as “beginning on Pisquid River at the south line of land of Hugh and Allan McKinnon thence east to the boundary of land of Mr. James A. McDonald, thence south west to the old County Line Road, thence north to the south line of James Rodgerson’s land thence east to the County Line and thence north along the County Line and west line of Augus- tine McDonald (J. M. McNab) to the Hillsborough River and thence by the banks of the Hillsborough and Pisquid Rivers to the place of commencement.”

The boundaries of Mount Stewart North School District No. 71 are described as “beginning on the Hillsborough River on the west at Daniel McLaughlin’s east line and running thence north to north— western angle Maria Cowan’s land, thnce east to north-eastern angle of said land, thence along the Anderson Road to St. Peter’s Road, thence west to Taylor’s Mill Stream, thence by said stream to Hillsborough River and thence along the channel of the river to place of commence- ment.”

The reports of the Visitor of District Schools and of his succes- sors, the Inspectors, make, in the main, very dismal reading. The school buildings of the mid—19th century, for instance, are reported as being “ill-looking, ill-lighted and ill—furnished.” Another report ventures that “all that can be said is that they are well—ventilated one part of the year and unfit for habitation the other.” The situation was, moreover, slow to improve; indeed, as late as 1886, one of the Mount Stewart schools was described as “entirely unsuitable for school purposes and very badly furnished.” The building was shortly replaced, and, in 1892, “first class furniture” was supplied; however, in spite of such improve— ments and the sacrifices made to implement them, it has only been with- in the past two decades that standards of warmth, lighting, seating and sanitation have been raised to truly acceptable levels.

As for the state of learning, much, as might be expected, depended on the capabilities of the teacher. Thus, in his report on the Savage Harbour school for 1840, the Visitor remarked that “this settlement has had the advantage of the present teacher several years, and many of the children are consequently well advanced.” However, in 1854, the same school was found to be “below average” with “no development of child- ren’s minds on the lessons read.” The “aspect of the school” was declared to be “very untidy,” and the “influence of the teacher not calculated to enforcmewstrict obedience to the rules of the school.” Considering the rate of remeration, it is indeed a marvel that any dedicated teachers ex- isted. “One cannot hire a washerwoman for 61c a day, the salary paid a first—class female teacher,” declared Inspector G. J. MacCormac in March 14, 1908’s Examiner. “The man who carries the hod on his back,” Mr. MacCormac continued, “gets better pay than the teacher who carries a knowledge of the ‘isms’ and ‘ologies’ in his head.” This situation per- sisted throughout much of the Province’s history.

“There’s nothing to do today, John, so you may go to school” is a statement which effectively pinpointed another perennial problem of Is- land education. Economic necessity made it necessary for parents to lay claim to their children’s labour and, indeed, often terminated a child’s instruction completely before he reached his 10th or 11th year. It was in accommodation to this basic economic fact that children in the rural areas were, for a long period, allowed to take their vacations in May (3 weeks) and October (3 weeks), with a week at Christmas and mid— summer. These “seed-time and harvest” vacations did not, however, solve

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