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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre f llmAs A des taux de rAduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit ere un seui clichA, 11 est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 t V I CI / IIP REVIEW OF THK PASTORAL LETTER or THB CLERGY OF THB CHURCH OF SCOTLAND / IN THB CANADAS. MONTREAL : PRINTED AT THE MONTREAL GAZETTE OFFICE, 25, NOTRE DAME STREET. 1828. 6th PREFACE. The following Review was drawn up ibr die No. of tlie C^hristian Sentinel published this month, but circumstances rendered it impossible to include it.— It will appear in the No. to be issued in July. In the mean time, feeling that, in its present shape, it requires the apology of haste, and that incudi reddere is a task which it is out of our power to undertake, we are anxious to lay it before the public at once.— We should be sorry also to permit any needless re- tardation in the steps of a controversy which we heartily desire to see brought to it's close. It is for these reasons that it is now printed as a separate pamphlet for distribution in proper quarters, in anticipation of it!3 appearance in the Sentinel. 6th May, 1838. t.. I i possil wene Queb perfe( it as : reply candi paca{ main Bi since woul is no hum] referl Hone REVIEW OF THP. PASTORAL LETTER olP THE eirvfli? of tilt enurdi of ^rotladitir IN THE CANADAS. m Controversy, in itself one of the most distasteful to ui of all possible occupations, is an employment in the prolongation of which we never would needlessly engage, and if the Letter ofthe Bishop of Quebec to the Clergy and Congregations within his Diocese, were perfectly fresh in the recollection of our readers, we should regard it as a needless prolongation of controversy, to notice the present reply to it ; for we do conceive, after an attentive and> we trust, a candid perusal of this publication, that if the two are compared paragraph by paragraph, the Episcopal Letter will be shm to re- main unanswered throughout and to stand in its unaltered strength. But we believe that an interval of full five months has elapsed since the appearance of the former pamphlet, and such ideas as would be now formed of its contents from the manner in which it is noticed by the divines of the Church of Scotland, woyld, in our humble opinion, be most essentially different from the results of« reference back to its own pages. We do not mean that it is inttn' Honally made to appear different ; nor do we mean in any matinei' whatever to speak disrespectfully of the present performance— far less of its authors. We believe that they have only failed to answer the arguments of the Bisliop, because they cannot be answered — only seen them in a discoloured light, because if they bad seen them truly, they must have surrendered .nore perhaps than in the present state of this unhappy difference, can be expected fro i human prejudices.— But although the Bishop has apparently con' ceived it by no means necessary to put forth the whole strength of the case of his own Church, we shouldhardly desir anything more than such a reference back as we have mentioned, if we thought that it would be faithfully and candidly made, wherever the recent /'as- ioral Letter finds its way. This patient and pains-taking examina- tion of the merits of the question, is, however what we cannot expect to be exercised. Without dwelling, then, upon the circumstance that whereas the Episcopal Letter was simply official address to the Clergy and Congregations, issuing from Ecclesiastical authority, atjd recom- mendino- a certain line of conduct in a certain trying conjuncture, as well as exhibiting a certain view of the claims of the Church, this publication, which professes to come forth in the same character, should, in accordance with its contents, have rather been announced under the name of Strictures upon the Letter of the Bishop of Que' btc, — we proceed to our task ; and the first subject of our animad- version, is the most unexpected intimation which has been ventured upon, that the English Clergy are the aggressors — that they are chargeable with unprovoked violence and hostility, and that to them is to be ascribed whatever acrimony has been engendered in the contention t Upon this point we need occupy but little time. — We shall only remark, 1st, that such a reflection was wholly uncalled for, and 2dly, that it is pointedly contrasted with what those who are the subjects of it have fairly deserved.— First, Tt is uncalled for, because the Bishop's Letter contains no charge nor insinuation whatever* tfiat the Ministers uf the Church of Scotland are the authors of any of the calumnies and scurrilities which have been vented against the Church of England. We are far from putting any such con- struction as qui capit, illefacit — but if the origin of that spirit of rivalry which unhappily exists, and the manner of its developement on either side should become the subject of discussion and enquiry, we are bold to say that it is not the Church of England that will suffer by the facts to be elicited ; and here, we leave this particular question to rest till it is again stirred by other hands. But secondly, the reflection is pointedly contrasted with what those who are the subjects of it have deserved;"for although in the Bishop's own words " our own defenders may occasionally have been betray- ed into some heat or impropriety," we know from a variety of quar- ters that the dignified and Christian moderation of the Church of England in general, persecuted as she has been by the tongue and the pen, in the quarrel raised against her, has every where produ- ced a strong favourable effect upon men of thinking minds. — For some years she may truly say that she has " lain among the chil- dren of men whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword." — A seemingly organized system of attack, — a bitter persevering and often unscrupulous as well as artful hostility has been at work to pull her down, and to possess the minds of men against her, at home and in the colonies — but her proceedings, as a whole, and with very slight exceptions, have been those which become the disciples of a Master who " when he was reviled, re- viled not again," and although wounds have been inflicted upon her and mischief has been felt, her conduct in the trial has greatly tended to repair what her enemies have made her to lose : Per damna, per cxdes, ab ipso Duxit tpcs auimum^ue ferro. The next point to be noticed is the intimation that the Bishop's integrity was concerned to undo public impressions produced by statements too favorable to the Church of England, and bearing hard upon other religious denominations. 4 The authoib oi the I'ustural Letter had not seen Archdeacon fiitAchin's speech delivered in the Legislative Council of Upper Can- ada, when they animadverted in the manner which they have here done, upon his Chart published in England.— It may be sufficient to refer them now to that speech for satisfaction as to the justice o( their remarks upon the Chart — But it would at any rate, have been rather a singular piece of knight-errantry on the part of the Bishop, while he was compelled to stand, like the Jews in the days of Nehcmiah, building up with one hand the walls of his own Zion, and holding a weapon in the other, to sally forth as a volunteer in defence of other communities, where there was no call for his in- terposition. — The Bishop's letter was written, we believe, with a knowledge that Dr. Strachan was preparing his own vindication, but, be this as it may, . ' - Lordship's mind was rather too full of the necessity of defending a Church whose character was aspersed, whose views misrepresented, whose comparative numbers under- stated in such a way that, (to take one example out of many) her members* in the representative body of UpperCanada were affirm- ^ This word is not here used to express a communicant, as it is somctimci taken upon this continent, but simply denotes a professed adherent. It would be perfectly endless to follow and expose all the niis-statci3icnts indus- triously made through the channel of the public papers, oti both sides of the Atlau ' liC) in order to injure the interests of the Church of England, but even where there are no direct mis-statements, the cause of truth may be almost equally pre- jwdiced.— Thus, an article replete with violence and falsehood, which appeared in the London Times of the 6th of Feby, and at second hand in the journals of these Provinces, is forti&ed by an extract from certain information furnished and signed by two of the Ministers of the Church of Scotland in Upper Canada, stating the comparative numbers of Episcopalians and Presbyterians in a particular tract of country which happens to cotitisf. in a great measure of Scotch Settlementty and have been always destitute of an Episcopal Clergyman^ and this is set before the English public as a sample of the population !— A Protestant wishing to magnify the proportion of Protestants in the world, might with about equal fairness, adduce Great Britain as &specimtn, from which to judge cf the whole. -!^ J ed in the Brilitili Parliament to be two instead of about twenl^,^-io permit him to feel his integrity implicated if he did not labour to rectify supposed errors .^^ent abroad which made for her advantage. — There docs not breathe a man upon the earth more completely elevated above all shade of unfair or indirect proceeding to serve his purpose, than the Bishop of Quebec ; but if ever there was a work of supererogation in the management of human affairs, he would surely have performed one, under all the circumstances of the case, in aifecting to regard any opinions prevailing upon the relative pretensions of different religious bodies, as needing his cor- rection j »n order to prevent the Church of England from being un- duly exalted.— 'The Bishop has enough to do in this way on the other side of the question. The Ministers of the Church of Scot- land are much deceived if they continne in the belief that the statements of comparative numbers, which they have themseWcs concurred in sending home, in faith of their correctness, are in all instances incapable of contradiction and exposure. In the same page of the Pastoral Letter it is said that the Arch- deacon of York made a recent attempt to " deprive the Ministers of the Church of Scotland of the due support of Government" and in page 9, it is declared to be " the policy avo'wed and recommended In tke returns of population in Nova Sec .a, according to a Census recently taken, the Church of Scotland is made in the Newspapers to exhibit 37,2S5 members, and the Church of England 23,659. — From what we know of thai Province we feci convinced, but arc willing to be corrected if we are wrong, that by far the greater part of those ranked under the banner of the Church of Scotland avi Distentersfrom that Church. — The College at Poictou, which is a kind of nursery of Ministers, is certainly undert he auspices of Scotch Disscn' tert. —In a similar way, even the Independents avi^ American Congregation^ alists whose principles of Church Government arc fundamentally dilTcrcnt from those of the Prcibytcrian Church, are amalgamated h«rc with the Vreshij- ifriansy to share io the meditated spoils of the Chuich of Jiliiglaud. by the Clergy of the Church of England to withhold support from ALL other denominations." The best commentary upon the correctness of these allegations uill be fouiidin certain extracts from the speech ofDoctor Strachan himself, and from the Bishop's letter which was before the eyes of these writers at the time : *< Nor have I ever missed an opportunity, when in my power, of being uiefui to the Clergy of the Church of Scotland, or of treating them with respect, kind- ness, and hospitality. — It has always been my wish to nee a reasonable sup- port given to them, because they belong to a Church which is established in on« section of the Empire * * * * « and to this end I have at all times advised the leading men of both Churches* to make respectful representations tollis Majesty's Government for assistance, leaving it to ministers to discover the source from which such aid might be t-AkQU.'^— -Archdeacon Strachan^t Speech, page 22. * ' His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of the Province, having represent • ed in the strongest manner to Ilis Majesty's Government the propriety of mak- ing some provision for the Clergymen in communion with the Kirk, and also the Roman Catholic Clergy resident in Upper Canada, a reference was made to me on that »ubject while in London in June, 1826. — I enforced, as well as I could, the recommendations made by ilis Excellency in respect to both Churches." The Archdeacon proceeds to state that a delay being suggested till the Rescrve-questiou should have been disposed of, he himself represented that there were four respectable gentlemen in the Province who might be inconvenienced in the mean time, and who deserved the protection of Government, and that an appropriation was ultimately made of which these geullemeu are now reaping the benefit. — Ibid, pmge 21. Let us turn to 4M»bther authority. " There are privileges not conceded at home, enjoyed here by the branches of other Churches established in Europe, of which I should be the last person * The Chuicks of Scotland and Ronic. «« earlh to wiih them deprived. — In tome instances, I should be heartily glad that the benefits extended to individuals of these Churches should b* greater than they have yet been made." — Bishop's Letter, page 4. We have reason to know that similar sentiments have been ex- pressed in representations made at home by the English Clergy of these Provinces collectively. — But what is the sentiment of their Scottish Brethren ? — Are we to understand from this and other passages of their pamphlet, that they do not wish to toithhold the sup- port which will be afforded by the B.esjtvesjrom all other denomina- tions than tlieir own, except one which happens unfortunately to be in pre-occupation of these Reserves ? — Do they mean to leave other religious bodies to suppose that their object in this contest and „ the policy xvhich they have avowed and recommended" has been to procure a general division of the Reserves among all parties ?— If not, what is the difference between the two Churches, as the views which they respectively entertain affect the various other denominations. In the Episcopal Letter, all questions arising from differences of a nature purely religious, are kept wholly out of view. — This ex- ample has not been followed by the Scutch Ministers. — They have taken occasion to express their belief that their Church is the more Apostolical of the two. — That they should indulge such a persua- sion is natural. — It is natural that the English Clergy should do the same. — We have no intention of pursuing the question here — but as it has been started on the other side, we will simply say that no ground of enquiry can possibly be chosen upon which the Church of England can be more perfectly ready to " meet all comers" than th;s. " We wonder," say the Presbyterian Divines, in page 4, refer- ring to the arguments in pages 5 and 6 of the Bishop's letter, " that a fact so obvious as the existence of two equal * and inde- * We do not cavil at this expression, although we certainly regard the Churck of fngland as being upon a distinct footing every where nut o/Scount to one ugh a con- within the id that they lextnoticed t be " utterlii '■{ "not more | stion.'^ — pp, ^ s aigumcnt in )oration of the J} :ir Kings o^ ci il abrogated aiid lot forgotten t he enter- It, seriously, lecausc the no analogy the Jewish in Christian I Canada nic il communities whether of a civil,religious,or legislative nature isfound" cd upon principles drawn from the Old Testament ?— that, where circumstances admit of its fair adaptation to the existing ot'der of things, no precedent can be taken, no argument deduced from the declared will and established system of the Almighty under the old covenant 2 As well might we argue on the otlier side that be- cause the Redeemer of the world declares that he came noi to des- troy , but to Julfil the law, therefore it is actually in all its parts now in force. The Bishop, coupling the precedent of the Jewish Church andf the example of direct regulation and oontroul of religious matters by royal authority, subsequently to the original institution of the Mosaic Ritual, with some prophetic intimations that Christianity should be fostered and protected by the state, argues, generally, itf fhvourofthe principle of an alliance of church and state.— Is it any answer to this argument to say that the Government of the Jewish State was a Theocracy, and the Mosaic dispensation extraordinary and miraculous? — These circumstances could on\y diminish the necessity of such an interference as we read of on the part of the Ruling Powers upon earth, in a way neither extraordinary nor mir- aculous, but such as it is competent to men of modem times to exercise. — Viewing the subject in this light, we might argue that if such an interference was permissible then, it is h fortiori per- missib'*^ now. But it is a remarkable feature of this controversy that the ChurcH of Scotland, founding her toholc claim upon the circumstance of hei being established in one portion of Great Britain, avails herself of arguments against some exclusive claims of the Church of England, which, if they have any force at all, are subversive of tlie principle of religious establishments altogether. When the Christian church ceased to be persecuted and the ailing powers of the Roman Empire became Chri'itian, it was .">fttural and vis\\\ Uiat tlic diurch iihould be recosuizcd and nrv u tcctcdby the state, and eetabli&Iied in mutuul relations with the civil power. This subject is placed in so clear and convincing a h'ght by Archbishop Magee,in a cliarge from wliich extracts have been given in a former number of this work, that we think it can hardly fail of affording satisfaction with respect to the general principle itself. — The Bishop in his letter refers to the first establi&hment, (in this sense of the word), of Christianity. — So far from being implicated, as it is attempted here to represent him, {Pastoral Letter p. 5.), in whatever errors of principle the Christians thus enjoying estab- lishment were guilty of in the "vohole course of that age, he express- ly adverts (p. 6.) to " changes and abuses which grew out of" the connection with the Roman Empire—The Pastoral Letter has, therefore, failed, if it was the object to leave open a reflection upon the sentiments expressed by the Bishop. — The only other inference to be drawn from the remarks which its authors have made upon this passage, is a general objection to religious establishments, and one, consequently, which is fatal to the very grounds of their own pretensions. &o again with respect to the reformers,— the Bishop points out that the above-stated principle was recognized at the Reformation. — But, say the Presbyterian divines, the reformers were exceedingly wrong in their notions of religious toleration.-~-If this reasoning is intended to weaken our confidence in the general principles of the Reformation, by saying that because the reformers were wrong in one point, we cannot trust them in another, the Church of Rome is much obliged to its authors. — And if it is intended to furnish an inference that the fallibility of the reformers, as shown in the article of religious toleration, was equally seen in the provisions made for the establishment of religion, the authors must again be lefl to reap the benefit of their own argument. The arguments drawn by either party from the Act of Union may be seen in theupper partof page 6, in each cf the two publications. Now whether the Bishop has proved or has not proved his point, i the civil light by en given ly fail of itself. — (in this pllcateil, p. 5.), in g estab- express- it of" the etter has, tion upon inference lade upon lents, and their own points out 'mation. — cceedingly asoning is >lcs of the wrong in of Rome to furnish )wn in the provisions t again be Jnion may blications. I his point, 13 —whether the authors of the Pastoral Leller have failed or have succeeded in shewing that the King and his Government and the Imperial Parliament have been all grossly violating the plainest rights of Scotland within these provinces,^ for half a century together, and the Scotch acquiescing all the time in such a wrong, — still, as tlieBishop has at least a//fw/>/erf to provehis point instead of assuming it, it is surely a mistaken use of words to say that his talking of the prior establishment of the Church of England, is a mere begging of the question, because, according to an opinion which he had first combated, no right existed to give the footing to that establishment which has been conferred upon it. — Neither do we conceive tliat it can appear more warrantable to any person who turns to page 7 of the Bishop's letter, to say, {Pastoral Letter p. 6.), " by which, we jiresmne, is meant the Church of England." No premming is very necessary to discover what church the Bishop speaks of, as having been established by the King of England and his Parliament ; and the previously existing establishment of the Church of Rome is expressly noticed in his argument. The language of Mr. Fox in the debate upon the act which sets apart the reserves, appears to be incorrectly understood by the authors of the Pastoral Letter, (p. 6.) Mr. Pitt spoke of the establishment of an Episcopal See, most evidently as part of the Scunf the British Ambassador at a Foreign Court ? i^r ■I mined, of course, to differ from his antagonist at all hazards, de- clared his opinion that it ought to be a Popish or a Prcsbj/teriau, not an establishment of the Church of England*— never, it would seem, contemplating the possibility of two co-ordinate establish- ments within the same limits. In the same page of the Pastoral Letter it is said that " the Scottish inhabitants of the Colony were not apprised of the views" of the Church of England with respect to the reserves, till the appearance of a certain advertisement by authority of a clergy corporation : Let us put a case. A has an estate, devised to him by will and secured to his heirs by entail. ~Whilc he is a minor, he is a ward in Chancery and the estate is managed by other hands, upon a clear understanding that it is his. — As soon as he is of age, the title-deeds are put into his hands, and the power conveyed to him to manage his own pro- perty. — It is not long before he gives certain notifications to the tenants. — Soon after this, B, forming another branch of the same family and residing where the property of A is situated, having had the means of informing himself of the nature of all the previous transactions — starts up for the first time and says that he has a right to a share of this estate. He endeavours to find flaws in the title of A, and because in one part of the will the benefit of ihejhmily wha' were to be benefited in the person of A, is mentioned in a way con- ceived to he capable o^ixn application to its other branches, —although without a hint of the existence of 13, and although the follow- ing clauses and all other proceedings connected with the subject, decisively fix the intention of the v/ill upon one paiticular branch and that alone, oiamely upon A, — he regards the exclusive claim of A as an usurpation, and declares that he was " never apprized of *Toniliuo'b Lif.; -l rUv IJ the vieiij" of A upon ilic iubjcct, till Ijc wua aiailc acijuaiutcJ with tliem by means of the notifications issued to the tenants. We have dwelt so long upon these prominent points that we must endeavour to condense all thai, we have yet to say, and even if wc should overlooic entirely some of the arguments of the Pastoral Letter, wc shall only follow the much more marked example of its authors who have wholly passed by several of the strongest points in the case made out by the Bishop, particularly in the lower half of page 7 of his Lordship's letter, and the top of page 8.— They are possibly ready with answers still. — We are ready also, as wc humbly conceive, — although sorely unwilling to proceed in thecon- test,— to meet all and every argument which wc may now omit to notice in the Pastoral Letter. The authors, in page 8, departing (which wo do not question their right to do), from the example of the Bishop, make their remarks upon the internal administration of the Church of England. But had they as extensive an acquaintance with the state of things in these new countries as their brethren of that church, they would never form an estimate of the number of persons who belong, or jiavc attached or are truly attaching themselves to the system of the Church of England, from the proportion who have actually become Communicants.— Persons who have always belonged to that church, have lived perhaps in the wilderness in long disuse of the regular ordinances of religion, and do not soon recover the habits which make them susceptible of such high preparation as is requisite for a proper participation in the Lord's Supper. And all the heterogeneous materials of which new settlements are frequent- ly composed, — persons whom the Ministers of the Church of Eng- land will never be deterred by any misapplied charge of a rage for proselytism, from seeking to " gather together in one" where they are found as " sheep having no shepherd," — all these remaining to be formed and moulded, cannot at once communicate in a church whose ministrations ncveithelcas they often thankfully accept, in m n 16 I €n.r the [)luntin{^ uf which they checifiilly 1mu(« their part, utid sihoic cordial members they and their children ultimately become. It is also rccommendetl by the authors of the Pastoral Leila (page 8), that if there are, as the Bishop has stated, \Ax\^i con- gregations of the Church of England unsupplied, more judgment and care should be exercised in distributing the services of her pastors. — But in the Church of Scotland itself, can Ministers be moved about nt pleasure from one station to another as local ex- pediency may seem to require ? Has there never been, in any one place, a concentration of the ministerial force of that church while remote Scottish settlers have been unprovided ? — The commenta- ry upon the Bishop's letter is here as elsewhere partial in such a manner that the passage tvhich is noticed furnishes subject for re- prehension while the context which is unnoticed would have supplied the means of wiping it away. — The authors of the Pastoral Letter have professedly informed themselves with great minuteness, of the state of the English congregations, and they advert to some examples of exceedingly small flocks of which the pastors receive " the usual emoluments of £200 or £300, per annum." (We do not know upon what the, or £300, is founded — the usual emoluments arc £200.) — But the page (8) of the Bishop's letter, upon which they are re* marking, points out the fact that these pastors have generally other flocks to visit also, and often a wide range of country within their charge, The remarks in page 11 of the Paitoral Lcftcr, which pronounce that both the piety and patuiotism of the Scottish Emigrant must die, if he does not enjoy the particular mode of worship to which he has been accustomed, if they were just and well-founded, would be nothing to the purpose, because the Clergy of the Church of England would rejoice that settlements properly Scotch, ^nd consisting of persons wedded in their attachment! to the Church of Scotland, should have due provision made for the maintenance of pastors of tlicii own communion. If fhey protest against the 17 U'hokc Church of Scotland's coming forward at this day to help herself out of the patrimony of the Church of England, from which there is nothing to spare, the principle upon which they ground their ob- jections is not that the regular flocks of the Church of Scotland ought to starve unless they are led to pasture by shepherds whom they only follow from necessity.— But the position itself that the piety and patriotism of the Scottish emigrant will wither if he joins in a new form of worship is one which we will most unhesita- tingly venture to contradict. — To make the living principle which animates the believer in Christ and the duties and attachments which belong to the citizen and the subject, absolutely dependent, in the case of Scotchmen, upon their participation in a particular mode of worship, is doing an injustice to their character which we are persuaded that the authors of the Pastoral Letter will be ready to disavow. We can undertake, from our experience, to say that the Scotch, all national as they are, have nevertheless, in many instances, a remarkable faculty of adaptation to circumstancefl, which is happily subservient to their disposition to venture their fortunes abroad. — With respect to the alleged extinction of piety among those who conform to the Church of England, we shall select a single example out of a thousand, which may serve as an answer to such an assumption : It is taken from an account of the Mission of the Church of England at the Red River Settlement,* and may be perfectly relied upon. •* We have two places of Worship ♦ • « « three years ago the num> ber of communicants was only six ; they are now increased to seventy-thr«e$ out of which twenty-four ate Scotchmen — half>breed natives, twenty-seven— Englishmen five — Indian females three — Orkney-men fourteen. All thesef at their examinations previous to admission, gave the most unequivocal proofs of their being infiuenced by the love of Christ as a constraining principle." « Christian Sentinel. Vol. I. page 286. C 18 ! I I.I (A With respect to the extinction of patriotism^ we know that there are multitudes of instances in which gallant and loyal Scotch soldiers and sailors have conformed to the worship of the Church of England, and often continued from mere unconstrained choice, to attend it, after their retirement from the service, without impair- ing a particle oi" their feeling for their King and country. We must be permitted also to say that the Scottish divines, when their attention was turned to the cases af their own countrymen who have joined the Church of England in Quebec, Montreal and York, — whatever maybe the instances in which they have reason, as it appears, to impute unworthy motives to them, might have discovered instances also subversive of the principle which they were seeking to establish. The Pastoral Letter was put together, we presume, by different hands, and although wc have not the most distant suspicion who is particularly the writer of any particular portion of it from end to end, — there are some passages which we think the authors as a body will much regret to have put forth. — W^e think thai they can hardly conceal from themselves that it is the character of these passages spnrgere voces in vnlgtnn ambigiias— -that they have a tendency, more or less dirrrt, to throw an unjust odium upon the Church of England, t.o infuse into the popular mind a groundless jealousy of her progress, — to alarm new prejudices, against her, to inflame those which have been studiously created by some of her enemies, and to identify the cause of the Church of Scotland in this contest with the feelings and interests of other parties, who would in fact not he benefited by her being admitted to share in the support derived from the reserves. Civil, political and religious liberty are represented in p. 13, as in manifest and extreme danger from the prospect of a "Jbrmida- hie and numerous body of clergy supported by funds, altogether independent of the people— vf^ might jilmcst add* of the Gov- ER.NMENT OB THE StaTE ;" 19 First, with respect to the people. Are not the clergy in Scotland supported in a manner which is, in a very great degree, independent (^ the people? — Is not their maintenance secured to them bi^laxu? — Is it not compulsory upon the heritors of whatever denomination to con- tribute the quota imposed upon them for this purpose? — aa4ire none of their pastoral charges in the appointment of the Crown or of private individuals of rank and fortune ? The success of their par- ticular party here, in the present attack upon ihe Church of England, is represented as almost essential to the liberties and the prosperity of these Provinces, yet, if they succeed, will not their Ministers be equally supported by funds independent of the people? — And will not the Crown exercise patronage if it confers endowment ? QwLii mihi vitio vertis id tibi speras laudi fore. Again, where is the real cause for alarm with respect to inde- pendence upon the Government or the State? — Do not the authors of the pamphlet know what the Government has done with res- pect to the reservation of patronage to itself? — Do they not know what influence and controul and inspection is to be exercised by the Government in the university of Upper Canada? — Do they not also know, — or if not, ought they not to have informed them- selves before they raised a cry like this,— that the clergy-corpora- tions are only the Stevcards of the Government, and that, although the reserves are solely applicable to the support of the clergy, the whole charge, distribution and allotment of the proceeds is in the hands of tht Crown ? — We feel no alarm for the Government from any church in these Provinces— but least of all, surely, is it to be apprehended from the Church of England .• Is it not a char- acteristic difference between the establishments in North nnd South Britain that the former disclaims a subjection in certain points to Government to which the latter, upon principle, submits ? The sort of parallel which it is attempted to institute between the policy by which it was attempted to force Episcopacy upon :t i! 20 i: the consciences of the Scottish people in the time of the Stuarts, nnd the policy> as it is called, of the Church of England in the Canadas in seeking to preserve to lierself and her people her own rights and her own means of support, is one which in no single point can be maintained.— It is the fashion to remember all the sins of the Church of England, sunk into shade as they are by her glories, and to forget the sins of the parties with whom she con- tended. — The Protestant world at large was siow in thoroughly learning the principles of toleration. — Certainly they were not at all more understood by the Presbyterians or the Puritans \n\ whom the Scottish divines of Canada claim kindred, (p. 17) than by the Church of England,* — The blue lavas of Connecticut, framed by the very persons who had been driven abroad by persecuuon in England themselves, were marked by a spirit of the most bitter intolerance. If the cruel persecutions practised by some of the supporters of Scotch prelacy, are now to be made a handle against the Church of England, the Church of Scotland should by parity of reasoning be made answerable now, for all her past proceedings, which we presume she would very little desire, and if she is to identify herself, according to the intimation of the Pastoral Letter, with the republican and fanatical, opposed to the arbitrary and high-church party in the civil wars, she must take her share in the everlasting stain which lies upon men, who, under the assumption of extraordinary sanctity and professing to be the chosen cham- * Neal, hinificlf a non-conformist and represented by the translator of Mosheim who was a Prcsbt^teHan, to be too favorable to his own party, speaks thus of the Church of England and tlie Puritans : *^Both parties agreed too wcU in asserting the necessity of an uniformity of public worship and of calling in the sword of the Magistrate for the defence of their several principles * * * yieilher J>arty were for admitting that liberty of conscience and freedom of profession which is every man's right aa far as it consistent with the peace of the Government under which he liv«s." 21 1 Stuarts, in the her own 10 single r all the re by her she con- roughly *e not at ans v;'it I than by t, framed cmion in )st bitter le of the c against by parity ceedingSi she is to al Letter, trary and are in the sumption ;n cham- anslator of )wn party, liformity of le defence itting that *s right u le lir«s.'» pions of God liimself, proceeded to gorge themselves with plunder and blood. When it is considered how their case was aggravated by the enjoyment of the light of the Gospel and by tl:e ass'imp- tion of the garb of Godliness, we do conceive that more horrible wickedness was never known than that which was seen in the regicide faction of those times. The following passage we take er.tire from pz%e 9 of the Fas- ioral Letter, <- Wt must, not be uaJciblooil us wishiuj; to suggest reasons for the perpetua- tion of these diflerenccs. — M'e arc persuaded, — more strongly than the authors of the Pastoral Letter, — that the niultiplieatiou of religious divisions is n miscliief, and tliat tlie dillerent bodies of Prcsl)}tcrians would do a ivisc and right thing 1.0 co-ula-'cc. If our reconinicndalion eould have weight, we wt)uld \ j all nieaiu iceoninicud .such a co-alilioii Wi only inter our protest against urging on, oi anticipating, fur the sake of making hi .ui iigam,-! the Church ■■>[ England, what appears (<» be neillicr dij;' :'t*'l H"' . b\ mnc 'f the pnrU'3 concerned, under- vtond '26 i « measures . have rcccntl}/ been taken to br Methodism, wliich wc have often candidly stated to it's jnofeiiuit:, and we regard their proceedings as inconsistent with the plainest principle;; of chuich- menibership, but wc do not despair, in tJod'j good time and after some changc- which wc tliiidv aic vvorkint;, of .m arrangenjcut which would bring thcui icgu larly under the wing of the church. We acknowledge, howevci, that in point of loiiii., the dis.icntiiig bodies ol Presbyterians arc much nearer to the Churcli of Scotland^ thnn the Methodist, to oursclvci;. ^ The Scottisli divines arc not obliged to be inliiiiatc with the characters of those who figure in Engli.-,h ecclesiastical hist as it ap' >p Laudjt ig, and, we oily to thcii >ljjcctioiis It' .!>> ilUll WC of cliuich- mc cliungc- thtni icgu g bodies ol iVIethuJibt. aiactcis of y they aic ih liwA oi 0; 27 and others who hold or arc assumed to hold similar principles, in- consistent with the spirit of Protestantism, in contrast with some other English divines whom they highly commend. {Pastoral Letter p. 10). In the same manner, they say, there may be unity without uni- formity. That the true spirit of Christian lave may exist in the breasts of individuals where there is no unity of external order and church-government,— {(ox uniformity in the mode of tvorship is something perfectly distinct,)— wo feci most thoroughly assured ; and that this unity of order and government may exist where great evils and gross corruptions are to be seen, is what it is plainly im- possible to deny.— Still it is unity, and although it does not con- stitute all the blessings of unity, there can be no other genuine unity, (whatever mutual good understanding may prevail, )--where it does not exist. The Clergy ©f the Church of England can never, in any consistency with the principles upon which their church is founded and framed, be drawn into an adoption of those popular and accommodated views of church-unity which in fact they were by no means aware to be the views entertained by the Scottish divines in the Canadas. They can live in peace with those who differ for them ; they can hope well of their brethren who dissent ; they can respect sincere piety wherever it is found ; they can feel the unreasonableness of expecting (however they may rejoicp when it occurs,) that the members of other national religious systems should all at once surrender their particular attachmonts and pre- judices, and merge in a single cliurch ; they can lament deficien- cies on their own side, or acknowledge excellencies on the other ; they can charge themselves with their share of the blame in the causes which produce separation;* but never, never can they re- gard the formation ad libitum of new Ministries and systems of Dpctrine as warranted by the word and authority of God, or as ' Sec Aicli'l<'ic'M» Mountain's oidinntion-scinioii, publi-ihcd at Quebec in 1826, 1 I i. 1 •■i! t ^28 being otlicrwise llian a sore and grievous evil in itself. — Never can they re-eclio the cant wh^ch is rung forth in newspapers and trumpeted in the harangues of popularity-hunters who in their hearts "care for none of these things," that a real Catholic spirit consists in a reckless abandonment of all preference in religious systems and that it is bigotry and intolerance to maintain, in how- ever calm and christian a manner, the fences of orthodoxy, au'- thority and order. — No — never can they think that when Christ prayed that his disciples might be one; that when the apostle charges it upon them that there should be no schism in the body ; that they should all speak the same thing ; — that there should be »?o divisions among them ; that they should be perfect hy joined together in one spirit ; that they should remember the one hope of their calling, one faitli, one baptism — that fliey should beware of calling themselves after particular founders of the opinions which they had embraced, "I am of Paul — and I of Apollos — and I of Cephas" — never, with all this before their eyes, can they think that a true picture of Christian unitj^ is there presented where the BODY consists of separate and independent parts; where an unlim- ited right is assumed of creating new ministti^ and new societies ; where some reject altogether the sacraments ordained by Christ, others, as if by an authority above His, dispense with them as non-essentials, others again vary the application of them ; — where thr very bond of common adherence to essentials is uncertain, because one party may pronounce that to bo essential which another regards as positive error;— and finally where "every on» of them saith," I am of Calvin— I am of Wesley — I am of Whit- field — I am of some other "Father or Master upon earth." This state of things the Episcopal Clergy never can be brought to re- gard as a true picture of the family and the fold of Christ in it's right state, or as reconcileable with the views of unity furnished in scripture ; and so far from conceiving that they yield advantage to the cause of the Church of Rome by thus treating the divisions of 29 Never can apers and in their holic spirit 1 religious I, in how- doxy, aui len Christ 10 apostle "HE nODY ; ould be no rd together )e of their : of calling hich they -and I of pey think ivhere the an unlim- societies ; by Christ, I them as I ; — where uncertain, ial which every on* of Whit- 1." This ?ht to re- st in it's Protestants, tliey plainly see that these divisions with the licence now given to them by public opinion and the plausible inference afforded, that as truth is nne, it cannot be possessed by those who are divided among themselves, constitute the sole available strength, and tend to aid the proselytism of that church, who could make no impression against the overwhelming power of divine truth with the auxiliary force of genuine ecclesiastical antiquity, if these ceuld be brought more fully to bear upon her by means of one regularly coherent sy*tem of Protestant faith. It is a mere truism to say that mankind are prone always to extremes, yet how many men seem to think that, in order to be right, they have only to be as opposite as possible, and in all possible points, to that which is wrong ! and how is this remark exemplified in many proceedings connected with religion, in the present day, where, under colour of preserving the rights of conscience, and of renouncing the yoke of human usurpation, the most direct appeals are addressed to the old rebellious principle of human nature, thus chosen as the in- strument to " work the righteousness of God !" Of some nQoxer approximation to a combined and harmonized Re- ligion among the Protestant Inhabitants of this Diocese, than there now remains a prospect of beholding, the Church of England once fondly indulged the hope. — We have already been drawn on strange- ly to transgress our announced intention of condensing the latter part of our remarks, * and we must bring them to a close ; but if time and space were left us, we could furnish multiplied and stri- king instances not only of a kindly tendency to union in various re- ligious parties, but of a cordial and holy attachment to Religion through the medium of an adopted Church. The claim with which the Church of Scotland has recently waked up, the noise * Tlic little time allowed us, has obliged us to send oft'successivc portions of our manuscript to the press, and \vc liave tlicrefore had no possible opportunity of sec- ing our own work as a whole, niid niakiiig snch changes or retrcniliinents as •Tc mij^ht have desired. ■: j! 1*1 ' I lis 30 which hci claim has made and ihc echo from different quarters which lias answered it, have been the causes of disjiinating a great part of this delightful vision. — It is in vain -it is vain that she would say that she has done nothing for the people of thia Provinc c l)ccausc she had not the requisite powers and means at her dis posal — for when tlid she bigin to make the effort to acquire those powers ? We should do a palpable wrong if wc charged upon the authors and promoters of a claim which they persuade themselves to be just, and the ill-conscquenccs of which rtiey probably did not contemplate, all the evils to which it has actually given birth, but the claim itself, as it was timed and as Religion was circum- stanced in the country, wc regard as a great public calamity. We are noi recommending a *^ system ofproselyiism' nor has the Bishop recommended it— wc do not wish to sec our Clergy go abroad to meddle with other folds regularly-constituted and duly provided with shepherds of their own- we arc advocating Mweow— and, while we bow to the divine assurance that " all things work together for good," wc still mourn over the partial ruin of the fabric which the hands of our brethren were raising up. As far as wc can judge from ourselves and those whom wc best know, an ardent love of union,— a yearning of the heart to bring those who ought to be brothers in faith, to act in concert and to frequent the courts of the house of God together, (operating up- on a conviction that the extension of their own establishment affords the truest means of effecting this object) is the predominant feeling which dictates what is termed the policy of our Clergy, and, if the direct interests of a particular Church which hqs claims upon «UB love and duty, have mixed themselves with itw motives, wc believe that we could name some other instances, in which pre- cisely the same principle has been a sufficiently obvious ingre- dient of religious zeal. Alas! vhata change have wc seen! — How many new and unprovided communities are now unsettled in their religious plans waiting to sec the issue of the struggle! — lioi> mnnv in'li'.'i'Uiol'^ "lio ntlin-" i«f>, in .'ill rcn=f'n'i1'>l<; '^'(Iciilntion. I ^1 u7iton'-^ wouiU iiuvc LiCtii gained lo abbibt in iilaniiii^ liic uivauo ot public worship, arc hanging off, and perhaps defeating Uic whole object, because they actually doubt whether there is to be any Estab- lished llcligion ! — How many are, in a manner, intimidated oi withheld by a false shame from violating a nominal adherence 10 some one or other of the modes of Religion, because the pride ot consistency and the remnant of national or other prepossessions and associations, have been kindled into life by what has passed before the public in the contest between those who profess the Epis- icopal mode and the Presbyterian I How many evil passions have been set in motion ! how many causeless suspicions engendered) liow many hurtful misrepresentations sent abroad ! how many malicious or careless hands have thrust in wMi their brand to set the flame running through inflammable prejudices and feelings which had no necessary connection whatever with thc'subject ! if it be said that had we of the Church of England yielded to the claim of our competitors, nil would then have been peace, in the iiist place wc absolutely deny this — and in the second we affirm that we had no imaginable light lo consent to such a surrender. — vVhatcvcr credit wc may gain foi the declaration, it is with truth ihatvvc declare tontcnllon to be hateful to our souls — ivc, at least, tvho, in the midst of multiplied occupations, have by forced toil> jiepaied this hurried review, can say from our hearts that we have done it as a severe and painful duty ; that in all contentiont; ooinieclcd with religion, wc are drngged against our nature and lull often have borrowed the language of the Psalmist to vent in occrct our longing for repose and peace, " O that I had wings like :: dove for then would I flee away and be at rest !" 11" it is indeed to be contemplated as possible that our church ihould have a rival to divide hci honours and advantages in thi,i diooesp, let no apprchcncion be fel^ that, the thing once done, her clergy will seek to perpetuate the strife, VVJiatever may be ^hc issue wc entertain the pVasinif hope - and why >^hould noi :j'2 I] our liupu cmljracc ulso our opponents r* — Ihat ucquicscing in ihe will of providonce, tliey will tnanifcst neither the insolence of triumph nor the sullenncss of defeat — Their opinion on the queb- tion, we believe, can never be changed— nor will their endeavours be relaxed in maintenance of their cause— but they will seek to heal the sores which have been opened and set the example of living in charity with their antagonists, forgetful of the day of battle. Tor ourselves, if wc then look back upon this our con- troversy, we will remember whatever kind things have been said of us by our opponents, and obliterate from our minds whateve|; may have caused us pain. We pray them also to forgive and here- after to forget whatever here or elsewhere may have been said on our side, to ofteiid their feelings. And so God defend the right ! KIIRATA. >iige 1, line Otfoff will lie sure to remain, read, will be seen to icniaui. 2, mid. /or, simply oflicial address, rcitil, simplj an oflicial address, f), last line l)ut two, foVf anolhci authority, read, tlic other authority. 11, line a, for, as well, read,— As well. 13, last line, /or, part of the plan, read, part of the same plin. k;, first line, for, have their part, read, bear their pait. lb, last line but two, /or, attachments, read, attachment. 1:), lino 5, for, and arc none, read,—\ve. none. lb, line 6, from the bottom, substitute a period /or the mark ot iiiteno-H- tion. 20, line 7, for, she contended, read, she has coiilciided. 22, fourth line from the bottom, /or, suspect, read, expect. 23, line 10, for, honourably, read, honestly, lb, mid. /or, cause for alarms, read, cause for alarm. O'^, below mid. /or, creating new Ministers, read, creating new Ministries. ;jn, seventh line from bot. for, our love, nad, their love, and for, mr motives, read, their motives. 51, i.bove mid. /or, thrust in with their brand, read, thruH in their brand.