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th:.e

COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM,

ITS PRINCIPLE, OPERATION AND

RESULTS,

BY ANGUS DALLAS.

" There is, we all know, n diflficuUy wliicK has met at thi& tlH'eshold those
who have been influential in establishing systems of national education ; I
mean that which arises from the number of religious sects into which tlie
population is divided. This is not the occasion for entering into any discus-
sion upon that painfully interesting question. Whatever diflScalty it has
occasioned in England or Ireland must be expected to be found here, apply-
ing with at least equal, if not more than equal force. . I should be unwilling
to suppose that any doubt could exist as to my ow> opinion on this question ;
and scarcely less unwilling to be thought so unjui.t and uncandid as not to
acknowledge and mako allowance for the difficulties which surround it.
They ■ ' such, I believe, as no person can fully estimate,, until he has been
callt 5n to deal with them, under the responaibility which the duties of
gove at impose. In the mean time, resting assurecF as we may, that no
general system of instruction can be permanently successful which has not
the coiifiilence and cordial approval of the sincerely rrligious portions of the
community — that portion, I mean, who will think it worse than folly to aim
at being wise above that which is written — we must wait with hope and
patience for the solution which this difficulty, to which I allude, may receive
in other countries more competent to grapple with it — trusting inat whfit
may ultimately be found to be the safe and satisfactory course, may, by the
wisdom and good feeling of the majority, he adopted among ourselves."-—
Speech of Chic f Justice Rwnnson, at the opening of the Provincial Normal Schod,
Nov. 24, 1852.

TORONTO :

THOMPSON A CO., PRINTERS, KING STREET.

1855.

•ti

THii;

COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM,

ITS PRLNCirLE, OPEllATION AND

llESULTS,

BY ANGUS DALLAS.

" There is, we nil know, a difficulty which has met at the threshold thoso
"who have been influential in ewtablishing pystems of national education ; I
Juean that which arises from the number of religious sects into which the
population is divided. This is not the occasion for entering into any discus-
sion upon that painfully interesting question. Whatever diffieulty it has
occasioned in England or Ireland must be expected to be found here, apply-
ing with at least equal, if not more than equal force. I should be unwilling
to suppose that any doubt couhl exist as to my own opinion on this question ;
and scarcely less unwilliuf to be thought so unjust and uncandid as not to
acknowledge and make allowance for the difficulties which surround it.
They are such, I believe, as no person can fully estimate, until he has been
called upon to deal with them, under the responsibility which the duties of
government impose. In the mean time, resting assured as we may, that no
general system of instruction can be permanently successful which has not
the confidence and cordial approval of the sincerely religious portions of the
community — that portion, I mean, who will think it worse than folly to aim
at being wise above that which is written — we must wait with hope and
patience for the solution which this difficulty, to which I allude, may receiv„
in other countries more competent to grapple with it — trusting that what
may ultimately be found to be the safe and satisfactory course, may, by the
wisdom and good feeling of the majority, be adopted among ourselves." —
Speech of Chief Justice Robinson, at the opening of the Provincial Normal School,
Nov. 24, 1852.

TORONTO :

THOMPSON & CO., PRINTERS, KINO STREET.

1855.

I /

INTRODUCTION.

The present Common School Law of Upper Canada has now I>een
in operation for a pt;riod of seven yeai-s, during which time ample
opportunity has been atlbrded to examine its details and its npjJica-
bility tc the circumstances of this Province; and if no satisfactory con-
clusion has been arrivcn^l at, decisive of its good or bad tendencies, the
fault cannot be ascribed to any want of interest and attention on the
part of the press and the public. On various occasions attempts have
been made to question its results, and criticisms have appeared, expres-
sing the sentiments of respectable sections of the people, against the
fery principle on which the whole superstructure of our common
s:;hoo]s is based. These utterances, however, have, without exception^
been either combated or stifled by a powerful max^hinery, maintained
at the public cost, under government auspices, and directed by an
influential political leader.

It is by no means necessary to attach blame to the successive admin-
istrations by which the exorbitant discretionary power of the educational
department was begun, extended, and consolidated ; for, with a low elec-
toral fpialification, the executive is most frequently obliged to bend to
political influences, and to do what it has no power to resistor is too weak
to avoid. But it cannot be denied that the creation of a gigantic
apparatus, to curb and control public opinion, on the merits of an ex-
periment of which, at the commencement, every one, even the govern-
ment itself, was profoundly ignorant, f • ■? a proceeding alike hazardous
to the interests of the \'arious denomini.a./iis which had conscientious
scruples to obey, and to the educational pi'ogress and well-being of the
Province a^ large. The Annual Reports and the Journal of Education,
here alluded to, have not been employed in the legitimate business,
alone, of furnishing information to the government and the Munici-
palities on matters connected with tlie regulations of the Council of
Public Instruction, modifications and amendments of the law and the
fmancial affairs of the schools, but have been directed, also, in a most

^ergetic way, to the propagation of educational doctrines which are
hostile to our form of government, as well as to our domestic relations,
on the ground of religion and the general circumstances of a mixed
and heterogeneous community. Against such an apparatus that portion
of the press which was opposed to the system could not cohtend.
Criticism, thereby, has been precluded, and the consequence is that
after a seven years' trial, what is known respecting the pinciple, opera-

lion and rosultn of the cxiiorinient is limiteil to tlio exparte infotmi\'c\o:\-
cou' oyed tliiough tho innchiiioiy of llic Kducation Ollico.

It unfortunately also often happens, nn in the present case, th;it, in
tlie process of carryinii; a favorite tlicoiy into praetico, those who unilcr
take tho work, either l)Hnd(!(l by pH'conccive'l notions or reluctant to
acknowledi^e adverse resuha, take diligent precautions to coiu'e;tl the
facts. In thirt respect and with relerence to the K'hool system of Canada
and the United States, no snndl aui'iunt of iu'histrv lias been i-Ncrted
to create a belief that it is in j-raetie-j uhat M \\n^ bwn represented in
theory. Any ciruinnstance or ocxurrep.ce inijiiieal to tho preservation
of a friendly public feeling hm been carefully snj(j>re3.sed, witliout
apparently retiecting that the discovery of stich i-on'lttet, sooner or later,
would be sure to meet with general indignation. Thi» has been an
evih It is a caianiity under which we at ]>rttsent sutler. Enquiry at
this moment is dreaded. Not a word must bo tolerated against the
exj)erimeut now so long in ])rogTeis.s; and it is almost superfluous to
repeat that, wlierevor, during several years ]<(.<, a solitary >oice has
ventured, at any tin>e, to e.\press a doubt on the correctness of the
anticipations held out by the frienJs of the present systeni, even such
expression of doubt l)as been met by any thing but a desire that it
should be heard. Tho most selllsh motifs liava uniformly been
attributed to the questioner. A dislike U) p.*vy tho school assessmenb
has been imputal as the sole reason of his dissent; and in this way
insult has been offered to whomsoevor curiosity or duty may have led
to the expression of an oi)inion. Ncjw such treatment might have car-
ried some share of ])lausibility had it come from persons not deriving
their subsistence from the school fund and no way interested, directly
or indirectly in its pecuniary concerns. But such is not the case. Those
who have shown the greatest eagerness to frown down attempts at
enquiry, and wdio have been foremost to make accusations of unworthy
motives, are the chief and local superintendents, those interested in the
book, map and publishing department, tho trustees who benefit often to
some extent by the distribution of the patronage at their disposal, and
numbers besides Avho speculate, prospectively, on some recompense, in
return for suppoi*t, in most cases, obsequiously tendered to the head of
the Education Office. The general and local reports confirm what is
here stated. What is the consequence, in a public sense, of this mul-
tiplicity of interests so centralised ? It is this: A degree of ignorance
almost incredible exists, with respect not only to the source, the history
and tlie general principles of American Common Schools, but even on
tlie facts as they have been developed, within our own borders and
amongst ourselves.

In addition to this and for the purpose of bringing into favorable
notice the Apostles of tho secular school system, the Annual Report*
and the Journal of Education have been made the vehicles for dissem-
inslBl^Uheir doctrines, and more particularly those of the famous
Horace Mann. No opportunity has been suffered to escape wherein it
was possible to present the Boston School authorities as embodying

the climax of oducational wis'lom. Horace Mann, Professor S(ow«,
Kilwanl Evorctt, tliat *'groii;t Ajiiorican statesman, Daniel WebHter,"
and men of a similar stamp liavo bci'U held up to the Canadian people,
month atler month and year after year, through this otlicial channel, as
objects on whom to befitow something little sliort of horo worship. The
object of the following pnt^es is to meet these roj)re8ontations, and to
produce a body of evidence, bearing on the school quontion, that will
enable the Canadian pubiie to form a true estimate of the petition
assumed by the eulogists of Mr. Mann; oonscioiis that no system can
prosj>er where only one side is open to inepflction; that exparte state-
monts are not sufficient to satisfy enquiry ; also, that antagonism is the
essential element of progress; and, above all, tliat to a free government,
the unfettered expression of critical opinions is its surest safeguard. In
the execution of this task the course of procedure will bo first, to point
out the line of deraarkation wlilch distinguishes European from Ameri-
can notions of what properly constitutes education ; second, to show
that, in Europe, the teacher is a religious moral centre, while, in
America, lie is purely a secular machine; and, in the third place, to
demonstrate, from official sources, the harmonious and successful opera-
tion and results of Common Schools, in Europe, wherever they have
been established, and, at the same time, how it is, that the reverse is the
case with the American schools, which, without exception, are charac-
terised by deeply rooted elements of political and religious discord.

Before proceeding, hov,'over, to the execution of the plan here laid
down, a few remarks are called for on some other general tendencies,
existing in concurrence with those above alluded to, but apparently
in an isolated spliero.

Two things were wanted to make the Canadian school law of 1847
an exact copy of the school law of Massachusetts. One was the
centralization, not only of the common schools but of the whole edu-
cational machinery from the Common Schools up to the University, in
the hands of the government; the other an enactment making free
schools compulsory. As a means, partly, for the accomplishment of
these objects, the Amended Grammar School Act, and the Supple-
mentary Common Sdiool Act were passed at the same time, and were
assented to on the 14th Juno, 1853. By the former, the Grammar
S:hool Trustees are empowered,

" To employ such means as they may jndfje expedient, in concurrence with
the Trustees of the school section or the Board of Common School Trustees in
the townsliip, villagp, town or city in which such Grammar School may be
fifnated, for unitinjj one or nioto of the Common Schools of «uch township,
village, town or city, or departments of them, with such Grammar SehooL"

The latter in a similar manner provides as follows,

" And ho it enacted that the TniRtees of each (common) school section shall
have authdiity to take such stops us they may judge expedient to uni^jiteir
<"f liool with any public Gramnuir SchoOl, which shall be s/tuikte fi^/f^or
1(1 jacent to the limits of their school section." --..' \

Aijother provision in the Amended Grammar School Act requires

▼I

pnrticulnr notice, Innsmurh ns it threatens tFio vcivy existence of tlio
Grniiininr Schools, as a tlistiiicL das« ot' schools. Hitliorto tlio teacliors
havo heon ^imluatcs of soiiu) Colit!f^(( or Univoi-sit)' , hut, l»y the
Amended Act, the (Irainiiiar Schools are to b<i stipplitfd with teachers
from the Normal School; a measino that, coupled with the amalgama
tion of the Grammar and Common Schools, would very noon reduce;
them to the stamlard of Common Schools liaviiig teachers with a lirst-
class certificate. The Act provides : —

"That no pvraon (except a GrnJiiato t>f somo UnivoiHiLy or IJui' '';sily
College) shall liorcaitor be iippoiiitcd Alnsfcr of a CJramiiiar School, niif hi:
shall have previously ohlaincd a Cfrlijicatn of <jii(tlijicalii>n J rum a Connniheo of
Examiners, {one of whom shall be the Ilvad Master of the Normal School,)
appointed by tha Council of Public Instruction.'*

Since the passage of these two Acts, attemptH have been made by
the Common School Trustees to carr}- them into force. Last year, in
Torontc^ which is considered the focus of Mr. Mann's disciples, an ollbrt
was made on the Grammar School, by the Free School Trustees, but with
out success. This year the attempt is to bo renewed, and the induce
ments held out are, that the Grammar School, when incorporated, or
rather absorbed by the Common Schools, shall be made free and be
dignified with one of the now school houses recently erected; or, if no
smaller bait shall suffice, a splendid and showy edifice shall be provided
for by local assessment. It fortunately happens, however, that those
who havo an opportunity of ttistifyim;' to the excellent condition and
raanatjement of the Toronto (iranmiar School and tlio discreditable
contrast exhibited by the condition of the Free Common Schools liavo
evinced no desire to witness a union such as that contemplated by th«!
Free School Tiiistees.

But these attempts are only one indication of the carrying; out of the
consolidation scheme. What is calculated to occasion more uneasiness,
to those who entertain no S})artan predilections, is the enunciation of
the scliool doctrines of Boston, by the heads of the Toronto University,
It is, by no means, a pleasing duty to have to animadvert on the lan-
guage made use of by the President and Chancellor of that instituti»;n;
but these learned gentlemen have identified themselves so directly, and,
in a manner so undisguised, with the princij^Tcs of the present Common
School system, that it is not possible to avoid refening to the evidence
which their speeches supply, to pro\'e, by their inconsiderate remarks,
not only how little the system has been canvassed and how little is
underetood concerning it, but what, moreover, is of much more signifi-
cance, the use to whicli such displays of ignorance are oonvetled by
the head of the Education Office. On tlie occasion of the ceremony,
at the opening of the Provincial Normal Scliool in 1852, tlie Presi-
dent of the Toronto University, in the course of his speecli, said —

"^Thftt he concoivcd to he the perfection of national ediicnfinn, — which
places the luimhlcst man, so far as the pnjsjtncts of liis children aiccom^crned,
lu a position ('(jual to that of the man of tht^ amplest means. 'J'hcy all knew
many, who have sprung from that class, who havo dono honour to P^n^jland,

VI 1

and ho doubted not, that ere Win own career was cloned, ho would have tbt
gratiflcution of Hcoin^f aonio of tho Hniiu! class >?rnoinf» the hif^hcst posiiioug id
the Province — who were originally educated at tho oonunoii Hohoois from th<
public fundii — who from thccomiuonnrhool prucooded to thegraininfir hcIiooI,
where they also received free education."

It is sufHciont to point out, liorc, to tho Icnnied Pr'^'.idont, tho only
inforonco to bo deduced from hif argument. It is no lesrt than this; —
that tho Boston system is not only tho perfection of national education,
but beinr; the only known free system is confieciucnlly Llie best in the
world. As to tho uso made of tho argument and the inference there
can bo but ono opinion.

Again, at tho Convocation of tho University in November last, the
Chancellor, in the course of liis address, when referring to tho religious
element, expressed bentiraents precisely similar to what had been enun-
f'iated by tho President of trio University, in his inaugural lecture
delivered in tho month of October in the preceding year, namely, 1853.
The Chancellor said,

"Bid the christian rclinion iit a spiritual and not a ceremonial reliyion.
It appeals to tho heart and not to tho buuscs."

"If that bo tho true nature of tho christian religion, then I am at a loss tc
discover how it can be objected that this is either an un-Christian or an auti-
christian institution, so long as it holda fast to that ^'i. it foundation of o\n
faith, tho Bible. Ihit the Bible and the great fundamoutal truths of tho Biblf
are acknowledged by all Christian dononiiuiitions alike. With that great
bond of union and agreement, the Senate fools that tho minor ditfercncen
between Christian and Christian may well be sunk, in carrying on this great
work of Education, as comparatively unimportant."

When we reflect that tho complete ignoring of all religious differences
emanated from Boston and is enforced no where else, as an inflexible
rule, except in some of the States of the American Union and in ilu-
University of Toronto, it will readily be perceived that tho Chancellor's
remarks amount to an uii<,iinliticd approval of that feature of the
Boston school law which dis.iHuw8 leligious differences; and, as a neces-
sary consequence, are tantrur.ount i > an attempted justification of a
Canadian law to enforce a sirnilar uniformity in the common schools of
tho Province, without ref jrence to the diversity of local circumstance.-.
This spirituality of the Christian religion is the very foundation on
which the Boston school authorities have constructed their s'-tsti^m.
They repudiate all ceremonies, for they maintain that Christianity i.-
not a ceremonial religion; and as will bo seen, in the course of this
exposition, tho Christianity which thoy profess to be the basis of their
educational efforts, when stripjied of its external appendages, is nothing
bettor than pure and unadulterated deism. Those remarks of the
Chancellor, while, as in tho preceding case thoy servo the purpose of
those who are striving to give a complete Bostonian conformation to
our school system, are an additional proof of the state of public opinion,
produced by a forestalling of tho reading community, through tho ^
instrumentality of the vnoonstitutional ])ower which the Government^ 4>
has placed at tho disposal of tho Eduiation Oflice.

VIU

Had the Annual Reports and the Journal of Education been de-
voted, exclusively, as they ought to have been, to the coinmunicaLion of
official intelligence connected with the practical business of the depart-
ment, and refrained from dogmatical disquisitions, which should at all
times be beyond the legitimate functions of a government official, the
public press would have got fair play, the principles and results of the
school system would have been thoroughly scrutinized, and we should
now .have been in possession of something like a tolerably correct
knowledge of the truth or falsehood of what the system has been re-
presented to be. The adoption of an opposite course has produced
effects the very reverse ; for not only have we to regret the mischief
arising from publicly expressed sentiments, on the part of prominent
functionaries in our higher schools, but wo have been doomed during
a period now of seven years to witness the dissemination, throughout
the length and breadth of the land, of dogmas which could have been
proved, at any moment, to be utterly fallacious.

The remarks of Chief Justice Robinson, at the opening of the Nor-
mal School, have not attracted tnat notice which their importance really
deserves. They contain words of wisdom. And if we consider the
occasion on which they were made, — the purpose for which they were
intended, — and, more than all, their deep significance, we cannot help
feeling surprised that no advantage was taken of the opportunity to turn
them to account. It is, however, a source of consolation, amid the
general contamination of the public sentiment, and the neutralized effi-
ciency of the Provincial press, in the way already specified, that one
public functionary — the highest on the judicial bench — has had the
candor and the coui-age to beard the lion in his den ; and to proclaim,
from the very platform whereon stood the eulogist and chamj)ion of the
Boston school systeu), that the said system could not succeed, — that it
was worse than folly for its promoters to aim at being wise above that
which is written, — and that Canada must look elsewhere, for a school
system, than to Boston authorities and their Canadian satellites.

CHAPTER I.

THE RBLIOI0U3 BASIS OF THE COMMON SCHOOLS OF EUROPE.

♦

The great dissimilarity of opinions among leading educationists of
tlio present day, and, consequently, the marked contrast observable in
tile practical character of institutions designed, apparently, to serve tlie
same ultimate purpose, will be found, upon examination, to depend on
the manner in which the work of education is regarded — as a work of
discipline or of instruction. Thus, at the very threshold of our subject,
the first point to be deci'led — though a simple one — is that on which
Lang all the subsequent issues.

If education commences at bhth, and extends to the period when the
individual is co^npetent, by age, to quit the parental roof; if it consists
in a nurturing of both mind and body, a continual process of training,
in order to form habits and manners and movies of thinking, then is the
business of education disciplinary ; the parent becomes the responsible
educator; the delegation of whose natural duties can be transferred only
to one who is competent to take the place and assume the responsibilities
of the parent.

In this manner the position of a schoolmaster becomes that of a sub-
stitute. He requires, therefore, other recommendations besides the mere
book-learning which commonly fits a man to oflliciate, simpl}', as an in-
structor. He stands in need of those qualities by means of which he
can obtain from children the respect and esteem which they usually
accord to their parents. But to succeed in this, ho must first acquire
the respect of the parents themselves, for children will form their opinions
and shape their conduct, in this particular, according as they are influ-
enced by the conversations of the family circle. If a teacher is a man
of ordinary scholastic attainments, is upright in his general intercourse
with the world, and has a religious faith which governs his conduct and
moulds his character, he will command the esteem of his neighbours;
children will hear him talked of respectfully at the family hearth ; and
in the school-room he will, consequently, occupy that position which
fits him to impress, by exainple and precept and with the hapi)ic-st and
most satisfactory results, the minds of those committed to his charge.
No other qualification, however extraordinary, will compensate for the
absence of this feeling on the part of the parents and children towards
the teacher. It is, therefore, of the first importance that he should be
an upright, conscientious, and religious man, possessing a sufficient
amount of scholastic learning and secular knowledge to enable him to
discharge his duties in a creditable way.

In a social point of view such a teacher is a moral centre ; that is, he
radiates, in a surrounding neighbourhood, a moral influence which can-
not be too highly prized, and which cannot fail, wherever it is exerted,
to produce the most wholesome etiects on the general tone of society.
But as an educator, as a trainer, as a discipliner of the faculties of the
young, Uie religious teaching forms a considerable portion of his duties ;
and the performance of these, with becoming dignity, cannot be as-
sumed except by one who feels their importance.

Now, it is a distinct feature of the school systems of Europe, wheth-
er Parochial or Common, whether in England or Germany, that not
only religious exercises but religious teaching forms an essential part of
the daily routine; and that the teacher must be a person Jof religious
character, competent to carry on religious training. The general
school law of Prussia is conclusive on this head. It ordains as fol-
lows : —

"The chief mission of every school is to train the youth in such a manner
as to produce in them, with tlie knowledge of man's relations to God, the
strength and desire to regulate his life according to the principles and spirit
of Christianity. Early shall the School form the children to piety, and for
that purpose will it seek to second and perfect the instructions of the family.
Thus in all cases shall the labours of the day be commenced, and concluded
by a short pray.r andpioas reflections, lohich the Master must be able so to con-
duct, that this moral exercise shall never degenerate into an affair of habit. Fur-
thermore the Master shall see (in the case of Boarding-schools) that the chil-
dren attend punctually at the services of the Church on Sabbaths and Holy-
days. There shall be intermingled with the solemnities of the School, songs
of a religious character. Finally, the period of the communion should be «3
well for Pupils as for Masters, an occasion of strengthening the bonds which
ought to unite them, and to open their souls to the most generous and elevated
sentiments of religion."

Lest it should bo supposed that the Prussian notions of the spirit of
Christianity, and the moral exercises referred to, resemble the notions
attached to these terms by American Common School authorities, the
following from the Report for 1846, by the Canadian Chief Superin-
tendent, will be satisftictory.

"In Prussia, while provision is made, and Teachers are thoroughly trained,
to give an extended course, or ratlior several courses of Biblical iu.struction,
covering a period of eight yciirs, (from f-ix to fourteen) in regard to even
primary Schools, and children of tlio poorest classes, and embracing in suc-
cession an elementary view of the biography, history, cardinal dodrinrs, aud
morals, and in ■-->nic instances evidences of the authenticity of the Bible: provi-
sion is also made for teaching the Catechisms of the Protestant and Roman
Catholic Churches. The Catechism, however, is not generally, if ever taught
until after ihc pupil has received Biljlicril instruction furtive or six years. It
is usually tauc^lit the year, or the year before, the pupil completes his elemen-
tary educatii)!! ;and during the few months whicli are allotted to the teacliing
and learning of the Catecliism, the pupils receive separate religious instruction
from the Pastor or Clergyman of the Church to whicli they belong."

In Prussia, and the same remark holds true throughout Europe,
doctrinal or denominational teaching is the rule. When the law pro-
vides, as is the case, that no child shall l)C obliged to take jiart in any
religious lessons to which the parents object, this is done in order to

eubordinato the law to the rights of the parent. The lav? of Prussia,
in this respect, and it is the law of Europe, is diametrically opposed to
th^ Spartan doctrines of Mr. Mann, and, consequently, to the various
/ -s of the common school system of America, which are all avow-
t ij and constructivel) derived from Mr. Mann's original model.

In Prussia, the law requires denominational teaching Avhere practica-
ble ; separate teaching where it is not. The law of Massachusetts, on
the other hand, disallows Christian instruction altogether; while, in
Canada, it is tolerated only wliero the majority, in a school section, is of
one religious persuasion; in which latter case, the law permits the
majority to tyrannise over the minority, on the principle that might
constitutes right. Now as, in Prussia, the rights of denominations exist
by virtue of the subordination of the rights of the State to those of the
parent, iu the work of education ; so, in Massachusetts, the communism
of the schools rests on the predominance of the rights of the State over
all other rights.

Herein consists the fundamental distinction between the educational
systems of the new and the old world ; a point which cannot be too
vividly presented to the heads of Canadian families, inasmuch as it is
a key to the solution of many obscure and intricate details connected
with the working of our Common Schools. In Prussia the law acknow-
ledges the parent as the natui'al and responsible educator of his child.
Tho parent selects the teacher, selects the school, selects the doctrinal or
denominational lessons. With the exercise of these natural rights the
law does not interfere. It undertakes one important dut}', howMwer.
It ordains that the child shall receive an education; it prescibes means
by which suitable substitutes are provided, to perform, in the school
room, the delegated duties of the parent ; and requires the ^.arent as
the natural educatoi", to pay, by rate bill, a reasonable share of tho
expenses, unless incapacitated by poverty to do so. Throughout all
the practical ramifications of the Prussian school law, the principle that
tho parent is the natural educator is never lost sight of, and conforma-
bly with this principle the parent's natural rights are fully recognised.

On the subject of the denominational rights of parents or, what is the
same thing, the right that the children shall be disciplined agreeably to
the peculiar religious faith which the parents profess, Mr. Joseph Kay

says:

"One of the educational councillors of Berlin inforn>ed rae, that the Gov-
errjiti.^nt did not i')ico}irnr/n the estahlishnicnt of mixed schools; as they think
tli.'il, in 8iu'h ciisc's, liu- loligious education of both parties, or at least one of
tlicin, often sutfeia- ***** The childreii of Jews, however, are not
often U) ho found, even in the towns, in tlie schools of the other sects ; but,
owing to //)« cnfirr and unco. drolled lihrrtif of decision that thr. people themselves
possesn on iJiifi point, there seems to Ix' little dil^culti/ in arrangim] matters, and no
jealovsii whatever exists between the different parties." — Vol. 1, page 57.

The ]M'osent agitation going on in the United Kingdom, on the pro-
posed g;)vernnieii.t measure for the establishment of national schools, is
marked by a unauiriouh determination on the part of the establish-

merits and the dissenters to have denominational teaching. According
to the Wastminste! Review for July, 185^, the Unitariyns are the only
exception. Now the position assumed, in England, by the Unitarian
body, taken in connection witli the fact that Mr. Mann, the origina-
tor of the Boston school system is also a Unitarian, and that the in-
fluential class and the major part of the people of Boston belong to that
persuasion, reveals a great deal with reference to the true character of
our Canadian Common Schools.

Among the dissenters, Mr. Edward Bains, a most influential loader,
a staunch nonconformist, and one who has made himself very promi-
nent in the prevailing controversy, takes his ground on the vohmtary
principle, and, with groat force denies the right of government to as-
sume the duties that, he maintains, belong properly to the denomina-
tions. But this gentleman goes farther ; he denies the right of gov-
ernment interference also on political grounds. Ho says :

" Government education is, in my judgment, a mighty error in principle.
It can only be defended hy reasons wliich would equally call for the super-
intendence of the government over_'our literature, our journals, and our pulpits,
if not over the food, the clothing, and the habitations at least, of all the hum-
bler classes. If, on any ground of public policy, government is to support
and regulate our schools, the same ground would require that it phould sup-
port and regulate the press, which supplies the bulk of the people witli their
reading, and should furnish every house with its intellectual food." — West-
mimtcr Rcvieio, July, 1853, Page C5.

Mr. Bains, it will be seen, opposes government education on two
grounds. Tliose who agree with him, tliat education is a disciplinary
and training process, resting on a religious foundation, though they
may not coincide with his ]ioHtical reasons, make no hesitation in
awarding him credit for the sincerity of his religious scruples; and this
is the chief point. It is on this the Nonce in form ists are strongest, and
their position is invulnerable. If in carrying on the work of oilucation,
which they say is in groat part a religious doctrinal work, sorui)les of
conscience are to bo respected, the government is thereby ]ilaced on tlie
same footing with respect to schools tiiat it ought to be witli res|)ect to
Churches. The Nonconformists in England are at least consistent,
which is more than can bo said of the same class in Canada. ^VlJy is
it so ?

Tiie Goveniment measure brought forwaid by Lord John Russell in
April, 185.'], but not yet perfected, recngnizes the claims of the donnmi-
nntions and is intended to assist voluntary ett'orts. It dvclarcs open
war again.<t ;ill forms of exclusively secular education.

Turniufj; now to Scotland, the best authority which can be ]);'od'.icod
to illustrate the [)Opular sontitnont is unquestionably the JVorth Br/fish
JReview, the organ of the Free Church. The last nuiDbcr of iluu
periodical, for Novenilx-r 1854, contains an able essay, lioadi'd " Pnjiil'ir
I'Mucaiion in Scotland," well d<'serving tho attentive pi-ni-^.-il of Kicc
Church con;,M'cgations in Canada; if for norther [)Ui'i'o.-t' tli.-in tosliow
the consistency of fatherland on the (wo questions of state cIiuiclii'iM
.and state sckodism. From the statistics of The Hniiic ami Foreign

Record., tlio Free Cbufcli in Scotland Las two Normal schools, and
besides the Students attending in tln;a(^ it lias 661 trained teachers
eiiiploy<'(j, who ai'e all actiiip; in co-operation and nnder the surveillance
iif !,ho niinistens; the school houses sianihnjv along side of the churches.
The following excellent remarks are from the essay here noticed.

'' It will not 1)0 supposed that, in niakinfij those rouiarkB, we advocate any
pchiine ofHUchlatitiidniaiian coinpielionHlvonoKBas may tond toiiidifferetitism
111 iiatlois of loHgion. Wi' only express our earnest hope that {Scottish com-
nioi! f-enso will not allow dili'oreuces, Avhich uulnippily do exist, to interfere
witli a groat Christian and patriotic intoiest, ant that all paitiou will lomcin-
!)<.•!• ihe voiy presaing necesuity foi' sumo united eflbrt ainonj^st Christians to
check the throatenin;^ progress of a barbarous heathenism wliicii is fast grow-
ing iibout our very doors. It is, happily, mo have said, the almost unaniniouB
v<^r(lict of the SioUish people, that education, to be good, must be religious—
ami, of course, religious toaehitig would cease to be really rehgiouB, if it were
reliiied aw.'iy by the omission of all doctrines to which i)erBon8 calling them<
Bolves Christiana have at any time objected. We advocate au earnest united
syi-tem, where men can unite ; separate systems, where they cacuot.

' If there can be no really good education which is not religious, there cer-
tainly can be no really religious education without a religiously disposed
ttacher. Wo hear a great deal now-a-days about Christian schools aud
Christian training, but there is no patent method for training boys as Christ'
tians without Cliristiau example.

" It never has been the theory of Scottish education for the poor, that the
schoolmaster is a mere secular instructor. How can the parent, in this class,
do thoroughly the work imposed on him? Thank God, there arc still in
Scotland many specimens of the old God-fearing Scotch peasantry. They
may be fit thus to rule and train their boys ; but we are sure they would be
the very last to wish that the schoolmaster should forget the religious res-
ponsibilities of his office. Unfortunately the number of such peasants by no
means bears the same proportion to the population as it did in the old uaya
The swarming thousands of the abject poor in our large towns, how can they
gain a religious training from their degraded homes? Indeed, we must say
of very many thousanda of this class, that, if they are to have a religious
trail ing at all, it must be given thera in counexion with their Bchool."

These extracts and illustrations niiglit be extended indefinitely to
prove the one thing, that in the United Kingdom and throughout
Europe, on whatever side we turn our attention, be it Sweden or France,
Doninaik or Italy, one unmistakeable fact, in education, is pi-esent to our
view, namely, that denominational Christianity is the Christianity of
the Common Schools. However, as the European Common Schools
are constructed on the Prussian model it is sufficient for our
purpose to know what that model is, in so far as religious doctrinal
teaching is comprised. And the evidence of our Chief Superin-
tendent has been preferred, because, in the first ])lace, it covera
effectually the whole ground, with respect to the religious doctrinal
foundation of the Prussian system; and, in the second, it is lesa
likely to be objected to, in any discussion that may proceed from
the publication of these pages. It may sometimes happen that,
in rural districts and from the necessity of circumstances, the schools
are, to a large extent, mixed, and the religious instruction has to
be given separately; or, as in France, where, long after the enact-
ment of the Common School law, in 1838, the teachers, in moat of the

beiiiff unable

religioi

had to be

instmction,
iding of the Bible. Still, such cases are only
The intention of Cousin and Guizot was to

communes,

limited simply to the r€
exceptions to the rule,
give the greatest prominence to religious training in the Common
Schools of France; for, in this, they copied, to the letter, the Prussian
system, which they followed as a pattern. The evidence of our Chief
Superintendent is, therefore, the most unexceptionable, aa it describes
tlie general religious character of the Prussian schools, and is less likely
to be questioned by the disciples of Mr. Mann. As the best exponent
of the educational views of English voluntaries, Mr. Edward Bains of
Leeds has been selected. This gentleman has spoken so forcibly on
the government scheme, and occupies such a prominent position
among the Nonconformist';, as tlieir mouth-piece, that his testimony
cannot possibly be refused. For the same reason, the North British
Review is taken to illustrate the opinion of the voiuntjiries in Scotland,
on the subject of Common Schools. Upon the whole then, as it would
have been superfluous to furnish evidence from the Est;iblisliments
whose denominational school prolilcctions admit of no coinpromiso,
what has l)een done is the seloctioii of nuthoritios at:;ainst whcse testi-
mony no objection can be brought, on the ground either of political or
religious prej udices.

The Irish National Schools are not noticed in these remarks, on
account of their peculiar nature; being, in fact, an e.yception to the
Common Schools of Europe, which are expressly intended for the
poorer classes. The Irish schools, on the contrary, weic established,
iiccording to the Act, "for the education of the poor of Ireland," and
consec[uently are more pauper schools than any thing else. The state
of religious feeling, besides, required special provisions, and an organi-
zation different from that of any other class of schools. On this head
there has been a great deal of mis,npprchension.*

* Since the above was put in type, tlie foUowiug haa .appeared in the Journa
«/ Education for last montli ; a prooi' that the experiment ol' schools without
doctrinal teaching, in Ireland, has beconne a connplete fuilnre : —

" HU Grace the Archbishop of Dublin has favoured us with a communication
in regard to the notice of the Irish Na'ional Schools, which appeared in the
/o?<rna/o/"ii'(/HCrt<iO« for November last. He says. The Commissioners have
omitted [from their report] some mo^t impoitaut particnlars. The District
Model School at Clonmel, was built at a great expense, on a very grand scale,
wholly at the cest of the government. And it had for several years from 300
to 400 pupils, of all religious denomiiuitinus, and would have had more had there
been room : and it tiouribhed much. The pupils, are now reduced to four,
owing to grants having been ma.de by the Board to other schools near wholly
under sectarian patronage. And the like is going en, I understand, in most of
the other District Model Schools."

1
i

CHAPTER II

TUB SBCULAR BASIS OF THE COMMON SCHOOLS OF AMERICA.

As the various forms of the Common School system, existing in the
United States and Canada, are modelled on the plan established in
Massachusetts, an examination of the features of the original type will
enable us the better to recognise the similitude between the several
branches of the same family. In doing this it is necessary to make
large quotations from the writings of Mi'. Mann, the architect and
authorized expositor of the Massachusetts Common School 8}'8tem ; the
more so because what he has written on the subject was approved of
and sanctioned by the legislature of the State, and, therefore, constitutes
the best source from which to draw our information.

In the conception and execution of his design Mr. Mann appeai-s to
have been governed by two ideas. Being himself a Unitarian, he
^ecided on uniformity; and as a lejrublican he, of course, favored
equality. The circumstances of a preponderating Unitarian population
in Boston and a republican form of government, favored his lUKhrtak-
ing. Accordingly, in constructing his school system, on the score of
religion there was to be no sectarianism, while on that of citizenship there
should be no distinction of ranks. He had resolved, in order to estab-
lish uniformity in religion and equality in citizenship, that the children
of the State should be educated by the Sti\te. That they should sit on
the same forms, join in the same religious exercises, and that the expense
of supporting the schools should be paid by a general tax. So far as
the object aimed at was to establish Unitarianism as the school religion
of the state, and equality as the political basis of a republican school
constitution, Mr. Mann and the Unitarians of Boston, undoubtedly, con-
ceived that they were adapting the system to suit the circumstances of a
Unitarian and Republican community ; and it signifies not to us whether
these ends were answered or not, so long as we are satisfied, from the
evidence before us, that these were the real objects contemplated by the
authors of the system. On this point, as Canadians, we are particu-
larly interested; for if, as it will appear in the sequel, the conditions for
a school system in Massachusetts, are diametrically opposed to the con-
ditions for a school system in Canada, where the form of government
and the religious communities are altogether dissimilar, the conclusion
will be unavoidable, that what took place in 1840, namely, the adop-
tion in Canada of the Massachusetts school eysteni, was a palpable
mistake.

Tlio moans employed by Mr. Mann to carry out the principles of
lepublican equality in the schools, were the making them free, and
providing for their support by a general tax on the inhabitants of tho
State. As, liowever, the right to tax the pioperty of all for the educa-
tion of all was disputed then, as it is still, l>y a respectable minority,
and difticulties in tho working of the free scliuols had arisen therefrom,
it became necessary to show the ground on which tho right was
assumed; and Mr. Mann who had been Secretary of the Board of
Education during ten years, undertook tho duty in his Tenth Annual
lleport, which was so well received by tho Legislature of Massachusetts,
that ten thousand copies of a revised edition were ordered fur distribu-
tion, and a suitable compensation was voted to tho author. The fol-
lowing selections taken from that oflficial document go to show the
strange grounds on which it is assumed the property of all should be
taxed for the support of free schools.

"In later times, and since the achievement of Americun independence, the
universal and ever-repeated argument iu favor of Free Schools has been, that
the general intelligence which they are capable of diffusing, and which can
be imparted by no other human instrumentality, is indispensable to the con-
tinuance of a republican government. This argument, it is obvious, assumes,
as & postulation, the superiority of a republican over all other forms of govern-
ment ; and, as a people, we rcligiousiy believe in the soundness, both of the
assumption and of the argument founded upon it. * * * *
Admitting, nay, claiming for ourselves, the substantial justness and sound-
ness of the general grounds on which our system was originally established
and has since been maintained, yet it is most obvious tha^ unless some
broader and more comprehensive principle can be found, the system of Fre§
Schools will be repudiated bv whole nations as impolitic and dangerous ;
and, even among ourselves, till who deny our premises will, of course, set at
nought the conclusions to which they lead. # # # Even in tho
State of New York, with all its noble endowments, the Schools are not Free.
I believe that this amazing dereliction from duty, especially in our own
country, originatea more in the false notions which men entertain rcapeoting
the nature oftJwir riffht to property, than in any tiling else, * • »
It seems not irrelevant, tnerefore, in this connection, and for the purpose of
strengthening the foundation on which our Free School system reposes, to
inc^uire into the nature of a man's right to the property he possesses ; and to
satisfy ourselves respecting the question, whether any man has such an in-
defeasible title to his estates, or such an absolute ownership of them, as
renders it unjust iu the govoi-nment to assess upon him his share of the
expenses of educaliug the cliildren of the community, up to such a point as
the nature of the institutions under which he lives, and the well-being of
society, rofiuire. # # # In the majority of cases, all that we call
property, all that makes up the valuation or inventorjr of a nation's capital,
was prepared at the creation, and was laid up of old in the capacious store-
houses of nature. For every miit that a man earns by his own toil or skill,
he receives hundreds and thousands, without cost ana without recompense,
from the AU-bountiful Giver. A proud mortal, standing in the midst ol his
luxuriant wheat-fields or cotton-plantations, may arrogantly call them hia
own ; yet what barren wastes would they be, did not Heaven send down
upon them its dews and its rains, its warmth and its light ; and sustain, for
their growth and ripening, the grateful vicissitudes of the seasons ! It is said
that fVom eighty to ninety per cent, of tho very substance of some of the
great staples of agriculture are not taken from the earth, but are absorbed
from the air ; eo that ther.e productions may more properly be called fruita of
the atmosphere than of the soil. Who prepares this elemental wealth ? Who
scatters it, like a sower, through all tho regions of the atmosphere, and sends

tlic ridily-fieighttil wiiidrt, as Win nieM«'njLcerp, to l)«>ar to PAcii leaf in the for-
est, mid to earli bliicle in the collivati'<l tit-ltl, the iiouiishment whicii their
iiitiijitely*variu(i needs deninml V Aided \)y Tnarliiiiery, €% sinf^le nianiifnr-
turer pcrl'ornis the labor of luindreds of men. Yel w hut could lie acconi])lifeh
without tlie weight of the waters which God cauHea ceaselessly to flow V or
without th()8(t gi;,'<'intic forces which Ho has giv«n to Ht(;iiMi '( And how
Would the coninierce of I he world Ihj canieil on, were it noi for those ^reat
laws of nature, — of electricity, of condensation, and of rarefaction, — that give
birth to the winda, which, in corifonnity to the will of Heaven, and not ia
obedience to any power of man, forever traverse the eiirth, and oUer theni-
Belvos as an unchartered medium for interchanging^ the (imd nets of all the
EoncR ? These fmv refereiicrs sliow how vast a proportion of nil the wealth
which men presumptuously call their own, because they claim to have earned
it, is poured into their laii, uiuiskcd and unlhanked for, by the Being so in-
liuitely gracious in his physical as well as in his moral bestow nients. But
for whose subsistence and benefit were these exhaustless treasuries of wealth
created ? Siirely not for any tme man, nor for any one generation ; but for
the subsistence and benefit of the whole race, from the beginning to the end
of time. # # # Another consideration, bearing upon this arro-
gant doctrine of absolute ownership or sovereignty, lias hardly less force than
the one just expounded. We have seen how insi]t?niricaut a portion of any
nmn's possessions he can claim, in any proper and just sense, to have earned ;
and that, in regard to all the residue, he is only taking his turn in the use of
a bounty bestowed, in comynon, by the Giver of all, ujion his ancestors, upon
himself, and uiion his posterity, — a line of indefinite length, in which he is
but a point. But this is not the (tnly deduction to be made from his assumed
rights. The preaent wealth of the world has an additional element in it.
Much of all that is capable of lieing earned by man, has been earned by our
predecessors, and has come down to ua in a solid and enduring form. We
nave not erected all the houses in which we live ; nor constructed all the
roads ou which we travel ; nor built all the ships in which we carry on our
commerce with tlie world. We have not reclaimed from the wilderness all
the fields whose harvests we now reap ; and if we had no precious metals, or
stones, or ])earls, but such as we ourselves had dug from the mines, or brought
up from the bottom of the ocean, cur coffers and our caskets would be empty
indeed. But even if this were not so, whence came all the arts and sciences,
the discoveries and the inventions, without which, and without a common
right to which, the valuation of the property of a whole nation would scarcely
equal the inventory of a single man —without which, indeed, we should now
be in a state of bai'barism ? Whence came a knowledge of agriculture, with-
out which we should have so little to reap ; or a knowledge of astronomy,
without which we could not traverse the oceans ; or a knowledge of chemis-
try and mechanical philosophy, without which the arts and trades could not
exist ? Most of all tnis was found out by those who have gone before us, and
some of it has come down to us from a remote antiquity. Surely all these
boons and blessings belong as much to posterity as tu ourselves."

" Surely these considerations limit still more extensively that absolute
ownership which is so often claimed by the possessors of wealth."

" To draw conclusions without considering these facts is to leave out the
most important part of the premises. A powerful corroborating fact remains
untouched. Though the earth and the beneficent capabilities with which it
is endued belong in common to the race, yet we find that ipTeyioua and present
possessors haxe laid their hands upon the whole of U; — have left no pari of it
unclaitned and unappropriated They have circumnavigated the globe ; they
have dr«wn lines across every habitable portion of it, and have partitioned
anaongst themselves, not only its whole area, or superficial contents, but have
claimed it down to the centre, and up to the concave, — a great inverted
pyramid for each proprietor,— so that not an unclaimed rood is left, either iu
the caverns below or in the ^rial spaces aboTe, where a new adventurer upon
existence can take unresiated possesfiion. They have einierii into a solemn

.1 f

fompact viih each other, for the mutual (kfencc of their renpectlvc allotmait^. They
have oro.'itrd Icj^islators, and judges, and cxccutivo officers, who deuoiiiice
and iiiHict penalties even to the takinj^ of li.'e ; and they have organized armed
Imndu to repel (lejejretsion upon fhnr dnimn. Indeed, so grnsping and rapncioug
have mankind been, in this partioular, that lliey have taken more than they
ootdd use, mere. than they conid peratnhnlate and survey, more tlian they
foidd see from the top ot the niaist-liead, or from the higliest peak of the
moinitain. 'I'liere was some limit to thoirjihysieal jioAvorof taking possession,
hilt none to the exorbitancy of their desirt's. Like robbers, Avho divide their
KlHtils before they know wjiether they shall find a victim, men have claimed
!i continent while still donbtfnl of itsexistence, and spread out their title from
"cenn to ocean, before tlieir most adventnrouH pifnieers had ever seen a shore
of the realms they covcteil. '1 he whole jtlanet, then, having been appropriated,
— there l>eing no waste or open lands, from wliich the new generations may
lie siipijlied as they come into existence, — liave not thoxc f/encratl'ms the
Mroiiffesf foiu'dvaJilc vhdm upon the pre.ievf ocrupatit.'i far ihot u'hich is indinpen'
sntilr. to their veil heiniiif TlieyhaveiDtirethema preernjitive, they have ((posneHnory
rif/ht to some portion of the ia.viefi and prnjits of that ejcnernl domain, all of which
huft been thus ted en up and npproprintrel.

Four years after the piiblioation of this Report and its peculiar
assumptions had been (.'xton.siv(:ly circulated, tlie obstacles to the progress
of Free Schools a|)jx'ar to have iiicreaso(h It was found that in
Massachusetts as cvcrv whei'e else, the children uf the rich ^vould not
.''it on the same school forms with the children of the poor; that
re[)id>lican theories and the practicnliiies of common lifi; were at
variant?L'; and that (ho doctrine of equality cnuld not be realizeil. 'J1ii«
is shown in the Fourteenth Annual lieport by Carnas Scars, the
Secretary of the Board, {is follows,

•' In many parte of the State the Common Schools languish in consequence
of the patronage given to acndeiniis and private schools. The former are
■upporieil l)v a moderate tav, for llie t-ole benefit of the common and laboring
1,'iasses. while the imjioilaiice of the means of educatii h for the children of
these classes is acknowledged, theve is no iiuliicenient for th.e tax-payers,
Avliose children are educated elsewhere, to provide any but the must ordinary
.uccomniodations for the Common Schools. In those places where such
practice prevails, the schoolhoiise is ccjinmonly old and dilapidated, the seats
and desks inconvenient ai.d disfigured, the teacher poorly qualified for his
task, the manners of the pu])i]s rude, and the whole condition of the school
such tliat the children of a refined family would be more injured than bene-
tited by beiiiy sent to it. Here tlie following dilemma presents itself. The
twhools caiiiiot be ifnproved till the belter families, so called, shall consent to
patronize them as their own. These families will not consent to send their
children to the Comnion Schools in their present condition. No otlier obstacle
to the cause of popular e<lucafion is so great, in the places referred fo. as this.
^fcn, M'Jio hexvc striven for a Innei course of years to excite, an interest in behalf of
1 lie Public Schools, liave met villi this ditficalty wherever they have e/onc, and as
yd 710 means ef overcoming it have been found. There the evil is, vnabatcd by all
the efforts that have been made, and those who have been most zealous in the vork
etrc 'beginning to ekspond. What, then, remains to be done? The system itself
i.nust Ijo changed ; it is the interest of all classes in the community to unite
in changing it. Let those who now educate their children at private schools,
and those who are obliged to educate theirs in Common School, if they edu-
cate them at all, confer together, and unite their influence in the annual town
meeting, to bring about, for their mutual benefit, a new state of things."

" Teachers of eleveded character and refined manners could be employed, and a
fiate of morals prodmed in the schools tchich would render them as attractive as
they have hitherto been repidsivc to persons of pure taste and virtimts setdimetU.

<■ >

They
loiince
armed
)ivciiou8
ill thoy
n they
; tif the
scssiou,
lo their
:'laiinc(l
lie I'rom
.1 hIiovo
ipiiated,
)iis may
ions the
mlinpen-
wssfKRory
of which

pcculiJir
prfigress

that in
/oukl not
oor; tliat

were at
-e.L Thif^
5cavs, the

wse(iuonce
l'( inner lire
id liiboring
children of
tax- payers,
,8t ordinary
where such
,a,the seats
itied for his

■ the school
than Ijcne-
itself. The

11 consent to
t(i send their
tluT obstacle
ato. asthis.
i in behalf of

■ qonc, and as
nabatcd by all
us in the tvork

fivstcm itsolt
uiity to unite
•ivate schools,
, if they cdu-
B annual to-vrn
of things."

•^ >

Afloycd, and a
as atlraciive at
uoMfi sefditnetU.

• * • It would *»eoin Hupornnous to hIiow how much bettor it would be
for the coiMinuiiity, i( all would uiiih- iu the Kupuortof I'ublic Schools of a
lugh order, tliuu lo iiUeinpl to sustain a twu-told syHteiu of education, —
(Joirimon Sciiools for the ctiildrcn of tho poor, and acaduiniea and private
Hcliools for tho children of tin' rich. Tlie childu'ii of tho alUueuL oiit^ht, for
their own sakes, to learn early, licfnici tlioir niindH arc vitiated with ideas of
fiictiti(»tH (li.slinctions, to t.ike their pcisifion according lo |)orsional nu'ritalone.
As this irt the standiird liy wliieli i^wvy one niuwt, slund or fii.ll, the sooner he
takes his proper place; upon the true [»latfoirn of American hoc iety, tlio bettor
will it be for him and his coimtry."

Before Icavino* tliis part of tlio sultjoct, it may bu instructive to give,
licre, tho argmnont of tho present Chief Sujjorintendentof Schools for
Upper Canad.'t, to the same purport. Dr. llycrson'.s address on Free
Schools, piilthshcd iu tho Annual lu^port fur 1849, and again in the
Report for 1862, states iis follows: —

" The method which, I believe, you will find tnost officiont, has been thus
delined : — ' A tax u|hiii the prop(;ity of all, by the majority, for the education
of all.' # » » The uniKitunil aijil unpatriotic s^'paration of tho wealthier
classes from the common school, h;i.sca,ised its iuelliciency and lalleged dei^ra-
tlalioii. Had the wealthy cli^scs been identitied with tho common schools
e(|iially with their poorer nei;:;libois, — as istliecaso in free school countries —
the common scho(d would have been lit for tlie education of tlieir children,
and |)roportionally better than it now is for the eilucatioa ol the children of
the more numerous common classes (tf society."

iNlr. Mann, true, to the orii;'inal idea of free schools, namely, the
]tres'jrv.'vti(jn of u vepuhlican consritution, in selecting tho branches of
study limited them to the specilic object which he intended thoy should
serve. Tliat object as wo ha\'o seen was exclusively seculai'. Free
education was to maho good citizens, and good citizens v,'onld preserve
the republican constituUon. This was the argument prunutlgated by
the free school authorities. We have now to see how the education in
the schools w;\s confined, specially, to this secular object. Mr. Maim's
lleport is again the best testimony. At page 17 is tho following, —

"In regai'd to the apjilicatiou of this principle of natural law, that is in
regard to the extent of the education to bo provided for at the public expense,
— some differences of opiuion may fairly exist, under different political
organizations; but for our republican government, it seems clear that the
iiiiuimum of this education can never be less tliaii such as is sufficient to
inialify each citizen for the civil and^ social duties he will be called to dis-
<'har<j;e ; such an nducati<ui as teaches the individual the great laws of bodily
lioalth ; as (jualities fur the fidtilnieiit of parental duties ; as is indispensable
for the civil functions of a witness or a juror ; as is necessary for the voter in
imniicipal and in national afl'uirs ; and finally, as is requisite for the faithful
and conscientious discharge of all those duties which devolved on the
inheritor of a portion of the sovereignty of this great republic."

The School Law is of the same tenor, strictlv limitiuof the studies
and the duties of teachers to secular instruction. The Vth Sect., Chap.
23, of the Revised Statutes, enacts as follows: —

"It shall be tho duty of the President, Professors, and Tutors of the
University at Cambridge, and of the several Colleges, and of all Preceptors
and Teachers of Acadetnies and all other Instructors of youth, to exert their
best endeavors, to impress on the minds of children and youth, committed to
their care and instruction, the principles of piety, j ustice, and a sacred regard

fft fMtB, lore to (tirir coimfry, Innnunity nml iiiiivArHaT hrnfl?oI('np<«//<()li'''iV>,''f
industry, ntid t'liigality, chastity, riKxIcrutidii, iiiul t«>iii|i«<rniirt>, linil t1ini^>
other virtiK'H, wliioh are th* oriiRiiiPiit of luirnim xofii'ty, nvd l!.,> hnnh 7tj>or
tnhich (! rfimhl'i'itn cwnftiMl'm in f\>iiuiU4 ; hikI it Mhull hf \\\v duty of Hiu-h
luHtnictorh to endeavor to lead tlioir pupiln, uh their age* and r.ipai'ititH will
admit, into a clear \iMder8tuiidiii\( ot the U'ndrnry of ike "'ifyvft'-mmifxyHed
virtnnn, to prrarrve and pfrfict a n piiUirmi conhtilniion, and hj-cure tht-
bloHHingfl ot lil)t'rly, aH well an to iXDimite thfir fulure liappiiif****, aud ulho to
point out to theiri the evil twiiduiicy uf ihi? oj>p(niit' vices/'

This liiw, with two or thrco nvxlifioMtions, h»w boon copi<.'H int/> the
regulatious on n'ligio'.iB and inornl instruction tWr T.Tpppj. Caiuvla, Hgain
exhibitinjj tht; pitMlilcction for tho syciilur f-'piiMiran systeni. Hero is
the copy from the Upper Canada School rfjifiilatioHs:— *

" In each School the Teach«r ^liould ex»'rl liih Ix^st "ud^avorB, both by
pxamplw juid precept, to impress upon lli«« mliidrt of jdl children ami youil)
comnntted to hie cure and iuKtruction, the piiuoiple^ of p'ety, jui^tice, and o^
sacred regard to truth; lovo to tlieir country ; hmn<viii-ty and 'imvcrBal
benevolence; Hobriety, in«IUKity, frugality, cluiHiity, riK»d<'rit»oi!. (tMrtporanco,.
and those other tirtues which are the ornament of society, and on wl»ich u
free constitution of govfrnnient is founded ; and it is the duty of each'
Teacher to endeavour to lead his pupii,i, as their ages Rud capacities will
admit, into a clear iuuler«tanding of th*" tendency »)f the ab<)ve-nicntioned
Tirtues, iu ord«5r to preserve and i)erft'ct th- hlesningH of law and liberty, as
well as to promote their future hnp|)iiioss, aud uko to poiut out to thaui tl>c
evil tendency of the opposite vices,''

Notwithstanding the vague expresfnoii's on the teaching of Clwistiaii
mofal«, ill a practical point of view the completely ^'eculur character of
American Schools is fully established. This becomes nimijfest, again,
ill what ifl caHe<-l the religious study prescribed for tl«3 Normal Scheols,
which is all comprksed in the following wo-xls, " the principles oi* piety
and morality common to nil sects of ('^uistians." This is all the pro
Tision made for religious instruction in the Normal Schools of Massa-
chusetts. Small, howoveF, as it is^ it will baffle the moat patient
enquirer to discover what the pruiciples ate which are common to all
sects. For example, in reading Scripture or expounding the writings
of the Apostles, liow is it possible to avoid the questions of adult or
infant '>apti»ra, the humanity or divinity of Christ, predestination or
grace \ id good works, the corporeal or spiritual resurrection of the
dead, the immaculate conception, th« millenium, transubstantiatiou.
universal redemption, eternal punishment, the sacraments, t)w trinity,
and so many q,uestions of a similar kind on which the d" ^ t^r.i .ic'd
disagree? Aud if the Scriptures cannot te read nor the tex^. f;:?p.)U hU i.^,
Vithiout falling fowl of these repudiated tenets, how is it po; 'bin r'jal .ne
Scripttwes '^an be read to satisfy the school requirements ? Here is »
dilemiiDa.

As the Sc>ool Law of Upptyf CaiMida limits what is called religious
instruction to ti-^ same secular purpose, it con8eq.ueatly gives the same
character <j\ it'.: -lui^^j >'«8 to t'- ; mode in which the itistrueliion is to be
communic'iuAl. K?ery thin/^ is left to depend on the example and
precept of ti^) tet*,' u or. Except "the principles of piety," alt the other
yirtues enumerated, come purely within the scope of humaa maimerB,.

'C«Ile<l, by Amoi'ican tilucationisN, tnoiali; but which nro, in tho ptrict-
mi H(«nKt\ sul)H)rvi«!Ut to nnfrcly H«'iulur cikU. Hero, wo have now to do
with tho n^h'jjions chaiactor cl" tlio toachor and the itrinripIeB o<* pioty;
Jor it is evidcti tijat the prini'iplcs of pi<'ty, whatever thoy nrti, wiU
L'ov(irn and iu u w)<at measure torin tho diaractor of tho ti>a<dior, \nd
that thd chill actor 110 I' >rinod ie tho oxetnplnry oharnolcr on wh'vh th<
roligiouH iuHtrmli'ti in tt.^; *. Iio»>1k iH made altogethiir to i.

VVhiitovor cl'Mnent of r»'li<:rioii there in in tho «chool syfitcin is, thor. ,)re,
oomprinod in i''-i word H'^v. Now wliat is piety? 1h it » '•euiinient
emauatinrf from the roligiou of nati""*! or the reiiij^ion >f Christ? h it
that vai,'ue idea of tho incomprolionsil>J<? attributes rtC a wystorious
HUi>erhuinMn ]>owor, peeuliar to a savage and unrhristianizoil state of
society; or docs it comprohend tho schotne of redemption, which marks
tho radical distinction between tho two roHginns' That there iiiav be
no dispute about the character of the authoriiy cit^'d to decide *\\ih
point, preference iu hero given to Wolister's l^i'tkniMiy, becauno it i- '"
dictionary authorise*! to be usoil In tho Mav-^-husctts Hohools. lie. :
.iro the two definitions from Webster's Cioarto Kdition:

" 1. Piety in principle is a comnound of vcneratinii or reverence if the
Supreme Ueini,' aixl ii>v(! of his chaiact*r, or ve«eiati(>n aocompaniv ! with
love ; arid pii'ty in practice, is the exercise of tl ose nftectionH ia obedituice to
his will and devotion to his service.

"2. llcverenoc of parents or friends accoii anied with atlectioa and
devotion to their honor and hapiiiiiess."

According to this, the religion rfqnirtd of the teacher is, ns be#)re
stated; pure deism or the religion of nature. To give it the designation
that it embodies the principles of piety and monils commcni to all sects
of Christians, is a delusion; for this reason that, if the doctrines be
oxpunged on wliich are founded the distinctions >f sects, nothin.' will
remain of the fundamental essence and ground work of Christi nitv,
namely, redemption from original sin through t K divine mediation.
Those who maintain the contrary of what is here 4ated, are bound to
show the process of sublimating a Christian C!reoi out of the concrete
(dements of what is known, at the present day, as the Christian Church.
If they cannot do this, they must renounce the issumption that the
Common Schools are Christian, and that Christianity is the basis of
education.

Tho care with which e\ery thing having referenc: to the Christian
doctrines is excluded from the schools, appears in the regulations.
What is CiUled religious instruction is tliere limited o "the principles
oC piety," "morals," "good behavior," and " mannei-s." Such is the
burden of the laws ha\ing referonco to what is termed religion. They
.xtond no farther. On the other hand, the religious exercises do not

'. 'seril.ie the reading of the ycrii.turos, but only portions of them.

riiifi limitation is worthy of notice. Tho subliinat d moral teacher
Aould have his convictions shocked, and the piety and good behavior
• f Iiis ].upils eontaininatod by those portions which refer to the Trinity,
iO tile Jiv iuiiy of Christ, and othei- poiuLs whereon the ditfereut sect*

are divided. The exercises are, therefore, prescribed an ' restricted so
as to avoid this. The hw ordains that, " a portion of the Scriptures
shall be read daily in every St; ie Normal School." This is all the
I'cligious exercise prescribed for this class of schools. The law for the
Primary Schools is as follows : —

" Opening Exercises of the Schools. — Iti order to impress on tlie iniuds of the
pupils the [importance of religious duties, aud their entire dependence on
their Maker, the Teachers are required to open their Schools, in tne morning,
by the reading of a portion of Scripture, with singing aud prayer." — (See
Eules 135, 136.)

" The audible repetition of the Lord's Prayer, by every Scholar, shall form
a part of the openiug exercise ; and the Ten Commandments shall be audibly
repeated, in the same manner, at least once a week." — (See Rule 135.)

If the ten commandments or the Lord's Prayer had contained the
^.east reference to the essential elements of Christianity they would have
been also discarded. The reason why they form part of th' exorcises
and have obtained admission is, because of their having no expression
which directly or indirectly can bo construed to pertain to these
essentials.

In Canada the Common School law, which is equally scrupulous to
preserve uniformity in both the general features and details of the
system, and studiously conforms to the original Boston typo, makes no
specific provision* for religious instruction or even religious excroise>.
This is left to the discretion of the Trustees, and the way in which
they generally act can best be illustrated by what the}' have done in
Toronto, where the Boston free school system has been fully adopted
and in full operation for five yt ai-s. Previous to December of la&t
year the Trustees had, consistent!}' with free school prin(.'iples, declined
to have other than good behaviour, manners, morals and piety inculcated
by means, simply, of example on the part of the teaehors. The schoi:>ls,.
in the mean time, notwithstanding hirge assessments and an extraordi-
nary expenditure for spacious and commodious buildings, were in a
most unpromising conditi<m. The average number of children attending
was nmch the same as in 1847, the year previous to the introduction
of the free system, while the assessment for school purposes had risen
from £490, in 1847, to £4,225, in 1854, and the number of children
between 5 and 10 years of age had increased within the same period,
from 5,000 to 9,000. Disappointed with this result of a six yearb
experience of free schools, the Trustees se(3med to entertain an impression
that the godless character ascribdl to the schools \\ as the cause of thoii
want of success, and imagined that if religious exercises could be
introduced the experiment might be prevented from becoiniiig a total
failure. Accordinorh", in December of last vear, as state(i, ilu-x ])nssed
the following regulation : —

"That a portion of the Holy ^'crinliires and tlie Lord's Pi aver be read
morning and evening by the teailici.s of each departnitMit in all tiie city
Bchools. The portion of the Scriplure-^ to bo selected ])y the Local Suitorin-
teudent, subject to the approval of the Board."

This production of the Toronto Board of School Trustees, it will bo

seen, is in precise conformity with the Boston regulations. Faithful to
the origuial type, a porHo)i of Scripture is to be read. An<l even that
portion must be selected by the Local Superintendent. But not even sat-
isfied with this, the selections made by the Local Superintendent must be
approved of by the Board of Trustees. Why all these precautions ? Why
subject the teachers to the Local Superintendent, and in adi.lition require
the supervisorshi}) of the Board ! What do the Scriptures contain, that
the Board is afraid should be read ; or wherein is any member of the
Board or the Local Superintendent, or are even the board and superin-
tendent, collectively, more competent than the teachers to make
selections unless it be that the selections may contain nothing which is
essential to the character of the Christian religion, or which may conflict
with the sublimated piety prescribed by the Boston educationists, as the
authorised basis of what is called religious instruction in the free
schools ? The principle of the Protestant i-eforraation must be bad and
Luther and his associates must have made a great mistake, when it
becomes necessary to establish a complicated censorship on the reading
of the Scriptures.

From what has been said, and the testimony adduced from official
sources and established regulations, it is manifest that the basis of the
Canadian school system is exclusively secular ; and that what it assumes
as a religious foundation, namely, " piety," " love f<>r religion" and
"morals" are nothing' else than o-euuine deism with the human manners
of " the man Jesus" superadded. This is a lamentable conclusion and
a melancholy fact ; but thei'c is no way of escaping from deductions
honestly arrived at, through a chain of testimony admitting of no
dispute.

CHAPTEH III.

PRACTICAL RESULTS OF THE EURO PK AN AND AMERICAN SYSTEMS OF

COMMON SCHOOLS.

Fortunately, the practical results of the Eurupuau Common School
system are easily stated ; for they have formed tlia subject of almost
every official report proceeding iVom American authorities who have
])crsonally examined that system ; and in no case, it is believed, are they
represented otherwise, than in terms of the most unqualified approval.
It would be an easy matter to produce a mass of testimony, from the
Writings of e}'c witnesses, to prove the excellence of the eighteen public
schools of Heidelberg ; the 0,508 primary schools of Bavaria, besides
its thirty-two mechanics' schools, its seventy Latin schools, its three Poly-
technic Schools, its eight Normal ScIkxiIs, its seventy-four Gynmasiums,
its nine Lyceums and its three Unlvei-sities, all public such asour common
schools: the two thousand two hundred common schools of Wurtem-
burg; the Wiesbaden poor school; the schools of Fraidifort on the
Maine; those of Beilin, including its thirteen free schools for the poor,
with a school attendance of 12,000 poor children. Such witnesses
could be ma«le available if necessity required, to satisfy us of the
efficiency of the teachers, and the genei'al success attending the work of
education. It is much jtreferable, however, to take the evidence of one
who has been considered ^y Americaneducationists, an unexceptionable
authoi'ity. ^Ir. Mann has recorded his testimony with reference both
to pai'ticular school visits and to the general character of the Prussian
schools. lie is, therefore, the n)Ost suitable authority on this occasion;
the more so on account of the um-eservcd manner in which he discourses
on the subject. Here is his testimony : —

" "Witli us it too often happens that if a liirjlier1)rancli, — Geometry, Natnra'
Philosophy, Zoology, IJotany, — is to be tauyht, both Tcaclier and Class iiius^
have text books. At the beginninfr of tliese text-books, all tlio technica
names, and deiinitions are set down, Tliese, before the pupil liiis any
practical idea of Iheir nieauinj:^, imist be ronmiitted to memory. Tlie l)ook
is then studied chapter by chapter. At the b(»ttom of each ])age or at the
end of the sections, arc questions jointed at full length. At the recitations
tlic Tenclu.'r holds on to these leadina' strings. lie introduces no collateral
knowledge, lie exliildts no relaliiui lictween wh'M, is contained in the book,
and other kindred subjects, or the actual business of men and tlie affairs of
life. At length tlie day of examination comes. The juipils rehearse from
memory with a suspicious flui'ucy : <in l^eing asked for some useful applica-
tion of their knoAvJedge — son:e jiractical comicxion between that knowledge
and the concerns of life, — they aie silent or give smne ridiculous answer,
which at once disparages science, and gi'atilies the ill-lnimour of sumo
ignorant satirist. Jjut the I'mssian Teacher has no book ; lie needs none, he

I caches from a full mind. He cumhers and darkens the subject with no
technical phraseology. He observes Avhat proficiency the child has made,
and then adapts his insti'uctions both in quality and ainmiut to the necessity
of the rase. He answers all questions ; he solves ali doubts. It is one of
his objects at every recitation so to present ideas, that they sliall start doubts
and provoke questions. He coiniects the sulijects of each lesson with all
kindred and collateral ones, and shows its relations to the every-day duties
and business of life ; and should tlio most ignorant man ask him of what use
such knowledge can bo, ho will prove to him in a word, tliat some of his
own pleasures or means of subsistence are dependent upon it ; or have been
created or improved by it. In the mean time the chddren are delighted.
Their perceptive ^lowers are exercised ; their reflective faculties are deve-
loped ; their moraf sentiments are cultivated.''

Such is ,1 apocimen of a Prussian Schoolmaster ; a man who not only
knows a great deal more than ho is required to teach, but knows also
how to apply his acrpiiremonts to their light purpose. What more is
wanted to jnake a o-ood school ? Is not this sufficient ? The Teacher
commands the respect of the 'parents, and consequently that of the
children. Why ? Because he is competent ; because he knows his
duty; because, in addition to his scholarship, he has a religious faith;
and because ho is, therefore, fit to assume the place which the parent
ought to fill. But suppose he had been a ])erson such as Mr. Mann
says the American Teachers are. One who had attended two terms in
an American Normal School, and there picked up, superficially, some
crude notions about the materials and routine of a school, and, in
addition, the necessary elements of "piety and morals;" would it not
bo necessary in such case to em]»l<iy out-d(X)r means, such af are used
in Boston, to force the children into atten<iance? -And why would this
be necessary in the American case, where the schools are free, and not
in the Prussian, where the school-rate has to be paid ? The answer is
plain ; that not only is the school system wrong, but the work of teach-
ing, in the American Normal Schools, is misunderstood. This is no
vague assertion. The United States' School Reports prove it to be
correct.

In Toronto, the Board of School Trustees makes it a rule not to
employ an applicant, with even a first-class Certificate, from the Nor-
mal School, ])rovided any other teacher can be had. The reqpon
assigned is, that the teachers trained in that institution are not com-
petent, being considered remarkably superficial in their knowledge of
the sim])]e branches required to be taught in the Common Schools.
The following ren.arks of one of tlio Trustees, reported in the Globe of
26th Juno last, corroborates what is here stated: —

"Mr. Riddel said ho did not attach the slightest value to these first-class
certificates, llo had known first-class tx^achors turiiod out from the Normal
School, wlio could not even s]i(']] common English words of one syllable cor-
rectly. There were undue facilities atfordcd for obtaining such certificates
from the Normal School. lie iulonded at snmc future day to move tl Kit all
Citv Tcacliers be examined by the Superiniendent, ami a Oo.ninilteo of the
Board."

The opinion of the Trustees is, unquestionably, not entertained with

out substantial reasons. It is not to be supposed that with their well-
known prejudices in favor of the present .schoool nmcliinory they would
willinf>ly say one word to disparage the most vital of its conipartnaents.
If then the teachers prepared in the Normal School are deficient, and
the country is to sutler the consequences of that deficiency, a very
natural question arises: Where does the blame He ? Who is responsi-
ble ? The Normal School is supported at a considerable expense, and
to serve a specific purpose; to supj)ly the Common School wants of the
Province. Of what use is it then, if it cannot do the work for which
it is intended ? On this head, the opinion entertained of the teachers
in the vari(nis School Sections of the Province, is too \vell known to
require ilkistration here. One instance may be ii^iven, however, as a
specimen. It is from the Huron Signal of 11th January last, a staunch
free school paper : —

"Viewing the subject from these premises, it is matter of deep regret to be
forced to the conchision that the Town of Goderich occupies a less favorable
position iu the march of progress than it did four years ago, Tlie interest
taken in the cause of Common School Education, and the means of popular
instruction have retrograded very seriously since that time, and unless a new
impulse can be communicaled to our Townsmen on this all-important matter,
our excellent system of Provincial education will speedily become worst;
than a dead letter, in so far as Goderich is concerned. * * # *
The complaint, in the present instance, is against the male department of the
Common School, and regard for tlie host interests of the community cannot
afford to sj)are it either through fear or favor. Of the qualifications of the
gentleman wlio for about three years lias held tlie place of Teacher in the
Common School, it is not necessary 1o sny one word. He came here with a
rccommendiitiou from the Provincial Normal School, and that was all that
was necessary in so far as " rct'wj/iwiCTiJ«</o?i" was concerned, # <» *
Whether owing to the extra energy, success and pojiularity of the teacher
who immediately preceded him or to his own suj)erior method, or to want of
proper accommodation, we pretend not to determine, but certain it is, that the
present teacher had not been six mouths in the place till it became quite
evident that, either he was not qualified for the Common School or the Com-
mon School was not qualified for hini, and tliat his longer con+iauance could
not possibly be promotive of the interests of popular education.'^

We must not shut out, from our sight, the fact that, in Toronto, the
Board of School Trustees, with the best opportunities of ascertaining
the qualifications of teachers, will not employ those who come from the
Normal School with first-class certificates, provided any others jire to
be had. Clearly then, either the system itself is a wrong one, or the
local machinery is defective and the heads of the institution have not
been, themselves, properly trained in Normal School education in order
to become fitted for the ]>erforinance of their duties. Whichever of
these causes it may be, certain it is that no other can be pointed to, as
contributing to produce the abnormal condition of the Normal School.
The government ap])ropriation for the erection of the buildings, has
been most munificent, and the sti])ulated anntial grant for pre])aring a
suitable numlxn- and ])roper clrss of tea(.'hers to llU the Common Schools
of Upiier Canada, has been arn.ngcd on a scale calculatoil to f^upj>Iy its
utmost requirements. It cannot therefore be on tlu! ground of the
want of government liberality that the itistitution is incapable of doing
it« legitimate work.

Again, what guarantee is there that the teacliers prepared, such as
they are, will continue to follow tlui profession of teaching? AVhat has
become of the 1,204 Studenls attending the Normal School up to the
close of the year 1853 ? Has the majority of them turned Clerks, or
Storc-kee|jers, or gone back to farming? The advertisements that
appear daily in the newspapers for teachers, indicate one or other of
two things; either that these 1,264 have, most of them, abandoned the
profession, or they are not considered eligible by the 'i nistees of the
various school sections. This is a material consideration. These
teachers are prepared at the public expense; the instruction they
receive at the Normal School is gratuitous, and the jnie of their board
and lodging, while in attemlance, is paid for partly from the public
revenue. Yet if it is the C!vse, that they abandon afterwards the pro-
fession, the [)ublic money becomes then wastefully expended, to the
extent of that abandonment. Or if the estimate in which they are
held by the School Trustees is such that they cannot get employment
in the schools, the evil becomes then, not one of expenditure alone, but
a total destitution of those edui:ational facilities and instrumentalities
which the government is supposed to have provided.

A farther point equally requiring consideration is the extent to which
a defective means of normal school discipline operates to engender a
con\ iction in the minds of th.e teachers that they have mistaken their
calling', and how far this conviction induces them to abandon in diso-ust
their original intention. We are told that in Germany there is no pro-
fession that ranks higher than that of a schoolmaster. The reason why
this is the ca^e, is sniticiently exi»lained in the precoeding remarks. But
imagine a young man, after the expiry of a perfod of two terms attend)
auce at the Toronto normal school, with a certificate, which every one
he meets regards with indilTerence if not with contempt. lie applies
for a school ; is examined oi', what is more likely, escapes this ordeal ;
and he obtains admission either from necessity, charity or sutierance.
lie commences his duties. The school is not so well attended as he
a[iticii>ated it wonld be. 1'he children are irregular, the parents are
disrespectful and, at the close of his school term, his mortification is
complete, when he comes to bo paid for his services, to learn that the
miserable allowance is considered more than he has earned. Is it likely
that a young man so placed Avill continue, any longer than his immediate
necessities require, in, what he now considers a thankless and disrepute-
able profession ? Ikit does he perceive where the error lies? No, —
like most others, he asci'ibes the fault to the miserly disposition of the
'I'rustees or the ignorance of the pco[)le. The true cause he nevor dis-
covei's. Ilis normal school education does not even qualify him to per-
ceive th;.t, in a I)uti;h or Prussian Normal Seminary, he could have
been ti'ained to o<|ual at least the average of the Dutch or Prussian
teachers; and thence to <lraw the logical inference, that the reason why
he is not eipial to them, and why he is not respected as they are, is
be^ause the Xormal School system in Toronto is not constructed so as
to be able to produce such a commodity.

In Europe, '' the teacher makes the ischool." The teacher is the fiiftt

requisite; the school houses are a secondary consideration. The reverse
is the rule in America; wlicrc school houses and large assessments are
looked upon as the main indications of progress. It is not intended,
here, to undervalue the necessity for proper buildings and suitable
accommodation. WJiat is object<;d to is, that the Superintendents and
Trustees confine their attention to these wants, and, wholly, neglect that
which is more essential, and without which, school houses, in an educa-
tional point of view, are valueless. We need go no farther than
Toronto for proof of this. Willi u juvenile population, in 1854, of
9000 between the ages of five and sixteen, the average free Common
School attendance v/as only 1445, while the Superintendents and Trus-
tees had been straining every conceivable moans to erect six c;»paciou3
School Houses ; declaring, in tl;e most dogmatic terms, to those who
pointed out the folly of their course, that it only wanted good school
houses and large salaries to make good schools. The quality of the
teachers wvos a subject not then considered worthy of much attention,
as the price to be paid, it was stateil, would soon secure a suflicient
supply. Now three of these ,:.ew buildings were occupied during most
part of 1R54, and high salaries were offered for teachers; yet, how
have the calculations of the Superintendents and Trustees betu real-
ized? As stated, the attendance for the year averaged only 1445;
a smaller attendance than in 1853, when the average was 1,502.
Not only this, but the tetichers are not graduates of the Normal
8cho<,>l ; so that the Normal School, may be said by some, to
have contiibuteil, directly, nothing to the credit or disgrace of
the Condition in whieh the (^onnnon Schools of Toronto are now
placed.

With regard to the expense, which would be a matter of little moment
if the schools wore efficient, the a>^sessmcnt in 1847, the year ])revious
to the adoption of free schools, and with an average attendance of 1,250,
was £496; whereas, in 1854, after a five years expcrinicut of free
schools find, with an average attendance of 1,445, the assessment
amounted to £4,225. What makes the disparity still greater is the
increase in the ]»opulation of school age from 5,000, in 1817, to 0,O()O
in 1854. But it may be objected, that these remarks should apply
only to T(jronto, and tliat they cannot be taken as a criterior of the
results, generally, throughout the Province. Such an objectiim cunnot,
however, be sMstaincl, for averygooil reason; namely, that the present
e .'inmon school system aims at the general adoj)tio:j of free s 'liools,
school houses, and ])rofuse assessments, on tlie Boston jilan: ;;nd. a-- in
Toronto, the fv(M^ schools with all their requisite machinery lia\(f lieen
in full blast during a period of six years, it is consequently the fie!d
for observation, and the spot to which juiMic attention shoc.M be directed,
for a specimen of what the results would be in other i^laci's if the
present svsteni should be generally carried out. In no \y.v.i ol' liie
l^rovincc is the system so conipleto as in Toronto. The system is not
eonsiilovcd perfect without the ger.ei'al ad<jption of free «cli"Oi<, and as
the.'C scliools cannot be said to h.ave got a projier trial in any other part
of Canaila it would not^ therefore, be fair to try and escape from the

"^O

ttoresslty of aRsumitig the experiment in Toronto to be the test of tho
merits of the entire system.*

liut Toronto is not the only j>!ace in America where the systcMii has
been fully tested. Notwith8taii<li)ig the manifold assertions and tho
brilliant pictures which have aii]>e;ircd in the Annual Keiiorts and tho
tJuurnal ot Education, concerning the Massachusetts schools, an exami-
nation of the official returns will be tho best means to ascertain the
exact triitli. Before procivdinu; to the evidence of the official reports,
it may be well to state that two normal schools were opened in
Massachusetts in 18;J9, and another 'u 1S40. It is jiropor to kec}) this
in view, in order to be able to ai>j)reciat.e, in tlie followiniif extiacts, the
complaints on tlie score of bad teachers, and thence to draw a parallel
with the case of Canada. The \v^\\\t caimot fail to produce a conviction
that tho teachers and tho mode of prepai'ing them are no bolter in
Massachnsetts than with us, and that the statements which h.avo been
circulated, at the public expense, thioughout every municipality in tho
Province, are not borr out by the tenor of the official reports; and,
therefore, have had a tendency to mislead tlie public opinion.

The first witness is Mr. Mann, who says, in his Revised Report
already described,

"The public schools of many towns and the large number of highly
respectable academies and private scliools, carry forward a numerous body
of young men and women to such a degree of literary attainments as enrolls
them in the list of candidates for school-keeping. Students in our Colleges J
ambitious young men, who are looking forward to some other employr»jent»
actually niore lucrative, andj in public estimation, more honourable, and who
must obtain a little money, as a means of securing their ultimate object ;
niany mechanics and farmers, possessed of more than ordinary intelligence
and attainment, and who were renowned, when they went to school, for doing
all tlie " hard sums" in the arithmetical text books ;— ^all these hate been
candidates for public school keeping. Added to this, the average rate of

TOBONtO COMMON SCHOOL STATISTICS.

f^liildrcr. of Avcrngij OoTornmrnt

city

YgArt.

School A«8. Atteudanoe. Oidut.

Assessment.

ftatc Bill.

£ s. d.

£ 8.

£ 8. d.

1844

... — .... 1.194 ... 407 9 4 ...

672 8

4 ...

237 17

1845

... — .... 1,108 ... 479 14 ...

691 3

3 ...

747 18

1846

.... 4,450 .... 1,:21 ... 47,3 17 ...

727 17

...

809 11 6

1847

.... — .... 1,256 ... 4fi7 12 6 ...

496

...

908 3

1848

.... — .... 1,431 ... 474 7 6 ...

497 5

...

Free.

1849

. ... 6,149 .... 1,325 ... 423 19 2 ...

493 7

6 ...

Free.

1850

. ... 6,750 .... 1,059 ... 369 13 6 ...

799

...

731 u la

1851

.... 7,773 .... J,366 ... 497 5 ...

1,909

...

Free.

1-52

. .. 7,806 .... 1,545 ... 608 17 ...

1.950

...

Free.

18.53

.... 9,000 .... 1,502 ... 7S7 6 4 ...

3,057

...

Free.

1854

.... — .... 1,445 ... 737 6 4 ...

4,225

...

Free.

The avcraTC attendance at the Roman Catholic Separate Schools is not
included in this statement. The number of Roman Catholic children attend'
ing the Common Schools was comparatively small, and the number receiving
education would have been few had not the Separate Schools been estaDlished.
The great increase of pupils in the Separate Schools is, therefore, to be attri-
buted to their denommational character. In 1852, the attendance was 920;
in 1853, 666 ; and in 1854, 687.

compcniatinii given to teachers in Massncbusetts has far excecdetl that which
lias lioL'ii fj;[\v.n in any of Iho luiinlihoriny i^tat'js. llcnc.', in tliu antiunn of
the year, tio.sts of advi-nturers tlock liitiicr, fiorn iMaine.tVom New Hainjwhire,
from Vermont, and (lom Connecticut, in quest of employment as toadinra in
our scliools. Some of thc-^e are full, not only of enternri.so, Initof liileut ; hut,
und<T s icli circumtitances, it would he strange indeed, if anionsr the linegolcl
tlu're should not he found somet'iiufi: of dross. All these are conijietitoiH for
Pur Public Schools The^' often exiiihit recommendations of a hi>,'hly imagi-
native character, — recommendations which prove the f,'ood -will of their
tiyuers, far more than their good sense or their trustworthiness; lor it is well
known that the facility with whicli such recoinmendatione'can he ohtainod
is the scandal of our people. AVhat harrier, then, hut the vigilance and
intelligence of our pchool committees, shall prevent our schools from heing
invad(Hl by practical immorality, by literary imposture, and by an inaptitude
for all goxernnient except the guveinnutit of fear and force V What l)ut the
tuhdity of school committees shall prevent sound knowledge and high talent
liom being thrust aside by ignorance and pretension ? 'J'he ii-.terests of all
good teacluns, emphatically the interests ot the rising generation, demand,
by every consideration that can a]ipeal to patriotism, to philanthropy, or to

th<! sense of relitrious olilii^-ation, ihiit

it to pati
tl;e Ic';-;

i\ dr.ty of exaniir.ing leacliers

pliotild h(! pcif.iiMied '.'.iihout fear, or fa\'or, orexcrpiion. It has happened, a
tliousand tiiiic;-, that pI•(^'^pet■i'^y or adver.-ity has shone or frov/ned u[nu] llie
schools of a town, --like siiushiiio or fiosf iijinn the early tiowers of spring,
as it has been Inest or cursed with a faiihliilor a neglectful school comitutlee.

"Yet it cannot Vie denifd that, u<v e\'ery public consi'Ieraliuu dcnuuiding a
thorough examination of teachers, there is a selfi.-h o!u- which resists if.
Individuals in adistrictor atown, v, !io in tinuro'.vn iiiiiis.-. have a|'propiiated
to tiiemsclves t'x' ensuing term of the school^;, iiiay, by management cr
collusidii, se.'ure the chnici; of n cotnmittee, wlio, either thr-ui.'.di inal)ilily oi*
favoritism, will make the exani'iiatiiot only a polite and facile ceremony of
introduction into the; sclnuil; ov, — wluit ha> not unfre(jnentl\ happt'ued, — the
expectants will secure tlio choice of a p; ' dential committee, who will ojicn
to them the door of tlie scIkkI-Iumisi; without any examim-itior. at all.
Sfiinctimes it is not ditficult for a jwimu, th!'fiu;.'h his nlalives and friends, to
create an a]>parent public o[)iniou iii a district, which shall seem i(. demand,
that tlie individual shall be selected to keep tlio school who has himself been
the fraudulent author of the factitious opinion that points to him. All
persons, too, who arc intending to obtain a scliocd, but who are tV arful (jf the
results of nn examination, will, of cour-e. be opyvsed to tlie jirincple of tlio
law wliicli requires an examination, aiul v\ill tlu-retbre be reatly to aitl those
who strive to evade it."

The .sccon<l witness is the R vorcnd Rarnns Sears, SocretMry (*> tlic
Bonrd of Eihientioii for tlio year 1850, The followiiig is iVotn ]iis
Report for thtit year,

uid irregularity
iite of compensa-

'' On the ji.'iucity of well-trained teachers, — tin; laxity ;

which prevail in regard to the selection f)f them, — the low ra^v ^.. .......[.v

tion, and frequent removals, much has alreaily been said, but not enough to
produce the proper effect. Willi respect to tlu^ f vil lir-.t named, the remedy
must be the Work of time. Anew class of teachers cannot Ix; cieated in a

day. The otlier evils admit (.if a speedier ciu-e. If intelli;,a>Lt and piactical
njen, in all our towns and villages, would slai:d up in pulilic and reason the
matter out before the peoj'le, it W(ud(l not be long before those vital parts vt
the Comnmn JSclujol system would be bnnight into a nuu h more healthy ami
vigorovs condition.

"The irregular attendance of those who belong to the schocds is still a
subject of complaint in very many of the reports of the school comnuttees.
It is to be hoped that the people will listen to the remonstrances v.hich are
repeated on this subject, from year t(» year, nud take into earnest consideration
the counsels and recommendations contained in the reports above-mentioned.

I. . ;

„

Sornc degi'co of irrog\ilaritywiIl, of course, alw.ijB cxiRt. The absoncos, here
«;oinplainoil of, however, are those which arc wholly uunccossary and
inexcusable.

" The faults committed by parents in nocjlcctinfj to visit and encournso tlio
schools, and to awaken in their own cluldreu a love > '" ''nowled;,'o, in allowing
them to grow up without the restraints of jiroper dis ine, and in olliciously
interfiiin;^;, at times, with the n.'t^ular discipline of tne schools, would, of
themselves, furnish ample scope for an instructive folunie. il"ie, indoeil, is
the root of many of tiie worst evils witli which committeeH aud teaciier*
have to contend." — p. 29, 30.

To the Report of Mr. Sears is .tpjiendod an abstract of tlio " School
Committees Keports," from which tlie following seloction.s are taken, as
a specimen of their general tenor.

"The town is nominally divided into four districts, for each district a pru-
dential committee is apnoiuted, as a general thing, in rotation; one man
taking his turn in the othce, and then another. The one chosen then looks
around to engage a teacher. But ir.iblir sentiment docs not require in a
prutkmtial committee a practical Un.uvlcclge of the business of scliool teaching,
nor does it hold him responsible for selecting a well <jiialiHed teacher. One
man ])erhaps feels bound to eng.ige the t'nvt tli;it npplies for the school ; a
custom lliat will do very well in a coin-mill, but is q'litc too absu'd in a
matter like this, in whicli the choice ^lecild be made! with sole regard to
•jualiHcatiouft."

"Another man offers the school to a relative, or friend, or neighbor, wlio
may be desirous ot teachi'ig. The lesult of this huuj be the selection of a
very good teacher, and ol'teu lias been so. But the juactice opens the way
for one to be chosen from a regard to convenicuce, or jtris'ate interests, muro
than to the public good." — lAnculn, i>. [).'\

"The prudential committee contracts witli a ^lerson (frequently a stranger)
to kei^i* his school, pi'ovidcd lie c;ui g't ajiprobated. I'ho candid iite delays
an apiiUoation for an examinatinn r.nfil just before the time to begiu the
scluiol ; or perhaps he is only contra^^ted with on the Saturday preceding the
Monday on which he is to commence his labors of love. At tin? late hour
lie comes before the committee for his approbation. They wrestle with him
almost as long as -Jacob did with the angel at Penncl. He halts in his
answers to easy and common-jdace (piestions as bad as the committee do,
whether they sludl |)roceed further with the examination or cut itshort whcv«
it is. He tinally gets througli with an exanunation after some sort of fashior,
and the (juestion is, whether he shall be set at work, and thus go halting all
the days of his life, or whether, in the spirit of love and kindness, he shall
be tohf to stay at Jericho, until his beard is grown ? On the one hand, the
school is expected to begin on Monday, .and schcdars and parents will both te
grievously disappointed if it dors net begin — the applicant, besides, is young;
it is his maiden effort; he is endowed with an exalted sensibility, anil he is
exceedingly diflidetit. A rejection may therefore oper-ite to discourage liim
from furtlier exertion, and thus the raw material for a decent schoolmaster be
spoiled in tlie making up On the other hand, liis quidlfications do not entitle
him to tlie approb.^tion of the committee, although a term or two at a normal
school might convert him into a decent schoolmaster. If we set him at work,
the money of the district will be thrown away, if no further damage be done;
and if we do not, a great outcry is set up at once ; a huge injustice has been
]ierpctrated ; a base conspiracy has been entered into to break down a young
man, wliom the committee, peradvcnture, have never seen, untd the evening
of his examination ; one ana .all. they are charged with gross tavoritism, and
tlicir doom is summarily sealed up against the great day of account at the
next annual meeting. — Mendon, p. 99. • , ii

"Committees cannot be too cautious about engaging itinerant applicants, of

whose merits thry arc entirely icrnoinnt, merely nprm t1>e strenpthof a written
recornnienclalioii iroin some person also uukiiowii, UHllie iiiohI i-tnpid imbecile
would lianlly tail of procuring mucIi a certiticiito, should hu dthire it. Some
further riMiuiiomcut lliiiri this in nucetwary to protect our Hchoola from impo-
sition .

"We know it is Kind that the Hohool committee have the power, — they
can reject ;t tciu'lier it' thry think liini untpi.-ilitied. Thin is true; Htill their

f)ower is only nci^^ative. 11" they refime to approbate uteHch(T, wliat evidnnee
lavo they that the nnxt one presented will be any butter qualitied ? HenideH,
a teacher m y b" able to answer s Uiflfactorily all thoquestiouH propnstid.aiul
yet the coniniitteu feel confiilent that his capacity for goveintuent is not
sutficient to enable him to c(»nduct n Hchnol successfully. Should they,
however, in Huch a caae refuse to grant a cerliticate, the almost inevitable
consequence would bo to create a Ptorni in the district, such aa would, in uU
probability, ])rove the overthrow of the succeeding teacher. In viiw of this
tact, school commit ees are often obliged to choose the leant of two evils, —
either to employ an incompetent teacher, or run the risk of creatin;^ a war in
the district that may prove disastrous to euccecdiug schools. — J'hillipato7if p.
100.

"But to pass on to the difRcuIlics, which at present necm to impede the
progress of education among us, they would mention first, that as we are
now situated, there is no responsibility felt and acknowledged by any as to
the capacity of teachers to perform their task in governing and instructing-'
ttie 8ciu)ol8. If a teacher i-> hired, and passes examination before the com-
mittee, (which a person of uo capability to govern a school, and of no capa-
city to impart instruction may do) he goes to his school and continues there
until the money is exhausted, though all concerned may bo perfectly satis*
lied that it would be far better for the children if he had tiiken the money at
the beginning and never opened the school. What your committee wish to
be understooa, is, that as things iu)w stand, no person or persons feel any res-
ponsibility for theviaste of the cA?7(/rt7i*« time, and of the diatriet'a nionny."—
Sidton, p. 10 J.

"Among the multitude of those who offer themselves i \ the market for
teacliers, like merchantable commodities, posted up with nu;iibeiless recom-
mendations from teachers of high schools, too often bought with tuition bills
already paid, or with the prospect of others unpaid, it is not unfrequently a
matter of difficulty to decide who will make the best teacher." — UjAon,
p. 103,

"Though the qualification of some of the candidates for the summer schoola
were not what they should be, yet we rejected but one.

" The question readily suggests itself why we approbated those that had
not aatiswctory qualifications. In reply, the only justification we can oifer,
is, that better material was not offered." — Uxbridge, p. 103.

" If a candidate is presented for examination, and the committee think he
is not qualified to teach, and very properly withhold a certificate, then the
censure falls on Ihm; — it generally excites feelings of prejudice on the part
of individu.als in the district where the person rejected was a candidate, and
they are accused of acting with selfish motives, or more to show their
authority, or something else which is very fai" from the real canse. In such
cases, the committee tt;el sometimes almost compelled to waive their objections
and grant a license, fearing Worse consequences if another should be employed,
with all this disaffection on the part of the parents. * *

<* Your committee have not seen fit to reject but one candidate for teaching,
during the year ; although in two or three instances they were not satisfied
with the qualifications of the applicants, and should have refused their certifi-
cates, if they had not reason to suppose that, by so doing, they should make
a bad matter still worse." — £nn\fieid, p, 107.

r ,

I'"

'* But thuHC that picsuinv (»» teach, aie. ^7 uc m, all tbetii capable of

making a goud Hchool, if they have uU the cooperation tk pareutM ought to

afford. Many incompetent porsotm seek enob ^ytnent in t • schuul r m, and

t)btain it, and will obtain it, till there ia a dim 1 ut Bystenri night in itm, ia
regard to uinpluying teacherH." — Nortfifteld, p. 108.

" Much iHsaid by home porsoii', thatthu money laiHod is not \^ ' II vuded.

Wc adnut that it ih notexpcntled an wt'llaH it might bo ; but we a; rtdent

that it will never \ye better expended while the present arrangemcui "ics.
-^ShuUmburif, p. 110.

" The practice, however, is Hubject to some very grave objections. * *
Tour Committee are fully aware, that no very great progress can be made in
<iur hclioulrt from their present position, until a radical change is etfeoted, by
some means, in the estimate tfon place upon teachers." — Monterey, page 111.

" 111 the opinion of your committee, there is one course of practice among
us thai deserves correction. Il is a matter of fact, that uot untre<|uently there
M re several apjilioants for the same school; applicants ^ho perhaps are of
''Very shade and hue, from the well-matured and thoroughly qualilicd to the
intantile and ijjrossly incompetent. Yot the prudential committee, moved by
vimiiic haste or prompted by the importunity of some relative or friend,
I'linayesiuHiualitiedly liie services of a particular one, and rejects peremptorily
:he others. The cominitlee then lixes the day for the school to begin, and at
a lale iioiir presents to the examining committee the proposed instructor, one
or two days perhaps befon^ the school is to commence. The examination
taiies place, the jnojiosed instructor is found quite deficient, but the prudential
committee knows of no other person lie can employ at so late a day, and thus
the examining committee must j^raiit a cerlilicatc tt» the candidate, or incur
•-ho danger of having uo scliool lor the season." — Otia, page 1 1 1.

•• Teachers arc frc(juently selected merely with reference to family connec-
tions or personal acciuainlanco ; or perhaps more frequently with reference to
the siiiallnoss of the sum that must be paid foi^ their services, and this, too,
in districts which have funds accumulating in tiie treasury, contrary to the
spirit, if not the letter of the law. One instance, at least, has come to the
knowledge of the committee, of a teacher who had been tried and proved to
be well qualifiefl, on being proposed, rejected in favor of another entirely
inexperienced, but who of course could be obtained for less waces, and in a
district where there is no want of funds sufficient to pay as good a teacher as
they choose to have. In another instance, the prudential committee avowed
as his reason for liis selection of a teacher, that his denominational prefer-
ences would render him especially obnoxious to a particular individual in the
district ! The .school terminated, as might be expected, in disaster. * *
In another instance, a teacher was presented for a particular district, the con-
tract having already been made, subject to the condition of obtaining a
certificate. She was examined, approved, and commenced her school. A
short time afterwards, the prudential committee who contracted with bier,
inquired of one of us in reference to the character of hei "amination. Our
inference was that he doubted her qualifications to teach ; £• yet he engaged
her as a teacher 1 * » * Candidates are someuraes brought to
tis, and approved for the reasons which have been stated, but who would be
among the last persons wc should select as teachers. — Sandisfield, page 113.

" One great source of evil to the schools is, the constant change of teachers.
About every terra the prudential committees from several districts send stran-

gers to the town committee for examination. These new teachers have the
terary qualifications, and bring testimonials of good moral character, and
according to law we must approbate them. But,after all, who knows whether
they have any tact for teaching ? The town and prudential committee,
ignorant of this most essential prerequisite to a teactier's success, set these
strangers to work ; aiid in a month or so, the committee find that this
teacher is too choleric and (00 severe,-— that teacher too easy and careless,—

uiiotliHi too sliipid (»l clowtiisli,- mill one ot ail, imtlit to l>i> in tlic parlirului
Hclioiils wluMo llioy have coimnfiictxl i>|u'ialioiiN."

•'The cominittiH' aoe and fuel all this, aixl yet Ihore in not unonj/h oi
(Iffiricncy in tluso tcuchcrH to authorize Hto[)|iin^ tiiu Hihonl, loHt yon ollVml
Honit'l»otly,and divido llu! distrii'l." — ISrainlrri , ji<i,/i 1 l.'J.

"The tinth i», and it iniyht iin woU hu told, IIih conirnittce are every year
vbli^td to ijive (•ertip'attiit to pirmvs, rinixrttiii/ vhoin tin if mitkiiiulv. nothinq cite
hut a fnibifi to ki<)i a i/ooil nc/iuol. Tlu' cnudidateH ai.swer niuhl of llu- (|neH-
tiouM a«k»'d in arilhnielic, ncityruphy, and i^ianmuir ; tlicy read and write
rcspcrtnlilv well, and have a ^ood th(.'ory of school jj;ovorrinK'nl and instrnc-
tiou ; and yet, there are Hotne indcscrihaldo marks a^iont them, winch lead ns
to feel tliat the school-room is not their jdace. We cannot reject tliem ; the
comnninity wonid not snslain ns in <|oin;,' it. We slundd mortify the indivi-
dnal.v, irrilate llu'ir frien<ls. incnr the censnre of ;rood men, 'nd proi^uldy
tianscend nnr le^al powers also. Foi' the law does not accmnit ns prop/ntu,
h hitlH ns not [>* i/iicua npon teacliers, hut t«i exumiiic tlieni. And tliou^di, in
Kiinie instance^, a shrewd yness were worth more than a <'atecheti('al rxiimina-
tion, still we are shut np to the latter. We sii^n the cei liticalc w itii a liesitat-
inv; liand, f'lom dire necessity, ami sorely iiuainsi our jndLfnieni. The leaciui
•roes into his school, and, perhaps, In much liolsicrinu,' oi the lominiltre, lit
keeps it thronsrli. lini it wat lime iind inovft) ii'mted. — Wn hlhum, puifi lit.

The ubovo (ixtracts atv t.'ikeii tVom a ooIlirliiMi, mustiy all eoitluiniiig
coni|)liiints to t'.ie same pur] tort.

Ill New York, the c<jiKlitit»ii ol' tin,- schools is iiiuoli the snnw, :iii<l
till' tcricliers (ilso. Mr. Joseph McKeiMi, Suju'ririteiiijent of CoiniiKtii
Schools lor llu' City ami Coiiiity of Xcw Vi>rk. in hi- rt[Hirt lor l^*y^.^
buys : —

" I have examined and granted rertiiieates of (jnalification to 21 male and
to 92 females dnrinj^ the j)ast year. A larm' part of these were for snbordi-
iiate places as assistant teacner8;and their certiticates, by reason of thfir
inexperience or limited ac(|uiremcnts, were so (graded, '^nly 31 of the highest
grade have heen <;;ranteil ; of these, I.') were male ami 1(5 female tcaclier-..
ilany of our best teachers are females, and they follow the bnsiness of teach-
\u{:, professionally, for a series of years; /lut tJils is ralhc)' the iwciplinx Hum
tilt nih:. A liirf/rr prnporlloii </f them go into Iravh/ni/ 'la « matter of tnnjtoruri/
e^pidieiicy ; mn/ the (ivrrngi tinn: of eovtuunniri: in Ihif nnpfojpnriit it> nnf ji/ohidjli/
more them thru i/mrs." — /'*'//' I '25.

The iiio.«?t iinpoii.'iiit Icstiiiioiiy, however, is that of "Mr. McKoeii, on
the hoasted .schools and teachers in Mr. Matin's tamous tree .school State.
It is from the same rejiort a.s thoahove e.\tr;u!t; and is \aliial)le, chielly
on account of tlie vi.'ry ]>oin(eil manner in which it derit'es the Mos|()n
free .school fan.atieism. Mr. Mt Keen says he knows Jis nmoh tihont the
New Eiio'land fn 'e schiiol.'^ as .•tiiy o|' th.-ir famous ciilooists, and h(! tells
canJidly what tliey tire. His evideiice furnishes a sad eonimeidary on
the ignorance, stupidity am] fantiticisni of American (.'diiealiom'sls, and
e.\posure of the gio.ss fals(;hoods whicli they have Iteeti, systematically,
jn the liahit of keepiiio;' in i'ireiiJ;ition. Here nro Mr. McK<ien\s word<:

" It i.s commoidy expected of a Xcw-Eni^lancl .snpermtendont of school .
when the snhject of I'let^ schools is under consideration, llial he wilhriuiotf
into an eiiloijy upon the pil'jcriin.>, .^I<^:^•^achnsell.s, and the f.illie;- who lelilf'l
tlies" Ivi'tern . 'flutes. I have ditcn liionght llial these eMloL'inui? vvi re nioii'
lidihfiil lu ih'* idiai reverence wliiciij- (.iue«to ilie fjooit men wlio vven- am
.ui."e~tnr.-, th'-m !.• 'he vt'i itablo liicTorv of t'le <• ir'', .l:i vi ii t!i.' connnon ■..••ticul-;

\ .

Asa soil of N»»w-Kiigl«ii(l, 1 claim to know somefliint; oF their •iliH'Btioiml
inHtiiulions. Their rnUegrti uiul hitihrr Hi'iiiinHrie<i of leariiin);; htive always
Wtn among ihi' host in this nuintry, and they hnvo contiibufed in a grt««t d«grf><j
lo naktf ajul snstitin a respoct anions the people for learning, t'omniun schools
hate bM^i) titiiKliI I'rooi liiue iiiinieniorinl iii the district school houses, for iibout
thr«i* months in tho wintei, Sy HtiKJcnts, nnil by other young men of vnriotia
callings, who were l>iit pnrtiiiliy educated, luid that juirliiil education hnving hut
little if any reference tr) tciuhinjc. A loin; vacution ensued, and the school
passed into the ham's ot some y<iunR woman, who tried lur skill for the tirst
time in the line of instruction. In this way a school was kepi for half the year,
without much of i>ri)fesHioiial skill or system about it. liut it was so much
better than no .seliool; so niiicJi better than was done m some other parts of
the rountry, that sons, "to tlie niiuior born," have writtm ami published lamlalori)
cfirotucl'^s iif t/iit'ur/iirx, inilil tliiji arr now almo»l fnlmmc. ThetrJhiii, thera
is to thin ihifi *>o jt&rfirltd fti/atem of ronmioii school e(hu'ation in this country.
That of the Sfilr of Ni'w York in prohtiUy th*: bful, nni that is very far frofii beinif
what it uiiyhl to bi;" — I'di/t: l,t).

C H A P T K \i I V

OONCLUSTOK.

\ ?

Ill the tbrofifoiim pnnfc.'; tliu disciplinary ivligiou-s character of eJuca
tioii 111 Kiiio|»o is cuiilfasted witJi the secular system of instruction in
America; and the results are shown to be the necessary fruits, in the
one case, of the relitjiou.s, and, in the other, of the secular principle, on
which each is respectively based.

The most remarkable contrarities are furnished by a comparison of
the two s\ slums In Europe, common schools are intended for the })oor-
er classes, and free schools for absolute paujiers*, while in America they
are intended lor al/, notwithstanding that only the poorer classes frequent
tl)em. In Europe tlu! teacher is a religious moral centre; in America
he is a secular inai^hine. In Europe, competent teachers are the chiH'
consid(^ration ; whereas, in America, (he main objects are ornamental
school houses and large assessments. In Euroj^e, the teacher requires
to know a great deal more tli;in the; simple branches which form the
studies of a CO nnnon school ; in America, he is not expected to know
nor is it considered necessary that he should be acquainted with any
thing beyond the routine jiri scribed in the school regulations. In
Europe, .appro] trial ions from tlie rf^venue or direct assessments by the
numicipalilies bear a ])r(tpoilion to the nnmlter of poor children
reeeiving edtK^ation at the (V)nimon Schools; in America, the govern-
ment grants and the nninicipal assessments are calculated on the
assum[»tion that (/// the rh/ldrci, both rich a)ul j^oor, are educated at
the Connnon Schools. In Europe, the teachers educated at the Nor-
mal Seminaries, chi(.'tly at the jMiblic expense, follow the profession of
teachino; in after life; in .\tneHca. they mostly abandon it, causing a
wustetul . xpenditiuv of the public funds appropriated to tlie main-

tonance of these institutions. In Europe, parental rights are respected
by the governments ; in America, these rights are superseded. The
rule, in Europe, is religious nonconformity ; in America, it is uniformity.
In Europe, the denominational voluntary principle is preserved ; in
America, the unsectarian principle is compulsory. And, finally, in
Europe, the school house stands along side of the church ; the pastor
and the teacher are mutually co-operating powers, working with a
united purpose ; while, in America, the law enacts that there shall be
no connection between the two, because the religion of the church is
sectarianism, and that of the school-room and tlie teacher is, or ought to
be Unitarian " piety and morals."

Such are the characteiistic features which distinguish the Common
School system of Europe from that of America. Th«y exhibit an
extreme repugnance to each other; so much so that, by the most
severe scrutiny, we fail to discover one particular in which they can be
said to coincide. So, also, with the operation of the school machineiy,
the practical details and results of the work of education and the
experiences thence derived, which altogether exhibit a contrariness and
opposition that would be difficult to explain, had we not cognizance of
the radical difference, in the bases, of the two systems.

It is not intended, here, to make any recommendation, as to which
system would be best for Canada; or even to pass an opinion on the
separate merits of different organizations which might be made to give
our schools a distinct and ^uly Canadian character. While some
might favor rate-bill schools, aided by government grants, with govern-
ment inspection only so far as to secure the efficiency of the schools
and the proper application of the money, leaving the business of teach-
ing in all other respects open to cxjmpetition and to the voluntary
arrangements of school sections; others might approve of leaving the
management in the hands of the religious persuasions, retaining still the
right of government inspection as to the efficiency of the schools and
the proper application of the government aid. Questions of this nature
will be decided best, by a wholesome public opinion, after the results
of the present experiment shall have become sufficiently known and
shall have received a due share of attention. The object of these pages ,
as has been stated, is, simply, to furnish a body of facts, and to place
the subject of Common School education, in such light and in such
summary form, as will assist public opinion, in determining on some
school plan that will be both permanent and definite.

Thompson & Co., Printers, King Street, Toronto.