A LETTER FROM CANADA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8755, 18 March 1890, Page 4 (Supplement)

A LETTER FROM CANADA.

Tiio present writer is not unaware that through the columns of the Otngo Daily Times much information concerning Canada, its people, laws, customs, and institutions reaches the inhabitants of Now Zealand. Much of this, doubtless, is of the utmost interest, find much' perhaps, of very littlo importance to your renders generally. They do not intend to lenva their glorious climate aud a laud overflowing with unmeasured, if yet undeveloped, resources to fix their abode in a climate where tho inclemency of the seasons and f> winter of perpetual frost niul snow, last iug six months aud more, must render life almost under any circumstances a hardship to » native of tho A:\tipodes. Only when onahas loft New Zcali-ml ami travelled in other climes and amongst other people!) J«'.3 Jwler.rn to appreciate fully the "land of tho gclden fleeco," i:s delicious climate, magnificent fejnury, and peaceful citizenship. Tim writer lived for years in New Zealand, aud never till new tiid be learn to realise its advantages as fully as le ought. Everything in Now Zealand i;i, i» the judgment of tho writer, an improvain ;ut oh everything.; here, our noil richer und more productive, cur farmers' homesteads much more comfortably, th-miss-lvcs richer mid butter oil, and their liv.'a (lowing along incomparably smoother and plessanter, the wages of our labourer- sail mechanic higher, his hours of work fewer, his food more substantial, and his culire burnnuultogs of a much mire aijreea'jlß character. Young :i3 Now Zsa'aud is, even our educational institutions generally are far ahead of anything wmilar hero, our f.ystom more perfect, and our teachers better paid, flora in Canada as in Now Zealand there are hi^b schools and tho ordinary public ?.ehools. Tlie avenge salaries of the principhla in the former rates from GOOJoI to OOOilol per annual, and of the san>o clays in tho public schools from 400dol to COfidol, without hou.=o or any other source of additional remuneration. The result is that for tunny mouths of the year in every county of every proviuce of tho Dominion many schools have, to be closed. Teachers under suc'a circumstances 3 have l'.o inducements to continue in their positions; their rauks aro daily thinned by their entering tho various other professions and avenues of life whenever a favourable opportunity offers. In the country districts they cannot live on their sa'aries without depriving themselves of many of the comforts of lifo; hecce they nre only too glad to renouuee at the Srst favourable rr.omeut a lifo of hardship and penuriousuess for any other position where a better fortune will fall to their lot. Like the suicide, who does not hatn existence absolutely, but runs the risk of fate in another work), so these teachers—young men and women —Dot hating teaching in tho abstract, oro many of them loving it as a most congenial engagement, but tiring of i s gloomy outlook, aud, continually stared in the luce by its poverty entailing trials, they prefer to chance their fortunes in somo other walk of life. Hence the public schools of this country aro continually mastered by young recruits, without experience p.ll of them, aud many of them not overburdened with knowledge. It is not snid they need not bo h-gally qualified and equioped wilhrt certificate, but for this all that is needed is five oi- eiflht months' attendance at the Normil School. The grades ate three-fold—first, second, and third class, examinations for the lust two being equivalent to thosu for pupil teashers in New JVuUrid. The loea! districts in which the schools aro situated have the determination of the aiuouat of salary the teachers shall receive, tho money coming directly from tho pockets of the I'Sireuts in the form of a local school tax, collected by the local school committed and supplemented by the Government at a certain percentage. Thus the spirit of uiggardnusa in parents and tho poverty of tho locality have much to do in closing ihe school altogether or throning it open to a most incompetent teacher—the only one willing to take cairgo for such a miserable salary. Never can the public school system of this couutry attain perfection until by the payment of a just and fair salary th«i Government hold*; out inducements to competent teachers to make teaching tho profession of their lives. The cry against the extravagances of the school pystem in New Zealand may or may not be just, but it is infinitely better and more creditable to the couutry to maintain it on its presant basis than to permit or foroe it to descend to the level of a mere pauper institution as it is here throughout tho length and breadth of Canada. BOMAN CATHOLIC IRISH AND FRENCH ELEMENT IN CANADA. The Irish Catholic raco in Canada, as compared with that in tao United States, is a dead element. The Catholic Iri3h are spread throughout the Dominion from shore to shore, but are nowhere concentrated into a powerful faction. Far lesa in numbers thau half the French, they display neither the same energy nor tho same romautic poetry in life as in other quarters of the British Empire. All th?, wealth, genius, learning, and ftiterpriso of Canadians tiro confined to the English and Scotch elements. Iv sentiment, numbers, and concentration of iwtioualising forces the Franc i predominate in easily quarters, but their efforts are rather en religious than political Hues. The French blindly fight for their creed and their nationality. Wherever the French predominate in numbers the Irishman is compelled to take a Etibordinate position. The French clergy, who, while professing the same creed, hata their nationality, everywhere minister to Irish congregations. Tbe war of national antipathy between tho two races cannot but seem a mystery to anyone who recognises then as bound together by the profession of a common creed and sees th.-m kneel together before th<) same altar. Thi3 national hatred and power of numbers cm the part of t'ae French Canadian closes many an avenue against the young intelligent and educated Irish emigrant. But this is not the only bar. Many of these latter having graduated from the Catholic colleges and seminaries of their native land, eet foot on Canadian soil full of high hopes that their education had fitted them for any position. They aro soon undeceived. Not one of these Catholic colleges or seminaries in all Ireland is chartered to confer a degree in arfca or to givo n teaching diploma; hence these young men p.od young women are handicapped in the race of life. In the old laud they were not permitted to attend the model or normal schools or the Queen's or Trinity Colleges, where, equally with their Protestant fellow countrymen, they might, with glory and pride, have taken their degrees, and, landing on these shores, present their diplomas aud sheepskins, and thus obtain their share in the hundreds of positions in colleges and school —high and elementary — annually becoming vacant in Canada. Hundreds of such yonng Irishmen and women may be met with, both here and in the United States, slaves to want and toil, " hewers of wood and drawers of water." DISSENSIONS BETWEEN IRISH AND F-KENCH CANADIANS. The most remarkable feature of the Roman Church in Canada in, that though chiefly con6tituted of two peoples, yet these peoples can never agree among themselves. Wherever tho French have strong centres of population, such os Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, to., they are bold, arrogant, and aggressive in church and State. Their clergy raise a hue and cry every now and again not only against the Government and those of a different religious persuasion, but j particularly against Iriahmea of all denominations. So much so 5s this the fact, that the Protestant Irish majority of Ontario gladly unite in political struggles with their Catholic fellow countrymen to strike down the arrogant French ascendancy. And yet the number of French to-day in the province of Quebec, their great centre, who were born in or ever set foot on French territory is stated not to be above 200. Nearly -swo millions of people born on British territory, speaking an alien language aud cherishing an alien nationality ! We know that a language is the great medium of fostering a national sentiment, and so long as the French tODgue is poruiittftd in the public schools of Canada it is impossible that the French Canadians can be in fall sympathy with England's interests and England's progress. But not oniy iv this alien tonguo the language of the schools; it is forced with jealous caie and unyielding persistency into the courts, the press, and the very legislative halls of the dominion. Here is what appeared in Le Spectateur, a French Canadian paper, not very long ago referring to the progress of French Canadian Catholicism in Ontario:—"But let our enemies learn this, that no earthly power can take away his langnage and his faith from the true French Canadian. Before a century is over, the province of Ontario will be as French as that of Quebec." It is true indeed that in many parts of British North America the Highland Scotch preserve in all its purity their Gaelic or mother tongue. This ia especially so in Nova Scota, where one may sometimes hear a rousing sermon in the Celtic; but it is not the language of the public schools, and allthepeoplo both know and speak English perfectly well. What is regarded by people in New Zealand and elsewhere as tbe war of religious prejudice in Ontario wears a very different aspect to him who views it not at a distance but close at hand. French Canadian arrogance is at the bottom of it all. These peoplu press their nationality and creed into every political strife, rousing into activity tho worst passions of their opponents, until the contact changes into the character of a religious war. Even a French Canadian paper of tho date on which I write, referring to a polttico-rtligioug contest between n Catholic biahop end a pronlinent Government official, says:—"lt would be sufficient for him (tbe bishop) to declare that a Catholic must not sacrifice his political preferences to minor in- ' terests of his ahurch. But that -word the prelate catinot pronouueo." What moro is needed ? Hero is a Homan; Catholic paper publicly declaring that a Catholic must sacrifice all the political interests of bis country, his opinions and preferences, when they happen to clash ■with tho rnoiit trivial interests of his church. The French clergy make religion tho battle ground in every political contest—the plea for opposing every organisation among their peoplo ■which they think would help to enlighten them and lead them away from their influence. CHRISTMAS IN CANADA. Christmas came and went like a dream. The great excitement here daring this time of the year is skating and sleighing, but there has not been much of that this season yet. Snow has fallen iv great quantities, but followed by heavy rains it passed quickly away. For three or four years past the Canadian winter has been much

milder than usual, especially along the coast lines. Thisiihiinposcci to tin dun entirely to tho continual ncaring of the dull' stream, whoso warm waters affect cur atmosphere. There have bcci), however, this winter to far, two or Hires days when oven on the const lino tho thermometer went as low as 30 below zero.

In Canada, na in older cuuutrie.i, the markets are stocked with turltoys nt Christmas time. Quebec is ft great turkey-raising country. Hence it is usual some weeks beforo Christmas to see iloiiks of tlicso bird?, some, containing a thousand and more, driven along tho rondo lor milea tv a railway htatioii hy litfclo boys employed for that purposu. American dealers coma into the province mid, travelling from house to house among the French, buy up tho Mnls by tho hundred and thousand. The:i, beginning nt tho house of tho last seller, tho birds i.re driven out in a flock by the hoys and pureb. uier on to tho mixt hoiiso, and thence mill on till tho whole number bought are gdiliered into one (look. The linal complation of this entire inhering comc-timea occupies weeka, and tho boys first employed bnvitifi I ravelled for two or three days consecutively, return t, their homes, giving place to otbur.i .".loui; tho route. A Lugo wnRROU drawn by four strong horses follows iv tho trail of the lloeir, and ns tbo birds grow tired thay are dropped into thi.-i dray, till finally wlien tho dostiiißii railway station is reached the boys are p<uA and joyfully dismissed to their homol, both birds and boyt having boon treated to the best of faro all along the journey, These turkeys sell in the American'ma: ktiis from 18 to 25 cents per pound, ami are bought iv Quebec from 12 to 14 cents a pound.

Just to-day, as I go to pest to meet the outgoing mail n great, political content lm? come to a close iv the province of New Brunswick. Some, time ago the locn! Government in order to "catch "the Catholic voto dismissed from the oilier of police magistrate a most worthy Protestant gentleman, placini; iv bis stead a Roman Catholic barrister. The community were indignant. Some of the mo?t prominent supporters of tho Blair Governruint resigned; an election was forced upon the province The contest took tho turn of a religious war between Protestants and Romanists, the Government siding with tho latter; but six Opposition members were returned for tho city of St. John, and though the Blair faction have a small majority through thn counties summarily it is certain they cinnot form a Cabinet, so religions toleration has carried the day.

A New Zbalakdkb.