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TORONTO : HENRY BOWSELL, KING STREET. 1 i ■ \ \ A vvitl Soc cen thai Im wit ^ cor prii str( but Stl'i she ses in> ev th( do dc Sti th « it ir a F s r AN ADDKESS. Although the subject which I am about to take up luay withdraw me a little aside from the usual track of a Church Society addresis, yet what concerns the church at large con- cerns us, as a part of it ; and my hope and prayer has been, that, in speaking of what affects the church, however deeply I may feel, I shall be enabled to speak with chanty and with truth. We have met to exhibit our unity of church feeling, — to confirm and build each other up in attachment to our church principles, — and to show how needful it is that we should strengthen the hands of the church by our gifts and contri- butions. This is right ; but it is, also, needful that wc should strengthen the hands of the church, by keeping for lier what she has — by assisting her to preserve what she already pos* sesses. The one thing is allied to the other ; — the one duty involves the other. How are churchmen doing tiieir duty, even though ihey give to the church with one hand while they help to despoil her with the other ? How are they doing their duty, if they look coldly on, and see the plunderer doing his work upon her without stretching out a hand to stay the crime I And now, without further preface or hesitation, I take up the .question of the Church Reserves of this province. Oh ! but, perhaps, our opponents will say — " Yours was " to be a religious meeting — a Church Society anniversary — "you are making a pohtical agitation — this is a matter for the " hustings, not for a church." Now, this is but one of their usual artifices, — ''a weak invention of the enemy." They would tie us hand and foot and tongue, with the plausible, but deceptive, cry of religious peacefulness ; they say, " you, as good christians, should not stir up strife and agitation, — you should be submissive — un- resisting — peaceable, while we plunder you at our leisured They, forsooth, are to seize every opportunity of pushing on their schemes — they are to take every occasion of de- nouncing the church, and of stirring up hostility and hatred i If against her — they may hound on the revolutionist and repub* lican against her sacred possessions, and yet ive are to sit still — our hands behind us and our mouths shut ! ! No, let them call what I am doing political agitation if they will. If the cauj^e and interests of religion have become implicated with the politics of the country, it is their fault, not ours; and we will not be deterred from our duty by any such shallow artifice. It is they — the demagogues of a faction — who have drag- ged religion upon the platform of debasing political strife, and we must rescue her from the hands which would fain dis- member her, and sacrifice her to their ungodly passions. We are driven to agitate in self-defence ; in this we may take a lesson from our foes, and if we arc to win, we must beat them with their own weapons. Agitate — yes, I do agitate — and I tru.st tiiat my examj)le will be followed by every man among you who knows his duty to his church, his country, and his God. I trust that man will speak to man, and neigh- bour will inform and teach his neighbour, till but one christ- ian feeling, and but one chrislian determination shall per- vade the whole length and breadth of the church — viz., that such a piece of injustice as the secularization of her Reserves shall not be perpetrated while, by any lawful means, it can be prevented. To agitate in a righteous cause is an honour, not a re- proach j it is a course, of which no man need be ashamedj I, for one, am not. Are we told that it is our duly, as christians, to be submis- sive ? We will be so, when there is no other christian alter- native ; when the evil shall have been done, then we shall deem it a duty to submit, rather than stir up strife and vio- lence. But is it a christian duty to take no steps to meet and avert a vast approaching misfortune — to take no precautions against the gathering cloud — to seek no arms when foes are marshalling their strength against us, with every demonstra- tion of evil intentions? No! This were base cowardice — a contemptible lethargy, arguing utter ignorance of our duty, or indifference to the sacred interests entrusted to us. I repeat, let us seize every legal method which the constitution of our country places within our reach, for the preservation of our church endovvmenls. I have called the Reserves — " the Church Reserves ;" and this, advisedly, and with a purpose. They are often desig- nated the " Clergy Reserves ;" and under this title people are 6 > md repub. are to sit No, let they will. [implicated ours; and [ii shallow liave drag- strife, and Id fain dia- ssions. We nay take a must beat agitate — every man is country, and neigh- one christ. shall per- — viz., that er Reserves eans, it can r, not a re- ashamedj I, ' be submis- istian alter- ed we shall ife and vio- to meet and precautions I en foes are demonstra- ivardice — a our duty, or 1. I repeat, Uion of our ition of our rves j"and )ften desig- people are led indirectly and unintentionally, perhaps, to suppose that the ciergy are the chief persor\s interested in their preserva- tion, and that the evils of their loss will fail only, or mainly, upon them. But this is a mistaken inference. A mere name ollen has weight; therefore I call them Church Reserves, not Clergy Reserves — because there is not one lay member of the « church but is as deeply interested in their safety as the clergy. Upon whom does the burden fall, — or rather, I should say, ;. upon whom does the duty devolve — (for it should not be ^ deemed a burden) of supporting the clergy and the ministra- f tions of religion ? Upon the members of the church atlnrgc. \ During the infancy of our colonial church the duty is volun- i tarily and nobly performed by our fellow-churchmen at home I — but by one class or other it has to be done — by church- I men here, or by churchmen in England : but their help is I only for a time, and only while our infant and struggling state I gives us a claim upon their christian beneficence. But, as 7 it is even in part now, eventually the church in Canada must I be ivholly sustained by yourselves. Think you that one in- I tegral order of the church — the clergy — can be attacked or I injured, and the whole church not sufler with it. The Re- i serves are yours. They belong to the whole church. They I are your patrimony, and if taken away, you are robbed of I your birth-right and inheritance. The thing is obvious. The Reserves, or the fund accruing from them — diverted from the sacred uses of the church, you have at once to supply the deficiency. Perhaps some could do their share of this, but most could not; I speak of the church as a whole — of its members as a body, vt'ithout referring to what some wealthy individuals or congregations might do. But in whatever de- gree the church is now assisted and sustained by those Re- serves, in the same exact degree will you be compelled to make up the deficiency of their loss from your own private funds and property. A clergyman, or incumbent, has but a temporary and life interest in glebes or church reserve funds ; but a parish or congregation has a perpetual interest in them ; it is from the parish and its property that not only the present incumbent, butjrw^Mrt? incumbents, must derive their stipends, wholly or in part. And in suffering those reserve funds to be alienated, it will be upon the parishes and congregations — upon the church, as a whole — upon the laity most espe- cially — ^that the evil will eventually fill. It seems to me the grossest infatuation for a church, man to look upon this matter in any other light. The ! I M % 5? laity of the church find it quite ta^k enou^^h ut present to furnish half, or less than half of the stipends of their mi- nisters, while the other portion is obtained f;om the reserve fund, or the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. How then, in the name of common sense, vviil they like to be forced to provide the whole stipend ? The whole — yes- there is the alternative that will be placed before you — the whole o{ yom clergyman's salary — or no clergyman, — no church — no religious ministrations — your church shut up — your holy ordinances discontinued. What churchman is there so insane as not to see the double hardship involved, — and, that, in surrendering the reserve funds, he is virtually doubling the demands upon his own resources. A few wealthy men, indeed, may say — "We would r?»ther double our present payments than have this constantly- renewed, harassing, and disturbing question kept up." It may do for a few to say so ; but it will not be said by the majority of churchmen — by the farmers, mechanics, and la- bourers, who form the numerical body of the church. It may do for some who have ulterior objects in view, to wish to set aside, at any sacrifice, a question which seems to stand in the way of favorite plans, or of their own political ascendancy : but it will not do for the majority of church, men to reason in this way: and I would think scorn of that man, whatever his position, who would surrender a principle like this, and the possessions and interests of his church, to please a constituency, or to perpetuate his own popularity. If the Reserves, or a certain portion of the reserve funds, belong to our church by every security that law can give, it is a crime to take them away, or to yield them up. If they are not ours, let them go— if they are ours, let us be resolved to keep them. Some may think that policy and expediency would jus- tify the surrender. But " eccpediencif* is often used as a miserable fallacy, and an excuse for doing just what suits one-self: permit me to recall its proper meaning. Where there is a choice of several cour.-es, all equally lawful, one may through circumstances, be more t^xptifient than the others ; but — when the choice lies l)e:v*c..'n r'glit and wrong — the ivrong can neve?' be expedient. I would recall to your reccUof tic — 1 would urge you as churchmen not to forget — the '.e*;fn*T of gross injustice which have marked every step of thio aitack upon the pro- ^ |cl inl til fl )rcsent to their mi- le reserve pel. How ike to be k — yes — you — the man, — no shut up — the double le reserve his own We would ;onstantly- t up." It aid by the ics, and la- hurch. It w, to wish seems to vn political of church. ;orn of that a principle church, to lopularity. lerve funds, can give, it p. Ifthey [)e resolved would jus- used as a what suits g. Where ul, one may the others j vrong — the irge you as i injustice an the pro- perty of the church. In obtaining the parliamentary ad- dresses and votes vvliich arc paraded, as indicating the wishes of the Canadian people, ihe plainest principles of justice and fair dealing have been violated. The decisions of our parlia- ments have not been the decisions of those who were mainly ] and rightly interested in the matter — namely, of the repre- ; sentatives of Upper Canadian Protestants ; but such enact- ; menls or addresses have been achieved by the votes of the J Roman Catholic Lower Canadians. The mere fact of their 1 having a voice at all in legislating upon the question, is a ■ startling and palpable injustice ; — that measures affecting or destructive of the religious rights of the Protestants of Upper 1 Canada, should be carried or decided by the votes of Roman ; Catholic Canadians, is an outrage of every principle of fair Mealing, which may yet be remembered against them when their day of retribution arrives. ( The hostile interference ol Roman Catholics in matters af- Ifecting the religious rights of Protestant communities, was Iconsidered so evidently urongy that at the passing of the jcelobrated Act of the Imperial Parliament which admitted [Romanists to seats in that house, precautionary oaths ard jpledges were required, intended (though how vainly) to se- |cure the interests of the Church of England from being af- fected by the votes of members who were by very principle hostile to the church. Yet in the management of this Cana- lian church question, this most obvious axiom of justice has )een set at nought. It was for this very thing — to prevent such interference — that the distribution of the reserve fund jivas settled befo7e the union of the two provinces was per- nitted. If it be but a common matter, before a jury in a ;ourt of justice, and if, among that jury, there he any known, )r on good grounds supposed to be previously committed to hostile view of a defendant's case, they may be challenged md excluded. But rights conceded to the most degraded felon are denied to us. We may not have an impartial jury ; md the cause of the Protestants and churchmen of Upper /anada has to be pleaded before an assembly, composed in I large proportion of Romanists ; and to be adjudged and lecided upon by their votes. Give us but the fair field of \n unbiassed court — give us but a fair tribunal, and we ask no ^ther favour ? Let the question of the religious endowments ^f Upper Canada be tried before an assembly of Upper Ca- |adians, and we will contentedly abide the issue. But when a matter, involving the most serious intereift.s of {;.' li i ; 8 I the community — not only of the present, but more especially of the coming generations, la thus, in the very constitution of the adjudging court, most unjustly dealt with, it Ib enough to make the vtiv coldest burn with indignation, and to drive the most peaceuble to resistance. It is persecution of the worst kind ; it is the exercise of m'. re power, heedless of right and truth and justice ; it is tyranny laying its iron grasp upon the weaker; it is acting upon no other principle than may be found in this — " We can oppress you, and we tvill.^* It is too late a date now to revert to the grants by which those reserves were secured, as it was once thought, to the church for ever. It is too late now to appeal to the moral weight and bindinj^ force of former royal grants, and impe- rial enactments. The people have been stirred up to cry, " Let these go for nothing ;" and they have gone for nothing. The statutes which s^ecured our rights are but as so much waste paper, or so many old almanacks, or like old abbey ruins, — sad but useless records of the piety of those who have gone before U3. UsJess, did I say ] — No. By those records they, being dead, yet speak to us, and seem to ask,— Why should you be less sedulous to preserve our gifts, than we were to bestow them ? If it were piety in Britain's good old L^iristian king to grant this inheritance, it is impiety in us to let it go without an eflbrt or a struggle. It is, indeed, too late to base any arguments upon the supposed force and intention of any such grants: their obvi- ous intention has been set aside by mere clamor, and irres- ponsible power. The question will not be a trial of justice, but of strength, between churchmen and anti-churchmen ; and I do trust that it will not be lost by the apathy of our own people. It is to churchmen I address myself — not to the church's enemies. We might as well plead to the winds as to them. They ivill do their worst ; and we need look for no forbear- ance at their hands. Let but our own people — all who call themselves churchmen — be true to the interests of the church, which are, indeed, their ow7i interests, and we may not be overpowered. But if, while the anti-church party includes net only dissenting Protestant bodies, but non-religionists ol every class— those who are secretly indifferent to religion, a?- ell as those who openly disavow it ; and while, with thesr wn^ be combined, a Romanist party, who have hitherto *hc\,vn themselves too willing, as well for political purposes as through anti-Protestant principle, to vote against us,— il 1 a I . hi 9 !«pccially titulion of enough to drive tlic the worst 'f right and ) upon the 1 mav be by which ght, to the the moral and impc- up to cry, for nothing. js so much old abbey those who By those m to ask,— r gifts, than in Britain's it is impiety its upon the : their obvi- )r, and irres- ial of justice,. churchmen ; y of our own the church's 3 as to them. »r no forbear- -all who call if the church, I may not be larty includes religionists ol to religion, as le, with thest" lave hitherto ical purposes gainst \is,— il such a Ibrmidublc coalition be met by no unity of feehng, purpose, or action in ourscIveH, our dcleat is certain. But, though the majority of tiie Roman Catholic Lower Canadian members have iiitherto acteil unjustly in coml)ining and voting with the enemies of the Church of England, I am far from assuming that they may not yet become sensible both of the injustice tiiey have committed agalnt^t us, and of the peril in which they will place their own endowments in aid. ing in the spoliation of ours. They may yet be open to the plain dictates of justice and common sense, and may com- pensate for their past mistake, by forbearing to take any part in the legislation upon our reserves, or by taking such a part as will shew that they will not f^anction even tacitly such a gross act of spoliation^ even though the sufl'erers may be men of other doctrines, and opposed to them on many religious points. To be just, even to an enemy, is a noble and exalt- ed principle, which we may well trust holds a place in the bosom of many of our Koman Catholic fellcvv-subjects. Still, whatever course they may thiidc proper to pursue, whether hostile, neutral, or friendly, there is but one course incum- bent upon, or available to its, namely, union among ourselves, and energy in the defence of our church's endowments. Some cluirchmen arc weak enough to say, give up the reserves, if it were only for ^^f'r/tvj sake, Such ])eace would be too dearly purchased. And what right have wo to sur- render our children's inher'ance for the sake of our present comlbrt, and to escape the trouble of defending it? The living generation of churchmen are but the trustees of the church's rights and property ; and they should be faithful to that sa. cred trust. But will there be peace, even if the reserves be surrendered ? Will not religion always have its enemies, and the church, too, for its religion sake ? If '^ic reserves belong to the church, to yield them up were wrong j and arc we to do evil that good may come ? Of a like nature is another argument used by some — viz., Tliat, while churchmen have their reserves, they will not exert themselves j when they know that they have nothing else, they will learn to support their church with proper liberality : the church will, in reality, become more prosper- ous. Now this is just the same sort of argument you might use for burning your neighbour's house down — namely, that it would probably cause him to redouble his own industry to retrieve his misfortune, and the sympathy of his friends would more than make up his loss. You wish to see the 10 4 : church prosper, — therefore deprive lier of more than half her maintenance ! ! I cannot understand either the logic or the charity of this argument. Such churchmanship is too refined for my comprehension : so let it pass. But, indeed; so far from securing jpcacc, I am prepared to affirm that the alienation of the Protestant Church Reserves will be the turning point, upon which is staked the peace and integrity of these at present happy and prosperous provinces. if Protestant church endowments are wrong, and by all means to be extinguished, so are Roman Catholic endow- ments. If the one be taken away, the secularization of the other will be demanded, and justly, by every Protestant. Let it not be supposed that it is a question merely of Church of England property which is at issue : it is a larger and more general question — tlie good or alleged evil — the permanence or abolition of all religious state endowments. If ours go — theirs must go : the principle will have been affirmed — the war will have been declared. While the various religious bodies of the country are per- mitted to hold their respective endowments unattacked and uninjured, we are not disposed to look with jealousy upon the shares enjoyed by others; they came by theirs in the same manner as ourselves ; they hold by the same tenure ; but that any government, or faction in a slate, should be allowed to alienate the endowments of every religious body but one ; and that one a church,whose preponderance we deem inimical to the interests of pure religion,— that such a body should be maintained in possession of vast state endowments, with all the exclusive power and means of propagandism which such wealth will give — this is a perversion of justice which will not be tolerated, — which no principle of charity or religion requires us to tolerate. But in the issue there will be this marked difference — the Romanists \\\\\ not passively yield up their church's rights and properties. They are a united body ; they acknow- ledge no bond of union so abiding and binding 'is their church. For it and its endowments they will sacrifice everything ; C/olonial union — British connexion — civil peace: and, loom- ing through the clouds of this portentous struggle, we may see the fearful forms of political convulsion, intestine anar- chy and strife, — the dislocation of the whole frame of our social fabric — the probable disraeml' rment of our colonial empire. Let us not be lulled into a fake security bv the dela^ i 11 than half ie logic or pip is too re pa red to Reserves [peace and iprovinces. ind by all ic endovv- tion of the !stant. Let iChurch of and more ;rmanence ours go — • Irmed — the ry are per- acked and by upon the |n the same tenure j but be allowed dy but one ; em inimical y should be nents, with iism which slice which charity or ifference — r church's 5y acknow- eir church, iverything j and, loom- J, we may stine anar- ime of our ur colonial or apparent reluctance of the present ministry to bring on the question — this is mere policy ; it suited them a little while ago to push it forward : it suits them now to hold back: but are we to be fooled by their subtlety, or be thrown off our guard by their apparent forbearance] Be- fore another anniversary the question may have been »'efer- red to the country by a general election. Let churchmen meet the evil simply by the constitutional rights which they possess : let them do their duty at the crisis : fore-warned is fore-armed. Let them act as with one purpose, and give their support and votes to no man, be his political creed or principles what they may, who will not do all in his power to preserve to the church her property and endow- ments. Let us do this ; and trust to Divine providence for the issue ; and if we are to lose, at the least, let us be able to reflect that we have contended with honour, and have not been vanquished through our own supincnes!i« or neglect. the delay