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BY , .V-5 1 ^ru RON TO: fkiXTI-I) AT TH': "I.krnSH AiMKRTCAN PRrSBVTFK] AN " OFF^CK. ;( I'/ ,'^ •:^i> X875. J;--\^ tttmmem t ■ j' ■ i J, , h .j 1 1 r ' ■ ' ,\: \.. *' ■ 1 ( * } '4 ' ^'..'iii..'' 1 I. • » H - V,': ■ f «^ ■ ^M PR Cj primI THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH iDsr c^^isr^LD-A., AND THE CANADIAN NORTH-WEST. BV REV. GEORGE BRYCE, M.A., Senior Profi'ssor of Manitoba College, Winnipeg, TORONTO: PRINTED AT I'HE "BRITISH AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN" OFFICE. 1875. l3/?yc £^ d THE xtsh^ttxhn (9)butcti in <£i»na(lM, AND THB CANADIAN NORTH-WEST. JANADA, united into a great Confederacy in 1867^ acquired in 1869 by gift from tlie mother country a vast inheritance — so great in extent that a correct estimate of even that portion popularly known as " the North-west " cannot easily be formed. Beginning at Fort William, on Prince Arthur's Landing, on Thunder Bay, Lake Superior, in long. 89° W., the North-west extends along the parallel of 49" N. lat., the boundary line between Canada and the United States to long. 113'' VV. — 1500 miles — until it meets in the Rocky Mountains the boundary of Canada's most western Province, British Columbia. From this base f/te North-west extends, widening as it stretches northward, and does not stop short even where the Arctic Circle is reached. It is true there are in this vast expanse immense wastes from which the settler need never attempt to dislodge the hunter and ^trapper; but there remains a region of arable and fertile land 880 miles in length, with an average breadth of j 75 miles, and an area of a million and a half of square miles, which if peopled as ^densely as the State of Illinois would sustain 75 millions, or as densely as France 275 millions of people. It seems to be the will of Providence that Canada, with her four millions of inhabi- tants, should, with her own surplus population and that of other :ountries, especially of the more populous countries of the Old •f World, fill up and subdue this magnificent inheritance. That the young Dominion is grappling manfiilly with the task is seen in the thirst for information in the older Provinces about the North-west ; in the extraordinary movement, during the little more than four years since Canada came into her possessions, in projecting an advance guard of nearly 10,000 of her men and women by a tedious and difficult route into this new land ; and in the fact that the Dominion has decreed to disburse one quarter of her whule expenditure in constructing a Railway to facilitate the opening up of this extensive domain. It is not the object of the present pamphlet to set forth the facts regard- ing the dryness and salubrity of the climate, the fertility and workableness of the soil, the general healthfulness of the North- west^ and the many advantages oft"ered the settler in the free grants of land, exemption from taxation, and the possession thus early in the history of the country of free institutions and educational privileges. Much has been already spoken and written in regard to these topics, by others and by the writer. The object at present in view is to impress upon the re-united Presbyterian Church, as the strongest Protestant Church of the Dominion, the clamant necessities of the North-west. INDIAN WORK. There are it is estimated in the region known as the North-west 80,000 Indians, scattered for the most part in itin- erant groups and bands along the shores of its rivers and innumerable lakes, but increasing in numbers and power toward the west, until at the prairies, at the foot of the Rocky Moun- tains, camps numbering hundreds or even thousands are to be found, deriving subsistence from the herds of buffalo that roam the plains. For some of the Churches the vast region of Rupert's Land has, during half a century, afforded a field for heathen ; f . That i is seen Dout the le little lessions, er men w land ; urse one Iway to is not regard- iity and ? North- the free ssession ons and ^en and ; writer, j-united li of the as the in itin- rs and toward Moun- e to be It roam iipert's eathen \ missions. With characteristic zeal a Jesuit father accompanied the French discoverer of Lake Winnipeg, M. Verandeye, in 1 73 1 in his voyages, and French priests long since passed through the country with the voyageurs of the Nor'-West Com- pany. In 1818 the Roman Catholics made their first decided effort to take possession of the country. Since that time their efforts have been most persistent, and there is scarcely an Indian tribe that has not some of its number nominal Chris- tians at least, being baptized into the Roman Catholic faith. The mere nominal Christianity inculcated is not such as can satisfy any one who has an earnest desire for the eternal salva- tion of the Indian, and it is very doubtful whether his new faith is more reasonable or in any real sense more Christian than the rude belief of his ancestors. Hundreds and hundreds of bap- tized Indians can be found in the North-west who are not one iota less heathen than they were before baptism. As regards these cases, in 'building on another man's foundation,'" Christian prudence or fairness offer no objection whatever. It is interesting, however, to state that so early as the year 1820 that F>angelical body, the Church Missionary Society, turned its attention to the Indian Mission of Rupert's Land. Much good work has been done by this Society ; its mission- aries have generally been men of piety — and in some instances men of culture. In 1857 the Society maintained twelve mission- aries in Rupert's Land, at an annual cost of ;^6,ooo stg., and had expended ;!{^5o,ooo between 1822-57. It is true a number of these missionaries have decayed ; the zeal for missionary labour has not at all times been as great as it should have been ; but there can be no doubt that the Church of England has done a work of great and lasting benefit among the Indians of the North-west. There are now four Bishoprics in the North-west, viz. : i. Rupert's Land, mostly confined to Mani- toba, and doing little Indian work. 2. Moosine, a diocese on ^t. the slope towards Hudson's Bay, and almost exclusively Indian. 3. Saskatchewan, a newly established district, in which hitherto the Church of England has done little, but containing within its limit the great tribes of Crees and Blackfeet, the most numerous Indian tribes of the Northwest. 4. Athabasca — a region along Mackenzie's River, and an extensive Indian field. The present bishop, formerly an English barrister of ability, has a strong stafif of clergy, and is working strenuously to teach real Christianity in the face of the Jesuit system. The Methodist Church of Canada has also successful missions aiaongst the Indians. One at the northern extremity of Lake Winnipeg is said to have 400 communicants, and several important points in that region of country are occupied by the laborious men who have been rewarded as signally as any missionaries in the whole North-west. The Saskatchewan missions of the same church are also somewhat extensive. Fort Edmonton, ahnost in sight of the Rocky Mountains, being the centre of the group. The Presbyterian missions among the Indians are of recent date, but they have not been wanting in encouraging features. It is true they liave not been blessed with the great results thai followed the Presbyterian efforts among the Sioux, in the Synod of Minnesota to the South of us, where a com- plete Indian Presbytery of Dakota has its eight ministers, and each congregation its pure Indian representative Elder. This Indian Mission of the American Church was begun so long ago as 1834, and although dealing with the bloodthirsty Sioux, the grace of God has softened the hard heart of many a brave who has gloried in his ten and twenty scalps. In connection with this it should be remembered that from 1834 to 1862 there were only 80 converts, while since 1862 the number of communi- cants has risen to 800. The Indian Missions of the Presby- terian Church in Canada never looked so hopeful in their short \ t Indian, hitherto r within le most )asca — a an field, ability, to teach iccessful xtremity ints, and Dccupied ;nally as Ltchewan xtensive. IS, being are of ouraging he great e Sioux, a com- ters, and r. This long ago oux, the ave who with this ere were Dmmuni- Presby- eir short existence as now. We only began in 1866, when the Rev. James Nesbit, a man unobtrusive in his piety but steady and persevering in his good intention, took up his post at Prince Albert, at the point where the two branches of the Saskatchewan unite, probably one of the most important positions in the North-west. Where not a house was found in 1866 there are now some 400 Indians, half-breeds, and whites, with one church erected and another being erected, assisted by contributions from the Presbytery of Manitoba. The Mission is under the charge of the Rev. H. McKellar, a young man of wisdom and earnest missionary spirit, seconded by an Indian interpreter, Mr. John McKay, a half-breed from Red River, and an excel- lent linguist. No mission has in so short a time become so well- known as the Presbyterian Mission of Prince Albert, and, said a Hudson's Bay Company officer lately to one of our Presby- terian ministers: "We have had dealings with the missions of " all the other churches, and had our differences with them all, " but with yours we have always had nothing but the most " satisfactory intercourse ;" and the Indians, who were some- what hostile at first, and take several years to test any new-comers fully, are believed to have the same feelings of respect and confidence. Little more than a year ago a second missionary was sent to labour among the Indians in the Fort Pelly region. The missionary is a Mr. George Flett — a half-breed from Red River, speaking with perfect ease English, French, and Cree — Cree having been his mother tongue. The mixed-bloods have ever been found influential among the Indians, as in the case of the well-known Joseph Renville among the Dakotas of Min- nesota, and many of the Church of England missionaries of Rupert's Land. Mr. Flett has already succeeded in placing on their location a band of 132 Indians near Riding Mountain, has maintained service and taught a school among them, and maintained a strong hold upon the Indians of the Region. 8 The Presbytery of Manitoba is so well satisfied with his work that they have determined to ask lea/e to ordain him for the work of his field. So much for the two Indian Missions of the Church. What is the duty of the Church with regard to them ? Are they to be given up because the Roman Catholics, Church of England, and the Wesleyans are working vigorously ? No ! they cannot overtake the work. What is the work yet done compared with what must be done to reach the 80,000 ? Very little. It is not credible that the strongest Protestant Church of the Dominion shall not do her share. Are they to be abandoned because the Presbyterian Church in Canada can find more interesting fields of labor among the heathen ? No ! The IncHan missions, while presenting great difficulties, are to a people less degraded in many ways than the people of China and Japan ; to a high-spirited, wise and observant race — to a race, moreover, v/ho are our own countrymen. Or are we to spend our money to " better advantage " ''among the dominant races?" Does God's Word say any- thing about the dominant races ? It is a worldly wise policy — unlike the spirit of the Gospel — an amendment of the terms of the command to preach the gospel to every creature. Or are we to leave the Indian to perish, and employ the policy of extermination to remove him from before our eyes ? Shame ! that men calling themselves Christians should ever advocate such a system, that journalists should be tolerated in a Christian land, who propagate so heartless and barbarous a policy. Christianity affords the only solution of the "Indian question." It is the opinion of many in the North-West, who have considered the possible conflict between advancing settle- ment and the occupation of the country by the wild plain tribes, that two facts are likely to make the matter one, under ordinarily careful management of little difficulty, viz : — his work for the US of the m ? Are burch of ? No! et done ? Very- Church y to be ada can ? No ! , are to )f China :e — to a antage " >ay any- poHcy — terms of )loy the :r eyes? ild ever rated in arous a ' Indian St, who 5 settle- d plain , under 1. The existence of the large half-breed population of some 10,000 or 15,000 in the North- West — middle men — who make an Indian war, such as has afflicted the United States, almost impossible with us. II. The wide-spread influence of the various Missions. Almost all the tribes know something of the Missionary. If danger is to be apprehended anywhere it is from the Blackfeet of the sources of the Saskatchewan. It is the duty of the Church to evangelize these, and to use every available means of accomplishing it. It seems to the writer that two more Missions should be established immediately : T. A Mission further up the Saskatchewan than Prince Albert. 2. A Mission between Forts Ellice and Carlton. Were one of these under a white Missionary and the other under an ordained Missionary of mixed blood, the require- ments of the case would be met. We cannot go back ; public policy, the interests of our other work, the necessities of our fellow-countrymen — the red men of the prairie — and the com- mand of our blessed Master, all demand that the Indian missions be prosecuted with vigour by the United Church. NEW SETTLER WORK. The white colonization of the North- West is one dating back half a century ago. The Selkirk settlement of 1812-16 was a phenomenon unexampled and surprising in the annals of early settlement. Thrown into the midst of a continent, for years without a minister, they kept alive upon the hearth the sacred fire, and though for well nigh forty years they had not worshipped God after the manner of their fathers, yet in 185 1, after they had exhausted all their efforts in vain appeals to the * lO General Assemblies of the Old World, it was the honour and singular good fortune of the then young Presbyterian Church of Canada to send to the North-west Rev. John Black, a man well-suited to the arduous task assigned him, a man of wisdom and of high talent, whose name is a household word in the whole Red River country. He saw from 185 1 to 1869 the country slowly emerge from semi-barbarism into the possession of many advantages, for though the settlement could not, on account of its imperfect government, isolation, and peculiar circumstances, advance rapidly, yet there was very substantial progress made in intelligence and morality. The foundation this good man laid is a singular encouragement for young men to go forth manfully and in faith, to the future great centres of the vast expanses of the North-west and British Columbia. Since 1869 the North-west has made a great bound forward. Law and order have been established ; self-government has been secured ; a system of education founded ; and the basis laid of future happiness and progress. Under God's blessing a great future lies before this land. Coincident with the opening up of the country and the movement of people thither, the two branches of the Presby- terian Church in Oiuario and Quebec felt the importance of further extending their operations, to keep pace with the rapidly increasing population. It was a wise forethought, for the result has shown that the new settlers have largely con- sisted of Presbyterians. Among the Missionaries who have been sent out may be mentioned the names of Rev. William Fletcher, since removed to the Western States, and Rev. John McNabb, who labored zealously over a wide field, and is now settled in Beaverton, Ontario. There are also remaining in the Province, Rev. Alexander Frazer and Rev. Alexander Matheson. It is interesting to state that the latter of these Mission- [ 1 )ur and Church a man wisdom in the S69 the ssession not, on peculiar jstantial [ndation ng men jntres of )lumbia, forward, lent has le basis blessing and the Presby- ance of ith the ght, for 2ly con- 10 have William iv. John 1 is now ining in exander Vlission- aries is a native of Red River, and one of three who were tlie result of the impetus given by the coming and teaching of Rev. J. Black, and wlio went to Canada to study in Knox College, for the Ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Canada ; the remaining two of the trio have passed away, and Mr. Matheson is spared to do good service in the Congregation under his care, which has doubled in numbers since his appointment over it a year ago. An appeal made to the Churches of the Old World, some three or four years ago, resulted in the Presby- terian Church of Ireland sending out a Missionary, the Rev. S. Donaldson, and an annual grant of ;^5o. Such thoughtful- ness on the part of friends we have never seen is highly appre- ciated by the Presbytery of Manitoba. The Canada Presby- terian Church further increased its staff by adding last year two young men, fresh from College, Messrs. McKellar and Currie — the former of whom was ordained and sent to the Saskatchewan, and the latter, it is hoped, will remain to do good service in this Province. The Presbyterian Church of Canada, in connection with the Church of Scotland, also sent to labour as a Missionary, who remained for a few months, the Rev. W. C. Clark, formerly of the Province of Quebec. This year the Home Mission Committee of the Canada Presbyterian Church, has sent two Missionaries, Messrs. Glendenning and Bell, to reinforce the Staff, and the Knox College Missionary Society sends a Mr. Stewart to assist in supplying our wants. In addition, the Presbytery of Manitoba decided at its last meeting to employ two Theological Students of Manitoba College, Messrs. Poison and Duncan, to labour during the present summer. Two more men are still required, and a third, to fill the place of any we may lose during the present summer. Places that cannot be supplied by us, demand earnest attention. There seem to the writer, to be certain principles that should govern the 12 Presbyterian Church in Canada., in the great work tliat lies before her, which it may be well to state. I. The Presbyterian Missionary ought to be in the very advance-guard of extending settlement. The Church will lose incalculably should she neglect her people for any length of time in tliese new settlements. Should the Presbyterian Church not be found in the van of this army of emigration, it must arise from her failing to comprehend the situation, or from a failure in the skilful disposition and arrangement of her forces. Means she has in abundance : her College halls are filled with Students, increasin;^ more and more in Missionary spirit. Sure- ly the magnitude of the interests involved is sufficient to induce her to see to it that the means are procured, the agents equipped, and the position of " A7//// Secu/idi" strenuously maintained. 2. Centres of Government and trade should be taken hold of with energy. In a few months time, a new seat of Government is to be established near Fort Pelly, two hundred and fifty miles to the west of Winnipeg. This nucleus must speedily become of considerable importance. Another point of probable importance lies between Lake Superior and Winni- peg, on the Dawson route — Fort Francis. The two points, Forts Pelly and Francis, demand attention. For such places as these, the special adaptation of the agent for his field, is of great importance. It requires men who have a strong and dominent passion for Christ's work. Often this versatility of mind is necessary. It may shock some of our punctilious clergy, but is must be said that, to be useful in the highest sense in these spheres, the Missionary must be able to preach a living, interesting and pointed sermon, mend a boat, read a chapter in his Greek Testament in his leisure ( inter equitatum)^ ride a horse, improvise his dinner, do pastoral work under all circumstances, be ready to baptize or marry at the shortest notice — in short, do, *' in season and out of season," his Master's I'li'i '3 hat lies he very will lose :ngth of Church it must from a ;r forces. led with . Sure- o induce (juipped, ained. )e taken seat of hundred ;us must er point d Winni- > points, h places Id, is of ong and utility of mctilious highest D preach , read a uitatum), mder all shortest Master's work. Such men in the gicu rising centres will do great service for (Christ's cause. 3. (Ireat efforts should be made, by the use of the Pulpit ond the Press, to rouse interest in our Mission work. It is not by one good letter in the church newspaper, or by a good address at a missionary meeting, that interest is created, *■'' Gutta cavat lapidemy There must be a constant present- ation of interesting and varied Mission intelligence, in the shape of letters from actual Missionaries, accounts of Missionary jour- neys, ar 1 incidents of Missionary labour. Missionary Sermons that deal simply with the first principles on which Missions are based, will accomplish little. The Missionary sentiment must be cultivated, as well by giving details of work and by refer- ences to i)articular fields, as by presenting motives for the encouragement of zealous Christian rivalry, and by showing the specific end the Church has in view in the various depart- ments of missionary labour. Why do not the conductors of our Missionary Records obtain from successful missionaries in different parts of our mission field more useful information ? Why is it that our pulpits are silent about what the Church is doing ? Why do we not cultivate the missionary spirit, by fuller conference in our Synods and Presbyteries? The plan of having one of our Foreign missionaries, or some of our Home missionaries, who have " the power of speech to stir men's blood," perambulate for a few montlis each year as many congregations as could be reached, as is done in the English Presbyterian Church, and so arouse interest, by pre- senting facts connected with their various mission fields, seems feasible, and likely to accomplish good results. It is plain to all, that to meet the requirements of the Dominion at our hands, it will not be suffi rient to have our large congregations satisfied with contributing $50 or $100 to the mission schemes of the Church. The noble contributions of some of our H Churches, amounting to thousands of dollars for purely mis- sionary objects, show how tiioroughly, in some cases, the missionary spirit has been aroused, and how successluily a systematic method has been adopted of raising contributions. 4. VV^isc means should be taken to encourage the Mission Stations of the Church to become self-reliant and self-sustaining as soon as possible. Nothing will sooner stop the steady and increasing tlow of mission contributions than the conviction among the people that those assisted are not exerting them- selves to maintain ordinances ; and, indeed, few things can be worse for a mission station than to be relying upon ex- traneous aid, thus losing all independence, and consecpient- ly having few motives towards strenuous and self-denying tftort. Such regulations should be framed as will induce Stations at an early stage in their history to accept the respon- sibility of calling and supporting their own Pastors, even though their efforts should retiuire a considerable supplement from central sources. The Presbytery of Manitoba keeps this object steadily in view, and stands pledged to do all in its power to free the Church as speedily as possible of the support of established congregations, so that the means may be used to follow the settler into the newer districts. Little conception can be formed of the rapidity with which, during years of plenty, the new set- tlements develop in prairie countries. The City of Winnipeg, for example, was a hamlet containing some 600 people in 1871 ; it has now between 4,000 and 5,000 inhabitants. The number of Presbyterians was, in 1871, so few that no congregation was organized, though a Sinall church had been erected through the energy of Rev. Mr. Black, No Sabbath-school existed ; no church organization, and no church-life whatever. In May, 1872, the lirst communion was held with nine communicants. The congregation is now the strongest in the city ; it has a com- «5 Lirely mis- uses, the cssluily a butions. i Mission iustaining cady and onviction ing thcm- lings can upon ex- nsLHiuent- f-denying 11 induce L' respon- :n though r^nt from eadily in free the abHshed :)lio\v the e formed new set- Winnipeg, in 1871 ; number Ltion was ough the sted ; no n May, inicants. s a com- munion roll of 130, a congregation on Sabbath of 400, a Sab- bnth-school of 140. Nothing wns contributed in 1871, and now Rev. Jf Robert? h an energetic and successful pastor, for nearly a year been settled, and for the Church year ending March 31st, 1875, the total exjK'nditure WvTS above $3,000, raised entirely by the congregation itself. Such advancement is encouraging. At the time when so great a reinforcement of the mission Htnff took place in 187 1-2, there were timid ministers and elders who doubted the wisdom of so great an increase in expenditure. The result lias already justified the action taken, and Presbyterianism, instead of being the faith of a weak minority, is to-day one of the dominant forms of faith in the North-west. " The Lord had done great things for us whereof we are glad." 5. For the successful working of the Missions, it is also necessary to give due weight to the official utterances and ap- plications of the local bodies who have charge ol the work. There is a disposition in some minds to look with doubt and suspicion upon representations coming from the mission fields. Some do not desire to believe that success vouchsafed has been so great as represented ; some that cries for more men and means are exaggerated, and that the reasons given for the fail- ures (a reasonable number of which are always to be expected) are not precise. This disposidon to receive everything '"' cum gra?io salis " is a very unfortunate one, and it is not fliir to the messengers sent abroad, nor to the cause represented. Official reports and requests in connection with Mission work ought not to be re- ceived with half-averted face, but fiivourably considered, weigh- ed carefully, and only rejected when the evidence is strongly and decidedly against them. It may be depended on that the men actively engaged in the work, having the burden and re- |6 sponsibility of l^ wiil l)e al)Ie to give a more correct view of the situation than returned missionaries who have lost heart in their fields, have been unsuccessful, and on returning are compelled to find reasons for having " put their hand to the plough and having looked hack." 6. More continued, fervent, specific prayer should be made throughout the Church for her Missions. In such a brochure as this what we usually know as the " method " must be chiefly discussed, but it would be extremely defective to leave out even here all referenee to the right-arm of Missions — Prayer. Whether prayer be looked upon as a member in God's series of means for bringing about his great designs, or as the instinctive cry of the Christian for help which (iod has promised to hear, or as means for fitting men subjectively for the better prosecu- tion of Christian duty — in every phase it is a most important factor in Christian work. Praying missionaries and praying Christians su[)porting them at home are sure to have God's blessing. What are more specially known as revivals of reli- gion are not more dependant as proved by past experience on prayer as a means than is Mission work. The missionary and the Christain friends at home must, in the nature of the case, expect to have their faith tried to the utmost. Mission labour means labour with appearances, and more than appear- ances against the missionary. To keep his faith strong and to enable him to rise superior to his circumstances there must be prayerful intercourse with God And if the missionary finds it difficult to be courageous and hopeful, those who are far away from the scene and have less personal interest must find it mote so still, if their missionary interest is anything more than a mere blind, indefinite giving of contributions without interest in re- sults. To be effectual too, our prayers should be more specific. A prayer embracing a mere logical classification of " all men " will include the heathen. Our prayers may contain a few inde- 'T -nv of the t in their )m|)clled ugh and be made brochure e chiefly out even -Prayer. series of stinctive to hear, prosecu- nportant praying e God's of reli- ence on lary and he case, Mission appear- g and to must be r finds it far away I it mote n a mere ;st in re- specific. II men " sw inde- finite phrases as to the extension of Christ's ':ingdom, a few well- rounded senlencts, mostly indeed clothed in the language of Scripture, and yet there may be litUe real prayer in them. With- out being singular, it is certainly possible, it is necessary to be more definite even as to locality and circumstance than we are. '* Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may '* have free course and be glorified, even as it is with you." OUR EDUCATIONAL WORK. The Churches of the Presbyterian family have ever been the most strenuous advocates of education. An educated min- istry and an educated people have been Presbyterian watch- words, in all the Pro\inces of the Dominion where the Pres- byterian Church has her seat, common school education has by common consent been relegated to the State. None of the churches composing the highly composite body now known as the Frabykrian Church in Canada have '•"•id it down as a principle that the Church shall not engage in the education of her people, but the advisability has been seen ''n every Province of the Dominion of overcoming the difficul- ties of mixed communities by uniting in support of the Com- mon Schools established by law. All branches of the Presby- terian family have, as to Lligher Education, maintained the same principle. Should the institutions of Higher Learning in existence approve themselves to the judgment of the people, it is quite unnecessary to undertake the burden and expense of sustaining Institutions under the control of the Church, but no branch ol" the Church has, so far as the writer is aware, declared it contrary to its principle under all circumstances to maintain Institutions either for Common, Intermediate, or University Education. Each case must plainly be dealt with on its merits, consistent for anv church, if she see cause, quite any i8 no institution for Higher Education in Ontario, and to found one in Manitoba ; it is quite consistent, if she deem it neces- sary, for one church to maintain a university in Ontario and to have none in Nova Scotia. It is quite consistent for a church to support Professors in a University in Nova Scotia, and for the same church to accept a University provided for her youth in New Brunswick. Whatever the policy of the United Church be in regard to her many Colleges, the circumstances which gave rise to Manitoba College are so recent that no vital change in her position can take place. The great distance of Manitoba from the East, the absence of any rivals, and the rising importance of the region for which the College exists, render her maintenance • a necessity. The Union of the Churches itself affects the relation of the College very little, for Manitoba College has received contributions from all the four churches now happily united, and had the honour before the Union of representing the different sections of the Church on its Board of Management and Teaching Staff. The College of Manitoba was decided on by the General Assembly of the Canada Presbvterian Church in 187 1, in response to petitions from the Presbytery of Manitoba — a Presbytery erected by the General Assembly of 1 8 7 o. The writer, a graduate of the Univer- sity of Toronto, and at the time ?n Examiner in the same Institution, an Alumnus of Knox College, Toronto, was ap- pointed as Professor from Chalmer's Church, Quebec, in which he was labouring, and commissioned to proceed to Manitoba to take such steps in connection with the College as seemed necessary. The College was begun in November, 1871, and having advanced somewhat in 1872, it was decided by the General Assembly to send out a coadjutor. The Presbyterian Church of Canada in connection with the Church of Scotland generously offered to send out an Educational Missionary, and the matter having been arranged, Rev. Thomas Hart, M.A., 19 to found it neces- and to a church , and for icr youth : United mstances t no vital tance of and the ;e exists, of the !ry little, all the ir before Church ; College of the )etitions 1 by the Univer- e same was ap- 1 which anitoba seemed 71, and by the yterian :otland y, and , M.A., a graduate of Queen's College, Kingston, who had finished his Theological Course in Edinburgh, came out and entered heartily into the work of the College. After a careful survey for a year of the requirements of the country, it was recom- mended to the General Assembly to adopt a curriculum similar to that of Upper Canada College, Toronto, reaching to the Second Year of the course adopted by the University of Toronto, and providing in addition for instruction in Evidences and Philosophy for students intending to enter Theology. With authority from the General Assembly, an Act of Incorporation was obtained in 1873, providing among other things that a Department in Theology may be established when the neces- sary declaration is made. Manitoba College is now completing its fourth session. The increase in its work has rendered necessary the employment of a Tutor, who is appointed by the Board of Management. The numbers entered on the Rolls for each of these four years is respectively, 17, 24, 33, 45. These students are of all nationalities and of all creeds — the Presbyterians, as is natural, predominating. The students have comprised alike old settlers, and new-comers — whites and half- breeds — have been from different parts of the North-west, in- cluding Edmonton, 800 miles west, and Michipicoten, 600 miles east on Lake Superior. At the General Assembly in 1874 permission was given the College to take three students under instruction in Theology, thus beginning the supply of a native ministry, without which it is doubtful whether a part of the Dominion so distant from the older Provinces could be ade- quately supplied with the means of grace. In addition to the Regular Staff of the College, the Pastor of Knox Church, Win- nipeg, has given instruction to these students in the College, and they have passed their examinations in Latin, Greek, Philosophy, Evidences, Old Testament History, and Study of the Gospels, and the Presbytery is so much encouraged that it ao has been decided to employ two of them in the Mission work of the Presbytery during the summer. There were those a year ago who doubted the expediency of applying to the General Assembly for permission to take these three young men in charge, who are now decided in declaring that the only hope of fully supplying the wants of the rapidly rising North-west is to educate for the ministry our own youth — who are acquainted with the country, whose sympathies are with the people, who can be utilized for summer work immediately, and the best of whom would be inevitably lost to us were they sent abroad to be educated. As to the wants of the College, if any part of Church work requires aid from abroad it is Collegiate work. The rented building used by the College in Winnipeg during the past year has proved itself too small, is inconvenient, and wholly inadequate for our purposes. Steps have been taken by the Board of Management lo obtain a larger and more suit- able building. The General Assembly is asked to assist the Board in making certain financial arrangements. It is to be hoped that when local eftbrt is willing to do its best the Assembly will see its way clear to grant the guarantee which is asked. The College also feels deeply the want of sufficient bursaries. The College of the Church of England near by has bursaries provided by friends in England, and these are worthy of those oflered by Colleges in the older Provinces. The Board of Management of Manitoba College finds itself unable to give suitable bursaries to encourage students. Friends of education are earnestly appealed to to show their benevolence toward the North-west. The Library is also very inadequate for the wants of the College. Some 300 volumes, principally given by private donors, and by Knox College, Toronto, are all yet collected. Works of reference in History, Philosophy, Science, etc., and Commentaries and Dictionaries are much needed. Cannot 31 )n work those a f to the ung men nly hope b-west is ^uainted pie, who : best of )road to part of te work. ; during :nt, and n taken ore suit- >sist the s to be >est the hich is fficient by has worthy . The unable nds of ^•olence some of our friends with large libraries help us with books and benefactions ? As having now so many relatives to our Pres- byterian Church in Canada, viz., the Church of Scotland, the Free Church, the United Presbyterian Church, and the Presby- terian Church of Ireland, we trust that an appeal for means, for bursaries, books and apparatus may not pass unheeded. No Institution in the Church can appeal to so many sections as we. Manitoba College was the cynosure of Union before the Union. In no enterprise undertaken by the different sec- tions of the Church joindy has there been such harmony as in the College ; and the appointment of Rev. Prof Hart, of the Church of Scotland, by the Canada Presbyterian Church before the Union, and the addition of his name to the Roll of Pres- bytery, was an act dictated not only by the highest prudence, but indicating a breadth of view remarkable in the annals of ecclesiastical relations. Shall not the College be liberally sus- tained ? As an agent for establishing and advancing Presby- terianism in the North-west no one agency has been more useful, and the opportunities of its usefulness are but beginning. We appeal to friends on both sides of the Atlantic. Our country, the North-west, was the last portion of British North America to leave the immediate pupilage of the Mother Country. We trust that not only from the Presbyterian Church in Canada, but also from the great churches of Britain, we may receive that assistance tnat will enable us to accomplish the work God has given us to do — the Evangelization of the vast North-west. of the )rivate lected. :., and Eannot