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Tous las autres exempieires originaux sont filmfo en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impreasion ou d'iilustration et en terminant par la darnlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaTtrn sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon la cas: le symbols -^> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre film6c 6 des taux da rMuction diff Grants. Lorsqua le document est trop grand pour A;re reproduit en un aeul clich6, il eat film6 d partir de I'a'^gle supArieur gauche, da gauche A droite. et de heut en baa, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Las diagrammes suivants iilustrent la mtthoda. 12 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 /■ ^ A LETTER Til THK KinilT JloN, LORD JOHN RUSSELL, ON THE PRESENT STATE OF THE CHURCH IN CANADA. te" BY JOHN LORD BISHOP OF TORONTO. > LONDON: GEORGE BELL, 186, FLEET STREET. 185L P^'ire Sixpence. LOi;ao:. : CLAY, rniNTEK, MT.V.AD STREET HIM. A LETTEE, .yr. Canada, 20 FeL 1851. My Lord, As your Lordship appears determined to guard the United Church of England and Ireland more effectually from Romish aggression, it is to be hoped that whatever measures you propose to Parliament for this purpose may be conceived in a truly catholic spirit, and extended to Canada. Not that we desire pains and penalties in this province to be enacted against any of our fellow -subjects, on account of their religious belief, — we merely claim equality and fraedom from oppression ; we claim that our just rights and privileges may be henceforth secured and respected, and that we may no longer be compelled, by unwise legislation and unjust preferences, to remain, as at present, in a condition of inferiority to other religious denominations. Our position has for some time been that of a suffering and prostrate branch of the National Church ; and how we have fallen into a state so extraordinary and humbling in a British Colony, will be best shown from a brief history A 2 ui what Ims* l)'jcn going on since the conquest of tlic country. When the French possessions in Nortli America were ceded to England at the peace of 1703, the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion was granted to the inhabitants of Lower Canada. In 1774, the British Parliament not only confirmed this grant, but authorized the payment of tithes to the Romish Clergy by those who professed their religion, reserving the payment of tithes from Protest- ants to be made to the Receiver General towards the su[)port of a Protestant Clergy. At the close of the war in 1783, which gave indepen- dence to the United States, till then Colonies of the British Crown, great numbers of the inhabitants, anxious to pre- serve their allegiance, and, in as far as they were able, the unity of the empire, sought refuge in the western part of Canada, beyond the settlements made before the conquest, i.ndcr the kings of France. These loyalists, who had for seven years perilled their lives and fortunes in defence of the throne, the law, and religion of England, had irresistible claims, when driven from their homes into a strange land (yet a vast forest), to the immediate protection of Government, and to enjoy the same benefits which they had abandoned from their laudable attachment to the parent State. These claims were so felt by the King and Parliament, and therefore an Act was passed in 1791, dividing Ctmada into two provinces ; the one, comprehending all the French settlements, to be called Lower Canada, the other, embrac- ing the remainder of the country, still a wilderness, to be called Upi)er Canada, and in which the loyalists were to find an asylum. The object of the Act was to suit the two nations, dif- fering as they did in language, worship, and manners, and to give to each the power of legislating for themselves in all matters not affecting religion and commerce — more i ho T 1 5 ospecially, lu conf'ci' upon tlic loyalists such a ('(nislitiilion jiH ^lioulil be as nciir a tnin.script as prac'ticahlc of that of Knglund, tliat they might have no reason to regret, in U8 far as religion, law, and liberty were eoncerned, tlie great sacrifices which they had made. By this Act one-seventh of the waste lands of both provinces were set apart, in lieu of tithes, for the support of a Protestant Clergy, leaving the Roman Catholic Clergy within the French settlements which had already been divided into parishes, their tithes, glebes, and parsonages, but leaving the religious houses, convents, moiiasteries, &c. with such privileges, lands, and endowments, as they had acquired while the subjects of France, in abeyance. Thus, Upper Canada was at first settled entirely )»y refugee loyalists, whose rights as British subjects to all the privileges of Englishmen were cordially acknowledged and guaranteed by the Imperial Government. They were at first few in numbers, and for many years increased slowly, for the wars in Europe prevented emigration from the mother country, and the character of the province as to climate and soil being entirely unknown, was represented to be too cold and barren to encourage settlement. The noble stand which the province made against the United States in the war of 1812, in which the attachment of its inhabitants to the British empire w^as a second time signally displayed, brought the country into deserved notice, and gradually removed the great ignorance which had to this time prevailed as to its healthy climate, fertility of soil, and natural advantages. After the general peace of 1815, emigrants began to arrive from the three kingdoms, and were encouraged by the Government with free grants of land. Portions of the soil were also bestowed on the officers and men of the army and navy, to induce them to settle in the Colony ; and thus a considerable addition was made to the population. Yet, so late as 1824, the inhabitants scarcely numbered B 150,(){)(), and beinnr scattered over a great region, nearly fiOO miles long, little or no hencfit hud been derived Croni the reserve of one-seventh of tlie land for the support of a Protestant Clergy. Had the province been systematically settled, townshii) by township, taking care to fill up one before another was opened for location ; and had parishes been formed and endowed, and churches and schools erected, with masters and Clergymen appointed, as the settlement proceeded, the reserves intended for the support of religion would have grown by degrees into a regular Estal)lishmcnt, equal to that of Lower Canada, and the intention of the Imperial Lcf-islaturc would have been realized. But instead of this, townships were simultaneously opened in all parts of the province. The settlers, thus separated, were unable to combine for the support of schools and churches ; and as the reserve lots or portions oiFered no peculiar advantages, and could only be leased, while all who petitioned Government received lands gratis, the;- were in general left waste, insomuch that the revenue derived scarcely amounted to five hundred pounds per annum, after the lapse of thirty-five years. Yet this error, great as it was, might have been in some measure cor- rected, had the inclination which at first prompted the reservation continued to exist. But it was far otherwise, for no sooner did rival claimants appear for a share of these reserved lands, or enemies ask for their appropriation to other purposes, than Government gave them a ready coun- tenance, and the services of those for whose benefit they had been set apart were conveniently forgotten. First, the Established Church of Scotland claimed a share of these lands, or the proceeds, as a National Church within the empire; and in 1819, the Crown lawyers made the discovery that it might be gratified, under the 37th clause of the 31st of George the Third, chap. 31. Next, the Select Committee of the House of Commons f ' ■ I in 1828, on tlio divil (rovcrnmcnt of ('ntiiid:!, influenced by the spurious liberality of the tiiues, extended thl,'' opinion of the Crown hiwyern to any Protestant Clerjii^y. In tlie nieantinic, the policy of dividini;- the country into regular parishes, after formin hepm to hcTiovf that the Clergy Rcscrvca question, l)y whieh tiie country iuul been more or Ici^s (li8turl)e(l for more than thirty years, was net at rest for ever. From this j)leaslng dream wc were suddenly awakened, by a series of resolutions, which were introduced and carried through the Legislative Assembly by members of the Executive Government, and an Address to the Queen founded thereon, praying that the miserable portion of j)roperty still left for the support of a Protestant Clergy, might be alienated from that holy object, and applied to educational and other secular purposes. Before the union of Upper and Lower Canada, such an unjust proceeding could not have taken place ; for, while separate, the Church of England prevailed in Upper Canada, and had frequently a commanding weight in the Legislature, and at all times an inHueuce sufftcient to |)ro- tect her from injustice. But since their union under one Legislature, each sending an equal number of members, matters are sadly altered. It is found, as was anticipated, that the members re- turned by Dissenters uniforndy join the French lloman Catholics, and thus throw the members of the Church of England into a hopeless minority in all questions inwiiich the National Church is interested. The Church of England has not only been prostrated by the union under that of Rome, and the ..hole of her pro- perty made dependent on Roman Catholic votes, but she has been placed below Protestant Dissenters, and privileges wrested from her which have been conferred ui)on them. The result of such proceedings will be seen in the present state of the two Churches in this Colony, to which I crave your Lordship's attention. The Roman Catholic Church in Canada consists of one Archbishop and six Bishops, who have, it is said, about five hundred and fifty CUergy under their charge. The 10 strength of* tliis Church lies in the eastern part of tlic rrovince, and comprises all the French settlements and weignorics, and has formed from the beginning a regular Establishn.^^nt, having been divided into parishes, a process which is still continued as the count/y is opened. Each parish has had from its first institution an incumbent, supjiorted by tithes, and various dues, with a parsonage, glebe, and other endowments, in much the same way as the Clergy of the Established Church in England and Ireland. Hence, the Romish Church has increased in efficiency, wealth, and importance, with the growth of the Colony. The average value of the livings it is not easy to ascer- tain with minute exactness ; but, from the best information that can be obtained, it may be taken at 250/. per annum ; and assuming the Parochial Clergy at 400, exclusive oi' those employed in colleges, monasteries, and other religious houses, we have for the revenue of the Roman Catholic Church in Lower Canada, 100,000/. per annum, a sum which represents a money capital of at least 2,000,000/. In Upper Canada the Roman Catholic Clergy do not, at present, exceed 70 in number, and the provision for their support is very slender. It depends chiefly on their customary dues, and the contributions of their respective flocks. Unless, indeed, they receive assistance from the French portion of the Province, where the resources of the Romish Church are abundant. In regard to education, the means at the disposal of the Roman Catholic Church in Lower Canada are not merely ample, but munificent, as appears from the following Table, quoted from Smith's History of Canada, vol. i. Appen- dix 6 :— 11 rular Ursulines, Quebec Ursulines, Three Rivers Recollects Bishop and Seminary at Quebec Jesuits The Sulpicians, covering the whole island and city of Montreal, considered worth nearly a million . General Hospital, Quebec Ditto Montreal Hotel Dieu, Quebec Socurs Crises Acres ot Land. 164,610 30,909 945 693,324 891,845 250,191 28,497 404 14,112 42,336 2,117,179 Now, averaging the value of these lands at the very low [)riee of six shillings and eightpencc per acre, they repre- sent a capital of more than seven hundred thousand pounds. It is true, all these possessions were at one time at the disposal of the Crown, and the Jesuits' estates are not yet finally appro[)riated ; but who that knows the readiness with which Lord Sydenham gave a title to a few monks of St. Sulpice, covering the whole city and island of Montreal, with the consent of the Imperial Government, received or implied, can expect that these v.ast possessions will be ^ow kept back ? But, independent of the Jesuit estates, we have the Seminary of Quebec, after deducting a generous allowance, if thought good, for the Archbishop, with a princely endowment of more than half a million of acres of land, to establish colleges and seminaries of a higher order in the districts of Three Rivers and Quebec ; and the still richer seminary of St. Sulpice, with more than half a million, and believed by many to be worth double that sum, to do the same for the district of Montreal. Contrast all this, my Lord, with the United Church of England and Ireland in Canada. We have three Bishops, and about two hundred and forty Clergymen ; the latter 1 - perty, either to lease or endow parishes, and so ensure a permanent provision, at least to a limited extent. This was denied her, and the lands were ordered to be sold without reserve, under the direction of the provincial authorities. Thus, my Lord, Government refu3ed to confide to the Church of the Sovereign this small portion of her patrimony; but they very readily entrusted ten times as nmch in value and extent to the Romish Church in the same Colony. Now, it is believed, that under this unscrupulous management, the share of the Church, or 1,260,000 acres, will not realize one-third of their true value ; but, assu- ming that they may, on the average, realize six shillings and eightpence per acre, or, for the whole, 420,000/., which, at the present rate of interest in the province, may produce 25,200/. per annum, what is this for the support of all the Protestant Clergy who will ever be in this vast province ? Hi Nor is tliia all ; a money c«i[)ital is not like tithes or land, of a steady value, but liable to fluctuation and con- tingencies, by which the income niay be diminished. This same capital, ibr instance, would afford only halt' the revenue in the three per cents, in the mother country, which it does at present here, while the incouies of the Romish Clergy arise from land, and are not only perma- nent, but liable to no such diminution. My Lord, we have not yet done: this pittance, miser- able though it be, is once more in jeopardy, because the constitutional power which Government possesses, of declaring the settlement of 1840 final, has not been exercised. As respects education in Upper Canada, we have at •)resent no Church institution in which the higher branches of literature and science can be taught. In 1827, an university, connected with the National Church, was established by royal charter, and liberally endowed with lands, expressly set apart for that purpose, so far back as 1798, by the command of George the Third, of worthy memory, and now yielding a revenue of 11,000/. per annum. But because it was so connected, though not excluding the youth of other religious denominations from the educational benefits it afforded, it became an object of attack ; and after a long struggle, an Act was passed, which came into operation on the first of January, 1850, not only destroying the royal charter of King's College, but establishing a new university under a different name, from which all religious instruction, according to any form of doctrine, is excluded, all religious observances are virtually abolished, and graduates in Holy Orders declared ineligible as members of the Senate. The members of the United Church of England and Ireland, thus deprived of an university with which they could in any sense, as religious men, co-operato, felt it their duty to sacrifice endowment rather than principle ; 14 mid }i8 it is impossible for them, great as the sacrifice is, to hold connexion with an institution essentially un Chrisvian, they have taken measures to establish an university in strict connexion with their Church, without asking for any pecuniary aid. But here, my Lord, again the policy of your Government interposes, by various annoyances, to compel us to send our youth to the anti-church university. Among others, our application for a royal charter to enable us to confer degrees in the arts and faculties, and to manage our own property and affairs, (although such charters have already been conferred on two religious communities in the Colony, far inferior in number,) has been as yet without success. Hence, there is at present no seminary in Upper Canada in which the children of conscientious Cliurchmen can re- ceive a Christian and liberal education ; for the institution at Cobourg is very limited, and confined to theology. Even in regard to common schools, the prevailing influ- ence of the lioman Catholics effects a distinction, by allowing them separate schools, a privilege denied to the Church of England. Such, then, my Lord, is the state of the United Church of England and Ireland in this noble province : degraded, crippled, and impoverished by the policy of the home Government, both in England and in Canada, and her complaints treated with indifference and neglect. And yet of a sudden your Lordship manifests a marvel- lous indignation against the Pope for doing in England what he has been long doing to a far greater extent in this Colony. An Archbishop has been created by the Pope, and powers allowed to the Bishops, which are not permitted even in Roman Catholic countrien. Moreover, soon after Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria created the See of Toronto, and appoiiited its Bishop, a Priest was sent by the Bishop of Rome to assume I 15 the same title, calling himself IMshop of the new See, ami establishing himself in the same city. The rightful Bishop thought first of complaining of so glaring an infringement of primitive and Catholic order , but seeing, from the treatment received by the liight Reverend Dr. Broughton, the first Bishop of Australia, that instead of redress, he would meet with contumely and derision, he thought it wiser to forbear. The facts thus established, my Lord, present a curious commentary on your Letter. You give more than usual efficiency to the Romish hierarchy in Canada : you confer upon them superabundant means for the higher educational purposes, and you award them a complete and well-endowed ecclesiastical Establishment. In contrast, you permit, without remonstrance or interference, the national Church to be deprived of her solitary endowed College (she had but one), and to be stripped of the greater part of her patrimony, conferred upon her in 1791. Compare, my Lord, your policy towards the Colonial Church with the generous conduct of the United States. The members of the Church of England inhabiting the State of New York are at this day enabled to erect their Churches and pay their Missionaries, in every section of that extensive country, by the aid of funds provided by the pious care of British monarchs when they were British Colonies ; for so scrupulously have all endowments to the Church, or to Colleges, such as Columbia College, formerly King's College, New York, William and Mary's College, in Virginia, &c. &c. been preserved, notwithstanding the revolution, that it was urged lately, as a strong reason why members of the Church should join the annexation party in Canada, which though dormant is not extinct, because the moment Canada becomes a State, all endow- ments for the Church, educational and charitable purposes, will be guaianteed for ever for the purposes intended, as 16 such property lias boen declared sacred by the Supreme Court of the United States, and cannot be confiscated under their general Constitution. IJut with us, instead of protection, the Church and her possessions are made the sport of the Home as well as the Colonial authorities. We do not, my Lord, contrast the two Churches, as respects their wealth or poverty, with the vie.w of seeking to diminish the ample endowments of the Roman Catholic Church by a single shilling or acre, — they have been dedi- cated to sacred purposes, and should be held sacred; — what we contend for is, that the endowments of the United Church of England and Ireland, appropriated so very solemnly by the 31 George the Third chap. 31, and the endowment of King's College, guaranteed by three of our sovereigns, should be held equally sacred as the grants of Louis the Fourteenth, and that what has been unjustly taken away should be in some way restored. It may indeed appear strange that the Roman Catholics in Canada should, as a body, have lent themselves on every occasion to the spoliation of the national Church ; because, in doing so, they are giving a precedent for confiscating their own far richer endowments, which they hold by a much weaker tenure than we did ours. But the Romanists do not look forward to wsuch a con- tingency; and indeed, while the union continues, their power is in no danger. Nay, they sometimes give us credit for that love of justice which they in practice neglect, and believe, and perhaps not without reason, that the mem- bers of the National Church would not consent to such robbery. Such, my Lord, is the state of the National Church in this Colony as compared with that of Rome. What are the remedies? First. Since no restoration can be hoped for, at least 17 ■ give protectii)n to tho siiiall rcmaiiulcr of the proi^Tty loft tlic Church, and take order tluit the i)lcd