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Las diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthoda. errata to pelura, 3n A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 S 6 -.1 IB COPIES OF LETTERS, &c. / / J y HEAD IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCJL l(f / • A THE DEBATE UPON THE CLERGY RESERVE BILL, JANUARY 17, 18-10: ©"S" '2'iaiIS MOETOWBI^ISEjII IPo ESo EiIE ISIL^(2'WIIBia22i TORONTO: raiNTED BY R. STANTON, 164, KING'STREET. M I) C C C X L . LETTERS, (fee. From Governor Simcoe, to the Right Honourable H. DUNDAS. Dated, June 2, 1791. Addressed to The Right Honourable. H. DUNDAS. I HOLn it to be indispensably necessary tbat a lilshop should be immediately established in Upper Canada. The State propriety of some prescribed form of public worship, politically considered/arises from the necessity there is of preventing enthusiastic and fimatic preach- ers from acquiring that superstitious hold of the minds of the multitude, which persons of such a description may pervert, and are generally inclined to pervert, to the establishment of their own undue consequence in the State, and often to meditate, and not unfrequently to turn such an ascendancy to its injury and destruction: and this prescribed form of worship becomes more or less necessary as the minds of the people are more or less susceptible of superstitions, and as attempts to turn them from the national form of church govern- ment are more or less prevalent ; those who shall be bred in solitude and seclusion, which the first settlers must necessarily in a great measure be, and to whom, perhaps, the stated periods of public worship are the only ones which, in their meetings and associations.they ehall become acquainted and sympathise with each other ; such a description of men will be the fittest instruments for the mischief-making enthusiasm of the sectaries to work upon, and this at a period when we know that all men read, and only one description of people write, and when the aim of the sectaries is avowedly to destroy the national establishment. At this very moment, we see Episcopacy happily intro- duced, and introducing into all the United States ; nor in parliament, in the Canada bill, have we seen any exception taken to the Episcopal function, but to the admission of the Bishop to a seat in the Legislative Council, which, it is to be hoped, while there is an esta- blishment, the wisdom of this country will always insist upon. There are duties of office in respect to the laity of the Church of England which a Bishop only can perform. It is of the most serious importance that his power and supervision over the Clergy should prevent or censure clerical offences, and inculcate in all ranks and descriptions of people a sober and an industrious religious and conscientious spirit, which will be the best security that government can have for its own internal preservation. Schools and seminaries of education should be created ; these should be un- der the superintendence of the Bishop ; without this head, the levelling spirit would naturally infect the very teachers of the Episcopal church, and which, at an after period, the introduction of the Bishop may not have sufficient weight to counteract. In short, an 5 Episcopal church without a risidcnt Bisliop seems to be an absurdity, as well as a contradiction in terms; and therefore, we know, that in the earliest periods, the Bishop preceded and established the settlement of the church in his foreign missions; and it is to be supposed that, while the distinction between the clergy and laity shall exist, while a body shall be set apart for religious duties, while an Episcopal church shall be established by law, it is to be supposed, that such a national church will not for a moment be sufiered to remain in our distant colonies, deprived of all its useful qualities, civil and ecclesiastical, and exhibiting a spectacle of degradation and inferiority in that very colony where the British Constitution has been more eminently and effectually introduced. (Signed) J. G. SIMCOE. } Extract from a Memoir. In regard to the Episcopal establishment, it is impos- sible for me to be more anxious that such an arrange- ment should take place, than I have uniformly shewn myself to be, and that I firmly believe the present to be the critical moment in which that system, so inter- woven and connected with the monarchical foundation of our government, may be productive of the most permanent and extensive benefits, in preserving the connexion between Great Britain and her colonies. The particular mode in which 1 conceive an Episcopal establishment may not only add to the general interest (] which Cireat Britain is necessitated to maintain throughout the Uriited States, hut strikingly connect into one system, the most powerful colonies. Extract from a letter to His Grace the Archhislw^) of C-ANTERHURY, (Dr. MooRK.) Wolford Lodge, December 30th, 1700. My Lord, Aorreeably to the offer which I made to your Grace, when I had the honour of some conversation with you, relative to the establishment of E[)iscoj)acy in Upper Canada, I take this opportunity of laying before you, as concisely as possible, my opinions on this very importajit subject. I must beg leave to p emise, that I am decisively of opinion, that a regular Episcopal establishment, sub- ordinate to the primacy of Great Britain, is absolutely necessary in any extensive colony which this country means to peserve, and in particular, if the advan- tages which she aims at, are expected to be derived and increased proportionably to its degree of popula- tion. But in regard to a colony in Upper Canada, which is to be blessed with the laws, and the upright administration of them, which distinguishes and enno- bles the country, and which colony is peculiarly situated amongst a variety of republics, every establish- ment of Church and State that upholds the distinction of ranks, and lessens ibo undue vvoiglitoCtlicdciiiorTntic influence, must be indis|)ensal»ly introduced, and will no doubt, in tbe bands of Great Britain, bold out a purer model of government, in a practical form, tban has been expatiated upon in all tlio tbeorctic reverie.^ of self-named pbilosopbcrs. The neglect of this principle of overturning repub- licanism in former periods, by giving support nnd assistance to those causes which are perpetually offering themselves, to. effect so necessary tin object, is much to be lamented ; but it is my duty to be as sr)licitou3 as possible, that thf?y may now have their due influence, if I wish the proposed government to he a pernianent one ; and I am happy to feel the utmost conviction, that the best mode of population, and the best line of connexion, with the United States, is combined in giving due support to that church establishment, which I consider as necessary to pro- mote the national religion, of which I am a sincere and humble believer, and to maintain the true and venera- l>le constitution of my country. (Signed) J. G. SIMCOE. Extract of a Letter from Mr. Secretary Dundas, to Lord Dorchester, dated Whitehall, IGth Sep- tember, 1791. As there does not, at present, appear to be sufficient provision for the support of the Protestant Clergy, either in Upper Canada or Lower Canada, the coir 8 loiition of tvllics li.'is, luidcr llic Act of the iircsont year, been siilVerecl lo continue. But your Lord.-iliij) will understand, that it is not wislied to continue tins l)iirden longer than is neces- sary for the competent ])rovision of the clergy. If, therefore, the proprietors of lands, liable to the pay- ment of tylhes, shall l)e induced to concur with your Lordship's reconnnendation, in providing a sufHcient fund for clearing the reserved lands, and for building parsonage houses on the several parsonages which may be endowed under the Act of the last session of Parliarnent, and at the same time [)rovide an inter- mediate fund for the maintenance of the Clergy, during the period that will be required for the purpose of .so clearinof these reserved lands, the obligation of tythes may then cease. 1 have diought it necessary to explain this subject minutely to your Lordshij), that by making it under- stood among the proprietors of these lands, they may perceive the means which are in their own power to relieve themselves from a burthen which is naturally irksome to them. Extract of a Lett o- from Lieutenant-Governor Bimcoe to Mr. Bond, (our Charge d' Affaires at Wash- ington.) Quebec, May 7th, 1792. I TAKE the opportunity of transmitting the late Act of Parliament by which Upper Canada has been severed T^ from tlio liowor rroviiioo, and wliicli may he consi- dered us the ]\l(igtin dhdrta under vvliich tliat colony will iinmcdiatcly be ailniitlcd to all tlic privileges that Englishmen enjoy, and he confederated and united, I earnestly [)ray and believe, for ever ulih (jrcat Britain. The British Parliament, it rn;iy he observed, has only retained to itself the jjovver and authority for the regulation of commerce betwcon foreign countries, and the respective Provinces, the net produce of revenues so raised to be applied by the colonial legis- laturcH to the uses of the respective colony — the King and Parliament, by these means, have provided as much as human foresight can (h), tluit industry may not be defeated of its honest acquisition. It is to be observed, that the British Parliament, (in the 42d clause), while it secures, beyond the pos- sibility of any j)rovincial interference, the protection and endowment which the civil compact of the British constitution affords to the established church, and that in a manner the least burthensome to the subject, by the King's benevolence in the allotment of lands for that purpose, at the same time it as efiPectunlly pro- vides for the security of the natural rights of Chris- tians to worship God in their own way, by reserving to itself the sole power of giving legal authority to any Acts which may respect or interfere with such mode of worship, and it offers, as a pledge of its jus- tice in this essential point, the reasonable toleration which has, for such a long space, existed under the 10 government of Groat Britain, and which is too well known by all who have been so happy as to have been born under its authority, to require the necessity of illustration. Extract from a Letter from Licutenant-G overnor SiMCOE, to the Right Honourable H. Dundas. Navy Hall, Niagara, November, 1792. I HAVE no reasons to alter those opinions on this sub- ject which I humbly submitted to the consideration of His Majesty's Ministers previous to my leaving. Europe. I need not, I am sure. Sir, observe, that the best security that all ju«t government has for its exist- ence, is founded on the morality o' the people, and that such morality ha^ no true basis but when placed upon religious principles; it is, therefore, that I I ave always been extremely anxious, both from political as well as more worthy motives, that the Church of England should be essentially established in Upper Canada; and I must be permitted to say. Sir, that! have received the greatest satisfaction from your expression "that you did not think that government complete without a Protestant Bishop," As I con- ceived such an institution necessary to the support of the experiment that is now making, whether the British government cannot support itself by its own superiority in this distant part of the world, I beg, T Sir, to observe to you, that the sources from \yhence a protestant clergy shall arise, seem totally to be pre- vented by the want of the Episcopal function in this Province. On the one hand, the distance and situa- tion of Nova Scotia, render it less practicable that any candidates for ordination should have recourse to the Bishop of that Diocese, than to those of England or Ireland; and, on the other, those who have been ordained by the Bishops in the United States are, by an Act of Parliament, incapacitated from performing any duty in Upper Canada; but did the situation of the Province, in this respect, degrading as it would be to the Church of England, stand merely in the privation of its offices and benefits, it might not be of such infinite political importance, as the room that is hereby made for the introduction of e\ery kind of sectaries, many of whom are hostile, and none conge- nial to the British constitution. I am perfectly aware of the great necessity that there is of guarding against any unnecessary expense in the further establishment of this country, yet I can- not but consider that, it would be the worst and most disabling of all economy, to lose the great opportunity that is now open of forming the character, temper, and manners, of the people of this infant colony to British habits, and to British principles, and this I think may be done comparatively at little expense. — The great body of Puritans in America, however mis- represented, draw their origin from the church of England, and are nearer to it in their religious belief ]2 and customs, than tliey are to any other sects or reli- gious descriptions. The state of poverty in which they must, for some time, remain, after their emigration, will naturally prevent them from the possihility of supporting their ministers by pubhc subscriptions; in the mean while the government has in its power immediately to pro- vide for any protestant clergyman, in the separate townships, by giving them a reasonable landed pro- perty in perpetuity for himself and family, and entrust- ing him with the care of that seventh which is to be reserved for the protestant clergy. Under these cir- cumstances, it is probable that the sons of respectable settlers would offer themselves for ordination, and though they might not, in the first instance, have the learning of the European clergy, their habits and morals might as essentially promote the interest of the community. It is by these means. Sir, that the influence of the protestant clergy may extend and increase with the rapid growth and value of those lands which are reserved for their maintenance, and which, without a due attention being paid in this respect, will naturally be considered, by the people at large, as detrimental to the colony, and may, at no very distant period of time, become a temptation to those who shall be hos- tile to the union of U[)per Canada with Great Britain. 13 Extract of a Despatch from the Honourable H. Dunda^, to Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe. May 23rd, 1793. I WISH much to receive the plan which has been approved for the location of townships, and 1 trust that in making the reserves for the Church and the Crov/n, sufficient attention has been paid to the late Act, particularly that part which provides that they shall be, as nearly as the circumstances and the nature of the case will admit, of the like quantity as the lands in respect of which the same are so allotted and appropriated, and shall be, as nearly as the same can be estimated at the time of making such grant, equal in value to the seventh part of the lands so granted ; and I am the more anxious on this score, because you add, that the plan has been directed to be carried into execution. From the Duke of Portland, to the Bishop of Quebec. Whitehall, lilh Nov'r. 1704. My Lord, I have received your Lordship's letter to Mr. Secretary Dundas, of 16th September last, giving an account of the completion of your Lordship's first visitation of your Diocese; and I beg leave to express my approbation, both of the early and earnest attention paid by your Lordship to the duties of your important station. 14 The state of the Churches in Upper Canada, should certainly receive every degree of attention, which m:iy enable them to proceed hand in hand with the re^ii'ar and progressive improvement of a Province, uhich at this moment can only be looked upon as in its infancy. In consequence of your Lordship's representations, I shall certainly solicit His Majesty's commands, that a sum not exceeding ^500, (which may be extended as occasion shall require) may be proposed to be added to the estimate of Upper Canada for the ensuing year, towards enabling His Majesty's subjects in that Pro- vince to erect such Churches as may be necessary for divine worship. In doing this, I shall trust with the most perfect confidence to your Lordshi[)'s exertions, and to the good disposition of those in favour of whom the grant is proposed, that they will render the same as effectual as possible, by adding their personal aid and assistance, to the utmost of their power and ability. It will be for Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, and your Lordship, upon communication with each other, to determine where the want of a Church is the most urgent, and consequently where the first is to be erected. In doing this, your Lordship will of course take care not to incur any expense in parts without the treaty line, our possession of which may depend on circumstances. This consideration, your Lordship observes, will render some of the expenses you propose unnecessary. 1 15 I should likewise be induced to recommend, that in the erection of the Churches, the immediate exigen- cies of the case should, for the present, only be con- sulted ; every thing beyond that, should be left to the future prosperity and wealth of the Province to exe- cute. I am very sorry to observe, that the dearness of the necessaries of life in Upper Canada, seem to require a greater income than would certainly other- wise be necessary for an incumbent. At the same time, there cannot be a shadow of a doubt, relative to the construction of the Canada Act, which annexes to Rectories and Parsonages erected under the same, the enjoyment of all the rights, profits and emoluments, belonging to a Parsonage or Rectory in England, which must necessarily include tythes. Under these circumstances, it is unnecessary for me to add any thing further, than that, with the existing provisions made by the above-mentioned Act, for the Church of England in both the Canadas, I trust that a small temporary salary from government, with such allow- ances as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel may be induced to grant, would be sufficient for the comfortable maintenance of such incumbents as it may be requisite to send from hence, for the due performance of the ecclesiastical duties of the Pro- vince of Upper Canada. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. &c. (Signed) PORTLAND. 16 i Extract of a Letter from the Duke of Portland, to Lord Dorchester, dated Whitehall, 6th A^yril, 1795. The very ample provision which, in process of time, the church lands will aflbrd to the Protestant Clergy, will doubtless, at a future period, render the percep- tion of tythes unnecessary, and it therefore becomes a very material object to adopt such measures as may tend most directly, and immediately, to render them, as well as the crown lands, in some degree produc- tive. With this view, I submit to your Lordship's consideration, whether it may not be proper to form a Committee of the Executive Council, for the care and management of the Church and Crown lands, who should be authorised and instructed to let the same to the possessors of adjoining lots, or other persons, for terms of years, or for lives, on certain reserved rents, to be respectively received and managed for the benefit of the Crown, and the future Incum- bents of the Rectories which shall be established in respect of such lands, pursuant to the Canada Act. The Church and Crown lands will of course become of some consideration, in proportion as the lots adjoining to them become cultivated, especially to the holders of the adjoining lots ; and it seems highly proper that some competent, respectable, and responsible mode of managing them, should be adopted without delay. I am therefore desirous that your Lordship should consult with His Majesty's Law Officers on this subject, as well as with the Bishop of 17 duobec, as far as the Church lands are c(;nceriio(l, and report to me, for His Mcjcstv's information, the result of your deUberations. Extracts of a Letter to the Lord BUhoji of dvunKc, from Governor Simcoe, dated Kingston, Upper Canada^ April 30, 1795. Perhaps the constitution given to Upper Canadn, however late, fornns the singular exception to that want of preventive wisdom which has characterized the present times. The people of this Province enjoy the forms, as well as the privileges, of the Britisli constitution. They have the means of governing themselves, and having nothing to ask, must ever remain a part of the British empire : provided they shall become sufficiently capable and enlightened to under- stand their relative situation, and to manage their own power to the public interest. Liberal education seems to me, therefore, to be indispensably necessary : and the completion of it, by the establishment of an Univer- sity in the capital of the country — the residence of the Governor and the Council, the Bishop, the heads of the law, and of the general quality of the inhabitants, conse- quent to the seat of government — in my apprehension, would be most useful to inculcate just principles, habits and manners, into the rising generation ; to coalesce the different customs of the various descriptions of set- 18 h t tiers, emigrants from the old provinces or Europe, into one form. In short, from distinct parts and ancient prejiidices, to new form, as it were, and establish one nation — and thereby to strengthen the union with Great Britain, and to preserve a lasting objdlence to His Majesty's authority. The income contemplated for such an establishment is certainly, of itsi If, too contemptible to be withheld from the prosecuting of so great an object on any views of expense. I natu- rally should wish that the Clergy lequisite for ofHces in the University, in the first instance, should be Englishmen, if possible — (conforming therein to Mr. Secretary Dundas' opinion, and indeed, in this respect, to my own) — but as in an object of such magnitude no explanation can be too minute, which fairly and distinctly elucidates these points, which ought not to be misunderstood, I only refer to your Lordship's slight experience of the habits and manners of the American settlers, to say how very different they are from those of Great Britain ; and how unlikely it is for Clergymen, educated in England, with English families and propensities — habituated in every situa- tion to a greater degree of refinement and comfort than can be found in a new country, or possibly any where without the precincts of Great Britain— how unlikely it is that such persons should obtain that influence with their parishioners which may essentially promote the objects of their mission. In thje, infancy of such a government as that of Upper Canada, and in the general indisposition of these times to all i 1§ pe, into ancient ish one )n with ence to m plated jilf, too uting of I natu- •r ofldces ould be n to Mr. respect, ignitude lirly and ht not to ordship's •s of the thev are kely it is English jry sit.ua- comfort sibly any lin— how tain that ssentially e. infancy lada, and es to all restraint, it seems to be of peculiar importance to prevent the public interest, both in Church and State, from suflfering through any ill-will or disregard which the King's subjects may bear to those })ers{)ns who are in any manner concerned in its administration. On the other hand, I am persuaded if, at the outset, a few pious, learned men, of just zeal and primitive manners, shall be sent to this country, with sufficient inducement to make them support this honourable banishment with cheerfulness — and that in the first instance, your Lordship shall not too strenuously insist upon learning as a qualification for ordination, where there are evident marks of religious disposition and proofs of morality — I am confident the risino- generation will be brought up competently learned, and properly endued with religion and loyally ; and it is probable that they may at least be equal to those of Connecticut, in this continent, whose Clergy are, in general, inferior to none in those points of learning and of acquisition in the dead langunges, which mny be generally considered as the necessary materiuLs and instruments of their sacred profession. In short, my Lord, if the maintenance of religion and moralit}? be merely considered, in a commercial light, as so much merchandize, the bounty which I have proposed, and most earnestly implore may be for a while extended to it, will augment that produce in which the union of this country with Great Britain, and the preserva- tion of His Majesty's sovereignty, may ultimately depend. I am almost ^shamed of using this meta- 20 phorical language, but it is that of the age. There has nothing, in my late progress, given me equal uneasiness with the general application of all ranks of the most loyal inhabitants of the Province, that I would obtain for them Churches and Ministers. They say that the rising generation is rapidly returning to barbarism. They state that the Sabbath, so wisely set apart for devotion, is literally unknown to their chil- dren, who are busily employed in searching for amuse- ments in which they may consume that day. And it is of serious consideration, that on the approach of the settlements of the United States to our frontiers, par- ticularly on the St. Lawrence, these people, who by experience have found that Schools and Churches are essential to their ra{)id establishment, may probably allure many of our most respectable settlers to emigrate to them, while in this respect we suffer a disgraceful deficiency. . - . A principal foundation of the wise and necessary friendship of Great Britain with these their legitimate descendants, I have heretofore pointed out as to be deduced from the most intimate union and reconcile- ment between the Enghsh Episcopal church, and that of the independent form of worihip, used in the New England provinces, an emanation from the English Episcopal church, as all their authors avow, and prin- cipally originating from the harsh measures of the secular power which the English church once exer- cised, but which is now no more. Though' my ideas, on this subject, my Lord, were probably misunder- !J1 stood, and the lukewarm spirit uf the times, had 1 been even called on tor their explanation, would, doubtless, have slighted my reasons us merely struck out in the heat of imagination, and not, as they are, the sober deductions of much thought and of personal observation, yet nothing has ha[)[)ened since I left England, in the least to invalidate, to my own con- ception, the policy of the measures I then proposed : and as far as may be now in the power of his Majes- ty's Ministers, I most earnestly hope that what remains may be effected — that is, by giving the means of pro- per education in this province, both in its rudiments and in its completion, that from ourselves we may raise up a loyal, and in due progress, a learned Clergy, and which will speedily tend to unite not only the Puritans within the |)rovince, but the Clergy of the Episcopal church, however dispersed, to consider with affection the parent state, to Ibrm, corroborate and unite, within the United States, that powerful body of ])eople, who naturally mus" prefer the alliance of Great Britain to that of France, who are mostly mem- bers of the Episcopal church, and on all sides, to bring within its pale in Upper Canada, a very great body of sectaries who, in my judgment, as it were, offer them- selves to its protection and re-union. These objects would be materially promoted by an University in Upper Canada, which might, in due progress, acquire such a character as to become the place of education to many persons beyond the extent of the King's dominions. «2 If I recollect, my Lord, Parliament voted jC20,000 for the erection of the University proposed by Bishop Bcrkclcv, in Bermudas. The ohject, not to speak disrospcctfully of so truly respeclal)l(! a prelate, was certainly of trivial importance to what I now propose. The lal)our8 of the society for the pro[)ai5ation of the gospel, arc visionary, as applicable to the conversion of the American Indians in their present state, but would be of most essential benefit by promoting an University, which, if placed in the part I meditate, would, in its turn, have great influence in civilizing the Indians, and, what is of more importance, those who corrupt them. The Episcopal Clergy in Great Britain, from pious motives, as well as policy, are materially interested that the church should increase in this province. I will venture to prophecy its pre- servation depends upon an University being erected therein. The great supports of true learning against the minute, the plebeian, the mechanical philosophy, which, in the present day, from the successful or problem- atical experiments of ill professors in national inqui- ries, has assumed to itself the claim of dictating in religion and morality, and in consequence now threat- ens mankind with ruin and desolation. The Univer- sities of England, I make no doubt, would contribute to the planting of a scion from their respectable stock in this distant colony. In short, my Lord, I have not the smallest hesitation in saying, that I believe if a Protestant Episcopal University ehould be proposed 4 A ,000 shop [)cak was >pose. >f the ruion , but fif an dilate, ilizing those Great ;y, are icrease Is pre- 3rected 23 to be erected, even in the United States, the Briti'-li nation would most liberally suhsr ribo to the under- taking. »■ I am, therefore, tho more authori.sod to make this statement to your Lordship, and most carnoslly to hope, under God, that you may be able to coniplcto this desirable work in this province, which my various avocations do not permit me to undertake, with duo vigour and perseverance, and which, as it seems most peculiarly allotted to the station of the first Protestant Bishop of Quebec, so I hope, that it may be reserved to be carried into execution by the abilities and piety of your Lordship. J. G. SIMCOE. nst the , which, roblem- i inqui- iting in threat- Univer- ntribute tie stock lave not Bve if a •roposed Extract of a Letter from Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, to he Lord Bishojp of GivEBEC. ■ • Navy Hall, October 16, 1795. My views in respect to an University, are totally unchanged, they are on a solid basis, and may or may hot be complied with, as my superiors sha.. hink proper, but shall certainly appear as my system to the judgment of posterity. 94 From 1). ^V. Smith, Esquire, to Governor Simcos. A't gara, 26th October, 1795. Sir, I enclose a draft report on the reserves, agreeably to your Excellency's directions, in order to receive your further directions thereon, that it may be finished in the manner your Excellency may approve of. I return the Duke of Portland's extract, and am cleLirly of opinion, that it would be worth government's \vhilc to increase the Executive Council of Upper Canada, so that a sufficient committee might be formed, and assembled continuall''% for the care and manage- ment of the Church and Crown lands, which I am persuaded will be, in a few years, of sufficient magni- tude to require a district office, and the constant occu- pation of a principal Clerk; and I think if they are let for terms of years, or lives, and not for too short periods at first, they will become of great benefit to the Crown, and the future Incumbents, by the time that rectories may be generally established. A com- mittee of the Council, would certainly be the most competent, respectable, and responsible mode of managing them, and under their min^try, (the profits being received, as at present, by the Receiver General) will certainly sooner become an ample provision for the Protestant Clergy. The expense on the increase of three Councilloni would not exceed the expense of an office for the business ; and it will b", highly satisfactory to the people in general, should the period 25 of their becoming valuable render the perception of tylhes unnecessary, — the popular argument being, if the Clergy will not attend our flocks while our tenths are small, and withhold themselves from us till our exertions have made them valuable, we shall pay our tythes with a much worse grace, than if our Rectors had shared our labours progressively, so that the improvements of our children and our land might go hand in hand, and that they '-.'ight be taught to thank lod for enjoying the fruits of the earth in due season. I am, with very great respect And esteem, your Excellency's Faithful, Humble Servant, ; y (Signed) D. W. SMITH. His Excellency. ' ' Lieutenant-General Simcok. ) . •t - t- Governor Simcoe to the Duke of Portland. ', Upper Canada, iVavy ^rt//, '^ '• '■ -'■' ; November 8th, 1795. T CERTIANLY did Hot, in the most distant manner, wish to limit the grace of the Crown, either at present or in future ; but I conceive it of the greatest conse- quence, that by some declaration or other the Crown lands should be generally understood as never to be alienated from public purposes, as otherwise they may, at no very distant period, be a great incentive to revolt. 26 The Church lands also may fall under the same pre- dicament, unless an efficient Clergy shall be provided to exercise the proper functions, and to obtain an in- fluence among the people. I beg to be permitted to state to your Grace, that I do not consider it possible to render the perception of tythes in this province useiul to the Clergy, or pal- atable to the people. The experiment, I am persuaded, would be most dangerous — what effect the example of such measures as Lord Dorchester may think proper' to take in Lower Canada may have on this proivince I do not foresee ; but as a measure unknown to the American settler, and originating in this country, I do not think it practicable to be carried into effect. I have revolved this business much m my mind, and I beg to state to your Grace, that if his Majesty's Minis- ters are determined to enforce the perception of tythes, the sooner it be undertaken the better ; and I think the mode by which tho province might best be induced to emancipate itself from this most g levious of all bur- thens, would be by an Act of the legislature, declaring each township or parish, respectively, free from tythes, on the inhabitants thereof affording a certain assistance in clearing part of the lands on which the Clergyman should reside, and contributing a certain portion of labour to the erection of a Parsonage and Church. ■ (Signed) ' J. G. SIMCOE.. To Hi$ Gract the Duke or Portland. ' ■ ''^ ' * ' 27 le pre- •ovided an in- ce, that ception or pal- 's u ad ed, imple of L propel* Toivince 'n to the itry, I do jffect. I id, and I r's Minis- of ty thes, think the iduced to f all bur- declaring )m tythes, atssistance lergyman )ortion of Church. ilCOE. ■ : Extract frofn a Letter} from Governor Simcoe, to the Lord Bishop of Quebec. York, 25th February, 1796. I HAVE scarcely the smallest hope of this government being supported in the manner which I cannot but think pro[)er for the national interests, and commen- surate with its established constitution. In particular, I have no idea that an University will be established, though I am daily confirmed in its necessity. I lament these events, from the duty I owe to my King and country, and have only to guard, that no opinions of mine be interpreted to promise beneficial effects, when the adequate causes from which they must originate, are suffered to perish, or are withheld. ^ ... * (Signed) J. G. SIMCOE. Extract from a Letter to the Honourable Mr. Windham, 8^. d^. 8^0. ' \" Exeter, J-^Hl ZO, ISQQ. Doctor Mountain can give you the best accounts of the existing state of the country, but I am still of opinion to anglicise the Canadas, our religion is the most serious object, and demands support; and 1 cannot but promise myself, that you will afford the Bishop the opportunity of stating his ideas on this important subject. (Signed) J. G. SIMCOE. 38. From Governor Simcoe, to the Duke of Portland. Upper Canada, York, June 20, 179G. By the Attorney General's opinion, it seems probable that the Bishop, or his Commissary, can license Ministers who dissent from the Church of England, to perform marriages. If this opinion can be acted upon, I shall endeavour to counteract the union of the Dis- senters, by separately enjoining their several Pastors to take out licenses. In the mean time, I hope your Grace will take the subject into your serious consid- eration, and give such directions as may seem expe- dient, before the meeting of the next Provincial Parliament. I have foreseen this event : and on the probability of an improper association against the national Church, did I state my ideas of the propriety of establishing, so fast as possible, Clergymen of the Church of Eng- land throughout the Province. It is obvious that the next claim of the Dissenters would be, a partition of the sevenths set apart for the national Clergy. To enable your Grace more readily to compare the fal- lacy of the petition with the Marriage Act, I beg to transmit to vour Grace, the Acts of the four Sessions of this Legislature. . , .,. . ., . • .,'. ■' (Signed) J. G. SIMCOE. • His Grace the Duke or Portland, i'V- 'AK'^Xi\>> ') t i\-'i>ti%im 29 Extract from a Letter from the Duke uf Portland to M. General Simcoe, dated Whitehall, 22nd June, 1796. After what I have urged to you in my despatch of ■, upon the subject of a suitable provision being made by the colony for the maintenance of its own Clergy, it is scarcely necessary for me remind you that the allowances given by the government of this country must only be considered to be temporary, and as aids and inducements to the several parishes to devise some means of providing for their own Clergy, until such times as the Church lands shall be- come sufficiently productive for that purpose : but as it has been determined to abandon every idea of any payment in the nature of tytlies, I cannot too often repeat to you, that it appears to me of the most ex- treme importance, that no time should be lost in fixing upon some mode of securing a suitable maintenance for the officiating Clergy of the province, in the case above specified. 30 West Niagara, 1 797. Extract from "An Act to obviate the objections that might arise from a clerical error in some of His Majesty's letters patent of grant, lately issued entitled 'An Act for making more effectual provision for the government of the Province of Quebec, in North America, and to make further provision for the government of the said P* »> rovince. "And that every such deed sVa^l be, to all intents " and purposes, as valid and eflfectui', in securing to " the subject the lands thereby granted, and to His " Majesty, all the rights, conditions, reservations, limi- " tations and restrictions, and to the said Clergy, the " rights aforesaid, as if no such clerical error had " crept into it, but as if such deed had been perfected * in the word ' Clergy,' where the rights of the Church ' are intended to be secured, instead of the word " Clergyman," wherever it occurs, any act, ordinance " or law, to the contrary in anywise, notwithstanding." A 'M 7. ns that of His issued » [Tectual rovince I make the said I intents uring to to His ►ns, limi- -rgy, the •ror had )erfected 3 Church ;he word )rdinance jtanding." •