The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-07-23

The Dominion Parliament has been pro-
rogued and the speech from the throne
sums up the controversy on the Manitoba
school question In the following lines, a
statement of fact and record: "The reply
OF the Provincial Legislature of Manitoba
10 the remedial order issued by my Gov
ernment of the 2ist of March was consid-
cred Of such character as to justify
postponement OF further action until next
session."
The action OF the Dominion Parliament
thus hangs up the Manitoba question until
next January. The speech from the
throne is, OF course, not a matter of news,
being, simply, the final official statement
OF Parliament's record on the interesting
question.
In the government now in power az
Ottawa the Conservatives have control.
They had back OF them for the settlement
of the Manitoba controversy the judgment
of the Imperial Privy Council that Mani
toba must appropriate public money for
the support Of separate public schools.
The refusal to attempt to follow this
judgment meant, Of course, the loss of
the great Catholic province of Quebec.
The attempt to coerce Manitoba, whose
Legislature and government had declared
for right OF local option in the matter,
would have lost the government the sup
port OF the province of Ontario. Between
the two rocks of disaster the ministry
managed to secure a six months reprieve
to give consideration to the matter.
That a school question should be
national issue is far at variance with our
own system Of government in these United
States, but in the organization by which
the Canadian provinces are associated un-
der imperial authority there seems to be
no easy relief for the present situation.
The Manitoba school question is un-
doubtedly national issue, an JIM
perial issue, and OF very grave i'm
portance. We have already indi-
Gated its outlines. When Manitoba joined
the Canadian confederation she accented
the conditions of the British North
America act, including the stipulation
that all the rights then possessed in the
province by sectarian minorities should
remain inviolate At that time the money!
raised by taxation for school purposes
was divided between Protestants and
Catholics, who were then about equal in
point OF numbers. subsequently, how
ever, the Protestants became greatly pre-
ponderant, and, having acquired control
OF the provincial legislature, withheld
from the Catholics their share of the ap-
for schools, following the
example OF most OF our states in refusing
to provide funds for sectarian institu-
tions. The latter thereupon appealed for
the enforcement OF their constitutional |
rights TO the Dominion Government.
The Dominion Government and the
Imperial Privy Council had nothing else
to do than declare that the action OF the
Manitoba Government was unconstitu-
tional. The situation has been compared
to that OF South Carolina when, in 1892,
that state declared for notification, a
situation that the Federal Congress
controlled by "force bill.n
The Canadian Government has hesitated,
however, to act with similar promptness
md vigor toward Manitoba, and there are
good reasons aside from those
If politics for temporizing with the re-
,ellious province.
So far, then, Manitoba Is left alone,
With all the prestige OF an unrestrained
ct In violation Of constitution. In event
II coercion, Manitoba might secede. And
she did, Dominion and Empire might
Undertake to restrain her.
On the other hand, the Manitoba ques-
ion may remain, for good while after
ext January, simply an uneasy issue i'm
olitics, In which event the local policy is
lkely to become more and more firmly
ettled beyond establishment on con-
titutional grounds.