# IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) . ^9) .V ^-V "^o^ ^^^ > 'ib" 4. signifie "A SUIVRE ". ^e symbols y signifie "FIN". 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 dtre fiim^s A des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6. il est filmA A partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 m?>?smM^ ANSWER ,— . it 2: 3' TO THK rAMPHLET OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION Against tJie majority 0/ the inhaiiitants of (he Province of Quebec THIS PAMPHLET CONTAmS : Intly Th'' coriepnonHencp <*Tchanged between the Hon. Mr Merci'T and the Kevd Mr Oaven, Preiident of tha Kqu;*' Rights Afi8ociation ; 2nd'r Letier having as itn title: " Disabilitlei of Protnstantc in the ProviiT^'^ oFOiebftC," by Mr Sellar, editor of ihft Ihmtingdon fileaner; S<\\\y AnBwer to this letter, h* the Hon. JCr ICD^ier, Prune Minister of the Proviuoe of Quebec. QUEBKO 1890 3W3?3fi3^; k ,1;:r -■- §% 2-/5-/' s< _ ( r ■r.-r.T-r':''.';^;*^:^ ,:f;'.."*'j.->:---*' -*tr*^-*j ' * > - TABLE OF CONTENTS. , EAOE Correspoiidence exchanged batweoa the Hon- orable Mr. Mercier and the Revd. Mr. Cayen, "President of the Eqnal Rights Association m Disabilities of Protestants in the Province of Quebec g Answer of the Honorable Mr. Mercier to the pamphlet of the Equal Rights Asso- ciation 21 I. The so-called domination and wealth of the Catholic C|hurch in the Province of Quebec.. 25 II. The parish sygtem and the so-called disabilities of Protestants 52. IH. Tithes— English Courts ara degnwled by assisting iu their collection 63- IV. The introduction of the parish system in those parts of the Province situated outside of the seigniories is the violation of a formel enga- gement and a usurpation. CS Analytical Index 86 > * 1 "J **'^l*^.ji CORRESPONLiENCE Ol'llCK OK THE I'KKMIKR, ' , Province of Quebec. Qtteb-'C, F'- )ruary j3th, i8y0. Reverend Sir, I have before me a copy of a pamphlet e:. titled : " Equal Rights Association for tlie Province of Onta- rio. Important letter by a resident of Quebec "^is to tfie disabilities of Protestants in tluit Province, This letter is dated 1st December, 1889 and signed: " A Quebec Loyalist." This pamphlet contains the following notice : '• EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION FOR THE * PROVINCE OF ONTARIO " Important letter of a resident of the Province of Quebec, on The Disabilities of Protestants in that Province. > s " EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION OF ONTAHIO *' 9| Ai.)ELAiDh Street East, •' Toronto, 21st December, 1889. " The accompanying letter, written by a well known English resident of the Province of Quebec, to a naember of the committee is submitted by the Exe- \v..| 'V-: !i Vi; ;■ cutlvc Committee of the Association, for the earnett con9ideration of the people of the Dominion. * E. D. ARMOUR, " Hon. Secretary. •• W. A. CAVEN, " Preiident." As the assertions contained in this letter are false and injust to the majority of this Province and as thisj)amphlet has been greatly circulated, amongst the Protestant community, I think it is my duty to ask you if you would be kind enough to give me the name of the " Quebec Loyalist ", who has written this letter. I write to you officially and you will b.- kind enough to answer me so. I have the honor to be ' Yours truly, SHonor6 Mercier. Premier, Rev. W, Caven, Chairman, Equal Rights Association, • 9 J Adelaide Street East, Toronto. Ont. Equal Rights Association of Ontario. Office; 9 1 Adelaide Street East. Toronto, Unt, March 7th 1890. Honorable sir. I beg to dcknowledge the receipt of a comm ni- cation from y« u in which you ask for the name of a " QUKBEC LoYAMrfT ", w)ib has written a pamphlet on T/ie Disabilities of Protestants in the Proyiuce of Quebec. I have not the writer's | ermission to disclose his name, but I shall forward to him a copy of your letter and await his reply. Permit mc to say. that the Equal Rights Asso- ciation would much regret to endorse any statemc.it which is. not strictly correct, and if it be .shown to them that '* the assertions contained in this letter are false and unjust to the majority in Quebec," they will hasteu to disclaim any responsibil'ty implied in their relation to this pamphlet. I have the honor to be your obedient servant, VVm. Cavln. The Hon. Honori^: Mekcikn, Premier of Quebec. y.,* ■ > . re. 1 Sir, \ Office of the Pi^emiBr, Province of Quebec, Quebec, icth March, 1890. Many thanks for your kind letter of the 7th instant concerning the letter of a "QUEBEC LOYALIST." I shall wait till I receive a further commnnication in connection with n)y demand before I answerj the other ;nrt of your letter. With due respect, Your- truly, HoNoRit Mercier. • Revd Wm. Caven, ,9^ At'e'aifie street P^ast) ' Toronto, On^ Equal Rights Association of'Ontaiho, Office, 9^ Adelaide East. Toronto, Ont., 10th March, 1890. Honorable Sir, In rcplyi; g to your communication of the 28Lh ult., respecting the authorship of a pamphlet entitled •" Disabilities of Protestants in the Province of Quebec'' I ^,-tated that I should forward- to the writer of said pamphlet alcopy of your letter to me, and await his reply. To-day I received from the gentkman referred to a telegram of which the following is a copy: — " Send mys name to Mercier and demand that he " proves hib statement about my letter." The writer is Mr. Robert Sellar, editor of the Iluntiugdon Gleaner, Huntingdon, Que. Having given his name, you wid doubtless reco- gnise at once Mr. Sellar's title to make the above deman^^." I have the honor to be Your obdt. servant, Wm. Caven. Th*- Hon. HoNoRii Mercier, Premieij, Province of Quebec. « „ >- I^if^^^^^fr^^??'^!''^^?^^ fp EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION FOR THB PROVINCE OF ONTARIO ■ ■ I ;B Important letter by a resident of Quebec as to " The Disabilities of Protestants in that Province." EQUAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO. 11 Adelaide Street East, Toronto, 2l8t December, 1889. The accompanying letter, written by a well-i known English resident of the Province of Quebec to a member of the Committee, is submitted by the Executive Committee of the Association for thej,earnest consideration of the people of the Do- minion. W. CAVEN, President. B. D. ARMOUR, Hon. Secretary. Published by The EQtJAL Riqhts Association, 9i Adelaide Street East, Toronto. Copies of this letter and other litteraturt ^f ^he Association may be obtained on application t« W. Banks, Secretary, at the above address. Toronto Mail Job Print 1890. m MitPHI 'It. ^ i'^ YX fmmvm-^A v,yKtmf^i! !s».im(%iimnmkmffv.- Mioni*. ,.f: \ w THE gijjalriM^s fff f inrt^stanis m THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC ii ',' Kir 9 Upper Oanada members, you will perceive that yourself and every other elector are parties to them and accountable for their maintenance. There is not a circuit court in the province whose power has not been called upon by the Church of Rome to compel payment of these assessments. I was once present in a court, of which the judge and all the officials were Protestants, when a number of Irish Catholic farmers were sued by the priest for tithes,* and when judgment was rendered in his favor, I thought an outrage had been perpetrated, and that instead of the British coat of arms looking down on those assembled, th'> insignia of the Vatican wonld have been more appropriate. Boar^ this well in mind, that the habitants pay the taxes in question to their church, •BECAUSE THE'wHIP OF BRITISH LAW compei.s''them. "We have no business to interfere with the Church of Rome in what demands it may make of its followers, or what assessments it may levy upon them, but as British subjects we have a right to say whether or not Ihe courts of the Empire are to assist in maintaining those demands and in becoming collectors of those assessments. It is this backing given by the State to which the peculiar development of that Church in Que- bec is due. HavingJ the State "as its servant in r- I It coercing its people, it asttames the attribates of supremacy, while its sources of income bei^g largel v independent of the will of those to whom it miujsters, it disregards their wishes and rules autocratically. To sum up in one sentence, it' is the union of Church and State in Quebec that menaces the peace of the Dominion. r y HOW THE PARISH SYSTEM AFFECTS PROTESTANTS. , No land owned by a Protestant is liable to parish'^assessments, they are collected solely from Homun Catholics, who may be so only in name and who may not attend church, all the same they must pay tithes, and any building tax that may bo levied. Their sole way of escape is to notiiy the priest that they have left the Church of Home, and no habitant need do that unless prepared to leave the proviuce. I have seen this provision of the^law, that Protestants are exempt, quoted by Ontario newspapers as conclusive proof that they have no cause to complain of the parish system. "Were those who express such an opinion to come to Quebec and make personal investiga- tion, they would perceive their error. Let me give you an illustration from actual life. * Fifty years ago a number of emigrants from the British Isles formed a settlement in the wild lands of this province. They prospered and increas* ed for twenty years, when the Roman Catholic M^»> I Hi.. :-^A " *^ii 11 bishop issued his decree including their settlement in a canonical parish he had erected. The Homan. Catholics were mainly taborers eoii'loyed by the Pro'estants, several of whom contributed towards erecting a temporary church, which was followed by a convent-school, established by one of the great Montreal nunneries, partly to attract a Ca- tholic population, and partly to cat(5h a few Pro- testant girls as pupils. When from death or other ricissitude a farm owned by Protestantjj was offered for sale, the priest had a purchaser, who, if he had not sufficient monoriitious at a low rate of interest. A French stori^-keoper was brought in, a French doctor and finally a notary. Then the colonization societies lent their aid, and the funds ■ of these societies are supplemented by the gov- ernment. The work went on slowly, but it went on steadily. If I were asked to name the most remarkable feature in the Church of Kome, 1 would answer, its deliberate movementy, its unal- terable purpose cor^ibined with patience. Nothing is done openly, nothing rashly, nothing violently. The tide is creeping upward and remorselessly swallowing everything in its way, but on the placid face of the waters there is not an eddy nor a ripple to indicate the resistless power that is impelling them. Farm by farm dropped into Ca- tholic hands, and the area of lauds liable to tax and tithe went on extending. In course of time the Protestants became so few that ihey found it \ '■'! 12 difficult to maintain schools, and were it not for aid from ontside, they conld not have retained a minister. Their farms were fertile, and, materially, they were doing better than they conld elsewhere, 80 that so far as dollars and cents are concerned they had no cause to move, yet when they consi- dered that their children were growing" up im- perfectly educated, and that their neighbors were of different speech and creed, they were impelled to make a sacrifice and leave. Their farms were bought, and what was twenty-five years before an English-speaking settlement has become a French one, and from land that did not yield dollar to the Church of Rome, she now levies contributions that vield thousands. This is the history of scores of outlying settle- % meiits of Protestants in this province, and thai they were extinguished by set purpose is not con- cealed. Say- a Quebec paper the other day : " We " have not in vain absorbed many of the English " jind Scotch settlements planted among us to " break up our homogeneity." So long as it is law that the laud of the Province of Quebec shall yield tribute to the Church of Rome when owned by its adherent', that Church will work unceas- ingly to dispossess Protestants, for every acre it wins enhances alike its income and its prestige. You may here ask, whether Protestants who took up land in Quebec did not do so with their eyes open, and knowing that it was subject to the parish system, have they a right to now complain ? 1« No such plea can be urged. When the lownBhips were settled they wore not only free from the parish system, but there was an Imperial guarantee that they should never be subject to it. THE EXTENSION OF THE PAUISH SYSTEM TO THE TOWNSHIPS TR A VIOL'ATION OP A PJ.EDU E AND A USURPATION. m 1 will set the facts before you and you will judge for yourself. "When Canada passed into the bauds of the British, Quebec bore no resemblance to the Quebec of to-day. It consisted of thinly- peopled settlements, which occupied narrow strips bordering the St. Lawrence. A few miles back of the great river rose the bush, and the primeval wilderness extended on the north shore to the Arctic Circle, aud on the south to the United States. Bear this in mind, that wheii General Murray set about constituting Quebec a British colony, it had only seventy thousand inhabitants, who lived in the narrow ribbon of. clearatfces that edged the St. Lawrence ; that was all they occupied and that was all they claimed. The British commander was asked to leave the parish system to this handful of people ; he refused, English law was established among them, and for thirteen years no habitant was compelled to pay ♦^ither tithe or tax. That state of affairs would have continued until our own day had it not been for the breaking out of the Aroerican Revolution. "?■ "V^ppiff i - il 14 The Imperial authorities were afraid the French people might join in it, and to avert that danger ihty bribed their priests by giving them back the power to levy their dues. This was done in 1'774 by the Queb-o Act, which, however, confined the privilege strictly to the seigniories, or, more cor- rectly speaking, to the eighty-tvi''o palishes then ill oxietence, coupling, however, the gift with the proviso that the priests were to become subject to the conditions of the sovereign's supremacy as laid down in the Act of 1 Elizabeth. As if fore- seeing what has actually happened, that the priests would apply the privilege so granted to the entire province, this clause was added : " Provided always that nothing in this Act '* contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, . " to any lands that have been granted by His " Majesty, or shall hereafter be granted by His " Majesty, his heirs and successors, to be holden " in free and common socage." Surely this is plain enough. The parish sys- tem was restored to the seigniory or fief land ; all land granted by the cibwn in free and common socage was to be clear of it. The Imperial Parlia- ment and George III. restored French law and usages to the thin chain of French settlements, and to th*'m only ; all the rest of the province was to continue as before, under English law. Erery French Catholic writer and every French Catholic speaker on this subject invariably ignores the clause I have quoted, and speaks of the Quebec 16 Act as restoring French law and custom to the entire province and dare anybody to interfere with the Imperial concession. Nothing, could be more dishonest. The Quebec Act merely restored French law and usage to the seigniories, not a twentieth part of the proviftce as now constituted, and to them only does it apply. All outside of that rr's- tricted strip of land was to be settled and goV' erned like Ontario, Nova Scotia, or New Bruns- wick, namely, undet English law. This was per- fectly understood and acted upon by successive Governors. The crown lands of Quebec were surveyed and divided, not into seig^niories and parishes, but into counties and townships. In these townships English law prevailed, French law had no standing, and the priests had no more autho- rity to tithe and tax in them than they have in . Ontario. The result was that these lown«hips became settled by Ens^lish-speakiug people, who would not have felled a tree in them had they known they would ever ^ave been brought under the parish system. The pledge that English law would always rule where the land was granted in free and common socage was renewed in 182t), when the Imperial Parliament, in the Canada Tenure Act, declared that the law of England was the rule by which real property in the townships wais to be regulated and administered. The two settlements thus grew side by side : one English- speaking, withEnglish law and usages, prosperous and expansiTe ; the other French, with French wssmBottmsfmm m^Bsmm ^■Tm iw 16 law and customs, poor aad stagaaut. The rapid growth of what may be termed English Quebec excited the fears and jealousy of the Anglophobes preceding the rebellion and they endeavored to che-jk it by adverse legislation. But despite all obstacles, English Quebec grew in wealth and population, progressing at such a rate that, at the date of the union with Upper Canada, it threatened in time to out:?trip French Quebec. In those days the seigniories were overpopulated : if the season was unfavorable there was distress, and applica- tions to the Legislature for public aid were fre- quent. Papineau urged his countrymen to go into ^the townships and take up laud ; few did so, and the reason given to the repeated parliamentary commitees on ^q subject was, that the priests were adverse to their leaving i\iQ seigniories, because the parish system was not in force in the town- ships. The rebellion was designed to destroy the townships : they survived it to fall before an instrument that was being silently forged by the hierarchy. The union of Upper and Lower Canada took place, and among the first acts of the new Legislature was one providing for the erection of canonical parishes. As it stood alone it was of slight consequence, but, at long intervals, its pro- visions were amended and eitented by subse- quent Acts, all of which disregarded the restric- tion of the Quebec Act and applied Iheir provi- sions to the entire province. This was done s© gradually and unobtrusively that these little bills It were introduced and passed without attracting notice. Not one of them eaid, " the parish sys- tem is hereby [extended to the townships." That would have excited alarm and eiisnred their doom. They simply professed to be amendm euts of previous Acts, their sting lying in the uu- thought of preambles, which made the proyi^ioaa, of these previous Acts applicable to the entire province of Lower Canada. When the last and worst of these little bills was before the Legisla- ture, Cartiev explained that it onlyv affected Catholics and was designed to legalize certain aTTaugements between the bishops and their peo- ple. The power thus obtained to extend the parish systf^m into the^iow"nships was cautiously mod and the approaches were exceedingly slow. Here and there a parish was formed where the Catholics were most]numerous, and tjie objection of the priesthood being removed to their people taking up land in the townships, they were now as eager in urging them to go as they were before in restraining them, and, when Confederation came, the Legislature seconded their efforts by arrants to colonization societies and departmental favors. At the present hour the townships are overspread .by a network of parishes, and in each of thein the priests collect tithes and church taxes are levied off land which the Imperial Grovern- ment guaranteed should be forever free from such imposts. Indeed, it is not necessary to quote statutes in support of the claim of the town ships 2 A w M I it N ';) 18 ■ib fr<'edom from the parish syftttm, for thti deed granted by the sovereig-a to eaoh settler bear^ proof of the fact. Up to C)ufe deration the patents issned by the Crown Lauds Department i'or lauds grant-'d under th^m contained th'se words : " To have and hold in like manner as l;vuds •• are holdeji in free and comruon soecage in that ** part of Great Britain called Eug-laiid.'' Oueeu Victoria thus issued her letters patent w a lot of laud, declaririir that the yeom mi H) whom she granted it shall hold it free fro in all "jSen, and the sani? as if it were situated in Eug- .ismd And in full faith of that sj^ssuraiice, the adtler went on and spirit the vigor of his man- liood in clearing that lot. In his old age a priest ceunes and says, " Your land was granted to yon * by the Queen, subjec-t to a servitude.held by my "'Church, a perpetual claim, a mortgage that can-- ** not be wiped out, as its payment is conditional " upon the creed of the occupant. You being a •^ Protestant, I will do what I can to get you off it * and a Catholic put in your place, so that Holy •'Cliurch may enter into the full enjoyment of her ** patrimony." i^nch, sir, is the manner in which the parish i^stem has been extended to the townships, and Bo^ed I add, that its introduction has caused their decadence. Numerous settlements have been wti^d out and everywhere the French increase, so ftfeat the English who could control twenty consli- lra!e:aci'^s twenty-five years ago are outnumbered 19 iu all but four. It is for the electors of the Domi- nion to answer the question, !4H.\LTi THE REMNANT 'BE WIPED OUT? If the existing law is continued, a Jaw offer- ing a substantial iudncoment to each priest to drive the Protestiint fanners out, it is as certain as that the St. Lawrenijo rolls to the sea, that before the ooming century is far advanced few will be left. Is the union of Church and State to be con- tinued in the Province of Quebec ? Is the priest- hood to continue to have behind it British courts to enforce the collection of tirhr; and tax V Is the Church of Home to .sit in this province enthroned as a qaeen, panoplied with exclusive privileges, and wi^h her foot on the nei'k of its Legislature? If so. then over one hundred thou'^and loyal Bri- tish subjects will leave the lands they and their fathers redeemed from the bash and lollow their brethren w^ho have gone before them. As it is in your power, and in the power of every elector of the Dominion to continue or abolish this system, so upon v/o/< and them, Jointly with the pn .s..s, will rest the accountability for one of the gr dtc; jl outrages ever wrought on English speaking peo- ple, for outrage and crime it .surely is, to maintain a law that offers a bonus to the clergy of the Church of Rome to dispossess men and women of their homes on, accoant of their creed and nationa- lity. There are other disabilities under which the at non-Catho lic p eople of Quebec labor, and these I may give in another letter. The parish system is so pre-eminent among the grievances of which wo complain, that I think it better not to place it on the same parallel with the others, A QUEBEC LOYALIST. December 1, 1889. ' / I'i .'^^^x xS^ i ^ ANSWER OF TriK NORE' ME TO THE PAMPHLET PUBLrSHED BY Airaiust the majority of tlic inliat>itantH of tlae Province of Quebec I have the houor to ackuovvledge the receipt of your letter of the tenth of March instant, inform- ing me that the' author of the pamphlet signed: A Quebec Loyalist is Mr Robert Sellar, editor of the newspaper called ." The HmUingdon Gleaner. " Owing to press of business and the importance of parliamentary work, I huve been, compelled to delay my answer. Allow me to confess in all franknes-s that it does not surprise me to hear that Mr Scllar is this so-called QuEJJEC Loyalist : this v^entlemau is a rabid fanaiic, Avho never misses an opportunity to show his hatred against everything which is French and Catholic, without the slightest re- spect, which every honest and impartial man I ■■■Hi *>2 ovvos to the truth. The small shcnt whi';h he publishes U not suilicit'ul I'or hb iiisatiablo desire to reprosent under (also colors everything that is dear to the majority of the population ol the Province in which lie lives, and he has hastened to Hend you his letter, delighted to avail himself of the influence and means ol publication of your association in order to spread more v^ndely false* hooji and calumny coJioerning my fellovv"^- country- men, their clergy and their religious ir.stitulions. If the editor of the G/eaner alone were in ques- tion, 1 would not take the troubh^ to notice him, for the ^ery good reason that in our Province he is too well known to be able to injure an 3^ one, and that here h^s eliicubrations are too well ap- preciated at thoir true ^alue by ref-pectable Pro- testants and by Catholics to deserve the honor of refutation. Bur a^ the Equal Rights Association, of which you are the president, has assumed the responsibility of the writing which is the object of this correspondence, that fact gives to it an importance which imposes upon me the duty of refuting it and of showing to the impartial public that the letter in question is nothing but a tissue of errors as to facts, history and appreciation. If, after this refutation has been placed before your assoiiation, it does not repudiate the letter of Mr, Sellar and persists in spreading it abroad, honor- able people will be able to judge of the ways and means employed by you to rouse the Protestant population of the other provinces against the ■■ i . ^ 1 I if'- 28 Hlevf u huudred thousand Catholics who iuhabit tho Province of Quebec and who desire nothing more than to live at peace with their fellow- citizens of other races and creeds. If the Exec tive Committee of the Equal Rights A Bsociatioa be animated by anything like septiraents of justice and respect for truth, it should consider it a duty to publish the refutation which 1) now make, iit order to repair the injustice it has committed in publishing the pamphlet which has called forth this refutation. ^-„. You say in your letter of the seventh of March " that the Equal Rights Association would much " regret to endorse any statement which is not " strictly correct, and should it be shown to them *' that the assertions contained in this letter are ■' false and injurious to the majority in Quebec, " they will hasten to disclaim any responsibility " implied in their relation to this pamphlet." I accept this declaration, or rather this engage- ment, and 1 forward you with this letter a de- monstration which will put you under the obli- gation of fulfilling it. I have the honor to be * Your humble servant, (Sig;iied) Honori^ Mercier. ' Premier-Ministre. To the Revd. "Wm. Caven, President of the v Equal Rights Association, Toronto, Out. mm (■faa«5i«» ANSWER OF THE HON., MR. MERCIER to the I amphlet of the\Equal Rif^hls A^soiiidmn against the majority of the inhabitants of the Province of Quebec. It would require a large volume to refute iu succession the errors and misrepreseutations form- ing Mr Sellar's pamphlet. The public could not have the palieDce to read a work of such a nature and I have not the leisure to undertake such a work. Leaving aside all useless and idle details. I take the substance of the pamphlet ; this can be sum- marizod in the following points : Firstly. The so-called domination and wealth of the Catholic Church in the Province of Quebec ; Secondly. The parish system and its so-called injustice to Protestants ; Thirdly. Tithes — that English courts are degraded by being called upon to enforce Ihtir collection ; Fourthly. That the introduction of the parish system iu parts of the Proviuct? situated outside of the seigniories is a violation of a ibrmal engage- ment and a usurpation. As it happens with all mt|i who give up to fanaticism the control of thew conscience and reason, the editor of the Gleaner is not distinguish- ed by order or method ; his pamphlet is only a confused mass, without any regular order in its ideas ; but by analysing it a little, the reader will find that it is only a repetition of the four propo- sitions above enumerated. I will follow this order in the refutation that I am going to make. 96 I. / THE SO-CALLED DOMINATION AND WEALTH OF THE CATHOLIC OHUIICII IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC Speaking, of the Catholic Church as it exists. in the Province of Quebec, the author of the pamphlet says : " In one sense it is- a church, iji another it is "* a government, having the Province divided ^* into sections and controlled by its deputies, /' yet a government irresponsible to crown or ■"' people, claiming- an authority above and beyond ** that of the State." Taken in the general sense given by the ■author, the assertion is false. With, respect to woiship, Catholics are divided into groups known under the name of parishes as Protestants are known under th^^nrnm o^ congregations ; but these divisions have only a religions character, and are not controlh d by deputies, as falsely asserted by the editor of t he Glmner. What harm can there bo, would I ask. in thus grouping Catholics lor purposes of wovi-hip * Does not this grouping likewise exist among Protestants, in our Province as well as in all the other parts of the Dominion ? Is there any reason- ;able man who can soriously see harm in it ? It is ionly the delirious fanaticism of Mr. Sellar which , I ^T^^" T. t \ . 26 objoots ol a state of things 80 natural, so noioirsarjr to i>ublic ord ■:»)•. Now to sny Ihat this " govorumont is irre»^ " ponsibh* to crown or pt^oplo, claiming an aur •' thority abovn and b.-yond thitt oi' tho State,'* i» to state a thing true in itsolf, bat false in th.'seiiue that Mr. Sellar ffives to his assertion, whi. b i» general and withovit restriction. Catholic; doc- trine tt'achep, that in parely spiritual matleis, religious authority is of an order superior tO' that of the civil authority, but that in temporal matters civil authority or the authority of the State trnnscend^ all others. That ia to say, that according to Catholic doctrine, the prepondertmc^ of authority is derived froia the preponderance of the end at which such authority aims ; and a» spiritu'l ends are 6upv?rior to temporal ends, the authority which provides for theiormer h, in itts nature and in the strict limits of its ends, of tm order bU|>erior to that which provides for tem.r p oral ends. You are a minister of the G}-08})el, Mr. Garen,. and you thoroughly understand protestant theo- ' logy. 1 would now a^k you : Is not Catholic doctrine, such as I have just exposed it, the doc- trine of all christian religions ? Is it not simply the application of these words of the Gospel : ' Render unto Grod that which belongs to G.od and to Cesar that which belongs to Cesar ? " In order thit there be no misuaderstauding' about this part of Catholic doctrine, I will cite a 21 fe\v extracts from the worl. of Mpr. Cavapnis, puhlishod at Roni'? iu 1887. with the approbation. . of the highest Catholic authoritios. Tli'^se aro th citations : " It is said : If the Chtirfh wore sovornce of two bovereigus, " having jnribdidion on the mme territory and " over the Kame persons, is repngnajit. The power "of the ont- would necessarily limit thatofthe •' other, and ncitht'T would be sovereign in the " full meaning of the torin Sovereignty Ihere- " fore repels not only oil supcrioi jurisdiction but '• also all equal jurisdiction, " To this obj(^ction an answer is easily made " by distinguish ma how two sovereignties may " be in opposition in the s»me territory and over " the same persons. When two sovereignties are ** of the same kind, have the same immediate end, " the same object and the same subject-matter '■ on which they exercise their power, then we " meet with the imouveniences above mentioned; '• one imposes limits upon the other; neither one " nor the other is truly sovereigu, and tlie fcame " subjects would have to serve equally two " masters. " But it is not thus, when it is a question of *' two sovereignties, whose order, object, end and % I' ■ 28 • "subject-matter are dietiiict and different. In " that case, the one imposes no limits upon the " other in the sphere which belo^jgs to it! In " conse^jiience there is not in the State another " State of the same kind, but anothet State of a " different kind. In this there can be nothing " repugnant, for the reason that all created things " are limited to one order and oae kind. The " sovereignty of the iState is limited to the tern- " poral order, that of the Church to the spiritual *' order. To God alone belongs absolute and uni- *' versa] sovereignty • _ " If the Church has many rights over tb.e ' ' State, because it is a society of a sovereign order, "it has no less duties to perform towards the " State. And above all there is the duty as a mat- '^'ter of jus-tice not to tncroach upon the province " of the State. All, thai which is purely temporal " helono's 'to the Stale The Church therefore cannot " under any proper claim meddle with matters " purely temporal. It should render unto Cajsar " that which belongs to Ctesar, and to God that " which belongs to God. " In questions which in novs^iso concern reli- " gion and which are t-imply economical, political, civil or military, Catholics form neither a body " nor a party, but each can follow the party which " appears the best to him." (1) These are the principles which govern the Catholic clergy, in this Province as well as in (1) Xotions df Droit Public, Naturel et EccAhiusliqite^ ^;«r Mclared in the House of Lords that " the Roman Catholics better understand than " the thing seems to be understood by many of " these who call themseh'es our Protestants " brethren, in what plain characters the injunc- ''tionofthe unreserved submission oftheindi- '' vidual to the government under which he is " born is written in the divine law ot the G-os- " pel." I need not add thai in asserting that the : : f' 30 m ' >} Catholic Church " assumes that the people exists for her and not she for the people," Mr. Sellar is \ guilty of ail untruth which does not deserve the honor of being refuted. I defy him to corroborate this altoi^ether gratuitous asseltion by (acts or writings. ■*" Mr. Sellar asserts that the Catholic Church of the Province of Quebec " is the greate&t real estate owner on the continent." This is simply a falsehood which must bo apparent to the most limited vision. As a Church the Church of Itome does not owiv one inch of land in the Province of Quebec. I defy Mr. Sellar to prove the contraiy. According to our law, real estate destined for Cilholic worship does not belong to the Church but to the parishioners, and the extent of real estate destined for that object is very limited. On the lirst point, the following is what is statt-d by Judge Beaudry : '• Pafishioners are obliged to contribute to ' the purchase of land required for the buildings The// are its proprinturs." (1) As to the extent of the land, it is fixed in tlie following manner by article 8450 of our Revised Statu t<'s: " The quantity of land so acquired for the •* purposes aforesaid, within the Avails of the cities '* of Quebec and Montreal, respectively, shall not, " in the whole, exceed one arpent and outside " of the walls, but within the limits of the said (I) Code lies curls, inargulllicrs et paroi aniens, page 58. I :' I 81 "^ cities, shall not exceed eii^ht arpeuts iu superfi- ■^CJcl«:; aud tho qiianii^y of laud so h(?ld in any ** other place for the use of each parish, mission, ** congregation or religious soci«'ty, shall not ex- •■* 45tt<2d two hundred Ejiglish acres." There are not one'thoubaud Catholic parishes ^r vnissious in tlie Province of Quebec, and I assert without fear that the extent pf the land possessed hj Kuch parishes and missions does not exceed in ■&he whole 20,000 acres. Is the Equal Rights Astoiiation prepared to f*ssert with its fell >w-lab(^^r Sellar, that there are . ^ a vow of per- y! •. ",l. obedience to the Churi.h of Rome, ther^ '.1 r he Province of Quebec 1,170,718 ministers of Cathor't? worship, for the reason that 1,170,71') .itholicvs "'ho inhabit it are obligvd, in reliirious matters, to a" olute obedience to the Church of Rome. There are likewise 320,839 ministers of Catholic wort^hip in Ontario, for I see by the cen- sus of 1881 that there is thai number of Catholics in th^^ Pjovince of Ontario, aiid like those of Quebec, ihey are held to perpetual obedience to the Church of Rome, of tourse in religious mat- ters only. These are the consequences of the pemises laid down by Mr. Sellar, whom the Equal Rights Asf^ociation has chosen to inform it about Catholic afhiirs in the Province of Quebec. NUMl^.EU OF MINISTERS OF RELIGION, !i, I III J Happily, the census of 1881, an authority -almott as worthy of belief as the editor of the Gleaner, gives totally dilferent figures. According to that authority there were at that time in the i I, 35 Province of Quebec, 2,102 clergymen, 3,783 nuns ; nd 401 biotrin'is of the christiau schools, in all 6,280. But the figures given for clergymen com- prise Protestant Ministers ; they must be nu- merous as there are in our Province almost as many Protestant as Catholic churches. The census of 1881 gives for all the Province 1280 churches, of which *712 are Catholic and 5(38 Pro- testant. The latter must be attended by 400 or 500 ministers, which would leave 1600 or 1700 Catholic priests. ■\ , CATHOLIC Almanac. Bui there is an easier and more certain me- thod of establishing the number of Catholic priests in Ih ' Province of Quebec. If the worthy writer of the Gleaner had only given himself the trouble of reading the calendars or almanac* for 1890, ho would have seen that the Catholic clergy of the Province of Quebec, regular and ssular, is- com- posed of 1260 priests, one cardinal, sftveu arMi- bishops and bishops, one prefect nposlolin. The ca- lendars-give the name, surname and rcsidoncr^ nf all those priests, so that there can be no doubt or mistake about their number in the mind of an ho- norabh^ writer. These priests, however, are not all engaged in parish work. The docuraetits which I have just mentioned, show with thi^ clearest evidence, even to the wilfully blind, that of these 1260 priests at leist 250 are employed at teaching in our clas- sical and commercial collea; es a I id in our nor- IHi \ i^^ir^i'. 8% >\':\ /'> ''■( I f'i' I" i mal schools ; about one hundred more are engaged a» chaplains in our charitable institutions or as professors in* our theologicar semiuime;*, leading only about nine hundred in parish work. li' you" divide the number of Catholic* by the numbor of priest' minist'^ring to-pari-jh wants, you will find that ihe u v'erdga of each congregation und<»r the care of a Catholic priest is about thirteen hundred souls. .:m{:'', You are a minister of th >! Gospel, Mr. Caren ; you know the duties imposed by the spiritual care of a congregation ; you know that in rhis respect the task of a Catholic priest is two or three times greater than that of a Protestant minister ; in prefcenee of the figures which I have now given, wUl you not admit, that far from being excessive, as Mr. Sellar pretends, the number of Catholic priests in the Provime of Quebec is comparatively slifiht. Make the name calculations about the Protestant clergy, and you will be sur- prised at the results at which you will arrive ! REVENUE OF THE CATHOLIC PRIESTS. And what are the revenues and resources of this clergy which Ml". Sellar represents as so-rich ? The tithe alone and a very small amount of per- quisites commonly called " le casuel." "What does the tithe represent ? It is qniite easy to calculate it by taking ihe^data furnished by the census of 1881, which can be seen by everybody. At the rate of the twenty-sixth bushel, it forms about ths^following quantities : 58,889 bushels of wL»*at, 8*7 o8,866 of barley, 601,310 of oats, 142,208 of peas, 55,4i)4 of buckwheat and 12,571 of rye. Estimating them at, current rates, they would represent above $500,000 iu money. But our priests are not exact- ing, notwithslivudiug what Mr. Sillar may say, and 1 can at^sert without fear of contradiction that on the average they remit or neglect to col- lect at least 20 percent of their tithes, which would h ave a real r-'Venue of not more than $400,000, to be divided among nine hundred I)ries5t!b doing parish work, or an average, of $460. Oe each. Adding another hundred dollars for the casml, which is certainly the highest amount evtr received under that head, we have a total of 1550.00. . Would y ou pretend that this is too much, Mr. Caveu ? ihat Protestant ministers do not receive a.s much, even more '? And that is in truth the so-called wealth of our Catholit; clergy ! As you van perceive, our clergy does not cost the people 80 mnch., (iENEBOiSlTY OF CATHOLIC PRIESTS. , Let us not omit to add that our clergy leturns to the people a great part of this slender revenue. It is thanks to the generosity of the clergy that are founded and maintained the numerous insti- tutions of charity — asylums,r(3fuges and hospitals, and institutions of public iusiruction — which are seen a/li over our Province. You would be aston- ished, you Protestants, at the numbe. of young men belonging to j>oor families, whose educa- 38 ( • I';: { tion, classical and coinmercial, is paid for in whole or inpj^rtby our good country priests; you would be equally astonished at the number of legacieh bequeathed by those good rur^s to our colleges, on condition that interest thereof be employed to meet the cost of the education of poor children. All this, it must bo admitted, is in th(! inte- rest of the people, and 1\)T its benefit, and gives back to it in another form what it has paid out as tithe or aisuet ; and, as I stated on a recent oc- casion, our Canadian clergy returns to the people, in one way or another, for pur oshs of education or charity, blessed and Banctified by th*/ Church, the tithe which it collects from the' peopU^ There is not a country in the world where classical and university education co.sts -o little as it does to the Catholics of our Province, where it ig so fully within the reach of all, even of the poorest; there is not one serious and se isibl.*. man who, knowing in the slightest our system of edu- cation, would refuse to admit that it is «ob'ly to our clergy that w,e owe these in3stimable advan- " tages. RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. With a sense of honesty more than doubtful, the editor of he G/mner includes among the Ca- tholic clergy, all the members of oiir religious orders, not omitting members of brotherhoods and sisterhoods. This is a deception that it is unneces- tl mmmmm 3» sury speoially to remark, for all woll-in{'orrat»d FiotettaiiL^- know, porlectly well that these hro- thers and sisters are no more members of the Ca- tho ic clergy than the members of the muuioipai council of the city of London form part of the government o! England. They belong simply to the body of the faithful, like all other Catholics, who hove absolutely nothing to do with the gov- ernraentor the manageni' nt of religious aflairi. The Church exists ill all its inttg'ity outsid" of th^se com muni ties, which are merely asso '.iations for the purposes of charity and public instruction. They might disnpnear without in the least affeo- tiag the Church oflvome. The only difference, that would theu hi felt, ay regards Catholics of the Province of Qaebec, is, that in pla:e of having tcf take care of the sick and itiilrin a- well as for the instruction of their children, brothers and sister who work grjtuitously, wiihout other remuneration than what is vstrictly necessary to keep and clothe them moxlejlly, Cai holies would have to pay laymen, who inoit crti^inely would co3t much more. / Permit me to cite' one cxamj^le.ir. order to show the truth of this assertion. We havcy in this Province ihre** a.^ylums where the insane and idiots are mfdntained at the expense of the i Government. Two of these are under the care of nuns, and^'another, that of B<\iu- port, under laymen. In this asylum, the annual cost for each patient is $132. At the Lougue- TT I 40 Pointe asylum, othorwiso known as tho Asylum of St. Jean de Dieu, whioh holonga to th« SisU'is of Provideueo, tho GoveTninent only pays $100 per annum. And tho Sistei-H of Charity, who have under their earo the Asylum of Saint Ferdinand d'llalifax, for idioiio womon, only receive i^80 per annum for each patient. It is acknowledj^ed that the Longue-Pointe asylum is at least as vvcUki'pt as that of Beauport; and yoi the price is |'12.00 less. As the Longue-Pointo asylum contains more, than a thousand patienls kept at the expense of the G-orernment, it is evident that the sisters enable the Provinc ■ to economJz<» to the extent of 132,000 per annum, compared to the amount which ; it Avould have to pay, if the asylum were kept by laymeii, as that of Beauport. ;, The same remark applies to the other bene- volent institutions under the (^aie of rohgioiis orders. It appears by the public aoaount^. for 1889 that the number of benevolent iuhtitutiojis subsi- dized by the Province is 94, of which 73, or 77.7 per cent, are under the care of r«?ligioa8 orders. The sum paid to all these institution)^ is $41,956, of which 124,480.33 to establishments maintained by religious orders, and 117.475.07 for those kept by members of tlie laity, Protestant and Catholic. That is to say, that institutions uitder the care of religious orders, which represent 77.7 percent in number and much more in importance, receive . only 58:34 per cent of the sums voted by the Legislature for the maintainance of benevolent institutions. X 41 Bo not these figures give mi- the rig'ht to tissert, that even from a material or i)0(!Uiiin,ry poiut oF viow, the roligiout* orders, whiih have the <5are of these beiievolerjt iiistitiitioaiy, are hot only not a hurdou upoa the Calho ic peopK; hut a real benefit to it, a means oi' relieving it friim heav)' taxation? In a Clirifstiaii country, then* miul he means adopted, in one way or anotheV, to provide for the w^auts of the sick, the infirm, the orphans, the poor, and of the thousaul of unfortunate creatures, who. if not helped by s *rnehody, woidd neei'.'isarily drag on a wretiliod existence or perish in the public wtrcets. This is one of tln" first duties of so(,'ioty. In other eountri' s. this is jrovided for by taxation, by the State or muniri pa lilies ; iii'the Provine'e of Ouebee, Catholics are. free from these taxes, beeause their religions orders provide for these ^yants, and gratuitously, with the exception of the small -n Ho wance voted bv the Ij?gislature. AYhere is there a reasonable man who con- scienciously and sincerely would si\y (hat such orders, live at the expense ot the peopl.e? It is indeed. the contrary whi<'h is true; it is the people who liyej to a great extent at the expense of these orders. I would appeal to you,, Protestants of the other Provinces who do no! , know our insti- tutions ; you whom a shauxeless fanatic would wish to rouse against these relio-ious orders I ■ ' I ■ whicli do so much good in our Province ; y-^vi, "who have in your hearts sentiments of justict* and Christian charity, eome and see our convents, I I v: 42 our asylums, our hospitals ; come and see them at work, see with your o-'vn eyes the ills they alleviate, the misery they soothe ; you will return, I am certain, fully convinced that these order deserve anything but the condemnati m on the part of Christians worthy of the name, bo they Prote.-^tant or Catholic. You would bo astonished at the slight of the good done by these orders with the small resources at their disposal ; you would leave those sanctuaries of Chri;stian charitv with hi the same sentiments as those of a distinguished Protestant of our Province, the Hon. J. G. Robert- son, whose attachment to Prott'staniism is un- doubted. This is what he said during his budii'ct speech in 1884 : ■!! OPINION OF HONORABLE MK. R0EEKT80N. tSomo years ago 1 visited thes-* institution ^■ in Montreal, and I was not only graiified and surprised at the improvement nianiiested by the pupils under th(j care and instrnctions they received, but lull of admiration at the Christian and philanthropic spirit manifested by those in charge of the?c institutions an 1 then made up my mind that every assistance I could render them I would glady do to the best of my abili- ty. All honor to the philant hropic individuals and communities who devote their means and personal effects in aid of those .so grievously af- . fiicted by Divine'Providence." Such is the testimony of a Proestant who ha:^ 43 been engaged in prblic life for almost a quarter of a century, Minister and Treasurer in six diffe- rent conservative governments.. Should not the testimony of a man of that standing be accepted in preference to that of an obscure journalist, hardly known to the handful of readers who live in his neighborhood ? It may be allowable to have prejudices, but reason will permit no man to be at open war with logic and sound sense. 1 ADVANTAGES OF THESE INSTITUTIONS. Oar teaching communities secure to us also incontestable educational advantages. I do' not hesitate to sjay that in our convents and tiirls' boarding schools, instruction does not cost half as mut'h as it does in Protestant institutions of a like nature. The Christian Brothers and other orders also give to young men a supi^rior educa- tion, almost fornothino', if we compare it with its cost in other places, .according to th' report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1888, there are in the teaching body 1804 sisters, 585 brothers and 322 members of the clergy, that is, 322 priest- or ecclesiastics. According to this report the avernge salary paid to lay teachers is $3Go per annum, a/ud that paid to clerical teachers, brothers and ecclesiastics, is only 1205 or $158 less ; so that those 907cli3rical teachers cost yearly $•1 43,306 less than an eq ual number of lay teachers. These figures are founded in a public and olticial document. ^^■■"■f'^jp -1 1 'I 'wi,^' ""V"'"T^' ' ^^iRr^^^^^w"'f"'''i'""' !^"^^ , TAXATION OF, aEIylGIOUS PIiUPP:RT!ES. "Wilfully con fusing together ^he pi'operties of religious communities with those of the churches, Mr. Sellar.says th'^t they are held iu mortmain and are " exenipt fiom taxation." This again is nothing but misrepresentatiou. True it is that our religious orders possess their properties in raortinaiu, in the sense that those priiportiesbeloug to the order o,s a collective body, as a moral being, and not to its members iu particular; bat this does nof prevent these prop- erties from being within the domain of commerce, .hat is, of being susceptible of {)urchase and sale like propt;rty belonging to private individuals. As a question of fact, 1 know of many such sales. The Quebec Seminary, th(^ Sianinary of St. Sulpice aud many other relig-ious orders have sold their properties, when favorable opportunies were offer- ed ;.they still continue such sales, as also do other communities of the same kind. At all events, this ownership in mortmain is not a*! ^tt,ri|)i^te of |.he religious characters of these mrimmmmmm^m PP ■■■■■■■I tm I . ''. orders; it is morel y' 111 "'i^j^ plication of the ge- neral law wHicii governs a! II cofporatiou» o£ this kind, whether Protestant or Cdthollc. Htiiien be- «[ueated to it for the purpose of aiding in the edu- 'osi perfect religious service, sxiperior education in all its branches, commeroiai and agricultural instruc- tion, the care and maintainance oi the poor, the- orphans, the infirm, the sick and of all these unfortunates who depend upon i^^ublic charity. Are these works not sufficient useiully to employ 9,158 persons iui a population of 1,170,718 people ? It Is said that comparisons ,ivc^ odious. If I did not fear to exppse myself tp, the reproach of making them, I would mQ,l^e one whioh w-ould expose more c;leai;ly t Jib fuUexteut of the injustice of which Mr.' SpUar has Ijeen guilty towards our clergy and the i;^ligious Qommunities of Catholics in th'^ Province of Quebec. IP - 49 To give greater effect to his false representa- tions, our Quebec; Ix)Yalist opposes the ij,000 Protestnnt minist'irs to the pretended 20,000 per- sons li ving on religion in the Prorince of Quebec. To arrive at the latter figure, he includes the brothers, the sisters, the servants, in fact everyona that his imagination can summon. Let us adopt the same method of calculation for Ontario. Your 3,000 ministers are heads of families and support their wives and children. It v/ould not bo exag- gerating, I think, to assume that these 3,000 families comprise at an average five persons each, which gives at once a population of 15,000 souls. It is reasjonable to suppose atJeast one servant for each of these families, which gives 3,000 more, forming a total of 18,000 persons " whose daily- bread comes from this gigantic organisation." For the same ends, that is to say, for the care of souls or the service of public worship, we find in the Province of Quebec only 2,500 persons at the most ; that is to say 1000 priests and 1500 servants The difference is great enough to render tan- gible the exaggeration and falsehood contained in Mr. Sellar's letter. Let us make another comparison. I have previously shown that the 9,158 priests, brothers, listers and servants whom we have here, provide us with religious service, education in all its branches for both sexes, and also with the care of our benevolent institutions, and as far as the latter are concerned at their own charge maBam ifia i E r !^M 50 andj^'Ost. In Outario the people are obliged to support a popiilatioyi twice as great, merely to secure reliii^ious service ; they have further to support the members of their teaching bodies as well as those engaged in benevolent establish- ments, who are at least as numerous as those whose daily bread comes irom religious service., I leave to im[)artial people the task oi draw- ing' the proper conclusions and of judging what opinion should be formed of the veracity of Mr. Sellar, the worthy editor of the Gleaner and th'.' unworthy co-worker of. the Equal Rights Asso- ciation, if that body has the least respect for justice and truth. -I may be here allowed to indicate the cause of the ridiculous exaggerations into which certain persons allow thtnuselves to be drinvn when speak- ing of the so-called wealth of the Catholic clergy. DUnVEUE^'C'E IN THE EXPENSEH OF CATHOLIC PRIE.STS AND ITiOTESTANT MINISTEKS. There exisls a decided difference as to the res- pective positions of the Catholic priest and of the Protestant miuMsster. Owing to celibacy, the former has to provide only for his own support, whilst the latter has to maintain a whole family. With an income of hve or six hundred dol- lars, the Catholic priest lives comfortably, can even practice a few small economies which eccie- eiastical discipline obliges him to employ in good '^ssswgs^j^w^MipBI^HHBaBIBSSSS-HiaS H» r 51 works. The Protestant minister, ou the coutrary, only finds wliat is absolutely necessary tor hiin- selt' and his family in an income of six hundred dollars, and if his salary is sulhcienily larg'e to permit him to economize, he very naturally em- ploys the amount of his savings for t!ie benefit of his family in plaise of devotin"' it exclusively to institutions of learuing, benevolence and charity. Jt is thus that are formed iu gnv^it part, by our clergy, and without in the least over-burden- ing the ftuthful, these resources with which are created and maintained the greater number of these Catholic institutions which are the admira- tion of every one not blinded by prejudice. That which the Protestant rainister gives to his own family, the Roman Catholic priest diivotes to the use of the people and to works of public beue- volencc. What is there in all this which can be takivi as a cause of disability for Protestant's, especially for Protestants of the other provinces ? Ts it our fault if, because of their marriagt\ the support of Protestant ministers is more expensive aud lioes not permit them to make, as do Catholic pricsiti, gifts and legacies to institutions of public l)e!ie- volenc e Y . It: is to this that is reduced the so-called wealth of the Catholic Church. 1 more or less uudersiaud that you, Mr. Caven, who live iti a Protestant province aud who can only know superlicially our religious orga- ' '■"" !»'"^W PWIW—— IW—B—B—m^ B V \ t w 62 nizatioii, should allow yoiir.solf to b?i drawu into thoso exaggerations on this question ; but as to your co-laboror Sollar, who livos in the midst of a Catholic population and pv«'lcuds to know th*ur institutioup, it is unpardonable dishonesty on his part, whi'-h should ^tarnp upon his brow a stigma which lor charity sake I will not particularize. II THE PATILSIT SYSTEM AND ITS SO-CALLED INCONVEN- IENCES FOR PROTESTANTS Mr Sellar does not like the Parisli system. Were we to believe hira, it is the principle disab- ility under which Protesiants of our Province labor. He carps at our Parochial organization and does it without the slightest regard for truth. I need not say that he here gives proof of culpable ignorance or of inexcusable bad faith, iu representing the parochial and seignorial system as two correlative institutions ; they who have made the slightest study of our institutions under the French domination know that the above state- ment is not correct. Opinion of Dr Dawson : (1) '* ... It seeins evident that the parish system " is not incompatible with the English tenure ; " that it is and -always has been independent of " the I'endal tenure and that there is now existing (1) Letters pmblishcd in tbe Week and republished ia the Montreal Ovzette in Janaary and February, 1890. 58 " nnly one system of lawo throughout the *' Province. " But buch errors are mere trifles lor a man of Mr. S-illar'« voravity. I imi^t leave many of tli nn aside t) eoaceru myself only with hU greater orroTo. " The priest, says this truthful writer, is the coDveuer aud chairman of alij) irishmoeti ngs and without hi.s sanction noiJiing can be done by the people." This involuntarily reminds rae of the young military cadet giving instructions in drill. ' — •• What i.s riglit lace ?" asks the recruit. — " It is turning to the right," answers the cluI-h. — " And what is left face ?" — " It u the same thing, except that it is exactly the contrary." The good Mr. Sellar is like this young drill instructor, he states that the; people can do nothiiig without the sanction of the priest ; just so, except that it is exactly the opposite whi(;h is true. The canonical and civil erection of parishes, the admi- nistration of parochial matters and all affairs of like nature are done onlj'" with the consent of the parishioners, so much so indeed that neither the bishop nor the parish priest can db anything with- out such consent. The part of the cirre is limited to presiding al thos ? meeting i, Avhosv^ decisions are made by the majority of \'otes. On this sub- ject, Sir Hector Langevin says, in his Manuel den Pa fames et Fabriques.. " Fabrique meetings are convoked by the r- T*.* ■iii!rr: 'rll.ll .'J.'l. HB5C i ! 54 CM/'^ or the priest replacititr him ou the dt'maud of the trustoo in ofRc(^ margmller en charge. The curfi or the priest replacinjif hiin prt'sides at the fabriqiie meoting',.. All business is decided by a plurality of votes. " In his Codc'des Cures, Mar tj^uill 'firs el Pnroissiens, judge Biiaudry says, on pago 82 ; *• It is to the bif^Iiops that belong-s the initiative of the (canonical) erection of parishes, hut lie ran proceed thereto ovhj on the demanfl of the proprietors who inhabit th(? territory to be erected into a parish. We can easily und(!rstand this require- ment, especially under our form of government where every thing is founded on th'^ wi>;h of the majority All these, buildings, " t!i • same author goes on to say in citing Freminvill ■, " their f establishment, their erection and main^'uance are o grcjat interest to the inhabitants in as much as none of them « an be made without their giving their consent. " With the bad i\iith which characterizes him, the writer o\^ the Gleaner insinuates that these pro- visions of the law are illuded by the rur^ Avho abuses his induence to extort the consent of his parishioners. Declakation of Dr Dawson. • To the insinuations of this ignorant writ*- I will merely oppose the assertion of a protestant who is discinguished as much for his attachment 66 to his faith us by his SLieu«'(> and honorable char- rot«>r. l)r S. E. Dawson, oi' Motitroal, in his letters to tho Wf.ek, speaks as follows : ' " In n^ading many of Lht^ articL^s written ' upon thasts in deep shade that of the poor writeji* of the Gleaner. As' so well stated by Dr. Dawson, what harm can there be in Catholics purchasing, at high prices, the properties of Prot'^stints, when the atter Had it to their fid vantage to sell out and seek their fortune in the great West ? Is it the fault of the Catholics ? is it the fault of the parish system, if a longing for Manitoba and i'innesota lands has seized upon Protestant farmers ? Ir is but folly to advance such a propodiion, it is an insult to the common senf?e of Protestants, who would be guilty of most ridiculous fanaticism thus to abandon their farms ibr the sole purpose f avoiding contact w'th Catholics If they fear wmm 59 Catholics, so mu<-h the worse for them ; it cer- tainly is not the fault of the parish system. What disability is there in all this ?' PuOTESTAJsr SCHOOLS Mr. Sellar states that Protiistauts have b?<;ome so few that th^y had it difh-ult to kiep up lh3ir Si^hools. There is as little truth in this as in the other assertions of Mr. Sellar. Sir John Hose, who represeiited tha county wh^'re Mr. S;;llar displays his scholarship, knew, at least as well as this obscure journalist, the positiou of Protestants with respect to their schools. In his speech on Confe- deration, he contradicted in advance the untruth- ful assertions of the Gleaner i-Jian. I cite his words : " Now we, the English Protestant minority of Lower Canada, cannot forsret that whatever right of separate edu'-ation we have was accorded to us in the most unrestricted way before the Union of the Provinces, ^when wt' were in a mino- rity and entirely in thcjhauds of the French popu- lation. We cannot forget that in no way was there any altempt to preveutlus educating our children ill the manner we sawjfit] and deemed best ; and I would hi untrue to what is just, if I forget to state that th>' distribution' of state funds for edu- cational purposes was made in such a way as to cause no complaint on the part of the minority, 1 beleive we have always had our lair share of the public grants in so far as theJFrench element could control them, and not only the liberty, but every h' I ^M ■I 60 ! i facility, for the establislmieut of separate dissen- tient schools wherever they were deemed advi- sable. A singh^ pi3rsou has ths right uiid-?r the law, of establishing a dissentient school, aijd obtaininrr a fair share ol' the educational grant, if he can gather fifteen children who, desire instruction in it." (1) Is that clear enough ? Is it not a peremptory refutatiou of the reckless statements of Mr.Sellar ? In regard to eduj^ation, Catholics in Ontario are far from b ,'iag a§ well treated by the Protes- tant ma-jority. And yet thi}ir position is much better than that of their co-relisrionists in Mani- toba or New Brunswick. What would happen if, in the Province of Quebec, the majority were to get about organizing, in favor of the Catholic minorities of the other Provinces, a movement similar to the one your Association has orgaiifzed against us in favor of the Protestant minority of Quebec? If you are acting as good citizens in rousing the Protestants of the other Provinces against the Catholics of Q ;ebec, you will admit, Mr. Caven, that we would be fully justified, were it only on the plea of reprisals, to rouse the Ca- tholics of the other Provinces against the Protes- taut minory of Quebec. What then would be the fate of that minority ? But fear nothing . the Catholics of Quebec are not aggressive ; all they ask is to live at peace with their Protestant fellow-countrymen and to have the satisfai-tion of being able to say, that in (1) Confederation Dehntas, i>. 4lJ. mmm wKmmmm I 1 61 the whole world there is not a single country where the minority is treated with as much justice and liberality as the Protestant minority in our Province. ' III TITHES — THAT EXGLIrill COURTS ARE DEGRADED BY BEING CALLED UPON TO ENFORCE THEIR COLLECTION *Vii I have already s t forth th.^ auioutit paid over by the tithe system to the Catholic clergy, and shown that on an average it does not give more than $500. 00 to each priest engaged in parochial duty. It is not excessive indeed ; and yet, accord- ing to Mr, Sellar, that amount of revenue allow.s the clergy to acciiinulato cousidjrab'e wealth and to support th'^se b.mevolent and educatioml bv^'d- tutions w'li.h are th.3 str..'ugth of our naioaaliiy. In spite of hiniseli',the publisher of the Gleaner th^ye admits thjit the ck-rgy makes a worthy use of the revenue derived from tithes. How.iver, as a quo.stiou of fa'jt, it mus* be said, that the greater part of the resources of our oldest benevolent institutions are derived from donations made under the French Crovernment without doing injury to any one. The Seminary of Montreal, that of Quebec, the Ursulines, the Ladies of the Congrogatio i and the Sisters of the Hotel-Dieu at Montreal, who do so much good, , . ■ 1 i 1 i mmmmm mm ; 62 draw the greater part of their revenue (Voin real estate. How can that atlect Protestants ? Mr. Sellar pretend.s that the introduction of the tithe system in parts ol'the Province situated outside of the seigniories is a violation of English institutions, a usurpation of the privileges of Pro- testants, because this territory should be governed exclusively by English huv. Further on 1 will treat of the introduction of English law in the country, and I will show that, on this as on other points, Mr. Sellar is in errur ; but, even were he right on this point, he still would be wrong in stating that the intro- duction of the tithe system in the towJiships is a violation of English law, because that system is essentially a part of the institutions of Grreat Britain. * TITHE8 IN IRELAND. % On this question also, I do not fear to com- pare the conduct of my compatriots Avith that of Protestants. Here, Catholics never dreamt of creat- ing a revenue for their clergy by compelling Pro- testants to pay tithes. In Ireland it was quite difterent. In many parishes exclusively catholic, members of that faith were obliged to pay tithes to a Protestant minister, who did not even reside in^the parish, fo»r the very sufhcieut reason that it contained no Protestants. And m that case it was not -a tithe of the twenty-sixth part of certain agricultural products, as with ns, but it was a 68 mimfi (ithe oi oue-tonth of the products of tfie soil, of cattU}, and even of salaries. That is what Protestantism has' done in Ireland! And it is in the name of Proteatantisra, which is guilty of these abominations, of Protestantim which for rnoru than two centuries so cruelly oppr^^bsed the Catholics of Ireland for the benefit of sinecurists among- the Anglican clergy and that by the enforcing of tithes ; it is in the name of this same Prol est autism, that you come to preach a crusade against the tithe system, as it exists in the Province ol Qui'be(.', where it does not in the least artect Protestants. A person may be audacious — audaces forluna juvat — yet it seems to me that these considerations should lead you and your colleagues of the Equal Rights Association, to understand that if there are people who cannot with deeency speak against tithes, it i,-s assuredly English Protestants who entertain v'our ideas. ii 'ifrUKS IN I-:N(iLAND. Indeed, if there be in the whole world a country where the tithe system has been and still is a part of the public law, it is England. This is admitted by all the authors who hav^ written on the laws oi'that conntry. This is what is said by Stephens in his commentaries : " These (Tithe. ) are a species of incorporeal " hereditaments, and are capable of being held " either by laymen or by the cle.igy in right of *' their churches Tithes are the tenth of the ar^*"'^""' mim 64 " iucreaso, yearly ariKing" from the profits and . " stocks upon the lands and on tlio porsoual in- " du.stry of thf^, inhabitants of the parish. The " firvst spe(?ios being nsnally, called prmdial, as of " corn, L^rass. hops and wood, or mixed, as of wool, «' milk, pigs ; tho other />^r.so?«a/, as of manual oc- «' cupations, trades, fisheries and the like. Of the " pr(jedial and mixed tithes only the tenfh part " mast be paid ia gro=!8, but- of peT.^onal rights *• only the tenth part of the clear prolils." (1) In virtue of commutation laws passed since 1836, tithes payable in produce have been replaced by taxes — lithe-rcnt-charge — payable, in money but eqiiivali'nt to the amount of tithe payable in pro- duce. ' This revenue, like the tithes which it re- present , is a privilegt.'d claim upon real estate. ' Tithes also exist in Suulland and the people of Ireland have good reasons to know of their exis- ence in their country. Hence, tithes form part of English law nnd if this law had been applied to those parts oi the Province situated outsid ,' of the seigniories, tithes would exist there also. What harm can there be that it exists only concurrently with the Catholic ' Church V HovA'" do -s it concern Protestants if Catholics pay their curH in wheat, oats, or barley, in place of paying them in money if it so please them? They only pay 'the twenty-sixth bushel, whilst if under the English law for which Mr. Sellar di8i)lays such love, they would have to pay one tenth not only upon their grain, but on their eattle, their wool, their wood, the products of their (1) mtephcn^s Cvmmcntmrica on'Jhe Luws of^Enjgland. vl II, i?,72* 65 indiTstry, in fact on c vcrything on their farins. French Canfldians do not long to enjoy this libe- rality of Enc^lish law, which would mak<' them pay two and a half as much for th'» support of their clergy,an(| reason ab'e Protestants will admit that they are not far wrong. CANADIANS AND T1T11E8 " At the rebellion ol" 1837, t^ays Mr. Sellar,. the habitants w^ere stimulated to take part in it, because one of thi? rel'orras piomi^ed was the abolition of tithes." This lalsehood is found in uo other .s(»rious work than in the report of Lord Duiiiam. The gentleman of the G/r.iiner would ])e much troubled if he were called upon to prov«» this false as^scrtion. " A miscouoeptiou tobe avoided is," said Mr, Sellar a few lines IWrtlie;', '' that the tithes repre- sent all that thehnbitaut vion tributes to the sup- port of his clerg-ynian To secure a pew, he has to pay a yearly rentil, and. for all the rites and services of church and prie.tt, he has to pay." LYING FOR THE PLEASFKE OF LYING The above simply proves that Mr. Sellar lies for the mere pleasure of lying or else that he is ignorant of plainest part of the question on which he writes. T^ie pew rents belong to the Fabrique ; that which is paid for Church servicers and other rights — surplice fees, mortuaries of the English Church — also belongs to the Fabrique^ except a slight percentage iu favor of the curi. In his 5 ■•". i .^>! ■ ■ I ' ,4^m« if-^y 66 Manuel dea Paroisses, Sir Hector Laugevin positively asserts *' that the ijoods and revonnes of tin; l^'abri- ' que are composed of: lo real estate iu ownovship ''or eiijoymeut ; 2o rents; 80 pew-rents; 4o " amount of collections ; 60 amount dispositod iu '• poor boxes ; (io donations-; lo furniture and •' moveable effects ; 80 thu' /uv/«7 '" Catholics have al)solutel\' nothinu^ else lo pay. If the^e revenues belou;^' to the Fahruiue, which is mana<^pd ))y the Trujitces or inn.ru^mHiers, as ;igent'«i and mandataries of the parisliioncrs, what should we think of the assertion of Mr. Sellar who states thot they ail belonc' to the curd ? l^haL the tithe»_ may be pp.id in '.'.ertain cases ''with repug/iaiice," is quite possJl>l(\ for among Catholics as well as among Protectants, th;!re are people who do not like to pay their debts. But the«e are isolated cases, they are the exception and not the rule, and in speaking in general terms ivs he has done, the Oleimcr rmui is guilty of calumny. Apostle of ii.'uf.lwion !tt . AH these reckless assertions are ridiculous and can only injure the reputation of the man who pub- lishes the-m ; this ju^^tilk's me in not insisting fuiitAier on the subject ; but in spcaki)ig of the collection of tithes and of tkt right to enforce thedr payment by legal proceiss before the courts, Mr. Cellar openly be(-»omes the apostle of irreligion aporstacy, and even of atheism. According to him, the English courts are guilty of a crime in lending their assistance for the recovery of tithes, and he •iii-ii- ..j-u j^imK^mmm^ %1 wants to know if the tribunal of tlio British Empire should participate^ iu oiiforcjus^ *• those domands and bocome the collectors of those con tribiitions." t Two authorities have the right to euforco tht? payment of tithes : civil uiithonty aud religious authority, [f you rtimove the first, the other aloiio will remain But the Catholic;, who eaten up by avarice, would profcr his money to his religion, need only apost;itize in order to free himself froiu the religious aujthority of the Church. To i-r-iC him from the cu'il authority and submit him to eccle- siastical authority alone, would be place him on the road which would necessarily lead to irreli- gion, apostucy and even atheism. And it is this which Mr. Sellar claims, in th- Jiame of Protestan- tism and Christian principles ! I do not hesitate to say that in becoming the champion of tliis abominable doctrine, the Gleaner man preaches a theorv which is immoral and anti-religious, which deserves the reprobation of all good Christians and es{>eciaUy of the Equal liights Assooiaition,if it have the least respect for religious sentiments. In support of this assertion, will cite the opinions of Weddorburne, a Protestant, whose opinions are at least worth as much as those of the gentleiiikin of the Gleaner. In the course of the debate on th«e Act of 1774, some mem^^ersjof the House of Commons proposed the suppression of titlios. This remarkable man, whom I haye just namod, opposed the motion, or the reason that it vi^s of a nature to encourage apostacy -and irroligion. •^ 68 " But then it is coiai)! Mined, says th« Solioitor- " G-enoTiil (1) that thost^ cU'igy are to he allowed J* to hohl, ivcoivo and on joy iheir a 'customod dues *' and rig-hts. What! Sir, would youtohirato their " reli«^ion, , s. Y.) Sect. A'ilL" that ail his Majesty's (;ana- " dian subjecfs within the Province of Quebec,.... ' may also hoKl and enjoy their property and * possessions, togetluv wltk all customs' and mages i i n I I M ' 70 ^'relative thereto and all other their civil rights; " and that in all matters of controversy, relative " to property and civil rights, resort shall be had " to the laws of Canada, as the rule for the deci- " sion of the same ; and all causes that shall here- " after he ijistiiuted in any of the Courts of Jus- •* fice, to be appointed within and for the said " Province by his Majesty, his heirs and succes- '* sors, shall, with respect to sa»^h properh' and " rights,be determined agreeably to the said laws "and customs of Canada... (14 Geo TTI {1114} " ). 83. s. vni. " DeclaRcVtion of Lord Thttrlow The text is quite positive ; but its sense be- comes much clearer, if we see the mte" retatiou given to the Act by the Minister? wh ^.rt pared it as well as by other members of the liouse of Com- mons, In explainiug the tenor of the Bill, atto"- ney-g^etieral Thurlow said in formal terms ; (1) '' In order to make an acquisition ei flier " available or secure, this sei'uis to )ne to be the line " that ought to be followed — you ought to change " those laws only which relate to the French " Sovereignty, and in their place substitute laws " which should rehite to the new. Sovereign ; but •* with respect to all other laws, all other customs '* and institutions whatever, which are indilfurent to the state ol subjects and sovereign, human- " ity, justice and wisdom equally conspire to " advise you to leave them to the j^eople just as the were." [1] C'AYfiNDisu* Dfljaies on Cwudaliill (^lT7iiP,SXl, n Section IX of the aci of 1*774, reads as follows. ■* IX, Provided always that nothing- in this '' act contained shall extend, or he construed to *' extend to any lands that have oeen granted " by His Majesty, his heirs and successors, 'o be " holdon in free and common soccage." (14 G-eo. " 111, (1774) c. 83 s. IX.) It is upon this clause that Mr. Sellar grounds his claim that the Act of 1V74 restricced French law and the parish system to the seigniories. L»*t us examine the interpretation which should be giren to this article of the const itutiou of 1774. Ob.tect of the Act of 1774.— Application: of Skction YIH. No one will, 1 .suppose, '<^<'ly separate the French Canadians Irom the English colonists and to esta- blish the latter in the Province of ISrew-Eughuid. as much as possible on the borders of the sea. This was stated in express terms }>)■ solicitor-general "VVedderburne. l)ut the dilFieulty was to ascertain if the southern boundary, ais defined in the Bill, did not encroach on the territory of the province of New-York and if it were not of s\v:h a natur»3 as to affect the riglit.s of the inhabitants of that colony, who pos>eysed lands under • nglish tenure and were governed by the law ot Erii;laud. It was asserted that by * hanging t-r dehning th& l'ronii»r, the King could deprive thetolonists of New-York arid of other Knglit-h colonies of the advantages of English law and submit them to 1 ■H wm il Ill tl;: 'I .12 wliaf wascallid ihe davory of theFrcncli regime, by including (h(m in ;h • UTritory of thepro.vince oi'Ci:rl), (' -wh^ch was to b ' fxolosively Kubjoctcd to Frtr'udi Jaw8. To a^. av tlu'-e fear^. th<*re wf^re intiodiu id 111 the bill th»' /rroviso oontaiiud in section \1 and the one cit d h/ Mr. Sellar which u muy its i.'OJoHa'y.ljut ill spioa iM),as it clearly and Tjtiidunliud y !:'Pi>' ars by the debate in ihe House oi' Cuuiir.ons. :,ppl - d on y to the lands above- me;. .o;:! d, that is to i^ay, to th<' bo'di'V partis of thi- ii^.igliMh colonies which niig'ht be inflnded in the ; ;:iv]uc»» of Qiieb'ic by ih'3 deliraii'ition of the fio" ; V li'.io, and not at al t» that pari of the Pro"iii •(• comprised between th^' Hcigniories and th'^ V'iii'lii^oring coloni 's Avh ch to-day forms the town- h ;v. BnrAe, who devo'ed himself specially to I'.* jnttter, set it Jorth very Icar in x\v coinse of tiiod b.iic upon ;he bi n C'rrsION OF SiTIlKE.— EXFLAN,4TT0N OF ( lA Section vtii. In \]i ■ !i ft p!a e, when ) heind that thi.- Itili was to be b.-ought n o;. ili ' ]ui:ici}>le tb ■■; pj.rlianieut w^ere t < I'raw a line oi circum- V.,: ai.on al ont onr (O-Oiiies, and to vNlnblribh a S( l-j.:' of orbitraiy jxAver, hj bri?i^wg around adout C(,nti' amd hues, from those of h** inhabitants Ju.' 01 )o d- ■ < .y. [ iho 'jht t 11 d( he liiu'4ust ira- rta)ic«- ti at w sliou eiide v dvr till! ]»f undai V a- (tear a^ -nibl' . i coil' < i v*-d if ne. ^Je'^^ar^' lur K I nr tv < >f th f iS 1 \\r)0 arc TO he ('AVrM !St iJ I U'.. 4 C» C'a >ltl(; J! I n. \, V 1-eq / •73 ,/ m (t «• i' i( (( a a i( <' (' i' le oi Canada acquie.sced in. They have since come before his mnjesty's govermncut, and have laid bi>forv' it a complaint in which tln-y state, that this was a line drawn esj)e<'ially ibr the purpose of territorial jurir^diciioii, and the secuf rity of propi^rty : but they represent it is a line iil-.suited ibr a growiug country.... This line, thoy say, is ouly lifteen leagues distant from Montreal, and yet it is only on this i^ide that ihe lands' are ferUle and that-agricultuie can be ( ullivatud loinuch advantage So far as this ])i)l convey tj to the natives of that country every right, civil and religious, held either by the ^r-at charter of nature, or by the treaty of HOS, or by the King's proclamation, or by what above all it oucht to h" held by. the Iv jikv. the equity* th«^ justice of good government,— ! would gi^e the enjoyment of these in the largest and most beneficial manner ; but the very same line of justice, which 1 would extend to the subjects of (ireat Ib'itain ought not, in my opinion, to be eouceded .o the old Canadians. " Hrtviuff drawn the li)u' that best be^^omes 14: i i « ''Si (( a (i t( n it I. I, (I I ( It 4( il U tl tl t ; l( l( k( It (( (( u tl u l( <. ll t< the regulatiou of right, the quosti(5ii oomes now — whether what they ask is a favor which cau be granted them, without doing a material iujuiy to uie most substaulial rights of otiiers ? whether tlie etfect of the power given by this clause may not be to reduce Briti,s>h free subjects to French slaves ? Now if the line drawn from Lake Nipissing is to be altered, at whose expense will it be altered ? The colony of New- York claims all the country south of that Hue till it meets with some other British colonics of known boundaries ; and these are claims which ought at least to ha heard, before the fieople of Ihat. rolorby are handed over to the French u^'overnmeiit. " " Howvver, after this line had been settled to forty-live degrees, it was found that the French and English maps differed very considerably as to the position of this dt>gfeo' ; and this diifer- ence occasioned a great deal of confusion, io that tke colony of New-Y©rk, which bouad next to Cauada, had perpetual controversy about the limitary line, though they agreed that the line should be settled at forty-live degreas, they never agreed where the forty fifth drovides " for individuals, that they may hold their pro- *' perty ; bnf theij must hold it Kuhfect to the Frcn'-k ^'Judges, vhthoutthe bme/if. of trial hy ptryy i Explanations of Iawm North. "Lord North spoke after Burke: (l)"The " ohjectiou I have is precisi3ly what tho honorable " gentleman has mentioned. I am not (dear whe- " ther there are not upon the south-east part of *''th' Kiver St. Lawrence Canadian settlements. I '' h!)ve been int'orm* no in'onvnicuce in the world in " drawing this line > no injustice in the world to [1] CAVi;NnrHU. DpIhiIvh of the OtHml < Hill c/ 17-4 p. 192. 11 " Canadians, moT** injustice in drawing an imagi- '• nory lino, that may involve the whole colony " of N"t>w-York in confusion, f should be extrcmc- '' ly tender of the privilege of thn suhj.'ct ; and " therefore I wonld not disturb any man living in " his property. Bat the fact, i.<, no in.in is injured '• by what I pro[)Ose ; but by what the uoble lord " proposeH, if Canada is in future to have boun- '' dario.s determined by the choice of th^ Crown ; «' th».' Crown is to have th'.> pov\'"''r of putting a " great part of the subjects of England under ' laws, whi<'h are not the laws of Ijlugland.. '' Upon the noV)le lord's proposition, half the colony '* of New- York raay be adjudged, and some of it " must l>e adjudged, to belong to the colony of " Canada. The fate of forty or til'ty thousand souls " is involved i;i this qu^.stion. At present the " colony of New-York is the crown's. Th.' noble '• lord may adjudge it to belong to Pennsylvania, " hut he cannot deprive it of th? laws ofE:iglaud. *' Now, however, by an act of Parliament hj is " going to do it. The Crown has tha power, -.1 i " stroke to reduce that country to slavery The " parties here are English liberty aud French hw ; " and the whole province nf Neiv- York further than it " is defined by ictual bonud^s is in the power of the " Crovm, not to adjudicate but to g lut and hand " over to th'' French. I do not suppose if tho " Crown were under the necessity of adjudging, " that it would adjudge amiss ; but it is in the " power of the Crown to grant even its power of " adjudging. "When put on the English side, they '' are put in the power of the lawb ; where put on •78 " the French side, they ar^^ put out oi' the power " of the law.^. " Those citations are rather 1 on sj: ; hui it was necessary to give tliem iu order to sho-yv that the proviso meutioued by Mr. Sellatr applies purely and exclusiv«?ly to those parts of the Proviuoe of New-Yorlv which the Kiiii^' mig-ht iuchidc iu the Province of v^^uebec, aud that it applies only to •tiioraiiOie or in bad faith v. ho would pretend the contmry. SeNSH of SkOTION VIII As 1 have previously said, section VIII, oii^' which Mr. So-llar founds his claim, is only the corollary of seotdoii II and was added only for the purpose of giving an assurance, to iX)louisls of that part of the Province of New-York which might be Jiiinexed to that of Q(ueb;?c, by the determining of the bouu(lariv>s, that t;ven if they became there- by 'inhabitants ofthe French province, they would still be govtij-ncd by l^iglish law. Otherwise clause VII which as.sures to Oftthtplics the free exercioe of their roligiaii and inipfias the exis- tence of the parish systi^«n, would be void df sease. And at any rate, if the object of Hie bill had beew to limit the applic th :i\we- of ii id. tliiii thj Imperial Oovoriunint which had prepared and pa.ssed the Bill. In 1775, the t>overnra(int revoked its preTious instructions with reu;ard to iht* <;pu co'^siou of laudw and gave other iuitructsons! to the colonial authorities," o^'d^mui^ 'hat in the future all eouce.ssions of lands by the Crown should bi' Kiad'^ according to the. ^(ngnorial sys- t\.nTi, in ilefs and ' -igniories, that is to say acx^or- dine: to Frencn lay ; this clearly proTtiS that the Aft »f 1774 applied French law and customs, the jK^rish system likt^ the , lesfc, to all th" Province without any resnrvo. On "this point, we bare the evideu'-e af John Davidson, the Commissioner of Lands, who was thoroughly conv^n-sant with llic (jues'tion. In the course of the enqairy iusti- uted by Ldird Durham, on t4>^ land tenure in ISSP, tiiis is what Mt'-. Davi^lson said : " From the acquisition of ttin? Province in 17G8 " up to abouf 1775, land was granted tinder instruc- " tions from the Crown Iramed in England under ' location tickets in free and common saecage " Tn iTlo, these instflructious appear to h«vebeen ^1 I ]•< 'I ! ) i ill I ill !^ ■^0 •' eupersidod by iiifsi ructions tVoin tho Homt; Gov- '• erumcut, which diivcted that all lauds theu or " theroai'tor to be sul>Jeet to the disposal of tho •* Crowu, should be jjmntt'd in fiet luid suig-niory, " in like man jut as was pra-'tised autecodout to " tho conquest but omitting any reservaliou of "judicial powers. Under these instructions, three " seigniories aj>pear to have been granted. Tliese " instructions appear to have been niodiii*' Fr(-iiih laws. It Wiis perioetly tru^ that " in Lo^Vl•r (,'anada, there still remained a jiiimber "of lilui'lmh fc^ubjects ; but these would hold a '• murh ; mil Uer proportion ihaii if there was one '• iVom of governmeiit for every part of ih> pro- " vince. It was for Upper Canada partiuularly that " tliev w .n' to expect a great addition of English inhal )i',aJilK. (1), Th( pro'-iamalion refer-';ed to was made iu lY6-:> ; and bij Ihc ari aj 1 1 all English laws had been ahoHshed etri^pt I he C'rminal law. {2) . " At present i]v' Canadian;, "were iu posses? ion '• of the criminal law of England tuid the ci\^il law •." in many re^pe'ls, but wo/ a.^ to landrd j/rdperlv " It was intended to coiitinue the laws mow iu " force in Quebec (;]) The Upi>er Canada " being aimost entirely peopled by imig'-ants *' from Great Britain or irom America, the Protes- IJ] PailitinciUarv Histovj of Kusiaiul v.il, 29, (Oluua 4(i2. I2l Piirliameulary Hiptory of Eui^land vol. 2:». coHikhi 101. [3]' Parliamcului-y Uintoiy ot'Kii^litili. v«l. -v. coluinu 1378. •J> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // {^/ ^ l/j ^f M 1.0 I.I 1.25 "' IlillM - Illl|12_ }\. m J40 M 12.0 1= U IIIIII.6 P^ % >y 'c*l /^ cm '^ '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 i-V v ^\^ ^^ A \ ^1> <^ 6^ .<^..% 4. I iij . i-jjjjk ji J — i- i — ■ J. ■ «2 LI " Unit it'li«>;ioji would he ih.- <'>labli.sliinri>t and " they would liuvo lh«» beiierit ol' tlif, iMifli.-h ' tenure law (1)." Fox expressed himsell even in more positivii ierms : '■ WhiMi the ]*rovilice wa-< dividt'd it w.i.s " meant to le:ive th* Kre!i<*h laws in l\v' ow dis- " tiict and the l-lniriish laws in theoth"i' : the eon- seqnenee ol wh ich would he, that in l^ow.-r " Canada, which eonsisted piineipaly of iMvueh '' iuhal>'tants, all the Freiieh laws would .oplinuii "in I'c roe till altered by the h'g ^lation ol" the " country. ('2) ^ All this, it must be adinitteil, prov(\s without any doubt that the A<'t ol' 1774 established French laws and the s"ig-nioruil tenure, in the whole extent ol' the territory ol the Frovinee ol' Quebec, witliout any reserve what>oeN<'r. Mr. Sellav cannot therdbrt' niak<' g-ood his assertions about the Act ol 177 I, whose sense and bearing cannot leave any doubt. Can lie rest his pretensions on the Af Lower Canada, and where the grante ; ihi'veof shall desire th' same to be granted in free aud common soccage, the same ;hall be so \\] I>arli;iiii''ie;iiv TtUtiir.v ol' K:iKl.\nil S'l'I. !", i-ollimil 1371* [21 P.-trliameutir/ ni«t. ul' i;;iifl«inl, vi»l 'JO, v la nii \W, It y MR \ 88 " grautod ; but subj^ot ueverthl»v?s to such altora- " tions, -to. etc. 31 a^o. Ill (1791) c. 81, s. XLIII. Thi8 is thf? ouly part of the Aet of 1191 which iiiiroducos into Lo\v t oi' 1774, the right to con- cede all laniLs in ii'fs and seigniories if it should think fit so to do. ^ ' Ai-r ov 182/) Mr. Sellar nuntions in BU}>port of his proposi- tion th'» statute of 1>!2o-— Gi-orge TV., chapter 59. What does this statute lay down relative to the question at hand .^ Simply the applieatiou of English law relative to inheritnu'es, mutations of propert y and dowi-r.!. of women, as to propertieis held in free and common so:ation anv vvhere, it has b^en committed lo the dcfriment of th.- Fvcn li-Caua- dian.s and of the Catholif s orilu- ProvimH- of Que- hf'c The Act of 17t)l «lepriv'.^d us of the ImoA part of the territorv which the A( t of 1774 ijuarantee*! to US, as a country \vh i'' vvc louhl n\ iull lihvrty enjoy our civil and lelii^ioub insiitulions. our parish system nx, well as {hd n-M. There w 'r*^ at that time in Upper Canada Frendi-rauadians and Catholics who were deprived of the iree .'xerciso of their iiisiitutions. and if iu iiuitation of tht* evil example which you give us, we desired, :■ - you and your friend*:, to rouse prejudices of rar«^ a).d relijjion, we could with every right claim, for thi' Cat hoIic« of Ontario, that which you urg«' upon the Equal l{ighfs A.-sociation of Ontario to chiini without right or reason for the Proleslauts of Qu( bi'c. Pkotkctive PnovisKixs Thus, tht^ parish system might h^ enforced in thi' whole Province of Quebi^- ; hut we have placed limits oi\ thi?* power by adopting, in favor of ihe Protestant minority, protective measures. It i.s kijo\vn that according to our laws, I he territory erected into a parish by Iheeivil authority in the seigniories, becomes thereby a municipal corporation. 86 The towns'liip.s have btHUi exompled'tVom tlio above la\v by t^peoial prorisions so as not to attect their iMU'iuipal orgaiiiz;itioa ; the ("^neurronoe of th<> two thirds; of tho members of thi? county fonm-H is rnqiiiri'd for siii'h a chniig<\ (See article '2!> et .sfq (;fthc Municipal Code of the Provin» e of Qncbi'c.) Here we see the careful alteutioii which the majority of this Province disi)lavs in the exercise of H.-^ rights, iu order nor, to hurt thu feclini^h and sdisci'piibilities of the minority. And it h in prest?nce of taet8 like these, that fanatics coraplain and insult us I FINAL REMARKS You will lasily understand. Sir. that in the miid.si. oi' the numerous and pressing occu- patiouK of a parliamentary .scfision. it is impossible for me to prepare as conii)]etc a refutation, as J would wish to mike, oJ' the errors, false represen- tations and calumnies which go to make up Mr Sellar's pamphlet i only have touched upon the most serious ones. My fellow (*ountrymen under- stand it well and the\ are reasonable and just enough not to demand ih.'it I should further defemltheni: but they aie requested to com- plete my woi"k. - ' . I.'homplete as it may be, I trust that this refutation wiil show to the honest Protestants what, they must think of the pampiilet which, has provoked it, and to the E<]uai Kights .\ssocia- tion, the eompromi.>ing ]>o4tion inio which it has beon placed bv its iellow-laborcr. M. Sellar. llUNORf: MfJii'CIEK. Prime- MiYid vTc r !!=!?HSWf5arT!l5!=TSr?^^ mf^ ^m'^^ ANALYTICAL INDEX I. — The Disabilities of Pbotestants in thk Pro- vince OP QUEBKC . » ■ ' ^' ■ 'Mu. Sei.t.ar's 1-etteh PAGE Question treated from tlie point of view of the protestaut farmer 3 The Church of Rome in the Province of Ontario and the Province of Quebec 4 Absolutlam an«l wealth of the Chunjh of Woinu in the Pro- vmoe of Quebec ■') The parish system 5 Thpi Catholic Priest an-l the building of (Miurch.rH 5- ') Tithes 7 Tithes and the Law 9 The Union ofCluiroh and Stfiti in the Province of Quob.^c endangers the peace of Canada 10 The Church of Rome and the Eajtern Townships 11 Cause of Protestants leaving the Province of Quebec 12 The exteudiuj; of the parisli system to the townships is tlie violation of an en>;a.i:ement and a usurpation 13 State of the Province of Quebec at the time of its cession ' iTflto England 13 The Imperial autiioiities corrupt the Clergy — The Act of 1774 re-establishos tithes 14 The pai>ish system was to apply only to tlie seigniorial do- main and not to land conceded in free and common soccage 1 4 Colonization in the Eastern Townships -"English Quebec" and" Frencli Quebec"' , 15 The erection of canonical parishes and the Legislature. — Enci'oachmenta of thoChurch of Home J6 Conclusions : — " It is an outr.ige and a crime to maintain a law which offers a bonus to the Clergy of the Church of Homo to disjiossess men and women of their homes . on account of tlieir oree I and nationality.' 19 ■4... 8t. II. — ANSVVEI; 01" TUJi lioNoKABLE Mr .vIeUCIKR, Tlio Eqinl llightrt A^soobtiou and tlu; letter of Mr. Sellac, —Two rea.^nns prompt ifr. Mcioier to lefutt^ that letter: I'. The Etiu;i! Ifi^'iits Association iuus taken thvi ri'spoiisiibility ol" iho letter ; 2o This le;ter !.■, ^^ ti»^iii> i)foiTorn of iHct, rji'hUtory anilapiireciaiion 22 i'HR (/'atholio nitiruni : — The Cath'jlio doiUviu.) u.> to tlv rohitlons of nimi-i'li mid Stuto '..ipiiiiou ofMgr. (.'ava^nis iJrt-iiS SubiiiK-ion ol" tli'^ C;i,tlioUo Ciiurch to civil authority out- -iidt^ oC the piinly vohgioi.H domain. — Doclaratlon of l)v ir)vsloy, in the House of U}i'(U 29 As a ('hii;'.di, tha L'limch of K^niin does nof pos-^t'se one iiiili oi land iu the proviucf, olviueln'o 30 jjimitation ol' the right to i>osse3a land for purpo.sys of rfiHgioiia worrihip — ifovi-ied Statutes '■•(' the I':'Ovinc« orQuohtio, articl') •')4")0... ' 30 KcciU^siastical properti«"< ar«' not plat'od outside of the law rtvspccting iuiiuovoaldes ;^l f'ropt^rtios jious woishiji— .MuiiioijMl '"'o<|c, art. 7!?. as oenetioial to Frolestant.- as to < ;\tholi( • 3.'> Numh'-i of t'atliolic ('lor!.''ytn«"M accordin!/ to the consus onS'--*.heir iisorohiesf. as regards tho work oi education aod cbnrity... ;!8-,39 Advantage- of eharitai>ie religious (•oiniuunities overlay ' mililishuionts, us regjwds cost and eeiinoiny.— I'uhlic a eount.- 'M' 1SS9 '. 8'.M0 '■ood woi'k done bv religion- oomuiunities Testimony of tho lion. .1. ti.'Uohfr^rtson ,41 42 i'ublio Instiuetiou attd the teaching orders from an oeono- miijil poijit ol view 1;> Taxation and reli^^ious oommunities. In uiiat exemption of taxes consists, ant| thf reasons iherelore 44 46 Estimate I nmnher of miMnher.'? of the (Uorgy antl of reli- gious eominuniiies. — Comparison with the 1'rote.stant Clergy 47-48 Expenses of a Catholic priest and of a Protestant minis- ter.— Employment of their revenues .)OaI ^1 1 1 wwm ^r The pmri^ 6y4t<(*m b ind«4#todent of the seignuM'iHl touui;e; —Opiirion of jbrDawi^on .\ ,...;i,.. 53 Role ot thet dui iirl of the laity m l•045a^^^ tho canonical fllUBiiBlril er<»cl4on of pfti-ialiftv, tlw mlniinistttttion of . f«hriqtie«t the collection »f ta.:t*'>, oto. — Ojdtiious of f^ir Heotor lAngevin, Ju'lg« Reautivy an 1 Dr DHW8on.'»S,54 C»U.%«# Wjhioh, atftording to Dr IHtWKon, imppl ProtRftlants af the Eftstertt To%»-iMhi [>» to eraigrat i- Prot«stftnt3 h»ve tUe4r own Bchoo!^s anir .loUu Hose... ,. t.-i > Tithtjs arf an ^ft©nfc!*l jwu't ol UH" )«i^tilut^O:)s of En^lau' i. ^') TitboH hi Iv.>!niid ami R>\4?liina— Upivunji of Stt^phons (iiJ.()4 It IH luitt-.ie ^ > 8uy that the HUtHors ofih( nwolntjon of iH;j7 in '•iilH^'-t t!io libolitioii i>f t.it!i.-.> on tlu-i^' f»?o. (jrainni*' of r>^ft»rm!i....- ApJti*t froul tjthvs, all the jvveaiuv; of th.? IJInu'cii belong to thii Fti^r/V/i/c pbd Tiot to thf "/''(»■'■ ..,..,...,.. u''< "Why it in n»>> ewtjiiry !h*it th** civil iuith'd'fy ^houM fnfojcc the p. ty infant of titliw.— Opinion of Solicitor-Geii'iftl \Vf>dt!«'!bma.io on tiie«uhjt*ot \... .'. ('(.(k^ ThH 1?A}lfSH JiYSTiiM AKIJ ftfiJ hi^W '. — Tlip Ao't of 177 ! j-ntuhlis) .(l fiTiicli lav.' as r<»gardi. th(^' • (Jatholi"' 5. 'i;ii<'fu jnojH'fty utkI dvii ngiiti'^ 69 DpclttiAtjoii Of ]'OVi\ Thuclo'v a-i to th«« uitorpr( f.Uion th.^ Aotof 17'^4 : ! V** ^Vh>^t wito tlu- oxuiiu ol ihe LYovijU'*-) oi" Que'ueo u,t the bin»e of the iiO'.iiii.g into for-'' of th" Act of .It"*-!— ^ Ojiloion of Biirko jiikJ ix>\\\ N .rih 72-7." Th»; pri>vi!i> of tbi« .Vet of I7'/4,iv;'.'ir.lin,,' laU'JiS li'^lii in iVt- <• .'in.i rujumoii sng<- v.^s in-crtei to i)/c>.'i-.-t the P'lt- tlevs of oew'York , . T':)-?^ Intf I'piettttion of the Act of 1774 by tli" hujeiiivl Ojvevn- m»^nt — Opinion of Mr.T)Hviflson - ......7^79 Opinion of Fitt ; »' By ihe A'-.tof 1774 ;ill t)if En.i;!=sli laws vweve aboli.-^he'l, except the crimiiii'l law "..,. 81-82 J|ta|||M:^ibn of Fox in the same sense...., 82 iTfc^^^tttbHshment of the parish systeiu in tho^e paita of li^ Piovinci'? situated outside of the. seigniories is( the tjceroif^e of » -right whieL always belonged to the flBtho'.!'"'. j 84 ffotMtion of ihe Protestant minority; \ 85 «)■*■, ■it^t^ «<(i>i4b]^ yA*^*^ uiuv; 52 nicftl n of If. ol" »on..'i8.iH lants