the general and municipal governments to protect and supervise the religious charac- ter of the schools and of the teachers. However desirable it may be to follow the successful experience of other countries in working out the details, still there are diversities of circumstances Avhich require a suitable modification of the arrange- ments € diversiti equally Aniericj equally induenc of sociei ners an the lar^ conside and un ference the peo notwith regulat' fectly i the pu answer on the in a se parents the chi defeat judicic parenti disseni many ciple ( in the positi\ palitie state ( withoi Govei autho] selves theG what I great( a gen r prelii or wl That ^y traders ' r 1)0 revives I I olt'ects of I sincss, the c attempts ctioris and d by them, Gntertainal sequences, cases, of a i adventures I Therefore, welfare of I of society new school moral and while pre- [t of public the means nsideration In this, as rience. In nt, we find 3nt of the and practi- nicipalities ^'he general as it has a 1 fund, and uction pre- rol over all ssessments, election of rhe Clergy lority, such v^e not, like ized by the c morality, general and ous charac- experience 5 diversities he arrange- ments existing in these countries. Among the greatest of tliese diversities is the independent tone of sentiment, wlii<-h cliaractcrizes equally all classes of people in Canada, as well as the population ot America. There is in this conntry no [UiMsant vAii»s. And it is eauallv exempt from the opposite extreme of aristocratic wealth, influence and dominancy. Therefore from the ditlbreiice m the nature of society, arrangements that would suit the remains o feudal man- ners and associations in the old world, would be badly adapted to the large amount of freedom which we enjoy. 1 hese and similar considerations mark the propriety of leaving education perfectly free and unfettered, and of limiting Government and municipal inter- ference and control simply to the furnishing of facilities by which the people can organize schools to suit their various tastes. Now, notwithstanding that it is the duty of the government to provide and I regulate elementary education, it would perform that duty very imper- fectly if it did not make choice of the' means most likely to answer the purpose. And that purpose cannot be said to be properly answered, unless the whole of the children of school age are reported on the school roll. Nothing is more easy than to declare the school in a section free, under a mistaken appreliension that it will tempt parents to send their children ; and yet to find that not one third of the children attend it. Or school districts may be so divided as to defeat the ohiect for which the divisicm is made, because it is not iudiciously made and is not in accordance with the wishes of many parents who are affected by it. Our experience is conclusive, that the dissensions, as reported by the Local Superintendents, arising from so many different causes, may be all traced to that most absurd prin- I ciple of the present Common School Law, which prescribes uniformity I in the mode of organizing and managing the schools The law is I positive on points which should be left to the discretion of munici- I oalities : The Trustees enforce it simply because it is law ; and a I state of disruption ensues which continues from one year to another I without intermission. All these consequences are P^'o^^^f^^,^^, *^^ I Government taking upon itself to do, and authorizing the local school I authorities also to do, what could be better done by the people them- I selves if left to their own free action. While, therefoi^ the control of I the Government and of municipal corporations should be confmed t^ I what cannot be done by voluntary associations, in all o her respects the I greatest latitude and freest scope should characterize the provisions of a general school law. There is one other point which requires to be noticed in these preliminary considerations, before proceeding to the practical details, or what may more properly be termed the mechanism of the system.- Ct is the nature and Jxtent of the religious element As^^ubhc morality rests as much on the influence ol ecciesiasucal autiioii.y as „n tl..- (.■a.liing oC tl.« Scriptures, it U^comvM u concern of tl.« firHf i ", rtm,c.- thaf tlH, .Icrgy ..r all .Icn ..ati/ms sho.,1,1 r"^'l'^t«^"' tl,,' vv„rk .,f educution. In.l.K.l without tlu« participation it is not n ssible that any syrt...n can ever bec.ino popular. Now how is the co-o erat on of fhc chuRV to be secured 1 Only in one way and on mio pee ic ..on.lition ; munely, that what is truly and proper y religion ZnL tau^ht in such a manner as eacli clergyman or each denomi- nat on chooses to prescribe. AnythiuR short of this, notwithstanding thv nl^ht ehiine in with the notions of a certain class of extem- pOr /..< prea<.hers, will never meet with the aciuiescenc^e of the great ecclesiastical corporations or the congregations over which they preside. In he arrangement of the religious element we will be quite safe to follow the example of the KuroiK^an elementary schools, and make the re i.'ious denominational character of each school conform to the denominational peculiarities of the parents whose children are to be educated therein. There are some things that adjust themselves ... accordance with natural laws, without any extraordinary effort of the mind to discern the adaptation. Such is the arrangement that Govern- ment should appoint the District Inspectors, because they are respon- sible for the performance of their duties to Government only. Or for a lilar reason, that the Local Superintendents should be appointed bv the Municipal Corporations. And so it is with the rehgious Instruction given in the school, that it should correspond with the relieious belief of the parents whose children are educated tbere. IJ the differences of religious creed, in the same school section, are assumed as an objection,-then enlarge the section or make the school dWsions dependent on the voluntary denominational combinations of thlTtferent religio,.s bodies, so that each school sha 1 have a specific relisi^aus character ; which is the best guarantee, mdeed the only euarantee, that the clergy and congregations, connected with it, w.!! become collectively and personally interested m its prosperity. With Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or other distinctions, the Government can have no concern. Its duty, in pursuance of the object to be served, is to secure for the children of the humbler classes a religious and secular education, in the only way and by the only means that is possible to secure it, namely, by making .t acceptable ; and notwithstanding that we are a Christian people and all our laws are based on Chriltianity, still if there are those ainong us who from coTscientious belief profess any. other than the Cbrifan reUg.on, they are entitled to the same educational privileges on the ground ol state policy, f on no other ; for it ought to be the maxim of our Govern- ment; as it is of the older and therefore more experienced Sovemments of the old world, that it is better to encourage Jf^ism than .nd.l- ferentism, better for children to be brought up under so.,.<= =i;-i--, " ecclesiastical control, even though not Chr.st.an, than that they iliould bi restraint. The circumstt which na rations, this order tho HrnV cipate in it is not low is the y and on y religion i denomi- hfltanding 3f extem- the great y preside, te safe to make the in to the are to be nselves in brt of the it Govern- re respon- '. Or for appointed ! religious I with the there. If ction, are the school [nations of J a specific the only th it, will ty. tions, the f the object r classes a 3nly means table ; and ar laws are who from igion, they nd of state iir Govern- overnments than indif- that they 66 should be allowed to go forth into society, destitute of all moral restraint. The mechanism of a Common School system, suitable to the circumstances of this country, I shall divide in two parts. One that which naturally comes within the jurisdiction of the municipal copo- rations. The other, that in charge of the General Government. In this order I shall dispose of the subject in two more letters. I have the honor to be, Sir, &c., &c. A PROTESTANT. Toronto, 24th March, 1857. 9 page.' Wo. II. Sir,— I now proceed to the consideration of the administrative machinery by whicli the work of common school education is to be carried on. And first of that part which Ix-longs to the Municipal Corporations. These Corporations should be constituted independent authorities, in all matters connected with the local management of schools, by virtue of the fiscal school jurisdiction which they exercise. As the members of a Municipal Council are elected by the suffrages of a municipality to protect and promote its general interests ; its power ought therefore to be supreme within the municipality in every act of assessment and expenditure for local purposes. And so it was previous to the Common School Act of 1850. That Act created an impenun %n imperio. It constituted a Municipal Board of School Trustees in each municipalitv independent of the Municipal Council, and invested it with a fiscal power, by which it has been enabled to control the Council in some of its niost particular and necessary functions. That Act was predicated on the assumj)tion that a Municipal Council was too cautious, about hazarding a large expenditure, where there was no cer tainty of the results ; and the object was to overrule the disposition ot| the Council, by compelling the Council to do what it did not want to do, and what was considered at the time, and has been too truthfullv verified since, was an extravagant and useless expenditure of public funds. But pray, whv, was this anomaly grafted on our r.r.micipal sys tern of local self-government '? What right had the School Law thus to| step in and violate the essential ])rinciple of the Municipal Luav in force prior to the Act of 1849? The answer is supplied in Dr. Kyerson's Report for lS50,at page lS,where we are told,thi« arrangement ih the same as tha existing in the cities and towns of the United States^and that it has workedj iLOst efficiently in these cities and towns. Now, any one who know anything of United States School Hepoxts cannot help knowing that the measure of common school excellence, as of everything else, is deter- mined by the number of dollars which it can realize. The Municipal Councils in the United ^States, if they havi been left to their o^\ independent action, would never have made th3 school fund sufficientlj imposing, and, therefore, never could have secured for the schools thf only feature calculated to make them harmonize with the pecuniar public sentiment. We all know that the chief feature of the Unitd 11 Iministrative .tioii is to be e Municipal independent nageinent of ley exercise. ; sul'irages of 5 ; its power every act of was previous m imperium . Trustees in and invested ) control the 'tions. That iincil was too ^. was no cer- Usposition o! [ not want to too truthfully ire of public v.'.nicipal sys- 1 I^aw thus to LciAV in fbrcf 'rson's Report e same as that it has worked e who knov: wing that tliei L^lse, is deter" 'he Municipal] to their own lid sufficientlji ^e schools thfl the pecuniae of the UniteJ States School Reports is the large amount of dollars paraded in their pages, and also, that the comparative conditions of the schools of differ- ent States is esti. lated by lite comparative excess or diminution of the amounts of school monies which these. States are capable of raising. In 1849 and 1850 the Canadian Municipal Councils refused to make the amount of the school assessment a criterion of educational progress. Many of them believed that the attempt to make this a criterion was a fraud practised on the country, as it has turned out to be. They, there- fore, very properly and in accordance with their duty as guardians of the municipal corporate interests resisted it. But as it was the criterion in the States', from whence the rest of the Ctinadian School System had been imported, there was no aliernative but to permit the Importer, on the faith of his profession and assurances, to have his own way in this particular as he had been allowed in every other. The measure of 1850 became law. Independent Boards of School Trustees were there- after elected by household suffrage. These Trustees, invested with unlimited powers, have since obliged the Municipal Councils to assess for whatever amounts they have ordered. The school fund has conse- quently swelled to the desired dimensions. And similarly as in the tJnited States, every successive annual report parades the astonishing increase of the ag'gregate school monies, as a criterion of the unprece- dented progress of education. But there is an important principle involved in the right of the General Government to create, in a municipality, a power greater than the Municipal Conncil. It is clearly a violation as I have said, of the true theory of self-government, which makes the council supreme in the assessment and expenditure of monies for local purposes. Neither can it be justly assumed that a Board of School Trustees elected for a sp'^citic object can be equally impartial with a Council acting for the general good. If such assumption could be vindicated, it would follow that a special board for each departjuent of the business of a municipality should be instituted ; otherwise there is no satisfac- tory reason why a school board iiuy more than a .jtreet board or a license board should be independent. The greatest objection however to an Independent School Board is that its members are generally of an inferior standing both in educa' tion uiaI respectability, and, with rare exceptions, could not obtain a seat in the t'ouncil. If a position in society and an acquaintance with general municipal business are to be considered recommendations in a public functionary, then is the Council more competent than a Board of School Trustees ; for it is couiposed, not of theorists who are prac- tically engaged in illustrating theialsity of their own principles, but of shrewd, intelligent business men, many of them holding the first rank in the community. On this head, and in order to shew how different and how much more correct is the idea of municipal self-government 12 in the old world, I extract the following from M. Victor Cousin's report to the French Government in 1831, when he was occupied along with M. Guizot, in digesting the system of primary schools which now exists in France ; and I may remark that both Cousin and Guizot adopted nothing and recommended nothing, according to their own acknow- ledgement, the safety and success of which had not been fully veiified by the experience of other countries : " The most difficult point in law on primary instruction is the determination what are the aathorities to be employed. Here also let us cousult facts. The French administration is the glory and the master-work of the Imperial Government. The organization of France in mains and prefectures, with municipal and depart- ttental councils, is the foundation of government and of social order. This foundation has stood firm amidst ao much ruin, that prudence and policy seem to point to it as the best and safest prop. Moreorer, this organization hag just been reformed and vivified by rendering the municipal and departmental councils elective and popular. Thus the French administration unites all that we want— activity and popularity The administration, then, is what you must call to your aid. Recollect, also, that it is theue local coun^ oils that pay, and that you cannot fairly expect much from them unless they have a large share in the disbursement of the money they have voted. These councils are chosen out of the body of the people and return to it again ; they are inceasautly in contact with the people ; they are the people legally repre' ■ented, as the maires and the prefects are these councils embodied, if I may so say, in one person for the Bake of activity and dispatch. I regard then, as another incontestiUe point, the necessary intervention of the municipal and departmental councils in the management of public instruction. Js there ought to bt a school in every commune, so there ought to be for every communal school a special committee of superinten- dtnct, whKh ought to be formed out of the municipal councU, and presided over by the maire. I shall pet hap, be told, thatmn who are Jit to conduct the business of the commune are not fit to superintend the communal school I deny it : nothing is wanted for this superintendence but zeal, and fathers of tamiliet cannot want xeal where their dearest interests are concerned." The only reason assigned for the infringement of our municipal law IS, that it is so infringed in the cities and towns of the United States. So says Dr. Ryerson ; and to this dictum we have all bowed down with humble submission. We certainly seem to have been a very enlightened people, to have been so successfully duped ! The fear is our population has been in a great measure infidelized and republican- ized by United States importations, without being in the least sensible that such a process was going on. And it is a sad reflection that, at the present day, so many should be found unconsciously yielding sub- mission to the same deceptive influence. Notwithstanding, however, that our municipallavy has been violated, that in no way affects the validity of the principle that the Council should be supreme, and should exercise an undivided jurisdiction within the municipality in all matters of local concern. ^ ^ The County, Town and City Councils are the three corporate powers into whose hands the whole local control should be placed, li-ach Council could appoint a special committee on education from its own members, and also a Local Superintendent who should act as secretary. The Conntv Tonnr-ii .\iL\a .„^p„;„.^„j .„ i , '^.^V, „^x, ^1 ' j.\ , ------^ _- — "' '^i""»^ 'supeiiniena aiiu reeulaie the In thP tiVa ! '"'^f ^'P^- P« ™««y reasons it is the proper Lthority. in the tet place, because every township and incorporated village is represented m the county council by the town reeve" In the second! 13 isin's report I along with li now exists izot adopted vn acknow- Lilly veiified I the aathorities to be master-work of licipal aod depart- stood firm amidst }. MoreoTer, this trtmental councils Y and popularitj. theue local conn- large share in the )dy of the people, »ple legally repre. }De person for the isary intervention ^s tktre ought to ttee of tuperinttn- '.. I shall pet hapt 'end the communal miliei cantiot want r municipal the United e all bowed been a very The fear is, republiean- ast sensible on that, at aiding sub- g, however, ■ affects the oreme, and licipality in 3 corporate be placed, on from its )uld act as egulate the r authority. d village is the second, circumstances, interests and pre Xef And in th. ?" y ''"*' ecause township divisions ha4 b^een found e^ceedb^: detrinJem:! to the formation of proper school limit« Tk ^^^i^^iy aemmental latter point are of a ver/serious nalu^e. ^" ^''mpla.nts on tliis The school fund should be derivpd fmr^^ +k>.«« assessment to pa/for *e^enti„gtTuiwt7of 'scZ'oJtjr'"^'' The school buildings and their first outfit should be all paid for bv he rnunicpahty from the proceeds of the annual assessment also a residence for he teacher, or its equivalent in money. In the town- ships particularly, the teacher ought to have a house and sardenX Z.^Z It:s pSa^eTTrX%tp:;?^t^ritionTtt^ ~rd'^„ ■tle^rv^"f''^r ^^"^r^ ■" P-urtgrirb4.oi ui grouna, in the way of gift, m the townships, as everv onp i<. anxious to have the school as near his own door^a^ possM^ and for that reason the ground is always easily attainable. left tl rt.T,frvf *T Tl management of each school should be ho.,M h! ..ft f "1? °i *^ municipality. The heads of familie! should be left perfectly free to form what combinations thev choose ff 1 it,.wf '' t^^P*'''' ^* ^^'" *>« fo"«d that the choice wilTpartake clhLp^ -^uffipient number of heads of families desire to have a X 1h;^ ^^T'r'' r^^lf »«hool, the Council would be ac«ng Nehher the P '^ 'i " ''"i^"'' *'^^™ *•= ""^"^ "^ establishing one inwf . ^S""*='' "°'" (^<=nemi Government can with propriety dS,TI^ ?• • ^"''^^'■^■^e of the religious and moral aim of and n th» *;k '°"J '"""^ '^^7' ^y Jis<=arding the moral element unacceptable "I't*"^ "^^*'"^ dissatisfaction and making the means m^uU^lJ^!^- .'%"«<^<'«««'-y. liere, to recollect that the object of people. And as good morals cannot exist independent of relisious Sr^' '•"" *''.''"*y °f *« -"*-♦« «"d -i Municipal CouncfsL ISchM s Mnf '""' '"^f"'^*'™' ^l-"" «^ ««ular, in (he Common theS enH.!! T'- ^ ",t*;°"^ '"H"^ "^'^^"^ ^^' ft-f "s object, not Toronto bTy*^.? T" ''^''''"' of the children of school age, ;« in to reaW fh» [• "^J"* >;«q«"-e instruction. For these reasons, and to realize these objects, the schools must be made acceptable and 14 the riecossity of the heads of families hein- left to make their hence own national system is voliuitary arrangement We are to recollect also that a not'^iutended to make Protestants. Neither is its object to make Catholics. The Mtniici,;>al Connci can ^^^.^11^ I to do Avith this or that particidar proiession of iaith. Its specia concern should be the protection of the public morals by means o all available instrnmentalities, whether Protestant or Catholic. If numbers of the Protestant poor are ignorant and will not receive Suction except through a Protestant channel, by all n.eans let hem be accommodated. So that they become possessed ot a proper educa- tior it is of little consequence through xvhat particular medium they pre'ir to receive it. Similarly ^vilh the numbers of the Catholic DOor who can neither read nor write, but who wo.dd make better subiects and better citizens if endowed with the simple rudiments of learning which are taught in a primary school, would it be prudent, or would it be canyiug out the aim of a public school system or the intentions of the Legislature, to withhold instruction because they refuse to accept it in any other than a Catholic garbl Certainly not. A« religion should form an element of instruction, and in order to secure this it is necessary to secure the co-cperation of the clergy and congregations ; and as the only way to do this is to make the organiza- tion and management of the schools acceptable to them, it is therei^ore indispensable that each school should have a specific religious character; and for this reason, and in accordance with the constitutional law ol majorities, the religion of the school should be that of the ma|ority who support it. When a mixed population of Protestants and Catho- lics is sufficiently numerous, each should have a separate school, or schools, proportional in size or number to the probable or prospective average attendance in each. If any other Protestant denomination is sutficiently numerous to support a school it should have one oii the ^ application of a determinate number of the heads of families. As the )erceive religion of the school should be that of the majority who support it, !ils Iron ichools ; I natura vith its nent In ertitica uties c( Tl amount poses ; salaries the op( school teacher! equival matory of the to the of the Mayor. Th a Secre manage and to 1 transac Second, of Exar see thai by law are pro and ge] when J annual! perity c the con^ Th he prin able t( the management should be in the hands of the clergyman and religious congregation of that majority ; an exceptional provision being made, that no child of another religious persuasion shall receive or be present at the religious lessons or exercises, if the parents object ; and also, tha poor children, whose parents are unable to pay the school fees, shall be admitted free of charge. examine — _ -, - . r .^ r^ i *i,„« , cates. It should consist of the School Committee of the Council, the|i(jefljjit Local Superintendent and the Government Inspector, with the Warden|unibej^ or Mayor presiding. pmed, a 15 ri'dke their so that a ither is its ve nothing Its special T means of itholic. If lot receive ns let them 3|)ev educa- edium they le Catholic iiake better ' rudiments rould it be blic school instruction holic garbl 1 in order to 3 clergy and he organiza- is therefore IS character; ionai law of he majority \ and Catho prospective omination is one on the iies. As the support it, and religions being made or be present md also, that 01 fiees, shall The duties of the School Committee would be to ascertain the amount of assessment required, for the current year, for school pur- poses ; as well the equivalent of the Government grant for teachers' salaries as the Innd for school buildin-s: To receive applications for the opening of schools : To rent or build and keep in repair the school houses of the municipality, as it may see tit : To pay ^he teachers their portions of the Government grant and the assessed equivalent: lo establish and manage an Industrial School Refor- Tlu""^ '^"^ ''^''''^l^ , """'^ examine the reports of the local managers u £^'^'"''" Schools : And to prepare an transmit annually to the Minister of Public Instruction a correct report of the state of the schools in the municipality, signed by the Warden or Mayor. The duties of the local school managers should be first, to appoint a Secretary, who should keep a record of the proceedings of the managers, and fill up all blank returns to the School Superintendent and to the Government Inspector, from a book or register of the daily transactions of the school ; the teacher might act as Secretary Second, to choose and engage a teacher who has passed the Board ot I^^xaminers and possesses a certificate of competency. Third to see that the quality and (luantity of secular instruction, prescribed by law, is supplied. Fourth, to see that the school regulations are properly carried out, with respect to cleanliness, regularity and general moral supervision of the pupils while in school and when absent from school. And in the last place, to report annually to the Warden or Mayor the condition, progress and pros- perity of the school ; such report to be signed by the clergyman of le school, or the congregation. This is a rough outline of what, in my opinion, should constitute the principal features of that part of the Common School Law appli- ;able to municipalities. Its chief recommendation, it will be )erceived, consists in relieving the Councils and Committee of Coun- ;ils from the difficulties and perpetual strife consequent on their other- ivise necessary interference with the religious arrangement of the ichools ; and having the organization of each school to form itself by I natural process of development. While the Committee of Council vith its Secretary the Local Superintendc nt, and the District Govern- nent Inspector, would examine the quali.'tcation of teachers and grant ertijicates of qualification ; it would in every other respect have its nicipalitv toBim? '.?^^^^^ to finance, for which it is thoroughly competent. Its '^ o^ l!e^t'ifi-t P*?^^ '" ^r?*^^' recommendation, by no means an insignificant Counctr thelj r •!*' ^^ ^aj^ei'ito consideration the endless complaints on the , thrWaXI^^^^ ^^**i^ P""T^ *^^' ''^' conflicting clauses, the vast ine VY araen|uniber of appeals from school sections to have special clauses con- strued, and the frequent reference of the Chief Superintendent himself, tfiHMMka 16 to the judicial authorities for expositions of the letter of he law. It would conceal no loop-holes for the exercise of clerico-political craft , supply no facilities for covert and dishonest strategy ; and spread ou no complicated cobweh to favor the personal schemes and theoretical legerdemain of any public officer. I have the honor to be, Sir, Slc, &c. A PROTESTANT. Toronto, 31st March, 1857. he law. It itical craft ; 1 spread out I theoretical SSTANT. uto. III. Sir,— I have already remarked that the chief requisite of a national system of education is its correspondence with the political mstitutions and religious feelings of the community. The principle on which our Municipal Councils are responsible to the inhabitants ol the municipalities, and the advisers of His Excellency the Gover- nor General to the people, therefore, require that the fiscal power and the patronage connected with it of our Common School System should be, in a similar manner, under popular control. And thus, in con- tomiity with the general principle of responsibility, on which the different parts of the Government are constructed and related to each other, the supervision and management and the whole control of the schools should be divided between the Municipal Councils and the Greneral Government, the only two legitimate centres of all fiscal power and patronage. I have also said that an independent Board 01 Trustees within a Municipality is an imperium in imperio, a posi- tive violation of the principle of municipal government. What else IS an independent Chief Superintendent within the jurisdiction of the General Government than an independent sovereignty ; a power in the state capable of controlling the Ministers of the state, and hold- ing m terrorem both the Governor General and his advisers. The argument is self-convincing, that the same rule which makes an Independent Board of Trustees, incompatible with the duties and tunctions of a Municipal Council, is applicable to the power, patronage and irresponsibility of a'Chief Superintendent, in influencing and over- awing the action of the General Government. We all know what the power is which is possessed by every Board of Trustees, that it can demand whatever amount of money it chooses, without limitation, and can squander or do what it chooses with said money; the Muni- cipal Council being obliged to assess and collect in obedience to the demand, having no say either as to the amount or its appropriatibn- iippa-reiiny, the power Oi tuc Chief Scpeniitcndeiit is different only in this, that the amount is fixed by law and the purposes to which ii IS applied are specific. But, in reality, his power is no less practi- cally than in principle much greater, inasmuch as, besides the nominal limits of his jurisdiction, the institution of Independent Boards of 10 18 Trustees is so devised as to mak(3 these bodies second his purposes and acquiesce in his decisions. The present constitution of the Boards of School Trustees seems to have been designed with a view express- ly to sustain the power of the Chief Superintendent. In like rnanner the principal clauses of the Common School Act, if examined care- fully, will be found to aim at securing this same object. However, in order to understand exac^tly the nature and extent of the unconstitu- tional power which the Chief Superintendent is able to bring to bear on the Governor General, on the Ministry and on every Member of the House of Assembly and Legislative Council, it is necessary to analyze the different sources of that power ; and to do this we must first go back to 1850, and review the motives by which its concoctors were influenced. In the first place, the exorbitant patronage and unconstitu- tional power here referred to, arose out of two elements. One, the ambition of Lord Elgin to acquire popularity. The other, the influ- ence at that time of Dr. Ryersou over the Methodist Conference, and as a popular agitator. The part played by Lord Elgin is not yet pro- perly estimated ; but, as the instrument through whom and by whom the rights of the Municipal Councils and the General Government were bartered away and sold for a certain measure of Common School popularity, we are justified in im.puting to him, and to him alone, all the blame. To him we aie indebted for the legacy of Independent Boards of School Trustees and an almighty Chief Superintendent. Dr. Ryerson, in so far as personal considerations and a desire to im- prove his private fortune, coupled with the somewhat excusable vanity of being considered a Canadian educational Goliah, may be said to have acted as any unscrupulous person would have done if placed in his cir- cumstances. Perceiving the object of Lord Elgin's ambition, and also the suitableness of the position of each to exchange mutual advantages, he embraced the opportunity not only to secure patronage and its emoluments, but to intrench himself and fortify his official position so as to be able to intimidate and to act defensively against the Legislature, whenever it should so happen that his individual aspirations might require the exercise of such intimidation or defen- sive action. Now the method which he adopted to intrench and fortify himself, and by which he now exercises a power of intimidation over the Legislature, is that which I am desirous to show was unconstitu- tional. I am desirous to show that the creation of a ramified chain of irresponsible patronage was the creation of an independent power within the state, incompatible with the independence of the Legisla- ture ; and that |the proper depository of this patronage should be a Department of the Executive, presided over by a Minister, who should be responsible to the representatives of the people in Parliament, and to the people themselves at the hustings. '^.9 )ses and } Boards express- manner led care- (^ever, in ionstitu- ^ to bear Member ecessary we must mcoctors constitu- One, the the influ- mce, and ; yet pro- by whom irernment m School alone, all [ependent ntendent. ire to im- ! vanity of d to have n his cir- tion, and B mutual patronage lis official ly against individual or defen- md fortify ation over neonstitu- fied chain jnt power le Legisla- tiould be a ho should iment, and First, The conferring on the Boards of Trustees a fiscal power which the Municipal Councils had previously possessed, and which the Councils would not cease to claim as belonging to them by right, at the same time that it made the Boards independent of the Councils with respect to school funds, produced a latent antagonism, between the Councils and Boards of Trustees, which antagonism, as intended, has turned out practically to be an instrument in the hand of the Chief Superintendent. As a proof of which, all appeals and decisions, and all correspondence between the Boards of Common School Trustees and the Superintendent, and the action of either on local or general school matters, indicate an implied league oifensive and defensive between them ; but which is, in reality, subservient in a special man- ner to the purpose of the latter functionary. Second, This instrument of the Chief Superintendent, appoints the Local Superintendents and examines and engages the teachers, by which means the Local Superintendents and the teachers are made indirectly agencies for the maintenance of the Chief Superintendent's influence. Third, He is entrusted with the expenditure of a large amount of public money, which, in itself, by virtue of the patronage connected with it, has produced and maintains a complicated net work of con- vergent interests, all tending, in like manner, to add to his individual omnipotence. By reference to the Public Accounts of the Province the various sums, the expendituie of which brings influence to the Chief Superintendent are as follows : — I take the year 1855 in prefer- ence to any other, because what has been said, in the preceding pages, on Common School statistics, has had reference to that year. For salaries of officers (exclusive of salaries of Chief and Deputy and two Clerks,) and other contingent expenses of the Normal School, Toron- to, ^1,500; to facilitate the training of teachers ^1,000; to procure plans and publications for the improvement of school architecture and practical science, i:200 ; the Government grant, £24,642 10s. 6d. ; further aid to the Normal School and for printing and distributing the Journal of Education, .£1,000; for the purchase of books and speci- mens for a Canadian library and museum, £500 ; for aid to schools in new and poor townships, £500 ; for a fund for poor and worn out teachers, £500 ; for grammar schools, £7,483 10s. Od. ; for providing the Grammar and Common Schools with maps, and apparatus, £2,500 ; for a Model Grammar School, £1,000 ; for the payment of two assist- ant librarians, &c., £350 ; for the support and maintenance of super- annuated teachers, £500 ; for the payment of the salary of the Inspector of Grammar Schools, £250 ; and for libraries, 3,500. These monies were paid to Dr. Ryerson in 1855, and the same amounts are paid to him every year, to be expended for the purposes specified. By looking 20 over the several items the diiferent directions from which patronage may be secured will suggest themselves. Fourth, The printing press, that mighty engine, made doubly more potent because wielded with an unsparing effusion of public money, has been placed at Dr. Ryerson's disposal. And by its use he has worked unceasingly to stifle enquiry, to prevent the expression of public opinion, and, moreover, has been able to impregnate the electo- ral constituencies to such an extent that he now holds a coercive influ- ence over their representatives in the Provincial Legislature, and through the means of this coercive influence is able to intimidate the Executive. Fifth, By the Common School act he is not responsible to Parlia- ment. He is independent of the people's representatives. They can- not call him to account. Because the 34th clause of the Act ignores such responsibility. Such is an outline of the concessions made, in 1850, by Lord Elgin to Dr. Ryerson, on the condition, that Dr. Ryerson should forth- with act as Lord Elgin's trumpeter. That the terms of the treaty have been fully carried out, on botli sides, we have had too many manifesta- tions. Lord Elgin has left us a legacy, in the person of a Chief Superintendent invested with power sufhcient to control and intimidate the Legislature. And the question now is how to dispose of it. An imperium in imperio, is incompatible With respo.isible government and constitutional liberty. The irresponsible power exercised by Dr. Ryerson, should be placed in a responsible Department of the Execu- tive Government. And this leads me to consider the constitution of such a Department and its duties. The Department of Education should consist of a Minister of Public Instruction, who should be a member of the Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council, and, being the head of a Depart- ment of the public service, should have a seat in the Executive Coun- cil ; and a staff of District Inspectors, whose appointment should be non-political and therefore permanent. The duties of the Minister of Public Instruction should be to manage the Government corresponaence with al\ educational institu- tions receiving public aid: To apportion the public grants for education: With reference to the administration of the Common School Law, to conduct all correspondence concerning the Normal Schools already established, or for the erection of others; — to receive applications from any religious denomination, concerning the building of a separate Normal School ; and if approved by the Governor in Council and exclusive of the cost of a site, to pay one half the cost of said building and outfit ;— to approve or reject the appointment of the Principal of each Normal School ;— to maiie out blank forms for the returns pjf 21 h patronage lade doubly n of public y its use he xpression of 3 the electo- 3rcive influ- ilature, and timidate the le to Parlia- They can- Act ignores 50, by Lord hoiild forth- treaty have r manifesta- of a Chief d intimidate ! of it. An government dsed by Dr. the Execu- istitution of Minister of Legislative )f a Depart- utive Coun- Lt should be lould be to onal institu- r education: lool Law, to )ols already applications )f a separate Council and aid building Principal of e returns pjf Normal and Common Schools, and for the returns of th. n- TTT pectors; to cause the printing and rli.fViK„f;!.V rli , District In- disallow tJie use of any bo Un Schoof th t ha^ Pfhcnl iaw;-to age disloyalty to Her Maiestv'. nl. ^'^^ a tendency to encour- tlie attachUt to the S^c^i Si^^^^^^^^^ -^- encourage infidelity or indifferentism i rX.^o^^^^ the reports of the District InsnPPfntt Ik 1 ^ ^^g^«" '— to ascertain by secular instruction prescrbedC ^ ^''r T^""^ ^"^^ ^l^^^^i^J of theoretical and fpic^tetive dosma «„ whi^h P^r""*'""' ''!^'^'^">'' °'" -to attend to all bi.sh els peSh, tt r??''''" T'T' f '^''''"^"'^ ' jaining to the Normal and ComS Schools Zrint'"'" ^"^ ^T how the b«^„e«s of the Department ha^tratwS^''"""^^^ exain.nation of teachers. They shoulTcorXld ^th heTdtatii' therefore could be best TerformtThv » ?"^ inspectoral ; and ordinary business tac Twhom thJ prSVd.j;n'1'' *' '"'''"^ ""'' Many creditable examples. ^ Admmistratwn contains .qui« ^T in' aU:i„^:r[h°"thf ^eTali^et "?• ''"''TT ^'^^'^ school authorities specified iXs letter ^dtblnl "^ ^' '""^'"''1 tuition fee should be^ a fixed amoVnta'd^'ffiefen^^^^^ ^'^^ «W„ certain liquations. p^eSst^'^S rfsl''?^tlt%^f Itir^nT"'! '^ *^'»«''«'f. »»«• an additional tuition fee, to siVe' insirnc- Um on the globes and also in the rudiments of Latin and Greek a Nwnum salary tothe teachers should be fixed uDonAwhk "?■ ^e ,acreae« should be regulated by the avemge aSLnctSffi 22 on the School Register of the preceding year. To encourage teachers to continue in the profession and improve their opportunities, a rule should be made, that those who have served a specified number of years and are otherwise competent shall have a preference in all vacancies where a Local Superintendent or District Inspector is requir- ed. Other provisions, which in the meantime have escaped mv notice, may be necessary. Those mentioned here, are, however, the principal. That a measure framed in accordance with the general principles here enunciated, however different in details, will become a law either during this or the next Session of the Provincial Parliament is uncertain. The probability is, judging from the general aspect which the Common School dissensions have assumed, that a change of some kind is immediate. Whatever that change may be, it will be found when it does take place, to consist in the assumption by the General Government and the Municipal Councils of the powers now vested in the Chief Superintendent and the Boards of School Trustees. Of this there can be no shadow of doubt. The only particular point of the measure which may be brought forward, and regarding the ulti- mate definite character of which there may be some doubt, is the classification of Common Schools under Protestant and Catholic I distinctions, admitting only two classe of schools ; or of denomina- tional schools entitling each religious persuasion with the privilege of establishing and managing Separate Schools. Denominational Schools I consider preferable, because they secure, directly, the co-operation of the clergy and the heads of families of the religious congregations. Without that co-operation no school can ever prosper ; but it can be secured only by enlisting the sympathies of the clergy and congregationsin the way I have specified, and throwing on them the chief measure of responsibility. But if the leading Protestant denominatiojis should withhold their countenance from a measure favoring Separate Denominational Schools, then there can be but one course left for the Legislature to adopt, that is, to pass a law establishing Protestrat Common Schools and Catliolic Common f Schools. Much as I should regret to witness the necessity of this alternative, still I can see no other way of putting an end to the otherwise interminable school dissensions and injustice with which the present law and its administration are replete. Something m.ust be speedily done to make the School I aw acceptable. In a population of 1,500,000 Protestants and 1,500 OOC Catliolics, none but a mad man or an inexperienced enthusiast cc ulii ever have dreamed of being able to make the one body hold the other in fetters. Lord Elgin can- not be accused of such imbecility. He acted from a different impulse. But setting aside the injustice, the intolerance of compelling Catholics to receive education on Protestant conditions, where was its practica biiit he c mat lare coer Kod hold Upp arise to C exist and tical] local attril thef ing ( existc prosp coerc( both] Cathc Lord data a the m greate I] submii IS a d Counc; popula '^i pe T( 83 lar attempt by Lord Durham to make thr Prn, « ! " ,'°?'««'hat sin,-- coerce the Catholics of Lower Cauadu ? hIT f "^ "PP" ^an-Ja r..d forged by Lord Durham for this Im^" '"T""" '"'^ "•« hold of and made use of by the Hon'^rif iT T-'""""^' '"''«" Upper Canada'? And does he wesum; th,* Latontame to pu„id, arise to vindicate the l.onorof Lowrr,.^] "° "«her Wontaine will to . Catholics 1 Look at the fact! ex^Z? ""'' '*'="? "."•"" J"««<=e existed at the time Dr. Ryerson man^^ln t^ T^' V"^ *''««« ^hich and mark the contrast Th^npf^!^'" ^^''^ '"*"''•'' P^sent office ,tically united. Whate*;r frtds eS""'' ""^ ^2*''°''«» ^«'e S?.' localities in which tt,e Orange SoeS '^^''' ""V""*"' '° particular attributable to previou. Sositie, wmTk Pji'"^^«^"t i and were the Province fVo,a IrelanrC ^1 ^- ^"^ ^""""^ ^^^" ^ay into ing Catholic organ ™„ such as ^'"^^'^{^•'^"^"'''ndinLas- existence.- Ithad^ot beguL Ttwasn^tthTIh'^^r'j.'^'''' *>•«" "» prospect is that the Protestant sTwidj/''''".^''* °'^ Our present -erce Catholics, cout'^ns r ow^t^dotf-tt "° both Dr. Byerson and his svstem anJ^ i!i *l ' *"** '* "'" snuff out Catholic Schools free from Prototant cL 1 "'!^'" "' establishing Lord Durham. Dr. RyerZ wn Ifiln *., , i!™l ""'' "iterference. Likf M a desue to relieve the GenZl AJ ^^^ ''^^^ ''^en dictated Councils, and the members of the WU?f ™^"*' ^^'^ *« Municipal population and a numer^s body of Prntr/ "* ''f "^ *''« Catholic -i ternicious political influence whirh?,^*'' 'T?' *^« ^ff'^tic «• . rf the :m;^nt Commr School Law.'''''"'''* '" """ '^'^'•■ I have the honor to be. Sir, &c., &c. Toronto, April 7, 1857. A PROTESTANT.