y rejoiced than Mr. Cameron at the repeal of the Act of
1849, and no man has more cordially supported the present system, or
more frankly and earnestly commended the course I have pursued.[135]

The letter to Mr. Baldwin was written on the 14th July, 1849. Speaking
of it, Dr. Ryerson said:--

In the former part of that letter I stated the circumstances under which
the Act of 1849 had passed, and the fact that my remonstrance against it
had not been even read. I then stated what I considered insuperable
objections to it. I will quote part of my eighth and tenth
objections:--the former relating to the exclusion of ministers as
school visitors--the latter relating to the exclusion from the schools
of the Bible and books containing religious instruction. They are as
follows:--

Another feature of the new Bill is that which precludes Ministers
of Religion, Magistrates, and Councillors, from acting as school
visitors, a provision of the present Act to which I have heard no
objection from any quarter, and from which signal benefits to the
schools have already resulted. Not only is this provision retained
in the School Act for Lower Canada, but Clergymen--and Clergymen
alone--are there authorized to select all the school books relating
to "religion and morals" for the children of their respective
persuasions. But in Upper Canada, where the great majority of the
people and Clergy are Protestant, the provision of the present Act
authorizing Clergymen to act as School Visitors (and that without
any power to interfere in school regulations or books) is repealed.
Under the new Bill, the Ministers of religion cannot, therefore,
visit the schools as a matter of right, or in their character as
Ministers, but as private individuals, and by the permission of the
teacher at his pleasure. The repeal of the provision under which
Clergymen of the several religious persuasions have acted as
visitors, is, of course, a virtual condemnation of their acting in
that capacity. When thus denuded by law of his official character
in respect to the schools, of course no Clergyman would so far
sanction his own legislative degradation as to go into a school by
suffrance in an unministerial character.... The character and
tendency of such a change in connection with the Protestant
religion of Upper Canada, in contrast with a directly o