After some time the House resumed, and the Chairman reported that the Committee had gone through the said Bill, and recommended the same without amendment to the adoption of the House. It was ordered, that the report be received; and it was further ordered, that the 44th Rule of this House be dispensed with as it regards this Bill, and, it was further ordered, that the same be read a third time this day. Pursuant to Order, the Bill, intituled: "An Act for the Promotion of Science, by enabling the Mechanics' Institute of the City of Toronto to procure certain Apparatus," was read a third time and passed; whereupon the Speaker signed the same; and it was ordered, that the Master in Chancery do go down to the Assembly and acquaint that House, that the Legislative Council has passed this Bill without amendment. 16th April, 1835.-His Excellency being come to the Legislative Council Chamber, and being seated on the Throne. the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod was ordered to direct the immediate attendance of the Members of the Commons House of Assembly, who being comeHis Excellency was pleased, in His Majesty's name, to assent to the following Bills: "An Act to Provide Additional Aid in Support of Common Schools in the several Districts in this Province." "An Act for the Promotion of Science, by enabling the Mechanics' Institute of the City of Toronto, to procure certain Apparatus." "An Act Granting a sum of money to the Kingston Mechanics' Institute." His Excellency was then pleased to address the Houses with the following Speech from the Throne: 1 regret that no appointment of Commissioners has taken place with powers to establish Township Schools. The endowment of King's College, and the principles on which the University is founded, having been recently under discussion, I have to assure you, that any representations, on the existing charter, from the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly, will receive the prompt and attentive consideration of His Majesty's Government. I cannot, however, in the present state of the Province, but strongly represent to His Majesty's Government to sanction without delay the opening of this Institution, for if it be not carried into immediate operation, numerous classes of students will be deprived of the means of qualifying themselves for an able prosecution of the profession which they intend to embrace. I am persuaded that the Council of King's College will consent to surrender the existing Charter, and recommend that such a revision of it may take place as will accord in essential points with the opinions of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. (NOTE. It will be seen from the Despatch of Lord Glenelg, the Colonial Secretary, on page 213, that the Imperial Government did not think it desirable, for the reasons given in that Despatch, to act upon the suggestions of the Lieutenant-Governor in regard to the revision of the Charter of King's College. It will also be seen, from the reply of the College Council, as given on page 215, that the Council refused, in very strong terms, to surrender the Charter, which, in this Speech, Sir John Colborne, the Lieutenant-Governor, so confidently anticipated would be done. The following are copies of the Acts assented to by the Lieutenant-Governor : Preamble. 5TH YEAR OF WILLIAM IV.: CHAPTER XXIX. AN ACT TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL AID IN SUPPORT OF COMMON SCHOOLS IN THE Sir John Colborne, Lieutenant-Governor. MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN: Passed 16th April, 1835. Whereas it is expedient to grant a sum of money for the support of Common Schools in the several Districts of this Province, may it therefore please Your Majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and Extra aid to Common Schools. £5,650 for 1835. How to be distributed. To be paid by General. under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of Great Britain, intituled : To the Ottawa District, the sum of One Hundred Pounds. To the Midland District, the sum of Five Hundred and Fifty Pounds. To the Prince Edward District, the sum of Two Hundred Pounds. To the Newcastle District, the sum of Five Hundred Pounds. To the Home District, the sum of Seven Hundred and Fifty Pounds. To the Gore District, the sum of Six Hundred Pounds To the Niagara District, the sum of Five Hundred Pounds. To the London District, the sum of Six Hundred Pounds. To the Western District, the sum of Three Hundred and Fifty Pounds. II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said sum of the Receiver- Five Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Pounds, shall be paid by the ReceiverGeneral of this Province in discharge of such Warrants as may for that purpose be issued by the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or Person Administering the Government of this Province; and shall be accounted for to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, through the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, for the time being, in such manner and form as His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, shall be graciously pleased to direct. Condition of payment. III. And be it 'urther enacted by the authority aforesaid, that during the year aforesaid, it shall not be lawful for the Board of Education in each District of this Province to pay to any Teacher of a Common School the annual allowance, unless Minimum pay the Trustees of the said School shall make it appear to the satisfaction of the Board ment to Teachers. Fees to District B ard Clerks. Preamble. of Education that they have made provision for his support, so as to secure him for his services in a sum at least equal to double the amount which may be allotted by the Board of Education from the public money, anything to the contrary in any. wise notwithstanding. IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the Board of Education in each and every District to allow the Clerks of their respective Boards, in addition to the sum they are now by law authorized to receive, the further sum of Five Pounds annually during the continuance of this Act. 5TH YEAR OF WILLIAM IV.: CHAPTER XXXVIII. AN ACT FOR THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE, BY ENABLING THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTE Passed 16th April, 1835. MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN: MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY : Whereas it is of importance to the welfare of this Province that the Mechanics should be encouraged in useful Arts, we, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal Subjects, the Commons of this Province in Parliament assembled do therefore most humbly beseech Your Majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of Great Britain, entitled "An Act to repeal certain parts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of His Majesty's reign, entitled 'An Act for making more effectual provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America, and to make furthe provision for the Government of the said Province,'" and by the authority of the same, that from and out of the rates and duties already raised and collected, or hereafter to be raised and collected, to and for the uses of this Province, there be granted to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, the sum of Two Hundred pounds out of the Provincial Treasury, from which moneys now remaining, or £200 to be which hereafter may come into the Receiver-General's hands, unappropriated, which granted to said sum of Two Hundred Pounds shall be appropriated and applied in purchasing Institute, a collection of Instruments suitable and proper for illustrating the principles of Toronto. Natural Philosophy, Geography, Astronomy and the Mathematics, for the use of the Mechanics' Institute of the City of Toronto, in such manner as the President Object. with any two of the Vice-Presidents of the said Mechanics' Institute shall think proper to direct. II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the President of Mechanics' the said Mechanics' Institute, with the concurrence of the Vice Presidents thereof, is Where instruhereby authorized and empowered to deposit the said Instruments in the hands of ments may be some person resident in the City of Toronto, for the use and benefit of the said placed. Mechanics' Institute. III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the Receiver General of this Province shall account to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successor, Sum payable for the said sum of Two Hundred Pounds, through the Commissioners of His by the Majesty's Treasury for the time being, in such manner and form as His Majesty, ReceiverHis Heirs and Successors shall be pleased to direct. 5TH YEAR OF WILLIAM IV.: CHAPTER XL. AN ACT GRANTING A SUM OF MONEY TO THE KINGSTON MECHANICS' INSTITUTE. MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN: Passed 16th April, 1835. General. Whereas it is expedient for the encouragement of the Mechanics' Institute, to Preamble. grant a sum of money for the purpose of Mathematical Instruments and Books for the use of its members we therefore beseech Your Majesty that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the au hority of an Act passed in the Parliament of Great Britain, entitled "An Act to repeal certain parts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of His Majesty s reign, entitled 'An Act for making more effectual provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America, and to make further provision for the Government of the said Province,' ," and by the authority of the same, that from and out of the rates and duties already raised and collected, or hereafter to be raised, levied and collected, to and for the use of this Province, there be granted to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, a sum not exceeding One Hundred Pounds out of the Provincial Trea- £100 to be sury from such moneys now remaining or which hereafter may come into the granted to the Receiver-General's hands, unappropriated, which said sum of One Hundred Pounds Institute, shall be appropriated and applied in purchasing a collection of Books and Instru- Kingston. ments suitable and proper for illustrating the principles of Natural Philosophy, Geography, Astronomy and the Mathematics, for the use of the Mechanics' Institute of the Town of Kingston, in such manner as the President with any two of the Vice-Presidents of the said Mechanics' Institute shall think proper to direct. II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the President of the said Mechanics' Institute, with the concurrence of the Vice-Presidents thereof, is hereby authorized and empowered to deposit the said Books and Instruments in the hands of some person resident in the said Town of Kingston, for the use and benefit of the said Mechanics' Institute. Mechanics' Object. Where the Books may be deposited. III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the Receiver- ReceiverGeneral of this Province shall account to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, General shall for the said sum of One Hundred Pounds, through the Lords Commissioners of his account. Treasury, for the time being, in such manner and form as His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors shall be pleased to direct. CHAPTER XI. BILLS OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY DROPPED, OR REJECTED, BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The rejection, by the Legislative Council, of measures passed during several years, by the House of Assembly, having been formally brought before the House of Assembly in 1835, I have thought it desirable to review the whole matter, before dealing with the specific measures relating to Education, which were rejected by the Legislative Council in 1835. In a Petition addressed, early in 1829, " to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and to the several other branches of the Imperial and Provincial Legislatures," and agreed to at a public meeting held in York, and presided over by Dr. W. W. Baldwin, a complaint was made, among others, of the "rejection, by the Legislative Council, of the most salutary measures passed by large majorities in the House of Assembly, and much desired by the people."* Mr. William Lyon Mackenzie reiterates the same complaint in his letter to Lord Goderich, dated January the 9th, 1833 + In his noted Seventh Report on Grievances, dated April 10th, 1835, pages 258-277, he gives a number of such cases which occurred during the Parliamentary Sessions from 1824 to 1835. I have carefully gone through the Journals of the Proceedings of the House of Assembly, and have noted the facts. It seemed to me, however, from that examination, that the House of Assembly had really led the way in its rejection of salutary educational legislation. Thus, in 1804, it thrice rejected a measure proposed, in response to an earnest Petition from the County of Glengarry, to establish Schools "in the most central places." And at each rejection, the promoters of the Bill sought to modify its provisions, so as to meet the professed objections of those who opposed the original Bill "to provide a fund for the support of Schools," but all to no purpose, as the modified Bill was rejected in each case, At the meeting to which I have referred, the complainants wholly ignored these proceedings of the House of Assembly, and cast the entire blame for obstructive legislation on the "irresponsible" Legislative Council. And yet, of course, there was truth, abundant truth in the complaint that the Legislative Council did, in these days, from one cause or another, object to much apparently useful legislation which had originated in the House of Assembly. The reason * A copy of this Petition, and of accompanying letters in regard to it, will be found on pages 94-104 of the Seventh Grievance Report of 1835, under the heading of Minutes of Evidence taken before the Select Committee on Grievances," etc. + This letter is appended to the Grievance Report as Document No. 85, pages 279-285. See page 49 of the First Volume of this Documentary History. is not far to seek: In the first place, the antagonism in the House of Assembly itself to many of the measures passed by it was known in the Legislative Council, for the Members of the Assembly were by no means a unit as to the necessity, or even desirability, of many of these measures. This fact, no doubt, largely influenced leading Members in the Legislative Council, to defeat such measures when they came before them; and thus, by this proceeding, they sought to meet the wishes of their friends in the House of Assembly. Secondly, and probably the most prolific cause of disagreement which led to the rejection of many measures passed by the House of Assembly, was that species of latent, though somewhat intangible, hostility which took a personal form, against measures proposed by individual Members of the House of Assembly, to defeat which partook of the nature of a personal triumph. No doubt, many of the salutary measures rejected by the Legislative Council were under a ban from the first; and their rejection may have been due to one or other of the causes named, or a combination of both, and not necessarily to an objection, per se, to the measures themselves, on their merits, although in its report on the subject in 1836, the Legislative Council gave its reasons in full for the ejection of specific measures. Then, it should not be forgotten, that the Legislative Council was being constantly recruited from Members of the House of Assembly, who, no doubt, carried with them feelings of personal antagonism, engendered against their late comrades in this House itself. Another cause of friction was the strong objection which Members of the Assembly had to the presence of high officials, or "placemen," as they were called, in the Legislative Council. This objection, being often put forth, often offensively, in the public press of the day, reacted upon the Council itself, and, no doubt, led to much of that dignified official hostility which decorously veiled itself in many obstructive forms, in the intercourse which took place between the two Houses. The rejection of measures by the Legislative Council which had been passed by the House of Assembly was brought under the notice of that House on the 14th of April, 1835, (page 183), and a Select Committee was appointed to enquire into the matter. This the Committee did; and its Report will be found under the Proceedings of the House of Assembly of the 16th of the same month, page 186. On the preceding day, (15th of April), another Select Committee, appointed to report upon the Constitution of the Executive and Legislative Councils, brought in a Report, which was adopted, (page 184). In that Report the specific charge was made that certain (enumerated) measures passed by the House of Assembly, Have been rejected by the Legislative Council, without amendment; and the labours of this House, during a Session which we think we may justly declare has been distinguished for unprecedented diligence and application to public business,-have been almost entirely baffled and rendered useless by the course pursued by the Legislative Council. |