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Tous ies autres exempiaires originaux sont film6s en commengant par la premlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par ia dernlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un doM symboies suivants apparattra sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, seion Ie cas: Ie symbols —► signifie "A SUiVRE", ie symbols V signifie "FIN ". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmto A des taux de rMuction diffirents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, 11 est film* A partir de I'angie supArieur gauche, de gauche ^ droite, et de haut en bas. en prenant Ie nombre d'imagas nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 ►, A MATT THE €1.£ReY RESERVE IllJESTIOJ^ : AS A MATTER OF HISTORY— A QUESTION OF LAW— AND A SUBJECT OF LEGISLATION 5 m A SERIES OF :ix, T T 11 m m TO THE ►J: HON. W. H. DRAPER, M. P. P. MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, AND HKIt MAT:-:«5TV'S SOIJCIVOK. GENERAL OF UPPliR CANADA. i ' ll BY EOERTON RYERJ^O^. A " The most jtist Law, establiBhed by the provident Wisdom of Princes, doih appoint, that what concerns all, should be approved by all."-- fVrU of l^uiamons to tke Parliament of the twenty- third of Edward the Fir. Assembly rial Parlia Colborne' dian Petii general pi tion to tht £xtracti thodiat Ci the Kinn, the appOt CONTENTS. Letter I. Aeasona for addressing these letters to Mr. Draper — object agreed upon by all — how that object is to be attaiaed... -reasons for writing these letters — the question at issue explicitly stated, pp. 1-4. Letter II. The origin of thiii controversy ■... the Episcopal Clergy had nothing to do with the Re> serves beJfore 1819... how the Episcopal Clergy Corporation became established...* its limited powers .... doubts as to the validity of the Episcopal Clergy's exclusive right to the Reserves originated with Lord Bathurst, a high Churchman, in 1819.. ..those doubts coexistent with the consideration of the application of the Reserves.... opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown... .claims of the Scotch Clergy... .Mr. Morris* Resolutions adopted by the Assembly in the session of 1821-4, (note) ■... Report of the Select Com* inittee of the House of Assembly, March 1825, (H« C. Thomson, Chairman) — Address of the House to the King, Jan'y. 1826 ... proceedings of the Episcopal Clergy resumed ... misrepresentations of the feelings of the Province and of various religious denomi- natiotis by the Bishop of Quebec and his Clergy in 1823 — Dr. Strachan's missions to England in 1824 and 1R26 — extracts from his sermon on the death of the first Bishop of duebec, containing attacks on the Methodists and other denominations — up to that time nothing had been written by any Metliodist respecting the Episcopal Clergy or the Clergy Reserve Question — extracts from a review of Dr. Strachan's sermon by a Me- thodist Preacher, pp. .5-19. Letter III. "Elective Institution^'* not thought of in the country — Mr. Morris' ten Resolutions on the Clergy Reserves, and in favour of applying them to educational purposes, adopted by a majority nf 31 to 2.... names of the yeas and nays — Dr. Strachan's mission to England in 1827, and extracts from his celebrated letter to the Hon. R. W. Horton, im- peaching the loyalty of Methodists and other denominations — proofs of the loyalty of Methodists during the war with the United States, 1812-1815... extracts from a Select Committee's Report and Address of the House of Assembly to the King, March 1828, vindicating the Methodists and others from the aspersions of Dr. Strachan, and praying for the application of the Reserves to education and internal improvements — names of the yeas and nays — prayer of the Petition to the Imperial Parliament in 1830 signed by upwards of 10,0(}0 inhabitants of U. Canada •... Resolution of the highly Conservative Assembly in March 1831 — Mr. Hagerman's amendment for re-investment in the impe- rial Parliament rejected by a majority of 30 to 7 — names of yeas and nays — Sir John Golborne's Message from the King, 25th January, 1833, granting the prayer of the Cana- dian Petitions, wiiich had entreated the application of the Reserves to education and general purposes- .. .secret Episcopal Petition to the King in 18.33 — public counter Peti- tion to the King, signed by upwards of 20,000. pp. 19-34. Letter IV. Extracts from a Petition of the Episcopal Clergy to the King, reflectiog upon the Me- thodist Connexion, 1831 — extracts from the Memorial of the Methodist Conference to the KinK, Sept. 1831, in reply to the Petition of the Episcopal Clergy, and in favour of the appOcation of the Reserves to educational purposes- --remarks on Sir Jdbn Col- IV home's irntoitoHate icply to an address of llie MetlKidihi Conference ■■•. inconviateney of the Epiacopal Clorgy in doing what they had condemned others for doing — apcret Kpis r.i)pal Petition .... how discovered and brouglit to light ■ . . copy of it, ( note) .... presented Hnd advocated by Mr. Ilagerman in England in 1833 — public cniinier piition to ihe se orot Episcopal petition ... copy of it, [note] •• • • prewnted and advocated by the writer of these letters... proceed! iigH of tiio Asaeinlily in 1833, '34, '35. ...Mr. Hagerman'R amend- nj«'iit to re-invei»t the Reserves uj^iiin negatived by a majority of 43 to4 .. -establishment nce in I83t> on tlie question uf tlie Clergy Reserves an<< Rectories ..ten lacis estuh- iished by the preceding iiuriative — primary quesiion for the ftatenman in rei^ard to tliiti pnivince. pp. 34-54. Lett*;r V. [As some of thcHO letters werr written at intervals nf considerable distance of time from each other, No. V. was erroneously marked No. VI ; so that there is no No. V. iri the body of the book.] Lettku VI. The Lkoai. (irKHiios — two sens-eatn which the terms " Church r-stablishnieni" ;irr used, explained — the Statute 1st Eli/.abetli, c. 1, did not establish (hi; Church of Kn<4- land in the .subsequently chartered Col(»nl(!s — proved by the clmriHrs and history of the old British Colonies, now the United States — extract from the Roysi! Charter granted liy James [. for the Incorporation of " The Society for the Propagatiun of the Cospel in Foreifjn Parts," of wliich the Epi:>copal Clergy in the Canadas are Missionaries. . . . proofs that the Coronation Oath does not apply to the Canadas in reference to the provieinn for "a Protestant Clergy"..- the phrase "a Protestant Clergy" — several clashes of I'ro- testant Clergy recognized in the Constitutional Act — marked difference iri i!ie phrase- ology of the renrvation and the appropriating clauses of the Constitutional .'\cl — Mr, Fox and Mr. Pitt-.- -Lord Grenville's intention proved by the statements of the Earl or flarrowby and Lord Viscount Saniinn — opinion of the Select Cfunmittee of tiie British House of Commons — opinions of Lord Stanley and Sir George Murray ...Ri U, K. Eiiice's opinion that the '• idle pretensions" of Episcopal Clergy in U. Canada are " the foundation of interminable dispute" — Methodist and other Protestant denomination.^ iiave the only real cause to complain of " spoliation and robbery." pp. ri4-7-'. l! Letter VII. Thic Qukstios ok Re-tnvestment — no "vested rights" involved — principles of the constitutional compact .- -principles of legislation laid down in Royal Despatches, and avowed by the London Times .. .re-investment of the Reserves, 1st. opposed to the recorded seniiiuents of the inhai)itantsof the Province— proofs— public opinion— | a note ;J 2nd. involves the principle of religious to the exclusion of educational appropriation, in opposition to the oft-repeated "opinions and feelings" of the Province; 3rd. refers the questions at issue from a more, to a less competent tribunal for decision — proofs ; 4th. re- fers the questions at issue to a partial and injuriously dependent tribunal— proofs in the case of Lord Durham, and from testimony of llie Church, &c. ; ."ith. is a spoliation of tlie property of the Province, and a blow at its representative liberties; 6tii. will tend to weaken, if not ultimately dissolve, the existing connexion between this Province and tht; Mother Country .... objections answered, pp. 73-87. Letter VIIL Question of the clerical appropriatiuM and division of the Reserves ...a Jong disregard of the constitutional voice of the Province the cause of present difficulties... the theory of an establishment not involved in the question — objections against an exclusive ap- propriation to the Episcopal Clergy... -Ist. It endows the Clergy of the minority of the population ; 2nci. It taxes the entire population to support the Clergy of the minority ; Ord. It bestows unmerited favours upon the clergy and members of the church of the mi- noiitj 1o the exclusion of the laajority of the population— advantages of the Episcopal C!npr« «Rd their little progress in comparison of the Methodists and others in the three metropolitAn dtrtrictti of Upper CaniiUa ; 4ih. It creates « nac*)Mity for p«nai la«i*8 arxf for arbitrary and partial governniunt, especially in a cniintry 8iiuated liko U. Can&da- •< the question of the uivihion of thu ReserveH among neverttl claMca of Clergy — an im- Itortant distinction pointed out. •• .the clerical division achemc, tst. is injurious to the in- terests of the Clergy proposed to be included; 2nd. is an insult to, and virtual logislation to exclude the Methodists and other denominations; 3rdj is founded upon a time-serving t'zpcdiency, and nut upon the principles of religion and public patriotism; 4th. is imprac- licable— no medium between the endowment of one body of Clergy and no clerical er; • dowuients at all ; 5th. the proposition to include the lloman Catholic Priei>thood consid- vri-d — Catholics should be equally pro'ectcd in every respect with Protestants—but the timliiwuient of a Cutliolic l^riesthood involves the sacrifice of Frotestaniisin and the prin- oipk'H of the British C(mstitution— warning example of Prance, pp. d7~J03. Lktter IX. The proposition to apply the Reserves to educntional purposes — proofs from Nfr. At- torney General Hagerman. &c. that it has no relation to thu National Church Establinh ineni — 4'2nd clause of the Constitutional Act authorising the IochI Legislature under certain forms to legislate nt its discretion, [note] .... proposition does not preclude Imperial I*arliainentary grants, but involves the adoption of the •' voluntary system" in reference to local legislation... .3 reasons why the voluninry system is the only hope of this prov- ince — why and how endeared to nine tenths of the inhabitants — British Government and the Episcopal Clergy respoiiaibic for it — inhabitants of U. Canada would have been ^emi-barbarians, had it not been for the voluntary 8y^ RECTORIES. I^O. I. Toronto, Sept.S, 1838. To the Hon. W. H. Draper, M, P. P., and Member of the Executive Council, Sfc, ^c. Sfc, Sir: As the constitutional adviser of the Crown, as well as representative of the metropolis in the Commons House of Assembly, and as a gentleman who has avowed enlightened and liberal principles of government in relation to the reli- gious and educational interests of this Province, I take the liberty to address to you a series of letters on that all-impor- tant and deeply interesting subject. From this task I should have been happy to have been altogether relieved j but late events leave me without choice, and forbid any longer delay. I take for granted that the moral elevation, general edu- cation, the union and prosperity of the inhabitants of this Province, is an object of the highest importance in the esti- mation and exertions of the Christian, the Statesman, and the Patriqt. The question then is. In what way can that Christian and patriotic object be most safely and effectually accom- plished? I answer, as far as civil legislation is concerned. 1. By placing all religious classes of the population upon an equal footing in regard to their means and facilities of acquiring and communicating religious and educational in- struction, and by equally protecting and countenancing them to the utmost of the means and power of the Legislature. 2. By affording to all classes equal inducements to love »nd support the institutions under which they Kve. B K\. ■iy !■ ; * i>' I'i! Ill n The object proposed is common to every good man ; and the means suggested can, in my judgment, be as effectually employed under our present form of government as under ahy otner ; and it is in connexion with our present form of government, and with an ultimate view to its strength and perpetuity, that I suggest those means. Under the strong conviction of the correctness and im- portance of the principles and opinions above stated, I protest against the establishment of nfty-seven Rectories of the Church of England — against the erection of a Dominant Church or Churches in Upper Canada — and against the appropriation of the proceeds of the Clergy Reiser ves to any partial or exclusive purposes. With a view of bringing this important and long agitated question fairly and fully under public consideration, in order to promote in some humble degree its final adjustment, I crave attention to — 1. The nature of the question at issue between the Episcopal Clergy and the other classes of the community ; or I may say, the inhabitants of Upper Canada j for I be- lieve a majority of the members of the Episcopal Clmich agree with their fellow-subjects in this matter. . 2. The origin and history of the Dominant Church and Clergy Reserve controversy. 3. The arguments of the Episcopal Clergy in support of their pretensions and system, and the answers to them. 4, The religious and political effects of the system advo- cated by other classes of the population. I will do no more at present than state the question at issue. . Let it then be observed — First, that this question has nothing to do with the existence of an ecclesiastical esta- blishment in Great Britain and Ireland. Thousands who are friendly to the Church Establishment of Great Britain aad Ireland, are opposed to the erection of a Dominant Ghi»oh or Churches in Canada* The Methodist Confer- ence, in its Memorial to His late Majesty on this subject, dated 8th Sv ptember, 1831, stated — *< Of the many reasons which have been and may be adduced for ^,n Ecclesiastical I Esta pres duty the aid Establishment in Great Britain, your Memorialists would not presume to express an opinion ; but they now feel it their duty most respectfully to submit to your Majesty that the erection or continuance of an Ecclesiastical Establish- ment in Upper Canada, embracing one or more GhurcheSy with peculiar immunities and advantages in the direction of education, &c., is fraught with consequences highly injurious to the interests of the State and of Religion in the Colony." The same Conference, at its annual session in 1837, repeats, and assigns various reasons for the expres- sion of its " decided conviction of the inexpediency of the establishment of one or more Churches in this Province with exclusive rights and privileges, however well suited such an establishment may be to the condition of the Mother Country, where it is distinctly recognized by the Constitution of the Government, is sanctioned by various legislative enactments, and includes a majority, and is de- sired by the great body of the nation." Neither, secondly, is the question as to whether legislative aid may not be employed for the religious as well as edu- cational interests and improvement of this Province. We deny not that a nation or province may contribute aid in the promotion of religion in its collective as well as indi- vidual capacity — ^the same as a congregation may worship the Great Jehovah both collectively ajid individually. In- deed, Prophecy speaks of kings and nations, as well as individuals, bringing their offerings to the Lonl. I doUbt not but the day will come — may it be hastened ! — when the halls of legislation will be places of sweet and holy counsel — the halls of learning be blessed and '. autified with the wisdom that is from above — the forms a-.d crea- tions of art dedicated to the praises of Jehovah, and He alone be the centre and focus of all the sciences. A provision has been made, by the Act of the Imperial Pariiament which created a Local Legislature, for the religious instruction of the then future inhabitants of this Province. The great end contemplated by that pnmsTon was the instruction of the people of Upper Canada in the Christian religion. The Imperial Act made the Local Legislature the judge of the adaptation of that piovinon to ! M \ H f to ill il the accoiDplishment of this end, by authorising it to vary or repeal the provisions of that Act as it might deem expedient. The original class of agents named in the Imperial Statute to carry into effect its benign object, was " a Protestant Clergy." Whether that phrase was intended to include all Protestant Clergy, or the Protestant Episcopal Clergy only, is immaterial, since the agency to be employed, as well as the provision for its support, was subject to be varied or repealed by the Provincial Legislature., as the cir- cumstances of the Colony from time to time might require and its own judgment dictate. But the Episcopal Clergy claim the entir'5 and exclusive advantage of this provision of one-seventh of the Province and the prerogatives v^hich the Rectories confer. On the other hand, it. is insisted, that the endowment of any one church with such wealth and power is inexpedient and impolitic in itself, is invidious and unjust to other classes of the community, is detrimental and dangerous to the civil and religious liberties of the people — and that the most eo'-itable aiid effectual method of pro- moting the religious, educational, and civil interests of the ccuntry is to appropriate the proceeds of the Clergy Re- serves to the equal encouragement and advantage of the different denominations of Christians, in the way of aiding them in their respective efforts to advance religion and education, and, to borrow the language of His Excellency Sir Greorge Arthur, by " promoting and maintaining the rights and privileges of all classes of Her Maiesty^s subjects eqtbaMyJ^ In the early and equUable settlement of this great ques- tion, more than that of any or all others, is involved ihe future happiness and prosperity and destinies of this noble Province. I have the honour to be, • Si^, Your most obedient humble Servant, EGERTON RYERSON. i! No. li. '.i^sfin'j' ;^ v.- Sir : SepL 15, 18i8. My present object is to present a hnefhistory of the origin and progress- of ike Clergy Reserve and Dominant Church controversy. From 1791 to 1819, the Clergy Reserves were in the possession of no religious body, but were in the hands of government, and managed by it. During (hat period, and it is said for some years a^'ter, the rents of the Re- servos did not pay the s^pense of managing them. They were therefore of no pecuniary advantage to any body. In 1819, Dr. Mountain, late Bishop of Quebec, "applied to His Majesty's Government to place the Reserves under the direction" of the Episcopal Clergy in Canada ; ** in consequence of which orders were given to incorpo- rate the Clergy in each Province, for the purpose of managing and superintending the Reserves. The autho* rity given to these corporations was limited to leasing. They had no power to expend a shilling of the proceeds, except so far as was necessary to defray the contingen- cies of their meetings. They were under the direction of the Executive Government of the Province, and were commanded to pay to His Majesty's Receiver General all the rents collected by them in order to be appropriated as provided for in the 31st of the late King." (a) Hero several things are to be observed. 1. That, up to the year 1819, the Episcopal Clergy bad nothing more to do with the Clergy Reserves than any other class of Protestant Clergy. 2. That they acquired tha superintendence and control of the Ciergy Reserves, not by the Statute 31st George the Third, but by a Char- ter obtained Under the auspices and by the reconimenda- tion of Lord Bathurst — notorious as well as odious for his high church exclusion and bigotry. 3. That the (a) 8jp«er> of ibe AivhtteHegn of York before tbe Lc^dative CbttticU, Ii|aic]i 7, less, page 9. :li u< ii f ' ii I! 9 Royal Charter, obtained even under euch auspices, did not authorise the Episcopal Clergy to appropriate a farthing of the proceeds of the Reserves, but to pay them to His Majesty's Receiver General, to be appro- priated by the Government. 4. That any other body of Clergy, or any number of persons, might have been incor- porated to superintend the management of the Clergy Re- serves as well as the Episcopal Clergy, whose bishop had applied for that honour and piivilege. 5. That the con- trol of the Reserve?, therefore, by the Episcopal Clergy, determines nothing as to their exclusive claims under the Statute 31st George the Third, chap. 31. Nothing was known at the time in Canada of the application ; nor was any thing known, until some time afterwards, off the Charter of Incorporation, (b) For the last ten years it has been incessantly asserted, on the part of the Episcopal Clergy, that a doubt was never entertained, nor a word ever heard, at variance with their exclusive right to the proceeds of the Reserves, until an opposition was created against it in 1823 by certain disappointed parties in this Province, and that then it was not thought of extending the construction of the 31st Geo. the 3rd, beyond the Clergy of the Church of Scotland. This assertion has been made so often and (b) The following advertisement, cut out of an old Quebec Gazette, contains the first announcement in the Canadas oi* the Clergy Corporations, or of the exclusive pretensions and control of the Reserves by the Episcopal Clergy; CLERGY RESERVES.— His Majesty having been craciously pleased to erect and constitute a Corporation, consisting of the Bishop of this Diocese and the Cleroy of the Church of England holding benefices within this Province, for the superintending, managing, and conducting the Reserves made, or to be made, for the support of a Protestant Clergy within the Provinces, PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given, that all leases of such Reserves will in future be granted by the said Corporation ; and that applications for the same are to be made either to the Secretary of the Corporation at Quebec, or to the Clergyman of the Church of England residing nearest to the lot to be applied for. Notice is also further given to those persons — whether holding Clergy Reserves under lease, or occupying them without title— who are in arrear in the payment Cerent for the lot respectively held by them, that the Ministers of the Church of England residing nearest to such lots, are seveially authorized, on the part of the Corporation, to receive arrears of rent, or in cases wheie such arrears ■ball be Ittrge, to compound for them: such composition to be subject to the approbation of the Principal and Directors of the Corporation : And all persons so in arrear are called upon to make payment forthwith accordingly, and to prevent thereby the necessity of further proceedings against them. By erder of the Corporation. ANDREW VITM. COCHRAN, SecrUairy. •0 tuo^ But turc doul the! to confidently, that I may perhaps be thought presump# tuouB and fool. hardy for questioning its correctness. But I, nevertheless, do question its correctness — I ven- ture to assert it to be contrary to fact. I assert that the doubt as to the exclusive right of the Episcopal Clergy to the Reserves did not originate with any disappointed party either in Canada or elsewhere — it did not originate in Canada at all — it did not originate with even a liberal whig ; but it originated with no less personages than that high Churcliman, Earl Bathurst himself, and appa- rently with Kino Georoe the Fourth, in the year 1819, at the very time when application was made by the late Bishop of Quebec for Charters of Episcopal Incorpora- tion : and that very doubt seems to have been the reason why the Charters themselves reserved in the hands of Government the sole right of appropriating the proceeds of the Reserves. So strong and serious were the doubts entertained by members of the high tory Government of George the Fourth in 1819, that the LaW Officers of the Crown were applied to by Lord Bathurst to resolve them. That I am fully justified in this statement — bold and extraordinary a^ it may seem — will appear from the fol- lowing extract of the opnion of the Law Officers of the Crown, given in reply to Lord Bathurst's request: DocToi^* Commons, 15th Nov., 1819. My Lord, — We are hon^jired with your Lordship's com- mands of the 14th September ^st, slating that doubts having ARISEN how far, under the conBtruct'ion of the Act passed in the 3l8t year of His present Majesty, (c. 31) the Dissenting Protestant Ministers resident in Canada have a le^al claim to participate in the lands by that Act directed to be reserved as a provision for the support and maintenance of a Protestant Clergy. And your Lordship is pleased to request, that we would take the same into consideration and report to your Lordship, for the information of the Prince Regent, our opinion whether the Governor of the Province is either required by the Act, or would be justified in applying the produce of tie reserved lands to the maintenance of any other than the clergy of the Church of England resident in the Province ; and in the event of our being of opinion that the Ministers of Dissenting Protestant congregations have a concurrent claim with those of the Church • i! ft il w I i ? 'ii «f England ; fmttier detiringr odr opinion, wli^tli^r, in applyingr the reierved iftnds to the endowment of rectories and paraon* afei, as required by the 39th clause, it is incumbent upon His Alajesty to retain a proportion of those lands for the mainte- naR'^e of the dissenting clergy, and as to the proportion in which, under such a construction, the provision is to be assigned to the dijferent classes nf dissenters established witMn the Province. We are of opinion, that though the provisions made by 31st Geo. 3, c. 31, e. 36 and 42, for the support and maintenance of a Protestant Clergy, are not confined solely to the Ciers:y of the Church of England, but may be extended also to the Clergy of the Church of Scotland, if there are any such settled in "Canada, (as appears to have been admitted in the debate upon the passing of the act,) yet that they do not extend to dissent- ing Ministers, since we think the terms Protestant Clergy can apply only to Protestant Clergy recognized and established by law." * * * (Signed) Christ. Robinson. R. GiFFORD. J. S. COPLBT. £arl Bathurstf &e. &c. &c. Several things, again, are here to be specially noted : 1. That doubts as to the validity of the exclusive claims of the Episcopal Clergy to the proceeds of the Reserves are cb-existent with the consideration of the appropria- tion of them by the British Government. 2. That those doubts originated with a noble iidividual and government whose entire prejudices and pilicy were in favour of the Episcopal Clergy. 3. That those doubts did not relate merely to the Clergy Reserve provision in connexion with the Clergy of the Church of Scotland, but in con- nexion with the different classes of '* Dissenting Clergy." Indeed it appears from the first two paragraphs of the Crown Officers' opinion, that Lord Bathurst had not even mentioned the Clergy of the Church of Scotland, but that his inquiries related entirely to what he apprehended might be the legal claims of the Clergy of Dissenting congregations, — 'though in his own mind he probably in- cluded the Scotch Clergy under the general designation of « Dissenting Clergy.^' 4. That the only reason assigned by the Crown Officers foroot including all Protestant Cler- gy wat that iAey though ** iha iiOToa Protestant Clergy i could only apply to a Protestant Clergy recognized and e9« tablished by law/' — a point which I shall have occasion to examine minutely hereafter, when I think I will have lit- r.e difficulty in making it appear, that Protestant Dissent- ingi as well as Episcopal Clergy, were contemplated by the framer and introducer into Parliament of the Constitu. tional Act of 1791 ; and that they have been recognized as Clergy by the law of England ; and that any narrower construction of that act is contrary to its spirit and inten- tions — leaving considerations of policy in the present state of Canada altogether out of the question. [ am not aware that any thing respecting the Clergy Reserves or Clergy corporations appeared in the U. Canada newspapers from 1819 to 1823. Things were done so snugly and smoothly in those days, that I doubt whether the existence of an Episcopal Clergy Corpora* tion was generally known in the Province. " Soon after [the appearance in the Quebec Gazette^ in 1820, of an adveriisement with respect to a Clergy Corporation for the management of the Reserves] the Clergy of the Church of Scotland drew up a memorial to the Govern- ment, in which, in terms most respectful to the Sister Church, they urged their claims to a participation in the Reserves of these lands.*' (c) In the session of 1823-4, Mr. (now the Hon. Mr.J ^Morris brought the case of the Scotch Clergy before the House of Assembly. The subject was new to the nriemhers of the Assembly ; they declined giving any opinion on the construction of the Constitutional Act relative to the provision for a Protesi- ant Clergy ; but they met Mr. Morris's views and wishes so far as to adopt, with some amendment, several resolu- tions, and an address to the King founded on them, re- commending the granting of aid to the Clergy of the Church of Scotland. The resolutions were, bof (?ve,r| negatived in the Legislative Council, (d) * • (c) Pantoral Let er of H^p gcotch Clergy^ 1828, p. 7. (dj The resoluUons were adoptei) by lUe Aweoibly, I6th December, 1983, J»jf quite a majority, and .are aH follows: » Raaelved-Thit when the i^ingdoma of England and Scotland were united, the Subjecta of boti» wei« placed upon a AiQtiog of tecipro«i^, and were.ia enioy a full comniuniqatioq pf every right, privUeee, pnd ddvantage, and that nettber the ChUrcb of the oqe nor tho oih«r tberoby |aine4«n)r aacfii(Nncy<-« '. i; '.:| WW V. 10 The subject having now been brought before, the pub* lie, the general feeling of the country was decidedly opposed tn the public provision of the Clergy of one or two Churches to the exclusion of other religious deno. minations. The general elections took place in the summer of 1824. At the first session of the new Par- liament, 1824-6, several petitions were presented from sundry inhabitants of the Province in favour of an equal distribution of the Reserves among all Protestant deno. fninations of Cliristians. These petitions were referred to a Select Committee. The following extract from the Journals of the Assembly contains the proceedings of the Committee and the House on the subject : •* Mr. Thomson from the Commiltee to whom were referred the several petitions on the subject of an equal distribution of the avails arising from the lands set apart for the maintenance of a Protestant Clergy in this Province, informed the House that the Comdiittee had agreed to a Report which he was di* rected to submit for its adoption : The Report was ordered to be received and was read as fol- lows : — The Select Committee to whom were referred the petitions of sundry inhabitants of this Province on the subject of the Clergy Reserves, are of opinion that the lands set apart in this Province for the •• maintenance and support of a Protestant Clergy," ought pot to be enjoyed. t)y any one denomination of on the contrary, iltat botli were cstabiblied by law as National Protestant Cburcbes within their respective Kingdo^is, and consequently the Clergy of both pre equally entitled to a participation in all the advantages which have resulted, or mected to conform, so as at length to include the great inass of this population." *'In fine, there manifestly appears the fairest prospect that the Church of England, from the favourable disposition thai 1 now the 'prosi vaTio% I desej comi and earl^ Lon( a wi If now exiits towards it, will be able to collect within itg bosom the great bulk of the inhabitants of the Province, thould no prospect of tupporting their Clergy be held out to the various Protestant denominations." I will not characterize the above extracts as they deserve ; I leave the intelligent reader to make his own comments on the mean and intolerant spirit they breathe, and the fla|u;rant misstatements they contain. In the early part of 1824, the Archdeacon of York proceeded to London m behalf of the Episcopal Clergy Corporations, '* with a proposal (o His Majesty's Government to en- large the powers of the Corporations, "o ihr* they migl»t be able to sell to a limited extent [100,000 acres a year] as well as lease." ** On my arrival in London in April, 1824," (says Dr. Strachan) "I laid this proposal before His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Baihurst, and found that his Lordship, as well as the Under Secretary, the Hon. R. W. Horton, were disposed to adopfr it, if on consideration they should find it practicable, and not detrimental to the Church." (e) Some difficulty afterwards arose between the Clergy Corporation and His Majesty's Government about the sale of a portion of the Reserves to the Canada Com- pany ; and the Address of the House of Assembly, 27th January, 1826, (from which I have made an extract abovo) praying for and strongly insisting upon the appro- priation of the Reserves for the benefit of all Protestant denominations, excited evident uneasiness among the Episcopal Clergy. In the spring of 1826, Dr. Strachan made a second voyage to London on the subject. On the eve of his departure, he published a sermon on the death of the first Bishop of Quebec, Dr. Mountain, who died in 1825. That sermon contained a brief history of the rise and progress of the Church of England in the Canadas, and an earnest appeal to the British Govern- ment in behalf of that Church. Like all the publications l>ut forth in behalf of the Episcopal Qhurch, that Sermon contained a most unwarrantable attack upon the charao- H If 4e) SipeecbheforaibeLtgialatim Council, 18%, p.7< c ■ t J - ; I i I 14 tor of other religious denominations. As specimenSi 1 will give two short extracts : Extract or a Sermon preached by the Archdeacon o( York in 1890, on the denth of the late Bishop of Quebec, containing a hintory of the rise and progrcps of tlie Church of England In tlirae Provinces, and on apptjnl to ilin Kins*! Gov- ernment; which Serninn was distributed among the Alemberiiif His Majesty's Government by its Author, tlie Agent of the Episcopal Clergy, in IMay, 18-27' *' Even when churches are erected, — tiie Minister's influence is frequently broken or injured by numbors of uneducated itin- erant Preachers, who leaving (hdir steady employment, betake themselves to preach the Gospel irom idleness, or a zeal vviih. out knowledge, by which they are induced without any prepare, tion, to teach what they do not know, and wliich, from ihcir pride, they disdain to learn." ** When it is considered that the religious teachers of the other denominations of Christians, a very few respectable Ministers of the Church of Scotland excepted, come almost universally from the Republican States of America, where they gather their knowledge and form their sentiments, it is quite evident, that if the Imperial Government does not immediately step forward with efficient help, the mass of the population will be nurtured and instructed in hostility to our Parent Church, nor will it be long* till they imbibe opinions any thing but favourable to the political Institutions of England." "It is only through the Church and its Institutions, that a truly English character and feeling can be given to or preserved in any Foreign possession." It will now be seen that successive attacks had been made by the Episcopal Clergy upon the character of their unoffending brethren of other religious denomina- tions; and that the House of Assembly had repujliated the exclusive claims of the Episcopal Clergy, and urged the rights and claims of other classes of the population. Up to this time, be it observed, not a word had been written respecting the Episcopal Clergy or the Clergy Reserve question by any Minister or Member of the Methodist Church: At that time the Methodists had no law to secure a foot of land for parsonages, chapels, and the burial of their dead ; their ministers were not allowed to solemnize matrimony ; and some of them had been the objeets of cruel and- illegal perseontton on the part of Magistrates and olhers in authority. And now were they the btitt of tmprovoked and unfounded fisper- eion II eion from the heads of the Episcopal Clergy, while pur* suing the " noiseless tenor of their wuy," through trackless forests and bridgiess rivers to preaf je25 £fOfpei M The Methodist preachers are aiid to be " uneduetted," and to preach the goapel without '* any preparation." To a eolU- giale education they do not make pretensiona. But it ihould not be forgotten that there are other waya and placea of im* provemont besides the Doctor'a Academy at , and that if this nhjeciion may be brought against the nsethodiat prraoh* ers in Canada, it cannot be brought against those who com« posed their articles and discipline, and who formed their eoo« stitution. The founders of Methodism were not inferior to the most illustrious of their age, both in the republic of letters, and in scientific knowledge in general. But the Methodist preachers are not destitute of learning; nor do they under- value it. They consider it indispensably necessary to be an able minister of the goapel. They ^o farther. They say, ** to human learning we must add divine grace :" ** that man ie not properly qualified," say they, ** who can only translate some of the classics, read a chapter or two of the Greek gospels, rehearse the Lord's prayer and the ten commandments in Latin, perhaps write a Latin sermon, &c. ; if he be destitute of that wisdom which comes down from heaven, he cannot discern the things of the spirit of Cod," (1 Cor. ii. 14.) "Old things must pass away, and ail things must become new," (2 Cor. v. 17.) St. Paul's learning, though extensive, did not qualify him for the ministry. *'His sins must be washed away, and he be filled with the Holy Ghost," (Acts ix. 17.) The son of God was revealed in his heart before he was qualified to preach him. among the heathen, (Gal. 1. l6.) Except a man be not only bdrn of water, but of the apiritt he cannot see, much less caa he enter, and we add, much less is he qualified to preach the kingdom of God, (John iii. 3, 6.) ** Learning and piety," sayu an able divine, " accompanied with a consciousness of the divine call, constitute the accomplished minister of Jesua Christ." The Methodist preachers consider a knowledge of the lan- guages both desirable and useful, and encourage the attain- ment of them, and allow to those who possess this knowledge,, all the superior advantages which it confers. % % fC % 9|( A t|< Whoever attends to the following rules given in the Me- thodist discipline, will see the wickedness and falsehood of those lague assertions, that the Methodist preachers 'are in- duced to preach what they do not know, and which from their pride they disdain io learn.' « « « « • * * The doctor asks in the language of despair, " what can 53. clergymen do scattered over a country of greater extent than, c2 m ^nii '■■■:k 18 Oroat Britain?" For the Doctor'a reflection and encourage* ment I would aaic what did 12 apoetlea do in the midiit of an obsttnatet a barbarous, and a persecuting world 1 What did a Waldus do in the valleys of Piedmont 1 What did a Wick* liffe do in England 1 What did a Luther do in Germany ; nay, in the Christian world ? What did a Wesley and his contemporaries d' in Europe? What have the Methodists done in America ] One particular reason, which the Doctor assigns for im« rploring the aid of the Imperial Parliament is, that republican principles will be instilled into the mindfi of the people, by the * religious teacHers of the other denominations, who,' he says, 'come almost universally from the Republican States of America.* They are not Republicans; neither are they infected with republican principles; nor have they come 'almost universally from the Republican States of America.' Seven eighths of the religious teachers among the di&> centers, are British born subjects. And out of the v /^oie body of the Methodist itinerant preachers, who seem to bo the prin- cipal butt of the Doctor's hatred, there are only eighty who have not been horn and educated in the British dominions. And of those eighty all except two have become naturalized British subjects accordmg to the statute of the Province. The huctand-cry that 'dissenters are disaffected to the im- perial Government,' has stunned the ears of almost all Europe, for more than two centuries. It was first raised to make dis- senters contribute to the support of the establishment, to en- large the revenues of the clergy, and to give more unbounded sway to ecclesiastical domination ; such as enforcing the act of uniformity, &c. ; And doubtless it is for the same purpose that it has been transported to America, and now continues its hideous shrieks through the ' dreary wastes' of Canada. Have the dissenters in this country ever shown a disposition in any way hostile to the true interests of the colony 1 Have they not been quiet In time of peace, ard bold in time of war ? Answer ye parents who mourn the loss of patriotic sons, who yielded up the ghost in the field of battle ! Speak, ye fatherless children ! the dying groans of whose dissenting fathers pro - claimed that 'they could die in defence of the British constitu- tion, and yet be uhconnected with religious establishments I' Bear testimony, ye disconsolate widows, whose dissenting husband's loyalty has doomed you to perpetual melancholy I Lifl !ip your voices, yo unfortunate invalids, whose lacerated limbs speak more than volumes, thct they are slanderers and liars, who say that the religious, any more than the political 19 ^\ • ^fisenters in Canada, are not true to * ihe political inatitations of England !' " I have the honor to be, &c. d:c. dec. No. III. i Sir: T resume my narrative of the Clergy Reserve question. I have shown that the doubts as to the exclu. sive right of the Episcopal Clergy to the Reserves originated with a high church government in Eng- land in 1819 — years before the discussion of the question in this Province ; that objections were made to those exclusive claims in this Province as soon as they were known to the public ; that at the very first general elec- tion, in 1824, after those exclusive claims were put forth, an Assembly was elected which almost unanimously protested against them, and in favour of equal civil and religious rights amongst all denominations of Christians. This, be it observed, was many years before the phrase *' elective institutions" was heard of in the land ; and had the wishes of the people, constitutionally and almost unanimously expressed, (29 to 2) as they were in 1826, been regarded, as they ought to have been, and as they must have been had England instead of Canada been the party concerned — the other questions of agita- tion which afterwards grew out of this, never would have been known, and our thirteen years of ceaseless agitation would have been thirteen years of contentment and pros- perity ; ScJiools of instruction would have been planted and endowed in various parts of the Province instead of Rectories of dominancy and agitation ; and you would not be compelled to do as a matter of unavoidable neces- sity in 1S39, what might have been done as a measure of political wisdom and intelligent enterprise in 1826. , f iii.i 20 tfe' 5 , i j i I only wish, Siri that as a government and a country we may have learned wisdom in the school of bitter experi- ence ^ I have also shown that the disputes and strong feelings which have been excited between different denomina. tions of Christians in connexion with tnis protracted controversy, originated in successive and mo^t unwar- rantable attacks and misrepresentations by the Episcopal Clergy. Having stated the proceedings of the Assembly on the subject in the sessionj of 1823-4, 1824-5, and 1825-6, I proceed to state what was done in the session of 1826-7. The subject was taken up with deep interest and feeling. The debate which took place on thb occasion was the first legislative debate I ever listened to, and was one of the ablest that was ever witnessed in our Provincial Assembly. The principal speakers on one side were Mr. Attorney General (now Chief Justice) Robinson, Mr. J. (now Judge,) Jones, and Mr. (now the Hon. Mr.) Gordon ; on the other side, the chief speakers were Mr. (now the Hon. Mr.) Morris, (the mover of the ten first resolutions.) Mr. Rolph and Mr. Bid well. The debate resulted in the adoption of the following resolutions : — Extracted from the Journals, f?l!iid December, ]826, pp. 23, 24. "l. Resolved,— That the despatch of the Right Honourable Earl Bathurst, His Majesty's Principal SecreUry of State for the Colonies, cominunicated to this House on the 12lh instant by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, in answer to the Address to His Majesty of this House at its last seniou: respecting the Clergy Reserves, is unsatisfactory to this Assembly, inasmuch as it is silent on a material part of the respectful representation of this. House contained in the said Address. 2. Resolved, — That the Imperial Parliament, by conferring on the people of Upper Canada a conslituiion in many impor- <.ant respects similar to that enjoyed by the inhabitants of the P9.rent State, was desirous of promoting the happiness and prosperity of all persons who might become resident in the Colony. 3. Resolved,— That the appronriation of a seventh of all the surveyed lands within this Province, for the support and main- tenance of a Protesiant Clergy is a st.iking manifestation of the paternal regard of the government of the Mither Country 21 to all His Majesty's subjects ; and, with power by the Assembly to legislate thereon, a most important point of said constitutiofi. 4. Resolved, — That the Imperial Legislature foresaw the probability of circumstances in the condition of the inhabitants of this Colony which might render an alteration in the law with respect to the Clergy Reservation expedient, and wisely left the Provincial Parliament at liberty to make such changes therein as the future state of society might require. 5. Resolved — That the construction given to the Imperial Act, which appropriates the Clergy Reserves to Individuals connec'ed with the Church of England, and the determination of the Clergy of that Church to withhold from all other denominations of Protestants residing within the Province, the enjoyment of any pari of the benefits arising, or which may arise from the lands so set spart, call for the immediate attention of the Provincial Legislature to a subject of such vital interest to the public in gen- eral, and that such claim by the Protestant Episcopal Church is contrary to the spirit and meaning of the 31st Goo. III., and most injurious to the interests and wishes of the Province. Yeas 28, Nays 3,— Majority 25. 6. Resolved — That a comparatively small proportion of the inhabitants of Upper Canadr are members of the Church of Eng. land, and therefore ought not in justice to desire the sole enjoy, ment, by their clergy, of all the advantages which these lands present, to the exclusion of their fellow subjects, although equally loyal and firm in their attachment to His Majesty's Government and the Constitution. 7. Resolved — That in a thinly inhabited country, such as Upper Canada, where the means of moral instruction to the poor are not easily obtained, it is the bounden duty of the Parliament to afford every assiiftance within its power towards the support of education. 8. Resolved — That the present provision for the support of District and Common Schools is quite inadequate to the wants of the people, and ought by every reasonable exertion to be increased, so as to place within the reach of the poorest inhabitant the advantages of a decent education. 9. Resolved — That it is the opinion of a great proportion of the people of this Province that the Clergy lands, in place of being enjoyed by the clergy of an inconsiderable part of the population, ought to be disposed of, and the proceeds of their sale applied to increase the provincial allowance for the support nf District and Common Schools, and the endowment of a Provincial Seminary for learnmg, and in aid of erecting places ofpubliu worship for all denominations of christians. Yeas 31, Nays 3,— Majority 29. XO. Resolved,— That it is expedient to pass a bill authorisipgf the sale of tlie Clergy Lands within this Province, for the pur- pofica set forth in the foregoing resolution, and to address Hm I (■I > i' :f > Majesty, humbly toliciting that he will be graciously pleased to f/ive the Royal assent to said bill. 11. Resolved — That the number of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the provinces bears a very small proportion to the num- ber of other Christians, notwithstanding the pecuniary aid long and exclusively received from the benevolent society in England by the members of that church, and their pretensions to a monopoly of the Clergy Reserves. Yeas 30, Nays 3, -Majority 27 » Yeas and Nays on the foregoing resolutions : YBAS.—Measieurs Atkinson,, Baby, Boardsley, Beasiey, Bidwell, Burnham (Zaciieus, now the Hon.,) Cameron, Clark, Coleman, Hamilton, Hornor, Ingersol, D. Jones, Lyons, LefFer- ty, Matthews, McBride, McCall,McDonald,McDonell, Morris, perry, Peterson, Randal, Rolph, Thompson, Thomson, Walsh, White, Wilkinson, and Wilson— 31. Nays, — Messieurs J. Jones, and Scollick--2,— the Attorney General and Mr. Gordon having left the House. On the 28th of the same month, Mr. Morris reported the draft of a bill for the sale of the Clergy Reserves, pursuant to tho foregoing Resolutions. It passed a se- corid reading the 8th January 1827, by a majority of 20 to 3 — Mr, Foihergill being present and voting for the bill. The bill passed a third reading, and was ordered to be sent to the Legislativo Council, on the 12th inst., where it was either not taken up at all, or rejected. It has been stated that the Archdeacon of York went on a second Church Mission to £ngland in 1826. In the fulfilment of his mission, he obtained a Royal Char- ter for the University of King's College, with an endow, ment of 225,000 acres of land, and £1,000 a year for sixteen years. The provisions of the Charter were so sectarian and exclusive as to call forth the expression of strong feelings of dissatisfaction and complaint from the inhabitants of the Province through addresses from the Assembly and petitions from the people — which continued year after year — until Royal Instructions were sent out in 1835, authorising the repeal of the obnoxious clauses in the Charter* The Archdeacon also sought to obtain additional grants to the Episcopal Clergy ; and with a view of promoting his object, he drew up and laid before th8 Secretary of State fojr the Colonies, May, 1827, a 33 Chan and Letter de8cri(!Mve of the religious 6tat3 of' tipper Cnnada. The letter and chart were laid befbi'e the British House of Commons, and ordered to bd printed, I quote the following passages from the Arch- deacon's letter, which was addressed to the Hon, R. J. W. Horton, Under Secretary of Slate for the Colonial Department. ••19, Bury StreeU St. James's, May IGth, 1827. Sir,— I take the liberty of enclosing, for the information of Lord Godorich, an Eccleaiastica! Chart of the f'rovince of Upper Canada, which I believe to be correct for the present year, 1837, and from which it appears that the Church of England has made considerable progress, and is rapidly increasing. The people are coming forward in all directions, offering to assist in building churches, and soliciting with the greatest anxiety the establishment of a settled minister. Indeed the prospect of obtaining a respectable clergyman unites neighbourhoods toge« ther; and when one is sent of a mild conciliatory disposition, he is su' in any settlement in which he may be placed, to form the respoctable part of the inhabitants into an increasing congregation. There are in the province 150 townships, containing from 40 to 500 families, in each of which a clergyman may be most usefully employed; and double this number will be required in less than 12 years. When contrasted with other denominations, the Church of England need not be ashamed of the progress she has made. Till 1818, there was only one clergyit^an in Upper Canada, a member of the Church of Scotland. This gentlemen brought up his two sons in the Church of England, of which they are now parish piiests. Ader luS death, his congregation was spiit in three divisions, whici/, with another collected at Kmgston in 1823, count four congregations in all, which are in communion with the Klrlc of Scotland. Two are at present vacant, and of the two Scotch Clergymen now in the province, one has applied for holy orders in the Church of England. The teachers of the different denominations, with the exception of the two ministers of this Church bf Scdtland, 4 Congregation, alists, and a respectable English Missionary who presides over a Wesloyan Methodist meeting at Kmgston, are for the hnost part from the United Stales, where they gather their knowledge and form their sentrmentB. Indeed the M(dthodi8t teachers are sabject to the orders of the Conference of the United States of America; and it is manifest that the Colonial Government neither has, DOr can have any other control oyer thero, or prevent them from.giti- ddally rendering ^ large jsdrtibn of the population, by tlieir inflb- eace and incftrobtititts, hostile to oiir instftutioiiii both civil and re- Ugimi?, thas bf inbrettsitig the number of the EatabtUhed Clergy. m 24 Two or three hundrOd Clergymen living in Upper Canada, ifi Ihe midst of their oongregaiiont, and receiving the greater portion ol their income fVom Tunda deposited in this country, must attach fetill more Intimately the population of the colony to the parent state. Their inflo jnco would gradually spread ; they would infuse into the ifihabita.its a lone and feeling entirely English, and ac- (quiring by degrees the direction of education which iho Clergy of England have always possessed, the very first feelings, sentiments, end opinijne of the youth, must become firitish " Dr. Strachan's letter soon foun^' its way into the Canadian newspapers, and made no small stir in the Province. Meetings were held, and petitions were got up an(] signed by members of various denominations of Christians, praying the House of Assembly to investigate the statements and representations made by Dr. Strachnn to His Majesty's Government in behalf of the Episcopal Church, and against the principles and character of other denominations, especially the Methodists — and fjso to inquire into the provisions of King's College Charter. The House appointed a Select Committee, That Com- mittee drew up a list of fourteen questions, and called fifty-two witnesses before them. The witnesses con- lasted of members of the two branches of the Legislature, and other respectable gentlemen. The first question related to the birth place and educa- Ition of the ministers of the various denominations ; the second to the tendency of the instruction and influence of the Methodist ministers throughout the Province ; the third to the influence upon the loyalty of ,he Province by increasing the Missionaries of the Church of England ; the fourth to the :isaerted increase of the Church of ^England, and the tendency of the population towards it; the fifth to the wishes of the inhabitan-s of Upper Canada Jn regard to the establishment of one or more Churches or Denominations in the Province with peculiar rights, privileges, or endowments ; the sixth to the wishes of the people as to whether the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves should be given to the Clergy of the Church of England ; the seventh to the general wishes of the Province as to the application of the proceeds of the Reserves ; iho eighth to th6 interference in politics by the clergymen of the tbe popu| witn< tion opini| varii Chui Chui in th( to the ofth^ elicit ous I does coun and I over tiona A8 catei are the / ttnada, jft r portion 8t attach e parent id infuse and ac. Mergy of timents, ito in the the ere got ons pf stigate rachan scopal fother Jso to larter. Com- called con. lature, duca- ; the ience '• ; the vince land; ih of Is it ; nada ches jhts, fthe rves nd ; is to iho lof 25 the various denominations ; tha ninth to the proportion of the members of the Church of England to the whole population of the Province ; the tenth to the opinions of witnesses as to which was the most numerous denomina- tion of Christians in the Province ; the eleventh to the opinions of witnesses as to whether any and which of the various denominations was more numerous than the Church of England ; the twelfth as to whether the Church of England has laboured under greater difficulties in this Province than any other church ; the thirteenth to Dr. Strachan's Ecclesiastical Chart of the Province; the fourteenth to the asserted ignorance of the Teachers of the various Christian denominations. These questions elicited a mass of information relative to the early religi- ous history of the Province, which, in all probability, does not exist in relation to the early state of any other country. I need scarcely say that every material position and statement of the Agent of the Episcopal Cfergy was overthrown by an overwhelminf; weight of unexcep- tionable testimony. As the character of the Methodists was deeply impli. cated by Dr. Strachan — and as the old stereotype attacks are now being repeated by his deputies of the Patriot, the Star, and TA? Church — I will adduce two or three unquestionable testimonies, and the voice of the Repre- sentatives of the people of Upper Canada in 1828, as to the Christian integrity and unimpeachable loyalty of the Methodist body from the earliest settlement of the Pro- vince, — notwithstanding their former ecclesisastical con- nexion with the Methodist Church in the United States. I will quote the evidence on this point of the late Hon. Thomas Clark, and the Hon. William Dickson — both residents in the Niagara District, which Was the field of battle during the late war with the United States — ^both Members of the Church of England — ^both high conser. vatives— and both old and intimate friends of the Arch- deacon of York. In reply to the Question, ** Do you think that the influence and instructions of the Methodist preachers in this province are rendering or have a ten- dency to render a large portion of the population hostile J) ■ ,1 1'^' li • I! \"m .1 to our institutions both civil and religious V* Mr. Clakx giiyg-^»< i donoi think thai the influence of the Methodist preachers throughout the province^ as far as lam acquaint- ed, has any such tendency ; but the contrary." Mr. D10K8ON says — ^^ FVom general observaiums^ I think the contrary^ and that the Methodists as a religious sect^ prompted and encouraged their hearers in defence of the province^ and in repelling invasions^ during the late war in that part of the province where I resided," The Report of the Select Committee was adopted by a majority of 22 to 8. The Yeas were Messrs. Beards. ley» Beasley, Bidwell, D. Cameron, Coleman, Fothergill, Hamilton, Hornor, LefTerty, McBride, McCall, McDonald of Prescott and Russell, McDonell of Glengarry, Matthews, Morris, Perry, Peterson, Randal, Rolph, White, Wilkinson and Wilson. I extract the following passage from the Report : *' The insinuations in the letter against the Methodist Clergy- men, the Committee have noticed with peculiar regret. To the disinterested and indefatigable exertions of these pious men, this Province owes much. At an early period of its history when it was thinly settled, and its inhabitants were scattered through the wilderness and destitute of all other means of religious instruction, these ministers of the Gospel, animated by christian zeal and benevolence, at the sacrifice of health and interest and comfort, carried among the people the blessings and consolations and sane* tions of our holy religion. Their influence and inslruetion, far from having (as is represented in the letter) a tendency hostile to our institutions, have been conducive, in a degree which cannot easily be estimated, to the reformation of their hearers from licen. tiousness, and the diffusion of correct morals, the foundation of ^11 sound loyalty and social order. There is no reason to believe that, as a body, they have failed to inculcate, by precept and ex- ample, as a christian duty, an attachment to the sovereign and a cheerful and conscientious obedience to the laws of the country. More than 35 years have elapsed since they commenced their labours in the colonies. In that time the province has passed through a war which put to the proof the loyalty of the people. If their influence and instructions have the tendency mentioned* the eflbcts by this time muit be manifest; yet no one doubts that the Metbodttts are at loyal as any of His Majesty's subjects. And the very fact that, while their clergymen ar: dependant for tbmr •O^port uboA the Toluntary contribotiona of Itheir people, the namber of their members has increased so as to be now, in the ojpinioii of almost ill the witaesMs, greater than that of the man* bei ref hai loj lis^ su^ Wll mil drf po m] 27 btrt of any other denominttioii in thia prorineo, it a oomplato refutation of any aiitpioion that their influence and instruotiona have Boch. a tendency: for it would be a groaa alander on the loyally of the people to tnppoae that they would countenance an(d listen with complacency to thoae whose influence waa exerted for such base purposes. '* The House of Assembly ordered a copy of the Report with the accompanying evidence and charts to be trans- mitted to the Imperial Government, and adopted an Ad- dress to the King on the subject. From this most im. portant Address I make the following extracts : To the King*8 Moat Excellent Majesty, Most Gracious Sovereign : We, Your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper Cinada, in Provincial Parliament assembled, humbly be(( leave to represent to Your Majesty, that we have seen, with equal surprise and regret, a letter and ecclesiastical chart, dated 16th May, 1827, and addressed by the Eionorable and Venerable Doctor Strachan, Archdeacon of York, a member r.f Your Majesty*a Legislative and Executive Councils of this Province, to the Right Honorable R. J. Wilmot Horton, at that time Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, for the information of Lord Godericb, then at tbo head of the Colonial Department ; as they are inacca* rate in tome important respects, and are calculated to lead Your Majesty's Government into serious errore. We beg leave to inform Your Majesty, that, of Your Majesty's fiubjects in this Province, only a B!nall proportion are membera of the Church of England; and there is not any peculiar tendency to that church among the people, and that nothing could cauae more alarm and grief in their minds, than the apprehension that there was a design on the part of Your Majesty's Government, to establish, as a part of the state, one or more church or denomina- tions of Christians in thl« Province, with rights and endowments, not granted to Your Mujesty's subjects in general, of other de. nominations wliu are equally conscientious and deserving, and equally loyal and attached to Your Majesty's ttoyal Person and Government. In following honestly the dictates of their con- science, as regards the great and important subject of religion, th* latter have never been conscious that they have violated any law or any obligation of a good subject, or done any thing to forfeit Your Majesty's favour and protection, or to exclude themseUes from a participation in the rights and privileges enjoyed by Yoor Majesty's other subjects. We humbly beg leave to assure Your Majesty that the inaintt. ations in the letter agiinst the Methodiat Preachers in thie Prov. tnee do much injuatlce to a body of pioua and.deaertinf o^d, who justly enjoy the confidence, and are the ipiritaal ioitroctora L.-l» ^11 28 c»f t Itrgf portion of Your Majoaty*! ■objtoU in this Pro?ineo. We are oonTfinced thtt tlie tendenoj of ineir influenoe and in. ■truclion !■ not hostile to our inititutioni, but on the contrary ia eminently favourable to religion and morality ; and their labdura are oaloulated to make their people better .men and betier snbieota; and have already produced, in thia Province, the happieat eneeta. While we fully and gratefully appreciate Your MajettWa gra- oiona intentiona in granting a royal charter for the eatabliihment of an Univeraity in thia Province, we would beg moat reapectfully to repreaent, that, aa the great body of Your Majeaty*a aubjecta in thia Province are not membera of the Church of England, they have aeen, with grief, that the charter containa provisiona which are calculated to render the inatitution aubaervient to the partiou. lar intereata of that church, and to exclude, from its officea and honoura, all who do not belong to it. In consequence of these provisiona ita benefita will be confined to a favoured few, while othera of Your Majealy'a subjects, far more numerous and equally loyal and deaerving of Your Majesty's paternal care and favour^ will be ahut out from a parlicipation in them. Having a tendency to build up one particular chutch, to the piajudice of othera, it will naturally be an object of jealousy and diaguat. Its influence aa a aeminary of learning, will, upon these aconunts, he limited and partial. We, therefore, humbly beg that Your Majeaty will be pieaaed to liaten to the wishes of Your Majeoty's people in this respect, and to cause the present charter to be cancelled, and one granted freo from the objectiona to which, emboldened by a conviction of Your Majesty's paternal and gracious feelings to your loyal subjects in this Province, as well as by a sense of duty to the people, and a knowledge of their anxiety upon the subject, we have presumed to advert. We would also beg leave to state that it is the general deaire of Your Majeaty 's subjects in this Province, that the monies arising from the sale of any of the lands aet apart in thia Province for the sjpport and maintenance of a Proteatant clergy, ahould be entirely appropriated to purposes of education and internal improvement. We would moat humbly repreaent, that, to apply them to the benefit of one or two christian denominationa, to the excluaion of othera, would be unjuat aa well aa impolitic, and that it might perhaps be found impraoticnble to divide them among all. We have no reaaon to fear that the cause of religion would suffer materially from not giving a public support to its ministers, and from leaving them to be supported by the liberality of their people. We therefore humbly pray, that the monies arising from the BMh of the lands set apart in this Province for the support and maintenanoe of a Protestant Clergy, may be placed at the disposal of the Legislature of thia Province, for the purposes we nav« mentioned. JfoBir WiuaoN, SptMk^r* C§mimnu H«ue of AtHmhly ) 20th March, 1828. ( NaJ CoU Bri Mat Frc ell of M its ten app tho Ad(| 18 the 99 ;' On tho patting of the abo?e Addrett the Yeae and Nayt were taken at foUowt : Yea8— Mettieurt Baby, Beardtley, Beatley, Bidwell, Coleman, Fothergill, Hamilton, Hornor, Lefierty, Mc« Bride, McCall, McDonald of Preteott and Rataell, Mtttthewt, Perry. Peterson, Randal, Rolph, Thornton of Frontenac, While, Wilkinson, and Wilson— 21. Nays— Messieurs Burnham, Cameron, Jones, McDoQf ell of Glengarry, McLean, Morris, Scollick, Thompton^ of York, an'J Vankoughnett — 9. Mr. Morris voted against the Address on account of its praying for a part of the Reserves to be applied to <' in. ternal improvement." He wished to have them wholly applied to purposes of education, and moved to have tho words ** internal improvement" struck out of the Address ; but his motion was negatived by a majority of 18 tq 12. But Mr. Morris voted for the Report on which the Address was founded. ,u. • ^uVA'n [n the autumn of the same year the famous Committee of the British House of Commons on the civil govern, ment of Canada was appointed, in compliance v/ith the prayer of petitions from both Provinces, and investigated the whole subject again. With the report of that Com. mittee the petitioners were well satisfied. It was natu. rally supposed that these proceedings, both jn this Pro. vince and in England, would have finally settled the question of a dominant church in Canada ; but a selfish and baneful oligarchical party interposed between a loyal and deserving people and their sovereign, and defeated their exertions and thwarted their wishes ; so that the above Address of the U. C. House of Assembly was never even acknowledged by the Secretary of State for the Colonies ! Notwithstanding these constitutional and energetic proceedings, the dominant church system seemed to be basking in the sunshine of royal favour, and appeared to be acquiring additional advantages, until, from increased apprehension and* dissatisfaction, a public meeting w$0 held in the Presbyterian chapel in this town the lOtti December 1830, when a petition to the British House of d2 ^lyr '.:!,:! iii; fS: S I ' f) m m f s Commont was idopted and recommended for general oir« eulation and aignature. Upwardaof 10,000 names were attached to the petition ; an agent waa appointed to car- ry the petition to Ennland, to advocate the prayer of it. The prayer of the petition waa aa follows : *' Ma^ it there/'-rtt please your Hononrahte House to take the sub" Jeot of religion and edutfathn in Uppir Canada, intoy'tur most seri. ous consideration— to take such steps as may be within the onstitv tionat powers 0/ your Honourable House-^to leave the ministers of all denomitMtions of Christians to be supported bt/ the peopfe among whom they labour, and bif the votuntaru contributim of hcnemlent societies in Canada and (jreat Britain -to do away with all political distinctions on account of religious faith— to remove all ministers of religion from seats and places of political power in the I'roiinriat Oovernnient — to grant to the Clftrgy of all denomi.mtions of Chris' tians the enjoyment of equal rights and privileges in every thing that appertains to them as subjects of His Mujesty's Govvrnmint, and as ministers of the Gospel, pnrticularly the right of solemnizing Matri- many, of which many of them have long been deprived contrary tu the repeated and unanimous votes *f tl ? House of Assembhf — to modify the Charter of King's (College established at York, in Upper Canada, so as to exclude all sectarian tests and preferences — and to appropri- atfi the proceeds of tfie sate of lands heretofore set apart for the sup^ port of a Protestant Clergy, to the purposes of general education and various internal improvemtnts* And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. {Signed) By lO.OUU and upwards Inhabitants of the Province." I beg the reader to bear the above prayer of the peti. tion in mind, together with the following resolutions of the House of Assembly, adopted 12th March, 1831 ; a8 these were the grounds of the first and only formal decision of the British Crown on the Cler,0 Reserve question, ** Resolved,-^ Th^i by the act 0^ the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland, Slst Geo. 3rd, one seventh of the lands of this Province was set apart for the support of a Protestant Clergy. That under that act, appropriations have from time to time been made; and which appropriations are in thia Province known by the name of * the Clergy Reserves.' That these appropriations having, been generally made in lots of two hundred acres through, out the several Townships of this Province, the value of the same has been much enhanced by the aettlement of the country, and prineipally from the improvement of the laiida in the neighbour- hAod of suQh appropriations, by the labour of the inhabitantt, eompoiod of virioas denemiDatioai of Chriatiant. 1 bat thaie 81 n as b7 RfftrvM bting •<> inltrfp«rMd with tht Undt of lelaal Mttlcrt, lute miUritlljf r«Urd«d iht Improftment of the eountry. Thtt« by tn let, ptMed in tht r«ifn of Hit Ute mott Graoiout Majaity, prof iiion was made for the aale of • portion of the aaid Renervei. That it ia uitju§t tft wtll •$ impolilio to appropriate the aaid landa to the aupport of any one Church exoluaively ; and it ia eitremely difficult, if not altogether impraciioable, to apportion or divide the aame among the Clergy of all denominiitiona of ProteHtanta. Thai a large majority of the inhabitant* of thia Province are aincerely attached to Hia Mnjeity'a peraon and government; but are aver»« to the ettaUiahmunt of any exetutive or dominant Church. That thit Home ffft confident that, to promote the prosperity of this portion of Hit Mqfesty^s dominions, and to satiny the earnest desire of the people of this Provinni, His Majesty will be graciously pleased to give the most famurable consideration to the wishes of His faitl\ful subjects. That to terminate the jealousy and dissension which have hitherto existed on the suhject of the said Iteserves-'to remove a bar* rier to the settlement of the couutri/, and to provide a fund available for the prmnotion of education, and in aid 0/ erecting places of public wo, ship for various denominations of Christians, it is extremely desirabji^ that the aaid lands ao reserved be aold, and the proceada arising from the aale of the aame placed at the diapoaal of the Provincial Legislature, to be applied exclusively for those purpo. 808. That an humble address he presented to His Majesty, setting forth the subject of this Resolution, and praying Hia Majesty will he graciously pleased to recommend to Ilia Majesty's Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland to pass an act to authorise the sale of the Clergy Reserves remaining unsold, and to enable the Le. gislature of this Province to appropriate the proceeds thereof, in Huch manner os may be considered most expedient for the ad- vancement of education, and in aid of erecting placea of public worship for various denominations of Chriatians. In amendment^ Mr. Haoerman, Solicitor General, moved, thai il be resolved, that the Imperial Parliament in piirsuonce of the graoious recommendation of our late revered Sovereign Lord, King George the Third, hath appropriated, for the maintenance ftnd bupport of a Protestant Clergy within thia Province, a certain aUotment of landa uaually known aa the Clergy Reserves. That th« diffusion of religioua knowle«lge and inatruciion is an objeci of the first importance to the hapi^inesa and welfare of mankind. That the lands appropriated for the aupport of Miniatera of religion in thia Province, having been made with a view to thia object, it ia r0|Nignant to the best intereata of the inhabitanta of Upper Canada to apply them to any other nee. That it is the opinion of thia Mouse, that an humble address be presented to Ilia Mijieaty, praying that His Majeaty will not comply with any requeat whieti may be made to recommend to Parliament the alienation of the Clergy Reserves in this Provihce, to any other purpose than that far which they were set apart. That Hia Majeaty be at the •imo .i;. ( i II; Ji hi n Ifam infbriiMd Ibat it ia ih« earoaat deaira of Hia fnithfiil auhjeota of Upper Canada to aubmit to tba aaroe Imperial Parliamaot Ibat oonfarrad the land in quaation, to determine on aaoh alteration in the diatribution or diapoaal tbereof. aa in their wiadom may be deemed beat oaloulated to carry their oriprinal intention into effect, and that ihia deaire ia expreaaed with a view to the final aettiement of a question which has caused much discussion and difTerance of opinion on this important suiijeol among His Mojesty*a aubjeett in Upper Canada.'* Against Mr. Hagermnn's amendment anj for (he ori. ginal resolution voted Messrts. Beardsley, Berczy, Bid- well, Campbell, Chisholm, Clark, J. Crooks, W. Crooks, DuQCombe, Elliott, A. Frazer, Howard, Ingersoll, Jones, Retchum, Lyons, McCall, D. McDonald, Mackenzie, McMartin, Ma^on, Morris, Mount, Perry, Randal, Rob. lin, Samson, Shaver, White — 30. Nays — Messieura Boullon, Burwell, Jarvis, Jessup, Robinson, Sol. Gen-ral Hagerman, Vankoughnett — 7. ' The Agent of the Petitioners in London laid the fore, going resolution and proceedings before the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and continued his advocacy until at last Royal instructions were sent out authorising the sale and appropriation of the proceeds of (he Re- serves in accordance with tke prayer of the Petitioners and the representations of the Assembly — the most tory Assembly (if the term be allowable) that was ever elected in U. Canada — an Assembly which repeatedly expelled an obnoxious member (the traitor Mackenzie) for the same offence — an Assembly of unquestionable loyalty. Dr. Strachan himself being judge— yet sucb was the voice of truth, of justice, of wisdom, of pa. triotism, on this great question, that Mr. Hagermaa was lett in a pitiful minority of seven !— The decision of His late Majesty was communicated to the House of Assenibly in the following Message. •*J. CoLBORNB. The Lieutenant Governor has received tlis Majesty's com. mands to makd the following^ communication to the Bouse of Aaaambly in reference to the landa, which^ in pursuance of ttie Conatitotional Act of this province, have been set apart for the anpport and maintenance of a Protestant Clergy. The repreaentationa which have at different limea been ml auail mo8| an well spiri by haa (antl coni tern I It 33 mida to Hii Majestjr and hit Royal ProdeeMfors of the prejudice •uataioed by His uilhfal subjeets in thii proTinoe, from the appropriation of the Clergy Reaervea, have engaged Hit M ajetty'i moat attentive oonaideration. Hie Majeity has with no less anxiety considered how far euoh an appropriation of Territory is oonducive, either lo the temporsi welfare of the Ministers of Religion in this province, or to their spiritual influence. Bound no less by His personal feelings, than by the sacred obligations of that station to which Providence has called him, to wateh over the interetts of all the Protes- tant Churches within His Dominions^ — His Majesty could never consent to abandon those interests with a view lo any objects of temporary and apparent expediency. It has therefore bt^en with peculiar satisfaction that, in the result of his enquiries into this subject, His Majesty has found that the CHANGES SOUGHT FOR by so larqg a portion op THE INHABITANTS of this proviuce MAY BE CARRIED INTO EFFECT WITHOUT sACRiFzciNQ the JUST CLAIMS of the Established Churches of England and Scotland. The tvaste lands which have been set apart as a provision for the Clergy of those venerable bodies, has hitherto yielded no disposable revenue. The period at which they mig^it reasonably be expected to become more pro* ductive is still remote. His Majesty has solid grounds for enter- taining the hope that, before the arrival of that perlori, it may be found practicable to affjrd the Clergy of those churches such a reasonable and moderate provision as may be necessary for enabling them properly to discharge their sacred functions. His Majesty, therefore, invites the House of Assembly of Upper Canada to consider how the powers given to the Provincial Legisla* tare by the Constitutional Act, to vary or REPE A L this part of its provisions, can be called into exercise most advantageously, for the spiritual and temporal interests of His Majesty's fJlbful subjects in this Province. Government Mouse, ) 25th January, 1833." S Who could have thought that the dominant Church party would have ventured upon atiy further resistance to the voice of the people on the one hand and the mandate of the Sovereign on the other ? Yet so it was. The Episcopal Clergy commenced privately circulating petitions in favor of their exclusive claims ; and so secret were they, that they prosecuted their work three months before they were detected ; when a counter petition to the King was got up publicly, and though the period of its Circulation was coniiiied to March and April — a most uofavorable season of the year for travelling— upwards i ; Hi m ,||H«,«, of 20,000 iignaturei were obtained, and in June of the aame year, the writer of these letters presented the petition to Mr. (now Lord) Stanley, to be iaid before His late Majesty, and drew up and laid before Mr. Stanley a written statement of the secret manner in which the dominant Church petition had been got up and circu- lated, and the various religious and political grounds on which the erection of any dominant Church or Churches were resisted by the great body of the inhabitants of Canada. But the concluding and most important part of my narrative must be reserved for another letter. I have the honor to be, &c. 6ig, dec. September 22nd, 1838. TVo. IV, Sir : September 29, 1838, In the concluding part of my last letter, I quoted the answer of His late Majesty to the several petitions of the inhabitants and House of Assembly of this Province against the establishment of one or more Churches with peculiar privileges and endowments, and in favour of the appropriation of the Clergy Reserves to educational and other purposes of religious ap,d general benefit. 'J'he Royal answer was a compliance with the prayer of ihe petitioners; nor has it ever yet been reversed or can- celled. I have stated that the immediate petition to which 8c gracrous an answer from ihe Throne was ob- tained, was adopted at a public meeting held in the Presbyterian chapel (Hospital Street) in this town ir. December, 1830, and was signed by upwards of 10,000 inhabitants. My narrative Would be imperfect, and I i^ould do injustice to the general question. Were I to omit Iflperitioning the efforte which were employed to paralyse (tnd| rial and I Thrl mat petit this grat| istei extrl The' H indiv I'ber me of the Bnted the before His . Stanley vhich the od circu- ounds on Churches >itants of rt of my dec. 1838. Iquoled itions of rovince es with r of the nal and The of ihe T can- ion to 'as ob. in the >wn' ir. 10,000 and I o oinrt raiyio And destroy the influence of that petition with the frnpe* rial Government. A petition to the King was got up and signed by the Episcopal Clergy for that purpose. Through the incautiousness and weakness of a Clergy* man, an Editor at St. Catharines obtained a copy of the petition for publication in the Farmer^s Journal, From this extraordinary production, (containing also the fourth gratuitous attack of the Episcopal Clergy upon the Min- isters of the Methodist Church,) I make the following extracts : " To the King^s Most Gracious Majesty. The Petition of the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of Quebec, Humbly Sheweth :— That through the energy of certain individuals, calling themselves " the friends of religious liberty," great efforts are making in this Colony to obtain nraieroua signatures to a petition praying^ the Imperial Parlia- ment to authorize the " appropriation of the proceeds of the sale of lands heretofore set apart for the support of the Protes- tant Clergy, for the purpose of general education, and various internal improvements." The most active promoters of this Petition are the Preachers of the Menhodist denomination, in the Upper Province, who for the most part obtain their ordination in the United States, and who have no connexion with, or dependance upon, the Methodist Conference in England, or upon any religious body within the British Dominions. Ydur Petitioners know not what degree of succeea* may attend '^ cjcertions every where used to obtain signatures, but from ti* i!e div6[icuUy which presents itself on such occasions, when Ui >.r it measures are restored to, they doubt not that the unresiai-wil ofibrts of a multitude of subordinate committees, aided by the persevering importunities of local and itinerant Preachers, may procure more than an ordinary numbef of names. It has appeared to your Petitioners that the peace of society, and the interests of religion would be best consulred by their forbe'^ring to excite even their own congregations to aa exprev iion of their opinion in the same popular form or to ente? t to that kind of contest which would be necessary for opposmg successfully, the agents of ibis self-constituted coannittee ; they have therefore on this aceouot* as well as from a deference to :be declared opinion of tbe Colooial 36 Qov«rninent| abstained from such meaiurei, at the hazard of aolyectingihtir conduetto the miaconstractioD which ia applied in the petition to the ailence of the frienda of the Church of England in theae Provincea. The landa which the signers of the Petition referred to, desire to see diverted from their object, are beginning at length to be productive^ from the improved condition of thia colony." *'The religious endowment which certain Methodist Mis- sionaries, through the influence of newspapers and petitions, are now labouring to destroy, was made upon the express recommendation of our late beloved Sovereign, George the Third, in a Message to Parliament ; it has the strong and secure sanction of a British iStatute; it is coeval with ih'i constitution of these Provinces ; it forms a part of the Charter upon the faith of which our very Government rests, and in reliance upon whi^h thousandn of the most respectable families from Great Britain ' Tiade, anv> are making: thase Provinces their home.'* "Your petitioners farther consider themselves prepared to ahow, that any legal claim of the Church of Scotland to be maintained as an Established Church out of Scotland, is directly repugnant to the express terms of the act of union ; that it is equally inconsistent with the principles recognized by Parliament, and acted upcu by the Government since that «era," &c. &c. &c. " Your Petitioners humbly supplicate Your Majesty, that these exertions may not be crowned with success ; they declare with that aacred regard to truth which becomes their profes* aion, that the venerable church to which they belong, and the pure worship it enjoins, are not unacceptable to the people of these provinces.— They affirm, on tho contrary, that she ia increaaing with encouraging rapidity under the prospects of support which the law aaaurea her ; that she has an interest in the hearts of a large proportion of your Majeaty's subjects in this colony, which aflbrda a flattering promise of her fbture uaefulneaa; and Uat nothing ia required but the continuance nf the Ibetering care of your Majeaty, to sustain her a^ainat every eflTort to excite an unreaaonable and injurioaa prejudice againat her." Up to this time the Methodist Ministers as a body hnd never expressed eny oplnioii on the subjeGt— it had never been brought before the Conference— ^Uhough the hazard of is applied Church of ferred to, at length colony." i]ist Mis- petitions, i express iorge the rongr and with th«? ) Charier f and in } ramilies Vovinces pared to id to be land, is r union ; oized by ice that iy> that oeclare profes. nd the ople of she is Beta of rest in icta in future nance «ainat odice tm the SI Preachers individually were agreed in their views, and many of them had taken a decided part in the question. However, at the ensuing annual Conference, held in Toronto, Sept. 1831, the Episcopal Clergy Petition was referred to a Committee of Preachers, who reported a Memorial in reply to it, for the adoption of the Con- ference. The Conference adopted the Memorial, from which I extract the following paragraphs : "TO TUV. KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. Most Gracious Sovereign : The Memorial of the President and Itinerant Ministers of the Methodist Church in Canada, assembled in Conference— Most Humbly Sheweth : That your Mem^rialislB have read with pain a copy of a Petition, purporting to he from the •' fiishop and Clergy of the Diocese of Quebec," !»itely forwarded from this Province to bo presented to your Majesty by the Lord Bishop of Quebec; in which the motives, cbaracter, and conduct of your Memorialists are represented in a false and prejudicial light, and the state of public opinion reNpecting the claims of the Episcopal Clergy to the Clergy Reserve lands in this Province, is, by intelligible and strong insinuations, stated to be quite different from what it really is. Your Memorialists regret the occasion of addressing Your Ma- jesty on the topics brought forward in the petition of the Episco. pal Clergy. They consider that points of difference, not affecting the essential principles of the Christian faith, but of merely pru« dential consideration, ought not to destroy or interrupt the exer- cise of Christian friendship and mutual good will among different classes of Christian Ministers, whose avowed object is to impart to mankind the instructions and blessings of a common Gospel. But your Memorialists conceive that for them, under present cir. curastances, to remain any longer silent, either as to statements and insinuations which relate to themselves, or to the general question of a Church Establishment in Upper Canada, would be a uereliction of duty to Your Majesty, to themselves, and to the religious interests of the Province; for the improvement and hap. piness of which, and its undisturbed continuance under Your Majecty^s beneficent Government, your Memorialists deem it alike their duty and privilege to pray and labour. In the Petition of the Episcopal Clergy — a copy of which, as published in the Provincial newspapers, is hereunto annexed, marked A. — your Memorialists are represented as the principal promoters of a certain * Petition, praying the Imperial Parliament to authorize the appropriation of the proceeds of the sale of lands heretofore set apart for the support of a Protestant Clergy, for E M ;i ;l' P' m^ m III;;; ?5 '■ n ■ ■ i i5 j. llKf 38 the pnrpope of freneral education and varinim inlernni improTff. nients.* The otivioua itifeiiti<»ii of ttiif) Nia'omeni. tiik<>ii m coii' natation with other utaiementa in the petiiioM of the GiitHRopal Clergy, is, to impreHn upon your MiiJRi«iy*ii muid, ihtit iho 'Me* iboHiNt Iiineraot uod Local PreachnrH ' Hiid a Hiiiiill port ion «if the Uninformed part of the population of Upper Cao' d . iire the onlj persons oppoMfld to 'he clainiH of th« KpiNCpitl Clergy have heen resisted every year for Heveral yeurtt p»H<, hy nearly unanimous voieKofllie Provincial ParlirimRnt. nto inure than four or five inemlters of which have at any lime i>Hlnn^fld lo the Me< thodisi Church, >>ut a large niHJoriiy of which havn proCeKsedly belonged to the Episcopal and oUier Churches It is a notorioua fact, that so decidedly and generally are the people of this Prnv. ince in fnvour of the prsiyer of the petition to the Imperial Par. liament, referred to hy the Cpiscnpal Clergy, that the Provincial House of Commons passed resolutions correop nding with the praver of that petition, only a few days hefore the Lord Bishop of Qnehnc left the Colony for England; — resolutions "hich ac- corded with what bad been repeatedly adopted on the same subject by two preceding Parliaments. Your Memorialists consider It of no consequence to the general question who were the most active promoters of the petition to the Imperial Parliament, seeing that the promoters of the petition only exercised an individual right guaranteed hy our constitution. But that others felt a deep interest in the objects of the petition to the Imperial Parliament, and were active in promoting its circula- tion, is manifest from the annexed copy of a letter, marked B, written hy a leading miniater of the Baptist Church, whose pere- Srinations have extended over a large portion of the Province. lany testimonies to the same effect might be adduced, did your Memorialists consider them nocesspry or any wise important. The Episcopal Clergy represent your Memorialists as * for the most part obtaining their ordination in the United States, and buying no connexion with, or dependence upon, the Methodist Connexion in England, or upon any religious body in the British realms.* From the manner in which the Episcopal Clergy expresi themselves, they clearly Intend to excite a belief or suspicion in Your Majesty's mind, that the ^.Methodist denomination in the U|>per Province* maintain some /orft^n connexion, which renders their fidelity to your Majesty's Government at least somewhat 4AJject«oriable. How (ar suoh insinuations are well founded or warrantable, either in fact or in principle, your Majesty will be l^le to judge from the aothentie end correct evidence attached ta tin annezefd Report of a Select Committee of the Provincial Par- iiamenV ^srked Q; a Report which was printed by order of the ^rltainient only ti f<^# weeke before the Lord Bishop of Quebec ^btrked'ibr Eiiglan/I wiiii iiie Petition opntaioiog suttmtiite and intet tion) the ofyl reig| sen 1 1 Coi am pi of tf -9, in itl ticel Tl dissj of> of F borr as f that forn copi ledg 39 t» III COD' Siti8ctipal lite 'Me- Oh of the tJ»e onljr » nloarly I Clergj y nearly h»n foar the Me. »feH8ediy K'torious is Prov. ■iai Par- 'uvincial vith the ' Bishop hich ac. I subject gfeneral itinn to petition itution. ition to circula. rked B, !*e pero- evince, id your nt. for the Bs, and thodifit British )xpre8f !ion in in the endera lewhat ded or V ill be hed t^ il Par. of the tuebfc tn the charanter and and insiniiationa so grroiindlflss and injurious interoNtR «»i' vmir Vlnrn tnalists. !V1<*8> perniitiiMiM rniHre rnftenta. tions, lo the i^rmt prtjudice of vc 'ilitod, MS ijliirniog to a j »iiit eHtMhIialunent with the Church of Rnir'.Kid. Th SNtatHoieni. yor memorinliNla apprehend, is not borne ••ni iiy > >e evidence of f itiiig nect,' give any more support tn the claims of the K'rk Clergy lo this pre ein'oenre. than to those of the Episcopal (7lerg . A" the coiiitiiunii'antB of either the Church of Engl md nr of Scotland, or * oth. are I- ss num<>rous than those belongmg to some n'her denorniii<-ttinnN of christians, separately takei). your memorialists do cons der, and have always r>onsidered, the exclusive claims of both the Episcopal and Kirk Clergy to pre-eminence, to be alike unreasonahle. In the petition tn the Inifierial Parliament, to the promotion of which your inHmori'ilists are represented as having mainly contrt. buted, no false or disingenuous iiisinuatinns were thrown out againsi tlie Episcopal Clergy ; but, on the contrary, they were referred to in terms the mont respectful and courteous that the nature of the subject would admit — and your m(>morialit)t8 can only account for so di0t)''ent a course on the part of the Episcopal Clergy, from the fact, that it has uniformly been a principal fea- turo in the repret^entat^ons nnd measures of the advocatee of a Church E*)iabli9>insenf in Canada, and seems to be the natural result of their extravagani. pretensions. The Episcopal Clergy miale I heir .conviction, that the * agitation* of this question in the Colony is Mmpntitic and injurious to fell, gion.* But ii is worthy of remark, that the 'agitation* of this question was commenced by the Archdeacon of York, who made and repealed the most uncalled for attacks upon, and most flagrant misrepresentatHins of, the Methodists and nther christian denomi- nations. The Archdeacon of York was afterwards followed 6y the Lord Bishop of Qu#bec, who strongly * agitated* the questioo .^ t 'i ii:i ■' '■ 40 •iH i ■Tc in a printed Pastoral Letter to the Clergy of the Diocese of Que beo; and the claims of the Episcopal Clergy have been as fully advocated in printed speeches, pamphlets, letters, newspaper com- niunications, &.o., put forth by individual clergymen or members of the Episcopal Church, as, in the opinion of your memorialists, a more liberal, equita:))lo, and judicious policy has been advocated. These discussions, however, have always resulted unfavourably to the pretensions of the Episcopal Clergy, as far as public opinion in the colony could affect them; and public opinion against a Church Establishment has become so decided, general, and strong, that the Episcopal Clergy are doubtless anxious to suppress the expression of it on the question. But your mcmorialif)ts are not aware that the Episcopal Clergy considered the 'agitation' nf this question 'injurious to the interests of religion,' until all prospects of obtaining the countenance of any considerable portion of the Upper Canada population to their measures had failed, and a firm determination was manifested on the part of the people to resist, in every constitutional way, a policy which, it is believed, is fraught with much evil to the Province. ♦ « 9|t )|< 1|( [The following reasons, urged by the Methodist Con- ference in 1831 against the erection of a dominant Church, have been painfully illustrated by the history of the Province up to the present moment.] Of the many reasons which have been and may be adduced for an Ecclesiastical Establishment m Great Britain, your Memorial, ists would not presume to express an opinion ; but they now feel it their duty most respectfully to submit to your Majesty, that the erection or continuance of an Ecclesiastical Establishment in Upper Canada, embracing one or more Churches with peculiar immunities, and advantages in the direction of education, &>c., i» fraught with consequences highly injurious to the interests of the state and of religion in the colony. . I. It appropriates a large portion of the revenue of the country without receiving any adequate equivalent in return. This is evident from the fact, that Churches in the colony which have received no public grants for the maintenance of their clergy, have flourished and increased far more rapidly than the Episcopal Church; and their members are equally moral, equally loyal and equally valuable subjects of your Majesty with the members of the Episcopal Church. 2. It is a fruitful source of misunderstanding and dispute be- tween the different branches of the Colonial Legislature. The principal agitations which hav« interrupted the harmony between the popular and executive branches of the Colonial Government, have originated in attempts to create oe maintain political distino> iions on account of religious faith; the natural consequence of identifying one or mure denominatiDns of Christians with tbs thel thel pro] fsol Cai a V4 41 thel awi ciesi ohe( a sr Go^ nier or I to a enjr ists whi exec tent rest^ I of Que ai fully iper corn- members lorialists, Ivocated. urably to ' opinion S^ainst a d strong, •ress the are not »• of this rospects 1 of the d a firm o resist, ieved, is t Con- minant listory co5 for morial. ow feel hat the lent in Bculiar ice, i» of the (untry his 18 have ergy, copa.1 1 and if the be- The nreen nent, tine. !e of th9 41 Govtrnment in dnntraddtinetiom to all olhefa, th» in Great Britain; and under thest circum-tancps, ennsidHring their priority in point »f actual exiat* ence and numbers, and the fact that very few of their memhera have ever lielonged to either the Church nt> England orScotland^ your memorialists conceive the prerogativea sought by the Epii4 e2 ■,'!:; n i ■ ^ It t'l'' ill 42 eopal and Kirk Clergy have little foandation in reaton or good polioy, and that the termi * diaienting eeota* are quite aa applicable to the Churohei of Rngland and Scotland in the colony aa to those christian denominationa to whom the Episcopal Clergy con* temptuously apply them. Your memorialists most respectfully submit to Your Majesty, that a Church Establishment is no more conducive to the rs/t^touf , than it is favourable to the political, intere&ts of the Colony. % % if % % ' A Church Establishmonl in i he colony may elevato and in many casos enrich the pnlronized Clergy ; it may in some instances induce persons from word'y considerations to frequent the endow- ed Church or Churches; ii may throw a sort of imposing fiplen- dour around the hierarchy, which may thus obtain the compliments and countenance of self interest ; but it will do all this, in the opinion of your memorialists, at the expense of whut is confes sedly far more important — the popular equity, if not permanency, of the government - the happiness and united mterests of the people — the purity and efficiency of the christian religion. In support of those sentiments, your memorialists beg leave to add one general fact. In the United States the Episcopul Clergy derive no maintenance from the government; in this country, it is otherwise. Yet in the United Slates the Episcopal Church is •'in- creasing and flourishing in a remprkable degree/' whilst in this country she languishingly exists, but does not flourish. % * * i|i * Your memorialists therefore feel satlsfiod, that in the state of the population in Canada, neither the real interests of the Church itself, nor of the government, nor of the people, nor of religion, require the endowment sought and claimed by the Episcopal Clergy ; but on the contrary, they believe that all these interests will be best consulted and promoted by leaving all ministers of religion in the enjoyment of the same political privileges and ad- vantages, and appropriating the proceeds of the sale of lands heretofore set apart for the support of * A Protestant Clergy* to tho purposes of general education and perhaps to other internal improvements. When these Reserve lands, which have heretofore been so serious an obstruction to the general improvement of the country, are appropriated to general purposes, the Catholic and ell other classes of Your Majesty's faithful and loyal subjecta will be alike benefitted by them. *< Your memorialists, from a sense of duty, have thus presumed to vindicate themselves from uncalled for attacks, and in the present exigency to lay a plain statement of the facts connected with the question of a Church Establishment in the colony before Your Majesty. And should the correctness of any, of their state' ments or representations be ealled in question, your memorialiata kiimbly entreat of Your Majesty an opportunity to aubstantiate thenii which they feel theniselvea fully able to do. and| Maj the ohri of 80U( 8an< pro^ reat i or good tppliotble •ny as to Brgy fcon. Majesty, religioutf any. and in nstances 3 endow- ff pplen- pliments ). in the confes anencv, of the leave to Clergy try, it is is "in- in this state of CJhurch 'ligfion, iscopal terests lere of nd ad- ' lands gy» to iternal >tofore of the io and IS will ned to resent with >efore state- iaiists atiate M Most Gracious Sotbrbion: Your memorialists heg leave to apprnaoh the Royal Thmne, and from the warm afTeciions of their hearts, to present tn Your Majesty their sincere and grateful thanks for the Royal ANRHOt to tiie Marriage Act, sanctmning the right of miniHiers of diffurent christian denominations in Upper Ciuiada to cotebrate the banns of matrimony, — a pri^ilego which haH hcon long and earnestly aouglil for by the people and their reprosontntivos, and tlio Royal sanction to whieh has assured and Hatisficd the people of this province of Your Majesty's earnest desire to comply wilh iheir reasonable wishes and promote thnir best interests. Ht 3k ^e Ht >it That Your Majesty, and Your Majesty's Royal Consort, may be blesned wiih health, long life, and ha|)pinoss; that the richest biessingH of Christianity and Providence may bo poured upon the United Kingdom of Great Britain Hiid Irelan»l, and its nuoiorous and extensive dependencies ; that uninterrupted peace and unrival- led prosperity may crown Your Majesty's auspicious reign; and thai all the doliheralions of Your Majesty's Government may re- sult to the satisfaction and proiuotiou of the best interests of i-very portion of Your Majesty's dominions and the perpetual honour and stability of the Dritish Throne, is the daily and fervent prayer of Your Majesty's memorialists. York, U. C, September 8th, 1831." The Memorijil from which the foregoing extracts have been made was transmitted to England through Sir John Colborne, then Lieutenant Governor, according to the instructions of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, which had, a short time previously, been published in the U. C. Gazette. In reply to the short address of the Methodist Conference, requesting him. to forward the Memorial, with the documents accompanying it, to the Secretary of State, to be laid before His Majesty, Sir John Colborne entered into the merits of the Memorial to the King ; His Excellency's answer contained reflec- tions upon the Methodist Conference for disscusing the question, and was considered an interference with the right of petitioning the King, and gave great offence to the whole Methodist body, as well as to very many others. It was always supposed that Sir John's unad- vised reply was written by a violent Episcopal Clergy- man, who was known to be intimate at the Government House, as it was so much at variance with Sir John's general character. It was also understood that whea I ii: r'i :«-. i 3 1 wfm'' IR 1 I ¥. 44 ,* n Sir John snw the pfTect it was likely to produce, and did pnidiire, h« d«*«ply rf'^retied it. Thin much, however, mny hn Ntud, ihHt Sir John henceforth Hvailed himiielf of evury o|)(td every facihiy, and countenunce, and assiatance in ilie rtinversion and improvement of the ahoriginal In. diaii Trihc^B. Thene acts of Sir John were duly acknnw. ledjftMl hefore the public ; and the E litor of the Guardian endrHvourt'd to eflfHre Irom the minds of his readers and the pnbhc the unrMVouruble impresnion which had been miide hv Sir John'^4 uncoiirteoud and unfortunate reply of 1831 : hut it had sunk deep in the mind of the whole counir\ . — like the declaration of the Duke of Wellington in tliH 11 >u8e of Lordn, before the passing of the Reform Bill, iIih! *' no Reform wa-^ necessary," — and was after- wards employed by partizans equally hostile to the Me. thodiMis and St John as an important instrument in over* throwing his government. To return from this digression. It is a rather singu. lar fni't, that the Episcopal Clergy who, in 1831, depre* cated tKe idea of circuiafiui! petitions among the inhabit, an H uf ihe Province on this subject, did themselves coininence the circulatiiui of petition^i among the same intiaUitaiiis on the snme subject in the course of the fol- lowiii*; VHHr — yes, they did *hemselves in 183*2-3, what thev hfid condemned others for doing in 1830-1. They seemed to have received an intimation from a high quar* ter (hat some couniei-expreMsion of public opinion in the Provinee was neceasa y in order to justify His late Mnie-ifv's (rovernmenf in rejecting the prayers of more than lO.OdO of his CarKuliari subjects. As mortifying aa it m>Mt have been for the assered sole successors of the Anosiles and the only authorised instructors of the peo- ple, (.1 pay any the slighf'>si deference to public opinion, and as much as it contravened their own recorded senti. men^M, they commenced the circulation c^ petitions in favfiiirofiheirown exchisive claims to the Reserves — yet nut in the open and public way that those whom they had assj 8o thai wit| thai Disj he in tl (wl( agal appi roa| my ^petil this! Pro) got of wasi 45 Kssailed had done, but in a perfectly private manner. So entirely secret did tlipy knep the whole proceeding, that they prosecuted their work from October io February without boin;< discovered or suspected. The writer of these letters wan at thfit time at St. Catherines, Niagara District, on the eve of his first vova;;e to England, when he was informed that a momber of tlie Methodist Church in that village had boon roquested to si^ti a petition (which was in the possession of the Episcopal ("Irr^v) against the establishmont of Tithos, and in fivour of the appropriation of the kesr;rves for the iinjirovoinont of roads and bri Igos. I confess suspicion was oxcited in my mind. By the assistance of a friend, a copy of the y>petilion was with difficulty obtained. Tlie disclosure of this secret proceeding created no small sensation in the Province. A counter petition to the King was forthwith got up, to which, in the course of two months, upwards of 20,000 names were aflixod. Mr. Attorney General was the bearer and advocate of the Ei>iscopal petition, (a) and the writer of these remarks presented and advo* ''a) The following is n copy of the Episcopal petition, (signed by 6,000 :) "TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY". Most Gracious Sovereign : Wh, Your Miijnsfy's dutiful and loyal sulyecfs, tho Clergy and tnfim'iprs of the Cliurch of Bnsland in Uppr>r Caniidii, with otiier itihahitantH, deeply interested in its proRpcrity, most linmblv approach Your Mujt.'sty on a subject of the uimost injportanco lo the well-boini! of this colony. Your Majns y's humble petitiouKrs are com|H)-ied uf L'tya lists and their children, who took refuge in Upper Canada alter tho An«»^riciiri aevolution, under a solemn pledge of recidving the samt; coiii^tituti'in ma that of the Mothnr Country; a constitutiiui wiiich includes a decent provision for the due niinio- rratinn of the Word and Sacraments, according to tlie forms of the Cliurch uf England. Tliese pledges were fully redeomi'd i>y the Statute 31 st Goorge III., chapter 3l8t, establishing the Government of the Province, which, amidst many salu- tary enactments, provides tor the support of a Protestant Clergy, in a way that imposes no burthen upon any class of people, or any disaidliiy upon those wlio profess a different faith Your Majesty's faithful petitioners consist also of emigrants from the Parent State, who have been more especially induced to leave their native land and to settle in this colony, because tiiey felt secure that they and their chiidrtm would enjoy the inestimable privilege of worshipping their God and Saviour, as their fathers had done before them; sinre, at the most earnest desire of our Ints King, your Royal Fatlior, communicated to his Parliament, provision was madti for the support of the Christian Reliuion in Upper Canada Your Majesty's humble petitioners desire to draw your attention to th« Message uf your Royal Father of blessed memory to his Parliament, and to tlia enactments in the Canada Act, made in consequence of tiiat wise and gracious reeoiiimendation, and they would further appeal to the Coronation Oath, vtiicb iusures to Your Majesty's suiiijects tbe Uoyal favour and prutectiuu to * .11 I 'ii ( ■^ii f .'i ii ill I i \ W i d III itP ii' '!i :! i ilB' '■' 46 CAted the general petition. (W) The E|Hsro(»u! |»eMtion, which WM8 onguiHlly RddreetnetJ to tiie King, whs nieta- mor|>lio8ed into a petition to the HMiise ot L<>r(l>4. and the Uiill«'d Church nf Bngliuiil nnd IrKlauil, In every di'|wiMl«iirv »f ih«' Rriti«h Empire, aiul which we rejoice to aee so aiii|ily coiid iiifii hy Your Mujeaty'a rece l declaniiioii to ihe DUiioiis, on the 28ih of M ly hist, ex; ieri«i >k your Rcyal deierniinalioii to uphold ihe Chun^h in the full euioynient of all lie* rights and privih'ces ; and thai Your Majenty conoidcrfd the unimpiiied prosperity of the cstiili'lHliiiient in whh'.h you liave been educated, us e^semial aiik*^ to the temporal and ^piriluul welfaie of the people. We Would most huuib*y repreet'iit lo Your Majesty, that under all these eircuniKiniiceri, we cannot hut consider a provision for the inaintenance uf a Protestant Clerf!y in this Province our hiithrisht, and itnarauteed to uit by the law of the land, as wtll as by the ntost solenui ph-dues; and we tVel wiih deep concern the great iiijufiici* of the efforts now inakint; t> d*tprive un of this our vested right ; nor can we suppreiis our indifrnation wh*>n f>uch efforts are made to work tliirt Injury upon Y. ur Majesty's dutiful subjicfs, who have d«>ue and suffered 4o much for their loyal iicisand principles, rlijefly hy persons who have no coni|iaia(iv-e claun upon ihe British Crown, and who are either iiiuorant of or insensible to ihe fundanicnial principles of our glorious constiiuiion On this occat^ion we do not appeal so much to Your Maj* sty's well known Grace, which at all other t'-.ies we feel happy to acknowledge, as to Your M jediy'^i (^qiiiiy we claim the continued security of our undoubted rights^ that justice lo which all are entitled— that regard to our reliuious privileges, which is pain to tfioae of our Ijower Canada brethren of the Roman Catholic Religion, to w; oui the pledges of Your Maj* sty's Government for thf protection of their form o> wotship and support of their Clergy, are not stronger than those hrld by Your Majesty's petitioners Your peiiriinters fully trust that Your Majesty will, in your gracioue* wisdom, mainiain to ilsem ilie advantage of a permanent provision for the support of public worship, ac ordiuK t«> the Ntiiional Church of Bngland, guaranteed to them by the most soUuui pledges, and by the law of the land, and of which they have b<'»-.n in |iotr be rud^-ly bioken at the instigation uf tiie enemies uf tUeir rights, and of the pi.ispcrity of the iiritish Crown." (b The following is a copy of tlie General Petition, (signed by upwards of 90,000) :— "TO THR KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. Most GRAni.itTg Bovkrkion: S ^li^fied of Your Majesty's earnest and parental desire to promote the happiness ai.d welfare of ail classes of Ytnir Majesty's faithful and loyal sub- jects, the undersigned inhabitants of the Province of Upper Canada heg to express their unfeigned uitachmeiit to Your Majesty's person 'wid government, and approach he Royal T'lnme with the confident assurunce that their reasonnbit* wishes will recuitrc the most attentive ail candid consideration, und the alr.riuing evils they deprecate will be e'^ectuully averted That a very l.ir^e majority of the. intelligent and loyal inhabitants of this Province are desirous of applying thp proceeds of those lands commonly called the Clergy Reserves to purposes of general )v.\sr'-A, and are decidedly opposed to the erection or coutinuunce of one or more State Churches, with peculiar tmniunities and prerogatives, must be obvious to Your Majesty, from the divided state of religious opinion in this Province— fr(nii the petitions and r«mnMslrance!< which have of laic years beeu addret»6d to the Royal ei. -^and from the rec:>rded addresses of successive Provimiai Parliaments, whic'i, how- ever wid'ty they may have differed on other questions of political economy, bave unifiumly declared, by very arge majorities, tlie unaltered and nearly vnaitimotis opinion of the inhabitants of this Province), to be directly and strongly opposed to any system that would give any one Church or denomiiia- fiou of piolesBing Ubrirtiang the sllghtvst political advantage over another. 47 •eiifion, s inettt. (J-*, and fiH Rrititft) Miijegfy'g *i iK your li«r rights iHpMrity of ilO* to tlitt nil theoe aiice of a «w by ih« with deep f I his our are made •tone and who have uorant of II known to Your riuhis— irivi leges, (Catholic irotectlon lau those wisdonii ipport of iiiieed to lich they binds us ban life, ;hifl, and nrards of note the yal sub- l;eg to rnment thdr eration , of this CHllltd apposed leculiar m tlw. ■is and —and how- noBiy, nearly and imiua- prespiiirii \\\ tliH Bishop of Exeter in March last, sits years it'uT s jrn • iire, as a pHiition from *' th» Proip«tanl inhahrmis m [1|I|>h. Caniicirt," signed by nearly 6.000. The Ar<"}nl«*a'-on uC York has disci .jrneH any knowledge of this ;ir M'Hfdmir. It \n also worltiy of rem«*k, thiit the petit lo I til tlie Hhis • of Lonis varies in detail f the ♦* religious diaiitiriMn," considernbly fr 'in the petition addre^-jed to His late Mnjesfy, to which the names of the petuinnf'rs were originally aflixed. Thi.. anoiTialous and exti-Hordiimrv business looks very like the doings of the famous Mr Rettridge. Wlieii Mr. Hagerinan presented the Episcopil petition to the King, lo which the 6000 names were originally attached, ihe Secretary of State for the Colonies, (Mr., now L'ld, StanleN) directed him, it seems, tj) prepare his statement m writing in support of it. In a note from the Colonial Office, dated July 13, 1833, Mr. Under Secretary Hav informed me — ** I am directed by Mr. Secretary Stanley to acquaint you, that Mr. Hagermun Your p?tltion»»f8 bnv«». therefore, wUIj morrtflcation and deop concern, lenrrad from current report, ihar the Clergy of the Rpiscopal Cliurch in this Province are, for their own individual emolument, procuring f>iKnature!< to peiitionn to be laid before Your Majesty's Government, on tlie dispoHal of the ^^leruy Reserves for tbeir support and eiKtowment : an application of the paid Re$ierves notori- ously opp«wed to ^he interests and repeatedly expredtsed wishes of a very large majority of the people of Upper Canada. The clandetttiiie manner in which sienatures have been and are being obtained to these pe'itionn, is as reprehen-^ible as the object of tlieni is unjust and invidious They have been surreptilionsly circulated; the objects of them have, in many instances, been misrepres^ented, to induce the uninformed to attach their naine^ to tliem ; the di8cu^silm of their merits lia'4 been cautiously avoided;, not a public journal or newspaper favourable to them liaa even i!sti- mated their existeiic*>; and every poa^iible secrecy has been ohnerved in the Eromotinn of them. To hnw gren'. &n extent such insidious efl[i)rts may have een, or may be, successiful in the collection of names, your petitioners cannot conjecture; but ihey can asf^ure Your Majesty, with perfect sincerity «»'* confi- dence, that the public feeiinn; and sentiment respecting the claims of the iJpi^co- pal Glergv, remiiii unchanged and established ; and that tlie prevailing and nzed opinion of & very large majorit" nf all dencminations of professing < bris- tians in this Province, and of the inhabitartta generally, is most d cidedly against the endowment of any one or rnore Churclies with the Clergy Reserves, or any portion of them, and against any political distinctions whatever aoiuug lite several reliuious denominatiops in the Province. ' Tour petitioners, therefore, mo&! humbly and earnestly pray, that Your Ifajeity will not listen to any misrepresentations or requests that would give tiM Clergy of the Church of England, or of any mher Church, an advantage over melr brethren of other der.dminatioiis ; but that ail political distinctinne on account of religious faith be entirely and for ever done away ; thai the Clergy of •aeh dennmination may be supported by the voluntary contributions of their •wn eofwregatlons; and that the Clergy Ritorvei may tie applied to Um pur- W.of CeoeralCducation. And juur pctftionfra, at, ip dii|gr Jtoondi ifettU cfer ^ny.** ^tM;il , i 1 r '1 \ I': Hlf: '■ I: i.liil mm tan II i i ' ( \4; H% 48 is preparing a statement in writinjs: of his views on the Clergy Reserves, and that Mr. Stanley will have no objection to receiving a communication from you made in the same mode." The nature of Mr, tlugerman's statement I have never learned ; my own statement was afterwards publidhed in the Guardian for October 30, and November 7, and 14, 1833. I now return to the proceedings of the Legislature. I have stated thr*t in the most tory Assembly that was ever elected in Upper Canada, a resolution to dispose of the Reserves foi* educational purpovses was adopted, in the Session of 1833, by a majority of 30 to 7, and that an amendment of Mr. Hafferman's to re-invest them in the Crown was negatived by the same majority. 1 also gave the names of the veas and navs. In the fullowing Session of 1834, a bill, entitled "An Act to provide for the Sale of the Clergy Reserves in this Province for the purpose of general education in the s-imes" passed through its several readings by a majority of 22 to 12, and was sent up to the Council, where it was rejected. In amendment to this bill in the Assembly, it was moved to introduce a bill to reinvest the Reserves in the Crown for the general purposes of religion, but it was rejected by a majority of 27 to 8. . In the first Session (1835) of the new Parliament, the same bill to appropriate the Reserves to educational purposes, was passed by a majority of 39 to 7 ; but was rejected by the Legislative Council. In the following Session the same bill was again passed by the Assembly, b" a majority of 33 to 5 ; and an amendment moved by Mr. Hagerman to submit the subject to the decision of the King and Imperial Parliament was negatived by a majority of 43 to 4. About this time the erection and enJowment of the Rectories was made known by a Message from the Lt. Governor to the House of Assembly. That untoward event was announced by the late Editor of the Guardian ;n the following forcible language : From the Christian Guardian, April 6, 1836. ^ ** We have learned with extreme regret, that His EsetiUnsjf Sir John Colborne hat thougbt proper, durint; the latter pari af 49 riof his aduiinistration of the afTairs of Ihia ProviocOi to take a step whcih, we are confident, will meet with the strongest disappro- bation of nineteentwentieths of its inhabitants, and which will have a greater tendency to create discontent than any other act of his administration. We allude to the establishment of Ref>.to> ries, to the number of forty four, each with an endowment of from 105 to 800 acres of Clergy ReterveSf some including valua- ble Town lots, as will be seen by the Schedule which we publish to day. The value of the endowments is not so much the subject of animadversion, as the principle involved in the act itself, a principle directly opposed to the known wishes of the country, and, in our opinion, directly at variance with its reli*^ gious interests. AAer the repeated ozproBsion of the opinions of His Majesty's subjects in this colony, against the establishment of any church with exclusive rights and privileges, — opinions expressed time after time in the addresses from the popular branch of the Legislature, in which all parties have been nearly una,nimou8t and in numerously-signed petitions to His Majesty's Government and the Imperial Parliament, supported by Christians of every denomination, including a very respectable portion of the mem. Iters of the Church of England, — we had been led to entertam a hope, alnost amounting to certainty, that no attempt would be made to/orceupon this country an established religion.'* It was during this Session that the rupture took place between Sir F. Head and the late House of Assembly respecting the Executive Council, in conseouence of which the supplies were refused and the Parliament was dissolved. In the elections of 1836, ^ m know, Sir, the question decided hu 1 no relation to the I ieigy Reserves. Jt was whether tho inhabitants of this Proviuce would remain an integral portion of the British Empire i This was the light in which I viewed that contest-^these were the words in which I put it in letters which were ve* / extensively circulated at the time — this was the light in which it was stated by Sir F. Head himself, and viewed by almost the whole constittUional party. And before the present House of Assembly should proceed to settle thu question upon a different principle from that which has been insisted upon by the inhabitants and saDCtioned by preceding Parliaments for a period of fourteen years j there ought to be a dissolution and an appQal to the country interested. At the next annual Conference of the Mini^tero of the Wesleyan Methodist Chtirch, after the erection of the f; k\ . 50 Rectories in 1836, an Address was adopted to his late Majesty, deprecating the erection of the Rectories, or the establishment of any one or more Churches m the Province with peculiar privileges or immunities. The present Assembly at its r.rst session adopted a resolution in favour of appropriating the Reserves for the religious • and moral instruction of the Province. But its proceed, ings during the late session were so vacillating, that it is now difficult to say what the opinions of the meiobers of the present Assembly are. They were elected with a view of maintaining the connexion of the Province with the Mother Country, although I believe a very consideia- ble majority of them gave distinct assurances at the ti^ne of their election that they would advocate the settlement of the question without delay in accordance with the known wishes of their constituents. Should any of them be unwilling, from any considerations, to represent the real wishes of their constituents on this question, they are bound in honour and in justice to resign their places into the hands of their constituents. On the 8th of last November, a meeting of several Wesleyan Ministers took place in this City, at which this subject was taken into most serious consideration. The result of the deliberations of that meeting was shown you a short time afterwards. Last winter every thing in our power was done by my brethren and myself to obtain an adjustment of the question. In addition to other efforts, I addressed a letter publicly to the Speaker of the Assembly, imploring the immediate settlement of it, as best for the Government, for the Church of England itself, and for the peace and welfare of the country, and deprecating the question being left an open subject for renewed agitation. I therefore disclaim all responsibility in relation to the present discussion or any consequences that may arise out of it. I have done all in my power to prevent it. In my printed letter to the Speaker of the Assembly last winter, I stated the inevitable consequen- ces of postponement. We expressed a readiness to mtke very considerable concessions and sacrifices of feeling in order to effect the adjustment of the question, — •odcessions that are not likely to be made again. Upoa (he heads, therefore, of others be the responsibility of (his protracted contioversy. Having now briefly sketched the rise, progressj and present state of the agitation of this vitally important question, I beg, in concluding the historical part of the argument, to remind you of the leading facts which have been established in this and the two preceding letters. 1. That not even the controul of any portion of the Clergy Reserves was placed in the hands of the Episco- pal Clergy for twenty-eight years after the passing of our constitutional Act ; that that controul was not given to them by the consent of the Legislature of this Province, or with its knowledge, but by a Royal Charter secretly obtained in 1819, through the efforts of a minister of the Crown, notorious for the bigotry, partiality, and injustice of his colonial administration in matters of this kind ; while at{the same tiriie the constitutional Act contained an express provision, for legislating upon every thing that appertains to the Province for the support of a Protestant Clergy," by the Provincial Legislature, 2. That the proceeds of the Reserves never have been placed in the hands or at the disposal of the Episcopal Clergy — their pretensions to long possession being a mere fiction. 3. That the doubts as to the legal right of the Episco- pal Clergy to the exclusive benefit of the Clergy Re- serve provision originated with a high church minister of George the IV in 1819, and so questionable did their pretensions appear that he felt it necessary to apply for legal advice. 4. That the exclusive pretensions of the Episcopal Clergy were publicly disputed in this Province as soon as they were publicly known. 5. That the moment it was known in this Province that an Imperial Act had been passed to sell a portion of the Reserve Lands, the Provincial Assembly prayed the King to apply the proceeds of those sales to the equal benefit j \ '-'f t I ill ■ f ; i^' 1 i: -1^ i ■i!f 52 of all protestant denominations, insisting that such was the intention of the constitutional Act. 6. That the inhabitants of this Province have annual- ly, through their representatives, besides frequent peti. tions, for a period of fourteen years, protested agiiinst the endowment of one or more Churches in the Province. 7. That, with very little variatiou, t.he representatives of the Canadian people, during the successive Parlia. ments for fourteen years, have almost unanimously insist, ed upon the appropriation of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves to purposes of General Education — leaving the Established Churches of the Empire to look to the Parliament of the Empire for any support they might desire not granted to their brethren of other christian denominations. 8. That in this important object the majority of the members of the Churches of England and Scotland, in every succeeding Parliament, have concurred, until the present Parliament. 9. That this protracted controversy has originated and has been embittered and perpetuated by successive attacks of the Episcopal Clergy upon the character, as well as aggressions upon the rights, of other Christian denominations — especially the Methodists and their Min- isters, who have been formally and gratuitously attacked, 1st, by the Episcopal Bishop and Clergy in a memorial to the King in 1823; 2ndly, by the Archdeacon of York in 1825, in a printed sermon, published principally for circulation amongst the members of the Imperial Gov- ernment and Par iament ; 3rdly, by the same dignitary in his correspondence with the Home Government in 1827, as agent of the Episcopal Church ; 4thly, in a memorial of the Bishop and Episcopal Clergy to the King in 1831 : besides less official attacks in publications confessedly under Episcopal patronage and control in these matters, and independent of late attacks in " The Church" which have given so sharp an edge to present discussions in the newspapers. Sir, the cause o^ surprise is not that my brethren and myself feel so strongly on this subjoct, but that we do not feel more strongly. at wi ai sei th of I in\ uni oul exi a an re SB 10. That the Government of Upper Canada has been administered for fourteen yean in utter contempt of the wishes of the inhabitants, constitutionally, continuously, and almost unanimously expressed through their Repre- sentatives and otherwise, on a subject which concerns their highest and best interests, and which, as the history of Great Britain amply shows, has always more deeply interested British subjects than any other. Sir, on the unspeakably important subjects o^ religion and educationf our constitutional right of legislation has, by the arbitrary exercise and influence of Executive power, been made a mockery, and our constitutional liberties a deception ; and it is to the influence over the public mind of the high religious feelings and principles of those classes of the population who have been so shamefully calumniated by the Episcopal Clergy and their party scribes, that the inhabitants of Upper Canada are not doing in 1838 what Englishmen did do in 1688, when their feelings were outraged, their constitutional liberties infringed, and the privileges of Parliament trampled upon, in order to force upon the nation a system of religious domination which the great majority of the people did not desire. Sir, whatever may he the speculations of the philoso- pher, or the theories of the divine, or the dogmas and pretensions of ecclesiastics, on the general question of a Church Establishment paid by the State in a country, I submit to you that that is not the primary question for the Statesman in respect to this Province ; I submit. Sir, that the first question for you and every other Legislator to consider is, whether you will violate the essential princi- ples of free Constitutional Government in order to erect and endow an ecclesiastical hierarchy in the Province, embracing one or half a dozen different forms of religious faith ? For that the vo ce of the Province is against such an endowment, is as clear as day. If you doubt it, appeal to the country by a dissolution of Parliament. It is a more important subject to Upper Canada than Parliamentary Reform was (o Great Britain, on which an appeal was made by all parties to the British Nation. If you undertake to legislate on this subject f2 H 'ill ■ 1 1 t B . ■ ) i 64 iii disregard of what may fairly be termed Public Opin* iont I venture to predict that you will soon have as many petitions, and as many names to them, on the Council table for a dissolution of the present Parliament, as there were in 1836 for the dissolution of the last Parliament, and the country will have as strong a claim to the privi. lege of recording its *' verdict" in 1839, as it had in 1836. Such a process would indeed be a small price for so great a boon as political justice to all classes, tranquillity and contentment to the Province, and proper facilities for the instruction of the rising generation ; but, I fondly hope, that, guided by the experience of the past, and governed by a regard to those cardinal principles of civil polity which form the basis of our Constitutional iiovernment, you and others who occupy so responsible places in the administration of our affairs, will anticipate any such result, by an equitable, statesmanlike, and popular adjustment of the question. I have the honor to be, dec. dtc. dec. September 29, 1838. and conti lory we mon< prett ii'f 55 Wo. VI. October 12. 18S8. Sir: Having given a brief history of the origin, progrcs?, and present state of the Clergy Reserve and Dominant Church controversy, and enumerated the conclusions which that his- tory authorizes, I now proceed to state the grounds on which we complain of injustice and the robbery of our rights by the monopoly of the Reserves by the Episcopal Clergy and their pretensions to be ** The Established Church of Upper Cana- da." There are two senses in which the terms Church Establish- ment are used. In one, it signifies merely the legal recognition and protection of a Church in the free exercise and enjoyment of its religious faith and worship, and the means necessary to that end. In the other, and more usual sense, it signifies an incorporation of a Church toith the State, and the establishment of it as the State religion of the kingdom or Province in which it is established. In the latter signification, for example, the Roman Catholic Church is the established religion of Rome ; in the former, it is an established religion of the two Canadas ; for, in the Statutes 14th and 31st Geo. III., constituting the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, Her Majesty's sub- jects professing the religion of the Church of Rome in these Provinces are secured in the exercise and enjoyment of their religion, and their Clergy in their accustomed dues and rights, toith respect to the professors of that religion. So, also, the Protestant Episcopal Church is the establi^ed State religion of England and Ireland ; but in Upper and Lo^ er Canada, it is, I maintain, like the Roman Catholic Church, an established religion, in respect to those who profess it, being recognized and secured in the possession and enjoyment of certain rights specified in the Statute 31st Geo. III. ch. 31. This distinction is admitted and very clearly stated by the Archdeacon of York, in a pamphlet published by him while he was in England as Agent of the Episcopal Clergy in 1827. He says — <* The Roman Catholic religion » fully established, in \M 11 iff: II? f :^m . i; ■■:! ::;i Mi m i !U ill. 58 'V i" - 56 as far ac it respects persons of that persuasiorii not in Lower Canada only, but also in Upper Canada ; for the 14th Geo. III. respects the Province of Quebec, which at that time em. braced both Canadas : and so complete is this eatablishment of the Romish Church, that it cannot be touched directly or indi. rectly by the Colonial Legislatures. In sections 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40, of the Slat Geo. III. cap. 31, provision is made for the support of a Protestant Clergy ; but this provision is liable, under certain restrict ions and limitations, pointed out in section 42, to be altered by the Provincial Legislatures. From this it appears that the state of the two Churches is very differ, ent. The Provincial Legislatures have nothing to do, either directly or indirectly, with the Romish Church ; but the same Legislatures may VARY, REPEAL, or MODIFY the 3l8t George III. cap. 31, AS FAR AS IT RESPECTS THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND."— (/>r. Slrachan's Observations on the Clergy Reserves ^ pages 32, 33.) In this sense I admit that the Church of England is estab. lished in this Province, in respect to those who profess it, but not as a Provincial Church, or in respect to other denomina. tions of Christians ; and the above admission of the Archdeacon of York that the Canadian Legislatures '* may vary^ or repeal^ or modify the 31st Geo. III. ch. 31, as far as respects the Church of England,^* flatly contradicts the doctrines of ** The Church" and his coadjutors now a. days, that the Provincial Legislatures have no authority to legislate on the Reserves, or on any thing that concerns the Church of England in the Canadas ! In the same sense the Church of Scotland, and the Lutheran and Calvinistic Churches, in this Province, are established, being recognized and secured in certain rights, in and by a Marriage Act, passed in 1798 ; as are, also, the Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, <&;c., in and by the Act for the relief of Religious Societies, passed in 1826, and, more recent, ly, in and by the Marriage Act, which received the Royal Assent in 1831. The advantages secured to these respective churches may, in some particulars difler ; but the religion of each of them is recognized and established by law. Even in England, in the case of Kemp vs, Wickes, tried in the Arches Court of Canterbury, Dec. 11^ 1809, it was decid- ed by death! ing ordaii are n raiioni civil rationl In I r .>M uii I 53^ ed by llie learned Judge of that Court, Sir John Nicoll, (whose death has been recently announced in the papers,) that dissent- ing nninisters, of all denominations of Dissenters^ regularly ordained, according to the forms of their respective churches, are recogniz«d, allowed, and establishedy by the Act of Tole- ration, although dissenters there were, until 1828, subject to civil disabilities and disqualifications, by the execrable Corpo. ration and Test Acts. In this sense, but without any such disabilities, and with more liberal privileges and immunities, the Church of England is admitted to be an established religion in Upper Canada ; but I contend that it is not established by any law as the State Re^ ligion of this Province, or in respect to any other religious denomination than its own members. In this view I am sup. ported by large majorities of the representatives of the people of this province in four successive Parliaments, as well as by the facts of British Colonial history, as I will presently show. I therefore fully concur in the protest of the Moderator of the Scotch Synod to Lord Durham, against the title assumed by the Episcopal Clergy as " the Clergy of the established Church of Upper Canada." It has been argued on the part of the Episcopal Clergy that the Church of England is the established Church of Upper Canada, because it is the established Church of the Empire^ and not of Great Britain and Ireland only ; and in support of this position two most important statutes are appealed to. The first statute is Ist Elizabeth, cap. 1st ; the second is the 5th Anne, cap. 8, called the Act of Union between England and Scotland. The argument from the 1st of these slatutes stands thus : Previous to the Revolution the Pope was the absolute Sovereign of the Church in the British Empire. After the Reformation, the King or Queen of England was invested with the same soveroigr.ty on earth, over the Church of England, throughout his or her dominions, that the Roman pontiff had heretofore possessed. Therefore the Church of England is the established Church throughout the British '^ realm." I admit the argument, but deny its application to the then future colonies. The statute 1st Elizabeth, cap. 1, passed in 1559, on which so much stress has been laid, repealed the statute of Philip and Mary, which had adopted the Roman Catholic reli. I M \\ i tii :i! 4 I* m •m I'. t gion, and subjected England to the ecclesiattical iuritdietionorl the Pope. It reatored the Protestant religion, and the authority of the Queen, instead of the Pope, as the supreme earthly head of the Church, and excluded all foreign ecclesiastical power over England, Ireland, or any of Her Majesty's dominions. That was the substance of the statute. The statute 5th Anne, cap. 6, passed in 1700, nearly 150 years after the accession of Elizabeth, provideil for the respective rights of the churches of England and Scotland, and secured to the *' subjects of the United Kingdom of Great Britain*' '* a communication of all other rights, privileges and advantages, which do or may belong to the subjects of either Kingdom, except where it is otherwise expressly agreed in these articles.'' But I submit, that neither of those statutes had any effect, in practice or in theory, to establish either the Church of England or the Church of Scotland, or both, in the subsequently chartered colonies and provinces. If so, would not the prerogatives, and support, and advantages of the ecclesiastical establishment of Great Britain have been claimed by the British Government, and the Episcopal and Presbyterian Clergy, in the old British colonies, now the United States ? Yet such a construction of the statute 1st Elizabeth, c. 1st, or of the Act of Union between England and Scotland, 5th Anne, c. 8, was never (as far as I can learn) admitted or claimed in those Colonies, or in England, during mure than one hundred and fifty years of their continuance under British government. I challenge the party of ** The Church" to adduce a single example, or fact, in proof that the Church of England was ever claimed or regarded by any competent authority as the established Church of any British colony, merely by virtue of its being the established Church of England and Ireland, or of the King or Queen being the supreme earthly head of it. I assert^ without fear of success- ful contradiction, that wherever the Church of England has existed or does exist in any of the variously modified forms of an ecclesiastical establishment in any British colony, it is not by the authoriitf of either of the Acts above referred to, but by the special authority of a Royal Charter, or by an Act or Acts of the Imperial Parliament, or by the Leoislativb Act or Acts of the Colony. In none of the old Charters of the American Colonies is the Chur^ have grant] plantj may, thegl religil ignorl secoi 'f Great and the colonies, 3 statute England n learn) during inuance ' " The hat the by any British Church ing the Jccess* nd has irms of is not but by CT OB ATIVS it the 69 Church of England ettahluhed or even reeognixedt ai far ai I have been able to ascertain. The first Virginia Charter, granted by Jamea I. in 1600, is the oldest. The entemrise^of planting the country is commended as ** a noble work, which may, by the providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating the Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God." In the second (amended) Virginia Charter, granted in 1609, it is said, **h shall be necessary for all such as shall inhabit within the precincts of Virginia, to determine to live togothor in the fear and true worship of Almighty God, Christian peace, and civil quietness : . • • .ai. J that the principal effect which we can desire or expect of this action [granting this charter] is the conversion and reduction of those parts unto the true worship of God and the Christian religion." In the Charter of Massachusetts Bay, granted by Charles I. in 1644, the Colonists aro exhorted by "their good life and orderly conversation to win and invite the natives of that country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Saviour of mankind, and the Christian faith, which, in our royal intention and the adventurers' free profes. sion, is the principal end of this plantation." The Charters of Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, granted by Charles II. 1681-5, and nearly all the Colonial Charters, con. tain the same declarations, with considerable variations in phraseology. Here is the recognition of the Christian religion as the foundation of their civil polity and social compact, but no mention made of any one established or endowed sect or particular form of faith. It is known that Congregationalism became the established religion of the New England Colonies; and that in some of them no Episcopalian, indeed none but a member of the Congregational Church, as certified under the hand of the Minister, could exercise the privileges of a citizen. The Episcopal Church was established in Virginia and North Carolina, with parishes and rectors ; but that was done by the act of the local Legislature and Government of the Colony at an early period, the same as Independency was established in the New England Colonies. There were subsequently Scotch settlements in New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Penn. tyliraniai and North Carolina ; but in none of the Colonitt, i ■ ' 'a i ' '■"il M , t ! h " 60 from Maine to Florida, do we hear of the ** status^' or *' co. ordinate rights'' of either the Church of England or Church of Scotland, under the 1st of Elizabeth, or the 5th of Anne, or any other Imperial Act or Charter. We have a practical illustration of the correctness of this view of the subject from the early history of the Episcopal Church in those old colonies. In 1698 a select number of private gentlemen associated and formed themselves into a Society for the propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ; by which title they were incorporated i;j 1701, 13th William IJI, by letters patent under the King's privy seal ; and, by virtue of the authority and privileges granted in this patent^ the first missionaries from the established Church of England were sent to the old British colonies of North America. The principal persons incorporated under this charter were the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, several of the bishops, many of the dignified clergy, the Lords in administration, the judges, a '^on. siderable number of baronets and private gentlemen ; in all ninety-five individuals. And as forming one body politic and corporate in deed and in name, viz : '' Tlie Society for the pro- pagation of the Gospel in Foreign PartSy'* they were empowered to purchase ;fi2,000 per annum inheritance, and estates for lives, and goods and chattels without limitation ; to grant leases for the term of thirty-one years without fine ; and by the afore- said title to plead and be impleaded. Thsy and their success, ors were to have a common seal, &c., to appoint officers, to depute persons at any meeting of the society, to take subrcrip. tions, and to collect such moneys as should be by any person or persons contributed for the purposes of the society. Sanctioned by the Royal favour and patronage, and by the Lords of the administration, and the heads of the Church, the Society met with uncommon success in its subscriptions, donations, and legacies. For many years it has received annual grants from Parliament in aid of its funds. It has received a Pariiamentarv grant this year of upwards oi fifty thousand doUars^ to support the Episcopal Clergy in the North American Provinces. It was with this society, and nc^t with the Act of Supremac}, or of the Union of Englani! and Scotland, that the Episcopal establishments in the British colonies originated. The Epis- copal clergy in this Province are in the employment nf tiiat socii its 01 T^ age tensil Eng( to pi ambl\ tion Part\ or "CO. Church r Anne, i of this piscopai nber of I into a rts ; by iam IJI, 'irtuo of lie first jre sent rincipa! bishops ' of the a ?on. ; in all tic and \he -pro- Dwered Uea for ; leases I afore- iccess. lers, to j.«'crip. 'son or tioned of the ;y met 5, and J from 2ntarv jpport ««»• ■ ■' • nac}, icopal Epis. * that 61 society. I have therefore been the more particular in stating its origin and formation. To show in what light the British government, (even in an age of comparative deispotism and extravagant clerical pre- tensions) regarded the application of the ecclesiastical laws of England to the colonies at the commencement of its measures to provide for their religions instruction, I will recite the pre amble and first article of the Royal Charter for the incorpora- tion of The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts: — " Whereas we arc credibly informed that in many of our plantations, colonies, and factories, beyond the seas, belonging to our kingdom of England, iho provision fur ministers is very mean, and many others of our said plantations, colonies, and factories, are wholly destitute and unprovided of a maintenance for ministers and the public worship of God ; and for lack of support and maintenance for such, many of our beloved subjects do want Iho administration of God's word and sacra- ments, and seem to bo abandoned to atheism and infidelity; and also for want of learned and orthodox ministers to instruct our said loving sub. jects in the principles of true religion, divers Romish priests and Jesuits are the more encouraged to pervert and draw over our said loving subjects to popish superstition and idolatry, &.c. Therefore Mis Majesty, consi- dering it his duty to promote the glory of God, by the instruction of his people in the christian religion, ordains certain provisions to be made for tbe sufficient maintenance of orthodox clergy, to reside in such colonies, and for the propagation of the gospel In those parts. And for the ac- complishing' these ends, the King engages for himself, his heirs and successors, to erect, settle, and permanently establish a corporation, authorised to receive, manage, and dispose of the charity of his loving subjects, as divers persons would be thereby induced to extend their cha. rity to the usas and purposes aforesaid." * * It appears tbat one of the original objects of this Society was to prevent " divers Homiah priests and Jesuits" from drawing over His Majesty's " loving subjects to Popish superstition and idolatry,'' &c. Strange, therefore, would it have appeared to the founders of that Society that one of its own principal Missionailea should recom- mend Royal grants to '* Romish priests and Jesuits" for the support of " popish super- stition and Idolatry." Yet does the Archdeacon of York say In his speech before the Legislative Council in 1828, as well as in a late series of letters addressed by him to Itte Hon. William Morris, that he had recommended His late Majesty's Government to make mnta out of the Crown Revenue to tbe Roman Catholic priesthood. In piinu- «ince of that, recommendation, upwards id forty tkoustrnd dollars oave been granted for the support of " popish superstition and Idotatry," in order to obtain to the Episcopal Clergy the aid of «' Romish priests and Jesuitif* to suppress Methodists^ Pretbyteiiav, and wqptists. And then, on tbe other hand, in order to play Into the liands of the high churcli dignitaries and House of Lords in England, against Her Majesty's Government at iNime and against equitable govnmnent in Canada, Mr. Bettddge gtm to England a»d «o.iipiains that Government are supporting Ponery in Canada, and insiatf tbat mor^tud Httii be given to tb« Bitablished Church in ord«r to ooanteract It ! ! ! 6 tlHi B '•■ fi .1 1 1 ' nl ^ :, m ■ fl f 1 i '9 u Mow in the above preamble of the charter by which the Clergy of the Church of England in this, as well as in the other British provinces, are employed, let it be Loted, 1. That there was no legal provision for the support of religion in the colonies, many of them being " wholly destitute and unpfovided of a maintenance for ministers and the pUMic worship of God*" This could not have been the case had the Church of England been regarded as tJie established religion of the colonies by virtue of the statute Ist of Elizabeth, as contended by The Church and his party ; for the clergy would have been entitled to the tithes and other dues in the old colonies as well as in England. 2. That the Episcopal Clergy who went out to the old British colonies, (as well as those now employed in the Canadas,) had no legal prerogatives as the established Clergy of the colonies, but were simply missionaries of a Society supported by charity ; — a Society too, which though incorpo- rated by Royal Charter, and patronized by the dignitaries of the Church, formed no part of even the ecclesiastical establish- ment of England itself. 3. Therefore there was no ecclesias- tical establishment in the old British colonies by virtue of the ecclesiastical or civil laws of England, or in consequence of the King being the head of the Church. If not in those colonies, then not in this province. I have been the more particular in this part of the argument in order to set at rest the groundless, though oft-repeated dogma, that the Church of England i^ the Established Church of the Colonies because she is the Established Church of ihe Parent State. I would not derogate an iota from the respect claimed by the Church of England on account of the prero- gatives to which she is legally entitled. As the form of reli- gion professed by the Sovereign and rulers of the Empire — as the established Church of the British realm — as the Church which has nursed some of the greatest statesmen, philosophers, and divines that have enlightened, adorned, and blest the world, she cannot fail as a Church to command the respect of all enlightened men, whatever may be thought of the conduct and pretensions of the Canadian branch of that Church,— pretensions which have been virtually repudiated in Royal Charters, and contradicted by the entire civil and ecclesiastical history of the old British Colonies. bich the I in the 1. That n in the ofovided fGod." i)ngland aies by by The entitled ill as in t to the i in the Clergy Society ncorpo. aries of tablish- clesias- of the ence of those ^ument peated >hurch of the espect prero- f reli- e — as 'hurch phers, St the ect of mduct •ch,— Royal istical 63 The CororuUion oath has been appealed to, times without number, as binding the Sovereign to maintain to the Episcopal Clergy the Reserves and all the privileges of the ecclesiastical establishment of England. In answer to this, I may remark, that His late Majesty George III. had scruples of conscience on the subject of assenting to an act for the emancipation of the Catholics, under an impression, which it is known Mr. Pitt could not remove, that it would aflfect the Established Church in a manner inconsistent with his coronation oath — Ireland being withm the protection of that oath, as provided by the act of Union of England and Scotland. But His Majesty had no such conscientious objections against allowing the Catholics of Canada all the rights and privileges of his other Canadian subjects ; which he accordingly did in the Quebec Act, pass^ in the 14th year of his reign, and in our Constitutional Act passed in the 31st year. He did not regard Canada as stand- ing on the same ground with Ireland, in relation to the estab- lished religion guarded by his coronation oath : that is, he did not consider the Church of England to be the Established Church of Canada. His late Majesty William IV. expressly authorised, through Lord Goderich, the appropriation of the Clergy Reserves in this Province to educational purposes, and gave his Royal assent to a bill passed by the Legislature of Prince Edward Island to appropriate the Clergy lands in that Province to the purposes of education. I hope, therefore, we shall hear no more about the coronation oath in connexion with the Clergy Reserve Question. I now approach the Clergy Reserve Question, and enter into a particular examination of those acts of Parliament .under (he authority of which the Episcopal Clergy found their exclu- sive claims to the Reserves; namely the 14th Geo. III. cap. 88, and 31st Geo. III. cap. 31. The 14th Geo. 3rd secured His Majesty's Canadian subjects professing the Roman Catholic faith, in the free exercise of their religion, and their Clergy in the enjoyment of their ac- customed dues and rights, with respect to such persons as pro« fess that religion ; with an explanatory proviso, that His Ma- jesty might make provision out of the rest of the accustomed dues and rights " for the encouragement of the Protestant nH* gioriy and for the maintenance and support of a Preteskmt ■ i 11 is : W I '1 r' ^i kit U 64 Clergy,** This provision was not for the encouragement of the Church of England, or of the Church of Scotland, or of any one data of Protestants, but in general terms, '* of the Protestant religion" — embracing of course all recognized class, es of Protestants ; not for the maintenance of the Clergy of tbe Church of England, or of any Protestant Church in par. ticular, but **of a Protestant Clergy" generally. The objecr of the contemplated provision, and the words used to express it, extend to all Protestant inhabitants of the Province and to their Clergy as contradistinguished from the Catholic inhabit, ants, of whatever particular church or denomination of Pro. TESTANTS they might be ; the statute thus making provision fcr the two classes, into which the whole population was divided, without any further distinction, and toith no exception. This preliminary declaration was referred to and confirmed in the 34th section of the 31st Geo. drd ; and in the 36th sec tion, His Majesty was authorised to reserve land equal to one- seventh part of the lands granted, or to be granted, in each of the Canadas, <^ for the support and maintenance of a Protestant Clergy within the same." In this clause, therefore, authoris- ing the reservation itself y there is nothing to limit the benefit of it to the Clergy of the Church of England, or of any Protes. tant Church in particular. The 37th section appropriates the income of the Reserves in these words: "That all and every the rents, profits, or emoluments which may at any time rise from such lands so allotted and appropriated, as aforesaid, shall be applicable solely to the maintenance and support of a Protestant Clergy, within the Province in which the same shall be situated, and to no other use or purpose whatsoever." As in the reserva- tion of the land, so here in the appropriation of its income or proceeds, there is no limitation of it to the exclusive benefit of any Protestant Church in preference to others. It was appro- priated generally for the maintenance and support of " a Pro. testant Clergy," with a view to the "encouragement of the Protestant religion." The adjective *^ Protestant " ami the noun '* Clergy," are unquestionably as applicable to other de. nominations of Protestants, as to the Church of England. It has, indeed, been pretended that the word clergy^ in the English use of it, is confined to the established Church. This 19 Ul to a ler the 11 terml thodj of ci just best peric rcali cleri 65 3ment of id, or of " o/ the ed class. 5lergy of 1 in par. e objecf express and to inhabit. of PftO. sion for divided, nfirnoed )th sec to one- each of otestant Moris- neiit of Protes. Jserves fits, or nds so iicable ::jergy, d, and serva- me or efit of appro- L Pro. >f the d the 3r de. in the This IS unfounded. The iersn clergyman is indeed generally applied to a minister of the established Church, and seldom to a minis, ler of a dissenting Church ; and for this obvious reason, that the term minister is generally preferred by dissenters, as the term preacher has been generally preferred amongst the Me- thodists. But who does not know that when they are spoken of coUectivelyy or as classes, the phrase ** dissenting Clergy'^ is just as common as the phrase " established Clergy," by the best English authors, in histories, miscellaneous books, and periodicals ? By the law of England, all the subjects of the realm are divided into two classes, — -the clergy and laity ; the clergy comprehending all persons in holy orders, and the laity comprehending all others. [Blackstone's Commentaries [. 376.] All official grades or descriptions of persons " in holy orders," are, I submit, clergymen in the technical as well as popular sense of that comprehensive term. In the canons of the Church of England, a clergyman is designated by the ge- neral term " rainister^^ — minister and clergyman being used as synonymous terms, meaning a person *'in holy orders," in any form of orders recognized by the laws of England. I have heretofore shown that it has been so decided by the Arches Court of Canterbury, that dissenting clergymen, ordained according to the forms of their respective denominations, are lawful ministers, as really and truly such as are the ministers of the Churcli of England, episcopally ordained. They are comprehended in Blackstone's legal definition of the term clergy ; and are fairly, strictly, and legally, within the general terms "A Protestant Cler-^y," used in 31st Geo. 3rd. And I will hereafter show, by indubitable testimony, that the framers of that Act intended those terms, " A Protestant Clergy," to be understood and interpreted in that comprehensive sense. The Act itself expressly recognizes the existence, in Upper Canada, of other protestant clergymen than those of the Church of England. In the 21st section, which disqualifies for a seat in the House of Assembly, any person '* who shall be a minister of the Church of England, or a minister ^ priestyi ecclesiastic, or teacher, either according to the rites of the Church of Rome, or under any other form or mode of worship^* — these are persons " in holy orders" and are deprived, on that account, of certain privileges secured to the laity. li I 1 r 60^ Thus the same Act that provided and appropriated the clergy lands, has, in express terms, admitted and connidered, that there are in this province, iMsides Catholic Clergymen, other Ministers, Priests, EcclesituticSf and Teachers^ than Ministers of the Church of England. Here is an explicit recognition o( other Protestant Clergymen than those of the Church of England. The appropriation of the Reserves for the support and maintenance of *< a Protestant Clergy,'' excludes, indeed, the Catholic Clergy, by the restrictive term ** Protestant ;" but as to Protestant Clergymen^ there is no exclusion or prefer, ence. They are all equally " Protestant" and equally '* Mi- nisters" or " Clergymen" recognized as such by the general law of England, and by this particular Act. In subsequent sections of the Act, his ^Majesty is empowered to authorise the Governor to erect, in every township, one or more Parsonage or Rectory, Parsonages or Rectories, according to the Church of England, and to endow the same with so much or such ^part of the lands reserved for that township, as he shall, with the advice of the Executive Council, judge to be expedient under the then existing circumstances of such town, ship or parish, and to present to such parsonage or rectory an incumbent or minister of the Church of England, duly ordain- ed according to the rites of that Church. The endowment thus authorised to be carved out of the reserved lands, at the discretion of the Governor, — presuming that he, with the Exe- cutive Council, would always act equitably and impartially, and according to the exigencies of the country, — may be appropri- ated to the incumbents or ministers of the Church of England. To this extent, but no further, are clergymen of the Church of England distinguished from clergymen of other denominations of Protestants, in regard to the lands reserved and appropriated for the support and maintenance of a Protestant Clergy" and the " encouragement of the Protestant religion." 1 beg that the variance in the form of expression between the above quoted sections of the Act, reserving the lands and appropriating their income, and the subsequent distinct sections authorising a part only of those lands in any township to be taken for the endowment of parsonages or rectories, may be carefully noted. It is very striking and significant. In the former the phrase employed is " a Protestant Clergy" — in the mti i'f le clergy red, that en, other l^inisters fnjtion of lurch of > support » indeed, n to be I town, -ory an ordain, wment at the B Exe- ^y, and Jropri. gland, rch of lations •riated " and tween Is and ctions to be iy be ti the n the latter, it is '* a minuter of the Church of England,*' and not "a Protestant Clergyman." In the former sections, there if no limitation to, or even mention of, the Church of Englnnd ; — in the latter sections, — the endowments expressed to be part only of the whole reserves, are expressly limited and appro- priated to the Church of England. This diflference in the phraseology furnishes a fair and unquestionably just rule of interpretation. Had it been intended that the whole benefit of the ( lergy Reserves should be confined to the Clergy of the Church of England, the reservation and appropriation would have been expressed to be for the Clergy of that Church in terms as distinct and qualified as those which are used in the sections authorising the endowment of rectories or parsonages with a part of the reserves ; such terms, for example, as the Clergy of the Church of England^ or a Protestant Episcopal ^ or in some other words limiting it to the clergy of the Church of England, and not in the general terms, *'a Protestant Clergy, ^^ comprehending clergymen of all Protestant Churches, and equally entitling them to the benefit of it. Such, Sir, is my understandmg and interpretation of the law of this Province in respect to the Clergy land provision ; and such was the sense in which the Act 31st Geo. drd was under- stood by leading members of the British Parliament that passed it. In the debate upon the Bill, Mr. Fox said express- ly, — " By the Protestant Clergy he supposed to be understood not only the Clergy of the Church of England, but all descrip- tions of Protestants" And again, — ^^ The greatest pari of these Protestant Clergy were not of the Church of England : they were chiefly what are called Protestant Dissenters in this country.*' * Mr. Fox well understood the meaning of lan- guage — he knew what the phrase, " a Protestant Clergy" obviously and legitimately meant, and gave it the natural interpretation. Had he been mistaken, Mr. Pitt would have undoubtedly corrected his error ; but Mr. Pitt's silence, and that of other leading members, was, as known by any one who has listened to the debates in the Imperial Parliament, * Passages from one of Mr. Pitt*p speeches have been quoted by the advocates of the exclusive clalois of the Episcopal Clergy ; but those passages are wrested from their proper connexion and true meaning. Any person who reads Mr. Pitt's speech will per- ceive that he is not speaking of the provisional clauses of the bill, tMit of those lectioDi wtlicb relate to the endowment of rectories or parsonages. 1,1 ;;»y •'^i '. ilj '{•' 6S the tacit eoncHrrence of the Ilouee in Mr. Fox's understanding •r the phrase. But in addition to the underiitanding of Mr. Fox, and the inference which naturally flows from his speech, I have indubi- table testimony that such was the intention of the framer of the Act — Lord Grenville. '*' My authorities are high church conservatives of the Pitt and Wellington school. The vene- rable Earl of Harrowby made the following statement in the House of Lords on the 26th June, 1828 : "He (the Carl of Harrowby) would not have said a word upon the •abject of the petition presented by the noble lord (Haddington), tiad not a reference been made to the opinion of Lord Grenville; but as such reference had been made, he felt himself called upon to state, that he had repeated conversations with that noble lord (Grenvillo) upon the ■ubject, and ho (Lord Grenville) had not only expressed his opinion so, but had requested him (the Earl of Harrowby) if any opportunity should offer, to atale that both his own and Mr. Pitt's decision wslb, that the provisions of the 31 Geo. 3 were not intended for the exclusive support of the Church of England, but for the maintenance of the clergy generally of the Protestant Church." My next authority is the evidence of Lord Viscount Sandon, (son of the Earl of Harrowby) before the committee of the House of Commons on the civil government of Canada, in 1828 On the 4lh of May, 1827, when the Bill for the sale of part of the Clergy Reserves was under the consideration of the House of Commons, Lord Sandon, with many others, spoke on the subject of the Church Establishment in Canada, and stated Lord Grenville's intention in relation to it when he drew up the 31st Geo. 3rd, cap. 31., Dr. Strachan was at that time in London ; and, in his printed speech before the Le. gislative Council, 6ih March, 1828, says, that he found that Lord Sandon's speech had made a great impression upon the House of Commons, and adds — <' As what Lord Sandon had stated was of great importance to the future decision of the questiony I called upon that nobleman, and found that what he had said was very different from what had been reported," <&c. * 1 have somewhere heard it denied that Lord Grenville was the framer of the Act 31st Geo. 3rd, c. 31. That is of but little consequence, as Lord Grenville and Mr. Pitt conducted the bill through Parliament. But in addition to current report aod general belief, Lord Brougham said a few months since in his place in the House of Iiords that, " hebanpeDtd to know that Lord Grenville was the framer of that Act." Dr. Strachan statettMsame in his printed speech before the Legislative Council, March, 1828,— p. 13. &C. the decii is* &I very! standing and (he indubi. amer of church e vene- t in the pon the had not as Guch that he pf^n the >ioi> eo, f should hat the pport of ^nerally »ndon, of the ^a, in ale of on of thers, nada, when as at i Le. I that ) the had ''the X he . 13. 69 he* (p. 14.) Lord Sundon's testimony is here appealed to by the Archdeacon of York as of '^ great importance to the future decision of the question.*' Let us now see what that testimony is, as given by the noble Lord himself in consequence of this very speech of the Archdeacon ; — " Lord Viscount Sandon, a Member of the Committee, examined. Do you recollect having a conversation with Archdeacon Straohan upon the subject of the church reserves in Canada 7—1 remember two or three conversations which passed, principally, I believe, in the commit- tee*room of the Emigration Committee ; I do not remember distinctly any one. The Committee observes, in a speech made by Archdeacon Strachan, on the 6th of March, 1828, in the Legislative Council of Upper Canada, that Archdeacon Strachan says, that he called upon your Lordship, in consequence of the debate which took place in the month of May last year in the House of Commons, with a view of ascertaining from you exactly what you had asserted to have been Lord Grenville's statement upon that subject ; and Archdeacon Strachan proceeds to say, that he called upon yoilr Lordship, and that you stated that Lord Grenville had stated that the Scotch Presbyterians]Jwere not intentionally excluded ; and, provided that provision should be found more than sufficient for the established church, he saw no objection ^o giving them aid. Is that a correct representation of what you said to Dr. Strachan ? — That cer- tainly is not a correct representation of what passed between us. It is difficult at this time to recollect distinctly what I said to him. All I can say is, that I could not say what he represents me to have said; for it is not now, nor ever was, my understanding of what Lord Grenville said to me. Have you at this moment a distinct recollection of what Lord Gren- ville said to you? — I remember that he stated to me that the scheme upon which ho built the syRlem that was intended to be incorporated in ihe Canada Act of 1791, was a good deal derived from information they had collected from an officer that had been much in Pennsylvania, of the system with regard to lands appropriated torelig;ion and education in that Slate; I understood him to say, that the distinction of a Protestant clergy, which is frequently repeated in the Act of 1791, was meant to pi9vide for any clergy that was not Roman Catholic, at the same timft leaving it to the Governor and the Executive Council of the province tr« provide in future how that should be distributed." — {Report, &c., p. 181.; Before any impartial jury the above evidence would decide the question ; but the party of " The Church" have latterly changed their tone. Even the Archdeacon of York, in his Address to the Clergy, on the Idth of September, 1837, says, be will not " admit the opinion of individuals however high in the legal profession or official rank, to dispose of our vested Iff 7a rights.** Such declarations remind me of the debate before a conTocation of Clergy, at which Bonner presided, when certain points between the Catholics and Protestant Reformers were to be discussed by the appointment of the Queen (bloody Mary). The debate was closed by the prolocutor, who, addressing the Reformers, said — *♦ You have the wordy but WE HAVE THE SWOUD." However, as it is not to the Archdeacon of York or his party that I appeal, the above testimony will, I trust, have its due weight. [ am also sustained in the same view by the Com. mittee of the House of Commons. They say — *' The question has been raised, whether the clergy of everf denomi- nalion of Christians, except Roman Catholics, may not be included. It ift not for your committee to express an opmion on the accuracy which the words* of the act ie^nlly convey. They entertain no doubt, however, that the intention of thoce Persons who brought forward the measure in Parliament vvns to endow with parsona^o houses and glebe lands the clergy of the Church of England, at the discrelion of the local Govern- ment ; but with respect to the distribution of ' proceeds of the reserved lands generally, they are of opinion that the,, sought to reserve to the Government the right to apply the money ^ if they so thought fit, to any Protestant Clergy." Lord Stanley, — the idol of the high church party, will also be admitted to be an unexceptionable authority on this subject. In his speech before the House of Commons, on the 2nd May, 1828, he said, (I quote from the Mirror of Parliament tlie report corrected h his own hand) — "That if any excluB. -i.. privileges be given to the Church of England, not only will the measure be repugnant to every principle of sound legisla- tion, but contrary to the spirit and intention of the Act of 1791, under which the reserves were made for the Protestant Clergy. I will not enter further into it at present, except to express my hope, that the House will guard Canada against the eviU which religious dissensions have already produced in this country and in Ireland, whore we have examples to teach us what to shun. \Vo have seen the evil consequences of this system at homo. God forbid we should not profit by experience ; and more especially in legislating for a people bordering on a country where religious intolerance and religious exclusions are unknown — a €Ountry to which Parliament looked in passing the Jet of nSKas all the great men who argued the question then expressly declared. It is important that His Majesty's Canadian subjects should not have occasion , to look ft cross the narrow boundary that separates them from the Vni^^d iStfttfs, and see any thing there to envy." ni< bei th< liai Gel in thai the He colo\ lishi \,[ \ 1 before a 1 certain Bra were (bloody T, who, rdf BUT lis parly r its due e Conj. denomi. dod. It y which lowevor, asure in ands tho CJovorn. reserved ? to the , to any ill also pbject. May, nt iho igland» egislo" under ill nnt at the naions 9 have lences ence ; unlry vn — n \s all It is aiinh ^niied 71 Sir GiottOB Murray — the Seeretnry of State (or the CoIo' nies under tho Duke of Wellington's Government — will also be admitted as an unexceptionable authority. In a speech, in the Hoi:3e of Commons, July, 183*2, on a motion for the Par- liamentary ^rant to the Episcopal North American Clergy, Sir George Murray said : '^Thia country is bound to provide religious instruction for the people in our colonies. At the same lime he (Sir G. Murray) begged to say, thai 90 far from approving the maintenance of any exclueive system in the Colonies, he thought any such system there dad and dangerous. He was of opinion that the pastors of all religious persuasions in the colonies were EauALLY entitled to support, and he deprecated the estab-^ lishmeni there of any one Church over all others^ I need add no more, I could quote the opinions of whigs and liberal whigs almost without number; but I have preferred appealing to the testimonies of the leaders of tlie high Church party. In preceding letters, I have shown that not a farthing of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves, nor the appropriation of an acre of them, was ever '* vested^* in the Clergy of the Church of England; that, long before one acre of Hie Reserves was sold, the Representatives of the people of this Province pro- tested to the Imperial Government against any appropriations to the exclusive benefit of the Episcopal Clergy ; and that therefore the " vested rights" of which Dr. Strachan and " The Church" declaim, are a tlction. I have now examined the law — the history of the old British Colonies — the statutes relative to the Clergy Reserves, the intentions of their framers, and the opinions of leading tory statesmen. I will conclude this part of the argument with two remarks. 1. Is it not sufficient not only to spread dissatisfaction among a peaceable population, but to make even a loyal people disaf- fected, to be denounced by the acknowledged leaders and or- gans of the dominant executive party, as ^' radicals, republi« cans, and rebels," for holding and maintaining opinions on the exclusive claims of the Episcopal Clergy and an established Church in Canada, such as are so strongly warranted by the law of the land and the avowed sentiments of the ablest states- men in England? Well, Sir, did the Right Hon. Edwabo Ellicb (uncle to Lord Durham, and father of his Lordship't 1 I t ■ I j n private Secretary,) aay in his evidence before the Canada Committee of the House of Commons in 1828—** The great 8our9e of difficulty in the Upper Provinc€t and the foun£tiion of interminable dispute and serious difference, is the state of the Church lands, and the idle pretensions of the leading Minis, ters of the Church of England, and the exclusive claims of that Church,'' , 2- My second remark is, that it now appears that it is the Methodist and other Protestant denominations, and not the Church of England, who have the strongest rcaiion to com- plain of spoliation and robbery in this question, — the very par. ties who have performed the noble work of religiously instruct- ing the early inhabitants and now settlements of this Province when they most needed it — ay, when they were wholly neg- lected by the party who, in addition to the receipt of more than Jive hundred and fifty thousand dollars at various times from Parliament and other sources in England, nre now clamouring for the one-sevenih of this entire Provinc« ! Hut, Sir, there is such a power iis Public Opinion^ which no Government iti this age dare resist, and in accordance with which an enlight- cned British Government has declared this question shall be settled. The Canada Committee of the British House of Com- mens have therefore justly laid it down, that, '* Of the principle on which the proceeds from these lands are hereafter to be applied^ and in deciding on the just and prudent application of these funds, the Government will necessarily be influenced by the state of the population as to religious opinions at the period when the decision is to be taken.'' I have the honour to be, &c. &c. dec. 7S r m No. VII« The <|iMsUoB of Be*lBTettmeBt« Sir: Jauumry 26, 1S90. I have given a brief history of the origin ond progreaa of the Church and Clergy Reserve controversy ; I have die. tinctly siHted tlie various and strong expressions of Public Opinion, both '\f\ tho Legislature and in other more popular forms, on the subject ; I have carefully examined the several Imperial Statutes — and especially the Constitutional Act— which have been appealed to by Episcopal disputants ; and have adduced the entire history ef tho o)d British Colonies, am) the opinions of the ablest British statesmen, and even the ex- press decision of flis late Most Gracious Majesty William the Fourth, in illustration and confirmation of my entire argument. Having thus viewed the subject as a matter of history and a question of law^ I now advance to the investigation ot it as a subject of PRACTICAL LEGISLATION. Happily, as I hope, no one will have the hardihood any longer to question the consti- tutional right of our Provincial Parliament to legislate at its discretion on this subject, any more than to deny its authority to enact laws for the improvement of schools and highways. The right of Parliament to legislate by either ^'•varying or repealing^' any provision for a general object, destroys every rational pretence to individual ** vested rights'* in that provi- sion. The whole cry therefore of " vested rights" has been, and still is, but the clamour of interest and party, silenced in argument and repelled in equity. When our Imperial Consti- tutional Act expressly authorises the Provincial Legislature to "vary or repeaV^ certain of its clauses, for any party to raise the cry of *' vested rights" against this express act of the Im- perial Parliament, is the very climax of folly and arrogance, if not of disloyalty and impudence. To deny the constitutional authority of Parliament in England, has been viewed and treated by our British forefathers as a crime of no ordinary magnitude — as a blow of ecclesiastical fielfisbness and deipot- H ill; '!! ^ 1^! I': pn- m m n iim at the very root of the chartered rights and liberties of Britons, and punished as High Treason agninst the Constitt!. tion of the land. I repudiate pains and penalties for opinions, or for the expression of ihem ; but a right of free discussion does not sanctify a wanton invasion of any branch of our civil Constitution. By the esiablished Constitution of Enj^land sinr» 1688, (as well as by our Constitutional Act, Slst George tho Third, ch. 31,) British subjects are as inviolably secured in their rights as the Crown is secured in its prerogatives ; and to deny British subjects their parliamentary rights in order to promote the interests of a section or party, is as mucii disnf. fection to the established Constitution as to iiifringe the prero. gatives of the Crown.* It is, however, gratilying to know, —and the express and full recognition of it is an additional ground of attachment to our gracious Sovereign — that the un- restricted right of our local Parliament to legislate on the Church question in this Province has been most explicitly and fully admitted and avowed from the beginning, — a fact this, which, in connexion with an explicit clause of our Constilu- tional Act, shows most clearly that the questions of ecclesias- tical property in this Province and in the mother country are esseiuially different. There, property ha^i not only been ap- propriated, but specificrlly appliedy possessed, and enjoyed for acres; here the application of a certain provision is now, by the confession of all parties, a matter of pending inquiry. There, the 'cr.urs of the grant of property was unconditional and per- * Referring to the Revolution o.'1688, when King James the Second was deposed, and William and Mary were elected to the Throne, the " H!,! of RiL'hts" agreed upon, and the British t'onstilution placed upon its present hasis, the /loble Author of the History of Modern K«ri>pe observes. — '• The Revolution forms a new era iu the Eimlisli Consti- tution. By deciding many important questions in favour of liberty, and yet more by th« grand precedent of deposing one liitig and e&rablisliin<; another, with a new line of sue- eeoaion, it gave such an ascendant to popular principles, as hn<: put thi; nature of our Government beyond all controversy. A Kitia of England, or of I3ritaiii, to use the words of tny Lord Bolingbroke, is now strictly and properly what a King should be; a memb«T, but the supreme member or head of a political body ; distinct from it, or independent of It, inoone. He can no longer mr/ve in a different orbit from his people; an«l, like some ■uperior planet, attract, repel, and direct their rnoiions by his own. He and they am parlsof the same system, iiit'mately joined, and co operating together ; acting and acted upon, limitiiig and limited, controuling and controiiied. by one anotiier: and when he ceases tn stand in this relation to them, he ceases to stand in any. The settlements, by virtue of which he governs, are plainly original contracts: his institution is plainly con- ditional; and he may forfeit his right to allegiance, as undeniably and eifectually as the ■ubjert his right to protection." Dr. Adam Clarkc, in an elahnrate note on the 1.3th chapter of Romans, 1ft verse, ••rrolmrates wnat is here stated, not merely as a matter of fact ia the history and prioti- plti of lib* British CooatitutloD, but as a ^eaeral doctrin*. petut here,\ finiti " vai sjiys Fran| perc« conni the s\ to val signij I calet (leci^sl ferlil plied impoi VAILI I SUBJI mean lluit I its iUj the m DON 'I man to the iiada sup re iiivas pritu; To re j I ustic( " Bui [inha a mi} iraiio cend relati cree< whei erties of ConHiiiii!. opinions, iscussion our civil md since ;nr^e thft cured in )es ; and order to :li diaaf. e prero. know, dditionai t the un. 5 on th« liilv and act this, ^onstitu. cclesias. ntry are leen ap. Dyed for , by the Thcre^ nd per. posed, and •ipfri, and If History ^li Coiisti- lore by tiio tie of suc- ttire of our the words a tiienib(>r, pendent of like some d they arn and acted 1 when h« itnenta, by Ininly con- ally as tho Itt Terse, iDd priaei- 75 petuaU "s much so as the prerogatives of the Crown itself; here, in the original constitutional tenure of the general inde- finite provisi »n for "a Protestant Clergy," it is subject to be ''varied or repealed^* by the Provincial Pailiament. Hence SMys Lord GleneJg, in his able and elaborate Despatch to Sir Francis Head, 15ih December, 1835, — "It is not difficult to perceive the reasons which induced Parliament in 1791 to connect with a reservation of land for ecclesiastical purposes the special delegation to the Council and Assembly of the right to vary that provision by any bill, which being reserved for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure, should be communi- cated to both Houses of Parliament for six weeks before that (leci^jion was pronounced. Remembering, it should seem, how fertile a source of controversy ecclesiastical endowments had sup- plied throughout a large part of the Christian worlds and how impossible it was to tell with precisioii what might be the pre- vailing OPINIOiNS AND FEELINGS OF THE CANADIANS ON THI8 SUBJECT AT A FUTURE PEraoD, Parliament at once secured the means of making a systematic provision for a Protestant Cler- py, and took full precaution against the eventual inaptitude of that system to the more advanced stages of a society than in its infant state, and of which no human foresiglit could divine \\\Q more mature and settled judgment.^^ And even The Lon- don'I'imes newspaper — an authority which the hi;j;hest Church- man will hardly venture to question on this subject — referring to the recent un; uimity with which all classes in Upper Ca- nada hud rallied to the defence of the Constitution and British supremacy aiiainsl internal conspiracy and American brigand invasion, and the pending Chuich question, lays down the principles for which we have so earnestly contended, and lurcibly piiints to the difference between an endowed ecclesi- astical establishment in this Province and in Great Britain. " But it is our duty to add, (says The Times,) that such men [inhabitants of Upper Cunada,] deserve to have, and must have, a mild, upright^ liber al, and paternal system of local adminis* iration to rely upon. The question of an established and as- cendant Church is a very different one, when considered in relation to an old country, whose people were of one creed when the Church was originally established, and when revenues were assigned for its exclusive support; i: 11: 76 Qince which period it has entwined itself with the whole ediHce of the national institutions^ and cnnnot now be subverted without involving them one and all in confusion, But it is very differknt when the enquiry respects A. POPULATION simultaneously CONGREGATiNG UPON A NE\V COUNTRY, BUT CONSISTING FROM ITS VERY ORIGIN OF VARIOUS CREEDS.'* I now proceed to the three remaining topics of this discus. sion — the question of re-investment in the Crown — the appli. cation of the proceeds of the Reserves to one or more classes of Clergy — and the disposal of those proceeds to the purposes of general education upon Christian principles. My present letter shall be confined to the question of reinvestment. In as far as it regards yourself, Sir, I am sensible it is quite superfluous for me to say one word on this question., as we are already agreed in opinion respecting it. And had they been reported at the time of delivery, I should have little more to do on the present occasion, than to transcribe the forcible argu. ments you urged last winter against a re investment of the Clergy Reserves in the Imperial Government, as an unfair, unmanly, and unsatisfacto/y mode of attempting to settle the question. In accordance, therefore, with your own sentiments, I contend that the re-investment of the Reserves in the Crown is — 1st. Opposed to (he welllnown senlimrnts of the loyal and intelligent inhahitants of this Province. Mobocracy, I despise; clamour, I neither fear nor respect, whether it emanate from high or low quarters ; but I have a true regard for the delib. erately formed sentiments or opinions of a people who are interestec^ feel — intellicrent to discern — and authorised bv the Consu.jtion of the land to judge of a public question. The learned Dr. Browne, of the last century, (Chaplain to the Bishop of Carlisle) amongst other characteristics of a great statesman, observes, that " He will not despise, but honour the people, and listen to their united voice. ''"^ This sentiment, * The same Rev. author thus expresses himself on the important question of the gen- eral voice of a People being the lieat rule of government : I am not ignorant, that it hnth Lein made a point of debate, whether, in political matters, the general voice of a people ought to be iield worth much regard. Uight 8orr>' 1 %m to observe, thut tbia doubt is the growtn of later times; of times, too, which bua^t I ami delibi serv( rial one. man, Assej and what I His 1)6 rei Navsl c. bI liigei Ncl (heir lo Eentitnt Thus Fi 8t ' The As llie what, c( iiion lo A no^ i;ot!«n c Tlior. nuileil ^ wliif.h I First, flic loiis bejrin a llierefoi course ' less to i Sccoi such a rest, as porsoni ilie }»pr object ( quence altianc private impart Hen< safest 1 right F the evi " TJ as efiic suppos throug he whole now be confusion. KESPECTS )N A KEAV F VAUIOUS lis discus, the apph. re classes 5 purposes [y present LENT. it is quite as we are hey been lore to do ible argu. !nt of the an unfair, settle the jritiments, 10 Crown U)yal and despise ; ate from lie delib- who are rised bv n. The n to the a great honour ntiment, of the gen- in political Ki|;lu 8orr>' which buant n I am confident, accords alike with your generous feelings and deliberate judgment. The question of re. investing the Re« serves in the Crown for religious purposes, making the Impe- rial Government the judge of their appropriation, is not a new one. It was first introduced into the Assembly by Mr. Hager- man, (then Solicitor General) the r2lh of March, 1831. That Assembly repeatedly expelled Mackenzie from its counsels, and cannot be suspected of leaning ^o ultra-liberalism. But what was the result of Mr. Hagerman's motion and exertions? His motion was rejected by a majority of 30 to 7. And let it he remembered that the following nauiea were amongst the Navs, viz. tlie Honbls. James Crooks and Wm. Morris, Messrs. C. Berczy, W. Chisholm, J. Clark, W. Elliot, A. Frazer, C. Iiigersoll, D. Jones, McMartin, Macron, Mount and Samson. Now, Sir, can it be supposed that these gentlemen would (heir love of freedom: hut oiiclif, surely, to blush, when they look back on the generoUfl senlitiients of anrir^nt days, vvljich diiys we stigmatize witli the name of slavlBh. Thus runs the Writ of Summons, to the ParliatnetJt of the twenty third of Edward tba Fi 8t ' The Kins to the venerable Father in Christ, R. Archbishop of Canterbury, preeting: As the most just law. establisiie.l by the provident wisdom of princes, doth appoint, that what C()nc(M!is all. sliould he approved by all; so it evidently implies, that dangers com- iiuin to all, plinnld be obviated by remedies provided i»y all.' A noble ackiiowledL'iu lit Irorn an Rnglish King, which ought never, sure, to be for- {.'otien or trod under funt by Knglish subjects! Thoro are two manifest reasons wiiy, in a degenerate Ptate, and a declining period, tht H'lited vidce of a people is, in general, tlie surest test of truth in all essential matters on wliici) their own welt';iro depends, so far as the (Mids of political measures are concerned. First, because in sud) a period and such a state, tinj body of a people are naturally the least corrupt part of such a jieople. For all get^eral corruptions, of whatever kind, begin among the leaders, and descend from these to tlie lower ranks; Take such a stale, therefore, in wliat period of degeneracy you please, the higher ranks will, in the natural cour.-e of ihins-s, be fartlier gone ia the ruling evils than the lower: and therefore, the less to be relied upon. Secondly, a still more cogent reason is, tliat the general body of the people have not such a bias huni upon their jiidiiutent by the prevalence of personal ai\d particular inte- rest, as the great, in all things which relate to state matters. It is of no particular or personal consequence to the general body of a people, what men are employed, provided the general welfare be accomplished ; because nothing but the general welfare can be an object of desire to the general body. But it is of much particular and personal conse. quence to the great, what men are employed ; because, tJirough their connexions and alliances, they must generally find either their friends or enemies in power. Their own private Interests, therefore, naturally throw a bias on their judgments, and destroy that impartiality which the general body of an uncorrupt people do!h naturally possess. Hence then it appears, that the united voice of an uncorrupt people is, in general, ths safest test of political good and evil, and therefore, the best aid and assistant to an up- right Prince, in the choice of such Ministers as may secure to them the good, and diveit the evil." — Estimate of the Manners and t^rinciples of the Times, Vol. II. pp. 447-451. " The object of the original compact was the public lienefit, by rendering Its governmcMt as efficient to promote the good of the State as possible, which, therefore, necessarily supposed the liability to future modifications, when tha fairly collected public sentimenU throueh the organs by which it usually expresses itself as to the public Weal, requirti >tf.'*--Walsoa'8 Theological Institutes, vol. HI p. 312. H 2 m Si 78' have voted against the reinvestment of the Reserves, had they not known that the measure was most repugnant to the wishes of the intelligent constituency of th**? Provience? I need scarcely observe that the last Parliarr r was still more unanimous in their opposition to the mea^i ; <»," re-investment — that their proceedings on this question, o far from having been objected to, constituted their chief strength in the elec tions of 1836, and that it was professing the same principles on this question, in connexion with constitutional views on other subjects, that many of the present menjbers succeeded in obtaining seats in the Assembly. The same motion met with the same fate during the first session of the present Par. liament. Arc not the sentiments of the Province as general and as strong at this moment against any measure of the kind as at former period ? Aye, and stronger, though the popular expression of them is restrained by temporary circumstances. 2. I object to the re-investment of the Reserves^ secondly, because it involves a principle directly hostile to the oft-repeated ^^ opinions and feelings''* of the Province, It must be recollect. ed that the only reinvestment ever proposed, or now contem- plated, is not for general^ or even educational, but for elltgioi >s purposes. The measure has been invariably proposed atid argued as an amendment, and in opposition to the education disposal of the Reserves. The very idea of the measure digues an utter contempt of the constitutional voice of the Province. It is also invidious and partial in its application. It is known that there are at least three religious denominations in this Province — Methodists, Baptists, and Independents — whose views are known, and have been publicly expressed, on the subject of applying legislative appropriations to the support ot their Clergy. I stop not to enquire whether Ih^ir opinions are doctrines of revelation, or mere prejudices — whether they are wise or foolish — any more than I presume to inquire into the peculiar opinions of other religious communities ; but this much I maintain, that there can be no *' equal rights upon equal conditions," without the peculiar opinions and wishes — at least in respect to themselves — of one religious party are as fully consulted as those of another. 3. My third objection to a reinvestment of the Reserves is, that it refers the questions involved from a morey to a le^s^ compk capaj tainej Britij mani| acqu5 matte intere land. I is uttl educcl land,! therel bowel facts man of so feel ill Upp« in the aristo classc ters DUIM] rves, had Jnt to the ience? I 5till more ivestment m having the eloc. principles views on ucceeded )tion met sent Par. I f^eneral the kind popular nstances. secondly, '■repealed 'ecollect. coMtem- LLIGIOUS )sed and education measure !e of the tion. It ations in — whose , on the ipport of ions are hey are into the but this its upon ishes — y are as rves is, competent tribunal for decision, I question not liiv. icerality or capacity of any government that may bo placed and main, tained at the head of public affairs, by the suffrages of the British Nation. But omniscience is not an attribute of hu- manity ; and the ablest men in England who are not personally acquainted with the Province, are as incompetent to jud^e of matters affecting our local internal religious condition and interests, as we are to decide upon the local politics of Eng. land. I speak from personal exporieiicc when I assert, that it is utterly impossible for any person who has been born and educated in Upper Canada, and who has never been in Eng- land, to form any accurate idea of the social state of society there in connexion with the civil institutions of that country, however intimately he may be versed in th(i principles and facts of British liistory ; and equally impossible is it for any man in England, especially one educated in the higher circles of society, to form any tolerable notion of the habits, views, feelings, prejudices, and wants i)i' a community, like that of Upper Canada, which has been principally born and educated in the absence of real Royally, an optdeni and acknowledged aristocracy, '^ ricMv endowed hierarchy, and o'lujr privileged classes, and which has coniTjrogatc'd together from the four quar- ters of the globe. \\'!»at has the acute and hi;.rh!y gifted Lord Durham j)ublicly confessed on this subject? NVhy, notwilh. standing his knowledge of the principles and science of gov. crnment, ancient and modern — notniihstanding his almost un- equalled knowledge f r< m travel and residence of the social state of Europe, and tho practical workings of its variv>us sys- tems of governments, under absolute deppot!sr^v>.» ftf^e monar- chies, citizen kings, demtHMNatic republics, and tributary provinces — notwithstanding his acquaintance with all the par. liamentary and other public documents and accredited histories respecting Canada — yet did his Lordship conf 'ss that he was practically ignorant of the country, ami utterly unquabtied to judge oi any matter affeonng its social interests. And let it not be forgotten, the questions at issue in this controversy arc not mere i^^atters of tact, ^>r religious ov political theories, or jects ami J either lo chisis and Organ of Majesty's leslions to n placing e Editor of or di8L'om< ( Ifriuse of ery syslurn facing and hemselves, e qtiiet to ponsibility i so initch !> to IheNu attention burn, in DlhiW8 : rned aiui I growing t <»f Iheso -Hoon we lial con. 'ofFor the I unchris. the muH' ititennn,-r. 83 (/on: the thunders of an unrivalled eloquence in the le;(islative halls, and the plaudits wiih which that elnquenco is (greeted by millions without, tell them, in langnnge not to be mistaken, that Britons are not yet so degenerate as to part with their Protestant privileges, — not yet so degrs. ded as to yield to the demands of the infidel and the leveller^ the best, the lurest safeguard of the throne.'* We here see what hands the one. seventh of this Province fall into by the reinvestment scheme. The Bishops control the House of Lords, and on these matters, tt majority of the House of Commons ; and the Lords and the opposition in the Cotnmons govern the Government. The project of re invest- ment, therefore, is a deception upon the inhabitants of Upper Canada — an ini|ji« \s m m 'A m ^ 84 of onc-8evonlI) of its strength ? nnd is the Executive so weak ihat one. seventh should be a, Vol. UI^ p. 33^1. VQ 80 Weak 'ower? and an ufTord to rided prop. ^hni would ransfer, by disposal to he island] Parliamom a lunatic; it through I week, lat it will ' connexion logino the al)le cflect Executive :s — would of course 3 the Rev. not exchi. 10 control , in fucf, ved as itd would be ey would ity of the riddance sm. Re. iment to the pub. servalivo ito requi. 'pendencf, al means ^untry in Province, B Clergy kd as the \ 86 annihilation of the fund altogether would be preferable to tho application of it to the maintenance ot' an executive political priesthood. How would even the established Clergy in Eng- land be situated and viewed, were they the pensioners and creatures of the Executive for the lime being ? Even sup- posing the proceeds of tho Reserves were to bo exclusively applied to clerical purposes, no scheme could be devised to place the Clergy in so invidious and degrading circumstances, and to multiply sources of dissatisfaction in the Province, and disagreements between this country and tho Parent State, as this crooked and un- British scheme of ro-invostment. To re-investthe Reserves, therefore, is only the beginning of con- tention and diniculties, rather than tho termination of them. Of the measure of re-investment, I may say what the Scotch Commission of Synod has said of the dominant church scheme — *' The most malignant ingenuity bent upon the destruction of this fair Province, could not have devised a measure bettor fitted to bring about the disastrous result.'' I know it has been urged as an argument lor re-investment, that ** the queslion is so intricate — such a diversity of interests is involved in it, and such a variety of opinion exists respect- ing it, that there is no hope of effecting a utisfactory settlement of it in this province." And where ha ; there been any im- portant measure before our Legislature in which a diversity of interests was not involved and on which a variety of opinion did not exist ? Was that not the case in England in regard to the Reform Bill — the Municipal Corporation Bill — the Tythe Bill, (Ssc. ? Was it proposed to send those measures out to Canada for settlement ? Was there not a diversity of interest and variety of opinion iii this province concerning the Religious Relief Bill, the Marriage Bill, &c. &'C. ? The only real difficulty in the settlement of these litigated questions, is a want of inclination and determination to deal with it upon the broad principles of enlightened British legislation. The moment tho idea of all Church or sec- tarian supremacy in the province ^s abandoned by the gov- ernment, and the people of Upper Janada known and treated not as certain classes of religionists, but as British subjects, that very moment all difficulty in the way of settling the Clergy Reserve question will vanish, and a large fund, even in these IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 12^ 12.5 lio 2.2 us u ■ 4.0 IL25 III 1.4 1^ 1.6 ■1>^ 4 ^<^ [V « ' V ^>^#^\^^ ^^1^\ %l^^^ Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 ;716) 872-4503 ^0 «» 86 'p li ^ ( i ■ 1 i i i h E ti ■ f nearly B. dealing JO longer mada, — ^0 nearer alic, — let ir future interesis lly exer. fficieniiv tion and impreg. icores of bject of ler it is I princi- :ade by or wlie- Church hristian jpective rovince W 80 of any human tribunal to make any law that will interfere with the DIVINELY prescribed duties of the member, any more than of the minister of the Church. The Christian religion is not a system of human expediency or of state policy, but a Divine Revelation — a Divine remedy for human sin and misery — — whose agency is as much of Divine selection as its object — and whose existence and success depend, not upon human the- ory and skill, but upon the continually operating energy of that Spirit whence the whole scheme originated. All civil laws and legislation ought to be based on the Christian religion ; I believe that civil legislation will be amongst the trophies of Christian triumph — that the collective homage of nations will be the inheritance of the Son of God, as well as the love and obedience of individual saints. But my present business is only with the question of specific appropriations to certain classes of Clergy. 2. Neither have I a word to say on the expediency and wis- dom of the ecclesiastical establishment of England ; nor on the subject of Imperial Parliamentary appropriations in aid of Co- lonial Clergy. I trust I am not ignorant or insensible of both the advantages and evils connected with the English National Church Establishment; nor am I an advocate for Its subver- sion, interwoven as it is by the operations of a thousand years with the entire civil and social institutions and relations of Eng. land, however opposed I may be, upon the most weighty con- siderations, to its introduction into a new and differently consti- tuted state of society, and however right and necessary I may think it to adduce facts arising out of the operations of the ec- clesiastical system in England as a warning against its erection here. 3. I even go further in my admissions. I have nothing to say in objection to the right or propriety of any people or coun- try legislating for the encouragement of a particular form of religion when the great majority of them are agreed in its be- lief and profession, and in the expediency of adopting such a method to inculcate it. I do not feel it necessary to express my own opinions on either of these points ; but I concede them in the present discussion. Having premised thus much, I now proceed to state my ob« jections, 1st, to the application of the Clergy Reserve appro- I 2 tf? 90 1. ^^ ih .5 1 I i 'IS; Si- I ^5 priation to the Episcopal Clergy exclusively ; 2ndly, to the application of it to several classes of Clergy. Tlic long-advocated claim and plan to apply the Reserve appropriation to Episcopal Clergy exclusively is now so uni. versally abandoned as unjust and impolitic, and even imprac- ticable, thai 1 advert to it rather for the purpose of making a remark or two of importance in the present discussion, than from an apprehension that it will be seriously attempted to be forced through the Legislature. 1. An exclusive endowment of the Episcopal Clergy would be a violation of the great principle which has been conceded by the ablest advocates of Establishments ; namely, that they must include a majority of the population. Dr. Pale y says — ** If the dissenters from the establishment become a majority of the people, the establishment itself ought to be altered or qualified. If there exist amongst the different sects of a country such ii parity of numbers, interest, and power, as to render the prefer. ence of one sect to the rest, and the choice of that sect a mat. tor of hazardous success, and of doubtful election, some plan similar to that which is meditated in North America,* and which we have described in the preceding part of the present chapter, though encumbered with great difficulties, may per- haps suit better with this divided state of |)ublic opinion, than any constitution of a national Churcii whatevc^r." (a) To create the church of the minority therefore as the provincial church is not merely an insult to the understanding and faith of the majority of the people, but a solecism in legislation. 2. It is also taxing the entire popu'ation to support the reli- gion of the minority. The value of the Clergy Reserves has been created by the entire community — it is the proceeds of their united enterprise and labour; and ought, in all justice, to be applied to their general benefit. To apply the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves to support the Episcopal Clergy only, is to compel fourteen-fifieenths to support the Clergy of one- fifteenth of the population. 3. Again, it bestows invidious and unmerited favours upon * Impoaing a general tax fur the support of religion, leaving it to each tax-nayer to say to wltat class of Clergy it shall be paid. (a) Moral Philosophy, 'ch.X. a mm jorily Churc rents pay I they ous? not si It to the Reserve ^ so uni. imprac laking a on, than ed to be lY would ioncedcd hat thcv lys— '' If ly of the jualified. i' such a e prefer. U a mat. >rno plan n\* and i present nay per. on, than (a) To rovincial ind faith tion. the reli- rves has 3eeds of justice, jroceeds gy only, of one. »rs upon ix-payer to 91 a minority of the population to the exclusion of the great ma- jority. In what respects are the adherents of the Episcopal Church more deserving of favour or assistance than the ndhe< rents of other Churches? Are they more loyal? Do they pay more taxes? Do they perform more onerous duties? Do they make greater sacrifices? Are they more pious and zeal- ous? Are they poorer and more needy? Why should they not support their Clergy as well as the members of other reli- gious denominations? In the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Assembly on the Petition of Christian deno. minations in 1828 — a Report adopted by a great majority of the Assembly — it is justly observed on this point that '• According to the concurring testimony of the witnessss, the mom- hers of the Church of England in this Province in proportion to their number have at least equal means of supporting their clergymen with other denominations, 'i'he Itttter have a large number of clorgymon in the province. Without any aid therefore from Great firilain, the members of the Church of England are able without difficulty to sup- port as many clergymen of their church as the number of their members requires. If however ihey are not willing to furnish for this purpose the same means which other sects furnish for a similar purpose, there can be but liiile tendency, even among those who are nominally its members, to the church nf England. If they are willing, there can be very little necessity for the aid now received from Great Britain, and much less for any further asssstance, unless to carry on a system of proselyting to that Church the members of other denominations." If then the members of the Episcopal Church have no just or reasonable claims to pecuniary indulgence out of the public funds above the members of other religious denominations, have the Episcopal Clergy any equitable claim to exclusive or peculiar endowments ? la addition to Clergy lands and the proceeds of them, and various grants of colonial revenues, they have received from England in the shape of parliamentary and other grants, upwards of £150,000 or $000,000, whilst other classes of Clergy have not cost the government a sixpence. And now for the comparative result in the three oldest and most populous districts in Upper Canada — Home, Niagara, find Gore, My authority in respect to the labours and usefulness of the Episcopal Clergy in these metropolitan districts will be the reports of Clergymen themselves. I have before me the London Record newspaper cf the 8th of November last — a zealous Church publication — in which there is a communica- m '■ [ ■ i 1 1 ( *. j 1 i 1 '.5 92 tion, the statements of which are professedly founded upon the reports of Episcopal Missionaries in Upper Canada. I will give a few extracts. From the London Record, Nov. 8, 1838. " UPPER CANADA CLERGY SOCIETY. •' To the Editor of the Record. *'Sir, — In the belief that tho fearful state of spiritual destitution in U. Cunada is but very inadequately known, I take the liberty of requesting tho insertion of a few facts in your valuable journal, which may, I trust, tend, under the divine blessing, to lead the attention of Christians to a consideration of the privileges we here enjoy, and of the duly laid upon us to make energetic exertions on behalf of our patriotic fellow-subjects in that Colony. ** Upper Canada is about equal in extent to England nnd Wales, and partially inhabited throughout; its population exceeds Haifa million. The district of Gore contains twenty.four townships, and in March, 1837, its population amounted to 43,920 souls; this population is rapidly in. creasing, yet in the whole district there are but four resident clergymen und one travelling missionary. '* The district of Niagara contains twenty-two townships, and, accord, ing to the same census, 32,296 souls ; there are five clergymen stationed along the boundaries to the north and oast of this district (which is most favourable for settlers), but for the south border and the interior, com. prehending seventeen townships and 20,000 inhabitants, none have been provided. Here again, as in the Gore District, there is but one travelling missionary, Mr. O'Meara, who is in the service of the Upper Canada Clergy Society. There is no clergyman of our Church between Toronto and Darlington, a distance of fifty miles, stretching along the coast of Lake Ontario, and containing 10,957 inhabitants. When the Sociaty's missionary passed through Newmarket, and Holland-Landing, in May, 1837, these townships, though in the immediate neighbourhood of Toronto, had received only one visit from a clergyman in the space of seven months. At Paris, Gore district, many of the settlers had enjoyed no opportunity of receiving the Lord's Supper during the space of three years before the visit of the Society's missionary, Mr. O'Neill." *' Fearing to occupy too great a space in your columns, I will only add two short extracts from the last journal of the Society's missionary, Mr. Osier, who was located by the Bishop of Montreal in the townships of Tecumseth and WestGuillemberg, close to Lake Simcoe, and about forty miles from Toronto. The population, amounting to about four thousand, is dispersed over the whole extent of these districts, which contain about two hundred and forty square miles. The ten adjoining townships are totally destitute of regular spiritual instruction ; the nearest clergyman in the neighbourhood of Toronto is thirty miles distant, while ia other directions there is not one within eighty miles." ** Commending these startling and affecting facts to the prayerful con* sideration of your readers, I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant, W. R. F.** 15 [upon ihe I will [ion in U. requesting [jt I trust, Vlians to a I Jaid upon i^-aabjectg ales, and million. ch, 1837, apidly in. iler^j^men , d, accord. stationed ih is most [or, com. have been ItraTolling 9r Canada 1 Toronto coast of Society's in May. rhood of > epace of 1 enjoyed of three only add '^ry, Mr, iships of >ut forty lousand, in about hips are rgyman in other ^ul eon. ant, 93 Such is the invitinfj light in which tho Episcopal Cler(j>' present to British emigrants the three chief districis of Upper Ciinada ; such is the account they give of their own niinislra- iioiis. Now, are these districts in a state of moral darkness and barharism, as the mere English reader might he led lo imagine? You know, ISir, — every inhabitant of these districts knows the reverse. 1 venture the assertion without fear ol' successful contradiction, that there is not a county, city, town, or village ia England itsidf in which there are so few persons who cannot read, or so many periodical publications read, in proportion to the whole population, as in the Home, Niagara, and Gore Districts of Upper Canada. Yoii know, Sir, the general intelligence, morality, and loyalty of the people. Yet the above is the portrait of Episcopal nnnistraiions in these districts. But what have been, and what are the labours of other classes of Clergy in these same districts? — Clergy who have never taxed the British revenue a farthing. To begin with the Home Distkict, and to leave the City of Toronto out of the question, in regard to both Clergy ana Churches, A:.c., there are four or five Scolcli Clergymen and Churches, and a number of congregations, — two or three Baptist Clergymen and Churches; there are nine itinerant Wesleyan Clergymen, besides a large number of local preachers, twenty-five chapels, and one hundred and odd preaching places, which are supplied by both the travelling and local preachers. In the Niagaka Dis- TKiCT, there are several Presbyterian Ministers and Churches — six Baptist Ministers and nine congregations — seven itineratit Wesleyan Ministers and a number of local preachers, fifteen chapels, and upwards of eighty regular preaching places. Iii the GoRn Distkict, there are tiiree or four Scotch Ministers and Churches — four Independent Ministers and Churclies — two or three Baptist Chapels — three dissenting Methodist Cha- pels — ten itinerant Wesleyan Ministers, upwards of twenty local preachers, twenty-four chapels, and rising of »>ne hundred regular preaching places. An examination of other districts would present a result still more advantageous to my purpose. Here, Sir, is the voluntary and taxation or compulsory systems, side by side, in practical and vivid contrast ! Upon what grounds then of success, of labours, of equity, of reason, can an exclusive endowment of the Episcopal Clergy be advocated'! ilif >i!'' 1!' 1 i •:•■! 04 Are the fruits of the labours of the entire population of these districts, in the proceeds and present value of the Clergy Re. serves, to be applied to the exclusive endowment of a Clergy whose ministrations are as *'few and far between" as is above stated by themselves? My argument might be strengthened, if it were necessary, by an inquiry into the recency of Epis- copal ministrations m most places of these very districts, and into the relitrious and moral efficiencv of tliose ministrations in suppressing intemperance, sabbath-breaking, profaneness, <.Vc., and in promoting the devotional and several other virtues and graces of pruclical and scriptural |)iety. 4. To ajiproprinte the Clergy Reservation to the Episcopal Clergy exclusively creates a necessity for penal laws, for par- tial and arbitrary government. The existence of an establish- ment involves the necessity for the use of the requisite means to defend and maintain its supremacy against all opposition and rivaiship. 'J'hus the Irish ecclesiastical establishment renders a large standing army necessary in Ireland in order to secure and enforce the rights and prerogatives of the estab- lishment. Did the Episcopal Church embrace an overwhelm, ing majority of the population, there would arise less danger of penal laws, military and partial government, from its estab- lishment in the province. Conscious strength gives birth to generosity; conscious weakness resorts to every petty and possible means of strengthening itself and paralyzing opposition and rivaiship. Hence one of the two cases in which the great Dr. Paley justifies the application of test-laws is, " Where two or more religions are contending for establishment, and where there appears no way of putting an end to the contest, but by giving to one religion such a decided superiority in the legisla- tore and government of the country, as to secure it against danger from any other." (b) The House of Assembly of this Province, in the Report above quoted, have placed this point in a strong and convincing light : " A country in whinh there is an estalilished church, from which a vast majnrify of the subjects are dissenters, must be in a lamentable stale : the committee hope that this province will nnvor present such a specla- cle. It is well known that there is in the minds of the people generally ■ christian in it- self, but has repeatedly stated thai the support of its members by legislative endowments from provincial funds is incompatible with the history of Methodism, inimical to its interests in this province, as well as mconsistent with the equal rights and in- t3re8ts of other religious denominations and the public peace and welfare. The history of Methodism is a practical com- mentary on the voluntary system; and God forbid it should ever do otherwise than walk in the ** old paths" ^f its hitherto unrivalled success and prosperity ! (c) Now to legislate with a (c) A few hours after thew remarks were written, I received The Wislitah, of the S8th ult., an interesting semi-weelcly publication, printed at Halifax, Nova 3cotia>-from K 98 H ^n^ j ' ■; "i ! ■ f lexecuj 4. lend. Iwilh n professed view of providing endowments for the Methodist anlth'S> ^ the other classes of Clergy referred to, is more reprehensiblleio^^ than a formal vote of exclusion against them, as it would si vour of insincerity in the individuals who should advocate sue a measure, and involve an imputation upon the integrity of re' ligious communities. 3. This plan is founded upon a time-swerving expediencylexpe and not upon the principles of religion or public patriotisrilinstru It id not proposed on account of the poverty of tho people ; folany p ihey are much better off now than they were in former yearsIHght It is not dictated by the moral destitution of the country; fol ..ti there are many more Clergy of all denominations in the samelclorgy region of country now than there were in former years. It islto oi'a not on account of the weakness and poverty of the denominar'^"®? lions for whose Clergy endowments have been proposed ; forr g*„" /„ the weakest and poorest denominations are still to be (excluded I jegiste and only the strongest and Tvealthiest endowed ! Th» liinct c poorer branches of the great political family are cast off, am the wealthier branches are to be pensioned by the state ! Thi reverse of the laws of nature ! Were these same religiou communities as few in number and as feeble in influence a they were in former years, and as some of their neighbour now are, they would still be amongst the excluded parties. I is not because their doctrines, and principles, and labours ar different now from what they were formerly, but simply be cause they possess greater numbers and influence. VVhat i :iS the editorial of which I extract the following passages, more than corroborative of wha i have stated : " It is one of the peculiarities of Methodism that its ministry is supported by the v( luntary contributions of the members of the Church. We rejoice that such is the fac We think that this mode is muc^ more consonant with the spirit and practice of earl Chri3iianity, and much better calculated to promote feelings of affectionate and recipn cat dependance between the ministry and laity, than a system of compulsory t^xatio^ On this point we recogniz<> the far-sighted wi>..iIom of our founder ; and we conceive tlii in the establishment of this plan of ministerial support, he has bequeathed to the cburr a systen? as eflicient in its results, as it is uniting in its character." *' The voluntary system continued in operation till the reign of Constantlne, when, I the influence of the Emperor, it was unhappily changed for the plan of compulsory ta. ation. Not to insist upon the unhappy effects which this change produced, in renderii the ministry secular and worldly, we may be allowed to remark that its natural tendent is to dissolve the unity of affection and design which ever ought to exist between il Church and ministry — to render the latter sordid, and the former suspiciouB." " We have no hesitation in saying that the ministry of the Methodist Church will lot nothing by comparison with the ministry of any Church on earth. If t faithful discbar; of duty— an all-absorbing love to perishing souls— a fearless spirit o> sacrifice— and a unparalleled success in " turning many to righteousness," can conntitute u claim on tl afi«ction and gratitude of the Church, then is that claim possessed by our ministry." in the soon a of the colum it is n hown it is o shall 1 has b( lily a iabou to ov that ' divisi par is each, will I redu nftei oust' diffo resp lous spir dep loss 99 ethodist anithis, but — in the sight of the sun — making the Christian re'i- prfchensjbllgion a tool of state policy, and converting its ministers inio it would sapxecutive functionaries? vocate sucil 4. This plan will not, after all, accomplish any one good end. Whatever may be the apparent advantages connected with it, they will be found illusory when put to the test of experiment, in regard both to general Christian unity and instruction. Dr. Paley places the difficulties connected with any plan of endowing several classes of clergy in so clear a \m\\t ihat I cannot do belter than cite his own words : — grity of re' expediency patriotism people ; foi rmer years, Pantry; (oii ears. It denomina. ►posed; for e excluded ed ! Th. St off, nni ate ! Th( e religiou ifluence a neighbour ►arties, J ibours ar( simply be What i rative of wha ted by the v( cli is the fac ictice of earl e and recipri sory taxatio: conceive tin to the churc ne, when, I tnpulsory ta. in renderir ural tendeni between tli Jrch wiH lo.' ful discharf ifice— and a claim on tl linialry." •b' "The only plan which seems to render the legal maintenance of a "^ S^l^e clergy practicable, without the legiil preference of one Rect of Christiana \i to others, is n be stationed in eacii, (which the plan seems to suppose,) the expense of thoir maintenance will become too burthensome a charge for the country to support. If, to reduce the expense, the districts be enlarged, the place of assembling will nftentines be too far removed from the residence of the persons who |Oujrht to resort to it. Again: the making the pecuniary success of the different teachers of religion to depend on the number and wealth of their respective followers, would naturally generate strifes aiid indecent jea- busies amongst them ; as well as produce a polemical and proselyting spirit, founded in or mixed with views of private gain, which would both ' deprave the principles of the clergy, and distract the country with end. loss contentions." (d) (d) Moral Philosophy, ch. X. T^ ill in ?'.'i 1 ii. 100 I need scarcely add, that the experiment to which Arch. deacon Paley refers has been tried in the New England States, and failed. In my opinion there is no medium, upon rational and equitable grounds^ between the endowment of one body of clergy or no clerical endowments at all. If the population congregated in a country is such in its varied religious opinions as to render the exclusive endowment of any one class of clergy unadvisable and impracticable, other mediums, in my humble judgment, than clerical endowments, should be sought and employed by government for communicating reli. gious and moral instruction to the people. 5. Hitherto I have not noticed the proposition as including the Roman Catholic Priesthood, although my arguments are of geiicral application. But there is something in the proposition when viewed in this connexion which is well worthy of a dis. tinct and serious consideration. I believe, Sir, that the Roman Catholic Priesthood is entitled to equal protection with the Episcopal, or Methodibt, or Presbyterian Priesthood ; I believe every Roman Catholic should be equally protected in his faith and worship with every Protestant. Yet am I not indifferent to what I conceive to be the religiously (I don't say politically) dangerous errors of the Church of Rome, any more than a sincere disciple of the Romish faith is indifferent to what he conceives to be the fatal errors of Protestantism. As a states, man, and as a member of an enlightened and impartial govern, ment, I conceive it is your duty to show no favour to Her Ma- jesty's Protestant subjects that is not equally shown to Her Majesty's Catholic subjects. But, Sir, the character of Chris, tian is not to be lost in that of politician ; nor are the principles of Protestantism to be absorbed in the policy of the statesman. It is one thing to extend equal and impartial protection to all forms of religious faith ; it is another thing to be a party in the endowment of them. It is one thing to protect Popery equally with Protestantism ; it is another thing to endow it as part of the religion of the state. In the one case equal and impartial Jaw is administered ; in the other case Protestantism in com- promised, — and that which lies it the very foundation of the British Constitution — that which placed the present Royal Fa- mily on the Throne of England — that for which a Cranmer, a Latimer, a Ridley, chose the flames of martyrdom rather than ch Arcli. d States, n rational 8 body of opulation religious anv one mediums, should be ting reli. including nts are of roposition of a dis. le Roman with the § I believe In his faith Indifferent politically) re than a what he lS a states. al govern- > Her Ma. ^n to Her ' of Chris. principles statesman. :tion to all irty in the ry equally as part of 1 impartial m ifl com- ion of the Royal Fa. iranmer, a ather than 101 a life of compromise— is sacrificed upon the altar of political expediency. I have viewed with deep concern the grants which have of late years been made by the Crown to the Ro- man Catholic Priesthood ; but I and others have said nothing, because the funds out of which those grants have been made are the rightful property of the Crown, and we regard the pre- rogatives of the Crown as sacred as the rights of the subject. I have sought all possible ni«ans to avoid the notice of this point in the present discussion ; but after many months' serious reflection, and a careful re-examination of the most important periods of British history, I feel thai silence would be a dis- graceful pusillanimity — a criminal dereliction of duty. If a measure of clerical appropriation and division of the Reserves be brought forward, I have good reason to know that the Ro- man Catholic Priesthood are to be included in one of four ways — by enactment, by legislative recommendation, by private un- derstanding, or by granting some other equivalent. In each case tlie morality, the principles, the object of the policy are the same; the difference is only in the manner of carrj^ing it out. If the endowments are for state purposes, then be it known and understood that one-seventh of the Province is ap- propriated to certain priesthoods in order to enable the Gov- ernment to maintain its existence and influence, and tliat these priesthoods are political agents for that purpose. If not, — if the endowments are made for purposes of religious instruction, then must religious principles be the rule and standard of ap- propriation. J ask how then can a Protestant Churchman with the Prayer-Book and Homilies in his hand, and the Protestant Presbyterian with his Confession of Faith, and Protestants of all classes with the facts of British history before them, vote for the endowment of the papacy? James II. had not gone so far as even to admit the propriety of endowing Popery in con- nexion with Protestantism, when he was held to have forfeited the Crown, and deposed as a traitor to the Protestant Constitu- tion of the kingdom. I stop not to ask whether it is right or wrong ; but I assert it as a fact, that no man can be true to the principles of the British Constitution, and advocate the endow. ment of Popery. Is the blow to be struck at the root of Pro- testantism in the British Empire by Upper Canadian legisla- tion ? Is the Protestant shield and buckler to be wrested from k 2 m i m i' 1; 102 us by act of Parliament or Colonial Executive policy ? For when Popery is selected and endowed, and thereby consecrated by Government, as a medium of communicating religious in. St uction, the moral influence of the Government adds a sane, tion to the assumptions of papal infallibility, and the influence of protestant argument and truth will be proportionably weak- ened and frowned upon. The tiihe-oppressed Catholics of Ireland and their proscribed priests will have a premium for coming to Canada — the religion of the one being a passport to favour and office, and the profession of the other a warrant for endowment — while the Protestants of the United Kingdom will have an additional inducement for emigrating to the United States, — the badge of a Protestant Non-conformist especially be- ing anything but a recommendation to Court patronage in Upper Canada; and Protestants in Upper Canada will at no distant day be in a minority, like those in Lower Canada. Let the facilities and encouragement for the education of Catholic youth be equal with those for the education of Protestant youth, — let the Catholic faith be equally protected with the several, forms of Protestant faith, — let Protestants and Catholics be united in the maintenance of that form of Government to which they are equally attached and by which they are equally pro. tected, and in promoting wise and useful legislation in which they are equally interested ; but in respect to that faith which they both profess to believe is revealed from heaven and is enforced by the sanctions of eternity, let there be no compro. mise of principle on either side. Let the trutfi — ** the word of God — the sword of the Spirit"— have free course, and it will triumph and be glorified. There is, as far as I know, but one example of the endowment of both the Romish and Protes- tant Priesthoods by the same Government — that is in France, where the Christian priesthood is despised as a mere creature of €tate policy, and where is witnessed a nation of fornicators, deists and atheists. My conclusion therefore is, that as no one Church embraces a sufficiently large portion of the population to justify the ex- clusive endowment of its Clergy, — as the endowment of more than one class of Clergy in the same country is clearly invidious, anti.British, unprincipled and impracticable, the Reserves should not for y? For secratei) rious in' s a sane, nfluence ly weak, lolics of nium for issport to rrant for dom will United cially be- in Upper 10 distant Let the Catholic nt youth, e several, holies be ; to which ually pro. in which ith which m and is ) compro- the word le, and it enow, but id Protes. France, creature rnicators, embraces y the ex- i of more invidious, es should lOS not be appropriated to the endowment of any priesthood, but for purposes beneficial to all classes of the population. I have the honor to be, &c. dec. &c. \p.i No. VIII. Sir: February 25, 1839. The concluding topic of the present discussion is, THE APPLICATION OF THE ClERGY ReSEKVE APPROPRIATION TO Educational purposes. In the examination of this proposition, a few explanatory remarks will be necessary, in order to prevent any misunder- standing, and to correct erroneous representations respectinor it. 1. It has nothing to do with the assumptions of any Church as an establishment of the Empire. Mr. Attorney General Hagerman, in his speech on this subject during the first session of the present Parliament, justly remarked that "the Church of England would not be less the Established Church of this Province, if not one acre of land had been reserved for its support, than it is with the appropriation that has been made for that object." It has never been pretend)minational agencies in the way mentioned in the preceding letter, according to which the equnl rights and wishes "upon equal conditions" of all denominatiou3 may be secured, and the voluntary system remain uninfringed, or rather made (a) The following la the 4'2nd clause of tlie Constitutional Act, 31st Geo. III. ch 31, and proves beyond a doubt the ample powers of the local fiegislature to legislate on every Eubject having ilie remotest connexion with the Clergy lleserve Question : ••42. Provided nevertheless, and be it further enacted by ihe authority aforrsa'd. That Whenever any act or acts sliall be passed by the legislative council and assembly of either of the said provinces, containing any provisions to vary or rcpnal the almvn recited de- claration and provisions contained iu the said act passed in the fourttjenth year of the reign of his present Majesty; or to vary or repeal the iibovfi recited provision. contain«!d in his Majesty's royal instructions, given on the third day of January, in the ytar of our Loru one thousand seven liundred and seventyfivo, to the said Uiiy Carleton, esquire, now lord Dorchester; or to vary or repeal the provisions hereinbefore contained for con- tinuing the force and effect of the said declaration and provisions ; or to vary or repeal any of the several provisions hereinbefore contained respcctiuff the allotment and appro- priation of lands for the support of a proteatant clergy within the said provinces ; or respecting the constituting, erecting, or endowing parsonages or rectories within the said provinces; or respecting the presentation of incumbents or ministers io the same; or respecting the manner tn which such incumbents or ministers shall hold and enjoy the same: and also that whenever any act or acts shall be so passed, containing any provi- sions which shall in any manner relate to or affect the enjoyment or exercise of any re- ligious form or mode of worship; or shall impfise or create any penalties, burthens, dis- abiliti s, or disqualifications, in respect of the same; or shall in any manner relate to or affect the payment, recovery, or enjoyment of any of the accartoraed dues or rights hereinbefore mentioned; or shall in any manner relate tn the gianiin!;, imposing, or re- covering any other dues, or stipends, or emoluments whatever, t) be paid to or for the use of any minister, priest, ecclesiastic, or teacher, according to any religious form or mode of worship, in respect of his said olhce or function; or shall in any manner relate to or affect the establishment or discipline of the chu" :. of England, amongst the minis- ters and members thereof within the said provinces; or shall in any manner relate to or affect the King's prerogative touching the granting of waste lands of the crown within the said provinces; every such act or acts shall, previous to any declaration or sigriitica* tiun of the King's assent thereto, be laid before both houses of parliament in Great Bri- tain; and thatu shall not be lawful for his Majesty, his heirs or successors, to signify his or their assent to any such act or acts, until thirty days after the same shall have been laid before the said houses, or to assent to any such act or acts, in case either house uf parliament shall, within the said thirty days, address his Majesty, his heirs or successors, to withhold his or their assent from such act or acts; and that no such act shall be valid or efi'ectual to any of the said purposes, within either of the said provinces, unless the legislative council and assembly of such province shall, in the session in which the same shall have been passed by them, have presented to the governor, lieutenant governor, or person administering the government of such province, an address or addresses, specify- ing that such act contains provisions for some of the said purf>oses hereinbefore specially described, and desiring that, in order to give effect to the same, such act should be trans* mitted to England without delay, for the purpose of being laid before parliament, ptevi. oiu to the signification of his Majesty's assent thereto." m n i 1 '■ 4- i 1 1 '^^ fj, '' •t" ft 1-' : '-' ' U'i Mi'; % 1 106 the basis of sectional appropriations, and education connected with relirrion according to the option of each denomination be promoted. My business, however, in the present letters, is not with the details of the mode of appropriating the Reserves, but the principles of justice and equal rights upon which it must be based. Then as to the voluntary system, on which such fierce attacks have been made, and by opposition to which I shall be met at this stajje of the argument, — I beg to remark, that whether wo think it best or not, it is the only hope of this Province, and that for throe reasons : 1. It is the only system that ever has siicceeded, or been long sustained in a country divided as this Piovince is in reg'^rd *o religious opinions. Every modificalion of the state appropriation and taxation system has been tried in succession in the old New England States, where a majority of the inhabitants were actually in favor of legislative approj)riations fur clerical support ; and each successive experiment has failed and been abandoned. 2. The proceeds of the Reserves will not form a fund any thing like sufficient to support the entire Clergy of the Province, even if the inhabitants were in favor of that application of them. 3. The inhabitants have been nurtured in this Province under the voluntary system, but for the operations of which they would have been semi-barbarians. It is only about nine or ten years since the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves more than defrayed the expense of management ; and it is only since that, time that clerical grants have been made out of other provincial funds — and those grants have not in any way superseded the voluntary system. The Episcopal Clergy have been supported by a voluntary Society in England, aided by Imperial Farlia- mentary grants. The limited extent to which the Province has felt or been benefited by that kind of agency, has been seen in a former part of thi3 discussion. In a Pamphlet addressed to the inhabitants of England in 1827 in behalf of Religion and Literature in Upper Canada, the Archdeacon of York says — " Nothing can be more manifest than that Upper Canada has not yet felt the advantage of a religious establish- ment." And have the odious assumptions and exclusive spirit of the Episcopal Clergy since 1827 favorably impressed the le of Upper Canada in regard to ** a religious establish- peopb onnected lation be re, is not :rves, but h it must 3h fierce '. shall be Firk, that e of this y system country opinions. taxation England / in favor nd each 2. The hinglike even if lem. 3. inder the jy would ten years defrayed hat, time rovinciai ieded the upported .1 Farlia. Province has been Pamphlet behalf of leacon of at Upper establish- ive spirit ssed the istablish- 107 ment?" If, then, the feelings and prejudices (if you chooso to call them so) of the inhabitants of the Province are in favour of the voluntary system, it is not their fault, but the fault uf the British Government and the Episcopal Clergy themselves. If the British Government did not wish tlie voluntary system to obtain footing in Canada, it ought to have anticipated it by providing that a state. paid C'ergy should accompany the influx of emigration into each ne/v settlement of the Province. If the Episcopal Clergy so sirongly deprecate the evils of the voluntary system, why did ihey leave the scattered inhabitants to its ** eleemosynary precariousness'* until gain could be made of the godliness of warring against it? Why did they not follow the loyalists and emigrants into the wilderness, and suffer with them in their privations, and administer to them the instructions and consolations of religion in their lonely cottages? Then, indeed, their works of faith and labours of love would have been blended with the earliest associations of the settlers : and then they might have set up some claim to the proceeds of the industry and labours of the entire popula- tion. How id it that dormant Episcopal zeal was never waked up to the religious and moral destitution of the country until the Clergy Reserves began to be productive? How is it that their present zeal for proselyting from other religious commu- nions, when the Reserves are in danger, far exceeds their former zeal in seeking the souls of scattered settlers when tJiey were in danger of" perishing for lack of knowledge ?'* I know, Sir, that these questions are unpleasant, and by some will be pronounced uncharitable ; but as offensive as they may be, they involve truths too important and practical to be sup- pressed in the present discussion. And permit me to ask, in view of these facts, if it is decent for any representative of an Upper Canada constituency to denounce the voluntary sys. tem ? To do so, is equivalent to telling the people of this ] Province, that the parsimony and infidelity of the English Gov- ernmen:— whose generosity and honor have been their boasi — have robbed them of the religious inheritance of Britons uj: to the present time ! How can the voluntary system \)e other- wise than endeared to and associated with all thp religious feelings of nine-tenths of the inhabitants — both British emi grants and natives of the Province — since they are entireh i-( i¥\^ m 108 indebted to its operations for their '* lively hopes of immortality nnd eternal life," while the compulsory system would have left them and their offspring in a cheerless state of moral des. titution ? And is a system now to be forced upon the country from which it has derived nothing but discord and contention? Is the reason, and feeling, and wishes of the inhabitants — the long-lifted-up voice of the Province — to fall in prostrate silence before the theoretical *' conviction" of the Governor who has been but a few months in the country, and who is not — like the inhabitants of Upper Canada — personally involved in the consequences of his policy ? Is a majority of the House of Assembly to be appointed to offices of honor or emolument, or both, since their election, and then the combined influence of Government and Government functionaries employed to make them disregard the settled and welUknown wishes of their con stituents? I trow not. But if so, and if the attempt b( crowned with success, I have only to say, in the memorable words of Sir F. Head, *' such a victory will ;in this Province." And whence. Sir, this new-born and flaming zeal for an ample " provision by the state for the ministrations of relig ion?" Is not the mainspring of its movements a prudent foresight. care to provide a comfortable living in a respectable profession for the less promising sprigs of certain families?— sprigs that would not be likely to thrive in the soil of ordinary ;},g (^ professions or mercantile enterprise, and whose constitutional r^^^ i specialty is not indigenous to trades or agriculture. How ^y^^Q many zealous lay advocates of Clergy claims have also re2af)r)i five claims or hopes mingled with this question ? Even theB,]tiQt^ zealous Alan Fairford is preparing for a rectorship, and hibove would doubtless like to have a very snug endowment with itErmuZi But I will not multiply examples ; nor would I intimate, nor dol^e c I believe, that all Episcopal advocates are influenced by suchlioi,^ considerations. Nay, I believe that many who espouse thet^nce cause of Episcopal claims are influenced by pure and nobleyii].iQ| motives ; but I know that some of the most prominent Episco< lion c pal zealots have deep interest at stake in more ways than one >onsti But to enter more fully into the general argument. 1. Tb( he s vpluDtSiry system is the only one that can give anything lik( erise feneraf satisfaction to the inhabitants of this Province. Th( ears ournals of the House of Assembly aflford abundant evidence that foth ?S"tO f)f Cf ment meml ofth ^ >il" i li'i. '1 1!;: ,r P» i!i -1- - 11 iiii^: ! 1 ii : 1' ■ \i .. i ^ 110 question ; and its various local interests will continue to de* dine, (b) 3. As the voluntary systenni is the only one that the state ol society will admit of being established in this province in con nexion with public happiness, just, safe, and free government, and general prosperity; so it is the most eflir ent n^cncy in promoting the great ends of religion in the country, and no evi! consequences, cither to the souls or bodies of men, will ensur from its adoption by all denominations. The limits to which i have restricted mvself, will allow me to make little more than ni allusion to a few of the many grounds on which this propositim, may be estubiished. It may be viewed \\\ reforonce to tlu C'crgy, and members of tiio Church and the community a large. In reference to the Clergy, I admit that tlieir siippnr may not be always sure, or oven adequate ; — I admit that tlitn may sometimes sufi'er want, on account nf v/hich their lahonr and usefulness may be circumscribed ; — I admit that tiioii| temporal circumstances arc not in general so comfortable, nii what is usually termed respectable, as when they derive thei support from the State ; — I admit th ;t they may sometimes b compelled to work with their hands in order to supply the lacl of voluntary liberality on the part of others ; but each of the^ circumstances was associated with the respectable, the etlicient the divinely institute(i ministry of the Apostles themselvc Any objection is irifidel, and lead-; to infidul theory, that con tradicts Scripture fact and Scripture example, however plausi ble it may appear. \nd let tho question be asked, in the ligh of history, in which case the virtues, and irraces, and labour? and success of the Christian Ministry have been more developo and conspicuous, when it was liable to the fluctuations of (b) The Rev. Di. Matheson, ol* London, tlnis states tho advantatros which t! American Government has derived, in its administration, from placing all denoinlnatini tipon the qame footing, and the advantages which they also enjoy in return:— •' Tti great sensible benefit t;) all denominations is, that they are alike unkiiown to the Goverr ment. They may have differences within themselves, and unworthy jealousies of eac other, but thcsz differences are not embittered by political strife. None are liable, o fcIIoWing out their convictions of conscience towards God, to be thought less loyal to ti Government than others. None are exalted, and therefore none are abased ; none hat exclnsive privileges, and, therefore, none can complain. The Government troublf Iione. and they bring no trouble on the Government. None by patronage arc mad hatignty ; and none are made uneasy. The Government, in this particular, have unde atpod their interests ; and by this means they have taken from their duties half the difflCuUy, and naore than half their responsibility."— JVarra«trc of a Deputation Vit to the American Churckea in 1834. Vol.II. p. 81. fliicl It w iinui divii tho tlu!H MlOtl olilt sive VVei iiiry pari rem Slut (It'llt I Kuzh (tt'lehi and i I'resii Iiini8( tim$ , land, (•l) • I its In near wiia till.' I •^itlut .Till! systi It Sial l.'I.XLV font; pr(^s. i»'ss pure 1( kIiou ed; Ol 3 pa.ss lish( 4-OUI asc A and linuc to de' the state ol ince in con rovernment, t njicncy in and no cvi! I, will ensur s to which i lore than nii i propositioi once to th( immunilv a lieir snppor nit that llicy *heir Inbonr t that thoi| brtahle, nii derive thei ometimes b >ply the lac! ach of thcsi the eflicient themselves V, that cou vevcr plausi , in the ligh and labours redevelope nations of ifa!L;rs which th nil denominatini II return:— "Tti wn to the Govern jealousies of eac one are liable, n ht le^s loyal to tli based ; none hnt irernment trouble itronage arc mad cular, have unde r duties half the Deputation Vit 111 (htctualing world, like the common family of humanity, or wheii ii was iiivosled with (ho dospc.tisrn of independence and the immutubiliiy of endowment? 1 will not slop to investigate the ihvine, the true pinlosophy of the answer t<» this question * let the history of iho Church spreatliii;; ildcU* on every huiitl, huvitii; good leport ainon?8t the people. That we may change tlie tiuld of obdcrvatioii, let us pass into New Englard. Hcr<>, Jite church, or Standing Order, was founded on tlio principle of Slate interference. In Masflachueetts, in 1631, the dSi^ncral Court passed a law that all nhoiild contribute in tlieit parishes to uphold the Standing; Order; and that none should be eligible for civil oftict:. who were not in church niembertjhip. This was not only to niiike the p(M»p!e pay; but, liaving paid, U was to punish ihcm by a Test Act, if they did not conform. Thiti prin- ciple was afterwards uiodilied. by allowing persons to divert their payment to some othti body, on certifyins; that they belonged to it, still compelling them to pay to some relifjiou.-, Muciety ; and by the provisions of the Half-way Covenant. I think, s .> far as Massachu- setts is concerned, 1 have shown how it art'ecled the Congregational Order, by the corru|» tioii of doctrine; it may be proper t(s remark, that it extensively |)romoted the interests of sectarianism. Under the milder form of the compulsory payment, the worldly wore obliged to pay equally with the religious; and as the worldly will always have the strong- eat objection to pure and undefilod religion, the chances are decidedly fur error, ami against truth. The worldly misbeliever, if compelled to pay either to Universalism oi Caiviuisin, would prefer (Jniversaliirin as a species of quietism; but if left to his choio; U) pay or not, he would say, ' I will pay to neither, for 1 love my money better than both.' lias the true church of Chri;:! u right to compel such a man ; and if it has, will any bene lit acfruel In V^ermont and New Hampshire there were not only State enactnienls, but provision* of land in favour of the same and similar objects. EacK> lownship had an ori'jinal gram of three hundred acres. This estate was to benefit equally fou" parties ; the church— Hi. school— the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge — and \i,v. fimt minister. TIi* lirst minister was deemed a proprietor; and he could will his portion .iway to his family or friends, it was, in fact, a bonus to i.iduce a person to encounter the thai ditfieulty ii sollling; and it usually attracted the least worthy to the spot. The one fourth origiiiall., meant for the permanent uses of the church, with its other privile^'es, remained, and ih* church languished in the midst of its indulgences. It is remarkable that ' the desolation.-;' of these districts, which a Scotch writer has magnified, to illustia e the ineflicieiicy of tli ■ voluntary principle, are the very desolations which were created by the compulsory and State methods on which I am animadverting. The chang.es which have taken place have been various and gradual, but they were all in favour of the voluntary principle; and in the year 18.'):?, only two years nince the last fragmcuts of the compulsory and endowed system were demolished by the power of ini proved opinion and religious principle. This was done in Connectii'Ut about fifteen year> .since, and in Vermont and New Hampshire about the same tinu;. It was in Massachu setts It lingered till 1833; and, by a striking coincidence with what is now happening io our own country, it was upheld to the last 'oy Unitarianisni That you may be assisted to a correct opinion on this material subject, I will supply you, in the Appendix, witli some extracts from the laws as they existed, were varied, and do now exist. The voluntary principle, then, is the only one nov/ for the support of these churches It has been tried in some states to the exclusion of every other; it has been tried in other Mates, for different periodB of time, where every other has failed ; and what is the result? Deliberately, but wUtiout iiesitation, I say, tJie result is in every thing and every whert most fat>ourable to the voluntary, and against the compulsory principle.^'— 'IJ^arrative ot the Visit fo the ^imerican Churches by the Deputation from the {Congregational Dnion of England and Ifalcs. By Andrew Reedy D. /)., and James Mathesun, D. D. 1834. Fol. jr. pp. 95-98.) me of tiio Christian story, and n for the hand and I between Church ' luperintendiiig , ituviiii; good iglard. Here, (,'rferenc.^^ In .ribiitu in tlieii or civil offict;, •pie pay; but, . Tiiiii prill- to some otiiti sonic religion,^ as Mai«sacliii- by the cornip lie interests o! worldly wont ive tlie alronj;- for error, and niversalism oi t to his choici: ter ihau liotli.' will any bene but provisioii* original grant cliurcli-— fli. iiinister. TJi* / to Wis Cainily si ditrKUJlty I I iiith orisiuali., [(iiu-d, ati.'loritied" more rapidly and extensively, than when it has been Tree from state legislation ? I do not say that the endowment wf the Priesthood by the State is unscriptural and anti-christian — I do not say that it has been productive of greater evil or good in tiie Mother Country, and may be desirable and important there on many accounts, (e) I have no desire to discuss those questions — I have nothing to do with them in the present dis- cussion ; but I do contend that priestly endowments bV the ^tate in this Province are not merely attended with the diificul. (ios heretofore mentioned, but may be safely and wisely dis^ .[•enc.ed with. Hear the language of piofound learning, gigantic intellect, long and practical experience, from the lips of even a high Churchman, and immediately after he had made a tour of I-lngland and Europe — the late Bjsiiop IIobart, of New York ; " It is the religions frc.dom of my country that constitutes, in my view, one of her proudest Ijoasts. Protected as religion is by the stale, which tinds, in her precepts and spirit and sanctions, the best security for social happiness and order, she is left free to exert hor legitimate powers, uninfluenced and unrestrained l)y any worldly at:thority wbatso. ever. And the happy cfTect is seen in the zeal with v/hich hor institutions iire supported, as far as the ability of an infant country, and a spreading, laid in many cases sparse and humble population, will admit; in the prevalence of those moral and social viriaes that are among her best I'ruils; and above all, in less, much less of that hnr.tilily to her divine origin and character, which, in other countries, hor unhallowed perver- (e) An ArnxTican Episcopal Clergyman, one of tlic Editors of tlio Philadelpiiia Kpis- ropal Recorder, wliile on a visit to England last year, j^ivos the foliowitig candid expression of his opinions, in a letter dated London, June 7th, 1838 : "I will no longer detain you wiin the speeches or scenes of Monday the 7tb, but introduce you at once to the animated meeting of Tuesday tlu 8th. This meeting was the Anniversary of the Church I'aptoral Aid Socikty, and of course confined to the members and friends of the establishment. It was, however, a large meeting, and one of a most animated character. Lord Ashley presided. The report was full of interesting facts. The impression, however, forced upon my mind by the developements that were made on this occasion, and by other statements wiiich I had Jicard from the most credible sources, was, tiiat although the theory of an establishment may be made very plausible in reference to its power of spreading over every portion of territory in any country, yet in fact this theory is not realized, or at at all carried ou; in England. They cannot get along here without the voluntary principle. And altbougii it is tb':; fashion to decry voluntaryism-'io borrow a word from the vocabulary of Dr. Clialmers —yet to evangelize the world— to carry on the great plan of Christian beDevolence, and to Hupply even England with the ministrations of the Established Church, the voluntary principle has to be appealed to in Exeter Hall from the beginning to the end of May. Notwitbatanding these remarks, my firm conviction ii, that the destruction of the eflt&o- lishment in thia country would be an immense evil, an immeaiureableevil. It is a thing to mhieh men's mbods have become so accustomed, and with which their. feeUnp and vtewa have become so interwoven, that to theia it seema esiential to ta%U natlontl exiatenoe." w> iipl ini 114 mom to political purposes inspires and cherishes. The continent of Europe witnesses the arm of secular and ecclesiastical powsr exerted, in some parts, in the extension and restoration, in all its rigour, of a religion which alloys and contaminates tho pure spirit of the Gospel by numerou{> superstitions and corruptions. ** Common opinion often identifies our church not merely in the car- dinal point)) of faith, of ministry, and of worship, in which we are proud thus tp be identified, with the church of England, but in tho organiza- tion which results from her connexion with the state. Tliis erro- neous view of our church has subjected her at various places, and at different times, to an odium which, preventing a dispassionate examina tion of her real character, of her Apostolic and primitivo claims, h -s seriously retarded her progress. It has been insinuated, if not openly asserted, that we secretly de.lishing an- gers of their f*^ in churches, congregations, communicants, &c. ; it is the interest of each body to see that no other hody is allowed, at its expense, to pass with exaggerated numhers. For the jreueral accuracy ^ of these siatisticni returns we have, therefore, the mutual watchfulness as well as integrity of the religious denominationH referred to. In London there is a Statistical Society established for the express purpose of procuring and publishing information such as that to which I shall now invite attention, in reference to the following statistics, I beg also to retnark, thtU in London and in the principal towns of England there are many voluntary Episcopalian churches — churches built by voluntary contribu- tion, and occupied by clergymen who are supported in the samo wav. It is over the conjrrejrutions of these rliurches that n^anv of the most distinguished, pious, and popular clergymen of the Church of England are the pastors, and it is in these voliintarv churches that they statedly preacii to listening uiultitudes. I need scarcely mention amonjx this class of clerirvmen the names of Henry Melvill, Baptist Noel, Tiionias Dale, Wiiiiani Marsh, of Birmingham, Iltigli Stowell, of Manchester, Hugh McNeill, of Liverpool, &;c. &;c. And amongst the most pious and amiable men with whom it has ever lieen niy privilege to become acquainted, are clergymen and members of these vol- untary Episcopalian churches — supporters ofilie esiublis-i mt, but practical illustratiops of tlie voluntary principle. -vV , :,' to rJod the world were filled with such ministers and pe • . . ') (t) A Conespondent of tlit; Quebec Gazr.tt.a concludes a coriimunication .<■ Editor of that paper with the (bllowing fotcible rtinurks and statements: " It dooa'nt fnllovv that [ nnisi liatfi tlie voluntary systJ'.-n because f am a ;iu'n»!»er of the Churcti of England. In fact 1 don't see how a i(!!il (>hiistian, or ovfu a benevolent man, can speak iiuhtly of it, if ho will but oli«ci\o what it't! doiiiir f^n tho cause of truth. It has raised I don't know how niauv thousuiid^ of [ionndi> for the llrifish and Foreign, and for the Naval and Military. Mible Societic.-^. niiii nior^i than 7(I,0(!CZ. a year for the Church Missionary Society, b'sidfii uowards of I5f),n00; for other Missionriry Societies. It is the vohnjtary system lliat has •»uill nianv of our new churches, and that support.i some of our most useful men— tlie XoeLs and Mortimers of o»ir ciiurch. Ii, fact, it won't do for nieml)ers of tlie Church (tf Kiijrland to cry down the volu'ttary principle, for our best Bishops sanctioned it. One of the last acta of the Bishop of Calcutta, as Vicar of lalingtoti, was to buil.i a new church by Bubscriptions, where tlie gospel u faithfully preached, and the mip.ister supported by the willing contrihutinna of his people ; and tke 8ys*"m works wAl. And if yo».' want pictures instead of arguments, you may soon have a book full ; splendid mansions and loaded tables, compared with wlilcli Ahab Meldrum's, with all its? em'jellishments, would be very insignificaut: deserted churches upheld by state endowments, where error has driven the people to another sanctuary and another shepherd. And we must part, or I would give you as n specimen the \i'AV\9h ofTurvey, where you'd see the people to wliom Leigrh Richmond's ministry was so usetql, worshipping in a building of their own rearing, with the pastor of tlK^r own ahoice, and rejoicing that the volumtaky primcipik works wili,." ;»»< :i^' ii f;s DIG 8Uf ing !ar one :in rsf itV str wi 118 Let us li€»piii wiiii ihut part of London wliich is th« sent oi Uoyally and Legislation — the City of Wkstminstkk ; and allowin;^ Church accomnnodation for one half the popuhition as the basis of supply, deducting the other half for small children, aged, and sick persons, servants, &c., detnined at home. At liie last c«Misus of Westminster, to which I have access, the popuhition was !202,460. Established churches 22 — sittings for 27,110 ; voluntary Episcopalian churches, 15 — sittings for 12,058. Orthodox nonconformist churche?, 132 — sillin^jrs for 1!),! 11). Hence in Royal WesJmmster itself, 42,34:3 (one fifth) nf the |K)})uh)tion are wholly destitute of any place of worship. Tije (Mioriuous state endowments in that city provide rcligiousl of iiuslruciion (.sikHi as it is from the lips and lives of some incum'| air bents) for 54,22t>, while the precarious voluntary system pro. I fric vides for ft»e relij^ious instruction of 63,554. Yet the incomeH sai iVom the State of the Dea-i and twelve Prebendaries, six minorB the canoiis, and nineteen clergymen, connected willi tiie West, an nsinsier Cathedral itself, besides other established churches, is i/ 1 9,000 sterling per annum. Tdkc asraln three parishes in the neirjhbourhood of West- minster — Marylebone, Paddington, and Pancra^^. The whole population is 240,294. In nineteen parish churches and cha- pels are 20,735 sittings ; in voluntary Episcopalian churches are 10,952 sittings; in non-conformist orthodox chapels, 25,- 542 sittings ; the total of which, allowing church-room for one half of the entire poj)ulat:on to be considered sufficient, will supply a population of 118,458 — leaving 121,830 souls destitute of any means of reli DI00E8E. ' Other dioceses throughout the kingdom cannot be supposed to be better supplied than that of London ; and allow- ing the orthodox non. conformists to afford instruction for as large a portion of the population as the endowed establishment, onefflh of the population of the kingdom would still be without jmy place of public worship ! In The Church newspaper of the 22nd of December, after referring to the Prescott brigands, the greater part of whom, it has been stated, have been brought up without religious in- struction, the Editor says, — " In good old christi.in England — with all its faults renl and alleged — we question much if a gang of unbelieving desperadoes, equal in number to that which has already invaded our soil, could be found. The means of rcli. frious instruetion are there widely and unlvcrsaJhj diffused, moral sanctions and dulios are held in general respnct." Porhnp'-J there are few men living who have u higher o()inion of England and her greatness than I have ; but [ will i-.ot shut my eyes against facts for the sake of party, or interest, or .iftiality. How does the statement of the Editor of The Church appear in the face of ihe above statistics and the evidence of tiie Bishop of London ? How does liis statement compare with the n(»wt{ by the last arrivals from England, that the southern part? of LiNCOLNsiimK are so infested with banditti of robbers tliat it is dangerous to travel after night? How docs his statement agree with the following from the pen of the reverend Richard Watson, published in his Lite, page 85 : — " but for the efforts of dissenters, the lowest classes in the manufacturintj districts would be sunk into intellectual and religions barbarism ?" How does The Churches statement appear in connexion with the fol- lowing statements of the Rev. Hugh Stowell, a celebrated clergyman in Manchester, in his published Sermon before the Church Pastoral Aid Society in London, 1836? Mr. Stowell says : — •' U IS a fact fully ascertained, that there are numbers in our manufac- f living districts toho have never crossed the threshold of a place of worship, who have never been baptized into the faith of Christ, who have conse. quently no pretension to the very name of Christian, and who are absolutely and emphatically God less, though comprehended in the bosom of a land that glories in her Sabbaths and her sanetuaries. and to whom the eyes of all nations are directed as the light of the world. — The trath is, that the multitude of our labouring classes and our poor, have become j"-„ ^litl '• J! It) hk^ . 120 no utterly esfrangedfrom all rctrrence for the Sabbath^ and all inclination for the aartctuary^ thnt the more ennli^uity of the ordinances of religion would affect I lierii but feebly; thoy will not of thoir own nccord come to the Gospel — the Gonpol must therefore follow them into their re'irementi* and into their recossos." Such are tlio facts ns they at this hour exist in England under the operationn, fo** hundre«]s of vcars, of a richly endowed Church! This subject has no connoxinn with forms of Government ; and let us so iwr divest our minds of prejudice as to compare the efficiency of the voluntary and compulsory systems — in England where the latter has hecn in operation for centuries, and in the United States where the formor has had "free course" li'lle more than fifty year?. It will bo denied by none, that in learniu*^, talent, and piety, the Episcopal, the Presbyte- rian, the Baptist, ar.d Methodist Clergy in Americn, will com- pare, as practical men, with those classes of Clergy in any part of the world. Indeed, I believe such a being as an unpreaching, fox. hunting, tippling CIer;^yman does not exist in the Protestant Episcopal Church in America; nor would an immoral Clergy- man of any of the above classe>'; be knowinglv tolrrated. The population of the Unied States is 13,000,000 ; churches, 12,r)80; ministers, 11,450; communicants, 1,550,890 — an average of one orthodox miniflfcr and one orthodox church for every thousand persons, and one ninth of the population com- municants of ortliodox Protest?int denominations. A be/[ter supply than is furnished in Scotland itself, the establishment of which is probably the least exceptionable in the world, and where, as Dr. George Catnpbell observes, *' the distinction between civil rights and civil authority and those which are purely moral and religious, has been better preserved than perhaps in any other country."' (g) Let us take a few of the States separately. To begin with the principal and oldest New-England States. Massachu- setts has — ^10 the ain prf fol Th to hai a E ani lev Ministers, 550 Churches, 600 Population, 600,408 Communicants, . . 73,264 New York State, — whose rapid advancement has greatly increased the difficulty of a proportionate immediate supply, has Im an mi th( V- on ev ye syj Bi (C) Leciures on EceletSaitical Histrry, vol. I. p. 66. all inclination Ds of religion cord come to ir re'irementii gland under ly endowed overnmenl ; to compare ^ystenns — in T centuries, had '* free ed by none, e Presbyte. I, will com- in any pari npreacbinjr, e Protestant )ral Clergy. •ated. The ; churches, ►0,890 — an church for ilation com- A befter )lishment of world, and distinction which are served than > begin with I Massaciiu- . . 550 . . 600 has greatly supply, has Population, 1,018,608 I Ministers,. . v* . . 1,750 ' Communicants,. • 184,583 j Churches, 1,800 About on a par with highly-privileged Scotland in her reli- gious means, which stands thus : Ministers, 1,765 Churches, 1,804 Population, 2,365,807 Communicants, (not known) In the State of Pennsvlvania — twice as large as Scotland, the middle section of it, and nearly one half its area, mount- airrous, and much retarded in the march of improveniciit by the prejudices of a numerous German population, we have the following results of the voluntary system : Mmisters, 1,095 Churches, 1,633 Population, .... 1,347,672 Communicants, . 179,904 That is, one place of worship for every 830 souls ; one minister to every 1200 souls ; and one seventh of the population com- municants. The State of Ohio — which in little more than forty years has advanced in population from 500 to 937,903, scattered over a surface of 40,000 square miles, nearly the size of England and Wales, — with all these disadvantages — exhibits the fol. lowing result of the working of the voluntary system : Population, 937,903 iMinisters, 750 Communicants, . . . 76,460 Churches, 80*i In the youngest States of America, Kentucky, Tennesec, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisana, and Florida, spreading over a surface of 480,670 square miles, about nine times the size of England and Wales, there is a population of 3,641,000 ; churches, 3,701 ; ministers, 2,490 ; communicants, 286,560 — one to twelve communicants, one church to every thousand persons, and one minister to every 1500 — the fruits of the voluntary system in a country of yesterday. How long would it have taken the compulsory system to have accomplished so much ? Let us now compare some of the principal towns of Great Britain and the United States. Liverpool has — Population, 210,000 Communicants, • • . 18,000 M Ministers, • • 57 Churches, 57 ifit -f]i !h 11 > I hi f m if I m 113 Glasgow hai — Population, 220,000 I Miniflters, 76 Communicants, (not known) | Churches, 74 Nrw York, the counter part of Liverpool and Glasgow, haa Population 220,000 Communicants, . # • 31,337 Edinbvbgh has — Population, 150,000 Communicants, (not known) Philadelphia has — Population, 200,000 Communicants, (not known) Nottingham has — Population, 50,000 Communicants, .... 4,864 Ministers, 142 Churches 132 Ministers, 70 Churches, 65 Ministers, 170 Churches, 63 Ministers, 23 Churches, 23 Cincinnati (a town forty years old) has- Ministers, 20 Churches, 21 Population, 30,000 Communicants,.... 8,555 And Pittsburgh — a manufacturing town of yesterday — has, population, 25,000 ; 26 orthodox Protestant churches, the least of which will seat 500 persons, and the largest about 1500 ; the whole will seat 22,568 ; average attendance at worship, 13,080; communicants, 7,095. I confess. Sir, that these curious inquiries have filled my own mind with astonishment ; as they will probably surprise many others. I have undertaken and pursued them with a determi- nation to ascertain, and then state the truth. I cannot attest the minute accuracy of every statement; but [ can say that I have collated a number of undisputed returns : and lest I should by possibility overstate the facts in any instance, I have, in ail cases where I entertained any doubt, set down the figures con- siderably lower than those of the reports from which I derived | them. And be it remembered, that I have included none but^ those Protestant denominations who hold and preach the great ^ peculiarities of the Gospel system. As the ancient Romans acquired and adopted much that was useful from their enemies, — even their conquered enemies ; — so may we derive important practicaliessons from a powerful neighbouring rival. Such a col net ta{! rai un St; no im Pr dc lal th re is isl ej r€ b] P o i'. 123 ... 76 ... 74 asgow, hafi .. 142 . 132 ...70 ... 65 170 83 ... <60 * . • iC*i . . . 20 ... 21 nrday — has, es, the least bout 1500; at worship, lied my own •prise many I a delermi- annot attest n say that I lest I should have, in all (igures con.f ;h I derived ed none but h the great mt Romans enemies, — e important i]. Such a 1 eoursc will, in my opinion, evinoe more intelligence and noble- ness of mind, and be productive of much greater public advan- ta^Fe, than in creating a thriftless jealousy and anti-commercial rancour by appeals to popular ignorance. I will now fur a moment advert to the operation of the vol. untary system upon the Episcopal Church itself in the United States. This is indeed a matter of minor importance : it ought not to be even a matter of grave inquiry by an enlightened and impartial government, whether its subjects are Kpiscopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, or Methodists, dec. ; much less ought it to be a matter of patronage and legis. iation to elevate or dopress, or interfere with, any branch of the Christian Church in the race of benevolent emulation and religious enterprise. The opposite of this self-evident axiom is the evil genius ot Upper Canada. May it be speedily ban- isiied from our clime ! But has the Episcopal Church become extinct in the United States, and are her clergy less learned, respected and useful, than where and when they are endowed by the state ? It is true that such characters as idlers, card. players, simpletons, &c. dsc. find the priest's office there no place for them ; but is the ministry weakened or invigorated on that account? And do not the accessions and exertions to which the operating principle of mtrit gives birth, more than oompe;isate for the loss of such a pruning and discrimination ? The exclusivoness of a poition of the Episcopal Clergy in the United States is unfavourable to the general popularity and success of that Church. Yet it is not without success, much more extensive and beneficial than it can boast of in this Province, with I'll the favours which have been bestowed upon it. To begin with New York, in the city of which, it must however be confessed, there is a large endowment — the fruits of an old colonial grant. The proceeds of that endowment I believe are judiciously applied ; but it must also be recollected that the City of New York, with all its vast Episcopal endow. ments, is not before neighbouring unendowed cities in religion and morals — nay, is the strong.hold of infidelity in America ; although it only bears about the same proportion to New York as Carlisle's shop and the Rotunda do to London. But in the State of New York there are 224 Episcopal Clergymen— one to every 9000 of the entire population. In Pennsylvania ibere * ■I !. un( •*er tbo ah inti no' bef pie bet aflf. al chi bill %^. ha liii CO pe M of pa er fa in ol P' T 1 f) of tho po Clergymcij viand there jT the popii. lore arc 5;i popuiatioj/, jymcn — oik Conneciicni every 4,29f; pal Churcli eport of (hf tc Advance . fiiw weeks Jiriized par er increasf le slate, oi gst the peo. ' We invito r MlCIIIGAiN IS without u feeble par. clergymen, to parishes led is about le parochial that we art- en added to n with that ligan as its rit in whicjj le Western I give the 'hiladelphia 125 furnish from the Churcli few York as Tb« prof^reif ofthe Church in thii ptrt of (h« aUU, its preaent poti. '.inn, and itn fuiuro proRpoctH are such at to render it in a high degre<» in(ereitin(|r to the Ciiurnh at large. Py the good graoe and providence of God it hiM inRroaRed fiteadily and rapidly, notwithetanding the many obiiaoloR and prejudicei which have heretofore impeded ita onwtrd pro. f>te»n. AlonfT with thia iricroiae of outward atrength, there hat heen, iiH wo belinvo, a more thnn correapondoni advancoinent of evangelical religion amonjr hnr iriiniKlora and membors. Al thia time God aeomt to wet a wide and open door for her to glorify hia holy name, in the conver. Hion of sinners and in (ho dieaemination of" the truth aa it ia in Jeautf." To evidoncc the rapid growth of the Church in thia portion of the state, I will mention three important pariahea th.it have been organized (luring the pant summer and are now in a proaporout condition. At l/tica, u new parinh by the name of Grace Church hiia been organized; nnd, though 'Trinity Church is aa full aa at iiny former period, and haa boaides a rh^pel nnd Sunday school in connexion with it, this infant cliurch »f) ill ^lucoosafu! operation, and its future proapecta ore encoura. . At Lyons, the county town of Wayne county, a church haa heen organized undor the pastoral care of the Rev. Samuel Cooke, deacon, under the inoRt favourable circumstances. 7'he court-house in which services are for tho present held, ih thronged with attentive hearera ; and, though the number of communioanta iaamall, we may humbly hope that u blessing will rest upon tho faithful preaching of its pastor. It ia an interestitig circumstntico in the condition of thia pariah, that in it many now hear the Gospel of pardon and salvation proclaimed to them, who before xeldom attended upon the Ecrvicea of the sanctuary. Another pleaaenl feature in its condition is that the utmost friendliness exiate lietween it, and tho other denominations of Christians in the place, affurding a pleasing cxemplication of tho Spirit inculcated by the Pastor- al Letter of the liouse of Bishops. Subscriptions for a Gothic stone church have been raided, a lot purchased, and preparations made for l)uitding it in the spring. The estimated expense of the building is about .$8000. At Hrockport, Monroo county, a flourishing village, a pariah has also been organized under tho most flattering auspices. A largo and nurnmodious stone church, belonging formerly to the Baptist donomina- lion of the place, has been secured, on favourable terms, and a flouribhing congregation under the charge of the Rev, Sapping R. Chipman, deacon, permanently established. Other parishes are giving evidences of prosperity and increase. St. Michael's church, Oennesee, Livingston county, has secured the services of the Rev. Lloyd Windsor, who has just entered upon his duties in that parish. St. Luk«'a church, Rochester, continues to experience in an eminent degree the blessing of God upon the abundant labours of its faithful rector. It is in contemplation to establish a chapel in the spring, in connection wiih the church, or as an offset from it, under the charge of another clergyman. The parish of Trinity church, Buffalo, under the pastoral care of the Rt;v. C. S. Hawks, is in a flourishing condition. Thbir church odiflce— a large Gothic ooe— ie now io the courae of ereo* m 2 126 tion. A delightful stale of iiarmony exists between this pttrish and thnl of St. Paul's church, under the charge of the Rev. William Shelton. D D. Trinity church, Geneva, has richly experienced the blessing of God upon the faithful services of its rector the Rnv. P. P. Irving. Many bouls iiave been converted unto Christ and large accessions to the com inuiiion of the church been mode under his ministry. The parish is in ;i higli dogroc prosperous, and wc understand that it is in contemplation ti oruct a new and larger Imilding. As this beautiful village into be thi place of residence of ihe IVishop of thediocepc (as we understand) and the place where many of our conventions will probably bo held, such a men. Niire would doubtless be gratifying to the friends of the church throug!. uul the diocese. " 111 connexion with tlieMe facts, it is impoitant to note tiie decidedly religious chariicler with which education in the United States is to a very great degree invested, not merely b\ the numerous Academies under the patronage and direclion 11 ii of various religious denominations, but from the religious superintendence of the great majority of the Universities and (Jollpges. We find iwenty-one Theological Instiltjiions ; o! which 2 are Protestant Episcopalian — 4 Congregational — :1 Baptist — 5 Dutch Reform and Lutheran — 7 Presbyterian, (hi Of Universities and Colleges, besides a few which are not under the exclusive controul of any one denomination, ther(t are ten Protestant Episcopalian Colleges — 5 F3aptist — 7 Con- gregaiiona! — 7 Methodist — 27 Presbyterian Dulch Relorm and Lutheran — thus prnclically recognizing and illustrating a con- currence with the beautiful remark of Sir James Graham, in Ihs late Inaugural Speech as Lord Rector of Glasgow Univer- sity — *' Learning, v»'ithout religion, is hut as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal — a compass without its polarity — a watch witliout its regulator — a steam-engine without its safety valve.'' I will now take a brief comparative view of the .state ot education amongst the common and poorer classes of Society UO There is a very intimate connexion in the Unfted States between the Presbytorinnn and the Congregationalists Tlie Rev. Dr. Matheson, one of the Congregational Df^puta tion from Cnglnnd to the American Churches in 1834, says—" Tii( y liave each, indeed, ' a iocal habitation and a name ;* the Presbyterian denomination having its strong hold in the middle states, and the Congregational being established in the six states of New Kogland. The comroon understanding ia, that on passing the geographical line which divides these states, the party shall so far yield his distinctive opinions on church govern- ment as to unite with the prevailing profession, and he is passed from the one church to the other by the ordinary certificate. This compact includes ministers as well as the laity ; and it is no unconrnion thing to find the man who was a Congrecational pastor of o-day a Presbyterian to-morrow."— rommittee also state that — .« 'i ; ^e H an increase of criminals m 1837, as compared with 1636, of 2,538, a..- compared with an average of three years pafet, of 2,224. Vide tables from registers at Home Office, 1838." In the London Wesleyan Watchman of the 2nd January of the present year, the Editors likewisr remark — '• It has been our painful task to trace the alarming growth of Infidel- ity amang the labouring classes of our population." ouch is the intellectual and moral condition of the '^ masses'^ in ^ ' good old christian England" herself, under the pastoral and benevolent watch-care of a munificently endowed clergy, miy a few of stminstAr, [tl]« haringf cross, » more opulent •arishes of the general result, is afforded to 8 is very indif. ecting the po. on ; the popu- )bably incroa8. Society, and The Bethnal. 6uch as must e now at this one, not onlj nslrucfion arc I that one pa- either to God 3f ihe popu la • >orious exa. II provincial jeffield, Bir- result in an e which the ►Hows : — ibout'l in li* if twenty four forty one ; in tyfive." with 1836, of 2.2i>4. Vide January of th of Infidel *' masses'' he pastoral ^ed clergy, 129 the gro«8 annual income of whose Archbishops and Biahopj^, according to iho '• Report of the ecclesiastical Commissioners," is i;i81,t}3l sterling — net income, £101,292 sterling per an- num. The net annual income of the Clergy paid by the State, is (according to the satne Report) £3,004,639 ; net annual in- come of Bishops and Clergy, £3,165, :>31, sterling, or $14,- 02G,4OO. And what instrumentality has, after all, been chieily «mpu)yed, in quickening the animated, the enlightened, and religious portion ol these *' masses ?" I answer, the voluntary efforts of Dissenters and Methodists, and voluntary Clertrymen, hiiely raised up and rapidly increasing in number. The exer- tions, the appeals, and the genial influence of the voluntarv system, have roused the devotions and sympathies, and thawed the fountains of benevolent feelings amongst a very large por- tion of the middle and lower classes in England ; here and there its rays have penetrated a noble mansion ; but still, con- .spicuous and glorious as England now stands I'orth in the en- terprises of piety and benevolence ; difTusive over all lanus ns is the radiance of her religious charities ; the chiel part of the boundless resources, which God has placed at her disposal for the illumination and salvation of the world, are, up to this hour, latent and congeal'id in the coffers of her nobility, gentry, and merchants, under the freezing atmosphere of a mere political religion, endowed at the expense of the nation for their indul- p-mce, and the benumbing influence of a lax and exclusive hierarchy. May the great deep of England's exhaustless .buntains of benevolence be speedily broken up, and issue forth in streams of sanctified and effective charily to the perishing myriads of her manufacturing and pau()er population, as well as to benighted millions of ottitn' islands and continents ! Allow me then, to ask, in view of the foregoing facts, and the arguments of preceding letters, whether the labouring po- pulation of the Mother Country will be more attracted to this Province by the assurance of an endowed Priesthood, or by the prospect of cheap and ample education for their offspring ? Whether the interests of religion itself will be better consulted, by the opiates of ill-judged endowments, or by the heaven, horn enterprises of christian charity ? Whether tbe welfare and good government of this province will be better promoted by recognif«iDg to the fullest extent general religious and civil 130 I equality, or by providing endowments for certain priesthoodsftre Whether the unity, peace, happiness, and prosperity of the intisj habitants will be more extensively secured by appropriating thiidg proceeds of the Clergy Reserves to purposes of general educal •• tion, and the surplus of these proceeds and of other schoilf it lands, if there ever should be any, to other general purposeVPJ' or by insisting upon what the country has again and again de precated ? Whether the character, and value, and i'ntellectul^t wealth and power of the province will be more advanced bless appropriating forthwith a decent and adequate provision folf o common school instruction and acedemical education, or by al I expediency and patch-work policy of clerical patronagelem Whethc^r all classes of the population have not an equal claiims ^ to the benefit of the one-seventh Reservation, and whether th|n tl rhe at ac( ti ty ranc fai U\i ind lavi loyally, strength, and popular security of the country will bi best established by depriving any class of that benefit ? believe an opportunity now presents itself for our Governmen and Parliament lo confer the greatest possible benefit, or inflic naj^ tae greatest conceivable evil upon this province — eithfjr t become a by-word and hissing throughout the land, or, t become the most influential and popular that ever existed i Upper Canada. Flaving expressed my own sentiments, and I believe ihose c ^^^ nine-teuihs of the resident land. holders in the province, wit the freedom of a British subject ; and having briefly discussei [y\ the whole question to the best of my humble judgment, I noAy p respentfully submit it to the practical consideration of our lel'letr gislotors, — not as political or sectarian partizans, but as " thi 1 blonds of all, and the enemies of none." lobs I have the honor to be, &c. Az,c. &c. I /* ■of I . |inv( ■the P. S. I had intended to have devoted a letter to the questioilfe^ of the Rectories, showing what the establishment of then coi really involves, and that the iime^ manner y and circumstances o gei their establishment prove a violation of pledged honour, gooi J.' faith, and the principles of constitutional government; but thi jj^, deep feeling of an'tnjuked and indignant country supersedes th( in . necessity of such a discussion at present. I will only, there im 131 n priesihoodslre, remark in the language of the Rev. Mr. Magill, of the irily of the inl lagara Christian Examiner^ who, after having stated the ill. propriating ttiAdged act establishing the Rectories, observes — general educa|..Sach is the act of the Government, and auch are the preien«ion« [ other schoJf its high church favourites. Can it be deemed Kurprising that public eral purposeM^Pf®!"®"*'®" ^^^ '^®®'* awakened ? — that public indignation is roused / — aTid again dl*^ constitutional reaistanct is resolved upon ?— that all who wish the nd i'nipll Joaco and prosperity of the country declare their deliberate judgment "^^"'ftat this rash and surreptitious act must bo cancelled — this root of bitter. advanced bless must be drawn out even to its minutest fibres, and cast into the sea provision folf oblivion." ition, or by iM 1 am happy also to have the concurrence of our Scotch co- I patronage lemporaries of the British Colonist and the Christian Examiner, in equal clainls well as of a large portion of the rest of the provincial press, d whether tliAi the general principles that I have advocateii in these letters. )untry will blPhe Colonist has expressed his general views in these words : t benent . it f^Ue truth is, that in this Provin«o there is now a determined hosti- p Governmen lefit, or inflic najority of the people, and they cannot be forced upon them, unless the ce — eithor t land, or, ^er existed i lieve ihose c rovince, wit efly disBcussei ity entertained against the principle of the Rectories by the great ranquillity of the Province is to be put into the scale with the endowing if an exclusive hierarchy. During the late troubles, all classes of Her Hajesty's subjects were equally distinguished in manifesting their loyalty ind attachment to their Sovereign, and it is a poor recompense that after laving fought the battle, and won the day, they are to be lorded over, n their most sacred rights, to gratify the ambition of a party. '* In this colony, all classes ought and must be on a footing of perfect quality in their religious privileges; and until this is the case, prosperi- y will be a stranger in the land, and the people will be always divided ^ment, I nov )y party jealousies, which every day's experience tells us are more than on of our le detrimental to our interests." but as " tl) The Rev. Mr. Magill of the Christian Examiner has forcibly observed that — •• Ye&r after year, a^ least during tho last decade, the general sentiment of this Colony has been uttered iu no unequivocal form, that no Church inverted with exclusive privileges derived from the State, is adapted to the condition of society among us. It oannot be doubted, that this is the deliberate conviction of nine tenths of the Colonists. Except among a few ambitious magnates of the Church of England, we never hear a lent of then contrary sentiment breathed. Equal rights on equal conditional is the cumstances o general cry. And although several Assemblymen of the present House lonour iTOGi ^^^ chosen to misinterpret the public voice, and to advocate a different / ^ . principle, we doubt not that on their next appearance before their con- lenr ; nut m tjtuents, they will be taught that this is not the age, nor this the country, ipersedes tb( in which the grand principle of equal rights can bo departed from with only, there imponity." the questiof m pi i|'^^: l^lSg k' ii! JF1 1 1 : S ui%' ' in ^'. ^'' ' 1 ii' ^ L J-'I'lbi: APPENDIX. I¥o. X. Toronto, Feb'y 28, 1639. SiR,~I feel that I should not fully discharge the duty I have under- Raken, did I not call special attention to that part of His Excellency's ■Speech of yesterday which relates to the subject of the preceding Letters. His Excellency says : — " The strongly-excited feelings to which the long agitated question of the Clergy Reserves has given rise in this Province, have sensibly inoi- paired that social harmony which may be classed among the first of national blessings, and have augmented the hopes of the enemies of the r;uunlry in proportion as they have created divisions among its defenders. It is painful to reflect, that a provision, piously and munificently set apart for the maintenance of religions worship, should have become the cause f discord among professors of the same faith, and servants of the same Divi ne aster; and I feel that, on every account, the settlement of this vitally important question ought not to be longer delayed : I therefore earnestly exhort you to consider how this desirable objecl may be attain. ed — and I confidently hope, that if the claims of contending parlies be ftidvanced, as I trust they will, in a spirit of moderation and christian cha. rity, the adjustment of them by you will not prove insuperably difficult. But should all your efforts for the purpose unhappily fail, it will then only remain for you to re-invest these Reserves in the hands of the Crown, and to refer the appropriation of them to the Imperial Parliament, as a tribu. iial free from those local influences and excitements which may operate too powerfully here. My ardent desire is, that, keeping in view, as closely IS you can, the true spirit of the object for which these lands were origi. lally set apart, this embarrassing question may be settled on equitable rinciples, in a manner satisfactory to the community at large, and con. tucive to the diffusion of religion and true piety throughout the province.'* Tiie above passage, I understand, to be nothing more nor less than recommendation to re-invest the Reserves ; for all the advocates f certain parties who have a peculiar interest to^ promote, will easily ind insuperable objections to any other plan than that of re* investment. Placed in the painful and responsible position I occupy in respect to his matter — assembled as the Parliament is with didcretionary power dispose of it— I am exonerated from that caution that I should deem t my duty to observe at other times and in other circumstances, and eel it my duty to conceal nothing in regard either to facts or appre- lensions on this question of questions. I never did take up my pen with 80 much reluctance; never did I contemplate the future with feeimgs so melancholy. I will, nevertheless, for once at leasti do my duty to the government and the country. N if ii il ■i::t a c if 134 l^hat t and all connected with me have earnestly desired and sought the settlement of this question in years past, is known to the province at large; that we have had no ulterior object in view in our proceed- ings, is evinced by our supporting the government and constitution of the country in every hour of need ; that we have no personal gain to promote is plain from the principles and measures we have advocated; that we have most earnestly sought to avoid the re^agitntion of thie question since the suppression of the rebellion in December 1837, i« manifest from our conciliatory proposition, our suggestions and appeals to the members of the House of Assembly last winter. Indeed so deeply sensible was I of the evil effects upon the social sta'e of this province of a re discussion of this question; so greatly did I dread the part I was apprehensive it would become my duty to take in such a discussion, in case of its renewal ; that I was ready to Agree to any measure that did not involve a complete sacrifice ot public interests. My brethren and myself consented to assume the responsibility ofsug. gesting a middle course at a moment when a recent exposure to com- mon danger and a common participation in a providential deliverance seemed to create in every pfitrioMc heart a desire to forget past differ* ences and lay the foundation of future tranquillity. After witnessing with indescribable pain the failure of every effort to induce immediate and just legislation on the subject last year ; possessing as I then did from repeated personal assurances a strong conviction that the Secre- tary of State for the Colonies was favourable to the popular wishes of the province on the disposition of the Clergy Reserves; having the fullest confidence in his wnpartiality and liberality in this matter, I stated to more than one member of the Assembly, that I would rather acquiesce in the re investment of the Reserves than risk the evils of a re-agitation of the question, having bc^n assured that the clause for re-investment would provide for the application of the Reserves to educational as well as religious purposes — that the published ohjec lions of my friends and myself did not arise from any distrust on our part of the justice of the British Ministry, but from a conviction that that arrangement would not settle the question and would be attended with serious practical difficulties ; but that we should not increase those difficulties, and were disposed to do all in our power to lessen them, rather than have the province convulsed with another domestic war on the subject— that I believed it possible to defeat the selfishness of the high church party by correct representations to the Home Govern, meat, if we could not do it here by direct local legislation. Such were the lengths of concession nnd conciliation to which Iwas disposed to submit last session rather than witness the renewal of this controversy! But the very reasons that induced me, and those with whom I act, to risk a decision of the British Government relative to the religious and educational disposition of the Reserves, prevented the high church party from adopting it. They feared the present Ministry would de. cide upon just and popular principles — and therefore they thought the i c id and Bought the province our proceed- onstitution of sonal gain to e advocated; tfition of this )ber 1837, i» cj and appeals Indeed 8o sta^e of this did I dread take in such figree to any lie interests, ibility of sng. sure to com. I deliverance It past differ- jr witnessing ze immediate as I then did at the Secre- lar wishes of ; having the [lis matter, I would rather k the evils of ho clause for Reserves to lished ohjec' itrust on our nviction that I be attended icrease those lessen them, lomestic war selfishness of ome Govern- Such were s disposed to controversy! lom I act, to religious and high church •y would de- thought the 135 Ueserves were s^ifer as I hey were fur high church interests than they wduM be lo place them at the disnoeni of the Crown. The result id well known — the qiieslion was poHtuoncd. Wilh a view lo promote immediate and just letrislalion on (he question, I took the liberty of addressing a public letter to the Honorable Speaker of the Assembly, dated Jan'y 23rd, 183S, (somn weeks before the prorogation,) entitled ♦' Rensotis for Immediate Legislation on the Clergy Reserve Quee- li in," &c. The ftjllowing is an extraci : *'3. Serious ovils may vesnit from delay. To supposo that in ordinary tiinsH iho public mind will vuer to the preiensioniii of certain advocates of the Cliurcliea of England and Scotland, K to ossume the reversft of all history, and lo imngine thai the stream will flow to th« fountain, or that the gravitation nf hodies will he from instead of to the earih. To delay the question therefore, is at least but to increase the difficulty of its adjustment. And who can predict the ulterior and ulti. mate consequences of disappointing the reasonable expectations of the public mind, when, for the first time, its only hopes are eagerly suspend- ed upon the justice and wisdom of those who have been represented as inimical to its educational developement and moral elevation ? Who can foretell and who is prepared to assume the responsibility of the effect! upon the future feelings and conduct of the inhabitants of this province, should it occur that after they have at a moment's warning rallied from east to west and from north to south, around the Constitution of the country, the Legislative champions of that constitution were to pass over in silence or pusillanmiously postpone the consideralion of a question on which more anxiety, and feeling, and impatience have been manifested than on any otiier question which has ever been agitated in the province ? The majority of the members of iho present Assembly were elected under the expressed or implied understanding with their constituents, that the eurliost consideration and most vigilant efTurts would be directed to the cpeedy and satisfdctory adjustment of this question, as the debates of last winter's session on this subject abundantly prove; yet the question re- mains as it was when those assurances wore given to constitutional con- sliiuencies ! And lo say that this is not the time to agitate the question in the Legislature, is to furnish melnncholy ground to apprehend that a course of proceeding is contemplated which it would be unsafe or too audacious to declare at the present time, so soon after the universal burst of loyalty and patriotism, on the part of a discerning population in defence of esltihiished government and good laws. What! not the time to consider that which has been employed as an instrument to involve many an unsuspecting individual in ihe Idle unnatural conspiracy ! Not the time to heal a wound which has long been festering in the public mind ! Not the time to remove a confe^tsed detriment to the religious harmony, and peace, and interests of the Province ! Not the tin v lo do an act of justice, of reacun, of philanthropy ! Not the lime lo place the government upon the firmest foundation for the time to come !" Well, what ensued after the close of the session ] Why, the organ of Episcopal Clergy (" The Church") failed not from week to week to urge the exclusive pretensions of his Church with an exclusiveness I i|! 1 II i'^ \i ill i \ ■j t''. Wmii'. ■ 1 ■1 f- m m 136 and an intuiting arrogance scarcely paralleled in the past history of the province. Even as early a^ April, we meet with such passages as the following in his columns : *' It argues sheer ignorance to dfiUi the battles of conservatism against the tiiree-fuldjleogue of papistry, sectarianism, and radicalism, save under the banner of our Protestant Church." — **The blood and the banishment of every one who may be executed or transported for his participation in the !ate rebellion, and who, had there been an ejffictive Euiablished Church, would have breathed a political atmosphere purified by national Christianity, in. stead of the noxious malaria of revolution and infidelity, — are cfiarge- able upon our legislators and rulers and their abctturs " In August, afler the visit of Lord Durham to this Province, I though the time had arrived for me— in the discharcre of my officiol duty — lo repress the increasing arro«jance of The Church, and bring the merits of this great question again before tfie public. On the first week in September I commenced these letters, as you yvill perceive by the date. From the beginning to the end of them, or in any line of my public writings, I have not mooted the question of vote by bollot, or universal suffrage, or annual parliaments, or any change in the Con- stitution, or even an abstract theory on Church establishments; yet no sooner did I venture to question the arrogant claims of the Epis. copal Clergy than, as if by general concert, I was forthwith over- whelmed with a torrent of abuse and scurrility almost incredible, from the columns of the high church press— in consequence of which I have been prompted to apply the rod of rebuke and chastisement with a severity for which I hope never again to have occasion. For the present non-settlement of the Reserve question, and for the conse- quent discussions of the past year, I therefore disclaim all responsi- bility. That the past delay in any grave consideration of this question with a view to its settlement should be viewed with impatience, and as a breach of public confidence, I need only appeal to the speech of Mr. Attorney General Hagerman, delivered during the first session of the present parliament, in which he says — '* I will now call upon my hon- orable friends, the conservative members of this House, to apply them- selves with earnestness andzea!, as I am sure they will with integrity and ability, to settle this question." Such was Mr. Hagerman's lan- eruage the Jirst session — the fourth session has arrived and the ques- tion remains in statu quo ! ! ! Let us view the question as it now stands. Last session there was scarcely any public opinion on this or on any other subject — the cir- cumstances of the insurrection, and the novel position in which they placed the province, inspired almost every individual with a desire to commence anew in civil matters ; it was in the power of the govern- ment and legislature to have given a tone to the feelings of the coun- try CO a certain extent ; that opportunity was so completely misim- BSt history of Lich passages ranee tu fi^ht B of papistry, ur Protestant I who may be ebcllinn, and , would have ristiuniiy, in. —are cfiarge- nee, I though icial duty — lo iig the merits flret week in ceive by the y line of my ) by ballot, or in the Con- ihments; yet of the Epii. rthwith over- credible, from 3 of which I Lisement with 3n. For the r the conse- all reeponsi- qiiestion with [:e, and as a peech of Mr. ession of the ipon rny hon- apply them- vith integrity erman's laii- ind the ques- on there was ect— the cir- ) which they h a desire to ' the govern- of the coun- leteiy misiio* 137 proved that dissatisfaction, as exhibited by sixsevenths of the proviii- cial press, was more general and strong in the country last October, than it has been in the province those ten years; and the individual opinions of tho country are now as strongly'formed as they ever were. Lost session all was calm, and confidence, and hope; this year there IP doop feelinif, distrust, and apprehension. List soesion there was buoyant hope of immigration, growing commerce, and uninterrupted iranquilily ; this year it is formally announced from the throne that ♦'the tide of immigration is turned from our she res—the ovorflowinga of British capital are transferred into other channels— public credit is impaired— and the value of every description of properly is deprecia- ted ;" yes, the Houho is advertised of txtraordinnry expenditures and large and unprecedented demands upon the public revenue. In one word, information from all parts, and the state of the press for the last six months, shows that the moral influence of the legislature is little more than nominal in the minds of the people; and all its measures will be scrutinized by them with the feelings and severity of disappoint- ed hope and nearly extinguished confidence. Again — the views and feelings of the great body of the inhabitants towards Her Majesty's Government have undergone an essential change since the last session of the provincial legislature. I do not say or believe that there is a change of feeling in regard to loyally to the Sovereign, but in respect to confidence in Her Government ; lind the Queen is known to hove personally (except by the sanction of her natne) little more to do with state affairs, than any other young lady of 19 years of age. The dismissal of Sir F. Head destroyed the confi. dence of one portion of the community in the Home Governmeiit, and even called forth formal expressions of disapprobation in addresses to Sir F. Head. The treatment of Lord Durham by the same Gov- ernment has reduced I's influence in general estimation to a level with the loca) Executive. Lord Durham's vindication of himself was not calculated to elevate Her Majesty's Government in public estimation ; and what little respect still lingered in the minds of the country has been extinguished by the par excellence •• loyal" press of the prov- ince. The epithets applied by the Patriot, the Cobourg Star and kindred publications, and the exhibition in effigy of Her Majesty's Ministers before the Government House here, and afterwards the hanging and burning of them in derision, have made a deep and gen- eral impression on the public mind of the province. In connexion with these circumstances, is the public confession of Lord Durham — who is acknowledged upon all hands to be a man of much greater knowledge and abilities than any member of Her Majesty's Govern- ment—that he virtually knew nothing and was utterly incompetent to form any tolerable opinion of Canadian affairs and interests, until he visited and inquired personally into their actual condition. Many may not be prepared to analyze and enumerate tho causes of the impres- n 2 h I ill M 1 P ., '■ II w. 198 ■io" reduced by tbeie circumitances, but of the exietence of ihose ioipiufsioni, deep and laiting, forty-nine fiflietha of the inhabitants, of all partiesi are aa sensible as they are of the impulse of consciousness. Add to all this, circumstances which have come to my own know- ledge, and others with which the public are acquainted. I have seen memoranda of interviews between distinguished members of the Church of Scotland and the Colonial Office, conveying views, evi- dently from the policy of expedie;icy, at variance with those which I have understood from the same functionaries. Private instructions ot the Colonial Office are found to be directly opposite to public des- patches, ministerial pledges, and Royal decisions. Not merely the case of Lord Durham, but. a conversation which took place in the House of Lords on the preBeuiutiun of a petition by the Bishop ot Kxctcr from an Episcopal Clergymun of U. Canada, furnishes ample evidence that Her Majesty's Ministers are the mere automatons of the Lords. Lord Durham, in his reply to the address of tlio inhabitants of Quebec, stated that these provinces wore governed by two or three Peers from their places in Parliament; ihe facts alluded to most clearly show, thai our ecclesiastical affairs would be as much under the dictatorship of two or three Right Reverend spiritual Peers from their places in Parliament as certain of our civil uiiairs have been con- trolled by two or three lemporul Peers. The case then of Her Majes- ty's Government and the ecclesiastical inrorests of all classes of ihe population of this province stands thus : the events of the last nine months have shown that a whig ministry is under the dictatorship of the Bishops and House of Lords. The Editor of The Church has already made his boast of this, as may be seen on pages 82, 83. A tory ministry would do that from inclination which the present ministry does from subserviency to the Bishops and Lords. Hence the new. born zeal of the highest church partizans themselves for re*investmenl. And hence our ten-fold accumulated opposition to it. Take these facts together, and what is the conclusion of every un- sophisticated and unbiassed mind 1 Is it, that those men are to be made the judges of the disposal of one seventh of Upper Canada, who were burned in effigy as " traitors" in our capital a few months ago? Is it, that the English Bench of Bishops are to decide this matter 1 Is it, that men who, by the confession of all, know nothing of the so. cial condition of the country are to decide upon difficulties which grow out of that social condition ? What has been the designation of Her Majesty's government by high church presses and high churchmen throughout the province for the last year ? Why they have been uni- formly termed '*the Incapables of Downing Street;" and yet it is proposed to appeal to these ^' Incapables" to dispose of one seventh of the country ! What does the proposition of re-investment under such circumstances, but proclaina in peals of thunder to the ean of the inhabitants of the province, — *'you wilt not submit for us to apply ihe nee of those habitants, of tntciousneiB. i own know. I have seen ibers of the views, Gvi- lose which I istructions ut public des. It merely the place in the le Bish'^p of nislies ample natnns of the inhabitants two or three (led to most much under 1 Peers from ive been con- if Her AJIajes- lasses of the the last nine ictatorship of I Church has js 82, 83. A »8ent ministry ice the new. Mnvestmeni. of every un- en are to be Canada, who months ago? this matter ] ngf of the so- 9 which grow Rtion of Her 1 churchmen ive been uni- ind yet it is one seventh itment under le ears of the i to apply the 1 180 proceeds of one seventh of your labour to the support of one or more hierarchies, we will therefore place those proceeds in the hands of the " Incapables of Downing; street," and the capable Bishops will compel (if there be need for it) the '* incapable" Ministers to do what we dare nut do ; and your loyalty and intelligence will cf course induce you to bow in humble submission to the decision of the " Iiirapables," even 10 the robbing of you of those fruits uf your labour which the consti- tution of the province rccognizos as your property and at your legisla- tive disposal, and which Royal despatches have declared must, accord- ing tu the evident spirit and intent of your constitution, be disposed of— not according to some '.heory of establishments, not to suit ilin interests of some priesthood, not to advance some system of pulron- age, but — according to ''thd prbvailino opinions and feelings OF TUB Canadians." But, it may be said, it is not proposed to place the Reserves at the disposal of the *' Incapubies of Downing street,'* under the supervi. sion of the Bishops, but as Sir George Arthur's speech expresses it, ** to re-invest these Reserves in the hands of the Crown, and to refer the appropriation of t^em to the Imperial Parliament, as a tribunal free from those influences nnd excitements which may operate too powerfully here." In what respect, I would ask, are ihe members of the Imperial Par- liament more capable of *' appropriating" the Reserves than the Min- isters of the Crown ? Every man in vhe country knows that nineteen twentieths of the members of the Imperial Parliament do not know half as much about Canada as they do about Persia, or Turkey or Hindostan. Lord Durham has most explicitly stated that the mem- bers of the Imperial Parliament are utterly ignorant of the condition, and feelings and wants of this country. And the history of British Parliamentary legislation for the Colonies assures us, that in any spi- ritual matter the Right Reverend spiritual legislators are the principal parties to be consulted. To place the appropriation of the Reserve fund in the hands of the Imperial Parliainent is to deprive Her Majesty's Ministers themselves of the power of complying with the wishes of the Province, even if they were so disposed. We are told that the Imperial Parliament is "free from local influ- ences and excitements.'* Very true, because it is under the control of directly opposite " influences and excitements" to those which " operate too powerfully here," to meet the views and promote the interests of certain parties. *' Local influences and excitements'* of the British Parliament are known to be just as strong >\nd sometimes much stronger than they have ever been in our provincu Legislature ; only the social state of Great Britain invests them with a different character from ours. The plain English of Sir George Arthur^s re- commendation is this: "Gentlemen — ;here is a particular way in which I and certain parties think the Clergy Reserves ought to be dis- III 140 r.is posed of; if you * find influences too powerful* to allow you to dispose of them in that way, then ' refer the appropriation of them to the im- perial Parliament/ where those * influences and excitements' prevail which accord with my own views and wishes." Now in a case of law or a matter of fact, a disinterested court and jury is the proper tribunal of decision ; but in a matter of Legislation the very opposite maxim lies at the fecundation of ail constiluiionui government. What is an elective House uf Commons for but to re- flect the •♦ influences and excitements," and thus represent the wishes and interests of the nation? What is the responsibility of Ministers in England to the House of Commons, but a practical security and recognition of the great principle of all free government, that the *' in- fluences atid excitements'* of the nation are the lule of legislation] Upon this great principle it was, that Lord Glenelg has laid down the *' prevailing opinions and feelings of the Canadians" as the ruleof seu tlmg this question. Yet the recommendation of Sir Geor-je Arthur flatly contradicts the maxim of Lord Glenelg— a fact that irresistibly forces upon us the conviction that, whatever may be the excallent vir- tues of iSir George Arthur's head and heart, and whatever may have been his intentions and proclamations, he is not a statesman, nor does he recognise the principles of, and therefore is not a friend to civil and religious liberty. Sir George Arthur has, indeed, expresned ai ''ar. denl desire'* that this ** embarrassing question may be settled on equi> table principles, in a manner satisfactory to the community at large;" hut Sir George Arthur himself or the Imperial Parliament must be the iudge of what those •• equitable principles" are; and any dififering judgment is to be sei dovvn to the account of " local influences and excitements," which ought not to be regarded in the settlement of this question; just as if there was no such thing as *' influences and ex* citements" operating on the side of Episcopal pretensions. His Excellency also advises to keep closely in view *'the true spirit of the object for which these Innds were originally set apart." How does this agree with the decision of his late Most Gracious Majesty's Message on this subject. For seven years Uie inhabitants of Upper Canada, through their representatives, and otherwise, prayed for the appropriation of the Reserves to educational purposes and internal improvements — principally for purposes of education. At length Sir John Colborne on 25th of January 1S33 (see paget 32, 83) sonds down to the House a message from the King, which contains the following words : ** It has therefore been with peculiar satisfaction, that, in the result of his inquiries into the subject, His Majesty has found, that the changes sought for by so large a portion of the inhabitants, may be carried into eflect without sacrificing any just claims of the established churches of England and Scotland." — ** His Majesty, iiierefore, in< vites the House of Assembly of Upper Canada to consider how the powers given to the Provincial Legislature by the Couetitutional Aci» pf-i 'ou to dispose ?m to ihe lin. lenfe* prevail ted court and Legislation conetilulionul for bnl lo re- ni the wishes of Ministers security and that the •• in. legislation ] aid down the le rule of set. ior^^e Arthur it irresistibly Jxcsllent vir- er may have mn, nor does [1 to civil and wed ai "ar. • led on eqni. y at large ;" must be the iny differing luences and ment of this :es and ex- e true spirit art." How J8 Majesty's Is of Upper lyej for the nd internal length Sir sends down e following hat, in ihe id, that the ts, inay be established refore, in- ir how the tional Aci, 141 to VARY or REPEAL this part of its provisiona can he called into exef- cm most advantageously for the spiritual and temporal interests of His Majesty's faithful suhjects in this Province." Now the Constitu. tional Act authorises the provincial Legislature to "vary or repeal" the Clergy Reservation— Ells late Majesty invites to the discretionary exorcise of that power; Sir George Arthur advises against it, and de. sires "the true spirit of the object for which these lands were set apart" to be kept in view. Here is decision against decision—advice Hjrainst advice; and the lust and inlienor tribunal of Sir George Arthur aesiimea a greater infallibility than the superior tribunal of Mis late Majesty, corroborated as it is by the unvarying and strong and rr;)eal. edly expressed decision of nine-tenths of ihe inliabiionta of Upper Canada during a continuous period of fifteen years. To designate and treat an unchanging and overwhelming decision of the Provincp» through all the conflicts and variations of parly, for fifteen years, as mere '* local influences and excitements," is an insult such is was never before inflcted upon the inhabitants of Upper Canada from the same quarter, and pIiows that how highly soever Sir George Arthur may rate their loyalty, )ie bus a very low opinion of their understand- ing, and very liiile regard for their sentiments and wishes. But, in desiring the application of the Reserves to educational pur- poses, have the inhabitants sought an object inconsistent with the "spirit" of that for which these lands were set apart] You Sir, rightly stated in your speech of last session on this subject, that the end for which the one seventh Reservation was made, was the reli* gious and mora! instruction of the inhabitants, and that tjie support of " a Protestant Clergy" was but a means to that end. You therefore contended that the support of any class of Clergy out of the proceeds of these lands was in perfect accordance with the " true spirit of the object for which they were sft apart." Upon this ground you propo- sed to include the Catholic Clergy. Now if supporting a Catholic Clergy out of the proceeds of the Reserves is consistent with the "true spirit of the object lor whicli they were set apart," is not the application of those proceeds to purposes o( education upon Christian principle>«i in still closer accordance with the ♦' true spirit of that ob- ject?" Besides very many Clergymen are Schoolmasters and teach- ers in colleges — a fact which proves that imparting education ia perfectly consistent with the "true spirit" of the functions of the Clerical office. How then can the application of the Reserves to pur- poses of educaticv be inconsistent with the "true spirit'^ of the origi- nal reservation? And even in reference to the application of the pro- ceeds of the Reserves to objects o^ internal improvement, if the pro- vision is nut to be " varied or repealed" why does the act which cre- ated that provision provide also fonts being "varied or repealed" at the discretion of the local legislature? To whom must we yield the preference, to the framers and provisions of the Constitutional Act of the Province, or to the opinions of His Excellency Sir George Arthur? m 4ji 14-2 Ir» tlip eventful, llie irotnendous, the awful alternative rrconunendd by His Excellency/ thai \f ihe niwrnbe-s of the Avsseinbly , uiinoi H{/ree atnong tiicm^elvcs to settle this quesiioii they should refer the Hppni. priaUun of the Reserves to the laiperial Parliament, several tlimgrs ore to be coi sidered. I adnut ihat the members of the Assembly nnn' not be able to agree among thenia'elvea upon aiiy plan of selllingf I lie question. 1. Some may feel that they iiave loo much family inerest in the question, to nilow them to jud^e dispassjonately and impartially, and bein^ hnnorahle men, may wish to bo excused from lakintj any decided part in it. 2. Others mny iiave individtia'Iy conscieniioiiH scruples on the subject; and being honorable men, and knowing thai t'lftir individual scruples are opposed to the general sense or scruples of their constituen's, will likewise feel too conscientious to rob their constituents of a fair representation on tlie question. fS. Again, others may entertain strong views which they know are opposed to the pftea expressed sentiments of the country. 4. Others, again, may possiblyM^u doubt what arc the real sentiments of the country on the subject.— ip^gg Now in any of these cases, what ought to be donel I answer, if British honour, and the British common law of usage, have any weight in this Province, honourable members would in such cases, and on an occasion far less important than the present, resign their places into the hands of their constituents, and afford them an opportunity to express their seniiinents and wishes by either reelecting them, or electing other individuals of views in accordance with those of the conslitnencies concerned. This is the Britifth, the honorable^ and the only effectual Eiode, of accomplishing the ends of a popular re- presentation and of securing individual honour and independence. This is the alternative which British regard U' the constitutional rtijhta of the electors of the province would dictau?, and nut that re. commended by His Excelle' cy Sir George hur. But before adopting His Excellency's al'en.ative, it is iniportnnt 1 1 inquire 1st. Will it noi he a breach of good faith on the pa^t rf the '•od- eminent and House of Assembly with the inhabitants of the Prov- ince f I was not in tlie province in 1836, — I have not therefore an\ personal knowledge of what transpired previous to and during thelhaj elections; but I have the ample testimony of others on this p( int. htWi is known that neither the late Editor of the Guardian nor myself was^fAe ter sat th( n CO an he( in pap Tra Mr. Chi O'K was dep app proi that 8tro reaf m iag( two Eun: wer Iti and ern and stiti of J vict oft eng Edi dial the Ion pla en( inactive in respect to that contest; and fiie responsibility thus inc • red imposes upon us the obligation of watching more sedulon- ihe proceedings of the present Assembly than I should have otiu rwise done, and will impose upon me the painful t«isk of laying before the provincial constituency a history of the proceedingrs of each member of the Assembly on the Clergy Reserve question, if it be left unsettled or disposed of in a manner prejudicial to the wishes and interests of the country. While in London in 1836, I recollect seeing a Canadian y rrconunendd d II not Mtrree efer the Hppio several ilimjrs Assembly uku- [)f sell] I II tr lliy family inerest id imphriiaily, in takintj uily conscientious knowing tliat me or scruples Ms to rob their Again, others d to ilie often may possibly the subject.-. I answer, if ige, have any Jch cases, and :a their places opportunity lo ting them, or i those of the onorable, and a popular re- ndependence. consiifutional J iiui that re. 5 iniportant f > 143 paper which contained the proceedings of a public meeting held in Trafalgar two or three weekn before the elections. Of that meeting Mr. Geo. Chalmers waa Secreiary ; and in its proceedings VV'm. Chisholm and Edw\rd \V. Thomson, Esquires, took an active pan. One of the resolutions related to the reduction in the price of the waste lands of the Crown and the improvement of the land granting department, and another to the Clergy Reserve Question — in favor of appropriciing the Reserves to purposes of education and internal im. provements. I have been informed upon unquestionable authority, that both of the respected gentlrmen named spoke most explicitly and strongly in favor of the resolutions adopted at the meeting; and I have reason to believe that it was under such an expression and understand- in/? of their views, that they were honored with a majority of the suff- tages of their respective constituencies. Here Iheri is an instance of two most respectable and useful constitutional members of the Assem- bly having been elected with an express view to the application of the Reserves to educational and general purposes. Ks it too much to pre- eume that a majority of the constitutional membe"?" of the Assembly were elected under the same understanding and with tiie same view ] It is no secret that the p.xertioos of the late Editor of the Guardian and others connected with him tirneci the scale in favour of the gov- ernment at the late elections. Let us now see under what aasurance«? and understanding that large class of the community supported con. etitutional candidates. T e town elections c ruFnenced on the 27ih of June. In the Guardia: )f the 15?h )t that inf)nth I find some ad- vices of the Editor to Ch lan elector? ; and referring to the subjects of the Reserves and the land granting depariment, (the subj» s which engaged the attention of the Trafalg-r meeting above allud d to) the Editor of the Guardian remarked as follows: One of the subjects w hich have occupied the attention of the Cana. dian population, and drew forth several expressions of public opinion, is the Clergy Reserves. The Conference, in its official characier, has been ^t nf the srov. oj ine ^'•^>v.|p|^pg jjj ^jjgjp ^jg^g j„ respect to the inexpediency and impropriety of therefore any^g^^jQ^jng tjje Church of England with this property. This q-iestion id dnr.ng the|hag j^nfortunately divided and disquieted the province for a long time, his point. Itl iVg are happy to learn that there exists on the part of the Governmput, and )T myself \\'^&\ihe Executive and Legislative Councils, a disposition to yield in this mat. ter, and hope to witness its speedy settlement in a loay that will s^ive general satisfaction." *' A general complaint is made about the price of land, and the inconvenience undei which purchases are made, and deeds obtained. This is a subject of great mterest to the growing; prosperity of the colony, and we hope will soon be remedied. It has engaged the serious and close attention of many connected with the Legislature, and we believe the Government has provided some remedial measures, only wait, ing for a convenient opportunity to effect valuable and great improve- ments in this department. Lat the land be sold at d moderate price, and y thus mci '- ?eduloi- the ive otherwise ig before the each member left unsettled d inrereste of \S a Canadian t I J ring them to >i final settlement.' It was with the most profound satisfaction that we listened to the above clause of the opening speech; ,n which His Excellency, in addressing both houses of the Provincial Parliament, lays down two most important positions ; first, — That it should be the ' firm determination' of the Legislature, (of which he, as the Representative of our Gracious Sovereign, constitutes one branch,) to finally settle this * long disputed question* — and secondly^ that ia doing so, regard should be had to th3 expectations of the country.'" •' We have reason to believe, that a large majority of the Assembly are devoting to this subject their * serious attention ;* and a most auspi. cious era in the history of this interesting portion of the British Empire will that day be, which shall proclaim, * that by moderation and sound discretion the obstacles which have hitherto attended its discussion' have been * overcome.' While on the other hand, consequences^ above all others the most to he deprecated by every loyal and patriofie Mtnct, must be the result of either leaving this question undecided^ or of deciding it other- wise than in accordance toith the oft repeated wishes of almost all classes of the country. We speak with the firmest conviction of the truth of what we utter, when we say that never had the Representatives of the people, m 145 and the Representative of Royalty inthit Provinee, to fair a eow$e before them to the attainment of unprecedented, and almost universal popularity ^ as is open to them at the present juncture, *' That diflioulties lie in the way of settling this matter to the satis- faction of the country we are ready to admit. The experience of past years has demonstrated it. But it should neither be concealed nor forgot, ten, that the joint powers of His Excellency and the House of Assembly are fully competent to the removal of those difficulties, should they still present themselves. " It is with deep regret that we have already perceived, on the part of some of our contemporaries, an inclination to bias the Legislature to compromise the principle contended for by an overwhelming majority of the constituency, and to attempt the settlement, of it on a plan which could not fail to foment religious animosities, by creating invidious dis- tinctione« and to excite prejudice against the Government and institutions of the country. With all due regard to the judgment of other conduc- . tors of the press, we flatter ourselves that we possess facilities for forming / the Clergy I a just estimate of the state of public feeling on this question, equal to those of any other individual. And we hesitate not for a moment to aver THAT THE ONLY DISPOSITION OF THE RESERVES WHICH WILL GIVE GENERAL SATISFACTION IS, TO APPROPRIATE THE PROCEEDS OF THEM TO PURPOSES OF Education. This is the course which has been contended for through the whole duration of the protracted controversy which has been carried on; and on no other subject has the voice of the csuntry ever been so unanimous. However fluctuating the public mind may be on other affairs, on this it remains fixed, and unalterable. Avowed opposition to this principle at the late elections would have deprived almost any candidate of a majority of his sv^orters ; and it will be a fatal error, au error deeply to be deplored by every heart in which British feeling predominates, should it be imagined that the change effected in the character of the Legislature argues any change of public feeling on this question. Other great principles were the l^ifpt on which the destinies of the elections turned ; and while the coilntry has given full proof of its determination to sustain the preroga. tiV'es of th^Orown, it has done so with an unbounded confidence in the repeated expressions of His Majesty's desire that in the settlement of this question regard should be had to the wishes of bis Canadian subjects. This coofidence must not be abused. We do not, we cannot believe that it will. If it were the reaction would be terrible. The painful effects upon the peace and prosperity of the country for years to come, we do not wish to contemplate. Events may occur ere long which would again call the constituency of the Province to the hustings ; and who, pos. sessing a spark of patriotism, does not deprecate any event which might lead to future collisions between the people, through their representatifes, •*an4 the Executive government. * A word to the wise is sufficient. * tiL^ ■ The prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hidetb himself.' What course \i,Tall dimes I "^'^"^ ^^ adopted U problematical, and we shall not prejudge.** of what I ««7 the reiterated assertions of a certain party have produced any efieot o» the minds^of the Legislature, relative to the Wesleyan Minisl. O , and liberal lent of that IS — * I want ly.' Such a beir duty in H (three day's we find an alien which e Methodist lis asRumin^r ten existing cellency was I for the real lly concurred particularly ivas given to id that such Bt explicitly Itorial article ement of the rts to this as as now rea rmination to st profound ning speech; e Provincial s^— That it which he, ae one branch,) dly, that in untry.*" be Assembly most auBpi- Iritish Empire n and sound jussion* have 140 |t<* III 1- ■; S i m I ''III' ill:' m f M II''; I [ |« ■ it m hatting changed their viewt on this queetion^ it is time they should be diaa bused* The party by whom those assertions have been made do not believe them. And it is only necessary for us to say that in the Addres- ses of the Cohferance, at its last Session, to His Majesty and to the Lieut. Governor— in which the subjects ot a Church fistablishment in this Province, and of the importance of a speedy and satisfactory settle. ment of the Glergy Reserve Question are adverted to^the honest opinions of that body are expressed in the words of truth and eobemeae." During the first session of the present Parliament, while the pro* mises of members were fresh in their recollecMon, and while the interests and opinions of their constituents were newly impressed upon their minds, the reinvestment scheme was rejected. Since then several of the members have been appointed to office ; others it is said have had encouraging^ intimations of appointments by the Executive, and have been somewhat affected in several respects by the.atmoso phere of the court. In view of these and the foregoinjv facts, if a combination were formed between the Lieut. Governor and a majority of the members of the Assembly to wrest from the inhabitants of Upper Canada one seventh of the proceeds of their labour, would it not exhibit one of the most disgraceful violations of good faith with a loyal and confiding province that ever darkened the page of British colonial history ? But 2ndiy. Will not the alter.iativo recommended by His Ex* cellency, if adopted, be an unconstitutional abuse and peruer- aion of the very end for which a Representative Assembly was established? The Rev. Thomas Gisbornb,— an eloquent cleri. oal conservative English standard author — m his first chapter ** On the Duties of Members of the House of Commons," thus sets forth the great and essential object of a Representative Assembly : "The grand object to be pursued in forming a Representative Assembly is, to provide that it shall have an identity of interest with its constituents, and shaU express their general and deliberate sense of public measures. Oo the observance in a due degree of these essential and vital principleSf the utility of the House of Commons, as a body of Representatives of the People of England, entirely depends. To secure or to revive the purity and vigour of these principles is the destined object of the periodical leoarrence of eleotions ; of the royal prerogative of dissolving Parlia- ment at any time, of Bills for the exclusion of placemen, pensioners, and cppt^actors from seats in the House of Commons, and of certain classes of men, as Officers of Excise, from the rights of JSIeetors ; and has been JhQ professed design of all the plans which have been proposed for parlia. m|^bi);y refbrm. And the great purposes of the Representative institu. tlSimmt been alike abandoned, when the House of Commons has been itiiiteed ianuly to smrender the rights which it was deputed to maintain ; and wHon it has assumed powers to itself eommitted to the other branches df tiM'Legiilatttre.** Now in three successive Parliaments the measure of re-investment luldbe diba ide do not the Addres- the Lieut, lent in this story settle, the honeet 1 8oberne$i." e the pro* while the impressed Since then rs it is said Executive, the^atmos" r facts, if a a majority labitants of ur, would it 1 faith with e of British ky His Ex' nd peruer- ^embly was |uent cleri- lapter •♦ On I sets forth ive Assembly constituents, iic measures, al principles, tatives of the 70 the purity he periodical Iving Parlia- nsioners, and rtain classes and has been ed for parlia. ative institu. ont has been to mamtaiH ; ther branches sinvestment 147 has been rejected by the Representatives of the People of this Pro- vince. In 1631, (in the Assembly of which the present Judge MacLean was Speaker) ir, was proposed and advocated by Mr. Hagerman, but was rejected by a majority of 30 to 7. In the last Parliament he proposed it again, and it was arjain rejected by a majority of 43 to 4 ; and It was again rejected during the first Session of the present Par. liament. For Sir George Arthur to throw the immense weight of his official influence into the scale against that of the inhabitants on a mailer respecting which they had thus constitutionally recorded tlieir sentiments, is unprecedented in the history of Upper Canadian legislation, and, if successful, it will bo a flagrant violation of every thing sacred and valuable in the elective franchise of the Pro- vince. But, Sir, there are other circumstances to be taken into the account besides the facts and principles tu which I have adverted. His Ex* cellency has officially announced — what was indeed known before— that the credit of the Province is virtually gone, and that large extra- ordinary expenses are to be provided for. The interest on our provin- cial debt, amounts to upwards of j£45,000, or nearly $200,000 per annum. And the present resources of the province are known to be inadequate to meet even the ordinary expenditures, much less the demands about to be laid before the House. Yet whatever may be the demands of justice, and the pressure of necessity, the Reserve fund must be wrested from provincial control, and the general necessities as well as constitutional rights of the country must yield to the theory of His Excellency and the cupidity of certain Clergy. Again, the attention of the House has been called to the subject of General Education ; yet it is known that twelve townships which were set apart for the purposes of common schools, in compli- ance with an address of the House of Assembly in 1797, have been alienated, through the exertions of the Archdeacon of York, from their original objects, to an endowment of King's College University —that not one sixpence has ever been realized from school lands in this Province for common schools, while the Clergy Reserves have been rendered productive to the amount of 4 or five hundred thousand dollars — and that the annual grants in aid of common schools have been annual additions to the provincial debt. And again, all classes of faithful subjects have been recently "exposed to the greatest pri- vations and hardships'' in defending the country against brigand invasions, — their loyalty has been acknowledged and applauded as the result of established principle and sound intelligence ; and now their deliberately formed and avowed opinions and wishes of ffteen yearst are to be treated as mere " local influences and excitements !'' And yet again, we are told that our only hope for the future, is " our own ability to repel and punish hostile aggression," and that the Militia laws are to be revised in order to raise the largest potsible ;M: I'^r ii 'tM! 148 force at the least possible expense ; yet with the prospect of again needing the country's services, and perhaps some of its best blood tu defend the gfov^.i'nment, the head of the government tells the country's Representatives that they are to pay no regard to the country'^ "pre?ailing opinions and feelings !" The intelligence and loyalty of the country are eulogised ;vht>n the government and its officers appre- hend daflger»jind are alarmed for their places ; proclotriations of large premises are officially issued and distributed throughout the province ; but, as in the days of Charles I., the moment the danger is past and fears are allayed, the mountain promises brmg forth a single paragrapli of a speech which proposes to filch from the country the disposal of one seventh of the fruits of its industry and loyally ! The moment this recommended act of spoliation and robbery against the province is committed, — committed under vice-regal dictation on the one hand, and legislative subserviency on the other — that moment the inhabitants will know their future doom — that the six-sevenths majority are to be subservient to the one seventh minority — that executive intimidation, clerical patronage, and political bribery are to be the order of the day —that the resources of the country are to be absorbed in the payment of debts and the enrichment and elevation of certain families and parties— that the country is to stagger on unde** the weight of accu- mulated debt and internal weakness, with no other hope or prospect than increased expense to England, progressive diminution in credit, in trade, in the value of property, and in the enjoyment of public safety and social happiness — ** as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.'* Should the rash, the suicidal recommendation of His Excellency be adop'ied by the Legislature, how can any mem- her of the Assembly ever look his constituents in the face ? With what face can the government ever call upon the inhabitants to turn out in its defence ? With what kind of a response will such a call be likely to meet, if we may judge from what occurred last November in comparison of the occurrences of the pi-eceding December 1 Will not nine-tenths of the country feel themselves justified and authorized (by the lauded facts of British History, and by the best British theo- logical and political standard writers) in refusing co lift a hand in support of the local executive until the Imperial Government shall have restored their pillaged property, and redressed their unprece- dented wrongs, and secured their heretofore acknowledged rights? T will prosecute this painful subject no farther, though a field of unemployed arguments remains unbroken. For the members of the Assembly individually I have reason to entertain no other feelings than thoee of grateful respect ; and the applications of the Methodist Con- ference have been entertained by a majority of them with becoming justice and liberality. Were I influenced simply by private feeling. C should be silent ; but I feel myself impelled by a sense of imperative public duty to lifl up the voice of warning against plunging the Pro- ■; ! 9ct of again •est blood tu le country's le country's d loyalty of Beers appre* one of large le province; is past and le paragraph 3 disposiil of ^he moment he province le one hand, } inhabitants ity are to be ntimidation, r of the day the payment 'amilies and ght of accu- or prospect in in credit, public safety as a garden mmendation n any mem* ace ? With ants to turn such a call 3t November ibert Will id authorized tritish theo- ift a hand in nmisnt shall eir unprece> d rights? gh a field of nbers of the feelings than thodist Cofi- th becoming ^ate feeling, f imperative :mg the Pro. 149 vince into new, and increased, and untold difficulties, and calamities— which will, sooner or later, inevitably terminate in the political extinc- tion of the leaders of the present executive dynasty, and the sover- eignty as well as credit and liberty of an independent country. If therefore timely and effectual precaution is not taken against such a result, it will not be my fault. Suffer me then in conclusion to recapitulate thrae facts of the case, and the conclusion to which they lead. 1. One seventh of the lands of the province is set apart by the con- stitutional act for a particular object, in connexion at the same lime with a provision in the act authorising the local legislature to ** vary or repeal" that reservation, should the inhabitants of the country judge that it might be more advantageously applied to any other purpose than that originally named. 2. The great body of the inhabitants are of the opinion that the one seventh reservation may be advantageously repealed and varied in its application. This opinion is not merely the voice of the populace— the hobby of the demagogue — the clamour of the moment— but the settled and strong conviction of the country from the first investigation of the question — fiftet«n years since — and has been concurred in by the votes, at one time or another, of the principal Public men of all parties, and of a majority of those now connected with the government, as may be seen by the votes of the Assembly, the names of the yeas and nays on which are given in preceding letters. It will be seen that Mr. Morris (a most intelligent gentleman) first introduced resolutions and a bill into the House of A^embly in 1826 to apply the Reserves to educational purposes, and continued to advocate it for more than six years, if not to the present time. But if any few members of the Church of Scotland may have changed their individual opinions on this question, the opinions of the country generally and of a large portion of the Scotch Church remain without " variableness or shadow of turning." 3. The constitution of the province as expounded by Royal Des- patches themselves, recognizes the " prevailing opinions and feelings of the Canadians" as the rule of legislation on this question. 4. Therefore, before any final disposition be made of it at variance with that which has been so long and so earnestly demanded by the inhabitants, they ought to be appealed to— the Parliament should be dissolved and the sense of the country taken on this all-important question, as was the case in England when the Parliament could not. affree on the Reform Bill, and as it is now intended to do if a nm^a^tyr , of (be House of Commons will not repeal the corn-lawe, in coinpli^;« &nce with what is believed to be the voice of a large nuyority pit,M^. British constituency. If the inhabitants of Upper Canada of all c(mw? es have to discharge the duties and endure the frequent hardships of o2 T ?! '.oli 160 Brittah subjects, they are entitled to the respect, the privileges, tb« rights of British subjects ; tod a surreptitious spoliation of those rigbti and privileges will ultimately recoil upon the heads of its dupes and authors, as has been invariably the case in the Mother Countryf— our severance from which I have employed every proper means' in my power to prevent. I have the honor to be, Sic. &c. E. R. P.iS.— On the day of the publication of this letter, the British Colonist publisheu a lengthened Editorial commentary on His Ex. cellency's opening Speech — agreeing in every respect with the views advocated in this letter. The Colonist is known to express the opinions of a respectable and intelligent portion of the Scotch inhab. Hants. With the Editor of that iournal we never exchanged a word on the subjects of this letter ; and we regard it as a strong corrobora. ting testimony of the correctness of our views, that they are consen- taneously advocated by the most intelligent representatives of other portions of the community with whom we have not had the slightest consultation on these subjects. We here insert that part of the Editor of the Colonist's able commentary which relates to the Rectory, Clergy Reserve, and Re.investment Questions: — From the British Colonist, March 6, 1839. ** His Excellency makes no allusion whatever to the Rectories. We have already said enough on the subject to «how the necessity of some- thins being done to set this matter at rest ; and we again assert that the inhabitants of the country will not be satisfied otherwise. The Clergy Reserve question is a minor one compared with this, and a settlement of it will bo productive of little benefit, if the other is overlooked. It were well for the province if Sir George Arthur listened to the voice of the country on this subject ; but while he is in the hands of bis present ad. visers, what can be expected ? ** Even the Reserve question, the present parliament is incompetent to decide. They do not represent the views and wishes of the people with respect to it ; and they can come to no satisfactory conclusion on the subject, unless they deviate from their formerly declared opinions. Let them read the address of several clergymen of the Church of England in another column, and seo the position these pious and disinterested teach. ers, who would persaade us that the soil is their patrimony, continue to assume. From this they can plainly see what the Episcopal Clergy claim, and we presume they know what the people in general expect. ** As to a reinvestment in the Crown, it cannot prove satisfactory. The mere perusal of the Despatch on the last page from Lord Ooderich to Sir John Golbome, which we copy from the Christian Ouardiwtt is suffioient to decide against that mode of procedure. Who could have believed that such avowedly deceptive policy— such disgraceful quailing vileges» th« thoM rigbti I dupet and Hintryi — our eani'in my 151 10 temporary expediency, could ever have boen retorted in by a British Peer, and a Miniater of the Crown ? and with that fact aiaring them in the face, how can it be expected that the inhabitanta of the country will now be aatiafied with a re-in vestment 7 Honeity will prove the best policy in the end, and no settlement of this question will give eatisfaotion to the public that ia not based on justice and equity.'* T the British on His Ex. Lh the views express the cotch inhab< iged a word g corrobora. are consen- res of other the slightest part of the ites to the ctories. We lity of some- isert that the The Clergy settlement of Led. It were voice of the 3 present ad. competent to 9 people with ision on the pinions. Let f England in s rested teach. , continue to icopal Clergy ral expect, factory. The d Goderich to €hiardi9nt is 10 could have ;efat quaiting N. B. Another reason why exclusive high-churchmen are so zeal- ous for re.investment, may arise from a circumstance which is not generally known. During the lost session of the Legislature a meoi- ber of that school (Mr. Cartwright) introduced and got passed a bill authorizing the township assessors throu^'hout the province to take a religious census of the inhabitants. But little attention was paid at the time to the provisions of the bill ; and among other peculiarities of it which will doubtless furnish topics of future investigation, is this —it authorises no column for that class of inhabitants who are not bona fide members of some particular church ; so that all who are not actually Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, &c., are set down as members of the Church of England, though they were never within the walls of an Episcopal Church. A number of facts have been stated to us in illustration of the nature of the returns which are like- ly to be made under the provisions of this bill. We will give one ex- ample : A man in a neighbouring township was set down as a mem- ber of the Church of England, because he was not a member of any other church, though he told the assessor that there was no church that he hated so much on account of its ambition, covetousness, and mdolence. The assessor said he had no choice, but to place him in the Church of England column, if he did not return himself as a mem- ber of some other Church ; and he was so returned. We shall net impugn the returns before they are made ; but will hazard the opinion that when they are made, we shall be furnished with materials for an exposure at once amusing and disgraceful. The first census will be sufficient to secure future honesty and fairness— under a fair and honest act of the legislature ; but as the first census is evidently intended by the authors to go to England, for use there rather than here, like Sir George Arthur's opening speech, it is also attempted to send the disposal of the Reserves there at the same time, that the Episcopal Clergy may secure the principal part of them, by exhihiting a false, deceptive and exaggaft^ed Church of England des- titution in Upper Canada. We hint imie things to put members of the Assembly on their guard. Let the elective franchise test the strength of the Church of England in the province; and as to the re* turns under the provisions of the defective and partial act referred to» we will deal with them at the proper time. I AN IMPORTANT UNPUBLISHED DESPATCH ''ROM LORD GODERICH TO SIR JOHN COLBORNE, RELATIVE TO RELIGIOUS GRANTS, RECTO. RIES, dec. 1 li hi iM I From the UhrlMlan Guardian of February 27, 1830. The following copy of a roost important Despatch has been in our posseflsion a number of months. It will be remembered that, in a Despatch from Lord Goderich to Sir John Colborne, dated Novr. 8, 1832, the followifig passages occur :— ** With respect to the charge of showing an undue preference to the teachers of Religion belonging to the established church of this country, it is so utterly at variance with the whole course of policy which it has been the object of my Despatches to yourself to prescribe, that I cannot pause to repel it in any formal manner." — '* His Majesty has studiously abstained from the exercise of his undoubted prerogative of endowing literary or religious corporations, until he should obtain the advice of the Re ^ presentatives of the Canadian people for his guidance in that res- pect," On the 25th of February, 1933, Sir John Colborne transmitted to the House of Assembly a Message from the King, communicated by Lord Goderich, in which the Assembly and People of Upper Canada were informed that His Majesty had been graciously pleased to comply with the petitions from a large portion of His Canadian Subjects pray* ing for the application of the Reserves for Educational and general purposes. It is also known that public communications were made respecting the placing of the Casual and Territorial Revenue under the control of the Provincial Legislature. Yet in immediate connex- ion with these published despatches, read the following private in- Btnictione— read the reasons for Religious Grants — read the applica-^ tion of thousands of the Cas^ and Territorial Revenue, without any regard to the interests of Idtt^ prayed for education in this Proviheie, and when applications for that object have been rejected or tong^^ de- layed under the pretence that the question of the Casnal andTOTrito- rial Revenue was under the considetation of the U. C. LegieIatiiif-»7 !|- m ''ROM iLBORNE, RECTO. ! been in our id that, in a ;ed Novr. 8, the charge on belonging y at variance object of my to repel it in stained from g literary or of the Rb' in that ret' i transmitted >mmunicated pper Canada ed to comply ubjects pray- and general 3 were made venue under late connex- ' private in- the applica^ without «uy lis Provihe^t or lonff dc- andT^ritO- 153 read here arguments against the re-inveatniont of the Clergy Reserres in the Crown— read theeydtem of quietinij I'resbyteriQns, Method sfs, &c., until the livings of the Church of England Clergy could be fully and finally secured—read a syRtera of double-dealing between the Co. lonial OfRce and the Pro/incial Executive relative to individuals, par. lies, and the province at large, the existence of which we would not have believed twelve months ago if it had bton attested to us on oath, and against the future operations of which it now becomes the duty of the Representatives of the people effectually to provide. [Copy.] Sir: Downing Street, dth April, 1933. In my Despatch, No. 57, of the 2l8t of November, 1831, I authorized you to apply in the year 1832, towards the maintenance of the Bishop and other Ministers of the Church of England in Upper Canada, £5000, out of the Casual and Territorial Revenue of that Province ; and I estimated that the resources available to the same object from Provincial Funds by law applicable to it, would amount to about JSIOOO, making in the whole a sum of j£6000. I directed you at the same time to divide this sum into three parts, whereof one, amount, ing to £1500, was to be paid to (he Bishop ; another, amount- ing to nearly jSlOOO, to the two Archdeacons of York and Kingston ; and the third, of £3500, in aid of those payments which the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel In Foreign Parts is in the habit of making to the Ministers of the Church of England, who are denominated Missionaries. You have since been informed by me, in my Despatch, No. 62, of the 30lh of March last, that His Majesty's Government have de. termined to call upon Parliament to vote, during the life of the Bishop, the whole of his income. The charge therefore for the maintenance of the Clergy for the year 1832 will be re. jduced from £6000 to £4500. I have since learned from your rivate letter of the 16th of February, that the resources de- ivable from the Funds set apart for this object will consider > bly exceed the amoimt at which, judging from the information n my possession, I had ventured to rate them. It now appears hat the interest upon instalments to be paid in 1832 upon Re- serves antecedeotiy purchased will amount to £1200, and that " ■' ■1 J t ■'r ( ve 1 lace gra Willi o e )urs( f wli taini ndu ovei ext thii 154 the net produce of the Rents of Clergy Lands leased will no» he less ihaii £2300. To these two sums will be to be addedf- the interest upon tho purchase money of these Reserves vested .? . in our Funds, which will amount to r>out £300. The total of fl these items will be £3800, instead of £1000 at which I had estimated them; and if to this total there be added from the Casual and Territorial Revenue £1000, making in the whole £4800, there will be abundant means of meeting all the de. mands for salaries, including the two Archdeacons, for which I had intended to provide. A question therefore naturally ^^^^ arises as to the most advantageous mode of disposing of the £4000 to be taken out of the Casual and Territorial Revenue, which had been destined to this particular service, and which will no longer be required for that purpose. I have considered with great attention the observations contained in your private letter of February I6th, and the propositions which result from them ; and I am happy to find that your practical views, found, ed upon personal knowledge and experience, are so coinciden with those which upon a more speculative view I had been le( l?^^ to entertain. I quite concur with you in thinking that the '®^ greatest benefit to the Church of England could be derivei j^ , ? from applying a portion at least of the Funds under the contro . : of the Executive Government in the building of Rectories am "*^' Churches, and, I could add^ in preparing, as far as may be fol j' profitable occupation, that moderate portion of land which yoi ^^ proposed to assign in each Township or Parish for increasing ■ ® the future comfort, if not the complete maintenance, of tN J ^ Rectors. With this view, it appears to me that it would b( ^'^^ most desirable to make a beffinninj; in this salutary work, bi P* assigning to it a portion at least of the £4000 to which I have ^ • before alluded, as being no longer required, (during the presen ' ? year at all events) for the payment of Clerical salaries. 1 sa; ^^ a portion of this sum, because I am led to think that it wouli * be EXPEDIENT, with a view to prevent jealousy ani ATTEMPTS AT INTERFERENCE WITH THIS TERRITORIAL FuNp] iO permit some part of it to be disposed of for religious object generally, without reference to the particular mode of beliel which certain classes of the community may entertain. Som of it rnight, for instance, be applied to Churches for the Pre$|40o byterians, some for Roman Catholic Chapels, and some for thjLp | Methudisls— -particularly that portion of them who may be i«er nt < m P. 155 not! sed will to be adde erves vested The total o vhich I had ed from the in the whole all the de. s, for which re naturallv osing of the ial Revenue 5, and which e considered your private [i result from /iews, found 30 coincident had been le( ing that th i be derive nonunion with the Wesleyan Methodists of (his country. It obviously impossible to think of aiding every subdivision of jigionists, whose varieties are too indefinite in enumerate ; id I feel that even with respect to those classes to which I ve alluded, 1 cannot well undertake to prescribe to you from soce the exact proportion of assistance which it might be fit grant to each. JC4000 in the whole will be disposable ; and willingly leave it to your discretion to decide as to the pro- irlionate distrbution of that sum. I a*^. well aware that in e execution of this duty you will have to steer a difHcult urse, and that it will require no small TACT to determine ' what practical means these important objects can be best tained. The diffusion of religious feeling and motives of induct is the great point to be aimed at, and His Majesty's overnment must naturally feel anxious that these should be extensively as possible in union with the Established Church this country. But it cannot be forgotten that the condition society in such a country as Upper Canada presents difii. hies in the pursuit of this object which are very serious, nnd t a state of religious peace is above all things essential in a uo "^'"''^'llablishing the minds of the people the efficacy of religious [ liQciples. Whilst therefore I admit, without reserve, my own ®^ ^ * , r. Mtreme anxiety for the widest extension of the Church of ^h'" h h n«"S^^"^ ^^ Upper Canada, I feel it to be scarcely less impor- I- :nor*»aQ;n!l'*' earnestly to urge the inexpediency of seeking to promote lat great object by aining at the exclusion or repression of er Churches. I communicate to you these sentiments on e part of the King's Government with an entire reliance on ur judgment and coincidence of view ; and the present tem- r ot the majority of the House of Assembly, together with e increasing prosperity and general tranquillity of the Prov. ttiico. i °"ilce, encourage me to entertain a sanguine hope that the pre- !*f/%TTcv ° iwS^' opportunity, if wisely and judiciously used, may lead to ,«T/%TTev ^^^^ important and beneficial results. I have, &c. GODERICH. )r mcreasin ance, of th it would h Qiry work, b which I hav g the preseni aries. I sa ANll FUNPI A LOUSY ORTAL igious object! bode of beliel (Signed) rtain. Somip. g. — Upon a point so important as the distribution of the for the Presjieoo referred to in this Despatch, I should wish no actual some for thipp to be taken until I shall have had an opportunity of con- 10 may be iWering any suggestions which you may have to ofFer upon w J ■ f: I I : 1 :fi!. ir 156 the subject, which I trust I may receive at as early a period ai may be convenient for you to favour mo with them. (Signed) I have, dec, GoDERicn. E R R A T A. On page 33, Sir John Colborne's Message should have been dated 1833, instead of 1832. — On page 108, omit the sentence relating to '* Alan Fairford," as he says he is not a candidate for holy orders in the Church of England. — On page 119, 5tfi line from the top, in part of the impression, for " one-fifth," re'xdfourjlfths. ft ly a period at n. c, GoDERICir. Id have been the sentence t a candidate »age 119, 5th " one.fifth,f ^ 1 1