The Story of My Life; Being Reminiscences of Sixty Years' Public Service in Canada Part 48

CHAPTER XLIII.

1841-1844.

Dr. Ryerson Appointed Superintendent of Education.

The alleged "reward" which Dr. Ryerson was positively a.s.serted to have received from Lord Metcalfe for his memorable Defence of that n.o.bleman, was long a favourite topic on which Dr. Ryerson's enemies loved to dilate. Beyond the fact that the appointment was finally made by the administration of Sir Charles Metcalfe, upon the recommendation of Hon.

W. H. Draper, there was nothing on which to base the charge of such a _quid pro quo_ having been received by Dr. Ryerson for his notable Defence of the Governor-General.

In point of fact, the appointment was first spoken of to Dr. Ryerson by Lord Sydenham himself, in the autumn of 1841. The particulars of that circ.u.mstance are mentioned in detail in a letter written by Dr. Ryerson to T. W. C. Murdoch, Esq., Private Secretary to Sir Charles Bagot, on the 14th January, 1842. Dr. Ryerson said:--

In the last interview with which I was honoured by [Lord Sydenham], he intimated that he thought I might be more usefully employed for this country than in my present limited sphere; and whether there was not some position in which I could more advantageously serve the country at large. I remarked that I could not resign my present official position in the Church, with the advocacy of whose interests I had been entrusted, until their final and satisfactory adjustment by the Government, as I might thereby be represented as having abandoned or sacrificed their interests; but that after such adjustment I should feel myself very differently situated, and free to do anything which might be beneficial to the country, and which involved no compromise of my professional character; that I knew of no such position likely to be at the disposal of the Government except the Superintendency of Common Schools (provided for in the Bill then before the Legislature), which office would afford the inc.u.mbent a most favorable opportunity, by his communications, preparation and recommendation of books for libraries, etc., to abolish differences and jealousies on minor points; to promote agreement on great principles and interests; to introduce the best kind of reading for the youth of the country; and the not onerous duties of which office would also afford him leisure to prepare publications calculated to teach the people at large to appreciate, upon high moral and social considerations, the inst.i.tutions established amongst them; and to furnish, from time to time, such expositions of great principles and measures of the administration as would secure the proper appreciation and support of them on the part of the people at large. Lord Sydenham expressed himself as highly gratified at this expression of my views and feelings; but the pa.s.sing of the Bill was then doubtful, although His Lords.h.i.+p expressed his determination to get it pa.s.sed if possible, and give effect to what he had proposed to me, and which was then contemplated by him.

Apart from this statement of the intentions of Lord Sydenham, it is also clear that the determination of Sir Charles Metcalfe to appoint Dr.

Ryerson to a position in which he could carry out a comprehensive scheme of Public School Education, in Upper Canada, was come to some time before the question of the difference between Sir Charles Metcalfe and his late Councillors had engaged Dr. Ryerson's attention, and even at a time when his impressions on the subject were against the Governor-General. This conclusion was arrived at by Sir Charles Metcalfe, after full and frequent conversations with Dr. Ryerson on the subject of the University Bill. With a view to avail himself of Dr.

Ryerson's knowledge and judgment on that subject, he directed his Private Secretary to address the following note to him on the 18th of December, 1843:--

One of the many important subjects that at present engages the attention of the Governor-General your Church is particularly interested in, and His Excellency is, therefore, desirous of having the benefit of your opinion upon it. I mean the consideration of the arrangements that are now necessary in consequence of the failure of the University Bill introduced last session. I beg to add that His Excellency will be happy to have some conversation with you on the question to which I allude, the first time you may visit this part of the province.

Not having been able to go at once to Kingston, Dr. Ryerson wrote to the Governor-General in regard to the University Bill. His Secretary replied early in January, saying:--

When it suits your convenience to come this way, His Excellency will have an opportunity of fully discussing the subject touched upon in your letter.

Dr. Ryerson soon afterwards went to Kingston and saw Sir Charles Metcalfe on the subject. In a letter written to Hon. W. H. Merritt shortly after this interview, Dr. Ryerson said:--

His Excellency's object in desiring me to wait upon him had reference to the University question, on which he intends, with the aid of Mr. Draper, etc., to have a measure brought into the Legislature, which I think will be satisfactory to all parties concerned. I took a day to consider the questions he had proposed.

In the meantime I saw Mr. S. B. Harrison and stated to him the opinions I had formed. Of their correctness and importance, and practicability he seemed to be fully satisfied, and urged me to state them to His Excellency.

In a letter from Dr. Ryerson, published in the _Guardian_, and dated 28th October, 1843, the character of Mr. Baldwin's University Bill is thus described:--

It is a measure worthy of the most enlightened government; and is, I have reason to know, entirely the production of Hon.

Attorney-General Baldwin.... In the discussion [on the University question] the authorities of Victoria College have taken no part.

We have remained perfectly silent and neutral, not because we had no opinion as to the policy which has been recently pursued in converting a Provincial ministry into a Church of England one[124]

... because we, as a body, had more to lose than to gain by any proposed plan to remedy the abuse and evil complained of. As a body, we gain nothing by the University Bill, should it become a law; it only provides for the continuance of the small annual aid which the Parliament has already granted; whilst, of course, it takes away the University powers and privileges of Victoria College--making it a College of the University of Toronto. Our omission, therefore, from the Bill would be preferable, as far as we, as a party, are concerned, were it consistent with the general and important objects of the measure. But such an omission would destroy the very character and object of the Bill. As a Provincial measure, it cannot fail to confer unspeakable benefits upon the country. Viewing the measure in this light, the Board of Victoria College have consented to resign certain of their rights and privileges for the accomplishment of general objects so comprehensive and important.

In a written statement on this subject prepared by Dr. Ryerson for this volume he says:--

Towards the close of 1843, Sir Charles Metcalfe determined to prepare and give effect to a liberal measure on the University question--on which subject Hon. Robert Baldwin had proposed elaborate and comprehensive resolutions. Sir Charles Metcalfe sent for me to consult with me on the University question, as I was then connected with one of the colleges. I explained to His Excellency my views, and added that the educational condition of the country at large was deplorable, and should be considered in a system of public instruction, commencing with the Common School and terminating with the University; being connected and harmonious throughout, and equally embracing all cla.s.ses without respect to religious sect or political party. Sir Charles was much impressed and pleased with my views, and expressed a wish that I could be induced to give them public effect.

Dr. Ryerson then goes on to say:--I remarked to Sir Charles that Lord Sydenham, a few days before his sudden death, had proposed the same thing to me, and that had he survived a few weeks, I would likely have been appointed, with a view of organizing a system of Elementary Education; but that as Lord Sydenham died suddenly, and as I scorned to be an applicant to Government for any office, I mentioned the fact to no member of the Government. In May, 1842, another gentleman was appointed a.s.sistant to the Provincial Secretary as Superintendent of Education. He was treated as a clerk in the office of the Provincial Secretary, having no clerk himself, and having to submit his drafts of letters, etc., to the Provincial Secretary for approval. [For particulars of this appointment, see p. 347.]

After this interview Dr. Ryerson, on the 26th February, wrote to the Governor-General on the University Question. Mr. Secretary Higginson replied, and at the conclusion of his letter repeated the offer which Sir Charles Metcalfe had made at the close of the year:--The Governor-General is so sensible of the great value of the aid you would bring to the Government in the intellectual improvement of the country, that he anxiously hopes, as suggested, that some arrangement may be devised satisfactory to you to obtain your co-operation; and His Excellency will keep his mind bent on that object, and will be happy to hear any further suggestion from you with a view to its accomplishment.

Early in this month (February, 1844), Dr. Ryerson's appointment as Superintendent of Education has been talked of. His brother John wrote to him on the 6th of March, recalling the fact of that appointment having been the subject of conversation with Sir Charles Bagot and some members of the Cabinet in 1842. Rev. John Ryerson then went on to say:--

You know that when your appointment to the office of Superintendent of Education was talked of in Toronto, in 1842, I was in favour of your accepting the appointment. The appointment that was made I thought a most unwise one, and the late Executive greatly lowered themselves in making it. Whenever I have thought of the thing since, I have felt disgusted with the late Government, that they should have been guilty of such a shameful dereliction of duty and honour as not, at least, to have offered the appointment to you.

In reply to this letter, Dr. Ryerson said:--

As liberal as the Council of Sir Charles Bagot were in many things, they rejected the application of every Methodist candidate for office.

Making appointments upon the principles of party, they must be given only to one of the party; a system of appointment which holds out a poor prospect to the Methodist who makes religion first, and party not more than second--especially when he may have as a rival candidate one who makes party everything, and religion nothing.

To this letter Rev. John Ryerson replied:--

I am very well pleased with the idea of your being appointed to the office of Superintendent of Education--an office for which, I think, you are better qualified than any other person in the Province, and an office in which you can be of more service to the Church, and the country generally, than in any other way.... You say the appointment is not political.... Yet, is it true, in point of fact, that the appointment is not political?... Would any person be continued in the office who would not support the Government for the time being?... Did not Lord Sydenham create this office for the very purpose of connecting the inc.u.mbent with the Government, and did he not have you in his mind's eye when he influenced this part of the enactment?... There is no doubt, however, that in case of the Baldwin Ministry again coming into power, the stool will be knocked from under you. And we should not forget that the success of the Governor-General, in carrying out his contemplated measures, respecting the University, Colleges, etc., depends upon the Parliament; and I have very little expectation of his being able to secure the support of the present Parliament, in connection with every other Ministry but the late ones; and what will be the result of another election, who can tell?

In corroboration of the foregoing statements, Hon. Isaac Buchanan, in a letter to the Editor of this volume dated 24th March, 1883, says:--

Being on the other side of the Atlantic from the fall of 1841 to that of 1843, I was not in circ.u.mstances to know to what extent the name of Dr.

Ryerson was discussed prior to the appointment of Mr. Murray [in May, 1842]; but I cannot believe that the minds of many who knew him to be the fittest man, could have been otherwise than on Dr. Ryerson. On the contrary, I believe that nothing prevented him being gladly offered the originating of an educational system for Upper Canada--a Province which he knew so well and loved so much--but the most unworthy church prejudices of parties who had influence with the Government of the day, for it was known to be a herculean task which no one could do the same justice to as Dr. Ryerson, and which few men (however great as scholars themselves) could have carried through at all.

Thus from the foregoing statements of Dr. Ryerson, Rev. John Ryerson, and Hon. Isaac Buchanan, the following facts clearly appear:--

1. That Dr. Ryerson was offered the appointment of Superintendent of Education by Lord Sydenham in 1841, and "had he survived a few weeks [Dr. Ryerson] would likely have been appointed, with a view of organizing a system of Elementary Education" for Upper Canada.

2. That Dr. Ryerson's appointment as Superintendent was "the subject of conversation with Sir Charles Bagot and some members of his Cabinet in 1842."

3. That the failure to appoint Dr. Ryerson was due to the fact that the Cabinet of Sir Charles Bagot--the Governor himself being unable to act--"rejected," as Dr. Ryerson himself stated, "the application of every Methodist candidate for office;" or, as Hon. Isaac Buchanan states: "Nothing prevented [Dr. Ryerson] being gladly offered the originating of an educational system for Upper Canada, but the most unworthy church prejudices of parties who had influence with the Government of the day."

4. That the appointment of Dr. Ryerson by Sir Charles Metcalfe was due to the discussion on the comprehensive scheme of education which took place between Dr. Ryerson and Sir Charles Metcalfe, on the University question, late in 1843.

It may be proper to state that the appointment of Rev. Robert Murray in May, 1842, was a surprise to the public, as the Editor of this volume well remembers, and was, as Rev. John Ryerson states, "a most unwise one." Mr. Murray was a minister of the Church of Scotland at Oakville.

He was chiefly known at the time as an anti-temperance writer[125]; but had never been known to have taken any special interest in education. He was intimate with Hon. S. B. Harrison, who owned mills at Bronte, a few miles west of Oakville, where Mr. Harrison resided for some years. To Mr. Harrison, the then leader of the Government, Mr. Murray was indebted, as was then understood, for the appointment.

Rev. John Ryerson having written to his brother Egerton, asking if the rumour of his appointment as Superintendent of Education was true, Dr.

Ryerson replied, on the 3rd April:--

As to the appointment to which you allude, it is but a rumour. No appointment has yet been made. Should it take place, it will not require my removal from Cobourg. Whatever has been proposed to me on that subject, has been proposed with a view of giving body, form, practical character and efficiency, to a system of general education, upon these non-sectarian principles of equal justice which have characterized my life. Nothing political is involved in the appointment--although it was at first proposed to give me a seat in the Council! The education of the people has nothing to do with the dispute with Lord Metcalfe, of which you speak. I do not think it would become me to refuse to occupy the most splendid field of usefulness that could engage the energies of man, because of the dispute which has arisen.

On the 12th April, Dr. Ryerson replied to a letter from Mr. Secretary Higginson, in which he said:--

Dr. Bethune, the Editor of _The Church_, has indeed protested against my proposed appointment;[126] but I understand that a majority of the members of his own congregation at Cobourg approve of the appointment. Mr. Boswell, M.P.P., and Mr. Sheriff Rultan (the most influential churchmen in the District), have expressed themselves in favour of it in the strongest and warmest terms; as have Mr. Keefer, of Thorold (who is a magistrate of wealth, leisure and benevolence,--was foreman of the Grand Jury at the late a.s.sizes in the Niagara District, and has, at the request of the District Council, consented to superintend the schools in that district); also Dr. Beadle, who is an old resident, and I believe, an American Presbyterian.

Up to this time (April), Dr. Ryerson had decided to take no part in the controversy between Sir Charles Metcalfe and his Councillors, but to devote his energies to the great work of founding a system of education for his native country. Much to the surprise of his friends, and (as he says in his prefatory paper) "without consulting a human being," he felt that it was his duty--after the issue of the manifesto of the Toronto League--to relinquish the work a.s.signed to him, and once more to take up his pen in defence of one whom he believed to be in the right, and yet who was left single-handed to meet the storm of popular clamour which had been excited against him by combined and powerful enemies. Dr.

Ryerson, therefore, determined to decline the appointment offered to him, and to abide the issue of the impending contest in which he proposed to take a prominent part. In the opening remarks of this memorable "Defence," he said:--

I was about entering upon the peaceful work--a work extensive and varied beyond the powers of the most untiring and vigorous intellect--a work down to this time almost entirely neglected--of devising and constructing (by the concurrence of the people, through their District Councils) a fabric of Provincial common school education--of endeavouring to stud the land with appropriate school-houses--of supplying them with appropriate books and teachers--of raising a wretched employment to an honourable profession--of giving uniformity, simplicity, and efficiency to a general system of elementary educational instruction--of bringing appropriate books for the improvement of his profession within the reach of every school-master, and increased facilities for the attainment of his stipulated remuneration--of establis.h.i.+ng a library in every district, and extending branches of it into every towns.h.i.+p--of striving to develop by writing and discourses, in towns, villages and neighbourhoods, the latent intellect, the most precious wealth of the country--and of leaving no effort unemployed within the limited range of my humble abilities, to make Western Canada what she is capable of being made, the brightest gem in the crown of Her Britannic Majesty. Such was the work about to be a.s.signed to me; and such was the work I was resolving, in humble dependence upon the divine aid, to undertake; and no heart bounds more than mine with desire, and hope, and joy, at the prospect of seeing, at no distant day, every child of my native land in the school-going way; and every intellect provided with the appropriate elements of sustenance and enjoyment; and of witnessing one comprehensive and unique system of education, from the a, b, c, of the child, up to the matriculation of the youth into the Provincial University, which, like the vaulted arch of heaven, would exhibit an ident.i.ty of character throughout, and present an aspect of equal benignity to every sect, and every party upon the broad basis of our common Christianity.

But I arrest myself from such a work--leave it perhaps for other hands, and the glory of its accomplishment to deck another's brow; and, if need be, to resign every other official situation; and, unsolicited, unadvised by any human being--inwardly impelled by a conviction of what is due to my Sovereign, to my country, to a fellow-man--I take up the pen of vindication, of reasoning, of warning and appeal, against criminations and proceedings of impending evil, which, if they be not checked and arrested, will accomplish more than the infamous ostracism of an Aristides, render every other effort to improve and elevate Canada abortive, and strew in wide-spread desolation over the land the ruins of the throne and its government.

From the date of Mr. Higginson's letter (12th April) until the 7th of September nothing was done in regard to the appointment of a Superintendent of Education. On the latter day, however, Mr. Higginson wrote to Dr. Ryerson as follows:--

We find a great difficulty in making a provisional arrangement for the Educational duties. The University authorities require the immediate services of a mathematical professor, and His Excellency proposes Mr. Murray for the office, which will, it is hoped, be a satisfactory arrangement to all parties; but Mr. Murray cannot hold both positions, even for a time. Under these circ.u.mstances it appears to be worthy of consideration, whether your appointment ought not to take place at once, which would not, of course, interfere with your projected visit to Europe in November, when it might be easier to make some proper temporary provision for the performance of your duties during your absence. His Excellency is aware that you were in favour of deferring your nomination until after your return from Europe; and if you should adhere to this opinion, you may, perhaps, be able to suggest some means of meeting the apparent difficulty.

On the 18th September, Mr. Higginson addressed another note to Dr.

Ryerson, in reply to one from him, in which he said:

You will have learned from my last note that Sir Charles approved of all your suggestions, except the non-announcement of your appointment. As you see reason to alter your opinion on this point, the difficulty is removed, and you shall be gazetted in the last week of the month, as you propose. I wish, with you, that the College question could be settled in England, if we could only prevail on the contending parties to agree to a case of facts. This might be accomplished, and I am not without hope that some scheme may be devised to which no party will have just ground of objection. I shall write to you upon this subject as soon as anything is determined on.