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ROBERT BURNS/^'i ^^^^^^ Originally puMished in the Acadian HeeardeTf Halifax^ Nova ScotiOi ■'!•■■■■ ', la'iio!'.-' > v/ti;)/*!!) vut -j*! ' BY , THOMAS M'CULLOCH, D.T), V HONORARY MEMBER OF THE WERNERIAN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY. OF EDINBURGH, AND OF THE LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL iC^ND THE ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETIES OF NEWCASTLE. .-„-...^.i^;->V>^ " He that is first in his own cause, seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh, and seurcheth him out." P»ovttnu. GLASGOW: PRINTED BY ANDREW YOUNG, 96, TROMGATE. And Sold by all the Booksellers, « , 1828. -■*-J'4l Tkb following Letters were occasioned by a Supplement to the First Report of the Glasgow Colonial Society, which was published soon after Dr. M'CuUoch's departure from this country in the beginning of Oct. 1826. The industrious circulation of diis document in Nova Scotia, together with the operations of the Society on that scene, excited sufficient attention to call for immediate explanation and reply on the part of Dr. M'Culloch. Accordiijgly, these Letters were inserted in the Acadian Recorder, a Halifax Newspaper; and having been widely circulated in the Colonies, without re- ceiving the slightest answer, where the facts are known, and where those reside whose character was interested in confuting ov explaining them, had it bran possible, they are now submitted to the British Public as con- taini ng an exposure of the misstatements and misrepresentations propagated by txe Glasgow Colonial Society. November, 1827. •I'll .1 A REVIEW, CfC» To the Editor of the Acadian Recorder. Sir, PicTOU, Febrmry 27th, 1827. You are aware, that, in Glasgow, there was some time ago a Society formed, for the purpose of promoting the religious improvement of the Scottish settlers in the northern colonies of British America. The design is benevolent ; and did the Di- rectors of the Society found their proceedings upon correct views of the state of these provinces, the application of their fimds, however small, would, doubtless, contribute to the propagation of the gospel. But, by giving their confidence to correspondents, inaccurate from want of capacity or candour, they have allowed themselves to be egregiously deceived; and, till they exemplify greater circumspection, their usefulness, I doubt, will not corres- pond with the benevolence of their intentions. Their first An- nual Report contained such extravagant details of the want of religious instruction in these parts, that, when lately in Britain, I judged it due to the exertions of our Colonial clergy, to meet the Society's statements with explicit denial. This the Rev. Robert Burns, the framer of the Report, has laid very sorely to heart; and, with the concurrence of his friends in the direction of the Society, published a Supplement ; not for the purpose of informing the public that they had paused till the truth could be ascertained ; but, of expressing their confidence in the veracity of their correspondents, and adding to the amount of their own misstatements. That these gentlemen have rejected my evidence, is merely a personal point, and of trivial consequence : but it is of general importance, that the benevolent exertions of the British public should not be expended in fostering dissension among Scotchmen A I 6 abroad, and in destroying that Gospel which the colonies, with much toil and privation to its ministers, have already acquired. I shall, therefore, review their proceedings ; and connect my as- sertions with such proof as will excite some doubt, even in their own minds, whether their Supplement has increased their claim to the confidence of the public. This, before publication in Bri- tain, I shall do through the medium of your paper ; and I invite such of the Glasgow Society's correspondents as may be charged with misrepresentation, to meet me with contradiction and proof; not by private letters to the Rev. Robert Burns and liis coadju- tors in Scotland, but in the presence of the inhabitants of these provinces, where facts are known. Yourfl, &0. THOMAS M'CULLOCH. To the Rev. Robert Bubns, Secretary of the Societif for promot- ir^ the Rdigious Interests of Ute Scottiak Settlers in British North America. REysREND Sib, My remarks upon your Society's First An- nual Report, have drawn from you a Supplement, in which you attempt to vindicate your own inaccuracies, and the misrepresen- tations of your various correspondents. It, however, contains no evidence which should satisfy the public, that the proceedings of your Society's Committee have been at all calculated to promote the interests of religion. The Supplement, it is true, has ob- tained the sanction of a few members of the Committee : but, as I intend to prove, that, in giving it, they have acted without due consideration, their authority, in the mean time, must not be viewed as the test of accuracy. Where the eternal weliare of human beings is concerned, not names but truth should be the guide of public opinion ; and it does appear to me very strange, iiuLt any member of your Committee should have lent his sanc- tion to a Supplement in which the plainest principles of reason- ing are disregarded, and the mere assertion of their Secretary, exhibited to the publio as the itandard of trtitb. The foUuwiM^ illastntioii of their proceedings^ I believe, they will not dispute. In my remarks, I had chained the Rev. Mr. Mmmitte0, in*' stead of bringing him forward with a refutation of. the ishat^e^ let him quietly away ; and now tell the public, that l^eir tonA* dence in him and similar correspcifiddnts, i^mtiins unshaken.- '' Had the Supplemetnt been published' befoi^e my depai'ture fifttn Britain, it would hare reoeivod a woi^ early review* The dfeUy, however, has its uses. By your industfions circulation of the Supplement bere, the community will more dxtetrsivelyknowtbflt your Committee have been guided by ttist^pf ««entatidn ; an^^ in showing that you yourself ba^et persisteid in pressing deoepitiOM upon the religiocM p«blio in OfitaiUr I shall bo better qualrfi^ to connect assertion with proof. In the mean time, as neither fiMet Report nor Stipplemett't sM(i*6» a just vi«w of the ttiA stated of the Cdionies, -nor of the grourid of dispute, I ^latl, by » §&w prm liminary obs«l*vation^, supply tiiis defects : j ii.iJ Of the eaiiy settlers V Nova l^eooiat, aind the ai^Aomt ^iwWtti iees, by far th& majority pf«IStss«d eitheh- Pi^esbyterian of Iwdei pendent principles^ But, though, in the revolted coloniesi, mamy of them had fought tho battles of theiv cottirtry | and tlien, from attachment to their' sovereignr, fovsaketi tfae^r howvesy they wAre, by his Mt^esty's mifriiMers of those days, excluded from » p«ptf* cipatifon of that booiify wMch Gmat Britain annually e^eudi upon the religions improvennent of hot Colonial possessiovM. The same system of favoritism in refi^AV whidi hady With Mktt causes, contributed to undermine the loydty of the United 8t$teci^ was transferred to Nova Steotfai. For a f^W Episcopalians,- f b«#«- fore, a bishop and his dei^y Werift provided, aiifd anA^pty" ei^dowed; but Presbyterians and Independents were left WithVm^ pnUic in^ strnction, till foi*eign sympanhy aHforded fhem* relief. In this good work, both Baptists and Methodists have abunda'it]'^ labour- ed; and that part of the Community itho continued tO' pro^s 8 Presbyterian principlea, were gradually supplied with clergymen from Scotland. But, as these had proceeded from di£Ferent sec- tions of Scottish Presbyterians, they remained long without com- mon connexion and co«operation. At last, however, persuaded that union would enlarge their usefulness, they formed them- selves into one church, in which, as the rule of faith and prac- tice, the standards of the Church of Scotland were adopted ; and this religious communion, with a single exception, included the whole presbyterian clergy of Nova Scotia and the adjacent pro- vinces. As uoon, also, as the preceding union was effected, the office-bearers of the church, by various useftil regulations, en- deavoured to promote the religion of its members ; by mission- ary labours, to enlarge its bounds ; and by founding the Pictou Academy, to advance the interests of learning and evangelical truth : and just when their persevering exertions had qualified the students of that seminary to become acceptable preachers and ministers, your Society stepped in to assist the colonists, upon condition of their receiving clergymen from the church of Scot- land. Now, Sir, your Report contains a lengthened detail of the propagation of the Gospel among the Presbyterians of this con- tinent ; but of the preceding particulars it contains none. If you knew them, why were they omitted ? If you did not know them, how did yon presume to report upon the state of religion in countries of which you were ignorant ? Pliun common sense says that there must be something wrong. In vindication of your Report, yon have referred me to those complaints of the want of the Gospel which you received from the provinces ; " The establishment of the Society," you say, « was no sooner known in the provinces, than a host of applica- tions, of the most urgent and affecting nature, were forwarded to your Committee, for ministers of the Gospel to be sent out. The inviting voice of the man of Macedonia, to the great apostle of the Gentiles, has been sounded agaitit and again, and again, m our ears, Come over and help us" All this looks very well upon paper ; and, in public meetings where Reports are read, and where friends convene, not to dis- cuss statements by receiving evidence, but to applaud what is 9 stated, it may appear both urgent and affecting. But, in re- ligion, trnth only should affect the feelings : to this testj there- fore, I shall bring your Report. .. ;, • i! ., ..v ' .'.\ \ «. By your own showing it appears, that, from the vast terri- tories of Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, New Bruns- wick, Prince Edward Island, Gape Breton, Newfoundland, and Labrador, the man of Macedonia had cried to your Society, only fifteen times. The numbering of such a host does not show it to be a very formidable array. It is true, that, to supply its de- ficiencv ou have told the public of hundreds of thousands of Presbyttoiians residing in the colonies ; and, not satisfied with that amount, you afterward increased them to half a million. But you may assure the members of your Society, that, in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Bre- ton, the Presbyterian population do not, perhaps, exceed fifty thousand. For the spiritual improvement of these, at least forty ministers are at present employed ; and to this number, several young men who are passing through a preparatory course of in- struction, will soon be added. Some of your correspondents in this province have drawn largely upon your credulity; but none of them, I conjecture, will, in th(9 face of the public here, either controvert the preceding statenietats, or help you to half a million of presbyteriads. Till they do so, I shall just quote your own admission in the Supplement : " If it be. true, that, throughout the whole of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, there be not more than fifty thousand presbyterians, and these supplied with forty ministers, certainly, a strong case has not been made out." p. 15. J -; ,,- ,., Considering the use which your brethren here have made of your Society, to turn the population from the Gospel which they were willing to support, it is not surprising that the applications to you should amount to a host of fifteen. But, really, I do think that your Society should wonder a good deal, why only a few hundreds of individuals, out of half a million as you say, should apply to you for relief. Were a Society formed in the colonies, to assist parishes in Scotland to maintain their clergy, how many applications would such a Society receive ? Would there be only fifteen ? I shall not anticipate your reply : I shall merely request, that, when you again number the host, you will 10 state the extent uf territory from which they have been cdllectml; and say, that, though you had blown the trumpet of disoord to all that were discontented, and to all that were in debt, only fif- teen had resorted tr the cave. . ,- .li^.t,! i , ,,( ,.« > By these remarks, I do not mean to insinuate that the colonies do not need your assistance. Though your correspondents have been able to procure for yon but few applications for relief, the co-operation of your Society is greatly needed. Many of whom yon have not heard, are living without God in the world, with- out the ordinances of religion, without the Bible, or any homan means to gntde them to the knowledge of the truth. You, Sir, affirm that the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia hav» told your Society, that they had got before them, and were able to do all that was needful; iwid, that your Society mipht sheer off" when they pleated. You hav& also stated, that the {parent tendency of my remarks, is to'im^rew the public with a belief, that there is - rial, declared to yowr Committee: f it, as invested with a right, like epis- Cf^alians and others, to be exclusive in its measures. But the question is not. What do human laws permit ? It is. What doea the law of Christ sanction ? and whoever observes this distinction^ will tell you, that you have no right at all. When your Society was formed, was it the Church of Scotland, Or only the Gospel, that the Colonies needed ? In your publications you detailed the want of the latter, and called upon its friends to supply the de- ficiency. Yet, when informed that both the Gospel and the means of its permanence are here, your Committee persist in patronising the very places for which it was provided. Does your right consist in entering upon other men's labours ? In these colonies there existed no opposition to the Church of Scot- land. Her standards had been adopted by the colonial church ; and her ministers and people received into communi^^n. Into these parts, therefore, you could introduce no religious prinei^e» which colonial arrangements had not previously provided. Is division without difference in the Christiani church founded iui right ? . Those who have planted the Gospel in these provinces^ have endured, and are still enduring, such privation and toil, aa no clergyman in Scotland experiences ; and, in the mean time,, you, by a plan which disorganises their congregations, are im- peding their success, and increasing llieir privations and toiL Yet you desire to know the law which forbids your operations. What is the law of Christ ? . » :,,, Your Committee have, indeed, declared "^ that it is not their l ; ■',: ; t ' video meliora proboque ; deieriora sequor.— — — , Rev. Sir, I have the honour to be, &c. f B 14 It has somehow bitppened, that, in an iig« characterised bf Exertion fof the propagation of the Oosp»l, the eonversiun of oMt) hedtlMA hft^ in Britain, excited more ibterest than the state " p. 22. Now, Sir, let me just ask you, if, in giving that #Mvttr ment to the public, it did not stare you in the face, ^t yqn yourself had repeatedly referred to the Rev. Mr. M m a ministe** of the church of Scotland, and one of your yaluahlf correspondents in that island. Will you say whether you wr Mr. Mr. )in, and hich he h B I shall ly state- srbal in- vidually zzle the was, to at any 186 they d much nd much angelical ugh they )sent8 to re to us, ibyterian y in the as might (1 its own rate upon il friends, e wasted 1 similar a loss to you only spiritual Church exclusive for more } Presby- »ir inspec- tion is now provided, not only with the ordinances of religion^ but with resources for their permanence. Whence proceeded this success for the benefit of those whom you denominate Tte- glected emigrants f You have told the public that as yet your Society '* happened to be the only institution in Scotland which has publicly taken up the cause of the neglected emigrants." Were you ignorant. Sir, that in former times, when these emi- grants applied to the Church of Scotland, not one of its preach- ers would cast in his lot with the destitute ? The emigrants, therefore, were turned over to the Secession ; who vuMiclg sus- tained the character of a Missionary Church, publicly made ex- tensive collections for their benefit, and as publicly missioned for their improvement, those clergymen, who, with a few others, have brought the Colonial Church to its present state of order and permanence. All this the Secession have done, without attempting to introduce among emigrants either party feeling or sectarian plan ; and now, your Society claiming to themselves the merit of being the only Public Institution in behalf of Emigrants, are introducing into the scene of other men's labours, a scheme which recognises the party distinctions of Scotland, and sows the seeds of contention among Scotchmen abroad. As a reason for adopting your exclusive system, you say, « That there are in the Colonies a very considerable number of congregations in connexion with the Church of Scotland, which are uniformly in the habit of sending to Scotland for their min- isters. The Synod of Nova Scotia, although it wished most eaiTiestly to comprehend all the Presbyterian ministers in Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, within its range, has by no means accomplished this in -^oint of fact. The Church of St. Matthews at Halifax ; and the Churches at Comwallis, at St. Johns, and St. Andrews, never were connected with the Synod; and the second congregation at Halifax, presently under the ministry of Mr. Martin, was formerly in connexion with the Synod, but has lately broken off its connexion, and chosen a minister of the Established Church ; and this, too, before our Society was ever heard of in Nova Scotia, or even contemplated at home. To this enumeration we might add two congregations at least in Pictou ; and if we are not misinformed, one at Antigonish, lately under the care of Mr. Munro." Sup. p. 12. 18 •i Wliun the Synod of Nova Scotia was formed, tiiuru whs, in all the Provinces to which the Memorial refers, only one Pres- byterian minister, who did not place himi^elf under its inspection. Since that time, indeed, the number has increased ; and I must do you the justice to say, that lest the amount should, in your Supplement, appear to little advantage, you have exercised the gift of discovering congregations, and ministers in connexion with the Church of Scotland, where they do not exist. Were I to tell you that the Rev. Mr. Foni^'th, whom you repeatedly term the minister of the Scotch Church at Cornwallis, is not one of your breUiren, you would not believe. In your Supplement, however, you say, " We give credit to Mr. Forsyth, and will continue to do so ; ' and, therefore, trusting that you will keep your promise, I shall quote to you his own words, which, I do think, are wortUy of credit." — '* I received my ordination from the Presbytery of Grafton, Vennont, of which the President of Dartmouth College was one of the number, who had got his education at Edinbui^h, and had got the greater part of the doU^e Library from thence, by way of donation. There were fourteen ministers at my ordination : they were pleased to grant me the ordination of an Evangelist, with ample power to exe- cute all the offices of the ministry wherever I went, to establish Churches, &c This was without any request of mine. But I now see that they were directed by a Divine wisdom in it ; for, owing to the lot assigned me, I could not have been tied to the rules of any Presbytery." Though Mr. Forsyth cannot be tied to the rules of any Pres- bytery, he is, I believe, a good man, and a zealous minister. I suspect, however, that the fourteen ministers who made him an Evangelist, could not make him a Clergyman of the Church of Scotland : nor does it help the business a bit, that the President of Dartmouth College was one of the number, and had got his education at Edinburgh, and had got the greater part of the Col- lege-Library from thence, by way of donation. Of the Rev. Mr. Munro, and the congregation of Antigonish, I shall merely remark, that he himself, though a minister of the Church of Scotland, was tlie father of the Provincial Synod ; and the people among whuiii he laboured, are now under tlie inspection of one of its mtjuibers. 19 rus, m Pres- ection. roust 1 your ed the nexion iVere I eatedly lot one lement, id will n keep fa, I do m from resident got his of the re were to grant to exe- establish But I L it ; for, i to the ny Pres- lister. I e him an hurch of President i got his ' the Col- ' , '■' titigonish, tev of the I Synod; under tlie ** The second congregation at Hdtfiix," you «ay, « presently under the ministry of Mr. Martin, wae formerly in connexion with the Synod, but has lately broker off its connexion^ and chosen a minister of the Established Church." ; ' -r • i' '• ('» f' ' That Mr. Martin has told you so, I can easily believe ; for, having all at once leaped from the Reformed Presbytery to the Church of Scotland, he is very zealous for his new connexion ; and like all new converts, not less zealous against those who have not broken off from the guides of their youth. But, to yom* Society, exemplifications of zeal are of less value than correct information. I would, therefore, request Mr. Martin to inform you, in his next communication, that the few individuals who built the Church in which he presides, had separated from another congregation, before the Synod of Nova Scotia was formed. They did not, however, like him, get from the on^ extreme of Presbytery to the other at once^ Having still some qualms about breaking off, they took the Sjrnod ot Helief in their way, from vrhich they obtained two clergymen in succession ; and when they did declare for the Church of Scotland, and re- ceived Mr. Martin, it was upon no other ground that I know, than the expectatioii of making inroads upon the congregation of St. Matthews, and extricating thehieelves from a debt, which has placed their Church in the hands (rf the Sheriff. TWsj then, is not one of the ven/ considerable number of congregations in connexion with the Church of Scotland, which, you say, «Kre uni^ formly in the habit of sending to Scotland for their ministers; and it may be added, that in all the Colonies to which the Memorial refers, St. Matthews alone has received mere than one minist'OT from that quarter ; so that your very comidercMe nunAer amounts exactly to one. ■ '■ ^■<'- <' To this, account of the commencement and progress of Ml*. Martin's church, I shall add a few notes upon the origin of the other congregations with which you claim kindred. My remai^ks may not illustrate the reputability of business in which you have embarked the Society; but they will show its nature and fruits. In »peaking of the Reverend Dr. M'Gregor, you term him, et maaijusUy vetterated for his piety and truly apostolic laboters among the Colonists. To this character he is richly entitled. No presby- terian acquainted with the former state of these provinces, is ig-^ 20 norant of his privations and almost superhiuun toils in behalf of the gospel. With active enterprise and patient continuance in M'ell-doing, he has persevered in his work, till, by his means, more than twony ministers of the gospel are now fixed within the sphere of his labours. You will concur with me in saying, that whoever would destroy his success, and rob him of his best comfort, must be ill advised, and cannot have the approbation of Christ. Not one oC your Society, I am sure, would intentionally act in such a man- ner. Yet these are their very measures; and those who are thwart- ing his arrangements, are the very individuals upon whom you have lavished your confidence and praise. At the time that Dr. M'Gregor was eagerly pressing onward in his career of benevolence, his own congregation and several others around him, were visited with an inundation of Higldanders, under the spiritual guidance of some of those pests of the Highlands, who contrive to earn a subsistance, not by honest industry, but by travailing from house to house and retailing their trash, as the devout saws of this g-ood minister and that pious old woman. Finding their ghostly instructions neither prized nor productive in Pictou, they contrived to infuse into their followers a spirit of dissatisfaction with Dr. M 'Grcgor and other clergymen around him. These complained that the ministers of Pictou neither preached the gospel nor would prosecute the witches, by whom some of them were grievously tormented ; and, what was a great- er stumbling-block still, they found that, in Pictou, those who wish the gospel, must support its ministers. As the safest and cheapest course, therefore, they withdrew from the public ordi- nances of religion ; at one time, edifying each other in their folly, and at another, receiving the ministrations of any strolling vaga- bond who chanced to visit them ; till, from a belief that a minis- ter from the Church of Scotland would be paid by the king, they obtained from the isle of Mull your correspondent, the Reverend Donald Fraser, to preach to them true gospel, and give the wit- ches their due. n li . ; ' r Such is the origin of that party in Pictou with whom you claim kindred; and it is due to the clergy whom they have been the means of importing into the province, to state that, with the ex- ception of the Reverend Hugh M'Leod, they have most eagerly accorded with the wish of their employers, to blast the labours of m a man Justfy venerated for his piety and truly apostolic labours among t/te Colonists. In illnstration of this point, and as a specimen of what I am prepared to authenticate, I shall agiun refer you to the missionary exertions of your correspondent, the Reverend Mr. M'LennaiL Afte* effecting the object of his tr>ur to Cape Bre« ton, by preventing the inhabitants of that unfortunate Island from securing to themselves the labours of two Gaelic ministers, he hastened to Pictou; and, in the midst of a people whom Dr. McGregor had instructed from their youth, and who, with his cor- dial concurrence, had just received a clergyman of the Colonial church ; though he knew neither this clergyman's cliaracter nor his ministerial endowments, he assured them that they had received an instructor, who, in Britain, would not be allowed to enter a Secession pulpit. Yet you quote him, and laud him. Was your Society founded for the patronage of such proceedings? When Mr. M*L«;nnan returns to yoa complaining of the want of {ihe Gospel, and telling you about unfortunate Islands, you will, I trust, say to hiro, that, before he receive your patronage, he must vin-r dicate himself in the community in which he has been charged with such unchristian conduct. And now, Sir, let me say a few words to yourself, as the Secretary of the Glasgow Society aj^d the composer of their Report. .rA...'ti uk.<.h,s f„-^^„ ■; ^„\' ',#f/)f ; The members of such a Society as yours, are usually men who give their subscription from a desire to do good, without knowing more of the merits of the case than is contained in the Directors' statements. For the purpose of eclat, too, the Directors are gen- erally selected from that class of society, who are either deeply ini- mersed in secular pursuits, or charaotevised by their patronage of plans of benevolence. Their numerous avocations, therefore, pne^ vent them from devoting to their Directorial office, that time and attention which the due dischai'ge of its duties requires. For these reasons, their Secretary should be a painstaking man ; one who has leisure and talent sufficient to prepare a correct state- ment of the various topics to be brought under their review: and, particularly, in cases where the wisdom of the Society's mea- sures is questioned, he should, in his preparatory arrangements, exemplify the impoilance of a clear head and a candid temper. For these qualifications, the Directors of the Glasgow Society, I presume, must have given you credit, when they thanked you for C S2 the Supplement, and gave it tlieir sanction. Yet it is evident, that, in the course of a few pages, yuu have supplied them with contradictory statements; and, for the sake of maintaining the accuracy of your authorship in the Report, have induced them to defend and prosecute measures, which subvert the grand object of Dr. M'Gregor's whole life and labours. But, as far as concerns his arrangements, you have engaged them in a business in which they cannot succeed. The end is bad ; and the means, unholy. You have made them the patrons of strife, which has not the pro- pagation of the gospel for its aim; and who will bless it? You may impede Dr. M'Gregor's success, and grieve his mind; but the pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand. Reverend Sir, I have the honour to be, &c. ■ r''-.''if . .•>■■'■..•/'' Reverend Sir, ' ' '' ' ■ ■' '• "•' "'•' Interference with the religion of a community where the gospel is preached, particularly M'hen it biings with it a bounty for the encouragement of those who are given to change, should be the result of careful consideration: and if, at any time, those who profess the same faith, do interfere, their operations should tend to the improvement of the church, to heal existing divisions, and to cherish that unity and peace, which are alike the comfort and ornament of the christian life. From the constitution of your Society, however, it is evident that its members, in their plto of evangelizing the Colonies, have overlooked the union of the Pres- byterian population. Still their motives were benevolent and pure ; and I firmly believe, that, from the restriction of their bounty to a particidar class, they anticipated no deleterious results. What- ever evil has occurred, therefore, though originating in their plan, should be principally ascribed to their Directors' haste to do good, without correct views of the religious state of the Colonies, and, consequently, without the ability of taking into account the va- riety of human passions, which the expectation of pecuniary aid might induce to assume the guise of poverty burning with zeal for the Church of Scotland. - ■ ' But the character of the Society under the direction of a few members of its Committee, now presents to the public a different aspect. These, with full information, that neither the Society's 23 constitution, nor the Directors' proceedings, accord with the true interest cf Presbyterians in these parts, have, in the Supplement, stood forward with a defence of both. This defence, therefore, I shall now review. " The Synod of Nova Scotia," you say, " although it wished most earnestly to comprehend all the Presbyterian ministers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick within its range, has by no means accomplished this in point of fact Now it did appear desirable that a Society in connexion with the Es- tablished Church should be formed, with which these congregations might, as they saw cause, correspond from time to time, for the purpose of obtaining clergymen from the mother country." Sup. p. 12. You do not, I hope, account it a discredit to the provincial church, that its ministers wished to harmonize and unite presby- terians within the range of their operations. They did most ear- nestly wish it; and they wished not in vain; for when their union was formed, the congregation of St. Matthews alone remained un- connected with them. But though circumstances might induce its ministers, the Reverend Dr. Gray and the Reverend Robert Knox, to stand by themselves, it never occurred to them to thwart the measures of their brethren, and impede their success. They knew the importance of cordiality among Presbyterians ; and their en- lightened liberality accorded with the high station which they occu- pied. Unlike those whom you patronize, they were never found scouring the provinces, for tlie purpose of sowing discord among l^ethren, and then transmitting to Scotland doleful ditties about the want of the gospel. Both have now ceased from their labours; and it is due to their memory to state, that, with the clergy of the provincial church, they cultivated the habit of friendship; and wherever the general interests of presbyterians were concerned, at no time withheld their cordial co-operation. << It did appear desirable," you say, ** that a Society in con- nexion with the Established Church should be formed, with which titese congregations might, as they saw cause, correspond from time to time, for the purpose of obtaining clergymen from the mo- ther country." But what connexion has your Society with the Established Cliurch? It is neither recognized by its courts, nor supported by its funds ; and sure I am, that, in the Chuich of M i^i Scotland, there are hundreds of ulerg3rnien, who, knowing the real state of the colonies, would say to you, Be no patrons of di- vision there: In Scotland there are Paul, and ApoUos, and Cephas; but, among Scotsmen abroad, let there be only Christ. In your printed documents you told the public, that your Soci- ety was formed for the relief of poor emigrants ; but now you have added to your plan the patronage of congregations abroad. It would seem, however, that your patronage is more frankly of- fered than gratefully received; for the only congregation in these provinces, which has been in the habit of sending to Scotland for its ministers, has, since the formation of your Society, provided itself with a clergyman without your assis- tance. Tiie experience of the Episcopal church in the provinces has sufficiently taught the population, that, where a Society has patronage, its members have hungry hangers-on to be provided for, whose talents could never render them the object of choice. Congregations, therefore, who can maintain their own clergy, if they wish them from Scotland, will take care to entrust their com- mission to confidential friends. . n . . •' . " That in progres of time," you add, " even these congrega- tions may come to be supplied with native clergymen from Picton, or some other colonial establishment, is not unlikely ; but that time is not yet come, and an attempt to compel their congregations to be, in all cases, satisfied with such, would certainly not tend either to promote union, or to advance the best interests of religion among the people," p. 13. By using Italics in the term compel, you m^an to insinuate, I presume, that the Synod of Nova Scotia wish to force upon the presbyterian population clergymen of the colonial church. The insinuation. Sir, does little credit to your character, either as a logician or as a candid antagonist; and I shall add, that, with tlie information in your possession, which you admit to be correct, there is in it something positively base. You knew that there is in our church a Missionary Society, whose fundamental principle it is, to assist presbyterians to obtain the gospel even from tlie CJmrch of Scotland. You knew, also, that the Reverend Dr. M'Gregor had, with the concurrence of his brethren, repeatedly solicited his clerical correspondents in the North of Scotland, to prociu'e for Nova Scotia clergymen of your own church. Yet with 25 theie premises in your possession, yon wish the public to believe that tlie Synod of Nova Scotia would intrude their preachers upon the people by compulsory measures. In support of this point you even attempt to produce evidence. Spealcing of the Highlanders, you say that it is " stated in a letter from the Uev- erend Donald Fraser of St. John's, that the Synod of Nova Scotia have in two instances (Merigomish and St. Mary's, N. S.) ,fixed upon these poor unfortunate people ministers of their own connex- ion, who understand not one word of Gaelic." To your Committee it must be gratifying to find the Reverend Donald Fraser of St. John's so much alive to the injuries and spiritual interests of poor unfortunate Highlanders. But before you give him credit for all this affectionate feeling, it would be proper to ascertain in what channel his compassion flowed, when, for the sake of effecting a lodgement in the congregation of St. John's, he left his own Highland flock in Pictou, to be devoured by the wolves. It may, however, be advisable to deal with him gently ; for being, after his fruitless attempt, no longer the Rev- erend Donald Fraser of St. John's, but again the Reverend Don- ald Fraser of Pictou, his mortifications may, at present, be as great as he is well able to bear; and, doubtless, when necessity has again forced him to take up with the Highlanders, he will feel for them exactly the same affection, which formerly induced him to forsake them, and then to inform you that the Synod of Nova Scotia had ^xed upon them ministors who understand not one word of Gaelic. To yourself, Sir, I would observe, that, were your own Synod to appoint you to fix a minister upon a resisting parish, you would not dare to refuse. As the minister of a church, therefore, where forcing clergymen upon the pooplo is an ordinary occurrence, your exposure of tlie Synod of Nova Scotia must be vastly edify- ing. But, really, after all, it must puzzle the Synod to please both you and your brethren here; for you find fault with the Sy- nod for fixing ministers upon the people, and your correspondent, the Reverend Mr. M show you how the Synod of Nova Scotia Jixed a minhter upon the poor unfortunate people of St. Mary's, let the Rev. Donald Fraser only repeat his assertion here ; and I pledge myself to prove, that, in the settlement of the ministers of that place, the Gaelic part of the inhabitants unaniniously con- curred. With respect to Merigomish, I shall make to you and him remarks of a different kind. The copy of the petition from Merigomish, which you have ap- pended to the Supplement, contains not the least hint that a cler- gyman has been fixed upon your petitioners without their consent; but it contains the following words: " Our limited necessaries of life, and the want of English, induce the most part of us to live destitute of religious worship ; and, though our late emigraiiom reduced us to such poverty that part of us cannot as yet con- tribute any assistance in paying stipend^ ; still, in the space of a few years, when our numbers increase, and also our clearings, we hope to be able to contribute our mite to this institution." Now, Sir, the clergyman of Merigomish has been for twelve years Jijced upon his congregation ; uiid here are your petitioners pleading their laf3 emigrations, as the cause of their poverty and want of a minister. Will the Reverend Donald Eraser explain how the Synod of Nova Scotia contrived to Jix a clergyman upon these poor unfortunate people before they arrived in the province ? When he does this to the satisfaction of the public, I shall meet him with a detail of particulars which will convince him, that, iu- steud of travelling about the country to stir up strife amimg presby- terians, he should have contented himself with the lodgement whicJi he had effected camong a poor unforiunate people, who had cast off the Reverend Dr. M'Gregor for his M'ant of the gospel. In the mean time, we may take another look at the petition from Merigomish. ^ country luntary I them ? I know- oubtless btained, gospel, cannot a Scotia ry's, let and I nintsters isly con- you and have ap- at a cler- ' consent; ssaries of IS to live migrations vet con- space Oi clearings, ition." 'or twelve jetitioners iverty and er explain man upon province ? shall meet 1, that, in- ng preaby- Uidgeinent , wlio hud [he gospyl. tition from ** You to whom Christ is precious, will long that the knowledge of a remedy so effectual, should be carried to us, poor ignorant people, in this dark corner, and put in the reach of the many numbers of poor Highlanders, who live in guilt, and who die in darkness, in this land of ignorance ; The most knowing part of the community, considers the present state to have a tendency to accomplish heathenism in the rising genera- tion." It must, doubtless, excite the sympathy of the readers of your Supplement, that Merigomish in the District of P.'" ou should be a dark comer, a land of ignorance, and tending to heat/tenism. But, in the preceding statement, there is not one word of trutli ; ex- cept that your petitioners ai*e poor, ignorant people, who live in guilt, . \d who, not from inability, but from want of spirit to pro- vide the gospel, are just as likely to die in darkness. In the Dis- trict of Piuiu J, which does not exceed forty miles in extent, there are nine congregations, supplied with Presbyterian clergynten. Of these ministers, five understand the Gaelic; and not one of their congregations would grudge the occasional loan of their pastor ta a poor Highland settlement tending, to heathenism; but the truth is, that, where the people will do nothing for themselves, the sup- ply of their necessities becomes an irksome task. .1 ..i > i By the preceding remarks you will perceive, that your illus- trations of the ill conduct of the Synod of Nova Scotia, afford no vindication of your Society's plan. To establish the point, how- ever, you produce two facts, which, you say, have been conde- scended on in the published papers of Dr. M'Culloch : 'f* The first is, that a Society Las actually been formed, within the limits of the Si/nod of Nova Scotia itself, vehose avowe'l object it is to supply the inhabitants with ministers, either from Pictou, or from any denomination of preshyterians iv Scotland. The second is, that some years ago. Dr. M'Gregor, the oldest minister at Pictou, and a man justly venerateu for his piety and his truly apostolic la- bours among the colcuists, wrote to some ministers of the Church of Scotland in the North, entreating them to setid out prem hers or ministers, particularly to the emigrants from the Highlands and Islands. These facts prove beyond doubt that in the opuiion of the mtmbers of the Synod of Nova Sr. tia itself, there (is necessity for additional aid, and that no such evils were anticipated by them d8 as likely to resnlt from the measure of sending ministers even from the Established Church of Scotland, Thct the colonists do in many instances require help, in order to provide themselves with pastors, is beyond all question ; and that a Society may be usefully formed in this country to afford them ikat help, is surely as fair and reason- able, as that Societies should be formed amongst us to send minis- ters to the Hig*>land8, or to Ireland, or to tlie Continent, or to the Heathen, or to the Jews." Sup. p. 8. ..;.:, In discussing the preceding quotation, we shall keep in view, if you please, that opposition to your Society's plan and proceed- ings is not opposition to assistance in behalf of emigrants. Both my brethren and myself have publicly assured the members of your Society, that their aid is needed ; so that, if you wish to mis- lead them, you must try sonie other point. But, though addition- al assistance be requisite, it does not follow that its dispensers should be a Society whose constitution divides the exiled children of Scotland into favourites and outcasts : and whose operations must, in existing circumstances, tend, not to soothe them with the peace of the gospel, but to excite in their minds every angry pas-, si6n : And, though it be admitted, that, in the colonies, ministers of the Scottish Establishment are desii-ed, and that a Society for sending them should be formed in Scotland, it pro\ 3S nothing in favour of lAve fairness and reasonableness of yours. Does it author- ise the formation of a Society, to perpetuate division in the< church where no difference of religious principle exists? a Society^ too, who first exemplify a. reckless interference with .other men's, labours, and then ^enly avow the violation of their rules. It was, Sir, the very anticipation of evils that you say were not: anticipated, which produced the Colonial missionary Society, and also Dr. M'Gregor's correspondence with Scotland. My breth- ren were awure of the partiality of many emigrants for the Scot- tish Establishment. They knew, also, their poverty, and were disposed to help them. But my brethren were not willing that they should fall into hands, who, for the sake of founding a party, might overlook the union and p ace of religion. On this account, their case was submitted to respectable clergymen in the North of Scotland; and never did correspondence more affectionately breathe the spirit of the gospel. It was naturally conceived, that preachers coming from such men, and coming to those who had !ri sent for th«ni and were prepared to receive them with open arais, would prove the means of soothing dislilces, and uniting presby* terians in Christian fellowship. But, unfortunately, those Norths- em clergy were necessitated to state to their correspondent, that, though they could furnish him with preachers, they .new none whom they could cordially recommend. In the mean time, the Highlanders have been in part supplied with others, who have ful- ly realised anticipated fears; and you are not satisfied with givmg thfcsii your patronage: you must also twist Dr. McGregor's corre- spondence, to prove the propriety of your Socety's plan. But, you see, it is all to no purpose: the longer you wash the Ethiopian, the blacker he appears. r The propagation of the Scottish distinction of sects, Sir, consti- tutes no part of the apostolic commission; nor can it subserve one end for which our Lord enjoined his doctrines to be preached to all nations. It is neither Church of Scotland nor Secession, it is the Gospel that the provinces need, and those who add to it local peculiarities, heap coals of juniper upon the peace of religion. It was not the wish of the members of your Society to do evil, but good to the Colonies ; and why should you, for the sake of vindi- cating what they ought to correct, render them the partisans iA Colonial dissension? There is within their grasp a more dignified character, and a more honourable career. Let them be the father and friend, not of party, hnt of Scotchmen abroad. Let them heal their divisions ; and then through the medium of their union, sympathise with their necessities, and promote their improvement. In present circumstances no other plan can give your Society that exalted name whidi it ought to possess; and any other will only increase the disrepute and ine&eiency, which the qnurels of Pres- byterians here have already occasioned. ' ' ! Reverend Sir, I have the honour to be, &c. Reverend Sir, In your Supplement, the account of my intercourse with the Society's Committee constitutes a prominent feature. Of this, however, I am not sure that you are the best qualified to be the historian; for, at our first interview, you were not present; D 80 r and, at the last> yon attended but a part of the time. In inch circumstances, the mofit of folks, from fear of getting into scrapes, would have hesitated about undertaking the office of recorder ; but you do not seem to have apprehended either difficulty or dan- ger: and I must do you the justice to say that you are a ready scribe ; for, with exactly the same ease, you can set down what did, and what did not occur. To illustrate this point, I shall re- view your statements; premising a few remarks upon a collater- al subject. " When Dr. M'Culloch," you say, " arrived in this country about the beginning of spring last, the Directors naturally expected from him some important information ; It would have been of the greatest importance to the Directors to have been put in possession of that paper fihe Memorial) so soon as it reached this country, and particularly previous to the general Meeting, and the publication of the Report. Dr. M., however, was of a differ- ent opinion. He kept at a distance from all communication with the Committee, and did not lay before them the papers in ques- tion till after the general Meeting, when the interim Regulations of the Society, having assumed the character of standing laws, any material change in the constitution and plan of the Society be- comes far more difficult than it would have previously been." Sup. p. 5. If your Committee natuyally expected from me important in- formation, asking, I should think, was the hatural way of obtain- ing. They are respectable gentlemen, and as such entitled to every reasonable deference; but to complain to tYva public that a stranger did not call upon them, and give them information which they had not even expressed a wish to obtain, is a stretca of dig- nity which the ordinary forms of intercourse do not authorise. You are still, I perceive, very anxious to find me blame-worthy for retaining the Memorial. For doing so, I had reasons which I may by and by produce. In the mean time, as far as you have any cause of complaint, I shall give the point a little additional discussion. " It would," you say, " have been of the greatest importance to the Directors to have been put in possession of that paper so soon as it reached tliis country, and particularly previous to the general Meeting, and the publication of the Report." And be- la such scrapes, ecorder ; r or dan- a ready wn what shall re- cullater- ry about ;ted from uld have ave been t reached it'mg, and f a ditfer- tion with in ques- igulations laws, any ciety be- en." Sup. )rtant in- }f obtain- ntitled to »lic that a ion which cfl of dig- lorise. le-worthy IS which I you have additional nportance paper so us to the And be- 31 cause this was not done, you wish it to be Believed that tite in- terim Regulations of your Society have assumed the character of standing laws. The amount of your complaint, then, appears to be, that, had the Directors received the Memorial sooner, both the standing laws of the Society and your Report of their proceed* ings, might have assumed a difiPerent aspect. Do you not per- ceive, Sir, that, on your part, there is here an admission of something wrong both in the Society's constitution and in the Directors' statements : yet strange to tell, the grand object of the Supplement is the vindication of both. According to your statement, what are now standing laws of the Society, were, before the general meeting, interim regulations. Have you forgotten that your Society originated in this very point, that its founders would have nothing to do with gospel, or min- ister, or people, where the Church of Scotland was not re- cognised? Do you call this an interim regulation? Will the religious public in Glasgow, will your correspondents in the Colonies, will the Earl of Dalhonsie, your patron, believe you ? Can you yourself believe your assertion ? The Memorial itself, Sir, was caused by your extensive circulation in the American provinces, of that very constitution which you would now repre- sent as interim regulations. But, let us suppose the Memorial delivered before the general Meeting, what would have been the result ? I shall not allow you to reply. I shall quote for you the language of your Committee, copied by yourself in the very page of the Supplement in which you have given the history of interim regulations, and jtom^in^^!/;^.' ''The Committee . . . . having fully deliberated on the Memorial presented to them by Dr. M'Culloch, came unanimously to the resolution, that they see no reason why the original constitution of the Society should in any respect be altered." Here, Sir, is an open avowal of the very point which you would dodge by a discreditable shift. Do you wisii any thing farther about the detention of the Memorial? " The Directors," you say, " have given the Memorial a very patient attention, and treated it with every mark of respect that it could claim." Sup. p. 6. Under this observation there is something which requires to be explained. When the Memorial was submitted to your Committee, it was received with as much rcsp oct as those who sent it could desire. The christian deport* 89 ment exemplified by thoie who were present, could not fail to produce a conviction, that to promote the interests of evaii- gelioal doctrine in the Colonies, was their earnest desire. But farther than a few desultory remarks, the Memorial was not made the subject of discussion. My presence was requested at a sub- sequent meeting, expressly for the purpose that you might not be absent when it was brought under consideration ; and I must admit that then it received attention; for you yourself, with some des- perate attempts at dignity, mixed up with a good deal of fidget- ting, asked me, " Where was the Memorial y!i6nca^ f Was it in this country? Was it in America ? Or where was it ?" Though you had never seen the Memorial, and knew nothing of its con- tents, you expressed not the least wish to receive information. You were so completely engrossed by a hint which I had given of the inaccuracy of your Report, that, like other parents of ill-made children, you could perceive neither beauty nor utility in any thing else; and, therefore, you concluded that he who meddled with your Report, when he presented a Memorial, must be an imposter. While I was present, this was the whole discussion which the Memorial received. From the time that it was laid up- on the Society's table till I carried it away, it was neither lifted nor looked at. Of the patient attention and respect which it re- ceived from your Committee, I shall say nothing; but to your- self I would observe, th at, during the short period of our inter- view, your whole conduct was marked, not by a patient attention and respect, but by an indignant feeling, that any one from die Woods of America, should meddle with a production of which you were the author. Even your own brethren, I believe, were scan- dalized at your conduct; for liiter you had left the meeting, they judged it necessary to tell me, that such was your usual way, and that I must not mind it. To those who know and sub- mit to your way, the ^ology would doubtless appear satisfac- tory; but to me it did not seem to correspond exactly with the apostolic direction about entertaining strangers; and I do think, that, in your way, you are much more likely to catch Tai'tars, than to entertain angels unawares. . Though ray brethren's Memorial referred only to Nova Scotin and the adjacent provinces; and though it explicitly stated, that, even in these, the Synod of Nova Scotia claimed no exclusive 33 occupanoyi yonr Supplement represents them as appropriating ta themselves a much more extensive range: " We do not under- stand that narrovmess of mind which would appropriate to itself whole continents, and extensive provinces, with their widely di- versified inhabitants. Dr. M'CuIloch and his brethren seem to forget, that in the Ganadas there is a Presbyterian Church totalis/ distinct from that of Nova Scotia, and equally well entitled to ex- rJude them and us:" p. 14. And, farther, in your account of my intercourse with your Committee, you say that, " when the ques- tion was put to Dr. M'Culloch, whether it was his opinion that the Synod of Nova Scotia was competent to supply the spirit- ual wants, not of Nova Scotia alone, but ^ the whole <^ the British colonies in North America^ and whether this was their intention, he replied readily in the affirmative." p. 7. ' ' ' Respecting the appropriating disposition md intentions <^my brethren, their own Memorial, I apprehend, will a£Pord evidence at least as satisfactory as any declaration which you have made for them. It was written for the express purpose of affording your Committee correct views of the state of religion in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, imd Cape Bre- ton ; but, beyond these limits, it cont^ns no account of either whole continentSy or extensive provintxs, or their widdy diversified in- habitants. How far the nairow mind of my brethren proposed to appropriate even the preceding provinces, the Memorial inform- ed you; but your memory, I perceive, needs to be refreshed with the following part of it: ** Should you, however, still judge mis- sionaries from you to be requisite, we beg leave to assure you that both om' brethren and we will receive them with kindness." It was thus that my brethren shewed the narrowness of their mind ; and you in retura, exemplified the liberality of yours, by exalting them into a posse, and beating up their head quarters. My brethren, Sir, instead of pretending to provide the gospel for the Canadas, have, in their Memorial, supplied you with evidence which will enable you, with the utmost safety, to assure the pub- lic, that your own assertions are not supported by a shadow of proof. When you again affirm that the Synod of Nova Scotia professes to supply whole continents with the gospel, I ask you to expound the following words of the Memorial: " The success of oui* measures enables us to state, that, as far as we know, there i:i 34 is not, in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, a collection of presbyterians capable of sap^- porting the gospel, and willing to receive it, who do not look to our church, and will not 'be, in a short timoi supplied with the ordinances of religion." p. 18. To the preceding account of my brethren's intentions it may be added, that the declaration which you have ascribed to me, is purely a fabrication of your own. All the members of your Com- mittee cannot yet have forgotten, that, when you enumerated the cases of the want of the gospel which you had received from the Canadas, I explicitly stated that respecting those provinces I could give them no information. Even you yourself have said, " The whole of the Canada cases are passed, over by Dr. Mvhich you have just declared yourself totally unacquainted ? and, surely, in your Committee, there must be at Ivast ordinary acuteness. But such a reply was not requisite ; for the question put to me was, whether the Synod of Nova Scotia judged themselves com- petent to provide the gospel for the presbyterian population of those provinces to which the Memorial referred. To this, as you say, I readily replied in the affirmative; and, in doing so, I merely repeated what my brethren, in their communication to your Committee, had previously affirmed: " For your informa- ation we would state, that our Synod, from a conviction that tlieir arrangements would soon enable the presbyterian popula- tion to derive the gospel from their own resources, have already refused to receive clergymen from those churches in Scotland, by whom they had been previously ilupplied." p. 24. " Another point," you say, " which was strongly pressed up- on Dr. M'Culloch at the interviews which were held with him, was, that he should statfe fully and explicitly any errors in point of fact, which may have crept into the published Report of the Society, in order that a Supplement might be drawn up with the view of preventing any injiu-y which might otherwise be done. This after repeated entreaty he agreed to do ; but not one of the 35 3i errata which are now noticed in the printed irork, were then ad* veited to, although each of the casets was reviewed in order:"' Sup. p. 7. And again, " at all events, he would have acceded to the wishes of the Directors, and communicated to them, in the first instance, the observations which occurred to him on the reading of the Report, in place of bringing them at once, and without the most distant hint of his intention to do so, before the tribunal of the public." p. '15. Have you forgotten, Sir, that the case of Ramsheg was dis- cussed in your presence, and* that you yourself took notes upon the subject? This itself is sufficient to shew the incorrectness of your assertion. But your readers, I dare say, will stare when I tell them, that the principal part of the objections to your Report, were not published, till, ' at the very.meeting to which you refer, they had been read tq your Committee ; and a copy left upon their table. For your ign^^rance of these facts I can easily account; Though the meeting had been called expressly that you might be present, you did not wait for its conclusion; and your brethren, I apprehend, being accustomed to your way, and aware that you could make just as good a Supplement without information as with it, did not conceive any notices requisite. Their own con- duct, however, I am not so well prepared to excuse. That any of them should have been present, and heard this document read, and then sanctioned your assertion, needs explanation. This I have a right to demand. At your next meeting, therefore, you will, I trust, inquire if the Reverend Dr. Mitchell of Anderston did not I'ead it in their presence; and when they assure you that he did, I hope you will deal out, to them a goodly allowance of your way, for getting you, as well as themselves, into such a ter: rible scrape. If, Sir, the preceding parts of your Supplement be the result of heedless injiccuracy, it bodes ill for the management of your Committee, and ill for those provinces which you profess to patronise. But, if you imagined that my departure from Britain would screen you from detection, it was a dishonourable shift, and utterly inconsistent with the godly sincerity which religion en- joins: and I must say to you, that such means for upholding your Society's plan, cannot be attended with a blessing from above. The Gospel sanctions not the crooked policy of the world ; and if 86 you employ it for its pi'opa^tion, you will spend yonr strength for nought and in vnin. Where a straight-forward course would hare raised you to honour ; with your present measures you will be sure to meet shame. Reverend Sir, t have the honour to he, &c. • , >i ' • < ' ■ '■ • '-tli ,ft'' n!) ti) 1 i 'I.'* .< • . > ,. , ', , .. ,v . ,,.. r fl:il Ei'i Rbverbnd Sir, > • < ! < '"" ' ' You who have written upon the state of the poor, are, as an author, aware, that, where charity is provided, applicants in abundance provide themselves. But, as the most noisy an not always the most needy, the dispensers of charity should '.eep in view tlie hazard of imposition; and to the best of their ability, distinguish between the precious and the vile. As Secretary to the Glasgow Society, however, you seem to have supposed that no distinction was requisite: if any body applied to you, though he lived where the gospel was preached, you immediately presented him to the public as an object of sympathy. This may indicate the benevolence of the man ; but as an evidence of wis- dom in the manager of public funds, it is liable to objections. The charity which begets beggars, adds to the amount of human debasement, and ultimately to the very misery which it was de- signed to relieve. I shall not say that your Society intended their bounty to produce such results ; but your Supplement, un- questionably, indicates, that, when any of your petitioners are charged with deception, they are more likely to be defended than questioned ; and he who gives you the information, may ac- count himself very well off, if he get away with the appellation of rogue. MTien the Memorial and subjoined remarks were published, the most of men in your situation would have said. Here is an inhab- itant of the provinces, who has accused a number of our corres- pondents of gross misrepresentation; and some of them of conduct which subverts the success of the Gospel: our Committee may have been deceived : let us at least inquire. You, however, very charitably judge your petitioners themselves to be the best evi- dence ; and though you had been advertisiftg a bounty upon appli- cations, you do not perceive the least reason for believing that any 37 of them have attempted to deceive you: "When Dr. M'Cullooh," you say, *' brings forward his statements relative to the petitions which have been addressed to the Society, and gives them what, in most cases, nearly amounts to a flat contradiction, we beg just to tell him that his averments and those of our correspondents stand exactly upon the same footing, and must be verified or disap- proved by evidence distinct from both. He treats with contempt the imiall number of applications, as '\i fifteen urgent appeals from the different provinces, and one of these for seven ministers, did not present a very fair specimen at least of the state of our fellow-countrymen abroad, as deserving and demanding the sym- pathy of Christians. Indeed the apparent tendency of the Ap- pendix to the Memorial is, to impress the public with a belief that there is no need whatever of any exertions in behalf of the colon- ists; for if it be true that throughout the whole of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, there be not more than fifty thousand presbyterianst and these supplied withfiniy ministerSy certainly a strung case has not been made out. But the people t/iemselves give us a very different account of their situation; and we see no reason as yet to charge them with falser hood." Sup. p. 15. The preceding quotation begins with telling me that my aver- ments and those of your correspondents stand exactly upon the same footing; and it concludes with telling me again, that mine are no evidence, but theirs command your belief, just because they give you a different account. If they, really, have given you a differ- ent account, they have done what, I conjecture, they will not avow through the medium of this paper;* and till they do so, I shall merely remark that your wUlingness to be deceived, must administer to them and all succeeding petitioners much refreshing encouragement. In the mean time I would observe, that your logic does not tack premises and conclusion very closely together. In the Appendix it was stated, that, in Nova Scotia and the ad- jacent provinces, there are not more than fifty thousand presby- terians, who are provided with forty ministers ; and from this you deduce that " its apparent tendency is, to impress the public with a belief that there is no need whatever of any exertion on be- * Acadian Recorder, Nova Scotia. E : I 38 half of tli« Colonies." Does tlie mere exUtonce of ministorg prc- ulude the ncceMity of exertion ? Or does the exititeiice of min- isters in those parts to which the Memorial refers, afford the pub- lic the least ground for believing that exertions are not ref;::!site in behalf of the Canadas, Newfoundland, and Labrador? The cause, Sir, which must be supported by suck reasoning is either bad or badly advocated. Whether you have no reason to charge any of your correspondents with falsehood, I shall now consider, itit In the Society's Report you stated, that '< the second appeal is from Dartmouth, Preston^ and the adjacent districts in the ■county of Halifax, Nova Scotia, who have been long eagerly de- sirous of a ministor, and have actually erected two or tlireo plac- es of worship, where divine service is occasionally performed, as ministers of different denominations happen to pay them a visit. tVe sHlllivey sav fhey; in their most eloquent and truly affecting appeal, tve still live in a moral loilderness, witfiout instruction, with' out religious discipline^ without christian fellowship and consolation. We are not remindeJ- of Urn return of the Lords day, by the stated ordinances of die christian sabbat/i; and our tender offspring are de- prived of the friendly ministrations of an affectionate and pious pas- tor" And this appeal, you add, has proceeded from one of the stations, the most interesting and promising in the Colony, and where a man' of trdlv missionary spirit may be the instrument of incalculable benefit to hundreds, and even to thousands of his countrymen. Report, p. 18, 19. .,, ,,.i . ;-;; m, . • : In receiving the Repor|^ I considered the preceding account as a fair sample of the religious puff, and added >,uch remarks as appeared to me consisteAt with truth; and here is your reply: << This case Dr. M'Culloch has, in the Memorial, and in some of his later publications, treated with peculiar contempt. We can only say, by way of reply, first, that we had before us the letter which transmitted the petition, and which is signed by the Rev. Jolm Martin at Halifax, whose opportunities of information must be at least as good as those of Dr. M'Culloch, and he calls the attention of the Committee to it as a most urgent case, and requiring immediate notice. Secondly, we have the testimony of the Rev. John Sprott of Windsor, N. S., and a member of Dr. M, every jurtiee to your zeal, I would ask upon what grounds you made to tbe Secretary iif the Glasgow Society the preceding statements. You have been in those purts from which the petition was sent ; and kr jw them to be in gener- al, a country of bare rocks and barrenness. How does it kappen to flourish in the Society's Report, as one of the most iiiieresting and promising stations in the Ck>lony ? You know too, that its population are Gavhalics, Episcopalians, Baptists, and Metho- dists, interspersed with a few Presbyterians. Where are the hun- dreds and thousands of Scotchmen upon whom a missionary is to confer incalculable benefit? I do not ask you where are the two or thi-ee churches which the Presbyterians have built, but,' where is there one? And, when you look at your own church and St. Matthews, and then across the harbour of Halifax to Dartmouth and Preston, how do you account for thd following words of the petition, to which you have given your recommendation : « We are not reminded of the return of the Lord's day, by the stated ordi- nr^ces of the Christian sabbath?" Had you told the Society, that their petitioners, instead of long and eagerly desiring the gospel, were only in great need of its ordinances to arouse them to a feoilng of its worth ; and that the missionary who might be sent to labour among them, would begin his ministrations with disappointment, and continue them with great toil and privation, you would have told the truth ; and you yourself could then hhve met your neighbours, without perceiving t!iem laughing :;t your expense. Hev. Sir, I have the honour to be, &o. . ^ .. THOMAS M'CULLOCH." •:. IT .( (i Till Mr. Mart'n reply to the preceding note, you will, I trust, consider the weight of his evidence as at least moderately bal- anced. But you have othc proof, " the testimony of the Rev. John Sprott of Windsor, N. S. and a member of Dr. M.'s own body; to whom, when in this country few weeks ago,- the Report 41 was shown, and his remark upon the margin is in these wordv, Correcty and mtided to affectionate rtgard." To hare the testimony of the Rev. John Sproti is sodoething: to have the testimony oi » member of Dr. M ^Culloeh's own body, is a great deal more. But, by a document in my possession, I am authorised to state, that Mr. Sprott never wrote a syllable up- on the margin of your Repott. How much does this add to the value of your proof? When Mr. Sprott was in Bcocland, yon were employed in maintaining the acauncy of yonr Report; and, as a little help from a member of Dr. M'Culloch's own body, would be a great lift to you, tottering beneath a heavy burden of difficulties, a brother undertook for you the honourable em- ployment of lying in wait to catch him in his words ; and when he happened to say that the situation of a few poor people at Porter's Lake was entitled to affectionate regard^ your scribe con- ceived thdt it would do just as well to apply his expression to all Mr. Martin's assertions and yours. Being, also, a ready writer, and not willing to bury a talent where usury might be gained, he resolved, in noting Mr. Sprott's evidence, to try his hand at a preface; and, therefore, added the term Correct^ which, with all convenient speed, you hastened to transfer fron tho poor people of Porter's Lake to the vindication of your Report. You will not, I dare say, believe me; but you have great futh in Mr. Sprott's testimony, and here it is: — • » ^-^'n > « Mr. Sprotti saw the Memorial of Dr. M'Culloch in the house of Mr. Robertson (Stranraer) ; — ^read a part of it ; — said it was correct; partio^^larly the part of it that referred to the manners cf the Nova Scotians. On the eve of his uepartm^, was in company with the Rev. Robert Bums ; and saw for the first time the Report of the Society. But they parted before Mr. Spk*otc had an opportunity of reading it. He did not see Mr. Bums again, and had no farther correspondence. He read the Report in company with another clergyman, at anothor house. He gave it Tin his opinion that some of the statements were trae, some of tliem he could not vouch for, and some of them were incorrect. He mentioned the petition from Porter's Lake as entitled to affectionate regard ; as also one from Dio^by ; but did not go into particulars. The gentleman noted dowii the conversation with a pencil. Mr. Sprott wishes well to every efSnvi to profnote the cause of truth ; but took nc part in t!ie bitter controversy be- tween Dr. M'CuIloch and the Rev. Robert Bums : and if the latter has used his name without his knowledge, he has exceed- ed the bounds of propriety and discretion." With the amount of your propriety' and discretion I shall not interfere. Your knowledge of thd principles of sound reasoning, and the candid use of them, are the only points which need to be ascertained ; and I must obserre that, when you place' the testimo- ny of one of Dr. M'Culloch's own body as premises, and your own Statements as conclusion, you appear to me to be much better ac- quainted with the rule of contraries, than with the rules of logic. But though Mr. tSprott's testimony has failed you, there is still other evidence of weighty import: " We had the local knowledge of Mr. Richard Kidston, one of the Directors, and to whom Dr. M. is pleased to direct us."- ^»'-uv'is"i<''r.^ cv V-.nV»'*."i ^m v ■yJ<>..\ ■•' ■:■<'*. Mr. Kidston, I presume, is a very respectable gentleman ; and it will, ^ doubt not, gratify me exceedingly, to see the amount of his local knowledge publicly stated. It will prove, among other things, that you have boasted of able assistance from the knowledge of individuals who had little information to give. Because Mr. Kidston had been in tialifax, and could not but perceive the na- ture of the adjacent country, I did refer you to him upon this point; and you have repeatedly returned to me, quoting him, as if he had confiraied your assertions. This I am satisfied he will never ven- ture to undertake ; but to vindicate yourself, I ask you to bring him to the test. You have told the public, that Dartmouth, Pres- ton, and the adjacent districts, constitute one of the most interest- ing and promising stations in Nova Scotia ; that it contains sixty presbyterians who are not reminded of the return of the Lord's day by the stated ordinances of the Christian sabbath ; that these have been long and eagerly desirous of a minister, and have built two or tliree churches ; and that, in those bounds, there are thous- ands of Scotchmen, whom a Missionary may profit by his labours. Before, therefore, you again quote Mr. Kidston, get his signature to these statements, or to any one of them; and then this part lA' your proof will, at least, appear to have some weight. When this occurs, you will not find me without a convincing reply. But, by the want of Mr. Kidston's assistance, you are not to be boat off; for, " Lastly " you say, " we have the concession of Dr. iii' 4a M. himself; who, after attempting to throw discredit j^pcm the tttUt-r ment, acknowledges that still a faithful Missionary might, , in J^rt' mouth and Preston, be the means of incalculable good." ,' , • ,,14 Coiild you detect Dr. M'Culloch contradicting himself^ it would be well to expose him, and perfectly fair to turn his weapons against himself. But, as this migirt be more pat than pleasant, I shall put it off as long as possible. In the mean time, we notay take a look at Dr. M'Culloch's concession, and the uses ta which you have applied it. « A harbour of a mile broad, and with regular fea'ries, separates Dartmouth and Preston from the town of Halifax, in which there are two congregations with clergymen from your Church ; and, if bells can remind your petitioners of the return of the Xiord's day, * ; ey -egidarly warned. A part of them may be more re- mote ; ^ul uot I apprehend, farther than multitudes in the British provinces travel, every Lord's day, for the sake of the gospel. I would ask your Committee, if it be credible that hundreds and thousands of Scotchmen, long and eagerly desiring the gospel, and, all the while, living in the vicinity of ' e capital, with all its advantages, and occupying, according to your Report, one of the most interesting and promising stations in the Colony, could af- ford only forty-five pounds sterling for the support of a minister; when settldments in remote jtarts, not containing one thousand Presbyterians, have, for a long series of years, maintained the gos- pel for themselves- Still, a faithful Missionary might, .Dart- mouth and Pres^ . h<6 the means of incalculable good ; and, if you can provide % . s u; port, he will have the fewer difficulties. " Remarks, p. 45, 4tjl. In Dartmouth and Prcsion, Sir, there is much need of evangel- ical doctrine ; and, if the Missionary who would preach it there, could prove the means of saving a single soul, he would do incalr culable good. But how does this prove the extravagant repre- sentations conta'med in your Report? The very reasoning to which you resort, indicates that you have found your cause to be unten- able; and, ths i ore, I shall conclude with your own words, We need say no mof<\ Rev. Sir, I have the honour to be, &c. M Reverkkd Sir, When your Society commenced ita operations, yon appealed to the generosity of the public in behalf of poor emigrants from Scot- land, who were destitute of the gospel. By and by, you added to your plan the patronage of organized congregations: And, lastly, it occurred to yon, that, if you could do a little additional business at the head qnartars of the Nova Scotian Synod, your interfer- ence would produce so much clear gain to religion ; for even there your Committee found'a case so urgent « that they immediately submitted it to Sir James Kempt the Governor." Report, p. 24. The petition to you, it wot ' j»^pear, ** states very strongly the difficulties into which the poo. rdand settlers of that place (Pictou) have been plunged by the ei .ation of a place of worship and the support of their minister." But when your petitioners, a short period before, submitted their case to the present Lord Bish- op of Nova Scotia, it stood as follows ; " They frankly state that they were brought up in the Kirk of Scotland ; but, not being able to support a minister of their own, they will prefer an union with the Church of England to a connexion with seceders from the Kirk, whose doctrines and discipline they consider harsh and severe." At that time, the Highlanders of Pictou were neither fewer nor richer than at present ; but nobody thought of telling his Lordship of their need of a Gaelic clergyman ; one from the Church of England would do very well. The plan of conversion to Episcopacy, however, was not likely to multiply adherents among Scotchmen : and, therefore, the founders of Mr. M'Kenzle's congregation, meeting with him by accident, engaged him for their minister : and, when your Society published their bountiful design in behalf of poor emigrants, a sufficient quantity of High- landers are produced, as poor as need be, and plunged in difficul- ties. Mr. M'Kenzie, too, very naturally says, " We fondly hope and j^ray that the all-good and beneficent God will influence the hearts of our countrymen to commiserate our situation and supply our wants :" and you, in return, praising the spiritual-mind- edness of your petitioners, observe, that " they had no other ob- ject in sending to you such appeals than to obtain some supply for their spiritual wants." Sup. p. 16. To your Committee it must prove an encouraging circumstance, that, when other Societies having the disposal of funds, are an- 45 noyed with appUuante whose gross and carnal desires are ooneen- trated upon earthly things, yours have met only with men who hanger and thirst after righteousness. From the sentiments which your petitioners in the present case, expressed to the Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia, it is sufficiently apparent that they need some su^ly for their spiritual wants; for, really, persons who der clare their attachment to the Church of Scotland, and in the same breath affirm that the doctrine and diii^oipline of the Presbyterian Synod of Nova Scotia are harsh and severe, are afflicted with a spiritual blindness which piedudes tliem from the knowledge of their own principles. Still, I question whether granting them the commiseration which Mr. M'Kenzie suggests, would most effectu- ally tend to supply their spiritual wants. Living, as they do, in the midst of a congregation in which your own views of the christian system are faithfully preached, ^bey would be more likely to have their wants removed, by unit'ng with their neighbours, than by receiving fun" tul.th f/ 3V» rr ; -': •. ' • > .. Secondly, Mr. M'Kenzie has reported, and yon believe, that the settlers of Lochaber aieperficdy able to offer a respectable mm in support of a Gaelio minister. Had he stated that they are themselves struggling with poverty, he would have exactly ex- pressed their ability to give. The extent of their resources, I apprehend, may be very fairly calculated by the amoimt of their exertions in behalf of the gospel which has, for many years, been within their reach. At present, they are under bond for eight pounds a year to a respectable clergyman ; and, if you please, I will hand you his certificate, that he has never found it worth one. - , ,»- Thirdly, Mr. M*Kenzie has assured you, that these settlers understand only their mountain tongnte. Yet, in Lochaber, there are only one adult male and four females so ill acquainted with the English language, as to be incapable of profiting by the min- istrations of their present clergyman. Fourthly, your correspondent has affirmed that these people, " since they first pitched their tents in the woods, have never heard the word of truth preached in their own mountain tongue." Had Mr. Mcotia, and sacrificed the truth. Your Society contemplated only the spiritual improvement of the provinces: the means which you have used can never be jblessed. Where judicious measures would have harmonised the friends of evangelical doctrine, and concentrated their energy up- on its propagation; by patroiaising the spirit of party, you have enfeebled the Presbyterian cause in the American provinces, and diminished the'efficiioncy of means which had been there employ- ed to secure its stability: And for such a sacrifice, what can you promise in return ? You will give to the provinces the Church pf Scotland : Does the gospel of your church differ from that which they already possess ? You will give them ministers^ strangers to the privations and fatigues of a new country: Will these be more useful than native preachers? You virill g^ve them ministers whom a presentation from Scotland will immediately prove to be wayfaring men : Will these care for the Colonies .like those who have no other home? You will give them clergy- men whom Scotland would not employ : Are these preferable to native talent ? In the present state of these provinces yoiu* plan is irrational; and I will venture to predict that a few yiears* ex- perience will convince you that it must be relinquished. ,,; 1 1 Rev. Sir, I have the honour to be, &c. ii/^a'( REV.8IB, ' '' •------■-.■-• ■- .a..v ..■.' '.. ..s, Though a considerable time has elapsed since the publication of the preceding letters, none of your correspondents have attempted to reply. Should you, therefore, again praise their veracity, you will, I trust, at the same time, account for their silence. Rev. Sir, I have the honour to be, &c. ; ri 'iii Otlr '. THOMAS M'CULLOCH. ill! ANDREW TOUNQ, PHINTER, i>6, 'rrongBte, Glasgow. I have ed the ement iver be led the gyup- uhave ;8, and mplby- au you Chureh m that nisterS) : wm re them sdiately Colonies clergy- rable to )ur plan >ar8* ex- \7 v..'A jince the pendents n praise ount for LOCH.