The history of Dalhousie College and University

Preface

At their Annual Meeting in the Spring of 1886, the Alumni of Dalhousie College unanimously decided to offer a prize of the value of $50 for the best history of their Alma Mater. The two chief sources of information for such a work are the Journals of the House of Assembly and the newspapers. These were not available to any one not resident in the City of Halifax. The writer of the Essay subsequently awarded the prize, because living in a country town, was prevented from beginning the task of collecting materials, etc., until late in the fall of 1886. By one of the conditions under which the prize was offered, the essays had to be in the hands of the Secretary of the Alumni Association before the 1st of March, 1887. With less than four months at his disposal, t*he author could devote no attention to the manner in which he wrote ; but found his whole time taken up in collecting material and simply arranging it in chronological order. Great pains were taken to verify every statement made, with, the author flatters himself, a successful result ; and thus, while regretting that his attempt at history should be marred by many faults of composition, he has the satisfaction of believing that in the humbler part of an historian's duty he has succeeded.

THE AWARD.

Secy. Alumni Association of Dalhousie College.

Sir,

In accorclanc3 with the desire of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association communicated by you, we have carefully examined the two Essays, having respectively the motto, " Doctrina vim promovet insitam " and " Froissart," and while finding the latter a readable and interesting account of the College, have no hesitation in recommending the former for the prize. We base our decision mainly on the following grounds : — (1.) The Essay with the motto, <( Doctrina," etc., gives the history of the College up to the Act of 1863 in much greater detail than the one with the motto " Froissart." (2.) It gives much fuller reference to authorities, and these are original authorities : the Journals of the Legislature, minutes of the Board of Governors, newspapers of the day, etc. ; whereas " Friossart's " account is largely based on published works. (3.) During the period when the proper functions of the College were suspended, there being neither teachers nor students, the essay to which we have given the preference, considers the Board of Governors as being the College, and accounts of their proceedings as the custom of the College, whereas " Froissart " during these periods brings into prominence rather the history of the building and the purposes for which it was used.

In conclusion we beg to state that the essay with the motto " Doctrina," etc., is not merely the better of the two, but in our opinion is itself well deserving of the prize, and admirably corresponds to the object which the Alumni Association seems to have had in view in offering the prize.

We have to honor to be,

Your obedient servants,

(Sgd.) JOHN FORREST.

W. J ALEXANDER.

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Chapter I

War of 1812-14 — Expedition against Castine — Lord Dalhousie.

In June, 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain, and the latter retaliated in the following October. The war lasted, with varying success, for over two years. During this time the British Provinces were scenes of activity. The Canadas were several times invaded by the American forces. Nova Scotia, though often threatened, escaped attack, and was able to assist her sister Provinces along the St. Lawrence. On the 26th of August, 1814, an expedition left Halifax on a warlike errand. Its commanders were Sir John Sherbrooke and Admiral Griffith, both tried men and true in their special line of service. Its destination was Machias, Me. When two days out the leaders heard that an American frigate, the "Adams," had sailed up the river Penobscot, past Castine, to avoid being captured by them, and the news induced them to change their plans. Their course was altered, and the morning of September 1st saw them at anchor in front of Castine. Castine is a small town situated on a peninsula on the eastern side of the Penobscot river. At this time it was garrisoned by a company of regulars and a band of militia. When summoned to surrender, its governor boldly refused ; but before the great guns of the fleet were fairly at work, he had repented of his rashness, and capitulated. The town was taken, it is worth while mentioning, with a loss to the British of only one man. The Americans probably suffered more severely. A force was immediately dispatched in search of the "Adams" She was found far up the river, seized and destroyed. Some merchant vessels that were with her shared the same fate. The towns of Hamden and Bangor, lying on the western side of the Penobscot, also fell into the hands of the British. A glance at a map of Maine and New Brunswick will show that the rivers Penobscot and St. Croix so converge near their sources as to make the large district that lies between them almost an island. Holding Castine, the key of the whole, as Sir John and his able coadjutor did, all of this section was theirs, with the exception of the .fortified town of Machias and the country around it. In order then to complete the conquest, a division of the army, commanded by Colonel Pilkington, was sent to take Machias, if possible ; and when, on September 11th, it succeeded in doing so, Sir John and Admiral Griffith were able to issue a proclamation declaring that they had taken formal possession in the name of His Britannic Majesty of all the eastern side of the Penobscot, and all the country lying between it and the boundary line of New Brunswick. A provisional government was at once established, with Lieutenant Gosselin in the gubernatorial chair. Castine was made the sole port of entry

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for the newly acquired territory, and arrangements were perfected for collecting the import and export duties under tariff regulations similar to those of the adjoining provinces.* The war should, and in these days cf sub-marine telegraphs, would, have ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in the closing days of 1814 ; but the news of the peace did not reach America for some weeks. The English held Castine until the 26th of April, 1815, on which date they evacuated it, and came to Halifax, bringing with them some £12.000, the amount levied for customs, etc., during the seven months of their occupancy. When Lieutenant-Governor Gosselin's salary was paid there was left the sum of £10,750. Lord Bathurst, Secretary of State for the Colonies, in a dispatch of October 10th, 1815, directed that this :< Castine Fund," as it was popularly known, should be devoted to improvements in Nova Scotia. So great was the multitude of worthy objects that presented themselves to Sir John Sherbrooke's mind, that he was in a dilemma similar to that of the man who drew an elephant in a lottery. He recommended to the Council that the money be devoted to founding a House of Industry or an Alms House ; and subsequently, as neither of these seemed to suit their wishes, he suggested the propriety of giving it to help along the Shubenacadie Canal. Before, however, a decision was reached, fortunately, we are compelled to say, Sir John was recalled, and Earl Dalhousie took his place.

The new governor came fresh from the wars of Europe to assume the government of Nova Scotia. He was then in the prime of life, having been born on October 22nd, 1770.f With Othello, Lord Dalhousie could have said —

"For since these arms of mine had seven years pith, Till now, some nine moons wasted, they have used Their dearest action in the tented field."

Duiing all the wars of that eventful period which culminated on the 18th of June, 1815, he had taken an active part, and had particularly distinguished himself at Waterloo. For his services to his country he was raised to the peerage of the United Kingdom in August, 1815, with the title of Baron Dalhousie, of Dalhousie Castle, and shortly after appointed to Sir John Sherbrooke's position. On him really devolved the work of expending, in the best way possible, the Castine fund. For the present^ then, we leave our immediate task to sketch the state of higher education in Nova Scotia, and, as we are doing so, we believe Lord Dalhousie's reason for devoting the money to the purpose he did will become apparent.

CHAPTER II. Condition of Higher Education in Nova Scotia

At the time in which our history necessarily opens, the state of affairs in Nova Scotia, as regards higher education, was, to say the least, unsatisfactory. As early as 1789, the Assembly had. voted £400 per annum, in perpetuity, towards the support of a college at Windsor ; and to this grant, large though it was considering the circumstances, they had added £500 to purchase a proper site. In voting this money the greatest unanimity prevailed ; dissent-

* Annual Register, 18L4. t See Appendix A, p. 154.

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ers united with churchmen, believing that the money would be expended in such a way as to meet the requirements of all classes of the people. Up to this date, as the Bishop of Nova Scotia, writing to the Archbishop of Canterbury, says : "No other British Colony in North America ever did so much to promote literature." His Lordship also wrote to the Right Hon. Mr. Granville in the same strain, and asked him to use his influence with the Imperial Parliament to obtain assistance. Mr. Granville a year later was able to reply, that, as a mark of the attention of the parent government to the promotion of religion and learning in the Province, the sum of £1000 had been voted by the House of Commons towards the erection of a college in Nova Scotia. He further intimated that His Majesty had declared his intention of giving the institution a royal charter and of making it grants of crown lands to help its endowment. More was subsequently obtained, with which the buildings were finished. The charter was not granted until May, 1802, though the royal warrant for it had long been made out. With it came the announcement that an additional grant of .£1000 (which was continued annually till 1834) had been voted by the Imperial Parliament.* In 1803 the Governors adopted the statute under which the new University was to be governed. One of these statutes ran thus : —

"No degree shall be conferred till the candidate shall have taken the oaths of allegiance and obedience to the statutes of the University, and shall have subscribed the thirty-nine articles of the Church of England, and the three articles contained in the thirty-ninth canon of the Synod of London held in the year of our Lord, 1603."

Another clause was even more exclusive, but we forbear quoting it. The predominating idea of the Governors seems to have been to model the college on the plan of the University of Oxford. The students at heavy expense were obliged to reside within the walls, an/1 its whole management was such as would have excluded the great majority of the youth of the Province, even had its statutes been more liberal. Mr. Haliburton, " Sam Slick," a graduate of Kings, and one therefore who could quote,

" Sirs, if my judgment you'll allow, I've seen, and sure I ought to know,"

in one of his speeches is reported as saying that it cost a young man £120 per annum to live at Windsor. This of itself was sufficient to prevent 99 out of the 100 of those who were desirous of securing a higher education from doing so.

In justice it must be said that the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had the power to veto any statute, expressed his disapproval of thus limiting the benefits of an institution to a few, particularly when that institution was so liberally supported by the Assembly of which the vast majority were dissenters, and that therefore these statutes were not legal. Sufficient it is to add that in spite of his representations, the trustees acted upon these regulations. Mr. Fairbanks, one of the most gifted of Nova Scotia's sons, stated, in a document to which we shall have occasion to refer later on, that he could not get a degree from Kings College because he could not swallow the tests.

With these arrangements the people were not satisfied, but, scattered as they were, and struggling for the necessaries of life as most of them were,

* The facts .given above were chiefly obtained from Dr. Akins' "History of Kings College. " *

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little had been said and nothing done towards effecting a change. Still they were not indifferent in the matter. A thirst for knowledge that seemed almost unattainable was felt by many of the young men throughout the Province. In Pictou County, the only part of which we can with certainty speak, we find that the clergymen, in addition to their pastoral duties, devoted a portion of their time to the instruction of boys in the higher branches (one of them had as many as five' such pupils), and we have every reason to believe that the same spirit was manifested in other parts of the province. Then began the agitation which resulted in the founding of Pictou Academy to do the work of a college, but without enjoying the power of granting degrees. The Act for its establishment was introduced into the Assembly in 1816, without prescribing any religious tests. Its projectors, though Presbyterians, desired to found the institution on a broad and liberal basis. In the Council, the bill was so teriibly mutilated that even its friends could hardly recognize it. " The voice was Jacob's voice, but the hands were the hands of Esau." Clauses had been added by which the trustees were to be either of the Church of England or Presbyterians. As the former were engaged to the full extent of their power in sustaining Kings College, it was not expected that the new institution would derive any support from that quarter, and therefore, by being left to the Presbyterians alone, it would prove but a small affair. The friends of the institution in the House had no alternative but to accept the amendments or lose the bill altogether. The result was that although there were no religious tests for students — and thus its education was given without distinction of sect, and all classes did to some extent avail themselves of its advantages,— yet the restrictions in regard to trustees and teachers virtually threw it into the hands of the Presbyterians.

Such then was the condition of higher education in this Province when Lord Dalhousie succeeded Sir John Sherbrooke as Governor. Two institutions existed to do the work of colleges, ^hough that at Pictou had not as yet commenced operations. One of these had been liberally endowed by the Provincial, as well as by the Imperial, Government. In return it had shut its doors to over four-fifths of the people. The other, though intended by its friends to be established on a broad basis, was by a body of irresponsible men made so restrictive that its beneficial effects were only widely felt by one denomination. Was it any wonder, then, that Lord Dalhousie, when he had money at his disposal, determined to devote it to founding a third college, " open to all occupations and sects of religion 1 "

Chapter III

Early Years — Lord Dalhousie's Work — Laying of the Corner Stone.

As we have seen, the Castine fund amounted, after a few deductions had been made, to £10,750. As we have seen, Sir John Sherbrooke had been unable to decide upon the best way of expending it before he was recalled. As we have seen, Sir John was succeeded by the Earl of Dalhousie, who, as he himself says, felt the duty imposed on him of suggesting the appropiiation as one of the highest importance.* At first he thought of applying it to the

* Letter to Lord Bathurst, December 14th, 1817.

removal of Kings College to a situation that would be more accessible, but finally abandoned this idea as impracticable. * In his letter to Lord Bathurst, dated December 14th, 1817, he states that having referred the matter to His Majesty's Council, they had agreed with him in the opinion that a seminary for the higher branches of education is much wanted in Halifax — the capital •of the Province — the seat of the Legislature — of the Courts of Justice — of the military and mercantile society. The model he proposes is that of the University of Edinburgh, whose classes were open to all sects of religion, to strangers passing a few weeks in town, — to the military, — to students of law, — in fact to anyone who chose to devote an hour to study in the forenoon. Had Lord Dalhousie known how this proposal, in so far as it relates to the model, would afterwards be so sadly misconstrued, he would certainly have been more explicit. Then he proceeds to make a statement of the funds. Having set apart £1000 for the support of the Garrison Library just being established, there remained <£9,750. To quote his own words: — " I would apply £3000 to a building, and sink the remainder as a fund for the support of the Professorshijj" "I am aware," he adds, "that this would not be sufficient without the Legislature of the Province aided us by an annual vote." As a site for the University about to be, he suggests "that area in front of St. Paul's Church, now the Grand Parade." The Trustees also, whose appointment he would recommend, are worthy of being mentioned. They are, "officers ex officio high in rank and always present," the Lieut.- Governor, the Chief Justice, the Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Treasurer of the Province, and the appointed minister of the Scotch Church in Halifax.

On February 6th, 1818, Earl Bathurst replied that he had received Lord Dalhousie's suggestions, submitted them to the consideration of the Prince Regent, and that His Royal Highness had been pleased to express his entire approbation of the funds in question being applied in the foundation of a seminary in Halifax for the higher classes of learning.!

Having obtained permission to invest the Castine fund in the way he wished, Lord Dalhousie immediately wrote to Principal Baird of Edinburgh University, asking him for a statement of the principles regulating the government of that institution. In Edinburgh University at this time the Professor of Logic and Belles Lettres was the celebrated Dr. Andrew Brown, who formerly had been minister of St. Matthew's Church, Halifax, and who, it will be remembered, while in that position, had collected the materials for a History of Nova Scotia, which he did not live to finish. Dr. Brown, as might be supposed, took a livelier interest in the scheme than a stranger could ; so at Principal Baird's request he prepared a lengthy letter, which they both signed, giving a detailed explanation of the modus operandi at Edinburgh. Principal Baird sent a note, (dated 1st August, 1818), to accompany this letter, containing very little additional information. Some extracts from the joint letter we think it well to quote :

"We feel no little pleasure in opening our report fyy saying that the University of Edinburgh rose, like the institution contemplated for Nova Scotia,

* Letter to Council, December lltb, 1817.

t These letters (Lord Dalhousie to Earl Bathurst, and the latter's reply) can be found in the Journals of the House of Assembly for the year 1819, under date February 17th. They are also given along with the letters immediately after referred to, and much other interesting matter, in an Appendix to Journals for the year 1836.

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out of small beginnings, and grew to its present size by gradual additions to the original designs as the state of the nation called for them, or as the increase of its prosperity and its love of learning supplied the means.

******

"The gates of the University are open to all persons indiscriminately from whatever country they may come, or to whatever mode of faith or worship they may be attached. In fact we do not know that any other disqualification for admission to the privileges of the University exists than the brand of public ignominy or a sentence of expulsion passed by another University. Nothing further in the shape of pledge or engagement is exacted from the general student than that he take the Sponsio Academica binding himself to observe the regulations relative to public order — to respect his teachers, and maintain the decorum becoming the character of a scholar.

* * * * * *

" From the short notice of the state of Halifax in Your Excellency's letter we would have inferred, without that local knowledge which one of us happens to possess, that by attaching the institution to the Capital you secure, in addition to all other objects, the exclusive advantage of calling forth, as soon as the demands of the country may require it, a band of volunteer laborers in three of the learned professions, whose desire of usefulness and distinction will be sufficient to engage them in preparing a course of public instruction in some branch of science connected either with their own immediate pursuits or their favorite private studies."

Lord Dalhousie knew from the beginning, as his first letter to Lord Bathuist shows, that the money at his disposal was inadequate for the work he had undertaken. Accordingly he sought assistance from the Legislature, and in the speech with which he opened the session of 1819 we find these words : " I will submit to you the plan of an institution in Halifax, in which the advantages of a collegiate education will be found within the reach of all classes of society, and which will be open to all sects of religious persuasion." In the reply this section of the speech is answered in similar terms.* The House was opened on the 11th of February, and on the 17th of the same month, in fulfilment of his promise, he sent to the Assembly two messages, the first of which had reference to the new college, and was accompanied by two letters (his own to Lord Bathurst and that nobleman's reply.) The steps usual on an occasion of this kind were taken, but nothing of importance was done till well nigh two months had passed. Then the committee of the whole House, through their chairman, reported in favor of granting £2000 towards completing the building; but, by the terms of their resolution, this amount was not to be drawn from the Treasury until the £3000 set apart by the Earl of Dalhousie for that purpose should be expended.! However, in their reply to the message, they make no reference to the latter part — the saving clause — of their resolution, but simply state that they have granted .£2000 for the purpose above mentioned. The concluding portion of this reply we consider worthy of qubtation here : — " We most confidently hope the liberal principles Your Excellency has stated as the groundwork of the constitution of the proposed college will not fail to render it highly useful and honorable to this part of His Majesty's dominions.

* Journals H. of A., vol. xiii., pp. 7 it 8. t Journals, vol. xiii., page 98.

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• 11

"Deeply impressed with the sense of Your Excellency's sincere desire to promote the welfare of this country, allow us to express our ardent hope that this institution may flourish, and continue to the inhabitants of Nova Scotia a lasting monument of the enlightened policy of Your Excellency's administration.''*

Having thus obtained the money, the advice, and the co-operation of the Legislature that he wished, Lord Dalhousie set to wTork. A part of the Parade was assigned as a site, and the building immediately commenced. It seems certain that at first Lord Dalhousie only intended to found what we would call an Academy, and consequently the building was planned on much less pretentious dimensions than it afterwards assumed. We learn this, as well from a statement of one of the trustees given in an appendix to the Journals for 1832, as from the exceedingly small sum he had set apart for building purposes. The reason he had for enlarging to such an extent as he did is mentioned in the statement to which we have just referred. " Public opinion," it says, "induced His Lordship to authorize the enlargement of the work with a view of its being united with Kings College, and that establishment being moved from Windsor to Halifax — a more suitable situation." While the work of erection was going on, the Earl was not idle. On the 15th May, 1820, we find the " provisional" trustees, if we may so call them — Lord Dalhousie (the Lieut.-Governor), Hon. Mr. Blowers (the Chief Justice), Hon. Michael Wallace (the Treasurer), and Hon. Mr. Robie (the Speaker) — writing to Prof. Monk, a gentleman " of high station and character in the University of Cambridge," and asking him to recommend a young man duly qualified in point of reputation and acquirements to fill the position of Principal. It appears, and is, strange that they did not apply to Principal Baird or Dr. Brown, both of whom had shown themselves so willing to help. But passing this by, there are some facts of interest to be gleaned from the letter. The writers state that whenever the funds will permit, they purpose having, three Professorships, one in Classics, (the Professor of which shall preside as Principal), one in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and one in Moral Philosophy. In consequence of their limited means, they are at this time only able to provide one Professor, who must be qualified to teach both Classics and Mathematics, " the most essential branches of education in the present state of the colony." The salary offered to this "admirable Crichton " is £300 with class fees, and he is at liberty to increase it by taking boarders. They intimate that the building will be ready for lectures in the early part of the winter ; but the Principal need not start before March or April, as by that time they hope to have the funds in a healthier condition. In conclusion, they express their preference for a clergyman, if such an one can be obtained.

By May 22nd of the same year, so much progress had been made that everything was in readiness for the laying of the corner stone. The Acadian Recorder of May 26th, 1820, contains a graphic pen picture of the ceremonies that took place on the occasion. We shall quote its account in full : —

" Monday last being the day appointed for laying the corner stone of the College on the Parade, the Grand Lodge and the respective lodges of the town of Halifax assembled in the Freemasons Hall at 11 o'clock, and, after making the necessary arrangements, proceeded in the usual manner to the site of the building, formed a square, and awaited the arrival of His Excel-

* Journals, vol. xiii., page 113.

12 •

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lency the Right Honorable the Earl of l>alhousie. The troops in garrison, with their colors and music, formed a lane from the West fVcnt of the Province House to the entrance of the enclosure round the College.

" A few minutes before two o'clock, His Excellency, accompanied by Rear Admiral Griffith, the Honorable the Chief Justice, the members of His Majesty's Council, the Magistrates, the Commandant, the Captains of His Majesty's ships in port, the Staff and Officers of the regiment in garrison, proceeded to the building, where he was received by John George Pyke, Esq., Grand Master, and conducted to the South-East corner of the edifice, when, every necessary preparation having been made, the Rev. Mr. Twining, Grand Chaplain, delivered, in a very impressive manner, a suitable prayer for the occasion. Immediately after, the following inscription, engraved on a plate of brass, was deposited in an excavation of the stone, as also a bottle hermetically sealed, containing the various coins of His late Majesty King George III., in gold and silver : —

INSCRIPTION.

In the year of our Lord, 1820, and in the first year of the reign of His Sacred Majesty, George the IV., King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, etc., etc., etc., The Corner Stone of this College, designed for A Public Seminary, In which the youth of this and other British Provinces may be educated in the various branches of Literature and Science, was laid

By His Excellency Lieutenant-Genl. the Right Honorable George Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie, Baron Dalhousie of Dalhousie Castle, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath, Captain General and Governor in Chief, in and over His Majesty's Provinces of Lower Canada, Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the islands of Prince Edward and Cape Breton,

etc., etc., etc. ; Accompanied by the Honorable Sampson Salters Blowers, Chief Justice of the Province, and the Members of His Majesty's Council, Magistrates, etc., Rear- Admiral Griffith, and the Captains of His Majesty's Squadron on the Station,

Colonel George Machie, Commandant of the Garrison, Lieut. Colonel Gauntlett, Commanding the 62nd Regiment, and the Field Officers of His Majesty's Forces in this Garrison, etc., etc.

Also

John George Pyke, Grand Master, the Deputy Grand Master, the Wardens and other officers and brethren of the respective Lodges of Free Masons in Halifax.