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ymbo) —^(meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. L'exemplaire fiim6 fut reprodult grdce d la g^nArositi de: La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada Les images suSvantss ont 6X6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de Texemplaire film6. et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Le(> exemplair£is originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim6e sont film6s en commenqant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fiimdti en commenqant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: lb symbole —^ signific "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre different reduction ratios. Those too large to be film^s d des taux de reduction diff6rents. entirely included in one exposure are filmed Lorsque le document est trop qrand pour dtre beginning in the upper left hand corner, loft to reprodult en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir right and top to Lottom, as many vrames as de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite. required. The following diagram? illustrate the et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre method: d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. rrata o lelure, 1 d 1 2 3 •• 1 2 3 • 1 2 3 1 4 5 6 32X ^^ ^■M^ ^^^ ^^ A SHOET HISTORY OP THB CJLNON FOR THE ELECTION OF A BISHOP OP MONTREAL AND l^ttxoplitm ${ €iAmU. By a lay delegate. ^X c,»? Canada. The effect of this might bo to change the Metropolitan f^ec on each new election. The adoption of either of the above suggestions is necessary, for should the j-rivilege of appointing the Metropolitan be taken from the Church, the members of the Cliurch in the Diocese of Huron, will feel that tliey have been unjustly treated by being deprived of a right conferred upon them by an Act of Pailiament. without any reference to their opinion or wishes on the subject. They thankfully receive the appointment of the present Metropolitan, and they have no objection to Montreal as the Metropolitan See, but they think that if Montreal has the high honor conferred upon it of being the first See in Canada, justice towards the Church at large requires that the Bishop of that See, who is to preside over all the Bishops in Canada, should be chosen by the Synod of the entire Church. , ; Benj. Huron. This memorandum was referred to a committee which reported to the effect, that the Diocese was not willing to relinquish its right of electing its own Bishop ; that the poAver of appointing a Metropolitan being indisputably vested in the Crown, no opinion could be expressed as to the delegation of that power to the Provincial Synod ; and finally, that in the selection of Montreal no injustice had been done to the other Dioceses. The organization of the Church in Canada being then complete, the first Provii»cial Synod was held at Montreal in September, 1861. An address of thanks was passed to Her jNIajesty for having complied with the memorials of the Diocesan Synods, praying for the appointment of a Metropolitan. The patent, however, as before stated, contained errors in the preamble which compelled its being drawn up anew, and a draft of a new patent, which had been sent out by the law officers of the Crown, was submitted to that Synod for debate and criticism. A committee was thereupon appointed to examine and report upon the draft of the proposed new patent. It reported as follows : — REPORT OP COMMITTER'.. * The Committee on the Constitution, and Patent of the Metropolitan beg leave to present this their second report. The Committee met on Wednesday evening in the Chapter House of tho Cathedral. Present : — the Very Reverend the Dean of Montreal in the Chair ; the Rev. Dtf. lioaven, Patton, F'uller, Cuultield and Lauder ; the Rev. Cunon Leach ; Revs. Marsh and Roe ; Messrs. the Hon. J. H. Cameron, Kirkpatriok, Carter, Shade, Lawrason, kScott, Gamble and Irvine.— l(i. The question of the Patent of the Metropolitan, occupied the time and attention of the Committee, and their deliberations finally resulted in the adoption of the two following resolutions ; — L The Committee, after considerinij the Letters Patent, issued to the Metropolitan, are of opinion that no legal impediment existed to the issue of the Letters Patent by the Queen for the appointment of a Metropolitan. 2. The Committee also consider, that there arc various alterations which may be properly made in the Patent, so as to accord with the provisions of the Synod Act, some of which they hope to submit in another report. All which is respectfully submitted. John Bethuns, . ..-, Chairman. On motion of the Dean of Montreal, the amended draft of the proposed letters patent was afterwards carried as a third report from the same Committee. It was then moved by Hon. J. H. Cameron, seconded by the Rev. Dr. Patton, and carried : That an humble address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty to command that the alterations, resolved and decreed by this House, in the Letters Patent, appointing a Metropolitan, be made in the new Letters Patent, to be issued to the Metropolitan. The chief alterations were, that the " succession to the " Metropolitical See shall be subject to such rules, regulations, " and canons as shall and may be made in respect thereof by " the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity in their General Assemblies" under the Sjmod Act ; the powers of the Metropolitan were also placed under the same control. The object of these alterations was to take away from the Diocese of Montreal the honour conferred by the Crown, and this being clearly seen, the late Bishop Mountain of Quebec entered the following protest : — PROTEST OF THE LORD BISHOP OP QUEBEC. Reasons against those portions of the printed draft for the amendment of the Letters Patent, (Report of the Committee No. 3,) / 8 of which tlio object is to leave open a power of transferring the Mctropolit'.oal jurisdiction to other Sees within the Province. 1. Because the office of Metropolitan, according to the ancient and universally received uf^age of the Church and the invariable practice of the Ignited Church of England and Ireland, at home and abroad, (there being now five Metropolitan Sees in the Colonial dependencies of the Empire), is attached permanently to a particular See. 2. Because it is most highly inexpedient and undesirable to intro- duce into any branch of the Colonial Church any such marked deviation from ancient ecclesiastical and Anglican usage, as would bo involved in substituting for the office of Metropolitan, properly under- gtood, a sort of ambulatory jurisdiction which would shift about from See to See. 3- Because the very title of Metropolitan imports the designation of a particular city, as the permanent seat of the jurisdiction attaching to that office ; and the change now intended to be provided for would thus involve a contradiction in terms. 4. Because the endeavour to modify the Letters Patent in the manner proposed, would, in the event of its being successful, nullify the professed objects of the petitions for the creation of such an office, and virtually set aside the whole of the proceedings had in the case. 5. Because the appointment of Metropolitan having been made by Her Majesty, in compliance with petitions to that effect, proceeding from three of the Catadian Dioceses, it would be a plain inconsistency on the part of the Petitioners to seek so to alter the provisions of the Letters Patent, that there might by consequence be, in effect^ no Metropolitan See, and therefore no true Metropolitan. 6. Because the petitions fc such appointment, evidently implied and brought under the consid^eration of the Crown an appointment of the same nature with those previously made in other parts of the Empire. 7. Because the only objection of any apparent weight, against the provisions of the Letters Patent in this behalf, being the seemingly undue preponderance of privilege assigned to the Diooese of Montreal, in electing the Metropolitan by the act of electing its own Bishops, that objection may be obviated by the transfer of such election (presuming the Diocese of Montreal to agree to the same) to the hands of the Provincial Synod, or by other methods which that Synod, in its wisdom, may devise. 8. Because the city of Montreal is central in point of local situation, and is, of all the cities in the Province, the most populous, the most considerable, the most prosperous, and the most increasing. (Signed,) G. J. Quebec. I 9 Ilor Majosty acceded to the prayer of the Provincial Synod, and an amendea patent was issued. The limitation or extension of the powers of the Metropolitan, and the succession of tho Metropolitical See, were by it placed under the control of the Provincial Synod. The amcndod patent is published with the report of the Second Provincial Synod, which was summoned in Sept., 1862, for tho purpose ' Metropolitan, tlie Diocesan See, so vacant, beinjz; first iillod, the senior Bishop in Canada shall within thirty days after such Diocesan See is tilled, give notice to the other Bishops o'' the Province, that they shall proceed to the election of a Metropolitan, and such election shall take place at the seat of the Diocese, in which the vacancy of the office of Metropolitan has just occurred, and shall be determined by the votes of the mnjor ty of the Bishops present at such election. 4. Such election of Metropolitan shall not be had, unless a majority of all the Bishops of the Dioceses in Canada, concur in the election. All which is respectfully submitted. J. McCoRD, Chairman. A long and animated debate followed tl s report. It was, upon the motion of the Hon. Judge McCord, seconded by the Hon. J. H. Cameron, received and considered clause hy clause. Amendments were offered and withdrawn which do not seem to be recorded, and as this debate has a most important bearing on 10 the present election, a full extract is herewitii given from the report : — ' Amendnont. by Edward Carter, Esq., seconded by Rev. Provost WhittakcT' : — That, the Report of the Committee, relating to the succession to the Metropolitical See, be not adopted ; buL that a Committee be appointed to report what measures should be devised, upon a vacancy, in the Bishopric of Montreal occfrring, so as to secure to the Church at large in this Province, a voice in the selection of a successor, without depriving the Diocese of Montreal of its privileges to elect, the Committee to report without delay. — Lost. Amendment by Rev. A. Palmer, seconded by Rev. W. Bond : That, this House xuost respectfully represent to the House of Bishops that this House is unable to concur in a " Canon for the election of a Metropolitan," reported to this House by a Committee, inasmuch as this House considers it to be most for the interest of the Church that the office of Metropolitan should in accordance with the ancient usage of the Church, and the practice of the Church at home and abroad, be attached to a particular See. — Lost. Amendment by Rev. H. Holland, seconded by Rev. Dr. Lauder : — That on a vacancy occurring in the Metropolitical See, the senior Bishop shall sumnion a meeting of the other Bishops, at ihe^ same time and place as those at which the Synod of Montreal meets to hold its election ; That the House of Bishops shall propose to the Diocesan Synod, names for election j That, on ti/o rejection of these names, two more shall be proposed, and so on until the election be arrived at ; That, provided the Diocese of Montreal, elect as the Bishop of that ' Sec, any one of the names so proposed by the House of Bishops, he shall be uoniinated to Ker Majesty tne Queen for confirmation as Bishop of Montreal and Metropolitan, and his Patent shall issue accordingly. But if the Diocese of Montreal shall not elect as their Bishop, one of the names so proposed, then, the clergyman so elected shall be nominated to Her Majesty for confirmation as Bishop of Montreal only, and the election to the office of Metropolitan shall be vested in tne House of LtsLops. — Lost. Amendment moved by Rev. J. A. Mulock ; secor aed by Rev. E. Duvernet: — That, on the Metropolitical See of Montreal becoming vacant, the Synod of Montreal be requested to fill the vacancy, by electing their Bishop from any of the Colonial Bishops. Amendmont by Mr. Steele, seconded by Mr. Hemming: — That, the report of the Committee be not now adopted, but that a Committee 11 be appointed to prepare a petition to the Provincial Parliament, pray ing it to declare Montreal to be the Metropoliticai See, and to grant to the Synod, the excluyivo right of regulating the succession to that See, and to prepare a short bill to that eflFeet, and to invite the co-operauoa of the Diocesan Synod of Montreal, in taking the requisite measures to secure its passage. — Lost. Amendment by Rev. M. M. Fothergill; seconded by Mr. Scott: — That, the report of the Committee be not accepted, but that it be resolved that this Synod do dete/mine that the Metropoliticai See shall be fixed in the city of Montreal. — Lost. Moved by Rev. H. line; seconded by the Rev. W. Bleasdell: — That, it is the sense of this House, that the Metropolitan See ought to be fixed to one city, and ihat the decision of Her Majesty the Queen, in selecting Montreal as the Metropoliticai See, ought, if possible to be maintained; that therefore a Committee be appointed to devise some measure, in consultation with the Diocesan Synod of Montreal, for the solution of the difficulties in the way of the electioa of a Metropolitan, and to report to the next meeting of this Provincial Synod ; and that, (until such arrangement shall be agreed upon and adopted by this Synod ad shall do juitiee to the claims of the Diocese of Montreal, as well ns to those of the other Dioceses of the Province,) the election of the Metropolitan be vested provisionally in the House of Bishops. Carried on the following division : — Clergy, — Yeas, — Revs. 0. Hamilton, H. Roe, Dr. Nicholls, Q. Woolryche, H. Barrage, M. Fothergill, Dr. Beaven, W. S. Darling, E H. Dewar, S. Givius, fl. Holland, A. Palmer, Provost Whittaker, Dean Bethune, E. Duvernet, W. Bond, Canon Bancroft, W. Ander&Dn. G. Slack, eT. C. Davidson, J. A. Mulock, Archdeacon Lauder, W, Bleasdell, J. G. Armstrong, — 24. Laity, Yeas, — Messrs, Scott, Hemming, Morris, Major Campbell, Wood, Dr. Bovell, Hon. G. Moffatt, Taylor, Carter, Kains, Steele, — 1 1 ; total 35. Nays— Clergy, — Revs. C. P. Reid, A. Balfour, Archdeacon Bethune, Dr. Fuller, J. G. Geddos, T. Kennedy, Dr. Shortt, Archdeacon Brough, Dr. Boomer, E. EUwood, J. W. Marsh, Dr. Sandys, J. Smythe. J. C. Usher, E. Sullivan, J. S. Lauder,— 16. Laity, Nays — Messrs. Thompson, Hon. J. H. Cameron, C. Campbell, Harman, Roe, Dawes, Simpson, — 7 ; total 23. The clause between brackets, in the resolution which was carried, was inserted by the House of Bishops. The Committee of Conference with the Diocesan Synod consisted of the Dean of Montreal, Mr. Carter, the Archdeacon of Ontario, Mr. Steele, Rev. Provost Whittaker, Mr. Campbell, Arohdeacon Brough, 12 Mr. Lawrason, Rev. Mr. Roe, Mr. Irvine, and tbe House of Bishops added the names of the Bishops of Huron and Ontario. In June of the following year (1863) the fifth Synod of this Diocese met. The Committee appointed, as before stated, by the Provincial Synod, met in Montreal at the same time, so as to confer with the Diocesan Synod, which appointed a Committee tj meet them and settle the Metropolitical succession on an equitable basis. It will be observed that the Provincial Synod was now, by the amended patent, master of the situation. The matter came up in the following manner : — The Dean of MonLreal then read the following Report : The Coinniittee of this Synod appointed to confer with the Committee of the Provincial Synod upon the question of the succession to the office of Metropolitan, beg respectfully to report that, they have tatended a meeting of that Committee, at which the subject received mature consideration, when the following resolution was agreed to : — Whereas, Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleased to appoint the City of Montreal to be the Metropolitical See of the Pro- vince of Canada, and the Bishop of Montreal to be the Metropolitan of the said Province ; and whereas, it has been generally considered inexpedient that the Metropolitan should be elected by the Diocesan Synod of Montreal alone; and whereas, it has been decided by the Provincial Synod " that the Metropolitical See ought to be fixed in one city, and that the decision of Her Majesty the Queen in selecting Montreal as the Metropolitical See ought if possible to be maintained; and whereas, it is very undesirable and inconsistent with the consti- tution of our Synods that the Diocese of Montreal should have no voice in the election of its Bishops. Be it therefore recommended as the most just and feasible method of reconciling the claims of the Provincial Synod to have the choice of the Metropolitan with the claims of the Synod of Montreal to elect its own Bishops, that in case of a vacancy in the Diocese of Montreal the house of Bishops shall present one person to the Synod of Montreal, and that the person so nominated shall be subject to the approval or rejection of the Synod of the Diocese of Montreal, and in case of rejection another to be so nomipated by the house of Bishops, and so on until a Bishop be cho- sen. Rev. Wm. Anderson moved, seconded by Rev. J. C. Davidson that the report be received and adopted. p Rev, Canon Bancroft moved in amendment, seconded by the Rev. Mr. Bond, to strike out the words " House of Bishops" wherever it 18 occurs in the last clause of the report, and substitute tlie words "Provincial Synod" therefor. — Lost. The Very Kev. the Dean moved in amendment, seconded by Hon. Judge McCord, to strike out the last clause and substitute the fol- lowing therefor: — That the Ht>use of Bishops shall present two or more persons to the Synod of Montreal, one of whom may be elected by puch Synod as the Bishop of Montreal ; ana in case no election shall take place of either of the persons so nominated, the house of Bishops shall again exercise the same right of nomination until a choice shall be made by the Diocesan Synod. — Carried. Moved by the Dean of Montreal, seconded by Archdeacon Scott, and carried, that the following resolution be added to the canon for the election of Bishops in this diocese : — " And no other person shall be put iu nomination for the office of Bishop except such as shall be nominated by the House of Bi&hops ; provided a resolution respecting the election of Bishop of the Diocese, passed at a meeting of the Synod on Wednesday, June 17, 1863, be adopted by the Provincial Synod, respecting the election of future Bishops of Montreal, auch Bishops continuing to fill permanently the office of Metropolitan." E. Carter, Esq., then claimed the indulgence of the Synod to be permitted to move at once the adoption of a Canon on the flection of a Bishop for the Diocese, whi'jh was necessary to carry into effect the resolution of the previous day in that behsUf. Leave having been granted, Mr. Carter moved, seconded by Hon. Judge McCord, the following Canon whi ;h was adopted: — CANON. " This Synod having adopted the Report of the Committee ap- pointed to confer with the Committee of the Provincial Synod, ap- pointed to devise some measure in consultation with the Diocesan Synod of Montreal for the solution of the difficulties in the way of the election of a Metropolitan, as amended by this Synod, and by which it is declared, ' That the House of bishops shall present two or more persons to the Synod of Montreal, one of whom may be elected as the Bishop of Montreal ; and in case no election shall take place from the names so nominated, the House of Bishops shall again exercise the same right of nomination until a choice shall be made by the Synod : — It is hereby enacted, to give effect to the said Report and to render the same binding on this Synod : 1. " That upon a vacancy wcuring, no election shall be made by this Synod of a Bishop, until the House of Bishops shall have placed iu nomination before it the names of tvro or more persons, so that / 14 I; ] In the el iolion of such Bishop shall be made of one of such persons recomniendcd by one or more nominations to be made by the House of Bishops, according to the true intent and meaning of such Report. 2. " That this Can^n shall become operative and have full force and effect upon the sanction in writing given thereto by his Lordship the Bishop of Montreal, or in the event of his death or absence by the Dean of Montreal, as representing this Synod. 3. " That such sanction shall be given to this Canon to render the same operative, in the event of the Provincial Synod adopting the terms of the said Report as amended, respecting the mode of election to be exercised by this Synod to fill up such vacancy." The Canon, as then passed, took its place among the Canons of the Dioceso in the report of the following Diocesan Synod in 1864, and has continued to form part of each succeeding report down to the present day. Yet, however, two conditions had to be fulfilled before the contract could be binding: 1st, The consent of the Provincial Synod at its next meeting had to be obtained ; 2nd, The signature of the Bishop, or in case of his absence or death, that of th3 Dean of Montreal had to be affixed. These two conditions once completed, both parties became firmly bound, the one to the other ; for the signature of the Bishop or Dean bound this Diocese and completed the Canon so far as we were concerned, while the confirmation of the Provin- cial Synod bound the other Dioceses. These conditions once fulfilled, a solemn compact, to be broken by neither party at pleasure, was created ; and it is specially important to observe how deliberately these consents were given. After the fifth Synod the ({uestion ceases to appear in the Diocesan reports'. The Diocese had done its part, and the matter must now be traced through the Provincial reports alone. The next meeting of the Provincial Synod was in September 1865. The House of Bishops informed the Lower House, by message, of all that had been done in the meantime by the Synod of the Diocese of Montreal in conjunction with the Committee of the Provincial Synod. The question was then considered at length upon a Canon introduced by the Hon. 16 J. H. Cameron, wliicli was debated claase by clause. An amendment was proposed and carried relating to a Coadjutor Bishop of Montreal, but it was rejected by the House of Bishons. The Canon, as it now stands, was finally assented to by both Houses, and was placed among the Canons of the Provincial Synod. It is printed as Appendix D to the pamphlet published by Mr. M. H. Sanborn. In September, 1868, the Provincial Synod again met, but our late Metropolitan was upon his death-bed, and could not preside. He died during the session, leaving the compact as to the Metropolitical succession incomplete, but his labours had not been in vain. The Provincial Synod at that session confirmed the Canon passed at its previous meeting, and the Dean of Montreal, as previously empowered by the full Diocesan Synod of 1863, appended his signature, and thus the work was completed. This is the solemn engagement to the Church at large which the Diocese of Montreal is now called upon to fulfil for the first time. In the preceding pages an earnest endeavour has been made to present a clear and connected view of the whole matter. The necessity of such a statement was not perceived until very recently, and the haste with which it ha? been prepared has prevented that strict revision which is always desirable in a publication of any kind. A careful perusal will, however, show that the contract which now binds this Synod is no hasty nor ill- digested one. It is impossible to conceive of any law more carefully adopted or more thoroughly discussed not only in the legal assemblies of the Church of England, but by the laity generally throughout Canada. The deliberate action which was commenced at the first meeting of Bishops in 1851, was completed only in September, 1868, when the signature of the Dean gave the finishing touch to that ecclesiastical edifice which it was the work of our late Metropolitan to rear. A few pas- sages from his opening address in 1867 may here be quoted with advantage : — i m / 16 " In C.'inada we rest not merely on the patent of the Queen, but on that patent supplemented by our own Acts of Synod passed with the authority and under Acts of Parliament. Hence it is that the Canadian Church is placed in a position ' very different from that of any other ; and it has for this ' reason been recently brought prominently forward by our ' brethren at home. In all the discussions which have taken ' place on these matters, constant allusion has been made to our ' proceedings. I would, therefore, impress upon every member ' of this Synod, clergy and laity, the high responsibility that ' rests upon us ; and that we should not, by ill-judged, ' ill-advised, or hasty acts, bring discredit on the Church to ' which we belong, and so fling back the progressive action of * that Church which is now struggling for its substantive ' existence throughout the world." In the same address the Bishop gave instances of outside criticism upon our system, and quotes the following passage from the Dean of Westminster, " not," he explains, " that we should " accept all that the Dean says, but that we should hear what " others think of us" : — " For some yef.rs past, as you know, the Bishops of Canada " have not been appointed by the Crown, but have been elected by mixed Synods, partly of clergy and partly of laity. It is not unnatural that the Bishops of Canada feel very much the effect of these Synods of election. There is no doubt whatever, it is patent in Canada, that the elections of their Bishops are like ordinary elections elsewhere, and are accom- panied with the scandals which attend hotly contested elections here. Almost every one (I fully admit there are excellent " exceptions) of the Bishoprics of Canada, since this change took place, have been violently contested, and some of them have " been won by very small majorities. It has become a matter of discussion in the newspapers in a way that has never taken place with oar appointments in England. Such a point has it u (( it a u (( (( (( (( (( 17 " reached, that I have even seen a squib quite unworthy of so " sacred a subject, but published in highly respectable journals, " in which the different candidates for the Bishopric were " described as race-horses, in a series of articles entitled ' The " * Race for the Mitre ;' and in another election I read in a " Canadian newspaper : ' The issue of the election goes to show " ' that the system is not adapted to our institutions. One and " ' all agree that the power to choose our Bishops is an unmiti- " ' gated evil on this side of ihe Atlantic. It is moat " ' demoralizing in its tendencies.' " In the same address our late Bishop expressed his own opinion on our present Canon in the following decided manner : " As to " our own Diocese, we are already in a different position from " the rest, in consequence of the office of Metropolitan being " attached to it. Our ?ynod does not claim the full power of " election ; but the House of Bishops nominates, and the Synod " assents or dissents. I own that, as far as my own feelings go, " I cannot but wish that we may see other Dioceses follow this " example, as I think it would tend to augment the dignity, " respectability, and efficiency of the Church, and to do away " with what certainly are the evils of a popular election for the " holder of so high and so holy an office." These are the traditions of our mother Church which endowed this See, and which yet contributes large s-rms to the support of our clergy. Great deference is due to these traditions, for every link which binds us to our mother Church should be care- fully guarded, and, in the words of the patent, our See is subor- dinate to the ArchepiscopaJ See of Canterbury. But it is a mistake to suppose that in the sister Church of the United States even a Diocesan election is quite untrammelled. The following Canon shows that no one can become a Bishop even there with- out the consent of a majority of their General Convention and their House of Bishops : — / 18 CANON 13— SECTION 2. " Every Bishop elect, before his consecration, shall produce to the House of Bishops, from the Conveution by whom he is elected, evidence of such election; and from the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, in General Convention, evidence of their approbation of his testimonials, and of their assent to his consecration ; and also certificates, respectively; such certificates, in both cases, to be signed by a constitutional majority of the members of the Diocesan Convention or of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, as the case may be. The same evidence of election by, and the same certificate from, the members of the Diocesan Convention, shall be presented to the House of Clerical and Lpy Deputies in General Convention. " If the House of Bishops consent to the consecration, the presiding " Bishop with any two Bishops may proceed to jierform the same, or " any three Bishops to whom he may communicate the testimonials." There is, as regards the clergy of this Diocese, an undoubted hardship in the probable difficulty which our Canon throws in the way of the nomination of any one of their number ; and the noble self-denial of the clergy, as shown by the debate re-printed as Appendix L of Mr. Sanborn's pamphlet, is beyond all praise. The debate is worthy of careful perusal ; the clergy do not assert any claim, and their chief anxiety seemed to be lest the Bishops of the Province might bashfully refuse to send down their own names ; but the Metropolitan calmed their fears on that point. The question, however, is not one for the clergy alone ; every layman of this Diocese has ica interest in the dignity of the See to which he individually belongs. Still, the present contract between this Diocese and the Church at large is not irrevocable at any future time. If it be found on cool reflection that the honour accorded to us has been too dearly purchased, our con- stitution provides a remedy without resort to revolutionary measures. The Provincial Synod will not be likely to stand in our way. If our honours are too oppressive, there is a method of resigning them ; but, fortunately, our constitution will not allow us to break in six months a compact v»hich it has cost iri; 19 seventeen years *:o make. The 'conditions necessary to a consti- tutional solution of the difficulty are : — Ist. There must be a B shop of Montreal ; because until there is a Bishop, there can be no Synod, save for election. 2nd. There must be notice given at a regular legal meeting of Synodj the subject discussed, and resolution carried by a two- thirds majority, clerical and lay ; it must then come up at the next Synod, and be confirmed by a similar majority and receive the Bishop's assent. 3rd. The matter must then be bron^^t before two sessions of the Provincial Synod, carried at one session and confirmed at another ; when all this is done, the contract is at an end. Such are the safeguards with which the forethought of preceding Synods has protected our Church from rash innova- tion, while yet leaving room for the constitutional reform of intolerable grievances. vVithout such safeguards all government becomes impossible. To allow a majority unconstitutionally to over-ride these safeguards at its pleasure is anarchy. It will be remembered that last November the House of Bishops proposed that, if one of their number were elected, he would undertake to resign as soon as this Canon could be repealed. This proposition was rejected, possibly because such an arrangement might be nullified for want of a two-thirds majority at a legal Diocesan Synod. The Diocese might not desire another election, and might refuse to confirm such a bargain. It is, however, doubtful if such a proposal will again be made, for the Synod, by its adopted report, has, -v^ith refreshing candour, eliminated two Bishops from discussion, and pronounced against the physical qualifications of the two remaining ones. To run with a majority is always pleasant, and a minority, among other disadvantages, have generally to contend with some opprobrious epithet lavished with more heartiness than discrimi- nation. The term " lunatic" is not so much to be complained Is ' 20 of, inasmuch aa therd were certain eccentricities characterizing the late meeting of Synod, which somewhat reflect upon all who took part in it. The epithet " ritualist," however, has a precise meaning, and will lose its force if applied vaguely to all who happen to differ from the majority. There can be no question of ritual in the interpretation of a simple compact, and yet the cry " ritualist" once raised, it seems impossible to obtain a hearmg on any subject whatever. Even a ritualist might hold sound views on a purely constitutional question. It may be that it is best for the Diocese that the city of Montreal should cease to be the seat of the Metropolitical See. Our city has ceased to be the political capital of the country ; it may cease to be the ecclesiastical centre of our Church system. If it be found reasonable, after due debate, that such should be the case, let it be so ; but any present inconvenience is preferable to violent and hasty remedies, which only sow the wind to reap in after years the whirlwind of passion and disorder. u- II 1 m