which they had already enjoyed
in another land. It was felt in Lower Canada that similar opportunities
should be speedily provided for the English-speaking children of the
country. The majority of settlers in Lower Canada were of Scottish
origin. They were largely soldiers or the descendants of soldiers who
had fought in the Highland Regiments during the campaign of 1759, and
who after the Treaty of Paris in 1763 had taken up the land assigned to
them by the Crown. Many of these soldiers, too, later became fur-traders
and entered the service of the North-West Company. These settlers were
all eager that their children should have at least an elementary
education. It was felt, too, that in the unrest and the uncertainty of
the period immediately following the American Revolution it was not
advisable to send students in search of higher professional training to
the universities of the United States, which in the days of their
British allegiance had attracted Canadian students in large numbers. But
above all, the settlers realised the necessity for the establishment of
schools in which the children of the French-Canadians should be taught
English. It was declared that from the national point of view such
training would have a far-reaching influence on the future of Canada as
an integral part of the British Empire, and that without such
instruction, which would result in a bond of language, Canada could
never be a united land.

Efforts were accordingly made to establish a system of free schools,
with the hope that later a university might be founded. As early as 1787
the matter received the serious consideration of the Legislative
Council, and a scheme of education in the Province was actually
prepared. But the scheme met with vigorous and determined opposition
from one section of the community and it was in the end abandoned by the
authorities after a somewhat bitter controversy. Some years passed
without further action. In 1797 General Simcoe, the first Governor of
Upper Canada, and his Executive Council decided to establish a Seminary
for higher learning in that Province. They invited Mr. Strachan, a
graduate of St. Andrews' University, Scotland, to organise the College
but before he arrived in Canada General Simcoe was removed from office
and the establishment of the proposed university was long delayed. The
plans of Upper Canada in 1797 to establish a university, although their
fulfilment was long postponed, inspired th