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' w -, ^ ■" V ( *. i , '^r. 4 ^i . ' >' ^ -W J -f > i , -* H ■J - ' ; ' 3 \. t ,1 *. * t MONTREAL : 1 1 ) • «' WiTN ESS " Printing House, 323 1889. St. James Street > • J .• • • •• 1 •» • « • •< .* .•.•.•• •• • • « • w • • • • • I • • • . • THE STORY OF THE FIFTY YEARS. The first word to be spoken on thi« occasion is one in explanation of the present speaker's having any words at all to say. All the fitnesses of things and the appointment of the Board pointed to him who has served as Professor and Secretary for all the latter half of the fifty years, as the man, of all others, to tell the story and deduce the lessons of the whole period. And it was only when Dr. Cornish found himself unable to fulfil the appointment, that there was pressed into the service this Student of the College from 1844 to 1848, Secretary from 1855 to 1864, and Member of the Board for some twenty or thirty years, who finds it difficult to say No to any wish of Alma Mater. UPPER CANADA IN 1 839. We have to trace the history of this institution from 1839 to 1889, a memorable period for Canada ; perhaps as remarkable for changes and developments as any fifty years she will know. Let us try to recall the former times, and make them live before us again, so that we may look at our school of the prophets in its historical setting. We will begin where the College itself began, in Upper Canada, as Ontario was then called. In 1839,* the Province had a little over 4CX),ooo inhabitants ; Toronto, about 12,000. There was not a mile of railroad. There were very few miles even macadam- ized. The original clay, with its fine, tenacious qualities, and the smooth and easy corduroy, composed the highways. Not many farmers had built their "second house." A brick dwelling was a wonder, a frame one a rarity, a log storey-and-a-half the prevailing type. During summer, the steamers ploughed the • Dr. Lillie's " Canada," 1855. 58969 lakes, but when they came to the rapids of the St. Lawrence, passengers and goods had to go round by land transport to the next more level reach. Many farmers in the bush could come out only when the snow had fallen. Imported goods were very dear ; native produce was very cheap. Credits ran for yea-s. There was hardly cash enough in circulation to pay tax'is. School system there was hardly any. There were schoolhouscs, but the teacher was not seldom a drunkard. An occasional Grammar School could be found in the chief towns. King's College, Toronto, was not opened. Victoria and Queen's were struggling to be born. There was no daily paper in all the Prov- ince. The mails were slow and very dear. Letters from Eng- land came about once a month. Dr. Wilkes was forty-nine days coming to New York in 1836. Yet there was a sturdy popula- tion, the United Empire Loyalists forming the foundation, along the frontier, with layers of emigrants from England, Scotland and Ireland superimposed from time to time. They worked hard in " lifting up axes against the thick trees " and " subduing the earth." They were hospitable to the traveller and his horse. To few of their homes was the whisky-bottle a stranger. They loved liberty and hated taxation. In Toronto, however, there was a very exclusive circle of society, in whom the aristocratic feeling was developed to the highest point, as it is wont to be in small places ; a circle numbering many admirable members, but having its dross as well as its fine gold. THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT. In 1839, Upper Canada had scarcely subsided from the storm of the Rebellion. It seems like ancient history now, — many of our young people, even the students from Ontario, know little about it, — but the long, hard and weary battle for Responsible Government and Religious Equality was not yet crowned with complete success. Every party now upholds these principles ; but fifty, sixty and seventy years ago, "rebel" and "Yankee" were the brands put on those who wanted British rights in a British colony. Lieutenant-Governors came out from England with lofty ideas of the Royal Prerogative. They were received, surrounded and instructed by a band of permanent officials — the " Family Compact," — who, entrenched in the Executive and Legislative Councils, bac'e defiance to the representatives of the people in the Legislative; Assembly. Very obstinate and bitter were the contests between the two Houses. The oligarchy in power were very despotic ; the democracy contained some violent and reckless spirits, of whom a very small proportion took arms, V J^, 5 in 1837, under William Lyon Mackenzie. But the mass of the Reformers were as loyal as the Conservatives. BISHOP JOHN STRACHAN. No figure was more prominent in those stirring times than the Hon. and Right Rev. John Strachan, D.D., at first Archdeacon of York, then Bishop of Toronto, who came out from Scotland a Presbyterian teacher, expecting to found a college, but took orders in the Church of England, and came to the front, at a time when strong men were few, by sheer force of native charac- ter. He was a leading member of the Government and of the Upper House for many years, and no one did more to hold his party together and resist every onslaught of the hated radicals. CilURCH ESTABLLSHMENT AND ENDOWMENT. It was a vital feature of his scheme of government, that the Church of England be established and endowed in the colony, as in the Mother Country. By the Act of 31 George HI., ch. 31 (1791), one-seventh of all the lands of the Province were " reserved " for the support of " a Protestant clergy," whence the well-known phrase, "Clergy Reserves." Of 549,000 acres of land granted by the Crown in 1798 for education, about 350,000 were reserved for a University Dr. Strachan and his colleagues claimed the whole of the Clergy Reserves for the Church of England ; but the members of the Church of Scotland demanded a share, as it was also established in the northern part of Great Britain ; and there were other bodies who were not unwilling to participate. But the great majority of the people, including many members of the Churches connected with the British State, were resolutely opposed to giving any one or two Churches such advantage and pre-eminence ; — believing, as the result has triumphantly shown, that equality with other bodies, and self- support and self-government within themselves, were as much more wholesome for the Churches who wanted government- crutches, as they were for the public weal. Every one sees this now. No Diocesan Synod would give up its power, or seek to be relieved of the correlative obligation to pay its own way. But in 1839 the Voluntary Principle was rank heresy, treason, almost infidelity. The Church newspaper said : " The Congregation- alists, or Independents, have ever been notorious for their enmity to the Church and the Crown." (June, 1842.) The University Endowment was seized by the same strong hands, and held for a "Church" institution, so that the Methodists were forced to seek a Royal Charter for Victoria, and the Pres- o byterians for Queen's, instead of being all connbined in a great Provincial university. Not until 1 83 1 had non-episcopal ministers the right to celebrate marriages. One great argument used for an Established Church was, that only by its instrumentality could Canadians be kept loyal to the British Crown. In fact, the pressing of the scheme did as much as anything to cause the rebellion ; and Canada has never been so loyal as since the Reserves were finally secularized in 1854.* CONGREGATIONAL PIONEERS. In those early days there were not a great many Anglican churches in the country, nor many Presbyterian. The Metho- dists were more numerous, and characteristically energetic. The Baptists were few. The Roman Catholics were represented in proportion, and zealously cared for. In 1834 Lower Canada is said to have had 150 priests, 68 Protestant ministers ; Upper Canada, 160 ministers. Among these bodies the Congrega- tionalists from England, Scotland, and New England felt that there was a place and a work for them. Dr. Jackson has toid us (in his introductory chapter to Mr. Wood's Memoir of Dr. Wilkes) how this body was represented in Newfoundland as early as 1645, in Nova Scotia by 1759, in New Brunswick in 1766, in the city of Quebec in 1801, and in the Eastern Town- ships in 1 8 10. But some of these churches, isolated and weak, were absorbed by stronger bodies. The first one founded in Upper Canada by a Congregational minister. Rev. Joseph Silcox, in 1 817, bore the extraordinary title of "The Congregational Presbyterian Prince of Peace Society." But all these early movements were sporadic and unorganized. The history of the body, as now existing, dates back to only ten years earlier than the College. "The Canada Education and Home Missionary Society," founded in Montreal in 1829, with Mr. Henry Wilkes, then in business, as its first Secretary, and designed to support Presbyterian, Baptist, or Congregational ministers, aided Rev. A. J. Parker, of Danville, and other pioneers. Some ministers were induced, to come out from Britain by Mr. Wilkes, when a student in Glasgow, among them Rev. Richard Miles, to Montreal in 1831, and Rev. Adam Lillie to Brantford. He himself would have come in 1833 to York, as Toronto was then called, had not the Congregationalists there been three months behind their promised time of writing. The visit of the Rev. Drs. Reed and * See Hodgins' Life of Dr. Ryerson, Toronto, 1883. ' I I in a great to celebrate :h was, that loyal to the id as much never been J in 1854.* ' Anglican he Metho- etic. The escnted in Canada is 's ; Upper "ongrega- l felt that 1 has told )ir of Dr. idland as iswick in rn Town- nd weak, unded in h Silcox, egational -se early ry of the [ier than issionary Wilkes, support ed Rev. [linisters when a lontreal f would had not id their ied and Matheson, delegates from England to the American churches in 1834, who also made a trip through Canada, led the London (Foreign) Missionary Society to send out more missionaries here, and in 1836, under Mr. Wilkes' leadership, the Colonial Missionary Society, still our foster mother, was organized in London. Mr. Wilkes became its agent in Montreal, and Mr. Roaf in Toronto. Rev. John Roaf, who came from Wolverhampton, England, was a man of great ability, courage and force, a thorough Non- conformist on principle, and well fitted to take the lead in a time of conflict. He arrived in the country in 1837, when the Upper Canada Rebellion was impending. Some of the leading Reformers, Hon. Marshall Spring BidwcU, for instance, were members of his congregation. In the heat of the period, all of that party were set down as " rebels." " Thank God (said Mr. Roaf), not one of our church members was drawn into the Rebellion." It was a troublous and a dangerous time. There were but sixteen Congregational churclu'; in Upper Canada in 1840, yet the little band were faithful to their denominational traditions, and did their full part in securing the ultimate triumph of the good cause. The offer was nade to th :m, in 1840, to share 'n the distribution of the Clergy Re erves. But few and poor as they were, they steadfastly refused to touch " the things that were Caesar's " for God's cause. ORIGIN OF THE COLLEGE. And now, I trust, we can better imagine the timen, the place, and the men among whom this institution first came into life. Its genesis was very simple and natural. There was no large scheme, outlined "in the air." But in 1838 one young married man, whose heart the Lord had touched, Ludwick Kribs, of Eramosa, near Guelph, wanted to become a minister, and was placed under the care of Rev. Adam Lillie, pastor at Brantford, by Mr. Roaf, on behalf of the Colonial Missionary Society. The next year, 1839, Mr. Lillie removed to Dundas, and there Messrs. Stephen King, Leonard McGlashan, Samuel Fenton, and Edward Ebbs, with Mr. Kribs, made up the first c/ass of students. From that time, therefore, we date our foundation. Mr. Roaf said in England in 1842 : "We are the first body in Canada, strong and holy and intelligent and wealthy as many of them are, we are the very first body in the Colony who have made a regular provision for education for the ministry." {tiarbinger, 1842, p. 109.) In one year more, Mr. Lillie was released from pastoral duties, removed to Toronto, and " The 8 Congregational Academy " was formally opened on September ii> 1840, by two Addresses delivered in the "Congregational Chapel," by Revs. A. Lillie and W. P. Wastell, a printed copy of which I now exhibit. Let us listen for a few moments to the key-note thus sounded, for it set the pitch for all the following years. Mr. Lillie spoke on " The Nature and Importance of Ministerial Education." Evidently, he felt that it was necessary to vindicate training for the work against some who thought that piety and uncultivated .^ifts were sufficient. He urges the necessity of the largest knowledge in the teachers of others ; of aptness to teach ; of familiarity with the Scriptures in their original tongues ; and of giving to this work our best powers in their best condition. He answers objections against " secular learning," and misinterpretations of Scripture in regard to " philosophy," and shows how the very Apostles were trained for three years by the Master Himself He contends that education is not inconsistent with dependence on the power of the Gospel and the grace of God ; that the usefulness of some uneducated ministers is no argument for leaving ^//uneducated; that the study of the English Bible alone is not sufficient ; that learning does not make men proud ; and tha. the danger of an educated ministry becoming a professional class by itself, separated from the people, is an unfounded imagination. I must quote a short passage from this able and eloquent dis- course : "If there be in the universe an employment which demands, or is entitled to THE BEST of those who are charged with it, the Christian ministry is that employment. The highest talents are honoured by it ; it affords full scope for their most vigorous exercise, supplies the strongest and most sacred motives to it, and pledges as its reward the richest and most enduring return. God and man, heaven and hell, time and eternity, justice and compassion, self-love and philanthropy, all urge it. Geth- semane and Calvary plead for it by their wondrous manifestations of redeeming love. Can h'l be worthy of the ministry, or fitted for it, who is capable, while thus adjured, of measuring out with a niggard hand what he must give, who can endure the thought of holding back anything which he has the means of laying at His feet who bled for him ? Can any appointment entitle such an one to exercise the Ministry ? If found in it, would not both the Church and the world be justified in uniting to " clap their hands at him, and hiss him out of his place ?" " This land," he says in closing, " is yet in its infancy, but we believe a strong and vigorous manhood is yet before it. By the principles it may now imbibe, and the habits it may form, — the uses to which it will put its power and resources, and the effects that will result from them will be mainly determined. Over both of them a ministry of the right sort will be calculated to exert a very large influence. . . . Provide such a ministry, and unborn and grateful millions will honour your memory. . . . May we all have occa- sion, may thousands and tens of thousands who have yet to be have occasion for endless gratitude on account of the measures which we are now adopting. To God, and my Brethren, and the Churches, I commend myself and my charge — OUR INFANT HOPE." REV. ADAM LILI.IE. Here let mc add a few particulars concerning the writer of these burning words, who for the following thirty years was the chief teacher in the College, dying in its service in 1869. Adam Lillie was born in Glasgow in i»So3, lost both parents in early life, joined the church under the care of Dr. Ralph Wardlaw, spent two sessions in Glasgow University, and at twenty years of age entered the Theological Academy at Gosport, Hampshire, under Rev. Dr. Boguc, to prepare himself for the service of the London Missionary Society. Then, and to the end of his life, he was an intense student. He sailed for India in i open to all denominations in 1849, the diffi- culty remained, tha'c few students were prepared to enter the Arts course, and no such arrangements for affiliation as pre- vail here (and there now) were even thought of In course of time, however, Dr. Lillie got some relief from a senior student and by the appointment of a Classical and Hebrew Tutor. The students lived together in the very plain frame house on Yonge Street, represented in a photograph hanging in our students' Common Room, Mr. Lillie lecturing in the Library. Whether there was "high thinking" done there or not, there was no mistake about the " plain living." You collegians of to-day " reign as kings," by comparison ! The Manual Labor system was adopted at first, but was not long maintained. Yet, I remember a theologue, who followed his Master's trade, fur- nishing some very good doors to a builder, and so helping to pay his way. V4 n and Clarke e whole of the md Chairman e constitution ences that led stem, the pre- is, Mr. Ebbs ^oung on the The Special The Chair- ler ministers, )roficiency of hole denomi- ith which he un-academic 1 keeping the cts on which ered that in 2's College" on -episcopal -1, and there al students, some other of Toronto ^9, the diffi. enter the ion as pre- i course of ior student utor. house on ng in our e Library, not, there legians of ual Labor led. Yet, trade, fur- lelping to ^3 One little glimpse of the interior life of the Academy I cull from the sketch of the first student, Ludwick Kribs, in our magazine,* to which it was furnished by Rev. Stephen King, the sole survivor of the first class, and still an active deacon of Bond Street Church, Toronto : "At one of the prayer meetings held at the house of Deacon James Wickson, it was resolved to form themselves into a Congregatioifal Missionary Society. Mr. E. Ebbs was the first Secretary, and Mr. S. King the first Treasurer. Mr. King then made a money-box, and each of the members ' agreed to put into this box not less than one penny each week, and as much more as he could get.' During this winter (1840- 41) Rev. John Climie was doing mission work in Innisfil, Nottawasaga, etc., travelling on foot to reach his preaching stations. Hearing of this, this Missionary Society resolved to buy him a horse and saddle, which they did at a good deal less than the regulation price of horses in these days. The horse and saddle stood them $30, and were duly sent up north to Mr. Climie. Mr. King says, * This was the first missionary money paid by the first Missionary Society organised by the Congrega- tionalists of Canada.' When Student Kribs had finished his college course, the * Missionary Society ' gave him $20." I have recited at this length the story of the early days, both because they did so much to shape all the fifty years, and because they are less known. It is not proposed to dwell so long on each year of the half century. THE INSTITUTE AT MONTREAL. But as we have spent so much time in the West, let us now come to the East, and see what was being done there. Here there was a different population, the majority French and Catholic. Political strifes took on a national and a religious character. The British settlers in the two Provinces never could understand each other's politics. Here also there was a strenuous attempt, from the Conquest, to establish and endow the Church of England, and to bring Education, from the Common School to the University, under Anglican control. Rev. — Bentom, Congregational minister in Quebec, was refused registers for Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths, and for publishing a pamphlet on the case was fined ;^50 and imprisoned for six months, on a charge of libel. Though the law had nominally granted the right, it was withheld for thirty years longer, until 1836. In 1838 an ancient form of proclamation was followed by the Lieut- * Canadian Independent, March, 1888, p. 67. ' I I . 14 Governor of Lower Canada, in appointing a day of fasting and prayer. It ran thus : — " As ye fear the wrath of God and the Queen's displeasure, ye shall all assemble in your respective places of worship," &c. " Objecting strongly to the form of the proclamation, Mr. Wilkes called the Church together, asked it to concur in the observance, and respectfully to protest against any interference of the Civil Power in such matters, beyond naming the day, and exhorting Her Majesty's faithful subjects to observe it in the manner proposed. . . . Many similar days have been appointed since, but the objectionable form of proclamation has never been repeated."* There was need, in those days, of such bold assertion of civil and religious liberty, not only against Romanists, but against some Protestants. McGill College was held as tenaciously for one church as King's, Toronto, had been ; and as long and arduous a contest was required to open it freely to all. In this contest the Congrega- tional representatives took a prominent part. The amended Charter was not granted till 1852. Rev. W. P. Wastell's address at the opening of the Toronto Congregational Academy, in 1840, is made " To the representa- tives of the Churches of the Congregational Unions of Upper and Lower Canada." And in the subscription list of 1842 of $826.50, I find Montreal credited with $304.50, . large sum for those days. ($100 from John Dougall.) The Congregational Union of Eastern Canada, formed in 1838, embraced that part of C. W. east of Kingston. At its meeting in 1841 the question was mooted of establishing a Theological Institute of its own. The nucleus of a library, 1 50 volumes, collected in Britain by Rev. H.Wilkes and J. Smith in 1 831, was offered for this object. In the number for April, 1842, of the Harbinger, the pioneer magazine of the Canadian Congregational Churches, it was announced that " this long desired institution has now an estab- lished and organized existence. Rev. J. J. Carruthers, of the Universities of St. Andrew's and Edinburgh, who came out with this view, will occupy the office of Professor of Theology, Biblical Criticism, and Literature, and generally superintend the Classical Department. Rev. H. Wilkes, of the University of Glasgow, will lecture on Intellectual and Moral Philosophy. Each department will embrace courses of lectures in other branches of sacred and general science. The Institution has now received the full sanction of the Colonial Missionary Society, which looks also to the Churches of Canada for efficient support." In three » « Memoir of Dr. Wilkes," p. 106. ' ; t years, however, — by 1845 — funds fell short, and it was agreed to combine the Eastern and Western institutions. Three students, Messrs. Bayne, Fenwick and Lancashire, came up to Toronto, the library followed them, and in 1 846 the Academy took the new name of ** The Congregational Theological Institute," and was put into the hands of the Subscribers, instead of the Congre- gational Unions. All this was done with the consent of the Unions and of the Colonial Missionary Society. Revs. John Bowles, Charles McKay, Robert Robinson, and Norman McLeod completed their studies in Montreal. Dr. Carruthers, who in his early days had been a missionary in Southern Russia, was the first pastor of the Gosford Street Church in Montreal, where I had the honour of succeeding him. He removed in 1848 to Portland, Maine, being called to the pulpit once occupied by the celebrated Dr. Edward Payson, and there he still lives, at an advanced age, honoured and beloved. I have often heard the former students of the Montreal Institute dilate .vith enthusiasm on the instructions they received there, and regret that I cannot speak of it with the fulness derived from personal knowledge, as I have done of the Toronto Academy. It may seem singular that, when the whole body was so weak, two institutions should have been founded, one at Montreal and one in Toronto. Yet it should be remembered that the Society of which Mr. Wilkes was Secretary before commencing his studies in Glasgow was an " Education and Home Missionary Society," that he collected funds and books for it, and engaged Rev. John Smith, M.A., in Scotland to come to Canada as a Tutor, — so that a Theological Institution at Montreal was a purpose of long standing. And again, Montreal and Toronto were very wide apart in those days. Ten years later, in the winter of 1851-52, my honoured father travelled five days and nights all the distance by stage, to come here to my sick bed. Yet the Institute here, lacking pecuniary support, on Dr. Car- ruthers' removal, came to a speedy end. The " moral " of this old story of the experiment in " the forties " may be, that there is room for one strong Congregational College in Canada, but not for two. Our numbers and resources are greater to-day. But the range and the cost of theological teaching have grown in at least equal proportion. In 1854, the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway opened the way for the amalgamation of the Eastern and Western Unions and Missionary Societies, and students can and do now come to this College from the extremest points of the Provinces. i6 GORHAM COLLEGE, NOVA SCOTIA. In this Jubilee history, a kindred movement still further to the East claims some record, — Gorham College, Liverpool, Nova Scotia, founded by a bequest of Mr. James Gorham in 1848. The building erected for its use was burnt down in 1854. I have no materials for a sketch of its abortive history, which closed in 1857. But this institution received from it three benefits, which entitle it to honourable mention. First, its Library, " subject a right of recall should Gorham College be re-opened." Secondly, the name of " College," adopted in i860, and, with a view to the now college-less Maritime Provinces, in the form, " The Congregational College of B. N. A." And last, but not least, Professor Cornish, who, first serving there, and being appointed to the Classical Chair in McGill College, was ready to take up work in this upon its removal to Montreal, and after a quarter-century's service, as Professor and as Secretary, is still at his post, with vigilance unabated. Few know how much the College at Montreal owes to him. In view of all the changes he has seen, he may well say, *' Men may come, and men may go, but I flow on for ever." THE TWO QUARTER CENTURIES. That half century of the life of the College, whose completion we are now celebrating, is exactly divided into two quarter centuries, by its removal from Toronto to Montreal in 1864. It fell to my lot, as Secretary at that time, to prepare and insert in my last report an outline of the first quarter century. (It was again published in the first " Canadian Congregational Year Book," 1873-74, pp. 22-26.) From that document I shall now glean a few more particulars in regard to the Toronto era of the College. GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS AT TORONTO. The standard for admission, at first, was " a fair acquaintance with arithmetic, English grammar and composition, geography and history ; " in i860 " a fair English education." The course of study occupied three sessions of nine months ; the three were extended to four in 1844 ; to five in i860, but shortened to six months. The division of the course into two years in Arts and three in Theology was proposed in Toronto after long consideration.* In Montreal the present arrangement, * See Annual Reports from 1859 to 1863. u 17 ill further to ^erpool, Nova am in 1848. I in 1854. I listory, which om it three t, its Library, : re-opened." and, with a in the form, last, but not , and being vas ready to , and after a etary, is still w much the the changes d men may completion wo quarter al in 1864. J and insert y. (It was ional Year shall now era of the uaintance geography months ; i860, but into two Toronto ngement, blending the last two years in Arts with the first two in Theology, was adopted. Dr. Lillie served throughout the whole of the first quarter- century. Rev. Arthur Wickson, LL.D., was Classical and Hebrew tutor from 1850 to 1862. Dr. Wickson was a dis- tinguished scholar of the University. His father was a patriarch of Toronto Congregationalism. From the beginning the students were engaged in missionary work, during the session in Toronto and the surrounding country, and in the vacations where required. The Missionary Society has superintended such work since 1859. The law, that "the labourer is worthy of his hire," was not admitted in all cases by thrifty deacons : and one student remembers stage rides over frozen mud occupying all Saturday and all Monday, with a gross fee of $1.50 ; expenses $1 ; net proceeds for time, labour, and wear and tear, fifty cents ! But much gratuitous service was cheerfully performed by these poor young men for those who could make no return. A very early tradition was that of a Sunday night service in the Old Fort Barracks, for the 93rd Highlanders, from which the brethren were duly escorted into town by Gaelic Christians of the Cornelius type. When the Free Church of Scotland "came out" in 1843, ^nd the whole Divinity Class of Queen's College left it and came to Toronto the next year, to enter the newly-formed Knox College, we all met together, districted the city, and carried on house to house visitation, with tracts, sometimes opening cottage prayer meetings or a Sunday afternoon service. The College was rather unsettled in Toronto as to its local habitation. It was six years in the frame house aforesaid, and two years in a brick one on George Street, under the *' domestic system." Then the students took private board, and a room was rented for the library and lectures, until " the student's friend," Mr. John Nasmith, arranged to have a lecture-room on his premises. What Toronto student can forget that good man's " teas " and " snacks," the ever-open door and unfailing welcome, the homely, hearty greeting, the diversified kindnesses, and the "Home" feeling under that roof? If every cup of cold water given to a disciple has its reward, how rich he is now ! The name of Mr. Patrick Freeland, for many years Secretary or Treasurer, must not be forgotten here. At one time the Board was on the eve of erecting a building in Toronto, but a financial crisis defeated the project. Had it been carried out, the current of this history might have been changed. During the Toronto quarter-century sixty-four students had Il» « i8 been received. Of these fifty were living in 1864, and thirty were Congregational ministers in British North America. TORONTO'S FAREWELL. Perhaps you will indulge the official vanity which records the statement that, on the surrender of their trust to Montreal, the Toronto Board handed over to their successors a library of 2,500 volumes,labelled, classified and catalogued, minute-books indexed, correspondence duly filed, a current balance of $434, and a build- ing fund of $850, with accumulating profits. Their farewell words were: — "It only remains for the retiring directors to record their fervent hope and prayer that, during the next quarter of a century, the C. C. B. N. A. may increase in every element of efficiency and success, may commend itself more and more strongly to the confidence and affection of the churches which it is established to serve, and, above all, may obtain in largest measure the benediction of Him who ' holdeth the stars/ which ' are the angels of the churches,' * in His right hand.' " THE REMOVAL TO MONTREAL. Any ont who remembers, or even reads the records of the annual meetings of the College for the last five years in Toronto, becomes aware of a seething process among its supporters. The standard of admission, the course of study, and the arrangements for teaching, were much discussed, referred to special Committees and reported on, but satisfactory action was not attained. The churches of the city hardly kept up their early interest in the institution, and contributions were falling off. At the annual meeting of 1863, held in Montreal, in the midst of a discussion of a report on the course of study, it was moved by Rev. K. M. Fenwick, seconded by Rev. R. Brown, " That in the opinion of this meeting it is desirable to remove the College from Toronto to Montreal," and this was carried by thirty-one votes to eight. It was then further resolved, on motion of Rev. K. M. Fenwick and R. K. Black, " That the College remain in Toronto until the close of next Session, but then be removed to Montreal," and this was carried by twenty-eight to seven. A Provisional Board to make preparation for the removal of the College, was appointed, chiefly from those who would naturally serve on the future Board. What prompted this movement, proposed and carried mainly by men from the Western Province ? One reason was, that " there were found to be difficulties in carrying out the literar y part of the scheme" for separating the Arts and Theology '* 19 « courses, and using the Provincial University ; difficulties " in Toronto which did not exist in Montreal, arising from the different constitutions of the Universities in these respective cities." Another was the hope of securing in Montreal additional aid in the teaching staff. Still another, that the church life of Montreal was then marked by great unity and vigour. And the generous interest shown here in the support of the College seemed to invite a transfer into the hands of such givers. It is simple truth and justice to add that Montreal did not propose or vote for it, but it did cordially accept the charge. I bear this testimony as one at that time a Toronto pastor. There was strong feeling against the change, however, in Toronto, and among some Western men, as there has been ever since ; especially on the ground that it was taking the College away from the centre of the P'otestant population, and from the majority of the churches. So the question was once more put to the vote, at the annual meeting in Brantford, in June, 1864. " Moved by Rev. C. P. Watson, seconded by Rev. A. Duff, ' That the report of the Provisional Board be laid on the table, to afford an opportunity for reconsidering the resolution of the last annual meeting, to remove the College to Montreal ; and that said resolution be forthwith considered, for the purpose of taking a vote on the removal question.' — Carried unanhnously." Where- upon it was " Moved by Rev. E. Ebbs, seconded by Rev. W. Hay, * That the decision of the last annual meeting, on the removal of the College to Montreal, be confirmed.' — Carried nein con." At the same meeting the subscribers offered their hearty con- gratulations to Dr. Lillie, on the completion of twenty-five years' service, with the hope that he might long be spared in his important position. NEV^ ARRANGEMENTS. The Provisional Board, appointed the year before, presented its report on the same occasion, as to all the changes involved in the change of locality. These were partly included in a new constitution and by-laws, but embraced a very thorough scheme of management in respect to all departments. The rooms required were expected to be furnished after the enlargement of Zion Church, and they were so granted, without rent, for thirteen years ; and from 1880 to 1884 in Emmanuel Church. The non-resident system was to be continued, as " wisest in the circumstances." Rules were recommended " touching the 20 moral oversight and discipline of the College " in several par- ticulars. The course of study was definitely divided into two parts, — the Theological of three years, and the Literary, preceding it, of two years. Three professorships were established, viz. : (i.) Theology and Church History ; (2.) Homiletics and Pastoral Theology ; (3.) Greek Testament Exegesis. The literary course to be pursued at McGill University, with which accordingly it was recommended that this College be affiliated. For such affiliation all preparation had been made, in conference with the University authorities, and the necessary Act of Incorporation obtained from the Legislature of the Province of Canada. All these recommendations of the Provisional Board were carefully sifted in Committee of the Whole of the annual meeting, and adopted with certain amendments. THE PROFESSORIAL STAFF. These plans being settled, appointments were made to the several chairs thus created : Dr. Lillie having assigned to him Theology and Church History ; Dr. Wilkes being invited to the professorship of Homiletics and Pastoral Theology; and Professor Cornish to that of Greek Testament Exegesis. The two latter, in signifying their acceptance, stated that " they did not desire remuneration for their services." At McGill, also, the students enjoyed the benefit of all the lectures in the Faculty of Arts, and of those on Hebrew. OPENING IN MONTREAL. At a special meeting of the subscribers, thereafter styled " The Corporation," held in Montreal, August 25, 1864, the Act of Incorporation was accepted in due form, and all the proceedings and appointments of the annual meeting were confirmed, so as to have full legal authority and effect. And thus the College was launched upon its second quarter century, in its new seat, with a larger faculty, and a more complete system of instruction. Compared with 1 839, the advance made by 1 864 was very great. The first session in Montreal was opened in Zion Church on October 26th, when addresses were delivered by Revs. A. Duff and J. Elliot. Nine students were on the books. The title of " Principal " was conferred on Dr. Lillie, and he became the Representative Fellow on the McGill Corporation. In 1865 an arrangement was made, in view of his precarious health, for pro- viding him a retiring allowance, if required. But as his strength in several par- ti returned, he was requested to continue in the performance of his accustomed duties. The number of students some time later was distressingly small ; four being reported in 1866 and three in 1867 ; in 1868 it rose to six, in 1869 to ten. DEATH OF DR. LILLIE. At the very opening of the Session of 1869-70 the College suffered a great loss, in the death of Principal Lillie, on the 19th of October, after a short illness, in the house of Mr. John Lecming, a warm friend of the College, the Principal, and the students. On the evening of Wednesday, the 12th, he had addressed the students at the opening service, and the next day arranged with his colleagues the days and hours for their lectures, appearing then to be in good health. Within a week he was gone ! We have already spoken of his character, ability, and work. Here it must suffice to add that Zion Church made all the arrangements for his burial, Dr. Cornish accompanying the body to Toronto, where the service was held in Bond Street Church, in the presence of a large concourse of leading citizens, the principal address being delivered by Rev. T. Baker. Dr. Lillie was buried in his family plot in the Necropolis, and a marble monument was erected there by those who had been members of his classes. THE LILLIE MEMORIAL FUND. The College Board, meeting promptly on the 29th of October, addressed itself to two most urgent duties devolved on them by this sudden death. Their first endeavour was to make some provision for the widow of Dr. Lillie. This was done by raising the " Lillie Memorial Fund " of $5,000, the interest of which would be paid to Mrs. Lillie as long as she lived, and ultimately endow in part the " Lillie Professorship of Church History." This endowment was reported as complete in September, 1872. It is a great satisfaction to all the subscribers to know that the honoured lady for whose comfort it was designed has enjoyed its benefit for these twenty years.* A NEW PRINCIPAL. The next care of the Board was to provide a successor to Dr. Lillie's chair. Temporary arrangements for the Session * Ten days after these words were spoken, Mrs. Lillie entered into rest. i I M si 1 i 1 8 f were made hy Or. Wilkes ami I'rolVssin- Cornish takinj^ charge of the elasses, aiul a sjuvial nuvtinj^ of the (\uporation was calleil for January 4, 1^70, in Zion (hunh, rt>roi\to, in relatitM\ to the ekvtii>n oi' a ni>\v Trineipal. This ujeeting was well attendeil, ami toi»k up the whole situatiiM^ with intt'lli^ent earnestness. '\\w hoard wimv not read)' with a i\onunation, the Colonial Missionary Soeiet>' advisetl full deliberation, and fnially a Conunittee of fifteen wase. I^v that time tl\e Ciunn»ittee, thi* Hoard, and the Colonial Missionary Society had agreeil in privsenting the nan\e of l>r. Wilkes, and the C 'O'Matiitn cortlially concurrcil in their choice. At a special service t..en helil the new Principal was solennily d(>signatetl to his work, antl ct)nunendcd tt> the grace o( (Itul. /ion Chinch, MtMitreal, hail ahead)' taken action, releasing the PasttM, who had scrveil tluMU for the past thirty-four ye.us, from their active service, but retaining hin\ as senior I'astor. Ainu rioNs ro ruK lAcui.rv. There being but twi> professors now in the College, and the I'rincipiil aU'Ui' tievoting his whi>lc time to its work, the iu»«ud in dui- time reintorci>d tluMU by two hnturiMs, Ui'v. Charle.s Chapman, M.A., o( /.ion C hmib, on Cl\ristiai\ l'Aidei\ces and Biblical Criticisn\, and Kev. K. M. lu'uwiik on Historical Theology. This system has betn i-ontinueil io the pre.^ 'nt day. There have taken part in such WH)rk, from linu* io tinu\ beside.^ the tv;o abdve luuned, Kevs. |. \\ St(>venson, l).|)., John Hurton. HI), S, N. lackson. M.h., b»hn Woml. A. McKadyen. h.A„ K. M. Hill, MA.. W. II. "Warriner, IVD., and \Vm. VVetherald. In iS/t; Kev. A. Huff, jr., was appointed tutor in the depiUtments of Classics and Ihblival Literature, but retired at tie end o\' the Session. He has lu'cn for some )'ears a professt>r iti an I'^nglish College. In iS/() Kev. K. M. l''enwick,a Lecturer since 1S7 J, resigning his charge at Kingsttui, was appointeil I'rofessor t>f Church Histtir)' and Apologetics, aiul was inducteil inti> that wiXwc at the opening of the Scsion. Two years later he was n\ade Vice-Trincipal. On his resignation in 1SS4 the hoard ailt»pted the followiMg resolutit)n : "That in accepting the resignation of Kev. I'rofessor luMiwick of his t»thce of I'rofessor and Vice- Principal of this C'ollege, the Hoard of r>irectt>rs have pleasure in placing on record anil certifyii\g that fi»r eight )'ears, as the regular Professor of Ci;urch History, Historical Theology ami > taking clmr^e orporation was »nt(», in ivlatitiu 'ting was well kith inti'lli^t^nt unnination, the ion, aiul finally Collf^e noaitl lime. Hy that lal Missi(Miar)' h. Wilkes, aiul >* Ataspeeial *l*;sif;natetl to ^''itMj Chuivh, I' I'astoi, who «n their active 'lt*Kt\ ami the rk, the Tumi;! •ni'v. Charles vitlenees aiul >n llistorieal |>«vy Mit tiay. time, besides lU)., John • Mrl''a(l)'en, M ami \Vm. tvd tutor in . hut letireil 'me )'eiiis u ^2, resij^ning <>r (hmvh tliat oOiee 1' was inaile 11(1 adopted 'iiKnaticMi of and Vice- ve pleasure L'ars, as the eoK)gy and Ap(»loj;elics, and for six \'ears as the V'iie INimMpal of the College, he has disi hargetl his various duties with regiilarit)', t'tVii ieuey, and ahility. In adtlitiou ti>the suhjetts al)»»ve-uauuHl, rrolesst»r heuwiik hs n\anilesteil a /I'alous interest in the spiritual welfare of the stuilents." I'he I'orpo- ratit>n also, at the fi»llowing nu'eting, resolvt-d : "'lh»it this (\>rporation tiesires to reccail its deep sense of the value K\i the services remli'reil to the (\»llege by Professor I'Vuwiik during the n»an\' Ni-ars \\v has been eoi\nerted with ii, fust as Lecturer on llistorieal Thi'ologx' ami alti-rwiirds as I'lotessor ami V'iee- I'rim ipal." The reports sever.d times n»ention v.iluable service done by Trofessor I'Vnwiik in eonneetion with the Library. While still a pastor at Kingston, hi' h.iil tidnt ol the College, ami in caring lor all its interests. Mesiih's these stated instructtus, the College has had the help, at its t>pening and closing services, in e\»uuinations, and on the hoiUil, ola large number of thi> poMuinent ministers of tlu' boily, ami, at the fust, of ilistinguished visit»>rs tnun Ihitain ami the United Stiiles. KI':SI(iN.\rU»N (»K I'UINCII'.M. Wll.KI'lS. i)[\ thi' -Vjth of lu'bruarv, iSSi, in I'.nimcnmel Chunh, there was pr<'senled to |)r. Wilkes the sun» of $S,oS..j, in con\nu'u\ora- tion *>f his own jubiU'e as a uunistiM ol tlu' (iospel, anil " freely given by his munerous Iriemis in the mother country and in this cit)', ami in tlivers parts of this |)on\inion f a )'oimger and uiore active n»an ia the olhct.'. (j.) A strong »lesire l»>r the welfare of the College, and very great unwillingness t»> staml in the wars in the recent testinumial rendi'rs mniecessary any consiiler»itions of a Iiecuniary nature on his behalf Out of t>tllice he wouKI m>t be a )urden on the College fumls. (4.) While anxious to avoid 24 embarrassing the authorities as to future arrangements, and willing to continue for a time if deemed desirable, yet his feelings would not be in the slightest degree hurt if it was thought that he should at once relinquish office." After reference and consideration the Board thus responded : "(i.) That the tone and spirit of the memorandum of the honoured Principal deserves cordial and grateful recognition on the part of the Corporation. (2.) That in view of the advanced age of the Principal, and of his long public life, and also of his desire to retire from public service, his resignation now tendered be accepted, with all due acknowledgment of the value of his past services to the College and to the denomination. (4.) That in view of the generous aid rendered to the College during the past years of its history by the Colonial Missionary Society, and of the great importance of securing the benefits of its counsel and co-operation in forming and carrying into effect the plans for the future, the Corporation be recommended to lay the whole matter before the Committee of the Colonial Missionary Society, and to seek their counsel and co-operation before final action therein be taken." For the next two years Dr. Wilkes continued as Acting Prin- cipal, and he lectured on Theology and other subjects till within a few days of his death, in the 83rd year of his age. DR. STEVENSON APPOINTED PRINCIPAL. During the years from 1881 to i883 much thought and labour were given to the filling of the vacant Principalship. The Colonial Missionary Society proposed to find a Principal in England, and to provide one-half of a salary of $3,000, on certain guarantees being given as to salary and residence in a new College building. This being communicated to the Canadian associations and churches, responses generally favourable were received, and at the annual meeting of 1882 the proposal was " gratefully accepted." But in 1883 the Committee in London were reported to have "intimated that these hopes must be abandoned, inasmuch as all their efforts and enquiries had resulted in failure, so great was the apparent dearth of men possessed of such qualifications as we desiderate." Search was then made in the United States, and the Board just failed to secure Rev. Henry M. Storrs, D.D., and were unsuccessful in other quarters. They then nominated Rev. J. F. Stevenson, D.D., the pastor of Emmanuel Church, on the understanding that he retain his pastorate, but occupy the College residence, angements, and . yet his feelings as thought that lus responded : andum of the* recognition on f the advanced md also of his I now tendered e value of his on. (4.) That -ge during the y Society, and of its counsel ifect the plans lay the whole >nary Society, e final action Acting Prin- cts till within It and labour ilship. The Principal m o, on certain e in a new e Canadian urable were *oposal was in London -s must be guides had th of men Search was !t failed to ccessful in Stevenson, erstanding residence. 25 lecture on New Testament Criticism, Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, and discharge the general duties of the Head of the College. The Church gave its consent, the Colonial Missionary Society heartily approved the choice, the Corporation, at its annual meeting, ratified the nomination, and Dr. Stevenson was. at once installed into the office. At the same time a re-arrangement of the faculty took place,, the other chairs being filled by Dr. Wilkes, Dr. Cornish, and Mr. Fenwick. THE NEW COLLEGE BUILDING. As already stated, Dr. Lillie collected for a building fund so- long ago as in 1 848, and some movements towards a building were made in Toronto. On removing to Montreal, the College was provided with a lecture room, lighted and heated, in Zion Church, and from 1880 in Emmanuel Church. Before certain alterations in Zion Church were completed, however, it had temporary quarters till 1868 in the Bible House, and then in " Burnside House." For a time the students boarded in the latter, afterwards in private families. In the annual report for 1881 the Board brought forward the plan of erecting a special building for the College, the need of which had been, " for some years past, a growing conviction with many of the leading friends of the College in Montreal, in order to secure its full development and efficiency, and also to provide accommodation much needed for the health and comfort of the students." An " eligible site " was available, and a building, including rooms for students and a professor's residence, could be erected at a " moderate cost." A year later the Board reported that the Colonial Missionary Society made a building and a residence essential conditions of their aid in procuring and supporting a new Principal, and this was specially laid before the associations and the churches in connection with the Princi- palship. Some of the replies included a preference for Toronto as the seat of the College, but otherwise the proposal met with general favour and pledges of support. In 1884 it was reported that the friends in Montreal who had taken special interest in the matter, had, " with the full sanction of the Board," purchased a site, and proceeded with the erection of this building in which we are now assembled. On the 6th of June, during the Congre- gational Union meetings then being held in Montreal, the dedication of the College Building took place in the presence of a large gathering of friends from the city, as well as the members, of the Union. Mr. John S. McLachlan, " on behalf of the donors,. 26 made the presentation of the building to the Corporation by a Deed of Gift." It was solemnly devoted to its sacred uses in prayer to God, and suitable addresses were made by Principal Stevenson, Dr. Wilkes, Rev. W. H. Allworth, and ministers of other denominations. All felt that this realization of long- cherishod hopes marked an era in the history of the College. Experience, in the occupancy of the building for the five succeeding sessions, has amply vindicated the wisdom of the movement. Allow me to quote again from myself, standing here at the opening of the first session in the new building : " Such an external embodiment gives dignity and promises permanence to the school of the prophets established therein, fosters a valuable esprit de corps, facilitates study, and leaves grateful memories. The College will respect itself more and be more respected. It will take its place among sister institutions on a more equal footing. It will be more attractive to students and to possible professors. . . . For one, I am glad there is now made a return to the system of College residence. . . . This life in common, under the one roof, at the same table, occupied in the same labours, relieved by the same recreations, — what a pleasant comradeship it makes, what help it gives in study, what life-long friendships it promotes ! " The cost of the College building proper,furnished, was officially reported to be $24,624.40. And the whole of this amount was paid at the time. It stands absolutely unencumbered. The Principal's house, costing $10,1 1 5.77, bears a mortgage of $8,000. It is only what is due to three men who took the initiative and the responsibility in this important movement,and who personally gave two dollars out of every three of the outlay, to record their names as benefactors of the College : — Messrs. Robert Anderson, George Hague, and John S. McLachlan. While mentioning these names, let it also be recorded that others have rendered faithful service during many years, on the Board and its Com- mittees ; Messrs. C. Alexander and H. Lyman since 1864, Messrs. Theo. Lyman and C. R. Black almost as long. Mr. R. C. Jamieson has been Treasurer since 1873, succeeding Mr. J. P. Clark. Mr. C. Cushing has often rendered professional aid. Gifts to the library should also be commemorated, especially such as came from the families of Revs. E. Ebbs and Dr. Wilkes. The deed of gift restricts the property to use as " A College for the education and preparation of young men for the ministry of the Congregational Churches of Canada, such education to be in general harmony with the Declaration of Faith and Order of the Congregational Churches of England and Wales, as set forth wmm rm orporatfon by a s sacred uses in ide by Principal md ministers of zation of Jon<^- of the College ^S for tlie five wisdom of the K standing here uiJding ; " Such ises permanence erein, fosters a ieaves grateful - and be more istitutions on a o students and re is now made • This life in ccupied in the ^hat a pleasant > what life-long , was ofificially s amount was nbered. The ■age of $8,000. mitiative and ho personally 3 record their -rt Anderson, ■ mentioning ave rendered nd its Com- since 1864, 5 long. Mr. receding Mr. essional aid. >ecially such JVilkes. "A College he ministry nation to be >d Order of as set forth >'Y 27 |n their Year Book for 1884, and subject to the Act of Incor- )oration, Constitution, and By-Laws of said College." And it |s further provided, that " should the College cease to exist, or )e removed from the city of Montreal, it shall be the duty of the )ersons last forming the Board of the said College, after the lapse of twelve months, and should no arrangement be made for |the continuation of its work in Montreal meanwhile, to sell the Iproperty to the best advantage, and pay over the proceeds of Isaid sale to the then representatives of the Congregational [Missionary Society of Canada, z?z trust, to . . apply the interest . . to the promotion of the work of that Society." THE ENDOWMENTS. The new building naturally suggests what has been done for the Endowment of the College. Efforts in that direction have been going on for twenty years, commencing with the Lillie Memorial Fund. As soon as that $S,CXXD had been secured. Dr. Wilkes, the Treasurer, urged the increase of the Endowment to $50,000. In 1873, the matter was put in practical form by the offer of $5,000 towards the Chair of Theology, provided that the remainder of $20,000 was secured. This offer was made to Dr. Wilkes by Mr. V.'. C. Smillie. With characteristic persistency, the Treasurer laboured to raise this amount, in Canada, in Eng- land, and in the United States. It cost six years' labour, but in October, 1 879, the sum was complete, and on the 24th December a carefully constructed Deed of Trust was duly executed. There was even a balance over, and this was made the nucleus of a second Endowment of $20,000 to be applied to the " Lillie Professorship of Church History and Biblical Literature." At Dr. Wilkes' death $4,000 had been received on this account. THE COLONIAL MISSIONARY SOCIETY. But though the College has had so slender an Endowment Fund, it has had a generous friend across the water all the time, who, ifrom 1839 to 1889, has never omitted a year in making grants for its annual support, — the Colonial Missionary Society. It helped Dr. Lillie when he took in hand Mr. Kribs and his class mates : it is helping Dr. Barbour to-day. There has been constant correspondence between the Committee in London and the Board in Toronto or Montreal ; frequent discussion. We might sometimes say, "the contention was sharp between them." Yet those fathers and founders have been true and constant friends, and have given special help in many a time of need. 28 Without them, the College would never hav>i been born, nor could it have thriven as it has. First on the roll of the benefactors of the College must ever stand the Colonial Missionary Society. Its grants must average some $1,300 a year. And every other help they could give, in sympathy, counsel, and influence, has been at our command. CANADIAN CONTRIBUTIONS. And what have we done to help ourselves ? Always some- thing, from the very beginning, more or less ; sometimes more and sometimes less. For it has been very variable. That sub- scription of $826.50 in 1842 was for that time a very handsome one. For many years, in fact until the end. Dr. Lillie trudged around the country making collections. Dr. Wilkes did much of the same work, and it is to be feared that the lameness from which he suffered through so many of his latter years was due to exposure on such a journey. Dr. Cornish has again and again gone forth on the same errand. And I find in report after report acknowledgments of the services of various ministers and laymen who have visited certain districts for the College. Some pastors, to their great honour, attend to this matter without fail every year. Some others, even Alumni of the College, let it go by altogether. It is very difficult to comprehend such unfilial conduct. At this moment the College is in sore straits for the want of a larger income. Its very prosperity is its embarrass- ment. It must have more help in both directions, — the income of annual contributions, the capital of permanent endowment. i I JUBILEE ENDOWMENT FUND. The true commemoration of this Jubilee Year is to raise the Jubilee Fund. Our present aim is to reach Dr. Wilkes' figure, (in 1872, alas 1 so long ago) of $50,000. But it ought to be at least twice as much, $100,000. The largest sum so far received is a legacy from an old minister who never went to college. Father Adams, $1,500, which he meant to be four or five times as much. There are but $21,000 wanted to make up the whole endowment to $50,000, and of this the present Chairman offers $S,ooo if the remaining $16,000 be secured. Surely it will. Western Ontario is doing nobly. Cobourg has put its name down for $1,070. The Alumni are subscribing in a way that must " cost " them to pay. Montreal, that has given so freely from the first, can secure this endowment when once it is stirred been born, nor the beneiactors lonary Society, nd every other influence, has Always some- metimes more e- That su fa- ery handsome Lilh'e trudged ^es did much ameness from ars was due to lin and again rt after report ^s and Jaymen some pastors, ut fail every ^et it go by such unfilial traits for the s embarrass- -the income dowment. •o raise the Ikes' figure, ht to be at ar received to college, ' five times the whole man offers ^y it will, its name way that so freely is stirred 29 "H put forth its strength. Last night it was reported that one- l*iurth of the above $i6,ocx3 had been subscribed, and $2,000 paid. DEGREES IN DIVINITY. But my zeal in this cause has carried me beyond the line of istory. We were in 1884, at the Dedication of the Building. t the same annual meeting the Corporation accepted an Act f the Province of Quebec, amending its original Act of Incor- ■%)oration by conferring the power to grant Degrees in Divinity Ibn examination only, — no honorary D.D.'s ! The subjects of •examination were prepared and published, but, I believe that Ihitherto not one candidate has appeared even for the B.D. ! I "CANADA" FOR "BRITISH NORTH AMERICA." Still at the same meeting (1884) the Board were empowered to ask the Legislature for another amendment, to change the name of the institution (for the third time) into the more com- pact title of "The Congregational College of Canada." This year, 1889, that change has been legalized, and now awaits the acceptance of the Corporation in June. THE " SIX MONTHS " CLAUSE. Yet another amendment v/as made by the late Act, the repeal of Section 3. " No bequest in favour of the said Corporation shall be valid unless made at lea.st six months before the death of the person making the same." That clause was inserted to save our consistency when asking the Legislature to restrict certain other ^ parties in the matter of " deathbed bequests." It has not put a straw in their way. It has just cost us $4,000 or $5,000. But it cannot hurt us again. Information has reached us that friends in various parts of the country are remembering the College in their wills. They do well. ■ But many perils were avoided by Mr. Joseph Jackson, of \ Montreal, who handed $4,000 to the Treasurer during his lifetime, on the condition that he received the interest on it as long as he lived. He had the proceeds of a good investment ; the College had a liberal addition to its endowment without risk or expense. "FOREIGN MISSIONARY SERVICE." Five words introduced into the second Article of the Consti- tution in 1887 may here be mentioned, as having already borne important fruit. They allowed the College to educate ministers " for Foreign Missionary service," as well as for home work. That year Mr. Currie went to Africa. This year four out of six go to the Foreign Field. SUDDEN BEREAVEMENTS. The Session of 1886-87 is memorable in the history of the College for two great losses that befel it at the beginning. First, the removal to England of Dr. Stevenson, for four years the Principal. Concerning this event the official record is : " The Board accept, with very deep regret, the resignation of Dr. J. F. Stevenson, the beloved Principal of the College. They cannot refrain from expressing their sense of loss in his removal, and their appreciation of his many endearing qualities of heart and rich endowments of mind. His kindly sympathetic nature has won the love of his co-workers, of the students and friends ; his purity of life, their esteem ; his varied learning and eloquence, their admiration. The Board accompany him with their affec- tionate prayers that God's richest blessings may remain with him and with his family, and that in his new and important field the Master may crown his labours with continued and ever-increasing success. The members of the Board also record their deep sense of obligation to Mrs. Stevenson, for her unwearied interest in the welfare of the students, with whom, by reason of nearness of residence, she has been brought into kindly relations." Within a few weeks another disaster came upon the College, in the death of the ex-Principal, Dr. Wilkes, on the 17th of November. His services, in manifold ways, and for so long a time, have already been recounted. We quote only the closing sentences of the minute which records them : — " By the death of Dr. Wilkes the College has lost one of its most faithful and steadfast friends, and his presence as a member of this Board will be sorely missed. The Directors are thankful to have enjoyed his co-operation to such an advanced period of life, and they will hold his character and his work in lasting remem- brance. In all the annals of the Congregational College, the name of Dr. Wilkes must ever hold a place of conspicuous honour." The Session just begun, and the two chief teachers gone ! Such places cannot be filled at a day's notice. But the Board pressed into service a staff of lecturers to carry on the work of the Session as well as was possible. Besides Dr. Cornish, there came in Revds. J. Burton, Dr. Jackson, W. H. Warriner, John lucate ministers or home work ■four out of six history of the inmng. First, lour years the cord is; "Tile on of Dr. J. p. They cannot removal, and of heart and J^ic nature has ^ fnends ; his "a eloquence th their affec- ^ain with him ^tant field the ^er-increasing J their deep ■r unwearied by reason of Ijy relations." the College, the 17th of 5r so long a ' the closing the death of aithful and this Board "^ to have of life, and ^g remem- ^ollege, the onspicuous 'ers gone ! the Board le work of iJsh, there iner, John 31 ood and E. M. Hill, while Revs. D. Macallum and H. Pedley pirescribed courses of reading and held examinations on part of |lie subjects. / ELECTION OF PRINCIPAL BARBOUR. All through the Session the Board were anxiously scanning the horizon for the coming man. As time went on, he came l&to view, pointed out by many human indicators, and, through |hese, by the finger of Divine Providence ; of Scottish birth |nd American training and experience, Rev. William M. Bar- four, D.D., lately Professor of Systematic Theology and Pastor (6f the College Church in Yale University, New Haven. In his presence, I can only say that Dr. Barbour was welcomed with icclamation by the Board, the Corporation, the Churches, the Students, and the Christian community at large, and stands to- ;.ilay still higher in their regard than when he came. One evidence of this is the largest class, this Session, ever enrolled on the books of the College, with twenty-four names. The Prin- cipal has had the co-operation in the Faculty of Dr. Cornish and Rev. E. M. Hill in Greek Testament, Dr. Jackson on Congre- gational History and Polity, and W. H. Warriner on Hebrew Exegesis. CLOSING WORDS. And so we come to the close of the second quarter-century. It has been a long story, but fifty years are a long time. And there has been much left untold. Only a passing reference can be made to a vital element in the education received here, — the Students' engagement in Missionary work throughout their annual vacations ; an essential help to vacant churches, an admirable preparation for future pastorates. There has been much thought, discussion and experiment, in the Board and in the Corporation, on various aspects of College work and ad- ministration, — the preparation of the ill-prepared, the standard of admission, the arrangement of the course of study, the aid I given to Students, bursaries and other rewards. But I will not ' weary you with them now. Be assured, it is no light task to find out the best way to conduct a theological institution for the Canadian Congregational Churches, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. WHAT THE COLLEGE WANTS. Nor will I venture ; on, any prophecies of what the next quarter or half-century- 'iTia'^;brir'g,r But 1; will express some 'If I . I » n C t ft > 32 convictions as to what this College wants, for the times that lie before it. The College wants the united, intelligent and hearty support of its whole constituency, the Congregational Churches of all " Canada," the ancient churches " by way of the sea," those in the heart of the country, and the new regions of the West. Let them call it " ours," love it, think for it, pray for it, give to it. The College wants young men who will aim at something better than to "get through" ; who will prepare themselves thoroughly for coming, and work hard when they come ; who will help themselves ; and who, above all, will come with hearts aflame for winning souls to Christ. The College wants more Teachers. Even one other, giving his undivided energies to the work, would be a great gain ; nay, he is an absolute necessity. The College wants more money. " The labourer is worthy of his hire." Professors cannot live on air. Oh, for the full- handed, large-minded, big-hearted men, who will give their hundreds annually, their thousands and tens of thousands for Endowment, who will found a Chair ! It would only require Forty or Fifty Thousand. The College wants the blessing of God. It was founded in prayer. Its teachers have been godly men. Among the Students there has been a devout spirit. Many intercessors have remembered it. It has borne some rich fruits. But it must "forget the things that are behind, and reaching forth unto the things that are before, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus ! " *S^-^^^=^ < • < • • 33 HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. he LOCATIONS OCCUPIED. Dundas, Out. 1839 to 1840 Toronto 1840 to 1864 Montreal 1864 to TITT.FS nORNE. " The Congregational Academy " 1839 to 1846 "The Congregational Theological Institute" .... 1846 to i860 "The Congregational College of British North America" • i860 to 1889 [If the Annual Meeting of the Corporation accepts the Amendment lately made in the Act of Incorporation, the future name will be " The Congregational College OF Canada."] PRINCIPALS. (Office created in 1864.) Rev. Adam Lillie, D.D. 1864 to 1869 Rev. Heniy Wilkes, D.D., LL.D. 1870 to 1883 Rev. J. F. Stevenson, D.D., LL.B. 1883 to 1886 Rev. W. M. IJarbour, D.D. 1887 to VICE-PRINCIPAL. Rev. K. M. Fenwick 1878 to 1884 PROFESSORS AND TUTORS. Rev. Adam Lillie, D.D. - - 1839 to 1869 Rev. J. J. Carruthers, D.D. (In C. E. Institute.) - - - 1842 to 1845 Rev. Arthur VVickson, LL.D. 1850 to 1862 Rev. Henry Wilkes, D.D., LL.D. (In C. E. Institute.) - ■ 1841 to 1845 '« «' " (In Cong. College.) - - 1864 to 1886 Rev. George Cornish, LL.D. 1864 to Rev. Archibald Duff, Jan., M.A. 1875 to 1876 Rev. K. M. Fenwick 1876 to 1884 Rev. J. F. Stevenson, D.D. 1877 t<> >886 Rev. A. McFadyen, B.A. - 1880 to 1883 Rev. E. M. Hill, M.A. 1883 to Rev. W. M. Harbour, D.D. ■ - - - - - ■ - 1887 to 34 I,KCTIM4 166 73 X.