On my part, I promise you an impartial administration of government. Determined not to recognize the existence of parties, provincial or imperial, classes or races, I shall hope to receive from all Her Majesty's subjects those public services, the efficiency of which must ever mainly depend upon their comprehensiveness. Extend the veil of oblivion over the past, direct to the future your best energies, and the consequences cannot be doubted.
On my part, I promise you an impartial administration of government. Determined not to recognize the existence of parties, provincial or imperial, classes or races, I shall hope to receive from all Her Majesty's subjects those public services, the efficiency of which must ever mainly depend upon their comprehensiveness. Extend the veil of oblivion over the past, direct to the future your best energies, and the consequences cannot be doubted.
The favourite phrase and avowed doctrine of Lord Sydenham was "equal and impartial justice to all classes of Her Majesty's subjects." After the union of the Canadas, Lord Sydenham appointed Mr. Draper Attorney-General, and the late Mr. R. Baldwin, Solicitor-General—the first "coalition" in Upper Canada. He also intimated at the time that he attached equal importance to the return of Mr. Draper and Mr. Baldwin; and that opposition to the one as well as to the other, under whatever pretence it may be got up, is equally opposition to the Governor-General's administration. Parties and party spirithave nearly ruined the country; the object of the Governor-General is to abolish parties and party feelings by uniting what is good in both parties....
Lord Sydenham's two years administration of the Canadian government proved the greatest boon to Upper Canada, and the principles and policy of it were highly approved by Reformers and the Reform press generally....
Judge Story, in his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, says:—
The best talents and the best virtues are driven from office by intrigue and corruption, or by the violence of the press or of party.
The best talents and the best virtues are driven from office by intrigue and corruption, or by the violence of the press or of party.
In harmony with the statement of the great Judge Story, the famous French writer, M. de Tocqueville, in his Democracy in America, observes:—
It is a well authenticated fact that, at the present day, the most talented men in the United States are very rarely placed at the head of affairs, and it must be acknowledged that such has been the result in proportion as democracy has outstripped its former limits. The race of American statesmen has evidently dwindled most remarkably in the course of the last fifty years.
It is a well authenticated fact that, at the present day, the most talented men in the United States are very rarely placed at the head of affairs, and it must be acknowledged that such has been the result in proportion as democracy has outstripped its former limits. The race of American statesmen has evidently dwindled most remarkably in the course of the last fifty years.
These remarks of M. de Tocqueville apply to some extent to Canada where there has been a manifest decline in the standing and ability of our public men. There are exceptions, but what instances have we now of the representatives or equals of the Robinsons, the Macaulays, the Bidwells, the Jones', the Lafontaines, the Hagermans, the Baldwins, the Drapers, the Willsons, and many other political men of forty and twenty years ago?[149]To what is this decline in public men, in an otherwise advancing country, to be ascribed but to the unscrupulous partizanship of the press and politics, which blacken character instead of discussing principles, which fight for office instead of for the public good, and that by a barbarous system of moral assassination, instead of public men respecting and protecting each other's standing, and rivalling each other's deeds of greatness and usefulness. In England, the character of public men is regarded as the most precious property of the nation; and if the personal character of any member of Parliament, or other public man, is assailed by the public press or otherwise, you will see opponents as well as friends rallying round the assailed, and sustaining and shielding him by theirtestimony, as a matter of common or national concern. When Sir Robert Peel, in the last great debate of his life, objected to Lord Palmerston's Grecian policy, he referred to Lord Palmerston's character and abilities—not to depreciate and calumniate his great rival, but to exclaim, amid the applause of the House of Commons, "We are proud of the man! And England is proud of the man!" But in Canada, the language of a partizan press and politician is "down with the man; execrate and execute the man as a corruptionist and traitor!"
It is with a view to the best interests of our whole country, that I have thus addressed my fellow countrymen, contributing the results of my best thoughts and experience to your beginning well, that you may do well and be well under our new Dominion, though I cannot expect long to enjoy it. My nearly half a century of public life is approaching its close. I am soon to account for both my words and my deeds. I have little to hope or fear from man. But I wish before I go hence to see my fellow citizens of all sects and parties unite in commencing a new system of government for our country and posterity,
That all things may be so ordered and settled by their endeavours, upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us for all generations.
That all things may be so ordered and settled by their endeavours, upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us for all generations.
On the publication of this Address, Dr. Ryerson received commendatory letters from various gentlemen throughout the Province. I select three. The first is from Mr. Jasper J. Gilkison, Brantford, dated August 10th:—
As a Canadian and British subject, permit me to thank you for the admirable pamphlet which you have had published, as it is the one thing wanted for the instruction and guidance of the people of the Dominion, aye, and for the world. It should be circulated free throughout the land. Never in the history of any country did a more favourable opportunity arise to test the fallacy that good government can alone emanate from that of party. We have, in fact, had an illustration of no-party government during the past few years productive of peace and quiet among us, and it could be continued indefinitely, were it not for bad-hearted men.Were men actuated solely for the welfare and progress of our country, the Government could most successfully be carried on, much in the same way as a great company; the Executive and Parliament being somewhat analagous to a board of directors and shareholders.Your pamphlet cannot fail to be productive of immense good, for it will cause reflection on a subject but little thought of by many with a vast amount of ignorance as to the true form of government calculated to confer the greatest benefits and happiness on a people, and which, I think, you have clearly pointed out. In our present position, were the Government to try the experiment, and take Parliament into its counsels, I fancy it would succeed, by all uniting for the common good.
As a Canadian and British subject, permit me to thank you for the admirable pamphlet which you have had published, as it is the one thing wanted for the instruction and guidance of the people of the Dominion, aye, and for the world. It should be circulated free throughout the land. Never in the history of any country did a more favourable opportunity arise to test the fallacy that good government can alone emanate from that of party. We have, in fact, had an illustration of no-party government during the past few years productive of peace and quiet among us, and it could be continued indefinitely, were it not for bad-hearted men.
Were men actuated solely for the welfare and progress of our country, the Government could most successfully be carried on, much in the same way as a great company; the Executive and Parliament being somewhat analagous to a board of directors and shareholders.
Your pamphlet cannot fail to be productive of immense good, for it will cause reflection on a subject but little thought of by many with a vast amount of ignorance as to the true form of government calculated to confer the greatest benefits and happiness on a people, and which, I think, you have clearly pointed out. In our present position, were the Government to try the experiment, and take Parliament into its counsels, I fancy it would succeed, by all uniting for the common good.
The second was from Mr. Wm. (now Judge) Elliot, dated London, August 20th:—
Allow me to express to you a sense of gratitude, which I feel in common, I trust, with all reasonable people, on the occasion of your address on the political aspect of the Dominion of Canada.I have had some limited connection with political contests in this part of the Province, and what I have seen and learned impels me to offer you my humble thanks for this contribution to our political treasury.Whether we have arrived at such a condition of society as entirely to discard party political conflict may, I suppose, admit of serious doubt. But that at this juncture your admonitions are most valuable, all who reflect on the future will, I think, acknowledge. In more than one electoral contest already, I have referred, I believe with good effect, to your remarks, and I beg of you to allow me the pleasure of thus acknowledging the value of your counsel. That you may long be spared to advance the educational interests of the country, and to allay the discord and acrimony of faction, is the sincere prayer of yours faithfully,William Elliot.
Allow me to express to you a sense of gratitude, which I feel in common, I trust, with all reasonable people, on the occasion of your address on the political aspect of the Dominion of Canada.
I have had some limited connection with political contests in this part of the Province, and what I have seen and learned impels me to offer you my humble thanks for this contribution to our political treasury.
Whether we have arrived at such a condition of society as entirely to discard party political conflict may, I suppose, admit of serious doubt. But that at this juncture your admonitions are most valuable, all who reflect on the future will, I think, acknowledge. In more than one electoral contest already, I have referred, I believe with good effect, to your remarks, and I beg of you to allow me the pleasure of thus acknowledging the value of your counsel. That you may long be spared to advance the educational interests of the country, and to allay the discord and acrimony of faction, is the sincere prayer of yours faithfully,
William Elliot.
The third from a gentleman in Matilda:—
Permit me to thank you for the seasonable pamphlet you have issued on the Dominion, and the sound advice it contains, addressed to the people of this country. I have read it with pleasure, and am of opinion that it should be scattered broadcast, for the consideration of electors at this very important juncture.
Permit me to thank you for the seasonable pamphlet you have issued on the Dominion, and the sound advice it contains, addressed to the people of this country. I have read it with pleasure, and am of opinion that it should be scattered broadcast, for the consideration of electors at this very important juncture.
FOOTNOTES:[149]It affords me pleasure to remark, and I do so without any reference to the political opinions or relations of the gentlemen concerned, that some of our rising Canadians have entered, and others are seeking an entrance into Parliamentary life upon the ground of their own avowed principles, personal character and merit, as free men, and to exercise their talents as such, and not as the articled confederates, or protegés, or joints in the tail of partizanship. Free and independent men in the Legislature, as in the country, are the best counterpoise to faction, and the mainspring to a nation's progress and greatness. Faction dreads independent men; patriotism requires them.
[149]It affords me pleasure to remark, and I do so without any reference to the political opinions or relations of the gentlemen concerned, that some of our rising Canadians have entered, and others are seeking an entrance into Parliamentary life upon the ground of their own avowed principles, personal character and merit, as free men, and to exercise their talents as such, and not as the articled confederates, or protegés, or joints in the tail of partizanship. Free and independent men in the Legislature, as in the country, are the best counterpoise to faction, and the mainspring to a nation's progress and greatness. Faction dreads independent men; patriotism requires them.
[149]It affords me pleasure to remark, and I do so without any reference to the political opinions or relations of the gentlemen concerned, that some of our rising Canadians have entered, and others are seeking an entrance into Parliamentary life upon the ground of their own avowed principles, personal character and merit, as free men, and to exercise their talents as such, and not as the articled confederates, or protegés, or joints in the tail of partizanship. Free and independent men in the Legislature, as in the country, are the best counterpoise to faction, and the mainspring to a nation's progress and greatness. Faction dreads independent men; patriotism requires them.
1868-1869.
Correspondence with Hon. George Brown.—Dr. Punshon.
On the 24th of March, Dr. Ryerson addressed the following letter to the Hon. George Brown:—
I desire, on this the 65th anniversary of my birth, to assure you of my hearty forgiveness of the personal wrongs which, I think, you have done me in past years, and of my forgetfulness of them so far, at least, as involves the least unkindness and unfriendliness of feeling.
To express free and independent opinions on the public acts of public men, to animadvert severely upon them when considered censurable, is both the right and duty of the press; nor have I ever been discourteous, or felt any animosity towards those who have censured my official acts, or denounced my opinions. Had I considered that you had done nothing more in regard to myself, I should have felt and acted differently from what I have done in regard to you—the only public man in Canada with whom I have not been on speaking and personally friendly terms. But while I wish in no way to influence your judgment and proceedings in relation to myself, I beg to say that I cherish no other than feelings of good will, with which I hope to (as I soon must) stand before the Judge of all the earth—imploring, as well as granting forgiveness for all the wrong deeds done in the body.
On the same day Mr. Brown replied as follows:—
I have received your letter of this day, and note its contents.
I am entirely unconscious of any "personal wrong" ever done you by me, and had no thought of receiving "forgiveness" at your hands.
What I have said or written of your public conduct or writings has been dictated solely by a sense of public duty, and has never, I feel confident, exceeded the bounds of legitimate criticism, in view of all attendant circumstances. What has been written of you in the columns of theGlobenewspaper, so far as I have observed, has been always restrained within the limits of fair criticism toward one holding a position of public trust.
As to your personal attacks on myself—those who pursue the fearless course as a politician and public journalist that I have done for a quarter of a century, cannot expect to escape abuse and misrepresentation; and assuredly your assaults have never affected my course toward you in the slightest degree. Your series of letters printed in theLeadernewspaper some years ago, were not, I am told, conceived in a very Christian spirit, but I was ill at the time they were published, and have never read them. Your dragging my name into your controversy with the Messrs. Campbell—on a matter with which I had no personal concern whatever—was one of those devices unhappily too often resorted to in political squabbles to be capable of exciting more than momentary indignation.
The following letter from Dr. Ryerson to Mr. Brown, dated Toronto, April 13th, closed the correspondence:—Your note of the 24th ult., did not reach me until Saturday evening—night before last.
I wrote my note of that date with the view of forgetting, rather than reviving, the recollection of past discussions.
I never objected to the severest criticisms of my "public conduct or writings." My remarks had sole reference to your "personal attacks" and "assaults," made over your own name, and involving all that was dear to me as a man, and a father, and a Christian—"personal attacks" and "assaults" to which my letters in theLeaderreferred to by you, and which you had engaged to insert in theGlobe, but afterwards refused, were a reply; in the course of which I convicted you not only of many misstatements, but of seven distinct forgeries—you, by additions, professing to quote from me in seven instances the very reverse of what I had written, and your having done all this to sustain "personal attacks" and "assaults" upon me.
Besides this, on at least two subsequent occasions, you charged me with what involved an imputation of dishonesty; and when I transmitted to you copies of official correspondence relating to the subject of your allegations, and refuting them, you refused to insert it in theGlobe, and left your false accusations unretracted to this day.
It was to such "personal attacks" and "assaults" on your part against me, and not to any legitimate criticisms upon my "public conduct or writings," that I referred in my letter of the 24th ult.
I admit the general fairness of theGlobetowards me during the last few months; but that does not alter the character of your former "personal attacks" and "assaults" upon me, and to which alone what you call my "personal attacks" and "assaults" upon you were but defensive replies and rejoinders.
I certainly have no reason to be dissatisfied with the results of such "personal attacks" and replies, notwithstanding your great advantage in having a powerful press at your disposal; and I am prepared for the future, as I have been for the past, though I wish, if possible, to live peaceably with all men.
Dr. Ryerson having been appointed delegate (with Dr. Punshon) to the American General Conference of 1868, at Chicago, he wrote to me from that city on the 14th of May:—
On our way here we stopped at London, where Mr. Punshon lectured nobly. We reached here Tuesday evening, and were most heartily welcomed by Bishop Janes, and by our hosts.We were introduced to the Conference to-day, and were most cordially received. Mr. Punshon was introduced by Bishop Janes, and made a touching and noble address, which won the hearts of the Conference, and vast audience, and was frequently and loudly cheered.I was introduced heartily and eulogistically by Bishop Simpson, and addressed the Conference. The latter part of my address was warmly cheered.Rev. Dr. Richey, President, and Representative of the Eastern Conference of British America, was introduced by Bishop Simpson, and made a very excellent address to the Conference.Mr. Punshon preached powerfully and gloriously before the Conference and an immense crowd to-day; all were delighted, and seemed deeply affected.
On our way here we stopped at London, where Mr. Punshon lectured nobly. We reached here Tuesday evening, and were most heartily welcomed by Bishop Janes, and by our hosts.
We were introduced to the Conference to-day, and were most cordially received. Mr. Punshon was introduced by Bishop Janes, and made a touching and noble address, which won the hearts of the Conference, and vast audience, and was frequently and loudly cheered.
I was introduced heartily and eulogistically by Bishop Simpson, and addressed the Conference. The latter part of my address was warmly cheered.
Rev. Dr. Richey, President, and Representative of the Eastern Conference of British America, was introduced by Bishop Simpson, and made a very excellent address to the Conference.
Mr. Punshon preached powerfully and gloriously before the Conference and an immense crowd to-day; all were delighted, and seemed deeply affected.
On the 18th of May, Dr. Ryerson wrote again to me:—
Mr. Punshon has made a wonderful impression here by his addresses and discourses, beyond any thing they have ever heard from the pulpit and the platform. He is to lecture to-morrow evening in the Opera House—the largest room in Chicago—and there is a great rage to get tickets. He preached there yesterday afternoon to several thousand persons, a great part of whom were affected to tears several times. I trust that many sinners were awakened, while believers were greatly comforted and encouraged.We went out on Saturday on an excursion train to Clinton, in Iowa, 145 miles west of this, crossing the Mississippi there, by railroad, and crossing the prairies. The people of Clinton—Presbyterians, etc., and Methodists—united, and prepared an excellent dinner for three hundred and six persons, after which speeches were delivered. The North-West Railroad Company prepared the excursion gratuitously for the General Conference.
Mr. Punshon has made a wonderful impression here by his addresses and discourses, beyond any thing they have ever heard from the pulpit and the platform. He is to lecture to-morrow evening in the Opera House—the largest room in Chicago—and there is a great rage to get tickets. He preached there yesterday afternoon to several thousand persons, a great part of whom were affected to tears several times. I trust that many sinners were awakened, while believers were greatly comforted and encouraged.
We went out on Saturday on an excursion train to Clinton, in Iowa, 145 miles west of this, crossing the Mississippi there, by railroad, and crossing the prairies. The people of Clinton—Presbyterians, etc., and Methodists—united, and prepared an excellent dinner for three hundred and six persons, after which speeches were delivered. The North-West Railroad Company prepared the excursion gratuitously for the General Conference.
Dr. Ryerson having addressed a request to the British Conference for the re-appointment of Rev. W. M. Punshon to Canada, Rev. Gervase Smith replied on the 17th of August:—
Your first request was complied with without much debate. Mr. Punshon is transferred to you for a term. The second request raised a long discussion; the result of which was that you should be left to elect your own President next year. Mr. Arthur, Drs. Waddy and Rigg, and others, pleaded for Mr. Punshon's appointment on the ground that the preceding vote placed him under Canadian jurisdiction. But there were others who were influenced by the consideration that to leave you to elect your own President, would doubtless lead to Mr. Punshon's election. I pray that you all may be guided rightly at this important juncture.
Your first request was complied with without much debate. Mr. Punshon is transferred to you for a term. The second request raised a long discussion; the result of which was that you should be left to elect your own President next year. Mr. Arthur, Drs. Waddy and Rigg, and others, pleaded for Mr. Punshon's appointment on the ground that the preceding vote placed him under Canadian jurisdiction. But there were others who were influenced by the consideration that to leave you to elect your own President, would doubtless lead to Mr. Punshon's election. I pray that you all may be guided rightly at this important juncture.
Dr. Punshon's continued residence in Canada was a source of great delight to Dr. Ryerson. Of the wonderfully beneficial effects upon Canadian Methodism of that memorable visit, it is not necessary that I should speak. The hallowed memories of those days are engraven on thousands of hearts on both sides of the lines.
Rev. Dr. R. F. Burns, of the Fort Massey Presbyterian Church, Halifax, in a letter to thePresbyterian Witness, gives the following graphic account of the visit of Drs. Ryerson, Punshon, and Richey to the General Conference at Chicago. TheWesleyan, of Halifax, speaking of Dr. Burns' letter, says:—The reminiscence is of special interest to the editor of this paper, as he was one of the party who lunched with Dr. Ryerson at Dr. Burns' on the occasion mentioned. Dr. Burns says:—
A memory of the worthy man comes up which you will excuse me for jotting down. In the summer of 1868, during my residence in Chicago, the Quadrennial Convention of the Methodist Episcopal Church was held. It was then that I first made the acquaintance of Dr. Punshon, who came out as delegate from the English Conference to that great gathering. Dr. Matthew Richey was there representing the Methodism of Eastern, and Dr. Ryerson of Western Canada. Quite a colony of Canadian Methodists came over, including my old friend Rev. A. F. Bland, to whom the celebrated Robert Collyer expressed himself more indebted than to any other living man.I invited several of the Methodist brethren to luncheon—Drs. Ryerson and Richey of the number—(Punshon had a prior engagement). Ryerson had given his speech that forenoon, and Richey too, with characteristic ability, representing the two Canadian Conferences. Dr. Richey had, a little before, met with the accident, but yet though he had aged and failed considerably since the days when I counted him the beau-ideal of elegance in manner and style in pulpit and on platform, he bore himself with much of his former stately demeanour and fine felicity of diction. Ryerson was hale and hearty as of yore, and with perhaps less of the old tendency to tremble while speaking which surprised me so much when I first witnessed it, for, under the influence of strong feeling, and a sort of constitutional timidity, linked in him with indomitable pluck, his limbs—indeed often his whole massive frame—so shook that I have felt the platform quiver. The Rev. George Goodson told me in an undertone of an unkind remark made by a distinguished member of the Conference to his neighbour as Dr. Ryerson got up to speak, and that he had rebuked him for it, not knowing at the time who he was. This gentleman, it came out in course of conversation, was closely related to Elder Henry Ryan, a well-known minister in the old Canada Methodist Church, with whom Dr. Ryerson, in his early days, carried on a keen warfare. The Ryan-Ryerson controversy is one with which the older Canadian Methodists are familiar. Without hinting at the rudeness of his relative, I alluded to Elder Ryan when conversing with Dr. Ryerson, and got from him in graphic detail, the history of that ancient controversy in which he was a principal party. It was very keen while it lasted, but there was no bitter animus in the recital—though the old war horse pricked up his ears and seemed to "hear the sound of battle from afar." I then discovered a reason for the sharp tone of the gentleman's remarks, aforesaid, which drew forth Brother Goodson's rebuke. Though but four years of age when he left Canada, he had imbibed a dislike to his old relative's chief antagonist, and to the very people amongst whom the Ryerson party hadproved victorious. Hence his remark on another occasion to a lady friend of mine, with reference to his early connection with Canada, to the effect that he was "ashamed of being born there," which so roused her patriotic spirit that she promptly retorted: "Well, I am ashamed of you for saying so." The gentleman was then one of the rising hopes of that great denomination, and has since risen to a foremost rank in it. When this little incident was mentioned to Dr. Ryerson, he richly enjoyed it, and before leaving the house, with his native gallantry, he expressed a desire to use the privileges of an old man towards the fair defendress of her country's honour, saying, naively, as we all stood, before parting in the hall, "I would like to kiss you for your patriotism?" (See chapter vii.)
A memory of the worthy man comes up which you will excuse me for jotting down. In the summer of 1868, during my residence in Chicago, the Quadrennial Convention of the Methodist Episcopal Church was held. It was then that I first made the acquaintance of Dr. Punshon, who came out as delegate from the English Conference to that great gathering. Dr. Matthew Richey was there representing the Methodism of Eastern, and Dr. Ryerson of Western Canada. Quite a colony of Canadian Methodists came over, including my old friend Rev. A. F. Bland, to whom the celebrated Robert Collyer expressed himself more indebted than to any other living man.
I invited several of the Methodist brethren to luncheon—Drs. Ryerson and Richey of the number—(Punshon had a prior engagement). Ryerson had given his speech that forenoon, and Richey too, with characteristic ability, representing the two Canadian Conferences. Dr. Richey had, a little before, met with the accident, but yet though he had aged and failed considerably since the days when I counted him the beau-ideal of elegance in manner and style in pulpit and on platform, he bore himself with much of his former stately demeanour and fine felicity of diction. Ryerson was hale and hearty as of yore, and with perhaps less of the old tendency to tremble while speaking which surprised me so much when I first witnessed it, for, under the influence of strong feeling, and a sort of constitutional timidity, linked in him with indomitable pluck, his limbs—indeed often his whole massive frame—so shook that I have felt the platform quiver. The Rev. George Goodson told me in an undertone of an unkind remark made by a distinguished member of the Conference to his neighbour as Dr. Ryerson got up to speak, and that he had rebuked him for it, not knowing at the time who he was. This gentleman, it came out in course of conversation, was closely related to Elder Henry Ryan, a well-known minister in the old Canada Methodist Church, with whom Dr. Ryerson, in his early days, carried on a keen warfare. The Ryan-Ryerson controversy is one with which the older Canadian Methodists are familiar. Without hinting at the rudeness of his relative, I alluded to Elder Ryan when conversing with Dr. Ryerson, and got from him in graphic detail, the history of that ancient controversy in which he was a principal party. It was very keen while it lasted, but there was no bitter animus in the recital—though the old war horse pricked up his ears and seemed to "hear the sound of battle from afar." I then discovered a reason for the sharp tone of the gentleman's remarks, aforesaid, which drew forth Brother Goodson's rebuke. Though but four years of age when he left Canada, he had imbibed a dislike to his old relative's chief antagonist, and to the very people amongst whom the Ryerson party hadproved victorious. Hence his remark on another occasion to a lady friend of mine, with reference to his early connection with Canada, to the effect that he was "ashamed of being born there," which so roused her patriotic spirit that she promptly retorted: "Well, I am ashamed of you for saying so." The gentleman was then one of the rising hopes of that great denomination, and has since risen to a foremost rank in it. When this little incident was mentioned to Dr. Ryerson, he richly enjoyed it, and before leaving the house, with his native gallantry, he expressed a desire to use the privileges of an old man towards the fair defendress of her country's honour, saying, naively, as we all stood, before parting in the hall, "I would like to kiss you for your patriotism?" (See chapter vii.)
While at Peake's Island, near Portland, Maine, in 1869, Dr. Ryerson met with a serious accident, which nearly proved fatal. In a letter to me, he said:—
On Monday a plank from the wharf to a vessel, on the outside of which lay our boat, fell and precipitated me some feet on the deck of the vessel; I falling on my head, shoulder, and side. I was stunned and much injured, and have suffered much from my side; but I am now getting better and am able to dress myself, and to use my right arm. My head came within six inches of the band which surrounds the hatchway. There was thus but six inches between me and sudden death! I am truly thankful for my deliverance, and for my blessings.
On Monday a plank from the wharf to a vessel, on the outside of which lay our boat, fell and precipitated me some feet on the deck of the vessel; I falling on my head, shoulder, and side. I was stunned and much injured, and have suffered much from my side; but I am now getting better and am able to dress myself, and to use my right arm. My head came within six inches of the band which surrounds the hatchway. There was thus but six inches between me and sudden death! I am truly thankful for my deliverance, and for my blessings.
1870-1875.
Miscellaneous Closing Events and Correspondence.
On the 23rd of April, 1870, Rev. Drs. Punshon, Wood and Taylor, Chairman and Secretaries of the Central Board of Wesleyan Missions, addressed a letter to Sir George Cartier, Minister of Militia, on the subject of sending a Methodist chaplain with the Red River expedition under General Lindsay and the present Lord Wolseley. In their letter they said:—
Believing that many who will volunteer to complete this enterprize will be members of our own church, we are desirous of securing your official sanction to the appointment of a Wesleyan Minister as Chaplain to that portion of the military expedition who are professedly attached to our doctrines and ordinances, upon such terms as may be agreed upon, affecting personal rights and military operations and duties.
Believing that many who will volunteer to complete this enterprize will be members of our own church, we are desirous of securing your official sanction to the appointment of a Wesleyan Minister as Chaplain to that portion of the military expedition who are professedly attached to our doctrines and ordinances, upon such terms as may be agreed upon, affecting personal rights and military operations and duties.
This letter was merely acknowledged, and no action was taken upon it. In the following June Conference, the subject was brought up, and much feeling was evoked at Sir George Cartier's apparent want of courtesy to the Missionary Board. Sir Alexander Campbell, on seeing a report of the Conference proceedings on the subject, wrote a very kind note to Dr. Ryerson, in which he expressed his opinion that some mistake must have occurred in the matter, and that he was sure no discourtesy was thought of on the part of Sir George Cartier. To this note Dr. Ryerson replied on the 18th of June:—
I yesterday received your very kind letter of the 13th inst. I think you know too well my high respect, and even affection for you, and my expectations long since formed of your success and usefulness to the country, as a public man, to doubt my implicit confidence in any statement made by you, and my desire to meet your views as far as possible.
In the matter as relating to Sir George E. Cartier, I may remark, that the President of the Wesleyan Conference stated to me the week before its annual meeting, that a communication had been addressed by himself, and the Missionary Secretaries, to Sir George Cartier respecting our sending a WesleyanMinister with the Red River expedition, to supply the spiritual wants of many members of our own congregations, and proposing to confer with him (Sir G. C.) as to the arrangement; that he regarded the treatment of their letter by Sir George as discourteous, and that he thought the Conference should be informed of it, and that it should take some action on the subject. The Rev. Dr. Wood, senior Missionary Secretary, read to the Conference the correspondence and the draft of four resolutions, on the subject of which he gave notice. I was not in the Conference when this took place. On reading Dr. Wood's resolutions, I suggested some modifications of them, and prepared resolutions which he preferred to his own, and which I proposed for adoption the day after giving notice of them.
As to Sir George's courtesy, I may observe that the letter addressed to him, proposed a conference with him on the subject: that his Deputy, in reply, by direction of Sir George Cartier, as he says, acknowledged the receipt of the letter addressed to him, but though that letter was dated at Toronto, and signed officially, the answer to it was addressed simply to the "Rev. Mr. Punshon, Montreal," and no further notice taken of it to this day. And it seems that Sir George did not think it worth his while even to mention, much less submit the letter, to you and your colleagues from Upper Canada.
In regard to the question of chaplain, our view is, and the proposal contemplated by our President and Missionary Secretaries was, that the Government should not pay any salary to the chaplain, but simply provide his rations and accommodations. It is our view that the Government should not pay or appoint any chaplain, but leave to each denomination the right of doing so, if it should think proper. Each chaplain thus nominated and paid, to be recognized by the military authorities, and be subject, of course, to the military regulations. In such circumstances, it is probable there would have been three Protestant chaplains—Church of England, Presbyterian, and Methodist. I infer or assume this on the ground of experience. In our Normal School of one hundred and fifty students, each is asked his religious persuasion, and the chief minister of that persuasion is furnished with a list of the names of students adhering to or professing his Church, and the day, and hour, and place where he can give them religious instruction. The result is, that by mutual consultation and agreement of ministers, all the Presbyterians, including even the Congregationalists and Baptists, meet in one class, and receive religious instruction from one minister, the ministers agreeing to take the labour in successive sessions—one minister performing all the duty one session. The arrangement voluntarily exists among the differentclasses of Methodists—though Wesleyan ministers do all the work. A Church of England minister attends to the instruction and religious oversight of the Church of England students, and the chief Roman Catholic priest does the same in regard to the Roman Catholic students. Nothing can be more fair, practical, and satisfactory than a similar arrangement in regard to the Red River expedition. What may be the peculiar views, habits, etc. of the Church of England chaplain appointed and salaried by the Government, I know not; but you know as well as I do that a man being a clergyman of the Church of England is no longer a guarantee that he does not entertain and teach views and practices more subversive of unsophisticated Protestant principles and feelings than could be as successfully done by a Roman Catholic priest. Besides, as a general rule, men, especially young men, do not regard, and are not controlled, as to their own worship and pastorate, except by the services and pastoral oversight to which they are accustomed and attached; and without such influence and aid to the preservation and strengthening of moral principles, habits, and feelings, more young men are liable to be demoralized and ruined in military expeditions, such as that of the Red River, than are likely to be killed in battle or die of disease.
This is the view for which the Methodist body will contend, whatever may be the result. The Secretaries of the Bible Society went among the volunteers, while at Toronto, and proffered a Bible to each one that would accept of it, and found on inquiry, that four-fifths of the volunteers, even from Lower Canada, were Protestants, and a much larger proportion of the volunteers of Upper Canada, and a large number of them not members of the Church of England but Methodists and Presbyterians. Of course, it answers the Roman Catholic purpose, and will doubtless be acceptable to many members of the Church of England, for the Government to appoint and pay chaplains of those persuasions; but I am persuaded there will be little difference of a contrary opinion on the subject among the ministers and members of the excluded persuasions. I wish I could share with you in your expressed confidence in Sir George Cartier, but I have no such confidence in him, and especially in the ecclesiastical influence under the dictation of which he acts. Wherein I may have been misinformed, and may not have stated matters correctly, I shall be prepared to correct any such errors, when I come to reply to the various attacks which have been made upon me, in vindication of myself, and the Wesleyan Conference in regard to the complaint made, and the position assumed in respect to Sir George E. Cartier, and the Red River business.
On the 30th June, Mr. James Wallace, of Whitby, addressed Dr. Ryerson a letter on the subject, in which he said:—
A stranger to you personally, although not so to your many able, pungent, and truthful letters, connected with public matters, that have from time to time appeared in the public press: I trust you will excuse this liberty, and accept my congratulations on your last effort in that connection as published in theGlobe.I have some knowledge of the Red River matter, having been there during the first stages of the rebellion, and had, therefore, chances of becoming acquainted with its origin and progress that few men had; and when I see one in your position come forward so bravely and lay bare the origin of that infamous revolt, I must say that I feel proud of you as a Canadian, and not only of you, but of the body with which you are connected, who so nobly sustained you.
A stranger to you personally, although not so to your many able, pungent, and truthful letters, connected with public matters, that have from time to time appeared in the public press: I trust you will excuse this liberty, and accept my congratulations on your last effort in that connection as published in theGlobe.
I have some knowledge of the Red River matter, having been there during the first stages of the rebellion, and had, therefore, chances of becoming acquainted with its origin and progress that few men had; and when I see one in your position come forward so bravely and lay bare the origin of that infamous revolt, I must say that I feel proud of you as a Canadian, and not only of you, but of the body with which you are connected, who so nobly sustained you.
On the 24th August, 1870, the corner stone of the Metropolitan Church, Toronto, was laid. Dr. Ryerson felt that it was a memorable day in the annals of Methodism in Toronto. I was honoured (he said) by being selected to lay the corner stone of the Metropolitan Church. Rev. Dr. Punshon, President of the Conference was present, and delivered an admirable address. He also read one which I had prepared, but which I was unable to deliver myself. The auspicious event of the day amply repaid me for the anxiety which I had so long felt in regard to the success of the enterprise, and for the responsibility which, with other devoted brethren, I had personally assumed to secure the site, and carry to a successful issue the erection of a building which would be an honour to Methodism, and a credit to the cause in Toronto.
On the 17th March, 1871, Dr. Ryerson received a letter from the venerable Rev. Dr. James Dixon, dated Bradford, Eng., 2nd inst. In it he says:—In my eighty-third year, blind, deaf, and so paralyzed as to be unable to walk without assistance, I feel that the world is fast receding. Having sense and affection remaining, I feel desirous of holding a little fellowship once more with you, my dear old friend. The world to me looks like one of your forests with the trees cut down, except here and there one a little stronger than the rest. I look upon you as one of those, vigorous forest trees still remaining. And may you long remain, a blessing to your country and the Church! After referring to his own religious life and experiences, he concludes:—As long as I live my affection for you will never vary. I also remember other Canadian friends with great interest and affection. Farewell! my dear old friend. We shall meet again before long in a brighter world. If you can find time, I shall be most happy to receive a line from you.
drawing of a church
Dr. Ryerson did find time to respond to the letter of his dearand valued friend Dr. Dixon. His venerable aspect was well remembered, when, as President of the Canada Conference in 1848, he did good and valued service for the Methodist Church in Canada.
On the 29th of June, 1871, Mr. John Macdonald and Rev. Dr. Evans having asked Dr. Ryerson to enclose to Rev. W. M. Punshon a letter urging him to continue his noble work in Canada, he did so most heartily, as the letter to be enclosed expressed the real sentiments not only of the ministers and members of the Church generally, but those of the country at large. Dr. Ryerson accompanied the letter with a note from himself, in which he said to Mr. Punshon:—To have the power, as God has given you, to mould, to a large extent, the energies and labours of six hundred ministers, and developments of the Canadian Church, and to control largely the public mind in religious and benevolent enterprises—looking at the future of our country—appears to me to present a field of usefulness that Mr. Wesley himself might have coveted in his day. All that God has enabled you to do already in this country is but the foundation and beginning of what there is the prospect of your doing hereafter by the Divine blessing. You know this is the old ground on which I first proposed to you to come to this country, and which I am sure you have no reason to regret. This is the only ground on which I ought to desire your continued connection with it.
A pleasing episode in theGlobecontroversy respecting Dr. Ryerson's "First Lessons on Christian Morals," occurred in June, 1872. Bishop Bethune, in his address to the Synod of the Diocese of Toronto, spoke of the increasing spread of evil, and of the duty of the Church, under her Divine Master, to cope with it. He said:
Her work is, confessedly, to lead fallen man to the true source of pardon, and to teach him to aim at the recovery of the moral image in which he was at first created. If the passions, and prejudices, and divisions of professing Christians themselves are a distressing hindrance to the attainment of this noble and dutiful aspiration, we have much in the condition of the world around us to warn and rouse us to a vigorous and united effort to arrest the increasing tide of sin and crime. The developments of a grossly evil spirit at the present day fill us with horror and alarm; the profligacy and wanton cruelty of which we hear so many instances, make us tremble for our social peace and safety.It is but right to enquire to what all this enormity of wickedness is traceable, that we may come, if possible, to the remedy. That is largely to be ascribed, as all must be persuaded, to the neglect of religious instruction in early life; to the contentment of peoples and governments to afford a shallow secular education, without the learning of religious truth, or the moralobligations that it teaches. The child taught and trained for this world's vocations only, without a deep inculcation of the love and fear of God, and the penalty hereafter of an irreligious and wicked life, will have but one leading idea—self-aggrandizement and self-indulgence, and will be checked by no restraint of conscience in the way and means of securing them. Gigantic frauds will be perpetrated, if riches can thus be acquired; atrocious murders will be committed, if these will remove the barrier to unholy and polluting connections, or cast out of sight the objects of jealousy and hatred.I have no disposition to reprobate this defect in the system of education, prevailing with the authority and support of Government among ourselves. I know the difficulty, the almost impossibility, of securing the temporal boon with the addition of the spiritual; how hard it must prove in a divided religious community to introduce among the secular lessons which are meant for usefulness and advancement in this world, that lofty and holy teaching which trains the soul for heaven. The irreverent and fierce assaults recently made upon a praiseworthy effort of the Superintendent of Education in this Province to introduce a special work for moral and religious instruction amongst our common school pupils, testify too plainly the difficulty of supplying that want.I have confidence in the good intentions and righteous efforts of that venerable gentleman to do what he can for the amelioration of the evils which the absence of systematic religious teaching of the young must induce; so that we may have a hope that, from his tried zeal and unquestionable ability, a way may be devised by which such essential instruction shall be imparted, and the terrible evils we deplore to some extent corrected.
Her work is, confessedly, to lead fallen man to the true source of pardon, and to teach him to aim at the recovery of the moral image in which he was at first created. If the passions, and prejudices, and divisions of professing Christians themselves are a distressing hindrance to the attainment of this noble and dutiful aspiration, we have much in the condition of the world around us to warn and rouse us to a vigorous and united effort to arrest the increasing tide of sin and crime. The developments of a grossly evil spirit at the present day fill us with horror and alarm; the profligacy and wanton cruelty of which we hear so many instances, make us tremble for our social peace and safety.
It is but right to enquire to what all this enormity of wickedness is traceable, that we may come, if possible, to the remedy. That is largely to be ascribed, as all must be persuaded, to the neglect of religious instruction in early life; to the contentment of peoples and governments to afford a shallow secular education, without the learning of religious truth, or the moralobligations that it teaches. The child taught and trained for this world's vocations only, without a deep inculcation of the love and fear of God, and the penalty hereafter of an irreligious and wicked life, will have but one leading idea—self-aggrandizement and self-indulgence, and will be checked by no restraint of conscience in the way and means of securing them. Gigantic frauds will be perpetrated, if riches can thus be acquired; atrocious murders will be committed, if these will remove the barrier to unholy and polluting connections, or cast out of sight the objects of jealousy and hatred.
I have no disposition to reprobate this defect in the system of education, prevailing with the authority and support of Government among ourselves. I know the difficulty, the almost impossibility, of securing the temporal boon with the addition of the spiritual; how hard it must prove in a divided religious community to introduce among the secular lessons which are meant for usefulness and advancement in this world, that lofty and holy teaching which trains the soul for heaven. The irreverent and fierce assaults recently made upon a praiseworthy effort of the Superintendent of Education in this Province to introduce a special work for moral and religious instruction amongst our common school pupils, testify too plainly the difficulty of supplying that want.
I have confidence in the good intentions and righteous efforts of that venerable gentleman to do what he can for the amelioration of the evils which the absence of systematic religious teaching of the young must induce; so that we may have a hope that, from his tried zeal and unquestionable ability, a way may be devised by which such essential instruction shall be imparted, and the terrible evils we deplore to some extent corrected.
In response to this portion of his address, Dr. Ryerson addressed the following note to the Bishop on the 1st of July.
I feel it my bounden, at the same time most pleasurable duty, to thank you with all my heart for your more than kind reference to myself in your official charge at the opening of the recent Synod of the Diocese of Toronto; and especially do I feel grateful and gratified for your formal and hearty recognition of the Christian character of our Public School System, and of the efforts which have been made to render that character a practical reality, and not a mere dead and heartless form.
It has also been peculiarly gratifying to me to learn that your Lordship's allusions to myself and the school system were very generally and cordially cheered by the members of the Synod.
My own humble efforts to invest our school system with a Christian character and spirit have been seconded from the beginning by the cordial and unanimous co-operation of the Council of Public Instruction; and without that co-operation my own individual efforts would have availed but little.
Since the settlement of the common relationship of all religious persuasions to the State, there isacommon patriotic ground for the exertions of all, without the slightest reasonable pretext for political jealousy or hostility on the part of any. On such ground of comprehensiveness, and of avowed Christian principles, I have endeavoured to construct our Public SchoolSystem; such, and such only has been my aim in the teachings of my little book on Christian Morals; and such only was the aim and spirit of the Council of Public Instruction in the recommendation of it,—a recommendation to which the Council inflexibly adheres, and which it has cordially and decidedly vindicated.
The Bishop replied on the 3rd of July, thus:—I have to thank you for your letter of the 1st instant, received last evening, and to express my gratification that I had the opportunity to bear my humble testimony to your zealous and righteous efforts to promote the sound education of the youth of this Province.
I believe that in the endeavours to give this a moral and religious direction, you have done all that, in the circumstances of the country, it was in your power to accomplish. I was glad, too, to give utterance to my protest against the shameless endeavours to hold up to public scorn the valuable little work by which you desired to give a moral and religious tone to the instruction communicated in our Common Schools. If more can be done in this direction, I feel assured you would assume any allowable amount of responsibility in the endeavour to effect it.
Wishing you many years of health and usefulness, I remain, dear Dr. Ryerson, very faithfully yours,
A. N. Toronto.
This correspondence affords a striking instance of the fact that the very earnest discussions between the writers of these notes in past years, had not diminished in any way the personal respect and kindly feeling which happily existed between them. And it was so with the late venerable Bishop Strachan, with whom Dr. Ryerson more than once measured swords in days gone by. Among his very latest utterances on the Separate School Question in the Synod of 1856, he thus referred to the Head of the Education Department and his labours:—
One new feature, which I consider of great value, and for which I believe we are altogether indebted to the able Superintendent, deserves special notice: it is the introduction of daily prayers. We find that 454 schools open and close with prayer. This is an important step in the right direction, and only requires a reasonable extension to render the system in its interior, as it is already in its exterior, nearly complete. But till it receives this necessary extension, the whole system, in a religious and spiritual view, may be considered almost entirely dead.
I do not say that this is the opinion of Dr. Ryerson, who no doubt believes his system very nearly perfect; and so far as he is concerned, I am one of those who appreciate very highly his exertions, his unwearied assiduity, and his administrative capacity. I am also most willing to admit that he has carried out the meagre provisions of the several enactments that have any leaning to religion, as far as seems consistent with a just interpretation of the law.—Charge of 1856, pp. 15, 16.
In a note dated Toronto, 2nd October, 1872, Hon. W. B. Robinson sent to Dr. Ryerson an extract from the BarrieNorthern Advancecontaining an obituary notice of Dr. Ryerson. In enclosing it, Mr. Robinson said:—
I send you a Barrie paper that I think will amuse you. It is not often we are permitted to "see ourselves as others see us" when once we go "hence and are no more seen,"—but you are an exception, and I congratulate you on such being the fact; and hope the Editor will be satisfied that he is in "advance" of the times, and may have cause to give you credit for much more good work in the position you have so long held, with so much benefit to the country. I observed the death of your brother William in the papers a short time ago, which I suppose accounts for the mistake.
I send you a Barrie paper that I think will amuse you. It is not often we are permitted to "see ourselves as others see us" when once we go "hence and are no more seen,"—but you are an exception, and I congratulate you on such being the fact; and hope the Editor will be satisfied that he is in "advance" of the times, and may have cause to give you credit for much more good work in the position you have so long held, with so much benefit to the country. I observed the death of your brother William in the papers a short time ago, which I suppose accounts for the mistake.
The extract from the Barrie paper is as follows:—
Most of our readers are aware of the fact that the great champion of education in Upper Canada has gone to his rest. Coming generations, so long as time lasts, will owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Ryerson, as the only real founder of a comprehensive school system in Ontario. Through evil report and through good report he has steadily worked on his way; neither daunted by the abuse he has received, nor unduly elated by the unmeasured tribute of praise paid to his efforts in the department to which his whole life was devoted. He kept the even tenor of his way, and we think most people, unblinded by partisan prejudice, will acknowledge that his life purpose has, more than that of most men, been accomplished. He leaves behind him a structure so nearly completed that men with a tithe of his enthusiasm, and infinitely less knowledge of the educational requirements of the Province, can lay the capstone, and declare the work complete.
Most of our readers are aware of the fact that the great champion of education in Upper Canada has gone to his rest. Coming generations, so long as time lasts, will owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Ryerson, as the only real founder of a comprehensive school system in Ontario. Through evil report and through good report he has steadily worked on his way; neither daunted by the abuse he has received, nor unduly elated by the unmeasured tribute of praise paid to his efforts in the department to which his whole life was devoted. He kept the even tenor of his way, and we think most people, unblinded by partisan prejudice, will acknowledge that his life purpose has, more than that of most men, been accomplished. He leaves behind him a structure so nearly completed that men with a tithe of his enthusiasm, and infinitely less knowledge of the educational requirements of the Province, can lay the capstone, and declare the work complete.
Hon. Marshall S. Bidwell died in New York shortly after his visit to Canada in 1872. Hon. Judge Neilson, his friend, wrote to Dr. Ryerson for particulars of Mr. Bidwell's early life, with a view to publish it in a memorial volume. This information Dr. Ryerson obtained from Sir W. B. Richards, Clarke Gamble, Esq., Q.C., and Rev. Dr. Givens, and, with his own, embodied it in a communication to Judge Neilson. In a letter to Dr. Ryerson, dated 30th April, 1873, the late Rev. Dr. Saltern Givens said:—
A short time since, Hon. W. B. Robinson informed me that a letter ofcondolence was written by the late Mr. Bidwell to Lady Robinson and her family, on the death of Sir John, and that he thought it would answer your purpose.... I am sure that you will peruse it with as much pleasure as I have done.It ought to be a matter of devout thankfulness and congratulation with us Canadians, that two of our most distinguished statesmen and jurists have left behind them such unequivocal and delightful testimonies of their faith in Christ, and of their experience of the power of His Gospel, in extracting the sting from death and in comforting the bereaved.I am sure that Sir John's letters to Mr. Bidwell, under his similar trial, if you could obtain them, would be read with a thrill of delight and profit by their many friends throughout Canada.When witnessing—as we have done, some forty years ago—those fierce political contests in which our departed friends were involved, how little did we think that in the evening of their days they would have been united in the bonds of Christian love and sympathy, as this interchange of friendship evinces.
A short time since, Hon. W. B. Robinson informed me that a letter ofcondolence was written by the late Mr. Bidwell to Lady Robinson and her family, on the death of Sir John, and that he thought it would answer your purpose.... I am sure that you will peruse it with as much pleasure as I have done.
It ought to be a matter of devout thankfulness and congratulation with us Canadians, that two of our most distinguished statesmen and jurists have left behind them such unequivocal and delightful testimonies of their faith in Christ, and of their experience of the power of His Gospel, in extracting the sting from death and in comforting the bereaved.
I am sure that Sir John's letters to Mr. Bidwell, under his similar trial, if you could obtain them, would be read with a thrill of delight and profit by their many friends throughout Canada.
When witnessing—as we have done, some forty years ago—those fierce political contests in which our departed friends were involved, how little did we think that in the evening of their days they would have been united in the bonds of Christian love and sympathy, as this interchange of friendship evinces.
The following is Mr. Bidwell's letter to Hon. W. B. Robinson, dated 24th February, 1863:—