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' c^^ \ ^.v X \ / CHARGE. 4 Jievercnd and Dear Brethren,— U sccius (lesiriilole that at cortiiin periods of our life wo should pause and look within tir to see what proof we arc making of our Ministry, and how far the objects which daily engross our time are helping us in the work of our salvation and the salvation of others. At such periods our minds may be withdrawn from many of the passii.g excitements of the day, and our eyes may be more steadily fixed on great moral and religious questions which concern the well- being of the spiritual Body to which we belong. The holiness of our members, our unity in the principles and rules given us by the Church herself, and the true methods of progress and per- numence in well-doing, together with some regard to our financial condition, may well occupy our thoughts ; and it will be my endeavour to lead your minds in this direction to-dny. Of all notes of a standing and a progressive church, tlv holiness of its meml)crs is the most important. It is the one permanent ami eternal condition of the Church of God, whether militiint or triumphant ; without this, all party organization, all worldly respectability, all attractions and excitements, all popularity, all increase in numbers, is of no avail. The more ample our endowments, the more abundant our individual wealth, the larger our nimdjers, the more conspicuous our sta- tions, the worse we an; if we are unholy. It must be adnutted that tlie tendency of all things around us is to forget this truth. Holiness is no (pialilication for oillce, no passport to society. Wealth is the univeraal measure of good things. Wealth is the secret of power in the Church and in the State. To gain it appears to many tu l>o the sum total of human hap[)ines8. To lose it seems to lose all that nnikcs life worth having. An immense responsibility, therefore, rests upon the clergy and laity of our chureli, for there is l)at one gospel standiird for both, to be a holy body. More dutiful, unostentatious, self- sacrificing piety is rerpiirod in all of us, juul u deei)er study of JFoly Scripture, because objections iire commonly urg(>d ngjiin^ t its inspiration and authenticity, which formerly wen; never heard of; and a m >ih dutiful obodionco to the rules laid down ixi our book of Common Prayer, for liow can we exi)ect our flocks to comply with our exhortations, if wo break the rules of the Church every day of our lives, an intellect, foi-getting that " the talk of the hps le.uloth oidv to r, 4 I penury." What a transition from this endless talk must be the deep sihmcc of Eternity I Such thoughts may surely be deepened by the reflection that in the last three years the hand of Death has been hiMivy upon us, no loss tlian seven of our small band having been called to their eternal homo : Mr. Milner, at the great age of 01 ; Mr. Wood, aged 87 ; Mr. Allan Coater, at the age of 80, and Canon Harrison, all having preceded mo in their laborious work in New Lrunswick ; and Mr. Carr, Mr. (!. O. Cost(U- and Mr. Woodman, ordained to the priesthood by me, and cut olF in the midst of a career of usefulness and in the prime of life. Thus those wlio lived in the early days of the Province, when the greater part of Church of England mis- sions to the heathen wore unknown, and those who have wit- nessed great changes in all our relations, political and religious, have gone down to the grave together, leaving us to (pujstion ourselves, which of us shall go next, and Avhat is our prepar- ation for the eternal world ] I spoke of the progress of our Cluu-cii. With a full sense of all that has been left undone or done anuss, I desire thankfully to acknowledge tlio loving zeal and earnestness with which })oth clei-gy and laity have i)rompted and seconded my imperfect ef- forts to servo them. In constant visitation of the Diocese, it is impossible not to rejoice in the earnestness of the clergy and their ilocks ; in a greater degree of reverence, without which no service of prayer and praise can be acceptable to God or bene- iicial to ourselves ; in increased opportunities of spiritual privileges both on the Lord's Day and on other days ; in a more systematic and faithful preparation for Confirmation ; in a far larger proportion of the confirmed (in many cases the whole number) who l)ecome apparently sincere, outwardly reverent, and, I hop<;,Juibitual conuuiuiieants ; in the loving care be- stowed on the material buildings themselves, in regard to which, the expense of maintenance of churches falls wholly on the Parishioners ; in the nund)or of persons avIio on week days and even in the time of harvest crowd to country clun-ches to welcome their lUshop and communicate witli him ; in the impaid and untiring labour of many luinlly worked men of busineBS who never make their hibour un excuse for neglecting to give their most valualde assistance ; and in u great general incroaso (with a few exceptions) Ijoth of subscrii)tions and donations to the maintenance of the Cliurch and the clergy, God grant that there may be us great an incHMise of personal holiness, of tem- perance, sobriety and chastity, of charity and unity amongst us, such as our holy religion rcMjuires. It is also a subject of congnitulation that luore young imm, natives of the Province, are devoting themselves to the work of the Ministry. 8ome of them during their colleg(! career have pfoved most energetic and useful holperrs to tlii! (.'hurch in Sunday school and oc- casional week-day services ; and I hope the time may come when the wealthier members of our Church will not withhold their sons from the Ministry because it is a profession poorly paid, Ijut will think themselves honoured l)y being able to bring into the scrvict; of God sonu; part of that wealth with which lie has bountifully endowed them. I also nyoico that there has grown up among us gradually, in the course of years, a better gjneral understanding of each other's intentions, a more hearty aiul fraternal concord, such as Christians should do all in their power to cherish, and that the spirit of uiahnolcnt susj)icion and i)erpetual insinuation of ignorance and faithlessness has been put down, and has received a severe check, as I hope, by God's lilessing it always will. Our Synod nuictings, where tlu! freest discussion is allowed, have no douljt contributed to this good end ; and the alarming predictions res])ccting their residt ha\'e proved to be without foundation. A few words of advice from me on some of the subjects lirst spoken of will, i trust, not seem out of ])lace. And lirst, of Confirmation. Important as it is to make a fiuthful preparation for the rite, it is sometimes forgotten that the real work is after continuation. It is then that the most dangerous time of ayoiuig person's life begins ; when the heart, susceptible of good or had influences, has l)een for a short time impressed by the efiriiestiU'ss of the ))astor, but is sure to meet \ lie with couiittnuctiiif,' i.illiMaic's, with n.licuh', with ti'ini.lutiou iii one or inoiv of its vuri.Ml f(>vi,.s, with the unhealthy .'xcitcMncutH or oven lierosies of the .l.iy, fostor.xl l.y wlfronceit iind spiri- tual pri.U'. How many have l.eeu lost to thn Church ami to OOD from the delusive notion that our work is done when we have seen them contirnu>d. ( 'onsideriufi, therefore, the i^nor- nnce and instability of theyoun,!,', i-ommnnicants' classeH may he fouml of advantage, that good hahits may he formed and strengthened, and help may he given in the many dillieulties which surround the young. The pastor will thus bo looked upon not as a moro in-eacher, but as a guide and director, to assist tho conscienc(^ in forming correct and godly determina- tions, and in bringing them into action. Among these good habits thus nourished will bo tlu^ habit of daily prayer, of strict honesty, temperance and chastity, of constant communion, and, I l)elieve, of early connnuuion. For without laying down this as an indispensable rule, one's teeling of ordinary reverence would lead one to see how well it becomes a sinner who owes every- thing to God's pardoning mercy in Christ, to ask for spiritual pardon and strength, and receive his spiritual food before, and not after, he has been all day long enjoying God's temporal bounty, just as every Chi-istian asks a blessing before he sits down to' meat. Another good habit which should unquestion- ably be formed in the young is that of dedicating to God a tenth of their sul)stance, small or large. Did our laity uni- versally act on this rule wo should now be in a very diiieront position. Till they come up to this scriptural requisite they can hardly expect God's l)lessing on their profits and i)ossessions. A gi'eat financial crisis is now passing oaci- our Gliurch. [n the earlv times of our Church Society, though our income was small, we had always a surplus, which for some years was fund- ed for tho benelit of widows and orphans of the clergy. We have now by the liberal It^gacics of a few churchmen made investments to a large amount, but we have lost and are still losing a good part of the annual donations of the Society at home"; and we have greatly enhu-ged the sphere of our work and the num>.er of our workers. It seems to me to be perfect- ' i Jy clt'iir tliiiu oui' iHitronclinuniis .sliould not biigin with the '• now and \.oov nassions," to aid wliicli our Society was foiuuled, but witli old and ablo missions i)]anted tliirty, forty or fifty yetirs ago, wliich ou-ht witli less liberal aid, or witlioutany aid, to sus- tain tlieuisolves. .Soiuft of these nussions ha^ e now l)econie self- sustaining, and it is most reniarkidjle^ that wliilo t]w self-sustaining missions have contributed handsomely to the tloficioncy fund, some of our oldest missions, still sustained l)y others' crutches, have contributed scarcely anything wortii S|)eaking of. I would reminc^ such backward people that when tjic Israelites "worshipped their idols it turned to their own de- cay,"' and if we worshij! our silver and gold our Church will lan. I also think the usual custom of giving the children an annual treat requires more careful consideration. The practice of hiring large steamboats to take young children to places of public resort, has given rise to great aljuses, and requires more strict watching than has hitherto been thought necessary. And hero my brethren, I shouhl close my Address, reserving my remarks on the question of a Divinity School, and on the appointment of a Coadjutor, to their proper places in tho discussions of tho Synod. Jjut a strong sense of duty urges me to claim your in- dulgence for a short time longer, whilst I speak both to clergy and laity, here assembled, on the bill lately introduced into the Pnrlianumt of the Dominion to legalize marriage not only with a deceased wifi^'s sister, but with tlie brother of a deceasotl liusband. 12 ■ Every one nui.st see the necessity of .some restraint on human passion m regard to marriage, for where no law existed in old times, manknKl invariably ran into the most revolting excesses. 1 hey took them wives," we read in the Scriptures, "of all winch th.y chose," not only as many as they, chose, but with- out any restraint in respect of afti.iity or consanguinity. These vile practices were continued after the flood among the Canaan- Ues and formed one of ti.e chief reasons for their disinheritance by the hand of God. To counteract this detestable prollic^acy Hn,ong the Jews, and .ive Divine sanction to a purer code" of morals m respect to marriage, Moses was commissioned in the name of God, and as His mouth-piece, to write a table of de- grees for restraint of marriage within certain limits, founded on this principle announced in the beginning of the table-" None of you shall approach, (i. e. by marriage) to any that is near of kin to lum. I am the Lord." The table then gives instances of .such a hnity or consanguinity, for no difference is made between them. It IS not an exhaustive table, for marriages with a man's own daughter or his grandmother are not forbidden, and the prohibitionsaregivcnexclusively to men, though women are equaly concerned. But it is evidently governed bythe principle which the Lord lays down as the true foundation of the marriage relation that man and wife become one flesh, and con •sequently all the bloo4 relationships which would be forbidden ai-e equally unlawful after marriage to relations by aflinity. This simple and divinely authorized rule in contradiction to the loose practices of the heathen, and even of some of the I atri- archs, istho rule of Christian morals given to us by our Lord bven if It could be shown-which is contradicted by tne whole sense of the 18th chapter of Leviticus-that this is a part of the ceremonial not of the moral law of the Jews, we must remen,- ber that the whole object of the sermon on the Mount was to purity Christian morals from the loose glosses and inter„ie tations which the Rabbis and others had put upon it, and hat to ,^.ve our sanction to any marriage connection less pure than the law h(ne enforced on the Jews is to read God's dispensations backwards, and to lower 13 Cbvistianity in favor, not of Judaism, hut of Heathenism. Those, therefore, who argue that all Jewish huvs are obsolete, need to he reminded that the hnv of the Ten Commandments is read in oar Churches every Sunday, and that the Gospel spirit not only hinds us to receive them in substance, but to carry them out on a higher, purer and more exacting principle than a servile adherence to the letter would indicate. Polygamy, for instance, and an easy system of divorce, were tolerated among the Jews because of the " hardness of men's hearts," hut the Christian system supi)0ses a higher power of self-restraint, and therefore demands a higher, not a lower code of morals. The very incest with a father's wife, which has been treated with so much levity in our Colonial Parliament, is by St. Paul looked on with the deepest abhorrence, and is punished with innnediate excommunication. So that if we were not hound by the table of degrees in Leviticus, which is impossible to ho proved, if that table be part of God's moral law, given for the guidance of other nations lie- side the Jews as is there indicated, we are hound by a puier and a holier law to Christ, and it would be a most strange argu- iiient that what the lower and less perfect rule of life condemns as immoral, the higher and more perfect rule may allow. On this reasoning there is nothing whatever to i»revent the legisla- tive sanction being given to polygamy, man's passions being apparently the only admitted rule, and the word of God being entirely thrown aside as the true basis of sound legislation in religious matters. I am aware that some kind of argument is attempted to be })uilt on the 18th verse of the chapter in Leviticus, which in our translation is obscure. But this argument comes with a veiy bad grace from persons who repeatedly assert that they are not bound to consider the Levitical law at all, the whole being obsolete. Ami, however that verse he translated (the true meaning of it being, I believe, v ■ vdemmition of polygamy) it is monstrous to siippose the legislator to sanction in tins Acrse a principle which ho had Ix^fore condennuvl in the rest of the chapter. The general argument is, however, sought to be set i u ^ttllZ "-"rtion that man-iage is „im,,ly a civil contract, and that therefore, the legislatm-o has no religion., obligations deal wth the matter so a, suit his own convenience, ^r his conscenee .f he have any. This notion of n.arriage boi Jo^W a c,v, contract resembling .he renting a honso or°the pnrchaso of a farm, only, be ,t observed, mnch more easily broken by cheap and ea.y n.ethods of divorce, is merely another mode of now cal their transgi-essmns grievances and endeavour to legalize and justify then,-desires an alteration of the law, not thati ey niay sit under rt, but that they may sit upon it. And when thcv ..ave tran.sgres.,ed again, tliey will .seek a new law to suit thei; now passion. Thus marriage being, as they say, only a contract may be .lealt with as wo deal with a law'of bLkr.,; cy. .et even m bankruptcy there must be some limit, some restraint, or otherwise all debtoi. might proclaim thems Ive absolved from payment. Property would ie the only thief Our Ghurcli has taken tlie greatest pains to shew us that narriage is „ot merely a ei,il contract, but a .solemn, reli.il obligation It coinmaiuhs the clergy to begin the martago se ! vice by telling the people that marriage was « instituted of God me time of man's iunocency, signifying to us the spiriUi: "lairiage and umty between Christ and Hi. Church." How c«« a civil contract do this? It requires of the persons to bo married a most solemn allirmafion, for which thoy will have to answer at the " d'-'>..-iP„i .i i- • , .. . ■^ udvc lo „„ 1 t , • ,. '"'■ "^ "' J">lS"'™t," that they know of ogal fo the service immediately adds that ".so many as are coupled together otherwise than God's word dotli allol " ,™ not joined togelher in lawful matrimony. And what is lawf , or uidawful according to God s word, in the judgment of t on Pi.,ye Looks '• whereni," it is said, " whosoever are rolat. ed are forbidden „, .Scripture and our laws to niarrv tocoth " Where is the civi, contract here 1 I aniawai. that an ^Uen,; 15 is mudo to !is8i-ju this tiiblt) of ilcgi-ocH to tlio iiuthority of Arch, biahop Parker only. Hut the umrriiigesforlmhleii V)y this table had always been held unlawful by the Church of England, and for fifteen centuries such nian-iagos wore held unlawful in the Church at largo. To roturn to the ninrriage service. Every part of it, especially the two solennx benedictions and the in- vitation to receive Holy Connnunion " at tlie time of marriage, or at the first opportunity after marriage," prove that it is no mere civil contract which the Church owns as marriage. If, then, persons married " otherwise than God's word doth allow are not joined together l»y God, neither is their matrimony law- ful," and what God's word doth not allow is assured to us by our Church in the table of degrees, and in the 99th Canon ; if we, as Canadian clergy and laity, have acknowledged the Book of Common Prayer (which contains the table of degrees) to be " a true and faithful declaration of the doctrines contained in Holy Scripture" ; if, moreover, a resolution of both houses of our Provincial Synod declares, that no clergyman of this Eccles- iastical Province shall knowingly solemnize a marriage forbid- den by the 99th Canon of 1G03, how can wo deny the force of such solemn obligations] I do not hesitate to say that if a cler<^vman of our Church do not consider himself bound l)y them, I cannot conceive any other that would bind his conscience, and I should distrust his declarations on any subject whatever. Besides, are we going to stop in this downward course of license 1 Already our legislators propose to go beyond the de- mands of agitators of the question in England. Our bill proposes to sanction the marriage of a woman to a deceased husband's brother. " Why then," as Lord Ilatherly says, " should not a man's own brother desire his daughter in niarriage, or look even to the reversion of his wife." We may be sure that ingenious arguments would be found oven for this revolting connection. But some are prepared to go even beyond this, and even bid us be of good courage and dare to do what St. Paul tolls us " is not so much as named among the heathen," to tako in marriage our father's wife. This language has, 1 understand, been sup- posed to be said in a joke, as if no man would desire it. In Ifl uiOHt iuataiiOOM it would, u(i duXiU, bo iiuiuuhul,l(s l.ut it U Uv ivonx bein- impossible. A mun, wh will suppose, luMi-ries t'uily m life iiml his wifo l,oiu's him sons who are <,M'o\v]i up whoa his wife (lies, lie then selects a wife very many years youn-er than liimself. Meanwhile on(. of his sons marries early, imd Jiis wife (lies leaving children. Finally the father dies. ' Why then, if man's appetite in to be his sole <,nii(le, may not the son select his fatliers wife, no older than himself, to bo tlie guardian of liis children ; and pretend that no one can pos*il)ly f,^el so miicli affection for them as his step-motlier and Ije so suited to be their gnide ? Then if she l)cars children it is to one who ought to consider himself her son, and her children would be brothers and sisters to liis chil.lren. This may be considered an exaggerated case, but it is perfectly possibL^", and if wo ai-e to follow advice given, either in seriousness or in sport, all the liideous consequences would follow. WJien we try principles we have a right to consider extreme and possible cases. The fact is, that the transgression of a Divine law alway.s proceeds in a downward course and never ascends to tlie source of all purity, to Him who says, " l)e ye holy, for I am lioly." | shiill not dwell much on the social discomfort of this law, great as it undoubtedly would be. But I would observe that'^by it the happiness of the many would bo sacriliced to the passions of the few. And why is the comfort and i^cace of a thousand homes to be thus sacrificed 1 " Why are sisters-in-hiw living with widowed brothers-in-law, as sisters, to l)o ordered^ either to quit the house or marry them ? Why is distrust to be sown where perfect love, frank familiarity, sweet and pure alfection were before unrestrained ?" " As a general rule among decent persons of all ranks," said the venerated author of the Cluistian Year, "a law which would place the wife's sister in the same relation to the husband as any other unmarried woman, not only might, Ijut must, in all cases, separate the wife's sister from the family, not only after the wife's death, but in case of her long illness or absence. She will require the same protec- tion that any other young woman would in the like circum- stances." So that the benefit of the law^ would be the enjoyment ^•^•J B*?*!^ h \i!^ |t»».J ■ J|*1^ 17 of theii- triHis^rressious by the present law l.reakers, aiul its evils wouM be iuuumeral)^) ; aiuoug the cliwi of wliich would be great .listi-ess to tlu; keepers of the Divine ruh;, great bitter- ness betweuu families wlio koei) and families who break the rule, gnvat confusion and trouble among the clergy, and loosen- ing of bonds of morality in various directions among the com- munity at large. You may now ask of me, perhaps, what an? we, the clei-gy, to do i I answer plainly, you are to decline to solenuii/e such marriages. If the State relax its obligations and pronounces niiirriage a civil contract oidy, the Divine law and the law of our Church is still Innding upon you. You are to y)e guardians cmd defenders, not betrayers of public morals. Nor ought persons who live in incest to be admitte 1 to Holy Commun- ion. But there is more to be done. Between this time and the next session of the Dominion Parliament the clergy should endeavor to circulate among the laity sound a)id wholesome truth on this subject. I may mention such tracts as Lord Hatlierly's " Vin- dication of the Law Prohibiting Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister," Mr. Keble's tract against " Profane Dealing with Holy Matrimony," the Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia's " Reasons for Rejecting the Proposed Marriage Law," and a very useful catechism on marriage, with an ai)pen