ABOUT EDUCATION.

	Saskatchewan is and always has been proud of its educational sys-
tem.  At a time when roads and bridges were a prime necessity the
Territories spent more money on education than on travelling and trans-
portation facilities. From first to last education has been dealt with in
a liberal spirit, and it is to the credit of the pioneers that they realised
from the first that ignorance and progress could not go hand in hand.
When they strenuously opposed direct taxation for anything else they
cheerfully taxed themselves for schools, but numbers of the schools would
have been impossible but for the generous assistance given. For years
after the Territories were first organised assistance to schools was practi-
tically in the hands of the Governor. The first School Bill was introduced
by Mr. Frank Oliver, of Edmonton, in 1883 and it passed in 1884, but
the necessary funds were not immediately forthcoming, and it was not
till March, 1886, that the first meeting of the Board of Education was
held, when there were present Lieut.-Governor Dewdney, presiding,
Father Lacombe, Mr. John Secord of Regina, Mr. Charles Marshallsay
of Whitewood and Mr. James Brown, secretary. The Education Depart-
ment, as far as it may be called one, consisted of Mr. James Brown and
a clerk. At this first meeting the important step was taken of appointing
a school inspector. The religious aspect was recognised to the full and
Catholic inspectors were appointed for the Catholic schools and Protestants
for the Protestant schools. The inspectors were as follows:
	Protestant:	Mr. Thomas Grover, B. A., West Assiniboia; Mr. John
Hewgill, of Moosomin, East Aissiniboia; Rev. A. B. Baird, Edmonton Dis-
trict; Mr. P. G. Laurie, Battleford District; Rev. Canon James Flett,
Prince Albert District; Rev. John McLean, Calgary and Macleod Districts;
Catholics: Father Lebrett, for East and West Assiniboja; Mr. I. W. Cos-
tello, Calgary and Macleod Districts; Father J. M. Lestanc, Edmonton Dis-
trict; Mr. E. E. Richard, Battleford District; Father Alexis Andre, Prince
Albert District. The first examiners were Father Hugonard and the Rev.
F. W. Pelly.
The number of schools at this time was less than ninety and in the
following year there were only a hundred and thirty-seven, and the aver-
age attendance was very small. In 1891 a Normal Department was estab-
lished but no candidates presented themselves at Regina to be trained;
six attended Inspector Hewgill's class at Moosomin, and no students
were forthcoming in Alberta. Such was the fate of the first attempt to
obtain regularly qualified teachers in the Territories. In 1893 Mr. (after-