chapter 20, it was provided that no teacher could be appointed

to such school without the approval in writing of the district superintendent, and unless he held a certificate from the Normal School (which was established in 1847). In addition to these requirements power was given to the district superintendent to suspend or dismiss Model School teachers and to appoint others in their places, in case the local trustees neglected or refused to do so. This district superintendent was also authorized to examine (as they often did at the Model School) all "candidates for teaching in Common Schools" and to give them certificates of qualification, special or general, at his discretion.

The question may here be asked, "Of what practical value were these County Model Schools in the work of training school teachers, and did they at all discharge the higher functions to which reference is made?"

It was clear that these schools were regarded in those early days as a necessary adjunct to our system of education, for the very purpose of aiding teachers in their professional work. Thus, Mr. Hamilton Hunter, in his report as School Superintendent of the Home District for the year 1844 says:--

"The deficiency in the qualification of teachers could be remedied by establishing in each district a Model School upon a good scale, and having it under the management of a superior teacher or teachers.... The School Bill makes provision for this, etc."

In his report for 1847 Dr. Ryerson thus speaks of the operation and success of these schools wherever they had been established:--

"The School Superintendent of Dalhousie District says: 'In this [County Model School] I have there held public examinations of Common School teachers; and on some occasions, when reluctant to give them certificates, I have sent them to the Model School Master for information and examination.... [These teachers] did not make any permanent stay except one, merely learning the mode of instruction, the value of the studies and discipline of the school.'... The Superintendent of the Johnstone District says:-- ... 'Much good has been done by the establishment of the Model School in this district. Several teachers, whose education was by no means good, have acquired a sound knowledge of the subjects which are required to be taught in the Common Schools.' The Superintendent of Schools in the Midland District says:--'Almost every teacher who has attended the Model School for any length of time is now teaching with good success.'"

In the Act which was hurriedly passed in 1849, but which, by Order-in-Council, never went into operation, provision was made to establish, or continue the County Model Schools "in any township, town, or city," and granting to each of them "£25 over and above the sum to which such schools would be entitled as a Common School ... which sum shall be expended in the payment of a teacher or teachers, and for no other purpose."

In the Act of 1850, provision for the establishment and maintenance of Township Model Schools was made. Township councils were authorized to raise a special tax for the support and efficiency of these schools; and it was "provided likewise, that tuition to student-teachers in such Model Schools should be free."

The reason why Township Model Schools were substituted for county ones, is given by Dr. Ryerson in his circular to town reeves, dated 12th August, 1850. Other reasons contributed to this change, but the circular gives the chief reason.

"The attempts of district councils to establish Model Schools have thus far proved entire failures...: The late district councils have in every instance, except one, abandoned the attempt.... To the success and usefulness of a Model School, a model teacher, at any expense, is indispensable, and then a Model School-house, properly furnished, and their judicious and energetic management."

In addition, I may say that the causes of failure of these valuable training institutions in 1850, may be incidentally learned from the very words here used by Dr. Ryerson by way of suggestions to town reeves. These schools had neither model teachers, nor were the buildings "model school-houses." Besides, the district superintendents of that day, and after them, the township superintendents, had, as a rule, no experience as trained teachers themselves.

By the Act of 1871, the status and qualifications of these most important officers were raised to their present high standard. The very name was changed, and that of inspector was substituted.

It was felt by Dr. Ryerson that until these new officers had secured some degree of popular favor, and had proved their efficiency as organizers of schools, and as practical judges of the necessary qualifications of teachers, it would be useless for him to attempt the re-establishment of the County Model Schools. Before that time had fully arrived he retired from office--leaving this important and necessary duty to be undertaken (as it was efficiently) by his successor, Hon. Adam Crooks, as Minister of Education.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DR. RYERSON'S SCHEME OF EDUCATION.

In founding the system of public instruction for Upper Canada, Dr. Ryerson wisely laid down certain fundamental principles which he believed to be essential to the success and stability of that system. These general principles may be thus summarized:

1. That the machinery of education should be in the hands of the people themselves, and should be managed through their own agency; they should, therefore, be held, be consulted, by means of public meetings and conferences, in regard to all school legislation. This he himself did every few years.

2. That the aid of the Government should only be given where it could be used most effectually to stimulate and assist local effort in this great work.

3. That the property of the country is responsible for, and should contribute toward the education of the entire youth of the country; and that, as a complement to this, "compulsory education" should necessarily be enforced.

4. That a thorough and systematic inspection of the schools is essential to their vitality and efficiency.

These and other important principles, Dr. Ryerson kept steadily in view during his long administration of the school system of his native Province. He was not able to embody them all at once in his earlier school bills, but he did so in the final legislation on the subject with which he was connected in 1870-1874. Their judicious application to the school system contributed largely, under the Divine blessing, which he ever sought, to the wonderful success of his labors.

CAN UPPER CANADA EMULATE THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN EDUCATIONAL MATTERS?

In his "Address to the People of Upper Canada" on school affairs in 1850, Dr. Ryerson thus answers this question:--

"Another ground of encouragement in our country's educational work is the practical proof already acquired of the possibility of not only improving our schools, but of successfully emulating our American neighbours in this respect. Often have we heard this, both publicly and privately, pronounced utopian; and often have we sought in friendly discussion to prove that it was neither impracticable nor extravagant to aim in rivalling our New York neighbours in our Common Schools."--_Journal of Education for Upper Canada_, vol. 3, page 2.

In his report for 1851, Dr. Ryerson returns to this subject. He says:--

"The period is very recent when the [subject of educational comparison with the State of New York] would have been an absurdity--when the word 'contrast' must have been employed instead of the word 'comparison,' when not a few of our fellow countrymen, and some of our public men, considered the project, or the idea of emulating the Common School doings of our New York neighbours, as presumptuous and chimerical. I have not viewed the noble and patriotic exertions of the American people in any spirit of jealousy.... I hold up their example to the admiration and imitation of the people of Canada; but I have not despaired of, much less depreciated my own country; and have had, and have still in a higher degree than ever, a strong conviction that there are qualities in the people of Upper Canada, which, under a proper and possible organization, and with judicious counsel, would place schools and education in this country upon more than a level with what we have witnessed and admired in the State of New York. It is true our American neighbours have had more than thirty years the start of us; but I am persuaded we shall not require half that time to overtake them--profiting, as we have done, and doubtless will do, by their mistakes and failures, as well as by their ingenuity and success. To rebuke an unpatriotic spirit of Canadian degradation in which some Canadians indulge,[53] and to animate the hopes and exertions of the true friends of our intellectual and social progress, I will show what has already been accomplished in Upper Canada in respect to Common Schools by a comparison, in a few particulars, with what has been done in the State of New York." (The particulars which Dr. Ryerson points out are seven in number).--_Report for 1851_, (written in 1852), page 17.

[53] Dr. Ryerson constantly deprecated, in these early years, this want of the spirit of Canadian Patriotism. In an eloquent paper (in the third volume of the _Journal of Education_) he shows that "_Canadian Patriotism (is) the Lever of Canadian Greatness_." He sums it up in these words: "It cannot be too strongly impressed upon every mind that it is on Canadian energy, Canadian ambition, Canadian self-reliance, skill and enterprize--in a word, on Canadian patriotism--that depends Canadian prosperity, elevation and happiness."--_Page 40._

In his reply to a complimentary letter from the Municipal Council of the County of Norfolk, in 1851, Dr. Ryerson thus referred to this subject:--

"No person who has at all studied the subject of comparative school legislation between Canada and other countries, can fail to observe that there is an extent of local discretion and power in each of our School and County Municipalities not found in any one of the neighbouring States, while there are other elements incorporated into our school system, which secure to the remotest municipality of Upper Canada the information and facilities which can alone be acquired and provided by a Public Department. But the rational conviction and voluntary co-operation of the people themselves have been relied upon and appealed to as the basis of exertion and the instrument of success. When, therefore, steps were taken to improve the text-books of the schools, a set of the books recommended was procured and furnished to each County Municipality in Upper Canada, that the people might examine and judge of the desirableness of the books proposed, in regard to both excellence and cheapness. In promoting an improvement in the condition and character of school-houses, plans and illustrations of school-houses and premises were procured and placed in the hands of the local councils, and several of them were published in the _Journal of Education_. The same course has been adopted in respect to School Maps, etc. And in pressing upon the public mind the necessity and advantage of duly qualified School Teachers, an institution has been established to train them; and the specimens of Teachers thus trained (though but partially trained in most instances, from the short period of their training) have excited a desire and demand for improved teachers in every County in Upper Canada. I trust this year will witness the introduction of Libraries--thus completing the establishment of every branch of our school system.

"In all this there has been no coercion--but a perfect blending of freedom and unity, of conviction and action; and the entire absence of any opposition to the school system during the recent elections throughout Upper Canada, shows how general and cordial is the conviction of the people as to its adaptation to their circumstances and interests.

"I have the deepest conviction of the strong common sense and patriotism of the Canadian people at large--a conviction founded on long observation and comparison between the people of Canada and those of many other countries; and I have a faith, little short of full assurance, as to the advancing and glorious future of our country. With this conviction and faith, and animated with the consciousness of general approval and co-operation on the part of the people, I shall renew my humble contributions of labour to the common treasury of Canadian progress and civilization."

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL DEPOSITORY, AND ITS RESULTS.

In 1850-51, Dr. Ryerson, while in England, made arrangements for establishing a library, a prize book and an apparatus and map depository, in connection with his Department. His reasons for doing so may be thus briefly stated:

1. He felt it to be practically useless to train teachers in the best methods of imparting instruction, and in the use of apparatus and other school appliances in the normal school and not provide for them, when in charge of schools, a constant and abundant supply of these necessary appliances at the very cheapest rates.

2. He held it to be equally necessary that the pupils, who had acquired a taste for reading and knowledge in the schools, should have an equally abundant and perennial supply of the best and purest literature as it is issued from the press; otherwise they would be sure to procure reading matter (often pernicious, as he had painful proof) for themselves.

3. He could see no distinction, and therefore could not admit of any, in the principle of providing such a two-fold supply of school material and reading matter, and in that of providing trained teachers and skilled inspectors at the expense of the Province, as well as a money bonus to aid in maintaining the schools in a state of efficiency.

4. He further felt that it was immaterial whether the money voted by Parliament was expended in one direction or the other, so long as in each department of the system the best interests and necessities of the schools were consulted, and the symmetry and efficiency of the school system, as a whole, were preserved and promoted.

5. He projected this plan of supply on a purely commercial basis, and so arranged and successfully carried out his scheme that while there was distributed nearly a million dollars' worth of school material and books up to the time when the depository was closed, it did not cost the country anything for the expenses of its management, as it more than paid its way. An elaborate report on this subject was prepared by Mr. James Brown, an experienced accountant, under the direction of Hon. Adam Crooks, the first Minister of Education. It more than sustained the statement here made. The particulars are as follows:--

ABSTRACT OF DEPOSITORY SCHEDULE PRESENTED TO THE LEGISLATURE IN 1877.

Total amount of legislative grants to the depository for all purposes, viz.: (1) Purchase of stock, and (2) Salaries and the entire cost of management, etc., 1850 to 1875 inclusive $811,523 72

Total value of books, maps and apparatus despatched from the depository, 1850 to 1875 inclusive 803,067 86 __________ Difference to be accounted for 8,455 86

Net value of the stock on hand at the end of 1875, after paying all expenses of management, etc 79,509 41

Deduct the difference to be accounted for (as above) 8,455 86 ---------- Grand total of profits made by the depository after paying all charges, as above, during the years 1850-1875 71,054 55

DR. RYERSON A COMMISSIONER ON KING'S COLLEGE, ETC., NEW BRUNSWICK IN 1854.

On the 1st of May, 1854, the Legislature of New Brunswick passed an Act empowering the Lieutenant-Governor to appoint a Royal Commission:--

"To enquire into the present state of King's College, its management and utility, with a view of improving the same, and rendering that institution more generally useful, and of suggesting the best mode of effecting that desirable object," etc.

In accordance with this Act, Sir Edmund Head, the then Lieutenant-Governor, in August, 1854, appointed the following gentlemen as commissioners, viz.:--Hon. John Hamilton Gray, (late Judge of the High Court of British Columbia), Rev. Dr. Egerton Ryerson, John William (now Sir Wm.) Dawson, Hon. John Simcoe Saunders, and Hon. James Brown.

In accepting the position of commissioner, Dr. Ryerson, at the close of his letter to Provincial Secretary Partelow, said:--

"When I mentioned to the head of the Canadian Administration the request which had been made to me from New Brunswick, and the probability that a compliance with it would cause my absence for two or three weeks from the duties of my department, he thought I ought, by all means, to go--that it was part of my appropriate work, and that we should regard each Province of British North America as a part of our own country.

"New Brunswick is so to me, in a peculiar sense, as the birth-place of my sainted mother and my elder brothers and sisters."

The commission met first at Fredericton, and afterwards at Toronto. To Dr. Ryerson was entrusted the principal duty of drawing up the elaborate report, and in Hon. J. H. Gray's letter as chairman, accompanying the report in December, 1854, he says:

"I beg to express, with the full concurrence of my fellow commissioners, our acknowledgements of the very valuable assistance afforded us by Dr. Ryerson. His great experience and unquestioned proficiency on all subjects connected with education, justly entitle his opinion to great weight."

Sir Wm. Dawson, in a letter to Mr. Gray, thus summarizes the contents of the report:--

"1st. The improvement of the College course of instruction and its extension by the introduction of special courses. 2ndly, The definition of the true place of the Provincial College in its relations to the other educational institutions of the Province, and to the religious beliefs of the people; and 3rdly, The union of all the educational institutions in a Provincial university system, under official supervision."

A change in the Government of New Brunswick in 1854, prevented the report being considered in the Legislature at that time. In a letter from Mr. Gray to Dr. Ryerson, dated May 15, 1855, he says:--

"The change of Government prevented our report being adopted and acted upon, but it met with universal approbation, and from every portion of the Province the voice of praise has gone up. I give you credit for it all; and in my remarks in the House, I made my acknowledgements publicly to you and Mr. Dawson."

In a confidential letter to me, on Separate School matters, from Dr. Ryerson, dated Quebec, January 30, 1858, he said:--

"Sir Edmund Head (now Governor-General), highly approved of my Report, etc., on the New Brunswick College question and has sent it to the authorities of McGill College to see if they cannot adopt something of the same kind."

Mr. Gray had hoped that the comprehensive bill proposed by the commission in 1854, and to give effect to their recommendations relating to King's College, Normal and Model Schools, and a Chief Superintendent of Education, would be passed in the following year, 1855. In this he was disappointed, for the bill did not pass until 1860. In a letter to Dr. Ryerson from the Hon. Charles Fisher, dated Fredericton, 14th May, 1860, he said:--

"After years of controversy and difficulty we have passed an Act to remodel King's College on the plan proposed by your commission, under the title of the University of New Brunswick. We have not connected the College or the head of it with the other educational interests in the Province, but confined him to the University, and he must be a layman. This provision was inserted to prevent difficulty."[54]

[54] In 1858 Mr. Henry Fisher (Brother of Hon. Charles Fisher) was appointed Superintendent of Education for New Brunswick. He visited Dr. Ryerson in that year to confer with him before undertaking the duties of his new office. His death occurred in 1860, and in communicating the sad news to Dr. Ryerson, Hon. Charles Fisher, referring to his brother, said:--

"He wished particularly (just before his death) to be remembered to you, and that I should thank you for your kindness to him on all occasions. He was succeeding in his efforts to improve the educational interests of the Province, and had been enabled to secure the support of all parties."

PARTIAL CHRONOLOGICAL SKETCH OF DR. RYERSON'S EDUCATIONAL WORK, 1855, ETC.

I will now give a brief summary, in chronological order, of the successive steps which Dr. Ryerson took to develop the system of education which he had founded.

In 1855 Dr. Ryerson established meteorological stations in connection with twelve selected county grammar schools, ten following the coast line of the lakes and on the large rivers, and two entirely inland. In this he was aided by Colonel now General Sir (J. H.) Lefroy, R.E., for many years director of the Provincial (now Dominion) Magnetical Observatory at Toronto. Sets of instruments, having been purchased in London and tested at the Kew Observatory, were sent out to the twelve stations, duly equipped and provided with all necessary appliances.

In 1857 Dr. Ryerson made his third educational tour in Europe, where he procured, at Antwerp, Brussels, Florence, Rome, Paris and London, an admirable collection of copies of paintings by the Old Masters, statues, busts, etc., besides various other articles of a typical character for an educational museum in connection with the Department. In 1867 I was deputed to largely add to this museum collection, which I did in Paris, London, etc., especially in the direction of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, busts, casts, fictile ivory, etc.

In 1858-61 Dr. Ryerson took a leading part in a protracted public discussion before a committee of the House of Assembly, in favor of grants to the various "outlying" denominational universities, chiefly in terms of Hon. Robert Baldwin's liberalized University Act of 1853. He maintained that these colleges "did the State some service," and that it was right that their claims should be recognised in a substantial manner, as colleges of a central university. He deprecated the multiplication of universities in the Province, which he held would be the result of a rejection of the proposed scheme. His plan was not adopted, and universities were increased from five to eight subsequently. Twenty-five years after the close of that discussion a scheme for the confederation of these colleges was again considered but without much effect.

In 1862, Dr. Ryerson addressed a circular to boards of trustees in cities and towns, deploring the "numbers of children in these centers of population, growing up with no other education than a training in idleness, vagrancy and crime." He added: "I have, at different times, submitted three propositions or plans for the accomplishment of the object of free schools in cities and towns. First, that as the property of all is taxed for the common school education of all, all should be compelled to allow their children the means of such education at either public or private schools. Or, secondly, that each municipality should be empowered to deal with the vagrancy of children of school age, or the neglect of their education, as a crime, subject to such penalties and such measures for its prevention as each municipality, in its own discretion, might from time to time adopt. Or, thirdly, that the aid of religious benevolence should be invoked and encouraged to supplement the agency of our present school system."

Before bringing the matter again before the Government, Dr. Ryerson solicited the opinion and suggestions of the school boards on the subject.

BISHOP FRASER'S ESTIMATE OF THE U. C. SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN 1863.

In 1863, Rev. James (afterwards Bishop) Fraser (of Manchester), was appointed a Royal Commission to enquire into the American and Canadian systems of education. From his report, published after his return to England, I quote the following passages:--

"The Canadian system of education, in those main features of it which are common to both Provinces, makes no pretence of being original. It confesses to a borrowed and eclectic character. The neighboring States of New York and Massachusetts, the Irish, English and Prussian systems, have all contributed elements, which have been combined with considerable skill, and the whole administered with remarkable energy, by those to whom its construction was confided. It appears to me, however, that its fundamental ideas were first developed by Mr. (now, I believe, Sir Arthur) Buller, in the masterly report on the state of education in Canada, which he addressed in the year 1838 to Lord Durham, the then Governor-General, in which he sketched the programme of a system, 'making,' as he candidly admitted, 'no attempt at originality, but keeping constantly in view, as models, the system in force in Prussia and the United States, particularly the latter, as being most adapted to the circumstances of the colony.'

"As a result of Mr. Buller's recommendations, (not, however, till after the legislative union of the Provinces which Lord Durham had suggested, as the best remedy for the various political ills under which they severally laboured,) a law was passed in 1841, covering both Provinces in its range, for the establishment and maintenance of public schools. It provided for the appointment of a Superintendent of Education for the whole Province, with two Assistant Superintendents under him, one for each of the sections. A sum of $200,000 was appropriated for the support of schools, which was to be distributed among the several municipal districts, in proportion to the number of children of school age in each of them; $80,000 being assigned to Upper and $120,000 to Lower Canada, such being the then ratio of their respective populations.

"The circumstances of the two sections, however, particularly in the proportions of Roman Catholics to Protestants in each, and the extent to which the Roman Catholic religion may be said to be established in Lower Canada, were soon found to be so different that insuperable difficulties were encountered in working a combined system under one central administration, and in 1845 the law was changed. The nominal office of Chief Superintendent was abolished, and the entire executive administration of the system was confined to the sectional superintendents, and the Provinces, for all educational purposes, again became separated. The law itself was thoroughly revised and adapted to the peculiar wants of each Province, as ascertained by experience; and ever since there have been two systems at work, identical in their leading idea, differing, sometimes widely, in their details, administered by independent executives, and without any organic relations at all.

"Before we proceed to observe the manner and record the results of its practical working, it is proper to premise that it is a purely permissive, not a compulsory system, and its adoption by any municipality is entirely voluntary.... Entering a Canadian school, with American impressions fresh upon the mind, the first feeling is one of disappointment. One misses the life, the motion, the vivacity, the precision--in a word, the brilliancy. But as you stay, and pass both teacher and pupils in review, the feeling of disappointment gives way to a feeling of surprise. You find that this plain, unpretending teacher has the power, and has successfully used the power, of communicating real, solid knowledge and good sense to those youthful minds, which, if they do not move rapidly, at least grasp, when they do take hold, firmly. If there is an appearance of what the Americans call "loose ends" in the school, it is only an appearance. The knowledge is stowed away compactly enough in its proper compartments, and is at hand, not perhaps very promptly, but pretty surely, when wanted. To set off against their quickness, I heard many random answers in American schools; while, per contra to the slowness of the Canadian scholar, I seldom got a reply very wide of the mark. The whole teaching was homely, but it was sound. I chanced to meet a schoolmaster at Toronto, who had kept school in Canada, and was then keeping school at Haarlem, New York, and he gave Canadian education the preference for thoroughness and solid results. Each system--or rather, I should say, the result of each system--seems to harmonize best with the character of the respective peoples. The Canadian chooses his type of school as the Vicar of Wakefield's wife chose her wedding-gown, and as the Vicar of Wakefield chose his wife, "not for a fine, glossy surface, but for such qualities as will wear well." I cannot say, judging from the schools which I have seen--which I take to be types of their best schools--that their choice has been misplaced, or that they have any reason to be disappointed with the results. I speak of the general character of education to which they evidently lean. That the actual results should be unequal, often in the widest possible degree, is true of education under all systems, everywhere.

"One of the most interesting features in the Canadian system is the way in which it has endeavored to deal with what we find to be one of our most formidable difficulties, the religious difficulty. In Canada it has been dealt with by the use of two expedients; one, by prescribing certain rules and regulations, which it was hoped would allow of religious instruction being given in the schools without introducing sectarianism or hurting consciences; the other, by permitting, in certain cases, the establishment of "separate," which are practically denominational, and in fact Roman Catholic schools.

"The permission under certain circumstances to establish separate, that is, denominational schools, is a peculiar feature of the system both of Upper and Lower Canada. Dr. Ryerson thinks that the admission of the principle is a thing to be regretted, though at the same time he considers that the advantages which it entails entirely rest with those who avail themselves of its provisions, and he would not desire to see any coercion used either to repeal or modify them.

"Such, in all its main features, is the school system of Upper Canada. A system, in the eyes of its administrators, who regard it with justifiable self-complacency, not perfect but yet far in advance, as a system of national education, of anything that we can show at home. It is indeed very remarkable to me that in a country, occupied in the greater part of its area by a sparse and anything but wealthy population, whose predominant characteristic is as far as possible removed from the spirit of enterprise, an educational system so complete in its theory and so capable of adaptation in practice should have been originally organized, and have been maintained in what, with all allowances, must still be called successful operation for so long a period as twenty-five years. It shows what can be accomplished by the energy, determination and devotion of a single earnest man. What national education in Great Britain owes to Sir James Kay Shuttleworth, what education in New England owes to Horace Mann, that debt education in Canada owes to Egerton Ryerson. He has been the object of bitter abuse, of not a little misrepresentation; but he has not swerved from his policy or from his fixed ideas. Through evil report and good report he has resolved, and he has found others to support him in the resolution, that free education shall be placed within the reach of every Canadian parent for every Canadian child. I hope I have not been ungenerous in dwelling sometimes upon the deficiencies in this noble work. To point out a defect is sometimes the first step towards repairing it; and if this report should ever cross the ocean and be read by those of whom it speaks, I hope, not with too great freedom, they will perhaps accept the assurance that, while I desired to appreciate, I was bound, above all, to be true; and that even where I could not wholly praise) I never meant to blame. Honest criticism is not hostility."

* * * * *

In a letter addressed to Dr. Ryerson in 1875, the Bishop says:--

"I take it very kindly in you that you remember an old acquaintance, and I have read with interest your last report. I am glad to observe progress in the old lines almost everywhere. I was flattered also to find that some words of mine, written in 1865, are thought worthy of being quoted.... It is pleasant to find a public servant now in the thirty-second year of his incumbency, still so hopeful and so vigorous. Few men have lived a more useful or active life than you, and your highest reward must be to look back upon what you have been permitted to achieve."

Speaking of the character of Dr. Ryerson's educational work and of the way in which he met difficulties in accomplishing it, Mr. J. Antisell Allen, of Kingston, in his paper on "_Dr. Ryerson, a Review and a Study_," says:--

"There is hardly a foot-length of our civilization on which he has not left his mark. For those who believe that, on the grounds of expediency, a government is justified in interfering with the ordinary working of the great human life-struggle, and so, in taking one man's money to benefit another man's children, that is to a majority so overwhelming as to come almost under the category of universal, as to be every one's belief--what system of general education can recommend itself more fully, or work more smoothly, than does his? In his struggles in this direction, neither seduced by friends, nor cowed by enemies, nor damped in his ardour by the vastness of the undertaking--turning neither to the right hand nor to the left--he has raised to himself a "_monumentum perennius ære_," and has bequeathed to us and posterity a system of public and high school education second to none anywhere, and, making some deduction for possible mistakes incident to our weak humanity, a system almost as perfect as we in this generation are perhaps capable of generally acquiescing in."

In 1867 Dr. Ryerson made his fourth and final educational tour in Europe and America. On his return he submitted to the Government a highly valuable "Special Report on the Systems and State of Popular Education in the several countries in Europe and the United States of America, with practical suggestions for the improvement of public instruction in Upper Canada." He also made a separate and interesting "Report on the Institutions for the Deaf and Dumb in various countries." A few years afterwards he had the happiness of seeing institutions of a similar kind in successful operation in this Province.

CHARACTER OF THE IMPORTANT SCHOOL LEGISLATION OF 1871.

The fifth and last series of conventions was held in 1869, and on the results of the consultations and deliberations of these conventions, Dr. Ryerson framed that crowning measure of his administration, which received the sanction of the legislature in 1871--twenty-one years after the first great departure in school legislation--that of 1850.

For the various objects which he had recommended during the years from 1850 to 1871, liberal grants were made by the Legislature. The policy of the Government during those years was to sustain Dr. Ryerson and to second his efforts to build up and consolidate the system of public instruction which he had taken such pains to establish. The result was that our school system expanded and grew in every direction, and became firmly rooted in the affections of the people. In this way it came to be regarded as one of the most successful and popular systems of education on the continent. And yet, as I have shown, he was continually suggesting improvements in it, for he always held that there was room, as well as a necessity, for them.

School legislation, chiefly in regard to high schools and matters of detail, took place at intervals during the intervening years, but it was is 1871 and 1874 that the final legislation under Dr. Ryerson's auspices took place. That of 1871 was strikingly progressive and took a wide range. That of 1874 was largely supplemental and remedial.

The Act of 1871 introduced into our school law for the first time some important principles, which, as yet, had not received legislative sanction. They were chiefly those which related, among others, to the following matters:

1. Governmental, combined with improved local, inspection of schools.

2. A high and fixed standard of qualifications for inspectors of public schools.

3. The abolition of non-certificated township superintendents of schools, and the substitution therefor of duly licensed county inspectors.

4. The institution of simultaneous and uniform examinations in the several counties for teachers desiring certificates of qualification. This principle was soon extended to other examinations, including competitive examinations in counties, etc.

REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL LEGISLATION OF 1871.

At Dr. Ryerson's request I prepared for him and wrote the text of his education report for 1870. In that report I reviewed in detail the various provisions and improvements introduced into our school system by the School Act of 1871. I reproduce here the more salient points of that report, touching upon the reasons for the passing of that progressive measure, and indicating some of its main features. I said:--

So many and important have been the changes recently made in the law affecting our System of Public Instruction, that it may be well, as a preliminary to a discussion of those changes, briefly to refer to a few facts relating to the history and progress of our School System.

In 1844, our municipal system (on which our then elementary School Law was engrafted), was in its infancy. The principle of local self-government was new, and much opposition was experienced in giving effect to the School Law then in operation. The theory of local taxation for the support of schools was in some places vigorously opposed, and in others regarded as a doubtful experiment. Even as late as 1850, some municipalities refused to accept the improved law enacted that year, or act under its provisions, and thus deprived their constituents of the great boon of popular education. It is only six years since the last disability, caused by such refusal, was removed,--thus uniting the entire Province in a cordial acceptance of the School Law.

The following brief statistical references will illustrate the growth and advance of our School System:--

In 1844, there were but 2,610 Public Schools, in 1870, there were 4,566. In that year, (1844), the school population was 183,539--of which 96,756 children attended the Public Schools, while 86,783 (or nearly as many more) were reported as not in attendance at any school whatever.

In 1870, the school population was 483,966--of which 420,488 children were in attendance in our schools, and 63,478 reported as not in attendance--not one-seventh, instead of nearly one-half of the children of school age, as in 1844. In 1844, the whole sum available for the support of the Public Schools was about $280,000--of which, approximately $190,000 were raised by local taxation.[55] In 1870, the whole sum available for Public Schools was $1,712,060--of which $1,336,383 were raised by local taxation and fees--an increase of more than seven hundred per cent over 1844!

[55] In 1850, (the first year in which we have positive information on this subject), we find that the total sum expended in this Province for public elementary education, was $410,472; of which $326,472 were raised by local rates and fees.

There are few Canadians who do not now refer with an mixed pride and satisfaction to the vastly improved condition of our Public Schools under the operation of the present law, revised in 1850, and now revised and extended.[56] On no one point have we greater cause for thankfulness and congratulation, than in the fact of the unanimity and cordiality with which our School System is supported by all classes of the community, by men of all shades of political feeling, and, with a single exception (and that in part only), of all religious persuasions in the Province.

[56] No one is more sensible than I am of the numerous defects of our School system, and for this reason I have labored all the more assiduously to have these detects removed by our recent school legislation. As I have stated further on, I have even had to combat the views of those friends of the system who had thought that it was not susceptible of much improvement.

OBJECTIONS TO IMPROVE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM ANSWERED.

It is a singular and gratifying (yet in some respect it has proved an embarrassing) fact that the chief difficulty experienced in promoting the improvement of our School System has arisen from the somewhat over-sensitiveness of the friends of our Schools, lest the proposed changes should disturb the foundations of a system which they had learned to regard with so much favor and affection. This solicitude arose partly from a mistaken view of the condition and necessities of our system, and partly from a misapprehension of the scope and objects of the proposed ameliorations in our School Law. It will be my aim, however, in the following remarks to justify and illustrate the principles and policy involved in the recent important changes which have been made in our School Law.

I would, in the first place, remark that were we, in making improvements in our School System, to confine our observation and experience to our own Province alone, we might be disposed to look with complacency upon that system, and to rest satisfied with the progress which we have already made. The effect of such a state of feeling would be that we would seek to profit little by the educational experience and advancement of other countries. But such a short-sighted and unpatriotic course, though approved by some on the principle of "let well-alone," yet would not commend itself to the maturer judgment of those who are accustomed to look at the "stern logic of facts," and to take a comprehensive and practical view of the underlying causes of the social progress in other countries.

5. The fixing and rendering uniform of a higher standard of qualification for public and high school teachers.

6. Giving the profession of teaching a fixed legal status, and providing more fully and equitably for the retirement and united support, by the profession and the legislature, of worn out or disabled teachers.

7. The establishment by law of a national system of free schools.

8. Declaring the right by law, as well as the necessity, of every child to attend some school, thus recognizing the principle of, and providing for, "compulsory education."

9. Requiring, by law, that adequate school accommodation, in regard to school house, playground and site, be provided by the trustees, for all of the resident children of school age in their localities.

10. Prescribing a more systematic and practical course of study for each of the classes in the public schools.

11. Discriminating, by a clearly defined line, the course of study in public and high schools respectively.

12. Providing for the establishment and support of collegiate institutes, or local colleges.

13. Requiring municipalities to maintain high schools and collegiate institutes, equally with the public schools, and as part of the general school system.

14. Providing, at the option of the ratepayers, for the substitution of township boards of education, in place of local trustee boards.

15. Authorizing the establishment of industrial schools.

* * * * *

Such were the main features of the comprehensive and progressive School Act passed in 1871. In many respects it revolutionized the existing state of things. It gave a wonderful impetus to the schools, and to every department of school system--the effects of which we feel to this day.

We are a young country, placed in close proximity to a large and wonderfully progressive people. In the good providence of God, we are permitted to construct on the broad and deep foundations of British liberty, the corner-stone of a new nationality, leaving to those who come after us to raise the stately edifice itself. Apart from the vital Christianity of our people, what more lasting bond and cement of society in that new nationality, than a free and comprehensive system of Christian education for the youth of the land, such as we have sought to establish? Our aim should, therefore, be to make that system commensurate with the wants of our people, in harmony with the progressive spirit of the times, and comprehensive enough to embrace the various branches of human knowledge which are now continually being called into requisition in the daily life of the farmer, the artizan, and the man of business. In no department of social and national progress have our neighbors made greater advances, or prided themselves more justly, than, in that of free popular education. On the other hand, in no feature of progress under British institutions up to a late period has there been less satisfaction, as a whole, or less positive advancement than in that of public education. By many of our neighbors on the other side of the lines, such inertness and non-appreciation of a vital part of national life has been regarded as inherent in monarchical institutions. The fact, however, has been overlooked that the lingering effects of the long prevalence in Britain of the feudal theory, on which her social and political institutions were originally founded, has, in spite of various ameliorations in the condition of her people, exercised a sure but silent influence against the earlier adoption of the principle of the free and universal education of the people. But so surely and certainly has this latent feeling of opposition to popular education given way before the prevalence of more enlightened views, that, even in the most monarchical countries of Europe, the desire felt and the efforts put forth for the diffusion of public education in all its comprehensiveness and fulness have been remarkable. Nevertheless, even among ourselves, that principle of latent opposition to popular education did exist in the earlier stages of our educational history. Its gradual removal, therefore, under the beneficent operation of our School Laws, and the prevalence of juster and more patriotic views in matter of education are subjects of sincere congratulation to our people.

NECESSITY FOR THE CHANGES IN THE SCHOOL LAW OF ONTARIO IN 1871.

We will now proceed, in the light of the educational facts and illustrations which we have given from other countries, to discuss the recent improvements which have been effected in our own law.

The population of this Province, according to the recent census, is 1,620,842. The number of children of school age is 483,966, or a little over one-fourth of the whole. The number of Elementary Schools is not much below 5,000, and are maintained at an annual cost of nearly $1,800,000, or one dollar per head of the population. Such being the magnitude to which our Educational System has grown, every man will feel how imperative it is upon us to see that that system is as thorough and complete in all of its details as possible; and that in no respect should it be allowed to fall below the standard now reached by the other educating countries to which we have referred.

So long as our system of schools was in its infancy, and might be fairly regarded as yet an experiment, so long as we confine our efforts to mere elementary organization and be content with very moderate results. Experience has shown, however, that without great care and constant effort the tendency of all systems of education, and ours among the rest, is to a state of equilibrium, or to a uniform dead level of passable respectability. This is the stage in its history, as elsewhere, at which our system has arrived, and at which, as we have explained, many of its friends are disposed to leave it. But those who have carefully studied the subject in all its bearings, and have looked more closely into the educational history, the progress and failures of other countries, know full well that our school system would fall behind that of other countries and become stationary, unless it embodies within itself from time to time the true elements of progress, and provides fully and on a sufficient scale for the educational wants of the youth of the country.

Since 1850 it was left to the ratepayers in each school division to decide annually whether the schools should be free or partly supported by rate-bill on pupils attending the school. The principle, that a Public School education is the right of every child in the land, and that every man should contribute, according to his property, to the education of every child in the community, by whose influence and labors such property is protected and rendered valuable, had greatly obtained, so that Free Schools had increased from one hundred to five hundred per annum, until upwards of four thousand of the four thousand four hundred Public Schools were made free by actual experiments, and by the annual discussions and votes in these primary meetings of the people. The demand was very general for several years, that all the Public Schools should now be made free by law, and all local disputes on the subject be thus terminated. This has now been happily accomplished by the new law.

It is not necessary to go farther into detail in this retrospect, as the foregoing extracts indicate the scope and spirit of the improved Act of 1871.

HON. ADAM CROOKS ON THE SCHOOL INSPECTION LEGISLATION OF 1871.

In his speech before the Legislative Assembly on the 18th of February, 1877, the first Minister of Education for Ontario, in referring to the improved system of school inspection introduced by the Act of 1871, and the more certain tenure of office secured to County Inspectors under that Act, said:

"I have also been ready to say that most valuable results were secured by the change in the law in 1871, under which the present mode of school inspection took the place of the old plan of local superintendence. Inspectors now must possess high qualifications, both as teachers and in scholarship, while the emoluments of the office make it an object of ambition to every school teacher; and we have many teachers in the Province who posses qualifications of the high standard prescribed for Public School Inspectors. The tenure of the office of County Inspector is such as should secure their impartiality. So long as an Inspector discharges his duties efficiently, he can be removed only by a two-thirds majority of the County Council. It is unlikely that such two-thirds majority would be found unless the Inspector had given reasonable cause for his dismissal. It would not be wise therefore to alter the tenure by which County Inspectors hold office."

EFFECT OF THE SCHOOL ACT OF 1871 IN THE COUNTY OF HALDIMAND.

The following valuable testimony as to the great improvement in our schools which was wrought through the agency of the School Act of 1871, is highly suggestive and practical in its character. What is true of Haldimand, as here expressed, is also true of other parts of the Province.

In an address to the teachers of Haldimand in 1873, Mr. Inspector Harcourt, M.P.P., said:--

"No one, whose attention has been called to the matter, could imagine the miserable condition of the majority of the school-houses of 1871. At that time there were not ten properly furnished buildings in Haldimand. Many of them with low ceilings, broken floors and damaged windows, had for seats nothing better than the antiquated bench facing the wall. Too cold or too hot by turns in winter, and suffocating in summer. With nothing to attract and everything to discourage scholars, we wonder that an intelligent public has so long tolerated their existence.... In the main, however, I am especially gratified at the improvements effected. In two years sixteen brick buildings have been erected; all of them substantial and well furnished--some of them models of neatness and finish. In a dozen sections preparations are being made for replacing the old houses, so that we have good reason to hope that in a year or two, at furthest, our country will no longer be noticeable for the miserable style of its school-houses."

"Connected with the question of progress in certain branches of study, in relation of which I might say of cause and effect, are the two items of Examination of Teachers and School Accommodation. The provisions now in force for the examination of teachers are such that, if wisely carried out, the standard of the profession must be raised, and along with it the status of our schools.... The fact that somehow or another teachers received first and second class certificates, three or four years ago, who could not now obtain a third; that while it was exceptional for an applicant to fail then, those who succeed now are but thirty per cent. of the whole is known to all of us....

"To summarize the foregoing statements we HAVE progressed since 1871, swiftly in one particular, slowly and steadily in several others."--_Address, pages 5-7._

EFFECT OF THE SCHOOL LAW OF 1871 IN THE COUNTY OF SIMCOE (SOUTH.)

At the inauguration of the new school-house in Barrie in 1872, the Rev. Wm. McKee, B.A., Inspector of Schools in South Simcoe, stated what had been the salutary effect of the School Law of 1871 in his county. He said:--

During my visits to the schools I found many of the school-houses of a very inferior description--being rude log buildings, old and dilapidated, with seats and desks of a corresponding character, often situated on the edge of the road, and without wells, offices, playgrounds or fencing of any kind; so that it is quite certain and plain the requirements of the new School Law have not come into force at all too soon, so far as the interests and advancement of education in this part of Ontario are concerned. Indeed truth obliges me to state that in the Riding which forms my field of labour--and I believe the remark will hold true with still greater force in regard to North Simcoe--the school-houses which are sufficiently large, well ventilated, fully furnished, and provided with an adequate supply of requisites are very few--perhaps less than half-a-dozen all told. It is true, however, that since the New School Law and Regulations came into operation there are indications of a change for the better in regard to the matters to which I have alluded. I could mention not less than twelve or fourteen school sections in which steps have _already_ been, or are being taken for the erection of new school-houses which are designed to replace the old buildings, and which, in regard to adequate school accommodation, are also intended to meet the requirements of the New School Law, and to be in every way suitable for school purposes. And it is to be distinctly noticed that in all the cases to which I have referred, the _initiative_ has been taken by the people or the trustees themselves; and I, for my part, feel that I cannot but regard this as a very significant fact--a very hopeful and encouraging symptom. I look upon it as an omen for good, and as an important and gratifying evidence of the favourable and successful working of the New School Law and Regulations. For being intimately acquainted with the southern part of the county for the last fifteen years, I have no hesitation in maintaining that the effects spoken of, or the action taken by school trustees or the people, can be fairly traced to no other cause than to the working and influence of the New School Law and Regulations. I can testify that latterly--I mean particularly since the passing of the New School Act--I have marked among the people of these townships a deepening sense of the importance of a sound education, and likewise an increasing desire to encourage and promote it. I have noticed, also, I think, both among trustees and parents, a growing conviction that not only the efficiency of the teacher, but, also the discipline and spirit of a school, the progress of children in their studies, their proper training, and their successful education, are far more intimately connected than it was one time imagined, with the style and character of the schoolroom in which the work of instruction is carried on, and with the kind of school accommodations provided for and enjoyed by pupils.[57]

[57] These two extracts are given simply as illustrative examples, and as they were public utterances of the Inspectors named. Similar testimony was received by the Department from other Inspectors, but, from the nature of the case, and their non-publication in the local newspapers, they were not subject to the same criticism as were the statements publicly made and published in the localities concerned.