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 i 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
Il \ 
 
 1 
 
 jit'ter the wo 
 
 "The most 
 " Reserves, wou 
 " 3rd and 4th "V 
 " over to the pa 
 
 « The Lfinds 
 « ment of Uppe 
 " farther reserve 
 " For the sake 
 " as the quantit 
 " be of any acc( 
 

 j^t'ter the word " Mission," at the foot of Page 17, read :— 
 
 " The most just and proper method of arranging the Clergy 
 " Reserves, would be, simply to carry out the provisions of the 
 « 3rd and 4th Victoria, Cap. 78, in all their detaiJ, and make 
 " over to the parties concerned, their appointed shares, 
 
 « The Lands called Clergy Reserves, set apart by the Govern- 
 «ment of Upper Canada, between 1791 and 1840, when any 
 " farther reservations were forbidden, amoimted to 2,354,668f. 
 « For the sake of easy illustration, we shall assume 2,400,000 
 "asthoquantity, being only deficient by 45,331, too small to 
 " be of any account." 
 
unMi 
 
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 ' , :.<i.-J ".-in 
 
 .^»! 
 
THE 
 
 ^^'0 
 
 CLEEGY EESERTES. 
 
 LETTER 
 
 FKOM THB 
 
 BISHOP OF TOaONTO, 
 
 TO THX 
 
 HONOURABLE A. N. MORIN, 
 
 COMMISSIONXR OF CROWN LANDS. 
 
 TORONTO: 
 
 THOMPSON * CO., PBINTXBS, KUTO STBEET SAAT. 
 
 1864. 
 
' 
 
m' 
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO THE HON. A. N. MOWN, COMMISSIONER OF CROWN LANDS, 
 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
 ft 
 
 Sir, — The prominent position which you have for so many 
 years occupied in the Government of Canada, and the great 
 increase of influence which recent events may confer upon you, 
 induce me to address you on the subject of Church Pi-operty, 
 the m.ost important question that is hkely to come before the 
 present Session of the Provincial Parhament. 
 
 I believe that you are able, with the assistance of your friends 
 and colleagues, to avert any thing like injustice, and to settle for 
 €ver this prolific cause of agitation, if taken up in a friendly 
 spirit of conciliation — and deep will your future regret be, should 
 you return to private life without accomplishing so desirable an 
 object which seems so clearly within your power. 
 
 So much has been said on the subject of the Clergy Reserves, 
 that I shall be very brief, and confine myself to those points 
 which have not been conclusively met : — 
 
 First. It has baen so frequently assei-ted that the majority of 
 the population are in favour of Secularization in its worse sense, 
 that, it is generally believed ; and yet no assertior can be more 
 untrue. On Monday, the 13th of March last, the Anti-Reserve 
 Association met in Toronto, representing six Denominations of 
 Christians, comprising as per census of Upper and Lower 
 Canada, 292,294. There are sixteen other Denominations which 
 this Association might claim, and to prevent dispute I willingly 
 resign them. Their aggregate number is 204,399, wh'ch added 
 to the six Denominations gives a total of 496,885, or nearly one 
 fourth of the population of Canada which are said to be hostile 
 to Church endowments of all descriptions, Roman Catholic as 
 well as Protestant 
 
 In this enumeration I have omitted the Wesleyan Methodists, 
 
4 
 
 because I should be sorry to consider them hostile, and since 
 they have never spoken out as a body, I take it for granted 
 that they are as Friendly as their groat founder would have 
 been. 
 
 On the other hand, we have, in favour of Church property and 
 endowments, 
 
 Koman Catholics 914,561 
 
 Church of England, 268,602 
 
 Church of Scotland, 61,589 
 
 Total 1,244,742 
 
 Thus, the friends of Ecclesiastical endowments in the Province 
 of Canada, are nearly thrice as numerous as their opponents. 
 
 But some may object to placing the Roman Catholics in this 
 category, because they have unfortunately more than once 
 recorded their votes as secularizers — nay, the Catholic Institute 
 of Toronto appears so eager to promote secularization, that at 
 their lata meeting, the members very modestly petitioned the 
 Legislature for a share of the spoils of our endowments for the 
 benefit of their separate schools. Yet, in the face of all this, I 
 have advisedly placeJ the Roman Catholics among our friends ; 
 because the danger is common, and they have more tha: four 
 times as much to lose as we have, and may be induced to 
 direct their attention to the strange and perilous course which 
 they have hitherto adopted. They hold fast their own endow- 
 ments, as indeed they ought to do ; and yet they are at the same 
 time strenuous in their endeavours to destroy those of the Church 
 of England. This monstrous inconsistency cannot be much 
 longer maintained, and if persevered in, must result in the utter 
 desti-uction of all Church property in Canada. 
 
 I am not much surprised that Socialists, or as they are called, 
 the Clear Grits of Upper and the Republicans of Lower Canada, 
 should band together against every kind of Ecclesiastical endow- 
 ment. And I can even conceive, though not without some 
 difficulty, that they may bo joined by those who believe, contrary 
 to holy Scripture and the universal experience of many centu- 
 ries, that religion ought to have no support except on the voluQta- 
 
n 
 
 ry principle, — ^but I am quite unable to discover the cause which 
 urges you to protect tlie Roman Catholic endowments while you 
 obstinately advocate the confiscation of those of the Church of 
 England, unless from your hatred of that Church ; and because 
 you consider her the great obstacle to the spread of popery 
 through the whole Province. This, Sir, is very dangerous 
 ground. You are, at present, in the ascendant, and most of the 
 dissenters, struck with spiritual and moral blindness, are with 
 you ; and we ai-e comparatively alone : but Protestants will not 
 always sleep. 
 
 The foregoing enumeration farther proves, that if the three 
 National Churches were to agree in this one single thing, viz. : 
 the protection of their respective endowments, they might be 
 retained, peaceably for ages, since their number will always com- 
 mand a majority ; whereas, if the Church of Rome persist in 
 her present course, they will, in a shoxt time, bo wholly swept 
 away. 
 
 Hitherto the rich and splendid endowments of the Roman 
 Catholic Church have been kept in the back ground, and con- 
 cealed from the eyes of the people ; while all the bitterness and 
 odium which the most wicked imaginations could conceive, have 
 been poured on the defenders of the wretched pittance of her 
 original endowment, which now remains to the Church of Eng- 
 land, But this must no longer be permitted ; both properties 
 rest on the same foundation ; and both will sooner or later share 
 the same fate. 
 
 It is not my intention to proceed to an exposition of the false- 
 hoods of the manifesto already noticed, more especially as its 
 true character has been depicted by one more accustomed to 
 such work, and better acquainted with the peculiar merits and 
 talents of the six Ministers by whom it is signed and put forth, 
 and, though a stern Secularizer himself, he has still some regard 
 for truth and honesty of purpose. 
 
 The Leader, of the 28rd March, 1864, thus writes: " It does 
 "not follow that secularization is to be advanced by misstatements 
 " and fraudulent tricks. This is wherein we differfrora the raanifes- 
 " to concoctors, while they practice petty frauds, which characterise 
 
 i • 
 
 I i. 
 
 (■^ 
 
^p 
 
 II 
 
 '^dirainntive minds, we have the abiding faiUi, 'that honesty is 
 ** the beat policy.' " After pointing out many gross misstate- 
 ments, " wo have," he addi\ " scarcely noticetl a ty the of the 
 *' errors, and wo adviso those who have inadver:ently signed such 
 "a string of falsehoods to remove their name as soon aa 
 " possible." 
 
 This is a specimen of the course pursued by the onomies of 
 Ecclesiastical endowments to deceive the people. They feed 
 them with false statement*, and thus delude them, until their 
 moral feelings become so blunt and obtuse, that they cease to 
 perceive any turpitude in robbing the Chuj*ch of Ood of her 
 just rights. Nor is the reviewer of the manifesto altogether free 
 from his shf.re of moral obtuseness on the subject: for, with 
 ludicrous inconsistency, he applies to this measure of spoliation 
 and sacrilegious robbery, the noble maxim that, " honesty is the 
 best policy." 
 
 2nd. The Act passed on the 9th of May last, by the Imperial 
 Parliament, giving power to the Colony to Liogislato on the 
 Clergy Reserves, ^vaa brought forward. Ministers say, in the 
 spirit of conciliation ; but, as it would seem, not without reluctance, 
 as Lord John Russell declared his regret that the settlement 
 made by the 3rd and 4th Viut. should be disturbed. It had given 
 peace to the Colony for ten years ; a peace which would have 
 continued but for unprincipled office hunting, and a denire for 
 reckless innovation. Being a coalition Ministry, which always 
 implies timidity and weakness, they seem to have been driven to 
 the measure by the violence of the address of the Legislative 
 Assembly — and to preserve something of manliness of character, 
 they determined to make a virtue of what they foolishly con- 
 strued into a case of necessity, and satisfied their conscience by 
 calling it a boon to the Colony. It is, however, right to admit 
 that one of their objects was to remove all grounds of religious 
 collision, in the hope that the power conferred on the Provincial 
 Legislature would be exercised with justice and moderation. So 
 far, the hope was creditable; and through the whole of the 
 proceeding, the Government and their supporters disapprove of 
 secularization or unfair dealing of any kind. 
 
 Mr. Peel, on introducing the Bill on Tuesday, 16th February, 
 
 f 
 
ty 18 
 Htate- 
 f the 
 
 Huch 
 K)u as 
 
 1864, (loos not look forvratd to alienation c- secularization of the 
 property ; and contends that it reste on tho same footing aa the 
 endowments of tho Roman Catholic Church : but aa the policy 
 of Government is to give the Colonies entire control over all 
 their local concerns, the endowments of both Churches are 
 placed under their control ; and he repeats the same words in tho 
 debate of tho 13th April, and expresses his hope that Canada 
 would continue to be a home for the Church of England, and 
 acknowledged that, in a country so new, she could not cherish 
 and extend her Mission with effect, unless largely endowed by 
 tho public. 
 
 Mr. V. Smith, though in favour cf the bill, would rather that 
 the present settlement by dd and 4th Vic, chap. 78, should stand. 
 
 Sir John Pakington opposed the measure because it would 
 remove the guarantee from the endowment of the Church of 
 England, while it left in force the guarantee on that of the 
 Church of Rome. Whereas at present the ono guarantee was 
 as good as the other. 
 
 Lord John Russell — would have boon glad if tho Canadian 
 Government had continued the settlement of 1840 — and ho 
 doubted whether it was wise in tho Canada Parhament to dis- 
 turb it But though that was his individual opinion, and it 
 might even be the opinion of the Governmewi, it would not bo 
 proper to maintain it against the Canadian Parliament if it 
 wished to deal with the subject 
 
 Lord John Manners— declared in the debate of the 2l8t 
 March, that the bill would take away from the Chiu-ches of Eng- 
 land and Scotland in Canada, that protection and those safe- 
 guards which were recognised by statute in the case of the 
 Roman Church, and if tliis was their measure of religious equality, 
 he hoped the House would not sanction it 
 
 Mr. Drummond — stated that the measure was neither more 
 nor less than a measure of Church pluader ; and its progress was 
 towards the destruction of all religious establishments. 
 
 Mr. Child — was totally opposed to the bill, and exclaimed 
 — shall we show less zeal in the Propagation of our pure Faith, 
 
 I'-l 
 
 
 ili 
 
 1 1 
 
I 
 
 
 8 
 
 than the Pagans for their corrupt worship i Our fathers Word 
 not so lax in the discharge of their duties. They granted the 
 Reserves for the support of the Christian Faith ; and much as he 
 desired to promote self-go vtirnment, ho could not give his assent 
 to a measure which sanctioned, if it did not suggest, what was 
 denounced by the Prophet Malachi — " Will a man rob God f 
 " Yet ye have robbed me — but ye say, wherein have I robbed 
 " thee ? In tythes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse for 
 " ye have robbed me, even the whole nation." 
 
 Mr. Dering — in voting for the bill, looked with confidence to 
 the religious feelings of the people of Canada, and that they 
 would follow such a judicious course as should, by heahng the 
 divisions which had so long Uiifortunately rent the Colony, 
 secure the blessings of internal peace and tranquillity, and thus 
 contribute to its lasting welfare. 
 
 The Duke of Argyle was in favour of the bill; but as the 
 endowments of the Iloman Catholics were as accessible to the 
 Colonial Legislature as the Reserves, he thought they would join 
 the Protestants in resisting secularization. 
 
 The Bishop of Oxford — voted for the bill, and called it doing 
 justice ; but when told that he was agreeing to vote for confisca- 
 tion, he said that he agreed to no such thing. If the question 
 was, will you vote for secularization, no voice would be more 
 distinct, no vote more emphatic than the negation he should 
 give to such a proposition. He did not undervalue what the evil 
 •Yould be, if the Reserves were secularized, that is, confiscated. 
 He saw plainly that consuming such a property upon mere secular 
 matters would be a degree of folly which would be barely equal- 
 led by consuming the seed com of a Colony, which could alone 
 reproduc(; its future nourishment. He had, therefore, the strong- 
 est hope that wo should see no such confiscation of the Clergy 
 Reserves. 
 
 ''^he Duke of Newcastle maintained that if this measure were 
 passed, the Clergy Reserves would stand precisely on the same 
 footing as the Roman Catholic endowments ; and he was not 
 without hope that the Canadian Parliament would treat the 
 question in the same spirit as their Lordships : and that if the bill 
 
■ 
 
 9 
 
 became law, the decision of the Colonial Legislature would not 
 be for the secularisation of the Reserves ; for their Lordships 
 might look upon this as an axiom, that there was no better secu- 
 rity against the abuse of power than respoiisibility. And if thoy 
 could show that the Canadian Legislature would be responsible 
 in the administration of the Reserves, ho believed their Lordships 
 would be taking the only and the best security they could take 
 against any undue or improper use of the power which they 
 intrusted to the Colonists. 
 
 Lord St. Leonards said, that while defending the rights of the 
 Protestant Clergy, he would strenuously oppose any attempt to 
 destroy the rights of the Roman Catholics, but pass this bill, and 
 you deprive the Protestant Clergy of their property ; but it could 
 not deprive the Roman Catholic Clergy of their property without 
 sending a bill over to this country for that purpose ; which must lie 
 on the bibles of Parliament for thirty days, and might be disallow- 
 ed by the Crown at any moment within that period. Would their 
 Lordships sit quietly anci see the rights of the Protestant Clergy 
 destroyed, while those of the Roman Catholics were preserved. 
 I'he Roman Catholics were in favour of the mcjisure, because it 
 struck at the property of the Protestant Clergy ; but the timo 
 would come, when the Canadian Legislature would attack tho 
 Roman Catholic tithes and endowments. His Lordship farther 
 observed, that the (juestioii before the House was not, whether 
 they were to endow, but whether they were to destroy an actual 
 endowment, which the Church jwr^sessed in Canada, and pos- 
 sessed by as gooil a title as could possibly exist. lie voted for 
 .'{rd and 4th \kt, while in opposition, as he would again, upon 
 tho ground of its being a national settlement. 
 
 The Bishop of London said, that the simple proposition on 
 which he jiroceeded, Avas, that the Canadian Legislature had no 
 right whatever to deal with the money of the Church, in Cana- 
 da. Such a right was never given to that Legislature; on tho 
 contrary, the maintenance, in fact, of these Clergy fleserves, was 
 one of the conditions v)f tho Canadian Constitution, concinled 
 by this rountiy. I'lio Reserves were a sacred trust, placed in 
 the hands of the Imperial Pariiament; and that to permit tho 
 alienation of any portion of that Fund, would be a criminRl 
 
 li 
 
I- ! 
 
 ■n 
 
 10 
 
 
 i I 
 
 '■ 1 
 
 abandonment of that trust, and a flagitious violation of a sacredf 
 compact. Earnestly, then, would he oppose any measure, which 
 went to deprive the Canadian Church of the means with wt' \ 
 so much good was effected. 
 
 The Bishop of Norwich was in favour of the Bill, because it 
 was the fulfilment of a pledge; but, if the Koman Catholics in 
 the Colony should wantonly oppose thepiinciple of endowment, 
 thoy would expose themselves to the risk of losing their own 
 endowments. But he did not believe the Canadian Parliament 
 would commit such^n unjustifiable act as secularizing the 
 Clergy Reserves, If, indeed, they were unwise and unjust enough 
 to alienate this property, the Church in Canada would have an 
 equitable claim to compensation. 
 
 From this brief review of the debates on the recent Clergy 
 Reserves Act, I consider myself authorised to infer — 
 
 Firat, That the endowments for the support of religion in the 
 different sections of the Province, ought not to be dealt with 
 separately, or be confined to those appropriated to the sustenance 
 of a Protestant Clergy, but must also embrace those, which sus- 
 tain the Roman Catholic Clergy. Both are equally local and 
 domestic ; and if the control of the one is to be consigned to tho 
 Colonial Legislature, so must the other. 
 
 2nd, That the Ministry, as such, did not anticipate the seculari- 
 zation of the Clergy Reser\e8, at the passing of the Act, nor 
 from the recent declaration of the Duke of Newcastle, do they 
 anticipate such a catastrophe now; and, though Parliaments are 
 said to be onmipotent, they have no right to perpetrate injustice 
 or to trample on their own acts and engagements. 
 
 3rd, Had secularization been anticipated, they could not have 
 carried the measure: too mtiny of their adherents, even when 
 supporting them, spoke severely against confiscating tlie Church 
 property ; and had they suspected, that the Canadian Legislature 
 would commit such a flagrant and revolutionary act of injustice, 
 they would have voted against tho Bill, and it would have 
 been lost. 
 
 Cn this point the sentiments of all the Members of the Impe- 
 
11 
 
 rial Oovernment are clear, and almost imaniraous. They give 
 you and your colleagues credit for honourable intention and fair 
 dealing, and it will neither savour of probity nor good feeling, 
 to disappoint their honest expectations. The Duke of Newcastle 
 stated, very lately, that he neither heaid from Mr. Hincks while 
 in England, nor any one else, a word about the secularization of 
 the Clergy Reserves; and that he believed the Church property 
 in no danger of secularization, or, as it is now called, to smooth 
 the iniquity, adjustment. 
 
 But on this matter we have still further evidence, and indeed 
 the best possible. Lord Elgin, with the frankness and honor 
 which distinguish a true British nobleman, thus speaks at the 
 great dinner given to his Lordship in London, on the 6th of 
 April last — 
 
 " I have ofteu warned my Canadian friends against doing any 
 thing that might lead the people to suspect, that they wer-o 
 capable of abusing the powei*s confided to them ; and pointed 
 out to them, that if they did not pay the same scrupulous re- 
 gard to the rights of property, as the people of England, they 
 would bring a blight upon the land, and cause the fair flower 
 of their prosperity to wither to its root. And, what is more, 
 they will bring samdal to one of the best causes ever entrusted 
 to a people; because, I believe, on the success of our Canadian 
 experiment, not only the liberties of many other Colonies de- 
 pend, but to a greater extent than many suppose, the future 
 greatness and happiness of the Mother Country. It has been 
 said, that the new system of responsible Government, which 
 has happily taken the place of the old Government, gives a tri- 
 umph to extreme opinion ; but my belief is just the contrary of 
 this, and, if the new system is made permanent, I think a more 
 temperate tone will prevail among Colonial Politicians, than has 
 hitherto existed, and will, by and by, take possession of tho 
 Colonial press.^' 
 
 Hence, it is evident, that the Governor General is equally 
 anxious with the Duke of Newcastle, to avert the crime of secu 
 larization, as ruinous, morally and politically, to the character of 
 the Province. With such sentiments, we caunot wonder that hia 
 
U\ 
 
 12 
 
 Lordship, in conversing witli the Duke of Newcastle, made no 
 mention even of the probabihty of such a measure, as the con- 
 fiscatioii of the Clergy Reserves. Yet, notwithstanding this 
 sound advice, with which, as a Member of Government, you 
 cannot be unacquainted, your proceedings altogether oppose it. 
 Nor do you seem to perceixe, that your threats to destroy the 
 Church property, are incompatible with the rights which hold 
 society together, and at variance with the favourite maxim of 
 yom- pai'ty, " to follow in all things the will of the multitude." 
 You have not one third of the population with you, and that the 
 least independent, being in a great measure composed of party 
 men, morally and religiously blind. Yet from, noise and tunmlt, 
 and violent assertion, this disreputable minority appears, to the 
 timid and indolent, irresistible. Of their regard for truth and 
 honesty, we have a notable example in the proceedings of the 
 An;i-Reservo Association, already mentioned ; which, in defiance 
 of all that is just and honourable, seeks the gratification of its 
 rubidness, in the sacrilegious spoliation of the Churches: for they 
 are equally ferocious in their opposition to Roman and Protestant 
 endowments; and if some of them profess a sort of outward 
 regard for religion, they make such profession subservient to the 
 destruction of all that promotes Evangelical truth and order. 
 
 As a Roman Catholic, and a native of Canada, you must bo 
 as much aware as I am, that since the first settlement of the 
 country till the union in 1840, there exist(.'d a courteous and un- 
 interrupted interchange of social amenities between the Mem- 
 bers of the Church of England and the Church of Rome; and, 
 although since that event, causes of irritation have grown up, 
 and sometimes estrangements have arisen, yet we have still con- 
 tinued to count your people as friendly to our endowments, as 
 we have hitherto been to yours; and have felt persuaded, that 
 all such causes of irritation might not only be greatly diminish- 
 ed, but effectually removed. But, if you persist in your present 
 course, the two churches, instead of returning to friendly inter- 
 course, will soon be at open war ; and the battle between them 
 will be fongbt on the floor of the Legislatm-e. If this indeed 
 be your policy, I am compelled to confess, that from all appear- 
 ances you will be victorious ; for the most violent enemies of our 
 
 ii 
 
13 
 
 ^ 
 
 Church, although equally violent against yours, will at first asfiist 
 you, for their plan is, " divide and conquer." These are never- 
 theless victories, which destroy the conquerois, arul youi-s will 
 be one of them. How you can continue blind to the rise of the 
 Socialist party among yourselves, already in posse-r-lon of con- 
 siderable influence, and in close connexion with the enemies of 
 Ecclesiastical endowment in this section of the Province, and 
 eager to destroy them, I cannot conjecture. Certain it is, that 
 your safety, as well as ours, lies in the mutual agreement of the 
 two Protestant Churches with yours, on this vital question of 
 endowment, and on this only, leaving all the other matters free. 
 We cannot lose our property except by Roman Catholic votes , 
 and if we are vanquished, your turn will soon follow ; for it will 
 be impossible for you to resist the torrent which a bitter sense 
 of injury will create, and which will in a little time sweep before 
 it all your national and Jistinctive institutions. It is true, some 
 of your adherents have been hoard to say, that they would fight 
 for their endowments, and rather risk a civil war, than give 
 them up. This would be the height of madness; for no longer 
 liaving the Protestant Churches of England and Scotland to 
 stand with you in the breach, you would soon be overcome by 
 numbers, and your total defeat embittered by the thought, that 
 you might have prevented such a calamity, and blessed the 
 Province with a long period of peace and happiness, had you 
 adopted a truer and more just couise of action. 
 
 Reflect, Sir, on your high position, and your numerous friends 
 and supporters, and inspire them with justice before it be too 
 iate. The national Churches of Great Britain and Ireland have 
 no desire to molest your Church property — on the contrary, 
 they hold it in reverence, because it is dedicated to God's ser- 
 vice, but you in return, ought to shew the like regard for theirs. 
 
 It is no longer to be concealed, that democracy.and infidelity 
 are the two poweis which menace religion in every part of the 
 world, wherever opportunity ofi'eis. In 1848 they were ram- 
 pant over the greater part of Europe; nor were they overcome 
 without much bloodshed and extensive misery. And is it not 
 as much our duty to join against them in this country, as it was 
 in Europe. Nor need such co-operation lead to any change in 
 
14 
 
 I III' 
 
 
 our religious feelings and principles, for such matters are not 
 involved in our agreement, which is confined to a single and 
 "well defined object. 
 
 3rd. As regards the construction of the present Ministry, of 
 which you seem to me to be virtually the head, I have no desire 
 to speak reproachfully, much less to sit in judgment, or to search 
 curiously into the motives which guided them, for to their own 
 master they must stand or fall. My object is, conciliation and 
 permanent peace. And this object I must endeavour to promote 
 because of its infinite value, even at the hazard of many repeti- 
 tions. And it invites me to inquire in the first place how far 
 you are, as a Government, pledged on the question of Church 
 property ; and so far as the United Church of England and Ire- 
 land is concerned, in what way you may be able, if inclined, to 
 effect an equitable and final arrangement. I begin with dismis- 
 sing fiom the inquiry, all vague assertions made by the membera 
 of the present administration, previous to their coalition — whether 
 they belonged to or opposed the former Government. 
 
 The change of an administration is always accompanied with 
 some alteration or modification of policy. And I fcike it for 
 granted, that yours is not an exception. Gentlemen who have 
 differed on seme important points, can never settle them satisfac- 
 torily without something of mutual compromise ; and, if so done 
 for the sake of future peace, and without infringing upon sub- 
 stantial justice, or inherent rights, such a guarded respect for 
 each other's views is reasonable, and may be admitted. There 
 are, indeed, many questions so clear and pointed, as to admit of 
 no modification without incurring moral guilt, but a fair and 
 judicious arrangement of the Clergy Reserves does not appear to 
 be one of the number, nor is the present administration pledged 
 to any course except an honourable adjustment. 
 
 But we must take care, in coming to a wise conclusion, not to 
 be led away by mere words ; which may be used in different 
 senses by diflferent persons, and this without mutual explanations, 
 might produce much confusion, and even fierce contention — as 
 happened to the two knights with the shield, which was gold on 
 the one side and silver on the other. Now, it so happens that 
 the word secularization, which means the conversion of spiritual 
 
16 
 
 appropriations to common use, has been applied in a bad sense 
 to the Clergy Reserves, as implying their absolute confiscation. 
 And this sense having been adopted by the enemies of ecclesias- 
 tical endowments, it has obtained very general currency. But 
 the word admits of a good sense, and one much more appro- 
 priate to the subject. For example: when A or B purchases 
 one or more Clergy Reserves, and they are turned into Farms,, 
 their secularization is complete. But the price paid for them 
 remains with the Church, or the Government, as the case may 
 be, and can be applied to ecclesiastical purposes. In this man- 
 ner may all the landed property of any Institution, sacred or 
 profane, be litei-ally secularised ; but it is not a necessary conse- 
 quence that the institution should be robbed ; if it has lost the 
 land, it possesses its value in the purchase money. 
 
 I do not think that there is a member of the present Govern- 
 ment, who adopts the bad interpretation of the word seculariza- 
 tion; but be this as it may, so sensible was the late ministry of 
 the inconvenience of the word, that adjustment was substituted 
 in the Governor General's speech, and adopted in the House of 
 Assembly by a very large majority. The word adjustment means 
 to put in order ; to settle in the right foi-m or way ; to make 
 accurate. This allows ample scope, but implies fairness and 
 justice, and evidently excludes any thing mean, niggardly, or 
 disingenuous. Htnce, the ministiy, by the vote of the Legisla- 
 tive Assembly, seem to me, pledged to an honourable adjustment 
 of the Clergy Reserve question. They can therefore, come for- 
 ward without party bias, to the jiist settlement of the question — 
 and united fully in principle, although there may be some latitude 
 in detail. 
 
 Thufi, a measure fair and honourable to all parties, may be 
 framed without any great difficulty, wliich shall command a 
 triumphant majority. First, the Conservatives, who, notwith- 
 standing their misfortunes, still muster a formidable Phalanx, 
 would readily give their support to such an arrangement ; nor 
 can I hesitate in believing that the Roman Catholics, now fully 
 sensible that it is a common cause, will give you a majority ; 
 since, besides their magnificent endowment in Lower Canada, 
 they are entitled by the 3rd & 4th Victoria, to a large interest in the 
 
«lii 
 
 mm 
 
 :; i 
 
 '! '^ 
 
 , iv 
 : J 
 ; / 
 
 ■I 
 
 u 
 
 ? : 
 
 J 
 
 
 Clergy Reserves of Canada West, of which, coirfiscation would 
 deprive them. And singularly blind must they be, if they do 
 not see fiom the occurrences of every day, that the present sup- 
 porters of secularization are the most bitter foe» of all Churches 
 possessing endowments. 
 
 4th. I now proceed to mention what I consider the true 
 method of settlement, and here I would premise, that it must be 
 one which shall carry along with it a friendly connction of 
 the more intelligent inhabitants of the Province, that it is the 
 best possible arrangement to insure future peace and harmony. 
 It must also be truly final ; and we must substitute permanent 
 for life, incumbencies: a treacherous provision, which would 
 gradually waste away the Church in a manner most heartless 
 and degrading, and keep her still in thraldom to the Govern- 
 ment, and open to incessant irritation and growing agitation ; 
 which skilfully managed, may soon give rise to more bitter reli- 
 gious contests than we have yet encountered. 
 
 It was the intention of the British Parliament in 1791, to 
 make ample provision for the maintenance of a Protestant Clergy 
 in Canada, and to ])lace the National Church on an equal foot- 
 ing with that of R.yiiie. How that gracious intention has been 
 frustrated, by neglect and misinanagemeut, and the pernicious 
 interference of the Provincial Government, will best appear by 
 contnvsting the temporal position of the two Churches at the 
 present time. 
 
 1st. The average livings of the French Clergy, abc^iit four 
 hundred in number, exclusive of those employed in Colleges^ 
 Monasteries, and other religious houses, may be taken at £250 
 per annum ; shewing an annual revenue of £100,000 per annum; 
 a sum which represents a capittU of at least two millions. 
 
 2nd. Various endowments — some of great value, such as the 
 St. Sulpico endowment, covering the whole Island of Montreal, 
 and considered to be worth nearly a million ; bosid&s lands, wild 
 and cultivated, to the extent of rather more than two millions of 
 acres, and which are in the aggregate, at the present time, worth 
 at least two millions more; shewing that the endowments, tythes, 
 and other dues of the Roman Catholic Church in Lower Canada 
 
 ; '1 
 
17 
 
 may be fairly taken at a capital of four millions sterling : which 
 at five per cent, would yield an incoino of two hundred 
 thousand pounds sterling, yearly. I do not mention these par- 
 ticulars as gmdging, and finding fault with their largeness ; on 
 the contrary, I would not willingly diminish them by one far- 
 thing, because they have been dedicated to holy purposes; and 
 even, should wo lose our expected on<.lowment by your lloiuan 
 CathoUc votes, I should be most reluctant to meddle with their 
 property; but my abstinence would be of little account, for the 
 moment that Roman (!atholic votes disix)se of our Church pro- 
 perty, and we never can lose it but by their votes, they seal the 
 doom of their own, and inako it a me*'e question of time. And 
 indeed it does seem clear, that if you continue as you have been 
 doing, since 1850, 1 may sjiy since the Union, it would be absurd 
 to expect that wo should possibly submit to the additional 
 injuries which your means thus increased, in comparison to our 
 poverty, may enable you to inflict. 
 
 But leaving this bitter contemplation — what can we shew in 
 contrast with your Church property, with two hundred thousand 
 per annum — why, absolutely nothing. Our Church neither has, 
 and never has had, any secure and independent endowment at 
 her dispasal ; she has not even a ewe-lamb, and has been from 
 the beginning, a mendicant Church. She has been supported 
 by the charity of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 
 in Foreign Pai-tfi — till 1845 entirely. Since that time the 
 Clergy Reserves, which are in truth her patrimf>ny, but over 
 which she had never any control, not even to prevent their being 
 wasted, have yielded her an aimual driblet, gradually increjising, 
 of one, two and three thousand annually ; till hist year it amount- 
 ed to fourteen thousand pounds; the deficiency being made up 
 to £18 or £20,000, the annual expenditure of the Church, by 
 grants from the Propagation Society. 
 
 This year it would appear from the Report of the Inspector 
 General, an abstract from which I have just seen, that the Church 
 will be entitled from the Clergy Reserve fund, to £21,658, or a 
 sum, exceeding by a few pounds her present expenditure, but 
 without the means of opening new missions. 
 
 And it is at this time, that after waiting in vain 63 years, for 
 
 c 
 
(1 
 
 f']! 
 
 
 1 -n 
 
 'iii 
 
 i 
 
 18 
 
 the trust of her patrimony, the Church finds, just as it begins tdf 
 come to her aid, that it is to be taken from her. That new mis- 
 sions are no longer to be opened : and that the income from her 
 endowment, now equal to her current expenditure, and rapidly 
 increasing, is to be further decreased by robbing the Church 
 piece-meal, by not filling vacancies as missionaries die : and that 
 the whole endowment given by a pious King, is to be diverted from 
 the support and extension of the Church ho loved, to be made a 
 source of common state revenue. Such a base and refined case of 
 sacrilege is no where to bo equalled in civil or profane history. 
 
 By the Statute 7 and 8 of George 4th, power was given to 
 the Colonial Government^ to sell one-fourth of the whole quan- 
 tity or six hundred thousand acres ; and after paying all ex- 
 penses attending such sales, the net proceeds to be invested in the 
 public funds. By the 3rd and 4th Vict, c. 78, the remaining 
 eighteen hundred thousand acres were also directed to be sold. 
 This Act also provides for the distribution of the procpeds, as 
 folIoM's: of the six hundred thousand acres, sold under the Vth 
 and 8th Geo. 4, two thirds^ of the net interest and dividends 
 accruing from the investment of the proceeds of four hundred 
 thousand acres to the Church of England ; and one third of the 
 net interest and dividends accruing from the investment of tho 
 proceeds of two hundred thousand acres to the Church of 
 Scotland. In regard to the eighteen hundred thousand acres 
 sold, C7 to be sold under the provisions of 3rd and 4th Vict., 
 the net interest and dividends from investments of the proceeds 
 of all sales of such Reserves, are divided into six equal parts, of 
 which two are appropriated to the Church of England, and one 
 to the Church of Scotland ; and the three remaining parts shall 
 be applied by the Governor General of Canada, with the advice 
 of the Executive Council, for the purposes of public worship 
 and religious instruction in Canada. From this, it appears, that 
 if the appropriation had been in Land, one million of acres 
 would have been the endowment of the Church of England; 
 five hundred thousand that of the Church of Scotland — com- 
 prehending at the time the whole Church, the disruption not 
 having then taken place; leaving nine hundred thousand to be 
 distributed among all other denominations. , . . 
 
19 
 
 The Church of England, under such distribution, would have 
 acquired an endowment nearly equal in value to one-fourth of 
 the endowment of the Roman Catholic Church in Lower Can- 
 ada. But as all the lands are sold, or in course of sale, it would 
 be necessary, to satisfy the provisions of the Act, to make over 
 to the Church of England the proceeds of the sale of one 
 million of acres, deducting expense of sales ; such to be funded 
 for the benefit and extension of the Church : nor would such 
 sum be found too large for the purpose, nor by any means so 
 large as it would have been, under faithful management A 
 committee, carefully selected, might be appointed to ascertain, 
 from strict inquiry, the amount of the net proceeds of one 
 million of acres; and this would render such settlement easy. 
 For it would only be necessary to liand it over to the Church, 
 making the regular payment of all the present salaries, pensions, 
 &c^ the first charge on the Fund thus created, as ought to be 
 the case under any arrangement that may be adopted. 
 
 Another mode of settlement, in virtue of the provisions of 
 the 3rd and 4th Vict., chap. 78, and perhaps more in accordance 
 with the present state of the property, is the following : — The 
 share of the whole endowment belonging to the Church of 
 England, is five-twelfths; to the Church of Scotland two one 
 half-twelfths ; and the remainder, four-one half-twelftlis, to various 
 other Denominations. 
 
 Suppose that the original endowment, 2,400,000 acres, when 
 sold, realised an average of ten shillings per acre, it would pro- 
 duce twelve hundiwl thousand pounds currency — of which, by 
 the Provisions of the 3rd and 4th Vict, chap. 78, five-twelfths, 
 or five hundred thousand pounds, belong to the Church of Eng- 
 land; two and a half-twelfths, or two hundred and fifty thousand 
 pounds, to the Church of Scotland ; leaving four and a half- 
 twelftlis, or four hundred and fifty thousand pounds, to be divid- 
 ed between the Roman Catholics and Wesleyan Methodists of 
 Upper Canada; because all the other Denominations refuse their 
 respective shares. Unless, indeed, these bodies (as would be 
 more desirable) should so far modify their opinions, as to accept 
 their respective portions, on the condition of expending them 
 for religious purposes; such as, the support of their Theological 
 
; I' 
 
 
 •■1 
 
 ^..'l 
 
 20 
 
 Oollegos — buildinj? places of public worahip— rMidencoi for their 
 Ministei-a, (kc; for nil of which the fund would afford ample 
 means. And surely this would be a more rational way of 
 spending the money, than to scatter it among ^unicipalitiea, 
 whore, from its trifling amount, it could do no good. 
 
 It is, indeed, much to be feared, that the sums to be divided, 
 from the unscrupulous proceedings of the former liberal govern- 
 ments, as they have been called, will be found far short of those 
 mentioned. Hut, for such deficiency, there is, alns, no remedy: 
 whiitever, therefore, the proceeds still loft of all the lands sold 
 may be found to be, those are the proportions by which, accord- 
 ing to the provisions of the 8rd and 4th Vict., they must be 
 appropriated. 
 
 A third scheme of settlement has been suggested, not perhaps 
 resting so strictly upon the provisions of the 3rd and 4th Vict., 
 chap. 78, but nevertheless simple, and flowing from an anxiety 
 to do substantial justice, in case the sum to be divided should 
 prove far short of what might have been fairly expected, viz. : 
 to the Church of England, two-thirds of the net proceeds of the 
 sales, under the 8th and 9th Geo. 4th, chap. 61, and two-sixths 
 under the 3rd and 4th Vict., chap. 78; and to the Church of 
 Scotland, under the provisions of the same two Acts, half that 
 amount; leaving three Jixths of the proceeds accruing, under 
 the 3rd and 4th Vict., chap. 78, to be dividetl among other De- 
 nominations. This scheme is in accordance with the Act 3rd 
 and 4th Vict., chap. 78, so far as it goes, but apprehends some 
 deficiency ; which, nevertheless, ought to be made up by a fair 
 allowance from the Provincial Government, through whose fault 
 it has been occasioned. 
 
 Lastly. It has hoon proposed to purchase from the Church of 
 England, her present annual income from the Clergy Reserves, 
 "which amounts for the current year, as the Receiver General 
 reports, to £21,658, and rapidly increasing; and this, at so many 
 years' purchase, say 20, but in the view of giving some compensa- 
 tion for future increase, to add to the twenty 5 years, making in 
 all 25 years' purchase, which amounts to £541,460; thus ena- 
 bling the Government to get rid at once of all connexion with 
 the Church. And, indeed, this mode ot settlement, so conduct- 
 
21 
 
 eel, vrould deserve sorae favour, if found consiBtent with principle 
 and the rip;hts acquired by the two Churches, under the 3rd and 
 4th Vict., chap. VS. It would relieve the Government from 
 many annoyances, and it would etise, if it did not fully satisfy, 
 the Church of England: because, after providing for her present 
 establishment, a small residue would be left to extend her limits 
 by opening new Missions. 
 
 Any of those schemes may be easily mollified, so as to become 
 acceptiible, if the Government can be induced to treat the question 
 with the same scrupulous reji,ard to the rights of property as the 
 peoi»le of England. This, indeed, u tlie Governor General's 
 advice: and if the power conferred upon the Legislature be 
 abused in this weighty matter, it will bring a blight on the land, 
 and scandal to one of the best causes over entrusted to a 
 people. 
 
 I cannot leave this part of my subject, without noticing the 
 Earl of Derby's amendment, so characteristic of his noble 
 nature. This amendment to the Bill, offers as moderate a 
 scheme for the final settlement of the Clergy Reserves, as 
 pledged Faith and Power would permit. His Lordship pre- 
 serves to the Churches of England and Scotland, all proceeds of 
 the Revenues guaranteed to them, and already distinctly appro- 
 priated under the 7th and 8th George 4th, chapter G2, and under 
 the 3rd and fourth Victoria, chapter 78, in absolute and perma- 
 nent possession. But conferring upon the Legislature, the free 
 and unlimited power of dealing with any portion of the Clergy 
 Reserves, not already so appropriated and allotted, — or in other 
 words, giving the two Churches in perpetuity, all that is confer- 
 red upon them by the provisions of the 3rd and 4th Victoria, 
 chapter 78, and of which they have been in actual possassion 
 fourteen years. But leaving what remains of the land unsold, 
 and not so conferred and appropriated at the passing of the Act, 
 to the future disposition of the Colonial Legislature. 
 
 In conclusion, I would observe that the Roman Catholics and 
 Protestants in Canada, are nearly equal in number. They enjoy 
 the same civil rights and privileges, and till now, their spiritual 
 advantjigea, tho'gh greatly preponderating in your favour, have 
 never on the part of the Members of the Church of England, 
 
22 
 
 I ! 
 
 ! , 
 
 been made matter of complaint. In Canada, both parties must 
 live, mix in the same society, and vote in the same Legislature. 
 Would it not then be better to live in harmony, and to permit 
 each other to enjoy unmolested, their social rights and comforts, 
 with which they seem in general content, and make no attempt 
 to disturb a state of things with which all appear so well 
 satisfied. 
 
 Irregularities will arise from causca over which we have no 
 control ; and if instead of exerting ourselves to counteract their 
 evil tendency, we permit self: hness and envy, or the love of 
 mastery to interfere, the real sources of our social happiness will 
 not only be impaired, but may give place to contention, ennrJty, 
 and disorder. You must not forget, that the population of 
 Canada, will ever be essentially English, surrounded by Colonies 
 inhabited by the same race. Reflect also on the fact, that our 
 Republican neighbours are Saxon, and from their peculiar 
 institutions and mode of thinking, are unfriendly to all religious 
 Establishments Hence, every principle of duty and interest* 
 directs us to adopt such measures as shall unite more cordially 
 the French and English population of the Province, — and thus 
 by respecting their peculiar manners and habits, to cherish every 
 friendly approximation, while we steadily discourage evcr^ 
 attempt to foster jealousy and heart-burnings. You have been 
 received into the national family, and whether at fii-st, willingly 
 or not, here you are, and your position cannot be altered. We 
 are already exceeding you in numbers, and wo increase more 
 rapidly ; and, in a brief space, we shall be thrice as numerous 
 from emigration and natural causes. While, then, you are in 
 the r 3cendancy, exercise your power with wisdom and modera- 
 tion — and do not consent to an act of such grievous oppression 
 as the secularization of our Church property, and which your 
 Roman Catholic votes can either destroy or secure. If from a 
 wicked and wanton exercise of the j)ower recently conferred 
 upon you by the British Parliament, trusting in your integrity 
 and honor, you perpetrate an act so otfensive, it will never be 
 forgotten ; but will be fatally remembered when we far surpass 
 you in population, and of consequence in the numbers of Repre- 
 sentatives, and then the evil you have dc e to us, will be 
 
23 
 
 returned to you ten-fold, and the besom of bitter retaliation will 
 sweep away your magnifice-.it endowments^ 
 
 Think not that I take pleasure in such a contemplation ; on 
 the contrary, I most earnestly desire tc avert such a terrible 
 result, by claiming from you and your countrymen, a wise and 
 upright policy at the present moment We cannot be spoiled 
 ■without your active and voluntary concurrence. 
 
 Canada is inhabited by two races; and the true policy is to 
 make them as much as possible one people : and to bring this 
 about, nothing unjust should be done to depress the one or 
 unduly to raise tl^e other. A spirit of good will and kind.. »s, 
 should be promoted between them, and the stiictest impartiality 
 exercised by their Rulers. 
 
 One of the highest duties of Govei-nment, and one of the first 
 obligat" .18 of humanity, is to diminish or remove, as far as pos- 
 sible, all grounds which might in any way promote future col- 
 lision or blood-shed, cr estrangement, or animosity among its 
 people. 
 
 Controversies will indeed sometimes arise, but even those of a 
 religious character, which are often the most bitter and unrelent- 
 ing, may be kept within resisonable bounds without periUing in 
 any manner the progress of truth ; and they may be conducted 
 in ^ Christian si»irit without rancour or personal violence. 
 
 No Brownson's or Gavazzi's should be invited to vilify and 
 irritate our people, living in th/3 same Parishes, Villages, Towns, 
 and Cities, and under the same Government. It is our duty to 
 exclude all such incendiaries; or if there be no law to prevent 
 such criminal and otiensivo intrusion, let us not attend their in- 
 flammatory harangues ; and hold the civil authorities res])onsible 
 for the jnestjrvation of the peace 
 
 Our liberties, whether civil or religious, are not jwomoted by 
 itinerant vagi-auts abusing for hire the Protcfitauts one day, and the 
 lloman Catholicc the nt\t. Freedom of speech, and freedom of 
 Divine worship, require not the aid of unprincipled Lecturers 
 go'iig round the Province, and earning their living by sowing 
 the seed of calumny and dissansion, falsf^hood and misrepresen- 
 tation. 
 
24 
 
 !f 
 
 
 
 Seriou& and well-disposed persons ieel, that there are certain 
 objects of religious faith and atfectiou, which may be made the 
 subject of calm and rational controversy ; but cannot be made the 
 subject of ridicule, without awakening the most exquisite feelings 
 of distress, horror, and indignation. Every true friend of reli- 
 gion, therefore, whether lioraan Catholic or Protestant, while 
 claiming full liberty of speecb, will readily admit that such 
 liberty should be tempered with moderation ; and that scoin and 
 reviling, a^>plied to holy things, should be reprobated and put 
 down, from whatever quarter they may come : and that it is the 
 duty of every friend of decency and order to abate tbo nuisance 
 of those fire-brands, whether stationary or migratory, who think 
 themselves entitled to rouse the bad p^issions against any one 
 mode of religious belief, since it cannot fail to provoke violent 
 reprisals. 
 
 We are not warranted by the Christian law of love in pouring 
 contempt and abuse on any man's cieed, however erroneous it 
 may be, unless it otFends against peace and good morals. We 
 may be charitable without unfaitlifulness, and defend our own 
 belief without exaggeration, acrimony, or suspicion of motives ; 
 and thus patiently to arrive at the truth to be embraced, and the 
 error to be rejected. A good life is more elo< juent than language, 
 and practice the best comment upon profession. 
 
 In fine, I call upon you. Sir, as the virtual head of the present 
 Government, and the honest men of all parties, to help us in 
 averting the confiscation of the small remainder of our Church 
 Property, with which wo are threatened. To her the property 
 belongs, by a title which Lord St. Leonards— a great authority — 
 declares to be as good as could possibly exist; and which, in the 
 present civilized age, no just Government can rudely touch, 
 without loss of character. If, therefore, you proceed to legislate 
 on the subject, let it be in a fair and honourable spiiit, to carry 
 out the provisions of the 3rd and 4th Victoria, chapter 18, by 
 making over the endowment it secures to the Cliiuoh of England 
 forever, and without diminution, that she may, in accordance 
 with the views of that devout monarch who gave it more than 
 half a century ago, apply it to the support of public worship, and 
 
25 
 
 the extension of Christianity, through this vast diocese, for all 
 future time. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 JOHN TORONTO. 
 Toronto, Canada, 
 
 20th October, 1854. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Sir:— 
 
 After ray letter had gone to press, I was favonred with a copy 
 of your bill, providing for the confiscation of tbe Clergy Re- 
 serves, and I declare, without hesitation, that it is the most 
 atrocious specimen of oppressive legislation, that has appeared 
 since the days of the French Convention. 
 
 Can the members of the United Church of England and 
 Ireland be expected to submit calmly to this monstrous robbery ? 
 Is it not intended, by its silent and venomous operation, to un- 
 dermine and destroy every Parish and Mission in this Diocese ? 
 and ai-e not you and your friends already gloating on the'pros- 
 pect of our Churches in ruins; and of their being closed and 
 deserted one after another ? And, are you not rejoicing in the 
 hope that the voice of prayer, and praise, and the preaching of 
 the Gospel, will soon cease to be heard in Upper Canada ? And 
 that nothing may be wanting, on your part, to hasten this sad 
 state of things, and to satiate your vindictive hatred to the 
 irrotestant Faith, you proceed in your intolerance, to the 
 utmost extent of the unhallowed power, recently conferred 
 upon you by a credulous Government, and leave us nothing that 
 you can by any possibility take away. 
 
 But gloomy, and, I venture to eay, fearful as the consequences 
 are likely to be, should this measure of religious spoliation be- 
 come law, we do not despair, nor allow ourselves to dread the 
 final result. 
 
';l 
 
 Ti'&. 
 
 26 
 
 We may see, from day to day, our Missions desolate, as their 
 incumbents die, till many have departed in sorrow to the grave ; 
 but though, for a time, the ministrations of the Church may, in 
 some places cease, and in many become less frequent, yet so long 
 as we trust in God, help and enlargement will be cent, and 
 restore us to greater strength than evei", — " For the foundations 
 " of our Church are upon the Holy Hills, and the gates of hell 
 " shall not prevail against her." 
 
 How would you like the treatment, which, in this the day of 
 your arrogant power, you are meting out to us, were the case 
 reversed, and were we to take three-fourths of your endowment 
 of four millions, leaving you the interest of ore million to bo 
 annually divided among the Ministers of your Parishes, and to 
 return to the public treasury as tx. y perish from grief, and want, 
 and untimely deaths ? Would you bear all this patiently ? 
 
 Before you proceed farther, it may be well to recollect that 
 your tithes and dues, the only portion of your Church Property 
 that has any legal security, are already in jeopardy, and will not 
 bug survive the passing of your bill, for it will form a precedent 
 for the pillage of all your Ecclesiastical endowments ; and these 
 will be the more easy, as you hold them only on sufferance ; 
 although, equal to one-seventh of Jill your Seignories ; for the 
 14th of George 3rd, still in force, declares, that Keligious Com- 
 munities shall not hold Estates. 
 
 It would be premature, at present, to hazard any conjecture 
 as to the measures which the Members of the United Church of 
 England and Ireland, may take, should the bill pass : but when 
 that event happens, I feel persuaded that they will not shrink 
 from their duty. 
 
 In the meantime, I leave you a solemn warning, by a Roman 
 Catholic of Lower Canada; which, although it has been already 
 quoted more than once, appears peculiarly well-adapted for the 
 close of this Postscript. 
 
 " Think you, (says the writer,) that those who abrogate the 
 " law, which gives the Church of England, her rights, will 
 " respect that which regards youi-s ? Will they hold sacred that 
 " treaty which gives your Church in Eastern Canada, wealth and 
 
27 
 
 power? "When you do this, remember that the Destroyer in 
 his turn, shall perish ? The Clergy Reserve question, is the 
 outer-wall that protects your rights ; and, against which, now 
 beats, the swelling tide of irreligion, and threatens destruction to 
 all you hold, dear and Holy. It is our duty and interest, 
 therefore, to aid in preserving to the Church of England, her 
 rights. Is there any one so obtuse, as not to understand the 
 import of the fearful denunciation, secularization of the Clergy 
 Reserves ! Is it not a declaration of war against all that Catholics 
 hold sacred and holy ? What does it mean, but a present and 
 temporary forbearance to the Catholic Church, and future 
 proscription ?" 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient humble servant, 
 
 Toronto, Canada, 
 
 21st October, 1854. 
 
 JOHN TORONTO. 
 
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