Aside from his mutton chops he's white as fuck.

Look at his chin. Look at his hands. Forehead. white.

Edit: for comparison, other political cartoons from the time period.

(for a little context, 1869 was a period where people were debating reconstruction and other odds and ends, like who has the right to vote, etc. They were absolutely racist fucks. these were just the ones I could reasonable conclude were from 1869-ish. at the top of results for '1869 political cartoons'.)

People will argue that kicking other religions than Christianity out of school is racism.

In Quebec, the provincial government is considered racist for not allowing ostensible religious symbols in schools or allowing prayer rooms because it hinders certain religious practices.

The thing is, Quebec has been kicking religion to the curb in all its institutions since the quiet revolution after the Catholic Church has had such a long and solid influence on society to a point they actually influenced people to vote against their best interests or else risk getting excommunicated and shunned by society.

What's happening now is but the continuity.

Back in the day these comics didn't have an issue making overtly racist comments. It wouldn't be the first time that a poignant comic also had some culture issues that we had not yet dealt with.