Egerton Ryerson and Education in Upper CanadaPutman, J. Harold (John Harold)
History
Egerton Ryerson and Education in Upper Canada
Putman, J. Harold (John Harold)
Education -- Ontario; Ryerson, Egerton, 1803-1882
officials, when they were put into similar situations, into the
municipal councils for instance, that they did not carry out those
views, that they did not turn out their opponents without a reason for
it. There were two or three ways of removing the Chief Superintendent;
one was to make the office a political one; but after the best
consideration being given to the question, it was not considered
advisable to do that, and the proposition to abolish the office
altogether, he was satisfied would have had the worst possible
consequences on the educational interests of the country, after
observing the benefits of active superintendents in New York, and our
own Province. The only other mode then, if these two were resisted, was
to remove the incumbent altogether, and then the question came, whether
he had acted in such a manner as to justify his dismissal. He had often
asked this question of the persons who urged his dismissal, and they
had never given one good reason to support the affirmative. He was not
one of those who thought that because a person supported one Government
that he was therefore incapable of serving faithfully those who
succeeded them, whom he had formerly opposed, always supposing, of
course, that his office was not a political one. He could not find that
the reverend gentleman had entered in the slightest degree into the
field of politics, and as he had discharged his duties with great zeal
and ability, they had no reason to interfere with him. Then the point
was, how they were to act towards him in his position, and his (Mr.
H.'s) determination was to give him the most cordial support; as a
member of the Government he considered it his duty to do so. He felt it
his duty to give the same support to officers who came oftener into
contact with him, the officials of the Custom House, and he defied
anyone to say that any political opponent of his had received less
cordial support in the discharge of the duties of his office than his
friends had; the efficiency of the service absolutely required that he
should do so. He put himself in communication with the reverend
gentleman in reference to this Bill, and as he (Mr. H.) believed that
Doctor Ryerson possessed a more complete knowledge of the school system
than any other person, he thought that any Government would have done
very wrong not to have availed themselves of that knowledge. He deeply
regretted the course which some gentlemen with whom he generally acted
had taken on this matter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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