205

THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM OF CANADA.

The school system in the two provinces of Upper and Lower Order of this Canade-legistatively united, but for educational purposes still inquiry. distinct-formed the second object of the inquiry which I was appointed to conduct. I have already stated that the summer half of the year includes the long vacations both of the American and of the Canadian schools, and in laying out my plans, one of the first things I had to consider was how best to distribute my time. Some of my friends in England, who knew America, recommended me to commence operations in Canada, under the idea that the war must more or less have dislocated all American institutions, and the schools among them; and that, as that was evidently drawing to its termination, I should probably find things more in their normal condition later in the year. And when the first tidings that reached my ears, as I was on the point of setting foot upon American soil, were the tidings of the assassination of the President, I apprehended myself that I should be compelled, by the necessity of the case, to take this course. I soon found, however, that both I and my friends were mistaken; there was nothing in the condition of the country or of the schools to induce me to change my plans, and as I conceived that the American system was the one upon which your Lordships and the other Commissioners would most desire to be accurately informed, as being the older, the more developed, and the original, I determined to see as much as I could of the schools of the United States up to the middle of July, when they generally begin summer vacation, and then to take the survey that circumstances allowed me of the state of education within the Canadian frontier. Accordingly, having visited the States of New York, Connecticut, Period of risit Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and to Canada. Michigan, and seen more or less of educational matters in each of them, I entered Canada from Detroit on the 21st of July, traversed it in its length as far as Quebec, penetrated into the interior as high as Ottawa, and quitted it again, after nearly six weeks sojourn, on August 31st. Of this period of six weeks I spent nearly half in Toronto, placing myself in immediate communication with the office of the Department of Public Instruction for Upper Canada which is located there; and my very best thanks are due to Dr. Ryerson, the chief superintendent, and Mr. Hodgins, the deputy superintendent, for the abundant facilities they afforded me for making myself acquainted with the system of which they are such efficient administrators. At Montreal I was equally fortunate in my intercourse with the Hon. Pierre Chauveau, whose relation to education in the Lower Province is similar to Dr. Ryerson's in the Higher.

Of schools in actual operation, from the circumstances of the case, I could see very few; and I was particularly disappointed not to find the schools in session at Hamilton, when I visited that

Schools actually visited.

No schools

Canada.

city, where the system is worked very vigorously, and is said to be best organized and most fully developed.* I had the pleasure, however, of seeing there Dr. Ormiston, the local Superintendent and formerly Inspector of grammar schools, who is thoroughly acquainted with the system in all its bearings, and who was most willing to give me all the information which he possessed; and subsequently at Toronto, I met Mr. Macallum, Principal of the Central School, who supplied me with some of the reports, containing valuable statistical details.

The schools that I saw at work were the city schools of Toronto, those of Ottawa, and one or two village schools. They were characterized by a remarkable similarity of system, and the differences observable between them were differences of degree rather than of kind; and as I had abundant opportunities of ascertaining the opinions of persons thoroughly conversant with the system both theoretically and practically, and have besides carefully read the extracts from the reports of local superindendents published in the report of the Chief Superintendent, I doubt whether a larger induction of particulars, the fruit of my own observation, would in any material point have disturbed the conclusions at which I have arrived.

In Lower Canada, it is true, I had not the opportunity, owing seen in Lower to the time of my visit being in the heart of vacation, of seeing with my own eyes a single school; I have had to trust, therefore, entirely to the printed and oral reports of others. But the condition of things in that province, both as regards the social condition and the religious distribution of the people, is so entirely exceptional, and so utterly unlike what prevails among ourselves, that very little practical information would be available from this source; and the theory of the system, in the points wherein it differs from that of Upper Canada is all, I think, that the Commissioners need concern themselves to know. At any rate, owing to circumstances over which I had no control, a loss somewhere was unavoidable; and of all actual observations that I could have made, that of the schools of Lower Canada seems to me now, as it seemed then, to be the one that could most easily be spared.

Canadian

The Canadian system of education, in those main features of it school system which are common to both provinces, makes no pretence of being It confesses to a borrowed and eclectic character.†

eclectic,

Law about vacations.

Sources of the
Canadian

system.

original.

*The letter of the law is peremptory about vacations. "There shall be two "vacations in each year; the first or summer vacation shall continue for two "weeks from the first Monday in August; the second, for eight days at "Christmas. In cities, towns, and incorporated villages the summer vacation "shall continue four weeks, from the first Monday in August" (Consolidated Acts, p. 127). The first Monday in August 1865 fell on August 7th. I visited Hamilton on Tuesday, July 25th. and found that the schools had already been broken up for some days, and was informed that the vacation would last for six weeks.

"The chief outlines of the system are similar to those in other countries. We are indebted in a great degree to New York for the machinery of our schools, to Massachusetts for the principle on which they are supported, to

A. Buller.

The neighbouring 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 founded upon fundamental ideas were first developed by Mr. (now, I believe, recommendaSir Arthur) Buller in the masterly report on the state of education tions by Sir 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 Original plan the proportions of Roman Catholics to Protestants in each, and modified. the extent to which the Roman Catholic religion may be said to be etablished 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

Ireland for an admirable series of common school books, and to Germany for our system of Normal School training. All, however, are so modified and blended to suit the circumstances of the country, that they are no longer exotic. but

racy of the soil' (Sketch of Education in Upper and Lower Canada, by J. George Hodgins, p. 3). "There is one feature of the English system ". since abandoned by us-" which I have thought very admirable, and which I "have incorporated into that of Upper Canada-namely, that of supplying the "schools with maps, apparatus, and libraries" (Dr. Ryerson's Report for 1857, p. 32).

*

Mr. Buller's Report, p. 21.

History of educational

effort in

independent executives, and without any organic relations at all.*

The view presented will perhaps be clearer if the two systems are described separately. I propose, therefore, to begin with that of Upper Canada.

The history of educational effort in Upper Canada is not at all necessary to be known for the purpose of comprehending the Upper Canada. present system, yet the following brief sketch summarized from Mr. Hodgins' account may not be uninteresting.

First legislation in 1807.

Provisions of 1816.

Object of Lord Durham's policy.

The first legislative enactment in favour of general education was passed in March 1807. It established a classical and mathematical school in each of the eight districts into with the province was then divided, placed it under the control of trustees, and granted $400 a year as salary to the master.†

Nine years subsequently, in 1816, the first legislative provision was made for common schools. An annual grant of $24,000 was appropriated for the object. Schools were to be established under the management of local trustees, who were to have power to examine and appoint the teacher, make rules of government, and select the text-books, themselves reporting their proceedings to a Board of Education for the district. Each school was to be attended by not less than 20 scholars, and the provincial allowance to each out of the grant was not to exceed $100. No authority was given to raise money for the support of the schools either by ratebills or local assessment; it was expected that any deficiency would be made up by voluntary contributions. The law was

* The professed object of Lord Durham's constitutional changes was to prevent the recurrence of political troubles similar to those of 1837 by " uniting the "two races, and anglifying the French Canadians." He regarded the latter as a race destined to die out before the superior energy, enterprise, and fecundity of British settlers. His anticipations, however, though apparently supported by very cogent arguments, have as yet, been signally falsified by the event. The union of the Provinces has been followed by no fusion of the nationalities, nor by any marked change of relation in the two dominant religions. The Lower Province is still essentially French in language, manners, habits and sentiments. No ground has been won by British immigrants from French "habitants"; nor by Protestants from Roman Catholics. The following table gives the statistics, as bearing upon this point, of the census of 1861 :

It is calculated that, if the same rate of increase was maintained, the population of Canada on January 1st, 1864, would be 2,783,079; viz., 1,586,130 in the Upper Province, 1,196,949 in the Lower. The stream of immigration sets largely in favour of the Upper Province: of 589,880 immigrants, 493,212 had settled in Upper, and only 96,668 in Lower Canada.

†The present venerable Bishop of Toronto, Dr. Strachan-now I believe in his 88th year-was the master of the most successful of these district schools, the one established at Cornwall.

considered as an experiment, and its operation was limited to four.

years.

The experiment could not have been thought very successful, for Reduction in 1820 the legislative grant was reduced from $24,000 to $10,000, of 1820. and the allowance towards the teacher's salary was diminished

from $100 to $50.

in 1829.

In 1829 under the lieutenant-governorship of Sir John Colborne, Upper Canada the district grammar school of Toronto was superseded by the Collegefounded foundation of Upper Canada College, endowed with a grant of 66,000 acres of land, which was originally intended to act as a feeder to the provincial university then projected, and which still ranks as the highest educational institution, short of the universities, in Canada.

In spite of occasional efforts made to kindle or keep it alive, Attempt of public zeal in behalf of education appears gradually to have 1835. languished till in 1835 a more determined attempt was made to put things on a better footing. A bill for that purpose passed the House of Assembly, but was defeated in the Legislative Council. "In 1836 an elaborate report was prepared by Dr. Thomas "Dunscombe, chairman of the Educational Committee of the "House of Assembly, on the state of education in the various "parts of the adjoining Union which he visited." This report probably turned men's thoughts for the first time to the States as a model; and a draft of a bill was prepared by Dr. Dunscombe, but never passed. Then came the deluge, the political crisis of 1837, which swept away all that had been done previously, and till the work of political reconstruction had been completed, prevented attention to the subject from being renewed. In 1841, however, the excitement having subsided, the School School Act Act already referred to, embracing in its scope both the provinces, was passed, restoring the Common School system, and containing also a provision for the establishment of separate Protestant and Roman Catholic schools.* It was soon found that its provisions were not equally applicable to both sections of the United Province, and in 1843 they were modified as far as concerned Upper Canada. In 1845 was accomplished the practical severance of the province into two independent educational sections again; and in 1846-7 the foundations of the present system were laid, the structure taking more definitely its present shape in 1850, 1846. with the addition of a few supplementary inprovements in 1853. Even yet the system can hardly be said to have passed out of the tentative stage, and on the 1st January of this present year (1866) an important modification of the regulations applicable to grammar schools was to come into operation.

* Dr. Ryerson thinks that the introduction of this principle, though dictated by the best motives, was a grand mistake, and has led to painful discussions, as well as retarded the advance of the general system (Report for 1857, p. 22). "The equal protection of all parties and classes in the public schools was " provided for, and no party had any right to claim more."

of 1841.