,transcriber's ,note3  ,for this text   
version passages in italics are         
indicated by underscores4 ,small caps   
have been replaced by ,,all ,,caps4     
,,egerton ,,ryerson    ,,and            
,education in ,upper ,canada     ,,by   
,j4 ,,harold ,,putman1 ,b4,a41          
,d4,paed41    ,inspector of ,public     
,schools1 ,ottawa1 ,ont4    7,formerly  
in charge of the ,departments in        
,psychology and   ,english1 ,ottawa     
,normal ,school7     ,,toronto          
,,william ,,briggs   #aiab              
,copyright1 ,canada1 #aiab1 by          
,,william ,,briggs     ,,preface   ,the 
object of this volume is to give a      
succinct idea of the nature and history 
of our ,ontario ,school ,legislation4   
,this legislation is so bound up with   
the name of ,egerton ,ryerson that to   
give its history is to relate the work  
of his life4  ,it would be useless to   
attempt to show how our school          
legislation developed under ,responsible
 ,government without some understanding 

of its history previous to the time of  
,ryerson4 ,i have1 therefore1 devoted   
three chapters to a brief account of    
education in ,upper ,canada previous to 
#ahdd4  ,no attempt has been made to    
give the history of our schools since   
,ryerson's retirement1 partly because no
 radical changes have been made1 and    
partly because it would involve         
criticism of statesmen and teachers who 
are still actively engaged in work4 ,nor
 has any attempt been made to trace the 
history of ,university education after  
#ahde4 ,to do so would require a        
complete volume4 ,but1 as ,university   
education prior to #ahdd was so closely 
connected with ,common and ,grammar     
,schools1 it seemed necessary1 up to a  
certain point1 to trace the course of   
all three together4  ,the introductory  
chapter on the biography of ,ryerson is 
only indirectly connected with the other
 chapters1 and may be omitted by the    
reader who has no interest in the man   
himself4  ,it is hoped that this volume 

may encourage teachers in service and   
teachers in training to acquire a fuller
 knowledge of their own educational     
institutions4                           
,,the ,,author4  ,,ottawa1 ,july #ast1  
#aiab4     ,,contents     ,,chapter     
,,page       ,i4  ,biographical         
#g      ,,ii4  ,education in ,upper     
,canada from #aghc to #ahdd        #cc  
,,iii4  ,education in ,upper ,canada    
from #aghc to #ahdd--                   
7,continued7                            
#eh      ,,iv4  ,education in ,upper    
,canada from #aghc to #ahdd--           
7,continued7                            
#hc       ,v4  ,ryerson's ,first ,report
 on a ,system of ,elementary            
,instruction                            
#aaj      ,,vi4  ,ryerson's ,school     
,bill of #ahdf                     #abc 
,,vii4  ,the ,ryerson ,bill of #ahej    
#add    ,,viii4  ,ryerson and ,separate 
,schools                      #agc      
,,ix4  ,ryerson and ,grammar ,schools   
#bjd       ,x4  ,ryerson and the        

,training of ,teachers              #bcb
      ,,xi4  ,ryerson ,school ,bill of  
#ahga                       #beg        
,,xii4  ,conclusion                     
#bfd           ,bibliography            
#bfi     ,egerton ,ryerson and          
,education in ,upper ,canada            
,,chapter ,i4  ,,biographical4          
,egerton ,ryerson was born in #ahjc1 in 
the township of ,charlotteville1 now a  
part of the county of ,norfolk4 ,his    
father was a ,united ,empire ,loyalist  
who had held some command in a volunteer
 regiment of ,new ,jersey4 ,after the   
,revolution the elder ,ryerson settled  
first in ,new ,brunswick1 coming later  
to ,upper ,canada1 where he took up land
 and became a pioneer farmer4 ,the young
 ,ryersons1 of whom there were several1 
took their full share in the laborious  
farm work1 and ,egerton seems to have   
prided himself upon his physical        
strength and his skill in all farm      
operations4  ,he received such an       
education as was afforded by the        

indifferent ,grammar ,school of the     
,london ,district1 supplemented by the  
reading of whatever books he could      
secure4  ,at an early age he was        
strongly drawn toward that militant     
,christianity preached by the early     
,methodist ,circuit ,riders1 and at the 
age of eighteen joined the ,methodist   
,society4 ,this step created an         
estrangement between ,ryerson and his   
father1 who already had two sons in the 
,methodist ministry4 ,ryerson left home 
and became usher in the ,london         
,district ,grammar ,school1 where he    
remained two years1 when his father sent
 for him to come home4 ,after some      
further farming experience1 the young   
man went to ,hamilton to attend the     
,gore ,district ,grammar ,school4 ,he   
was already thinking of becoming a      
,methodist preacher1 and wished to      
prepare himself by a further course of  
study4 ,during his stay in ,hamilton    
under the instruction of ,john ,law1 he 
worked so eagerly at ,latin and ,greek  

that he fell ill of a fever which nearly
 ended his career4  ,when barely        
twenty-two years of age he decided to   
travel as a ,methodist missionary4  ,in 
a letter written about this time to his 
brother1 the ,rev4 ,george ,ryerson1 we 
get a glimpse of the young preacher's   
ideas upon the preparation of sermons4  
,on my leisure days ,i read from ten to 
twenty verses of ,greek a day besides   
reading history1 the ,scriptures1 and   
the best works on practical divinity1   
among which ,chalmers has decidedly the 
preference in my mind both for piety and
 depth of thought4 ,these two last      
studies employ the greatest part of my  
time4 ,my preaching is altogether       
original4 ,i endeavour to collect as    
many ideas from every source as ,i can2 
but ,i do not copy the expression of    
anyone1 for ,i do detest seeing blooming
 flowers in dead men's hands4 ,i think  
it my duty and ,i try to get a general  
knowledge and view of any subject that  
,i discuss beforehand2 but not          

unfrequently ,i have tried to preach    
with only a few minutes' previous       
reflection4#a  #a ,see ,story of ,my    
,life1 by ,ryerson1 edited by ,hodgins1 
page #db4   ,after being received into  
the ,methodist connection as a          
probationer1 ,ryerson was assigned a    
charge on ,yonge ,st41 which embraced   
the town of ,york and several adjacent  
townships4 ,it took four weeks on       
horseback and on foot over almost       
impassable roads to complete the        
circuit4 ,during this time the          
probationer was expected to conduct from
 twenty-five to thirty-five services4   
,the accommodation furnished by the     
pioneers was of the rudest kind1 but the
 people gave the travelling preacher a  
hearty welcome4 ,young ,ryerson was     
acquainting himself with conditions in  
,upper ,canada at first hand by living  
among the people4 ,at a later time1 when
 the opportunity came1 he made use of   
his intimate knowledge to secure for    
these people the advantages of better   

schools4  ,during this first year of his
 missionary ministry1 ,ryerson was drawn
 into the ,clergy ,reserves controversy4
 ,the ,methodist ,society in ,upper     
,canada was an offshoot of that body in 
the ,united ,states4 ,this connection   
had come about in a very natural way4   
,upper ,canada was largely settled by   
,united ,empire ,loyalists4 ,the        
,methodist circuit-riders naturally     
followed their people into the wilds of 
,upper ,canada4 ,in many districts no   
religious services of any kind were held
 except those of the ,methodists4  ,in  
,may1 #ahbf1 a pamphlet was published1  
being a sermon preached by ,archdeacon  
,strachan1 of ,york1 on the occasion of 
the death of the ,bishop of ,quebec4    
,this pamphlet contained an historical  
sketch of the rise and progress of the  
,anglican ,church in ,canada4 ,the claim
 was made that the ,anglican ,church was
 by law the ,established ,church of     
,upper ,canada4 ,the ,methodists were   
singled out and held up to ridicule4    

,they were represented as ,american and 
disloyal4 ,their preachers were declared
 to be ignorant and spreaders of        
sedition1 and the ,imperial ,parliament 
was petitioned to grant ,l#cjj1jjj a    
year to the ,anglican ,church in ,canada
 to enable it to maintain the loyalty of
 ,upper ,canada to ,britain4  ,to       
,ryerson1 the son of a ,loyalist1 this  
was more than could be borne1 and he    
immediately crossed swords with the     
,anglican prelate by writing a defence  
of ,methodism and calling into question 
the exclusive demands made by ,strachan 
on behalf of the ,anglicans4 ,the       
contest waxed warm and then hot4 ,the   
whole country was convulsed4 ,within    
four years the ,legislature of ,upper   
,canada passed ,acts allowing the       
various religious denominations to hold 
lands for churches1 parsonages1 and     
burying-grounds1 and also allowing their
 ministers to solemnize marriages4      
,besides these concessions1 the         
,legislative ,assembly was forced by    

public opinion to petition the ,imperial
 ,parliament against the claims of the  
,anglican ,church to be an ,established 
,church in ,canada and to a monopoly of 
the ,clergy ,reserves4  ,during his     
second year in the ministry1 ,ryerson   
spent part of his time on a mission to  
the ,chippewa ,indians on the ,credit   
,river4 ,while there1 he showed himself 
to be very practical4 ,he encouraged the
 ,indians to build better houses and to 
clear and cultivate the land4#b ,after  
having collected the means necessary to 
build the house of worship and          
schoolhouse1 ,i showed the ,indians how 
to enclose and make gates for their     
gardens4 ,between daylight and sunrise  
,i called out four of the ,indians in   
succession and showed them how1 and     
worked with them1 to clear and fence in1
 and plow and plant their first wheat   
and corn fields4 ,in the afternoon ,i   
called out the schoolboys to go with me 
and cut and pile and burn the underbrush
 in and around the village4 ,the little 

fellows worked with great glee as long  
as ,i worked with them1 but soon began  
to play when ,i left them4  #b ,see     
,story of ,my ,life1 by ,egerton        
,ryerson1 edited by ,hodgins1 page #fj4 
,a letter written by ,rev4 ,william     
,ryerson to his brother1 the ,rev4      
,george ,ryerson1 on ,march #hth1 #ahbg1
 after a visit to the ,indian ,mission1 
shows ,egerton ,ryerson's practical     
nature and incidentally gives us his    
method of instruction4 ,i visited       
,egerton at the ,credit last week4444   
,they have about forty pupils on the    
list1 but there were only thirty        
present4 ,the rest were absent making   
sugar4444 ,their progress in spelling1  
reading1 and writing1 is astonishing1   
but especially in writing1 which        
certainly exceeds anything ,i ever saw4 
,when ,i was there they were fencing the
 lots in the village in a very neat1    
substantial manner4 ,on my arrival at   
the ,mission ,i found ,egerton1 about   
half a mile from the village1 stripped  

to the shirt and pantaloons1 clearing   
land with between twelve and twenty of  
the little ,indian boys1 who were all   
engaged in chopping and picking up the  
brush4#c  #c ,see ,story of ,my ,life1  
page #fi4   ,at the ,methodist          
,conference of #ahbg1 ,ryerson was sent 
to the ,cobourg ,circuit4 ,during his   
term there he was again drawn into a    
controversy with ,dr4 ,strachan1 who    
sent to the ,imperial ,parliament an    
,ecclesiastical ,chart1 purporting to   
give an account of religion in ,upper   
,canada4 ,ryerson claimed that this     
chart contained many false statements   
and that it was peculiarly unfair to the
 ,methodists4 ,the real point at issue  
was whether the ,anglican ,church was to
 become the ,established ,church of     
,upper ,canada4  ,in #ahbh1 ,ryerson was
 appointed to the ,hamilton and         
,ancaster ,circuit1 which reached from  
within five miles of ,brantford to      
,stoney ,creek4 ,on ,september #ajth1   
#ahbh1 he married ,hannah ,aikman1 of   

,hamilton4#d  #d ,died in #ahcb4 ,in    
#ahcc1 ,ryerson married ,mary           
,armstrong1 of ,toronto4   ,the         
,methodist ,conference of #ahbi         
determined to establish an official     
newspaper to be known as ,the ,christian
 ,guardian4 ,ryerson was elected as the 
first editor and was sent to ,new ,york 
to procure the plant4 ,the paper started
 with a circulation of #ejj1 which in   
three years was increased to some       
#c1jjj4 ,besides defending ,methodist   
principles and institutions1 the paper  
made a strong stand for civil liberty1  
temperance1 education1 and missionary   
work4 ,it soon came to be looked upon as
 one of the leading journals of ,upper  
,canada4 ,ryerson gave up the position  
of editor in #ahcb1 and the following   
year made a trip to ,england to         
negotiate a union between the ,canadian 
,methodist ,conference and the ,wesleyan
 ,conference of ,england4 ,the union was
 consummated4 ,ryerson returned to      
,canada and was re-elected editor of the

 ,guardian4  ,while in ,england1 he had 
interviews with ,earl ,ripon1 ,lord     
,stanley and other public men1 to whom  
he gave valuable information concerning 
,canadian affairs1 especially those     
connected with the vexed question of the
 status of the ,anglican ,church4  ,on  
his return to ,canada1 in #ahcc1        
,ryerson published in the ,guardian     
,impressions ,made by ,my ,late ,visit  
to ,england4 ,in this article he gave   
his estimate of ,tories1 ,whigs1 and    
,radicals4 ,he saw much to admire in the
 moderate ,tories1 little to praise in  
the ,whigs1 and much to condemn in the  
,radicals4 ,his strictures on the latter
 called down upon him the wrath and     
invective of ,william ,lyon ,mackenzie4 
,to some extent ,ryerson's articles led 
the constitutional reformers in ,upper  
,canada to separate themselves from     
those reformers who were prepared to    
establish a republican form of          
government in order to secure equal     
political and civil rights4 ,to many of 

his old friends it seemed that ,ryerson 
had given up championing liberty and had
 become a ,tory4 ,many were ready to    
accuse him of self-seeking in his desire
 to conciliate the party of privilege4  
,one reverend brother1#e writing to him1
 says3 ,i can only account for your     
strange and un-,ryersonian conduct and  
advice on one principle--that there is  
something ahead which you1 through your 
superior political spy-glass1 have      
discovered and thus shape your course1  
while we landlubbers1 short-sighted as  
we are1 have not even heard of it4      
,hundreds of subscribers gave up the    
,guardian as a protest against the views
 of its editor1 but as the crisis       
approached which culminated in the      
,rebellion of '#cg and '#ch1 the tide of
 public opinion turned in ,ryerson's    
favour4  #e ,rev4 ,jas4 ,evans1 of      
,niagara ,district4 ,see part of letter 
in ,story of ,my ,life1 page #aca4   ,in
 #ahce1 ,ryerson gave up the ,guardian  
and took a church at ,kingston4         

,scarcely was he settled when he        
undertook a second visit to ,england4   
,the ,methodists had1 in #ahcb1 laid the
 corner-stone of the ,upper ,canada     
,academy at ,cobourg4 ,they had no      
charter1 although an unsuccessful       
attempt had been made to have the       
,trustee ,board incorporated by the     
,legislature of ,upper ,canada4         
,extensive buildings were under way and 
the trustees were in financial          
difficulties4 ,ryerson was sent to      
,england to beg subscriptions and also  
to attempt to secure a ,royal ,charter4 
,the work was distasteful to him1 but he
 persevered1 and after more than a year 
and six months spent in ,england he     
accomplished three ends4 ,he secured    
enough money in subscriptions to relieve
 the most pressing immediate needs of   
the ,trustee ,board4 ,he secured an     
order from the ,colonial ,secretary     
directed to the ,governor of ,upper     
,canada1 authorizing him to pay to the  
,upper ,canada ,academy1 from the       

unappropriated revenues of the ,crown1  
the sum of ,l#d1jjj4f ,last1 and most   
important1 he secured a ,royal ,charter1
 although up to that time no such       
charter had ever been issued to any     
religious body except the ,established  
,church4 ,to ,ryerson1 the visit to     
,england was of prime importance4 ,it   
gave him a broadened view of ,british   
institutions and ,english public men4   
,it gave him a political experience that
 was of great value to him in later     
years4 ,it gave him an opportunity to   
appeal to his fellow men upon the       
subject of education and educational    
institutions4  #f ,later1 in #ahcg1     
,ryerson secured this money only after a
 petition to the ,legislature4   ,while 
in ,england1 ,ryerson contributed a     
series of letters to the ,london ,times 
on ,canadian affairs4 ,there was a      
prevalent feeling in ,england that a    
very large part of the ,upper ,canadian 
people was determined upon a republican 
form of government4 ,ryerson's letters  

did something to remove this impression4
  ,after the ,rebellion of #ahcg was    
crushed1 the constitutional reform party
 was apparently without any influence4  
,it seemed that the ,family ,compact    
oligarchy would have everything in their
 own hands4 ,prospects for equality of  
civil and religious liberty were not    
bright1 and it is significant of the    
,methodists' appreciation of ,ryerson's 
ability that they immediately planned to
 make him again editor of the ,guardian4
 ,his brother ,john1 writing to him in  
,march1 #ahch1 said3 ,it is a great     
blessing that ,mackenzie and radicalism 
are down1 but we are in imminent danger 
of being brought under the domination of
 a military and high-church oligarchy   
which would be equally bad1 if not      
infinitely worse4 ,under the blessing of
 ,providence1 there is one remedy and   
only one3 that is for you to take the   
editorship of the ,guardian again4#g  #g
 ,see copy of letter in ,story of ,my   
,life1 page #bjj4   ,ryerson did take   

the position1 and in his first editorial
 in the ,guardian of the #aath ,july1   
#ahch1 says3 ,notwithstanding the almost
 incredible calumny which has in past   
years been heaped upon me by            
antipodes-party-presses1 ,i still adhere
 to the principles and views upon which 
,i set out in #ahbf4 ,i believe the     
endowment of the priesthood of any      
,church in the ,province to be an evil  
to that church4444 ,i believe that the  
appropriation of the proceeds of the    
,clergy ,reserves to general educational
 purposes will be the most satisfactory 
and advantageous disposal of them that  
can be made4 ,in nothing is this        
,province so defective as in the        
requisite available provisions for an   
efficient system of general education4  
,let the distinctive character of that  
system be the union of public and       
private effort4444 ,to ,government      
influence will be spontaneously added   
the various and combined religious      
influences of the country in the noble1 

statesmanlike and divine work of raising
 up an elevated1 intelligent1 and moral 
population4  ,dr4 ,ryerson clearly saw  
that religion1 politics1 and education  
could not at this period be separated1  
and for the next two years he did his   
utmost1 through the ,guardian1 to       
prevent the ,anglican ,church from      
securing undivided possession of the    
,clergy ,reserves4 ,the difficulties of 
his task were increased by the fact that
 there were in ,canada several ,british 
,wesleyan missionaries who were not     
unwilling to see an ,anglican           
,establishment4 ,they were cleverly used
 by some of the ,anglicans and their    
friends to cause ferment and sow discord
 among the ,methodists in ,canada4 ,from
 #ahch until #ahdj1 when he finally gave
 up the editorship of the ,guardian1    
,ryerson fought strongly for equal      
religious privileges for all the people 
of ,upper ,canada4 ,nor were ,ryerson's 
efforts in this direction confined to   
the columns of the ,guardian4 ,he       

addressed several communications to the 
new ,colonial ,secretary1 ,lord         
,normanby4  ,lord ,durham and his       
successor1 ,lord ,sydenham1 received the
 cordial support of ,ryerson in their   
efforts to give a constitutional        
government to ,canada4 ,largely through 
,ryerson's suggestion there was issued  
at ,toronto1 in #ahda1 the ,monthly     
,review1 which was to be a medium for   
disseminating the liberal views of      
,sydenham4 ,ryerson wrote the prospectus
 and contributed some articles4         
,probably as a recognition for this     
work1 ,sydenham sent him a draft for    
,l#ajj1 which he promptly returned4  ,in
 ,may1 #ahdj1 ,ryerson paid a fraternal 
visit to the ,american ,general         
,conference at ,baltimore4 ,at this time
 he fully purposed to take a church in  
,new ,york ,city for one or two years4  
,he even thought it quite possible that 
he might make the ,united ,states his   
permanent home4 ,on his return to       
,canada from the ,baltimore visit he was

 elected ,secretary of the ,conference4 
,charges were made against him by a     
,british ,wesleyan which determined him 
to visit ,england4 ,this visit led to a 
rupture between the ,canadian and       
,british ,methodist ,conferences4 ,when 
,ryerson and his brother returned to    
,canada1 a special meeting of the       
,canada ,conference was convened to     
consider the break with ,british        
,methodism4 ,the result was a rupture in
 the ,canadian ,wesleyan ,conference    
itself4 ,many blamed the ,ryersons for  
the quarrel with the ,english           
,conference1 and ,egerton again thought 
seriously of going to the ,united       
,states or of withdrawing from          
ministerial work4 ,the truth seems to be
 that ,ryerson was more than a preacher4
 ,he lived in stirring times1 when the  
nascent elements of constitutional      
government were in process of           
crystallization4 ,he unconsciously felt 
that he must have a part in directing   
the destinies of his native country4 ,he

 saw clearly that the ,canadian         
,methodist ,church must ultimately be   
independent and that its ministers ought
 not to adopt a policy dictated to them 
by the ,english ,conference1 many       
members of which were wholly ignorant of
 ,canadian conditions4  ,during the next
 two years1 #ahda and #ahdb1 ,ryerson   
was in charge of the ,adelaide ,street  
,church1 ,toronto4 ,he seems to have    
given himself up wholly to his pastoral 
work and to have taken little active    
part in passing events4  ,on the #bgth  
of ,august1 #ahda1 ,lord ,sydenham      
signed a bill which made ,upper ,canada 
,academy a college1 with university     
powers4 ,the name was changed to        
,victoria ,college4 ,in ,october of the 
same year1 ,ryerson was appointed the   
first principal of the new college4 ,he 
did not give up his church work until   
,june1 #ahdb4 ,on the #bast of that     
month he was formally installed in his  
new position4 ,on the #crd of ,august   
the ,wesleyan ,university of            

,middletown1 ,conn41 conferred upon him 
the degree of ,doctor of ,divinity4     
,lord ,sydenham died in #ahda4 ,it seems
 that shortly before his death he had   
some communication with ,ryerson        
regarding the latter's appointment as   
,superintendent of ,education for ,upper
 ,canada4 ,ryerson claimed that the     
,governor actually promised him the     
appointment but that there had never    
been any official written record4       
,sydenham was succeeded by ,sir ,charles
 ,bagot1 who in ,may1 #ahdb1 made the   
,rev4 ,mr4 ,murray ,superintendent of   
,education4 ,sir ,charles ,bagot died in
 ,may1 #ahdc1 and was succeeded by ,sir 
,charles ,metcalfe4 ,it was a critical  
period in the history of ,canada4 ,the  
people were supposed to be in possession
 of the enjoyment of responsible        
government4 ,but as a matter of fact1   
very few had any definite ideas as to   
what was meant by responsible           
government4 ,lord ,metcalfe refused to  
accept the advice of his ,council       

regarding an appointment4 ,instead of   
resigning at once as a protest they     
attempted to secure from him a promise  
that he would in future accept their    
recommendations4 ,he refused4 ,later the
 leading members of the ,council        
resigned4 ,party feeling ran high1 and  
the ,governor had few friends4  ,ryerson
 had been upon familiar terms with ,lord
 ,durham1 ,lord ,sydenham1 and ,sir     
,charles ,bagot4 ,he now had several    
communications and one or more          
interviews with ,lord ,metcalfe4 ,he    
made direct and positive offers of his  
services to the ,governor4 ,he then     
wrote a series of nine letters in       
vindication of the ,governor's course4  
,these letters caused much excitement   
and won for ,ryerson the lasting enmity 
of the advanced ,reform party1 who      
openly accused him of toadyism and of   
selling his support to ,lord ,metcalfe  
in return for the promise of office4    
,whatever may have been the effect of   
,ryerson's letters1 ,lord ,metcalfe's   

party won a temporary victory and       
,ryerson himself was appointed          
,superintendent of ,education for ,upper
 ,canada in ,october1 #ahdd4  ,to show  
how the political opponents of ,lord    
,metcalfe viewed ,ryerson's appointment1
 the circumstances connected with it and
 his fitness for the position of        
,superintendent1 ,i quote from the      
,toronto ,globe1 the editor of which was
 an out-and-out opponent of ,ryerson and
 an unsparing critic of his early       
educational legislation4 ,in the ,globe 
of ,may #bhth1 #ahdd1 there appeared a  
letter signed ,junius1 protesting       
against ,ryerson's appointment4 ,the    
writer insinuates that ,ryerson was won 
over by receiving some notice from ,lord
 ,metcalfe1 and that the ,governor hoped
 by winning over ,ryerson to win a      
united support from the ,methodists4 ,he
 calls ,ryerson a violent political     
partisan and taunts him with having only
 a superficial education4 ,he says3 ,nor
 is it flattering to the many learned   

men of the country that one represented 
to be of slender attainments in a few   
common branches of ,english education1  
and totally ignorant of mathematics and 
classics1 should be entrusted with the  
education of the country1 many of whose 
youthful scholars have attained higher  
knowledge than their chief4  ,in a      
,globe editorial of ,june #dth1 #ahdd1  
in commenting upon ,ryerson's first     
letter in defence of ,lord ,metcalfe1   
the writer says3 ,if the ,rev4 ,mr4     
,ryerson's appearance in the political  
field is indecorous and uncalled for1   
the manner in which he has begun his    
work is in perfect keeping with that    
appearance4 ,a more presumptuous and    
egotistical exhibition from a man of    
talents and education has never been    
brought under the public eye4 ,the first
 column alone of his ,address preface to
 letters in defence of ,lord ,metcalfe  
contains fifty repetitions of the little
 insignificant word ,i1 to say nothing  
of me and my4444 ,we may be permitted to

 express our utter astonishment1        
however1 to find a minister of the      
,gospel embarking with so much eagerness
 in the sea of politics4  ,that ,ryerson
 had a very good understanding with     
,lord ,metcalfe as to the position of   
,superintendent of ,education before    
writing the famous letters is apparent  
to anyone who reads the correspondence4 
,that there was anything discreditable  
to either party in that understanding   
has never been shown4 ,on the contrary1 
it seems quite certain that ,ryerson    
honestly believed the ,governor was     
right4 ,it is certain he made out a     
strong case and likely won many         
supporters for the ,metcalfe party4     
,this was especially galling to the     
party who called themselves ,reformers1 
because they had looked upon ,ryerson as
 one of their champions4 ,but ,ryerson  
never had been1 and never became1 a mere
 party man4 ,he fought for great        
principles1 and if up to #ahdd he had   
generally found himself with the        

,reformers1 it was because they were    
championing what ,ryerson believed to be
 the right4  ,to taunt him with being   
half-educated was the mark of a small   
mind4 ,every man must be judged         
according to the way he makes use of his
 opportunities1 and by such a standard  
no man in ,canadian public life has ever
 measured higher than ,egerton ,ryerson4
 ,he may have known little ,latin and   
less ,greek1 he may have been wholly    
ignorant of the binomial theorem1 and he
 may not have been able to write as     
smooth and graceful ,english as the     
classical scholars of ,oxford1 but he   
knew that thousands of boys and girls in
 the backwoods of ,upper ,canada were   
growing up in ignorance2 he knew that   
the secondary schools of ,upper ,canada 
were scarcely more efficient than they  
had been thirty years before1 and he    
knew that the country had ample         
resources to give reasonable educational
 advantages to all4 ,more than this1 he 
must have felt that1 given reasonable   

freedom and support1 he could in a short
 time change the whole system of        
education4  ,dr4 ,ryerson1 in accepting 
appointment1 stipulated that he should  
be allowed to make a tour of ,europe    
before taking up the active duties of   
his office4 ,he left ,canada for ,europe
 in ,november1 #ahdd1 and returned in   
,december1 #ahde4 ,he made an elaborate 
report#h based on personal investigation
 into the schools of ,great ,britain and
 ,ireland1 ,france1 ,holland1 ,germany1 
,switzerland1 and other ,european       
countries1 besides ,new ,york and the   
,new ,england ,states4 ,perhaps the     
systems of ,ireland1 ,germany1 and      
,massachusetts gave ,ryerson more       
practical suggestions than those of any 
other countries4 ,in ,prussia he saw the
 advantages of trained teachers and a   
strong central bureau of administration2
 in ,ireland he saw a simple solution of
 religious difficulties and a fine      
system of national textbooks2 in        
,massachusetts he saw an efficient      

system managed by popularly elected     
boards of trustees4  #h ,see ,chapter   
,v4   ,during his absence ,ryerson was  
again attacked and held up to ridicule  
by the ,globe4 ,in an editorial of      
,april #bith1 #ahde1i we find the       
following3 ,the vanity of the ,deputy   
,superintendent of ,education demands   
fresh incense at every turn4 ,he has    
doffed the politician for the moment and
 now comes out a ruling pedagogue of    
,canada4 ,what a pity that he was not a 
cardinal or at least a stage            
representative of one6 ,at what a rate  
would he strut upon the boards as       
,wolsey and rant for the benefit of his 
hearers and for his own benefit more    
especially6 ,he beats all the           
presumptuous meddling priests of the    
day4444 ,doubtless the ,rev4 ,mr4       
,ryerson is preparing to astonish the   
world by his educational researches in  
,europe and the ,united ,states4 ,it    
will be a subject of no small amusement 
to watch his pranks4 ,we shall no doubt 

hear of his visiting all the most       
celebrated ,continental schools and are 
astonished he did not call at ,oxford   
and ,cambridge4 ,he could no doubt have 
given them some excellent hints6  #i    
,see bound volumes of ,globe in         
,legislative ,library1 ,toronto4   ,in a
 ,globe editorial of ,december #afth1   
#ahde1 when the ,draper ,university     
,bill of that year was yet a topic of   
public discussion1 we find this         
reference to ,ryerson3 ,it is now more  
than twelve months since the ,province  
was insulted by the appointment of ,dr4 
,ryerson to the responsible situation of
 ,superintendent of ,public             
,instruction4 ,to hide the gross        
iniquity of the transaction1 ,ryerson   
was sent out of the country on pretence 
of inquiring into the different systems 
of education4 ,after being several      
months in ,england this public officer1 
paid by the people of ,canada1 has for  
the last eight months been on the       
,continent on a tour of pleasure4444    

,let the people of ,canada rejoice and  
every ,methodist willing to be sold     
throw up his cap4 ,ryerson is here ready
 to dispose of them to the highest      
bidder1 the purchase money to be applied
 to his own benefit with a modicum for  
,victoria ,college4  ,ryerson's report  
of #ahdf was favourably received1 and   
the ,government asked him to draft a    
school bill based on his report4 ,this  
he did1 and the ,bill of #ahdf became   
the basis of our ,common ,school system4
 ,after ,lord ,metcalfe's departure from
 ,canada and the election of a ,reform  
administration1 there was a clamour from
 strong party men that ,ryerson should  
be removed4 ,the ,toronto ,globe led in 
the attacks against him4 ,it is a       
tribute to his ability and to the system
 of education which he proposed1 that   
these attacks all failed and that ,dr4  
,ryerson came by degrees to command the 
confidence of both political parties4   
,as soon as possible after his return   
from ,europe in #ahde1 ,ryerson moved   

from ,cobourg to ,toronto4 ,when        
appointed in #ahdd1 his rank was that of
 ,deputy or ,assistant ,superintendent  
of ,education for ,upper ,canada1 the   
nominal head of the ,department being   
the ,provincial ,secretary4 ,the ,school
 ,bill of #ahdf made a change1 and on   
,june #agth of that year ,ryerson       
received his commission as              
,superintendent of ,education4 ,one of  
his first acts was a proposal to found a
 journal of education1 which should be a
 semi-official means of communication   
between the ,superintendent on the one  
hand and ,district ,superintendents1    
,trustees1 ,municipal ,councillors1 and 
teachers on the other4 ,the ,journal was
 established in #ahdh and regularly     
issued until ,ryerson gave up office in 
#ahgf4  ,in the autumn of #ahdg1        
,ryerson spent nearly three months      
visiting ,county ,school ,conventions1  
where he explained the new ,school ,act 
and delivered a lecture upon ,the       
,importance of ,education to an         

,agricultural ,people4 ,in #ahej1       
,ryerson began a struggle for free      
schools which lasted until #ahga4 ,about
 the same time he obtained permission   
from the ,legislature to establish an   
,educational ,depository in connection  
with the ,education ,department4 ,he    
visited ,europe and some ,american      
cities and made very advantageous       
arrangements for securing in large      
quantities books1 maps1 globes1 and     
other school appliances4 ,these were    
supplied to ,school ,boards at #ej cents
 on the dollar4 ,the ,depository was    
continued in operation until #ahha and  
handled in all #a1jjj1jjj worth of      
supplies4 ,in #ahec ,ryerson spent three
 months in attending ,county            
,conventions and addressed thirty       
meetings4 ,during this tour he visited  
his native county of ,norfolk1 and at   
,simcoe was presented with an address by
 the ,school ,board4 ,on his return to  
,toronto he was presented with an       
address and a silver tea service by the 

officials of the ,education ,department 
and the teachers of the ,normal ,school4
  ,in #ahec1 ,ryerson took advantage of 
an annual grant made by the ,legislature
 in #ahej to establish public libraries 
throughout the ,province4 ,before the   
end of #ahee no less than #aag1jjj      
volumes were distributed4 ,in #ahed     
,ryerson was one of the ,commissioners  
to prepare a report on a system of      
education for ,new ,brunswick4 ,in      
,june1 #ahee1 being in poor health1 he  
got leave of absence to travel in       
,europe and to purchase objects of art  
for an educational museum4 ,he was      
appointed ,honorary ,commissioner to the
 ,paris ,exposition by the ,government4 
,during his tour he visited ,london1    
spent several weeks in ,paris1 and made 
brief visits to ,antwerp1 ,brussels1    
,munich1 ,florence1 and ,rome4  ,in     
#aheg1 a new system of audit was adopted
 by the ,government4 ,previous to this  
time the total money voted for schools  
for ,upper ,canada had been paid over to

 ,ryerson4 ,he gave bondsmen as security
 for the money and deposited it in the  
,toronto banks4 ,interest allowed on    
unexpended balances was credited to his 
personal account4 ,this system seems to 
have been universal among officers in   
charge of public money at that time4    
,but in #aheg the new auditor called in 
question ,ryerson's right to this       
interest4 ,after much wrangling1        
,ryerson paid over to the ,government   
,l#a1cge1 being the amount he had       
received for interest4 ,he then put in a
 claim of about the same amount for his 
expenses to ,europe in #ahdd1 and for   
amounts paid a deputy during his        
absence4 ,the ,government paid his      
claim1 thus showing that they believed  
him morally entitled to the interest    
which he had repaid4  ,in #ahfj1        
,ryerson made a three months'           
educational tour1 addressing ,county    
,conventions4 ,in all1 he attended      
thirty-five meetings1 giving addresses  
on the subjects of ,vagrant ,children1  

,free ,schools1 and ,public ,grammar    
,schools4 ,he was given a public dinner 
by the teachers of ,northumberland and  
,durham on the occasion of his official 
visit to ,cobourg4 ,in #ahff he made a  
similar tour1 addressing forty meetings 
in seven weeks4 ,his chief object was to
 create public opinion in favor of      
legislation on compulsory attendance1   
public libraries and township ,boards of
 ,trustees4 ,later in the same year he  
again got permission to visit ,europe   
for the purpose of adding to the museum 
and collecting information on schools   
for the deaf1 dumb1 and blind4 ,he      
visited ,new ,york1 ,london1 ,paris1    
,rome1 ,venice1 and ,geneva1 returning  
in #ahfg4 ,on his return he presented to
 the ,legislature an elaborate report on
 education in ,great ,britain and       
,european countries4 ,in ,december1     
#ahfh1 ,ryerson tendered his            
resignation1 suggesting that a          
responsible ,minister of ,education     
should be appointed and proposing that  

he himself should be superannuated4 ,the
 resignation was not accepted4  ,in     
#ahfi he held another series of ,county 
,conventions4 ,in the same year he wrote
 a letter to the ,provincial ,secretary1
 ,hon4 ,m4 ,c4 ,cameron1 reflecting on  
the action of ,treasurer ,e4 ,b4 ,wood  
in regard to a proposed change in the   
financial management of the ,education  
,department4 ,ryerson's letter was      
indiscreet and would have led to his    
dismissal had he not withdrawn it4 ,in  
#ahgb the long-smouldering              
dissatisfaction of the ,reform party    
with ,ryerson's administration came to a
 head4 ,the ,honourable ,edward ,blake  
was ,premier1 and his ,government       
disallowed some of ,ryerson's           
regulations1 questioned the authority of
 the ,council of ,public ,instruction1  
and sought in many ways to curtail the  
,superintendent's power4 ,ryerson showed
 very little desire for conciliation and
 wished to refer the dispute to the     
,courts4 ,he had so long and so         

successfully wielded an arbitrary power 
that he could not acquiesce in the      
system which made his ,department       
subordinate to a responsible ,cabinet4  
,in #ahgc1 ,oliver ,mowat became        
,attorney-,general1 and he1 too1 found  
,ryerson obdurate4 ,finally1 as a result
 of this agitation1 the ,council of     
,public ,instruction came to be composed
 partly of members elected by various   
bodies of teachers and partly by members
 appointed by the ,cabinet4 ,these      
latter were not recommended by the      
,superintendent1 as had formerly been   
the custom4 ,friction over the ,council 
continued during #ahgd and #ahge4  ,in  
#ahgf1 ,ryerson was retired on his full 
salary of #d1jjj a year4 ,the following 
,may he went to ,england to consult     
documents in the library of the ,british
 ,museum bearing on his work1 ,the      
,loyalists of ,america4 ,he enjoyed     
fairly good health until within a few   
months of his death1 which occurred on  
,february #aith1 #ahhb4 ,the ,government

 recognized his valuable services by a  
grant of #aj1jjj to his widow4 ,on the  
#bdth of ,may1 #ahhi1 a statue to his   
memory was unveiled on the grounds of   
the ,education ,department1 the scene of
 his labours for nearly forty years4    
,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,education ,,in       
,,upper ,,canada ,,from #aghc ,,to      
#ahdd4   ,immediately after the signing 
of the ,treaty of ,versailles in #aghc1 
,united ,empire ,loyalists began to make
 homes in ,upper ,canada4 ,the ,great   
,lakes and larger rivers were the       
natural highways4 ,it happened1         
therefore1 that the earliest settlements
 were along the ,st4 ,lawrence1 the     
,niagara1 and ,lakes ,erie and ,ontario4
  ,for a few years these settlers were  
too busy to think very much about       
schools4 ,man's first wants are food1   
clothing1 and shelter4 ,but just as soon
 as rude homes were built and a patch of
 forest cleared upon which to grow grain
 and vegetables1 these ,upper ,canadian 
,loyalists began to think of schools4   

,it was natural that they should do so4 
,they were descendants of an intelligent
 stock1 people who had good schools in  
,new ,england and of a people whose     
forefathers had enjoyed liberal         
educational advantages in the old world4
  ,governor ,simcoe reached ,upper      
,canada in #agib1 and almost immediately
 took steps to establish schools4 ,he   
was an aristocrat who firmly believed in
 such a constitution of society as then 
existed in the old world4 ,he naturally 
wished to see a reproduction of that    
society in the new world4 ,hence we are 
not surprised to find that his          
educational schemes were intended for   
the classes rather than for the masses4 
,in a letter#aj written by ,simcoe1     
,april #bhth1 #agib1 to the ,british    
,secretary of ,state1 he urges grants of
 ,l#ajj each for schools at ,niagara and
 ,kingston4 ,he also proposed a         
university with ,english ,church        
professors4  #aj ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e4       
7,documentary ,history of ,education1 by

 ,dr4 ,hodgins71 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #aa4     
,in #agig1 the ,house of ,assembly and  
,legislative ,council adopted an address
 to the ,king praying him to set apart  
waste lands of the ,crown for the       
establishment of a respectable grammar  
school in each ,district1 and also for a
 college or university4 ,in answer to   
this petition1 the ,duke of ,portland   
wrote saying that ,his ,majesty proposed
 to comply with the request and wished  
further advice as to the best means of  
carrying it out4  ,the ,executive       
,council1 the ,judges and law officers  
of the ,crown met in consultation in    
#agih and recommended that #ejj1jjj     
acres of waste ,crown lands be set apart
 to build a provincial university1 and a
 free grammar school in each of the four
 ,districts4 ,grammar schools were to be
 built at once at ,kingston and at      
,niagara1 and1 as soon as circumstances 
would permit1 at ,cornwall and at       
,sandwich4 ,the university was to be at 
,york4 ,it was estimated that each      

grammar school would cost ,l#c1jjj to   
build and ,l#ahj a year to maintain4    
,the schools were to accommodate one    
hundred boys each1 and have a residence 
for the master1 with some rooms for     
boarders4#aa ,no steps were taken to    
carry out these plans until after #ahjg4
  #aa ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,i41 p4   
#ba4   ,several private schools were    
opened prior to #ahjj4 ,the chief of    
these were at ,newark1 ,york1 ,ancaster1
 ,cornwall1 ,kingston1 ,adolphustown1   
,st4 ,catharines1 and ,belleville4 ,some
 were evening schools4 ,all were        
supported by fees4 ,many were taught by 
clergymen4 ,the principal subjects were 
reading1 writing1 and arithmetic4  ,on  
,december #agth1 #ahjb1 ,dr4 ,baldwin1  
of ,york1 the father of ,hon4 ,robt4    
,baldwin1 issued the following          
notice2--#ab      ,understanding that   
some of the ,gentlemen of this ,town    
have     expressed much anxiety for the 
establishment of a ,classical ,school1  
,dr4 ,baldwin begs leave to inform them 

and the ,public that he     intends1 on 
,monday1 the third day of ,january next1
 to open a school1     in which he will 
instruct twelve boys in ,reading1       
,writing1 the     ,classics1 and        
,arithmetic4      ,the terms are for    
each boy1 ,eight ,guineas per annum1 to 
be paid     quarterly4 ,one guinea      
entrance and one cord of wood to be     
supplied     by each boy4  #ab ,see ,d4 
,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #cc4   ,john     
,strachan1 afterwards ,bishop ,strachan1
 opened a private school at ,kingston in
 #agii4 ,later he opened one at         
,cornwall1 and still later one at ,york4
 ,attempts to open a public school in   
each ,district were defeated in the     
,legislature in #ahjd and #ahje4 ,in    
#ahjf the sum of ,l#djjac was           
appropriated to purchase scientific     
apparatus4  #ac ,this ,l#djj worth of   
apparatus was promptly handed over to   
,mr4 ,strachan by the                   
,lieutenant-,governor4 ,mr4 ,strachan at
 this time had a private school at      

,cornwall4 ,it seems quite evident that 
the apparatus was purchased purposely   
for his school and at his suggestion4   
,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #aee4   
,in #ahjg1 the ,legislature took steps  
to carry out the plan proposed in #agig4
 ,there were by this time eight         
,districts in ,upper ,canada--,eastern1 
,johnstown1 ,midland1 ,newcastle1 ,home1
 ,niagara1 ,london1 and ,western4 ,the  
sum of ,l#hjj was fixed as an annual    
appropriation to support a ,public      
,school in each and every ,district in  
the ,province4 ,this meant ,l#ajj for   
each school or teacher4 ,the            
,legislature also fixed the places where
 the schools were to be held4 ,the      
,lieutenant-,governor-in-,council was to
 appoint not less than five trustees#ad 
for each ,district school4 ,these       
trustees were given almost absolute     
control over the management of the      
schools4  #ad ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4   
,i41 p4 #fa4   ,it must not be supposed 
that these schools were public schools  

in the sense we now attach to that term4
 ,their founders had in mind the great  
,english public school1 whose curriculum
 was largely classical and whose        
benefits were confined to the wealthy4  
,these schools were not in any sense    
popular schools4 ,it would seem that    
,governor ,simcoe's proposal in #agih   
was to have ,free ,grammar ,schools4#ae 
,but those established by the ,act of   
#ahjg levied considerable sums in fees4 
,they were designed to educate the sons 
of gentlemen4 ,they were to prepare for 
professional life4 ,they were           
essentially for the benefit of the      
ruling classes4 ,they were largely      
controlled by ,anglicans1#af and in many
 cases the teachers were ,anglican      
clergymen4  #ae ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 
,i41 p4 #bj4  #af ,in #ahcj1 when the   
,united ,presbytery of ,upper ,canada   
petitioned the ,legislature against     
appointing so many ,anglicans as        
trustees of grammar schools1 the only   
reply was that ,anglicans had not always

 been appointed4   ,if these schools    
were not public schools as we now use   
the term public school1 neither were    
they high schools as we now use that    
term4 ,the curricula had no uniformity4 
,each school was a law unto itself and  
depended almost wholly upon the teacher4
 ,if he were scholarly and earnest the  
school would accomplish much4 ,often    
very young boys who could scarcely read 
were admitted4 ,in some schools a fine  
training in classics was given2 in      
others even the elements of a common    
education were neglected4  ,but although
 these schools were not for the mass of 
the people1 their establishment was none
 the less an event of far-reaching      
importance4 ,it was a decided advantage 
to the mass of the people that their    
rulers should have some educational     
advantages4 ,no one can read the lists  
of names of men educated in these       
schools and afterwards prominent in     
,canadian public life without           
recognizing that their establishment was

 a blessing to the whole of ,canada4    
,they were caste schools1 but they kept 
alive the torch of learning and         
civilization4 ,being founded out of     
public funds1 there was created an      
interest in their welfare among the     
members of the ,legislative ,assembly4  
,as years went on and the members of the
 ,assembly came to really represent the 
people of ,upper ,canada1 they were led 
to extend to all of the people such     
educational advantages as had been      
granted to a section of the people in   
#ahjg4  ,several efforts were made to   
repeal the ,act of #ahjg and substitute 
for it one of a more popular nature4    
,these efforts were baffled either by   
the ,legislative ,council or through the
 influence of that body in the ,assembly
 itself4 ,a petition#ag presented by    
sixty-five residents of the ,midland    
,district to the ,legislature of #ahab  
will give a fair idea of the state of   
feeling throughout ,upper ,canada in    
regard to education3 ,your petitioners  

444 feel themselves in duty bound to    
state that ',an ,act to establish       
,public ,schools in each and every      
,district of this ,province' is found by
 experience not to answer the end for   
which it was designed4 ,its object1 it  
is presumed1 was to promote the         
education of our youth in general1 but a
 little acquaintance with the facts must
 convince every unbiased mind that it   
has contributed little or nothing to the
 promotion of so laudable a design4 ,by 
reason of the place of instruction being
 established at one end of the          
,district1 and the sum demanded for     
tuition1 in addition to the annual      
compensation received from the public1  
most of the people are unable to avail  
themselves of the advantages            
contemplated by the institution4 ,a few 
wealthy inhabitants1 and those of the   
,town of ,kingston1 reap exclusively the
 benefit of it in this ,district4 ,the  
institution1 instead of aiding the      
middling and poorer class of ,his       

,majesty's subjects1 casts money into   
the lap of the rich1 who are            
sufficiently able1 without public       
assistance1 to support a school in every
 respect equal to the one established by
 law4444 ,wherefore1 your petitioners   
pray1 that so much of the ,act first    
mentioned may be repealed1 and such     
provisions made in the premises as may  
be conducive to public utility4  #ag    
,see ,journals of ,legislature of ,upper
 ,canada for #ahab4   ,a repeal bill of 
the ,act of #ahjg was passed by the     
,legislative ,assembly of #ahab1 but    
thrown out by the ,legislative ,council4
 ,the ,act of #ahjg limited the schools 
to one for each ,district4 ,this was    
unsatisfactory even to that class for   
whom the schools were especially        
designed4 ,as the country made progress 
and became more thickly populated1 eight
 schools were a wholly inadequate       
provision for the education of those    
requiring it4 ,but the ,legislative     
,assembly steadily resisted any attempt 

to enlarge the scope of these class     
schools4 ,perhaps it was owing to their 
resistance that in #ahaf they secured   
the consent of the ,legislative ,council
 to a really forward movement in        
elementary education4  ,but it would be 
a serious mistake to infer that the     
educational machinery of ,upper ,canada 
previous to #ahaf was limited to these  
eight ,district ,grammar ,schools4 ,what
 the ,government failed to provide1     
private enterprise secured4 ,more than  
two hundred schools were certainly in   
operation in #ahaf4 ,these schools were 
maintained partly by subscriptions from 
well-to-do people and partly by fees    
collected from the pupils4 ,in many     
cases they were private ventures1       
conducted by teachers who depended      
wholly upon fees4 ,in some cases these  
schools were of a high order1 perhaps   
superior to the ,district ,grammar      
,schools2 in other cases1 probably in   
the large majority of cases1 they were  
very inefficient4 ,the average fees paid

 by pupils in the elementary schools    
were about twelve shillings per quarter4
  ,william ,crooks1 of ,grimsby1 writing
 to ,gourlay1 in ,january1 #ahah1       
says3#ah ,the state of education is also
 at a very low ebb1 not only in this    
township but generally throughout the   
,district2 although the liberality of   
the ,legislature has been great in      
support of the ,district ,grammar       
,schools 7giving to the teachers of each
 ,l#ajj per annum7 yet they have been   
productive of little or no good         
hitherto1 for this obvious cause1 they  
are looked upon as seminaries           
exclusively instituted for the education
 of the children of the more wealthy    
classes of society1 and to which the    
poor man's child is considered as unfit 
to be admitted4 ,from such causes1      
instead of their being a benefit to the 
,province1 they are sunk into obscurity1
 and the heads of most of them are at   
this moment enjoying their situations as
 comfortable sinecures4 ,another class  

of schools has within a short time been 
likewise founded upon the liberality of 
the ,legislative purse denominated as   
,common or ,parish ,schools1 but like   
the preceding1 the anxiety of the       
teacher employed seems more alive to his
 stipend than the advancement of the    
education of those placed under his     
care2 from the pecuniary advantages thus
 held out we have been inundated with   
the worthless scum1 under the character 
of schoolmasters1 not only of this but  
of every other country where the        
knowledge has been promulgated of the   
easy means our laws afford of getting a 
living here1 by obtaining a parish      
school4  #ah ,see ,gourlay's            
,statistical ,account of ,upper ,canada4
 ,pages #dcc-dcd of ,vol4 ,i4 ,published
 by ,simpkin  ,marshall1 ,london1 ,eng41
 #ahbb4   ,the ,common or ,parish       
,schools referred to in this letter were
 the result of the legislation of #ahaf1
 a red-letter year in school affairs    
because it saw the first attempts in    

,upper ,canada to give schools under    
public control to the common people4    
,the sum of #bd1jjj a year was          
appropriated for four years to establish
 ,common ,schools4 ,the law provided    
that the people of any village1 town or 
township might meet together and arrange
 to establish one or more schools1 at   
each of which the attendance must be not
 less than twenty4 ,three suitable      
trustees were to be chosen to conduct   
the school1 appoint teachers1 and select
 textbooks from a list prescribed by a  
,district ,board of ,education4 ,the    
,legislature authorized payments to each
 of these schools of a sum not exceeding
 ,l#ajj4 ,the balance needed to maintain
 the school had to be made up by        
subscriptions4  ,in #ahai the ,grammar  
,school ,act of #ahjg received some     
slight amendments4 ,the grant of ,l#ajj 
per school was reduced to ,l#ej for new 
schools1 except where the number of     
pupils exceeded ten4 ,a new school was  
authorized for the new ,gore ,district1 

at ,hamilton4 ,trustee ,boards were     
required to present annual reports to   
the ,lieutenant-,governor and to conduct
 an annual public examination4 ,but the 
most important change was provision for 
the free education of ten poor children 
at each ,district ,public ,school4      
,these children were chosen by lot from 
names submitted by ,trustee ,boards of  
,common ,schools4  ,in #ahbb the        
,governor1 ,sir ,peregrine ,maitland1 on
 his own responsibility1 had established
 in ,toronto a school known as the      
,upper ,canada ,central ,school1 formed 
on the plan of the ,british ,national   
,schools1 which had been established in 
,britain by ,rev4 ,dr4 ,bell4 ,these    
schools were decidedly ,anglican in     
tone1 and that established in ,toronto  
was at the instigation of ,rev4 ,dr4    
,strachan4#ai ,in a despatch to ,earl   
,bathurst1 ,colonial ,secretary in      
#ahbb1 ,governor ,maitland said3#bj ,it 
is proposed to establish one            
introductory school on the national plan

 in each town of a certain size4 ,it is 
supposed that a salary of ,l#ajj per    
annum to the master of each such school 
would be sufficient4 ,the number of     
these schools may be increased as the   
circumstances of the ,province may      
require and the means allow4  #ai ,see  
,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #agf4  #bj   
,see copy of despatch in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41   
,vol4 ,i41 p4 #agi4   ,in answer1 the   
,earl of ,bathurst1 under date of       
,october #abth1 #ahbc1 says3#ba ,i am   
happy to have it in my power to convey  
to you ,his ,majesty's consent that you 
appropriate a portion of the ,reserves  
set apart for the establishment of a    
,university for the support of schools  
on the ,national ,church of ,england    
plan of education4 ,this action         
established one school1 and had in      
contemplation the establishment of      
others under the direct control of the  
,governor and his ,council4 ,the        
,legislative ,assembly naturally        
resented the action1 and for two        

reasons4 ,they objected to the disposal 
of any ,crown property other than upon  
their authority4 ,they objected to      
anything being done that would lessen   
the resources of the proposed           
,university4  #ba ,see copy of despatch 
in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #agi4   ,a
 side-light upon education in ,upper    
,canada is furnished by ,mr4 ,e4 ,a4    
,talbot1 who published a series of      
letters upon ,upper ,canada in ,london1 
#ahbd4 ,i quote from ,letter ,,xxx3 ,the
 great mass of the ,canadian people are 
at present completely ignorant even of  
the rudiments of the most common        
learning4 ,very few can either read or  
write2 and parents who are ignorant     
themselves1 possess so slight a relish  
for literature and are so little        
acquainted with its advantages1 that    
they feel scarcely any anxiety to have  
the minds of their children             
cultivated4444 ,they will not believe   
that 'knowledge is power1' and being    
convinced that it is not in the nature  

of 'book-learned skill' to improve the  
earnestness of their sons in hewing wood
 or the readiness of their daughters in 
spinning flax1 they consider it a       
misapplication of money to spend any sum
 in obtaining instruction for their     
offspring4 ,nothing can afford a        
stronger proof of their indifference in 
this respect than the circumstance of   
their electing men to represent them in 
the ,provincial ,parliament1 whose      
attainments in learning are in many     
instances exceedingly small1 and        
sometimes do not pass beyond the        
horn-book4 ,i have myself been present  
in the ,honourable the ,house of        
,assembly when some of the members1 on  
being called to be ,chairmen of         
,committees1 were under the disagreeable
 and humiliating necessity of requesting
 other members to read the bills before 
the ,committee1 and then1 as the        
different clauses were rejected or      
adopted1 to request these1 their        
proxies1 to signify the same in the     

common mode of writing4  ,in #ahbc there
 was established a ,general ,board of   
,education1 consisting of3 ,the ,hon4   
and ,rev4 ,john ,strachan1 ,d4,d41      
,chairman2 ,hon4 ,jos4 ,wells1          
,m4,l4,c42 ,hon4 ,g4 ,h4 ,markland1     
,m4,l4,c42 ,rev4 ,robert ,addison2 ,john
 ,beverley ,robinson1 ,esq41            
,attorney-,general2 ,thomas ,ridout1    
,esq41 ,surveyor-,general4 ,the same    
session of the ,legislature set apart   
,l#aej as an annual grant for purchasing
 books and tracts designed to afford    
moral and religious instruction4  ,by   
the creation of a ,general ,board of    
,education1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,strachan became 
very prominently identified with        
education in ,upper ,canada4 ,no man was
 better qualified through zeal1         
practical knowledge1 and a genuine      
interest in higher education4 ,he had   
been made an honorary member of the     
,executive ,council in #ahae1 and an    
active member in #ahag4 ,in #ahbj he was
 appointed a member of the ,legislative 

,council4 ,being a prominent ,churchman1
 an experienced and successful teacher1 
and residing at ,york1 he was naturally 
consulted by successive ,governors on   
educational matters4 ,strachan was an   
uncompromising ,churchman with          
ritualistic tendencies1 and in politics 
a ,tory of the ,george ,,iii4 school4   
,he had neither faith in1 nor sympathy  
for1 a democracy4 ,he accepted things as
 he found them1 and wished to preserve  
them so4 ,he could conceive of no more  
perfect state of society for the new    
world than that which he left behind him
 in the old4 ,he firmly believed in     
education of the most noble kind for    
gentlemen1 but it is doubtful if he     
recognized the right of every man to the
 highest possible cultivation of his    
intellectual powers4 ,he would have     
looked upon such a plan as subversive of
 the existing orders of society4 ,at any
 rate he never evinced any passion for  
popular education except that moral and 
religious education given under the     

aegis of an ,established ,church4 ,on   
the other hand1 no man in ,canada had a 
more sincere desire to foster higher    
institutions of learning1 and it had    
from the very first been ,strachan's    
plan that the ,district ,grammar        
,schools should be feeders for a        
,provincial ,university1 and now1 in    
#ahbd1 when he became virtually head of 
educational affairs in ,upper ,canada1  
he determined to carry his scheme to a  
successful issue4  ,there were serious  
difficulties4 ,an endowment had been    
provided for a university by the ,crown 
grant in #agig1 but it was at this time 
almost worthless4 ,it consisted of      
blocks of land1 containing several      
townships1 in remote parts of the       
,province4 ,the lands were good1 but so 
long as the ,government had free lands  
to give incoming settlers1 the school   
lands were not in demand4 ,besides these
 school or university lands1 there were 
other lands in possession of the ,crown4
 ,the original surveyor reserved        

two-sevenths of all land4 ,one-seventh  
was the reserve for a ,protestant       
,clergy1 which eventually caused so much
 strife and ill-feeling4 ,the other     
seventh was known as the ,crown         
,reserve4 ,in many cases this ,crown    
,reserve was becoming valuable1 even in 
#ahbd1 because of the labour of settlers
 who owned adjoining farms4 ,much of the
 ,crown ,reserve was under lease and    
giving a more or less certain revenue4  
,strachan conceived a bold and          
successful plan4 ,he suggested to ,sir  
,peregrine ,maitland that for grants to 
new settlers the school lands were worth
 as much to the ,government as the      
,crown ,reserves4 ,why not exchange     
school lands for an equal area of ,crown
 ,reserve land8 ,the matter was put     
before the ,home ,government1 and in    
#ahbg a favourable reply was given4 ,the
 result was that the ,university got    
#bbe1idd acres of land1 distributed     
throughout every ,district in ,upper    
,canada1 but having more than one-half  

its total area in the ,home1 ,gore1 and 
,london ,districts1 the wealthiest and  
most populous parts of ,upper ,canada4  
,the ,commissioners1 appointed in #ahdh 
by ,lord ,elgin to enquire into the     
affairs of ,king's ,college1 state      
7pages #af and #ag73 ,the ,crown        
,reserves thus converted into the       
,university ,endowment1 consisted of    
lands in various parts of ,upper ,canada
 in actual or nominal occupation under  
lease1 at rate of rental fixed by a     
certain scale established by the        
,provincial ,government1 and a large    
proportion of the lots were in an       
improved or cultivated state4  ,in      
,march1 #ahbf1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,strachan     
submitted to the ,lieutenant-,governor a
 very able and comprehensive report#bb  
showing why a university ought at once  
to be established4 ,the report gives an 
interesting and authentic summary of the
 state of education in ,upper ,canada at
 that time4 ,the present state of       
,education in this ,province consists of

 ,common ,schools throughout the        
,townships1 established under several   
,acts of the ,provincial ,legislature1  
and which are now1 by the exertions of  
,your ,excellency1 placed on an         
excellent footing1 requiring no other   
improvements than the means of          
multiplying their number1 which1 no     
doubt1 will be granted as the finances  
of the ,province become more productive4
 ,in about three hundred and forty      
,common ,schools established in the     
different ,districts of the ,colony1    
from seven to eight thousand children   
are taught reading and writing1 the     
elements of arithmetic1 and the first   
principles of religion2 and when it is  
considered that the parents commonly    
send their children in rotation--the    
younger in summer when the roads are    
good1 and the older in winter--it is not
 too much to say that nearly double this
 number1 or from twelve to fourteen     
thousand children1 profit annually by   
the ,common ,schools4 ,the consequence  

is that the people1 scattered as they   
are over a vast wilderness1 are becoming
 alive to the great advantage of        
educating their children1 and are1 in   
many places1 seconding1 with laudable   
zeal1 the exertions of the ,legislature1
 and establishing schools at their own  
expense4  #bb ,see copy in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 
,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #baa-bac4   ,provision is
 made by law for the translation of some
 of the more promising scholars from the
 ,common to the ,district ,schools1     
where the classics and practical        
mathematics are taught4 ,in these       
schools1 eleven in number1 there are at 
present upwards of #cjj youth acquiring 
an education to qualify them for the    
different professions2 and1 although    
they can seldom support more than one   
master1 several of the young gentlemen  
who have been brought up in them are now
 eminent in their professions1 and      
would1 by their talents and high        
principles1 do credit to seminaries of  
greater name4 ,but the period has       

arrived when the ,district ,schools     
,grammar ,schools will become still more
 useful by confining themselves to the  
intention of their first establishment1 
namely1 nurseries for a ,university--an 
institution now called for by the       
increased population and circumstances  
of the ,colony1 and most earnestly      
desired by the more respectable         
inhabitants4  ,there is not in either   
,province any ,english ,seminary above  
the rank of a good school1 at which a   
liberal education can be obtained4 ,thus
 the youth of nearly #cjj1jjj           
,englishmen have no opportunity of      
receiving instruction within the        
,canadas in ,law1 ,medicine1 or         
,divinity4 ,the consequence is that many
 young men coming forward to the learned
 professions are obliged to look beyond 
the ,province for the last two years of 
their education--undoubtedly the most   
important and critical of their lives4  
,very few are able on account of the    
great expense to go to ,england or      

,scotland2 and the distance is so great 
and the difficulties so many that       
parental anxiety reluctantly trusts     
children from its observation and       
control4 ,the youths are1 therefore1 in 
some degree1 compelled to look forward  
to the ,united ,states1 where the means 
of education1 though of a description   
far inferior to those of ,great         
,britain1 are yet superior to those     
within the ,province1 and a growing     
necessity is arising of sending them to 
finish their education in that country4 
,now1 in the ,united ,states1 a system  
prevails unknown to1 or unpractised by1 
any other nation4 ,in all other         
countries morals and religion are made  
the basis of future instruction1 and the
 first book put into the hands of       
children teaches them the domestic1     
social1 and religious virtues2 but in   
the ,united ,states politics pervade the
 whole system of instruction4 ,the      
school books from the very first        
elements are stuffed with praises of    

their own institutions and breathe      
hatred to everything ,english4 ,to such 
a country our youth may go1 strongly    
attached to their native land and all   
its establishments1 but by hearing them 
continually depreciated and those of    
,america praised1 these attachments     
will1 in many1 be gradually weakened1   
and some may become fascinated with that
 liberty which has degenerated into     
licentiousness and imbibe1 perhaps      
unconsciously1 sentiments unfriendly to 
things of which ,englishmen are         
proud4444  ,the establishment of a      
,university at the seat of ,government  
will complete a regular system of       
education in ,upper ,canada from the    
letters of the alphabet to the most     
profound investigations of science4444  
,in regard to the profession of medicine
 it is melancholy to think that more    
than three-fourths of the present       
practitioners have been educated or     
attended lectures in the ,united        
,states4444 ,there are1 as yet1 only    

twenty-two clergymen in ,upper ,canada1 
the greater number from ,england4 ,it is
 essential that young men coming forward
 to the ,church should be educated      
entirely within the ,province1 but for  
this there is no provision4444 ,but the 
wants of the ,province are becoming     
great1 and however much disposed the    
elder clergy may be to bring forward    
young men to the sacred profession1 they
 have neither time nor means of doing it
 with sufficient effect4 ,there can be  
nothing of that zeal1 of that union and 
mutual attachment1 of that deep         
theological and literary enquiry and    
anxiety to excel1 which would be found  
among men collected at the ,university1 
and here it is not irrelevant to observe
 that it is of the greatest importance  
that the education of the ,colony should
 be conducted by the clergy4  ,nothing  
can be more manifest than that this     
,colony has not yet felt the advantage  
of a religious establishment4 ,what can 
twenty-two clergymen do1 scattered over 

a country of nearly six hundred miles in
 length8 ,can we be surprised that1     
under such circumstances1 the religious 
benefits of the ecclesiastical          
establishment are unknown1 and sectaries
 of all descriptions have increased on  
every side8 ,and when it is further     
considered that the religious teachers  
of all other ,protestant denominations1 
a very few respectable ministers of the 
,church of ,scotland excepted1 come     
almost universally from the ,republican 
,states of ,america1 where they gather  
their knowledge and form their          
sentiments1 it is evident that if the   
,imperial ,government does not step     
forward with efficient help1 the mass of
 the population will be nurtured and    
instructed in hostility to all our      
institutions1 both civil and            
religious4444 ,from all which it appears
 highly expedient to establish a        
university at the seat of ,government1  
to complete the system of education in  
the ,colony at which all the branches   

requisite for qualifying young men for  
the learned professions may be          
taught4444 ,the principal and           
professors1 except those of ,medicine   
and ,law1 should be clergymen of the    
,established ,church2 and no tutor1     
teacher1 or officer who is not a member 
of that ,church should ever be employed 
in the institution4  ,i have given this 
long quotation from ,rev4 ,dr4          
,strachan's report for several reasons4 
,it shows very clearly the point of view
 of a remarkable man who had much to do 
with educational affairs in ,upper      
,canada for a period of nearly seventy  
years4 ,it shows his zeal for higher    
education1 his belief in the efficacy of
 a religious establishment1 his narrow  
bigotry and intolerance of all outside  
of an establishment1 his old-world      
belief that the clergy should control   
education1 his loyal attachment to      
,british institutions1 and above all1 to
 those who read between the lines1 his  
lack of real interest in elementary     

education4 ,he is perfectly satisfied   
with the state of the ,common ,schools1 
although they were then accommodating   
less than one in twenty of the total    
population4 ,the schools of which he    
says1 which are now1 by the exertions of
 ,your ,excellency1 placed on an        
excellent footing1 requiring no other   
improvements than the means of          
multiplying their number1 were conducted
 in rude buildings1 without any         
apparatus1 with a motley assortment of  
textbooks1 and taught in many cases by  
ignorant itinerant schoolmasters who    
were of no use at any other occupation1 
and who received from #hj to #bjj a     
year6 ,little can ever be expected in   
the way of improvement from those who   
are wholly satisfied with present       
conditions1 and it is safe to say that  
any improvements that took place in the 
,common ,schools of ,canada under the   
regime of the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,strachan were 
owing to other causes than the efforts  
put forth by that gentleman4 ,the       

,common ,schools of ,upper ,canada had  
to wait for a new birth--until ,ryerson 
breathed life into them4  ,rev4 ,dr4    
,strachan's ,report is interesting for  
another reason--it deals with the       
proposed ,king's ,college and its       
relations with what ,dr4 ,strachan calls
 the religious establishment in ,canada4
 ,this religious establishment was to   
have as its basis the one-seventh of all
 lands in ,upper ,canada as provided for
 by the ,constitutional ,act of #agia4  
,now these two things1 the ,clergy      
,reserves and ,king's ,college1 caused  
more trouble to the ,canadian           
,legislature and engendered more bitter 
feeling among the people of ,upper      
,canada than any other two questions    
that ever were debated in the           
,parliament of ,upper ,canada1 or in the
 ,parliament of the united ,canadas4 ,in
 the ,parliamentary struggle over both  
these questions the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,strachan
 was an active and valiant leader of the
 party of privilege1 and among those who

 led the opposing forces to a final     
victory none was more courageous or more
 successful than ,dr4 ,ryerson4  ,dr4   
,strachan went to ,england in #ahbf to  
use his personal influence towards      
securing a ,royal ,charter for a        
,university4 ,he there issued an appeal 
to the ,english people for aid on the   
ground that the proposed ,college would 
be largely occupied in educating        
clergymen for the ,anglican ,church4#bc 
,a ,royal ,charter1 making the proposed 
university a close corporation under the
 control of ,anglican clergymen1 was    
obtained4 ,besides granting the charter 
the ,british ,government made a grant   
toward buildings of ,l#a1jjj a year for 
sixteen years4  #bc ,see ,an ,appeal to 
the ,friends of ,religion and           
,literature in behalf of the ,university
 of ,upper ,canada4 ,by ,john ,strachan1
 ,archdeacon of ,york1 ,upper ,canada1  
#ahbf4   ,when the ,legislative         
,assembly met in #ahbh several members  
presented numerously signed petitions   

praying for definite information about  
the newly granted charter of ,king's    
,college4 ,the ,governor sent down a    
copy of the charter which was referred  
to a select committee4 ,the committee   
protested against the nature of the     
charter in that the university was to   
become an ,anglican institution1        
supported out of public funds4 ,this    
they thought unjust1 inasmuch as only a 
small proportion of the settlers of     
,upper ,canada were ,anglicans4#bd ,the 
committee also drafted an address to    
,his ,majesty the ,king4 ,this address  
was adopted by the ,assembly1 and       
immediately despatched to ,his ,majesty 
by the ,governor4 ,the address was      
courteous and loyal in tone1 but the    
exact condition of affairs in ,canada   
was made clear4 ,the ,king was          
petitioned to cancel the charter to     
,king's ,college1 and grant one that    
would make possible a university for all
 classes4 ,this address to ,his ,majesty
 and the protest of the ,assembly of    

,upper ,canada attracted the attention  
of a select committee of the ,imperial  
,parliament4 ,this committee#be reported
 against that part of the ,charter which
 required religious tests4 ,george      
,ryerson1 of ,canada1 gave valuable     
evidence before this committee relative 
to ,canadian affairs4 ,it seems doubtful
 whether ,his ,majesty's advisers1 when 
the ,king's ,college charter was given1 
were really made aware of the conditions
 of society in ,canada4 ,those          
,canadians who had the ears of ,his     
,majesty's advisers were1 for the most  
part1 interested in forming and         
strengthening an ,anglican              
,establishment4  #bd ,see ,journals of  
,house of ,assembly for ,upper ,canada1 
#ahbh4  #be ,see ,report made #bbnd     
,july1 #ahbh1 by ,select ,committee of  
,house of ,commons1 appointed to inquire
 into the ,state of ,civil ,government  
in ,canada4     ,,chapter ,,iii4        
,,education ,,in ,,upper ,,canada ,,from
 #aghc ,,to #ahdd--7;,continued74       

,late in the year #ahbh1 ,sir ,peregrine
 ,maitland was replaced as              
,lieutenant-,governor of ,upper ,canada 
by ,sir ,john ,colborne4 ,about the same
 time ,sir ,george ,murray1 who had     
acted as ,administrator of the          
,government of ,upper ,canada in #ahae1 
and who consequently knew something of  
,canadian affairs1 became ,colonial     
,secretary in the ,imperial ,parliament4
 ,in acknowledging receipt of the       
petition to ,his ,majesty of the        
,assembly of ,upper ,canada protesting  
against the ,king's ,college charter1   
,sir ,george ,murray1 in a communication
 to ,sir ,john ,colborne1 said3#bf ,it  
would be deservedly a subject of regret 
to ,his ,majesty's ,government1 if the  
,university1 recently established at    
,york1 should prove to have been founded
 upon principles which cannot be made to
 accord with the general feelings and   
opinions of those for whose advantage it
 was intended4444 ,i have observed that 
your predecessor 7,sir ,peregrine       

,maitland7 in the ,government of ,upper 
,canada differs from the ,house of      
,assembly as to the general prevalence  
of objections to the ,university founded
 upon the degree of exclusive connection
 which it has with the ,church of       
,england4 ,it seems reasonable to       
conclude1 however1 that on such a       
subject as this an address adopted by a 
full ,house of ,assembly1 with scarcely 
any dissentient voices1#bg must be      
considered to express the prevailing    
opinion in the ,province upon this      
subject4  #bf ,see copy of ,sir ,george 
,murray's letter in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4  
,i41 pp4 #beg and #beh4  #bg ,the vote  
stood #ba for and #i against4   ,in the 
event1 therefore1 of its appearing to   
you to be proper to invite the          
,legislative ,council and ,house of     
,assembly to resume the consideration of
 this question1 you will apprise them   
that their representations on the       
existing charter of the ,university have
 attracted the serious attention of ,his

 ,majesty's ,government and that the    
opinion which may be expressed by the   
,legislative ,council and ,house of     
,assembly on that subject will not fail 
to receive the most prompt and serious  
attention4  ,shortly after the receipt  
of this communication ,sir ,john        
,colborne1 as ,chancellor of ,king's    
,college1 convened the ,college ,council
 and declared that no immediate steps   
were to be taken toward active          
,university work1 and that not one stone
 should be put upon another until       
certain alterations had been made in the
 charter4  ,in #ahbi the ,chairman of   
the ,general ,board of ,education1 ,rev4
 ,dr4 ,strachan1 presented to the       
,legislative ,assembly his first annual 
report4 ,it is an able and very         
suggestive document4 ,it showed #cgb    
pupils#bh in the eleven ,grammar        
,schools1 and #dja ,common ,schools with
 #aj1gab pupils4 ,dr4 ,strachan had     
personally visited each ,grammar ,school
 during #ahbh1 and had incidentally     

learned something of the ,common        
,schools4 ,referring to ,grammar        
,schools he says3#bi ,it will be seen   
that in some places girls are           
admitted4#cj ,this happens from the want
 of good female schools1 and perhaps    
from the more rapid progress which      
children are supposed to make under     
experienced and able schoolmasters4 ,it 
is to be wished1 however1 that separate 
schools for the sexes were established1 
as the admission of female children     
interferes with the government which is 
required in classical seminaries2 it is1
 nevertheless1 an inconvenience of a    
temporary nature1 which will gradually  
pass away as the population increases in
 wealth and numbers4 ,this inconvenience
 of a temporary nature persisted until  
#ahfh1 when girls were formally admitted
 as pupils in ,grammar ,schools4  #bh   
,in #ahbg there were #cbi pupils1 of    
whom #h in the ,cornwall ,school were   
girls4  #bi ,see copy of ,report in ,d4 
,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #bff and #bfg4  

#cj ,the ,report for #ahbh showed #be   
girls in the eleven ,district ,schools4 
,dr4 ,strachan pointed out very clearly 
in this ,report that the ,common        
,schools could never improve very much  
until the teachers were better paid4 ,he
 also made an excellent practical       
suggestion4#ca ,the ,provincial ,board1 
therefore1 would submit with all        
deference1 that in addition to the      
public allowance1 even if increased     
beyond its present amount1 a power      
should be given to the ,townships to    
assess themselves for this special      
purpose4  #ca ,see original ,report in  
,appendix to ,journals of ,assembly1 ,u4
 ,c41 pp4 #af and #ag of ,appendix on   
,education4   ,here we have laid down   
the correct principle of support for    
public schools1 and one cannot but feel 
that had ,dr4 ,strachan followed up this
 suggestion by pressing it upon the     
,legislature1 and by discussing it with 
school-managers and the general public1 
he might have secured its early         

adoption4  ,when the ,legislature       
convened in #ahbi1 ,sir ,john ,colborne 
in the ,speech from the ,throne#cb made 
direct reference to education as        
follows3 ,the ,public ,grammar ,schools 
are generally increasing1 but their     
organization appears susceptible of     
improvement4 ,measures will be adopted1 
,i hope1 to reform the ,royal ,grammar  
,school the ,district ,school at ,york  
and to incorporate it with the          
,university recently endowed by ,his    
,majesty1 and to introduce a system in  
that ,seminary which will open to the   
youth of the ,province the means of     
receiving a liberal and extensive course
 of instruction4 ,unceasing exertions   
should be made to attract able masters  
to this country1 where the population   
bears no proportion to the number of    
offices and employments that must       
necessarily be held by men of education 
and acquirements1 for the support of the
 laws and of your free institutions4    
#cb ,see ,journals of ,assembly for ,u4 

,c4 for #ahbi1 p4 #e4   ,this message   
from the ,governor may require some     
explanation4 ,in the first place let us 
note that ,sir ,john ,colborne was an   
able and enlightened man1 sincerely     
desirous of giving to ,upper ,canada a  
government that would be acceptable to  
the mass of the people4 ,he seems to    
have realized clearly that the ,assembly
 was a fairly accurate reflection of    
public opinion1 and that no policy could
 ultimately prevail unless it was in    
harmony with its wishes4 ,his action in 
arresting the working of ,king's        
,college was one proof of this1 although
 his subsequent action in founding      
,upper ,canada ,college solely on his   
own responsibility showed his belief in 
the power of the ,crown to take         
independent action4 ,he saw that the    
,district ,grammar ,schools were very   
inefficient and were touching the lives 
of an insignificant proportion of the   
people of ,upper ,canada4 ,he foresaw   
that for some years the revenue to be   

derived from the endowment of ,king's   
,college would not support a very       
pretentious institution1 and that for   
such an institution1 even if it were in 
operation1 there would be very few      
students prepared by previous study to  
profit from its courses4 ,in his opinion
 the immediate wants of the country     
would be better served by a high-class  
school than by a university4 ,hence his 
proposal to reform the ,royal ,grammar  
,school at ,york and incorporate it with
 ,king's ,college4  ,the ,assembly of   
#ahbi contained many eminent men1 of    
whom it is sufficient to mention        
,marshall ,bidwell 7the ,speaker71      
,william ,lyon ,mackenzie1 ,w4 ,w4      
,baldwin 7father of ,hon4 ,robert       
,baldwin71 and ,john ,rolph1 the latter 
a graduate of the ,university of        
,cambridge4 ,the ,assembly appointed a  
select committee on ,education4 ,this   
committee made an extensive report#cc   
upon both ,district ,grammar and ,common
 ,schools4 ,in regard to the former they

 were pronounced in their condemnation  
and recommended their abolition4 ,the   
report claimed that the ,district or    
,grammar ,school ,trustees1 appointed by
 the ,crown1 were chosen to promote the 
interests of the ,anglican ,church2 that
 in many cases the schools themselves   
were merely stepping-stones for the     
clergy of the ,anglican ,church2 that   
they were under no efficient inspection2
 that they were quite as expensive to   
those parents who did not live          
immediately beside them as much better  
schools in the ,united ,states2 and     
finally that as only #ajh pupils in the 
whole ,province were studying languages 
in these schools1 that their work could 
be done equally well by really good     
,common ,schools4 ,the report lamented  
the low salaries of teachers in ,common 
,schools and suggested that no          
,government grants should be given      
unless the managers of schools          
themselves raised by subscription equal 
amounts4 ,the report also protested     

against the payment out of public funds 
of ,l#cjj a year to ,rev4 ,dr4          
,strachan1 as ,chairman of the ,general 
,board1#cd and against his assumption   
that reports of ,district ,schools      
should be made to him instead of to the 
,lieutenant-,governor4 ,the report      
expressed a hope that something might be
 done to encourage the publication of   
textbooks in ,canada1 and concluded with
 expressing approval of the ,governor's 
plan to found a seminary of a high      
class1 which should be free from        
sectarian influences and afford advanced
 instruction to the youth of ,canada4   
#cc ,see ,report in ,appendix to        
,journals of ,assembly for #ahbi1 p4    
#db4  #cd ,the ,general ,board of       
,education had been organized by ,sir   
,peregrine ,maitland wholly on his own  
authority and that of the ,home         
,government4 ,the ,assembly naturally   
refused to acknowledge any obligation to
 support it with public funds4   ,later 
in the session of #ahbi this select     

committee on ,education prepared a      
series of resolutions which were adopted
 by the ,assembly4 ,the following are   
the chief points in the                 
resolutions3--#ce  #a4 ,that the        
,governor1 or ,lieutenant-,governor of  
the ,province1 not being amenable for   
his conduct to any tribunal1 ought not  
to be ,chancellor of ,king's ,college4  
#b4 ,that it ought not to be required   
that the ,president of ,king's ,college 
be a clergyman of the ,anglican ,church1
 and that he ought to be elected or     
appointed for a stated term4  #c4 ,that 
the ,archdeacon of ,york ought not by   
virtue of his clerical office to become 
,president of ,king's ,college4  #d4    
,that the ,president and ,professors of 
,king's ,college ought not to be        
required to subscribe to the            
,thirty-nine ,articles4  #e4 ,that the  
,degree of ,doctor of ,divinity ought to
 be conferred by ,king's ,college upon  
any professing ,christian who passed the
 required examinations in ,classical1   

,biblical1 and other subjects of        
learning4  #f4 ,that wherever the       
charter of ,king's ,college is in any   
way sectarian it should be amended4  #ce
 ,see ,appendix to ,journals of         
,assembly of ,u4,c4 for #ahbi1 pp4 #gb  
and #gc4   ,the ,governor asked the     
,legislative ,council to consider in    
what way the charter of ,king's ,college
 could be amended to make it more       
acceptable to the people of ,upper      
,canada4 ,the ,council in reply         
recommended that instead of the         
,archdeacon of ,york any ,anglican      
clergyman should be eligible for        
,president4 ,they also recommended that 
tests for the ,council be dispensed     
with4  ,having the sanction of the ,home
 ,government1 and feeling sure of the   
active support of the ,assembly1 ,sir   
,john ,colborne immediately put in      
execution his plan of forming a         
high-class school to replace the ,royal 
,grammar ,school at ,york4 ,he caused   
advertisements to be inserted in the    

,british papers for masters4 ,the head  
master was to have a house1 ,l#fjj per  
annum1 and the privilege of taking      
boarders4 ,the classical and            
mathematical masters were to receive    
,l#cjj a year and similar privileges4   
,the ,assembly had suggested that the   
new school should be known as ,colborne 
,college1 but the name adopted was      
,upper ,canada ,college4 ,the school    
opened in #ahcj with a staff of seven   
specialists1 nearly all chosen in       
,england4 ,the work was carried on in   
the buildings of the old ,grammar       
,school until handsome and elaborate    
buildings were erected on ,russell      
,square1 north of ,king ,street4 ,an    
endowment of some #fj1jjj acres from the
 ,school lands was given the new        
institution4 ,it was generally felt that
 the new school would1 for the present1 
supply the want of a university1 and    
also make it unnecessary for ,canadian  
youths to complete their education in   
the ,united ,states4  ,before ,upper    

,canada ,college had been working a year
 a very numerously-signed petition was  
presented by some ,york patrons of the  
school praying for some modification of 
the exclusively classical nature of the 
programme for those boys destined for   
commerce and mechanical pursuits4 ,the  
,governor's attempt to give ,canadians a
 high-class collegiate school seemed    
only partially successful4 ,the error   
was in attempting to adapt to a new     
country a form of school that suited the
 requirements of a select class in an   
old and highly civilized country4 ,latin
 and ,greek must be crammed into boys   
whether or not they had any natural     
aptitude for language study1 and quite  
irrespective of their future occupations
 in life4  ,the founding and liberal    
equipment of ,upper ,canada ,college had
 one effect that might easily have been 
foretold4 ,petitions came from almost   
every ,grammar ,school ,district praying
 for endowed and well-equipped schools  
similar to ,upper ,canada ,college4 ,the

 petitioners resented the concentration 
at ,york of two important institutions1 
,upper ,canada ,college and ,king's     
,college1 deriving support from an      
endowment originally set aside to give  
educational facilities to the whole of  
,upper ,canada4  ,the ,assembly of      
#ahcc1 through a select committee1 made 
a minute examination into the affairs of
 ,upper ,canada ,college1 and passed a  
resolution recommending that it be      
incorporated with ,king's ,college4 ,i  
give here quotations from two writers on
 ,upper ,canada ,college1 showing how   
differently things appear when viewed   
through different eyes4 ,the first is   
from a letter written in #ahcc by ,rev4 
,thomas ,radcliffe4#cf ,future          
generations will bless the memory of    
,sir ,john ,colborne1 who1 to the many  
advantages derived from the equity and  
wisdom of his government1 has added that
 of a magnificent foundation in ,upper  
,canada ,college for the purposes of    
literary instruction4 ,the lowest salary

 of any of the professors of this       
institution is ,l#cjj per annum1 with   
the accommodation of a noble brick house
 and the privilege of taking boarders at
 ,l#ej per annum4  #cf ,see copy of     
letter in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4 
#abj and #aba4   ,the next is from      
,sketches1 published by ,william ,lyon  
,mackenzie1 ,london1 #ahcc4 ,splendid   
incomes are given to the masters of the 
new ,upper ,canada ,college1 culled at  
,oxford by the ,vice-,chancellor1 and   
dwellings furnished to the professors   
7we may say7 by the sweat of the brow of
 the ,canadian labourer4 ,all these     
advantages and others not now necessary 
to be mentioned1 are insufficient to    
gratify the rapacious appetite of the   
',established ,church' managers1 who1 in
 order to accumulate wealth and live in 
opulence1 charge the children of ,his   
,majesty's subjects ten times as high   
fees as are required by the less amply  
endowed ,seminary at ,quebec4 ,they have
 another reason for so doing4 ,the      

,college 7already a monopoly7 becomes   
almost an exclusive school for the      
families of the ,government officers1   
and the few who1 through their means1   
have1 in ,york1 already attained a      
pecuniary independence out of the public
 treasury4 ,the ,college never was      
intended for the people1 nor did the    
,executive endow it thus amply that all 
classes might apply to the fountain of  
knowledge4#cg  #cg ,see volume in       
,library of ,parliament1 ,ottawa1 pp4   
#aij and #aia4   ,as time passed the    
,college founded by ,sir ,john ,colborne
 did good work as a secondary school for
 people of wealth1 but all attempts to  
make it popular with the mass of the    
people proved ineffective4 ,the         
,legislature gave it an annual grant    
somewhat unwillingly4#ch ,the buildings 
were erected1 and part of the annual    
expenses paid from advances made by the 
,king's ,college ,council4  #ch ,see ,d4
 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,iii41 p4 #abc4   ,by  
an ,act passed in #ahcici there was an  

attempt made to raise the ,college to   
the dignity of a temporary university4  
,this action displeased the ,council of 
,king's ,college because it tended to   
delay the opening of lectures in that   
institution4 ,in #ahdi1 when the        
,baldwin ,university ,bill made an      
independent corporation of ,upper       
,canada ,college1 that institution was  
indebted to the ,university for nearly  
#dj1jjj1 which was never repaid4#dj  #ci
 ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4    
#agj and #aga4  #dj ,for the later      
history of ,upper ,canada ,college see  
,history of ,upper ,canada ,college1 by 
,principal ,george ,dickson4   ,in #ahca
 the ,methodists began to build at      
,cobourg the ,upper ,canada ,academy1   
which was to be open to all religious   
denominations4 ,they felt that although 
,upper ,canada ,college was             
non-sectarian in a legal sense1 yet1    
inasmuch as the principal and professors
 were ,anglican clergymen1 the          
institution was essentially an ,anglican

 ,college4  ,at this time the ,rev4     
,egerton ,ryerson was editor of ,the    
,christian ,guardian newspaper1 the     
official organ of the ,methodist        
,conference4 ,in an editorial1 ,april1  
#ahca1 he thus refers to the proposed   
,upper ,canada ,academy3 ,it is the     
first literary institution which has    
been commenced by any body of ministers 
in accordance with the frequently       
expressed wishes of the people of ,upper
 ,canada4 ,the ,methodist ,conference   
have not sought endowments of public    
lands for the establishment of an       
institution1 contrary to the voice of   
the people as expressed by their        
representatives4444 ,desirous of        
promoting more extensively the interests
 of the rising generation and of the    
country generally1 we have resolved upon
 the establishment of a ,seminary of    
,learning--we have done so upon liberal 
principles--we have not reserved any    
peculiar privileges to ourselves for the
 education of our children2 we have     

published the constitution for your     
examination2 and now we appeal to your  
liberality for assistance4444 ,on the   
characteristics of the system of        
education which it is contemplated to   
pursue in the proposed ,seminary1 we may
 observe that it will be such as to     
produce habits of intellectual labour   
and activity2 a diligent and profitable 
improvement of time2 bodily health and  
vigour1 a fitness and relish for        
agricultural and mechanical1 as well as 
for other pursuits2 virtuous principles 
and ,christian morals4 ,on the          
importance of education generally we may
 remark1 it is as necessary as the      
light--it should be as common as water1 
and as free as air4444 ,education among 
the people is the best security of a    
good government and constitutional      
liberty2 it yields a steady1 unbending  
support to the former1 and effectually  
protects the latter4 ,an educated people
 are always a loyal people to good      
government2 and the first object of a   

wise government should be the education 
of the people4 ,an educated people are  
always enterprising in all kinds of     
general and local improvements4 ,an     
ignorant population are equally fit for1
 and are liable to be1 slaves of despots
 and the dupes of demagogues2 sometimes1
 like the unsettled ocean1 they can be  
thrown into incontrollable agitation by 
every wind that blows2 at other times1  
like the uncomplaining ass1 they tamely 
submit to the most unreasonable         
burdens4444 ,sound learning is of great 
worth even in religion2 the wisest and  
best instructed ,christians are the most
 steady1 and may be the most useful4 ,if
 a man be a child in knowledge he is    
likely to be tossed to and fro1 and     
carried about with every wind of        
doctrine1 and often lies at the mercy of
 interested1 designing men2 the more    
knowledge he has the safer is his state4
 ,if our circumstances be such that we  
have few means of improvement1 we should
 turn them to the best account4 ,partial

 knowledge is better than total         
ignorance2 and he who cannot get all he 
may wish1 must take heed to acquire all 
that he can4 ,if total ignorance be a   
bad and dangerous thing1 every degree of
 knowledge lessens both the evil and the
 danger4#da  #da ,see copy of letter in 
,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4 #g and #h4
   ,ryerson wrote this when he was only 
twenty-eight years of age1 but it       
foreshadows the fundamental principles  
upon which he later attempted to base a 
national system of education4  ,it is   
interesting to note that in this same   
year the ,united ,presbytery of ,upper  
,canada were discussing the             
establishment of a ,literary and        
,theological ,seminary at ,pleasant     
,bay1 in ,prince ,edward ,county4 ,this 
seminary never was established1 but the 
agitation for it led to the founding of 
,queen's ,university1 at ,kingston4     
,while ,methodist and ,presbyterian     
clergy were forming plans for academies1
 the members of the ,legislative        

,assembly were debating a series of     
resolutions on the ,school ,reserves and
 the failure of the people of ,upper    
,canada to secure the free ,grammar     
,schools for which the ,crown ,lands    
were appropriated in #agih4 ,several    
things are made plain in these          
resolutions regarding the attitude of   
the popularly elected branch of the     
,legislature4 ,the following stand out  
prominently3--  #a4 ,that the existing  
,grammar ,schools were wholly inadequate
 to perform the work for which they were
 created4  #b4 ,that the real intentions
 of the ,crown in setting apart the     
immense ,school ,reserves in #agih had  
never been carried out4  #c4 ,that the  
successive ,canadian ,administrations   
had been largely concerned in           
appropriating the lion's share of these 
,reserves for ,university education4    
#d4 ,that the ,school ,reserves of      
#agih1 with proper management1 would be 
now 7#ahca7 sufficiently productive to  
give great assistance to education if   

applied in accord with the real wishes  
of the people4  #e4 ,that the money     
received from these ,school lands from  
time to time ought to be paid in to the 
,receiver-,general and disposed of only 
by vote of the ,legislature4  ,further  
protests were made against the exclusive
 nature of ,king's ,college charter1 and
 the ,assembly was assured by ,sir ,john
 ,colborne that some changes would be   
made4 ,as a matter of fact1 on the #bnd 
of ,november1 #ahca1 ,lord ,goderich1   
the ,british ,colonial ,secretary1 in a 
lengthy communication to ,governor      
,colborne1 showed that ,his ,majesty's  
,government was fully seized of the     
situation in regard to the charter of   
,king's ,college4 ,lord ,goderich       
said1#db ,i am to convey through you to 
the ,members of the ,corporation of     
,king's ,college1 at the earnest        
recommendation and advice of ,his       
,majesty's ,government1 that they do    
forthwith surrender#dc to ,his ,majesty 
the charter of ,king's ,college of      

,upper ,canada1 with any lands that may 
have been granted them4 ,lord ,goderich 
then proceeds to intimate that a new    
charter will be granted by the          
,legislature of ,upper ,canada4 ,lord   
,goderich further proceeds to give some 
very sound advice concerning the        
necessity of mutual forbearance among a 
people of diverse religious creeds4  #db
 ,see copy of despatch in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41  
,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #ee4  #dc ,this the     
,college ,council positively refused to 
do4   ,in the ,assembly there was shown 
an intelligent grasp of the educational 
needs of the country and a determination
 to secure better schools4 ,had the     
,executive ,council and ,legislative    
,council been equally zealous in the    
cause of education1 the fathers and     
mothers of the generation which profited
 from ,ryerson's reforms might          
themselves have had the advantage of    
good schools4  ,the following extracts  
from an address to ,his ,excellency1    
,sir ,john ,colborne1 will show the     

temper and wishes of the ,assembly3 ,we1
 ,his ,majesty's dutiful and loyal      
subjects1 the ,commons of ,upper ,canada
 in ,provincial ,parliament assembled1  
most respectfully beg leave to represent
 that there is in this ,province a very 
general want of education2 that the     
insufficiency of the ,common ,school    
fund the total ,government grant for    
schools in #ahca was #aa1bjj to support 
competent1 respectable1 and             
well-educated teachers1 has degraded    
,common ,school teaching from a regular 
business to a mere matter of convenience
 to transient persons1 or common idlers1
 who often teach the school one season  
and leave it vacant until it            
accommodates some other like person to  
take it in hand1 whereby the minds of   
our youth are left without cultivation1 
or1 what is still worse1 frequently with
 vulgar1 low-bred1 vicious1 or          
intemperate examples before them in the 
capacity of monitors4#dd ,the address   
proceeded to state that there was urgent

 need of a ,government fund to secure   
larger grants for teachers' salaries1   
and asked ,his ,excellency to lay before
 the ,colonial ,secretary a plan to set 
aside one million acres of waste land in
 ,upper ,canada for the support of      
,common ,schools4  #dd ,see ,journals of
 ,assembly1 ,u4 ,c41 #ahca1 p4 #dj4     
,in this ,address the ,assembly         
virtually said to the ,crown1 ,give us  
some fixed capital as a source of       
revenue and we will speedily reorganize 
our schools4 ,the ,assembly knew what   
was needed and knew how to remedy the   
existing conditions1 but was powerless  
because the ,crown revenue was subject  
only to the control of the ,executive   
,council4  ,the session of #ahcb-ccde   
was very active from an educational     
point of view4 ,the ,assembly was       
informed by ,his ,excellency that the   
,crown had consented to give over to the
 ,legislature1 for the support of       
,grammar ,schools1 control of the       
#beh1ccj acres of ,school lands1 being  

the balance of the original grant of    
half a million acres made in #agih1 and 
from which had already been made        
extensive grants to endow ,king's       
,college and ,upper ,canada ,college4   
,much of the remainder of this land1    
which was now vested in the             
,legislature1 was not of a superior     
quality4 ,it had also been selected in  
township blocks and naturally had very  
little value until settlements were made
 in surrounding townships4  #de ,the    
previous session1 ,william ,lyon        
,mackenzie had been expelled from the   
,assembly because of his criticism of   
the ,governor1 in his newspaper1 the    
,colonial ,advocate4 ,it is interesting 
to note that ,mackenzie's criticisms of 
the ,governor were largely based on ,his
 ,excellency's actions in regard to     
education4   ,the ,assembly prepared an 
,address to ,his ,majesty praying for a 
grant of one million acres of ,crown    
lands for the establishment and support 
of ,township ,common ,schools4 ,as a    

measure of immediate relief for these   
schools1 a bill was passed by the two   
branches of the ,legislature1 and       
assented to by ,his ,excellency1        
providing for two years an additional   
grant of #bb1jjj4 ,this sum was allotted
 to the several ,districts1             
approximately in proportion to          
population1 but no ,board of ,trustees  
was to receive any of this grant unless 
they secured for their teacher a sum    
equal at least to twice the ,government 
grant4  ,the most significant feature of
 the session1 however1 was a ,common    
,school ,bill1 introduced into the      
,assembly by ,mr4 ,mahlon ,burwell1 and 
read a first time4 ,the bill proposed to
 repeal all previous ,common ,school    
legislation2 to establish a ,general    
,board and also ,district ,boards of    
,education2 to grant ,l#aj1jjj to       
,common ,schools as a ,legislative grant
 and to assess a further ,l#aj1jjj on   
the rateable property of the ,districts4
  ,this bill1 had it become law1 would  

have anticipated ,ryerson's legislation 
by nearly twenty years1 and it is       
interesting to note the comments made   
upon it by that gentleman1 who was at   
this time editor of the ,christian      
,guardian4 ,the ,guardian of ,january   
#aeth1 #ahcd1 expressed a general       
approval of the plan of taxation but was
 totally opposed to the appointment of  
,boards of ,education4 ,after showing   
that the principle of local taxation was
 borrowed from the ,new ,england        
,states1 where it was working           
satisfactorily1 ,ryerson says3 ,the next
 leading feature of the bill is the     
appointment of a ,general ,board of     
,education and also ,district ,boards of
 ,education4 ,this is proposed to be    
left to the ,governor1 or person        
administering the ,government1 a        
proposition1 in our opinion1 radically  
objectionable4 ,it makes the system of  
education1 in theory1 a mere engine of  
the ,executive1 a system which is liable
 to all the abuse1 suspicion1 jealousy  

and opposition caused by despotism2 and 
it withholds from the system of ,common 
,school education1 in its first and     
prominent feature1 that character of    
common interest and harmonious          
co-operation which1 as we humbly        
conceive1 are essential to its success1 
and even to its acceptance with the     
,province4 ,education is an object in   
which the ,government1 as an individual 
portion of the ,province1 and the people
 at large possess1 in some respects1 a  
common interest1 consequently they      
should exercise a joint or common       
control4444 ,and in an equitable and    
patriotic administration of ,government1
 the more its agents and the people's   
agents are associated together in       
promoting the common weal1 the more     
strongly will mutual respect and        
confidence and co-operation between the 
people and the ,government be           
established1 the less room there will be
 for ,executive negligence1 or          
partiality1 or popular or local abuse2  

and the less opportunity there will be  
for either despotic oppression or       
demagogue misrepresentation4  ,in #ahcd 
there was a ,general ,election1 which   
resulted in the return to the ,assembly 
of a large majority in favour of reform 
principles1 and wholly opposed to the   
arbitrary and aristocratic ideas of the 
,legislative ,council4 ,bidwell1 ,rolph1
 and ,william ,lyon ,mackenzie were     
three leading spirits in the new ,house4
  ,when the ,assembly opened the        
,governor laid before the members a     
despatch from the ,colonial ,office1    
stating ,his ,majesty's readiness to    
transfer #bdj1jjj acres in the settled  
townships in return for the ,school     
lands which were in township blocks and 
not then saleable4  ,a bill was passed  
by the ,legislature renewing for two    
years1 #ahce and #ahcf1 the increased   
grant of ,l#e1fej for ,common ,schools4 
,a grant of ,l#bjj was also made to     
,mechanics' ,institutes at ,york and a  
grant of ,l#ajj to one at ,kingston4    

,considerable time was spent in the     
,assembly upon two bills which were     
rejected by the ,executive ,council4    
,one was a bill to regulate ,common     
,schools which would have given them a  
thorough organization and made them     
subject to popular control by elected   
,boards and ,superintendents4 ,the      
,executive ,council had no faith in     
control by the people4 ,they doubted    
whether the respectable yeomanry of the 
country were capable of choosing        
suitable ,superintendents4 ,the other   
was a bill to amend the charter of      
,king's ,college4 ,these amendments were
 designed to remove all religious tests 
and to have the ,college governed by a  
,council1 half of whom were to be       
appointed by the ,assembly and half by  
the ,legislative ,council4 ,the only    
reasons given by the ,council for       
rejecting these amendments were that    
they knew of no university so governed  
and that a university must have as a    
basis some established form of religion4

 ,in the meantime1 while the hide-bound 
worshippers of ,european traditions who 
made up the ,council were delaying the  
active work of ,king's ,college1 the    
youth of ,upper ,canada1 preparing for  
the learned professions1 were compelled 
to seek university advantages in the    
,united ,states or ,great ,britain4     
,more than this1 owing to the lack of   
advantages in their own country1 many   
who could otherwise have afforded it    
were wholly deprived of the higher      
education and training necessary for the
 professions they had in view4  ,the    
,legislative ,council at this time1 and 
for many years afterwards1 made boasts  
of their loyalty to the ,crown1 and upon
 some occasions arrogated to themselves 
and their friends a monopoly of all     
loyal spirit in ,upper ,canada1 and yet 
they firmly refused to surrender the    
charter and endowment of ,king's        
,college when requested and even urged  
to do so by ,his ,majesty's ,colonial   
,secretary#df4 ,from #ahca to #ahce1 the

 ,council refused to accept any         
substantial amendments made in that     
charter suggested by the ,assembly1     
although ,lord ,goderich had1 in #ahca1 
made it quite clear that ,his ,majesty's
 ,government wished the question of the 
charter to be settled by the ,upper     
,canada ,legislature4  #df ,see letter  
of ,lord ,goderich of ,nov4 #bnd1 #ahca1
 to ,sir ,john ,colborne4   ,when1 upon 
the #fth of ,may1 #ahce1 ,sir ,john     
,colborne sent to the ,colonial         
,secretary the ,king's ,college ,charter
 ,amendment ,bill passed by the         
,assembly1 he urged the immediate       
opening of ,king's ,college1 although he
 had declared to the ,college ,council  
that not one stone should be placed upon
 another until the charter was amended4 
,it may also be gathered from this      
despatch to ,lord ,glenelg#dg that ,sir 
,john ,colborne accompanied it with a   
draft of amendments which he thought    
would be acceptable to both branches of 
the ,legislature of ,upper ,canada4 ,his

 ,lordship was too astute a politician  
and too thoroughly informed concerning  
,canadian public opinion to be easily   
misled4 ,sir ,john ,colborne1 as a      
concession to the ,assembly1 proposed   
that five out of seven of the governing 
body should be permanently of the faith 
of the ,church of ,england4 ,the other  
two members were to be the              
,lieutenant-,governor and the           
,archdeacon of ,york6 ,lord ,glenelg1 in
 reply1 says3 ,i cannot hesitate to     
express my opinion that this plan claims
 for the ,established ,church of        
,england privileges which those who best
 understand and most deeply prize her   
real interests would not think it       
prudent to assert for her in any        
,british ,province on the ,north        
,american ,continent4444 ,i would       
respectfully and earnestly impress upon 
the ,members of both these ,bodies      
,assembly and ,council the expediency of
 endeavouring1 by mutual concessions1 to
 meet on some common ground4 ,especially

 would ,i beg the ,legislative          
,councillors to remember that1 if there 
be any one subject on which1 more than  
others1 it is vain and dangerous to     
oppose the deliberate wishes of the     
great mass of the people1 the system of 
national instruction to be pursued in   
the moral and religious education of    
youth is emphatically that subject4#dh  
,lord ,glenelg concludes by referring   
the question of amending the charter    
back to the ,legislature of ,upper      
,canada and states that ,his ,majesty   
will act as mediator only if the two    
branches of the ,legislature fail to    
agree and then only upon their          
presenting a joint ,address4  #dg ,see  
,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #bad4  #dh 
,see copy of letter in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41     
,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4 #bac and #bad4         
,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,education ,,in       
,,upper ,,canada ,,from #aghc ,,to      
#ahdd--7;,continued74   ,during the     
,legislative session of #ahcf1 ,sir     
,john ,colborne was replaced by ,sir    

,francis ,bond ,head as                 
,lieutenant-,governor4 ,it would seem   
that the difference of opinion between  
,sir ,john ,colborne and ,lord ,glenelg 
of the ,colonial ,office was responsible
 for the former's asking to be recalled4
 ,his last official act as              
,lieutenant-,governor of ,upper ,canada1
 and one intimately connected with      
educational controversy at a later date1
 was to sign patents for the endowment  
of forty-three ,anglican rectories out  
of the ,clergy ,reserve lands4  ,in the 
,legislature no real progress was made  
in education1 although a lengthy        
report#di and a draft ,school ,bill were
 presented by a member of the ,assembly1
 ,doctor ,charles ,duncomb4 ,this report
 was based on a visit paid by ,doctor   
,duncomb to the ,eastern1 ,middle and   
,western ,united ,states4 ,it is        
interesting and emphasizes the          
importance of a suitable education for  
women4  #di ,see ,appendix to ,journals 
of ,assembly of ,u4,c41 #ahcf4 ,see also

 ,assembly ,journals for #ahcf1 pp4 #bac
 and #bad4  ,the most important event of
 the year in its after effects upon     
education in ,upper ,canada was the     
formal opening of ,upper ,canada        
,academy#ej at ,cobourg1 under a ,royal 
,charter secured by ,egerton ,ryerson4  
#ej ,see ,chapter ,i4   ,in resigning   
his position as editor of ,the          
,guardian1 the official organ of        
,methodism1 ,ryerson referred to the    
condition of education in ,upper        
,canada1 emphasizing the supreme        
importance of elementary instruction for
 every child in the country4 ,it is also
 interesting to note that at this date1 
when he had probably never dreamed of   
having any official connection with     
elementary education1 he should have    
touched the very root of the problem by 
pointing out the utter impossibility of 
making any real progress without a body 
of educated and trained teachers4  ,the 
,legislature of #ahcg set at rest for a 
few years the vexed question of an      

amendment to ,king's ,college charter4  
,the majority of the ,legislative       
,council were stoutly opposed to any    
modifications that would lessen the     
control of the ,anglican ,church1 but   
they saw that public opinion was strong 
enough to prevent the opening of the    
college until amendments were made4     
,they also saw that they were running a 
risk of having the charter cancelled and
 a new one granted by the ,crown4 ,they 
accordingly accepted certain amendments 
proposed by the ,legislative ,assembly4 
,these amendments#ea gave ex-officio    
seats on the ,college ,council to the   
,speaker of the two branches of the     
,legislature and to the                 
,attorney-,general and the              
,solicitor-,general of ,upper ,canada2  
they removed from members of the        
,council and from professors every      
semblance of a religious test except the
 following declaration3 ,i do solemnly  
and sincerely declare that ,i believe in
 the authenticity and ,divine           

,inspiration of the ,old and ,new       
,testaments and in the ,doctrine of the 
,holy ,trinity2 they removed absolutely 
from religious tests all students and   
candidates for degrees2 they made the   
,judges of ,his ,majesty's ,court of    
,king's ,bench visitors instead of the  
,lord ,bishop of ,quebec1 and vested the
 appointment of future presidents in    
,his ,majesty instead of conferring that
 office ex-officio upon the ,archdeacon 
of ,york4  #ea ,see ,journals of        
,assembly of ,upper ,canada for #ahcg1  
,legislative ,library1 ,toronto4        
,steps were taken at once to place the  
college in a position to begin work4 ,a 
very able and comprehensive scheme#eb of
 studies and courses was drawn up by the
 ,president1 ,dr4 ,strachan1 and        
everything promised favourably1 when the
 ,rebellion broke out and all operations
 were suspended4  #eb ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 
,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 #ic-ih4   ,the        
following sketch of the ,common ,schools
 of this period1 written by ,mr4        

,malcolm ,campbell1 an old teacher of   
,middlesex1 is inserted because it is   
believed to be typical of ,upper ,canada
 conditions4 ,mr4 ,campbell began to    
teach in #ahce3--  ,the ,school ,houses1
 during the time ,i taught1 were built  
of round logs about #ad x #af ft41 with 
clapboard roofs and open fireplaces4 ,a 
window sash on three sides for light1 a 
board being placed beneath them1 on     
which to keep copies and slates4 ,there 
were long hewn benches without backs for
 seats4 ,there were no blackboards or   
maps on the chinked walls4 ,there was a 
miscellaneous assortment of books1 which
 made it very difficult to form classes4
 ,cobb's and ,webster's ,spelling-books 
afterwards gave place to ,mavor's4 ,the 
,testament was used as a ,textbook1 a   
supply of which was furnished by ,rev4  
,benjamin ,cronyn1 afterwards ,bishop of
 ,huron4 ,the ,english ,reader1 and     
,hume and ,smollett's ,history of       
,england were used by the more advanced 
classes4 ,lennie's ,grammar1 and        

,dilworth's and ,hutton's ,arithmetics1 
and the ,history of ,cortez' ,conquest  
of ,mexico were used1 also a ,geography 
and ,atlas1 and a variety of books4     
,goose-quills were used for pens1 which 
the teacher made and mended at least    
twice a day4 ,the hours of teaching were
 somewhat longer than at present1 and   
there was no recess4 ,the number of     
scholars varied from #ae to #cj1 and    
school was kept open eight to ten months
 in the year with a ,saturday vacation  
every two weeks4 ,teachers1 after having
 taught school for some months1         
underwent a pretty thorough oral        
examination by the ,district ,board of  
,education1 and were granted ,first1    
,second1 or ,third ,class certificates  
according to their merits1 real or      
supposed4 ,they had the ,government     
grant apportioned to them according to  
their standing4 ,mr4 ,donald ,currie1 in
 the section west of me1 drew annually  
#abj on the ground of his high          
qualifications as well as his teaching  

,latin4 ,my share of the grant was #hj4 
,mr4 ,benson east of me drew #ej4444    
,the ,government grant was what the     
teacher mainly depended on for cash4    
,the rest of his pay1 which varied from 
#aj to #af a month1 ,government grant   
included1 was mostly paid in kind1 and  
very hard to collect at that4  ,the     
,trustees in these early days assumed   
duties beyond what they now possess4 ,in
 engaging a teacher1 they examined him  
as to his qualifications in the three   
,r's and as much farther as any of      
themselves knew4 ,they fixed the rate   
bill which each scholar should pay1     
usually at a dollar and fifty cents a   
quarter2 and any family sending more    
than three scholars should go free1 as  
well as the children of widows4444 ,the 
teacher was expected to 'board round' at
 that rate of pay4 ,he usually boarded  
in one or two houses near the school1   
doing chores morning and evening4 ,the  
,trustees assessed each scholar with    
half a cord of wood during winter1 which

 was scantily supplied2 sometimes the   
teacher and bigger boys went with an axe
 to the woods to make up the deficiency4
 ,the trustees were to examine the      
school quarterly1 and sign the          
,quarterly ,reports so that the teacher 
might draw the ,government grant4#ec    
#ec ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 
#aca1 #acb4   ,the following ,rules for 
the ,government of ,common ,schools     
prescribed by the ,board of ,education  
for the ,niagara ,district is taken from
 ,gourley's ,statistical ,account of    
,upper ,canada1 #ahag-ahbb1 ,vol4 ,,ii42
 ,appendix1 pp4 #aaf-aai3--      #a4    
,the ,master to commence the labours of 
the day by a short prayer4      #b4     
,school to commence each day at #i      
o'clock and five hours at least     to  
be given to teaching during the day1    
except on ,saturdays4      #c4          
,diligence and ,emulation to be         
cherished and encouraged among the      
pupils by rewards judiciously           
distributed1 to consist of little       

pictures and books1 according to the age
 of the scholar4      #d4 ,cleanliness  
and ,good ,order to be indispensable2   
and corporal     punishment seldom      
necessary1 except for bad habits learned
 at     home--lying1 disobedience1      
obstinacy and perverseness--these       
sometimes require chastisement2 but     
gentleness even in these cases     would
 do better with most children4      #e4 
,all other offences1 arising chiefly    
from liveliness and     inattention1 are
 better corrected by shame1 such as     
gaudy caps1     placing the culprits by 
themselves1 not permitting anyone to    
play     with them for a day or days1   
detaining after school hours1 or during 
a play afternoon1 or by ridicule4       
#f4 ,the ,master must keep a regular    
catalogue of his scholars and     mark  
every day they are absent4      #g4 ,the
 forenoons of ,wednesday and ,saturday  
to be set apart for     ,religious      
,instruction2 to render it agreeable the
 school should be     furnished with at 

least ten copies of ,barrows'           
',questions on the ,new     ,testament1'
 and the ,teacher to have one copy of   
the key to these     questions for his  
own use2 the teacher should likewise    
have a copy     of ,murray's ',power of 
,religion on the ,mind1' ,watkin's      
',scripture     ,biography1' and        
,blair's ',class ,book1' the ,saturday  
,lessons of which     are               
well-calculated to impress religious    
feeling4      ,note4--,these books are  
confined to no religious denomination1  
and     do not prevent the ,masters from
 teaching such ,catechism as the        
parents of the children may adopt4      
#h4 ,every day to close with reading    
publicly a few verses from the     ,new 
,testament1 proceeding regularly through
 the ,gospels4      #i4 ,the afternoons 
of ,wednesday and ,saturday to be       
allowed for play4      #aj4 ,a copy of  
these ,rules to be affixed up in some   
conspicuous     place in the            
,school-room1 and to be read publicly to

 the ,scholars     every ,monday morning
 by the ,teacher4  ,no doubt much good  
teaching was done in schools nominally  
governed by similar codes of            
instruction4 ,the teacher is always the 
real force in a school and good teachers
 are never slaves to mechanical rules4  
,these rules1 however1 suggest a form of
 punishment that was largely used in    
those days even by good teachers and has
 not yet been wholly banished from the  
schoolroom--ridicule4 ,here we see it   
offered as an improvement upon corporal 
punishment4 ,it may have had its        
advantages over the brutal punishments  
sometimes inflicted in the old days1 but
 ,i think ,dr4 ,johnson was right in    
saying that a reasonably severe corporal
 punishment was better for both teacher 
and pupil than either nagging or        
ridicule4 ,no doubt the systems of ,bell
 and ,lancaster were responsible for the
 use recommended of ridicule in the     
,niagara ,district in #ahbj4  ,one      
important ,bill1 ,an ,act to ,provide   

for the ,advancement of ,education1#ed  
became law during the session of #ahci4 
,this ,bill set apart #bej1jjj acres of 
waste lands for the support of ,district
 ,grammar ,schools1 made provision for  
additional schools in districts where   
they were needed1 and provided for the  
erection of new buildings and assistant 
masters4 ,the ,bill also placed the     
revenue and management of these schools 
under the ,council of ,king's ,college4 
,in this way ,king's ,college1 ,upper   
,canada ,college1 and the ,district     
,grammar ,schools--all the machinery of 
higher education--were brought under    
central authority4  #ed ,see ,journals  
of ,legislature of ,upper ,canada for   
#ahci4 ,legislative ,library1 ,toronto4 
,see also copy of bill in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41  
,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 #agj1 #aga4   ,from a 
careful reading of a despatch#ee sent by
 ,sir ,george ,arthur to the ,colonial  
,office1 in connection with the ,act    
referred to above1 it seems quite clear 
that the land grant of #bej1jjj acres   

now set apart for ,district ,grammar    
,schools was the balance of the original
 #edi1bag acres granted by the ,crown in
 #agih for the endowment of ,free       
,grammar ,schools and a ,university4    
,thus1 after forty years1 the intentions
 of the ,crown regarding ,grammar       
,schools were to be realized4 ,but only 
in part1 because the ,act of #ahci did  
not make the ,grammar ,schools free4    
#ee ,reprinted in ,d4 ,h4 ,e4 ,see ,vol4
 ,,iii41 pp4 #agc-ahc4   ,it was        
confidently hoped by many of the ,king's
 ,college ,council1 and especially by   
the ,president1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,strachan1   
that when the college charter was       
amended in #ahcg nothing would interfere
 with the immediate execution of plans  
for building and opening ,king's        
,college4 ,elaborate plans and models of
 a building were prepared and sent out  
from ,england1 an architect was         
employed1 advertisements for tenders for
 a building were inserted in various    
newspapers1 and the contract was about  

to be awarded1 when ,sir ,george ,arthur
 hurriedly convened the ,council and    
ordered an investigation into the       
finances of the ,college4  ,his         
suspicions had evidently been awakened  
by some returns on ,college affairs     
presented in response to an ,address by 
the ,assembly4 ,the report of the       
special audit committee#ef appointed by 
the ,council revealed a startling       
condition of affairs and incidentally a 
strong argument against allowing any    
body or corporation to handle public    
funds without an annual audit by someone
 responsible to ,parliament4  #ef ,see  
proceedings of ,king's ,college         
,council1 #ahcg-ahdj4   ,the ,bursar1   
the ,hon4 ,joseph ,wells1 a prominent   
member of the ,legislative ,council1 had
 diverted to his own use and that of his
 needy friends some ,l#f1cgd1 and the   
sum of ,l#d1cab had been loaned to the  
,president1 ,dr4 ,strachan4 ,there was  
in use a very primitive system#eg of    
book-keeping1 and on the whole just such

 management as might have been expected 
from the close corporation which had1 up
 to #ahcg1 made up the ,king's ,college 
,council4 ,there was also much          
mismanagement of the financial affairs  
of ,upper ,canada ,college4 ,these      
revelations delayed building operations 
until #ahdb4  #eg ,see ,report of ,t4   
,c4 ,patrick1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 manuscript   
,minutes ,king's ,college ,council1 pp4 
#fh-gc4   ,on ,december #crd1 #ahci1 the
 last session of the ,legislature of    
,upper ,canada was opened by ,charles   
,poulett ,thompson1 afterwards ,lord    
,sydenham4 ,a ,bill was passed granting 
a charter to the ,university of         
,kingston4 ,when the ,bill was          
introduced into the ,assembly1 the name 
was to be the ,university of ,queen's   
,college4#eh ,why the change was made   
does not seem very clear1 but perhaps it
 was because the promoters of the ,bill 
were not certain that ,her ,majesty had 
given her consent to the use of her name
 in the ,act4 ,the ,act placed the      

,college largely under the control of   
the ,presbyterian ,church and wholly    
under control of ,presbyterians1 but no 
religious tests were to be exacted from 
students or graduates except in         
,divinity4 ,the #aeth section of the    
charter authorized the representative of
 ,her ,majesty in ,canada to pay from   
the revenues of ,king's ,college a sum  
sufficient to establish a ,chair in     
,divinity4 ,this arrangement doubtless  
was the result of a despatch from the   
,colonial ,office some years previous to
 the effect that any modification of    
,king's ,college charter should provide 
for a ,divinity ,professor of the       
,church of ,scotland4 ,some readers of  
the present day may ask1 ,why not also  
for other religious                     
denominations--,methodists1 ,baptists1  
and ,congregationalists8 ,the answer is 
simple4 ,the ,churches of ,england and  
,scotland were national churches in     
,great ,britain and ,ireland4 ,the      
,anglican ,church in ,canada in #ahdj   

claimed to be an ,established ,church1  
and as the ,clergy ,reserve controversy 
was then unsettled1 her claim had       
reasonable expectation of realization4  
,had her claim been allowed1 it would   
have strengthened any claim the         
,presbyterian ,church might have made   
also to rank as an ,established ,church4
  #eh ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,iii41   
,chap4 ,,xvi41 pp4 #bhd-bii4   ,this    
,canadian charter to the ,university of 
,kingston was cancelled by the ,crown   
with the consent of the ,presbyterian   
,church in ,canada1 and a ,royal        
,charter issued to the ,university of   
,queen's ,college4 ,by this ,royal      
,charter1 ,queen's lost the ,divinity   
,professorship which1 by the ,canadian  
charter1 was to be established out of   
,king's ,college foundation4 ,the ,crown
 had power to grant a charter but no    
power to interfere with the funds of    
,king's ,college1 which were subject to 
the ,canadian ,legislature4  ,the       
,commission#ei appointed by the         

,legislature in #ahci to prepare a      
report#fj on education gave a           
comprehensive account of the condition  
of schools1 but without throwing much   
new light upon them4 ,the total number  
of pupils in the ,district ,grammar     
,schools was still about #cjj1 but the  
number in the ,common ,schools was      
estimated at #bd1jjj1 or about one in   
eighteen of the total population4 ,as to
 the nature of the schools attended by  
these #bd1jjj1 there is abundant        
evidence to prove that they were very   
inefficient4 ,the ,rev4 ,robt4 ,mc,gill1
 of ,niagara1 says3 ,i know the         
qualifications of nearly all the ,common
 ,school teachers in this district1 and 
,i do not hesitate to say that there is 
not more than one in ten fully qualified
 to instruct the young in the humblest  
department4 ,the ,london ,district      
,board for #ahci says3 ,the ,masters    
chosen by the ,common ,school ,trustees 
are often ignorant men1 barely          
acquainted with the rudiments of        

education and1 consequently1 jealous of 
any school superior to their own4#fa    
#ei ,the members were3 ,rev4 ,john      
,mc,caul1 ,rev4 ,henry ,grasett and     
,secretary ,harrison4  #fj ,see ,d4 ,h4 
,e41 ,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 #bdc-bhc4 ,also  
,appendix to ,journals of ,assembly for 
#ahdj4  #fa ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4     
,,iii41 p4 #bff4   ,the ,grammar        
,schools had been gradually improving   
since their establishment1 but were     
still very far from supplying the real  
needs of the people4 ,they had no       
uniformity in course of study or        
textbooks1 and were under no inspection4
 ,in fact1 lack of supervision was the  
weakest spot in the whole school system4
  ,lord ,durham1 in his famous          
,report1#fb refers to education in      
,upper ,canada thus3 ,a very            
considerable portion of the ,province   
has neither roads1 post offices1 mills1 
schools1 nor churches4 ,the people may  
raise enough for their own subsistence  
and may even have a rude and comfortless

 plenty1 but they can seldom acquire    
wealth2 nor can even wealthy landowners 
prevent their children from growing up  
ignorant and boorish1 and from occupying
 a far lower mental1 moral and social   
position than they themselves fill4444  
,even in the most thickly peopled       
districts there are but few schools1 and
 those of a very inferior character2    
while the more remote settlements are   
almost entirely without any4  #fb ,see  
,lord ,durham's ,report1 p4 #ff4   ,the 
,committee recommended better salaries1 
normal schools for training teachers1   
,british textbooks1 an                  
,inspector-,general of ,education1 and a
 ,provincial ,board of ,school          
,commissioners4 ,looking at the matter  
three-quarters of a century later1 we   
can see that really good schools were   
not then immediately possible4 ,schools1
 like everything else1 cannot be created
 at command4 ,they are the result of    
evolution4 ,upper ,canada ,college      
illustrates this4 ,expensive buildings  

were erected and capable masters secured
 in ,england1 and yet the school was not
 really efficient for many years4 ,the  
country was largely a wilderness4 ,the  
people were comparatively poor and their
 first care was to provide the          
necessities of life4 ,the sad side to   
the picture is that there was among the 
mass of the people so little real       
interest in education and so little     
appreciation of its worth4 ,people will 
never struggle to acquire that of which 
they feel no need4 ,it seems quite      
clear1 too1 that the struggle for civil 
and religious freedom and equality      
hindered the development of a good      
school system4 ,the latter could        
scarcely be possible before the former  
had triumphed4 ,the natural leaders of  
the people and those who by superior    
attainments and education were fitted   
for leadership were straining every     
nerve and mustering every known resource
 to overthrow a corrupt oligarchy4 ,even
 among the spiritual leaders of the     

people there was no unity of purpose4   
,instead of working shoulder to shoulder
 with one another for the moral and     
intellectual growth of their people1    
they were in many cases sapping their   
strength through acrimonious and        
recriminating discussions of state      
church1 sectarianism1 ,clergy ,reserves1
 endowment and grants4 ,when once it was
 finally settled that ,upper ,canada was
 to have responsible government and that
 all races and all creeds were to enjoy 
equal civil1 religious and political    
rights1 it was much easier to lay a     
solid foundation for the development of 
efficient schools4  ,to this nothing    
contributed more than the ,municipal    
,act of #ahda4 ,it supplied the         
necessary local machinery1 working in   
harmony and in close connection with a  
central government4 ,it seemed to leave 
almost everything to local initiative   
and local control1 thus appealing to    
local patriotism4 ,in reality it gave a 
central authority power to direct by    

laying down broad general principles1   
and it stirred up a maximum of local    
self-effort by distributing ,provincial 
grants4  ,sydenham's first ,speech from 
the ,throne to the ,legislature of the  
,united ,canadas in #ahda referred to   
the necessity of a better system of     
,common ,schools4 ,during the session   
the ,legislature passed an elaborate    
,act for this purpose1 and although it  
proved not to be of a practical nature  
it showed an earnest desire on the part 
of the ,legislature to improve the      
,common ,schools4 ,the ,act appropriated
 ,l#ej1jjj per year to be distributed   
among the ,common ,schools in proportion
 to the number of pupils between #e and 
#af years of age in each district4 ,it  
provided a ,superintendent of ,education
 for the ,united ,canadas and prescribed
 his duties4 ,it established            
popularly-elected ,township ,boards and 
passed certain rates to be assessed on  
the ratepayers4  ,the most significant  
feature of the ,bill was that it        

contained the germ which later developed
 into our elaborate system of ,separate 
,schools4 ,early in the session1 forty  
petitions were presented asking that the
 ,bible be used in the schools4 ,there  
was also a petition from ,rev4 ,dr4     
,strachan and the ,anglican clergy      
asking that ,anglican children be       
educated by their own pastors and that  
they receive a share of public funds for
 support of their schools4 ,the ,roman  
,catholics also petitioned against some 
principles of the ,common ,school ,bill 
then before the ,house4  ,these things  
will probably explain why the ,bill as  
passed contained a clause allowing any  
number of dissentients 7not necessarily 
,roman ,catholics7 in ,township ,schools
 to withdraw and form a school of their 
own1 and also a clause which created for
 cities and incorporated towns a ,school
 ,board1 half of whom were ,protestant  
and half of whom were ,roman ,catholic4 
,the ,catholics and ,protestants might  
work together and maintain schools in   

common1 or they might constitute        
themselves into separate committees1    
each committee virtually controlling its
 own schools4  ,thus we see that while  
the ,assembly were fighting to break    
down a system of sectarianism in        
university education1 they were         
introducing into the ,common ,schools a 
policy that led to divisions on account 
of religion4  ,during the session of    
#ahda1 the ,upper ,canada ,academy at   
,cobourg secured incorporation as       
,victoria ,college with university      
powers1 and also a grant of ,l#ejj1     
which later was made annual4 ,here1 too1
 the ,legislature was granting public   
money to a sectarian institution1       
although it should be noted that no     
religious tests were to be exacted of   
any students1 and that five public      
officers1 the ,president of the         
,executive ,council1 the ,speakers of   
the two branches of the ,legislature1   
and the ,attorney-,general and the      
,solicitor-,general for ,canada ,west   

were to be ex-officio visitors and      
members of the ,victoria ,college       
,senate4  ,early in #ahdb1 ,queen's     
,university was opened for the reception
 of students4 ,later in the same year   
the corner-stone of ,king's ,college was
 laid with imposing ceremony by ,sir    
,charles ,bagot1 the ,governor-,general4
 ,in #ahdc the ,king's ,college         
professors began lectures4 ,this gave   
three colleges with university powers in
 active operation in ,upper ,canada in  
#ahdc4  ,in ,may1 #ahdb1 the            
,governor-,general appointed the ,hon4  
,robert ,jameson1 ,vice-,chancellor of  
,upper ,canada1 to be ,chief            
,superintendent of ,education1 and the  
,rev4 ,robert ,murray1 of ,oakville1 to 
be ,assistant ,superintendent for ,upper
 ,canada4 ,mr4 ,murray was a scholarly  
gentleman1 but possessed no special     
qualifications for so important an      
office4 ,it seems probable that as early
 as #ahda ,sydenham had some thought of 
giving the position to ,ryerson4 ,it    

also seems probable that ,sir ,charles  
,bagot knew of this and had some        
communication with ,ryerson in respect  
to it4 ,it is more than likely that     
,ryerson had been too active1 both in   
opposing the arbitrary acts of the      
,legislative ,council and in promoting  
the interests of his own ,church1 to be 
readily acceptable to ,his ,excellency's
 ,council1 nearly all of whom were      
,churchmen4  ,it was soon discovered    
that the ,common ,school ,act of #ahda  
could never be put into operation4 ,it  
had only a single merit--good           
intentions4 ,in #ahdc it was decided to 
amend it and enact a separate ,bill for 
,upper and ,lower ,canada4 ,that for    
,upper ,canada was introduced by ,hon4  
,francis ,hincks4 ,speaking of the      
,bill#fc he says3 ,the principle adopted
 in the ,school ,bill of #ahdc is this3 
,the ,government pays a certain amount  
to each ,township--the property in that 
,township pays an equal amount2 or if   
the ,councillors elected by the people  

choose it1 double the amount4 ,this     
forms the ,school ,fund1 which is       
divided among the school districts1 the 
,trustees of which raise the balance of 
the teacher's salary by a ,rate ,bill on
 the parents of the children4 ,the      
system is as simple as it is just4444   
,in framing this system1 gentlemen1 you 
will observe that1 as in all other      
instances1 the late ,ministry have      
divested the grant of all local         
patronage4 ,everything has been left to 
the people themselves2 and ,i feel      
perfectly convinced that they will prove
 themselves capable of managing their   
own affairs in a more satisfactory      
manner than any ,government ,boards of  
,education or visiting ,superintendents 
could do for them4  #fc ,see            
,reminiscences of ,his ,public ,life1 by
 ,sir ,francis ,hincks1 pp4 #age-agg4   
,library of ,parliament1 ,canada4   ,the
 new ,school ,act provides also for the 
establishment in each ,township of a    
,model ,school--the teacher of which is 

to receive a larger share than others of
 the ,school ,fund1 provided he gives   
gratuitous instruction to the other     
teachers in the ,township1 under such   
regulations as may be established4      
,there is also provision for a ,model   
,school in each county1 on a similar    
plan1 but1 of course1 of a higher grade4
 ,it is left to the people themselves or
 their representatives in the several   
municipalities1 to establish these      
,model ,schools or not1 as they deem    
expedient4 ,but it is provided that as  
soon as a ,provincial ,normal ,school   
shall be in operation 7and the system   
will never be complete without one7 the 
teachers of the ,model ,schools must    
have certificates of qualification from 
the professors of the ,normal ,school4  
,this ,act of #ahdc is much more        
elaborate in its provisions than any    
preceding legislation affecting ,common 
,schools in ,upper ,canada4 ,it provided
 for county superintendents appointed by
 wardens and for township1 town or city 

superintendents appointed by the        
municipal council4 ,it would seem that  
in many points the duties of these two  
classes of superintendents would        
conflict1 as both were allowed to       
examine and appoint teachers1 and both  
were to visit schools4 ,every section   
was to have a ,board of ,trustees       
elected by ratepayers1 and to these     
trustees was given charge of school     
property and the regulation of course of
 study1 including choice of textbooks4  
,it would seem that full local control  
was given except in the matter of       
certificating teachers and regulating   
the government grant4  ,either          
,protestants or ,roman ,catholics might 
petition for a ,separate ,school on the 
application of ten or more resident     
freeholders1 but such schools when      
established were maintained and         
controlled by the same machinery as     
other schools4 ,model ,schools were to  
receive a larger grant from the         
,legislature4 ,a county superintendent  

could issue unlimited or limited        
certificates1 but all certificates      
issued by a township1 town1 or city     
superintendent were limited to the      
division in which they were issued and  
were valid for one year only4  ,the     
marked weaknesses of the ,act may be    
summed up as follows3--  #a4 ,possible  
conflict of authority between county and
 local superintendents4  #b4 ,no        
uniformity of course of study or        
textbooks4  #c4 ,no accepted standard of
 qualification for teachers4  #d4 ,no   
method provided for training of         
teachers1 as a ,normal ,school was      
merely suggested1 and ,model ,schools   
were optional4  #e4 ,no provision made  
to secure competent local               
superintendents4 ,any man might be      
appointed4  ,but with all its           
deficiencies the ,school ,bill of #ahdc 
was a proof that the ,legislature       
earnestly desired to promote elementary 
education4 ,it was1 no doubt1 felt by   
many public men1 and especially by the  

,governor1 that no man was so well      
qualified as ,ryerson to direct that    
system at headquarters4 ,to pave the way
 for ,ryerson's appointment1 ,rev4      
,robert ,murray was made ,professor of  
,mathematics in ,king's ,college1 and in
 ,september1 #ahdd1 ,ryerson became     
,assistant ,superintendent of ,education
 for ,upper ,canada4 ,he was to have    
leave of absence for travel and for     
investigation into the school systems of
 ,europe4  ,as events proved1 ,ryerson's
 appointment as ,superintendent of      
,education soon bore fruit in a more    
efficient system of ,common ,schools4   
,but university affairs were still in a 
state of chaos4  ,the amendments to the 
charter of ,king's ,college made in     
#ahcg were disappointingly unfruitful of
 any practical changes4 ,the ,college   
remained in charge of ,anglicans1 and   
was in reality1 if not in a legal sense1
 a ,church of ,england institution4 ,the
 question may naturally be asked1 why   
did the legislation of #ahcg not effect 

greater changes8 ,the answer is simple4 
,in #ahcg the seat of government was at 
,toronto1 and the five ex-officio       
,government officers could easily attend
 meetings of ,king's ,college ,council4 
,but after the ,act of ,union in #ahda  
the seat of government was moved first  
to ,kingston and later to ,montreal4 ,it
 then became wholly impossible for the  
five lay members of ,king's ,college to 
attend regular meetings in ,toronto4    
,the result was that the affairs of     
,king's ,college remained practically in
 the hands of the president and         
professors1 who made no real efforts to 
adapt the ,college to the needs of the  
people of ,upper ,canada4 ,bishop       
,strachan1 the ,president1 could not    
forget his original plans in securing   
the charter1 and was still trying to    
realize them as far as possible4 ,in a  
petition which he presented to          
,parliament in #ahde against the ,draper
 ,university ,bill1 he makes his real   
object very clear4 ,he says3 ,above all 

things1 ,i claim from the endowment the 
means of educating my clergy4 ,this was 
my chief object in obtaining the ,royal 
,charter and the ,endowment of ,king's  
,college2 444 and was indeed the most   
valuable result to be anticipated by the
 institution4444 ,this is a point which 
never can be given up1 and to which ,i  
believe the faith of ,government is     
unreservedly pledged4#fd ,as time went  
on and the history of the ,royal grant  
of #agih came to be more fully discussed
 and understood1 the determination of   
the people grew more and more fixed to  
secure such modifications in the ,king's
 ,college ,charter as would make it a   
national instead of a sectarian         
institution4  #fd ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41     
,vol4 ,v41 p4 #acg4   ,the proposal of  
,baldwin1 introduced in #ahdc1 was      
statesmanlike1 and although it failed to
 pass owing to the early resignation of 
his ,ministry1 it is interesting because
 it outlined in part the principles upon
 which the ,university question was     

finally settled4 ,the ,bill proposed to 
create a ,university of ,toronto1 and   
leave ,king's ,college as a theological 
seminary without power to confer        
degrees4 ,queen's1 ,victoria1 and       
,regiopolis#fe were to become affiliated
 in connection with ,toronto            
,university1 and were to surrender their
 powers to confer degrees4 ,in return   
they were to receive certain grants from
 the ,king's ,college endowment4        
,toronto ,university was to become the  
only degree-conferring power in ,upper  
,canada4 ,baldwin had the ,governor's   
consent to bring in this ,bill1 and had 
his ,ministry remained in power it would
 doubtless have passed4 ,the ,bill had  
the active support of ,queen's and      
,victoria1 and the bitter opposition of 
,dr4 ,strachan4#ff  #fe ,regiopolis1 a  
,roman ,catholic college incorporated by
 the ,legislature in #ahcg1 had not1 at 
this time1 degree-conferring powers4    
#ff ,see his petition presented to      
,house of ,assembly1 #ahdc1 against     

,bill4   ,dr4 ,ryerson summed up the    
whole situation in a reply to an        
eloquent and very able argument of ,hon4
 ,w4 ,h4 ,draper1 who appeared at the   
,bar of the ,house of ,assembly as      
,counsel of ,king's ,college ,council1  
in opposition to the ,bill4 ,dr4        
,ryerson concludes as follows3 ,the     
lands by which ,king's ,college has been
 so munificently endowed1 were set apart
 nearly fifty years ago 7in compliance  
with an application in #agig of the     
,provincial ,legislature7 for the       
promotion of ,education in ,upper       
,canada4 ,this was the object of the    
original appropriation of those lands--a
 noble grant1 not to the ,church of     
,england1 but to the people of ,upper   
,canada4 ,in #ahbg ,doctor ,strachan1 by
 statements and representations against 
which the ,house of ,assembly of ,upper 
,canada protested again and again1 got  
#bbe1idd acres of these lands applied to
 the endowment of the ,church of        
,england ,college4 ,against such a      

partial application and perversion of   
the original ,provincial objects of that
 ,royal grant the people of ,upper      
,canada protested2 the ,charter of      
,king's ,college was amended to carry   
out the original object of the ,grant2  
the general objects of the amended      
,charter have been defeated by the      
manner in which it has been             
administered1 and the ,university ,bill 
is introduced to secure their           
accomplishment2 and the ,council of     
,king's ,college employ an advocate to  
perpetuate their monopoly4 ,the reader  
can1 therefore1 easily judge who is the 
faithful advocate and who is the selfish
 perverter of the most splendid         
educational endowment that was ever made
 for any new country4444 ,i argue for no
 particular ,university ,bill2 but ,i   
contend upon the grounds of right and   
humanity1 that ,presbyterians1          
,methodists and all others ought to     
participate equally with the            
,episcopalians in the educational       

advantages and endowments that have been
 derived from the sale of lands1 which1 
pursuant to an application from the     
,provincial ,legislature1 were set apart
 in #agig by the ,crown for the support 
of ,education in ,upper ,canada4#fg  #fg
 ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,v41 pp4       
#di-ei4   ,in looking back upon the     
situation from our vantage-ground1      
covering a lapse of nearly              
three-quarters of a century1 we may     
marvel that all parties were not ready  
to compromise upon the basis of a purely
 secular and national university4 ,but  
secular1 state-owned colleges are a very
 modern growth1 and few men among our   
grandfathers had the courage to champion
 such institutions4 ,an educational     
institution without some religious basis
 had uncanny associations4 ,therefore1  
it is not a matter for surprise that    
many good men were prepared to mutilate 
the ,university ,endowment of ,upper    
,canada1 and dissipate it among         
sectarian colleges4 ,such1 to a large   

degree1 would have been the result had  
the ,draper ,bill of #ahde become law4  
,the ,draper ,government made a further 
attempt to settle the vexed question in 
#ahdf4 ,john ,a4 ,macdonald 7afterwards 
,sir ,john ,a4 ,macdonald7 made another 
unsuccessful attempt in #ahdg4 ,the     
,hon4 ,robert ,baldwin then became      
,premier1 and after securing the ,report
 of a ,commission on ,university        
,affairs1 he introduced and passed a    
,university ,bill in #ahdi4 ,this ,act  
has been many times amended1 but the    
final result has been to preserve for   
the people of ,upper ,canada the        
,university ,endowment1 and to remove   
from the management every semblance of  
sectarian control4 ,the ,university has 
become the property and the pride of all
 classes1 irrespective of race1         
politics1 or religion4     ,,chapter ,v4
  ,,ryerson',s ,,first ,,report ,,on ,a 
,,system ,,of ,,elementary              
,,instruction4   ,the true greatness of 
a people does not consist in borrowing  

nothing from others1 but in borrowing   
from all whatever is good1 and in       
perfecting whatever it                  
appropriates4--,m4 ,cousin4  ,this      
quotation from the eminent ,frenchman   
admirably illustrates the spirit of     
,ryerson's first ,report#fh and the     
draft of proposed legislation           
accompanying it4 ,his ,report contains  
comparatively little that is original1  
being made up of ninety per cent4 of    
quotations from ,horace ,mann's ,report 
and from reports of eminent ,european   
statesmen and educators4 ,and yet the   
,report is none the less valuable       
because of the quotations1 nor does a   
reading of it tend to lessen one's      
respect for the writer4 ,on the         
contrary1 the aptness of the quotations 
and the skilful way in which ,ryerson   
marshals his proofs1 show his           
statesmanship and genius for            
organization4 ,he saw enough during his 
,european and ,american tours of        
investigation to convince him that      

,canada could1 with profit to herself1  
borrow many things from other peoples4  
,his shrewd common sense and intimate   
first-hand knowledge of ,canadian       
conditions told him exactly what ought  
to be done1 and he wisely allowed others
 to tell in his ,report their own       
stories4 ,his position was that of a    
skilled advocate bringing forth witness 
after witness to give evidence to the   
soundness of his theories4  #fh ,see    
,report on a ,system of ,public         
,elementary ,instruction for ,upper     
,canada1 by ,egerton ,ryerson1 published
 #ahdg1 consisting of #aia pages4       
,note4--,unless otherwise specified1 all
 quotations in this ,chapter are from   
the above report4   ,he sets out by     
defining education1 and although his    
definition is not scientific in a       
psychological sense1 it is essentially  
correct--it points to the school as an  
agency to promote good citizenship4 ,by 
education ,i mean not the mere          
acquisition of certain arts or of       

certain branches of knowledge1 but that 
instruction and discipline which qualify
 and dispose the subjects of it for     
their appropriate duties and employments
 of life1 as ,christians1 as persons of 
business1 and also as members of the    
civil community in which they live4     
,ryerson then points out that in ,upper 
,canada the education of the masses has 
been sacrificed to the education of a   
select class4 ,he wishes to see a system
 of universal education adapted to the  
needs of the country4 ,the branches of  
knowledge which it is essential that all
 should understand should be provided   
for all1 and taught to all2 should be   
brought within the reach of the most    
needy and forced upon the attention of  
the most careless4 ,the knowledge       
required for the scientific pursuit of  
mechanics1 agriculture1 and commerce    
must needs be provided to an extent     
corresponding with the demand and the   
exigencies of the country2 while to a   
more limited extent are needed          

facilities for acquiring the higher     
education of the learned professions4   
,the ,report sets forth a great array of
 proof drawn from the ,united ,states1  
,britain1 ,switzerland1 ,germany1 and   
other ,european countries1 to show that 
the productive capacity of the people1  
their morality and intelligence1 are in 
direct proportion to their schools and  
institutions of learning4 ,ryerson lays 
down as fundamental that any system     
adopted for ,upper ,canada must be      
universal in the sense of giving        
elementary instruction to all and       
practical in the sense of fitting for   
the duties of life in a young country4  
,he goes to considerable trouble to show
 that in his view the practical includes
 religion and morality1 as well as a    
development of the merely intellectual  
powers4  ,ryerson was no narrow         
ecclesiastic1 but still he could        
conceive of no sound system of          
elementary instruction that did not     
provide for the teaching of the         

essential truths of ,christianity4 ,he  
was decidedly not in favour of secular  
schools or secular colleges4 ,and yet he
 believed that religious instruction in 
mixed classes was possible1 and pointed 
out in his ,report how it might be      
conducted4 ,he made a very sharp        
distinction between religion and dogma1 
between the essential truths of         
,christianity and sectarianism4 ,dogma  
and sectarian teaching1 in his opinion1 
had no place in schools except in those 
where all the pupils were of a common   
religious faith4 ,what he pleads for in 
his ,report is the recognition of       
,christianity as a basis of all         
instruction1 and the teaching of as much
 of the ,bible as could be given without
 offending any sectarian prejudices4 ,to
 teach a child the dogmas and spirit of 
a ,sect1 before he is taught the        
essential principles of ,religion and   
,morality1 is to invert the pyramid1 to 
reverse the order of nature1--to feed   
with the bones of controversy instead of

 with the nourishing milk of ,truth and 
,charity4444 ,i can aver from personal  
experience and practice1 as well as from
 a very extended enquiry on this        
subject1 that a much more comprehensive 
course of ,biblical and ,religious      
instruction can be given than there is  
likely to be opportunity for doing so in
 ,elementary ,schools1 without any      
restraint on the one side or any        
tincture of sectarianism on the         
other1--a course embracing the entire   
history of the ,bible1 its institutions1
 cardinal doctrines and morals1 together
 with the evidences of its authenticity4
 ,the ,report goes on to show how from  
,ryerson's viewpoint the absence of     
religious teaching in the schools of the
 ,american ,union was having a damaging 
effect upon the moral fibre of the      
national life4 ,he further illustrated  
by reference to what he saw in ,france1 
,germany1 and ,ireland1 how religious   
instruction might be given without      
causing any denominational friction or  

unpleasantness4  ,after defining the aim
 and scope of a national system of      
education1 and giving it a religious    
foundation1 the ,report outlines the    
subjects that should be taught in       
,elementary ,schools1 and illustrates in
 almost every case how these several    
subjects should be presented4 ,while the
 basis of the instruction proposed is   
the three ,r's--reading1 including      
spelling2 'riting1 and 'rithmetic--yet  
it is remarkable to what an extent      
,ryerson proposed to go in enriching the
 ,common ,school programme4 ,indeed1 as 
one reads the ,report he is inclined to 
repeat the old adage3 ,there is nothing 
new under the sun4 ,almost every subject
 introduced into ,ontario schools during
 the last quarter of the nineteenth     
century1 and many which yet1 in the     
twentieth century1 seem to have an      
insecure foothold1 and are by many      
denominated fads1 were included by      
,ryerson in his memorable ,report of    
#ahdf1 and the arguments he uses in     

favour of their adoption would not seem 
out of place if used by an advanced     
educator of the present day4 ,he pleads 
for music1 drawing1 history1 civics1    
inductive geography1 inductive grammar  
teaching1 concrete number work1 oral    
instruction1 mental arithmetic1 nature  
study1 experimental science1            
book-keeping1 agriculture1 physical     
training1 hygiene1 and even political   
economy4 ,he illustrates some ,german   
methods of teaching reading that many   
,ontario teachers fondly think were     
originated in their own country4        
,ryerson from ,canada1 ,horace ,mann    
from ,massachusetts1 ,sir ,kay          
,shuttleworth from ,england1 besides    
many others1 about this time paid visits
 to ,prussia1 and went home to recommend
 the adoption of much that they saw4    
,these men were acute observers4 ,they  
recognized that the ,germans had learned
 something that was not generally known 
by other teachers4 ,how are we to       
explain it8 ,had the ,german teachers by

 accident blundered upon better methods 
of teaching than were practised by other
 nations8 ,not so4 ,the ,german methods 
were the natural result of the ,german  
philosophy4 ,the work of ,herbart1      
,froebel1 and other thinkers1 was       
bearing its natural fruit1 and many of  
the improvements introduced into the    
,canadian schools by ,ryerson and       
practised by ,canadian teachers1 perhaps
 in an empirical way1 were far-away     
echoes of principles laboriously worked 
out by ,german scholars4  ,ryerson's    
remarks on teaching ,biography and      
,civil ,government seem almost like an  
echo from some modern school syllabus4  
,individuals preceded nations4 ,the     
picture of the former is more easily    
comprehended than that of the latter1   
and is better adapted to awaken the     
curiosity and interest the feeling of   
the child4 ,biography should1 therefore1
 form the principal topic of elementary 
history2 and the great periods into     
which it is naturally and formally      

divided1--and which must be distinctly  
marked1--should be associated with the  
names of some distinguished individual  
or individuals4 ,the life of an         
individual often forms the leading      
feature of the age in which he lived and
 will form the best nucleus around which
 to collect1 in the youthful mind1 the  
events of an age1 or the history of a   
period4444 ,every pupil should know     
something of the ,government and        
,institutions and ,laws under which he  
lives1 and with which his rights and    
interests are so closely connected4     
,provision should be made to teach in   
our ,common ,schools an outline of the  
principles and constitution of our      
,government2 the nature of our          
institutions2 the duties which they     
require2 the manner of fulfilling them2 
some notions of our ,civil1 and         
especially our ,criminal ,code4  ,the   
second part of ,ryerson's ,report is    
wholly concerned with the machinery of a
 ,system of ,public ,elementary         

,instruction for ,upper ,canada4 ,the   
,report1 after giving an outline of the 
various classes of schools in ,france   
and ,germany1 recommends for ,canada a  
system as follows3--,common or ,primary 
,schools for every section of a         
township2 ,district ,model ,schools1    
which would correspond with the ,german 
,real or ,trade ,schools2 ,district     
,grammar ,schools1 which would          
correspond with the ,german ,higher     
,burgher ,schools and ,gymnasia2 and1   
completing all1 one or more ,provincial 
,universities4 ,the ,report also        
suggested that as ,districts became more
 populous each would in time be able to 
support1 say three ,model ,schools1 and 
these might specialize1 one training for
 agriculture1 another for commercial    
life1 and a third for mechanical or     
industrial life4  ,normal ,schools were 
also recommended for the training of    
teachers1 and elaborate arguments set   
forth showing their benefits4 ,the      
example of ,france1 ,germany1 ,ireland1 

and the ,united ,states is quoted to    
show how these schools would secure     
better teachers1 and that better        
teachers would mean better schools4     
,ryerson believed that ,normal ,schools 
would elevate teaching to the rank of a 
profession4 ,he believed that the people
 were intelligent enough to choose good 
teachers in preference to poor ones if  
the good ones were at hand4 ,he also    
pointed out how a good teacher would be 
able to economize the child's time and  
advance him much faster than an         
indifferent teacher4  ,the ,report then 
deals with the subject of textbooks4 ,we
 need to remember that in ,upper ,canada
 at this time there was no control of   
textbooks4 ,each local ,board or each   
teacher made a selection4 ,in the       
majority of cases the matter regulated  
itself4 ,pupils used what they could    
get4 ,with many of the people1 a book   
was a book1 and one was as good as      
another4 ,the utmost confusion          
prevailed4 ,there had been many         

complaints that some of the books used  
were ,american and anti-,british in     
tone4 ,by #ahdf the enterprise of       
,canadian publishers had driven out many
 of the ,american texts1 but in some    
districts they were still in common     
use4#fi ,in reference to this1 ,ryerson 
says3 ,the variety of textbooks in the  
schools1 and the objectionable character
 of many of them1 is a subject of       
serious and general complaint4 ,all     
classification of the pupils is thereby 
prevented2 the exertions of the best    
teacher are in a great measure          
paralyzed2 the time of the scholars is  
almost wasted2 and improper sentiments  
are often inculcated4 ,the ,report      
suggests that this matter must be under 
central control and not left to any     
local board or district superintendent4 
,to fully appreciate the importance of  
this matter we need to remember that    
books meant more sixty years ago than   
they do to-day in any system of         
instruction4 ,the better the teacher the

 less he is dependent upon a book1      
especially in such subjects as          
arithmetic1 grammar1 geography1 or      
history4 ,but in #ahdf the teachers were
 in many cases wholly helpless without  
books4 ,a boy went to school to mind his
 book4 ,rote learning1 working problems 
by a rule laid down in the book1        
studying printed questions and answers1 
were largely what was meant by          
schooling4 ,bad as such a system was1   
its evils were increased when the books 
were especially unsuitable4 ,ryerson    
praised very highly the series in use in
 the ,national ,schools of ,ireland1 and
 later he introduced them into ,canada4 
#fi ,a ,report made to the ,education   
,office1 for #ahdf1 shows that there    
were in use in ,upper ,canada schools   
#ac ,spelling1 #ajg ,reading1 #ce       
,arithmetic1 #bj ,geography1 #ba        
,history1 and #af ,grammar texts1       
besides #ec different texts in various  
other subjects4   ,public men in ,upper 
,canada who took an interest in         

education had long recognized that the  
,common ,schools were sadly in need of a
 stronger central control1 and some     
system of inspection4 ,but how to secure
 these safeguards and yet not destroy   
the principle of local control was no   
easy problem to solve4 ,the township    
superintendents were not educators4     
,they often were intelligent men1 but as
 a class were without any knowledge of  
how to guide schools or inspire teachers
 to nobler things4 ,they received from  
,l#aj to ,l#bj a year for their         
services1 which sum was as good as      
wasted4 ,the ,act of #ahda1 and that of 
#ahdc1 had made provision for local     
superintendents of education1 and had   
also defined their duties1 but the ,act 
had made no provision to secure the due 
performance of their orders4 ,they were 
without power except such as the        
,district and ,township ,boards         
voluntarily allowed them to assume4     
,they might make suggestions and give   
advice1 but with that their legal       

functions were at an end4  ,when ,m4    
,cousin1 in #ahcf1 visited ,holland to  
examine into the system of primary      
instruction in that country1 the ,dutch 
,commissioner who had founded the system
 said to him3 ,be watchful in the choice
 of your inspectors2 they are the men   
who ought to be sought for with a       
lantern in the hand4 ,ryerson recognized
 the truth of this1 and in his ,report  
laid it down as essential to any        
efficient system4  ,his report on the   
control that should be exercised        
directly by the ,government ,i shall    
quote entire4  7#a7 ,to see that the    
,legislative grants are faithfully and  
judiciously expended according to the   
intentions of the ,legislature2 that the
 conditions on which the appropriations 
have been made are in all cases duly    
fulfilled4  7#b7 ,to see that the       
general principles of the law as well as
 the objects of its appropriations are  
in no instance contravened4  7#c7 ,to   
prepare the regulations which relate to 

the general character and management of 
the schools1 and the qualifications and 
character of the teachers1 leaving the  
employment of them to the people and a  
large discretion as to modes of         
teaching4  7#d7 ,to provide or recommend
 books from the catalogue of which      
,trustees or ,committees may be enabled 
to select suitable ones for the use of  
their schools4  7#e7 ,to prepare and    
recommend suitable plans of             
school-houses and their furniture and   
appendages as one of the most important 
subsidiary means of securing good       
schools--a subject upon which it is     
intended by me1 on a future occasion1 to
 present a special report4  7#f7 ,to    
employ every constitutional means to    
excite a spirit of intellectual activity
 and enquiry1 and to satisfy it as far  
as possible by aiding in the            
establishment and selection of school   
libraries and other means of diffusing  
useful knowledge4  7#g7 ,finally and    
especially1 to see that an efficient    

system of inspection is exercised over  
all the schools4 ,this involves the     
examination and licensing of teachers1  
visiting the schools1 discovering errors
 and suggesting remedies as to the      
organization1 classification and methods
 of teaching in the schools1 giving     
counsel and instruction as to their     
management1 carefully examining the     
pupils1 animating teachers1 trustees and
 parents by conversations and addresses1
 whenever practicable1 imparting vigour 
by every available means to the whole   
school system4 ,what the ,government is 
to the system and what the teacher is to
 the school1 the local inspector or     
superintendent of schools should be     
within the limits of his district4      
,this plan made the ,local              
,superintendent responsible for the     
examination and licensing of teachers   
according to regulations laid down by   
the ,department4 ,with this important   
exception it will be seen that the      
functions of the ,government as         

exercised through the ,department of    
,education are substantially the same   
to-day as they were outlined in         
,ryerson's first report4  ,the          
concluding part of the report dealt with
 what ,ryerson called ,individual       
,efforts1 and under this heading he said
 some very sensible things4 ,he         
emphasized the importance of parents    
taking an interest in the school1 of    
clergymen and magistrates visiting the  
school1 of good school libraries1 of    
,teachers' ,institutes1 of debating     
clubs1 and of every agency that would   
assist in stimulating intellectual life4
     ,,chapter ,,vi4  ,,ryerson',s      
,,school ,,bill ,,of #ahdf4   ,the year 
#ahdf will ever be memorable in the     
annals of school legislation in ,upper  
,canada1 because it established the main
 principles upon which all subsequent   
school legislation was founded4 ,as     
already pointed out1 the ,act of #ahdc  
was largely a failure because it did not
 provide adequate machinery for the     

enforcement of its provisions4 ,no      
important school legislation was        
undertaken during #ahde in anticipation 
of ,ryerson's report4 ,after making his 
report1 ,ryerson drafted a ,bill which1 
with a few trifling emendations1 became 
the ,common ,school ,act of #ahdf4 ,it  
will assist us to an intelligent grasp  
of future legislation if we examine this
 ,act with some care4  ,it first defined
 the duties of the ,superintendent of   
,schools4 ,he became the chief executive
 officer of the ,government in all      
school matters4 ,he was to apportion    
among the various ,district ,councils   
7there were twenty at this time7 in     
proportion to the school population1 the
 money voted by the ,legislature for the
 support of common schools 7the total   
,legislative grant for #ahdf was        
,l#bj1ifb to #b1gcf schools7 and see    
that it was expended according to the   
,act2 he was to supply school officers  
with all necessary forms for making     
school returns and keep them posted as  

to school regulations2 he was to        
discourage unsuitable books as texts and
 for school libraries and to recommend  
the use of uniform and approved texts2  
he was to assume a general direction of 
the ,normal ,school when it became      
established2 he was to prepare and      
recommend plans for school-houses1 with 
proper furniture2 he was to encourage   
school libraries1 and finally he was to 
diffuse information generally on        
education and submit an annual report to
 the ,governor-,general4  ,the ,act     
established the first ,general ,board of
 ,education4#gj ,it was to consist of   
the ,superintendent of ,education and   
six other members appointed by the      
,governor-,general4 ,this ,board was to 
manage the ,normal ,school1 to authorize
 texts for schools and to aid the       
,superintendent with advice upon any    
subject which he should submit to it4   
#gj ,the one in existence from #ahbc to 
#ahcc was not established by ,parliament
 but by the ,lieutenant-,governor by the

 authority of the ,imperial ,government4
   ,the ,act provided for a ,normal and 
,model ,school4 ,it required each       
,municipal ,district ,council to appoint
 a ,superintendent of ,schools4 ,no     
qualification was fixed for the         
,district ,superintendent4 ,it would    
have been useless to do so1 because     
there were no men technically qualified 
for such positions4 ,the only thing to  
do was trust to the ,district ,council  
to choose the best man available4 ,the  
,district ,municipal ,council was also  
instructed to levy upon the rateable    
property of the ,district a sum for     
support of schools at least equal to the
 ,legislative grant4 ,they were to      
divide each township1 town or city into 
numbered school sections4 ,they were    
also given power by by-law to levy rates
 upon any school section for the        
purchase of school sites1 erection of   
school buildings or teachers' residences
 in that section4  ,the ,district       
,superintendents became very important  

officers1 and upon their learning1 zeal1
 integrity and tact must have depended  
much of the success or failure of the   
schools of this period4 ,they were      
required to apportion the ,district     
,school ,fund1 consisting of the        
,legislative grant and ,municipal levy1 
among the various school sections in    
proportion to the number of children    
between five and sixteen years of age   
resident in the section1 and pay these  
sums to the teacher on the proper order 
being presented2 to visit all schools in
 their ,districts#ga at least once a    
year and report on their progress and   
general condition2 to advise trustees   
and teachers in regard to school        
management2 to examine candidates for   
teachers' certificates1 and grant       
licenses1 either temporary or permanent1
 to those who were proficient2 to revoke
 licenses held by incompetent or        
unsuitable teachers2 to prevent the use 
of unauthorized textbooks2 and finally1 
to make an annual report of the schools 

in their districts to the ,chief        
,superintendent4  #ga ,five ,districts  
had1 in #ahdf1 more than #bjj schools   
each1 the average for the ,province     
being #aee schools for each ,district4  
,the ,act declared that all ,clergymen1 
,judges of the ,district ,court1        
,wardens1 ,councillors and ,justices of 
the ,peace were to be school visitors1  
with the right to visit any school or   
schools in their districts except       
,separate ,schools4 ,they were given    
authority to question pupils1 conduct   
examinations and advise the teachers1 or
 make reports to the ,district          
,superintendent4 ,they were especially  
charged with the duty of encouraging    
school libraries4 ,one remarkable power 
was conferred upon them4 ,any two school
 visitors of a district were allowed to 
examine a candidate for a teacher's     
license and grant such license if they  
saw fit for a term not exceeding one    
year in a specified school4  ,there are 
two simple explanations#gb of this      

clause in ,ryerson's ,school ,act4 ,he  
may have wished to interest school      
visitors in the schools by giving them  
some power4 ,he may have wished to      
create a local power to act in an       
emergency if a school became vacant     
through any cause during a school term4 
,in many cases the ,superintendent lived
 fifty to seventy-five miles from the   
remote corners of his ,district1 and    
with the primitive means of             
communication in use at that time1 it   
was an advantage to have some local body
 with authority to license teachers4    
#gb ,ryerson also gives as a reason his 
desire to make a gradual transition from
 the old system of license by ,township 
,boards to the new plan of granting     
licenses only by the ,district          
,superintendent4 ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4
 ,,vii41 ,p4 #aee4   ,it is a matter for
 regret that at the present time the    
various officials mentioned here as     
school visitors1 as well as parents     
generally1 are so seldom seen inside the

 public schools4 ,true1 we now have     
trained teachers1 and teaching has so   
far become a profession that few school 
visitors would care to question pupils1 
but the very presence in the school-room
 from time to time of educated men and  
women1 and especially those occupying   
public positions1 has a beneficial      
effect upon both teachers and pupils4   
,pupils feel that the work of the school
 must be important if it is worthy of   
the attention of busy and successful    
men4 ,teachers are encouraged to make a 
good showing and are often hungry for   
the few words of sympathy and           
encouragement that would naturally      
accompany such visits4 ,the school can  
never fully realize its function as a   
social institution unless the best      
citizens take an active interest in it4 
,this was uppermost in ,ryerson's mind  
when he penned that part of his report  
relating to individual efforts in       
promoting the welfare of the school4#gc 
#gc ,see ,report in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4  

,,vi41 p4 #bjh4   ,the ,act of #ahdf    
defined in detail how school trustees   
were to be elected4 ,in all previous    
,acts the whole ,trustee ,board was     
elected annually4 ,this gave to the     
,board no continuity of corporate life4 
,one ,trustee ,board might have certain 
plans and make a certain bargain with a 
teacher4 ,the new ,board might have     
different plans and repudiate the       
contracts of its predecessor4 ,ryerson's
 ,bill solved the difficulty by having  
trustees elected for three years1 one to
 retire annually4 ,trustees' duties were
 not materially different from those of 
trustees to-day except in one or two    
particulars4 ,they had to raise by a    
rate bill upon parents of pupils        
attending school such sums as were      
required over and above the two school  
grants for payment of the teacher's     
salary and the incidental expenses of   
the school2 they were required to make  
provision by which the children of      
indigent parents were exempted1 wholly  

or in part1 from school rates2 and they 
were required to select school books    
from a list sanctioned by the           
,department of ,education4 ,in          
,ryerson's draft bill he proposed that  
the rate bill should be levied upon the 
property of the section4 ,this would    
virtually have given free schools4 ,the 
,legislature of #ahdf amended this      
clause and made the rate bill assessable
 only upon parents of children in actual
 attendance4 ,ryerson says of these rate
 bills3#gd ,the evils of the present    
system of school rate bills have been   
brought under my notice from the most   
populous townships and by the most      
experienced educationists in ,canada4   
,when it is apprehended that the rate   
bill in a school section will be high1  
many will not send their children to the
 school at all--then there is no school2
 or else a few give enough to pay the   
teacher for three months1 including the 
,government grant2 or even after the    
school has commenced1 if it be found    

that the school is not so large as had  
been anticipated1 and that those who    
send will consequently be required to   
pay more than they had expected1 parents
 will begin to take their children from 
school in order to escape the rate bill 
as persons would flee from a falling    
house6 ,the consequence is that the     
school is either broken up1 or the whole
 burthen of paying the teacher falls    
upon the trustees1 and often as a       
consequence a quarrel ensues between    
them and the teacher4 ,i have been      
assured by the most experienced and     
judicious men1 with whom ,i have        
conversed on the subject1 that it is    
impossible to have good schools under   
the present rate bill system4 ,i think  
the substitute ,i proposed will remedy  
the evil4 ,i know of none who will      
object to it but the rich and the       
childless and the selfish4 ,education is
 a public good2 ignorance is a public   
evil4 ,what affects the public ought to 
be binding upon each individual         

composing it4 ,in every good government 
and in every good system the interests  
of the whole society are obligatory upon
 each member of it4  #gd ,see ,d4 ,h4   
,e41 ,vol4 ,,vi41 p4 #gf4   ,this rate  
bill1 as authorized in #ahdf1 was1      
however1 an improvement on the old one  
which was levied upon parents according 
to the actual time of the child's       
attendance1 whereas the ,bill of #ahdf  
levied a tax upon the parents of        
children in actual attendance for at    
least two-thirds of the whole school    
term1 whether the children attended     
regularly or irregularly4  ,teachers'   
duties were defined by the ,act much as 
they are to-day4 ,district ,model       
,schools were authorized on the same    
condition as in the ,act of #ahdc4 ,the 
clauses in the ,act of #ahdc relating to
 the formation of ,separate ,roman      
,catholic or ,protestant schools were   
also embodied in the ,act of #ahdf4     
,now1 what are the distinguishing       
features of this ,school ,act that      

reflect credit upon its author8 ,it     
would be idle to pretend that there were
 not in ,upper ,canada many able men who
 saw the weaknesses of the school system
 as clearly as ,dr4 ,ryerson4 ,ryerson's
 claim to distinction rests upon the    
fact that he organized a system that    
worked4 ,he not only co-ordinated the   
several parts of the system1 but put    
life into it4 ,this was no easy task4   
,the people were very jealous of their  
power of local control1 and yet unless  
this local control could be subjected to
 some central control1 improvement was  
hopeless4 ,it was here that ,ryerson did
 what no other man had done4 ,he        
lessened local1 and strengthened        
central1 control1 and did it so         
gradually1 so wisely1 and so tactfully1 
that local prejudices were soothed and  
in many cases the people scarcely       
recognized what was being done until the
 thing was accomplished4 ,we must not   
suppose that all this was completed by  
the legislation of #ahdf4 ,it began     

then1 but its complete evolution was the
 work of a quarter-century4  ,if we ask 
through what agency ,ryerson was enabled
 to secure this gradual executive       
strength that makes our educational     
machinery so effective the answer must  
be--the ,legislative grant4 ,the        
,legislature placed the grant at the    
disposal of the ,superintendent for him 
to apportion among the ,districts4 ,here
 was a lever of wonderful power1 and    
,ryerson was quick to perceive its      
possibilities4 ,if ,districts wished a  
grant they must conform to certain      
requirements4 ,if school sections wished
 a grant from the ,district             
,superintendent1 they1 too1 must satisfy
 certain requirements as to textbooks1  
qualified teachers1 building and        
equipment4  ,no doubt the ,prussian     
system gave ,ryerson many hints on this 
subject1 but he knew that the ,canadian 
spirit was very different from the      
docile ,german spirit fostered by       
generations of benevolent paternalism4  

,i think1 too1 there can be no          
reasonable doubt that he received many  
practical hints on this point from the  
workings of ,her ,majesty's ,committee  
on ,education formed by the ,imperial   
,parliament4 ,the history of the world  
presents no more significant            
illustration of how an outside body may 
come to exercise an effective control   
over various kinds of schools than is   
presented by the history of the schools 
of ,great ,britain and ,ireland and     
their control by ,her ,majesty's        
,government through parliamentary       
grants4  ,that the leaders of ,canadian 
public opinion in the years following   
#ahdf saw all that was involved in      
,ryerson's gradual strengthening of     
central control of educational affairs  
is made abundantly clear by the leading 
editorials in the press of that period4 
,the ,toronto ,globe1 which had been    
established in #ahdd by the ,browns1 was
 already in #ahdf the leading exponent  
of advanced liberal ideas in ,upper     

,canada4 ,as the ,globe had been        
bitterly opposed to ,lord ,metcalfe1 and
 had resented ,ryerson's defence of him1
 it was not to be expected that         
,ryerson's appointment as               
,superintendent of ,education would be  
satisfactory to that journal1 or that   
his educational plans would be leniently
 criticised4 ,indeed1 the ,globe        
editor's first objection to ,ryerson's  
,bill of #ahdf was to the great powers  
conferred upon the ,superintendent and  
to the irresponsible nature of his      
,commission4 ,the following is from a   
,globe editorial of ,april #adth1       
#ahdf2ge ,we have read a draft of the   
new ,school ,bill for ,upper ,canada    
brought in by ,mr4 ,draper4 ,we have not
 been able to go over all its claims1   
but it contains one objectionable       
principle1 viz43 the appointment and    
dismissal of the ,superintendent is     
vested in the ,governor-,general        
personally and not in the               
,governor-,general with the advice of   

his ,council1 as it ought to be4 ,the   
whole funds from which the school system
 is to derive support are raised by the 
people of ,canada1 and the disposal of  
them should be subjected to the control 
of the ,house through the ,executive    
,council4444 ,the powers of the         
,superintendent are very great and      
embrace many points such as the         
selection of proper books1 etc4 ,a      
,board of seven ,commissioners to assist
 the ,superintendent is named1 but the  
,governor may appoint them1 or not1 and 
the ,superintendent may take their      
advice1 or not1 and he has also power to
 prevent interference at any time1 for  
he is only to receive advice on all     
measures which he may 'submit to them4' 
,the whole of this extensive            
institution1 if the ,bill passes1 will  
be lodged in the ,governor-,general     
personally and in the ,superintendent1  
and they may work it for any purpose    
that suits their views4 ,on ,july #adth1
 #ahdf1 the editor of the ,globe again  

criticises the ,school ,bill1 because   
the ,superintendent reports to the      
,governor and not to the                
,governor-,general-in-,council4  #ge    
,see bound volume of ,globe in          
,legislative ,library1 ,toronto4        
,these articles are interesting and     
important4 ,why was ,ryerson's          
appointment vested in the ,governor and 
not in the ,executive ,council8 ,the    
answer not only throws valuable light   
upon the way that ,ryerson himself      
viewed his office and its relation to   
the public1 but it incidentally shows   
how imperfectly responsible government  
was established in ,upper ,canada in    
#ahdf4 ,we should gasp with astonishment
 in ,canada to-day if it were proposed  
to vest the appointment of any public   
officers in the ,governor-,general      
personally4 ,we allow our ,governors no 
personal freedom in the conduct of      
public affairs4 ,but in #ahdf that idea 
was not wholly accepted4 ,there still   
lingered a feeling that the ,crown had  

certain vaguely-defined prerogatives1   
which might be exercised without let or 
hindrance from ,councillors4 ,and many  
who recognized that the ,british ,crown 
had little individual freedom of action 
in public affairs in ,britain could not 
see that the same status ought to be    
established for the ,crown's            
representative in a colony4 ,or1 to put 
it in another way1 the people did not   
see how a colony could be self-governing
 without being wholly independent4      
,ryerson wished his appointment to be   
vested in the ,governor1 rather than in 
the ,executive ,council1 because he     
thought that by such an arrangement he  
was a servant of the country and not of 
any political party4 ,he thought that a 
,superintendent of ,education ought1    
like a judge1 to be placed beyond the   
accidents and turmoil of politics4 ,no  
doubt that was an illogical position4   
,indeed1 time showed it to be so1 and   
that full recognition of the principle  
of responsible government required a    

,minister of ,education responsible     
directly to the ,legislature4 ,we can   
only speculate as to what would have    
been the effect upon our schools had    
,ryerson's position been looked upon as 
political and had he been forced to     
vacate his office with every change of  
government4 ,it seems doubtful whether  
our schools would have improved as      
rapidly as they did under the           
conservative1 but truly progressive1    
policy of ,ryerson4  ,there is abundant 
evidence that there were many in ,upper 
,canada who wished to see the position  
of ,superintendent closely connected    
with politics4 ,a ,globe editorial1     
,jan4 #fth1 #ahdg1 commenting on        
,ryerson's report1 says3 ,we expected   
that when our new ,superintendent       
stepped into his ill-gotten office he   
would immediately take measures to make 
himself acquainted with the replies to  
such questions as the following3 ,first1
 the situation1 condition and number of 
schools and school-houses of all kinds  

in the ,province4 ,second1 the manner in
 which school trustees1 town1 county and
 district ,superintendents had          
discharged their several duties4 ,third1
 the desire manifested by parents       
generally for the education of their    
children4 ,fourth1 the competency and   
efficiency of the teachers1 their       
salaries1 etc4 ,fifth1 the kind of      
school books used1 the school libraries 
and other apparatus for teaching4 ,had  
such questions been proposed and        
answered1 the ,superintendent would have
 had something to base a report upon4   
,it was but natural to suppose that an  
officer whose sole prospects of success 
are in the confidence and co-operation  
of the people would have taken some     
steps to gain that confidence and       
co-operation1 that he would have been   
desirous by direct communication with   
superintendents1 trustees1 experienced  
teachers and influential persons in the 
,province of ascertaining their views   
and of obtaining their suggestions as to

 the best means of promoting the        
interests of the noble department over  
which he had been called to preside4    
,but no1 it is true he was devising a   
system of education for ,canada1 but    
what had the wants or wishes of the     
people to do with it8 ,the serfs must   
receive anything ,i1 their lord and     
master1 may import from the cringing    
subjects of despotic monarchies4 ,we are
 more and more convinced from the       
examination of this report that ,mr4    
,ryerson is not competent for the       
situation which he occupies4  ,this is  
manifestly unfair4 ,ryerson knew from   
previous experience and without any     
further special investigation1 the      
answer to every one of the five         
questions propounded above4 ,in #ahdh1  
just after the ,baldwin-,lafontaine     
administration was formed1 and before   
the newly-formed ministry had met       
,parliament1 there was more or less     
discussion about dismissing ,ryerson    
from his position as ,superintendent of 

,education4 ,the ,globe of ,april #bith1
 #ahdh1 says3 ,will any man1 except a   
few of his own clique1 say that ,egerton
 ,ryerson should be ,superintendent of  
,education under a ,liberal ,government8
 ,we apprehend none4 ,he has done       
nothing wrong since his appointment1 it 
is said4 ,we say he has4 ,he spent many 
months on the ,continent of ,europe and 
in ,britain in amusement or recreation1 
professing to get information about     
things which every person knew          
already4444 ,we have had hints of the   
,prussian system being applicable to    
,canada and we feel convinced that he1  
who sold himself to the late            
,administration1 would have readily     
brought all the youth of ,canada to the 
same market and placed them under the   
domination of an arbitrary and coercive 
power4 ,he had sold their fathers for   
pelf1 why not sell the sons also8 ,was  
he not in league with that party which  
would retain the ,province in vassalage 
to the old ,compact which he had so     

heartily denounced in former times8 ,is 
he not a member of that ,methodist      
,committee which bargained away to a    
worthless ,ministry the ,methodist votes
 for ,l#a1ejj to ,victoria ,college8    
,these are most memorable events in the 
annals of political corruption4444 ,but 
we care not if there had been no ground 
for complaint since #ahdd4 ,we know that
 ,egerton ,ryerson sold himself body and
 spirit to ,lord ,metcalfe and that he  
broached doctrines of the most          
unconstitutional kind1 threatening those
 who were but asking the common rights  
of ,british subjects with the vengeance 
of the whole ,empire4 ,the man who holds
 such views is unfit to be at the head  
of the country's education4 ,he would   
convert the children of the ,province   
into the most pliable tools of an       
arbitrary system4  ,these articles show 
clearly that the party press was not    
disposed to judge ,ryerson by his work  
as ,superintendent of ,education4 ,they 
claimed that because he championed ,lord

 ,metcalfe in #ahdd he was a partizan1  
and if a partizan in #ahdd he must still
 be one in #ahdh4  ,besides a certain   
amount of political prejudice1 ,ryerson 
had to overcome the many points of      
friction caused by an attempt to work   
the ,bill of #ahdf1 and when we consider
 the ignorance and incompetence among   
those upon whom the administration of   
the ,act rested1 and the prejudices     
against the ,act by many who were       
supremely selfish1 we have to admit that
 a less courageous man would have       
utterly failed4 ,many trustees could    
neither read nor write4 ,in some cases  
the ,district ,municipal ,councillors   
who were parties to school              
administration were equally ignorant4   
,district ,superintendents of schools   
were not always fitted for such a       
responsibility4 ,perhaps half the whole 
body of teachers made up a motley       
assortment of impecunious tramps4 ,the  
,superintendent's report for #ahdg shows
 that out of #b1egb schoolhouses only   

#acc were of brick or stone1 and that   
#a1cii were made of logs2 #a1cgh had no 
playground1 and only #afc were provided 
with water-closets4 ,with many          
superintendents1 trustees1 and teachers 
miserably incompetent1 with buildings   
and equipment woefully inadequate1 it   
required a stout heart to undertake a   
reformation4  ,ryerson had two          
temperamental qualities that stood him  
in good stead2 he had an idealist's     
faith in humanity1 believing that men   
would choose the higher if it could once
 be shown them2 he had besides an       
infinite capacity for hard work and for 
taking pains4 ,this is fully shown by   
the way he met the many objections to   
his ,bill of #ahdf4 ,the bitterest      
opposition came from the ,council of the
 ,gore ,district1 now the ,county of    
,wentworth1 a ,district from which more 
progressive ideas might have been       
expected4 ,on the #ajth ,november1      
#ahdf1 this ,council#gf petitioned the  
,legislative ,assembly against          

,ryerson's ,bill4 ,they objected to a   
,provincial ,board of ,education and to 
a ,chief ,superintendent4 ,they wished  
to have re-enacted the ,school ,bills of
 #ahaf and #ahbj4 ,among other things   
the petition says3 ,with respect to the 
necessity of establishing a ,normal1    
with elementary ,model ,schools in this 
,province1 your memorialists are of     
opinion that however well adapted such  
an institution might be to the wants of 
the old and densely populated countries 
of ,europe1 where service in almost     
every vocation will scarcely yield the  
common necessaries of life1 they are    
altogether unsuited to a country like   
,upper ,canada1 where a young man of    
such excellent character as a candidate 
is required to be to enter a ,normal    
,school and having the advantage of a   
good education besides1 need only turn  
to the right hand or to the left to make
 his service much more agreeable and    
profitable to himself1 than in the      
drudgery of a common school1 at an      

average of ,l#bi per annum the average  
in ,upper ,canada for #ahde2 nor do your
 memorialists hope to provide qualified 
teachers by any other means in the      
present circumstances of the country    
than by securing as heretofore the      
services of those whose physical        
disabilities from age render this mode  
of obtaining a livelihood the only one  
suited to their decaying energy1 or by  
employing such of the newly-arrived     
immigrants as are qualified for common  
school teachers1 year by year as they   
come amongst us1 and who will adopt this
 as a means of temporary support until  
their character and abilities are known 
and turned to better account for        
themselves4  #gf ,see copy of petition  
in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,vii41 pp4       
#aad-aaf4   ,this petition was sent to  
every ,district ,council in ,upper      
,canada4 ,some districts agreed with it1
 some were indifferent and some wholly  
opposed its spirit4 ,colborne ,district 
,council took a very different attitude4

 ,they praised the ,chief               
,superintendent1 warmly approved of a   
,normal ,school1 and found much to      
admire in the legislation of #ahdf4 ,the
 following from their report will serve 
as an illustration3#gg ,as the ,normal  
and ,model ,schools begin to yield their
 legitimate fruits1 and as the blighting
 effects of employing men as school     
teachers who are neither in manners nor 
in intellectual endowments much above   
the lowest menials1 shall press less and
 less heavily upon the mental and moral 
habitudes of the rising generation1 the 
great benefits to be derived from the   
present ,common ,school ,act1 and its   
immense superiority over all former     
school laws of ,upper ,canada1 will     
become more and more confessed and      
appreciated4 ,already that public apathy
 which is the deadliest enemy to        
improvement is slowly yielding to the   
necessity imposed by the present school 
law upon the trustees and others of     
acquiring extended information1 of      

entering with a deeper interest into all
 matters connected with ,common ,schools
 and of joining with school visitors1   
superintendents and municipal           
councillors in a more active and        
vigilant oversight of them4  #gg ,see   
copy of memorial in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4  
,,vii41 p4 #aag4   ,ryerson saw that    
public opinion must be educated4 ,the   
problem was a wider one than the        
education of the rising generation in   
the schoolhouses4 ,the fathers and      
mothers and all who made public opinion 
must be awakened4 ,this work ,ryerson   
did in a characteristic manner4 ,he had 
been a missionary preacher of the       
,gospel2 he now became an educational   
missionary4 ,he sent carefully-prepared 
circulars to ,municipal ,councils1 to   
,district ,superintendents1 to school   
trustees and to teachers4 ,he           
established at his own financial risk1  
and without accepting a penny of the    
profits for his labour1 an educational  
journal as a means of communication with

 the general public4 ,in the autumn of  
#ahdg he spent ten weeks in visits to   
the twenty-one ,districts into which    
,upper ,canada was at that time divided4
 ,he called ,district ,educational      
,conventions1 lasting each two days4 ,to
 these were invited teachers1 ,district 
,superintendents1 ,school ,visitors1    
,municipal ,councillors and the general 
public4 ,the ,warden was generally      
secured as chairman4 ,during the day1   
,ryerson discussed the ,school ,act and 
its operation4 ,he found that often the 
people had been misled and that trustees
 who had never made any attempt to      
enforce the ,act had laid the blame for 
their poor school upon the ,act of      
#ahdf4 ,in almost every case a frank    
discussion face to face with the parties
 concerned removed unreasonable         
prejudices and made friends for the new 
,superintendent4 ,in the evening1       
,ryerson gave a public lecture4 ,his    
subject in #ahdg was ,the ,advantage of 
,education to an ,agricultural ,people4 

,no subject could have been more        
appropriate to secure the sympathy of   
the mass of the people and to give the  
lecturer an opportunity to show what he 
hoped to do for ,upper ,canada4         
,,chapter ,,vii4  ,,the ,,ryerson ,,bill
 ,,of #ahej4   ,the ,act of #ahdf       
provided that the ,municipal ,councils  
of ,toronto and ,kingston were to have  
the same powers in school matters as the
 ,district ,councils4 ,toronto had at   
this time twelve school sections1 each  
with its own ,trustee ,board1 and each  
fixing its own textbooks and course of  
study4 ,such a system was cumbersome1   
wasteful1 and inefficient1 and the      
practical mind of ,ryerson devised a    
remedy4 ,in #ahdg1 the ,cities and      
,towns ,act was passed4 ,this ,act      
required the ,municipal ,councils of    
cities and towns to appoint a ,school   
,board of six members4 ,these six1      
together with the ,mayor of the         
,corporation1 had full control of all   
schools and school property4 ,they could

 determine the number and kind of       
schools and the texts to be used1 but   
they had no power either to levy an     
assessment upon property or to collect  
rate bills from parents4 ,any funds     
needed by the ,school ,board in addition
 to the ,legislative and ,municipal     
grants were to be levied upon the       
taxable property of the city or town by 
the ,municipal ,council4 ,but the ,act  
did not say that the ,municipal ,council
 must grant the sums asked for by the   
,board of ,trustees4 ,in ,toronto the   
,council of #ahdh refused to levy the   
necessary assessment1 and the ,school   
,trustees were compelled to close the   
schools from ,july to ,december4  ,the  
,toronto ,globe#gh declared that        
,ryerson was introducing a ,prussian    
despotism into ,canada4 ,ryerson said   
that he desired nothing ,prussian in the
 ,canadian schools except the method of 
schoolroom instruction1 and claimed that
 his new ,school ,bill was almost a     
literal transcript of that in force in  

the ,state of ,new ,york4 ,ryerson then 
set forth the chief advantage of the new
 ,bill1 viz43 that it gave to the poor  
man the right to have his children1     
however numerous1 educated1 whereas the 
rate bill system compelled him in many  
cases to claim free schooling only on   
the ground of his poverty4 ,the new     
,school ,act was to enable a poor man to
 educate his children and still maintain
 his self-respect4 ,the school tax was  
to be levied not upon the children of   
the section1 but upon the real property4
 ,ryerson concluded as follows3 ,wealthy
 selfishness and hatred of the education
 of the poor and labouring classes may  
exclaim against this provision of the   
law1 but enlightened ,christian         
philanthropy and true patriotism will   
rejoice at its application4  #gh ,see   
editorial1 ,toronto ,globe of ,may #hth1
 #ahdh4   ,commenting on ,ryerson's     
letter1 the following issue of the      
,globe said3 ,the ,doctor makes a great 
fuss about the cruel position of a man  

who cannot 'brook to say he was a       
pauper' under the old system and the    
delightful and 'enlightened ,christian  
philanthropy' of his new system which   
'places the poor man and his children   
upon equal footing with the rich man and
 his children4' ,all bunkum1 ,dr4       
,ryerson4 ,if it is hard to have ten or 
fifty or one hundred scholars as paupers
 at present1 will it improve the matter 
to make the children of the common      
schools all paupers8 ,if one class keep 
their children away now because the     
schools are above their means1 and pride
 won't let them submit to state the fact
 to a trustee1 will there not hereafter 
be a much larger class whose pride will 
prevent them sending their children to  
what even ,dr4 ,ryerson admits will be  
pauper schools8444 ,is it not melancholy
 that so crooked1 so visionary a man as 
this should be at the head of the       
literary institutions of the country8   
,but ,ryerson was fighting for free     
schools4 ,he knew that thousands of     

children were growing up ignorant1      
especially in the large towns4 ,he was  
able to show that in the city of        
,toronto1 out of #d1dej children of     
school age in #ahdf1 only #a1bba were on
 the common school registers and that   
the average attendance was scarcely one 
thousand4 ,even if it were granted that 
another thousand were in attendance at  
private and church schools1 the fact    
remained that not more than half the    
children in ,toronto were being         
educated4  ,in ,october1 #ahdh1 ,ryerson
 submitted to the ,government a draft   
,school ,bill1 designed to remedy the   
defects in the legislation of           
#ahdf-ahdh4 ,in a report#gi which he    
submitted with his draft ,bill he says3 
,no law which contemplates the removal  
of grovelling or selfish ignorance and  
the elevation of society by means of    
efficient regulations and general       
taxation for schools ever has been1 or  
ever will be1 popular with the purely   
selfish or the listlessly ignorant4 ,all

 such laws must be sustained for a time 
at least by the joint influence of the  
,government and the intelligent and     
enterprising portion of the community4  
#gi ,see copy in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4     
,,viii41 p4 #he4   ,the outcry against  
free schools and taxation of property to
 educate the children of the poor showed
 clearly that the time had not yet come 
for the realization of his plans1 and   
,ryerson in his draft ,bill restored to 
towns and cities the right to impose    
rate bills upon parents1 at the same    
time declaring his faith in the ultimate
 triumph of free schools4  ,in          
,february1 #ahdi1 ,ryerson submitted    
additions to his draft ,bill of the     
previous ,october4 ,among other changes 
he recommended additional               
,superintendents for ,districts of more 
than #aej schools2 ,district ,boards of 
,examiners who would replace the        
,district ,superintendent and school    
visitors#hj in issuing teachers'        
certificates2 ,teachers' ,institutes for

 lectures and professional training of  
teachers2 provision for separate schools
 for coloured children2 school libraries
 for each section1 and also township    
libraries2 township ,school ,boards2 a  
,school of ,art and ,design1 connected  
with the ,normal ,school2 provincial    
certificates for ,normal ,school        
graduates2 making trustees personally   
responsible for a teacher's salary2 the 
distribution of school funds on a basis 
of actual attendance1 rather than on the
 number of children in the section2     
better provision for fixing school      
sites2 more equitable division of the   
#bjj1jjj legislative grant between      
,upper and ,lower ,canada1 and provision
 for the admission into the common      
schools of pupils from sixteen to       
twenty-one years of age4  #hj ,the      
report of the ,bathurst ,district       
,superintendent for #ahdh showed #hb    
teachers certificated by ,school        
,visitors and #db by the ,district      
,superintendent4 ,see ,report of ,chief 

,superintendent for #ahdh4   ,the       
,baldwin ,government entrusted the      
handling in the ,legislature of the     
,school ,bill of #ahdi to the           
,honourable ,malcolm ,cameron4 ,it      
should be borne in mind that the        
,legislature met in ,montreal and that  
the ,education ,office for ,upper       
,canada was in ,toronto4 ,dr4 ,ryerson  
was1 therefore1 not in direct           
communication with the ,government1 nor 
was he officially informed from day to  
day as to the progress of the ,bill4 ,it
 should further be borne in mind that   
during this session the ,parliament     
,buildings were burned1 the             
,governor-,general mobbed1 and party    
feeling strongly aroused1 thus creating 
conditions favourable for hasty and     
careless legislation4 ,it seems to have 
been taken for granted by the           
,legislature that the ,bill as brought  
in was prepared by ,ryerson4 ,as a      
matter of fact1 ,ryerson's ,bill had1   
with ,cameron's assent1 been so         

mutilated by an enemy of the            
,superintendent that its essential      
provisions were destroyed4 ,as soon as  
,ryerson learned its real nature1 he    
protested on several grounds1 but       
especially because it aimed to destroy  
the usefulness of the ,chief            
,superintendent2 excluded clergymen from
 being school visitors2 destroyed the   
provincial nature of the school system2 
injured the prospects of a ,normal      
,school2 would subject teachers to      
serious loss in collecting their        
salaries2 re-established school sections
 in towns and cities2 made no provision 
for uniform textbooks1 and because it   
was cumbersome and unworkable4 ,after an
 elaborate analysis of the ,bill1       
,ryerson intimated that he would not    
attempt to administer the law as passed 
and that sooner than do so he would     
resign4 ,the ,government soon           
ascertained that the ,bill was          
unsatisfactory to everybody and         
intimated to ,ryerson that it would not 

be brought into operation4 ,this course 
was followed1 and in the meantime       
,ryerson perfected his plans for a new  
,bill to go before the ,legislature in  
#ahej4  ,as the ,cameron ,act of #ahdi  
was never given effect1 it has no       
interest for us1 except in so far as it 
shows the evolution of the ,act of      
#ahej4 ,during the ,parliamentary       
recess1 #ahdi-ej1 the ,government issued
 circular letters to ,school            
,superintendents1 ministers and other   
official persons1 to secure suggestions 
as to school legislation4 ,the replies  
were handed to ,dr4 ,ryerson by the     
,hon4 ,francis ,hincks1 who had charge  
of the ,school legislation for #ahej4   
,ryerson's draft of the ,bill of #ahej  
is a tribute to his practical common    
sense and is sometimes called the       
,charter of the ,ontario ,school        
,system4 ,ryerson knew the people of    
,upper ,canada as few knew them1 and he 
was quick to see the dividing line      
between that which seemed highly        

desirable and that which was possible4  
,he moved steadily toward a distant     
goal1 but was ever educating public     
opinion to move with him and seldom     
showed impatience over the slow pace of 
travel1 so long as there was actual     
progress4 ,he wished to see free        
schools1 but in this ,act contented     
himself with securing permissive        
legislation1 which he believed would    
soon lead to the adoption of a free     
system4  ,the outstanding feature of the
 ,act was the strengthening of ,trustee 
,boards by recognizing them as corporate
 bodies with full power to manage       
schools under ,government regulations   
and full power to levy taxes or rates   
upon the ,district which they           
represented4 ,in case the ,municipal    
,council collected school money1 they   
did it only as a matter of convenience4 
,provision was made for securing school 
sites1 erecting and furnishing new      
buildings1 electing trustees1 holding   
board meetings1 keeping schools         

accounts1 appointing collectors for     
school moneys1 providing books and      
apparatus1 educating indigent children  
and forming school libraries4 ,teachers'
 duties and responsibilities were not   
materially altered4 ,they were1 however1
 effectually secured against loss of the
 full amount of salary promised them by 
trustee boards4 ,adequate provision was 
made for school sections composed of    
adjoining parts of two or more          
townships4 ,provision was made for      
,township ,boards of ,trustees on the   
request of a majority of the school     
supporters1 to manage all the schools of
 a township4 ,county ,boards of ,public 
,instruction were formed1 consisting of 
the ,county ,superintendent and the     
,trustees of the ,district ,grammar     
,school4 ,these boards were to meet four
 times a year1 to hold examinations and 
license teachers4 ,they were to use     
their influence to establish school     
libraries and promote the cause of      
education4 ,district superintendents    

were limited to one hundred schools     
each1 and were to receive one pound per 
annum for each school1 besides necessary
 travelling expenses4 ,the              
,superintendent was no longer the       
custodian of school money1 but gave     
orders to the ,township ,treasurer to   
pay to teachers their proper allowances4
 ,the ,superintendent was to visit every
 school in his ,district once each      
quarter1 and to deliver a public lecture
 in every school section once each year4
 ,thus the way was open for the         
,district ,superintendent to become an  
expert1 giving a minimum of time to     
clerical work and a maximum to the      
encouragement of pupils and teachers4   
,he was to become a link between the    
,department of ,education on the one    
hand and the ,district ,council and     
,trustee ,boards on the other4 ,he was a
 local officer1 but his duties were     
definitely prescribed by a central      
authority4 ,through him the ,chief      
,superintendent and the ,council of     

,public ,instruction were able to keep  
in touch with pupils1 teachers1 school  
visitors1 trustee boards1 county boards1
 and district councils4 ,school visitors
 were given the same privileges as by   
the ,act of #ahdf1 except the right to  
grant licenses to teachers4 ,the        
,general ,board of ,education was merged
 into the ,council of ,public           
,instruction1 with duties substantially 
the same as those assigned the former   
body in #ahdf4  ,incorporated towns and 
cities were no longer to have school    
sections1 but instead a ,board of       
,trustees to manage school affairs4     
,town and ,city ,school ,boards were    
allowed three ways of securing the money
 necessary1 in addition to the school   
fund1 for common school purposes4 ,the  
,board might ask the ,municipal ,council
 to levy an assessment for the required 
sum1 in which case the said ,council    
were bound to comply with its wishes2   
the ,board might levy a rate bill upon  
the parents of pupils attending school2 

or they might raise the required funds  
partly by a rate bill and partly by an  
assessment levied by the ,municipal     
,council4  ,the only real difference    
between the methods of raising money in 
towns and cities on the one hand and    
rural sections on the other1 lay in the 
plan of deciding how the money was to be
 raised4 ,in rural sections the         
ratepayers assembled at the annual      
meeting1 made the decision1 and the     
trustees carried out their wishes2 in   
towns and cities the trustees had full  
power to decide upon the method of      
taxation without consulting the         
ratepayers4 ,school trustees in         
incorporated villages were governed by  
the same rules as trustees of towns and 
cities1 except in the manner of the     
annual election4  ,one very important   
feature of the new ,act was the setting 
apart of ,l#c1jjj a year for the        
establishment and support of school     
libraries1 and ,l#be a year for each    
,district ,teachers' ,institute4 ,a sum 

was also set apart for procuring plans  
and publications for the improvement of 
school architecture4 ,the ,chief        
,superintendent was authorized to issue 
provincial certificates to ,normal      
,school graduates4  ,the ,act of #ahej  
also made some important changes        
relating to ,separate ,schools1 which   
will be noted in another chapter4  ,dr4 
,ryerson always felt that he owed much  
to the ,governor-,general1 ,lord ,elgin1
 for helping him to form a public       
opinion which made possible the         
legislation of #ahej4 ,that             
distinguished nobleman was a graduate of
 ,oxford1 and he never lost an          
opportunity of helping forward any      
movement designed to raise the          
intellectual status of the people4 ,but 
it was largely ,ryerson's unaided       
efforts that gave ,upper ,canada in     
#ahej such a splendid educational       
machinery4 ,it was no factory-made plan1
 but a system developed step by step out
 of partial failures into something     

better4 ,it was1 like all ,english law1 
the result of applying a common-sense   
remedy to a clearly proved weakness4    
,during the passage through the         
,legislature of the ,bill of #ahej1 a   
debate arose about ,ryerson's salary1   
and the value of his services to the    
country4 ,the following condensed       
account of a speech delivered in        
,parliament in ,july1 by ,hon4 ,francis 
,hincks1 makes clear the attitude       
finally adopted by the ,liberal         
,government toward ,ryerson1 and for    
that reason has some historical         
interest3  ,the member for ,toronto1    
,mr4 ,boulton1 had charged the          
,administration with buying the support 
of the ,superintendent of ,education    
with an increased salary4 ,he had       
desired1 in bringing forward this       
question1 to make it as little a        
political question as possible4 ,he     
thought that the great question of      
education might be treated without      
reference to party differences4 ,he     

thought it his duty1 considering the    
position which the ,reverend            
,superintendent of ,education occupied  
towards the party with whom he acted1 to
 state his whole course of conduct      
towards that gentleman since he had     
taken office4 ,it was well known to the 
,house that the reverend gentleman was  
engaged1 before accepting the office    
which he now held1 in very keen         
controversy with the members of the     
present ministry2 he had taken a course 
decidedly hostile to them4 ,as writer   
for the public press at that time1 he   
had himself engaged in that contest1    
though without personal feeling1 as he  
trusted he had engaged in every contest 
of the kind4 ,but there was undoubtedly 
on his own part1 and on that of his     
colleagues1 a strong political feeling  
of dislike to the reverend gentleman1 on
 account of the formidable opposition   
with which they were met by him4 ,he was
 appointed to the office of             
,superintendent by the late ,government1

 and he did not blame that ,government  
for so appointing him2 for1 if anyone   
ever established strong claims upon a   
party1 it was the reverend gentleman by 
his defence of that administration4 ,the
 present ministry again assumed the     
duties of the ,government1 and          
undoubtedly there was a general feeling 
among their supporters that one of the  
first measures expected of them was to  
get rid of the reverend gentleman in    
some way or other1 and in that feeling  
most certainly he sympathized4 ,he had  
found1 however1 bye-the-bye1 that those 
who were most eager to recommend the    
,government to dismiss officials1 when  
they were put into similar situations1  
into the municipal councils for         
instance1 that they did not carry out   
those views1 that they did not turn out 
their opponents without a reason for it4
 ,there were two or three ways of       
removing the ,chief ,superintendent2 one
 was to make the office a political one2
 but after the best consideration being 

given to the question1 it was not       
considered advisable to do that1 and the
 proposition to abolish the office      
altogether1 he was satisfied would have 
had the worst possible consequences on  
the educational interests of the        
country1 after observing the benefits of
 active superintendents in ,new ,york1  
and our own ,province4 ,the only other  
mode then1 if these two were resisted1  
was to remove the incumbent altogether1 
and then the question came1 whether he  
had acted in such a manner as to justify
 his dismissal4 ,he had often asked this
 question of the persons who urged his  
dismissal1 and they had never given one 
good reason to support the affirmative4 
,he was not one of those who thought    
that because a person supported one     
,government that he was therefore       
incapable of serving faithfully those   
who succeeded them1 whom he had formerly
 opposed1 always supposing1 of course1  
that his office was not a political one4
 ,he could not find that the reverend   

gentleman had entered in the slightest  
degree into the field of politics1 and  
as he had discharged his duties with    
great zeal and ability1 they had no     
reason to interfere with him4 ,then the 
point was1 how they were to act towards 
him in his position1 and his 7,mr4      
,h4's7 determination was to give him the
 most cordial support2 as a member of   
the ,government he considered it his    
duty to do so4 ,he felt it his duty to  
give the same support to officers who   
came oftener into contact with him1 the 
officials of the ,custom ,house1 and he 
defied anyone to say that any political 
opponent of his had received less       
cordial support in the discharge of the 
duties of his office than his friends   
had2 the efficiency of the service      
absolutely required that he should do   
so4 ,he put himself in communication    
with the reverend gentleman in reference
 to this ,bill1 and as he 7,mr4 ,h47    
believed that ,doctor ,ryerson possessed
 a more complete knowledge of the school

 system than any other person1 he       
thought that any ,government would have 
done very wrong not to have availed     
themselves of that knowledge4 ,he deeply
 regretted the course which some        
gentlemen with whom he generally acted  
had taken on this matter4  ,he would    
only say now1 that he considered he     
should be paid the highest salary given 
to any officer1 for the duties of none  
were more onerous or more important4 ,he
 might remark that he had not found     
lawyers in the ,house very anxious to   
reduce the salaries of the judges1 but  
when it came to civilians1 to           
superintendents of schools1 then five   
hundred pounds a year was far too much4 
,now he considered the duties of that   
office as quite equal in importance1 and
 requiring equal talents to those of a  
,collector of ,customs1 and thought that
 he should not be placed in an inferior 
position to them4#ha  #ha ,see issue of 
,toronto ,globe1 ,july #aath1 #ahej1 p4 
#cca4         99       99       99      

99       99  ,the ,toronto ,globe1 of   
,july #afth1 #ahej1 speaking on the     
debate in the ,assembly1 said3      ,the
 debate on ,egerton ,ryerson's salary   
was1 we think1 just another     instance
 of pandering to the cry of the moment4 
,his salary was     sought to be made   
the same as the ,lower ,canada          
,superintendent's4     ,well1 the ,lower
 ,canada ,superintendent's salary is    
five hundred     pounds1 but it would   
not do to name that sum for ,upper      
,canada until     the retrenchment      
committee had operated upon ,lower      
,canada4 ,now1 why     not say at once  
that five hundred pounds is the proper  
salary for     the ,superintendent of   
,education of nearly a million people1  
and     stick to it8 ,we are no admirers
 of ,egerton ,ryerson1 and we have      
always thought1 and we think still1 that
 the present ministry should     have   
turned him out neck and crop the moment 
they got into power2     but we are free
 to admit that he is a man of very great

 talent1 who1     at any mercantile or  
professional business he might engage   
in1 would     readily make five hundred 
pounds a year1 and we do think that this
     sum is as little as could be       
assigned to an office of such high      
public importance4  ,this article       
clearly shows that the ,globe recognized
 ,ryerson's talents and his professional
 ability1 while objecting to him on     
political grounds4 ,mr4 ,george ,brown1 
the ,globe ,editor1 was too shrewd a    
man1 and had too strong an interest in  
popular education1 not to see that      
,ryerson was working a reformation in   
school affairs4 ,the following from a   
,globe editorial of ,september #adth1   
#ahej1 is really a tribute grudgingly   
paid to ,ryerson's efforts3--           
,while other professions1 the clergy1   
the lawyers1 the physicians1     have   
long gained a certain position and      
influence in society1 and     have      
assumed the management of their own     
affairs1 teachers1 as a     class1 have1

 until lately1 stood alone1 disregarded 
by the     community1 and in many       
instances treated as beneath the notice 
of     men infinitely their inferiors in
 mental acquirements1 and engaged     in
 pursuits certainly not more important  
to the well-being of the     community4 
,while others were improving their      
circumstances and     acquiring wealth  
and power1 the schoolmaster alone       
appeared     stationary1 doomed to drag 
on a life of poverty and contempt1 and  
looked upon by parents as a sort of     
nurse for their naughty     children1   
who received their wages for their      
services1 and not to     meddle with the
 affairs of the world4 ,we but repeat   
what we wrote     some years ago1 prior 
to any of ,egerton ,ryerson's schemes1  
when we     say that it is a reproach to
 the ,christian world1 that those who   
prepare the rising generation for entry 
into business life1 should     have been
 left so long to poverty1 and to have   
occupied so low a     place in society4 

,only conceive a                        
schoolmaster--profoundly versed in      
the vast variety of knowledge which the 
human mind can master1 a man     who can
 solve the most difficult problem in    
mathematics1 and take     the highest   
flights in astronomy--rarely reaching   
beyond the mark of     a person to be   
patronized4 ,to such a man1 the constant
 toil and     drudgery of a school1 the 
annoyance of unruly children and        
unreasonable parents1 and above all the 
pinching poverty to which he     is too 
often subject1 present a life of        
hardship which it is     difficult to   
conceive4 ,the smith1 or the carpenter  
of the village1     may by industry     
realize something for the wants of a    
surviving     family1 and the           
shopkeeper1 or the baker1 may perhaps   
become     wealthy2 but the idea of a   
schoolmaster having any other position  
than poverty1 would be thought the      
height of absurdity4  ,ryerson believed 
that if school trustees were given the  

option of free schools and power to     
enforce taxation for their support1 they
 would soon abolish rate-bills upon     
parents4 ,public sentiment was rapidly  
changing4 ,this was fairly shown by the 
city of ,toronto1 where there were many 
wealthy men who objected to free        
schools1 and where private and          
denominational schools were more popular
 than in any other part of ,upper       
,canada4 ,in ,march1 #ahea1 a committee 
of the ,toronto ,board submitted to the 
,chairman a special report showing that 
#c1djc children who should be in the    
schools of that city were roaming the   
streets and growing up without          
educational advantages of any kind4 ,the
 report ascribed this condition of      
affairs mainly to two causes1 rate-bills
 and lack of school accommodation1 and  
concluded by making a strong stand for  
free schools4  ,the ,toronto ,globe had 
scoffed at free schools in #ahdh4 ,the  
rapid change that took place in the     
views of this journal is a fair index of

 the change that was taking place among 
the people of ,upper ,canada in regard  
to free schools4 ,i shall1 therefore1   
quote from the ,globe to show the trend 
of public opinion on free schools during
 the early fifties4 ,as early as        
,january #cjth1 #ahea1 the ,globe said  
editorially3      ,we are glad to       
observe that the plan of free common    
schools has     been adopted at the     
recent annual meetings in very many     
school     sections throughout ,upper   
,canada4 ,the best gift the people of   
,canada     can confer on their children
 is education1 sound1 practical         
education available to all4 ,public     
money employed in educating the         
masses is a most profitable investment1 
and we hope the day will     soon be    
when a good education is open to every  
child in the     country4  ,on ,january 
#eth1 #aheb1 the ,globe expressed itself
 as follows3--      ,the most important 
change proposed in our present system of
 common     schools1 is the abolition of

 all direct charges against the parents 
of the children attending1 and the      
support of these institutes by          
direct tax on the whole body of the     
people4 ,we trust the day is not     far
 distant when the ,reserve and ,rectory 
lands will be devoted to     the support
 of the common schools of ,upper        
,canada1 the school tax     abolished1  
and the unspeakable advantages of a     
sound education     placed without any  
charge within the reach of every child  
in the     ,province4 ,every effort     
should be put forth to effect this1 but 
meantime let us seek to obtain the best 
system which our position     admits of1
 and that1 we believe1 is an entirely   
free system     supported by a direct   
tax4 ,there are many reasons urged      
against this     proposed change by     
sincere friends of education1 which are 
not     without weight4 ,it is said to  
be unjust and tyrannical to make        
people who are childless pay for those  
who are blessed with a     numerous     

progeny2 it is urged that parents will  
value the blessing     of education     
more1 when they are compelled to pay for
 it2 it is     alleged to be a weakening
 of the parental tie1 to take the       
expense     of the education of the     
child from the shoulders of the parent4 
,these arguments will have more or less 
influence according to the     position 
and character of the individual who     
considers them1 but we     assert       
without fear of contradiction that all  
the evils which our     warmest         
opponents anticipate from the           
introduction of free schools     sink   
into insignificance beside the frightful
 consequences of our     children       
growing up in the blindness of          
ignorance1 the result which     a free  
system is designed to avert4 ,no        
reasonable disinterested man     would  
place the one class of evils in         
comparison with the other4444      ,many
 opponents of free schools1 however1 are
 willing that the     children of the   

poor should be educated without charge1 
as they are     at present4 ,most       
parents1 however1 would be1 and are1    
prevented by     their pride from taking
 advantage of this favour1 and we think 
it     highly desirable that the idea of
 begging education1 or anything         
else1 should be set as far as possible  
from the mind of every     ,canadian4   
,the children of the poor should look to
 the common schools     as a place to   
which they have a right to go1 having   
paid a quota of     the expense in      
proportion to their means1 in the same  
way that they     claim the right to    
walk the pavement1 and on the same      
grounds4 ,it is     indeed a noble      
thought to place the education of the   
people in the     same position as the  
protection of the people and the        
government of     the people1 to make it
 one of the necessaries of the existence
 of a     state in peace and security1  
and to provide it at the expense of     
all1 for the benefit of all4 ,with a    

,government formed as ours is by     the
 people1 and entirely under its control1
 our only safeguard     against anarchy 
and confusion is the intelligence and   
right of the     people4 ,a thorough    
system of common school education is the
 only     means which can ensure these  
high advantages4 ,education ought to be 
universal1 and to be so1 it must be     
entirely free from all expense2         
there must be inducements held out to   
the short-sighted1 unwilling     parent4
  ,as ,i have already shown1 free       
schools had stronger opposition in      
,toronto than at any other point1 yet at
 a large public meeting held in         
,january1 #aheb1 in ,st4 ,lawrence      
,hall1#hb there were only twelve people 
who opposed a motion for free schools4  
,later in the same month ,doctor        
,ryerson himself attended a public      
meeting in ,toronto and discussed the   
free school issue4 ,i shall quote from  
his speech#hc to show how skilfully he  
could use a concrete illustration to    

influence public opinion4 ,speaking of  
free schools he said he well remembered 
how he went to visit one of the public  
schools of ,boston1 the ,high ,school1  
where boys were prepared for ,college1  
yet as free of expense to all classes as
 the lowest1 and the ,mayor of the city1
 who accompanied him1 wishing to give a 
lesson in aristocracy1 probably1 pointed
 out two lads who occupied the same     
seat4 ,he told him that one of these was
 the son of ,abbot ,lawrence1 the great 
manufacturer1 and now ,american minister
 in ,england1 and the other was the son 
of the doorkeeper of the ,city ,hall1   
which they had just left4 ,they were    
enjoying the same advantages1 the son of
 the millionaire and the son of the     
doorkeeper2 that was what he wished to  
see in ,canada1 the sons of our poor    
have the same opportunity of educational
 advancement as those of the rich4 ,did 
it appear from this that the rich did   
not attend the common schools of        
,massachusetts8 ,the ,governor of that  

,state1 in a speech which he made lately
 at ,newbury ,port1 said that if he had 
as many sons as old ,priam1 and was as  
rich as ,astor1 that he would send them 
to the free school4 ,there were rich and
 proud men in ,massachusetts1           
undoubtedly1 who would not send their   
children among the poor1 and rich stingy
 men who objected to be taxed for other 
people's children1 but they were the    
exceptions to the rule4 ,there was one  
fact that he wished to mention in       
connection with the free schools of     
,massachusetts4 ,a body of ,european    
clergy belonging to the ,catholic       
,church had gone to their ,bishop in    
,boston to request him to use his       
influence against the free school       
system4 ,he returned for answer that he 
knew the character of the schools1      
having been educated in them1 and having
 owed to them his position in the       
,church and the world1 and would do     
nothing to impair their usefulness4  #hb
 ,see report in ,globe of ,january      

#ajth1 #aheb4  #hc ,see report in ,globe
 of ,january #acth1 #aheb4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,it would
 be a mistake to suppose that there were
 not valiant champions against the free 
school principle1 and it would be a     
worse mistake to suppose that all the   
sound arguments were on the side of free
 schools4 ,the following letters from   
the ,reverend ,john ,roaf1 a ,toronto   
clergyman 7,congregationalist71 will    
give a fair idea of the stand taken by  
those who favoured rate bills upon      
parents4 ,the first letter1 published in
 the ,globe1 ,january #cast1 #aheb1 is  
as follows3      ,i am happy to inform  
you that school section ,no4 #a1        
,township of     ,york1 including the   
village of ,yorkville1 have this day    
negatived a     proposal to have a free 
school1 preferring to give the teacher  
,l#fj     from the ,public funds1 and a 
right to charge #as4 #c;d4 per month for
     every child attending the school4  
,the mechanics and labourers here       

have thus discharged the power1 for     
there cannot be any such right1     so  
wrongfully given them by the ,school    
,act1 to educate their own     children 
at the expense of their more wealthy    
neighbours4 ,all praise     to their    
honesty4 ,thus they will escape from the
 pauperizing     tendencies of the free 
school system4 ,they encourage their    
schoolmaster with the hope of being     
rewarded for making a good     school4  
,they suffer the proprietors of private 
schools to maintain a     useful        
competition with the common school      
teacher2 they keep up     valuable      
select schools1 and yet in return for   
the public fund1 they     will get free 
education for the children whose parents
 need     exemption from the school     
fees4      ,may we not hope that the    
city of ,toronto will next year follow  
this     honourable example1 and spurn  
the unrighteous counsel which is        
introducing communism in education to   
the undermining of property     and     

society8 ,the ,french people and the    
,normans ought to serve as     warnings 
of the abyss to which this plausible    
socialism is enticing     us4  ,the     
second letter was published in the      
,toronto ,globe1 ,february #eth1 #aheb3 
,the idea of the outlay for education   
being profitable for the     holders of 
property1 and thus justifying the       
impost1 is much like a     joke2 for    
surely no one thinks it necessary to    
force upon men of     property so great 
a gain1 as they seldom need be convinced
 by their     poor neighbours where     
their true interests lie4 ,gain indeed2 
why1     probably three-fourths of the  
children now in the ,toronto common     
schools will carry their education away 
to the ,west1 and here be     succeeded 
by others who will similarly want to use
 our property for     their own benefit4
 ,besides we might give free education  
to those who     otherwise would be     
destitute of it1 but make those purchase
 it who     have the means4      ,while 

,i thus dwell on the injustice of the   
arrangement1 ,i do so     because what  
is unjust cannot be wise1 and not       
because the futility     of the system  
is not otherwise apparent4 ,the free    
system divests the     teacher of all   
proprietary and personal interest in his
 school1 and     will speedily render   
him sycophantic and servile to his      
trustees1     but haughty and negligent 
towards his pupils and friends4 ,it will
     throw education into the hands of  
an electioneering party1 and what       
kind of party that will be in such      
places as ,toronto1 need not be         
said4 ,it will destroy all the          
confidence and love felt towards the    
teacher as the employee and friend of   
the child's parents1 and     substitute 
for them a cold respect due to the      
public official4 ,it     will render    
school attendance desultory and         
variable1 because unpaid     for1 and   
always to be had for asking4 ,instead of
 the soft1 familiar1     and refined    

circle in which wise parents like to    
place their     children1 it will drive 
gentle youths and sensitive girls into  
the     large herds of children with all
 the regimental strictness and          
coldness and coarseness by which such   
bodies must be marked1 and     thus1    
while the child asks bread you will give
 him a stone4  ,the opposition to free  
schools did not all come from wealthy   
property-owners who objected to         
educating the children of the poor4     
,voluntary schools1 wholly independent  
of ,government control and closely      
allied with some church1 were already in
 operation in populous centres in ,upper
 ,canada4 ,the managers of these schools
 had to depend wholly upon subscriptions
 and fees4 ,so long as all schools were 
supported mainly from rate bills upon   
parents the purely voluntary schools    
were not at a serious disadvantage4 ,but
 if free common schools were            
established1 then all patrons of        
voluntary schools must submit to be     

taxed twice for the education of their  
children4 ,the following from a ,globe  
editorial of ,february #adth1 #aheb1    
shows that the effects of free schools  
upon voluntary schools were fully       
appreciated3      ,the ,patriot of      
,tuesday gives us the real reason for   
his     opposition to free schools4     
,formerly he talked of pauperizing the  
whole people1 of socializing them1 of a 
number of other direful     evils to be 
dreaded as consequences of all free     
schools4 ,in his last     article1      
however1 he admits that his main        
objection is1 that     denominational   
schools can never be supported beside   
those entirely     free4 ,we commend    
this fact to our friends who are        
sincerely opposed     to sectarian      
education1 and yet are not prepared to  
accept the     principles of entire     
freedom4 ,it is undoubtedly true what   
the     ,patriot says1 denominational   
schools cannot exist beside free        
schools4 ,so long as we continue to     

exact payment from parents1 so     long 
will efforts be made by the sects to    
obtain aid from the public     funds and
 private support in order to weaken the 
common schools1     draw away scholars  
from them1 and destroy their efficiency4
 ,when the     schools are supported    
entirely by taxation1 no such attempts  
can be     met with success4 ,no        
sectarian school only partially         
supported by     the ,state can compete 
with the free institution1 and no one   
would     be foolish enough to propose  
to endow more than one entirely free    
school4 ,the people would not stand the 
taxation4 ,the free principle     is a  
deathblow to the attempts of the priests
 to get the education     of the people 
into their own hands1 to train up the   
children in     classes and             
denominations1 to shut them out from    
free knowledge1 and     to give them    
just what pleases their prejudiced      
views4 ,the ,patriot     thinks it would
 be tyrannical to prevent the           

establishment of     sectarian schools  
by means of a free system4 ,we cannot   
see it in     that light4 ,the          
denominational plan has been tried in   
,england1 but     it has failed4 ,the   
schools were never established in       
sufficient     numbers to educate the   
people4 ,it is not reasonable to expect 
that     sects managed by cliques of    
clergymen in the large towns should be  
able to manage a complete system of     
education for the people4 ,the     very 
idea is absurd4 ,are we then to give up 
our efforts for the     education of the
 people1 because these efforts would    
interfere with     the small1           
ineffectual endeavours these            
denominations might make to     secure  
proselytes to their churches through    
secular schools8     ,certainly not2 the
 greatest friend to sectarian education 
could not     admit that2 and we who    
oppose that system rejoice that free    
schools1     which are spreading so     
fast1 will effectually put down the     

endeavours of the sects after           
educational influence which has         
produced both in ,ireland and ,england  
such a scarcity of knowledge1     and   
which have not been without their       
ill-effects in ,canada4  ,these         
quotations will for us serve two        
purposes4 ,they give a fair picture of  
the free school movement1 and they sum  
up the arguments for and against ,state 
education4 ,no thoughtful person in this
 age can observe the apathy of thousands
 of people in regard to the education of
 their children without at times feeling
 that these people would appreciate     
schools much more if they had to make   
some personal sacrifice to secure their 
advantages4 ,but further thought is     
almost certain to convince us that free 
schools are the natural support of a    
democratic government1 and that without 
their socializing influence a           
self-governing people would always be   
more or less at the mercy of demagogues4
     ,,chapter ,,viii4  ,,ryerson ,,and 

,,separate ,,schools4   ,the purpose of 
this chapter is to set forth as briefly 
as possible the origin and development  
of ,separate ,schools in ,upper ,canada1
 showing incidentally the part taken in 
that development by ,doctor ,ryerson4   
,if we seek to discover the primary     
cause of our ,separate ,school system we
 undoubtedly find it in the almost      
unanimous desire of the pioneer settlers
 to have the ,common ,schools           
established upon a basis of             
,christianity1 and to secure for their  
children some positive instruction in   
the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,from their      
standpoint secular schools were of      
necessity godless schools4 ,we need also
 to remember that sectarian prejudices  
were more bitter seventy years ago than 
they are to-day4 ,dogma and religion    
were thought to be inseparable4 ,to-day 
the various bodies of ,christians       
throughout the world make much of what  
they hold in common2 seventy years ago  
their grandfathers could not forget the 

petty differences of doctrine that held 
them apart4 ,if the schools were to give
 religious instruction1 and if the      
adoption of some form of instruction    
acceptable to all was impossible1 then  
separate schools were the logical       
outcome4 ,and as separate schools for   
each one of the many sects into which   
the scattered population of ,upper      
,canada was divided were clearly        
impossible it naturally followed that   
such schools were established for ,roman
 ,catholics who were comparatively few  
in number1 and who differed in doctrine 
from ,protestants more radically than   
the various ,protestant bodies differed 
amongst themselves4 ,no one of the      
,protestant bodies could object to the  
reading of the ,protestant ,bible in the
 schools1 but the ,roman ,catholics     
naturally objected to their children    
taking any part in such an exercise4    
,as pointed out in ,chapter ,,iv41 the  
,common ,school ,act of #ahda laid the  
foundation of ,separate ,schools4 ,the  

provisions of that ,act applied to the  
,united ,canadas4 ,in any township or   
parish any number of dissentients might 
elect a trustee board and establish a   
school1 receiving for its support public
 money in proportion to their numbers4  
,it is clear that in practice under this
 clause a dissentient school could be   
established only where the dissentients 
were sufficiently numerous to furnish at
 least fifteen children of school age1  
and contribute a considerable sum for   
school purposes4 ,another clause in the 
,act of #ahda required the ,governor to 
appoint1 in towns and cities1 school    
boards made up of an equal number of    
,protestants and ,roman ,catholics1 the 
,protestants to manage schools attended 
by ,protestant children and the         
,catholics to manage schools attended by
 ,catholic children4 ,but this clause   
made no provision for ,roman ,catholics 
from two or more city school sections   
combining to form one school for their  
children1 and as ,catholics in a single 

city section were seldom if ever        
numerous enough to form a school the    
,act was practically inoperative in     
securing separate ,roman ,catholic      
schools4  ,the ,bill of #ahda1 as       
introduced into the ,assembly1 contained
 none of the above provisions for       
,separate ,schools1 and the question    
naturally arises1 why were they         
inserted8 ,several petitions were       
presented from ,boards of ,education1   
and some from ,synods of the            
,presbyterian ,church1 praying that the 
,bible be made a textbook in the        
schools4 ,bishop ,strachan and the      
clergy of his diocese petitioned that   
the education of the children of their  
own ,church may be entrusted to their   
own pastors1 and that an annual grant   
from the assessments may be awarded for 
their instruction4#hd ,the ,roman       
,catholic ,bishop of ,kingston also     
petitioned against the ,bill as brought 
in1 but did not expressly ask for       
,separate ,schools4 ,it seems natural   

then to infer 7and the ,journals of the 
,assembly for #ahda bear out this       
inference71 that the amendments granting
 ,separate ,schools were a compromise4  
#hd ,see copy in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4     
,,iv41 p4 #bj4   ,another amendment     
authorized ,christian ,brothers to teach
 even if they were not naturalized      
,british subjects4 ,in #ahdc the ,act of
 #ahda was repealed in so far as it     
related to ,upper ,canada4 ,the new ,act
 made it unlawful in any common school  
to compel the child to read from any    
religious book or join in any religious 
exercise to which his parents or        
guardians objected4 ,it also provided   
that if the teacher of a school were a  
,roman ,catholic1 then any ten          
householders or freeholders might       
petition for a ,separate ,school with a 
,protestant teacher or1 in the same way1
 ,roman ,catholics might form a         
,separate ,school if the teacher were a 
,protestant4  ,the grants to these      
,separate ,schools were to be that      

proportion of the total school fund in  
any ,municipal ,district that the       
children in actual attendance at the    
,separate ,school bore to the total     
number of children of school age in the 
district1 and they were subject to the  
same rules and regulations regarding    
courses of study and inspection as the  
,common ,schools4  ,in #ahdg an         
amendment to the ,common ,school ,act   
was passed known as the ,towns and      
,cities ,act4 ,this ,act gave the       
,trustee ,boards of towns and cities    
full power to determine the number of1  
and regulate1 denominational schools4   
,an extract from ,ryerson's ,annual     
,report for #ahdg as presented to the   
,provincial ,secretary will make clear  
the nature of the ,act and the ,chief   
,superintendent's views of it4 ,speaking
 of the provision for ,separate ,schools
 in the ,act of #ahdc he says3      ,i  
have never seen the necessity for such a
 provision in connection     with any   
section of the ,common ,school ,law1    

which provides that no     child shall  
be compelled to read any religious book 
or attend any     religious exercise    
contrary to the wishes of his parents   
and     guardians2 and besides the      
apparent inexpediency of this provision 
of the law it has been seriously        
objected to as inequitable1             
permitting the ,roman ,catholics to have
 a denominational school1 but     not   
granting a similar right or privilege to
 any one ,protestant     denomination   
444 nor does the ,act of #ahdg permit   
the election of any     sectarian school
 trustees nor the appointment of a      
teacher of any     religious persuasion 
as such even for a denominational       
school4 ,every     teacher of such      
school must be approved by the town or  
city school     authorities4 ,there are1
 therefore1 guards and restrictions     
connected     with the establishment of 
a denominational school in cities and   
towns under the new ,act which did not  
previously exist2 it1 in fact1          

leaves the applications or pretensions  
of each religious persuasion     to the 
judgment of those who provide the       
greater part of the local     school    
fund and relieves the ,government and   
,legislature from the     influence of  
any such sectarian pressure4 ,the effect
 of this ,act has     already been to   
lessen rather than to increase          
denominational     schools1 while it    
places all religious persuasions on the 
same legal     footing1 and leaves none 
of them any possible ground to attack   
the     school law or oppose the school 
system4 ,my ,report on a system of      
,public ,elementary ,instruction for    
,upper ,canada1 as well as various      
decisions and opinions which ,i have    
given1 amply show that ,i am far        
from advocating the establishment of    
denominational schools2 but ,i     was  
not prepared to condemn what had been   
unanimously sanctioned by     two       
successive ,parliaments4#he  #he ,see   
copy in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,vii41 p4   

#agh4   ,during the ,legislative        
,session of #ahej1 and while the ,school
 ,bill was under discussion1 a petition 
was presented by prominent ,roman       
,catholic authorities praying for some  
modifications of the provisions for     
,separate ,schools in the ,bill then    
before the ,house4 ,the result was that 
the #aith clause of the ,act of #ahej   
made it compulsory upon the ,municipal  
,council of any township or the ,school 
,board of any city or town or           
incorporated village1 upon the written  
request of twelve or more resident heads
 of families1 to establish one or more  
,separate ,schools for either           
,protestants or ,roman ,catholics4 ,at  
this time only fifty-one ,separate      
,schools were in operation in the whole 
of ,upper ,canada1#hf of which nearly   
one-half were ,protestant4  #hf ,see    
circular1 issued by ,ryerson1 of ,april 
#abth1 #ahej1 to ,municipal ,councils on
 ,act of #ahej4   ,according to a letter
 written by ,ryerson to ,hon4 ,george   

,brown#hg there was a movement among    
certain ,anglicans to secure ,separate  
,schools for their children4 ,had ,roman
 ,catholics and ,anglicans#hh both      
secured ,separate ,schools1 it would    
have wrecked the ,common ,school system1
 and these two denominations acting in  
concert were strong enough to defeat the
 ,baldwin-,lafontaine ,government4      
,acting on ,ryerson's suggestion1 the   
,government conceded in the main the    
,roman ,catholic claim and secured their
 support to the ,bill4 ,this ,bill gave 
,separate ,schools one distinct         
advantage over the ,act of #ahdc4 ,it   
made their share of the ,separate       
,school fund that part of the total fund
 which the ,separate ,school attendance 
bore to the total school attendance4    
,but ,separate ,school supporters were  
still far from having their schools     
recognized as a right and placed on an  
equality with ,common ,schools4         
,separate ,schools were granted as a    
privilege or concession1 but not as a   

right4 ,let me quote from ,ryerson's    
circular to town reeves on the ,act of  
#ahej3 ,but1 notwithstanding the        
existence of this provision of the law  
since #ahdc1 there were last year but   
#ea ,separate ,schools in all ,upper    
,canada1 nearly as many of them being   
,protestant as ,roman ,catholic2 so that
 this provision of the law is of little 
consequence for good or for evil4444 ,it
 is also to be observed that a ,separate
 ,school is entitled to no aid beyond a 
certain portion of the ,school ,fund for
 the salary of the teacher4 ,the        
schoolhouse must be provided1 furnished1
 warmed1 books procured1 etc41 by the   
persons petitioning for the ,separate   
,school4 ,nor are the patrons or        
supporters of a ,separate ,school       
exempted from any of the local          
assessments or rates for common school  
purposes4#hi  #hg ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41     
,vol4 ,,ix41 p4 #be4  #hh ,it is not    
meant to suggest that even a majority of
 the ,anglicans would have done anything

 to wreck the ,common ,school ,system4  
,as a matter of fact1 only a few of the 
,anglican laity sympathized with the    
extreme views of ,bishop ,strachan1     
either in ,common ,school or ,university
 affairs4  #hi ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4  
,,ix41 p4 #bjh4   ,this makes it clear  
that ,separate ,school supporters were  
liable to be taxed by the municipality  
for the support of ,common ,schools2    
they might be called upon to pay an     
assessment to build1 repair or furnish a
 ,common ,school1 or to pay a part of   
the teacher's salary4 ,on the other     
hand1 the only aid they received in     
support of their own school was a share 
of the legislative and municipal grants 
which together made up the school       
fund4#ij ,it will at once be seen that  
every step toward free ,common ,schools 
placed the ,separate ,school supporters 
at an increased disadvantage because it 
made them contribute more and more      
toward the ,common ,school4  #ij ,it was
 long a favourite argument of those     

opposed to ,separate ,schools that      
inasmuch as the bulk of the property was
 owned by ,protestants1 the ,roman      
,catholics were not entitled to a share 
of the school fund reckoned on the basis
 of the pupils' attendance4   ,the ,act 
of #ahej caused some friction in        
,toronto1 where the ,roman ,catholics   
asked for a second ,separate ,school4   
,the ,trustee ,board refused on the     
ground that they were not legally       
compelled to establish more than one    
,separate ,school in the city and the   
,court of ,queen's ,bench upheld their  
decision4 ,by the old ,act1 under which 
cities were divided into school         
sections1 there was no legal bar to the 
establishment of a ,separate ,school in 
every city school section4 ,ryerson     
thought the ,roman ,catholics had a     
grievance and consented to recommend the
 ,bill giving a ,separate ,school in    
each city ward or a ,separate ,school   
for two or more wards united for such   
purpose4 ,this amendment was passed in  

#ahea and caused considerable           
discussion4 ,a large party in ,upper    
,canada were opposed to ,separate       
,schools on principle and objected to   
any legislation that would multiply     
them1 make them more efficient and      
popular1 or grant them more favourable  
financial support4  ,the attitude of the
 out-and-out opponents to ,separate     
,schools was very well expressed by the 
following ,bill1#ia introduced in #ahea 
by ,william ,lyon ,mackenzie3--         
,whereas the establishment of sectarian 
or ,separate ,schools1 upheld     by    
periodical grants of money from a       
provincial treasury and placed     under
 the control of the ,executive          
,government through its                 
,superintendents of ,education and other
 civil officers1 is a     dangerous     
interference with the ,common ,school   
system of ,upper     ,canada1 and if    
allowed to ,protestants and ,roman      
,catholics cannot     reasonably be     
refused to ,episcopalians1              

,presbyterians1 ,quakers1     ,tunkers1 
,baptists1 ,independents and other      
religious denominations2     and whereas
 if it is just that any number of       
religious sects should     have         
,separate ,public ,schools it is not    
less reasonable that they     should    
have separate ,grammar ,schools1        
,colleges and professorships in     the 
,universities2 and whereas it is unjust 
for the ,state to tax     ,protestants  
in order to provide for the instruction 
of children in     ,roman ,catholic     
doctrines or to tax ,roman ,catholics   
for religious     instruction of youth  
in principles adverse to those of the   
,church of     ,rome2 and as the early  
separation of children at school on     
account     of the creeds of their      
parents or guardians would rear         
nurseries of     strife and dissension  
and cause thousands to grow up in       
comparative     ignorance who might     
under our ,common ,school system obtain 
the     advantages of a moral1          

intellectual and scientific education1  
be it     enacted therefore that the    
nineteenth section of the ,act of #ahej 
be     repealed4  #ia ,see ,journals of 
,canadian ,assembly for #ahea4          
,mackenzie's ,bill was defeated by #bf  
to #e4 ,it lays down broad general      
principles that are not easy to         
overthrow1 and no doubt several who     
voted against it would have been glad to
 see all young ,canadians educated      
together4 ,but if the right to have     
,separate ,schools be granted1 and it   
had been granted by successive ,school  
,acts for ,upper ,canada1 then it seems 
naturally to follow that the            
,legislature was bound to place no      
obstacles in the way of their formation 
and to make them efficient4  ,separate  
,schools were at first grudgingly       
granted as a privilege1 but not as a    
right4 ,naturally1 every extension of   
the privilege was used by the supporters
 of these schools as a vantage-ground   
from which to secure further privileges 

and gradually convert these into rights4
 ,at first the parties seceding from the
 ,public ,schools shared only in the    
school fund made up of the legislative  
grant and an equal sum levied by the    
district1 town or city council--the     
whole being available only for the      
payment of teachers' salaries4          
,supporters of ,separate ,schools were  
liable to be taxed for the building and 
equipment of ,public ,schools in        
addition to the support of their own4   
,they claimed a pro rata share of all   
moneys levied by taxation1 and in some  
cases the law was invoked in an attempt 
to secure such share4  ,in #ahec1 a     
radical amendment was adopted by which  
,separate ,school supporters received a 
pro rata share of the legislative grant 
only1 and upon subscribing for school   
purposes a sum equivalent to the grant  
secured were relieved of all taxation   
for ,common ,school purposes4 ,the ,act 
of #ahec also gave the ,separate ,school
 trustees power to issue certificates to

 the teachers employed by them1 and the 
same power of levying rates upon the    
supporters of their schools as that     
exercised by trustees of ,common        
,schools4  ,while the ,separate ,school 
,bill of #ahec was before the           
,legislature1 there was an attempt to   
introduce a clause establishing a       
general ,board of ,trustees for         
,separate or sectarian ,schools in towns
 and cities4 ,ryerson went to ,quebec to
 confer with the ,attorney-,general and 
vigorously opposed the ,bill4 ,his      
correspondence shows that he had no wish
 to place ,separate ,schools on an      
equality with ,public ,schools4 ,in fact
 he wished to do nothing that would     
encourage or make easy their formation4 
,the law as it stood allowed ,separate  
,schools only when the teacher was of a 
different religious faith from those    
wishing the ,separate ,school4 ,a       
general ,board of ,separate ,school     
,trustees for every town or city would  
have greatly increased the number of    

,separate ,schools4 ,ryerson says3 ,this
 is placing ,sectarian ,schools upon a  
totally different foundation from that  
on which they have always stood2 it is  
the introduction of a system of         
sectarian schools without restriction   
and almost without conditions4444 ,if   
there are city and town ,boards of      
,sectarian ,school ,trustees they will  
claim the right of appointing their own 
local superintendents1 and thus their   
schools will be shut up against all     
inspection except that they themselves  
may please to require or permit4444     
,thus such a ,board in ,toronto might   
recognize and claim public aid for every
 child taught in convents and by other  
private teachers of the same religious  
persuasion4444 ,if provision be made in 
each city and town to incorporate into  
one ,board one religious persuasion1    
exempting it from the payment of school 
rates and authorizing it to tax and     
collect from its own members to any     
amount for school purposes1 the         

application of any other religious      
persuasion in any such city or town     
cannot be consistently or fairly        
resisted4444 ,the effect of all this    
would be to destroy the system of       
,public ,schools in cities and towns and
 ultimately perhaps in villages and     
townships1 and to leave all the poorer  
portion of the population and that      
portion of it connected with minor      
religious persuasions without any       
adequate and certain means of education4
 ,i think the safest and most defensible
 ground to take is a firm refusal to    
sanction any measure to provide by law  
increased facilities for the            
multiplication and perpetuation of      
sectarian schools4#ib  #ib ,see ,d4 ,h4 
,e41 ,vol4 ,x41 pp4 #agb and #agc4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,the attitude of the extreme opponents  
of ,separate ,schools may be made clear 
from the editorials of ,george ,brown in
 the ,toronto ,globe4 ,on ,april #bnd1  
#ahec1 he says3--      ,but under the   

new ,bill the taxation of the ,roman    
,catholic parents     and the whole     
charge of the ,separate ,schools are to 
devolve on the     ,popish authorities4 
,the schools are to become henceforth   
distinct1     not only in their mode of 
tuition1 but in the machinery by which  
they are to be conducted4 ,they are to  
retain no vestige of     connection with
 the general educational system1 which  
is the pride     and glory of the       
,canadian people4 ,any ,roman ,catholic 
has only to     declare himself a       
supporter of a ,separate ,school and    
straightway he     is relieved from     
taxation for the maintenance of the     
general system4     ,as at present      
constituted1 there is a kind of         
guarantee that ,roman     ,catholics are
 educated1 that they are not left       
entirely in     ignorance1 but under    
,mr4 ,richards' ,bill there would be    
none4444 ,the     plain and obvious     
intention of the ,bill is the still     
further     development of the sectarian

 element in our ,common ,schools4 ,the  
,roman ,catholics were not satisfied    
with what they had already     gained4  
,they wished to obtain their share of   
the annual     ,parliamentary grant1    
paid out of the revenue1 which is made  
up     almost exclusively from          
,protestant money4 ,they wished to have 
their     schools altogether free from  
the supervision of the general          
trustees4 ,their bishops went down to   
,quebec1 the ,mirror announcing         
their departure1 and hinting at the     
object of their journey1 and            
straightway we have the ,bill from ,mr4 
,w4 ,b4 ,richards1 granting to     them 
all they had demanded4 ,if they had     
asked much more it would     have been  
granted to them by the present          
,government4 ,if this ,bill     passes  
into law1 the sectarian system will be  
fully and thoroughly     introduced1 and
 must be carried out to its utmost      
extent4 ,the ,roman     ,catholics say  
that they are not satisfied to send     

their children to     the ,common       
,schools1 and they are free from        
taxation4 ,the     ,episcopalians are   
ready to say the same1 and we ask       
whether in     fairness we can refuse to
 one what we grant to the other8 ,and   
then     the ,methodists will demand    
separate schools1 and the               
,presbyterians1     and all hopes of the
 education of the people may be         
abandoned4 ,yet     this ,bill has been 
introduced by a ,government raised to   
power upon     the principle that our   
school system should be free from       
clerical     control4 ',no sectarian    
schools' was the watchword at the last  
election among ,reformers1 yet one of   
the first measures introduced     by the
 ,reform ,government is to establish    
sectarian schools more     thoroughly   
than before4 ,we look to them to        
abolish1 and behold6 they     ratify and
 confirm the evils of their             
predecessors4 ,where is this to         
stop8 ,when is the measure of the       

iniquity of this ,government to be      
filled up8444 ,let our school system1   
the source of light and                 
intelligence1 be destroyed1 and what    
remains to us of hope for the           
country8 ,they1 as it were1 would go    
gradually back to the darkness     of   
ignorance and superstition4 ,we shall   
consider no institution safe     from   
priestly encroachments if this ,bill is 
carried4 ,there is no     point upon    
which the people of ,upper ,canada can  
be more severely     wounded than their 
common schools4 ,every true patriot has 
fondly     looked to them as the        
safeguards against the despotism of     
priestcraft1 and against violence of an 
ignorant and1 therefore1     vicious    
populace4 ,if they are sacrificed1 if   
their noble endowment     is scattered  
among the sects1 frittered away on a    
dozen different     school systems1 if  
the priests are to take possession of   
all the     avenues of knowledge1 what  
will be the fate of this ,province8     

,will     it rise in the scale of       
nations1 ever to be distinguished for   
the     intelligence of its people1 for 
its prosperity and advancement8#ic  #ic 
,see bound volumes of ,globe in         
,legislative ,library1 ,toronto4   ,the 
following from the ,toronto ,examiner1  
reprinted in the ,globe of ,april #gth1 
#ahec1 shows that the ,globe was not    
alone in its opinions3--      ,we are   
reluctantly forced to the conviction    
that the rupture1     complete and      
final1 of the ,common ,school system of 
,canada is only a     question of time4 
,we were among those who looked         
anxiously to the     ,government for a  
liberal and decided policy on this      
momentous     question4 ,an examination 
of the supplementary ,school ,bill which
 we     give in other columns will bear 
us out but too fully1 we fear1 in       
pronouncing its liberality exceedingly  
questionable4444 ,how     different in  
,canada4 ,reformers have been bidding   
for ,roman ,catholic     votes until    

they are likely to bid away every       
distinctive principle     which they    
hold1 and when this is done will it     
satisfy the ends of     men whose       
mission is to establish in the place of 
free institutions     the domination of 
priestcraft8  ,the following from the   
,roman ,catholic ,mirror1 quoted in the 
,globe1 ,april #ith1 #ahec1 shows that  
the ,roman ,catholics were well pleased 
with the ,bill3      ,we freely admit   
that we had certain misgivings          
respecting the     amount of relief     
which might be expected from the measure
 proposed1     which from the haughty   
and dictatorial tone assumed by the     
,chief     ,superintendent of ,schools  
for ,upper ,canada1 in his late         
perambulations1 we were prepared at     
least to regard with suspicion4     ,the
 terms on which justice has been        
hitherto meted out in stinted     and   
niggard instalments1 under the existing 
law1 and the many     instances in which
 it has been withheld or contemptuously 

refused1     may have rendered us       
over-sensitive2 but we must acknowledge 
that     when we observe ,dr4 ,ryerson  
publicly promulgate the conditions on   
which he would concede to ,catholics the
 privilege of directing the             
education of their own children1 we were
 prepared to expect a     reiterated    
legislative insult and a gross          
injustice1 not a measure                
restrictive1 partial and oppressive4 ,we
 have been most agreeably               
disappointed2 the ,bill of the          
',honourable ,attorney-,general ,west1' 
with some slight modifications which can
 be readily introduced in     committee1
 will form the basis of an educational  
system of sound     principle1          
particularly calculated to do justice to
 all classes of     the community4  ,the
 following resolutions of the ,synod of 
the ,united ,presbyterian ,church1      
printed in the ,globe1 ,june #cjth1     
#ahec1 shows the opinion of that body on
 the ,common ,school question3--        

,resolved4 ,i4 ,that this ,synod approve
 of a national system of     education1 
placing all the members of the community
 upon a level1     and encouraging1 as  
that now in force in this ,province     
does1 the use     of the ,scriptures    
under certain reasonable regulations1 as
 are also     prescribed therein4       
,,ii4 ,holding these views1 we deeply   
regret to perceive the principle     of 
sectarian schools1 so distinctly        
recognized in the latest     amendments 
of the ,provincial ,school ,act1 and do 
strongly testify     against such a     
principle as impolitic and mischievous1 
recognizing     as it does the right of 
the ,government to take the moneys of   
the     public and appropriate them for 
the purpose of sustaining and           
extending religious distractions1 and   
thereby continuing to     stimulate the 
elements of discord throughout the      
community and mar     greatly social    
interests4      ,,iii4 ,that this ,synod
 recommend to those under their care the

 use of     every proper and            
constitutional means to secure the      
repeal of all     such statutes as      
recognize the principle of sectarian    
schools4  ,the movement for extended    
,separate ,school privileges was being  
championed by ,bishop de ,charbonnel1 of
 ,toronto4 ,during #aheb he had a long  
controversy with ,ryerson on the school 
question4#id ,ryerson's letters during  
this controversy make it quite clear    
that he thought ,separate ,schools a    
huge blunder1 and that while he had     
honestly attempted to give ,roman       
,catholics all the law allowed them he  
hoped and expected to see their schools 
die a natural death4  #id ,see          
appendices to ,journals of ,house of    
,assembly1 #aheb-ahec4   ,in his ,report
 for #aheb1 the ,superintendent points  
with pride to the fact that ,separate   
,schools are not increasing4 ,indeed1 he
 congratulates himself that the         
provision in the law allowing them is   
really a good thing1 since it is not    

very effective in practice but yet acts 
as a safety valve to prevent violent    
opposition to the school system4 ,he    
believed that the ,roman ,catholics     
themselves would ultimately see that a  
policy of isolation of their children   
would have the effect of cutting them   
off from many of their natural          
privileges as ,canadian citizens4 ,and  
had the ,separate ,school ,act of #ahec 
remained unaltered1 events would likely 
have shown ,ryerson to be correct in his
 views4 ,he believed the ,act of #ahec  
was final1 and that without any         
municipal machinery for collecting their
 taxes ,separate ,schools would never   
become numerous4  ,in this he was       
greatly mistaken1 as events proved4 ,in 
#ahed1 the ,roman ,catholic ,bishops of 
,toronto1 ,kingston and ,bytown1 drew up
 a ,separate ,school ,bill which they   
wished should become law4 ,this ,bill   
would have forced all ,roman ,catholics 
to support ,catholic ,separate ,schools 
wherever such were established4 ,it also

 had other provisions which ,ryerson    
thought objectionable4 ,in #ahee a      
,separate ,school ,bill1 known as the   
,tache ,bill1 was introduced into the   
,legislative ,council1 and after some   
amendments adopted by both branches of  
,parliament4 ,this ,act differed from   
all previous ,acts in that its          
provisions were exclusively for ,roman  
,catholic ,separate ,schools4 ,it       
repealed all previous legislation for   
,separate ,schools in so far as ,roman  
,catholics were concerned4 ,it made     
possible the establishment of a ,roman  
,catholic ,separate ,school in any      
school section or any ward of a town or 
city on petition of ten ,roman ,catholic
 ratepayers and gave them a ,separate   
,school ,board with their own           
,superintendent in towns and cities4    
,such ,roman ,catholic ratepayers were  
relieved from all municipal rates for   
,common ,school purposes1 and received  
for their own school a pro rata share of
 the ,legislative grant if they had an  

average attendance of #ae pupils4 ,the  
,act also made possible general ,boards 
of ,separate ,school ,trustees in towns 
and cities and gave all ,separate       
,school ,boards power to license their  
own teachers and levy rates for         
,separate ,school purposes upon the     
supporters of those schools4 ,the ,act  
was in principle a distinct gain for the
 champions of ,separate ,schools1 but it
 led to no rapid increase in the number 
of such schools4 ,in #aheh1 only #id    
,separate ,schools were in existence    
with an enrolment of less than #aj1jjj  
children1 as compared with an enrolment 
of #bhd1jjj in the ,public ,schools4    
,the ,act of #ahee was really forced    
upon ,upper ,canada by the votes of     
members from ,lower ,canada1 there being
 a majority of ,upper ,canada members   
against the ,bill4  ,it would seem that 
the ,roman ,catholics did not gain by   
the ,tache ,bill as much as they        
expected4 ,the following letter written 
to ,dr4 ,ryerson from ,quebec1 on ,june 

#hth1 #ahee1 by ,john 7afterwards ,sir  
,john7 ,a4 ,macdonald1                  
,attorney-,general for ,upper ,canada1  
who had charge of the ,bill in the      
,assembly1 shows that political         
exigencies played no small part in      
school legislation3 ,our ,separate      
,school ,bill1 which1 as you know1 is   
now quite harmless1 passed with the     
approbation of our friend1 ,bishop      
,charbonnel1 who1 before leaving here1  
formally thanked the administration for 
doing justice to his ,church4 ,he has   
got a new light since his return to     
,toronto1 and he now says the ,bill     
won't do4 ,i need not point out to your 
suggestive mind that in any article     
written by you on the subject it is     
politic to press two points on the      
public attention3 #ast1 ,that the ,bill 
will not1 as you say1 injuriously affect
 the ,common ,school system4 ,this for  
the people at large4 #bnd1 ,that the    
,bill is a substantial boon to the      
,roman ,catholics4 ,this to keep them in

 good humour4 ,you see that if the      
,bishop makes the ,roman ,catholics     
believe that the ,bill is no use to them
 there will be a renewal of an          
unwholesome agitation which ,i thought  
we had allayed4#ie  #ie ,see copy of    
letter in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xii41 p4 
#dj4   ,that ,sir ,john ,a ,macdonald   
was largely in agreement with ,dr4      
,ryerson on the ,separate ,school       
question is the opinion of ,sir ,joseph 
,pope1 his biographer1 who says on page 
#ach of his ,memoirs3 ,mr4 ,macdonald   
said that he was as desirous as anyone  
of seeing all children going together to
 the ,common ,school1 and if he could   
have his own way there would be no      
,separate ,school4 ,but we should       
respect the opinions of others who      
differed from us1 and they had a right  
to refuse such schools as they could not
 conscientiously approve of4  ,from     
#ahee to #ahfc1 no important changes    
took place in the law governing         
,separate ,schools4 ,these schools were 

increasing very slowly1 not so fast as  
the natural growth of the ,roman        
,catholic population4 ,in #ahfj1 there  
were only #aae ,separate ,schools with  
an enrolment of #ad1gjh as compared with
 some #cbe1jjj in the ,public ,schools4 
,in #ahfj1 ,mr4 7afterwards ,honourable7
 ,r4 ,w4 ,scott introduced a ,bill      
planned to give ,separate ,schools      
additional privileges4 ,substantially   
the same ,bill was introduced annually  
by ,mr4 ,scott until #ahfc1 when it     
passed with amendments1 some of which   
were suggested by ,dr4 ,ryerson4 ,as a  
matter of fact1 the ,tache ,act of      
#ahee1 which was suggested partly by the
 status of ,protestant dissentient      
schools in ,lower ,canada1 had imposed  
some useless but vexatious restrictions 
upon ,separate ,school supporters4 ,in  
#ahfb1 ,ryerson proposed to satisfy what
 he called the reasonable demands of    
,roman ,catholics by making four        
changes1 as follows3--#if  #ast4 ,to    
allow the formation of ,separate        

,schools in incorporated villages and in
 towns 7the ,tache ,act allowed a       
,separate ,school only in the ward of a 
town and not a school for the town as a 
whole72 #bnd4 ,to allow a union of two  
or more ,separate ,schools2 #crd4 ,to   
make it unnecessary for a ,separate     
,school supporter annually to declare   
himself such2 and #dth4 ,to exempt      
,separate ,school trustees from making  
oath as to the correctness of their     
school returns4  #if ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41  
,vol4 ,,xvii41 pp4 #aib and #aic4   ,the
 ,scott ,bill of #ahfcig as finally     
adopted by the ,legislature1 embodied   
all these provisions and some others of 
importance4 ,separate ,school teachers  
were to submit to the same examinations 
and receive the same certificates of    
qualification as ,public ,school        
teachers1 but all teachers qualified by 
law in ,lower ,canada were to be        
qualified teachers for ,separate        
,schools in ,upper ,canada4 ,this       
provision was to allow the teachers of  

religious orders#ih recognized by law as
 qualified in ,lower ,canada to teach in
 ,separate ,schools in ,upper ,canada4  
,the ,act also made taxpayers who       
withdrew their support from ,separate   
,schools liable for their share of debts
 incurred while ,separate ,school       
supporters in building or equipping     
,separate ,schools4 ,on the whole1 the  
,scott ,bill1 while in its unamended    
form it aroused great opposition in     
,upper ,canada1 as finally adopted1     
tended to bring the ,separate ,schools  
into closer harmony with the principles 
governing ,public ,schools4 ,the feature
 of the ,bill that aroused most         
opposition was its being forced upon    
,upper ,canada by votes of ,lower       
,canadian members--there being a        
majority#ii of ten ,upper ,canada       
members against the third reading of the
 ,bill in the ,assembly4 ,such          
well-known men as ,john ,a4 ,macdonald1 
,john ,sandfield ,macdonald and ,wm4    
,macdougall supported the ,bill1 while  

,george ,brown1 ,alexander ,mackenzie   
and ,oliver ,mowat opposed it4  #ig ,the
 ,scott ,bill1 as originally introduced1
 made any ,roman ,catholic priest an    
ex-officio trustee of a ,separate       
,school in his parish2 made all the     
property of a ,separate ,school         
supporter exempt from taxation for      
,public ,school purposes1 even though   
some of the property was outside a      
,separate ,school district2 gave        
,separate ,school trustees unlimited    
power to form union sections2 created a 
separate ,county ,board of ,examiners to
 license ,separate ,school teachers1 and
 gave the ,superintendent of ,education 
little or no power to control textbooks1
 holidays or inspection of ,separate    
,schools4  #ih ,the ,report of the      
,chief ,superintendent for #ahga shows  
#gj teachers in ,separate ,schools      
belonging to religious orders out of a  
total of #bdi4  #ii ,see ,journals of   
,canadian ,assembly for #ahfc4          
,ryerson claimed#ajj that he agreed to  

the amended ,scott ,bill only on the    
distinct understanding that it was to be
 a finality in ,separate ,school        
legislation4 ,he also claimed that the  
,roman ,catholic ,bishops of ,quebec1   
,kingston and ,toronto accepted the     
,bill as a final settlement4 ,but       
nothing is final in legislation1 and    
,dr4 ,ryerson ought to have known this4 
,legislation is as much the result of a 
process of evolution as any other       
institution of human society1 and no    
three or four men1 whether priests or   
laymen1 could speak authoritatively and 
finally for the thousands of ,roman     
,catholics in ,upper ,canada4  #ajj ,see
 ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xvii41 p4 #bai4   
,separate ,schools increased slowly4 ,in
 #ahfc they numbered #aae1 with #ae1jjj 
pupils1 the ,public ,schools having     
during the same year #de1jjj ,roman     
,catholic pupils4 ,in #ahfd1 ,separate  
,schools had increased to #adg with     
#ag1cfe pupils4 ,in #ahga1 the number   
was #afj1 with #ba1jjj pupils4  ,almost 

immediately after the ,scott legislation
 of #ahfc1 an agitation began for       
further amendments to the ,separate     
,school ,act4 ,ryerson made strong      
objections partly on the ground of the  
alleged compact of #ahfc1 and partly on 
the ground that no legislation could    
possibly make ,separate ,schools really 
popular and efficient outside of large  
towns and cities4  ,in #ahfe1 the school
 administration was attacked by ,james  
,o',reilly1 of ,kingston1 and1 in a     
memorandum prepared as a reply to these 
attacks1 ,ryerson goes into some detail 
to justify his ,separate ,school policy 
and reiterates his firm belief that     
sectarian schools must ever be          
relatively inefficient4 ,he concludes as
 follows3 ,the fact is that the tendency
 of the public mind and of the          
institutions of ,upper ,canada is to    
confederation and not isolation1 to     
united effort and not divisions4 ,the   
efforts to establish and extend         
,separate ,schools1 although often      

energetic and made at great sacrifice1  
are a struggle against the instincts of 
,canadian society1 against the          
necessities of a sparsely populated     
country1 against the social and         
political interest of the parents and   
youth separated from their              
fellow-citizens4 ,it is not the         
,separate ,school law that renders such 
efforts fitful1 feeble and little       
successful2 their paralysis is caused by
 a higher than human law1 the law of    
circumstances--the law of nature1 and   
the law of interest4  ,if1 therefore1   
the present ,separate ,school law is not
 to be maintained as a final settlement 
of the question and if the ,legislature 
finds it necessary to legislate on the  
,separate ,school question again1 ,i    
pray that it will abolish the ,separate 
,school law altogether2 and to this     
recommendation ,i am forced after having
 long used my best efforts to maintain  
and give the fullest effect and most    
liberal application to successive       

,separate ,school acts--and after twenty
 years' experience and superintendence  
of our ,common ,school system4#aja  #aja
 ,see copy of ,memorandum1 ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 
,vol4 ,,xviii41 pp4 #cjd-caf4   ,when   
the ,confederation resolutions adopted  
at ,quebec in #ahfd were being discussed
 in the ,canadian ,assembly in #ahfe1 an
 extended debate arose over the clause  
which secured for the minorities in     
,upper and ,lower ,canada the privilege 
of ,separate ,schools4 ,men like ,george
 ,brown and ,alexander ,mackenzie1 who  
had opposed the ,scott ,bill of #ahfc1  
defended the minority clause on the     
ground that it would place ,upper       
,canada in no worse position than she   
already was in regard to sectarian      
schools1 and that privileges given ought
 not to be withdrawn4 ,the ,assembly    
were almost unanimous in supporting the 
,separate ,school clause which was      
incorporated into the ,british ,north   
,america ,act4  ,no changes in ,separate
 ,school legislation were made after    

,confederation until #ahhf1 and the only
 events of passing importance in        
,separate ,school affairs were the      
objections raised in ,kingston in #ahfe 
and in ,toronto in #ahga to visits of   
inspection by the ,grammar ,school      
,inspector1 who had been appointed to   
make these visits by the ,council of    
,public ,instruction4 ,when ,dr4        
,ryerson pointed out that these visits  
were authorized by the ,scott ,bill of  
#ahfc1 the ,bishops very gracefully     
waived their objections and the         
principle of ,separate ,school          
inspection by ,government officers was  
established4 ,in #ahgd1 the three ,high 
,school ,inspectors made a general      
inspection of ,separate ,schools4 ,in   
their report to the ,government they    
say3 ,the inspection of the ,separate   
,schools derives an additional interest 
and importance from the peculiar        
position they occupy in our educational 
system4 ,among them we have found both  
well-equipped and ill-equipped1 both    

well-taught and ill-taught schools4 ,on 
the whole we regret that in the majority
 of cases the buildings1 the equipment1 
and the teaching are alike inferior4    
,there are but few ,separate ,school    
teachers whose school surroundings are  
such as to make their positions         
enviable1 and accordingly a large       
measure of approbation is due to those  
who have succeeded in doing good work4  
,we have pleasure in stating that in    
many places the ,separate ,school       
,boards are beginning to see that they  
must either make the schools under their
 charge more efficient or close them    
altogether4 ,there are many things      
connected with the operation of the     
,separate ,school ,act which invite     
comment2 but we think it best to        
postpone the expression of our views    
until they are matured by the experience
 of another year4  ,some years after    
this1 in #ahhb1 the ,education          
,department adopted the plan of         
appointing special ,roman ,catholic     

,inspectors of ,separate ,schools4 ,no  
doubt regular inspection of these       
schools has done much to increase their 
efficiency1 but it is to be regretted   
that the plan of inspection adopted     
tends to widen still further the breach 
between them and the schools of the mass
 of the people4  ,four years after      
,ryerson's death1 the ,act relating to  
,separate ,schools was revised and      
amended4 ,no new principles were        
introduced1 but every amendment made    
tended to place ,separate ,school       
supporters on an equality with          
supporters of ,public ,schools4 ,the    
number of schools has gradually         
increased owing to the rapid increase in
 our urban population4 ,in #ahhd there  
were #bjg ,separate ,schools1 with      
#bg1dfc pupils2 in #ahid1 #cbh schools  
with #ci1gfb pupils2 and in #aijf1 #ddc 
schools with #ej1jjj pupils4  ,perhaps  
the most important event connected with 
the history of ,separate ,schools since 
#ahhf was the decision of the ,judicial 

,committee of the ,privy ,council in    
,november1 #aijf4 ,this decision made it
 clear that the clause declaring persons
 qualified as teachers in ,quebec at the
 time of ,confederation to be qualified 
teachers of ,separate ,schools in       
,ontario applied only to individuals and
 not to religious corporations as such4 
,the result will be that the ,separate  
,schools ought soon to have a body of   
teachers with the same academic standing
 and the same normal training as the    
,public ,schools4     ,,chapter ,,ix4   
,,ryerson ,,and ,,grammar ,,schools4    
,as already shown in the chapters on the
 early history of schools in ,upper     
,canada1 ,grammar ,schools were provided
 for before any provision was made for  
,common ,schools4 ,in fact the chief    
nominal purpose of the large grant of   
public land in #agii was to endow       
,grammar ,schools1 and in #ahjg schools 
were opened in each of the eight        
,districts into which ,upper ,canada was
 then divided4 ,these schools were      

supposed to be classical schools1       
fashioned upon the model of the great   
,english ,public ,schools4 ,as a matter 
of fact they had no uniform standard of 
equipment1 staff1 course of study or    
graduation4 ,a few schools1 such as     
,cornwall1 ,kingston1 ,york1 and        
,niagara1 were famous and turned out    
many able men4 ,some of the schools     
received pupils who could not read1 and 
were in no sense secondary schools4 ,as 
the population increased1 new schools   
were opened4 ,although originally       
intended to be free schools1 they all   
charged fees4 ,the public grant1 which  
was paid direct to the principal1 was   
one hundred pounds for each school4 ,as 
the population increased1 new schools   
were opened1 and by #ahdd1 when ,ryerson
 became ,superintendent of ,education1  
twenty-five ,grammar ,schools and       
,academies were in operation4  ,these   
schools were managed by trustees        
appointed by the ,crown1 but were under 
no proper ,government control4 ,they    

were never really inspected4 ,each      
school was a law unto itself4 ,all were 
supposed to teach ,latin and ,greek1 but
 in many of them there was not a single 
pupil studying either of these          
languages4 ,they were handicapped in    
many ways4 ,for years there were no good
 elementary schools from which they     
could draw pupils with a foundation for 
a secondary education4 ,during the same 
long period there were in ,upper ,canada
 no colleges to which graduates of      
,grammar ,schools might go for          
professional training4 ,this gave these 
schools a wide scope and great          
opportunities1 but few seized the       
opportunities4 ,the poverty of the      
people and the natural apathy of many in
 regard to education also prevented the 
development of good schools4  ,good     
schools are possible only with good     
teachers1 and good teachers in ,upper   
,canada were not easily secured4 ,the   
professions of law and medicine then1 as
 now1 were much more attractive than    

teaching for men of ability and         
education4 ,mercantile life also offered
 great opportunities4 ,the result was   
that the ,grammar ,schools were often in
 charge of incompetent teachers4        
,ryerson's commission gave him no       
control over ,grammar ,schools4 ,but his
 first ,report in #ahdf recommended a   
graded1 unified system of schools from  
the ,common ,school to the ,university4 
,he also pointed out that these ,grammar
 ,schools which were intended for a     
special work were teaching everything   
taught in a ,common ,school4 ,in his    
,report for #ahdi he recommended a      
commission of inquiry into the state of 
,grammar ,schools and showed that the   
whole thirty or forty schools had       
matriculated only eight students into   
the ,university during that year4 ,he   
suggested a fixed course of studies1 a  
minimum qualification for entrance1 and 
,government inspection4 ,surely1 he     
says1 it never could have been intended 
that the ,grammar ,schools should occupy

 the same ground as ,common ,schools1   
should compete with them1 thus lowering 
the character and efficiency of both4444
 ,i am far from intimating an opinion   
that there are no efficient ,grammar    
,schools in the ,province1 even under   
the present system or rather absence of 
all system4 ,there are several instances
 in which separate apartments for       
different classes of pupils are provided
 and assistance employed to teach the   
,english branches1 but such examples are
 rather exceptions to the general rule  
than the rule itself4 ,the general rule 
is whether there be an assistant or not 
to admit pupils of both sexes and all   
ages and attainments for ,a ,b ,c and   
upwards into schools which ought to     
occupy a position distinct from and     
superior to that of the ,common         
,schools4 ,equally far be it from me to 
intimate that there is any deficiency of
 qualifications on the part of masters  
of ,grammar ,schools4 ,but ,i doubt not 
that they will be the first to feel how 

much the efficiency and pleasures of    
their duties will be advanced by the    
introduction of a proper and uniform    
system as they will be the first to     
confess1 'non omnia possumus omnes4'#ajb
  #ajb ,see extract from ,report of     
#ahdi1 published in ,d4,h4,e41 ,vol4    
,,viii41 p4 #bia4   ,after the ,common  
,schools had been brought under the rule
 of law it was inevitable that the      
,grammar ,schools should be reorganized4
 ,in #ahej1 ,francis ,hincks introduced 
a ,grammar ,school ,bill prepared by    
,doctor ,ryerson4 ,this ,bill aimed at  
bringing the schools under popular      
control and administering them on lines 
similar to those governing ,common      
,schools4 ,trustees were to be appointed
 by ,county ,councils2 ,trustee ,boards 
were to have power to levy rates for    
buildings1 equipment and apparatus2 the 
,legislative grant was to be distributed
 to the several ,districts on the basis 
of population1 but only when local      
contributions made up a sum equal to the

 grant exclusive of pupils' fees2 the   
programme of studies was to be broad    
enough to prepare for matriculation2 the
 ,council of ,public ,instruction was to
 fix ,grammar ,school programmes1       
prescribe texts and appoint inspectors4 
,a meteorological station was to be     
established in connection with one      
,grammar ,school in each ,district4     
,this ,bill was withdrawn1 but a similar
 one#ajc became law on ,january #ast1   
#ahed4 ,the new ,act1 as amended in     
#ahee1 also provided for uniting        
,grammar ,schools with ,common ,schools 
and provided that a ,grammar ,school    
master1 unless a university graduate1   
must secure a certificate from a ,board 
of ,examiners appointed by the ,council 
of ,public ,instruction4 ,this ,act also
 authorized an annual appropriation of  
,l#a1jjj to establish a ,model ,grammar 
,school in connection with the ,normal  
,school1 authorized the ,council of     
,public ,instruction to appoint ,grammar
 ,school inspectors1 and made up a      

liberal grant to secure libraries and   
apparatus4 ,after this legislation1 the 
,council of ,public ,instruction drew up
 regulations governing the curriculum of
 ,grammar ,schools and took steps to    
bring about the use of uniform texts4   
,from the first there were two courses  
of study1 a general ,english course and 
a classical course leading to           
matriculation4 ,the head master of each 
,grammar ,school was required to conduct
 an examination of candidates for       
admission1 the requirements being       
intelligible reading from any common    
reading book1 spelling1 writing1        
elementary arithmetic1 and the elements 
of ,english grammar1 with definitions of
 geography4  #ajc ,this ,act did not    
give trustees power to levy assessments1
 but they might ask municipal councils  
to do so4 ,the distribution of the      
,legislative grant did not1 as in the   
,bill of #ahej1 depend upon the raising 
of any fixed amount by the local ,board4
   ,in the autumn of #ahee1 the ,grammar

 ,schools were inspected1 those in the  
east by ,thomas ,jaffray ,robertson and 
those in the west by ,william ,ormiston4
 ,their reports show that many of these 
schools were indifferent and a few      
hopeless4 ,perhaps half of them were    
doing fairly well4 ,the attendance      
averaged about thirty1 of whom nearly   
one-half were studying ,latin4 ,half of 
the schools admitted female pupils4 ,the
 highest salary paid a head master was  
#a1bjj1 while the average for head      
masters was #gjj4 ,few of the schools   
had two masters4 ,half the total number 
of head masters were graduates of       
,british or ,canadian universities4 ,in 
some cases the teachers were paid a     
fixed salary1 and in some cases they got
 the ,government grant and the school   
fees4 ,these fees averaged about three  
dollars per quarter4 ,in a few cases the
 head master had a dwelling in          
connection with the school4  ,the       
inspectors criticised the buildings1    
equipment and grounds severely1 as the  

following extracts will show3--      ,of
 the ,grammar ,school houses seventeen  
were originally built for     school    
purposes and several of them1 which were
 spacious and     substantial buildings1
 may be classed as good2 ten were       
somewhat     inferior2 and one1 a very  
old wooden building1 could scarcely be  
considered habitable4 ,nine schools were
 carried on in premises     rented for  
the purpose and were in most instances  
totally unfit4 ,in     many cases the   
grounds attached to the schoolhouses    
were partially     or entirely unfenced1
 and the sheds or outhouses were in a   
shameful     state of neglect4 ,even in 
the neatest premises ,i saw no attempt  
at     ornament2 not a tree1 shrub or   
flower to awaken or cultivate a taste   
so simple and natural in itself and so  
easily gratified as it could     be in  
rural districts4444 ,very many of these 
houses are inferior to     the ,common  
,schools4 ,in most cases the premises   
present a dull1     unthrifty and       

unattractive appearance1 destitute alike
 of ornament     and convenience1       
without fence1 shed1 well1 tree1 shrub  
or flower1     while within an entire   
lack of maps1 charts and apparatus is   
with     too few exceptions the general 
rule4#ajd  #ajd ,see copy of ,report in 
,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xii41 p4 #ha4      
,two years later the same inspectors    
made another general report on ,grammar 
,schools4 ,they found some improvements 
but many weak schools doing the most    
elementary ,common ,school work4 ,they  
deprecated the practice1 then becoming  
somewhat common1 of establishing new    
,grammar ,schools in small villages4    
,it is abundantly clear from ,ryerson's 
,reports1 #ahef-eh1 that he was         
dissatisfied with the progress being    
made in ,grammar ,schools and eager to  
attempt their improvement by means of   
further legislation4 ,the most serious  
problem was that of providing an        
adequate and certain financial support  
for these schools4 ,the schools were    

managed by trustee boards appointed by  
,county ,councils1 but were attended    
largely by pupils of towns and cities4  
,the people using them and contributing 
largely to their support were not given 
the power to manage them4  ,ryerson was 
also very doubtful about the result of  
the experiment authorized in #ahed1 of  
uniting ,common and ,grammar ,schools4  
,the union gave trustee boards increased
 freedom of management1 but in many     
cases the union school became1 for all  
practical purposes1 a common school1    
having1 perhaps1 three or four senior   
pupils studying ,latin and ,greek4 ,such
 schools brought all ,grammar ,schools  
into contempt4  ,the report of the      
,grammar ,school inspector on the       
schools of ,eastern ,ontario1 for #ahfj1
 shows that things were far from        
satisfactory3      ,with the exception  
of two or three really good schools our 
,grammar     ,schools in the extreme    
,east are in a very low state4 ,some of 
them ,i     can only designate as infant

 schools4 ,nor do ,i see anything from  
the     localities in which they are    
placed or the present state of the      
,grammar ,school law which gives me any 
hope of amelioration4     ,advancing    
civilization and the material growth of 
the country in     time may act upon    
them1 but immediate remedies and those  
of a     stringent nature are           
imperatively needed4444 ,the want of a  
class of     specially trained ,grammar 
,school masters who have taken this as a
     permanent profession for life is a 
great drawback to the efficiency     of 
our schools4 ,the supposed inferior     
social status of the ,grammar           
,school master and the larger rewards   
held out for superior mental            
activity in the other professions turn  
aside most of those who are     most    
eminently qualified for the scholastic  
office4 ,of the     twenty-two schools  
mentioned in my report six were in the  
hands of     persons who avowedly were  
making teaching the stepping-stone to   

the     attainment of other professions1
 as law1 medicine1 or the church4       
,several were evidently conducted by    
persons who had taken to     teaching   
after having failed in other walks of   
life4 ,comparatively     few were held  
by those who were fitted for their      
office by previous     training1 or were
 devoting themselves entirely to their  
work as the     main business of their  
lives4#aje  #aje ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4
 ,,xvi41 pp4 #adh1 #adi4   ,there seems 
also to have been a disposition to      
unduly multiply ,grammar ,schools       
because they were supported so largely  
by the ,legislative grant4 ,the ,rev4   
,dr4 ,paxton ,young1 ,inspector of      
,grammar ,schools1 in his report for    
#ahfd1 says3 ,the too free and          
inconsiderate exercise by ,county       
,councils of the large power thus       
entrusted to them has led to a heedless 
and most unfortunate multiplication of  
the ,grammar ,schools1 and the evil     
instead of showing any symptoms of      

abatement appears to be growing worse   
from year to year4 ,in #aheh the number 
of the schools was seventy-five2 in     
#ahfj it was eighty-eight2 in #ahfc it  
had risen to ninety-five2 and the number
 of recognized schools is now as high as
 one hundred and eight4 ,not a few of   
the schools thus hastily established are
 ,grammar ,schools in name rather than  
in reality1 the work done in them being 
almost altogether ,common ,school work1 
which1 as a rule1 would be much better  
performed in a well-appointed ,common   
,school4 ,i believe that ,county        
,councils are often led to establish    
,grammar ,schools in localities where   
they are not needed under the idea that 
if the schools should be productive of  
no good at any rate they can do no harm4
 ,there could not be a greater mistake4 
,men ought to be wise enough by this    
time to understand that all public      
institutions1 especially if forming     
parts of a great plan1 must1 where      
unnecessary1 be positively bad4         

,needless and contemptible ,grammar     
,schools are a blot upon the whole      
school system1 the sight of which is    
fitted to shake the confidence of the   
country in the administrative wisdom or 
firmness of those to whom the direction 
of educational matters is committed4    
,when it is considered that the         
apportionment from the ,grammar ,school 
fund to a particular county is divided  
according to certain fixed principles   
between the different schools in that   
county1 it will be seen that the        
disposition manifested by some councils 
to secure the largest number of schools 
for their county1 is practically a      
disposition to secure quantity for      
quality1 for as the number of schools is
 augmented the salaries of the masters  
are diminished1 the tendency of which   
is1 of course1 to throw the schools into
 the hands of a lower grade of          
teachers4444 ,about three out of every  
five ,grammar ,schools in ,upper ,canada
 have ,common ,schools united with them1

 and1 in not a few instances1 where     
unions have not yet been formed1 ,i     
found a strong disposition existing to  
enter into such an arrangement4 ,i made 
it my business to inquire particularly  
into the benefits supposed to result    
from the union of the ,common with the  
,grammar ,schools4 ,the chief advantage 
was in almost every case admitted to be 
a pecuniary one4 ,by the existing law   
,grammar ,school trustees have of       
themselves no power to raise money for  
,grammar ,school purposes1 but in case  
of the ,common and ,grammar ,schools    
becoming united the joint boards may    
levy money for the support of the united
 schools4 ,this being so1 it is easy to 
comprehend how strongly the trustees of 
a ,grammar ,school who feel their hands 
tied up from doing anything to put the  
school in an efficient state may be     
tempted to make with the ,common ,school
 ,board a league which will give them a 
voice in the important matter of        
taxation4444 ,but of nothing am ,i more 

convinced than that as a rule such a    
union is undesirable4 ,in a large number
 of instances it throws upon the        
,grammar ,school master the necessity of
 receiving into his room1 and personally
 instructing1 ,common ,school pupils1 as
 well as those whom it is his more      
particular duty to attend to4 ,a        
consequence of this is that he cannot   
afford the ,grammar ,school pupils the  
time that is necessary for drilling them
 in the subjects that they are          
studying4#ajf  #ajf ,see copy of ,report
 in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xviii41 pp4    
#aii-bje4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,but ,doctor ,young saw    
much promise in the schools1 as the     
following from the same ,report will    
show3 ,leaving out of view schools of   
this sort1 ,i do not hesitate to say    
that the ,grammar ,schools of ,upper    
,canada are1 as a class1 not only in the
 promise of what they may become1 but in
 what they actually are at the present  
moment1 an honour to the country4 ,we   

must not look for too much4 ,it would be
 preposterous to expect at this early   
period in the history of our ,province1 
that its ,grammar ,schools generally    
should be able to bear comparison with  
the better classical and mathematical   
schools of ,great ,britain and ,ireland4
 ,to this ,canada does not pretend1 but 
she has begun well1 and appears to be   
steadily1 if not rapidly1 progressing4  
,in ,june1 #ahfe1 ,ryerson went to      
,quebec to press upon the ,government   
the necessity of a new ,grammar ,school 
bill4 ,as the ,confederation scheme was 
approaching maturity he found the       
,government unwilling to embark upon any
 legislation that might prevent an early
 prorogation4 ,mr4 ,john ,a4 ,macdonald 
suggested that the difficulty might be  
met by a regulation issued under the    
authority of the ,council of ,public    
,instruction4 ,this was accordingly     
done1 and the ,council immediately      
framed regulations as follows3 ,first1  
the ,legislative grant was to be        

apportioned on the basis of the         
attendance of those learning ,greek and 
,latin1 as certified by the ,grammar    
,school ,inspector4 ,second1 no school  
was to receive any portion of the       
,legislative grant unless suitable      
accommodations were provided1 and unless
 there were an average of at least ten  
pupils learning ,latin and ,greek1 nor  
were any pupils to be admitted or       
continued in a ,grammar ,school unless  
they were learning ,latin and ,greek4   
,this absurd regulation never went into 
effect1 as the ,legislature passed a    
,grammar ,school ,bill in the latter    
part of #ahfe4 ,the new ,bill made each 
city a county for ,grammar ,school      
purposes2 it allowed ,county ,councils  
to appoint half the ,grammar ,school    
trustees1 the other half being appointed
 by the village or town council where   
the school was situated4 ,this latter   
provision was planned to give increased 
local control and thus create a stronger
 interest in the management of the      

schools4 ,the distinction which had so  
long existed between senior and junior  
county ,grammar ,schools#ajg was        
abolished and the ,legislative grant was
 apportioned solely on the basis of     
attendance1 but no school was to share  
the grant unless there was raised from  
local sources1 exclusive of pupils'     
fees1 a sum equal to half the grant4 ,it
 was made more difficult to establish   
new schools4 ,only graduates of         
universities in ,british dominions were 
to be eligible for head masters'        
positions4 ,on the suggestion of the    
,hon4 ,william ,macdougall1 a clause was
 inserted providing for a grant of fifty
 dollars a year to those ,grammar       
,schools giving a course of elementary  
military instruction4  #ajg ,this senior
 ,grammar ,school1 being the one first  
established in each county1 had drawn a 
larger ,legislative grant than the      
others4   ,the ,report of ,rev4 ,geo4   
,paxton ,young on the ,grammar ,schools 
in #ahfe is of great interest1 read in  

the light of nearly half a century's    
progress in the higher education of     
women4 ,i shall quote his exact words3  
,i have frequently been asked whether ,i
 considered it desirable that     girls 
should study ,latin in the ,grammar     
,schools4 ,it is1 in my     opinion1    
most undesirable2 and ,i am at a loss to
 comprehend how any     intelligent     
person acquainted with the state of     
things in our     ,grammar ,schools can 
come to a different conclusion4444      
,since ,i     became ,inspector1 ,i have
 not met with half a dozen girls in the 
,grammar ,schools of ,canada by whom the
 study of ,latin has been     pursued   
far enough for the taste to be in the   
least degree     influenced by what has 
been read4 ,aesthetically1 the benefits 
of     ,grammar ,schools to girls are   
nil4444 ,it may perhaps be said that    
although they have for the most part    
made but little progress in     ,latin  
up to the present time1 a fair          
proportion of them may be     expected  

to pursue the study to a point where its
 advantages can be     reaped4 ,i do not
 believe that three out of a hundred    
will4 ,as a     class1 they have dipped 
the soles of their feet in the water1   
with     no intention or likelihood of  
wading deeper into it4 ,they are not    
studying ,latin with any definite       
object4 ,they have taken it up under    
pressure at the solicitation of the     
teachers or trustees to enable     the  
schools to maintain the requisite       
average attendance of ten     classical 
pupils or to increase that part of the  
income of the     schools which is      
derived from public sources4 ,in a short
 time they     will leave school to     
enter on the practical work of life     
without     having either desired or    
obtained more than the merest smattering
 of     ,latin1 and their places will be
 taken by another band of girls who     
will go through the same routine4 ,it   
may perhaps be urged that these         
remarks are as applicable to as large a 

number of the ,grammar ,school     boys 
as they are to the girls4 ,i admit that 
they are2 and ,i draw the     conclusion
 that such boys1 equally with the girls 
in the ,grammar     ,schools1 are       
wasting their time in keeping up the    
appearance of     learning ,latin4 ,it  
would be unspeakably better to commit   
them to     first-class ,common ,school 
teachers1 under whose guidance they     
might     have their reflective and     
aesthetic faculties cultivated through  
the     study of ,english and of those  
branches which are associated with      
,english in good ,common ,schools4 ,this
 would1 of course1 diminish the         
number of the ,grammar ,schools in the  
,province2 but it might not be a        
very grievous calamity1 especially if it
 led to the establishment     of        
first-class ,common ,schools in         
localities where inferior teachers      
are now employed4#ajh  #ajh ,see copy of
 ,report in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xix41  
pp4 #if1 #ig4   ,it was a part of a     

,grammar ,school inspector's duty to    
examine the pupils who had been admitted
 by the ,grammar ,school masters and    
reject any who were too immature or were
 insufficiently prepared4 ,dr4 ,young   
complains strongly in his ,report of    
#ahfe of the poor teaching of ,english  
grammar4 ,in some cases he had to reject
 more than half those admitted4 ,he     
found pupils wholly unable to parse such
 easy sentences as3 ,the mother loved   
her daughter dearly1 ,john ran to school
 very quickly1 ,she knew her lesson     
remarkably well4  ,it is doubtful       
whether the ,grammar ,school ,bill of   
#ahfe made any real improvement in the  
schools4 ,without denying that some of  
them were doing a good work1 and that as
 a force in the national life they were 
fostering some love for higher          
education1 it is safe to assert that    
they were not very closely related to   
the real needs of the people4 ,their aim
 was narrow4 ,their very name shows     
this4 ,there was a crying need in the   

country for schools that would give an  
advanced ,english and scientific        
education with classic and modern       
languages to those who wished to pursue 
university studies4 ,but the most of the
 ,grammar ,schools aimed only at a study
 of ,latin and ,greek1 and indeed the   
,grammar ,school legislation and the    
regulations of the ,council of ,public  
,instruction had made a certain number  
of ,latin pupils one of the conditions  
upon which a ,grammar ,school might     
receive a public grant4  ,the ,act of   
#ahfe soon showed some disastrous       
tendencies4 ,it did not check the desire
 to form unions between ,grammar        
,schools and ,common ,schools1 as such  
unions made it easier to levy a rate in 
support of the union schools1 and thus  
comply with the conditions upon which   
,grammar ,schools received grants4 ,the 
clause in the new ,act making average   
attendance the basis of attendance1     
together with a regulation of the       
,council of ,public ,instruction which  

counted only ,latin pupils in making the
 grant1 led the head masters of union   
schools to draft every available pupil  
into the ,grammar ,school               
departments#aji and put them all1 boys  
and girls1 into ,latin4 ,often they were
 not prepared for such work and got no  
real benefit from it4 ,they wasted their
 time and lost the benefits of a sound  
,english education which a good ,common 
,school would have given them4 ,hundreds
 of boys and girls who had no foundation
 for a classical education1 and who had 
no prospect of ever advancing far enough
 to receive any solid knowledge of      
,latin1 were making a pretence of       
studying it in order that the school    
might draw a ,government grant4         
,ignorant parents raised no objections1 
thinking perhaps that ,latin possessed  
some charm which would be an open sesame
 for the future advancement of the boys 
and girls4  #aji ,it should be          
remembered that while a ,public ,school 
pupil drew less than one dollar per year

 ,legislative grant1 the moment this    
pupil was enrolled in a ,grammar ,school
 he drew from #bj to #ce yearly4 ,in    
#ahgb1 the average ,legislative grant to
 a ,public ,school pupil was #dj cents1 
and to a ,grammar ,school pupil #bj4    
,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xxiv41 p4     
#cjb4   ,dr4 ,ryerson was not the man to
 diagnose the case4 ,but the hour       
brought forth the man1 and that man was 
,george ,paxton ,young1 one of the      
,inspectors of ,grammar ,schools4 ,in   
two very able ,reports#aaj presented in 
#ahfg and #ahfh1 he sets forth clearly  
and convincingly the defects of the     
system then in operation and suggests   
the direction that reforms should take  
to make the ,grammar ,schools serve a   
useful purpose4 ,he wished to see their 
character wholly changed4 ,he did not   
undervalue classics1 but he believed    
that a smattering of classics was of no 
benefit1 and that it caused a waste of  
time that might be given to subjects of 
real value4 ,he wished to see ,high     

,schools that would give an advanced    
,english training1 together with natural
 science1 mathematics1 and history4 ,he 
did not believe in forcing all to study 
,latin1 nor did he believe in           
apportioning grants to ,high ,schools on
 the basis of the number of pupils      
studying ,latin4 ,he wished to see      
better ,common ,schools and objected to 
the plan of union which robbed the      
,common ,school of its older pupils and 
degraded its function4 ,speaking of     
this1 he says3 ,the number of union     
schools is increasing and is likely to  
increase4 ,in many of the schools of    
this class all the ,common ,school      
pupils1 boys and girls alike1 who have  
obtained a smattering of ,english       
grammar are systematically drafted into 
the ,grammar ,school4 ,the consequence  
is that in localities where such a      
system is followed there is no mere     
,common ,school education 7observe ,i   
say mere ,common ,school education7     
given to any pupils1 boys or girls1     

which is not of the most elementary     
description2 and not only have the      
,grammar ,schools thus become to a great
 extent girls' schools as well as boys' 
schools1 but--what is especially        
noteworthy--the girls admitted to these 
schools are in a majority of instances  
put into ,latin as a matter of course2  
in other words1 the study of ,latin is  
made practically a condition of their   
admission into the ,grammar ,school4    
,will any man say that this state of    
things is satisfactory1 a state of      
things in which the ,common ,schools are
 degraded by being suspended from the   
exercise of all their higher functions8 
,unless ,i misunderstand the object of  
the ,common ,school law1 the ,common    
,schools are designed to furnish a good 
,english and general education to those 
desiring it4 ,but how can this end be   
accomplished where the ,common ,schools 
are subject to arrangements under which 
the highest stage of advancement ever   
reached by the pupils is to be able to  

parse an easy ,english sentence8 444    
,children under thirteen years of age   
who do not mean to take a classical     
course of study have no educational     
wants which the ,common ,schools1       
properly conducted1 are not fitted to   
supply4 ,for children of thirteen and   
upwards who have already obtained such  
an education as may be got in good      
,common ,schools1 it would1 ,i think1 be
 well to establish ,english ,high       
,schools--a designation which ,i borrow 
from the ,united ,states although1      
unfortunately1 ,i have only a very vague
 idea of what the ,high ,schools in the 
,united ,states are4  #aaj ,see copy of 
,report in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xx41 pp4
 #ih-abh4   ,dr4 ,young strongly urged a
 more rigid inspection of ,grammar      
,schools and the apportioning of the    
,legislative grant upon the basis of    
,inspectors' reports4 ,as so many girls 
had been drafted into ,grammar ,schools 
and put in grammar classes apparently to
 increase the school grant1 it was      

proposed during #ahfh to allow only     
fifty per cent4 of girls' attendance to 
count in apportioning the grant and even
 to make no allowance whatever for      
attendance of female pupils in future   
years4 ,this opened up the whole        
question of co-education of the sexes in
 ,grammar ,schools and caused lively    
debates in the ,legislature and in      
,teachers' ,institutes4 ,the general    
opinion seemed to prevail that girls    
should have equal rights with boys but  
that the law should be so amended as to 
remove all pressure upon girls to study 
,latin4  ,after one or two abortive     
attempts1 a ,bill reorganizing ,grammar 
,schools was passed in #ahga4 ,this     
,bill abolished the term ,grammar       
,school1 and substituted that of ,high  
,school4 ,adequate provision was to be  
made in each ,high ,school for an       
advanced ,english education1 including  
natural sciences and commercial         
subjects4 ,the study of ,latin1 ,greek  
and modern languages was to be at the   

option of the pupils' parents or        
guardians4 ,provision was made for a    
superior class of ,high ,school1 to be  
known as ,collegiate ,institutes4 ,these
 schools were required to have at least 
four masters and an average of not less 
than sixty boys studying ,latin or      
,greek1 and were to receive a special   
grant of #gej a year4 ,county ,councils 
were empowered to form ,high ,school    
districts and provision was made by     
which the ,high ,school ,board could    
levy an assessment upon the district4   
,high ,school vacations were extended   
from ,july #ast to ,august #aeth4 ,a    
very important feature of the new ,bill 
was the provision for the admission of  
pupils4 ,the county1 city or town       
,inspector of ,schools1 the ,chairman of
 the ,high ,school ,board and the head  
master of the ,high ,school were        
constituted a ,board with power to      
conduct a written examination and admit 
pupils according to regulations         
prescribed by the ,council of ,public   

,instruction4  ,at first the local      
examining ,board set the entrance       
papers1 but this plan was soon          
superseded by one requiring uniform     
papers set by the ,high ,school         
,inspectors4 ,this aroused a storm of   
opposition1 and the resolution of the   
,council of ,public ,instruction        
requiring uniform papers was set aside  
by an ,order-in-,council4 ,but the plan 
of uniform papers was so sensible1 and  
so much chaos resulted from the other   
plan1 that by #ahgd the ,government     
authorized a uniform entrance           
examination which shut out immature     
pupils and those insufficiently         
prepared4 ,it raised the status of ,high
 ,schools1 enabling them to begin       
advanced work1 and indirectly increased 
the efficiency of the ,public ,schools  
by fixing a standard of attainment4 ,the
 ,legislature also made further         
provision for ,high ,schools by         
appropriating an additional #bj1jjj a   
year1 exclusive of the grants to be     

given to ,collegiate ,institutes4  ,the 
,act of #ahga provided for a minimum    
,legislative grant#aaa for each ,high   
,school1 and made the maximum grant     
depend upon average attendance4 ,the    
,rev4 ,george ,paxton ,young had1 in his
 last ,report as ,grammar ,school       
,inspector1 strongly recommended the    
adoption in a modified form of the      
,english system of payment by results4  
,he wished to see the ,high ,schools    
graded by the ,inspectors according to  
their general efficiency and the grant  
based upon this grading4 ,in #ahgb the  
,high ,school ,inspectors1 ,messrs4     
,mc,kenzie and ,mc,lellan1 urged the    
adoption of a similar plan and showed   
how it would serve as a stimulus to     
better work in all the schools4 ,they   
also pointed out how such a plan would  
encourage ,boards to employ good        
teachers1 since they would have a       
pecuniary interest in keeping up a good 
school4  #aaa ,the minimum grant per    
school was #djj4 ,the ,high ,schools of 

the ,province had1 in #ahgb1 from       
,legislative grant and ,county          
,councils1 #aje1jjj4 ,this was more than
 #a1jjj per school and about #cj per    
pupil4 ,many of the ,high ,schools      
charged no fees4   ,the ,act of #ahga   
gave the ,council of ,public            
,instruction a large measure of control 
over textbooks to be used in ,high      
,schools4 ,the ,council issued lists of 
those authorized1 and this did much to  
bring about uniformity in courses of    
study4 ,previous to #ahga1 many ,high   
,schools had only one teacher1 but the  
new legislation required at least two   
for ,high ,schools and four for         
,collegiate ,institutes4 ,to secure this
 required much firmness on the part of  
,dr4 ,ryerson4 ,even two teachers were  
wholly unable to do efficient work in   
large ,high ,schools1 and there was no  
easy way to force ,school ,boards to    
employ more4 ,the ,superintendent had   
steadily to oppose a tendency to form   
weak ,high ,schools1 and in some cases  

,grammar ,schools which had been able to
 exist in a sickly state under the old  
law were wholly unable to meet the      
requirements of the ,act of #ahga1 which
 threw some of the burden of support    
upon the local municipality4  ,the      
,inspectors' ,reports for #ahgd         
emphasize the need of additional        
teachers1 the poor quality of work done 
in ,english literature1 and the         
necessity of increased provision for    
natural science4 ,referring to the      
latter1 the ,inspectors' joint ,report  
speaks as follows3 ,in regard to the    
direct utility of the knowledge         
imparted1 the physical sciences are     
equalled by few subjects of study4 ,we  
regret to report that the teaching of   
science is not making progress in the   
schools4 ,for this there are many       
reasons1 of which perhaps the most      
important are the lack of apparatus and 
the impracticable character of the      
prescribed programme of studies4 ,all   
places might advantageously follow the  

example of ,whitby and fit up a science 
room1 that is1 a room to be devoted to  
the teaching of science and furnished   
with the necessary appliances and       
apparatus4 ,it cannot too often be      
inculcated that there can be no         
effective teaching of chemistry without 
experiments4 ,effective teaching implies
 first of all a qualified teacher1 and  
few of our masters consider themselves  
well qualified to teach any of the      
physical sciences4 ,yet the number of   
masters qualified to teach in this      
,department is increasing every year and
 it is much to be regretted that where  
the master is qualified he is often     
compelled1 if he wishes to teach        
chemistry1 to provide the apparatus at  
his own expense4 ,the public            
indifference to the claims of physical  
science is greater than the indifference
 of the masters4 ,besides1 three-fourths
 of ,high ,school ,boards either are so 
poor1 or believe themselves to be so    
poor1 that they will grumble if asked to

 spend #aj4jj annually for chemical     
purposes4#aab  #aab ,see copy of ,report
 in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xxv41 pp4      
#bdd-bde4  ,progress on the whole was   
rapid4 ,several weak schools were       
closed1#aac but they were schools which 
should never have been opened4 ,fees    
were either abolished or lowered4#aad   
,the standard for pupils' admission was 
gradually raised and the old ,grammar   
,schools were truly doing the work for  
which they were established in #ahjg4   
#aac ,about fifteen in all4  #aad ,out  
of #ajf schools in operation in #ahge1  
no less than #ha were absolutely free4  
,fees in the others varied from #ge     
cents to #f4jj per quarter1 the average 
being #b4gj4   ,much was yet to be      
desired in the qualifications of ,high  
,school masters4 ,in #ahgd1 one hundred 
out of one hundred and six head masters 
were university graduates1 but          
forty-five assistants held only ,second 
,class ,normal ,school ,certificates1 or
 ,county ,certificates1 and twenty-three

 schools had to employ teachers for a   
whole or a part of the year without any 
legal qualifications4 ,the average      
salary of head masters was #icj4jj1 of  
male assistants #ffd4jj1 and of female  
assistants #daf4jj4 ,the following      
extract from the ,inspector's ,report is
 interesting in the light of what has   
since been accomplished3 ,in the absence
 of any special training college or     
chair of pedagogy in the ,university1 we
 would suggest that as so many men are  
pursuing a collegiate course1 with a    
view to becoming ,high ,school masters1 
it would be well for the ,government to 
establish a lectureship in ,education4  
,it would not1 we think1 be difficult if
 proper encouragement were given to     
secure the services of several          
experienced and skilled educationists1  
one of whom might deliver a short course
 of lectures on the above subjects      
during each college session4  ,perhaps  
no part of our school system has        
developed more since ,ryerson retired in

 #ahgf than our ,high ,schools4 ,but    
this development has been almost wholly 
a natural growth4 ,true1 there has been 
much legislation and many changes in    
departmental regulations1 but nothing of
 a revolutionary character4 ,the opening
 of the doors of the universities to    
women and their increased employment as 
teachers has led to their being placed  
on an absolute equality with men in the 
,high ,schools and in all graduating    
examinations4 ,the number of schools has
 almost doubled and the teaching of     
every department has been improved2     
incompetent teachers have given place to
 those having high academic and         
professional training2 natural science  
has been greatly strengthened and the   
teaching of languages much improved2    
good laboratories have been built2      
spacious buildings with fine grounds    
have become the rule2 the number of     
students preparing for university       
matriculation has multiplied many times2
 the average salaries of teachers have  

more than doubled1 and finally the ,high
 ,schools are so adapting themselves to 
the social needs of the people that they
 are becoming as much the schools of the
 people as are the ,public ,schools4    
,,chapter ,x4  ,,ryerson ,,and ,,the    
,,training ,,of ,,teachers4   ,normal   
,schools were mooted in ,upper ,canada  
before ,ryerson became ,superintendent4 
,as early as #ahdc1 ,sir ,francis       
,hincks said that the school system     
would never be complete without         
them4#aae ,in his ,report on a ,system  
of ,education made in #ahdf1 ,ryerson   
made it clear that any system of        
education must have as its basis trained
 teachers1 and to secure trained        
teachers was almost impossible without  
,normal ,schools4 ,his report gives     
details of the ,normal ,school systems  
of ,great ,britain and ,ireland1        
,france1 ,holland1 ,germany1 and the    
,united ,states4 ,one or two schools had
 just been established in ,massachusetts
 and one in ,albany4 ,ryerson visited   

these1 but was most favourably impressed
 with the ,dublin ,normal and ,model    
,schools1 as managed by the             
,commissioners of the ,irish ,national  
,board of ,education1 and our first     
,normal ,school was modelled largely    
after the ,dublin type4  #aae ,see      
extract from his speech1 ,chap4 ,,iv41  
pp4 #aja1 #ajb4   ,the legislation of   
#ahdf appropriated ,l#a1ejj for fitting 
up a ,normal ,school building and made  
an additional appropriation of ,l#a1ejj 
per annum for maintenance4 ,the ,school 
,bill of #ahdf created a ,council of    
,public ,instruction to work with the   
,chief ,superintendent1 and placed the  
proposed ,normal ,school under its      
management4 ,the ,council of ,public    
,instruction lost no time in beginning  
work4 ,as early as ,may1 #ahdf1 they    
were planning an early opening of the   
,normal ,school1 and were in            
communication with ,john ,rintoul1 of   
the ,dublin ,normal ,school1 about      
accepting the head mastership of the    

proposed ,normal ,school at ,toronto4   
,it was proposed to give ,mr4 ,rintoul  
,l#cej1 ,halifax currency1 and ,l#ajj   
for moving expenses4 ,mr4 ,rintoul      
accepted the appointment1 resigned his  
position in ,dublin1 and was about to   
leave for ,canada when1 owing to some   
domestic affliction1 he had to abandon  
his plans4 ,the ,commissioners of the   
,irish ,national ,board then selected   
,thomas ,jaffray ,robertson to take     
,rintoul's place and the ,council of    
,public ,instruction chose as his       
assistant ,mr4 ,henry ,hind1 of ,thorne 
,hill4 ,robertson sailed from ,ireland  
in ,july1 #ahdg1 and in ,november of the
 same year the ,normal ,school was      
opened4  ,it was a part of ,ryerson's   
plan that the several ,district         
,councils of ,upper ,canada should      
choose two or three promising young men 
and send them to the ,normal ,school1   
paying at least part of their expenses4 
,the following extract from the         
,regulations issued by the ,council of  

,public ,instruction in #ahdg will      
illustrate the requirements for         
admission to the first ,normal ,school  
in ,upper ,canada3 #ast4 ,that the      
,provincial ,normal ,school shall be    
open about the #ast of ,july next1 and  
the first session shall continue until  
the middle of ,october1 #ahdg4 #bnd4    
,that every candidate for admission into
 the ,normal ,school1 in order to his   
being received1 must comply with the    
following conditions3 ,he must be at    
least sixteen years of age2 produce a   
certificate of good moral character     
signed by a clergyman2 be able to read  
and write intelligibly and be acquainted
 with the simple rules of arithmetic2   
must declare in writing that he intends 
to devote himself to teaching 7other    
students not candidates for school      
teaching to be admitted only on paying  
fees and dues to be prescribed74 #crd4  
,upon the foregoing conditions          
candidates for school teaching shall be 
admitted to all the advantages of the   

,normal ,school without any charge      
either for tuition or for books4 #dth4  
,candidates shall lodge and board in the
 city under such regulations as shall   
from time to time be approved by this   
,board4#aaf  #aaf ,see ,report of       
,superintendent of ,education for #ahdh4
   ,the school was formally opened by   
,dr4 ,ryerson1 ,november #ast1 in the   
presence of a distinguished company4    
,the ,model ,school was opened the      
following ,february4  ,the ,normal      
,school pupils were1 many of them1      
poorly equipped for a course of         
training4 ,they had received no adequate
 secondary education4 ,in fact1 many of 
them were direct from the ,common       
,schools4 ,a few were mature men who had
 a considerable teaching experience4#aag
  #aag ,women were not admitted until   
the opening of the second term in #ahdh4
   ,it was necessary to give a broad    
academic course and judiciously         
interweave some professional training4  
,grammar and mathematics received much  

greater attention than their importance 
merited4 ,physical science and natural  
philosophy1 together with some          
agricultural chemistry1 received a      
prominent place on the programme4       
,geography was also made much of1 but it
 was largely mathematical and political 
and elaborately illustrated with globes 
and maps4 ,literature and history were  
taught1 but not in a way to arouse much 
enthusiasm4 ,pupils were supposed not to
 learn by heart what they did not       
understand1 but there was in practice   
much memory work and repetition of      
rules4  ,on the whole1 the ,normal      
,school was approved by all classes of  
people1 and the teachers trained there  
were in great demand4 ,but there was    
some criticism1 especially of the       
provision by which four shillings a week
 was granted to students to aid them in 
paying their board4 ,inasmuch as this   
money was deducted from the school      
grant1 it was argued that the teachers  
in service were actually educating in   

the ,normal ,school others who would    
displace them4 ,exception was also taken
 to granting aid to students who had no 
intention of making teaching their life 
work4 ,to meet this difficulty1 students
 accepting public money towards their   
expenses were required to give assurance
 that they would teach a stated time1   
and others1 called private pupils1 were 
charged fees for tuition4  ,in #ahdi the
 experiment was made of a nine months'  
session1 but the country was not yet    
ready for this step and the attendance  
was so reduced that the plan was        
abandoned4  ,in #ahej1 the ,council of  
,public ,instruction attempted to widen 
the influence of the ,normal ,school by 
sending the ,normal ,school masters to  
attend ,teachers' ,institutes throughout
 the ,province4 ,in this way many       
earnest teachers who had received no    
training were given suggestions that    
bore much fruit4  ,when the ,normal     
,school was established1 it was held in 
the old ,legislative ,buildings of      

,upper ,canada4 ,after the riots in     
,montreal1 in #ahdi1 ,toronto again     
became the seat of ,government and the  
,normal ,school had to move4 ,temporary 
quarters were obtained while the        
,council of ,public ,instruction took   
steps to secure a permanent home1 not   
only for the ,normal ,school1 but for   
the ,education ,department4 ,the present
 site was secured and ,parliament made  
an appropriation of ,l#ae1jjj to provide
 for it and for a building4 ,in ,july1  
#ahea1 ,lord ,elgin laid the            
corner-stone4#aah  #aah ,see ,d4 ,h4    
,e41 ,vol4 ,x41 pp4 #e-ad4   ,the       
address of ,dr4 ,ryerson1 in introducing
 the ,governor1 shows that he had no    
thought of divorcing the ,common        
,schools from agriculture1 the backbone 
industry of the people4 ,he says3 ,the  
land on which these buildings are in    
course of erection is an entire square1 
consisting of nearly eight acres1 two of
 which are to be devoted to a botanical 
garden1 three to agricultural           

experiments1 and the remainder to the   
buildings of the institution4 ,it is    
thus intended that the valuable course  
of lectures given in the ,normal ,school
 in vegetable physiology and            
agricultural chemistry shall be         
practically illustrated on the adjoining
 grounds1 in the culture of which the   
students will take part during a portion
 of their hours of recreation4444 ,there
 are four circumstances which encourage 
the most sanguine anticipations in every
 patriotic heart in regard to our       
educational future4 ,the first is the   
avowed and entire absence of all party  
spirit in the school affairs of our     
country from the ,provincial            
,legislature down to the smallest       
municipality4 ,the second is the        
precedence which our ,legislature has   
taken of all others on the western side 
of the ,atlantic in providing for       
,normal ,school instruction1 in aiding  
teachers to avail themselves of its     
advantages4 ,the third is that the      

people of ,upper ,canada have during the
 last year voluntarily taxed themselves 
for the salaries of teachers in a larger
 sum in proportion to their numbers and 
have kept open their schools on an      
average more months than the            
neighbouring citizens of the old and    
great ,state of ,new ,york4 ,the fourth 
is that the essential requisite of a    
series of suitable and excellent        
textbooks has been introduced into our  
schools and adopted almost by general   
acclamation1 and that the facilities of 
furnishing all our schools with the     
necessary books1 maps1 and apparatus    
will soon be in advance of those of any 
other country4#aai ,in ,november1 #aheb1
 when the buildings#abj were formally   
opened1 the ,honourable ,john ,beverley 
,robinson1 ,chief ,justice of ,upper    
,canada1 said3 ,without such a general  
preparatory system as we see here in    
operation1 the instruction of the great 
mass of our population would be left in 
a measure to chance4 ,the teachers might

 be1 many of them1 ignorant pretenders  
without experience1 without method1 and 
in some respects very improper persons  
to be entrusted with the education of   
youth4 ,there could be little or no     
security for what they might teach1 or  
what they might attempt to teach1 nor   
any certainty that the good which might 
be acquired from their precepts would   
not be more than counterbalanced by the 
ill effects of their example4 ,indeed   
the footing which our ,common ,school   
teachers were formerly upon in regard to
 income gave no adequate remuneration to
 intelligent and industrious men to     
devote their time to the service4 ,but  
this disadvantage is largely removed1 as
 well as other obstacles which were     
inseparable from the conditions of a    
thinly-peopled and uncleared country    
traversed only by miserable roads1 and  
henceforth1 as soon at least as the     
benefits of this institution can be     
fully felt1 the ,common ,schools will be
 dispensing throughout the whole of     

,upper ,canada1 by means of             
properly-trained teachers and under     
vigilant superintendents1 a system of   
education which has been carefully      
considered and arranged1 and which has  
been for some time practically          
exemplified4 ,an observation of some    
years has enabled most of us to form an 
opinion of its sufficiency4 ,speaking   
only for myself1 ,i have much pleasure  
in saying that the degree of proficiency
 which has been actually attained goes  
far1 very far1 beyond what ,i had       
imagined it would have been attempted to
 aim at4#aba  #aai ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41    
,vol4 ,x41 p4 #f4  #abj ,these included 
what is now the main ,departmental      
building and the ,model ,school to the  
north4 ,the present ,normal ,school     
building was erected later4  #aba ,see  
,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,x41 pp4 #bgh-bhc4   
,the following from ,honourable ,francis
 ,hincks leaves us in no doubt as to    
,ryerson's part in securing the         
building4 ,he says3 ,with regard to this

 institution1 so far it has been most   
successfully conducted1 and ,i feel     
bound to say that we must attribute all 
the merit of that success to the        
reverend gentleman who has been at the  
head of our ,common ,school system4 ,it 
is only due to him that ,i should take  
this public opportunity of saying that  
since ,i have been a member of the      
,government ,i have never met an        
individual who has displayed more zeal  
or more devotion to the duties he has   
been called upon to discharge than ,dr4 
,ryerson4 ,a great deal of opposition   
has been manifested both in and out of  
,parliament to this institution1 and a  
good deal of jealousy exists with regard
 to its having been established in the  
city of ,toronto4 ,i can speak from my  
own experience as to the difficulties   
experienced in obtaining the            
co-operation of ,parliament to have the 
necessary funds provided for the purpose
 of erecting this building4 ,i will say1
 however1 that there never was an       

institution in which the people have    
more confidence that the funds were well
 applied than in this institution4      
,there is but one feeling that pervades 
the minds of all those who have seen the
 manner in which this scheme has been   
worked out4 ,in regard to the ,normal   
,school itself1 the site has been well  
chosen1 the buildings have been erected 
in a most permanent manner1 and without 
anything like extravagance1 and ,i have 
no doubt there will be no difficulty in 
obtaining additional ,parliamentary aid 
to finish them4#abb  #abb ,see ,d4 ,h4  
,e41 ,vol4 ,x41 pp4 #bhb-bhd4   ,in his 
report for #ahec1 ,ryerson suggests     
,normal training for ,grammar ,school   
teachers4 ,i shall give his own words3  
,the ,provincial ,normal and ,model     
,schools have contributed1 and are      
contributing1 much to the improvement of
 our ,common ,schools by furnishing a   
proper standard of judgment and         
comparison as to what such schools ought
 to be and how they should be taught and

 governed1 and by furnishing teachers   
duly qualified for that important task4 
,there is equal need of a ,provincial   
,model ,grammar ,school1 in which the   
best modes of teaching the elements of  
,greek and ,latin1 ,french and ,german1 
the elementary mathematics and the      
elements of natural science1 may be     
exemplified1 and where teachers and     
candidates for masterships of ,grammar  
,schools may have an opportunity for    
practical observation and training      
during a shorter or longer period4 ,such
 a school would complete the educational
 establishments of our school system and
 contribute powerfully to advance ,upper
 ,canada to the proud position which she
 is approaching in regard to            
institutions and agencies for the mental
 culture of her youthful population4#abc
  #abc ,see ,superintendent's ,report   
for #ahec4   ,the ,legislature voted    
,l#a1jjj for a ,model ,grammar ,school1 
and in #ahee plans for a building were  
prepared under direction of the ,council

 of ,public ,instruction4 ,the estimate 
exceeded the means at the disposal of   
the ,council and nothing was done until 
#ahef1 when ,ryerson wrote the          
,executive ,council as follows3 ,there  
is no branch of our system of ,public   
,instruction so defective as our        
,grammar ,schools1 and the ',model' for 
them as to both structure and furniture1
 discipline1 modes of classification and
 teaching is of the utmost              
importance4444 ,i am persuaded that a   
saving of one-half of the time and      
expense usually incurred in the ,grammar
 ,school education of youth may be saved
 by improved methods in teaching and    
directing their studies1 a result which 
will greatly increase the number of     
those who will aspire to a higher       
literary education apart from other     
advantages and intellectual habits and  
discipline4 ,it is proposed to erect the
 ,model ,grammar ,school in the rear of 
the present ,model ,school4444 ,the     
proposed mode of admitting pupils will  

prevent the ,model ,grammar ,school from
 interfering with or being the rival of 
any other ,grammar ,school4 ,it is also 
intended to afford every possible       
facility and assistance to masters and  
teachers of ,grammar ,schools throughout
 the ,province to come and spend some   
weeks in the ,model ,grammar            
,school4#abd  #abd ,see copy of letter  
in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xii41 p4 #cba4  
,the ,government now authorized the     
,council of ,public ,instruction to     
proceed with the erection of a building 
to accommodate one hundred ,grammar     
,school pupils4 ,the school was opened  
in #aheh4 ,it was the intention to give 
a preference to the two or three pupils 
from each county and city in ,upper     
,canada who were recommended by the     
respective ,municipal ,councils4        
,ryerson's circular to these ,councils  
will throw some light on the subject3   
,the object of the ,model ,grammar      
,school is to exemplify the best methods
 of teaching the branches required by   

law to be taught in the ,grammar        
,schools1 especially the elementary     
classics and mathematics1 as a model for
 the ,grammar ,schools of the country4  
,it is also intended that the ,model    
,grammar ,school shall1 as far as       
possible1 secure the advantages of a    
,normal ,classical ,school to candidates
 for masterships in the ,grammar        
,school2 but effect cannot be given to  
this object of the ,model ,grammar      
,school during the first few months of  
its operation4#abe ,in #ahei1 in a      
report to the ,government1 ,ryerson     
speaks further and says3 ,in regard to  
the ,model ,grammar ,schools the        
buildings are completed and the school  
has been in operation several months and
 with the most gratifying success4      
,upwards of thirty masters of ,grammar  
,schools have in the course of a few    
weeks visited and spent a longer or     
shorter time in the ,model ,grammar     
,school with a view to improving their  
own methods of school organization1     

discipline1 and teaching2 and ,i have   
reason to believe that it has already   
exerted a salutary influence in         
improving the several ,grammar          
,schools--an influence that will be     
greatly increased when we are enabled to
 form a special class consisting of     
candidates for ,grammar ,school         
masterships4#abf  #abe ,see copy of     
,circular in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xiv41 
p4 #fe4  #abf ,see ,report of           
,superintendent for #ahei4   ,in #ahfa1 
,mr4 ,g4 ,r4 ,cockburn1 ,rector of the  
,model ,grammar ,school1 resigned to    
become principal of ,upper ,canada      
,college4 ,ryerson wished to transfer   
the functions of the ,model ,grammar    
,school to ,upper ,canada ,college4     
,this was not agreed to1 but the same   
year provision was made for admitting   
candidates for ,grammar ,school         
masterships to a course in training in  
the ,model ,grammar ,school4 ,up to this
 time the ,school had been of           
professional service as a school of     

observation1 the holidays being so      
arranged that its classes were in       
session while ,grammar ,school masters  
were on holiday4  ,in ,july1 #ahfc1 the 
,model ,grammar ,school was finally     
closed4 ,the following from a letter    
sent by ,ryerson to the ,provincial     
,secretary makes clear the reasons for  
this action3 ,when the ,model ,grammar  
,school was established it was expected 
that nearly every county in ,upper      
,canada would be represented in it and  
provision was made for that purpose4    
,that important object has not been     
realized2 and although the attendance at
 the school has been larger during the  
last year than during any previous year1
 reaching even to #ajj1 the attendance  
as in former years has been chiefly from
 ,toronto and its neighbourhood4 ,i do  
not think it just to the ,general ,fund 
to maintain an additional ,toronto      
,grammar ,school4 ,during the past year 
a training class for ,grammar ,school   
masterships1 consisting to a            

considerable extent of students in the  
,university1 has been successfully      
established4 ,but it has been found that
 the instruction in all subjects1 except
 ,greek1 ,latin1 and ,french1 can be    
given in the ,normal ,school to better  
advantage than in the ,model ,grammar   
,school4#abg  #abg ,see ,ryerson's      
letter in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xviii1 p4
 #fi4   ,trained teachers for the       
,grammar ,schools were much to be       
desired1 and ,ryerson deserves credit   
for his progressive ideas4 ,but just at 
that stage in their evolution1 although 
they contained many scholarly men1 the  
,grammar ,schools as a whole were more  
in need of teachers with sound          
scholarship than of teachers with a     
little professional training4  ,there   
continued to be complaints that teachers
 trained in the ,normal ,schools did not
 continue to teach4 ,in his ,report for 
#ahef1 ,ryerson makes clear that in his 
opinion these defections from the       
teaching ranks were no condemnation of  

,normal ,schools4 ,he says3 ,the only   
objection yet made to the training of   
teachers1 as far as ,i know1 is that    
many of them do not pursue that         
profession but leave it for other       
employments4 ,were this true to the full
 extent imagined1 the conclusion would  
still be in favour of the ,normal       
,school1 since its advantages are not   
confined to schools or neighbourhoods in
 which its teachers are employed1 but   
are extended over other neighbourhoods  
and municipalities4444 ,in all          
professions and pursuits there are      
changes from one to another4 ,i do not  
think it wise1 just1 or expedient to    
deny to the ,normal ,school teacher the 
liberty1 if opportunity presents itself1
 to improve his position or increase his
 usefulness4444 ,in whatever position or
 relation of life a ,normal ,school     
teacher may be placed1 his training at  
the ,normal ,school cannot fail to      
contribute to his usefulness4#abh  #abh 
,see ,report of ,chief ,superintendent  

for #ahef4 ,see copy in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41    
,vol4 ,,xiii41 p4 #ea4   ,nor was all   
the criticism of ,normal ,school affairs
 directed towards the teachers who left 
the profession2 those who remained in it
 were emissaries of evil4 ,then1 as now1
 there were croakers who thought that a 
boy born on a farm naturally belonged   
there1 and that any enlightenment which 
tended to make him dissatisfied with his
 surroundings was an evil4 ,one1 signing
 himself ,angus ,dallas of ,toronto1    
wrote several pamphlets attacking the   
school system4 ,speaking of the ,normal 
,school1 he said3 ,the young men who    
have attended six months at that        
institution and leave it with           
certificates to teach1 go forth into the
 country with the most mistaken estimate
 of their own importance4 ,they open    
schools wherever accident places them1  
and by teaching and familiar            
intercourse1 combined with the example  
of nomadic habits1 for they seldom      
remain longer than twelve months in one 

place1 they soon contaminate the minds  
of the older pupils and also of young   
men who may reside in the neighbourhood1
 by their doctrines of enlightened      
citizenship2 and thus these pupils soon 
learn to disdain honest labour4#abi     
#abi ,the ,toronto schools were at this 
time very expensively managed as        
compared with schools in other cities of
 ,upper ,canada4 ,this could not be     
attributed to the expense of            
,normal-trained teachers4 ,in #aheh1 ten
 years after the ,normal ,school was    
established1 no ,common ,school in      
,toronto was in charge of a             
,normal-trained teacher1 and only two or
 three such teachers had ever been      
employed there4 ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 
,,xiii41 p4 #bii4   ,in #ahee1 the      
,legislature had authorized a museum and
 library in connection with the         
,department of ,education4 ,these were  
formally opened in #aheg and the library
 contributed much to increase the       
efficiency of the ,normal ,school by    

widening the scope of the students'     
reading4  ,in the following year the    
,council of ,public ,instruction revised
 the ,normal ,school ,regulations4      
,qualifications necessary for admission 
were accurately set forth and the course
 of study defined for both second and   
first-class certificates4 ,there        
continued to be two sessions a year1 but
 students who entered to qualify for a  
second-class certificate spent two or   
more sessions before reaching a standard
 entitling them to a first-class        
certificate4  ,an interesting sidelight 
is thrown upon the nature of the        
instruction given in the ,toronto       
,normal ,school by the ,report for #ahfh
 of ,george ,paxton ,young1 ,inspector  
of ,grammar ,schools4 ,young was trying 
to raise the standard of the ,grammar   
,schools1 and shows how their           
improvement would affect the ,normal    
,schools4 ,he says3 ,i suppose there can
 be no doubt that if ,high ,schools like
 those which ,i have described were     

established1 it would be necessary to   
modify the work of the ,normal ,school  
considerably4 ,teachers who would have  
to perform different duties from what   
have hitherto been expected at their    
hands would need a different training   
from what has hitherto been given4 ,the 
instructions in ,english in the ,normal 
,school would require to be raised to a 
far higher level than is now aimed at4  
,much of the elementary drilling which  
,normal ,school students at present     
receive might be dispensed with4 ,our   
institution for the training of teachers
 ought not to be a school for teaching  
,english grammar4 ,in the same way ,i   
would lighten the ship of such subjects 
as the bare facts of geography and      
history2 not rejecting of course        
prelections on the proper method of     
teaching geography and history4 ,the    
,english master in the ,normal ,school  
might thus be enabled to devote a       
portion of his time to lessons in the   
,english language and literature of a   

superior cast--lessons which he would   
have a pride in giving and on which the 
students would feel it a privilege to   
wait4 ,such lessons would be immensely  
useful even to those young men and women
 who might only desire to qualify       
themselves for becoming ,common ,school 
teachers4 ,in the department of physical
 science1 it is plain that if the views 
which ,i have expressed in regard to the
 way in which science should be taught  
in the ,high ,schools be just1 the      
object of the prelections in the ,normal
 ,school should not be to cram the      
students with a mass of facts but to    
develop in them a philosophic habit of  
mind and to make them practically       
understand how classes in science ought 
to be conducted in the schools4#acj     
#acj ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xx41 p4  
#abg4   ,no man in ,canada was better   
qualified to estimate the real work of  
any educational establishment than      
,young1 and although he was not closely 
connected with the ,normal ,school1 we  

may assume that his analysis was        
essentially correct and that the study  
of formal grammar and the acquisition of
 scientific facts bulked large in the   
,normal ,school programme4 ,in his      
report for #ahfg1aca in speaking of the 
,normal and ,model ,schools1 ,ryerson   
says3 ,they are not constituted as are  
most of the ,normal ,schools in both    
,europe and ,america to impart the      
preliminary education requisite for     
teaching4 ,that preparatory education is
 supposed to have been attained in the  
ordinary public or private schools4 ,the
 entrance examination to the ,normal    
,school requires this4 ,the object of   
the ,normal and ,model ,schools is1     
therefore1 to do for the teacher what an
 apprenticeship does for the mechanic1  
the artist1 the physician1 the          
lawyer--to teach him theoretically and  
practically how to do the work of his   
profession4  #aca ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41     
,vol4 ,,xx41 p4 #aci4   ,a little       
consideration will show us that a school

 trying to realize such an aim and      
attempting to teach only the rudiments  
of the science of education1 upon which 
the theory of teaching is based1 must   
become empirical and rule-of-thumb in   
its methods4 ,the real difficulty lay in
 the inadequate preparation with which  
the teachers in training entered upon   
their work4 ,the ,normal ,school could  
not improve until an improvement should 
be effected in the ,grammar ,schools4   
,during the first nine sessions of the  
,normal ,school no certificates were    
granted which entitled the holder to    
teach4 ,the ,normal ,school graduates   
simply received certificates of         
attendance and had to submit to         
examination by a ,county ,board before  
securing a license4 ,it almost          
invariably happened that ,normal ,school
 graduates were able to take a high     
standing at these examinations1 and     
hence ,ryerson met with no serious      
opposition from ,county ,boards when in 
#ahec he proposed to issue ,provincial  

certificates to ,normal ,school         
graduates upon the recommendation of the
 ,normal ,school masters4 ,from #ahec to
 #ahga a dual system of granting        
certificates was in operation4 ,normal  
,school graduates received ,provincial  
certificates of various grades1 and     
,county ,boards issued certificates     
valid only in the county where issued4  
,in #ahga a radical change was made1 by 
which ,county ,boards were allowed to   
issue only third-class certificates     
valid for three years in the county     
where given1 and renewable on the       
recommendation of the ,county           
,inspector4 ,second and first-class     
certificates were granted only by the   
,department of ,education and valid     
during good behaviour1 and in any part  
of the ,province4 ,a first-class        
certificate of the highest grade 7,grade
 ,a7 was made the qualification for     
,county ,inspectors4 ,it should also be 
noted that the third-class certificates 
referred to above were granted after    

#ahga only upon the passing of a written
 examination upon papers prepared by a  
central committee chosen by the ,council
 of ,public ,instruction4 ,this was a   
radical change from the old method1     
which allowed each ,county ,board to fix
 its own standard1 a plan which         
necessarily led to many certificates    
being granted to wholly incompetent     
persons4  ,the change of #ahga1 which   
virtually established a ,provincial     
system of licensing teachers1 brought   
upon ,ryerson's head much abuse from    
incompetent teachers and their friends4 
,the ,superintendent stood firmly by his
 guns1 knowing well that his act was in 
the best interests of the ,province4 ,a 
few words from his reply to those who   
objected that old teachers were being   
set aside because of failure to pass the
 ,provincial examination is worth       
mentioning4 ,he says3 ,i answer1 as     
government exists not for office-holders
 but for the people1 so the school      
exists not for the teachers but for the 

youth and future generations of the     
land2 and if teachers have been too     
slothful not to keep pace with the      
progressive wants and demands of the    
country1 they must1 as should all       
incompetent and indolent public         
officers1 and all lazy and              
unenterprising citizens1 give place to  
the more industrious1 intelligent1      
progressive1 and enterprising4 ,the     
sound education of a generation of      
children is not to be sacrificed for the
 sake of an incompetent although        
antiquated teacher4#acb  #acb ,see copy 
of ,report in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4        
,,xiii41 p4 #aca4   ,having secured the 
adoption of a system by which all       
licensing of teachers was under         
,departmental control1 ,ryerson next    
turned his attention to an extension of 
facilities for training teachers4 ,his  
plans were comprehensive and had to wait
 thirty-five years for complete         
realization4 ,in #ahgbacc he reported to
 the ,provincial ,treasurer as follows3 

,i desire to state in reply that last   
year ,i thought and suggested to the    
,government that two additional ,normal 
,schools were required1 one in the      
eastern and the other in the western    
section of the ,province1 but ,i am now 
inclined to think that three additional 
,normal ,schools will be required to    
extend the advantages of a ,normal      
,school training to all parts of the    
,province--one at ,london1 one at       
,kingston1 and one at ,ottawa4 ,if      
provision be not made to establish them 
all at once1 ,i think the first         
established should be at ,ottawa--the   
centre of a large region of country     
where the schools are in a comparatively
 backward state1 and where the influence
 of the ,normal ,school training for    
teachers has yet been scarcely felt     
except in a few towns1 and which is     
almost entirely separated from ,toronto 
in all branches of business and         
commerce1 and therefore1 to a great     
extent1 in social relations and         

sympathies4444 ,as the whole ,province  
east of ,belleville is less advanced and
 less progressive in schools than the   
western parts1 ,i think a second ,normal
 ,school should be established at       
,kingston4 ,the whole region of country 
from ,belleville1 on the west1 to       
,brockville1 on the east1 has very      
little more business or commercial      
connection with ,toronto than the more  
eastern parts of the ,province4         
,although ,london is not so remote from 
,toronto as ,ottawa or ,kingston1 yet it
 is the centre of a populous and        
prosperous part of the ,province from   
which an ample number of student        
teachers would be collected to fill any 
,normal ,school4444 ,with the           
establishment of these three ,normal    
,schools ,i am persuaded there would    
still be as large a number of student   
teachers attending the ,toronto ,school 
as can advantageously be trained in one 
institution4444 ,i think all the ,normal
 ,schools should be subject to the      

oversight of the ,education ,department 
and under the same regulations formally 
sanctioned by the                       
,lieutenant-,governor-in-,council4 ,this
 ,i think necessary on the grounds of   
both economy and uniformity of standard 
and system of instruction4 ,as to the   
extent of accommodation in each ,normal 
,school1 ,i think that provision should 
be made for training #aej teachers in   
each school4  #acc ,see ,d4 ,h4 ,e41    
,vol4 ,,xxiv41 p4 #bb4   ,in the        
meantime1 while negotiations for more   
,normal ,school accommodation were in   
progress1 an attempt was made to give   
some professional training through      
teachers' institutes4 ,as far back as   
#ahej the ,legislature had made a grant 
for such meetings1 and they had been    
conducted by the ,normal ,school        
masters4 ,in #ahgb the plan was revised 
and some very successful institutes     
held4 ,the movement is important because
 out of it grew ,county ,model ,schools1
 and the adoption of a principle which  

meant some professional training for    
every teacher4  ,in #ahge1 a ,normal    
,school was opened at ,ottawa1 but the  
plan of having schools at ,kingston and 
,london was abandoned largely because of
 the apathy of the ,legislature in      
regard to the expense4 ,in fact it is   
doubtful if any ,government could have  
forced through the ,legislature a vote  
for such a purpose4  ,ryerson found the 
schools in #ahdd taught by teachers     
without certificates and without        
professional training2 he left them in  
#ahgf with teachers1 all of whom were   
certificated under ,government          
examinations1 and many of whom were     
,normal-trained4 ,more important still1 
he had1 by his lectures at ,county      
,conventions and by his writings in the 
,journal of ,education1 created a       
sentiment throughout the ,province in   
favour of trained teachers4 ,he thus    
made easy the pathway of his successors 
in securing increased efficiency2 but it
 may be doubted whether any of his      

immediate successors achieved results in
 keeping with the material advance of   
the ,province4     ,,chapter ,,xi4      
,,ryerson ,,school ,,bill ,,of #ahga4   
,from #ahej to #ahga no wholly new      
principles relating to the ,common      
,schools were adopted by the            
,legislature1 although some changes were
 necessarily made4 ,the legislation of  
#ahej had1 from time to time1 to be     
supplemented by amendments in order that
 the spirit of the previous legislation 
should be made applicable to the needs  
of a rapidly growing community4  ,an    
,act passed in #ahecacd provided further
 machinery for the working of ,trustee  
,boards2 gave a liberal annual grant for
 an educational museum2 set apart ,l#ejj
 a year toward teachers' pensions1 and  
increased by ,l#a1jjj a year the grant  
to ,normal ,schools4  #acd ,see copy of 
,act reprinted in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4    
,x41 p4 #acc4   ,an ,act passed in      
#ahfjace more clearly defined the powers
 of trustees1 the manner of conducting  

elections1 and auditing school accounts4
 ,the same ,act made ,saturday a school 
holiday4  #ace ,see copy of ,act        
reprinted in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xv41  
pp4 #de-di4   ,the ,act of #ahgaacf was 
the last important school legislation   
prepared by ,ryerson4#acg ,the important
 features of the ,act may be summed up  
under four headings1 viz41 compulsory   
and free education1 efficient           
inspection1 teachers' pensions1 and the 
licensing of teachers under ,government 
direction4#ach  #acf ,see copy of ,act  
reprinted in ,d4 ,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xxii41
 pp4 #bac-bbb4  #acg ,the ,act of #ahgd1
 in as far as it contained new          
principles1 was forced upon ,ryerson by 
the ,government of ,sir ,oliver ,mowat4 
#ach ,for changes made in ,grammar      
,schools by ,act of #ahga1 see ,chapter 
,,ix4   ,the free school was the natural
 complement of the ,act of #ahej4 ,the  
permissive legislation then enacted     
allowing trustee boards and ratepayers  
to establish free schools had been so   

generally acted upon#aci that by #ahga  
the abolition of all rate bills upon    
parents seemed to come as a matter of   
course4 ,the logical corollary of free  
schools is compulsory attendance1 and   
the ,act of #ahga fixed penalties to be 
imposed upon parents and guardians who  
neglected the education of their        
children4 ,it may be doubted whether    
this compulsory clause has ever been of 
any real advantage to the cause of      
education4 ,the real forces that move   
human beings are always moral forces4   
,many a man has unwillingly sent his    
children to school because of public    
opinion1 but few because of fear of the 
law4  #aci ,only some #djj schools out  
of #d1jjj were levying rate bills in    
#ahgj4 ,these #djj were chiefly in towns
 and cities4 ,the total rate bill levy  
for #ahgj was about #bd1jjj4 ,see       
,superintendent's ,report for #ahgj4    
,the ,act provided for county inspectors
 who should be experts and devote their 
whole time to the work of inspection4   

,ryerson's first ,report had            
foreshadowed such action1 and the fact  
that he had to wait a quarter-century to
 realize his plan shows how impossible  
it is to legislate much in advance of   
public opinion4  ,the ,county           
,inspector1 together with two or more   
qualified teachers1 were to form a      
,county ,board1 with power to license   
second and third-class teachers upon    
examinations prescribed by the ,council 
of ,public ,instruction4 ,in this way   
the ,superintendent had at last secured 
a uniform standard of qualification for 
teachers throughout the whole ,province4
  ,the small annual grant made for      
teachers' pensions in #ahec1 and        
increased a few years later to #d1jjj   
per annum1 had enabled the              
,superintendent to dole out             
pittances#adj to a few score of worn-out
 teachers whose need was most pressing4 
,ryerson wished to establish a system   
such as was in operation in ,germany--a 
system of compulsory payments by        

teachers in service sufficient to give a
 substantial pension for old age4 ,he   
hoped by this means to secure a body of 
teachers with a professional spirit1 and
 to enable them to spend their declining
 years in independence4  #adj ,see ,d4  
,h4 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xx41 p4 #adc4   ,the   
,act of #ahga required compulsory       
payments from male teachers of four     
dollars per year4#ada ,at a later date  
,county ,inspectors and all first-class 
teachers were required to pay six       
dollars a year4 ,this payment guaranteed
 an annual pension upon retirement of   
four or six dollars for every year's    
contribution4 ,female teachers were     
allowed1 but not forced1 to support the 
,pension ,fund4 ,the compulsory payments
 aroused much opposition from some      
teachers1 especially those who were     
making temporary use of the teachers'   
calling as a stepping-stone to some     
other profession4#adb ,ryerson thought  
that this class might very properly be  
taxed a trifle for the general cause of 

education4  #ada ,no doubt this seems a 
ridiculously small contribution1 but we 
must remember that teachers received    
very small salaries4 ,the ,pension ,fund
 clause was repealed in #ahhe on request
 of the teachers of ,ontario1 and since 
that date no names have been added to   
the list4 ,the payments by teachers     
provided only a small proportion of the 
annual charge upon the ,pension ,fund4  
,the present annual charge 7#aiaj7 upon 
the ,fund is #ee1ibf4  #adb ,see ,d4 ,h4
 ,e41 ,vol4 ,,xxiii41 pp4 #bec-bef4     
,minor provisions of the ,act of #ahga  
gave trustee boards power to build      
teachers' residences and to secure land 
for school sites by arbitration4 ,the   
,act also authorized the creation of    
,township ,boards of ,trustees1 where   
public opinion favoured them4  ,during  
its passage through the ,legislature the
 ,bill of #ahga was severely criticized 
by ,hon4 ,george ,brown1 in the ,toronto
 ,globe1 and by ,edward ,blake1 on the  
floor of the ,assembly4 ,perhaps neither

 of these gentlemen had any love for    
,ryerson1 but they represented a new    
spirit which ,ryerson scarcely          
understood1 and with which he certainly 
had no sympathy4  ,mr4 ,blake opposed   
the ,bill upon several grounds1 but     
especially upon the abolition of rate   
bills and the irresponsible nature of   
the ,council of ,public ,instruction4   
,as regards the former he expressed     
himself heartily in favour of free      
schools1 but since they were gradually  
becoming free without compulsion he     
wished to let them alone4 ,his objection
 to the ,council of ,public             
,instruction#adc is worthy of note      
because it brings out in a strong light 
the real bone of contention between     
,ryerson and the ,ontario ,liberals1 and
 enables us to understand why at a later
 date it was impossible for ,ryerson to 
work in harmony with a ,liberal         
,executive ,council4 ,the ,council of   
,public ,instruction was an             
irresponsible body appointed by the     

,crown and dominated by the ,chief      
,superintendent4 ,it had extensive      
powers4 ,it might act arbitrarily1 and  
yet there was no way by which the       
members of the ,legislature could call  
it to account or insist upon            
explanations4 ,mr4 ,blake and his       
colleagues argued that this was not     
compatible with representative          
government4 ,doctor ,ryerson insisted   
that the ,education ,department must be 
wholly removed from party politics4     
,conscious of purity of purpose and     
personal integrity1 he was ever more    
desirous of giving the people what he   
thought they needed than of giving them 
what they wanted4  #adc ,see ,pamphlet  
in ,parliamentary ,library1 ,ottawa1    
addressed by ,edward ,blake to the      
electors of ,south ,bruce4   ,although  
,ryerson had taken a partisan's part in 
politics before his appointment as      
,superintendent1 he wisely tried to     
administer his ,department upon a       
non-partisan basis4 ,and he met with a  

large measure of success because all    
sensible men realized that education    
ought not to be a topic for partisan    
bickerings4 ,for many years it was so   
arranged that the leader of the         
,government introduced educational bills
 and the leader of the ,opposition      
seconded them4  ,such a procedure was   
possible only so long as both political 
parties had more confidence in the      
wisdom of the ,superintendent to deal   
with education than they had in the     
educational foresight of their own      
leaders4 ,but such a confidence could   
not be indefinitely retained by any     
,superintendent1 and certainly not by   
,ryerson1 who was very sensitive to     
criticism of his administration1 and    
always ready to challenge any layman who
 had the temerity to express an opinion 
upon education contrary to his4 ,it was 
inevitable that a clash should come1 and
 it was a great tribute to ,ryerson's   
wisdom in gauging public opinion that   
the clash was so long delayed4 ,it was  

also quite to be expected that the      
,liberal leaders should be the ones to  
precipitate the shock1 seeing that      
,ryerson had ridden into office upon a  
wave of ,tory reaction4  ,mr4 ,blake and
 ,hon4 ,george ,brown could1 however1   
make little headway against ,ryerson in 
connection with the ,school ,bill of    
#ahga4 ,except in regard to the         
irresponsible nature of the ,council of 
,public ,instruction1 the ,act was      
progressive and truly liberal4 ,ryerson 
had discussed every clause in the ,bill 
at ,county ,conventions1 and had behind 
him the support of all actively engaged 
in the work of education and in the     
other learned professions4     ,,chapter
 ,,xii4  ,,conclusion4   ,how are we to 
sum up the work of this man who moulded 
the schools of ,ontario during a period 
as long as the life of a single         
generation8 ,would the schools of #ahgf 
have been what they were had there been 
no ,ryerson8 ,we think not4  ,no doubt  
the people of ,upper ,canada would1     

without ,ryerson1 have worked out a good
 school system1 because a school system 
must in the end reflect the average     
intelligence and the fixed ideals of a  
people4 ,but in ,ryerson1 ,upper ,canada
 had a man who1 by his dogged           
determination and his hold upon the     
affections of the people1 was able to   
secure legislation somewhat in advance  
of a fixed public opinion4 ,to a        
considerable extent he created the      
public sentiment which made his work    
possible4 ,he knew what the people      
needed and persuaded them to accept it4 
,this we conceive to be the work of a   
statesman4  ,ryerson was neither a      
demagogue nor a constitutionalist4 ,he  
had none of the arts of one who wins the
 populace by flattering its vanity4 ,he 
was too sincere and too deeply religious
 to appeal to the lower springs of human
 action4 ,on the other hand he had no   
real sympathy with popular government4  
,he would let people do as they wished1 
only so long as they wished to do what  

he believed to be right4 ,he never could
 believe that he himself might be wrong4
 ,even had he wished to do so1 he never 
could have divested himself wholly of   
the character of priest and pedagogue4  
,he was always either shouting from the 
pulpit or thumping the desk of the      
schoolmaster4  ,his environment after   
#ahdd strengthened and developed his    
natural tendency to be autocratic4 ,he  
worked like a giant4 ,he created the    
,education ,department1 appointed his   
subordinates1 was his own finance       
minister1 established a ,normal ,school 
and appointed its instructors1 nominated
 members of a ,council of ,public       
,instruction who often did little more  
than formally register his decrees1     
organized a book and map depository and 
an educational museum1 edited an        
educational journal in which he         
published his decrees1 and prepared     
legislation for successive ,legislatures
 having comparatively few members       
competent to criticize school           

administration4 ,he administered one of 
the largest spending ,departments of    
,government1 and ruled somewhat         
rigorously a score of subordinates1 and 
yet1 for many years1 was not subject to 
any check except the nominal one of the 
,governor-,general1 and later of the    
,governor-,general-in-,council4  ,when  
he visited ,district or ,county         
,conventions he came as a lawgiver1     
either to explain existing regulations1 
promulgate new ones1 or obtain assent to
 those for which he wished to secure    
legislation4 ,only after the ,grammar   
,schools had become efficient did       
,ryerson meet at ,teachers' ,conventions
 men who were intellectually his equals 
and who were ready to criticize his     
policy1 and1 when necessary1 give him   
wholesome advice4 ,had ,ryerson been a  
responsible ,minister with a seat in the
 ,legislature1 either his nature would  
have been modified or he would have     
failed1 probably the latter4  ,this     
would seem to lead to the conclusion    

that ,ryerson after all was not a       
statesman1 since a statesman must1 in   
our age1 carry out his measures and at  
the same time retain the confidence of  
his colleagues and the electors4 ,but   
this is just what ,ryerson did1 although
 he did not do it directly through the  
,legislature4 ,he appealed to a ,court  
beyond the ,legislature--the whole body 
of intelligent men and women of ,upper  
,canada--and this ,court sustained him  
in his work for thirty-two years1 during
 which time it is doubtful if any single
 constituency in the country would have 
elected him to two successive           
,parliaments4 ,if this be true we may   
safely assume that it was a happy chance
 which gave us a non-political          
,education ,department during our       
formative period4  ,ryerson's greatest  
admirers can scarcely claim that he was 
a scholar4 ,this was his misfortune and 
not his fault4 ,he never failed to      
embrace whatever opportunities for      
intellectual improvement came in his    

way4 ,his reading of history was broad  
and discriminating4 ,he had little      
interest in anything that did not bear  
somewhat directly upon the problem of   
human virtue4 ,consequently his         
interests centred largely in civil      
government and theology4  ,nor can we   
claim for ,ryerson that he introduced   
original legislation4 ,hardly anything  
in our system of education was of his   
invention4 ,new ,england1 ,new ,york1   
,germany1 and ,ireland gave him his     
models1 and his genius was shown in the 
skill with which he adapted these to    
suit the needs of ,upper ,canada4 ,even 
in the details of his school            
legislation1 especially that relating to
 ,high ,schools1 ,ryerson adopted       
suggestions of men more competent than  
himself to form a judgment4 ,to say this
 in no way detracts from the man's      
greatness4 ,little after all in modern  
legislation is actually new1 and to say 
of a man that he is successful in using 
other men's ideas is often to give him  

the highest praise4  ,in one department 
of work ,ryerson stood in a class by    
himself4 ,he was without a peer as an   
administrator4 ,his intensely practical 
mind was quick to discover the shortest 
route between end and means4 ,his       
energy1 his system and attention to     
details1 his broad personal knowledge of
 actual conditions1 his capacity for    
long periods of effort1 his thrift1 his 
courteous treatment of subordinates1 and
 even his sensitiveness to criticism    
were factors which enabled him to       
administer the most difficult           
,department of the ,government with ease
 and smoothness4  ,the history of ,upper
 ,canada during a period of nearly sixty
 years is as much bound up with the     
labours of ,egerton ,ryerson as with the
 work of any other public man4 ,he gave 
us lofty ideals of the meaning and      
purpose of life1 and he had an abiding  
faith in the power of popular education 
to aid in a realization of these ideals2
 he fought for free schools in ,upper   

,canada when they needed a valiant      
champion4 ,let the present generation of
 men and women honour the memory of the 
man who wrought so faithfully for their 
fathers and grandfathers4               
,,bibliography       ,documentary       
,history of ,education in ,upper        
,canada4 #bh vols4 ,dr4 ,j4             
,geo4 ,hodgins4      ,story of ,my      
,life4 ,egerton ,ryerson4 ,edited by    
,dr4 ,j4 ,geo4 ,hodgins4      ,egerton  
,ryerson4 ,chancellor ,burwash4         
,loyalists of ,america4 #b vols4        
,egerton ,ryerson4      ,ryerson        
,memorial ,volume4 ,edited by ,dr4 ,j4  
,geo4 ,hodgins4      ,history of ,upper 
,canada ,college4 ,principal ,dickson4  
,journals of ,assembly of ,upper        
,canada1 ,legislative ,library1         
,toronto4      ,journal of ,education1  
#ahdh-ahgf4 #bi vols4 ,library of       
,parliament1         ,ottawa4           
,ryerson's ,special ,reports on         
,european ,schools4 ,library of         
,parliament1 ,ottawa4      ,ryerson's   

,annual ,school ,reports1 #ahde-ahgf4   
,library of ,parliament1                
,ottawa4      ,gourlay's ,statistical   
,account of ,upper ,canada4 #c vols4    
,published by         ,simpkins and     
,marshall1 ,london1 ,eng41 #ahbb4       
,sketches of ,canada and the ,united    
,states4 ,william ,lyon ,mackenzie4     
,published by ,effingham  ,wilson1      
,london1 ,eng41 #ahcc4                  
,reminiscences of ,his ,public ,life4   
,sir ,francis ,hincks4      ,ryerson's  
,controversy with ,rev4 ,j4 ,m4 ,bruyere
 on ,free ,schools4         ,canadian   
,pamphlets1 vol4 #ej4 ,library of       
,parliament1 ,ottawa4      ,ryerson's   
,letters to ,doctor ,strachan1 on       
,education4 ,canadian                   
,pamphlets1 vol4 #hc4      ,ryerson's   
,new ,canadian ,dominion4 ,canadian     
,pamphlets1 vol4 #dah4      ,ryerson's  
,defence ,against ,attacks of ,hon4     
,george ,brown4 ,canadian               
,pamphlets1 vol4 #dah4      ,ryerson on 
the ,separate ,school ,law of ,upper    

,canada4 ,canadian         ,pamphlets1  
vol4 #daf4      ,ryerson on a ,liberal  
,education in ,upper ,canada4 ,canadian 
,pamphlets1         vol4 #daf4          
,ryerson on the ,school ,book ,question4
 ,canadian ,pamphlets1 vol4 #daf4       
,ryerson1 a ,review and a ,study4 ,j4   
,a4 ,allen4 ,canadian ,pamphlets1 vol4  
#ffg4      ,bishop ,strachan1 a ,review 
and a ,study4 ,rev4 ,doctor ,scadding4  
,canadian ,pamphlets1 vol4 #afi4        
,report on ,grievances in ,upper        
,canada4 ,william ,lyon ,mackenzie4     
,library of ,parliament1 ,ottawa4       
,bound ,volumes of ,toronto ,globe1     
#ahdd-ahgf1 in ,legislative ,library1   
,toronto4      ,british ,colonist4      
,published by ,h4 ,scobie1 #ahch-ahed4  
,library of         ,parliament1        
,ottawa4      ,kingston ,chronicle and  
,gazette1 #ahdj-ahdb4 ,library of       
,parliament1         ,ottawa4           
,courier of ,upper ,canada1 #ahcf-ahcg4 
,library of ,parliament1 ,ottawa4       
,weekly ,colonist1 #aheb-ahee4 ,library 

of ,parliament1 ,ottawa4      ,ryerson's
 ,correspondence with ,provincial       
,secretaries1 #ahdd-ahgf4               
,canadian ,archives1 ,ottawa4           
,transcriber's ,note3 ,inconsistencies  
in spelling and hyphenation 7e4g41      
school-houses_/schoolhouses7 have been  
resolved in all cases where it was      
possible to divine the author's intent  
with a reasonable degree of certainty4