The Protestant Board at its inception was not incorporated by act of parliament and had little recognized status. It had no funds to administer except a small grant from the city council. It had no school buildings to superintend. The early practice was to subsidize the existing schools. But the idea of the board grew. It received doles occasionally from the city council and it made headway. Its first school was the Ann Street School, established in a rented building, in 1850. It was afterward named the “William Lunn” after the first secretary-treasurer of the board, an ardent educationalist and one of the founders of the British and Canadian School.
The first meeting of the board of commissioners under the act of 1846 was held on December 10, 1846. Its commissioners up to 1868-69 were:
Rev. Charles Bancroft, chairman, 1846 to 1848; Rev. Caleb Strong, 1846 to ——; Rev. J.M. Cramp, 1846 to——; Mr. William Lunn, who acted as secretary-treasurer from 1846 to 1871; Mr. Andrew Watson, 1846 to——; Mr. John Dougall, 1846 to——; Reverend Dr. Falloon, chairman, February, 1848, to October, 1848; Reverend Dr. McGill, chairman, October, 1848 to 1856; Ven. Arch-deacon Gilson, 1854 to 1856, chairman, 1856 to 1861; Rev. William Snodgrass, chairman, 1861 to 1865; Mr. Kemp,—— to 1865; Rev. John Jenkins, D.D., chairman, 1865 to 1868; chairman, February, 1868, to February, 1869; Rev. D.H. MacVicar, D.D., LL. D., 1865 to February, 1869; Hon. James Ferrier, senator, 1865 to February, 1869; Mr. Hector Munro, 1865 to February, 1869.
THE CATHOLIC BOARD
The Catholic board, also appointed in 1846, had similar difficulties. The organization of the schools was small. The work done was sincere, but woefully limited. The schools were small and not modern in structure and character. The teachers were few and sadly handicapped in every way, for at that time the chief thought was how to struggle along in a material way. The cause of Catholic education was greatly helped at this period by the advent of the Christian Brothers in 1837, the Brothers of St. Joseph in 1841, and the religious bodies of women, including the Ladies of the Sacred Heart in 1842, the Sisters of Providence in 1844, the Ladies of St. Croix in 1847, and others, such as the Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus, the Sisters of Charity, etc.
The Catholic school commissioners from 1846 to 1868 were:
Very Rev. A.F. Truteau, V.G., canon, 1846-1848; Rev. Francis A.U. de Charbonnel, P.S.S. (late bishop of Toronto), 1846-1848; Albert Furniss, 1846-1849; P.S. Letourneux, 1846-1849; Pierre Beaubien, physician, 1846-1849; J.U. Beaubry, advocate (later judge of supreme court), 1848-1862; Rev. A. Pinxsonnault (late bishop of London), 1848-1850, 1851-1853; Rev. F.R. Mercier, canon, 1848-1849; Rev. J.H. Prevost, P.S.S., pastor of Notre Dame, 1849-1864; A.M. Delisle, 1849-1852; W.C.F. Coffin, prothonotary, 1849-1851; André Ouimet, advocate, 1849-1851; Rev. E.C. Fabre (afterwards archbishop of Montreal), 1850-1851, 1861-1865; G. d’Eschambault, physician, 1851-1856; P. Garnot, professor, 1857-1861; Very Rev. H. Moreau, V.G., canon, 1853-1861; J.F. Pelletier, advocate, 1853-1854; Louis Giard, physician, 1855-1857, 1858-1860, 1861-1868; C.S. Cherrier, advocate, 1857-1859; Gedeon Ouimet (afterward superintendent of public instruction), 1859-1861; H. Kavanagh, inspector of customs, 1860-1868; Edward Murphy, merchant (later senator), 1861-1865, 1869-1880; Alfred Larocque, 1862-1865; Rev. A. Giband, P.S.S., 1864-1866; Rev. P.L. Leblanc, canon, 1865-1876; Louis Belanger, advocate (later judge supreme court), 1865-1874; P.S. Murphy (later member of the council of public instruction), 1865-1884; Rev. V. Rousselot, P.S.S., pastor of Notre Dame, 1866-1886; E.H. Trudel, physician, 1868-1869; Francis Cassidy, advocate, 1868-1869.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BOARDS
From 1846 to 1869 the school commissioners were appointed by the corporation of Montreal to hold office for two years. Since 1869 three are appointed by the provincial government and three by the corporation for three years.
In 1856 two bills, regarding higher and elementary education, became law on the report of Doctor Meilleur. They provided, among other things, for the distribution, through the superintendent of education and on his report, of the Lower Canada superior education fund among the various universities, colleges, academies, and model schools; for the establishment of three model schools instead of one; the appointment of a council of public instruction for Lower Canada; the publication of journals of education in English and French and the creation, as in Upper Canada, of a superannuated common school teachers’ fund.