The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-01-27


them, and there the "border runians" would
ultimately, perhaps reduce them to reason.
Progress OF Education In Lower Canada.
We have before us the Report of the Super
intendent of Education for Lower Canada for
the last year. It is rather more interesting
than such documents usually are; chiefly from
the fact that in Lower Canada the people have
lived until quite recently without any educa-
ton at all. Farmers--or ha6itants as they are
called-of the age of forty aud over, perhaps do
not read in the proportion of one out of 3 hun
bred. OF late years vigorous efforts have been
made to establish general school system. The
priests have very laudably taken the lead in
the matter and have fought the prejudices Of
the unlettered people with such success that
at the present moment the total number of
children receiving instruction at schools, AGA
denies and colleges in Lower Canada, is about
one hundred and twenty thousand, or rather
over one in eight Of the whole population.
This average is considerably below that of the
Northern United States. The school-goers in
New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and
most of the Northern States are one in four of
the whole population. The average is the same
for instance, which has been enormously sup
posed to be backward State in the matter OF
education. But the Canadians are in
advance of the people of the Old DOmi-
MON; among whom the number of persons
returned as studying at colleges, public
schools academies and other schools, is only
about n 900, or about one in twelve out OF
the whole white opulation-exclusive, of
course, Of the students who are sent to northern
institutions of learning. In former times Vir-
ginia took higher stand than North Carroll
No, the proportion of persons who cannot read
and write in the former State being about one
in twelve, while in the latter they are one in
six or seven. In Lower Canada they are pro-
badly one in five.
We find the number of colleges" largely
on the increase in Lower Canada These col
leges are for the most part schools Of the AGA
DENY class, managed by Roman Catholic
priests, with priests for masters, and generally
continuing to secure the most promising of
their pupils for the church. 1t is not clear
There is such thing as mischievous learn
ing; and there are systems of education which
are worse in every way than ignorance. tits
to be hoped that the Roman Catholic colleges
of Lower Canada do not belong to this class.
The school system Of France upon which it is
believed they are in some measure based, is
not good one; aud the only portions of it
wh oh fha pAnIa
condemnation have been borrowed from the
encyclopedias, and modern thinkers, who are
probably not in favor with the priesthood of
Lower Canada. A worse system of education
than that Of the old French Jesuits-more fu-
tile in its results, more degrading to the youth
full mind, and disheartening to the energies
has, it is believed, never been devised. 1t is,
Of course, to be hoped that the Lower Cana
diar plan is widely different from this.
After all, common schools-and practical
schools-are what the Canadians want They
want something like the national schools of
lreland--with agriculture classes, and chem
istry classes, and other classes on common
without any trash and nonsense about meta
physics and logic, OF lying histories, like
Rollins or Loriquet's, to bewilder boys, con-
fuse their brains, and to teach them to be
fools and hypocrites. If the Canadian govern
ment would improve its elementary schools SO
as to make them equal to its model schools and
assimilate these to the Irish national schools
the colleges might safely be converted into
theological seminaries, and used exclusively for
this purpose. A single good normal school
would then be oil that would be wanted.