time, and Sir Charles Metcalfe kept him fully informed of events
transpiring at the seat of Government. In a letter, dated 19th August,
1844, Mr. Civil Secretary Higginson said to him:--
You will be glad to hear that Hon. D. B. Papineau accepts a seat in
the Council. The Inspector-General and Solicitor-General of Lower
Canada are the only offices unprovided for. As to Mr. W. H.
Merritt, the state of his private affairs may operate in his case,
as in that of Mr. Harrison. If it should prove so, the Hon. James
Morris may be induced to join the Council, and a very worthy
representative of the Upper Canada Constitutional Reformers he
would be. Whether the present Parliament is to be met again, or to
be dissolved, remains for discussion. Sir Charles inclines to meet
them, and I think we can do with a majority, albeit a small one, to
support the Government.
Mr. Higginson wrote to Dr. Ryerson, Sept. 8th, and said:
Dissolution or no dissolution, still undetermined. Thorburn
declines office. We must have an Inspector-General, and from the
Upper Canada Liberals. Where are we to find one fit for the duties?
Dr. Ryerson addressed a letter, on the 10th September, to Hon. W. H.
Draper, in reply to Mr. Higginson's note--
I need scarcely say that I congratulate you most heartily on your
formal appointment as Attorney-General, and on the important
additions which have been made to your strength in the Council.
Would not Mr. Scobie make a good Inspector-General? He is said to
be a good financier. His private character, sound principles, and
moderate feelings, are all that you could desire. After much
reflection, and conversation with some judicious persons who have
travelled more than I have throughout the country, and have better
opportunities of forming an opinion than I have, I am inclined to
think that you will gain much more than you can lose, by meeting
the present Parliament, and declaring your views, and taking your
stand upon the true principles of responsible government. I make
these remarks, because I spoke rather in favour of a dissolution
when I saw you last.
To this letter Hon. W. H. Draper replied, on the 17th:--
I acknowledge the force of your arguments against a dissolution,
but at the same time it appears to me you have not weighed the
arguments on the other side. These may be concisely stated. 1st.
That the ensuing session will be one certainly preceding a general
election, and therefore, one in which popular doctrines have their
fullest force. 2nd. That members having committed themselves by the
vote of last session would fear to retrace their steps and brave
the charge of inconsistency at such a time. 3rd. That the
ex-ministers would have an opportunity, which they would not
neglect, of presenting a new question for the country. You have
sickened them of the first question; they would like a second,
better selected, if they could get it. For example, if they moved a
committee to inquire how the Government has been administered
during the last ten months, would they not be very likely to carry
it? Information can do no harm; enquiry is a right of the House,
etc., etc. Who would venture to oppose when the committee was
granted? No business would be done till it had reported. Whatever
the report--and if they got a majority on the committee, we may
judge its character--their point would be gained, and they would
have a new issue to try before the country; a new topic of
inflammatory harangue, and studious misrepresentation. Whether this
would be their move I cannot say, but they would do something
tending to a similar end. The experience of 1836 will teach them
not to make a dead set against doing business, or granting
supplies, etc. They will make that a consequence, and if possible
force the Government to a dissolution, thus casting the onus of
doing no public business on the Government. Again, although not
meeting the present House may be considered as an admission of
inferiority there, I think this less injurious than that the new
Administration should be beaten there; and I cannot in any way
anticipate a different result. After going over the list in every
way I see no just ground for hoping for victory there. Again, of
those in whom we might place some hope of a vote in a crisis, there
are some who will not be in their places. Col. Prince certainly
will not, and I doubt much if Hon. W. H. Merritt, or Mr. Thorburn
can. Does no other Upper Canadian Reformer suggest himself? I
confess that I am at a great loss. Neither Harrison nor Merritt can
take office, as they say, because of their private affairs. Hon.
James Morris has given up politics. I have not failed to note your
observation respecting Mr. Scobie, and have brought the matter
before the Council.
To this letter Dr. Ryerson replied on the 19th September:--
You will observe that my remarks had reference almost exclusively
to the best means of augmenting the elective suffrage in favour of
the Government. The facilities for circulating knowledge amongst
the mass of the people are so very imperfect, that it takes a long
time, and great exertions, even out of the ordinary channel, to
inform the great body of the people on any subject.
In the present instance, the Tory party, although they approve of
my letters, do not take pains to circulate them gratuitously. It is
amongst the persons opposed to the Governor-General, that the
reading of them is the most important. That class of persons cannot
be supposed to be very solicitous to procure publications against
their own sentiments and feelings, although they--at least very
many of them--would readily read them if they were put into their
hands. I have scarcely heard of an individual who has read all my
letters who does not adopt the sentiments of them--how strong
soever his feelings might be against the Governor-General. It was
with a view, therefore, of gaining over to the Government a larger
portion of the electors, that I proposed delay, and the
intermediate means of fully informing the public mind.
From the considerations which you assign, I do not see that you can
do otherwise than dissolve the House. I can easily conceive how
some persons can absent themselves from a short session, and thus
weaken the Government more than others could strengthen it by their
presence and support; and that popular movements may be devised to
shift the question and embarrass you. You will probably not gain
as many elections now as you would six months or three months
hence; but what you may not gain in numbers you may gain in the
moderation of new members, or in a new House; especially if you can
reduce the majorities of opposition members who may be returned,
and hold before them in a new House the possibility of a second
dissolution.
Dr. Ryerson then sums up his suggestions as follows:--
The great question then is, How can you come before the country
forthwith to the best advantage? I would take the liberty of offering
the following suggestions, which have probably occurred to yourself,
with others that I shall not mention: 1. Ought not the views of the
Government, on the great questions, be put forth in some more
authoritative, or formal and imposing way, than has yet been adopted? I
know not whether it would be in order for the Governor-General to issue
a proclamation in some such form as Lord Durham adopted, when he made
his extraordinary appeal to the inhabitants of British North America. In
such a document, whatever ought to be the form of its promulgation, the
question and doctrine of responsible government should be stated with an
explicitness that will leave the ex-Council party no room to cavil, or
justify further resistance on that subject. You have this advantage,
that you can state your case as you please, and as fully as you please,
to the country. 2. Ought there not to be more effective means used than
have yet been employed to circulate the refutations of the ex-Council's
publications amongst their own supporters? Every one you gain from that
side counts two, in more ways than one. And from what I have understood,
I am persuaded the chief desideratum is to furnish them with the
refutations of the attacks of the late Councillors. A proper improvement
of means for nearly two months might accomplish a great deal, and would
soon reduce them to a minority, in a large majority of the counties in
Upper Canada.
On the 18th September, Mr. Higginson wrote to Dr. Ryerson:
The question of meeting the present Parliament, or of going to the
people, has at last been decided in favour of the latter measure.
There was so much to be said, _pro_ and _con_, that it was a most
difficult point to decide. If the Government could have reckoned
with any degree of certainty upon a majority in the House, which
they unfortunately could not, there would have been the strongest
reasons, as your brother so forcibly put them, for not dissolving.
Your suggestion to Hon. Mr. Draper as to Mr. Scobie filling the
Inspector-Generalship, engages the attention of His Excellency and
the Council. Can the gentleman referred to command a seat? I fear
not.
They complain of a great want of information in the Colborne
District. I mean Dr. Gilchrist's portion of it, where they see
nothing but the Peterborough _Chronicle_. Mr. Hickson may be
depended on as far as he can be of use in circulating some of your
wholesome truths. As there will now be no opportunity of speaking
to the people from the Throne previous to the elections, some other
mode must be taken to ensure our not coming before the country upon
a wrong issue, and such language used as the masses can readily
comprehend. It is to the electors we must look for victory, and
that Sir Charles Metcalfe will triumph I entertain no doubt.
In acknowledging an official letter to His Excellency, Mr. Higgins on
(October 10th) informed Dr. Ryerson that he should receive an official
reply through Mr. Daly. He then added:--
I doubt not that you will outlive all the abuse that foul-mouthed
radicalism can heap upon you.
It is, as you know, impossible to calculate with any degree of
certainty upon the results of the elections until the polls are
tested; but, I think I may assert with safety that our prospects in
Lower Canada are by no means so discouraging as our enemies, and, I
believe, some of our friends, would make it appear. Of the latter,
there is a class that stand still with their arms folded, fancying
that there must be a majority against the Government, and that it
will be taken by the Home authorities as an evidence of the
impossibility of working responsible government.
In sending letters of introduction to friends in England, Hon. George
Moffatt, of Montreal, wrote to Dr. Ryerson in October to say:--
As to the result of the Metcalfe contest, returns have been
received from more than half of the constituencies in the two
sections of the Province, and it is gratifying to find that the
Governor-General is assured of having a good working majority in
the Assembly. I have no fears about him, and my only anxiety now is
that things may not be again grossly mismanaged at the Colonial
Office. Unfortunately, however, Sir Charles Metcalfe's health is
very precarious, and should he resign, it will be of the utmost
importance that a statesman of ability and character should be sent
out to succeed him.
I drew your attention to the ungrateful conduct of the returned
exiles, generally; and if proof were wanting of the entire failure
of the conciliation system in this section of the Province, it
would only be necessary to refer to the active part taken by these
men in the late contest.
Hon. Peter McGill, of Montreal, in his letter of introduction to Sir
Randolph Routh, thus referred to Dr. Ryerson:--
The Rev. Egerton Ryerson, with whose name you, and every one
connected with Canada, must be familiar, has recently been doing
the State some service, by his eloquent writings in defence and
vindication of Sir Charles Metcalfe's Government, and in support of
law, order, and British Connection.
Having applied to His Excellency for letters of introduction to parties
in England, Mr. Secretary Higginson writes:--
I have the pleasure to enclose an introduction from His Excellency
to Lord Stanley, and letters to old friends of his and mine, Mr.
Trevelyan, of the Treasury, and Mr. Mangles, M.P.
How nobly and strongly Upper Canada has come out! She will send us
at least thirty good men and true, who will not be overawed by a
French faction. From this section of the Province we shall have, on
the lowest calculation, thirteen or fourteen, which gives us a
majority of five or six to commence with, and that will doubtless
increase.
From no one did Dr. Ryerson receive during the Metcalfe contest more
faithful and loving counsel than from his old friend, Rev. George
Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson had been a brave soldier before he entered the
ministry, in 1816, and he was, up to the time of his death, in 1857, a
valiant soldier of the cross. In a letter to Dr. Ryerson, in September,
1844, he said:--
My esteemed friend, beloved brother, (and may I add) dear son:
These epithets you know come from a warm heart; a heart of
friendship, affection, and love, without dissimulation. If you have
a friend in this little wicked and deceitful world it is George
Ferguson. I have watched you in all your movements from first to
last with great anxiety and deep concern. Your welfare and
prosperity I have, do, and will rejoice in; and when you are
touched in character, or otherwise, I feel it acutely. When I
understood what you intended to undertake, and hearing the clamour
among the people, I felt awful, not that I feared that any
production or argument coming from your pen would be controverted
successfully. I believe that your last production is unanswerable
on logical, constitutional, and fair, honest principles, but I was
afraid that it would not accomplish the end for which it was
designed; for the people, generally, had run mad, formerly by the
word "reform," and now they are insane by the word "responsible." I
fear that the Governor will lose the elections in Canada West. Your
pamphlet may, it is true, be a text book to the next Parliament,
and keep them right from fear. I was not afraid that you had
committed yourself with the Conference and the Church after all the
fuss preachers and people made in this respect, (and I am of
opinion many would have been glad of it) but I had my serious fears
that it would injure your enjoyments in religion, and be a source
of temptation that would cause you to leave the ministry. But I
hope and pray that one who has stood against all the bribes, baits,
and offers made to buy him, when but a boy, will be upheld. Oh! no,
no; having Christ in the soul, walking with God, having secret
communion and fellowship with the Deity continually, with your
talents and qualifications what a treasure to the Church! and the
good you would be made the happy instrument of doing! This is true
honour, real dignity, true popularity, and eternal wealth. I would
rather go to the grave with you dying well, than ever hear that my
beloved Egerton was lost to the Church. But, my dear son, you have
need to watch, to stand fast, to be strong, and acquit thyself as a
man; to have an eye single to the glory of the Lord, to keep the
munition, to watch the way. You never will be out of danger till
you get to heaven. Be much in secret prayer and communion with your
Maker. These simple truths come from a father in his 29th year of
his ministry--one that is, in every sense of the word,
superannuated, and one that will shortly be known no more.
* * * * *
Hon. R. B. Sullivan (under the _nom de plume_ of "Legion") in a series
of thirteen letters, with appendix, extending to 232 pages of a
pamphlet, replied to Dr. Ryerson's Defence of Lord Metcalfe. These
letters were afterwards reviewed by Dr. Ryerson in a series of ten
letters, extending to 63 pages of a pamphlet. This review was in the
form of a rejoinder, but in it no new principles of government were
discussed. Dr. Ryerson's "Defence" proper, was originally published, as
was his review of "Legion's" letters, in the _British Colonist_, then
edited by the late Hugh Scobie, Esq. The Defence was afterwards
published in pamphlet form, and extended to 186 pages.
CHAPTER XLIII.
1841-1844.
Dr. Ryerson Appointed Superintendent of Education.
The alleged "reward" which Dr. Ryerson was positively asserted to have
received from Lord Metcalfe for his memorable Defence of that nobleman,
was long a favourite topic on which Dr. Ryerson's enemies loved to
dilate. Beyond the fact that the appointment was finally made by the
administration of Sir Charles Metcalfe, upon the recommendation of Hon.
W. H. Draper, there was nothing on which to base the charge of such a
_quid pro quo_ having been received by Dr. Ryerson for his notable
Defence of the Governor-General.
In point of fact, the appointment was first spoken of to Dr. Ryerson by
Lord Sydenham himself, in the autumn of 1841. The particulars of that
circumstance are mentioned in detail in a letter written by Dr. Ryerson
to T. W. C. Murdoch, Esq., Private Secretary to Sir Charles Bagot, on
the 14th January, 1842. Dr. Ryerson said:--
In the last interview with which I was honoured by [Lord Sydenham],
he intimated that he thought I might be more usefully employed for
this country than in my present limited sphere; and whether there
was not some position in which I could more advantageously serve
the country at large. I remarked that I could not resign my present
official position in the Church, with the advocacy of whose
interests I had been entrusted, until their final and satisfactory
adjustment by the Government, as I might thereby be represented as
having abandoned or sacrificed their interests; but that after such
adjustment I should feel myself very differently situated, and free
to do anything which might be beneficial to the country, and which
involved no compromise of my professional character; that I knew of
no such position likely to be at the disposal of the Government
except the Superintendency of Common Schools (provided for in the
Bill then before the Legislature), which office would afford the
incumbent a most favorable opportunity, by his communications,
preparation and recommendation of books for libraries, etc., to
abolish differences and jealousies on minor points; to promote
agreement on great principles and interests; to introduce the best
kind of reading for the youth of the country; and the not onerous
duties of which office would also afford him leisure to prepare
publications calculated to teach the people at large to appreciate,
upon high moral and social considerations, the institutions
established amongst them; and to furnish, from time to time, such
expositions of great principles and measures of the administration
as would secure the proper appreciation and support of them on the
part of the people at large. Lord Sydenham expressed himself as
highly gratified at this expression of my views and feelings; but
the passing of the Bill was then doubtful, although His Lordship
expressed his determination to get it passed if possible, and give
effect to what he had proposed to me, and which was then
contemplated by him.
Apart from this statement of the intentions of Lord Sydenham, it is also
clear that the determination of Sir Charles Metcalfe to appoint Dr.
Ryerson to a position in which he could carry out a comprehensive scheme
of Public School Education, in Upper Canada, was come to some time
before the question of the difference between Sir Charles Metcalfe and
his late Councillors had engaged Dr. Ryerson's attention, and even at a
time when his impressions on the subject were against the
Governor-General. This conclusion was arrived at by Sir Charles
Metcalfe, after full and frequent conversations with Dr. Ryerson on the
subject of the University Bill. With a view to avail himself of Dr.
Ryerson's knowledge and judgment on that subject, he directed his
Private Secretary to address the following note to him on the 18th of
December, 1843:--
One of the many important subjects that at present engages the
attention of the Governor-General your Church is particularly
interested in, and His Excellency is, therefore, desirous of having
the benefit of your opinion upon it. I mean the consideration of
the arrangements that are now necessary in consequence of the
failure of the University Bill introduced last session. I beg to
add that His Excellency will be happy to have some conversation
with you on the question to which I allude, the first time you may
visit this part of the province.
Not having been able to go at once to Kingston, Dr. Ryerson wrote to the
Governor-General in regard to the University Bill. His Secretary replied
early in January, saying:--
When it suits your convenience to come this way, His Excellency
will have an opportunity of fully discussing the subject touched
upon in your letter.
Dr. Ryerson soon afterwards went to Kingston and saw Sir Charles
Metcalfe on the subject. In a letter written to Hon. W. H. Merritt
shortly after this interview, Dr. Ryerson said:--
His Excellency's object in desiring me to wait upon him had
reference to the University question, on which he intends, with the
aid of Mr. Draper, etc., to have a measure brought into the
Legislature, which I think will be satisfactory to all parties
concerned. I took a day to consider the questions he had proposed.
In the meantime I saw Mr. S. B. Harrison and stated to him the
opinions I had formed. Of their correctness and importance, and
practicability he seemed to be fully satisfied, and urged me to
state them to His Excellency.
In a letter from Dr. Ryerson, published in the _Guardian_, and dated
28th October, 1843, the character of Mr. Baldwin's University Bill is
thus described:--
It is a measure worthy of the most enlightened government; and is,
I have reason to know, entirely the production of Hon.
Attorney-General Baldwin.... In the discussion [on the University
question] the authorities of Victoria College have taken no part.
We have remained perfectly silent and neutral, not because we had
no opinion as to the policy which has been recently pursued in
converting a Provincial ministry into a Church of England one[124]
... because we, as a body, had more to lose than to gain by any
proposed plan to remedy the abuse and evil complained of. As a
body, we gain nothing by the University Bill, should it become a
law; it only provides for the continuance of the small annual aid
which the Parliament has already granted; whilst, of course, it
takes away the University powers and privileges of Victoria
College--making it a College of the University of Toronto. Our
omission, therefore, from the Bill would be preferable, as far as
we, as a party, are concerned, were it consistent with the general
and important objects of the measure. But such an omission would
destroy the very character and object of the Bill. As a Provincial
measure, it cannot fail to confer unspeakable benefits upon the
country. Viewing the measure in this light, the Board of Victoria
College have consented to resign certain of their rights and
privileges for the accomplishment of general objects so
comprehensive and important.
In a written statement on this subject prepared by Dr. Ryerson for this
volume he says:--
Towards the close of 1843, Sir Charles Metcalfe determined to prepare
and give effect to a liberal measure on the University question--on
which subject Hon. Robert Baldwin had proposed elaborate and
comprehensive resolutions. Sir Charles Metcalfe sent for me to consult
with me on the University question, as I was then connected with one of
the colleges. I explained to His Excellency my views, and added that the
educational condition of the country at large was deplorable, and should
be considered in a system of public instruction, commencing with the
Common School and terminating with the University; being connected and
harmonious throughout, and equally embracing all classes without respect
to religious sect or political party. Sir Charles was much impressed and
pleased with my views, and expressed a wish that I could be induced to
give them public effect.
Dr. Ryerson then goes on to say:--I remarked to Sir Charles that Lord
Sydenham, a few days before his sudden death, had proposed the same
thing to me, and that had he survived a few weeks, I would likely have
been appointed, with a view of organizing a system of Elementary
Education; but that as Lord Sydenham died suddenly, and as I scorned to
be an applicant to Government for any office, I mentioned the fact to no
member of the Government. In May, 1842, another gentleman was appointed
Assistant to the Provincial Secretary as Superintendent of Education. He
was treated as a clerk in the office of the Provincial Secretary, having
no clerk himself, and having to submit his drafts of letters, etc., to
the Provincial Secretary for approval. [For particulars of this
appointment, see p. 347.]
After this interview Dr. Ryerson, on the 26th February, wrote to the
Governor-General on the University Question. Mr. Secretary Higginson
replied, and at the conclusion of his letter repeated the offer which
Sir Charles Metcalfe had made at the close of the year:--The
Governor-General is so sensible of the great value of the aid you would
bring to the Government in the intellectual improvement of the country,
that he anxiously hopes, as suggested, that some arrangement may be
devised satisfactory to you to obtain your co-operation; and His
Excellency will keep his mind bent on that object, and will be happy to
hear any further suggestion from you with a view to its accomplishment.
Early in this month (February, 1844), Dr. Ryerson's appointment as
Superintendent of Education has been talked of. His brother John wrote
to him on the 6th of March, recalling the fact of that appointment
having been the subject of conversation with Sir Charles Bagot and some
members of the Cabinet in 1842. Rev. John Ryerson then went on to say:--
You know that when your appointment to the office of Superintendent
of Education was talked of in Toronto, in 1842, I was in favour of
your accepting the appointment. The appointment that was made I
thought a most unwise one, and the late Executive greatly lowered
themselves in making it. Whenever I have thought of the thing
since, I have felt disgusted with the late Government, that they
should have been guilty of such a shameful dereliction of duty and
honour as not, at least, to have offered the appointment to you.
In reply to this letter, Dr. Ryerson said:--
As liberal as the Council of Sir Charles Bagot were in many things,
they rejected the application of every Methodist candidate for office.
Making appointments upon the principles of party, they must be given
only to one of the party; a system of appointment which holds out a poor
prospect to the Methodist who makes religion first, and party not more
than second--especially when he may have as a rival candidate one who
makes party everything, and religion nothing.
To this letter Rev. John Ryerson replied:--
I am very well pleased with the idea of your being appointed to the
office of Superintendent of Education--an office for which, I
think, you are better qualified than any other person in the
Province, and an office in which you can be of more service to the
Church, and the country generally, than in any other way.... You
say the appointment is not political.... Yet, is it true, in point
of fact, that the appointment is not political?... Would any person
be continued in the office who would not support the Government for
the time being?... Did not Lord Sydenham create this office for the
very purpose of connecting the incumbent with the Government, and
did he not have you in his mind's eye when he influenced this part
of the enactment?... There is no doubt, however, that in case of
the Baldwin Ministry again coming into power, the stool will be
knocked from under you. And we should not forget that the success
of the Governor-General, in carrying out his contemplated measures,
respecting the University, Colleges, etc., depends upon the
Parliament; and I have very little expectation of his being able to
secure the support of the present Parliament, in connection with
every other Ministry but the late ones; and what will be the result
of another election, who can tell?
In corroboration of the foregoing statements, Hon. Isaac Buchanan, in a
letter to the Editor of this volume dated 24th March, 1883, says:--
Being on the other side of the Atlantic from the fall of 1841 to that of
1843, I was not in circumstances to know to what extent the name of Dr.
Ryerson was discussed prior to the appointment of Mr. Murray [in May,
1842]; but I cannot believe that the minds of many who knew him to be
the fittest man, could have been otherwise than on Dr. Ryerson. On the
contrary, I believe that nothing prevented him being gladly offered the
originating of an educational system for Upper Canada--a Province which
he knew so well and loved so much--but the most unworthy church
prejudices of parties who had influence with the Government of the day,
for it was known to be a herculean task which no one could do the same
justice to as Dr. Ryerson, and which few men (however great as scholars
themselves) could have carried through at all.
Thus from the foregoing statements of Dr. Ryerson, Rev. John Ryerson,
and Hon. Isaac Buchanan, the following facts clearly appear:--
1. That Dr. Ryerson was offered the appointment of Superintendent of
Education by Lord Sydenham in 1841, and "had he survived a few weeks
[Dr. Ryerson] would likely have been appointed, with a view of
organizing a system of Elementary Education" for Upper Canada.
2. That Dr. Ryerson's appointment as Superintendent was "the subject of
conversation with Sir Charles Bagot and some members of his Cabinet in
1842."
3. That the failure to appoint Dr. Ryerson was due to the fact that the
Cabinet of Sir Charles Bagot--the Governor himself being unable to
act--"rejected," as Dr. Ryerson himself stated, "the application of
every Methodist candidate for office;" or, as Hon. Isaac Buchanan
states: "Nothing prevented [Dr. Ryerson] being gladly offered the
originating of an educational system for Upper Canada, but the most
unworthy church prejudices of parties who had influence with the
Government of the day."
4. That the appointment of Dr. Ryerson by Sir Charles Metcalfe was due
to the discussion on the comprehensive scheme of education which took
place between Dr. Ryerson and Sir Charles Metcalfe, on the University
question, late in 1843.
It may be proper to state that the appointment of Rev. Robert Murray in
May, 1842, was a surprise to the public, as the Editor of this volume
well remembers, and was, as Rev. John Ryerson states, "a most unwise
one." Mr. Murray was a minister of the Church of Scotland at Oakville.
He was chiefly known at the time as an anti-temperance writer[125]; but
had never been known to have taken any special interest in education. He
was intimate with Hon. S. B. Harrison, who owned mills at Bronte, a few
miles west of Oakville, where Mr. Harrison resided for some years. To
Mr. Harrison, the then leader of the Government, Mr. Murray was
indebted, as was then understood, for the appointment.
Rev. John Ryerson having written to his brother Egerton, asking if the
rumour of his appointment as Superintendent of Education was true, Dr.
Ryerson replied, on the 3rd April:--
As to the appointment to which you allude, it is but a rumour. No
appointment has yet been made. Should it take place, it will not require
my removal from Cobourg. Whatever has been proposed to me on that
subject, has been proposed with a view of giving body, form, practical
character and efficiency, to a system of general education, upon these
non-sectarian principles of equal justice which have characterized my
life. Nothing political is involved in the appointment--although it was
at first proposed to give me a seat in the Council! The education of the
people has nothing to do with the dispute with Lord Metcalfe, of which
you speak. I do not think it would become me to refuse to occupy the
most splendid field of usefulness that could engage the energies of man,
because of the dispute which has arisen.
On the 12th April, Dr. Ryerson replied to a letter from Mr. Secretary
Higginson, in which he said:--
Dr. Bethune, the Editor of _The Church_, has indeed protested
against my proposed appointment;[126] but I understand that a
majority of the members of his own congregation at Cobourg approve
of the appointment. Mr. Boswell, M.P.P., and Mr. Sheriff Rultan
(the most influential churchmen in the District), have expressed
themselves in favour of it in the strongest and warmest terms; as
have Mr. Keefer, of Thorold (who is a magistrate of wealth, leisure
and benevolence,--was foreman of the Grand Jury at the late assizes
in the Niagara District, and has, at the request of the District
Council, consented to superintend the schools in that district);
also Dr. Beadle, who is an old resident, and I believe, an American
Presbyterian.
Up to this time (April), Dr. Ryerson had decided to take no part in the
controversy between Sir Charles Metcalfe and his Councillors, but to
devote his energies to the great work of founding a system of education
for his native country. Much to the surprise of his friends, and (as he
says in his prefatory paper) "without consulting a human being," he felt
that it was his duty--after the issue of the manifesto of the Toronto
League--to relinquish the work assigned to him, and once more to take up
his pen in defence of one whom he believed to be in the right, and yet
who was left single-handed to meet the storm of popular clamour which
had been excited against him by combined and powerful enemies. Dr.
Ryerson, therefore, determined to decline the appointment offered to
him, and to abide the issue of the impending contest in which he
proposed to take a prominent part. In the opening remarks of this
memorable "Defence," he said:--
I was about entering upon the peaceful work--a work extensive and
varied beyond the powers of the most untiring and vigorous
intellect--a work down to this time almost entirely neglected--of
devising and constructing (by the concurrence of the people,
through their District Councils) a fabric of Provincial common
school education--of endeavouring to stud the land with appropriate
school-houses--of supplying them with appropriate books and
teachers--of raising a wretched employment to an honourable
profession--of giving uniformity, simplicity, and efficiency to a
general system of elementary educational instruction--of bringing
appropriate books for the improvement of his profession within the
reach of every school-master, and increased facilities for the
attainment of his stipulated remuneration--of establishing a
library in every district, and extending branches of it into every
township--of striving to develop by writing and discourses, in
towns, villages and neighbourhoods, the latent intellect, the most
precious wealth of the country--and of leaving no effort unemployed
within the limited range of my humble abilities, to make Western
Canada what she is capable of being made, the brightest gem in the
crown of Her Britannic Majesty. Such was the work about to be
assigned to me; and such was the work I was resolving, in humble
dependence upon the divine aid, to undertake; and no heart bounds
more than mine with desire, and hope, and joy, at the prospect of
seeing, at no distant day, every child of my native land in the
school-going way; and every intellect provided with the appropriate
elements of sustenance and enjoyment; and of witnessing one
comprehensive and unique system of education, from the a, b, c, of
the child, up to the matriculation of the youth into the Provincial
University, which, like the vaulted arch of heaven, would exhibit
an identity of character throughout, and present an aspect of equal
benignity to every sect, and every party upon the broad basis of
our common Christianity.
But I arrest myself from such a work--leave it perhaps for other
hands, and the glory of its accomplishment to deck another's brow;
and, if need be, to resign every other official situation; and,
unsolicited, unadvised by any human being--inwardly impelled by a
conviction of what is due to my Sovereign, to my country, to a
fellow-man--I take up the pen of vindication, of reasoning, of
warning and appeal, against criminations and proceedings of
impending evil, which, if they be not checked and arrested, will
accomplish more than the infamous ostracism of an Aristides, render
every other effort to improve and elevate Canada abortive, and
strew in wide-spread desolation over the land the ruins of the
throne and its government.
From the date of Mr. Higginson's letter (12th April) until the 7th of
September nothing was done in regard to the appointment of a
Superintendent of Education. On the latter day, however, Mr. Higginson
wrote to Dr. Ryerson as follows:--
We find a great difficulty in making a provisional arrangement for
the Educational duties. The University authorities require the
immediate services of a mathematical professor, and His Excellency
proposes Mr. Murray for the office, which will, it is hoped, be a
satisfactory arrangement to all parties; but Mr. Murray cannot
hold both positions, even for a time. Under these circumstances it
appears to be worthy of consideration, whether your appointment
ought not to take place at once, which would not, of course,
interfere with your projected visit to Europe in November, when it
might be easier to make some proper temporary provision for the
performance of your duties during your absence. His Excellency is
aware that you were in favour of deferring your nomination until
after your return from Europe; and if you should adhere to this
opinion, you may, perhaps, be able to suggest some means of meeting
the apparent difficulty.
On the 18th September, Mr. Higginson addressed another note to Dr.
Ryerson, in reply to one from him, in which he said:
You will have learned from my last note that Sir Charles approved
of all your suggestions, except the non-announcement of your
appointment. As you see reason to alter your opinion on this point,
the difficulty is removed, and you shall be gazetted in the last
week of the month, as you propose. I wish, with you, that the
College question could be settled in England, if we could only
prevail on the contending parties to agree to a case of facts. This
might be accomplished, and I am not without hope that some scheme
may be devised to which no party will have just ground of
objection. I shall write to you upon this subject as soon as
anything is determined on.
At this point I resume the narrative which Dr. Ryerson had prepared for
this volume in regard to his appointment:--In September, 1844, a vacancy
occurred in the Professorship of Mathematics in the University of
Toronto, by the resignation and return to England of Mr. Potter; and, as
the gentleman who had been appointed to the Education branch of the
Secretary's Office, was reputed to be an excellent mathematician, and
had high testimonials of his qualification, he applied for the
professorship; evidently feeling the anomalousness of his position, and
his inability and powerlessness to establish a system of Public School
Education.[127]
The Governor-General appointed him to the Mathematical Professorship,
and formally offered the Education Office to me. I laid the official
letter containing the offer before the executive authority (a large
committee) of my Church, and was advised to accept it. But as I had
determined to abide by the decision of the country as to the principles
of its future government, on which I was then appealing to it, I
determined not to accept of office until I should know the result of
that appeal.
After the endorsement of my views by all the constituencies of Upper
Canada, with eight exceptions, I felt no hesitation, in accepting an
office which had been some months before offered to me. The draft of my
official instructions, stating the scope and design of my appointment
and of the task assigned to me, was written by myself, at the request of
Mr. Secretary Daly, afterwards Governor in Australia.
During my connection with the Education Department--from 1844 to 1876--I
made five educational tours of inspection and enquiry to educating
countries in Europe and the United States. I made an official tour
through each county in Upper Canada, once in every five years, to hold a
County Convention of municipal councillors, clergy, school-trustees,
teachers and local superintendents, and thus developed the School system
as the result of repeated inquiries in foreign countries, and the freest
consultation with my fellow-citizens of all classes, in the several
County Conventions, as well as on many other occasions.
During the nearly thirty-two years of my administration of the Education
Department, I met with strong opposition at first from individuals--some
on personal, others on religious and political grounds; but that
opposition was, for most part, partial and evanescent. During these
years I had the support of each successive administration of Government,
whether of one party or the other, and, at length, the co-operation of
all religious persuasions; so that in 1876 I was allowed to retire, with
the good-will of all political parties and religious denominations, and
without diminution of my public means of subsistence.
I leave to Dr. J. George Hodgins, my devoted friend of over forty years,
and my able colleague for over thirty of these years, the duty of
filling up the details of our united labours in founding a system of
education for my native Province which is spoken of in terms of strong
commendation, not only within, but by people outside of the Dominion.
* * * * *
Note.--It is the purpose of the Editor of this book (in accordance with
Dr. Ryerson's oft expressed wish) to prepare another volume, giving,
from private letters, memoranda, and various documents, a personal
history of the founding and vicissitudes of our educational system from
1844 to 1876 inclusive.
FOOTNOTES:
[124] The second resolution adopted by the Victoria College Board, on
the 24th October, 1843, says:--the noble and comprehensive objects of
the amended Charter have been entirely defeated; and the abrogated,
sectarian Charter has been virtually restored, by the partial and
exclusive manner in which appointments to that institution have been
made, and its affairs managed; apart from the misappropriations of large
portions of its funds.
[125] In September, 1839, Rev. Robert Murray, of Oakville, published a
series of lectures on "Absolute Abstinence." From a review of these
lectures, by Dr. Ryerson in the _Guardian_ of the 18th of that month, I
make the following extracts:--
We confess we have seldom read anything so illiberal and sweeping....
The principle of total abstinence is wholly repudiated, and temperance
societies are forbidden an existence.... But such a work ... shall not
by us be allowed to go forth without the accompaniment of our decided
reprobation. This is not the day for encouragement to be given to the
drunkard, nor this the time when a Minister of the Gospel is ... to fill
the cup of death and present it to his fellows without an attempt being
made to dash it to the ground.
The following extract from the second lecture, relating to the
fulfilment of a certain prophecy in the book of Jeremiah, is given by
Dr. Ryerson:--
"Many of you, I am persuaded, have witnessed this prophecy fulfilled to
the very letter. Have you never seen young men making themselves
cheerful with malt liquors, while the young maids were producing the
same effect with the blood of the grape? Nor is there the slightest
doubt on my mind, that the prophet hailed this event as a special
manifestation of the great goodness of God."
It was in reference to the author of such opinions, and the advocate of
such views, that Rev. John Ryerson used the language quoted on the
preceding page.
[126] On the 19th October, 1844, Dr. Ryerson was appointed
Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada. Of his appointment, Rev.
Dr. Bethune, Editor of _The Church_, on the 25th October, said:--It was
an impolitic and a heartless step, as regards the Church of England in
this colony, to raise to the office of Superintendent an individual who
has thriven upon his political obliquities, and who owes his fame, or
rather his notoriety, to his unquenchable dislike to the National
Church. In a moment of danger we can forget the injury; but it must not
be thought that we shall sit quietly beneath the wrong.
Rev. Dr. Bethune subsequently changed his opinion of Dr. Ryerson, and,
when Bishop of Toronto, referred to him in some of his public utterances
in very kind and complimentary terms.
[127] In regard to this appointment, the Hon. Isaac Buchanan, in a
letter to the Editor of this volume, dated March, 1883, said:--I was one
of the first to see the necessity of our getting Dr. Ryerson to take
hold of our Educational system, and I shared the somewhat delicate duty
of getting our esteemed friend, Rev. Robert Murray (whom we had got
appointed Assistant-Superintendent of Education), to accept a
professorship at the Toronto University, when Rev. Dr. Ryerson succeeded
to the vacant post in 1844.
CHAPTER XLIV.
1844-1846.
Dr. Ryerson's First Educational Tour in Europe.
Dr. Ryerson left Canada for Europe in November, 1844, on his first
educational tour through Europe. He visited and examined into the
educational systems of Belgium, France, Italy, Bavaria, Austria, the
German States, and Switzerland. He kept a full diary of his travels.
Much of it is out of date, but I shall give those portions of it which
relate to his personal history, and his impressions of men and things.
The epitome of these travels which he had prepared is as follows:--
_England._--Scenery of Essex and Kent from the Thames; landing in
Holland; its scenery, palaces, school system, schools,
universities, museums, principal cities and towns, churches, canals
and roads.
_Belgium._--From Utrecht to Antwerp--cathedral, churches, schools,
museums; Rubens' paintings; Brussels--schools; Hôtel de Ville,
etc.; field of Waterloo; Belgian school system; Howard's Model
Prison; convent; university buildings.
_France._--Journey to Paris; curiosities and peculiarities of
Paris; acquaintance with the Protestant clergy; my residence and
employments there for three months, to qualify myself to speak as
well as write official letters, etc., in the French language.
_From Paris to Rome._--Modes of travel; places viewed on the way;
Orleans, Loire, Lyons, Rhone, Avignon, Nismes, Montpellier, Arles;
antiquities; Marseilles, Genoa, Leghorn, Civita Vecchia, to Rome.
_Rome._--Three weeks among its antiquities, palaces, churches,
colleges and schools.
_June 13th, 1845._--Naples; the peasants on the way from Rome to
Naples; Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Pompeii, museums, hospitals,
college, schools.
_June 20th._--In a steamer from Naples to Leghorn, thence in a
hired coach to Pisa and Florence,--beautiful country, and highly
cultivated. Employed four weeks in studying the institutions and
peculiarities of Florence; no beggars or Jesuits allowed in
Florence; the grand Duke a father to his people.
_July 19th._--Proceeded to Bologna, re-enter the Papal dominions,
and crossed the Appenines; views; a Normal School at Bologna,
containing 1,000 pupils, and a Foundling Hospital with 3,000
children.
_July 23rd._--Left Bologna in a vetturina, in company with two
agreeable gentlemen, a German and an American; Ferrara; reached the
Po, where we entered Austrian dominions; when we entered the first
custom-house in Italy, the head officers of which did not ask for
money, and declined it when offered to them. Crossed the Adige;
interesting places; thence to Venice, where I spend four days in
that wondrous city.
_Bavaria._--In a stage by the Trent, through the Tyrolese Alps to
Munich, capital of Bavaria, where I employed nineteen days in
visiting its schools and museums, conversing with the professors.
From Munich by stage to Ratisbon; down the Danube to Luiz and
Vienna--the most perfect city in its buildings, streets, and
gardens I had visited. Gave a day to go down the Danube to the
capital of Hungary.
_Bohemia._--From Vienna, through Bohemia, by the first train on the
then new railroad to Prague; women working on the railroad.
_Saxony and Germany._--From Prague to Dresden--visits to schools;
thence to Leipsic--visits to public buildings, schools, and
university; thence to Halle--Franke's foundations, and other
schools; to Wittemburg--Luther and Melancthon.
_Prussia._--Berlin, Sept. 8th.--Examination of its various
institutions, schools, and its university; Hanover, Cologne,
Mayence, Wiesbaden, Frankfort, Strasbourg, Bâle, Zürich; school of
M. Fellenburg; Lausanne--Geneva--to Paris.
_Episode in my European travels, 1844, etc._--Acquaintance and
travel with a Russian nobleman, who becomes a Catholic priest--the
Pope's Nuncio at the Court to have the Canadian school regulations
for Separate School translated and published in the Bavarian
newspapers; also requested me to be the bearer of a medal to
Cardinal Antonelli. Rome; presentation to, and interview with, the
Pope.
_London--February 22nd, 1845._--Started this morning in company
with a young Russian nobleman (Dunjowski), for the Continent. We
commenced our voyage on the Thames, wending our way amidst shoals
of craft of all descriptions. The most prominent object in the
river was the new "Great Britain" iron steamer; she seemed to
preside Queen of the waters; excelling every other ship, as much in
the beauty and elegance of her form, as in the vastness of her
dimensions. On our left lay Essex, rising gradually at a distance
from the river; the undulating surface presents a high state of
cultivation, variegated by stately mansions, farm-houses, and
villages. On the right lay Kent, remarkable for its historical
recollections. The chalk-hills near Purfleet, the men working in
them, also the lime and sand, attracted my attention as a novelty I
had never before witnessed. We had a tolerable view of Gravesend,
the great thoroughfare of south-eastern England. We passed the
ancient village of Tilbury Fort, and Sheerness. We arrived at
Holland on Sunday morning (about twenty hours from London), but
could not ascend the river to Rotterdam on account of the ice. We
therefore steamed to Screvinning, a village on the sea-shore, about
three miles from the Hague. There were about fifty fishing-boats
lying on the shore, high and dry, with their prows to the sea, as
the tide was out. I was struck with their shortness, breadth,
strength, and clam-like shape of their bottoms, with a portion in
the centre perfectly flat. The speed of these curiously-constructed
crafts is considerable; they sail close to the wind; having boards
at the side as a substitute for a keel. Our mode of landing was
novel. The boats were run aground, when several stout Dutch sailors
jumped into the water nearly waist deep, and each took a passenger
on his shoulders, soon placing him on _terra firma_. I have
travelled in a great variety of ways, but I was never before placed
on a man's shoulders, astride of his neck; but in this way I took
my leave of the German Ocean. There is not a rock to be seen on the
shore; which consists of fine sand thrown up from the sea, and
forms a bank about twenty feet high; the highest land on the coast
of Holland, forming a ridge from one to three miles wide along the
northern coast. Screvinning is principally inhabited by fishermen.
The road to the Hague is perfectly straight, level, and smooth,
lying between two rows of oak trees, one row of which divides
between it and a collateral canal--the accompaniment of every road
throughout Holland. At 5 p.m. we went to the French Protestant
Church, the place in which the famous Saurin delivered his eloquent
discourses. The congregation was thin; my emotions and
recollections of Saurin contrasted with the present preacher and
congregation. The pulpit was at the side; the form of the church
was amphi-theatrical. I noticed old Bibles, and Psalms; the text
was Luke xxiii 27-28. A moderate preacher, calm, solemn and
graceful; baptisms after the service. Went from the French to the
English Church; only fifteen persons were present, including
ourselves. I spoke to the clergyman (Mr. Beresford), introducing
ourselves, and the object of our mission.
_February, 24th._--Went to the British Embassy with Rev. Mr.
Beresford; from thence to the Royal Library; and then proceeded to
the Chinese and Japanese collection of curiosities; then on to the
Gallery of Paintings; some very exquisite. From thence to the
residence of the Russian (Greek) clergyman, Chaplain to the Queen
of Holland, who kindly shewed us the Queen's private
apartments--refined taste, and great magnificence. Then on to a
Protestant school, of about 800 poor children, which is supported
by subscription. The King is a subscriber to the amount of 1,000
guilders. The teachers consist of a head master and four
assistants. No monitors; admirable construction of the seats;
excellent order of the children; rod never used--shame, the chief
instrument of correction; fine specimens of painting; Scriptures
read, and prayers four times a day; salary of the head master 1,000
guilders, and assistants from 300 to 400; books furnished to the
children, and all the stationery; an excellent building,
well-ventilated, comfortably warm, and perfectly clean; the
children remain from six to twelve years of age. Saw the British
Chargé d'Affaires, who procured me a general letter of introduction
to teachers, etc., throughout Holland, from the Minister of the
Interior. Visited the largest and principal free school at the
Hague; it contains about eleven hundred children, girls and boys,
taught by a head-master, aided by a second, and five other
under-masters, and five assistants, lads from fifteen to eighteen
years of age. No master ever sits, or has a seat to sit on. Were
conducted by the Russian clergymen to the palace again; the state
apartments were splendid indeed; collection of paintings extensive
and most select; hot-houses and gardens delightful. Spent the
evening with this gentleman, and was deeply interested in his
conversation on his own labours, and the customs and character of
the Hollanders.
_February 25th._--Left the Hague for Leyden. The country perfectly
level, looking like a low meadow won from the empire of water by
the industry of man, intersected by dykes and canals, interspersed
with villas and good private dwellings; here and there a wood of
twenty or fifty years growth. On our way we visited Dr. de Rendt,
who keeps the most select private school in Holland for the first
class of nobility and gentry.
_February 26th--Leyden._--Attended the University, and conversed at
large with the Inspector of Schools for the district, Mr. Blusse,
who gave the history, and explained the whole system of elementary
education in Holland. Visited six schools, admirable upon the
whole. Three thousand poor children are taught in them, at an
expense to the State. Visited the Museum, University, and Library;
then proceeded to Haarlem, examined the schoolrooms of the
celebrated Mr. Prinsen and afterwards heard his own views of the
essentials of a good system of popular education: his remarks were
profound and practical. He remarked, "a good system of education
consists in the men. Theory and practice make the teacher. The
government of the head, how acquired and how exercised. Few books;
much exposition." His business for forty-four years has been to
make school-masters. Religious instruction, history of his own
career and of his own school. Afterwards examined Casler's
monument and the church; heard the organ, and proceeded to
Amsterdam.
_Feb. 27th--Amsterdam._--Had some talk with the Government
Inspector of Schools. Visited a school, taught by a Roman Catholic,
in which there were 950 children in one room, all quiet, and all
attentive. There were four masters and twelve assistants. They have
prayers four times a day.
_Feby. 28th._--Went to Saundau. Reflections on Peter the Great.
Visited the palace, its paintings and museum. Took supper with the
Rev. Mr. Jameson, Episcopal clergyman.
_March 1st--Belgium._--Proceeded to Utrecht, thence to Antwerp.
_March 2nd--Sunday._--Went to the cathedral; paintings by Rubens;
earnestness and oratory of the preacher. Went to St. Pauls; the
streets very quiet.
_March 3rd._--Visited the Jesuit's church, and three schools;
phonic and Lancasterian method of learning. Visited the museum, the
city, the view from the tower of the cathedral, statues of Rubens,
of the Virgin and Saviour. Proceeded to Brussels; visited three
schools; courteously received; arrangements good. Visited the Hotel
de Ville; Gobelin tapestry; history of Clovis; abdication of
Charles V. Paintings. Reflections.
_March 4th._--Spent three hours in examining the field of Waterloo.
Went to Nivelles and visited the Normal School for south Belgium;
all the arrangements perfect. Returned to Brussels.
_March 3rd._--Left Brussels for Ghent; met a commissioner at the
railway station, and visited the Government Model School; the views
of the intelligent master were very excellent. Called on a Doctor
to whom I had a letter of introduction. He explained the school
system of Belgium with great clearness. Visited the prison, the
celebrated establishment that excited the admiration of Howard, and
after the model of which several prisons in England and America
have been built. There were about twelve hundred
prisoners--arrangements wonderful, discipline apparently
perfect--kept by twenty-eight men. Visited a poorhouse, a
benevolent establishment to assist poor old people; about three
hundred inmates; grateful feelings, sympathy. Visited the
celebrated convent, containing about eight hundred nuns, who come
and remain voluntarily; none, it is said, have ever left. Visited
the university buildings--the best I have seen on the continent;
lecture-rooms very fine. Left for Lille, in France; courteously
treated at the French custom house.
_March 8th--Paris._--On our way from Lille we crossed a branch of
the Rhine and the Meuse on the ice; country level and well
cultivated; passed Cambray and other towns. Walked to the park,
Tuileries, to the Triumphal Arch of Napoleon--a world of
magnificence.
_March 9th._--Studying French; walked through and around the Palais
Royale in the boulevards--noble, splendid.
_March 10th--Sunday._--Attended the Wesleyan chapel--about one
hundred present--then the English Church; thence to the Madeleine
Church--most magnificent; congregation vast; music and chanting
excellent beyond description; discourse read; paintings and
sculpture fine; church built by Napoleon.
_March 11th._--Went to Dr. Grampier, the director of the French
Protestant Evangelical Mission, a pious man, an able author, at the
head of an excellent institution having missions in Africa as well
as in different parts of France.
_March 12th._--Removed to new lodgings; tolerably comfortable.
_March 13th._--Went to the university; heard lecture on history;
Attended an evening party at Dr. Grampier's; was introduced to
several gentlemen of rank and wealth. Singing and reading of the
Scriptures; much pleased with the party; as many ladies as
gentlemen; assembled at eight, broke up at eleven o'clock.
_March 14th._--Heard a most splendid lecture on astronomy from the
celebrated Arago; audience very large; the professor had no notes;
the subject was light--comets, causes of the changes in the color
of the stars, etc., etc.; lecture two hours, much cheered.
_March 15th._--Went to the French Chamber of Deputies; saw Guizot.
Difference between the French Chamber of Deputies and the British
House of Commons struck me--1st. The more ample accommodations for
members; 2nd. The little attention which appeared to be paid to the
President of the Chamber; 3rd. In the members going to the tribune
to speak, and reading their speeches; 4th. In the position of the
different officers of the House; 5th. The fine appearance of the
servants, and the very convenient accommodations for them; 6th. The
superior accommodations for strangers. Heard two lectures at the
university, one on mineralogy; lecture good; specimens
numerous--the other on electricity; splendid lecturer; fine
illustrations.
_March 16th--Sunday._--Went to the Oratoire, the principal
Protestant place of worship; about seventy catechumens admitted;
the dress of the females white. Sermon by Mr. Monod; text--"_Mon
fils, donne-moi ton coeur_;" very practical and impressive; the
singing peculiarly touching. He is a complete talking machine; read
from Lamartine, as did M. Delille beautifully and effectively.
_March 17th._--Close application to the study of French all day.
Anecdotes at breakfast respecting the pride of Victor Hugo. Walked
along the Seine, then across the river into Notre Dame--the
Westminister Abbey of Paris--worthy of the appellation.
_March 18th._--Pursued my studies till 7 p.m., when I attended a
party given by Count Gasparin, M.H.D., who, with his father, is
styled the Wilberforce of France--the one being a member of the
House of Peers, the other of the House of Deputies. They are
regarded as the representatives of Protestantism in the French
Legislature. Had a good deal of conversation with Dr. Grampier, on
the strength, state, and prospects of Protestantism in France; also
the mode of instructing young persons for public recognition in the
Church, and admission to the Holy Communion. These catechumens are
instructed two or three times a week, for six months, in the
evidences, doctrines, and morals of Christianity. They are then
examined, and if they shew themselves qualified, they are publicly
admitted. The ceremony of admission takes place twice a year, a
little before Easter, and at Pentecost. None are admitted under
fifteen years of age. Dr. Grampier considered that Protestantism
was decidedly gaining upon Popery; and that his own university had
been as successful amongst the Catholics, as amongst Protestants,
in genuine heart conversions; that whole congregations in some
parts of France had embraced Protestantism. His remarks respecting
Guizot were interesting and curious. The mother of this great man
is now eighty-four years of age, a woman of great vigour of mind; a
saint, and nursing-mother in Israel; she offers daily prayers for
her son. Guizot is an orthodox Protestant, employed Dr. Grampier to
instruct and prepare his children for the Holy Communion, but never
goes to church himself, but has told Dr. Grampier that he prays
every day. He has been much afflicted in the loss of two wives whom
he greatly loved; and also of a son, about twenty-one, a young man
of most amiable disposition, great acquirements, talents and
virtues. Conversed also with Count Gasparin, who appears to be a
truly converted man; spoke of the inefficiency of a formal
religion, and the necessity of the religion of the heart. Mentioned
the readiness of Roman Catholics to hear Protestant missionaries.
He believes that God is about to do a great work in France. The
Count is an author; his father has been Minister of the Interior.
_March 19th._--Heard lecture on chemistry by Prof. Dumas, one of
the ablest chemists of the present day, and a most eloquent
lecturer.
_March 20th--Good Friday._--Went to hear a Protestant clergyman,
one of the most pious and able ministers in Paris; his manner
unaffected, eloquent, and impressive. No organ; singing good, all
sang. It being a holy day, crowds were everywhere; streets for
miles were filled with three, and sometimes four lines of
carriages, of all descriptions; the broad sidewalks were literally
crowded with pedestrians, forming solid masses from twenty to fifty
feet wide, and extending two miles. Order was preserved by soldiers
and cavalry, stationed at short distances. I never saw such a
moving mass of people, embracing, no doubt, every nation in Europe
and America. The attractions of the harlequins, jugglers,
hucksters, etc., of all descriptions, surpass imagination. I walked
to Napoleon's Arch of Triumph; observed the inscriptions and
remarkable figures on that elegant and extraordinary structure;
ascended to the top, and there enjoyed one of the most magnificent
views I ever beheld, embracing all Paris and its environs for many
miles, the day being cloudless; the serpentine Seine, the richly
cultivated country, its parks, its gardens, its arcades of trees,
its villas, churches, colleges, hospitals, palaces, squares, and
monuments, together with the elegant Tuileries, the noble Louvre,
the magnificent Champs Elysées, the playing fountains, the spacious
streets, and the moving masses of people, presented a scene which
for variety, splendour, and I may add, solemnity, could not be
excelled by any prospect that might have been commanded on the
pinnacle of Jerusalem's Temple. In fifty years the mass of this
vast multitude will be numbered amongst a bygone generation; and
these stately works of art shall perish. What a worm am I amongst
such a multitude! yet I am destined to immortality; have but a few
years to live in a probationary state, but an eternity to exist!
_March 21st._--Went to the Louvre to see the paintings; about two
thousand in number; some large and splendid, many beautiful, and
some affecting; none of the paintings from sacred history equal
those I have seen in England, Holland, and Belgium, especially in
Antwerp.
_March 22nd--Easter._--Went to the Oratoire, where a discourse was
delivered, and the Lord's Supper celebrated. The preacher, Mons.
Venueil, was so impressive and affecting that the greater part of
the congregation were in tears several times. Being Easter Sunday,
his subject was the resurrection, of Christ. He reminded me of
Saurin. The spectacle presented of the communicants standing around
a long table, and the minister in the midst, at one side,
distributing the emblems with suitable addresses, reminded me of
pictures I have seen of Christ at the Last Supper. The catechumens
who had been received on the previous Sabbath, first partook. I,
for the first time, communed with French Protestants, and I felt it
good to be there. I attended the Wesleyan chapel; service in
French; congregation about seventy-five; preacher (a little
Frenchman), quite animated; he quoted many passages of Scripture,
chapter and verse, proving the universality of the Atonement. The
communion followed.
_March 24th, 1845._--This day I am forty-two years of age! My life
is more than half gone, at the best. The recollections of the past
year are painful and humiliating beyond expression. It has been the
least spiritual year of my Christian life. For some weeks past I
have been revived in my purposes, devotions and enjoyments. By
God's grace, my future life and labours shall be His. I have never
before felt so keenly the weakness and depravity of the human
heart; nor have I ever felt so deeply the necessity and the
sufficiency of the atoning blood of Christ. He is all. All is
wretchedness and death without Him.
_March 26th._--Worked very hard at my French studies; much
discouraged, but must not abandon my efforts to speak a new
language. Visited the Pantheon--wondrous structure--a sovereign's
pride, and a nation's monument. Visited the tombs of the dead;
ascended to the dome--magnificent view; fine paintings in fresco.
My impressions will never be effaced. This evening was in company
with Count Gasparin and his noble father, and Mr. Monod, one of the
principal Protestant ministers in Paris. Mr. Monod spoke strongly
of Puseyism; mentioned that he was at a school this week where
there were twelve Protestant young ladies sent from England to be
educated in a Papal school, and every one of them had become Roman
Catholics. He told me there was no intercourse between the
Protestants in France and Holland; he considers vital religion is
advancing in Holland.
_March 27th._--Went to the Observatoire; heard lecture from Mons.
Arago; room crowded. Visited the beautiful gardens of the
Luxembourg.
_March 30th._--Heard Mons. Armand Delille (my host) preach, in Dr.
Grampier's Church; impressive service, and a comfortable place of
worship outside the gates of the city.
_March 31st._--Commenced receiving lessons in French from Mons. O.
De Lille; believe I shall soon be able to speak. The name of God be
praised for His help and blessing!
_April 2nd._--Went to the College (Sorbonne); heard a lecture on
Botany.
_April 3rd._--Was strongly talked with for not speaking French; Oh,
that God would help me; I desire to employ it to His honour. Heard
Mons. Arago on Astronomy.
_April 5th._--Commenced conversing in French, in good earnest.
Heard a lecture by Mons. Despretz on Modern History, in which the
eloquent lecturer drew a parallel between France and Rome, and the
reign of Augustus and the career of Buonaparte, of course in favour
of the latter.
_April 6th--Sabbath._--Attended church both morning and evening.
Received this morning a present of several books in French from the
pious author of them; read the description and reflections upon
"Jésus Bénissant les Enfants"; was deeply affected with the
remembrance of the manner in which my most pious and excellent
mother brought me, in various ways, to the Saviour, when I was a
little boy. I owe my all to her, as a divinely-owned instrument, in
my early conversion and dedication of myself to God and His Church.
She is now on the verge of heaven--may grace strengthen me to meet
her there.
_April 7th._--Heard four lectures this day on law, chemistry,
theology, and philosophy. The lecture on theology was on the
authenticity of the Scriptures--comparing the prophecies of Isaiah
with the narrative of the evangelists. Lecture on philosophy was
devoted to an admirable analysis of Locke.
_April 8th._--Attended four lectures at the university at 9
o'clock. "Droit de la nature et des nations," (in the college of
France) by Mons. de Postels; "Poésie latine," by M. Patin, the
subject was Horace; "Anatomie, physiologie comp. et zoologie," by
De Blainville; much of geological theory; "Physique-Acoustique," by
M. Despretz; musical instruments.
_April 9th._--Have attended five lectures: "Histoire de Littérature
Grecque," by Egger; "Histoire Ecclésiastique," by l'Abbe Jager;
"Botanique anat. et Physiologie Végétales," by Payer; "Théologie
Morale," by l'Abbe Receveur.
_April 10th._--Attended three full lectures, and part of a fourth.
1st. Eloquence latine--Cicero, by M. Hanet; 2nd. Histoire Moderne,
by M. Michelet, celebrated, (Collége de France) crowded audience
and much applause; 3rd. Littérature Grecque; 4th. Histoire Moderne,
par M. Sornement. I understood more than I ever did before. The
name of the Lord be praised!
_April 11th._--Attended five lectures. 1st. Civil Law of France;
2nd. Astronomical Geography; 3rd. Sacred Literature; 4th. Botany
and Vegetable Physiology; 5th. French Eloquence. Read French and
English with a young collegian. The name of the Lord be praised for
the goodness of this day, and for the success of my labours!
_April 12th._--Was enabled to make a long recitation this morning,
and have attended five lectures at the university. Received a
parcel from London, furnishing me with Canadian papers; how
refreshing is news from home in a foreign country. Thus has my
heavenly Father blest me with all good things.
_April 13th--Sabbath._--Attended service at the Chapelle Tailbout;
M. Bridel preached on prayer; thence to the Wesleyan Chapel, which
was crowded. Read the religious intelligence from Canada. I rejoice
to hear of the doings of my brethren; the success of the work in
their hands; hope still to labour with them.
_April 14th._--Attended four lectures at the university, besides my
studies. I pray my heavenly Father to assist and prosper my
exertions. I can do nothing without confidence in Him. To the glory
of His name shall the fruit of my unworthy labours be consecrated.
_April 15th._--Attended the meeting of the "Société des Introits
généraux du Protestantisme français." Proceedings commenced with
prayer. The meeting was addressed by a number of pasteurs; most of
the speakers had notes. Also attended the annual meeting of the
"Société des Traités religieux" in the Chapelle Tailbout; report
well read; speeches short and energetic.
_April 16th._--Attended the Conference of the Protestant Pastors,
in the Consistory of the Oratoire. About sixty present; the
proceedings opened with prayer. The President then asked the
members present to propose the subject of their friendly
conversation; several were proposed. Two hours brotherly
conversation took place on the duties, powers, and interests of the
synod. Most of those who spoke had notes; delivered their
sentiments sitting; were asked in order. Attended the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the "Société Biblique Protestante;" commenced with
prayer and singing. The Count de Gasparin spoke extemporaneously,
and with great elegance and ease. A number spoke with energy and
force; the last speaker selected passages to show that the Gospel
is not incomprehensible to the vulgar, as Romanists assert; also
attended the annual meeting of the "Société Evangélique de France;"
Chairman read a very short address; several spoke; M. de Gasparin
concluded by prayer.
_April 17th._--Attended the Conference of Pastors; the proceedings
the same as yesterday. At the annual meeting of the "Société des
Missions Evangélique;" the chair was occupied by a venerable old
man, who seemed, from the allusions made, to be an old friend and
supporter of the Society. The aged President read with a feeble
voice a short address. There were nine speakers; the last the
venerable Monod, who delivered a charge and parting address to the
young men who were going to Africa. He embraced in his address the
marrow of the Gospel, its power, its promises, its preciousness.
The young men were deeply affected, as were all present. He
directed them to the power and promises of Christ; assured them of
the continued sympathy of the Protestant pastors and churches of
France. Another pastor volunteered a few words of address to the
young men, on the distribution of religious tracts, and everywhere
proclaiming themselves as the missionaries of Christ from France.
There was a most affectionate greeting of pastors and old friends.
In the Consistory Chapel of the Oratoire de l'Eglise, there are
four busts of ministers whose memory is cherished by their
survivors. The names and epitaphs are as follows:--(1) F.
Methezet--"Il se repose de ses travaux et ses oeuvres le
suivent." (2) J.A. Barbant--"Je sais en qui j'ai cru." (3) J.
Monod--"Christ est ma vie, et la mort est gain." (4) P. H.
Marron--"O mort où est ton aiguillon! O sépulcre où est ta
victoire!"
_April 18th._--Attended the annual meeting of the "Société Biblique
Françoise et Etrangère." Count de Gasparin in the chair; speeches
spirited; details of report interesting and encouraging. Went to
Dr. Grampier's; a social meeting of pastors, to converse and pray
on the subject of Missions; subject of conversations; the
Missionary work and spirit. From thence went to an annual party,
where there was much of fashion and elegance; magnificent tea;
peculiar manners; conversed with Mr. Touse, an English clergyman,
and with M. G. de Gasparin.
_April 19th._--Attended the annual meeting of the "Société pour
l'encouragement et l'instruction primairie le protestants de
France." The Protestants are not satisfied with the system of mixed
schools; they wish to have exclusively Protestant schools. The
report was full, explicit, and decided. Several speeches from the
principal Protestant ministers, dwelling upon religious instruction
in primary schools. Attended the morning conference; nothing new in
the proceedings; but there was a marriage; but neither groomsmen
nor bridesmaids. Address of the pastor. The bride led by her
father, the brother-in-law leading the bridegroom; salutations of
friends; the presentation of the wedding-ring by the father of the
bride; presentation of a Bible to the newly-married couple;
touching offering to the poor.
_April 20th--Sabbath._--Went to the "Institution des Diaconesses de
l'Église Evangélique de France." The situation is delightful.
Several addresses and statements of affairs. Employed the evening
in religious study. Witnessed much lightness among certain
ministers of the Protestant Reformed Church. The prevalent views
here respecting the sanctity of the Sabbath are very different from
those which prevail either in England or Canada.
_April 25th._--Visited several schools of the Protestant dissenters
in Paris--called "Ecoles Gratuités." The first was the Female
Normal School, containing nineteen pupils. I was impressed with the
admirable arrangement of the school and its appliances, as well as
the taste and neatness of the botanical garden. The dormitory was
plain, neat, and airy; in it on the wall were pasted the following
passages of Scripture, viz., Psalms xv. 5., Amos iv. 12. There were
two schools for boys and girls attached to the institution, but
these several departments constitute one school--all Roman Catholic
children taught by Protestants, on strictly Protestant principles.
The priests make no opposition. People independent of the priests.
_April 26th._--Pursued my studies with encouraging success. Visited
M. Toase who gave me useful information.
_April 27th--Sabbath._--Heard M. Toase; went afterwards to the
Madeleine; building magnificent; passed through the garden of the
Tuileries; a paradise of a place; shades; walks; grass-plots;
lakes; fountains; fish; statues; amusements; but, alas! what
profanation of the Sabbath!
_April 30th._--Went to Versailles; grand and little Trainon,
magnificent.
_May 1st._--The King's birthday and fête; illuminations; fireworks;
appearance of the King Louis Philippe on the balcony of the palace.
The Tuileries; the Champs Elysées; booths; fêtes; riding; examples
of physical strength; girls riding; jumping; great multitudes; good
order preserved; Church of St. Roch; music; saw Lord Cowley; his
kindness in lending me his ticket for the House of Peers; getting
recommendations from the Government; documents on education, etc.
_May 3rd._--Visited Notre Dame; Hôtel-Dieu; Chambre des Pairs;
Chapelle; gallery of paintings; nuns; few peers present; old men;
session short; not imposing; fine paintings in the Chapel;
admirable selection in the gallery; answer from Lord Cowley.
_May 8th._--Have devoted several days to study, nothing worthy of
remark.
_May 9th._--Left Paris for Lyons; on the top of the diligence on
the railroad to Orleans, level, fertile country; passed through
Orleans; saw Cathedral; Jeanne d'Arc; Loire; historical
recollections.
_May 12th._--Examined the curiosities of the town; rough-looking
people; homage to the Virgin; "Hôtel du Midi;" view from the
Observatoire; Roman antiquities.
_May 13th._--Left Lyons in a steamer for Avignon; confluence of the
Rhone and Soane; varied, beautiful, and sometimes bold; romantic
scenery on the Rhone. Vienne; vineyards; wines; St. Villars;
Pontius Pilate; river very narrow and crooked; Roch de Tain;
Hannibal; vista of the valley of the Isère; Alps; Valence; St. Pay;
Percy; wine of St. Peroy; Castle of Crupol; Drôme; Montilvart;
Viviers; rocks; canal; Ardiche; "Paul St. Esprit," great curiosity;
Roquemon; women carrying stones; noble and extensive work on the
banks of the river, and in the erection of new bridges.
_May 14th._--Avignon; wall; view from the tower of the Cathedral;
visit it; paintings very beautiful; palace; inquisition; left
Avignon for Beaucaire; river uninteresting; thence to Nismes by
railway; poor country; asses and mules used; women shoeing them;
people athletic, but very passionate and quarrelsome.
_May 15th._--Examined the antiquities of Nismes; truly wonderful
and interesting.
_May 16th._--Arrived at Montpellier; narrow streets; Citadel
Fountaine; promenade; Jardin des Plantes; Mrs. Temple's tomb; read
a passage from Young's Night Thoughts there; Baunia Palm; Ecole de
Médicine; Cathedral; Museum of Painting.
_May 17th._--Returned to Nismes; revisited the Amphitheatre and the
Maison Carée; beautiful in proportion and execution. Returned to
Beacaise; visited the Castle; very high, and remarkably strong;
crossed the river to examine a castle, now a prison; historical
recollections of both castles. Visited the Church dedicated to St.
Martha; curious front. Visited St. Martha's Tomb; felt awful in the
grim darkness, rendered barely visible by the flickering lamp;
inscription at the head of the Tomb: "Solicita Noritubatur";
singular well; old women in the Church; the Image of St. Martha,
with its knees and feet worn by kissing. Proceeded to Cette; the
Amphitheatre is by no means as well preserved as that of Nismes,
but larger; the walls immeasurably thick. Saw the remains of a
Roman theatre; its curious workmanship attests its former
magnificence.
_May 18th--Sabbath._--Back at Marseilles, but no Sabbath here;
theatres all open, and crowds pressing into them; saw some curious
handbills about the Pope granting indulgences; holy water in the
churches; children using it.
_May 20th._--Coast from Marseilles, bold, varied, picturesque;
barren rocks; vineyards and olive trees; entrance into the bay and
harbor of Genoa very beautiful.
_May 21st._--In Genoa the streets are very narrow; the buildings
very high; the city clean; all preferable to Paris; left for
Leghorn.
_May 22nd._--At Leghorn, visited Smollet's tomb. At Pisa, saw the
leaning tower; baptistry, etc.
_May 23rd._--Entered Rome at sunset. We could see St. Peter's more
than fifteen miles off.
_May 25th._--Commenced visiting the churches of the city. 1. Temple
of Antonius; column to his honour, and his victories inscribed. 2.
Church of St. Ignazia; tomb of Gregory XV. 3. Pantheon of
Agrippa--built 22 B.C., of Oriental granite brought from Egypt. The
obelisk is from the Temple of Isis. 4. In the second chapel to the
left, Raphael was buried in 1520. He gave orders to his scholar
Lorenzetto to make the statue of the Virgin, behind which he is
buried. It is ornamented by gold and silver offerings of trinkets,
rings, and bracelets. 5th. Piazza della Minerva--formerly Temple
of Minerva, another of Isis, another of Serapis, now a church
obelisk. Statue of Michael Angelo. 6. Roman College. 7. Palace of
Prince Doria. In the picture gallery I was especially struck by a
beautiful painting of the Holy Family; also Titian, by himself, his
last work. Visited the Church of St. Joseph--under which was the
Mamertine Prison, where St. Paul was confined. Arch of Titus. The
Church of St. Peter's in Vincola has twenty pillars from the
Diocletian Bath, two of them Oriental granite. Michael Angelo's
last work is a marble figure of Moses, with the two tables of the
law under his right arm,--magnificent. There are also twelve
magnificent marble figures of the twelve apostles.
_May 26th._--Church of St. Maria, in Villicella; festival in honour
of St. Fillippo. High mass was celebrated in presence of the Pope
and cardinals. I stood near the altar, and had a good view of them
all. The Pope passed twice within a few feet of me; was carried in
a splendid chair by twelve men, who passed up the aisle into the
vestry. He is eighty years of age, good looking and walked with a
firm step; he blessed the people as he passed. The cardinals kissed
the Pope's hand, the priests his toe or foot. Next went to the
Church of the Jesuits, where there is a splendid representation of
Religion, giving the foot to Protestant heresy in the person of
Luther and Calvin.
_June 1st--Sunday._--Went to the Roman College to the worship of
the congregation of Jesuits. In another hall a discourse was being
delivered to the pupils, some four hundred being present. At St.
Paul's, was shown the house in which St. Paul resided during two
years a prisoner in Rome. Witnessed an extraordinary but most
impressive service in the celebrated Amphitheatre, where, it is
said, 200,000 Christians were put to death in two centuries.
_June 6th._--During the last five days have been studying Italian,
and revisiting some of the more remarkable remains of Roman
antiquities, colleges, and schools; also a prison for women, well
managed and arranged; much attention is paid to their religious
instruction.
_June 10th--Sabbath._--Visited the Churches of St. John, and Maria
Maggiore; visited one of the most important and interesting schools
of the Christian Brothers; 400 pupils taught by four masters; 4,000
pupils are taught by the same fraternity. Visited also the College
of Propaganda; was shewn by the Rector over the whole
establishment; it is wonderful, the influence of which is felt in
all lands; he shewed me the oldest and most curious MSS. I ever
saw.
_June 14th._--Arrived at Naples, after a stage journey of thirty
hours. Peasants very lazy; passed the murdered body of a man. As we
advanced we observed a great change in the manners and habits of
the people.
_June 15th--Sabbath._--Vesuvius was splendid last night, to a
degree, I understand that has not been seen since 1839. Visited the
Poor House; the establishment accommodates upwards of 2,000.
_June 16th._--Visited Pompeii, and Herculaneum, and Vesuvius. Met
with the Jesuit Prefect of Educational Institutions; and a Priest
from the United States. From the Jesuit I obtained a full account
of the educational institutions in Naples; from the American Priest
much useful information on various subjects. Ascended Mount
Vesuvius; when we reached the summit my face was burnt; lava
falling all round us--God of dreadful majesty, who art a "consuming
fire!" Beheld here the setting sun--God of glory who art "the light
of the world!" Descending we reached our hotel about midnight;
thank God for His protection and mercy.
_June 18th._--Went to the museum to examine the antiquities of
Herculaneum and Pompeii. Left for Leghorn.
_June 20th--Pisa._--Took a coach with two other gentlemen; a
beautiful ride of eight hours along the valley of the Arno, from
Pisa to Florence. The best cultivated country, and the best looking
peasantry I have ever seen; the river walled, and the bridges fine.
_June 24th._--The celebration of the Feast of John the Baptist,
commenced by a chariot race, after the fashion of the chariots in
the games of the Greeks and Romans.
_June 26th._--The Grand Duke of Tuscany will not allow Jesuits in
his dominion; but in Naples the Jesuits are all
powerful--confessors to the king and royal family--and that even an
artist cannot get employment who has not a Jesuit for a confessor.
_July 19th._--This day I leave Florence after four weeks of study,
and acquaintance with its schools, arts and science.
_July 20th--Bologna._--Crossed the Appenines, and had a view of the
Adriatic. Visited the Scoules Normali, containing upwards of 1,000
pupils.
_July 23rd._--Left Bologna in a vetturina for Ferrara, in company
with a German and two Americans. Ferrara is fallen, forsaken,
solitary.
_July 25th._--Crossed the Po in a curious ferry-boat, and entered
the Lombardo-Venetian dominions of Austria. Here I met with the
first instance in Italy of money not being asked by Custom House
officers; every part of the proceeding indicated dignity unknown to
the Papal States. Crossed the Adige by a ferry; passed through
Monselice, near which is the town and castle of Este. North of Este
is Argna, or Argnota, where Petrarch retreated, dwelt, and died!
Next passed through Battaglia and Padua; on the left is Abano, the
birth-place of Livy. Gothic laggia, vast hall, said to be the
largest unsupported roof in the world, built by Frate Giovanni;
bust and tomb of Livy.
_July 30th._--Came on to Venice, where we spent four days; a
wondrous city.
_August 4th._--Have been in Munich nineteen days; visited its
museum, churches, elementary schools, &c., &c.; conversed with many
professors.
_August 25th._--Left Munich; passed through Landsport; arrived at
Ratisbon; visited Valhalla; descended the Danube to Linz.
_Sept. 3rd._--The city of Vienna is the most perfect I have seen,
in its buildings, streets, gardens, etc.; it would furnish me with
materials for a volume were I a writer of travels.
_Sept. 4th._--Came through Bohemia by the first railroad train from
Vienna to Prague, where I remained two days. The houses in the
villages through which we passed, were all of one story, thatched
with straw; the peasants wear skins, and women work on the
railroads.
_Sept. 5th._--Left Prague in a small steamer for Dresden; visited
Dr. Blockman's school; every appurtenance; very complete schools,
both public and private. From thence on to Leipsic; visited all the
principal buildings; visited the Burgher school, designed for the
education of the middle ranks, and those of the upper ranks, if
desired.
_Sept. 15th and 16th._--From Leipsic went on to Halle (in Prussia);
visited the schools on Franke's Foundations; several farms belong
to the establishment; there are six schools, rather small; there
are free scholars, orphans, and money scholars. Went to the
University.
_Sept. 17th--Wittemburg._--This morning visited the church in which
Luther first preached the doctrines of the Reformation, and where
both Luther and Melancthon are buried; I ascended the pulpit, and
there prayed that the spirit of the Reformation might more
abundantly rest upon me; I experienced strong sensations on
entering the church; it is a plain building with a few monuments;
the statue (bronze) of Luther is in the market-place, with the
words:--
"Ist's Gottes Werk, so wird's bestehen;
Ist's Menschen, so wird's untergehen."
We then visited the house in which Melancthon lived, now being
repaired; Luther's chamber in the convent; his study, with his
chair, table, and stove; his library, his bed-room; at his table I
knelt and prayed, and renewed my covenant with my God. I afterwards
visited the place where Luther burnt the Pope's Bull.
_Sept. 18th--Berlin._--Employed the day in visiting the great
schools of this magnificent city: Frederick William Gymnasium,
Dorothean Higher City School, Royal Red School, embracing both the
classical and scientific departments; went over the establishment.
_Sept. 19th._--Visited the University and Picture Gallery; went
through all the apartments of the City Trade School; the collection
of apparatus and specimens to carry out the course of instruction
is perhaps the most complete in Prussia, in schools of this class.
_Sept. 20th._--Potsdam--a magnificent place; went into the Court,
and visited several of the rooms of the Royal Military School--a
noble establishment; visited the Normal School; witnessed the
teaching of two of the pupil-teachers,--both used the blackboard,
and both appeared thorough masters of what they were teaching,
using no books,--other pupil-teachers were looking on; never saw a
finer class of young men.
_Sept. 23rd._--Berlin. Dined with the British Ambassador, and had
an interview with the Prussian Minister of Public Instruction;
witnessed the semi-annual parade of the Prussian army--more than
10,000 men; saw also the King of Prussia and the Empress of Russia.
_Sept. 24th._--Hanover. Passed through several townships; visited
the Palace; saw the gold and silver plate, much of which belonged
to former British Sovereigns; visited Herrenhausen, favourite
residence of George I. and II. of England.
_Sept. 28th._--Cologne. Visited Cathedral and Churches; saw the
tomb of Charlemagne, and the house in which Rubens was born.
_Oct. 1st._--Bonn. Saw the University buildings; saw the great
Catholic Normal School, at Bright.
_Oct. 2nd._--Mayence. Ascended the Rhine from Bonn,--embracing all
the magnificent scenery of this celebrated river.
_Oct. 3rd._--Visited Wiesbaden, capital of Hesse-Cassel; went to
Frankfort; visited Burgher School there, 700 children. Birth-place
and monument of Goethe.
_Oct. 5th._--Strasburg. Left Frankfort; passed through Darmstadt;
heard two sermons in French, and one in German; visited the
magnificent Cathedral, and Normal School.
_Oct. 7th._--Zurich. Came to Bâle yesterday; arrived here this
morning; visited the great Cantonal Industrial School--noble
building.
_Oct. 8th._--Cargon. Obtained much information from the director of
the Gymnase, Real and Higher Burgher School here.
_Oct. 9th._--Berne. Travelled through a mountainous and picturesque
country to Papiermühle; walked three miles to the celebrated school
of M. de Fallenberg; had the whole system explained--gymnasium,
real, intermediate, poor, and limited to the number of thirty;
dined at the Agricultural School,--situated on a gentle hill, in
the midst of the valley of Switzerland, surrounded by mountains,--I
have been abundantly repaid in spending a whole day in surveying
such an establishment.
_Oct. 11th._--Lausanne. Fine view of the Alps; visited the garden
where Gibbon finished his History on the rise and fall of the Roman
Empire.
_Oct. 12th._--Geneva. Arrived here in heavy rain; attended three
services; visited the tomb of Sir H. Davy; had a fine view of Mt.
Blanc; left for Paris.
CHAPTER XLV.
1844-1857.
Episode in Dr. Ryerson's European Travels.--Pope Pius IX.
One of the many episodes in my European travels which I have been
requested by many to narrate led to my presentation to Pope Pius IX.,
and is as follows:--
On my arrival in England on my first educational tour, near the end
of 1844, I was invited to a Christmas dinner party at the house of
an English clergyman, where I was introduced to a young Russian
nobleman, by the name of Dunjowski, who had attended lectures in
several German universities, and came to England to learn the
English language, in which he soon became a proficient. During his
residence in England he became acquainted with a number of
distinguished men, noblemen and others; among whom were the late
Rev. Dr. Chalmers. This young Russian nobleman, having learned that
I was on a tour of investigation of the educational institutions of
Europe, proposed before the close of the evening to join me in
investigating the educational institutions of western and central
Europe, with a view to his writing an account of them on his return
to St. Petersburg. I accepted his proposal; and in the course of a
few weeks we commenced our tour through Holland and Belgium to
Paris, of which some account will be found in the extracts from my
Journal in the preceding Chapter.
At Paris my Russian friend conceived the idea of attending another
course of lectures on some branch of Roman law at Tubigen. We
parted, but he changed his mind, and instead of attending an
additional course of lectures in a German university, he proceeded
to Rome. A few weeks after my arrival there, I felt a tap on my
shoulder at the dinner table, and, on looking up, I recognized my
young Russian friend, who was already speaking Italian, with as
much fluency as he had spoken English, French, and German, when we
parted at Paris six weeks before.
We renewed our travels together, after having completed our tour of
Rome, with its antiquities and institutions; we proceeded to Naples
by stage, where we spent several days in examining its College of
Nobles and other educational institutions, including its
antiquities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, Vesuvius, etc. In the
College of Nobles we met an American Priest, who was President of
the Roman Catholic College at Georgetown, near Washington, and
invited him to take a seat in our carriage the next day on an
excursion to Herculaneum and Pompeii. In the course of the day a
religious discussion took place between the American Priest and the
Russian, who was very fond of controversy. I took no part in it,
but I thought the Priest had rather the best of it. The result was,
my Russian friend was persuaded to go into a house of retirement
near Rome, and devote some weeks to solitary prayer, fasting, and
meditation. I never afterwards saw him or heard from him for eleven
years, though I remonstrated with him, and wrote him from Florence,
entreating him to reconsider what he was doing; but he said that
what I spoke and wrote rather confirmed him in his course, than
diverted him from it.
When making my third educational tour on the Continent of Europe, I
was, with my daughter, at Munich, in Bavaria, about the beginning
of 1857, and while at dinner at our hotel, I felt two hands placed
upon my shoulders; on looking up, I recognized, notwithstanding his
present dress, my old friend, Dunjowski, who embraced and kissed me
as a brother. After dinner we retired to the parlour, and talked
over the past. I asked him what he had been doing these eleven
years, how he had become transformed from a Russian nobleman,
scholar, and lawyer, into a Roman Catholic priest, in full
canonicals. He told me that after we separated at Naples, eleven
years before, he went into a house of retirement at Rome, and by
prayer, fasting, and meditation, devoted himself to God and His
Church, without reserve of rank, fortune, or country; that he had
ultimately decided to be a Catholic; that he had studied theology
four years in France; that he had been appointed a Missionary to
the North, and had been some years a Missionary to the Lapps, and
had preached before the Kings of Denmark and Sweden; that he was
then Missionary Apostolic to all the Catholic Missions in Europe
and America, north of latitude 60; and that he might yet visit
Canada. This extraordinary man had mastered the languages of the
various countries in which he had travelled and laboured, and gave
my daughter specimens of his writing in twenty-seven different
languages. I never knew a man of more disinterestedness, more
devotion, and singleness of purpose, than Mr. Dunjowski. He was up
and out at prayers to his church before five o'clock, in the
terribly cold mornings the last of December and the beginning of
January, in one of the coldest capitals of Europe.
On the other hand he asked me what I had been doing during the last
eleven years. I replied that I had devised and brought into
operation a system of public instruction, which had been approved
by the Government and Legislature, and by the people at large, whom
I had consulted, in the several counties of Upper Canada. He wished
to know what I had done in respect to his co-religionists. I shewed
him the provisions of our School Act, and the Regulations founded
upon it in respect to Roman Catholics in Upper Canada. My Russian
friend thought that nothing could be more just and fair than these
clauses of the law and regulations, and requested permission to
shew them to the Pope's Nuncio (an Italian Archbishop), at the
Court of Bavaria. The Pope's Nuncio was so pleased with them, that
he requested the loan of them until he got them translated into
German, and published in the Bavarian newspapers, to shew how
fairly the Roman Catholics were treated under the Protestant
Government of Upper Canada. The Pope's Nuncio afterwards desired me
to call upon him; and during the interview, after some
complimentary remarks, requested me to be the bearer of a medal
from the King of Bavaria to Cardinal Antonelli, at Rome. I readily
accepted the honour and the office, and found the Pope's arms and
seal a ready passport when I got in a tight place among the
avaricious Italian Custom House officers.
Dr. Ryerson thus describes his interview with Pope Pius IX.:
On my arrival at Rome I duly delivered my letters of introduction,
and the King of Bavaria's medal to Cardinal Antonelli who received
me with the utmost courtesy, offered me every facility to get
pictures copied by my own selection at Rome, and proposed, if
acceptable to me, to present me to His Holiness the Pope. I readily
accepted the attentions and honours offered me; but told the
Cardinal that I had a young daughter, and young lady companion of
hers, whom I should wish to accompany me; His Excellency said, "By
all means."
On the day appointed we went to the Vatican. Several foreign
dignitaries were waiting in an ante-room for an audience with the
Pope, but the Methodist preacher received precedence of them all.
"Are you a clergyman?" asked the Chancellor, who conducted me to
the Pope's presence; "I am a Wesleyan minister," I replied. "Ah!
John Wesley. I've heard of him," said the Chancellor, as he
shrugged his shoulders in surprise that a heretic should be so
honoured above orthodox sons of the Church. We were then in due
form introduced to the Pope, who received us most courteously, and
stood up and shook hands with me and with whom I conversed (in
French) for nearly a quarter of an hour; during the conversation
His Holiness thanked me for the fairness and kindness with which he
understood I had treated his Catholic children in Canada. Before
the close of the interview, His Holiness turned to the young ladies
(each of whom had a little sheet of note paper in their hands) and
said, "My children, what is that you have in your hands?" The girls
curtsied respectfully, and told His Holiness that they brought
these sheets of paper in hopes His Holiness would have the
condescension and kindness to give them his autograph. He smiled,
and wrote in Latin the benediction: "Grace, mercy, and peace from
God our Father, and Jesus Christ our Lord," and then kindly gave
them also the pen with which it was written.
Thus ended our interview with Pope Pins IX., of whose unaffected
sincerity, candor, kindness, and good sense, we formed the most
favourable opinion, notwithstanding the system of which he is the
head.
Dr. Ryerson also mentions another interview which he had:--
In addition to my letters of introduction to Cardinal Antonelli, my
Russian friend, Dunjowski, gave me a letter of introduction to
Father Thyner, the keeper of the Archives at Rome, and an intimate
personal friend of the Pope; in which letter he referred to the
school systems of Upper Canada, in reference to Roman Catholics.
Father Thyner wished to see the Canadian school law and
regulations, and shewed and explained them to the Pope, who
afterwards spoke of their fairness and kindness, in my interview
with His Holiness.
Father Thyner was once Librarian to the King of Prussia, and being
a Roman Catholic, he went to Rome, where his varied learning and
high character soon obtained him a high position at the Vatican.
He, as well as the Pope, in his early life was an enemy of the
Jesuits, and was regarded by them as such throughout his whole
life.
I had a severe illness of some weeks at Rome, during which Father
Thyner visited me almost daily, but never said one word to me on
the grounds of difference between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
During my last visit to England in 1876-7, I spent part of a day at
the residence of the Rev. Wm. Arthur, A.M., who showed me the works
in his library from which he had derived the principal materials of
his masterly work on _The Pope and The People_. Among other works
he shewed me some volumes written by Father Thyner, containing an
account of the proceedings of the Council of Trent. "Why," I said,
"I know Father Thyner personally," and related my acquaintance with
him. Mr. Arthur said in reply, "This work is the chief source of my
knowledge of the proceedings of the Councils of Trent;" and added,
"Father Thyner having determined to publish an account (which had
never before been published) of this Council, was forbidden to do
so, and banished, or driven from Rome, when he went to Hungary, and
published his great work on the Councils."
I have observed in the papers, that Father Thyner died in Hungary a
year or two since. He was a man of profound learning, of fervent
devotion, of great moderation in his views, of uncompromising
integrity. I visited him in his convent, near Rome, and drank the
juice of the grape grown in his own garden, and pressed by his own
hand.
CHAPTER XLVI.
1844-1876.
Ontario School System.--Retirement of Dr. Ryerson.
Although I hope to be able to prepare a record of the private and
personal history of the founding of our System of Public Education, and
of the vicissitudes through which it passed, as requested by Dr. Ryerson
(page 350), yet in this chapter I give a brief outline of the principles
of that System.
After his educational investigations in Europe, in 1844-1846, Dr.
Ryerson prepared an elaborate Report on a "System of Public Instruction
for Upper Canada," which was published in 1846. In that report he
says:--
By Education, I mean not the mere acquisition of certain arts, or
of certain branches of knowledge, but that instruction and
discipline which qualify and dispose the subjects of it for their
appropriate duties and appointments in life, as Christians, as
persons in business, and also as members of the civil community in
which they live.
A basis of an educational structure adapted to this end should be
as broad as the population of the country; and its loftiest
elevation should equal the highest demands of the learned
professions; adapting its gradation of schools to the wants of the
several classes of the community, and to their respective
employments or professions, the one rising above the other--the one
conducting to the other; yet each complete in itself for the degree
of education it imparts; a character of uniformity, as to
fundamental principles, pervading the whole: the whole based upon
the principles of Christianity, and uniting the combined influence
and support of the government and the people.
The branches of knowledge which it is essential that all should
understand, should be provided for all, and taught to all; should
be brought within the reach of the most needy, and forced upon the
attention of the most careless. The knowledge required for the
scientific pursuit of mechanics, agriculture, and commerce, must
needs be provided to an extent corresponding with the demand, and
the exigencies of the country; while, to a more limited extent, are
needed facilities for acquiring the higher education of the learned
professions.
With a view to give a summary sketch of Dr. Ryerson's exposition of the
system of Public Instruction which he desired to establish, I give the
following additional extracts from his first Report. After combating the
objection which then existed in some quarters to the establishment of a
thorough system of primary and industrial education, commensurate with
the population and wants of the country, he remarked:--
The first feature then of our Provincial System of Public Instruction,
should be universality. The elementary education of the whole people
must, therefore, be an essential element in the legislative and
administrative policy of an enlightened and beneficent government. Nor
is it less important to the efficiency of such a system that it should
be practical than that it should be universal. The mere acquisition, or
even the general diffusion of knowledge, without the requisite qualities
to apply that knowledge in the best manner, does not merit the name of
education. Much knowledge may be imparted and acquired without any
addition whatever to the capacity for the business of life.... History
presents us with even University Systems of Education (so called)
entirely destitute of all practical character; and there are elementary
systems which tend as much to prejudice and pervert, not to say corrupt,
the popular mind as to improve and elevate it.
The state of society, then, no less than the wants of our country,
requires that every youth of the land should be trained to industry and
its practice, whether that training be extensive or limited.
Now education, thus practical, includes religion and morality; secondly,
the development to a certain extent of all our faculties; thirdly, an
acquaintance with several branches of elementary knowledge.
By religion and morality, I do not mean sectarianism in any form, but
the general truth and morals taught in the Holy Scriptures. Sectarianism
is not morality. To be zealous for a sect and to be conscientious in
morals are widely different. To inculcate the peculiarities of a sect
and to teach the fundamental principles of religion and morality are
equally different.
I can aver, from personal experience and practice, as well as from a
very extended inquiry on this subject, that a much more comprehensive
course of biblical and religious instruction can be given than there is
likely to be opportunity for in elementary schools, without any
restraint on the one side, or any tincture of sectarianism on the
other--a course embracing the entire history of the Bible, its
institutions, cardinal doctrines and morals, together with the evidences
of its authenticity.
With the proper cultivation of the moral feelings, and the formation of
local habits, is intimately connected the corresponding development of
all the other faculties, both intellectual and physical. The great
object of an efficient system of instruction should be, not the
communication of so much knowledge, but the development of the
faculties. Much knowledge may be acquired without any increase of mental
power; nay, with even an absolute diminution of it. (See Chapter li.)
In founding the System of Public Instruction, Dr. Ryerson wisely laid
down certain great principles which he believed to be essential to the
success of his labours. These general principles may be thus summarized:
1. That the machinery of education should be in the hands of the people
themselves, and should be managed through their own agency; they should,
therefore, be consulted in regard to all school legislation. 2. That the
aid of the Government should only be given where it can be used most
effectually to stimulate and assist local effort in this great work. 3.
That the property of the country is responsible for, and should
contribute towards the education of the entire youth of the country, and
that as a complement to this, "compulsory education" should necessarily
be enforced. 4. That a thorough and systematic inspection of the schools
is essential to their vitality and efficiency. These, with other
important principles, Dr. Ryerson kept steadily in view during the whole
thirty-two years of his administration of the school system of Ontario.
Their judicious application has contributed largely, under the Divine
blessing, which he ever sought, to the wonderful success of his labours.
Notwithstanding the zeal and ability with which Dr. Ryerson had
collected and arranged his facts, analyzed the various systems of
education in Europe (largely in Germany) and America, and fortified
himself with the opinions of the most eminent educationists in those
countries, yet his projected system for this province was fiercely
assailed, and was vehemently denounced as embodying in it the very
essence of "Prussian despotism." Still, with indomitable courage he
persevered in his plans, and at length succeeded in 1846 in inducing the
legislature to pass a School Act which he had drafted. In 1849 the
Provincial administration personally favourable to Dr. Ryerson's views
went out of office, and one unfavourable to him came in. The Hon.
Malcolm Cameron, a hostile member of the cabinet--although he afterwards
became a personal friend of Dr. Ryerson--having concocted a singularly
crude and cumbrous school bill, aimed to oust Dr. Ryerson from office,
it was (as was afterwards explained) taken on trust, and, without
examination or discussion, passed into a law. Dr. Ryerson at once called
the attention of the Government (at the head of which was the late
lamented Lord Elgin) to the impracticable and un-Christian character of
the bill, as under its operation the Bible would be excluded from the
schools. Rather than administer such an Act, Dr. Ryerson tendered the
resignation of his office to the Government. The late Honourable Robert
Baldwin, C.B., Attorney-General (the Nestor of Canadian politicians, and
a truly Christian man), was so convinced of the justness of Dr.
Ryerson's views and remonstrance, that he took the unusual course of
advising His Excellency to suspend the operation of the new Act until
Dr. Ryerson could prepare a draft of a bill on the basis of the repealed
law, embodying in it, additional to the old bill, the result of his own
experience of the working of the system up to that time. The result was
that a law passed in 1850, adapted to the municipal system of the
Province, so popular in its character and comprehensive in its
provisions and details, that it is still (in a consolidated form) the
principal statute under which the Public Schools of Ontario are
maintained.
The leading features of that measure may be briefly summed up under the
four following heads:--
1. The machinery of the system was mainly adapted to the circumstances
of Upper Canada, from the school laws of the Middle (United) States.
2. The method of supporting the schools by a uniform rate upon property
was adopted from the New England States.
3. The Normal and Model schools (established in 1847), were projected
after those in operation in Germany.
4. The school text-books were originally adapted from the series then in
use in Ireland, and acceptable to both Protestants and Roman Catholics.
In 1850, Dr. Ryerson, while in England, made preliminary arrangements
for establishing the Library, and Map and Apparatus Depository in
connection with his department; and in 1855 he established
Meteorological Stations in connection with the County Grammar Schools.
In this he was aided by Colonel (now General) Lefroy, R.E., for many
years Director of the Provincial Magnetical Observatory, at Toronto.
Sets of suitable instruments (which were duly tested at the Kew
Observatory) were obtained, and in 1855, the law on the subject having
been amended, twelve stations were selected and put into efficient
working order. In 1857 Dr. Ryerson made his third educational tour in
Europe, where he procured at Antwerp, Brussels, Florence, Rome, Paris,
and London an admirable collection of copies of paintings by the old
masters; statues, busts, etc., besides various articles for an
Educational Museum in connection with the Department. In 1858-60, Dr.
Ryerson took a leading part in the discussion in the newspapers, and
before a committee of the legislature, in favour of grants to the
various outlying universities in Ontario, chiefly in terms of Hon.
Robert Baldwin's University Bill of 1843. He maintained that "they did
the State good service," and that their claims should be substantially
recognized as colleges of a central university. He deprecated the
multiplication of universities in the province, which he held would be
the result of a rejection of his scheme. In consideration of his able
services in this contest, the University of Victoria College conferred
upon him the degree of LL.D. in 1861.
In 1867 he made his fourth educational tour in England and the United
States. On his return, in 1868, he submitted to the Government a highly
valuable "special report on the systems and state of popular education
in the several countries of Europe and the United States of America,
with practical suggestions for the improvement of Public Instruction in
Upper Canada." He also made a separate and extensive "Report on
Institutions for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind in Various Countries."
In a letter to a friend, Dr. Ryerson thus explained the principles upon
which he conducted the educational affairs of the Province for upwards
of thirty-one years. He said:--
During these years I organized the school system and administered the
Education Department upon the broad and impartial principles which I had
advocated. During the long period of my administration of the
Department, I knew neither religious sect nor political party--I knew no
other party than that of the country at large--I never exercised any
patronage for personal or party purposes--I never made or recommended
one of the numerous appointments of teachers in the Normal or Model
Schools, or Clerks in the Education office, except upon the ground of
testimonials as to personal character and qualifications, and on a
probationary trial of six months.
In this way only competent and trained persons were appointed to the
Normal and Model Schools, and to the Education Office, when a vacancy
occurred by resignation or death. Each employé below the one who had
resigned or died was advanced a step if deserving; and the most
meritorious lad was selected from the Model school, or on other
testimonials, and placed at the bottom of the list, and trained and
advanced according to his merits in the work of the Education
Department. Each one, thus felt, that he owed his position not to party,
or personal patronage or favour, but to his own merits, and respected
himself and performed his duties accordingly.
I believe this is the true method of managing all the Public
Departments, and every branch of the public service. I believe it would
contribute immensely to both the efficiency and economy of the public
service. Needless and inefficient appointments would not then be made;
and it would greatly elevate the standard of action and attainments, and
emulate the ambition of the young men and youth of the country, when
they know that their selection and advancement in their country's
service depended upon their individual merits, irrespective of sect or
party, and not as the reward of zeal as political party hacks in
elections and otherwise, on their own part, or on that of their fathers
or relatives.
The power of government in a country is immense, for good or ill. It is
designed by the Supreme Being to be "a minister of God for good," to a
whole people (without partiality, as well as without hypocrisy), like
the rays of the sun; and the administration of infinite wisdom and
justice, and truth and purity. But when government becomes the mere
agency of party, and its highest gifts the prizes of party zeal and
intrigue, it loses its moral prestige and power; and from the corrupt
fountain would flow polluted streams into every Department of the public
service, which would corrupt the whole mass of society, were it not for
the counteracting and refining influences which are exerted upon society
by the ministrations and labours of the different religious
denominations.