desire that British Columbia should be admitted into the Canadian Confederation. And on the 19th March, at a large public meeting in Victoria, Vancouver Island, resolutions were adopted urging that steps should be immediately taken for the furtherance of the wishes of the colony in that direction.

During the summer of 1866 the colonies who had pronounced in favour of confederation made arrangements for the meeting of a conference of delegates from the several provinces to settle the details and determine the precise terms of the Act giving effect to the union of the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, which should be submitted for adoption by the Imperial Parliament. The several Governments duly appointed delegates, and these gentlemen met, according to the appointment, in London, early in December 1866, and immediately proceeded to business. The Hon. John A. Macdonald was elected chairman by the unanimous voice of the conference, and for several weeks they were engaged late and early in their arduous task of framing a nation's constitution. Lord Carnarvon afterwards bore testimony to the statesmanlike qualities which were displayed in the settlement of sectional difficulties, the unravelling of knotty points, the mutual forbearance and the zeal and assiduity displayed during the prolonged sittings of the conference.

The Imperial Parliament met on the 5th of February 1867. On the 7th the Bill for the Confederation of the North American Provinces was introduced into the House of Lords by Lord Carnarvon, the then Colonial Secretary, and was received with approbation by all parties. On the 19th it was read a second time, was passed through Committee of the whole House on the 22d, and on the 26th February was read a third time. It was at once brought down to the House of Commons, and on the 28th

February was moved to a second reading. After a long and interesting debate, during which no member of any prominence, with the exception of Mr. Bright, opposed the measure, the motion was agreed to without a division. It passed through Committee of the whole House on the 4th of March, and was read a third time and finally passed the House of Commons on the 8th of March. On the 28th of that month it received the royal assent and became one of the laws of the empire. The name chosen for the united provinces was "The Dominion of Canada," Upper Canada to be henceforth called Ontario and Lower Canada Quebec.

The work of legislation being finally completed, Her Majesty was graciously pleased to issue her proclamation on the 22d of May, declaring that the Dominion of Canada should commence its existence on the 1st of July 1867, and appointing the members of the Senate.

By this proclamation the two provinces of old Canada, now designated Ontario and Quebec, were united with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick under the name of the Dominion of Canada. On the 15th July 1870 the vast territories in the occupation of the Hudson Bay Company were incorporated with the Dominion, which extinguished the title of the Company by a considerable payment, and assumed the formal Imperial responsibilities attendant on the management and control of the numerous Indian tribes of the interior. On the 20th July 1871 British Columbia entered the Confederation, and on the 1st July 1873 Prince Edward Island joined her sister provinces, thus finally completing the consolidation under one Federal Parliament and Government of the entire British possessions in North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, with the single exception of the island. of Newfoundland, which thus far has maintained its separate political existence.

Under this Act the complete control of everything pertaining to their internal affairs was conferred upon the people, subject only to their allegiance to a common sovereign, and their duties as members of the British Empire. These powers are exercised under the Federal system, by which the united Parliament, consisting of the Governor-General as the representative of the Queen, with the Senate and House of Commons, enact all the laws in which the public at large may be said to have a common interest, such as trade and commerce, navigation, fisheries, indirect and direct taxation, postage, criminal law, and the establishment of a suitable government for the vast regions of the interior.

Under the United States system the Central Government is the delegate of the sovereign States, whilst under the Canadian Confederation the Imperial Government is supreme, and has delegated to the Dominion and Provincial Parliaments a limited sovereignty, with control in the departments entrusted to them respectively.

It was feared that the heavy strain put on the American constitution by the late civil war would have been fatal to their system. The Central Government, however, maintains the national existence, and the United States developed astonishing recuperative power. The opponents of Canadian confederation objected to what they assumed to be excessive powers conferred on the Central Government as tending to prejudice provincial interests. So far no inconvenience has been felt on this point; and whilst the older nations of Europe are watching with interest these two systems of confederation, the people of Canada feel assured of the fitness of their system to the wants of the country, and rejoice in what they enjoy, namely, actual independence, a responsible government under their own control, and a close and loyal alliance with the British Empire.

CHAPTER XVI.

EDUCATION.

CANADA offers a fair and free education to all who attend her public schools; a higher education in her grammar schools at a trifling cost; and the highest education in arts, sciences, and professions in her universities at a very moderate expense. Military engineering and science are taught at the Military College, Kingston, open to all British subjects who pass the prescribed competitive examination of this Canadian Woolwich.

Agricultural colleges, combining a sound literary education with practical agriculture, and almost free of cost, train the youth of the country to agriculture, and have been established in the Provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. The higher education of women is not neglected, and separate colleges or special courses with graduation have been adopted in some of the EnglishCanadian universities. Free schools of art and design, in connection with industrial pursuits, as well as an academy for the cultivation of the higher branches of art, are in active operation. Even the blind and mute have at their service the means of education devised for their benefit by philanthropists; and when to this list is added the several organisations for education in technical branches, and the private seminaries and schools which abound throughout the land, Canada may be said to afford educational advantages equal to any country in the world.

In the Provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba, the denominational system obtains in the public schools, the rights of universities being protected under the Confederation Act, so that a certain number, constituting a minority, may establish a separate school, and apply their rates exclusively to its support. Each public school receives from the Government of the province an annual grant, on the basis of the average attendance.

In New Brunswick, and in Prince Edward Island, provision was omitted under the Confederation Act for separate schools, which has caused dissatisfaction on the part of the minority of Roman Catholics, but will probably be remedied by legislation.

The Province of Ontario ranks first in primary instruction, not only in Canada, but in the world, as the attendance of scholars in her public schools has reached 23 per cent of the total population, the highest per centage ever attained in any country.

Under the Ontario Education Acts all public schools are free, and the gradation from primary or common schools to grammar schools and collegiate institutes, with the university in perspective, is by competitive public examination.

Every child from 7 to 12 years of age has the right to attend school for four months in the year, and a penalty is imposed on parents or guardians neglecting this provision.

Pupils are not required to observe religious exercises objected to by their parents, but they may receive such religious instruction as their parents desire.

Religious education does, however, receive equal care and attention with secular education in Canada. Apart from the several churches, Sunday schools for the young and training schools for Sunday school teachers are a