Il8 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 



experience in these matters, would meet tlie educational wants 

 of this Province. This was done accordingly and the School 

 Act of 1850 became the law of the land. The provisions of this Act 

 were so much more comprehensive in the matter of detail and so 

 much broader in their scope than those of former Acts, that it was 

 looked upon by not a few of the leading men of the times as being 

 almost revolutionary in its tendencies. Among other things it defined 

 clearly the manner of electing Trustees, and the duties and preroga- 

 tives of this office ; fixed definitely the powers given to the various 

 Municipal Corporations ; provided for the appointment of Township 

 Superintendents, and the formation of County Boards of Public 

 Instruction; prescribed the duties of the Chief Superintendent, and 

 the powers vested in his office ; and made provisions for the estab. 

 lishment of the Council of Public Instruction to assist in the 

 management of certain parts of the school system. Supplementary 

 Acts were passed in 1852 and 1853, and the consolidation of these 

 was completed in 1858, after which no important legislation took 

 place until, in 1871, the principles of the Charter Act of 1850 were 

 extended so as to meet the increased educational requirements of 

 the time. By this Act, Township Superintendents were exchanged 

 for County Inspectors, the providing of adequate accommodation 

 was made imperative, a uniform standard of examination for all 

 teachers was established, the right given to every child within certain 

 ages to attend school, and contributions to the Superannuation Fund 

 were made compulsory. When radical changes, similar to these, are 

 made in any law, especially if these changes involve an increased 

 expenditure of money, strong opposition to their enforcement is 

 almost sure to follow. This was the case after the passage of the 

 Acts of 1850 and 187 1, but now that the good results of these laws 

 are seen in the greatly improved state of the schools and premises, 

 the people naturally feel proud of the progress made and uphold the 

 laws which made these improvements possible. It required a firm 

 hand and a strong consciousness of being in the right to withstand 

 the pressure brought to bear to modify certain provisions of these 

 laws, but Dr. Ryerson possessed the necessary firmness, and our 

 educational mterests were greatly benefited thereby. 



Two important changes have been made in our school laws since 

 187 1, the one caused by Dr. Ryerson resigning the office of Chief 



