Part 9 (1/2)
_Sept 6th_--Had the pleasure ofmy brother to-day, who to meet with those who are not only near by the ties of nature, but race
_Sept 9th_--Have been greatly benefitted to-day by hearing Bishop Hedding preach from Rev iii 5
_Sept 16th_--I bless God for whatthe first anniversary of the Canadian Missionary Society The Hon John Willson, MPP, was requested to take the chair Several Indians, who had been brought to a knowledge of the truth, through the efforts of this Society, were present and spoke How delightful to see the warlike Mohawk, and the degraded Mississauga, exchanging the heathen hoop for the sublireater things which the Lord will do for the aboriginies of Canada
_Sept 23rd_--I have this day received e street Never did I feel more sensibly the necessity of Divine help Help th, and contend manfully under the banner of Christ! Amen
FOOTNOTES:
[3] These voluminous diaries and journals are full of detail, chiefly of Dr Ryerson's religious experience They are rich in illustration of the severe mental and spiritual disciplinary process--self-i these eventful years of his earlier life They are singularly severe in their personal reflections upon his religious shortcoed with an asceticisious experience of many of the early Methodist preachers of Mr Wesley's tiraphy and writings, which were al accessible to the devoted Methodist pioneers of this country,--J G H
[4] In a previous and subsequent chapter Dr Ryerson refers more particularly to this illness (pp 28, 39, and elsewhere) It was a turning point in his life, and decided him to enter the ministry on his twenty-second birthday--J G H
[5] Dr Ryerson refers in another chapter to the overtures which were made to hiland--J G H
CHAPTER III
1825-1826
First Year of my Ministry and First Controversy
My first appointment after my admission on trial was to the (as then called the York and Yonge Street Circuit), which then embraced the Town of York (now the City of Toronto) Weston, the Townshi+ps of Vaughan, King, West Gwillimbury, North Gwilli, Scarboro', and York, over which we travelled, and preached fro generally three tis, besides preaching and attending class s on week days
The roads were (if in any place they could be called roads) bad beyond description; could only be travelled on horse-back, and on foot; the labours hard, and the accommodations of the els of God by the people, our ious instruction to the they valued more than to have the preacher partake of their hu the latter part of this the first year of my itinerant ministry (April and May, 1826) that I was drawn and forced into the controversy on the Clergy Reserves and equal civil and religious rights and privileges aious persuasions in Upper Canada[6] There had been soland and Scotland on their co as established churches in Upper Canada In my earliest years, I had read and studied Blackstone's Cohts of the Crown, and Parliament and Subject, Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy; and when I read and observed the character of the policy, and state of things in Canada, I felt that it was not according to the principles of British liberty, or of the British Constitution; but I had not the slightest idea of writing anything on the subject
At this juncture, (April, 1826,) a publication appeared, entitled ”Sermon Preached and Published by the Venerable Archdeacon of York, in May, 1826, on the Death of the Late Bishop of Quebec,” containing a sketch of the rise and progress of the Church of England in these provinces, and an appeal on behalf of that Church to the British Govern the obstacles which iland in Upper Canada, the memorable Author of the able discourse attacked the character of the religious persuasions not connected with the Church of England, especially the Methodists, whose in and feelings, ignorant, forsaking their proper employments to preach what they did not understand, and which, fro disaffection to the civil and religious institutions of Great Britain In this serland claimed as the Established Church of the Ey Reserves, or one seventh of the lands of Upper Canada, but an appeal was rant of 300,000 per annuland in Upper Canada, to land And these statements and appeals were made ten years after the close of the war of 1812-1815, by the United States against Britain, with the express view of conquering Canada and annexing it to the United States; and during which war both Methodist preachers and people were conspicuous for their loyalty and zeal in defence of the country
The Methodists in York (now Toronto) at that ti and old; the two preachers arranged to meet once in four weeks on their return fro members of the society was held for conversation, consultation, and prayer One of thea copy of the Archdeacon's sermon, and read the parts of it which related to the attacks upon the Methodists, and the proposedof those extracts produced a thrilling sensation of indignation and alar hts of Methodists and others assailed, against such attacks and such a policy The voice of thepointed to nated as ”The Boy Preacher,” froest minister in the Church I objected on account of my youth and incompetence; but my objections were overruled, when I proposed as a co our next country tour the Superintendent of the Circuit (Rev James Richardson), and myself should each write on the subject, and froht be coreed to, and at our next socialin the town, inquiry was made as to what had been written in defence of the Methodists and others, against the attacks and policy of the Archdeacon of York It was found that the Superintendent of the Circuit had written nothing; and onquestioned, I said I had endeavoured to obey the instructions of my senior brethren It was then insisted that I th yielded, and readof hter and tears on the part of those present, all of who that I had never written anything for the press, and was not competent to such a task, and advanced to throw my manuscript into the fire, when one of the elder ht me by the arms, and another wrenched thehe would take it to the printer Finding my efforts vain to recover it, I said if it were restored I would not destroy it but rewrite it and return it to the brethren to do what they pleased with it I did so Two of the senior brethren took the manuscript to the printer, and its publication produced a sensation scarcely less violent and general than a Fenian invasion It is said that before every house in Torontothe paper on the evening of its publication in June; and the excitehout the country
It was the first defiant defence of the Methodists, and of the equal and civil rights of all religious persuasions; the first protest and arguainst the erection of a dominant church establishment supported by the state in Upper Canada
It was the Loyalists of America, and their descendants, in Upper Canada who first lifted up the voice of reainst ecclesiastical despotisious rights and liberty for all religious persuasions
The sermon of the Archdeacon of York was the third fory upon the characters of their unoffending Methodist brethren and those of other religious persuasions; but no defence of the assailed parties had as yet been written In a subsequent discussion on another topic, referring to this matter, I said:
”Up to this tiy of the Church of England, or the Clergy Reserve question, by any minister or member of the Methodist Church At that time the Methodists had no law to secure a foot of land, on which to build parsonages, Chapels, and in which to bury their dead; their ministers were not allowed to solemnize matrial persecution on the part of istrates and others in authority And now they were the butt of unprovoked and unfounded aspersions fro the 'noiseless tenor of their way,' through trackless forests and bridgeless rivers and strea the scattered inhabitants the unsearchable riches of Christ”[7]
_The Review_, in defence of the Methodists and others against such gratuitous and unjust ies, appeared over the signature of ”A Methodist Preacher;” it was coe owned by the late Mr Elias Sreat excellence It ritten piecemeal in the huht days, during which time I rode on horseback nearly a hundred miles and preached seven sermons On its publication I pursued , &c, little conscious of the stor; but on my return to town, at the end of teeks, I received newspapers containing four replies to yland In those replies to the then unknown author of the _Review_, I was assailed by all sorts of conte that the author of such a publication could be ”a Methodist Preacher,”--but was ”an American,” ”a rebel,” ”a traitor,”--and that the _Revieas the ”prodigious effort of a party”
My agitation was extreainst my own intention and will, in the very tempest of a discussion for which I felt myself poorly prepared, I had little appetite or sleep At length roused to a sense of ht I decided upon the latter, strengthened by the consciousness that my principles were those of the British Constitution and in defence of British rights I devoted a day to fasting and prayer, and then went at ood earnest In less than four years after the co the different religious denorounds, and their Ministers to soleislative assee ainst the exclusive pretensions of the Church of England to the Clergy Reserves and being the exclusive established Church of Upper Canada, though the Clergy Reserve question itself continued to be discussed, and was not finally settled until more than ten years afterwards
Several months after the commencement of this controversy I paid my first annual visit to my parents, and for the first two days the burden of itating the country At length, while walking in the orchard, erton, they say that you are the author of these papers which are convulsing the whole country I want to knohether you are or not?” I was coe that I was the writer of these papers, when , and exclaimed, ”My God! we are all ruined!”
The state ofthis first year ofbrief extracts fro arrived on e to be awfully iive proper instruction to so intelligent a people The Lord give race I am resolved to devote my time, my heart, my all, to God without reserve I do feel determined, by God's assistance, to rise early, spend no more time than is absolutely necessary, pray oftener, and e ofor hty God for the perfornorant youth to declare thy great salvation!