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 .s^ 
 
 PRESID-.NT OF THK URST Gf.NERAI. CONFF.RENCE OF THE METIiCDiST Cli'JRCH OF CANADA 
 REPRF.SENTATr\-E TO THE, BRlIiSH CCNFERF.KCE IS'G. 
 
 ^'■' 
 
'■^ 
 
 #^' 
 
 ■,^ 
 
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 xa 
 
 ■^/ 
 
 >APf\ 
 
 .i.>.;jlT 
 
 AND CHARACTRRTSTICS. 
 
 %.«.. M ihe Keqnest of the UnJon. Toronto, anrl Montreal 
 
 Con>»er«oe(tsu 
 
 BY THB 
 
 itSV KGEETON EYEfiSON, 'at, LL.D. 
 
 
 
 ■II. tkf VAifADiA A 
 
 m 
 
 *sp«^- 
 
 TORONTO': \ 
 
 WILLIAM hRiatm, 
 
>\ 
 
 «ftf; 
 
 ..•^IfeV 
 
 ■■■Tt:-: 
 
 
 
 'f(^ 
 
 1/ 
 
 PI 
 
^A, 
 
 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM ; 
 
 ITS EPOCHS MD CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 ^1 
 
 Written at the Request ef the Unden, Toronto. «nd Montreal 
 
 Conferences. 
 
 r< 
 
 BY THB 
 
 KEY. EGEETON EIEESON, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 ItepHnM. wi$h »««A additional matter, fiom the CANADIAN 
 METHODIST MAGAZINE. 
 
 
 TORONTO : 
 WILLIAM BRl^(^ ^i^Zj^< 
 
 78 4 80 Kmo 8i. East. 
 
 ; 
 
 JJ 
 
 <<>' '^^ 
 
 1882. 
 
 \^ 
 

 
 o:cc.^. 45 HO 
 
 /?Kl Ir ^ S /^ r^J , ft Z 
 
 1%^ 
 
 It rr^ * ,.*'" ^'' "^ *•" '''""»'"™* "' Canada, i„ 
 the year om thousand eight hundred and eighty-tiro 
 . by William Br.ogs, .to the Office of the uLCot 
 Agncnlture, at Ottawa, """ler oi 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 By a sad necessity it falls to the lot of the 
 present writer, as Editor of the periodical in 
 which these essays first appeared, to prepare a 
 preface to the volume in which they are now 
 corected. From frequent and intimate inter- 
 coiirse with their lamented Author we can affirm 
 that controversy was not the object with which 
 they were written. Being invited thereto by 
 the formal request of the London, Toronto, and 
 Montreal Conferences, Dr. Ryerson desired to 
 place on record certain documentary evidence of 
 which he was in possession, as to the eventful 
 history of Methodism in what is now known as 
 Old Canada. Of those stirring events, in which 
 he played so prominent a part, it is more than 
 probable that the honoured writer of these 
 essays could speak with greater fullness of in- 
 formation than any other man. He wrote, not 
 to revive dead issues or buried animosities, but 
 rather, by a calm appeal to reason and to historic 
 facts, to allay them forever. 
 
 So anxious was Dr. Ryerson to avoid all 
 ground of reasonable otfence that he gave the 
 
IV 
 
 PRKFACE. 
 
 Editor of the periodical, in which these essays 
 appeared, full authority to suppress or modify 
 any passage that might be justly construed as 
 offensive in tone or spirit. That Editor, how- 
 ever, did not feel at liberty, in essays which had 
 been formally requested by three Annual Con- 
 ferences, to do more than modify an occasional 
 phrase, and to relegate to the volume of col- 
 lected essays a considerable amount of matter 
 for which there was not space in the Magazine^ 
 for which they were primarily prepared. It 
 will be found, therefore, that this volume is not 
 a mere reprint of the essays as they were pub- 
 lished from month to month ; but that it con- 
 tains a large amount of new matter which has 
 not heretofore appeared. It will possess also, 
 to the many admirers of its beloved and 
 honoured author, a melancholy interest as being 
 the latest production of that pen which, during 
 a long and busy life, was ever wielded in the 
 defence of civil and religious liberty. 
 
 And yet this volume is even now incomplete. 
 During the very last interview which the pre- 
 sent writer had with his revered and honoured 
 friend, shortly before his death, Dr. Ryerson 
 strongly expressed the wish that he might be 
 permitted, before he should depart hence, to 
 write a concluding chapter of an entirely irenical 
 character, that should completely remove any 
 
 i\i 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 undesigned asperities and acerbities of those 
 already published. We can bear witness that 
 no rancour, no bitter memories entered into the 
 preparation of these papers, that the heart of 
 the writer was full of gentleness and love, of 
 sweetness and light ; and that as he drew nearer 
 to the eternal world of light and love its radi- 
 ance more and more seemed to illumine his soul. 
 If there be anything that is polemical in this 
 volume, or that is calculated to excite contro- 
 versy, let it be read in the light of that latest 
 utterance of him who wrote it ; in the light of 
 the resolutions breathing only sentiments of 
 peace and brotherhood towards the once es- 
 tranged branches of Methodism, and especially 
 seeking to consign to oblivion all the painful 
 memories of the past, which he submitted to the 
 last conferences which ho was permitted to at- 
 tend ; and in the spirit of the wider sympathies 
 and warmer love which are knitting together 
 the hearts of a common Methodism throughout 
 the world. 
 
 Let us then, uniting, "bnry 
 
 All our idle feuds in dust. 
 And to future conflicts carry 
 Mutual faith and common trust ; 
 Always he who most forgiveth to his brother is most just. 
 
 W. H. W. 
 
 ToEONTO, April 20th, 1882. 
 
CpNTENTS. 
 
 ESSAY I. 
 
 Loyal Origin of Canadian Methodism ^"""^ 
 
 ESSAY II. 
 
 Benevolent Character of Canadian Methodism . 
 
 ESSAY III. 
 Supernatural Aspects of Canadian Methodism 70 
 
 ESSAY IV. 
 Phenomena and Philosophy of Early Methodist Ilevivals. . 99 
 
 ESSAY V. 
 
 "" Up^ ZIt"' " ""'^ »" «"'8i«"' Liberty 1. 
 
 129 
 
 ESSAY VI. 
 
 The Clergy Reserve Controversy 
 
 ESSAY vn. 
 The Clergy Reserve Controversy (Continued) 199 
 
 ESSAY VIII. 
 The Clergy Reserve Controversy (Continued) 221 
 
 ESSAY IX. 
 Divisions in the Wesleyan Methodist Church 347 
 
 Episcopal Division ... . 
 
 270 
 
 ESSAY XL 
 Divisions of Methodism (Continued) 
 
 •• • 
 
viii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ; I 
 
 Page 
 
 KSSAY XII. 
 Conditions and Working of Methodist Union till 1838 . . 306 
 
 ESSAY xnL 
 Separation of English and American Methodism 833 
 
 ESSAY XIV. 
 Separation of English and American Methodism (Cont'd). 351 
 
 ESSAY XV. 
 Separation of English and American li^ethodism (Cont'd). 370 
 
 ESSAY XVI. 
 Separation of English and American Methodism (Cont'd). 387 
 
 ESSAY xvn. 
 Separation of English and American Methodism (Cont'd). 407 
 
 ESSAY xvni. 
 Reunion of British and Canadian Methodism 427 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ESSAY I. 
 
 LOTAL ORIGIN OF CANADIAN MBTHODISIL 
 
 wT^^ETHODISM exists throughout the seven 
 -"^ provinces of the Canadian Dominion, with 
 its more than a thousand ministers, its more 
 than one hundred thousand communicants, its 
 nearly two thousand churches with half as many 
 parsonages, its academies and colleges and periodi- 
 cals, its hundred and fifty thousand dollars annual 
 income and expenditure for missions, besides the 
 local support of its circuit and stationed min- 
 isters. This development over a new and sparsely 
 settled country is from less than half a dozen 
 poor people, and in less than a century. Is such 
 a development natural or supernatural ? Is it 
 the growth of nature or the work of grace ? To 
 these questions the following Essays contain an 
 answer. 
 
 The birthplace of Methodism in Canada was 
 in the bosom of loyalty and in the heart of be- 
 nevolence ; it was first preached by men who had 
 
 borne arms in defence of their King and country. 
 1 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 t 
 
 li 
 
 As early as 1780, a Mr. Tufifey, a commissary of 
 the 44th Eegiment, came to Quebec with the 
 regiment. At that time there was one clergyman 
 of the Church of England in Montreal and an- 
 other in Quebec — none elsewhere except a chap- 
 lain of some regiment. There were, of course, 
 priests in the Roman Catholic churches. Mr. 
 Tuffey, who had been a Methodist local preacher 
 in England, seeing and lamenting the state of 
 the soldiery and Protestant emigrants in Quebec, 
 commenced preaching to them, and continued to 
 do so with success as long as he remained in the 
 country. On the restoration of peace between 
 Great Britain and the thirteen American colonies, 
 some regiments, including the 44th, were dis- 
 banded at Quebec, leaving it to the option of 
 officers and men to return to England or settle 
 in the country. Many remained, taking up land 
 and settling as farmers, or becoming traders. 
 Though Mr. Tuffey returned home, the good in- 
 fluences of his life and labours remained among 
 the soldiers and other Protestant emigrants form- 
 ing the first scattered settlements ; which were 
 much increased, at the close of the war, by emi- 
 grant loyalists from the valleys of the Hudson, 
 Susquehanna, and Mohawk rivers. Some of 
 them were Episcopalians, some Presbyterians, 
 some Lutherans, some Baptists, some Methodists. 
 As Mr. Tufifey, of the 44th Begiment, was the 
 
 t' 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 first Methodist preacher in Lower Canada, so 
 Mr, George Neal, of a British cavalry regiment, 
 was the first Methodist preacher in Upper Canada. 
 Mr. Neal was of Irish descent, born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, but mostly resided in the Southern States. 
 On the breaking out of the American revolution 
 he joined the British army, in which he was first 
 appointed captain, and then promoted to be a 
 major. He was at the siege of Charleston, and 
 only escaped being killed by the timely aid of 
 Lord Koden. He had become religious while 
 serving in the army. Major Neal crossed the 
 Niagara river into Canada, at Queenston, the 7th 
 of October, 1786. He taught school and soon 
 began to preach on the Niagara frontier, not 
 without opposition from some quarters, but with 
 encouraging success. 
 
 It was thus from the British army came the 
 first Methodist preachers in both Lower and 
 Upper Canada — true soldiers of both an earthly 
 and a heavenly King. 
 
 Nor was it in the first preachers alone that 
 Methodism in Canada had a loyal origin ; it was 
 also in the first emigrants, and in the first Mis- 
 sionary preachers that followed them into the 
 wilderness, and ministered to their spiritual 
 wants. 
 
 The exodus of Methodists from New York 
 State, and their migration to Canada, on the 
 
 il -'41 
 
 Ml 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ground of loyalty to the King of Great Britain, 
 commenced with the first year of the American 
 Revolution in 1774. Nearly ten years before — 
 three years after Canada became a British Pro- 
 vince, and thirteen years before the American 
 Declaration of Independence — a small number of 
 Methodist emigrants arrived in the city of New 
 York from Ireland. They were called Palatines,* 
 
 ♦"In the year 1758 Wesley visited the County of 
 Limerick. His Journal reports there a singular com- 
 munity, settled In Court Mattress, and in Killiheen, 
 Balligarrane, and Pallas, villages within four miles of 
 Mattress. They were not native Celts, but a Teutonic 
 population. Having been nearly half a century without 
 pastors who could speak their language, they had become 
 thoroughly demoralized ; noted for drunkenness, pro- 
 fanity, and * utter neglect of religion.' But the Methodist 
 itinerants had penetrated to their hamlets, and they were 
 now a reformed and devout people. They had erected a 
 large chapel in the centre of Court Mattress. ' So did 
 God,* said Wesley, *at last provide for these poor 
 strangers, who, for fifty years, had none who cared for 
 their souls.' At later visits Wesley declares that three 
 such towns as Court Mattress, Killiheen, and Balli- 
 garrane were hardly to be found anywhere else in Ireland 
 or England. There was no * cursing or swearing, nor 
 Sabliath breaking, nor drunkenness, nor ale-houses in 
 any of them.' * They had become a serious, thinking 
 people, and their diligence had turned all their land into 
 a garden.' 
 
 " But how came this singular people, speaking a foreign 
 tongue, into the west of Ireland ? 
 
 "The troops of Louis XIV., under Turenne, dcvas- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 5 
 
 having fled from the persecutions raging against 
 them on the Continent, and having found pro- 
 tection and hospitality under the British Govern- 
 ment, for which they and their descendants have 
 ever cherished a grateful and loyal attachment. 
 Among those pious Irish Palatines who came to 
 the city of New York in 1765 (some accounts say 
 in 1760) was a family named Emlury, of which 
 
 tated, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, the 
 Palatinate on the Rhine. Its population was almost 
 entirely Protestant — the strongest reason for the relent- 
 less violence of the bigoted monarch and his army. The 
 whole country was laid waste ; the Elector of Palatine 
 could see from the towers of Manheim, his capital, no 
 less than two cities and twenty-five villages on fire at 
 once. The peaceable peasants fled before the invaders 
 by thousands to the lines of the English General, Marl- 
 borough. Queen Anne sent ships to convey them from 
 Rotterdam to England. More than six thousand arrived 
 in London- reduced to dependent poverty. The sym- 
 pathy of Protestant England relieved their sufferings ; 
 and commissioners were appointed by the Government 
 to provide for them. They were encamped and fed on 
 Blackheath and Camberwell Commons. 
 
 " Popish rule and persecution followed the invasion 
 of the Palatinate, and thousands more of its virtuous and 
 thrifty peasants deserted it for refuge in England and 
 other countries. Nearly three thousand were sent by the 
 British Government to America in 17 lo, and became 
 valuable additions to the colonies of New York, Penn- 
 sylvania, and North Carolina. Of those who remained 
 
6 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 there were four brothers — John, Peter, Philip and 
 David — all pious. John and Peter preached in 
 the German language, and died at an early age. 
 David left his property in the United States, after 
 the Revolution, came to Upper Canada, and set- 
 tled in the township of Fredericksburg, where he 
 
 in England, about fifty families emigrated to Ireland, 
 where they settled near Rathkeale, in the County of 
 Limerick. They were allowed eight acres for each per- 
 son, young and old, for which they were to pay a small 
 annual rent to the proprietor. Lord Southwell. The 
 Government paid their rents for twenty years, made 
 them freeholders, and furnished each man with a 
 musket, enrolling him in the free yeomanry as the 
 « German Fusileers.' A list of those who * settled conti- 
 guous to each other on Lord Southwell's estates' has 
 been published ; on it are the names of Embury, Heck, 
 Ruckle, Switzer, Guier, and others associated with the 
 original Methodists of New York. 
 
 "Such was the origin of the *Irish Palatines,' and 
 thus did the shortsighted policy of Louis XIV. scatter 
 these sterling Protestants of the Rhine to bless other 
 lands, as his bigoted folly in the revocation of the Edict 
 of Nantes sent half a million of his own best subjects 
 to enrich, by their skill and virtues, Switzerland, Ger- 
 many, England, and the North American Colonies. His 
 attempt to suppress Protestantism in the Palatinate led, 
 through the emigration of these Irish settlers, to one of 
 the most energetic developments of Protestantism [the 
 M. E. Churchi recorded in the modem history of 
 religion." — SUveu^ History of the M. E. Churchy voL t. 
 pp. 4.8'SO. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 died in 1810. Philip Embury was a carpenter 
 and local preacher before he left Ireland ; in 1766 
 he was joined by his cousin and her husband, best 
 known as Paul and Barbara Heck. That pious 
 and energetic woman prevailed upon her cousin 
 Philip to commence preaching in his own house 
 and to his own company, which consisted on the 
 first Sabbath of five persons. These with others 
 were soon formed into a class. This was the be- 
 ginning of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
 America — now the largest Protestant denomina- 
 tion on the American continent.* 
 
 * The fact that the founders of Methodism in New 
 York were afterwards the founders of Methodism in 
 Canada, and the similarity of circumstances, will give 
 peculiar interest to the following statements. It has 
 been frequently stated that the first Methodist emigrants 
 to New York had so far lost their religious zeal and 
 feeling as to neglect their religious duty, and indulge in 
 amusements, even card-playing, in which Embury him- 
 self participated ; but the most careful and minute in- 
 quiry into all the particulars of the case has shown that 
 there is no foundation for these statements. It is true 
 that Embury felt much discouraged, after his arrival at 
 New York, in his isolated position, and the prevalence 
 of religious indifference around him, and did not exercise 
 the office of a preacher until 1766, and was then 
 prompted to it by the appeals of Barbara Heck ; but 
 that either he or his fellow- Wesleyans engaged in card- 
 playing is an unj!)st imputation. The Rev. Dr. Stevens, 
 in his " History of the M. E. Church," states that— 
 
 "One of our best authorities in Methodistic anti- 
 
8 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I i 1 
 
 
 Philip Embury and his little society soon pro- 
 ceeded to erect a place of worship in John Street, 
 60 feet by 42 feet, called Wesley Chapel, in which 
 Mr. Embury exercised the pastoral office for three 
 years. In October, 1769, Mr. Wesley, in answer 
 to the repeated and urgent applications of Mr. 
 
 quarian researches (Dr. J. B. Wakeley) says : * The 
 families who accompanied Philip Embury were not all 
 Wesleyans — only a few of them ; the remainder were 
 members of the Protestant Church in Ireland, but made 
 no ^profession of an experimental knowledge of God in 
 the pardon of sin, and adoption. After their arrival in 
 New York, with the exception of Embury and three 
 or four others, they all finally lost their sense of the fear 
 of God and became open worldlings. Some subsequently 
 fell into greater depths of sin than others.' 
 
 " Late in the year 1765 another vessel anived in New 
 York, bringing over Paul Ruckle, Luke Rose, Jacob 
 Heck, Peter Barkman, and Henry Williams, with their 
 families. These were Palatines — some of them relatives 
 of Embury, and others his former friends and neighbours. 
 A few of them only were Wesleyans. Mrs. Barbara 
 Heck, who had been residing in New York since 1760, 
 visited them frequently. One of the company, Paul 
 Ruckle, was her eldest brother. It was when visiting 
 them on one of these occasions that she found some of 
 the party engaged in a game of cards ; there is no proof 
 that they were Wesleyans, and connected with Embury. 
 Her spirit was roused, and, doubtless emboldened by her 
 long and intimate acquaintance with them in Ireland, 
 she seized the cards, threw them into the fire, and then 
 most solemnly warned them of their danger and duty. 
 
 t^^^mf^mmimm 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 9 
 
 Embury and his friends sent to their assistance 
 two preachers, Messrs. Boardnian and Pilmoor> 
 the former of whom relieved Mr. Embury of his 
 onerous charge. 
 
 The spiritual wants of the little society in New 
 York being then provided for, Mr. Embury and 
 some of his relatives removed in the autumn of 
 
 Leaving them, she went immediately (o the dwelling of 
 Philip Embury, who was her cousin. It was located on 
 Barrack Street, now Park Place. After narrating to him 
 what she had seen and done, under the influence of the 
 Divine Spirit and with power she appealed to him to be 
 no longer silent — to preach the word forthwith. She 
 parried his excuses, and urged him to commence at once 
 in his own house, and to his own people. He consented} 
 and she went out and collected four persons, who, with 
 herself, constituted his audience. After singing and 
 prayer, he preached to them and enrolled them in a class. 
 He continued thereafter to meet them weekly. Embury 
 was not among the card-players, nor in the same house 
 with them." — Wakelefs Lost Chapters^ chap. 2j Dr. 
 Roberts to the author, quoted in Steven^ History oj 
 the M. E. Churchy vol. i. pp. 45-35. 
 
 Dr. Stevens proceeds as follows : "The little company 
 soon grew too large for Embury's house ; they hired a 
 more commodious room in the neighbourhood [a 
 Rigging-Loft, 30 by 40], where he continued to conduct 
 their worship ; its expenses being met by voluntary 
 contributions. In a few months there were two * classes ' 
 — one of men, the other of women — including six or 
 seven members each. No little excitement began soon 
 to prevail in the city on account of these meetings, and 
 
li 
 
 ! ! I 
 
 10 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 1769 from the city to the country, and settled at 
 Camden, a village in the township of Salem, 
 Washington County, where he continued to labour 
 as a local preacher, and formed a society, chiefly 
 of his own countrymen, at Ashgrove — ^the first 
 Methodist class within the bounds of the Troy 
 Conference.* 
 
 they were thronged with spectators. Three musicians of 
 a regiment in the neighbouring barracks, attracted prob* 
 ably by the peculiar charm of Methodist singing, were 
 converted, and became active co-workers with Embury 
 as exhorters. The lower classes of the people received 
 the word gladly ; the interest reached the Aims-house ; 
 Embury was invited to preach there, and the Superin- 
 tendent of the Institution and several of its inmates were 
 soon recorded among his converts. Thus American 
 Methodism, like British Methodism and primitive Chris- 
 tianity, of which it was a reproduction, began among the 
 poor, and thus was foreshadowed its honourable mission 
 throughout the continent and throughout the world. 
 With Christ it could say, as the supreme proof of its 
 genuineness as a dispensation of the truth, that ' the poor 
 have the Gospel preached unto them.' " — lb. pp. jj, j5. 
 
 * " He was held in high estimation by his neigh- 
 bours, and officiated among them not only as a preacher 
 but as a magistrate. While mowing in his field he 
 injured himself so severely as to die suddenly [in August, 
 1773, says his son], aged but forty-five years, 'greatly 
 beloved and much lamented,' says Asbury. He was 
 buried on the neighbouring farm of his Palatine friend, 
 Peter Switzer. After reposing fifty-seven years in his 
 solitary grave without a memorial, his remains were dis- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 11 
 
 The removal of Barbara Heck and family, and 
 the surviving members of the family of Philip 
 Embury, to Canada, is thus stated by three differ 
 ent writers : — 
 
 " Barbara Heck, with her husband and all her 
 sons (John, Jacob and Samuel), removed to Cam- 
 den, N. Y. (the new home of Embury), in 1770 or 
 1771, and thence to Canada as early as 1774; in 
 1778 they were in Upper Canada, and resided 
 in Augusta (where they formed a part of the first 
 Methodist class, under the leadership of Samuel 
 Embury, son of Philip; till their deaths — Mr. 
 Paul Heck dying in 1792, Mrs. Barbara Heck in 
 1804 — and they lie side by side in the burying 
 ground of the * Old Blue Church in the front of 
 Augusta. ' " — Dr. Stevens, vol. i., p. 69, in a note. 
 
 " In 1774, various persons emigrated into Can- 
 ada from New York ; and among the rest Paul and 
 
 interred with solemn ceremonies, and borne by a large 
 procession to the Ashgrove burial-ground, where their 
 resting-place is marked by a monument recording that he 
 was the first to set in motion a train of measures which 
 resulted in the founding of the John Street Church, 
 the cradle of American Methodism, and the introduc- 
 tion of a system ^''^ich has beautified the earth with 
 salvation, and increased the joys of heaven.' Some 
 of his family emigrated to Upper Canada, and, with the 
 family of Barbara Heck, were among the founders of 
 Methodism in that province."— i9r. Stevemfs History of 
 Methodism, 
 
 
i i 
 
 12 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Barbara Heck and their family (three sons, Jonn, 
 Jacob and Samuel), who assisted in the beginniri}^ 
 of Methodism in New York." — Playter, pp. 6, G, 
 
 " In 1774, in consequence of the evidently ap- 
 proaching revolutionary storm, and being ardently 
 attached to British institutions, the Heck family ; 
 John Lawrence, who had married the widow of 
 Philip Embury ; David Embury, brother to Philip; 
 and many more of the Palatines of Ashgrove — 
 emigrated to Lower Canada, and stopped for a 
 time near Montreal. Not being pleased with that 
 locality, however, in 1778 they removed to 
 Augusta, in Upper Canada. David Embury, with 
 several of his friends, subsequently settled along 
 the Bay of Quinte, where many of his descendants 
 still \iye:'-^Wehster,p.30* 
 
 It is thus seen that Methodism in New York 
 and Canada was founded by the same parties ; 
 that it was first preached in both Lower and 
 Upper Canada by officers of the British army, and 
 that its first societies were formed of those who 
 
 ♦ " The first Methodist Society was formed, as nearly 
 as can be ascertained, in 1778, and numbered among its 
 first members Paul and Barbara Heck, their three sons, 
 John, Jacob and Samuel, and Catharine Lawrence — 
 formerly Mrs. Philip Embury — Samuel Embury, son of 
 Philip, and such others as felt it a privilege to unite with 
 the class. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence opened their house 
 for worship, and Mr. Samuel Embury was appointed 
 leader." — Id. p. jo. 
 
CANADIAN METnODISM. 
 
 13 
 
 had, on the outbreak of the American revolution, 
 fled to Canada for peace and safety, on account, 
 ot their grateful and loyal attachment to British 
 institutions.* 
 
 Such also were the loyal feelings and devotion 
 of the first regular Methodist ministers who volun- 
 
 ♦ " Already since the war began, several families, in- 
 fluenced by feelings of loyalty and duty to the British 
 Crown, and : u to escape the distractions of the country, 
 which appeared likely long to continue, had come to 
 Canada, and took up their residence in or near Quebec 
 and Montreal. But, after the disaster of Burgoyne's 
 army in 1777, the loyalists in New York State were so 
 discouraged that they began to look upon Canada as 
 their only refuge. They arranged their property as well 
 as possible, and made preparations for their departure 
 and journey. A great number came into the Provinces 
 each year of the continuance of the war, some by way of 
 the sea' and up the River St. Lawrence, and some 
 through the unbroken wilderness between the inhabited 
 parts of the New York State and those of the Province. 
 Great privations and distresses were endured by the emi- 
 grants. Families were six weeks on the voyage to 
 Quebec. During the war, some of the emigrants settled 
 on land in Upper Canada, before surveying had begun. 
 The Hecks came to Augusta in 1778, and settled on 
 the banks of the St. Lawrence. Paul Heck was a soldier 
 for a year or two in the royal army, and obtained his 
 discharge in August, 1778. In 1779, some families came 
 up in boats, and settled on the site of Kingston, and 
 along the shores of the township of Kingston."— /'/oy/^ri 
 p,8. 
 
f 
 
 14 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I !: 
 
 teered and were sent to minister to the spiritual 
 wants of the new settlements in Canada, in com- 
 pliance with their earnest petitions. The Rev. 
 William Losee was the first regular preacher who 
 came to Canada ; he was sent by Bishop Asbury, 
 at the New York Conference in 1790, in com- 
 pliance with an earnest request of the Canadian 
 people. Losee was a loyalist, and knew some of 
 the settlers in Adolphustown before they left the 
 United States. He desired to see them, and 
 preach to them the glad tidings of salvation. Had 
 he been on the revolutionary side, the warm 
 loyalists would not have received him — rather 
 would have driven him from the country. Having 
 preached a few times, he spoke of leaving (his visit 
 being voluntary). The people were now anxious 
 for a missionary to reside and labour among them, 
 and circulated an extensively signed petition in 
 the Midland District, to the New York Confer- 
 ence, for a missionary to labour in these new 
 townships. He carried the petition to Conference, 
 which assembled in New York, and offered to be 
 the first preacher in these northern climes. Bishop 
 Asbury* and the preachers were willing that an 
 
 * " In order to ensure obedience to the Government, 
 and to distinguish between friends and enemies, all were 
 called upon to take an oath of allegiance to the State 
 authorities in which they resided, and of course to adjure 
 allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain, To the taking 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 15 
 
 entrance should be made at this new door. 
 William Losee was therefore allowed to return, 
 with instructions to form a Circuit. As the Con- 
 
 of this oath many of the preachers had conscientious 
 scruples, which exposed them to many vexations, and 
 obliged some of them to leave their stations. Mr. 
 George Shadford, whose labours had been so abundantly 
 blessed in the awakening and conversion of souls, after 
 a day of fasting and prayer, in company with Mr. 
 Asbur)', for Divine direction, took his departure this 
 year for England, leaving behind him the savour of a 
 good name and many happy souls as seals to his ministry. 
 " As Mr. Asbury could not persuade himself to take 
 the required oath of allee^iance to the State of Maryland, 
 where he was in the first part of the year, he retired to 
 the State of Delaware, where he found an asylum in the 
 house of Judge White for nearly twelve months. While 
 the storm of war was raging around, and while all his 
 English brethren had forsaken him and the flocks en- 
 trusted to their care, he determined to wait patiently until 
 the tempest should subside, that he might again launch 
 forth upon a calmer sea in quest of immortal souls. But, 
 though he was secluded from the pursuit of his enemies 
 in the house of his friend and patron. Judge White, he 
 says that except for about two months, when the neces- 
 sity of the case compelled him, contrary to his most 
 ardent wishes i;o be silent, it was a ' season of the most 
 active, most useful, and suffering part of his life. 
 Though he could not appear before the congregations on 
 the Sabbath, he was wont to leave his retreat in the gloom 
 of the night, and go from house to house to enforce the 
 truths of the gospel ; and notwithstanding the difficulties 
 with which he and others had to contend- in those times 
 
16 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ' ! tl 
 
 i I 
 
 ference sat so late in the year (October, 1790)^ 
 he had not time to prepare, and returned to Can- 
 ada before the winter. 
 
 of trouble, they were gradually laying a foundation deep 
 and broad, by their labours and sufferings, for that suc- 
 cess which Methodism has since had in these United 
 States." — Dr. Bang^ History of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Churchy vol. i. pp. 123^ 124. 
 
 But though the Methodist ministers and their societies 
 suffered much during the Revolution, the clergy aud 
 congregations of the Protestant Episcopal Church suffered 
 still more. The Episcopal as well as Methodist ministers 
 were mostly Englishmen, and were loyal to the British 
 Crown ; and both, for the most part, returned to England 
 on the breaking out of the American Revolution. The 
 first Legislature chosen by the people of Virginia estab- 
 lished the Anglican Church ; and the next year there 
 was a pastor for every six hundred ot its population. 
 The historian of their Church, the late Rev. Dr. Hawks, 
 says that " When the colonists first resorted to arms, 
 Virginia, in her sixty-one counties, contained ninety-five 
 parishes, sixty-four churches and chapels and ninety- 
 one clergymen. When the contest was over, she came 
 out of the war with a large number of churches destroyed 
 or injured irreparably ; with twenty-three of her ninety- 
 five parishes extinct or forsaken, and of the remaining 
 seventy-two, thirty-four were destitute of ministerial 
 services ; while of her ninety-one clergymen, twenty- 
 eight only remained, who had lived through the storm, 
 and these, with ei^^ht who came into the State soon after 
 the struggle terminated, supplied thirty-six of the parishes. 
 Of these twenty-eight, fifteen only had been enabled to 
 continue in the churches which they had supplied prior 
 
 i 
 
 L- 
 
l*!^;,-^ >'■--?* /:■■*■•'■; 
 
 .Vt^J.-)!^ 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " In 1791, however, as soon as the winter was 
 well set in, and the ice in the St. Lawrence strong 
 enough to allow crossing with a horse, Mr. Losee 
 was on his journey. He went through the wilder- 
 ness of the western part of New York State, in 
 the track of the emigrants coming into Canada, 
 suffered hardships and many privations in journey- 
 ing for some weeks through a country almost 
 without roads and nearly without inhabitants, 
 crossed the frontier at Kingston, and appears to 
 have been safely in Adolphustown again in the 
 month of February. 
 
 " The good impression made by Losee on his first 
 coming, was strengthened by his second. The 
 people received the word with a ready mind, and 
 a number were soon enjoying the salvation of the 
 Gospel."* 
 
 Losee was accompanied the following year by 
 Darius Dunham, and afterwards by other preach- 
 ers who volunteered to Qome to Canada and labour 
 among the sparse inhabitants, and who were of 
 like British feelings and self-sacrificing zeal with 
 
 to the commencement of hostilities, and thirteen had 
 been driven from their cures by violence, and went to 
 seek safety or comfort in some one of the many vacant 
 parishes, where they might hope to find, for a time at 
 least, exemption from the extremity of suffering." — 
 Hawk^ Contributions^ etc.^ p. 153. 
 
 * Playter*s History, pp. 23, 24. 
 
jl 
 
 iii 
 
 iLi 
 
 li I 
 
 I! I 
 
 ! i 
 
 !! 
 
 
 ;ii 
 
 18 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Losee himself. Though privations and poverty 
 and hardships awaited them, the " love of Christ 
 constrained them," — a tru" British patriotism im- 
 pelled them, and they counted not even their lives 
 dear unto them, that they might impart to the 
 dispersed emigrant loyalists of Canada the instruc- 
 tions and consolations of our holy religion. "We 
 know of no country the early religious history of 
 which presents such a stamp of loyal patriotism 
 as that of the Methodist Church of Canada in its 
 first preachers, its first Church members, and 
 regular missionary ministers, wholly dependent 
 as they were for support, or rather slender susten- 
 ance, upon their own exertions and upon the 
 voluntary contributions, mostly in articles of food 
 and clothing, of the widely scattered people 
 among whom they lived and laboured. 
 
 Yet, singular to say, and incredible as it may 
 appear, the chief charge against Methodism in 
 Canada, and the most common ground of opposi- 
 tion to it, during more than thirty years was that 
 its ministers were disaffected to the Government 
 and institutions of the country. Such were the 
 pretexts for the persecutions against Christianity 
 during the first three hundred years of its history, 
 and against Wesleyan ministers in the United 
 States during the Kevolutionary War ; * and so it 
 
 * " They had," says one of them who witnessed their 
 afflictions, "almost insuperable difficulties, violent oppo- 
 
CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 19 
 
 was in Canada. Some of the preachers were in- 
 terrupted and insulted, and seized by constables 
 while preaching — in one or two instances headed 
 by the Sheriff — under the pretext that they were 
 vagabonds — the vagabond offence of preaching the 
 
 . ions, bitter persecutions, and grievous sufferings to 
 endure. So many of the preachers being Englishmen, 
 and Wesley, who was the founder and chief ruler of the 
 Methodist societies, being in England, and known to be 
 loyal to his king, and of course unfriendly to the Am- 
 erican measures, occasioned jealousies and suspicions 
 that the Methodists were politically a dangerous people. 
 Also the moral views and conscientious scruples of the 
 people called Methodists, not being favourable on general 
 principles to the spirit and practice of war, on this 
 ground also, the temper of the times combining with other 
 prejudices and passions of the day, excited jealousies 
 which occasioned an evil report or alarm that the Meth- 
 odists, preachers and people, were opposed to the 
 American revolution. 
 
 " When the times were about the worst, Asbury and 
 Shadford agreed to make it a matter of fasting and 
 prayer for direction in the midst of their difficulties, what 
 to do ; whether to stay in the country, or return to Eng- 
 land. Shadford concluded that he had an answer to leave 
 the country and return to England ; but Asbury, who 
 reoeived an answer to stay, replied, * If you are called 
 to go, I am called to stay ; so here we must part.' Ac- 
 cordingly they parted to meet no more on earth. From 
 that moment Asbury made America his country and his 
 home. He resolved to abide among us, and at the risk 
 of all, even of life itself, to continue to labour and to 
 
 P 
 
 iJ 
 
 mg 
 

 i 
 
 * 
 
 ! 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 i i 
 
 1 i 
 
 i 
 
 ! 
 
 1 
 
 18 »—••' 
 
 20 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 gospel from place to place, to a spiritually destitute 
 people ; their assailants declaring that none but 
 clergy of the Established Church of England 
 should preach in the colonies, thougli there were 
 at that time but two such in all Upper Canada * 
 Amidst privations, and labours, and sufferings 
 — to be noted hereafter — the pioneer Methodist 
 preachers toiled on their vast circuits, and adding 
 new ones, until the war of the United States 
 against Great Britian from 1812 to 1815, during 
 the whole of which not a single Methodist was 
 
 sufifer with and for his American brethren. Oppositions, 
 reproaches and persecutions rushed in against them from 
 every quarter like a tempest. During the whole period 
 of conflict and danger his manner of life was irreproach- 
 able. His prudence and caution as a man and a citizen, 
 his pious and correct deportment as a Christian and a 
 minister, were such as to put at defiance the suspicious 
 mind and the tongue of slanders. He never meddled 
 with politics ; but in those days of suspicion and alarm, 
 to get a preacher or society persecuted it was only neces- 
 sary to excite suspicion, sound the alarm, and cry out 
 * Enemies of the country ! ' or ' Tories ! ' " — Stevens^ 
 vol. i. pp. 2']y-2jg. 
 
 * In one instance, in the Midland District, near King- 
 ston, while Mr.. McCarty, a Whitefield Methodist, but 
 recognized by the Wesleyans, " was preaching," says Mr. 
 / Mayter, " one Sunday at Robert Perry's, four armed men 
 z'^tDt up ; and leaving their guns outside, rushed into 
 the house to seize tlie preacher, intending to carry him 
 off to Kingston jaiL But the congregation opposing, and 
 
CANADIAN METHOriiSM, 
 
 21 
 
 ^^v. 
 
 ■ 1 . V 
 
 found in the ranks of the invaders df "their .fiSun- 
 try, but very many of them were amongst its 
 defenders. 
 
 The only shadow of pretext for the imputation 
 against the loyalty of the first Methodist preachers 
 was their ordination and appointment by an Am- 
 erican bishop. As well might disaffection to the 
 American Government have been imputed to the 
 Episcopalian clergy, because, on the ground of 
 
 a 
 
 :s- 
 
 
 Mr. Perry agreeing to give bail for the man's appearance 
 in Kingston on the morrow, the men went away. The 
 next day Mr. Perry took the preacher to Kingston, 
 and brought him to the Sheriff, who refused to have 
 aught to do with the man. Under some false pretext he 
 was arrested and cast into prison ; but was liberated 
 again on his friend again becoming bail, and returned 
 home [where he had a wife and four children, among 
 whom is Mr. John McCarty, of Cobourg], On the ex- 
 piration of the bail, Mr. McCarty repaired to Kingston. 
 And now his enemies resolved that he should never go 
 back to preach. [Having obtained the condemnation 
 by Judge Cartwright of Mr. McCarty, as a vagabond, for 
 preaching the glad tidings of the gospel from neighbour- 
 hood to neighbourhood, where his family resided,] be 
 was seized, thrown into a boat under the care of four 
 Frenchmen, who were directed to leave him on one of 
 the then desolate islands of the St. Lawrence ; here 
 they landed him, left him, and he was never heard of 
 afterwards."—" Undoubtedly McCarty was a martyr for 
 the gospel, and so he was regarded by the early ia' 
 habitants."— i'/rty/^r,/^. //, iS. 
 
22 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 1 i 
 
 ecclesiastical order, they received ordination from 
 English bishops. Besides, for twenty years, the 
 voluntary preachers for the then wilds of Canada 
 were accepted, ordained and appointed by the 
 venerable Asbury, who had retired into conceal- 
 ment during the American Eevolutionary War 
 rather than abjure his oath of allegiance to his 
 King, or take an oath of allegiance to any American 
 State authority until after the acknowledgment 
 of American Independence by Great Britain. 
 
 After the close of that eventful war [1812-15J, 
 the Clergy Reserves began to be available, and 
 more systematic measures were adopted for the 
 religious and educational institutions of the coun- 
 try. The " Clergy Reserves " consisted of one- 
 seventh of all the surveyed lands of Upper Canada, 
 set apart by the "Constitutional Act," 31st 
 George the Third, chapter 31, which established 
 the parliamentary government of Upper Canada, 
 for the " support of a Protestant clergy," in con- 
 tradistinction to the Roman Catholic clergy of 
 Lower Canada, who were largely endowed by 
 tithes and lands. It was intended that Upper 
 Canada should be an English and Protestant 
 province, while Lower Canada should be French 
 and Roman Catholic. In Lower Canada thera 
 was no legislative endowment for Protestantism 
 in Upper Canada there was no legislative endow* 
 ment for Romanism. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 23 
 
 It was now claimed that the Protestant clergy 
 of the Constitutional Act of 1791 were the clergy 
 of the Church of England alone, which, it was 
 maintained, was the Established Church of Upper 
 Canada as well as of England and Ireland. Not 
 only was one-seventh of the lands of the Pro- 
 vince claimed as the patrimony of the clergy of 
 that Church, but large English parliamentary 
 grants were applied for, and a large endowment 
 of land was granted for a University College, in- 
 cluding a Faculty of Theology, all under the 
 direction of the authorities of that Church and 
 based on its Articles of Religion and Service of 
 Worship. 
 
 But even this monstrous system might not 
 have excited much attention or opposition, had it 
 not appeared, from the documents and papers 
 which projected and advocated it, that the great 
 object of the whole scheme was not merely the 
 support of the Church of England in the country, 
 but the extermination of other religious persua- 
 sions, especially of the Methodists, who were 
 represented as republicans and overrunning the 
 country, and whose influence was represented as 
 hostile to the civil and religious institutions of 
 England. 
 
 But as this great and protracted controversy 
 will be the subject of a distinct paper, in this 
 series of Essays, I will only here remark that the 
 
Jl 
 
 ;■ I 
 
 f 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 i 1 
 
 
 
 i 
 ' t 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 ! 
 1 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 
 ! 
 
 i 
 
 
 24 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM, 
 
 parties assailed combined and put forth their 
 united efforts in vindication of their character 
 and rights, and after a struggle of nearly a quarter 
 of a century were completely successful in estab- 
 lishing those equal civil and religious rights and 
 liberties which at this day make the inhabitants 
 of the wide Dominion of Canada the most loyal 
 and freest people in the vast Empire of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 It may be added, that, in compliance with the 
 petitions of various denominations, the Commons 
 House of Assembly appointed a Select Com- 
 mittee which examined and reported the evidence 
 of no less than fifty-three witnesses, consisting of 
 the leading men of different parties. In the ad- 
 dress to the King, founded on this evidence, the 
 House of Assembly (a majority of whose mem- 
 bers were Episcopalians) employed the following 
 language in regard to the Methodist ministers of 
 the day, 20th March, 1828 : 
 
 " We humbly beg leave to assure your Majesty 
 that the insinuations against the Methodist 
 preachers in this Province do much injustice to a 
 body of pious and deserving men, who justly 
 enjoy the confidence and are the spiritual instruc- 
 tors of a large portion of your Majesty's subjects 
 in this Province. We are convinced that the 
 tendency of their influence and instruction is not 
 hostile to our institutions, but, on the contrary, is 
 
CANADIAN METHODISJt 25 
 
 eminently favourable to religion and morality ; 
 that their labours are calculated to make their 
 people better men and better subjects ; and have 
 already produced in this Province the happiest 
 elTects." 
 
I 
 
 i 1 
 
 26 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISIC 
 
 ESSAY n. 
 
 BENEVOLENT ORIGIN AND CHARACTER OF CANADIAN 
 
 METHODISM — LAY AGENCY AND AGENTS. 
 
 THEIR SACRIFICES AND LABOURS. 
 
 
 1 r 
 
 c-f Canadian Methodism is no less remarkable 
 for its benevolent thcan for its loyal origin. 
 Benevolence itself is among the first of the God- 
 like virtues — pitying the destitute, helping the 
 distressed, " upholding those that fall, and raising 
 up those that are bowed down." And that bene- 
 volence never shines with a purer lustre than 
 when it voluntarily suffers wholly for the sake 
 of others — accompanies the lonely emigrant into 
 the wilderness, and cheers the first months of his 
 isolation, privations and labours, by warming and 
 illuminating his bark-covered log-c ot tage with the 
 beams of the Sun of Kighteousness and the angel 
 songs of devotion and praise. If the indigenous 
 industry of the new settlers felled 'the first tree 
 of the forest, erected the first shanty, turned the 
 first sod, made the first enclosure, planted and 
 gathered the first crop ; so did the first Methodist 
 preachers follow in the footsteps of the first 
 
 ^ti 
 
OAMADIAN MKTIIODISM. 
 
 27 
 
 emigrants, traversing the same wildernesses, 
 braving the same privations and hardships, and, 
 like emigrants themsefves, without extraneous 
 support Losee himself, the first itinerant 
 minister from the United States, during his first 
 journey through an almost interminable forest 
 from Lake Champlain to the Bay of Quinte, came 
 " on a warfare at his own temporal charges," and 
 therefore endured the severe hardships of ordinary 
 emigrants. And thus travelled and endured 
 Losee's colleagues and successors — the Dunhams, 
 the Colemans, the Woolseys, the Keelers, the 
 Coates, the Jewells, the Sawyers, the Bangs, and 
 others of that epoch of Methodism in Canada — 
 especially Upper Canada. Through long roads, 
 or rather roadless deserts, they came to the 
 Canadian wilderness settlements in the faith and 
 spirit of the first Gospel Mission established by 
 the Saviour (Matt. x. 9, 10), provided with 
 ** neither gold, nor silver, nor scrip, nor two coats," 
 resting with assurance and dignified confidence 
 that now, as in ancient days, "the workman is 
 worthy of his meat." 
 
 The ample provision which is made nowadays 
 to defray the travelling expenses and provide for 
 the support of missionaries to near and distant 
 fields of labour, was not known in the first days 
 of Methodist Mission work in Canada, any more 
 than the modem improvements in travel and 
 
 < ' 
 
:1 
 
 I 
 
 if 
 
 h 
 
 . I 
 
 ! ■ 
 
 
 28 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 agrimlture. With these improved facilities of 
 travel and support there ought to be a corres- 
 ponding missionary zeal, activity and consecration. 
 The identity of sympathy of the first preachers 
 with the first settlers in their toils and wants, 
 invested the Divine messenger with vast power 
 for good in behalf of the people to whom he 
 ministered. Perhaps there is no one element of 
 moral influence more powerful in the formation 
 of the character of a people than blending with 
 their earliest forest homes the domestic and public 
 services of religion and the associations of Chris- 
 tian friendship. The educated and uneducated 
 alike feel the power of such an influence, which 
 pervades the primitive dwelling and descends from 
 generation to generation. We have no doubt that 
 the energetic, manly and Christian character 
 which at all times, in war as well as in peace, has 
 distinguished the people of Upper Canada, is the 
 fact that their first homes echoed to the practical 
 doctrines and morals of the Gospel ; and though 
 the first generation of settlers were far from being 
 all religious, they were not itfidels — they "feared 
 God and honoured the king"— there was no 
 infidelity among them ; and though some of them 
 took God's name in vain, and remembered not 
 the Sabbath day to keep it holy, yet the skeptics 
 and the scorners, who would bring religion into 
 contempt by attacking ihe motives of its ministeis 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 29 
 
 and professors, have ever been compelled to admit 
 that it was not the skeptic or the scorner that 
 first pitied the moral destitution of the early 
 settlers in Canada, and, amid great exposures and 
 dangers, traversed forests, and rivers, and lakes, 
 to assuage the sorrows, encourage the hopes, and 
 guide the morals of the first adventurers ; but it 
 was those who had experienced the Gospel as 
 the power of God unto salvation, had imbibed the 
 benevolent spirit of Jesus Christ, and were ani- 
 mated by His love. 
 
 If the character and labours of the first preachers 
 of Christianity demonstrated the divinity of the 
 religion they preached; the first Methodist 
 preachers in Canada, by their self-denials, purity 
 of life and doctrine, and extraordinary labours, 
 demonstrated the divinity of their mission, and 
 produced in the public mind the conviction that 
 they were actuated by higher than human motives 
 and were sustained by hJelier than human power, 
 while their ministrations v.ore instrumental in 
 creating hundreds of ha.^py homes, and the fruits 
 of righteousness in ths lives of thousands -^f 
 individuals. 
 
 We will give a few examples of the self-sacrifice 
 and hardships of these volunteer apostles of 
 Methodism to the first loyalist emigrants in 
 Canada. 
 
 Losee's first visit to Canada i:*i ;t790 was 
 
30 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 i 
 
 1 1'., 
 
 spontaneous — by permission, not by appointment 
 In 1791 he was appointed the primary missionary 
 to the Bay of Quiute. " Losee having taken part 
 with the loyalists during the American Revolution^ 
 and having acquaintances in Canada, was not the 
 less acceptable on that account; and a pretty 
 extensive Circuit was soon formed, where he 
 preached during the year. The people were soon 
 aroused to the subject of religion, and conversions 
 occurred in various townships, so that 165 
 members were reported at the close of the year."* 
 
 "James Coleman volunteered and was sent to 
 Canada in 1794 On his route to and in his 
 travels in the Provinces, he endured the severest 
 privations. While passing up the Mohawk river 
 he was obliged to go on shore fifteen nights in 
 succession, and kindle a fire to keep off the wild 
 beasts; and his food failing, he was reduced to 
 a cracker per day."f 
 
 Under date of 1801, Dr. Bangs, in his " History 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church," thus states 
 the manner in which the earliest Methodist 
 preachers prosecuted their work in Upper Canada: 
 
 " Upper Canada was at that time but sparsely 
 populated; so that in riding from one appoint- 
 ment to another, the preachers sometimes had to 
 
 * Rev. Wm. Case's Jubilee Seraion, delivered at 
 London in 1855, p. 4. 
 t Dr. Stevens' Life and Times of Dr. Bangs, p. 41. 
 
!liS!'?S^B^s®@*??"!rss?i?t?i?st> i»*?». 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 31 
 
 »»• 
 
 at 
 
 pass through wildernesses from ten to sixty miles 
 distance, and not unfrequently had either to en- 
 camp in the woods or sleep in an Indian tent; 
 and sometimes, in visiting the newly settled places, 
 they have carried provender for their horses over- 
 night, when they would tie them to a tree to 
 prevent their straying in the woods ; while the 
 preachers themselves had to preach, eat, and sleep 
 in the same room, looking at the curling smoke 
 ?-scending through an opening in the roof of the 
 log-cabin, which had not yet the convenience of 
 even a chimney. 
 
 " Lul '"n the midst of these labours and priva- 
 tions they seemed to be abundantly compensated 
 iij beholding the blessed effects of their evan- 
 gelical efforts, and the cordiality and high gratifi- 
 cation with which they were received and treated, 
 more especially by those whose hearts God had 
 touch^vl '^" His Spirit. For though the people 
 wer*' in tl.c wilderness, and many of them poor, 
 th^y s^.> I 'ad to be ripe for the Gospel ; and it was 
 no ie2.j ^jat'fying to its messengers than it was 
 pleasurable to its recipients to behold its blessed 
 effects upon the hearts and lives of such as * be- 
 lieved with the heart unto righteousness.' While 
 those who resisted the truth often manifested their 
 ennity by persecuting those who proclaimed it, 
 suoli a«* <'.id ' receive it in the love of it,' evinced 
 the»A afifev 'on and gratitude to those who pub- 
 
■'< ' 
 
 . 
 
 ■! ^ 1 
 
 ; i 
 
 \ 
 
 
 ■ 4; 
 
 1 ;!' 
 
 \ 1 
 
 ! ^t 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 I ! 
 
 ii 
 
 32 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 lished it by making them welcome to their habita- 
 tions and entertaining them in the best manner 
 they could. For these self-denying labours and 
 sacrifices of these early Methodist preachers, thou- 
 sands of immortal beings in Canada will doubtless 
 praise God in that day when He shall come to 
 make up His jewels."* 
 
 These statements >f Dr. Bangs were, in great 
 part, the result of I: n personal observation 
 
 and experience, as wii?. ppear hereafter whe.i 
 we give some account of his labours in Canada 
 — he being the first Canadian preacher converted 
 and employed as an itinerant for seven years in 
 Canada, from 1801 to 1808. But contempora- 
 neous with the labours of Dr. Bangs, and ex- 
 tending half a century beyond them, were those 
 of the venerable William Case, " Father of Indian 
 Missions in Canada." Mr. Case says : " In June, 
 1805, I was admitted as an itinerant preacher in 
 the New York Conference, then in session at 
 Ashgrove ; and having volunteered for Canada, I 
 was appointed, with Henry Eyan, to the Bay 
 of Quinte Circuit." (Jubilee Sermon, p. 54.) " In 
 1806, 1 lost my health by hard toils in the swamps 
 of Canada, and for three months my strength was 
 wasting away by fever and ague. I now thought 
 I should receive an appointment suited to my 
 
 ♦ History of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Vol. II., 
 pp. 124, 125. 
 
CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 33 
 
 feeble state; but, contrary to my expectations, 
 ray appointment was to the mountains of Ulster 
 Circuit (K Y. State). I felt it as a disappoint- 
 ment, and thought I could never ascend those 
 lofty mountains, nor endure the toils of a circuit 
 three hundred and thirty miles round. But sub- 
 mitting all to God, I went forward ; and I have 
 reason to believe that it was the very circuit 
 the best suited to my febrile state ; for such was 
 the purity of the water and salubrity of the 
 atmosphere, that I immediately began to recover. 
 My health was again established; so that at 
 the next Conference I again offered myself for 
 Canada." ♦ 
 
 * Jubilee Sermon, pp. 57, 58. 
 
 Mr. Case gives the following graphic account of the 
 manner of his entrance into Canada, after the acceptance 
 of his second offer of himself for the Canadian wilderness 
 work: 
 
 "In 1808, on my arrival at Black-Rock, the embargo 
 prohibited the transport of property across the line. At 
 first I was perplexed, and knew not what to do.' So I 
 went to the hay-loft and fell on my face in prayer. I 
 asked the Lord, as I was engaged in His work, to open 
 my way to fulfil my mission to Canada. Having com- 
 mitted all to God, I returned to my lodgings at the inn, 
 when a stranger smilingly said, ' I should not wonder if 
 the Missionary should jump into the boat, take his horse 
 by the bridle, and let him swim round the embargo^ and 
 I did so; my horse swam the Niagara; and I landed 
 satUy in Canada,"— 73., pp. 58, 59. 
 8 
 
^ ^ 
 
 ■R 
 
 34 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 In a summary review of his fifty years' perils, 
 sufiferings, and labours in Canada, Mr. Case em- 
 ploys the following expressive and touching words : 
 
 "Five times have I been laid low by fevers, 
 bilious and typhus ; and although with no home 
 of my own, I was provided for among strangers, 
 who watched at ray bedside for weeks together, 
 faithfully administering to my recovery. The 
 Lord reward them in ' that day ! ' Sometimes in 
 those afflictions, ' ut more afterwards, I found 
 they 'yielded the peaceable fruits of righteous- 
 ness ;' and then I '^w g'"2'^,tl} could I sing — 
 
 * Oft from the margi' of the grave, 
 Thou, Lord, hast lifted up my head ; 
 
 Sudden, I found Thee near to save : 
 The fever owned Thy touch, and fled.' 
 
 " In my labours it has been my lot to be much 
 on the waters. Ouce I was shipwrecked on Lake 
 Ontario j five times have I been through the ice 
 with my horse on bays, rivers, and lakes of 
 Canada. Through all these dangers . the Lord in 
 His providence delivered me, and then I have 
 gung with delight : 
 
 ' Oft hath the sea confessed Thy power. 
 And given me back at Thy command: 
 
 It could not. Lord, my life devour,— 
 Safe in the hollow of Thy hand.' 
 
 " The Christian minister in any perplexity has 
 abundant sources for relief ; as that of the Church, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 85 
 
 his experience, the Bible, and his God. If the 
 first fail, he is sure of relief from the last. ' In 
 all thy ways acknowledge God, and He shall 
 direct thy paths.* " Prov. iii. 6.* 
 
 * Jubilee Sermon, pp. 56, 57. 
 
 In his concluding appeal to parents— especially to 
 mothers — Mr. Case exclaims, as follows, and states a most 
 affecting incident : 
 
 " Mothers ! devote your sons from their birth to the 
 service of God and His Church ! As an encouragement, 
 remember Hannah and her Samuel. Already two hun- 
 dred young men have been converted in Canada, and 
 engaged in the ministry ! Hundreds more will be wanted 
 as the harvest-fields are enlarged ! 
 
 " Who has not heard of the piety of the venerated Mrs. 
 Wesley ;— of the faith of * Mother Kent,* of New Eng- 
 land ; — of * Mother Covel,' of the Catskill Mountains ; — 
 of * Mother Ryerson,' of Canada ; and of many other 
 'mothers in Israel' and of their sons in the ministry? 
 In 1807, 1 came to my appointment in a small log-cottage, 
 in a gorge of the mountains in the Ulster Circuit, where 
 I met two itinerant ministers, twin-sons of a pious 
 mother. After the sermon by one of them I met the 
 ' class,' when I congratulated the mother on having two 
 sons in the ministry. The reference was sufficient— it 
 kindled anew the ardent flame in her heart, and she 
 broke out in expressions like these : ' Yes, glory to God, 
 I know how they became ministers ! On my conversion 
 to God my soul was so blest, and I felt such a love for 
 my Saviour, and for the souls He had redeemed, by His 
 blood, that I wanted to tell it to the whole world. I 
 went to the cradle where my boys were asleep; and, 
 kneeling down over them, I wept and prayed, and de- 
 
"■ I 
 
 I 
 
 36 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I should not omit to notice here the brief visit 
 to Canada of the apostolic Asbury in 1811, though 
 reduced by extreme bodily fatigue and suffering 
 [inflammatory rheumatism in his right foot and 
 leg]. " He had," says Mr. Case, ** until this period, 
 appointed the first and only missionaries to this 
 country, and had long and ardently desired to 
 visit the people for whom he had taken so deep 
 an interest, and where the work of the Lord had 
 been so great and so extended. In his way from' 
 the New England Conference, he crossed the Green 
 Mountains, Lake Champlaiu, the swamps of the 
 Chateauguay woods to St. Eegis ; then across the 
 St. Lawrence to Cornwall.* The first place on 
 
 voted them to the service of God and the ministry of 
 the Church. Now here they are, ministers of the Gospel. 
 Glory to God ; glory be to God in the highest.' This 
 was * Mother Cotel.'"— /^., pp. 6i, 62. 
 
 ♦The Rev. Henry Boehm, sixty-four years in the 
 ministry, and Bishop Asbury's travelling companion for 
 several years, and who died recently at the age of up- 
 wards of 100 years, gives the following description of 
 Bishop Asbury in crossing the St. Lawrence at St. Regis : 
 
 " On entering the village of St. Regis, as Mr. Asbury 
 was leading his horse across a bridge made of poles, the 
 animal got his feet between them and sunk into mud and 
 water. Away went the saddle-bags ; the books and 
 clothes were wet, and the horse was fast. We got a 
 pole under the horse to pry him out ; at the same time 
 the horse made a leap and came out safe and sound. 
 
 ** We crossed the St. Lawrence in romantic style. We 
 
 < 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 37 
 
 ip- 
 of 
 lis : 
 iry 
 the 
 Ind 
 Ind 
 a 
 le 
 
 this shore at which he stopped was at the venerable 
 and pious Evan Royce's, in one of the oldest 
 Methodist societies in the Province. Thence he 
 proceeded along the banks of the St. Lawrence, 
 preaching at sundry places; in some of which he 
 found members from Europe, and from the first 
 societies in the city of New York. After preach- 
 ing in Kingston, and one or two places adjacent, 
 he crossed from Kingston to Sackett's Harbour, 
 on his way to the Genesee Conference in Paris. 
 From Bishop Asbury's Journal we learn his 
 feelings and views of Canada. He says: "Our 
 ride has brought us through one of the finest 
 countries I have ever seen : the timber of noble 
 growth ; the cattle well-looking ; crops abundant, 
 
 had four Indians to paddle us over. They lashed three 
 canoes together, and put our horses into them, their fore 
 feet in one canoe, their hind feet in another. It was a 
 singular load ; three canoes, three passengers (the Bishop, 
 Bela Smith [the Canadian preacher], and myself), three 
 horses, and four Indians. They were to take us over for 
 three dollars. It was nearly three miles across to where 
 we landed. It was late in the afternoon when we started, 
 and we were a long time crossing, for some part was 
 rough, especially the rapids ; so we did not reach the 
 other side till late in the evening. Then the Indians 
 claimed an additional dollar. They said, ' Four men, four 
 dollar,' intimating that three dollars could not be so 
 easily divided among four. We cheerfully paid the 
 additional dollar, and were full of gratitude for our cross- 
 ing in safety." 
 
 ■I, 
 
 
it 
 
 n 
 
 38 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 on a most fruitful soil. To the people my soul is 
 much united."* 
 
 We now turn to Dr. Bangs, whose statements 
 on the condition of the country and the labours of 
 
 * Jubilee Sermon, p. 46. Of Asbury it is said—" His 
 labours in the New World were, if possible, greater than 
 those of Wesley in the Old ; he travelled more miles a 
 year and preached as often. On becoming Bishop of 
 the Church in 1784, he seemed to become ubiquitous 
 throughout the continent. The history of Christianity 
 since the apostolic age, affords not a more perfect ex- 
 ample of ministerial and episcopal devotion than was 
 presented in this great man's life. He preached almost 
 daily for more than half a century. During most of the 
 time he travelled over the continent, with hardly an 
 intermission, from north to south and from east to west, 
 directing the growing hosts of his denomination with the 
 skill and authority of a great captain. He w»s ordained 
 Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, when thirty- 
 nine years of age, at its organization in 1784, when it 
 comprised less than fifteen thousand members and about 
 eighty preachers ; and he fell, in 1816, in his seventy-first 
 year, at the head of an army of more than two hundred 
 and eleven thousand members and more than seven 
 hundred itinerant preachers. It has been estimated that 
 in the forty-five years of his American ministry, he 
 preached about sixteen thousand five hundred sermons, 
 or at least one a day, and travelled about two hundred 
 and seventy thousand miles, or six thousand miles a year ; 
 that he presided in two hundred and twenty-four Annual 
 Conferences, and ordained more than four hundred 
 preachers." " Notwithstanding his advanced age and 
 shattered health, he continued his travels to the last, till 
 
CANADIAN MKTIIODISM. 
 
 39 
 
 the preachers we quoted, page 30, at the beginning 
 of the century, remarking that his statements were* 
 in great part, the result of his own personal obser- 
 vation and experience. Dr. Bangs came to Canada 
 in 1799 as a surveyor, but for want of constant 
 employment in his profession he taught school. 
 In 1800 he was awakened and converted through 
 the instrumentality of the Revs. James Coleman 
 and Joseph Sawyer, in the neighbourhood of St. 
 David's, neai Queenston, and commenced in 1801 
 as an itinerant preacher under the direction of the 
 presiding elder of the district, Joseph Jewell He 
 was therefore a Canadian preacher ; and he spent 
 the first seven years of his laborious ministerial 
 life in Canada, after which he entered the work 
 in the United States, where, his biographer says, 
 he was " destined to do more important services 
 to the Church than any other man recorded in 
 its history, save Asbury."* 
 We will give some illustrations of Dr. Bangs' 
 
 he had to be aided up the pulpit steps, and to sit while 
 preaching. On the 24th of March, 181 6, when unable 
 either to walk or stand, he preached his last sermon at 
 Richmond, Ya., and on the 31st of March died at 
 Spottsylvania, Va. With Wesley, Whitfield and Coke, 
 he ranks as one of the greatest representative men of 
 the Methodist movement." — Stevens' Centenary of Ameri- 
 can Methodism, pp. 93, 94. 
 
 * Stevens' History ot the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 Vol. II., p. 345, 
 
 ::l 
 
If 
 
 , ! 
 
 40 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 own personal labours, perils, and suf erings during 
 his seven years' ministry in Canada, from 1301 
 to 1808, extracted from his Life and Tines by Dr. 
 Stevens, who thus describes the scenes of Dr. 
 Bangs' first three years' (1801, 1802, 1803; labours 
 in Canada : 
 
 " His first travels on the Niagara Circuit had 
 extended from the Niagara Eiver westward to 
 beyond Oxford — more than half the distance be- 
 tween Lakes Ontario and Huron — a region then 
 but sparsely settled. They deviated also south- 
 ward to Long Point, which reaches into Lake 
 Erie, and eastward to Little York, or Toronto, 
 on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. His 
 second Circuit, called the Bay of Quinte, was an 
 immense range ou the north-east of Lake Ontario. 
 He had thus gone over most of the region imme- 
 diately north of the two great lakes, or rather 
 inland seas, of .Ontario and Erie, We have wit- 
 nessed the severity of his trials in these new 
 countries ; he had endured them ' as a good soldier 
 of the Lord Jesus,' and he would have appeared 
 justified had he, in retracing his steps to his 
 paternal home, and to the Conference in New 
 York city, asked for an appointment nearer his 
 kindred, and in a more genial climate, especially 
 as he went to tlie Conference almost wrecked in 
 health. But he went hither for the express pur- 
 pose of soliciting permission to throw himself 
 
 I 
 
OANADIA.N METHODISM. 
 
 41 
 
 into a still more westward and more desolate 
 region in Upper Canada — a region noted, at the 
 time, for pestilential disease and religious destitu- 
 tion — the then recent settlement on the River 
 Thames, a stream which enters the St. Clair, oppo- 
 site Detroit, beyond the north-western shore of 
 Lake Erie. 
 
 "While he was struggling and triumphing 
 through the first year of his itinerancy (in the 
 Niagara and Long Point country), he received a 
 letter at Oxford, from a German Baptist [Mr. 
 Messmore, father of the late Eev. Jo ;eph Mess- 
 more], who lived on the River Thames, about sixty 
 miles from Detroit, urging him to come over and 
 proclaim his message in that country, then almost 
 totally without religious provision. He knew 
 nothing of the writer, but the call seemed like 
 that of the Macedonian vision to Paul, and it 
 followed him continually. He repeatedly offered 
 his services for this new field to his presiding 
 elder; but the latter deemed the wants of the 
 nearer fields too urgent, and his health too feeble, 
 to justify the mission. For his second year he was 
 sent in the opposite direction, to the Bay of 
 Quinte Circuit ; but while he there lay, languish- 
 ing as we have seen, with fever, and his brethren 
 gathering around his bed to see him die, he still 
 saw the beckoning vision in the further west, and, 
 expecting to rise no more, he actually made his 
 
" 
 
 ,. i 
 
 42 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM 
 
 will, bequeathing his horse and watch — all the 
 property he had except his thoroughly-worn rai- 
 ment — to any preacher who would go to that 
 suffering people. He had prayed for them inces- 
 santly in secret, ever since the receipt of the letter 
 which called him to them. 
 
 "After his ordination as deacon at the Con- 
 ference (1803), he requested an interview with 
 Bishop Asbury, and made known to him his con- 
 viction of a providential call to this mission [in 
 the western district of Upper Canada]. The keen 
 eye of the veteran leader lighted up as he gazed 
 on the young evangelist. *He unhesitatingly 
 replied,' writes the latter, ' as if catching the in- 
 spiration with which my own heart was kindled, 
 *' Tou shall go, my son" * The Bishop presented 
 the case before the Conference, and ordained him 
 a presbyter, that he might go with full powers to 
 administer the sacraments. 
 
 "*No sooner,* he writes, *was my way thus 
 opened, than a host of difficulties rallied to pre- 
 vent my going ; suggestions about my youth, my 
 want of health, want of money, the distance — 
 it being, by the route I must go, about six hun- 
 dred miles — and a thousand other obstacles ; but 
 I resolved, by the help of God, to press through 
 them and fulfil my mission. With but fifteen 
 dollars in my pocket I set off, in company with 
 William Anson and Daniel Pickett — the former 
 
BiM 
 
 B«»«ii»«Mi«»i6«te«aw*">»»s^««-T**«*«f;»'-f~*»M>- 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 43 
 
 being appoiated to ¥002*^ street, the latter to 
 Niagara. We entered Canada by way of King- 
 ston, then went up the shore of Lake Ontario, 
 passing through the settlements where I had before 
 laboured ; stopping on the way and preaching to 
 the people until we finally arrived at the head of 
 the lake, on the Niagara Circuit, near the place 
 where I had preached my first sermon. Here I 
 was to part with my travelling companions, and 
 proceed alone. My money was all expended, and 
 I had eighty miles still to travel before I could 
 reach my destined field. New difficulties pre- 
 sented themselves, and I knew not how I could 
 advance any further. I went into the woods, 
 kneeled down, and wept and prayed. Finally the 
 words came forcibly to my mind, 'The earth is the 
 Lord's, and the fulness thereof.* I arose with re- 
 newed courage, saying, ' I will go in the name of 
 the Lord ; for He has the hearts of all men, and 
 He can turn them which way soever He will' 
 Before I left these parts, one friend and another 
 put into my hands money amounting to eleven 
 dr liars — enough for my jour^ey. 
 
 " Before proceeding further, I visited my sister, 
 with whom I boarded when I experienced religion. 
 She was a pious, humble follower of the Lord 
 Jesus. Having heard that I had died in my 
 severe illness at the Bay of Quinte, and having 
 received word of my recovery only about a week 
 
 
U 
 
 If 
 r. 
 
 !.' 
 
 ! 
 
 44 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 before my arrival, she was no less surprised than 
 delighted to see me. This beloved sister was 
 often a comfort to me in that distant land, and 
 I loved her tenderly. After spending a day or 
 two with her, I resumed my journey. Unexpect- 
 edly, a young man offered to accompany me, and 
 we set off together. August 4th and 5th we 
 attended a Quarterly Meeting at Oxford, where I 
 was refreshed amongst my old friends, the first- 
 fruits of my ministry, with whom I now took 
 sweet counsel about the labours and trials before 
 me. Departing with their prayers, we journeyed 
 about thirty miles to Delaware town, where I 
 preached and lodged in the last house of the 
 settlement. My bed was a bundle of straw ; my 
 supper, ' mush and milk.' 
 
 " August 10th we rose at break of day, took a 
 little food, and started for a ride through the 
 wilderness [Long Woods], forty miles long, with 
 no roads, and only ' blazed * or marked trees to 
 guide us. There being not even a 1 -ten path, 
 we were often at a loss to know whether we were 
 right or wrong ; but we got safely through at last. 
 The flies and mosquitoes were so troublesome that 
 our horses could not stand to eat, though we 
 stopped in a shady meadow for that purpose ; we 
 therefore rode through the woods without any 
 other refreshment for them than what they nib- 
 bled as we passed along. As for ourselves, we 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 45 
 
 we 
 
 had a little Indian bread and dried beef in our 
 pockets, of which we partook ; but the water we 
 occasionally met looked so black that we dare not 
 drink it. Oar horses seemed as eager as ourselves 
 to get through ; for whenever practicable, they 
 would trot on with all their speed. 
 
 " We arrived about sunset, weary, hungry, and 
 thirsty, at a small log-hut inhabited by a French- 
 man. My tired horse lay down as soon as the 
 saddle and bridle were taken off. I asked the 
 woman of the cabin if she could give me a drink 
 of tea, but she had none. Being almost famished, 
 I requested the woman to procure us some water, 
 which we sipped a little at a time, as if it were 
 nectar; we then ate some Indian pudding and 
 milk, tho best food we could obtain. After pray- 
 ing with the family, we lay down on a bundle of 
 straw, slept sweetly, and rose in the morning 
 much refreshed and invigorated in body and mind. 
 The poor woman was so kind as to send early to 
 a distant neighbour, to beg some tea for us ; but 
 she had neither tea-kettle, tea-pot, nor tea-cup ; 
 she therefore boiled it in a ' dish-kettle,' and then 
 poured it into a tin-cup, from which we drank it 
 with more relish than ever king drank wine from 
 a golden goblet. I thought it was the most re- 
 freshing beverage I had ever drunk. We allowed 
 our horses to rest till about ten o'clock, and then 
 rode above seven miles co the Moravian Mission, 
 
 11 
 
 'if.! 
 
 Si' 
 
i 
 
 ■t 
 
 I 
 
 hU 
 
 ¥i' 
 
 46 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISiL 
 
 a small Indian village on the River Thames. We 
 dined with one of the missionaries, two of whom 
 were stationed here. I had considerable conver- 
 sation with him respecting their doctrines and 
 usages, as well as their labours among the Indians. 
 He was sociable, and seemed to possess much of 
 the simplicity of the Gospel These good men had 
 much trouble in their work, from the corrupting 
 influence of the neighbouring white settlers upon 
 the Indians, and it was hoped by them that our 
 labours among the former would help their mis- 
 sion. The missionaries and Indians treated us 
 with great respect, and seemed to rejoice in the 
 prospect of having the Gospel preached to the 
 white settlements on the banks of the river 
 below." 
 
 Dr. Bangs' First Beception on his New Circuit — 
 "After this interview with the Moravian mission- 
 aries, the itinerant and his companion resumed 
 their route, and early in the afternoon reached 
 the first house in the white settlement. * Turning 
 my horse,' he says, ' toward the fence before the 
 door, I saw a man in the yari, and after the cus- 
 tomary salutations, I said, * Do you want the 
 Gospel preached here?* After looking at me, 
 with curious earnestness, he replied, *Yes, that 
 we do: do you preach the Gospel?' * Yes,' I 
 answered. * Well, then,' said he, ' get down and 
 come in.* I replied, ' I have come 8> great distance 
 
KSNH 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 47 
 
 to preach the Gospel in this region; it is now 
 Saturday afternoon ; to-morrow being the Sabbath, 
 I must have a place to preach in before I alip[ht 
 from my horse.' He deliberated a few moments, 
 and then said, * I have a house for you to preach 
 in, victuals and lodging for yourself, and provender 
 for your horse, and you shall be welcome to them 
 all if you will come in.' I remarked, * I have one 
 more request to make. There is a young man a 
 little behind me, who has accompanied me through 
 the woods : will you entertain him too ? ' * By all 
 means,' he answered. 
 
 "This first interview in my new sphere of 
 labour pleased me much. ' God has made my 
 way very plain thus far,' I said to myself, ' and 
 therefore I will praise Him.' 
 
 " This man took his horse and rode through the 
 settlement for ten miles, notifying the people that 
 there would be preaching at his house on Sunday 
 morning, at ten o'clock. At the appointed hour 
 the house was crowded. I commenced the ser- 
 vice by remarking, that * When a stranger appears 
 in these new countries the people are usually 
 curious to know his name, whence he comes, 
 whither he is bound, and what is his errand. I 
 v/ill try to satisfy you in brief. My name is 
 Nathan Bangs. I was born in Connecticut, May 
 2, 1778. I was born again in this Province, May, 
 1800. I commenced itinerating as a preacher of 
 
 .m 
 
 i 
 
I 
 
 I I 
 
 48 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ! i 
 
 I ii 
 
 ! I: 
 
 the Gospel in the month of September, 1801. 
 On the 18th of June, the present year, I left New 
 York for the purpose of visiting you, of whom 
 I heard about two years ago, and after a long and 
 tedious journey I am here. I am bound for the 
 heavenly city, and my errand among you is to 
 persuade as many of you as I can to go with 
 me. I am a Methodist preacher ; and my manner 
 of worship is to stand while singing, kneel while 
 praying, and then I stand while I preach, the 
 people meanwhile sitting. As many of you as 
 see fit to join me in this way can do so, and 
 others may choose their own method/ I then 
 read a chapter in the Bible, after which I gave out 
 a hymn. When the young man who accom- 
 panied me stood up to sing, they all rose, men, 
 women, and children. When I kneeled in prayer, 
 they all kneeled down. Such a sight I never 
 witnessed before. I then read my text, * Eepeut 
 ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may 
 be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall 
 come from the presence of the Lord.' In explain- 
 ing and enforcing these words, I felt that my 
 Divine Master was with me in truth and power ; 
 every cloud was dispelled from my mind, and my 
 heart overllowed with love for these people. I 
 believe I preached with * the Holy Ghost sent 
 down from heaven.' When I had concluded, I 
 informed them of our manner of preaching, the 
 
"1 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 49 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 Ihe 
 
 amount of quarterage we received, and the wuy 
 in which it was collected. I then said, * All of 
 you who wish to hear more such preaching, rise 
 up.' They all rose, every man, woman, and child. 
 I then notified them that in two weeks, God 
 willing, they might expect preaching again, and 
 closed the meeting. Thus was my circuit begun.'' 
 " Salutations. — '■* After seating myself, an elderly 
 man approached, and offering his hand with much 
 affection, asked me if I knew Bishop Asbury. I 
 said ' Yes,' and then asked him if he knew Bishop 
 Asbury, to which he replied in the affirmative. 
 He was from the State of New Jersey, had been 
 there a member of our Church, had frequently 
 entertained the preachers, and among others the 
 Bishop ; but he had been in this country about 
 seven years, totally destitute of the ordinances 
 of the Gospel, for there was no minister of any 
 order in all this region. I asked him how far he 
 lived from that place. He replied, 'Ten miles, 
 down the river.' I asked, * "Will you allow me to 
 preach in your house V He joyfully replied in 
 the affirmative. I asked, 'Have you any sons 
 here with you?' 'I have one,' said he. I then 
 said, * Let him mount his horse, ride immediately 
 home, and notify the people that I will preach 
 at your house at three o'clock this afternoon : you 
 stay and dine with me, and then we will ride on 
 together. He did so, and when we arrived the 
 
I 
 
 iA 
 
 
 50 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ! I 
 
 house and yard were full of people, to whom I 
 preached with lively satisfaction. Among others 
 present, I observed a veteran man with a long 
 beard. At the close of the meeting he was intro- 
 duced as Mr. Messmore, a German Baptist. He 
 was the person who had written to me the letter 
 about two years before, inviting me to come into 
 this neglected country. The next day I preached 
 at his house, about twenty-one miles distant. 
 Thus did God help me, and open my way. I felt 
 that I was in the order of His providence. Such 
 a sweetness of soul I enjoyed, such a liberty and 
 unction in preaching, as plainly indicated that I 
 was under His guidance, and His smile seemed 
 to light up the wilderness before me. 
 
 "*The next day, in company with Mr. Mess- 
 more, I rode ten miles and preached in the house 
 of an Indian woman, the widow of a French Cana- 
 dian, who had left her considerable property. She 
 was a good, simple-hearted, earnest creature, and 
 reminded me of the Shunamite, for she prepared 
 for me. in an upper room, a bed, a table, a chair, 
 and a candlestick. In this room I preached, and 
 ate, and slept, and no one was allowed to enter 
 it in my absence, except to keep it in order. She 
 never asked me to sit at the table with her, 
 deeming herself unworthy, but prepared my food, 
 and put it on the table in my room. She con- 
 sidered herself highly honoured by having the 
 
OAKADUN METHODISM. 
 
 51 
 
 the 
 
 Gospel preached in her house, and she treated me 
 in this way during all my stay in this country. 
 When I parted with her next day after my first 
 visit, in shaking hands she left a dollar in my 
 palm. It was much needed, for I was nearly out 
 of money. 
 
 "'The next day we travelled, partly through 
 a scattered French settlement and partly through 
 a prairie, fifty miles, to Sandwich, a small village 
 opposite Detroit, where I preached in the evening.* 
 
 " From Detroit he went to Fort Maiden, and 
 down the shore of Lake Erie, among settlements 
 of Americans, English, Scotch, Irish and Dutch 
 emigrants. He thus completed his circuit. A 
 more destitute region, he says, he had never seen. 
 Young people had arrived at the age of sixteen 
 who had never heard preaching, and he found a 
 Methodist who had lived in the country seven ^ 
 years without hearing a sermon. * But,* he adds, 
 'although the people were generally extremely 
 ignorant of spiritual things, and very loose in 
 their morals, they seemed ripe for the Gospel, 
 and received and treated God's messenger with 
 great attention and kindness. They treated me 
 as an angel of God ; and as St. Paul said respect- 
 ing the Galatians, it seemed as if they would 
 willingly have plucked out their own eyes and 
 given them to me if it could have added to my 
 comfort' '* 
 
52 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I 
 f 
 
 
 I I 
 
 ; 
 ■; 
 
 I 
 
 In this Life and Times of Dr. Bangs, many 
 incidents of thrilling interest are given besides 
 those quoted above — of his successes, his hard- 
 ships, his perils by water in crossing rivers, his 
 perils in the wilderness. We will add one ex- 
 ample of the latter, during his coming from the 
 western to the eastern part of his work, about 
 the middle of November. He says " He paused 
 at the Moravian Mission, and had a day of profit- 
 able communion with its labourers. Resuming 
 his route, he reached the last house — a log hut 
 — beyond which his way stretched forty miles 
 through the primeval forest to Delaware town. 
 Providentially he found in this cabin a traveller, 
 bound on the same course. Mounting their horses 
 early in the morning, they entered the woods. 
 There was snow two inches deep on the ground ; 
 the streams were high and still open ; the mud 
 was often up to the knees of their horses ; they 
 frequently had to strip them of saddle and bridle, 
 and drive them over the creeks, and then pass 
 over themselves on logs. The route was sombre 
 in its winter desolation. Night overtook them 
 on the banks of a stream, and it was impossible 
 to continue their course after dark. They resigned 
 themselves, therefore, to sleep in the woods. They 
 had ' carried with them some food for themselves 
 and their horses, and flint and steel, and an Indian 
 tomahawk for use as they might have need.' ' We 
 
 ; ;■ 
 
 y 
 
CANADIAN METIIODISlt 
 
 63 
 
 constructed/ he says, * a small wigwam of branches 
 of trees and shrubs. My companion attempted 
 to strike fire for us, but his hands were so stiffened 
 with cold that he failed. I succeeded with the 
 flint, steel and a piece of " punk," and we kindled 
 a roaring flame, heaping on brush and logs. It 
 melted the snow, and soon dried the ground some 
 distance around. We tied our horses to trees, gave 
 them some oats, ate some food ourselves, went to 
 the creek and drank, and then, having prayed, lay 
 down to sleep in our berth, the stars shining 
 brightly above us, and the winds moaning through 
 the solemn woods.' After three hours I awoke, 
 and found my fellow-traveller up and shivering 
 over the fire, which had nearly burned out. * Gome,' 
 said I, ' let us get more fuel and rouse up again.' 
 We did so, and soon were comfortable. We then 
 sat down by it, and spent the remainder of the 
 night in conversation. It was a wild and pic- 
 turesque scene, and the hours passed agreeably as 
 well as profitably. 
 
 " At break of day we mounted our horses and 
 went onward. We arrived at the first house 
 about three o'clock in the afternoon, hungry, 
 thirsty, and exhausted. I had no sooner warmed 
 myself by the fire than I fell asleep. After supper 
 I prayed with the family and went to bed, truly 
 thankful that the Lord had preserved my life and 
 health through all these fatigues and dangers. 
 

 64 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I slept sweetly that night, and the next morning 
 went on my way to Oxford. The snow had fallen 
 in the night, and was so deep that the travelling 
 was difficult ; but my horse, which seemed as glad 
 as myself to get safely through the woods and 
 swamps, trotted on with a brave heart, so that I 
 arrived at Oxford before night, and took ' sweet 
 counsel ' with my old friends and spiritual chil- 
 dren. I remained there a few days to rest and 
 preach, and then passed on twenty-five miles 
 further to Burford, where I was received as one 
 risen from the dead, for the man who accompanied 
 me through the wilderness had gone on before me, 
 at)d had magnified my su£ferings so much that 
 my friends had almost given me up for lost. We 
 praised God together for his loving kindness and 
 tender mercies." * 
 We have given these lenf;bhened extracts from 
 
 * Stevens' Life and Times of Nathan Bangs, D.D., pp. 
 131-X47. The remaining years of Dr. Bangs' ministry 
 in Canada were spent mostly in Lower Canada, chiefly 
 in Montreal and Quebec, where he encountered great 
 difficulties and hardships. 
 
 " He had now," says his biographer, " been about seven 
 years in Canada as a travelling preacher, and 'had 
 visited/ he says, ' every city, town and village, in almost 
 every settlement in it.' It was thought, both by himself 
 and his ministerial advisers, that the time had come for 
 his return to the States. He had done faithfully the 
 work of a missionary evangelist ; he had endured his ftill 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 65 
 
 Dr. Bangs' Life, not merely to illustrate the state 
 of the country and the mode and perils of travel- 
 ling, and the Christian heroism of the man — the 
 first preacher raised up in Canada — but as a 
 sample of the manner in which the Methodist 
 preachers of that day, and for a quarter of a 
 century afterwards, travelled and toiled and suf- 
 fered, to preach the Word of Life, and to estab- 
 lish societies and congregations among the early 
 settlers of Canada, from one end of the province 
 to the other, and in its remotest interior settle- 
 ments. The former part of this paper presents 
 examples of the sacrifices and labours of the 
 preachers during the first decade of the work in 
 Canada; and the majority, if not nine-tenths, of 
 the preachers for thirty years were scarcely ex- 
 share of the hardships of the frontier ministry, and had 
 achieved no small success. He had traversed Upper 
 Canada, thundering — a Boanerges— through its forests 
 and along its scattered settlements. He was the founder 
 of Methodism in many of its localities where it has con- 
 tinued to flourish, and where, before his death, it had 
 become the dominant form of religion, and had en- 
 trenched itself in commodious — in some instances, in 
 stately chapels. Canadian Methodism must ever recog- 
 nize Nathan Bangs as among its chief founders, and the 
 flourishing Methodist communities of Quebec and Mon- 
 treal, as they catch the glimpses of their incipient history 
 from the record of his sufferings and struggles, may well 
 exc" .im, * What hath God wrought ! ' "—Stevens* Life and 
 Times of Nathan Bangs, D.D., pp. 163, 164. 
 
 
 I' 
 
k i 
 
 (■) i 
 
 56 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ceeded by Dr. Bangs himself in the severity of 
 their privations and sufferings, the activity and 
 hardships of their labours. Autobiographical and 
 other accounts of many of these preachers have 
 been published ; we will add an illustration from 
 a paper which has never been published — the 
 Journal of the late Rev. John Ryerson during 
 the first six years of his ministry, before his 
 marriage, from 1820 to 1826 — his whole ministry 
 extending over a period of fifty- seven yearn, in the 
 course of which lengthened period he filled, with 
 diligence, ability, and success, the highest posi- 
 tions in the Church of which he was confessedly 
 the ablest legislator. 
 
 The writer, as did also the Rev. Dr. Harper, 
 pressed him, in his latter years, to write out his 
 reminiscences of his earlier years and his views 
 on the principal questions of Church agitation, 
 discussion and action during the previous half 
 century, and the origin of the benevolent institu- 
 tions of the Church. He did so, and in 1877 
 placed the result in the writer's hands, for his 
 use and disposal. These papers, or extracts from 
 them, may some day see the light. Among the 
 various documents and papers thus placed at the 
 writer's disposal is the Journal referred to, of the 
 first six years of Mr. Ryerson's itinerant labours. 
 Only a few sentences in regard to each year can 
 here be given. Mr. Ryerson says : — 
 
 I 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 57 
 
 ** My itinerant ministry commenced on the Long 
 Point Circuit [bis native circuit], which extended 
 from Port Dover to Port Talbot, along the shore 
 of Lake Erie, and some distance into the interior 
 of the second row of townships. We [my col- 
 league and myself] had twenty -five appointments, 
 at each of which we preached every two weeks. 
 These appointments were scattered over ten town- 
 ships. We always met the class aft«.r preaching. 
 This year I received nothing by way of support, 
 except what I ate and drank, and money enough 
 to keep my horse shod. I received no salary or 
 presents, but worked hard — with what success I 
 know not. At the close of the year I was sent 
 by Elder Case to the Ancaster Circuit, during the 
 absence of the preachers at Conference, and was 
 appointed to the same circuit the following year 
 — 1821-1822. The Ancaster Circuit extended over 
 the area of country {"nine-tenths of which was a 
 wilderness) now embraced in the Hamilton Dis- 
 trict. We had twenty-eight appointments. On 
 about half the Sabbaths, we preached three times 
 each ; on the other half, twice each Sabbath. 
 We always met the class after preaching, and, 
 between us, visited most of the families each time 
 around the circuit. Our plan was, in crossing 
 each other's track, to meet every fortnight, when 
 we talked over all that we had done, and espe- 
 cially the families we had visited. Then he who 
 
 i 
 
^ 
 
 58 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Ji 
 
 • 
 
 i 
 
 
 followed would try and see the families not called 
 upon by his colleague in his previous route." 
 [Mr. Ryerson then narrates the means employed 
 to obtain subscriptions for building the first old 
 King Street chapel, then near Hamilton; the 
 giving of the land by the late Colonel Land, of 
 the English Church ; the opening of the chapel 
 (then the most conimodious in Upper Canadei) 
 by Messrs. Case and Ryan ; the absence of any 
 town now called Hamilton, more than half the 
 site of which was then owned by Methodists — 
 the names and property of each given — but one 
 village (that of Ancaster, of fifteen or sixteen 
 houses all told) in that whole region of country. 
 Mr. Ryerson proceeds :] " My support was sixty' 
 five dollars ; besides, I lost my horse, and had to 
 buy another, which cost seventy dollars; and 
 although part of that sum was raised by sub- 
 scriptions on the circuit, yet the balance ^hich 
 had to be provided for took away most of my 
 salary, and left me, at the close of the year, 
 very poor, and quite destitute of suitable clothes. 
 " At the close of the year I was sent by my 
 Presiding Elder to supply York during the Con- 
 ference which was held in the State of New York, 
 after which the Rev. F. Reed, stationed minister, 
 remaining some time to visit his relations and 
 friends, I was detained in York for five weeks. 
 When I arrived on the Niagara Circuit, to which 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 59 
 
 I had been appointed at the Conference, the lead- 
 ing members were much dissatisfied at my deten- 
 tion ; but still they did not attach any blame to me. 
 
 " I had for my superintendent this year that 
 good man and true, the late Ezra Adams. This 
 was my last year of holding a subordinate posi- 
 tion on a circuit or station — ever after being either 
 Superintendent of a circuit or station, or Pre- 
 siding Elder or Chairman of a District, and 
 consequently a member of the Stationing Com- 
 mittee for more than thirty years ; eight years of 
 which I was co-delegate. 
 
 "The Niagara Circuit at that time embraced 
 the whole of the Niagara peninsula east of 
 Hamilton, except the township of Bertie." [Here 
 follows a description of the state and extent of 
 the country ; the successful measures adopted to 
 build a commodious church in the small village 
 of St. Catharines, aided liberally by the old loyalist 
 officers, who had been colleagues with Mr. Ryer- 
 son's uncle and father as officers in the British 
 army during the American Revolution, and claimed 
 a sort of relationship with him ; revivals of religion 
 in different parts of the circuit, and the accession 
 of members who, with their descendants, have 
 remained faithful and useful for more than half a 
 century. He says :] " I left the circuit with 
 regret, and the society of my kind Superintendent. 
 I felt as if I were going from home. 
 
'9 
 
 ' 
 
 I, 
 
 Mi 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 "In 1823 I was appointed in charge, or as 
 Superintendent, of the Yonge Street Circuit, with 
 the late Kev. William Slater as my colleague, than 
 whom a more honourable and upright man never 
 lived; we were fellow-labourers two years — the 
 second year on the Bay of Quinte Circuit ; and 
 when he died three years afterwards, I mourned 
 for him as a brother indeed.* The Yonge Street 
 Circuit was more laborious and harder to work 
 than any one I had yet travelled ; but my faithful 
 and devoted colleague was a help-meet to me 
 
 ♦The year of Mr. Slater's death, he was the senior 
 colleague and Superintendent of the writer of these 
 papers, on the Ancaster Circuit, 1828-1829 ; he died 
 about the middle of the circuit year — illustrating the 
 last text on which he preached, Psalm xxxvii. 37, a few 
 days before his death — by cold and congestion of the 
 lungs. The duty of preaching his funeral sermon, and 
 taking charge of the circuit the rest of the year, devolved 
 on his junior colleague — a circuit extending at that time 
 from Stoney Creek and the township of Binbrook on the 
 east, Glanford and through the Grand River Swamp to 
 within five miles of Brantford on the south and west 
 — ^then to Jersey settlements, Copetown, VVaterdown, 
 including the villages of Ancaster, Hamilton and Dundas 
 — thence down Dundas Street to Nelson, thence ten miles 
 north, and through a mountainous wilderness to where 
 the town of Milton now stands — thence south, embracing 
 Dundas Street and all south (including Oakville) up the 
 shore of Lake Ontario, to Stoney Creek, the place of 
 beginning. 
 
 ■! 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 61 
 
 indeed. His never-failing cheerfulness and un- 
 tiring industry was a source of great comfort and 
 encouragement to me. Our circuit extended from 
 York (including the town) to Lake Simcoe, em- 
 bracing the series of townships west of Yonge 
 Street to Holland Landing, thence along the shore 
 twelve miles, through woods without a house to 
 North Gwillimbury, thence through Whitchurch, 
 Markham, Pickering, Whitby and Darlington, as 
 far as Major Wilmot's, some miles east of where 
 Bowmanville now stands. Major Wilmot fitted 
 up a large room in liis tannery for our services ; 
 for though neither he nor Mrs. Wilmot were 
 members of our Church, yet were they very 
 friendly, and treated me with the kindness of 
 parents. 
 
 " in those days an unmarried preacher had no 
 home except that of the Indian who, in reply to 
 the question as to where was his home, said, ' I 
 live, and my home is all along shore.* This * ail- 
 along shore' home was my lot during the first 
 six years of my ministry, in single life. Yet I 
 usually had some place on the Circuit where I 
 left my few clothes, books, etc., and which I desig- 
 nated by the endearing name of home. On the 
 Yonge Street Circuit, this was the house of Mr. 
 William P. Patrick, with whom and his friendly 
 and pious wife, and most amiable family, I passed 
 many pleasant and happ}- hours. Mr. Patrick 
 
s 
 
 ;i 
 
 !i 
 
 i 
 
 62 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 was a most devoted and generous man — a scien- 
 tific and beautiful singer, whose sweetness of 
 voice and melody thrilled through my whole 
 being when I have heard him sing *Eock of 
 Ages/ *Lo! He comes with clouds descending/ 
 and on New Year, * Come let us anew,' etc. [Mr. 
 Ryerson describes at some length the devout habits 
 and kindness of Mr. Patrick and his lovely house- 
 hold ; his perils, escapes, etc., in travelling around 
 the Circuit. He says :] 
 
 " At our first Canada Conference held at Hal- 
 lowell (Picton), 1824, 1 was appointed to the Bay 
 of Quinte Circuit, embracing the town of King- 
 ston, as well as the whole of the Bay of Quinte 
 country, north of the Bay, to the head of it. This 
 Bay of Quinte Circuit was the most extensive and 
 laborious of any on which I had travelled, and 
 many circumstances connected with its state at 
 that time added greatly to the onerousness and 
 painfulness of the work/' [At the Conference 
 of 1823, delegates were elected to the American 
 General Conference, and, for the first time, Mr. 
 Ryan was not elected, but Mr. Wyatt Chamber- 
 lain,, who was travelling the Bay of Quinte Circuit, 
 was elected to the General Conference instead of 
 Mr. Ryan. He, to punish Mr. Chamberlain for his 
 temerity, sought to injure him as much as possible 
 on his circuit — sent a belligerent local preacher 
 to beard and oppose him at his appointments — 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 63 
 
 lie 
 er 
 
 resulting in dividing most of the congregations, 
 loss of the class-papers and scattering of the 
 classes. Mr. Ryan himself disturbed the troubled 
 wfltLirs still more by professing to forbid Mr. 
 Chamberlain from preaching, and seeking to get 
 himself elected to the General Conference by a 
 convention of local preachers and laymen. Such 
 was the state of things on the Bay of Quinte 
 Circuit when Messrs. Ryerson and Slater were 
 appointed to its oversight and management in 
 1824. Mr. Ryerson says :] 
 
 " At each appointment there were more or less 
 friends of both parties, the consequence of which 
 was that the whole Circuit was thrown into a 
 state of confusion, and torn to pieces from one end 
 to the other. I arrived there about two weeks 
 before my colleague. Mr. Case, my Presiding 
 Elder, informed me at Hallowell that a good deal 
 of uneasiness existed on the Circuit, but what 
 he said did not convey to me the idea of a tithe 
 of the sad state of things there ; he, however, 
 urged me to go on the Circuit as soon as possible. 
 So I did not return, — I cannot say to my home, 
 for I had none, — but I did not return to my 
 late Circuit to get my few books and clothes, 
 which were sent to me. Immediately after the 
 Conference closed, I crossed the bay to Adolphus- 
 town, preached at two places, and met the classes, 
 if classes they could be called ; for there was not 
 
 :\' 
 
 i: 
 
64 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 an organized class on the Circuit ; not a class- 
 paper (we had no printed class-books in those 
 days) to be found ; so we had no means from any 
 Church record of ascertaining the membership. 
 By whom, or for what purpose, the class-papers 
 and Church records were destroyed or taken away, 
 I could never find out. The party strife and 
 heart-burnings were dreadful and painful in the 
 extreme. The different parties asked, and some- 
 times tried to get us preachers on their side ; but 
 this we studiously avoided, and especially where 
 the differences had degenerated into personal feeL 
 ing and family strifes. This was the case in many 
 instances. 
 
 " Mr. Slater and I had the misfortune of being 
 young men ; it was with both of us the fifth year 
 of our ministry, and neither of us had been 
 ordained Elder, thoiigh we had been ordained 
 Deacons. This authorised us to baptize and assist 
 in administering the Lord's Supper, but not to 
 consecrate the elements. This impediment was 
 very embarrassing to us, as the Circuit was very 
 large, and Mr. Case was able to visit us only four 
 times during the year ; and part of the Quarterly 
 Meetings were held in Kingston, where few of the 
 country members were able to go. But in our 
 extra quarterly meetings and sacramental services, 
 we were greatly aided by the assistance of old Mr. 
 Dunham, who with Mr. Losee were, under God, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 65 
 
 the founders of Methodism in the Bay of Quinte 
 
 country. The good old, but rather eccentric man 
 
 and able minister, was always ready to help us in 
 
 time of need ; although he sometimes declined 
 
 preaching for me, which I always requested, much 
 
 preferring to hear him than to preach myself. We 
 
 young men of that day did not think ourselves 
 
 wiser and more clever than our fathers. 
 
 " I have said that our youthfuluess in the 
 
 ministry seemed to make much against us. There 
 
 were many members in this oldest Circuit in the 
 
 province who were Methodists before I was bom ; 
 
 and they seemed to think it strange that one so 
 
 young in the ministry should be appointed to 
 
 superintend a Circuit so old, in such perilous and 
 
 difficult circumstances. Indeed I thought the 
 
 same myself; and the oppositions, mistrusts, etc., 
 
 quite overwhelmed me, and often deprived me of 
 
 both appetite and sleep. * Wearisome and painful 
 
 days and sleepless nights were appointed unto me.' 
 
 My flesh seemed to run off me like water, and I 
 
 became little else than a walking skeleton; so 
 
 that at the close of the year, when I came to the 
 
 Fifty Conference [near Grimsby], my old friends 
 
 said that by my appearance they would not have 
 
 known me ; but still my identity and soul were 
 
 there, whatever had become of most of my poor 
 
 body. 
 
 " We had thirty-one appointments; and I went 
 5 
 
IJ 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 I 
 
 ^aj 
 
 1 
 i 
 j 
 
 ! 
 
 1 I 
 
 66 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISxM. 
 
 twelve times around the Circuit — once every four 
 weeks — preaching and meeting the scattered re- 
 mains of classes at each appointment. Mr. Slater 
 and I, at the close of each public service, had 
 requested the members of tlie society to remain 
 for class-meeting, and accordingly met those who 
 did so; but having no class record, we knew not 
 who were really members from those who were 
 not. Towards the close of our second tour around 
 the Circuit, we commenced in each class-meeting 
 the inquiry of each person as to his or her mem- 
 bershi]^, and took down the names of all who 
 declared themselves members of the Church ; we 
 got the names also of such as had been Leaders, 
 and who desired to remain with us. From these 
 minutes, we prepared class-papers for all the 
 classes. The entire membership of the Church 
 on the Circuit, as thus ascertained, amounted to 
 more than four hundred. During the last half of 
 the year, prospects began to brighten; interesting 
 revivals took place at several appointments, and a 
 number joined the Church. The following year 
 there was a wonderful revival, not only through- 
 out the Circuit, but it spread over a great extent 
 of the surrounding country, in the progress of 
 which hundreds professed to be saved, and the 
 fruits of which remain to this day. 
 
 "About the month of April, a number of the 
 members of the Church in what was called, and 
 
CANADIAN METlIODIb-M. 
 
 07 
 
 I believe is still called, the Switzer neighbourhood, 
 requested me to meet them to consult about build- 
 ing a meeting-house ; tlie result of which was the 
 erection of what was called the Switzer Meeting- 
 house or Church. This commodious place of 
 worship was not completed and opened until after 
 I left the Circuit ; but subsequently, during my 
 four years' Presiding Eldership in the Bay of 
 Quinte District, I held many quarterly meetings 
 and preached many sermons in this house, and 
 with me scores and hundreds experienced times 
 of great refreshing from the presence of the Lord. 
 How many times did I hear our old and well- 
 tried friends, the Shorys, Switzers, MiMars, Empies, 
 and otTiers, in the Love-feasts, speak in glowing 
 and moving terms of their unity, happiness, and 
 prosperity, compared with the dark and despond- 
 ing times of bygone days. 
 
 "During this year I travelled on horseback two 
 thousand four hundred miles, preached three hun- 
 dred and fifty sermons, and met about half as 
 many classes ; received for my support as salary 
 one hundred dollars, and no more; no presents — 
 no, not a dollar. Then I was allowed my travel- 
 ling expenses, which, however, did not exceed five 
 or six dollars. 
 
 "At the Fifty Mile Creek Conference (1825), 
 where I was ordained Elder by Bishop Iledding, 
 I was appointed to the Perth Circuit [County of 
 
 i\f. 
 
 f * 
 
lii: 
 
 \ 
 
 ; '■ 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 B 1 
 
 
 •; 1 
 
 •4 
 
 H. 
 
 , 
 
 il 
 
 68 
 
 CANADIAN MOTIIODISM. 
 
 Lanark], and the llev. S. Belton as missionary to 
 the Mississippi, with the understanding that we 
 should interchange our labours, which we arranged 
 to do. 
 
 " A number of the leading friends on the 
 Niagara Circuit petitioned for me to be appointed 
 to that Circuit ; but Mr. Case was unyielding, and 
 insisted upon my going to the Perth Circuit. He 
 spoke to me on the subject ; I told him that 1 had 
 nothing whatever to do with the request for my 
 appointment to the Niagara Circuit, and was con- 
 tent to go where the Stationing Committee, or 
 Conference, or Bishop, as the case might be, should 
 see fit to send me. 
 
 "Mr. Belton and I, about the 2r)th of September, 
 started on horseback for our field of labour, and 
 after e hard eight days' ride of three hundred 
 miles, we arrived at our place of toil for the year, 
 much fatigued, and not a little cast down on 
 witnessing the state at least of temporal things 
 at Perth. We had much difficulty in finding 
 places for our horses, and scarcely less difficulty 
 in obtaining lodgings for ourselves. Indeed, the 
 Methodists then in Perth were few in number and 
 very poor. I stopped at Doctor O'Hare's ; he 
 and his wife left their own bed and made what 
 they called a * shake-down ' on the floor, in order 
 to provide a bed for nie, which, however, was 
 dreadfully poor and very uncomfortable. Tiiis 
 
 .1 
 
CANADIAN MKTIIODISM. 
 
 69 
 
 very gloomy introduction rather put our faith to 
 the test ; yet we could say, 
 
 * Come what will, come what may, 
 
 Time and the hour run through the roughest day.' 
 
 ** Mr. Belton first visited what was called the 
 Mission, although I do not know how any part of 
 our field of labour could he called anything else 
 than a mission, considering the newness and rough- 
 ness of the country and poverty of the people. 
 "We, however, broke up a good deal of new ground 
 and formed several small societies ; we went up 
 the Mississippi river, into the township of Dum- 
 mer (I think that was its name), to visit a Scotch 
 settlement, and preached in a little log school- 
 house, in which a school was taught by a little 
 rough-looking young man, or lad, by the name of 
 Wilson, whose father, with a large family, lived in 
 the neighbourhood. This young Wilson after- 
 wards studied lo,w, and became the Honourable 
 Judge John Wilson, who lived and died a few 
 years since in the city of London, Upper Canada. 
 We lodged in old Mr. Wilson's house, which 
 contained one large room used by him arid his 
 family for kitchen, dining-room, and dormitory. 
 Fixtures cr beds were fastened against the walls 
 on different sides aroui d, and in front of some 
 of them were curtains suspended. The family 
 was very intelligent and very kind, and to their 
 
 w. 
 
 . '?■ 
 
I ' ir 
 
 70 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 [[! 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 !i 
 
 
 
 utmost ability tlioy provided for our comfort. 
 They were Presbyicriaiis. 
 
 " We went down the Mississippi to Packenham, 
 and then twelve miles further down to the mouth 
 of the river, where its waters em[)ty into the 
 Ottawa river. At Paclvenham there was a lum- 
 bering cstablislunent, and a number of liimber- 
 ujen at work. I preached in their shanty, and 
 laid down in it as one of the lumbermen, sleeping 
 on a ' shake-down ' of straw. This place, I am 
 told, is now a nice little town, with a neat Metho- 
 dist church, and several other places of worship 
 belonging to different religious persuasions." 
 [After describing several narrow escapes in tra- 
 versing swamps and creeks, and much suffering 
 in travelling this Circuit, he says :] " This year, 
 though one of hard work and much peril, was one 
 of considerable prosperity; there ''^"'^re a good 
 many professed conversions, and additions made 
 to the Church, among whom were many Eoman 
 Catholics. 
 
 " After the close of this year, on the 8th of 
 August, 1826, I was married to Miss Mary Lewis, 
 of Saltfleet; so it will be fifty-one years the 8th 
 of August this year, 1877, that we have lived 
 together in married life. Of our mercies, labourtj) 
 toils, sufferings during this long period, I cannot 
 begin to say anything. 
 
 " During the six years of my single or un- 
 
 H 
 
CAN.M^IAN METHODISM. 
 
 71 
 
 J f 
 
 ; 
 
 married life, everything I received, quarterage or 
 salary, except travelling expenses — which were, 
 however, a mere trifle — amounted to four hundred 
 and forty dollars, and not ten dollars of everything 
 in the way of presents. And during the many 
 years of my ministry as a married riian — with the 
 exception of a house — my anvual salary never 
 exceeded five hundred and fifty dollars, and during 
 most of the time, it was very short of that sum ; 
 besides (with the exception of some rough fur- 
 niture in Kingston and Quebec), we always 
 furnished our own house. Under the terms, 
 Quarterage,' or ' Salary,' were included table ex- 
 penses, fuel, etc." 
 
 
 
 
 h 
 
72 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I lit 
 
 ESSAY III. 
 
 THE SUPERNATURAL CHARACrER OF CANADIAN 
 
 METHODISM. 
 
 \ Y the " ftupernatural," we mean that which is 
 above the powers or laws of nature; we 
 mean that which is produced by a Divine agency 
 — the immediate power of God. But in affirming 
 the " supernatural character of Canadian Metho- 
 dism," we are far from denying or ignoring the 
 " supernatural " in other religious persuasions who 
 hold the doctrines of the Triune Godhead, the 
 atonement of Jesus Christ, and the resultant work 
 of the Holy Ghost, and who practically and ex- 
 perimentally incorporate these doctrines with the 
 pardon of penitent sinners, their regeneration and 
 adoption into the Church, or family, of the living 
 ,God. These doctrines are embraced in the creed 
 of all Protestant denominations, except the Uni- 
 tarians and Pelagians ; but though these doctrines 
 were in Protestant creeds, they were not always 
 in Protestant pulpits or in Protestant congrega- 
 tions. In the commencement of Methodism in 
 England, few of the clergy of the Established 
 
 t 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 n 
 
 Cliurch and few of the Dissenters preached, much 
 less exemplilied, these doctrines, though they we^-e 
 prominent in their creeds. But Methodism, from 
 the beginning, in England, the United States, and 
 Canada, gave a supreme significance and practical 
 application to these doctrines, which have con- 
 stituted the siqmmatuml character of Methodism 
 throughout the world. Tliis is specially true of 
 Canadian Methodism, with which we have chiefly 
 to do in these Ess.ays. Though the first minis- 
 ters were " few and far between," there \> <is 
 perfect nnity in the doctrint-a of faith ani expe- 
 rience which they preaclied, and everywhere, by 
 the river side or in the remote wilderness, there 
 was but one doctrine, one faith, one experience, 
 one joy, one fellowship, among the isolated 
 preachers and societies, from Quebec to Detroit. 
 
 The summary of the doctrines which they 
 preached was the natural depravity of the human 
 heart; the atonement made by Jesus Christ as 
 a full and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the 
 whole world ; the offering of salvation to every 
 individual, on the condition of repentance towards 
 God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ ; justifi- 
 cation by faith alone ; but from the faith which 
 justifies, good works proceed ; the witness of the 
 Spirit, which may be enjoyed by every believer 
 attesting his sonship ; and the pressing after 
 " holiness, without which no man can see the 
 
 i 
 
 'J 
 
 ■■'*.■, 
 
 :^ 
 
I' 
 
 74 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
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 ill! 
 
 i 
 
 ! i 
 i i 
 
 Lord," — followed by the dootrines of future re- 
 wards and punishments, together with the immor- 
 tality of the soul and the resurrection of the body. 
 It will be seen that these doctrines are but the 
 echoes of the doctrines of the apostles and of 
 the Protestant Reformation as embodied in the 
 Articles of the Churck of England, except the 
 17th Article, on Predestination and Election, 
 which means Arminianism as contended by 
 Wesley and Fletcher, or Calvinism as argued by 
 Toplady and Shirley. These doctrines differ from 
 those of the Calvinistic Churches, in rejecting the 
 doctrines of absolute election and reprob tion, 
 and of the impossibility of falling from grace ; * 
 they differ from the Unitarians and Socinians, 
 by proclaiming the supreme divinity and atone- 
 ment of the Lord Jesus Christ; and from the 
 Pelagians, by holding the doctrine of human 
 depravity — the natural corruption of the human 
 heart, and human inability, without Divine grace, 
 to turn from sin to holiness — teaching at the 
 
 * The earliest embodiment of the doctrines of the 
 Reformation is contained in the Prayer Book and Homi- 
 lies of the Church of Englatul, compiled by Latimer. 
 Cranmer, and Ridley, and their immediate associates and 
 fellow-sufferers, and existing at this day, with a few 
 verbal alterations, as they were originally prepared and 
 sanctioned. The Westminster Calvinistic Confession 
 of Faith was compiled and adopted a hundred years 
 later than the Common Prayer Book and Homilies. 
 
 t 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 75 
 
 same time, that a sulTicieiit measure of grace is 
 given to every man to profit withal, and that 
 through the merits of Christ's atonement full sal- 
 vation is the privilege of every individual.* 
 
 The doctrines insisted upon by the first preach- 
 ers in Canada, as also by Mr. Wesley himself, 
 and by his true and faithful successors of the 
 present day, were few, in each of which the pre- 
 sence and exercise of Divine power was recognized 
 and prayed for. Mr. Wesley says — " I have again 
 and again, with all the plainness I could, declared 
 what our constant doctrines are ; whereby we are 
 distinguished only from heathens or nominal 
 Christians ; not from any that worship God in 
 spirit and in truth. Our main doctrines, which 
 include all the rest, are three — that of repent- 
 ance, of faith, and of holiness. The first of these 
 we account, as it were, the porch of religion ; 
 the next, the door; the third, religion itself. "f 
 
 *See Bishop Simpson on A Hundred Years of Metho- 
 disrn, Chapter xv. 
 
 t Principles of a Methodist Further Explained. 
 Works, Vol. v., p. 333, Am. Ed. 
 
 In another place, in answer to the objection to Mr. 
 Wesley and his pieachers, that " they make it their prin- 
 cipal employ, wherever they go, to instil into the people 
 a few tenets of their o'vn, and this with such diligence 
 and zeal as if the whole of Christianity depended upon 
 them, and all efforts toward the true Christian life, with- 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
J!' 
 
 76 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 , 
 
 i. 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 M 
 
 If wc consider separately and successively the 
 doctrines preached by the ministers of Methodism 
 in Canada, and the manner in which they were 
 preached, we will see at once the supernatural 
 
 out belief of these tenets, were vain and ineffectual," Mr. 
 Wesley answers : 
 
 " I plead guilty to this charge. I do make it my prin- 
 cipal, nay, my whole employ, and that wherever I go, to 
 instil into the people a few favourite tenets ; — only, be 
 it observed, they are not mine, but His who sent me. 
 And it is undoubtedly true that this I do (though deeply 
 conscious of my own want both of zeal and diligence) 
 as if the whole of Christianity depended upon them, 
 and all efforts without them were void and vain. I 
 frequently sum them all up in one : * In Christ Jesus ' 
 (that is, according to the Gospel) * neither circumcision 
 availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which 
 worketh by love.' But many times I instil them one by 
 one under these or like expressions ; ' Thou shalt love 
 the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength ; 
 thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ; ' as thy own 
 soul ; as Christ loved us. * God is love ; and he that 
 dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God dwelleth in 
 him.' * Love worketh no ill to his neighbour ; therefore 
 love is the fulfilling of the law.' * As we have therefore 
 opportunity, let us do good unto all men ; especially unto 
 them who are of the household of faith.' ' Whatsoever 
 ye would that men should do unto you, even so do unto 
 them.' 
 
 " These are my favourite tenets, and have been fot 
 many years. O that I could instil them into every soul 
 throughout the land ! Ought they not to be instilled 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 77 
 
 character of Canadian Methodism, its agreement 
 with the doctrines and spirit of the I'rotcstant 
 Eeformatiou, and with those of our Lord and 
 Ilis apostles. When the vuice of John the 
 Baptist crying in the wilderness, " Eepent ye, 
 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand/* was silenced 
 by his death of martyrdom, then " from that time 
 Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand." And in the first 
 great mixed assembly on the day of Pentecost, in 
 answer to the inquiry of the multitude, " pricked 
 to the heart," " Men and brethren, what shall we 
 do ? " the Apostle Peter said " Rejpent and be 
 baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
 Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
 receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." And in the 
 preaching of tlie Apostle Paul, who on reviewing 
 his ministry, declares to his brethren of Ephesus 
 that he had " taught publicly and from house 
 to house," " both to the Jews and Greeks, repent- 
 ance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; " so the first of Wesley's " favourite doc- 
 
 with such diligence and zeal, as if the whole of Chns- 
 tianiiy depended upon them ? For who can deny that 
 all efforts toward a Christian life, without more than a 
 bare belief, without a thorough experience and practice 
 of these, are utterly vain and ineffectual?" — Ficrthcr 
 Appeals to Men of Reason ami Religion^ Part I. Works, 
 Vol. v., pp. 48, 49, Am. Ed. 
 
 '->.\M 
 
 
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 .It 
 
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 i>«;ifi'-4Hli 
 
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 78 
 
 CANADIAN MKTFIODISM. 
 
 [|i 
 
 ! 
 
 m 
 
 m1 
 
 trincs" was repentance; and thus did Dr. Bangs, 
 in opening his mission to the destitute Canadian 
 settlers of the western district of Upper Canada, 
 take for his text Acts iii. 10, " Rcjyent ye, there- 
 fore, and be converted, that your sins may be 
 blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall 
 come from the presence of the Lord." So also 
 did every Methodist preacher of that day com- 
 mence his mission of love and compassion to the 
 destitute settlers. The first race of Methodist 
 preachers in Canada were riglitly called legio 
 tonans — the thundering legion; for the thunder 
 trumpet of their voice sounded throughout the 
 wilderness settlements of Canada, "Repent and 
 he converted.'" 
 
 And the repentance, or conviction of sin, thus 
 taught at the very threshold of their ministra- 
 tions — a repentance consisting not merely of 
 regret and remorse for past misdeeds, and a 
 desire and determination to forsake them, but a 
 repentance involving a consciousness of the sin- 
 fulness of the heart, the guilt and condemnation 
 of sin, its burden and misery, dread of its pun- 
 ishment, and struggles to be delivered from its 
 power, exclaiming, " wretched man that I am ! 
 who shall deliver me from the body of this 
 death?" — this repentance, not admitted under 
 the law of works, is the first-fruit of the Ec- 
 deemer's atoning work, who is exalted at the 
 
CANADIAN MtTllODISM. 
 
 70 
 
 right hand of God to give repentance and the 
 remission of sins. 
 
 Three things are included in that repentance 
 which is unto salvation, and which was preached 
 by Wesley and the pioneer preachers of Canadian 
 Methodism : 1. A holy sorrow for sin, as dishon- 
 ourable to God and defiling to the soul — as 
 ungrateful, hateful, and destructive. 2. Confes- 
 sior of sin — a confession which is simply the 
 language of the inward sorrow of the heart — the 
 giving vent to that sorrow, in acknowledgments 
 free without compulsion, ingenuous without re- 
 serve, cordial without hypocrisy. 3. A turning 
 from sin — from all sin, from every sin — turning 
 to God. Godly sorrow flows from God, and leads 
 to Him. Repentance unto life, is repentance 
 towards God. The repentant heart turns to God, 
 as the needle to the pole. The prodigal not only 
 lamented and renounced his harlot indulgences, 
 but returned to his insulted father. Such repent- 
 ance teaches the bitterness of sin, shows the 
 nature of pardon, prepares and melts the heart, 
 like wax, to receive the seal of pardon. 
 
 Such is the repentance taught by Wesley,* and 
 his fellow-labourers and spiritual sons in the 
 United States and in Canada. Such a repent- 
 ance is closely and inseparably connected with 
 faith; a faitli, not a mere intellectual assent to 
 
 * See Wesley's Sermon on The Way to the Kingdom, 
 
 1 i' 
 
 n -i] 
 
 I if ' 
 
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 ■•%.■' 
 
 
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i 
 
 80 
 
 CANADIAN MEIIIODISM. 
 
 the doctrine of redemption and all the trutlis of 
 the Gospel, but a trust in the Kedecnier. Repent- 
 ance is the sorrowful consciousness of guilt, and 
 a throbbing desire for forgiveness; faith is the 
 trust of the soul in the sacrificial death of the 
 Son of God for pardon and eternal life — it is the 
 resting of the sc"l upon Christ alone for salvation. 
 Without faith, repentance would be but the 
 anguish of irreparable sin and folly — tlie gloomy 
 foreshadowing of future punishment; without 
 repentance, faith is the mere assent of the under- 
 standing — the heartless and perhaps reluctant 
 submission of the judgment to facts and doctrines 
 which cannot be successfully contradicted or rea- 
 sonably doubted. Eepentance gives heart and 
 hands to faith ; faith places that heart upon Jesus 
 Christ, and clasps those hands around His cross. 
 Faith is the vital artery of the soul; it unites 
 the soul to Christ ; it receives life from Him ; 
 it quickens the soul from death unto life. " He 
 that believeth on the Son of God, though he were 
 dead, yet shall he live.** He "is passed from 
 death unto life." 
 
 Hence pardon, adoption, and regeneration im- 
 mediately follow upon repentance and faith. By 
 pardon, we are delivered from the punishment 
 and guilt of sin through the merits of Jesus 
 Chri&t; by adoption, we are taken into the family 
 of God, are dignified by His name, and made 
 
 
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CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 81 
 
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 partakers of all the privilcgds of His children ; 
 by regeneration, we are restored to the moral image 
 of God — we are stamped with the seal of His like- 
 ness — we are renewed in righteousness and true 
 lioliness. New faculties are not given ; but the 
 (qualities, the character, the tendency of our intel- 
 lectual and moral powers are changed and im- 
 proved — embracing the understanding, the will, 
 the conscience, the affections, the passions, and 
 appetites; and prompting us still, by an ever- 
 increasing hungering and thirsting after righteous- 
 ness, until the God of peace sanctifies us wholly, 
 preserving our whole spirit, soul and body unto 
 the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Often 
 repentance, faith, pardon, regeneration, and adop- 
 tion are carried in the soul simultaneously, and 
 sometimes nearly instantaneously. Such is a 
 meagre summary of the Scriptural and experi- 
 mental doctrines which the pioneer preachers of 
 Canadian Methodism proclaimed in public, and 
 taught from house to house, among the new and 
 scattered settlers of the Canadian wilderness ; and 
 " the hand of the Lord was with them, and a 
 great number believed and turned unto the Lord." 
 But it was not merely in the pure and experi- 
 mental doctrines taught that the supernatural 
 character of Canadian Methodism was demons- 
 trated in the early stages of its development; it 
 was also in the recognition and dependence upon 
 
 
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 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
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 the presence and power of God the Holy Ghost 
 in every ministration and service, public or pri- 
 vate. Was ignorance or the darkness of the 
 understanding dispelled ? It was " God who 
 caused the light to shine out of darkness," and 
 " shined in the heart to give the light of the know- 
 ledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
 Christ." Was there a stirring of spiritual life, 
 the quickening sensation of repentance ? " You 
 hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses 
 and sins." Was there faith ? It was the " opera- 
 tion" and "gift of God." Was there the act 
 of pardon ? God was present ; for " it is God 
 that justifieth." Did the believing sinner know 
 that he was pardoned and accepted in the Be- 
 loved ? The Holy Spirit bare witness witif his 
 spirit that he was a child of God. Was he re- 
 newed in the spirit of his mind ? Here was a 
 new creation — making something out of nothing 
 — the peculiar work of God. Was the believer 
 preserved steadfast in Christ Jesus ? It was be- 
 cause he was " kept by the power of God, through 
 faith unto salvation." 
 
 • Thus is the supernatural character of Canadian 
 Methodism evinced in its every doctrine and 
 service. In this glorious work God was the Alpha 
 and Omega, the all in all. Though some of its 
 apost!<^s might plant and others water, it wm 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 83 
 
 God, in every case, that gave the increase.* The 
 ministration of these devoted men was manifestly 
 
 ♦"Wherever," says Robert Hall, "the apostles had 
 any distinguished success in the ministry of the Gospel, 
 they certainly remind us of its being effected by Divine 
 agency. If they preached with success at Antic 'h, where 
 it appears that their ministry was attended with great 
 benefit, it is announced in these words : * And the hand 
 of the Lord was with them! When Paul had preached 
 the Gospel to the heathen, after having been commis- 
 sioned with Barnabas to the work of the Lord to which 
 they were sent, they represented to the Church * how God 
 had opened a way to the Gentiles/ and the Jewish Chris- 
 tians were compelled, we are told, to magnify the grace 
 of God in communicating the blessing to them, and 
 they did so in these words : * Then hath God also to the 
 Gentiles granted repentance unto life! If Lydia was 
 converted to the faith of Christ, we are told it was 
 because * the Lord had opened her heart to attend to the 
 things that were spoken.* Sincere preachers of the 
 Gospel, then, as they have been successful in the work, 
 even from the very beginning, from the first communi- 
 cation of Divine truth, have uniformly represented it as 
 the work of God, as the work of His Spirit, independent 
 of the instrumentality which He employed in the minis- 
 try of the Word. 
 
 " Human suasion can operate only on principles which 
 already exist. When Demosthenes, by his powerful elo- 
 quence, excited the Athenians to combat, he only called 
 into action, by a skilful grouping of motives, and an 
 appropriate exercise of his genius, principles already 
 existing, but which had lain dormant. He created 
 nothing new ; he transformed them not into new crea^ 
 
 m 
 
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 :»1 
 
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84 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 (4 ' 
 
 U. 
 
 the "ministration of the Spirit;" and in deep 
 humiliation, but assured confidence, their constant 
 language was, " Not that we are sufficient of our- 
 selves to think anything as of ourselves; hut 
 
 tures ; but only roused and stimulated those principles 
 which had animated the bosoms of nations in resisting 
 tyranny in every age. But when the apostles went forth 
 to preach faith in Christ, they enforced and demanded, 
 if I may say so, a state of things of which there had 
 been no instance : they proposed to make a change in 
 the mind and heart of man to which there was no 
 natural tendency ; they required a creature * dead in 
 trespasses and sins * to awake to Christ ; they proposed 
 to convert him into a devoted servant, a subject most 
 loyal, most affectionate, and ardent ; and how was it 
 possible that mere human art or force could etfect such 
 changes as these ? 
 
 "It is worthy of observation, that those who have 
 had the greatest success in preaching the Gospel in 
 heathen nations, as well as in Christian lands, have ever 
 been the most deeply convinced of this important truth ; 
 a truth they enforced in every stage of the progress of 
 the Gospel, and which, instead of producing discourage- 
 ment, only awakened greater ardour: their strength 
 appeared only to lie in an implicit confidence in Him 
 whose energy is all-sufficient, and who has so fully de- 
 clared His willingness to exert it. Thus Brainard and 
 Schwartz and Eliot [and Wesley and the first Methodist 
 preachers in Canada], and those in every age who have 
 had the greatest success in turning men to righteousness, 
 have been the first to declare that they were nothing. 
 They, of all men, most ardently implored, and most 
 entirely depended upon, the agency we are contemplat- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 85 
 
 our sufficiency is of God." They were well read 
 in the Scriptures, and experienced in the deep 
 things of God. In every congregation and in 
 every house they could say, *' That wliich was 
 from the beginning, which we have heard, which 
 we have seen with our eyes and our hands have 
 handled, of the Word of Life, declare we unto 
 you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; 
 and truly our fellowship is with the Father and 
 with His Son, Jesus Christ." 
 
 Such was the divine, the internal, the experi- 
 mental, the practical religion exemplified and 
 taught by the early preachers of Canadian Metho- 
 dism, and maintained by their successors. Yet, 
 by those who were strangers to its power, it was 
 scoffed at and ridiculed, and often persecuted. 
 Mr. Wesley himself says — " This repentance, this 
 faith ; this peace, joy, love ; this change from glory 
 to glory, is what the wisdom of this world has 
 voted to be madness — mere enthusiasm, utter dis- 
 
 ing; and their success appears to have been more in 
 their earnest solicitude in seeking this blessing, /^/> 
 Divine agency^ than to any other cause whatever. 
 
 " Those who do not believe there is any agency of the 
 Spirit of God, are so conscious that nothing else can 
 produce the desired effect, that they do not venture into 
 the field ; but while they despair of the conversion of men, 
 deal out scorn upon such as are engaged in the work." — 
 Sermon on The Success of Missions depends upon the 
 Spirit. Works, Vol. III., pp. 402—404. 
 
 1'. fS 
 
 
 
 ; *ii 
 
86 
 
 CANAblAN MEtllODlSM. 
 
 i'ft 
 
 P ; 
 
 i • 
 
 ii 
 
 i 
 
 traction. But thou, oh man of God, regard them 
 not; be thou moved by none of those things. 
 Thou knowest in whom thou hast believed. See 
 that no man take thy crown. Whereunto thou 
 hast already attained, hold fast, and follow, till 
 thou attain all the great and precious promises." 
 
 Among those who maintained this ceaseless 
 warfare against Methodism, as "madness, mere 
 enthusiasm, and utter distraction," many of the 
 clergy and some of the laity of the Church of 
 England, both in England and Canada, occupied 
 a conspicuous place, — aided indeed by some clergy 
 and laymen of other religious persuasions, but 
 much mitigated of late years ; yet in no formu- 
 laries of any Church are more fully recognized 
 and especially stated the distinctive doctrines 
 taught by the Methodist preachers of Canada than 
 in the Articles, Liturgy, and Homilies of the 
 Church of England. 
 
 * Sermon on T/te Way to the Kingdom. In another 
 place, in reply to the accusation, " You drive people out 
 of their senses ; you make them mad," Mr. Wesley says : 
 " And first, I grant it is my earnest desire to drive all the 
 world into what you probably call madness (I mean 
 inward religion); to niake them just as mad as Paul when 
 he was so accounted by Festus." " I grant, secondly, it 
 is my endeavour to drive all I can into what you may 
 term another species of madness, and which I term 
 repentance or conviction." — Fnrih^cr Appeal to Men of 
 Reason and Religion* Works, Vol. V., pp. 92, 93, Am. Ed, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 87 
 
 In regard to repentance, in the General Con- 
 fession we acknowledge that "wo are miserable 
 offenders/* and that " there is no health in us " — 
 indicating a heartfelt sense of guilt, of depravity, 
 of helplessness. In the Communion Service we 
 declare that " the remembrance of our sins is 
 grievous unto us, and the burden of them is in- 
 tolerable ; " and in the Office for the Sick we pray, 
 " Make us know and feel that there is no other 
 name than that of Jesus whereby we must be 
 saved." Passages, almost without number, to the 
 same effect could be selected from the Liturgy as 
 well as from the Homilies, which are declared in 
 the 35th Article of the Church of England to 
 contain wholesome and godly doctrine, such as 
 should be read in the churches. In the Homily 
 on Fasting we have the following words : 
 
 "When men feel in *:hemselves the heavy 
 burden of sin, see damnation to be the reward of 
 it, and behold with the eyes of the mind the horror 
 of hell, they tremble, they quake, and are in- 
 wardly touched with sorrowfulness of heart, and 
 cannot but accuse themselves, and open their 
 grief unto Almighty God, and call upon Him for 
 mercy. This being done seriously, their mind 
 is so occupied, partly with sorrow and business, 
 X)artly with earnest desire to be delivered from 
 this danger of hell and damnation, that all desire 
 of meat and drink is laid apart, and loathing of 
 
 
 
^ 
 
 88 
 
 CANADIAN METlIODlGXt, 
 
 all worldly things and pleasures cometh in place. 
 So that nothing thus liketh them more than to 
 weep, to lament, to mourn, and in both words 
 and behaviour of body to show themselves weaiy 
 of life." 
 
 And this deep heartfelt repentance is every- 
 where represented as the work of the Holy Spirit ; 
 producing faith in our Lord Jesus Christ Thus, 
 in the Collect for Ash- Wednesday we pray : 
 
 " Almighty God, who dost forgive the sins of 
 them that are penitent^ create and make in us 
 new and contrite hearts ; that we, worthily lament- 
 ing our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, 
 may obtain of Thee perfect remission and for- 
 giveuess, through Jesus Christ our Lord." " He 
 pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent 
 and unfeignedly helievc His holy gospel" And 
 in the office for the Visitation of the Sick, the 
 minister prays for the sick person as follows : 
 "Give him [or her] unfeigned repentance and 
 steadfast faith, that his [or her] sins may be 
 blotted out." And in the Homily on the Passion, 
 we have these expressive words : " When we feel 
 the heavy burden of our sins pressing our souls 
 with the fear of death, hell, and damnation, we 
 must steadfastly behold Christ crucified with the 
 eyes of our heart." 
 
 It will be seen by these passages from the 
 Homilies and Liturgy of the Church of England 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 89 
 
 ("which might be indefinitely multiplied), that 
 repentance and faith are not only the result of 
 Divine influences, but precede justification or 
 pardon. 
 
 But it is the doctrine of justification hj faith 
 and the ivitness of it hj the Holy Spirit which 
 has been the special object ot opposition from 
 various quarters, and especially certain clergy and 
 members of the Church of England, who ought 
 to have known better than to ridicule as " fanati- 
 cism " and " enthusiasm " the solemn verities of 
 their own Church. But in this as well as in 
 other doctrines the early Canadian preachers of 
 Methodism were true to the principle and spirit 
 of the Protestant Eeformation — to those principles 
 and to that spirit which commenced the career 
 of Britain's greatness, and which have formed so 
 vital an element in the formation of Canadian 
 liberty and character. On no subject did the 
 fathers and founders of the Protestant Reforma- 
 tion, and the greatest men who have succeeded 
 them, more uniformly agree than on the super- 
 natural character of the work of God in the soul 
 of man, by which he experiences the pardon of 
 sin, adoption into the Divine family, the witness 
 of the Holy Spirit to his sonship with God, and 
 his sanctification from the defilements of sin. 
 Out of a multitude, we will adduce a few 
 authorities. 
 
il; 
 
 if ill 
 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 In the Second Homily on the Passion, we have 
 these words : 
 
 " The only instrument of salvation required on 
 our part is faith ; that is, a sure trust and con- 
 lidence that God both hath and will forgive our 
 sins, that He hath accepted us again into His 
 favour for the merits of Christ's death and 
 passion." 
 
 Again, in the first part of the Homily on the 
 Sacraments: "Have a sure and constant faith 
 not only that the death of Christ is available 
 for all the world, but that it hath made a full and 
 sufficient sacrifice for thee, a perfect cleansing of 
 ihy sins, so thou mayest say with the apostle, ' He 
 loved thee, and gave himself for thee.' For this 
 is to make Christ thine own, and to apply His 
 merits to thyself."* 
 
 But on the. internal work of the Holy Spirit 
 renewing our hearts and witnessing our sonship 
 with God, we have testimony equally explicit and 
 very abundant 
 
 The Homily on Rogation WeeJc says : " If after 
 contrition we feel our consciences at peace with 
 God, through the remission of our sins, it is Ood 
 
 * The Roman Catholic Council of Trent says, in the 
 1 2th Canon : ** If any man shall say that justifying faith 
 is nothing else than confidence in the Divine mercy, 
 remitting sins for Christ's sake, and this confidence in 
 that alone by which we are justified, let him be accursed." 
 
 (4 
 
 
CANADIAN MKTIIODISM. 
 
 91 
 
 tvho ivorketh that great miracle in us;" and then 
 prays that " as this knowledge and feeling is not 
 in ourselves, and that as by ourselves it is not 
 possible to come by it, the Lord would give ua 
 grace to knoio these things, and feel them in our 
 hearts." 
 
 Again, in the Homily on the Resurrection are 
 these words : " He died to destroy the rule of 
 the devil in us ; and He rose again to send down 
 His Holy Spirit to * rule in our hearts.' We have 
 the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a seal and pledge 
 of our everlasting inheritance." 
 
 The Homily on Certain Places of Scripture 
 says : " Good men feel inwardly the Holy Ghost 
 influencing their hearts with the fear and love of 
 God, and they are miserable wretches who have 
 no feeling of God in them at all." 
 
 The judicious Hooker says : ** The Spirit which 
 God giveth is to assure us that we are the sons of 
 God, and to enable us to call Him our Father." 
 
 Calvin says : "Our mind, of itself, independently 
 of the preceding testimony of the Spirit, could 
 not produce this persuasion that we are the sons 
 of God." 
 
 Witsius on the Creed testifies: "There is a 
 certain instinct immediately assuring God's be- 
 loved people of their adoption." 
 
 T^ishop Hooper says: " Blessed is that roan in 
 

 92 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 whose heart God's Spirit beareth record that he is 
 the son of God." 
 
 And says Bishop Brownrig : " It is one great 
 office of the Holy Spirit to ratify and seal to us 
 the forgiveness of sins." 
 
 Out of a score, wo will limit ourselves to four 
 other witnesses. 
 
 Archbishop Usher says : '* From adoption flows 
 all Christian joy: for the spirit of adoption is, 
 first, a witness ; second, a seal ; third, the pledge 
 and earnest of our inheritance, setting a holy, 
 security upon the soul, whereby it rejoiceth, even 
 in affliction, in the hope of glory." 
 
 Bishop Pearson on the Creed, recognized and 
 used in all the Theological Colleges of the Epis- 
 copal Church, of the Methodist Church, and of 
 some other Protestant Churches, Bishop Pearson 
 says : — 
 
 " Fifthly— It is the office of the Holy Ghost to 
 assure us of the adoption of sons, to create within 
 us a sense of the p;.ternal love of God towards us, 
 and to give us an earnest of our everlasting in- 
 heritance : Kom. V. 5 ; viii. 14 ; Gal. iv. 6 ; Eom. 
 viii. 15, 16. As, therefore, we are born again by 
 the Spirit, and receive from Him our regenera- 
 tion, so we are also assured by the same Spirit 
 of our adoption." 
 
 The famous Dr. Isaac Barrow is very explicit, 
 as well as edifying on this subject He says : 
 
CAKADIAN MKTIIODISM. 
 
 98 
 
 " It Is also a notable part of tho Holy Spirit's 
 office to comfort and sustain us in all our reli<,'ious 
 practice; so particularly in our doubts, diO'icul- 
 tlcs, distresses and afllictions ; to beget joy, peace, 
 and satisfaction in us, in all our perforraanccs, 
 and in all our sufferings; whence tho title of 
 Comforter belongeth unto Him. It is also an- 
 other part of the Spii*i i work to assure us of 
 God's gracious love and favour, and that we are 
 His children ; — conf i uing in us .lie hopes of our 
 everlasting inheritance." 
 
 There id another office oi the Holy Spirit's work 
 which has not been noticed — that of sanctification 
 — which is well expressed in tlie following words 
 of the Homily on Whit-Sund*iy, part first; 
 
 "It is the office of the Holy Ghost to sanctify; 
 which the more it is hid from Uie understanding" 
 (that is, the more particular manner of His work- 
 ing), "the more it ought to move all men to 
 wonder at the secret and mighty workings of 
 God's Holy Spirit which is within us. For it is 
 the Holy Spirit that dotli quicken the minds of 
 men, stirring up godly motives in their hearts. 
 Neither doth He think it sufficient inwardly to 
 evoke the new birth of man, unless He do also 
 dwell and abide in him. * Know ye not,' saith 
 St. Paul, * th'.'.t ye are the temple of God, and 
 that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? Know 
 ye not that your bodies are the temples of the 
 
I 
 
 ! 
 
 (V* 
 
 >■-'■>■■■,■<. 
 
 I 
 
 94 
 
 CANADIAN M£TUODISM. 
 
 Holy Ghost, which is iii you ? ' Again he saith, 
 
 * Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.* For 
 why ? ' The Spirit of God dwelleth in you/ To 
 this agrccth St. John, * The anointing which ye 
 have received' (lie meaneth the Holy Ghost) 
 'abideth in you,' 1 John ii. 27. And St. Peter 
 saith the same : ' The Spirit of glory and of God 
 resteth upon you.' what comfort is this to the 
 heart of a true Christian, to think that the Holy 
 Ghost dwelleth in him ! ' If God be with us/ as 
 the Apostle saith, ' who can be against us ? ' He 
 giveth patience and joyfulness of heart, in tempta- 
 tion and affliction, and is therefore worthily called 
 
 * the Comforter/ John xiv. 16. He doth instruct 
 the hearts of the simple in the knowledge of God 
 and His Word; therefore He is justly termed 
 *the Spirit of Truth/ xvi. 13. And where the 
 Holy Ghost doth instruct and teach, there is no 
 delay in learning." * 
 
 ;ri 
 
 
 * It may be proper to subjoin Mr. Wesley's own defini- 
 tion of the Witness of the Spirit, especially as it is in 
 entire harmony with the doctrine of the Protestant Re- 
 formers above quoted, as well as with the Holy Scriptures. 
 Mr. Wesley says : 
 
 "By the testimony of the Spirit I mean an inward 
 impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God 
 immediately and directly witnesses to my spirit that I 
 am a child oi God ; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, 
 and given Himself for me ; that all my sins are blotted 
 out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God," " Meantime, 
 
CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 95 
 
 In all these extracts from the authoritative 
 expositions of the original principles of Protest- 
 antism and of the true doctrines of the Church 
 of England, there is not a word of " sacramental 
 salvation," either by baptism or the Lord's Supper, 
 
 let it be observed, I do not mean hereby that the Spirit 
 of God testifies this by any outward voice, although He 
 may do this sometimes. Neither do I suppose that He 
 always applies to the heart (though He often may) one or 
 more texts of Scripture. But He so works upon the soul 
 by His immediate influence, and by a strange though 
 inexplicable operation, that the stormy wind and troubled 
 waves subside, and there is a sweet calm ; the head 
 resting as in the arms of Jesus, and the sinner being 
 clearly satisfied that ' God is reconciled,' that all his 
 * iniquities are forgiven, and his sins covered.' " 
 
 " That the testimony of the Spirit of God must^ in 
 the very nature of things, be antecedent to the testimony 
 of our own spirit, may appear from this consideration : 
 We must be holy in heart and life before we can be 
 conscious that we are so. But we must love God before 
 we can be holy at all, this being the root of all holiness. 
 Now, we cannot love God till we know He first loved 
 us : * We love Him because He first loved us,' and 
 we cannot know His love to us till His Spirit witnesses 
 it to our spirit. Till then we cannot believe it ; we cannot 
 say, * The life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son 
 of God, who. loved me and gave Himself for me.' 
 
 " Then, only then we feel 
 Our interest in His blood, 
 And cry with joy unspeakable. 
 Thou art my Lord; my God," 
 
 *•■•• 
 
96 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 fii 
 
 
 mucli less by millinery costumes, genuflexions, 
 and external ceremonies. Tiie founders of Pro- 
 testantism were too wise to substitute the outward 
 for the inward in religion ; they were too enlight- 
 ened and too well taught by the Holy Spirit to 
 sink the greatness of God down to the littleness 
 of dramatic gesticulations, and the mighty energy 
 of faith in the crucified Saviour, which is the 
 power of God unto salvation, to the mutterings 
 of semi-papal penances and the merits of human 
 self-denials. Nothing of the kind was thought 
 of, much less practised, in the days when the 
 resurrection power of Scriptural truth raised Eng- 
 land from its previous mental and spiritual de- 
 basement, and the Word of God became the 
 infallible medium, and the Spirit of God the 
 supreme agent of communication between God 
 and man, and the atonement of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ the only foundation of reconciliation and 
 acceptance with God. Wesley was the true 
 reviver and witness of the primary and funda- 
 mental principles of the Protestant Eeforniation ; 
 and his successors in Canada, as well as through- 
 out America, have proved noble, and often martyr, 
 witnesses and preachers of the same doctrines — 
 constituting as they do the sujpernahtral character 
 of the system of truth which they have taught 
 with a success not eq^ualled since the days of the 
 apostles. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 97 
 
 It is a source of pleasure and of gratitude to 
 believe and state that among the leading de- 
 nominations of Protestants at the present day, the 
 different classes of Presbyterians, Baptists, Con- 
 gregationalists and Methodists recognize and 
 preach the same doctrines of vital and experi- 
 mental religion ; and that a large and increasing 
 number of the clergy of the Church of England 
 proclaim the same faith as it is in Jesus ; but 
 it is lamentable to be obliged to confess that there 
 is still a clerical residuum in that Church who, 
 though superciliously pretentious, appear to be 
 ignorant of, or at least to deny, the vital articles 
 and liturgical ofi&ces of their own Church, though 
 ostentatiously pretending to be the exclusive suc- 
 cessors of the apostles I They frequently make 
 their way into Methodist families and seek to 
 disparage their ministry and subvert their faith 
 in the doctrines of their fathers. 
 
 The above extracts from the Articles, Liturgy 
 Homilies, and great divines of the Church of Eng- 
 land, will be the best answer on the part of 
 Methodist families to these ritualistic interlopers ; 
 and for their further refutation, and instruction, 
 if they be susceptible of it, we quote the following 
 words of Bishop Jeremy Taylor, from a discourse 
 entitled " Via IntelligenticB, showing how the 
 scholars of the University shall become most 
 learned and most useful : " 
 
98 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ** There is in every righteous man a new vital 
 principle. The Spirit of Grace is the spirit of 
 wisdom, and teaches us by secret inspirations, by 
 proper arguments, by actual persuasions, by per- 
 sonal applications, by effects and energies ; and as 
 the soul of man is the cause of all his vital operas 
 tions, so is the Spirit of God the life of that life, 
 and cause of all spiritual actions and productions." 
 " Unless the soul have a new life put into it — 
 unless there bo a vital principle within — unless 
 the Spirit of life be the informer of the spirit of 
 man, the Word of God will be as dead in the 
 operation as the body in its powers and possibili- 
 ties. God's Spirit does not destroy reason, but 
 heightens it. God opens the heart and creates a 
 new one; and without this creation, this new 
 principle of life, we may hear the Word of God, 
 but we can never understand it; we hear the 
 sound, but are never the better.'* 
 
 Having thus treated of the supernatural char- 
 a^eter of Methodism, the subject of the next Essay 
 will be the Phenomena and Philosophy of Methodist 
 Bevivals, 
 
'CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 99 
 
 ESSAT IV. 
 
 rniKOMBNA AND PHILOSOPHY OF EABLT METHODIST 
 BEVIVALS OF RELIGION. 
 
 ^N my last Essay, on the Supernatural Character 
 of Canadian Methodism, I stood with the 
 reader face to face with that work of God in the 
 soul of man in which he is born into the kingdom 
 of God, and grows up to the stature of the fulness 
 of Christ ; I traced that work step by step, from its 
 tears of penitence to its joys of pardon, adoption, 
 regeneration and sanctification, as illustrated in the 
 lives and labours of the early Methodist preachers, 
 as also in the doctrines and ministrations of the 
 early Protestant Beformers. I now propose to 
 consider the peculiar circumstances of that work ; 
 or, in other words, the Phenomena and Philosophy 
 of Early Methodist Bevivals of Beligion in Canada. 
 
 The term revival simply signifies restoring; 
 recovery from apparent death or drowning, to life ; 
 return to activity from a state of languor; recovery 
 from a state of neglect and depression, as the 
 revival of literature or learning; quickening, or 
 re-animating with hopes or joys ; awakening men 
 
 Wj-m 
 
 i^m 
 
 I '3 
 
 9S'-. 
 
V 
 
 100 
 
 CANADIAN METI10f»ISM. 
 
 
 -4^ i 
 
 to their spiritual interests, and rousing them to 
 more attention and action in regard to religion.* 
 It is in this last sense that I employ the term 
 revival in these Essays. 
 
 The term jphenomenon is defined by Mr. Wesley 
 as "an uncommon circumstance." In nature it 
 is an appearance the cause of which is not im- 
 mediately obvious, as the phenomena of the 
 heavenly bodies, of terrestrial productions and 
 substances, of heat or colour, etc., etc. But the' 
 phenomena in the realm of mind, and in the 
 kingdom of God, in the soul of man, are not less 
 remarkable, though invisible to the bodily eye, 
 than those of the material universe ; and though 
 the " Kingdom of God cometh not with observa- 
 tion," ite phenomena, whether established in the 
 
 * Mr. Wesley, in a letter to a friend, dated Febmary 
 1 2th, 1779, says : " The remark of Luther, ' that a revival 
 of religion seldom continues above thirty years,' has been 
 verified many times in several countries. But it will not 
 always hold. The present revival in England has already 
 continued fifty years. And, blessed be God, it is at least 
 as likely to continue as it was twenty or thirty years ago. 
 Indeed, it is far more likely ; as it not only spreads wider, 
 but sinks deeper, than ever; more and more persons 
 being able to testify that the blood of Christ cleanses 
 fi-om all sin. We have, therefore, reason to hope that 
 this revival of religion will continue, and continually 
 increase till the time when all Israel shall be saved, and 
 the fulness of the Gentiles shall come." — Works, Am, 
 Edit, Vol. VII., p. 180. 
 
1 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 101 
 
 heart of a single individual, or of a multitude, are 
 open to examination; and the reasons, ot philo- 
 sophy, of the work which gives them birth, may 
 be reverently and profitably studied. 
 
 We shall first speak of the phenomena, and 
 then of the philosophy of the revivals of religion 
 among the early Methodists of Canada. 
 
 The new birth of every soul into the kingdom 
 of God is not only a phenomenon, but a miracle, 
 and is so recognized by the Church of England 
 herself; for in the Homily on Rogation Week she 
 says : " If, after contrition, we feel our conscience 
 at peace with God, through the remission of our 
 sins, it is God who worketh that great miracle in 
 us." In a revival of religion, such a miracle is 
 multiplied by scores, sometimes by hundreds and 
 thousands, as on the day of Pentecost. All these 
 •displays of Divine power are attended with phe- 
 nomena arising from the varied constitution of the 
 human mind, and the " divers manners " in which 
 God manifests Himself unto those whom He calls, 
 pardons, and saves. 
 
 The first phenomenon which has arrested my at- 
 tention in contemplating this wonderful work, is 
 the special call and adaptation of the instruments 
 of its commencement and promotion. From the 
 morning of the Protestant Keformation, the can- 
 didate for the holy ministry was questioned before 
 his ordination, "Do you trust that you are in- 
 
 y'y. 
 
 '',:<!^ 
 
 m 
 
 ms 
 

 102 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISiM. 
 
 wardly moved hy the Holy Ghost to take upon yott 
 this office and ministration to serve God, for the 
 promotion of His glory and the edification of His 
 people?" But the first instruments of the 
 Canadian work felt that they were not only 
 " moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them 
 this office and ministry " in the Church of God, 
 but they felt a Divine call to give themselves 
 especially to the work in Canada, as did Paul and 
 Barnabas to preach to the Gentiles, though to 
 reach Canada they would have to travel some 
 hundreds of miles through a wilderness, and then 
 prosecute it through a still more remote wilder- 
 ness, depending wholly upon the new settlers for 
 their subsistence. Since the days of the apostles, 
 I know not that the history of the Church has 
 presented a phenomenon more remarkable for 
 self-denial and devotion than that of the first 
 Methodist preachers voluntarily consecrating 
 themselves to the work of God in Canada, as 
 detailed in the second of these Essays. They 
 braved perils by water and perils in the wilder- 
 ness, labouring night and day, and often working 
 with their own hands to minister to their ne- 
 cessities. 
 
 If they were sometimes assailed for want of 
 classical learning, and chiefly by men who could 
 not read a classical author themselves without 
 the aid of a lexicon, they sliowed themselvea 
 
 p 
 
 \ 
 
CANADIAN METIIODIS!lf. 
 
 loa 
 
 mighty in the Scriptures, — their clerical and other 
 assailants retiring in confusion.* 
 
 * Not only the preachers, but many of the converts, 
 from their own experience, were able to silence, if not 
 confound, the skeptical assailants of practical and experi- 
 mental religion — reminding one of the remarks and 
 statements contained in the Homily of the Church oj 
 England (first part) for Whitstmdayy in the following 
 words : 
 
 " Who will not marvel at that which is written in the 
 Acts of the Apostles, to hear their bold confession before 
 the Council at Jerusalem ; and to consider that they went 
 away with joy and gladness, rejoicing that they were 
 counted worthy to suffer rebukes and checks for the 
 name and faith of Christ Jesus ? This was the mighty 
 work of the Holy Ghost, who, because He giveth patience 
 and joyfulness of heart in temptation and affliction, hath 
 therefore worthily obtained this name in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, to be called the Comforter. Who will not also 
 marvel to read the learned heavenly sermons of Peter 
 and the other disciples, considering that they were never 
 brought up in a school of learning, but called from 
 their nets to supply rooms of apostles ? This was likewise 
 the mighty work of the Holy Ghost, who, because He 
 doth instruct the hearts of the simple in the true know- 
 ledge ot God and His holy word, is most justly termed, 
 by His name and title, to be the Spirit of Truth. Euse* 
 bius, in his Ecclesiastical History, telleth a strange story 
 oi a certain learned and subtile philosopher, who, being 
 an extieme adversary to Christ and His doctrine, could 
 by no kind of learning be converted to the faith, but was 
 able to withstand all the arguments that could be 
 brought against him with little or no labour. At length 
 
 <i*i 
 
 
104 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 i 
 
 m r^ 
 
 'The phenomenon attending these revivals of 
 religion among the people were chiefly twofold — 
 the suddenness of conversions and the extraordi- 
 nary circumstances connected with many of them 
 Of the reality of conversion,* and the inward 
 
 there started up a poor simple man, of small wit and less 
 knowledge, one that was reputed among the learned as 
 an idiot ; and he, in Qod's name, would take in hand to 
 dispute with this proud philosopher. The bishops and 
 other learned men standing by were marvellously 
 abashed at the matter, thinking that by his doings they 
 should be all confounded and put to open shame. He 
 notwithstanding goeth on, and beginning in the name of 
 Jesus, brought the philosopher to such a point in the 
 end, contrary to all men's expectations, that he would 
 not choose but acknowledge the power of God in his 
 words, and to give place to the truth. Was not this a 
 miraculous work, that one silly soul, of no learning, 
 should do that which many bishops ot great knowledge 
 and understanding were never able to bring to pass ? 
 So true is the saying of Bede : ' Where the Holy Ghost 
 doth instruct and teach, there is no delay at all in 
 learning.*" 
 
 * Some opposers of conrersion have argued that it was 
 only for heathens and Jews, but not for those in a Chris- 
 tian land who profess to believe the doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity. Dr. Paley will not be accused or suspected of' 
 enthusiasm even by skeptics ; yet he speaks as follows 
 on this subject : 
 
 ** Now, of the persons in our congregations to whom 
 we not only may, but must, preach the doctrine of 
 conversion, plainly and directly, are those who, with the 
 name indeed ot Christians, have hitherto passed their 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 105 
 
 assurance of adoption, I have spoken sufficiently 
 in the essay on the " Supernatural Character of 
 
 lives without any internal religion whatever." — " At this 
 day we have not Jews and Gentiles to preach to ; but 
 these persons are really in as unconverted a st.ite as any 
 Jew or Gentile could be in our Saviour's time. They are 
 no more Christians, as to any actual benefit of Christianity 
 to their souls, than the most hardened Jew or profligate 
 Gentile was in the age of the Gospel. As to any differ- 
 ence in the two cases, the difference is all against them. 
 These must be converted before they can be saved. The 
 course of their thoughts must be changed ; the very 
 principles upon which they act must be changed. Con- 
 siderations which never, or hardly ever, entered into 
 their minds, must deeply and perpetually engage them. 
 Views and motives which did not influence them at all 
 either as checks from doing evil, or as inducements to 
 do good, must become views and motives which they 
 regularly consult, and by which they are guided ; that is 
 to say, there must be a revolution in principle ; the 
 visible conduct will follow the change ; but there must 
 be a revolution within. A change so entire, so deep, so 
 important, as this, I do allow to be conversions and no 
 one who is in the situation above described can be saved 
 without undergoing it ; and he must necessarily both be 
 sensible of it at the time, and remember it all his life 
 afterward. It is too momentous an event ever to be 
 forgotten. A man might as easily forget his escape from 
 a shipwreck. Whether it was sudden, or whether it was 
 gradual, if it was effected (and the fruits will prove that), 
 it was a true conversion ; and every such person may 
 justly both believe and say of himself that he was con- 
 verted at a particular assignable time.'' — Sermon on 
 Conversion, Works, Vol. V., pp. 72-75. 
 
106 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISSl 
 
 m 
 
 
 I •>■ 
 
 a 
 
 Canadian Methodism/' and have adduced ariiple 
 authorities. 
 
 I now speak of the phenomenon of sudden con- 
 versions, so common in all Methodist revivals of 
 religion, but more especially in the early period 
 of Methodism, both in England, the United 
 States, and in Canada. No one from Wesley 
 to the present day has ever insisted upon the 
 necessity of sudden conversion; but he and his 
 followers have recognized it as the work of God 
 when followed by the fruits of a true conversion. 
 "Mr. Wesley and the Methodists," says Mr. 
 Watson, " never taught that all true conversions 
 are instantaneous, though they believed many of 
 them to be so ; but how can any one prove that 
 all sudden conversions are fictitious and imagi- 
 nary ? To influence the will, and move the 
 affections to serious and spiritual objects, the 
 truths of religion must be presented to the mind, 
 for nothing beside has ever been known to pro- 
 duce those effects. But to some persons these 
 trutlis may come in the slow process of elementary 
 instruction, and serious advice from childhood; 
 to others they may be presented, in all their great 
 features, at once ; or they may be suddenly revived 
 in their minds ; and to such they will have the 
 additional interest which arises from novelty, 
 their habits of life having taken them out of the 
 way of regular instruction, and their religious 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 107 
 
 education having either been neglected, or its 
 impressions obliterated by the long practice of 
 vica In such cases, what reason can even a phi- 
 losopher give, why the display of the stirring and 
 solemn truths of the Gospel, unfolded by a living 
 preacher with earnestness, perspicuity, and pathos, 
 should not produce strong and sudden effects, and 
 why the impressions thus made should not be 
 deep and lasting ? 
 
 '*A true philosophy teaches that minds are 
 differently constituted ; that some men are slow to 
 judge and to feel, and that what they hear rarely 
 produces any immediate effect The impression 
 is made by subsequent reflection ; for, like the 
 ruminating animals, they do not feed for immediate 
 digestion, but reserve that to a second process. 
 In others the intellectual powers are more active 
 and the affections more yielding; and there 
 exists no reason why this peculiarity of mental 
 disposition should not influence religious experi- 
 ence, though a superhuman agent must neces- 
 sarily be supposed carrying on His designs, and 
 exerting His influence with, and by, our constitu- 
 tional qualities. It would be as manifestly absurd 
 to deny that true conversion may follow a sudden 
 impression upon yielding minds, as to affirm that 
 it must be confined to slow and hesitating in- 
 tellects, or that a decisive course of action of any 
 kind cannot follow when tuotives to it are urged 
 
 I 
 
 fk:^ 
 
 f' 
 
 r:W- 
 
I 
 
 uaussau^im 
 
 108 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 upon a susceptible spirit, and the force of them 
 is immediately admitted. Determinations of the 
 will, and perseverance in effort, are essential to 
 rational and proper conduct of any kind. But 
 with whatever variety the Creator has formed the 
 human spirit, it is not to be supposed that it 
 has, in any case, a constitution which renders 
 decisive choice, and perseverance, impracticable. 
 These effects do not always result from slow 
 and reluctant operations of mind; they are not 
 inconsistent with susceptibility. The cautious 
 need energy ; the ardent, watchfulness and sup- 
 port; but everything rich in sentiment, firm in 
 choice, and constant in action, may exist in each 
 class of character. To suppose the contrary 
 would be a reflection on our Maker, who uses 
 variety as the means of exhibiting His wiedoin, 
 but never sacrifices it to His own great and 
 beneficent purposes, and the moral capabilities of 
 His creatures. 
 
 " From these sudden yieldings of the mind to 
 impressions of a religious kind, what then can be 
 reasonably concluded ? Why, that conversion is 
 not a natural process, though carried on through 
 and by our natural powers. We are better in- 
 structed, I hope, in the Scriptures and the doctrine 
 of all true Churches — that suddenness and slow- 
 ness are mere circumstances, quite unconnected 
 with the essence of conversion. We believe the 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 109 
 
 testimony of Scripture, that the Spirit is not only 
 given to the disciples of Christ, after they assume 
 that character, but in order to their becoming His 
 disciples; that, according to the words of our 
 Lord, He is sent ' to convince the world of sin,* 
 to the end that they may believe in Christ ; and 
 that whenever the Gospel is fully proclaimed by 
 the ministers of Christ, it is ' tho power of God 
 unto salvation to every one that believeth,* and 
 is made so by the accompanying influence of the 
 Holy Ghost. If this doctrine be allowed, it will 
 be difficult to prove Mr. Wesley a fanatic for his 
 belief in the reality of sudden conversions. Who 
 shall prescribe a mode to Divine operations? 
 Who, if he believes such an influence accom- 
 panying the truth, shall presume to say, that 
 when inspired truth is proposed, the attention of 
 the careless shall be roused by a gradual and 
 slow process only ? or that no influence on the 
 mind is genuine and divine, if it operate not in 
 the prescribed manner? that the Holy Spirit shall 
 not avail Himself of the variety which exists in 
 the mental constitutions of men, to effect His 
 purposes of mercy by different methods? and 
 that the operations of grace shall not present, as 
 well as those of nature, that beauteous variety 
 wliich so much illustrates the glory of Hiia ' who 
 worketh all in all ? ' 
 
 it'- 
 
 '■2 
 
 m:M 
 
110 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 M 
 
 ! > 
 
 ** And who shall say that even the peculiarities 
 of men's natures shall not, in many instances^ 
 be even set aside in the course of a divine and 
 secret operation touching the springs of action, 
 and opening the sources of feeling; giving in- 
 tensity of action to the one, and a flow to the 
 other, which shall more eminently mark His 
 finger in a work which His own glory, and the 
 humility proper to man, require should be known 
 and acknowledged as the work of God alone? 
 Assuredly there is nothing in the reason of the 
 case to fix the manner of producing suc^ effects 
 to one rule, and nothing in Scripture. Instances 
 of sudden conversion occur in the New Testa- 
 ment in sufficient number to warrant us to 
 conclude that this may be often the mode adopted 
 by Divine wisdom, and especially in a slumbering 
 age, to arouse attention to long-despised and 
 neglected truths. The conversions of the day of 
 Pentecost were sudden, and, for anything that 
 appears to the contrary, they were real ; for the 
 persons so influenced were thought worthy to 
 be 'added to the Church.* Nor was it by the 
 miracles of tongues that the effect was produced. 
 If miracles could have converted them, they had 
 witnessed greater than even that glorious day 
 exhibited. The dead had been raised in their 
 sight ; the earth had quaked beneath their feet ; 
 the sun had hid himself and made untimely 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Ill 
 
 night ; the graves had given up their dead ; and 
 Christ Himself had risen from the tomb sealed 
 and watched. It was not by the impression of 
 the miracles of tongues alone, but by that super- 
 venient gracious influence which operated with 
 the demonstrative sermon of Peter, after the 
 miracle had excited the attention of his hearers, 
 that they were 'pricked in their hearts,' and 
 cried ' Men and brethren, what shall we do ? ' 
 
 "The only true rule of judging of professed 
 conversion is its fruits. The mode may vary 
 from circumstances of which we are not the 
 judges ; nor can we be until we know more 
 both of the mystic powers of the mind, and 
 of that intercourse which Almighty God, in His 
 goodness, condescends to hold with it." * 
 
 But the more remarkable phenomena of the 
 revivals of religion are not merely the suddenness 
 of conversions, but the extraordinary circum- 
 stances coLnected with them — physical agitations 
 and prostrations. The words of the Church of 
 England Homily on Fasting may here be repeated : 
 
 "When men feel in themselves the heavy 
 burden of sin, see damnation to be the reward 
 of it, and behold with the eye of their mind the 
 horror of hell, (hey tremble, they quake, and are* 
 inwardly touched with sorrowfulness of heart, and 
 cannot tut acctise themselves, and open their rrief 
 
 * Richard Watson'$ Works, VoL V., pp. 414-418. 
 
 I:i,i 
 
 
 ■ t'l * 
 
 I 
 
 -■'■'vm 
 
 :.•!*&: 
 
 -n 
 
1. 
 
 112 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 unto Almighty God and call upon Him for merny. 
 This being done seriously, their mind is so 
 occupied, partly with sorrow and heaviness, partly 
 with an earnest desire to be delivered from this 
 danger of hell and damnation, that all desire oj 
 meat and drink is laid apart, and loathing oj 
 all worldly things and pleasure cometh in place: 
 so that nothing liketh them more than to weep, 
 to lament, to mourn, and by loth words and 
 lehamour of body to show themselves weary of life" 
 
 Ml. Wesley, after quoting these words, com- 
 ments upon them thus to the objector : 
 
 " Now, what if your wife, or daughter, or ac- 
 quaintance, after hearing one of these field 
 preachers, should come and tell you that they 
 saw damnation before them, and beheld with 
 the eye of their mind this horror of hell ? What 
 if they should ' tremble and quake,' and be so 
 taken up ' partly with sorrow and heaviness, 
 partly with an earnest desire to be delivered from 
 this hell and damnation, as to weep, to lament, 
 to mourn, and by both words and behaviour to 
 show themselves weary of life;* would you 
 scruple to say that they are stark mad; that 
 these fellows have driven them out of their 
 senses ? These are the words of our own Church. 
 You may read them, if you are so inclined, in the 
 first part of the 'Homily on Fasting.* And, con- 
 sequently, what you have peremptorily deter- 
 
 pst ,i 
 
 -7j 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 113 
 
 
 kr- 
 
 miued to be mere lunacy and distraction, is that 
 'repentance unto life/ which, in the judgment 
 both of the Church and of St. Paul, is ' never to 
 be repented of.* I grant that extraordinary cir- 
 cumstances have attended this conviction in some 
 instances. While the Word of God was preached, 
 some persons have dropped down as dead ; some 
 have been, as it were, in strong convulsions; some 
 roared aloud, though not with an articulate voice ; 
 and others spoke the anguish of their souls."* 
 
 ♦Wesley's Further Appeal to Men of Reason and 
 Relis^on. Works, Vol. V., p. 93. Am. Ed. Mr. Wesley 
 adds : " This, I suppose, you believe to be perfect mad- 
 ness. But it is easily accounted for, either on principles 
 of reason or Scripture. 
 
 " First, on principles of reason. For how easy is it 
 to suppose that a strong, lively, and sudden apprehension 
 of the heinousness of sin, the wrath of God, and the 
 bitter pains of eternal death, should affect the body 
 as well as the soul, during the present laws of vital union 
 —should interrupt or disturb the ordinary circulations, 
 and put nature out of its course ! Yes, we may question 
 whether, while this union subsists, it is possible for the 
 mind to be affected in so violent a degree without some 
 one or other of those bodily symptoms following. 
 
 " It is likewise easy to account for these things on 
 principles of Scripture. For when we take a view of 
 them in this light, we are to add, to the consideration 
 of Batural causes, the agency of those spirits who still 
 excel in strength, and, as far as they have leave from 
 God, will not fail to torment whom they cannot destroy ; 
 to tear those that are coming to Christ It is also 
 8 
 
 m 
 
 
114 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Ki;- 
 
 These physical phenomena wore not uncommon 
 in the early years of Methodism in Canada, and 
 especially in those great rural assemblages known 
 as " camp-meetings," and they have occurred from 
 time to time to this day. Examples of them 
 are needless ; they have been supposed by some 
 to have originated in Canada, and to be a charac- 
 teristic of Canadian Methodism ; but this is a 
 mistake. 
 
 remarkable, that there is plain Scripture precedent of 
 every symptom which has lately appeared ; so that we 
 cannot allow the conviction attended with these to be 
 madness, without giving up both reason and Scripture." 
 "All these and whatever else conversion effects may 
 sometimes accompany this conviction, are easily known 
 from the common distemper of madness, were it only for 
 this one circumstance — that whenever the person con- 
 vinced tastes the pardoning love of God, they all vanish 
 away in a moment." — /^., p.94. 
 
 It shnuld be borne in mind, however, that Mr. Wesley 
 never confounded these phenomena with noise or clamour 
 in public worship ; the latter he unhesitatingly con- 
 denmed. ** Perhaps," he says, in one of his discourses, 
 ''some may be afraid, lest refraining from these warm 
 expressions, or even gently checking them, should check 
 the fervour of our devotion. It is possible it may check 
 or even prevent some kind of fervour which has passed 
 for devotion. Possibly it may prevent loud shouting, 
 horrid, unnatural screaming, repeating the same words 
 twenty or thirty times, jumping two or three feet high, 
 and throwing the arms or legs about, boih of men and 
 women, shocking not only to religion, but fo common 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 115 
 
 These meetings in America originated with the 
 Presbyterians in the Western States; and the 
 most remarkable instances of these phenomena 
 occurred among them, at these vast forest gather- 
 ings. "Violent opposers were sometimes seized 
 by a mysterious power which agitated them from 
 head to foot ; men with imprecations upon their 
 lips were suddenly smitten dc»wn. Drunkards, 
 attempting to drown the effect by liquors, could 
 not hold the bottle to their lips ; their convulsed 
 arms would drop it, or shiver it against the 
 surrounding trees. Horsemen charging upon these 
 camp-meetings to disperse them, were seized by 
 the strange affection at the very boundaries of the 
 
 decency ; but it will never check, much less prevent, true 
 Scriptural devotion." — Sermon on " Knowing Christ after 
 the Flesh!' 
 
 Dr Adam Clarke equally condemned such clamours 
 and confusion. In his Commentary on i Cor. xiv. 33, 
 he says : '' Let not the persons who act in the congre- 
 gation in this disorderly manner, say that they are under 
 the influence of God ; for He is not the author of 
 confusion : but two, or three, or more praying or teaching 
 at the same place, and at the sam°t time, is confusion ; 
 and God is not the author of such work : zsA \z\. meu 
 be aware how they attribute such disorder to the God 
 of order and peace. The Apostle calls such conduct 
 akatastasasia^ — tumult, sedition ; and such they are in 
 the sight of God, and in the sight of all good men. 
 How often is the work of God marred and discredited 
 by the folly of men ! " 
 
 
 I :-i\ 
 
 -.■it-ia 
 
110 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 worshipping circles, and were the more violently 
 shaken the more they endeavoured to resist the 
 inexplicable power. As many as five hundred 
 persons are said to have been thus affected in 
 a single congregation. The nervous affection 
 spread from one denomination to another, and 
 prevailed as an epidemic through much of the 
 valley of the Mississippi. 
 
 " Prior to the introduction of camp-meetings, 
 infidelity prevailed generally in the new States 
 of the West, the effect, to a great extent, of the 
 writings of Thomas Paine, and of his great per- 
 sonal influence in America during the then recent 
 revolutionary struggle. Many wise as well as 
 devout men, who witnessed the results of these 
 meetings, believed that they were a providential 
 provision for the counteraction of the deism and 
 corruption which seemed to threaten with utter 
 demoralization that vast country — the seat of 
 future and gigantic States — and that the astonish- 
 ing physical phenomena which attended them 
 were a necessary means of arresting the popular 
 attention. The 'great revival' which followed, 
 and which swept over the whole valley of the 
 Mississippi, unquestionably broke down the pre- 
 valent deism, and opened the way for the most 
 rapid religious development recorded in the 
 history of any modern people."* 
 
 * Stevens' History of Methodism, Vol. II., pp. 425, 426 ; 
 and Dr. Bangs' Life and Times, pp. 149, 150. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 117 
 
 Perhaps one illustration of similar work iu 
 Canada may be given, from an account of the 
 ** first camp-meeting iu Canada, which took place 
 iu 1803, in Adolphustown, where the first Metho- 
 dist class in the province was organized in 17&0, 
 by its first Methodist preacher, William Losee, 
 and its first Methodist chapel erected in 1792. 
 Camp-meetings had been extensively held in the 
 Western States for about five years. They 
 originated among the Presbyterians. They seemed 
 justified by the necessities of the frontier, where 
 there were few chapels, and where, after the 
 harvests, the settlers could travel considerable 
 distances from home, and avail themselves of 
 a week of camp-life for religious instruction and 
 social intercourse." The first camp-meeting in 
 Canada appeared to Dr. Bangs a salient fact in 
 the history of Canadian Methodism. He there- 
 fore made particular notes of it. 
 
 "Its announcement beforehand excited great 
 interest far and near. Whole families prepared 
 for a pilgrimage to the ground. Processions of 
 waggons and foot passengers wended their way 
 to the place of assemblage. With two of his 
 fellow-evangelists, Dr. Bangs had to take his 
 course from a remote appointment, through a 
 range of forest thirty miles in extent. They 
 hastened forward, conversing on religious themes, 
 praying and singing, and eager with expectation 
 
 « i,^ 
 
 I- 
 
 ■rM 
 
 
 Tl 
 
 
 
118 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 for the moral battle-scene about to open. The^ 
 arrived, in time to commence the meeting, on 
 Friday, the 27th of September, though only about 
 two hundred and fifty people had yet reached 
 the ground. The exercises commenced with sing- 
 ing, prayer, and a short sermon on the text, 
 * Brethren, pray.' Several exhortations followed ; 
 and after an intermission of about twenty minutes 
 another sermon was delivered on 'Christy our 
 Wisdom, Bighteousness, Sanctification, and Ee- 
 demption.' Some lively exhortations followed, 
 and the Spirit of the Lord seemed to move 
 among the people. After an interruption of an 
 hour and a-half, a prayer-meeting was held, 
 and towards its close the power of God descended 
 on the assembly, and song? of victory and praise 
 resounded through the forest. During this day 
 six persons passed from death unto life. 
 
 "At five o'clock Saturday morning a prayer- 
 meeting was held, and at ten o'clock a sermon 
 was preached on the words, 'My people are 
 destroyed for lack of knowledge.' At this time 
 the congregation had increased to perhaps twenty- 
 five hundred, and the people of God were seated 
 together on logs near the stand, while a crowd 
 were standing in a semicircle around them. 
 During the sermon I felt an unusual sense of the 
 Divine presence, and thought I could see a cloud 
 of the Divine glory resting upon the congregation. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 119 
 
 At the cluse of the sermon I sprang to mj feet, 
 and immediately descended from the stand 
 among the hearers. The rest of the preachers all 
 spontaneously followed me, and we went among 
 the people exhorting the impenitent and com- 
 forting the distressed ; for while Christians were 
 'filled with joy unspeakahle and full of glory/ 
 many a sinner was weeping and praying in the 
 surrounding crowd. These we collected together 
 in little groups, and we exhorted God's people to 
 join in prayer for them. 0, what a scene of 
 prayer and tears was this 1 I suppose that not 
 less than a dozen little praying circles were thus 
 formed in the course of a few minutes. It was 
 truly affecting to see parents weeping over 
 their children, neighbours exhorting their uncon- 
 verted neighbours to repent, while all, old and 
 young, were awe-struck. This meeting resulted 
 in some forty conversions. 
 
 ** On Sabbath morning, as the natural sun arose 
 in splendour, darting his rays through the forest, 
 we presented ourselves before its Maker, and 
 poured out our songs of thanksgiving to the 
 Lord of the universe. We felt that our early 
 sacrifice was accepted, for the * Sun of Righteous- 
 ness ' shone upon our souls, and made all within 
 us rejoice. 
 
 ''After breakfast, a host being now on the 
 ground, we held a love-feast. The interest and 
 
 ■y::X', 
 
120 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 excitement were so great, and the crowd so large, 
 that while some assembled around the stand, 
 a preacher mounted a waggon at a distance and 
 addressed a separate congregation. The impres- 
 sion of the Word was universal ; tlie power of 
 the Spirit was manifest throughout the encamp- 
 ment, and almost every tent was a scene of 
 prayer. 
 
 " At noon the Lord's Supper was administered 
 to multitudes, while other multitudes looked on 
 with astonishment and tears. After the sacra- 
 ment, a young woman, of fashionable and high 
 position in society, was smitten down, and with 
 sobs entreated the prayers of the people. Her 
 sister forced her away. A preacher went forth 
 without the camp, and led .them both back, 
 followed by quite a procession of their friends ; 
 a circle w as formed about them, and we sang and 
 prayed. The unawakened sister was soon upon 
 her knees praying in. agony, and was first con- 
 verted; the other quickly after received the peace 
 of God, and they wept and rejoiced together."* 
 
 * Stevens' Life and Times of Dr. Bangs, pp. 150-154. 
 
 Dr. Bangs gives an account of a remarkable con- 
 version, but in the more quiet and ordinary way : 
 
 " In Oxford, Major Ingersoll, to whom I was first 
 introduced, was a Universalist ; and told me, on my 
 first visit, that he was an unbeliever in the doctrine 
 of depravity ; that he never had himself a depraved 
 heart. *This assertion,' said I, 'is a sure sign that you 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 121 
 
 As to the philosophy of these revivals of reli- 
 gion, and the extraordinary circumstances con- 
 nected with some of them, little need be added 
 to the reasonings of Messrs. Wesley and Watson 
 in the quotations from their writings made in 
 the former part of this paper. I will therefore 
 only subjoin a few remarks. 
 
 never knew your heart.' On my second visit, I found 
 him sitting in his chair, with his head inclined on his 
 hands. He looked up to me and said, 'O, what a 
 depraved heart I have!' ' Ay !* said I, 'have you dis- 
 covered that fact at last ? ' * Yes, indeed,' he replied ; 
 'what shall I do to be saved?' 'Surrender up to God, 
 by faith in Christ, and He will give you a new heart 
 and renew a right spirit within you.' He did so, and 
 , found the promise verified. He, his wife, who was a 
 v^y sensible and amiable woman, his two daughters, 
 together with the husband of one of them, were soon 
 converted and joined the Church ; and the good work 
 quickly spread through the neighbourhood, sweeping 
 all before it. In this way the revival prevailed in both 
 these places, so that large and flourishing societies were 
 established, and no less than six preachers were raised 
 up. The reformation extended through many settle- 
 ments, particularly Oxford, where large numbers were 
 'turned from darkness to light.'"— /J., pp. 84,85. 
 
 More than thirty years later. Dr. Bangs, while travel- 
 ling through the State of New York, wrote a private 
 letter, now before me : 
 
 "On my way in the canal boat, a young preacher 
 introduced himself to me, and asked if I remembered 
 one Hitchcock, who lived in the township of Oxford, 
 
 % 
 
 , .4*1 
 
 '1^ 
 
122 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 1. These extraordinary physical phenomena of 
 religious revivals or excitements first occurred 
 Jong before the time of Wesley himself. They 
 occurred in the mediaeval ages in the Boman 
 Church, on the Continent, and in Scotland.* 
 
 in Upper Canada, about thirty-four ye?rs ago ? I repliedi 
 Yes, very well.' * I am,' said he, * his son.' 
 " His father and mother were converted under my 
 ministry on the first circuit I ever travelled, and were 
 soon married together, and here was their son, a minister ! 
 This circumstance brought a thousand pleasant recol- 
 lections to my mind, and made me thank God and take 
 courage. The grandfather of this youth was a Univer- 
 salist, a Major IngersoU, to whom I had a letter of 
 introduction in a new place where I went to preach. 
 Himself, wife, and two of his daughters were soon con- 
 verted and joined our Church ; and now here is one of 
 the third generation in the itinerant field ! I thought I 
 should pray and preach with greater fervour than ever,'' 
 — Ii.f p. 85, in a note. 
 
 * In ** Historical Collections relating to Remarkable 
 Periods of the Success of the Gospel, and Eminent 
 Instruments employed in Promoting It," compiled by 
 the Rev. Dr. Gillies, one of the ministers of Glasgow, 
 published in lys^t* accounts are given of the rapid con- 
 quests of the Gospel in less than forty years after the 
 Reformation in Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland, 
 Denmark, and the Low Countries, v/itl; Britain and 
 Ireland ; in which, says Dr. Gillies^ these things are 
 observable : 
 
 *^ I. How the truth of the Gospel then came * not in 
 word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and in 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 123 
 
 President Edwards has recorded many of them in 
 his accounts of the great awakening in New 
 England; and they were known in New Jersey 
 before Whitfield's arrival there. 
 
 much assurance ; ' assurance of faith and understanding 
 of the truth, and with that seal of the greatest enlarge- 
 ment of comfort ; so as receiving the word in much 
 affliction was with joy in the Holy Ghost 2. That in 
 this hlessed Reformed religion, the Church did receive 
 the Spirit, and an innumerable company in these last 
 ages were sealed thereby, which is the undoubted seal 
 and attestation from the Lord of His own truth and 
 doctrine, so expressly promised to the Church under 
 the New Testament. 3. That after this blessed day once 
 began to dawn, and the Lord did so visibly rend the 
 heavens, and caused the mountains to flow at His pre- 
 sence, with so solemn a downpouring of the Spirit follow- 
 ing the Gospel, as there could be no standing before 
 it, but cities and nations were subjected to so marvellous 
 a power, to the embracing of the truth. 4. That this 
 great wo* i of God was not for a short time, but for 
 mai;v ve.'its. Wherever the truth came, it did most 
 4is .frnibly accompany the same, not only to affect and 
 coi7«ince, by some transient flash upon the spirits of 
 mei, but to that solid and e(.>..wual change as visibly 
 transformed them into that blessed image ot Christ, by 
 the spirit of holiness, so as it was given, both to believe 
 and suffer for His name." 
 
 "I must hers instance a solemn and extraordinary 
 outpouring of the S^nrit, about the year 1625, and attcr- 
 wards, in the wcsi </j Scrtknd. This, by the profane 
 rabble, was c&i'.:d U* Stewarton sickness ; for in that 
 parish first, but i<^u^wa\'d Jurough much of that country^ 
 
 ■"■IS 
 
124 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 2. Though arising, directly or indirectly, from 
 leligious causes, these phenomena are themselves 
 physical affections; they have not always been 
 foUowed by a religious life ; they are no criterion 
 of a genuine conversion, the proof of which must 
 be sought in its fruits ; and the most devout men 
 have not been most under their influence. 
 
 particularly at Irvine, under the ministry of Mr. DicV n, 
 it was remarkable ; where it can be said (which div ^rs 
 ministers and Christians yet alive can witness) that, for 
 a considerable time, few Sabbaths did pass away w.'thout 
 some evidently converted, or some convincing proofs of 
 the power of God accompanying His Word ; yea, that 
 many were so taken by the heart, that, through terror, 
 the Spirit in such measure convincing them of sin, in 
 hearing of the Word they have been made to fall over, 
 and were carried out of the church; who afterward 
 proved the most solid and lively Christians." — "The 
 famous Stewarton sickness was begun about the year 
 1630, and spread from house to house for many miles in 
 the strath where Stewarton water flows, on both sides of 
 it. Serious, practical religion flourished mightily in the 
 west of Scotland about this time. 
 
 ** I must mention that solemn communion of the 
 Kirk of Shott's, June 20, 1630, at which there was so 
 convincing an appearance of God, and downpouring of 
 the Spirit, even in an extraordinary way, that did follow 
 the ordinances, especially that sermon on the Monday, 
 June 21, with a strange unusual motion on the hearers, 
 who in a great multitude were then convinced of divtrs 
 ranks, that it was known, which I can speak on sure 
 ground, mar fivi hundred had at that ti'n a dis* 
 
 i 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 125 
 
 3. Tbey have not been identified with any dis- 
 eased affections ; nor have they been followed by 
 any morbid physical effects, or even exhaustion, 
 though they have been known to continue some 
 days without motion, food or drink. 
 
 cernible change wrought on them, of whom most proved 
 lively Christians afterwards." 
 
 Sir Henry Moncrief Welwood, Bart, in his Life of 
 John Erskine, D.D., states, among many others, the 
 following facts : 
 
 "In the following winter (174 1-2), very remarkable 
 impressions were observed in the congregation of Cam- 
 berslong, under the ministry of Mr. McCulloch, the 
 pastor of that parish — a man of genuine piety and 
 considerable capacity, but is said to have had nothing 
 particularly striking either in the manner or substance of 
 his preaching. His hearers, in considerable numbers, 
 wfere on different occasions so violently agitated while he 
 preached on the Christian doctrine of regeneration, as to 
 fall down, in the midst of the multitude, under visible 
 Paroxysms of bodily agony T — " The same visible agita- 
 tions among the people were continued during the whole 
 course of the winter, and his labours and solicitudes 
 were never relaxed The effect of his labours became 
 every day more visible and extensive. 
 
 ''Similar effects began to appear at Kilsyth, in the 
 barony parish of Glasgow, and in some other adjacent 
 parishes." — " From this time the multitudes who assem- 
 bled were more numerous than they had ever been, or 
 perhaps than any congregations which had ever assem- 
 bled in Scotland ; the religious impressions made on the 
 people were apparently much greater and more general ^ 
 and the visible convulsive agitations, which accom- 
 
 
 rV 
 
 **M 
 
 M 
 
 ■ m 
 
 ;i: 
 
126 
 
 CANADUN METHODISSL 
 
 4. Though the power of the work of grace 
 either in a revival of religion, or in individual 
 conversion, does not consist in these phenomena ; 
 yet their presence is not a proof that a deep and 
 extraordinary work and revival of religion is not 
 beixi ; wrought in the hearts of men by the Spirit 
 of G . .d that it is not a season of refreshing 
 from th.3 ^ 'esence of the Lord. Conversion is an 
 individual work, operating upon each heart separ- 
 ately, as much as if there were no other heart in 
 the universe, and evinces the particular providence 
 of God as well as the work of the Holy Spirit 
 And there is joy before the angels over one sinner 
 that repenteth. 
 
 I cannot better conclude this paper than in the 
 words of the Rev. Dr. F. W. Farrar's " life and 
 Work of St. Paul," Vol. L, Chapter x., pp. 
 198, 199 : 
 
 ** In the course of human lives there have been 
 other spiritual crises analogous to this in their 
 startling suddenness and absolute finality. To 
 many, the resurrection from the death of sin is 
 
 panied them exceeded anything of the kind which had 
 yet been observed. Whatever opinion we may form of 
 the source of those extraordinary effects, it is, at least, a 
 most remarkable fact that in this period they were 
 neither confined to any one district of country, nor were 
 they exclusively connected with the ministry of any 
 individuals."— ^iV Henry Moncruf\WilwootPs Ufa oj 
 John Erskine^ D.D. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 127 
 
 a slow and life-long process ; but others pass with 
 one thrill of conviction, with one spasm of energy, 
 from death to life, from the power of Satan unto 
 God. Such moments crowd eternity into an hour, 
 and stretch an hour into eternity. 
 
 * At sucb hours 
 Of inspiration fiom the living God^ 
 Thought is not' 
 
 ** When God's awful warnings bum before the 
 soul in letters of flame, it can read them Indeed, 
 and know their meaning to the very uttermost ; 
 but it does not know, and does not care, whether 
 it was Perez or Upharsin that was written on the 
 wall. The utterances of the Eternal Sybil are 
 inscribed on records scattered and multitudinous 
 as are the forest leaves. As the anatomist may 
 dissect every joint and lay bare every nerve of 
 the organism, yet be infinitely distant from any 
 discovery of the principle of life, so the critic 
 and grammarian may decipher the dim syllables 
 and wrangle about the disputed discrepancies; 
 but it is not theirs to interpret. If we would in 
 truth understand such experiences, the records of 
 them must be read by a light that never was on 
 land or sea. 
 
 ** Saul rose another man : he had fallen in death, 
 he rose in life; he had fallen in the midst of 
 things temporal, he rose in awful consciousness 
 
 AS 
 
 
 /Its 
 
 '*vi 
 
128 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ¥ '< 
 
 of things eternal ; he had fallen a proud, intoler- 
 ant, persecuting Jew ; he rose a humble, broken- 
 hearted, penitent Christian. In that moment a 
 new element had been added to his being. Hence- 
 forth — to use his own deep and dominant expres- 
 sion—he was ' in Christ' God had found him, 
 Jesus had spoken to him, and in one flash had 
 changed him from a raging Pharisee into a true 
 disciple— from the murderer of the saints into 
 t.L.' Apostle of the Gentiles. It was a new birth 
 — a new creation." * 
 
 * Fairav s Life and Work of St. Paul, Vol. I., Chap. 
 «•> PP« iy^> '99* (Conversion of St. Paul) 
 
 ! n 
 
QiLNADUN METH0DI8BL 
 
 129 
 
 ESSAY V. 
 
 UZTHODISM THE PIONEER OF CI7IL AND RELiaiOUS 
 LIBERTY IN UPPER CANADA; COMMENCEMENT OF 
 THE CLERQT RESERVES CONTROVERSY. 
 
 ^F Methodism was the first ministry of re- 
 ligious instruction and spiritual freedom to 
 the first Canadian settlers ; if, under its minis- 
 trations, men were freed from the slavery of vice 
 in every form, and made virtuous, moral, religious 
 citizens — were turned from darkness unto light, 
 and made partakers of the glorious liberty of the 
 sons of God; so also was Methodism the pre- 
 cursor, the pioneer, the first and most effective 
 promoter of civil and religious liberty for the 
 entire country. The early Methodist preachers 
 did not interfere with politics ; I can find no in- 
 stance of it in the whole of their history ; but 
 they taught doctrines which lay at the foundation 
 of a country's freedom, and without which no 
 country has ever been free. They preached the 
 Gospel of Christ in its purity, fulness, and power ; 
 and a late writer has well observed, "Christ's 
 Gospel did not promise political freedom, yet it 
 9 
 
 
 I'- 
 
 n 
 
 
 1 
 
130 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISIL ' 
 
 gave it: more surely than conqueror, reformer, 
 patriot, that Gospel will bring about true liberty 
 at last This, not by theories, nor by schemes of 
 constitutions, but by the revelations of truths." 
 (F. W. Robertson.) 
 
 There is a fourfold truth which lies at the 
 foundation of all other truths of the Bible, and 
 which involves the first elements of civil freedom. 
 
 First, God is a Spirit, the Creator and. Preserver 
 of all mankind ; and the counterpart of that truth, 
 each human being is the child of God by creation 
 " The rich and the poor meet together ; the Lord 
 is the Maker of them all." *' We are also His off- 
 spring." "God, that made the world, and aU 
 things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven 
 and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with 
 hands, . . and hath made of one hlood all nations of 
 men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth." 
 In the sunlight of these inspired words (words 
 not found in the philosophy or any writings of 
 the Greeks or Bomans) on the grand truth of 
 creation, we have the glorious doctrines of the 
 universal fatherhood of God, and the universal 
 brotherhood of man, in the presence of which all 
 earthly distinctions of title, of rank, of attain- 
 ments, of age, of nations, disappear, and the uni- 
 versal equality of mankind — the foe of despotism 
 and tyranny — stands forth as the basis and pledge 
 of universal freedom. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 131 
 
 In connection with this twofold truth of crea- 
 tion, take the twofold truth of redemption. Jesus 
 Christ has tasted death for every man ; and hy 
 His teaching and resurrection, has revealed and 
 demonstrated man's immortality, and hath given 
 ** the manifestation of the Spirit to every man to 
 profit withal** — proofs and teachings suited to 
 all understandings — sealed by the blood and con- 
 firmed by the resui-rectiou of our common Lord 
 and Saviour. 
 
 The universality of man's redemption commen- 
 surate with that of his creation, imparts by the 
 riches of Divine grace to every human being the 
 right of access to all the nobility and privileges 
 of " heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ." 
 
 Before these fundamental and sublime truths 
 of revelation — God our Creator, and all we His 
 children; Christ our Eedeemcr, and all we His 
 redeemed, and redeemed for immortality to an 
 equality with the angels —how are all mankind, 
 and every man, enfranchised with the rights of 
 an equal freedom and diguified with the grandeur 
 of more than angelic glory I 
 
 It is unhappily the case that these great 
 truths have been mutilated, separated from each 
 other, placed one against the other, perverted and 
 abused by the mental narrowness, cupidity, and 
 ambition of men, as have been other truths of 
 BevelatioD, and many of the greatest bounties of 
 
 
 ♦ ■ "-is 
 
 
 . i>2 
 
 
 
 , Si. 
 
f 
 
 132 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ^1 
 
 Providence, to the oppression and enslavement of 
 their fellow-men ; but the perversion and Abuse 
 of truths or blessings does not change their 
 nature or lessen their value. Wherever these 
 truths have been proclaimed in their reality and 
 fulness, and the Book which teaches them has 
 been an open book to all interested in them, there 
 have communities and peoples risen, or are rising, 
 to the manhood of true civil freedom ; while all 
 other communities and peoples who are untaught, 
 or perverted, and the book which teaches them is 
 a prohibited book, are bound by the claims of 
 despotism, or scarred by the manacles of tyranny. 
 It is also true that wherever the universality 
 of the atonement has been denied, and its saving 
 benefits shrivelled to a small portion of mankind 
 — the unconditionally elect from all eternity, and 
 the rest, the great majority, of the human race, 
 left unconditionally and eternally reprobate — 
 there the principles of universal freedom, or even 
 of toleration, have neither been practised nor un- 
 derstood, as witness the grinding and persecuting 
 government of Calvin in Geneva and of the Puri- 
 tans in Massachusetts Bay, against all reprobates. 
 The doctrine of the Papacy which exalts one 
 man and his delegates above all other men, assum- 
 ing to possess the keys of the kingdom of heaven, 
 to lock and unlock at pleasure, and the doctrine 
 that the eternal blessings of the atonement are 
 
'm 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 133 
 
 limited to the few elected from all eternity, to the 
 exclusion of all others of the human race, are 
 equally incompatible with the principles of equal 
 rights and freedom amon/^ any people. But the 
 Methodist preachers preached throughout the land 
 that " God is no respecter of persons," and that 
 " Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all men, especially 
 of them that believe ; " and they made the wilder- 
 ness resound, from one extremity of Canada to 
 the other, with the doctrine and song— 
 
 ** Lord, I believe were sinners more 
 
 , Than sands upon the ocean shore. 
 
 Thou hast for all a ransom paid. 
 
 For all a full atonement made." 
 
 With this doctrine the whole country (with a 
 few individual exceptions) became leavened at an 
 early period, whether connected with Methodism 
 in Church fellowship or not, and espoused the cause 
 of equal rights and privileges before the law by all 
 classes of citizens, whenever opportunity offered. 
 The doctrine of universal equality before the law 
 was the natural result of the do^^'^^'ne of universal 
 equality before God in both crti*v;iou and redemp- 
 tion ; and with the Bible in their hands, recom- 
 mending its circulation and reading among the 
 people, early Metliodist preachers desired and 
 prayed that all classes might enjoy the rights and 
 privileges which they claimed and exercised for 
 
 . ?3 
 
 • ^m 
 
 ■I 
 
134 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I ! 
 
 ! 
 
 themselves. It was thus that the principles, of 
 equal religious rights and liberty became grounded 
 in the public mind of the country far bey ' the 
 nominal limits of the religious denomination 
 that first taus(ht them, and long before the ques- 
 tion itself became a subject of newspaper dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 In this the early Methodist preachers in Can- 
 ada were the true followers of the Divine 
 Founder of our holy Christianity and of His first 
 apostles — being themselves of the common people, 
 and sympathizing with them in all their wants 
 and privations. The late Rev. Dr. Spr y, of 
 New York, has justly observed : " It is r< 'ced 
 of the Divine Founder of the Christian faith, that 
 the ' common people heard Him gladly.' He was 
 himself one of tba common people. He was 
 raised from an obscure family in Israel, and was 
 from the humbler walks of life. All His sym- 
 pathies were with the common people. He knew 
 the heart of the suffering and oppressed, and was 
 touched with the feeling of their infirmities. Of 
 the same character were His apostles, and the 
 principal teachers of His religion. And of the 
 same character do we find all their doctrines and 
 precepts. * To the poor the Gospel is preached/ 
 ' In Christ Jesus there is neither Greek nor Jew, 
 barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free.' *The 
 cultivated heathen,' says Tholuck, ' were o£fended 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 135 
 
 at Christianity precisely for this reason, that the 
 higher classes could no longer have precedence of 
 the common people.* " * 
 
 ♦ Obligations of thi World to the Bible. Lecture IV., 
 pp. 113, 114. 
 
 " It is worthy of remark, that the Bible recognizes and 
 maintains the only principle on which it is possible for 
 a nation ever to enjoy the blessings of civil liberty. 
 That principle is, that all that is valuable in the insti- 
 tutions of civil liberty y rests on the character which the 
 people sustain as citizens. The fear of God is the 
 foundation of political freedom. 
 
 ' He is the freeman whom the truth makes free, 
 And all are slaves beside.' 
 
 Bad men cannot be good citizens. It is impossible 
 that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation 
 of freemen. It is when a people forget God, that 
 tyrants forge their chains. The principles of liberty and 
 the principles of the Bible are most exactly coincident. 
 A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public con- 
 science, is incompatible with freedom. Nothing short 
 of the strong influence ot that system of tiiith which 
 God has revealed from heaven is competent so to 
 guide, moderate and preserve the balance between the 
 conflicting interests and passions of men, as to prepare 
 them for the blessings of free government. Holland 
 was free, as long as she was virtuous. She was a flourish* 
 ing republic ; she produced great and enlightened states* 
 men, until she became corrupt, and infldelity spoiled her 
 of her glory. France would have become free on the 
 accession of her citizen king, but for the radical deficiency 
 of her moral virtue. When the distinguished Perrier, 
 
 •'■,'i*;iS 
 
 
 .4.;.^ 
 
 !*<j 
 
 
136 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 '^ 
 
 Hi 
 
 ! t 
 
 It was thus that the early Methodist preachers 
 — almost the only ministers of religion in the 
 country — sprung from and sympathizing with the 
 common people, traversed every county and new 
 settled township of the land, holding forth the 
 Bible as the only infallible rule of faith and prac- 
 
 who succeeded La Fayette in the office of Prime Minister 
 to Louis Philippe, was on his death-bed, he exclaimed 
 with great emphasis and fervour, La France doit avoir 
 unc religion^ 'France must have a religion/ Liberty 
 cannot exist without morality, nor morality without the 
 religion of the Bible. It is a nation's love of law, its 
 love of wise and benevolent institutions, its attachment 
 to the public weal, its peaceful and benevolent spirit^ its 
 love of virtue, and these alone, can make it free. Take 
 these away, and there must be tyrants in their place. 
 I hold no axiom more true or more important than this, 
 that man must be governed by truih or by despotic power. 
 As soon as a nation becomes corrupt, her liberties degen- 
 erate into faction ; and then nothing short of the strong 
 arm of des^potism will restrain the passions of men, and 
 control their selfishness, their love of gold, their thirst for 
 domination, and their brutal licentiousness. The Bible 
 alone is the source of that high-toned moral principle 
 , which is necessary to all classes, in all their intercourse, 
 for the exercise of their rights and the enjoyment of all 
 their privileges. Without it rulers become tyrants, and 
 the people are fitted only for servitude, or anarchy. 
 Without it there is no such thing as an intelligent, lofty, 
 honourable, and disinterested character. Nothing else 
 is capable of combining a nation into one great brother- 
 hood—annihilating its divisions — quenching its hate — 
 
CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 137 
 
 fcice — 1> e Magna Charta of a people's rights and 
 liberties — teaching from day to day, and from 
 house to house, those first truths of faith, of 
 morality, of order and of freedom, and thus per- 
 meating the entire population, from parents to 
 children, from neighbours to neighbours, with 
 principles which have developed into the noblest 
 
 ''"^M 
 
 destroying its spirit of party — bringing all parts with all 
 their jarring interests into one great whole. Nothing 
 will rightly control its suffrages ; send up salutary influ- 
 ence into its Senate Chamber : diffuse its power through 
 all ranks of office : direct learning and laws ; act on 
 commerce and the arts, and spread that hallowed influ- 
 ence through every department of society that shall 
 render its liberties perpetual. Statesmen may be slow 
 to learn from the liible ; but they will nowhere find 
 their interests so watchfully protected and their liberties 
 defended with such ability and so many counsels of wis- 
 dom. The designs of the ambitious and intriguing, the 
 artifices of demagogues, the usurpations of power, the 
 corrupting influences of high places, and the punishment 
 of political delusion, all find the prototype and antidote 
 in the principles, prophecies, biography and history of 
 the Lible. ♦ *■ ♦ We shall be a free people, only as 
 we remain a Christ'in people. If a low and degraded 
 infidelity should ever succeed in its already begun en- 
 terprise of sending up from the whole face of this land 
 her poisonous exhalations, and the youth of our country 
 become regardless of the God of their fathers ; men in 
 other lands, who hav2 been watching for our downfall, 
 will in a few short years enrol us on the catalogue of 
 enslaved nations." — /^., 120-123. 
 
 «i, 
 
138 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 elements of Canadian character and institu- 
 tions. 
 
 Montesquieu, one of the most profound and 
 candid French essayists of the last century, has 
 remarked : " Christianity is a stranger to despotic 
 power." De Tocqueville, a French ^^-^tesman and 
 elegant writer of the present centUiy, after travel- 
 ling in England and America, says : " The religion 
 which declares that all men are equal in th ? sight 
 of God, will not refuse to acknowledge that all 
 citizens are equal in the eye of the law." — 
 " Religion is the companion of liberty in all its 
 battles and all its conflicts ; the cradle of its in- 
 fancy and the divine source of its claims." 
 
 But the influence of Methodism as the pioneer 
 of civil and religious liberty in Canada arose not 
 only from its teaching the fundamental truths of 
 religion — especially the doctrine of universal re- 
 demption and its collateral truths, but in its 
 earnest appeals, in a.l its ministrations, to the 
 Holy Scriptures as the only source of authority 
 in matters of religion ; on every man's undeniable 
 and inviolable right of private judgment in all 
 matters of religious faith and duty, irrespective of 
 the civil governmental authority, whether of Pope 
 or King or President; and consequently on the 
 great principle that religion being a spiritual 
 system of inspired truth, must be promoted only 
 by moral and spiritual intiuences, and not by the 
 
 ij ■'.* 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 139 
 
 coercion of civil government or legal statute, by 
 pains and penalties, wliicli do not reach the heart, 
 or conscience, or understanding. 
 
 It was not the practice of the Methodist 
 preachers to deliver formal theses on these sub- 
 jects, but they constituted the warp and woof of 
 all their teachings, as the writer well recollects in 
 listening to their ministrations in the days of his 
 boyhood and youth — they thus being not the 
 heralds of salvation to an otherwise religiously 
 destitute people, but the harbinger-voices in the 
 wilderness for the coming struggles of religious 
 right against religious proscriptions, of equal 
 political freedom against class political exclusion 
 — the day-star of the sunlight of civil and re- 
 ligious liberty which was, in a few short years, 
 to shine with impartial and unclouded splendour 
 upon the entire population of Upper Canada. 
 
 But the dawn of that day of equal religious 
 and civil liberty was accompanied with clouds 
 and storms which agitated all classes of society, 
 and which developed into an entire change of the 
 relations of different Christian persuasions and 
 in the whole system of government in Upper 
 Canada. ThesA great religious, social, and con- 
 stitutional changes were involved in what has 
 been known as the " Clergy Reserve Controversy" 
 — which will be the subject of my next essay. 
 
 In the meantime, I think it proper to devote 
 
 
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 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 :! 
 iii 
 
 the rest of this essay to the preliminaries of that 
 great contest. 
 
 It was assumed and avowed by the leading 
 clergy of the Church of England, that that Church 
 was tho Established Church not only of England 
 and Ireland, but of the empire, and that the 
 clergy of that Church were alone duly authorized 
 to preach the Gospel, and administer the sacra- 
 ments and ordinances of religion. This doctrine, 
 or rather pretension, excluded all ministers and 
 members of all Christian persuasions but Episco- 
 palians from even the pale of the Christian 
 Church. In maintenance of such pretension, not 
 only was the one-seventh of the public lands of 
 the province claimed for the support of the clergy 
 of the Church of England, but earnest applica- 
 tions were made to the Propagation Society and 
 Parliament in England for large additional sup- 
 port. It was with this view that the venerable 
 Archdeacon of York — the late Eight Eevereud 
 Dr. Strachan, then and long afterwards, until his 
 decease at the age of ninety years, as the lirst 
 Bishop of Toronto, the acknowledged head of the 
 Church of England in Upper Canada — prepared 
 and delivered a sermon, the 3rd day of July, 
 1825, on the death of the Bishop of Quebec (Dr. 
 Mountain) — the diocese of Quebec then embracing 
 all Upper as well as Lower Canada. In this dis- 
 course, of remarkable ability, the history of the 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 141 
 
 .v« 
 
 Church of England, from the beginning, was 
 traced, and the obstacles and difficulties which it 
 encountered, with an earnest appeal to the British 
 Parliament and Propagation Society in England 
 for grants to support and extend the Church of 
 England in Upper Canada. The sermon was 
 evidently intended more for England than for 
 Canada; it was not printed until the spring of 
 182G, on the eve of its author's departure for Eng- 
 land, in order to procure large additional supplies 
 and a University Charter for the Church of Eng- 
 land, endowed out of the public lands of Upper 
 Canada. A copy of this plausible and able dis* 
 course fell into the hands of a member of the 
 Methodist Church, and he brought it to a social 
 and religious meeting of its principal members, 
 who assembled once a month for social and devo- 
 tional purposes, on the meeting of their two 
 preachers after their three weeks* tour of eleven 
 townships, west, north, and east of the town, 
 preaching each two Sabbaths out of four in the 
 town. At one of these social meetings, the dis- 
 course of the Archdeacon of York was read, con- 
 taining attacks on different religious denomin- 
 ations, but chiefly on the Methodists. It thrilled 
 the whole company, who with one voice insisted 
 that the unjust attack and misrepresentations of 
 the Archdeacon should be answered; and when 
 the question was proposed as to who should 
 
 Ml 
 
 *f I 
 
142 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 V] I 
 
 1 ! 
 
 ! 
 
 
 write the answer, the common voice points J to 
 a young preacher, who had just finished the 
 twenty-third year of his age, but not the fii-st year 
 of his probation in the Methodist ministry — the 
 youngest, though now the oldest minister of the 
 Methodist Church. He objected on the ground 
 of his youth, inexperience, etc. ; but finding his 
 remonstrances unavailing, he proposed that the 
 Superintendent of the Circuit (the late Bev. 
 James Bichardson, D.I).) and himself should each 
 write something during their next tour round the 
 Circuit ; and out of what they should both write, 
 something might be compiled that would meet 
 the case. This was assented to ; and at the next 
 monthly meeting, inquiry was made as to what 
 had been done in answer to the sermon of the 
 Archdeacon of York, when it was found that the 
 Superintendent of the Circuit had written noth- 
 ing. The junior preacher replied that he had 
 endeavoured to obey the wishes of his brethren. 
 He was pressed to read what he had written, which 
 he did with great reluctance. The effect of the 
 paper (which occupied only twenty-seven octavo 
 pages) seemed to be electrical ; and the publica- 
 tion of it was instantly demanded. The author 
 remonstrated, when one of the brethren present 
 seized him by the arms from behind, and another 
 wrested the manuscript from his hands, and said 
 he would take it to the printer. Seeing that he 
 
 i^ssaafisii 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 143 
 
 could not recover the manuscript, he said if it 
 would be returned to him he would not destroy 
 it, but revise and re-write it, and give it back to 
 his brethren to do what they pleased with it. 
 This was agreed to, and the paper, which was 
 written in April, 1826, was published, under the 
 title of " A Review of a Sermon preached by the 
 Hon. and Rev. John Strachan, D.D., at York, U. C, 
 3rd of July, 1825, on the death of the late Bishop 
 of Quebec. By a Methodist Preacher." 
 
 This " Review " produced a sensation and 
 alarm scarcely less than that of a Fenian inva- 
 sion ; it was the first publication put forth by 
 the Methodists in Upper Canada in their own 
 defence, and in Which the exclusive claims of the 
 Church of England to an ordained ministry, and 
 to the status and endowments of the Established 
 Church, were called in question, and the claims 
 of other denominations to equal rights and 
 privileges with the Church of England were de- 
 fended and maintained ; it was the sole twpic of 
 conversation, and the subject of universal ex- 
 citement in town and country. In the course of 
 a fortnight, four answers appeared in the public 
 papers to the " Review" — three of them written 
 by clergymen, and one by a layman of the 
 Church of England ; by all of whom the un- 
 known author of the " Review " was treat'^d in 
 the most contemptuous and bitter terms. By 
 
 r^* 
 
 
 s Ji 
 
 t '!' 
 
I '! 
 
 144 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 one he was called an "ignoramus;" by another, 
 "a proud boaster of his learning ;" by a third, 
 no Methodist preacher, but " a crafty politician ;'* 
 by a fourth, "a rebel and a traitor." One of 
 them retired after the first shot ; the other three 
 continued the contest for a year or more, during 
 which time the public mind became much excited. 
 Public meetings were held, at which resolutions 
 and petitions to the Legislature were adopted. 
 A Central Committee was formed in the town of 
 York, of which the late Itev. William Eyerson 
 was the animating spirit, and the late Jesse 
 Ketchum, Esq., was a most active, member. 
 This Committee sent out drafts of resolutions and 
 petitions into various parts of the country. 
 
 Thus the " Clergy Reserve Controversy " was 
 fairly inaugurated; the House of Assembly, in 
 compliance with the petitions presented, appointed 
 a Select Committee to examine into the allega- 
 tions involved. The proceedings of the House of 
 Assembly, the testimony of upwards of fifty wit- 
 nesses examined, and the report and address of 
 the House of Assembly to the King, will be 
 adduced in my next essay. In the remaining 
 pages of the present paper I will give some 
 extracts from the sermon which caused the con- 
 troversy, together with a few passages of the dis- 
 cussion which followed its publication. The 
 whole discussion, on both sides, was afterwards 
 published in a book. 
 
 ■j^i^wgmmm 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 14^; 
 
 ,^■,11 
 
 I may state at the outset that upwards of fifty 
 years have passed away since these papers were 
 written. On the reperusal of them, after the 
 lapse of 60 long a time, the impression upon my 
 own mind is, that Dr. Strachan was honest in 
 his statements and views ; but he was so wrapt 
 up in the doctrine of Episcopal S accession and 
 a Church Establishment, that he was incapable 
 of doing justice to those who differed from him, 
 or of giving a fair account of the different re- 
 ligious persuasions in the country. He was more 
 moderate and liberal in his views and feelings 
 in his later years, and became the personal friend 
 of his old antagonist, " The Eeviewer," who, he 
 said, had "fought fair." 
 
 In the course of his sermon, referring to the 
 obstacles which retarded the progress of the 
 Church of England in Canada, Dr. Strachan said : 
 
 " Even when churches are erected, the persons 
 who give regular attendance are so few as greatly 
 to discourage the minister, and his influence is 
 frequently broken or injured by numbers of un- 
 educated itinerant preachers, who, leaving their 
 usual employment, betake themselves to preaching 
 the Gospel, out of idleness, or a zeal without 
 knowledge, by which they are induced to teach 
 what they do not know, and which from their 
 pride they disdain to learn." 
 
 To this "The Eeviewer" replied: 
 
 10 
 
 ff 
 
 V 'T' 
 
 •€ 
 
146 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ! I 
 
 I ill 
 
 " With respect to the small numbers who give 
 regular attendance to the ministrations of the 
 Church of England, I am of the Doctor's opinion. 
 For I believe those instances are not very rare, 
 which compel the venerable clergyman to say, 
 with Dean Swift, ' My dearly beloved Eoger, the 
 Scripture moveth us in sundry places,' etc. And 
 as a remedy for this doleful complaint, we may 
 say with the eloquent Chalmers, 'to fill the 
 church well, we must fill the pulpit well.* 
 
 " As to the Doctor's remarks on the qualifica- 
 tions, motives, and conduct of the Methodist 
 itinerant preachers, they ara ungenerous, un- 
 founded, and false. The Methodist preachers 
 do not value themselves upon the wealth, virtues, 
 and grandeur of their ancestry ; nor do they con- 
 sider their former occupation an argument against 
 their present employment or usefulness. They 
 have learned that the * venerable ' Apostles were 
 once fishermen; that a Milner could once throw 
 the shuttle ; and that a Newton was not ashamed 
 to watch his mother's flock. By these examples, 
 ^and a hundred more, they feel themselves suffi- 
 'ciently shielded from the envious shafts of a 
 bigoted ecclesiastic. They are likewise charged 
 with * preacliing the Gospel out of idleness.'- Does 
 the Doctor claim the attribute of omniscience ? 
 Does he know what is in man ? How does he 
 know they preach * the Gospel out of idleness ? ' 
 
 
 "mmmmmmmmm 
 
OAKADUN METHODISM. 
 
 147 
 
 Let the Doctor remember that ' with what judg- 
 ment he judges, he shall be judged.' (Matt. 
 m2.) 
 
 " What does the Doctor call ' idleness ? * Not 
 the reading of one or two dry discourses on Sab- 
 bath; not the preaching to one congregation at 
 an annual income of two or three hundred 
 pounds. No ; this is hard labour, this is inde- 
 fatigable industry. Two or four hundred pounds 
 per annum is no inducement, no motive for 
 preaching the GospeL Those who labour in this 
 apostolic manner, and for this small pittance, 
 cannot be otherwise than the Wenerable suc- 
 cessors* of Apostles. Who are they, then, that 
 ' preach the Gospel out of idleness ? * Those in- 
 dolent, covetous men who travel from two to three 
 hundred miles and preach from twenty-five to 
 forty times every month. Those who, in addi- 
 tion to this, visit from house to house, and teach 
 old and young 'repentance towards God, and 
 faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.* (Acts xx. 24.) 
 Those who continue this labour year after year, 
 and are elevated with the enormous salary of £25 
 or £50 per annum ; these are the men who 
 ' preach the Gospel out of idleness.' bigotry, 
 thou parent of persecution ! envy, thou 
 fountain of slander ! covetousness, thou god 
 of injustice ! Would to Heaven ye were banished 
 from the earth I 
 
ii 
 
 
 H8 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " The Methodist preachers are said to be * un- 
 educated/ and to preach the Gospel without any 
 ' preparation/ To a collegiate education they do 
 not make pretensions. But it should not be for- 
 gotten, that there are other ways and places of 
 
 education besides the Doctor's academy at ; 
 
 and if this objection may be brought against the 
 Methodist preachers in Canada, it cannot be 
 brought against those who composed their Articles 
 and Discipline, and who formed their Constitu- 
 tion. The founders of Methodism were not in- 
 ferior to the most illustrious of their age, both in 
 the republic of letters, and in scientific knowledge 
 in general. But the Methodist preachers are not 
 destitute of learning ; nor do they undervalue it. 
 They consider it indispensably necessary to an 
 able minister of the Gospel. They go farther. 
 They say, *to human learning, we must add 
 Divine grace ; ' ' that man is not properly qualified/ 
 say they, * who can only translate some of the 
 classics, read a chapter or two in the Greek Gos- 
 pels, rehearse the Lord's Prayer and T u c r .- 
 mandments in Latin, possibly wi ^♦^ .atin ser- 
 mon; if he be destitute of that odom whic^ 
 comes down from heaven, "he caniio di^ em the 
 things of the Spirit of God." ' (1 Coi. li. 14.) 
 * Old things must pass away, and all things must 
 become new.' (2 Cor. v. 17.) St. Paul's learning, 
 though extensive, did not qualify him for the 
 
 .'™Ss1kM 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 149 
 
 ministry. His sins must be washed away, and 
 he be filled with tlio Holy Ghost. (Acts ix. 17.) 
 The Son of God was revealed in his heart before 
 he was qualified to preach Him among the 
 heathen. (Gal. i. 16.) * Learning and piety,' says 
 an able divine, ' accompanied with a consciousr 
 ness of the Divine call, constitute the accomplished 
 and able minister of Jesus Christ"* [Then 
 follows an account of the various tests and exam- 
 inations, religious, literary, and theological, 
 through which each candidate for the Methodist 
 ministry had to pass before his admission to the 
 ministry, and a vindication of the qualifications 
 of Methodist ministers for their work.] 
 
 Several pages of Dr. Strachan's sermon were 
 devoted to the wretched state of morals and the 
 want of improvements in Canada, and the very 
 serious impediments in procuring support for the 
 clergy either from England or from the Provincial 
 Legislature; in consequence of which the Lord 
 Bishop of Quebec applied to the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts to 
 increase the number of their missions in Canada. 
 " His lordship's request being favourably received," 
 says the Doctor, " the next difficulty was to pro- 
 cure clergymen. For when the Society had 
 assented to the Bishop's prayer, in as far as they 
 were able, clergymen of enlightened piety could 
 not be found willing to leave England for Canada ; 
 
 
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 f 
 
 ^ ill 
 
 ^'ii 
 
 ' ''1 
 
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mil 
 
 I 
 
 ill 
 
 I "i! 
 
 150 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 gentlemen of education and zeal refused to forsake 
 their homes, and the endearing associations of 
 early years, to come to so distant and inhospi- 
 table a colony." 
 
 On this "The Ee viewer" remarks : "If 'gentle- 
 men of enlightened piety and zeal would not 
 sacrifice their homes and the endearing associa- 
 tions of their early years * to preach the Word 
 of Life to the destitute and uncultivated inhabi- 
 tants of this colony, who would ? Would those 
 of less piety and zeal do it? If this be the 
 character of the 'gentlemen of enlightened piety 
 and zeal,' what notions are we left to entertain 
 of the great mass of the English clergy ? Can 
 these be the true followers of Him who declared 
 with the most solemn asseverations, 'if any man 
 love father or mother, wife or children, houses or 
 lands, more than me or my Gospel, he cannot be 
 my disciple?' (Luke xiv. 26.) Can these be 
 the followers of Him * who counted all things but 
 dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
 Jesus ? ' (Phil. iii. 8.) Of Him who was ' willing 
 not only to be bound at Jerusalem, but to die for 
 the Lord Jesus?* (Acts xx. 13.) Can these 
 gentlemen of ' enlightened piety and zeal ' be the 
 'venerable successors of Him who went from 
 country to country strewing His way with the 
 wrecks of Satan's kingdom ? ' We would fain 
 exculpate the enlightened and pious clergymen 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 151 
 
 of England from the indelible reproach that the 
 Doctor has cast upon them ; but we fear the task 
 would be too tedious at present." 
 
 At this time nearly ten thousand pounds ster- 
 ling were expended by the British Parliament 
 and the Propagation Society for the support of 
 the Church of England in Canada; yet the 
 Archdeacon of York demanded far larger supplies 
 to save the ChurcL of England from being swal- 
 lowed up by " sectaries," and the country from 
 becoming republican. He exclaimed, " What can 
 fifty-three clergymen do, scattered over a country 
 of greater extent than Great Britain ? Is it to 
 be wondered at that, under such circumstances, 
 the religious benefits of the ecclesiastical estab- 
 lishment of England are little known or felt, and 
 that sectaries of all descriplions are increasing on 
 every side ? And when it is considered that the 
 religious teachers of the other denominations, a 
 very respectable portion of the ministers of the 
 Church of Scotland excepted, come almost uni- 
 versally from the republican States of America, 
 where tliey gather their knowledge and form their 
 sentiments, it is quite evident that if the Imperial 
 Government does not immediately step forward 
 with efficient help, the mass of the population 
 will be nurtured and instructed in hostility to 
 our parent Church, nor will it be long till they 
 imbibe opinions anything but favourable to tbo 
 political institutions of En^rland." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 St 
 
•w 
 
 152 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ;!:i 
 
 , f 
 
 i ! 
 
 i 
 
 in 
 
 The following are some passages of ^'The 
 Reviewer's " reply to Dr. Strachan's despairing 
 exclamations and philippics against the teachers 
 of other religious denominations : 
 
 " Wci are sorry to see the Doctor reduced to 
 such a dilemma of agitation and distress ; but 
 "wo fear his recovery will not be immediate. He 
 asks, in the language of despair, "What can 
 fifty-three clergymen do, scattered over a country 
 of greater extent than Great Britain ? * For the 
 Doctor's reflection and encouragement I would 
 ask, "What did twelve apostles do in the midst of 
 an obstinate, barbarous and persecuting world ? 
 What did a Waldus do in the valleys of Pied- 
 mont ? What did a Wyclifi'e do in England ? 
 What did a Luther do in Germany ; nay, in the 
 Christian world ? What did a Wesley and his 
 contemporaries do in Europe ? What have the 
 Methodists done in America ? The most of these 
 were not endowed with miraculous gifts. Why 
 did they not cry out in the tone of discourage- 
 ment, ' What can one man do in the face of an 
 anti-christian world ?' Why did they not apply 
 to some Legislature for pecuniary aid ? Simply 
 because they had learned that * the race is not 
 to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.' (EccL 
 ix. 11.) Because they felt the force of that say- 
 ing, ' Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, 
 whose heart departeth from the living God ' (Jer. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 153 
 
 xvii. 5) ; because they knew that the victories of 
 the Cross did not owe their extension to legis- 
 lative influence and support; because they believed 
 the weapons of their warfare were not carnal, 
 but mighty through God to the pulling down 
 of strongholds (2 Cor. x. 4); because they had 
 the sword of the Spirit, which divideth asunder 
 the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the 
 thoughts and intents of the heart (Eph. vi. 17; 
 Heb. iv. 12) ; because they were convinced ' that 
 the manner of propagating the Gospel in the 
 first days of its glory, must be the most judi- 
 cious manner of propa<Tating it now.' And * ac- 
 cording to their faith it was done unto them.* 
 (Matt. ix. 29.) Let the 'venerable successors of 
 the Apostles ' in Canada go forward in the spirit 
 of Him whose residence was among the habita- 
 tions of distress and the tabernacles of the poor ; 
 let them in reality be the followers of Him who 
 'declared the whole counsel of God, in season 
 and out of season, from house to house, reproving, 
 rebuking, exhorting with all long-suffering and 
 doctrine' (Acts xx. 27; 2 Tim. iv. 2), and they 
 will soon exclaim, not in the language of apology, 
 but in the song of triumph, * What have lifty- 
 three clergymen done in the British colony of 
 Canada!* Would to God they might so do, and 
 that every house mi[';ht become a house of piajer, 
 and every heart a temple of the Holy Ghost I 
 
 
 * 
 
!ir 
 
 154 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 **One particular reason which the Doctor 
 assigns for imploring the aid of the Imperial Par- 
 liament is, that republican principles will be 
 instilled in the minds of the people by the 
 * religious teachers of other denominations, who/ 
 he says, * come almost universally from the repub- 
 lican States of America.* " 
 
 ** The Reviewer " replied to this : 
 
 ** To put the Doctor at rest on this point, and 
 to remove this cause of complaint, I remark that 
 the ' religious teachers of other denominations' do 
 not talk or think quite so much about politics as 
 does the Doctor. They have something else to 
 do. They leave others to attend to temporal 
 affairs, that they may ' give themselves to prayer, 
 and to the ministry of the Word.' (Acts vi. 4.) 
 
 " But the assertion is not true. They are not 
 republicans ; neither are they infected with repub- 
 lican principles; nor have they come 'almost 
 universally from the republican States of 
 America.' 
 
 "Seven-eighths of the teachers among dis- 
 senters are British-bom subjects. And out of the 
 whole body of Methodist itinerant preachers, who 
 seem to be the principal butt of the Doctor's 
 hatred, there are only eight who have not been 
 horn and educated in the British dominions. And 
 of those eiglit, all except two (of whom the late 
 Bev. Dr, Green was one^ have become naturalized 
 
 1^ 
 
1^ 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 155 
 
 British subjects, according to the statute of the 
 Province. 
 
 '*The hue-and-cry that 'dissenters are dis- 
 affected to the Imperial Government/ has stunned 
 the ears of almost all Europe for more than two 
 centuries. It was first raised to make dissenters 
 contribute to the support of the Establishment, 
 to increase the revenues of the clergy, and to give 
 more unlimited sway to ecclesiastical domination, 
 such as enforcing the Act of Uniformity, eta; 
 and doubtless it is for the same purpose that it has 
 been transported to America, and now continues 
 its hideous shrieks through the dreary wasteo of 
 Canada. 
 
 "Have the 'dissenters' in thia country ever 
 shown a disposition in any way hostile to the truo 
 interests of the colony? Have they not been 
 quiet in time of peace and bold in time of war ? 
 Answer, yc parents who mourn the lose of 
 patriotic sons, who yielded up the ghost on the 
 field of battle I Speak, ye fatherless children, the 
 dying groans of whose dissenting fathers pro- 
 claimed that they could die in defence ot the 
 British Constitution, and yet be unconnected with 
 a religious Establishment! Bear testimony, ye 
 disconsolate widows, whose dissenting husbands * 
 loyalty has doomed you to perpetual melancholy ! 
 Lift up your voices, ye unfortunate invalids, 
 whose lacerated limbs speak more than volumes, 
 
 
 v.» 
 
 ■;'i 
 
 
 '> 
 
 
 vii 
 
'■:■ 1 
 
 !:;■ i 
 
 i I 
 
 156 
 
 CANADIAN METIIODIS&L 
 
 that they are slanderers and liars who say that 
 the religious any more than the political dissenters 
 in Canada are not true to the ' political institu- 
 tions of England.' " 
 
 I have' given these extracts that the Methodist 
 readers of the present generation may knovf how 
 their forefathers were assailed, and through what 
 reproaches and trials they passed, and what was 
 the first attempt to defend their rights and vin- 
 dicate their character. 
 
 But " The Reviewer " was not allowed to escape 
 unscathed; his Church opponents seem to have 
 exhausted upon him the vocabulary of the English 
 language, aided by the Latin, in terms of contempt 
 and denunciation, and seemed not to allowr him a 
 place in the pale of Christendom, much less of 
 British loyalty. He was Cii a time greatly 
 depressed, finding himself against his intentions, 
 and wishes, and remonstrances, and in the first 
 year of his ministry, involved in a controversy 
 embracing the profoundest questions of ecclesias- 
 tical polity and civil government, besides the 
 character and rights of his fathers and brethren. 
 Finding that his only alternative now was to flco 
 or fight, he chose the latter; devoted a day to 
 fasting and prayer, recovered his calmness and 
 confidence, and went at his antagonist in good 
 earnest. 
 
 I will subjoin two or three passages of his 
 
 
 IBȣ! 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 157 
 
 rejoinders upon the attacks made upon him, and 
 the mode of argument employed to refute him. 
 
 It was said that the Review was the "pro- 
 digious effort of a party." "The Reviewer" 
 replied, " On this I observe, that only two 
 preachers, besides the Reviewer, knew that any- 
 thing of the kind was in contemplation till the 
 Review appeared in print; and the Reviewer 
 wrote it in less than eight days, during which 
 time he rode nearly a hundred miles, and preached 
 seven sernions." 
 
 " The Reviewer " was charged with not having 
 defined his principles ; to which he rejoined, " I 
 do not build my faith upon that of my fathers oi 
 grandfathers, but upon Jesus Christ and the 
 authority and practice of His Apostles. My 
 principles are contained in the Articles and 
 Homilies of the Church of England; in James 
 L 27, is my definition of the Christian religion ; 
 and I will substitude the 19th Article of the 
 Church of England in place of a * religious Estab- 
 lishment.' " 
 
 "The Reviewer" having been charged ftrith 
 being an alien, and having "black intentions 
 upon the Government," replied, " This is the old 
 watchword. To this I reply, that however many 
 and great objections I may have to a religious 
 Establishment in Canada, 1 have no objections 
 to the civil government. I am a British-born 
 
 I* 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 .■r.1 
 
 ''I 
 
 
 m 
 
158 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ' li 
 
 subject ; and by my paternal loyalty and personal 
 feeling, I am unwaveringly attached to the British 
 Constitution. Hence the Church of England man 
 may learn that his antagonist, whom he considers 
 to be an enemy of * God and man,' is by birth, 
 education, and attachment a truly British subject." 
 
 The several advocates of a Church Establish- 
 ment in Canada differed in their premises, though 
 they agreed in their conclusions. ** The Reviewer" 
 took advantage of this diversity, and reduced it 
 to a syllogistic form, which caused much amuse- 
 ment at the time^ and produced considerable 
 popular effect. He said : 
 
 ** That a religious establishment is essential to 
 a Christian nation, is also denied by Dr. Paley, 
 who says, * a religious establishment is no part of 
 Christianity, but a means of diffusing it* So say 
 Gisborne, Whitgift, Pretyman, and Stillingfleet. 
 But the testimony of my opponents carries its 
 own confutation, if we consider it in the light of 
 a matter of fact. 
 
 " Dr. Strachan declares that a Christian nation 
 * without an establishment is a contradiction* The 
 Brockville clergyman denies it The Kingston 
 gentleman forbids the freedom of man's unstable 
 will in religious matters. His learned predecessor 
 announces that * every man among us maintains 
 his privilege to unshackled freedom of judgment 
 in matters of religion.' Two contrary proposi- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 159 
 
 tlons cannot be true at the same time. Such are ■ 
 the harmonious sentiments of these Church mem- 
 bers, who, our Doctor assures us, ' are never 
 divided by a variety of opinions/ 
 
 "However, that their arguments may appear 
 in their true light, and have their full force on the 
 reader's mind, I will reduce them to the simple 
 syllogistic form. 
 
 ** I. (1) * A Christian nation without a religious 
 establishment is a contradiction.' 
 
 '^(2) 'The establishment is a circumstance 
 purely adventitious, and is by no means necessary 
 to the existence of the Church.' 
 
 " (3) r/wrg/ore— England ought to pay £1,103,- 
 000 per annum to support a religious establish- 
 ment 
 
 "XL (1) 'The Church of Christ must not be 
 built on mankind's unstable will' 
 
 " (2) * Every man among us maintains his 
 privilege to unshackled freedom of judgment in 
 matters religious.* 
 
 "(3) TJierefore -The King and Parliament 
 ought to make laws to prevent us from changing 
 our religious opinions. 
 
 " III. (1) * The King is declared to be the Head 
 of the Church in no sense at variance with the 
 spiritual supremacy which belongs to Christ alone.' 
 
 " (2) * The King or Queen may forbid the exer- 
 cise of the sacred commission derived fiom Christ' 
 
 ' * 
 
 j> 
 
 
 IT'-' 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 
 It !./jt» I 
 
160 
 
 CANADIAN METIIODISAL 
 
 " (3) Therefore — The King or Queen ought to 
 be the Head of the Church, seeing that He or She 
 had and yet has not a right to interfere in spiri- 
 tual matters. 
 
 "Are these the guardians of the flock of Christ 
 in this colony ? 
 
 " Infelix 6 semper ^ oves^ pecus ! " 
 
 The controversy thus inaugurated continued 
 upwards of a year, and developed into public 
 meetings, petitions to the Legislature, the appoint- 
 ment by the House of Assembly of a Select 
 Committee who examined fifty-two witnesses, 
 and reported to the House, which adopted the 
 Report and an Address to the Kng. These pro- 
 ceedings will be duly noticed in the next essay. 
 
 ji 
 
CAI^ADIAN M£THODISy. 
 
 161 
 
 USSAY VL 
 
 THB OLEBOT BESERYE CpNTROVEBST ; OB, THE CON- 
 QUEST FOB EQUAL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES AMONG 
 ALL RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS IN UPPER CANADA. 
 
 .iWN my last paper, after having shown that 
 ^ Methodism was the pioneer of civil and 
 religious liberty in Upper Canada, I stated the 
 circumstances which preceded the Clergy Reserve 
 controversy, caused by the attacks of the Arch- 
 deacon of York upon the several reli«^ious per- 
 suasions not connected with the Church of 
 England (called "Dissenters"), especially thw 
 ministers of Methodism. In reply to that dis- 
 course, The Eeviewer did not confine himself to 
 the defence of the Methodist ministers, but 
 included the ministers of other religious denomi- 
 nations, by several of whose ministers he was 
 recognized as their champion — they furnishing 
 him with all the books in their possession on the 
 questions of dispute, together with information 
 in regard to the birth and education of their 
 ministereL Among the Baptist ministers \tere 
 11 
 
162 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 the late Rev. George Barclay, of Pickering, and 
 the Rev. Alex. Stewart, of the town of York — 
 the first agent of the local Bible Society — a man 
 of general intelligence and great energy. Among 
 the Presbyterians was a congregation at Brock- 
 ville, under the pastorate of the Rev. Wm. Smart, 
 of which the late Sheriff Slierwood, of Brockville, 
 was a principal member. There was also another 
 Presbyterian congregation in Kingston, called the 
 American, of wliich the late Dr. Edward Arm- 
 strong and Marshall S. Bidwell were active 
 members. 
 
 An Act had passed the Legislature some years 
 before authorizing Lutherdin- Calvinist ministers 
 to solemnize matrimony; and the ministers of 
 the Church of Scotland and some Baptist ministers 
 qualified under this Act. This privilege conferred 
 distinction and profit upon those who possessed 
 it ; but they showed little interest in obtaining 
 for Methodist ministers the same right which 
 they enjoyed themselves. The Methodist min- 
 isters were not only denied the right of solemn- 
 izing matrimony, but the Methodist people were 
 without a law to enable them to hold a foot of 
 land on which to erecL a place of worship oc 
 in which to bury their dead. The writer of these 
 papers had to get a Presbyterian clergyman to 
 perform his marriage service — travelling twenty 
 miles for that purpose; and his elder brother. 
 
CANADIAN MKTHODISM. 
 
 163 
 
 the late Rev. John Kyerson, had to employ a 
 Church of England clergyman to perform the 
 same service at his marriage. All the Presby- 
 terian clergymen opposed the exclusive pre- 
 tensions of the Church of England to be the 
 Established Church of Canada ; but the few 
 clergymen of the Church of Scotland who had 
 been excepted in Dr. Strachan's attack upon the 
 ministers of other denominations, did not advocate 
 equal rights and privileges for all religious 
 denominations, but advocated equal status of the 
 Church of Scotland with the Church of England 
 as the Church establishment of Canada, and an 
 equal right to participate in Clergy Reserve 
 appropriations for " the support of a Protestant 
 clergy." * Many Presbyterian laymen, as well as 
 Baptists, united with the Methodists at public 
 meetings, and in adopting and signing petitions 
 
 * In the first of six k'ttcrs addressed by the venerahle 
 Archdeacon of York to the Hon. Wm. Morris, in the 
 autumn of 1837, Dr. Strachaii says : 
 
 " For a time you made common cause with other denom- 
 inations against the Established Chuich ; but since your 
 conuection with the National Church of Scotland has been 
 indirectly acknowledged by the General Assembly, you have 
 deemed it prudent to drop your former associates. You 
 have made use of them as long as they could be turned 
 to your advantage, and now you cast them off as a tattered 
 garment, and bring forward with equal violence and per* 
 tinacity a claim to an equality with tho Church of England, 
 
 • *.'* 
 
 
nh'^^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 i 
 
 i 
 
 i H 
 
 i m\ 
 
 164 
 
 CANADIAN METHOniaM. 
 
 in favour of equal rights and privileges for all 
 denominations of Christians in Upper Canada, for 
 the application of the proceeds of the Clergy 
 Reserves to purposes of education and internal 
 improvements, and against the establishment and 
 endowment, at public expense, of a university 
 under the sole control of the Church of England. 
 But the burden of that great struggle, together 
 with the reproaches, abuse, and in some instances 
 
 without any regard to the provisions of the 31 Gko. III., 
 chap. 31, or to the smdllness of your numbers." (p. 6.) 
 
 To this charge Mr. Morris replies, January 1838, as 
 follows : 
 
 *' In the whole proceeding from that day (1823) to the 
 present time, it does not appear that the members of the 
 Church of Scotland 'made common cause with other de- 
 nominations against (what you call) The Church,' but what 
 would more properly j styled the unreasonable pretensions 
 of yourself and & few other of her members. Whatever 
 yon may think of my conduct regarding the various shapes 
 in which the questions came up during the period between 
 the years 1823 and 1832, the clergy and members of the 
 Scottish Church cannot be justly said to have made com aon 
 cause with other denominations against the Reserves, foi 
 that cause was that they should be sold and the proceeds 
 applied to * education and general improvement; ' and when 
 the address to the King to that effect passed, on the 20th 
 March, 1828, the members of the yissembly of that body, 
 including your humble servant, voted against it. 
 
 "But yon say, further, for what object I cannot tell, 
 that after using the other sects for our own purposes, we 
 'cast them off like a tattered garment.' Where is the 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 165 
 
 persecutions, had to be borne by the Methodists, 
 who — laymen and ministers — were a unit in the 
 contest for equal rights and privileges in behalf 
 of all religious denominations. 
 
 It may be remarked, that the investigation was 
 not based on tli } sermon of the Archdeacon of 
 York, July, 1825, referred to in my last paper, 
 but on an official letter and chart addressed 
 by him to the Eight Hon. R J. Wilmot Horton, 
 Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, for the 
 information of Lord Goderich, Principal Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies. The letter and chart 
 were intended to procure additional grants for 
 the support of the Church of England in Canada, 
 
 proof? In what instance did the ministers and members 
 of the ucots Church act in the way you represent? If 
 my communication to Her Majesty's Government may be 
 re/?:arded as speaking the voice of the parties accused, the 
 ve. y reverse is the fact. Surely you could not have noticed 
 rvy letter to Lord Glenelg, of the 2Gth June last (1837)» 
 when you made this assertion ; for so far from ' casting 
 ofiF' the denominations you speak of, I proposed that one- 
 third part of the Clergy Reserves should be given to them I 
 And if it is an object to secure the affection and good-will 
 of all classes, the sooner this is done the better. And, 
 notwithstanding that my letter proposing such a distribution 
 of the Reserves has been some mouths before the public, I 
 have not heard any objection on the part of the Scot 
 Church to the plan I proposed." [Reply of William Morrii,^ 
 Member of the Legislative Council of Upper Caiuida, to HLx 
 Letters addressed to him by John Strachan, D.D., Archdeacon 
 if York, pp. 15, 16.) 
 
 [f (1 ' ^' ill 
 
 
 
i 
 
 
 
 '1 . ' 
 
 (• ' 
 
 166 
 
 CANADIAN MSTIIODISM 
 
 and a charter and endowment for a university. 
 The letter is dated "19 Bury Street, St. James's, 
 May 16th, 1827;" and the principal passages 
 of it are as follows : 
 
 " Sir, — I take the liberty of enclosing, for the informa- 
 tion ot Lord Goderich, an Ecclesiastical Chart of Upper 
 Canada, which I believe to be correct for the present 
 year, 1827, and from which it appears that the Church 
 of England has made considerable progress, and is 
 rapidly increasing. 
 
 " The people are coming forward in all directions, 
 offering to assist in building churches, and soliciting 
 with the greatest anxiety the establishment of a settled 
 minister. Indeed, the prospect of obtaining a respectable 
 clergyman unites neighbourhoods together ; and when 
 one is sent of a mild, conciliatory disposition, he is sure, 
 in any settlement in which he may be placed, to form 
 the respectable part of the inhabitants into an increasing 
 congregation. There are in the province 1 50 townships, 
 containing from 40 to 500 families, in each of which a 
 clergyman may be most usefully employed ; and double 
 this number will be required in less than twelve years. 
 
 "When contrasted with other denominations, the 
 Church or England need not be ashamed of the progress 
 she has made. Till 181 8, there was only one clerg>man 
 in Upper Canada, a member of the Church of Scotland. 
 This gentlem'an [Rev. Mr. Bethune] brought up his 
 tv^o sons in the Church of England, of which they are 
 now parish priests. After his death his congregation 
 was split into three divisions, which, with another 
 collected at Kingston in 1822, count four congregations 
 in all which are in communion with the Kirk of Scotland. 
 Two are at present vacant, and of the two Scotch 
 
l'^ 
 
 CANADIAN AIETIIODISM. 
 
 167 
 
 
 clergymen now in the province, one has applied for 
 holy orders in the Church of England. 
 
 " The teachers of the different denominations, with 
 the exception of two ministers of the Church of Scotland, 
 four Congregational ministers [or rather Presbyterian 
 ministers not connected with the Church of Scotland], 
 and a respectable English missionary who presides over 
 a Wesleyan Methodist meeting in Kingston, are for 
 the most part from the United States, where they 
 gather their knowledge and form their sentiments. 
 Indeed, the Methodist teachers a^-e subject to the orders 
 of the United States of America [not so, for there 
 was a Confenince in Upper Canada since 1824, con- 
 trolling and appointing all the preachers] ; and it is 
 manifest that the Colonial Government neither has nor 
 can have any other control over them, or prevent them 
 from gradually rendering a large portion of the popu- 
 lation, by their influence and instructions, hostile to our 
 institutions, civil and religious, than by increasing the 
 number of the Established clergy. 
 
 " Two assertions have been made respecting the 
 Church of England in Upper Canada, which, if correct, 
 ought certainly to have considerable influence, x'irst, 
 that the clergymen have no congregations. Now, I 
 affirm from personal knowledge, that in fifty-eight places 
 where regular or occasional service is performed, numer- 
 ous and respectable congregations assemble.* 
 
 'i ' '. 
 
 * In his sermon on the death of the first Bishop of Quebec, 
 quoted m my last paper, and printed the year before this 
 letter to Mr. Wilniot Horton was written, the Archdeacon 
 of York said, "What can fifty-three clergymen do, scattered 
 over a countrv larger than Great Britain ? Is it to be 
 wondered at that, under such circumstances, the religious 
 
 . -'-f 
 
168 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Il* 
 
 i 
 I t 
 
 "The second is, that in the House of Assembly, 
 consisting of fort)' four members, only two belong to 
 the Church of England. Now, the fact is that eighteen 
 out of forty-four profess to belong to the Church of 
 England, of the truth of which I pledge myself, and can, 
 if necessary, furnish the names ; the remaining twenty- 
 six are of various denominations, but not more than 
 three or four are Scotch Presbyterians. 
 
 " The Church of England in Canada was supported for 
 many years out of the very limited and fluctuating 
 ''evenue of the venerable Society for Promoting the 
 Gospel in Foreign Parts, which did its utmost to increase 
 the number ot the clergy ; but its means were so 
 inadequate to the demand, that it was at length obliged 
 to solicit the aid of Government to continue and extend 
 its efforts ;— accordingly a small sum in aid of its funds 
 has been for some years voted by the Imperial Parlia- 
 ment, of which Upper Canada receives a portion. How 
 inefficient this aid is to supply the increasing necessities 
 cf toe colony, has been sufficiently shown ; for the tend- 
 ency of the population is towards the Church of England, 
 and nothing but the want of moderate support prevents 
 her from spreading over the whole Province." 
 
 The Archdeacon then proceeds to give reasons 
 why the Clergy Reserves had not been more pro- 
 ductive, and concludes hit letter in the following 
 words : 
 
 " Two or three hundred clergymen living in Upper 
 Canada, in the midst of their congregations, and re- 
 
 benefits of the eccleaiastical Establiahcaent of England are 
 little known or felt, and thAt sectaries of all descriptions 
 are increasing on every side t " 
 
m 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 1G9 
 
 ceiving the greater portion of their income from funds 
 deposited in this country [England], must attach still 
 more intimately the population of the colony to the 
 Parent State. Their influence would gradually spread ; 
 they would infuse into the inhabitants a tone of feeling 
 entirely English, and acquiring by degrees the direction 
 of education, which the clergy of En^^land have always 
 possessed, the very first feelings, sentiments, and opin- 
 ions of the youth must become British." 
 
 In the Ecclesiastical Chart of Upper Canada 
 accompanying this letter, the names and places 
 of the clergy of different denominations are pro- 
 fessedly given. The number of the cleri^y of the 
 Church of England is set down as thirty-nine, 
 although only thirty-one names are given ; the 
 number of Presbyterian ministers not connected 
 with the Kirk of Scotland is stated to be six 
 -^all born and educated in Scotland or England 
 except one, the Eev. R McDowell, long a resident 
 or pastor in Bay Quinte, Midland District. The 
 number in communion with the Kirk of Scotland 
 is stated to be two, with two vacancies. In a 
 note to the Chart the Archdeacon adds : 
 
 "As the Methodists have no settled clergymen, it 
 has been found difficult to ascertain the number of 
 itinerants employed ; but it is presumed to be con- 
 siderable — perhaps from twenty to thirty in the whole 
 province. One from Euj^laad, settled in Kingston, 
 j*>pears to be a very superior perboii. The other de- 
 tuminations have veiy few teachers, and those seeiiiiiigly 
 
 
1 
 
 170 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 i 
 
 Mi 
 
 i I 
 
 very ignorant. One of the two remaining clergymen 
 in communion with the Church of Scotland has applied 
 to be admitted into the Established Church." 
 
 Such were the statements on which petitions 
 to the House of Assembly were founded, and 
 on which the investigations were instituted. 
 
 The petitions were the same in form, adopted 
 in different parts of the Province. The first 
 name attached to the first petition presented to 
 the House of Assembly, March, 1828, was that 
 of Bulkley Waters — a Methodist farmer in the 
 Midland District. The petition runs as follows : 
 
 "The Petition of Christians of Different Denominations 
 in Upper Canada. 
 
 " To the Commons of Upper Canada, in Provincial Par- 
 liament assembled. 
 
 " We, His Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects, Christians 
 of all denominatiun? in Upper Canada, beg leave to draw 
 the attention of your honourable House to the alarming 
 misrepresentations and advice contained in a letter and 
 ecclesiastical chart which were addressed to the Under- 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies, for the information of 
 Lord Goderich, on the 16th of May last, by the honourable 
 and venerable Dr. Strachan, Archdeacon of York, and a 
 number of the Legislative and Executive Councils of this 
 Province, r.ai printed by order of the House of Cumiuons of 
 Great BritavQ. 
 
 "In this iiommunication His Majesty is informed that 
 the ministers of the different churches in this Province, 
 unconnected with the Protestant Episcopal Churoh, ' are for 
 the most part from the United States, where they gather 
 their knowled^ie and form thoir suutiiueuts.' The Methodist 
 
mmm 
 
 w 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 171 
 
 i*-i 
 
 preachers are particularly stigmatized with the charge of 
 mixing up sedition with the word of God ; and ' the other 
 denominations ' are represented as having few teachers, and 
 those seemingly very ignorant. 
 
 "Could it be true that the Methodist preachers were 
 rendering, by their influence and instructions, a large portion 
 of the population hostile to our institutions, both civil and 
 religious, the evil would be most alarming ; and if thu 
 charge be credited in any degree by our gracioua Sovereign, 
 we feel with deep regret how low we must sink in his 
 estimation, and how hopeless is our expectation of enjoying 
 his poyal confidence. Your petitioners know no difference 
 between those who preach disaffection, and those who 
 habitually hear it. We notice with much anxiety in the 
 same document a disposition expressed and recommended 
 to pursue a policy which shall augment the numbers of the 
 clergymen of the Protestant Episcopal Church from 300 
 to 2,000 ; and by the addition of wealth, to be shared by 
 no other denomination of Christians, gradually to acquire to 
 themselves exclusively the superintendence of the education 
 of our children in the public schools. The end of such a 
 system must be ecclesiastical dominion. It is asserted with 
 much confidence by this sworn adviser of the representative 
 of His Majesty, that 'the tendency of the population is 
 towards the Church of England,' und that 'nothing but the 
 want of moderate support prevents her from spreading over 
 the whole Province. ' 
 
 "We have ascertained that a Royal Charter has been 
 granted for the establishment of an university amongst us; 
 the principle of which, we have good reason to fear, will be 
 found inconsistent with the unimpaired preservation and 
 maintenance of our civil and religious rights and privileges. 
 
 " We humbly pray that yomr honourable House would 
 inquire into the principle upon which an university is to 
 be establislied Among us ; so that no power to hold lands 
 or other property be granted to, nor any addition to the 
 number of members composing the House of Assembly mide 
 
172 
 
 CINADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 from, or out of, any ecclesiastical or literary body corporate, 
 at whose hands danger conid or mi/h*; be apprehended to 
 the Constitution, or to our religious liberties ; and also, that 
 your huuourable House would inquire into the truth of the 
 above recited cruel charges and statements against the 
 ministers and the people, and further to take such stepp 
 upon the premises, and to preserve us and our children from 
 ecclesiastical domination, as to your wisdom shall seem fit. 
 "And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.' 
 
 To this petition, and others referred to the 
 Committee on the same subject, are attached the 
 names of 5,697 persons. 
 
 The names of the Committee of Investigation, 
 appointed by the Legislature, were: — M. S. Bid well 
 (Chairman) ; Messrs. Perry, Matthews, H. C. 
 Thompson (of Frontenac), and Hamilton (after 
 whom the city of Hamilton is named). 
 
 The following are the names of the persons 
 examined by the Committee : * 
 
 Elder William Case. 
 
 Rev. Wm. Ryerson. 
 
 Rev. Egerton Ryerson. 
 
 John A. Wilkinson, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Donald McDonald, Esq., M.P. 
 
 John J. Lefferty, Esq., M.P. 
 
 * Of the fifty-two witnesses examined, as also the other 
 members of Parliament who took part in the proceedings 
 in 1828, all have passed away except two — namely, 
 Francis L. Walsh, for many years Registrar of the county 
 of Norfolk, now in the 91st year of his age, and Egerton 
 Ryerson, now in his 78th year. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 173 
 
 Rev. Alex. Stewart 
 
 Duncan McCall, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Reuben White, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Zaccheus Burnham, Esq., M.P* 
 
 Rev. James Richardson. 
 
 Jas. Wilson, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Wm. Morris, Esq., M P. 
 
 Robt. Randal, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Paul Peterson, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Thomas Horner, Esq., M.P, 
 
 Wm. ScoUick, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Ed. McBride, Esq., M.P. 
 
 B. C. Beardsley, Esq., M.P, 
 
 Rev. Geo. Barclay. 
 
 Jas. Jordan, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Thomas Coleman, Esq., M.P, 
 
 P. VanKoughnet, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Mr. Ebenezer Perry. 
 
 Francis L. Walsh, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Chas. Fothergill, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Dr. Dunlop, Warden Canada COb 
 
 Wm. Thompson, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Francis Baby, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Alex. McDonell, Esq., M.P* 
 
 Rev. Jas. Harris. 
 
 Dr. Morrison. 
 
 D. Cameron, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Rich. Beasly, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Capt. Mathews, M.P. 
 
 John Clarke, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Jas. Lyons, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Archibald McLean, E^q., M.P. 
 
 Jno. Wilson, Esq., Speaker House of Assembly, 
 
 Rev. Angus McDonell. 
 
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 ii 
 
 174 CAlfADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 J. B. Robinson, Esq., Attorney General. 
 
 Hon. Wm. Dickson. 
 
 Hon. Thos. Clarke. 
 
 Hon. Jas. Baby. 
 
 John Rolph, Esq., M.P. 
 
 David Jones, Esq., M.P. [York. 
 
 Hon. and Yen. Dr. Strachan, Archdeacon of 
 
 Peter Jones (an Indian), a missionary among 
 
 the Indians. 
 John Jones (his brother), Indian S. Teacher. 
 John Fenton, Clerk of Episcopal Church. 
 Wm. Andrews, Sexton, do. 
 
 The questions put by the Committee were 
 printed, and written answers were handed in by 
 the witnesses. The questions were fourteen in 
 number, as follows : 
 
 " 1st. Do you think that the teachers or ministers of 
 the different Christian denominations in this Province, 
 unconnected with the Church of England, are for the 
 most part from the United States, and that they there 
 gather their knowledge and form their sentiments ? " 
 
 The answers to this question are almost uni- 
 versally in the negative. In the few instances 
 in which no opinion is expressed, the witnesses 
 state that they had not the necessary information 
 to enable them to form an opinion on the subject. 
 
 " 2nd. Do you think that the influence and instruction 
 of the Methodist preachers in this Province are render- 
 ing, or have a tendency to render a large portion of the 
 population of this Province hostile to our institutions, 
 both civil and religious ? " 
 
 1 ■mwf JtWBM 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 175 
 
 The answers to this question furnished a noble 
 testimony to the loyalty of the early Methodist 
 preachers, and to the beneficial influence of their 
 labours. The Rev. William Ryerson, after giving 
 his testimony, adds, that " during the late war 
 with the United States, the Methodists were as 
 active and zealous in defence of the Province 
 as any other part of the population. Several 
 of their clergymen voluntarily served in the flank 
 companies, and were in several engagements, and 
 two of them were wounded.* 
 
 " 3rd. Do you think that the people of this Province 
 would become more attached to our institutions, civil 
 and religious, by increasing in this Province the number 
 of missionaries of the Church of England?" 
 
 The answers to this question are wonderfully 
 strong in the negative, with few modifications 
 and exceptions. 
 
 *It is passing strange, that there should have been 
 such a persevering effort to fasten upon the Methodist 
 ministers the charge of disloyalty^ when, as has been 
 shown in the first and second of these Essays, the first 
 Methodist preachers in Canada were officers of the 
 British army, the first members of the Methodist Church 
 in Canada came to Canada on account of their loyalty, 
 and the first Methodist missionary preachers had been 
 Loyalists during the American Revolution ; so that 
 Methodism had been established and spread in Canada 
 under the influence and prestige of Loyalty that could 
 be claimed by no other Church. No charge could be 
 
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 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
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 "4th. Is the tendency of the population of this 
 Province towards the Church of England ? Is it spread- 
 ing over the Province ? Is it not as well supported by 
 its members, and have they not, in proportion to their 
 numbers, equal means of supporting it, as the members 
 of any other Church in the Province ?* 
 
 The answers to this threefold question ore very 
 strong, with few exceptions, against the state- 
 ments and pretensions of the representative- 
 advocate of the Church of England.* 
 
 brought against the apostles of Methodism upon the 
 ground of morals and religious doctrines ; but they 
 preached practical Christianity against immorality of 
 every kind ; they preached and professed inward ex- 
 perimental Christianity in contradistinction to mere 
 outward formalism and sinful amusements. Hence 
 they were subject to the reproach of their Divine 
 Master, who was charged with not being a friend to 
 Caesar ; and of his apostles, who were charged with 
 turning the world upside down. 
 
 ♦Perhaps it maybe fitting for me to give extracts 
 from the answers to this question of the four Methodist 
 ministers examined : 
 
 The Rev. James Richardson (afterwards Bishop Rich- 
 ardson) said : 
 
 " I believe, from what knowledge I have, that but a 
 small portion of the people of this country are members 
 of the Church of England, compared with some other 
 denominations; and though it has increased in the 
 number of its churches and ministers, yet I believe it 
 does not increase in the number of members, in pro- 
 portion to the increase of the population of the Province. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 177 
 
 " 5th. Do you think that the people of this Province 
 wish that any one or more churches or denominations of 
 Christians should be established by law in this Province 
 with exclusive or peculiar rights, privileges, or endow- 
 ments?" 
 
 The answers to this question were virtually 
 unanimous in the negative. 
 
 "6th. Do you think that the people generally wish 
 the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves should be given to 
 the clergymen ot the Church of England ?^ 
 
 The answers were decidedly in the negative. 
 
 To my certain knowledge, many of her members have 
 withdrawn themselves from her communion, and joined 
 themselves to the Methodists. This may arise from 
 several causes, principally from the want of a Christian 
 discipline being exercised, and a disUke to certain 
 practices of some of her ministers." 
 
 Elder William Case — " I believe but a small portion 
 of the population (comparatively speaking) is attached 
 to the Church of England. The progress of hef estab- 
 lishment is very slow, compared with that of some other 
 denominations. This may arise from various causes, as 
 ist — From a dislike in the people to her ceremonies 
 and forms of worship. 2nd — From the matter and 
 manner of preaching. 3rd — From a want of proper 
 exercise of discipline among her members and professors, 
 and, in some instances, from (as the people consider 
 it) the unchristian-like conduct of her clergymen. The 
 ministers of the different religious denominations are 
 supported entirely by the voluntary contributions of 
 their congregations ; and the congregations of the 
 Church of England being composed of a fair proportion 
 12 
 
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 .i2 
 
 
 .,,,. , 
 
 
178 
 
 CANADIAN METIIODISBI. 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
 1 
 
 " 7 th. To what purpose do you think the people would 
 generally prefer to see the proceeds of the Qergy 
 Reserves applied ? '* 
 
 The answers generally favoured the application 
 of the proceeds of. the Clergy Reserves to general 
 education and internal improvements; a few 
 favoured the moderate endowment of pastors and 
 the building of churches of different denomi- 
 nations. 
 
 " 8th. Of which of the various denominations of Chris- 
 tians in this Province do you think the clergymen or 
 teachers interfere most in political matters ?'' 
 
 The answers to this question are various, and 
 some of them amusing. Some of the witnesses 
 
 of the opulent class of the people, are as able to support 
 their ministers, according to their numbers, as those 
 of other denominations. Understands that the clergy- 
 men of the Church of England receive severally an 
 annual salary from England of £200 sterling : they 
 derive besides a considerable income from marrying." 
 
 Rev. William Ryerson "concurs in the foregoing 
 answer ; and adds, that two years ago the number of 
 persons in regular communion in the Methodist Church 
 in this place [the town of York, now Toronto] (about 
 the 8th of October, 1825), was 50 ; in 1826, in September, 
 numbers 99; at present (1828) about 150; the present 
 number of hearers vary from 400 to 600, and the increase 
 has been about the same as in the commencement." 
 
 The Rev. E. Ryerson {a) "concurs in the foregoing 
 
 (a) He WM appointed to preach in the town of York 
 (now Toronto) from September, 1825, to September, 1827— 
 
 I ! 
 
I 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 179 
 
 
 declined expressing any opinion, declaring them- 
 , selves incompetent to do so; most thought the 
 Episcopal clergy interfered most in politics, and 
 several thought that Dr. Strachan alone interfered 
 in politics, as he was both a Legislative and 
 Executive Councillor ; some thought the clergy of 
 the different denominations did not interfere at 
 all in politics ; others thought that they inter- 
 fered too much, and that the Presbyterian, Meth- 
 odist, and Baptist ministers interfered quite as 
 much as Episcopalian xainisters. 
 
 answers; and adds, that Dr. Strachan admits in his 
 sermon (26th page) preached on the death of the late 
 Lord Bishop of Quebec, delivered the 3rd of July, 1825, 
 that the benefits of the Church of England are little felt 
 or known, and that sectaries of all descriptions are 
 increasing on every side. Dr. Strachan has also stated, 
 in a pamphlet published in London (England), under his 
 own name, that if the proceeds of the Clergy Resei-ves 
 were not exclusively given to the clergy of the Church of 
 England, that Church would be annihilated." 
 
 the first year in oonneciion with the Yonge Street Ciroait 
 — the late flev. James Bichardson being Superintendent ; 
 the second year in connection with the Credit Indian 
 Mission, where he was the first Indian missionary — the Rev. 
 William Ryerson being the Superintendent of the town of 
 York, in connection with the Yonge Street Circuit. In 
 1827. E. Byer9on was appointed to the Cobonrg Circuit, 
 wbich, at that time, extended from five miles east of 
 Bowmanville to the Trent, including the towns of Port 
 Hope^ Gobonrg, Oolborne, and Brighton, and all the town* 
 ships aoatb of Bioe Lake, including also the township of 
 SeymoQi* 
 
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 ir^'l 
 
180 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " 9th. What proportion, in your opinion, do the mem 
 bers of the Church of England in this Province bear 
 to the whole population ? ** 
 
 The answers to this question were diversified. 
 Some of the witnesses could express no opinion ; 
 but the witnesses generally said "a very small 
 proportion," others said " very trifling," others 
 said from one to ten, or one to twenty or twenty- 
 five. The Attorney-General, J. B. Eobinson (after- 
 wards Sir John Robinson), said, — " I do not know, 
 nor do I think anybody else does." 
 
 ** loth. What denominations in this Province do you 
 think the most numerous ? ** 
 
 The witnesses were almost unanimous in stating 
 
 the Methodists as the most numerous; some 
 
 of them said, " The Methodists, beyond question." 
 
 "nth. Do you think that there are several, and what, 
 denominations of Christians in this Province more nu- 
 merous than the Church of England?' 
 
 In answer to this question, nearly all the 
 witnesses said, "Methodists, Presbyterians, and 
 Catholics ;" some placed Baptists before Catholics. 
 The Honourable John Wilson, Speaker of the 
 House of Assembly, in his answer to the question, 
 placed the religious denominations in the follow- 
 ing order : 
 
 ''I think they might in regard to numbers^ 
 be arranged thus : 
 
 "Ist Methodists. 
 
 I 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 181 
 
 " 2ud. Presbyterians (including Scotch Kirk, 
 Seceders, Independents, Congregationalists, etc.). 
 "3rd. Catholics. 
 "4th. Baptists. 
 « 6th. Church of England." 
 
 "i2th. Has the Church of England laboured under 
 greater difficulties in this Province than any other 
 Church?" 
 
 All the witnesses agreed that the Church of 
 England had enjoyed greater pecuniary advan- 
 tages than any other Church. The Rev. William 
 Case said : 
 
 "The Church of England has certainly greater pe- 
 cuniary advantages than any other religious denomina- 
 tion in this Province ; and I know of no other hindrances 
 to her prosperity than those alluded to in my answer 
 t& question the fourth. [See the answer on page 177.] 
 The ministers of the Church of England have alwa^j 
 freely enjoyed certain privileges which the ministers ui 
 several other denominations have been deprived of, to 
 the great grief of the people under their charge, and for 
 the exercising of which several respectable ministers 
 belonging to different churches have been arrested and 
 imprisoned (one put in a dungeon), tried without the 
 privilege of counsel, and sentenced to banishment from 
 the Province for fourteen years. The Methodists 
 have always considered marriage a religious rite, and 
 thought themselves entitled to perform this, as a religious 
 service, under the 31st George the Third, chapter 31st ; 
 but two of their ministers (Mr. Ryan and Mr. Sawyer) 
 were arrested, tried, and banished ! Another (Mr. Smith) 
 was acquitted, as also Mr. Pope, a British missionary. 
 
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 182 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Witness has understood that there were one or two 
 Baptists, and one of the Presbyterian ministers, con- 
 victed for the same. The denial of their clergymen to 
 solemnize matrimony, in behalf of their people, has 
 always been considered by the Methodists as a grievance, 
 though they are looking forward to the period when a 
 more just and liberal policy will correct the evil. They 
 cannot, for want -of a law for that purpose, hold lands 
 for sites of churches, etc., in succession.** 
 
 The best apology for the Church of England, 
 in answer to this question, is contained in the 
 evidence of the Attorney-General, J. B. Eobinson 
 (since Sir J. B. Robinson), which is as follows: 
 
 ** It has had encouragement and assistance which 
 other Churches in this Province have not had ; but 
 at the same time it labours under difficulties beyond 
 some other Churches, which operate against its ex- 
 tending. The clergy of the Church of England, as well 
 as the clergy of the Church of Scotland and the Roman 
 Catholic Church, cannot obtain ordination without a 
 long and expensive previous course of study. The 
 nature of that Church Establishment is such, that its 
 ministers are stationary, and, to answer the purpose of 
 their mission, must be able to maintain themselves com- 
 petently, though moderately, by the profession to which 
 they have devoted themselves ; and to subsist from 
 the casual contributions of their flocks, is not consistent 
 with the nature of the Church of England. 
 
 '*The preachers of some other sects, and perhaps 
 more especially of the Methodists, seldom pass through 
 the SjpKne expensive preparation for their ministry ; they 
 derive from their flocks, and from other sources, perhaps, 
 a support not much greater probably than is considered 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 183 
 
 sufficient for subsistence in any station of life, and the 
 consequence is, that the preacher^ of these sects are 
 more easily multiplied. For instance, I imagine no 
 clergyman of the Church of England is appointed to 
 a mission unless ;^i5o or ;^2oo can be secured to him." * 
 
 ** 13th. Do you think that the Ecclesiastical Chart 
 now shown to you exhibits a fair and correct view of the 
 different denominations of Christians in this Province? 
 Can you point out any inaccuracies in the Chart within 
 your own knowledge ?" 
 
 The various witnesses agreed that the Ecclesi- 
 astical Chart was not a fuir representation of the 
 state and character of the different denominations 
 of Upper Canada, and pointed out errors in it 
 in the localities of their residences and knowledge. 
 
 The Hon. Attorney-General, J. B. Eobinson, 
 give the most favourable -answer in behalf of his 
 old master and patron. He said: 
 
 ** I have never made the necessary inquiries to enable 
 me to answer this question, further than that I perceived 
 a few inaccuracies in the Chart, so far as it regards 
 the Church of England ; some churches are erroneously 
 stated to be built, under the impression, no doubt, that 
 they had been built ; but either the subscription list had 
 not been completed, or some other cause ot which the 
 
 * It is worthy of note that the question did not 
 relate to the number of the clergy of the Church of 
 England and other religious persuasions, but the number 
 of members, the success and usefulness of the clergy, 
 and the comparative advantages enjoyed by the Church 
 of England and other denominations. 
 
 
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 ;W 
 
 *'';»r 
 
 t&^ 
 
184 
 
 CANADIAN METIIODISXf. 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 compiler of the Chart, was doubtless not aware, has 
 caused the execution of the design to be abandoned 
 or delayed. I notice also some omissions in the Chart 
 as it regards the Church of England. I could not 
 pretend, from any information I possess, to construct one 
 more accurate upon the whole/' 
 
 The Eev. EgertoD Eyerson gave in a minute 
 and exhaustive answer, founded chiefly on the 
 different statements which had been made by the 
 Archdeacon of York. But his answer is too long 
 for insertion in this summary of evidence before 
 the Select Committee. 
 
 ** 14th. Are the teachers of the various denominations 
 of Christians not specified in the Letter and Chart before 
 you, few and seemingly ignorant ? " 
 
 The answers to this question were nearly all in 
 the negative ; some of the witnesses spoke of the 
 denominations not mentioned in the Letter or 
 Chart as more numerous than the Church of 
 England, and referred to many of their teachers 
 as men of education and talents. 
 
 Then there were three questions put, not num- 
 bered, relating to the Methodists. The first 
 question was put to and answered by the Eev. 
 William Case, as follows : 
 
 "Are the Methodist preachers in this Province ac- 
 countable to the Conference of the United States ?" 
 
 To which Mr. Case answered : 
 
 ''The Methodist preachers who came into this Pro- 
 
CANADIAN METirODISM. 
 
 185 
 
 vince were from the Methodist Conference in the State 
 of New York, about the year 1790. They continued 
 to be accountable to that Conference for their moral 
 deportment) and their characters were carefully ex- 
 amined, till August, 1824 ; since which time the affairs 
 of the Methodist Church in Canada have been transacted 
 by the Canadian Conference. 
 
 "At no time did the Methodist Conference in the 
 United States exercise or claim any control of a spiritual 
 nature over the Methodists in Canada. Their services 
 were purely of a spiritual nature. To supply the wants 
 of a destitute country, they laboured freely and for 
 many years at considerable sacrifice of property, and 
 even of health and life ; and some of their ministers, by 
 excessive toil in a new country, expended both. 
 
 " The Colonial Government, I conceive, has the same 
 control over the Methodists in this country, that the 
 British Government has over others of its subjects both 
 in Europe and America."'*' 
 
 The Eev. William Eyerson was asked, ** What 
 income or salary do your preachers receive ? " 
 He answered (1828) : 
 
 "Our unmarried travelling preachers are allowed 
 
 * It has been shown in the first and second of these 
 Essays, that the first two Methodist preachers in Canada 
 were ofHcers of the British army ; that the first members 
 of the Methodist Church were the first refugee Loyalists 
 from the United States ; that the first regular Methodist 
 preachers from the State of New York came to Canada 
 as volunteers, having been Loyalists during the American 
 Revolution, and that those who volunteered and were 
 appointed to Canada for twenty years were ordained 
 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
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^: 
 
 186 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 i i 
 
 N 
 
 I ! 
 
 £2$ per annum, besides their travelling expenses, which 
 average each year from £2 to £^f and consist principally 
 of ferriage, horse-shoeing, etc., as the preachers are 
 generally entertained gratuitously at the houses of our 
 members. Our married preachers are allowed £yi per 
 annum, besides the table allowance of their families ; 
 these generally amount to ;^'i5 or £2$ in the country 
 where the preacher has a wife and two or three children ; 
 and in town to something more, on account of the addi- 
 tional expense of house rent. All the preachers, and 
 also our bishops, are allowed the same. No other 
 expenses or contingencies are provided for or allowed." 
 
 Another question put to Mr. Ryerson was, 
 " Can you give the Committee a brief account of 
 the history and progress of your Church in this 
 Province?" in answer. to which Mr. Ryerson gave 
 a brief sketch of the rise and progress of the 
 Methodist Church in Canada, which has been 
 anticipated in previous numbers of these Essays. 
 
 Thomas D. Morrison, M.D., a member of the 
 Methodist Church, was Secretary of the Com- 
 
 and appointed by Bishop Asbury, himself an Englishman, 
 who lived in concealment during a great part of the 
 Revolutionary War, refusing to take the oath of allegi- 
 ance to the United States until after the acknowledgment 
 of their independence; by Great Britain. The Rev. 
 William Ryerson, in his answer to the second question, 
 states that some of the Methodist preachers volunteered 
 into the militia flank companies during the war of the 
 United States against Great Britain in 1812-1815, 
 fought in several battles, and two of them were wounded. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 187 
 
 mittee which prepared and presented to the 
 Legislative Assembly the petitions on which the 
 investigation was founded. In his evidence, in 
 answer to the first question of the Committee, he 
 said : 
 
 *' By documents in my possession, on which an Ec- 
 clesiastical Chart of ^^""iser Canada has been formed, 
 the principal part of I'u'. ministers of the Christian 
 denominations unconnected with the Church of England 
 are natives of Eurr ' . and the Cviionies, and have there 
 alone gathered their kno' ledge and formed their senti- 
 ments. Nine alone o( the whole are lately ft.^m the 
 United States, and they are now under circumstances 
 to be naturalized, by the Act lately passed by the 
 Legislature of this Province. Such oilieis as may be 
 natives of the United States have been in the Province a 
 number of years, probably since their youth, and are 
 naturalized ; and they have consequently gathered their 
 knowledge and formed their sentiments in his Majesty's 
 dominions.** 
 
 The Committee say to Dr. Morrison, "You 
 speak, in answer to some former question, of an 
 Ecclesiastical Chart; how was that formed ?" Dr. 
 Morrison answers : 
 
 "At a public meeting in York (now Toronto), a 
 Committee was appointed, called the Central Commitiee 
 of Upper Canada, and directed to correspond with the 
 other parts of the Province, to suggest the appointment 
 of Committees, and to request that they would carefully 
 collect and transmit to the Central Committee at York, 
 accurate information respecting the number of persons, 
 belonging to the religious denominations in their neigh- 
 
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 /^•i 
 
 M 
 
188 
 
 CANADIAN METHODlijM. 
 
 I 
 
 bourhood. In consequence of these, communications 
 were received from various parts of the Province, 
 containing correct and full information on this subject, 
 obtained from personal knowledge or inquiry, and 
 authenticated by the signatures of respectable inhabi- 
 tants. This information was pretty general with respect 
 to the Methodists and Baptists, and with regard to 
 others, the Committee, in addition to the information 
 obtained in this way, collected from all other sources 
 the most accurate information that could be got. The 
 Chart was formed from the materials thus obtained, and 
 it presents, in my opinion, a very fair and complete view 
 of the number of ministers and number of different 
 religious denominations in this Province. I have a copy 
 of this Chart, which I leave with the Committee.'' 
 
 In this comprehensive Chart we have, in each 
 district of Upper Canada, the names of the 
 clergymen of the several denominations; where 
 born ; where educated ; how long in Canada, and 
 if naturalized ; number of regular communicants ; 
 of churches or chapels ; of places of regular wor- 
 ship; of places of various worship; of regular 
 hearers. 
 
 The much labour and time devoted by Dr. 
 Morrison in collecting materials for and com- 
 piling this Chart, were gratuitous. He had been 
 chief clerk in the Surveyor Generars Office, and 
 without charge or the slightest deficiency in 
 faithfulness and efficiency, was dismissed — for 
 the simple reason that he had become a Metho- 
 dist. He then devoted himself to the medical 
 
CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 189 
 
 profession, for which he had studied in early 
 life. He was once elected member of the House 
 of Assembly for the town of York, defeating the 
 Attorney-General ; he was also once elected 
 Mayor of the city. He was the writer's physician 
 during life, died in great peace, strong in faith, 
 giving glory to God. 
 
 The following correspondence took place be- 
 tween the Chairman of the Committee and the 
 Archdeacon of Toronto : ' 
 
 " Hoiue of Assembly Commi1;tee Boom, 
 "15th February, 1828. 
 
 "Sib, — ^The Committee of the House of Assembly to 
 whom have been referred the petitions of Bulkley Waters 
 and others, and a number of similar petitions from others, 
 have directed me to transmit to you a copy of said petition. 
 
 "The Committee have also directed me to say that they 
 will be most happy to receive from you any information, 
 in any form that you may think proper, and that yon may 
 consider likely to assist them in their inquiries. 
 
 " I am. Sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 (Signed) "M.aBiDWBU. 
 
 " Honourable and Venerable The Archdeacon of York." 
 
 The Archdeacon's reply was as follows : 
 
 " York, 19th February, 182a 
 "Sib, — I thank the Committee for having transmitted 
 to me last evening a copy of a petition referred to their 
 consideration, in which the petitioners are made to convey 
 imputations upon myself. 
 
 " 1 do not feel it necessary to avail myself of the Com- 
 mittee's offer to receive explanations in respect to statements 
 which were not voluntarily given ; but when called upon 
 
 m 
 
190 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 for infonnation by the Ring's Government, and in defeccc nf 
 the Cbaroh of England, against attacks that had been made 
 npon her, I deemed it my duty to famish them, with a 
 sincere conviction of their accuracy. 
 
 *' As the duty committed to me in England wonld not 
 otherwise have required any such communication on my 
 part, I made it at the time chiefly from memory. 
 
 "For my opinions I am responsible to no one. I had 
 no desire to conceal them, and they were therefore publicly 
 and openly expressed. No consideration could have pre- 
 vailed upon me to deny or misstate them ; but in applying 
 them, every candid mind will feel that the general expres- 
 sions used admit the existence of exception. 
 
 "I desire it only to be borne in mind, that they were 
 given from memory, and in reply to an attack for which 
 I could not have been prepared. Being thus given for • 
 public purpose, they were also given that there could be 
 no danger of any part escaping detection, if it turned out 
 not to be perfectly correct. 
 
 " Though I have no wish to communicate with the Com- 
 mittee further on this subject, I beg it may be understood 
 that, with the leave of His Excellency the Lieutenant- 
 Governor and the Legislative Council, I am ready, if the 
 Committee desire it, to attend them upon the usual 
 summons, for the purpose of answering, and giving any 
 information that may be required. 
 
 *' I am, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 (Signed) *' John STRiLOHAN. 
 
 "To Marshall S. Bid well, Esq., M.P., Chairman." 
 
 The Archdeacon ultimately appeared before 
 the Committee, delivered to them a copy of the 
 Eoyal Charter of King's College, and answered 
 various questions. He adhered to the views and 
 general accuracy of the statements of his Letter 
 and Chart laid before the Imperial Government, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 191 
 
 by which they had been printed by order of the 
 House of Commons, and thus became known in 
 Canada. 
 
 The answer of the Archdeacon to several 
 questions throws light upon the early history 
 of the Church of England in Upper Canada. 
 
 Question. — ^**How many clergymen were there of the 
 Church of England when you took orders in 1803?" 
 Answer. — **I believe five — Mr. Addison, Dr. Stewart, 
 Mr. Langhom, Mr. (now Dr.) Stuart, and Mr. Rudd." 
 
 Question. — " What are the emoluments of the clergy- 
 men of the Church of England in this Province?" 
 Answer. — "Till 181 5, the salary of a missionary was 
 ;^i5o sterling per annum, paid chiefly by the Society 
 lor the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 
 established in London. Since 181 5 it has been, to a 
 Missionary in Priest's orders, ;^2oo ; to a Deacon, ;^ioo 
 sterling, paid from the charitable funds of the same 
 society." 
 
 Question. — ** This, then, is exclusive of perquisites for 
 marriages and other services ?" Answer. — '* There is no 
 other service than marrying for which any fee is charged 
 or received, except for baptism— one shilling generally 
 for registration." 
 
 Question. — " Are not the members of the Church of 
 England in this Province, in proportion to their numbers, 
 as well able to bear the expense of supporting the 
 preaching of the gospel, etc., as those of other denom- 
 inations?" Answer. — "They probably are; but they 
 have n'ever been called upon. The funds of the Society 
 in England have furnished the means hitherto." 
 
 Question. — " Does that include the building of 
 churches ? " A nswer, — " The people frequently subscribe 
 
 
 :' fl 
 
 ^ xt 
 
192 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 1! 
 
 toward that object ; but in that they have likewise, in 
 mo^ places, been assisted by aid from England, col- 
 lected by subscription." 
 
 Question. — " Do you know the number of the members 
 of the Church of England in this Province ? " Answer. 
 — " I only know in those cases which have been com- 
 municated to me, from which it appears that from one- 
 half to two-thirds of all the people in those places are 
 favourable to our Church — ^and I believe it is so through- 
 out the Province, except the Eastern District** 
 
 Question.— ^* "By the expression 'favourable to our 
 Church,' do you mean members of the Church?" 
 Answer. — " I would not say members ; but I mean 
 preferring our service, when opportunities offer, to all 
 others.** 
 
 Question. — " Have you any other corrections to your 
 Chart, or any further remarks upon the subject under 
 consideration of the Committee, which you wish to 
 offer ? " Answer. — " I would desire to state to the 
 Committee, in drawing up my letter to Mr. Horton, 
 and the accompanying Chart, I was called upon suddenly 
 to do it, to repel an attack of the Kirk of Scotland, 
 and I had not an opportunity to correct the proof- 
 sheets ; some trifling inaccuracies (but no ways affecting 
 the argument), in consequence of this, have unavoidably 
 crept in, but, for the information of the Committee, I 
 will leave with them a Chart which I have compiled 
 from authentic sources.** 
 
 This completed the Committee's investigation. 
 The Committee embodied the results of their 
 investigation in a report to the House of As- 
 sembly, and the draft of an address by the House 
 of Assembly to the King, both of which were 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 193 
 
 adopted by the House of Assembly by a majority 
 of more than two to one.* 
 
 Not to protract this Essay to an undue length, 
 I will give these important documents in my 
 next paper, together with the names of the yeas 
 and nays in the votes of the House respecting 
 them, together with the subsequent phases and 
 results of the Clergy Reserve controversy. 
 
 * In the first paragraph of his letter of 1827, to the 
 Colonial Secretary, accompanying his Ecclesiastical 
 Chart of Upper Canada, Archdeacon Strachan says : — 
 
 "From this religious picture of Upper Canada, it 
 evidently appears that the Church has made consider- 
 able progress, and is rapidly extending. In 1791 there 
 was only one English clergyman in the Province, settled 
 at Kingston ; two more arrived in 1793, and for many 
 years the number continued six. In 181 8, they amounted 
 to twelve ; in 1824, to twenty-two ; and from recent or- 
 dinations they are now (in 1827) about thirty." 
 
 In an appendix (No. i) to this letter is a long extract 
 from the address of the British of Quebec and the 
 Clergy of Upper Canada in 1823. In this address the 
 imagination is drawn upon for most of the statements, 
 and the appeal to starve the clergy of other denomina- 
 tions, as essential to build up the Church of England, 
 was as original as it was contemptible, and a self-con- 
 fessed refutation of the statements which preceded, and 
 a practical acknowledgment that the Church of Eng- 
 land could not exist upon equal terms with other 
 denominations. The statements are as follows : — 
 
 '* The population, now greatly increased, and embrac- 
 ing in its bosom many denominations of Christians, still 
 18 
 
 'f*: 
 
 - m 
 
 
 ; m 
 
 
 
',•■' 
 
 
 Ip'i 
 
 in 
 
 ' I 
 
 ij 
 
 104 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 retains its prominent feature of being attached to the 
 Church of England ; the members of which, together 
 with the Dutch and Lutherans, who join them in com- 
 munion, comprise by far the most numerous description 
 of Christians in Upper Canada." 
 
 ** The very little progress made by the other denomi- 
 nations compared with that of the Church of England, 
 and the very recent establishment of their scanty con- 
 gregations, has generally created in the minds of the 
 people a veneration for it as the established form of 
 worship — a light in which it has always been presented 
 to the inhabitants of the Province from their earliest 
 years; for the venerable Society for the Propagation 
 of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, ever attentive to the 
 spiritual wants of the colonies, sent missionaries to the 
 principal stations of the Province on its first settlement, 
 multiplying them as the population increased, till it 
 pleased his Majesty to form Lower and Upper Canada 
 into the diocese of Quebec, and to appoint a Bishop to 
 cherish, extend, and govern the infant Church." 
 
 "Nearly forty applications for clergymen have been 
 made to the Bishop and Government from various parts 
 of the Province, at most of which churches are built or 
 in progress ; and twice that number of applications may 
 be expected before the former can be supplied ; for, 
 owing to the want of means, one-fourth of the deigy 
 necessary for the population cannot be supported.** 
 
 ** When new missions are established in any quarter^ 
 not only do those persons join who are not yet particu- 
 larly attached to any denomination, but even Presby- 
 terians and Congregationalists attend public worship 
 with their families, so that on many occasions the whole 
 neighbourhood becomes united with the Church; and not 
 pnly are their dead buried according to their rites, but 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 195 
 
 likewise the bodies of their friends and relatives are 
 frequently collected from private places for interment, 
 and again consigned to the grave in the public burial- 
 ground with the solemn offices of the Church. More- 
 over, their children iire educated in the bosom of the 
 Church, and the greater number at length confirmed by 
 the Bishop, and thus a cong^egatjon ^s formed in a few 
 years strongly attached to our venerable Establishment. 
 Even in those remote parts of the country where the 
 Methodist itinerants are the most active, so soon as the 
 population is sufficiently compact to admit and require 
 the ministrations of a regular clergyman, he finds his 
 congregation increasing by the gradual accession of 
 their more respectable adherents. 
 
 "The Church is increasing so rapidly as to afford 
 great encouragement to respectable families to bring up 
 their children to the sacred profession ; accordingly 
 more than thirty students are preparing for the Church, 
 and many more than can possibly be provided for are 
 presenting themselves to the Lord Bishop as candidates 
 for Holy Orders. 
 
 "There is every reason to believe that the greater 
 proportion of all denominations of Protestants may be 
 expected to conform, so as at length to include the great 
 mass of this population, a result which appears highly 
 probable from the following facts : — ist. The Lutheran 
 clergymen have generally conformed, and brought their 
 congregations with them. 2nd. Several Presbyterian 
 or Congfregational clergymen — for both names are used 
 promiscuously in the country — have solicited the Lord 
 Bishop to be admitted as candidates for Holy Orders, 
 and the only Presbyterian clergyman in communion with 
 the Kirk of Scotland, who lived in the Province before 
 i8i8, educated two of his sons for the Church of Eng- 
 
 
 
 .iA 
 
 J 
 
 ? t*' 
 
 m 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 196 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 land (but none for his own Church, though he had three 
 other sons), one of whom was in orders many years 
 before the death of his father, and the other has just 
 been admitted. 3rd. No objection is made by parents 
 against teaching their children the Church Catechism 
 and the service of the Church from the Book of 
 Common Prayer ; on the contrary, all denominations 
 are desirous of obtaining both, for their own and their 
 families' edification. 4th. The whole neighbourhood 
 bring their children to the resident clergymen to be 
 baptized, and submit in great numbers, both old and, 
 young, to the rite of confirmation, send their youth to 
 the Sunday-schools^ and allow them, after their tasks 
 are heard, to walk in procession to the church. In fine, 
 there manifestly appears the fairest prospect that the 
 Church of England, from the favourable disposition that 
 now exists towards it, will be able to collect within its 
 bosom the bulk of the inhabitants of the Province, 
 should no prospect of supporting their clergy be held out 
 to the various Protestant denominations. 
 
 " With the exception of the Methodists, who have 
 been deserted by their brethren in England, and left for 
 instruction to itinerants from the United States (unless 
 one respectable congregation in Kingston, who have an 
 excellent missionary from England), there appears no 
 prominent denomination of Protestants in the Province 
 but the Established Church capable of exciting public 
 attention ; for the Congregationalists or Independent 
 Presbyterians, who are next in number to the Metho- 
 dists, have only six small congregations.'' [Representa- 
 tion of the Bishop ot Quebec, and the Clergy of the 
 Church of England in Upper Canada in 1823, to coun- 
 teract in England the claims of the clergy of the Church 
 oi Scotland in Canada (said to be seven in numberjff 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 197 
 
 clafminga share of the Reserves, as one of the National 
 Churches, and supporting this claim under the supposed 
 ambiguity of the Act, " A Protestant Clergy. "] 
 
 Remarks. — It is not easy to condense in the same 
 space a greater number of fictions and misrepresenta- 
 tions than are contained in the above extracts of the 
 representation to England in 1823 by the Bishop of 
 Quebec and the Episcopal Clergy of Upper Canada, 
 and all for the purpose of obtaining money and endow- 
 ments for their Church, from the Propagation Society 
 and the British Government. But these statements will 
 be found abundantly refuted by the evidence given 
 before a Select Committee of the House of Assembly of 
 Upper Canada, in 1828, quoted in the subsequent part of 
 this Essay. 
 
 In less than two years after making these representa- 
 tions, the then Bishop of Quebec (Dr. Mountain) died, 
 and his funeral sermon was delivered by the Archdeacon 
 of York, July 3rd, 1825, referred to in my last essay. It 
 is not surprising that in the presence of such represen* 
 tations. Dr. Strachan should have deprecated the agita- 
 tion of the Clergy Reserve question in Canada, where 
 all the facts and pretensions could be canvassed, and 
 that he should have complained that his famous Letter 
 to Mr. R. Wilmot Horton, with an Ecclesiastical Chart 
 of Upper Canada, should have found their way from 
 England to the Canadian newspapers. In the first of 
 his six letters addressed to the Hon. W. Morris, dated 
 Toronto, 17th November, 1837, the Archdeacon of York 
 says : — 
 
 " Up to this time (1837) the clei^y and triends of the 
 Established Church have been content with quietly 
 urging the impropriety of debating the appropriation of 
 the Clergy Reserves in the Colony, where it might pro- 
 
 ■ ; I ' ■•« 
 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 ^1 
 
 
 1? 
 
 ■mi 
 
198 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 duce much angry feeling, but could never be satisfac- 
 torily disposed of, and their readiness to submit to any 
 measure which her Majesty and Parliament might see fit 
 to adopt, and which should be final and unequivocal, in 
 making such appropriations as should appear most con- 
 sistent with a due regard to religion, to the principles of 
 the Constitution, and to the permanent welfare and 
 tranquillity of the Province." (p. 6.) 
 
 It is singular that the Archdeacon of York should 
 have thus expressed himself, when the Clergy Reserve 
 question had been discussed for ten years in newspapers, 
 in both Houses of the Legislature, in Church newspapers 
 and pamphlets as well as others. On the 20th of March, 
 1828, the Archdeacon delivered his famous speech before 
 the Legislative Council in vindication of his proceedings 
 and policy on the question of the Clergy Reserves, or of 
 the establishment of the Church of England as the 
 Established Church in Upper Canada — and which 
 speech was printed at the request of the Legislative 
 Council, and, of course, at the expense of the Province. 
 History records that writers in favour of Dr. Strachan's 
 pretensions and policy, were not remarkable for meek- 
 ness and quietness in their discussions. 
 
 n 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 199 
 
 ESSAY vn. 
 
 i'^" 
 
 CLERGY RESERVE CONTROVERSY, CONTINUED ; VOICE 
 . OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF UPPER CAN- 
 ADA IN FAVOUR OF EQUAL CIVIL RIGHTS AND 
 LIBERTY AMONG ALL CLASSES, AND IN VINDI- 
 CATION OF THE EARLY METHODIST MINISTRY. 
 
 .cl^N my last Essay I gave some account of the 
 ^ preliminary discussions which awakened 
 public attention to the infringement of the civil 
 rights and liberties of the great majority of the 
 people, and the further threatened invasion of 
 them ; the Petitions which were adopted and pre- 
 sented to the House of Assembly on the subject ; 
 the appointment by the House of a Select Com- 
 mittee to investigate the complaints contained in 
 the Petitions; the examination of fifty-two wit- 
 nesses by that Committee, and the purport of 
 their evidence. 
 
 I now proceed to give the conclusion and sequel 
 of the investigation. The Committee presented 
 a Beport to the House detailing their proceed- 
 ings, and the conclusions at which they had 
 
 Im 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 111 
 
200 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 arrived ; tliey alsp submitted a draft of an Address 
 or Petition to the King on the subject. Both of 
 these documents were adopted by a large majority 
 of the House of Assembly ; they presented (espe- 
 cially the Report) a brief but graphic view of 
 the early religious condition of the country, the 
 labours of the different religious persuasions, and 
 a most complete vindication of the character, pri- 
 vations, labours and successes of the Methodist 
 ministry — stronger and more eulogistic than I 
 have written in preceding Essays. And be it 
 remembered, that this testimony to the character 
 and labours of the early Methodist ministers is 
 not merely the testimony of an individual writer, 
 but that of the elected Representatives of the 
 People of Upper Canada in 1828, during the first 
 thirty years of those labours. Perhaps the reader 
 will be interested in reading the account of the 
 proceedings of the House of Assembly in the 
 words of the official record. They are as follows : 
 
 "Proceedings of the House of Assembly on the 
 Report of the Select Committee to which was 
 referred the Petition of Bulkley Waters and 
 others, and other Petitions from Christians of 
 various denominations, on the same subject ; and 
 also the Petitions of E. W. Armstrong and others, 
 relating to the University of King's College, lately 
 established at York by Royal Charter.** 
 
 ** March 17 th, 1828.— Mr. Bidwell, from the Com- 
 mittee to which was referred the Petitions of Bulkley 
 
CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 201 
 
 Waters and others, and the various petitions from the 
 different parts of the Province on the same subject, in- 
 formed the House that the Committee had agreed to a 
 Report, and an Address to His Majesty founded on the 
 same, which he was ready to submit whenever the House 
 would be pleased to receive the same. 
 
 " The Report was ordered to be received and read. 
 
 ''The Address to His Majesty, as reported, was 
 then read the first time. 
 
 " Mr. Bid well, seconded by Mr. Perry, moves that the 
 House do resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, 
 to-morrow, on the Report of the Select Committee on 
 the Petition of Bulkley Waters and others, and on the 
 Address to His Majesty, reported by that Committee ; 
 and that it be the first thing on the order of the day for 
 to-morrow, after any third readings ; which was 
 ordered. 
 
 " Tuesday^ i8th March^ 1828. — Agreeably to the order 
 of the day, the House went into Committee of the Whole 
 on the Report of the Select Committee to which was re- 
 ferred the petition of Bulkley Waters, and other petitions 
 of the same nature. 
 
 '' Mr. Hamilton was called to the Chair. 
 
 " The House resumed. 
 
 " Mr. Hamilton reported the Report of the Select 
 Committee, and the Address to His Majesty founded 
 thereon, both as adopted by the Committee. 
 
 " On the question of receiving the Report, the House 
 divided, and the yeas and nays were taken : 
 
 " Yeas. — Messrs. Beardsley, Beasley, Bid well, Cameron, 
 Coleman, Fothergill, Hamilton, Homor, Lefferty, Mc- 
 Bride, McCall, McDonald of Prescott and Russell, Mc- 
 Donell of Glengarry, Matthews, Morris, Perry, Peterson, 
 Randal, Rolph, White, Wilkinson, and Wilson— 22. 
 
 
 'fS; 
 
 |<J><I 
 
 
 i>. 
 
1 
 
 n 
 
 il 
 
 1 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 202 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " Nays. — Messrs. Attorney General, Burnham, Clark, 
 McLean, Scollick, Thompson of York, Vankoughnetti 
 and Walsh— 8. 
 
 " The question was carried by a majority of fourteen ; 
 the Report was received and adopted, and the Address 
 read a second time, adopted, and ordered to be engrossed 
 and read a third time on Thursday next 
 
 " Thursday^ March 20th, 7^2^.— Agreeably to the 
 order of the day, the Address to His Majesty on the 
 subject of a religious establishment and university was 
 read the third time* 
 
 '' Mr. Morris, seconded by Mr. McDonell, of Glen- 
 garry, moves that the Address do not pass, but that it 
 be recommitted ; which was lost 
 
 " Mr. Morris, seconded by Mr. McDonell, of Glen- 
 garry, moves that the words * and internal improvement,' 
 in the fifth page of the Address, in the fifth line from the 
 top, be expunged : on which the House divided, and the 
 yeas and nays were taken : 
 
 " Yeas. — Messrs. Beasley, Bidwell, Cameron, LeflTerty, 
 McCall, McDonell of Glengarry, McLean, Morris, Perry, 
 Rolph, Thomson of Frontenac, and Vankoughnett — 12. 
 
 " Nays. — Messrs. Baby, Beardsley, Burnham, Cole- 
 man, Fothergill, Hamilton, Hornor, J. Jones, McBride, 
 McDonald of Prescott and Russell, Matthews, Peterson, 
 Randal, ScoUick, Thompson of York, White, Wilkinson, 
 and Wilson — 18. 
 
 " The question was decided in the negative by a ma- 
 jority of six, and lost accordingly. 
 
 " On the question for passing the Address, the House 
 divided, and the yeas and nays were taken : 
 
 " Yeas. — Messrs. Baby, Beardsley, Beasley, Bidwell, 
 Coleman, Fothergill, Hamilton, Hornor, Lefferty, Mc- 
 Bride, McCall, McDonald of Prescott and Russell, Mat- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 203 
 
 thews, Perry, Peterson, Randal, Rolph, Thomson of 
 Frontenac, White, Wilkinson, and Wilson— 21. 
 
 " Nays" — Messrs. Burnham, Cameron, J. Jones, Mc- 
 Donell of Glengariy, McLean, Morris, Scollick, Thomp- 
 son of York, and Vankoughnett — 9. 
 
 " The question was carried in the affirmative by a ma- 
 jority of twelve, and the Address was passed, and signed 
 by the Speaker." 
 
 Nothing could have been more deliberate, 
 formal, and dignified than the proceedings of the 
 Select Committee and House of Assembly in the 
 presentation and adoption of the Eeport and 
 Address to the King. The elaborate and masterly 
 Eeport of the Select Committee, adopted by the 
 House by a majority of more than two to one — a 
 majority of 22 to 8 — was as follows : 
 
 **To the Honourable the House ofAesemhly: 
 
 "The Select Committee to whom were ireferred the 
 petition of Bulkley Waters and others, and various other 
 petitions of the same tenor, signed by nearly 6,000 per- 
 sons, and also the petition of E. W. Armstrong and 
 others, submit the following report : 
 
 ''The first object of the Committee was to obtain a 
 correct copy of the letter and chart referred to in the 
 petitions. Before proceeding to the examination of the 
 statements contained in the letter and chart, the Com- 
 mittee directed the Chairman to transmit to the honour- 
 able and venerable Doctor Strachan a copy of the petition 
 referred to them, and to inform him that the Committee 
 would be happy to receive from him any information 
 upon the matter submitted to their consideration. 
 
 " The Coiiiniittee \%\e examined all the members of the 
 
 >- 
 
 VM . jl 
 
 m 
 
204 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 House of Assembly whose testimony they could ohtain ; 
 some members of the Honourable the Legislative 
 Council, of long residence, high st tiding, and large 
 possessions in the Province ; various clergymen of differ- 
 ent denominations in York and its vicinity, and a few 
 other individuals. 
 
 "From the evidence it will be perceived that the 
 letter and chart were calculated to produce in many 
 respects erroneous impressions respecting the religious 
 state of this Province and the sentiments of its inhabi- 
 tants. As it seems from Dr. Strachan's evidence that 
 they were drawn up suddenly from memory and without 
 the means of reference to sources of authentic information, 
 it is much to be regretted that these circumstances had 
 not been at least hinted in the letter itself, and the more 
 so when it is considered that as he stated to the Com- 
 mittee he had never known the number of members of the 
 Church of England in this Province. The assertions in 
 the letter, that * the people are coming forward in all 
 directions offering to assist in building churches, and 
 soliciting with the greatest anxiety the establishment of 
 a settled minister,' and that * the tendency of the popu- 
 lation is towards the Church of England, and nothing 
 but the want of moderate support prevents her from 
 spreading over the whole Province,' are completely con- 
 tradicted by the evidence. 
 
 " Upon this subject the Committee would remark that 
 the Church of England has always had, in this Province, 
 peculiar advantages. It has been the religion of those 
 high in office, and been supported by their influence and 
 countenanced more than any other Church by the favour 
 of the Executive Government. Its clergymen have had 
 the exclusive right of marrying persons of all denomina- 
 tions indiscriminately ; although, by a Provincial statute, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 205 
 
 the Justices of the Peace, in general quarter sessions, are 
 empowered, if they shall deem it expedient, to authorize 
 Lutheran and Calvinist clergymen and ministers of the 
 Church of Scotland to marry any two persons of whom 
 one has been for six months previously to such marriage 
 a member of the congregation of the clergyman who 
 performs the ceremony. This right the clergymen of the 
 Church of England still exclusively enjoy, notwithstand- 
 ing that the House of Assembly has for several sessions 
 successively, by a lai^e majority, passed a Bill (which has 
 not been concurred in by the honourable the Legislative 
 Council) to extend this right to the clergymen of Chris- 
 tian denominations in this Province generally : the clergy- 
 men of the Church of England have also been liberally 
 supported, and their churches partly or wholly built from 
 the funds of a society in England. The solitary disadvan- 
 tage mentioned by Dr. Strachan in his evidence before 
 the Committee, of being obliged, for want of a bishop 
 resident in the Colonies, to resort to England for episcopal 
 ordination, has never existed since the Province has had 
 its present form of government ; for during all that 
 time a bishop has resided at Quebec. Still, the number of 
 members of that Church has not increased in the same pro- 
 portion as that of several other denominations. These 
 facts confirm the opinion so generally expressed by the 
 witnesses, that the tendency of the population is not to- 
 wards that Church. The contrary opinion entertained by 
 a few of tlie witnesses may have arisen very naturally 
 from a considerable increase recently in the number of 
 missionaries of that Church, which, however, ought prob- 
 ably to be ascribed to the liberality with which salaries 
 for their support are furnished by the Society for Pro- 
 pagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, rather than to any 
 
 ^■M 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
Mi 
 
 206 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Btrong wish of the people to have clergymen of that 
 Church settled among them. 
 
 "In reference to the aid furnished by this Society 
 (from whose funds an annual salary is paid to every 
 clergyman of the Church of England in this Province, 
 in priests' orders, ^£200 sterling, and in deacons' orders, 
 ^100 sterling), and as an argument for further assistance, 
 it is said in the letter, *How ineffectual this aid is to 
 supply the increasing necessities of the Colony has been 
 sufficiently shown ; for the tendency of the population is 
 towards the Church of England, and nothing but the 
 want of moderate support prevents her from spreading 
 over the whole Province.' 
 
 "According to the concurring testimony of the witnesses, 
 the members of the Church of England in this Province, 
 in proportion to their number, have at least equal means 
 of supporting their clergymen with other denominations. 
 The latter have a large number of clergymen in the Pro- 
 vince. Without any aid, therefore, from Great Britain, 
 the members of the Church of England are able without 
 difficulty to support as many clergymen of their Church 
 as the number of their members requires. If, however, 
 they are not willing to famish for this purpose the same 
 means which other sects furnish for a similar purpose, 
 there can be but little tendency, even among those who 
 are nominally its members, to the Church of England. 
 If they are willing, there can be very little necessity for 
 the aid now received from Great Britain, and much less 
 for any further assistance, unless to carry on a system of 
 proselyting to that Church the members of other denom- 
 inations. 
 
 "The insinuations against the Methodist clergymen 
 the Committee have noticed with peculiar regret To 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 207 
 
 the disinterested and indefatigable exertions of these 
 pious men this Province owes much. At an early period 
 of its history, when it was thinly settled and its inhabi- 
 tants were scattered through the wilderness and destitute 
 of all other means of religious instruction, these ministers 
 of the Qospel, animated by Christian zeal and benevo- 
 lence, at the sacrifice of health and intereat and comfort, 
 carried among the people the blessings and consolations 
 and sanctionB of our holy religion. Their influence and 
 instruction, far from having (as is represented in the letter) 
 a tendency hostile to our institutions, have been con- 
 ducive, in a degree which cannot easily be estimated, to 
 the reformation of their hearers from licentiousness, and 
 the diffusion of correct morals, the foundation of all 
 sound loyalty and social order. There is no reason to 
 believe that, as a body, they have failed to inculcate, by 
 precept and example, as a Christian duty, an attachment 
 to the Sovereign and a cheerful and conscientious obedi- 
 ence to the laws of the country. More than 35 years 
 have elapsed since they commenced their labours in t]w 
 Colonies. In that time the Province has passed through 
 a war which put to the proof the loyalty of the people. If 
 their influence and instructions have the tendency men- 
 tioned, the effects by this time must be manifest ; yet no 
 one doubts that the Methodists arc as loyal as any of His 
 Majesty's subjects. And the very fact that while their 
 clergymen are dependent for their support upon the 
 voluntary contributions of their people, the number of 
 their members has increased so as to be now, in the 
 opinion of almost all the witnesses, greater than that of 
 the members of any other denomination in this Province, 
 is a complete refutation of any suspicion that their influ- 
 ence and instructions have such a tendency ; for it 
 would be a gross slander on the loyalty of the people to 
 
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 Jf ft""! 
 
 m 
 
208 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 suppose that they wonld countenance and listen with 
 complacency to those whose influence was exerted for such 
 base purposes. 
 
 " There can be no doubt thaft, in addition to the Metho- 
 dists, there are, in the Province, several denominations of 
 Christians who are more numerous than the members of 
 the Church of England. Besides these, there are probably 
 many other persons who are not attached to any particular 
 Church or form of worship. Compared with the whole 
 population, the members of the Church of England must, 
 therefore, constitute nn extremely small proportion. It 
 would be unjust and impolitic to exalt this Church, by 
 exclusive and peculiar rights above all others of His 
 Majestjr's subjects who are equally loyal, conscientious, and 
 deserving. A country in which there is an Established 
 Church, from which a vast majority of the subjects are 
 dissenters, must be in a lamentable state. The Committee 
 hope that this Province will never present such a spec- 
 tacle. It is well known that there is in the minds of the 
 people generally a strong and settled aversion to anything 
 like an Established Church ; and although, from the 
 conviction so happily and justly entertained, that His 
 Majesty's Government will never adopt a measure so 
 deeply affecting the interests and feelings of the inhabit- 
 ants, of this Province without tibe most indulgent consider- 
 ation of their wishes on the subject, there is less anxiety 
 than would otherwise exist, yet the apprehension that it 
 was the intention of His Majesty's Government to incor- 
 porate the Church of England or any other Church with 
 the Government as an appendage of the State, and to in- 
 vest it with peculiar rights or privileges, civil or pecuniary, 
 from which other sects were excluded, would excite alarm 
 through the country, and the actual execution of such a 
 measure would produce the most general and lasting dis- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 209 
 
 rx)ntent. There is, besides, no necessity for such an estab- 
 lishment. It cannot be necessary for the security of the 
 Government ; the loyalty of the people is deep and en- 
 thusiastic, and it may be doubted how far it would be 
 improved or increased by any State establishment of 
 clergymen. Religious instruction, it is true, will promote 
 and strengthen loyalty and all other virtues ; but no 
 more when communicated by clergymen of the Church of 
 England than by those of other sects, and probably less if 
 they are or appear to be political teachers and servants of 
 the State rather than ministers of the GospeL It cannot 
 be necessary for the ends of religion ; other denomina- 
 tions, of course, will not be benefited by it, and the Church 
 itself will derive probably but little if any real advantage. 
 The piety and religious prosperity of a Church can gain 
 but little from men who are induced by secular motives to 
 assume the sacred functions of the clerical oflfice. Men 
 may, and in fact do, entertain the most conscientious ob- 
 jections either against the particular doctrines or form of 
 worship of any given Church, or in general against the 
 civil establishment of and Church whatever, and its 
 union with the State: if the Church is incorporated with 
 the State, they are compelled by the obligations of con- 
 science to oppose one of the civil institutions of the 
 country, a part of the Government itself. It is in fact 
 their duty to do so ; but by doing so they become objects 
 of jealousy and suspicion, and in addition to their unjust 
 exclusion from privileges to which they are as much 
 entitled as those who are more fortuuste though not more 
 conscientious, and perhaps not more correct in their 
 opinions upon this subject, their very conscientiousness 
 comes by degrees to be regarded and treated as a crime. 
 Laws are made to guard against any attempts to injure the 
 establishment To curtail and counteract their influence 
 
 14 
 
 
 
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 1 
 
 
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 i 
 
 ii^JSj 
 
210 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 they are excluded from the offices and honours of the 
 State and subjected to civil disabilities, and thus, in effect, 
 freedom of conscience is legislated against ; and religion, 
 the rules and sanctions of which are of an infinitely higher 
 nature, is made to rest upon the precepts and penalties of 
 human laws ; at the same time, the harmony and charity 
 which would otherwise prevail between the members of 
 different sects are disturbed, and sectarian pride and in- 
 tolerance and animosity take their place. 
 
 ** Upon this subject His Majesty's Qovemment ought to 
 be fairly and distinctly apprised of the sentiments and 
 wishes of the people ; and as the House of Assembly lathe 
 constitutional organ to convey to the Throne their senti- 
 ments and wishes, the Committee respectfully submit to 
 the House the expediency of addressing His Majesty upon 
 the subject. 
 
 '^In the course of their enquiries the Committee ob- 
 tained information, which to theii surprise and regret gave 
 them reason to believe that to create in the minds of the 
 Indians recently converted under the Divine blessing to 
 the Christian religion, an influence unfavourable to their 
 present religious teachers, through whose exertions this 
 change has taken place, the name of His Majesty's Qovern- 
 ment had been used ; and even that intimation had been 
 made of an. intention to compel them to come under the 
 Church of England. The great and surprising change 
 which has occuiTed within a short period of time in the 
 character and condition of large bodies of the Missisiagua 
 Indians is well known ; from a state of vice and ignor- 
 ance, wretchedness and degradation, almost brutal, they 
 have been brought to habits of industry, order, and tem- 
 perance, a thirst for instruction and knowledge, a profes- 
 sion of the Christian religion, and apparently a cordial and 
 hiunble belief of its truths and enjoyment of its blessings. 
 
CANADIAN METUODISM. 
 
 211 
 
 In this change the Methodists have been chiefly instru- 
 mental. They have manifested the most benevolent zeal 
 in accomplishing it ; they have sent missionaries and 
 established schools among them which are supported by 
 voluntary contributions, and they are still labouring 
 among them with the same disinterested spirit and the 
 same surprising encouragement and success. 
 
 " The recent statute of the Imperial Parliament author- 
 izing the sale of a part of the Clergy Reserves, the Com- 
 mittee have not seen, and therefore do not know whether 
 it directs the application of the proceeds to any particular 
 purpose. They have been informed that according to this 
 statute a part of these reserves are to be sold, and the 
 proceeds, after deducting the expenses of the sale, are 
 to be paid into the funds of the Imperial Government, and 
 a certain sum to be appropriated to the improvement of 
 the remainder. Assuming that by a proper application it 
 could be obtained for the benefit of this Province, it is an 
 interesting question what use shall be made of it. The 
 people generally desire to see it appropriated in a judicious 
 manner to public improvements, and to the support of 
 education upon such principles as will not countenance 
 any distinction on account of religious profession or belief. 
 The House of Assembly, by the Bill authorizing the sale 
 of these lands, and the appropriation of the proceeds to 
 the purposes of education, passed during the last session, 
 have expressed their opinion against the policy and prac- 
 ticability of devoting it to the purposes originally in- 
 tended. With the aid of the monies arising from this 
 source, the Province can undertake many works for 
 internal improvement, by which its prosperity would be 
 greatly promoted, and some of which seem almost indis- 
 pensable, but which, for the want of means, cannot, with- 
 out such aid, be attempted. The anxiety of His Majesty's 
 
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 i 
 
212 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
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 2 
 
 itt 
 
 Qovemment to advance oiir interests, assures us of their 
 assent to all our reasonable wishes on the suhject. The 
 Committee are therefore of opinion that an application 
 should be made to have this fund placed at the disposal ot 
 the Provincial Legislature, in order that it may be applied 
 to the purposes which have been mentioned. As to the 
 remainder of the Clergy Reserves, the Committee, with- 
 out an examination of the British statute last alluded to, 
 are unable to say whether the right of directing their sale 
 remains with the Provincial Legislature, or is by that 
 statute confined to the British Parliament. In either 
 case they think that measures should be taken to have 
 them sold, if possible, and the proceeds applied to the Fame 
 purposes as those which they have recommended for the 
 avails of that part of which the sale is already authorized. 
 
 " Upon an examination of the copy of the Charter of 
 the University of King's College, transmitted to the House 
 by His Excellency and referred to them, the Committee 
 find that the following are some of its provisions : 
 
 " The Bishop of the Diocese is to be visitor, and as such 
 may disapprove of the by-laws made for the college by the 
 Council, which thereby become void, unless His Majesty 
 in Privy Council afterwards reverses this order ; the 
 Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering 
 the Government is to be Chancellor ; the President is to 
 be a clergyman in holy orders of the Church of England ; 
 the hon. and venerable Dr. Strachan, Archdeacon of York, 
 is to be the first President ; the corporation is to consist 
 of the Chancellor, President, and Scholars of King's 
 College, and is authorized to take and hold real estate not 
 exceeding the yearly value of ^£15,000 sterling. The 
 College Council is to consist of the Chancellor, President, 
 and seven other persons, who are to be members of the 
 Church of England, and to sign the 39 Articles of that 
 
CANADI/IN METHODISM. 
 
 213 
 
 rhurch. The Council, under certain restrictions, are to 
 make by-laws for the college ; one of these restrictions is 
 that no religious test or qualification shall be required of 
 or appointed for any persons admitted or matriculated as 
 scholars in the college, except that those admitted to the 
 degree of Doctor in Divinity shall make the same de- 
 clarations and subscriptions and take the same oaVas as 
 are required of persons admitted to any degree of Divinity 
 in the University of Oxford. From the message of His 
 Excellency it appears that His Majesty has been pleased to 
 j,'rant as an endowment for the University 225,944 acres 
 of the Crown lands, and to appropriate from the revenues 
 of the Crown the sum of ;fil,000 sterling per annum for 
 16 years, for the erection of the buildings ; and also that 
 several of the religious societies in England have contri- 
 buted to the institution by donations of money for the 
 purchase of books and by the foundation of scholarships 
 for missionaries to the Indian tribes. 
 
 " From the foregoing abstract of some of the provisions 
 of the Charter, the sectarian character and tendency of the 
 institution will be manifest. Doctor Strachan, by whose 
 representations and exertions, in a great measure, the 
 Charter in its present shape seems to have been procured* 
 in a pamphlet published in London, entitled 'An Appeal 
 to the Friends of Eeligion and Literature, in behalf of 
 the University of Upper Canada,' distinctly states that 
 it will be essentially a missionary college, * for the educa- 
 tion of missionaries of the Church of England ; * and as an 
 argument to obtain from the members of that Church con- 
 tributions towards the funds of the college, maintains that 
 the effect of establishing this university will be ulti- 
 mately to make the greater portion of the population of 
 the Province membei-s of the Church of England That 
 such must be the natural tendency of putting into the 
 
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214 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I 
 
 luvnda of that Church the only aeminary of learning in tlio 
 country where a liberal education can be obtained, is 
 obvious ; but the alarm and jealousy which this very 
 circumstance will produce through tlie Province, and has 
 in some measure already produced, and whicli will pre- 
 vent parents and guardians from sending their cliililren 
 to it, will perhaps counteract this tendency, although at 
 the same time it will, in an equal degree, limit the benefits 
 which might otherwise be derived from the institution. 
 A university adapted to the character and circumstances 
 of the people would be the means of inestimable benefits 
 to this Province. But to be of real service, the principles 
 upon which it is established must be in unison with the 
 general sentiments of the people. It should not be a 
 school of politics or of sectarian views. It should have 
 about it no appearance of a spirit of partiality or exclu- 
 sion. Its portals should be thrown open to all j and upon 
 none who enter should any influence be exerted to attach 
 them to a particular creed or church. It should be a 
 source of intellectual and moral light and animation, from 
 which the glorious irradiations of literature and science 
 may descend upon all with equal lustre and power. Such 
 an institution would be a blessing to the country, its pride 
 and glory. Most deeply, therefore, is it to be lamented 
 that the principleti of the Charter are calculated to defeat 
 its usei'ulnes'j, ur.d to confine to a favoured few all its ad- 
 vantages. That His Majesty's Qovemment could even 
 have contemplated such a limitation of its beneficence, 
 that they could have ever intended to found it upon such 
 terms as must either preclude from its benefits the greater 
 part of those for whom it was intended, or subject them, 
 at an age ill qualified to guard against such attacks, to 
 the silent but powerful influence of a prevailing spirit and 
 legolar system of proselytism, no one will believe. They 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 215 
 
 could not have Uen aware of tlie insurmountable objec- 
 tions to whicli, from the circumstances of the country, 
 and the sentiments of the people, some of the provisions 
 of the Charter were liable. They acted undoubtedly 
 under the imprcsf^ion, and with the intention, of provid- 
 ing, in the most gracious and liberal manner, an institu- 
 tion much needed and desired by the people. There is 
 therefore every reason to believe that any representations 
 from the House of Assembly upon the matter will be 
 most favourably rej^nrded. Under this impression the 
 Committee strongly recommend this subject to the cou- 
 nideration of the House. 
 
 "With this Eeport, the Committee present to the 
 House the draft of an Address to His Majesty upon the 
 various subjects which have been mentioned, and they 
 respectfully recommend that it be adopted by the House. 
 
 " All which is respectfully recommended. 
 
 " Marshall S. Bidwell, Chaiiman. 
 
 "Committee Room, 15th March, 1828." 
 
 The Address to the King, founded on the 
 Report of the Select Committee, and also adopted 
 by a majority of more than two to one — a ma- * 
 jority of 21 to 9 — was as follows : 
 
 **To THE King's Most Excellent Majesty. 
 " Most Gracious Sovereign : 
 
 " We your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the 
 Commons of Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament 
 assembled, humbly beg leave to represent to your Majesty, 
 that we have seen, w^ith equal surprise and regret, a letter 
 and ecclesiastical chart, dated 16th May, 1827, and ad- 
 dressed by the Honourable and Venerable Doctor Strachan, 
 Archdeacon of York, a member of your Majesty's Legis- 
 lative and Executive Councils of this Province, to the 
 
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 ,■■■•'■' M:\i 
 
:-16 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Ttight Honourable R J. Wilmot Horton, at that time 
 Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, for the infor- 
 mation of Lord Goderich, then at the head of the Colonial 
 Department ; as they are inaccurate in some important 
 respects, and are calculated to lead your Majesty's Qovem- 
 raent into serious errors. 
 
 " We beg leave to inform your Majesty, that of your 
 Majesty's subjects in this Province only a small propor- 
 tion are members of the Church of England ; that there 
 is not any peculiar tendency to that Church among the 
 people, and that nothing could cause more alarm and 
 grief in their minds than the apprehension that there 
 was a design, on the part of your Majesty's Government, 
 to establish, as a part of the State, one or more Church 
 or denomination of Christians in this Province, with rights 
 and endowments not granted to your Majesty's subjects in 
 general, of other denominations, who are equally conscien- 
 tious and deserving, and equally loyal and attached to 
 your Majesty's Royal person and government. In follow- 
 ing honestly the dictates of their conscience as regards the 
 great and important subject of religion, the latter have 
 never been conscious that they have violated any law or 
 any obligation of a good subject, or done anything to for- 
 feit your Majesty's favour and protection, or to exclude 
 themselves from a participation in the rights and 
 privileges enjoyed by your Majesty's other subjects. 
 
 " We humbly beg leave to assure your Majesty that the 
 insinuations against the Methodist preachers in this Pro- 
 vince do much injustice to a body of pious and deserving 
 men, who justly enjoy the confidence, and are the spiritual 
 instructors of a large portion of your Majesty's subjects in 
 this Province. We are convinced that the tendency of 
 their influence and instruction is not hostile to our insti- 
 tutions, but, on the contrary, is eminently favouiable to 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 217 
 
 relifjion and morality ; that their labours are calculated 
 to make their people better men and better subjects, and 
 have already produced, in this Province, the happiest 
 effects. 
 
 " While we folly and gratefully appreciate your Majesty's 
 gracious intentions in granting a Boyal Charter for the 
 establishment of an University in this Province, we would 
 beg most respectfully to represent, that as the great body 
 of your Majesty's subjects in this Province are not mem- 
 bers of the Church of England, they have seen, with 
 grief, that the Charter contains provisions which are cal- 
 culated to render the institution subservient to the par- 
 ticular interests of that Church, and to exclude from its 
 offices and honours all who do not belong to it. In con- 
 sequence of these provisions, its benefits will be confined 
 to a favoured few, while others of your Majesty's subjects, 
 far more numerous and equally loyal and deserving of your 
 Majesty's paternal care and favour, will be shut out from 
 a participation in them. Having a tendency to build up 
 one particular Church, to the prejudice of others, it will 
 naturally be an object of jealousy and disgust Its influ- 
 ence as a seminary of learning will, upon these accounts, 
 be limited and partial. We, therefore, humbly beg that 
 yom ':?jr<3ty will be pleased to listen to the wishes of 
 ycmr Majesty's people in this respect, and to cause the 
 pi-esent Charter to be cancelled, ond one granted free from 
 tae objections to which, eii->'"-ned by a conviction of 
 jour Majesty's paternal and gracious feelings to your 
 loyal subjects in this Province, as well as by a sense of 
 duty to the people, and a knoT/ledge of their anxiety upon 
 the cubject. we have presiinie i to advert, 
 
 " We would also beg leave to state that it is the general 
 desire of yoar Hejetty's s'Mijects in this Province that the 
 monies aiising ^loiu tho sale of any of the lands set apart 
 
' 
 
 218 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 in this Province for the support and maintenance of d 
 Protestamt clergy should be entirely appropriated to pur- 
 poses of education and internal improvement. We would 
 most humbly represent, that to apply them to the benefit 
 of one or two Christian denominations, to the excli "lun 
 of others, would be unjust as well aa impolitic, and that 
 it might perhaps be found impracticable to divide them 
 amon^ all. We have no reason to fear that the cause of 
 religion would suffer materially from not giving a public 
 support to its ministers, and from leaving them to be P"';>- 
 ported by the liberality of their people. 
 
 " Many works for the internal improvement of thu f ro- 
 vince, of great importance to its prosperity and to th^ ease 
 and comfort of your Majesty's subjects, are necessarily 
 neglected for want of money in the Provincial tieasuiy ; 
 for although the taxes are only of a trifling amount, >et, 
 from the scarcity of money, and the want of even a toler- 
 able price for the productions of their farms, they are 
 paid with great difficulty by many of your Majesty's 
 people. It is impossible, therefore, to raise by taxation 
 the means necessary to undertake and cany on those 
 works. It is also most desirable that a larger sum than 
 is at present at our disposal should be employed to extend 
 through the country the advantages of education. 
 
 " We therefore humbly pray that the monies arising 
 from the sale of the lands set apart in this Province for 
 the support and maintenance of a Protestant clergy may 
 be placed at the disposal of the Legislature of this Pro 
 vince, for the purposes we have mentioned. 
 
 "John Willson, Speaker. 
 
 ^ CommonB' House of Assembly, 20th March, 1828.'' 
 
 These documents are no less remarkable for 
 Lheir statesmanlike views than for their spirit of 
 
 llf 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 219 
 
 1^ 
 
 Christian patriotism. But the twofold contro- 
 versy on the Charter of King's College and of the 
 Clergy Eeserves was rather opened than closed by 
 these proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. 
 The publication of the Charter of King's College 
 and the representations on which it was obtained 
 were largely and warmly discussed. The author 
 of these Essays wrote eight letters (which were 
 widely published in the newspapers, as well as in 
 a pamphlet) on the subject ; the Legislative As- 
 sembly adopted, during successive Parliaments, 
 resolutions, addresses, and acts against the sec- 
 tarian provisions and character of King's College 
 Charter; but the proceedings of the Legislative 
 Assembly were long counteracted by the Legisla- 
 tive Council, of which the venerable author of the 
 Charter was a controlling member. It was not 
 until after a contest of more than fifteen years 
 that King's College was converted into a Provin- 
 cial institution, under the title of Toronto Uni- 
 versity, when the venerable Archdeacon of York, 
 now become Bishop of Toronto, renounced all 
 connection with the Toronto University, and, with 
 characteristic energy, obtained a Royal Charter 
 and large funds, both in England and Canada 
 for the establishment of Trinity College, Toronto. 
 The discussion on the Clergy Reserves was 
 still more protracted, if not more vehement, than 
 that on King's College. The Legislative Assembly 
 
220 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 proceeded in every possible form, and with great 
 unanimity, to extinguish the sectarian monopoly 
 of the Clergy Keserves ; the Methodist Conference 
 annually remonstrated against the Clergy Eeserve 
 monopoly, as did the annual assemblies of other 
 religious denominations ; the intensity of public 
 f( Mng on the subject was increased by the last 
 act' " '^''r John Colborne (afterwards Lord Seaton), 
 who, ; , ^eaving the Government of Upper Canada 
 in 1835, created fifty-seven rectories of the Church 
 of England, and endowed them with glebe lands 
 out of the Clergy Eeserves. But all the efforts 
 against the twofold sectarian monopoly of the 
 Clergy Eeserves and King's College proved un- 
 availing, while both the Executive and Legis- 
 lative Councils were in the hands of the mon- 
 opolists, irresponsible to public opinion, and had 
 the absolute control of a revenue sufficient for 
 the support of the Government, independent of 
 any vote of the House of Assembly, and against 
 its remonstrances. 
 
GANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 221 
 
 ESSAY VIII. 
 
 i; 
 
 OLEBOT RESERVE CON'ROYERSY CONTINUED : VOICE OF 
 THE LEOISLATIVB ASSEMBLY OF UPPER CANADA 
 IN FAVOUR OF EQUAL CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIB- 
 ERTY AMONG ALL CLASSES, AND IN VINDICATION 
 OF THE EARLY METHODIST MINISTRY. 
 
 
 LA«'HEN the writer of these Essays was ap- 
 pointed as representative of the Cana- 
 dian Conferences to the British Conference to 
 nec^otiate the first union between the two Con- 
 ferences in 1833, he carried a Petition to the 
 King, signed by upwards of 20,000 inhabitants, 
 against the Clergy Reserve monopoly and the 
 establishment of a dominant Church in Upper 
 Canada. This Petition was presented through 
 Lord Stanley, afterwards the Earl of Derby, 
 then Colonial Secretary, and then a professed 
 Liberal, and professedly opposed to the Church 
 of England possessing any civil advantages in 
 Canada not enjoyed by other religious denomi- 
 nations.* 
 
 
 * But an earlier Petition to the Crown had been pre- 
 sented, immediately after the publication of Dr. Strachan's 
 famous Letter and Chart, and a Committee of the House 
 
Ij 
 
 222 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 But a check was given to the progress and 
 settlement of this question by a design formed 
 between Messrs. Hume, Roebuck Papineau, and 
 W. L. Mackenzie, to erect Canada into an in- 
 
 of Commons was appointed on the Civil Government of 
 Canada, which investigated Canadian affairs at the same 
 time that a Select Committee of the House of Assembly 
 of Upper Canada was investigating the Letter and Chart 
 on Petitions from various Christian denominations. Sir 
 .rancis Hincks, in his pamphlet on the Cleigy Reserves, 
 etc., published in London, 1869, says : 
 
 *' "ijre ^ 13 much in Dr. Strachan's Letter and Chart that 
 was deemi d offensive to the members of other denominations, 
 and on its publication was not only taken by the House of 
 Assembly of Upper Canada, but by the inhabitants, who 
 entrusted a petition, signed by 8,000 people, to Mr. George 
 Ryerson, an influential Wesleyan Methodist, who was ex- 
 amined before a Committee of the House of Commons 
 in 1828. The report of that Committee, of which Mr. Hus- 
 kisson was Chairman, and Mr. Stanley (now Earl of Derby), 
 Mr. Labouchere (now Lord Taunton), Sir Franklin L«wis, 
 Mr. Sturges Bourne, Sir James Mcintosh, and others were 
 members, was, 'That they cannot avoid recommending in 
 the strongest manner the propriety of securing for the future 
 any provision which may be deemed necessary for the religious 
 wants of the community in these Provinces, by other means 
 than the reservation of one-seventh of the land, according to 
 the enactment of the Act of 1791.' 
 
 "With regard to the doubts which had arisen as to the 
 meaning of the term * Protestant clergy,' the Committee 
 observe, * The law officers of the Crown have given an opinion 
 in favour of the rights of the Church of Scotland to such 
 participation, in which your Committee entirely concur ; but 
 the question has been raised, whether the clergy of every 
 
CANADUN METH0DIS5L 
 
 223 
 
 
 i 
 
 dependent republic. The writer of these papers 
 was in England from November, 1835, to March, 
 
 denomination of Christians, except Roman Catholics, may 
 not be included.' While abstaining from offering any opinion 
 on the legal definition of the term, the Committee declared 
 its opinion that the intention of the framers of the Act of 
 1791 was *to reserve to the Government the right to apply 
 the money, if they saw fit, to any Protestant dergy.' "(pp.6, 6.) 
 
 Lord Stanley, in his speech, the 2nd May, 1828, in 
 reference to the Report on the Civil Government of 
 Canada, as reported in the Mirror of Parliament (corrected 
 by his own hand), said 
 
 ** That if any exclusive privileges be given to the Church of 
 England, not only will the measure be repugnant to every 
 principle of sound legislation, but contraiy to the spirit and 
 intentions of the Act of 1791, under which the Reserves were 
 made for the Protestant clergy. I will not enter further into 
 it at present, except to express my hope that the House will 
 guard Canada against the evils which religious dissensions have 
 already produced in this country and in Ireland, where we 
 have examples to teach us what to shun. We have seen the 
 evil consequences of this system at home. God forbid we 
 should not profit by exj)erience ; and more especially in legis- 
 lating for a people bordering on a country where religious 
 intolerance and religious exclusions are unknown — a country 
 to which Parliament looked in passing the Act of 1791, as all 
 the great men who argued the question then expressly declared. 
 It is important that His Majesty's Canadian subjects should 
 not have occasion to look across the naiiow boundary that 
 separates them from the United States and see anything there 
 to envy." 
 
 It is singular that when it was proposed to pass the 
 Duke of Newcastle's Bill in the House of Lords, in 1853, 
 to repeal the Clergy Reserve Act, Lord Stanley, now bu- 
 
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224 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 1837, seeking aid and a Royal Charter for what 
 is now known as Victoria University. Almost 
 every gentleman to whom he was introduced, 
 or whom he met, said, " You people in Canada 
 
 come the Earl of Derby and the leader of the Conser- 
 vative party, opposed the Bill, declaring that the Clergy 
 llcserves were intended and set apart for the Church of 
 England — the very reverse of what, as both an historical 
 fact and a principle of legislation, he had declared twenty- 
 five years before in the House of Commons. 
 
 Sir Qeorge Murray, Secretary of State for the Oolonies 
 under the Duke of Wellington's Qovemment, in a speech 
 in the House of Commons, July, 1832, on a motion for 
 a grant to the Episcopal North American Clergy, said : 
 
 "This conntiy is bound to provide religious instruction for 
 the people of our Colonies. At the same time, he (Sir George 
 Murray) begged to say that, so far from approving the main- 
 tenance ot any exclusive system in the Colonies, he thought 
 any such system there bad and dangerous. He was of opinion 
 that the pastors of all religious persuasions in the Colonies were 
 ei^ually entitled to support, and he deprecated the establish- 
 ment of any one Church over all others." 
 
 One can hardly avoid the reflection, that had the vener* 
 able Archdeacon of York, and the clergy of the Church 
 of England in Canada, acquiesced forthwith in the deci- 
 sions of the high Imperial authorities, instead of resisting 
 them, and recognized the constitutional rights of their 
 fellow-subjects in Canada, instead of denying and seeking 
 to paralyze, if not destroy them, how difi'ewnt would have 
 been the Canadian history for more than twenty-five 
 years from what it was ! how much more harmonious 
 and rapid the progress of the country, and how much 
 belter for the Chuich of England itself I 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 225 
 
 are going to set up a republican government for 
 yourselves, and separate from us." I denied it, 
 when I was told, it so appears from letters of 
 Mr. Hume, who is understood to be the agent 
 of the Reformers of Upper Canada, and Mr. 
 Roebuck, agent of the House of Assembly of 
 Lower Canada, and their correspondents in Can- 
 ada. My answer was, that the people of Upper 
 Canada were not Republicans, were truly loyal 
 to the King and British connection, but desired 
 and insisted upon the impartial administration 
 of the government to all parties, and equal civil 
 rights and privileges among all classes of the 
 people. So deeply mortified did I feel at these 
 unjust and injurious suspicions in regard to the 
 people of Canada, that I sat down and addressed 
 to Messrs. Hume and Roebuck six letters, 
 through the Times newspaper, in which I 
 showed, from their own letters and the words 
 of Messrs. Papineau and W. L. Mackenzie, that 
 they were the originators and advisers of the 
 departure from reform to revolution in Canada, 
 the new scheme for throwing off what Mr. 
 Hume called "the baneful domination of the 
 mother country," and for establishing a republic 
 in Canada. These' letters were signed " A Can- 
 adian," were reprinted and widely circulated 
 in Canada, were collected together under the 
 auspices and at the expense of the British 
 15 
 
 
 .''■■■ fiiSi 
 
 m 
 
f , 
 
 
 226 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 American Association of Merchants in London, 
 and a copy of them sent to each member of 
 both Houses of Parliament. 
 
 When these letters were written in London, 
 as also one in reply to a personal attack of Mr. 
 Peter Perry, in the U. C. House of Assembly, in 
 the spring of 1836, the author had no idea of 
 a new election in Upper Canada ; but in May, 
 1836, Sir F. B. Head dissolved the House of 
 Assembly, and adroitly turned the issue, not 
 on the question of the Clergy Reserves, or of 
 other practical questions, but on the question of 
 connection with the mother country, and of 
 Eepublicanism versus Monarchy, as had been 
 recommended by Messrs. Hume and Roebuck, 
 and advocated by. Messrs. Mackenzie and Pa- 
 pineau. This was successful, inasmuch as those 
 Reformers who would not disavow their con- 
 nection with Messrs. Mackenzie, Hume, and 
 Roebuck lost their elections ; for though not 
 more than half a dozen of them had any 
 sympathy with the sentiments of Messrs. Hume, 
 Roebuck, Papineau and Mackenzie, they did not 
 wish to break the unity of the Reform party 
 by repudiating them, and suffered defeat in 
 consequence at the elections. The successful 
 candidates generally, while they repudiated 
 republican separation from the mother country, 
 promised fidelity to the often-expressed and 
 
 ii 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 227 
 
 well-known wishes of the people in the settle- 
 ment of the Clergy Reserve question, which, 
 however, they failed to fulfil, as will presently 
 be seen. 
 
 In the meantime, the Mackenzie, or revolu- 
 tionary section of the Reformers, resolved to 
 carry their views into effect by forcp^ of arms, 
 and formed secret clubs or societies for that pur- 
 pose, counselled and gjuided by a secret Revolu- 
 tionary Committee in Toronto. An attack was 
 made upon the city by the rebels, headed by 
 Mackenzie, on the 4th of December, 1837 ; but 
 the citizens volunteered and took arms in its 
 defence, from the Chief Justice downwards. 
 The rebels, invading the city from Yonge Street, 
 were repulsed with considerable loss, and the 
 rebellion was crushed, the rebels in the west, in 
 the county of Oxford, headed by Dr. Charles 
 Duncombe, being dispersed by the militia volun- 
 teers under the command of Sir Allan McNab. 
 There was no rebel rising east of Toronto, and 
 few, if any, rebels. 
 
 In the elections of IHSC, l.\e Earl of Durhaia 
 says that Sir F. B. Head ■ succeeded in putting 
 the question in such a light before the Province 
 that a great portion of the people really imagined 
 that they were called upon to decide the ques- 
 tion of separation by their vot(»s" Had the 
 constitutional and loyal Reformers declared their 
 
 '■ A 
 '•'11 
 
 )' if 
 
 * ? 
 
 M iff I 
 
 \% 
 
 • H 
 
228 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 l| 
 
 ira 
 
 opposition to the avowed sentiments and ob- 
 jects of Messrs. Mackenzie, Hume, and Roebuck, 
 Sir F. B. Head would have had no ^rounds for 
 placing such an issue before the ( .try, and 
 hardly would have done so. The elections would 
 have taken place on the grounds of responsible 
 government and equal civil and religious rights 
 among all Christian denominations. After the 
 most thorough inquiry, the Earl of Durham, in 
 his Report, says that " the Assembly of Upper 
 Canada did not possess the public confidence." 
 The great body of the Reformers were as loyal 
 to British connection in 183G as thev are now 
 in 1880 ; and Sir F. B. Head himseK wasted of 
 the loyalty of the Reformers general. ^ , equally 
 with the Conservatives, in putting down the 
 rebellion ; but afterwards, the leaders of the 
 majority in the new Assembly (which the Earl 
 of Durham said " did not possess the public 
 confidence") endeavoured to implicate the loyalty 
 of the whole Reform party on account of the 
 rebellion of a small section of them, just as 
 attempts are now made by certain partizans to 
 fasten, alternately, annexation sentiments and 
 designs upon the whole Conservative and Re- 
 form parties on account of the annexation 
 avowals of some individuals of both parties. 
 The error of the leaders of the Constitutional 
 Reform party in 1836 was their not at once 
 
CANAKIAN MKTIIU1>1SM. 
 
 221) 
 
 fliHavowing all sytnpathy and connection with 
 the scntinjcnts and desii,'ns of Messrs. Hume, 
 Roebuck, Mackenzie, and Papincau to sever 
 Canada from England with a view to its annexa- 
 tion to the United States. Sir F. Hincks says, 
 in an admiral )ly written pamphlet, published 
 in London in 18G9, " The unfortunate rebellion 
 of 1837 had for a time almost annihilated the 
 Reform party, which only be^jan to revive on the 
 appointment of Lord Durham as Governor- 
 General and High Commissioner. On the pub- 
 lication of hi> Lordship's report it received an 
 immense accession of strength."* 
 
 It may be advisable to give in this place a 
 summary view of the legislative proceedings on 
 this subject. I do so by epitomizing an Address 
 
 * Religious Endowments in Canada — The Clergy Reserve 
 and Rectory Questions. A Chapter of Canadian Histwy. 
 By Sir Francis HincJcs, K.G.y M.G.C.B. Published in Lon- 
 don, by Dulton & Lacy, 28 Cockspur Street, booksellers 
 to the Queen and H. R H. the Prince of Wales ; pp. 109. 
 
 As early as 1832, Lord Goderich, by the command 
 of the King, sent positive instructions to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Upper Canada to submit to the Canadian 
 Legislature the settlement of the Clergy Reserve question, 
 by " varying or repealing the provision for support of a 
 Protestant clergy, as it might judge best for the religious 
 and general interests of the country." But the order was 
 evaded ; and the question was still kept open as a subject 
 of agitation. 
 
 .if 
 
 ',»- 
 
 
 •t'i 
 
 
 V. 
 
 Ml 
 
I 
 
 > i 
 
 ■ \ 
 
 
 
 
 iii 
 
 ■■ff^m ! 
 
 230 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 to the Queen, adopted by the House of Assembly 
 in 1850, by a majority of 4G to 23, and accom* 
 panied by an excellent despatch from the Earl 
 of Elgin and Kincardine : 
 
 1. The reservation of a large portion of the 
 public domain of the Province, for the support 
 of a Protestant clergy, by an Act passed in the 
 reign of King George the Third, has been for 
 many years a source of intense dissatisfaction 
 to the great majority of His Majesty's subjects 
 in Upper Canada. 
 
 2. In the early settlement of the Province the 
 reserve lands were of little value, and as no 
 sales had then been authorized by the Imperial 
 Parliament, the question attracted but a slight 
 share of public attention. 
 
 3. The power given by the 41st clause of the 
 above-mentioned Act (31 George III. chap. 21) 
 to the Provincial Legislature, to " vary or re- 
 peal" the provisions respecting the allotment 
 and appropriation of lands for the support of 
 a Protestant clergy, affords sufficient evidence 
 that, in the opinion of the Imperial Parliament, 
 the question was one that ought to be settled 
 with reference to the state of public opinion 
 in the colony rather than to that of the mother 
 country. 
 
 4. But so soon as the intention of the Govern- 
 ment to dispose of the land reserved in Upper 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 231 
 
 Canada became known, the representatives of 
 the people of that Province took the whole sub- 
 ject into most serious consideration, and, with an 
 unanimity that prevailed on no other question, 
 endeavoured to remove a grievance complained 
 of by the people, save and except by those 
 interested in the maintenance of Church Estab- 
 lishments. 
 
 5. In the year 1827, a Bill to authorize the 
 sale of the Clergy Reserves, and the application 
 of the proceeds thereof to the purposes of general 
 education, was passed through the House of 
 Assembly of Upper Canada, the division on 
 the second reading having been 22 to 6 ; but 
 this Bill was rejected by the Legislative Council. 
 
 6. A dissolution having taken place soon after- 
 wards, the tenth Parliament of Upper Canada 
 met in the year 1829, when a Bill for the sale 
 of the Clergy Reserves, and the application of 
 the proceeds to educational purposes, passed 
 through the various stages in the House of 
 Assembly without a division, but was again 
 rejected by the Legislative Council. 
 
 7. In the year 1830, during the second session 
 of the tenth Parliament, another Bill, containing 
 similar provisions to the former ones, was passed 
 by the House of Assembly without a division, 
 and was rejected by the Legislative Council. 
 
 8. A dissolution having taken place, a new 
 
 
 
232 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 'i ''i 
 
 Parliament met in 1831, when resolutions ex- 
 pressing the same views were adopted by a larre 
 majority in the House of Assembly — an amend- 
 ment proposed by the Solicitor-General (Hagar- 
 man) having been rejected on a division by 29 
 to 7. 
 
 9. In the year 1832, during the ;Cond session 
 of the eleventh Parliament, an Addfess to the 
 Crown, praying for the application of the CJlergy 
 Reserves to educational purposes, was carried by 
 a large majority in the House of Assembly. 
 
 10. After the Address last referred to, a Mes- 
 sage was sent down to the House by Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor Sir John Colborne, in which His 
 Excellency states that he had His Majesty's com- 
 mands to make a communication to the House 
 of Assembly in reference to the lands set apart 
 for the support and maintenance of a Protestant 
 clergy ; that His Excellency informed the House 
 that the representaticrs made to His Majesty, 
 and to his royal predecessors, of the prejudice 
 sustained by his faithful subjects in the Pro- 
 vince, from the appropriating of the Clergy 
 Reserves, had engaged His Majesty's most atten- 
 tive consideration ; that His Majesty had con- . 
 sidered with no less anxiety how the power 
 given to the Provincial Legislature by the 
 Constitutional Act, to vary or repeal this part 
 of its provisions, could be called into exercise 
 
CANADIAN MI:TII0DISM. 
 
 233 
 
 most advantageously for the spiritual and tem- 
 poral interests of His Majesty's faithful sub- 
 jects in the Province. 
 
 11. After the reception of the above Message, 
 a Bill to re-invest the Clergy Reserves in the 
 Crown, discharged of all trusts whatsoever [that 
 is, to convert them into Crown Lands, pure and 
 simple], w^ii^^ijjtroduced and read a second time 
 on a division oS- 29 to 7. 
 
 12. In the year 1883, during the third session 
 of the eleventh Parliament, a Bill, similar in its 
 provisions with that formerly adopted by the 
 House, was read a second time on a division 
 of 26 to 2. 
 
 13. In the year 1834, during the fourth session 
 of the eleventh Parliament, a Bill of similar 
 character was passed through its several stages 
 in the House of Assembly by considerable ma- 
 jorities, though opposed with the whole weight 
 of the Government, but was rejected by the 
 Legislative Council. 
 
 13. In the year 1835, during the first session 
 of the twelfth Parliament of Upper Canada, a 
 Bill for the sale of the Clergy Reserves, and 
 the application of the proceeds to educational 
 purposes, was passed by a majority of 40 to 4, 
 but was rejected by the Legislative Council. 
 
 1 5. During the same session, resolutions were 
 sent down to the House of Assembly by the 
 
 3, 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
i u!' 
 
 I'i 
 
 I 
 
 23^ 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Legislative Council, in which the opinion was 
 expressed, that as the Legislature of the Province 
 had been unable to concur in any measure re- 
 specting the Clergy Reserves, it was expedient 
 to address His Majesty and both Houses of 
 Parliament, requesting that the Imperial Par- 
 liament should legislate on the subject ! 
 
 16. This monstrous proposition to abandon 
 the legislative functions which the Imperial 
 Act had conferred upon the Provincial Legisla- 
 ture, to " vary or repeal " the Clergy Reserve 
 provisions, and transfer them to the British 
 Pairliament, was promptly rejected by the House 
 of Assembly, which resolved thereupon, by a 
 majority of 24 to 12, that the House had hereto- 
 fore repeatedly passed Bills providing for the 
 sale of the Clergy Reserves and the appropria- 
 tion of the moneys arising therefrom to the 
 support of education, which Bills had been 
 rejected without amendment by the Legislative 
 Council. With the same view the House had 
 repeatedly made known, by humble and dutiful 
 addresses to His Majesty, their wishes and 
 opinions — the wishes and opinions of His Ma- 
 jesty's faithful subjects in this Province — on this 
 highly important subject, and the House took 
 that opportunity of declaring that these wishes 
 and opinions, both on the part of the House 
 and of thoir constituents, remained entirely 
 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 235 
 
 unchanged. That during the second session of 
 the then last Parliament, His Excellency the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, by Message, informed the 
 House that he had His Majesty's instructions 
 to invite the House to consider how the powers 
 given to the Provincial Legislature by the Con- 
 stitutional Act, to " vary and repeal " the pro- 
 visions which it contains for the allotment and 
 appropriation of the Clergy Reserves, might be 
 most advantageously exercised for the spiritual 
 and temporal interests of his faithful subjects 
 in the Province. That the House, in compli- 
 ance with His Majesty's wishes thus graciously 
 expressed, and with the strong and well-known 
 desires of His Majesty's faithful subjects in the 
 Province, had passed a Bill during the then 
 present session to provide for the sale of the 
 Clergy Reserves, and to apply the moneys arising 
 from such sales to the support of education. 
 That the Legislative Council had not passed said 
 Bill, had not amended it, and had not passed 
 any other Bill on the subject. 
 
 17. In the year 1836, during the second 
 session of the twelfth Parliament, a Bill em- 
 bodying similar principles to those repeatedly 
 passed by- the House of Assembly, was again 
 introduced, and was carried on a division by a 
 majority of 35 to 5. The said Bill was amended 
 by the Legislative Council by expunging all the 
 
 ^ I 
 fA 
 
 m 
 
 4 
 
23G 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 enacting clauses, and substituting provisions for 
 investing the Reserves in the Crown for the 
 maintenance of public worship and the support 
 of religion. The House of Assembly adopted, 
 by a majority of 27 to 1, certain amendments 
 to the amended Bill sent down by the Legisla- 
 tive Council affirming the principles of their 
 original Bill. 
 
 18. During the same session, a despatch from 
 Lord Glenclg, His Majesty's Principal Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies, to Lieutenant-Gover- 
 nor Sir Francis Head, was communicated to the 
 House of Assembly, in which his Lordship 
 treated the question as one to be settled by the 
 Provincial Legislature, and declined to interfere 
 with the deliberations of the Legislature by 
 offering any suggestions of his own. 
 
 19. The twelfth Parliament having been dis- 
 solved by Sir Francis Head, a general election 
 was held at a period of great excitement, and 
 the question of the disposal of the Clergy Re- 
 serves was lost sight of during the political 
 struggle which ensued. During the first three 
 sessions of this thirteenth and last Parliament 
 of Upper Canada, various efforts were made to 
 settle the question, but without any satisfactory 
 result. At length, in the course ot the third 
 session, a Bill which had passed the Legislative 
 Council, providing for the re-investment of the 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 237 
 
 '^.13 
 
 said Reserves (not in the Crown, but) in the 
 Imperial Parliament, was brought down to. the 
 House ot* Assembly, and, by dint of every sort 
 of persuasion and influence on the members, a 
 majority of one was obtained for passing it — 
 the vote being 22 to 21. But the Bill was 
 disallowed by the Imperial Government, " there 
 being an insuperable objection to it on point of 
 form." The Governor-General, Lord Sydenham, 
 in announcing the disallowance of this Bill, 
 states " that, in the opinion of Her Majesty's 
 Government, the Provincial Legislature would 
 bring to the decision of the question an ex- 
 tent of accurate information as to the wants 
 and general opinion of society in this country, 
 in which the Imperial Parliament was unavoid- 
 ably deficient." 
 
 20. Another attempt at settlement was made 
 during the last session of this last Parliament 
 of Upper Canada, when a Bill passed both 
 Houses providing for the sale and disposal of 
 the Clergy Reserves, which Bill having been 
 reserved did not receive the Royal assent ; but 
 instead of which. Lord John Russell, then Prin- 
 cipal Secretary of State for the Colonies, intro- 
 duced a Bill into the Imperial Parliament (3 
 and 4 Vic, chap. Ixxviii.), and which passed, 
 providing that the entire Clergy Reserve revenue, 
 from the investments made before the passing 
 
 I 
 
 
 ■ m 
 
 ■V;>: 
 
238 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 i 
 
 I '4 
 
 j ; 
 
 ii 
 I i 
 
 of that Act (1840), should be assigned to the 
 Churches of England and Scotland alone, to the 
 exclusion of all other religious denominations. 
 The provisions of this Bill not only took from 
 the people of Upper Canada the control of the 
 revenue of property which their own labour 
 had rendered valuable, and which their Consti- 
 tutional Act gave their representatives the right 
 to " vary or repeal," but actually disposed of that 
 revenue by the Imperial Parliament, at variance 
 with and against the views and wishes of the 
 representatives of the people of Upper Canada 
 in nine sessions of four successive Parliaments. 
 
 Messrs. William and Egerton Ryersori had 
 been appointed representatives of the Canadian 
 Conference to the British Conference, which met 
 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1840. On their 
 arrival in England, they found Lord John 
 Russell's Bill for the disposal of the Canadian 
 Clergy Revenues to the Churches of England and 
 Scotland before Parliament ; and as represent- 
 ing the largest religious denomination in Upper 
 Canada, they requested an interview with Lord 
 John Russell on the subject of his Lordship's 
 Bill before Parliament. In the interview granted, 
 they pointed out to his Lordship the injustice, 
 impolicy, and danger of the Bill, should it be- 
 come law, and respectfully and earnestly prayed 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 231> 
 
 his Lordship to withdraw the Bill ; but ho was 
 inflexible, when the Messrs. Ryerson prayed to 
 his Lordship to assent to their being heard at 
 the Bar of the House of Commons against the 
 Bill ; at which his Lordship became very angry 
 — thinking it presumptuous that two Canadians, 
 however numerous and respectable their con- 
 stituency, should propose to be heard at the Bar 
 of the British House of Commons against a 
 measure of Her Majesty's Government. But 
 the Messrs. Ryerson knew their country and 
 their position, and afterwards wrote a respectful 
 but earnest letter to his Lordship against his 
 measure, and faithfully warned him of the con- 
 sequences of it if persevered in ; they went so 
 far as to intimate that the measure would prove 
 an opening wedge of separation between Great 
 Britain and the people of Upper Canada ; and 
 lest they should be considered as endeavouring 
 to fulfil their own predictions, they did not 
 publish their letter to Lord John Russell, or 
 write a line on the subject for more than ten 
 years — knowing that a wound so deep would, 
 without any action or word on their part, fester 
 and spread so wide in the people of Upper 
 Canada as ultimately to compel the repeal of 
 the Act or sever their connection with Great 
 Britain. The result was as the Messrs. Ryerson 
 
 
 
 
 .«■... J 
 
240 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 II 
 
 had apprehended ; for in 1853 the Act wan 
 repealed by the British Parliament.* 
 
 Early in 1852, the Government of which Earl 
 
 *Earl Grey had intonclecl to propose its repoal in 1850-51, 
 and had requested the writer of these papers (who was 
 then on an Educational tour in Europe) to remain in 
 England in order to furnish his Lordship with data and 
 details to enable him to answer objections which might 
 be made to his Bill in the House of Lords, and wrote to 
 Lord Elgin, then Governor-General of Canada, requesting 
 the protracting of Mr. Ryerson's leave of absence for two 
 or three months. But the Bill had to be deferred until 
 another session, arid Mr. Ryerson returned immediately 
 to Canada. Sir Francis Hincks, in the pamphlet above 
 referred to, on page 18, refers to the proceeding on the 
 part of Earl Grey on the subject. He says : 
 
 "On the 11th of January, 1851, Earl Grey addressed a de- 
 spatch to the Earl of Elgin, announcing that it appeared to 
 Her Majesty's Government to be impossible for them, consist- 
 ently with the principles on which they have always held that 
 the Government of Canada ought to be conducted, to advise 
 Her Majesty to refuse to comply with the prayer of the address 
 of the Assembly " [for the repeal of Lord John Russell's Act 
 of 1840]. 
 
 " It had been the intention of Earl Grey to have intro- 
 duced a Bill into Parliament during the session of 1850-51 ; 
 but in a despatch dated the 27th January, 1851, he made 
 Lord Elgin acquainted with the circumstances under which 
 * Her Majesty's Government are compelled to postpone to 
 another session the introduction of the Bill.' When the Cana- 
 dian Assembly met in 1851, an address of thanks to Her 
 Majesty for the promise conveyed in Earl Grey's first despatch, 
 wap proposed and carried. No other action could be taken." 
 (p. 56.) 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 241 
 
 Grey was Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 was sui:>crscded by that of the Earl of Derby, 
 with Sir John Pakington as Secretaiy of State 
 for the Colonies, who, in a. despatch to Lord 
 Elgin, dated April 22, 1852.. says : 
 
 " By a despatch from my predecessor, Earl Grey, of 
 the 11th July last, you were informed that Her Majesty's 
 then servants found themselves compelled to postpone to 
 another session the introduction of a Bill into Parliament 
 giving the Canadian Legislature authority to alter the 
 existing arrangements with regard to the Clergy Reserves. 
 
 " With reference to that intimation, I have to inform 
 you that it is not the intention of Her Majesty's present 
 advisers to propose such a measure to Parliament this 
 session." Two reasons assigned by Sir John Pakington 
 for this decision were — first, that a general election had 
 just taken place in the Province, and " it was yet uncer- 
 tain what the views of the new Assembly as to the dis- 
 posal of the Clergy Reserves may be ; " second, that " the 
 result would prol)ably be the diversion to other purposes " 
 of the Clergy Reserves than " the support of Divine 
 worship and religious instruction in the Colony." Sir 
 John Pakington was soon undeceived as to continued 
 Canadian sentiment on the subject; for Sir Francis Hincks, 
 then Inspector-General and Pnniier of Canada, who hap- 
 pened to be in London on official business in behalf of 
 the Canadian Government, enclosed to Sir John Pakington 
 an "Extract from a Report of a Committee of tlie Honour- 
 able the Executive Council on Matters of State," dated 7th 
 April, 1852, approved by His Excellency the Governor- 
 General (the Earl of Elgin) in Council on tlie same day. 
 The Executive Council instructed " the Honourable the 
 Inspector-General to ascertain the views of Her Majesty's 
 16 
 
 
 > .9 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 h^km 
 
 
242 
 
 CANADIAN MRTIIODISM. 
 
 ' "If 
 
 Government on tho subject of tlib repeal of the Imperial 
 Act 3 and 4 Vic, cliup. 78, in conrnnnity >vith the 
 addresses to Her Most CJracious Majesty, from both 
 branches of the Canadian Legishiture, at its last session, 
 on the subject of the Clergy Reserves." 
 
 " The assurances of Her Majesty's late Government that 
 such action would be taken, had prepared the people of 
 Canada to expect that no furtlier delay would take place 
 in meeting their just wishes upon a question of such 
 paramount importance to them ; the Council, therefore, 
 recommend that their colleague, the Inspector-General, be 
 requested by the Provincial Secretary to seek an inter- 
 view with Her Majesty's Ministers, and represent to them 
 the importance of carrying out the pledges of their pre- 
 decessors on the subject of the Clergy Reserves, and thus 
 empower the Colonial Legislature to deal with the ques- 
 tion in accordance with the well-understood wishes of 
 the people of Canada." 
 
 Sir Francis Hincks enclosed this minute of 
 
 the Executive Council of Canada, with a noble 
 
 letter, dated May 3, 1852, in the course of which 
 
 he said : 
 
 " I have already had an opportunity of urging, during 
 the interview with which you were good enou,i:jh to honour 
 me, the importance of settling this 1 ig-\ question 
 
 .as speedily as possible. It wr^ ^i 'uty to state that the 
 number of those who insist ae present ttlement 
 
 is very small, and I may now a^ , that "iie of the leading 
 opposition newspapers in Upper Can la, and in the in- 
 terest of the Church of England, has come out distinctly 
 for a new scheme of distribution. I would press on Her 
 Majesty's Government more formally what I have already 
 urged in conversation with you, that if, as has been 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 243 
 
 alleged, the present Cnnaflian Parliament is favourahlo 
 to the views of the Church of England, it is surely the 
 best time for that Church to procure a settlement that 
 will he regarded as constitutional. 
 
 " I can assure Her Majesty's Govomnient with the 
 utmost sincerity, that there will Ik; no end to the agita- 
 tion in Canada if the attempt he made to settle the ({ues- 
 tion permanently according to public opinifm in England, 
 instead of that of the Province itself ; and I may add, 
 that it is well known that many who are opponents of 
 the secularization of the Clergy Reserves are, on consti- 
 tutional grounds, in favour of a settlement by the Pro- 
 vincial Parliament. I believe that, after the assurance 
 given by the late Government, it will be impoa8il)le to 
 protract very long the repeal of the Imperial Act." 
 
 In another letter addressed by Sir Francis 
 Hincks to Sir John Pakington, dated May 10, 
 1842, Sir Francis says : 
 
 " I am bound by a sense of duty to express to her 
 confidential advisers that it is with the most serious alarm 
 1 have read the concluding portion of your despatch. 
 Most devoutly attached as I am to the maintenance of 
 the subsisting connection between the Mother Country 
 and the British American Colonies, I cannot view without 
 grave apprehension the prospect of collision between Her 
 Majesty's Government and the Parliament of Canada, 
 on a question regarding which such strong feelings prevail 
 among the great mass of the population. Such a difficulty 
 is the more to be regretted because the question of the 
 Clei-gy Reserves is the only one, so far as I am aware, at 
 all likely to lead to collision. It happens, most unfortu- 
 nately, that public opinion in England differs Avidely from 
 that in Canada on questions partaking of a religious char- 
 
 iKim 
 
wM 
 
 Ml 
 
 244 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 acter ; and as the people of Canada are convinced that 
 they are better judges than any parties in England can 
 be of what measures will best conduce to the peace and 
 welfare of the Province, Her Majesty's Government will, 
 I trust, perceive the danger, which, I apprehend, is at least 
 deserving of the most grave consideration. 
 
 " I cannot have the slightest doubt that the members 
 of Her Majesty's Government are actuated by the most 
 earnest desire to promote the best interests of Canada, 
 and that if they could be brought to believe that I have 
 given a faithful account of the state of public opinion 
 there, they would be disposed to yield their own wishes 
 for the sake of the peace of the Colony. 
 
 "I am quite ready to acknowledge the high respec- 
 tability of the petitioners against the repeal of the Clergy 
 Reserves Act. The bishops, clergy, and an influential 
 portion of the laity of the Church of England, the clergy 
 and a portion of the Church of Scotland, are doubtless 
 in favour of the present settlement, which, indeed, confers 
 on the Church of Scotland an income w'hoUy beyond its 
 requirements in Canada ; while a majority of the Pres- 
 byterian population receive no share of the endowment, 
 nor desire to participate in it. 
 
 " While, however, I admit the respectability of the 
 petitioners, I think I am justilied in affirming that they 
 do not represent anything like a majority of the popula- 
 tion of Canada ; indeed, the very fact that they, on all 
 occasions, endeavour to accomplish their wishes by appeal- 
 ing, not to their representatives in Parliament, but to the 
 Imperial Parliament, is conclusive proof that they are 
 themselves conscious that their views are not in accord- 
 ance with public opinion in Canada." 
 
 The Derby Ministry had to resign office in 
 December, 1852, and the Duke of Newcastle 
 
■ 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 245 
 
 succeeded Sir John Pakington as Secretary of 
 State for the Colonies ; and on the 15th January, 
 1853, the Duke addressed a despatch to the Earl 
 of Elgin, announcing the decision of the new 
 Ministry to propose the repeal of the Imperial 
 Act of 1840, which was successfully accom- 
 plished. 
 
 Thus was a struggle of more than twenty-five 
 years ended, equality before the law of all 
 religious denominations established, and the con- 
 stitutional rights of the people of Upper Canada 
 secured, to their great joy. But the Bishop of 
 Toronto, whose jiolicy and measures had caused 
 so much agitation in Upper Canada, regarded 
 this settlement of the Clergy Reserve question 
 as an irreparable calamity to the Church of Eng- 
 land in Canada. On the 16th of March, 1853, 
 the Bishop addressed a letter to the Duke of 
 Newcastle, of which the following are extracts : 
 
 " Power and violence are to determine the question ; 
 vested rights and the claims of justice are impediments to 
 be swept away. Hence the spoliation sought to be per- 
 petrated by the Legislature of Canada has no parallel in 
 Colonial history. Even in the midst of the American 
 Revolution, the old colonists, during the heart-burnings 
 and ravages of civil war, respected the ecclesiastical en- 
 dowments made by the Crown against which they were 
 contending." * * * 
 
 [The grants made by the Crown were all held by 
 the saEiC tenure — whether to individuals or corporations'^ 
 
 8j5« 
 
 ' -H m 
 
 c%:m 
 
 C;>. 
 
. i 
 
 i "i 
 
 I 
 
 III! 
 
 -11! 
 
 
 246 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 not reservations for certain purposes with power expressly 
 given to Colonial Assemblies to " vary or repeal " them.] 
 " I feal bitterly, my Lord Duke, on this subject. Till 
 I heard of your Grace's despatch, I had fondly trusted in 
 Mr. Gladstone and liis friends, of whom you are one, 
 notwithstiinding the present doubtful Administration ; 
 and I still argued in my heart, though not without mis- 
 givings, that the Church was safe. I have cherished her 
 with my best energies for more than half a century in 
 this distant corner of God's dominions ; and after many 
 trials and difficulties I was beholding her with joy, enlarg- 
 ing her tent, lengthening her cords, and strengthening her 
 stakes, but now this joy is turned into grief and sadness, 
 for darkness and tribulation are approaching to arrest her 
 onward progress. Permit me, in conclusion, my Lord 
 Duke, to entreat your forgiveness if in the anguish of my 
 spirit I have been too bold, for it is far from my wish or 
 intention to give personal offence. And of this rest 
 assured, that I would most willingly avert, with the sacri- 
 fice of my life, the calamities which the passing of your 
 Bill will bring upon the Church in Canada." 
 
 There is a touching pathos in the close of this 
 letter ; but the Bishop himself lived to see his 
 apprehended calamities turned into blessings; for 
 the most prosperous and brightest days of the 
 Church of England in Upper Canada have been 
 from 1853 to the present time. 
 
 ! 
 
 * '■ 1 I 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 247 
 
 ESSA.Y IX. 
 
 DIVISIONS IN THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH. 
 
 By the late Rev. John Ryerson, loritten at Brantfrrd, 1S64; 
 with notes by E. Ryerson, 
 
 m 
 
 ^■M 
 
 ^HE Ryan Division — Hallowell Conference^ 
 18U. In July of the year 1824, the first 
 Canada Conference was held in Hallowell, now 
 Picton. It was during this year that what were 
 called the Eyan difficulties commenced ; and be- 
 cause of the importance attached to this matter, 
 I will here give some account of the origin, pro- 
 gress, and first consummation of this unhappy 
 affair, until its termination in the organization of 
 a separate body of Methodists, under the name of 
 the " Canada Wesleyan Methodist Church." 
 
 For several years previous to 1824, the ques- 
 tion of what was called the election of "Pre- 
 siding Elders " was much agitated in many parts 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. These Elders 
 had always been, as they still are in the United 
 States, appointed by the Bishops. The so-called 
 reform . sought for was to take away this power 
 
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 AJ. 
 
 1 
 
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 Ml 
 
248 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 V^\S I 
 
 yp\\ 
 
 11 
 
 from the Bishops, and place it in the Annual 
 Conferences — making the office elective. As 
 none but the General Conference could effect this 
 change in the Discipline of the Church, great 
 exertions were used at the Annual Conferences 
 to elect delegates to the General Conference who 
 sympathized with, and would vote for, the " re- 
 form." 
 
 This was the case in the Genesee Conference, 
 of which Canada then formed a part. Messrs. 
 Ryan and Case, the two Presiding Elders in 
 Canada, were strongly opposed to the electing 
 of Picsiding Elders by each Conference, and were 
 consequently left out of the delegation, and the 
 Esv. Isaac B. Smith and the Eev. Wyat Cham- 
 berlayne were elected to represent the Canada 
 section of the Conference. At that time there 
 was a large majority of the members of the 
 Genesee Conference in favour of the contem- 
 plated reform. Mr. Case bore his defeat with 
 apparent composure ; not so Mr. Kyan, who was 
 annoyed at the defeat itself, and more so at the 
 prospective changes in the mode of appointing 
 Presiding Elders. 
 
 In the evening after the adjournment of the 
 [Genesee] Conference, Mr. Eyan called a meeting 
 of the preachers frqm Canada, with the exception 
 of Mr. Case and such as were known to be 
 favourable to the proposed reform. In this meet- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 249 
 
 ing, held in the open air, Mr. Ryan talked a 
 great many things, the import of which I could 
 not quite understand; but among other things, 
 he said, " A dark cloud hung over the Church ; 
 that this pseudo reform business would split the 
 Church in pieces from <3nd to end ; that the 
 people, especially in Canada, would never sub- 
 mit to it," etc., etc. By one of the preachers 
 present it was observed, that " Methodists in Can- 
 ada did not know or care much about the matter ; 
 and even if some agitation should arise, you, 
 Elder Ryan and Elder Case, can easily keep all 
 quiet." To this Mr. Ryan tartly replied that he 
 knew better than other preachers did the state of 
 feeling in Canada, and that we should get away 
 from strife before it was meddled with. 
 
 Not long after this session of the Conference, 
 there was a good deal of conversation and cen- 
 sorious feeling excited in the Church, in the 
 bounds of Mr. Ryan's district — the Bay of Quints 
 District. Late in the autumn of the same year 
 a Convention was caUed by Mr. Ryan, to meet 
 at Hallo well, to take into consideration the state 
 of the Church. Mr. Ryan did not notify the 
 delegates to the General Conference to meet him, 
 nor several of the travelling preachers. At this 
 Convention, the question of separation from the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
 States was agitated, and resolutions favourable 
 
 r*./? 
 
 ^ t ; 
 
 m 
 
 
250 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 to a separation were ultimately adopted by a con- 
 siderable majority. A Memorial founded on 
 these resolutions was drawn .up and signed, to 
 be sent to the American General ConferencG, 
 asking that body to set off the Methodists in 
 Canada, and constitute them an independent 
 Church. Messrs. Ryan, Case, and David Break- 
 enridge, sen., were appointed a delegation to pre- 
 sent and advocate the said Memorial. 
 
 With the prayer of this Memorial the General 
 Conference did not altogether comply, but instead 
 set off Canada as an " Annual Conference of the 
 M. E. Church in Canada." The first Conference 
 was appointed to be held the 21st day of the 
 following August, 1824. In reply to the petition 
 of the Canadian memorialists for a separation, 
 the General Conference said that " they thought 
 such a measure at present would be premature ; 
 that sufficient time had not been given to con- 
 sider the important changes asked for ; that 
 vastly momentous measures should not be hastily 
 adopted. In the meantime they had set apart the 
 Canada part of the Genesee Conference as a 
 separate Conference ; that during the four years 
 that would intervene between that time and the 
 next General Conference, the Canada brethren 
 would manage their own matters as an Annual 
 Conference ; that this would give them full time 
 to deliberate, and better prepare them to conduct 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 251 
 
 their affairs as an independent Connexion, should 
 the taking of such a position be ultimately judged 
 desirable." 
 
 This decision of the General Conference by no 
 means pleased Mr. Ryan, who returned to Canada 
 much chafed and disappointed. He complained 
 loudly of the treatment which he and his col- 
 league, Mr. Breakenridge, had received [Mr. Case 
 having declined to go] ; he declared that it was 
 the determination of the American Conference 
 never to set off Canada, hut to hold the Societies 
 under their control to the last ! 
 
 But a short time elapsed before there was a 
 great amount of uneasiness created within the 
 bounds of the Bay of Quints District, which then 
 extended from Port Hope to Ottawa, and the 
 next thing heard of respecting this affair was the 
 assembling of a Convention of Local Preachers 
 of the Bay of Quints District, for the purpose 
 of taking into consideration the state of the 
 Methodist Societies in Canada. 
 
 Mr. Ryan was known to be the mover and 
 promoter of this Convention, during the sittings 
 of which he was on hand in the neighbourhood, 
 though he avoided meeting publicly with the 
 local preachers. The result of these deliberations 
 was the passing of a number of resolutions, the 
 purport of which was, declaring themselves 
 separated from the M. E. Church in the United 
 
 i - 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 f^-^i' 
 
 if-rfi 
 
 
252 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 States. They also sent out an address to the 
 travelling and local preachers, as also to the 
 members of the Church, calling upon them to 
 unite in forming the Methodist Societies in Can- 
 ada into a separate and independent Church. 
 Agents were sent out, and meetings were called 
 in most of the principal places within the limits 
 of the Conference, but especially within the 
 bounds of Mr. Ryan's district, who not only 
 headed, but with great activity urged on the 
 movement with all possible haste. Meetings 
 after meetings, principally in the country east of 
 York (now Toronto), made declarations in favour 
 of the local preachers* movements ; and every- 
 thing for the time seemed to indicate that the 
 schism would be a very extensive one. 
 
 In the meantime information was communi- 
 cated to the Bishops of the Church of these 
 doings in Canada; and pressing requests were 
 sent for them to lose no time in visiting this 
 distracted part of their ecclesiastical charge. 
 Accordingly, Bishops George and Hedding, and 
 Dr. Bangs, made arrangements to come to Canada 
 without delay, so as to visit as many Circuits as 
 possible previously to the assembling of our Con- 
 ference, which was to take place the 26th of 
 August. Bishop George entered the province at 
 its eastern extremity, where he met Elder Casa 
 Bishop Hedding and Dr. Bangs came into the 
 
irji 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 253 
 
 western part of the province. These two depu- 
 tations (if I may so call them) visited as many 
 Circuits as possible during their very limited 
 time — everywhere preaching and meeting the 
 Societies, and explaining to them the whole mat- 
 ter of the General Conference respecting Canada, 
 and the views and feelings of the bishops and 
 ministers of the General Conference of the M. E. 
 Church respecting that branch of it situated in 
 Canada. These explanations corrected the 
 erroneous impressions the people had received, 
 and proved entirely satisfactory to them. Those 
 who had declared themselves separated from the 
 Church, with the exception of some half a dozen 
 local preachers (who, as Bishop Hedding said, 
 having tasted the pie of power [as they supposed] 
 did not like to be driven from so sweet a meal), 
 — excepting these few, all retraced their steps, 
 and returned to the fellowship of the Church with 
 more speed and unanimity than they had gone 
 out of it. 
 
 This suddan and great revolution of feeling 
 much surprised and disconcerted Mr. Ryan. 
 Bishop George and Elder Case met Mr. Ryan at 
 Mr. Hawley's, near the village of Bath, on the 
 Bay of Quint(^ Circuit. Mr. Ryan appeared much 
 disconcerted and humbled, for he saw that his 
 plans were being defeated ; and in conversation 
 with Bishop George, he said, " I am in your 
 
 % ' 
 
 
 ^'- ;i 
 
 V 
 
 
254 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 power ; I throw myself upon your generosity ; I 
 leave myself in your hands ; perhaps I have erred 
 and sinned, but I hope my misdoings are not 
 beyond the reach of forgiveness." 
 
 Bishop George's deportment towards Mr. Eyan 
 on this occasion was of the most conciliatory char- 
 acter ; he did everything he consistently could to 
 heal Mr. Eyan's wounded feelings, as also did 
 Bishop Hedding and Dr. Bangs at the Conference 
 — endeavouring to reconcile differences between 
 him and other ministers, and to bring back pea«e 
 to the Church. The Conference, as before stated, 
 was held at Hallowell, now Picton, the 20th day 
 of August, Bishops George and Hedding alter- 
 nately presiding, accompanied by Dr. Bangs. 
 Numbers of local preachers and laymen from 
 different parts of the province were also present 
 as visitors; very great interest being universally 
 felt relative to pending matters, and the result 
 of the deliberations of Conference. 
 
 During a part of the year before the Confer- 
 ence there had been serious differences between 
 Mr. Eyan and Mr. W. Chamberlayne, Superin- 
 tendent of Bay of Quintd Circuit. Mr. Eyan 
 had preferred charges, or caused them to be pre- 
 ferred, against Mr. Chamberlayne, and by a Com- 
 mittee selected by himself, had suspended him. 
 When the matters of complaint against Mr. 
 Chamberlayne were brought up in Conference, 
 
 \V.' 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 255 
 
 they were found to consist of the veriest trifles, 
 and the whole affair was dismissed from the Con- 
 ference. Mr. Chamberlayne had also preferred a 
 series of charges against Mr. Ryan, and had sent 
 them in a letter to Mr. Ryan by one of the 
 preachers, who informed Mr. Ryan, on delivering 
 the letter to him, that it was from Mr. Chamber- 
 layne. On Mr. Ryan's name being called in the 
 examination of character, Mr. Chamberlayne said 
 that he had preferred charges against Mr. Ryan, 
 and was now prepared for their investigation. 
 Mr. Ryan then rose, and, with some apparent 
 surprise, said, " Charges ! charges ! I know noth- 
 ing about Mr. Chamberlayne's charges. I never 
 received any from him." Mr. Ryan added, 
 
 " Some time ago, Brother put into my hand 
 
 a letter, saying it was from Mr. Chamberlayne. 
 Supposing it to contain some of his usual invec- 
 tives, or abuse, I put it in my pocket and never 
 read it." Mr. Chamberlayne was then called 
 upon to read his charges, but he had kept no copy 
 of them, and had none to read. He requested 
 Mr. Ryan to produce them, but Mr. Ryan again 
 replied, " I say I know nothing about your 
 accusations, and if I had my pocket full of them 
 I would not read them for you. It is for you 
 to find and read your own charges." The pre- 
 siding bishops decided that Mr. Chambeilayne 
 must produce and read his own charges ; at which 
 
 
 
 r^ 
 
 
 
 
 
"^ 
 
 (■ 
 
 111 
 
 256 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Mr. Chambcrlayne seemed confonndecl, and looked 
 foolish, while the morabera of tho Conference all 
 laughed. The matter, however, was " laid over," 
 and time allowed Mr. Chamberlayne to furnish 
 himself and Mr. Kyan with the Bill of Com- 
 plaints. When the matter again came up before 
 the Conference, Mr. Ryan objected that he had 
 not had the timely notice which the Discipline 
 required, and that lie protested against being 
 " twitched " up before the Conference in that 
 manner without proper previous citation. At 
 this stage of the proceedings the Bishops and 
 Dr. Bangs interposed their good offices, and so far 
 succeeded in reconciling differences and conciliat- 
 ing parties as, outwardly at least, to settle the dis- 
 pute, and in a measure to heal the wounds. Mr. 
 Ryan's character then passed. 
 
 It was not considered desirable by the Bishops 
 and their advisers to appoint Mr. Ryan again 
 as Presiding Elder, but Mr. Ryan was unwilling 
 to take a Circuit ; and arrangements were there- 
 fore made to designate a certain region of country 
 situated between the upper waters of the Chip- 
 pewa River and the lower part of the Grand 
 River, a " Mission," and Mr. Ryan was this year 
 appointed "Missionary to the Chippewa and 
 Grand River and the destitute settlements in those 
 parts." He accepted this appointment, his family 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 257 
 
 residing on his own farm a fow miles north of 
 Chippewa River. 
 
 The Rev. Thomas Madden was appointed Pre- 
 siding Elder on the district; and as Mr. Ryan 
 and he had been warm friends and fellow-labourers 
 in the ministry for many long and toilsome 
 years, it was hoped now that all things would go 
 on pleasantly and peacefully, and that unity 
 would be restored to the Church. But unfortun- 
 ately it was not the case. Only a few months 
 passed before differences arose between these 
 aged ministers, which towards the close of the 
 Conference year produced a total estrangement 
 between them, and culminated in mutual crimina- 
 tions, until at last they preferred charges against 
 each other. These charges were brought up for 
 investigation at the Conference held at the Fifty 
 Mile Creek, near Grimsby, the 14th of Sep- 
 tember, 1825. The time of this Conference was 
 much occupied in listening to the disputes, etc., 
 between Messrs. Ryan and Madden. At length 
 matters were finally adjusted so as to afford some 
 ground of hope that peace and quietness might 
 once more be enjoyed, at least among the 
 preachers. Mr. Ryan, according to his request, 
 received a superannuated relation. During this 
 year Mr. Ryan was most of the time travelling 
 through the country, visiting the people and hold- 
 ing meetings in various places — trying to create 
 
 < I 
 
 
 ■■M 
 
258 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 a belief in the minds of the people that he was 
 a persecuted man; that the itinerant preachers 
 were combined against him, seeking to destroy 
 him; that the Bishops of the American Meth- 
 odist General Conference would never set off 
 Canada ; that the postponement of the measure 
 from 1824 to 1828, for consideration, was a mere 
 ruse for the purpose of gaining time preparatory 
 to stifling the thing altogether ; that if ever the 
 Societies in Canada were set off, they would have 
 to set themselves off. 
 
 There also appeared in print this year an 
 anonymous " circular," or pamphlet, which was 
 extensively circulated among the Societies 
 throughout the country. This circular-pamphlet 
 professed to give a true account of the difficulties 
 between Messrs. Eyan and Madden, and the pro- 
 ceedings of .e Conference in relation to them. 
 It made gross attacks upon the character of Mr. 
 Madden and his family ; that the preachers threw 
 a cloak over the falsehoods of Mr. Madden and 
 irregularities of his family, and, indeed, tl.at most 
 of the travelling preachers were no better than 
 Mr. Madden himself. 
 
 The author of this pamphlet-circular also ac- 
 cused the Conference of malpractices and tyranny, 
 and of sacrifieing to selfishness the interests and 
 welfare of the people. 
 
 The Conference of 1826 met in the township 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 259 
 
 of Hamilton, north of Cobourg, Newcastle Dis- 
 trict, August 31st, under the presidency of 
 Bishop George. The preachers generally were 
 greatly troubled and dissatisfied, owing to the 
 anonymous pamphlet-circular and general con- 
 duct of Mr Eyan ; but more because several of 
 them sympathized with him, secretly abetting his 
 doings, and some of them openly apologizing for 
 many things he did, and which could not be 
 defended. Still no one seemed to know, or felt 
 able to suggest, any plan by which the evils could 
 be remedied. 
 
 The authorship of the incendiary pamphlet- 
 circular could not be positively proved, nor the 
 mode and agency of its circulation be certainly 
 ascertained; although, perhaps, no one had any 
 doubt that to Mr. Eyan belonged both the author- 
 ship and the circulation. Still nothing respecting 
 the matter was done during this Conference ; and 
 Mr. Eyan was again returned as " superan- 
 nuated ;" and for another year he derived more 
 or less of his support from the Church which he 
 was now labouring to destroy. 
 
 In the course of the following year another 
 pamphlet-circular made its appearance — more in- 
 solent and libellous than its predecessor. It at- 
 tacked the Bishops, and referred to several other 
 preachers by name, impugning their motives and 
 chaiging them with downright immoralities. 
 
 
 - s.f*| 
 
 
 
 
260 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Pi \ 
 
 m m 
 
 )<i 
 
 ' 
 
 
 Ml 
 
 Among the preachers named were Messrs. Case, 
 Madden, William Ryerson, and others ; the whole 
 Conference, with very few exceptions, were held 
 up to reprobation and scorn. 
 
 There were some things in the matter and 
 style of the pamphlet that clearly identified Mr. 
 Ryan as its author, and many strong circum- 
 stantial evidences clearly proved that he had 
 been concerned, if not chief agent, in its circu- 
 lation. All these circumstances, together with 
 the uneasiness, heart-burnings, and schisms they 
 caused, induced Mr. Case to prefer charges agairiou 
 Mr. Ryan at the next Conference, which was held 
 in Hamilton, Gore District, commencing the SOtli 
 of August, 1827 — Bishop Hedding presiding. Dr. 
 Bangs also attended. Mr. Case charged Mr. Ryan 
 before the Conference with the authorship and 
 circulation of the pamphlet-circular in question. 
 Mr. Ryan did not deny the one or the other, but 
 called upon his opponents (as he styled Mr. Case 
 and others) to prove their allegations, saying that 
 every man was held to be innocent until he was 
 proved to be guilty. After a very careful investi- 
 gation of the whole matter, the Conference judged 
 Mr. Ryan gr.ilty of the allegations preferred 
 against him, and directed that he should be re- 
 proved and admonished by the Bishop in pres- 
 ence of the Conference. The admonitory address 
 of Bishop Hedding was in language and manner 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 261 
 
 ■^m 
 
 most kind and affectionate, but was receired by 
 Mr. Ryan with many marks of dissatisfaction 
 and u I) submission. 
 
 Next morning a note was received by the 
 Bishop from Mr. Ryan, announcing his with- 
 drawal from the Conference. A Committee was 
 appointed to wait upon him, to try and soften 
 his feelings, and persuade him from his purpose 
 of leaving the Church ; ^ut he was quite inexor- 
 able, saying that he had not left, nor did he in- 
 tend to leave, the Church ; he had only with- 
 drawn from the Conference. He expressed a 
 desire, however, once more to speak to the Confer- 
 ence, which request was readily granted. This 
 interview made matters worse ; for in his address 
 he endeavoured to justify all that he had stated 
 in the circular-patnphlefc, contending for the right 
 of any member thus to defend himself when per- 
 secuted and injured. Mr. Ryan then rehired, and 
 thus ended his connection with our Church. 
 
 But not so the sore troubles and schisms 
 which he subsequently occasioned. We have 
 already stated that Mr. Ryan had for years 
 assiduously spread the belief that the General 
 Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in the United States would never set off as an 
 independent Church the Ca?iada connection, and 
 now he harped upon tins string more than ever. 
 The domination of Republican Methodism, the 
 
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 1 
 
 II '*"'•■*; 
 
 ■'-_, t -It 
 J 
 

 262 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 in 
 
 m 
 
 !;lf 
 
 tyranny of Yankee Bishops, the fallen state and 
 corrupt character of the preachers in Canada, were 
 the themes of his story, and the subjects of his 
 laments in public and private. Had not the 
 American General Conference, at this time, 
 amicably set off the Canadian Conference and 
 Methodists as an independent Church, no doubt 
 the schism would have been extensive, and Mr. 
 Eyan might have found himself at the head of a 
 large body of followers. As it terminated, all 
 his plans in this respect were defeated. 
 
 At the Canada Conference of 1827, it being the 
 last previous to the meeting of the American 
 General Conference to be held in Pittsburg, 
 State of Pennsylvania, May 1st, 1828, five dele- 
 gate? vvere elected to constitute the proportion of 
 the Canada Conference to the General Conference. 
 The following were chosen — namely, Samuel 
 Bolton, W. Chamberlayne, John Ryerson, William 
 Byerson, William Slater. A memorial was sent 
 to the General Conference from Canada, petition- 
 ing for a separation from the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church in the United States. The Canadian 
 delegates were instructed to use their best endeav- 
 ours to obtain the organization of an independent 
 Methodist Church in Canada in fraternal connec- 
 tion with the Church in the United States. This 
 subject was most carefully considered, and 
 lengthily and earnestly de^tited by Drs. Bangs, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 263 
 
 
 Fisk, Capers, Early, Winings, and several others, 
 besides two or three of the Canadian delegates. 
 Ultimately, by a vote of about two-thirds of the 
 General Conference, . the measure was carried, 
 authorizing the Canada Conference to form itself 
 into a separate independent Church. One or 
 more of the Bishops was directed to ordain any 
 one as Bishop of the Canadian Connexion who 
 might be elected by the Canada Conference for 
 that ofi&ce. This intelligence having been ofiBci- 
 ally conveyed to Mr. Ryan, he appeared greatly 
 confounded, and for a time remained apparently 
 undecided as to what course he would pursue. 
 The ministers were encouraged to hope that he 
 would reconsider the course of his proceedings, 
 retrace his way back to the Church, and again 
 become as useful as formerly. But these flatter- 
 ing expectations were doomed to painful dis- 
 appointment. Only a short time elapsed before 
 Mr. Eyan was again traversing the country, every- 
 where declaring that he was a member of the 
 Methodist Church ; that he had never withdrawn 
 from it, but had only separated from the preachers 
 of the Conference, by whom he considered that 
 he had been most basely treated, and cruelly per- 
 secuted ; that for his conduct and character he 
 was responsible to the Church, and that if he could 
 have a fair trial by its membership, he would 
 abide by their decision whatever it might be. 
 
I 
 
 264 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 All he wanted was a full investigation and a fair 
 trial. In order for this, he proposed that there 
 should be a Convention of lay members held on 
 each of the two districts — namely, the Niagara 
 and Bay of Quints Districts. The Conventions 
 were to be composed of delegates from the several 
 Circuits, to meet in some convenient place in each 
 district. Many of the members of the Church 
 entered into Mr. Ryan*s views, by acquiescing in 
 his proposal. One of these Conventions was ap- 
 pointed to meet in Copetown, iu the Gore Dis- 
 trict, and the other was to meet in Hallowell 
 (now Picton), in the District of Prince Edward. 
 These Conveiitions were wholly illegal; and 
 Lhe Presiding Elders and most of the pi cuchers 
 opposed them ; but a considerable number of 
 very respectable and influential members in a 
 majority of the Circuits (who had known Mr. 
 Ryan in former years) had been induced to 
 favour them ; so that they were convened. After 
 carefully considering the matter in all its bearings, 
 it was thought advisable for J. and E. Ryerson to 
 attend the Convention at Copetown. I was the 
 Presiding Elder on the District, and E. Ryerson 
 (his Superintendent having died) was then the 
 minister in charge of the Circuit which embraced 
 Copetown.* 
 
 * Sote by E. Ryerson,—'\\C\% Convention was presided 
 over by the late Hugh Will^on, Esq., of Saltfleet (an 
 
r 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 265 
 
 It was perfectly clear, from the commencement 
 of the proceedings of this Convention, that instead 
 of Mr. Ryan being on his trial, it was his object 
 to try and get a verdict against the Conference, 
 and especially against certain of its members, 
 bringing up many and grievous charges against 
 them. 
 
 We attended closely every day, and allowed no 
 allegations or statements of an injurious or false 
 character against the Conference or preachers to 
 pass unexamined, however painful the affair 
 might be. The result proved very beneficial to 
 the interests of the Church, in preventing any 
 
 old friend of Mr. Ryan, but a true member of the Wes- 
 leyan Methodist Church), brother of the late John 
 Willson, Esq., once Speaker of the House of Assembly, 
 and formerly member of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church, but who had become dissatisfied and withdrew 
 from the Church, and obtained grants from the Gov- 
 ernment to assist Mr. Ryan. 
 
 The Convention at Copetown lasted eight days, and 
 decided unanijnously against Mr. Ryan's statements and 
 proceedings, and in vindication of the Conference and 
 preachers impeached. 
 
 The late Ebenezer Griffin, of Waterdown, though im- 
 mersed in the business of his mills, devoted the whole 
 of eight days as Secretary of this Convention. Like 
 his father, the late SmJth Griffin, of Smithville, and like 
 his distinguished son, the Rev. W. S. Griffin, he was a 
 true man to the Church, and a liberal supporter of its 
 institutions. 
 
 y'\. 
 
 ■M 
 
 
 
 
 .ti,* 
 
266 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 -<^-i 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 I '!> 
 
 considerable schism, and in maintaining its unity 
 and peace. The Convention decided unanimovdy 
 against Mr. Eyan, and in perfect approval of the 
 proceedings of the Conference respecting him. 
 
 This was a terrible blow to Mr. Eyan, to be 
 condemned after eight days' investigation of all 
 the matters of his complaints and accusations, and 
 that by a Convention of laymen of his own 
 getting up, and composed of his own chosen 
 friends. Such a defeat would have discouraged 
 most meji ; but Mr. Eyan's extreme self-willed- 
 ness and indomitable resolution when he under- 
 took anything, propelled him on, notwithstanding 
 the entreaties of his friends to return to the 
 Church, and become again useful and beloved as 
 he had been many long years before he com- 
 menced this unhappy war upon his brethren. 
 
 The Hallowell (or Picton) Convention was ap- 
 pointed some two or three weeks after the Con- 
 vention at Copetown. By the advice of Mr. Case 
 and myself, Mr. E. Eyerson was instructed to 
 proceed to Hallowell, although it cost him a 
 long journey of some three hundred miles on 
 horseback, at an inclement season of the year.* 
 
 * Note by E. Ryerson. — Elder Case, the acting Super- 
 intendent of the Church, was then "at Toronto, and gave 
 me directions to inform him without delay of the result 
 of the Copetown Convention. At the close of the eighth 
 day of the Convention, I got a copy of its decision, and 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 267 
 
 The proceedings and results of this Conven- 
 tion, which lasted nine days, were similar to those 
 of the Convention at Copetown. 
 
 It was now thought that Mr. Ryan would 
 desist from further agitation, and retire quietly 
 into private life, or make his way back into the 
 Church. Alas ! this was not the result ; he 
 turned round upon the members of his own lay 
 Conventions with as much or more bitterness of 
 spirit than had marked his conduct before against 
 
 proceeded about nine o'clock at night on horseback, and 
 reached Toronto about eight o'clock next morning. 
 When Mr. Case read the decision of the Convention he 
 was greatly affected, and thanked God, with many tears, 
 for His providence and goodness to His servants in the 
 ministry and membership of the Church. 
 
 I urged the appointment of the late Rev. F. Metcalfe 
 (then stationed minister in Toronto) to meet Mr. Ryan 
 at his second Convention at Picton ; and went to bed, 
 exhausted with the unceasing and painful labours of the 
 previous eight days, and the preceding night's journey on 
 horseback. When I awoke in the afternoon, I found 
 that my horse had been shod, and that it had been de- 
 cided that I must proceed to Hallowell. From my 
 rule of duty, and ordination vows, to " reverently obey 
 our chief ministers," and " submit to their godly judg- 
 ments," I obeyed orders, but I could not refrain from 
 tears at the hardness of my lot, and in view of the great 
 fatigues and terrible contest that awaited me, especially 
 unaided by the counsels of my ever trusted brother, the 
 late John Ryerson. When I arrived at Hallowell, I 
 
 I. 
 
 . -.■vil 
 
 I' :. 
 
 
268 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 the Conference and its members— impugning 
 their motives by saying that they had been 
 bought, and that money had blinded their eyes, 
 and that justice would be avenged on them for 
 the sins which they had committed against him 
 and the truth. He called upon the true Metho- 
 dists and good people to join with him in reclaim- 
 ing the fallen Church, and saving the country 
 from political and religious ruin. The Rev. Isaac 
 
 found the whole community in a state of excitement, 
 and that Mr. Ryan had assembled a Convention of his 
 friends, and most of them his countrymen, who were so 
 vehemently hostile to the Conference, that during the 
 first four or five days of the Convention, when I rose to 
 defend the Conference, Elder Case, Mr. Madden, etc., 
 against the accusations of Mr. Ryan and his right-hand 
 man, James Jackson, a majority of the members of the 
 Convention turned their backs to me ; but I took no 
 notice of this treatment, and proceeded calmly with the 
 cause I had in hand, until about the fourth or fifth day 
 of the Convention I observed a manifest change in the 
 feelings of its members, several of whom came to me 
 and asked pardon, with deep feeling, for the manner in 
 which they had treated me. This Convention lasted nine 
 days, and at the close decided in the strongest language, 
 and unanimously, against Mr. Ryan's statements and 
 proceedings, and in favour of the Conference and its 
 accused members. 
 
 Thus by two juries of laymen, of his own selection, and 
 each consisting of upwards of twelve men, were Mr. 
 Ryan's statements and conduct condemned, and the 
 obiects of his accusations vindicated. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 2G9 
 
 B. Smith (Mr. Ryan's son-in-law, but between 
 whom and Mr. Ryan there had been variances for 
 many years) and the Rev. James Jackson joined 
 with him in exertions to create dissatisfaction 
 and discord amongst the members of the Church. 
 A considerable number of Methodists now left 
 the Church, and connected themselves with Mr. 
 Ryan and his friends ; so that before very long 
 Mr. Ryan called another Convention for the 
 purpose of organizing (as he said) a reformed and 
 pure Church. At this Convention a constitution 
 of Church government was adopted, providing 
 for lay delegation, elective presidency, etc. After 
 this, the work of making inroads into and divid- 
 ing Methodist societies was pursued more syste- 
 matically, but not more successfully than here- 
 tofore. This party (which was now called 
 " Ryanite") employed several itinerant preachers, 
 and during Mr. Ryan's life, and perhaps for a 
 short time after, went on with some success, in 
 some places. A few years, however, only elapsed 
 when they began to dwindle and grow weaker 
 and weaker; and had it not been for their be- 
 coming united with tho " New Connexion Meth- 
 odists" in England, they would probably ere 
 this (1866) have been among the things which 
 had been. 
 
 
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270 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 ESSAY X. 
 
 EPISCOPAL DIVISION. 
 
 By the late Rev. John Ryersotif written March, 1865, at Brant' 
 ford ; with Notes and an Appendix by E. Ryerson. 
 
 ,tW NOW proceed to give some account of the 
 ^ origin and separation from the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church of the party which constituted 
 themselves into a separate organization, taking 
 the name of "The Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in Canada." The resolutions adopted at Hallo- 
 well in 1832, proposing a union with the English 
 Conference, were generally, yes, it may be said 
 with the utmost truth, universally^ approved. 
 Not a murmur or whisper was heard from any 
 quarter, but quite the contrary. Several local 
 preachers, who afterwards became leaders in 
 Episcopal schism, were present at Hallowell (now 
 Ficton), and heard the discussions and resolutions 
 of Cdhference ; among whom was Mr. John 
 Reynolds, who was appointed first bishop of the 
 party. Mr. Beynolds, then and afterwards, 
 declared his entire approval of what the Con- 
 
1 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 271 
 
 ference had done, and expressed a pleasurable 
 hope of soon witnessing a union with the English 
 Conference, and the relinquishment of Methodist 
 Episcopacy in Canada. 
 
 Tlie proceedings of the Conference of 1833, 
 held in Toronto, over which the Eev. George 
 Marsden presided, when the articles of union 
 (which had been agreed to by the English Con- 
 ference) were ratified, were, with equal unanimity, 
 approved throughout the Connexion. During 
 the succeeding year, no dissent was heard from 
 any quarter until after the Conference held in 
 June, 1834. 
 
 This Conference was presided over by the 
 Eev. Edmund Grindrod, having for his associate 
 the Eev. Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Alder. At this 
 Conference some measures were adopted for the 
 better regulation of several matters connected 
 with local affairs [as is the case in every Confer- 
 ence]. Among others, some rules were adopted 
 for amending and improving the regulations 
 regarding local preachers, called "The Local 
 Preachers' Eesolutions." There were two things 
 in these rules that were objected to by certain 
 parties, namely, the discontinuance of local 
 preachers' Conferences, and the ordination of local 
 preachers. Several took umbrage at this, among 
 whom was Mr. Eeynolds ; and a convention was 
 called (by whom I know not), to meet in Belle- 
 
 
[ 
 
 272 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I ! 
 
 ville (where Mr. Reynolds resided) late in the 
 autumn of 1834. This convention consisted of 
 twelve or fifteen persons, who adopted certain 
 resolutions condemning the "local preachers' 
 resolutions" of the Conference, and also expressing 
 disapprobation of the union with the British 
 Conference altogether, out of which, they said, 
 the evil they deprecated had grown. This meet- 
 ing of local preachers was held seventeen or 
 eighteen months after the union between the 
 English and Canadian Conferences had become 
 an accomplished fact, and two years and a half 
 after the resolutions proposing the measure to 
 the English Conference had been passed by the 
 Canadian Conference. So that those local preach- 
 ers with whom originated the so-called Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Canada, were members of 
 the Wesleyan Methodist more than one year and 
 a half subsequent to the superseding of Episco- 
 pacy by an annual presidency in our Church, 
 and the completion of the union with the English 
 and Canadian Conferences. 
 
 This perfectly agrees with what the Eev. John 
 Eeynolds said a little while before the meeting 
 of the local preachers: "The day is not far 
 distant when I shall cease to be a member of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church." 
 
 During the spring, or early in the summer 
 after this meeting, there came together four or 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 273 
 
 live persons, for the purpose, as they stated, of 
 organizing a General Conference of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Canada. This meeting 
 consisted of John Reynolds, a local preacher; 
 Joseph Gatchel, a superannuated preacher; and 
 Daniel Picket, who had been a preacher, but was 
 at this time not a member of any Church, with 
 one or two others — all, with the exception of 
 Picket, were members of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church. From this little party, the organization 
 of the General Conference of the so-called Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church in Canada took its rise 
 — thereby causing schism, which for many years 
 disturbed the peace of our Church. This party 
 of separatists became intensely political, boasting 
 of their high reform principles, and accusing 
 the Wesleyans of High Church Toryism, of seek- 
 ing and obtaining Government support, of selling 
 themselves for money, indeed, of sacrificing every- 
 thing dear to the religious and political rights 
 of the people to ambitious selfishness ; calling 
 upon the Methodists and people everywhere to 
 come out and separate from this Babylon, lest 
 they should become partakers of her sins and 
 involved in her ruin. 
 
 Politicians, seeing that the agitation might be 
 
 turned to some political party purpose, took up 
 
 their cause with great zeal, and certain political 
 
 papers teemed with articles on the tyranny, 
 
 18 
 
 
 1 
 
 '•VM 
 
 Wk 
 
f 
 
 274 
 
 CANADIAN METHODIS?.l. 
 
 despotism, and political depravity and religious 
 apostacy of Wesleyan Methodism. Indeed, it 
 would seem that for a long time the Episcopal 
 party were impressed with the belief that the 
 destruction of the Wesleyan Methodist Church 
 was an indispensable desideratum to the con- 
 tinuance of their party as a separate body. 
 
 The pseudo Episcopals, as they were properly 
 styled, made no pretensions at their commence- 
 ment, nor for a good while after, to be the 
 continuers of the old Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 Thus, their pretence was an afterthought. 
 
 No pretensions to be owners of the Church 
 property were made until 1836 ; on the contrary, 
 they made it a matter of boasting and self- 
 congratulation that they had forsaken all, and 
 " come out from among them." 
 
 Some three years after the union between 
 the English and Canadian Conferences, they 
 claimed to be the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 (i. e.) the very Church that was separated from 
 the M. K Church in the United States in 1828 ; 
 that they never belonged to the W. M. Church 
 in Canada; that some of them remained in the 
 house, but they never belonged to the household ; 
 that the Methodist Episcopal Church had always 
 continued, and that the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church were separatists from them ! Monstrous 
 as these assumptions were, the Episcopal party 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 276 
 
 made them, and their confidence seemed to 
 increase as their false assumptions multiplied, 
 and, by frequent reiterations, some of them were 
 doubtless brought to believe the truth of what 
 they so often asserted. 
 
 Then followed the pretension that they (the 
 Episcopals) were the legal owners of the Church 
 property, that all the churches and parsonages 
 belonged to them, and that they would take 
 possession of them. This they first attempted 
 by violence, or surreptitiously. Several church 
 doors were forced open, and forcible possession 
 was attempted to be taken of them. Others 
 were entered by stealth, and detention was 
 sought in this way. In the winter of 1836 I 
 had an appointment to hold a missionary meeting 
 in the S\7itzer Church, Ernesttown. At the close 
 of the services on Sunday, when the people 
 had nearly all gone, I noticed some persons 
 sitting near the door. As I passed them, they 
 hung down their heads, and looked suspicious, 
 as though some ulterior object was the cause of 
 their remaining. With several of them I was 
 well acquainted, and knew they had left our 
 Church and joined the Episcopals. Meeting two 
 or three trustees outside of the church, I com- 
 municated to them my suspicions, and advised 
 them to go back and there remain until these 
 persons should leave. It appeared that it was 
 
 ii'. 
 
 1 
 
 
 ■11 
 
276 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 the intention of these individuals to remain 
 until all the people had gone, then to take 
 possession of the church, put a new lock on the 
 door, and, by thus securing it, to possess and 
 occupy it. The trustees, as advised, went back, 
 and requested the persons in question to leave, 
 but they refused to do so ; so that they, with 
 the trustees, remained all night, watching^ cer- 
 tainly, if not praying. On the following morning 
 the Episcopals quietly left, and returned no more 
 to disturb the peace of the society of Switzer 
 Church. 
 
 About the same time the Waterloo Church, 
 situated about four miles north of Kingston, was 
 entered by several desperate men, professing to 
 be Episcopal Methodists, who took the lock off 
 the door, put another lock on, and in this way 
 barricaded it against the Wesleyan trustees. 
 After careful deliberation, it was considered best 
 not to attempt forcible entry into the church, but 
 to have recourse to the law to displace the in- 
 truders. A writ of ejectment was consequently 
 taken out, and a civil action was commenced. 
 The cause was tried at the Court of Assizes 
 in Kingston, before Judge Macaulay, who charged 
 the jury strongly against the prosecution. The 
 judge-^a high churchman and Episcopal suc- 
 cession ist — held that Episcopacy being of God, 
 no power on earth could do it away j that if only 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 27? 
 
 one individual in the case before him had con- 
 tinued in his adherence to the Methodist Episco- 
 pacy in the Church, all its rights should centre 
 in him, and if all had gone from Episcopacy, 
 the Church was gone. He consequently charged 
 the jury in favour of the defendaii>8, as at least 
 the most probable owners of the property. The 
 verdict of the jury (which consisted mostly, if 
 not entirely, of the political party of defendants) 
 was according to the charge of the judge, in 
 favour of the defendants. Judge Macaulay had 
 little or no knowledge of Church history, es- 
 pecially of the Methodist Episcopacy, or of the 
 nature of ecclesiastical constitutions adopted for 
 the government of different Churches ; he was 
 himself a High Church Episcopalian, as far as 
 he knew anything about such matters, and held 
 that the Episcopal form of Church government 
 was ordained of God, and therefore could not 
 be lawfully superseded. Thus far he acted con- 
 sistently with his principles.* And certainly the 
 authorities of the Methodist Church were very 
 blamable in not seeing that proper information 
 was given at the time of the trial respecting 
 
 * Note by E. Eyerson. — On the appeal to the Court 
 of King's Bench, after Judge Macaulay had examined 
 the documentary evidence on which the appeal was 
 found, he declined to re-assert the views he had ex- 
 pressed to the Kingston jury. 
 
 :* 
 
 
 
 ',<■! 
 
 %^^ 
 
S^8 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 the nature and character of Methodist Episco- 
 pacy, and of the power given to the General 
 Conference; by the constitution of the Church, 
 to control, modify, or even do it away ; and that 
 the Canada Conference had done nothing more 
 than the constitution and laws of the Church 
 freely authorized them to do, and that they had 
 carefully observed every legal particular in their 
 proceedings.* 
 
 An appeal was made from the judgment of 
 the Court at Kingston, to the higher Court of 
 King's Bench at Toronto, which set aside the 
 verdict of the lower court, and ordered a new 
 trial. It is only necessary to say at this (second) 
 
 * Note by E. Ryerson. — I think the fault was rather 
 with legal counsel employed at the trial than with the 
 " authorities of the Church," who were prepared to give 
 every explanation and needful authority on the subject ; 
 but their counsel, Mr. Hagerman — afterwards Attorney- 
 General, and after that judge — said the case was so plain 
 that no explanation was necessary, and introduced the 
 case without a word of remark for the ejectment of a 
 party who had clandestinely and unlawfully trespassed 
 upon the property of the trustees, who were plaintiffs in 
 the case, leaving to the Judge alone, without a single 
 word or document, the exposition of the doctrine of 
 Episcopacy, irrespective of the sentiments of the Meth- 
 odist Church in England, the United States, and Canada, 
 respecting the rule of Episcopacy and the authority of 
 the American General and Canadian Conferences in 
 respect to it. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 270 
 
 trial, as also that respecting the Belleville Church 
 property case, in which the Episcopals were the 
 plaintiffs, the whole matter was ventilated,* 
 and the result was, the legal decision of the 
 highest judicial tribunal of the land confirmed 
 the Wesleyan Methodist Church as the rightful 
 owner of the church property, it being the true 
 representative and successor of the original Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church in Canada. These legal 
 litigations extended over more than two years ; 
 and the friends of Zion and of peace greatly 
 rejoiced when they were brought to a just and 
 final settlement. 
 
 'T;* 
 '- tW 
 
 : .V,il 
 
 "' M 
 
 
 
 * Note by E. Ryerson . — I was directed to collect and 
 prepare documentary and other evidence for this case. 
 In addition to early editions of the Discipline and other 
 documents, I travelled as far as Baltimore, U.S., to 
 consult the old preachers who were members of the first 
 General Conference in the United States, and had to 
 do with the organization of the Episcopal government 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. I also consulted 
 leading ministers of the Church of a later age — such 
 as Bishop Hedding, Dr. Fish, and others. The answers 
 of these venerable men, from 1784 to 1837, to the 
 questions proposed to them, are as follows : 
 
 Qtiestion. "Has the General Conference power, under any 
 circumstances whatever, by and with the advice of all the 
 Annnal Conferences, to render the Episcopal office periodically 
 elective, and to dispense with the ceremony of ordination 
 in the appointment thereto t " 
 
 -i 'ii 
 
 • 'e, t' 
 
 -vj ?:> 
 
 
280 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 I 
 
 The Episcopals, though utterly defeated in 
 their endeavours to ohtain our Church property, 
 and also some legal recognition as a Church, if 
 not t?ie Methodist Church, still continued to 
 reiterate their claims to being the Methodist 
 Episcopal, which had been set apart from the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States 
 in 1828. 
 
 Answers. 
 
 By the Rev. Samuel Luckey, D.D., Editor of the official 
 periodicals of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
 States : 
 
 *' In my opinion the General Conference undoubtedly has 
 this right This is evident from the fact that the Discipline 
 provides for the possibility of their doing so — as it is explicitly 
 enumerated among the things which the General Conference 
 shall not do without the recommendation of the Anneal 
 Conferences, plainly implying that it may do it with such 
 recommendation." 
 
 By the Rev. Elijah H'^dding, D.D., the second senior 
 Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
 States : 
 
 "I believe our Church never supposed the ceremony of 
 ordination was necesary to Episcopacy ; that is, that it could 
 not in any possible circumstances be dispensed with, — nor 
 that it was absolutely necessary that one man should hold 
 the Episcopal office for life." 
 
 *' We concur in the opinion of Biii^hop Hedding, expressed 
 above. 
 
 (Signed) "Thomas Mason, 
 
 " George Lane, 
 
 " Afi«nto of the Ooneral Conference for the Publication vt 
 " Books for the M. E. Church." 
 
 r 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 281 
 
 It was not, however, until 1844, that a formal 
 application was made to the General Conference 
 of the M. R Church in the United States, as 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, and 
 as a regular or legitimate branch of the Wesleyan 
 family. 
 
 In 1844 they sent to the General Conference 
 in the United States a fratei.; '' address, in which 
 they expressed their earnest des u-e for recognition. 
 
 Questions addressed by E. Ryera '•. to JRev. Dr. Ji'tsk, President 
 of Wesleyan University, Mic Uxown, Ct. 
 
 " Is*^. Is Episcopacy held by you Lo oe a doctrine or matter 
 of faith, or a form or rule of Church government, as expedient 
 or not according to times, places, and circuniHtanres ? 
 
 " 2nd. Has the General Conforence power, under any civ« 
 cumatances whatever, by and with the advice of all the 
 Annual Conferences, to render the Episcopal office periodically 
 elective, and to dispense with the ceremony uf ordination in 
 the appointment thereto ? 
 
 *'And as you were present at the British Conference in 
 1836, as the representative of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in America, I would beg to propose a third query — 
 
 "3rd. Do you consider the ordinations performed under 
 the direction of the British Conference to bo Scriptural and 
 Methodistical?" 
 
 Dr. Fisk's Reply. 
 
 ** First, in reference to the Episcopal form of government. 
 
 "I, as an individual, believe, and this is also the general 
 opinion of our Church, that Episcopacy is not *a doctrine 
 or matter of faith ' — it is not essential to the existence of a 
 Gospel Church, but is founded on expediency, and may be 
 desirable and proper in some circumstances of the Church, 
 and not in others. 
 
 ■f 
 
 
 
 

 It 
 
 2S2 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 etc., appointing as their representatives the Rev. 
 Messrs. P. Smith, David Gulp, and John Bailey. 
 The Wesleyan Methodist Church was also repre- 
 sented at this Conference by the Rev. John 
 Ryerson and the Rev. A. Green. 
 
 "Next, as to the power of the General Conference to 
 modify or change our Episcopacy. 
 
 *' On this subject our Discipline is explicit, that ' upon 
 the concurrent recommendation of three-fourths of all the 
 members of the several Annual Conferences who shall be 
 present and vote on such recommendation, then a majority 
 of two-thirds of the General Conference succeeding shall 
 suffice ' to ' change or alter any part or rule of our government, 
 so as to do away Episcopacy and destroy the plan of our 
 itinerant General Superintendency.' Of course with the 
 above described majority the General Conference might make 
 the Episcopal office elective, and, if they chose, dispense with 
 ordination for the Bishop or Superintendent. 
 
 *'I was a delegate from the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 to the Wesleyan Conference in England, in 1836. At that 
 Conference I was present at the ordination of those admitted 
 to orders, and by request participated in the ceremony. I 
 considered the ordination, as then and there performed, valid ; 
 and the ministers thus consecrated, as duly authorized min- 
 isters of Christ." 
 
 I likewise waited upon and proposed similar queries 
 to the only ministers then living who were in the ministry 
 in 1784— the Revs. Ezekiel Cooper, Thomas Morrell, 
 Thomas Ware, and Nelson Reed — four of the finest 
 specimens of matured piety and undecayed mental vigour 
 in old age that I ever beheld. From these replies were 
 received, generally coincident with those already given. 
 The limits of space prevents our giving them in full, 
 
CANADIAN MfiTHODISii. 
 
 283 
 
 When the address of the Episcopals was pre- 
 sented, the delegates from the Wesleyan Meth- 
 odist Church objected to its being received, on 
 the ground of its false assumptions, professing 
 to emanate from the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in Canada, whereas there was, in reality, no such 
 Church in Canada; and that the party from 
 whom the documents proceeded were a number 
 of local preachers, who, from dissatisfaction, had 
 separated from the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 
 in which they had endeavoured, and not without 
 success, to make schism. They had subsequently 
 organized themselves into some sort of Church 
 order, under th; name of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church in Canada. 
 
 After some deliberation on the subject, the 
 General Conference appointed a committee, con- 
 sisting of nine of its leading members, to whom 
 the address of the Episcopals was referred. The 
 Episcopal and Wesleyan representatives met the 
 Committee, when the latter reviewed the history 
 of the Episcopal schism from its commencement, 
 showing that the petitioners were separatists 
 from the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and that 
 the schism was not commenced on the ground of 
 the Canada Conference superseding Episcopacy 
 by an annual presidency in their mode of Church 
 government, or of their union with the British 
 Conference, but for reasons which had no coa- 
 
 1 1 ^ 
 
 ■'5| 
 
 n 
 
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 tli 
 
 5d 
 
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 Ill: 
 
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 !i 
 
 284 
 
 CAiJADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 nection with either ; that the men who had com- 
 menced the division were local preachers in the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church many months after 
 the relinquishment of Episcopacy for an annual 
 presidency, and the union between the English 
 and Canadian Conferences had been consum- 
 mated. The real cause of the schism was the 
 discontinuance of the ordination of local preachers 
 by the Canadian Conference, and, of course, the 
 ambition of a few to be something greater than 
 they were, and to be at the head of something, 
 however diminutive that something might be ; 
 that the meeting of the local preachers, when 
 the mischief commenced, was held in the year 
 1835, eighteen months after the union between 
 the British and Canada Conferences was finally 
 settled ; that what was called their first General 
 Conference consisted merely in three men getting 
 together — one a local preacher, one a superan- 
 nuated preacher, yet a member of, and receiving 
 support from, the Canada Conference, and the 
 third no preacher or member of any Church — 
 these three men getting together and constituting 
 themselves a General Conference, and electing a 
 local preacher, one of their own number, to be 
 their Bishop, were doings so monstrous as not 
 to be thought of without the most profound 
 contempt and the deepest sorrow. 
 The above-mentioned, and other facts bearing 
 
 ULja 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 285 
 
 on the questions under consideration, were fully 
 established before the Committee of the American 
 General Conference by evidence, the truth of 
 which could not be questioned. The representa- 
 tives of the Canada Conference also reminded 
 the Committee of the persecuting and aggressive 
 proceedings of the Episcopal party throughout, 
 and of their unscrupulous efforts to destroy the 
 character and usefulness of the Wesleyan minis- 
 ters — to sow the seeds of discord among, and 
 divide the societies of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church; that the worst of motives had been 
 imputed to the preachers, and even vile attacks 
 made upon their moral character, as well as 
 on their official proceedings. 
 
 The delegates of the Canada Conference ob- 
 served that if the Episcopal party had come 
 there in their own real character, as separatists 
 from the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada, 
 to solicit the friendship and good-will of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, 
 no one would have objected. But it was quite 
 a different thing when they came declaring them- 
 selves to he the original Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in Canada, which, in consequence, implied that 
 the Wesleyans were schismatical separatists from 
 the said Church, and which they had the assur- 
 ance to assert hundreds of times. 
 
 The representatives of the Canada Conference 
 
 K'r; 
 
 
 
 t'iM 
 
 
if' 
 
 
 i2 i 
 
 I !' 
 
 286 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 insisted that the application of the Episcopal 
 party should not be granted — that they should 
 not be recognized in any way as constituting 
 a regular branch of the Wesleyan family. 
 
 The substance of the above statements, and 
 proved facts, was embodied in the report of the 
 Committee of the American General Conference, 
 and resolutions, founded upon the report, were, 
 after some directions, almost unanimously adopted 
 by the said Conference, declaring that certain 
 preachers from Canada, representing what they 
 called the " General Conference of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Canada," could not be re- 
 ceived, nor their request be granted; and that 
 in the opinion of the General Conference the 
 said party should not be recognized as a regular 
 branch of the great Wesleyan family. 
 
 Thus ended this unpleasant and painful busi- 
 ness, so far as the proceedings of the American 
 General Conference on the application of the 
 Episcopal party is concerned. Of the subse- 
 quent proceedings of the Episcopals I have 
 nothing more to say, having pointed out their 
 origin and early doings, as connected with the 
 history of the Wesleyan Methodifet Church. 
 
 Note by E. Ryerson^ 1880. — It is due to the memory 
 of the late Bishop Richardson to say that he had nothing 
 to do with these calumnies against the ministers of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church, as he was a member and 
 
 7 
 
T 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 287 
 
 minister of that Church, and Chairman of a District, 
 three years after the union took place between the 
 English and Canadian Conferences, in 1833. Early in 
 1836 the House of Assembly appointed a select Com- 
 mittee to inquire into the question of Government grants 
 to religious bodies, which, among others, summoned the 
 Rev. Messrs. Case, Richardson, and Evans, as witnesses. 
 The following is an extract of the proceedings of this 
 Committee : 
 
 *' Wednesday, 30th March, 1836. 
 
 " Committee met. 
 
 "The Rev. James Richardson was called and ezrmined. 
 
 " Question 100. — ' Are yon a memhsr of the Methodist 
 Conference in this Province, formerly known as the Con- 
 ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada { ' 
 Ana. — 'I am.' 
 
 "Question 101. — 'By what title is the Conference now 
 distinguished?' Ans. — 'The Conference of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church in Canada.' " — Index to the Journals of 
 the Hoiue of Aasemhly of Upper Canada, 2nd Session, 12th 
 Parliament, Vol. III., p. 10, No. 108. 
 
 Niffe by E. Ryerson.—1\i\% Committee, of which 
 W. L. Mackenzie was Chairman, employed every possible 
 means, by cavilling and disingenuous questions, to make 
 out that the Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church was a recipient of one of the Government grants 
 to religious bodies ; but utterly failed. Mr. Richardson's 
 evidence was honest and straightforward ; Mr. Evans' 
 evidence was acute and exhaustive, parrying and ex- 
 posing every attack and insinuation of the Committee ; 
 Mr. Case was exceedingly severe on the Seventh Report 
 of the Grievance Committee of 1835 (written by Mr. 
 W* l^ Mackenzie), for its misrepresentations and &lse- 
 
 \\t 
 
 m 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 A 
 
 tM 
 
288 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 hoods against the Conference and ministers of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada. 
 
 Bishop Richardson was a faithful and devout labourer 
 through a long life, and died in the harness of work 
 for his Master. The example and spirit of Bishop 
 Richardson had a salutary influence in abating the acri- 
 mony of the Episcopal party in after years. The writer 
 of these essays visited him a few days before his decease, 
 and rejoiced to see his countenance radiant with hope, 
 and find his heart full of love ; and after his departure 
 for his heavenly home, his son, Dr. J. H. Richardson, 
 requested, in accordance with bis father's wish, that 
 Dr. Ryerson would be one of the pall-bearers at his 
 funeral — a, request readily :oraplied with, whereby the 
 writer had the satisfaction of paying his last respects 
 to the venerable man who had been his first superin- 
 tendent in the Methodist ministry. 
 
7 
 
 CANADIAN M£THODISRL 
 
 289 
 
 ESSAY XL 
 
 m 
 
 FIRST DIVISION AMONG THE METHODISTS OF UPPER 
 CANADA CAUSED BY THE LONDON WESLETAN MIS- 
 SIONARY COMMITTEE, FROM 1817 TO 1820 ; SETTLE- 
 MENT OP DIFFERENCES AND RECOGNITION OP THE 
 TRUE WESLEY AN PRINCIPLES OP METHODISTIO 
 ONENESS BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND AMERICAN 
 conferences; intended violation OP THOSE 
 PRINCIPLES BY THE LONDON WESLEYAN COMMITTEE, 
 UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HIGH CHURCH REPRE- 
 SENTATIONS AND PROMISED PECUNIARY GRANTS IN 
 1832. 
 
 By t?i6 late Eev. John Ryerson; wUh Notes by his brother, 
 
 Egerton Ryerson. 
 
 Introductory RemarJcs by E. Ryerson.-^ 
 ^ The late Eev. John Eyerson entered the 
 Methodist ministry in 1820, while the writer of 
 these Essays entered it in 1825. Mr. J. Eyerson's 
 early connection with all Methodist affairs, and 
 his personal acquaintance with the late Bishop 
 Emory and other chief ministers of Methodism in 
 America; his tenacious recollection of the most 
 minute facts which came to his knowledge ; his 
 careful accuracy and inviolable integrity in his 
 statements, qualified him for narrating what came 
 19 
 
 H 
 
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 If ' 
 
 i 
 
 V. 
 
 \. 
 
 J 
 
 
 "■'V 
 

 ,18 
 
 liiii 
 
 290 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 within his own personal observation, or of which 
 he had been informed. When, as the senior 
 member of the deputation to England, with the 
 late Dr. Green, in 1847, he was introduced by 
 Dr. Bunting to address the Conference Committee 
 on Canadian affairs. Dr. Bunting observed that 
 the Committee might rely with perfect confidence 
 upon the strict accuracy of every statement that 
 Mr. John Ryerson might make to them. 
 
 Mr. JoKn Ryerson never wrote a line on any 
 subject of controversy, ecclesiastical or civil ; he 
 was an able preacher, and confined himself wholly 
 to the work of the ministry and the general 
 affairs of the Church; he thought and formed 
 his opinions for himself on all subjects, irre- 
 spective of friends or adversaries. For no one, 
 perhaps, did he entertain a warmer affection than 
 for myself; yet he scrutinized my acts with 
 rigour, and reproved or remarked upon what he 
 thought was wrong with severity, as will be seen 
 in the following paper : 
 
 In 1866 he furnished me with upwards of 200 
 pages of closely written manuscript, carefully 
 transcribed, containing historical recollections of 
 Canadian Methodism, embracing the most inter- 
 esting account I have yet read of the Methodist 
 divisions, caused by Mr. Ryan, the Episcopals 
 (given in Essays IX. and X.), and the London 
 Wesleyan Missionary Committee, as also a brief 
 
 !!i| 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 291 
 
 als 
 Ion 
 
 :ief 
 
 but comprehensive account of the origin and early 
 progress of the various institutions of Canadian 
 Methodism, such as the Missionary Society, 
 Upper Canada Academy (now Victoria Univer- 
 sity), Domestic Missions, Indian Missions and 
 their agents, the Book Boom, Superannuation 
 Fund, Contingent Fund, etc., etc. My brother's 
 historical recollections will, doubtless, at a future 
 day be published in their entirety, with explana- 
 tory notes. In the meantime, instead of writing 
 an account myself of the schisms and divisions 
 in Canadian Methodism, I think it best to avail 
 myself of what my late brother John has written 
 on these subjects, supplying some omissions, and 
 adding explanatory notes. 
 
 The thirty years' history of Methodism, from 
 1816 to 1846, its relations to the American and 
 British Conferences, its defence of its religious 
 and civil rights, its schisms and divisions, em- 
 braces the least understood, yet most important, 
 period of Canadian Methodism, and must be 
 thoroughly discussed in order to be understood 
 — not from any party standpoint, or resting on 
 individual statements, but on the authority of 
 documents which were first published from sixty 
 to forty years ago, at the times the events re- 
 ferred to transpired, summarized by the late Eev. 
 John Ryerson in the narrative which follows la 
 this and the next ensuing essay. 
 
 
 . >?4i'1 
 
■ 'i; 
 
 292 
 
 CA'NADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Historical Account hy the late Bev, John Ryerson. 
 
 In the year 1832 a determination was come 
 to, and arrangements made by the Wesleyan 
 Missionary Committee in London, England, to 
 send British missionaries into the Province of 
 Upper Canada. The Eev. Eobert Alder (after- 
 wards Dr. Alder), one of the secretaries of the 
 Society, was appointed a deputation to conduct 
 a company of twelve missionaries, who were ap- 
 pointed to take up stations in Upper Canada. 
 
 In order to a clear understanding of this 
 matter, it will be necessary to go back to the 
 years 1817 and 1818, and briefly review the 
 proceedings of the London Wesleyan Missionary 
 Committee in regard to this country. It has 
 already been stated that Methodism was intro- 
 duced into Canada by preachers from the United 
 States. In 1812, just at the commencement of 
 the American war with Great Britain, several 
 of the American preachers who had been ap- 
 pointed to Canada declined coming, as they feared 
 the approaching troubles. The same spirit influ- 
 enced American preachers in this country — 
 namely, Eoads and Densmore, who applied to 
 the Canadian Government for permission to 
 return to their own country. Mr. Ryan, who 
 was left in charge of the work, immediately called 
 out and sent into the field other labourers, by 
 
 I 
 
CANADIAN MKTIIODISM. 
 
 293 
 
 whom all the circuits were supplied, and the 
 work maintained in its integrity. After the close 
 of the war, a few restless spirits sent communica- 
 tions to the Wesleyan Missionary Society in 
 London, requesting the appointment of British 
 missionaries in Canada, stating that the preachers 
 then in the country were American republicans, 
 enemies to the Government, etc.* The London 
 
 * Note by E. Rycrson.—lL\\\s representation to the 
 London Wesleyan Missionary Committee was perfectly 
 untrue in every respect. It has been shown in the fiist 
 number of these essays that the first Methodist preachers 
 came to Canada in its destitution because they were 
 Loyalists, and the first members of the Church were the 
 first Canadian Loyalists ; and when, after a few years, 
 two or three preachers of the New York Conference 
 volunteered to come into the Canadian work, not from 
 partiality to British institutions, they declined to accept 
 appointments to Canada on the eve of the American 
 war in i8ii, and the only time preachers in Upper 
 Canada of American sympathies — Messrs. Roads and 
 Densmore — obtained, on application to the Canadian 
 Government in 1812, permission to return to the United 
 States ; so that there was not a Methodist preacher in 
 Upper Canada, [during and at the close of the war in 
 1815, who was not as loyal to the Throne and Govern- 
 ment of England as any member of the London 
 Wesleyan Missionary Committee. It was stated in the 
 evidence before the Select Committee of the U. C. 
 Legislative Assembly, in 1828, that no less than four 
 of the Methodist preachers volunteered their services 
 in the extremity of their country's danger, and fought 
 
 ''' .f 
 
 'ill 
 
 
 ■M 
 
 ::i 
 
 
 
294 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Cominiitce, without having any consultation with 
 the authorities here, resolved to act on the peti- 
 tions of the very few individuals who had memo- 
 rialized them, and forthwith sent missionaries to 
 Cornwall, Kingston, York, Niagara, and a few 
 other places. The result of the labours of these 
 missionaries can easily be conceived, for they 
 entered not a place where our Methodist preachers . 
 
 in several battles, in which two of them were wounded. 
 And, as a witness before the same Committee, the late 
 Hon. William Dextler, of the District of Niagara, the 
 theatre and field of the chief battles of the war — himself 
 a High Churchman — testified that '* the Methodists as 
 a religious sect prompted and encouraged their hearers 
 in defence of the Province, and in repelling invasions in 
 that part ot the Province where I resided.** In the face 
 of these indubitable facts and testimonies as to the true 
 loyalty to the Throne of the ministers and members 
 of the Methodist Church in Upper Canada, the London 
 Wesleyan Committee, on the ex parte representations 
 of the enemies of Canadian Methodism, without inquiry 
 as to the truth of the representations, determined to 
 send missionaries into Upper Canada — not to the 
 heathen aborigines or the destitute settlements of the 
 country, but to the principal places where the Canadian 
 Methodist preachers had visited the people in the desti- 
 tution and infancy of such places, had formed societies, 
 and erected places of worship. This first mission of 
 the London Wesleyan Missionary Committee to Upper 
 Canada was, therefore, like the two which followed, 
 wholly political — a war upon the Methodism of the 
 Province on the false representations of High Churchism. 
 
 
T 
 
 CANADIAN MKTIIOIJISM. 
 
 295 
 
 had not laboured before, and where societies 
 had not been formed. These circuits were at 
 once everywhere disturbed, societies divided, and 
 all the evils of schism inflicted on the people. 
 Thus things continued, growing worse and worse, 
 until 1820, when the General Conference of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States 
 resolved to send a deputation to the British Con- 
 ference respectinrf these troubles. The llev. John 
 Emory (subsequently Bishop) was appointed on 
 
 So glaringly unjust and anti-Methodistic was this 
 proceeding, that, on the representation of the American 
 Methodist General Conference to the British Wesleyan 
 Conference in 1820, the latter agreed forthwith to with- 
 draw their (political) missionaries from Upper Canada, 
 while the former agreed to leave Lower Canada to the 
 sole care of the London Wesleyan Missionary Committee 
 and its missionaries, like the provinces of Nova Scotia, 
 New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. This agreement 
 was founded upon the principle laid down by Mr. 
 Wesley, and formally avowed by both the British and 
 American Conferences in 1820, that the Methodists 
 were one body (or Church) throughout the world, and 
 were determined to remain so. But Methodism, though 
 wholly self-supported, advanced more rapidly in Upper 
 Canada, and obtained a wider influence than in any 
 other province of British America. 
 
 This arrangement continued from 1820 to 1832, during 
 which time a Canadian Conference was established (in 
 1824), and the Methodists in Canada were formed into 
 a separate connexion from that in the United States 
 (in 1828). 
 
 
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 M 
 
 
 
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 m 
 
 296 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 this mission. . Suffice it to say, that the negoti- 
 ations of Mr. Emory resulted in an arrangement 
 by which the English Conference agreed to with- 
 draw all their missionaries from Upper Canada, 
 and the Methodist Episcopal Church agreed to 
 withdraw theirs from Lower Canada. This agree- 
 ment was carried into effect the following year, 
 with the exception of the missionary at Kingston, 
 who, it was supposed, influenced the Missionary 
 Committee in London to refuse (as far as Kingston 
 was concerned) to carry into effect the arrange- 
 ments agreed upon by the two branches of what 
 both declared to be one Church throughout the 
 world.* 
 
 ♦ No/e by E. Ryerson. — The resolutions of the English 
 Conference, held in Liverpool, August, 1820, and signed 
 by " Jabez Bunting, President," and " George Marsden, 
 Secretary," anticipated by sixty years all that the Meth- 
 odist (Ecumenical Council, to be held in London in 
 1 88 1, can say on the oneness and unity of the Methodist 
 Church throughout the world. I give the following 
 extracts of the resolutions of the English Conference 
 and instructions of the London Wesleyan Committee, 
 from the pen of the noble-minded Richard Watson, 
 who, had he been Missionary Secretary for Canada in 
 1840, instead of Robert Alder, no separation between 
 the British and Canadian Conferences would have taken 
 place. The resolutions of the English Conference, 
 adopted August 20th, 1820, are as follows : 
 
 " On the subject of the unpleasant circumstances 
 which have occurred in the Canadas between the Amer- 
 
 I 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 297 
 
 This satisfactory adjustment between the Eng- 
 lish and American Conferences again restored 
 unity and concord to the Church, which nothing 
 occurred to disturb until 1831, or early in 1832, 
 
 lean preachers and our missionaries, refeiTed to the 
 Conference by the Missionary Committee in London, 
 with their opinion that Upper Canada shall be left in 
 possession of the American brethren, and that our 
 missionary exertions shall be confined to the Lower 
 Province, the Conference adopted the following principles 
 and arrangements : 
 
 *' I. That as the American Methodisls and ourselves 
 are but one body^ it would be inconsistent with our unity 
 ana dangerous to that offciiion which ought to charac- 
 terize us in every place, to have different societies and 
 congregations in the same tozuns and villages, or to allow 
 of any intrusion on either side into each other^s labours. 
 
 " 2. That this principle shall be the rule by which 
 the disputes now existing in the Canadas, betweei our 
 missionaries, shall be terminated. 
 
 " 3. That the simplest and most effectual manner of 
 carrying this rule into effect appears to us to be to accede 
 to the suggestions of the American Conference, that 
 the American brethren shall have the occupation of 
 Upper Canada and the British missionaries that of 
 Lower Canada, allowing sufficient time for carrying this 
 arrangement into effect, with all possible tenderness to 
 existing prejudices and conflicting interests on both 
 sides ; the arrangements to be completed within a period 
 to be fixed as early as possible by the Missionary Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 " 4. That if hereafter it shall appear to any of our 
 brethren there, «;ither British missionaries or American 
 
 '^1 
 
 % 
 
 
 r it 
 
 ' '«! 
 
 >^tJ 
 
208 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 when, as above stated, the Wesleyan Missionary 
 Committee in London again resolved to send 
 missionaries to Upper Canada. I was at thai 
 time President of the Canada Conference Mis- 
 
 i! 
 
 l\ '" 
 
 preachers, that any place on either side of the boundary 
 line needs religious help, and presents a favourable 
 opportunity for usefulness, the case shall be referred by 
 the Canada District Meeting to the General Conference, 
 or by that body to the Canada District ; and if either 
 shall formally decline to supply the place on their own 
 side of the boundary, then the other shall be at liberty 
 to supply the said place, without being deemed to have 
 violated the terms of this friendly compact. 
 
 " 5. That it shall be explicitly understood in this 
 arrangement that each party shall be bound to supply 
 with preachers all those stations and their dependencies 
 which shall be relinquished by each of the Connexions, 
 that no place on either side shall sustain any loss of 
 the ordinances of religion in consequence of this arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 "6. That the Missionary Committee be directed to 
 address a letter to the private and official members, 
 trustees, etc., under the care of our missionaries in Upper 
 Canada, informing them of the judgment of the Confer- 
 ence, and affectionately and earnestly advising them to 
 put themselves and their chapels under the pastoral 
 care of the American preachers, with the suggestion 
 of such considerations, to incline them to it, as the 
 Committee may judge proper. 
 
 "7. That the Bishops of the American Connexion 
 shall direct a similar letter to the private and official 
 members, trustees, etc., under the care of the Methodist 
 preachers in the Province of Lower Canada, requesting 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 299 
 
 sionary Society, and of course of the Missionary 
 Board, whose meetings were held in York, which 
 was also my circuit. In the month of May, 
 1832, 1 received a communication from the Kev. 
 
 them to put themselves and their chapels under ths care 
 of the British missionaries." 
 
 The following extracts of a letter of instructions from 
 the Missionary Committee in London, signed "Joseph 
 Taylor, Richard Watson, Secretaries," and dated " Wes- 
 leyan Mission House, 77 Hatton Garden, London, 
 23rd August, 1820," furnish a clear exposition of the 
 application of the above avowed principles to the case of 
 Upper Canada : 
 
 " Extracts of a Letter of Instructions from the Mis* 
 sionary Committee in London to the Rev. Messrs. 
 R. Williams and the other British Missionaries in 
 the Provinces of Canada. 
 
 " Dear Brother, — Herewith we transmit you copy of 
 resolutions passed at our late Conference, on the subject 
 of the disputes which have unhappily existed between 
 our American brethren and i!s, relative to our missions 
 in Canada. 
 
 " We have given you the resolutions in full, that you 
 may see that we have recognized the principle that 
 the Methodist body is one throughout the worlds and 
 that therefore its members are bound to cordial affection 
 and brotherly union. 
 
 " The resolutions of this Committee, passed some time 
 ago, and forwarded for your guidance, prohibiting inter- 
 ference with the work of the Canadian brethren, would 
 show you that the existence of collisions between us 
 and them gave us serious concern, and that the Com- 
 
 ■)i 
 
 m 
 
 ; ft," H 
 
 *li 
 
 >;ai 
 
m 
 
 300 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Mr. Alder (afterwards Dr. Alder), informing me 
 that the Wesleyan Missionary Committee in 
 London had determined to resume their work in 
 Upper Canada, and that he, with twelve mission- 
 aries, would, in the course of a few days, sail from 
 England on this mission. 
 
 mittee were anxious to remove, as far as they at that 
 time were acquainted with the circumstances, every 
 occasion of dispute. 
 
 *' Certainly the case of the Montreal chapel was one 
 which we could never justify to our minds, and the Com- 
 mittee have, in many instances, had but a partial know- 
 ledge of the real religious wants of Upper Canada, and 
 of its means of supply. The only reason we could have 
 for increasing the number of missionaries in that Pro- 
 vince was the ^presumption of strong necessity, arising 
 out of the destitute condition of the inhabitants, the total 
 want, or too great distance^ of ministers. 
 
 " On no other ground could we apply money, raised 
 for missionary purposes, for the supply of preachers to 
 Upper Canada. The information we have had for two 
 years past has all served to show that the number of 
 preachers employed there by the American brethren was 
 greater than we had first supposed, and was constantly 
 increasing. 
 
 " To us, therefore, it now appears that though there 
 may be places in that province which are not visited, 
 they are within the range of the extended American 
 itinerancy ; and that Upper Canada does not present to 
 our efforts so fully and decidedly missionary as the 
 Lower Province, where much less help exists, and the 
 greater part of the population is involved in Popish 
 superstition. 
 
 ^■' 
 
T 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 301 
 
 It will be necessary for me here to show both 
 the ostensible and real cause of this movement. 
 The controversy respecting the Clergy Lands, 
 called the " Clergy Reserve Question " — invol- 
 ving the equal rights and privileges of the reli- 
 gious denominations — had been going on for 
 
 " We know that political reasons exist in many minds 
 for supplying even Upper Canada, as far as possible, 
 with British missionaries ; and however natural this 
 feeling may be to Englishmen, and even praiseworthy 
 when not carried too far, it will be obvious to you that 
 this is a ground on which, as a Missionary Society, and 
 especially as a society under the direction of a Com- 
 mittee which recognizes as one with itself the American 
 Methodists, we cannot act. 
 
 " I. Because, as a Missionary Society, we cannot lay 
 down as a principle that those whose object is to convert 
 the world shall be prevented from seeking and saving 
 souls under a foreign Government ; for we do not thus 
 regulate our own efforts. 
 
 " 2. To act on this principle would be to cast an odium 
 upon our American brethren, as though they did not 
 conduct themselves peaceably under the British Govern- 
 ment, which is, we believe, contrary to the fact. 
 
 " 3. That if any particular exceptions to this Christian 
 and submissive conduct were, on their part, to occur, we 
 have not the least right to interfere, unless, indeed, the 
 American Conference obviously neglected to enforce 
 upon offending parties its own discipline. Upon any 
 political feeling which may exist, either in your minds 
 or in the minds of a party in any place, we cannot 
 therefore proceed. Our objects are purely spiritual, and 
 our American brethren and ourselves are one body of 
 
 ■■-II 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 w 
 
 3. 
 
 Xd 
 
I 
 
 IW 
 
 W' 
 
 if .. y 
 
 i*! 
 
 
 I 
 
 302 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 several years. The Christian Gitardian had taken 
 a leading part against the exclusive claims of 
 what was called the "High Church party." 
 Indeed, the Guardian^ and the Methodists its 
 supporters, formed the principal, if not the only, 
 serious barrier to the success of the exclusive 
 
 Christians, sprung from a common stock, holding the 
 same doctrines, enforcing the same discipline, and 
 striving in common to spread the light of true religion 
 through the world. 
 
 " In conformity with these views, we have long thought 
 it a reproach, and doing more injury, by disturbing the 
 harmony of the Connexions, than could be counter- 
 balanced by any local good, that the same city or town 
 should see two congregations, and two societies, and 
 two preachers professing the same form of Christianity, 
 and yet proclaiming themselves rivals to each other, 
 and, in some instances, invading each other's societies, 
 and thus producing party feelings. 
 
 "The Committee, previous to the Conference, went 
 with the representative of the American General Con- 
 ference fully into the discussion of the disputes in the 
 Canadas, and recommend those principles of adjustment 
 which the Conference, after they had been referred to 
 a Special Committee during the time of its sitting, 
 adopted, and which we now transmit to all the brethren 
 in the Canadas. 
 
 "You will consider these resolutions as the fruit of 
 very ample inquiry and serious deliberation. 
 
 " None of the principles here adopted by us do indeed 
 go further than to prevent interference with each other's 
 labours among the American and British missionaries, 
 and the setting of altar against altar^ in the same city^ 
 
I 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 303 
 
 and monopolizing claims of the High Church 
 party. Every possible effort was, therefore, made 
 by the High Church party and their friends to 
 break down and level to the ground this great 
 mountain of Methodism, which stood so frown- 
 ingly in the way of their success. Strenuous 
 exertions were used to destroy or weaken the 
 
 toti'ttj cr village; but knowing that circumstances of 
 irritation exist, and that too near a proximity might, 
 through the infirmity of human nature, lead to a violation 
 of the union which the Conference has deemed it a 
 matter of paramount importance to maintain, we have 
 thought it best to adopt a geographical division of labour 
 of each, and that Upper Canada should be left to the 
 American brethren and Lower Canada to you. 
 
 " Feel that you are one with your American brethren, 
 embarked in the same great cause, and eminently of 
 the same religious family, and the little difficulties of 
 arrangement will be easily surmounted ; and if any 
 warm spirits (which is probable) rise up to trouble you, 
 remember that you are to act upon the great principle 
 sanctioned by the Conference, and not upon local pre- 
 judices. 
 
 (Signed) " Joseph Taylor and Richard Watson, 
 
 " Secretaries." 
 
 Remark by E. Ryerson. — Had Richard Watson (the 
 author of the above truly Wesleyan and patriotic resolu- 
 tions and instructions) been Missionary Secretary iii 
 1839 and 1840, instead of Robert Alder, not a ripple 
 of dissatisfaction would have disturbed the tranquil unity 
 of the British and Canadian Conferences, much less a 
 separation between them, and all the evils of schismatic 
 divisions in Upper Canada. 
 
 
 
 m 
 
Ill 
 
 I! 1 h 
 
 304 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 influence of Methodism; every seceding party, 
 however trifling, was encouraged. Kyanism was 
 openly patronized by Churchmen, who utterly 
 hated everything connected with Methodism. 
 Mr. Eyan and his friends received direct pecun- 
 iary assistance from Dr. Strachan and his friends.* 
 But in spite of all, the circulation and influence 
 of the Christian Guardian (then the leading 
 newspaper in Upper Canada) increased daily ; the 
 number and power of the Methodist Church grew 
 more and more every year ; so that the greedy few 
 felt that their prey was in great danger of being 
 lost. For their protection, justice was out of the 
 question ; and every scheme and effort to divide 
 and defeat the friends of right and truth having 
 
 ••"The Conference of 1827 was held at Hamilton, 
 and commenced its session on the 30th of Augusty 
 Bishop Hedding presiding. The Rev. Henry Ryan 
 withdrew from the Church. Mr. Ryan having now 
 severed all connection with the Church, set to work 
 to more perfectly arrange the plans which he had for 
 some time been forming, of effecting such a division 
 in the Church as should eventuate in a general dis- 
 ruption. To this course he was urged by the couftsel, 
 and encouraged by the aid, of parties who, high in 
 authority, were still, as ever, the bitter, unscrupulous 
 enemies of Methodism, and judged this one of the best 
 methods of retarding its progress in the country. Among 
 those who thus urged Mr. Ryan on were the Hon. 
 John Wilson, the then Speaker of the House ot As. 
 sembly, who had formerly been a member ot the M. E. 
 Church, but who nad become dissatisfied; and Dr. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 305 
 
 failed, they knew not what to do or on whom 
 to call for help. 
 
 One thing, however, remained to be done, 
 which was to try again the plan of 1817 (to 
 divide the Methodist Church by sending English 
 missionaries into Upper Canada), which had been 
 defeated by the measures entered into between 
 the English and American Conferences in 1820. 
 The Government and Church party (for they were 
 but one party, under the control of the Arch- 
 deacon of York), therefore, lost no time in master- 
 ing a plan to induce the British Conf^ence again 
 to undertake the occupancy of Upper Canada as 
 missionary ground, and forthwith to send mis- 
 sionaries into the province for that purpose. A 
 correspondence was opened between the head 
 of the Canadian Executive Government, Sir John 
 Colborne, and the Wesleyan Missionary Com- 
 mittee, on the subject of the new missionary 
 enterprise into Upper Canada. 
 
 Strachan, Mr. Ryan's former opponent, who took this 
 opportunity of manifesting his contempt for, and hatred 
 of, the Methodist Bishops, and of that form of Meth- 
 odism which had accomplished so much for the Cana- 
 dian people by its opposition to the establishment of a 
 State Church, by sending Mr. Ryan the sum of $200 
 to assist in what he professed to consider the praise- 
 worthy effort to break up and destroy those Yankee 
 Methodists." — Webster's History of the M. Church in 
 Canada, chap, xvii., pp. 200, 201. 
 20 
 
 i 
 
 n'> 
 
 li'A 
 
 
306 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ESSAY XII. 
 
 CONDITIONS AND WORKING OP THE UNION UNTIL 1838; 
 RE-ELECTION OF EGERTON RYERSON AS EDITOR ; 
 HIS EDITORIAL PROSPECTUS, DEFINING THE OBJECTS 
 OP HIS ELECTION AND HIS INTENDED COURSE OP 
 PROCEEDING ; THE FIERT TRIAL COMMENCING. 
 
 By the late Rev. John Ryerson; with Notes by his brother, 
 
 Egerton Ryerson. 
 
 *HE Canadian Government had stated that 
 Methodism in this Province was republi- 
 canized by the labours and influence of Yankee 
 preachers, the majority of whom were enemies to 
 British institutions and government; that by 
 their power the connection between the Colony 
 and the Mother Country was not only weakened, 
 but actually endangered; and that if their in- 
 .fluence was not reduced, and their democratic 
 course checked, they would endanger the integrity 
 of the United Empire, and throw the Province 
 into the hands of the United States ; that it was 
 indispensable for the British Conference to send 
 without delay British missionaries to every prin- 
 cipal place in Upper Canada. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 307 
 
 IC 
 
 n- 
 
 These disinterested patriots [headed and directed 
 by the Archdeacon of York] enforced their reason- 
 ings by the golden argument -That in case of 
 compliance on the part of the London Wesleyan 
 Committee, there would be granted out of the 
 casual and territorial revenue of the Crown [not 
 Clergy Eeserve revenue] the sum of one thousand 
 pounds sterling per annum towards the support 
 of such Canadian Missions." By these arguments 
 and considerations the London Wesleyan Com- 
 mittee was convinced that it was their duty to 
 consider the call from Canada as providential, and 
 therefore came to the conclusion to re-occupy 
 the Province of Upper Canada as missionary 
 ground. 
 
 Of this we were advertised, as before stated, 
 by Dr. Alder's letter. This announcement of the 
 London Wesleyan Missionary Committee, and 
 the appointments they had absolutely made, were 
 to us like thunder-claps. For eight or nine 
 years our Church had been wading through deep 
 waters of affliction, and enduring fightings with- 
 out and fears within, while contending for right 
 to hold property on which to erect places of 
 worship and in which to bury our dead, the 
 right to solemnize matrimony, against the Clergy 
 Eeserve monopoly, and for equal rights and 
 privileges before the law with the Church of 
 England, in effecting [by mutual consent] our 
 
 
 "*^ 
 
 '• i 
 
 
 ■m 
 
308 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 separation from the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in the United States and our organization into 
 an independent Church, preceded and followed 
 as it was by the tumults and schisms of Kyanism. 
 And now, when peace and quiet had apparently 
 returned, and when expectations of increased 
 prosperity were beginning to cheer us, to receive 
 such an announcement was disheartening and 
 crushing beyond what can be expressed. It was 
 easy to predict what would be the result of rival 
 Methodist congregations in every town and prin- 
 cipal neighbourhood, and the rival congregations 
 served by able ministers from England.* Oh I 
 the darkness in the future ! What a cloud 
 seemed to spread over the whole Methodist family 
 in Upper Canada I 
 
 My sadness was very great; for many days 
 I ate little and slept less. My consolation and 
 hope was in God only ; and in this state I gave 
 myself to fasting and prayer. One day, while 
 walking along Bay Street^ pondering in my mind 
 
 ♦This Mission was in direct violation of the principles 
 avowed by the English Conference and instructions of 
 the London Wesleyan Missionary Committee, as pre- 
 viously quoted. But Richard Watson was no more, and 
 his successor was more of a High Churchman than 
 Wesleyan in Canadian affairs, and at length left the 
 Methodists altogether, obtained orders in the Church of 
 England, and died several years since as Canon in the 
 Cathedral of Gibraltar.— A'<7/^ by E. Ryerson, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 300 
 
 what would bo the result of pending mattervS, and 
 that if there was any possible way by which 
 the impeuding evil could bo averted, it came into 
 my mind suddenly, as though spnie supernatural 
 power had suggested it, whether or not some 
 arrangement could not be entered into by which 
 the two Conferences could be united, and thus 
 mutually help and strengthen each other, instead 
 of devouring one another, as the enemies of 
 Methodism were seeking that they should do, 
 and thus prevent the further schemes and evils 
 of divisions. The more I thought of this, the 
 brighter the streak in the cloud seemed to grow ; 
 and I resolved to suggest the matter to the Editor 
 of the Christian Chiardian — then the only minister 
 in the town of York besides myself. At the 
 earliest convenience I mentioned the matter to 
 him, in which, after some consideration, he con- 
 curred. After several interviews and conversa- 
 tions on the subject, we agreed upon the outlines 
 of a plan of pacilication, or one to prevent strife. 
 I visited and conversed with the several members 
 of the Missionary Board and all the leading 
 members of the Church within my charge. The 
 time approached for Dr. Alder's arrival, and it 
 was agreed upon among us, that after he came I 
 should call a meeting of the Missionary Board 
 and invite Dr. Alder to attend, when the whole 
 matter should be discussed, and finally to propose 
 
 
 u 
 
t 
 
 , m 
 
 ik'' ■ 
 
 310 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 our plan to him. In a few days Dr. Alder 
 arrived, accompaTiiecl by two or three missionaries. 
 The Missionary Board met ; the whole matter was 
 considered; and the proposals, previously agreed 
 upon among ourselves, were made. Dr. Alder 
 requested time to consider the matter, and, after 
 various conversations, provisional arrangements 
 were come to ; articles of settlement were agreed 
 upon, substantially such as those that received 
 the sanction of both the British and Canadian 
 Conferences, and became Articles of Union be- 
 tween them from 1833 to 1840. At the request 
 of our Missionary Board, Dr. Alder consented to 
 remain in Canada, and meet our Conference, to 
 be held in the town of Hallowell (now Picton) 
 on the 18th of the following August. After long 
 and careful consideration, the Conference, by a 
 large majority, agreed to adopt the Articles of 
 Settlement which had been proposed by the 
 Missionary Board at York. The Eev. E. Eyer- 
 son was appointed representative to the British 
 Conference foj the purpose of accomplishing the 
 final settlement and definitely arranging the 
 whole matter.* 
 
 *NoU by E. Ryerson. — I think there Vi vtrj little 
 reason to doubt that Dr. Alder and his High Church 
 friends in Toronto (with whom he was in constant con- 
 sultation) supposed and assumed that placing the Cana- 
 dian Missions and Conference in connection with, and 
 
 r 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 sn 
 
 Durinc: the session of the British Conference 
 which was held in Manchester, August, 1833, 
 the Articles of Union between the British and 
 Canadian Conferences were satisfactorily settled, 
 and the Rev. George Marsden was appointed 
 first President of the Canadian Conference, and 
 the Eev. Joseph Stinson was appointed Super- 
 intendent of Canadian Missions. Thus ended 
 the great matter of settlement by which threat- 
 ening danger was avoided, the foundation was 
 laid for conserving the peace and unity of the 
 Church, and for promoting its usefulness. 
 
 After a few years, however, another dark cloud 
 came over our Church, and she was again doomed 
 to pass through a fiery ordeal and to drink 
 deeply the waters of affliction. "The Clergy 
 Reserve Question " has been mentioned ; and for 
 several years the British Conference and their 
 representatives in Upper Canada cordially co- 
 operated yf'/h the Christian Guardian and the 
 Confeitmcf-; in defending and maintaining the 
 equ:I lights and liberties before the law of all 
 
 .y»a 
 
 
 :M 
 
 : 'Mi 
 • *^ 
 
 d 
 
 in subo'dination to, the British Conference would par- 
 alyze, i.' not lead to the suspension altogether of the 
 exertions of the Canadian preachers against the estab- 
 lishment of Church-of-England supremacy and monopoly 
 in Upper Canada. How their po\icy and expectations 
 were defeated and disap?>ointed v/lll appear in subsequent 
 notes. 
 
 ■'"Mi 
 
 y i 
 
 
w 
 
 
 m 
 
 ; I i 
 
 n Pf 
 
 ( \ 
 
 ii 1^1 
 
 312 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 religious persuasions, and in opposing the pre- 
 tensions and claims of the High Church party 
 to the power and revenue of a dominant Church. 
 And it is more than possible that they would 
 have continued to do so but for the troubles in 
 the country in 1837, called the " Insurrection," or 
 "the Mackenzie rebellion." These political and 
 civil disturbances greatly agitated the country; 
 and when they were over, the " Family Compact " 
 (i.e.y Dr. Strachan and his supporters) endeavoured 
 to make High Church capital out of them, by 
 representing that the whole mischief had gro\N n 
 out of the opposition of the pretenders and advo- 
 cates of equal rights and liberties, but who were 
 really opponents of the British constitution and 
 government. After aiding to suppress the re- 
 bellion, and when the heat of it was over, the 
 Christian Guardian resumed the discussion of 
 the Clergy Reserve question, and insisted that 
 it should now be settled; that this bone of 
 contention should now be taken out of the 
 way ; that equal religious and civil rights should 
 now be established for all Christian denomina- 
 tions ; and that sectarian monopoly and exclusive 
 party government should be bygones forever. But 
 nothing was further from the thoughts of Dr. 
 Strachan and his friends, together with Sir George 
 Arthur, the Governor, than such an equitable 
 settlement. Tiiey bittlerly contended that &ny 
 
 r 
 
 H* 
 
*,m mtmMUiii,'- 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 313 
 
 
 mooting of these questions at the present time 
 was evidence of the disloyalty of the parties who, 
 they alleged, were endeavouring to despoil " The 
 Church" of its lawful rights. The Editor of 
 the Giiardian was threatened with personal vio- 
 lence, with prosecution, and banishment. 
 
 Yet still the Guardian kept on the even tenor 
 of its way ; and in proportion to the fury of 
 the monopolists did the Editor of the Guardian 
 increase his exertions to wrest from them their 
 unjust gains. Then the opposers of equal rights, 
 seeing that nothing else would do, called in 
 requisition the old craft, to divide the Methodists, 
 or at least, by means of a new party, to coercively 
 control them. Sir George Arthur [the amanuensis 
 of Dr. Strachan in these matters] wrote to the 
 Wesleyan Missionary Committee in London of 
 the evil and disturbing doings of the Christian 
 Guttrdian and its supporters, and calling on them 
 tor their interference. Such an appeal was, of 
 course, flattering to the vanity of the Committee, 
 from whom Sir George Arthur received a very 
 complimentary and encouraging reply. The Com- 
 mittee also wrote to the Ilev. Messrs. Harvard, 
 Stinson, and Eichey, and directed their inter- 
 position in arresting the unjustifiable course of 
 the Christian Guardian. The matter [or rather 
 pretext] of complaint was not so much that the 
 Guardian discussed the settlement of the Clergy 
 
 to V; 
 
f 
 
 314 
 
 CANADIAN METIlOmaM. 
 
 Land question, but that it had become 'party 
 political; that its course was disquieting to the 
 country and disreputable to Wesleyan Methodism 
 which had always been reputed for its loyalty 
 and conservatism. It is not to be denied that 
 the course of the Guardian at this time was 
 very political for a religious journal, the organ 
 of a Chi; . ^ an J many of its best friends thought 
 it ought. ^n Aih respect to modify its manner 
 of proceeding.^ But the Editor was firm and 
 
 * It is true, as my late brother has intimated, that 
 the Guardian was "intensely political," because the 
 Editor was intensely in earnest on the great object for 
 which he had been elected by his Conference. Some of 
 his friends thought he should be more conciliatory, and 
 compromise ; but the times of his former proposed 
 conciliations and compromises were now past. He felt 
 the awfulness of the crisis and the responsibility of 
 his position. The reform party had been crushed by 
 the Rebellion of 1837, and the reform press silenced; 
 there was in fact no reform party. The High Church 
 party thought their day of absolute power and ecclesi- 
 astical monopoly had dawned. It had been agreed 
 by W. L. Mackenzie and his fellow-rebels in 1837 
 to hang Egerton Ryerson on the first tree they met with, 
 could they apprehend him. He alone stood above suc- 
 cessful calumny by the High Church party, and backed 
 as he was by his Canadian brethren, he determined 
 to defend to the last the citadel of Canadian liberty, 
 by whomsoever or from whatsoever quarter assailed. 
 He knew that as in a final struggle for victory between 
 two armies, when victory was trembling in the scales^ 
 
 
r 
 
 KmKiBmmgmB&-m^r 
 
 Canadian Methodism. 
 
 31. 1 
 
 M^[ 
 
 .'»i 
 
 unyielding, contending "that all the political 
 questions then pending had a direct or indirect 
 bearing on the great question; that in warfare, 
 belligerents were not expected to be exceedingly 
 nice in regard to the instruments they employed 
 in making a breach into the enemy's camp and 
 pulling down his bulwarks ; that he employed no 
 illegitimate means, but thav he would not be 
 turned aside from the great object until it was 
 
 Vf! 
 
 the wavering of a single battalion on either side might 
 animate and decide victory in favour of the enemy ; 
 so a compromising sentence or ambiguous word from the 
 Editor might rouse the High Church party to increased 
 confidence and action, and proportionably weaken the 
 cause of civil and religious liberty in Upper Canada. 
 The Editor of the Guardian had no fear, as he evinced 
 none. He had studied and learned the principles of 
 British constitutional government, not from party news- 
 papers or politicians (for he knew none) ; but, before 
 he was twenty years of age, or knew any political man, 
 he had studied Paiey on Political PhilosopJiyy especially 
 on the British Constitution; and Blackstone's Commen- 
 taries on the Laws of England^ especially on the Rights 
 of the Crown, of Parliament, of the Subject, etc. ; besides 
 Locke on Government^ Bingleys British Characters, etc., 
 and he has been through life swayed no more by poli- 
 tical than by religious parties, but has written and acted 
 in public affairs, irrespective of sect or party, according 
 to the great principles of constitutional and just govern- 
 ment which he had learned before he knew anything 
 of political parties or party politicians. 
 
 ^3*- 
 
 m 
 
 my -■■ 
 
I 
 
 
 r 
 
 ..,;i 
 
 im 
 
 316 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 attained j that the real object of the Government 
 and the London Missionary Committee was not 
 so much to prevent the introduction of politics 
 into the Guardian as the discussion of the Clergy 
 Reserve question itself, and the equal religious 
 rights of the people altogether, so that the High 
 Church party might be left in peaceable possession 
 of their exclusive privileges, and their unjust and 
 immense monopolies, without molestation or dis- 
 pute/ This latter statement of the Editor was 
 doubtless the trtUli; and had he yielded to the 
 dictation oi Sir Jeorge Arthur's government and 
 the interfere^ je of the London Missionary Com- 
 mittee, one-seventh of the land of the Province 
 might now be in the hands of the Church of 
 England. But the course of the Guardian and 
 the firmness of our Conference in this matter, 
 however right, brought upon them calamities and 
 sufferings of seven years' continuance. 
 
 The Government and the London Committee, 
 however, were not to be diverted from their pur- 
 pose; letters and verbal communications passed 
 between the parties, which so far from settling 
 differences only increased them, and matters every 
 day became more and more complicated. In the 
 spring of 1839 the Eev. Dr. Alder was sent to 
 Canada [professedly] for the purpose of ascer- 
 taining the state of things and parties, and, if 
 possible, of adjusting matters, that he might 
 
 r 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 317 
 
 i>*>-4 
 
 to 
 
 er- 
 
 if 
 
 'ht 
 
 report to the Committee, " What of the night ? 
 what of the night?" 
 
 Soon after Dr. Alder's arrival there was pub- 
 lished a pamphlet signed "M. Richey and J. 
 Stinson," professedly giving a correct statement 
 of the misunderstandings and controversy between 
 the two bodies. An attempt was also made at 
 arguing the subject ; but it was a very lame and 
 weak production, doing neither good nor harm. 
 All parties looked upon it as a so^t of weakling, 
 that made its appearance out of due time. Still 
 the friends of the Conference thought that Messrs. 
 Richey's and Stinson's pamphlet should be an- 
 swered and its fallacies pointed out. [An easy 
 task, for however Drs. Richey and Stinson might 
 excel in the pulpit, like Dr. Alder, they were 
 feeble in argument and controversy, and Dr. 
 Alder was not much better.] This was only 
 three weeks before the meeting of Conference; 
 but the Editor of the Guardian prepared and 
 published an answer [including an answer to an 
 elaborate letter from Dr. Alder, addressed to and 
 published by the Editor], which was ready for 
 distribution at the time of the meeting of the 
 Conference. Dr. Alder attended the Conference 
 [which was held in Hamilton, June, 1839]; 
 during which all the subjects of dispute were 
 carefully considered and earnestly discussed ; the 
 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 1 m 
 
 
318 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 1-i . ii 
 
 ,:Si;. .:'.; 
 -. ,„I'';'1-''m 
 
 result of which was the reconciliation of parties 
 and the [apparent] healing of the breach. 
 
 Appendix hy Egerton Eyerson to the First Part 
 
 of the foregoing narrative hy the late 
 
 Bev. John Ihjerson. 
 
 Several circumstances of which my late brother 
 was not aware, or to which he did not attach 
 much importance, are omitted ir the foregoing 
 narrative. 
 
 1. Dr. Alder brought a letter to Sir George 
 Arthur, signed by Dr. Bunting and the other 
 Missionary Secretaries, condemnatory of the 
 Editor of the Guardian and eulogistic of Sir 
 George Arthur's Government. This letter was 
 forthwith published in the Patriot, the organ of 
 the Government. This letter was regarded by 
 the High Church party as an extinguisher of the 
 Editor of the Guardian, who, however, inserted 
 and replied to the letter in the next number 
 of the Ch^ardian. Dr. Alder proposed to vindi- 
 cate the Missionary Secretaries* letter, and to 
 expound his own position, for which purpose the 
 Editor of the Guardian offered him the use of 
 its columns. Dr. Alder availed himself of the 
 offer, and was replied to by the Editor. 
 
 2. Dr. Alder attended the Conference at Ham- 
 ilton, June, 1839, and introduced resolutions ex- 
 pressive of his views, to which he insisted upon 
 
 I ■ 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 819 
 
 the concurrence of the Conference. The resohi- 
 tions were discussed for some three days without 
 the Editor of the Guardian saying a word ; until 
 Dr. Alder complained that Mr. Egerton Kyerson 
 had not condescended to make any statement 
 or explanation. Mr. E. Ryerson said he would 
 speak when he thought it expedient; and the 
 following day discussed, in a speech of upwards 
 of two hours, the whole of Dr. Alder's statements 
 and position. Dr. Alder acknowledged the argu- 
 mentative power of the defence, but attempted 
 no reply, and seemed to despair of success. His 
 resolutions were rejected by the Conference by a 
 majority of fifty-five to five. Mr. E. Ryerson 
 was re-elected Editor of the Guardian by an 
 almost unanimous vote of the Conference. 
 
 Dr. Alder appeared disappointed and de- 
 pressed; and after the close of the Conference 
 I said to him, as nearly as I can recollect, in 
 the following words: "Dr. Alder, you see how 
 inapplicable your views are to this country — how 
 entirely you have mistaken the state of Canadian 
 society, the views and feelings of the Methodist 
 people and of our Connexion. Now, I do not 
 wish that you should return to England with 
 the stamp of a defeated and disgraced man. I 
 will tell you what I propose to do. I purpose to 
 write a short editorial for the Guardian^ stating 
 that the differences and misunderstandings which 
 
 i 
 
 
 'M 
 
 i"?:- ^'',)i 
 
 mi 
 
320 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM, 
 
 m 
 
 . » 
 
 I 
 
 had arisen between the London Wesleyan and 
 Canadian Conferences, after having been care- 
 fully considered and fully discussed, were adjusted 
 in an amicable spirit and the unity of the Church 
 maintained inviolate." 
 
 Dr. Alder appeared delighted and thankful 
 beyond expression at such an announcement. I 
 prepared the editorial article and read it to him 
 before giving it to the printer. 
 
 Dr. Alder used and interpreted this editorial 
 article as a part of the report of his mission, 
 on his return to England, to show that the 
 Canadian Conference and its Editor had acceded 
 to all his demands, and that he had been com- 
 pletely successful in his mission to Canada, when 
 every member of the Canadian Conference knew 
 that neither the Conference nor its Editor had 
 receded one iota from their position or course 
 of proceeding. The London Wesleyan Com- 
 mittee adopted resolutions coniplimentarv to Dr. 
 Alder for the ability and success with which 
 he had executed his Canadian mission, while the 
 Editor of the Guardian smiled at this little 
 by-play for the gratification of Dr. Alder, when 
 published in the London Wesleyan Watchman, 
 but did not imagine that Dr. Alder's fictitious 
 representation of the results of his mission would 
 be made the authority or ground of charges 
 against himself. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 321 
 
 ..■'ll 
 
 3 
 
 IS 
 
 In the meantime the discussion on the question 
 of a dominant Church monopoly and party ab- 
 solution and proscription in the Government 
 waxed hotter and hotter. A Eoyal Commission 
 had been appointed to investigate the state of 
 things in Canada; the constitution of Lower 
 Canada had been suspended; rumours prevailed 
 of a change of Government in Upper Canada; 
 the High Church party felt that this was their 
 time, and perhaps their last chance, to confirm 
 their absolute power and Clergy Beserve mo- 
 nopoly ; the elections of 1836 and the rebellion 
 of 1837 had crushed the Reform party, silenced 
 or rendered powerless the Eeform newspaper 
 press, and the High Church party were com- 
 pletely in the ascendant until the arrival of the 
 Earl of Durham as Her Majesty's High Com- 
 missioner, and the superseding of Sir George 
 Arthur by the appointment of the Bight Hon. 
 Poulett Thompson, afterward Lord Sydenham. 
 
 To enable the reader to understand the nature 
 and the importance of the crisis then approachiug, 
 and the oircumstances under which, r.nd the 
 purposes for which, I was elected Ediior of the 
 Guardian to meet it, it will be necessary for 
 me to go back a little and state the following 
 facts : — 
 
 From December, 1835, to March, 1837, I was 
 in England, at the request, even command, of 
 21 
 
 'I ■ 
 
 m 
 
 f 
 
 =t' r-: 
 
 l»«; •§ 
 
 sun 
 
 
 i H'r\' 
 
 •<*• 
 
322 
 
 Hi 
 
 ' •■r i 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 the English President (Rev. Wm. Lord), who had 
 got into financial difficulties with the Wesleyan 
 Committee, which had dishonoured his bills *** 
 exchange to the amount of £1,800 sterling, a ^ 
 during which time I relieved Mr. Lord of his 
 difficulties and obtained a Eoyal Charter and 
 grant of £4,000, besides private subscriptions, in 
 behalf of what is now Victoria University. On 
 my return to Canada in the spring of 1837, I 
 was urged to resume the editorship of the Oxmr- 
 dian ; but I had promised our people in Kingston, 
 from whom I was suddenly removed in the 
 autumn of 1835, thtt I would remain with the-^ 
 at least a year on my return to Canada. I 
 here quote the account of the whole affair, ana 
 of the conditions and objects of my ultimately 
 resuming the editorship of the Guardian, as 
 published in 1841, in London, in my vindication 
 against the attacks of the London Wesleyan 
 Committee, the soundness of which has never 
 been questioned : 
 
 "I was solicited to accept the editorship of 
 the Guardian in June, 1837, but I refused, and 
 begged my friends to retain the then Editor. 
 In the course of that year I was reduced to 
 the alternative of treating the most earnest en- 
 treaties of the principal preachers with indiffer- 
 ence, resisting the appointment of the Conference, 
 or accepting the editorship of the Guardian 
 
;}.! '^ 
 
 CANADIAN METIlODIS\f. 
 
 323 
 
 [which I disliked, delighting in the ministerial 
 and pastoral work]. And amongst the most 
 earnest of those preachers with whom my remon- 
 strances were unavailing, was the Rev. Mr. 
 Stinson, the London Wcsleyan Committee's Super- 
 intendent in Upper Canada, with whom also 
 agreed the Rev. Mr. Richey, the Committee's 
 Assistant Superintendent here. It was their 
 opinion, as well as that of others, that High 
 Church domination required a more decided 
 opponent, and Methodist rights and religious 
 equality a more energoMc advocate, than the 
 then Editor. This will appear evident from the 
 extract of a letter addressed by Mr. Stinson 
 to a leading preacher (Rev. John Ryerson), a 
 few weeks before the Session of the Conference 
 at which I was elected Editor. It is dated April 
 7th, 1838. The extract is as follows : 
 
 "'I am quite of your opinion, that Brother 
 Egerton (Ryerson) ought to take the Guardian 
 next year. There is a crisis approacliing in our 
 affairs, which will require a vigorous hand to 
 wield the defensive weapon of our Conference, 
 There can be no two opinions as to whom to 
 give that weapon. We now stand on fair 
 grounds to maintain our own against the en- 
 croachments of the oligarchy ^ and lue must do it or 
 sink into a comj)aratively uninjiaential body. 
 This must not he,* 
 
 \-: ^f 
 
 i.>|/i 
 
1 1 
 
 324 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 m 
 
 " It will therefore be seen, that my appointment 
 as Editor was not only promoted by the repre- 
 sentative of the London Wesleyan Committee, 
 but with the express view of resisting the ' en- 
 croachments of the oligarchy ' — that is, of the 
 High Church party. Messrs. Stinson and Richey 
 had not at that time received instructions from 
 Dr. Alder to support the pretensions of the High 
 Church party in Canada. , 
 
 "As the justification of the Committee's hostile 
 proceedings turns, in a great measure, and the 
 Committee's charges against me depend entirely 
 upon the conditions on which, and the objects 
 for which, I was appointed Editor of the Guar- 
 dian in June, 1838, it is important that I state 
 them. 
 
 " Here, then, let the following things be noted : 
 — 1. Messrs. Stinson and Eichey voted for me 
 as Editor. 2. Previously to my election, I stated 
 at large to the Conference my intended course 
 in regard to the religious and civil affairs. 3. 
 I then embodied in an editorial prospectus the 
 substance of what I had stated to the Conference. 
 4. When I published that exposition of my views 
 and intended editorial course, it was objected to 
 by no party or individual that I ever heard of, 
 but seemed to satisfy our own preachers and 
 societies generally — even those who have since 
 been drawn away from us — and was never ob- 
 
"r 
 
 i'^. 
 
 CANADIAN METIIODISUL 
 
 325 
 
 jected to ^jy Dr. Alder or his colleagues in 
 London. The following extracts from my edifeorial 
 prospectus, published in the Guardian of the 
 11th of July, 1838, will show whether I concealed 
 my sentiments, and subsequent events are my 
 witness whether I have not consistently, firmly 
 and honourably maintained the views and pur- 
 poses I then stated and avowed. The extracts 
 are as follows : — 
 
 (From (lie Canada Christian Guardian, July 11, 18S8). 
 
 ***In respect to the ecclesiastical affairs of 
 this Province, notwithstanding the almost in- 
 credible calumny which has in past years been 
 poured upon me by antagonistic party presses, 
 I still adhere to the principles and views upon 
 which I set out iu 1826. I believe the endow- 
 ment of the priesthood of any Church in this 
 Province will be an evil to that Church as well 
 as impolitic in the Government. I have never 
 received one personal favour nor one farthing fc-: 
 my own gain from the Government or public 
 treasury, or from ary political man or party 
 whatever ; and by the grace of God, I will not 
 rob myself, nor allow myself to be robbed, oi 
 that ground of glorying, whatever may be my 
 views of general measures. In accordance with 
 the declaration put forth by several principal 
 ministers of the Methodist Church, in January 
 
 iii. 
 
 
 ! i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 «l 
 
 •iw ■ IPs 
 
K!l> 
 
 326 
 
 CANA.DIAN METHODISM. 
 
 
 last (called and presided over by the Rev. Wm. 
 M. Harvard, at that time President of the Cana- 
 dian Conference, by the appointment of the 
 British Conference), I believe that the appropria- 
 tion of the Clergy Reserves to educational pur- 
 poses will be the most satisfactory ard advan- 
 tageous disposal of them that can be -lade. If 
 in the way of such a disposal of the Clergy 
 Reserves insuperable obstacles should be thrown 
 in the way (although I believe nothing is poli- 
 tically impossible with the Earl of Durham in 
 these Provinces), I think the next best settle- 
 ment of that question will be to divide the 
 proceeds of the Clergy Reserves among the 
 different religious denominations (according to the 
 plan proposed by several Methodist ministers, 
 last winter) in proportion to what is raised by 
 each; leaving to the discretionary disposal of 
 each religious body its own apportionment. In 
 connection with such r possible adjustment of 
 the question, I think proper to observe that 
 in the event of any part of the proceeds of 
 the Clergy Reserves being apportioned to the 
 Methodist Church, it has been determined to 
 apply that amount — 1. To educational purposes, 
 that the means of education may be brought 
 within the reach of youth as much as possible. 
 2. To assist the members and friends of the 
 Church in the erection of churches and par- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 327 
 
 ■r^i 
 
 donages ; but not a farthing of it to be for the 
 endowment of the clergy in any way whatever. 
 
 "'To the very natural and important inquiry, 
 in relation to civil affairs, *Do you intend to 
 be neutral V I answer, No, I do not ; and for 
 the simple reason, I am a man, and a British 
 subject, am a professing Christian, and repre- 
 sentative of a British community. At one period, 
 in Greece, Solon enacted a law inflicting capital 
 punishment upon all neuters. The present is an 
 epoch in the affairs of this Province in which 
 no man of intelligence or consideration can be 
 safely or justifiably neutral. The foundation of 
 our Government is being laid anew; the future 
 character, and relations, and destinies of the 
 country are involved in pending deliberations; 
 the last whisper of rebellion is to be silenced in 
 the land. My decision, however, is not one of 
 party, but of principle — not one of passion, but 
 of conviction — not of partial proscription, but 
 of equitable comprehensiveness. Tb'be explicit 
 as well as brief, / am opposed to the mntroduction 
 of any new and untried theories of government. 
 As the organ of the Methodist Church, I assume 
 that the doctrines and discipline of that Church 
 are true and right. ^4. take them for granted 
 as far as the members of that Church are con- 
 cerned, and expound, and recommend, and act 
 upon them accordingly. So in civil affairs, I 
 
 1^ 
 
 ■M 
 
 i' 
 
 ^'.'-ii'i 
 
 4\ 
 
 m 
 

 323 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 assume that this country is to remain a portion of 
 the British empire, and view every measure, 
 not in reference to every ot any abstract political 
 theory, however plausible that theory may be, 
 but in reference to the well-being of the country 
 in connection with Great Britain. As in Church 
 affairs I take my stand upon the constitution 
 of the Church in its doctrines and rules, as 
 expounded by its fathers and ablest theologians, 
 and illustrated by general usage; so, in civil 
 affairs, I take my stand upon the established 
 constitution of the country, as expounded by royal 
 despatches, and illustrated by the usages of the 
 British Parliament, British Courts of Justice, 
 and the common law of England. Nothing more 
 is wanted to render this Province happy and 
 prosperous than the practical and efficient appli- 
 cation to every department of our government, 
 and to our whole system of legislation, of the 
 principles and instructions laid down in the 
 despatch of the Earl of Eipon, addressed to 
 Sir John Colborne, dated 8th November, 1832, 
 and the despabch of Lord Glenelg, addressed to 
 Sir F. B. Head, dated 15th December, 1835. 
 
 " ' If past partizanship and party combinations 
 be forgotten — ^if the great body of the inhabitants 
 will unite as one man to lay the foundation 
 and erect the superstructure of an impartial and 
 popular Government, a few years at most will 
 
 \ 
 
 ■1 h 
 
 :S:i. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 321) 
 
 bring about what His Excellency the Earl of 
 Durham has avowed it to be the great object 
 of his mission to accomplish — to lay ** the foun- 
 dation of such a system of government as will 
 protect the rights and interests of all parties, 
 allay all dissensions, and permanently establish, 
 under Divine Providence, the wealth, greatness 
 and prosperity of which such inexhaustible ele- 
 ments are to be found in these fertile countries." 
 " ' In conclusion, it is but just that the readers 
 of the Guardian and the public should know 
 that the foregoing article contains a mere sum- 
 mary of what I avowed before the late Confer- 
 ence, in a lengthened address of some hours, 
 previous to being elected to my present office 
 by a ballot vote of forty-one to sixteen. I feel, 
 therefore, strongly sanctioned in those principle?, 
 and views, and purposes; but I am deeply 
 sensible of my fallibility. I pretend to no ex- 
 emption from the ordinary errors and infirmities 
 of humanity ; I confess myself liable even to 
 imprudences. In promoting, therefore, the varied 
 objects of the Guardian, I must crave the indul- 
 gence and forbearance of its readers, as well 
 as hope for their confidence and support — de- 
 pending primarily, ultimately and entirely upon 
 the favour of Him without whose blessing 
 nothing is wise, or good, or strong. 
 
 (Signed) "*Egerton Ryerson.* 
 
 m 
 
 
 4 s 
 
 
 fcl 
 
 i>k 
 
330 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " I will appeal to every candid man in England 
 whether I could have been more frank and 
 explicit in the expression of my sentiments, and 
 in the avowal of my intended course of pro- 
 ceeding. 
 
 "A few months after, it was found that Sir 
 George Arthur, late Lieutenant-Governor of Upper 
 Canada, had thrown himself into the hands of 
 the 'oligarchy' on the question of the Clergy 
 Reserves — would not consent to have them ap- 
 plied to any other purpose than the support of 
 the clergy, and was anxious to get them re- 
 invested in the Crown. When Sir Georfje 
 Arthur's views and plans were brought before* the 
 Provincial Legislature, I opposed them. The 
 Wesleyan Committee in London interposed to 
 support Sir George Arthur on that question, and 
 sent a letter to Sir George disclaiming all par- 
 ticipation in the views of the Canada Conference 
 advocated by me — and sent a letter to Mr. 
 Stinson instructing him to oppose me and support 
 a Church Establishment in this Province. Messrs. 
 Stinson and Eichey turned round, and from that 
 day forward supported the 'oligarchy' which 
 they had elected me to oppose. However, Her 
 Majesty's Government subsequently set aside the 
 proceedings of Sir George Arthur upon the very 
 grounds on which I had opposed them ; but that 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 331 
 
 made no difference in the feelings of Dr. Alder 
 and his colleagues. 
 
 "At the Canada Conference of June, 1839 (held 
 at Hamilton), Dr. Alder was present, when 1 
 vindicated the consistency and expediency of the 
 course I had pursued, was sustained by the 
 Conference, and stated that I should feel it my 
 bounden duty to pursue the same course again 
 in like circumstances. Lord Durham's mission 
 had terminated, and the report of his mission 
 had been laid before Parliament ; and the latest 
 intelligence then (June, 1838) received from Eng- 
 land informed us that, in accordance with Lord 
 Durham's urgent recommendation for the imme- 
 diate adjustment of Canadian affairs, a Bill for 
 their settlement would be proposed during that 
 session of Parliament 
 
 " In those circumstances, I stated to the Con- 
 ference that the moment those questions affecting 
 our constitutional and just rights as British 
 Canadian subjects, and as a religious body, were 
 adjusted, we ought to abstain entirely from any 
 discussions in reference to civil affairs. While 
 Dr. Alder's resolutions were rejected by our 
 Conference, one prepared by myself was unani- 
 mously agreed to by our Conference, which, 
 though iJi disclaimed any intention * to interfere 
 with the merely secular party politics of the day,* 
 avowed its ^determination to maintain its senti- 
 
 •if 
 
 ? 
 
 
 . I' 
 
 1. » '* 
 
 (I 
 
 .;.'ii 
 
 
 V. 
 
 *4 
 
 ■ m 
 
 I 
 
332 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 -■^t^^ 
 
 ments on the question of an ecclesiastical estab- 
 lishment in this Province, and our constitutional 
 and just jp/ ivileges.** 
 
 The seven years' fiery trial on which the Meth- 
 odist Church in Canada was now entering will 
 be the subject of the two next Essays, including 
 the change of views and feelings which came 
 over the Wesleyan Methodists in England in 
 regard to their status as a Church and relations 
 to the Church Establishment both in England 
 and Canada, the repentance of Dr. Alder for the 
 wrongs he had done his Canadian brethren. Dr. 
 Bunting's change of views and feelings in regard 
 to Canada, the reunion of the British and 
 Canadian Conferences and happy results. 
 
CANADIAN METUODISM. 
 
 233 
 
 '"IH 
 
 ■iii\ 
 
 ESSAY xin. 
 
 HTENTS WHICH PRECEDED THE SEPARATION OP THE 
 ENGLISH AND CANADIAN CONFERENCE IN 1840 ; 
 OFFICIAL CHARGES OF THE LONDON WESLETAN 
 MISSIONARY COMMITTEE AGAINST EGERTON RYER 
 son; HIS TRIAL BEFORE THE CANADIAN CONFER- 
 ENCE ; HIS ACQUITTAL AND JUSTIFICATION* 
 
 By the late Rev. John Ryerson ; with Notes and 8v/ppUment 
 by his brother^ Egerton Ryerson. 
 
 'HE last essay closed with some account of 
 the proceedings of the Canadian Conference 
 held at Hamilton, June, 1839 ; the rejection of Dr. 
 Alder's Eesolutions after three daysMiscussion(the 
 minority consisting of only five) ; the expreseed 
 determination of the Conference to maintain its 
 rights on the question of the Clergy Eeserves and 
 a Church Establishment in Upper Canada, and 
 the apparent acquiescence of Dr. Alder. 
 
 The late Eev. John Eyerson proceeds thus with 
 his narrative. 
 
 "From this Conference [held in Hamilton, June, 
 1839,] the preachers departed to their Tarious 
 Circuits, satisfied and full of hope. But alas ! 
 bright hopes were again doomed to prove illusive, 
 
 *'. 
 
 ■m 
 
 s'-.l 
 
 •- t. 
 
 -m 
 
r 
 
 334 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 and cheerful expectations disappointed. Only a 
 short time elapsed before signs of uneasiness and 
 trouble ahead again approach. One party resolved 
 that the clergy land question should cease to be 
 discussed in the Guardian, while the other party 
 insisted that, it should be discussed until the 
 question should be settled by righteous adjust- 
 ment. Unfriendly correspondence and disputa- 
 tious conversations ensued; and at the Belle- 
 ville Conference of 1840, a communication was 
 received complaining of the political character 
 of the Guardian, declaring the intention of the 
 English Conference to withdraw from the Union 
 with the Canadian Conference. Our Conference 
 then passed resolutions declaratory of their firm 
 adherence to the Articles of Unic n ; of the fact 
 that they had never, in anything, or in any degree, 
 infringed or violated those Articles; that they 
 protested against the unjust and unlawful assump- 
 tion of the London Wesleyan Committee, or the 
 English Conference, in claiming the right to with 
 draw from the Union in direct violation of those 
 Articles, which had been drawn up, ratified and 
 signed by the two contracting parties, and which 
 could not be annulled, or renounced, but by the 
 same parties who had enacted and subscribed to 
 them. 
 
 "At the same time the Canada Conference 
 appointed the Revs. William and Egerton Eyerson 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 335 
 
 a deputation, or representatives, to the English 
 Conference. The efforts of these representatives, 
 it is painful to say, amounted to nothing. Neither 
 party was in a suitable frame of feeling for kindly 
 adjusting the differences between the two con- 
 nexions. Proceedings were brought to an abrupt 
 conclusion, much to the dissatisfaction of the 
 Canadian representatives. The English Confer- 
 ence, however, appointed a large Committee to 
 meet in London, who had power further to con- 
 sider this matter.* The Canadian Kepresentatives 
 did not meet this Committee, but previously to 
 their leaving London [in three days] prepared and 
 published an historical argumentative account of 
 the whole affair [giving the official documents on 
 
 *Note by E. Rytrson in 1880. — In this my brother, 
 the late John Ryerson, was mistaken. The Committee 
 of the Newcastle Conference, 1840, adjourned to meet 
 at Manchester, to deliberate and decide upon the whole 
 Canada matter. This was the Committee at which the 
 Representatives of the Canadian Conference should have 
 been notified and invited to attend. This Committee, 
 in the absence of the Canadian Representatives, de- 
 liberated and decided upon all matters in reference to 
 the separation of the English from the Canadian Con- 
 ference, and their future operations of division and schism 
 in Upper Canada ; and then appointed a Sub-Committee 
 in London to carry into effect their purposes ; and then 
 invited the Representatives of the Canada Conference 
 to meet his Executive Sub-Committee of war against the 
 Canada Conference and its congregations. 
 
 m 
 
 i 
 
 A 
 
 * I, 
 
 ■' ■ {■ 
 
 \ff 
 
 m 
 
 ■Mi 
 
 i 
 
 M 
 
 'Ui 
 
 5 
 
 u 
 
336 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 I. 
 
 both sides]. "Xv^t the pamphlet produced no effect 
 on the public Wesleyan mind in England. [The 
 authors did not advertise it, l^ft England on the 
 day of its publication, and brought most of the 
 edition to Canada with them.] Ou the return 
 of the Messrs. Byerson a special session of the 
 Canada Conference was called, which met in 
 Toronto the 29th of October [1840]. This Con- 
 ference declared its approval of the proceedings 
 of its representatives, and passed a resolution of 
 thanks to them for their services, and for the 
 firmness with which they had maintained the 
 rights of the Methodists and of the people gener- 
 ally of this country." 
 
 (Thus ends the narrative of the late Rev. John 
 Ryerson down to this point. The rest of his 
 narrative will be given in a succeeding Essay.) 
 
 Supplement to the foregoing narrative, hy Egerton 
 Ryerson^ in 1880 — taken from the pamphlets 
 published in England in 1840, by the Revs. W. 
 and E. Ryerson, in reply to the publication by 
 the Committee of the English Conference : 
 
 • A few weeks after, this session of or ^ n- 
 ference [held at Hamilton, June, 1839 avals 
 from England brought us the intelligent , firstl}', 
 that Sir George Arthur's Clergy Reserve Bill had 
 been disallowed, and that the question had been 
 referred back again to Canada ; secondly, that the 
 
 
•' 
 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 337 
 
 Queen's Ministers had abandoned the idea of 
 passing a Bill for the future government of this 
 country through Parliament that session, but 
 would introduce one, and send it out to Canada 
 for consideration and discussion until the next 
 session of Parliament. 
 
 " The English reader, however little he may 
 know of Canada affairs generally, will be able to 
 judge, from what has been above stated, of the 
 position in which I found myself placed, the 
 duties which devolved upon me, both in harmony 
 with long avowed and universally admitted prin- 
 ciples, as a colonist, and as a guardian of the con- 
 stitutional and just rights of a large Christian 
 community. In such circumstances every Eng- 
 lishman of common sense will see that I could 
 not have been silent on a measure (of Lord John 
 Kussell) which proposed a new and entirely 
 different constitution for the government of the 
 country from that under which I had been bom 
 and sworn allegiance, without sacrificing what is 
 dear to every British subject — my public char- 
 acter as a man, and the very principles on which 
 I had been supported by the religious public of 
 the country. 
 
 " Here was the length and breadth of my un- 
 constitutional doctrines. In the extract from 
 the Christian Guardian of the 11th of July, 1838 
 (given in the last essay), the reader has seen the 
 
 22 
 
 K'l 
 
 
;i 
 
 11 
 
 
 T--IH 
 
 338 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 official exposition of my opinions on the civil 
 government of Canada. At the English Confer- 
 ence held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in August last 
 (1840), I challenged any one of my accusers to 
 produce a single passage in all that I had ever 
 written, containing doctrines or sentiments at 
 variance with those stated in the ahove extract* 
 I repeat the challenge. I leave any candid English 
 reader of any party, after reading the extract, to 
 say whether my doctrines, as Editor of the Gimr- 
 diatif were not as loyal and constitutional as they 
 were just. Their capital error with the Wesleyan 
 Committee is, that they do not recognize a Church 
 Ustahlishment in Upper Canadd [as will be shown 
 hereafter in their own words]; although their 
 own agents, Messrs. Stinson and Richey, then 
 voted for me as editor with the express view of 
 resisting the High Church * oligarchy.' 
 
 " But the real character of the Wesleyan Com- 
 mittee's conduct, and the attacks of their writers, 
 will appear still more obvious by what follows. 
 As soon as Lord John Russell said that the press 
 and people of all parties in Canada unanimously 
 rejected his Bill, and were much dissatisfied at 
 being kept any longer in suspense, the Right Hon. 
 C. Poulett Thompson (now Lord Sydenham) was 
 Sent out to Canada as Governor-General. After 
 a few months' residence and inquiry in Canada, 
 his Excellency sends home a draft of Bill for the 
 
 ' 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 339 
 
 future government of Canada — that Bill, with 
 some modifications, is passed by Parliament in 
 1840, but does not contain the clauses to which 
 I and various others had objected in Lord John 
 Russell's first Bill of 1839 ; and even after this, 
 the Wesleyan Committee and their writers make 
 war upon me for having objected to a Bill which 
 has long since been abandoned by the Govern- 
 ment, and superseded by another Bill on which 
 I have never made a remark. 
 
 "Again: when his Excellency Mr. Thompson 
 (now Lord Sydenham) arrived in Upper Canada, 
 in the autumn of 1839, after having explained 
 his general views and intentions, he desired my 
 co-operation and assistance towards restoring 
 peace and harmony, and establishing good gov- 
 ernment in the province. I consented, and aided 
 to the best of my humble ability to put down 
 party spirit, and to promote confidence and unity 
 where there had been distrust and division, and 
 to carry out those important measures with which 
 his Excellency had been entrusted by her Ma- 
 jesty's Government, and which have since been 
 brought into operation in Canada. The objects 
 which the Governor-General desired to secure, 
 and towards the accomplishment of which I 
 rendered what aid I could, were threefold : 1. 
 The consent of the United Legislature to the 
 Union of the Canadas. 2. The settlement of 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 Wf 
 
 I"; 
 
 ^:-;Jli 
 
 tii~ 
 
 t] ■ -. ■ ' 
 
 
 
' 
 
 340 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 the Clergy Eeserve question. 3. The prepara- 
 tion of the public mind for an improved state 
 of things, by abolishing party hostilities and dis- 
 tinctionSj and encouraging a spirit of forbearance, 
 unity and enterprise, for the common interests 
 and happiness of the country. 
 
 " Having thus, from November, 1839, to April, 
 1840, in the most eventful crisis of Canadian 
 affairs, performed a patriotic duty to my Sovereign 
 and native country [without one farthing's pecu- 
 niary reward], and seeing the great objects in 
 progress of accomplishment on account of which 
 I had been urged even by the London Wesleyan 
 Committee's agents, in 1838, to resume the edi- 
 torship of the Guardian, after three years' retire- 
 ment from it, I formally took leave of public 
 discussions, and in a few weeks, on the assembling 
 of Conference in June, 1840, retired from the 
 editorship of the Guardian, as I had always 
 declared my intention of doing at the moment 
 of settling the Clergy Keserve question. Since 
 that time, April, 1840, I have not written a line 
 on civil affairs, nor in any way interfered with 
 them. 
 
 " It might be reasonably supposed that by such 
 a six months' conclusion of my editorial career, 
 in which I had given great satisfaction to the 
 Government, and to my brethren aiid friends in 
 Canada, my retirement would not be interrupted 
 
CANADIAN MEtHODISM. 
 
 8-il 
 
 from England. Yet within four days of the 
 assembling of the Craiada Conference, in that very 
 month, June, 1840, I was accosted with the 
 London Wesleyan Committee's grave and crimi- 
 nating charges. 
 
 *' * Charges by the London Wesleyan Missionary 
 Committee against Mr. Egerton Ryerson, dated 
 77 Hatton Garden, Wednesday, 29th of April. 
 1840. 
 
 "'I. That just grounds of complaint exist 
 against the Eov. Egerton Ryerson, particularly 
 on the following points : 
 
 " * 1. That Mr. Ryerson, as it appears to this 
 Committee, in his recent communications with 
 the Governor-General, and on other occasions, 
 has virtually and practically superseded the Rev. 
 Joseph Stinson, the regularly appointed President 
 of the Upper Canada Conference, and therefore 
 the Official Agent and Representative of the Wes- 
 leyan Body in Upper Canada, during the interim 
 of its sittings ; and has thus acted with great and 
 culpable irregularity. 
 
 "'2. That in the judgment of this Committee, 
 Mr. Ryerson has discovered an utter want of in- 
 genuousness and integrity in thus attempting to 
 gain the possession, on behalf of the Canadian 
 Conference, in whole or in part, of the grant made 
 by the Crown to the Wesleyan Missionary So- 
 
 t*' 
 
 I 
 
 ':^ 
 
 I 
 
 /('( 
 
 ,1 .5,/ 1 
 
i l! 
 
 342 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ciety, and that he has in this matter committed 
 a flagrant violation of the obligations arising from 
 the Union between the two Conferences. 
 
 **'3. That the Christian Guardian, of which 
 Mr. Eyerson is the Editor, instead of being con- 
 ducted according to express stipulation and pro- 
 mise made to Dr. Alder, and the direction of the 
 Canada Conference, as a religious paper, has 
 become more than ever a political and party 
 
 organ. 
 
 " ' II. That the Committee are far from impli- 
 cating the whole or any part of the members of 
 the Upper Canada Conference in these unjustifi- 
 able proceedings of Mr. Eyerson, and cannot but 
 hope that they will utterly repudiate them at 
 their next annual sitting, and mark the sense 
 which they entertain of such a dishonest attempt 
 to deprive the Wesleyan Missionary Committee 
 ot their just and righteous claims on the plighted 
 faith of the British Crown and Government, by 
 partial, clandestine, and unauthorized representa- 
 tion, in such a manner as the nature of the case 
 requires ; and that they will place the Christian 
 Guardian, if it must be continued a newspaper at 
 all, in such hands as will at least secure the 
 fulfilment of the oft-repeated promise, that it 
 shall be exclusively a religious publication. The 
 Committee are the more encouraged to hope that 
 the Conference will adopt this course, from the 
 
 ^ 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 34.1 
 
 Report of Dr. Alder, that various members of that 
 Body had expressed to him the deepest grief at 
 the political course pursued by Mr. Ryerson in 
 conducting the Christian Guardian, and their 
 earnest desire to maintain unimpaired, on just and 
 proper principles, the Union which now exists 
 between the two Conferences. 
 
 " * III. If, however, this reasonable expectation 
 should be disappointed, and a majority of the 
 Canada Conference, at their next sitting, should 
 be found to support and encourage such proceed- 
 ings as those of which the Committee complain, 
 it will be their painful duty to recommend to the 
 next British Conference to dissolve the Union 
 which at present subsists between the two Con- 
 nexions, and to adopt such measures for the main- 
 tenance and extension of the Indian Missions in 
 Upper Canada as may appear to be necessary.' '* 
 
 The proceedings and answer of the Canada 
 Conference in regard to the foregoing accusations 
 and resolutions of the London Wesleyan Mis- 
 sionary Committee are as follows, in the words 
 of the official and printed Minutes : 
 
 Extracts from the Journal of Conference of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church in Canada^ assembled in Belleville^ 
 June, ISj^O. 
 
 "Friday Morning, June 12th. — Resumed the 
 question in relation to the examination of char- 
 acter, 
 
 
 I, 
 
 I 
 
 ' r 
 
 I 4 
 
 111 
 
 \ ^^ f^ 
 
 Plj.| 
 
 ^ 
 
 % 
 
 r^ 
 
 11/ 
 
 Hi 
 
344 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " On the name of Egerton Eyerson being called, 
 the President of the Conference presented certain 
 documents from a Committee of the British Con- 
 ference. The documents were read, headed as 
 follows, viz. : 
 
 " * Extract of a letter from E. Vernon Smit ii, 
 M.P., Under Colonial Secretary, addressed to Dr. 
 Alder, 15th April. 1840. 
 
 " * A copy of a letter addressed to the Governor- 
 General of Canada, by the Eev. E. Eyerson, dated 
 Toronto, 17th January, 1840. (For this letter 
 see following essay.) 
 
 "'Copy of the Eesolutions of a Committee 
 appointed by the British Conference in 1839, 
 to decide finally on all matters relating to the 
 Union existing between the British Conference 
 and the Upper Canada Conference, and the Indian 
 Missions in Upper Canada, 77 Hatton Garden, 
 Wednesday, 29th April, 1840. 
 
 "'Eesolved, that these documents be taken 
 into consideration Monday morning, the 15tb 
 instant.' 
 
 "Monday^ June 15ih. — Proceeded to take up 
 the documents transmitted from the Committee 
 of the British Conference in England in relation 
 to Egerton Eyerson. 
 
 " The Assistant Secretary read the before-men- 
 tioned documents. 
 
 " Mr. Bichey appeared as the accuser in behalf 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 345 
 
 'I': 
 
 
 
 of the Loudon Committee. After a lengthened 
 address, Mr. Richey moved, seconded by E. Evans, 
 that it be 
 
 "Eesolved — *That this Conference has heard, 
 with great surprise and regret, of Brother Egerton 
 Ryerson's attempt to deprive the British Wes- 
 leyan Committee of the annual grant received by 
 them from the Imperial Government, to enable 
 them to extend their Missions in this province ; 
 and that they utterly repudiate such proceedings 
 on the part of Mr. Ryerson, not only as irregular 
 and unauthorized, but directly opposed to a reso- 
 lution adopted by this Conference at its last 
 session, rescinding the second, fifth and sixth, 
 passed by this Conference in June, 1837, on the 
 subjects of the grants in question, because those 
 resolutions were represented by Mr. Alder as 
 interfering with the usages of the British brethren, 
 and calculated materially to retard their interests.' 
 
 " Tuesday, June 16th. — Resumed the considera- 
 tion of the documents relative to E. Ryerson. 
 
 "The Memorial of the Rev. Joseph Stinson, 
 President of the Conference, and the Rev. Matthew 
 Richey, Superintendent of Toronto City Circuit, 
 to his Excellency the Right Honourable Charles 
 Poulett Thompson, Governor-General of Canada, 
 on the subject of the Clergy Reserves, was read."* 
 
 * This Memorial was unknown to the Members of the 
 Conference until then read. Mr. £. Ryerson had heard 
 
 
 

 346 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " Mr. E. Eyerson proceeded to address the Con- 
 ference, and continued his address in the after- 
 noon session. 
 
 " Wednesday, June 17th. — ^The Conference re- 
 sumed the consideration of the Resolutions of 
 London Committee. 
 
 " After considerable discussion, the Resolution 
 introduced by Mr. Richey was put, and was nega- 
 tived by a majority of fifty-one. 
 
 " Friday, Juns 19th, — After most mature con- 
 sideration of the several subjects referred to in 
 the Resolutions of the Committee of the English 
 Wesleyan Conference, it was Resolved — 
 
 " * I. That we cannot recognize the right on the 
 part of the Committee to interfere with the Canada 
 Conference in the management of our own in- 
 ternal affairs (except as provided for by the 
 Articles of Union), and especially with our views 
 and proceedings on the question of the Clergy 
 Reserves; as we are precluded by the Articles 
 of Union with the English Conference from all 
 claims upon its funds, and as our own uncon- 
 trolled action and interests have always been 
 reserved and admitted in relation to the question 
 of the Clergy Reserves.' 
 
 from the Governor-General of the existence of such a 
 Memorial and of the purport of it, but did not know 
 its wording, and insisted upon its being produced and 
 read before proceeding with his defence. 
 
CANADIAK METHODISM. 
 
 347 
 
 
 " * II. That, as the Articles of Union between 
 the English and Canadian Conferences expressly 
 secure to the Canadian Preachers all their rights 
 and privileges inviolate, we consider it at variance 
 with the letter and spirit of those Articles, and 
 an anomalous and alarming precedent, for the 
 Committee in London to accuse and condemn a 
 member of this Conference, and then to enjoin 
 upon us to carry into execution their sentence on 
 pain of a dissolution of the Union.' 
 
 " * III. That whilst we have always maintained, 
 and are resolved to maintain, to the fullest extent 
 the dignity and authority of the office of Presi- 
 dent, as provided for in our Kules and in the 
 Articles of Union, we are impelled by an im- 
 perative sense of duty to decline acceding to the 
 claim of the Committee in London, that the 
 President appointed in England is to be regarded 
 by virtue of his office as the " Agent and Kepre- 
 sentative of the Wesleyan body in Upper Canada " 
 in the transaction of affairs with the Government, 
 in which the interests of our Church are involved ; 
 as we have always, in anticipation of such transac- 
 tions, appointed a Committee or Eepresentative 
 to guard and represent the views and interests 
 of our Church ; especially as this Conference, at 
 its last session, appointed the Eev. Egerton Eyer- 
 son as its Special Eepresentative to confer with 
 the Government on matters affecting our civil 
 
 
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 m 
 
 t:", 
 
 i 
 
 If 
 
.i.ire 
 
 H'- '! 
 
 »>>• 
 
 348 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISxAl. 
 
 and religious rights and interests; and we can 
 discover no good reason for departing from an 
 established and proper usage/ 
 
 " ' IV. That it appears to this Conference that 
 a proper regard to the rights and interests of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada rendered 
 it the imperative duty of the Rev. Egerton Ryer- 
 3on to confer with his Excellency the Governor- 
 General of Canada on our financial affairs ; and 
 we fully concur in the exposition which Mr. 
 Ryerson has given of the financial relations 
 between the English and Canadian Conferences 
 in his letter to the Governor-General, dated 
 Toronto, January 17th, 1840. And whilst deny- 
 ing any wish to interfere with the legitimate 
 claims of the Wesleyan Missionary Society upon 
 the faith of Her Majesty's Government, we learn 
 with feelings of gratitude that the rights and 
 interests of the Wesleyan body in this Province 
 have been brought under the consideration of Her 
 Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies by 
 his Excellency the Governor-General, and we are 
 prepared to submit to the decision of the proper 
 authorities respecting them.* 
 
 " * V. That in reference to the last Resolution 
 of the Committee in London, declaring their in- 
 tention, under any circumstances, to claim, and, 
 if possible, to secure the possession of the Indian 
 Missions in Upper Canada ; this Conference, con- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 349 
 
 sidering that those Missions, with two or three 
 exceptions, were established by our exertions 
 prior to 1833 (when the Articles of Union were 
 agreed to), and that they have, in a great measure, 
 been supported by funds obtained in this Pro- 
 vince, and sustained chiefly by the ministrations 
 and labours of Canadian preachers and teachers, 
 we cannot regard it as reasonable, or our Pro- 
 vidential duty, under any circumstances, to relin- 
 quish our pastoral connection with those Missions 
 which were estiiblished previously to the Union.* 
 " * VI. That firmly believing, as we do, that the 
 Eesolutions of the Committee in London have 
 been adopted upon em iieous impressions ; and 
 being satisfied that our fathers and brethren in 
 England could not have intended, nor would 
 intend, anything unkind towards the members of 
 this Connexion, or unjust to its interests; and 
 deeply anxious as we are to maintain inviolate 
 and unimpaired the principles of the Articles of 
 Union between the English and Canadian Con- 
 ferences; and being disposed to do all in our 
 power to prevent the dissolution of the Union, 
 therefore Resolved, that a delegation be sent to 
 the Wesleyan Conference in England, to lay all 
 the matters of these Eesolutions before that hon- 
 ourable body, and to use all proper means to 
 prevent collision between the two Connexions/ 
 
 »'.'! 
 
 

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 If 
 i 
 
 350 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " Egerton and William Eyerson were duly 
 elected. 
 
 "The Rev. Joseph Stinson was requested to 
 accompany the delegation to England." 
 
 Such were the " deliverances " of the Canada 
 Conference in reply to the assumptions, accusa- 
 tions and threats of the London Wesleyan Com- 
 mittee, 
 
 %i 
 
' 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 351 
 
 ESSAY XIV. 
 
 AOBEEMENT OF THE ENGLISH CONFERENCE IN 1338 
 TO SUPPORT THE CANADIAN CONFERENCE IN THE 
 MAINTENANCE OF ITS RIGHTS AND IN OPPOSITION 
 TO A CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT IN UPPER CANADA, 
 AND ACTED UPON BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF 
 THE ENGLISH CONFERENCE DURINGS IX YEARS; 
 BUT VIOLATED IN 1839, WHICH CAUSED THE SEPA- 
 RATION OF THE TWO CONFERENCES IN 1840. 
 
 '0 enable the reader to understand fully this 
 crucial epoch of Canadian Methodist his- 
 tory, which involved nothing less than the union 
 and separation of the British and Canadian Con- 
 ferences, and the character of individual mem- 
 bers of them, I will subjoin to the foregoing 
 statements : first, extracts from the Memorial of 
 Messrs. Stinson and Kichey to the Governor- 
 General, January 3rd, 1840, which led His 
 Excellency to investigate the financial relations 
 between the English and Canadian connexions; 
 I will next give the letter of Mr. Egerton Eyer- 
 son to the Governor-General, dated January 
 17th, 1840, on which the charges against him 
 were made ; then the correspondence which 
 showed the objects of Mr. Ryerson's letter, and 
 
 ''I 
 
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TT 
 
 352 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 iilili 
 
 
 
 ii 
 
 >,i>iEiaii!i 
 
 11 
 
 his writing it at the Governor-Generars request ; 
 and lastly, the vindication of it, in a letter to 
 Lord John Kussell, in answer to a letter of Dr. 
 Alder to his Lordship. I will present these 
 facts, as far as possible, in the language of the 
 Pamphlets published in England at the time 
 by Dr. Alder and by Messrs. William and E. 
 Eyerson. 
 
 In the letter of Messrs. Eyerson to Lord John 
 Eussell, in reply to Dr. Alder, occurs the follow- 
 ing statement of the circumstances under which 
 Messrs. Stinson and Eichey addressed their Me- 
 morial to the Governor-General : 
 
 "On the 2nd of January, 1840, Messrs. Stinson 
 and Eichey had an interview with the Governor- 
 General, during which they informed His Excel- 
 lency that the Union between the English and 
 Canadian Conferences^ was expected to be dis- 
 solved (a measure the most remote from the 
 thoughts of the members of the Canadiiin Con- 
 ference), and desired His Excellency so to frame 
 his Bill as to secure that portion of the proceeds 
 of the Clergy Eeserves, to the control of which 
 the Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church in Canada would be entitled, to the con- 
 trol of the Wesleyan Conference in England^ for 
 the benefit of those who should adhere to it on 
 the dissolution of the Union with the Confer- 
 ence. On the day following Messrs. Stinson and 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 353 
 
 Richey embodied their views in a Memorial to 
 His Excellency, enclosed, marked B. [See below.] 
 In that Memorial it will be seen that the Wes- 
 leyan Conference in Canada is superseded by the 
 Wesleyan Conference in England^ and that when 
 one cf the Articles of Union between the two 
 bodies provided that the former should have no 
 claim upon the funds of the latter." . . . 
 
 The following are extracts from the Memorial 
 of Messrs. Stinson and Eichey to the Governor- 
 General : 
 
 " Sustaining, as we do, an intimate and respons- 
 ible relation to the Methodist Church in this 
 Province in connexion with the British Wesleyan 
 Conference, we deem it imperative upon us to 
 lay before your Excellency an explicit statement 
 of our view.^ and wishes in reference to the Clergy 
 Reserves. 
 
 " Tb 3 Church of England being, in our estima- 
 tion, the Established Church of all the British 
 Of 'Onies, we entertain no objections to the distinct 
 recognition of Her as such ; and had the Reserves 
 been exclusively appropriated to Her, according 
 to the original intention of His Gracious Majesty 
 George the Third, we should not have interfered 
 with the matter ; but as the disposition of them 
 has been referred to the Colonial Legislature, we 
 confess we are entirely at a loss to conceive why 
 the Wesleyan Methodist Church should be placed 
 
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 354 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 in any degiee inferior to the Church of Scot- 
 land. 
 
 " In any settlement of this important question, 
 we regard it of vital importance to the permanent 
 peace and prosperity of the Province, as a British 
 Colony, that the sum to be appropriated to us be 
 given to the Wesleyan Methodists who are now, 
 or who may be hereafter, connected with the 
 British Wesleyan Conference. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 " J. Stinson, President of the Conference, 
 ** M. KiOHEY, Superintendent, 
 
 Toronto, January 3rd, 1840." 
 
 It will be seen that this Memorial was official, 
 professedly presented on behalf of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church in Canada, and, according to 
 the assumption of the London Wesleyan Com- 
 mittee, the only official communication that 
 could be made to the Government in regard to 
 the Canada Conference or the Methodist Church 
 of Upper Canada ; yet it is in direct opposition 
 to what the Methodist Church in Upper Canada 
 had constantly professed and demanded for nearly 
 twenty years. Messrs. Stinson and Eichey pro- 
 fessed that the Church of England was not only 
 the Established Church of England and Ireland, 
 but *'th€ EstaUished Church of all the British 
 Colonies" — contradicting not only Blackstone in 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 355 
 
 
 his Commentaries on the Laws of England, but 
 the history of the old British Colonies for a 
 hundred and fifty years — contradicting what was 
 avowed in the Report of a Select Committee 
 (with the late Mr. Huskisson as Chairman) of 
 the House of Commons on the Civil Government 
 of Canada in 1828, and by the first statesmen of 
 the day, as well as by the decision, in a year or 
 two afterwards, of the Judicial Committee of the 
 House of Lords. This Memorial though affecting 
 tha vital rights and interests of the Canada Con- 
 ference and Methodism, was unknown to a single 
 Member of the Conference or Members of the 
 Methodist Church in Canada for five months, 
 except its authors, and might therefore be called 
 "clandestine." The peculiar mode of its pre- 
 sentation and the extraordinary character of its 
 contents, together with the verbal communication 
 of Messrs. Stinson and Eichey the day before, 
 that the Union between the British and Canadian 
 Conferences was not likely to continue, excited 
 the curiosity of His Excellency, and induced him 
 to inquire into the relations of the two bodies, 
 and the origin and objects of the Government 
 Grant. Immediately after the interview with 
 the Governor-General, His Excellency sent his 
 Private Secretary to the residence of the Rev. 
 Egerton Ryerson, requesting his presence at the 
 Government House, and stating the object of it. 
 
 
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 356 
 
 «AKADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Mr. E. RyeMon obeyed the summons, gave a brief 
 account of the Grant, and then, at His Excel- 
 lency's req.uest, reduced his statement to writing 
 in the evening of the same day. His letter was 
 as follows : 
 
 " Toronto, January 2nd, 1840. 
 " May it Please Your Excellency, — 
 
 " In accordance with your Excellency's request, 
 1 recapitulate in writing the leading facts, 
 relative to the Government Grant to the British 
 Conference. I know not that I can do it more 
 satisfactorily than by making the following refer- 
 ^aees : 
 
 * I refer your Excellency to the Earl of Ripon's 
 letter to Lord Glenelg (dated Carlton Gardens, 
 4th April, 1336), and Lord Glenelg's despatch to 
 His Excellency Sir F. B. Head (dated April 15th, 
 1 836), for a statement of the circumstances under 
 which the Grant was originally made, and subse- 
 c^uently revived. These documents are contained 
 in the printed paper that I left with your Excel- 
 lency. 
 
 " The only material point is, as to whether the 
 Grant is made in aid of the funds of a body in 
 England or in Upper Canada. 
 
 "On this point I beg to direct your Excel- 
 lency's attention to the following documents: 
 1. Mr. Secretary Rowan's letter to 'The British 
 
 Uii' 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 357 
 
 and Canadian Conferences/ dated 'Government 
 House, March 15th, 1833/ * 2. Letter from Mr. 
 Secretary Rowan to 'The Wesleyan Methodist 
 Conference,' dated ' Government House, Toronto^ 
 July 4th, 1834.'f 3. Letter from the Rev. Joseph 
 Stinson to His Excellency Sir John Colborne, 
 dated ' City of Toronto, July 7th, 1834/ 
 
 "As to the light in which this Grant has 
 always been viewed by the Conference of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church in this Province, 
 see Resolutions adopted in 1837, in the accom- 
 panying printed Minutes, pp. 24-28. 
 
 " As to the relation in which the Conference in 
 Canada stands to the Conference in England and 
 its funds, see the Articles of Union between the 
 two bodies in the accompanying book, entitled 
 
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 ♦This letter, dated March 15th, 1833, announced a 
 Grant of £goo stg. to the British Wesleyan Conference, 
 and ;^6oo to the Canadian Wesleyan (or Ryanite) Con- 
 ference, to enable them to build Churches and Chapels. 
 
 t This letter, dated July 4th, 1834, announced a Grant 
 of £SS^ for the same purpose. The letter was sent by 
 mistake to the Rev. Jamjs Richardson, who sent it to 
 Dr. Stinson, who acknowledged its receipt on behalf of 
 the British Wesleyan Conference, and informed His 
 Excellency that it would be applied to the erection or 
 repairing of Chapels and School-houses, and in defraying 
 the general expenses of the various Mission Stations in 
 our charge. 
 
HI 
 
 
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 l!*;;: J 
 
 358 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ' Doctrines and Discipline of the Wesleyan Meth- 
 odist Church in Canada/ pp. 137-142. 
 " I have the honour to he, &c., 
 
 (Signed) "Egerton Ryerson.** 
 
 It is seen that the above letter was written in 
 obedience to the Governor- General's request, and 
 consisted wholly of references to official docu- 
 ments. 
 
 I have no doubt in my own mind that Lord 
 Ripon had the most benevolent objects in view 
 in devoting a part of the Crown revenues to 
 assist in "building chapels and parsonages" in 
 poor and needy places in Upper Canada ; but I 
 have as little doubt of the accuracy of the late 
 Mr. John Ryerson's statements, that the object of 
 the local High Church party in recommending 
 these Grants was to buy off the opposition of 
 the religious parties against the high pretensions 
 to supremacy and monopoly of the proceeds of 
 the Clergy Reserves, until they could be secured 
 in the possession of their supremacy and mo- 
 nopoly.* But their policy did not succeed ac- 
 
 * That this was the case so far as the Methodists were 
 concerned is obvious from the facts that the first avowed 
 object of Mr. Alder's first mission to Upper Canada 
 was, by aid of the proposed Government Grant, to bring 
 twelve Missionaries, not to go to the Indians or destitute 
 settlements in Upper Canada, but to the principal cities 
 and towns, in order to divide Societies and break down 
 the Methodism of the Canada Conference. 
 
' 
 
 I 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 359 
 
 cording to their expectations. Much had been 
 expected by the High Church party from tlie 
 Union between the British and Canadian Con- 
 ferences in favour of their policy, which, however, 
 was counteracted by the arrangement which the 
 Kepresentative of the Canada Conference was 
 enabled to effect with the British Conference in 
 negotiating the Union in 1833. After discussing 
 and agreeing upon the principal Articles of Union, 
 Dr. Bunting introduced the question, by way of 
 
 And when Mr. Ryan seceded from and arrayed him- 
 self against the Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church, Archdeacon Strachan not only gave him fifty 
 pounds to aid him in his crusade against the Confer- 
 ence, but a Government Grant was made to Mr. Ryan's 
 party in 1833, through Mr. John Wilson, of ;he sum oi 
 ;^666 ; and in 1834, of ;^388. 
 
 The following Grants were also made : 1833 — Rev. J. 
 Strachan, ^333 8s. The Archdeacon of Kingston, same 
 amount. The Clergy Corporation, ;^388o. Roman Cath- 
 olic Bishop, £SSS- Church of Scotland, ^1205. Pres- 
 byterian Synod of U. C, ^388. Roman Catholic Clergy, 
 ;^iiii. For R. C. Schools and Churches, ;^823. R, C. 
 Bishop of Quebec, ^200. There were similar large 
 sums paid in 1834, including ^611 paid to the Wesleyan 
 Missionary Society, and ;^388 paid to the Canadian 
 Wesleyan Methodists. 
 
 Remarks by E. Ryerson^ 1880. — The above items are 
 copied from the Returns of the Government, in compli- 
 ance with an Address of the House of Assembly. I am 
 unable to state what Grants were made after the year 
 1834. The above Returns show how largely the Casual 
 
 
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3G0 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 IH 
 
 
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 >>?.(« nil 
 
 inquiry, as to the alleged interference of Canadian 
 Preachers with politics. I think Dr. Bunting was 
 prompted to introduce this question by Mr. Alder, 
 who evidently expected that some apology or con- 
 cession would be made on the part of the Eepre- 
 sentative of the Canadian Conference, who, how- 
 ever, seized the long-desired opportunity to bring 
 the whole subject before the senior and leading 
 Membtrs of the British Conference. "He ex- 
 pressed his pleasure at having the opportunity 
 of answering for his Canadian brethren and him- 
 
 and Territorial Revenue in Upper Canada (a revenue 
 arising from fines and sales of public lands at the dis- 
 posal of the Crown) was absorbed by this general sub- 
 sidizing of the Clergy of different religfious persuasions 
 (of which the Clergy of the Church of England had the 
 lion's share), which, though it silenced the individual 
 recipients of it, had no influence upon the country at 
 large in weakening, much less paralyzing, the opposition 
 to a dominant Church Establishment and the Episcopal 
 monopoly of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves. The 
 Canada Conference received not a farthing of these 
 Government Grants from the Casual and Territorial 
 Revenue; maintained, without wavering, its protests 
 against and opposition to the Clergy Reserve monopoly 
 and dominant Church Establishment in Upper Canada, 
 though assailed by the High Church and Ryan party on 
 the one side, and by the misrepresentations and hostility 
 of the Episcopal party on the other side, together with 
 their republican confederates of the W. L. Mackenzie 
 party, which culminated and collapsed in the rebellion 
 of 1837. 
 
Canadian Methodism. 
 
 3G1 
 
 self before the Fathers of the British Conference 
 to the oft-repeated charge that the Canada Con- 
 ference interfered in politics. He avowed at once 
 that the Canada Conference had interfered with 
 what their adversaries called politics, the whole 
 field of which those adversaries sought to reserve 
 to themselves for the purpose of establishing a 
 Church supremacy and monopoly inconsistent with 
 the just rights and privileges of the Methodists 
 in Upper Canada. He stated that before the year 
 1818 there were but four settled Ministers of the 
 Church of England in all Upper Canada, whilst 
 the labours of the Methodist ministers extended 
 back to before the year 1790, and to the estab- 
 lishment of societies, congregations and places of 
 worship in every district of Upper Canada ; that 
 the Clergy of the Church of England evinced no 
 interest in the religious instruction of the people 
 of Upper Canada when the settlements were new 
 and the people poor, until the Clergy Eeserves 
 (one-seventh of the lands of the Province) began 
 to be valuable ; then an Ecclesiastical Corpora- 
 tion of the Church of England was obtained in 
 1818 for the sale of the Clergy Eeserves and the 
 management of their proceeds. Then ^egan the 
 pretensions of the high party (in fact. Govern- 
 ment party) in Upper Canada, that the Church 
 of England was the Established Church of the 
 Province and of the E»!:ipire, and that all persons 
 
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 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 opposed to its supremacy and emoluments were 
 disloyal to the Crown — especially the Methodists 
 as they were the most numerous and successful ; 
 they were characterized as Ya7ikee and Republican, 
 and calls were made upon the British Parliament 
 and the Propagation Society for large additional 
 grants in order to prevent Upper Canada from 
 being overrun by Yankee Methodists and other 
 denominations hostile to the Church of England. 
 Four of these slanderous attacks were made by 
 writers (two of them by dignitaries) of the 
 Church of England upon the character of Meth- 
 odist ministers before a line was written in their 
 defence ; but they were at length roused to de- 
 fend themselves, and petitioned the Legislature 
 to investigate the charges against them and the 
 early religious history of the Province. The 
 Legislative Assembly appointed a Committee to 
 investigate the whole subject. The Select Com- 
 mittee did so, and examined no less than fifty-two 
 witnesses, most of whom were professed members 
 of the Church of England, and all of whom, with 
 scarcely a variation, testified to the early and 
 beneficial labours of the Methodist ministers, to 
 their uniform loyalty, and even zeal in defence of 
 the country in the American war of 1812-15 
 against Great Britain ; that the Methodists were 
 by far the most numerous religious body in 
 Upper Canada, and were entitled to e^ual privi- 
 
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 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 3G3 
 
 
 leges with the Church of England. Tlie House 
 of Assembly, by a majority of more than two to 
 one, passed an Address to the King, vindicating 
 the character and usefulness of Methodist minis- 
 ters, and deprecating the exclusive establishment 
 of the Church of England, or of any one Church. 
 In the same year, 1828, the House of Commons 
 appointed a Select Committee (of which Mr. 
 .Huskisson was Chairman) on the Civil Govern- 
 ment of Canada; which Committee reported 
 against the exclusive claims of the Church of 
 England in Upper Canada. 
 
 " In addition to these considerations of equity 
 and authority, the Canadian Conference had other 
 legal and moral grounds in justification of their 
 claims and proceedings. Blackstone, in his Com- 
 mentaries on the Laws of England, declared that 
 whilst by the Act of Supremacy, 1st of Elizabeth, 
 the Established Church was the Established 
 Church of England and Ireland, it was not the 
 Established Church of any of the British Colo- 
 nies, except under one or more of three conditions 
 — namely, by Koyal Proclamation, if a Crown 
 Colony ; or by Imperial Enactment ; or by Local 
 Statute, as in the case of Virginia. On neither 
 of these grounds could the Church of England 
 claim to be the Established Church of Upper 
 Canada. The Imperial Act 31 George the Third, 
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 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 stitutional Act/ which formed Upper Canada into 
 a separate Provincial Government from Lower 
 Canada, set apart one-seventh of the public lands 
 of the Province for the support of * a Protestant 
 Clergy ' (in contradistinction to the Roman Cath- 
 olic clergy, who were endowed in Lower Canada), 
 but no Church as established by law was named, 
 and other Protestant clergy than those of the 
 Church of England were named in the Act, and 
 regarded by the ablest statesmen and lawyers, 
 both in England and Canada, as comprehended 
 in the provisions of the Act. The [then] present 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Stanley 
 [afterwards Lord Derby], said, in supporting the 
 Eeport of the House of Commons on the Civil 
 Government of Canada, 'That if any exclusive 
 privileges were given to the Church of England, 
 not only will the measure be repugnant to every 
 principle of sound legislation, but contrary to the 
 spirit and intentions of the Act of 1791, under 
 which the Reserves were made for the Protestant 
 clergy/ 
 
 ** There was another and equally unanswerable 
 ground on which his Canadian brethren and 
 himself justified their claims to equal rights and 
 their opposition to the exclusive pretensions of 
 the Episcopal Clergy, namely, the composition of 
 Canadian society. Now, only a small minority 
 of the people of Upper Canada were even nominal 
 
''ill; 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 365 
 
 members of the Church of England ; and a large 
 majority of even the laity of that Church, both 
 in and out of the Legislative Assembly, were 
 supporters of the claims of the Methodist and 
 other denominations to equal rights and privileges 
 before the law. 
 
 " When his Canadian brethren commenced the 
 defence of their character and rights against the 
 attacks and aggressions of Episcopal Church 
 dignitaries, they had no law to enable them to 
 hold land on which to worship God and in which 
 to bury their dead, much less for their ministers 
 to solemnize matrimony; in the course of five 
 years they had obtained laws to hold Church and 
 burying grounds, and for their ministers to solem- 
 nize matrimony; and they were determined to 
 persevere until in all respects they were recog- 
 nized by the Legislature of the country as second 
 to no other religious persuasion in it." 
 
 The apparently spontaneous reply (embracing 
 so wide a field) of the Kepresentative of the 
 Canada Conference to an unexpected question, 
 seemed to excite surprise, elicited frequent cheers 
 in the course of delivery, and at the conclusion 
 was followed by a round of applause from the 
 large Committee and various other members of 
 the Conference present, and the venerable men 
 exclaimed (without a dissenting voice) from all 
 parts of the audience room, "The Canadian 
 
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366 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
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 ;.«*« ! 
 
 brethren are right, and ought to be sustained in 
 the contest for their rights." 
 
 Thus were the intrigues or counsels of the 
 leaders of the High Church party in Toronto 
 defeated, and the moral influence and support of 
 the British secured to the Canada Conference in 
 the struggle for equal civil and religious liberty. 
 
 To show the accuracy of the foregoing state- 
 ments, and the utter falsity of the representations 
 to the contrary of a pretended historian of Meth- 
 odism in Canada (Webster), I will quote the 
 Report of the Eepresentative of the Canada Con- 
 ference to the British Conference in 1833, when 
 the first Union was formed between the two 
 bodies. That Eeport was prepared on shipboard 
 during the author's return from England; was 
 submitted to and concurred in by the Rev. George 
 Marsden, Representative of the British Confer- 
 ence, and first appointed British President of the 
 Canadian Conference, and by the Rev. Joseph 
 Stinson. The Report, after having been read to 
 the Canada Conference in the presence of the 
 English Representatives, and concurred in by 
 them, was printed by its authority in the Chris- 
 tian Guardian of the 16th October, 1833. In its 
 two concluding paragraphs are the following 
 words : 
 
 " The last topic to which I would avail myself 
 of this occasion to refer, is our constitutional and 
 
 k 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 367 
 
 Hit 
 
 just rights as a body of Christians and as Canadian 
 British subjects. To attain these to that extent 
 which we firmly and conscientiously believe are 
 guaranteed to us and to all classes of Protestants 
 by law, as well as by equity, and to refute those 
 shameless misrepresentations which ignorance 
 and pride, selfishness and cupidity, have origin- 
 ated and doggedly persevered in against us, this 
 Conference addressed His Majesty's Government 
 about two years ago; and two or three other 
 addresses of the same nature have been approved 
 and promoted by many of us, as individuals, in 
 our different fields of labour. I am happy to be 
 able to state that, during my late visit to England, 
 I was favoured with an opportunity of bringing 
 this whole subject again under the consideration 
 of His Majesty's Government, and to state at 
 large tlie legal, religious and political grounds on 
 which we, in common with the House of As- 
 sembly and the great body of the inhabitants of 
 the Province, resist the introduction of a domi- 
 nant Church Establishment into Upper Canada, 
 and maintain our claim to the enjoyment of 
 equal privileges, advantages and immunities with 
 all other classes of His Majesty's Canadian 
 subjects. 
 
 " It is likewise a ground of thankfulness and 
 congratulation to be able to add, that when this 
 subject was introduced as a matter of enquiry by 
 
 
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 I 
 
 K , 
 
 Ul 
 
368 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ' .1:1' 
 
 Mr. Bunting, before a large and most respectable 
 and intelligent Committee at the Wesleyan Con- 
 ference, the statement and explanation which I 
 gave of it, and the authorities I adduced, fully 
 satisfied the Committee, not only of the reason- 
 ableness and legality of our claims, and of the 
 injustice of the various slanderous reports and 
 insinuations against us, but also of the propriety 
 and expediency of the measures which we, as a 
 body, have been induced to adopt in respect to 
 them ; so that Mr. Bunting afterwards remarked 
 to the Conference on this point, that although he 
 deprecated political intermeddling with merely 
 party and secular politics amongst professing 
 Christians, and especially amongst Christian 
 ministers, and considered it unworthy of their 
 character and calling, he believed the part the 
 Canadian Conference had taken was a laudable 
 maintenance ot their rights, sanctioned by the 
 highest authority and the opinion of members of 
 His Majesty's (jrovernment ; and that the Cana- 
 dian brethren, as a body, any more than indi- 
 viduals, were not bound to submit silently to 
 uujust exclusions, or to desist from maintaining 
 in a constitutional and Christian manner their 
 claims to privileges and advantages, to the pos- 
 session and enjoyment of which they are so justly 
 and legally entitled. I can, therefore, assure the 
 Conference that we may rely upon the cordial 
 
 III il;l 
 
 i 
 

 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 369 
 
 and powerful co-operation of the Missionary 
 Secretaries in support of our rights and interests 
 with the parent Government. This is one of the 
 many great advantages which I anticipate from 
 the union of the two Connexions, and which 
 encourage me to hope and believe that the pro- 
 posed Articles of Agreement will receive the 
 concurrence of this Conference with the same 
 cordiality and unanimity as they have been 
 already adopted by the English Conference. 
 
 (Signed) "Egerton Ryerson." 
 
 Four successive Representatives of the British 
 Conference, appointed as Presidents of the Canada 
 Conference, acted in the spirit of the foregoing 
 Report, acted in harmony with their Canadian 
 brethren from 1833 to 1839, signed in their 
 official capacity the resolutions and addresses 
 adopted from time to time by the Canada Con- 
 ference in the maintenance of their civil and 
 religious rights, and against a dominant Church 
 Establishment in Upper Canada. 
 
 
 
 I'll 
 
 
 it 
 "IP 
 
370 
 
 CANADIAN M£TUODISM. 
 
 m 
 
 ESSAY XV. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS AND ADDRESSES OF THE CANADIAN OON- 
 FERENGB IN SUCCESSIVE TEARS AGAINST A CHURCH 
 ESTABLISHMENT AND THE CLEROT RESERVE MO- 
 NOPOLY IN UPPER CANADA, SIGNED AND ENDORSED 
 BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ENGLISH CON- 
 FERENCE, WITH PORTENTOUS WARNINGS, BY THE 
 ''GUARDIAN," DURING THE EDITORSHIP OF THE 
 REV. E. EVANS. IN THE REBELLION OF 1837 NO 
 MINISTER OR MEMBER OF THE WESLEYAN METH- 
 ODIST CHURCH WAS IMPLICATED, OR EVEN SUS- 
 PECTED OF SYMPATHISING WITH IT, THOUGH BOTH 
 MINISTERS AND LAITY WERE ALL ADVOCATES OF 
 EQUAL CIVIL RIGHTS IN UPPER CANADA. TER- 
 GIVERSATIONS AND UNFAITHFULNESS TO THEIR 
 PROMISES OF MANY MEMBERS ELECTED TO THE 
 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN 1836. RE-ELECTION OF 
 EGERTON RYERSON AS EDITOR OF THE " GUARDIAN," 
 AND ITS OBJECTS STATED. FIRST AVOWED OPPO- 
 SITION OF THE LONDON WESLEYAN MISSIONARY 
 COMMITTEE AND THEIR CANADIAN AGENTS TO THE 
 EQUAL CIVIL RIGHTS OF METHODISTS AND OTHER 
 CLASSES IN UPPER CANADA. 
 
 'HE last Essay closed with an extract from 
 the report by the representative of the 
 Canadian Conference to England in 1833, in 
 which the latter was assured of the support of 
 the English Conference in its defence of Metb- 
 
 ilji 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 371 
 
 odist rights, and the struggles for equal civil 
 and religious privileges before the law in Upper 
 Canada. It was then added, — "Four successive 
 representatives of the British Conference, ap- 
 pointed as Presidents of the Canadian Conference, 
 acted in the spirit of the foregoing report, and 
 in harmony with their Canadian brethren from 
 1833 to 1839, signed in their official capacity 
 the resolutions and addresses adopted from time 
 to time by the Canadian Conference in mainten- 
 ance of their civil and religious rights, and 
 against a dominant Chuich Establishment in 
 Upper Canada." 
 
 I now proceed to remark that it is needless 
 to give extracts from these addresses and re- 
 solutions in succession. I will confine myself 
 to four years— 1836, 1837, 1838, and 1839. 
 I select first 1836, because I was not present 
 at that Conference, being detained and labouring 
 in England from December, 1835, to March, 
 1837. The Canada Conference of 1836 adopted 
 two addresses, one to the Lieutenant Governor, 
 and the other to the ISAng, both expressing the 
 sentiments of the Conference on the question 
 of the Clergy Eeserves and Church Establish- 
 ment. I will quote from that addressed to the 
 King, abounding in expressions of loyalty to the 
 throne and constitution, and connection with the 
 Mother Country, stating the numbers of the min- 
 
 4 
 
 
 li 
 
 'i 
 
 t 
 
i 
 
 ;: 
 
 I ■! 
 
 y 
 
 m 
 
 372 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 isters, congregations and adherents, and stating 
 their claims to equal rights and privileges, in the 
 following paragraphs : 
 
 " We also beg most humbly to represent to 
 Your Majesty, that we, together with the great 
 majority of your loyal and devoted Canadian 
 subjects^ are conscientiously and firmly opposed to 
 the recognition of any Church Establishment 
 within this Province. It is, therefore, with ex- 
 treme regret we have learned that during the 
 past year fifty-seven rectories have been estab- 
 lished and endowed out of lands set apart for 
 the support of a Protestant clergy; notwith- 
 standing the wishes of Your Majesty, most 
 graciously made known through the Earl of 
 Eipon, that the disputes which had arisen re- 
 specting the disposition of those lands should be 
 settled according to the wishes of its inhabitants, 
 so often constitutionally expressed by petition, 
 and through their representatives in the House 
 of Assembly. 
 
 " We should not discharge the duty we owe 
 to Your Majesty in the present posture of the 
 affairs of this Province, did we not most humbly 
 and respectfully convey to Your Majesty our full 
 conviction, that nothing cotdd tend more directly 
 to weaken the attachment of the people of this 
 country to the Parent State, than the continu- 
 ance of this system of exclusive patronage to any 
 
 
CANADIAN METIIOOISM, 
 
 373 
 
 one Church ; nor could any measure more happily 
 conduce to allay existing agitation and dissension, 
 and to produce a more affectionate and enthusiastic 
 devotion to Your Majesty's Government^ than an 
 assurance that this system wilt be no longer 
 pursued. 
 
 "We devoutly pray the Great Disposer of 
 events to guide us in all the affairs of Your 
 Majesty's Councils, to throw over your Majesty, 
 at all times, the shield of His divine protection, 
 and to render Your Majesty's reign long, feli- 
 citous, and prosperous, and productive of the 
 happiest results throughout every part of your 
 widely-extended dominions. 
 
 " Signed by order, and on behalf of the Con- 
 ference, 
 
 (Signed) ** William Lord, President, 
 " WiLLiA M Case, Secretary, 
 
 " Belleville, Upper Canada, June 13th, 1836." 
 
 The Canada Conference never employed more 
 decisive and energetic language against a Church 
 Establishment in Upper Canada, and against 
 delay and the danger of not settling it than in 
 the above quoted address to the King, prepared 
 by the Eev. E. Evans, and signed by Mr. Lord, 
 the representative of the British Conference, and 
 by the venerable William Case, as Secretary of 
 the Conference, and transmitted to the Bev, 
 
 
 
 ' '4 
 
 J 
 
 
 J O 'I 
 
 
 4' Jif 
 
374 
 
 CANADIAN METlloniSM. 
 
 : 
 
 'hK 
 
 Egerton Kyerson, then in England, to be laid, 
 in the usual way, before the King. The editorials 
 in the Guardian, by Mr. Evans, during the years 
 1830, 1837, and the first part of 1838, were in 
 harmony with the Conference address above 
 quoted. It is plain, from the language of the 
 Conference, that the public mind was becoming 
 more and more impatient and chafed at the 
 delay in settling the Clergy Reserve, or Church 
 Establishment question, and at the arbitrary and 
 partial system of grants to the clergy of certain 
 religious bodies out of the Casual and Territoral 
 Eevenue — these grants now amounting to $7,400 
 per annum. 
 
 At its annual session in June, 1837, the Cana- 
 dian Conference again took up the subject, and 
 adopted eleven resolutions on the subject of the 
 Reserves, and of the Government Grants made 
 to the clergy of certain religious bodies. The 
 great object of these resolutions was, of course, 
 to urge the immediate and just settlement of 
 Clergy Reserve, or Church Establishment ques- 
 tions ; but their immediate design was to protect 
 and vindicate the members of the Canada Con- 
 ference from the persistent misrepresentations 
 made against them. The Canadian preachers 
 suffered severely on account of the Government 
 Grants to the London Missionary Committee, 
 not only in their influence, but in their meana 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 375 
 
 of support, their adversaries representing that 
 they were individually recipients of the grant 
 made to the Wesley an Missionary Society, and 
 were not, therefore, entitled to support from the 
 members of their congregations. 
 
 The resolutions, after the most mature con- 
 sideration, were unanimously adopted by the 
 Conference, including the Representatives of the 
 Britibli Conference and of the London Wesley an 
 Missionary Committee, and were never objected 
 to 'y that Co? miittee for two years, when, in 
 June, 1-39, Dr. Alder objected to the second, 
 fifth cn^i sixth, as interfering with the relations 
 between the Committee and the Government, 
 and requested the Conference to rescind them. 
 His request was readily acceded to. The orignial 
 objects of them had been accomplished. 
 
 But the eight out of the eleven resolutions 
 were never rescinded, nor objected to — a fact 
 showing that, even as late as 1839, the London 
 Wesleyan Committee admitted and recognized 
 the right of the Canada Conference to oppose 
 the erection of a Church Establishment in Upper 
 Canada. 
 
 The eleven resolutions, as unanimously passed 
 by the Conference, were as follows : — 
 
 Extracted from the printed Minutes of the Con- 
 ference assembled at Toronto, June, 1887^ ;pp. 
 16S-168: . 
 
 ■|! 
 
 If 
 
 i m 
 
 
 i • 
 
 I i 
 
 1 
 
 I" 
 
 M 
 
376 
 
 Canadian Methodism. 
 
 iii^ii 
 
 " Government Grants— Clergy Reserves. 
 
 " Quest. 21. What are the views which the 
 members of this Conference feel themselves 
 called upon, in the present peculiar and eventful 
 crisis of the ecclesiastical and civil affairs of this 
 Province, formally to embody and unitedly to 
 avow, in regard to the great questions which 
 relate to the religious instruction of the country, 
 and our own rights and privileges as a Chris- 
 tian community? 
 
 " Ans, After a very lengthened and minute 
 and comprehensive investigation of the whole 
 subject, the following resolutions were unani- 
 mously adopted : — 
 
 "It having been represented that there are 
 dissatisfactions in different parts of the Province 
 on account of certain grants made by His 
 Majesty's Government to the Wesleyan Mis- 
 sionary Committee in London for the religious 
 instruction of the Indian tribes and destitute 
 settlers, — also on account of the unsettled state 
 of the Clergy Eeserve question; and whereas 
 vigorous and widely-extended efforts have been 
 and are being made, under these pretexts, to 
 excite prejudices against our Connexion, this 
 Conference deems an expression of its views on 
 these subjects due to its own character, and the 
 feelings and interests of the Church of which 
 it is the pastoral head ; it is therefore Besolved,— 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 377 
 
 " * 1. That at its last two annual meetings this 
 Conference has expressly stated that no public 
 grants have ever been made to this body, and 
 that it desired no other support for its members 
 than the voluntary contributions of Christian 
 liberality.' 
 
 «'2. That the sum of £900 sterling was 
 granted to the Wesleyan Missionary Committee 
 in London, in 1833, and also a further sum 
 of £550 in 1834, by order of His Majesty's 
 Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies ; 
 which sums were granted (as appears by official 
 documents) without any solicitation on the part 
 of the Committee in London — similar grants 
 having also been made by the Imperial Govern- 
 ment to Committees of the Church, London 
 (Congregational) and Baptist Missionary Soci- 
 eties, to promote the instruction and improve- 
 ment of the destitute in other Colonies. That 
 the sums which were granted by His Majesty's 
 Government to the Wesleyan Missionary Com*- 
 mittee have been expended (as may be seen 
 by the printed reports of the Auxiliary Meth- 
 odist Missionary Society in this Province) solely 
 and entirely on the improvement of the long- 
 neglected aboriginal Indian tribes and destitute 
 settlers, and in no instance whatever, either to 
 increase or make up the disciplinary allowances 
 of the Circuit preachers; and there is every 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 i 4' 
 
 %H 
 
 :5JJ 
 
378 
 
 CANADIAl*' METHODISM. 
 
 reason to believe that, had no grants evei been 
 made by the Imperial Government to the Wes- 
 leyan Missionary Committee, either through the 
 Treasurer in London or their agent in this Pro- 
 vince, the personal interests of no preacher or 
 Missionary would have been in the slightest 
 degree affected/ 
 
 " ' 3. The correctness of this statement of the 
 case is put beyond all possible doubt by the fact 
 that no grant has been received from the 
 Government by the Wesleyan Missionary Society 
 during the years 1835, 1836 and 1837, and yet 
 not a farthing of loss has been sustained by any 
 member of this Connexion ; although the field 
 of Missionary labour may have been thereby cir- 
 cumscribed.' 
 
 " * 4. That the members of this Conference, 
 either collectively or individually, have no in- 
 terest to promote in the religious and civil 
 improvement of the aboriginal Indian tribes and 
 destitute settlers, different from that of every 
 friend of the cause of Missions throughout the 
 Province/ 
 
 " ' 6. That this Conference, without any desire 
 to interfere in engagements between His Ma- 
 jesty's Government and the Wesleyan Missionary 
 Committee in Ijondon, cannot forbear to express 
 its deep regret that, in consequence of the 
 divided state of public sentiment, and of various 
 
 
Ill 
 
 Canadian methodtsM. 
 
 S79 
 
 misrepresentations, which have been circulated, 
 the several Government grants, commonly called 
 " Religious Grants," which have been made for 
 specific religious purposes (however benevolent 
 the intentions and the feelings which have dic- 
 tated them, however noble and Christian the 
 objects for which they were intended), have 
 proved seriously prejudicial to the peace and 
 tranquillity of the Province; and especially as 
 the continuance of them in their present form 
 seems to have been made use of to embarrass 
 the settlement of the Clergy Reserves.* 
 
 " ' 6. That as the continuance of the aforesaid 
 grant to the Wesleyan Missionary Committee, 
 in aid of the Indian tribes, as a charge upon the 
 casual and territorial revenue^ is one of the con- 
 ditions upon which His Majesty's Government 
 has proposed to concede the control of the said 
 revenue to the Provincial Legislature; and as, 
 in a message from His Excellency the Lieutenant- 
 Governor to the House of Assembly, bearing 
 date the 18th of January, 1837, it is stated that 
 a claim is urged upon the same revenue by the 
 Wesleyan Society in this Province ; and as the 
 alleged existence of such a claim has been re- 
 presented as impeding the settlement of the 
 general question relating to the casual and ter- 
 ritorial revenue, pending between this Province 
 and the Imperial Government, — this Conference, 
 
 iHl 
 
 r 
 
 IB H 
 I If 
 
 
 \:''"m 
 
 \\u 
 
 
 'l PI 
 
 11, 
 
 II 
 
3S0 
 
 Canadian Methodism. 
 
 ill 
 
 ■ lull 
 
 I ;. 
 
 with a view of correcting an impression so erron- 
 eous and injurious, disclaims any deMand upon 
 the casual and territorial revenue, and leaves it 
 entirely to the unbiassed judgment of the author- 
 ities concerned, to decide whether any public 
 aid can be properly and advantageously given 
 towards the injured aboriginal inhabitants and 
 owners of the colony, and, if any, to what 
 amount, and through what agency/ 
 
 "'7. That it is the strong conviction and 
 deliberate judgment of this Conference, that the 
 interests of religion, the stability of the Govern- 
 ment, and the welfare of the Province, require 
 the earliest possible settlement of the long- 
 agitated Clergy Reserve question, in accordance 
 with the wishes and circumstances of the inhabi- 
 tants ; and that those interests have been very 
 seriously sacrificed by the delays which have 
 attended the proposed adjustment of that ques- 
 tion, so frequently urged upon the attention of 
 the Provincial Legislature by the Imperial 
 . Government.* 
 
 *'*8. That while, as a body of Christian and 
 Methodist ministers, and especially in view of 
 the affectionate reverence we feel for the honoured 
 memory of our venerable founder, Mr. Wesley, 
 we would conscientiously abstain from all need- 
 less intermeddling with secular politics ; yet, at 
 the same time, this Conference has, heretofore^ 
 
 
I 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 381 
 
 as well by its addresses to His Majesty as 
 through its official organ, the Christian Guardian^ 
 expressed its decided conviction of the inex- 
 pediency of the establishment of one or more 
 churches in this Province, with exclusive rights 
 and privileges, — however well suited such an 
 establishment may be to the condition of the 
 Mother Country, where it is distinctly recognized 
 by the consti':ution of the Government, is sanc- 
 tioned by various legislative enactments, and 
 includes a majority, and is devised by the great 
 body of the) nation ; that, in this expression 
 of opinion, , other religious bodies, and the 
 majority of the inhabitants of the Province, 
 through their representatives in the Provincial 
 Legislature, have concurred by repeated addresses 
 and petitions to the Imperial Government and 
 Parliament ; and that the continued efforts of 
 certain members of the Church of England to 
 maintain, and the recent attempts of the con- 
 vention of delegates of the Kirk of Scotland 
 to secure an ascendency over their Christian 
 brethren of other denominations, who ought to 
 stand on perfect equality with them, will, if 
 successful, be in direct violation of those prin- 
 ciples of civil and religious liberty for the 
 maintenance of which this Conference still, as 
 formerly, contends, as being essential to the 
 peace, welfare, and good government of His 
 
I 
 
 ^i:i'!^ 
 
 !! 
 
 382 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM.. 
 
 Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects in this 
 Province/ 
 
 "'9. That this Conference cannot, without a 
 dereliction of the duty which it owes to the 
 members of the numerous congregations under 
 its pastoral care and instruction, and without 
 a wide departure from its often avowed senti- 
 ments, sanction, even by its silence at the present 
 crisis, the efforts which are employed to deprive 
 them of those rights, and of that equal and 
 impartial protection to which their numbers, 
 labours, and long-tried attachment to His Ma- 
 jesty's Government give them an indisputable 
 claim/ 
 
 "*10. That should any adjustment of the 
 Clergy Reserve question be proposed and deter- 
 mined on, which would contravene the principles 
 laid down in the foregoing resolutions, and by 
 which individual and collective effort can be com- 
 bined for the religious and educational improve- 
 ment of the country, the members of this Con- 
 ference avow their determination not to receive 
 or apply any legislative aid for their own pe- 
 cuniary support; or for any other purpose than 
 the religious and educa tional improvement of 
 the Province, in such a way as may be in accord- 
 ance with the views of a majority of two- thirds 
 of the several Quarterly Meetings throughout the 
 Province ; before which the Chairmen of the 
 
CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 383 
 
 several Districts are directed to lay the subject, 
 as soon as the Clergy Eeserve question shall have 
 been settled by the Legislature.' 
 
 "*11. That this Conference, on the present 
 occasion, reiterates the expression of affection 
 and loyalty to our Most Gracious Sovereign; 
 feels humbly grateful for the condescending and 
 liberal expression of royal favour to the efforts 
 of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and other 
 friends of Christian education in this Province ; 
 and resolves to continue its prayers and efforts 
 for the maintenance of the constitution as es- 
 tablished by law, and the existing connexion 
 between this colony and the Parent State.* 
 
 "' City of Toronto, June 24, 1837. 
 
 (Signed) " 'William M. Haevard, President, 
 ** * Egerton Eyerson, Secretary! " 
 
 It is obvious from the address of the Con- 
 ference to the King, adopted June, 1836, and 
 from the eleven resolutions above quoted, adopted 
 by the Conference, June, 1837, that a wide- 
 spread dissatisfaction existed in Upper Canada 
 on account of the nonsettlement of the Clergy 
 Eeserve and Church Establishment question, and 
 that a fearful crisis was approaching in the affairs 
 of Upper Canada ; and that the feeling of discon- 
 tent was greatly intensified by the unfaithfulness 
 of many members of the Legislative Assembly 
 who had been elected with promises to support 
 
 
 
 I, i 
 
 
 ■'M 
 
 iiN 
 
 „ II 
 
 Mm 
 
ii! 
 
 '^. 
 
 384 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 the principles of equal civil and religious liberty 
 in Upper Canada, as well as the constitutional 
 prerogatives of the Crown and connection with 
 the Mother Country. The High Church party 
 appeared to subordinate their exclusive preten- 
 sions for the time being to the general interests 
 of the country ; but no sooner were the elections 
 of 1836 over than the cloven foot of their old 
 exclusive, ecclesiastical pretensions reappeared; 
 the settlement of the Clergy Reserves was post- 
 poned ; the transfer of the settlement to England, 
 by reinvesting the Clergy Reserves in the Crown, 
 was proposed, and a sufficient number of pur- 
 chasable members of the Assembly was found to 
 exchange, by a majority of one, their promises to 
 their constituents, for more or less than thirty 
 pieces of silver promised to them to rob the 
 people ' of Upper Canada of the disposal of one- 
 seventh of the lands of the province, and set over 
 them the Abimelech bramble of High Church- 
 ism ; but the country at large were the more 
 disgusted at such betrayals of their elective 
 trust ; the eleven resolutions of the Conference 
 of June, 1837, quoted above, were among the 
 public expressions of sentiment on the subject. 
 The W. L. Mackenzie, or republican section of 
 the Reform party, thought that no party would 
 now be found to support a Government so unjust 
 and untrustworthy ; and, therefore, in November, 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 385 
 
 1837, unfurled the flag of rebellion, and attacked 
 Toronto the 4th of December. But with the 
 almost universal dissatisfaction of the people 
 with the then existing partial and corrupt admin- 
 istration of the Local Government, there was 
 an equally universal substratum of loyalty to 
 law and authority ; the country at large was 
 loyal to the heart's core, and the rebellion was 
 soon crushed. Not a minister or member of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church was, directly or 
 indirectly, implicated in that rebellious under- 
 taking ; all were loyal to law and legal authority 
 to a man ; and all were equally loyal to the 
 principles of equal civil and religious liberty. 
 But the High Church party were loyal to nobody 
 but themselves, and to nothing but their own 
 supremacy and monopoly, which, as Mr. John 
 Byerson states in his narrative, they sought in 
 every way to turn to their own advantage, and 
 to crush the Wesleyan Methodists as well as 
 other loyalist reformers. 
 
 It was under these circumstances, and at this 
 crisis, that the leading ministers of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church, including the representatives 
 of the British Conference, solicited Mr. Egerton 
 Byerson, from his seclusion, to resume the editor- 
 ship of the Christian Guardian^ in order to 
 "resist the oligarchy," and place the law and 
 
 government of the country upon the broad foun- 
 25 
 
 P *^l 
 
 ■ ■ 'i 
 
 , 1; 
 
 -3 
 
 \ II;; 
 
 
 H! 
 
 
386 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ti: 
 
 dation of equal civil liberty and justice to all 
 classes of the population. He knew the magni- 
 tude and difficulty of the task before him, but 
 he obeyed the voice of his brethren, and resolved 
 to do his best. It was not long, however, before 
 his worst fears were realized in the development 
 of a new element of opposition to the cause of 
 Methodist rights and of equal civil and religious 
 liberty in Upper Canada; the High Church 
 " oligarchy " of Toronto appealed for help to the 
 Hercules of the High Church "oligarchy" of 
 the London Wesleyan Missionary Committee, 
 whose opposition was more formidable than that 
 of the Toronto oligarchy, as it involved a de- 
 fection within the Canadian Conference and 
 Church, the character and termination of which 
 will be the subject of the next essay. 
 
CANADIAN M£TUODISM. 
 
 387 
 
 
 ESSAY XVI. 
 
 CONTINUANCE OF THE CONFLICT OF THE ENGLISH 
 WITH THE CANADIAN CONFERENCE ON GOYEBN- 
 UENT GRANTS, AND A CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT IN 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 .cWN continuiDg the subjects of my last essay, 
 ^ I will first give the letter addressed to the 
 Governor by Mr. Egerton Ryerson, previously re- 
 ferred to, and on which the charges of the London 
 Wesleyan Committee were based, and investigated 
 and answered by the Canadian Conference. The 
 letter is as follows : 
 
 Toronto, Jan. 17, 1840. 
 ** May it please your Excellency, — 
 
 '' I proceed to state, in as few words as possi- 
 ble, the nature of the financial relations which 
 exist between the British Wesleyan Conference 
 in England and the Conference of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church in Upper Canada. In the 
 year 1784, the late Eev. John Wesley recom- 
 mended the formation of the Methodist societies 
 in America into a distinct and independent body, 
 with the attributes and style of a Church — he 
 having general superintendents, or bishops, to 
 perform ordination, etc., among them. It was 
 
 4 
 
 
388 
 
 CANADUN METHODISM. 
 
 by persons who had been ordained and appointed 
 by these American bishops, that the Methodist 
 Church was established in Upper Canada. Down 
 to 1833, the Methodist Church in Upper Canada 
 had no more ecclesiastical connection with the 
 Wesleyan Conference in England, than exists 
 between the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
 United States and the Established Church of 
 England. In 1833 an arrangement was agreed 
 upon by the Wesleyan Conference in Uj/er 
 Canada and that in England, by which a co- 
 operation was to take place in the labours of the 
 two bodies in Upper Canada. That arrangement 
 consists of certain regulations called 'Articles of 
 Union.' These Articles provide that the Confer- 
 ence in England may, when they see fit, appoint 
 a person to preside over the Canada Confer Bnce, 
 the same as the Crown appoints a commissioner 
 to preside in the General Assembly of the Church 
 of Scotland ; but that the Canadian preachers 
 shall have no claims upon the funds of the 
 British Conference. 
 
 ''It was also agreed that the British Conference 
 should assume the responsibility of supporting 
 the Indian missions, which had been, or might 
 thereafter be, established in Upper Canada. They 
 have also agreed to employ Canadian preachers 
 on those missions; but the Conference in Eng- 
 land is the judge of the amount to be expended 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 389 
 
 in each and every year^ and the moment any 
 preacher is disabled for the mission work, or 
 ceases to be actively employed in it, he can 
 receive nothing from the funds of the British 
 Conference, but is entirely dependent upon the 
 Canadian Conference. 
 
 " It will, therefore, be observed that there are 
 two departments of the work in connection with 
 the Wesleyan cause in Upper Canada, namely, 
 what we call the regular, or circuit work, and 
 the mission work. In carrying on the former, 
 no claim can be made upon the funds of the 
 British Conference ; in carrying on the latter, 
 the British Conference has agreed to assume the 
 pecuniary responsibility, and is the sole judge of 
 the extent of it, and the amount of expenditure. 
 
 " The former embraces forty-seven regular cir- 
 cuits, and the latter embraces fourteen circuits, 
 five mission circuits among the new settlements, 
 and nine amongst the aboriginal Indian tribes. 
 On many of the regular circuits, the congrega- 
 tions are unable to pay more than two-thirds, 
 and, in some instances, not more than one-half, 
 of the disciplinary salary or allowance to the 
 preachers. The loss of such deficiencies must be 
 endured by the preachers concerned, unless, as 
 in the case of Mr. Eichey, they happen to be 
 members of the British Conference, as we have 
 not as yet any funds to supply them, and have no 
 
 M 
 
 :.^il 
 
 '■■! 
 
 ■ ■ -nt 
 
 m 
 
 'ifl 
 
 ' -' 
 
 
390 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 claims upon the funds of the British Conference 
 for that purpose. 
 
 " The same remark applies to chapels that are 
 in embarrissed circumstances, and also to places 
 where chapels are needed, but where the inhabi- 
 tants are not able to pay more than a part of 
 what is necessary to build them. 
 
 " It may also be observed that, in addition to 
 doing all that is done towards supporting the 
 regular circuit work, and building all the chapels 
 that are built in connexion with it, annual col- 
 lections and subscriptions are made throughout 
 all our congregations in aid of the funds of the 
 British Wesleyan Missionary Society. These col- 
 lections and subscriptions amount to from one 
 thousand to fifteen hundred pounds per annum. 
 
 " It is, therefore, perfectly clear, that a govern- 
 ment grant to the British Wesleyan Conference, 
 and a grant to the Conference of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church in Canada, are two very dif- 
 ferent things. That the latter is not in any way 
 benefitted by grants to the former, will appear 
 obvious from the following reasons : 
 
 " 1. The Canadian Conference collects more 
 than the sum necessary to support the five mis- 
 sions to the new settlements, and the nine Indian 
 missions which were established previously to 
 1833, when the British Conference agreed to 
 assume the responsibility of supporting them. 
 
 
Canadian Methodism. 
 
 391 
 
 
 " 2. The government grants were discontinued 
 for two or three years, but it did not in the least 
 affect the Canadian missions ; although if the so- 
 ciety in England had had additional sums, equal 
 to these grants, at their disposal those years, they 
 would have extended their missionary operations 
 in the other parts of the world in a corresponding 
 ratio, as they are multiplying their various mis- 
 sions (except in Upper Canada) in proportion to 
 the increase of-their funds. 
 
 3. The government grants are not acknow- 
 ledged in any reports of the Conference of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada, but are 
 acknowledged only in the annual reports of the 
 Wesleyan Missionary Society in London. 
 
 " The annual appropriations for Canadian mis- 
 sions are made in June of each year, and should 
 the dissolution of the union take place between 
 the bodies, as intimated to your Excellency by 
 Messrs. Stinson and Eichey, the Conference in 
 England would claim the missions in Upper 
 Canada — notwithstanding their original estab- 
 lishment by the Canadian Conference, and the 
 annual collections made by its ministers to sup- 
 port them. But I apprehend no disposition on 
 the part of the British Conference to dissolve 
 the union, unless they can get government aid, 
 independent of the Canadian Conference, to 
 prosecute their views. 
 
 tiM 
 
 
 
 > ( 
 
392 
 
 CANADUy METHODISM. 
 
 UH 
 
 ** I conceive, therefore, that any grants intend- 
 ed to benefit the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 
 Canada, ought, undoubtedly, to be placed at the 
 disposal of the Conference of that Church.* 
 " I have, &c., 
 
 "(Signed) Egerton Kyerson.*' 
 
 After the lapse of forty years, I cannot conceive 
 a more accurate account of the financial relations 
 then existing between the English and Canadian 
 Conferences; yet it was on that letter that tlie 
 charges of the London Wesleyan Missionary 
 Committee were preferred against me in 1840, 
 as quoted above, together with my trial before 
 the Canadian Conference, the proceedings and 
 decision of the Conference, and its resolutions 
 
 *Note by E. Ryerson. — When I wrote the foregoing 
 letter, I had not the remotest idea that it would be laid 
 before Her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the 
 Colonies, and therefore could not be an application to 
 his Lordship on any subject. Mr. Vernon Smith had 
 inadvertently attributed to me what was recon;mended 
 by His Excellency the Governor- General of Canada. 
 ( The recommendation was also spontaneous on the part 
 of His Excellency, and flowed from his own sense of 
 just?ce and sound policy, after the most thorough inves- 
 tigation of the subject. My letter was also dictated, to 
 a considerable degree, by certain communications which 
 Messrs. Stinson and Richey had made to His Excellency. 
 (London pamphlet of Messrs. W. and E. Ryerson, p. 7; 
 in a note.) 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 393 
 
 in reply to the assumptions and accusations of 
 the London Wesleyan Missionary Committee, or 
 rather the Alder-Canadian section of it Dr. Alder 
 wrote a long letter, and then a second letter, to 
 Lord John Eussell, against Mr. Egerton Ryerson's 
 letter, and against Mr. Ryerson charging him with 
 being a Republican, and trying to republicanize 
 Upper Canada — a sentence of calumny, though 
 read in the British Conference at Newcastle, 
 August, 1840, omitted in the printed letter, but 
 the substance of it was retained. In addition to 
 the proceedings of the Canadian Conference on 
 the subject, as given in a former essay, 1 give 
 the introductory paragraphs of Messrs. William 
 and E. Ryerson's reply to Dr. Alder, as it throws 
 light upon the history of that epoch, and the jus- 
 tifiable proceedings of the Canadian Conference. 
 It is headed, "Letter from Rev. W. and E. 
 Ryerson to Lord John Russell, in reply to Mr. 
 Alder, dated 
 
 * 22 Cecil Street, Strand, 
 
 'Aug. 20th, 1840. 
 
 * My Lord, — We have the honour to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of Mr. Under-Secretary Vernon 
 Smith's letter of the 29th ult., enclosing a copy of 
 the Rev. Robert Alder's letter to your Lordship, 
 dated 20th April last, purporting to be a reply 
 to a letter from the Rev. Egerton Ryerson to 
 His Excellency the Governor-General of Canada, 
 
 
 (' i 
 
 m 
 
394 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 f^i 
 
 1? i 
 
 iji' •!■ ^ 
 
 dated January 17th, 1840, respecting the financial 
 relations of the Wesleyan Conferences in England 
 and in Canada. 
 
 *We beg, on behalf of the Conference of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church, in Canada, to ex- 
 press to your Lordship our sincere thanks for the 
 opportunity which your Lordship h ;hus afford- 
 ed us of discussing the several subjects of Mr. 
 Alder's letter, and of vindicating the character 
 and interests of the Wesleyan Methodist Church 
 in Upper Canada, from the erroneous statements 
 and imputations contained in that letter. 
 
 'As the circumstances under which Mr. Eyerson 
 wrote to His Excellency the Governor-General of 
 Canada the letter referred to, have been misun- 
 derstood, it may be worth while to state them. 
 His Excellency having determined to undertake 
 the settlement of the long-agitated question of the 
 Clergy Eeserves in Upper Canada, sent during 
 the last week in December, and the first week 
 in January last, for ministers and influential 
 members of various religious denominations, in 
 order to ascertain their opinions and wishes on 
 the subject. Amongst others, he sent for Mr. 
 Ryerson, and also for the Rev. Messrs. Stinson 
 and Richey — the former President of the Upper 
 Canada Conference and representative of the Lon- 
 don Wesleyan Missionary Committee ; the latter a 
 member of the Wesleyan Conference in England, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 395 
 
 l\ 
 
 but temporarily connected with the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church in Canada by a special vote of 
 the Canadian Conference. 
 
 * As the Governor- General pr9posed to transfer 
 all the religious grants which had been paid out 
 of the casual and territorial revenues, as first 
 charges upon the Clergy Eeserve Fund; and as 
 these charges would for some years absorb the 
 entire fund, Mr. Kyerson submitted to His Ex- 
 cellency the justice and reasonableness of making 
 a grant to the Conference of the Wesleyan Meth- 
 odist Church in Canada, in aid of the Upper 
 Canada Academy, and of transferring that with 
 the other religious grants to the Clergy Eeserve 
 Fund. His Excellency objected upon the ground 
 that several hundred pounds per annum had al- 
 ready been granted in aid of the Wesleyan body 
 in Upper Canada. Mr. Kyerson assured His Ex- 
 cellency that he was mistaken, and laid before 
 His Excellency several documents, to satisfy him 
 that the grant referred to had not been made to 
 the Wesleyan body in Canada, nor in aid of its 
 funds. 
 
 ' His Excellency considered the matter of suf- 
 ficient importance to require a thorough investi- 
 gation, and requested Mr. Eyerson to recapitulate 
 in writing the substance of what he had stated 
 verbally. Mr. Kyerson did so, in a letter dated 
 January 2nd, 1840, a copy of which is herewith 
 
 -I 
 
 
 i: 
 
 til 
 
 * HI 
 
 -''dm 
 
 m 
 
 ii 
 
396 
 
 CANADIAN METHODIS\f. 
 
 transmitted, marked A. On the same day (Jan- 
 uary 2nd, 1840), Messrs. Stinson and Kichey had 
 an interview with His Excellency, during which 
 they informed His Excellency that the union 
 between the English and Canadian Conferences 
 was expected to be dissolved (a measure the most 
 remote from the thoughts of the members of the 
 Canadian Conference), and desired His Excellency 
 so to frame his bill as to secure thai) portion of 
 the proceeds of the Keserves, to the control of 
 which the Conference of the Wesleyan Methodists 
 in Canada would be entitled, to the control of the 
 Wesleyan Conferencs in England, for the benefit of 
 those who should adhere to it on the dissolution 
 of the union with the Canadian Conference, On 
 the day following, Messrs. Stinson and Kichey 
 embodied their views in a memorial to His Ex- 
 cellency. In that memorial it will be seen that 
 the Wesleyan Conference in Canada is superseded 
 by the Wesleyan Conference in England ; and that 
 when one of the articles of union between the 
 two bodies provided that the former should have 
 no claims upon the funds of the latter. 
 
 'There is reason to believe that in the in- 
 terview above alluded to, His Excellency gave 
 Messrs. Stinson and Richey no reason to expect 
 countenance from him to a proposition so ob- 
 viously unjust and impolitic. Their views and 
 statements furnished His Excellency with addi- 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 397 
 
 tional reasons for examining into all the existing 
 relations and interests of the Wesleyan bodies in 
 Canada and England. His Excellency examined 
 all the despatches and other documents which 
 related to the subject, and sought for information 
 from official persons and from other quarters. 
 
 * The result of the investigation was a strong 
 conviction in the mind of His Excellency that 
 the Canadian Conference should alone be regarded 
 as the head and representative of the Wesleyau 
 Methodist Church in Canada ; that the grant 
 which had been made to the London Wesleyan 
 Missionary Committee, out of the Canadian casual 
 and territorial revenue, operated injuriously rather 
 than beneficially to the interests of the Conference 
 of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada, 
 and was not distributed in a manner, and did 
 not accomplish the objects contemplated by the 
 Imperial Government when that grant was made, 
 and ought to be distributed in a different manner 
 hereafter. His Excellency, therefore, determined 
 to write to your Lordship on the subject. His 
 Excellency informed Mr. Eyerson of the result of 
 his investigations and inquiries, and requested 
 Mr. Ryerson to prepare a statement in writing 
 of the financial relations between the Wesleyan 
 Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 
 Canada. 
 
 ' In proof of the correctness of this statement 
 
 .■!■ + 
 
 ■5fl 
 
 .jifl 
 
 
 m\ 
 
 
 I 
 
308 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 h 
 
 -tl 
 
 i 
 
 we refer your Lordship to the accompanying 
 memorial of Messrs. Stinson and Richey to His 
 Excellency the Governor-General; to His Ex- 
 cellency's despatch on the subject, addressed to 
 your Lordship in February last ; and to the fol- 
 lowing extract of a letter from Mr. Chief Secretary 
 Murdoch, addressed to Mr. Ryerson in reply to 
 applications which Mr. E. had made to His Ex- 
 cellency on the subject : 
 
 * Government House, Montreal, 
 ' June 12, 1840. 
 
 * Sir,-*— I am commanded by the Governor-Gen- 
 eral to acknowledge the receipt of your letters of 
 the 5th and 6th instant: the first endorsing a 
 copy of certain resolutions adopted by the Com- 
 mittee of the British Wesleyan Conference on 
 the 29th of April last "with reference to your 
 conduct ; and the second respecting the grant for 
 the support of the Wesleyan Missions in Upper 
 Canada, which His Excellency addressed to Lord 
 John Russell in the month of Febniary last. 
 These arrived during His Excellency's temporary 
 absence from Montreal, the answer to them has 
 been unavoidably delayed. 
 
 'His Excellency desires me to say, that he 
 cannot gather from the resolutions of the British 
 Conference that the despatch to the Secretary of 
 State had been communicated to them, as you 
 suppose, and as he has reason to think from other 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 399 
 
 circumstances that such a proceeding would not 
 have been adopted, it would be irregular in him 
 to furnish you with a copy of that despatch, 
 however much he may regret his inability to do 
 80 ; because, had he been able to do so, it would 
 not only have fully explained his views, and the 
 grounds on which he is of opinion, that the grant 
 should be distributed in a manner different from 
 that which has of late been followed, but would 
 have afforded the most conclusive evidence on 
 some of the points noticed in your letter of the 
 5th inst. It would have shown, for instance, that 
 His Excellency's communications with the Secre- 
 tary of State originated in an examination of the 
 whole of the circumstances of the Wesleyan body 
 in Upper Canada, and of the documents relative 
 to the Union between the British and Canadian 
 Conferences, which were submitted to him ; and 
 upon this point I am directed to add, in reply 
 to your question, that this examination did not 
 proceed from any request of yours, and that the 
 letter drawn up by you in explanation of the 
 financial relations of the two bodies, was prepared 
 at His Excellency's request. It would also further 
 show, that it was from the Bev. Mr. Stinson, that 
 His Excellency first heard of the probable disso- 
 lution of the two societies.' 
 
 " (Signed) T. W. C. Murdoch, 
 
 ' Chief Secretary/ 
 
 m 
 
 '^ 
 
 ^i 
 
 U-^ 
 
 I 
 
400 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 U 
 
 ', V 
 
 The above is the statement of the circum- 
 stances and object of Mr. Eyerson's letter to the 
 Governor-General, in reply to Mr. Alder's letter 
 to Lord John Eussell. The principal subjects 
 of this letter have been sufficiently disposed of 
 by the Canadian Conference in the proceedings 
 quoted on preceding pages. In the concluding 
 part of the Messrs. Eyerson's letter to Lord John 
 Eussell, in reply to Mr. Alder, the following para- 
 graphs may be quoted as presenting a new phase 
 of the principal question discussed. The words 
 of the Messrs. Eyerson are as follows : 
 
 " Mr. Alder dwells much upon the circumstance 
 that both the Canada Conference and Mr. Eyerson 
 had always admitted the exclusive right of the 
 Missionary Committee to the control of the 
 Grant. This is very true, and for two reasons : 
 1. Neither the Canada Conference nor Mr. Eyer- 
 son was aware of all the circumstances connected 
 with the Grant until after the investigation of 
 them by the Governor-General. 2. The Grant 
 had always been paid out of the casual and ter- 
 ritorial revenue, with the appropriations of which 
 the Canada Conference had always declared it 
 had no right to interfere, confining its discussions 
 to the question of the Clergy Reserves, and its 
 claims to whatever advantage might arise to the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada from an 
 equitable settlement of that question. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 401 
 
 " But now, my Lord, the affair assumes a very 
 different aspect from what it has heretofore pre- 
 sented. It is supposed to relieve the casual and 
 territorial revenue from the annual payment of 
 this, as well as of other religious grants, and to 
 transfer it as one of the primary charges upon 
 the Clergy Eeserve Fund ; an act which if it 
 take place without varying the distribution and 
 control of the grant in question, must, during the 
 next fifty years at least, debar the ministers and 
 members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 
 Canada from the slightest benefit of the settle- 
 ment of the Clergy Eeserve question. 
 
 ** The Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada 
 has not complained of the exercise of the Eoyal 
 prerogative, though it has been altogether over- 
 looked, in the distribution of the annual grants 
 which have been made to the Wesleyan Com- 
 mittee in London, and to four other Christian 
 denominations in Upper Canada ; but it will have 
 just and permanent cause of strong dissatisfac- 
 tion and complaint, should it be deprived of any 
 advantages in the settlement of the Clergy Ee- 
 serves in which other Churches in Upper Canada 
 largely participate. 
 
 " We cannot but view with astonishment the 
 efforts on the part of Mr. Alder and his friends, 
 whose operations in Upper Canada are limited to 
 the last seven years, to grasp every farthing of a 
 
 idl 
 
 m 
 
 !l 
 
402 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 disposable Canadian revenue, from their brethren 
 in Canada, whose operations in that country reach 
 over the last half century, who have endured pri- 
 vations and labours unexcelled in any country or 
 in any section of the Christian Church during 
 that period, and who have contributed more than 
 any other one religious community to elevate 
 Upper Canada to its present comparatively ad- 
 vanced state of moral fruitfulness and religious 
 intelligence. We cannot persuade ourselves that 
 Her Majesty's Government can be induced to 
 countenance a policy so obviously unjust, unrea- 
 sonable, and impolitic." 
 
 But Mr. Alder was not content with assailing 
 Mr. Eyerson individually in respect to his state- 
 ments as to the relations of the English and 
 Canadian Conferences, but he denied the correct 
 ness of Mr. Byerson's statements respecting the 
 early history of Methodism in respect to the 
 British Colonies, and these insinuations against 
 the General Conferences of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church in the United States were utterly 
 unjust and unfounded. These denials and state- 
 ments were, of course, made to prejudice Lord 
 John Kussell and the British Government against 
 the Canadian Conference as entertaining undue 
 leanings to the United States, and of the desire 
 of the American Methodist General Conference 
 to exercise a foreign influence over the ministers 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 403 
 
 and members of the Methodist Church in Canada, 
 and are utterly unfounded insinuations and sus- 
 picions. The Canadian Conference never denied 
 its immediate parentage, and did not hesitate to 
 defend the American Conference as well as itself, 
 against unjust statements and insinuations. 
 
 The Messrs. Ryerson replied to Mr. Alder's 
 statements in his letter to Lord John Eussell, 
 in the following words : 
 
 " As to whether or not the late Re^'. J< lin Wes- 
 ley intended the regulations which he aci *^d in 
 1784, in reference to the Methodist Sor 'es in 
 the United States, to extend to the British North 
 American Provinces, it is not material to the 
 objects of the present letter to decide. Respect- 
 ing Mr. Alder's denial of the correctness of Mr. 
 Eyerson's statements on that subject, three re- 
 marks may be made. 1. Mr. Wesley's address 
 on that occasion was directed, not to the societies 
 in the United States, but to the Methodist Socie- 
 ties in North America. 2. In 1787, Mr. Wesley, 
 as well as Dr. Coke, recommended the setting 
 apart by ordination of the Rev. F. Garrettson as 
 superintendent or bishop over the societies in 
 New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the West 
 Indies, the same as he himself had, in 1784, set 
 apart by ordination the Rev. Dr. Coke, as super- 
 intendent or bishop over the societies in North 
 America. And at that period, during the life of 
 
 ft 
 
 
 ^'4 
 
 
 
\M 
 
 404 
 
 CANADIAN iMETHODISM, 
 
 Mr. Wesley, preachers in the Provinces of New 
 Brunswick and Nova Scotia, were stationed at 
 Conferences in the United States. The early 
 officially printed minutes of the Conferences of 
 the Methodist Church in the United States, and 
 the first volume of the history of that Church, 
 by the Eev. Dr. Bangs, of New York, furnish 
 ample evidence on this point. 3. In 1820, the 
 English agreed with the American Methodist 
 Conferences, to leave Upper Canada to be wholly 
 supplied by ministers employed under the direc- 
 tions of the latter ; which would not have been 
 done, had it not been perfectly well known that 
 such an arrangement was in accordance with the 
 views and principles upon which Mr. Wesley had 
 acted. 
 
 " Mr. Aider's statement that * the General 
 Conference of the United States endeavoured, 
 with great tenacity, to retain their hold on the 
 Methodist Society in Upper Canada,' is equally 
 incorrect with the one just noticed. The ecclesias- 
 tical connection which formerly existed between 
 the Methodist Church in the United States and 
 in Upper Canada, down to 1828, never did exert 
 any influence over the ministers or members 
 of the latter, in relation to civil affairs, as is 
 apparent from the fact, that during the war witli 
 the United Stales, and on all occasions:, which 
 put their principles to the test, the Methodist 
 
CA^ VDIAN METHODISM. 
 
 405 
 
 Church in Canada had always given the strongest 
 proofs of loyalty. The history of Upper Canada 
 does not furnish an instance of a member of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church heiiig implicated in 
 rehellion or in conspiracy against his Sovereign, 
 But the great majority of the ministers as well 
 as members of the Methodist Church in that 
 Province, being British born subjects, desired 
 from personal feeling, as well as from deference 
 to the understood wishes of the Government, to 
 dissolve all ecclesiastical connection with the 
 Methodist Church in the United States, and 
 therefore applied to the General Conference of 
 that Church in 1824 for a friendly separation; 
 but the Kepresentative of the British Conference, 
 the Kev. Eichard Keece, opposed the application, 
 upon the ground that the Wesleyan body in Can- 
 ada was too feeble and inexperienced to manage 
 its own affairs ; and stated to the American 
 Conference, that if they complied with the ap- 
 plication from Canada he should feel it his duty 
 on his return to England, to recommend to the 
 British Ccnfeience to send a sufficient number of 
 Missionaries irom England into Upper Canada to 
 supply the v/hole work. At the next Quadrennial 
 General Conference of the Methodist Church in 
 the Unitvid States in 1828, the application for a 
 separatio'i on the part of the Methodist Confer- 
 tiixiQ ii\ Cunada was renewed, and readily granted j 
 
 m 
 
 ,j . 
 
1$ 
 
 406 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 after which time to 1833, when certain articles of 
 union were agreed to, the Methodist Church in 
 Canada existed as an independent body, estab- 
 lished several Missions amongst the aboriginal 
 Indian tribes, had an accession of more than 
 6,000 communicants, and procured subscriptions 
 to the amount of nearly £6,000, towards the 
 erection of the buildings of the Upper Canada 
 Academy." 
 
 »- . 
 
Canadian methodisM. 
 
 407 
 
 IS of 
 1 in 
 tab- 
 ;iiial 
 }han 
 ions 
 the 
 lada 
 
 ESSAY yvii. 
 
 THE REPRESENTATIVES OP THE CANADIAN CONFERENCE 
 (revs. W. and E. RYERSON) before THE BRITISH 
 CONFERENCE; THEIR RECEPTION; THE PROCEEDINGS 
 AGAINST THEM AND THE CANADIAN CONFERENCE J 
 THEIR CONDEMNATION AND THE PROCISBDINGS 
 AGAINST THEM PUBLISHED ; THEIR VINDICATION ; 
 THEIR RETURN TO CANADA, AND APPROTAL OF 
 THEIR CONDUCT BT THE CANADIAN . OONFERBNCE. 
 
 ;T has been seen that Messrs. W. and E. 
 Ryerson, were appointed by ballot by the 
 Canadian Conference, June, 1840, Representatives 
 to the English Conference, which was held at 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne, August following. 
 
 The reception of the Representatives of the 
 Canadian Conference was very peculiar. Before 
 ever having been heard, both the Canadian 
 Conference and its Representatives had been vir- 
 tually condemned by the British Conference, or 
 rather by the Canadian Section of its Missionary 
 Committee. The Canadian Conference, instead 
 of being treated as a co-ordinate Conference of 
 Wesleyan MetLodism, of equal standing with 
 any other Conference, were treated as inferiors to 
 even District Meetings of the English Conference 
 
408 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 ii 
 
 — tlic Canadian Conference was practically con- 
 demned as delinquent, and its Representatives as 
 ecclesiastical criminals — receiving not the least 
 indication of respect or recognition from the 
 President and leading members of the British 
 Conference. 
 
 The Representatives of the Canadian Confer^ 
 ence say, in their reply to the Secretary to the 
 British Conference : 
 
 " We came to England in accordance with the 
 suggestion of the Committee of your Conference 
 on Canadian affairs, which states that *if the 
 Canadian Conference should deem it to be its 
 duty to send a Representative to the next British 
 Conference, for the pui'pose of offering any ex- 
 planations, or of making proposals with a view 
 of perpetuating the Union ; or, should that be 
 found impracticable, for the purpose of making 
 such arrangements as may prevent unseemly and 
 unchristian collisions between members of two 
 divisions of the same great family; the Com- 
 mittee assure the Canadian Conference, that 
 such Representative will be received with cordial 
 affection by the British Conference, and that 
 every attention will be paid to his statements 
 and representations/ 
 
 " The kind manner of our reception is familiar 
 to you. We shall merely say, ic was to us a 
 new thing in Methodism ; and ti?at up to the 
 
»l 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 409 
 
 present moment, neither of us has been favoured 
 with the honour or the courtesy of a salutation, 
 either from Dr. Bunting or the President of your 
 Conference, or any of the leading official mem- 
 bers, with a few exceptions. If a Representative 
 of your Conference to Canada, or to the United 
 State?, had never even been saluted by a shake 
 of the hand, or a nod of the head, on the part of 
 the presiding officers of the Conferences in those 
 countries, we question whether it could be stated 
 with truth, that he had been received with cordial 
 affection, 
 
 " Into the further details as to our official recep- 
 tion we will not enter. For many expressions of 
 kindness and attention on the part of individual 
 members of your Conference, we cherish a grateful 
 remembrance, and desire to record our heartfelt 
 acknowledgments, especially for the unwearied 
 and affectionate attentions of the Eev. William 
 Lord, the President of the Canada Conference." 
 
 As to the mode of proceeding in the Biitish 
 Confeifnce on the Canadian question, the Repre- 
 sentatives of the Canadian Conference stated as 
 follows, in a letter in reply to the Secretary of 
 British Conference : 
 
 " It is probably known to you, that by notes to 
 the President, and otherwise, we urged the early 
 consideration of the subject of our mission, but 
 that several days elapsed before the appointment 
 
 
 'i I 
 
 I, 
 
 ^i 
 
 m 
 
 v>t 
 
 lit 
 
 ■3 
 •A i 
 
fi 
 
 , 
 
 I I 
 
 n i 
 
 410 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 of a committee was proposed; that we objected 
 to the reference of the Canadian Address and 
 resolutions to a committee before they were read 
 and discussed in the Conference, as they were 
 addressed to the British Conference, and embodied 
 an appeal from the proceedings of its own Com- 
 mittee ; that our objections were over-ruled, with 
 the assurance that we should have an opportu- 
 nity of stating fully the whole matter to the 
 Conference. It will also appear by the Minutes 
 of your Conference, that the Committee thus ap- 
 pointed on Canadian affairs did not meet until 
 Saturday, the 8th of August — eleven days after 
 the commencement of the session, and within 
 three days of the then anticipated close of it. 
 It must be in your recollection, that when in 
 Committee we remonstrated against being inter- 
 rupted at almost every stage of our remarks, 
 stating that we had not in any one instance 
 interrupted Dr. Alder in his four hours' state- 
 ment, or Mr. Stinson in his statement in support 
 of the statements made by Dr. Alder, we were 
 informed by Dr. Bunting, in reply, that such was 
 your mode of proceeding in Committees — that 
 any statement was liable to be objected to the 
 moment it was made, and explanation demanded 
 at the time, that no credit was due to either of 
 us for not having interrupted Dr. Alder or Mr. 
 Stinson, as we might have done so if we had 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 411 
 
 cliosen ; that when we came to speak in Confer- 
 ence we could proceed without interruption until 
 we had concluded. 
 
 "You are further aware, that the affair was 
 not reported to the Conference until Thursday 
 evening, the 13th instant, and not taken up until 
 the following day [Friday] a few hoars before 
 the close of the session ; when, out of upwards ot 
 three hundred (300) members who had attended 
 the Conference, the greatest number present 
 during the Canadian business was seventy-two 
 (a less number than there are members of the 
 Canadian Conference), the other two hundred, 
 or two hundred and fifty having left Conference 
 for their circuits ; that then we were told, that 
 as so much time had been occupied with the 
 investigation of the subject in Committee, and 
 as there was scarcely a preacher present who was 
 not either a member of the Committee, or had not 
 witnessed its proceedings, the further discussion 
 of the subject wa3 inadmissible as well as unne- 
 cessary ; and that our remarks must, therefore, be 
 confined to the expression of our views respecting 
 the Report of the Committee." 
 
 ** So as to the mode of your Conference proceed- 
 ings in this affair. We have felt it our duty to 
 make these brief references to it, as it is several 
 times alluded to in the resolutions which you 
 have enclosed. 
 
 '■',, 
 
 (.1 
 
 ■n 
 
 ? 
 
 
 ft 
 
 II 
 
412 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM, 
 
 »lliili^«: 
 
 li^- 
 
 "In regard to the resolutions themselves, we 
 cannot but express, in the first place, our sur- 
 prise and regret at the manner in which the 
 statements reported have been made, and the 
 papers and documents, stated to have been read, 
 are recorded in the report of the Committee, as 
 we are persuaded it conveys a very erroneous 
 impression of the proceedings c 1 the Committee, 
 and of tho facts brought before it. 
 
 "The order in which the statements read is 
 altogether different in the report, from what it 
 was in reality. "Why is this? The dates of 
 some letters and documents read are given in 
 the report ; the dates of others are omitted. 
 Why is this ? A synopsis of some ef the state- 
 ments and documents read is given ; the synopsis 
 of other statements and documents is suppressed. 
 Why is this ? And in the synopsis of some of 
 the pnncipal documents those very points are 
 omitted which constituted the leading features 
 of those documents, and the points of difference 
 between the two Connexions. Why is this ? 
 How is it possible for any reader to form a 
 correct idea of the real nature and merits of a 
 question, where tiie proceedings on it are thus 
 reported ? 
 
 ** We will give some examples in illustration 
 of these remarks." [The Messrs. Eyerson give 
 several examples of the unfair manner in which 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 413 
 
 bion 
 
 the documents named by the Committee had 
 been reported and printed. The following is 
 the first example.] " In the enumeration of 
 statements made and documents read in the 
 Committee, three letters are mentioned, under 
 the heads 9, 10 and 11 ; one from Dr. Alder to 
 the President of the Canada Conference ; a second 
 from the Missionary Secretaries to Sir George 
 Arthur; the third from the President of your 
 Conference to the Rev. E. Eyerson (dated March 
 23, 1839). Now the reader would suppose, from 
 the order and the synopsis given of these letters, 
 that they were read to illustrate and establish 
 the allegation that the organ of the Canada Con- 
 ference had unjustifiably interfered with secular 
 party politics ; yet the very reverse was the fact. 
 Mr. E. Ryersou commenced his reply to Dr. Alder 
 on Saturday evening and resumed it on Monday 
 forenoon. Previously to resuming his remarks, 
 he called for the reading of the letters referred 
 to. Dr. Bunting and others objected to the 
 reading of them, as irrelevant; just thirty-five 
 minutes discussion ensued before Mr. E. Ryerson 
 was allowed to read the letters. Mr. Ryei'son 
 had shown, from documentary evidence, that 
 when the Union was agreed to in 1833, and 
 from that time to 1839, the question of the 
 Clergy Reserves was left to the uncontrolled 
 action of the Canadian Conference ; and that 
 
 f :i 
 
 
 'M 
 
4U 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 in its proceedings and views three successive 
 Eepresentatives of the British Conference had 
 concurred and co-operated. He then proceeded 
 to read the three letters in question, to prove : 
 1. That down to that period (1839) there was 
 not the slightest complaint against him or the 
 Canadian Conference on the score of interference 
 in civil matters, as neither of these letters con- 
 tained a word on the subject. 2. That each of 
 these letters refers to ecclesiastical questions c.dy, 
 or questions of the Clergy Eeserves (which 
 phrases are synonymous in Canada, as no eccle- 
 siastical questions have ever been discussed in 
 Upper Canada besides the Clergy Eeservesj ; 
 thence stating the fact, that with the interference 
 of the Missionary Secretaries in the question of 
 the Clergy Eeserves, contrary to the declaration 
 of both the Eepresentatives at the time the 
 Union took place in 1833, and contrary to the 
 administration of it for six years, commenced 
 the misunderstandings between the English and 
 Canadian Connexions. But what a totally dif- 
 ferent idea and meaning do these letters convey, 
 from the order in which they are enumerated in 
 the report of the Committee, and the partial and 
 unfair synopsis which is given of them ? " 
 
 From the previous pages the decision of the 
 English Conference may be anticipated ; bat it 
 may be advisable to give the resolutions them- 
 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 415 
 
 em- 
 
 selves adopted bj the Committee, recommended 
 to, and adopted by the seventy-two, out of some 
 400 members of the Conference, a few hours be- 
 fore the close of the Conference : 
 
 " I. That the three resolutions, or matters, con- 
 tained in the resolutions of the Committee on 
 Canadian affairs, at their meeting on the 29th of 
 April last and forwarded by that Committee to 
 the Upper Canada Conference are regarded as 
 fully -proved; and that after seriously considering 
 the explanations and defence of the Rev. Egerton 
 Ryerson and the Rev. William Ryerson, the repre- 
 sentatives of the Upper Canada Conference, on 
 these points, and giving them the full weight to 
 which they might be deemed to be entitled, the 
 Committee are decidedly of opinion, that the 
 representatives of the Upper Canada Conference 
 have entirely failed to establish a justification; 
 inasmuch as it appears that, notwithstanding all 
 that they have stated and explaiaed, there existed : 
 1. A superseding of the Rev. Joseph Stinson as 
 President, by communicating with the Governor- 
 General, sppf^rately and without his knowledge, 
 and by act^ing without him, and without the 
 Committee of the Upper Canada Conference, of 
 which Committee Mr. Stinson was a member, 
 and Chairman ex officio on matters affecting the 
 permanency of the Government Grant to the 
 Wesley an Missionary Society. 
 
 \i 
 
 >.<*■ 
 
 it!;! 
 
 'i 
 
i 
 
 416 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " 2. A violation of the obligations arising from 
 the Union, in not opposing but rather counte- 
 nancing the payment of our grant in a certain 
 contingency, not to m . to the Upper Canada 
 Conference, for other reasons and different pur- 
 poses. 
 
 " 3. The decided and prominent political char- 
 acter of the Christian Ouardian^ in violation of 
 the pledges given to us and to the Upper Canada 
 Conference, from 1833 to 1839.* 
 
 " II. That after the most careful examination 
 of the complicated and difficult subjects which 
 have engaged the attention of the Committee 
 appointed by the Bri' Conference of 1839 to 
 decide finally all matbc.^ relating to the Union 
 between the British and the Upper Canada Con- 
 ference, and to our Indian Missions in Upper 
 Canada; and after having, in the course of a 
 very protracted discussion had abundant proof of 
 the wisdom, care, and kindness which the afore- 
 said Committee have manifested in relation to the 
 affairs of Upper Canada, we are unanimously of 
 opinion, that the members of the Committee in 
 Upper Canada affairs, paiticularly in the reso- 
 lutions adopted at their meeting in London, on 
 Wednesday, April 29th, 1840, and transmitted 
 
 * Note by E. Ryerson, iSSo.~ No such pledges were 
 ever given as thus stated ; and no fault was found with 
 the Guardian from 1833 to 1839, as shown previously. 
 
g 
 
 CANADIAN MKTHODISM. 
 
 417 
 
 in 
 
 JSO- 
 
 on 
 ted 
 
 ly. 
 
 to the Upper Canada Conference, have stnctly 
 adhered to those great principles which have 
 always guided the Wesleyan body, and that they 
 are, therefore, entitled to the thanks of this Con- 
 ference for the important services which they 
 have rendered to the common cause of Wesleyan 
 ?»Iethodism. 
 
 " III. After a close consideration of the resolu- 
 tions of the Upper Canada Conference of 1840, it 
 was resolved : 
 
 "1. That this Committee is most happy to 
 perceive that one of the resolutions, which deter- 
 mines that the Christian Ouardian shall cease 
 to be a political paper, and shall be confined to 
 purely religious and literary subjects and articles 
 of religious intelligence, is to that extent satis- 
 factory; but that the unqualified reservation of 
 the 'Clergy Reserve question* — a reservation 
 already so construed and abused as to be pleaded 
 in almost unlimited discussion of great and gen- 
 eral principles of ecclesiastical pojity, held sacred 
 by this body ; and the absence of adequate secu- 
 rity for a more faithful observance of this resolu- 
 tion than has been maintained with respect to 
 similar pledges given from 1833 to 1839, in con- 
 nection with the fact that a direct negative was 
 simultaneously given to another series of resolu- 
 tions, which would have been more explicit and 
 satisfactory on the several subjects referred to, 
 27 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 
 
418 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 are circumstances which the Committee deeply 
 regret, and cannot but regard with distrust and 
 disapprobation. 
 
 " 2. That on the other important topics em- 
 braced in the resolutions of our Committee on 
 Upper Canada affairs, dated April 29, 1840, the 
 resolutions of the last Upper Canada Conference 
 appear rather to imply an acquiescence in the 
 evils complained of, and an official adoption of 
 them, than a cordial determination to prevent 
 their future recurrence by substantial and efficient 
 measures, and seem to evince that there is a 
 decided difference between the two Conferences 
 on the construction of the articles of union, in 
 reference to fundamental principles essential to 
 the working of the union, and which the Com- 
 mittee are of opinion that the British Conference 
 cannot abandon, without compromising its own 
 consistency and public reputation ; inasmuch as 
 it cannot safely be identified in views and res- 
 ponsibility with any body, however respected, 
 over whose public proceedings it is denied the 
 right and power of exerting any efficient influ- 
 ■ ences, so as to secure a reasonable and necessary 
 co-ordinate but efficient direction, during the con- 
 tinuance of the union. 
 
 " IV. That in the judgment of this Committee, 
 nothing has occurred, in the whole course of these 
 investigations, to shake the confidence of the Con- 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 419 
 
 fereiice in the Rev. Joseph Stinson and the Rev. 
 Matthew Richey ; and that the memhers of the 
 Committee cannot but express their hearty esteem 
 and approbation of the ability, fidelity and dili- 
 gence with which these respected brethren have 
 performed the duties officially confided to them.* 
 
 
 * This special commendation of Messrs. Stinson and 
 Richey was intended, of course, as a corresponding re- 
 proach to the Canada Conference and its Representatives, 
 against whom Messrs. Stinson and Richey now arrayed 
 themselves in support of Mr. Alder's accusations. The 
 Annual Addresses of the Canada to the English Confer- 
 ence invariably referred to Messrs. Stinson and Richey 
 in the most respectful and affectionate terms. They had 
 been admitted members of the Canada Conference by a 
 special vote, though still retaining their membership of 
 the British -Conference — a compliment that was never 
 reciprocated by the English Conference. Even after they 
 had informed the Governor- General that the Union would 
 probably be dissolved, and prayed to place the English 
 instead of the Canada Conference as the recipient of all 
 Canadian revenue that might be apportioned to the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada ; even after this, 
 the Canada Conference, in its address to the English 
 Conference, as late as June, 1840, referred most affec- 
 tionately to Messrs. Stinson and Richey, without even 
 alluding to their defection to the vital interests of the 
 Canada Conference, in their Memorial to the Governor- 
 General. Mr. Stinson always admitted the kindness and 
 affection with which he had been personally treated by 
 his Canadian brethren, both of the ministry and laity. 
 Yet, on March 20, 1840, he wrote a letter to the London 
 
 ■ ii 
 
420 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 "V. That notwitlistanding the ground of griev- 
 ance and complaint on which the Committee have 
 felt it their duty to express so strong an opinion* 
 
 Missionary Committee, which was read in the Committee 
 of the Newcastle Conference, in which he says, " I have 
 lost all confidence in the men with whom I act ; and 
 if you choose to «. ^rade yourselves any longer by a 
 connection with such men, I hope you will permit me to 
 retire from the Province." "Such were Mr. Stinson's 
 words, as nearly as we coulc take them down while Dr. 
 Alder was reading his letter. [For copies of the letters, 
 and extracts of letters read, were not furnished to the 
 Representatives of the Canada Conference.] Yet, a 
 short time after writing that letter, for penjsal and action 
 in England^ M/. Stinson declared before these men in 
 Conference assemWed in Canada^ that he conceived the 
 Canadian Preachers worthy to stand, in every respect, 
 upon an equal footing with English Preachers ; that he 
 earnestly desired to perpetuate the connection between 
 the two bodies ; that he would consider it wrong for the 
 Government to pay the London Committee the grant out 
 of the Clergy Reserve Fund, if it should in the slightest 
 df-^ree affect the claims or interests of the Connexion in 
 Canada ; that in the event of the dissolution of the 
 Union, he should consider it wrong for the Committee 
 in London to attempt to retain possession of those Indian 
 Missions which had been established by the Canada 
 Conference prior to the Union. [Such, I believe, were 
 the real sentiments of Mr. Stinson's judgment and 
 heart ; but he had to adopt different language for and 
 in England, or lose his position with Dr. Alder and 
 the Committee misled by him.] Relying upon such 
 professions and declarations, the Canada Conference 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 421 
 
 they are aware of the desirableness of maintain- 
 ing the existing union between the two bodies 
 for reasons which relate to the general interests 
 
 requests Mr. Stinson to accompany its Representatives 
 to England *fo7- co operation and aid.^ He comes to 
 England, and 'aids' and * co-operates with ' the Repre- 
 sentatives of the Canada Conference, by extracts of such 
 letters as we have above quoted, and by kindred verbal 
 statements and representations ; and is then thanked by 
 your Committee and the remainder of your Conference ! 
 But resolutions of Committees or Conferences cannot 
 2\\.tx factSy or make crooked things straight, or darkness 
 light. 
 
 " And these extracts of calumnious letters against his 
 Canadian brethren, from Mr. Richey, are read in your 
 Committee, and Mr. Richey tells your Committee that 
 the ' ministerial character is degraded ' in Canada ; that 
 there is little * chemical affinity ' in the connexion there 
 with British Wesleyan Methodism ; and that during his 
 four years' residence in that Province he was treated (to 
 use his own emphatic words) ^ as a stranger^ a foreigner, 
 and an alien.'' " 
 
 " Mr. Richey was invited to Upper Canada as Prin- 
 cipal of the Conference Academy ; the Board of that 
 Institution applied to an American University College 
 to confer upon him the honorary degree of Master of 
 Arts, and paid his travelling expenses while visiting 
 American Colleges and in pursuit of a diploma ; paid 
 him for three years a salary about twice as high as that 
 of any other Wesleyan Minister in Upper Canada ; and 
 when it was not deemed advisable [by the Board of the 
 Academy] to ask him to continue in that situation any 
 
H 
 
 m 
 
 CANAt)IAK METHODISM. 
 
 of our common Christianity and to the contin- 
 ued connection of the Province with the Mother 
 
 longer, he was stationed in the City of Toronto, the 
 City Road Circuii of the Canada Connexion. The Con- 
 ference had requested him to prepare for publication a 
 volume of sermons, and directed its Book Steward to 
 publish them ; the Editor of the Christian Guardian^ 
 Mr. E. Ryerson, wrote as encomiastic a notice of those 
 sermons as the warmest friendship could dictate ; and 
 although the Canada Conference could not approve of 
 Mr. Richey's views and conduct in reference to the 
 Resolutions of the London Committee, and his communi- 
 cations with the Governor- General, it possessed sufficient 
 judgment and charity to discriminate between a man's 
 views and proceedings in certain circumstances, and his 
 general character ; and, therefore, on Mr. Richey's depar- 
 ture for England, transmitted to the British Conference 
 a flattering letter of respect and affection in relation to 
 him, Mr. Richey comes to the British Conference and 
 tells you that he had been treated, during four year's 
 residence in Upper Canada, ' as a stranger ^ a foreigner, 
 and an alien;* and you express your 'hearty esteem 
 and approbation of the ability, fidelity and diligence' 
 with which he had performed the duties officially con- 
 tided to him. Thanks and eulogies thus obtained are 
 dearly purchased ; and whatever influence the represen- 
 tations of Messrs. Stinson and Richey may have had 
 upon your proceedings against the Canada Conference, 
 
 .we are persuaded they will operate differently in Canada, 
 where the facts to which we have referred are well and 
 generally known." — {Messrs. Ryerson^s Reply to the 
 
 ' Proceedings of the British Conference ^ August 2% 1840^ 
 published in London^ f^. 94-97') 
 
CANADTAK METHODISM. 
 
 423 
 
 Country* Yet in tlieir jndginent, that union 
 can be advantageously maintained only by the 
 strict and vindeviating adherence of our Upper 
 Canadian brethren to the following principles and 
 regulations : 
 
 * Note by E. Ryerson, iSSo. — The insinuation implied 
 in the words printed in italics was as offensive as it was 
 unjust There never was a more loyal body to the 
 Constitution of Upper Canada and its connection with 
 the Mother Country, than the Conference and members 
 of the Methodist Church in Canada, as shown in the war 
 of the United States against Great Britain in 1812-1815, 
 and in the W. L. Mackenzie Rebellion in 1837, during 
 both of which tests of loyalty not a minister or member 
 of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Upper Canada was 
 found wanting in loyalty to their Sovereign and country — 
 men who knew what loyalty was in the successive wars, 
 and hundreds of whose fathers, brothers, and relatives 
 had fallen or bled on the battle-field. Even one of the 
 Canadian representatives had fought in two battles in 
 the war of 1812-1815, together with two elder brothers in 
 several battles, and a father in seven battles in two wars. 
 For such men, and a whole community, to be impeached 
 in their loyal character by a Committee in London, not 
 one of whom had ever smelt powder on the field of battle, 
 and knew nothing of the stuff of which true loyalty is 
 made except to prate about it on occasions for partizan 
 purposes, was unlike offensive and unjust. 
 
 After the lapse of two score years, and approaching 
 myself my four score years, I can scarcely think of these 
 imputations from such sources and for such purposes 
 without a thrill of indignation pervading my whole being, 
 or write about them in terms of moderation. 
 
 If 
 
 1 
 
mt 
 
 i«ft«l 
 
 a'J& ' 
 
 lill^ 
 
 IM 1 , 
 
 fiifl 
 
 j:#|: 
 
 
 
 
 
 mM 
 
 1 i ; 1 
 
 ^B^^K^^'M 
 
 1^;,,; 
 
 ^H| 
 
 uSi 
 
 H 
 
 Hi 
 
 424 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 " 1. That the continuation of the Government 
 Grant to the Wesleyan Missionary Society be 
 cordially assented to, and supported by our Upper 
 Canada brethren, even if the payment should be 
 ultimately transferred, as proposed by the Clergy 
 Eeserve Bill, lately passed by the Imperial Par- 
 liament, from the Casual and Territorial Revenue 
 on which it is placed, to the Clergy Reserve Fund, 
 in that Province ; and that, as it appears that the 
 payment of the grant has actually been again sus- 
 pended, and it is at present withheld, to the great 
 inconvenience and embarrassment of our Missions 
 in Upper Canada, the Rev. Egerton Ryerson shall 
 address a letter to Lord John Russell, disclaiming 
 any intention or wish to deprive the Wesleyan 
 Missionary Society of the grant of £700 per an- 
 num, secured to that Society as a fixed charge for 
 Missionary purposes in Upper Canada, requesting 
 that its regular payment may be continued ; and 
 assuring his Lordship that any other construction 
 which may have been put upon his letter to the 
 Governor-General, was founded in a misappre- 
 hension of his meaning.* 
 
 " 2. That the Christian Guardian, or whatever 
 newspaper or periodical may, in future, be recog- 
 
 "^The requirement of this resolution was that Mr. 
 Egerton Ryerson, without regard to consistency or cha- 
 racter, should advocate what he knew to be wrong and 
 to state what he knew to be false. 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 425 
 
 nized as the official organ of the Upper Canada 
 Conference shall entirely abstain from all party 
 political reasonings and discussions, confining its 
 expression of opinions to religious and literary 
 topics. 
 
 " 3. That such official organ admit and main- 
 tain all the acknowledged principles of the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Connexion ; and that in 
 seeking for a proper understanding on this point, 
 the Committee have special reference to that 
 principle of our body which asserts it to be the 
 duty of civil governments to employ their in- 
 fluence and a portion of their resources, for the 
 support of the Christian religion." 
 
 "The report above inserted, was presented to 
 the Conference [a few hours before its close, 
 when more than four-fifths of its members had 
 left for their circuits] and read in the hearing 
 of the Rev. Egerton and Rev. William Ryerson, 
 representatives of the Upper Canada Conference. 
 They desired a copy of it, which was accordingly 
 handed to them ; and they examined its several 
 parts. When they returned they were again 
 heard at length [but not permitted to go back 
 beyond the year 1839, though the report extend- 
 ed back to 1833], and mutual explanations were 
 made on several points to which they demurred. 
 In the end, they frankly and explicitly declared 
 it as their opinion that the Upper Canada 
 
426 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 Conference would never be induced to listen to 
 the views which are contained in the aforesaid 
 report, and concerning which such serious mis- 
 understandings have arisen ; and that the main- 
 tenance of such views on the part of this body, 
 would be regarded by the Canada Conference as 
 a virtual dissolution of the union. Upon hearing 
 this the Conference [one-fifth of its members 
 being present, four-fifths having departed for their 
 homes] was reluctantly led to the conviction, that 
 a continuation of the more intimate connection, 
 established by the articles of 1833. is quite im- 
 practicable. The Conference could not overlook 
 the fact, that the pacific resolutions, which had 
 already been proffered to the Upper Canada 
 Conference of 1840, by some members, were 
 negatived by a large majority ; and that from 
 the statements of the Eev. Egerton and Rev. 
 William Ryerson, just made, the same disposition 
 evidently remains, and clearly precludes a further 
 perpetuation of the union." (Extract from the 
 " Proceedings and Decision of the Conference on 
 matters relating to the union between the British 
 Conference and the Upper Canada Conference^ and 
 to our Missions in Upper Canada^ Newcastle-on- 
 Tyne, August, ISJfi, printed hy the authority qf 
 the Conference, pp. 76-79, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM, 
 
 427 
 
 ESSAY XVITI. 
 
 SEVEN years' divisional OPERATIONS OF THE LONDON 
 WESLEYAN COMMITTEE, IN UPPER CANADA, FROM 
 
 1840 TO 1847; reconciliation and reunion 
 
 OF THE ENGLISH AND CANADIAN CONFERENCES ; ITS 
 CAUSES AND RESULTS. 
 
 Mj 
 
 HE English Conference having determined 
 to secede from the Union which it had 
 entered into with the Canadian Confereiice in 
 1833, and to commence aggressive operations 
 upon the Canadian Conference, and its societies 
 and congregations, a special meeting of the Can- 
 adian Conference became necessary to meet this 
 new state of things, to organize for resenting the 
 invasion upon its fields of labour, and to main- 
 tain the cause for which they had toiled and 
 suffered so much for more than half a century. 
 
 The prospects of the Canada Conference were 
 gloomy in the extreme ; their paucity of minis- 
 ters, and poverty of resources in comparison to 
 the English Conference, besides numerous other 
 disadvantages ; but the Ministers of the Cana- 
 dian Conference with less than a dozen indi- 
 vidual exceptions, had hearts of Canadian oak, 
 
428 
 
 CANADIAN MBTHODISM. 
 
 and weapons of New Jerusalem steel, and deter- 
 mined to maintain the freedom of their Church, 
 and the liberties of their country, whatever 
 might be the prestige or resources of their inva- 
 ders ; and " according to their faith it was done 
 unto them;" out of weakness they waxed 
 strong. They sowed in tears, they reaped in 
 joy. Their weeping seed-sowing was followed 
 by rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. 
 
 The narrative of the state of things and of 
 the work at this crucial and eventful juncture, 
 is thus given by the late Rev. John Ryerson, 
 who begins with the proceedings of the Special 
 Conference held in Toronto, October, 1840: — 
 
 "The Conference now proceeded to reorgan- 
 ize itself, and to make arrangements for carrying 
 on the work committed to their charge as afore- 
 time. The Rev. Thomas Whitehead was elected 
 President and the Rev. John C. Davidson as Sec- 
 retary. At the same time that the Conference 
 was holding its sessions, the English Missionary 
 District was being held in the Richmond Street 
 Church, under the Presidency of the Rev. J. 
 Stinson, who had been President of the Canada 
 Conference up to this time. 
 
 "Ten of the Canadian ministers withdrew 
 from the Canadian Conference and joined the 
 English Missionary District Meetings. This was 
 a heavy blow to the Canada Conference, but 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 429 
 
 other preachers were employed, an ^ all the ap- 
 pointments maintained as had been made at the 
 commencement of the Conference year at Belle- 
 ville. There were nine Indian Missions under 
 the care of the Missionary Society ; six of these 
 remained under the super intendency of the 
 Canada Conference; but three went to the Mis- 
 sionary District, the missionaries being two of 
 the ministers who left the Canada Conference 
 to join the British Conference.* 
 
 "The Canada Conference had no missionary 
 funds independent of the Wesleyan Missionary 
 Society; so that our Conference was left res- 
 ponsible for the support of the six Indian Mis- 
 sions and eight Domestic Missions without a 
 farthing to support them. 
 
 "The deep and painful anxiety felt, in view of 
 these sorrowful events, will never be known 
 until the day of the revelation of all things. 
 A short time after the adjournment of Confer- 
 
 * Note by E. Ryerson, 1880. - Among the ten who seceded 
 from the Canada Conference to the London Wesleyan 
 Committee, was the venerable William Case, who took 
 no part in the cru.sade against his old Canadian brtLliren, 
 but who wished to live in peace and quietness, with the 
 supply of his wants assured him in his old lonely Indian 
 Mission at Alnwick (once called Aldersville), near 
 Cobourg, isolated alike from tlie white inhabitants and 
 from other Indian tribes, where he continued until his 
 decease. 
 
 Ir 
 
If 
 
 430 
 
 CANADUy METHODISM. 
 
 ence, the Revs. A.. Green, J. Ryerson, J. Scotfc 
 and E. Ryerson, with as many lay members of 
 the Church, met in an upper chamber at Mr. J. 
 R. Armstrong's, to consult respecting the pres- 
 ent exigency, and to devise means tor the sup- 
 port of the Indian and Domestic Missions. It 
 was finally concluded to commence a subscription 
 among oui-selves, and then, that the Rev. J. 
 Ryerson, and the Rev. Peter Jones, should be 
 a deputation to visit and hold Missionary Meet- 
 ings (as far as possible) in all the circuits and 
 stations throughout the Connexion. These bre- 
 thren were enabled by the * good hand of God 
 upon them,' to perform the onerous duty com- 
 mitted to them, during a tour of four months' 
 continuance. They visited all the circuits 
 situated between London and Bj^town (now the 
 City of Ottawa), preaching every Sabbath, from 
 one to three sermons, and holding from three 
 to six missionary meetings during the week, 
 besides travelling many long and tedious jour- 
 neys. 
 
 "The peortle ,ave liberall}^ in most places 
 bountiful ' a in som ' instances munificently ; 
 
 so that at o close of the year, it was found 
 that upwaiils >/ one third more had been 
 contributed in the Province for Missionciry 
 purposes, than had ever been contributed before 
 in any one year. Thus did the Lord provide, 
 
CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 431 
 
 and the hands of His servants and people were 
 strengthened." 
 
 I have stated above that the English Mission- 
 ary District was held in Toronto, at the same 
 time as the Canada Conference. They were 
 enabled to send preachers and missionaries to 
 most of the principal places in the country, and 
 supply their Indian Missions by employing the 
 ten preachers, who had left our Conference, 
 besides Messrs. Stinson, Hashard, Lang and 
 Redney, and one or two others whom the London 
 Missionary Committee had sent to Canada. 
 Several other preachers were immediately in the 
 field. Thus were the societies again divided, 
 and sections were made in Kingston, Belleville, 
 Peterboro*, Toronto, Barrie, Hamilton, Brantford, 
 London, Goderich, Guelph, and several other 
 places. Every year during the six succeeding 
 ones of the disruption, the Missionary District 
 was increasing the number of its preachers, and 
 enlarging the sphere of its operations. The work 
 of discord and confusion increased in proportion, 
 and even Indian Missions shared in the strife, 
 and disputations arose amongst these helpless 
 children of the woods. 
 
 "The sympathy of the great body of the 
 people in Canada was with the Canada Con- 
 ference. But the prestige of the English name 
 [especially with the lately-arrived emigrants], the 
 
I'k^i 
 
 432 
 
 CANADIAN FT5TH0DISM. 
 
 patronage and countenance of the Provincial 
 Government, and the ample funds of the Wesley- 
 an Missionary Society in England, were with the 
 District Meeting. The schisms and heart-burn- 
 ings from the large societies, down to the 
 domestic circles, were distressing beyond expres- 
 sion, and most painful to every lover of peace 
 in the family of Christ. But enemies of the 
 truth beheld this unnatural strife and disreput- 
 able discord with exultation and delight, virtu- 
 ally exclaiming, " So would we have it ; this is 
 what we have longed for, and have long sought 
 to effect. We have divided, let us now devour."* 
 
 I 
 
 *Note by E. Ryerson, 1880. — I will quote on this sub- 
 ject the I St, 7th, 8th, and 9th " Resolutions of the Special 
 Committee appointed by the Conference, October, 1840, 
 to protect the rights and interests of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Connexion in Canada, adopted at a meeting 
 held in the City of Toronto, Canada, the loth and nth 
 of May, and afterward unanimously affirmed, by the 
 Conference, June, 1841, in reference to certain resolu- 
 tions which had been adopted and published by a Special 
 Committee of the Wesleyan Conference, held in London, 
 England, the 8th and 9th September, i84o." 
 
 " I. That this Committee regrets to observe that so 
 large a portion of the fourteen lengthened resolutions of 
 the Special Committee of the English Conference on 
 Canadian affairs, is occupied with personal references to 
 the late representatives of the Canada Conference. This 
 Committee especially regrets to witness, in the resolu- 
 tions of the London Committee, the repeated and suc- 
 
 V 
 
, 
 
 ■wpwm^MWBnniKW 
 
 I 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 433 
 
 But certainly the state of the Church during 
 these six years of divisive conflict was not 
 altogether evil. There was much good done ; 
 the preachers were very zealous ; and, although 
 
 cessive application of criminating epithets against the 
 Rev. Egerton Ryerson, when the primary original charge 
 of the London Committee against him was, not any 
 moral crime or private dehnquency, but an alleged 
 official irregularity in his communication with the Govern- 
 ment in behalf of the Canada Connexion; yet the London 
 Committee applies epithets against Mr. E. Ryerson, which 
 are only applied to characters of the deepest moral tur- 
 pitude. Such an obvious disproportion between the ori- 
 ginal allegations of the London Committee and the vitu- 
 perative epithets which they employ against the individual, 
 appears to this Committee inconsistent with the calm- 
 ness, dignity, and propriety which ought to characterize 
 the proceedings of ecclesiasitical bodies, and to have 
 little affinity with that charity which is recommended 
 and portrayed by St. Paul in the 13th Chapter of the First 
 Epistle to the Corinthians." 
 
 "Vn. That the assertion of the London Wesleyan 
 Committee, that the resolutions of the Canada Confer- 
 ence adopted at Belleville, June, 1840, were a virtual 
 dissolution of the Union, is a most unjust misrepresenta- 
 tion of the motives and feelings of that body. For, i. 
 In each of those resolutions the Canada Conference 
 expressed its determined adherence to the Articles 
 of Union. 2. That the English Conference repre- 
 sentatives should possess and exercise all the powers 
 for which the Articles of Union provided. 3. That 
 the Canadian Conference claimed nothing more than 
 was explicitly secured by the Articles of Union. The 
 28 
 
 i 
 
m 
 
 tit' 
 
 Hi rn 
 
 il 
 
 434 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 in many instances, Christ was doubtless, preached 
 through envy and strife, yet Christ was preached, 
 and many souls were saved. The preachers were 
 devoted to the one great work of spreading 
 
 London Wesleyan Committee have specified no single 
 Article of the Union which has ever been infringed 
 by the Canada Conference, or by any member of it. 
 The allegation of the London Committee is, therefore, 
 as groundless as it is hasty and uncharitable. 
 
 "VIIL That, notwithstanding the London Wesleyan 
 Committee propose, in their loth and nth resolutions, 
 not to interfere with the societies of the Canada Confer- 
 ence, but to extend their operations amongst the desti- 
 tute settlers and heathen tribes, yet the operations of 
 their agents and missionaries in Upper Canada are, for 
 the most part, of an opposite character, as, out of from 
 ^/ifeen to twenty missionaries here, only five of them are 
 labouring in fields which are not occupied by preachers 
 of the Canada Conference ; the other fifteen are labour- 
 ing as missionaries within the bounds of regular circuits y 
 dividing neighbourhoods, societies, and families, and 
 producing all the other evils of schism, strife, and 
 divisions. 
 
 " IX. That, it is much to be lamented that whilst the 
 London Wesleyan Committee have pressed into their 
 service almost every circumstance which was calculated 
 to excite recrimination and hostilities, and justify the ag- 
 gressions of their missionaries upon our societies in 
 Upper Canada, they seem to have passed over, with little 
 or no notice, those considerations which might tend to 
 promote the unity of Methodism in Canada. They do 
 not deny that the representatives of the Canada Confer- 
 ence had expressed a readiness to agree to every demand 
 

 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 435 
 
 holiness over the land, and God was manifestly 
 with them. During the six years the aggre- 
 gate increase in the Church membership con- 
 nected with the Canada Conference was 6,622. 
 The increase in the Missionary District I do 
 not know. But during one of the six years, 
 
 on the score of non-interferenee in politics — to drop the 
 Church establishment question in silence— to disclaim to 
 the Secretary of State, having made any application for 
 the disputed grant — to allow the English Conferences all 
 the power over the Canada Connexion provided for by the 
 Articles of Union, to grant them all the control in 
 Upper Canada they possess in other British provinces, 
 provided they would assume the same responsibility in 
 supporting the preachers in Upper Canada they do in 
 other British provinces. The only two practical points 
 on which the Representatives of the Canada Conference 
 seem to have opposed the demands made upon them 
 were, their refusal to make the Guardian the advocate of 
 Church and state union, and the refusal of one of them 
 to turn advocate in behalf of the London Committee to a 
 Government grant, even in case of its transfer to the 
 Clergy Reserve Fund. 
 
 " X. That on review of the whole matter, this Com- 
 mittee is of opinion that no sufficient or justifiable ground 
 of hostility, division, or disunion between the English 
 and Canada Conferences exists ; that for the honour of 
 Christianity and the character of Methodism, a speedy end 
 should be put to these unnatural scenes of schism and 
 contention ; and that every possible means should be 
 employed to restore to Methodism that unity which, for 
 a hundred years, has been its boast and its glory." 
 
436 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 1845, there was a decrease of 803 — a diminution 
 in members which was very saddening to the 
 hearts of preachers who met in Conference 
 that year. But dark and gloomy as these times 
 were, I never lost the hope, and I may say the 
 belief, that Providence, often duly chastising us, 
 would in some way terminate these calamities. 
 Under this impression I kept up a correspond- 
 ence with Messrs. Lord and Stinson, also with 
 Dr. Alder, during the whole of the disruption, 
 and a few letters were written to Dr. Richey. 
 At the Kingston Conference of 1846, a constant 
 and strong conviction was upon my soul, that 
 the time had come for some steps to be taken 
 towards conciliation and effecting a re-union 
 in some way. 
 
 This thought was made the subject of con- 
 sultation with a number of the preachers, and 
 was finally brought under the consideration of 
 the Conference. After much discussion a Com- 
 mittee was appointed to consider it, and directed 
 to report the result of their deliberations to 
 the Conference. The Committee after several 
 meetings and viewing completely the subject 
 in all its bearings, adopted and reported reso- 
 lutions favourable to seeking reconciliation, by 
 correcting the misunderstandings between the 
 two bodies. The Committee also recommended 
 the appointment of a deputation to the British 
 
 

 CANADIAN iMETHODISM. 
 
 437 
 
 Conference. Tlic report was adopted by a large? 
 majority of the Conference, and the Rev. J. 
 Ryerson, 'and the Rev. A. Green were chosen 
 representatives. 
 
 On arriving in London, we obtained inter- 
 views with the ^lissionary Secretaries and other 
 leading ministers, but these interviews elicited 
 nothing favourable or encouraging respecting the 
 object of our mission. We were treated as 
 strangers, or parties in whom no one had any 
 interest. Many a sorrowful and anxious hour 
 did the deputation pass during these dark days 
 of discouragement. Yet we were not entirely 
 despondent, but resolved to go forward and meet 
 the Conference which was to commence at 
 Bristol, the 27th of July, 1848. On the second 
 day of the session, Messrs. Ryerson and Green 
 were respectfully received and requested to take 
 seats on the platform ; but they were not re- 
 quested to address the Conference on the subject 
 of their mission, or any other subject ; indeed 
 they w^ere virtually disallowed doing so 
 throughout the whole session of the Conference. 
 However, they sought every possible opportunity 
 for private conversation with the ministers, 
 especially the loading ones. After being in 
 Bristol ten or twelve days, I sent a note to Dr. 
 Alder, requesting an interview with him ; this 
 was granted. I then embraced this opportunity 
 
 M k 
 
i 
 
 
 438 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 of laying before him all the troubles in Canada, 
 in every point of view, their causes, origin, 
 progress, results, &c., &c., and most earnestly and 
 affectionately pressed on his consir' oration the 
 terrible magnitude of the evil, and the indispens- 
 able duty of those who possessed the power to 
 terminate the strife ; that he (Dr. Alder) should 
 at once undertake the pacification of the con- 
 tending parties; that as he had the power to 
 restore peace, on him would rest the responsibility 
 if this wicked and ruinous warfare continued. 
 Dr. Alder was greatly affected and gave me 
 his promise and his hand to use his utmost 
 exertions to end the discord, and have the 
 questions of dispute settled by such arrangements 
 as would most probably prove beneficial to both 
 parties. 
 
 As I have already said, the questions at issue 
 were not discussed in the British Conference ; 
 but a large Committee of most of its leading 
 members was appointed, to whom was referred 
 the whole subject, with full power to act in 
 behalf of the Conference. 
 
 This Committee met in London, four or five 
 weeks after the Conference, and immediately 
 entered upon the business for which they were 
 convened. The consideration of this business 
 engaged their most earnest attention for several 
 days, during which time all the troubles in 
 
 
^ 
 
 mmmmm 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 439 
 
 in 
 
 Canada were impartially and prayerfully invest- 
 igated — nothing set down in anger or malice — 
 nothing kept back on either side. Dr. Richey, 
 from the Canada District Meeting, was present 
 and took part in all the discussions, [but against 
 the Canada Conference.] The final result was, 
 the adoption and passing, by a unanimous vote, 
 the resolutions which noiu constitute the Articles 
 of Union between the British and Canadian 
 Conferences and which are published in the 
 Book of Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church in Canada. Dr. Alder was sent out to 
 the Canadian Conference, appointed to be held 
 at Toronto, June, 1847. The Canada District 
 assembled in Richmond Street Church at the 
 same time. The Rev. E. Wood, (now Dr. Wood) 
 from New Brunswick, accompanied Dr. Alder, 
 and was made a great instrument of good in 
 assisting to adjust differences. Several mem- 
 bers of the Canadian Conference were opposed 
 to any settlement or re-union with the British 
 Conference. A pamphlet was published, signed 
 by four of the ministers, professing to review the 
 revised Articles of Union, which had been laid 
 before the public on the return of the represent- 
 atives from England. This pamphlet was a 
 fallacious and shallow production which was 
 fully proved in the course of the discussions 
 in Conference. The great and good measure 
 
[ ^ 
 
 440 
 
 CANADIAN METHODISM. 
 
 was at length unanimously sanctioned by the 
 Conference, with one, or two, or three ex- 
 ceptions. 
 
 The Canada Missionary District was not so 
 well agreed for the restoration of peace, or for 
 the adoption of the resolutions which had been 
 passed to promote it. Their discussions were long 
 and vigorous ; but Dr. Alder succeeded ulti- 
 mately in bringing the meeting to a satisfactory 
 acquiescence, although several of the preachers 
 requested to be removed from the Province to 
 Lower Canada, or elsewhere — a request which 
 was immediately granted. 
 
 Thus ended the unnatural strife which had 
 agitated the Church in every part of the 
 country during six long, <^ rk, and painful years. 
 The foundation was laid for union on broad, 
 just, and catholic principles, which have proved 
 so effective in promoting the unity, harmony, 
 and prospects of the Church, and which we 
 trust will for all time bind the two branches of 
 the same family together as long as the 
 militant church is destined to exist. 
 
 THE END. 
 
ed by the 
 three ex- 
 
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 ace, or for 
 had been 
 were long 
 3ded ulti- 
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 preachers 
 rovince to 
 est which 
 
 rhich had 
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 on broad, 
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 ranches of 
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