Common Schools Act of 1871

The Common Schools Act of 1871 was a statute of the Canadian Province of New Brunswick, passed by the 22nd New Brunswick Legislature. The statute replaced the Parish Schools Act of 1858. It abolished church-run schooling in New Brunswick and replaced them with a system of government-run "common schools." The case of Maher v. Town Council of Portland was initiated as a result, and in the end, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council upheld the Act. The Act was stridently opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and its adherents, and a series of clashes between New Brunswick Catholics and the provincial government culminated in the shooting of two people following riots at Caraquet in 1875, after which the Act was substantially amended to implement a joint religious/secular schooling system.