Excerpt from Documentary History of Education in Upper Canada, Vol. 17: From the Passing of the Constitutional Act of 1791 to the Close of the Reverend Doctor Ryerson's Administration of the Education Department in 1876

During the years 1860-1863, two educational subjects absorbed a large share of public attention, and led to a good deal of discussion both in the Legislature and in the public press. The more important of these subjects was that dealing with the constitution and administration of the University of Toronto, and its alleged extravagant expenditure of the University Endowment, The agitation on these subjects, which commenced in 1860, culminated in 1863, in regard to Separate Schools, in the passage of a comprehensive measure, restoring certain Rights to the Supporters of these Schools, - the main principles of which were afterwards embodied in the Confederation Act of 1867.

The University Question, being a much more difficult subject to deal with, was first referred to a Select Committee of the House of Assembly, which, not being able to agree upon a Report, the Government commissioned three persons, representing the three Universities of Toronto, Victoria and Queen's, to inquire fully into the whole question, and report to it the result of their investigations.

In the comprehensive Report of the Commissioners, they recommended that each of the outlying Colleges and University College be affiliated to the University of Toronto, - henceforth to be known as the University of Upper Canada, - that a general University Board be constituted, consisting of members of the University and of each of the affiliated Colleges, which Board should agree upon an enlarged Curriculum and should fix the terms and conditions upon which Scholarships, Honours, and Degrees would be granted. It was further recommended by the Commissioners, that each of the affiliated Colleges should receive a fixed yearly grant, the amount to be determined by a Statute of the Legislature.

As these recommendations of the Commissioners were considered too liberal and comprehensive by certain graduates and adherents of the Toronto University, so far as the outlying Colleges were concerned, they combined together to resist the proposed mode of settling the University Question. A public meeting of protest was held in Toronto; and, having secured the appointment to the Senate of the University of some of those who took part in the meeting of protest, they submitted to the Senate a Series of Resolutions, condemning the Report, and censuring the Commissioners for having exceeded their alleged powers in the recommendations which they had made.

These Resolutions would have been adopted, were it not that the Attorney General, the Honourable J. S. Macdonald, interposed his veto, and informed the Senate that the University Statute gave them no power whatever to deal with a Report which the Government had directed its Commissioner, acting under the visitatorial powers of the Governor-General, to make direct to itself.

The proceedings, in regard to these two leading educational questions of the day, are given in full detail in this Volume.

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