THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. IIQ 



Superintendent of Education, which led to the abolition of that office 

 and the appointment of a Minister of Education, the other arose out 

 of the necessity of having none but trained teachers placed in charge 

 of our schools. The Normal Schools were unable to meet the 

 demand thus created, and this led to the establishment of ounty 

 Model Schools for the professional training of Public School Teachers, 

 These changes have been productive of great good to our system, 

 have strengthened its hold on public confidence, and have given us 

 unequalled facilities for the education of the youth of our country. 

 From the brief sketch that I have been able to give of the vari- 

 ous Acts that have been passed by the Legislature, from the earliest 

 times to the present, and of the administration of these laws, it will 

 readily be seen that the following principles are the outcome of that 

 legislation, and form the basis of our present educational system. 

 These, briefly stated, are : 



1. That our Public Schools are Free Schools. This forms the 

 chief corner-stone of our school system, and is the result, on the one 

 hand, of an enlightened public opinion demanding that this princi- 

 ple shall be embodied in our statutes, and on the other, of that in- 

 telligent legislation that yielded to this reasonable demand, and made 

 it the law of the land. 



2. That adequate accommodation and properly qualified teachers 

 are provided for every child. This follows as a natural sequence, for 

 if the schools are free to all, then they should be placed so that they 

 are accessible to all. These two principles embody the idea that the 

 property of the country is responsible for the education of the youth 

 of the country, since the value of the property is greatly enhanced 

 by the diffusion of education among the masses, and conversely, the 

 prevalence of illiteracy depreciates the value of property. 



J. That every child has the right to an education such as iv ill fit 

 him for the duties of citizenship. This is a necessary complement of 

 of our system of responsible government, for if the people are to pass 

 judgment upon the acts of their representatives in parliament, or 

 take part in the government of the country through our municipal 

 system, or assist in the administration of justice through our local 

 courts, it follows that they must be educated sufficiently well to ex- 

 ercise the rights of franchise, and discharge the duties of a citizen 

 in an intelligent manner. 



