Читать книгу Ryerson Memorial Volume - J. George Hodgins - Страница 19

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.