Document Information

Date: 1867-02-05
By: The Montreal Herald
Citation: “The Teachings of Confederation”, The Montreal Herald (5 February, 1867)
Other formats: TBA

THE TEACHINGS OF CONFEDERATION.

—The Hamilton Spectator of Saturday contains the following telegram from Montreal which we give with its sensation heading:—

The Educational System under Confederation—an understanding between Ministers arrived at in the matter.

(By Special Telegraph to the Spectator.)

MONTREAL, Feb. 1st, 1867.

“It has been confidently asserted to-day, in “the city, that ministers previous to their departure for London, arrived at a positive “understanding respecting the educational “clause.”

Of course they did, what else could the mysterious document contain, that was to be opened only after the departure of the Attorneys General East and West and Mr. Howland, Finance Minister. It is somewhat singular, however, with so close an agreement, not only on the principles, but even on the details of the laws affecting education which are contained in the Confederation Scheme, that so many different accounts should be given by the different organs, of the principles on which the Cabinet are agreed. They all vow they are of one mind and that the most charming harmony prevails in the Cabinet upon every subject, yet all the instruments play different tunes varying according to the longitude, and every one declaring that he is the only authorised and original performer. The correspondent of the Spectator is the most modest of any of those who profess to be in possession of state secrets connected with the Confederation scheme in general and the education clause in particular. He confesses with refreshing simplicity that he knows nothing whatever about what the ministry have agreed to. But in order to look as if he knew something he says:—

It appears that the rights of ministers are to be respected in both sections, but whether any alteration is to be made in the principles of the Separate School Bill of the Western section of the Province or not, is not known.

This is most satisfactory—if it could only be discovered who the ministers referred to are, and what are their rights which are to be respected. The information contained in the latter part of the paragraph is at least intelligible, whatever its other merits may be, and may stand as an admirable companion to the lines,

“Now had these children been at home

Or sliding on dry ground

A penny to a thousand pounds

They had all been drowned.”