CEREMONY OF LAYING THE BY THE EARL OF ELGIN PROCEEDINGS AT THE CEREMONY OF LAYING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE NORMAL & MODEL SCHOOLS AID EDUCATION OFFICES | FOR UPPER CANADA, ON WEDNESDAY, THE SECOND DAY OF JULY, 1851, BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE EARL OF ELGIN, i GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA, &c. f fee.. WITH AN INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OF THE ^ SYSTEM OP PUBLIC ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION IN UPPER CANADA CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. TORONTO: PRINTED BY THOMAS HUGH BENTLEY. V. PROCEEDINGS A T CUH f~H*fc£0}d "§ I.AViNt* taz >’< Tv UPPER CiUSAD OK WBONiiJI) W\ THii ? CtJOKP DAY OF JOLY, 1851. fey THE KIGHT .MORALE THE E 1KL OF KLG1 F NT »>¥ SCHOOL TOliONTO: PRIM EE by iliO.c.AS BE STUB Y 1*51. J PROCEEDINGS AT THE CEREMONY OF LAYING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE OF THE NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION OFFICES FOR UPPER CANADA, ON WEDNESDAY, THE SECOND DAY OF JULY, 1851, BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE EARL OF ELGIN, GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA, &c., &c„ WITH AN INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OF THE SYSTEM OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION IN UPPER CANADA, BY THE CHIEF SUFERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. TORONTO: PRINTED BY THOMAS HUGH BENTLEY. 1851 . INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OP THE SYSTEM OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION IN UPPER CANADA. The description and illustrations of the buildings for the Normal and Model Schools for Upper Canada, given in the following pages, together with the account of the imposing ceremony of laying the chief corner stone, suggests the propriety of presenting a brief outline of that system of public elementary instruction, with which those schools are now so essentially connected. The origin of the common school system of Upper Canada, as now established, is as follows : — Annual parliamentary grants were made in aid of common schools for more than thirty years, but expended without system, and with but little advantage to the country. In 1841 , the first law was passed (introduced and conducted through the Legislative Assembly by the Hon. S. B. Harrison, then Secre- tary of the Province) embodying the great principle of granting money to each county, upon the condition of such county raising an equal amount by local assessment. Considerable opposition was made at first in many parts of the Province to the principle of that Act ; and it is said that when the Hon. R. Baldwin was engaged, in 1841 , in an election contest in the county of Hastings, and was informed of the opposition against him, even among many of his own friends, on account of his supporting such a principle of school taxation, he answered in effect that he would rather loose his eleo- 5 tion than give up that principle. The machinery of that law requiring modification ; the Hon. F. IIincks brought in another Bill in 1843, which became a law, and which very much simplified and improved the details of the Act of 1841. By that law, the Secretary of the Province was cx-officio Chief Superintendent of Schools, with two assistants. In 1844, the office of assistant superintendent was offered to the present incumbent ; and after having received the sanction of the authorities of his Church, he accepted it in the autumn of that year, upon the understanding that the administration of the school system should constitute a distinct non-political depart- ment, and that he should be permitted to provide for the performance of his duties for a year by a deputy, and have a year’s leave of absence to visit and examine the educational systems of other coun- tries, both in Europe and America, before attempting to lay the foundations of a system in Upper Canada. The whole of 1845 was employed in these preliminary enquiries, and the results were embodied, in March 1846, in a “ Report on a System of Public Elementary Instruction for Upper Canada,” and a draft of Bill which was introduced into the Legislative Assembly by the Hon. W. H. Draper, (then Attorney General,) and became a law in June, 1846. In a few months afterwards, a draft of Bill was prepared for estab- lishing a system of schools in cities and incorporated towns, which was introduced into the Legislative Assembly by the Hon. J. H. Cameron, (then Solicitor General,) and became a law in Juno 1847. These two Acts, with the modifications and improvements which experience has suggested and the progress of the system required, have been incorporated into one Act, which was introduced into the Legislative Assembly by the Hon. F. Hincks, (Inspector General,) and became a law in 1850— the first Act to which His Excellency the Earl of Elgin gave the royal assent after the removal of the seat of Government to Upper Canada. Our system of public elementary instruction is eclectic, and is to a considerable extent derived from four sources. The conclusions at which the present Head of the Department arrived during his observations and investigations of 1845, were, 1. That the machinery or law part of the system in the State of New York was the best, 6 upon the whole — appearing, however, defective in the intricacy of some of its details, in the absence of an efficient provision for the visitation and inspection of schools, the examination of teachers, religious instruction, and uniform text-books for the schools. 2. That the principle of supporting schools in the State of Massachusetts was the best — supporting them all according to property, and opening them to all without distinction ; but that the application of this princi- ple should not be made by the requirements of state or provincial sta- tute, but at the discretion and by the action, from year to year, of the inhabitants in each school muncipality — thus avoiding tho objection which might be made against an uniform coercive law on this point, and the possible indifference which might in some instances be induced by the provisions of such a law — independent of local choice and action. 3. That tho series of elementary text-books, pre- pared by experienced teachers, and revised and published under the sanction of the National Board of Education in Ireland, were, as a whole, the best adapted to schools in Upper Canada — having long been tested, having been translated into several languages of the con- tinent of Europe, and having been introduced more extensively than any other series of text-books into tho schools of England and Scot- land. 4. That the system of Normal School training of teachers, and the principles and modes of teaching which were found to exist in Germany, and which have been largely introduced into other countries, were incomparably the best — the system which makes school-teaching a profession, which, at every stage, and in every branch of knowledge, teaches things and not merely words, which unfolds and illustrates tho principles of rules, rather than assuming and resting upon their verbal authority, which develops all the mental faculties instead of only cultivating and loading the memory — a system which is solid rather than showy, practical rather than ostentatious, which prompts to independent thinking and action rather that servile imitation. Such are the sources from which tho principal features of the school system in Upper Canada have been derived, though the appli- cation of each of them has been modified by the local circumstances of our country. There is another feature, or rather cardinal principle of it, which is rather indigenous than exotic, which is wanting in the educational systems of some countries, and which is made the occasion and instrument of invidious distinctions and unnatural pro scriptions in other countries-we mean the principle of not only making Christianity the basis of the system, and the pervading ele- ment of all its parts, but of recognizing and combining, in their official character, all the clergy of the land, with their people in its practical operations maintaining absolute parental supremacy in the religious mstruetion of their children, and upon this principle providing fo trustee-representatives of each school municipality. The clergy of the country have access to each of its schools ; and we knot of no “ e b ln i Whl ° h thG SCh001 h8S be0 " made th0 P laee religious public ’ " y lnstances > OS P eeia lly on occasions of quarterly Z "** ( be e ua!io“s and, 7 7 " 80 ° f Clergy 0f var * ous religious per- memborsTf ’ ° f incorporated villages. The and towns— one oT two ft each ^ ^ t C ° UnCi ' S ‘own, and village councils arc elect / of townshi P> cit y> and householders of each municipality. 7 “ reSldent freeholders inJlZtsttl” t0WnSh l P dWd “«d* township or for both a male and female schooT ° Th hou„hoM.„ of by feel, .Idee ample to enable them to do all that’the ■ . ° f tr " SteeS ^ require— they are the l i ™ 1 th mterests of a good school section in school matters^ representatives and guardians of their are necessary for the f • i7 ^ dotermine whatever sum or sums - " the fUrn,8hl ^> & o„ of their school and the salaries 8 of teachers, but account for its expenditure annually to their con- stituents, and report lully to the local superintendent by filling up blank forms of annual reports which are furnished to them by the Chief Superintendent of Schools from year to year. The township council imposes assessments for the erection of school houses, or for any other school purpose desired by the inhabitants of school sec- tions through their* trustees. The inhabitants of oach school section decide as to the manner in which they will support their school according to the estimates and engagements made by the trustees, whether by voluntary subscription, by rate-bills on parents sending children to the schools, or by rates on the property of all according to its assessed value, and opening the school to the children of all without exception. The latter mode is likely to supersede both the others ; but its existence and operation, in con- nexion with each school, depend upon the annual decision of the inhabitants of each school section at a public meeting called for that purposo. The duties of Teachers are prescribed by law, and their rights are effectually protected. No teacher is entitled to any part of the school fund who does not conduct his school according to law, and who has not a legal certificate of qualifications from a county Board of Public Instruction ; nor is any school section entitled to receive any aid from the school fund in which a school is not kept open six months during each year by a teacher thus recognized as to both moral character and attainments. The law also requires a public quarterly examination to be held in each school. The Inspection of the schools is made by local Superintendents, who are appointed by the county councils, and who may be appointed one for each county, or one for one or more townships, at the pleasure of each county council. Each local superintendent is entitled to at least one pound (four dollars) per annum for each school under his charge. He is often allowed more. Ho is required to visit each school at least once a quarter, and to deliver a public lecture on education in each school section once a year, besides apportioning the school moneys to the several school sections within his jurisdiction, giving checks, on the orders of trustees, to qualified teachers upon the county treasurer or sub-treasurer, aiding in the examination of teachers, deciding various questions of dispute and reference, corresponding on school matters, and reporting annually to the Chief Superintendent according to the forms prepared and furnished by him. Besides the local superintendents, all clergymen recognized by law, judges, members of the Legislature, magistrates, members of county councils, and aldermen, are school visitors, to visit all the schools, as far as practicable, within their respective charges and municipalities. Their visits are voluntary; they are desired especially to attend the quarterly examination of schools, and at the t,me o f such visits to examine the progress of the pupils, and the state and management of the schools, and to give such advice to teachers and pupils, and any others present, as they may think adv sible, in accordance with the regulations and instructions which shall be provided in regard to school visitors according to law.” The law also authorises the holding of general meetings of school visitors m any municipality, on the appointment of any two visitors, to devise such means as they may deem expedient for the efficient and T lS ’ a ' ,d t0 Pr ° m0te thG establish ™nt of libraries d the diffusion of useful knowledge.” The school visits of the vis ~r Canada amountedks tyoar to 2,566 ; the number of its by he other school visitors was 9,970 ; and 5,852 visits were of th °° a superintendents > bein ff an increase of 2,879, over those of the preceding year. There is a Board of Public Instruction in each county, consisting of local superintendents and the trustees of grammar schools in such coun y These county boards consist largely of the clergy of fterent religious persuasions, associated with some of the most nte%6nt lay gentlemen in each county; so that the country has charaeter'an^ 1 ' 4 ! 0 !^ 1 ^ will admit for the moral Zell , 1 ! qualifications of teachers. The teachers grammoofV arranged lnto tbreo classes, according to a Pro- Public In * E * am '" atl0n preparod and Prescribed by the Council of Public Instruction for Upper Canada. 10 The Municipal Council of each county is responsible for raising at least an equal sum for salaries of teachers in tho several town- ships within its jurisdiction with that which is annually apportioned to them out of the parliamentary appropriation by the Cnief Super- intendent of Schools. The county councils also appoint the local treasurers of the school fund, and tho local superintendents of schools, and provide for their salaries. Special provision is also made for the security of the school fund, against the diversion of any part of it, and for the prompt payment of it to teachers at the times speci- fied by law. Both the county and township councils have authority to raise any sums they shall think proper for public school libraries under general regulations prescribed according to law. A parlia- mentary appropriation has been made for tho establishment of school libraries, to be expended on the same conditions with the appropria- tion for the support of schools. Tho law also provides a system adapted to the circumstances of • cities, towns, and incorporated villages. In each city and town there is one board of trustees for tho management of all the schools in such city or town — two trustees elected for each ward, and hold- ing office for two years — ono retiring annually. In each incorporated village not divided into wards, there is a board of six trustees elected — two retiring from offico and two elected, each year. These boards of trustees, thus constituted, appoint tho local superintendent, and determine upon the number and kinds of schools, the employment of teachers, and all the expenses necessary for the schools in each such city, town, or incorporated village ; and the municipal council is required in each case to raise the sum or sums estimated by the board of trustees for all their school purposes, and in the manner that they shall desire. There is also tho same provision for the establish- ment of libraries in each city, town and village, as exists in respect to their establishment in oach township and county. At the head of the whole system wo have a Council of Public Instruction and a Chief Superintendent of Schools, both appointed by tho Crown. The Council has the entire management of the Provin- cial Normal and Model Schools, recommends the text-books for the schools and books for the school libraries, and makes the regula- B lions for the organization, government and discipline of common schools, the examination and classification of teachers, and the estab- lishment and care of school libraries throughout Upper Canada. The Chief Superintendent, who is ex-officio member of the Council of Public Instruction, and provides accommodations for its meetings- apportions the school fund to the several municipalities throughout Upper Canada, prepares the general school regulations and submits them, as well as that of text and library books, to the consideration of tho Council ; prepares the forms of reports and modes of all school proceedings under the act, and gives instructions for conducting them, as well as for holding teachers’ institutes ; decides questions of dispute submitted to him ; takes the general superintendence of tho IWmal School ; provides, facilities for procuring text and library books, and provides and recommends plans of school-houses ; pre- pares annual reports ; corresponds with local school authorities throughout Upper Canada, and employs all means in his power for the promotion of education and the diffusion of useful knowledge. He is responsible for his official conduot and for all moneys that pass through his Department. Such is an epitome of the system of public elementary instruction m Upper Canada. The foundation may be considered as fairly laid, and something has been done towards rearing the superstructure. In 1846 , provision was made for the establishment of a Normal School, and the sum of £ 1,500 a-year was granted towards its support. The school was opened in the autumn of 1847 , and, since then, 618 teachers have been trained, a longer or shorter time, by able masters, including practice in teaching in a Model School established for that purpose. Last year, a grant of £1,000 per annum was made to facilitate the attendance of teachers-in-training at the Normal School, and £ 15,000 for the erection of buildings- for particulars respecting which the reader is referred to the en Q iavings in this number, to the Address to the Governor General, and His Excellency’s Reply. The number of schools in Upper Canada under the oare of the Department is 3,059 ; the amount of money available during the year for the salaries of teachers, besides all other expenses connected with tho schools, was £ 88,536 ; the number of pupils in the schools reported, was 151 , 891 . 1*2 V^’ There has been an annual increase in the statistical returns of each branch of the common school system during the last five years- The system is to a great extent voluntary. Each municipality exercises its discretion as to whether it will or will not accept the parliamentary appropriation upon the conditions specified ; and each school section does the same in regard to the terms on which aid is offered in support of its school. The general regulations and oversight are such as merely to secure a fulfilment, in each locality, of conditions which are required by the Legislature — the collective wisdom and voice of the country — and to maintain a standard of teaching that will prevent funds provided for the pro- motion of knowledge, from being prostituted upon ignorance and vice. The working of the common school system is a great social development — yet in its infancy, but instinct with life and energy, and fraught with results which can be more easily conceived than described. PROCEEDINGS AT THE CEREMONY OF LAYING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE, TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION OP THE BUILDINGS OF THE NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION OFFICES FOR UPPER CANADA. The ceremony of laying the Chief Corner Stono of the New Normal and Model Schools for Upper Canada, took place on Wed- nesday, July 2nd, in the presence of a very large body of specta- tors. A capacious enclosure had been constructed, having at its west end a covered platform, decorated with flags, for the reception of His Excellency the Governor General. At the opposite end, seats were provided for the accommodation of ladies, of whom there was a large gathering ; on the south side, were members of the Provincial Legislature and of the Corporation of Toronto, with the Clergy and other professional gentlemen ; while the mass of spec- tators occupied the vacant space on the north side. A guard of honour of the 71st Highland Light Infantry was on the ground with the Band of that Regiment. At half-past 12 o clock, His Excellency the Governor General arrived, accompanied by tho Countess of Elgin, Lady Elma Bruce, and Col. and Mrs. Bruce. Their Excellencies and suite were received by the Council of Public Instruction for Upper Canada, and conducted to the platform ; the Band meanwhile playing the National Anthem. Around their Excellencies on the platform, besides the Members of tho Council of Public Instruction, wero the Hon. J. Bourret, President of tho Executive Council ; Hon. R. Baldwin, Attorney General, U. C. ; Hon. P. Hincks, Inspector General ; Hon. J. Leslie, Provincial Secretary ; Hon. J. H. Price, 14 Commissioner of Crown Lands ; lion. J. Morris, Post Master General ; Hon. R. E. Caron, Speaker of the Legislative Council ; Hon. A. N. Morin, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly ; Hon, Chief Justice Robinson, Hon. Judge Burns, Hon. Vice-Chancellor Spragge, Hon. P. B. deBlacquiere, Chancellor of the University of Toronto ; Sir Allan N. MacNab, Hon. W. Badgley, Hon. H. J. Boulton, Hon. H. Sherwood, Hon. W. Robinson, J. S. MacDonald Esq., Solicitor General, U. C.; L. T. Drummond, Esq., Solicitor General L. C.; Sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart., and other members of His Excellency’s staff. The members of the Council of Public Instruction were severally introduced to the Governor General by the Rev. Dr. Ryerson, as follows, viz. : — The Right Reverend A. F. M. de Charbonnel, D.D., the Reverend H. J. Grasett, A. M., Joseph C. Morrison, Esq,, M. P. P., Hugh Scobie, Esq., James S. Howard, Esq., and the Reverend John Jennings. Also the Architects, Frederic W. Cumberland, Esq., and Thos. G. Ridout, jr., Esq.; and Mr. J. Metcalfe, of the firm of Metcalfe, Wilson and Forbes, the Contractors. The following appropriate prayer was offered up by the Rev. H. J. Grasett, A. M., a member of the Council: — O Lord God, infinitely wise and good, who teachest man know- ledge and givest both the skill and power to accomplish our purposes, look down, we beseech Thee in Thy infinite goodness, upon the work which wo are about to commence. We beg Thy blessing upon our undertaking. Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings with Thy most gracious favour, and further us with Thy continual help ; that in this, and in all our works begun, continued, and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy name, and finally by Thy mercy, obtain everlasting life. Grant, O most merciful Father, that the School we are about to erect may ever acknowledge Thee as its great Builder, our blessed Saviour himself being the chief corner stone. On Thy holy word we lay the foundation, in full trust that so long as it is established 15 upon this rock, it shall stand forever the monument of Thy goodness and loving kindness. Mercifully vouchsafe to it a bountiful measure of Thy richest grace, and grant, O Lord, grant that it ever may prove a blessing to the land, training up Teachers who shall have not only the qualifica- tions necessary to their important Cf lling, but a due sense of the motives from which they should act, and the ends which they ought to seek, in the whole course of their life. Grant also, that the children who shall here be taught, may not only be instructed in sound and useful learning, but also be trained up in the way in which they should go, and when they are old not depart from it, so that they may live in the true faith and fear of God, in dutiful alle- giance to the Queen, and in brotherly love and Christian charitv. We pray that Thy blessed Word may ever be the standard and the guide in all our plans for this end, and the sure foundation of all our instruction ; that wo may seek first the Kingdom of God, and Thy righteousness, and then expect every other good. May the children of many generations, within the walls about to rise, be taught that knowledge which alone can make them wise unto salvation— the knowledge of Thee, whom to know is life eternal. Look down upon us, O God, we beseech thee, and establish thou the work of our hands ; yea the work of our hands establish thou it, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. The Rev. Dr. Ryerson, Chief Superintendent of Schools for Upper Canada, then delivered the following Address to His Excel- lency the Governor General : — May it please Your Excellency, The Normal and Model Schools for Upper Canada have been established for the instruction and training of school teachers. The special education of teachers is an essential element in the systems of public instruction of all countries in which tho general education of the people is regarded as a matter of national importance. Experience has shown the necessity and advantage 16 of a preparatory course of instruction and practice for the profession of teaching, as well as for the other professions and trades which are demanded by the necessities of every civilized community. Acting under a conviction so strongly and generally established, our Legislature provided, in 1846, for the establishment of a Normal and Model School for Upper Canada.^ This was done, not by making a new or special grant out of the public revenue, but by appropriating for that purpose a small part of the Upper Canadian portion of the legislative grant for the support of common schools. The success of the experiment has rendered indispensable the erection of the structure, the corner stone of which is about to be laid by your Excellency. This Institution is designed to accommodate 200 teachers-in- training, and 600 pupils in the Model School ; — a school intended not merely as a pattern, according to which common schools generally should be conducted, but a school in which the teachers-in -training will practice in teaching the subjects of the instructions and lectures given in the Normal School. In addition to this, accommodation has been provided for the offices of the Department of Public In- struction ; a depository for maps, apparatus, text and library books for schools throughout Upper Canada; a library and museum ; rooms for a school of art and design, in which it is proposed, by the aid of a legislative grant of about £500 per annum, to give a special course of instruction adapted to the interests and progress of the mechanical arts and manufactures. The land on which these buildings are in the course of erection, is an entire square, consisting of nearly eight acres, two of which are to be devoted to a botanical garden, three to agricultural experi- ments, and the remainder to the buildings of the Institution and grounds for the gymnastic exercises of students and pupils. It is thus intended, that the valuable course of lectures given in the Normal School in vegetable physiology and agricultural chemistry, shall be practically illustrated on the adjoining grounds, in the cul- ture of which the students will take a part during a portion of their hours of recreation. The system of instruction and discipline adopted in this Institution, is founded upon Christian principles, and, I hope, pervaded to s great extent by a Christian spirit; and though free from the slightest tinge of sectarianism in its management, the provision made for watching over the moral interests of the students and their religious instruction, has been found, during the last three years to be more effective than that of any other public educational institu- tions with which I am acquainted. The principles on which the Normal School is established and conducted, form the basis of our whole system of public elementary instructs for Upper Canada,— a system which recognizes Chris- tianity as an essential part of education, and unites the clergy with their people in providing for it, and in imparting it, -a system in support of the teachers of which alone, the people of Upper Canada ave, during the last year, (according to returns which are prepared, and which will shortly be laid before Parliament,) paid, by self- imposed taxation, the sum of £88,526, besides £14,189 for the erec- Vk” ° f . sohool - houses > and which includes in its 3,059 schools, children. The Institution, the corner stone of which Your Excellency has graciousiy consented this day to lay, is erected by a public .rant of £15,00— an enlightened liberality for this object on the part of our Legislature, in advance of that of any other Legislature on the iu^Th °!n tlnent ~ a ' iberality WWch ’ Itrust ’ wili b « >"ore than J ed by the practical and simple, but comprehensive operations oi the system of which it is the mainspring and the exponent. In furtherance of the same great object, arrangements have recent- ly been made, and will be carried into effect in the course of a few mont is, y which maps, school-books, and every description of school apparatus, will be provided for and rendered accessible upon the same terms to all the public schools of Upper Canada ;-also, books oi ibraries, including a large selection of the books best adapted for popular reading, that issue from both theBritish and American press. len\7Tf em T WhiCh haVe bee " 6ntered int0 > and which have through e ' and by the aid of th e Imperial Government, &r school L ^ “° tiTe eXertions of Earl Grey, these facilities iprovement and general knowledge, will be rendered 18 KJ accessible to the municipal and school authorities throughout Up- per Canada at an average oxpenso of more than twenty-five per cent, less than they could have otherwise been procured, if procured at all; — facilities which obstacles hitherto insuperable, have prevented any Educational Department in the neighbouring States from pro- viding for the advancement of popular education and the diffusion of useful knowledge. It is my gratifying duty to add, that this Normal School has been established, that these buildings are in the course of erection, that general regulations for schools are adopted, and books selected, by the aid and under the direction of a Council of Public Instruction, whose proceedings have been harmoniously conducted from the commencement, and the members of which, with one exception, receive no other remuneration than the gratitude of their country and the pleasing consciousness of promoting its educational inter* ests in overy way in their power. Among the influences which have contributed to the gratifying spectacle of this day, not the least is the deep interest which your Excellency has always manifested in the education of the Canadian people ; and I doubt not, that in all time to come, the recollection of the educational progress of Canada under the fostering auspices of your government, will be a source of real pleasure to Your Excel- lency. There are four circumstances which encourage the most sanguine anticipations in every patriotic heart in regard to our educational future : The first is, the avowed and entire absence of all party spirit in the school affairs of our country, from the provin- cial Legislature down to the smallest municipality. The second is, the precedence which our Legislature has taken of all others on the western side of the Atlantic, in providing for Normal School instruction, and in aiding teaehers to avail themselves of its advan- tages. The third is, that the people of Upper Canada have, during the last year, voluntarily taxed themselves for the salaries of Teachers in a larger sum, in proportion to their numbers, and have kept open their schools, on an average, more months, than the neigh- bouring citizens of the old and great State of New York. The fourth is, that the essential requisite of a series of suitable and ex- c cellent text-books has been introduced into our schools, and adopted almost by general acclamation, and that the facilities of furnishing all our schools with the necessary books, maps and apparatus, will soon be in advance of those of any other country. I confidently hope, therefore, by the Divine blessing, that many assembled on the present important occasion, will live to see Canada compare as advantageously with other portions of America in the Christian education and general intelligence of her people as sl.e now does in the specimens of her latent resources and productive industry and enterprise at the World’s Exhibition in London. Dr. Ryerson’s Address having been handed to the Governor General, His Excellency replied as follows : Rev. Dr. Ryerson, I thank you, sir, for the very courteous refer- ence to my attendance upon this occasion, which you have intro- duced into the address which you have just now read. I come here, sir, to-day, in the discharge of what is to me a most agreeable duty, and I beg, sir, to say that the gratification which I experience in the discharge of that duty is greatly enhanced by the very gratify- ing and interesting account of the progress and prospects of Com- mon School Education in Upper Canada which you have had it in your power to furnish. I certainly think that no government, which is conscious of its own responsibilities, can possibly feel indifferent to an Institution such as that of which we are now about to lay the foundation stone; an Institution which promises, under God’s blessing, to exercise so material an influence in the formation of the mind and character of the rising generation of the Province, and, through that powerful instrumentality, upon its destinies and its future ; an Institution, too, allow me to remark, which we must not regard as a novelty or an experiment, but one which has already — and on this point I may speak in some measure from my own experience, fori have had opportunities of observing the skill of the masters and the proficiency of the pupils in the Normal School— established its claims to the confidence of the people of the Province. Although, therefore, sir, am of opinion that there are limits — and pretty narrow limits, too 20 — beyond which the interference of government in matters of edu- cation cannot be carried without hazard to those great interests which it is its desire to foster and to protect ; I think that an Insti- tution such as this has special claims upon its countenance and sup- port, and that I am, therefore, not transcending those limits, but on the contrary, that I am confining myself strictly within them, when I consent to take the prominent part in the ceremonial of this day which has been assigned to me. Sir, I observe that in the early part of this address you remark that, “ the special education of teachers is an essential element in tho systems of public instruction of all countries in which the gene- ral education of the people is regarded as a matter of national im- portance ; and that experience has shown the necessity and advan- tage of a preparatory course of instruction and practice for the profession of teaching, as well as for the other professions and trades which are demanded by tho necessities of every civilized commu- nity.” Sir, nothing can be more unquestionably true than these sentiments. But perhaps I may be permitted to observe that their truth has not been at all times recognized. It has often appeared to me that within the whole range of human experience, it would be difficult to point out a more flagrant — a more instructive — instance^ of the error of putting the effect before the cause, than was exhi- bited in the course pursued by the friends of education in England and other countries, who, for a series of years, busied themselves in building schools, and endeavouring to induce children to attend those schools, without ever inquiring whether competent persons to conduct them could be procured, and without taking any efficient and vigourous steps to supply the admitted want of competent teachers. Sir, it appears to me that in this instance, as in many others — this young country has had the advantage of profiting by the experience of older countries — by their failures and disappoint- ments, as well as by their successes ; and that experience, improved by your diligent exertions and excellent judgment, [ford I shoul neither satisfy my own feelings nor the claims of justice, if I were not on this occasion to express my high sense of the ability and the zeal with which you have conducted the important department which has been committed to your care.] I say, that experience, so im- proved and fortified by the support of the Council of Education, the Government and the Parliament of the Province, has enabled Upper Canada to place itself [as you justly observed in your address,] in the van among the nations in the great and important work of pro- viding an efficient system of general education for the whole com- munity. And now let me ask this intelligent audience, who have so kindly listened to me up to this moment — let me ask them to consider in all seriousness and earnestness what that great work really is. I do not think that I shall be chargeable with exaggera- tion when I affirm that it is the work of our day and generation— that it is the problem in our modern society which is most difficult of solution — that it is the ground upon which earnest and zealous men unhappily too often, and in many countries meet, not to co- operate but to wrangle ; while the poor and the ignorant multitudes around them are starving and perishing for lack of knowledge. [Hear.] Well, then, how has Upper Canada addressed herself to the execution of this great work ? How has she sought to solve this problem — to overcome this difficulty ? Sir, I understand from your statements — and I come to the same conclusion from my own inves- tigation and observation — that it is the principle of our Common School Educational system, that its foundation is laid deep in the firm rock of our common Christianity. I understand, sir, that while the varying views and opinions of a mixed religious society are scru- pulously respected — while every semblance of dictation is carefully avoided — it is desired, it is earnestly recommended, it is confidently expected and hoped, that every child who attends our Common Schools, shall learn there that he is a being who has an interest in eternity as well as in time— {applause ;] — that he has a. Father, towards whom he stands in a closer and more affecting, and more endearing relationship than to any earthly father, and that Father is in heaven [applause] ; that he has a hope, far transcending every earthly hope — a hope full of immortality — the hope, namely, that that Father’s kingdom may come ; that ho has a duty which, like the sun in our celestial system, stands in the centre of his moral obligations, shedding upon them a hallowing light which they in their turn reflect and absorb, — the duty of striving to prove by his 22 life and conversation the sincerity of his prayer, that that Fathers will may be done upon earth as it is done in heaven. [Applause]. I understand, sir, that upon the broad and solid platform which i= raised upon that good foundation, wo invite the ministers of religion of all denominations — the de facto spiritual guides of the people ol the country— to take their stand along with us. That, so far fronr hampering or impeding them in the exercise of their sacred functions we ask and we beg them to take the children — the lambs of the flock which are committed to their care — aside, and to lead them to those pastures and streams where they will find, as they believe it, the food of life and the waters of consolation. [Applause]. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not the fitting or proper time to enter into details. Indeed, I have not voice or strength to enter now at any length into the details of the excellent system of secular education which is provided in our Common Schools. When, how- ever, you tell us, sir, that an increasing supply is going forth, from year to year, from this Normal School, of well qualified Teachers — that you have procured in abundance, excellent, well selected, and cheap text books — that libraries in connection with the Common Schools, are being multiplied all over the country— and, above all, that the zeal of the people themselves in the cause or education, is evinced by the augmented taxation, self-imposed for the promotion of that great object ; when you tell us all this, I feel that little is wanting to fulfil the desires of the most ardent philanthropist and lover of education ; I feel that if these influences are left to operate freely — if no untoward causes arise to disturb them they must eventually leaven the whole mass of our society. [Applause.] Permit me, then, without detaining you any further from what is the special business of the day — permit me in conclusion, to say, both as an humble Christian man, and as the head of the Civil Go- vernment of the Province, that it gives me unfeigned pleasure to perceive that the youth of this country, of all denominations, who are destined in their maturer years to meet in the discharge of the duties of civil life upon terms of perfect civil and religious equality — I say it gives me pleasure to hear and to know that they are receiving an education which is fitted so well to qualify them for the discharge of those important duties, and that while their hearts are yet tender, and their affections green and young, they are associated under conditions which are likely to promote among them the growth of those truly Christian graces — mutual respect, forbearance and charity. [Loud applause]. At the close of Hrs Excellency’s remarks, the Right Rev. Dr. de Charbonnel presented to the Governor General, on behalf of the Council of Public Instruction, a Silver Trowel, addressing His Excellency as follows : — “ Monseigneur, — Je suis tres heureux et tres honore d’avoir, ete choisi par le Conseil do l’lnstruction Publique, dont votre Excellence a daigne me faire membre, pour lui presenter cetto truelle d’argent, aux industrieuses emblemes du blazon des Bruces. “ L’etablissement dont votre Excellence va poser la pierre angu- laire, Monseigneur, sera un des plus glorieux monuments de tout ce quo son liberal Gouvernement aura fait pour la prosperity de ce pays : ad sedificationem.” The Trowel was beautifully carved, having the armorial bearings of the Earl of Elgin — the handle of ivory, being ornamented with a Coronet wrought in Silver. The following is the inscription on the Trowel : — THE CHIEF CORNER STONE OF THE NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOLS FOR UPPER CANADA, WAS LAID ON Wednesday , the Second day of July , 1851, In the Fiftefnth Year of the Reign of HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA, BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINE, K.T., Goveror General of British North America. On the reverse was: — PRESENTED to THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINE, K.T., BY THE COUNCIL OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION FOR UPPER CANADA, Toronto, 2nd of July, 1851. 24 His Excellency and the Council of Public Instruction then de- scended to the stone, where the inscription on tho plate was read by Joseph C. Morrison, Esq., M. P. P., as follows THIS THE CHIEF CORNER STONE OF THE NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOLS FOR UPPER CANADA, WAS LAID ON Wednesday , the Second day of July , 1851, In the Fifteenth Year of the Reign of HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, QUEEN VICTORIA, BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE EARL OF ELGIN AND KINCARDINE, K.T., Governor General of British North America, &c., &c. IN THE PRESENCE OF The President and Members of the Executive Council, The Speaker and Members of the Legislative Council, The Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, The Chairman and Members of the Council of Public Instruction, The Mayor, Municipal Council and Citizens of the City of Toronto. THIS INSTITUTION, Erected by the Enlightened Liberality of Parliament, is designed for the Instruction and Training of School Teachers upon Christian Principles. The Council of Public Instruction, for Upper Canada : The Keverend Eoertom Ryerson, L>. D., Chief Superintendent of Schoolt, The Honorable Samuel Bealy Harrison, Q. C., Chairman. The Rt. Reverend A. F. M. de Charbonnel, D. D., Roman Catholic Bishop of Toronto. The Reverend Henry James Grasett, A. M. Joseph Curran Morrison, Esq., M.P.P* Hugh Scobie, Esq. James Scott Howard, Esq. The Reverend John Jennings. The Reverend Adam Lillie. John George Hodoins, Esq., Recording Clerk. Frederic W. Cumberland, and Thomas Ridout, Esquires, Architects . Messrs. Metcalfe, Wilson & Forbes, Contractors. O' 25 A Bottle containing the following:— 1. Report on a system of Public Elementary Instruction for Upper Canada, 1846. 2 Journal of Education for August, 1849, containing the Annual Report of the Normal, Model and Common Schools in Upper Canada, for 1847, containing an account of the opening of the Normal School in November, 1847. 3. Common School Act, 7th Victoria, chapter 29. 4. Common School Act, 9th Victoria, chapter 20. 5. Common School Act, 10th and 11th Victoria, chapter 19. G. Common School Act, 13th and 14th Victoria, chapter 48, with Forms, Regulations, Instructions, and Circulars. 7. Parchment copy of the Inscription on the Plate deposited in the cavity of the Corner Stone. 8. Journal of Education for May, 1818, containing an account of the first Examination of the Normal School. 9. Programme of the last Examination of the Normal and Model Schools, ending 31st May, 1851. 10. Journal of Education for May, 1851, containing an account of the last Examination. 11. Scobie’a Almanac for 1851. 12. Programme of the ceremony observed at laying the Chief Corner Stone of the Nor- mal School, and Engraving of Building. 13. Sundry silver and copper coins. 14. Different denominations of Canadian postage stamps. was handed by Hugh Scobie, Esq., to Hrs Excellency, who depo- sited it in the cavity of the stone prepared for it ; the Inscription Plato was placed ; and His Excellency having spread the mortar with his trowel, the stone was then formally lowered to its bed — His Excellency saying, “ I declare this Stone to be the Chief Corner Stone of the Normal and Model Schools for Upper Canada.” Mr. Cumberland, the Architect, then handed His Excellency the Square and Mallet, which he applied to the stone in the usual way on such occasions. Cheers were given for the Queen, for the Governor General, and for the Council of Public Instruction; in the midst of which His Excellency and the Countess of Elgin, accompanied by the Council of Public Instruction, retired, followed by the principal visitors. Tho proceedings closed at half-past one. DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING. The Normal and Model Schools for Upper Canada — now in pro- gress of erection— are situated upon the centre of an open square, bounded on the north by Gerrard Street, on the east by Church Street, on the south by Goold Street, and on the west by Victoria Street, in tho City of Toronto. The distance from the Bay is about three quarters of a mile. The situation is a very beautiful one, being considerably elevated above the business parts of the City, and com- manding a fine viow of the Bay, Island, and Lake. The Square, which contains seven acres and a-half of ground, was purchased in August, 1850, from the Hon. Peter McGill, of Montreal, by the Council of Public Instruction, for £4,500, in cash. The estimated value of the property is about £1,000 per acre. The amount of the Legislative Grant for the purchase of the site and the erection of the buildings, was £15,000. The amount of the contract for the ereotion and completion of the building, is £8,790, exclusive of extras, Architects’ commission, warming, &e. It is estimated that tho furniture, &c., for the building, will cost about £1,000 or £ 1 , 200 . In a building of so great an extent, it appeared to bo neither desi- rable or expedient to adopt a rich or highly finished style ot embel- lishment. The whole has been designed with a view rather to utility than for effeot, care being taken however to maintain that fit- ness of decoration by which the purpose and importance of the Institution may be characterised and upheld. The principal Normal School Building, as seen in the perspective, fig. 1, will be 184 feet 4 inches frontage, by a depth on the flanks, oast and west, of 85 feet 4 inches. 27 The front will be in the Roman Doric order of Palladian charac- ter, having for its centre, four pilasters of the full height of tho build- ing, with pediment, surrounded by an open doric cupola, of the extreme height of 95 feet. The principal entrance (to the Offices of the Educational Department, fee.) will be in this front ; those for the male and female students being placed on the east and west sides respectively, C and D. In the centre of the building will be a largo central hall, (open to tho roof, and lighted by a lantern,) with a gallery around it, at the level of the upper floor, at B, in fig. 3, approached on each floor by three corridors — south, cast, and west and opening on the north to the Theatre or Examination Hall. On the East side, the accommodation on the ground floor will be as follows: — School of Art and Design, No. 1, 36' : 0" x 28' : 0" School of Art and Design, No. 2, 36 : 5 x 28 : 0 Male Students’ Retiring Room, 36 : 0 x 30 : 0 Council Room, 39 : 0 x 22 : 0 Male Students’ Staircase A, 17:6 xll:0 On the West side : — Waiting Room, 22' : 8" x 14' : 8" Ante-Room, 22 : 0 x 14 : 3 Chief Superintendent’s Room, 28 : 0 x 21 : 0 Depository for Books, Maps, fee., 28 : 0 x 21 : 0 Depository for Apparatus, fee., 22 : 8 x 14 : 8 Female Students’ Retiring Room, 36 : 0 x 26 :10 Recording Clerk’s Office, with fire proof vault, 37 :11 x 22 : 0 Second Clerk’s Office, 22 : 0 xl4:3 Female Students’ Staircase A, 17 : 6 x 11 : 0 North of the Central Hall is the Theatre, with Lecturer’s entrance in the centre, and side entrances east and west, d, d , for male and female students respectively. Hero the aisles are marked a , 6, and e, with seats arranged between them : the Lecturer’s platform being Fig. 2. \T Scale 3i T£et TclJieJncJh E^i J f ■ DEPOSITORY rOR BOOKS J a a FEMALE STUDENTS RETIRING ROOM fl DEPOSITORY FOR S ^ APPARATUS & » > ^ - n e, THEATRE Liu CENTRAL HALL ART 8* DESIGN N°1 Qm .» »»» el “““ OTr,0 “ 28 placed betweon B and c. This portion of the Theatre is designed to accommodate 470 persons, and including the galleries, 620. Around the Theatre, and beneath its gallery, are east and west corridors, by which the students will reach the Model School. By this arrangement it will be seen, that except when actually in the presence of the Masters, the male and female students will be entirely separated. Passing (by the corridors last named) to the Model School, which is 175 fee” 6 inches frontage, by 59 feet 6 inches, the students enter the boys and girls’ schools by doors to the east and 'J ( ‘ st ’ < ' ach o which has a large schoolroom at its centre, 56 feet b inches x foot, capable of accommodating 300 children, with tar smaUer clas rooms adjoining it, about 17 feetx 15 feet 6 inches each. The boys and girls’ entrances (like those for the students of the Normal Soho already described) are at the east and west ends of the build. ; g such entrances having each a hat and cloak room and ma^r s (o mistress’) room on either side. These schools therefore will toge ther accommodate 600 children. Returning to the Normal School, and passing to the ' ? on the landing of the staircases A, A, are entrances to the galle y of the Theatre, which is designed to accommodate 150 persons. On the upperfloor is the Central Hall, with its ing the cast and west corridors, communicating with the foil w g rooms : — Class Room, No. 1, Class Room, No. 2, Class Room, No. 3, Class Room, No. 4, 1st Master’s Room, 2nd Master’s Room, Museum, Library, . Laboratory, 56' : 0" x 36' : 0" 66 : 0 x 36 : 0 45 : 2 x 28 : 0 32 : 8 x 28 : 0 22 : 0 x 19 : 5$ 22 : 0 x 19 : 39 : 5 x 22 : 0 21 : 6 x 12 : 0 29 In addition to the accommodation thus enumerated, there are, in the Basement, rooms for the residence of the Janitor, together with furnace rooms, from whence warm air will bo served to the whole building. Great attention has been bestowed upon the efficiency of the warming and ventilating, and it is confidently anticipated that the system adopted will be highly successful. ( i fVNDfc Wm