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ly good, would entitle him to that sum, it is quite clear that these gentlemen have furnished us with at least two cases of a gross waste of Government money; and that, however painful such a result might be to honest and hard-working parish priests, the New Code will work well if it reduces such schools to the rank of dame-schools, or closes them entirely until better attendance, or better teaching, or both, can be secured. The measure is not perfect; but it is an honest attempt in the right direction-the more honest, in that it confesses a failure in the past. It would be better even to accept it with all its faults than to go back to a system of which a Royal Commission has declared that the whole scheme of education was settled, that the schoolbooks were prepared, and, above all, that the teachers were trained, upon suppositions as to the age of the pupils, and the opportunities which would be afforded for in

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structing them, which the facts have not sustained."*

Least of all should this be looked. upon as a political or party question. We trust that Parliament will be prepared to meet, with as bold a front as they may, the ominous "reminder," that "a goodly portion of the 9000 certificated teachers are possessed of the elective franchise."+ For ourselves, we are content to accept the principle of the Minute as a symptom of "Conservative Reaction" in the Privy Council itself. "Stare super antiquas vias" might have been its motto. The chiefs of the Conservative party who have been the stanchest friends of public education Sir John Pakington, Lord Stanley, Mr Adderley, and many others have carefully abstained from anything like a condemnation of its principles, and have declared their intention of waiting, as we hope the country will, until they shall have been fairly explained and discussed in Parliament.

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CANADA-OUR FROZEN FRONTIER.

THE probability of a war with the Northern States of America makes us anxious to inquire what the condition of our colonies in that quarter of the globe is at present, and what assistance they may expect to receive from the mother country during the winter months.

Having passed a portion of last autumn in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Canada, we may perhaps be able to throw some light upon a subject which just now is one of great national interest.

Early in September, a conversation took place in our hearing on board one of those excellent steamers which ply between the rapids of St Anns-the scene of Moore's "Canadian Boat-song "-and the town of Ottawa, the new seat of

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ing the extension of railways in his own province.

A brandy cocktail, after a substantial and well-cooked dinner, had made them all just sufficiently communicative and tolerant to be both pleasant talkers and good listeners. CIVIS. "How beautiful this river is! When one looks at the gorgeous foliage on the banks, the settler dropping calmly but quickly down the stream in his canoe, and feels the soft, warm, clear air, one can hardly realise the fact that before three months are passed the broad rapid stream will be completely frozen over, the branches of the trees borne down with snow, and the inhabitants along the banks almost entirely without occupation." MERCATOR. "Yes; the lumbering is nearly over for this year now, and very few rafts will start from Ottawa after the first week in September."

CIVIS.-" When do the steamers discontinue running?"

MERCATOR." They knock off about the 20th of November, I am sorry to say, as I have shares in the company; and grumble extremely at our property being idle for full four months every year."

SENATOR. "You will have more reason, I fear, to complain of your profits in the timber-trade falling off this year than your dividend in the steamboat company."

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MERCATOR. "Yes; but our profits are pretty good most years, and we can afford to have a bad one in that trade now and then." CIVIS." Have the troubles in the States affected the timber-trade of Canada much?"

MERCATOR. "Yes, sir, enormously; and that is one of those things which you people in England forget when you tell us that we must take care of ourselves in matters of military defence. Peace with the States is essential for the prosperity of almost all trades in Canada, but especially the timbertrade. Anything that affects the quiet of the United States acts immediately upon our business, for I

can show by books of our own that we export as much to the United States every year as to Europe."

CIVIS." And what has been the falling off this year?

MERCATOR.-"With the United States we have done nothing; trade there has been so paralysed, and prices have been so low, that we could not deal with them, except at a loss, and have therefore preferred to keep our stock on hand."

MILES. "How unfair, then, it is for England to suppose that Canada can defend herself in case of war between Great Britain and America. Her whole frontier must bear the brunt of the battle whenever it comes; and, owing to her proximity to the foe, she must suffer in a far greater proportion than the mother country."

CIVIS.-"Suppose a war were to take place between the two nations upon a subject which did not directly affect the interests of Canada, what view do you think the Canadians would be likely to take of it?"

MERCATOR.-"I not only think, but know, that both provinces are as loyal as the county of Middlesex. We are proud of our connection with the old country. We send our children there to be educated when we can; we speak of it as 'home;' we cling to monarchical principles. When the Prince of Wales was here, he was received throughout the whole territory with an enthusiasm impossible to describe or overrate, in spite of occasional maladroit advice and consequent arrangements devoid of tact and good judgment. In the Upper Province of Canada there are many subjects upon which men differ, and concerning which there are continually angry disputes in the Legislature. In the Lower, the landtenure question being now settled,. there can scarcely be said to be onematter of public importance upon which the public mind is at all. agitated. Between the provinces: the question of representation, of course, is one that divides parties,. fills the newspapers with angry

arguments, and keeps up that unhappy feeling which their union was intended to obliterate, and which, in a great measure, it has allayed. But the people of both provinces believe that they have a better form of government than that which any foreign prince or president can offer them."

CIVIS." You hardly answer my question. If England was obliged to embark in a war with the United States, for the cause of which the colonies could in no way be held responsible, and the casus belli one that they were never asked their opinion upon, and were totally indifferent to, do you not think that the feelings of the Legislature would be to throw off a connection which made them obnoxious to their friends, without giving them the means of protecting themselves from their enemies?"

MERCATOR." You almost suppose an impossibility. America is not likely to go to war for any cause arising out of European disputes. But if she were to quarrel with you upon a question which affected England's honour, no matter how great our stake would be, or how little we had to do with the origin of the quarrel, we should prepare to defend our border with as much determination as if it were a question in which Canada alone was consulted and concerned."

SENATOR.-"I am not so sure about that. I believe the whole of the North American colonies would, if possible, on such an occasion, act as Mercator has described; but, in case of a sudden invasion in the winter season by a large army, they would very likely be driven to surrender, and would be obliged to make the best bargain they could for themselves."

MILES. "I don't fear that any disaster of that kind could happen, even with the limited number of troops which we now have on the continent. We could, even with these, defend some of the strong places and positions, while our militia would in a few weeks be

quite as numerous and well drilled as any soldiers that they would be likely to meet."

SENATOR.- "The loyalty of the people was sufficiently shown during the Crimean war, by their contributions to the Patriotic Fund, and during the Indian mutiny, by the raising of the 100th regiment; and I believe nothing short of insult from the mother country will eradicate the feeling of devotion to England and England's honour, that universally pervades all classes in our colonies. At the same time, I hold it to be the plain duty of England, under existing circumstances, to keep many more troops on this continent than she has hitherto done. Look at the frontier we have to defend. From Detroit to the River St John is more than nine hundred miles, and thence to the Bay of Fundy is more than three hundred."

CIVIS. "You don't propose that this should all be placed in a state of defence?"

SENATOR.- "Certainly not; such a thing would be impossible, of course; but I mention it to show our vulnerability. If a trouble were to arise suddenly, we could only do as Lord Seaton did in 1837

concentrate our forces, form magazines, and organise our militia."

CIVIS.-"For my own part, I do not see that much ultimate harm would ensue if a lodgment were made in Canada during the winter months by a force from the United States. It would be impossible for them to penetrate far into the interior. The absence of roads, the nature of the country, and the severity of the climate, would prevent them from making any way.'

SENATOR.-"I hope that is not the opinion of English statesmen at home. It is true that the loyalty of the inhabitants of Canada would render it almost impossible for the hostile army to penetrate far; but the efforts made by the inhabitants, which alone would prevent a successful invasion, would be founded upon the conviction that they might

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