ishment and support of
grammar schools throughout the province. King's College at a later
period developed into the University of New Brunswick. It had its
beginning in the original charter of 1800, already referred to, which
established the College of New Brunswick. In the same year the governor
and trustees of the College of New Brunswick received a grant, under the
great seal of the province, of a considerable tract of land in and near
Fredericton for the support of that institution of learning. Until the
year 1829, the New Brunswick College was merely a classical school
receiving from the legislature annually two hundred and fifty pounds,
which was the same amount then allowed to the St. John Grammar School.

{MADRAS SCHOOLS}

At an early period, the attention of the people of that province was
directed to what was called the Madras system of national schools as
conducted by Dr. Bell, the real founder of the system being Joseph
Lancaster. This system depends for its success on the use of monitors,
who are selected from among the senior pupils to instruct the younger
ones. It was supposed at the time to be a notable discovery, but, like
other short cuts to learning, has fallen out of favour. In July, 1818,
the first Madras school was established in St. John by a Mr. West from
Halifax. This was a boys' school; and a school for girls, on the same
system, was opened a year or two later. In 1819, a Madras school charter
was procured under the great seal of the province, and the Madras school
system established on a substantial foundation. The province gave a
grant of two hundred and fifty pounds for the erection of a suitable
building in St. John, and the National Society in England contributed to
its support. This charter was confirmed by an Act passed in 1820. The
St. John school was to be regarded as the central school, but it was the
design of the charter that the benefits of the system should be extended
to other parts of the province, and this was accordingly done. The
Madras schools received liberal appropriations of money, and large
grants of land, and they continued to exist until the introduction of
the free school system in 1872. Two or three of them, indeed, continued
in operation after that time, but they had lost their original character
and had become simply Church of England schools, that denomination
having appropriated the Madras school endowments to the support of
schools in which its principles and c