V / MEMOIR OF THE IligEt §mxm& f obn J^ttariiait, D.D LLD., FIRST BISHOP OF TORONTO. BT A. N. BETHUNE, D. D., D. 0. L., HIS SUCCESSOR IN THE SEE. TORONTO : HENEY ROWSELL. LONDON : RIVINGTONS. 1870. (BeThi^roS R, Any Profits arising from tub sale of this Work will be devoted to Church OrjECTS WITHIN THE DiOCKSE OF TORONTO. JThfs fttentofr, UNDERTAKEN TO PERPETUATE THE NAME AND WORKS OP ONE ACTIVELY ENGAGED FOR NEARLY SIXTY- FIVE YEARS IN THE ENDEAVOUR TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE OF HIS ADOPTED COUNTRY, AND THE SPREAD OF GOD's CHURCH, IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND IN THE DIOCESES OF TORONTO, HURON, AND ONTAJIIO, WHICH CONSTITUTED ORIGINALLY THE EPISCOPAL CHARGE OF THE DECEASED, BT THEIR FAITHFUL AND HUMBLE SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. — ♦- PAGE. Chap. I. — Parentage. — Early life in Scotland 1 Chap. II. — Emigration to Canada. — Kesidence at King- ston, — Ordination, and removal to Cornwall, 9 Chap. III. — The Cornwall Grammar School, 18 Chap. IV. — Domestic and Parochial life at Cornwall. — His Marriage. — Appointment to York, 30 Chap. V. — Kemoval to York. — The War with the United States* 40 Chap. VI. — Deatli of the Hon. Richard Cartwright. — Ajj- pointment to Executive Council. — McGill College, Montreal. — Loss of his House by Fire, 51 Chap. "V II. — Effects of the War .-^Emigration to Canada. — Controversy with the Earl of Selkirk. — Mr. Robert Gourlay, GO Chap. VIII. — Services as Executive Councillor. — Sir Pere- grine Maitland,and his Administration.— -The Church in York. — Appointment to the Legislative Council,.. 69 Chap. IX.—Recollections of York in 1820.— State of the Church in Upper Canada. — Episcopal Visitation at Yorki" 1820, 79 Chap. X. — The Clergy Reserves Question < 87 VI PAOE. Chap. XI. — Visit to England and his Native Land. — Kesistance to the proposed Sale of the Clergy Reserves to the Canada Company. — roliiical strife in Upper Canada, 9G Chap. XII. — The Educational Question. — Prospect of the early establishment of a University. — Second Visit to England, 104 Chap. XIII. — Death of the Bishop of Quebec. — His suc- cessor, Dr. Stewart. — Upper Canada divided into two Archdeaconries. — Dr. Strachan appointed Archdeaeon of Yoi'k. — Correspondence in England in 1826-7. — Return to Canada, Ill Chap. XIV. — The Clergy Reserves Controversy.-rSpeech in the Legislative Council in Defence of his Conduct upon this Question, 1 20 Chap. XV. — Depr'tni'e of Sir Pei'egrine Maitland. — His successor Sir John Colborne. — Continued Agitation on the Clergy Reserves and University Questions. — Revolutions in Europe, and Political Changes in Eng- land. — Breaking out of the Cholera in 18.32, 129 Chap. XVI. — Letter to Dr. Chalmers on the Life and Character of Bishop Hobart. — Presentation of a Piece of Plate by his Cornwall Pupils 139 Chap. XVII. — The Clergy Reserves Question ; establish- ment of the Rectories. — Meeting of Clergy under the two Ai-chdeacons in 183G. — Deputation to the Mother Country determined upon. — Resolution to establish a Church Newspaper, 154 Chap. XVIII. — Administration of Sir Francis Head. — Correspondence regarding Seat in the Legislative Council. — Death of Bishop Stewart of Quebec. — Previous appointment of Archdeacon Mountain as his Assistant. — The Rebellion in 1837-8. — Decision to form Upper Canada into a separate Diocese. — Destruction of St. James's Church, Toronto, 161 Vll PAGE. CiiAP. XIX. — Consecration as Bishop of Toi'onto. — The Union of the Provinces. — Settlement of the Clergy Reserves Question in England, 171 Chap. XX. — Firtt Confirmation Tour. — Primary Visitation at Toronto, 180 Chap. XXI. — Establishment of the Diocesan Theological College at Cobourg. — Laying the Coraer Stone of King's College at Toronto. — Formation of the Church Society. — Confirmations in 1842, 190 Chap. XXI I. — Opening of King's College, Toronto. — Second Triennial Visitation of the Clergy. — Special Meeting of the Church Society in I'eference to Sales of Clergy Reserves. — Legislative action thereupon,... 204 Chap. XXIII. — Confirmation Journeys in 1845, 213 Chap. XXIV. — Resignation of Archdeaconry of York, and Rectory of Toronto. — Triennial Visitation of the Clergy in 1847. — Consecration of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto, 226 Chap. XXV. — Abolition of the Univei-sity of King's College. — Establishment of Trinity College, 236 Chap. XXVI. — Establishment of the Diocesan Synod. — Laying the Foundation Stone of Trinity College. — Opening of the College, 249 Chap. XXVII. — Last contest for the Clergy Reserves. — Settlement of the Question in 1854-5. — The Commu- tation Scheme. — Synod of 1856, and Episcopal Address, 263 Chap. XXVIII. — Division of the Diocese. — Election of the Bishop of Huron. — Visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada. — Election of the Bishop of Ontarfo. — Synod of 1861, :. 273 Vlll TAQE. Chap. XXIX. — Further efforts in England on behalf of Trinity CoUege. — Death of Chief Justice Robinson. — Movement for a Coadjutor Bishop in Synod, passing a Canon for liis Appointment — Death of Mrs. Strachan, '. 281 Chap XXX —Synods of 1866, and Election of Coadjutor. —Synod of 1867— Sickness and Death of the Bishop 289 Chap. XXXI. — The Funeral. — Characteristics and Recol- lections. — Conclusion, 297 Appendix 309-385 MEMOIR. CHAPTER T. Parentage. — Early Lite in Scotland. 'E have, in various existing documents, brief sketches of the early life of the late Bishop (»f Toronto. He was boru at Aberdeen, in Scot- land, on the 12th of April, 1778; his parents' names were John Strachan and Elizabetli Findlayson. Of liis father little is recorded, save that lie earned a modest stipend as overseer of the granite quarries in t^ie neighbourhood of Aberdeen ; which, as long as he lived, sufficed to main- tain his family in respectability and comfort. His death was sudden and very sad. A blast of the ({uarry had one day been prepared ; and as the time for ignition seemed overpast, the overseer went forwaid to see what was the matter. The blast took place ; a splinter of ro(3k lodged in one of his eyes, and he died two days after, in May, 1794, at the age of 52. He was much respected Rn an honest and trustworthy man, and his death excited universal pity ; so that, at his funeral, there was such a concourse of volunteer mourners that the procession exceeded a quarter of a mile in length. In the midst of Presbyterians, he was attached to the non-jurors ; and, in principle and practice, might be rc^garded as an Episcopalian, 2 His wife, the mother of the late Bishop, appears to have maintained through life her connexion with the Presbyterians ; but, though differing from her husband in religious creed, she lived with him in the utmost harmony and affection ; and each were kindly tolerant of the other's opinions. It is stated as a curious fact, that she used to make her children every night, before going to bed, sign themselves with the sign of the cross. The father's religious predilections were, at an early age, shared by his son, the subject of this memoir, who frequently accompanied him to St. Paul's Episcopal Chapel in the Gallowgate, and was a. gratified hearer of the then Bishop Skinner. Nq doubt, the foundation was, at that time, laid of those partialities which ripened afterwards into so decided and zealous an adoption of the principles of the Church. His mother, though without the opportunity of many early advantages, was evidently a woman of superior understanding and acute discernment, as the following extract from her letters abundantly prove. In May, 1801, when this son was so far removed from her, and in a land which was deemed wild and barbarous, she addressed him in these terms : " As God has laid the stress of me upon you, I hope you will not be angry at my advice, which is, prefer not a moral precept to the counsels of Jesus Christ, or the dictates of his apostles ; vainly opposing the dim candle of man's reason to the sunshine of the gospel light, as displayed in the scriptures. My dear son, you know better than I do ; but my earnest desire is for your welfare, soul and body," If these are the conceptions of one in whom is the root of a genuine faith, they are the expressions also of a cultivated mind. Not less so are the thoughts and lan- guage of a letter addressed to him in August, 1806 : " My dear son, we are looking every day for a letter from you, and that is all I can expect, for I am now in the seventieth year of my age, and I cannot think to live long, but I have been blessed with very dutiful and afteo- tionate children. I entreat you, dear son, take heed unto yourself and to the doctrines of Christ; for in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. For all his followers are enquired of by him, and are enabled to speak the word in due season ; and this, I hope, by his assistance, you are. Take not this amiss from your mother, though you know better yourself" When his father died, the subject of this memoir was only fourteen years of age ; and as then the whole support of tlie family ceased, he was, as he himself has expressed it, thrown upon the world without a single friend or relation capable of affording him any assistance ; his mother and two sisters reduced by that sudden bereave- ment almost to actual want. When his prospects were thus gloomy, and to all appearance hopeless, he found a timely benefactor in the late Dr. Beattie, of whose son he had been a friend and companion. He found him a situation as tutor in a family who were spending a few months in Scotland, and who had a little boy and girl to be instructed. The little earnings obtained from this short engagement he carried to his mother, and with great delight placed them as a gift in her hands. The recollection of this, he said, often gave him happiness in after years. He appears to have entered the University of Aberdeen, in 1794, when he was sixteen years of age ; and, as here the sessions or terms la.sted only five months, — that is, from the latter part of November to the end of April, — the remaining seven months of the year were at the disposal of the students. This was a great advantage to a 37oung man situated as he was. He could employ himself in teaching during this interval, and return to his mother, at Aberdeen, with the amount of his earnings; and, without being burdensome to her, avstil himself of. the College lectures during the winter months. In this Uni- versity there were a number of bursaries, or scholarships, and frequently ten or twelve of them became vacant in a year. They were of small amount each, only five or six pounds per annum ; they were given to those who were found best qualified after an examination in Latin ; and were tenable for four years. One of these Mr. Strachan easily gained ; and through the influence of the Professors, with whom he was a great favorite, he obtained one or two private pupils during the session. This added three or four pounds more to his slender income ; making it, with the addition of his summer earnings, hardly £20 per annum in all. Trifling as this sum appears to be, it enabled him not only to get through his studies at the Univei-sity, but to afford material help to his mother and sisters. And nothing delighted him more than this ; for, he says, " never was there a more excellent mother than mine. She made religion amiable to me, and the source of moral strength." The getting employment during the long vacation was always an uncertainty, and a cause of much anxiety. Yet, as he has recorded, God was ever kind ; and during the three years of his stay at the University, something always turned up, and he was enabled to take his degi-ee of Master of Arts. After this, he obtained a parish school in the neighbor- hood of St. Andrew's, w^orth about £30 a year. A portion of this he managed to save for his mother, and placed it in her hands at his usual visits in harvest time ; travelling on foot ninety .liles in order to save expense. At St. Andrew's he became intimate with Dr. Chalmers and Professor Duncan, who were about his own age ; and with these eminent men he kept up a frequent correspondence to the time of their death. In this University he joined the Divinity class in April, 1797 ; though, from his other occupations, he was unable to give a very regular attend- {> ance at the usual lectures. He obtained, however, on leaving, this testimonial from Dr. Hill, the Principal : " In efich of the sessions, Mr. Strachan delivered a discourse which appeared to me a very favorable specimen of the acuteness of his understanding, and of hi,, talents for composition ; and from all the opportunities I have had of conversing with him, as well as from the reports of others, ' I consider him a young man of excellent parts, who is qualified to discharge with ability and success the duties of a public teacher." At St. Andrew's he soon discovered that liis income of £30 a year, derived from his parish school in the neigh- borhood, — with the maternal claims upon it which were always so affectionately recognized, — was, as he expressed it, rather pinching; so he felt himself obliged to look about for something better. Hearing that the parish school of Kettle, worth £50 per annum, was vacant, he proposed himself as a candidate. He was then scarcely nineteen, and learning that there were five other candi- dates, all much older than himself and of more experience ; and hearing, too, that the examination was to be a very strict one, he felt discouraged, and disposed to withdraw. But Dr. Barclay, the minister of the parish, who had taken a strong liking to him, insisted on his persevering ; bidding him have no fear, but to come up boldly to tlie exami- nation. This Dr. Barclay was the father of the gallant Captain Barclay, who lost both his arms in the contest with the United States fleet on Lake Erie ; and the father also of the Rev. Mr. Barclay, who had charge, from 1822 to 1826, of the congregation of the Kirk of Scotland at Kingston, in this Province. His friend's counsels were a great encouragement to him ; but, still afraid of losing credit by a failure, he went to St. Andrews, and waited <iu Dr. John Hunter, from whom he had received many kindnesses, and requested that he would do him the favor of examining him. He did so ; and told him he " was no great things, but would be the best there notwithstanding." () This remark, little flattering as it was, gave him great encoiiragemejit ; for the good Doctor had sifted pretty closely his knowledge of Greek, and Latin, and Mathe- matics, Mr. Strachan realized the predictions of his friends, and proved the successful candidate. He under- took the charge of a school numbering 10(3 pupils, — ^rising sometimes to 120, — many of them older than himself; and, as he said, k-arning every thing. In this condition of things, he bethought himself of th^ system of moni- tors ; for which Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster afterwards obtained so much credit. But in attempting this, he frequently experienced difficulty : parents sometimes de- murred, contending that, instead of teaching their children, he made them teach others. It was found hard to convince them that, in teaching others, their sons were effectually teaching themselves. At length, by increasing the number of monitors, and* thus assigning a smaller share of work to each, and by frequently changing them, those objections were quietly overruled, and the system was found to work most successfully. The discipline and order of the school, too, was so excellent, that children were sent to it from other parishes ; and Dr. Barclay and other leading persons of the place, who had preferred having their children taught at home, now sent them to the parish school. Wiikie, the painter, who became afterwards so eminent, was one of his pupils at Kettle. His turn for the art in which he subsequently excelled, was soon discovered by his youthful tutor ; and he urged his father to use every means to have it fostered and improved. Mr. Strachan was very happy at Kettle, and out of his increased means was able more largely to befriend his mother. But this state of pleasantness and contentment came soon to be disturbed. Dr. Brown, the minister of the parish near St. Andrew's, in which he had taught school before removing to Kettle, was promoted to the chair of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. He was an excellent mathematician, and an elegant writer ; but so exceedingly nervous that he was unable to perform, with satisfactory skill, the experiments required in his department. He, therefore, proposed to make Mr. Strachan his assistant, .as he was considered well fitted for the post ; but, somehow, the arrangement was never carried into effect. This was a great disappointment ; as the obtaining a chair in a University, — to which the proposed appoint- ment would undoubtedly lead, — was, at that time, the highest object of his ambition. A happy opportunity for the ultimate gratification of this hope, was closed as soon as opened. In the midst of the conflict of feeUngs thus awakened, between golden visions and their speedy dissipation, an application was received from Upper Canada for a person (qualified to take charge of an academy, which was after- wards to become a college, under the patronage of the government of the Province. The situation, it is said, was first offered to Dr. Chalmers, and then to another i person of literary distinction ; and when declined by them \ it was offered to Mr. Strachan and accepted. He accepted it, as he stated in a letter to a friend, chiefly on account of the situation of his mother and sisters ; whose wants, out of the emoluments of his present situation, he was unable adequately to supply. His prospects of obtaining any thing better in his native land, were remote and uncertain ; and so filial affection constrained him to become an unwilling exile. The promise of £80 sterling per annum, with free board and lodging, and all the expenses of the journey provided, gave him hope that, if his own personal happiness should not be increased, those nearest his affec- tions would not be allowed to want. Having formed this determination, and sundered his connection with his parish school, he obtained the follow- ing testimonial from Dr. Barclay, dated. Manse of Kettle, July 20, 1799 :— "The bearer, Mr. John Strachan, student in divinity, taught our school, at Kettle, for about two years, with 8 much approbation and success : always conducting himself with decorum nnd respectability in his private deport- ment ; and is hereby heartily commended to the notice and attention of all into whose hands these presents shall come." The wording of this testimonial incidentally disproves the statement which, in various qaarteis, has been aflirmed and believed, that the late Bishop of Toronto was once a licentiate, or probationary minister, of the Church of Scot- land. He merely, as we have seen, attended the Divinity Lectures at St. Andrew's ; but had never taken orders, or received a license to preach, in that church. 9 CHAPTER II. Emigration to Canada. — Residence at Kingston. ^-Ordination and removal to Cornwall. 'ANY, from experience, can fancy what would be the sensations, what the trials, of a young man alone at sea, in a vessel, — one of the ordinary traders of the time, — with a very slender supply of comforts ; without friend or acquaintance to lighten the solitude ; with none but the rude ship's company to converse with. There is, it is true, a buoyancy in youth which can surmount these trials. The novelty of all around, — the waste of waters, the wonders of the deep, the halo of brightness with which hope invests the future,— all this would reconcile to passing discomforts, and shake off the depression which separation from the dearest on earth, growing wider and wider every hour, will create in the most cheerful and the most hopeful. Those were not days in which the Atlantic was tra- versed with the speed of the present time ; and a slow craft, with adverse winds and calms, rendered the voyage of Mr. Strachan an unusually tedious one. It was about the latter end of August, 1799, when he embarked for Ame- rica ; and it was not until the last day of that year that he arrived in Kingston, Upper Canada, the place of his destination. Here, at the outset of what he believed was to prove a life of exalted usefulness and brilliant promise, he was doomed to bitter disappointment. What had been pro- jected regarding an Academy, — by and by to merge into a 2 10 College, — was found to be a fanej only, not a reality. It was amongst the wise plans and purposes of leading men, wishing well to Upper Canada ; but it had taken no shape, it had not even a foundation. Moreover, General Sinicoe, who had devised tl.i praiseworthy scheme, had left the (iountry and returned to England ; and there was no one in the Province of sufficient influence and courasfe to take it up. The feeling amongst leading men rather was, that the Province was not yet ripe for such an institution : the popvdation was thin and scattered ; and there were not many of sufficient means to send their sons to be educated at a distance. A public school of such magnitude as had been contemplated, was therefore regarded as quite beyond the times; as a project adapted to a much more advanced state of society than the country now possessed. We can understand the effect of this upon one who had made himself an exile from his native land, in expectation that all was ripe and ready for the school, to the charge of which he had been so specially invited. It is well expressed in a few lines addressed to a friend in England in after years, — "Though gifted with a happy disposition, and disposed to see the best side of things, I was so beat down that, if I had been in possession of £20, I should have returned at once ; but in truth I had not twenty shillings, and was therefore obliged to make the best of it. My situation was, indeed, desolate ; for I knew not a creature. The gentleman in whose house I was to reside, had no convenience for a person of retired and studious habits ; and he seemed reserved and distant in his mannere. The few young men of the town, or rather village, were unedu- cated, and inclined to practices in which I could not join." But time gradually allays such temporary ills and disappointments. He soon discovered that the gentleman in whose house he was an inmate, was a person of a superior order of mind; of considerable acquirements; and of great strength and purity of character. He was, too. 11 an earnest Christie. ., without fanaticism or ostentation ; and a zealous and consistent Churchman. What struck his guest at first as reserve of manners, speedily disappeared ; and increased intercourse, with a congeniality of principles and tastes, made them companions and friends. Such was the late Richard Cartwright, Esq., of Kingston, who, through quiet industry, and unbending integrity, had amassed a considerable fortune ; whose well-stored mind, aided by a memory of uncommon power, rendered him an agreeable and instructive companion ; and whose abilities and worth qualified him to fill various public situations with honor to himself and benefit to his country. Very few survive who knew that gentleman personally ; but his njime is fresh in the memory and regards of the present generation, as one of the pioneers of our social and political state of whom Canadians are justly i)roud. For this gentleman Mr. Strachan acquired more and more regard, as their acquaintance ripened. He had a room built specially for his acconmiodation as a study ; and his two eldest sons, placed under his charge as pupils, were left entirely to his control and management. Mrs. Cartwright, too, was so amiable and kind, that he felt himself quite at home in their house. His little school, numbering twelve, became even then distinguished ; the management of the boys, and the mode of instruction, being so superior to any thing they had previously been accustomed to. He went on successfully and happily in this occupation for three years and a half; but as another opening then presented itself for enlarged usefulness, hj« connection with Kingston was reluctantly severed. But the friendships he formed there, were never dis- solved in life. With Mr. Cartwright and his family he lived always on terms of aft'ectionate intimacy ; and he was appointed by that gentleman to be the guardian of his children when death should deprive them of his own care. He had another loved and valued friend in the late 12 Rlv. Dr. Stuart, then the Rector of Kingston, and Bishop's Official in Uj)per Canada. Two of liis sons were amongst his pupils; and both became highly distinguished men at the bar in Lower Canada. With one, the late Andrew Stuart, of Quebec, he maintained a cordial and intimate friendship. From the time that the little school at Kings- t<m was broken up, there was a steady correspondence kept up between them ; and while the tutor was, on many important occasions, asked for his judicious counsels, the pupil, on his part, was not backward in offering his remarks on passing events and opaions. In a letter written by him from Quebec, August 12th, 1803, while yet a youth, we find the following very interesting pas- sages : — " If you perceive a greater degree of stiffness than usual in this letter, you must attribute it to the apprehension of my catching myself in the use of a hard word, after the genealogy you have given of them ; though, as the term hard word is a lelative one, and a dozen of such as were so to me might pass unnoticed in a letter to you, I believe I may shake off my fears. The reason you give for the aversion in which hard words without meaning are now held, is very satisfactoiy ; but don't you think that those with meaning, those which are introduced to enable me to express elevated ideas in language una])proi)riated to vulgar ones, or to mark their nice shades, owe their unpopu- larity to a principle more universal ; to that self-love which teaches us to look with dissatisfaction on the pei"sou who, we think (causelessly), makes us feel our inferiority, and which by association of ideas, creates at the same time an avereion to the means which he uses to that effect." We shall be excused, we feel sure, for preserving and perpetuating the following extract from the same letter : — *' I am happy to learn that Cornwall does not want the apology of nisi si patria sit ; and, indeed, I did not think it would. I reQoUe^tj ^q ^Qine part of our classical reading, you 13 iiicntioiK'd to us a .surprising circuinstiuice, — the sil(Mic(^ «>f all the Latin Listoiians and i)hi]oso[)hers respecting tliat great natural ])henomenon, the diversity of colour in the human com- plexion ; more ])articularly, as you then observed, since in their commerce with Africa, they had an opportunity of observing it in its greatest extent. Will not the language of Tacitus account satisfactorily for this otherwise astonishing inditferonco ? Ho evidently su])posed an indigenous origin of man ; and he would liai'dly sj)ort so wild a notion unless it were sanctioned by the learned of his time. And if, at his time, it was the current opinion, how much rather at the period of the first Punic wai-, when the Africans, I believe, first became known to the Romans. Now, aJoj)ting this notion, much greater diversity than that under consideration would pass unnoticed. And the differences in man would excite no more surprise than the differences of any vegetable production peculiar to one or other of those two (JUJ^vter.s. The name which the Athenians assumed to them- selves of AutorJithoni, leads me to susj)ect that this was the universal opinion of anti(piity. If so, considering the effects of this or»inion in another point of view, it might have concurred forcibly with moral and political causes to produce that ])atriot- ism in every class of citizens, which so frequently commands the admiration of the modern in reading the history of Greece and Rome ; and which admiration is so much increased by a coui- ))arison of the impassioned views of the lower classes of these people in regard to the duties we owe our country, with the dullness of the feelings of a modern mob on this subject." It was, no doubt, owing to the conversation and counsels of his friend Dr. Stuart, that Mr. Strachan, during his sojourn at Kingston, determined on taking Orders in the Church of England. And, once started upon this purpose, we can understand with what vigor and earnestness lie would pursue it. The testimony he received from the Bishop of the Diocese, the first Dr. Mountain, as to the extent and satisfactoriness of his qualifications for the sacred ministry, we shall best state in his own words, contained in a letter to Mr. Cartwright, dated May 20, 14 1803: — "Tho testimony contained in j'our letter of thp 3rd instant, in favor of Mr. Strachan's character and con- duct was, in a particular manner, satisfactory to me. In Mr. Strach.an's examination, and in the conversation I havo had with him, I have found nothing to contradict the advantageous opinion you have formed of him. He appears to be a young man of competent attainments, of fair understanding, and great modesty and worth. I thought it might be acceptable to you to know that I am extremely well satisfied on his subjects, and have therefore been induced to give you this trouble." He was ordained on the 22nd May, 1803 ; and his appointment to Cornwall, as stated in the letter of the Provincial Secre- tary, dated from that day. He appears to have entered without delay upon his duties at Cornwall ; and at first in a temporary place of worship, as some time must have elapsed before the church was built. There is a record of the sale of pews early in 180G; so that the church could not have been available for service much before that time. His income as clergy- man was only £130 per annum ; a sum, as he stated in writing to a friend, not sufficient to enable him to keep house, and withal to extend the never-failing assistance to his excellent and beloved mother. His personal wants were few, and his habits simple ; and yet, as he said, ho was never beforehand. His means were always largely taxed for the aid of others. Amongst the fresh objects of his solicitude, was his elder brother, James. This brother writes on April 10, 1801, from H. M. ship " Boadicea," at Torbay ; intimating, though we are without particulars, that he had been making an experiment of naval life. Speaking of the death of another brother, William, he says, in that letter, in reference to the one to whom he was writing, — " how happy I am to have a brother yet, who I hope is, and will be, an honor to the family. I thank you in the name of ir, my mother and myself for your kindness towards her in her old a;:je. The Almighty will reward you for your goodness to an old and infirm parent." Of the interests of this brother he was not forgetful; for the fii*st £100 he liad to spare, he advanced to en.able him to open a book- seller's shop in Aberdeen. This was done with the con- dition that he would live with his mother, who, in her advanced age, required }»rotection; and afford her such pecuniary help as his business would allow. Ho was very successful in this enterprise, and liecanie at Inst a man of good independent means. Mr. Strachan's clerical duties at Cornwall weve not such .•IS to occupy his whole time ; so he soon commenced taking pupils, and gradually formed that school which afterwards obtained so much celebrity. Amongst his »^arliest pupils was the late Chief Justice of Upper Canada, Sir John Beverley Robinson, Bart., who went to Inn: in the autumn of 1803, having been previously under his charge for a short time at Kingston. Dr. Stuart, in sending him to Cornwall, mentions him as an " old ac([uaintance" of Mr. Strachan; and such was his master's ajipreciation of him, tfiat he offered to educate him gra- tuitously, if his mother, a Avidow, should not find it convenient to meet the expense. The warmest friendship — founded on mutual admiration — subsisted between them until death severed the tie. One after another of those distinguished men followed as pupils at Cornwall, whose names adorn our Canadian history ; some having filled the highest offices in church and state ; and all, with scarcely an exception, evincing through life an elevation of principle, high gentlemanly bearing, disinterested love of country, and a zealous attachment to her time-ho ored institutions. All, too, evinced for him who trained them to such thoughts and duties, a love and veneration which time could not impair. With nearly all he maintained a con-espondence as long 16 as they lived ; and the few who survive their honored master dwell with the warmest affection upon his memory. It was an early desire of Mr. Strachan to select from his pupils those who had a taste, and qualifications, for the sacred ministry. This he intimated to the Bishop of Quebec ; and his Lordship, in February, 1809, replies, — " I have no sort of difficulty in saying that I will receive Candidates for Holy Orders educated by you, and will give them ordination, provided always that I shall be sufficiently satisfied with their attainments, and that there shall be a situation open in which the Government shall consent to place them." In the same letter, his Lordship says, " I am glad that your school — a much more accept- able term in these days than academy — goes on so well. I congratulate you both upon your success and your usefulness." Amongst his early Cornwall pupils, the only two who entered the church were the present Dean of Montreal, tlie Very Rev, John Bethune, D.D.. and the Rev. William Macaulay, Rector of Picton. The former was ordained at Quebec, in 1814; and the latter in England, in 1818, after a residence at Oxford of about two vears. That he did not remain to take his Degree at this University, was always a subject of great regret to his early tutor, and much lamented by many of his Oxford as well as Cana- dian friends. There had been another aspirant to the ministry, the late Hon. George H. Markland, of whom Dr. Stuart wrote to Mr. Strachan in 1810 ; statintr his strong desire for the sacred profession, and describing ijim as " a good, indeed an excellent young man." His parents, it appears, were loth to part with him, being an only child ; and the consequence was, the misfortune of his not being brought up to any profession at all. Had his early inclinations been encouraged, Mr. Markland — having excel- lent abilities and very agreeable manners — might ha^'e proved an ornament to the Church, and a blessing to 17 society. Who can tell what an influence for good this might have imparted to his thoughts and life ; how many gloomy and sad days it might have brightened and solaced ; how effectually it might have turned his aims and efforts to paths of holiness and usefulness ! Pity it is to thwart the earlj- inclinations of youth in selecting their work in life ; the mdre pity, if the direction of these is to serve God and to promote the best welfare of their fellow- men. 18 CHAPTER III. The Cornwall Grammar School. (T was. on one of those bright warm mornings in early May, which our Canadian climate occasionally affords, that a lad about ten years of age was making his way to Cornwall on horseback. He was attended by a trusty servant-man ; across the saddle of whose hoi"se was slung a pair of capacious saddle-bags, containing the youth's modest wardrobe and supply of books. This was the only practicable mode of conveyance at that season of the year; and in some places floating "corduroy" bridges rendered the road rather hazardous, especially to so inexperienced a horseman. He was full of glee at the idea of entering the renowned school at Cornwall, and allowed no gloomy presages to overcloud his bright hopes. But there was many a sad day to mingle with the joyous ones that came after ; a monitor of the future life, — a lesson conveyed thus early that even youth's hopeful season is not all serene and bright. The next day was Sunday; and he joined the gathering of boys at the old grammar school-house, nearly opposite the parsonage. Those outside maintained a very staid and respectable demeanour, — standing in groups in their Sun- day's best, or sauntering about within safe distance of the pai'sonage ; whereas, within, there was romping and tumb- ling, shouts of young voices and clouds of dust. But the moment the Principal presented himself in his flowing gown and powdered head at the front door of the parsonage, there was a rush of every boy to the gate of that dwelling; a procession was formed ; and the whole school, two and 19 two, marched to the church close by, — the master following. On arriving at the church door, they formed two single lines on either side, and the master walked between them into church, — all the boys uncovering. The service -^as conducted with great decorum ; the elder boys making the responses audibly, and the simple, rustic-looking congrega- tion very devout and attentive. Old Mr. S usually led the siinging, and maintained it in tremulous, quivering tones ; very few others joining with him. One honest member of the congregation Mr. E , invariably stood up about the middle of the sermon, and, facing the clerg)^- nian, kept his eyes fixed upon him till all w^as concluded. In the afternoon, — for there was but one service, — the boys had liberty to walk where they pleased ; but they rarely misconducted themselves. There Avas, in fact, gi-eat risk in doing so ; as the "censors" for the week, who gave in their reports on Monday morning, had a column for such as played, or otherwise misbehaved themselves, on Sunday. Monday was generally called "black Monday"; as, what from the censors' reports, and the numerous tasks and exercises on that morning presented, a more than usual amount of punishment followed. The youth referred to above, crept quietly in after the school had opened, and was much awed by the sights and sounds he witnessed, — the sounding lash, and the shrinkings and contortions of the unfortunate ones that were made to come under it. But the punishment after all was not very severe, and w*as administered with great temper and impartiality. This ordeal through, the principal came over to where that youth sat quiet and timid ; he kindly shook hands with him, patted him on the head, and assigned him his class and his work. Thus commenced the acquaintance, that by and by ripened into a life-long and never broken friendship, between the late Bishop of Toronto and the writer of this Memoir. 20 A brief sketch of our school work, as it was in those (lays pursued, will not be uninteresting. After Prayers on Monday morning, the "Weekly Register" was read by one of the censors of the })ast week ; mention- ing every class, what they had done during the week, who had been head and foot of the several classes, and how often. On other days, the Register called the " Daily Register," stated in the same form the work of the pre- ceeding day only. Ac the end of each month, a book called the " Book of Merit," was made up from the Weekly Register, in which were inserted tlie names of those who, during the previous month, had been oftenest head in their respective classes, or who had in other respects distin- guished themselves. The performance of voluntary tasks was much encouraged, — such as translations from English into Latin, original poetry, and essays on any subject selected at the writers' own discretion ; and if these were approved of by the Principal, they were ordered to l)e inserted in the Book of Merit. There was also a "Black Book," — of much less pon- derous size and pretentious appearance than the Book of Merit, — in which were recorded the names of those who had been particularly negligent, oi* who had disgraced themselves by improper conduct. The records of eacli book were read out aloud by the Principal on the first Wednesday in each month, with remarks from the Prin- cipal of commendatory or disparaging character, as the cases might respectively demand. The "Book of Merit" is still in existence, and has oftentimes been examined and commented upon by old scholars f)f the Cornwall School, when spending a quiet evening with tlieir revered Tutor. With considerate tenderness, the "Black Book" seems to have been consigned to fitting darkness. The records of its pages have not been allowed to recall unpleasant memories of the past; honours and rewards are remembered, but boyish delinquencies and degradations have been given over to oblivion. 21 The work of each clay commenced with the reading aloud by the respective classes, of a portion of some historical work, or Enfield's or Walker's Speaker, — the principal taking them, with his assistants, in turn. On two days in the week, dictation followed the reading. The master read aloud a few sentences, carefully noting the punc- tuation ; and this, every member of the class was required to write down carefully on his slate. Each boy's perform- ance was then examined, and errors were marked by a score underneath ; those with fewest mistakes took respectively the highest places. If the mistakes were so numerous as to betoken particular negligence, not only was there a lowering of position in the class, but a slight punishment was also inflicted. This proved an admirable method of getting boys into the habit of spelling correctly, — an accomplishment in education not unfrequently overlooked. On one occasion it happened that the dictation was made inadvertently from a chapter that had not been lead ; and, in consequence, every boy's performance was miserably incorrect. The Principal ordered the whole chapter to be committed to memory against Monday morning, — the day of the occurrence was Saturday, — as a punishment for the apparent negligence. This was a hard case but it had to be submitted to. In the interval, however, he had discovered his mistake, and made no demand on Monday morning for the imposition, — greatly to the relief of all in the class. The junior Latin classes were very thoroughly drilled. The lessons were short ; but not only had the whole to be construed several times over, but. every noun that occurred had to be declined, and every verb conjugated ; the rules, too, demanded for every variation. Even in the more advanced classes, this particularity, though in a difi*erent way, was maintained. In nouns and adjectives they were asked to state one or more cases in each number ; in verbs, they were asked for the participles or supines, or bid to go through consecutively the second or third j)erson9, singular 22 or plural, of every tense in every mood, both in active and passive voices. Sometimes to ensure more perfect accuracy and mastering of the subject, they were desired to go through this backwards. In Arithmetic and Algebra, the several classes brought up one or more prepared questions on their slates, which were examined as to their accuracy. Then the work was rubbed out ; some one boy was called upon to i-ead the question, and thus commence working it aloud, giving the rules and reasons for every step ; and, as he proceeded, the rest of the class silently worked with him, writing down figure by figure, but ready to correct him, and take his place, if he made any mistake. When the leader had finished, the work on each boy's slate was inspected ; and if any errors were detected, he lost place according to their number. The second question was then proceeded with in the same manner; and sometimes both were worked over a second and even a third time, so as to test every boy's ability and expertness. About twenty minutes before the close of the school on each morning, Saturday excepted, the several classes formed for writing, — their respective copy-books placed before them, with copper-plate lines at the head. At the word "Compare," the boys started up, and placed their copy- books on a range of desks, in the order in which they stood the day before They were inspected by the Head-master, and made to take precedence according to their merits, — a copy-book sometimes shifted from a very low position almost to the top. The Geography of countries, Natural History, and Civnl History were taught in a peculiar way. These had each their respective days in the week, — always in the afternoon, and the last thing before the closing of the school. On the day appointed for each respectively, not less than twenty questions with their answers were to be produced by each boy, fairly written out. The boy at the foot 23 then asked a question, upon the given subject, of the boy next above him: if answered, the latter asked the third, and so on through the class. If it happened that the boy asked could not answer, the questioner answered for him and took his place ; and he then continued tc ask questions until stopped by [being correctly answered. If there was any unreasonable delay in a boy's asking a question ^/hen his turn came, he lost his privilege of asking any more ; and any one asking a question that had been asked before, also lost his privilege. In this way the compe- titors soon became reduced in number, and the whole was concluded within a reasonable time. As the chances of success were very poor unless the subject had been well got up beforehand, — for no boy had time to be searching- through his paper for an answer to the question proposed, — it is very evident that no more effectual method could have been adopted for thoroughly impressing on the luemor}^ the subject thus introduced. Once a week, generally on a Monday afternoon, there was an exercise in Reading, and a method for improving the Elocution, which probably was peculiar to this school. Two or three boys in their turn, challenged each two other boys to read a passage in prose or verse: this was formally announced a week beforehand and duly recorded, so that every one had ample time for preparation. The challenger came into an open place, and read first; the challenged immediately followed. Judgment as to which was the best reader was not pronounced by the Principal himself, but left to a committee appointed for that purpose. If these by their spokesman gave a wrong judgment, they were sharply rebuked for it; but almost universally their judg- ments were acquiesed in by the Principal. The benefit of such a system to all parties, — the listeners as well as the readers, — is obvious. About once in two months there was the public recitation of a debate, for which great preparations were made. Two 24 leaders on either side of some great question, — say the Slave Trade, — were selected, and they made their choice out of the best S2)eakers in the school, of as many as were required to fill the debate. Every one's allotted speech had to be committed carefully to memory, and some of these were several pages in length; so that, in conjunction with the regular v:ork of the school, it was pretty severe labour. Still the boys took very cheerfully to the task; as the excitement on the day of repetition was intense, not only on the part of the debaters, but of the whole school ; especially at the close, the Principal gave his judgment upon the manner in which each side acquitted themselves, I shall notice only one other peculiarity of the school, and this was the Saturday lecture. On this day, just before the half-dtiy's school was closed, a lecture was delivered by the Principal, occupying about fifteen minutes, on Ancient or Modern History, Ethics, or a portion of Scripture, as the case might be; for each of these subjects was taken up in turn. Probably two-thirds of the school were required to hand, in on the Monday morning, a short abstract of this lecture, which was carefully read over by the Principal. Praise was fully bestowed where it was deserved ; but negligence, exhibited in a very poor per- formance, was rebuked, and sometimes punished. When the transcript was particularly bad, the writer was made to learn it by heart and repeat it next morning; and on some occasions, he was desired to stand on the top of a desk and read it aloud, to the great amusement of the school and his own deep mortification. No more effectual cure for indolence or neoflifjence could have been devised. Enough has been addressed to shew how patiently and thoroughly the boys of the Cornwall Grammar School were drilled on every subject that formed part of their studies; enough to shew the grounds for the reputation far and wide which that school has gained. 25 Distinguished men were occasionally visitors of the school; and the annual examinations attracted gentlemen •from Quebec and Montreal on the one side, and York, Kingston, and Niagara on the other. Amongst the casual visitors was the Bishop of Quebec, Di'. Jacol> Mountain, whose first visit to the school was signalized by the presentation to his Lordship of an Ode in English from the three senior boys of the school, and an Ode in Latin, Sapphic and Adonian, from the Principal himself The former was very creditable to its youthful authors; and upon the latter the Bishop thus expressed himself in a letter dated January 25, 1804: — "With respect to your Ode, I find considerable difficulty in giving an opinion upon the merits of a composition, in which you are } (leased to speak so very favourably of me. But I must not refuse to do you the justice, nor myself the pleasure, of saying that, in my judgment, it has real poetical merit ; and contains sentiments which d(^ equal honour to your feelings and your taste. I need hardly add, that the cultivation of this talent, in a moderate degree, and ap- plied to proper subjects, may clearly be placed under a certain class of amusements to which I alluded in my charge ; nor need I, I am convinced, caution you against indulging even this elegant and pleasing talent, to the neglect of more important pursuits, and more prolitfible studies. The very* sentiments contained in this Ode are a pledge to me that such a caution is unnecessary." Poetical coriiposition was nmch encouraged in the C/orn- wall school, as being of much value in promoting a readi- ness of conception' and expression, and a more copious and graceful diction. Half-holidays, except on Saturdays, were never granted except on some special occasion or event, — as a great victory on land or sea, the arrival of a new scholar, or the visit to the school of some gentleman of high standing in the country. But a few lines of satis- factory poetry would always ejisure a half holiday, when 4 26 there was nothing else for which to claim it ; and as the school was neVer without ita laureate, his talents were frequently in requisition to ])rocure this boon. Like other poets, he was not always "in the vein,"' and his lines were therefore rejected ; but his successes, on the whole, were more frequent than his failures. The laureate sometimes, and no doubt for satisfactory reasons, refused to write. On one of these occasions, — the poet, we believe, was the late Sir John B. Robinson, — the task was assigned to two or three others who, amongst them it Avas thought, would evoke the passable lines. These young gentlemen, to avoid interruption, betook themselves to the tower of the church, standing at its west end generally with open d<jors. This work proved a failure ; and many a playful gibe and jeer was afterwards flung at the " steeple committee," as they were designated by him to whom they ventured to constitute themselves rivals. An appropriate conclusion to these remarks on the Cornwall school, will be a few extracts from a very excel- lent address delivered by the Principal to his pupils at the annual examination in August, 1807; when several of them had completed their education, and were about to prepare themselves for the work in life which they had respec- tively chosen ; — " I begin with an observation which, to many of you, will appear a little extraordinary ; it is this, that one of the greatest advantages you have derived from your educalion here, arises from the strictness of our discipline. Those of you who have not already perceived how much your tranquillity depends upon the proper regulation of the temper, will soon be made sensible of it as you advance in yeai*s. You will find people who have never known what it is to be in habitual subjection to precept and just authority, breaking forth into violence and outrage on the most frivolous occasions. The passions of such persons, when once roused, soon become ungovernable ; and that impa- tience of restraint which they have been allowed to indulge, 27 embitters the greater jKirtion o£ their lives. Now the discipline necessary to correct the impetuosity of the passions, is often found no where but in well-regulated schools ; for, though it should be the first care of parents, they are too apt to be blinded by affection, and grant liberties to their children which reason disapproves. *' Next to the due regulation of the passions and inelioration of the temper, which we very justly reckon one of the most important advantages resulting from a well-ccnidncted education, we place those habits of diligence and application, to which you have been accustomed in tlie j)rosecution of your studies. These habits are of the greatest use at every age ; but if they are not acquired in youth, they are very seldom attained. They are certainly the foundation of all future excellence ; for how can any person advance in his professional studies, or transact busi- ness with correctness and despatch, unless he be accustomed to a|)plication ( Never did any one gain pre-eminence without exertion. The memorable example of Demosthenes has become trite, because so fretiuently adduced ; but read the private history of any of those men who have risen above their fellows, and you will find tliat they commonly obtained this distinction by vigorous application. " Be careful, my young friends, in the prosecution of your professional studies, to improve the advantages which you have here acquired. Be patient, diligent, and methodical, and you will make rapid and profitable progress. It is to the want of a systematic education, to a confused method of thinking, eai-ly acquired but never thoroughly removed, that we must attrii)ute those numerous inconsistencies and that confusion of ideas, which we find so general amongst those we converse with. The opinions of pei-sons of credit are frequently taken up by men without examination, or deduced from principles in themselves erroneous, because they have never given themselves the trouble of sifting them to the bottom. How contemptible rash opinions, unsup- ported by solid reasons, must appear to an accurate thinker, though delivered with fluency or even elegance of language, it is easy to imagine. By encouraging you to think accurately, and to exercise industry and application, we have endeavored to 28 protect you from this rock, and to give .solidity to all yoiir future acquisitions. It is only the man who is not afraid to decide for himself, that can discharge any oftice he may hold, with jnohity and lionor. "While you are qualifying youi*Helves to discharge with dignity the dtities of your profession, you must not forget that some- thing more is necessary to render husincss ]»leasant. In order to do thi.s, you must behave in a kind and affectionate manner to all who have intercoui'se with you ; a mildness of treatment, a con descensiou to inferiors, a readv obedience to the just commands of superiors, contribute, in ;. markable degree, to make a man content and useful in society. Tt will be obvious to you all that I do not recommend that artificial politeness which decorates the countenance with a smile, whilt^ the heart i.s rankling witif malice ; and which will descend to flatter the wicked and the proud, when interest ap[)roves. No ; the civility of manners which I would recommend, flows from the heart, and is inti- mately connected with all the finer afTections that can aWorn human nature. " At the same time that you are animated with the laudaV)le ambition of excelling in your profes.sion, and rendering your- Belves agreeable by your amiable manners, do not neglect to im})rove those correct principles of religion and virtue, which must ever constitute your most solid merit. Impress upon your minds the sublime and affecting truth that there is a God abo\e, our Friend, our Benefactor, the Creator of all things ; and that it is only by imitating His moral perfections, jis brought home to our hearts and affections by our blessed Redeemer, that we can render oui-selves worthy of the rank we hold in the scale of beings, and enjoy solid jdeasure in this life, and in that which is to come. " Suffer me, however, to remind you that he who wishes to be a good man, and rise in moral excellence, must begin with being a dutiful child. Obedience to parents, an anxious solicitude to please them and to increase their innocent enjoyments, are indi- cations of an amiable and generous soul. It is the foundation- stone, the test of virtue; and unless it be so founded, it has no value. I shall boldly affirm that the man who does not look 29 hack with Joliglit at every i»lea.sure he has given his itarenta ; who feels not a most agreeable emotion at the recollection of his exertions to render them happy ; aiitl who experiences no com- punction for acl.i of ilisobedience or neglect, can never feel mnch satisfaction in this world. Chorish, then, this tender filial affec- tion ; it will ju'otect you from vice, when far away from youi- families and homes. When you are assaxilted by temptation ; when the wicked and profligate are attempting to draw you int*> their snares, and to ^'orrupt the pure and amiable principles you liave imbibed ; when your resolution staggers and begins to give way, the tender recollection of your parents will rush upon your minds and arrest your attention. It will dispel the allurements of vice, and enable you to escai)e its toils • " Before I conclude, let me recommend the cultivation of friendship. The connexions formed at school frequently continue through life. This ixnion, if founded on virtue, and nourished by similarity of disposition and congenial souls, will be the delight of your future lives. With what fondness do Ave rec(»l- lect the companiolis of our early years ! With what emotion do we look back to those mutual endearments which bound us to one another, — to the noble resolutions we had formed, — and to our determination to continue the friends of virtue and truth ! These are feelings which give us the liveliest pleasure, when most of the enjoyments of this transient scene have ceased to delight. " Cultivate, then, my young friends, all those virtues which dignify the human character, and mark in your behaviour the respect you entertain for everything venerable and holy. It is this conduct and these sentiments that will raise you above the rivalship, the intrigues, end slanders by which you will be surrounded. They will exalt you above this little spot of earth, so full of malice, contention and disorder; and extend your views, with joy and expectation, to that better country which ia beyond the grave." 30- CHAPTER IV. Domestic ami parochial life at Cornwall. — His marriage. — Appointment to York. C^ (^'YE must turn for a little from the more public to the domestic life of the late Bishop at Cornwall. We have many anecdotes of the discomforts and privations he experienced durinnj the early days of his bachelor house-keeping; when it was difficult to procure competent servants, and when a straitened income did not allow of a satisfactory choice. But all this was remedied by his marriage in 1807 to the lady with whom, for more than half a century, he lived in the fullest harmony and happiness. This was the second daughter of the late Dr. Wood, a respect? ble physician of Cornwall; but who had become the youthful widow, with a hand- some annuity, of the late Mr. Andrew McGill, of Montreal. As the event proved, no choice could have been more fortunate. She was a devoted wife and mother, had great personal attractions, was of gentle and amiable manners, and unsurpassed as a house-keeper. A laige family blessed this union ; but out of four sons and four daughters, only uue survives, — a son, the eldest born; the sole inheritor, out of that immerous familv, of the name of Strachan.* At Cornwall, in connexion with his large and flourishing school, he paid due attention to his clerical duties. Ser- vice was performed with gi-eat regularity each Sunday morning in the parish church; and the sermons, composed evidently with great care, were listened to with eager attention, and often elicited the admiration of the boys as well as of the ordinary parishoners. "I have heard," said * He — Capt. James McGill Strachan,— died on the 22nd January, 1870. 31 one of his pupils who spent a few years in England, "many attractive sermons here, with much learning and elegant composition; but I rarely came away with the glow we felt at the conclusion of many of our friend the Doctor's animated and practical addresses at Cornwall." In refer- ence to this, we may offer an extract from a letter of the Reverend Dr. Stuart, dated November 2, 1803, and alluding evidently to a visitation of the Clergy. " In regard to Mr. P — 's opinion of your performance in the pulpit, it was much in your favour. The sennon, he says, was an elegant composition, that would have done you credit in the public hall of a college." We have to the same purport a characteristic letter of the late Reverend John Langhorn, the good but eccentric Missionary of the Bay of Quinte ; for all that skirts that beautiful sheet of water was embraced in his sphere of duty. To this day many of the old inhabitants speak of his travels on foot ; his plain admonitions in public and private; his catechising the children at the kitchen fire-side, or under a shady tree in summer. One of these, when grown to manhood, mentioned to nie his being suddently surprised by Mr. Langhorn in one of his rambles; put through his catechism carefully; and sharply rebuked because he omitted to kneel down on the dusty road on coming to the Lord's Prayer. The following is the letter he addressed to Mr. Strachan, written in .a clear large hand and with colons and periods almost as large as pepper-corns : — "I received yours of August 28, 1807, together with your printed performance. In point of style I imagine you must come the nearest to our Lord Bishop, (who is a lovely writer) of any of the clergy in this Province. The printing of your pamphlet is considerably well done, and I remarked a few errata ; but however proper the language of it may be for your |)upils, to whom it is addressed, I hope you do not use such learned style 32 in your common preaching. I hope you do not tell youv vulgar hearers of 'misanthropic seclusion, iusulated occurrences,' (kc; and yoxi may believe me, I am right well pleased that we have in our little number a man of your abilities. If I am good for some uses, I do not look upou it I am proper for every purpose. " I wonder where you light on all these Deists. I cannot say I ever found out but one here. It is a long time since, and I cannot now jierfectly remember the conversation we had ; but it was somehow thus. He told me he was a Deist ; I asked him .what his rule of religion was. He answered, reason ; then I asked him what would reason teach you, if you should light on a man who shewed you that he had all Nature at his command ] To this, I think, he made no answer, and so the conference ended. I afterwards put Leslie in his hands ; but he turned out a young fellow not of the best of characters, and I do not know what became of him. " At page 7, you do not talk about ridicule quite to my satis- faction. One might imagine you condemned all ridicule, which is not reconcilable with Scripture. For we find the figui'e of Irony used with uncommon force by Elijah to the priests of Baal. A parcel of injudicious Americans would have said that Elijah made a mock of religion ; but such a great and extraordinary man knew very well how to conduct himself. I should have been better content if you had said, ' with young and uncultivated minds, unjustifiable ridicule has frequently more weight than the strongest arguments.' *' There is another })assage in your pamphlet I would ask you about. At page 20, you say, ' if the Jews, although thf keepers of a law written by wisdom itself, were unable to reach those pure and sublime virtues which sprang from the mis.sion of Christ,' &c. Here T would ask, what great matters have Christians done for these many hundred years that the Jews do not equal them in ] Here I presume you would have obliged the world, if you would have let them see particularly that the morals of Christians were wonderfully superior to those of the Jews. Here is a lame place in your reasoning, I fear. You may consider it." 33 The coafinement and intellectual toil of a school are very trying to the physical energies; and after a day of hard labou in this vocation, there is usually a prostration of the System which unfits for much other duty. But the subject of this memoir, as all his friends remember, was not one to be thus affected : his robust and vigorous frame was proof against such influence ; and frequently has he been seen, after these trying labours were closed for the day, mounting his horse and galloping off to visit some sick parishioner. His intercourse with the people was well maintained ; and if his visits were not very frequent, they produced a great impression, and were always remembered and spoken of as a high privilege. There was always a pleasant word for father and mother, and uniformly a marked kindness to the children of the household. Even those who looked upon him with awe in the school, shewed a little creeping familiarity when they met him in their parents' abode. In 1811, the Degree of Doctor in Divinity was conferred upon him by the University of Aberdeen, in reference to which his friend Dr. Stuart writes, — " I congratulate you upon the honour conferred on you by your Alma Mater, which I do sincerely; and according to Mr. Cartwright's account the manner of bestowing the academic distinction has been as flattering as the raatter itself, being unsolicited by yourself or friends, and conveyed to you through the hands of a person who had been actually your tutor. May you live long to convin(;e the world, that your friends know how to discover and reward modest merit I" In the same letter is a reference to the serious illness of their eccentric friend Mr. Langhorn, and the expression of a desire from him to be relieved from the actual discharge of his m' Isterial duties. It will surprise many of our readers to hear Dr. Stuart say, " In the event of the success of his application for leave of absence, I recom- mended Mr. Osgood (provided he would return and accept 5 34 the situation) as Mr. Langhorn's Curate, and contingent successor. The Bishop has consented to this arrangement." This was Mr. Thaddeus Osgood, no well known subse- quently in the religious history of Canada ; a quiet inoffensive man ; of earnest piety, and much devoted to the spiritual welfare of the young. Although a Presby- terian in some American connexion, he never in his after life, shewed any violent contradiction to what seemed to have been his early partialities. The long intercourse and affectionate friendship that subsisted between Dr. Stuart and Dr. Strachan, was now about to be brought to a close. This excellent man and zealous clergyman died in August, 1811, in the 70th year of his age; of whom his friend has given this brief memoir in the "Christian Recorder," of March, 1819 : — " The Reverend Dr. John Stuart was born of very respectable parents in the State of Virginia, in 1741. Of his early life, little worthy of notice is known, excejtt that he soon discovered a strong attachment to serious studies ; a bias which appeared the more remarkable as he was naturally of a lively dispoj^ition. In acquiring the knowledge which was necessary to qualify him for the arduous and important office of a minister of Christ, he met with many difhculties. which a mind less vigorous and per- severing would never have been able to surmount. His father was a rigid Presbyterian, and though sufficiently indulgent to his children in every thing else, he looked for their implicit obedience in adopting his religious system. The doctor incurred his fathers displeasure by thinking differently in this matter. He was startled at a very early period of^ his life, at the dogmatical tone of the Shorter Catechism, which was correctly rejjeated by himself and his brothel's every Sabbatli evening. After much inquiry and reflection, he attached himself to the Church of England, being thoi'oughly convinced of the excellence of her doctrine, and primitive purity of her worship and discipline. But though he Was fully prepared for the ministry, and had attained the legal age, he deferred taking orders, that he might not wound the feelings of an aged and beloved parent. 3^ " This magnanimous forbearance he continued to exercise for' geveral years, till his father, struck with the greatness of tlie sacritice, and the iniequivocal })roof which it afforded of the purity of his motives, besought him to foHow his own inclination, giving him his Wessing, and praying sincerely for his future usefulness. After this amiable contention between filial love and parental affection, Dr. Stuart went to England, and was ordained by the Bisho[) of London. "Being now a minister of Christ, he left the more attractive path to eminence which his talents might have oj)ened, and devoted himself to the Indians on the Mohawk lliver. He laboured with imweai'ied sissiduity, to inspire them with living Christianity, and he was blessed with a degree of success jiropor- tioned to his active and rational zeal. During the seven yeai^s that he sj^ent among the Five Nations, his leisure hours were em))loyed in translating a part of the New Testament into their language, the credit of which, however, was given to another. " The Revolutionary War in America followed, but nothing could induce him to renounce his allegiance to his Sovereign. Leaving his native land, he wjvs appointed Chaplain to a provin- cial regiment, and regarded by officers and men with esteem and veneration. When peace was established he- settled himself amongst his fellow-loyalists in Canada. " The last twenty-six years of his valuable life were spent at Kingston, instructing a congregation that was continually increas- ing, and which loved him the more, the better he was known, for his life was a living example of what he preached. He may be truly named the father of the Einscopal Church in this Province, and a most worthy father he was; ever ready to instruct his younger brethren how to surmount the many difficulties which are apt to discourage them on their first entrance upon their ministry. "He resigned his spirit into the hands of God who gave it, in August, 1811 ; but he still lives in the hearts of his friends, and shall be had in everlasting remembrance." The death of Dr. Stuart necessarily involved some changes in the ecclesiastical arrangements of Upper Canada, slender as the staff of its clergy was at that time; and its effects upon the interests of Dr. Strachan were of a very marked and important character. They involved nothing less than his removal from Cornwall, and the commence- ment of a ministerial career in the capital of that Province, which was only terminated by his death fifty-five years afterwards, Yet, on the lamented demise of Dr. Stuart, very different arrangements had been contemplated. It was the anxious desire of the Hon. Richard Cartwright, concurred in by a large number of other influential friends, that Dr. Strachan should succeed to Kingston; and this Was a wish he eagerly cherished himself. But Mrs. Stuart had intimated to several friends of her departed husband, her earnest desire that her son, Mr. George O'Kill Stuart, should take his father's place, and be removed there from York, his present charge, " I instantly relieved my excel- lent friend Mr. Cartwright," says Dr. Strachan in a letter to the Bishop of Quebec, "from his difficulty, though not from his regret, by declaring it to be my firm resolution never to oppose the son of my venerable friend, but to forward with all my power, whatever his respected widow might conceive conducive to her comfort. This was a sacrifice not easily made, but I owed it to Dr, Stuart, and I found strength to make it." He went further, and urged Mr. Cummings, the Churchwarden, to call a meeting, which should invite Mr, George Stuart to become their minister, subject to the approbation of the Bishop, and of the Lieutenant Governor of the Province. Immediately following this arrangement, was the offer to Dr, Strachan of the parish of York, — an offer voluntarily made by Mr. Gore, the Lieutenant Governor, who enter- tained for him the highest regard and esteem, and which was unhesitatingly sanctioned by the Bishop of Quebec. This oflfer led to long and anxious consideration. Corn- wall, with its flourishing school, furnished an excellent income, and had besides a comfortable parsonage-house on 37 which the incumbent had spent a considerable sum from his private means. In York, the clerical income was not much, if at all, larger; there was no parsonage; and the chances of a school on a remunerating scale were very doubtful. Moreover, the expenses of living, at the seat of Government, would be much increased ; and the cost of moving, when the means of transport were so few and inferior, would be very serious. All these considerations decided him on declining the offer ; but Governor Gore, his unvarying friend, intimated the willingness of the Bishop of Quebec to give him the appointment of Official in Upper Canada, — an office of dignity and responsibility, and to which a suitable income was attached. The assurance of this determined his acceptance of York ; but it appears that Mr. Gore had been too sanguine, for the Bishop of Quebec felt it his duty to confer the appointment upon the Rev. George Stuart, the son of him who had so worthily filled it for many years. The reason assigned was, " the high esti- mation in which the late Dr. Stuart was held, and the laudable motives which induced the son to move to Kingston, at a diminution of his income." What the Bishop had said, and how he interpreted the whole matter, is best given in his own words : — " It appears to me proper to say, that in confessinof to Mr. Gore (by way of account- ing for delay) that I had considerable hesitation in making up my mind upon the appointment of an Official for Upper Canada, in disclosing some of the reasons for that hesita- tion, and in adding that upon th e whole I inclined to Dr. Strachan, but should give the matter further consideration; I did not, in any manner, hint that my final determination in the least degree depended upon any opinion that Mr. Gore might be likely to express upon the subject, or that I looked to, or wished for, any such opinion from him ; but, on the contrary, took some pains to guard against any probability of such a misinterpretation." 3d This was satisfactory, as the world outside might inter- pret the matter ; but the disappointment to Dr. Strachan can easily be conceived. In his mind, it completely dissipated those hopes of advancement in which he had been led to indulge ; and perhaps there was never, in after years, that cordiality between him and his Diocesan which had previously existed. He felt himself wronged ; and without the intention on any side of inflicting a wrong, or committing an injustice, we cannot wonder that he should have so regarded it, and that he was unable to control the appreliension that he did not enjoy the full confidence of his Bishop. Many indications exist that it weighed heavily on his mind, and that it was likely to give an entirely new direction to his plans of life. In a letter from his friend and constant correspondent, Professor Brown, of St. Andrews, dated January 9, 1812, there is a reference to an expressed desire on the part of Dr. Strachan for a transfer to some University post in Scotland, — ^growing, no doubt, out of the disappointment to which he had been subjected in Canada : "This country," the Professor says, "is still more infested than yours, with miserable factions and illiberal jx)litics both in Church and State; so much so, that the best man cannot hold any prominent office without having his happiness embittered by these causes. Although it is j ust what I expect in ninety-nine out of a hundred instances, I cannot help feeling for you under the fallacy to which you have lately been exposed, both iu a moml and physical view of human affairs. Judging from what I know of your ardent and honourable mind, I suspect you have been too sanguine ; and your superior's conduct has been clearly unguarded, I believe no man of my acquaintance is more honest, or more conscientious, than you are ; but from the language of some of your excellent pamphlets which you have been good enough to send me, I am afraid that you have at times been intemperate ; 1 know that, in the present state of society, there is no surer way of giving offence than a fearless discharge of duty at all times, and 39 in all circumstances It is very possible that the situation to which you were so well entitled, might, on trial, not have yielded all the comfort you expected. For the reasons you urge, you were quite right, I think, in declining the other situation ; but comparing the two letters exchanged, you may fairly venture to change places with your superior. There is an old Scotch saying Ihave lately heard, 'Better ane sit, than ane flit.' If you cannot previously be translated to an eligible oflSce in this country, which I most anxiously wish, I do not despair of seeing you in the first ecclesiastical stations in Canada." There were, however, subsequent negotiations. The inhabitants of York, headed by Chief Justice Scott, urged on Dr. Strachan his acceptance of that parish ; and as this was warmly seconded by Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, at that time administering the government of the Province, — accompanying it with the offer of the Chaplaincy to the Troops, which would add £150 per annum to the income of the parish, — he at once consented. General Brock, in a letter to the Chief Justice, dated February 24, 1812, thus writes : " I rejoice that Dr. Strachan has consented to come to the capital. I write to the Bishop by this day's post, and request you to assure the Doctor that every possible indulgence will be extended to enable him to repair to York in the most convenient manner." This, then, was a settled arrangement ; and preparations for the removal, fraught with so many important futui'e consequences, were vigorously entered upon. 40 CHAPTER V. Removal to York. — The War with the United States. JOURNEY of 300 miles,— the distance from Corn- wall to York, — was in those days a tedious and expensive undertaking. The only mode of conve}'- ance from Cornwall to Kingston, with a family and heavy lugguage, was by the French batteau, — an open boat of inconsiderable size, with a flat bottom for the purpose of ascending rapids ; in the centre of which, a canvas awning was usually erected for the shelter of passengers from the sun and rain. Between Cornwall and Prescott the beau- tiful St. Lawrence presents a series of rapids, including the grand Long Sault ; and as, in many cases, the boats had to be shoved along with poles, the use of oars being impossible, and sometimes towed by hand, — two or three boats' crews uniting to drag up one, — their movements were very slow. From Prescott to Kingston it was smooth water, and they could row or sail as the wind allowed ; yet to accomplish the whole distance, fully a week was required. At Kingston, passengers and luggage had to be transferred to a schooner; and if calms and head winds were encountered, another week was not unusually spent in reaching York. This journey was the more precarious just now, as in the midst of it, took place the Declaration of War b}'' the United States against Great Britain. Without attempting to enter minutely into the causes of this war, it may be enough to remark that, when great nations are engaged in conflict, the less powerful states often innocently suffer. Those, for instance, who desired to remain neutral during 41 the tremendous contest between Great Britain and France, were exposed to serious inconveniences and losses. The people of the United States,'in particular, who enjoyed an extensive commerce as carriers of the produce of France and other countries, felt the ill effects of the clashing tiecrees of the belligerent powers. This would lead, on some occasions, to annoying and exasperating acts. The United States vessels would sometimes be intrusive ; and those of Great Britain, in self-defence, harsh and exacting. We shall not deny that there were, at times, grounds for complaint on the part of the United States ; but the apolo- gies and concessions of Great Britain were not received with the consideration and respect they would have com- manded, had not the latter been engaged in a conflict, almost for existence, with Napoleon Buonaparte. All remonstrances proved unavailing, and war was declared by the United States against Great Britain on the 18th of June, 1812. - On the arrival of Dr. Strachan at York, the war and its probable consequences was the one absorbing topic ; and on Sunday, August 2nd, he took occasion to express his opinions upon the grave event, in a sermon preached in the parish church before the Legislature of the Province. From this, which was published at their request, a few extracts will be interesting : " Irritations j.ad been industriously raised between the United States and Great Britain, yet we flattered ourselves that friendly relations would be maintained. We were indeed astonished at the measures taken by the United States to embarass and destroy the illustrious nation of which we form a part, — that nation which alone prevents universal despotism ; but we still cherished the hope, that reason would at length prevail ; that the general interests of humanity would teach them to prefer the good of the world to their private advantage. We expected that a nation fighting for her own existence, resisting the most formidable tyrant that ever lived, and triumphantly arresting his progress, 6 42 would at length obtain their favour ; and that if they had not the magnanimity to assist in the contest, they would, at all events, abstain from weakening her means of victory and defence. We looked f<ir peace, we ])ersuaded ourselves that tlie similarity of manners, habits, and opinions, the warm eomicxions that still subsist between the two nations, the tender recollection that tliey once stood in the relation of parent and child, would have taught the States moderation, and induced them to excuse any little faults on the part of the British, till a time of tranquillity should arrive, when they might be satisfactorily arranged. But no good came ; the darkness increased. " The great consolation which will support us during the present unhap})y times, is the conviction that, on our part, the war is just. All defensive wars are just. We were at peace, and war has been declared against us ; we have been invaded Mud attacked, we are consequently acting on the defensive, that is, we are repelling injury. Now the justice of our cause is of the greatest advantage to us : it is, indeed, half the victory. '• The very precept, ' Love youi enemies,' presupposes the existence of enemies, and consequently of wars. Yet this pre- cept has been deemed totally irreconcileable with such a state, for it has been triumphantly asked. How can you love those whose destruction you desire, and agauist whom you are fighting 1 To this the Christian may answer, that he seeks not the destruction of his enemy, but his return to justice and humanity. The end proposed by .all wars is peace ; and as soon as this can be obtained on equitable terms by the friend of the Gospel, he wars no longer. The same measure of love is not due to both, neither is it required ; but no conduct on the i)art cf enemies can free us from the obligation of doing them all the good we can, after they have lost tlie power of doing us evil. The punishing our enemy till he be disposed to agree to an equitable peace, can be done without harbouring hatred or levenge. ♦' The Christian soldier loves his country. Were patriotism a determination to fmpport our country when in the wrong, were it an inclination to do evil to promote her advantage, then might we admit it to be a narrow and illiberal prejudice ; but the patriotism for which we plead, is an ardent and fixed disposition 43 to promote our country's good by nil the lawful tueans in our power ; to sacrifice life, fortune, and every thing that we hold most dear, for its security and defence ; not to seek its aggran- dizement by the de[)ression of other nations, or by doing any thing inconsistent with justice, piety, and virtue. It is that warm affection which a good man feels for the happiness of his kindred and friends, extender to the society of which he is u member. '• In a free countiy like this, where differences of opinion con- cerning public affairs may be sincerely maintained, great danger arises lest a few designing men should take advantage of any party spirit that may exist, to promote their machinations, and induce by specious pretences the ado])tion of the most pernicituis measures, under the cloak of securing their liberties, and main- taining their independeiice. In order to avoid any thing like this, let us cai'efully avoid all those questions on which we are known to differ ; let us make a joint .sacrifice of all the heats and animosities which those differences may have engendered ; and since we are all anxious to defend our country ^igainst the common enemy, by word and deed, let our only contention be, who shall outstrip the other in this race of glory. *• If we fix our attention habitually upon God, and put on the graces of the Christian soldier, we have nothing to fear. Hard- ships and calamities we shall have to encounter ; but our heavenly Father will enable us to endure them, and we shall exj)erience in the heat of battle, His invigorating spirit strengthening our souls and bodies, and teaching us never to forget the duties of humanity even in the hour of victor}', but to raise the fallen foe and to treat him with kindness and respect. It is thus that the Christian soldier softens the horrors of war : he delights not in the anguish of individuals, and approves of no ;',cts of hostility but what are necessary and conducive to the end and object of the war : in fine, he forgets not that he is a Christian amidst the slaughter of the field." The tidings of a domestic sorrow reached him very soon after his settlement at York. This was the death of his aged mother, of whose last houi-s his brother, at Aberdeen, thus writes, on the 1st of November, 1812: "Our good 44 . and affectionate mother is no more. In my last I told you she was poorly, and for the most part confined to her bed ; for fourteen weeks previous to her death, she was never out of bed above an hour a day. She was very sensible until within a few days of her death. About ten days before her death, she called me to her bedside, and inquired if any letter had come from you. I said there was, with twenty-five pounds. She said, he was always mindful of me, and I have been a great burden to him ; but I will not be so much longer, for I feel my end approaching. Say to him, when you write, that next to my Redeemer he is ever on my mind ; tell him, I pray God to bless him and his. Likewise tell my good daughter that she has my prayers for her long kindness to me ; I trust God will reward all the family. Tell my son that I am well looked to." — She was described by a friend on the. spot, as a woman of extraordinary energy and great force of character. At the commencement of this Memoir we gave some specimens, in her own words, of a strength and cultivation of mind which, with so few opportunities in early life, were remark- able. We subjoin an extract from the last letter she wrote her son in Canada, bearing date April 3, 1811 : "My dear son and daughter, — I am this day 74 years of age. I can- not look for perfect health ; I ought to be thankful that I am so well, and so well supported in my old age. I have to regret tb«t I have been so long a burden to you ; but you do not begrudge me any thing, I know. And now, my son, I hope, although you have got a bit of honour conferred upon you, you will not be proud ; for I have always discovered pride to end with dishonour, but humility is an advantage to religion. Now, my son and daughter, may the blessing of God attend you and your family. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God, I am afraid this will be the last time that I write you with mine own hand, for I am very frail." York, at this time, was a little town of a few hundred 45 inhabitants ; the houses all of wood, and of very unpre- tending dimensions. Seven years later, when first seen by the writer of this Memoir, its population hardly exceeded 1,000 ; and there were but three brick houses in the whole place. In 1812, it might be regarded as a quiet little parish ; affording sufficient, but not severe labour to the incumbent, and quite within the compass of one man's pastoral ministrations. But now it was shaken and disturbed by the din and turmoil of war; it was the residence of the Commander of the Forces, and the centre consequently of all military arrangements. No sooner was war proclaimed, than there followed the active preparations and energetic movements of Sir Isaac Brock ; and before many months, we had the bloodless triumph at Detroit, and the sanguinaiy, yet not less glorious contest, at Queenston Heights, — having, how- ever, one most calamitous result, the death of the gallant Brock himself. After this, as the wintry season drew on, there was comparative quiet ; but far and near were the notes of preparation on either side, and the thickening anxieties for the coming spring. In such a stirring time, it was not in the nature of Dr. Strachan to be idle : burn- ing with love of his country, and full of indignation at this unrighteous aggression, he was active and judicious in his counsels ; and if he could not take the lead in the field, he was foremost in devising means to ameliorate the calamities which the war was inducing. He was the chief agent iii starting and conducting an Institution, appropriately termed •' The Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada," which had branches all through the Pro- vince, and was most generously supported. In the winter of 1814, its funds exceeded £10,000; and an appeal for aid to the British nation was warmly and liberally met. The object of this Association was to afford relief to the wounded of the Militia and Volunteers; to aid in the support of the widows and orphans of the slain ; and to 46 assist the families of those who were called out on military duty. Of this benevolent institution it has been correctly stated, that it contributed more towards the defence of the Province than half-a-dozen regiment:;, from the confidence and good-will it inspired amongst the population at large, and the encouragement it gave to the young men of the country to leave their homes, and take their share in its defence. The anxious winter of 1812-13 passed away, and in the early spring the forebodings of the Canadians were fully realized. A systematic and combined attack upon the Province at different points, had been arranged, and at the opening of the navigation was vigorously com- menced. The town of York was amongst the places to be assailed; and on the evening of the 2Cth of April, 1813, an express arrived, stating that the enemy's flotilla was standing towards the harbour. Soon after day-light on the following morning, the vessels — fourteen in number, and their decks crowded with men — anchored about two miles south-west of the garrison, and landed their troops under cover of their guns. They had no other opposition at first, than that offered, in a gallant manner, by Major Givins, at the head of forty Indians and a few inhabitants of the town not enrolled for military duty ; all wondering at the unaccountable delay in sending forward the regular troops to resist the landing. At length about 400 men of the 8th Newfoundland, and Glengary regiments, were brought up, supported by 500 undisciplined militia-men, to resist fully 2,000 Americans, covered by the fire of their ships. The contest was a most unequal one, and the retreat of the British was inevitable. The several bat- teries fell into the enemy's hands ; and at the command of General Sheaffe the magazine was blown up, causing a severe loss to the Americans, and the death of their General Pyke. General Sheaffe, at the head of the regular troops, retreated towards Kingston, leaving the Militia A7 Officers to make the best conditions they could for the town. His conduct in this whole affair was severely criticised. No plan of defence seemed to have been organ- ized, and his tardiness when the enemy were landing was inexplicable. The batteries were ill-arranged, and the soldiers disadvantageously placed. No advantage was taken of the panic caused by the explosion of the maga- zine ; and the retreat was made towards Kingston, instead of being directed to Niagara. Here he could have rein- forced the troops assembling to resist the intended attack upon Fort George. In the other direction, the services of the troops were entirely lost. The following, from Dr. Strachan to a friend in Scot- land, touching these events, is graphic and interesting : "On hearing the tremendous explosion of the magazine, hur- ried home and found Mrs. Strachan gi-eatly terrified, and olf with the children to a neighbor's house. Sent her to a fi-iend's, a little out of town. Go up towards the garrison, which we had by this time abandoned ; find the General and his troops in a ravine, the militia scattering. The General (Sheaffe) determines to retreat to Kingston with the regulars, and leaves the command with Colonel Chewitt and Major Alfen, tw o militia officers ; and desires them to make the best conditions they can with the enemy for the protection of the town. Offer my services to assist them. Go to Mr. Crookshank's house, and meet Major King and Cob onel Mitchell, on the part of the enemy. Our Attorney General, Mr. Robinson, also went with us, and assisted us to discuss the iwints of capitulation. A difficulty arose from a ship and naval store having been set on fire during our negotiation ; this con- sidered very dishonourable. At length a capitulation is agreed upon, subject to the ratification of the Commanding Officer. Soon broken through : Major Allan, though under the protection of a flag of truce, is made prisoner and deprived of his sword. I accompany him to town in fhe'midst of the enemy's column. The militia on our side ground their arms. The enemy return to the garrison, with the exception of the ritle-corps, which is left under pretence of protecting the town. 43 *' Wednesday, April 28, met Major King at the Hon. Mr. Selby's ; complain of the indignity offered Major Allan, and that the capitulation had not been ratified, nor a copy so ratified, returned in a few minutes according to promise ; and declared that the whole appeared a deception. Major King was sorry ; would do ev'ery thing that lay in his power, and desired us to go to the garrison, and every thing should be amicably adjusted. Went to the garrison, but the comnianding-oflScer, Colonel Pierce, can do nothing. The militia had been detained in the block- house without victuals, and the wounded without nourishment or medicine. Complain to Colonel Pierce, who oi'dered rations for the prisoners. Meet a deputation from General Dearborn, to discuss the articles of capitulation ; find that they cannot parole the militia ofiicers and men. " Demand an officer to take me on board the principal ship, where Dearborn was. Meet him coming on shore, and present him with the articles of capitulation. He read them without deigning an answer. Pequest to know whether he will parole the officers and men, and demand leave to take away our sick and wounded. He treats me with great hai-shness ; tells me that we had given a false return of officers ; told me to keep oflf, and not to follow him, as he had business of much more importance to attend to. Complaine^ of this treatment to Commodore Chaimcey, the commander of flotilla, declare that, if the capitu- lation was not immediately signed, we should not receive it j and affirmed that the delay was a deception, calculated to give the rifle-men time to plunder, and after the town had been robbed they would then perhaps sign the capitulation, and tell us they respected pi'ivate property. But we were determined that this should not be the case, and that they should not have it in their ])Ower to say that they respected private property, after it had been robbed. Upon saying this, I' broke away. Soon after General Dearborn came to the room where his deputation were sitting ; and having been told what I had said, settled the matter amicably. The officers and men were released on their parole, and we began to remove the sick and wounded. " Spent the whole of Thursday the 29th, in I'emoving the sick and wounded, and getting comforts for them. On the following 49 clay, the Goveinmeut building on lire, contraiy to the articles of capitulation, and the chvirch robbed. Call a meeting of the judges and magistrates ; draw up a short note stating our grievances, and wait uj)on General Dearborn with it. He is greatly em harassed, and promises every thing." Our readers will judge from this extract what was the activity and fearless courage of Dr. Strachan at this trying time; and how much it was owing to his energy and intrepidity that York suffered comparatively so little from an undisciplined soldiery, commanded by a General hardly more refined than themselves. In the amenities and courtesies of life, his subordinate officers were much his superiors. On a subsequent day, Dr. Strachan, while endea- vouring to .rescue some plu-ndered property of a friend from two American soldiers, nearly lost his life. In the heat of the altercation, one aimed his musket at his breast ; and his threat of firing would no doubt have been exe- cuted, had not an American officer chanced to come up, and interpose, and order the surrender of the booty. All, during the residue of the summer, was confusion and anxiety, — sieges, battles, alternate victories and defeats, hopes and disappointments. But the year 1813 closed without, a solitarv advantage to the Americans ; without a foot-hold gained by them in any portion of either Pro- vince. The Canadians, therefore, so far from being dis- couiaged were full of confidence ; and as the winter of 1814 advanced, cheering news, mail after mail, came in from the older world. The great enemy of England and the scourge of Europe, — the heartless despot whom, in their infatuation, the Government of the United States sympathized with and aided, — having been compelled to make an inglorious retreat from Russia, his army of more than half a million destroyed or dispersed, was now bat- tling faintly for very life ; pursued to the gates of Paris ; and forced soon to abdicate, and choose the island of Elba as his prison. 7 50 The cessation of the war in Europe gave England the opportunity to send several more regiments to Canada; and the war, on our part, was made to assume an aggi'es- sive character, which, if not well planned, nor eminently successful, had the effect of diminishing the strength and frequency of the attacks on these Provinces. The summer of 1814 was signalized by the hard-fought and sanguinary battle of Lundy's Lane, — a victory to the British dearly purchased, but an effectual check to the further advance of the Americans; and it closed with the ill-planned, abortive, and disgraceful campaign against Plattsburg. But we soon ceased to have war, or even its rumours ; for early in the winter of 1815, jjeace was concluded between Great Britain and the United States. • 51 CHAPTER VI. Death of the Hon. Kichard Cartwright. — Appointment to the Executive Council. — McGill College, Monti'eal. — Loss of his house W fii'e. |URING the turmoil and anxieties of the war, there were occuri'ences of a private nature th»t deeply affected the subject of this Memoir. During the summer of 1813, the health of his old and attached friend, the Hon. Richard Cartwright, of Kingston, was visibly failing, and little hope was entertained of his recovery. He was himself sensible that his end was approaching ; and on the 13th of November of that year, he addressed to Dr. Strachan the following touching letter : — ^' My infirmities are increasing so fast upon nie, that it would be infatuation in me to ex2:»ect to live long, and I may very probably he called away in a few days. To me this is no other- wise an object of anxiety, than as it may aft'ect my family. I had once flattered myself that in the event now contemplated I should have left them under the guardianship of my son James, whose affectionate heart and honourable principles would have well supplied my place ; but it has pleased God to order otherwise ; and I must devolve this Trust on you, as the kindest and warmest of my friends. I am particularly anxious that the Boys should have such an education as will qualify them for being useful to their friends and their countiy, and by a taste for Literature ensure them an unfailing source of personal enjoy- ment. Mrs. Cartwright, I am sui"e, will readily acquiesce in any scheme you may propose for this purpose ;. and Mr. Robin- son, whom I have joined with you as my Executor, will, I doubt not, lend you his cordial aid. *' * """ * 52 "Adieu, my dear friend. Before this reaches you, 1 shall have finished my earthly career, which has been shortened by the afflicting events which have in the last three years prostrated iny fairest hopes. I shall without dismay resign my soul into ^ the hands of its Creator, trusting to the merits of our Saviour for all the blessmg which Christianity oflFers to its votaries. "I will thank you to look over the letters which I have received from different friends, and especially from my children ; and, after selecting those which you think may be useful to the survitors in inspiring them with virtuous and honourable senti- ments, you will preserve them for their use and destroy the rest. — Of my papers which relate to the public concerns of the Pro- vince, you are at liberty to make what use you please. — May every blessing attend you and youre." Mr. Cartwright was a gentleman of cultivated mind and superior abilities, with sterling integrit}^ of character and decided piety. His death "was a serious loss to the Pro- vince, and not less so the Church of which he was a devoted member. Of those he left behind him, two at least are not likely to be forgotten in Canada, — his twin- sons, John and Robert. Both were most estimable men ; the former an honest and able member of the Bar of Upper Canada, and the latter one of its most exemplary and zealous clergymen. There was something })cculiarly win- ning in the character of both these men; guileless as children, full of innocent play and vivacity, with a fund of information and anecdote which gave always an interest and charm to their conversation. To both the best of opportunities for acquiring a finished education had been afforded; for the former completed his legal studies at Lincoln's Inn, in London ; and the latter went through the full curriculum at Oxford, obtaining there his Degree with second class in Classics, and first in Mathematics. Both died comparatively young, — Robert, in the spjing of 1843, and John, in January, 1845. The attachment between these hrotl\ers was something unusually strong ^ 5S each being, as it were, a part of the other's self. In life they were rarely separated ; and in death they were not long divided. Soon after the death of hi.s old and vahied friend Mr. Cartwright, Dr. Strachan was appointed a member of the Executive Council of Upper Canada. This appointment was made upon the strong recommendation of Mr. Gore, the Lieutenant Govomor, who urged it mainly on the ground of his zealous and valuable services during the late war ; and so highly were these appreciated by the Ministry in England, that they sanctioned it Avith the gi-eatest promptitude and cheerfulness. In reference to this appointment, I gladly (piote the words of another biographer of the late Bishop, the Rev. Dr. Scadding : "The appointment of a pei-soii in Holy Ordei-s under the Episcopal rank, to such a i>ositiou, would scarcely have happened, had there not been a scarcity of men in the country qualified to fill such a station. The discernment smd decision of mind evinced by Dr. Sti'achan in regai'd to secular as well as ecclesi- astical matters, stamped him as one that might be thus distin- guished by the Crown. lu England, to this day, we .see men in Holy Orders sitting on the Magistrate's Bench. It is a relic of the policy of bygone ages, when ecclesiastics were chosen to he keepere of the Great Seal ; because they, beyond the generality of their contemporaries, were fitted for the office. The i)olicy of the present day, although it has not yet wholly discarded the usage of the past in this resi)ect, is in its tendency oj)posed to, and will ultimately exclude such appointments ; the reason arising from the paucity of qualified men outside the ecclesi- astical ranks, having long since been cancelled by facts." Upon this subject it will bo enough to add, that the appointment was not of his own seeking, and at first accompanied with no emolument whatevei'. It was accepted, as he stated in a letter to a friend, because 54 "it gave him more influence and greater opportunities of promoting plans for the moral and religious instruction of the people." Tn the autuuui of 1813. Mrs. Strachan heins: in delicate health, consequent upon the frights and anxieties of the preceding spring, when York was in the hands of tho rnemy, — he sent her and the children to Cornwall, where, being surrounded by friends and relatives, she woidd hav»' every care and attention. But the seclusion of Cornwall proved no safeguard against the a hums of war. The battle of Chrysler's Fami, so honourable to the British arms, was fought on the lltli of November of this year; and it happened that an a<lvanced detfichment of the United States' army encamped within two miles of Corn- wall. Before the result of this battle was known, two companies of American soldiers marched into Cornwall ; and though they were generally very civil to the inhabi- tants, — none but women and children. and a few aged men being left in the town, — they committed some depre- dations, and ])lundered two or three stores of goods which there had not been time to remove. This so alarmed Mrs, Strachan that she subserpiently became seriously ill ; and a special messenger (the present Dean of Montreal) was despatched in all haste to York to bring Dr. Strachan down. In those days the communication by post was about once a fortnight ! He came as speedily as possible ; and Mrs. Strachan was nmch cheered and improved by his arrival. He felt it necessary, however, to remain several weeks; but took the opportunity, before returning to York, to visit Montreal in view of a subject of great moment to the country, and in which he felt a deep personal interest. The Hon. James McGill had bequeathed the munilicent sum of £10,000, and the valuable property of Burnside, containing several acres, with a spacious and substantial dwelling-house, for the purpose of establishing a Univer- 55 sity in which tho English youth of that city and the Province generally might have the advantage of a liberal education. Ah there were to he no restrictions on religious grounds, it was hoped that French, as well as English youth, would avail themselves of its advantages; and, should this prove to be the Ccasc, a greater cordiality and harmony would gi'ow uj> between the two nations in Lower Canada. It wns believed, too, that through this means the English language would gradually gain the ascendency ; and from this would follow the gradual abrogation of those many feudal laws and customs to which, notwithstanding their practical inconveniences, the French people clung with so much tenacit}'. Nor was there much, in the existing institutions of learning belong- ing to the French Canadians, that was calculated to enlarge the mind, and fit them to appreciate and grasjj the improvements in laws and arts that prevailed in other nations, and were the result of a more advanced culture and inquiry. In their three Colleges, then existing, they aimed at little more than preparing young men for the priesthood of their Church ; and in their system of general education they wcr^, at least, a century behind the age. Of this munificent bequest Dr. Strachan was named a Trustee by the testator, with an intimation of his desire that he should be the first Principal of the College when established. It was long before the intentions of the founder could be realised: long before " McGill College" could assume a shape and name. The money so generously bequeathed was refused by his heirs, and held back till the law extorted it from them ; and, after this obstacle was removed, many weary years elapsed, — either from dila- toriness or the want of business capacity in those entrusted with its management, — ^before it could be got into practical operation. It is almost needless to say that when the College could be opened, the position of Dr. Strachan was such as to render it impossible for him to consent to 56 )>ccome its Principal, and ho meet the wishes oi' liis departe*! friend. The journey to Montreal we have reference to, was the hejjfinning of his active thoughts upon the estahlish.nient of tliis College; for although his aims and projects foi- the advancement of education were naturally directed with UK^re earnestness to Upper Canada, he never lost sight of the large advantages to the youth of the Lower Province, which w^ere promised by the beneficence of his friend Mr. AfcCiill. On his return to York from Montreal, he ad<lresse<I a letter to his friend Professor Brown, of St. Andrew's, asking him f(n- some suggestions upon the subject, so that he might be enabled, as soon as required, to draw iip a rational and useful plan of conducting a literary establish- ment of this character ; what rules of discipline woidd l)e advisiible, when the students might be composed of Roman Catholics rjid Protc^jtants ; and, assuming that at first it might be necessary to start on a limited and partial scale, wdiat branches of education should at the outset be pre- ferred. He went on to request the draft of a scheme for a [Jniversity in its entireity ; expressing a belief that, whilst its tendency would be to harmonize the antagonistic elements of the Canadian population, it would be so supe- rior to any institution of the kind in the United States, that our youth need not be exposed to the contagion of the loose politics and unsound religion that were believed to be inculcated in most of the Colleges of that country. During the winter of 1815, the house which Dr. Stra- chan occupied at York was unfortunately consumed by fire. In reference to this, he w^rites thus to a friend : " I happened to be out, visiting the Hospitals, and before I got home the roof was in a blaze. Almost all my papers and manuscripts ai'e gone ; and this I consider my greatest loss, as the other things that wei*e broken or stolen, though amounting to a large sum, may in time be replaced. I bore the calamity vith my usual firmness, and we are a^Jn comfortable. ^Irs. 57 Strachau stood it woudeHully well ; and, though exposed for a time to many ])nvations to wliich we had not been accustomed, we all had excellent health." This, and a subsequent misfortune of the same character, induced him to embark in the large exi)ense of providing a house of his own ; an<l chere was completed in the sum- mer of 1818, tlio large and comfortable residence in which he lived <lurinjj: the remainder of his life. This had become so familiar and endcare<l a spot to the rhurchmen of th»' Diocese, that, in contemplating a suitjible iiiemorial to mark their a}>preciation of his worth and services, the purchase of this as the Episcoj)al residence in all time to come, was seriously entertained. There were obstacles, however, to the consummation of this purpose which it was found impossible at present to surmount ; but it was a satisfaction to feel that the present, though only tempo- rary, appropriation of the home of our late Bishop, is one that meets in some degree the intention of a Memorial. At present there is conducted there the Seminary for the instruction and religious training of the daughters of Churchmen in this Province, which, with his own consent, bears the name of " The Bishop-Strachan School"; a school which, from the efficiency of its management and the patronage already extended to it, promises to realize to the full, the object of its establishment. To his friend Professor Brown, of St. Andrew's, with whom he maintained a steady correspondence as long as he lived, he expressed himself with the freedom of inti- macy on various domestic matters ; giving an account of his children, their progi'ess at school, and for what profes- sions or other employments he designed them. Sometimes, too, he w\as equally free in offering his advice to his friend on these private concerns, — in relation to which we shall venture upon a short extract from one of his letters : * ' I have for these two years past looked with anxiety, in the literary and philosophical columns of intelligence, for your name, 8 58 but in vain : no work is yet anaounced of yours. But you must recollect that your ties are now much stronger than ever, and that it becomes necessary to prepare against al' possible contin- gencies. What provision is there for Mrs. B. and the young child, in- case any thing happened to you ? The small annuity you possess dies with you. Why not publish some of your pro- jected works? Your discoveries in Mathematics would, in all probability, sell well. A few volumes of your Sermons wouJd have an uncommon sale, and might alone constitute a fund sufficient for your pur[>o.se. You will have the goodness to excuse my freedom ; but your talents are so great, and the means of .assisting your circumstances ai'e so much in your jwwei*, that I know not how you can reconcile it to yourself to remain in obscurity. Are you determined to continue in retirement, or to break through the cloud, and assume your proper station on the theatre of life 1 " Br. Strachan also corresponded pretty i-egularly with Professor Duncan, and Dr. Chalmers. From a letter of the latter, written about the date of the present stage of this narrative, the following extract cannot fail to be interestinc; to our readers : "There is almost nothing occurring here at present that is worthy of being mentioned. We expect, in time, a pretty large accession of new Churches, which, if tilled by effective men, will turn out a great blessing to our population. Every thing, how- ever, will depend on the patronage, and the pure and right exercise of it ; for unless they get ministers who will attract and influence the great mass of the })eople, the object of these Churches will be altogether frustrated. " There is a popularity that is vain and transitory, and alto- gether contemptible as an aim. But have you never thought, that if Christianity in its true form be accommodated to the real wants and inwardly felt necessities of our nature, then a true statement of it may stand distinguished from an erroneous one, by the homage of a responding movement which it draws from human being.s. 'This man has told me all I ever did,' says the woman of Samaria. 'These men,' said the converts of old 59 'know all that is in our heaiis.' And in like manner, he who now-a days truly ex]X)unds the religion that was framed by Him who knew what was in man, may obtain the testimony that — *Here is a man speaking to me. There is something within which he has got hold of, and by which he has a hold of my attention and conviction, and finally of ray entire conversion to the |)ower of the truth.' " I need no collateral evidence for the doctrine of Atonement, and utter depravity of man by nature, and his alienation from God, and his need of regeneration by the Spirit, because they flash directly upon me from the authentic result of our faith. But then I further see that these are the doctrines which the common peo2)le heard gladly ; and under the influence of th ni they are turned to newness of life. 1 cannot but look ujK)n this as a coincidence that was to be looked for ; as a proof of the wisdom of Him who has adai)ted the remedy to the disease, the operation to the subject." 60 CHAPTER VII. Effects of the War — .Emigratiou to Canada. — Controversy with the Eai"l of Selkirk. — Mr. Robert Gourlay. [C^-^AR is a gi-eat cahuuity, and it produces injuries to individuals, and frequently to comnuinities, which no after thrift or industry can compensate ; yet war, especially to a new country, has its indirect benefits. The brave soldiers and sailors who fought in our defence, and who, on their return home, discovered that their active services were no longer required, gladly accepted grants of land in Canada ; and diffusing, as they did, a knowledge of the country, — the healthfulness of its climate, the fertility of its soil, its mineral wealth, and boundless ca])abilities for manufacturing enterprise, — amongst their friends at home, who were realizing there but a scant subsistence, many were induced to emigrate and try their fortunes here. A large importation of sturdy settlers, chietly from Scotland, very soon transformed a wilderness of foreyt into fruitful fields and thriving villages, in the country compris- ing what was recently the Bathurst District. This was the beginning of the emigration enterprise; since then, it has come in with a continuous flow, — latterly, it is true, in streams more scant ; so that our population, numbered then by a few tens of thousands, has, in the course of half a century, swelled to millions. It seems that there were other portions of this continent under British rule, besides Canada, to invite the settler ; at all events means were taken to entice them in a differ- ent direction. The Earl of Selkirk, a Scottish nobleman, 61 had conceived the project of forming a settlement on the Red River in the Hudson's Bay Temtoiy. Various opin- ions were formed at the time, as to his Lordship's .inten- tions in undei"taking this settlement. Some believed that his motives were pure and philanthrophic, prompted simply by the desire to better the condition of some of his poorer countrymen ; but the impression amongst leading men in Canada prevailed very strongly, that one obje(»t of his emigration plans was aggression upon, and the linal su}»- planting of the North West Fur Company, in favour either of the Hudson's Bay Company, or of some selfish project of his own. This movement was naturally viewed by the North West Company with gi-eat suspicion and jealousy ; and in the effort to counteract it, contentions arose of a very gi-ave character. The writer of this chanced to be at M<3ntieal, enjoying one of his school vacations, in the summer of 1816, when the news arrived of the captuie of Fort William by Lord Selkirk, and the arrest and imprisonment of some leading members of the Company. Montreal was dee])ly agitated, though somewhat divided in opinion, ujion this quarrel. The North West Company, having their head-c^uarters of business iu that city, had naturally a large number of sup- porters ihere; while not a few, from disappointment or jealousy,. — for the "North- westers" were tlie leaders of society in Montreal, — ^had their partialities on the other side. The excitement was intense when the news arrived of Lord Selkirk's high-handed proceedings ; and there could hardly have been more anxiety and distress, if news had arrived of some teri'ible reverse in war. Dr. Strachan was not one to stand neutral in a case af- fecting so vitally the interests of the colony ; and so he threw himself with chardcteristic energy into the contest. With his innate keen perception of acts and motives, he at once arrayed himself with the opponents of Lord Selkirk, and wrote a very powerful and able pamphlet, exposing 62 his unfair acts and schemes, and maintaining the right and justice of the position assumed by the North West Com - ])any. The collision between the high contending parties, — in- volving some lamentable acts of violence and bloodshed, — was at last to be settled by the peaceful arbitrament of law. In successive courts of justice, the case was ably argued on both sides ; and once, in his enthusiasm, a leading member of the Company, exclaimed in reference to one of their advocates, — " The Attorney-General (Robinson) is an ornament to the world." At this stage of its history. Dr. Strachan WTote as follows to an old and dear friend in Scotland, on the 1st December, 1818 : — " It was not altogether procrastinijtion that prevented me from answering your most welcome favour dated January last ; I was anxious to await the issue of some trials between the Earl of Sel- kirk and liis opponents, — the issue of which, and the evidence ad- duced, would establish the guilt or innocence of the contending parties. " The arts made use of by his Lordship to contaminate or ob- strtict the coui-se of justice, and to turn the proceedings of the law into engines of oppression, have exhibited wonderful talent and great resource, which, in a better cause, might have been productive of much good. But, as you are on friendly terms with his Lordship's relatives, I shall be extremely brief on this subject. " First, then, all the miseries that have happened in the inte- rior of tliis continent, the death of Mi*. Semple and his followers, &c.y were proved most clearly to have originated with the Earl of Selkirk ; that his instructions were even more violent than his servants durst put in execution. " His Lordship at length finding all his acts discovered, and that he was soon to be called to give an account of his conduct, when no subterfuge would avail him, has fled hastily to England. *• I must likewise remark that my controversy wiih his Lord- ship respected his colony only, and the deceptions he was practis- ing on the poor people in Scotland, to induce them to emigrate. (]3 ** My motive was entirely disinterested, and had nothing to do with the Earl's rivalship with the Nortli West Company, or the propriety of the Fur Trade. On this contest I was a neutnil spectator, taking no step on either side ; though 1 knew then, as well as I do now, that his Lordship was the aggressor. "^My pamphlet was sent to my brother in Aberdeen to be transmitted to you for perusal, and any alterations in style you pleased to make ; but it has been printed without this benefit. The facts, however, can be incontestably proved, and much more than I thought it necessaiy to advance : my object was to give an op|)ortunity to myjioor countrymen of judging for themselves, by seeing both sides of the question. In this point of view it has done some good ; and this consoles me for his Lordship's implaca- ble hati'ed, and incessant calumnies, which I value not a straw. *' The letter to his Lordship was published before I became a public character, otherwise I should not nave thought it prudent to meddle in the business ; for I knew that the disputes already commenced were daily assuming a more serious aspect, and mv.ht sooner or later arrest the attention of Government. " I could say much on this subject, and feel confident that, if the matter were fully explained, you would be with me in every particular ; but I have no desire to disturb your tranquillity. *' The narratives and documents which wei'e sent you, I have likewise seen. They are full of the grossest misrepresentations, and every fact suppressed that made against the writer. More- over, great care was taken to distribute them before the trials of tlie persons particularly implicated, and amongst the people that chiefly compose the juries ; neverthelcs*?, when the trials were iiad, the facts came out entirely different. " I ciiri assure you that his Lordship was not abandoned by the Government, till he himself abandoned justice arid humanity. I am willing to believe that, when his Lordship commenced tliis undertaking, he had no intention of doing many things which he has since done ; Init from the first I believe it was a deep laid scheme to ruin the trade of the North West Company, — an en- terprise unworthy of a British jjcer. But enough, and more than enough, of this. Let it not, 1 beseech you, disturb your peace. I have no personal enmity to Lord Selkirk, though I dislike his 04 plans. Let Mr. Haskett and I, though differing upon this sub- ject, remain your dear friends as before.'' Up to the present period, such a thing as political con- tention was utterly unknown in Upper Canada. There was l>nt one simple public jjolicy ; and all seemed to co- alesce in upholding it. If anything was ever obtruded that savoured of opposition to public opinion, it was re- garded witli amazement if not with alarm ; and the abettor of it viewed as an eccentric or ^lerv^erse being, who should be ridiculed or avoided accordinir to the character of his pretensions. People are often advised that this is an unhealthy and pernicious state of things, and that a iiiffle now and then of the public tranquillity is wholesome and beneficial. The effort therefore is made, and it is frequently succesful, to make people believe that the political system they have been quietly living under so long, is unsound and despotic, at the same time that they have felt themselves free, con- tented, and pros}>er()us. They are persuaded that they have been all along under an unhappy delusion, and that he is to be hailed as a friend and benefiictor who comes forth to waken them out of it. Early in the year 1818, there arrived in Canada a Mr. Robert Gourlay, — a Scotch radical of the most decided stamp, and fresh from the tuition imparted by the political riots in several towns of his native country during the preceding year. He came brimful of specifics for the cure of every political malady ; and if he did not discover any thing in Ui^per Canada that required the application of his skill, he was not slow in conjuring up imaginary dis- eases, and dictating a suitable remedy. He sent broadcast through the province, various docu- ments designed to throw light upon our political state, and retrieve us from the political wretchedness into which he assured us we had fallen. He was a fluent and taking 65 writer, though a heavy and ungainly speaker ; and the printed sheets he circulated far and wide very much aston- ished many of our quiet-going population. As, however, there was on the surface of these documents an apparent anxiety to develope the natural resources of the country, and give a spur to our arts and commerce, many intelli- gent and educated men viewed them at first with favour, and appeared disposed to give him a fair support in carry- ing out his views. But it was not so easy to impose upon Dr. Strachan. 11*3 had not lost all recollection of what Scottish radicalism was, and there was still some memory of the specious way in which advances are made by political charlatans to gain over partisans. So he felt it his duty to denounce Mr. Gourlay as a fire-brand and a demagogue ; and he warned his frien<ls in various parts of the Province against giving him any countenance. In writing to a friend in Scotland, about the close of the year 1818, he says : — " There has been here for about a year past, a Mr. Gourlay, from Fifeshire, trying to get us by the ears. He has done a good deal of mischief in the province by his seditious publications, ex- citing discontent amongst the people. I saw through him at once, and opposed him with my usual vigour ; upon which, the press groaned with his abuse of me. By this he destroyed much of his influence. All my pupils, now leading chai-acters in many parts of the Province, opposed him sternly. A character like Mr. Gourlay, in a quiet colony like this, where there has been little or no spirit of inquiry, and very little knowledge, can do much harm ; and notwithstanding the check he has received, he has already done great mischief. I tried to infuse more energy into the administration of the Government; but it was too feeble until Sir Peregime Maitland arrived. Mattera are now falling back to their old peaceful state ; and, as we have in truth no grievances, the people are regaining their senses." In a subsequent letter, after speaking of Lord Selkirk, whose death had recently taken place, in the following 9 CG terms, he adds what is quoted in reference to Mr. Gourlay : *' In regard to the personal interest wliich yon have discovered in Lord Selkirk, I consider it laudabl(\ My predilections were once in the same channel ; hnt his conduct placed his character and views in a new light, and T became his opp<jnent. I feel, however, that I was oidy opposed to him in jmnciple ; and while I disjipproved of his plar.s, and lamented that a person of his brilliant attainments should have stooped so low, 1 enter- tained no dislike for the man. That I was right, events have shewn ; since his death, the Hudson's Bay Company have com- promised matters, and united with the North West, — allowing, in the arrangement, more than half the interest to the latter. In a moral point of view this nnion is to be applauded, as it will put a stop to all the feuds and crimes that were continually hap- pening in the interior of this continent. It will likewise prove favourable to the Indian nations. The rival Companies were in the habit of supplying them with great quantities of ardent spirits, in order to maintain their influence ; but now acting as one, they will find it their interest to carry very little of this poison to their savage friends. " But if I am disposed to draw a veil over Lord Selkirk and his transactions, now that he is gone, I feel very differently towards Mr. Gourlay. This man I must always consider as a wicked and malignant person ; wlv^ 'aid no regai'd to the truth, and composed and published the Most venomous and unfeeling slander. It was not his politics tnat I regarded, but his venom- ous attacks on the characters of all who dared to differ from him in opinion. In this resj)ect he was a perfect despot ; for he allowed no man the liberty of thinking but himself, and the moment that any of his friends ditfei-ed from him, this unworthy apostle of freedom denounced him. I had no pei'sonal commu- nication with the man, nor did I know for a long time that 1 was offensive to him. This I discovered by seeing long para- graphs in the newspapers, in which my character was ti-aduced in the most infamous manner, and my name coupled with every thing that was base and mean. But the general indignation 07 rose against him ; and as I had warm friends amongst the most respectable ranks in eveiy part of the Province, his attacks on me ultimately led to his banishment." From the days of R<jbort Goiirlay .politicians in ( 'anada took sides, and we had, though on a small scale, an organ- ized opposition in our Legislature. And where this is composed of honest and disinterested men, it is not to be lamented. Differences of opinion are insej)arable from the constitution of human nature ; and while the party in power are thus kept in check, and made to proceed more warily as well as with more zeal for the public interests, these collisions of opinion, with the discussions they pro- voke amongst intellig(.'nt men, stimulate inquiry and lead to the acquisition of information that may be turned to the account of the general good. Though born and educated a Tory, the writer of these pages has learned to respect a wholesome opposition in Government. There is a danger to the political, as well as physical and moral health, in an vmbroken monotony, — a dead level of feeling and sentiment. There would follow too surely a stagnation of thought, a prostration of energy. This, too, contracts the intellectual vision, and bounds its grji.s}) and conceptions within a narrow range. Persons, for example, wedded by association and habit to a particu- lar set of political opinions, arc led to apprehend that the adoption of a })olicy essentially opposed to what they have been always instructed to maintain, must end in revolu- tion, — a disorganization, of the social stmcture, the prostra- tion and overthrow of the public interests. How deeply and widely was this apprehension felt in regard to the influence of the Reform Bill in England in 1831-2 ! But though this may have been followed by some social ills, it has not shaken in the least the stability of the Throne, the influence of the Peerage, or the moral power of the Church. On the contrary, energies have been 68 evoked which have given to all three a weight and influ- ence they never possessed so legitimately before ; and since the abolition of the Corn Laws, the effects of which were vieweci with so much alarm, there has been a pros- perity and content in the Empire to which, for centuries, there has been no parallel. So we in Canada, who were educated with a different bias, dreaded much the effects of Responsible Government, as unsuited to a colony ; but this, though it has been at- tended with some practical evils, and engendered a large amount of corruption in the administration of the Govern- ment, has, without a doubt, shaken us out of a state of political boyhood, into one of manly energ}'^ and enterprise. It has taught us, as it were, to walk without support, — to swim without bladders. In regard to Mr. Gourlay, he was unquestionably a man of coarse feelings and violent temper ; but time has shewn that there was some mental aberration provoking this un- seemly acrimony. A relative of his mentioned to me in Scotland in 1831, that in a freak of annoyance and spite he once left his home and hired himself to break stones upon the highway. In the autumn of 1838, when time had mellowed his feelings, and his native asperity seemed all but gone, he called upon me, and spoke in a manner, though calm and gentle, yet so wild and incoherent, that we saw p.t once the intellectual wreck he had now become. Poor Mr. Gourlay ! The time had come about when he found himself alone and a stranger in Canada. After all the bitterness and commotion he had excited, he had be- come an object of pity to those whom, in bygone years, he had forced to be his enemies, but who were now willing to soothe him in his misfortunes, and befriend him in his necessities. 69 CHAPTER VIII. Services as Executive Councillor. — 8ir Peregrine Maitland and his Administration. — The Church in York. — Appointment to the Legislative Council. /^^^HE subject of Emigration engaged, at this period, 11/ a good deal of the jiublic attention in Upper Canada; and the ([iiestion which just now most perplexed the Government was the granting of lands to in-coming settlers. Amongst the latter was n considerable number of half-pay officers, ' oth of the Army and Navy ; many of whom, — especially of the latter, — became excel- lent settlera, and turned their lands to profitable account. The wiser portion of these jmrchfised cleared farn)s in the front townships, which they were able to obtain at a moderate cost ; and there they lived comfortably amidst a re.spectable population, and without any serious loss of their old social advantages. The transition from the com- forts and refinements of their mother-laud was thus less sensibly felt : they became better contented with their new lot ; and generally a church alid school were accessible. They drew, of course, the lands to which they were enti- tled, and |3erformed what was called the "settlement duties." This meant, the clearing, in a very slovenly way, of a certain proportion of the lands gi-anted, and the opening of ^heir share of the roads contiguous to their farms. Great complaints were made that this was money thrown away ; for this partial clearing, — little more than the slashing down of trees, — was attended with no present benefit either to the public or to the proprietor. Still, it was necessary to enforce actual settlement, as far as pos- 70 sible; and it was difficult for the Executive to devise metans by which this could ho eftecttMl with advantage to the country, and justice at the same time to those who received these grants of lands. Tt seems, too, that the question of admitting settlors from the United States was just now very eai'nestly dis- cussed; and here the clear judgment and })ra(rti('al know- ledge of Dr. Strachau proved to be of great vahu'. What his views upor^ this subject were, are best expressed in his own language, in a letter to Colonel, afterwards Sir John Harvey, bearing date June 22nd, 1818 : — " Allow nio to give you u hiief notice of the tru^^ state of the controversy coucerniug the julniission of settlers from the United States; which I do in contidence, depending upon your discre- tion to bear it iu mind, should you think it necessary hereafter to write u{)OU the subject. " General Simcoe, being very extensively accjuainted in tiie States, and knowing that great numbei's of the inhabitants were still loyalists, and desirous of coming into the country, encou- »aged them to remove into the Province, and procured for all that appeared in Upper* Canada before June, 1798, and who could prove their adherence to Great Britain, valuable i)rivileges. Many of these i)ersons had formed connexions in the United States, and were anxious to bring them in likewise. General SimcoC; though very hostile to the Americans in general, admit- ted this, — at fii'st sparingly, afterwards more generally. This relaxation was gradually extended ; and during the time of his successor, President Russell, peoj)le were received promiscuotisly from the States, without let or hindrance. This became a sub- ject of great complaint throughout the Pi'ovince. " General Hunter endeavoured to cl^eck this indiscriminate introduction of Americans, and to bring matters back to the rule on which General Simcoe acted. The same policy was continued by Governor Gore previous to the late war, notwithstanding the reception of several memorials from different Districts, exhibiting its impolicy. n "During the war, the u nger of the proiuiscuous introduction of settlers from the States, wa.s most severely felt. In several Districts, where they were the majority, or supiiosed themselves to be so, rebellion was organized. This was particularly the ea.se in the London District, and would have been still more so in the Honie District, but for the prompt energy of a few. In the Newcastle District, the disposition to rebel was great; but finding themselves too near Kingston and York, they were afraid to attempt an open outbreak, but deserted in great numbers. In the County of Leeds, nearly three hundred militia- men deserted to the enemy. " These defections, and the danger to which they exposed the loyal inhabitsints, were fresh in our minds when peace was restored ; and so it was deemed wisa to check emigration from the United States for a time, initil the passions on both sides were a little cooled, and until a sort of foundation, or nucleus, could be formed of emigrants from the mother country in the new settlements ; by which they might acquire a British tone and character. After this, to slide gradually, and quietly, into tlie system pursued before the late war. " This judicious plan did not correspond with the selfish views of some great land speculators, who wished the immediate and promiscuous admission of Americans, that they might have a market for their land. Tliese foolish pei-sons conjured up the 13th of George II. to their aid, — a law which respects foreign -protestants only, and has no reference to Americans; and if it had, no American would com])ly with the conditions it requires. The modification of this law bv the 30th George III. mav be construed to extend its .ju'ovisions to the Americans ; but not one of them has ever complied with these provisions. The truth is, they have been j)ermitted to hold lands by an indulgence which cannot be defended by law ; and as they have never .con - foi'med themselves to the conditions required, nothing could be more foolish,' im])olitic, and dangerous than calling the matter up. It would bring up several delicate questions aijout the Oath of Allegiance, and who are, or are not, subjects ; questions which had better sleep. At the same tit e, no pei-son from the States would consider his title secure, or je able to bring a writ 72 ♦^f ejectment against another who had got jxissession of his property. In short, the avoiding of a great number of legal difficulties appears to have been the object of Government, and I am well assured they had no other feeling, nor could have had any other on the subject." Consequent upon the war, several changes had taken place in the administration of the Provincial Government. When the war broke out in 1812, Mr. Francis Gore, who had been for some years the Lieutenant Governor, felt it his duty to surrender the administration of the Govern- ment into the hands of one who could combine with it the command of the military forces; and consequently both the civil and military government of the Province were assigned to Major General Sir Isaac Brock. Soon after the close of the war, Mr. Gore returned to Upper Canada, and resumed the administration of the Government. This gentleman was held in high estimation at the capital, for his social as well as official qualities ; and with Dr. Strachan he was always on the most friendly and intimate terms. Upon his departure from the Province, about two years after, the administration of public affaii*s devolved upon the senior member of the Executive Council, the Hon. Samuel Smith ; and perhaps no one was more ready than Mr. Smith himself to acknowledge that the delegation of such a responsibility by the rule of seniority, is not the happiest arrangement that could have been devised. It was regarded as a cause of general congratulation, when it was announced that the appointment of Lieutenant Governor of Ujiper Canada was conferred upon Major General Sir Peregrine Maitland. In a letter to Mr. Gore, dated December 8th, 1818, Dr. Strachan writes of him as follows : — "Sir Peregime is a most amiable and pious man, and comes out most anxious to do all the good he can. Hasarrived hero 73 with some ideas respecting the Executive Government not founded on sufficient evidence ; but he now sees things more clearly. He is a man of great talent, and much simplicity of manner and habit j at the same time he is firm and i-esolute. Those who presumed upon his favour because they had taken umbrage at you, found themselves totally mistaken. On that ground he was very high indeed. He is thoroughly tiie gentleman, and speaks of you, when occasion introduces your name, with great respect. We are at no pains to conceal our attachments, and he has too much good sense to be offended : on the contrary, he prizes us the more. This gentlemanly trait of character endears him to us all. "Accustomed to the promptness of military command, he has been sometimes a little too hasty in taking steps which had been usually the result of con.:iultation ; but this has been entirely from inadvertence, and not from any desire to assume extraor- dinary power. He "s yet new in civil matters, but his diligence is incessant, and in a short time he will be completely master cf them. " His great anxiety to look into every thing, injures his health, which is extremely delicate. He kee})s much to himself ; has no particular adviser ; and inquir 's, and thinks, and decides for himself. " He has been so very short a period here, that it is as yet impossible to draw exact conclusions ; but as far as I can judge from many C(mver&atious with him, he will grow upon acquain- tance, and beget stronger and stronger attachment In all this I may be niistaken, more esj>ecially as 1 cannot pretend to any ps^rticular intimacy ; but hope that I judge correctly. '•'The truth is, that his remark upon are presentation, in which your riume was coupled with something improper, won my heart. On hearing this, I had said, ' The thing is utterly false. Governor Gore had been too cood to the writui and to the friend whom he rcciimmeuded.' He tuined mildly, and said, 'that remark is the very thing which would have induced me to refuse the j^rayer.' " The following letter, addressed to Colonel Nichol, will be read with interest. Many in the Province will recollect 10 74 the Colonel as an active and talented man, but who uniformly tcok up the opposition side in politics, and was rather fond of antagonism to the ruling powers. He was a well-read man, and a pleasant companion; and although he was a warm politician and very outspoken in his opinions, he seemed to have had no personal enemies. His tragical death, from being precipitated on a dark night, with horse and light waggon, over the heights above Queenston, awoke universiil sympathy and regret. The letter that follows, is dated February 23rd, 1819 : — " I. have an opportunity of franking your brother's manuscript. The subject is handled with ability, and does him great credit. I hope that he will find it his interest to remain in this country ; it is a gi'eat benefit to have a man of talent among us. Owing, I believe, to the writing, it was not read by the Governor ; but it was most favourably reported to him, as indeed it richly deserved. ** It has been whispered, since your departure, that you are to commence jouv parliamentary career, 1 . with moving a vote of censure on Governor Gore ; 2, that the right of granting lands belongs to the Assembly, or Paiiiament, and not to the King or his Eepresentative in Council. '* I suspect that these ai*e fabrications of your enemies, and I have said so : but as they were repeated, I beg to know whether 1 am right. "At present you stand well in this qnai'ter, and your abilities enable you to do much good to the Province, as well as to your- self. I should, therefore, be sorry to see them wasted upon matters that are sure to raise contention, and that cannot fail of being most injurious, without producing any good. " .\s to the first, it would come very ill from you on many ac- counts. If it be for proroguing the House, even supposing him wrong (which I for one am not prepared to do), it was oidy an error of judgment : his right to do it, when he thought proper, is undeniable. "I could say muoh on the inexpediency, as well as injustice of such a resolution, independently of the lui pleasant feelings it 75 must excite ; but I am afraid of missing the post, and therefore pass to the setoiul. — the absui'dity of which excites my astonishment. " Thirty years ago this Province was a wilderness. The King gives small portions of it to the refugees, to disbanded soldiers, to a few immigrants, and some aliens ; and now these persons, still living on his Majesty's bounty, turn round and tell him that he had no power to give them what they now possess, for the land is entirely their own, " My conclusion is, that the whole is a fabrication to lessen your weight with your friends, and to induce a belief that your influence in Parliament will be exerted in raising disturbances, and not in bringing forward and digesting excellent measures, so necessary for our peace and prosperity. " Being one of those who have always been anxious for your success in life, and ready at all times to do justice to your talents, I should regret extremely to be obliged to differ from you on political grounds ; more especially as we commonly agreed till the resolutions were brought forward. 1 shall only add, that, in every thing else, I have been more zealously your supporter than most of those whom you supposed warmer friends. "When I differ in 0[»iniou from any of my friends, I tell them so candidly, that we may perfectly understand each other ; and this must be ray apology for this l«^tter, unless you are pleased to add my anxiety to appear more effectually in your defence " Mention has already been made of the " Loyal and Patriotic Society," designed for the relief of sufferers b}^ the war. The funds contributed for this object were ver}-^ considerable; large subscriptions were obtained in the Province ; and some aid was sent by generous individuals in the mother country. A vast amount of good was effected by means of this Society ; and now, in 1819, it was found that there was a surplus at its disposal of £4,000. Colonel Nichol, disappointed in certain views 76 of his own regarding the appropriation of this fund, con- tended for its distribution amongst such individuals as should shew that they had been sufferers by the war. Dr. Strachan very wisely opposed this proposition ; and as his remarks have a useful, practical bearing, and may be serviceable at all times, we tpioto the following from a letter to a friend in Eng-land : — " To guard against misconception and evince our adherence to the principle upon wliich the Society was originally constituted, we have made some little alteration in the resolutions first adopted, in regard to the application of our snrj)lus. They now stand as follows : "Resolved 1. That of the remaining funds of the Loyal and Patriotic Society, £2000 be appropriated to the erection of an Hospital at York, in tlie Home District ; and two several sums of £100 each, to such other two or more Districts of this Pro- vince as shall, within a year, raise the largest sum in aid of such appropriation for the erection of two other Hospitals. "Resolved 2. That the Directors of the Hospitals thus erected, shall at all times be prepared to answer the orders of the Treasurer of the Loyal and Patriotic Society to the amount of the interest, annually, of the sums thus given them. " You will perceive that these resolutions, in fact, fund the money and insure the interest of it, — to be exj)ended in relieving actual distress of sufferers by the late war, or finding hem an asylum within the Hospitals. Acd, in order to make the bene- fit general as well as permanent, other two Hospitals are contem- plated; one, we presume, at Niagara, and the -other at Kingston. We did not designate the places in our resolutions- to avoid giving offence to the other Districts. At those two places, as well .as here, the Lieutenant Governor intends giving great assistance ; but, without this money, the buildings could not be erected for many years. I am persuaded that the subscribers, if the matter were explained to them, would highly apj'rove the plan adopted by the Directors, as it gives a permanency to their benevolence, infi- 77 nitely more useful than to expend it upon promiscuous claimants, by whom we should in many cases be deceived. During the War it was easy to ascertain proper objects; but after five years of peace, this is impossible, except in the case of those who have been severely wounded. For such the Hospitals afford an asy- lum ; or if thty have families, a small pension could be given them out of the interest."' Few in Toronto are probably aware of the manner in which the G<?nernl Hospital in this City was started ; an institution which, notwithstanamg some mishaps, is destined, we trust, to extend to future generations, the blessings it has conferred upon the past. Political and other secular matters necessarily engaged some portion of the time and energies of Dr. Strachan, but the interests of the Church occupied the largest share of both ; and to the forwarding of these, whether local or general, his characteristic vigour and activity were faith- fully applied. In a letter to the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, dated January 5th, 1820, we have an evidence of this; and the contents will be interesting, as eliciting pleasant com- parisons between the one humble wooden Church of thost days, and the numerous, substantial and capacious ones that exist now : — '* I mentioned, in my last, that our Church had become much too small for our increasing congregation, and that it was being enlarged. The repairs and additions cost ,£17 00, a sum which, large as it is, was subscribed for with great alacrity by the p.r- ishionei's, on condition of their being repaid, from the sale of the pews. Th.'s sale took place last January ; and such was the competition that they sold for more than covers the debt. The Church is sixty-six feet by sixty, with a neat altar and a steeple. *' The Hon. George Crookshank, the Receiver-General, pre- sented rich silk damask coverings for the pulpit, reading, and clerk's desks, and the altar table. 78 " The commimicauis have increased from thirty-five to sixty - tour. There is a flourishing Sunday School consisting of upwards of thirty girls and fifty boys. The girls are taught by three young ladies, — grand-daughters of the Hon. The Chief Justice. Tliere is likewise a Sunday School attached to the Chapel in the country, where I preach once a mouth. Once every quarter these Schools a'"e brought together and examined, presents of books given them by His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor and Lady Sarah Maitland, who interest themselves exceedingly in promoting the advancement of time religion.'* Towards the end of the year 1820, his appointment as Legislative Councillor took place. The manner in which it W{is made, is probably not much known ; so we subjoin his account of it in a letter to the Bishop of Quebec : — " The great addition made to the Representation of this Pro- vince in the House of Assembly, by the law passed last wintei-, has induced His Excellency Sir Peregrine Maitland to recom- mend some new members for seats in the Legislative Council. His Excellency pl?ced me among the number, without any pre- \ious consultation ; as it was necessary for him to have a confi- dential person in the Council through whom to make communi- cations, — a service which the Chief Justice is frequently prevented rendei'ing on account of his position as Speaker." The acceptance of this honour was attended with some pecuniary sacrifice, as it rendered necessary his resignation of the office of Chaplain to the Legislative Council. To this situation a salary of £50 ])ei- annum was originall}' attached ; but for the past four years it had been 'raised to £100 per annum. The Chaplaincy thus relinquished, was confen-ed upon the Rev. William Macaulay, then Incumbent of Cobourg, and was held by him for several years. 79 CHAPTER IX. Recollections of York in 1820. — State of the Churcli in Upper Canada. — Episcopal Visitation at York in 1820. % PERSON Avhose memories of Canada cau bear him back to the war of 1812, and who has had oppor- tunities of marking the course of events in sub- sequent years, will have many pleasant reminiscences ; and the record of them will be profitable, as well as inte- resting, to a later generation. The writer of this Memoir came first to York in the autumn of 1819, to place himself under the care and direc- tion of Dr. Strachan, as a Student of Divinity, and to connect with this pursuit, such assistance in the Grammar School as a youth of nineteen could be expected to render. His journey was from Montreal, and, what with the inter- changes of stage and steamer, open boat and lumber waggon, and halts on the way for needful repose and the greeting of friends, it occupied fully a fortnight. The first drive was from Montreal to Coteau du Luc in a heavy limibering stage ; the progi'ess of which, from the rough condition of the roads, the delivery of mails a,s we passed along, watering the horses every three or four miles, and other inexplicable stops, was very slow indeed , so that it was quite dark when we entered an open boat at the Coteau, to be rowed up to the head of Lake St. Francis. Those who came unprovided with warm wrappings, found this exposure for a whole night, in the month of Septem- ber, very trying; for it was sunrise on a cold frosty morning when we reached McDougall's, the appointed stopping-place. 80 There we entered another stage, and drove on, over a very rough road, to Cornwall ; where, at one o'clock, we breakfasted. This done, we j-enewed our stage fT-avelling, — on a better road, and the St. Lawrence and its successive rapids close on our left, — and got to Prescott between two and three the following morning. From Prescott to Kings- ton, and thence up the Bay of Quinte to the Carrying-place, there was a small but comfortable steamer, which made about six miles an hour ; quite as much as was effected by the more pretentious " Frontenac," on Lake Ontario. From the Carrying-place, we had to get on westwards by private conveyances as well as we could. To rest for a few days at what is now called Cobourg, — then a small, straggling village, and without a name, — was a pleasant change ; for even then, including the well- informed and hospitable Kector, there were in the neigh- bourhood several intelligent and agreeable families. From Cobourg to York, with a few exceptional bits, the road was perhaps the worst in the Province, and nothing but a strong lumber-waggon could have borne you through. It was very indifferent through the nine-mile woods, east of Newcastle ; quite as bad from the present site of Bowman- ville to where Oshawa now stands ; ami, what with cor- duroys, and stones, and mudholes, it w<is indescribably bad from the western extremity of Whitby, till, crossing the Highland creek, we reached the heights of Scarborough. The road leading across the ravine of the Rouge, and especially its eastern hill,^would have startled and per- plexed even our Abyssinian heroes. Through the township of York it ran upon a dry sandy soil, with tall pines on either side almost to the river Don; and although these ancient pines incofiveniently obtruded their roots in many places, this part of the road was, on the whole, a pretty good one. We had glimpses, too, of the broad Lake, as we drove along; and from the Scarborough heights could dis- tinctly see the blue line of land on the southern side, trending from Niagara westwards. 81 "We crossed the Don over .a strong wooden bridge ; and, after half a mile's drive, alighted at Mr. D. Forest's Inn, the best in the place, — though Jordan's, nearly opposite, notwithstf.nding its low shabby exterior, was the more popular one. I then made my way to the boarding-house where I was to reside, — on the north side of King Street, a little east of Nelson Street ; and. although a mean looking habitation, it was i)retty comfortable, and the (company, — law-elerks and clerks in Government offices, — was intelli- gent and agreeable. There were a few .scattered houses on King Street, as fiir up as the residence of the Lieutenant Governor ; and on Front Street, at long intervals, they reached nearly to the old garrison. There were also a few on Duke, Yonge, and Queen Streets. There were but three brick edifices in the town, and, exclusive of the military, the population was about 1,200. Though inferior in size and condition to many ')f our present villages, York took a high rank as to social position. From its being the Seat of Government, the society was excellent; having not less than twenty families of the highest respectability, — persons of refinement, and many of high intellectual culture. T(» these were added a small sprinkling of military. For the size of the place there was a large amount of hospitality exercised, and on a handsome and bountiful scale. The Goverimient-house Wiis the precise building used as such until its destruction by fire a few years ago ; and the arrangement and planting of the grounds was all done under the direction and supervision of Sir Peregrine Mait- land himself He and lady Sarah took the lead, of course, in the hospitalities of the place. They had their regular tlinner parties during the Parliamentary Sessions, and once or twice a year there was a grand evening party with dancing, which gathered in all the respectability of the community in a mass. Sir Peregrine was reserved, but cjui-teous and agreeable ; had not a shade of supercilious- U 82 ness ; and would at times be veiy nnimatcd in conversation. He was particularly so, if the conversation turned on the work of the Church and the si)rcad of religion ; for he was a sincere and devout Christian, and thoroughly loyal to the principles of the Church. Lady Sarah was of a more lively te: iperament, but remarkably gentle and amiable. She upheld her position as became a Duke's daughter ; but, like a genuine member of England's nobility, had no pride, and maintained an intercourse on very kindly and familiar terms with the ladies of the ])lace. The unpretending, old-fashioned wooden house of Chief Justice Powell, with its two-storied verandah facing the Bay, was a great attraction to residents and visitors; because it contained a lively, amiable and hospitable family. And the residence of the Rector of the parish, — then the best in the place, and afterwards by courtesy the palace, was renowned for its frequent and elegant hospi- talities. So, too, the abode of Attorney General Robinson^ then of small dimensions; but whose inmates possessed, what they ever after maintained, the esteem and love of all that knew them. But there must not be too nice and exact a recapitulation of all who, fifty years ago, were pleasant and exemplary in York ; yet, if they are not named in these pages, there is no dimness whatever in the memory of their kindness and their worth. The public buildings were not out of keeping with the modest pretensions of the town in general ; they presented no envy-provoking contrast with the abodes of individuals. The Court-house was a small unpainted wooden building, a little to the north of King and east of Yonge Street, — the site, and sun-burnt aspect of which, some of our old inhabitants may I'emember ; and the Gaol was a homely and rickety structure on the south side of King Street^ where now some of our proudest si: ^ps are exhibiting their attractive wares. The Parliament-house was a cottage- 83 * looking etlifice, near the intersection of York and Welling- ton Streets; afterwards transfonned into piiLlie offices, and subsequently into a private residence, with neat and tasteful grounds about it. The District School-house was a capacious wooden build- ing, standing on an open common a little in rear of St. James's Churchyard. On entering it for the first time, with the reverend Principal, on a bright Sej)tember morning, fresh school-boy feelings were wakened up at the sight of forty or fifty hap})y young faces, from seven- teen down to five years of age. There was a class of only two in Greek, who took up Horace and Livy in Latin ; and there were three Latin forms below them, — the most numerous and most sprightly reading Cornelius Nepqg. None were much advanced in Mathematics ; and, with the exception of the senior two, had not passed the fourth book of Euclid. Every thing was taught on the same plan as at Cornwall ; but at York the pupils were much less advanced, and the Head-master rarely took any share in the actual work of instruction. I had had the oppor- tunity of seeing both Schools ; and though the glory of the former was never approached by the latter, still there are reminiscences connected with the school at York more fresh and lively than could be awakened by the more celebrated one at Cornwall. With the school-boys of the former, — now in the sere of life, and owning children and grand-children, I can exchange daily greetings; but few are left who were my associates in the latter : one by one they are dropping fast away. The Church has already been referred to, with the improvements effected at a considerable cost during the preceding year. It stood on +he site of the present Cathe- dral of St. James ; and, as has been stated, was of wood, painted with a blueish leaden colour. As you entereil, you found yourself in a building almost square. The aisle leading from the front door was bounded northwards by 84 the Governor's large H(|uare pew; ami midway it was iutersected by one running east and west. Bounding this on the east was the chancel ; and in front of it the pulpit, reading-desk, and clerk's pew. All around, except on the chancel side, were wide, homely-looking galleries. There was no Vestry, and the clergyman robed and unrobed at the foot of the pul{)it stairs in sight of the congregation. At morning service there was usually a large congrega- tion, and a very devout and orderly one it was. The elder members were most of them au<lible in the responses; but very few of the younger ones followed their example, or knelt during the prayers. Theic was no organ, and the singing wa,s very indifferent. In the afternoon, the con- gregation was veiy thin ; and once a month omitted, that the Rector might give his services at an out-station on Yonge Street, — not far from the spot where the Church of York Mills now stands. On the intervening Sundays, in the morning, this country church was served by Students of Divinity from town ; they reading the service and a printed sermon. The attendance even on these lay minis- trations was very good ; and that the people a{)preciate«l them is evident from the fact of their sending in a horse on Sunday mornings, for the conveyance thither and back of the Student who was to officiate. He was also usually invited to dinner after service l)y some (me or other of the farmers near b}' ; and amongst these was a person of con- siderable reading, and somewhat democratic ideas, who bore in the neighbourhood the designation of "gentleman Wilson." There was. at that time, throughout TJpi)er Canada but a mere sprinkling of clergymen ; though the members of the Church bore a la^ ^.> proportion to the general popula- tion, and every where its ministrations were veiy cordially accepted. There were, in those days, but few Presbyterian places of worship, — not one either in York or Kingston ; and the ministers of that body were correspondently few. Ho Where they were without tl»eir own ministrations, they almost universally attended the services of the Church of England ; and very many never afterwards forsook them. The Metho<lists were a more numerous hody, and had at that time a large chapel in York, which was pretty well filled on Sunday evenings. About the close of 1820, a minister of the British connexion, Mr. Pore, commenced his services in an u]i})er room where the St, Lawrence market now stands. One of their preachers was a Mr. Fenton, a man of ready utterance, who afterwards forsook the body, and became the clerk of St. James's Church. This person occasionally indulged himself in writing short critiques, in pencil, on the sermons delivered just above his head ; and as these morsels of criticism were usually left in his pew, and were oftentimes not very flattering to the preacher, they created a good deal of amusement. The Roman Catholics, at this time, had no regular i)lace of worship ; but soon after, their ])riek church nefir the Don was erected. To extend our view a,s regards the positioi^of the Chur(;h of England in Upper Canada, it will surprise many to hear that, in 1820, the first clergyman you came to, west of Toronto, was at Ancaster. On the Niagara peninsula there were three, — at Niagara, Chippawa, and Grimsby. Going westward from Ancaster, you found none until you reached Amherstburg and Sandwich. All that vast interval, — now comprehending a large Diocese with nearly ninety clergj'- men, — was, as regards the ministrations of the Church, a blank. Going eastwards from York, the first clergyman we (;ame to was at Cobourg ; and north of this, in Cavan, another was settled. Then a blank, until we reached Kelleville ; then Bath and Kingston. A blank again until we came to Brockville ; and in rear, there was one at Perth. The next wa.s at Williamsburg, and the last at Cornwall ; sixteen in all. There were besides, a chaplain 86 to the forces stationed at Niagara ; a chaplain to the navy at Kingston ; and a clergyman at the latter place in charge of the Grammar School. There was a memorable gathering of the Clergy of Upper Canada at York in the summer of 1820, at a visita- tion of the first Bishop of Quebec, Dr. Jacob Mountain. Sixteen were present, including the chaplain to the forces from Niagara ; and they were addressed in an admirable charge, which riveted the attention of every hearer, by his Lordship the Bishop. During this visit, a confirmation was also held ; and a very considerable number of lx>th sexes were admitted to that rite. An address was presented to the Bisho}), congratulating him upon so large an assem- blage of the Clergy, — for it was the largest that had ever been gathered in Canada, — and the first steps were then taken for organizing the Corporation for managing the Clergy Reserves. They had but a small revenue to deal with, — merely the rents from the leased lots ; but it was considered the hopeful beginning of good days for the CxteiLsion and strength of the Church. 87 CHAPTER X. The Ci "gy Reserves Question. ^^KHE Clergy Reserves Controversy is a prominent ill; subject in Canadian history ; and, from its bearing upon the moral condition and general welfare of the Province, it cannot fail to have a commanding interest, in thoughtful and religious minds, for many generations to come. The" subject of this memoir took a leading and native share in this controversy : his position naturally threw him into the forefront of the contest ; and a para- mount sense of duty, which the din of surrounding warfare could not weaken, constrained him to adhere to his post until nothing was left to contend for. Reflections of a grave character are forced upon us in contemplation of the issues of that contest. We look back with sensations of deep disappointment and regret; and we look forward with saddening apprehensions for the future of our rising country, as to its moral and religious condition. Many, from personal observation, are familiar with the moral and religious landscape of England. Those who have traversed its beautiful scenes, — hill and valley, shady groves and green meadows, the noble mansion and the trim cottage, the smooth roa^is and the bounding hedge rows, its perfection of cultivation, its exhibition of magnifi- cence and wealth, — could not fail to notice, as a feature of singular attraction amidst the exquisite scenery that is on all hands presented, the constant occurrence of the church spire or tower surmounting the sacred edifice of humble or 88 capacious dimensions, with tho neat vicarage or rectory beside it. Tf these tower up as guardians of the land, as monuments at least rif its religious civilization, further «^>bscrvation and incpiiiy will attest that the univ«Tsal pastoral care which is thus provided, has proved a protec- tion and sfifeguard of the countiy better than bristling fortresses and legions of soldiers. Almost beyond memory or record, Kngland hsis enjoyed this advantage ; and we can now judge fairly whether the grand results have been realized which its parochial system was designed to confer. There have been alternations, doubtless, in the extent of the blessings imparted by the Church of England. Every institution, even the most sacred, will have its period of lassitude and langurn- ; there will, perhaps, be an internal degeneracy, as well as hurtful (tutward influences ; but if the system be a sound one, — its origin holy, its purjK>se philanthrojHC, its tendency sanctify- ing and ennobling, — it will soon recover the vantage- ground it may have temporarily lost. Men, in such ranks and in such a cause, will not all be degenerate ; the ('on- scientious renovator, the honest reformer, will from time t<» time start up, and waken the powers of revival that are inherent in the body. Long Mars abroad, protracted civil commotions within the kingdom, enfeebled necessarily the work and influence of the Church ; but peace has unifonnly brought it all back. No one of impartial jud[;nicnt will deny that the pre- eminence of England amongst the nations of the world, in mateiial power as well as in moral influence, is largely owiniT to the diflusion of that sober moral tone and health- fill spirit of subordination, which a wide-spread religious teaching, j>rovided by her established Church, has steadily maintained. In a country which possesses so much civil liberty as England, and where eriucation is so thorough and so diftused, there will always be an eftectual check to anything lik(; a projiensity to spiritual despotism ; to any attempt at fettering the conscience. The national sanction of the teaching of the Church has never compelled any man to surrender his individual judgment ; has never hin- dered him from adopting any other mode of religious ministrations which his tastes or convictions might prefer. But the Cliurch thus established an<l sustained has ensured a general and continuous religious instruction to the inhab- itants ; an instruction which, with all its collaUiral inliu- ♦•nces for good, they c(»uld not universally and steadily have enjoyed without a i)ublic provision for its mainte- nance. Without this, there would be a supply only where the appetite and the demand existed, and wh jre people, having this desire, possessed the means of gratifying it. A world-wide experience shews that such desire aftfir reli- gious instruction does not universally pervade a jieople. Many are o[>posed to the restraints it inculcates ; and, in the mass of communities, if it cannot be obtained without individual cost to themselves, it will not be sought after or secured. The nation, then, is bound to provide what individuals will not, or cannot, do for themselves. It is worth our while, and will not be out of phux*, to trace uj) this national duty to its origin. Without referring to the vast extent of inferential proofs, we may confine f)ur-selves to evidences that are direct and [)ositive. When the land of Canaan was ho far conquered by the Isnielites as to admit of the partition of the country amongst its conquerors, there was, by the Divine direction, an equit- al)le division ma<le ; but the exclusion of one tribe from the possession of any property in land, was remarkable. No allotment was made to the tribe of Levi ; but, in lieu of this, the other eleven tribes were required to give a tenth of the produce of their lands for the sustenance of that portionless trilje, so as to enable them to devote them- selves exclusively to the sei-vice of the Lord, It would, therefore, in all coming time be felt and recol- l<;cted, that it was no sjKjntaneous gift on the part of the 12 90 eleven tribes, when they jwirl to Levi the tenth of all they earned. Each of those tribes ol^tainod a share of what, in fairness and equity, belonged to Levi ; what was taken from Levi added just so much to their own possessions. So, in rendering a su[)port to the priestly tribe on the terms which God exacted, they were making no gratuity ; they were giving back, in another shape, what had been annexed, over and above their legitimate share, to their own possessions. This was a Divine arrangement as e(|uital>le as it was wise ; and, with ca pious reverence on the side of Israel, and an undoubting faith on the })art of Levi, it came into force without a murmur of discontent. By this wise ordi- nance, sealed thus, as we may say, with the seal of heaven, the temple-gates were always oiten ; the fires on the altar were never quenched. Sacrifices were never wanting,- - the daily recun-ing tyi)es of that gi'cat offering in which they were at last to merge. Through these symbolic duties, their sins day by day were at<^)ned for, in view of Him who was to make the offering perfect; and never, as agos passed, would there be wanting a man tf) stand thus before the Lotit, — a present mediator between the living and the dead. But was the 2>rovision thus ordained, to have its applica- tion U* Jews only ; or was the obligation to have no weight with the followers of Christ ? No where, in the New Testament, do we find a prohibition of this duty ; no where do we discover another rule substitute*! i'or that which, in all preceding times, had prevail* id i'or the sus- tentation of the Church of God. In days when Christians were nearer to the fountain of their ])rivileges, they thought and acted by that rule. They religiously made these appropriations ; believing that they were bound by the obligation, and that the practical reason for them still existed. Under the Saviour's dispensation, there is an altar to be served, and a priesthood to maintain ; and 91 there could be no better mode of sustaining these, than the ordinance which God lias left us for the purpose. We arc not to fancy that the provision made for the maintenance of this great blessing in our father-land, — namely, the [)arochial system, a church and ])astor every where, — was originally a amtpuhonj one , that it had its origin in state enactments, or in the arbitrary mandates of kings. This is by ru» means the truth ; but the appropria- tion of a tenth for the sup])ort of the Church, as existing in our mother country, was the voluntary act of her pious sons and daughters centuries ago. They, from a constrain- Z' ing sense of Christian duty, fixed this charge upon their t own possessions ; and they transmitted them to their x posterity with tJiis condition affixed to them for ever. The -^ law of the land so far interposes, as to guard rightful pos- session wiiere any venture to infringe upon it. It suffers not any selfish holder of the soil to appropriate wholly to himself what, by a solemn stipulation entailed upon him, he is bound to give a j)art of to the maintenance of reli- gion. This, then, is a princi])le, — this an action, divinely derived. The wisdom of the Almighty devised it; His goodness promjited Him to bring it into exercise. Its object was, the present welfare and everlasting happiness of men. And we cannot wonder that it should have had its weight Avith the King and Parliament of England, in providing for the v/elfare of their subjects in the Colonies. Canada was cc^nquered by Great Britain from the French ; and the territory thus acc^uired was at the dispo.sal of the Crown and Parliament of the Empire. Just respect was shewn to public and private property in Lower Canada ; and this extended even to their reli- gious institution.3. There was no disturbance of, no infringement upon, their ecclesiastical possessions. But Upper Canada was, comparatively, a wilderness; and in disposing of its unappropriated and uncultivated lands at 92 the absolute will of the Government, no private rights or privileges couhl l>y i)ossil)ility he afToctefl, The (iovern- ment, witliout injtiry to any (nio, could make any dispoHai, any reservation, of thene laiKJH they chow, for political purpoH(!M or religious ohJectM, The jfririeij)l(! of an eHtahlinhed provision for the support of religion, so long settled and so long acted upon in our mother country, and }>roductive of such wide-spread and ])rice]ess benettts, naturally awoke a sense of the obligation to make the same provision, wherever it was practicable, in the Colonies. A(;cordingly, as early as the fourteenth year of the reign of G(?orge III., there was, in the IiDperial Act, Caj». 8.% a reference to this obligation, in these words, — " It shall be lawful for His Majesty, his heirs and suc- cessors, to make such ])rovision for the en(;ouragement of the Protestant Religion, and for the mainti-'iiance Jind sup- port of a Protestant Clergy, as he or they shall from tinu* to time think it necessary and exj)edient." — And seventeen years later, in the thirty-first of the reign of that king, when it was detennined to form Upper Can.'ida into a separate Province, an<l sup[)ly to its inhabitants hii exact transcript of the British Constitution in Chun-h and State, it was expressly jn'ovided that one-seventh of all the lands of the Province sliouM be reserved for the suj)[»ort an<l mainUjnance of a Protcsstant Cleigy. There i« a vagueness in the expression " Protestant dergy," as the term is now understood ; but there was no misunderstanding, here or (dsewhere, when the Act con- taining those words was passed. Jn no Imperial Statute was tlie wor<l "Clergy" ever applied U> any other than ministers of the established (yhurch of England ; and that such was the understanding of the term in this Province, is evident from the following statement in the preamble to an Act of the Legislative Assembly in the year 1821, — " That whereas His Majesty has been graciously pleaj«jed to reserve ibr the support of the Protestant Clergy in this 99 Province, oiie-.seventh of all landH granted therein, doubts have been suggested that the tithe of the prochice of the land might still be legally demanded by the incnmlx-nt duly instituted, or Rect4^»r of any parisli, which doubt it is important t/» the well-doing of the (V)lony to remove," — It is obvious that the tenns here employed have an exelusivi* reference to the Church of England, an<l that the provision which is here deeme<l a substitute for tithes, was consi- dered to belong to that Cliurch alone. Such was the universal and uncontradicted impression until the year 1822. Then it was, for the first time, affirme<l that, whereas the Chun^h of Scotland is estab- lished in a i^ortion of the Emjiirc, the tf^rm " Protestant Clergy " should be considered U> con)[)rehend the ministers of that communion. This was zealously assei-ted, and just as zealously opj)Osed, Numerous pamphlets were written on })oth sides; and amongst the defenders of the claims <4' the Church of England, was a minister of th(; British Wes- hiyan connexion at Kingst<jn. Earl Bathurst, Secretary of StaU; for the Colonies, announced in July, 1825, that His Majesty's Government couM not depart from the natural and constitutional construction of the Act of 1791 ; and in this Despatch, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada was directed, with the advice of the Executive Council, to ( nstitute such Rectories as were recjuired, and to aj)pro- priate such ])orti(ms of the Clergy Reseive Lands as were needed for the support of the same. We make some extracts from a rej)ort of Council, date<l Novenibcr 21 1825 :— " They are convinced of the propriety of dividing the Province into parishes v> itli as little delfiy as j)08sible, not only because it appears nece.ssi ry before the new syHtcm of land-granting goes into operation, which implies such division to have previously taken place, but as giving a religious character to the country, "On reference to the Surveyor General it is found that a numerous class of townships ar« those of nine miles by twelve, 94 containing about 09,000 acres : — one-seventh of which, or ahout 0,800 acres, is tho approjjriation set ai)art for the maintenance of a Protestant Clergy, AsMuniing only two parishes for each of these townships, it is Imnihly submitted that the appropriation be divided into three [»iirts ; and, after forming any such township into two parishes by a division as convenient as circumstances will admit, that three thousand and three hundred acres, or one-third of tlic aj»propriation be attached as an endowment to the Parsonage of each, from the liosei'ves appertaining or belonging to such parish, and a similar ]»ro[M^rtion be observed in townships of f>ther dimensionH, "That the remaining one-third, consisting of about 3200 acres be reserved in the ]»oHS(«sion of the Corporation for general pur- poses ; the same to be sold when it shall be deemed for the interest of th«! Church, tho ]>roceeds of such sale to be funded in the British Stocks, and the interest only to be aj»plied to the sui)port of a Protestjint Clergy. " That a general fund, gradually accumulating as sales of this one-third take place, will be fijund exceedingly convenient for the support of clergymen in j)arishes until their respective endow- ment« ))ecome available, and likewise to supply salaries to the clergymen established in such towns and villages as may, from time to time, grow up in different partw of the Province, and for which iliere is no particuhir j»rovision. " Such general disposable fund becomes further necessary fruiu this circumstance, that many townships were settled before 1701, and therefore contain no Reserves ; othei-s in which the Reserves form a block in tlie middle, and cannot therefore be [)rochictive for a long time, — consequently the clergyman of such must, in the interval, be supported out of the General Fund." Such way the lleport prenentod to the Lieutenant- Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, about the close of the year 1825, by his constitutional advisers; but His Excellency did not feel that he could just then, take upon himself the responsibility of acting upon it. Delay, as the seciuel shewed, rendered such action more difficult j and when 95 the questioa caine iindev local parliamentaiy k'gi.slatioii, it became iiiijiiacticable. There were thousaiKlx outside the j)al(! of the (Jhiireh <»f England who believed then, what they will candidly con- i'vHH now, that the neglect to act practically upon tht'it reconi- rnendatiou Avas a public nii.sfortune. They will honestly admit, we are persuaded, that the lixtnl and permanent estaVjlishmeut in every townshij) of the Province, of one or more clergyiueii of the Church of England, — of men who would combine with piety and zeal a liberal education and some social refinement, and who, bound by the wholesome restraint of Scriptural articles of faith ami a »Sci'if»tural form of worship, would present an unvarying front of opj)osition to erroneous doctrines and the capricious desire of change, — would have proved a large and lasting blessing to the land. Such was the ]>ei*suasi(>n of him whose eventful life is recorded in these pages. He looked forward with hope to the day when here as in our mothe* country, we should see the Church-spire mingled every where with the fair and fertile scenery of th(? land ; the Church on hill and valley ; tlie Church in every handet. And with the Church, the settled pastor, pursuing from week U) week his round of i>ious ministration, — the youn*' his anxiety, the poor his care, — every duty urged and practised to draw men to the love of God and the love of one another. What an exchange would this be for the spiritual ban-enuess which lies so widely round us, — for the stretch of fertile lands on every side, ahnost without a token that God is worshipped there, or even recognized ! 96 CHAPTER XI. Visit to England unci liis native land. — Resistance to the pro- l»osecI sale of the Clergy Reserves to the Canad.i Company. — Politica! strife in Upper Qanada. f^^HVj citation of the document in the la-st cliapter, in ij / reference to the appropriation of the Clergy Re- serves, — though not unseasonably introduced, — was a little in advance of the regular order of events in the Life V>efore us. Early in the year 1824, Dr. Strachan was ena- ))led to gratify a wish, long cherished, of visiting his native •land, and greeting once more those friends of his youth who were ever held in affectionate remembrance, and with whom he maintained a steady correspondence. Often, in his letters, had he reverted to this wi.sh ; but obstacles to its accomplishment were constantly occurring. There wnti the difficulty of procuring a substitute during his al)sence, for so important a parish as his must be adequately supplied ; and there was the serious difficulty of meeting the heavy expense. Repeated lo.sses by fire, the building of a new house, and the accumulating cost of an increasing family, had created latterly an unusual pecuniary pressure» The first obstacle was removed by the opportune arrival at York of a son of an old and distinguished Scottish friend, Dr. Brown, of Aberdeen, who had taken orders, an<i enjoyed a small benefice, in the Church of England. He wjis a gentleman of fair attainments and prepo.ssessing address ; and while, in giving him this temporary employ- ment, reasonable justice would be done to the parish, a kind service would be i endered to the son of an old and ^7 valued friend. The painful issues of this arrangement, and all the complications that followed, we need not dwell upon. Suffice it to say that the engagement with Mr. Brown was brought to an abrupt termination in the month ' of April following; and the ecclesiastical authorities at Quebec made the necessary arrangements for the su})piy of the duty at^York until Dr. Strachan's return. The second difficulty was relieved, if not entirely removed, by^^the desire of the Lieutenant Governor and his advisers that Dr. Strachan, while in England, should afford to the Imperial Government information and advice on various matters of great interest to the Province, which could only be done effectually by personal representation and discussion. For the rendering of these services there was the promise of compensation, in part at least, of the very "heavy pecuniary outlay atten<lant in those days upon such a journey. A journey in winter to New York entirely by stage, and a voyage across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, — for there were no railways nor ocean steamers then, — occupied so much time, that it was the end of March before he arrived in London. A letter to a friend in Scotland, dated May 30, explains briefly a portion of the public duties which now engaged him : — "The littU; jtorsonal buHiiies.s I Imd cut out for myself, was in iny own mind <|uitc of a secoiultiry nature ; and not even so arranged until after I liad determined to visit you and my rela tious. But our Lieutenant Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, wished mo to deliver certain despatches, and to give an account of tlie state of the Colony. This produced communications with the Colonial Office, and there is no end to the references wliich they have from day to day made. 1 thought that I had answered all their iufjuiries, Avheu intelligence was received of the absurd ju'oceedings of the Legislature of Lower Canada, upon which, tiovernment have revived the jn-ojeet of uniting the two Pro- vince«. In view of tbiH, they have called tipon me to meet the 13 98 Attorney General of Lower Canada, who happens to be here ; and to prepare between us the draft of a Bill which we considered best adapted to the purpose, and most likely to render the mea- I sure effectual, while it gave as little cause of noise as possible. " This was a business of difficult performance ; for though the Attorney General and 1 are old friends, yet we did not agree on many of the points. After many meetings and much delay, we came to a conclusion only yesterday, and gave in the draft of the Bill, marking the clauses on which there was a difference of opinion. I am now preparing, as quickly as possible, my reasons for feupporting certain clauses, and rejecting others ; which will occupy me three or four days." His long and anxious yearnings were at last gratified ; and we are happily furnished with a brief sketch ofhi.H visit to some of the scenes of his early attachmimt, in a letter to his friend Professor Brown, hearing date, August 28, 1824, — closing with some of those shrewd remarks, indicating great knowledge of human nature, which cannot fail to be useful as well as interesting : — ** I stopped at Kettle, and found Mr. Barclay from home, but expected early in the evening ; and Miss Barclay, his eldest daughter, a most amiable and interesting girl, begged me earnestly to wait for the return of her father, which I at length consented to do. In order to amuse me. Miss Barclay proposed a walk to the village, to see my old friends if any still remained. Most of my old friends are dead. I find several acquaintances, but not one with whom I was in any degi-ee intimate. Those who recollee-ijd me were very much pleased, and all hoped I would preach for them on Sunday, — * never mind, though you're nae just as we are.' Mr. Barclay received me with great cordiality ; and, as was natural, had many questions to ask about his son in Canada. I remained all the Sunday : the family doing every thing in their power to make it pleasant. After breakfast ou Monday, I proceeded to St. Aiidrews, where I arrived before dinner, and took up my residence with Mr. Duncan. His brothers were all in town ; wl^icH m^de it very pleasant, as they »9 and I were always very friendly. It was a matter of astonisliment to me to see so little change upon them. In the evening wc called on Dr. Chalmers, from whom I received a cordial welcome. We talked of St. Andrews, of its present inhabitants, and of yon ; and I must protest that I never heard any person mentioned in more affectionate terms than you were. They said that in your removal to Edinburgh, one of the principal charms had departed ; that you were the soul of conversation ; and each deplored in the strongest manner, and in a way most convincing to my mind of its sincerity, his individual loss in your departure. * * * '' Not being troubled with any suspicions myself, I take jieople Hs I find them ; and consequently, get on very easily with society. Perhaps, by adopting the same method in future, you may find it advantageous. From considering the whole matter, as far as I am able, I have come to the conclusion that you will be happier at St. Andrews than in Edinburgh ; that pa.st diffi- culties have arisen chiefly from your too refined expectations. Your extraordinary talents and great sensibility place you so far above the people around you, that what apf>ears reasonable to you, — and is so when duly considered, — seems to them extrava- gant, or is perhaps above their comprehension. You must there- fore, in order to sail calmly and pleasantly down the stream, condescend a little to people of less feeling and less information, and cease to expect those delicate attentions from persons who are incajiable of feeling them, and you must conform to those established customs in society which are in daily ojjeration. It is true many of these might be dispensed with, were you still a bachelor,— for no man can visit you without wishing to visit you again,— but where ladies are concerned, there is never any abate- ment. Tlierefore you must sacrifice something of time and per- sonal trouble to give dear Mrs. B. that place in society which she so richly deserves, and could so well adorn, and which a little exertion on your part can easily assure."' The parting with this old and loved friend is thus re- ferred to iu a subsequent letter : — " I felt quite a vacancy in my heart, — a sort of desolation much greater than I had experienced on leaving Aberdeen,—* 100 when I parted from you and Miu Browu on the pier at New- haven. I had indeed not slept so well as usual, and did not feel (juite well. Perhajw we were to j)art for ever; there was little chance of my return ; the jdeasure of our short renewal of jier- sonal intercoui'se had passc^d away as a dream. J waived my hat occasionally as long sis you wen; in sight ; and when you dis- appeared, I tried to read Millar's book. I got actjuainted with no j)ei*son on board, being silent and dull the whole way. The weather during our voyage was not boisterous, but rainy and consequently disagreeable ; so we were obliged to pass our time principally in the cabin. The jjassengers a])peared rather a sulky crew ; but as I set them the example, I couhl not com- plain." During his stay in London, Dr. Straclian had many con- ferences witli Earl Batlnirst, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and with Mr. VVilmot Horton, tiie earnest and intelligent Under-Secretary, on tli<; religions and political prospects of Canada. Both were <leeply alive to tlie impor- tance of the provision made, in the Clergy Reserves, for the future maintenance of the Churcli in this Province, and protested in the strongest terms, against any interference with tlie exchisive and iindeniahle claims of the Church of England to that endowment. They also acquiesced in the K opinion that a division of the Diocese of Quebec, — then comprehending all Canada, — at as early a period as possible, was imperatively called for ; so that each Province slK»uld have its own Bishop. Biit tlie present difficulty was the want of funds to provide an income for a second Bishop. The Imperial Government could make no further grant for such a purpose ; and local resources were not at present available. The idea, at first, was favourably entertained that, upon the demis<; of the then Bishop of Quebec, — which, from his age and increasing infirmities, was con- sidered to be not far distant, — the Episcopal income, £3000 sterling, per annum, should be divided; allotting £2000 per annum to the next Bishop of Quebec, and £1000 101 to the Bishop of Upper Canada, Why this very reason- able proposition, — which would have been so cheerfully {icquiesced in by the excellent Dr. Stewart, — was not ultimately carried out, it would be difficult to explain. It was felt by Dr. Strachan, when tlie time so soon arrived for putting it into practical operation, that strange influ- ences were at work to extingui.sh all hope of his own elevation to the proposed new See, — his claims to which the united voice of Churchmen in Upper Canada would affirm to be paramount. . With this opinion there is every reason to believe that the Colonial Minister concun'ed ; but how it came to be counteracted, and the necessarj' division of the Diocese suspended, it is better not to attempt to account for. That the Church in Upper Canada might obtain some immediate benefit from the Clergy Reserves, Dr. Strachan, jK while in England, projiosed that the Clergy Corporation a should be empowered to sell one-half of the lands thus appropriated ; to fund the money deriv^ed from their sale ; and to apply the interest towards the suppoit of the Clergy. To this ])roposition the Home Goverament lent a friendly ear ; but while it was under consideration, the Canada Land Company was started, and they offisred to purchase at once the half of the Clergy Reserves. But the price they oftered was so low, that Dr. Strachan felt it his duty to oppose the sale ; upon which it was determined to send out five commission ei-s to value the land, — two to be appointed by Government, and two by the C*ompan\' ; a fifth to be chosen by the whole. The commissioners came to Canada in the spring of 1825 ; and when their valuation of the Clergy Reserves was madd known, it was strongly protested against by Dr. Strachan, as much too low. At his instance, the Clergy generally united in the remonstrance ; and the Govern- ment, in the face of such an opposition, declined to carry out the sale. Subsequently the arrangement of the dilfi- 102 culty was left to the late Mr, OnH and Dr. Strachan ; and after a long and tedious negotiation, it was determined that the Clergy lands should not be sold, — the Huron Tract, as it was termed, being purchased by the Company in their stead. Fully £150,000 were saved to the CTiureh by this inter- po.sition, or rather to the Province ; for all know how little the Church has benefited by this energy and deter- mination on the part of her able and untiring champion. The present was a critical period in the political history of Upper Canada ; at all events, the general election in the summer of 1824 had very much changed the complexion oi our local Parliament. Party spirit exhibited itself strongly in many quarters : the Attorney General Robinson nar- rowly escaped defeat in York by a very inferior opponent ; and from the constituencies westward, a large radical element was infused into the House of Assembly. On the 18th April, 1825, Dr. Strachan writes thus, in a letter to a friend : — " We have just closed a long and tedious Session of the Pro- vincial Parliament. There has been much debate ; not a little (Hssention ; and after all, little or no good done. Our House, the Legislative Council, had a serious difference with the House of Assembly on a question of privilege, which was at length settled after a good deal of trouble. As a large share of the business of the Upper House falls upon my s'loulders, there is of course not a little responsibility with it ; ar . for the exercise of this I am praised or blamed according to the caprice of the editors of the newspapers. — 1 sometimes think of your nerves, when dema- gogues and radicals are railing against me ; but their calumnies never deprive me of my appetite, nor of my sleep. In all my affaii-s I have one simple principle to guide me ; which is an honest desire to do as well as I can. I have, therefore, no com- punctions of conscience, no qualms to settle : their calumnies pass me like the idle wind, and I turn for them neither to the right hand nor to the left." 103 This, too, was but the beginning of the storm — the gentle pattering of the rain- drops before the roar and fierceness of the tempest. With civil strife came the acrimony of theological contention, — the eager onslaught upon what the Church deemed her rightful inheritance, and the bold and unflinching defence of one all but unaided champion against a host of foes. But before the outbreak there wjis a parti.al lull. Dr. Strachan had again to proceed to England on public busi- ness, and sailed from New York in March, X82C. Such was the important character of the work entrusted to him, that his absence was protracted until late in the summer of 1827. 104 CHAPTER XII. The Educational QticHtioii. — Prospect of the early Establwhnient of a UniverHity. — Second Vi»it to England. /^HE war that had ju.st been kindled, on the right to, llj / and the dispcsal of, the Clergy Reserves, and all th(; anxieties and labour it entailed, did not Ijy any iiiean.s exclude from the thoughts and energie.s of Dr. Strachan, the great question which had led to his emigra- tion to Canada, and which had ever since unremittingly engaged his interest and attention. This was the (question of Education, — to supply the means of diffusing sound .•md useful knowledge through all classes of the com- munity ; to impart it to the htimblest, as well as to the highest, of the population ; to ada])t it to the various grades and conditions of tlie people ; to classify the insti- tutions of learning so as to meet the wants and aspirations of all. The establishment of a University, in which a com- pleteness and finish could be given to education, was always in the foregi'ound of these plans and contem- plations. But the antecedent steps to this culminating point it would havo been unwise to have neglected. There must be the elementary and * preparatory knowledge supplied in its fitting grades, before the benefits of the highest seat of learning could be available or ])racticable. And these prelirainaiy necessities were never overlooked. The first movement in this direction had been made by General Simcoe in 1792, when he expressed to Mr. Dundas, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the expediency of 105 immediately adoptin<^ practical measures for the estab- lishment of a University in Upper Canada, The same thing was urged in a letter to the Bishop of Quebec in 170.), in which he states that the people who have the means of governing themselves, "must become sufficiently (^a])able and enlightened to understand their relative situa- tion, and manage their own power to the public interest. To this end a liberal education is indispensably necessary." General Simcoe was recalled from the Government of this Province in 1797; but its Legislature did not lose sight of the object he had so much at heart. Not long after his departure, they addressed the King with a petition that a portion of the waste lands of the Province should be appropriated to the support of Grammar Schools and a University ; and very soon, authority was given to appro- priate /5()(),()00 acres for this purpose, — one-half for Grammar Schools, and the residue for the endowment of a Uni- versity. It was impossible, at that time, to obtain a price for these lands whicli would have sufficed for the endowment of even two Grammar Schools ; but in 1807, mainly through the exertions of Dr. Strachan, an Act was passed f»)r the . estal)lishment of a Grammar School in each District of the Province ; and very soon, three superior Schools, — at Cornwall, Kingston and Niagara, — were in successful operation. In process of time, similar Schools were established in the capital towns of the other Districts of Upper Canada. The means for the education of those who were not in a condition to avail themselves of the instruction afforded in the Grammar Schools, were at the time very meagre and unsatisfactory. This class of the youth of the country had to get, as they could, a very simple and indifferent educa- tion. In our towns and villages, and here and there in the country, there were schools of a very humble order, — the teachers sometimes men of respectability, but of ten - 14 lOG times the reverse ])otli as to acquireinents and habits of life. The scholars were of both sexes, from lisping children to grown-up young men and women ; and the majority of these attended only in the wititor months. The remu- neration to the nuisters was small and fluctuating, and derived entirely from the pu[>ils ; no government aid whatever was contributed to this clsiss of schools. The duty of ameliorating this condition of things forced itself early upon Dr. Stracha ; and, very nmch through his influence and exertions, a Law was passed in January, 1824, making a. certain grant to each District for Common School education, and appointing a Boanl in each I>istri<tt to examine and admit teachers, and to make an equitabh? distribution within their bounds, of the funds allotted thereto,' A somewhat better class of school-masters Wfus by this means obtained, and a larger number of schools were opened; but there was this defect in the organizsiticm of the system, that no a<lc(iuate provision was ma<le for the superintendence of these schools, — no anangcment foi* a periodical visit to them, so as to ensure the j)ioper atten- tion of their conductors, and to examine into and remedy complaints where they were preferre<l. The organization was then much too bare, if it has since br-come, as many think, too complex and expensive. The existing arrangements for a preparatory (,'ducation were, however, on the whole working well ; th«iy were fairly paving the way for the establishment of the long contemplated University. No doubt this, when fully in operation, would have an^important influenc(! upon the inferior institutions of learning. The standard of educa- tion would be elevated ; and both in the Conuncm and in the CJrammar Schools, there would be an effort to meet the more a<lvanced acquirements which the University would exact, A person conversant with the working and influence of the Universities in the mother country, would feel strongly, 107 aii<l work z«*alouHly, for the t'HiaMiHhin«*nt of a .similar iiistiiutioii licrc. Tliern is no rnlriilatiii*^ tlio moral and social power wliirli Oxford and ('aml>rid;^«', for instance, have cxertod. It is somothing t«» Hccuro, hy their moans, a clft.ss of men competent from their afujnin'mcntM to Hil the Hcveral learned profeHsion.s, — to hrin^' the light and the refinements of s<;ienco to the practical duties which the lawyer, the physician, and the clergyman Inis each in his vocation, t<j discharge; hut a host of men arc benefited outsid(f thos(! jM'ofessions. The nobility and gentry, who enter into no [trofession, are educat<Ml then;; they acquire th"ro the knowledge and the dis<nplinary training that (jualify them to be magistrates and legislators. The a.s.so- ciations of those early days serve much to identify them with other.s, not of their own onler, throughout tlui; land, — with the memliers of the several professions, and with these of less social standing, but of equal literary acquirements. The Universities have thus j»roduce<l a wonderful blending of clas,ses ; they have .served in a large d(;grc(! to break down those barriers which, keeping men distinct, would have excluded them from working in com- bination for their country's good. With what an eager ho[)e, with what an untiring energy, would one, alive to all these advantages and with the oppoi-tunity apparently at comn;and, strive to have them imp.arted and perpetuated in this new country ! About the close of the year 1825, it Wcas determined that steps should be adopted which would easurc the early accomplishment of this great boon to Upper Canada. The Lieutenant Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, was induced to address a Despatch to Earl Bathurst, soliciting the sanction of the Impei'ial Government to an exchange of the wild and remote lands allotted for the support of edu- cation, for such other lands in the po.ssession of the Crown, as would command an earlier and more advantageous sale. It was stated that the lands thus set apart, "though they 4 ^ 108 possess the a*lvantage of >»ein<:» in larj^o Mooks, lie in tracts at present remote from ftettieinents, and a considerable portion of them is not of the tirnt finality." It was then suggested that if the Imperial (Jovernment "Hhould see fit to allow th.'it an etjual (juantity of the he^st of theso lands should be exchanged for that portion of the ( Vown Reserves which remains to th^ Government as being under lease, the latter could almost immediately be disposed of, at an average price of not less than ten Hhillings per acre, and a sum thus be produced that would admit of the immediate establishment of a University on a scale that would render it effective." As matters in regard to the establishment of a Univer- sity had now come to so critical a point, it was thought advisable that no opportunity or means of ensuring its success shouM be lost. Despatches often remain long unanswered ; and after all, however important the sub- jects may be to which they refer, they are often unsatis- factory. So it was determined to send home a special emissary to bring this great question to a favourable issue; -» and as none other so suitable could be found, Dr. Strachan was called upon to proceed to England, and have, if pos- sible, every ol)stficle removed to the immediate accom- plishment of this gieat Provincial undertaking. He left York, on this important eiTan<l al»out tlie middle of March (1820), — spending i night on the way in the parsonage at Grimsby, and leaving there his second son, George, in charge of the writer of this narrative, then the Incumbent of that parish. The winter roads were then breaking up ; so it was a long and weary journey to New York. But the passages homewards were usually short; and ho arrived in London about the 25th of April. He entered without delay upon the duty he was com- missioned to discharge, and he pursued it with accustomed i vigour. On the 31st of March, 1827, the following i Despatch from Earl Ba^hurst was transmitted to Sir Pere- grine Maitland : — 109 " I have the honour to inform you that His Majesty has been plenneil to grant a Royal Charter hy Letters Patent, under the Great Seal, for eMtablishing at or near the town of York, in th*^ I'rovince of Upper (.'aiiada, one College, with the stylo and privi leges of a tJniver-ity, for the education and instruction of youth in Arts and Faculties, to continue for ever, to )»<; railed King's Col Inge. *' f am further to accpiaint you that His Majesty lias been pleased to grant XIOOO per annum as a fund for erecting the buildings necessary for the C<»llege. to be |)aid <Mit of the moneys furnished by the Canada (company, and to contiinie during th<' term of that agreement. •* 1 have to authorize you, on th(j receipt of this De.-patch, to exchange such Crown Reserves as have not been made over to the Canada Comj)any, for an equal |)ortion of the lands set apart for the purpose <»f education and foundation of- Cnivei-sity, as suggested in your Despatch of Deceniber 10, iJ^Ii.), and more fully detailed in Dr. Strachan's JlejKjrt of March 1(>, 1 820, and you will proceed to endow King's College with the said Crown Reserves with as little delay as possible." Coinidete success, tlieii, hud ciowuud the ettorts of Dr. Strachan ; an<l tlio day-dreaui ()f his youtli ;iud of his mature iiianh(K)d was at length realized. Ujiper Canada was to hove a University : it was adequately endowed ; and a Royal Charter was obtained for it. This Charter, it was affirmed at the time, was the most open and liberal tlmt liad ever been granted ; inasmuch as it was provided that no religious test should be aj)plied to any persons admitted as students or as graduates in the said College, excepting only to graduates in Divinity, wlio were to ]je subject to the conditions enjoined for degrees in that faculty at Oxlbrd. Establi^ied and time-honoured principles c(»uld not be altogether abandoned; iu any such Institution sanctioned by the Crown, its religious features must be maintained ; that grand safeguard to its wholesome work- ing could never be relinquished. And if this influence 110 must be made to pervade it, it woul<3 be simply dutiful on the part of His Majesty's Government, to concede the administration and control of the Institution to tlio estab- ■* lished Church of the Eini)ire. It was, therefore, provided that the seven Professors in the Arts and Faculties should be members of the Church of England, and should sub- scribe the Thirty-nine Articles ; that the Bishop i\n' the time being of the Diocese in which the University was situate, should be the Visitor ; the Governor, or Lieutenant Gfjvernor for the time being to be Chancellor ; the Presi- dent to be a clergyman inholy orders of the United Church of p]ngland and Ireland ; and that the Archdeacon of York in this Province, for the time being, should, by virtue of such his office, bi3 at all times President of the said College, There was, no doubt, an imwise and needless stringency in some of these provisions ; and to the writer of these pages Dr. Strachan himself affirmed, on his return from England, that he had expressed to Lord Bathurst his (jbjection to the provision last cited, — that the Archdeacon of York should, ex-ojfficio, be President of the University ; and he stated also his doubts whether it was judicious to require from the members of the College Council subscrip- tion to the Thirty -nine Articles, These, however, were arrangements that could be modified, without doing violence to the religious influence by which it was intended that the University should be controlled; and without excluding the Church of England from that general go- vernment and supervision to which all felt that she was entitled. Ill CHAPTER XIII. Death of the Bishop of Qnoboc. — Tfi.s Successor^ Dr. Stewart. — UpjK'r Canada divided into two Archdeaconries. — Dr. Stnichan appointed Archdeacon of York. — CorresiK>ndence in England in 182G-7. — lletnrn to Canada. JpiURING the summer of 182.5, an event occurred which 5|rj had been for some time expected, — the death of C_y Dr. Mountain, first Bishop of Quebec. Though he liad not attained to extreme old age, — being, when he died, in his 7oth year, — his constitution had been for many years much broken ; and at no time, though robust in frame, was he equal to the labour and the privations which visitations of his vast Diocese, extending from Gaspd to Sandwich, demanded. We may repeat now what was so justly said of this distinguished prelate, in a brief sketch of his life published in the "Church" newspaper in June, 1838: — "He was eminently a scholar, a gentleman, a com- panion, a domestic guide and comforter ; and unite<^ in a most remarkable manner, qualities which commanded respect and reveren'ic, with a cheerful affability, and often a j)layfulness, which th^-ew a charm about his society, and made him, as it were, tl-e centre of a system, to the whole of which he imparted light and warmth. In his performance of the functions ])roper to tlie Episcopal office, the com- manding dignity of his j)erson, the impressive solemnity of his maimer, and the felicitous })ropricty of liis utterance, gave the utmost effect and development to the beautiful services of the Church. In the pulpit, it is perhaps not too much to say, that the advantage of his fine and venerable / / 112 cospect, — the grace, the force, the solemn fervour of his <lelivery, — the power and happy regulation of his tones, — the chaste expressiveness and natural significance of his action, combined with the strength and clearness of his reasoning, — the unstudied magnificence of his language, — and that piety and rooted faith in his Redeemer, which was, and shewed itself to be, pregnant with the imi)ortance of its subject, and intent upon conveying the same feeling to others, — made him altogether a preacher who has never, in modern times, been surpassed." He was succeeded by the Hon. and Rev. Charles James Stewart, D.D,; whose coming to Canada is described as follows in the narrative from which we have just quoted : — "In the year 180G, the Bishop of Quebec, then in England, was visited by the Hon. and Rev. Charles Stewart, brother of the Earl of Galloway. He ex])ressed his desire of being employed in the Canadas ; and his otters of service having l>een accepted, he entered upon the arduous duty of a mis- sionary in a remote station upon the borders of Lake (.'hamplain." Here for many years he pursued his simple duties, patiently and laboriously; and long will they, amongst whom his first ]nis.sionary years were spent, remember the warmth of unaffected piety, the devoted earnestness, and the boundless benevolence of heart, b}' which his faithful declaration of the Gospel message was uniformly accompanied. About the year 1820 he resigned the special charge to which he had so long devoted him- self, and at the instance of the Bishop, became Visiting Missionary of the Diocese, — going from one end of it to another on horseback, accompanied by his servant, and informing himself of the condition and wants of the several parishes as he passed along. In 1825, the Archdeacon of Quebec, was commissioned, while in England, to procure a division of the Diocese, — Dr. Mountain having proposed to assign to Dr. Stewart the episcopal charge of Upper Canada, together with one-thiixl of his income. This pro- 113 ])osal was fully agi'eed to by Hi.s Majesty 'h Government, and the arrangement was about to be carried into effect, when it was inteiTupted l)y the Bishop's death, and Di*. Stewart succeeded to the whole charge of the Diocese. A division under some other arrangement, was, it appears, for the present abandoned. On the strangeness of this, we have already briefly commented. During the summer of 1824, when Dr. Strachan fii-st visited England, an arrangement had been agreed to foi- the division of Upper Canada into two Archdeaconries, — one, the Archdeaconry of Kingston, to comprehend all that portion of the country lying between the western extremity of the Newcastle District and the eastern extremity of of the Province ; the other, the Archdeaconry of York, to (;omprise all the territory from the commencement of the Home District eastwards to the western extremity of the Province. The latter Arch<]eaconry was promised to Dr. Strach.'in; the former being assigned to Archdeacon Stewart. But it was not until the 28th June, 1827, that the Bishop of Quebec was advise<l by the Colonial Secretary, that the Letters Patent, authorizing this division, were issued ; and that Dr. Stuart was to be instituted into the Archdeaconry of Kingston, and Dr. Strachan into the Archdeaconry of York. Duiing a residence of eighteen mc^riths in England and Scotland, there were many personal incidents and public events which Dr. Strachan would naturally refer to in his correspondence. Tin; leaders of this narrative will, we feel assured, ])e)-us(' with interest such reflections and observations as we (^an extiact from letters written during that interval. On the li)th June, 182(>, he writes to a fiiend as follows, on a scene familiar doubtless to many of our readers, but by the greater number never witnessed : — " Since 1 wrote, 1 have been to Oxford to stje the Couinieniora- tion ; but uufortunately acme of my principal friends were absent. 15 114 I did not, however, lose my journey ; as I had an opi)ortunity of making some interesting inquiries, and of seeing {how ])ul)lic ceremonies are conducted in so eminent a seat of learning. The Commemoration was held in the theatre, which can hoM about three thousand persons. It was nearly full, about one-third of ladies, elegantly dressed ; the students in the upper galleries. This public exhibition is considered a Saturnalia. The young gentlemen hiss^ or applaud, all the professors and officers of the University as they enter and retire. The Vice Chancellor for the year seemed very much disliked, for the moment he appeared, there was such a hissing and groaning as was indeed quite tre- mendous. Then came in a popular professor, and he was loudly applauded. Similar conduct was manifested to others. After quiet was restored, the University Orator pronounced a Lntiu oration in praise of benefactors ; but as he had lost all his upf)er teeth, and is very old, it was difficult to undei'staiul a word he said. Next, a young man rej»eated a prize Latin fM)em ; and as he articulated admirably, we could follow him very tolerably. Home of the verses were excellent ; but it was rather long for a public recitation. Then we had an English essay on fiction ; very good, and exhibiting no inconsiderable aouteness. After this, there was a short j>oem of about fifty lines in English, — very poor indeed. The Degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon Sir Kob(!rt Inglis ; and others followed of inferior note. The moment the business of the day was concluded, the hissing and applauding recommenced, and I made my escape." The following refer to visits to various friends in Scot- land ; and .are extracted from letters bearing date October 9, and October 18, 1820 :— *' On Monday last I set out in the coach for Newhaven ; Mr. Hamilton, my ward, saw me on board the steamer ; and at two o'clock, I was iu the manse of Kettle. Here I was received with great kindness, and could not get away before Wednesday morning. I reached St. AndrevvS before dinner, and found Professor Duncan expecting me, and ready to greet me with all the warmth of former friendship. Dr. Chalmers soon after came in, and was 115 rejoice<l at my arriviil lie intended to have spent the evening with us; but Mrs, Chalinei's, who hud hsi'U about all day, took ill, and soon [)resented him with a daughter. He came over for a moment to inform us of this happy event. ** On Thursday, Mr. Duncan invited the Hunters and Dr. Cliahncrs to dinner; and these gentlemen met very courteously, and the ])arty was highly agreeable. Being seated next Dv. Chalmers, I had much conversation with him, but chiefly in reference to the situation of his brother Charles. " I dined on Friday with Dr. James Hunter ; Mi-s. Hunter I had not seen since her marriage. On Saturday I dined with Dr. Chalmers and Professor Duncan, at old Dr. Hunter's, where we had a good deal of pleasant conversation. On Sunday I preached before Dr. Chalmers, ikc, in the chapel, and on the whole j>leased them. To-day I set out for Dundee, and expect to reach Aberdeen on Thuraday evening. I have been much gratified by* the kindness I have experienced here. '• I left St. Andrews on Tuesday, the 10th, — Dr. Chalmers and Professor Duncan accom[)anying me to the pier. On Wednesday, at Dundee, I went with Mr, Kerr, a writer, to Meigle, to see William Scott, brother of our late Chief Justice, whose mind is enfeebled. I chose to go without giving notice, that I might see how he wiis treated. I carried with me his father's and brother's watches, some rings, and other little mat- ters. I found him poorly in health, but had i-eason to be satisfied with his treatment, I, however, made arrangements for still further increasing his comforts ; and as he was getting old and frail, I raised tlie sum paid to the persons who board and lodge him nearly one-half. He was delighted with the things I brought him ; and the people were not less delighted at the augumentation of their allowance, one quarter of which was paid in advance. Mr. Kerr of Dundee, who is our man of business and of good lepute, has the general trharge and attends to the payment of expenses. We have left plenty of money in his hands ; and all the instruction I gave him as to its application, was simply this, to treat William Scott, as he would treat his own brother in the same situation. "We returned in the chaise to dine in Dundee; but the arrangements necessary, and the settling of accounts, prevented 116 my getting to Aberdeen until Friday evening, the 13th. 1 found here a letter from the Colonial Office, wishing my speedy return ; I therefore expect to be in Kdinburgh on Saturday <!vening, and in London on Tuesday." He arrived in Lonrlon on Tuesday, the 24th, at hali'-past ten in the evening, and, writing to Professor Brown, Nov. 7, lie says: — "I found my8(;lf sitting snugly by the fire in my own lodgings about eleven. My landlord iu-ouglit nie up a large parcel of letters from Canada, all of which 1 I'ead before going to bed. The contents were jdeasant, exce[)t of one mentioning the death of our adopted datightcu;* which, though long expected, is yet a great afflictiim. She was »t> kind, so gentle, so affectionate. Neither I nor Mrs. Strachan had any difference, even in feeling, Ijetween her and our own childrei.. In many respects Mrs. Brown resembles her ; not unlike in looks ; the same winning modesty, the same retiring character, the same kindness of disposi- tion. But this subject is painful. She was good, and has gone to a better world, leaving a disconsolate husband, and one child quite an infant. * * * * " The Under-Secretary for the Colonies being at ljright<jn, I went down to converse with him on many points which I had in charge from the Colonial Government. T had an agreeable inter- view of three hours with him ; and as we lodged at the same hotel, there was no escaping nie." The extraets tliat follow are from a letter to the same gentleman, dated January 29th, 1827 : — "There appear to be a great variety of opinions regarding the war. Some think that it will come to nothing ; others believing that Spain will commit aggressions, and that France is ready to assist. I ara rather inclined t(> the former ; because the King of France must feel that it is his interest to remain at peace, and not again risk the prospect of a second exile. He is now too old thus to begin the world. Was there ever so imprudent a speech as that of Mr. Canning ] It indeed carried the House and •The late Mm. Guy Wood, of Cornwall. 117 country with him ; but eloquence is not reason, and now most people condenm it in toto. It was calculated to irritite France, without any benefit whatever ; and in the published edition, it becomes rather a new speech than the one pronounced in the House of Commons. i> * * * * • " I have not been idle since my return : havin<j written a pamphlet on Emigration of nearly 100 pages, and an appeal of 24 |)ages in favorr of our College. I have also veiy nearly finished an abridgement of the Emigration Report of the House of Commons Comnittee, which 1 undertook at the re(juc»t of the Under-Secretary for the ColoTiies, Mr. Wilmot Korton ; and for this service I am to get an Act of Parliament passed resjxfcting the Colonies, which I have much at heart, and should rejoice above all things to be able to carry out with the Charter of the ITnivei-sity. That Kei)ort I reduce to less than one-seventh of its original bulk, retaining everything useful. It contains nearly 400 folio pages : my work will be about 1.'30 octavo. " 1 dined at Mr. William Horton's, a f(!W days ago, with Mr. Malthus, the famous writer on fwpulation, and a Mr. T<;cke, celebrated in the literary world, Lockhart, the Editor of the C^iiarttu'ly, was also thenj. We had much convei"sation, and on a variety of subjects ; particularly emigration, and the rapidity f)f the increase of population. I did not find so much acuteucsH, or (»riginality of remark, as I exj)ected. Mr. Malthus is rather an I'.gly man, and speaks very thick and through his no.se. I found no difficulty in taking a reasonable share in the conver- sation ; and was enabled to make some remarks, from being so long abroad in a growing country, that served to throw light on the subjects discussed. * * * '• I frequently see Mr. Campbell, th«j poet. He goes, down to Glasgow, sometime in April, to be instfdled Rector, ft appeals that a good deal of ojiposition was made to him on the part of the Professors ; which I think foolish, as he is a (Jlasgow man. But everybody does foolish things now and then, as well as th<5 Professors at Glasgow." On the 2Lst of April, 1827, he writes as follows; just afttn* the break-up of Lord Liverpool's administration : — 118 " I am liappy to tell you, tliut f had the good fortune to accoriij)li»h tlic iiioHt rnateritil partH of my mlsHion, before the cvmh iimongHt the mitii.stry took [>lace. My University Charter issued on the 22m\ of March, and I have had a i\iw eopie.n printed. " I «hould now be on my way to Canada, but 1 got a JJiH introduced, in February, into Parliament, to enable the Crown to Hell a portion of the Clergy Reserves ; as they are at present totally un[)roductive, and a cause of clamour Jis being a barriei- t<» iirij)rovement. I was anxious to avoid the great question that has been agitated in the Colony about the meaning of the words "Protestant Clergy," and confined myself sin ply to the pow(M- of sale. But Mr. Stanley (the late Earl of D* rby) came forward with a motion to investigate the whole matter, and of consc;- qucnce the second reading of my Bill is put off to the first of May. In the meantime, the old Ministry has fallen to pieces ; and whether the ncnv Ministry will attend to my business, or not, remains to bo seen. " There is no conversation here but about the Mirnstry ; the ex-Ministers say that they have been very ill-used. The King, tlicy afTirm, never asked them to form a Ministry, nor made any e<»mmunication that it was his Royal pleasure to aj)point Can- ning Premier. The first intimation of this step was from that gentleman himself, in a note addressed to each, not, it is said, couched in partictilarly warm terms. This raised their indigna- tion ; and they, 1 ajipreherid without much consideration, resigned. Lord Melville, I have reason to know, had not made up his mind an hour before he sent iu his resignation. Mr. Canning finds much difficulty in arranging his administration, and Parliament will find itself in a strange position when it meets. It is confidently sjiid that Mr. Canning cannot stand any time. I have no great ojjinion of his judgment, but I am rather disposed to think that he will maintain his ground ; because Lord Eldon is too old to take an active part much longer in politics. Lord Bathurst, though a man of talents, is shy and also of feeble health. The Duke of Wellington and Lord Mel- ville are no 8j)eakets, and Mr. Peel is supjwsed to be wavering between the two parties. 119 " I got Lord Batluirst to givn directions concerning the oiidowmcnt of our University, a few days before he resigned ; and one of tlu very last Despatclics that his L'n-dship signed was one settling our Courts of Law upon a basis wliich^ I bad drawn up ; for, you see, we Colonists are obliged to turn our attention to everything. " [ have also been actively employed in clainung nssistujiee from the great Church Societies towards forming a Library for our University My ajiplication to the Society for the Propaga- tion of the Cosjiel in Foreign Parts, has been successful; but the Society for Promoting Christian Kn()wledge has demurred. Here I was opposed by the Bishop of Chester (Blomfield) ; but not being of a disposition to give up, I brought the matter for- ward tlii-ci' tinjcH. On the two first attemjits I saw matters going against me, and had the address to prevent the (|ucstii)n troinj' to a vote. The third time I mustered all mv strength, and «-arried a vote of reference to the Committee to consider n:y ]>ropositiou faii'ly. This body will re])ort to the Society on the ist of May, and I hope to beat the Bishoj).* " In my application for Books to the University of Oxfonl, F have failed : they are afraid of a precedent. The Church Mis- sionary Society have behaved very well, having resolved to give us i.'2(M) per annum, — £100 to a Professor of Indian languages, jind .£1<M) for two .scholarships of £~)0 each, to educate tw(» young men as Indian Mi.ssionaries. I went down to Canibridgi*. to try what could be done there ; but I am not very sanguine. The Vice Chancellor was very polite ; but iiothing can be done till after Term commences in May." Finding several acquaintances returning to Canada by one of the London and New York line of Packet-.ships, he •ijcterniined to adopt that route; and accordingly sailed from Portsmouth, — where those vessels always touched, — on the the 5th July, 1827. In a few weeks from that date he reached his happy home; and the tranquillity there was all the more grateful, from the storm of war which speedily assjiiled him from without. •■ *Tlie Society at a subsequent meeting voted £600 for thia object. 120 CHAPTER XTV. Tl»« Clergy Rp«(>rvt'H Cnvirovi^rny . — Hpecch in tlio Lpgwlative Council in (h'fcuci'. of his conduct u|)on tlii.s Qncwtion, /^I^N occaHJon oi' tlje flcatli of the Biyhop of Quebec, w9 y rclato'l ill the last chapter, Dr. Strachan, as would liave been expected, ])ieaelie(l a funeral .sermon. In this was a veiy pleasinfj portrait of tlie dej)arte<l prelate, and an allusion to other members of his family wliicli we cannot lefrain from repeatin<( : — "The Churches, thinly Hcattercd over this vawt country, bear a Btrikin;^ resemblance to the small congregations of [)rimitive (Christians in the days of the Apostles; but it is to he hoped that, through the blessing of Cod, the intervening space will soon bo adorned with now Congregations, till tlie whole jMjpuhition shall become united in one holy communion. And when this hii[)py j)eriod shall arrive, how muny pleasing associations will be coupled in their minds with the recollections of the first Bishop of the Diocese, wlio gave life and order to that religious establish- nuiut which guides tliem to salvation ; impressing, as he did in his dilfen-nt charges, on the attention of his Clergy, — the duty of ] (reaching redemption, the doctrine of the atonement, the satis- faction made for sinners by the blood of Christ; the corruption of human nature, the insufficiency of man unasKistcd by Divines grace ; the efficacy of the prayer of faitli ; and the purifying, directing, sustaining, and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. Now that he hath departed, let us have tL^sa things in remem- brance. "As a preaeher of the GosimjI, our late venerable Bishop must have been heard, to form an adequate concepLion of his superior ^ 121 t'xcelleiicc and coinniandiiig eloqueuc*'. The dignity of liirta|»|rt,'ur- Htice, the chaHte propriety of hi.s action, the clearne^H of h'w voice and rich ineh)di«'« of lii»4 tones, the earneHtncH.i of his manner, added to the sublimity of the truthn he delivered in the mont pure and pernpicuouH language, were never to be forgotten, and never failed to make a dec[) imj)reaHion on hiH audience. In England, he was couMidered one of the most imprcHsive and eloquent 2»reacherM that the Church could boaxt ; and watt earncHtly Holicited, when laHt in IauuIou, by the nianagen* of charitable inntitution.s, iiotwith»tanding h'lH advjinccd age, t<» preach their annivei-sary Hcrmoiw, With the recpiotttw of wjnie he coni[)lied ; and h(^ has published a discourse, dtilivercid before the Hociety for Recovering Drowned Pei-sons, which may be justly pronounc(!d one of the most beautiful and interesting sermons in the English language. *' In his social and dom(^stic intercourse, the Bishop's manners were particularly jdeasing ; uniting with great affability and cheerfulnesH of disposition, those qualities which command respect and secure esteem. All found themselves at ease in his presence ; for so far was he from being a restraint on the young and lively, that his occasional playfulness encouraged tlujir openness and gaiety, while the dignity of his general deportment prevented the innocent delights of the social circle from degenerating into levity. " His Lordship was singularly hai)py in his domestic relations. Mrs. Mountain, in every respect worthy of such a husband, is in her manners amiable and engaging ; in her religion sincere, active, and cheerful ; in charity unbounded, without regard to sect oi- nation; exhibiting in her whole conduct Christian lovo jim it w(!re embodied. Who, that has lived in Quebec for the last thirty years, can hesitate in bearing testimony to the unwearitjd goodness of her heart, and the sweetness of her temj)er ; and who that approached her, did not feel the influence of her Christian purity and incessant benevolence, stealing upon the heart, and inspiring him with similar sentiments and dispositions ? Every day was an encomium on her character, as it never passed without acts of charity and parental affection. It was her piety, uniform and cheerful, — her meekness of disposition and anxiety 16 122 to <lo gofxl, — which I'luh'anrd hor to nil her (v'lviuh, and guvc ht'r huHlmixl and hor chlhJrcn ho many years of ihv most refined donjostic felicity. " Nor was the late liishop less blessed in his children, consist- inj( of four sons attd two (laughters. Of the former, three have foHowed their father's profession ; the fourth, wiio has chosen a military life,* resembles the late Jiii-hop more than any of the rest, not only in exterior form, but in the ((ualiticH of the; heart and understandiit The writer of this was so forcibly struck witli his noble bearing at a very early age, a« to enU'rtain the most iiromising hojK-s of his futun; eminence, — ho|»es, that he will not fail to be greatly distinguished, should opportunities for the exertion of his talents ever be pn.'senti^d." Tn this Sermon i.s given a brief Hketch of his Lordsliij/.s labours in his vast Diocese, with a statement of the satis- fjK'tory ]»rogress of the Church, lujtwithstaiiding the gi'oat difficulties and discouragements which any Bishop, in those days, would be compelled to encounter. The Clergy were f(-w in number, and scattered over a range of 1200 miles; and getting from place to i)lace was difficult and pre- carious, — the conveyance by hind being in heavy o])en waggons, and by water generally in birch canoes. Tln^ population, too, was scant and scattered ; and few had tlie means of contributing anything to the support of a clergy- man. The Reserves were wholly unproductive, and tlu^ Societies at home were comparatively feeble in resources. All these were obstacles to the energy and effect of a Bishop's duties, which can hardly be understood in -4h« jjresent days of the country's gi-eat advancement. ('onnected with this succinct account of the episcopal work of the first Bishop of Quebec, a Table or Chart was published, exhibiting the number of the Clergy of the Church of England, — with a statement of their increase from the date of the Bishop's arrival in Canada to the time * The l»te Colonel Arnjine Mountain. 123 of his fleath ; nnd tho namos of the Clorgy of the Kirk of Sfotlntifl iiiiiiiHt«'ri?i;^ in t.liis PioviiH-c. Tin- snitstanco of this rhiirt was rcptililislic*! in Enjjjlantj, as a irii'uh' to tho actual rcii^Mons comlition of the country, now that jaildic attt-n- tinn was HO cnt'r^^otii'ally inv(»k<'(l to th(; Huhjrct tlierc; iMid wht'ii uM-nihrrs of the ITousc of Coninions wnc (h-niandin;^' that inquiry into th«! sui>j«'ct, in view of tlie Ch;rgy Reserves ))nn»eity, slioul'l l>e rigorously made. ( ireatexee|)tion was taken to this Eeeh'siastical ( 'hart, and its facts were most uncercnioniously impugned, not only in Canada hut in EngUmd. Dr. Lee, tlio Modeiator of thfl <»en«.'ral Assembly of tlie Kirk of Scothmd, was amongst the most violent of its a^^sailants in the niotlua* countiy, and he went so far jus to pnuiounce it a tissue of misr(!|)re- sentations. That the grounds of his statements were m(»st unsatisfactoiy, and the sources of his information most un-trustworthy, may Ik; inferred from his assertion, in a Memorial to the Colonial Secretary, that all the communi- cants of the several congregjitions of the Church of Engian<l in Upper Canada, amounted to only 118; in answer to whicli Archdea<'()n Strachan affirmed that at his last celebration of the hoi}' communion in York alone, their nundjer was 108 I This was followed uj) by a declaration of Mr, Hume, that out of forty-four members of the House of Assenddy in Upper Canada, only two belonged to the Church of England ; whereas eighteen at the least professed to belong to that Church. But the attacks upon the Chart, and its author, within the two Provinces, were much more numerous and far more violent. We do not by any means affirm that the.se were entirely unprovoked. Principles and feelings, based upon ti'uth and promi)ted by honesty, are often expressed with a freedom and plainness which cannot fail to be offensive to those to whom, or of whom, they are spoken. Nor is it always possible to avoid some exaggeration when, in pleading zealously a good cause, facts and incidents are 124 adduced to strengthen argument and maintain a position. The Ecclesiastical Chart, its author himself admitted, shewed some inaccuracies ; and while the best was made of the case of the Church of P]ngland, in reitresenting her condition in Canada, there was, it can hardly be denied, some lowering and disparagement of the status of other bodies of Christians. One of the first who puV)licly assailed the Sermon and the Chart within the Province, was a gentleman who sul)- scribed himself a "Methodist ]^-eacher." His Review of those publications was marked by no inconsiderable ability ; yet characterized by a warmth and irreverence of expression which a maturer experience would doubtless have corrected. This was replied toby a young clergyman who signed himself a "Member of the Church of England;" and in the Kingston newspapers, — in the Chronicle on the one side, and the Hi'vahl on the other, — the warfare betwixt those two champions of opposite causes was, for long months, vigorously carried on. It was from no lack of zeal and industry on their part, if the Churc;h on the one side did not come out triumphant, or anti-])relacy on the other. They applied themselves earnestly and intelli- gently to their work ; they were necessarily stimulated, on each side, to nmch research ; authorities and arguments nmltiplied as they advanced; and if, in their comnmni- cations, there was a large sprinkling of not inapt Latin <|Uotation8, the public mind was accustomed to this in the parliamentary speeches of a Canning, a Brougham, and a Peel ! This particular controversy, — bearing chiefly upon the (piestions of Episcoi)acy and Church Establishments, — had pretty well spent its force before the return of Archdeacon Strachan to Canada: but his arrival was the signal for more direct and personal attacks. These thickened and increased in vehemence as time adv^anced ; and now, in the fury of the onslaught, the lead was taken by memben: of 125 the Kirk of Scotland. The sfcorm was one of unprecedented fierceness; but its character, and the way in which it was borne, will be })e8t described in Archdeacon Strachan's own words, in a letter to a friend in Scotland dated 12th A}>ril, 1 828 :— " Having gotten nito an interminable papjr war, T have abstained for some time from corresponding, in the hope of its being brought to a close. This war was chiefly i)roduced by a J )arcel of questions sent out by Dr. Lee to this country, to be answered. Some of these were proi)Osed by the Commission of the General Assembly, and some by Dr. Lee himself. Among the latter was one in which my name was mentioned, and which a{)jieared to imply doubt as to the correctness of the stiitemcnt I had made to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. This roused the fury of the whole Fresbyterian body, — who, in an evil hour for themselves, commenced the controversy about the Clergy Reserves, — and they were joined by all denominations. 'I'he position I occupy in the Colony, and my uncompromising spirit, naturally ])ointed me out as the chief object of attack. For many years I have excited the jealousy of the opponents of the Government, and not a little of their hatred. The.se passions were not diminished by the successful issue of my last journey to England, — having obtained all the objects for which I had gone home. The flood-gates of a most licentious i)ress were opened upon me ; newspapers in both Provinces, day after day and week after week, poured out the most rancorous calumnies and abuse against me. Having very good nerves, I permitted them to rail on ; and, conscious of my integrity, I maintained an invariable silence. I am, indeed, so situated, that I cannot, with ])ropriety, enter into a newspaper controversy ; nor can I descend to the language made use of in such publications I was likewise dis- posed to give my enemies time, that I might see how far their passions would carry them ; and I looked for a reaction in my favour from the efforts of my numerous friends in different jiarts of the Province. For a time, however, the clamour and false- hoods and abuse were issued with so much violence, that I verily believe my friends and well-wishers were frightened, and dreaded 126 to enter the lists, oi' make any attempt to resist the torrent. Meanwhile T contintied silent ; no clamour, no falsehood could alter ray plan. Persons, who had been under the greatest obli- gations to rae, wrote violently against nie, — exposing ])riv;)ie letters and communications ; but I remained silent. At lengrh some j)apcrs appeared on my side ; their number increased ; and having the better of the argument, they gradually drove our enemies from the field. " But although I considered that I could not, with dignify, enter into a newspaper war, yet so many things had been said against nu; that I felt it dutiful at last to break my silence, by giving, in my place in the Legislative Council, a full re|)ly to all that had been asserted against me. The Speech which I deliv- ered upon that occasion, is considered a most triumphant refuta- tion of the calumnies of my enemies." The Speech here referred to was delivered on (jth of March, 1828. It eouiprelicnds a general defence of the .statements contained in the Ecclesiastical Chart, with the admission of a few inaccuracies. It exhibits, in calm language, what he had endeavoured conscienti<nisly to edect in England for the permanent welfare of the Church, and the establishment of a University on principles as liberal as the British Government felt themselves justified in sanctioning. In the course of the Speech is adduced the opinion of an able and rising lawyer in England, — who afterwards be- came a Judge, — on the Clergy Reserves Question ; and this, as a singularly able justification of the views of those who maintained the exclusive right of the Church to that property, our readers will not regret our adducing : — " I am of opinion that the provisions of 31 Geo. HE. are appli- cable ordy to the Clergy of the Church of England. Whatever might have been the original meaning of the expression, ' A Protestant Clertiy^ in 14 Geo. III., it apj)ears to me that the subsequent instiuctions and message of His Majesty, recited in 127 31 Geo. Ilf., together with the provisions of that Act, (and especially that which speaks of institution and of the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop) jjlaiuly point out that the expression is to be understood as referring to the Clergy of the Church of Kngland only. ^A Protedmd Cleryy ' evidently means one single and entire body of jiersons : now, the Clergy of the (JInirch of England, and those of the Kirk of Scotland can never \\n-\\\ on(! body. If, therefore, the Clergy of the Kirk of Scotland be let in, there is no reason why any other denomination of Dis- senters should not also be admitted ; and the words *yl Protes- tant Clcrijy ' must then be taken to iUean Protestant ministers, ov teachers, — which appears to me to b^ absurd. The expression was used in contradistinction to the Romish Clergy ; and although I am not prepared to say that an establishment, similar to the Kirk of Scotland, might not have satisfied the words of 14 Geo. III., yet I am quite convinced that it would not have satisfied those of the 31 Geo. III. Being of opinion, therefore, that the Acts contemplate one single body of Protestant Clei-gy, I have no doubt that the Clergy of the Church of England are that body ; and the erecting the Provinces into a Bishopric, and everything done since, plainly shews that such is the right inter- pretation. I am also of opinion, that the Governors of the Provinces, acting under His Majesty's direction, cannot legally make any appropriation to the ministers of other Churches. I think that nothing short of an Act of the Legislature, confirmed in England, can authorize them to do so. The Charter of April, 1819, would create a difliculty in the jtassing of any such Act ; and without a new Act, that Charter alone would almost decid«? tlie (|uestion." — (Signed) John Patteson. Temple, May 20, 1824. There is a touching reference in the Speech to the acrimonious personalities in which many writers indulged, and the severance of old friendships to which this unhappy controversy gave rise. The impression it made, both upon the House and throughout the country, was very favourable. Public opinion underwent a decided improvement; and, in the Legislative Council, a Resolution was passed, without a dissentient voice, declaring that, " in relation to a certain 128 Letter and Ecclesiastical Chai-t, said to have been addressed by Archdeacon Strachan to the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, and in his agency in procuring the Charter fur the University of King's College, he hath explained his conduct, in relation to the same, to the Scitisfaction of this House." 129 CHAPTER XV. Dejjarturo of Sir Peregrine Miiitluud. — His successor Sir John Colboriie. — Contii)ucd Agitation on the Clergy Reserves and Univei-sity Questions. — Revolutions in Europe, and Political Changes in England. — Breaking out of the Cholera in 1832. '^'''N the summer of 1828, there was a new Election in Upper Canada ; and the hustings cry was the Clergy Reserves and the University. The position main- tained by the Church of England, headed by Archdeacon Strachan, was declared to be dangerous to the civil and religious liberties of the Province ; and the University, as constituted by its Charter, was considered as throwing the benefits of a superior c' ucation exclusively into the hands of the members of the Church of England. The fallacy of these assertions it is not necessary for us now to controvert; nor is it incumbent upon us, at this distant period, to shew the unreasonableness of disputing the right of the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain to dispose of their own property, — acquired by conquest when there was scarcely a settler in the Province, — in such manner as, in their wisdom, would be now and hereafter most advantageous. But unreasonable and untenable, or not, such was the ciy rung from end to end of the Province, by aspirants for seats in the Legislative Assembly. The passions and preju- dices, as well as the selfish feelings of the people, were vehe- mently appealed to ; and even their fears were worked upon by pourtraying the civil and religious despotism which a " Dominant Church " would be sure to establish. 17 130 All those arts, in short, were seflulously and flexteroiisly employed, which persons conversant with electioneering tactics, can so well understand. They had a marked success^in the ])resent instance, and a sweeping majority were"returned arlverse to the views of C*hurchmen, and of Conservatives generally, on those two (piestions. The Lieutenant Governor of the Province, Sir Peregrine Maitland, was spared tlie discomfort of meeting this formidable opposition; for tabout the close of the year 1828, he was transferred to the Government of Nova Scotia ; and, as the latter was an older colony, it was regarded as a promotion. We need but briefly advert again to Sir Peregrine Maitland. He was personally an excellent man, and had very good abilities an<l nmch acquired knowledge ; but he was of too quiet a spij-it for the turbulence of the time that had arrived ; and it needed ♦ more energy of character, and a more free an<l populai' manner than nature had endued him with, to guide through the troubled waters the little vessel of state entrusted to him. He was succeeded by one with more vigour, but less ability ; of more popular manners, though with a less clear or discriminating judgment, — Major General Sir Jf)hn Colborne. He was every inch a soldier ; and events proved that he was rarely at fault, when called upon to discharge the duties of the profession to which he had given his best years. He was a man, too, of pure and honourable ndnd ; with decided religious impressions ; and most anxious for the welfare and advancement of the Church of England to which he belonged. He came to the country with some opinions and pre- judices, which the course of events very speed'^y induced him to change. He was not long in discovering that the alleged grievances of the political party now in the ascen- dant, existed mainly in their own imaginations ; and that the selfish exactions and don^i^ee^ing arrogance of the 131 " Family Compact," as they were termed, were more a fancy than a reality. His favourite idea, in regard to the establishment of the Church, was to mark out parishes where there was a sufficient population, and appropriate to each a suitable endowment in land ; assigning to their respective incum- bents, besides, a small stipend in money, derived from the general j)rocecds of the Reserves. In regard to the residue of this property, he was disj)osed for any compromise that would bring peace to the public mind, without too great a sacrifice of what might be deemed vested interests. On the subject of the University, he did not dissent from the justice and expediency of appropriating the endowment by which it was to be maintained ; nor did he appear to desire that the (Charter should be more open than it was. But he differed from many, — and from Archdeacon Strachan amongst the number, — as to the expediency of pressing the .immediate establishment of this highest seat of learning; when, as he contended, the means provided for an essential preliminary education, were so very unsatis- factory. None of our Grammar Schools, at the time, enjoyed a very high reputation ; and he considered that steps should at once b(! adopted for elevating the standard of education, and so ensure (qualified pupils for the curricu- lum of a tJniversitv. This led to the establishment of Up|>er (Canada (College, — at first, more pointedly to desig- nate its object, named Minor College ; and this Institution he got into operation in a marvellously shoi't period after its first inception. In one year, indeed, after his arrival in Canada, all the arrangements for its practical working were made, and the staff of Masters on the spot. At first, it was thought he desire<l the abolition of the Grammar Schools, and that this collegiate institution should be made to supersede them all, — new Colleges of the same character to be elsewhere established, as circumstances might require. But this idea was strenuously controverted, as 182 likely mo«t seriously to limit the oppoiiunities of obtaining a liberal education in a countiy of such vast extent as Canada. Moreover, whatever soundness there might be in the argu- ments of Sir John Colborne upon this ])oint, — and we admit that they were not without force, — it would have been cruel to the j)Cople of Upper Canada, suddenly to have abolished the District Grammar Schools. The carrying out of his favourite jn'oject by establishing Upper Canada ( 'ollege, necessarily retarded the inauguia- tionofthe University; and all that was done for many subsequent years, was to (juarrel over the details of its Charter, and have it modified, if possible, into such n sha})e as would meet the popular demands. The year following, 1830, proved a year of revolutions in the older world. The King of France was dethroned, and the dynasty of the Orleans succeeded to that of the Bourbf)ns. The latter was too feeble and antirpiated to meet the spirit of the times ; and the former had hardly the enjoyment of even one generation of royalty. But the revolutionary spirit did not stop with France ; it speedily penetrated across its north-eastern l)ord(irs into the Low Countries ; and, in a few months, these were divided into the two kingdoms of Holland and Belgium. There were shakings of other nations, and threatenings of other ciowns; l)ut the ferment passed gradually away, and events rela])sed into their old courses, England did not altogether escape the general commo- tion. There was a new Parliament consequent on the death of George IV. and the accession of the now King, William the Fourth ; the ancient Tory domination was overthrown, and the Whigs succeeded to office. There was a promised Reform of Parliament ; and the country, — wiser than their continental neighbors, — was content to await the consti- tutional means of redressing its grievances. In the exhi- bition of these tlie Church did not escape ; there were undefined complaints of exorbitant and unequally dis- 133 tributed wealth ; Jind thero woh the aftirniation, — not altogether groundless at tlie time, — that the Church was not faitliful to her trust, and afforded not tliat evidenci' of zeal and l)iety in her Clergy, without wliieh the grand end of her establishment was not answered. The appi'ehen.sion was felt tiiat this disquiet in England, and the nninnurings especially against the Established ( 'liurch, would seriously damage its j)osition here ; and give strength, nwd perha]»s success, to the opjjosition it was encountering. It is true that this was just now in some de;jree abated. On the demise of George IV. a new Parlia- merit must be elected in Canada; and the new House, as )es|)ected Conservative tone and friendliness to the Church of Krigland, was a decided improvement upon the last. From the force of these apprehensions, the Bishop of the Diocese, Dr. Stewart, wa.s strongly urgerl by Archdeacon Strachan and others to proceed to England; as, from family connexion, he had influence with several of the Ministry, and It would be desirable in discussions that might arise upon Colonial Churcli matters, — heated and out of tone as the pul)lic mind was, — to have some influential perscm upon the s[)ot to furnish information, and aftbrd explanations where there might be doubt or difficulty. It was arranged that the writer of this Memoir should accompany the Piishop to England, having given to those topics of contro- versy much attention and study. They sailed from New York on the 24th March, 1831, but did not arrive in London until the 30th April. No measure, adverse to the Church in Canatia, was initiated by the new Government; and, from the political lull in the Colony, no such nieasure was forced upon their attention. Lord Goderich, at that time Oolonijil Secretary, was personally most friendly ; and was desirous of being I'urnished with a scheme, by which a suitable support could be assured to the Church in Upper Canada out of the Clergy Reserves property, so an to leave the Crown in 134 possession of a reasonable portion to bo applied to other religious interests. This was made out with much care, and very well received. Much consultation was had, too, with Lord (ioderich in regard to the University, on the exclusiveness of whose charter he had been so nuich . assailed; and his Lordship made a proposition which I strongly advised the Bishop to accept. This was, to divide; the University endowment; giving one-half to the Church of England, with her present Charter unchanged ; and tin; Cfther half to the Province for the establishment of a Uni- versity entirely satisffictory to the Colonial mind. Others of more weight and experience offered different advice; ; y; and much to the disappointment of Lord Ooderich, the ^ Bishop felt himself obliged to decline tfic proposal. Events have shewn that it would have been wise to have accei>ted tli<; offer of Lord Ooderich. This plan having failed, his Lordship on the 2nd of No- vember of that year, transmitted a Despatch to Sir John Colborne, suggesting certain modifications of the Charter. These were discussed from time to time, and were at hiTigth substantially adopted. It was now provided thnt "th(! Judges of His Majesty's Court of King's Bench shoidd be Visitors of the (jollege, in the place and stead of the Lord Bishop of the Diocese ; that the President of the University, on any future vacancy, should be appointed by His Majesty, without requiring that he should be an incumbent of any ecclesiastical office ; that it should not be necessary that any member of the College Council, or any Professor, should be a member of the Church of Eng- land, or subscribe any articles of religion, other than a declaration that they believe in the authenticity and Divine inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, and in the Doctrine of the Trinity ; and that no religious test or (pialification bo reejuired of any ])orson admitted or matriculated as scholars within the College, or of persons admitted to any degree or faculty therein." 135 About iliiH jK^iod, tli<! Aididfaeon indulged himself in a little icspite from the lianusHing Hn<l manifold toiln and anxieties of his offiee, by making a trip to Halifax. This he briefly deHcribes in a letter to a friend in Scotland : — "1 liiive juMt returned from a long journey ; having gone as fur MH Ifalifiix, the CHpital of Novji HcotiH, diMtant from York 1400 niilcH, — not indeed no much uh this, in n direct line, but in the way J foiuid it necoHHury to go, 1 took with me my eldcMt daughter, Elizabeth, to shew her a little of the world, Firnt, we went to New York, 000 miles ; thence to Boston, 200 ; thence by Hea to Halifax, four or five hundred miles. At sea we were ail sick, and the ship was like a hospital. At Halifax we remained eight days, chiefly with Sir Peregrine Maithjnd, who was for- merly our Governor, and has been transferred to Nova Scotia. This Province hits a strong resemlilance, in its rocky coast and vast heaths, to old (^'aledonia. "As I was nearly u» sick as my daught<jr iu coming from Boston to Halifax, 1 determined to try the other route, for there is but one other. Accordingly, I proceeded acros.s the coimtiy to Anna|)olis on the Bay of B^undy. On my way, I stopped two days with the Bishop of Nova Scotia ; who is a good Tory, as all sensible men are. He has a fine family, and is quite the gentle- man and no fanatic. Having finished our visit, wo came to Ainiapolis Eoyal, — once the capital (»f the c(»untry, when the French were in iM)sses8ion. It lies at the head of a most beautiful and extensive basin, communicating by a narrow throat with the Bay of Fundy, and capable of containing all the fleets of the world. It is, nevertheless, falling into decay ; as it has Halifax oil the east, and St. John's on the west, to contend with ; and both these possess greater advantage as depots for the surrounding country. "We crossed the Bay of Fundy, 30 miles, in a most miserable steam-boat, and reached St. John's late in the evening. Hero we were detained two days, and on reaching Eastport, the fii-st town in the United States we come to, we found that the packet had sailed to Boston. Not easily bafHed, I found a shij) for Portland, 113 miles from Boston ; and as the land road was 13d wrotchecl, I wiuj induced t« commit myself again to the wavcH. \V<! had bad wcHth<'r, were dt'tiiined by win<l and stormH live days in a wretched veHMcl, and at lawt got to I'ortland in a UnnpfHt of wind and rain. Finding the road good from this phiee to Boston, and cmite siek of the sea, we went by hmd to tiiat city. This is one of the finest 1 have yet seen in tlie United States, and the society is more English. 1 remained there a few days, and was very much jdeased, receiving great hospitality. From this the way home is direct and without difficulty." Nothing oecurrod, Hpucially aHectiiig the int(;ri^sts of (.'liurcli mid State in Canada, for Honm time ; but in tin; Hiunuicr of 1832, tlio Province was viHitod l>y a .scourge unkm)wn in all its previous history, and the cause of dis- tress and sorrow far and wide. This was the Asiatic Clujlera, which broke out in Quebec in the month of June, (•onveye<l in one of the emigrant ships: and there, and in Montreal, it was atten<lcd with an unprecedented mortality. It soon reached Kingston and York, and it careered west- wards to the extremity of Upj)er Canada, Its ravages, and the panic it created, are thus graphically described by the Archdeacon, in a letter to a friend abroad, dat^d the 22nd September, 1832 :— ** We are just beginning to breathe from the Cholera. Next to Quebec and Montreal, this jdace suffered most ; some indeed say that it has been more fatal here, than in any other place on tln! continent. The stream of emigration has been very great this season ; upwards of i)0,000 have already landed at Quebec ; and four-fifths of this number direct their course t<:> U[»per Canada, — the majority of them reaching this place. The journey from Quebec (GOO miles) is so long and tedious, that it exhaustH the little pittance they had on landing ; so that a great ])ortion of them arrive here penniless. The terrible disease attacked them as they journeyed hither ; many died on the way ; othc^rs were landed in various stages of the disease ; and many were seized after they came aniong us. In short, York became one general hospital. We had a large building fitted up comfortably 187 f(»r the rocoption of the Cholera putientM ; but the cases were mo nutneroti.s tliat iiiiiDy couM not he conveyed to it, and remained at their own houses, or lolgingi* It is computed that out? in four ot the adultn of this town were attacked, and that one-twelfth of the whole population died. Our duty, an you will understand, throwH UH, Clergymen, into the very niidwt of such calamities ; as at no time, more than during such contagious s!cknes.s, do peojde require the consolations of religion. Unfortunately, my assistart in the parish was attacked a day or two after the disease appeared among us, and became so nervous that I could not send him to the Cholera hospital. The whole fell, then^fore, upon me ; and often have I been in the malignant ward with hIk or eight expi- ring around nie. The foulness of the air, U)o, was at times overpowtu'ing ; biit I have always, by the blessing of God, found my nerves equal to the occasion, and it seems as if this summer I was stronger than us lal, and fully equal to the increase of labour thrown upon me. The disease has now almost entirely ceased ; but it has left many blanks in our society, and, what is still more painfid, about one hundred widows and four hundred children, — all strangers in a strange land, and dependent ujkjm the charity of those amongst whom the Providence of God has thrown them. * ;> * *'Wc are building a magnificent Church, 149 feet by 80 ; which, on a i)inch, will accommodate three thousand people. Th«; foundation stone was laid l)y His Elxcellencv, the Lieutenant Governor, on the 7th June last, and now the loof is being put on. "The University remains in statu quo; it is so easy to do evil, and so difficult often to do good. I shall soon get too old to care anything regarding it; however, I have done my duty by it and by the Church." York WJ18 full of the praiscfi of Archdeacon Strachan for his wonderful energy and kindness during the melancholy period of the Cholera visitation ; and so strong was the feeling of admiration for his exertions, that at a meeting of several of the inhabitants, it was resolved to present him with a piece of plate as a memorial of tLair respect and gratitude. This was a handsome silver va.se of the value _ 18 138 of £100; and, graven on the tripod, it is recorded that it was presented as a " Memorial of their respect and gratitude, for his fearless and humane devotions to his pastoral duties during seasons of great danger and distress from the visitation of an apalling pestilence." A suitable address a(X'ompanied tliis presentation ; and the following exti-act from the Archdeacon's reply deserves a lasting record : — '* The great exertions which I was enabled, through the Divine blessing, to make during the raging of the pcHtilence, and which have called forth this spontaneous expression of your fiiendly attachment, were, I believe, far easier to me than they would have been to many of su))erior merit, but of weaker nerves and less j)hysical energy. "Not that I was insensible to the danger to which I was exposed, in my frequent communication with the sick and dying ; but being in the discharge of a most important duty, — a duty which, in my opinion, admits neither of choice nor deliberation, of which our holy Church requires the immediate performance, 1 committed myself to God, and proceeded luulisniayed by any apprehension as to pei-sonal consequences. " The ways of God are often dark and mysterious ; but an abiding confidence in His moral government, through Christ, will teach us that all things work together for good to them that lov»^ God. Ai. ' reflecting persons must feel, that such awful visitations as we have experienced, by drawing out the lively exercise of the Christian virtues, unite the truly religious more closely even in this world, and produce in tlieir minds a growing inclination towards the life to come." Towards the close of the .summer of 18.*32, the Bishop of Quebec, (Dr. Stewart,) held a visitation of the C'lergy of the Diocese both at Kingston and Yoric. There was a good attendance at each place; and his Lordship delivered a charge, dwelling chiefly upon the acts and results of his recent visit to England. The visitation sermon at York was preached by the Archdeacon ; and the lull in contro- vereial strife gave liim the opportunity of expressing some kind sentiments in regard to the various other religious bodies of the Province. 139 CHAPTER XVI. . Letter to Dr. Chalinois on ilie Life and Character of Bishop llobart. — Presentation of a piece of Plate by his Cornwall Piipilis. SHORT time Ix'foi'e the breaking out of the Cholera in U|)j)er Canada, Avchdeacon Strachan published a Letter to his friend Dr. Chalmers, in Scotland, on the Life and (Hiaracter of Bif*hop Hobart of New Yoi'k. This highly distinguished prelate <lied at Auburn, a village in his Diocese, in the summer of LS30, — having been seized with a severe, and as it })roved fatal, illness while engaged in his e})iscopal <luties. It Iiappened, providentially, that at this sad time he had the iiui'sing, care »nd affectionate attention of Dr. and Mrs. Rudd, two of his oldest and most attached friends. This publicati<in was remarbal)ly well received, and was pronounced at the time the most interesting and attractive that had ever come fi-om his pen. Bishop Hobart had long been a warm friend of the Archdeacon's ; and the leading points of his active and useful life gave opportunity for dilating upon topics which excited much interest at the time, and on which the Church was at variance with the general tone of religious thought in America. Bishop Hobart was raised to the Episcopate at a time when the Church in the United Sta-tes was comparatively feeble, and when little effort had been made to present her <'laims before tliQ world. Her enemies took advantage of this supineness, and pursued their attacks with unusual violence. At this juncture Bishop Hobart came to the rescue. 140 "A defender had arisen," says the Archdeacon, "whom they knew not of. Dr. Hobart, unfurling the bainier of evangelical trjxth and apostolic order, marched with fearless intrepidity to the front of the battle, and put the enemy to flight. Thousands were astonished to find that the claims of the ' Protestant Epis- copal Church/ both in j)urity and government, could be so firmly established, and that she was so strongly entitled to the character of primitive and apostolic. A more general and correct know- ledge now exists among the people of our communion in the United Htates, respecting the government of the Church, the beauty and excellence of her forms, the purity of her princi(>les, and the spirituality of her devotions, tharr even in England ; and all this chiefly owing to Dr. Hobart's judicious and powerful labours. Instead of reposing any longer on loose opinions, taken up without examination in these matters^, people were roused to their consideration by his cogent reasons, apt illustrations, and powerful appeals to ecclesiastical history, which proved, beyond controversy, that the government of the Church, the orders of the ministry, and thoir regular succession from the Apostles, were not questions of slight mouuuit, or to be treated safely either with silence or contempt. " Truth is never sown without fruit ; and the claims of the Church to a near affinity with that of the A})0stles, soon began to he acknowledged by numbers who had hitheito been her enemies. Many admitted, with true Christian candour, their total ignorance of such matters till thus forcibly brought before them. The Americans are an acute and inquiring ])eople ; and the discussions on Church Government and Forms of Prayer have awakened, in the minds of many, recollections of what their fathers had been. On others, who had their denomination to choose, the information drawn out by these debates came as a stream of benignant light, and a feeling in favour of the good old ways was widely engendered. This being the case, it only required an active superintendence and a commanding mind to reap the most abundant harvest. This requisition Dr. Hobart most amply satisfied. When he was ordained in 1798, New York State contained but twenty Episcopal clergymen ; and in 1811, when he vrajS raised iq the mitre, only tweuty-tUi'*:'?- ; giving 141 ill thirteen years a miserable increase of three ; while, during the following nineteen years of his Episcopate, the increase was one hundred and eleven ! " Fi'oni a .sense of duty, Bishop Hol>art «k'cliiie(l that union with other* religious Ijodies which is so often urged on the plea that the Christian cause, for its more extended influence, demands the united effort of all its ])rofessois. He repudiated, in short, that sort of " Evangelical Alliance," which, under many aspects, meets with well-meaning sup- porters; but which, while it obviously rests upon an unsound basis, has never exhibited any very encouraging [practical results. •' Bishop Hobart," suys the Archdeacon, '• highly disapproved yf litTcrent denominations uniting for religious purposes. He ])laced himself, from the first, in mild but firm oppositif)n to the Bible Society. He considered such an institution, so far as his commtinion was concerned, totally unnecessary, because every good which it ju'oposed might be nmch better and more con- veniently accomplisiied by the orthodox Society already belonging to the Church; and should this Society deem it expedient to circulate a larger proiwrtion of Bibles than had been hitherto done, it was fully in their power to increase their subscription for this purpose. He deemed the Bible Society further objec- tionable, bec:iuse, having the same object as the Bible and Prayer Book Society, it became, from the first, a sort of rival, — absorbing funds, inasmuch as our jieople assisted, which in jiistice belonged to the latter." '* Our distinctive princij)les, and the foini of our Church V Covernnient, preclude its members, in my ophiion, from joining ^ [>roniiscuously with other denominations for religious jjurposes ; ^ although many do so, whose purity of intention I have no reason to question, whatever I may think of their judgment and con- sistency. With her ministers this duty is stronger, or rather to join such is altogether incompatible with their sacred office. Bishop Hobart did not merely admit, but insisted on the impor- tance of disseminating such religious tracts as exhibited views of 142 Divine truth in accordance nitli the sentiments of onr Church, and explained her institutions ; but iu regard to Tract Societies, he most judiciously observed, Hhat a union here with our Christian brethren who differ from us, must inevitably, to say the lesvst, endanger our religious system, eitlier by circulating sentiments in dissonance with our distinctive, principles ; or, by keeping them out of view, in a general association of connuandiug influence, lead to the belief that they are of little importance." Bishop Hobart's. .strength of body wa^; not e(|ual to the energies of his mind, and it began to give way under his various, extensive and incessant labours. Thorough repose. and change of air and scene were recommended; and at the instance of his friends he sailed for England in Sep- tember, 1823. During his absence, whicli continued for about twt) y(nirs, he made the tour of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and visited France, Switzerland, and Italy ; and returned, thorougl dy renovated in health and spirits. *' Soon after his arrival," says the Archdeacon, "he gave free vent to his feelings of love and affection for his friends, his ))arishioners, and his native land, in a discourse from the pulpit ; which, being afterwards published, attracted no small degree of notice in England as well as in the United States." [Tliis sermon «'Xf)ressed strong objections to the union of Church and State, and dilated with some severity on the social condition of England, especially as regarded the lower orders.] " I honour most cor- dially that devotedness to his own native land, which makes a man cherish and love it above all other lands. But the Bishoi>, as his best friends confessed, went too far. Not .satisfied with a genei'al exj)iession of his preference, he entered into detail ; and here he failed. His opjjortunities of observation in England were not sufficient to enable him, acute as he was, to get to the bottom of all points upon which he speaks and decides with the utmost confidence ; and he seemed to have forgotten that his Church could not have flourished and increasftd as it has done, but through the aid derived from the support given to it by our monarchs, while it was [)art of the establishment of the empire. 143 " I dined alone with Bishop Hobart on my way to England^ in March, 182G, and the conversation turned on the sermon, whiclx had not been long published. I expressed my regret that it liad ever seen the light, for it was the only one of all his works I could not approve of. I told him I wasprei)ared to admit that it was extremely difficult for a ])erson, boj-n and bi'ought up in the United States, to appreciate the vast benefits of an Estab- lished Church, with its |)arochial ministers distributed through the whole country in settled residences, and with a given space * in which to labour for the temi)oral and eternal happiness of the population. By this means all the people have access to religious instruction. A reverence is thus kept up in their minds f(»r what is pure and holy ; and their number being small, ana living iis it were together, the Clergyman soon becomes acqxiainted with every individual, both old and young, and is able to visit them frecpiently at their own houses. He becomes their friend and mlviser, the compo.ser of differences, the promoter of peace aiul •'ontentinent, the catechizer of the children, the encournger of iiulustry, sobriety, and all the virtues that make man ])rosj)('rous and haj>py hero and hereafter. "As the comparison is bi^tween England and the United Htates, 1 shnll confine m.yself, 1 said, to these two countries. The Church of England is commensurate with the natural boundaries v of the country. This consists of about 5o,000 square miles, containing 14,000,000 of inhabitants, and is divided into about i 1,000 parishes. The number of Clergymen actually employed in parochial duties are not fewel" than 10,000. This gives an average of about 900 souls, or about 200 families to each Clergy- nian It is evident that the moral effect of such a body of men daily mixing with their people must be very great, more especially as they arc quite independent of them for subsistence. "Let us now look at the Episcopal Church of the United States, and see what moral effect it can have on the poptilatiiui, as a source of (Christian instruction. To give you every advan- tage in this matter, I shall confine myself to the State of New Y«)rk, where the E|»iscopal Clergymen are more numerous, in projjortion to the population, than in any other State, and super- intended undoubtedly by the most active Bishop. In this large +- 144 State, the Clergy of the Episcopal Church are in Tinmber 13G ; the population 2,000,000, or upwards of 14,000 souLs to each ; the square miles about 40, 000. Hence the ])arishes, if we may so denominate them, contain 338 square miles each, and are ratlier equal, to an English county than an English parish. The iiiriuence of the two Churche.*, ns confined to Enghiml and New York, is as one to seventy ; and if the comparison be taken with all the States, it becomes much more favourable to England. Such iniluence on the manners and habits of the people is next to nothing, and yet you extol your Church above that of Eng- land, and exclaim against establishments ! '• Add to this, the dependence of your Clergy upon the i)eople for sui)port, — a state of things which is attended with most per- nicious conseqvonces. The congregations frequently take offence at tlieir pastors witliout a good reason, and in such cases tlie latter derive no protection from the Bishops, who are equally helpless with themselves. The result is, that they too frequently sink below the rank which they ought to hold in society; and wliat- ever be their personal merit, they fail to command that respect from a vain, and thoughtless, and undiscerning people, which is necessary to secure attention to their instructions. It is not unusual to hire Clergymen by the year or even half-year ; and such things excite no particular attention. It may be that, accustomed from their childhood to temporary engagement ••, the (Jlergy j)artake of that restless disposition and desire of change so common in new countries, and think little of going with their families from State to State, in search of a new settlement. It cannot be supposed that Clergymen so situated, will at all times sjieak with that fearless disregard of consequences which the i)ro- per discharge of their duties may often require. The difference, then, of the two Churches is this, that, while in England the country is partitioned into parishes, over which a spiritual head is appointed, to be the moral and religious instructor of its population, and to add new converts to the faith by familiar and daily ministrations from house to house ; the Church in the United States j)resents only a few verdant s])ots bearing marks of recent cultivation, distinguished chiefly by their contrast with the barrenness of the surrounding waste. 145 " I admit tliut tlie progroHS of tlie Episcopal Church in th*' United States has been wonderful ; — and I should have rejoiced in concurring entirely in the animated praises you pronounce upon her, had you noc condemned ecclesiastical Establishments, and placed her in her infancy above the Mother Church. In this you greatly err ; an<l when you picture to your fancy England studded with Parish Churches, regularly served in all the beauty of holiness ; and turn to this country with a Church at vast intervals, and a Clergy not .sufficient to stipply the wants of one-twentieth of the po])iilatiou, you must feel the advantages of an ecclesiastical Establishment. In England you behold the genius of true religion entering into every family ; but here, unless in .some favoured spots, you behold the spirit of false religion, infidelity, error, and superstition travei-sing the length ajid breadth of the land, and withering, with its pestilential breath, public as well as domestic and pcjrsonal happiness and virtue. " ' Come,' said the Bishop, *you are becoming too severe.' On this the door opened, and a man from the Catskill mountains was introduced, who told the Bishop that their Missionary's time had almost exjiired, and that, being few in ntimber, they could not engage him for .six months longer, unless some aid could be granted them from the Missionary fund ! The good Bishoj) pro- mised the necessary assistance ; and, on his departure, said with a smile, * how unlucky that my country friend should come, in the midst of this discussion, to .shew the nakedness of the land !' He confessed that I had placed ecclesiastical Establishments in a |>oint of view which was in some mea.sure new to him ; but, made uj) as the United States are of all j)08sible denominations, there was not the smallest probability that any one would ever be recognized by the Government ; and he was ])lea.sed to con- clude the conversation with observing, that he could not fall into more friendly hand.s, (alluding to a threatened review of his sermon,) and that whatever his opinion might be on ecclesias- tical Establishments, he loved with all his .soul the Church of England." We must venture on one further extract from this interesting and valuable pamphlet : — 19 140 " I dare not dwell on the last illnpNs, and happy and edifying deatli of Bishop Hobart, for they have been described with an affectionate eloquence which few can hope to equal. The narra- tive of his closing days and the sermons ])ieached (»n his death, which have l)een collected an«l [)nblished, are well d('s<^rvii)g of perusal. Honourable as they are to the hearts and heads of the writers, the talents they display reflect the greatest credit on the Clergy of the American Episcopal Church, and shew that the lamented prelate's mantle rests on many of liis brethren. The grief and sympathy excited by his death through all jtaits of the Union, were only exceeded by that manifested on the death of Washington. He apjteared rather t)ie jiropci'tv of the nation than the head of a single denomination of Christians. Never was there such a funeral in New York :' the magistrates, the Clergy of all denominations in the city, and many from other Dioceses and renu)te jtarts of the country, rich and pooi-, young and old, hastened to follow to the grave the remains of this dis- tinguished and beloved servant of Cod. Tt w.'us as the funeral ol Jacob." It wouhl have been deemed Htninf,'e, if tlie life of l)i', Strachaii ba<l passed away without HOTne niaiked tok«'ii from his Cornwall ])iipilH of tlu; est<'em ami afi'eetion in whieh he was held by them. They, one and all, aeknow- ledged the benefits they had received at his achnirable seliool ; th<!y were many in number throughout tlu^ two Provinces, though some were in far distant lands ; and several occuj)ied very higli and iuHuential ])ositions. Hut the debt of gratitude was not forgotten ; and in the summer of 1833, it was expressed in a substantial and most gratifying manner. Two years j)revious]y, a few of his pu[)ils, — including the late C^hief Justice Robinson, — happened to meet at Cornwall ; and they took advai:tage of the occun*enee by repairing to the old Distii<;t School- house, and, after some conference, passing Resolutions, determining that "A Piece of Plate should be presented to *His retnaiiiR had been conveyed thither frum Auburn, 147 Arc]i(lo!K;on Strachan by those gentleman who were under his tuition at Cornwall, .is a tribute of resi)ect for his (tharacter, and a memorial of their grateful recollection of his anxious and unwearied efforts to improve their minds, and to impress uj)on them sound moral and religious principles, and of the sincere and steady friendship which he has manifested for his pupils in their progress through life;" and making the necessary arrangements for carrying out this purj)ose. It took some time to communicate with all the parties interested, widely scattered tis they were ; but (tn the 2nd of July, 1833, they were prepared t<» present to* their honoured tutor this token of their I'overence and affection. This was a massive silver Epergne, value 230 guineas; the base of which, particularly chaste and elegant in its proportions and design, sui)ports four classical figures, rej)resenting Religion, History, Poetry, and Geography ; and surrounding a column, around which twine the ivy and acanthus, the whole surmounted with a wreath. Within the scjuare of the pedestal, not exposed to view, are engraven the names and place of residence of the gentlemen who presented this tribute.* *lt will he iiitereatintf to our readers to Imve thcw in full : — .loHN B. RoBiNsos, York, Chief Jimtice of Ujtpe) Civutda. .!<iiiN UtrriiUNK, Montreal, Rector of Montreal. R. 0. Anokiwox, York, Teller, Bank of Upper Canada. (tKoiuiK KiuouT, York, JuiUjc <\f District Coiirt of Niagara. J. O. (!iii:wETT, York, Senior Draftxinan, Sarwijor General's Department. Samcel p. Jaiivis, York, Deputij Secretary and Rcffinfrar, IT. C. .). B i/lACMiLKY, York, Judge of Kiiig'it Bench, U, C. Tims. O. UiDouT, York, Canhier. Bank of /''. C. RoBKiiT Stanton, York, King'n Printer. <J. S. Boui.ToN, ColMJurg, Barrixter, M. I'. W. B. RoniNsoK, Newmarket, M. P. Jonas Jones, Brockville, Judge, Dintriet Court, Johnstown Distrirt. Jf)HN Radenhuhht, York, Surveyer General's DejMrtuient. \V. Macaulay, Pietoii, Rector of Picton. .\. N. Betiiune, Cobourg, Rector of Cohourg. Henrv Aherne, Vaudrieul. John Craweorh, England. James O. Betiiune, Cobourg, Cashier, Branch, Baiik If. C. Jameh Duncan Qibb, Montreal. Oeorgb Qreoory, Montreal, Of these, fourteen were present on the interesting occa- sion ; and answers wtjrc received fr«jni several others expressing their regret at not being able to attend. The following is the Ad<lress accompanying the presentfllion, read by Chief Justice Robinson : — " Dkak and Venehahlk Hik, '* In presenting you With h Piece of Plate hh h nieniorittl of their roHpect and esteem, your j)iipil», whom you educated at Cornwall, are performing an act most agreeable to their feelings. It is now long since our relation as Tutor and Hcholars has been dissolved, but amidst the vicissitudes which the laj)se of more than twenty years has prtjsented, we Imve never ceased to reflect with gratitude upon your unwearied efforts to cultivate oiir minds and strengthen our undei-standings, and above all to im- plant in our hearts those principles which alone can make us good Christians, faithful subjects to our King, and independent and upright members of society. "Our young minds received then an impression, which has scarcely become fainter from time, of the deep and sincere interest which you took, not only in our advancement in learn - Fred, Onirrin, Montreal. A. B. C. OuoY, Quebec, BairMcr, M. P. A. Jones, Pre«cott. .loHJf Macaui.ay, Kingston. .7. McLean, Kingston, Sherij, Midi. DM. Arch. McLean, Cornwall, Speaker n/ Hotme of A»»emhly. J. McDoifELL, Montreal. Duncan McDonell, Coniwall. Donald McDonell, Coniwall, AtiEx. McLean, Cornwall. .1. 8. Macaulav, W(x>lwicli, Capt. li. B. 0. H. Mahkland, York, Inspector General, U. C, (i. Mitchell, Pcnetangiihhinc. Thos. RicHARt^80N, Indls. Wm. Stanton, Africa, D. A. Com. deiU. V. VanKouohnet, Cornwall, M. I'. 1. Weathirheau, Brockville. 0. C. Wood, Cornwall. A. WiLKiNBON, Cornwall, Barrister. D. J. Smith, Kingston. James Macaulay, Cornwall, M. D, T. Pyke, Halifax. 149 ing and Hcience, but in nil tlmt euncoroed our hnppincm, or could a<f«'ct our future proHpccts in life. " TlioH*' who have since had the pleanure of frciiuent intcrcour*»r with you, have found you ulwaya the winio warm, hincere, an<l couMtatit friend, ever ready to rejoice in their prosperity, and to extend your advice and aMsistance amid/st the doubts acd diffi- culties which have occasionally crossed their path. Those whom the various pursuits of life have s('parated from you during this long interval, have never felt less assured of a jtlace in your esteem ; and we all unite with the most cordial satisfaction in thus acknowledging the gratification we receive from our early recollections. "At the period when most of us were withdrawn from your care, we received your parting benediction, and your pattu'nal counsels for our guidance in life, expressed in terms which made a lasting inipressicm. Now that, so many years have intervened, and years so full of eventful changes, it must, we are persuaded, be a source of much pleasure to a person of your l)enevolent and friendly dis[)osition, to find that Pi'ovidence' has spanid so many of those whose character you laboured to form, and has blessed them vary generally with health and prosperity. ** On our parts, we beg to assure you that we can scarcely call to mind an occasion, in all the years ttiat have passed, which has given rise to stronger feelings of satisfaction than we experience at this moment in delivering into your hands a niemorial of our long cherished affection and res[)ect." The Archdeacon, deeply moved, replied hh follows : "My Dear Friends : — That my heart should be full on this inttnx'sting occasion is natural, " Such a niemorial of your affection and respect brings back in a stream of joy the days of your education at Cornwall ; a period, doubtless, of great anxiety, but, from the largo promise which you then exhibited, of far greater satisfaction. " The feelings of ardent friendship which you manifested for one another when about to separate, and which produced a solenai pledge of your determination to apf)ly the knowledge and high 150 ])nncii>le8 you had ncquircd in promoting the good of Rociety, foine iorclMy to v\y mind at this happy luomcnt, when, T can most truly attirin, the pledge ho nobly given han been more than redeem(;d . " Ah you never ceased, during the long period that has ehipsed since our relation of Teacher and Scholar was dissolved — pregnant HH it has been with so nuiny vicis8itu<les — to reflect with gratitude on my humble endeavouiT* to cultivate your minds, strengthen your understandings, and implant in your hearts thosi! principles whicli alone can make us good Christians, faithfid sid)jects, and tipright niembcrH of society, I ntay, with honest pride, declare that, during the same ])eriod, my haj)piiu.'ss has been greatly increased by witnessing from year t() year the phasing and en- couraging residth which attended your progress in the busy world. " Have I not beheld you rising to eminence in your several profession.', gaining the confidcmco of all aroimd you, looked u|) to in the societies in which you move, and (pioted uh examples to the rising generation? In this Province, you are filling the liighest situations with an advantage to the community which is universally acknowledged ; in Lower Canada, in England, ami wherever you have gone, you have won the highest favour and distinction. ".Surely I have great cause to bless that kind Providence which, notwithstanding my numerous deficiencies, has graciously made me the instrument of planting those sentiments and virtues in your bosoms, which, fostered by your diligent care, are now yielding fruits so ])recious and abundant. " That 1 should cherish a deep and unwearied interest, not only in your advancement in h^arning and science, but in all that (joncerned your happiness, and could affect your future prospects in life, was certainly to bo ox[)ected ; for I was strongly impressed from the first with my responsibility as your teacher, and I felt that, to become really useful, I must become your friend. It has ever been my conviction, that our scholars should be for the time our children ; and that, as parents, we should study their charac- ters, and pay respect to their peculiar dispositions, if we really wish to improve them ; for if we feel not something of the tender relation of parents towards them, we cannot expect to be suc- cessful in their education. 151 *' It was on this principle that I endeavoured to proceed, — strict justice tempered with j)arental kindness, — and the present joyful meeting isvinces its triumph. Tt treats the sentiments and fcciinf^H of scholars with proper C(MiHiderati«ui ; and while it gives the heart and aflectlons full freedom to shew themselves, in tiliil gratitude on the one side, and fatlierly affectittn on the other, it proves that misparing labour, arco'jipani»'d with continunl anxiety for th»! learner's progress, n«'ver fails to iusun* suei-c-ss ; t^) Ix'get cstcciii, iind to pi'f»duc«! a friendship lictwcen master and seholur, which time can never dissolve. ''Tohehold so niajiy gentlemen, educated in Lh<! same jtlace, ahsenddiiig after so huig a period of separation to honour their teacher, is an event of rare occurrence ; hut it will he (dothed with a public as well as with a pi'ivate interest, should It encourage faithful teachers, ami cheer them in their arduous employment hy multiplying meetings similar to theses, and introducing a more alfectionate intercourse through life between them and their pupils. " In my occasional communications with you sinc(! vnir entranci^ into active life, 1 should have deprived myself of a most productive source of delight, had I not rejoiced in your increasing prosperity, and volunteered my best advice and assistance to any who chanced to be in doubt or difficulty. Every increase of your ha[)piness I felt to be an increase to my own, and to forward your luuiourable objects has ever been to me a favouritjj employ- ment. Nor can I claim for this the slightest ])raise, for in pr<»- moting your inter<'st T was promoting my own ; nor should I havii bcjcn less ready to forward the laudable views of those who have been far removed from the sphere of my influence, had opj)ortunities offered. '* Toward.s those who have surpassed me in station and ability, I can most sincerely avow that my feelings have been those of a fond parent rejoic ng at the elevaticm of his children. " The dee[) impression made on all our hearts at the hour «»f your departure from Cornwall, this meeting refreshes and renews. Yim plighted mutual friendshi}), and promised the reign of virtue and religion in your hearts ; and amidst blessings and prayers for your future happiness, I undertook to become the centre of your 152 coniinunications ; and what more happy result could the most sanguine have anticipated, than to find so many sj)ared in health and prosperity by our merciful Creator, to meet together on this happy occasion. " Accept, my dear fric^nds, the warm acknowledgement of a heart totally unable to give utterance to the emotions with which it is agitated. Deep and lasting as my existence, will this proof of your sincere friendship be retained. It tells me, by sweet experience, that there are moments of virtuous enjoyment which would 1)0 cheai)ly purchased by the longest life of honourable and laborious exertion, — moments which are granted to very few in this transitory world, and for one of the most exquisite of which I am this day indebted to your abiding affection." A few days before the occurrence of this really hap})}' event, the following letter was addressed to the Archdeacon by Chief Justice Robinson : — " It is our wish, if it be agreeable to you, that immediately after presenting to you the piece of plate, wo should iinite in a shoi't prayer, offering up our hearty thanks to the great Giver of all good for Jiis merciful protection of us, and for the measure of health and prosperity bestowed upon us since we left Cornwall, and entered upon the various duties of life; beseeching pai-don fur whatever we have, in that time, done or thought contrary to the Divine commandment ; and praying that we may be assisted and enabled to maintain such a course through this life, that, at the close of our eai'thly career, we may meet in a happy immor- tality." Thh suggestion, emanating from one who never failed to recognize and acknowledge the loving-kindness of our God, was gladly acted upon ; and very pleasant, as well as very solemn, was the sight of so many humbly kneeling in prayer amidst the joy and congratulations of that happy hour. Of this beautiful memento of the gratitude of the Corn- wall pupils, we shall only further say, that it was most appropriately bequeathed by the owner to Trinity College, 153 Toronto,— an institution which he felt to bo the culmina- tion of his life-long efforts on behalf of education, and which fairly claimed to be the place where, from generation to generation, should be exhibited this well-earned tribute to the righteousness and success of those endeavours. 20 154 CHAPTER XVII. The Clergy Reserves Question ; establishment of the Rectories. — Meeting of Clergy under the two Archdeacons in 1S36. — Deputation to the Mother Country determined upon. — Re- sohition to establish a Church Newspaper. W ^I^P to the commencement of 183G, nothing, subsequent to what has been detailed, occurred in tlie life of Archdeacon Strachart, outside the (juiet progress of his ordinary duties, that demands any special recoril or notice. The Clergy Reserves Question was still open ; nor was there, so far, any expressed declaration of the local House of Assembly adverse to the vote passed some years before, that these lands should l)e withdrawn from the support of religion and appropriated to "jnirposes of ordinary education and general improvement." By desire of Sir John Colborne, the Executive Council of Upper Canada w'ere required to take into consideration, and report upon, the following portion of a. des])atch from Lord Goderich, dated April 5th, 1832 :— "I am happy to find that your [U'actical views, founded upon pei*sonal knowledge and experience, are so coincident with those which, upon a more speculative view, I have been led to enter- tain. I quite concur with you in thinking that the greatest benefit to the Church of England woidd be derived from applying a portion at least of the funds under the control of the local government, in the building of Rectories and Churches, and, I would add, in preparing, as far as may be, for profitabl*^ occupa- tion that moderate portion of land which you i>ropose to assign in each township or parish for ensuring the future comfort, if not 155 the complete maintenance, of tlic Rectors. With thivS view, it a[)pears to me that it would be most desirable to make a beginning in thi.s salutary work." The Lieutenant Governor, Sir John Colborne, was now about to leave tlie Province ; and he felt it his duty, l)efor(j resigning the government, to take action in the course reconnnended by the Colonial Secretary. The following Minute of Council was adopted on the loth Jan- uary, 183G : — " Pursuant to the views of Lord Goderich, shewn by his des- patch of April ii, 1832, in which he conciu's with your Excel- lency, and expresses his desire that a moderate portion of land should be assigned in each township or parish for ensuring the future comfort, if not the complete maintenance of the Rectors, the Council caused the necessary steps to be taken for the j)ur- pose of setting apart lots in each townshiji throughout the Province. " Much delay has been caused by their anxiety to avoid inter- fering with persons who might liave acknowledged claims to any of tae Reserves to be selected, either for lease or purchase. '' A dirticulty in completing what his Lordship most aj)pro- priately calls ' this .salutary work,' wius also caused by the Crown Otficers not concurring in the form to be used in the instrument by which the endowment is to be contirmed ; which left the Council to decide as to the mode to be adopted for that purpose. " These obstacles have now been surmounted, and it is respect- fully recommcmded tliat no time be lost in authorizing the Attorney Gener.d to prej)are the necessary instrument to secure to the incumbents named in the annexed schedules, and their successors, the lots of land there enumerated, as having been ••espectively set apart for Glebes." The allocation here recommended was made, and about 400 acres were assigned to each of the parishes throughout the Province; thus constituting, what subsequently excited .so much clamour, the " Fifty-seven Rectories." It hap- 156 pened, liowevcr, that the" endowment of forty-four only was completed; so that thirteen were excluded from the inten<led benetit. The establishment of tliese Rectories was used for some time, amongst otlier alluged grievances, as an election-cry ; and at last the legal validity of the act was tested. The question was submitted to tlie several Courts of Law; and able judgments were given by each, establishing the vali- dity of the Kectories. There have been threats subse- quently of Legislative interference ; but the Act lecently passed, authorizing their sale' will no doubt be so far acted upon within the ten years to which the privilege is limi- ted, JUS to shut out from sight this ancient grievance. With perhaps half-a-dozen exceptions, they are of little compar- ative value ; and only in these instances, do they jifford by themselves a sufficient maintenance to the Clergyman. Sir John Colborne, in terms most virulent, has been blamed for this act; but he has been blessed for it, too, by thousands. He has thus contributed one of the little helps which, through a protecting Providence, have been furnished for the stability of the Church in this Province; and the act which assures this happy result, it is certain that he never regretted He reliiKjuished his Government during the winter of 1 830 ; and it has been well said that " Upper Canada never beheld a more beautiful or touching moral spectacle, than the triumj^hant departure of Sir John Colborne through the snows of an inclement winter followed by the affectionate reverence and esteem of the thousands who thronged his path to gi-eet him with a respectful farewell."* In the month of October of this year, 183G, a meeting of the Clergy of the two Archdeaconries of Upper Canada, suggested by Dr. Strachan, was held at Toronto. The health of the Bishop of Quebec, Dr. Stewart, had become * Church Newspaper, Jauuarj , lii3S. 157 so enfeebled that he was advised to return to England, with little hope that he should ever be able to resume his duties in Canada. Under these circumstances, it was felt desirable that the Clergy in a body should deliberate upon, and adopt, the best means of protecting those interests of the Church which, at this moment, were so seriously imperilled. The meeting was a large one, and in many respects proved to be an important one. It was deter- mined to send a Deputation of two prominent Canadian C'lergymen to England and Ireland; and the Reverend Messi's. Cronyn and Bettridge were selected for the ])ur- pose. Both were men of sufficient Colonial experience to make known our wants ; and both were gifted with readi- ness and elo({uence of speech. It was important to en- lighten the minds of Churchmen at home U[)on the great question at issue, — our tenure of the Clergy Reserves pro- |)erty, and the efforts in so many quarters to destroy it. It was important, too, to make known the extent of our spiritual destitution, — the churches required, and the Clergymen to be supplied ; and pending our chances from the Reserves, to obtain a present aid for the relief of those necessities. All this was set forth by the Deputation with great energy and ability ; and, if })resent substantial results did not eijual our expectations, there can be no doubt that the information so carefully and widely diffused on the condition and prospects of the Church in Canada, served in a large degree to awaken the sympathy and generosity of our fellow Churchmen in England and Ireland, and gained to the Society for the Propagation of Gospel, — the chief stay of the Church in the Colonies, — a large increase of support. There was some discussion, during this meeting, on the introduction of Synodical action in this country, and the general feeling of the Clergy was favourable to it. It was, hcwcver, much too soon to adopt anything like decisive acti(>ri in the matter. Before the separation of the meet- 158 « ing, it was determiued to attempt tlie establishment of a weekly ncwsi)ai)er in sujijjort of the interests of the Church in Canada ; and a Committee was api)ointe<l, with Areh- deacon Strachan at its head, for making the necessary arrangements. After some consideration, tlu^ Editorial management of the proposed journal was otil'retl to the writer of this Memoir ; and after some hesitation, and no little ai)prehension and misgiving, he resolved to under- take it. Any reluctance to assume such a responsibility was not unnatural, after the failure of so many attemjits in the same direction. The " Christian Sentinel," — a monthly publication, conducted at Montreal, — was the first Church periodical undertaken in Canada. It was a vt.Ty ta-editable journal of the kind, — for the first year under the Editorial management of the llev. B. B. Stevens, Chaj)lain to the Forces ; but a monthly })ei-iodical, neces- sarily containing long, and, as many would deem them, heavy articles, would not maintain the interest of the reading community, and so in about two years it dropped for want of supj)ort. There was a subsequent attempt at a weekly, under the same designation, edited by the late Rev. A. H. Burwell, at Three Rivers ; but this, too, awoke little or no interest, and it hardly survived a twelve- month. To start a new j)eriodical, after such discouragements, was felt to be somewhat of a bold undertaking ; but the prudent course was adopted of issuing a " specimen num- ber," in May, 1837, to be followed up if a sufficient number of paying subscribers could be secured. The result (ix- eeeded all expectation ; for on the 24th June following, the second number of " The Church " was issued with a list of 030 subscribers, — and many agents and Clergymen still unheard from. In al)out three months the subscribers in- creased to 1000. The tone of this journal was decided, as regarded the assertion of the principles of the Church ; but it was 159 conducted with a studied moderation, and was theicforo treated with respect on all sides. Party spirit in the Church was then hardly known ; there was, therefore, mutual confidence, and the support of the Clergy was unanimous. The paper, at first rather a diminutive sheet, was enhirged on the issue of Volume II., and again at the commencement of Volume III, — the subscribers steadily increasing. Many able contributors, in prose and verse were secured ; amongst them, men now of leading ])ositiou • in Church and State. From ](S41 to 1843, the editorial management of " The ('hurch" was assumed by Mr. John Kent, who had been a valuable contributor to its pages from the commencement. The excitement, however, amidst the clash and din of jiarty strife, was too nmch for him; and the paper came l)ack to the first editor, who held it again, under many diflicultics and discouragements, for nearly four years. With repeated changes in the editorial management, — sometimes without any management at all, — it gra(hially lost ground, and died out a»bout the year 185G. There can l)e no doubt of the great value of such a paper to the cause of the Church, if conducted with moderation, judgment, and a reasonable share of ability. The inHuence of "The Church" newspaper was most salu- tary during its earlier years. It diffused throughout our local population a large amount of much needed informa- tion; and, being extensively circulated in England, it (!au.«ed our Colonial Church questions to be better under- stood . by influential men in the mother country. This became quite discernible in the debates upon the Reserves (juestion in the Imperial Parliament; and we were assured from various quarters that to this was owing, in no small degree, the favourable settlement of this question which was effected in the summer of 1840. To this more special reference will by and by be made. The effect of a religious journal, temperately conducted 160 and with a widening circulation, upon the secular press of the day, was also apparent. Tlicre was a more courteous tone ; there was an abatement of personalities ; and more caution an<l taste in selection. The " Church," too, set the example of taking in English new.spapers and period- icals, from which to cull for ourselves, and not adopt extracts second-hand at the taste or caprice of others. On tlie whole, we look back with refreshment, cind even an excusable pride, uj)on what, with all its drawbacks and tiefects, was really a useful and influential journal ; oik? that provoked our own members to zeal and unanimity in tlie promotion of Church enterprises, and which caused those outside us to understand better our motives and principles, and gain for them consideration and respect. We have made this rather long digression, becau.se it fairly pertains to the life of the late Bishop of Toronto. He wsis prominent amongst its projectors: he aj)preciated the value and importance of such a journal, and he always gave it a warm and generous support. 161 CHAPTER XVIIT. Administration <>f Sir Frames lleiul. — Correspondence regarding Seat in the LeglHlative Council. — Death of Bishop Stewart. — Previous Appointment of Archdeacon Mountain as his Assistant. — The Rebellion in 1837-8, — Decision to form Upper Canada into a separate Diocese. — Destruction of St. James's Church, Toronto. >'/ IR John Colboriie was succeeded in the Government of Uj)per Canada 1 )y Sir Francis Bond Head, who arrived in Canada early in the winter of 1836. If we have had as Lieutenant Governors men of more [>rac- tical pur[)o.se and action, we never had any of more spirit and activity ; liardly any, perliaps, more quick-sighted and far-seeing. He came to Canada with the conception that real grievances existed, growing out of tlie mal-adininis- tration of the Government ; for that so much complaint, so violently exi)ressed and apparently so wide-spread, should be without adei^uatc cause, was hardly to be believed. He a]>plied himself diligently to the investi- gation of these grievances, inviting the free expression of the opinions of both parties ; and the conclusion at which he arrived was, that these existed more in name than in reality ; and that, if something was withheld by the party in power that might reasonably be conceded, more was exacted by their opponents than could constitutionally be granted. On various points, he and the House of Assembly soon came into collision ; and as a coercive step on their part, the usual supplies for carrying on the Government were refused. This was an unprecedented step, and was a 21 102 great shock to the loyal feeliii^^ of the country. Petitionii were j)oiired in, conveyed by respectaljle deputations, from every part of the Province, solicithig lliH Excellency to dissolve the House of Assembly, and allow a fresh appeal to the |)Coj)le. This, in obediejice to the poj)ular demand, was granteil ; and in the House newly elected, a large majority were su})portei-s of the administration of Sir Francis Head. Not long after his arrival in Canada, a correspondence took place with the Colonial Secretary in reference to th(! seat held by Archdeacon Strachan in the Legislative Coun- cil. Lord Ri[)on, in a Despatch to Sir John Coll)orne, of Hth November, 1832, — referring to remonstrances from th«5 House of Assendjly, — advises that " the Bishop (of Regi- opolis) and the Archdeacon should altogether abstain from interference in any secular matters tliat may be agitated in the Legislative Council," and adds, "Whether, even under this restriction, their holding sucrh seats is really desirable, is a question upon which I am fully prepared to listen with the utmost attention to any advice which I may receive from yourself, from the House of Assemlily, or from any other competent authority. 1 have no solicitude for retaining either the Bishop or Arch- deacon on the list of Councillors, but am, on the contrary, rather predisposed to the opinion that, by resigning their seats, they would best consult their own personal comlbi-t, and the success of their designs for the s|>iritual g(jod of tlie peoi)le. But any such resignation must be voluntary, since the office is held for life ; and, were it otherwise, no consideration would induce me to advise His Majesty to degrade the Bisho}) or the Archdeacon I'rom the stations they occupy, exce])t on the most conclusive proof of misconduct." In an address of the House of Assembly to Sir Francis Head, dated 5th February, 1830, it is declared, "We have had the mortification to see the Bishop of Regiopolis and the Archdeacon of York, neglecting their 100 higli aiul spiritual fimctioiiH niul imm of houIm, juhI cliiij^Mii^' to tlieir Heats in tlie LegiHlativo Council, and «lovotin<:j tlioir time ami talcntn to i)olitical .strifin and secular inoasures, in direct ojiposition, and contrary to the express desire and pleasure of His Majesty, as set foi'tli in the said Despatch of P]arl Ri[)on. .and at the same time permitted to hold and enjoy offices of emolument and profit. We, therefore, trust that your Excellency -will take immediate steps in fulfilment of the <^riu;ious wishes of the Kinfj, to carry into effect his hcnevolent intentions, and as desir(^d hy the great ])ody of th<! ))eo])le of this Colony, hy calling upon the said Bisho)> and Archdencon, either to withdraw from the Legislative Council altogether, or resign their othei' ofl[ices, an<l forever quit all (;laim to any other salary, i)en- sion, or other emolumen,t they now hold or enjoy during the ))leasure of the (Joveinmcnt." From the characteristic reply of the Archdeacon, dated '2'2n(\ Fel»ruary, 1830, we make the following extracts : — "The nituiitioti.H oi* Executive and Legislative Councillor were conferred upon me without .solicitation, as marks of Royal appro- bation for services openly rendered during a ])oriod of difficulty aiifl danger, and wliicli wew tliouglit at the time important. 1 have held the first for more than twenty year-s, and the .second sixteen year.s ; and am not aware that, in di.schargiiig the duties which they imjjosed Uj)on me, I have done any thing deserving of censure. On the contrarv, I feel that T have been useful to tlie Colony. "On ts being connnunicated to nu) last sunmier that Lord Clenelg f.ad expres.se(l his surprise at my occasional attendance at the Executive Council, I did not hesitate a moment in senditij? in my resignation ; for although his Lordship's desire was rather implied than expres,sed, I felt that, as there was a certain euioL unient attached to the situation, I could retire from it with honour. I did not do this, however, because I found myself, after more than twenty years' service, less able to perform my duty, or because I acquiesced iu the opinion that there was any 104 roiHonablo ground for my excliiHioii, but boeau.s(! an Executivo Councillor cotiUl not liopo to be u.sefiil, and could not Horve with sa^lHfaction, unless ho could feci the asHuranco that he jiosso.ssed the confidence of the existing adniiniMtration. My resignation was made without condition or stipulation, rcnioiiHtrance, oj- complaint. *' In regard to the Legislative Council, I was ap[)ointed to a seat in it in 1820, — not the f]i>it instance of an ecclesiastic being jiominated ; since the late Bishop of Quebec had, from an early period, been a member of the Legislative Council of that part of the Diocese in which he resided. '* For some yeai-s, while the number of Legislative Councillors was very limited, my attendance was more of thts ordinary cha racter, though of course by no means so constant as that of many other nu'niber.s. 13utt for some years before the despatch of Lord Kipon was written, and since that period, my attendance and my conduct in the Legislative Council have been such as comported with the sentiments expressed by his Lordship."' * ''• " I think his Excellency must i)erceive, and I trust his Majes- ty's GovernuK^nt will not fail to admit, that tlu! violent and threatening nature of the Address of the House of Assembly^ of which an extract has been sent to m(!, renders it not very easy for me to pei'severe in the line of conduct which I had previously presciibed to myself. " It is due to the independence of the body of which 1 am a member, and to my own individual character, that I should not suffer myself to be driven by violence and menace from the seat to which my Sovereign has aj)polnted me, and in which it cannot be shewn that I have acted in .'iny manner injuriously to his service, or to the best interests of i\w. country. And as respects the language which, I regret to s(u>, the Assembly has thought proper to apply to me, it leaves me no honourable alternative but to abide with firmness and constancy by the decision which his Majesty's Government may think consistent with justice and the principles of the Constitution. "I appeal also to every honourable mind, whether my resig- nation,- if I were inclined to present it, could, under existing circumstances, be deemed voluntary, or otherwise than degrading. 1G5 " However iminful it is to mo to act in opposition to tlif iinjjlicd dcsiro of his Majesty 'k late Principal Secretary of State li»r the CVilonies, 1 cannot .submit to be thus thrust out with imli;^iiity and violence from a situation conferred upon me by tin- Kin;; as a mark of honour, and which it is my unquestionable ieiral ridit to retain for life. In the situation in which I am pluciMJ, I can perceive no honourable alternative but res|»ectfully and (irmly to maintain my post." Lord (Jicnelg, in lii.s reply, IGth April, 183G, admitted that tlu! Arehdeacou had " urged Honio weighty reasons in support of his refusal, and that nuioh had 0(;eurred to riMider it <loul)tful whether a dnc; re^^ard for liis own honoui* did not forbid tlio resignation of Ids seat in the Legislative C.uneil." Prior to the return of the Bishop of Qucbce, Dr. Stewart, to Kiiglainl, arrangements had been concluded for tin- appointment of Archdeacon Moinitain as his assistant; and he was con.secrated to that ofiice, with the title of Bishop of Montreal, on the 14th February, 18.30. Ho did iwtt, however, reach Quel)ec until the month of August following. As BLshoj) of Montreal ho had no separate jurisdiction, nor was any Sec; constituted under that title; hut all Ids epis('opal acts were hy commission from the Bi.shop of Quehee. The understanding had been that the lattei- should eoniine lumself to the charge of Upper Canada; while the labours of the Bi.shop of Montreal were to be limited to Lower Canada; it having l)een further provided that, on the occurrence of a vacancy, he was to assume the tdiarge of the whole Diocese. The Bishop of Quebec was taken to his rest, after a painful and lingering illness, on the 19th July, 1837, at the age of .sixty -three. In him the Church in Canada lo.st a pure-minded and zealous overseer, and the Clergy an affectionate father and generous friend. In the exercise of the episcopacy ho maintained the simplicity of life which had characterized him as a humble missionary in a secluded IGfi portion of the Diocese. He ever shewed, whether in situa- tions humble or exalted, that he had no will but His who bade his disciples "follow him;" that he was actuated by no ambition but that of beinij the honoured instrument in the hand of his Lord and Saviour, of bringing many to tho " knowledge of the truth." The charge of the whole Diocese now devolved upon tho Bishop of Montreal, Avho immediately entered upon its extensive and laborious duties with all the assiduity, zeal, and ability which had marked his past career in subordinate but very influential positions. But if all was serene and prosperous in the condition of the Church, it was not long so in our social and political state. The new House of Assembly, elected in the sunnner of 183G, at the command of Sir Francis Head, was in its character so conserv^ative that it seemed utterly to crush the hopes of that discontented portion of the comnmnity who were styled Reformers. Without fully enlightening the world as to their grievances or their desires, they were loud in expressions of dissatisfaction with the powers tliat be ; and the alienation of feeling was even stronger in the Lower than in the U[)per Province. Unable to attain their objects by those constitutional means which are accessible to every British subject, and which, if pushed with a patient assiduity, are generally in tho end successful, they had recourse to violence, and attempted to gain their end by force of arms. The movement appeared, through concert, to be simultaueous in both Provinces ; but their means of getting u\) a rebellion in the face even of tlie ve/y £t!W trooj>s that Canada coutaine«l, and in opposition to the loyal and determined feeling of a large majority «jf the }Kj{)ulation, were niiserrbly insufticient, and theatUT nt Hooii proved al)oiiive. Slight, in itn com|wtrati ve propor- tioiLs, ttH the outl*reak was, it wa.s attended, nevertheles.-!, with M»nn' <al;imitouM cireiimMtuneeH. S«'V«'rul \jduable lives were UmI ; ttud acts of uiiscliief and atrocity mMu 1G7 perpetrated, which only manifest themselves in a disorga- nized condition of things. A few weeks snfficed to quell all armed resistance in Lower Canada; and less than a month elapsed from the first tiring of a rebel gun on Mont- gomery's Hill to the dislodgment of the mingled rabble of rebels and sympathizers from Navy Island. But the trouble was j)artially renewed the following autumn, by the landing of a few hundred sympathizers from the United States led by a refugee Pole, and their seizing a windmill a little below Prescott ; but after a short bombardment, they all surrendered at discretion. There was an outbreak, too, of French Canadians at St. Eustache, which a few troops and half a battery of artillery speedily quelled. Several re>^^'ments of troops were sent meanwhile to Canada, and tiie preparation was complete against evt;ry attem})t to disturb the i)eace. Now and then then wer«'. instances of outrage and malignity which were very ex- asperating; but by the close of 183!), everything settled d(»wn into perfect tranquillitv. To investigate our political ills and jiropose a remedy for them, the Earl of Durham was w'^-nt as a sort of Lord High C'Ommissioner to this country , and his views were embodied in a " Rei»ort," too generally remembered, and too nnich criticized, to render it nece.ssa!y or desirable here to otter any opinion upon its meiits. The influence of this rebellion upon the interests of the Church in C'anada, was rather remarkable. The fact was elicited that, amongst those who took up arms against the Covernment, there was scarcely a single meM'^r of the Cliureh <»f England; stj that, in the mother country, tin- impression was most gratifying as t<» the eH'ect of the pritsciples .mil teaching of the national Church. Th«' influence upon the public mind in England was wry strong in consinjuence; an«l tlu' Propagation Siniety, wh<>st' hiissionaries the Church of England Clergy in Canada nlm*»>^t exiJUNively wi*re, ex|»erieHtt*d a wi»nderful jt*?iiis<'t. 168 tation. Contributions were freely given to a Society, of the value of whose work there had been so practical and gratifying an evidence; and their increased resources enabled them to add considerably to our staif of Clergy during a few following years. It also aftected materially V the views of the Clerg}' Reserves question amongst leading people in England ; and prepared the public mind for that settlement of it which the Imperial Government imder- took in 1840. Our local Parliament, in the spring of 183'), attem})ted a .- solution of this long- vexed questic»n, by re- investing the Clergy Reserves in the Crown ; so that the dis[)osal of them might come from the Sovereign de noco, and be > absolute and unquestionable. But the mere majority by which this issue was obtained in the House of Assembly, was not likely to intluence the Home Government to the acce})tance of the surrendered trust ; yet it no doubt led them to the grave consideration of other means for the final arrangement of the question. The death of Dr. Stewart, Bisho}) of Quebec, and the . succession of Dr. Mountain to tlie charge of tlie whole Diocese, revived the project so long entertained, of eflei^t- ing its division by constituting each Province into a sepa- rate Diocese. Sir Francis Head tMitered warmly into th<' subject, and addressed Lord CJleiielg on the exp(Mliency of carrying out the arraiigeUK'nt. This was favourably v*- <oived, and the eonsent of th<' Archbisljop of ( 'antiTJuiry wan readily given. But it was distinctly stated from tlu' rom- mencement, that it would not be in the power of tlio lloni** < lovernnient to piovide for the new Bishopric any jMMMnijuy 4'nioiun>ent or otlu r endowment. The Bishop of I^ucIh'c Dr. Stewart, had, during his life-time, voiunUuily ;ij»pro priate<l a connidiTable poriion iji'liin 'uicituw U» the support of his )-U4ijutor; liut, after h'-* diitth thiM ineoim di'.|.jM^| of <'our>«', and it tlnicf«ir» bi im iie<i'>,ii\ luj ih |. h<«fi of Multireel Uj r^'tniu tlMi iiti^*^ii<{ *itJi. h«'d Ut tl*» Ai^ h I(i9 (leaconry and Rectoiy of Quebec, — providing out of these a salary for his Curate in the parish. Through the exer- tions of Sir John Pakington £1000 per annum was voted by the Imperial ParHanient to the Bishop of Montreal, so that he might be in a condition fairly to meet the expenses of his ]»osition. No such gratuity, however could be extended to Ui)per Canada ; but Archdeacon Strachan, influenced by the example of Dr. Mountain, stated to the Colonial Secretary that " the matter of salary need form no inpcxliment to the immediate appointment of a Bishop for Upper Canada, as he should be content to remain in that respect exactly as he now was, till the per- plexing question of the Clergy Reserves shoidd l»e settled, when it would be in the power of Her Majesty's Govern- ment to make another and more satisfactoi'S' urranirt*- ment." In addressing ilie Lieutenant (Jovernor, Sir George Arthur, upon this subj«'<^t, the An-hd«'acon says, fFeb. 20th, 1H31)) :— " 111 milking this jti'ojtosal, I can with truth a.ssiu\: you tliat I am by no incauH inKeiisii»l(> to tho i»i'o|»ni»ty as w«'ll as nee<»HMity of grantiii;^ atl«'«|uate |)i-(»visiuu for thf decent KU|>|M>rt of the K|>isco|tal oftio' in this ribin;,' Coliuiv. |»iit, |M'rKiiad('il that th»* int4*ri'8tH of th«' Churcii ar*' siiirciin;^ fnua the wai.t of KpiH4'o|»Ml .su|KM'int<>n(J-'ncf, which hitM for soint; time \teon (»iru«-Htiy d<'Mir-«*«l hy inatiy of her nu'nibei-H, niu\ una'iinioiiMly l»y the ('h'rj<y, 1 thought my pt-o|»(iHiti<)ii mij^ht aeeihiate the remo\ai of Uiat wunt liy a few yeuiH, ah'I than proiuoU-, in no Hmail <Jej(rre, the MahiUry inHiteMce of ( 'hrinltan laintiph* throughout lh<- I'n.viin.- i'litii it it*', ill the jMiWer «>f llec JMajejity'H (juverniiMlil 0> mik' « Iwtf mttutt'iu-Utry sirritnf;! luetit for t\,> ;ii»jM)rt ui' th« K\HM»*\ml <>Hi<-( HI lhi» l*i'i«%iiM'e than the oni- now |*ro|M<M'<|, it tn luy ijuty U» nut rodli 1)1 Wl<* :• ii iM known Umt the ii»4;oiitf* ttfMvn frhMv tll^ Are)' i I w«it tUum$-*tnUni t*> r»'ly f«#r j»»rb«f»»« tumtf ^««»i», •li'i n*it 1 CKMW) vmitiu) ytt mumu. mui iAm^ tmi "i titi- I i>K- nil MlbiwtMiiM warn t«* Im( ma<f«* Ui him II 170 in the parish, it will be seen that the present provision for maintaining the cost and dignity of the See of Toronto was a very-slender and very inadequate one. But he assumed it in hope of a more satisfactory arrangement, and in the issue he was not disappointed. It was now a settled thing that Upper Canada was to form a separate Diocese, with Toronto as the residence of the Bishop. But in the prospect of the early accomplish- ment of all that was required to make the boon complet*', there was a calamity to deplore, affecting churchmen of the province at large, and those of the City of Toronto in particular. This was the destruction by fiio of the Church of St. James, tlie future Cathedral, on the morning of the 7th January, 1839 ; a church that had been completed only six yefirs bef(»re, and at a Cs«st and strain from which th<! parishoners had not yet been able to relieve them.selves. This was a great grief to tlie Archdeacon ; as judginl from his firnt Utt<'rs depicting the calamity, almost an ovei- pow'cring one, — the sudden wreck of ;i nolth* .structur*^ which it ha<i c<jst him m» much toil and anxiety t4> raise. Hut the first slim-k oviT, he lM»und«Ml to the renie<lv with winiU'A hojKifulneHS and 7j'ii\. Two dayH after tli< de^tnic- tion of the church, a public meeting of the congregatioti WMM held ill the City Hull; and a iuniifiou<^ lejh'il wtM ^mmmUftl by the ArchdesMon emiMxiyifig a phuj i'ny thi* t« 'ti-r.iti<»ii of tluit wi-^red edifiee Ut i^ fonnfr-r <o!i»UM»<liofjM.. iHtw nitil iM'Auiy 'Hiin wn>* Htibrnittf^i Ut jn < "llilMilt•'e l•flf*i>ftitx^l by the liM . tin;.' of which tlie HiAu'ttuf ( ! i\f H .ft W. H t HMgiMr , wm* iluununu Tlwir r*|*«#ri »«# tm^ i mtUM Hi A«nlMm)Uftit Mte< ins.' •ifUM- fMiriMiMifWfk; immI H wi ik il mwit mi U» n^Uu ' h mithm^^dmf.im fc«MMiiii«Kl «rtth til- '-""iMM«it,ii • MM* Mi mm»Sm iS^m. e w wueafciL- BMj .. '^ 171 - CHAPTER XIX. Consecration as Bishop of Toronto. — Union of the Provinces. — Settlement of the Clergy llesei"' t;s Questioii in England. /i^ARLY in the suininer of 1839, Archdeacon Strachari \wTj proceeded to Enghmd, and in August following was consecrated Bishop of Toronto, — a Diocese coni- j)riKiiig the whole of Upper Canada. At the same time the Hon. and Rev. Dr. Spencer was consecrated Bishop of Newfoundland, — the islands of the Bermudas being asso- ciated with thj»t episcopal charge. The sermon on the o<.*casi«jn was preached l»y the Rev. Edward Scobell, and was published by desire of the Archbi.shop of Canterbury. From this we make the following interesting extracts: — " We tte* with joy the iocrttaMtng exertiooM which the Ch* vh IM now umkiii*;, both in iUt ministry Hud laity, — for the Church ix ttf tUf tuo, — to th»' Jjlory of i'uHi. Tin* nK»t of Jt^**** m-ciiih iiior«' iiiatitiV«t »H Hii tiini^n tttu'Hig the iMtiph' The M>tiia<l i;* Koiiig out iti<>r<- into alt i;tu'i» , and going out roon* loudly, vUmrly, .nwl «rt4. x-utly. Th*' Church mnmrn iu«>viii;| ii|(iiiii in I***!- ft«ttv« atPMigtfc. Hbe ^unMiM <Hit It^er UHighM Ui tiw »ea, mimI Ihv \tt.ity\t*m to tlw riv«-f. AimI thin iij#|i»*}»r« in t»o wiiy t^tr*- jfrati ^pwytiHUt lA tW mi»fitmi*tmtmt «f WtAn^m Ut tit** Chim-ii«^ i^ mir I 'wlwi i Ml fif^riipi iaadb. Wi(M«i • Mdb(*|(, • (%t»rek» htm, M" r^nii it «w Imt MAirf, M iniw|— i «i4 tkmUmml Wttl»rMit if M* te «fi «HH|» m villi i«^jt4i«. H faw k^ gn ^ ^^1^,^^^ ajiiii ill J — * ^j^^y^^^^j . » < -.- 172 "Go forth, Right Reverend Fathers, in the Divine, the evan- gelical, the invincible resolution of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, to the Churches to which you are appointed. Go forth ; and let that spirit be in you which was iu Christ Jesus, — meek, ]mtlent, charitable, bold, persevering ; full of Chrislian love, full of holy consolation ; and then, like him, ye shall assuredly go forth, conquering and to contjuer. "And although a vast and trackless ocean shall roll between us, yet the Church in Christ is never divided in s]>irit. The Church hei'e shall have saintly comnuniion with the Churches of your distant dominion. The mother in her mansion will not forget her daughter in the wiklerness. Prayer shall be made unceasingly in the Church for you. And if we never meet again iu this world ; if that be the counsel which God will bring to pass ; may we assemble at last ai'ound the great white throne, and our names be fcmnd written in the I^mb'w book of life."' The I^islntp of Toronto rea<;he«l his home on the 9th Noveinlier, IhUJ), and his return was weleonieil with great joy and atfeeticai. Tw«» itays earlier, on his way to Toronto, he niad<' a shoi*t stop at Kiii;;ston, an<i ren-ived there a warm Adoress fr«»iii the ( 'lerjjrv of the town and •K'ii'hlMiin- ImmmI, headid l»y Arehdearoii Stiiart. Th«'y con^fiHtiiiatt'd lti^ Loidsliip ii|Mtii hin stdeetion to till ih*' hi;j^h and rei>*|NHi- sildi' orti«'«* to whii'li hi' ha<l Ixen lalh •! r* eoj^ij/jnj; in thii* Uh' valnal'h' H^rvisrw h*' \uu\ r* nd. i* .1 tln' Provim* l.v hiw »'«! in til' (inix* .,j ;4< h« nil ) dteatcn ioid tin- U u* hu h<' h«'l «<.iii<Mid ii|«4ai ili«' ( Itiiri'li in th' t'uiiitig mihI inMinii'tion u( mt tiiMny who nr*- int^ nHrvtiiif ht*r wttii »ml. ttitiUtv Ntfi mmmmm. Wttii mu-U |»I«'4, vi-n $J»r«<figli n j. n ,1 of immtiy knif fimm," k «?•«• wA{ mui **• o-Miiiiot f»i) U* M ifr wt4l tm iXm* f««l4ir»> [mm^ttrim t4 tiic In An aMmm wM^k «r# * liMi III T*mm^, • iN> 'htf*- «ift^ kirn tmitmk. 0mm wm aM ^ mmmmU» »m4 wlff^^li^^lKtm' ' ■^BPBIipWiPPIII^w 'P" ^'^i ^WW? MRRIPIr P^i^ 173 years ; from a review of the many public services and acts of privji'i* kindness wliicli, in that long interval, he had jK-rfornied. The Bishop, in reply, adverted to the noble effort ; exerted l)y his congregation in restoring the church so recently destroyed ; and expressed his admiration of the zeal and liberality which, in little more than six months from stiirting actually u])on the work, had brought it almost to conn)letioH. Tn the warmth of his feelings lie declared that, with every acknowledgnient of devotion and energy' elsewhere, he repeated n(>\v what he had been proud to afHrm when far away, — that there were "no peopie like his jteo})le ! ' He was, indeed, excusable in the utter- ance of such ])raise ; for, on the '2'2ud Decembei-, he was instalh'd in the new church, now the (athedral of St. .lames, erected u|Mjn the ruins of the tine and sui»stantial xtrueturt which was destroved bv tire «»n the 7th Januarv, hardly twelve uiontiis before In th*- eonrsi- of hissirmon iijM»n the iNH^sioii. his Lordnjiip Miid : — " ) <')UiiK*t l«'t |MHH tliiri tnt\ttnrtniiHy of itutiriii;; tiie prcMiii iip|M'at'iUu'i' of till* iiiti'i'liM of till- i-liiii-i'h ; iiiiil hIih-|i | roiiAitl^'i |,<# Im- wuii«i<'rfully iuij»i'ov« •!, Tlu'iv »» muv lijjfit, find : '•<■*•. r «liMtribuiii»u of mhiimI, ihitn in fin- oM ■ iiiiri'lt ;o«i| (If tutum tiX » nrwfilf Mtylif of |»ili.H, iai- <oii|||)mii«<iJ i, n ii< .• i«m- »»l l twr i. wiM ftmAi\f ttmni, AinI m\mm Mm dburl iktm ibii Imm »'U\miiiA mam lAm mmih^fmflim mmmnmi Im mmAimnd, h MMMi iwwiMjr AfUbo mmrf mm fiMi |pM«t ^iniMw mi 1^4* im4k %» ll»> l» iMMiiilip ■mi l I' mm tmi, mmi wUk mm %mmH mt4 ^mm- §m n' li 'tm i m tiMdb §» III** AUm^tf §m km §^ mt0mm Mb M i i i iJig fcr Iflw rtiifcy i»< 174 About three weeks before liis return, his ;y oungest daughter, Agnes, — for many years very delicate, — died at the age of seventeen. Wlien he left for England, it was with gi-eat anxiety on her account; but not without hope that the remedies suggested on the submission of her case to a distinguished medical man in London, would, with the natural elasticity of youth, triumph over the disease But it was otherwise ordered; and the loss of this child clouded much the joy of the Bishop's return. In a letter written to me immediately on his arrival, .liter sj)eaking of the comfort and sjitisfaction he felt at the welcome he received, and the bright pros[)ects of a useful administra- tion of the charge connaitted to liim, he sjiys, " But <lear Agnes Ijaunts me at every stej) : the iujage of this ble.ss«'d chiKl is before me, wherever I go." And we wonder not at th»'««i vivid and ]>ainfui memories; for she 'v-an one «»f thr sweetest, gentlest little creatures living; guileless ;i> MU infant, and always |»}itieiit and cheerful under tiu- liiigering snHerings hhe had to endun*. 'I'lie iHtlitieal atnioHphiie. too. waM lurid and stormy. Mr Poult tt 'J'hoiiiMdi afierwardf* \jtn*\ Sydenham had \it^'U m'Ui out to etfeet tie- union of the Pfovim'es.- the ip^ifl |«»inH4-eH. it WMM iM-JitM'd at hom , for our |M*tiiiiiil iiit ; that wliieh wnuid Inn;;.' diM'or'iant liiatiiiat^ luU* t\ |.i«(ti. iii_' •oiitiiiiiiiity "i (iit'i« »- biii<i '• t< r,i. In view ti( i\i< ' ! i"««it)«»ii it k. Hi !«»ih Vntvintvm, it ^^ly \ \mfkM iif m tmm mm inliiMiMte >*-<rtiM It iMna HTIitiii iImmi fip'j i w'f wm m4%mmmii tm hmg ngfi* m ^hf pmr mtti k Mitt ■■l*i» mm ^^M^ ^^^^^n^. li^rf it m^ ^ ■ ^ iMt *■ I Jl f ,-i.i ,M jg ^ ^1 _^|^ ■■ —M ^ItifcfcA A * _.._.. A 175 majority, rnd an immense preponderance of the Roman Catholic persuasion,— the apprehension was not unnaturally entertained, tliat there couM not, hy amalgamation, be any real union. The laws of each Province were different, and their respective creeds were essentially at variance ; and it was thought that hy attempting to bring them into a closci- iKtlitical afiinity, there would follow an cxasperati«.n of nnitual jealousies, and a real wiilening of the breach b.'tw.M-n them. Dr. Strachan contended for a genernl union of the Provinces, such as has now been effected ; and he jtublished ii pami)hlet upon the subject, strongly nn'lij" thisconfederacvof all the Colonies of British North America. He argued that combination on a scale so limited as the mere uni(»n of Upper and Lower Caui'.da,- where til ' elements to be consolidated wen* in su«-h direct an- tit^oiiism,— could have no goo*! practical effect; whercHM, if it was felt neces>:ny that the isolation now existing jshonld bi' remedied, let th le b»' >[u-h a coalition an w<add be.n down all |»ait\ , stctionai, or national prejiiilici- The jaeseiit project, la. ke« I by ImjMrial authoi it s , wn>. ihtrilue.d to the HoU-«e . it' .V^^'inblv by meH>,«g.- <»|) the 7th heecljilrti |HH!f The (|Ue^ti<»I» WU"« .'«bls debated HI Itoth H«»n»M-«, aini in •fp|M»«»iti«iii to the earne-t pL.t^st^uf *Hiie «#♦' our leading iiieri, wa« carrietl in » h'\i by lai;.'e iMMjfiiritit**. <»n th»' <Uh ittfiiMry. INM* « tui-tum^*' *»« mnl do%* ij ' \ |iif«i)*i*Ntitg a piMti ft*r tliw tkmA m^tihmms itt vmmd ■' '^ '= ?!**• iM §m ^ m^mm^mf^'i ■■• .jiayl * J. I MlliMltlil' tWJwftBiJSMi lii l^kMUUtk. *M ^^ MMMlM. nilfilliiiT 170 vested in tlie Executive (lovernment, und out of the jiiinua. interest should be |iaid all stipends lieretofore assigne*! to the Clergy of the C'hurehes of England and So(»tland, or to any i»ther religious bodies or denominations t»f Christians in the Province. It was further proposed tliat out of any income in excess of . icli ])ayments, one- half sh<ndd annually be ]>aid to the Clergy of the Church»'s of Kugland and Scotland in the Province ; and that the residue of such aniuial fund should be dividc<l amon;; tlie tithcr religious IkmUcs or denominations (»f ('liristiaiis then recognized \>y the laws of tin* Province. The Hishoji of Toronto |iuiilished, on the I."»th «»f tin* wnne montli. a ntrong protest against the pro|KiMM| Act, in the form of a Past<»ral addrcsid to the < 'lergy and I.«'iit\ of the hiiNM'M' ; iiH being ealculute*! to deprive the Church of Kngbuid in <'an<idH of neiuly three-fourths of her lawful pio|j«'rty. — Ut rendiT Uw < lergy utijM'ndiarie^ jtud de|M-nd I'tria i <Mi the (oh»iiiiil <«<tverniiM'tit. uiul to filter .iimI |M't'tMilllili* ciidie<*«i diviwioii tind diMord ffe tid%i«*ed tti« yi (.. I (I tidopiiiMi of p'(iti«ni!» HptiiiMt tiiiM MieMtiin U* i\m illlperiHl f •■ • iMiif }i! iiliMi [t»- mtmtrt^i tbeni that the »iNfMii mmwrn* WM1I4I t«f ^tmrmm^i t*t m kit^ «*xt«^t l\ Hie frieiMU Ut tili* l*«4tl«ltHl < lltlMt IN tiM* miiftn i l < oiilitn He f»H » MiWiflMlMI #wt tl*«<w' tftitt«^l retmmtftMf^^ «rii«i(t| h«\« tkmr imthmmu.. . tmd tmmm' U» liw C lMiPiii 11 mmli m-t* {ttiiiiii nil tibv liiMllntf hmumIimni int^c Mift fiii> IM vMt^ *-mmmi hf m i B i || i »ii| «f fl li* in f ti ^ LiUJii li ii'nr • ' .>4«^. >-• •-'-.. -r vriiltfiiB wm tkm rnenf ii% nliAnimi- T^ ^BWP " ^^W^^^^Hl^^F ^^^^^^p ^HIMF^ H^^^W^ ■ i^B. fpW^^j^HHl^^HIW^W^v^ tHHHiiMMr W sW^HB^B wii|ii.nii|i ^ ta •«* ^ 177 ment of tliis harassinjDf question ; anrl, in liis speech at the Prf»ro^'ation, he sai<l : — " By the Jiill which yoii h;ivr p;u«.s«;fl for tho (Us|h)s;iI of the Clergy Reserves, you have, so far as your eonstitutional |K)wers itdiiiit, set at rest a questiim which, for yeai*s past, has convulsed MK'iety ill this Troviiice. In fraiiiing that measure, you have consulted alike tin- West interest> of religion, and the future jM'aee Hn<l welfare nt" the jK.'(»ple, for wlmse service you are called U|k)H to Icgislai"' ; an<l I rely on your efforts proving successful, not withstanding any attempt whii-h may l>e made to renew excite- ment, or to rais«' op|Mtsition to your deliln'mte and reconled iiidj;iii«'nt,'' I'lie >,ili'_'llili< »\IM tl;iti<»iis of hJH Kxeeljeiiev W»Te nut. however, realiz***! ; and the result sheweil that tlie opfMwi- tioii which the HiMhoj* Hti«I other iih-iiiImth of the < 'hiireh frit It thi'ir duty t<» <»rt'fr V> thin n^Mtl'mUtry iiM*«Miir»*. w«*i Blither iinju?*tirti*hle ii«»i' fniiih-wt. TIm' Mihjeet wan tJlk^'H Up hy tie- llii|M'riHl iWliMliient fh«* «"i?<««iiit; Hpriiij; and th«* Hoii**' uf LitpU profMtMeil th^ fiAlitw'iu.: *jiif-.ti«»tiH \t, th*' Jndjr**'* ^1. Hht'lMi th. «..»^«, 's frtjUartaiit i'Ur^y. iii liH- .'♦! ihm. ffl., 4I1. M, ttti\H>i»* r«it^ <di:»r tk«tt ilt*" CtMjgp mC iIm* l%Mti4 .. ^ uriBiliipy tlbr^ t<fc«t «€ tm^ m 41 *4 lAtavm im mA mMm^ yiwyMi^ a i yi M g fW ir to fim Ligi ii ul i "! C* 1 ■ miil «i>< ^M ^^^^M ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^m ^^^ ^M^HMMit C^u^^^^^ ^gA|^^^S|. lal- mill '«nHii 4lir wlvtdP vif #M) KilMWWIIii'r 4 * i i m# . •• «d|. . 17S ftirided iti England, togethfir with the proceeds hereafter to be received from the sale of all or any of the said Keserves, or any j»art thereof, did, in making such enactments, or either of them, exceed their lawful authority 1 " On the 4th May, 1840, the Judges delivered tli(!ir reply in the House of Lords, — all the Judges exce])t Lord Denhanri and Lord Abinger having met to consider the questions propos(^d to them by the House. To the first question they answered, — "We are all of oj>inion th.at the words 'a Protestant ('lergy' in the til Geo. HI., ch. 31, are Jarge enough to iYiclude, and do include, other Clergy than the Clergy of the (Jhurcli of England"; aitd when their Lordships asked, "If any other, what other"? the Judges answered, " The Clergy of the Chinch of Scotland." To the second question the Judges sai<], "We are all of opinion that the etteet of the 4 1st section of the statute is '[n'OHjiectu.'c only; and that the power thereby given to the Legislative Coiincil and Assembly of either Province cannot be extended to aflect lands which liave been (ijvead// allotted and aj)[)ropriated under fornnn* gi-ants." In answer to the last (piestion, the Judges sairl, — " We all agi'ee in opinion that the Legislative (Jouncil and A.ssen?bly of Upper Canada have exceeded their authority in passing an Act to 'provide for the sale of the Clergy Reserves, and for the distribution of the proceeds thereof,' in respect of Ix^th the cmactments specified in your Lord- ships' question; and that the sales which have betni, or may be, effected in conserjuence, are contrary to the provisions of the Statute of Ceo. HI, and therefore void." In their answer to the second (iuostion, the Judges sustained tlie view afiirjned by leading Churchmen in Canada many yer before; and in the month of March. 1838, the writer o" < lis memoir, as editor of the "Churcli" newspaper, recorded it as his persuasion " that if this special point were submitted to the Judges of England, Hucli would be their unqualified award." The delegation 179 to the Provincial Parliament of the power to "vary oi- repeal," clearly excluded them from any legislation upon aj)- propriations of Clergy Reserves already made. They might henceforward "vary" the proportion of reservation ; or they might stop all further allottment of land for such object. Adopting the opinion of the Judges as the basis of legislation, the Bishops of the United Kingdom, supported by leading members of the House of Lords and Commons, were determined to bring this vexed question to a settle- ment; and accordingly on the 7th August, 1840, an Act was ]>assed to "jirovide for the sale of Clergy Reserves in th^ Province of Canada, and for the distribution of the proceeds tliereof" The decision, in substance, was that the njoneys invested in England from the sale of one-fourth of tlie Reserves authorized Ijy Act of Parliament in 1827, should 1)6 divided between the Churches of England and Scotland in the proportion of two-thirds to the former and one-third to the latter; and that the whole of the unap- propriated lands, — amounting to about 1 ,800,000 acres, — should bo sold, and the proceeds divided into two equal parts ; one-half to be given to the Churcli of England and Scotland in the proportion abo^'e mentioned ; and the remaining half to be applied by the Governor and Execu- tive tJouncil foi'the purpose.=j of public worship and religious in.struction in Canada. The follow^ing declaration in the "Church" newspaper of 3rd October, 1840, expressed no doubt the .sentiments oi' Clergy and Laity generally through the Province, — "Now that a settlement of the ([Uestion has been definitively made, we shall feel it a duty to inculcate obedience to it as the law of the land, and to render it as beneficial as possible for the object intended. It is with all well-dis- posed persons a subject for congratulation that a topic of grievance has thus been removed, and most heartily do we hope and pray, that it will not soon be foDov/ed by another equally groundless and disquieting." 180 CHAPTER XX. First Confirmation Tour. — Pjimary Visitation at Toronto. ,^5^HE Bishop of Toronto, after due notice of his arrange- 11 I inents, commenced his first Confirmation Tour on the 24th May, 1840. His first visit was to the Niagara District, — comprehending the present Counties of Lincoln, Welland, and Haldimand, — where the parishes of eight Clergymen were visited, and 139 persons confirmed. At, Niagara, where he officiated on Sunday, the SOth, to ci'owded and attentive congregations, he received a wnrm address, to which he replied in coiTCsponding terms. He returned to Toronto early in June, and after a few days' interval, proceeded on his journey through the por- tion of i}w Diocese north of Toronto. The i)arishes of eight Clergymen were visited, and 152 confirmed. He also consecrated two churches and one l)urial-ground. On the 8th July, after a rest of five <lays at Toronto, the Bishop commenced his confirmation journeys eastward, and visited forty parishes and .stations, served by thirty-two Clergymen. The most remote was distant about 300 miles from Toronto ; but from the necessity of diverging in many cases from the main road in older to reach the .several congregations, the amount of travelling was very much increased. This journey occupied nearly two months, and 800 persons were confirmed. At Picton a very grati- fying address was presented to his Lordship ; and the interest of the occasion was increased by a deputation of ladies placing in his hands a sub.scription list, guaranteeing £50 per annum towards the support of a travelling mis- 181 sionary in the District of Prince Edward. At Cornwall, he was in the scene of his first ministrations in the Church; ari'I in his reply to the affectionate address presented tf» him l>y tin; [)arishi oners, he nsed these tonchinj^ words :— "It is now twenty-eight year» since my separation from you to<jk place ; but it is still as fresh on the tablet of my memory as at the hour of departure, and attended with many ])lea8ing an well as melancholy associations. " This church I assist*. ^ to build ; in this desk and pulpit, and at this altar, I ministered to your spiritual waTits. Some of my ancient friends are still before me ; and many of my childrejj in the Ijord, whose faces I first beheld at the baptismal font, now [iromising niend>ers of the congregation, are wjeking my remem- brance These form a delightful sjKJCtacle, for which I ought to be thankful ; and yet, even at such a moment of enjoyment, melancholy reflections will come forward. " I look around, and see many seats now vacant, or occupied by strangers, which were once filled by those who smiled on my early days, and amidst my cares and troubles nev<?r failed Uf extend the friendly hand, and offer the fatherly counsel, and greet me with the kind word and the look of encouragement and approbation. "Although no person can be more sensible of his many infir- mities and deficiencies than I am, yet I am greatly strengthened and encouraged by the warm recej)tion which you have given m<', and which is accompanie<l with so many endearing and delightful recollections." On the 7th September, the Bishop resumed liis travels, — going westwards from Toronto; commencing at Wel- lington Square, and extending to Sandwich. The jmrishes of thirty-four Clergymen were visited, and nearly 700 persons confirmed. Sul>sequently, confirmations were held in Toronto, and its inunediate neighbourhood, — making Uie whole numlu-r admitted to that rif^) during the pres<."nt year, fully 2000. These were not completed until the middle of October ; 182 l»ut the remarkable result was tlie visitation in one season, with a very few exceptions, of the entire Diocese, — tlK^n exten<linf( from Sandwich to the Ottawa. P'ew men couhl have nmlergone this continuous and scarcely interru[)te<l lal)Our of five months, with health unim})aired, and spiritH and energy nnhroken. For it was a lahonr of no ordinary character. The amou!it r)f travelling was enormous ; and nil performed in an open v<'hicle. The roarls in many cases were extremely rough; stony or swam])y, with now and then miles of log bridges without any covering oi i.iivth, over which the (carriage Jolted violently and moved at a snail's ]>{ice. It embraced, too, the hottest ])ei"iod of the year; an<l oftentimes the fare by day and the accom- modation at night were of th(» coarsest, nidest chanactcsr. 'I'he.se were trials of the bodily frame; )>ut they were to a most s<*rious extent inci'cased \)y the discharge of the duties whicli gave occasion to these journeys. Scarcely' a day passed without one Confirmation service ; and very frequently there were two. The Bishoj) invariably preached on these occasions ; and after the Confii-mation scrvi(^e, addresserl the candidates at considerable length. These ad(h'esses were always very impressive ones; they wcm simj)lc and ])ractical, an<l touched closely the sympathi<'s and feelings of the young. In urging all to the Saviour, aii the only hope of the sinner, he was careful to set before them those eveiy-dpy duties, of personal holiness of con- iluct and the subjection of wicked and hurtful passions, which are the oidy practical test of a genuine Christian faith. To liring these as closely home as possible, and to enlist both parents and children in one common aim, and turn this renewal of the baptismal vows into a household blessing, ho uniformly pressed upon the confirmed the duty of bei/ig hereforward more loving and obedient to their ])arents, and more afiectionate to their brothers and sister.^. There was always, too, an inculcation of that out- bide sympathy and work which serves to prove that Chris- 183 tians arc a brotherhood; that they must not selfishly lock up their care ami kindness within the home circle, or limit them to the community in which they happen to Jive. In the (•i)urse of this extensive tour, many interesting ?>nd j)leasing incidents occurred. Amongst the candidates for confirmation at Ancaster, then under the charge of the Rev, Dr. McMurray, was a gt'iitlenian far advanced in life, Mr. Job Lodoi', who liad but recently become a member of the Church, and had generously advanced the sum re([uisite to buy off all claimants u))on St. John's Church at that fJace, so that it might be exclusively the property of the Church of England. Originally it ha<l been built as nfrcc ( 'hurch ; to which all denominations were to have access, an<l which ajtpears to have been used in turn by religion- ists of almost every name. The Bishop in his address to the conlirmod, sj)oke particularly to those of maturer years, and aj>[)arently near the close of their earcier ; and he exjuessed himself so tenderly and kindly to such as thus late in life made an open profession <»f their faith, that Mr. Lodor was melted to tears. At Calt, previous to the Confirmation, two persons «»f middle age, — one of them a very influential individual in the neighbourhood, — received the holy Sacrament of Bap- tism un<ler circumstances which manifested very cheerfully the growth of sound Church principles. It appears that tlie individual alluded to, had, in early life, received bap- tism from the hands of some minister not episcopally (jrdained ; but having, after careful reading and enquiry, ai'rived at the conviction that none but a person thus ordained has a valid conunission to administer the Sac la- ments of the Cliristiaii Church, they felt a distrust of the efficacy of the ordinance as thus conferred, «nd ex})resscd a strong <lesire for its regular and authorized comnmnication. Antecedent to the Divine service on this occasion, another jjleasing incident occuiTcd. An aged member of 184 the Church, a Scottish Episcopalian, on his first introduc- tion to the Bishop, knelt down before him and solicited his blessing. Thei-e was something in this ))lc.'ising occurrence whicli inipressively called t(j mind the dnys of patriarchal sim])iicity, and which implied a dutiful recog- nition of the high and s<acred character of an overseer of the Church of God. In the old Mohawk Churc^h at Bi-aiitford, after tlx' Con- firmation service, the chiefs of the tribe came fbi wttrd and addressed the Bishoj). This address, sj)oken in their own language, was translated, sentence by sentence, into Kngliph by an intei'preter. They expressed their congiatnlations upon the visit of a father of the Church, for whicli they «aid they felt a strong attachment. They declared their thankfulness for all that had been, an«l was still doing, for themselves and their children ; and concluded with a Avell- meriterl commendation of the valuable and faithful services of their Missionary. His Lordsliij) made them a short, bnt touching reply. He alluded to the gallantry of their nation, and rejoiced that they had exchanged the weapons of war, and the roving habits of hunters, for the implements of husban«lry, and the peaceful pursuit of the arts of a civilized and Christian life. He exhorted them to a faith- ful use of their religious privileges; and, commending th«*m to the blessing of God, took each severally by the hand and bade them farewell. In the congi'egation at Tuscarora, on the following day, together with the Indians confirmed, were sevo-al negroes, who were connected with, and lived on terms of great amity with their red brethren. Amongst the number con- firmed, meekly kneeling by the side of Africans and Indians, was the wife of the Missionary. In the course of the after- noon, there was occasion for the performance of the funeral service, and nothing could exceed the solemnity with whicii it was conducted. The ritual of the Church, of course, was used ; but we were struck with the peculiar 185 iiiipressiveneHs of tlioir custom of singing a funeral liynin ♦luring the progress from the church to the gi-ave. Every voice .Heeme(' to unite in it ; and iU plaintitl' mehxiies were borne away far over the hilLs and through the forest. On the 12th April, shortly before setting out on this long tf>ur, tlie Bishop held his first Ordination in the Cathedral Church of St. Jan)es, at Toronto ; when four were ordained Deacons, and four were admitted to the Priesthood. On the 25th October, soon after that laborious summer's work was ended, a second Ordination was held ; when two were added to the number of Deacons, and one to that of Priests. The Bishop of Toronto held his primary visitation of the Clergy of his Diocese, in the Cathedral Church of St. James, on Thursday .9th September, 1841. Sixty-one Clergymen were pi'esent, and twenty-five absent, — making the whole number 80. Nine of these had been admitted to Holy Orders by the Bishop himself; so that the whole number of Clergy, at the time he assumed the charge of the Diocese, was 77. The Charge of his Lordship to the Clerg>' on this occasion, must have occupied about an hour and a half, and its contents were varied and interesting. " It adverted," s»ys the "Church" newspaper, "to every promi- nent topic affecting the Church, — to its rise and growth in this Province, — its position with reference to sectarians, — its temporalities, — its wants, and the best means of supply- ing them,— -the dulies of the Clergy in administering th«i sacraments, and catechizing and educating youth, — in fine, his Lordship scarcely left a subject of any importance untouched. At the commencement of the charge, the venerable Prelate appeared to labour under powerful emo- tion, as if bowed down by a sense of the very great responsibility resting upon him, and his voice somewhat faltered ; but he quickly regained his entire self-possession, and delivered himself to the end, with an energy expressive of the strongest sincerity and zeal." 24 186 Fi'oni this valuable docuiiu'iit, a few extracts cannot fail to ho interesting to our readei's : — " The history of the Church iu this Diocese, though douhtless resembling that of iriiiny other Colonies, is not without pcculiiir x4 interest. For many years after its first settlement, as the favourite y asylum of suffering loyalty, there was but one Clergyman of the Church of England within its extensive limits. This was the W Rev. Dr. Sttiart ; who may be truly j)ronounce(l the father of the Chui'ch in Upper Canada, and fondly do I hold hiui in affecr- tionate remembrance. "In 1792, two clergymen arrived from England ; but so litth' was then known of the coinitry, and the little that was published was so incorrect and so unfavourable, from exaggerated accounts of the climate and the terrible privations to which its inhabitants were said to be exposed, that no jNIissionaries could be induced to come out. Even at the commencement of 180.3, the Diocese contained only four Clergymen, for it was in the s[tring of that year that I made the fifth. "In 1819, the Clergy of this Province had increased to ten. In 182.5, they had risen to twenty-two ; in 1827, to thirty.; in 18.'}.3, to forty -six ; and our number is now about ninety. Still our spiritual wants are many. More than forty Mission ai'ies could at this moment b6 most usefully employed ; and earnest applications are daily being made to ine, from various villages and townshi})s, for resident Clergymen. My primary visitation through the Diocese occupied from the latter end of May to the middle of October of last year. In my progress, I was able to go to every parish at which a Clergyman resided, with the exception of one or two which it was impossible for me to reacli, on account of their peculiar situation and difhculty of access, without a greater sacrifice of time than [ could then spare. "In passing through the Diocese, I beheld the Clergy every where active and laborious, living in good feeling and har- mony among themselves and with their flocks ; seeking out our peoi>le in the wildemes.s, forming them into congregations and paiishes, and extending on every side the foundations of our beloved Zion. Is it not a blessing of inestimable value, that 187 already more than three hundred places of worship aro ojiened every week in Western Canada in which the Clergy discharge their high and holy functions, — in offering up prayers, reading tlie Scriptures, preaching the Gospel, administering the Sacra ments, and catechizing the children } Such ministrations are beyond all pi-ice." " During the last year the perplexing (juestion of the Clergy Reserves has been finally settled. Whether the best course was, or was not, taken in that settlement, it would be of little import- ance now to enquire. It was, l)eyond doubt, most desirable that an end should be put to the unhappy controversy which had arisen on the subject. Those who have desired to see the interests of the Church protect«!d and her efficiency increased, have at least the satisfaction of reflecting that, before the decision was come to, every consideration, which it was just and necessary to keep in view, was zealously and anxiously brought under the notice of Government and of I'arliametit, It only remains for us to urge, in a just and Christian spirit, whatever may seem best for turning to th«5 gi'eatost advantage, in support of what we believe to be the true religion, such pi'vileges and provisions as are still left." t After describing the peculiar position of the Ciiurcli of England at that time ; how she stood then, as in former times, the acknowledged Imlwark of the Protestant faith, against Papal despotism and superstition, and the safe- guard of Gospel truth and order against the heretical and disorganizing principles of many modsrn dissenters, he says with much warmth and elo<|uence, — " She seems like a city on a hill, conspicuous to the whole world, assailed by millions of enemies unable to prevail, exhibit- ing a s[»otless model of the primitive Church, and holding the faith which was once delivered to the saints. She will never grow old, but will stand alone in the world, — immutable amidst every vicissitude, immovable amidst every fluctuation, — one con- stant star in this universe of growth and decay, unfadmg and the same, — one august, incorruptible, and glorious verity, shining with celestial light oyer the ocean of uncert/ainty and change. 188 This model of the ])riinitive Church, so beautiful and porfect, rHnn(»t fail to suggewt that a d«'j>arture from AfK>8tolic Ufiages and ptiticiplfs in th(! prolific cautse of all the herc^ieH ainl diviHionx which deform and disgrace the Chri^jtian world. " It is n(!cesi;rtry, then, for all of ii.s to have our minds deeply and affectionately imbued with the distinctive prinei|)le8 of our Church, and to be armed with her creeds and articles, that we may be prepared against her foes, and through the channel of her beautiful ministrations, to bring home with effect the truths of the Gospel to the hearts of our people. Thus understood, and brought forward, the Church of Eugland will in time become the centre of uni^y of all that is good and wise, pure and holy, — the city of habitation, not only to those who make their cscai)e from tht! Roman Babylon, and the thousand sects who arc wandering in the wilderness, but to all the nations yet immersed in )*agan idolatry. " Your whole energies must be employed, so far as the influ- ^;iice of precept and examj»le can effect, to gather within the pale of the Church the population of your pcirish or district ; to make the sons and daughtei's of the Lord the sons and daughters of the Church, members and children of th'j sanxe religious family ; and ia cdvvy the living spirit of the Gospel into every cottage, hamlet, and town within your missionary bounds, that the whole I'ro- vince may be imbued with the spirit of C'hrist, Till this is in a great measure done, the people will, in a religious view, continue wretched and feeble ; for the laws are negative in their effectH, — it is religion alone that instils j)Ositive gfXid, and breaks the sceptre of seltishness. It is only the practical influence and ojHjratiou of faith and piety that can soften the heart, and intro- duce those sacred charities and protecting virtues which are ever blessing and ever blessed." His Lordshi}) proceeded to give some useful iristructiouM on preaching, and the duty especially of cultivating the talent of preaching extempore ; as occasions would arise in which the use of a wntten sermon would be impossible. He urged, too, a faithful attention to the rubrical direc- tions of the Church, particularly as regards Baptism and 189 the Chnrfhing of Womon. Ho pressed a careful regard to the instniction of the yoiiri;^', an<l the great vali'o of public catechizing, — strongly recommending also the xealous iiphfdding of Sunday Schools. And even thus early, there was a reference to the imj)ortance of Diocesan Synods ; hut a free acknowledgment that, as yet, liis infonnation nj)on the sul»j(?ct was not sufficient to enahlc him to suggest any plan for bringing them into practical oj)eration here. The fol)owin<c were the concludin;; words (»f this Ion;' and o o o able Charge : — "Now, my reverend l>rethreu, I trust t!iat you will Ix'iU- in mind tbe imjHjrtant matters which I have brought before you, and that they will be the frequent subjict of your meditjitions and prayers. If the holy A|X)stlcs, with all their gifts and ;,'race«, needed the prayeis of tlieir fellow ('hristiauH, how much more have we need to pray lor one another, that the word of God may have fr«vj course, and our ministry bo blcosed to his glory ! In this Diocese, contiiining nearly half a million of inhabitants, there are many denominations move or le>w active in their ooera- tioiis ; often opjx)sed to, and rarely moving in harmony witli the Church, or with one another. In dealing with them, we re(juire to be wise as serjicnts and hannless \s doves ; firmly, but without offence, maintaining our distinctive principh-s, and clothing oui- selves with all those Christiati graces which belong to faith, piety, order, and jxjace. Ho prepared for doin^ the work of Evangelists, we may, with holy boldness, look forward to the time when the whole Province will become the garden of the T»rd." 190 CHAPTER XXI. Establijihment of the Diocesan Theological College at Cobourg. — Laying tho Corner-stone of King's College at Toronto. — Formation of the Church Society. — Confnm.ition in 1812. CHE opposition to thu C'hartei- of King's (College Uni- vorsity wa.s faint, tliou/^'h persovering, since tho ])eriod we last noticed the agitation regarding it. [n 1832 it was proposed by Lord (Joderich, as the best -^ means of quieting the jmblie discontent, that the (Jori)ora- -f > tion should surrender their lloyal (Charter, together with V -^ the endowment ; on the assurance from the Imperial (?overnment that, in the re-construction of the University, no part of that endowment should ever be diverted from the education of youth. This was met by a decided refusal ; and, in the reply of the Council to the Sec 'tary of State for the Colonics, it is easy to trace the nervous style of the subject of this Memoir : — " If tho objections entertained by the Council against the surrender of the Charter wer«; not insurmountable, no stronger inducement could be offered thati the reqtiest which his Lord8hi[)'H desjjatch conveys. For the Council cannot fail to be sensible that such a request can have been dictated only by a suj)|)Osed necessity for departing from established principles, in order to prouKjte th<! |>eace and content of the Colony. With the opinions, however, which the Council entertain, and with the opiK)rtunity of forming -r those opinions which their residence in the Colony atibrds them, /A they could never stand excused to themselves or otheis if they should surrender the Charter, 8up|x>sing it to bo within their })Ower, so long as there is an utter uncertainty as to the measures that would follow. The moral and rehgious state of more than . 191 200,000 BritiHh subjectn in at present involved in tlie pro|)er (lispOHal of tliose qucHtionH ; and before many years will have ela[)sed, nunc than a million will he affected by them. The ConnciJ, then'fore, what<,'ver resnlts may be obtained l»y other means, eoiild not jiiHtify to thenjs(;lves the assuming the responsibility of erKJanj^ering the very existence of the Institution, They feel bound to look b(;yond the movements and discussions of the j»aMsing moment ; and could not, even if they concurred in tin- view of the pn-sent ex[KHl?ency, consent to pull down the only * foMndjition winch at jn*esenl exists in Upper Cana<la for the advancement of youth in niligiou and learning, upon a system whieh has not yet been repudiated in any part of His Majesty'i* ilommions." Iftho destruction </f the University was not, Hooner ov later, inevitable, it was certain that the rel'KjlonH l»a«iK upon wliidi it was meant to be framed, could not long be maintained. The distrust thus awakened, and the appre- liefision that it could never possess tlie full confidence of the Church, as a place of preparation for the Ministry, h-d to the foundation of the Diocesan Theological College at 4 i>)bonrg, which was started under thf; following circum- stances. In the month of October, 1841, the following Clergymen, ( 'haplains of the Lord Bishop, — viz.. Rev. A, N. Bethunc, Rf'V. H. J, Cirasett, and the Rev, H, Scaddinff, — were rerpiested to draw up, and n^port to his Lordship, some plan by which the Students of Divinity in this Diocese might be brought under a systematic course of iriiitruction in Theology, preparatory to their being admitted to Floly (jrders, and pending the establishment of a regular Col- legiate Institution. Tlie report having been submitte*!, the following announcement was made by the authority of the Lord Bishof), in the " Church " newspaper of Nov, 27th 1841 :~~ " The Lord Bishop of Toronto has been pleased to apj^oint the Rev. A. N. Bethune, Rector of Cobourg, and one of his 192 Chaplains, to bo Professor of Theology in this Diocese. ( 'arididates for Holy orders will in future be expected to ])laco theniselves under the instructions of the Professor, for the purpose of jmssing through a prescribed course of Theological study; l)Ut they nuist ])reviously j)ass an exjimination before one of the Bishop's Chaj)lains, to ascer- tain their con»j)etency to enter with advantage on the api)ointed line o^ reading. At the end of the course, such .students as are api)roved by the Professor, and can pioduee the necessary testimonials, will be permitted to jjreseiit themselves as candidates for Ordination." It was accordingly announced that this school for Theo- logical instruction would be oj)ened at Cobourg on the 10th January following. During the first term of the Institu- tion, ending at Easter, seven students were in attendance ; and almost immediiitelv after, four more were added. After the long vacation, there was a further increa.se, and the number in October following stood at seventeen. During the whole period of the continuance of the Institutifui, the average attendance of pupils was fifteen. At the commencement. Lectures were given only three times a week ; but subsequently, they were delivered daily, Mondays only excepted. These embr.aced the Greek Tes- tament, both Gospels and Epistles ; the Thirty-nine Articles ; the Evidences of Divine Revelation and of Chris- tianity in particular, com))rehending such as arise from undesigned coincidences; the Old Testament History, critically reviewed ; the Liturgy, including dissertations on Fonns of Prayer, and on the ancient Liturgies ; Church Government, comprehending the Scriptural, as ^ye\\ as pati istic testimonies ; Ecclesiastical History, and select portions of several of the Greek and Latin Fathers. Besides these, sermons were recjuired to be written by each student at stated periods ; which were read by the Students them- selves, and commented upon by the Professor, before the whole body. 193 The subjects thus marked out would require, it was estimated, the attendance of Theological Students for full three years ; which was the period of residence, with few exceptions, exacted from all who entered. The Students were required to attend daily Morning Prayer at the place of Lecture, — Sundays being excepted, when they attended the parish Church. A distinctive dress, of cap and gown, was worn by the Students, under the same regulations as at other Collegiate Institutions, Classes in the Sunday Schools were uniformly allotted to the Students, as a becoming and useful exercise prepa- ratory to the ministry ; and to several, — making the selection according to age and more particular qualification for the duty, — the performance of Divine Service was assigned in various places which could not be regularly included in the ministrations of the officiating Clergyman, The Students were permitted to live in lodgings approved of by the Professor; and in some few instances, they pro- vided apartments, and the expense of maintenance for tiiemselves. The whole number of members of this Insti- tution admitted to Holy Orders from its opening in 1842 to its close in 1851, was forty-five ; and, with few exceptions, they have proved themselves amongst the most hard- working and most successful of our Clergy, The .administration of the Government of Canada by Lord Sydenham, was brought to a melancholy close by the sudden death of his Lordship on the 19th September, 1841. He was succeeded by Sir Charles Bagot ; who, being a University man and of highly cultivated literary taste, took a warm interest in the fortunes of King's College, and determined upon iis being brought into practical operation at as early a period as possible. On the 2nd April, 1842, he paid his first visit to Toronto, the seat of Government being then at Kingston ; on the following day, he held a levee at Government House, which was very numer- ously attended ; and on Saturday, the 23rd, St. George's 25 194 Lay, the corner-stone of King's College was laid by Hiy Excellency in person. The ceremony was thus beautifully described in the "Church" newspaper of the following week, at that time edited by Mr. John Kent : — '* 1'he vast procession, with His Excellency, the Chancellor, — tlic Lord Bishop of Toronto, the President, on his right, and the Chief Justice, the senior Visitor, on his left, — proceeded on foot tlirough the College Avenue uj) to the University Crouruln. Tin; countless array moved forward, to the sound of militaiy music, in the most jierfect order, and in strict accordance with the i)r('!- concerted arrangements. The sun shone out with cloudless meridian splendour upon perhaps the fairest scene that Canada has ever beheld ; one blaze of banners flashed upon the admiring eye. The Governor's rich Lord Lieutenant's dress, the Bishop's seemly vestments, the judicial ermine of the Chief Justice, the splendid convocation robes of Dr. McCaul, the gorgeous uniforms of the suite, the neat accoutrements of the very numerous fire- men, the national badges worn by the office-bearers of the different Societies, and what, on such a day, must not be omitted, the red cross on the breast of England's congregated sons, the grave habiliments of the clergy and the lawyers, an<l the glancing lances and waving plumes of the 1st Incorporated Dragoons, — all formed one moving picture of well-ordered civic ])om[) ; one glorious spectacle, which can never be remembered btit with satisfaction by those who had the good fortune to witness it. On marched the long and glittering line through the ^fine budding plantations of the Avenue, innumerable groups studding the side- walks, but not marring the outline of the procession. As it drew nearer to the site, where the stone was to be laid, the 43rd Regiment lined the way, with soldiers bearing arms, and placed (m either side, at equal intervals. When the site was reached, a new feature was added to the interest of the ceremony. Close to the spot, — the north-east corner, — where the foundation-stone wjis to be deposited, a temporary building had been erected for the Chancellor, and there,* accompanied by the officera of the Univei'sity and his suite, he took his stand. Fronting this wa.s a kind of amphitheatre of seats, constructed for the occasion, tier 195 rising above tier, densely filled with ladies, who thus commanded H view of the whole ceremony, lietwren this amphitheatre and the ])lace where the Ohancell()r stood, the procession ranged itself." An Address to his P^xcelloncy the Chancellor was then read l)y the Bishop of T<^ronto. Appropriat<; prayers followed, from the Rev. Dr. McCaul and the Rev. H. »T. (jrrasett. The Hon. L. P. Sherwood then presented to the Chancellor the gold and silver coins, and the bottle in which they were to be placed; and the Hon. W, Allan, tlie Cliarter and papers. The Hon. W, H, Draper, the Attor- ney General, read the Latin inscription upon the plate; followed by the Hon. R. 8. Jameson, Vice Chancellor, who read an English translation of it. The beautiful silver trowel was handed to his Excel- lency by the Hon. Capt. J. S. Macaulay ; and, the fourula- tion-stone, weighing nearly two ton.s, having been let down into its place, his Excellency comjdeted the usual ceremony. The Artillery fire<l a salute of nineteen guns, and Noil riohin Domlne was then finely executed by the Band of the 93rd. The Bishop dismissed the assembly with an appropriate prayer, and the usual blessing; arid "God Save the Queen" closed the ceremony, — the immense multitude testifying their joy at the consummation of this great event by giving three cheers for Her Majesty, three for Sir Cliarles Bagot, three for the Lord Bishop, and three for the Chief Justice. To none was this a more joyous day than to the Bishop of Toronto. He felt as if that which was his day- dream when, a mere youth, he loft his native land, and which, after setting foot upon the country of his a<Joption^ had been an absorbing thought, an undimmed hope, — was now accomplished. The University, for which he ha/1 toiled so long and endured so much, was in fact com- menced; and he was to see now the culmination of his grand plans for the thorough education, — intellectual, moral, 196 and religious, — of the youth of this rapidly growing Pro- vince, But there was other work before him, more strictly in connexion with liis Episcopal duties. On the 28th April, 1842, in less than a week after the imjHising ceremony Just described, the foundation-stcjne, as it may be termed, of another institution was laid,— '""he Church Society of THE Diocese. For many years we had in operation within the Diocese, J)istrict Branches of the Society for Promoting Christi.an Knowledge; established for the purpose of distributing the Holy Scriptures, Prayer Books, and other religious publications, at a cheap rate. And as far back as 1829, A we had a Society established at Toronto, for the civiliza- j tion an<l conversion of tlie Indians, and for extending the ministrations of the Church to destitute settlers in the Province through the means of Travelling Missionaries A good work was being accomplished through both these Agencies ; but it was thought best to give concentration to the efforts thus employed, and to emljody all our Church work of that character in one organization. This, too, would mlmit of the introduction of other plans of b<!nevo- lence, which ought not any longer to be delayed ; such as aid to su])erannuated Missionaries, ]>rovision for the widows and orphans of deceased Clergymen, and some pecuniary encouragement to Students in Divinity. The meeting for the purpose of fonning " The Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto," was held in the City Hall on the day above named. Thirty-five Clergymen, exclusive of the Bishop, were present, — many of them having come fi'om a considerable distance. The attend- ance of lay members of the Church was also very large ; comprising the leading gentlemen of the City and neigh- bourhood, and several influential gentlemen from different parts of the Province. The chair was occupied by the Lord Bishop, and the fir/3t resolution moved by Chief 197 Justice Robinson. He was followed by Mr. Justice Hagerman, the Rev. R. D. Cartwriglit, the Rev. A. F. Atkinson, the Rev. Dr. McCaul, the Rev. R. S. C. Taylor, Mr. Alderman Dixon, the Rev. A. N. Bethunc, the Rev. B. Oonyn, the Rev. C. Matthews, John Kent, Es(]., the Rev. J. Short, G. P. Ridout, Esq., Capt. J. S. Macaulay, and the Rev. S. Givins. The meeting commenced at 3 o'clock, and did not terminate until nearly 8; but, in the language of the " Church " newspaper : — •' Long as it was, it was marked throughout by an interest of the most solemn and gratifying nature. Several of the speakeis were exceedingly happy and powerful in their appeals. The Chii'f Justice who proposed two Resolutions, was lucid and argumen- tative, and unfolded the details of the plan with his accustomed j)ei-Hpicuity and ease. His sentiments were warmly coloured with hope and he avowed his detern)i nation to devote him.self with uu earnest zeal to the furtherance of the important object, of whicli his own provident and comprehensive mind had already seen the necessity, and for carrying out which he had himself ]m)posed a scheme of tlie most permanent and expansive character. Various other gentlemen, clerical and lay, expressed them ^-es in succession with the best effect. It was delightful, indeed, to behold the spiiit of unanimity which rested upon the proceedings of the day; to trace the same mind, in essentials, running through all ; to mark that, while the Bible was prominently and distinctly put forth as 'containing all things nece.ssary to salvation,' — 'the ]>rinciple of Divine right,' to use Dr. McCaul's emphatic phrase, 'transmitted by ajjostolical succession,' wa« recognized as neceasaty to the perfect constitution of a Christian Church. No one cotdd fail to perceive, from the tone of the whole meeting, that a firm attachment to the principles of the Reformation was a character- istic of the Canadian Church ; and that amid.st the conflicting errors of the day, there was a solemn determination in the Clergy and Laity to adhere to the Evangelical truth and Apostolic order, and to continue steadfast in the ' old paths.' "The 28th April, 1842, is, indeed a day to be remembered by every Churchman as a signal epoch in the annals of the Church. 198 Henceforward he may look for a gr»»^ier unity of action, — a greater development and concentration of rcHources, — and a liajipy co-operation between tlic Clergy and tlie Laity. Here i.s a field now oi)cned for all the best and holiest energien of every Churclnnai.' Here he can devote himself to the xniited objects of religion ; or can single out some particular channel into which he may wish all his time and talents should flow. Here will be the Churchman's BlhJe Society ; here will be his Truct Society ; here he will find the wants of his communion exhibited in every form ; and his only difficulty will be not to discover, but to select out of many pressing cases, one peculiarly calling for his aid. "It was with great rejoicing that we witnessed the laying of the foundation-stone of King's College ; but our gratification was much more vivid and homefolt, when we viewed the Bishop of the Diocese, surrounded by his faithful Clergy, and many of the most eminent and virtuous of the Laity, giving shai)e and organi- zation to a Society, which embraces the spiritual welfare of the niost numerous religious denomination in the Province. On the first occasion, we felt as members of the State ; on the latter, our warmest rmotions as Churchmen were enkindled, and visions con- nected with a future and eternal state thronged thick upon the mind. "]t is devoutedly to be hoped that the pious excitement of Thursday last, may not be suffered to grow cold and decline ; but that a work commenced under such happy auspices, may be systematically, resolutely, and successfully peraevered in ; that it may be aided by the unremitted personal exertions, the' large offerings, the prayers and the exemplary lives of the Laity ; that it may be enforced and carried forward by the Clergy wherevfti a single congregation is formed ; that it may prove to them a valu- able auxiliary in spiritual matters, a strong support under every discouragement, and a relief of those temporal wants which press so heavily upon their unrepiuing heads ; and that thus sustained by the united efforts of the Clergy and Laity, and watered by the dews of God's blessing, it may continue a source of immortal consolations to this and innumerable generations ; an offshoot not unworthy of its gloi-ious parent stems, the venerable Societies 199 for Promoti. ■ Ob'nstian Knowledge and for Prcj)agatiug the Gospel in Foreign Parts." The good work, so auspiciously undertaken, was not permitted to stand still. Large and influential Committees were immediately appointed to canvass the different wards of the City for subscriptions ; and a general meeting of the supporters of the Society wjis held in Toronto on the 1st June following to make the necessary arrangements for completing its organization throughout all the Parishes of the Diocese. Without loss of time, the Bishop himself appointed, and presided at, meetings in several of the principal Towns of the Province, and was very successful at Cobourg, Kingston, Brockville, and afterwards at Lon- don, in establishing District Branches of the Society, and otherwise giving vigour to its operations. A Depository was soon after opened in a commodious house on King Street, under the charge of the late Mr. Thomas Champion ; and throughout the country at large, a most liberal and cheerful support was given to the Society. Scarcely was this important work fairly set on foot, when the Bishop started upon another Confirmation tour, lie left Toronto for this purpose on 19th July, 1842 ; and after consecrating the church at Penetanguishine, he pro- ceeded with his party in canoes to Manitoulin Island. There were various interesting adventures in the course of this journey, as described in the Bishop's journal : — " On Friday, 29tli July, our party lauded upon one of a group of Islands called Foxes' Islands, the rain pouring down in tor- rents. It was found not a little difficult to select places for pitching the tents, the rock being so very high and uneven, and no soil into which pegs could be driven. In this emergency, the tents were held down by large stones placed upon the ropes, in lieu of pegs driven into the ground; but with this arrangement there was not a little danger, should the wind increase, of both tents and inmates being blown into the lake. The party dined in one of the tents ; and notwithstanding the furiousness of the 200 8torni and the smallness of the accoramoJalion, they were very comfortable and clieerful. The raiii continued with increased vehemence during the night, and found its way into tlie Bi.shojt's tent, but a hollow place in its centre fortunately served for n reservoir, and many ])ail.s of water were emptied from it on tlu? following morning. Nevertheless, the violence of the wind caused it to beat through the canvass ; and his Lordship, even under this shelter, was obliged to resort to the {irotection of an umbrella, to i)revent his being thoroughly wet. Several casual- ties happened during the night ; three of the tents were blown down, and the inmates had to make the best of their way, in their night clothes, through the dai-kness, exposed to the wind and rain, to some of the other tents which withstood the tempest. Early in the mornnig, the whole party assembled round a lai-ge tire to dry themselves, and amused themselves in recounting the adventures of the night. Tlie encampment the following evening was not a little picturesque : nine tents were pitched, and as many Brea lighted up ; the canoes were all drawn ashore, and commonly turned over with their bottoms upward. Groups were seen round each fire, and, as the darkness increased, shadows were flitting from place to place, while some of the men were seen rolled up in their blankets and sleej)ing on the bare rock. The party never dined until they stopped foi* the night, — some- times as late as nine o'clock. The table cloth was spread ou tlie smoothest i)art of the rock, and the guests squatted round in eastern fa.shion, with candles or lanterns, according to the amount of wind, to illuminate the feast ! On the first night of encamp- ment, it was discovered that one of the canoes was manned by converted Indians. Before going to rest, they assembled to- gether, and sung a hymn in their own language, and read some prayers which had been translated for their use. There was something indescribably touching in this service of praise to God upon these inhospitable rocks : the stillness, wildness, and dark- ness, combined with the sweet and plaintive voices, all contri- buted to add to the solemnity and beauty of the scene." After confirming at the Manitouawning, the Bishop and his party left for Sault Ste. Marie. On the 14th August, the day before their arrival there, 201 '• Service was lu^Ul on a very beautiful inlarid, covcrt'd with tree» and shrubs, juniper and rose bushes, and many wild flowers. A clenn smooth lock, overhanging the lake, was chosen for the place of worship, which possessed, besides, the advantage of a freer air, — the day being hot, — and of lieing distant from a Hre, which was rapidly spreading, by means of the dry Uioss. over the island. The audience manifested the greatest attention, and all apjx^anul tt) be struck with a deep feeling of the solemnity of the scen<s and of the wiseness of the provision which called upon them, in this wild and romantic corner of the earth, to pause upon their journey, and to worshi]) their heavenly Father through his son Jesus Christ.'* From the Saiilt Ste. Marie, where his Lordsliip confirmed fifty })ersons on the 21st August, he proceeded to Michilli- mjickinac. There he took the steamer for the village of Sutherland on the beautiful river St. (Jlair : Sandwich, Amhertsburgh, and Colchester, were subsequently visited ; then Chatham, and the Indian mission at Mnncey Town, under charge of the late Rev. J. Flood. '* On the 7th September, the Indians assembled in great num- bei-s. It was to be a great day, as the great Chippewa chief Cunatuuy, was to be bnptixed and confirmed. In the two villages, (of Munceytown and (Chippawy) there are still several pagan Indians ; and yet, strange to say, they all attend the service of the Church. While they continue pagans, they paint their faceS, and refuse to kneel. The conversion, however, of the great chief is expected to operate favourably ; and from their provei'bial love of truth, — stronger, it is said, among the Indians than amongst the Persians of old, — it is anticipated that they will be readily impressed and i)ermaDently retained. When some doubts were expressed as to the coming of the Bishop, the Indians exclaimed, * What, is he not Chief of the Church 1 he can never have two words ; he is sure to come ! ' Ths school-house, though large, could scarcely contain half the number of jiersons assembled, and they stood in groups about the dooi-s and windows. The chief was baptized^ and appeared tp be well acquainted with the 26 202 nature and importance of thi.-t Holy Saciaraent ; it had, indeed, been for years a matter with him of deep consideration. H« was, after his baptism, confirmed with four others," The Bishop prrx^eedt^r! from iH-nee to Goderich, a little town beantifiilly Hitiiatod on the banks of La kn Huron, and ronimandinff a most extensive view of that noble inland sea. Confirmations were litdd here, and subsecpiently in Adelaide, the township an<l town of London, and the village of St. Thomas, at that time under the [jastoral charcre of the Rev. Mark liurnliam. In reference to this parish and the labours of its Minister, the following admi- rable remarks oecnr in the JJishoj/s journal : — " The Huccess attendant upon Mr. llurnham's lubours, — latterly so very marked and striking, — he ascribes under the Divine blessing, to a more clear and earnest develo[j.uent on liis part of the distinctive principles of the Church ; the bringing her claims more plainly and decidedly before his people, as the d(;j)ository of divine truth and tlio channel of heavenly grace. While he jwr formed his duty conscientiously, with all calmness and wal, Jis a minister of Christ, but without bringing forward prominently the government, order, and peculiar excellencies of the Church, — the nece-ssity of communion with lier by those who expect the i)rivi- leges and ble.ssings of the Redeemer's sacrifice, — matters, lie said, went on with regularity and smoothness ; his people were discreet and decent in their Christian walk ; but they seemed scarcely conscious of any difference between themselves and the sectaries around them. It was not until I 9 jwinted out distinctly and em})hatically the nature and privileges of the Church, — Ikt c1os«; resemblance to the Apostolic pattern, — the many important and decided differences between her and other ' Protestant denomina- tions,' — that his congregation began to feel they were a distinct and privileged people ; that the jKjints in which they diflered from others, were not of small, but of essential moment ; and that they manifested themselves no longer lukewarm in her service, but ready to contribute with their substance, as well as by their example, to the advancement of her holy cause. 2()n " It HccinH, indi'ctl, (Iii'm Lordnliip further oW-rvpM,) a iimtt*'r <»f jKwitivc lujfairiK'HH uiul (lixlioncHty to withhold from th»! jiooplc irwtniotion u|K)n all that concern.s their npiritual weal. They have a right to he informed not only of what constitutes the Hoinidnexf* of faith, but of whatMoever alrto may Horve t^> promote unity of belief and unifonnity of practice, — whatnoever may helj) to keep them a united body, and cause them to whun those divisions, ui>on which every A[)Ostle, and Apostolii. -""U, jironounced so severe a eond«'rn nation. That Christian steward can scarcely be said to give every man his |K)rtion, — to bring out of his treasures things new and old for the edification and welfare of Christ's heritage, if, while he is faithful in preaching a Crucified Redeemer, he omits all explanation of the foundation, order, government, and discipline of that Church wliich bears so near a connexion wit!? the Saviour as to be called his spouse, and in relation to which it 18 said, that they who are grafted into the Church are grafted into Him." From St. Thomas, the Bishop proceeded to Duiiwich, — visiting liis ohl frierul, Col, Talbot, on the way ; and con- firming there, had a long drive r)f twenty-six miles to Richmond, in the townshij) of Bayham. After this, he confirmed at Woodhonse and Brantford ; and from thence paid liis second visit to the Indian missions at Mohawk and Tuscarora. There fo]lowe<l, in course, Confirmations at Paris, Gait, Guelph, Bundas, Ancaster, Binbrook, and Hamilton ; and this last accomplished, he arrived in Toronto on the 3rd October, He had scarcely been at home since the 13th June ; and during the whole course of these arduous journeys and laborious services, had never expe- rienced a day of sickness, or been prevented by any accident from discharging his duties or keeping his various appoint- ments. During the .summer lie con.secrated two Churches and one burial ground; confirmed 756 persons; and travelled upwards of 2500 miles. 204 CHAPTER XXIT. Opening of King's College, Toronto. — Second Triennial ViHita- tion of the Clergy. — Special Meeting of the Church Society in reference to Sales of Clergy KeserveH. — Legislative action thereupon. FTER the laying of tho foundation stone of the TTnivcrsity of King'n College, no time was lost in making i)re|mration for its actual work. Pending the completion of the building of whicrh a connnencernent, as we have seen, had been made, it was dctermiru'd, if possible, to j>ro(rure some temporary place in which the business <»f tin; University could be carried on ; and, hai)pily, the Parliament buildings in Toronto, which wei*e now unoccupied, were allowed to be used for that purpose. Three Professors, — the Rev. Dr. Beaven, Mr. Pottei*, and Mr. Croft, — were obtained from England, in order to complete the staff immediately requisite ; and on the 8th of June, 1843, tho University was jmblicily opened. "The solemnities of the day (we quote from the 'Church" newspaper,) commencred with the performance of Divine Service in the College Cliapel ; which, with its veiy appro- priate black walnut fittings, and sober decorations, pre- sented a most seemly appearance. Addresnes were deliv- ered in the Hall by the President, the Lord Bishop of Toronto, — the Vice-President, the Rev. Dr. McCaul, — and the Hon. Chief Justice Robinson, and the Hon. Justice Hagennan, two of the official Visitors of the University. On the following day, inaugural Lectures were read by four Professors, viz.; th'i Rev. Dr. McCaul, the Rev, Dr. 205 Beaven, Profe-ssor Potter, and Professor Croft. The ability displayed ))y the speakers and lecturers on both days, is said, by those who were present, to have been of a very hi^h order in every respect, and to have added fresh lustro to the theological, literary, and scientific character of that host instructor of Britons, — the Church of the "Empire," Twenty-seven students matriculated on the occasion, and the business of the University commenced in good earnest. All s(M!m(!d bright on its horizon ; but the past mutterings of discontent were remembered, and the hopes of its future were not without anxiety and apprehension. There was an undisguised jealousy of its connection with the Church, in the religious instruction interfused with its ordinary work ; and the fear was outspoken at the time, that this might too soon revolutionize the whole Institu- tion. "A fear of some such misfortune," said the Chief Justice, in his admiraVde address, "is my only fear; but 1 ><' ti'ust that the wisdom of the Govermeni and the Legis- J. lature may guard agninst the dangc^r. It becomes us at least to entertain the hope ; and may God in his goodness avert this and all other evils from the University of King's College." The annual meeting of the Church Society, — the first after its formation, — was held during the same week at Toronto. 1'he Bisho[) presided, and a large number of the Clergy an<l of the influential Laity of the Diocese were in attendance!, 'j'he report of the year's tnansactions was veiy encouraging; for although no Missionary work, under the auspices of the Society, had yet been instituti'd, the establishment of the Depository with a good su[>])ly of books was an important achievement. There had been sold during the past year 17,233 Books and Tracts ; and the collections an<l sales during that period amounted to £183G. On Thursday, Cth June, 1844, the Bishop of Toronto held his Second Triennial Visitation of the Clergy of the 200 Diocese in the Cathedral Church of this city. Seventy- four Clergymen were present. Tlie Visitation Sermon, which was a very eloquent one, was preached by the Rev, William Macaula}^ Rector of Picton ; and aftci* a recess of half an hour, following the administration of the Holy Comnninion, his Lordship, delivered his Charge. From this able address, occupying two liours .and a half in the delivery, we shall make such extracts as more particularly hear upon the work and life of its author. We have already given some account of his Confirmation journeys, and their results, in 1842 ; of what he effected in the following year, he says : — " My journey in gi* during the litst summer commenced ou tlie 10th Juno, and ended on the 2l8t October. I visited i\ut Niagara and Home Districts, and those of Simcoe, Colborne, New- castle, Victoria, Prince Edward, Midland, Eastern, Bathurst, and Dalhonsie, My travels were not quite so extensive as those of the j)revious year, but there was much more actual duty to be per- formed. The Confirmations at seventy-eight stations were 2923 ; Churches consecrated, five, and burial grounds, two ; sermons and addresses delivered, liJS ; miles travelled, 2277." His Lordship, since his consecration, had held regulaily two Ordinations every year at Toronto. The results of these are thus shewn : — •'In October, 1839, when I returned from England to take charge of this Diocese, the number of the Clergy was 71 ; they have since increased to 103. Many changes and casualties have, in the meantime, taken ])lace. Some have removed, to employ themselves in other portions of the Lord's vineyard ; and a few have been called to give an account of their stewardship, and, it is hoped, to receive a blessed reward. <'*♦**•* " While I saw much to call forth our thanksgivings to Almighty God, in passing through the Province, from beholding the vigorous progress of the Church wherever she found an open- ing, — th« Congregations that were forming in all directions, — and 207 Chufches, of a simple and cheap structure, that were rising in every District, — there is auotlicr aspect which the Diocese presents of a far ditferent character, and in whicli it exhibits, I inuHt in sorrow confess, a melancholy picture. ** In this view, the map of the Diocese of Toronto, notwith- standing what has been done, presents an appalling degree of spiritual destitution. To the District of Ottawa, comprising nine townships, or more than a thousand s(]uare miles, I have not yet been able to send a single resident Clergyman. In the Wellington and Victoria Districts, each containing twelve townships, — in all, nearly three thousand square miles, — we have only two Clergy- men. In other directions large [Kn'tions of the country remain entirely without Gospel privileges, and have never seen the face of a single Clergyman. Some again are visited occa.sionally by a travelling Missionary, or the nearest resident Clergyman ; but such visits are, from necessity, rare and at long intervals. Nothing liyj)p(Mis for months, nay, for years, in many of our townships, to renn'nd the inhabitants of the existence of the Church of God." He expi'CH.sed himself in gi-atoful terms of the iininifi- eencc on our behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in sustaining even at this moment half of our Missionaries, He also thankfully acknowledged the bounty of the New England Society in supporting two Missionaries amongst the Indians, and in defraying the expense of a large and promising School of Industry for Indian boys and girls at the Mohawk Mission luiar Brantford. And lie dwelt with great energy and hoi)efulness upon the Missionary Society just instituted amongst ourselves, and which i)romised in a large degree to supplement what it was not in the power of benevolent associations in the Mother Country to supply. Valuable remarks followed upon the organization of tlie Church, the beauty of its Liturgy and the spiritual value of its Sacra- ments ; and he dwelt largely and forcibly upon the practi- cal duties of the Ministers of that Church. The following are always pertinent, and always instructive : — 4 208 " Be not regardless of your dress and apjwaranco in Church, and especially with respect to your clerical habiliments. I need scarcely add, that I greatly disaj)provc of your [jerforfning Divine Service, or celebrating any of the offices of the Church, without the surjjlice. When you are decently robed, renien)ber that the eyes of the congi'egation are upon you, and therefore it becomes you to take heed that you appear neither affected nor indifferent,. The worship of God should be conducted soberly, gravely, and affectionately ; in a manner suitable to those whoj)ray, and to th»' majesty of Him who is addressed in prayer. Many of your ]>eopl(j will form their estimate of the services, as well as of your sense of their value, by your manner and deportment. Your carriage and behaviour should, therefore, in every respect be such as becomes, a man who is about to perform an imjK)rtant and a sacred duty. " Eead with distinctness and solemnity ; and have respect, as far as you are able, to the character of the several parts of the service, and suit the tone of your voice to the matter, whether prayer or exhortation, narrative, or authoritative declarations of Scripture, * =f; ■;> * * '* Some Clergymen, perhajis tniwittingly to themselves, dwell almost entirely upon the doctrines, to the comparative exclusion of jtractice. Yet faith and practice are never separated in the Scriptures ; which teach us that faith works by love, and to love God is to kee[> hus commandments. Now, we should so preach the doctrines as to make them bear u|)on practice ; and the practice as intimately connected with, and flowing from, the doctrines. The Gos^jcI constitutes one whole, and is not to be divided into separate and ind(!pendent ])arts ; and therefore it concerns us frequently to ask, whether we are declaring to our people the whole counsel of God, — neither adding to, nor dimin- ishing therefrom. To dwell almost entirely, in our jrteaching, upon the doctrines, and sparingly m the duties of morality, ought to be scrupulously avoided. Frequent and earnest appeals to the practical precepts of the Gospel must be made ; minute descrip- tions of temper brought home ; and special expositions of the personal and social duties urged at one time by the most endearing, and at another time by the most alarming motives. * * * 209 ** The preacher shoukl n(»t too unreservedly represent the com- ruon affairs of life as liostile to our true interests, and declaim, without the requisite qualificfttions, against the world and the things of the world as among the greatest hindrances and deadliest enemies to our sfnritual progresH. There is a m'-nne, undoubtedly in which the world may be so considered, and in this sense it is largely einjdoyed in (Scripture ; but there is another sense in which it is used by the Apostle, when he speaks of those who use this world as not abusing it. The word v)orld has, therefore, in Bcripture two significations, which should be carefully distin- guished. In the one, it is put for the wicked, who relish merely worldly things, and pi'.i-sue only worldly objects ; and in the other, it signifies our field of duty, our place of probation, where, in humble imitation of our blessed Master, we must fulfil the work which has been given us to do, * * '* * # *' It is not left for us to decide whether visiting our people be a duty ; for we are bound by (»ur ordination vows to use both jirivate and public monitions and exhortations as well to the rich as to all within our cure, as need shall iequire, or occasion shall be given. Such privatt; visitation of our memlKjrs should be conducted with great discretion, and due respect to the modest privacy of domestic life. Our object being t<> do good to the souls and bodies of men, win^ should be taken not to turn our visits into frivolous convei-sations, nor into public Church-like assemblies ; for this would prevent the salutaty effects we have in view. Public worship is better conducted in the Church than in a [»rivate house, where we seek to win friendly confidence and affection, and to meet face to face as a man talking to his friend. We desire to int<;r€st the kindly feelings of the family at their own fire-side, " In this way, the Clergyman gains by degrees the hearts of his people ; and when, by his p(!rsonal attention!* and frankness of conversation, he has acquired their good-will and confidence, he will be able, gently and almost imperceptibly, to instil good thoughts and principles into their minds, ****** '• I am aware that such a laborious task as this, consideririg the great extent of your charges, is very difiictdt, and in moat of your missions can only be imperfectly accomplished. That 27 210 diffictiltiu8 will intervene, — that your \min will not at all times be well taken, and be sometimes offensively repelled, I am well aware ; but believe me, this will seldom hapjien, and when it does, you must not desjKind. Disinterested kindness almost invariably begets kindness ; and it is our duty to be instant in season, and out of season, and to go from house to house, and to take an interest in the affairs, teni|)oral and spiritual, of our |)eople, if we are anxious to win them to Christ. It is not easy to set any limit to the influence for good which you may acquire in your general missions from such jirivate visiting, added to the regular ministrations of the Church.' Our readers will recollect that a Hettleinerit of the Clergy K(!serve8 qucHtioii was effected by the Imperial Government in the Hummer of 1 840 ; and that, ]>y this arrangement, the proceeds of one-half of the lands then unsold wore to be divided between tlie Churches of England and Scotland, in the pro[)ortion of two-thirds to the former and one-third to the latter. The property thus allotted was to be sold under the direction of the local Government, and the interest only of the amount realized paid over to those Churches. — It was discovered that these lands were being sold, in many cases, at prices much below their value, and that, in various instances, salens were unnecessarily forced ; whereas, by a reasonable delay, good j»rices could be obtained. Moreover, the charges for management were excessive ; so that, from these two causes, an immense sacrifice of the pro- ])erty of the Church was inevitable. The Bishop of Toronto, therefore, felt it his duty to summon a special meeting of the Church Society, in order that measures might be adopted for arresting this extravagant waste, and of obtain- ■^ ing from Government the power of selling and managing > these lands ourselves. This meeting was held at Toronto, on the 2l8t Se])teni- ber, 1843, and was attended by a large number of influen- tial gentlemen in town, and by representatives from various District and Parochial Associations throughout the Diocese. ^ 211 A number of Resolutions were passed, accompanied by excellent speeches. In the course of his address, the Chief Justice dilated upon the ruinous waste caused by the system adopted for the disposal of these lands, " It appears," he said, " that the receipts on account of s^!es up to the close of the year 1840, amounted to £186,574 ; the expenses .attendant upon the collection of which were £19,857, or nearly a ninth of the whole. In the year 1841, the amount collected for Clergy Reserves was £14,504, and the expenses of collection £2,679, or about a sixth of the whole. In the year 1842, the sum collected on this account was £18,028> and the expenses £5344, or nearly a third of the whole 1" A petition to the Queen was adopted at this meeting, praying that an Act might be passed providing for the assignment to the Church of England of her share of the Reserved lands, and authorizing the Church Society of the Diocese to propose a system, subject to the approval of Her Majesty's Government, for the disposal and management of these lands. Subsequently, petitions on the same subject to the Canadian Legislature were adopted ; extensively circulated ; and signed by about 8000 persons. In the Legislative Council, these petitions were referred to a Select Committee ; which, on the 8th May, 1846, reported in favour of the prayer of the Petitioners. They declared it to be their opinion that this prayer is " reasonable and just, and that the injury which they wish to avoid is one which all who feel a sincere concern for the religious instiiiction and character of the people, should be equally aiixicus to i)revent. It would (they affirm) be a matter of perpetual reproach to this Legislature, if the improvident sacrifice of a provision intended for such objects is allowed to proceed." The suV)ject was taken up, and warmly debated, in the House of Assembly ; and amongst the ablest supporters of the Petition of Churchmen was the Hon. W. H. Draper. In a long and eloquent speech, he went over the whole 212 ground ; dwelt upon the reasonableness and justice of the prayer of the Petitioners ; and dissipated to the winds the flimsy objections urged against it. The solitary objection of the slightest prominence w.as tliat it was dangerous by any legislation, to re-open a (jucstion that had finally been set at rest, and renew an agitation that might be perilous to the interests of the Petitioners themselves. On the 22nd May, 1840, the motion of the Hon. Henry Sherwood, that the House do concur in the address to Her Majesty respecting the future sale and management of the Clergy Reserves, was lost by a vote of 19 to 31. Amongst the latter were fifteen French Canadians. Six years later, the absorption of the whole by the Provincial Legislature, and their application to secular puq)oses, was moved by the very individual who was most prominent in deprecating the re-opening of a question that had been finally settled ! 213 CHAPTER XXIII. ('onfirmatioii .Io\irticys in 1845. /^UR readers will not exi)cct that we should give in 11 y detail, or even at much length, the accounts of the journeys for the holding of Confirmations through- out the Diocese made by the late Bishop of Toronto ; although the published journals of these visitations supply many statistical fficts of great value in respect to the physical improvement as well as religious progress of the country. We must, therefore, content ourselves with a few extracts, which will be insti*uctive as well as interesting. On a hot and dusty day in July, 1845, the Bishop visited Binbrook, and returned to Hamilton in the evening. The conversation turned on the progress of the Church in the Diocese ; and the Bishop remarking that this was more rapid, as a general rule, in the new settlements than in the old, and in the towns than in the country, accounted for this fact in the following manner : — " At the first settlement of Upper Canada, the U. E.* TiOyalists, — most of whom were members of the Church of England, — constituted the great majority of the inhabitants. But, instead of being placed in contiguous neighbourhoods, where schools and ministrations of religion might have been supplied with compara- tive ease, they were scattered over many districts, and so pooi- and few in number at any one point, that the attainment of these advantages was impossible. And when, after a long intervening sickness of heart from hope deferred, these great blessings came ^United Empire. 214 to be despaired of, they by-and-by ceased with many to be viewed with concern or anxiety. This was the more to be deplored, because the Government had manifested much kindness in their > caac ; but the expense attending the assistance awarded to the -! patriotic settlers at their scattered localities, in conveying j)ro- •» visions, farming utensils, &c., cost more than the supply of these •^ articles, even with the addition of schools and churches, would ^ have done, had the settlements been judiciously concentrated. There was, for many years, scarcely any commerce in the Pro- vince ; and the little produce which the inhabitants were able to raise by their hard labour, — since cattle and horses were for a time out of the question, — commanded very low prices, and forced upon them habits of extreme [)arsimony, in order to obtain even a small portion of what, before the American Revolution, they had considered necessaries of life. Hence, when their cir- cumstances were somewhat mended, they were unwilling to con- tribute towards the support of schools and the ministrations of religion, of which they had so long been de])rived, and for which many of them had lost both taste and regard. In such a sad state of things, their children grew up without instruction ; and a deadness to Christianity has, in some cases, been perpetuated to the present day." Many of our readers will have noticed the realization of this statement in the languid and declining condition of the Church in some of our oldest settlements ; in some of our wealthy farming tracts where the old inhabitants, with traditional attachment to the Church, have died out ; and in some of our older villages whence life and vigour seem to have evaporated with the migration of the young and enterprising to fresher scenes. Recalling this fact, we shall feel it to be a mistake to say that pecuniary aid for the support of the Church should be denied to such places, and given only to new and distant settlements. The following interesting account is given of a visit to the Tuscarora Mission under the charge of the Rev. Adam Elliott:— 215 . " TIiIh mission comprchendH three tribes, tho Tuscaroras, DolawarC{<, and Cayugas, The greater nnniber of the first liave lf)ng been converted, but tlie Delawarcs were for the niost part pagans until within a few years : now, liowevcr, through tho indefatigable exertions of Mr. Elliott, they are nearly all con- verted ; and^even the Cayugas, who have so long ke])t aloof and clung to their idolatry, are beginning to relax from their ]>reju- dices, and to discover the Divine origin of Christianity, and the futility of their own religious belief. J\Iany adhere to the idea that their religion came from heaven, and that spirits appeared 1^ them and forbade them to change ; yet, with all their charuc teristic shrewdness, they confess themselves unable to bring forward j)roof or argument. As the Missionary is making progress with the young, — for they are very desirous of having their children educated, — the ])arent8 are gradually reached through them. A great attraction with them is the Mechanical Institution, where they soon leani to construct the ordinary farming utensils and other implements of daily use, established at the Mohawk village ; an institution highly creditable to the > New England Society, at whose expense it is maintained. 4. "Thirty-four Indians were confirmed on this occiission, — several of them very old. One woman in particular must have v^xceeded eighty ; and amongst the number was a lame warrior of the Delaware tribe, a i)erson of great shrewdness, and, till lately, a stem j)agan. A great taste for sacred music was dis- cernible in the congregation. A choir has been formed, and they have learned music by note. They had their books before them, and it was pleasing to see them turn to the tune and sing from the notes. What was still more remarkable, one of them had constructed a bass-viol, on which he played and kept time with great accui*acy. The Missionary informed us that many of his peojjle had a great faculty in learning languages, and he brought forward a chief who afl&rmed that he knew almost all the Indian dialects in North America. He was naturally eloquent ; and, in a short conversation, made many shrewd remarks upon the peculiar situation of his countrymen, and their relations with the white population and the Government." 216 The following pleasing cpiHode occurs in the account of his Confirmation journey westwards : — "While we were resting on the little gallery before the door of the inn, there came up a rough waggon half-loaded with boaniM. The driver drew up to water hJH * team,' and wit down on the Htej»H near the Binhop. lie st'cmed intelligent, but di(wipate<l and can- worn ; and the Binhop entered into conver8atio:i with him, and asked him the way to the Church at Dereham, the road to which was re[»resented as rathe Titricate, but could obta'n lio informa- tion from him ujKm this |)oint. As is not unusud, the man, finding himself treated kindly, entered into a sort of history of his lift'. He said he Imd come into th^^ Province at an early day, and had by his industry acquired an excellent farm ; had married a wife, to whom he was much attached ; and had had two fine children. He bta ted further that his wife and children, some years ago, were carried of: by the 'lake fever ;' and ever since he had been list- less, perhaps reckless, and could never bear t« stay at home, and attend to the usual business of his farm. He chose rather, he said, to employ himself with his waggon in c<jnveying loads from ))Iace to place ; but he was afraid that this loose way of life had introduced him to bad company, and, as a consequence, to intem- perate habits. 'Alas,' said the jMjor man with some emotion, • what am I to do ? I see my two brothers, with their wives and children, living comfortably on their farms ; and when I visit mine, there is none to welcome me ; while the remembrance of the time rushes on my spirit when I, too, met joyful faces, and had a happy fireside : I feel forlorn,' he added, 'and am eager to get away.' " There was evidently a deep well of feeling in this man, who had thus become, as it were, a cast-away. We all got interested, and the Bishop, with much affection, endeavoured to turn his attention to better things and better hopes. * Why, my friend,' he asked him, * have you not, under this chastening, had recourse to religion, — to prayer, reading your Bible, thoughtful meditation, and attendance on the means of grace ? All this might, with the Di^'ine blessing, do much for you.' * I have often gone to meeting,' said the man, 'but found no comfort. The old members were all satisfied with thenj^lves, and looked upon me with contempt. 217 Th«-y CHllt'd theniMcIveM *' the choMen few"; told me the day, and even the hour, when they were converted, or, as they term it, when they got religion ; and yet, in my dealings with them, I found I. either truth nor hone»ty, I ffit none of those things, and 1 am unable to believe that a man can be religious without being good.' The BiHhop agreed thut such couM not be religious i)CO|>Ie ; and tljen r<*mon«trated gently with him on his present way of life, and exhorted him to keep to liis farm. F'in<Iing, too, that he had a I'ible an«l Prayer liook which belonged to his wife, he seized ufK>n his tender f(;elingH for the departed, and urged him to use them diligently, evening and morning, and after a little time he would, with God's blessing, derive comfort from such a course, arid be enabled, with His help, to jwirt with those irregular habits into which he had fallen The man went Mway a|)parently much encouraged; and our waggon being ready, we pursued our journey. Were this man :n the neighbourhood of one of our Clergy, who could see him occasionally, instruct him in the truth, and h-ad him to public worshij), and habits of piety, he might, we may reasonably hop«?, still be recovered ; but, unhappily, v/<» have no Clergyman within twelve miles of the farm ujion which he <»ccasionally resides." Of his visit to Westminster, the Bishop has occasion to speak in this pleasant strain : — " In this place we have another example of what a willing heart and persevering energy can do. We owe this Chuicli almost entirely to the vigorous and unwearied efforts of Mrs. Watson : a lady who came to Canada princi])ally with the view of establishing her nephews on land. On arriving at this settle- ment, where a jmrchase had been made on her behalf, she found it entirely unprovided with religious ordinances. She accordingly gave ten acres on which to build the Church : she aj)pealed to her friends in England for assistance ; and now she has the satis- faction of beholding her efforts crowned with success. Her piety is active and unaffected ; and the good she has done and is doing, in promoting the cause of religion in her neighbourhood, is beyond price. A few such persons in every District, and their waste places would soou rejoice and blossom." ^ 28 218 He speaks in the same encouraging manner of the Church at Morpeth : — " We owe this Church, so far as it has proceeded, ahnost entirely to the liberahty of five zealous farmers, though not more wealthy than many around them, and they deserve to be honour- ably mentioned. First, John and Freeman Green, two brothers. John gave the site for the Church, Parsonage, and I^uiial- ground, consisting of six acres in a very eligible situation, and fifty dollars in money. Freeman gave one hundred dollars ; Walter Patterso!i and John Degrand gave each one hundred dollars , and so did David Cesner, although living five miles distant, — because he considered the position central for the settlement. Now, considering the station of the jiarties, and the low i)rice of produce for some years past, these contributions may be considered very large ; and there is no doubt that they will yet do more, and, by influencing their neighbours, contrive to finish the Church. Some of them arc from Dunwich, where they had been accustomed to see a still greater liberality, and certainly the example was not lost tipon ^hem. To encouragf? them, I paid over the liberal donation of £2o sterling made by Lord Morpeth for the benefit of this Church, — a very seasonable help towards completing their sacred edifice, and likely to crown with success the exertions of these honest and right-hearted ])eople." The following remarks and incidents connected with the Bishop's visit to Walpole Island, are very interesting : — "Walp<jle Island seems to be a continuation of the shallows or fiats of Lake St. Clair, and to have been formed from dojjosit* from the upper lakes. The soil is altogether alluvial, and the surface is so little raised above the river that the greater portion is covered with water, when the lakes and rivers rise. This they seem to do periodically, although the exact cycle has not yet been ascertained. It is a curious fact, the cause of which has not vet been solved, that when the waters of the large rivers and lakes are high, the small lakes and rivulets in the interior which have no communication with them, arc likewise high. Thus, for 219 ioBtance, Lake Simcoo, the inuHt elevated of all the lakec, empties itself by the River Severn into Luke Huron, with a fall of from Htventy to eighty feet ; yet when the waters of Lakes Superior, Miiron, Erit!, and Ontario, are high, Lake Simcoe is high also. This periodi(!al rixe of all the waters of this section of the Ameri- can continent, has never yet been satisfactorily accounted for. Tt is attributed, indeed, togreat<;r falls of snow occasionally happening in the North West ; but this might bear u|M)n the great lakes which are directly connected with it, but can have no influence upon tlie smaller interior lakes where no additional snows and rains appear to liave fallen. •'We made [after service on the island] a hasty dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Keating; and an it Mas by this time getting dark and threatening rain, we hurried to get across to the main shore. In our Ijaste we did not perceive, till we cast off from the land and were in the stream, that our canoe was too small for^ur number and the water within an inch of iis <!dg(!. Had there been any wind, wo should have bean in the greatest danger ; but, blessed be God, by using every precaution, sitting quiet, and maintaining a careful balance, we gr»t over safe. The Indian who paddhid us across, seeing the storm ajiproach, hastened back, and had scarcely reached the island when the rain, and thunder and lightning commenced in a terrific manner, '* As there was no sort of accommodation whatever at the small tavern where we had left our horses and waggon, wo were com- |)elled to move forward in the hope of reaching an inn a few miles further up the river St. Clair. By this time it was growing dark, and before we liad ])roceeded half-a-mile, the rain came down in torrents, and the thunder and lightning became so fro ([uent and terribhi, that our horses trembled and could scarcely keep their legs. The darkness also became so great that, excej^t from the flashes of lightning, we were unable to see the road. Having crept forwards about a mile and a half, — the storm con- tinuing without intermission, — we descried, from a friendly flash of lightning, a farm-house, and happy were the party when I conwnted to stop. It was now late, for we had consumed much time in making this short journey, and the inmates of the house were nil sound asleep. After knocking for some time, they at 220 length opened the door and let hh in. We stated our diHlress and the causes that made us diHturb them, — which indeed were suffi- ciently visible from our miserable and drowned ajjpearance, — and upon hearing our story, they received us kindly, and did all in their power to make us comfortable." But this wjis Tiothing in coinj)arisoii with the difficultioH encountered on the journey from Owen Sound to Guelph. To the former place the Binliop luul gone by steamer from Manitfjulin Islarul, At starting, he says : — " We found the roiid very lougli, and getting worse as we proceeded. It ran ah)ng a stony ridge, which seeuiw to have been chosen in preference to the low grounds wl»ich, in many places, were low and nuirshy. Be this an it may, what with large stones, deep crevices between them, roots of trees, and deep holes, the shaking of the waggon became intolerable." After con- firming at two phices, the latter thirteen miles from Owen Sound, " we left for Edge's at half past four ; and, though scarcely nine miles otr, with little hope oi' getting then;, as the road was becoming more and more impracticable. After bounding from stone to stone, the rain meanwhile falling in torrents, and occa- sionally a deep hole by way of variety, we found darkness rapidly ajiproaching, and were glad to crave shelter for the night from Mr. Smith, who, with his wife and teti sons and one datjghter, had tjiken up land from Governmentt and wiis gradually clearing a good farm. We no doubt put the family to much inconvenience, yet they made us heartily welcome, and insisted that we .shouhl occupy their beds, such as they were, and doing all in their power to make us comfortable. ** We rose next morning as soon as we could see, and the rain having abated, we got ready for o\U' journey. A mile onwards there is a very long, deep slough, full of roots and loose stones, through which the Smiths told us it would be impossible for the horses to drag the waggon, and they very kindly offered to accom- pany us and assist us in getting i)ast it. We found their account of it by no means exaggerated, for we were obliged to take the horses from the waggon t and even then they plunged so much, and 221 got 80 deep in the mud, that they were in the greatest danger of .sinking over their heads. The jwor animalf, when they at length reached the firm soil, trembled and looked much frightened. The waggon was dragged thnnigh by three of the Smiths, the driver, and two men whom I had hired to attend us on this perilous journey. The Smiths returned home, and we sent forward to Edge's to request that they would meet us with a yoke of oxen at a bridge over the river Saugeen, which was said to be very insecure, and at the further end of which was a slough much worse than the one we liad just i)assed. We soon came to tho bridge, where we alighted ; and after examining it, and carefully mending some of the holes, by using great caution we got tlu* waggon and horses safely across. But they had no sooner left it, than they sunk so deep into the mire that we thought they should \n' lost. After some labour, we got their harness off, and se2)arated them from the waggon, and then, on our cheering them, (for they a[>iKuired frightened and ready to give tip,) they were roused t<t IVesh exertion, and at length W(} got them upon hard ground. Had it not been for the two men who attended us, and the driver, the poor ajjimals would have been inevitably smothered. "After extricating the horses, we waited patiently for the oxen. — tlie waggon in the meantime floating on the slough, the wheels having sunk ludow tlie hubs. At length we heard them coining down the hill beyond us, which was thickly covered with trees; and from the noise, one of our attendants, an American, jirounounced the driver to bean Irishnian, and therefore knowing notliing about the management of oxen. Of the correctness of this judgment we soon had abundant experience, for the Irishman was unable, without the aid of the American, to 'hitch,' as they call it, the oxen to the waggon, and nothwithstanding our remon- strances would insist on driving them himself. The consecpienct; was, that he drove them between two large trees, alleging that there was sufficient room for the passage of the waggon, although it was quite evident that he was mistaken. The oxen struggled through, the one a little ahead of the other; but when the waggon came up, it was jammed immovably between two trees. * I guess,' said the American, * that you have got into a pretty bit of a fix.' The poor Irishman was much mortified ; but comforted him.self 222 with observing that he had never driven oxen but twice before. The American was desired to take charge, and as there was no alternative, one of the trees was ordered to be cvit down. This was, however, a work of time, for we had no axe, only a toma- hawk ; and a work of skill too, for there was no little danger of the tree falling on the waggon, or doing other damage. But the American was experienced in such matters : the tree was skilfully felled ; and the oxen having been again attached to the waggon, struggled through the swamp and reached the bottom of the hill. The road up the declivity was so wet and slippery, and withal ' so deep, that the poor oxen were put to the exertion of their utmost strength to reach the top. This was a severe trial to us all, ■^ but it was useless to murmur. We had been seven hours getting i over nine miles, and it was j)ast ten when we reached Edge's house. At eleven we had service : the Congregation numbering seventeen, and only one person was presented for Confirmation. '* We proceeded on our journey at half-past one, and had not advanced far when we found the road, or path, obstructed by a large tree, which a settler had just cut down and was in the act of dividing into lengths. We found much difficulty in getting round through the wood : we asked very civilly why he had blocked up the road ; but instead of answering, he smiled and seemed to enjoy our difficulty. We thought him rude and inso- lent, but he had no such meaning ; for going a little further on, we stuck fast in a bad mud-hole, and in a moment we saw the chopper running to our assistance. Luckily, two other men came up who were on their way to fish in the River Saugeen, and who, seeing our distress, very willingly offered to help us. With these additional hands, we managed to relieve the horses, and to drag the waggon along till we reached the hard ground. The two fishermen volunteered to accompany us two miles further, where there was the worst slough, they said, U[)on the whole road between Owen Sound and Fergus. There were several bad spots before we reache<l this, — the king of mud-holes, — which it cost us no little trouble to get over. We now began to dread these sloughs, and the |)Oor horses trembled when they saw one. A t length we reached the famous mud-hole, pronounced by the set- tles so formidable. We made a halt to beat up for additional 223 recruits : oxen were not to be had, nor was it quite clear that even they could have got through with the waggon, the swamp 4. waH so long, so deep, and so intersected with fallen trees, roots v und stonos, 1 held the two riding horses, and all the party, in- i'huling the Rev. Mr. Mockridge, the verger, and fotir settlers w honi we had collected, beside^i those who had come with us, went to work, and with strong arms pulled the waggon through. We had taken fourteen hours, including the service, to travel seventeen miles. '* We did not reach Mr. Beatty's, our next appointment, till nearly 7 o'clock, although, in ignorance of the road, I luid appointed three o'clock for the service. The people, however, judging more wisely of the obstructions on tho way, did not begin to a.ssemble till after G o'clock, and we overtook many of them MS we passed along. The service commenced immediately on our arrival ; the house was crowded ; and tho congregation were much affected by the prayers, sermon, and address to the candidates for Confirmation, — these last being only three in num- l»er. What with the largenens of the congregation, and th«! attention and feeling which they manifested, I felt myself more than rewarded for all the difficulties and toils I had endured." The trials of th^ two following days were not so formid- able, and Elora was safely reached on the evening of the 29th August. In the course of his journey, the Bishop frequently heard complaints from the people in the newly opened settlements. ** They would speak bitterly and feelingly of their grievances ; that they had no mill within many miles, and had sometimes to > carry on their backs their wheat to be ground, and U) carry it -i home again in flour in the same way. Mere trifles, he would reply. I was in the Province when it contained scarcely a mill in any part of it, and the [leople had often to travel more than a , hundred miles to get their wheat ground ; and as this could only V be done in winter, they used to bruise their corn and wheat in tho interval between smooth stones, and make rough bread of it ia that way. Others would complain of their hard labour ; and 224 lie would a«k them, in reply, how long they would have had to labour at homo before they obtained, what they now poHHessed, — a freehold of 100 acres of land ? *' An Irixhman wan detailing hin many grievanqeM with some eloquence; but it had conic out that he had been a hodman, attending ma«onH in Glasgow before he came to Caiuida. I. said nothing until he had expatiated upon all his difficulties, and had come to a full stop. T then took tip an axe, and asked him if this was as heavy as a hod of brick ? The Irishman appeared surprised, and said, * surely not.' * How many years,' 1 replied, 'must you have carried the hod to the top of the highest building in Glasgow, before you could get a farm like the one you are now cultivating V 'You are right,' said the Irishman, with the honest frankness of his countrymen : ' at home there is no prospect oi' bettering our situation ; sickness and old age, too, arc frightful ; but here we have jdenty to cat and drink, good hopes for oui* children, and a comfortable old age for ourselves.' It waM easy, after this, to turn the conversation to their religious condition ; urge upon them family woishij> and Sunday-schools ; learning portions of the Psalms, and repeating them as sources of consola- tion ; reading the Scriptures regularly, and remembering to kcc)) holy the Lord's Day." This was a most laborious Confirmation tour ; commen- cing on the 14th July, and, after unremitted travelling and services, ending on the 8th September. About IGOO miles by land and water were traversed; and notwithstanding the great extent of country to be visited, and the number of appointments to be kept, — some of them far distant the one from the other, and others separated by roads or paths all but impassable, — the Bishop was enabled by Divine favour, to keep every one of them, and through judicious aiTangemdnts and active travelling, was late only two or three times. In these touching words, he says, " I have much rejison to be thankful : the Cliurch prospers ; and my journeys and fatigues arc every where sweetened by cordial welcome and respect. In every house we enter, there is 225 the kind hand and happy look to greet us ; anrl surely, under sucli circumstances, labours and perils might be cheerfully endured, were they threefold greater than they are." 29 226 CHAPTER XXIV. Kesignation of Archdeaconry of York and Rectory of Toronto. — Triennial Visitation of the Clergy in 1847. — Consecration of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto. ''N the course of the summer of 1840, a commumcatiou was received by the Bishop of Toronto from th<^ Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, that the Society as Trustees of tlu^ Church of England's share of the Clergy Reserves Fund in "this Diocese, had voted to him a salary of £1250 sterling, per annum; on condition that he should resign all Qther ecclesiastical preferment. By this arrangement, which the Bishop at once accepted, the Archdeaconry of York and the Rectory of Toronto became vacant ; and the Bishop was pleased to appoint the Rev. A. N. Bethune, D. D., to the fonne r, and to recommend to the Governor General, at that time the patron, the Rev. H. J. Grasett, M. A., for the Rectory of Toronto. These latter appointments, however, were not officially announced until the mouth of March following. On Thursday, 3rd June, 1847, the Bishop held his third Triennial Visitation of the Clergy of the Diocese in the Cathedral Church of St. James. Eighty Clergymen were present ; and, to quote from the Church organ of the day, " the Bishop, seated in his Episcopal Chair, and suiTOunded by the Archdeacons and other Clergy of the Diocese, proceeded to deliver his Charge, which occupied about three hours and a half, and was attended to with the most intense interest by both Clergy and Laity. The several 227 import.ant topics wlii^h tho Address embraced were ex- plained and iIlu.strato«l with a clearneas and precision, and, in many cases, witli an empLasis well calculated to make a deep iirij)r(\ssi()n. The several interests of the Diocese, — its extent, revenue, number of Clergy, and future propects, — were all lucidly and circumstantially dwelt upon. The present state of religious feeling, both in and out of the Church, at Jiorae and abroad, was adverted to with singidar prudence, discrimination, and ability ; but, at the same time, we are persuaded that no part of his Lordship's Charge was listened to with more deference and respect, than his truly paternal, kind, and affectionate address to the Clergy towards the close." From this long and able document, wliich is doubtless in the hands of very many members of the Church in Canada, we can make but a few quotations. His Lordship stated that, in the yeare, 1845 and 184G, he had contirmed at 197 stations, and that 4358 candi- dates had been presented for that rite. He says : — ** It is very pleasing to remark, that a very great change has been for some yeai-s gradually manifesting itself in regard to the holy ordinance of Confirmation. Our people now almost uni- versally believe and recognize it to be an Apostolic institution, and, to all who receive it, a most beautiful aud impressive con- summation of their baptism. " The frequent administration of this interesting ceremony has been es2)ecially blessed throughout the Diocese, aud has had the most salutary effects upon the minds of many, whose views of the true foundation and principles of our Church were very confined and unfruitful. Following up the holy conceptions and aspirations which the frequent witnessing of Confirmation is cal- culated to produce, they have formed more correct opinions of the sacred functions of the Church of God, in her Divine appoint- ment to regenerate man and to mould him for heaven. "'I was delighted,' said one of the most promising of my younger Clergy, ' to hear jwany of my congregation observing 228 w that they were much affected at beholding the ordinance of Con- firmation administered for the first time, — displaying, as it does, the EftiBCopal authority, which is one of the marks of the Catho- lic Church. Tn one case, where I liad heen unable to persuade two young persons in a family to Vjecome candidates fbr Confirma- tion, they expressed great w)rrow, after witnessing the ceremony, that they had not yielded to my advice, and professed their deter- mination to be confirmed, God willing, at the next opportunity.' " He speaks thus of two Institutions in the Mother Country, whose iiu^stiniaV^le services to all the Colonies of the Empire, and to this one in particuhir, are never to be forgotten : — " Tlie two Societies, the grtjat hanchnuids of the (Jhurchi con- tinue their nui-sing care to tlii.s Diocese with increasing energy ; the Propagation Society in supporting neaily one-half of our Clergy, besides granting many special donations ; the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, in bestowing Bibles, Prayer Books, Religious Tracts and Books of the most excellent descrip- tion in the most abundant measure, and affording munificent aid towards the erection of churches. Their exertions seem to keep pace with the multiplying demands iipon their benevolence. They feel that they are engaged in a holy cause ; and, so feeling, remit not, but I'edouble their labours. The field of their opera- tions is already immense, and continually enlarging, and so is their responsibilit}'^ for the judicious application of the means at their disposal. Their success is indeed wonderful, notwithstand- ing the many obstacles which stand in their way, from without and from within, to their freedom of action in carrying the Church of our fathers to every quarter. For one hundred and fifty yeai-s have they been employed in this vast field, and during the whole of that period the true Missionary strength has been gaining strength amongst them, while its present activity is a pledge of onward progress, and of still greater things to come." He speaks, too, in this well-deserved strain, of another Institution to which this Province is under great obliga- tion : — 229 *' The New Englimd Society, establislied by Royal Charter in 4- the reign of Charles the Second, continue to support their ' niissionM among the Six Nation Iiuliann, with unabated care and liberality. Their two Missionaries are ever at their posts, and are eticouraged by a fair measure of success : the ninnber of tndians still pagan are rapidly diminishing, and the School of Industry is attracting more and more the attention of the different tribes, and a])peai-s in a very flourishing condition." Oil the Church hh a bulwark against heresy and schism, he expresses himself in this earnest and jn-actical manner: — '* Ever since the Reformation, there has been, in matters of ''" religion, a want of veneration for sacred things. Instead of A deferring to the authority of the Church, au absolute independ- ence of her lijis been too frequently assumed. Ifenco the low apj)reciation of the past, and the readiness with which Dissenters oust olf all regard for the forms and usages of the Church of the A{»ostles, " The same wild spirit invades social life. To honour father and mother, and to cherish for them the most affectionate lovo and resi)ect in their persons and characters, are virtues which aj)peat' to be rapidly passing away; and when the domestic affeetions (lisaj)pear, the true happiness of society vanishes with them. There can be no love and unity in families where the children defer not to their parents ; and as society consists of families, the same spirit will teach disrespect for superioi-s, and, in time general , insubordination. It is the discipline of home, sanctified by reli- gion, which qualities lis for the duties of civilized life. Filial affection bears much, because it loves much. Now the Church must live in families before she can be truly efficient ; and it is the neglect of religion in families, and the consequent deteriora- tion of the domestic virtues, which disturbs the Church and multiplies division. For, as the Church is daily born anew in baptism, so must she ever be renewed in Christian homes ; but the total relaxation of domestic discipline leads to excess of >r private judgment, to extreme arrogance, and contempt for autho- ity. Hence we find Protestant denominations without number. 290 Every one hath a psulni, hath a doctrliio, hath an intorpretation ; nn«i in our frar of formn, we forgot that thuro can hf, neither re;^nkrity nor ortU'r without forniH. This rtrckh'.s.s Hpirit of unbridled inde|>ondenue han created much t.irbid<!nce and diHorder ; and these again have been increaHed and extenibnl by the rapid If^rowth vf the population, for the religionw instruction of which the (Jhiirch Iuih been unable to provide." We cIoHo our oxtmc^ts fioni this viiliuibh; clmr^'o with the following words of a<lMnrable exhortation, wliieh (Church- men now would be wise to take to heart and acrt upon : — " iJut disniissing thes«! elenientn of earth, let uh hjok to our- selves, and remember that we have a gr(nit and imj»ortant work before us, — the evangjilizing of this vast country. Let us not then fall out by the way. "We have already tot» many enemies and oj posers to admit of division in our own household, Knennes numerous and i>oweiful exist, whom wo can only exi)ect to com- bat with success, by using the weapons furnished by the Chiu'ch in the true spirit of luiity r.nd concord. We are all servants of the same IVTaster ; let us stand together in faithfulness of jiurpose and in steadiness of action. Have we not to contend with infi- delity and worldliness on the one hand, and all the I'rotean forms of dissent on the other ? Is it not, then, cur duty to rise abovo difficulties, and exert ourselves to the utmost in promoting the advancement of the Church of God in this Diocese ; that (.'hurch which is not human in her constitution, but heavenly ; and neither takes her rise from earthly powei*s, nor de[)ends UfM»n them for her continuance. Empires and kingdoms fail; the eaith itself shall pass away,-^— but tlie Church of the living God shall continue forever. Her name, her offices, her services, her powers, her spiritual endowments, are for eternity. How awful the responsibility which attaches to us, lier ministers ! The woi-ship we offer, is the commencement of the worship of eternity, and our ministrations the beginning of services which are to continuo for evermore." Ther3 was a circumstance of a personal character con- nected with this Visitation, which ought not to be left 231 unrecorfled. On the evening of that day, there was a Hpecial choral Kervice in the Chapel of tho University of King's College, jit which iiiost of the Clergy in town were prcHent ; and in regard to tluH, we nhall be excused for repeating the irnf)res8ionM of an eye-witness. " The service," he says, "was admiiably conducted, and the impressions left u])on the minds ;i!»<! spirits of those who ])articipated in it, were of the most gratifying and refreshing nature. There is something in the humble, plaintive tone of sacred song, conducted by the rule ot the ancient chants, singu- larly in accordance with the natural outpourings of a penitent spirit. The voice of supplication for the manifold good gifts of a gracious God, is appropriately expressed in that unambitious strain of devotional melody. The Amen (»f the choristers and people, following the dirge-like petitions of the minister, has a peculiarly impressive effect; while the united and full vf»ices of all in the anthems of praise, shadows ii\ the mind, feebly, though cheeringly, the image of that scene in the realms of glory, where ten thousand times ten thousand of the redeemed lift up one bui*st of grateful thanksgiving and homage to the Lord of all." After this service, the Clergy repaired to the residence of the Eiahop to partake of the hospitalities customary at these triennial assemblages. Besides the Clergy, wore the Judges, the Heads of Departments, the Corporation, the Vice-Presidents, and Standing Co\nmittee of the Church Society, and many other gentlemen of the city, — forming altogether a very large, and most intelligent and agreeable party, "Soon after the company had assembled, a beautiful and massive Silver Inkstand wfis present(!d by the Archdeacons, in the name of the C-lergy, to the Lord Bishop, as a slight but heartfelt token of their regard, dutifulness, and affec- tion. The presentation was accompanied i^-'ith a few appropriate remarks, very feelingly expressed, from the 232 Venerable the Archdeacon of King8t(jn ; an<l his Lordship, in r(^ply, was pleased to express his warm sense of the kindness which prompted this testimony oi' the love and esteem of his Olergj- ; that it was enhanced by the fact of itfi presentation by his Archdeacons, the senior of whons, the Archdeacon of Kingston, had been his friend for nearly half a century; and the junior, the Archdeacon of York, one whom he had known, and, as it were, brought up, from his infancy ; that such gifts from a Clergy to their Bishoj* might not be usual, but that as he felt himself in the cha- racter of a fond father surrounded by an attached family, he gladly and thankfully accepted the one now so kindly offered him, that when they were separated to their honujs and their duties, he might have before him continually a remembrance of this holy day, — like a gathering together (»f his beloved children in the Lord, whose welfare, comfort,, and usefulness were at all times amongst the things nearest to his heart, and foremost in his prayers,* This handsome and appropriate testimonial was, after the death of its late owner, placed in the hands of the present Incumbent of the See by Captain and Mrs. Strachan ; with their request, that it jnight be regarded as their gift to all succeeding Bishops of Toronto. This act of thoughtful kindness is highly appreciated by the i)resent Bishoj), and will, n»^ doubt, he equally valu(;d by all those into whose hands it may hereafter come. In the autumn of tlie present year, an event occurred of deep and pleasing interest, — the Consecration of the Church of the Holy Trinity in this City. This unusual interest was awakened by the peculiar circumstances under which the Church was started and complete<l. But these are best told in the Bishop*s own words : — *' On my return from visiting the Missions wcHt of Toronto in September, 1845, I found a hitter from the Lord Bishop of "Vhurdi Newi^apor, June 11, 1S47. 233 Kipon, the perusal of wliicli difiHipated in a inomont the eon-, tinned fatigue I liad heoM enduring for several montliH. Hin Lordwhip Htated, that he liad the pje'innre to inform me that «ome munificent individual, entirely unknown to him, had deposited in his hands the sum of jE^liOOO sterling, which the donor wished to he appropriated to the building rf a Church in the Diocese of Toronto, to he called the Church of the Jfoly Trinity, — the seats of which were to be free and unaj)propriated for ever; the patron- age to be left entirely to the Bihlioj) of the Diocese, as well as situation, Bacramental plate, suiplices, and other things needful, were, at the same time, promised, md have since been furnished. " The only conditi(m imposed is, that a yearly re[)ort of t». progress and circumstances of the Church is eitlmr to bo printed in the Annual K('|)f»rt of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, entitled 'Holy Tiinity Church Ileport,' or to be sent to the Ilev. II. Hwale, M. A., Little Yorkshire, who will whew it to the benefactor, * I have not the most remote conjecture,' adds the Bishop, * who the donor is.' On consulting with several of my Clergy and other friends of the Church, all of whom were filled with joy and admiration at this noble manifes- tation of Christian charity, they concurred with one voice that the Free Church shoidd be built at Toronto, by far the most p0)»ulons city in the Diocese, and in a locality mo.st likely to embrace the largest portion of the poor. '* Measures were immediately tak(!n to find a site for tlie Church, eligible for the purp(»se intended, and to jtroceed witho'it delay to its erection, Tn the selection (»f a [»ropcr site, we met with some difficulty ; several wen? offered, but they were not in the desired locality, and the price demanded by the proprietors of such as might have been deemed eligible, was ho great as would have trenched on the wished for endownumt. From anxiety on this subject, however, we were Hf»nn relieved by the Hon. John Simcoe Macaulay, retired Lieut. Colonel of the Uoyal Engineers, who bestowed n[>on iis gratuitously, the very spot which we had all believed to be tlu; most appropriate, at a sacrifice to himself of more than £•'){)(). '* In due time, the sacramental plate for the C/hurch, and also for private communion with the sick, with table cloths, napkins 80 234 and Hurplices, &c., all of which arc very much admired for their tasteful elegance, reached us in safety. But what created still greater admiration and still deeper feelings of gratitude, were the magnificent gifts, and their beautiful appropriation, for rejoicing on the day of the Consecration of the Church, with which these things were accompanied. First, the donor desires that £iiO ster- ling be presented at the Offei'tory on the day of the Consecration of the Church of the Holy Trinity, should tlic Holy Communion be then administered ; if not, on the first occasion on whicli there is a Communion. Second, That tlie same sum bo offered to 8Uj)ply gifts and rejoicings for the poor on the day of consecra- tion. Third, That the like sum of £W Sterling be offered for the beautifying of the Font ; or, should that be completed, foi- any internal decoration for the more devotional observance of Divine Service. Such a complete act of chfirity, and so thoughtful and delicate in all its arrangements, and descending with holy foresight to the most minute things which miglit in any way tend to the devotional oVjjects of the gift, is scarcely to be found in the history of the Christian Clinrch, Wealth is indeed a blessing, when it is thus de\ oted to so noble a purpose as the extension of Christ's kingdom." The Church of the Holy Trinity was consecrated on Wednesday, 27th October, 1847. Tliei-e was a consi- derable attendance of the laity, and about twcnity of tlie Clergy present. The Bishop preached an cariioHt and appropriate sernion ; and after tlie offertory, which did not much excet^d the large gift of the; fonndcr devoted to it, the Holy Conununion waH administered. For s(!veral years this Church was served by the Reverends H. IScatlding and W. Stennett, Masters in Upper Cana<la College;; the formej* receiving a very small remuneration for his sevvices, jiikI the lntt<'r affurdiiiir them without any charge. But it was soon discovered that tlnn'e were re(iuirements to be met, and duties to be discharged, to ensure the holy puq)0ses for whicli this Church was erected, that would 235 claim the undivided time and energies of its ministers. For the Ileal thf'ul proHpcrity of any Congregation, assiduous ])astoral visitiiig must follow th(5 Sunday ministrations. The classes of the eommunity which would cliiefly desire to avail themselves of the free accommodation of the C.'hurcli of the Holy Trinity, would be looking for the symj)athy, the consolation, the counsel, the instruction, from day to day, which, amidst the many trials and fluctu- ations of the world, all alike require. To hold hack these, would be to weaken, and jmralize at last, the influence of this Church, — so nobly ]>rojected, so munificently accom- plish lmI. With this view, the Rev. W. Stewart Darling was, in 18.51, appoint(Hl Assistant Minister in this Church ; and so multiplicnl, and multiplying, were found to be the calls and claims upon his time and energies, that in a few years another had to be associated with him in the work. Far and wide, the faithful and diligent attention of Mr. Darling to his arduous duties has been recognized and honoured ; and the result has been that the Congregation of this Chuich has grown into gi-eat strength and influence. It is crowded on the Lord's day ; and on the many occa- sions of week-day ministrations, the attendance is most satisfa(^tory. The communicants, too, are very numerous, and the celebrations of the Lord's Supper are frequent. There is a hearty worship, and zeal and unanimity amongst its members ; all realizing, more .and more, the gi'eat results which the generous founder of the Church anticipated, in laying at the feet of its chief Pastor so munificent a gift for the spiritual benefit of the i)oor. 236 CHAPTER XXV. Abolition of the University of King'« College. — Establishment of Trinity College. CHE Bishop of Toronto was now about to fight his last battle for the University of King's College ; which, after the exertions of almost a life-time, he had seen in full and .successful operation. It was not jmrsuing its course under the letter and direction of the original Charter: we have already cxplainoNJ what saci'ifices were agreed to, to remove public prejudice so far that the College might start upon its active work. It was agreed that the influ- ence of the Church of England within the Institution should ))e abridged, if it was not altogether removed. Those great i)rinciples were still ui)held, which no Churchman could consent to sacrifice. The Word of God was not banished from its halls ; the voice of prayer and praise wa.^ permitted to invoke a daily blessing upon the intellectual culture and the moral training ; and the lessons of religion were communicated to such as chose to receive them, only according to the teaching of the Church of England. We have given someaccount of its opening in 1843, and have made some allusion to the character of its religion .s services. The College, after all, was thoroughly English in tone and style ; the changes effected were, practically, merely sentimental ; they had no bearing or influence u})on its work or its spirit. It was becoming highly ])opular, too; the education inii)arted was of a superior order ; and a gentlemanly tone pervade<l the un<lergraduateH, — promi- sing a haj)py influence upon the social life of the country. 287 Exhibiting these advantages, and with nothing to disturb religious liberty or awaken soetarian prejudice, it was gathering in its alumni from all creeds and denominationK ; it was gaining reputation and strength in the min<ls of all the intelligent people of the country. But it was this wry priisperity that hastened its ruin. It roused the jealousy of old and inveterate opponents, who began t<* fear that, if not soon assailed and undermined, its foundations would be strong enough to bear any shock, and conic unharmed from any assault : that, supported by the public oj)ini()n it was gaining over so fast, it would, with its ample endow- ments, bid defiance to all that the intrigues or the force of enemies could employ against it. Its political opponents, — for it really had no othei', — gave it, therefore, no peace ; session after session in the Legislative Assend»ly, the attacks u])on it were renewed ; and though many of these were feeble an«l ill-directed, reiterated assaults, backed by the influence naturally exerted by the popular l)ranch of the Legislature, proved too much for an Institution which had only its own merits to rest upon, an<l few defenders beyond its own walls. In the autumn of 1843, a measure w<is introduced into the Legislative Assembly, "providing for the separate exer- cise of the Collegiate and University fun(;tions" of King's College, and for "incorporating certain other Colleges and Collegiate Institutions with the University; and for the more efficient establishment and satisfactory govermnent of the same." This was protested against, in a strong memorial, by the Bishop of Toront(). He declared that, — " The leading object of the Bill is to place all forms of oi-ror upon an e(iuality with truth, by ])atronizing e(pially within the same Institution an unlimited number of sects, whose doctrines are absolutely irreconcilable ; a principle in its nature atheistical, and so monstrous in its conse- (piences, that, if successfully carried out, it would utterly 238 destroy all that is pure ami holy iri niorals and religion, and load to grwiter coriuption than any thing adopted during the niadnesH of the French Revohition, when that nnhap[)y country abjured the Christian faith, and Met up in itw Htead the worship of the goddess of reason. Such a fatal departure from all that is good, is without a paral- lel in the history of the world ; unless, indeed, some resem- blance to it can ))e found in Pagan Rome, which, to please the nations she had confpiei'ed, condescended to associate their impure idolatries with her own." Another leading objection advanced, was the act, which had so disloyal an aspect, of destroying a Royal Charter, and perverting the object of an Institution which was guarded by an authority so sacred. He contrasts this con- templated spoliation with the more honourable coui-se adopted by the Government of the United States, on their separation from the Mother Country. He reminds them that, — " The endowment of King's College, New York, was left untouched by the Revolution, and remains at this day in the sole possession of that Institution: the only cliange was the name, which, ai'ter the peace of 17<S2, was altered from King's to Columbia College. So far were our neigh- bours from breaking down, or even molesting literary institutions, that they have at all times been zealously disposed to su])port and buiM them up ; much less have they attemi)ted the monstrous novelty of (combining all sorts of religious sects in one great institution. On the contrary, they have been liberal in bestowing grants on the (Jolleges of dift'ereut persuasions, each separate from the other ; and they have been most scrui)ulous in all that they tHd to guard and protect the rights of conscience. They felt that to establish and build up requires wisdom and ability; but to break down what is useful, venerable, and holy, requires, instead of ability and talent, the mere exertion of arbitrary and reckless power," 289 Again, with great truth he affirms, — " This measure un- settles all property, by depriving the University of King's College of an endowment which is the gift of the Crown, and thus it introduces a precedent, most destructive to t^^e very existence of society. If the patents for land arc to be touched, there is an end to the permanency of any Institution, and public and private property is alike plaecd at the mercy of a reckless and changing majority." * The abettors of this new measure had by no means given the subject very accurate consideration ; for, after a slight discussion the Bill was found to be so clumsy and ini- pra(;ticable in its details, and in many respects so puerile and absurd, that they were glad to withdraw it from the ridicule and merriment it was creating. The very weak Conservative Government, — weak be it understood, in the number of its supporters, not in talent, — which came into power in 1844, and held office for about three years, made some attempts toward re-modelling King's College ; but while unwilling to go to the revolu- tionary lengths of their predecessors, they failed to guard the great principles of the Institution, and, without con- cilating enemies, they alienated many friends. Early in the year 1848, the Conservatives were displaced from ])ower ; and their o[)p()nents, the " Reformers," as they were styled, were in possession of the reins of government. They soon addressed themselves to the University question; and in the following session an Act was passed, so com- })letely altering tlie features of the original Charter, that these could no longer be recognized. The nanie of " King's College" was dropped, and that of "the University of Toronto" adopted in its place; and liow essentially the princij)les of the former institution were changed, will be evident from some of the enactments adopted in the new constitution, which we shall cite. It was ordained that there should be "no Faculty of Divinity in this University," and that there should be 240 "no professorship, lectureship, or teachership of Divinity" within it. It Wcas enjicted also that " no person should be qualified to be appointed by the Crown to any seat in the Senate, who shall be a minister, ecclesiastic, or teacher, under or according to any form or profession of religious faith or worship whatsoever." It was further ordained that " no religious observances, according to the forms of any religious denomination, should be imposed upon the members or officers of the said University, or any of them." And, finally, that " no loligious test oi- qualification whatsoever, from scholar, stu<lent, fellow, or otherwise," or from the holder of " any office, professorship, mastership, tutorship, or other place or employment whatsoever in the same, shall be required." The Act, establishing the University of Toronto on this basis, — denuding its predecessor, with a Royal Charter, of every thing that bore the form, or remotest shew of religion, — came into force on the 1st January, 1850, lu this emergency, the members of the Church of Eng- land, with their Bishop at their head, had a trying but simple duty to discharge, Viewing this marked slight of, this veiy trampling upon, the Christianity which was meant to be ingrained into the principles and very essence of their highest hall of science, they could not do other- wise than part company w4th it forever, and establish a University of their own, in which the blessed teachings of our Christian fjiith should be prominently interwoven with its secular lessons. They must have a University in which, while their youth were trained for the honourable occupation of the world's offices of trust and usefulness, they should have that accompanying instruction in reli- gious truth, which is the only security for sound principle and upright dealing in the common duties of life. In the words of the late Dr. Arnold, happily adduced by the Bishop himself " science and literature will not do for a 241 man's main business ; tlioy must be used in su})or(li nation to a clearly perceived {Christian end, and looked upon as of most subordinate value. In fact the house is spiritually ('nij)ty so long as tlie pearl of great price is not there, although it may be hung with all the decorations of earthly knowledge," To the proposition, that (colleges' established by the several bodies of the Province should " affiliate " with the Toronto University, and leave all to this, except the religious instruction of their respective members, the Bishop would give no countenance. The slight aid or relief thus afforded, would, he considered, form an excuse for restrictions and interferences which, when most galling, it might be difficult to yhake off. He i)rotested, too, against this thrusting forth of Christianity from the temple, that she might take her abode in porches, and corners, and allc^ys, where she would be shrouded from view, or buried from sight, as something to be ashamed of He felt that she should assume her proper position, and occupy the highest room ; that she should fonri part of the nourishment and vitality that courses through the heart and trunk, and not merely be linked with a number of feeble and sickly appen<lages, grafted hither and thither, in unsightly variety upon the lusty and expansive tree. These were sentiments which lay at the heart's core of the great mass of the Churchmen of Ui)per Canada. With all but unanimous voice they demanded the establishment of a University, framed upon the principles becpieathed to them from their forefathers, and which have won for their mother-land a world-wide renown. In the month of January, 1850, the Bishop of Toronto addressed a stirring appeal to the Clergy and Laity of his Diocese ; calling upon them to aid by their contributions the establishment of what had now become a necessity, — a Church University, — and heading the subscription- list with a gift of £1000, 242 From this Pastoral Appeal, we must mal^< a few ex- tracts. They deserve a pcrinatu'nt record, and a wider . circulation; and may re-awaken the energies^!" old friends, and rouse the sympathies of new ones on behalf of the (!!ollege, the estfihlishment of which so spee<liiy followed this appeal. Ht; says : — •' It is surely the duty, hh \^ell as tlie firivilege, of every Churchman in the Diocese, to asHJat, aw far as he is able, in sup- plying the v;ant which the Church now feels in the destruction of her Univei'sity, and which, if not 8uj)plio(l, will, in a short time, arrest the ha])py progress she is making through all parts of the country. Let not, then, the friends and members of the Church look for rest till proper means are found for the religious education of her children. We have fallen, indeed, on evil times, and the storm has overtaken us, aggravated by the [)ainful reflection that we have contributed largely, by our want of unity and consistency, to bring it on ourselves ; yet we must not bo discouraged, for, though the watei's threaten to overwhelm us, we are still the children of ho[)e. Never perhajis, in the history of the Church, did a single case more comi)letcly prove the influ- ence of party spirit in corruj)ting the heart, and warping and entangling the judgment, till it had acquired a moral obliquity, incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, truth from false- hood, than the destruction of King's College. " What makes this act of unscrupulous injustice the harder to be borne, is the conviction, which I think we must all feel, that if any one of the religious denominations in this Province, dis- senting from the Church of England, had received from their Sovereign a Poyal Charter, founding a University in connexion with their faith, and had received at the same time the free gift of an endowment for its support, any attempt by the Colonial Legislature to abrogate their Chartei', and to wrest from them the endowment conferred by their Sovereign, would have been promptly^ discountenanced by the Executive Government, and firmly resisted, as being unreasonable and unjust. If any had been found to make such an attempt, (which assuredly the Church of England would not have dore,) they would have been told at 243 once, that whatever opinions they might havo formed of the j)olicy or impolicy of the nieuHuro, the grant could not btit be res- pected, and the faith of the Sovereign maintained. And I am sure, my brethren, that neither you nor I would have regretted to nee those principles upheld by which alone either nations or individuals can expect long to flourish. We should havo remarked, too, in such a case as I have supposed, another mor- tifying difference : the members of any other religious denomina- tion whose rights had been iinjuHtly attacked, as ours were, would not have .sought a vain p<)i)ularity by abandoning them ; they would have been found united as one nmn in their defence." Tho following remarks are of a practical character; and it is not even now too late to act upon them : — "There are, it is believed, about four hundred organized town- ships in the Diocese ; and were only one lot of two hundred acres to be contributed as an average in each township, it would form an endowment of ^?ghty thousand acres ; and this, by good management, with ])ri''ate contributions in money, and the a.ssist- ance of the two venerable Societies, would become sufficient to enable us in a very short time to begin operations, and gradually, ius the property leased, to extend the University, as has been done in like cases in Eurof)e and America. *' Or, taking it otherwist; ; — there arc, I presume, about '200,- 000 adherents of the Church of England in Upper Canada, or 40,000 families. Now, were each family to contribute two pounds, or two acres of good land, a very hand.some endowment would be the result. " But as there are many poor, and some to whom God has not given generosity of heart, — let us take one-fourth, or only 10,000 families, and claim from each, for the love of God, six pounds in money, or ten acres of good land, iis may be more convenient, and the University will be established. The difficulty, therefore, in the way of endowing a Church University, is not so great as those, who have not considered the sulyect, may suppose ; and although we may not obtain the subscriptions in land, or in money, of ten or even of five thousand at once, yet we shall, with 244 OckI'm blcMHing, obtain more in tiuH? ; and hh the IiiHtitution we contemplate in not for a short pcjiixl, but for centuries, we can afford time, and be content to odvance to maturity by degreew. But why shouhl we not hope that tlioCliurch, among hor 200,(100, will produce one thousand noble souls, ready to come ibrward with at least one hundred acres each, atid in a moment compleU^ the endowment ?" Expressing liis belief of aid from the ^'oai ('hinc]i Societies of the Mother Country, and that in att('ni[»ting this University no Utopian Kcheino is devised, he ])roci'eds to urge the duty of establishing it u|»on high moral and religious grounds. He says : — " TJjo Churoh ought to do nothing by halves. Her University must comprise an cntirs system of education, based on rf^ligion. Every branch of knowledge cherished at Oxf(U'd and (Jambridge must b'j carefully and substiintially taught. She must also have her Eton, or Grammar School, to sujtply her with students : the whole to be placed under tlin guidance of the Chiireh, that her religious instruction may have no uncertain sound. Wo desire a Univei'sity, which, fe<l by the heavenly stream of j)nre religion, may communicate fuel to the lamp of genius, and enable it to burn with a brighter and purer flame. Thus the Arts and Heiences, with all that adds real embellishment to life, will be studied with m<»re perseverance and order for moral ends ; and the faculties, under such training, will become so pure and unclouded, that |>ercei)tion will be infinitely more vivi<l, and I'ise to far greater elevation ; and all will be bound together by that j)ur(! jtrinciple of love, which the Scriptures tell us is the beginning and end of all our being. For this reason, we shall have in our Uni\ersity daily habitual worship, that we may possess a conscious feeling of the Divine presence ; and this will ])roduce such an ardent aspiration after goodness as will consecrate every moven»ent. Hence the religious })rinciples thus developed, will prove of themselves a system of education infinitely su[)erior to all others. " Having done all in my power, I shall acquiesce submissively in the result, whatever it may be ; and I shall then, and not till then, consider my mission in this behalf ended." 245 This appeal wjih promptly and generously ro.s[)onde(l to ; an<l ))ef()rc the month of April about £2.>,0()0 were suh- Mcrihcd in tlie Dio<!eHc of Toronto alone. Hut the resources of a new country could not be con- si<lered ecpuil to such a demand ; there was in Canada the spirit, but not the power fidly to cairy out this great undertaking. The Bishop, therefore, resolved upon ox- terttling the ap[)eal to our fellow Cliurchnien in Engltmd ; believing that there would bo as much sympathy there with so noble an effort, as there wouhl be indignation that v/e were conij)elled to resort to it. The Imperial Govern- ment had sanctioned the se<]uestration of the royal gift by which King's College was founded; and the peoidc of England would feel a sort of responsibility to rn.ike goo«l tln^ loss. On the loth A})ril, IH'A), at the ngc of 72, tlie Bishop left for England ; followed to the steamer by a large body of the in]»a)»itants of all classes and conditions, from the (■hief Justice of the Province to the bronzed labourer ; and he set sail amiiist the cheers and plaudits of all. He was about to a<ld another trophy to his long-earned fame, and to establish for liimself a monument which future genera- tions would contem])late with gratitude. The Bishop, on his arrival in England, felt it his duty to ])lace himself in corresj)ondeHce with Earl Grey, Secretaiy of State for the Colonies. He asked, first, the disallowance by Her Majesty of the Act recently passed in Canada for the abolition of King's College ; and requested, if this peti- tion could not be acceded to, that a Charter mifdit be granted by Her Majesty f(^r a University in Upper Canada strictly in connexion with the Church of England. He further prayed that a Quec 's Letter might be granted, authorizing collections on this behalf in the several Parish Churches of the United Kingdom, Earl Grey, who was very courteous in his acknowledg- ment of the Bishop's proposals, expressed the impossibility 24G of entertaining the petition for tlic <li«allo\vancn of the Provincial Act complained of, as the cOiifinnation of this Act had already taken i)lacc. He stated, too, his fear that it wouM be impossible to comply with the request for a Queen's Letter, as great difficulty was now experienced in extending this privilege to the Society for the Propagfition of the Gos])el in F<n'eign Parts; but he spoke encourag- ingly of the granting of a Charter to a new Colh'ge to be conducted on CJhurch of England principles, — assuming that the draft of this Charter should, after examination, be regarded as unobjectionable. The Bishop, too, felt it desirable to secure the ])Owerful influence of Sir Robert Peel in carrying out his })lans; but his interviews with that lamented statesman are best des- cribed in his own words : — " On Friday, 7th June, I called on the late Sir KolxMt Peel, with a letter of introduction from Chief Justice Robinson, of Upper Canada, for I was anxious to interest so great and good a man in the ol)ject which had brought me to England. Soon after I sent in my card and letter, the servant came and told me Sir Robert wns very sorry that he hajtpened at that moment to be particularly engaged, but would make an early appointment to see me. " On Monday, 10th June, 1 called at tlic time apjjointed. Sir Robert was at first distant and reserved, but, never- theless, courteous and encouraging. He heard, with the most patient attention, my statement of the many struggles and final destruction of King's College, and the est-dilish- ment of a College in its stead, from which religion is virtually excluded. 'It seems a strange and outrageous proceeding, (he said) so far as I understand it ; but I shall require to study the matter, and make myself acquainted with all the details, that I may be fully satisfied in my own mind, before I can ever think of interfering. Indeed, I have so little influence that my interference can, I fear. 247 be of little use. I suppose that the now institution of Toronto Univorsitv is s(nnetliin£; Jiko the London Colletfo or the Irisli Colleges.' Pardon me, I replied, the London College' preys upon no other interest, and is suppitrtcd from private sou rees : it unhappily drops religion, but it does not go so far as to exclude it hy legal eiiaetnient, ns the Toronto University d»)es. ' That eertainly makes a difference,' It differs also from Hw Irish Colleges in this, — that the Irish Colleges are supported by the CoveiTJ- ment, and their estjiblishment did not interfere with, or injure, any other Institution. But the College or Univer- sity of Toronto is founded on the ruins of King's (College, whose Royal Charter it has rc^pealed under the ])retenee of amending it, and whose endowment of £11, ()()() per annum, though secured by a patent from the Crown, and guaranteed by the pledge of three Kings, it has seized and approj>riated to itself ' Then, if I understand it,' said Sir Robert, ' the Government would have made a parallel ease, had they seized up<m Trinity College, Dublin, and not only destroyed its religious character, but endowed, with its property, all the new Colleges.' Such, I answered, would have been a ease exactly parallel. 'If so,' continued Sir Robert. ' it would seem a case of singular injustice and oi)I)ression, and what could never have taken ])lace in England ; but I must be more fully satisfied on this point.' He then re(piired me to send him a co])y of the Statute, and such other pajjcrs as I thought might eluei<late the subj(!ct, and he promised to give them a careful jx'rusal. " On my return to my lodgings, I sent the documents re([uircd, and with the more alacrity, because Sir Robert got evidently interested in the subject, as our conversation proceeded, and became more frank and cordial ; so much so, that I felt that the reserve with which he met me at first had altogether disai)peared." About ten days after, the Bishoj) had another interview with Sir Robert Peel, who, on this occasion, received him 248 with great cordiality, and raid that, after j)erusing care- fully all the documcTits with which he liad hecn fiirni.shed, he considered the case one of great hardshij) and injustice, J[e, however advised the Bisho}) to abstain from presenting any petitions to Parliament, with the expectation that they would interfere in the matter ; and he considered that the. wisest course would be, to direct all his energies to the olttaining of a Royal Charter for the contemplated new 0(dlege, The more simi)ly he applied his efforts to this, the more certain would be his success. Sir Robert pro- mised Inm all the assistance in his power; but reminded him that this could not now amount to much. On the 9th May following, the Bishop imblished nn address to the members of the Church of England through- out the United Kingdom, which was very extensively circulated, and on the whole met with a very favourable rosj>onse, A xary influential Conunitteo, amongst whom were Lord Seaton an<l JMr. Gladstone, very heartily co-o})erated with him, and large donations came in. The Bishop also visited the Universities, that he might engage their sympathy; attended several public meetings, and earnestly advocated the cause ; and preached oji its behalf hi many of the larger Churches of England. Through all these efforts, he succeeded in ad«ling al)out £15,000 to the funds of the intended University, and he came back to Can.'wla, early in the month of November following, fully determined to start the University, and much encouraged in the belief that, once established, it would soon receive the Royal Charter th.it had been i)rayed for. 240 CHAPTER XXVI. Establishment of the Diocesau Syiiotl. — Laying the Foundation- stone of Trinity College. — Opening of the College. /^JKHE year 18-31 was lemarkablc, in the annals of the || ; Diocese of Toronto, for the first actual start in the establishment of a Diocesan Synod. It is not, how- ever to be supposed that this was a sudden conception on the pjirt of our late Diocesan ; or that it had acquired life and energy only just before the attempt at practically carrying it out. Early in the year 1832, soon after the return from Eng- land of the writer of this Memoir, he received a letter from Dr. Strachan, then Archdeacon of York, containing a draft of a Constitution for a Diocesan Convocation. This contained fourteen rules, with an excellent preamble, asserting the reasons for the establishment of such a body. He says in this letter : — "In the draft transmitted to you, I have confined myself within as narrow bounds as possil^le, and simplified the whole as nmcli as I could. To make it long, might deter the Bishop in limine from entertaining it : the great object is to get it fairly established, and then it will be easy to introduce such additional articles as experience may suggest. " I am quite convinced," he adds " that we shall never gain much ground in the Province, or obtain that influence on public opinion, or with the Government, or with the Bishop hinjself, — that we ought to po.ssess, till we have 32 250 frequent Convocations, composed of the Clergy and mem- bers from their Heveral congiTtr'^itions. " To such assemblies, tho p]j)isco[)al Church in the United States owes almost every thing; and from the M'ant of public meetings of the Clergy and Lait}^ the Cliurdi of England is losing weight with the people, and influence, with the Government. He asked for such remarks upon this draft as, after mature consideration, I miglit think it advisable to offer; and he stated that he had nuido a simihir lequest to two or three other Clergymen of the Diocese, on whose judgment he set much value. In August, 1832, at a Visitation of the Clergy at Kingston, held by the Bishoj) of Quebec, the sul)ject was discussed, though inftn-mally; and aj)pi'obation of a Diocesan Synod or Convocation was generally expressed. Thtj sub- ject was resumed at Toronto, at a Vif itation hehl there a few weeks later. In 1830, at the meeting ]»resided over by the two Ardi- deacons, the question was vc^ry earnestly taken up, and discussed at some lengtli. Some objections were advanced ; but the feeling of the meeting was decidedly in favour of Synodical action. There were, even then, indications sufficiently suggestive that the time was not far distant when wc should be a self-su})porting, and self-reliant C!hurch ; and the impression was a natural one that, in view of such a condition, we should lose no time in pre- paring ourselves to become a self-governing Church. It was natural also to entertain, and give expression to the opinion, that, inasmuch as for the future maintenance of the Church we should have to depend so much on the good-will and liberality of the lay-members of our Com- munion, it was only fair to assign to them a reasonabh; share in its government. Nothing definite was adopted, or suggested, subsequently for some years; but in 1851 there were such strong indica- 251 tions that stc[).s vvuukl be taken by tlio Provincial Parlia- ment for the alienation of the Ch-rgy ReserveH, that the Bishop of Toronto, in i.ssuing to the Clergy of tlie DioceMc the usual summons to his Triennial Visitation, introdueeil the following direct allusion to the iin[)ortanct? and the duty of Synodical action: — " It has been sugg('ste<l, and even pressed uj>on me, by many of the most ]>ious jind respectable members of our Connnunion, both lay and clerieal, that the Church, now so numerous in Canada West, ought to ex[)ress her o])inion, as a body, on the posture of lier secular affairs, whenan attempt is again made by her enen)ies to <lespoil her of the small remainder of her property, which hjis been set apart and <levoted to sacred ])urposes during sixty years; and that it is not only her duty to jtrotest against, such a manifest breach of public faith, but to tak(! such ste])s «s may seem just and reasonable to avert the same. " Iftaving taken this suggestion into serious consideration, and believing it not only founded on wisdom, but, in the present crisis of the tem])oralities of the Church, absolutely necessary, I hereby request every Clergyman of my Dio- cese to invite the members of his mission or congregation, being regular communicants, to select one or two of their number to accompany him to the Visitation." In response to this summons, one hundred and twent>'- i'our Clergymen, and one hr.ndred and twenty-seven Lay- men were present in the Church of th(! Holy Trinity, at Toronto, on Thursday, May 1, 18;>1. On this day after the usual religious sei*vices, the Bisho[) delivered a Cliarge of considerable length. There was tluni a short adjournment; autl the Bisho]), on their re-.issembling, addressed both Clergy and Laity collectively on the secular affairs of the Church. On the following day, after considerable dis(rus- sion several Kesolutions were j>a.ssed, expressing a strong protest against the threatened secularization of the Clergy Reserves; the expediency of applying to the Crown for 252 tlie establishment of a Diocesan Synod or Convocation, to consist of the Laity as well as the Clergy; and the duty of petitioning the Colonial Legislature to permit the estab- lishment of separate Church Schools. ConnTiittces were ai)pointed to carry these niles into effect. Such was tlu^ practical commencement of Thk Synod of tiik Diooesk OF Toronto. The Bishop considered the present a favourable oppor- tunity for laying the Foundation-stone of Trinity College for which ceremonial every necessary preparation had been made. Our readers, however, should be informed that, on the return of the Bishop from England in the autunm of 1S5(), a Deputation from the "Upper Canada School of Medicine, — composed of Drs. Hodder, Bovell, Badgley, Hallowell, Bethune, and Melville, — waited upon his Lord- ship, to tender their services as the Medical Ftaculty of tlu* jnojected University, and offering these services gi'atui- tously until the revenues of the University should warrant the payment of a suitable j'emuneration. This offer was (rheerfully accepted ; and as the usual pciiod for the com- mencement of the winter course of study had arrived, the Bishop sanctioned the naming of a day on whi(!li the Fjiculty should commence their labours. They met accoi'd- ingly at the Hall of the Mechanics' Institute, on the 7th November; .and, after Prayers, and an Address from the Bishop, introductory Lectures were delivered by the several Professors. On the 13th March, 1851, the tenders were accejjted for the erection of Trinity College; on the 17th of that month, the first S(k1 was turned with solemn and imi)ressive cere- mony ; and on the 30th April, the ( \)rner-st^)ne of the building was laid. At one o'clock on that day, a procession of one hundred Cergymen, with the Medical Faculty and College Council, followed by the Bishop and his Chaplains, proceeded to St. George's Church, where Divine Service was performed, and 253 an appropriate sermon preached by the Archdcp.eo. ;i York. When the service was concluded, the Bishop he (Jlergy, and the numerous congi'cgation fonncd in proces- si(»n at tlie western end of the Church, and proceeded thence down John Street and .along Queen Street to the site of the College. " On its way from the Church to the grounds, several of the gentry in can-iagcs accompanied the procession, and the footways were crowded with pedes- triaiis. The scene was gay and animating in the extreme, jind every thing evinced the deep interest which the ( *hurchmen of Toronto and the Province generally took in the event." On tlie arrival of the procession at the ground, the Bishop, from a capacious platform prepared for the ( icCasion, delivered an Address, from which we make a few extracts : — " To found a common seat of kiarning is a proud object of uin- l)ition ; but to establish a College devoted to the cause of God, .md the diffusion of sound learning and true religion tluough so vast a region as Upper Canada, is one of those precious diiitinc- tions which are seldom attained ; and, associated in our imagina- tions, as it must be, with so many gifts and blessings to young and old, it cannot fail to become a source of delightful reflection through life to all of us who now enjoy the privilege of bcinfj present on this happy occasion. ** Feeble we may seem to the world's eye ; but what Seminary in the history of literature can claim an origin so pure and holy 1 " Trinity College is a burst of Christian benevolence, to remedy an intolerable act of injustice, and to prove that all opj)ression is short-sighted, and sure in God's own time to bo overrnlod for good. " It is peculiarly the child of the Church ; from her it springs, and under her wing it desires to nestle ; it will breathe as she breathes, and acquire life and energy from the spiritual nourish- ment which she is oixlained to dispense. *• So soon as the buildings are completed, Trinity College will become, in all her proceedings, as strictly Collegiate in discipline 254 unci character as the circumstances of this new country will per- mit ; and its authorities will ever kec[» in view the glorious models of the Pai'cnt State, to which pure science and the Christian faith are so much indebted. From them she will horrow a spark of that living flame by which they have been animated for so many centuries, in order that she may, witli tiod's blessing, kindle similar inspirations in this Colony. "And I trust that many around me will be permitted to see 'J'l inity College taking an honoured j)lace among the more cele- brated schools of learning, and doing for Canada what Oxford and Cambridge have done for England." The Bishop, aftca' this Address, offered up a Praj-er, whicli it is but right to insert in this record of his life ; and it is one which all, interested in the growth and pros- perity of Trinity College, may often dutifully use : " O Almighty God, with whom was v isdom when Thou didst prepare the heavens and set a compass upon the face of the depth, look down with fiivonr, we most humbly beseech Thee, on the work which we this day begin. " Mercifully grant unto all who are. engaged therein judgment and understanding ; that the labour of their hands and fruits of their counsels may tend to Thy glory, the good of Thy Church, and the well-being of this whole land. "Vouchsafe unto those v:, shall sojourn within the walls about to rise from this foujii.tion, minds enlightened by Thy heavenly grace, to proceed in all their doings according to Thy will. " Teach by Thy Holy Spirit from on high those who shall here teach ; and cause their instructions to agree with the truth of Thy word and the testimony of Thy Church : that by the might of Thy power, working through the frail instrumentality of men, the Faith once delivered to the Saints may be handed on for ever. " Grant to those who shall here learn, docility and diligence, that they may be disciples indeed, willing from their youth to bear t'le yoke of Christ, and fitted by a discipline of purity and prayer to discharge the duties of those states of life which Thou hast appointed for men to walk in. 255 " Grant that from these walls may go forth, devoted unto Thee and rightly equipped for their work, raessengei-s of the Gospel of Peace ; who sliull aim, under the commission of their Saviour, to win souls unto Thee ; to train their brethren by the Word and Sacraments after the pattern of their Lord ; and to bring back those who err and stray into the unity of the faith and the oneness of the body of Christ. " Grant that from these walls may go forth Physicians skilled to heal, and enabled, under Thee, to mitigate the woes which sin hath brought upon the earth: who, in their labour for the hoivlth of the body, shall have I'cgard also to the health of the soul, from a lively faith in Thee tlte Father of the Sjurits of us all. " Grant that from these walls may go forth men, who, while they make the statutes and judgments of their fellow-men their study, and consult how they may establish truth and justice in the State, shall have in their hearts an abiding respect unto Thee, the Lawgiver of the worlds, and to the decrees that shall hereafter decide the eternal condition of quick and dead. " Grant that from these walls may go forth those who, while they engage in the traffic of the earth, and fulfil Thy will in effecting among men the interchange of the wide-sj)read gifts of Thy bounteous hand, shall know also what is the merchandize of the true riches ; how to increase the gifts with which they have been entrusted to profit withal ; ami how to lay up treasures in heaven. " Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to each and all who shall go forth hence to labour in their various vocations among their fellow-men, that, to intellects accomplished in wisdom and know- ledge, they may join souls Fdled with a true reverence and love towards Thee ; so that, as jjolished shafts from Thy hand, they may in all things fulfil Thy good pleasure, to the glory of Thy great name. " Grant, O Lord, that this building, about to be devoted to learning apd religion, may proceed without let or hindrance, and may be to future generations the fountain, ;inder Thee, of abundant blessings. " Visit, with Thy grace, we humbly beseech Thee, those bene- factors who have contributed to the furtherance of this good 256 work; and stir up other hearts to niunificcnce towards the under- taking on whidi we now enter. CJau.se many among the brethren to vie in real with those who, ia tlie times of oUl, liave founded and endowed in the hand of our fathers tlie seats of learning dedicated to Thee and to the service of Thy Church. " And grant, O Lord, that we and our descendants to tlie latest generation, being preserved evermore from the hands of the spoiler, may enjoy these gifts, and ])in*sue our coursn in confi- dence and peace. "Hear us, O Almighty (Joel, we humbly beseech Thee, in these our supplications and prayers, for the sake of our only Meditator and Advocate, Jesus Christ ; to whom, with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, the over adorable Trinity, to whom we dedicate our work, be all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Upon the brass plate which covered the usual coins and documents was a long Latin inscription, whicli was admi- rably read by Chief Justice Kobinson. Tlie stone having been laid by the Bishoj), lie was addressed in a brief but excellent speech by Sir Allan MacNab. Then followed a gracefully written Latin ad<lress from the i)upils of the Church Grammar School conducted by the Kev. J. G, D. Mackenzie, and read with great correctness by the head pupil, the late John James Bethune. To this the Bishop made an appropriate reply in Latin. In the Bidding Prayer, read by the Archdeacon of York, was this para- graph, — " That there never may be wanting a supply of persons duly qualified to serve God in Church and State, let us pray for a blessing on all Seminaries of sound learn- ing and religious education, especially ihe Universities of our native country; and, as in duty bound, for the religious foundation of Trinity College." The very interesting services of the day were concluded by an appropriate Prayer, embodying the Gloria in Excelsis, by the Rev. H. J. Grasett, and the Benediction by the Bishop. 2;57 Through the exertion.s of friencls in England, a Provost, and Professors of Classics and Mathematics, were selected, and they arrived in Canada in the autumn of 18.j1, On Thursday, 15th January, 18.)2, Trinity College was formally opened. Divine Service was held in the tempo- rary Chapel, at which there was a large attendance ; and this concluded, all proceedc<l to the Dining Hall of the C-ollege, very judiciously irranged for the occasion. The matriculants wore admitted with the usual formalities ; after which the Bishop delivered an Address, giving a brief history of the whole undertaking, and the reasons which KO imperatively led to it. We make from the latter portion of this a few extracts : — ** One of our principal objects iu this Institution, will be to bring buck to the hearts ai.vl affections of our yotith the fresh and innocent imjiressions of early infancy. With what deep emotions <lo we find the greatest and best of men recalling, in after life, the blessed influences which they imbibed under the paternal roof ; the holy truth.s comintniicated, and the first faint accents of ])rayer which a i)ious and tender mother whispered in their ears, invoking the ])rotection of their God and Saviour before she consigned them to their nigiit's repo.se. On such sweet and pure recollections they delight to dwell ; for at home all our best and holiest charities and affections begin, and from this centre they extend through an ever widening circle. Our desire, then, is to build upon this holy foundation ; to form our.selves, as far as pos- sible, uito a large household ; and keep as near as may be prac- ticable, to the order and economy of a well regulated family. There will be daily and hourly intercourse between the youth and their insti-uctors ; reverence for superior age and attainments, and a prompt obedience to all their reasonable commands. ** There will also be among the young men themselves an affectionate brotherhood, confidential and salutary companionship, noble x'esolutions, aspiring hopes, useful conversation and friendly intimacy, on terms and with an intensity which nothing but a College life will admit. " In regard to discipline, we cannot surely be required, in 33 258 1852, to dhew that it is iinneceasary : on the contrary, the expe- rience of all pgcH and conntrien jjoints out the advantage of Hiibjecting the jmsHionattf and cntluiHiustic period of youth to siilutary control, an well as tlu^ great difticidty of rendering it tiffeetiial." The Chief Justice, the Hon. J. B. RoblnHoii, foliowetl ; and from his admirable address we quote the following,' .striking ]mMsagos : — " Jt in but a few short nionthn since wo saw the close of an anxious and painful contest, of which I shall only say that I be Heve it will some day be acknowledged that it wo\dd have been no less for the advantage than the honour of this Pi-ovlnee if it had had a different termination. Many who, under the saniH circumstances, would have felt, not less keenly than yotu' Lord- ship, the disappointmeJit of long cherished hoj)cs, would have thought themselves well justified if tlu^y had then given way to despondency ; and they would ])robably luive left to another generation the seemingly hopeless task of endeavouring to procure for the members of oiu' Church in Upper Canada the means of receiving a collegiate education, in halls sanctifi(;d by the minis trations of her worship, and within which her fiUth should be acknowledged, and her doctrines inculcated. " ft has been long ago said, in a noble sj)irit of philanthropy, that it ought to be the aim of every man, while jjussing through life to leave behind him some enduring proof that he has not lived in vain ; some useful monument of his labours, by which his name may be favourably known to future generations. We thankfully acknowledge that your Lordship, standitig under the roof of Trinity College, and in the presence of its duly ap[)ointed Professors, has fully acquitted yourself of this debt to posterity, while it is at the same time our peculiar advantage to know that jis failures have not deterred, so success will not slacken vour services in this good cause. There is no one, we are convinced, who can be sc influential as your Lordship in whatever remains to be done for placing this institution on a secure and adequate foundation ; nor is there one of whom all the friends of the 259 Church can say, with SjO much reason, thnt they are sure his utiuoHt excrtioUH will, to Inn latest morneiir, be devoted to its Hervice. "OurH in no new faith. It is not from the Reformation that the Church of England dates lier existence. We are not separated from other Christian conimunities in conseciuence of any recent ad()[)tion on our i)art of a doubtful interpretation of some text of Scripture, or any modern scrupUt in regard to forms. Nothing else that we most fondly venerate, — not the glorious flag of Kngland, nor the great Charter of our liberties, has, from its antiquity, so strong a claim to our devotion an the Church. It is tljo Church which, from age to age, the Sovereign lias sworn to support ; centuries have passed since holy martyrs have perished at the stake, rather than deny her doctrines ; and the .soil (if England is hallowod by the dust of countless worthies who have sunk to their rest professing her creed, and invoking blessings on her labours, after lives illustrated by piety and learning, and devoted in the purest spirit to the welfare of mankind, " May the honour bo conceded to Trinity College, in the pro- gress of time, of having produced men who, by their learning and virtues, may establish as strong a claim to the grateful admiration of posterity." From the Adtlress of of the Archdeacon of York, wlio followed the Chief Justice, we quote a few extracts : — " A})art from the paramount claims of heavenly truths, which of right demands the devout attention of every baptized Christian, we can foresee the highest jiractical benefits to society as the result of training in an Institution like this. The teaching of an authorized ministry will thus, in the leading and most influential classes of society, have a kindly and well-prepared soil to work upon ; and the claims of our holy Church will be presented to future generations with more than an hereditary jjrejwssession in its favour. Evangelical Truth would thus be proposed to enlight- ened disciples ; and the tenet of Apostolic Order will bo embraced from no mere bias of party, I it from a rational and settled conviction. "And here I may be permitted to express my own high satis- 260 faction in being allowed this day to resign into the hands of accomplished scholars and divinos, a trust which, during a period often years, I have, as Diocesan Professor of Theology, laboureii to discharge, though with the consciousness ttf many in6rmities, yet with fidelity and z«»al. My recent charge have become to-day membtr "«» of this Uuivei-sity ; and heaven, I trust, will [>rosi»er b4ith. Our prayer will l>e uniteil and earnest, that the pure stream of *' sound learning and a religious etlucation " will issue from this University, a!id water far and wide the wast** plaws <)f our land. And it will 1m» our pniyer that Trinity College will, through all time, uttest iu Christian chanu'ter in the successive geueratiouH of scholars that shall pnH'etnl from its walls . that the hanner of it>t alumni will )k> in the faith of ChriMt, and their watchword of duty — ' UuUne^H to the Lord.' " TIh* following ejuiit'lleiit reniurk'^ were <-oiitaiiie<I in th(> Mfhirt'MM of th*' H<'V. Pfovovt Wliitaker. who KjM.ke jjiHt. :- ** £vf*rr I^AVdiaii iitiwtng'^t uk Hhouid nurt^iy wt a ChrMlian, IHlittaAMiMi ih** vrukeitc*-'^ of the ChriHtun fiiih ; «Hdi. a* a <'ii«r^WMfi« t^ it)|MrBntt« ff«r !)«• )- < <«h,u m,. - ..f ikielyioe aail <^«if4tt*«* whi«*h <ik^iitiif«i(4i <Hir i'hiir>h i><»n ><^ln^ r y f^ pmm hmiim, in (««4f*r tkmt ke m*^ l*** {ireimredl to »• n Utt- MnttiKi *4 tkf i«^4H a«i^ tku' nmitth- mmi mmm i|iiiiBi««i tt^mtkmm vt f lir TlUmf, i» M t« W U-mM, hmm wmvimhiA Om* m» ^MNm iMMdIitt t» Awl HI jmHUkpmI- MiliMMt iMmv m fym/k, mr m ifiiniliaiiii' tlMliRr. H •• t^ |«» IwfHdl ihm Hmmp am m .i*m» Hw «• !• f/kim mmmi*. Wm mtmm hm ^^1^^ '^w' wl^^ " ^M^^W^P W IBWWH'* ,: Wipii^ ffvp IPlPl" .MMBHMVWPi'S'MA till iRMl^ tm(fmi iiM« Avr MM«iw«Mik 0mm m ^hl* < 1# i p oaf, ^MHigl 281 " The foundation of this College is a solemn protest agaiust the pejiaration of religion from education : v.e have joined together again what othei-s had put a&unuer. and what, as we helieve, God joined together from the beginning ; and, in doing this, it becomes us to acknowledge the obligation under which we live to be tnie to our own professions. They, who advocate truth and right, — esj>ecially if it be truth and right divine, — nmst look to it that they do not this unworthily. We are draw- ing a line of demarcation l)etwten ourselves and others, by inciil o:;tiug the doctrines of the Christian faith, and by offering ihn pniyers of the Christian Church within these walls ; we must l>« careful, then, that this lie n«» nifre formal distinctitm, but the ^MfiiM of an eMseutial diti'titMice ; w«> must look to it that thf' d«»ctrin«'s, which we itcknowleilge, inriu«'n««" our prartic*-, — that our lives 'le auswemble U> our pniyerx. " A luMthen nioraii^t haw njiid, — '• y«*> aea**! e*t iffibut.i. r*i"*^» werrxkiii OflotMi imd SM h» Mftxiin tM no (iti«|||lm% an it i« appli.d i>\ hiiM^if tn the rt wia g t wr «i an in<f>itnl, no 4n«btitMi tl>t-^ u 'nM mfftkd %m ilw «iMmelar «f m oummmt^y. A miciaty |m« fumtk t ami ^dmrnatmr tlH« w t a wniiii i^wi it,- — ^Am i jl^..^ «riil hm§ pwtiiii i. Witii a*. tlMB, tts flnt ii fi«ii la 0m t«» TriiMty CMhp) its immm^fth** ■r is MMM ^HM «««k Imi il mm i» iiiJiiiinlhiHiii t« 11^ liMMINlMillMl flfflw «# 4MiMWilMv «|mI CSMrii iHillrfMMi Iw iMMMrf* 2G2 Thus was Trinity College fairly launclied upon its career: this has been of only seventeen years duration ; but during this short period, it has had a large share of stonn and vicissitude to contend with. We shall pain no one by savinij to what tliese trials areovvinj;; we shall devoutly hope that the worst have been experienced, and tliat, after all, Ti'inity College will prove to the Church and to the Stjite all that its founder designed. 263 CHAPTER XXVIl. Last Contest for the Clergy Keserves. — Settlement of the Ques- tion in 1854-5. — The ComniuUition Scheme. — Synod of 185G, and Episcopal Address. /^Jf^HE tiuic was now apjM'uaehing when tht^ Bishuj» of ii\ J Toronto was to fitjlit Ins hist battle for tlu^ Clergy Reserves, atid when the controversy was to clo«e u|Mm a (juestiou whieh luul "oeen allowe*! to ilisturb the Province for nearly forty yrars.. We have seen the issn** ofhiH|X'rsf'verinj.'eont<*Ht for Kin^^'s ('olle«fe ; in wliieli, with its ori<^ituil featnns materially chanjfed, there was never- th« !• --^ iHU«'h reUiiiieil that wouhl remind th<' worhi of it^ liN'itig a ChriMtiHii and a ( 'htirrh In^^titntion Btit even {UIh wiw J5«»ne, U|ir<M»t4Mi wholly ; and » im'W » f iMishnHUt was* n«js<'<l ii|M*n it« riiin», with a difl«'rent naiiM- .ind tHMtitinUy tliHinnt |inii«'i|4«*" We do iM»t «|n«>«ti*.n tiif UMHlit »«. ^m tmmutry nt Imr'^v of Ui« 1*nivMMiji <rif Tortmt'*. T^m' UitMitig ? t. Ii!;di|c til the PtwYfawi' ; find u|»l«f .iir« Uhm- mi'itrttl n i4Alf of ahh* aihI mmUmn Pm* li in flwittg «ili tltnt t^mUl <■ pmUti^. §nr tW «if «i>Mr v«i<iitli . t«it <livf«Hl<H«| ttf it« kv ^m mil 11 Hi tl»«w«^^M md ■■-— 264 Th?^reinnant of our Church property, secured .as we thought inalienably by the settlement of 1840, alread\ fully explained, was aj^ain in jeopardy : another and a last battle had to be fought for this shred of a goodly inheri- tance. Tlie Provincial Parliament, elected in 1851, con- tjiined a strong element of hostility to the Church of England ; and the ciy was revived with as much intensit}* as ever, for the entire alienation of the Clergy Reserves, and the aj>proi)riation to secular jairposes of whatever they eould be made t<» jjroduee. In the sunnner of 18.')2, Mr. Hineks, then in England, addre.ssed a strong letter to the Ciovernu)«'nt of Lord Derby then in power, and urged the passing of a measure by tlie Imperial Parliament which sh<tuld authorize' the Ijegisl.iture of Canada to deal unn- •»trirtediy wi til this pro) uTty. Tin writer (»f this Meuion- hjippened to b<« ill England that Niunmer, and ]ifu\ sevenil e(»nferenee>% with Sir .lolm Ps'kington, the Colonial Si'i-re- tarv, on the fubj.et of iln" ( 'ItTgy Reserves; and in th*- autiinui of tliat year !»«• published in (he T>int» n< v^j>{|)mi a full sUil* iiH III or lii. pi. «>«iit eoiiditioii *it ti)e i|ueHti«iii »ii«i the iiijiiwtiee «»f wiy iiiterfi'fetK'e with projM-rty oi iiiofiey'* Himohit-i I\ ipplieil h\ A«*t <•! Pailiaiiient U> th«* < Imrt'lie*, of England and nd. H< . ..nf, isdi'«i that ll*f w tf i< ti. lit iif |H44» wa rde«| a« « Hiutl sful im«voii»bl«* >«»i«|.ineni. Mt»<l tlwt if n.<- tilSitm^i in the < ttiindMit 1.^ n^iltii n *♦ A mem Hv Ut tw* «». M Hr Frit*', tlir vi^n mntli** iMHi vlit» HMT at0if»A ikmi mtek mH^kmrnmA tk^mli <-^' flMHI €llllipMHH^* wBp IBipiWBiB* |liWiWBBBW wy WK^ 1 265 ment to bring in a Bill, authorizing the Parlicament of Canada to dispose of the Clergy Reserves, but with this restriction, — that tiie proceeds therefrom, in accordance with the original intention of the grant, should be applied exclusively to the maintenance of religion in that Province. They were to be bound to this; but left free as to the manner in which the distribution of the funds should be made. A proposal so reasonable, and so just, could hardly have failed of aecejitance by th . Imperial Parliament ; but unhappily, in December, 1852, Lord Derby's administra- tion was overthrown, and th(^ Coalition (Government under Lord Al>erdeen siicceeded. This Government \^ould not adopt tlie views ennunciated by Sir John Pakington in his reply to Sir William Molesworth ; and, in conferences with the J)iike of Xcwcastle and Mr. Sydney Herl)ert, the writer of tliis was assuriNl of th<'ir anxious desin; to givr to th«' C]iur<'h in Canada all that she so reasonably clainuMJ ; but that as publii- nu-n th« v f«'lt it their duty Uj yield to Uu' I> j^isjatiin- of < 'ana<l'i tluj unn'Htri<"te«l, unconditional Ji-jMisal «*f tli<* < i< i^^ Ii.Mi vcs, ;uid of any rtVfntie tfwy «r«>«Jd Im- luadv to vj«ld C<»!i>.*''l«i*'nt iijMin thi*» avowwl \mr\mm of tli.> fiii|M'riMl <Mn'('rni«'nt. tixT'^ wa«» a wi«i«*'Mpr«a«l li(|itotiiMi aiiiMtt^t tti*' ffirnii- '>( til.- i lumh in Knixland; aitd, ii4 exwry tnt^tliu^ >4 thm Pr tv MiKi >^ it* fcwiiliii Uiroiiurlvrtit tibe k «(f »^m*liUum mm m- ■>< tst ^ ymim ami Cwwi iti TIm- i«u> MilMfi «f tMH. rwl ttaiiiPil ««rf i'i|pMiHi»iii| mmi imag^f m Ar Imh tHMi tttw MIh^ iiAhmp «bmi liip Ahm* iC 2G() I was present myself at the whole debate on the third reading in the House of Commons, and very much sur- prised at the weakness of the arguments in support of the Government measure. They could not touch the question on any gi'ound of princijile, and had to be content with arguments for the expediency of the measure they recom- mended. Mr. Walpole was the best speaker on the side of the Church, and Lord John Russell about the weakest against it; Init numbers outweighed the moral strength of our position, and a majority of eighty carried tlie third reading. It was not long before the Lords passed the measure by a considerable majority also; tlie Bishop of Oxford, to our intense surprise and sorrow, voting for the Government Bill. He had spoken in fjivour of it on the second reading; and this induced me, before it finally came up in the Lords, lo address liim a letter »>n the subject, — the publication of a few extracts from whicjj will not,! trust, bo considen'd • »ut of pla<'»» : — " Your LonLship, I am l»old enough to sny. fails in a«ldii- eiog a single arguuKiit t»» sli«'v.' that tlie( 'anadiau L*gislatur« bave » Mhiulow «.'f right to diinand th*' «oiitn»l ol tli.- ( 'iergy Re»wrv«*ii|, «»r a single wt*rd to pro\.> that this prujH«rtv in u*»t by law or ♦*«piity « \«'iiij>t from tli^ir j«in-Mij<tioii by an jtm^Tior H4iJH»U«*a.tioii and •M-»tl«MiHi»t »»f th«' wholi* «|U«-"*»H»H 'The |»h'« <*f m;u!t -i luuiiit^ in aj! hunm*;! ik^ttliikjm, lym ijh» iit«*ml **upj.«»rt it i- '. _'..»i, u <jf..n»niH% ttSi h)^ A#MMM 4ll' iIm' ri!/}»t '»f jliin/ ^ * h h.-u a p»)»iih?r wttA^iU'ti «l,ai,npiffiiit«» jh»j- ..- ■hhs \u^' \ in t^Mf wiufli. t( iWWbd witAi «fWdi l^*tlity u* ^>\iwt gjr^mi- <|i ■im «€ 179%, ^ ^km liiiglAiiMr:- ^ 'm»^ te ' vmf m 267 was conceded after the period in which a final, and what M\as intended to be an irrevocable settlement of this Church question, was made. What becomes, then, of the plea of consistency, so steadily asserted, in throwing this proj)erty into their hands ? What of the plea of justice, which appears to be the only plausible ground upon which the surrender is proposed to be made ? " Flat judltla, raat ccehun, is a heathen adage which your Lordship adduces in support of the course which, in this Cluuch question, you have been pleased to pursue. All we ask is the fair, and fjiithful, and courageous €a])pli- catiMi of that rule. Let justice be done, we say, however terrible the consequences. Let justice be done to the Church and to Protestant Christianity, even if the threat, — which every body knows t«> be an inqjracticable threat, — should be carried out, that the Province of Canada will tlis(jwn the supremacy of this Empire, unless the control of the Clergy Reserves be vested in its Legislature. Let truth prevail, and fiiith U; kept; let truth be maintiiiu'd, and guarantetJM Im* r»*spect4'<l, though tln' ♦■neniy should I'oiiir in like a H(hh\ to d<'.stroy them all, " Vour Lordship, witli that cliaritable indulgcinr which btfitH your Htjitioii, e.xpn - < ^ th«' iKijx? that, when once the l«»on of mdf-g'AiTiunent in tiie di.HiH>Kfil <ij th«- < 'I«'rgy lt<-*rv« -^ i-. c»»u<*c<1«m|, the ( 'aiuuliaii L«','isi;iturr will Im- fiir Hiid li' il ill ' iiii;. and a*«tiunf t<» th« Church the jat44r' Jiilly ciaiiiiM. There in junt a |i4»H<4i- Ml^ 'f it wjII im mt; Inni tiie kt-e d«:diiiL't of that Thm t^#ti ' * fjiw (if L'}»|irr i'Muviii > \<]>i ui t4 i, CaliiijAiwsi. nmkvm t^, t. -.uhi? -u t4' H «M|f '. . fw, • Vm9mms§f. miter it#» It- -x .«! «^ ^ ^ ' • r; mmi tfK» cry m 268 education. We have little, then, in the past Legislation of the Colony, to encourage the belief thr * there would be much respect paid, in the future allotment of this property to its first great object, — the dissemination of Chris- tianity. " The spiritual desolation which looms too distinctly in the future, should this unwise measure l)e carried out, was experienced in its full bitterness by the Church in the United States after the successful revolt of the Colonies. And if now there is a goodly array of Bishops and Clergy in that vast temtory, and many thousands of the Laity who gladly seek their ministrations, let it be recollected that as the consequence of an inadecpiate stated provision for the 8upi)ort of religion in that country, and the confis- cation of much tliat had been supplie*], the mendjers of the (!hurch in the United States numln^r only out* twenty-fifth of the wliole population. That tin* < 'Imrch iIhtc has no nationality, no imiv«'rsally iMt inHutiur, <»r ex|»iiiaMiv«' pow«T, is further evident from the t'lwt that nMliiirii^ of iiw inhabitants are the pn-y of niont extnivngant sret^*, »ind even miiliouH profi-HH no n-iigiouK fuith \vli:it>»<M?ver, And thiN In wiiitt i** dentined for ('aiwuia, MJiotild the pre^'tii HM*m*ur«' of (iovernnient b^mnie law " An elrtlMinit-*' letter UjHJH tlie wlloii* <|tie<«tio|| of tlw» I 'liTgy lt«'»MTv«»« w»« ai|dren*MMi by tlie HiNb'ip of TtinmUt U> tlie I hike of Neweiwilf' T)i'tn I hf«d pnblin)ie<l IH i^twUm, »ty\ eireuUiU^d HBmimliy mtt*m,i tie I'ttt'^ A |Miiiip}ii<t Ittiil previiMiitl^r Iwip^t |iitl»it«lH*'l nikI em'ulfit'Htl by invi»«*H «'>o»if H bH«*f i^U'Uv ut iif fti. iiixwi'ili ttttmH,. ** t*f tji. 'jiM -It .!i 11= .ih »!«•«*'»• :- i-i..i: ... : „i aocannir #if VHVw m9llf9Kl^l^f nPV ^l^^B^^V^i^ iBmrai ^^ Wr^^^^ ipvvm wVIHPnB «f Aal fmm, Hmm wm » litmtE «|i «f Aip 269 administration, of which Mr. Hincks was a leading mem- ]*cr, and a new and coahtion Ministry, — the first of the Ivind attempted in Canada, — was formed under the presi- dency of Sir Allan MacNab. His principal coadjutor was Mr. Morin; and so the new administration was commonly termed the MacNab-Morin Ministry. Here the questioji of the Clergy Reserves was very soon taken up; and tli«' Bishop of Toronto felt it his duty to address a strung letter to Mr. Morin, deprecating the threatened seeulariziitioii of that property. In this letter it was strongly urged, that sucli dealing with a property set apart for a Protestant Church as was threatened, might conu; to be extended, by and by, to the ])ossessions of the Komish Church ; and th.-tt it woul<l be wis«? in thf ni<*mbers <*f this eomniiHiiou to ;dlo\v no such pri*c«'d»'nt to vxiist for a HjMiliation which t<»<» nsauy wen* anxious to I'tfert. But, likf all fon'v'oing apjK'nls of this<hanMt«'r, thin h'tUT luul litti*' w<'t;ilit with th<* Minihtry or th«- bgi^lattin*. Not that many did h<»f «'!*tiniatc Ht th<'ir right vahi«' the liom-nt inti'iitionH jiiid weighty argumtuit^i of th< BiKliop ; but publie opinion wnn mori' weighty; Ipd, whether right or wrojig. pubJii- unu iit«(-»t rutit i'iU' to thi«, or retirt* from ptiblie life Tiii Bill for the liiial m-t'Hhrimium of th. < 'l»f|tv KU^rM'^ w,i4 ((wtivdy diw'U*«*i^l i«i Iwili Hon*** *.i fjiHiiiilt'in Mid it wm »i Umf^ mKm*f*i hs eh mhU- iii«J«iitti*** *fht*r** wnm m , ■ 'iit**-', n* »|»ei i»Jly imnt*it^li % iff hif|««-'riail A' ' thiii til* lii|limiiii €4 nil « h I'mFllll. mgmm WmtA, iJkmki hm ^t<t ,iumt^ ihmt nwpmi^lm Hmmi ami m mm »•• «««* nfn^-* ' -*f ^Mf pfiiMMil ^mm #Mfit. mmM §Mf tw ■iiiiitiwiiiWiliii'rf,. ..jfc#. ...■■■■^ .■^.■^.„.^.-^,^. iBiiji^i iiirtiki^^r fll^idte^ jK^^dfeji^ 'iiHA 1b& igMii^^i^iHittfli w^tf Ittt iMMi. #Mii aM» aimtmig»mv 1» #p ISmhA Hfc* m^ iijiili(iii 4f ft riiiiiiiiiiifitiiifiitf^-T[ «i UMmmmm §» • 270 bulk, — estimating the value of eucli life according to recognized and approveil rules, — was ha[)i>ily hit ui)on; and tlie Government, which had shewn a friendly and liberal s/irit throughout, readily, acceded to the plan. liiHtead, then, of the Clergy becoming stipendiaries of the ( lovermuent as long as they lived, with all the chances of change and loss which in the course of years might occur, a gross sum* of £lH8,.'Hi* sterling was received. This amount, liowever, was not ptit into the }K>ckets of the (.'lergy; but it was handed over t<> the Church Society of the IHoccHO, to be held in trust by them for the perman<-n( U'uetit of the Clmrch, — the Sotnety giving to each Clergy- man a bond guarante<ung the full aniiMint of his stifM-nd for life. It was'aiso providi-d in tins L-«)nd that, whi'it n < 'lergyiruiii ^through age, or bodily or m<iilal iiilirmity, sliould b'TfMiif incujiaciUttt'd for duty, hiw im'oim> from thix fund nixHild i«- piiid him without i«Utt4*inMiit am long (U4 111' live<i. At th«* outlet «4 tlii» arraiig. iin lit it wax dii«^»v«r«'«J tluii iIk* incoiiie from IIm' Commuidlioii Kuad, jtMtt m* it tlMti M4M,>i, wttuhi fail wIh'H -.f th«* v"»;i-tt«^ »«x(Miiditur*' )•> f». ' "*'.**<MM) |MT fifihiHu ; « d< " ^ M' 't •^■'^''wilii- <«ti«iiuiug yi*r jffJidtial laihiig-ili o< ***-4jf f'-f." ft Piy4i«r»l Atidit^w, riiiiDiiiiiiWMiiii', ^'*m t«ttt m* h :.HV«Minil4« «lfC«WliMMni 4MMf kftm wmm am u, • .. j^tmmi tfMtwmMHlMl hn tibs i*IWifci->- ' <i«» Hapds^tli^i ft QMMBit MMMI tlfffttfttm ■■■» HUtm •f'l ' ♦'•M ■i^iiTiir ^^^^ ^^^ ^i|^^^^^ H^^^ ^^^ ^Mh^ •'- MWi 271 a very short time several lives dropped in. From these <;oncurrent circumstances, the income was veiy soon brought up to the level of the expenditure. The Bishop, in his Address to the Syno«l in May, IHKJ, ♦•xpresse<l himself thus on tlio subject of the Commutation: "After the clo.Ht' of the Synod in (Jctolwr, 18o4, wo were em- ployed iu uriangiug the Coiuimituti(.n, Ut which the Clergy ha<l, U» thi'ii- lasting honour, given their intelligent and free con»<>nt. |{y thin noble and diiinterented act, they have merited the grati tu«le of the Church in Canada for ever, and won for them»elve.s the cordial admiration of true T'liurJimen thnaighout the world. *' It had 1»een m, eany niatlir Ut armn^ the numerous (h'taiU of Lhiit great and ini|«»rt4Uit measure, and to nnhice them to nnch a Mlm{M>, for the eon-lderation of the <t«.vernment, that each might apliear in it*« projier pbice, and fhr grounds on which it n-nipi{ 1m- jii«tly appm-iatJ*-!. Vet thi»« vnmt h«»Miur, re<|iiiring i*o much »«kili anil jilelity, ^m, happily iUr u-, willinglv ami x^mUmnly ttiuU-r tak'U \>y the Hon, John Ifdlyard <'ismiTon. and to him the Cliiipeh, on thi« iuu^niiii mm well a*, on m4iiv t»»h»T»», in iniinit^'lv indfUtfHi. But for ht« «it4*Mdy jift«»'ver-«i. .. ,r intilligcne*', m4 ufitiriiig jmii^um m <*xaittinHig itvpry •pplMatuMi frum mdi tMliiJilii, m wtil m *>i9dtm, I f«^| pfr«titi«l*«i tkit tW mijamtmmi mmM m^ Ih»«v tHwi m» m^mMf m m well eiAiwtrwi /' Ilia WOfli tatag tf» prt fMHT :— mA ^ ffnailgaiMi Mi ^.imm mmA ^ hm^ m^it,r--^ mmM 9mf mmm»m0m$ mm m mmmm m ^fmmltm mmi •mm&dm m. % .%. % 4 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 112 ^ U t. 12.2 140 Hill 2.0 1.4 IIIIII.6 ^l '/A 'm ^ rv 272 " Many incidents of interest might be selected from my joiir- nal.s, but I will indulge only in one. On iny visit to the Peni- tentiary at Kingston on Sunday, .'5th August, I found that by tlie laudable exertions of the Rev. Hannibal Mulkins, a great number of prisoners had been prepared for baptism and confirma- tion. Accordingly, on Sunday morning at o'clock, I was in attendance at the Penitentiary, It appeared that one hour only was allowed, and there was no authority to grant more. Yet by shortening the address, and some alterations of an unimj)ortant character in arranging the baptisms and confirmations, every thing was done in decency and in order, and without the appear- ance of haste. The number baptized WfW 00, and the number confirmed 80, "The s]>ectacle was deeply interesting, and it was hopeful. The numbers si)eak more impressively than words for the care and assiduity of the Chaplain. Indeed the decent and reverend manner in which they Vjehaved, and the interest they seemed to t^ke in the solemnities, proved that Mr. Mulkins had impressed u|K)n their minds, by sound instruction, the infinite importance ol the duties they were now called ui)on to discharge ; and I trust that I am justified in believing that something of the grace prayed for was imparted." 273 CHAPTER XXVIII. I Ji vision of the Diocese. — Election of the BiHliop )f Huron. — Visit of the Pnnce of Wales to Canarb. — Election of the BiMhop of Ontario. — Synod of 18G1. f^^HE division of tlie Dioceses had become in many of ll / the Colonies a necessity. Their immense extent rendered a watchful and minute personal superin- tendence impossible ; and for this cause even the ordinary routine of episcopal duties could not without difficulty be performed. The expanse of country to be traversed occu- pied a large amount of time that might be more profitably expended ; and long journeys in all weathers, and over the most primitive of roads, and sometimes across rough waters in frail vessels, prematurely wore out the energies of vahi- aV)le men. Such division, so imperatively called for, had, on this continent, been first eftecte<l in the Lower or Maritime Provinces. There the ancient Diocese of Nova Scotia had Newfoundland and the Bennudas detached from it on the <me side, and New Brunswick on the other; three Sees being thus con-stituted out of O; e. In 1839, a division of the vast Diocese of Quebec, extending from Sandwich to Gasi>e, was commenced by setting off Upper* Canada into the See of Toronto ; and the subdivision of these began with the estaV>lishment, within the former, of the Diocese of Montreal in 1H.50. During the same year the Bishop of Toronto propo.sed a corresponding division of his own Diocese ; and laid before the Archbishop of Canterbury a plan for the formation of a new Diocese east and west of 35 274 Toronto, and suggesting the erection of a special Bishopric for the Indian country, to be called the Diocese of St. Mar^'. It had })een the desire of tlie Bishop to create first the Diocese on the east of Toionto, with Kingston as its centre ; because, in his judgment, it had a i)rior claim, as comprising the older settlements, and also because the western division was less distant, and more easy ol access. It was hoped, too, that a grant from the Colonial Bishop- rics Fund, raised in England, would be made to that proposed Diocese, as the subject had been brought before the great Church Societies on several former occasions, and favourably entertained. B)it no aid, it was discovered could be obtained from that source ; and the intended new Dioceses must each raise an Endowment for themselves. This was fixed at £10,000 cuirency, that an income of at least £000 per armum might be secured to each of the future Bishops ; and so soon as it could l>e ascertained that this amount was .secured, the Imperial Government w^ould sanction the erection of the new Diocese, and a Royal Man- date be issued for the consecration of tin; Bisho]) elected. It was, on all hands, thought not unreasonable that where Dioceses furnished the endowment, they should have the privilege of electing their own Bishops. In the mean time, the Bishop of Toronto jjlaced his resignation of the east and west portions of his Diocese in the hands of the Archbisliop of Canterbury, to be used as soon fis the new Bishops should 1>e appointed to relieve him. In 1857, the Synod of Toronto established a canon providing for the election of Bishops, which should be applicable to all future appointments. The western division, though later in the field, out- stripped the eastern in the raising of an endowment ; and, in the spring of 1857, it was announced that the required sum of 40,000 dollars was there secured, and that they were prepared for the appointment of a Bishop. The elec- 27.5 tion of the Kcv. Dr. Cronyn to this office in July of that year is sa liappily described by the Bishop of Toronto that we prefer giving the nanvative in his own" words, as addressed to the Synod of his Diocese in 18.58 : — " Soon after the adjounmient of the Hynod last year, it became jiiy duty to call together the Clergy and Delegates of the new Diocese of Huron for, the pur[x).se of electing their Bishop, Such an assembly, and for such a purpose, will mark a new era in our ecclesitistical histoiy. It ..ideed presented a scene of deep interest, and one which stands without a ])arallel since the first ages of the Churcli. For, although, in the primitive times, to elect the Bishop wa" the rule, corru|)tion had crept in and had grown so general and inveterate, that the manner of choice became not only obsolete but filmost forgotten. Its resuscitation therefore, excited wonder and astonishment, and offcsnded many as if it had been a new and unauthorized thing. To behold an aged Bisho[), in this I'emote corner of the world, gathering around him his elders, his clergy, and his lay brethren, for the purjwse of choosing a man well qualitied to fill the high and holy office of Bishop, according to x\.[)0.stolic usage, by the willing tes- timony of the Clei'gy and suffrages of the people, was surely a sjtectacle which could not fail, in its noble simjjlicity and beauty, to make abiding impressions, which exterior jjomp and magnifi- cence could never ecpial. " The proceedings were conducted with becoming soleuinity ; and, though of the most exciting character, the choice was made in a manner worthy of the occasion, and honourable to all con- cernec'. No sooner was the name of the successful candidate announced by the presiding Bishop, than all rival feelings vanished away, and a unanimous vote confirmed the choice of the Clergy and Lay Delegates. It was refreshing to witness thf triumph of Christian unity and love, which threw to the winds all the arguments against the free and honest choice of Bisho|)8, which the narrow selfishness of nmny centuries had mustered i>p. "The Bishop-elect proceeded to England, where he was received with much kindne.ss and consideration; and having been 276 ooneecated at Lamboth by his Grace the Archbishop <;f Canter- bury, has litely returned to enter upon the important duties of his Ajmtolic othce. If separated from him in body we are still more united in soul : he is a son of full age gone to preside over his own household, and lo cultivate his allotted portion of the Lord's vineyard, — not to become a stranger, but still to remain our friend and brother, provoking us to good works, and looking back occasionally, with a yearning spirit, to his former associates." The u.sual Coutinnation tours were regularly made by the Bishop of Toronto, as in former years ; but as the most noticeable incudents in the progi'ess of these journeys have already been adduced, it would not be desired by the readers of this work that there should be any further record of events and circumstances connected with such tours, not essentially diftering from those already laid before them. The S€;paration of the Diocese of Huron from that of Toronto necessitated a division of the ecclesiastical funds, which had hitherto been common to both, on a fair and e(i[uitable basis. That a distribution might be effected in which both parties would have confidence, the late Chief Justice Sir James B, Macaulay, consented to act with the Bishops of Toronto and Huron in settling the terms and details of such distribution. Sir James Macaulay had been one of the pupils of the late Bishop, at Cornwall, and soon after the completion (;f his education entered the Army. On the restoration of peace, he retired fiom tlie military profession, and applied himself with great assiduity to the study of the Law. Without brilliancy of talent, he had great application and soon rose to distinction ija his new profession. His honourable mind and unbending integrity won the respect and confidence of all who knew him ; and it was felt that a liappy choice had been made when he consented to unite in the "Award" between the Dioceses which has since borne his name. 277 This Award, providing for a corresponding distribution of funds with tlie Eastern Diocese so soon as this should be formed, was formally subscribed by the partie*> concerned, on the 29th September, 1859, and assented to, and adopted by, the Church Societies of the existing Dioceses, and it became a law of the Church in Western Canada. By the arrangement thus concluded, it wa^ provided that the commutation of the Bishop, and the Archdeacons of King- ston and York, should, when it lapsed by their respective deaths to the general fund, be made available to the augmentation of the Ej)iscopal income in each of the three Dioceses, and for ])roviding a moderate stipend to an Archdeacon in each. This was originally the sug'^^estion of Sir James Macaulay; and its adoption gives £400 per annum to each of the three Bishops, in addition to the income derived from the Endowment fund, and £100 per annum tri an Archdeacon in each Diocese. Where it was thought advisable to appoint two Archdeacons in a Dio- cese, it has been amicably arranged that this amount should be divided equally between them. The most memorable tjvent in the year 18G0 was the visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada; whose arrival in Toronto took place early in September of that year. A special Synod was asrj.imbled to present an Address to his Royal Highness ; and the members of Synod headed by the Bishop, and accompanied by several Clergymen from the United States, attended the levee. It was pleas- ing to witness the delight they manifested at being per- mitted to pay this respect to the heir of the British throne, and the son of a Queen who is revered and .admired all the world over. The Address adopted by the Synod was read by the Bishop ; and his Royal Highness in clear and unembarra.ssed tones replied asfollo^^s: — 278 '• T am grateful for the assurances of your loyalty to the Queen, and for the welcome to myself conveyed in yo>iv address. "I am a member of the Church of England, and as such I rejoice to meet in this distant land, and in so im])ortant a Diocese, the representatives of that venerable body in whose creed I have been nurtured, and have lived. "I trust that Almighty God will guide your cfibrts to maintain the efficiency of the Church under the guidance of the venerable Prelate who has so long watched over you in this Diocese." The reception of His Royal Highness was everywhere most enthusiastic ; the citizens of the United States vieing with British subjects in })aying honour to this heir of royalty. The gentle and unassuming inannei-s of the youthful Prince added much to the warmth and affection of the reception he experienced. He attended Di%ine service at Toronto in the Cathedral of St. James, on Sun- day, the 9th September, and was met in the porch of the Church on entering b^' the Bishop and Clergy, drawn uj) in two lines. On passing through, the Prince turned aside to shake hands with the Bishop, and on entering, he was followed by the procession of Bishop and Clergy. The Church was densely crowded, but every thing was con- ducted with great order and decorum ; anything like a tumultuous and disorderly rushing in having been guarded against by the issue of tickets of admission to such as were not pewholders. The Bishop preached from this striking and appropriate text, (Psalm Ixii, 1.) " Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son." The treatment of the subject was general, and there was a careful abstinence from any personal allusion to the Prince. 279 The following year, 1861, was chiefly remarkable for the separation of the Eastern portion of the Province from the Diocese of Toronto, and its constitution into a new See, designated the Bishopric of Ontario. His Lordshi]> alluded to this happy consummation in his address to the Synod of Toronto, which nu't about a fortnight after ; — " I have now the pleasure to announce to you tl)e tinal separa- tion of the eastern portion of this Diocese by the election of its Bishop, and that it now foi'ins tlic^ Diocese of Ontario. " This completes the j>lan which I submitted to the Imperial Government in IS-^O, and establishes three compact and equal Sees out of the former Diocese of Toronto ; nor will they be tof) extensive for the superintendence and government of an active Bishop for many years to come. " The final accomplishment of so great a work has not been brought about without much watchf ilnes,s, labour, and anxiety, and the continued effort of eleven year,>: ; but all has been amply recompensed by the successful result. And have we not cause, my brethren, to rejoice in beholding three active Prelates, instead of one, cultivating the same vineyard, and in gratefully antici- pating the accelerating progress of Christ's kingdom in this favoured land. It is true, the plan of creating three Dioceses out of one was at tii-st lightly thought of by the many, as other plans of mine have sometimes been ; but T was encouraged by the few. "We had faith, and felt that the greatest works and most useful designs are in general effected by patient persever- ance, — a perseverance going steadily forward in hope, and ever keeping the desired object in view ; and, instead of quailing at opposition and disappointments, breasting them with increasing vigour, and never cherishing a doubt of a prosperous result. To succeed in all valuable and imj)ortant undertakings requires constant efforts, watching events, and never permitting a favour- able opportunity to pass imimproved." During this Synod there was much discussion, and warm expressions of feeling, in regard to Trinity College, with the teaching of which the Bishop of Huron had, in very 280 strong terms, expressed his dissatisfaction. We do not desire to rej^eat what may be a source of irritation, and effect no possible good. Suffice it to say that tlie Synod affirmed by a very large majority their confidence in the teachln-^ of Trinity College, and their desire that it should meet with general support. The conti-oversy, however, did not cease then : it was often revived, and assumed at times large and unhappy proportions. Yet as there has now been for some years a lull in the storm, and strong and ar»gry feelings appear to be d3'ing out, we are correct, we trust, in believing that, after all, there will be no renewal of th*' strife, and that this child of the old age of the late revered Bishop, as it has not inaptly been termed, will be suffered to pursue its course in peace, and gain the hold upon the Church and the country to which, we think, it is entitled. 281 CHAPTER XXIX. Further efforts in England on behalf of Trinity College. — Death of Chief Justice Robinson. — Movement in Synod for a Coadjutor Bishop, and passing of a Canon for his appoint- ment. — Death of Mrs. Strachan. ^RINITY OOLLEGE, in addition to the trials and H / discouragements already referred to, had occasionally its financial difficulties. The site was procured, and tlie buildings erected, through private benefactions ; and for its support from year to year, it had to depend mainly upon the fees of the Students who attended it. It had, however, an income in-espective of these, of £1200 currency per annum, which sum had been allotted to it, with the sanc- tion of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, from the Clergy Reserves Fund. This annual amount was secured to it at the time the Commutation with the Clergy was effected. For a few years, up to 1868 inclusive, it received from the Provincial Legislature, as other collegiate institutions did, a grant of ^5000 per annum, — a grant which, we think, has been very unjustly withheld from the educationa institutions of the Province. All the money derived from the sale of the Clergy Reserves, after existing claims and charges were met, ought to have been applied to the diffusion of education, and to purposes of charity; not a penny of it should have been diverted to such secular uses as the improvement of roads and the construction of bridges. It should have been sacredly set apart for the 36 282 moral and intellectual training of our youth, and for the relief of that physical distress in every shape, from which no country is exempt. With all the unrighteousness attending the spoliation of the Irish Church, there is this redeeming feature,— that every shilling of availalde funds derived from that sequestered property is to be applied to alleviating the miseries, and relieving the wants, of the afflicted and poor. It is not too much, then, to demand the exercise of the same reasonable justice here ; let grants to educational institutions be chargeable upon the fund originally designed for saci'ed uses ; and let posterity, in this shape, feel the benefit of a gift which was never designed to be absorbed by the present generation, but to l)e a boon and a blessing to the Province for all time to come. If a Church has been disendowed, let there be a recogniticm of a benefit from the spoils, in all future generations. But as the exercise of a just dealing like this was not to be relied upon, an effort had to be made for im})roving the finances of Trinity College, and another appeal to the gene- rosity of our friends in the Mother Country was therefore determined upon. These repeated appeals to our Mother Country for aid in our Church work, — and a Church College must be reckoned part of this work, — are not so unreasonable a.s at first sight they may appear. Our Church population is largely com- posed of emigrants from England and Ireland, a very con- siderable number of whom have not the means of providing religious instruction and religious ministrations for them- selves. If, therefore, the Imperial Government did not feel themselves justified in continuing the small amount of aid for this purpose, which they had fomierly supplied to the North American Colonies through the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, it ought not to be regarded as unfair that we should apply to individuals in the Mother ^ Country for the aid which the Government refused, in 283 maintaining nmongst such fniigrants tho faith nnrl worship of their fathers. Again, through the pious foresight of a n.'ligious King, a provision ha*! heen made in this Province for the peri)etual supi)ort of that faith and worship which is established in the Motlier Country. It was the Parliament of the Mother Country which gave to our Legislature the power to alien- ate that property from its original intent, anJ apply it to the lowest and commonest of secular uses. Being thus in a manner responsible for the heavy loss the Church in this Province has sustained, tlie Avealthier inhabitants of the Mother Country ouglit not, — and, we believe, they do not, — gi'udge to this Colony, any aid for religious objects which it is in their power to bestow. In a conversation had with the late Lord Herbert, when this measure of spoliation was about to be introduced by the Imperial Government and he felt himself con.strained to avow that he must, as a statesman, su}>port the unrighteous measure, he, of his own accord, declared with energy and feeling, — " jou will now have a strong ground for appealing to the people of this country for aid in your religious enterprises, and, I am persuaded, they will meet your applications with all the liberality you can so fairly and justly claim." From such considerations, we could waive our natural feelings of delicacy in sending another delegation to Eng- land for the augmentation of the finances of Trinity College. A happier choice for this mission could not have been made than the Rev. Dr. MacMurray, the worthy Rector of Niagara ; who, from the unaffected zeal with which he pursued his work, combined with a frankness and geniality of manner which amounts to a charm, won the regard, and, we may say, love, of the highest and low- est in the United Kingdom. His mission was attended with very satisfactory results, though these might not correspond with the cordiality and warmth with which he 284 was so universally received ; and had he been permitted to remain long enough to have completed the circuit of England, probably half as much more would have been added to the £4000 he had succeeded in obtaining. Dr. MacMurray has left such an impression upon the minds and affections of all classes in England, that we must hope he will not hesitate to render such services again, if, for some great Diocesan object, it should be felt <lesirable and perhaps necessary to solicit them. The year 1803 was, at its opening, a very gh>omy one to our late venerated Zishop ; for, in the first month of that year, he was deprived by death of one whom, we may say, he had brought up, whose bright and unsullied career he had watched with a parent's interest, and for whom to the last he felt a parent's affection, — we mean, the late Sir John Beverley Robinson, Chief Justice of Upper Canada. The sterling and brilliant qualities of this estimable man. it is not necessary to dwell upon here ; especially {is we have reason to believe that friends are engaged in prepa- ring a Memoir of his life. We shall venture, however, to repeat in these pages what it was my privi^c^^e to say of him in addressing the Students of Trinity College soon after his decease : — " On this occasion, it is impossible to withhold some allusion to an event of recent occurrence, — the cause of profound sorrow throughout the Province at large, and an irreparable loss to this College ; I mean its late excellent and distinguished Chancellor. An acquaintance of more than forty years with this invaluable man, has been all along attended with the one unchanged feeling of respect and admiration : nothing, in that long interval, ever arose to check or alter this sentiment. The elo{j[uent Barrister in youth, he was the dignified and upright Judge in mature age. The steady adherent to the principles and duties of the Church in early life, he upheld and main- tained them, with unabated devotion, in advanced age. A 2t5 stedfast friend in those days when the feelings were warmest and the spirits most buoyatit, he shewed himself the same consistent friend when the energies were dulled by the gathering cares of life, and the romance of its passions and hopes had died away. "Born with high natural gifts, — a ])leasing person, win- ning address, quick apprehension, and an even cheerfulness, — he cultivated them all from a deej) and (conscientious sense of the duties he owed to his fellow-men, and to his (rod. To the last he toiled with, and manifested th(; full fruit of, the many talents with which the Almighty had endued him. " We have lost in him a most valuable public man, and an ornament and charm of the social circle ; an accom- plished gentleman and a devout Christian. His, too, Avas a career singularly void of ostentation. If he had ambition, — auvi none within proper limits should be without it, — it was never prominently developed. If there was the not urmatural desire of the commendation of the w<;rld, and of its just appreciation of worth, it was a feeling hardly perceptible, — never ostentatiously displayed. "His is an irreparable loss in times much more artificial than when his character was moulded; in times when public men of prominence and mark are exposed to .shifts and artifices, which were not usual or necessary when his principles and habits of life were formed. He was amongst the last links with an age and generation, when there was more of the genuine simplicity of thought and action than the spirit of the present times seems to allow. "But in mourning over our bereavement, let us be stim- idated by his example. It is a valuable one to those who are still in youth, with the world's hopes and trials all before them ; for in early life he had to surmount many difficulties to gain the eminence of honour and usefulness he afterwards reached. And it is valuable to those who see in him one who, through patient industry and unfiinch- 286 ing integrity, hus lived blessing, and blessed, by the genera- tions through which Uo i)assed. "His was a bright morning; and, after the inevitable storms and troubles of the after day, a serene and unclouded evening, — harbinger, let us believe, of that peace which, in the kingdom of glory, shall be perpetual and unbroken." During the Synod of 18G3, the question of the appoint- ment of a Coadjutor to the Bishop of Toronto, now in his eighty -sixth year, was, for the first time, publicly referred to. His Lordship expressed his willingness to accede to such an appointment, so soon as it could with propriety be made ; desiring that, if it were possible, .a selection should be made agreeable to his personal feelings and wishes; but not unwilling to acquiesce in any arrangement that might be deemed beneficial to the Church. Early in 1801, he referred, in his private letters, to his deafness and failing sight, and his apprehension that he should soon be totally useless. " This apprehension," he said, " alarms me not a little, and is a trouble I di«l not anticipate. Indeed I was beginning to consider the possi- bility of Confirmation visitations next summer ; not that I have given them uj), nor will I to the very last." Towards the close of that year, he writes, " My own position will soon demand my serious attention. So long as the episcopal endowment remains incomplete, and that I can discharge the duties, matters may proceed as they do ; but I begin to dread the Confirmation journeys. * * * The subject is painful, and, at present, I shall say no more," An openinj^ was thus given for the free and friendly dis- cussion of the subject at various opportunities; and he readily consented to the adoption of a Canon at the Synod of 1865, providing for the election of a Coadjutor Bishop. In the autumn of 18(3.5, the Bishop experienced the heaviest domestic affliction which, amidst his many trials and bereavements, it was the will of Providence he should 287 endure. He was deprived of his excellent wife, his com- panion in joy and sorrow through a period of fifty-eight years. Mrs. Strachan, who lia<l also reached a good old age, had been for several years in failing health ; but, at the last, worn out w4th many ailments, died peacefully and without pain, in her eighty-first yeai". She was an admirable wife, and a most tender and indulgent mother; a warm friend, with strong sympathies for the afflicted, and very generous to the poor. Amongst the educated and refined tliere will not unfrequently be instances of pecuniary straitness and distress; and there was no one who alleviated these peculiar and trying cases with more delicacy and tenderness than the good and gentle Mrs. Strachan. Tinder the feelings which this bereavement awakened, he wrote, during the following Christmas week, a letter which we may venture to publish, — developing, as it does, the chastened spirit under the softening, mellowing in- fluence of ajje: — " Your affectionate letter has done me much good, a» iudeetl all your letters do. I still fwl sa<lly unhinged by my afflicting bereavement. "You do well to remind mc of the glorious privilege which we oil enjoy at this sea.son, and trustfully ought we to congratu- late one another on its annual return. Nor ought I to forget the Hpecial blessings which God has vouchsafwl me, — a h>ng life of almost uninterrupted strong health and vigour, and a general absence from infirmity of body or of mind. These arc all j)reciou8 gifts, for which I can never be sufficiently thankful • and I must try to be so. 1 have employed them, I trust, not luigratefully : my disposition has always been to l(X)k at the bright aspect of what has befallen me, and to fight against murmuring and discontent. •* Doubtless, the world is, in one sense, a wicked world, as the Bible tell us. But the beauty in which it was created, has not been altogether defaced : it has still its Ikir aspects ; and, 288 were there not, on the whole more, good than evil, it could not have continued. '* I hope and trust that the state of the Church is improving. It is, indeed, all but as good as we can expect, considering the poverty it has to struggle with, and the many difficulties it has to contend against. It is satisfactoiy, however, to feel that wo are labouring Inrd to find remedies for the obstructions that are in our way, although we may never be able to surmount them all ; nor perhaps is it intended. The life of the Church of God has ever been a life of labour and struggle ; and it must always continue so, for her rest is not here. Yet we can, by our own exertions, with Clod's blessing, moderate the pressure of many annoyances ; and we could introduce many improvements, as, I trust, we have for some time past, been successfully doing." He expressed himself, in the same letter, as much affecjt- ed by a remark of Dr. Puscy at a meeting of a Church Congress, that " we should begin to collect and consider all the points about which we agree, instead of all the time contending about those on which we differ, and endeavour, if possible, to form a basis on the points on which we are all at one, and examine carefully whether such basis might not be gradually extended. * * * I believe, (lie adds,) that all who impartially study their own hearts would soon perceive that there M'as no true ground for division and animosity, but much for unity and love ; and, follow- ing up our in<[uiries in this spirit, all serious difficulties would gradually disappear, and all our waywardness give place to candour and good will." 289 CHAPTER XXX. Synods of 1866, and Election of Coadjutor Bishop. — Synod of 1867. — Sickness and Death of the Bishop. 'E detailed, in its place, the vigour, activity, and courage displayed by the late Bishop of Toronto, wlien, during the War 'vith the United States in 1812 and following years, th ; town of York, now Toionto, was captured. The following remarks on the Fen'.an Raid in 18G6, contained in his Address to the Synod of that year, are characteristic : — ♦ " From the general excitement which j>ervaded the whole Pro- vince, as the usual time of the meeting of Synod ai)proached, it was suggested to me to post[)one its assembling for a short period till the commotion had in some degree subsided, because many of the Lay Delegates would be otherwise engaged. This appeared so reasonable that I willingly acrjuiesced ; and the more readily, because I felt assured, from past experience, that tlie Canadas were able not only to protect themselves, but to punish every hostile invader. And, accordingly, the whole strength of the two Provinces flew to arms, as one man, at the first call of the Gov- ernment, and the enthusiasm of former times re api)eared in all its ancient lustre. It was a glorious spectacle, ever to be remem- bered and imitated, should occasion arise. *' This is indeed a most painful subject ; for bad as the world may be, I verily believe that history can scarcely furnish any similar exam[>le ^f men pretending to civilization attacking a quiet, inoifeusive people, who had never injured them in the slightest degree, in a wanner so brutal and atrocious ; and 2.90 although it is our duty to rtyoice for our deliverance, yet we have deej)ly to deplore that our .success li!i,s been purchased at an inestimable jirice, even the blooa of many of our noblest de- fendei's, every one of whom was far more precious than ten thousand Fenian murderers and marauders." On the .siil)ject of" tlie ap})oiiitniont of a Coadjutor, the Bishop, at the conclusion of his Address, expressed himself as follows : — ** I have been considering with much anxi<ity, and not, I trust, without the invocation of the Divine guidance, how soon I ought to avail myself of the [)rovisions of the Canon passed, at the last meeting of Synod, for the election of a Coadjutor or Suffragan Bishop ; which Canon is to receive eonfirmation at our present session.'' " Mingled feelings and anxieties, — the deepest and strongest having reference to the welfare of our beloved Church, — have affected me, in contemplating the step that should be taken, in view of the intent and pur])ort of that Canon. In regarding, then, what I deem the best interests of the Diocese and the Church at large, I feel constrained to avail myself of its pro- visions, as soon as it is confirmed, and to request that the election of a Coadjutor Bishop be proceeded with, as soon a.s the consti- tution and rules of the Synod will permit. The weight of years, and the infirmities they bring, move me to announce this deci- sion ; for although equal to some duties, still there ai-e others of paramount importance which I am warned not again to attempt. " Before we close the session, we shall probably be empowered to fix the period at which that solemn duty is to be entered upon. Entreating, my brethren of the Clergy and Laity, your thoughtful and prayerful consideration of the duties that will then have to be discharged, and that you would, in your quiet deliberations, regard the interests of God's Church in this land as paramoiuit to every other influence, I have only to request that you will now enter upon the duties immediately before you \*ith that candour, zeal, and concord, which has in all past times characterized the proceedings of this Synod." 291 The Canon above referred to was, after some discussion, confirmed, and consequently became law ; and before the Synod closed, the 19th September following was appointed as the day upon which a special Synod was to be held for the election of a Coadjutor, On their meeting on the day appointed, the Bishop thus addressed them : — "I meet you to-day^ upon au occasion of great interest and solemnity ; and we all ajjproach it, I trust, with befitting feel- ings. In delegating to other liancls, as I am about to do, a large sliai'c of the important duties which, during j'ather more than twenty-seven years, I have been endeavouring to tlie best of my ability to discharge, I cannot hut feel, — as I am sure you feel yourselves, — the grave resj)onsibility which is thrown upon you, in jiroviding one who shall undertake this high and arduous office. There will be, in such a case, jjersonal feelings and predi- lections, and prejudices, too, which it may not be altogether possible to suppress ; but all must yield to one absorbing obliga- tion, — duty to God's Church. From Christian ministers and Christian men, nothing individual, nothing selfish, must be allowed to interfere with this. *' I ju'ay you then, my brethren, to come to the exercise of this responsibility and solemn trust with singleness of purpose, with imbiassed minds, with calm and thoughtful feelings. Ask earnestly for heavenly direction before you enter upon this sacred duty : regard as a first obligation the welfare of God's Church, and act as you think will best promote its growth, and purity, and expan- sion in this land." The subsequent proceedings, — the progress and results of this election, — arc so fully detailed in the Journal of the proceedings of that session, and are .so well remembered, that any special account of them is unnecessaiy here. The number of Clergy and Laity present being unusually large, — 109 Clergymen having been in attendance on the first day, and 97 parishes, each represented by two or three delegates, having voted, — the election itself was con- ducted in the Cathedral Church of St. James. Nothing 292 could exceed the order and solemnity of the whole pro- ceedings ; nothing in the whole course of them occun'ed, inconsistent with the sacredness of the place, and the graveness of the duty. There was the development, of course, of strong and steady partialities ; but no semblance of acrimony or unseemly stiifo. The result was not reached until 10 o'clock on the night of Friday, the 21st ; and when this result was thus proclaimed by the Bishop, it was with the very generous acquiescence of the Clergy and Laity present, and their very general and kind con- gratulations to him on whom the choice had fallen : — *' JVIy reverend brethren, and gentlemen of the Laity, I am greatly gratified to hear that the selection of a Coadjutor Bishop has been made. I congratulate the whole Diocese as well as the Church on the way in which the business has been conducted in this holy edifice, and with great gladness of heart, 1 now declare, in all your hearing, tliat the Yenenible Archdeacon Alexander Neil Bethune has been elected Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Toronto ; and 1 hope that his future life will be what his past has been, — just, and holy, and upright, and, in every respect, worthy of the high station to which he has been called.*' The application for the Queen's Mandate for Consecra- tion, according to custom, was made by the Metropolitan of the Province, then in England; but, after some delibera- tion, it was stated by the Earl of Carnarvon, Secretary of State for the Colonies, that such Mandate could not be granted by Her Majesty. His Lordship said, " as the intervention of the Crown is not legally required, either to give to the Archdeacon of Toronto the intended jurisdic- tion, or to authorize his consecration to the office of ■^ Bishop, it would not appear that the proposed Mandate could have any legal effect ; and, under such circum- stances, it would hardly be consistent with the dignity of the Crown, that Her Majesty should be advised to issue such Mandate. It will thus rest with yourself and 293 the other Bishops of Canada, and will be in your power, under the Canadian Acts of 19 and 20 Victoria, cap. 141, and 22 Victoria, cap. 130, to determine, without hindrance or as istance from the Eoyal Prerogative, in what manner the Consecration of the Bishop of Niagara shall ))e effected.' The Metropolitan, therefore, transmitted to the Bishop of Toronto, as senior Bishop of the Province, a commission , authorizing him to proceed to the Consecration of the Bishop-elect, who, as Coadjutor, was to possess the title of Bishop of Niagara. The Consecration took place on Friday, 2oth January, 1867, being the Feast of the Conver- sion of St. Paul ; the presiding Bishop, and Consecrator, being assisted by the Bishops of Huron and Ontario, and by Bishops McCoskry and Coxe of the United States. The Cathedral was filled to its utmost capacity, and the whole service was most impressive. The preacher selected for the occasion was the Venerable Archdeacon Patton, an old and intimate friend of the Bishop -elect. There was a marked sense of relief in the mind of the aged Bishop, when this solemn ceremonial was happily over ; he felt and expressed much comfort that he could now delegate to another the onerous and important duties, which he confessed he could no longer discharge with satisfaction to himself He attended the Synod at their meeting in June, 1867, but delegated all his duties, including the opening address, to his Coadjutor; and by the latter an Ordination was held early in the spring, and another in the summer of that year. Extensiv(; Confirmation tours were also made, occupying about ten weeks, and resulting in the admission of 2230 persons to that rite. The memorable Pan-Anglical Conference of Bishops was held at Lambeth Palace, on the 24th September of this year; and this the Bishop of Toronto was, of course, invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury to attend. 294 In replying to this invitation, he addressed the Archbishop as f ( )] lows : — ' ' I have the honour to acknowledge your Grace's letter of the '22iid February, inviting me to unite with the other Prelates of our Anglican communion in a Conference to he holden at Lam beth Palace, on the 24th Se|)tember next. "Never probably since the era of the General Councils of tlio Primitive Church, would a more interesting and important assemblage of the Prelates of the Ch' 'stian communion havi' been held than the meeting which is now proposed. There never was a time when the hierarchy of the Church exhibited a larger array of i)iety, talent, and zeal in it.s members ; and it must V)e felt by all that the deliberations of such a body will ho fraught with the happiest consetpxences to the Christian Church at large, and to our branch of it in particular. " With these convictions, it grieves me much to say that to myself, — -just entering uj)on the ninetieth year of my age, — the gratification of joining in this most interesting meeting will be impossible. Your Grace, therefore, will kindly hold me excused, on this ground, from attending : none other than this would allow me to be absent. " But if not present in person, 1 shall, — if spared so long, — 1)0 with you in spirit ; and my assiduous prayer shall be, that the Almighty and all-wise God may vouchsafe an abundant l>lessing upon your deliberations." The writer of this left for England to attend this Con- ference the last week in August ; and on parting with the Bishop discerned nothing, in the state of his health, to awaken the apprehension that he should never meet him in life again. It is true there had been some alarming signs of failing strength ; and in the previous month he had had an attack w^hich prostrated him very much, and the re- currence of which, it was thought, must prove fatal. He was cheery and hopeful, however, at the time of that parting ; and urged in a playful way, that the absence of 295 his Coadjutor must not exceed two moutlis. " Mind," he smilingly said, " I only allow you to he away two month.s." Sunday, 19th October, was the last occasion on whi(;h he attended at the Cathedral. He was slightly ill during fche service, but rallied before its close; and, as if there was on his mind a presentiment that he was never to bo tloM-e again, he bade good-bye to all the attendants of the Church, specially requesting that none might Le overlooked. One by one he shook hands with them all, and prayed that God would bless them. He was restless and disconcerted the following days, and on Thursday was taken so seriously ill, that much alarm was felt ; and although he subsequently rallied a little, the opinion of the medical men in attendance was that he could not long survive. The strength of his robust consti- tution was evidently worn out; and there were signs, not to be mistaken, that its dissolution was not far distant. There were returns of vigour and spirit, after intervals of weak- ness and prostration, but these were the fitful struggles of declining nature, — the rise and sinking of the flickering lamp of life. The mind, too, was affected by the weakness of the body : there were wanderings of thought, and words without coherence. There would be a flitting from the past to the present, — from the incidents of years long gone to events of recent occurrence ; and the impressions those memories awakened expressed in hurried words, and rapid transition from one subject to another. There was, t(jo, the frequent recitation of fragments of psalms and hymns ; the broken utterances of prayer; and at times, in firm voice, the repetition of portions of the Creed. On the evening of Thursday, the 31st October, the Holy Communion was administered to him by his friend an<l Chaplain, the Rector of the Parish; and then, as all through his illness, every affectionate, soothing, watchful attention was exerted to give ease and comfort to his last hours. The pulsation became gradually weaker, and, at three 2&a o'clock in the morning of Xovcmljcr l?it, All Saint's Day, ho l)reathc(l his hist, — his spirit flown to tlio company of fchoso who had toiU'd throiif^di life for the same adorable Master, — another in the throng of that great "cloud of witnesses," who are waiting their reward on the Judgment Day. 297 CHAPTER YXXI. The Funeral. — Chaiacteritjtics and Kecollections." — CuncluHion. CHE writer of this enaeavoured to fulfil his promise to reach Toronto in two months from the day of his sailing from Quebec ; and he left Liverpool in time to effect this. But a slow-sailing steamer was, for that trip, made to take the place of the one of greater speed which should have sailed, but unfortunately b.ad been crippled on her homeward voyage and was laid up for repairs. On this account, and with constant and heavy head winds, the passage was a few days longer than the ordinary ones ; and he missed reaching Toronto in time to take a last leave of his venerated friend. He had the melancholy gratification, however, of witnessing his calm features in the repose of death, — not a line or expression of the well-known face apparently altered ; but like one who had yielded up his last breath in cheerful contentment that his work was done, and that he was called upon to face a Master whom he had tried faithfully to serve, but on whose mercy and merits alone he after all relied. The funeral was fixed for Tuesday, the 5th November ; and, by universal desire, it was made a public one. Pro- fessional men of all orders, — the Judges and leading men of the Bar ; the Physicians of the town ; a large gathering of the Clergy from all quarters of the Diocese, including very many of other religious communions; of the Military, Hussars and foot-soldiers ; the members of the City Cor- poration; th^ officers and njejiibers of the various Societies 33 298 of the town ; and others, of all conditions and persuasions, — formed the vast procession from his late residence to the Cathedral of St, James. The Church was darkened, and dimly lit with gas ; and, as the great mass wound tslowly in, the organ pouring forth soft and mournful strains, the scene was indescribably solenm. In keeping with the deep gloom of the building, was the drapery of mourning all around ; and, in the vast throng within, there was not, we believe, one heart untouched by the imposing, impres- sive burial-service, read with a calm distinctness by the Dean. His remains were interred in a vault, expressly constructed for the purpose, beneath the chancel, and as near as possible to the spot where he was Avont to sit within the rails in the discharge of Episcopal duties. His successor in the See, — hardly ten months his Coad- jutor, — preached his funeral sermon on the following Sunday ; the Cathedral draped and darkened just as it was on the funeral day. A very large congregation wtus present ; and, in the evening, the same sad subject was eloquently dwelt ui)on by the Rector of the Parish and Dean of the Cathedral. Several meetings were subsecpiently held to decide upon a fitting memorial to one who had tilled so large a space in the civil as well as the religious history of the Province; but differences of opinion as to the character and suitable- ness of such a testimonial, have so far retarded the ado})- tion of any. Yet, after all, it is hoped that something may be decided upon to mark, fii-st, the zeal and success of the late Bishop in the cause of Education, — his efforts in this direction culminating in the establishment of Trinity College ; and something, secondly, to be exhibited as a memorial of his energy and ability in the discharge of his duties as a Bishop of God's Church. What would testify the first, has, we think, been happily suggested in the erection of a Convocation Hall for Triiiity College; the supply of which would be a great practical benefit to the 299 Institution itself, as well as uphold the memory of its founder. To transmit to posterity some visible memento of his pastoral work, a Synod Hall, to bear the name of " Strachan," has been fitly suggested ; and all, we thmk, nmst agree that this, while a useful, would be a most appropriate memorial. But we must not omit to mention that, if here we are passive and undecided though not slumbering, there has been commenced in another Diocese a most fitting memo- rial, in the erection of a handsome and substantial Church at the very spot where his first ministrations in the service of his Divine Master were given. At Cornwall, the scene of his first labours as a Minister of Christ, through the untiring zeal and energy of Archdeacon Patton, this C/hurch is now in vigorous progress, and will j)robably be completed before anything in our own Diocese has actu- ally been commenced. The Churchmen of the Diocese of Torontfj will, we trust, tiike this fact to heart. The character of the late Bishop of Toronto, in its marked outlines, so fully developes itself in his varied and active life which we have endeavoured to pourtray, th.at reference to its minuter points is hardly necessary. There are, nevertheless, traits and characteristics of his thoughts and habi'.j, — phases of his retired and inner life, — which the world at large, from an observation of his outer walk and work, world hrrdly recognize. A few recollections of such, we shall try co call up and set before our readers. And if w*e regard, first, his domestic life, — his relations as a husband and a father, — we shall see in him a remark- able example of indulgent tenderness and self-sacrificing love. Never was there a brighter or more cheerful home ; never one of more unrestrained and playful intercourse between old and young. And while every thing was done to secure the appliances of comfort and elegance, assiduous oare was taken to uphold the associations and habits that serve to refine the character and adapt for the best posi- 300 tions to which they might be raised in after life. And never was there any sacrifice too great for him to make, that he might secure the advancement of his children, whether they adopted a profession or chose a mercantile life. He was willing, as indeed he did, to hazard a fortune, if that good object could be attained. His hospitalities were great, and always on an elegant scale. He early took a lead in this respect, and never relinquished it till the declining health of Mrs. Strachan rendered the continuance of it impossible. He shewed a wonderful adaptedness to the positions in society which he was called upon successively to fill. Nothing, in advancing exaltations, came new or strange to him ; as has been so well said by another, he " sustained, with a graceful and unassuming dignity, all the augmentations that naturally accumulated round them, as the community, of which he was so vital a part, grew and widened, and rose to a higher and higher level, on the swelling tide of the general civilization of the continent." * Cheerfulness, as at his fireside, reigned at his board ; and no one relished more a humorous story or a harmless joke. This he encouraged in his youthful guests especially; and no one laughed more heartily than he at a fair sally of wit, or a pleasant anecdote. In travelling, he would recount stores of amusing incidents that had occurred during his earlier acquaintance with the country; and his memory was keen and mirthful of excursions by sailing boat up the Bay of Quints from Kingston, with companions of social notoriety in their day. There was a large benevolence in the character of the late Bishop ; and to the distressed and poor he gave with a liberal hand. If he had been favoured with worldly means beyond his hopes, he bestowed a fitting share of them in relieving individual want, and in aiding Insti- • Rev. H. Scaddlnjf, D.D. 301 tutions of piety and charity. He would never hoard for the probabilities or the contingencies of an after day, when he could, by the expenditure of what he had, smooth the present path, and promote the present good, of those around him. And for this cause it was, that, although for nearly half a century he possessed a handsome income, and had ac- quired a considerable private property, he died a poor man. He was, too, a philanthropist in another form. He spared no pains, and grudged no trouble, to promote the settlement and advance the interests of those who came introduced to him from the Mother Country, He would pitch upon a farm or locality for them which lie thought would suit ; and forthwith ho would write their friends to send the means of purchasing it. Once an intelligent, honest farmer, by marriage well connected, came intro- <luced to him from Scotland, and engaged his hearty interest. He knew well his wife's friends, and made a great venture in purchasing a farm for him in the township of Dumfries, at double the cost he was authorized to pay, '* I told them," he said, " what I had done, and had done for the laest, and informed theni that I had drawn for the money. They stormed a little about my extravagance and rashness, but they paid the draft ; and the result soon .shewed them that I had acted wisely." To one and all of his numerous Cornwall pupils, he was invariably kind. In trouble they never appealed to him in vain ; his counsels were always wisely given, and given with the spirit and affection of a father. He was free, too, in rousing and rebuking, where he discerned any thing like lassitude or want of energy ; in plain terms he would* say they must bestir themselves, and make ventures abroad if they could not succeed at home. One of his enrly pupils, an eminent barrister in Lower Canada, and who as a Member of Parliament had bravely fought the battle of the Constitution there in the troublous times anterior to the Union, once complained to him of the ingratitude and injustice he was experiencing from the existing govern- ment, and the impossibility of his obtaining redress. " Get into Parliament, m?in," was his prompt reply; "and make yourself heard there. Meet your opponents where you can T)est confront them." There was something very cheery and inspiriting in his manner of dealing with difficulties, and making those who proposed them gather up confidence and vigour. He had the happy faculty of divesting trouble of its harsher lines and aspects, and giving to the darkest prospects the colour- ing of ho])e. An excellent Clergyman, in the neighbour- hood of Toronto, somewhat advanced in life, often called upon him for counsel in difficulties, and consolation and direction find in those little trials which the man of refine- ment and sensibility is often made to feel so acutely. For such spirits as these the jostling of the world about them is too rude; they shrink from it, or they pine under it. With a fatherly tenderness, he would explain away the grounds of these troubles, and shew that in most cases the causes for such suflering were imaginary. This good man was wont to say at jmrting, — " I never, my dear Lord, caJl to tell you of my little troubles, but I go away refreshed and brightened. I get a supply of strength and cheer to su])- port me for many an after day." The late Bishop was a man without pi-ejudice, and wholly free from party s[)irit. This was evinced in the distribution of the patronage at his command ; for the best he had to give was often bestowed upon those who dif- fered from him in religious opinions. He would not, per- haps, studiously seek out such to befriend them ; but, if their services had been long, ana zealous, and successful, and their claims to advancement were unquestionable, any thing like the tie of party was out of consideration, and the favour he had to confer was cordially bestowed. " We want earnest, working men," he was often heard to say, " and no matter from what section of the Church they 303 come, I shall welcome them, if they are faithful and loyal to her." The strong doctrinal o])inion.s, however of a por- tion, at least, rf the " Evangelical Clergy," were very ilistasteful to him ; and he often said that Calvinism must lead, in many instances, to infidelity. Of one /f these Clergy, whom he \ery highly esteemed, he used to say " I wish In; would preach upon the Ten Commandments, as well as upon election, faith, and grace. People should be taught how to live, as well as what they are to believe." The Bishop nad, in many quarters, the character of being short, and stern, and uncourteous sometimes in his remarks. This was rarely the case ; and seldcmi mani- fested, unless he discerned any thing like duplicity or insincerity in those who were brought into contact with him. He had also a great dislike to any thing like pretension or forwardness ; and could not brook that any one, recently come into the Diocese, should be too free in his counsels or criticisms. Such a one he would put down very peremptorily. But if he ever felt that he had found fault wrongfully, or done any man an injustice by his remarks, none was more ready than he, at the fitting time, to make amends. A Clergyman, now no more, somewhat imi)ulsive and eccentric in his manner, though most up- right and ingenuous, expressed himself once in Synod on the duty of making provision for a vacancy in the See, in a manner which the Bishop considered abrupt and indeli- cate. He accordingly reprimanded him with some sever- ity. The following year, however, — having in the interval discovered that he had misapprehended that Clergyman's meaning, — he said in reference to the action he had proposed : " This suggestion I discouraged at the time with greater warmth than was perhaps necessary, * * » Satisfied that nothing offensive was intended by the reverend gentleman who mentioned the matter, and that I had expressed myself somewhat hastily, I now tender him my apology." 304 The clearness of intellect and quick perception of things and men for which the late Bishop was remarkable, shewed their natural development in firmness of character and decisiveness of action. Yet he was by no means a man of rigid inflexibility, or obstinate adherence to his own o[)inions. Where, after mature and careful deliberation he had made up his mind upon any subject, it was needless to attempt inducing him to change it ; he would be as uncom- promising with the highest in the land, as with the hum- blest individual who ventured to offer his counsel. But if there was an admitted opening for further consideration, he listened very kindly to what others had to suggest, and very often adopted the opinions of friends in whom he had confidence, in preference to his own. He sometimes, — though rarely, — made appointments to vacant parishes without reference to his usual advisers ; but in other cases where he asked their counsel, he received their suggestions with great respect and kindness, and often adopted them without further discussion of the subject. This was the case not only in his declining years, but at his first entrance upon the duties of the Episcopate, About five-and-twenty years before his decease, on the death of one of his Chaplains, I suggested, unasked, the name of a Clergyman to take his place, who deserved the compliment and whose appointment would gratify the much respected friends of the deceased. Without objec- tion or expostulation, he smilingly said, " Make out his commission, and send it to me for signature, and I shall forward it with a few pleasant words," He was always prompt and kind in giving his advice to young Clergymen when they solicited it. The following letter is worthy of record, as shewing his readiness, as well as judgment, in offering counsel : — "It is not my desire to find fault with you on this occasion, because your proceedings, though unwise, are not, after all, 305 unuatnral in a young man entei*ing life ; but, as your spiritual father, to advise you not to be liasty in replying to commu- nications which you may deem offensive. Keep them a few days ; then consider whether it l)e necessary to rejV to them at all. If you must answer, confine yourself strictly to facts, and avoid acrimonious language and disagreeable insinuations. Then put by the answer a day or two, and read it as one who must give an account, and perhajts you will not send it at all, or you will so smooth and modify it as to give no just cause of offence. "Some such process has been my practice; and experience has often taught me its great vabie. Every one in such cases should inquire of the Lord in the spirit of prayer, and more especially the ordained ministers of the Gospel; and it is most wonderful how soon an earnest reference to the Saviour's example calms all passionate and undue excitement, and opens to us the clear path of duty." It was, no doubt, the truthfulness and guilelessness of the Bishop's own nature which drew him so strongly to "little children." As he journeyed on his visitations, he was always attracted to them ; and they, from his playful- ness and powers of amusing, were always drawn to him. On one occasicm, having been invited to the house of a retired army officer to partake of some refreshment after a morning Confirmation, this gentleman became rather free and caustic in his remarks ui)on his Clergyman. This the Bishop felt to be in bad taste, and so he changed the sub- ject as speedily as ])ossible. To preclude its recurrence, he took the two youngest children of thQ house, one on either knee, and chatted with them and drew them out, amused them and was amused, until the repast was ready. He laughed much at this harmless manoeuvre afterwards, as we journeyed homewards. The Bishop had a great objection to any thing like a studied show or pretence of religion. He disliked "cant"; and, from his repugnance to any thing like an affectation of sanctity, he might, by some very good and conscientious 39 306 men, be thought deficient in i)ersonal piety, and without strong religious feelings. Nothing could be more erroneous than such a conclusion. What he did, and expressed, in this respect, was certainly without ostentation, and perhaps with reserve ; but there was an undercurrent always of simple, genuine piety. This was exemplified ])articularly at the bed-side of the sick, or in soothing counsels to the sorrowful. He exhibited at such times what were the convictions and workings of his own mind ; what was his own deep faith, his own bright iiopes. He might not clothe them in impassioned words ; but there was a solid, sterling honesty in all he uttered, that made its way far more effectually to the understanding and the heart. Often, too, he would speak with an unfeigned humility of his own short comings ; of his confidence in the Saviour ; of the need of God's fatherly indulgence to the very best. He spoke fearlessly of death ; and often, when as yet unshaken in strength or activity by the advance of years, he would speak of his probable decease at no distant time, and express his anxious desire to have every thing so established and settled as to ensure peace and pros- perity in the Diocese after his departure. He was unques- tionably a man of prayer ; and in this he would indulge quietly by the way-side and at any hour, as well as more formally in his secret chamber. He was, as all know, a fast friend ; in whose regard and interest neither prosperity nor adversity made any change. He was consistent alike in his treatment of poor and rich. There were sometimes temporary breaks with his old friends, sometimes even with his old pupils ; but in no case was not every wound healed, every hard feeling obliterated, long before he aied. There was not one, we believe, of his wide-spread acquaintance with whom, at the close of life, he was at variance. But we must not be too discursive in these citations of characteristics ; we must not, by prolixity, risk the weari- 307 ness of our readers. We have done, then : we have exe- cuted a task undertaken with cheerfulness and pursued with pleasure, but, we fear, very inado ^^uately accom- plished. It is tlie career of really a great man which we have attempted to describe ; and greater powers, we feelt should have been enlisted to do it the justice it deserves. We have done our best, amidst many toils, and cares, and interruptions ; and we shall be satisfied if, after over- looking its defects in material or composition, it shall bo felt to be a faithful portrait of one fresh in the thoughts, and dear to the hearts, of every Canadian Churchman. We repeat here what was said on another occasion : — " Though we have had his vacant place filled up, we cannot hope to have his loss supplied : in the thoughts and hearts of, at least, the present generation, there will be a recurrence always to the surpassing gifts and work of The first Bishop of Toronto." THE END. APPENDIX. I T will, we are persuaded, be considered by our readers a fitting sequel to the eventful life of the late Bishop of Toronto, -which we have attempted m the foregoing pages to pourtray, to record a few of the tributes which, soon after his decease, were paid to his memory. While these bear pleasing testimony to his character and labours, they furnish some few j)articulars that illustrate both, which were not known to, or which rnay have escaped, the writer of the Memoir. I. The Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto, at their first Quarterly Meeting held after his decease, on November 18th, 1867, adopted unanimously thn fol- lowing Resolutions : " Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to take unto himself the soul of our late beloved and venerated Father in God, the Hon. and Right Reverend John Strachan, D. D., LL. D., " Be it resolved, " That recognizing, as we are bound to do, our solemn obligation to bow in all submission to the wisdom and goodness of Almighty God in his dispensations, we would still desire to express with deep sorrow our sense of the irreparable loss which the Church in Canada, and especially in this Diocese, has sustained by the removal of our Chief Pastor. 310 "That we gratefully confess how abundant were his labours, and how able, just, and impartial was his admin- istration (»f his extensive Diocese; w»; thankfully recall the wisdom and ])rudence with Avhich his far-sighted and comprehensive })lans were ibrmed, and the vigour an<i promptitude with which they were ])ut in execution. "That we bear our respectful testimony to his firmiiess in tlie assertion of every great principle affecting either the doctrine or the 'er of the Church ; to the blameless purity of his life and convei-sation, and to the kindness and courtesy which nuirked his demeanour towards the Clergy and Laity committed to his charge. "That we have reason to be deeply grateful to Divine Providence that on the severance of the Diocese of Toronto from the ancient Diocese of Quebec, we were privileged to have set over, to mould and form all its institutions, and to guide it for eight-and-twenty years, a Prelate thus unusually qualitied for the discharge of the arduous duties of the office to which he was called, " That we would also recognize with devout gratitude to the Giver of all good gifts, the following more signal instiinces of our late Bishop's provident appreciation of the Church's wants, and of his undaunted energy in the effort to supply them : — First. His establishment of the Church Society of this Diocese in A. D. 1842, by the operation of which the injury which would otherwise have resulted to the Church from the alienation of her State endowments, fifteen years later, was without doubt most materially diminished. Secondly. His founding Trinity College, as a place of education for both the Clergy and Laity of our communion, at a time when the Church had been debarred from availing herself any further of the large revenues provided for the pui-pose of education within this Province, by the beneficence and piety of the British Crown ; and. Lastly, his initiation of our system of Diocesan and Provincial Synods, the introduction of 311 which has fonned an cpocli in the histciy of the Church, and has placed ourselves aufl our fellow Churchmen in other Colonies, where the same organization has been adopted, in a position, under God's good providence, to maintain within our own borders both sound doctrine and (lodly discipline. " That a copy of these resolutions be ])resented as an expression of our heartfelt sympathy and condolence to the afflicted family (jf the decease*] Prelate, and to oui* j)resent Diocesan, and be furnished to The C/nirck Chronicle for publication, "ARTHUR PALMER, " Chairman." At the regular monthly meeting of the Corporation of Trinitv Collkgk, held this day in the Library of the (■oUege, the Right Reverend The Lord Bishop in the chaii', the following resolutions were submitted : — "Moved by the Rev. the Provost, seconded by Mr. Harman, and "Resolved — "That the Corporation of Trinity College, on the occasion of their first meeting after the lamented decease of the late beloved and venerated Bishop of this Diocese — the virtual founder of this College — for sixteen years the President of their body — and the solicitous guar- dian of the welfare of the society whose interests are entrusted to their care, — cannot but give expression to their deep sense of the loss they have sustained, and to the affectionate veneration with which they must ever cherish the memory of one who so fully identified himself with the fortunes of the College, whether in its more pros- perous or more troublous times. " Constant in his attendance upon every occasion when his counsel was sought or the weight of his authority required, the late Bishop was no less ready to discover his 312 fatherly regard for this foundation by gracing it with his presence at every public solemnity and every festive assemblage, even when extreme age might well have been pleaded as rendering his absence inevitable. " A benefactor to the College to no small extent during his life, he lias, by his testamentary provisions, given proof of his enduring interest in its welfare, and has strongly indicated how deeply cherished was his desire that the College may long continue to accomplish with increasing efficiency the important purposes for which he laboured to establish it. " Remlved — "That the above resolution be communi- cated to the members of the family of the late Bishop, with the respectful assurance of the deep sympathy of the Corporation with them under the loss they have sustained. " Resolved — " That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Prelate, the meeting of the Cor- poration do now adjourn." " The resolutions were unanimously carried, and the Council adjourned. "CHARLES MAGRATH, '' Bursar and Secretary. "Trinity Colltje, 12th Nov., 18()7." A few days after, a Deputation of Clergymen waited upon the present Bishop of Toronto, with the following address : — "To the Right Rev. Alexander Neil Bethune, D.D. k D.C.L., hy Divine permission, Lord Bishop of Toronto, "Right Reverend Father in God, — " We, the Clergy of the Diocese of Toronto, desire respectfully to approach your Lordship on your assuming the full charge of this Diocese, in consequence of the 313 demise of our late revered Bishop, with an expression of dutiful submission ; of sincere regard for your person and office ; and of our purpose, by God's help, to do all we can to render your Episcopate a blessing to yourself and to the Diocese. " We fully enter into your Lordship's feelings in regard to the heavy and momentous responsibilities, which, in the providence of God, have now devolved upon you ; and we earnestly pray God to grant you grace and strength suffi- cient for the duties of so high and difficult a position. " It must, however, be a source of great comfort and encouragement to your Lordship to know, that you so long enjoyed a very large share of our late revered Diocesan's confidence ; that you had a deep hold on his warmest afioctions, and that you have the benefit of a thorough knowledge of his views on all matters of impor- tance in connection with the Diocese. "We congratulate your Lordship on having had the honour of taking part in the late Conference of Bishops at Lambeth, from which we anticipate the best results, and in which our late revered Bishop took a deep interest ; and we cordially welcome your Lordship on your safe return to your native land, and to the discharge of your highly important duties. "And, in conclusion, we pray that the mantle of our late revered Bishop, your long and tried fiiend, may rest upon you. "ARTHUR PALMER, REPLY. "My Dear Brethren, — " I pray you to accept my best thanks for the kind manner in which you have addressed me ; assuring me of your fraternal regard, and of your desire to aid me with your hearty co-operation in fulfilling the duties to which, 4Q 314 in the ordering of Divine Providence, T have been called. From this assurance I shall, under tlie weight of the responsibility that has now devolved upon rae, feel a strong support and encouragen»ent. "We can never fail to bear in grateful memory the manner in which this large and important Diocese was administered liy our departed Bishop ; with how much zeal and self-denial his labours were pursued ; how in the ruler we always discerned the father ; with what patience and gentleness he met the difficulties and tiials that occurred ; with what impartiality and tenderness he de- meaned himself to all. " With a full persuasion that gifts and graces are Jiot bestowed on men alike, and that few can hope to reach the example our departed Bishop has bequeathed to us, it shall be my effort, as it shall be my constant prayer, to carry out, in the spirit that .actuated him, the plans and purposes for the welfare of this Diocese and of the Church at large, which ha devoted his best energies to promote. " it was my privilege to attetid the recent Conference at Lambeth Palace, and to share in its deliberations ; a Conference, I believe, which will mark an era in the Anglican communion, and from which will accrue large benefits and blessings to our Mother Land, and all its wide-spread dependencies and allies. " I thank you for the cordial welcome with whicii I am met on my return ; and very nmch would it cheer and encourage me if I could hope that the mantle which has dropped from our departed father may be seen to have rested on me. "A. N. TORONTO." " Toronto, November 15th, lbG7." 315 The Church Society of the Diocese of Huron, passed the following Resolution at a meeting held on the 4th of December, 1867 : "Moveil by Ven. Archdeacon BliouGH, seconded by Rev. Canon Bettridge, " Mesolred, — That the Members of the CHiurch Society of the Diocese of Huron, availing themselves of this their first meeting since the decease of the late lamented Bishop of Toronto, desire to express to their brethren of the sister Diocese their deej) and heartfelt sympathy under a dispensation, which, though special to Toronto, is felt, we feel assured, with no small emotion, by every Diocese throughout this Dominion. " The event which claims our condolence, though, in the course of nature, not altogether unexpected, yet upon its occuiTence filled every heart with grief and called forth from all orders of society and from every religious denomi- nation a manifestation of respect truly impressive, but grateful especially to those who at the period of his death or through times past, enjoyed the Episcopal oversight of so valued and devoted a Prelate. " In every expression of esteem and every evidence of respect shewn to the memory of the late Bishop of Toronto, the members of the Diocese of Huron desire to assure their brethren that they most truly and heartily participate." II. We have the following tributes from Clergymen of the Diocene : — The Ven, Archdeacon Fuller, in a Sermon preached on the Sunday following his interment, gave a very com- plete but brief aecount of his life ; from this we make a few extracts : " At Cornwall the late Bishop spent nine years of his eventful life. Here, on one occasion, he told me he Laboured sixteen hours every day ; that, having the charge of the parish of Cornwall, he had to visit a good deal, both among the sick and well; then he had to prepare sermons for Sunday ; and, he remarked, he had to study every night quite as hard as the boys ; for, said he, I was not much in advance of tiie highest class in school. These duties demanded sixteen hours every d.ay ; and yet, he said, these nine years were the happiest years of my life," The following amusing incident is stated to have occurred, on his passage from Cornwall to York soon after the Declaration of War by the United States, in 1812: " On his way up the St. Lawrence in a small vessel, which contained his family and all his worldly goods, the courage of the late Bishop was put to the test. A vessel hove in sight, which the Captain supposed to be an American armed schooner ; and, it being during the war with the United States, he became alarmed, and came down to Dr. Strachan into the little cabin, and consulted with him about surrendering his craft to the enemy. The Doctor enquired of him if he had any means of defence ; 317 and, ascertaining that he had a four-pounder on board, and a few muskets, he insisted on the Captain defending his vess^el, — but to no puq^ose, as lie was entirely overcome by fear. The Doctor, finding that he could not induce the Captain to defend his vessel, told him io entrust the defence of it to him, and to stay with his family in the cabin. This proposition was gladly acceded to by the Captain ; and the future Bishop mounted the companion- way, fully determined to defend the little craft to the utmost of his power ; but, (as he remarked when detail- ing this incident to me some years ago) fortunately for me, the schooner bearing down upon us proved to be a Canadian schooner, not an American ; for the four-pounder was fastened to the deck, and it pointed to the starboard, whereas the schooner came to us on the larboard bow !" In Chapter V. of the foregoing work, there are several references to the courageous and energetic con- duct of the late Bishop during the occupation of York by the Americans in 181d; but the following, introduced in the Archdeacon's Sermon, was not recorded : — * "His great finnness of character saved the town of York, in 1813, from sharing the same fate as the town of Niagara met with some months afterwards. The American General, Pike, having attacked and routed the small force defending York, was shortly after killed by the blowing-u]> of the masazine in the Gamson. The Commander-in-Chief, being enraged by the incident, though it was not attribu- table to any of the inhabitants of the town, determined to have vengeance on them, and to burn down the town. This determination coming to the knowledge of the author- ities, they deputed Dt. Strachan to remonstrate with the American Commander, General Dearborn, against this intended act of barbarity. He met him in the Old Fort ; 318 and I have been told by men who witnessed the interview between these parties, that words ran high between them ; the American General declaring that he would certainly burn the town, and the future Bishop declaring that if he persisted in this atrocious act of b<arbarity, vengeance would 1)0 taken on the Americans for such an unheard-of outrage ; and that Buffalo, Lewiston, Sacket's Harbour, and Oswego would in course of time, — as soon as troops could be brought from England, — share its fate. The ear- nestness and determination of Dr. Strachan moved the General from his barbarous ])urposo, and York was saved from the flames." ' The following remarks touching on his educational career, are from the same : — "The Bishop had a great faculty of not only attaching his scholars to him, but also of inducing them to apply them- selves assiduously to their studies. He told me that he made it a rule, during the time he kept school, to watch closely every new boy, .and at the end of a fortnight to note down in a book his estimate of his character, abilities, and any thing else about him that was noteworthy ; and that ho had very seldom been deceived in his estimate of the boys who had passed through his hands. " He had a remarkable talent for interesting boys in their work ; and by taking a <leep interest in it himself, he led them to do the same." The following, in reference to his parochial ministra- tions, are very interesting : — " In cases of dangerous sickness, the late Bishop was indefatigable, faithful, and successful. Many of those warm friendships, which were life-long, and have descended to a second generation, were cemented in the sick room or in the house of mourning. 319 " His conduct during the seasoiL« of Asiatic Cholera, in 1832 and 1834, will never be forgotten by those who wit- nessed it. He not onlv discharged the functions of tho Christian minister; but those also of nurse and undertaker. For when no persons, except the medical men, could bt* induced by love or mone}'' to enter the miserable abodes where this mighty messenger of death was slaying victim after victim, this faithful minister of Christ boldly entered them, accompanied by one of his sons (long since dead), and not only ministered to their spiritual wants, bub ad- ministered the medicines left by the physicians ; and, in more cases than one, when the Iffe had left the body, and there was no one to help his son to put that dead body in the coffin, (which that son had brought,) this aged minister performed himself this sad office for the dead ; and, having helped to lift the coffin into the cart, he followed the life- less remains to the gi'ave, and there performed for them the last rites." " We learn from the public prints, tliat, whilst a mis- sionary at Cornwall, he took his recreation by visiting, as a missionary, different settlements along the St. L.awrence, forty or fifty miles from his home. In the same way, ho extended his ministrations in different directions around this city, for many years after he came to it. Jle told mo that, on one Sunday afternoon, he had gone to yt)rk Mills, (then Hogg's Hollow,) through a heavy rain ; and, though he found only one person present, he read the whole even- ing service, and preached his sennon, just as if there had been an overflowing congregation. And he remarked that the people, finding so much zeal in the minister, never left him to preach to a solitary parishioner again." "The late Bishop was a safe and wise counsellor. Many persons, who have succeeded in this country, can look back with thankfulness to the valuable advice they received from him in early life ; and many who, on falling into difficulties, consulted him, can well remember the 320 wjiy in which he unravelled those difficulties, and shewed them how they could get out of them. " He was always ready to devote time to giving advice of this kind to persons who sought it at his hands ; and many Roman Catholics, as well as others, availed them- selves of this privilege. " His Clergy always found him glad to advise them in any difficulties ; and they never repented having followed his advice. A remarkable instance of listening to his sound advice, came to my knowledge since his death. One of the American Bishops had been persecuted by some of his brethren, and was soon to be put upon his trial. He was advised by a clerical friend of mine, — a presbyter of this Diocese, — to lay his matter before our Bishop, and to take his advice as to how to proceed. He did so. They were closeted together six hours ; and, at the close of the conference, the accused Bishop thanked my friend most heartily for advising him to confer with such a Nestor, and told him that he should act upon the advice of the wise old Bishop of Toronto. He did so, and was honourably acquitted." The following are the concluding words of the Arch- deacon's discourse : — " The late Bishop never spared himself in the discharge of his duties; and it was but recently that he consented to accept the assistance of a Coadjutor. And this, not because he desired relief-, but because the Diocese required more work from him than he was able to give it at the advanced age of eight-eight years. He took a deep interest in the concerns of every Clergyman, and pro- moted his interests, and those of his parish, to the utmost of his power. ," His addresses to the confirmed were particularly prac- tical, simple, and impressive. I remember on one occasion, 321 when an iinnsnally largo number of aged persons were eonfirmcfl, lie was niu(^li afi'ectcd, and s[)oke to them in su(;li a manner that there was not a dry eye in the whole congregation. As he had been an efficient schoolmaster, a wise counsellor, and a most faithful parish Clergyman as far as circumstances permitted, so he made a most efficient Bisho}). "As the presiding officer in our Synods, he was dig- nitied, kind, and conciliatory ; yet capable, on occasion, of maintaining his position, and i)utting down any trouble- some member. For years we never had a division in our Synods, so thoroughly did he direct our consultations. Though naturally autocratic, he adopted the Synod system as suitable for our Church in this country, and zealously ]»romoted it. *' Lastly, he was a sincere Christian. During the latter years of his life, some of the austerer features in his cha- necter became much mellowed through Divine gi"ace, and I trust that he died in peace with God, and in charity with all men." The following is an extract from a Sermon preached by The Reveuend the Provost of Trinity College, in the Chapel of that College on the morning of Sunday, No- vember loth, 1807, — being the next Sunday after the funeral of the Bishop of Toronto : — " It is well-known, doubtless, to almost the youngest amongst you, that the long-cherished plans of the Bishop for securing to this Province a system of public education of the highest order, under the control of tho Church, and imbued with her spirit, were defeated by the alienation of ;i vast property from the purposes to which the piety of tl^ British Crown had devoted it. Then it was that the Bishop, in his seventy-second year, resolved to begin anew this great labour of his life, and to exert his utmost ener- 41 322 gies to secure again, for the meinl>er.s of hi« own com- munion, a place of sound learning and religious education. And liere we may fitly pay the tribute of our homage to that resolute conviction of duty and that indomitable courage, which recognized, in disaster and defeat, causes only for fresh hope, for renewed and redf)ubled exertion. We maj'^ best learn from the Bishop's own language what were his feelings and resolves at this crisis. Here, then, are tiie closing words of the Pastoral Letter, which his Lordship addressed to the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese in the spring of 18.50. 'I shall not rest satisfied till I have laboured to the utmost to restore the College (King's Col- lege) under a holier and more perfect form. The result is with a higher power, and I may still be doomed to disap- pointment ; but it is God's work, and I feel confident that it will be restored, although I may not be the happy instrument, or live to behold it. Having done all in my power, I shall acquiesce submissively in the result, what ever it may be; and I shall then, and not till then, consider my mission in this behalf ended,' " Nor can those who have been cognizant of the subse- quent history of the College abstain from acknowledging, with all respect and gi-atitude, the unwearied interest which the Bishop discovered, from day to day, in every thing which, in any wise, affected its prosperity. Nothing kept him from his post, when, as a member of the governing body, his counsel had been invoked:'! can bear witness also that, at the cost of great personal inconvenience, he ever cheerfully gave us the advantage of his revered and genial presence at our more public gatherings ; and, from our first annual festive meeting until the last year, he was never absent but on one occasion, when official engage- ments, in a distant part of the Diocese, had rendered Ms presence an impossibility. 323 " Many will remember how kindly he bent himself, at such times, to the temper of the hour ; and how generously he recognized the endeavours of any who had been attempting to give effect to the gi'eat objects which he had ill view in founding the College. " And this was only a small part of the service which he rendered us. He invited, from the very first, a constant reference to himself in every difficulty, and ever listened, with the greatest kindness and patience, to petty details, respecting which it was the desire of the officers of the College to have the benefit of his counsel or the sanction of his authority. The College, too, has had its serious difficulties and troubles, painful and wearisome enougli to those who were principally concerned in them, and whose action had furnished the immediate occasion of them ; but doubly wearisome to others, who were less nearly concerned, and who were called upon to defend conduct, which they had not directly advised — to cover positions, which had been occupied without their distinct knowledge or expressed approval. It is a rare virtue to yield, in such cases, a generous and cordial support : the very fact that trouble and difficulty have arisen often enfeebles the hands, and chills the sympathies, of lookers- on, irrespectively of the real merits of the case : but the Bishop was not a man of this mould ; committed to gen- eral principles, he was not one to quibble respecting details ; he threw the whole weight of his cordial support into the scale in which, as he conceived, the right was poised against the wi'ong. To hw warm heart, and to the calm judgment and unswerving rectitude of one, no less honoured than himself, the College owes a debt of grati- tude, which some of us, at least, it is to be hoped, will never forget. " But there is another point, of very great importance, which must not be over-looked by any who would truly and faithfully cherish the memory of our departed Bishop. 324 What were his objects in the t'oundatio?! of this College ? These, again, we may best learn fi-oni the Bishoi^s own words. In th(; i)astoral letter before mentioned he thus writes : ' Deprived of her University, what is the Church to do ? She has now no seminary at which to give; a liberal education to her youth. What is enjoyed by all the other largo denominations in the Province is denied' to her. Is she to sit down contented with her Theological School at Cobourg, and leave her children to ])erisli for lack of spiritual knowledge ? Or is she to extend its pro- visions and form it into a University capable of imparting a full course of liberal instruction, carefully founded on a religious basis, as has been the case in all seminaries of learnin<j amonfj Christian nations since the ascension of our Lord ?' These words distinctly testify to the object of the Bishop in establishing this College. It was to incor- porate the Theological School, already existing, with a College or University for general instruction in literature and science. " I know well, by personal comnmnication with the late Bishop, the great importance which he attached to the purpose which he designed the College to subserve as a place of training for the saci-ed Ministry. In the last con- versation of any length which I held with him, he intro- duced the subject of the Theological Class, inquiring with anxiety as to its probable numbers during the ensuinrr Academical year, and forcibly expressing his opinion of its indispensable necessity to the welfare of the Diocese. Let not those, then, who really love and cherish his memor}^ be content to 'build his sepulchre,' by mere words of vain regret or of empty adulation ; but, much rather, let them rear and enlarge for him a noble and lasting monument, by aiding in carrying out the provisions which, with wise fore-thought, he designed to make for the professional education of the Clergy of this Province. Indispensable as moral and religious qualifications undoubtedly are for 325 the clue exercise of the .sacred office of the Ministry, they are yet to he regarded simply as a foundation. Without such foundation, indeed, no superstructure of learning and official aptitud*; can be secure ; Init they do not constitute that superstructuie itself, they do not Hpcc'iaibj qualify their possessor for the duties of a Minister of God's Holy Word and Sacraments. Can it be that, in other ])rofes- sions, exercised for the physical or social well-being of mankind, a long course of preparatory instruction is required by law, before a man is .authorized to take charge of the health or of the material interests of his neighbour, and yet that the Church of God may safely and wisely dis- ])ense with a law, recpiiring those who are to become PastoT-s of C'hrist's flock to prepare themselves, by at least two short years of study, for their life-long service ? I liave ventured thus to dwell on what I know to have been the late Bishop's purpose, lying very near his heart,, in respect of the Theological Department in this College, because I wish to pay a real, rather than a verbal, triltute to his memory ; and, because I trust that he, being dead, may yet speak, in this regard ; and that reverence for his sound judgment, and respect for his well-known desires, may ensure the conscientious execution of his designs for the usefulness of this College, and for the benefit of the Dioceses of Upper Canada. "I cannot now permit myself to enlarge on my personal obligations to him who has been taken from us, or on my personal appreciation of those noble and lovely features of his character which has been known and admired by nud- titudes. I may, however, say, with simple truth, that, in making, sixteen years ago, the great change involved in a removal from England to this country — a change which compelled the abrupt and painful severance of many of the most cherished associations of my earlier life — I felt that I had found, in the Bishop of Toronto, a second father ; such was his thoughtful and kindly regard for my personal 32G comfort and well-being : while, in respect of my official duties, the burden of a new and difficult position was very materially lightened by his indulgent construction of my conduct ; and, laider many a vexation and discouragement, I was reassured by his friendly voice, which proved that, in the expressive language of Holy Writ, 'he knew the lieart of a stranger,' and was ever ready to revive that heart, by words of generous confidence and of unaffected sympathy." The Reverend Canon Ramsay, M. A., delivered a Funeral Sermon in St. Paul's Church, Newmarket, on the Sunday succeeding the interment of the late Bishoj). His text was from Psalm cxxxix. 23, 24, — "Search me, God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." The following are amongst the concluding portions of this sermon : — " At the approach of death, such a text is most appo- site ; and this leads me to speak of the loss this Diocese has so recentiv sustained. '' Tlie iC.'^a Bishop of Toronto was the most aged Prelate in the Church of England, and one of the oldest inhabi- tants of this Colony. At the commencement of his ministry there were only some two or three Clergymen in Upper Canada ; and, at that period, there being not a single classical school in the Province, he opened such an establishment, and most of the persons of note in Upper Canada were educated by him. The great majority of his pupils have gone before him. " The Bishop was greatly respected by all classes ; and being possessed of considerable ability, he wa.'j selected to fill the office of Archdeacon of the western portion of Upper Canada. For many yeai-s he might have been 327 looked upon as the sole administrator of the aflfairs of the Church in this Province. It was, whilst he was Arch- deacon that I became acquainted with him ; and for many years the communications between the late Bishop and the venerable Society passed through my hands as their Secretary. " On his coming to England on his being appointed the first Bishop of Toronto, I stood near to him at his conse- cration ; and subsoqently had the privilege of introducing him at my house to the members of our Committee, consisting of noblemen and others, eminent for their piety, and also distinguished in various walks of life. Tliis took place nearly twenty-nine years ago. For ten years after his consecration, almost every mail brought a connnunica- tion from Canada ; consequently I was in close corres- pondence with his Lordship; and, with the exception of his successor, of the Very Reverend the Dean, and of such as were more immediately around him, few perhaps had better opportunities than myself of forming a correct esti- mate of the departed Prelate. " As Bishop, he ever obtained the respect both of the Clergy and Laity ; he had had many opponents, but no enemies. This was, to a certain extent, apparent at tlie funeral. Among the chief mourners were the Rev. 1)y. Richardson, of the Episcopal Methodists, the Rev. Lachlan Taylor, representing the Wesleyans, the Vicar-General, in the absence of the Roman Catholic Bishop who was detained at home by sickness, and several other ](!a<ling members of various Christian denominations ; and. thouLdi last, not least, the St, Patrick's Society attended as a body, consisting almost exclusively of Roman Catholics, " For the twenty years I have known the late Bisho]) in this country, I had very frequent communications with him ; and, during the whole of that period, experienced the same uniform kindness ; the same judicious, parental counsel and advice ; and one of the last important acts of 323 hifj Episcopate, which took jjlace only a few months since, related to a distinction conferred upon myself and others j being a marked testimony of his Lordship's approval in the selection made, "The late Bishop was i)ossessed of very considerable talents, and was held in high estimation by many of the distinguished men in his day, — among whom I may men- tion Archbishop Whatcley and Dr. Chalmers. He told me only a few weeks back, that himself and Dr. Chalmers had kept up their friendship from boyhood ; and that his old school-fellow and brother Collegian invariably sent him a copy of each of his literary productions, as they were issued from the press. "In the administration of his Diocese, he was energetic and untiring; and, although not without some strong pre- judices, he ever manifested a kind consideration towards those from whom he differed ; and I look upon it as a fine trait in his character, that, with reference to such of his (Uergy as entertained somewhat different views from himself, it never made the least diff'erence in his bearinir towards them ; he was ever strictly impartial as an Over- seer of the Church. The Bishop lived in trying times, when })ai"ty-spirit ran high ; and yet, although he ever took a decided and prominent part in public affairs, per- haps there is not one of the magnates of the land whose memory will be more generally, and more highly, esteemed, or held in greater respect, than his. "It would afford much comfort and consolation to the dying Bishop to know and feel, that one gi-eat desire near his heart had been accomplished ere he departed hence to be no more seen ; and this was, that his dear friend and brother, the object of his warmest affection, had been selected to fill his place, and would tread in his stejis. It was to myself an affecting reflection, as I stood by his mortal remains, that the last time I was within those Altsir rails, the late Bishop was in health and strength, officiating 329 there. The next time of my being within those sacred preeincts, I stood by the same Bisliop, not alive, l)ut dead. He has gone to his rest, and his works do follow him ; and we sliall all, sooner or hiter, find a similar resting-place; and may we, as I trust and believe is the case with our de- parted Bishop, sleep in Jesus, to awake to a joyful resur- rection." We give the fcjllowing extracts from a sermon preached by The Revehenjj Walter Stennett, M.A., in St. Peter's Church, Cobourg, on Sunday, November 10, 18G7 : — " With the early history of every country there are associated names which are destined to be perpetuated so lo..g as that history shall endure. In fact, so intimately are the events to be recorded blended and interlaced with the lives of the individuals, that it is impossible to write or speak of one without the other. Such, my brethren, has been the life of that veneiublo Prelate whom the hand of death has so lately removed from among us. Coming to Canada at the very early period when the original forest grew where now flourishing towns and cities stand, it has been his good fortune to have had such o})portunities of exercising those practical talents which he so lai'gely possessed, as can never again fall to the lot of any one in this Dominion. " Connected with the moral and social, as well as with the religious progi'ess of our country ; an earnest advocate for secular and religious education ; and an early partici])ant in plans of foresight, which have largely contributed to the material prosperity and development of Canada, it is not one city or neighbourhood, it is not one county or district, that feels the blank which his death has created ; but over the length and breadth of the land, it is felt nnd acknowledged that a great man and a good has fallen in our midst. 42 330 " But it is not as a legislator that we desire, now and in this place, to conimemor{ite his striking merits. His public services stand written in the archives of the Province ; and the very noble tril>ute to his memory which hiis within the last few days been paid, in the public funeral accorded to him by the un.animous voice of his fellow citizens, attests the general appreciation 'of them, " We, as Churchmen, have closer, holier relations to the beloved old man than anything which mere worldly interests could call into existence. We wish especially to remember him as one of the earliest missionaries of the Church, — as the earnest and hard-working Clergyman, — as the bold and vigorous champion of the truth, — as the energetic promoter of every thing that would foster true religion, as taught by the Church of his convictions, — as the indomitable defender of her rights, — and as the watch- ful and kindly Chief Pastor over our portion of the fold of Christ. " As the later and bettcr-rememl)crcd ministerial life of the venerable departed connects him with the Church at large in this country, so does Ms consecration as Bishop connect him with the Church at home, and more closely still with every congregation of our communion in the land. For more than a quarter of a century has that great and good man ruled with consummate prudence, and conscientious uprightness, the Church in the chief part of Western Canada. He has lived to see his one gi'eat Diocese divided into three ; and the Clergy, of whom by far the greater part have been ordained by him, largely increased in numbers ; and to almost every congregation in the whole three Dioceses his memory is closely and affectionately linked by the recollection of his venerable hands placed upon the heads of many of them in con- firmation. Among those who worship here, few there are who will not now be able to recall his very form and tone of speech, as with emphatic earnestness he impressed upon 331 the newly confirmed the solemn nature of the vows they had taken upon themselves ; and none there are (I feel assured) but will join in the words of the text, as they think of that active brain and eloquent tongne, now still and silent in the tomb, — ' Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel ?' " But on those who had the privilege of a more intimate acquaintance with him, — who were cheered by his fatherly counsels, encouraged by his kindly sympathy, and sustained in trial by tlie example of his fortitude and energy, — the sense of their loss weighs heaviest. In him the country missionary, toiling in obscurity amid many discourage- ments, found a ready and congenial comforter; for he could tell of his own privations, of the oppositions which he had had to encounter, of seemingly little fruit from years of faithful sowing ; and give such advice and conso- lation as only personal experience could enable one to give. " There is still another way in which, as Churchmen, we may view his life, and which it would be great injustice to his memory to omit; and that is in its connection with education in its best and highest sense — education founded on religion. More than half a century ago, before th<js(! who are now the leading men in Canada were born, the subject of a grand public provision for higher education tilled his mind ; and to his perseverance was mainly owing the setting apait of the large landed endowment which has raised the National University to its present eminence ; and when, through imfair legislation, the Church was excluded from that noble foundation, our indomitable Bishoj) began that series of glorious efforts in behalf of religious education, whi(!li has created Trinity College, and placed it on so proud and so enduring a basis — a gift, let us hope, for all time to the Canadian Church — the nursery of our Clergy, the fosterer and directrix of talent, to be devoted in every required way to the better service of God and our country to the end of time. In a<lmiration 332 at the ways of Providence, which have thus made one man instrumental in founding two noble seats of learning, and at his sagacity in availin/^ liimself of favorable crises, and his wondrous energy and perseverance in overcoming diffi- culties and in scorning discouragements, we must sfiy again, ' Assuredly we know this day that a prince and a great man has fallen in our Israel.' "And as there was so much that is memorable in his life, so also is the year, as well as the day of his death, remarkable and suggestive. Usage has given to tlie years of the life of man marked by the multiple of 7 and }), the name of ' the grand climacteric ;' and old superstition attached to this combination of the mystical numbers a certiiin mysterious signification, pointing to some great supposed change in the state of the individual. It is at least interesting to note that the period of our venerablt; Bishop's life in the ministry of Christ's Church is pre- cisely represented by these figures, to which there has been attached, from the days of Pythagoras, the idea of completeness. Well might he, on attaining the grand climacteric of his ministry, exclaim, with all the fervour and sincerity of St. Paul the aged, ' I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept tlie faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of gloiy, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.' Looking back, with undimmed faculties, down tlie vista of sixty-three years, — years of active duty, years of watching in the cause of Christ his Lord, years of successful labour, too, — and seeing how many had gone before him to their rest, well may we suppose the time-worn veteran awaiting in calmness the summons of his Lord, and ^saying, in expectant faith, untinctured wuth impatience, 'Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word.' " Again, when we remember the day on which his spirit departed to its rest, may we not reverently believe that, 333 dimming every worldly retrospect, there arose bright before his mental gaze a vision of the saints in glory. On the morning of the 1st of November, that day to which the Church has given the name of the ' Festival of All Saints,' and which she has for so many hundred years set apart for the solemn contemplation of the bliss of souls in Paradise, who ' have gone to sleep in Jesus,' our aged Bishop lay on the bed of death, ready to depart to join their holy company. Who shall say what thoughts passed through his mind, — conscious, unclouded to the last, — as the first grey streaks of morning lijjht ushered in thus one of those solemn Churcli festivals, whose celebration in liis own Cathedral he was never known to miss. ' For many a year gone by,' Jie might reflect, ' have I on this day preached on the com- munion of saints, and meditated on that grand chapter irom the Revelation of St. John, appointed for the Epistle of the day, where he speaks of the number of the sealed, and sees ' a great multitude, which no man could number, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.' 0, may that vision soon be mine I Surely I come quickly ; Amen. Even so ; come. Lord Jesus.' " Devoutly and reasonably may we hope that the end of ]»is long and active life was cheered with sweet visions of rest and peace ; that his listening ear may have caught the echoes of the loud voices of the redeemed, crying, 'Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb I' and his eyes have seen in faith the glorious company of angels falling down before the throne and saying, ' Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanks- giving, and honour, and power, and might, be \mto our God for ever and ever.' " If the hymns and praises of the Church on earth find entrance to the courts of Heaven above, being purified and })resented before the throne of the Eternal by the blessed Mediator between God and man, in what a glorious cloud 334 of incense of praise must the spirit of the dying Bishop have ascended to God who gave it ; for on the very morn- ing of his cfeath, from many a Parish Church and many a Cathedral in the Fatherland, must these very words have been ascending too ! " And is there not in all such thoughts, my brethren, a hallowing and a strengthening influence to help on us who remain, in the race which is set before us ? Among the * cloud of witnesses ' who now look down upon us as we run, there stands (let us reverently hope), our aged Bishop, too. Mayhap he sees some amongst oui-selves of those who in years past received from him the Apostolic rite of ' laying on of hands,' and who promised before God and the assembled congregation to keep their solemn vows, — and seek grace to lead a more holy, a more Christian life, — now forgetful of those promises, forgetful that they bound themselves to serve their Saviour truly, and to seek His strength, especially in the Holy Communion, to enable them so to do. O, remember our Lord's warning to the unrepentant Jews, ' The Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it ;' and think that the Bishop of Christ's Church, who received your solemn promise, shall rise up in the judgment with yourselves, and may condemn you for slighting means of grace, and weakening wilfully your hope of glory. " May God grant that all we, who have had in our venerated Bishop so lively an exemplar of what a working Christian's life should be, may have grace to turn it to practical account in an enlarged benevolence, a more enlightened view of duty, a greater earnestness in per- forming it, and increased perseverance in well-doing, knowing that our 'labour is not in vain in the Lord.'" A Sermon was preached on the same occasion, by the Reverend Canon Dixon, M.A., Rector of Port Dalhousie. His text was from 2 Sam. iii. 38.: "Know ye not that 335 there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel." From this discoure we make the following extracts : — "At three o'clock on Friday morning, being All Saints Dny, the Bishop of Toronto departed this life in the nine- tieth year of his age. For the week previous, his strength had been gradually faihng ; but to the very last his intellect remained unclouded, and he was confined to his bed only one whole day. In his death the Church has lost a great man ; great in his indomitable resolution and energy : great in his knowledge of human nature and dis- crimination of character ; gi cat in his patriotic love of his adopted country ; and especially great in his earnest devotion and self-denying affection to the Church, to Avhose advancement and prosperity all the best faculties of his mind and body were consecrated. Through the pos- session of these noble qualities, and from the times and circumstances in which his lot was cast, he exercised a most extraordinary influence over both the civil and ecclesiasti- cal affairs of Canada." After a review of his early life, both in Scotland and Canada, and after detailing his struggles in the cause of education, the preacher thus referred to his exertions for the physical advancement of the Province : — "At the time the Welland Canal was under discussion, the Hon. William Hamilton Merritt, whose labours have so vastly benefited Canada, and more especially this por- tion of it, declared in my hearing that he had been giiev- ously discouraged at the little interest the public seemed to take in his grand work, until a series of letters on its vast importance appeared in one of the leading papers ; letters that exhausted the whole subject. These commu- nications, written in a terse and vigorous style, were copied into other papers, and produced a marked effect upon the 336 public mind ; and to them Mr, Memtt ascribed in a great dejjree the brilliant success that crowned his labours. It was not for several months that he discovered that the late Bishop was the author. "Through the terrible visitations of the Cholera, and also when the ship-fever cut off' so many valuable lives, he never forsook his post; but was unwearied in his visits to the pest-houoes or sheds erected for the sufferers. "In his Confirmation tours, he was a most welcome as well as honoured guest wherever he went. ' His love fin' the children of the family, his sympathy with the feelings of the parents, and his anxiety to avoid giving trouble, rendered him a universal favourite. His position -v^iith respect to his Clergy was that of an affectionate father with his children. He took the warmest interest in their labours, and sympathized with them in their trials. The instances are numerous where, in the most delicate and unostentatious manner, he had given relief out of his own moderate means, to those who he feared were in straitened circumstances. "There was a singular appropriateness in the concluding words of the Sermon he preached in his Cathedral a few weeks before his death. He ended with these solemn words of St. Paul : 'For 1 am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.* These words he uttered in as powerful and thrilling a tone as if he had cast off' the burden of half-a-century, and the whole congregation seemed as if startled by an electric shock. "His funeral, — the most solemn and impressive ever witnessed in Western Canada, — shewed the esteem in which he was held by the whole community. From mid- night the muffled bells of the Cathedral tolled forth over 387 the city a mournful peal. All business was suspended at the time of the funeral. The streets were lined with the regular and volunteer troops, and all the different public bodie.-j turned out to do honour to the remains of the venerated Bishop. "O! brethren, in the words of the text, — words used by our late venerated father in God, as a text when he preached the funeral sermon of a gallant soldier and true Christian gentleman, — General Sir Isaac Brock, — 'a great man is fallen this day in Israel.' The glorious strains of faith, and hope, and consolation, fell like the dew of Hermon on the crowd of mourners, proclaiming 'from henceforth, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord ; even so saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours.' He, our father, our friend, our beloved counsellor, rests from his labours. He loved the Church as the pillar and ground of the truth : the golden candlestick on which are placed the word, the ministry and sacraments, to diffuse light, and joy, and comfort to all within the circle of its influence, and a beacon to those without ; anti he laboured to render the light brilliant and glowing. Earnestly he sought her welfare, fearlessly he defended her claims, vigilantly he shielded her from assaults ; a faithful watchman ever on the alert, telling the towers of Zion, marking well her bul- warks, watching and praying with undying energy that she might be presented to the Lord in 'clothing of wrought gold," resplendent in purity, holiness, and love. He rests from his labours. The aged warrior has laid aside the shield and the bow, the sword and the spear. He has fought the good fight, henceforth there is laid up for him the glorious reward, — the crown of life. We have laid him in the silent tomb, — dust to dust, — but the spirit, the . immortal spirit has returned to God who gave it, and the day is coming, the great and terrible day of the Lord, when soul and body, reunited, shall attain the perfect con- summation of bliss in God's eternal and everlasting glory. 43 338 The trumpet has sounded : earth is rent with wild convul- sions : multitudes, numberless as the grains of sand on the sea shore are pressing forward towards the great white throne. Earth and sea, the two vast sei)ulehres of the human race, have given up their dead. Then shall the aged soldier of the cross hear the thrilling words of Him for whose cause he laboured and prayed all the days of his appointed time : 'Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' In the words of an eminent Bishop of the sister Church of the United States, who has gone before, and over whose remains they might also be truthfully written : 'He leaves on earth a record of ilistinction, which the purest ambition might rejoice ^o have inscribed upon his tomb : — nix office, a BiHliopric. His character, Fidelity. • His rewaril, a Crowii of Life.'" 939 III. The following heart}' trilmtc to the memory and worth of the late Bislio]), is contaiiuMl in the JoimiaJ of Kdnca- f/o/v, for November, 1867 ; — a publication issued monthly by the Rev. Dr. Ryerson, Chief Superintendent of Echica- tion for the Province of Ontario : — "Among several remarkable men who have, full of years and honours, passed from us during the last decade, none had distin<ruished himself more than the Honourable and Right Reverend John Stkachan, D.D., LL.D., late Bishop of Toronto : a man remarkable for energy, courage, con- centration of purpose, tact, and perseverance in whatever he undertook, — Ji man remarkable for his success in life, for the fjiithfulness and ability with which he fulfilled the duties of every oltice to which he was succeSvSively called whether as Parish School Master in Scotland, Grammar School Master in Canada, Parish Clergyman, Member of an Executive and a Legislative Council, President of a College, or Bishop of the largest Diocese in British North America — a man as thoroughly Canadian as any native of the country, remarkable for the genial qualities of private friendship, for acute discernment, disinterested and sound judgment as a Counsellor, for self-sacrifice, devotion and tenderness as a visitor of the sick and afflicted — a man without brilliancy of talents or attractions of oratory, but on all occasions occupying the first position in the sponta- neous homage of those around him, by his strong sense, his vigorous understanding, his downright honesty, his resolute firmness, his unflagging industry — a man unre- laxing in his labours and unfailing in his faculties during a ministry of sixty-four years and down to the ninetieth ^ear of his age — a man who bad long outlived the jealousy 340 of distinctions and the enmity of parties, and who ceased •at once to work and live,' amid the respect and regrets of all classes of the population." We extract the following from a small work which appeared soon after tlie decease of the late Bishop, en- titled " The First Bishop of Toronto ■ a Review and a Study," by Henry Scadding, D.D. Cantab:— " To the Bishop of Toronto the honour thus belongs of being the first practically to solve the difficulty which in theory besets the admission of lay members into Anglican Synods. His example has been widely followed in difier- ent quarters of the Empire ; and it is probable that the custom thus inaugurated in a Colony will one day p-e"v ai within the Dioceses of the Mother Church. Of course, there, great prejudices have to be surmounted. We happen ourselves to have been present in the Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster, when such an innovation was mooted : to us, knowing as we did, what a reasonable thing in practice the custom seemed, it was curious to hear the consequences which imagination conjured up as objections to its adoption in England. The modern Church-congresses of England have also grown out of the successful Colonial experiment and are pointing the same way, namely, to lay representation in the Councils of the Anglican Church. " And who can doubt but that a Convocation reformed and made real, and Diocesan Synods reformed and made real, with the lay element judiciously but frankly ad- mitted, would bring back a fresh youth to the ancient mother at home ? What is the secret of the anarchy of late years in the ancient historic Anglican Church, in respect to doctrine and practice ? Is it not the absence of constitutional government ? It is obvious to the casual visitor, there is no system observed in the work- a41 ing of that body as a whole, binding its parts together. Each beneficed presbyter may do as he wills. He feels himself amenable to no central delegation representing the body of which he is a local functionary. In evciy denomination but that which takes its name from an episcopate, there is a real episcopacy, an episcopacy without mystery. We mean that every Non-confomiist body exercises over its members, official and non-official, a superintendence that may be felt. Whilst in the ancient Anglican Communion, there is at present virtually :io government. W^hat, again, has led to the alienation of large masses of the people from the historic Church, not- withstanding its powerful prescriptive claims ? Has it not been the absence, now for a long series of years, of a representative assembly, sympathizing with the people, and having the power and will to deal from time to time, frankly and considerately, with grievances as they have arisen ? Without a Parliament really legis- lating for the people generation after generation, ration- ally and justly, in what condition would be the civil affairs of the parent state ? With the Anglican Com- munion in Canada and the other dependencies of England, it rests, to aid or hinder, as the years roll on, the renova- tion of the parent-communion at home ; to aid, if by a steady and careful acquisition of intelligence on the -"mrt of Clergy and Laity, Synods, general and particular, be rendered fair representative bodies : to hinder, if by the repression of intelligence and the inculcation of theories that are impracticable, they become in their proceedings visibly one-sided." " It has often been affirmed that every worthy human life is a drama — a poem ; and that ' every man truly lives so long as he acts his nature, and some way makes good the faculties of himself.' We have been reviewing a career of the kind here described ; a life unusually complete, with strongly marked beginning, middle, and close, earnestly 312 occupied throughout with the most important human affairs. We have seen an early unfoluing of spccidl powers and aptitudes, and a grand ambition awakened by the consciousness of their possession ; aspirations, as they proved themselves to be in the event, based on the nature of things. We have seen a discipline undergone ; a discipline of long delays, of disappointment' upon disap- pointment ; each issuing in a clearer demonstration of tlie virtue of the man ; of the genuineness of his faith, his hope, his self-control, his fortitude. Finally, we have seen the experience gained in the school of adversity ])ractically applied in the period of prosperity, and eveiy successive elevation in position, and every additional honour attained, used, not for the furtherance of petty or personal ends, but .as a new vantage-ground for securing good to men on the widest scale and for the longest possible period. " We have not touched upon private sorrows, all along mingling plentifully with the stream of outward, visible history; bereavements severing at last almost every earthly tie, and leaving their subject, in respect to blood- relationship, all but alone ; although, in other, respects surrounded by ' that which should accompany old age, As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends.' " Hear, however, the noble Bishop himself speak : ' My life,' ho says, in 1860, * has doubtless been laborious, and, I believe, interspread by a larger number of vicissitudes than usually happen to individuals : but it has, on the whole, been happy. And now, when near the close, I can look back without any startling convictions, and forward with increasing hope.' — Charge, 18G0, p. 4. " To the student of humanity, and of Divinity too, how beautiful and how consolatory is such a declaration ! To the prime blessing of an organization of the best quality, was added uninterrupted health, and a constitutional 343 impcrtuibability. His was one of those strongly-braced intellects that can rise superior to troubles which crush the hearts of ordinary men. As often as the emergency presented itself, he could summon to his aid the re- flection — ' 'Tis but the fate of place, and the rough brake That virtue must go through. We must not stiut Our necessary actions, in the frar To cope malicious censurers, •wliicii ever, As ravenous^shes, do a vessel follow Tliat is new-trimm'd, but benefit no farther Tiian vainly longing.' He had the power to pass at will from one train of thought to another, and so divest himself of a mental burden. What a sense was there of cerebral cobwebs shaken off, for others as well as himself, in the sound of his brief, explosive, hearty laugh, suddenly heard above the murmur of conversation in intervals of business at synodal or society meetings, after dreary discussions, threatening at times to be interminable. It was this superiority to the trials common to men that made him the sisiy he was found to be by many, when involved in serious perplexity and distress. Courageous himself, he inspired courage in others. Of the griefs laid before him, he discovered some view that was hopeful. He often saw something in relation to them, which the immediate sufferer did not. He thus often sent away from him with a lightened heart, those that had come to him des- ponding. The burden that had bowed them seemed half removed by being disclosed to him. " From his Charges to the Clergy could be gathered a code of Anglican Divinity, and a manual of canonical life. But while his statements of dogma and rules for clerical practice are definite and precise, he makes them with consideration, as knowing that the persons addressed were accustomed to great liberty of thought and action. So far as related to himself, the theological convictions formed at 344 the student period of his life, having been happily arrived at under a wise direction, i-eceived only more and more confirmation as years rolled on. He was, in this manner, enabled, as he himself testified, towards the close of his career, to speak at all times with boldness on the special topics connected with his oflice, and ' with an inward satisfaction and firmness of purpose which, under the Divine blessing, has never changed.' ' I have always been aware,' he tells -his Clergy in* I860, ' that the best endeavour I could make to promote unity in the Church, was to seek after inward unity and peace in my own breast ; because it is only by cherishing such graces that I can give consistency to my religious character, and cause its influence to pei-vade and penetrate the Diocese, and shed abroad in it the power of faith and charity.' A profound remark, reminding us of Lord Bacon's words : No pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage-ground of Truth, a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always clear and serene ; and to see the errors, and wanderings, and mists, and tempests in the vale below ; so also that this prospect be with pity, and not with swelling or pride. Certainly it is heaven upon earth to have a man's mind move in charity, rest in Providence, and turn upon the poles of Truth.' " There was a peculiar freshness and naturalness about his published Journals of Visitation. In them, without losing anything of dignity, he enlivens details which might be deemed merely technical and professional, by notices of matters connected with the physical aspect and progress of the country. His Journal of the year 1842 was published in London, by the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and has passed through several editions. The same features characterized his narratives of the acts of the year delivered in Synod. In the account of his voyage to England in 1850, given in a Pastoral, the touching story of ' Poor Thoiuas ' will be 345 remembered : a sailor on board the nliip, who had been deprived of both his legs by frost-bite. After describing witli niimiteness the case, ' His fine spirit endeared him,' the Bishop says, ' to all the ])assengers, and, when made acquainted with his simple ])lans, a subscription of fifty [xmnds was raised for his benefit ; and two gentlemen belonging to Liveq)oob with true Christian charity, en- gaged to see it appropriated in such a manner as to ensure the completion of his wishes, and, if necessary, to supply what mii^ht be wantin*'. The matter being thus satis- factorily arranged, Thomas was made quite happy.' This combination of a genial concern in homely, human mat- ters, and a readiness and ajititude for high and comjjlicated occupations, made him ecpially at his ease, whether con- versing with Chin([uaconse in an Indian hut at Ganlen River, crooning to himself some old Scottish air in the liavk seat of an uncouth stage-coach on the Penetan- guishine road, or exchanging courtesies with AUjcrt Kdward, Prince oi' Wales, and the gentlemen of hif^ suite, in the saloons of Government House at Toronto. And herein he exemplified in himself what his well-known views were, in regard to the kind of men fitted to be ' spiritual pastors and masters ' among the people of Western Canada. ' It should make no difference whethei- it is a log or a sofa that you sit on,' we once heard him say, referring to emergencies that constantly occur where things are in the rough. ' I know how to content myself with earthen vessels, as my father did,' said an old Bisho[) of Chichester, in 124.), when Henry III. was withholding the revenues of his See : ' let everything be sold, even to my horse, if there be nee<l.' This was the spirit of the first Bishop of Toronto. It was this singleness of view in regard to duty under all circumstances, that made him intrepid in the midst of peril. The times of contagious sickness, in 1832 and 1847, found him unflinching in his ministrations. In the keeping ^of appointments, too, ihe 44 34G same fearlessness was sure to be seen. We ourselves well veniember an instance of this, when night and rough weather rendei'ing a long pull in an open boat on the river at the Sault Ste. Marie by no means a trifling matter, the stand taken in respect to a distant engagement was in almost the identical terms used by the Roman general of old : ' It is not necessary for me to live, but it is necessary for me to go.' " Such a man as the great Bishop wliose career we have been studying, is no shadow. Neither are the things which such men pursue, shadows. The results of the life of the first Bishop of Toronto are tangible realities. They may be sensibly })articipated in by all of the Canadian people that choose, or in the future shall choose, to avail themselves of them. And he himself is a reality. His example, his written and spoken words, his works and deeds, will together constitute a standard and type to which, in the fluctuations of the future, there will be a recurrence. His name will be one of the things which tiie generations following will not willingly let die. His spirit will be still palpably marching on. " He built the principal Chui'ch-edifice appertaining to his own communion four times in succession ; twice as a Cathedral-church for his Diocese ; and, on each successive occasion, with increased grandeur and costliness. ' Twins of Learning' witness for him: he founded two Universities in succession, both invested with the character borne by such institutions as originally instituted, by Royal Char- ter, — procured in both instances by his own pei-sonal travail; the latter of the two by an individual and solitary eflbrt, to which it is not easy to find a parallel. He saw them both in operation, investigating, conserving, an<l propagating truth, on somewhat different lines indeed, but probably with co-ordinate utility, as things are. The very Park, with its widely-renowned Avenue, the Champs Elys^es of Toronto, in which the bourgeoisie of the place 347 love to take their pastime, are a provision of his, that property having been specially selected by him as Presi- dent of King's College, with the same judiciousness aiid the same careful prescience of the need of amplitude for such purposes which guided him also in choosing the fine site and grounds of Trinity College. " The Anglican residue rescusd by his prowes? in the final disposition of the endowments for Public Worship, he so wisely husbanded by a scheme of commutation, that funds, which, in due course, were intended to be extin- guished, were transformed into a permanence, applicable in all time to the aid and maintenance of Anglican interests. " The chancel-apse that shelters the grave of the first Bishop of Toronto has acquired a double sacredness. St. James's, Toronto, will be enquired for and visited here- after by one and another from different parts of this Continent and the Mother Country, somewhat as certain venerable piles are enquired for and visited at St. Albans and Winchester, at Rheims and Mayence, for the sake of historic dust therein enshrined. "But even without accessories of any kind, without the mystic prefix with which the ages of credulity would have marked his nam.. ; without the symbolism, sensuous and fiorid as of an unintelligent period, or spiritual and delicate as of an intelligent one, the mortal resting-place of the first Bishop of Toronto will have power to fascinate the imagination. As thousjh there burned within it an undying lamp, a steady beam of light will be seen to issue from that sepulchral vault, streaming down the future of the Anglican Church in Canada, drawing and reclaiming, cheering and directing, many faltering steps." 34H The following are selected from a short biogi*aphy of the late Bishop, in the "Porfraifs of Brifif^h America iisj' by Fennings Taylor, Esq. : — " Dr. Straehan may have been well excused if he regarded liimself as the especial champion and representative of the (^Jhurch in the State, since the peculiar duties which wert^ associated with his appointment were such as he might neither omit nor evade. How thoroughly the Churcli of his choice had become the Church of his affections is writ- ten in almost every page of his published works. How ardently he desired 'to lengtlien her cords and strengthen her stakes,' is seen in every effort of his active life. He neither questioned nor doubted the human blessedness of her office. He believed that the union between the Church and the State which existed in the old country, ought not to be put asunder in Canada, for, with the Earl of Eldon, lie was of opinion ' that the establishment is formed, not for the purpose of making the Church political, but for tlie purpose of making the State religious.' "The desire lay near his heart to make Canada resembh* England, resemble her in religion in manners, in character, in institutions, and in laws. 'I'o this end he sought to establish rectories in stated places, to cover the Province with a net work of parishes, and to establish in each par- ish a centre of religious and educational influence, as well as of social and intellectual jefinement. The picture of the future, which his fancy sketched, may have resembled the actual picture wKich Cobbett saw from one of the glorious uplands of his native country, and which he has vividly described in his nervous writings. In imagination, Dr. Straehan beheld a noble Province, divided into paral- lellogi'ams and apportioned into parishes, each parish the centre of an accredited representative of that genial, well- mannered Christianity which is the popular characteristic of the Clergy of the national Church ; the settled abode of 349 one whose character would be resj)ected and whose influ- ence would be seen in the every day intercourse of common life. His desire was that religion and learning, re-acting on one another, should sanctify taste, elevate morals, purify manners, and blend with the hard and roughening influ- ences of the backwoods, many of the social refinements and home attractions which grow around the old grey Church towers and within the trim parsonages of England. The machinery of Church work through the whole of its edu- cational course, from the cradle to the grave, formed in his mind a vision of present loveliness and future peace. " It is true, indeed, that the existence of the University of Toronto, as well as Upper Canada College, are indirectly due to his exertions ; for in procuring a Charter for the predecessor of the first-named institution he laid the foun- •lation of the present University. But though he is fairly referred to in the language of compliment as its founder, nevertheless the honour, so far as we are informed, was neither claimed nor coveted by him. On the contrary, he made little eflTort to conceal his feelings with respect to it, for he complained bitterly not only as one who had been despoiled of his posessions, but as one who had been robbed of his own fair child, and had been oflered in its stead the lean and ill-conditioned oftspring of another, alien in form, unlike in feature, and different in name, whom he could neither press to his heart nor recognize as his own. The University of Toronto wa.s not King's College. In those halls for education which he had striven to raise he dreamt not of a perishable home. The discipline of study, wluch he had hoped to see carried on there, like the discipline of teaching, which was to be continued elsewhere, was pre- paratory only. The matriculants in his esteem were can- didates for immortal honours, for degrees in 'the house not made with hands.' The School, the College, the University, represented the approaches to the Church, and the Church was the vestibule of Heaven. They were essential parts of 350 a prescribed pathway through which mortal man might pass from 'tlie city of cjestniction' to 'the mount of God.' " It is possible to imagine, though it is less eapy to pour- tray, the bitter trial through which he must liave passed, as one idol after another was crushed at his feet, and scat- tered beyond his reach. It is true, indeed, that his mind was severely disciplined to disappointment, for the lamj) of success very rarely brightened his vale of years. Yet though we make allowance for the fact that he was fami- liar with failure, it is not tasy to analyze the emotions which must have visited him as he took note of the gradual growth of the University of Toronto. Even a stranger is struck with the external beauty of that visible expression of applied science. Like a gem of mediaeval art, fittingly set in a frame-work of verdure, it silently commands the admiration it receives. But it is not diffi- cult to suppose that to the eye of the Bishop such unques- tionable charms rather aggravated than diminished the anguish of his heart. It was hard for him to see such perfection of beauty separated, if not estranged from, the Supreme Author and Source of beauty. It was hard for him to see those brave old trees jubilant with joy, waving their glad arms around those curious carvings and dainty fretworks, and not to feel within his nature a root of bit- terness with which they, at least, had no sympathy. It was hard to see such 'a fabric huge, rise like an exhala- tion,' on the very ground, near to the very spot which had been prepared and set apart by him for a purpose so simi- lar, and yet so unlike ; oh ! it was hard to see and not to feel, in the overthrow of hope, how exquisitely painful is the irony of joy. Moreover, it was impossible for his clear mind to be insensible to the fact, that the noble structure which adorned these College grounds, like a jewelled cas- ket, was correspondingly rich in its furniture of thought. There was the requisite machinery, including many of the pleasant and most of the necessary appliances for work. 351 and there, too, were the human parts, the professors and masters singularly well chosen, to control and direct all. Beauty and culture were there, but the untra veiled heart of the venerable Bishop yearned for its Christian cloister, for the voice of prayer and the song of praise, lor the law and discipline by which learning had been hallowed in the ages of the past. He missed what he deemed to be the pivot of the system, for he saw not the central glory from which all education, in his judgment, sliould proceed. He mourned less for the success of his adversaries than for the slight to his Church, less for their triumph over him than for the missing Shekinah, the rbsent altar, the unoffered morning and evening service, and for what he regarded as the virtual eclipse of faith within those walls. Men may make light of ci'eeds, catechisms, and confessions of faith, they may sneer at prejudices, discredit motives, and ridicide dogma. Nevertheless, the picture of a good man's sorrow is no unworthy subject of contemplation. It is always touching for its sadness, and sometimes eloquent for its sublimity. Such sorrow sobers the sense, quickens the pulse, and touches the soul, for it appeals to our better nature, and reminds us of the goodness from which we have fallen. Thus, thought becomes cleansed and pariiied by contact with heavenly things. It is in- flamed with the brightness of the better land and acknow- ledges the excellence of goodness in this. It throbs with virtue, and thri. Is with immortality. Its yearnings reach from the visible to the everlasting, from 'the life which now is, to that which is to come.' "The Bishop's opinions, like his character, were not fashioned in a flexible mould, for they were not made of maleable, but of cast-iron. He was unbending in person and unyielding in action. His opinions were not senti- ments, but convictions ; moral properties of which he deemed himself to be the trustee, t«.nd from which he would not abate one jot or relinquish one tittle. Compromise 352 v/as foreign to his experience, and concession was unsuited to his temper. Hence he liad little respect for their re- searches, and none for their conclusions, v/ho teach that the liistory of the Church of England, like the history of the Realm of England, is in fact fi history <jf compromise. " But disappointment did not result in despair. Thero was dignity, as well as grace, in tlie way in which he ac- cepted defeat. Indeed, his character never shone to gi'cater advantage than when he snatched a triumjih from an over- throw. His resources were as manifold as they were inexhaustible. At the age of seventy-two he ceased from strife, and bowing obediently to a painful law, he began with renewed industry to build afresh what we regard as the fairest, and what we believe will i>rove to be the most enduring monument of his fame. Sweet to him had been the uses of adversity, for though his contest with the civil power had been obstinate and exhausting, and though he had been worsted in that contest, nevertheless, his ascent from the 'valley of humiliation' was luminous, if not Avith victory, at least with hope. In the strength of acquired wisdom and inherent faith, he appealed to new agencies, and called into use new instruments of work. He took a closer survey of the moral landscape, and examined afresh the most approved codes of Christian warfare ; and he soon learned how to move and combine forces with which, until then, he was presumed to be unfamiliar, and in which he had placed but little trust. Thus was it, that by means of what we may truly call 'the weak things of the world, he confounded the things that were mighty.' Turning from Princes in whom he ceased to place his trust, and from laws, which, like reeds, had broken beneath his weight, he appealed to sentiment and religion, to faith and duty, to individual sympathy, and to individual sacrifice. In the sacred names of truth aiid justice, he invoked the aid of that voluntary principle which he had formerly dis- credited, and sought in the freewill offerings of the many, 3o3 what he had hoped to find in the muniticence of one. He a])pe!ilod to honour and self-interest, to tlie recollection of wrongs, and the conviction of right, and liis stirring words called into life the latent enthusiasm of gifted souls. His heart was inflamed with the fire he had kindled. He would scarcely give sleep to his eyes, or slumber to his eyelids, until he had erected a College wherein the Divine law should fill the chief place in the circle of the sciences. Thus he turned from the creature to the Creator, from human policy to the Divine Government, from man to God. He shut the statutes that the sunlight might shine upon the Gospel. He endeavoured to 'forget the things that were behind,' that he might, with an untrammelled mind, 'reach forward to those that were before,' and being im- pelled by memory and allured by hope, ho moderated his appeal to the intellect that he might intensify his address to the heart. It was a brave siijfht to behold the heroic Bishop playing the roll of a voluntary. It was a brave sight to see one who had passed the period of life allotted by the Psalmist, stooping afresh to take up its burden, and submitting once more to the toils and sacrifices, the trials and disappointments which he had some right to lay aside. It was a brave sight to see one who could be indifferent to })ersonal ease and conventional prudence, to the suggestions^ of comfort and the seductions of policy, setting himself to the duty of building in Canada a monument such as Wil- liam of Wykeham erected at Oxford, not only where the work of education might be begun in the faith of Christ, but where, in the strength of the adorable Trinity, it might be continued and ended to the glory of God. "Though there was a sting in his stjle, there was no spite in his nature. He might thro\v his antagonist roughly, but he would pick him up again kindly. Or should the issue of the conflict be reversed, he would ac- cept his defeat with the grace of one who could respect his victor. Being a courageous, he was also a magnanimous 45 354 man. His views were large views, alid when they could be indulged without violence to his religious logic, they were generous views. Thus in his dealings with his Clergy, he recognized great latitude of opinion, for practi- cally he had a just appreciation of the religious liberty which is consistent witli the s})irit and genius of the Anglican Church. His own principles were clear and well defined ; nevertheless, he had a scholar's respect for the learning as well as for the ininciples of other peop'e, and hence he neither required an Islington password nor a Liturgical shiljboleth from Clergymen who desired to work in his Diocese. In common with the great boily of Angli- cans lie may have preferred the principles of Arminius to those of Calvin, but he did not <»u that account brand with an anathema, or blemish with a prejudice, timse weaker Christians who could not receive the full measun; of the Catholic faith. "The benevolence of the Bishop was pra<ti.'<'<l with sys- l^*mati«' and dif>criniinating gracel'uIuesH. Misfoitunr rarely iip|M-ul('d to him in vain, and i^nerty .seldom left his l:<>uhe unrelieve<l ; for compiusHioa and charity were as conKpic' iHniM in his rlmrmtUT an fidelity and enduramc With rc'Hpect to proje<U coiini'«t«'d with religion Jiis lilKfrality wa« • prov<*r»*, lli'Te wen- f«w < liui' h«"< or l*arM ma |j«*ji in the Proviiic* in n'j|ard t*> whi<h th«' -^trikin^ imaj(«*ry of th« prophet iiaiiiikkuk could not Irnve Ix'i'ii appiic -d, for •th«* nt'itK? iiiJirht havo cri***! out of Um; w»\\,' hw\ 't\f !«,(ui fiiiifht \m\ vri.d It. Atid <H<'h hMWiifl^i till otJii-r tiuO, j! M ri« ' tin-r*' wa« *Iu«* t*- !h< -iJv f <>t \\tf ^4»l whjt^h mt*rt' liM gHIa ^"wy with imii w igipfi ii<Jy nffmimi M rtfilliing mom ^tum pi talMii U» t«> mimA, m * Iniit Im hm flnRMMRIHMML mMI MMNHl mk UBm WBtt Hi #Vm MII110 j MM Wl ^^H^«4^ ^tmm m^^^^^mttl th^L ^a ^^«m^ tti^e ^^^ if|j,iJ ^^^ imip^PvVi^^ ^ww^w wBIHPW^"^^^^* *^^WB^^ ^H» ^HI^^^^WW ^^^W^W? flHViV ^B^w^B ^^^^^r 355 his blessing to bestow, yet of that little he bequeathed 'his dear College' his 'joy of grief,' as a mark of his affection, the valuable library which he had accumulated, and the costly plate which his Cornwall scholars had given to him. "In matters of charity and benevolence as well as in matters of general philanthroj)y or local improvement, his were the sajjacious counsels and the strenfrthenini; words, the guiding hand and the generous heart, the ad- vice and co-operation tliat went far towards crowning exertion with success. Moreover, there was a j)hase of charity which shewed itself conspicuously in those exact- ing forms of civic couiage which test our metal, and are perhaps more trying t<i personal endurance than any act of physical darirg. 'The pestilence that walketli in dark- ness, and the destruction that wasteth in the noon-<lf.y' n'jiresent shajK's of evil, liefore which brave men liave (piailed, and from wliicii even valiant men have fletl. Hut Kurli t<'rrors wnmglit no |Kreeptil»le rhange in hins. H'ih holy faith and his «yre<I calling .erve<l hiia with stn-ugtli, and l»«»th wrro harmoniously exhibiiiHl in bin workn. In fulfilling tin- diitii'H vihitli h*'*-iiu'*\ t^» li«' in bin path, h«* wtiM not a<'*'U««tontcd t^i U'tk** tlMMii^ht of <on<M!pi<'n«'i'^ Hi* in'Vu'\(^\ tliiif H»* mIi • "tmiU'rt'il iht' \t\u-'* woulii in»t oMjh#i*k liijii III til. ',. .Jul C lioji'ni mfn»itn» of lH%i ^ liit wi'll-r<*iiM '"'" r.'d iii^nr*^ ^iTutid t** !»•• fv^r almiad, feir tii« only tiiUi i Ih mmU* w»m to r«>fl<«4ihli' hia mr^l »«tw'k fUmtr U» lii»» «liity lit ihttn r*onfr««niifi!;i' r, lUi a < 1iri<il4Hii HWMm v^mrm'j^^ he rpj*rom*4i#w| w* <♦»«•, p«l MMVf in rfiMBt, A*t Ih- i*3Um\f 4k^- &MaMai I^MMi lArillilir liriill Jiggmgmf MA'VMMr v&illMi tfw i^wP»WPil™p WmV^^^9&^ ^wiPP»JBPwf •» ^» »^p» mViHHi^PVji »#1W*1«BHK *F^WP^^^^ ^^^*^ 356 practice what he preached. Religion "with him was less a sentiment than a duty, and thus the pathway of his long life was less beautified with the blossoms than strewn with the fruits of benevolence. He did not seem to age in his tastes or his occupations. His memory kept green long after the memories of his contemporaries became seared and yellow. Youth always attracted him, and his affec- tions turned with especial fondness towards little children, not only because they were tlie best human types of purity and innocence, but because their natures were bright and hopeful like his own. Many will remember with what unalloyed happiness he adapted his conversation to their capacity, as well as the exuberant joy with which his [)resence was looked forward to and greeted by them. He knew liow t<j combine the offices of a Bishop and a frien<l, and he set no WiAit value on the intluence for <joo<l whirh might be exerted by one who could, in his life and conver- Nsitimi, shew the truth of tiie P.sjihuist's <'Xj>eri*'nce, that the ways of rt-ligion are 'ways <if pl«':is;intn«'.ss, and that all luT |)iith.s are jm'sk'c' •• But tin* p<Ti<Ml was faMt approaching when h<' was to t^UtHii his ryus oil the M<"ciu's of Wis t«»il and his fniii**. Tin* hahdofttiiM.it in tru«', wan laid with ran -^^i nt]. im >> oii him. but Ik* was not iii<«« -n^ible to itM preHMun*. J lie duti«'H w)ii4h Im' ]uu\ lnT»'t'»fon' l.« «ri cnHbh**] Ut j«'H«»nii without diffiitilt V \»nmf ciUM'tiiig mui «»pj»r«"v*iv. His «iiHHi«ij<i' ii i« )|i-.| f Um' ifiU'riiiiwMiou *»( luiy of th<sH<- du i, uid If' n- .ji-ii. fi»r r(*ii4*f«iid > < Jim- Uio- } )>ri^fWrtti Jim wtMli.tuM luMiitn-ifd ii aright > • !•-< tod m liM aniwljttt<*r in t!)<- KumnptjU'. *m*' wU^- ..^d U«n htK \m\Hl imt\ wtm hi>« itht^i, wImi Siaoi dmmmi to- »'- 'n^it<t mmJ iyfii|»tttt»iid ia Ui» ]ikam,mmi wtlit whtmt h* ■ u*.! nmifer iHdi mtMtmm, mmi met wH^ ttfSim'- Um. in :**m, Urn Vmumrnk^df" A. 91. Bmmvwm, t^.U, ami ■ !■ -I .'1 357 year, he was on the 25th January, 1867, on the Festival of St. Paul, consecrated as the Bishop of Niagara, with an understanding tliat he should eventually succeed to the See of Toronto. "The year which opened thus suggestively, was destined ere its close to fulfil the purpo.se for which its solemnities had made provision. The seasons of flowers, fruits, and faded leaves had passed away. 'The chaplet of the year' was dead, and the 'angry winds' of winter were ready to issue from their icy caves. The autumn festival of All Saints, the l.ast in the annual cycle of the services of the Church, the ' drcai" November day' arrived, when the venerable Prelate, for whom an assistant had been chosen, was to be separated from the cares of his Bishopric, and when his soul, with ' the souls of the righteous' was to pass tu 'the hand of God,' 'where no torment shall touch them,' ' To soar iiioac elder Saints to meet Gather'*] Ions; since at Jesus' feet.' " 358 To the Testimonies of Individuals wo may annex the Tribute of the Public, in the honour which was paid to tlie remains of the late Bishop of Toronto after his death. We cannot control a desire, which we believe will be shared in by Churchmen generally who were acquainted with the character and works of the deceased, to place on record a detailed account of his Funeral, as it appeared in the Church Chronicle of the 1st December, 1867 : — "The Funeral of the late Bishop took place on Tuesday, November 5. A general disposition was shewn, both by public bodies and by the -jitizens at large, to give token of their deep respect for the memory of one whost; name had been so long and so honourably associated witli the history, not only of the City and the Diocese, but of the Province of Upper Canada. The same spirit wu« discovered by tlie Volunteer-force ; and the troo|)fi forming the GaiTison received orders from the Lieutenant Gover- nor to line the streets on tlie occasion, while lie himself acted as one of the pall-lH-Mirers, and numernw Statf- iHRcerH appeared in the FnjccsHion. In accordance with a j»r«x*lamation i.s.^u«'d by the Mayor, business whs siisjKiuifd, and th<' sUutM clitsi'tl. FIii^k were exhibited «t hulf-iiiast fioiii many buildingH, and th«' 1x*11h of th«' ('atht*<Jral «'hifii«»d a uiurt!<'d p«'al throughout th«' d«y, tin- girnt Im'II tttiiing an ilw PnM'i'M»«i<in drrw near th«* Church. At nur o'iUhU. tlif i'lrnt tU'tJki'hut* lit <*(' th»' (i«iTim»ri, i' i^tinji of tht? 17Ui l<4»ginn*nt. «rnve<i (»ii iho lim* of ^nimnnUm. Mul t«M»k iWtr hitAtid of! York Hfrp«t lA^'tWiM^II tliiw J****!) ftiwl tli*' In* Hi*sl)f'| r* ]pU' ' "tljitioiii •* 359 and the Military School Cadet*?. Along King Street were ranged two batteries of Royal Artillery dismounted, the Cavalry School Cadets, and the 13th Hussars, extending from York Street to the doors of the Cathedral. About 150 of the Clergy had assembled at half-past one at the Bishop's residence. Among them were several from the Diccese of Huron, and some from the Diocese of Ontario. Other boaies collected at other j^oints in order to prevent the confusion w^Ich would necessarily- have arisen had one place of redezvous been appointed for all. The arrangements having been completed, the Hearse, drawn by four black horses, which had housings of black, was brought to the door, and the Coffin was plficed within it, being conveyed from the house by six former i>u})ils of the deceased Prelate, viz.. The Ven. the AkchdeacuN of Niagara, the Rev. William McMukray, D.D., D.C.L., The Hon. Vice Chancellor SPRACiCE, Messrs. William Gamble, F. H. Heward, and John Ridoitt. The CofHn which wjis covered with black cloth, with mountings of silver, bore on a plate the following inscription : The H;»nourable and Rij'ht Reverend JOHN STKACHAN. lU). LLU. FifHt Bishop of Toront<», Horn 1 2th April, 177H Died J»t NuveiiiUr, lH(i7. Al fi<|ii«rti>r U> tw<»Uu» PnM'i*HNiou \h"^uh i«. hM»\«' Tlie Hir4«*'t« oti tin* rout*' \»'»'n' dtnwly throiij^t**!. ttiid i-wry wituliiw whu'li < M >, til ! :>- \ i.w at Mtiy \Mimi win* iltiwd^l wiili ««fW i^> Thi> toiiowing whm th«f 300 Firing party — One troop of the 13th Hussars, mounted. Officers of the 10th Royals, Officers of the Volunteer Artillery Battery and Foot Artillery. , Officers of the Grand Trunk Brigade. Officers of the Queen's Own. Volunteer Staff Officers. Regular Staff Officers. St. George's Society. St. Andrew's Society. ^ St. Patrick's Society, The City Police Force : Officers in rear. The Members of the City Council. The City Officials, Upper Canada Law Society, Law Students. Professors and Students Victoria College. Masters and Students Upper Canada College, Masters and Pupils Normal School. Faculty and Students of Toronto University, Graduates and Undergraduates Trinity College. Professors of Trinity College, Clergy of tliis and other Dioceses. Revs. S. Givins and Dr. Scadding, Chaplains. The Bishop and the Dean of Toronto. Pnll Bearers. «» Pall Iknrert. VI The Ven, the Archdeacon of Toronto, j^j The Ven. tlie Archdeacon of Niagara. The ProTOsl of Trinity College. Af The President of University College The M;ivor of Toronto. ^ Hon. H. J. Boulton. The Chief Justice of Ontari». Jla The Lient«uant Governor of O'llariu. Verger and Valet. Muuruen. Citixeni un foot. Carriagei. K. L. 1 'KNIH<>N. Vjm\, litul kiii«lly mtim-jit*-*! t^) lU't iin llwnihali t4> the Vniin*mHm, whi« h wrh it(»t U-m ihmi fori^-five iiuauum iti immiiv^ way 01145 ptitjii; Mfi hk 361 skilful dispositions, aided by the military authorities stationed at different parts of the line, secured an order and regularity of movement which greatly contributed to the solemnity of the funeral ceremony. As the head of the Procession reached the Cathedral it took open rank, and thus allowed the Hearse to approach the entrance. Here the Coffin was removed by the six gentlemen before mentioned, and conveyed to the door of the Church, whence it was borne up the nave, preceded by the Clergy of the Church, The Service for the Burial of the Dead was then proceeded with, the Psalms being read by the Rev. Canon Baldwin, M.A., the Lesson by the Rev. Canon Beaven, D.D., and the remainder of the service by the Very Rev. the Dean of Toeonto. The musical portion of the service was most impressively rendered by a full and efficient choir, under the direction of Mr. John Carter, the organist of the Cathedral, and consisted of the following : f\ As the body entered the Church. Introductory Sentences. — Chant: Gregorian, 4th Tone, No. 284, Chaufs and Tunes. 1AM the resurrection and the life.saith the Lord : lie that belie voth in ine. though he were dead yet shall he live — and whosoever livtth and believeth in me shall never die. 1 know that my Redeemer Hveth ; and that He shall btaiid at the latter day upon the earth. And though afU'r my nkin wonns d«*Htn>y tliis Voly, yet ill my ii< nil shall 1 s<m» (iod. Whom 1 hIiuII H4M' for myself: and min*' es .-h >shAll Miold, iiiid not aitotli< r . We 1»roU|^'in nothing into tliiM world ; and it Ih ci-rtHin wt^^'un j'urry nothing out The Lord sxns'- and thr bird hath uAt«n Hway y»»«»pd be thf nnm*' of the Loi^t 44 362 « Funeral March Mendehmhn. Gloria Patri after Psalms. — Chant, Dr. Blmv, No. 10, Chants and Tmies. IF After Psalms. Hymn. Tune, Windsor, No. 80, Chants and Tunes. "VfOW let our mourning hearts reviv^e, X 1 And all our tears be dry ! Wliy should those eyes be drown'd in grief, Which view a Saviour nigh 'i Though earthly shepherds dwell in dust, The aged and the young, The watchful eye in darkness clos'd And mute th' instructive tongue : Th' eternal Shepherd still survives, New comforts to impai-t ; His eye still guides us, and his voire Still animates our heart. " \ji I am with you," suith tlu* Lord, "My Church shall sjife ai»ide ; Fi»r 1 will ne'er forsake my own, NVh«»w sfiuk in me confide." Til rough ev*ry f»cen«' f>f life and d*«Hth This promine im our triwt : Aim! this Mhiill Ix* our children'?* »«>ng. WImmi w»' are <*old in du«t. •- WkiU> tlm^ml$mms beutu , '"/ to tim Wwuuuiu Mamih... C ifl y iii. 363 ^ While the hochj vjas being lowered. Anthem — "Dead March in 8aiil," arranged hy John Carter. FORSAKE me not, O Lord my God : be not Thou far from me. Haste Thee to Iielp me : O Lord God of my salvation. O spare me a little, that I may recover my strengtli : before I go hence, and be no more seen. Pa. xxyviii. 21, 32. Ps. xxxix. 15. IF After Committal Prayer. Anthem John Carter. T HEARD a voice from heaven, saying unto nu', Write, X From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord : even so saith the S[)irit ; for they rest from their labours. II At done of Service. FuNEKAL March Beethovev. Air — " I know that my Redeemer livetli,"... Handel. "Tlie Cathedral had beer> pre|)ure<l with great care fur fclie mournful ceremony. The external light htui Ixjen exchuled. The Chancel generally, and th»^ ro4t of the Church })artially, was hung with bia^k, and tin? dim Hiiiiicial light allowed addfd mucli to tla* w»l<'»uuty of the jw'ene. The j?lac<! of inti'rment had lM»««n appropri.ittdy prepared im media t«.*ly ia front of thf Holy Table tin- IhmIv lying, i*^ i« the cuHtoni, aawt nnd we»t ; and it i» Ut \»*; liojM'd that tunnv Htting Mifiiiorial, ?»urli «** in ui'Uu mnnt in the ( 'ttthedralpt of our FathtM' I^Jind, umy ni i»o diMiitiit. time, mark tin* H\Htt, win n* tin- lah* I'nlaU' tiad «o <<!«. u HiotHl and >««rv«*d in (Ih ojli. . •.( hi^i miniHtry mid w\n^i> hki«fttthly r« J«. MM wi r< tJnii <h p^»»it4*d, (oiUmtii hy umitf » 'WfigifiM:. li»ijr<»H»i£ UmW i4 r* v.ii|,f< nftd nt^tmium, tm hkmuwnSu^ mmfm, and Ut immf » wimi m»A «^ t 4 kiii4* 864 IV. We feel tiiat we shall be gratifying many readers by recording here a few specimens of the late Bishop's Con- firmation Addresses. His rule had invariably been to deliver these Addresses extempore ; thus better adapting them to local circum- stances, and allowing of a more direct, personal, an<l practical (counsel. Sometimes they contjiincd a history of the ordinance itself, — the I)ivine sant^tion for it ap- parent in tho Holy Scriptures, and tlu^ testimony of the whole Church in its favour from the earliest times. Sometimes, t(M», in these Addri'sses, there was an aswM- tion and explanation of the fun<lament.al principles of the Church, — its Divine Constitution, its Episco|»al kuc- cesHion, it« Tiiturgy, its ('re«'(ls, and Sju'ramr-ntH. Ihit these were t«>pi<"s «»nly uiTasiorinlly tourhod ti|N>ii ; thfl pffurt hhwtmi uniformly was, t<» draw att4'ntion t<» the evcrj'-day Christian diitit's to which th«* Coiitirni<*«l hnd MpeciAlly iMiund tlnMnHflvfti, — an f¥c\(-i\*-\im\, ••oiitrol of t<*iii- per, affMTtiiinat** d#*jM»rtnM nf to jmn-nU aiMi to broih^r* aod nmU'Tn, a pur«* and ndi(|iout lift-. d«voiioo tu prny«*r Mid puhiir woraliip, a ^#«dy mkI I'ofiwif'ntioiia m^Um*\nnt*m mi tb* LoH'a Htipfier ft, frai« wti until atMnii iwu ytmr* tiiiaf« \m *Um^, t^t, — iw fiir m* w« e«ffi hmru. Mkf mm^ KtU\r*m»t^ «r#f* ^irr^M0tk. ki \kmi ikwm, m < <m, tmm *d hil^mg pmmmn wmmmy mmi^ him diijwrtl^i «f 4iiiiiMfMf« titr u^^fnkmmkKm ti t^aw in mamm%mm» tmA HI At Pf iiliM §mmk. ^Mk wmwitUm, m%im nf 365 such Addresses. We feel that old as well as young will be glad of having this record of them, sis wakening up pleasant and useful recollections of paternal counsels and kindly exhortations long ago delivered : — (I) There will be very few occasions, my dear young friends, in the coui-se of your lives, so interesting and important as the present one. You have this day devoted yourselves to the Most High God your Redeemer ; and He hath confinncd to you the assurance that you are his adopted children, and heirs of His Kingdom. It is to you the day of your entrance upon that great and gloriouH estate, of which your parents and sj»ons«>rs urre pennitU'd U) take posses-sion for you when you wvro yet in your infancy ; an estate embracing thi) pardon of your MtiH, the favour and love of Almighty God, the afwiHiancc of Hi« grace and Holy Spirit, and the promi.'^.* of ctiTiml life; and therefore very fttly denominated a " HtmU' of salvation." At thi« entnmce u|»on the }M».swH>ion c»f it in your own najiieM, the (.liurch rcjoiccH. The angels irf* U#^veii have li**ii H\tf.iitU}m, and arc glad. Tin bl*fv«ed Kttleeiwr of our race ret'eiveH gratiHcati<«n, ainl take* you by ih«f haivi ; and th * Altbigiity Father of ail bfingn etmtk-fmsemU to \m)*t*tw on ycm Hij* heavenly Im*ii«- (tte^an. H** tfmU, in the int|Ktrt of what liaM n<»w \mem (kdv, as jrail iwi tt|xiti it and aa we < out^ inphit^ it, that w« i&ouid matoaJly l*f HIM witli Minitrati«-ti and f^mi*- tmkc, with kmmil'tty and joy ; afi<i may well muhim. What hatti Goal wr<fii)|^ ?^ is aat m wmm witik, and m U» kmm Mr wink ftmr Jbtor ^^ime^ H <m^|S^ t» whali lift, " Smtetivm im aiA Urn 9tt^ t ammr %» km .366 thankfiilness and godly fear. You have taken upon you the vows of God. The relations into which you are- brought, are to be perpetual ; you have acknowledged obligations which are to be j^erfornaed daily. There is a covenant between you and the Almighty, in which you have promised to believe and to be holy. In virtue of this covenant, there is opened to you the prosj^ect of the highest happiness of which your nature is capable, — even satisfaction in life, peace in death, and immortaUty in heaven. But your attainment of these blessings depends upon the fulfilment, by the covenanting parties in the transactions of this day, of their respective engagements. As regards the Almight}-, what He hath promised. He " will most surely keep and perform." He hath graciously condescended to renew to you the assurance of the pardon of your sins, of the aid of His Holy Spirit, and of eternal life. Respecting the certainty and manner of accom- plishing these things, it becomes you not to scruple or to doubt. In this matter, your business is to believe with a stedfast reliance on His word, that, if you are faithful to perform your vows, " He, who hath begun a good work in you, will perform it unto the end." For " the gifts and calling of God are without repentance ; " " with Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." The power of your God is equal to His purposes ; His truth is equal to His power. Hath He said, and shall He not do it ? Hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good ? He hath commanded to bless, and you are blessed; and, unless you abandon the conditions of His blessing, nothing can reverse it. It is, therefore, respecting the fulfilment of the engage- ment on your part n> 1 1; that you are always to be con- cerned so long as you continue in this world. You have promised to the Most High God, your Redeemer, and best Benefactor, to renounce whatever He has forbidden ; to believe whatever He has taught ; and to do whatever He 367 has commanded. As you look forward into this path upon which you have entered, does it seem to you a difficult one ? For man to be good and gain heaven is not a light business. But how great, how encouraging, how animating, are your incitements to fidelity ? If you per- severe, the Holy Ghost will remain with you. You will have in life the favour of God, the knowledge of forgive- ness, the consciousness of holiness. He, who died for you, will see with satisfaction the fruit of His love. Your parents and friends will be gladdened, and society adorned and refreshed by the beauty and fragrance of your virtue. When death shall approach, — for you must all die, — to convey you, from all you hold dear, to the tribunal of the Almighty, you will have the only hope by which man can be comforted and sustained in that most awful hour of human probation ; and from the tribunal of judgment, you will be taken to heaven ; there to be happy forever with all the good ; with Jesus, and with God. If, on the other hand, you become weary of this path, and desert it for any of the enticements of the world, the flesh, and the devil, your portion will be perplexity and dissatisfaction in life ; cheerlessness, if not horror, in death ; and ever- lasting banishment from heaven into regions of darkness and undiscovered woe. What powerful motives are found in this alternative, to the most careful and constant per- formance of your Christian duties ? What inducements to keep your souls diligently, to pass the time of your sojourning here in fear, to endeavour to be righteous before God ; walking in all the commandments and ordi- nances of the Lord blameless ? Study then, my young friends, the Holy Scriptures. They are given by your Heavenly Father " a light unto your feet, and a lamp unto your paths." Study some por- tion of them every day, that you may regulate all the con- duct of your lives by them, for they contain for you the only certain instruction In them we have the words of 368 eternal life ; they are they which testify of the Lord, Ac- custom yourselves to ask in daily private prayer, and to seek by a devout attendance on the services of the sanc- tuary, the continuance and increase of God's Holy Spirit. It is promised to you if you will seek it, and use it faith- fully ; and without it you can do nothing. Ilemember your obligation to respect yourselves, and to al)stain from all sin and wickedness, — recollecting that you are the temples of God, and that " the Spirit of God dwel- leth in you." As soon as you can, with a full trust in God'« mercy, and with a quiet conscience, go to the holy table to celebrate the Lord's Supper ; and never neglect in the course of your lives to attend, with the suitable prepara- tion and dispositions, this most comfortable ordinance. It is in this Sacrament we must find the food which, from time to time, will refresh and sustain our spiritual life, and prove frequently the medicine which will heal our sickness. To these helps from the mercy of God, fail not tc add the exertion of your own reason and faculties, to be faithful and conscientious in all the relations of life, which, in His Providence, he shall require you to cultivate, — especially that benevolence, and readiness, and desire to do good, which is and ought to be a conspicuous part of Christian virtue, and which, we have reason to believe, it is particularly agree- able to our Heavenly Father to behold in His children. Meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ the pattern of all that is perfect in man ; and endeavour, by the assistance of that gi-ace which you have received, to be like unto Him. Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, v\''hatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any vir- tue and if there be any praise, as becomes you as Christ's followers, think on these things. In this way you will be rendered as perfect and as happy as a person in this world of imperfection and sorrow can be. The way that seemed arduous will be found, as you .369 advance, to be the way of pleasantness, and the path which you have chosen the path of peace, while all other ways lead down to the gates of Hell ; and it will conduct you at last to the inheritance of Heaven. But if you at any time quit it, repent immediately, I beseech you, and return to it, that so iniquity may not be your ruin. In conclusion, I cannot but be filled with the greatest anxiety; and the san. words which the wise King of Israel addressed to his son I now leave with you, — " And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy fathers, and serve him with a perfect heart and willing mind. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee ; but if thou for- sake him, he will cast thee off forever." And, my young friends, do not fail to remember that Confirmation is the point of union between the two Sacra- ments : Baptism and the Lord's Supper, Born into a new life by the one, we can only be sustained in that life by the other. Receiving the breath of life from God's Holy Spirit in the one, we are now maintained in that Spirit by the other, — namely, by eating and drinking, sacramentally, the body and blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper. (11.) In speaking to candidates for Confirmation, I have fre- quently mentioned that it is an ordinance replete with blessings to the Church, and yielding a rich return to the zealous and faithful pastor. It is the seed time of a harvest which is continually springing up to cheer him on his onward course. His own experience yearly confirais the wisdom of its appointment; and even its occasional neglect or abuse serves to quicken his diligence in improving what he has found to be of inestimable value. But apart from its claim to respect and veneration, as being of Apostolic institution and primitive usage, the ordinance itself is so 47 370 beautiful and attractive, that when regularly administered, it gradually removes all prejudice, and daily advances in favour and estimation. Viewed as a solemn call to serious reflection, as an appeal affectionately addressed to the consciences and hearts of the young, and as a means of promoting the purest rela- .tions of love and tenderness amongst all the branches of their respective families, at the most important period of life, it seems to comprise all that is excellent and holy. Moreover, it secures to them more thoroughly the benefits of the prayers of the Church, of which they have become living and responsible members; and thus, by joining daily in the invocation of the Holy Spirit, promotes a more lively faith in their hopes of heaven. When you add to all this the pure and lasting impres- sions to which it frequently gives birth, and to which so many can appeal in after times, it is not only the season of great and certain improvement, and the dawning of new hopes and firmer resolutions, but the commencement of a deepened spirituality, and a closer walk with God. Hence it cannot fail to secure the sympathy and approval of every serious mind. Remember, my young friends, that pei-sonal religion is a constant and progressive work, — a work which you are now expected to enter upon with fresh energy, and thus prove your affection to your Saviour. Remember also that the ratification this day of your baptismal vows, is your enlistment in a warfare which will never for a moment cease until the hour of your death. The Holy Scriptures speak of the Christian life as a shining light, which shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day : as the field of the husbandman in which appears first the blade, after that the whole corn in the ear ; as the little leaven hid in three measures of meal, by which in process of time the whole is leavened ; as the grain of mustard-seed, which, though the least of all seeds. 371 becomes when it is grown up so great a tree that the birds of the air lodge in its branches. By such illustrations, we are taught that personal reli- gion is not something attained at once in perfection, and leaving nothing more to be done ; but a thoroughly per- vading principle, and one which is to be more and more influential, until every member of our bodies, and every faculty of our souls, is brought into complete captivity to Christ. Bearing these important truths continually in mind, I would further observe that, in order to advance in the Christian life, you must be faithful in the discharge of all the public and private duties of religion. By these I mean, the services of the Church and the duties of private prayer, — together with a constant study of God's holy word. Our blessed Saviour alluded to this class of duties when He said, "When thou pray est, enter into thy closet." Ho was himself an eminent example in this respect. He went up into a mountain apart to pray, and continued whole nights in prayer. The last act of His life was an act of prayer ; for He died with its language on His lips. The most eminent saints of all ages have also been men of prayer. Daniel, though burdened with affairs of state, kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks to God. It is the great secret of success in arduous toils, and seasons of perplexity. There is nothing like prayer to tranquillize the mind, and nerve it to steadi- ness of action. It fills the heait with an abiding con- fidence in God ; and St. Paul knew well its value, when he bade us " pray without ceasing ; to continue instant in prayer ; to pray always with all prayer and supplication." For your private* devotions, choose some hour when you are least liable to be disturbed by worldly thoughts, ai>d see that your appointment with heaven be religiously kept. Be regular and punctual in your devotions ; and let nothing but absolute necessity deter you from this duty. 372 If fatigue, or wandering thoughts, or disinclination ever tempt you to an omission of this duty, let them not pre- vail. Fight against such opposition, and then you will find your troubled heart acquiring a holy serenity, and the coldness of your devotion warming into love, as you meet with your Maker and Saviour face to face. And these words remind me that effectual prayer requires something of an effort, — a grasp, as it were, to realize its true work and even its conception. A gi-adual ascent in reaching the conception of sincere prayer, is demanded of us. Even the body seems to stretch itself to a fuller height, and rises, as it were, from the earth in coming up to God, — in standing so immediately in his presence, in pouring out our hearts in the accents of supplication and mere}'. The grandeur of the idea that we are enjoying the privi- lege of consulting in our difficulties the wisest and best man upon earth, or of advising with a departed parent or friend, or even with an angel, can but feebly realize the conception of coming directly to Go<l. It is something that must always transcend our powers; and yet God permits, invites, r.ay, commands our approach to Him. From all these inestimable blessings we should be de- barred, were it not for the all-sufficient merits and media- tion of our Saviour Christ. And let private prayer be accompanied by self-exami- nation. Study to learn what are your besetting sins, and learn to guard against them. Look upon your possessions as talents of usefulness, for which you must hereafter give an account. Are you poor ? Then be careful not to murmur or complain at the dealings of God's Providence, and indulge not in envy or discontent. , In order to advance in the Christian life, attend regu- larly and devoutly upon the ordinances of God's house, and upon the means of grace w^hich you enjoy. And especially let me urge you to seal your vows at the holy altar by the reception of the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 373 For this advancement in the Christian life, you must also be zealous, as opportunity offers, in extending His blessed gospel throughout the world. The genuine spirit caught from Christ is expfinsive, and it continually mani- fests itself in doing good. In the absence of such a spirit, darkness and corruption prevail. We ought, therefore, daily to offer the comprehensive prayer. Thy Kingdom come ; and then prove by labours, by alms and offerings, that our prayer goeth not out of feigned lips. Never were so gi'eat exertions made to extend our Lord's Kingdom throughout the world as in the present times. The whole of heathendom is awakening, and calling for the bread of life. If therefore, you would grow in gi*ace, imbibe the spirit of the early Church, — the spirit of Christ ; and do what you can to promote His cause .and extend His Kingdom. Again, that you may advance in the Christian life, take pains to become intelligent and thoughtful in all things that pertain to the history of your holy faith Read Lhe lives and writings of holy men ; of the saints and martyrs, of whom the world was not worthy. The whole history of the Church is fraught with "instruction. Only see and know how she has been, in all ages of the world, the pillar and gi'ound of the truth. Besides, at the present day, when the Church of Christ is so often spoken against ; when her ministry, her sacraments, her worship, her doctrines, are opposed and reviled, — it becomes all her children to rise up in her defence, and so arm themselves as to be able to give to every one that asketh a reason for the hope that is in him. Such are a few general directions, my young friends, which, if faithfully attended to, cannot fail to increase your usefulness and happiness while you continue in the Church militant ; and which will be attended with more blissful results when you are made members of the Church tri- umphant in heaven. 374 And now, my young friends, in returning from this solemn dedication of yourselves to your blessed Redeemer, and to your various duties in the world, repose yourselves in His might, and thus arm yourselves against every danger, temporal and spiritual. Remember that we are rapidly approaching another state of existence, in which the regen- erated spirit lives, and that there are higher spectators than men Avho shall witness and surround our repentant spirits, and receive them with a joyful welcome. Let us feel also the value and importance of our bodily part, which, though united to dust, is yet created to live for ever. And let us, in future, always conduct ourselves not as foolish and ignorant men, but as the children of the God of the universe, as the brethren of the Saviour of the human race, as in the sight of every being who is great before God's throne, and as in the sight of those whom death has for a while separated from us, but who now look down, with all the anxieties of love, upon the course we pursue, and whose aged or infant hands are preparing for us wreaths of gloiy, and those palms of peace which shadow out in mercy to our feeble and trembling souls not only the wisdom and the knowledge, but the joy, of the everlasting presence of our Saviour in heaven. (III.) My Young Friends, — The Church of England exhibits in her Prayer Book a clearness, and deepness of religious feeling, no where to be equalled except in the Bible itself In that admirable book are contained, in all their fulness and simplicity, the great doctrines of the corruption of our nature ; justifica- tion by faith in Christ; the necessity of the renewal of the heart and life by the power of the Divine Spirit ; and the paramount obligation to that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. 375 Observe with what tender solicitude the Church, in her services and observances, follr)Ws her members through every step of their earthly pilgrimage, and incessantly watches over their wants, and interests, and dangers. No sooner is a child born into this world of sin and sorrow, than she presents him in holy baptism, with a most touch- ing and tender service, to the care of the great Shepherd of souls; signing him with the sign of the cross in token that he shall not be ashamed to confess Christ crucified, and to fight manfully under his banner against the world, the flesh, and the devil. After a short interval the Chur(;h interposes again, and calls him to go up to the house of the Lord, and there consecrate himself, by a most solemn ordi- nance, to become the soldier and servant of his heavenly Master. She next invites him, weary and heavy-laden, to the table of his Saviour, for refreshment and strength to his soul and fresh assurances of his pardoning grace. Nor does she leave him here ; but follows him into all the scenes of domestic life. She it is who ties the knot of his family joys. She accompanies him to the sick bed, and administers to him, as he lies there, the sweetest consola- tions. She passes with him into the valley of death, cheei-s him with gladdening promises, and displays to him the glories of the invisible world. And when, at length, his remains are consigned to the cold earth, the Church stands as chief mourner at his grave, (tnd she pronounces over him the song of thankfulness and hope with her sorrow: " Write, from henceforth, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord ; even so, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours." The great object, my children, of your coming here this day is to confess your faith in Christ crucified, as he has himself expressly commanded ; because if you do not con- fess him before men, neither will he confess you before his Father in heaven. This ought to be your first and cher- ished motive for coming thus to Christ ; and the more so. 876 because it secures to you most important personal privi- leges. On tills great point, much error and misconception prevail among the multitude round us. Tliousands first wait to have the evidences and consolations of religion, before tliey will enter upon the performance of its actual duties. They refuse to fight the battles of the cross, till tliey have had the satisfaction of wearing the crown. They must first, as they suppose, shout the note of victory before entering in earnest upon the Christian race. This erroneous feeling is hanging like a mill-stone around the necks of thousands ; keeping them 1)ack from their duty, and in many sad instances it becomes a fruitful source of gloom smd despondency. Instead of going for- ward to their duties as Christ has commanded, they are waiting they know not for what, — but in reality for the Lord Jesus Christ to inteiTupt the harmony of his plans, and the ordering of his Providence, merely to give them evidences which, in the nature of things, they are not now fpialified to enjoy, and which, it is certain, they will never in their present state of feeling and action obtain. The Scriptural rule is, "in thy light shall we see light;" in keeping the commandments there is great reward. This, then, is a great encouragement to confess Christ crucified before the world : it is indeed the Spirit itself bearing wit- ness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Nor are there wanting other examples equally en- couraging. When, for instance, we unite ourselves to Christ as the branch is united to the vine, not only invisibly by faith, but visibly to His body the Church, we have the assurance of gaining the nourishment and grace to our souls which flows from him. Again, when we openly in God's Church ratify and confirm our bap- tismal vows, we believe that our Lord meets us then and there, and grants us his blessing in the way of his own appointment. And then when we, subsequently, 377 go forward to rec(;ive the Holy Sacrarnoiit of His Supper, our faitli is confirmed, our love iiicreascd, and our f pirits 8}inctifie<l and strengthened tlirough that solemn ordi- nance. So also, the duties of prayer, of reading the Word of God, of attendance upon the i)reaching of the Gospel, liave each attached to them their own particular blessing. • Let me, then, beseecli you to ponder this motive well ; to weigh carefully the privilege of performing this duty. And then to remember, that of yourself only shall you have reason to complain, if you famish with spiritual hunger; if your spiritual life is languishing and likely to die, and you fall into open apostacy with God. Thi.s must follow, if you ])resumptuously despise those gracious help.? which Christ has provided. Another motive which should induce you to confess ('hrist before men is, that you then openly identify yourself with the visible people of God, and increase the moral power of the Church. That Jesus Christ has a Church in this world, you Avill not doubt. And that this Church is destined ere long to overspread and fill the earth, is clearly revealed. And that this final triumph of the Gospel is to be eftected by human instrumentalily, is evident from many considerations. These truths com- bined furnish a reason why you should not hesitate to commence an active warfare under the banner of the Prince of Peace. There is now, and there has been since the fall of man, a fierce conflict raging for dominion over the hearts of men. But yet Christ's Kingdom is to come ; and when you openly avow yourself a disciple of the cross, you join that noble company of the faithful, on whom the duty rests, and to whom the honour will be given, of ushering in the latter-day glory of Zion. It is, my young friends, truly a spectacle of the deepest interest to me, and of the richest promise to the Church, to behold a company of youth whose hearts are yet un- 48 378 scathed by long continuance in sin, voluntarily renouncing the vanities and follies of this wicked and perishing world, and taking upon themselves the vows of Christ, Viewed in all its relations, it is a scene of great sublimity. It is a scene on which the minister of Christ looks with the de- voutest gratitude, and which causes every Christian parent's heart to thrill with the purest joy ; on which doubtless, the spirits of departed friends gaze with the deepest satisfaction ; and in view of which the angels of God tune their hams +o louder notes of praise. And can we doubt that our blessed Redeemer, sitting at God's right hand, shares in the joy of this holy scene ; and, when be- holding such blissful results of the travail of his soul, is satisfied ? Suffer, my dear brethren, a very few concluding remarks on the future progress of Christianity; or, as our Lord proclaims it, the Kingdom of God upon earth. It is a cheering and attractive circumstance in the his- tory of the Divine dispensations, that when a prophet was sent into this world to be the proclaimer of the most precious and effective wisdom it was ever to receive, and to be the author of changes which were destined in the course of ages to renovate its entire aspect, he appeared simply as a teacher of such exalted wisdom ; of a wisdom which aims not at gratifying the curiosity of men, but at elevating their moral condition, and giving a new and exalted turn to all their hopes and pursuits. And it is no less worthy of remark that the idea which our Saviour adopted as the foundation of all his views, was as simple and beautiful, as the character in which He appeared was free from all pretension and wordly am- bition. He spoke only of a Father in heaven, who looks upon all his creatures with love and compassion, and whom they ought therefore to regard with those senti- ments that befit children in their relation to a kind and benevolent parent. 379 This being the foundation upon which our Lord's doc- trine was founded, and by which it is wholly pervaded, he sought by means of it, first, to improve the religious belief and worship of mankind ; secondly, to purify their moral conceptions ; and lastly, to regulate all their social and domestic affections. He taught them to look upon God as their heavenly Father. He told them that the homage which was most acceptable to Him, did not consist in vain ceremonies and superstitious practices, but in unfeigned rjverence, and love, and trust, expressed by simple forais and by a conduct suitable to the purer views by which the followers of His doctrine were to be guided; or, in His own expressive words, that the time was now come when man- kind, over all the earth, were to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Nor were the changes which our Saviour sought to pro- duce in the moral duties of the people, less important. For he set before them a Father in heaven, whom it was their duty to honour and love. He thus raised even the most common offices of life into the high rank of services paid to God, and as expressions of devout homage from his children. Hence the whole earth, with all its occupations and inhabitants, assumed the aspect of a vast living tem- ple, from which incense and a pure offering might at all times ascend, and thus produce a gradual amelioration, by new accessions of purity in all their views and conditions. In the same way, this renovating power and influence was to extend to all the social relations, and public insti- tutions of mankind. And being all the children of the same Father, Christianity would prevail throughout the world. Kindly charities would be fostered in private life ; and every human being, however poor or destitute, would at once be regarded by every other as the child of the same Father, and an heir with himself of one blessed immortality. Such are the glorious results which our Saviour sought to accomplish, and has accomplished; and such are the 380 simple means by which he intended to produce them. At the same time, he was far from saying that they were to be speedily realized. They were the seed scattered through long ages of history, and during the whole period of the world's existence ; and they were to be consummated in the terms of that form of prayer which the Lord Jesus taught his disciples ; and which, as it has been in all past ages of Christianity, will continue in all future ages to be the favourite expression of the Christian's hopes and de- sires : — " Hallowed be thy name ; thy kingdom come ; thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Amen. (IV.) My Young Friends, — In requesting your attention to the few remarks I am about to make on this solemn occasion, I have to remind you of the deep interest which your sponsors and other Christian friends feel in your spiritual improvement ; and I desire to impress upon your minds a lively remembrance of the duties and privileges which we shall have to review together at the bar of God. You will expect me, there- fore, to speak with that affectionate earnestness arid truth- fulness which the subject itself so strongly demands. The authority on which we receive the holy ordinance of Confirmation, or the laying on of hands by the chief ministers of the Church, is drawn from the Holy Scrip- tures. We find from the New Testament that it was practised in he times of the Apostles. For we read in the eighth chapter of the Acts,' that Philip, one of the .seven Deacons, — being of the lowest order of the ministry, — went down from Jerusalem to Samaria, and there preached with such success that great numbers of the Samaritans believed, and were baptized. But, never- theless, though they thus received the gospel and were admitted into the Church by baptism, there was another 381 ordinance which they had rot received, and which PhiHp, as being a Deacon only, had no authority to administer. For, immediately after, we learn that when the Apostles at Jerusalem heard of the conversion of so many Samari- tans, they sent thither two of their own number, Peter and John, to fulfil a duty which Philip was not empow- ered to discharge, — namely, to lay their hands upon them, and procure the communication to them of a larger mea- sure of spiritual blessings. And so, when Peter and John laid their hands upon them, " they received the Holy Ghost." Here we have simply an important fact in Apostolic history, and yet so recorded as to shew what was the custom of the Church in that primitive age. But we know further from Holy Scripture that the " laying on of hands " was much more than a mere naked fact, or empty custom. It was a solemn ordinance, — one of the first principles of Christianity ; and, as such, neces- sarily of perpetual and universal obligation. In an Epistle, — the Epistle to the Hebrews, — which enters more at large into the principles of Christianity than any of the others, the writer says, (vi. 1, 2,) " Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection ; not laying again the foundation of repen- tance from dead works, and faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Now here are six things enumerated distinct from each other, and yet all denominated by St, Paul, " principles of the doctrine of Christ." Two of them may be spoken of as internal graces, repentante and faith. Two of them may be regarded as visible ordinances, baptism and the laying on of hands ; while two of them are truths or develop- ments yet in future, or in reserve, and yet of awful moment to every individual, — resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Now each one of these is declared in God's Word to be a 382 " principle," or first principle " of the doctrine of Christ ; " and all, combined, are declared on the same authority to be fundamental and essential things. We are no more at liberty to reject the laying on ot hands, or the ordinance of confirmation, than we are to reject repentance, or faith, or baptism, or the doctrine of the resurrection and eternal judgment. They are all alike declared to be first " princi- ples," — the foundation, — of the doctrine -of Christ. And here I may observe that confirmation, as practised by the Apostles, and as now administered among ourselves, has been preserved in the Church, and has been continually referred to in ecclesiastical history. Moreover, those of the Reformers who rejected episcopacy, either retained con- firmation or left the most decided testimony in its favour. It is also well-known that Luther, the great leader of the Reformation, retained the rite of confirmation, and it is still practised by the large body called Lutherans to this day. Even Calvin himself speaks kindly of confirmation, as an ancient custom in the Church. He states that the children of Christians, after they came to years of discre- tion, were presented to the Bishop in order to fulfil that . duty which was required of adults who offered themselves for baptism. The authority for the practice of confirma- tion might be strengthened by many additional proofs were it necessary ; but we shall only add to the many given the authority and practice of our own Church. In confirmation, as the name implies, y )u ratify or con- firm the vows of your baptism. When baptized in your infancy, as the Church contemplates, those vows were first assumed by your parents and sponsors on your behalf; who then promised and vowed certain things in your name. And they did this, because from your tender age you were incapable of assuming those engagements your- selves. And, as your natural guardians, it was their bounden duty, as they would in temporal matters, thus to act in your stead. 383 But having come to years of discretion, and to a proper understanding of what your parents and sponsoi-s promised on your behalf, it now becomes your duty personally to assume those vows ; the obligations heretofore resting on them, you should now undertake yourselves. In the case of those who have been baptized in adult years, and upon their own responsibility, confirmation is but a renewing of that obligation on the part of the candi- date. It is nevertheless a most solemn and scriptural mode of ratifying and confirming those vows ; and, as all must allow, is admirably adapted to their weighty import. For in a matter of such infinite moment as that of God's covenant of grace with a lost world, all surely ought to be grateful for this fresh opportunity of sacredly pledging their fidelity to Christ and hia Church. We learn from the New Testamert, that many of the early Christians received, through this imposition of hands, extraordinary and miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost But so soon as the Gospel was established upon firm foundations, miracles ceased. Such helps were now no longer necessary for establishing the truth of God's revealed will. Still, however, the ordinary renewing and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit was not withdrawn ; it is necessary, and it will be vouchsafed, as long as human nature remains in its fallen state. And although the candidates for confirmation are not now to expect in that ordinance miraculous gifts of the Spirit, yet coming with the preparation of heart which the Church demands, they may expect to receive through this, as one of the appointed means of grace, the attainment of that help which will enable them to fulfil their vows. You, my young friends, have laid to-day a firm founda- tion, by dedicating yourselves solemnly to God and your Saviour ; but you must build upon this foundation ; there must be the beautiful superstructure of a religious and useful life. And there must be no procrastination, no halt- 384 ing between two opinioiis, no -.ravering between the lures of the world and duty to God. We are all, my brethren, born to sorrow, and born in sin. No one can look bf,ck upon his life, without feeling how much he has transgresseu, and how much he has left undone. The progress of life has been a series of humiliations, and crowded with anxious fears. A just and merciful God has been continually sinned against, and the day of retrbution is a constant source of alarm. Now, my dear young friends, it is when the mind is agitated by such thoughts, that it becomes most sensible of the peculiar adaptation of the Gospel to supply the greatest wants and calm the deepest fears of the human heart. For its good tidings are a proclamation from heaven of mercy a forgiveness to those who have offended, and who, in contri- tion for their offences, have laid hold on the hope set before them. Through this proclamation the burden of sin upon our souls is lightened ; One, mighty to save, has chosen to undertake it ; it is affixed to, and cancelled by. His cross. This must bring encouragement to the most desponding, assurance to the most timid. They can approach God as a reconciled Father ; and at His right hand is the Mediator who died for them. I have lately, my young friends, met with a Prayer for the Conjirmed which pleased me much, and therefore I shall subjoin it to the exhortations I have addressed to you:— "Almighty Father who did call us in baptism, and re- ceive us for thine own children by adoption and grace, perfect, we beseech Thee, the good work which thou hast begun in us, and dispose us in this holy ordinance to re- ceive Thy heavenly favour, and seal to us Thy mercy by an increase of Thy Holy Spirit, that, with His mighty aid, we may do what of ourselves we cannot; avoid sin, and keep 385 Thy commandments, that the thoughts of our hearts, and the words of our lips, and our outward actions, may be acceptable in Thy sight; that we may be worthy to j)ar- take in the communion of the body and blood of Thy Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist; that we may walk in Thy fear, and in the belief and hope of Thy mercy all the days of our lives ; and at length be received into Thine everastiug Kingdom ; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, dominion and power, henceforth and foi- ever. A men." 49