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*'I believe we should live up to the pact of '63 and '67 to the letter. I am not for one moment seeking | to oppress the people of another faith \ who think that their children should ' be brought up in that thought--al-- | though I think the people generally ! are of another mind." Simpson Letter Read. EORGE S. HENRY is for the two--system school compromise of 1863, and believes that the Hep-- -- !)urn school bill is contrary to that pact, and that a decision on separate school taxes should rest with the courts. He took this stand on the school bill when the school debate went into its first stage at Queen's Park yesterday afternoon. é Questions Authority, that he (Dr. Simpson) supported the The highlight of the Tory Leador's|: Catholic view. statement was the declaration that ... "In P S wmthai llxetwri.'l')"'d Mtr. i PR enry, "I say that ave the courage the proposed Ch.?"'" were an "@b-- of my convictions, but i have never solute departure" front the compPr0> sought to piay party politics with a mise principles which set up the problsm of such outstanding impor-- ublic and Catholic 1 tance as that of Sepamte schools." l Ger the siatule of 1;%2'.)0 systeins _ _ Mr. Henry then read an editorial The four-- year Premier of Ontario. and Minister of Education, though personally for the 1863 pact, was of the opinion that the majority of the people of Ontario would welcome any Catholic move to abandon separate schools. f "If the separate school supporters Conservative Leader Sees Two--Party Compro-- mise of 1863 Violated by Hep-- burn School Bill Mr. Henry directly questioned the power of a shareholder to divide & corporation's taxes. "I question the claim of a shareholder's right to con-- trol property of that character. His only right, aside from voting for di-- rectors is in dividends " "If the separate school supporters would decide to forego their option." he told the House, "we would wel-- come it as a people. The majority of the people would be satisfied. and I doub:"--this in answer to Premier Hepburn's warning that Catholic abandonment of the separate schools would boost the public school rates---- "if their tax burdens would be very much increased. I don't think the people of the Province would object if there was a slight increase. . . . "Although I seek, and have always sought," said Mr. Henry, "to keep away from the political and religious aspects of this subject, I must de-- part from that policy in this one in-- stance." He then read the letter written by the present Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. L. J. Simpson, on the separate school question on Jan. 21, 1933, in which the opinion was expressed that Mr. Henry, then Premier, would not have the courage to support the Catholic attitude, but Henry Would Seek Decision on T axes In Privy Council C "I read The Globe editorials my-- sell," commented the Opposition Ikader. "It has had continuity of contact with this subject for sixty, seventy or eighty years. The domi-- nating figure of The Globe organiza-- tion was the Hon. George Brown. He definitely established the character of his paper, and today The Globe is proud of that character and is seck-- ing to live up to it. Would Refer to Courts. Mr. Henry then read an editorial in The Globe of Feb. 29 last, entitled "Finality in '63," in which it was stated that it was the duty of the present Government and its successors "to terminate the controversy." "The main question before us now," said Mr. Honry, "is whether we in this Province are living up to the ob-- ligations set up in the act of '63." "Will my honorable friend state here and now that he will pledge his party to repcal?" (of the proposed legislation) Mr. Hepburn inquired. "That is not the question now," said Mr. Henry. "This legislation is contrary to the act of '63. It is of vital concern to the public. school system." "In reply to that letter," said Mr. Henry, "I say that I have the courage of my convictions, but 1 have never sought to play party politics with a problsm of such outstanding impor-- tance as that of separate schools." The decision should rest with the courts, he argued. If the Privy Council gave a ruling the people would be satisfied. He warned the House that some day they would realize that the legis-- lation in question was like the laws of the Medes and Persians. There was a strong belief in the minds of ex-- perts in constitutional law, he said, that the legislation of the Ontario House was subject to review by the Governor--General--in--Council. "There is in my soul no rancor in the matter of roligion," Mr. Henry assured the House. "I have many good friends of the Roman Catholic faith. I judge a man by his personality and not lus religious views. Consequently I hops that no offense will be taken A Pr'l\ 7 to my remarks today. But I say that| the pact of 1863 as guaranteed in 1867 must be lived up t>, and that we cannot get rid of this interminable controversy without reference to the highest court in the realm--the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council." The former Premier opencd the Tory onslaught on the bill by depre-- cating the "great haste" in which the Governiment proposed the "momen-- tous" jegislation should be considered, "'The measure before the House to-- day is an entire departure from the principles set out in the statute of 1863 and carried forth in the guaran-- too of the British North America Act. We entirely depart from the principle ofi choice or the exercise of option." And Mr. Henry pointed out that CP.R. and Bell Tolephone taxes would be divided on a straight assess-- mont basis. The Ontario school system, the Tory Lcader said, was a system of "State schools * To this had been attached a rider giving Roman Catholics the option of banding togethner to send their children to a denominational separate school, f The former Premier traced the events preceding 1863 to bring out three points: (1) that Eg:rton Ryer-- son and other leadcers had opposed the separate schools desired by Angli-- cans and Catholics; (2) that the bill of 1863 had bsen accepted as a com-- promise by a!l parties; and (3) that a division of corporation taxes had been considered and thrown out when that compromise was arrived at. Dr. Ryerson had regretted the de-- mands for a separate school, and all through the years held to the idea of a national or State school. Alexander Mackkenzie (Ian Strachan, Macken-- zie's great--grandson, was listening from the Liberal benches) had called the 1863 law an honest compact. 'Hon. George Brown, an outstand-- ing citizen, who took a great part in Confcderation. said: 'At the final set-- tlement I was not in Quebec. 1lf I had bren in Quebec I would have voted against the bill because it ex-- tended the facilitiecs for establishing separaic schools.'" Because the 1863 law had the good quality of being ac-- ccptable to the Roman Catholics, George Brown thought it an article "not to be rejected'" from the Con-- federation program. 5 2 * The Opposition chief turned against the argument that in 1863 there had been no thought of corpor-- ation taxes. The proposed '"Bishop's bill" had dealt with the corpor-- ation taxes. and only six years later Quebec had set up the present panel system to take care of corporation taxes.