The Irish Canadian of the 6th of June, under the heading of "A Graceful Tribute," said:—
On the 24th of May (the Queen's Birthday), was unveiled the statue erected in the Normal School grounds to the memory of the Rev. Egerton Ryerson, the founder of the common school system of education in Ontario, and its Superintendent from its inception in 1844 till 1876, when he retired in the fullness of years, and after his labors had been crowned with signal success. The Catholics of this Province, in the matter of education, have nothing for which they should be thankful to the distinguished divine.... For all that, Dr. Ryerson was a man of great and good parts; and, from a Common School point of view, he has left a noble heritage in a system of education that will bear favorable comparison with the best of any land.
It was the occasion of the unveiling of his statue that his co-laborer in the Education Department—Dr. J. George Hodgins—paid the memory of Dr. Ryerson a graceful tribute. Who so capable for so delicate a task as he who had been Dr. Ryerson's right-hand man, his able support, during his long and varied career in the Education office? And happily has the story of the ups and downs of the Common School system been told by the learned Deputy Minister, to whose ripe judgment, in no small degree, was due the system's unmeasured success. The part that Dr. Hodgins played, however, is kept in the background; and we see only what Dr. Ryerson done during his lengthened incumbency, and the difficulties with which he had to contend in maturing his plans and bringing them as nearly as possible to his own ideal of perfection.
Dr. Hodgins' retrospect goes back to the period of the U. E. Loyalists, and thence downward to 1876. It leads us by degrees from the primitive system in vogue prior to the grammar schools (in one of which the late venerable Bishop Strachan taught as master), through a series of changes aiming at higher education, till we arrive at the year in which the foundations of the present system were laid. The corner-stone having been placed, the superstructure rose in fair proportions; and the edifice having been completed, to furnish it with all the adjuncts necessary to the best educational training was the Superintendent's constant care. How Dr. Ryerson finally overcame every obstacle to his darling object is told with tender affection by Dr. Hodgins, who, in laying a chaplet on the grave of his dead chief, does honor not only to the memory of a good man, but also to his own generous instincts.
The Canada Educational Monthly for June-July, said:—
The Rev. Dr. Ryerson has long been widely known as a gifted and learned divine, as well as a successful journalist, who took a prominent part in the religious and moral development of our country in its early days, ... but the fitting memorial which was unveiled on Her Majesty's seventieth birthday, is erected to him chiefly as a worthy Canadian and an eminent educationist....
The life work of this able man has now passed into other hands; in itself it forms a whole superstructure, and if the enlightened principles which he laid down and acted upon are carried out in their integrity, they must exercise an undying influence for good upon the intellectual life of the country, upon its gradual advance in the scale of civilization and refinement, and upon its moral and religious life.
The ceremony of unveiling the statue brought together many true, patriotic and representative men. Some of his personal friends and fellow-workers were there, and others who remembered him with affection and gratitude. The Government, the city, the public and secondary schools, the colleges and universities were all represented, and all united in honoring the memory of the founder of the Ontario school system.
CHAPTER III.
THE ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE UNVEILING.[8]
The Teachers' Association of Ontario.
Mr. Robert McQueen, President of the Ontario Teachers' association, spoke as follows:—
Your Honor, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: