V] <^ /a /. OWm ^m 0% WJh- ^4' ^ '/ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET {MT-3) 1.0 I.I .25 f.^ 11^ U ill 1.6 Scienc*''' A V iV \\ ^ (meaning "CON- TIIMUED"). or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are 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: L'exemplaire film« fut reproduit prAce it la g«n«rositA de: Douglas Library Queen's University Les images suivantes onx Jt6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at de la nettet« de l'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. 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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 1 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 am I MISraaRIAL All D PBO-rJBST or TMS COMMISSION OP THE SYNOD OF XBB PBESBTTERIAN CBlTXCll OF CANADA, IN CONNEXION WITH T&E CEUBCH OF SCOT- . LAND, RB8PBCTIN0 THE CLEBOT BESERVE ACT, 4cC. U r .i.l'W. To the Eight Honorable Lard John Rutaell, Her Majeatift Prineifal Secre. (ary qf State for the Colonial Department. The Memorial and Protest of the Commission of the Synod of the Preshyterian Church of Canada, in connexion with the Church of Scotland, (je:'^ v> RurscrrvLLY Sbewetr : That your Memorialists heard with very great satis&etioii, that the Imperial Parliament, among other steps towards the adjustment of thai •flair* of Canada, had undertaken the dispoeal of the Clergy Reserves ;--and jrhile, With all their fellow subjects, they rejoiced in the prospect of seeing so fertile a cause of disturbance removed for ever, they esteemed themselves pectt. •Uarly happy in the pubh'c recognition, before the settlement of the question, by the highest legal authoriti s of the empire, and in the fullest manner, of thefr long asserted equality of right with the Church of England to those ReservM, •nd to participadon in all privileges, advantages, and benefactions conferred upon a ** Protestant Clergy." After the opposition and annoyance, the misrepresents, tion and insult, to which your Memorialists had been subjected for many years, by certain parties in this Colony, they felt unspeakably grateful to God for this signal viudieation of the justice of their claims, and looked forward, with the greatest confidence, to a final settlement of the Reserve Question, conformable with Uw legal decision in their favour ; assured that, having waited so long, the utmost care would be taken by Her Majesty's Government and the British ParUament to sfford them full indemnity for the past and security for the future. These reasonable expectations, your Memorialists with grief declare, hav« been bitterly disappointed. In the Act of the Imperial Parliament, for the dispo- sal of the Reserves, they perceive not only no rectification of the past, but the sys* tem of inequality and injustice, under which they suffered before the judicial de. termination of their right, fixed and perpetuated. No compensation has been prorided to them for more than twenty thousand acres of the best of the Reserves, far exceeding in value, from their quality and situation, any equal extent of those that remain, which have been given to the Church of England ; or for the priya* tions to which your Memorialists have been subjected, in consequence of the monopoly by that Church of the favour of the Government. A sum nearly five times as large as that, in the meantime, secured to the Church of Scotland, has been secured to the Church of England ; — and finally, of the portion of the Re. serves allotted to the established Churches of the Empire, the Church of England has received two thirds, the Church of Bcutland but one. It is for the purpose of expressing on their own behalf, and on the behalf of those over whose spiritual interests it is their duty to watch, their deep sense of the injury which has been thus unexpectedly done to them and to the cause of Reli* Eion in this Colony, and of seeking immediate redress, that your Memorialists sve assembled. The ground of the unequal partition of the Reserves, it seems to be univer. ssDy understood and admitted, was the alledged numerical strength of the branch, ss of the two established Churches in Upper Canada. Your Memorialists find that your Lordship, after the fullest admission cf ihe equality of right in the two Churches, as recognized by the judges of England, stated pubhcly in Parliament, snd also to the deputation of the Church of Scodand, that this was the sole rea. •on of the great inequality in the division, representing the number of the adhe. rents of the two Churches as forty thousand, and eighty thousand respectively. This 1>«ing moreover, the proportion actually observed in the partition, your Msmorisiists find themselves authorized tn conclude that it was fixed upon the principle mentioned, which is indeed the only principle that could, after the decision of the judges, have given a colour of justice to the enactment com. plsiced of. Yonr Memorislists, referring to the documents before them, find it difficult to tiBdsrstsnd how Her M^esty's Government and the Imperial Psrliamept, could have been guided to this estimate of the number of their adherents : — if by the return tf the numerical strength of the Religious Denominations of Upper Csnsds, founded on the Census of 1839, and transmitted by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada — ^your Memorialists cannot but declare their extreme surprise and sorrow. The opinion expressed of that return b^ all r«rHo!i oitgh*, }f>iir Memerialiats humWy conceive, to have entirely destroyed its ^*fl ( G(}.'.:;06 2 tathority «• « b&ait of liegi'lntion, in a matter of such infinite importance. Hie Ekceltency the Lieutenant Governor had officially informed both the Prrf. vinciai Fariiament and your Lordsbip, that t*the imperfection* of the rctwns from which it waa compiled were avch, aa »ltcig«ther X9 invalidate them as statistical 4ata for any safe deductions.*' The FrovincialJie^siature ware so falfy aware of its incorrectness, that in framing tb« Bill poeeed in its last Session, for the dis- position of the Reserves, it contemplated the apportionment of the proceeds, ac> cording to a Census yet (o be taken. The notorious worthlessness of the Return of 1820, being thus fully known to the Government and Legisbtnre o( Upper Canada, and to Her Majesty's Government, your Memorialists did not think it aeeessary to take any steps to represent its errors, more particulariy, to the Im- perial Parliament. They were not aware at the last meeting of the 3ynoi»d*)ia> aatiott and ridiciile. How easily, and with what justice, had they anti«ipat«i(l liM, ikttj oould b«T« tspoqed the Return of 1839, they would now proceed to While»with regard to other denorainalioBs, your MewotisUsta do not deny th«t th« r«turn may exhibit, as the Lieutenant Ciovcrnor has stated in his De^Mtch «f September 14, 1839, an " Approximate ^timate," of their eoraparative nungt- i«n, they declare and complain that its incorrectness, as respects the adherents «C tbe Churoh of Scotland, is such as to represent them at little more thwi half Dl^ir real number. 1st, Yot)r Meinorialists would draw your Lordship's «tt«aQon to the enor* Tgitm injury, which they in particular have euat&ined from "the want of uni- formity pervading the Returns," as regards tbe heading of the columns, of wtwoh mt {J^cettency the Lieutenant G>overnor has taken notice in the Pespateh above M^fr^d taded« ** Church of England," "Church of SeotlaBd," "Church ef ^Qpitt" ^e.,-.-in others " Episcopalians," " Presbyterians," " Roman Catho|ica«" Ip^. J^ow in the Tabular Sltatenicnt exhibiting tbe aggrscate of each Chwcb, w^e th^se returned as " Episcopalians," have invariably been given, to ^ (thurt^b of England, the Church of Scotland has not got credit iat one individufl t^f thoM roturned as " Fresby teriana." In this manner, som^ of tbt» Pistciets, w^ioh are the very strong hold? of the Scottish Cb irch, have hdt/a rej^ree^nted as if^t 9Qi|taining a single individual of that body. Your Menomialiets would r^r jng deprivation of their nghta, Save in . l((^n laboured to supply with religious ordinances. Of the " Fresbyttrians" of Qatbuiat, ^e viost numerous denomination in the District, aB, with few, if psij exceptions, belong to the Church c^ Scotland ; which, as regarda thoit Di^tri^ ^(qie, has been misrepresent^ tp thi^ amoutv of nearly 900(X )n the Return for th^ Distrio^ of New Ci^atle, in like manner, not one of 90QO V- Pr«t]^yteri«Qi4" has been given to the Church of I^oU«d4« to wbicb, by far, the §r6At«r (lumber of them i^re known to belong. 7'^ by the want of a column for the adherenta of the Church of Seodaad* W ^ Returns for two of the Districts moqt abownding with Scottish Settlers, yimr Menoori^Ksts have be«n defrauded oi, at the iQQSt moderate reckoning. i^QOft of their adherents. druUy^ In the Returns for some of the Districts, where separate Mdawnatifrv ^((9^^ for th^ Church of Scotlaitd, ond for other Frci^yterians, all those wiho, ijeini^ uniafo];med (as w»s generally the case) of the distinctiQa to bo observed, ftatec themselves to be " Presbyterians," were returned aad gummed up aa not belonging to the Church of Scotland. This, as regards particularly th* Jtohns- tqwiQj, Itfidlwd, Prince Edward^ Niagara, London, tind Talbot Dutricts, h«8 been .%^itMi(i|^ source of owrfpres«nta,tiotv tn ttw Jok^stown District, «v«i)i. Qf&i? e . Bmrers of the Church of Scotland have been taken from that Church, by beiug fi^u^i^ not merely as " Freabyt«ri8us,'' but with the addition of the wordf *^aot , lit <;oa«e*ion with the ChurcbJ qf Scodand." In one matancc, a Minister tund , Wj; whple of hi» eo9gr«gatiq9^ h«ve thus betp represented a» not bakMuing <» r itn^t ()am Cbwch. Tm r^AvU of tbia mode of heading in the Nis^^ura Diatnot, yimi^Vtkf 96 «re relunr^^ «« belonging, to, the Church of Scotland, and th«s» «1! in oae Township, is a mockery of common sense. From this second causp, your Memorialists hare lost, in the reckoning of hf** Iteligic people, 3c beenn oppoait they ai the rev 4tl the fitc Ikenci •ndtwi In •dherei ihao tb Y< that, wl If let ted in a Her M the gen< •nd "0 !uran." probabl] jetty's C - Of I that the I your M( 1 «mnly p: 1 and agai i been foi I Church I £ out takii A and the; correetn Sue ehip cam •hould fe with the thanthei •exposed after ano ^-; portion o A atruggto \ • of her SOI ; valuable ^ when at 1 ..British G } crippled I r feated, bj ';^sbavebeei ,«, The f itoriginat .; byterian i if tisfkctbn, ijngiadly . British sul ', Youi .welfare ol the public less, 88th( •nts of tb ;iGod for th plainly to orp«ft,« iinesptcte prepared i hey Bonti nonot eoi ly'e Cover «nee. Hi* h the Tti. etwns from 15 statictieal fallj aware , for the dis- rcce«dS| ae« the Return • of Upper not think it r, to the Im- 9yru34, th«t ueatioB, ^or cpuM have Bti eokdeiQ* antieipat«4 ir proee ed u> 4itdenyth«t ia Deapatqh rativeiMiatt- 16 adherente re than hajf to the anor- ''aat of uni- ne,of whieli yateh above End th« 1^ • Ch»Kd» of > Cathot(«a," teh Churib, fiven. to the • individttil b«» Pisuieta, ^reeonted as would r«^r t on* indivi. [district CQO- itan of that igrftgnfionB, iUt, have in irteciaiw" of few, if aj»y liatPi»tn5» on«of90QO , hf ht, tite >f Seodavd. isH Settlers, reckooing. ItURMiaiR^tnB (those wiho, to obaervod, )d up «a not tha Jtobns- ts, bfs been ftv«(p, Offiu?e ih, by beiug: wordf *^oot linjater qnd «k»U|iiia <*> »ra viatmN nd these, all mingnf hf* Religious Denomiaations, u they are prepared to prove, at least 5000 of their people. 3dly. Your Memorialists regret to add that lot otily hate ntaay of their people been nti«>' . preseoced, but turned against their own interest, by bang put into the opposite scale, and returned as belonging to the Church of England. This alee they are ready to prore, and they are not aware of a single instanoe ia which the reverse has been done. 4thly. Your M'.«morialistss have,with great as' snishment and pain, to advert ta the fkct, that in the mere summation of the columns, an Arithmetieal errvor has hcen committed to their prqudiee, to the extent of three thousand one hanidred and twenty.one. tn all these ways your Memorialists complain that by the returns of 1839, the adherents of their Church have been represented at from 30,000 to 35,000 leae ikan their actual number. Your Memorialists' surprise and grief are gi«atty incicased by perceivinf that, while His Exeelleney the Lieutenant Governor in bis Despatch of September 14. 1639, condemns generally the Returns, as a basis of LegislatioB, he has eta* ted in a note (marked b) appended to the "Tabulated Abstract* forwarded la Her Majesty's Government, that •< a large proportion" of thoae returned nnder the general designation of " Presbyterians" belong to " the Church of Scotland?* and *' ought to be added to the special aggregate of that Church, in the first col* umn." Of these, and they can be proved to be indeed *' a large proportion,*' |irobably two thirds of the whole 31,000 returned as "Presbyterians," Her Ma* jesty's Oovernment has not added one to the aggregate of the Church of Scotland. ^' . Of other and minor causes of inaccuracy, as it might not be easy to shew m that they have suffered from them to a greater exMnt than other denominations, H yoor Bf emorialists forbear to speak. Upon the grounds already stated, they soU f emnly protest and reclaim against the Census of 1839 as a basis of Legislation, and against the partition of the Reserves, so palpably unjust to them, which has been founded upon it. They are prepaned to prove, that the adherents of the Church of Scotland in Upper Canada, in the year 1839, numbered 70,000, with. out taking into account the sixth of the population, not reckoned in the Return, and they declare themselves willing to abide by the result of any Census, the correctness of which proper pains shall have been taken to secure. Such being the facta of the case, as known to all this province, your Lord. •hip cannot be surprised that your Memorialists and the people under their ehaiie •hould feel deeply aggrieved and indignant. They have borne long and patiently with the denial of what has been by the highest authority declared to be no more than their just right, and with the insult to which their assertion of that right haa exposed them. While the sister Church of England, has obtained one favour after another, and one facility after another, for the spiritual instruction of that 4^^ portion of the community belonging to her, the Church of Scotland has had to f struggle with poverty, and to sustain the practical denial of her claims, on behalf of her sons in Canada, the earliest British settlers of the Province, and as loyal, valuable and numerous as anv other denomination of British descent. And when at length her right is legally recognized, and she expects to receive from the , Britidi Goveinment and Pailiament, full indemnity for the privations which hav* ; crippled her efforts for the good of her people, their expectations are all at once de< I foated, by a gross arithmetical misrepresentation, which might with equal care ' have been detected and rectified. The inevitable result of this treatment, «t such a time, from whatever cutiM I It originated, whether inattention to Atcts, or any influence prejudio.iol to the Pres. |; byterian Church, must be, and is, your Lordship's Memorialists feel, deep disss. ^f timction, and a permanent feeling of jealousy, distrust, and insecurity, contrast. ting sadly with the union, pe»ee, and confidence, in which it has been the boast of British subjects to live. ^ Your Memorialists who have long and fervently prayed for the peace and :- welfare of this distracted Colony, and who, viewing with dread, all agitation of t.'ie public mind at this crisis, would rather repress than increase it,— do neverUie. less, as the guardians of the interests of a larger number of the Protestant infaaUt. ants of the Province, than any other ecclesiastical body, and as answerable to ^od for tboir m&intenanoe of the privileges of their people, feel it to be their 4«tx ~itainly to declare that, they must seek io every constitutional way, eompeaaaiiM r pMt, and leeurity ^wn future injuries, and, especially, redrMs for the grievoQib nespected, and permanent ii^astiee, dene them by «n Act which, they w«ni repared to hail as the cure of dl their wrongs. And sc elear and undemabl* 4* ' ey eontider the sutement whieh they now make of thei' grievaneas, that tbay nnet conceive the existence of any other disposition on the part of Her M^jus* '• Government than one, to employ every possible means of removing them, knd along with them that watchful suspicion and diatnut, which otherwiae muat be increased if not perpetuated. In urging upon your Lordship the immediate re.eonaideration, with a view to compensation and redress, of the claims of their Church, your Memorialists have also to bring under the attention of Her Majesty's Government, those of the Body, lately known by the name of the United Synod of Upper Canada. Thia Bodyi which comprehended all the Presbyterians of the Provmce, not belonging to the Church ck Scotland, except a few Secedcrs and American Presbyterians^ haa since the Census of 1839, been incorporated with the Church of Scotland*-' Your Memorialists not only regard this event as most important to the spiritual and moril interests of the Province, but they view it with emotions of compla. eency, as a high and incontrovertible testimony to the excellence and popularity of their national Church, and its adaptntion to the wants and feelings of the Colo> ny ; and while they feel it strengthens their claim and right to the favourable re. gard of the Government, it is to them a rich source of consolation under th« obloquy they have endured. By the accession of this Body, the Church of your Memorialists comprehends nine tenths of the Presbyterians in the Province, be. ing, as is stated above, the largest body in Canada of British origin, and is ena. bled to aspire to measures for the moral and spiritual welfare of the community* the efiects of which must soon be powerfully felt. Your Memorialists would press on your Lordship's consideration, the olaim cf the United Synod to their portion of that part of the Reserves which is yet unappropriated. Of the Bodies which may be regarded as having any just ez< pectations from that fund, your Memorialists need not inform your Lordship that Qone has a higher claim than the United Synod. Nearly alh'ed to one of the Mtablisbed Churches of ihi Empire, many of its Ministers and Members being from the Synod of Ulster, it has long enjoyed a measure of respect and favour f^om the Government ; and the union which has now been so happily consumma. ted, having taken place under the ouspices of the Government, must be regarded as strengthening its claim to that portion which, as not having been reckoned with the Church of Scotland in the partition of the Reserves, it has a title in it* own right. And here your Memorialists would observe, that a Providential opening is afforded fo Her Majesty's Government for making amends, although ▼ery inadequately, to the much injured members of the Church of Scotland ; in* asmuch as a great many of those who by the misrepresentations of the Census (especially those arising from the first and second causes of error enu jerated in this Memorial,) have been taken from that Church under the general designation of ** Presbyterians," appear in the " Tabulated Statement" as belonging to the United Synod. This circumstance, your Memorialists have no dou:>t, will be gladly embraced by Her Majesty's Government, as affording scope for some rectification of an act which, must otherwise result in great hardship and injustice. Your Memorialists have still to advert to a matter which affects yet mora powerfully their rights and feelings, as well as the spiritual interests of the Church and Province. . They have observed in the legislation of the Imperial Parliament on Canadian affairs, no reference to those enactments of Slst Geo. Ill, Chap. 31st, authorizing the erection in Canada of Rectories of the Church of England, with the same jurisdiction as in England. The operation of this enactment your Memorialists have all along complained of as the most intolerable of the injuries tiiey have had to EufTer, and as a violation of the fundamental ar- ticles of the Treaty of Union, by which equal rights are secured to the natives of Scotland and England. While nothing has been done to remedy the, unjust par. tiolity shewn in the appropriation to the Rectories of a large portion of the richest and best situated of those Reserves, which are now decided to belong to the Protestant Clergy of the Church of Scotland as much as to those of the Church of England; Your Memorialists far more deeply feel, and grievously c(>mplain of the continuance, at a period so favourable for its revision, of a law, the unwi^ enforcement of which, hns contributed so much to the disturbance of the Colony. Against this law your Memorialists must continue to protest, as an infraction of their constitutional rights, in a Colony of the United Kingdom, so long as the au. tliority and spiritual jurisdiction of the Rectors appointed under it are not declarsd restricted, as regards all adherents of the Scottish Church and all natives of Scot, land, of whatever denomination, and so long as any advantage given, or intended to be given to the Church of England thereby, for the carrying out of her cccle. fliattical system, is not equally bestowed upon the Church of Scotland. Your Momorialints are constrained to repeat, that no recognition however full, of their right to participation in pecuniai y provision and advantages, nor even the most ample practical justice in reference to thefie, can ever induce them to cease from ^ I Gener Majee transn 1840. lency theM Lord . opinio; Bul'jec inform count r almost be the reason plied ( the Sj alto r Of) his rcmed; Memo' liamen isters Synod the Pn former, propria possesi ofHi? desires wliich the fai refers, day. I{ their pi .,.. A rial an 1. ;" viewed ^'^ transini \ Arthur 1 errors ( / Church Act as f s. Sftbyteria i eyidunc populai support MrwiM mutt ith % view to malists bav* those of the nada. Tbia lot belonging reabyterianai ' Scotland.-' I the spirituat i8 of conipla. id popularity s of the Colo. Ekvourable re. on under the urch of your Province, be. , and ia ena. I community, on, the claim which is yet any just ex. Lordship that to one of the embers being ct and favour y consumma. t be regarded ecn reckoned 18 a title in its i Providential nds, althongh Scotland ; in* >f the Census nc iterated in nation ongingto the dou'it, will be }pe for some and injustice, ects yet more erests of the the Imperii of 31st Geo. the Church of ration of this ost intolerable idamental ar- the natives of be, unjust par. 1 of the richest belong to the >f the Church usly complain w, the unwitoe )f the Colony. infraction of }ng as the au. 3 not declared itives of Scot, n, or intended , of her cccle. tland. Your r full, of their even the most to ccuc from their opposition to a system whieh pretends to add spititual inferiority andsubjec lion to temporal injustice, by subverting the very foundatioDS of tbe £mpir*. AU which is respectfully submitted, , , .i% In name and by appointment of Commission, &c. &c. Sec. .. ., ,,> / At Kingnton, the eighth day of October, 1840. ., HUGH URQUHART, ' " ' ' • Moderator, At IIamiltow, 18th October, 1841. The Commissitm of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, ia coDne:^ion with the Church of Scotland, met pursuant to adjournment, and was constituted with prayer. -. ' • ;; m-iu »;, i«t/r their feelings tiid opinion?, Her Majesty's Government cannot renew the discussion of this subject in Parliament. With regard to the alledged inaccuracy of the information furnished to government, His Lordship observes, that in a country where it is so difficult to procure correct statistical information on almost all points, the utmost thai can be expected is a return which shall be the nearest practicable approach to the truth ; and as there seems no reason to believe that in the present case a safer guide than what was sup* plied could be obtained. Her Majesty's Government cannot encourage the Synod to hope that the question will be re-opened." There was also read, a letter addressed by tlie Clerk to the Chief Secretary, on his receiving the foregoing communication, directing attention to the remedy for the injustice complained of, suggested in the aforesaid Memorial and Protest, as available without the necessity for farther par« liamentary interference— in consequence of the incorporation of the min« isters and members of the United Synod of Upper Canada, with the Synod of the Presbyte.ian Church of Canada, by reckoning tlut part of the Presbyterian population erroneously abstacted from the latter to the former, in the discretionary distribution by the Government, of the unap- propriated portion of the Clergy Reserves — and requesting to be put lo possession of the Governor General's views on that point — and the reply of Hi^ Excellency to the same, which is cs follows :— " His Excellency desires me to stole that ns those provisions of the Clergy Reserve Act which relate to the Distribution of the Surplus beyond the sums to which the failh of the Crown is actually pledged, to which aloi:e your question refers, cannot come into operation, until a future, and perhaps a distant day. Hid Excellency does not feel at liberty to express any opinion au to their practical working." After maturp consideration of this reply, in connexion with the Memo- rial and Protest, to which it refers, the Commission unanimously raohedt 1. That the statements contained in the Memorial and Protest, viewed in connexion with the Tabulated Abstract of the Census for 1889, transmitted to the Secretary of State, and the despatch of Sir George Arthur which accompanied it, place beyond all reasonable doubt the gross errors of the said Census, and the great injustice which the Presbyteriao Church of Canada will sufler, through the operation of the Clergy Reserve Act OS /ouitdoii thereon. S. That it is the bounden duty of the Rulers and Members of the Pr«s- bytcrian Church, to use their utmost exertions to obtain full and detailed eyidunce of the inaccuracy of the said Census, in so far as the Presbyterian population is concerned, to be laid before Her ftlajesty's Govemwebt, in support of a renewed application for relief from the injustice referred to. i •n4 (Voro the Mrioui ii^urict wiiicb would tlieoc* iiice not only to th«ra fe)ve«, but to thtir children and posterity. 3. That the following members, namely, Mr. Alex. Gale, Mr. M. Y. Stark, and Mr. J. Bayne, be appointed a committee to collect evidence on the flubiect in question, and to cause the same to be submitted to the Imperial Government and the Colonial Executive, in such manner as they may deem best, with authority to require the assistance of all Ministers and Presbyteries, in procuring the necessary information, and especially to call on the leading laymen connected with the Church, for their cora> bined and strenuous co-operation in this matter, which chiefly pertaine to them, as aflecting more immediately the External condition of the Church. The Committee is farther instructed to cause the aforesaid Memorial and Protest to be printed and circulated, as also to ascertain and watch over the measures of Government, in regard to the sale of the Clergv Reserves, and to direct the attention of the Ministera and Members of the Church generally to the Religious Census to be taken for the cnsuiag year, so thM'L errors and misrepresentations therein may be guarded against. Bxtracted from the Records of the Commission of Synod by ALEX. GALE, Synod Clerk. Hamilton, January IStb, 1841. The Committee appointed by the Commission for the purposes indi« eated in the foregoing Minu^o, haying met this day and conRidered the matters entrusted to them. Resolved, That the Memorial and Protest referred to be printed and circulated, under the superintendence of the Convener, together with the Commission's Minute respecting the same, and that the attention of Pres* teries. Kirk Sessions, and the members and adherents of the Church gene- rally, be earnestly requested to the following suggestions : I. It ought to be steadily kept in view, that the Presbyterian popu* lation of Upper Canada immediately connected vi^ith the Church of Scot* land, was made to appear by the Census of 1888, as not much exceeding 40,000 souls, and that a share of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves is assigned to us in the Ac of the Imperial Parliament, proportioned to this nutnoer,— whereas, there is abundant reason to believe that our actual population in 1839, was not much, if at all short of 80,000.— -It follows, that if no remedy is obtained we shall receive little more than half the portion to which our number entitles us, II. It is also to be observed, that since 1839, and immediately before the passing of the Act referred to, the Ministers and members of the Uni' ted Synod were incorporated with the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in connexion with the Church of Scotland, and that unlet^s • a vigorous effort is made, this portion of our population will be altogether cat off from a participation in the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves, and the injustice done to the Presbyterian body greatly aggravated. III. It is of much importanoe, farther, that it be Icept in mind by ell concerned— that however limited the immediate benefits of the Clergy Reserve Fund may be, they will be ultimately very considerable— that a remedy for the injury in question will be sought with much greater pro- bability of success now, than at a future period, and therefore that the best interests of the future Presbyterian population of this country will be most materially affected by the efforts made by us to obtain such remedy. IV. However clear and cogent the facts and argumeuts contained ia the Memorial and Protest may be, in regard to the erroneous and de- ceptive character of the Presbyterian Census for 1839, on which the ap« Sropriatlon clauses of the Clergy Reserve Act were fhimed, it is manifest om Lord John Russell's reply, that it is indispensably necessary to the successful prosecution of our claim, that farther evidence be brotight for- ward of the misrepresentation of our numbers in that Census, so minute and poative that it shall not be liable to be evaded or gainsaid. v. As the most efibctoal way of bringing each evidence b^foM the Gotreroment,— the Commute recommend, that the people of every Town- ship or Congregation, who have been misrepresented in the Ckatug fiw 1889, do ifflmeinately petition the Queen in Conneil, setting forth in their ^ to th«ni Mr. M. evidence ted to the er as they Ministers especially heir com< lertains to e Church, norial and ratch over Reserves, e Church K year, w St. y Clerk. 1841. toses indi* idered the rinted and r with the I of Pree- irch gene- rian popu* I of Scot, exceeding .eserves u led to this >ur actual t follows, I half the ely before fthe Uni- m Church unless • altogether erves, and lind by ell le Clergy ible— that eater pro- that the ry will be I remedy, contained s and de« the ap- s manirett iry to the Might for- so minute before the »y Town- CeniMfiw th in their .^^ petition the nature and extent of the misreproscntation which has takeit place in regard to them, and praying for relief from the injustice which has thereby been inflicted on the Presbyterian Church, in the apportionment of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves; each of the Congregations which were formerly connected with the United Synod, should also petition Her Majesty to the like effect, in terms suitable to the circumstances of their ease. Forms of petition are subjoined, which may be modified so as to •uit the peculiarities of the several cases. The Committee earnestly request that Presbyteries, Kirk Sessions, and all others concerned, will use their utmost efforts to obtain the signa- tures of the members and adherents of the Church, in their beveral locali- tiee as Ailly as possible. The laboui of doing so may be materially lightened by taking the signntures of the male heads of families only, and inserting in a column the members in each household connected with tiie Churc't. The petitions when completed should be lodged with the Clerk of the Prenbytery of the bounds. The localities, fVom which it will be necessary, for the above purpose, lo have petitions, must be ascertsined by inspection of the Census for 18S9, at the offices of the several Clerks of the Peace. The Committee can only point out the following as instances in which the errors of that Census are particularly gross, viz : Batkur$t DUtrict.'-ln the whole of which according to the Census there is not onu member or adherent of the Presbyterian Church of Canada^ in connexion with the Church of Scotland. JVmoea$tle Dklrkt.^ Do. do. ,Tf.ir JViagara DiatricU — In the whole of which according to the (census, there are only 98 individuals connected with the Church of Scotland, and these in the Township of Oertie. Cn the Johtutotm, Muiland, Prince Edtoard, London, and Talbot Dis> tricts, and also in sonne parts of the Home District, the errors of the Census Mem to be very great. VI. The Committee, in accordance with their instructions, woutd •arnestly call the attention of the more influential laymen connected with the Presbyterian Church of Canada to this matter. Its important bearings on the present and future interests of the Presbyterian community in this eolony will be readily discerned by them, and as it falls much more properly under their manngeraent, than that of the Church Courts, so, as the Committee are fully persuaded, the permanent and extensive injury which threatens the Presbyterian body will only be averted by their united and energetic exertions in obtaining the necessary evidence, and in pressiitg it on the attention of the Provincial and Imperial Government. The Committee would farther solicit the attention of such friends of the Church of Scotland, and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, as a^ mendtem of the Imperial Parliament, or otherwise possess influence with the British Government, to the foregoing statements, and their aid in ob* taining for their brethren in this distant land, an equitable adjustment of tbia matter. VII. The Committee call the attention of Presbyteries, Kirk Ses- |lpai,and the Members of the Church in general, to the Census to be tak^n m 1844. The Committee find that by an act passed during the Ust Sef- sion of Parliament, the Census will only be taken once in five years^ af^er 184S. They also find that a schedule is annexed to that act according to which the returns are to be made in every District. This Schedule contains two columns for Presbyterians ; the one headed, " jyumber of ptraont m each family belonging to the Church of Scotfand," the other, " Mtmber of Pre^yteriana not in connexion, tcith the Church of Scotland, in tatk famUyJ" Gross errors and misrepresentations arose from similar headings of the columns, in the Census of former years, and they will almost inevitably be repeated in the approaching Census, to a considerable extent. Something, however, may be done to prevent this, by the exer- ♦ions of Presbyteries, Ministers, snd Members of the Church. ALEX. GALE, Convener. PORM OF PETITION. 7b ih* Qw«fi$ Mo$t Excellent Majtety, in Council: The Petition of the Presbyterian inhabitants of the Township of ■ ■ in the District of — — ^— in the Proviuce of Canada, Weat, IIOMBLT SllRWRTH : That the Petitioners, your Majesty's faithful sulijects, although they and the members of their families, [whose number they annex to their sig- natures,] are connected wiih the Prvsbyterian Church of Canada, in con- nexion with the Church of Scotland, find that they were represented ia the Religious Census uf Upper Canada, for 1839, as not connected with that Church, and that in conspquence of this and similar errors the propor- tion of the population belonging to that Church was greatly under rated in tlie snid Census, and a very inadequate share of the proceeds of the Clergy Reservef, apportioned to it by the Act passed by the Imperial Par- liament, in 1840, fur the sale and appropriation of said Reserves. May it, therefore, please your majesty, to take into your gracious consideration, the injufltice which has thus been done to them and to the Church, %^'ith which they are connected, and to afford them such relief and compen- ■atioa as the case requires, out of the unappropriated portion of the pro- ceeds of said Reserves. And the Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray, &cc. SECOND FORM OF PETITION. T» the ^ueei{s Moat Excellent .Majesty, in Council: The Petition of the Presbyterian Congregation in the Township o f . ■ District of - and Province of Upper Canada, west, fluMBLT Shewf.th : That the Petitioners, your Majesty's faithful subjects, togethar with the members of their families, [whose number they annex to thoir signa- tures,] were connected as a congregation with the United Synod of Upper Canaaa \ a Presbyterian body, which, although holding in all respects the same standards of doctrine, discipline, govcrn't., and worship, ss the Church nf Scotland, maintained a separate Ecclesiastical Organization until the year 1840— that on the 3J day of July in that year, the United Synod was incorporated with the Synod in connexion with the Church of Scotland, on terms mutually agreed upon — that this measure, so conducive in itself to the unity fttid religious comfort of Vour Majesty's Presbyterian subjects in this colony, will yet operate greatly to the disadvantage and injury of your Petitioners, and of the Presb3rterian population generally, by depriving them of that portion of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves, to which they would have been entitled in their former Ecclesiastical Connection, the members of this congregation and of the other congregations formerly oT the United Synod, being represented in the Census of 1839, as not con- nected with the Church of Scotland — while they can now only participate in the portion of the proceeds of the Reserves which has been allotted to the Church of Scotland, of which thev now constitute an integral part. Ma^ it, therefore, please your Majesty to take the injury which would thu4 be inflicted on your Petitioners, and on the Presbyterian Church gen mullf, into your grscbus consideration^ and aflbrd them soch relief end compensation, as their eaoe requires, out of the unappropriated portion of the proceeds of said Reserves. And the Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray, be. 1 ■I h