D E D I C A T E D W D AWS O N LL D . F G S J , . , . ' a nd Vzce- Cha ncellor M G I L L ' N I V E R S I T Y C U . R E F A C E f . The ob ect this w is twofold j contemplated by ork in its nature , namely furnish the friends of McGill C ollege with a reliable account of its origin and subsequent progress ; and to supply i addit onal information upon the subj ect of Canadian Numismatics . I ae un- h v , therefore , employed the utmost care , and directed an remitting attention , to comprehend what is most important and I interesting in the subj ect before me . To attain this end , have h “ ad . recourse to Articles on the Colleges of Canada, by Hon . Mc ill . h auv u 0 . G . C e ea P J O Biographical Sketch Mr , with other works by Principal Dawson the Reports of the Governors and the r ecords o fthe College . a I v z With these adv ntages, have endea ored to sei e on the fill general outline of the history, and to it up with the most n I material subordinate otices selected from these sources , and desire to acknowledge , that in many instances , instead of assuming originality by clothing the thoughts and opinions of others in my r I I own exp ession , prefer employing their own language , and therefore resign to them the approbation due to their talents , ‘ due desiring no further credit than such as may be thought to my exertions in collecting ” and arranging the material for the work. ALF. SAND HAM . N T R O D T N J UC IO . Learning by s tudy mu st be w on ’ ’ —— w e er e e fr m re to son Ga T as n ntail d o si . y. The developement of the faculties or germs of power in man , and the training of them into harmonious action in obedience to s r the laws of rea on and morality, is what is comp ehended in the e term ducation . Y e t education not only aims at the developement and culture of the child as an individual , but is also the means by which every rising generation is put in possession of all the attain - ments of preceding generations . In the earliest ages , the entire u n education and cult re of the people were in the ha ds of priests , fi fi m who were the rst founders of institutions , the rst states en , j udges , physicians and astronomers , and it is only in the most highly civiliz ed communities that science has been separated from i n . rel gion , and teachi g made a distinct profession Even in these , a or es le rning and schools are often to a greater l s extent, more or less directly, under the patronage and care of religious bodies , since religion h as been esteemed by all nations the highest interest of society . e On the antiquity of schools it is not n cessary to dilate . We read in Sacred Writ of a “ School of Prophets under the rv . supe ision of the prophet Samuel Passing to later dates , we learn that the early culture of Egyptian s was such that the [ the Greeks derived from them their first lessons in science and philoso- phy, and from them the Israelites obtained the knowledge which “ enabled them to measure and div ide the land . The inscriptions on their monuments also prove an early knowledge of geometry, astronomy, mensuration and surveying in Egypt . fix It is i mpossible to the period when universities , in the fi modern acceptation of the term , were rst established . When Charlemagne ascended the throne of France , we are told that no n of e x n mea s ducation e isted in his domi ions and, in order to t restore in some degree the spirit of letters , he invited s rangers from other countries where l eaming was not so thoroughly extin- u s f g i hed. With the help of these he established schools in dif erent cities of his empire and all the powe r and influence of the court were employed in forwar ding his endeavors . By degrees the light of science began to shine more brightly ; and a r te chers , whose genius enabled them to ise above their w n fello s , and to overstep the arrow bounds to which they had tr r been res icted , a ose in various places , and their lectures were s attended by crowds of admiring listeners . The succe s of one er a fi teach invited others to the s me eld , and the large number of scholars who frequented the school of an admired expounder of o ff am some new or fav rite question , a orded ple room for the exertion of his tal ent and ingenuity . It was in this manner that particular schools obtained a penn a- t s c r nent celebri y, and that those a so iations of teachers we e formed which were afterwards recogniz e d by the civil and e ccl esias tical fi “ i s . power, and ult mately digni ed with the name of Univer ities e The oldest of the European univ rsities , (said to have been founded r m n Paris wh ose n by Chale ag e) was that of , , form and co stitution were in a great measure adopted by the founders of the two great s v x and wi Engli h uni ersities , O ford Cambridge, which till thin the last hal f century were the only universities in Engla nd . c l At a very early date in the history of America, the o onists directed attention to the importance of education . Six years after the first settlement had been made in the New England S r e e tates , the following ent y app ars in their records , under dat of “ 2 8th 1 6 6 the October , 3 court agreed to give toward a s ehoal e h 2 001. be e eare or colledge , w ereof to paid the next y , and z oo . ] . when the work is finished Such is the origin of Harvard “ w i college , the oldest and most amply endo ed educational nstitution of the United States . Four years prior to this date , the Jesuit e Fathers had op ned at Quebec a school , which has since become fl 1 6 r a ourishing college , and in 5 7 the semina y of St . Sulpice was - founded at ontreal . Twenty seven years after the conquest of D Canada Lord orchester, governor of the old province of uebec a oint d sub ect o of Q , . pp e a commission to enquire into the j 1 8 0 2 education , but no action of importance was taken until , when the “ Royal Institution for the advancement of learning was legally incorp orated . Among the many who took a lively interest in the measures taken by the government towards the M ill . cG formation of this board was Mr James , who has handed w l A do n his name to posterity as the founder of the nob e institution , A A r a b ief history of which will be given in this work. A VIc I L L O L L E G E A N D I T S E D A L S M . j P F " McGill oth James was born in Glasgow, Scotland , on the of 1 a October, 7 44 , and received his early tr ining and education in r . r that count y Like many of his count ymen , he emigrated , when m n r a r . e a young to the new wo ld , in search of fo tune He s ttled in Montreal and engaged successfully in mercantile pursuits . On 2 nd r 1 6 e Guillemin the of Decembe , 7 7 , he married Charlott , r the Guillemin (daughte of late Guillaume , in his lifetime councillor K r l ieutenant- eneral - of the ing of F ance in Canada, g of the admi i r ra ty of Quebec , and judge of the court of p erogatives , ) widow of r the late F ancois Amable Trottier Des Rivieres . ’ Mc ill s r . G Mr long residence in Mont eal , his integrity, public s fi e pirit and practical good sense , gained for him the con denc of ' fell ow - citiz ens h e his , and was elected their representative in m parliament . He was subsequently appointed a ember of the 1 8 1 2 legislative and executive councils , and during the war of ri a i r- n ral acted as a colonel and b g d e ge e of militia . McGill r Mr . is desc ibed by his contemporaries as a man of fi ure—in tall and commanding g his youth a very handsome man , but becoming corpulent in his old age . He was a prominent member of the association of fur magnates known as the Beaver r o f r r Club . A eminiscence a gentlemen , then esident in Mont eal , r n - represents him , when a ve y old man , at one of the meetings si g vo a ezzf s ing a y g song with accurate ear and sonorous voice , and “ th e - r imitating, paddle in hand , the action of bow man of a No th ' r i canoe in ascending a rapid .