New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-07-12
THE ClNiDIlN CRISIS.

There Is little danger Of overesiimaiins The
importance Of the crisis ut Ottawa. IL l. the
most serious in the history Of the Dominion.
Upon its issue will depend not only party SUI
premacy. but the maintenance OF the Canadian
Union itself. The question involved Is not mere
ly one OF party politics II is one Of religion and
Of race and that In Il land where religious ana
racial animosiies are more potent than almost
anywhere else under The sun. II j. question.
too, that cannot be settled by any mere change
of party dominance. The Conservatives. who
have ruled for nearly seventeen years. may go
out tomorrow. A general election may return
a Liberal majority But the question al ISSUE
will be just as vcxing and probably as fatal 10
the new Government as TO the old Nothing. in
deed can fully settle il short OF radical change
in the organic law OF the realm. such as VIII
amount to practical revolution.
All the trouble. as is well known, has been
precipitated by the dispute over school money
In Manitoba for q correct understanding OF
which brief review of lis history Is necessary
That the Federal Government should BE- con
ccrncd in a matter OF provincial administration
seems anomalous in this COUNTRY. But 1t must
be borne In mind that the Canadian Constitution
is in one important respect the exact reverse 81
Federal Government nor prohibited 10 the States
are reserved to the States or 10 the people. Hut
the Canadian Constitution gives To the Federal
Government all powers not expressly reserved
to the Provinces. Now. what power In school
affairs was reserved 10 Manitoba? The act Of
union says the provincial legislature may ex-
clusively make laws in relation 10 education,
subject to certain provisions. the first OF which
Is that nothing In any such law shall preJu-
'dicially affect any right or privilege win r.
"spect TO dcnomlna tional schools which any class
"of persons have by law or practice In the PROV
"nce az the time Of the union What rights or
privileges then existed must appear in the Bill
OF Rights There have been several such bills
The first drawn up by Louis Itie and his col
leagues I'm November, 1869, does not mention
education but says vaguely that all privileges
customs and usagcs existing ut the time Of the
union shall be respected The second. of Jan
uary, 1870, makes no reference TO schools, save
10 say n certain sum Of money shall each year
be- appropriated for schools roads ana bridges
The third. which superseded all former Ones
was drawn up in March, 1870, by the delegates
TO Ottawa who negotiated the union. and 1t Is
absolutely silent on the subject There IL an
alleged fourth bill, declaring school moneys shall
be divided among separate dcnominnlional
schools, but It's validity IL more than questioned
The great weight Of evidence marks IL ms spurl-
Gus The third bin and the act Of union are
therefore the instruments that are 10 determine
the case.
Before the union separate schools existed. That
IL unuuestionabc. The first legislature under
tho union. In 1871. continued that system. But
In. Siu 81, To-
standard Of scholarship In the Roman Catholic
schools was declared to be much lower than in
the others II was complained that pupils in
those schools were allowed TO grow up In ignO-
rance Of some Of the most ordinary and essen
tiai facts, such the names Of the calendar
months. Moreover-and this was the point Of
most concern to the Manitoba GOvernment-thc
system Of separate schools tended to pcrpetuate
distinctions Of race and creed. and to prevent
the amalgamaton Of the people into homo
geneous nation. Accordingly, In 1890, the pro-
yincIal legislature abolished the separate de-
nomIna tional school system and decreed uni
form system Of unsectaran public schools. That
act was approved by all but the Roman Catho-
lies, who strongly resisted II. A Roman Catholic
citizen at Winnipeg made appeal to the courts
to have the law quashed. His appeal was dis.
missed by the Supreme Court OF the Province,
and the law was declared valid. ThereupOn the
case was carried to Ottawa, and there the Su-
preme Court Of the Dominion reversed the de-
clsIon Of the Manitoba court. and declared the
law unconstitutional. Manitoba at once made
appeal TO the Imperial Government at London.
The case was argued deliberately before the Privy
Council, and that tribunal OF last resort finally
sustained the original Judgment Of the Manitoba
court. and declared the law constitutional and
valid.
Then the Roman Catholic party resortel to
another line Of attack provision Of the act Of
union gives right Of appeal to the Govcrnor-in.