THE EFFECT OF BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY ON PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN UPPER CANADA, 1784-1840 by Walter E. Downes Thesis presented to the School of Graduate Studies as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in Education- '' LIBRARIES \ **»rty Ol °^ UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA OTTAWA, CANADA, 1974 Downes, Ottawa, Canada, 1974 UMI Number: DC53364 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform DC53364 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ACKNOWLEDGMENT This thesis was prepared under the direction of Professor Mary Mulcahy, Ph.D., of the Faculty of Education of the University of Ottawa. The writer is indebted to Dr. Mulcahy for her interest, direction and encouragement. CURRICULUM STUDIORUM Walter E. Downes was born September 15t 1932, in Peterborough, Ontario. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in 1956 and the Master of Education degree from the University of Toronto in 1966. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page INTRODUCTION vii PART I BACKGROUND 1 I. THE UPPER CANADIAN BACKGROUND, 1784--184-0 ... 3 1. Demographic, Economic, Social, Religious, and Political Forces in Upper Canadian Society, 1784--184-0 4- 2. The Position of the Lieutenant-Governor in the Determination of Colonial Affairs 30 3. Summary 4-5 II. THE BRITISH BACKGROUND, 1784--1840 4-9 1. Demographic, Economic, Social, Religious, Educational and Political Forces in British Society, 1784--184-0 50 2. The Position of the Colonial Office in the Determination of Colonial Affairs 63 3. Summary 78 PART II THE EFFECT OF THE POLICIES OF THE LIEUTENANT- GOVERNORS ON PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN UPPER CANADA, 1784--184-0 82 III. THE UNIVERSITY 84- 1. Function 85 2. Administration 96 3. Financing 113 4-. Curriculum 123 5. Selection of Professors 125 6. Selection of Students 128 7. Alternatives 129 8. Summary 139 IV. THE GRAMMAR SCHOOLS 14-4- 1. Function 14-5 2. Administration 150 3. Financing l6l 4-. Curriculum 172 5. Selection of Masters 177 6. Selection of Scholars 184- 7. Alternatives 185 8. Summary 192 TABLE OF CONTENTS v V. THE COMMON SCHOOLS 197 1. Function 198 2. Administration 207 3. Financing 219 4-. Curriculum 232 5. Selection of Teachers 234- 6. Selection of Pupils 24-3 7. Alternatives 24-7 8. Summary 253 PART III THE EFFECT OF THE POLICIES OF THE COLONIAL OFFICE ON PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN UPPER CANADA, 1784--184-0 258 VI. THE UNIVERSITY 263 1. Administration 264 2. Financing 300 3. Alternatives 310 4-. Summary 329 VII. THE GRAMMAR SCHOOLS 333 1. Administration 333 2. Financing 34-2 3. Alternatives 354- 4-. Summary 369 VIII. THE COMMON SCHOOLS 373 1. Administration 373 2. Financing 376 3. Alternatives 380 4-. Summary 386 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 389 BIBLIOGRAPHY 398 Appendix 1. GOVERNORS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF QUEBEC 1764- 1791, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF UPPER CANADA 1792-184-1, CIVIL SECRETARIES OF QUEBEC 1764--1791, CIVIL SECRETARIES OF UPPER CANADA 1792-184-1 . 4-19 TABLE OF CONTENTS vi 2. SECRETARIES OF STATE, HOME DEPARTMENT 1782- 1801, SECRETARIES OF STATE FOR WAR AND THE COLONIES 179^-184-1, UNDER SECRETARIES, WAR AND THE COLONIES 1801-184-1, PERMANENT UNDER SECRETARIES, WAR AND THE COLONIES 1825-184-1 . 422 3. APPOINTMENTS TO THE BOARD FOR THE UPPER CANADA CENTRAL SCHOOL 1820, THE GENERAL BOARD OF EDUCATION 1823, HOME DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION 1824-, BOARD OF THE HOME DISTRICT SCHOOL 1824-, KING'S COLLEGE COUNCIL 1827 4-26 4-. ABSTRACT OFJ The Effect of British Colonial Policy on Public Educational Institutions in Upper Canada, 1784-184-0 4-29 INTRODUCTION Between 1784- and 184-0 Upper Canada was transformed from a forest wilderness into a bustling frontier dotted by numerous clearings and small towns. In little over half a century its population had grown from a mere handful to over four hundred thousand . Toward the end of the period under 2 study there were six hundred fifty-one common schools established under government auspices in ten districts as well as a grammar school in each of twelve districts of the province-'. One university, King's College at York, had been granted a charter while three others, Queen's College, Victoria and Regiopolis College, Kingston were in the course of being founded. Many private schools, Sunday Schools and academies were also in existence. During the same period there was no chief-superin­ tendent or minister of education in the province and except for a period in the 1820*s, there was no centralized agency to administer or superintend educational developments. Nor did a viable form of local government exist to initiate or 1 A. Dunham, Political Unrest in Upper Canada 1815-1836, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1963, p. 23. No official census was taken. Miss Dunham bases her figures on reports of the township officers contained in the annual blue-books. 2 "Report of the Common Schools in 1838", in Journal of the House of Assembly, Appendix B, 184-0, p. 34-0. 3 "Report of the District Schools, I838", ibid., p. 339. INTRODUCTION • • • Vlll control government action in the area of education. The colony was governed by a popularly elected Legislative Assembly but ultimate power remained in the hands of the British Government and in particular the Colonial Office and the lieutenant- governors of the province who were the agents of its policies. With no effective intermediary agencies to superintend the nature and development of government-sponsored, educa­ tional institutions, the role of the agents of colonial policy becomes central to any discussion of educational development in Upper Canada before 184-1. Generally this role is perceived to be negative and reactionary in effect. One historian, for example, wrote, concerning education before I837, The educational system continued to be weighted heavily in favour of the rich and well-placed. [. .J It came to be felt generally in the pro­ vince that a sensible educational policy, based on local needs and local knowledge rather than on the views of lieutenant-governors and irresponsible officials, could never be established until the government acquired a more popular base. 4- Another scholar was non-judgemental but felt that "The views of the Lieutenant-Governors [••»!] were ex­ tremely significant in directing educational decision-making"-^ 4- G. M. Craig, "The American Impact on the Upper Canadian Reform Movement Before I837" in The Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 29, No. 4-, December, 194-8, p. 337. 5 J. Donald Wilson, Foreign and Local Influences on Popular Education in Upper Canada 1815-184-4- .unpublished Ph. D. thesis, University of Western Ontario, 1970, p. 17. INTRODUCTION ix while a third claimed that, "the reformers of Upper Canada had no complaint against the mother country on the score of educational policy" after 1828. The purpose of this study then is to determine the effect of British colonial policy as initiated and implemented by the governors of Quebec before 1791 and the lieutenant-governors of Upper Canada after 1791, and the British Colonial Office on the develop­ ment of educational structures related to the government- sponsored university, grammar schools and common schools. The study attempts, therefore, to answer the following questions with reference to the period 1784—184-0: 1 (a) What function did the lieutenant-governors intend educational institutions in Upper Canada to serve? (b) How did the lieutenant-governors' perceptions of these functions affect the nature and development of educational structures? 2 (a) In what ways did the Colonial Office support and aid the lieutenant-governors in their educational policies? (b) What effect did the policies of the Colonial Office itself have on the nature and development of educational structures? The following definitions are used for the purposes of this study: 1. The term "lieutenant-governor", unless otherwise designated, will include the governors of Quebec from 1784- 1791 who were at that time politically responsible for the affairs of Upper Canada. It will also be used to include the 6 Dunham, op. cit., p. 96. INTRODUCTION x administrators of the province who, by virtue of their office as president of the Executive Council, assumed the duties of the lieutenant-governor during his absence from the province or in the periods between administrations. 2. "Colonial Office" and "colonial secretary", unless otherwise designated, will be used to refer to the ministry of the Imperial Government and its chief functionary charged with the administration of the colonies. The "Home Office" and "home secretary" who were charged with this responsibility n before 1801' will be subsumed under these terms. 3. "The university" refers to King's College, York. 4-. The term "grammar school" is used to denote schools sponsored by the government, which were intended to offer more advanced instruction than the common schools. The term "district school" was commonly used after legislation in 1807 which provided assistance to one grammar school in each district. 5. "Common schools" refer to government-sponsored schools which were intended to offer elementary instruction. Another designation for the same schools was by the term "township schools". 6. By "educational structures" is meant those dimen­ sions of education essential for its formal description as a 7 Although a ministry for war and the colonies was created in 179^, the colonies continued to be administered by the Home Office until 1801.