78 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



in the east, and British Columbia in the west, are the extremes of 

 State paralysis and State monopoly. In McGill and Dalhousie 

 private enterprise has achieved, independently of both Church and 

 State, results worthy of the best British tradition. In Queen's the 

 national impulse, quickened by Principal Grant, burst the bonds of 

 Church control and Queen's sought, like Western, in the enthusiasm 

 of its community and graduates, the strength and support required 

 to meet the needs of recent University development. 



The Five Periods 



The story of the development of the universities of Canada 

 embraces at least five distinct periods. Each period is marked by 

 movements with far-reaching political effects. These movements 

 are reflected in the fortunes of the colleges no less than in the political 

 development of the country. 



I. Fre?ich. — -The first period is French, covering nearly a century 

 and a quarter and ending with the American Revolution. In it the 

 flickering lamp of learning in Quebec made darkness visible. 



II.- — The King's Colleges. — The second period begins with the 

 inrush of the Loyalists, who brought clear-cut ideas of government, 

 religion, education and the administration of justice. From 1785 

 their ideas prevailed and established British institutions in Canada. 

 They set up the King's Colleges for the preservation of the British 

 connection and the Established Church of England. 



III.- — The Sectarian Colleges. — The third, from the twenties to 

 the sixties, was a period of strife — -strife against the rule of the few 

 in the State and against exclusiveness in religion and education. 



The challenge to the authority of the Established Church was 

 followed by the founding of sectarian colleges demanding equal 

 privileges from the State. In the political sphere open rebellion 

 against the Family Compact led to the establishment of Responsible 

 Government and the extension of democratic control to the colleges 

 dependent upon the State. 



IV. College Union. — ^The fourth period, that of Confederation, 

 witnessed a reaction against the strife and waste of the previous 

 period. The provinces sought to compose their differences by entering 

 into a larger union. This was followed by attempts at union between 

 the colleges in Nova Scotia, in Ontario and in Manitoba. For fully 

 thirty years the energies of the people were directed to the establish- 

 ment and strengthening of political, economic, religious and educa- 

 tional unions. 



