PERSONAL CHAPTER RELATING TO THE REV. DR. RYERSON 119
His Early Life, as Sketched by Himself 119
Rev. Dr. Ryerson as a Teacher 121
The Rev. Dr. Ryerson and His Native County of Norfolk 122
Closing Official Acts and Utterances of Dr. Ryerson 124
Reasons for Dr. Ryerson's Retirement as Chief Superintendent
of Education 125
Dr. Ryerson's Letter of Resignation in 1868 and Reply to it 126
Dr. Ryerson's Letter of Resignation in 1872 and Reply to it 128
A FEW WORDS PERSONAL TO THE WRITER OF THIS RETROSPECT 130
THE RYERSON MEMORIAL VOLUME.
PRELIMINARY.
The Rev. Dr. Ryerson's death occurred on the 19th of February, 1882.
Early in the next month the following circular was issued:--
A preliminary meeting of trustees, inspectors and teachers connected
with Public, Separate and High Schools--past and present--will be
held in the theatre, or public hall, of the Education Department,
on Tuesday afternoon, the 14th instant, at 4.30, to consider the
proposal to erect a monument or other tribute of love and esteem to
the memory of the late revered founder of the educational system of
Ontario.
J. GEORGE HODGINS,
Toronto, March, 1882. Convener.
The following account of the meeting appeared in _The Mail_
newspaper of the 15th March:--
A meeting of those connected with educational matters was held in
the theatre of the Normal School yesterday afternoon, to consider
the proposal to erect a monument or other token of esteem to the
memory of the late Dr. Ryerson.
There were present, Drs. Hodgins, Davies, Carlyle, Tassie;
Inspectors Hughes, McKinnon, McBrien, Little, Fotheringham; Messrs.
James Bain, G. McMurrich, and Crombie, Public School trustees,
Toronto; Thomas Kirkland, M.A., Normal School; Mrs. Riches, Misses
E. A. Scarlett, M. L. Williams, Boulton and Tomlinson; Messrs.
McAllister, Doan, Lewis, Spence, McCausland, Martin, Clarke, Coyne,
Parker, Cassidy, Campbell, teachers of Toronto city schools. Dr.
Hodgins was appointed chairman, and Mr. James L. Hughes secretary.
Letters expressing regret at inability to attend were read from Mr.
G. W. Ross, M.P., Inspectors Scarlett, Bigg and Platt, and Mr. W. J.
Gage. Also a letter from the Minister of Education, to the effect
that every inspector and teacher was at full liberty to take such
action as he might think proper in connection with so laudable an
object as the erection of a memorial to the late superintendent.
Dr. Hodgins related the circumstances which had led to the calling
of a meeting, and said that the object was to unite all persons in
any way connected with schools in a tribute of affection to the late
chief, even the children might contribute a mite. There was some
difference of opinion as to whether the tribute should take the form
of a monument in the cemetery, or a statue in the Normal School
grounds. He mentioned Dr. Ormiston as having taken a very strong
interest in the matter.
On motion of Mr. McAllister, seconded by Mr. McMurchy, a resolution
expressing the approval, by the meeting, of the proposal to erect a
memorial was unanimously adopted.
Mr. Hughes suggested that a central committee of organization be
appointed, and that local associations be formed in every county.
Messrs. Fotheringham, McMurchy, George McMurrich, McAllister and
Brother Odo, were appointed to nominate the central committee.
Their report was presented to the meeting, and adopted with some
amendments.
In the discussion which took place, the general opinion was that
the memorial should take the form of a statue of the late Chief
Superintendent, to be erected in the Normal School grounds, Mr. Bain
being one of those who strongly urged this view.
Mr. Inspector Fotheringham thought that the amount of the
contribution should be limited so as to make it general, and
suggested one dollar for each teacher and trustee, and ten cents for
each child, corporate bodies being left to their own discretion.
The chairman having called for suggestions as to the formation of
local committees, Mr. Little, Inspector for Halton, thought that the
inspector for each county should appoint the teachers and trustees
of each school to open a subscription list.
Mr. McBrien, Inspector for Ontario County, suggested that the
inspectors should send a postcard to every teacher in the county,
requesting him to convene a meeting in his section.
Mr. McKinnon, Inspector for Peel, was in favor of Mr. Little's plan.
There was also considerable discussion as to whether others besides
those directly connected with the schools should be asked to
contribute. It was urged on the one hand that the tribute would come
more fittingly from those more peculiarly interested in education,
and on the other that it should be made national in its character,
especially as a large majority of the people had been educated, and
their characters formed under the school system of which Dr. Ryerson
was the founder.
These questions were left for future consideration, and, after a
vote of thanks to the chairman, the meeting adjourned.
* * * * *
As the result of that meeting the following circular was issued by
the secretary on the 15th March:--
At a preliminary meeting of trustees, inspectors and teachers
connected with Public, Separate and High Schools, held in the public
hall of the Education Department on the 14th instant, the following
gentlemen were appointed members of a central committee to carry
out the resolution unanimously agreed to by the meeting, viz.: to
collect funds with which to erect a monument or other tribute of
love and esteem to the memory of the late revered founder of the
educational system of Ontario, viz.:--
Dr. _Hodgins_, chairman; Rev. Principal _Davies_; Principal
McCabe; Rev. Dr. Ormiston, of New York; President Wilson and Prof.
G. P. Young, Toronto University; Archbishop Lynch; Rev. Provost
Body, Trinity College; Rev. Principal _Caven_, Knox College; Rev.
President Castle, Toronto Baptist College; Rev. Father Vincent,
Superior, St. Michael's College; Rev. President Nelles, Victoria
University; Very Rev. Principal Grant, Queen's University; _A.
McMurchy_, M.A., President of Ontario Teachers' Association; Very
Rev. Dean Grassett, Chairman of Collegiate Institute Board; Edward
Galley, Esq., Chairman, Public School Board; Vicar-General Rooney,
Chairman, Separate School Board; Dr. McLellan, Inspector, High
Schools; Mr. White, Inspector, Separate Schools for Ontario; Rev.
Brother Tobias, city Inspector of Separate Schools; J. S. Carson,
Esq., Chairman of inspectors' section Ontario Teachers' Association;
R. Lewis, Esq., chairman of Public School section; D. C. McHenry,
M.A., chairman of High School section; also the Public School
Inspectors throughout the Province as _ex officio_ members, (Messrs.
_D. Fotheringham_ and _J. R. Miller_). Mr. _James L. Hughes_ was
appointed secretary of the committee, and Mr. _Walter S. Lee_,
treasurer.[2]
[2] James Carlyle, Esq., M.D., Master in the Normal School, was
subsequently appointed joint secretary with Mr. Hughes. Both
rendered most valuable service in promoting the object in view.--J.
G. H.
As some gentlemen here named declined, and others ceased to act,
the committee was finally reduced to nineteen members, including
the chairman, secretaries, treasurer and the new appointments.
Only those whose names are printed in italics were members of the
committee at the time the statue was unveiled in 1889--seven years
after their appointment. The following were the members of the
committee at the time of the unveiling, viz.:--
Rev. Principal Caven, D.D., Rev. Dr. Potts, Hon. G. W. Ross,
Minister, Rev. H. W. Davies, D.D., Hon. Senator Macdonald, Principal
Kirkland, M.A., Rev. W. H. Withrow, D.D., Principal Dickson, M.A.,
Rev. Hugh Johnston, D.D., Rector McMurchy, M.A., Mr. G. H. Robinson,
M.A., ex head master Collegiate Institute; Mr. David Fotheringham,
Inspector of North York; Mr. R. Doan, Mr. S. McAllister, public
school teacher, Toronto, and Mr. J. R. Miller, ex-inspector.
Chairman, J. George Hodgins, LL.D.; joint secretaries, Mr. James
L. Hughes and James Carlyle, M.D.; treasurer, Mr. Walter S. Lee.
The artist-sculptor was Mr. Hamilton McCarthy, R.C.A., and the
contractor for pedestal, Mr. F. B. Gullett, monumental sculptor.
APPEAL FOR FUNDS FOR ERECTION OF THE STATUE.
At a subsequent meeting of the committee, Rev. Dr. Ormiston and Dr.
Hodgins were requested to draw up an appeal soliciting aid for the
proposed memorial. Dr. Ormiston did so as follows:--
_Appeal to Trustees, Inspectors, Teachers and Pupils--past and
present--connected with Public, Separate[3] and High Schools,
and to the other friends of Education in the Province of
Ontario; from the General Committee appointed at Toronto on
the 14th March, 1882, for the collection of funds with which
to erect a Monument, or other Tribute of Esteem and Admiration
to the memory of the late Rev. Dr. Ryerson, founder of the
Educational System of Ontario:_
[3] Having asked Archbishop Lynch to commend this and subsequent
appeals to the teachers of the Separate Schools, he replied as
follows:--
"ST. MICHAEL'S PALACE, Toronto, December 12, 1882.
"MY DEAR DR. HODGINS,--I do not like to assume a prominent part
in writing to the teachers of the Separate Schools outside of
my own diocese, or to set an example which I fear would be
criticized. However, I send you my subscription ($10) towards
the erection of the statue to the late lamented Dr. Ryerson.
"I am, yours very sincerely,
"+JOHN JOSEPH LYNCH,
"Archbishop of Toronto.
"J. GEORGE HODGINS, ESQ., LL.D.,
Chairman, etc."
(The Very Reverend Vicar-General Rooney also sent $10, as his
subscription to the fund).
I also wrote to the Rev. Father Stafford, of Lindsay, on the
subject. In his reply, dated March 9th, 1882, he said:--
"You ask my opinion as to whether the erection of a monument
to the late Dr. Ryerson will receive support from the Separate
Schools?
"Not much from Separate Schools as such, nor much from Separate
School supporters. The recollection of the old controversy with
the bishops of our Church, is still fresh in the memories of
many.
"I think some of the Separate School teachers will
subscribe--perhaps many of them.
"Personally, I must give my mite. I always found Dr. Ryerson,
as you are aware, very kind with me, and very attentive to any
suggestions I had to offer, and very just in all his dealings
with me.
"I admired his ability and his love and enthusiasm for his
work. No one knows better than you my admiration for that
man. My idea is that the monument ought to be something very
respectable--say, got up something like the one to Grattan, or
Moore, or Burke, near Trinity College, Dublin; and it ought to
be erected in the Normal School grounds.
"I wished to send a word of sympathy to Dr. Ryerson's family,
but I did not know where to address them. Will you kindly say a
word for me to the proper person?
"Yours faithfully,
"M. STAFFORD, Pr.
"DR. HODGINS,
"Toronto."
"Although still young our Province has already been called to mourn
the removal of not a few of her gifted sons, who have severally
adorned the different walks of public life. In weight of character,
wealth of manhood, and width of human sympathy, the late Chief
Superintendent of Education, stood amongst the foremost and
mightiest of them all.
Egerton Ryerson was a man of rare diversity of gifts, of remarkable
energy, and of abundant mental resources. It would have been easy
for him to have excelled in any one sphere of human greatness,
but it was his to stand high in several. He was a many-sided man;
richly endowed in various ways. He was a laborious farmer--a zealous
student--a successful teacher--an eminent preacher--a prominent
ecclesiastic--an influential editor--a forcible writer--a sagacious
counsellor--a most efficient principal and professor--but he was
chiefly noted as a great public educationist.
For a third of a century he was the head and inspiring genius of our
school system, establishing, moulding, adapting, controlling it;
and this, the main work of his life, will endure and command in the
future, as it has in the past, the admiration of all, both at home
and abroad. During all these years he was the teacher's true friend,
and the ardent well-wisher of the young. His sympathies--tender and
true--as helpful as they were healthy, went out to every earnest
worker, whether in acquiring or imparting knowledge. The enquiring
left his presence directed; the downcast, cheered; the doubtful,
confirmed.
Unselfish, generous, disinterested, he devoted himself wholly to
his work. How often did his lip quiver and his eye fill when he
addressed the gatherings of teachers and pupils, upon whom he looked
not only with the eye of a patriot, but of a parent,--"Ye are my
children all."
We can never forget him; we profoundly mourn our loss; we fondly
cherish his memory. Affection, gratitude, a sense of what is due
to so eminent a man, impel us to perpetuate that memory in some
suitable way, which will render such a noble life an inspiring
example to young men now and in the coming days.
In obedience then, to one of the purest and loftiest instincts of
our nature, let us unite in paying a common tribute of admiration
and regard to the memory of him to whom we all sustained a common
relationship, and to whom we also, without distinction as to
nationality, political preferences, or religious belief, can
pay sincere homage, as the founder of our present excellent and
comprehensive system of education.
In honoring him we do honor to our common country, and recognize our
obligation to pay fitting homage to the great men of our Dominion,
whose names, with his, are inscribed high upon the roll of Canada's
famous sons."
At intervals, during the years 1882-1886, circulars were issued by
the committee to inspectors, trustees and masters of High, Public
and Separate Schools, urging the collection of the necessary funds
to erect the proposed memorial. In order to aid in this work, 7,500
copies of a biographical sketch of Dr. Ryerson and his educational
work, prepared by the chairman, was sent to the inspectors for
distribution. The chairman also made the following suggestions to
inspectors (with a view to facilitate the collections from pupils),
which was generally acted upon, viz.:--
"Permit me to suggest a simple way of securing a response from
each school: You might request the teacher to give notice that,
on the following week, he would devote _five minutes_ at noon
of each day to taking down a list of contributions (from a cent
upwards) to the fund.
"In this way the pupils--and everyone in the locality, through
the children--would have an opportunity of contributing his or
her mite to the erection of a statue to one of Canada's most
honored sons."
The final circular issued by the committee was as follows:--
The appeal on behalf of the Ryerson Memorial Fund has been
responded to by about two-thirds of the public, and less than
one-third of the High-Schools in Ontario. The sum thus received
amounts to $4,425.00, including accrued interest on the moneys
received and invested.
The 7,520 masters and teachers now employed in the Public and
High Schools of Ontario, have not yet been appealed to, as
a body, to contribute to this most desirable and patriotic
object, although many of them have sent in their subscriptions.
The General Committee have, therefore, decided to make this
appeal to them through the various teachers' associations. The
committee trust, therefore, that the individual masters and
teachers concerned (if they have not already done so) will
heartily and promptly respond to this appeal.
The words with which Dr. Ormiston closes his appeal on behalf of
this fund we would heartily commend to your sympathy and kind
consideration. We do so with the earnest hope that you will
give them a substantial and practical application. Dr. Ormiston
says:--
"In obedience then, to one of the purest and loftiest instincts
of our nature, let us unite in paying a common tribute of
admiration and regard to the memory of him to whom we all
sustained a common relationship, and to whom we also, without
distinction as to nationality, political preferences, or
religious belief, can pay sincere homage, as the founder of our
present excellent and comprehensive system of education.
"In honouring him we do honour our common country, and recognize
our obligation to pay fitting homage to the great men of our
Dominion, whose names, with his, are inscribed high upon the
roll of Canada's famous sons."
The Rev. T. Bowman Stephenson, L.L.D., delegate from the British
to the General Conference of the Methodist Church in Canada, in
his recent address to that Conference, said, referring to the
late Rev. Dr. Ryerson:--
That gentleman "visited us in England twice. Old man as he then
was, he seemed younger than most of us. I take him to have been
one of those rare men who are never young and never old--old in
wisdom whilst young in years--young in heart and feeling when
already the snow is on the head. Eloquent, logical, far sighted,
generous, independent, courageous, with an unhesitating faith in
duty, and a boundless love of freedom and justice, he 'served
his generation.'--O how well the inspired words describe him--by
the will of God, 'he fell on sleep.'"
THE FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE APPEALS MADE--PARTICULARS OF THE STATUE.
The following is the financial result of the labours of the
committee up to the date of its final meeting on the 1st of June,
1889, viz.:--
Subscriptions received $4,647 95
Legislative grant 2,000 00
City of Toronto grant 500 00
Interest on deposits 1,119 14
--------- $8,267 09
Cost of bronze statue $5,100 00
Coat of granite pedestal 2,600 00
Fees and incidentals 381 09
--------- $8,081 09
---------
$186 00
To be expended on the Memorial Volume 186 00
-------
Height of bronze figure 9 feet 6 inches.
Height of granite pedestal 10 feet 6 inches.
The granite of the pedestal is from a quarry at St. George, in
New Brunswick--a Province which was the first early home of Dr.
Ryerson's father and mother, after the close of the American
Revolutionary War. Dr. Ryerson's mother was a native of New
Brunswick as were his elder brothers and sisters.
PROGRAMME OF ARRANGEMENTS FOR UNVEILING THE STATUE.
The following was the programme of arrangements agreed to by the
Committee to be observed on the Queen's Birthday, 1889, at the
ceremony of unveiling of the statue of the Rev. Egerton Ryerson,
D.D., LL.D., founder of the school system of Ontario, 1844-1876,
ceremony to commence at two o'clock p.m.:--
_Chairman for the Day._--The Hon. George W. Ross, LL.D., Minister
of Education for Ontario. _Dedicatory Hymn._--("All People that
on Earth do Dwell," Old Hundred) to be announced by the Rev. John
Burton, B.D. _Selection of Scripture._--To be read by the Rev.
John Potts, D.D., Secretary of Education of the Methodist General
Conference. _Dedicatory Prayer._--By the Rev. G. M. Milligan,
B.A., Minister of Old St. Andrew's Church, Toronto. _Opening
Address._--By the Hon. George W. Ross, LL.D., Chairman of the Day.
_Unveiling of the Statue._--By the Hon. Sir Alexander Campbell,
K.C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. _Patriotic School Song
by the City School Children._--"Hurrah, Hurrah, for Canada!" to be
led by Mr. Perrin, Music Teacher, City Schools. _Historical Paper
on Education in Ontario._--The abstract only was read by J. George
Hodgins, M.A., LL.D., Deputy Minister of Education for Ontario.
_Address on behalf of the Ontario Teachers' Association._--By Mr.
McQueen, President of the Association, 1889. _Address on behalf of
the Citizens of Toronto._--By His Worship the Mayor, E. F. Clarke,
Esq., M.P.P. (Mr. Clarke having gone to England, the address
was read by Alderman McMillan, President of the City Council,
and Acting Mayor _pro tem_). _Patriotic Song by the City School
Children._--"The Maple Leaf for Ever!" _Address on behalf of the
University of Toronto._--By the Hon. John Macdonald, Senator.
_Address on behalf of Victoria University._--By the Rev. N. Burwash,
S.T.D., Chancellor of Victoria University. _Address on behalf of
Queen's University._--By Sandford Fleming, Esq., LL.D., C.M.G.,
Chancellor of Queen's University. _Address on behalf of Trinity
University._--By the Rev. Professor William Clark, M.A. _Address
on behalf of McMaster University._--By T. H. Rand, Esq., D.C.L.
_The National Anthem. Benediction._--Pronounced by the Right Rev.
Arthur Sweatman, D.D., D.C.L., Bishop of Toronto.
_Representatives present._--The Mayor and Corporation of the City
of Toronto, Chairman and members of the High School and Collegiate
Institute Board of Toronto, Chairman and members of the Public
School Board of Toronto. Upper Canada College, Hon. John Beverley
Robinson; Knox College, Rev. William McLaren, D.D.; Wycliffe
College, Colonel Gzowski, A.D.C.; McMaster Divinity Hall, Rev.
Chancellor McVicar, D.D. LL. D.; Brantford Ladies' College, T. M.
Macintyre, Esq., Ph. D.; Alma Ladies' College, Colin Macdougall,
Esq., Q.C.[4]; Oshawa Ladies' College, Rev. A. B. Demill.
[4] In a kind note received from Mr. Macdougall, dated St. Thomas,
May 29th, 1889, he said:--"The ceremonies of unveiling were
everything that could be looked for, and were well carried out.
The speaking was good and quite sufficient of it.... It must be to
you and to your family a gratifying reflection that you will be
remembered in history as having largely contributed by personal
exertion towards the erection of a monument to the memory of one of
Canada's greatest sons."
The following replies from other Colleges were received by the
Secretaries, viz.:--
"ASSUMPTION COLLEGE, SANDWICH, March 12, 1889.
"DEAR SIR,--I beg to return thanks for your invitation to the
unveiling of the Statue to the late Doctor Ryerson.
"I do not think it will be possible for any representative of
this College to be present on that occasion.
"I remain, dear Sir, yours respectfully,
"(Sgd) DENNIS O'CONNOR.
"J. CARLYLE, Esq., Secretary."
"ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE, TORONTO, 15th March, 1889.
"DEAR SIR,--I received in due time your letter inviting me to
the unveiling of the Statue to the late Dr. Ryerson on the 24th
of May next. Your invitation I must respectfully decline, and
thanking you for it.
"I remain yours very sincerely,
"(Sgd) P. VINCENT.
"JAMES CARLYLE, Esq., Secretary."
"COLLEGE OF OTTAWA, March 21, 1889.
"DEAR SIR,--I am in receipt at your circular, dated March 12th,
with which you kindly favored me. Please accept my best thanks
for your cordial invitation to send a representative of our
College to the unveiling of the Statue of the late Dr. Ryerson.
I am greatly sorry to state that it will be hardly possible to
anybody of us to go on the 24th of May. Please excuse us and
believe me.
"Yours sincerely,
"(Sgd.) J. M. FEAYARD, O.M.J.
"Mr. J. CARLYLE, Secretary."
No replies were received from the other Colleges in Ontario to
which invitations had been sent by the Secretaries. The following
representatives were also present:
Ontario Teachers' Association, Public School Section, Mr. Robert
Alexander; Inspectors' Section, Mr. David Fotheringham; High School
Section, Mr. Archibald McMurchy, M.A.
Inscription on the pedestal of the bronze statue of Rev. Dr.
Ryerson, as approved by the General Committee, November, 1887, to be
placed on the front of the pedestal, facing Bond Street:--
EGERTON RYERSON,
FOUNDER
of the
SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO.
To be placed on the rear of the pedestal:--
BORN
IN CHARLOTTEVILLE, COUNTY OF NORFOLK, ONTARIO,
MARCH 24, 1803.
DIED
AT TORONTO, FEBRUARY 19, 1882.
Record of Rev. Dr. Ryerson's services, as approved by the General
Committee, November, 1887, and intended to have been engraved on the
Pedestal. It was afterwards decided not to do so, but to insert the
name only, as founder of the Ontario School System.[5]
[5] Having submitted the draft of this inscription to several of Dr.
Ryerson's clerical friends, I received the following in reply:--
From the Rev. Dr. Douglass, Montreal:--
"Thanks for your very kind favor. The name of Dr. Ryerson will
be forever sacred in my heart's best affection. I have read the
proposed inscription with very much care and interest. I think
it is comprehensive in its scope, and accurate and elegant in
detail. I really can offer no suggestion. I congratulate you
upon the completeness with which you have executed your talk.
With best wishes, ever and truly yours, G. D."
From the Rev. J. A. Williams, D.D., Toronto:--
"I very much approve of the proposed inscription for the
memorial to the late lamented Dr. Ryerson. It recognizes
his worth and distinguished ability, as a writer, as an
educationist, and as a patriot. It is a fitting tribute from one
who knew him well and so long. With much and sincere respect, I
am, yours very truly, J. A. W."
From the Rev. John Potts, D.D., Toronto:--
"No pen but yours should write the inscription for Dr. Ryerson's
monument. What you enclose is an elegant and eloquent tribute
to our dear departed father. The committee will accept the
inscription with thanks. Ever yours, J. P."
From the late Rev. Dr. Nelles, Cobourg (whom the committee wished to
be consulted on the matter). He said:
"The inscription, in its present form, pleases me best of all,
and is well nigh perfect, doing 'credit to your head and heart,'
as the phrase is.
"I am sure we shall get the thing perfect before we leave it.
And the old Doctor deserves that two such loving sons should
bestow their best efforts in such a matter.
"The 'final revise' [subsequently sent] may, I think, now
be accepted. It will bear criticism.... You have in you an
illimitable power of improvement, and this last is still better
than any other. Affectionately yours, S. S. N."
From the Rev. Alexander Sutherland, D.D., Toronto:--
"I have read the draft of the proposed inscription for the
Ryerson Statue with great care and a great deal of interest. It
covers the whole ground, and contains nothing that could well
be omitted. The extracts from the 'Letter of Acceptance' and
'Official Circular' give it a completeness which leaves nothing
to be desired. Yours faithfully, A. S."
From the Rev. Ephraim B. Harper, D.D., Brampton:--
"I have read over and over again with all possible attention
and care your proposed inscription for Dr. Ryerson's Memorial,
and candidly allow that I could not propose the change of a
word, or even of a letter in it. I prepared something similar,
twenty-three years ago, for a gravestone for the late Rev. Dr.
Stinson, and know well the difficulty of compressing important
facts within the limits permissible for an inscription. It could
not have fallen into better hands, when it fell to your lot to
write it. As ever, dear doctor, yours affectionately, E. B. H."
From Rev. W. H. Withrow, D.D., Toronto:--
"I think the inscription admirable. Yours, W. H. D."
THIS STATUE
IS
ERECTED
AS A MEMORIAL
OF THE GREAT PUBLIC SERVICES OF THE
REV. EGERTON RYERSON, D.D., LL.D,
SON OF COLONEL JOSEPH RYERSON,
A BRITISH OFFICER WHO SERVED DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,
AND WHO WAS ONE OF
THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS
WHO SETTLED IN THIS PROVINCE.
* * * * *
A DISTINGUISHED MINISTER OF THE METHODIST CHURCH,
1825-1852.
HE OBTAINED FOR THAT CHURCH A ROYAL CHARTER IN ENGLAND
FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
UPPER CANADA ACADEMY AT COBOURG,
1828-1841.
AFTERWARDS
THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA COLLEGE,
OF WHICH HE WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT.
* * * * *
IN FOUNDING
THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF HIS NATIVE PROVINCE,
AND IN PROMOTING THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF FREE SCHOOLS,
HE DISPLAYED THE RARE GIFTS OF A
FAR-SEEING AND ENLIGHTENED STATESMAN,
AND FOR THIRTY-TWO YEARS WAS
THE ABLE ADMINISTRATOR OF THAT SYSTEM,
1844-1876.
* * * * *
ERECTED BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SCHOOL TRUSTEES INSPECTORS, TEACHERS,
PUPILS AND OTHERS;
AIDED BY A GRANT FROM THE CITY OF TORONTO AND
THE LEGISLATURE OF ONTARIO.
CHAPTER II.
CEREMONY OF UNVEILING THE STATUE, 24TH MAY, 1889.
The ceremony of unveiling of the Statue is thus described by _The
Globe_ of May the 25th (abridged):--
The number of truly great men is not large in any country.
Ontario is not old yet in its physical and intellectual development,
and yet it is with pride her people recall the memory of a few great
men who are now with the overwhelming majority. Among the greatest
of Canadian public men was Rev. Dr. Egerton Ryerson, the founder of
the Ontario Public School system of education. Posterity recognizes
this, and posterity seeks to perpetuate his memory in that loving
manner which bespeaks gratitude, thankfulness and patriotism. The
generation that now is speaks affectionately and reverently of him,
who, by sheer force of character, founded a system of education
which places the child of the poor man on an equal equality with
that of the rich, and who so admirably developed his system that
every office in the State is open through a complete system of
elementary and secondary education to all classes in the Province.
But this generation has done more. It erected a monument to the
great man, so that generations yet unborn may not be unmindful of
the heritage which shall be theirs, as the result of the untiring
zeal and ability displayed by the Chief Superintendent of Education
in Ontario for the moral and intellectual advancement of his country.
The unveiling of this monument, fittingly erected in a commanding
position of the Normal School grounds, which were the scene of
the labors of the grand teacher, took place yesterday afternoon
before a large concourse of people. There were there statesmen
and politicians, presidents of universities and eminent divines,
men learned in the law and merchant princes, manufacturers and
agriculturists, teachers and pupils--all being assembled to do
honor to the name of him whose monument was unveiled and whose
virtues were extolled. The gathering was truly historical and
unique in its character--there being seen representatives of the
old class of teachers who presided over the school, houses of the
country when there was no system of education in Ontario, and who,
therefore, could the more appreciate the revolution wrought by the
master mind of Dr. Ryerson, when he undertook to mould into shape
the heterogeneous elements of public instruction over forty years
ago. Then, again, it is seldom in the history of a nation that all
classes, creeds and colors could be got together to do honor to the
memory of one man, and seldom could there be seen such an array of
intellectual leaders in all the walks of life as held seats on the
platform when Her Majesty's representative unveiled the form of
him whose memory is sought by it to be perpetuated. The sky itself
seemed to favor the auspicious occasion. The weather could not have
been finer if it had been designed to gladden and rejoice the hearts
of those who were present, and thereby to assist in making the
proceedings pass off as pleasantly as possible.
A temporary platform was erected nearly in front of the monument
commanding an admirable view of it, while seats were placed on both
sides of the centre of attraction.
(Among those present not mentioned in the programme were:
Ex-Governor Aikens, of Manitoba, Sir Daniel Wilson, Hon. Oliver
Mowat, Rev. Dr. Scadding, Rev. Dr. Rose, Judge McDougall, Rev. Leroy
Hooker, Thomas Hodgins, Q.C., Mr. F. E. Hodgins, Rev. Dr. Parker,
Rev. Dr. D. G. Sutherland, Mr. Wm. Houston, Lt.-Col. Allan, Rev.
John Hunt, Mr. D. Rose, Dr. H. H. Wright, Professor Ashley, Mr.
J. J. Withrow, O. A. Howland, Mr. A. Marling, James Beatty, Q.C.,
Rev. Dr. Thomas, Mr. J. E. Bryant, Mr. F. B. Hodgins, and Members
of the City Corporation, etc. A very large number of ladies were
also present, and many unenumerated old friends of the venerable
ex-Chief.)
The proceedings were opened by Rev. John Burton giving out Psalm
100, which was sung by the audience. Rev. John Potts, D.D., read a
portion of Scripture, and the dedicatory prayer was offered by Rev.
G. M. Milligan.
THE HON. G. W. ROSS' ADDRESS.
Hon. G. W. Ross, Minister of Education, spoke as follows:--
We are assembled to-day to do honor to the founder of the school
system of the Province of Ontario. On the 18th of October, 1844, the
Rev. Egerton Ryerson received a commission from Sir Charles Metcalfe
as Superintendent of what was then called the Common Schools of
Upper Canada. At the time he entered upon his duties there were in
existence 2,885 Common Schools, with a registered attendance of
96,756 children of school age. The entire revenue from all sources
for school purposes amounted to $340,000. When he retired in 1876
there were 5,092 schools, with a registered attendance of 489,664
pupils, and a revenue of $3,373,035. Besides the Common Schools in
existence there were 25 Grammar Schools attended by 958 pupils, and
maintained at an expense of $16,320 annually. At the close of his
long career there were 104 High Schools attended by 8,541 pupils,
and maintained at an annual expense of $304,948. The accommodation
for the pupils attending the Common Schools was supplied by 2,887
school houses, of which 213 were brick or stone, 1,008 frame and
1,666 log. The teachers numbered 3,086, and were possessed of such
varied qualifications as might be expected when I tell you that
they obtained their certificates in most cases from the Boards of
Trustees which employed them. When he surrendered his commission
there were 4,926 school-houses, of which 1,931 were brick or stone,
2,253 frame, and only 742 log, all in charge of a staff of highly
educated and accomplished teachers, numbering 6,185.
The school law in existence at the time of Dr. Ryerson's appointment
to office consisted of 71 sections, and was as crude in many
respects as the education which was obtained under it. There were
practically no authorized text-books, no Boards of Examiners, no
Inspectors, no Department of Education. It was an era of primitive
simplicity, but an era, nevertheless, the possibilities of which
no man could estimate, the development of which no man could
foresee. "The deep surge of nations yet to be" had struck our
shores. Thousands of sturdy pioneers were at work hewing down our
forests and wrestling with such social and political problems as
are incident to a primitive order of things. The materials out of
which to organize society on a higher plane were abundant though
undeveloped. It was a great opportunity for a man possessed of a
genius for organization. In the appointment of Dr. Ryerson the
opportunity and the man met face to face, and the splendid system
of education which we to-day enjoy is the best proof that the man
was as great, if not greater, than the opportunity. But, while the
opportunity was a great one, it must not be forgotten that the
difficulties to be overcome, to a less vigorous and courageous man,
would have been overwhelming.
The executive machinery for administering the affairs of several
thousand distinct corporations, with all the complex details
necessarily connected with electing trustees, collecting rates,
appointing teachers, framing a curriculum of studies, regulating
the discipline of pupils and supplying text-books, had all to be
re-cast, if not invented, and put into operation. Cabinet Ministers,
Members of Parliament and Municipal Councils had to be indoctrinated
with the new education. The press had to be directed, and the
whole people educated to receive with favor a school system which
ignored well established theories and deeply founded prejudices.
Even popular indignation had to be set at defiance, and amid
misrepresentation and calumny the master builder had often to do his
work and to await the verdict of posterity for the vindication of
his wisdom and foresight.
It is well known, when Dr. Ryerson first proposed to make all the
Common Schools of Upper Canada free alike to rich and poor, to
citizen and alien, that he was charged with encroaching upon the
rights of the subject, that he was charged with appropriating the
money of the taxpayer who perhaps had no children to be educated
for the benefit of the thriftless and pauperised classes of the
community. What was his answer? It was this:--"The education of the
people irrespective of rank or race or creed is a better investment
even for the taxpayer than houses or lands, because it guarantees
the safe possession of all his goods--it does even more--it
guarantees his personal liberty and therefore the taxpayer must be
made to pay for the common safety of the people."
When he asked authority for trustees to erect school houses
wherever, in their opinion, the public interests required them, he
was told such a law would be arbitrary and harsh, that it would
place too much power in the hands of a few men. His answer was:
"School houses are cheaper than gaols, teachers are cheaper than
police officers, the taxpayer must be made to pay for the common
morality of the people." When he said: "Teachers must be educated
and trained for their work, the success of thousands of children
depend upon skilful handling and discipline in the school room, we
must have Grammar Schools and Normal School and Township libraries
and Boards of Examiners," he was told that the country could not
afford such luxuries, that he must wait till the people were
richer. His answer was: "Efficiency is the highest economy. If the
springtime of life is wasted, life's greatest opportunities are
wasted. The taxpayer must be made to pay for the common intelligence
of the people." As a result of all this courage--may I not call it
heroism--in the defence of sound principles of education he placed
his native Province in the van of all the States of America and all
the Colonies of the British Empire. Well may we to-day assemble to
do honor to his memory. Not only Ontario, but Canada, owes much
to his breadth of mind, his sagacity and his tremendous force of
character.
For thirty-two years his active brain and busy pen were devoted to
the work of propagating sounder views on popular education. For
thirty-two years he labored to establish the democracy of mind--the
common citizenship of every child attending a Public School. With
a patriotism which no man ever questioned, with talents which no
man could fail to appreciate, with a tenacity of purpose which no
difficulty could daunt, he devoted his life to one purpose, the
establishment of a school system which would fully meet the wants
of a free, strong and progressive people. (Applause). It is said
of Augustus that he found Rome brick and left it marble. It may be
said of Dr. Ryerson that he found our school system without any
definite organisation, he left it highly organized. He found it weak
in influence and poor in circumstances, he left it endowed with
houses and lands and millions of treasure. He found it tolerated as
traditionally respectable, he left it enthroned in the affections of
a free people.
Well may we honor his greatness, for we share in all it has
produced. Well may we search our quarries for a fit emblem of the
durability of his work, on which to carve his name, that generations
yet unborn may recall the record of his life and be stirred to
emulate his example. And yet when we have done all this, when we
have committed his memory to the keeping of the bronze and granite
now before us, I believe the judgment of those who know his work
will be that all the monuments which mortal hands can erect, and
all the eulogies which affection or admiration can prompt his
contemporaries to utter, will be ephemeral and perishable compared
with the educational edifice which his own hands builded or the
intellectual life which of his own genius he imparted to his fellow
countrymen.
THE STATUE UNVEILED BY SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.
At the close of his address Mr. Ross invited the Governor to unveil
the statue. Before doing so the Governor, turning to the audience,
said in feeling terms:--
"Dr. Ryerson was known throughout the length and breadth of this
Province. No Representative of Her Majesty has had ever as pleading
a duty given to him to discharge as that which falls to my lot in
unveiling the monument of that great man."
Sir Alexander, accompanied by the Minister and Deputy Minister of
Education, proceeded then to the statue, and the work of unveiling
was only the question of a few moments. As soon as the British
Canadian flag, which covered the massive form of the statue, was
raised, the audience raised a cheer which is rarely heard within the
Normal School grounds, It was the reflex of the inner gratitude of
the sharers in a great heritage.
The sculptor, Mr. McCarthy, who did his work well, was then
introduced to the Lieutenant-Governor by the Minister of Education.
The statue having been exposed to full view the song "Hurrah for
Canada" was sung by city school children, led by Mr. Perrin, music
teacher, city schools. The children acquitted themselves admirably.
EDUCATIONAL RETROSPECT BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION.
It was fitting that the next speaker should be a gentleman so
long and so closely connected with Dr. Ryerson in moulding the
educational institutions of the Province. The Chairman therefore
introduced Dr. Hodgins, Deputy Minister of Education, who read a
masterly and comprehensive historical paper on Education in Ontario.
Dr. Hodgins traced the growth of education in the Province from
1841, dealing minutely and with a thorough knowledge of details
with the difficulties encountered by Dr. Ryerson in gaining public
endorsation for his scheme of popular education, and the phases
through which the system passed until at the Centennial Exhibition,
held in Philadelphia in 1876, the Chief Superintendent of Education
was gratified by the Commissioners making the following award:--
For a quite complete and admirably arranged exhibition, illustrating
the Ontario system of education and its excellent results. Also
for the efficiency of an administration, which has gained for the
Ontario department a most honorable distinction among Government
educational agencies.
Dr. Hodgins concluded as follows:--Having been intimately concerned
in all of the events and educational matters to which I have
referred, it may not be out of place for me to add a few words of a
personal character in conclusion. At the end of this year I shall
have completed my more than 45 years' service, as chief of the staff
of the Education Department of Ontario. For over 40 years I enjoyed
the personal friendship of the distinguished man whose memory we
honor here to-day--32 years of which were passed in active and
pleasant service under him. How can I, therefore, regard without
emotion the events of to-day? They bring vividly to my recollection
many memorable incidents and interesting events of our educational
past known only to myself. They also deeply impress me with the
fleeting and transitory nature of all things human. The chief and
sixteen councillors, appointed and elected to assist him, have all
passed away. His great work remains, however, and his invaluable
services to the country we all gratefully recall to-day, while
his native land lovingly acknowledges those services in erecting
this noble monument to his memory. Truly indeed and faithfully
did Egerton Ryerson make good his promise to the people of this
Province, when he solemnly pledged himself, on accepting office in
1844--
To provide for my native country a system of education, and
facilities for intellectual improvement, not second to those of any
country in the world.
God grant that the seed sown and the foundations thus laid, with
such anxious toil and care--and yet in faith--may prove to be one of
our richest heritages, so that in the future, wisdom and knowledge,
in the highest and truest sense, may be the stability of our times!
THE TEACHERS' REPRESENTATIVE.
The audience was then introduced to Mr. R. McQueen, President of the
Ontario Teachers' Association, who eulogised Dr. Ryerson for his
marked individuality, tenacity of purpose, and the grand results
he achieved through his influence for popular education in his
native country. He deserved a monument from a thankful posterity
because his whole aim in life was to ameliorate the condition of his
fellow-countrymen. He was there in behalf of the teachers of Ontario
to express their joy at the tribute paid to the memory of a great
teacher and founder of a system of education.
THE ACTING-MAYOR RESPONDS.
In the absence of Mayor Clarke, Ald. McMillan was called on to reply
in behalf of the citizens of Toronto. The Acting-Mayor said that
Canada owes Dr. Ryerson a deep debt of gratitude. His life was grand
and versatile; he was a teacher and a Christian; a combination of
the scholar and gentleman; a leader of men. He impressed his genius
on the educational institutions of the Province, he was loyal to
the country of his birth, and he abhorred falsehood and oppression.
Therefore it was eminently fitting that his greatness and worth
should be commemorated by a public tribute.
The school children at this stage sang the well-known Canadian song:
"The Maple Leaf for Ever."
THE UNIVERSITIES OF ONTARIO.
The Universities of Ontario owe much to the painstaking care of the
late Dr. Ryerson over the development of Public and High School
education. The efficiency of the University and its possible
influence depend on a sound and thorough system of elementary
education. The High School depends on the Public School and the
University on the High School. Our Universities have made tremendous
strides during the last ten years, and without a doubt the cause
of this has been due to the fact of the elementary schools putting
forth the fruit of the good seed sowed thirty years ago. The
Universities therefore were not unmindful of what they owe to
the genius of Dr. Ryerson at yesterday's re-union. These five
institutions were well and ably represented on the platform. The
addresses of these representatives were one series of eulogies on
the life and labors of him, whose memory they met to do honor to.
Senator Macdonald, after praising the Ontario system of education,
turned to the young people of the audience and said: "You are
forcibly reminded to-day that Canada will cherish the memory of all
those of her sons who will work patriotically and nobly for the good
of their country."
Rev. Dr. Burwash spoke of Dr. Ryerson as a public educator, but he
would be great, the speaker said, in any other profession. Ontario,
however, remembers him as an educator, statesman, philanthropist and
Christian teacher in the highest sense of the word.
Chancellor Fleming honored the name of Dr. Ryerson for having laid
such a broad and national system of education as enables Ontario to
rank among the first of enlightened nations.
Rev. Professor Clark thought that the spirit of Dr. Ryerson was to
provide such a system of education as would make men of earnestness,
character and patriotic ardor. The University with which he was
identified honored the name of Dr. Ryerson, and he was there to add
his tribute to the worth of so great a Canadian.
Professor Rand, eulogised also the elementary and secondary system
of education in Ontario, declaring that its founder richly deserved
to be commemorated by a public monument.[6]
[6] These addresses are given in full, commencing on page 17.
The audience then sang the national anthem. Bishop Sweatman
pronounced the benediction, and the statue of the great educationist
was left to posterity to admire and to preserve intact and inviolate.
The report of _The Empire_ necessarily traversed the same ground.
I can therefore only give the salient points in addition to those
referred to by the _Globe_, it said:--
The great educational lights of the Province were present in front
of the Education Department building yesterday afternoon, when the
statue of the Rev. Dr. Ryerson was unveiled. The day was appropriate
for doing honor to the memory of a man who had so ably served his
Queen and country. A large crowd of citizens witnessed the unveiling
and listened to the addresses that were delivered.
The following relatives of Dr. Ryerson were present: Mr. Charles
Egerton Ryerson, (his only son), Mrs. C. E. Ryerson and their
two sons, (Egerton and Stanley), Mrs. Edward Harris, (his only
daughter), Dr. G. S. Ryerson (his nephew) was absent with the
Grenadiers at Berlin, Mrs. G. S. Ryerson and son were present; also,
Mrs. Hardy (his niece) and her daughter, Miss Ethel Hardy, Dr. John
Beatty, of Cobourg, and Mr. James R. Armstrong, (brothers-in-law),
Mrs. J. R. Armstrong, Mrs. George Duggan, (sister-in-law), His Honor
Judge McDougall, (a connection by marriage)."
The main points of _The Mail_ report were as follows:--
It would perhaps be too much to say that, while the gay and
thoughtless were seeking amusements in other parts of the city,
it was only the wise who repaired to the grounds of the Education
Department to take part in the unveiling of the Statue of the late
Egerton Ryerson; yet it cannot but be admitted that those who
assembled to witness and assist in this ceremony were men and women
worthy to have the privilege of publicly honoring the memory of
Canada's greatest educationist. Among those present were men who
have attained to eminence in every department of public life, and
it was but right that they should pay the tribute they did to the
memory of him who was the founder and for many years the head of
the greatest of all departments. There were men present who for
years were associated with Dr. Ryerson in his great work; men whose
characters were to a great extent moulded by his example, and men
whose ambitions have been wakened and whose purposes have been
inspired by the contemplation of his achievements.
Early in the afternoon the crowd begin to gather around the statue,
the front part of which was veiled by a large British flag, the
folds of which hung almost to the foot of the pedestal. In front
of the statue, under the shade of a couple of the maples that help
to make the grounds of the Education Department and Normal School
so attractive, a platform had been erected for the use of those
who were to take part in the ceremony, and around it were placed a
number of seats.
At the close of his address (given on pages 9-11), Hon. Mr. Ross
invited Sir Alexander Campbell to unveil the statue. Before
proceeding with the ceremony Sir Alexander advanced to the front of
the platform and briefly expressed himself as feeling highly honored
by being called upon to perform such a task as the one that on
this occasion had devolved upon him. He thought no pleasanter duty
could fall to the lot of a Lieutenant-Governor of any province than
that of assisting in honoring one of the province's noblest men.
He then stepped down, and taking hold of the cords that kept the
flag in place, drew them aside and the drapery fell to the ground.
As the sunlight flashed on the exquisitely chiselled features, and
the form so well known to many of those present stood out for the
first time as it will stand, it is hoped, for many years to come, a
prolonged cheer burst from those who had up to this moment watched
Sir Alexander's movements with almost breathless interest. After a
pause of a few moments, during which the naturalness and finish of
the statue was freely commented on, Hon. Mr. Ross called forward Mr.
Hamilton McCarthy, the sculptor, and amid great applause introduced
him to Sir Alexander, who spoke in flattering terms of the pleasure
he felt in meeting a man who had shown himself capable of producing
so excellent a work of art.
The bronze statue, nine feet six inches in height, represents the
late Dr. Ryerson in the attitude of addressing an audience in the
cause of education. The head is turned a little to the right, with
the lips slightly parted, and with the massive brow and flowing
locks, give a correct and forcible expression, in harmony with the
action of the advanced arm and firm position of the right leg. The
proportions of the figure are well kept through the ample folds of
the Doctor's gown, which in their various lines, lend richness and
interest to the work, and take away the stiffness of the modern
costume. The left hand is raised nearly to the breast, and in it is
grasped a book. A little to the left and rear of the figure stands
a short pedestal bearing three books, carelessly laid one upon
another; and on one of the panels of the pedestal is the arms of the
Department of Education under Dr. Ryerson's _regime_. Dignity of
bearing, repose and action, and distinct force of character, eminent
qualities in the personality of the late doctor, mark the expression
of the figure; and it is evident that no pains have been spared by
the artist in the modelling of the details.[7] Mr. Hamilton McCarthy
has also been very successful in the design of the pedestal, which
has excited general admiration. It is 10 ft. 6 in. in height, and
is of New Brunswick granite. The conception is unique in character.
Pilasters at the four angles terminate in buttresses to the ground,
and support above beautifully designed capitols with dentils on the
face. The pyramidal form of the whole work gives it an effect of
rising out of the ground. The finely polished panels of the die, in
each of which a classic shield is outlined, contain the inscriptions.
[7] In a note from Sir John Macdonald, he said:--
"Many thanks for your note, and for the photographic model of
our dear old friend, Dr. Ryerson. The apparent frown on the brow
is perhaps too pronounced, [the expression was modified after
receipt of this note]. The pose seems to me very good."
Rev. J. K. Smith, D.D., of Galt, in a note to me also said:--
"Please except my sincere thanks for the excellent photo of the
lamented Dr. Ryerson which is an admirable likeness. It is I
suppose, as nearly perfect in every respect as a statue could
be. I am persuaded that the statue will be a splendid one, and
I rejoice that his great name is thus to be handed down to
successive generations of our Canadian youth as a sacred memory
and a powerful stimulus."
Mr. McCarthy can be congratulated upon the success of his work, and
the province can be congratulated upon the possession of so noble an
addition to the few works of art now in the country. Mr. Gullett,
the contractor for the erection of the pedestal also performed
his duties carefully and faithfully, as not the slightest hitch
occurred, and no damage was sustained by the granite.
COMMENTS OF THE PRESS ON THE UNVEILING OF THE STATUE.
The _Evangelical Churchman_ of May the 9th, anticipating the
unveiling of Dr. Ryerson's statue, said:--
"On the 24th of this month, the Queen's Birthday, Ontario will
do honor to one of her most distinguished sons. On that day
will be unveiled the statue to the memory of Egerton Ryerson,
the founder of the school system of his native province. The
ceremony will be unique in many ways, not the least interesting
fact in connection therewith being that the statue of Dr.
Ryerson will be the first one erected by the Province of Ontario
to one of its own sons. Dr Ryerson was a thorough Canadian
and was born in Ontario. Thus this signal honor to his memory
acquires additional lustre, and does much to redeem Ontario from
the reproach an often uttered that a prophet is not without
honor save in his own country. It reveals, indeed, another fact
which, in a new country, is not without a peculiar significance.
It is this, that national life is commencing in earnest, and
that national characteristics are developing themselves. A
country which can step aside, as it were, in the rush and hurry
of existence to do honor to one of its sons, is not without
aspirations after a national existence, is not wholly given up
to considerations of material interest, and possesses within
it something that is full of promise of permanence and true
greatness."
The Hamilton _Times_ of the 25th of May, under the beading of "The
Memory of a Great Canadian," said:--
"The unveiling of the Ryerson statue in the Normal School
grounds, at Toronto, yesterday, was the occasion of recalling
the achievements of the late Dr. Ryerson in connection with
Ontario's educational system. From 1844 until 1876 Rev.
Egerton Ryerson was Chief Superintendent of Education in
this Province.... But Dr. Ryerson's services to Canada did
not begin in 1844. He was a great man before he touched the
educational System. He was born in the County of Norfolk in
1803, and when he was about 20 years of age he was studying
in Hamilton in a little house on Jackson Street, not far from
the place where the new Y.M.C.A. building is in the course of
construction.... In 1826 Archdeacon Strachan preached a sermon
on the death of Bishop Mountain. The Methodists at that time
were the most numerous religious body in upper Canada but Dr.
Strachan set forth the claim of the Church of England to the
Clergy Reserves.... Mr. Ryerson was junior preacher under the
late Rev. James Richardson, who had his arm shot off while in
naval service near Sackett's Harbour during the war.... When
Dr. Strachan's sermon was published, it was agreed that Mr.
Richardson and Mr. Ryerson should each write a reply to it.
They separated, each going to a different part of their large
circuit, and when they met a few weeks later young Ryerson had
prepared his paper, but Mr. Richardson had nothing ready. It was
read before the other preachers and published. The battle had
now begun, and it did not end until the Clergy Reserves were
secularised in 1854. During nearly all that time Mr. Ryerson
was a leading character in Canadian public life. He wrote, he
spoke, he worked, appearing before Parliamentary committees,
interviewing the statesmen of Great Britain and occasionally
taking his stand upon the hustings.... Dr. Ryerson was born in
1803 and became Superintendent of Education in 1844. He was
only 42 years of age at the time of his appointment, yet he had
performed a greater share of work, and had attained a greater
degree of prominence in those forty-two years than most public
men can boast of as the achievements of a lifetime. How many
men in this latter end of the century get into the thick of the
fight and make their influence felt while under 40 years of
age? The point we wish to impress is this: Had Egerton Ryerson
died in 1844, instead of becoming Superintendent of Education
and living until 1882, his history would still have been worth
writing, and he would have deserved a monument For the services
he performed for his native Province. His long connection with
educational affairs to a great extent blotted out the memory
of his earlier work and struggles in another connection. He
had much to do with founding Victoria College and getting that
institution fairly established.... The impression remains with
us to this day that if Dr. Ryerson had been a lawyer he would
have made all other Canadian lawyers look small; if he had gone
into politics he would have been perpetual Premier: in short,
he was the ablest native Canadian who has so far helped to make
history.
The _Christian Guardian_ of the 29th May, said:--
The unveiling of the statue of the late D. Egerton Ryerson,
last Friday, in the Normal School grounds in this city, recalls
the memory of a worthy and honored Canadian, widely known as
a successful journalist, a gifted and learned divine, and
an eminent educationist. It will hardly be questioned that
the principle of perpetuating the memory of benefactors of a
country is a laudable one, or that the individual in this case
was worthy of this honor. No one who has travelled in Britain
or other European countries, has failed to have his attention
arrested by statues, or other memorials, of eminent men whom the
county delighted to honor. It is well adapted to inspire the
young with high purpose to note that however partisan strife may
obscure the patriotic services of public men during active life,
when the work of life is over, as a general rule, men of all
parties cheerfully recognize the value of the service rendered
by those who have faithfully labored for the public good. Owing
to the intensity of political feeling in Canada, there is a
strong tendency to underestimate the work of our statesmen and
politicians, until they have gone where human praise or blame
cannot affect them.
Though Dr. Ryerson passed through many fierce controversies, and
at times came into conflict with hostile opponents, to-day men
of all creeds and parties are ready to give him his due meed of
praise as one of the greatest of Canada's sons, who achieved a
work in organizing and building up a system of public education
that shall tell powerfully for good through all coming time.
He founded no cities; he led no armies to victory; he had no
special influence on the material prosperity of the land; but in
organizing a system of public schools, which placed the elements
of a sound education within the reach of every boy and girl in
this Province, he has exercised an undying influence over the
future intellectual life of the country, that shall largely
determine its place in the scale of civilization.
It is not only since his death that the strife of tongues
has ceased, and the value of his work has been generally
acknowledged. For several years before his death the echoes of
old battles had become silent; old strifes were healed; and he
lived in a peaceful Beulah land awaiting the Master's call to
cross the dark river. In the beginning of 1879 at the request
of the editor of the _Guardian_, he wrote an article for the
Jubilee number of this paper, of which he was the first editor.
After giving an interesting account of the origin and growth
of the paper, he concluded by saying; "May the success of the
past be as a dim dawn to the success of the future! Such is
the prayer and hope of the first editor of the _Guardian_--now
retired from all office in Church and State, near the
fifty-fifth year of his ministry and the seventy-seventh year
of his age--_looking_ for a better country and _waiting_ for a
heavenly home."
The _Presbyterian Review_ of the 30th May, said:--
The various speakers dwelt upon the immense service which the
late Dr. Ryerson rendered to the country in laying broad and
deep the foundations of our educational system, and testified
their satisfaction that gratitude and veneration had found
expression in the noble work of art before them, which would
perpetuate his name to many generations of students and
scholars.... Dr. Hodgins and the other gentlemen associated
with him on the Ryerson Statue Committee are to be heartily
congratulated on the result of their well-directed efforts and
well-sustained efforts to assist in perpetuating the memory
of a native-born Canadian who, notwithstanding some errors
of judgment, proved himself worthy to be held in grateful
remembrance by his countrymen.
_The Week_ of the 31st May, said:--
That was a grand purpose to which Rev. Egerton Ryerson pledged
himself on accepting office as the first Superintendent of
Education for Ontario in 1844, "To provide for my native
country a system of education, and facilities for intellectual
improvement, not second to those of any country in the world."
The form and loftiness of the promise marked the courage,
individuality and conscious strength of the man who made it.
The statue in the Toronto Normal School grounds, which was
unveiled with appropriate ceremonies on the 24th inst., will
henceforth stand as the testimony of the people of Ontario,
especially of its teachers and others interested in educational
work, to the faithfulness and ability with which the pledge was
redeemed through thirty-two years of indefatigable toil and
struggle. The artistically wrought monument in bronze will also
serve as a fitting reminder to all who visit the Educational
Department that the people of Ontario do not mean to let those
who faithfully served their country in its earlier days be
forgotten. A monument "more enduring than bronze" stands out to
view wherever a free public school is efficiently doing its work
in training the young of both sexes and of all classes to become
intelligent and patriotic citizens of this growing commonwealth.
Whether it be literally true or not that Dr. Ryerson "placed
his native Province in the van of all the States of America and
all the colonies of the British Empire," as the Minister of
Education avouches, his plan was certainly comprehensive and
statesmanlike, and was followed out with a courage, perseverance
and success, for which the Province must ever remain his debtor.
The Toronto correspondent of the _Montreal Witness_, under date of
31st of May, says:--
One of the noblest public tributes ever paid to the memory of
any man in Canada was paid the other day to the memory of the
late Rev. Egerton Ryerson. From the time of his death, early
in 1882, till now, the work of collecting subscriptions for
the erection of a statue has gone steadily on. The amounts
contributed were individually small, but the contributors were
numerous, and now in front of the Departmental Buildings, in
St. James' Square, stands a memorial of him which will fairly
convey to future generations some idea of what the man himself
was in personal appearance. The massiveness and rugged strength
are there, and there were, after all, the most marked traits of
Dr. Ryerson's personality, though he was by no means lacking
in sympathy and intellectual ability.... The addresses were
admirable alike for brevity and good taste, and nothing occurred
to mar the success of the ceremony.
The _Educational Journal_ of June 1st, said:--
The statue of the late Dr. Ryerson, which has been so long in
course of preparation, has been set up on the Normal School
grounds, and was unveiled, with appropriate ceremonies, on the
24th ult.
The ceremony of unveiling was performed by Sir Alexander
Campbell, the Lieutenant-Governor, who said that he thought no
pleasanter duty could fall to the lot of any Lieutenant-Governor
than that of assisting in honoring one of the Province's noblest
men.
The status is of bronze, nine feet six inches in height, and
stands upon a pedestal of New Brunswick granite, ten feet six
inches high. It represents Dr. Ryerson in the attitude of
addressing an audience in the cause of education. The head is
turned a little to the right, with the lips slightly parted, and
with the massive brow and flowing locks, gives a correct and
forcible expression, in harmony with the action of the advanced
arm and firm position of the right leg. The proportions of
the figure are very well kept through the ample folds of the
doctor's gown, which in their various lines, lend richness and
interest to the work, and take away the stiffness of the modern
costume. The left hand is raised nearly to the breast, and in it
is grasped a book. A little to the left and rear of the figure
stands a short pedestal bearing three books, carelessly laid one
upon another; and on one of the panels of the pedestal is the
arms of the Department of Education. Dignity of bearing, repose
and action, and distinct force of character, eminent qualities
in the personality of the late doctor, mark the expression of
the figure; and it is evident that no pains have been spared
by the artist, Mr. Hamilton McCarthy, in the modelling of the
details of both statue and pedestal. The statue stands in a
commanding position in the Normal School grounds. It will add
a new object of interest to the many attractions which these
grounds present to teachers and others visiting the Department.
The _Irish Canadian_ of the 6th of June, under the heading of "A
Graceful Tribute," said:--
On the 24th of May (the Queen's Birthday), was unveiled the
statue erected in the Normal School grounds to the memory of the
Rev. Egerton Ryerson, the founder of the common school system of
education in Ontario, and its Superintendent from its inception
in 1844 till 1876, when he retired in the fullness of years,
and after his labors had been crowned with signal success. The
Catholics of this Province, in the matter of education, have
nothing for which they should be thankful to the distinguished
divine.... For all that, Dr. Ryerson was a man of great and good
parts; and, from a Common School point of view, he has left a
noble heritage in a system of education that will bear favorable
comparison with the best of any land.
It was the occasion of the unveiling of his statue that
his co-laborer in the Education Department--Dr. J. George
Hodgins--paid the memory of Dr. Ryerson a graceful tribute.
Who so capable for so delicate a task as he who had been Dr.
Ryerson's right-hand man, his able support, during his long and
varied career in the Education office? And happily has the story
of the ups and downs of the Common School system been told by
the learned Deputy Minister, to whose ripe judgment, in no small
degree, was due the system's unmeasured success. The part that
Dr. Hodgins played, however, is kept in the background; and we
see only what Dr. Ryerson done during his lengthened incumbency,
and the difficulties with which he had to contend in maturing
his plans and bringing them as nearly as possible to his own
ideal of perfection.
Dr. Hodgins' retrospect goes back to the period of the U. E.
Loyalists, and thence downward to 1876. It leads us by degrees
from the primitive system in vogue prior to the grammar schools
(in one of which the late venerable Bishop Strachan taught
as master), through a series of changes aiming at higher
education, till we arrive at the year in which the foundations
of the present system were laid. The corner-stone having been
placed, the superstructure rose in fair proportions; and the
edifice having been completed, to furnish it with all the
adjuncts necessary to the best educational training was the
Superintendent's constant care. How Dr. Ryerson finally overcame
every obstacle to his darling object is told with tender
affection by Dr. Hodgins, who, in laying a chaplet on the grave
of his dead chief, does honor not only to the memory of a good
man, but also to his own generous instincts.
The _Canada Educational Monthly_ for June-July, said:--
The Rev. Dr. Ryerson has long been widely known as a gifted and
learned divine, as well as a successful journalist, who took a
prominent part in the religious and moral development of our
country in its early days, ... but the fitting memorial which
was unveiled on Her Majesty's seventieth birthday, is erected to
him chiefly as a worthy Canadian and an eminent educationist....
The life work of this able man has now passed into other
hands; in itself it forms a whole superstructure, and if the
enlightened principles which he laid down and acted upon are
carried out in their integrity, they must exercise an undying
influence for good upon the intellectual life of the country,
upon its gradual advance in the scale of civilization and
refinement, and upon its moral and religious life.
The ceremony of unveiling the statue brought together many true,
patriotic and representative men. Some of his personal friends
and fellow-workers were there, and others who remembered him
with affection and gratitude. The Government, the city, the
public and secondary schools, the colleges and universities were
all represented, and all united in honoring the memory of the
founder of the Ontario school system.
CHAPTER III.
THE ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE UNVEILING.[8]
[8] The Historical Paper--an abstract of which was read by Dr.
Hodgins, will be found on page 26.
THE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO.
Mr. Robert McQueen, President of the Ontario Teachers' association,
spoke as follows:--
_Your Honor_, _Mr. Chairman_, _Ladies and Gentlemen_:
We are gathered here to-day to do honor to the memory of one to whom
this country owes a debt of deep and lasting gratitude; and should
I fail entirely to give expression to any thought worthy of the man
or the occasion, I feel certain that all will be overlooked, when I
simply utter the two words "Egerton Ryerson." He was a man of marked
individuality of character, of energetic action, of great power of
will, and tenacity of purpose. His life-work bears the marks of his
individuality and energy, the results he achieved are evidences of
his power of will and his tenacity of purpose. And, in view of the
results which he achieved, it is a meet and a becoming thing, that,
as a people, we should meet and do honor to his memory, as we have
gathered here this day to do.
Men, even great men, only act permanently, as they act upon the
institutions of their country. The greatness that centres in the
individual is dependent upon and contingent on the existence of the
individual, and the influence exercised by him as it centres in him,
dies with him, passes away when he leaves the scene. But the man who
leaves his impress on the institutions of his country, exercises an
influence that is permanent in its action, pervasive in its power,
and, within the range of these institutions, is universal in its
beneficence. Every amelioration of these institutions is an abiding
good, shared in by all who come within their sphere of operation. It
becomes the common heritage of all.
Such was the impress made, such still is the influence exercised by
the individual to whose memory and life-work we have met this day to
do honor. His connection with, his charge over, and his influence
upon the educational institutions of this country, reaching
backward nearly half a century from the present time, and lasting
over a period of nearly thirty years, was that of a formative and
meliorating kind. From the time of his acceptance of office in 1844,
down to the period when he resigned his trust, his energies were
directed, his powers brought to bear on organizing, modelling and
consolidating the school system of this province.
Let us for a few moments trace briefly the history of that system
for the last fifty years. The Education Bill of 1837 may be said
to have been the first legislative attempt at organization. This
bill provided for the annual expenditure of fifteen thousand pounds
for common school purposes, and that as soon as the permanently
available Public School Fund of this Province amounted to ten
thousand pounds per annum, a superintendent of common schools should
be appointed by the Governor under the Seal of the Province, whose
duty it should be to report annually to the Legislature on all
matters pertaining to the administration of the public schools.
The union of the Provinces brought the Act of 1841, introduced
by the Hon. Mr. Day. This Act was simplified and improved by the
Bill of 1843, introduced by the Hon. F. Hincks. By the provisions
of that Act the Secretary of the Province was _ex-officio_ Chief
Superintendent of Schools. In 1844 that office was tendered to the
late Dr. Ryerson, and in the autumn of that year it was accepted by
him on two conditions: (1st), that the administration of the school
system should constitute a separate and distinct non-political
department; (2nd), that he should be permitted to act by a deputy
for one year and have leave of absence for that period, in order to
enable him to visit and examine the educational systems of other
countries, in Europe and America, before attempting to lay the
foundations of a system in Upper Canada. The whole of 1845 was spent
in these inquiries and investigations. The results were embodied
in a report to the Legislature in 1846. Along with this report was
a Draft School Bill, which was introduced and carried through by
the Hon. W. Draper, and became law in June, 1846. In a few mouths
a draft bill for cities and incorporated towns was submitted and
carried through by the Hon. J. H. Cameron, and became law in June,
1847; these two Acts, with modifications and improvements, suggested
by time and experience, were incorporated in the School Bill of
1850, which was introduced by the Hon. F. Hincks, and was the first
Act to which the Earl of Elgin gave the Royal Assent after the
removal of the Seat of Government to Upper Canada.
The provision of this bill embodied the basis of our present system.
It introduced the principle of free schools, leaving the adoption
of that principle to the option of each school section. Subsequent
changes and modifications were embodied in the Act of 1870, which
abolished the office of township superintendent, introduced the
county inspectorate, and made free schools compulsory. This Act
may be said to be the last touch of the "Master Hand." In order to
apprehend the true nature and extent of that impress which he made,
of that influence which he exercised and exerted, we have only to
look around, to look on that noble structure, whose foundations he
was permitted and honored to lay, and whose superstructure he was so
largely enabled to rear. Our school system is his true memorial.
I have already said that it is a meet and a becoming thing for a
nation to honor the memory of its public benefactors. The nation
that ceases to cherish and manifest a grateful remembrance of those
who have devoted their energies to the promotion of its welfare and
spent their lives in its service, gives evidence of deterioration
and decay, gives evidence that it is on the down grade of national
existence. To-day we have gathered here to give expression to our
gratitude in tangible form, by the erection in this public place,
of this costly and enduring memorial of the individual and his
life-work, that by its very presence it may speak to all who behold
of the grateful sense of benefits received, cherished by the people
of this Province. Yet there is another way in which we may manifest
our gratitude, viz., by seeking to conserve, to consolidate, to
ameliorate, our school system, which has thus come down to us from
the moulding hand of the departed; and not only seeking to preserve
what has thus been handed down to us, so far as the school system
itself is concerned, but to seek to make it practically effective
in its operation, so that all who live under its shadow, may share
to the full of the blessings and privileges which it is fitted to
confer and intended to bestow. Our sense of gratitude will thus
assume a practical and beneficent form. That the management of our
school system has fallen into, and now is in good and wise hands, we
all feel confident. That its success depends largely on the energy,
the zeal and the faithfulness of those who are entrusted with the
education of the youth of this Province, our high and public school
teachers, together with the co-operation of the people at large, of
all classes and of all creeds, all will be prepared to admit. In one
word: It is only by the united and concerted action of all three,
the executive skill, the zeal and energy of the teachers, and the
popular sympathy and support that we can hope to secure the full
benefit of our school system on the one hand; and on the other, show
ourselves worthy of the heritage that has been handed down to us by
those who have gone before us.
ADDRESS OF THE ACTING MAYOR.
Alderman McMillan, President of the City Council and Acting Mayor of
Toronto, in the absence of Mayor E. F. Clarke, M.P.P., in England,
spoke as follows:--
I regret very much that His Worship the Mayor is not with us to-day
to represent the citizens of Toronto on this interesting occasion.
It is his loss, however, and I fear it will be your loss also, that
it has fallen to my lot to act as his substitute and to speak on his
behalf and on behalf of the citizens of Toronto.
Knowing my own unfitness for the task, I have hesitated; feeling my
own inability, I have shrunk from the duty imposed on me. Deeply
conscious as I am of the fact that it requires more eloquence than I
possess to do justice to the occasion, or to speak in fitting terms
of the great work of the eminent divine and educationist to whose
memory this statue has been erected.
No more appropriate place could have been selected for its erection
than here on the grounds of the department which is the creation of
his genius, and in front of a building which stands a monument to
the energy of its founder.
He will be but a poor student of the history of his country who
has not yet learned from its pages the deep debt of gratitude
which every Canadian owes to the man whose memory is held in most
affectionate rememberance by all classes of the community.
He will be a poor judge of mental power or moral worth who has
not yet learned to prize the grandeur of his life-work or the
versatility of the attainments of the man who was not only a
deep thinker and a notable teacher but an earnest and a humble
Christian--a happy combination of the scholar and the gentleman.
During a long and eventful career, and at a crucial period in our
country's history the active part he played in public affairs has
left on the institutions of our province the impress of his vigorous
intellect. Prompted by pure motives, and guided by sound judgment,
he gave evidences of an uncommon genius, which he devoted to the
service of his country and the best interests of the people, and
thus he became a leader among men.
In the school system of this province he built for himself a more
lasting monument than the granite and bronze we now raise to his
memory.
With fluent speech and ready pen he has oft been the defender of
our most sacred rights and cherished privileges. A lover of truth,
he abhorred falsehood. A lover of freedom, he hated oppression; and
the cause of truth and of freedom found in him an able and willing
champion. A staunch defender of British connection, he yet manfully
battled for equal rights and privileges to all classes of the
people.
He loved the land of his birth with no ordinary affection and,
during a long and busy life, he helped to mould her destiny and
shape her course--guiding her feeble and often erratic steps,
leading her into the paths of truth and righteousness which, we are
assured, most surely exalteth the nation.
In the pages of Canadian history the "Story of his Life" and labors
will ever be instructive reading.
In the chronicles of the Methodist Church of Canada (the church of
his choice) his name will always stand pre-eminently conspicuous as
one of her ablest scholars and one of her most eminent divines--an
earnest preacher and a devoted missionary. Filled with a fervent
love for his Lord and Master, he labored earnestly in His vineyard
seeking souls for His hire.
I am proud of the privilege I enjoy of being here on behalf of the
citizens of this great city--pleased to be able to bear testimony
to the high appreciation we have of his services and the strong
affection we bear to the memory of the Rev. Egerton Ryerson. I am
also pleased to have this opportunity of being allowed to tender my
own humble tribute of respect to the memory of him who was both a
statesman and a scholar, a patriot and a Christian.
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO.
The Honourable Senator John Macdonald, speaking on behalf of the
University of Toronto, said:--
I wish first to express my regret--a regret I have no doubt in which
you share--that some one better fitted than myself had not been
selected to represent the University of Toronto upon this important
occassion. My embarrassment is lessened however, and possibly your
disappointment, in view of the handsome tribute paid to the memory
of the great man by the Minister of Education in his admirable
address, by the presentation of the historic paper by the Deputy
Minister, and last, though not least, by the speech of Alderman
McMillan on behalf of the city of Toronto.
Patriotism is that passion which aims to serve one's country,
either in defending it from invasion or protecting its rights and
maintaining its laws and institutions in vigour and purity. If
then we accord, as we ought to do, a place among the patriots of
our country to those who readily respond to its call in the hour
of danger, to those who bring their wisdom and judgment to bear
in the making of laws for its good and healthful government, to
those, also, who as diplomats in the carrying on of delicate and
subtle international negotiations do so in such a way as not only to
maintain their country's honor but to make their country respected,
what place shall we assign to him who devoted his life to the best
interests of the young of his own province in order that they might
be fitted rightly to take their part in life, to do this all the
better by reason of that educational system of which he was the
moving spirit and which it was his to found? What place I ask, if it
be not the very first place in the front rank of that distinguished
class. Egerton Ryerson may fairly be regarded as the founder of
the school system of his own province and as a consequence must,
throughout all time, occupy a foremost place in the history of his
country.
His was a life spent not in the promotion of his personal ends.
Indeed it may be affirmed that his devotion to his life-work
so absorbed his time, his thoughts and his energies as to have
disqualified him for making that suitable provision for the close of
life for which his great abilities so eminently fitted him.
It would scarcely be fair to claim for him all the honour of
perfecting the school system of Ontario, scarcely fair to say that
to him exclusively belongs the results seen to-day which give to
the school system of Ontario so prominent a place among the school
systems of other countries. A measure of the praise is doubtless due
to the able staff of workers by which he was supported. His was the
directing mind; 'twas theirs to carry out his plans.
It would not be fair to ascribe to the architect all the credit
for the grace, symmetry and safety of the most magnificent public
buildings. True, he it was who planned the foundations, made them
deep and broad, as that they might be safe and enduring. True, he
it was who gave grace and beauty to the elevation, as that it might
not only answer its purpose, but that it might be at the same time
"a thing of beauty;" but how easily might not only the safety of
the building be imperilled but its beauty marred by careless and by
ignorant treatment; but skilful treatment has produced the needed
strength, and has secured the grace of outline, and the building is
perfect and harmonious in all its parts.
What the architect is to the building that was Egerton Ryerson to
our school system. His it was to lay the foundation upon which a
structure which might be at once the pride and the glory of our
Province could be erected; his it was to lay these deep and broad
and enduring. How wisely and how well he did his work. How well
his efforts have been supplemented by the able band of workers who
were associated with him the splendid school system of our Province
to-day abundantly testifies.
It is fitting, therefore, that his statue should be placed on these
grounds, so that the coming generations may be made familiar with
the general appearance of the man who has done so much for the
educational interests of his country.
But it is not here, faithful as the bronze may speak of the man,
that his most fitting and most enduring monument must be found.
The group of happy faced children which throng our sidewalks
wending their way each morning to our schools, the pupils of
our Model Schools, our High Schools, the under-graduates of our
Universities, and these seen not only in their school period, but
in their subsequent career taking their place in our country as
its legislators, its professional men, its merchants, mechanics,
farmers, its matrons, taking their places in life, and taking them
all the better for their own good and that of their country for the
training, sound, thorough and scholarly, which they have received in
the schools, colleges and universities of their own country, helping
them to make their homes homes of comfort, elegance and refinement.
Here must be found the true and abiding monument of the man; here
the enduring fruit of his life-work, more imperishable also than
either brass or marble.
Statistics have been freely given, and these need not be repeated.
Not often does it fall to the lot of one man to leave behind him
such a record as that left by Dr. Ryerson in his life-work of
thirty-three years.
To see the old-log school house, with its imperfect appliances,
supplanted by the palatial school buildings with their perfect
equipment of our own day.
To see the work done by our High Schools, our Colleges and
Universities, which challenges not the attention only, but the
admiration of other countries, that is an honour, even with the
capabilities which exist in a young country like ours, reserved
but for few, and yet among that number he stands out promptly
whose statue has this day been unveiled by His Honour the
Lieutenant-Governor.
Any words of mine are poor and weak indeed in dealing with a matter
so full of interest, not to the people of Ontario only but to the
people of Canada, but full of interest to my own mind, as it must
be to the mind of others, is the estimate placed upon Dr. Ryerson's
work by many eminent men, all well qualified to judge from an
educationalist standpoint. Dr. Hodgins has spoken of the late Dr.
Fraser, Bishop of Manchester.
Few men were so well able to form an opinion upon any educational
system. Himself a great scholar, an Oriel man, an enthusiast on all
matters connected with the educational system of his own country,
appointed by the Royal Commission as an assistant commissioner
to visit and report upon the educational system of the United
States and Canada, thus speaks of our school system and of Dr.
Ryerson. After referring to the system says: "It shows what can be
accomplished by the energy, determination and devotion of a single
earnest man. Through evil report and good report, he has found
others to support him in the resolution that free education shall be
placed within the reach of every Canadian parent for every Canadian
child."
Egerton Ryerson has deserved well of his country. His best days
and his best energies were given to the upbuilding of its grandest
institution. Well should his country guard and cherish his memory,
so that the young who are here assembled to-day may learn this
lesson, that he who devotes his life for his country's good, his
country will hold his memory not in fragrant only, but in perpetual
remembrance.
REPRESENTATIVE OF VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, COBOURG.
The Rev. N. Burwash, S.T.D., President and Chancellor of Victoria
University, spoke as follows:
_Ladies and Gentlemen_:
It is particularly appropriate that on this occasion Victoria
University should speak. We meet to do honor to one of the greatest
of Canada's sons. Dr. Ryerson has written his name indelibly upon
the pages of his country's history. He has done so not merely
by superior gifts of intellect, although to few men have more
noble talents been entrusted. Nor has he done so merely as the
successful leader of a great party in Church or State, although he
was a leader, one of the first three in one of Canada's greatest
movements towards a perfect political constitution. The success of
this movement, after a struggle stretching through the lifetime
of a full generation, and its results of which all good men now
approve, might well ennoble the name of any man. But that for which
we honor Dr. Ryerson's name and memory to-day is his work as an
educator; and from Victoria University he first received the call
to consecrate his life to his work. He was the first President of
Victoria College. He, a Canadian of the Canadians, was the first
Canadian to occupy that position in our Province; and Victoria has
maintained the Canadian succession unbroken from his day to the
present. Victoria was the first institution in this Province in
active operation as a teaching institution with University powers.
And it fell to Dr. Ryerson to shape its character and curriculum,
and to give it a form, many features of which it has retained to
this present hour.
It was from this duty of laying the foundations of our University in
this young Province that Dr. Ryerson was called to the wider field
of fashioning the primary and intermediate education of the whole
people.
It would be presumption on my part to attempt to speak to-day of
the difficulties which beset him in his task, and of the skill and
judgment with which those difficulties were met and overcome. That
has already been the more appropriate duty of one who has just
spoken, and who was for long years his most valued and honored
associate in his life-work.
But, as a Canadian of the fourth generation, and as a Canadian
school boy who has enjoyed the advantages of the great work which
to-day we commit to the perpetual memory of our country, I may
venture to refer to the peculiarly Canadian character of the system
founded by Dr. Ryerson. The early schools of this country were very
varied in their type. Prepossession and usage rule imperiously in
education. Each little colony or settlement, as it was called,
had its national prepossessions. Here was an attempt to reproduce
a miniature English Eton or Rugby. There was a genuine Scottish
parish school with its Bible and Catechism. Here was an Irish school
with its predilection for difficult problems in arithmetic and
algebra. There was a Yankee school with its spelling-matches and
dialogues on examination day. These were the heterogeneous elements
of forty-five and fifty years ago. To-day, we have everywhere the
Canadian school as unique in its character as any of these, and
as well-known in its results all over this continent. The skilful
mind that took possession of these materials, that carefully
separated the good from the bad, that patiently and wisely removed
or overcame prejudices, that calmly waited till the public mind was
ready for each progressive movement, and then with vigor pushed it
forward to speedy completion--this was the ----le gift which Dr.
Ryerson devoted to his country's service. Gathering his materials
for building up a perfect educational system from all lands, and
from the wisdom and experience of all ages, this great man wrought
out his life-task in the face of political prejudices, of national
prejudices and of sectarian prejudices. I know of no man of his day
who rose more fully than did he above the narrowness of all these.
From the elevation of a broad catholicity, he grasped the great
outlines of a comprehensive and national system of education for
the Upper Canadian people, and patiently did he work toward that as
his ideal. It would be too much to say that he completed the ideal.
Such is not often given to mortal man. There are problems in this
work still unsolved. There is still something for us to do. But in
the solution of these problems we may well thank God for the broad,
strong foundations, and structures planned, and so nearly completed
by this master workman.
In the inaugural address with which Dr. Ryerson opened his work in
Victoria College, I find this passage "The education imparted in
this college is to be British and Canadian. Youth should be educated
for their country as well as for themselves." This motto, never
forgotten, has given character to his great life-work, and has
given us a system of public schools and intermediate schools which
more enduring than any monument will perpetuate to our children for
generations to come, the name of Egerton Ryerson.[9]
[9] W. Kerr, Q.C., Vice-Chancellor, of Victoria University, in
explaining the causes of his absence from the ceremonies of
unveiling, said:--"I thank you very much for your ever thoughtful
kindness in sending me a programme of the ceremonies of unveiling
of the statue of our late great chief founder of the peerless
school system of Ontario. I should very much like to have the
privilege of being present on the occasion and of listening to the
speeches and addresses, but especially your 'Historical Paper on
Education in Ontario,' which no man now living so well understands
as yourself.... How often I think of the late chief's farsightedness
and patriotic efforts in connection with the Upper Canada Academy
and subsequently with Victoria University."...
REPRESENTATIVE OF QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY, KINGSTON.
Sandford Fleming, C.E., LL.D, C.M.G., Chancellor of Queen's
University, spoke as follows:--
_Your Honor_, _Mr. Chairman_, _Ladies and Gentlemen_:
In the name of Queen's University, and at the special request of
the Senate of that institution, I come here to-day to take part in
these interesting proceedings. On behalf of higher education in
Eastern Ontario I have the honor to bear tribute to the memory of
Dr. Egerton Ryerson.
However unworthy the individual whom Queen's has sent on this
occasion, I am warranted in stating that no institution in this
country is more thoroughly alive to the importance of sound
education for all classes of the community than the University I
come here to represent. Moreover, I venture to say that there is no
one here present who more fully appreciates the incalculable value
of the school system of Ontario and the work accomplished in its
establishment, by him to whose memory we are this day assembled to
do honor.
It is not simply an agreeable duty I am called upon to perform, I
feel it to be a high privilege to be allowed to take part by my
presence on this auspicious occasion. I have but to look back over
a period of forty years to recall the living form of the sculptured
figure before us, and to remember the time when in the zenith of
his strength and intellectual power, he brought to bear on the
great work of his life that wisdom and foresight, that indomitable
perseverance and patriotism, that zeal and devotion with which
he was gifted. I have but to recollect his persistent efforts to
initiate and put in successful operation a comprehensive system of
common school education in this province, to express my unalloyed
satisfaction that those efforts--those great and sustained efforts
were not in vain. I rejoiced then, as I rejoice now, that the noble
work in which he took so conspicuous a part has been crowned with
signal success. I thought then, and I think now, that the people of
this province, I may indeed say the people of the whole of Canada,
of all ages, of all classes, of all colors and of all creeds, owe a
deep debt of gratitude to Dr. Ryerson, and I cannot be wrong in the
firm opinion that we all do well to revere and perpetuate his memory.
While Dr. Egerton Ryerson attached most importance to the
establishment of the common schools of the country on a sound and
efficient basis, he also warmly sympathized with every effort
to promote higher education. He took an active part in founding
Victoria University, of which he was chosen the first president.
He was a strenuous supporter of that institution up to the day
of his death, firmly believing that the resources of the country
could support, and that the people of Ontario should possess, well
endowed, independent seats of learning of different types.
As a member of the community I have always had the highest esteem
and veneration for this great pioneer of education in Canada. I feel
now and have always felt with unnumbered thousands that his life has
indeed been that of a foremost public benefactor. I am, therefore,
greatly gratified that it has fallen to my lot, on behalf of
Queen's University and higher education in Eastern Ontario to bear
tribute to the memory of the founder and first administrator of our
system of public instruction, a far-seeing Canadian, an enlightened
statesman, a man who in his distinguished career rendered the most
important services to the country of his birth.
I am glad to have an opportunity of taking part in the formal
inauguration of the work of art which we see before us. At the same
time I cannot forget that Dr. Egerton Ryerson has left behind him
an inheritance to unborn generations of Canadians in the schools
which we behold everywhere throughout the land and the free public
instruction which they represent. These are now and must always be
recognized as his best and most enduring monument.[10]
[10] In his letter enclosing the manuscript of his address,
Chancellor Fleming, said:--"I write to congratulate you on the
complete success of the affair of last Friday. Even the weather was
every thing we could desire. It was a genuine pleasure for me to be
present on the occasion. In the few remarks I offered I meant every
word I said, The only omission was the absence of any reference, or
sufficient reference, to the right hand man of Dr. Ryerson during
all the years he laboured. This often happens; but you have the
happy consciousness that your work and your life has so largely
entered into the imperishable monument which he has raised in the
school system of the century."
REPRESENTATIVE OF TRINITY UNIVERSITY, TORONTO.
The Representative of Trinity University, Rev. Professor Clark,
remarked that he had the honor of representing the smallest of the
universities of Ontario, but one in which they strove to do their
work in a spirit of loyalty to their country as well as to their
own convictions. He had naturally prepared to make some remarks on
the distinguished and illustrious man in whose honor they were then
assembled; but, as he supposed, nearly everything which had occurred
to him as being suitable to be said had been anticipated by previous
speakers.
As he looked upon those Normal Schools by which they were imprinted,
he could not help being reminded of the words inscribed on the
interior of St. Paul's in memory of its founder, Sir Christopher
Wren, "_Si monumentum requiris circumspice_." "If you ask for his
memorial look around you." With equal propriety we might point to
those schools as a monument and memorial of Dr. Ryerson, the founder
of the educational system of this Province, no less fitting than the
statue which had just been uncovered. But more enduring than the
building or the effigy was the intellectual and moral work which
he had accomplished in our educational institutions, for that work
was eternal. Its effects and influences would never pass away, but
would go on leavening generations yet unborn. Whatever changes or
revolutions might occur, his work and its consequences would still
live on.
In one respect, perhaps, it was fortunate that others should have
borne testimony to Dr. Ryerson's work and ability, and to the
greatness of the work which he had done. His own knowledge of the
man and of the work was only second-hand, and he could not speak
with the freshness and vividness of those who had personal knowledge
of them. "_Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem._" But although
he had not direct and immediate knowledge of Dr. Ryerson, he had
the opportunity of studying several of the publications which
gave an account of his history, and especially of his educational
work--more particularly some of those written by Dr. Hodgins. From
these he had learnt something of the spirit in which the work had
been accomplished, and the principles which were embodied in it;
and these would account for the eulogiums which had already been
bestowed upon the work and its principal doer.
They might learn from such investigations something that would
help to guard them from dangers which attended their educational
work. It seemed to him that Dr. Ryerson's conception of the work of
education was singularly simple, earnest, deep and comprehensive,
free from affectation and one-sidedness. They were in danger of
forgetting some of these elements, of making education showy instead
of solid,--of forgetting that it was the education and discipline
of the man and of the mind that we had to accomplish, and not the
outward adornment of him, or the mere imparting of knowledge. Some
of our dangers have been forcibly pointed out by the President of
University College, Sir Daniel Wilson, in the March number of the
_Canada Educational Monthly_. It would not be proper to go into
details on such an occasion, but he would recommend those who were
interested in these questions to study that article.
There was great danger of their being one-sided in education, of
their taking up cries on one side or another. We have often heard
of a foolish Anglomania by which some people were possessed. But
there are other manias which are quite as silly. There was an
Americano-mania and a Canada mania (_mania Canadensis_, said the
Minister), and they were all equally foolish. It was egregious
folly merely to imitate an Englishman or an American. But it was
equally foolish to imagine that we had everything and could do
everything by ourselves. Our business was not to make Englishmen or
Americans or Canadians, but to make men, furnished with sufficient
knowledge, with cultivated, disciplined minds, with vigorous wills.
This is our work, and we must do it with our might, remembering the
limitations of our position and realizing what we could and could
not accomplish. We must not at present expect the results of the
education given at the great German universities or at Oxford and
Cambridge, but we might make the best with the materials at our
disposal. We might foster in the rising generations a love of truth
and goodness, and instil into them a deep sense of duty, and thus
help to qualify them for the position they would have to occupy, and
the work which they had to perform.
REPRESENTATIVE OF MCMASTER UNIVERSITY.[11]
[11] Dr. Rand, in sending the manuscript of his address, said:--"I
think the exercises were very successful indeed, and that the
memorial volume, if brought out with some expedition, will prove
very helpful in quickening a true appreciation of the great work
done by Dr. Ryerson in building up the educational system of
Ontario."
Professor Theodore H. Rand, M.A., D.C.L., representative of McMaster
University spoke as follows:--
Twice before it has been my privilege to unite in doing honor by a
public memorial to the name of distinguished educationalists,--that
of Horace Mann, of Massachusetts, and Alexander Forrester, of Nova
Scotia; but in view of the breadth of the area over which Egerton
Ryerson wrought, and the really national character of his work, this
has been an occasion of surpassing interest to me, and one, I am
sure, which marks an epoch in the educational history of Ontario.
In speaking as a representative of McMaster University, which is
just now being organized as one of the instruments of the higher
education of this country, I may be permitted to say that the
Christian denomination which controls the destiny of that University
has in all parts of the world been in active sympathy with popular
education, and in two of our Canadian provinces has been foremost
in efforts to secure the efficient organization of systems of free
education under government control.
When a country has risen to the position of making adequate
public provision against the blighting and destructive influences
of ignorance, it has undertaken the discharge of one of those
contingent and great obligations which, perhaps, will always await
any people who are pressing forward to the attainment of the
possibilities of Christian civilization. With all its imperfections
our system of public education in an eminent degree commands the
affectionate regard of our people and the admiration of strangers.
While Ontario was not the first of our Canadian provinces to
organize a free system of public schools, and while she has not
maintained intact the principle which lies at the basis of the
common schools, the grandeur of the outline of our system and the
general completeness of its details are, I believe, unsurpassed
by those of any other system on this continent or throughout
the empire. This is especially true of the completeness of the
provision made for passing from the elementary schools into the work
of the higher education. Ontario occupies this advanced position
to-day, with all its immeasurable advantages, largely because of
Egerton Ryerson. He was possessed of a profound conviction that
mind is the great creative power by which all resources of nature
are to be turned to account. He had no idea that material good is a
good at all only as it is a means for the development of the moral
and social possibilities of the individual and of the nation. He
did not argue, as many others in the country did, that since the
area of the Province is vast, its population widely scattered, its
forests waiting to be felled, its lands to be cleared and drained,
therefore the organization of an efficient school system was a thing
of the far future. On the contrary, having before him such examples
as Prussia, Scotland, Ireland, the New England, Middle and Western
States, and believing that our civic institutions should afford
social conditions inferior to those of no country in the world, he
poured all the energy of his great heart and mind into the effort
to make available even to the remotest hamlets of the Province the
blessings of knowledge. Intelligence, industry and morality were
felt to be inseparably bound up with the progress of education.
A system good enough for the rich and poor alike, and supported
at the public expense, was his aim and his final achievement. The
Christian communism underlying our systems of public education on
this continent is proving one of the great safeguards of society
against the forms of a false communism; and there is yet room, in my
judgment, for a still wider application of kindred principles in our
social system.