IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) k m> c < fe tio y. 'J, 1.0 1.25 L^M28 125 US "^ 2.2 1.4 1^ 1.6 I- /] % ^:^ ^V V ^w. ^V \ c\ ^ ^\. ^\ ^\ ■ (meaning CONTINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Les images suivantes ont At4 raproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at de la nettetA de I'exempiaire filmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Un dee symboles suivants apparaTtra sur la der- nlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon ie cas: le symboie -^-^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole y signifie "FIN". The original copy was borrowed fro:n, and filmed with, the itind consent of the following institution: National Library of Canada L'exemplaire fiimi fut reproduit grice d la g6n6rositi de i'6tablissement prAteur suivant : Bibliothique nationale du Canada Maps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul cliche sont filmdes d partir de I'angle sup6rieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mithode : ■ - 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 B tr\ p (X^Lc-a^i-^JQJX^ ^ H" I a,\^ r THE -A! ^ 'rri'^^^ CHURCH IN POLITICS IN ONTARIO Ah Address deliveted before the Annual Convention of the Canadian Sertdar Unison, Sept. 9, 1894. By R. H. FALCONER. During almost a hundred and fifty yeai-s Europe was afflicted by religious wars, religious massacres, and religious persecu- tions ; not one of which would have arisen if the great truth had been recognized, that the state has no concern with the opinions of men, and no right to interfere, even in the slightest degree, with the form of worship which they may choose to adopt. BuckU's Hist, of Civilization in England^ Vol. I. Prmled by C. M. Eli.is & Co., 109 Adelaide St. West. 1894. PRICE FIVE CENT.S. %t-= ^ S. B. Braybon, FRACnCAl, Custom §o0t ,^dhei[* »N Established Custom Work a Specialty. Fine Repairing Promp'tljf Executed^ A trial will convince 167 Bay Street, TORONTO, 1 ^.:^«WS^ V 1 mmy^^ THE CHURCH IN POLITICS IN ONTARIO An Address delivered before the Annual Convention of the Canadian Secular Union, Sept. 9, 1894. By R. H. FALCONER. " Keep Church and State forever separate." Gen. U. S. Grant, Printed by C. M. Ellis & Co., 109 Adelaide St. West. 1894. PRICE FIVE CENTS. ,ii.nipnuiii mfifmfmwm. ijMiilj) jinfif^TP'^tn':! luf )>>i II mi; The Church in Pohtics IN O N T A R I O . By E. H. Falconer. AVERY prevalent idea among the Canadian people is that in this country absolute separation exists between Church and State. Nothing could be more fallacious. It is true there is no State-established Church, that absolute religious equality exists that no one church is preferred before another, and that none enjoy privileges that are not freely granted to all denominations alike. And yet there is a close connection existing between Church and State in the Province of Ontario. It is not that there is disitrimination in favor of one religious sect as against another, but that the purely secular functions of the State are diverted into establishing and sustaining a multi- plicity of religious factions in the country. I take it that it is a generally admitted fact that the peculiar ofhce of the Church is quite distinct from that of the State : the one spiritual, the other secular ; the one the propagation of certain religious tenets, the other the exercise of the civil functions of government. Hence it is quite true that the Church has no more valid reason for interfering in the public affairs of the State than the State has for intermeddling in the domain of religion. If the Church can be justified in en- deavoring to regulate the temporal affairs of the Stare, then the State is justified in regulating the religious belief of the nation. (.\pplause ) Such a system as that, while it would establish one uniform national system of belief, would destroy the last vestige of mental freedom, and abolish forever the right of free inquiry and ifivestigatiofi. (Appiuuse.) There are those, however, who will object to this conclusion and claim that the Church has a perfect right to exercise her moral influence .'ind guidance, in the affairu of the State, as a moral agency. This objection I absolutely deny. The history of the world teaches that when in possession of political power the Church, regardless of creeds, has proved a detriment to mankind (applause), it has been the prolific cause of inter- 3 national hatred, it has riiade aliens of kindred peoples in a common country, it has retarded progress, it has borne false witness against civilization, it ha.s restricted liberty, denounced learning, and ^"ith respect to morality let England's great historian, Macaulay, answer : — •' It is an unquestionable and most instructive fact, that the years during which the Anglican hierarchy were in the zenith-, were precisely the years during which national virtue was at the lowest point." (History of England, Vol. I, page 141). And going further back to the period of the Byzantine Empire, when the power of the Church was supreme, and when ecclesi- astical authority exercised absolute control of the State, we find the record equally as unsatisfactory to the claims of Church- Stateism Leech, in his " History of European Morals," says of tnis model church government : — " The universal verdict of history is that it constitutes, with scarcely an exception, the most thoroughly base and despicable form that civilization has yet assumed." But, sir, not onl^ is the evidence of modern history ogainst the assumption that the Church wields an influence for good when permitted to control any of the functions of the State, but there is-an abundant evidence of a very recent date in the as yet brief history of Canada, confirming that view. In 1867 on the noi-thern half of this continent thert was established a young nationality of great promise. Its compon- ent parts were the happy blending of two noble races that had long warred as hereditry foes. But with the usuring in of the embryo nation peace and good will was proclaimed, the hatchet of creed and racial diversities were to be buried in the past of other years. There were to be no invidious distinctions of race None were henceforth to be known as Frenchmen or as Englishmen, as Irishmen or as Scotchmen, but each would proudly claim his Canadian citizenship. A country endowed with nature's richest gifts and on whose birth there smiled the genius of romance. The Constitution was the ripest expression of Democracy — each citizen an enthroned soverign, the people freely entrusted with all the grand prerogatives of responsible government. Bright was the picture of this country, iind but fov one circumstance, it can truthfully be said, that scarcely a shadow darkened the horizon of her future resplen- dency. But that circumstance was destined to unwork all the grand consummation of National Confederacy, and H'ight, as an early frost, the cherished ambition of the Canaaian people for harmonious and united solidity. That circumstance was the intervention of the Church in the affairs of the State, and the introduction of the curse of sectarian greed. j^m I" Separate Schools. The affirmation in the British North American Act, which constituted the Dominion of Canada, of the pn/iieges which the Church had enjoyed prior to Confederation, was undoubt- edly the greatest mistake in the Constitutional history of Canada. The granting of the privilege of state-sustained denominational fiducation has been the one bulwark behind which the olu no3tile feeling between the two races in British North America have entrenched t'lemselves and prevented a full and free assimilation of the iwo races into one common nationality. Not only is the establishment of denominational education a violation of the civil functions of government, and an improper diversion of public money into sectarian channels, but it is equally indefensible as a matter of public policy. There is no good and efificient reason why all the people of^his country, to whatever sect they may belong, should not send their children to the same common schools to receive the ordinary branches of instruction. The possession by the (Church of the privilege of teaching so-called " Christian edu- cation " in the schools, ever/ year entails upon this province an enormous extra expense by reason of a needless duplication of the school-staff, etc., that is not justified. And I venture to say that all the other causes of discord and strife and ill-feeling in the Province conibinec have not entailed such aggravated evils upon us as this one question of church endowments, for that is really what it means. Heretofore, education had to a very large extent been monopolized by the classes. The masses had but little opportunity of acquiring even the bare rudiments of education, but with the founding of the common school system of Ontario this has been changed, and a very general diffusion of education made possible. This is un- doubtedly the grandest triuiriph of the age. With its introduc- tion the latent genius of the race expanded into science, art, literature and invention. The people of Ontario enjoying these great blessings should be very jealous that nothing is done to impair the efficiency and the stability of that system. But that is not what Separate schools are calculated to maintain ; on the contrary they prove a constant menace to its stability by dividing it up into secta- rian factions, and detracting from its efficiency, by the super- vision which the church is permitted to exercise over it, resulting in the employment of unqualified teachers and the discardment of some of the most important branches of study in order that Church doctrine and ecclesiastical history may find a place in the school. Tho conclusion which every thoughtful and candid student of politics in this country must I ■Mta mm^mu^^^'f^'^ arrive at, after a careful survey of the whole history of the aggrandisement of the Church is very well expressed in a 7V>A'o//^o Mat/ editorial on June 2nd 1894: — "The aim," the writer says, "of ecclesiastical policy commencing with the control of the schools and ending with the control of the voter seems to be the subordination of the State to the Church. That the history of the State in its relation to the Church can convince any rational mind that this sort of thing is tolerable there is every reason to doubt Let the Church have all the influence for good that is in its sphere, but from the political domain it should be stern y excjuded." Ecclesiastical Corporations^ Nor is Church connection restricted to the School system 0I the Province, but in many other respects she claims State recognition and sustenance. Charitable institutions of an avowedly sectarian character receive public appropriations. No rational person would object to a liberal and judicious expendi- ture of public money in the maintenance of the unfortunate and the afflicted, but the State is not justified in appropriating (jut of the common fund of a people, so diverse in nationality and creed s" the people of Canada are, a sum which largely enriches some ecclesiastical corporation and which tends to strengthen the sinews of sectarian nurseries. According to the statement of Mr. F. F. Chamberlain, Inspector of Public Charities, there are ninety of these sectarian charitable institu- tions in the Province of Ontarto alone, drawing from the pro- vincial government one hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars annually. VVhy do the Churches cling tenaciously to separate charities ? For the same reason that they object to paying for rheir legitimate share of taxation, and because they find these institutions a good financial investment, providing a substantial profit that may be devoted lo other branches of Church work. Church Exemptions. Exemption from taxation is arwther case in point exhibiting the close relationship between Church and State in Ontario. Such exemption is virtually State support and therefore con- trary to the true instincts of the age. It is difficult to under- stand what good or efficient reason can be advanced against the contention that the Church, like other institutions of the land, should not contribute her fair quota in maintaining the expenses of the municipality. Free police and fire protection, free water and all other adjuncts of a well-regulated municipal- ity, are on a par with the pastor who wants a free newspaper, a generous discount off his grocery bill, or a reduced railroad 6 fare. (Applause). It is an unholy exhibition of selfish»rcs!». Then, again, all churches should be on the same footing. If you exempt a magnificent church edifice, situated on a fashionable thoroughfare, you discriminate by the amount of difference in exemption ngainst the more modest lookini^ structure located, perhaps, in a less fashionable (juarter of 'he city. From all these considerations i would conclude that the only just and equitable settlement to all classes and creeds of the question is to abolish exemptions entirely, and let each sect stand on its own bottom. (Applause.) The employment of chaplains in pasliament, in provincial legislatures, in the militia and in the prisons, asylums and other institutions, supported by public money, the appointment of religious festivals and fasts, laws directly or indirectly en- forcing the observance of Sunday or the Sabbath, and the appointment to positions of high political honor in the | in- cial legislature, and in the parliamer.t of (Canada of repr*. . na- tives of sectarian denominations, are all evidences of the wide departure from the rightfully secular functions of govern- ment, and as they constitute privileges and advantages granted to Christianity as a special religion should be abrogated. Time will not admit of a reference to all these anomalies, but I desire before I conclude to refer briefly to the principle of appointment of sectarian rei)resentation in the Cabinet of the Dominion and local governments, because it brings out ii> clearer shades the absurdity and sophistry of the Church-State idea. The large Christian denominations in Canada have direct representation in the cabinet, which may be termed the Executive committee of parliament. 'I'hese representatives are appointed to preside over important public departments, not because of their business excellence and peculiar knowledge and fitness for an honest and efficient discharge of the Quties devolving upon them, in connection with that department^ ndeed it not unfrequently ha'tpens that the premier has abundant material of mu( h abler calibre, but these sectarian representatives receive the appointment, in many cases because they are the only representative a given sect has returned tO' parliament from the ministerial side of tht; Hou^e Hence, in circumstances of this kind, the leader of the government in forming his cabinet is compelled to select a much less ex- perienced and inferior man, while he has a score of supporters in parliament, who if merit alone had governed the selection would have gained the appointment. That the country has suffered se\ ■^rely from this system of sectarian representation the many mismanaged departments of government bear elo- quent testimony to. What business man would think of applying this principle to the selection of his office staff", or of ( t the allotment of positions of trust and responsibility in his tistablishment ? What ridicule would be thrown at a joint stock company or a bank that elected to its board of directors a nicely proportioned representation from the different creeds of its stockholders? It is unbusinesslike . i ridiculous in the extreme, I have not been able to obtain any reliable figures on the amount of exempted church property in Ontario, but the fol- lowing schedule, compiled from the revised assessment roll for the City of Toronto, 1894, will give some idea of the acquisi- tion of vast amounts of untaxed church property going on in the province: - Epibcopitlittu §'1,597. WO Roman Cttholic I,:m4,097 Methodist l.i:W,400 l'iv-«byterian 1,124 512 Baptist 51);],226 CongregAtionalist 211,523 Unitarian 37,838 Jewish Synagogues 17,995 Salvation Army 86,122 Other R. detri- ment to the progress and happiness of the human race. (Applause). f v> i Orietitaf l^atttidr0. Mwtky G& Tims. LACE CURTAINS CLEANED. BLANKETS WASHED WITHOUT SHRINKING, COLLARS AND CUFFS A SPECIALTY FIRST-CLASS WORK GUARANTEED. Telephoae Kc. 2,118. HEAD OFFICE— 168 to 174 King Street West. Secular ITbouQbt A JOLTINAL OF LIBERAL^ OPINION AND PROGRESS. EDITOR, - J SPENCER ELLIS. Published every Thursday morning at 109 Adelaide Street W., TORONTO, - . . CANADA, Terms (in »d>anoe),'f2 per annum ; single copies, 5 cts. C. M. Ellis, PPoppi«tor and Publisher. Secular Thought 109 Adelaide Street West, Toronto. m. Printers & Publishers, 109 ADELAIDE STREET WEST, ^ TORONTO, CANADA. !t ;; Visible Writing AND Portability/ Weight, 6lbs, :J:!^BUCKENSDERFER EFFICIENT, RELIABLE and DURABLE. 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