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York County in Common with all counties located outside the large urban centres throughout Ontario had a system of county education imposed on it by the Robarts Government effective last January 1. Now most of the new county boards are facing a financial crisis of stag. gering proportions. ‘Shaken by the information that many boards are facing local tax levies two or three times the 1968 levies, Premier Robarts last week ordered his Education Minister Wil- liam Davis to prepare immediate reports on county budgets and their expected effect on local tax rates in 1969. For some time now this newspaper has questioned the wisdom of rush- ing into county education so close on the heels of the consolidation of indiâ€" vidual boards into municipal units. The townships hardly had time. to "digest" the new municipal System when they suddenlgr found them- selves thrust into the greatly en- larged county system. Reports indicate the new provincial grants formula sent out, to the coun- ties during the past two weeks. was the result of drastic cutbacks in e p e n d i n 53' ordered by Treasurer Charles MacNaughton. One munty board official said the effect of the new formula has been to reduce the overall provincial contribution to ed- ucation to about 40 percent from the 1968 figure of 45 percent. Some rural municipalities in We]- lington County in Western Ontario are facing a 100 percent increase in school taxes. In Simcoe County last year’s school tax of $400 on a modâ€" est home is expected to jump to $700 in 19691 A countyv s&stem of education could only result in a sizeable jump English~speaking Canadians eV‘el'Y- where are becoming mcreasingly concerned with the obvious attempts‘ of first the 'Pearson Government in: Ottawa. and now Prime Minister? Pierre Trudeau, to turn the face of Canada towards Quebec and the in" cessant demands of the French-Can- adian nationalists. . The central government is not the only administration guilty of this pandering to the French â€" the R0- barts Gavernment here in Ontario is also guilty of buckling under to their unreasonable demands on the Eng- fish-speaking character of the Nol'th American contineht.“~~_\ W ‘ \- For some time novar English-speak- ing Canadians have lacked a national voice to champion their cause with the same energy and vigor. The majority of our daily newspapers have been. if not openly promoting. at least playing down the demands of the French-Canadians. But of late there have been signs that English- speaking Canadians are at last show- ing a willingness to stand up and oppose this unfavorable trend to- wards French expansion. Toronto School Trustee Thomas Clifford. chairman of a Metro com- mittee planning facilities for Franc-0» Ontarian education. has relinquished the chairmanship in order to be able to fight plans for a special school for French-speaking students. Mr. Cliff- ord says he opposes not only the whole concept of separate French schools but also the militant and de- manding attitude of the French na- tionalists. He warned that a system of French schools will prove to be an extra heavy burden on the already hard pressed Metro taxpayer. “It_is my belief that to unite Can- ada from east to west there should be only one language and that lang- Subscription Rate $5.00 per year; Queen’s Park Must Help 7 An Independent Weekly: Established 1878 433â€"74? I. ition Rate $5.00 per year: to United States $6.00; 10c single com Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Published by Richmond Hill Liberal Publishing Co. Ltd. ' W. S. COOK. Publisher “Second class mail, registration number 0190” The Glher Side 2113112 liberal Richmond Hill, Ontario, Thursday. April in home taxes and a real loss of local autonomy and individual rights. One of the main arguments in' favor of the county system was that it would result in tax savings and a fairer distribution of the economic burden on our citizens. This obviously hasn’t been the case. Any increase in home taxes. could only be avoided if the province was prepared to bear a far greater share of the total cost of county education. Judging by the grants structure of the Robarts Government in the past there seems little likelihood that Queen's Park would be willing to assist the propâ€" erty owner to any appreciable extent. But the whole sad part of this matter is the repeated failure of the opposition parties in the Legislature to evoke any public debate on this major change in community life. The. performance of the Liberals and Socialistic New Democratic Party has been woefully weak and inadeâ€" quate to a sickening degree. They have drifted along and have. been unable to mount a concerted offens- ive against the government. The leadership of the Liberals, who comprise the major Opposition group (28 members) in the House. has been discouraging and disheart- ening. Robert Nixon is a fine young man but he seems to lack the verve and drive so-necessary for a Success- ful political leader. Ml'. Nixon appar- ently hopes to fall into the premier- ship by default â€" that a. series of Tory mistakes will land him in the top job in the province. Mr. Nixon or NDP Leader Donald MacDonald will only become premier if they can show a majority of the people of Ontario that they can offer a vigor- ous, viable alternative to more than a quarter of a century of Conserv- ative rule. A newly organized loyalist orgafi- ization in the Western Provinces and the Maritimes plans to combat the demands Quebec is making at Ottawa and several of the‘provincial capitals. The group first. came into public view last October in the Moncton area. shortly after the CNR an- nounced that it Would gradually increase the number of bilingual per- sonnel on its Montreal-Halifax train which serves a half-French. (income workers in Moncton) and half-Eng~ lish clientele. The CNR stressed that present employees w0uld not be affected and that bilingualism would apply only to those hired in future for dealing with passengers, such as porters and con- ductors, but th e announcement aroused insecurity among the thous- ands of rail workers based in Moncâ€" ton who speak English only. Similar fears about language dis- crimination in promotions are spread- ing among federal and provincial civil servants in New Brunswick, who are predominantly English- speaking. The two governments have denied repeatedly that biling= ualism will affect any civil servant's career adversely. The recent disgraceful perform» ance at Quebec‘s. Laval University where Opposition Leader Robert Stanfield was treated shabbin by the all-French student body. whose mems bers booed and mimicked his address to them in their own language, is indicative of the uncompromising attitude of some of Quebec’s young people towards English-speaking Canadians. Laval’s rudeness saw one student tossing a half-filled glass of water at Mr. Stanfield. However, to his credit the Tory leader remained calm in the face of their taunts. A combination of French national- real los 10, 1969 L] 1055 of local ll rights. One 3 in' favor of that it would and a. fairer l Initiator of the idea was David Cooper. second year arts student. who noticed a drawing of the old hotel in the recently published "Pioneering in North York" by Patricia Hart. and called around to look at the weathered clapboard house on Steeles Avenue West. close to Yonge Street. Slated for demoâ€" lition since 1961 when the prop- erty was sold for commercial development. the old place has become incredibly untidy and ‘run down but Cooper saw its inherent possibilities and went back to discuss them with some ,of his colleagues on “Excali- ‘bur“. the student newspaper. I As a result they visited the [present owner William Popo- wich of Yonge and Steeles Motors. who was amazed to hear of their interest and agreed to donate the building to the stu- dents if it could be moved from his premises by May 1. In a conversation with David .Biain. a news writer for “Exca- 11ibur”, and a member of the :original five man committee. I ‘learned that a feasibility study [was undertaken at once with Thornhill Architect N a p i e r Simpson Jr.. vice-president of lthe Toronto Historical Board. ‘and consultant to the Black Creek Pioneer Village. An au- thority on early Canadian build- ings. Mr. Simpson has had wide BY DORIS M. FITZGERALD land he gave full approval to Many old buildings in the Thornhill area have been moved to other sites and given a new lease on life. One of them will soon begin a second such Jour- ney if enthusiastic students at York University attain their ob- jective. On their ultra-modern campus they want to» restore and preserve the one time Steele's Inn as a pleasant pubI and meeting place. and as a pic- turesque link with the district’s past. Initiator of the idea was David Cooper. second year arts student. who noticed a drawing of the old hotel in the recently published "Pioneering in North York" by Patricia Hart. and called around to look at. the weathered clapboard house on Steeles Avenue West. close to Yonge Street. Slated for demoâ€" lition since 1961 when the prop-, 1the scheme. The cost of moving. restoring. fireproofing and suitably furn- i jishing the inn has been esti-‘ mated .at $138000. and of this amount 314.000 will be required [by May 1 to more the building along Steeles Avenue to the 1campus. The campus planning Jboard has already recommend- ed a site beside a wood lot. ‘northwest of Founders College. provided the project will not be any expense to the university. .On March 31. this recommenda- tion was presented to the prop- erty and building committee on which eight members of the board of gavernors sit. If ap- proved by them. as Mr. Blain is confident it will be. he says there is a 99% chance that it will he passed by the board of governors at their meeting on April. 14. lMiddlesex County experience in renovating and from then on was operated by moving them. the Edey house Thomas and his son Jnlm C. in Thornhill being one exampleuSteele. â€"-â€" a record in this area Middlesex County in Western Ontario wants to keep Canada’s Centennial spirit alive; County Treasurer Derek New- ton recently proposed establish- ing a trust fund for beautifica- tion projects and preservation of historic sites. It's an idea that might well be adopted by York County. Historical Fund Is Proposed To Preserve The Centennial Work Mr. Newton said that ind! viduals and groups accomplish ed a great deal during centen nial year. “New that the enthusmsm â€" and the money â€" has died. there is danger that everything we did will be undone and the money and effort will be Ln vain." he warned. that might well be adopted by‘ York County. Mr. Newton said that indi-, viduals and groups .zicromplish-j ed a great deal during centen-‘ nial year. 1 “NOW that the ehthustasm â€"i and the money â€" has died.‘ there is danger that everything we did will be undone and the: money and effort will be in vain." he warned. He suggested that $5.000 be; budgeted each year for a fund to preserve and augment the .10ca1 level and that the fund freshment ulxu v. we» uy lvvhnv for their reserQaflon'u In 1961 Miss Collins gave two private]; owned buildings benches made out of the old might be purchased or leasedtSteele's 'Inn bar to the Black through the fund. he added. ICreek Ploneer Vlllage at Edge- Mr. Newton also recommend-€193" Al the time I predicted in ed that the fund‘might be usedwThe Liberal" that before 1mg to eliminate 0r restore eyesores‘the bencheS- and the name such as roadside dumps to their‘Steeles Avenue would soon be natural state. iour only reminders of the old He said initiative for suchiinn which for more than half 3 projects ought to come from the century Offered rest and re- to travellers and their horses. on Yonge Street. ,It is nice to be wrong some- times. u‘ALU‘ us. should be used only after every effort had been made to raise the necessary money locally. Il-lllllllllllllllllllllll“lllllllllllllllllllll“lllllllllllllllllllllllll!llllllllllllllllllllltltllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll All“llIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll\ll“lllill“llllllllll“ill!ll“lllllllllllllllllllllllllll4’ For several months each year. Old Fort Henry at Kingston. broods silently under wintry skies and swirl- Pioneer Pub at the corner of Steeles Avenue and Yonge Street. built. in 1847. may go back into business if York University students are able to m0ve it to their campus and refurbish it. University administration must approve the plan. York Students T 0 Rescue Old Inn Fort Henry Ready Summer John Adams. third year poli- tical science student. is present chairman of the Green Bush Inn Committee which is in the precess of being incorpcrated. The history of Steele‘s Hotel goes back to the early days when Yonge Street was a .nar- raw dirt road bordered bv for- ests and farms. Even then the junction of Yonge Street and the town line (Steeles Avenue) was deemed a good place for business and in 1830 Joseph Abrahams built his Green Bush Inn on the northeast corner. In the same year according to re- cords in the registry office, an- other well known hotelkeeper, John Montgomery1bought a cor- responding site the north; west corner for 87 25.. but it is doubtful that he ever used it as the same ,' ner was‘ sold to John Morley.’ in November 1640 for £100. From ‘Morle.v the prypertyiéd MEEouins. But the Qix days passed 11! October 1806 lo‘stretched to Six weeks as mch Thomas St661e for £530. and:by inch two horses. one of them ty. or of unusual interest to the community. 01d buildings of special interest such as very early township halls. schools and churches may receive grants for their preservation.” work done during Centennial. He said the fund might be used to buy “sites of particular beau- Mn Newton .3150 recommand- ed that the fund might be used to eliminate or restore eyesores such as roadside dumps to their natural state. The Fort Henry Guard is another matter. The day after the fort closes in mid- September. planning ang ‘ In 1931 it was bought by the‘ late T R. H. Collins. The large hack wing was torn dmvn. and the front half containing three large rooms downstairs ione measuring 30 x 13 ft! and ;four bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs was maved from Yange Street to a lot on Steeles Ave- inue leaving the corner free for ‘a service station. Some years Ibefore the driving shed had been. made into a duplex front- ing on Yonge Street but this Was demolished when additional land was required by the gar- lage. where hotels changed owner- ship. management. and names with confusing frequency. This inn was at first called Steele‘s or the Poplar House. after the large poplar tree. circled by a seat. in the. front yard, but when the Ahrahams' moved away the name Green Bush was used. Thomas and John Steele were" “"10" for a s respected innkeepers and ran a good hotel but business declin-Ehonesth ed as railway travel increasediputpose‘ in favor. By the end of the nan-{Wh‘Ch T tury the barroom was the mammary “‘1 source of revenue and when avert-1‘ local option was introduced in M“ .1 19,06 the Green Bush was obligâ€" queath" ed to close. After that the build- any Che ing was used successively as alally E’e,‘ hunt club house. a tea room‘ ,‘If’n called the. Green Bush. and a “canon private residence. Effie“ The Collins' were English and liked the old hotel because of its fine proportions. big airy moms and spacious hallways. and they endured a good deal of discomfort and discourage- ment in the process of making it theii‘ own. “Give us six days and we will put it on rollers and if will go down slick as a button" the sprightly old fellour in charge of the movmg nssm- ed Mr. Collins But the six days stretched to six weeks as inch in charge of the maving nssm“ ed Mr. Collins. But the six days} strEtched to six weeks as Inch by inch two horses. one of themi decidedly sixraybacked. dragged? the creaking. groaning., building along on rollers. The plaster cracked. showering the Collins. who were living inside. With fine dust and hardest of all. Mrs. Collins found herself cook- ing for weeks. instead of days,, for a gang of hungry workmen. Years later she confessed, “It took me some time to get over that experience.” (Barrie Examiner) Equalization of educational opportunity and greater efificien- cy in administration are bene- fits that are supposed to accrue from the establishment of coun- ty boards of education. It was for these reasons that the opera- tion of their schools was taken away from the people and local boards and handed over to these administrative giants. In the matter of efficiency one might have expected that the single boards and administrat- ive staff for all county schools Miss Ruth Collins. talented Thornhill artist. recently receiv- ed a visit from David Cooper and a friend and was delighted to hear about the plans for her old home she believes that with the backing of such enthusias- tic. axticulate and realistic young people the venture is sure to be a success. where necessary. Small arms are checked. cleaned and re- paired to ensure dependable service. as part of a detailed Though only a few months twoyold. the Simcoe County Board old:of Education is building itself a ack chain of command. a depart- geâ€" mental structure and price tag in that would put even the bureau- :mg‘crats at Ottawa or Queen's Park .megto shame. be‘ It appears that the county 01d? board will maintain all the pres- } aient administrators and ofi’xces in re_ the various communities and and add to that. a tremendous superâ€" eeListructure of “educationists”. ne_ secretaries. assistants, assis- tant secretaries and secretar- ies‘ assistants of its own. lDear Mr, Editor; Many thanks for publishing letters pro and can the humane society‘s opposition to Ontario Government‘s Bills 73 and 74. I have read all the letters and editorials and the: proposed leg- islation itself and I feel there are still one or two Points not clarified. Dear Mr. Editor We would like to thank all the people who phoned us re- garding our lost bulldog. r We have our "Alfie" back home thanks to the kindness of the Sandy Neal family. Lang- staff Road West. They gave shelter to our dog and nhoncd us. The boys of the family had covered Alfie with a blanket and looked after him until we picked him up We are the more appreciatwe smce we have read in Toronto papers that some people keep lost dogs looking for a reward No effort is made to find the owner. and if a substantial re- ward is not offered the dog is not returned. Again our many thanks. IRENE AND JOHN HOUGH oMoney donated or hequested for a specific purpOse cannot honestly be. used for another purpose. least of all for one which would bring about the very thing the donors hoped to avert. It would make one think twice before giving or be- queathing sums of money to any charity. if this were actu- ally permitted. a Isn‘t it a great over-simpli- fication to say that all research benefits mankind? The United States. and Canada on a smal- ler scale. spend a great deal of money on research into bioloâ€" gical warfare. This means the misery of thousands of animals. and what human beings benefit? a Some have said that nothing should impede medical pro- gress; no methods should be forbidden. But consider the par- allel case of war Even at the height of war. when the safety of thousands may depend on one piece of intelligence. the torture of prisoners of war for information is not allowed by the Geneva Convention. is felt to be t00 inhumane to be tolerable. What we want is a Geneva Convention. that will say some things are too cruel llllllllmm““lulllll“lllllllllll“lllllll\lllll\llllllllllllllllllllmllilllllh County School Rd. 1.? Building An Empire; In the matter of efficiency one1 might have expected that the‘ single boards and administrat-i ive staff for all county schools would have solved duplicationl of administration and thereby' cut costs. That alone. in the$ opinion of many who are ac- quainted with government bur- eaucracies, would have been worth the price. But it seems one would have been wrong in, expecting any such benefit. Judging by the salaries to be paid to the two assistant super- visors who will fit into the bureau somewhere between the chief supervisors and the area supervisors. the cost of the brass alone will be phenomenal. Each assistant will receive $24,- 000 a year in salami It was at 5 Essex Avenue Langstaff. GOOD SAMARITANS BILLS 73 Ga 74 the ‘ have to be done to any animal. pet or otherwise. because humanity is degraded by some actions. whatever the material gain. If the medlca! schools and hospitals would collaborate with ‘ Co~operation is certainly the keynote of the 1 York County Board of Education - coâ€"operation not i only with other boards but with all sections of the community. in order to provide the best education possible for the children of York County in accord- ‘ ance with the wishes of the community. It was 1 with this in mind that the board recently passed ’ two important statements of policy: that of making all its decisions in public. with the exception of ‘ property and personnel matters and that of foster- ing ratepayer involvement in establishing policy. County Board of Education. such as the co-operation with the separate School board. Such an editorial could well be the cause of the spreading of this atmosphere of co-operation over a much wider area and into other fields. Dear Mr. Editor: May I congratulate and thank you for your editorial of March ‘20. “Co-operation is Keynote”. If is both gratifying and encouraging to have a newspaper of the stature. of “The Liberal" take a positive position on an important action of the York The board recognizes that its members repre- sent the ratepayers and hold in trust aseets that belong to the community. Thus, they believe that many facets of board policy should reflect the wishes of the cornmunity. An interchange of ideas will be actively fostered between the board and the public. in which it is hoped papers like yours will play an important role.‘as exemplified by your March 20th editorial. Since I started writing this column I have had the Opportunity to observe the efforts of a great number of young people in this community, in churches. schools and drama groups. What has impressed me most has been the professional attitude with which they tackle their variOus tasks, and though mast of these activities are pursued in their leisure time, these kids don't fool around. The majority of them are seriously intent on learning their crafts and assuming their responsibilities. In Easter week I attended a performance of "The Crucifixion". an adaptation by a grade 13 student of Langstaff Secondary SChOol to be entered in Simpson’s Drama Festival. Paul Aspland, as well as adapting the Biblical account of the cruci- fixion for the stage, directed the production and played the demanding role of Jesus. r.“ The action of the play maved through three scenes. opening in the Garden of Gethsemane. folâ€" lowed by the trial before Caiaphus. the High Priest, and Pilate, and concluding with the scene on Cal- vary. _ _ l ‘- The playwright has adhered closely to the dia- logue of the scriptures, and has made good use of the drama of the trial to introduce some action to the play, which. by its very content, is solemn in the extreme and tragic in its conclusion. Paul has a deep feeling for his subject, obviOus both in his direction and his performance. He gave a passionate and masculine portrayal. which must have won the respect of his audience. and was well supported by his fellow actors. Marvin Yake as “‘rr'-'~'- “( Caiaphus and Paul Wood as Pilate gave particularly convincing performances. and Jovce Wade. though she had a very small role as a trial witness, impressed me with her clear diction and presence. The dangers of directing a play in which one is also acting. particularly in a lead role. is that one does not get the overall picture so necessary to a director. It is impossible to assess the effects being achieved on stage when one is up there. For this reason I felt that Paul had perhaps taken on. too much and would have been wiser to have given the play to another director. ... -c x” Not enough use was made of the large stage, and the action took place either far upstage against. the curtains. thus muffling the voices, or too far downstage. where the lighting was insufficient to illuminate the faces. The sioiggestion of sets. such as rocks. doorways and bartlement. were effective, but poor lighting throughout marred som¢2 other- wisp moving scenes. To light the Cross. the spot ' ’ ‘ \‘ have been masked by up ar'torz, pxppripmo the loamy“sz loathe in rritirize thi; it when 2 plat depend; lramatir' cffpri. a: thi; 7". should l'w marle to Inihe Sp (flight "CO-OPERATION IS KEYNOTE" By MARY MONKS JOHN MacKAY. Chairman, York County Board of Education the humane societies in working out and applying such a code both science and the humane movement would gain ETHELWYN WICKSON. Kettleby. Page 14)