1
THE NEWFOUNDLADNER.
St. John's, Monday, May 1, 1865.
TUESDAY, March 6.
The house met at three o'clock.
Mr. EVANS presented a petition from James Harvey
and others, of Burin, which was received and read,
praying that he may be compensated for making a road
there.
Ordered that the petition lie on the table.
The
SURVEYOR GENERAL presented a petition from
David Candow and others, of King's Cove and settlements
adjacent, which was received and read, praying for a grant
to complete the road between that settlement and
Bonavista.
Ordered that the petition lie on the table.
Mr. GLEN presented a petition from Robert Raymond
and other, of the Goulds, which was received and
read, praying for a grant to open a road to Shoal Bay.
Ordered that the petition lie on the table.
Mr. GLEN also presented a petition from John H.
McKie, of Bay Bulls, which was received and read setting forth that he had filled
the office of Stipendiary
Magistrate and Preventive Officer of Customs at that
place, for the last 53 years, and praying for a retiring
allowance sufficient to support him in his old age.
Mr. GLEN, in moving that the petition lie on the
table, would observe that he believed that the claims of
the petitioner to liberal consideration would be recognized on both sides of the house.
He was now eighty-one
years of age, and had served the colony for fifty-three
years, and there never was a complaint of the manner
in which he discharged his duties. He found it necessary, on account of his increasing
infirmities, to resign
his offire some months ago, and the Government granted
him tile usual allowance of half salary, on his retirement, being £75 a year; which
was the same as was
given to other retiring magistrates who had been only 7
or 8 years in office. The Goverment however, consented
to the matter being brought before the house, that his
claim to an increased allowance, on account of his long
services, might he considered by hon members. He
(Mr. Glen) intended to propose in committee on supply,
that the retiring allowance be made £100 a year, with
which the petitioner would be perfectly satisfied.
Mr. E. D. SHEA.—The manner in which that claim
came before the house entitled it to the most favourable
consideration by hon members on both sides. The petitioner had spent a long life in
the public service. He
had given great satisfaction, and his character for integrity stood high; and while
the government, adopted the
usual course in the matter, they marked their appreciation by suggesting that his
claim should be brought before the house for special consideration. He (Mr. Shea)
was satisfied hon members on both sides of the house
would readily assent to the very moderate increase
which would be proposed, that the retiring allowance to
their venerable gentleman be increased from £75 to £100
a year.
Mr. A. SHEA fully agreed in all that had been said
respecting the services of the petitioner. He had known
that gentleman for many years, and he would only observe that his conduct publicly
and privately had secured him the respect of all to whom he was known. He
had given the country the service of a long life, and he
(Mr. Shea) had no doubt that house would take the same
view of the case as the government had done; that his
long services fully entitled him to the very moderate incrense of his retiring allowance
suggested by the hon
member who presented the petition. In the appointment
of the gentleman who succeeded him, the government
had selected a worthy man an old and respectable resident; and it was highly creditable
to them to have selected for the office a gentleman so eminently qualified,
Ordered that the petition lie on the table.
Mr. LEAMON presented a petition from Edward
O'Keefe and others, of Brigus, which was received and
road, praying for a grant to erect a public wharf there.
Mr. LEAMON, in moving that the petition lie on the
table, would observe that it was on a subject of great
importance to the community. All the wharves at Brigus were owned by private parties;
mostly by planters,
who did not care to have them made use of for the public
accommodation; and in the fall of the year especially,
much inconvenience was experienced when the Conception Bay Steamer arrived, in landing
and embarking
passengers and goods.
Ordered that the petition lie on the table.
The
SURVEYOR GENERAL presented a petition from
Samuel Evans and others, of Greenspond, which was
received and read, praying for a grant to build a bridge
between that Island and Ship Island; also a petition
from John White and others, of Greenspond, which was
received and read, praying that no further grant be made
to construct the bridge between that Island and Ship
Island.
Mr. WYATT had great pleasure in supporting the
prayer of the latter of these petitions. The former he
would oppose, as the bridge prayed for would ruin the
harbor, if erected.
Ordered that these petitions lie on the table.
Mr. E. D. SHEA presented a petition from Michael
Hayes and others, of Brigus South, which was received
and read, praying for a grant to repair the bridge to the
Island there.
Ordered that the petition lie on the table.
Dr. WINTER presented petitions from James Verge
and others, of Trinity, from Michael Murphy and others,
of Trinity Harbor, from A. H. Cole and others, of
British Harbor, from James Werge and others, of Plate
Cove, from A. W. Bremner and others, Trinity South
Side, and from Thomas Lawler and others, of British
Harbor, whicn were severally received and read, praying for grants to repair and complete
roads in these
localities.
Ordered that these petitions lie on the table.
Mr. WINTER also presented a petition from B. Sweetland and others, of King's Cove,
which was received and
read, praying for the appointment of a keeper of the
half-way house between Trinity and King's Cove; also
a petition from Alexander Bremner and others, Conmissioners of the public wharf at
Catalina, which was
received and read, praying for an additional grant for its
competion.
Ordered that these petitions lie on the table.
Dr. WINTER gave notice that, on to-morrow he would
move an address to his Excellency the Governor in
Council, on the petition from the Commissioners for the
erection of a public wharf at Catalina; also that he would
ask the Surveyor General to lay before the house an
estimate of the expense of erecting a bleakwater at
Grates Cove.
Mr. LEAMON gave notice that he would, on to-morrow,
move an address to his Excellency the Governor on the
petition of the inhabitants of Brigus, for a grant to erect
a
[?] wharf there.
The hun Acting Colonial Secretary, by command of
his Excellency, the Governor, presented to the house the
report of the Board of Works for the year 1864, with
accompanying documents relating to the various services
under control of the Board.
Ordered that these documents lie on the table.
2
THE NEWFOUNDLANDER.
Mr. KENT presented a petition from John O'Connor and others, Roman Catholic inhabitants of
Carbonear, which was received and read, setting forth,
that petitioners, during the last twenty-two years, had
a majority in the Board of Commissioners of the Carbonear Grammar School, that whenever
a vacancy ocurred in the said Board, by the death or resignation
of any member, the Government heretofore always
observed the rule of giving the Roman Catholis a
Preponderating influence, according to the well understood intention of the Legislature
when the law for
establishinent of the said Institution was enacted; that
petitioners are aware that in the month of January,
1864, the surviving members of the Board applied to
the then Governor in Council, to fill the places at the
Board vacant by the death of Joseph Ryan, Esq., a
Roman Catholic, William Bemister, Esq., a Protestant, and Richard McCarthy, a Catholic;
and as no
reply was received to the application, and as a recent
appointment of two Protestants has been made, without any reference to the existing
members of the
Board, thereby giving the Protestants a prepoaderance
in the management of the school, petitioners beg
leave to state that the regard they said appointment as
an infringement of their rights as Roman Catholics;
and praying that that the house would adopt such
measures as they may deem fit, to reinstate petitioners in the rights and priivileges
which they so long
enjoyed in the management of the Carbonear Grammar School.
Mr. KENT, in moving that the petition lie on the
table, said it related to a subject which he had fancied
had been definitely settled a quarter of a century ago.
The complaint which he had now to make to the
house, and to which that petition referred, was occasioned by religious dissensions,
and he, therefore, regretted that he was the medium of the matter being
placed before the country, more particularly now at a
period of our history when it was hoped that all religious discord in educational
subjects had
been done
away with, and when we were all to be sent about our
business, and to appeal to the country in order to
secure a fresh return. He (Mr. K.) thought that at a
period like this the Ministry ought to be particularly
cautious not to impress the mind of the country that
they were acting with feelings of partiality towards
one class—a course which must tend to the spread of
acrimonious feelings and religious dissensions. He
(Mr. K) regretted it more particularly at this time,
when we are going to lose the services of the talented
leader of the Government. For he (Mr. K) fully
believed that if the hon Attorney General hid been
made acquainted with the circumstances of this case,
and the cause of this complaint, he would very soon
have checked the sectarian tendencies of those by
whom he was surrounded. In 1843, Mr. Barnes, in
moving the second reading of the Education Bill,
quoted the following protests of the Roman Citnolics
and Protestants on the system that at the time exist-
"As His Excellency is well aware, the cause of conficting opinions in Ireland was,
as long as the system
of which the foregoing resolution is in substance the
same, and formerly adopted by the Kildare Street Society, in Schools, and we are sure
His Excellency is
aware that we, professing the Roman Catholic religion
cannot countenance or support a system which has
been condemned, not only by the superiors of the
Irish Catholic Church, but by his Most Gracious Majesty's enightened Government.
"We must further submit to Hs Excellency's superior judgment the situation the foregoing
resolution
will place us in as Roman Catholios, and waich we are
sure he will see that we have no aftemative left, if he
should be pleased to accept our resignation, as we
would not conscientiously remain as members of a
Board of Education whose object is to divert the public moneys granted for elementary
education, into religious or sectarian purposes.
"We beg also to inform. His Excellency that prior
to the passing of this resolution, we repeatedly and
solemnly told the Board, that if they adopted it, we
had no alternative left but to request His Excellency
would be pleased to withdraw his approvol of the same
thereby preventing it from becoming a Bye-law, or if
he should approve of it, to accept our resignations, and
which solicitations appeared to be quite useless, and
which was the cause of our withdrawal from the Board
before the conclusion of the meeting.
"We are quite satisfied His Excellency will view
our conduct in a favoravle light, in withdrawing from
a Board that cannot have our support, if such a line of
policy is continued; but, on the contrary, must be
conscientiously discouraged by us.
We have, &c.,
| (Signed) |
DENIS MACKIN, |
|
CHARLES DALTON, |
|
PETER BROWN, |
|
JAMES POWER, |
"Under those circumstances, we, the only Protestant members present at the meeting,
have found it impracticable to perform the important duties assigned to
us. And therefore beg leave, as the only alternative,
to tender to His Excellency the Governor, our resignation and to lament the existence
of a law that prevents us the free exercise of our judgment upon a
measure involving the best interests of the community.
We have, &c.,
| (Signed) |
BURT, Episcopal Missionary, |
|
J. PICKAVAUT, Wesleyan Missionary, |
|
THOMAS RIDLEY, |
|
JOHN STARK, |
|
WILLIAM STERLING. |
The Honorable the Colonial Secretary.'
The Education Act of 1863 put an end to all these
sectarian disputes, and its provisions had been found
to be so fair, so equitable, and so just, that the educational vote had always been
granted without one
word of complaint being offered. The two Grammar
Schools in the district of Conception Bay, at Harbor
Grace and Carbonear, had been established for the
purpose of giving a superior education to the youth of
the higher classes, and at the time of the passing of
the Bills, there was a tacit understanding that the majority of the Board of Commissioners
of Harbour
Grace should be Protestant, and that in Carbonear,
where the majority of the people were Catholics, the
Board should nave a Catholic najority. Throughout
the past twenty-one years, through different forms
and classes of governments, this rule had been strictly
followed, until now, for the first time, that it has been
changed. Now what has there been to justify this? If
the Protestants of Carbonear felt aggrieved at the
conduct of the Directors there, they could send their
children to Harbor Grace, as the Catholics of Harbour
Grace could send their children to Carbonear. It had
been stated that a petition had been sent in to His
Excellency the Governor, a few days ago. He (Mr.
K.) would ask whether it had been prevented? Had
it been suppressed? He appealed to the hon Attorney General, whether he was to receive
an answer or
not?
Mr. KENT —When the character of the Government
was affected by this question, was it possible that they
would get rid of answering on a mere matter of form?
What he said was that these parties stated that a petition was sent to his Excellency
the Governor, and was
he (Mr K) to let it so abroad, that the present Government, in order to carry out
their own section
views, had that petition suppressed? Why were these
vacancies in the Board not filled up immediately?
What necessity was there to leave it without a quosrum for twelve months, unless there
had been some
sectarian conspiracy to change the character of the
School? What satisfactory answer could the Government give the country relative to
this movement?
Four of the Board there, being a quorum, appoint a
teacher. The Government wait until he is appointed,
and then they appoint two Protestant Directors to the
Board. The Chairman, who had resigned, resumes
his place, and actually questions the legality of the act
of the Board, the incompleteness of which was itself
occastioned by the remissness of the Government.
Look, then, at the manner in which the Government
endeavored to throw the odium of their act upon the
Governor. Since the introduction of Responsible
Government, all appointments were made by his Excellency in Council. Did they wish
to escape from
the turnitude of their proceeding by throwing the responsibility in this case upon
his Excellency? (The
hon. gentleman here read the form of announcement in
the
Gazette) It there was any mismanagement of the
school, why was it not properly remedied? Why was
not the teacher dismissed? He (Mr. K.) contended
that perfect faith should be kept with the people of
Carbonear, and no act should be permitted to derange
what existed for a quarter of a century. Now, he
would ask the Attorney General to allow that nomination of the teacher to continue.
Would he, in the
eleventh hour, and when we were on the eve of a general election, allow that good
faith to be violated
which had existed so long? Now that he was going
to retire from politicil life, would he not preserve the
rights of the Catholics, not only of Carbonear, but of
the whole country?
The
hon. ATTORNEY GENERAL sincerely deprecated
in common with the hon member for St. John's East,
Mr Kent, the existence of any sectarian feeling, whether in the district of Conception
Bay or elsewhere.
He must say, however, that in his humble judgment,
if any such feelings were produced they could only be
attributed to hon member, Mr Kent, and his somewhat unreasonable pretensions. That
Grammar school
at Carbonear had been a reproach to that town for
years, and a constant source of trouble and annoyance
to the Government. Constant complaints had been
made as to the total inefficiency and worthlessness of
that school, and that the money which was expended
was entirely thrown away. It was not agreeable to be
compelled to say anything that would reflect on the
character of the dead, but it was absolately necessary
that under certain circumstances the truth should not
be coucealed. It was a notorious fact that for years
that school had been in such a condition, owing to the
conduct of the Principal, that few persons sent their
children to it. In fact the money given for its Support, was merely for the education
of two or three
pupils who attended. Now hon gentlemen knew this
to be true, and also that one denomination had, at
their own expense, to provide a school, so that their
children might not be deprived of the benefit of education. Not only was that notorious,
but it had come
before the Legislature last session when a petition
was presented to the House praying that an enquiry
should be had into the working of that Grammar
School. A similar petition had been presented to the
Government, who directed an enquiry to be made, but
which led to no satisfactory result. It seemed that
the Commissioners, or a majority of them, were disposed to uphold the all condition
of affairs, and so the
school continued to be a reproach to the Board of
Directors. Now in his (hon A Gen's) opinion, it made
to difference who these Directors were. Whether
they were Protestant or Catholic they should have
made some effort to place the school in some state of
efficiency. Things continued this way until the death
of the late Master of the school, when it was considered that a fitting opportunity
had arrived to place the
school under proper management. The Consequence
was that one party made application for the appointment of two Roman Catholic Directors,
another for
two Protestants, while a third party applied to have
the grant divided, and to put an end to the difficulty,
without giving any cause of dissatisfactoin to either
party. Under these circumstances, and seeing these
conflicting opinions, the Government would not act in
the matter, and addressed a letter to the Commissioners, telling them to do nothing
until the subject was
brought before the Legislature, unless the people of
Carbonear so settled it themselves as to enable the
Government to deal with it satisfactorily to all parties.
Recently, however, the Board, acting in direct opposition, to the orders of the Government,
appointed a
teacher from one of the Common Board schools without showing any regard to the wishes
of these who
were as much interested in the welfare and efficiency
of the school as themselves. The information which
the Government had of this proceeding was communicated to them by the Chairman of
the Board. He
was requested to call a meeting relative to the quarter's salary that was due the
late master, and after
that had been settled they suddenly proposed to him
that he should resign. He was taken by surprise, and
they passed a vote depriving him of his position as
Chairman, and immediately proceeded to appoint another master. The Chairman having
recovered from
his surprise, and refused to contenance their proceedings, declined remaining any
longer at the meeting.
Notwithstanding this, the three other gentlemen, in
defiance of law appointed this master and regularly
installed him in office. When this was reported to the
Government they wrote to Carbonear stating that
such proceedings could not be countenanced, and in
order to prevent similar occurrences until the matter
could be fully considered and disposed of by the Legislature, two persons were appointed
to fill up the
vacaicies in the Board, one being an official of the
Government in whom they had perfect confidence.
These then were the proceedings which the Goverment adopted, and which they were quite
prepared to
defend and justify, and of which they were ready to
take the responsibility. The hon member, Mr Kent,
had presented a petition from the Roman Catholics of
Carbonear. That however was but one side of the
story. No doubt now the Protestants, seeing what
was done, should
[?] themselves,and we would have
a petition from then stating their views in the matter.
If any sectarian strive on any way resulted from the
occurrences, it would be produced by the curious observations of the hon member, and
the unreasonable
previsions of the petitioners. It mignt be true that
the majority of the population of Carbonear weee
Roman Catholic at the
[?] this school was established; but he (hon A Gen) had yet to learn that
when that majority was changed, the Board should not
be hanged with them. His
[?] of the matter was,
that when this school was established there was a
majority of Roman Catholics in the population of Carbonear, and consequently here
was a majority on the
Board. The same principle was recognised at Harbour
Grace where the circumstances were the reverse and
the Protestants had the majority when the Grammar
School was established. But if in the course of time
the majority came to be the other way, he regarded
the principle that governed all these things as applicable to a Board, the Protestants
having the majority
and consequently the largest interest in the effciency
of the school, should have the majority on the Board
alos. Would it not be manifestly unfair and unjust
that if the Roman Catholics so decreased that only
one or two of their children attended this school, they
should
[?] by their majority retain the control and
management of it? The school was for the benefit of
the community, which was clearly shewn by the fact
that the Board was a general one. But the appointment was not made so much on that
accounts as to
prevent this Board from any further intermeddling
with the school till the matter was settled by the Legislature. The hon member, Mr
Kent, says that by
the Act one of these schools was to be Protestant and
the other Catholic, and that a tacit understanding
was entered into to that effect. He (hon Attorney
General) could not agree to any such tacit understanding. With whom and by whom had
it been
made? It did not appear on the record, and therefore
it could not be taken into consideration. The hon
member must also consider that other people have
rights to conserve as well as the class he represents;
and they would not readily yield them. The government were only desirous of occupying
a neutral position and of doing equal justice to both parties. He
was glad that some action was taken so that the matter
might be fairly considered and disposed of.
Mr. RORKE regretted that the hon member for St.
John's East, Mr. Kent, should have imparted anything of a sectarian character to the
question before
the house; indeed, from the tone and temper of the
hon member, it was evident that his feelings on that
question were of a vindictive nature. He (Mr. R) had
no intention of following such a course; but would
merely state what had occurred on the establishment
of the Carbonear Grammar School in 1843. He had
a conversation with Mr Munn, who was at that time
a member of the Legislature, and, he had told him
(Mr R.) that there had been a tacit understanding
that, as the majority of the people in Harbor Grace
were Protestants, they should have a Protestant majority in the Board of Directors
of their school, and as
the majority of the population in Carbonear were
Roman Catholics, the same principle would be alopted
there, and the majority on the Board would be Roman
Catholics. But he (Mr. R) did not, neither did Mr
Munn, understand that such an arrangement was to
be binding upon them for all time to come, no matter
how the relative numbers of the several Religious
denominations might have changed. If the Protestants in Carbonear now were in the
majority, they
should certainly not be governed by a Catholic majority on the Board of Directors
of that school. The
hon member, Mr Kent, had stated that this institution
had worked harmoniously. He (Mr. R) must correct
that statement. He had been one of the Directors of
this school, and when the first meeting was held to
take into consideration the appointment of a Master,
the Board found that the Rev. Mr. Gleeson had
already entered into an agreement with the late Mr.
O'Donovan for the office. Mr O'Donovan arrived and
the school went on very well until it was found necessary to apply some of the fees
to the repairs of the
School house and other incidental expenses, and then
there was found an unwillingness on the part of Mr.
Hanrahan, to state what the arrangement was that
had been entered into with the Principal. It then
came out that the Directors had no control over the
fees, as they had been guaranteed to the Master. This
difficulty always arose at the meetings of the Board,
when it was found necessary to make any repairs or
additions to the School house. They found that instead of their being the masters
of the Principal, he
was theirs and that they were unable to exercise any
control over him. Mr. O'Donovan was a man of
considerable attachments, was well qualified for the
office of teacher, and everything went on satisfactorily
for about ten years. He (Mr. R) had resigned his
office as Director, as soon as he saw that the Board
were powerless. The School had declined rapidly
until not more than two or three children attended it.
It was very natural, then, for the Protestants of the
district to feel themselves aggrieved. Yet they remined silent, fearing that they
would be changed with
indulging in sectarian feelings which the hon member,
Mr. Kent, had imputed to them. It was only within
the past two or three years that they had petitioned
this House. He (Mr. K) had presented two petitions
on this subject before and he had now another. The
Petition which he now held in his hand showed a
desire on the part of the Protestants to prevent any
further ill feeling, by having the grant divided. He
did not see anything particular in the selection of this
session for making this application. The circumstances of this institution had forced
it upon the inhabitants of Carbonear, to do something to remedy
the evil, that existed. They were determined to
have their rights, and would fearlessly insist upon
them.
Mr. A. SHEA fully participated in the feelings of
regret expressed by the hon member for St. John's
East, Mr. Kent, at the introduction of a question
calculated to call up those animosities and dissntions
which we ought all to endeavour to repress. He had
listened very attentively to the observations of the hon
Attorney General and of the hon member for Carbonear, Mr. Rorke; but he could not
see that they had
in any way made out a justification for the course
which had been pursued. The hon Attorney General
first justified the course that had been followed by
saying that the majority on the population of Carbonear were now Protestants. How
was that ascertained?
Certainly not by the last census, if it was discovered
then, why was not this change effected at that time,
and why did the Government wait for this convenient
opportunity to carry out their views? The hon member, Mr Kent, had put the matter
very fairly, when
he stated that these schools in Harbor Grace and
Carbonear had been intended as an offset to each other,
and that the arrangement was not based upon the
small and narrow grounds that were now suggested.
In order to get out of this difficulty, hon gentlemen
would now endeavour to divide the grant. Were they
prepared to divide the grant in Harbour Grace, or the
general grant throughout the Island? Did they
imagine they could stop here, after accomplishing a
certain work to suit their own purposes? Of all men
he was surprised to hear this proposal from the hon
member for Carbonear, Mr. Rorke. We all knew what
was the state of society in the district of Conception
Bay, a few years back. Did hon gentlemen wish, by
pursuing such a course of conduct as they had commenced, to call again into existence
there sectarian
animosities, especially at a period like this, when we
all had hoped that they had been buried for ever?
This legislation would make the Roman Catholics feel
that they were d prived of their rights. The effect of
such proceedings on the general welfare, the peace of
society, and good governement, ought not to be overlooked. Upon a sensitive point
like this, the Government should be careful to avoid any intermedlling;
for the effect of it would be to destroy the interests of
Roman Catholic's, so far as the education of their
children was concerned, and the natural result would
be to produce a very extensive feeling of distrust and
uneasiness on the part of the people. If an incomplete
man had been placed in that school, his place should
have been supplied by a properly qualified Master. Had
the government any gratitude now that they would
get an efficient teacher? Injustice is done to us, and
yet we are told that we are the cause of it. He (Mr
S.) knew that some parties had their mind fixed on
this subject for some time past. The hon member,
Mr Rorke, had been influenced by those whose designs no right thinking man would countenance.
Would there be no others who would sympathise
with the people of Carbonear on this act of injustice?
You desire now to entirely change the character of the
school, and make it so that the Roman Catholics of
Carbonear can feel no possible interest in it. This was
not the way to remedy the evil.Is it because there had
been a slight change in the population, the denominational character of this School
was to be changed?
Supposing another change took place to-morrow, was
this institution to be a bone of contention for ever. The
Board in Harbor Grace was constituted on the same
principle; and we never had any complaint of its working. It would have been easy
to have remedied this matter leaving unchanged the character of the school. He
(Mr. S.) feared that the consequences of legislation
would have a range far beyond what was contemplated, and might have a great effect
upon the next election. If the Roman Catholics of Carbonear felt that
they were to be ostracised in this way, and excluded
from the privledges they were enjoying, there could
be no doubt but that it would be attended with serious
consequences all over the Bay. The people could not
tamely submit to such palpable injustice. Depend
upon it, the Roman Catholics of Conception Bay were
not put down yet. They may make an attempt to
gain back what they have lost. He (Mr. S.) was
speaking the language of society and reason, and
hoped hon gentlemen would sell and seriously consider the matter, and not sow the
seeds of religious
animosity among the people.
Mr. RORKE did not see any force in the remarks
of the hon member of Placentia and St. Mary's,
Mr. Shea. He says that the Roman Catholics are
only asking for their rights. Well, that was all that
the Protestants were looking for, on thier part. There
was a Grammar,school in Carbonear, and a sum of
£200 was annually paid for its support, and yet the
Protestant part of this community recieved no benefit
from it. Was that a state of things that should be
permitted to continue? There was no other way to
remedy the evil than dividing the grant.
The hon RECEIVER GENERAL thought that much
irrelevant matter had been intriduced into that discussion. No one was better acquired
with the state
of things that existed in Carbonear relative to the
Garmmar school than he was himself except the hon
member, Mr. Rorke. He (hon R. Gen) saw no
way in which these sectarian feelings and animosities
which the hon member, Mr. Shea, had referred to,
could be prevented, but by dividing the grant. The
house had had petitions presented to it, praying for a
division of the grant, as the school had become
wholly inoperative, and the money that was granted
for its support was entirely thrown away. He (hon.
R. Gen) did not see that the Roman Catholic interest would be injuriously affected
by their being in the
minority on the Board, any more than the Protestants would be if placed in a similar
position. He
conceived that the people had only to blame themselves for the present state of the
school. He did
not think that the threats of the hon member for
Placentia and St. Mary's were in wery good taste.
The Protestants of Conception Bay knew how to
insist upon what they considered to be their rights
as well as the Roman Catholics; and they would not
permit an insult to pass unnoticed. He (hon R Gen)
had some acquantance with the working of that Grammar school. For years it had been
an abortion. Both
the Protestants and Roman Catholics had been dissatisfied with it, and were desirous
of remedying the
evils which they saw existed; and recently the Protestants had employed a Master of
their own, at a
salary of £100 a year.—He had yet to learn that this
school was to be regarded in a different light from a
Commercial school. He was always impressed with
the view that they were upon the same basis.–During
the past twenty or thirty years there had been an inmmense change in the population
of Carbonear. There
had been a considerable decrease in the number of
Roman Catholics, and a large, increase among the
Protestants. What was right in 1843, would not be
regarded as right or just in 1865. The hon member
for St. John's East, Mr. Kent says the Carbonear
school, was established as an offset to the one at Harbour Grace, and that the arragenment
must be satisfactory to both towns. What could be more absurd
than to suppose a Protestant youth gang from Carbonear to Harbor Grace, and a Catholic
youth from
Harbor Grace to Carbonear, to attend school? As the
Protestants were in the majority at Carbonear, it was
only right they should have the majority on the Board
of that Grammar School. The division of the grant
was certainly the best way to put an end to the difficulty. In his (hon R. General's)
opinion, nine tenths
of the people of Carbonear, not only would agree to
it, but strongly desired it. It was the hon member,
Mr. Kent, and his friends, who were endeavoring to
raise a sectarian feeling. But he (hon Receiver General) felt assured that if any
possible mischief resulted from their doing so, the Protestants of Carbonear
were well able to take care of themselves. He, however, did not, in any way, anticipate
that the peace
and harmony of the own would be affected by this
Grammar school grant being divided.
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