Part 2 (1/2)

It is evident that this hatred of Russell was carried across the Atlantic, and that Broas regarded as his ally In the Haldined, ”An Irish Roman Catholic” was circulated

It assailed Brown fiercely for the support he had given to Russell, and for the general course of the _Globe_ in regard to Catholic questions Russell was described as atte limbs of ten millions of Catholics the chains that our own O'Connell rescued us froe Broould help to rivet these spiritual chains round the souls of Irishion for which Ireland had wept oceans of blood; those who voted for Broould be prostrating themselves like cowardly slaves or beasts of burden before the avowed eneion and their God ”You will think of the gibbets, the triangles, the lis of the past

You will reflect on the struggles of the present against the new penal bill You will look forward to the dangers, the triuo to the polls and vote against George Brown”

This was not the only handicap hich Brown entered on his first election contest There was no cordial syovernovernment

The dissatisfied Radicals rallied to the support of Willia appeal to the hearts of Reformers, and Mackenzie was elected

In his election address Brown declared hiious equality, the separation of Church and State, and the diversion of the clergy reserves from denominational to educational purposes ”I am in favour of national school education free froe to every child in the province I desire to see efficient grammar schools established in each county, and that the fees of these institutions and of the national university should be placed on such a scale as will bring a high literary and scientific education within the reach of men of talent in any rank of life” He advocated free trade in the fullest sense, expressing the hope that the revenue from public lands and canals, with strict economy, would enable Canada ”to dispense with the whole custoovern as Baldwin and Lafontaine were at the head of affairs

In the suned owing to a resolution introduced by William Lyon Mackenzie, for the abolition of the Court of Chancery The resolution was defeated, but obtained the votes of a arded their action as an indication of want of confidence in himself He dropped soer considerations He was conservative in his views, and he regarded the Mackenzie vote as a sign of a flood of radicalism which he felt powerless to stay

Shortly afterwards Lafontaine retired He, also, was conservative in his te of Baldwin and Lafontaine from the scene helped to clear the way for Mr Brown to take his own course, and it was not long before the open breach occurred When Mr Hincks becaed that the time had come for him to speak out He felt that he overneneral election was approaching, and he thought that the issue of separation of Church and State must be clearly placed before the country In an article in the _Globe_ entitled ”The Crisis,” it was declared that the time for action had coious equality; they could not afford to lose another It was contended that the Upper Canadian Reformers suffered by their connection with the Lower Canadian party Complaint was made that the Hon E P Tache had advised Ro the secularization of the clergy reserves, had described the advocates of secularization as ”pharisaical brawlers,” and had said that the Church of England need not fear their hostility, because the ”contra-balancing power” of the Lower Canadians would be used to protect the Anglican Church This, said the _Globe_, was a challenge which the friends of religious equality could not refuse Later on, Mr Brorote a series of letters to Mr Hincks, setting forth fully his grounds of coovernment: failure to refor with the secularization of the clergy reserves, weakness in yielding to the demand for separate schools All this he attributed to Roman Catholic or French-Canadian influence

CHAPTER V

THE CLERGY RESERVES

The clergy reserves were for itation in Canada They had their origin in a provision of the Constitutional Act of 1791, that there should be reserved for the y” in Upper and Lower Canada ”a quantity of land equal in value to a seventh part of grants that had been ht be ht be erected and endowed according to the establishislatures were to be allowed to vary or repeal these enactislation was not to receive the royal assent before it had been laid before both Houses of the iy” apply to any other body than the Church of England? A vast a was expended on this question; but there can be little doubt that the intention to establish and endow the Church of England was thoroughly in accord with the ideas of colonial governhteenth century In the instructions to Murray and other early governors there are constant injunctions for the support of a Protestant clergy and Protestant schools, ”to the end that the Church of England may be established both in principles and practice”[3] Governor Simcoe, we are told, attached much importance to ”every establishment of Church and State that upholds a distinction of ranks and lessens the undue weight of the democratic influence”

”The episcopal system was interwoven and connected with the overnment”[4] In pursuance of this idea, which was also that of the ruling class in Canada, the country was to be made as much unlike the United States as possible by the intrenches, and this was the policy pursued up to the tiovernion as in politics, were branded as rebels, annexationists, Yankees, republicans And as this doin, had the ear of the authorities at hoether likely that the Act of 1791 was framed in accordance with their views

The laas unjust, iether unsuited to the circumstances of the colony Lord Durham estiland, allowing its largest claim, were not more than one-third, probably not more than one-fourth, of the population of Upper Canada Methodists, Presbyterians, and Roer iven to the exclusive clailand by Sir John Colborne's establishment of fifty-seven rectories, was, in the opinion ofcause of the rebellion, and it was an abiding and unabated cause of discontent[5]

Not only was the spirit of the colony opposed to the establishment and domination of any Church, but settlement was retarded and the hardshi+ps of the settler increased by the locking up of enorrants were made to officials, to militia men, to the children of United Empire Loyalists and others, in the hope that these persons would settle on the land Many of these fell into the hands of speculators and jobbers, who bought farallon of rurants,” said Mr

Hawke, a governiven in the appendix to Durham's Report, ”remain in an unimproved state These blocks of wild land place the actual settler in an al his lifetihbourhood contain a population sufficiently dense to support mills, schools, post-offices, places of worshi+p, rades Roads, under such circumstances, can neither be opened by the settlers nor kept in proper repair In 1834 I met a settler from the townshi+p of Warwick, on the Caradoc Plains, returning frorist mill at Westminster, with the flour and bran of thirteen bushels of wheat He had a yoke of oxen and a horse attached to his wagon, and had been absent nine days and did not expect to reach hoht as his load was, he assured me that he had to unload, wholly or in part, several tih the swah the woods where the swas on his back and replace theon”

It is unnecessary here to discuss differences of opinion as to the interpretation of the law, atte various deno of the Reform party demanded that the special provision for the support of the Church of England should be abolished, and a system of free popular education established With this part of their platforreed with the Clear Grits that the Baldwin-Lafontaine govern too slowly, and when Baldas succeeded by Hincks in 1851, the restraining influence of his respect for Baldwin being removed, his discontent was converted into open and deterely by the influence of Brown and the _Globe_, public opinion in 1851 was aroused to a high degree, and y reserves The friends of the old order were singularly unfortunate in their overns, and the ious equality was signalized by theof the opponents of the clergy reserves was broken up by thesewas attacked by aout of a co was held in St Lawrence Hall, over the citythat na State endowion, and did so in a speech of earnestness and argumentative power He compared the results of Church establishland, in Scotland, in France, and in Canada, and denounced ”State-churchism” as the author of pride, intolerance and spiritual coldness ”When,” he said, ”I read the history of the hue, of tyranny, robbery and injustice in every shape, which have been the fruits of State-churchis effect which it has ever had on the purity and si ion of the heart, to the mere outward tinsel, to the forms and ceremonies on which priestcraft flourishes; when I see that at all times it has beenthe poor and weak, I cannot but reject it utterly as in direct hostility to the whole spirit of the Gospel, to that glorious system which teaches men to set not their hearts on this world, and to walk humbly before God” He held that it was utterly iious truth ”There is no standard for truth

We cannot even agree on theious error, it was ”istrate is to decide for God--for that is the plainof the establishment principle Once admit that principle, and no curb can be set upon its operation Who shall restrict what God has appointed? And thus the extent to which the conscience of men may be constrained, or persecution for truth's sake htenistrate There is no safety out of the principle that religion is a matter entirely between istrate is to secure every one in the peaceful observance of it Anything else leads to oppression and injustice, but this can never lead to either”

A notable part of the speech was a defence of free, non-sectarian education ”I can conceive,” he said, ”nothing more unprincipled than a scheme to array the youth of the province in sectarian bands--to teach them, from the cradle up, to know each other as Methodist boys, and Presbyterian boys, and Episcopal boys Surely, surely, we have enough of thisit further”

To protect themselves from interruption, the advocates of secularization had taken advantage of a lahich allowed the as private, and exclude disturbers Their opponents held anothernation at the repeated atteious strife, and declared that the purposes of the association, if carried out, would bring about not only the severance of British connection, but socialism, republicanism, and infidelity The horrified listeners were told how Rousseau and Voltaire had corrupted France, how religion was overthrown and the naked Goddess of Reason set up as an object of worshi+p They were told that the clergy reserves were a gift to the nation froe the Third” Abolish the would refuse to float over anarchy and confusion

Finally, they were assured that they could thrash the St Lawrence Hall audience in a stand-up fight, but were nevertheless advised to go quietly home This advice was apparently accepted in the spirit of the admonition: ”Don't nail his ears to the pump,” for the crowd i, and shouting They were met by the mayor, two aldermen, and the chief constable, and told that they could not be adh the s of the hall The Riot Act was read by an alderiment then quartered in the town, the 71st, was sent for There was considerable delay in bringing the troops, and in thethe hall were assaulted, and the mayor was struck in the face with a stone and severely cut A coht, after which the violence of theup to the settlement of the question may be briefly referred to In 1850 the Canadian parliament had asked for power to dispose of the reserves, with the understanding that euaranteed during their lives The address having been forwarded to England, Lord John Russell inforeneral that a bill would be introduced in compliance with the wish of the Canadian parlianed, and was succeeded by that of the Earl of Derby Derby (Lord Stanley) had been colonial secretary in the Peel governovernton declared that the advisers of Her Majesty were not inclined to aid in the diversion to other purposes of the only public fund for the support of divine worshi+p and religious instruction in Canada, though they would entertain proposals for new dispositions of the fund Hincks, as then in England, protested vigorously against the disregard of the wishes of the Canadian people

When the legislature assembled in 1852, it carried, at his instance, an address to the Crown strongly upholding the Canadian de and the action too weak He made a counter proposal, which found little support, that the Canadian parlia for the sale of the clergy lands to actual settlers, and the appropriation of the funds for the maintenance of common schools

With the fall of the Derby adland, ended the opposition from that source to the Canadian deht of the Canadian parliaislate on the matter, now hesitated to use the power placed in his hands, and declared that legislation should be deferred until a new parlia the measure of settle star of the Conservative party The fund, after provision had been hts of incumbents, was turned over to the municipalities

FOOTNOTES: