The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-04-01
THE SCHOOL AGITATION IN CANADA.

But blgotry and intolerance are not SatlShed Dy
justice. They are kept alive by agitation and reve
in oppression. To understand better the principle
at stake, let recall few incidents III the history
of Canada. New France (now Canada) colonized
by settlers from France extended from the Gulf OF
St Lawrence to the delta of the Mississippi Its
eastern boundaries were the Alleghenies. The pop
ulation French and Catholic. There absolute
liberty of conscience always prevailed Exlled from
| France, the Huguenots found in Canada refuge
where they practiced their religion without inter
| ference a Jewish synagogue built in the
heart of Montreal during the French regime In
1868, by the Treaty of Paris, New France with
the exception of that territory which we have
called the Louisiana purchase ceded to Eng
land. By express stipuatons the people were
guaranteed the free exercise of the Catholic re-
Hgion. The hierarchy the clergy, the religious
communities of men and women, and their prop
! erty rights were recognized in law The word and
! power of the sovereign of England pledged to
the maintenance of the statu quo ante, the object
being to give to the rights of the Catholics under
Protestant government the same protection which
they had received from Catholic king
Let us keep in mind that the present Canada
was then inhabited almost exclusively by Catholics.
A century later, in 1861 the several British prov
inces of North America eonfederated into the
present Dominion of Canada, which obtained title
to the Territory of Hudson Bay, the Canadian
Northwest By this time the character of the pop
uaton changed. Lower Canada Quebec
still solidly French and staunchy Catholic.
great majority of the people of the other provinces
was Protestant in creed and English in tongue.
Il IL. e +J,o
new government. "No Quebec no confederation"
The French Canadian statesmen, knowing the
strenuous efforts made during the preceding cen
tury to crush their religious and national nstitu
tons, demanded and caused to be inserted into the
Enabling Act (the equivalent of Constitution
clear clauses to protect and perpetuate the civil
and religious rights of minorities.
The system of separate denominational schools
obtains IN Canada. The first province to consider
and settle the question of Education" was Catho-
lie Quebec where the Protestants are few in num-
bers
Two boards of public instruction created:
one Catholic, the other Protestant. Each has for
its chairman a bishop of its respective denomina-
ton. Where separate schools exist, the taxes col
lected from Catholics are apportioned to the Cath
the support of Protestant schools. If Catholic and
Protestant ratepayers agree to maintain but one
school for all the children only one school exists
and there is no division of taxes. These negotia
tions-in Quebec-were carried on in a broad and
tolerant spirit The settlement was declared fair !
and just by all parties in, interest. In Catholic
Quebec no Protestant hasrever complained of I'M
just treatment-no Protestant agitation has ever
been heard of. There has never been any cause for
one. The rumpus has been in the other provinces |
The first trouble over the schools in Ontario. |
To obtain their legal rights Brothers there
were compelled to make desperate fight. The |
history of their struggle nearly parallels the events
in Ireland during the days of persecution, Catho
lie clergy1nen were publicly nsuted and assaulted;
the Catholics were ostracised socially and brutally
treated in public; their meetings were broken up;
even their places of worship were destroyed. In
the end they won out and the legality of their
tention was established by the highest legal tri-
bunals.
Long before there had been Dominion of Can
ada, Catholic missionaries penetrated the fast
nesses of the Territory of Hudson Bay, bringing
the tidings of the Gospel to the Indians. They
civilized Them gathered them and their half breed
children into communities, built schools and even
erected and maintained a classical college at ST.
Boniface All this work was done in obedience to
the dictates of Christian charity. Not a cent of
government aid did these heroic pioneers of the
faith receive.
About 1867 the tide of immigration began to
flow into Manitoba and the northwest. So long as
the Catholics formed majority of the population
we heard not word of protest. When conditions
we're reversed and when the Catholics became a
minority the p. p. A. started the school howl.
What did they demand? The abolition of the
schools that there should be but
one school system supported by the taxes of all
he rate-payers.
Naturally Catholics refused to acquiesce. The
aw of the land guaranteed to them their separate
schools and they refused to be taxed for the main
enance of institutions to which they would not
end their children. The strife was fierce while it
asted The question went before the Priyy Council
II England, came back to the Dominion Paria-
nent and eventually was settled again III accord
nee with the Catholic contention
1t would seem that after these two unsuccessful
ttempts the bigots would give up the contest. On
he contrary, they to the front again with the