be
devised satisfactory to you to obtain your co-operation; and His
Excellency will keep his mind bent on that object, and will be happy to
hear any further suggestion from you with a view to its accomplishment.

Early in this month (February, 1844), Dr. Ryerson's appointment as
Superintendent of Education has been talked of. His brother John wrote
to him on the 6th of March, recalling the fact of that appointment
having been the subject of conversation with Sir Charles Bagot and some
members of the Cabinet in 1842. Rev. John Ryerson then went on to say:--

You know that when your appointment to the office of Superintendent
of Education was talked of in Toronto, in 1842, I was in favour of
your accepting the appointment. The appointment that was made I
thought a most unwise one, and the late Executive greatly lowered
themselves in making it. Whenever I have thought of the thing
since, I have felt disgusted with the late Government, that they
should have been guilty of such a shameful dereliction of duty and
honour as not, at least, to have offered the appointment to you.

In reply to this letter, Dr. Ryerson said:--

As liberal as the Council of Sir Charles Bagot were in many things,
they rejected the application of every Methodist candidate for office.
Making appointments upon the principles of party, they must be given
only to one of the party; a system of appointment which holds out a poor
prospect to the Methodist who makes religion first, and party not more
than second--especially when he may have as a rival candidate one who
makes party everything, and religion nothing.

To this letter Rev. John Ryerson replied:--

I am very well pleased with the idea of your being appointed to the
office of Superintendent of Education--an office for which, I
think, you are better qualified than any other person in the
Province, and an office in which you can be of more service to the
Church, and the country generally, than in any other way.... You
say the appointment is not political.... Yet, is it true, in point
of fact, that the appointment is not political?... Would any person
be continued in the office who would not support the Government for
the time being?... Did not Lord Sydenham create this office for the
very purpose of connecting the incumbent with the Government, and
did he not have you in his mind's eye when he influen