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M
N(
HISTORY
OK THK
METHODIST CHURCH
wnillN TIIF. TKURITORIFS KMRRACF-D IN THE IMF. CONKKRFNCF- OF
EASTERN BRITISH AMERICA,
INCLUDING
NOVA SCOTIA, NKW BRUNSWICK, NKWFOUNDLANI), riUNCE KDWARI) ISLAM) AND BERMUDA.
Hv T. WATSON SMITH,
Of the .Wii-d Sciitiil CdiU'i'irnre.
Vol. II.
HALIFAX:
s. K. huf:stis.
ToRONio: WILLIAM HRKIGS. Montrkai.: C. W. COATES.
V. 2.
0 6 8 u
1/
Entered according to the Act of the rarliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety, liy W'll.i.iAM Hkicc.s, Toronto, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture, at Ottawa,
:
1" K H 1^^ A C K.
The present voluiiio is not oixvu to the piil.lic witliout feelings of gr.ititiule. Again and again, during tiie prepar- ation of tlie manuscript, the p,M, has hern laid aside througli the protests of a w.-arj hrain, and more tl.an once with comparatively litth' prospect tliat it could he ;,gain t;d<en up, excrpt at seri.uis risk. This sta<<'nicnt on the part of the author is deemed necessary as an explanati.m to rea(h^rs of the Hrst volume, which was issued nearly tlii-teen years ago. Not a few of the purcliasers of that volume, whose assurances of interest in its p.Tusal, and of expectation of pleasure in the contents of its successor, have proved an inspiration to the author i., p,M-iods of dei-ression, have, meanwhile, passed on to the fellowship of tlie Clnirch triumpliant.
A not unkindly critic has spoken of tlie (irst volume as somewluit " fragmentary." Of the present volum,. the same remark might he made without gnvit injustice. Any volume of Methodist liistory, whicli en.l,rar(>s a territory smaller than tliat of a contin(>nt, must inevital)ly consist of portions more or less detached. From the movements of a numher of men, here to-day and gone to-morrow, their labor
iv
PREFACE.
•
spread over widely-separated sections of the country, and directed from variously situated centres, consecutive history can only be written at the cost. vi^f th\^ dAx.I\:.~ion of much important detail and interesting incident.
It was the original intention of the author to proceed no further with his history than to the period of the organiza- tion of the Eastern British American Conference, in 1855. To that purpose he has virtually adhered, as the closing chapter is a supplementary sketch rather than a detailed account of a period rich in the development of influences set at work during three preceding generations. History can- not be written with thorough safety when fire may yet smoulder beneath the ashes of some movement marked by a bright brief blaze ; the canonization of living men is never prudent. The lapse of time only can throw light upon the motives of many actions, and the hidden causes of many apparently transparent actions. Forty years ago, George Bancroft, when asked how far he proposed to continue his History of the United States, replied : "If 1 were an artist, painting a picture of this ocean, my work would stop at the horizon, I can see no farther. My history will end with the adoption of the constitution. All beyond that is experiment." With no less wisdom and more clearness a leading writer of present-day fiction !ias made one of her characters say : "In the blaze and mist of this ' to-day,' things are seen false and distorted. People are in too great a hurry to tell of to-day ; they ought to wait, in some things, till it has become yesterday."
It has not been possible in all cases to mention the names
PREFACE. y
of persons from whose pen quotations have been made. The already numerous foot-notes of the volunie would have been made wearisome to the reader. Of the denominational papers and periodicals, British and Canadian, a free use has been made, and, among many denominational and general religious and historical works, the following have been con- sulted with profit :
Richey'a '• Memoir of WilHam Black."
Stevens' " History of Methodism."
Churchill's " Memorials of Missionary Life."
Wilson's " Newfoundland and its Missionaries."
Crookshank's " Methodism in Ireland."
" Autobiography of a Wesleyan Missionary."
Gregg's " History of the Presbyterian Church in Canada."
Arthur's " Life of Gideon Ouscley."
Campbell's " History of Nova Scotia."
" " History of Prince Edward Island."
Huestis' " Memorials of Methodist Preachers."
Hatton and Harvey's " Newfoundland."
Pedley's "History of Newfoundland,"
Tocque's '• Newfoundland as it Was," etc.
Lathern's "Hon. Judge Wilmot."
Nicolson's "James B. Morrow."
More's " History of Cjueen's County."
Bill's "History of the Baptists."
•' Acadia College and Horton Academy."
Tucker's " Life and Episcopate of Edward Feild."
"Duncan Dunbar, the Earnest Minister."
Octavius Wiuslow's " Memorial of Mary Winslow."
VI
riCCFACK
The coiifidcuc'i! with which scvonil possessors of jirivate journals .-iikI corrcsixdiiN-ncc liavc phuod th<'in at his dis- posal, hav(; (Micou raged tlic author in the |)rosecution of a work wliich must l»e largely its own reward, I't-w recpiests have heen j)referred \>y him in \ain. Some return for such contich'nce has, in s<'veral cases, In-en given in the permanent record of the faithful lai">r of parents or friends " passed into the skies;" beyond this, thanks are here tendered. Among th()S(! whose assistance in various wavs merits special recognition, ai'e William V>. Tope, l).I)., of England ; Thomas li. Akin, !.L.I)., William 15. McXutt, Ksq,, and Mrs. N. A. Calkin, of Halifax : Thomas A. Temple, I':s(i , of St. John ; and the late Aaron Tilley, of liandom Sound. Newfoundland. The aid given in a minor degree l)y many otliens, too numerous for pre.sent personal mention, is also gratefully remembered.
In taking leave of the public, the author nui.st give expression to a ho})e that his work may pi-ove a stimulus to .some organiz(!d effort for the preservation of docujuents and collection of facts having refer<Mice to Methodist history. Much of th(! mateiial which has found a place in his two volumes would, by to-day, have been irrecoverably lost ; in a few years many other valuable papers will be Ijeyond the historian's reach. The colunnis of our denominational journal allbrd an excellent medium for the conveyance to the pul)lic of such information as exists only in the keeping of weak human memories : a Methodist Historical Society, organized on a solid and generous basis, can alone sutiice for the preservation of tlie many more or le.ss important docu-
I'llKFAC'K.
Vll
inents now floatirii,' al>out in various Provincial circuits. ITpon t\w, Israelite of olden time tin? conununication to liia ohildren of the ,i,'reat tliinj^s which (Jod had done in his own (lavs and in the days of his fathers was enjoined hy solemn command. The form of that command reaches us, and in the " keeping; of it," as of all divine commands, "there is great reward." God can be read in the history of Ifis Church as in no other way, e.'^cept in His revelation of Himself through His inspired Word,
I
CON^rBN^J^S,
THAITKli I.
FOlrMATlON OK W KSl.KVAN M KTIIODIST MISSIOXAKV
SOCIK'U.
Mctliipdist Mis.-i. II W'di'k in Mlviinoc cif an oi-^'aiii/.cti society. Kfforts (if ( Ilk ■ to sustain tin pussinns. His di'iiai'tuif fcjr the Kust. For- ni-ition of histricr Mi.-sionary Societies, and union of tliest; in tlio (.Jeneial MissioMiiry Socit'ty. heath i>f Coke, - . Tu^'e 17
CHAPTER II.
MKTIIODISM IN NKWI'ol \ l>LAM), FK'OM isi;{ TO THE DISTRICT MKKT1\(J OF isiij.
Fni^'lisli interest in evanj^'eli/ution of Newfoundland. Arrival oi Sain|tson liusliy. Fstal)lislMaent of Cliurcli at I'.oiiavista. N'isits of Kllis to other harhors. Arrival of liculsand I'ickavant. Fstalt- li.shinent of chnrcli at St. .lohn's. Tin- l)rot' '.ts Hicks( ii. First Colonial Mis.->ionary fiist. Loss of church pro|)erty at St. .fohn'.s and Cartioneai'. Ixeinfori'enient of staff. I)istress in Colony. tJt'urge Culiitt. Otiier missionaries. .... Pago 20
CHAITHR III.
METHODISM IN NKWFOlNDLANI), FKO.M isi.'i TO THE DISTRICT MEETIN(; OF 1824. {('nm-hulnl.)
Native Indians. ^lissioii to Lalirador. Hindrances to (Josj»e] work. Note.s on circuit.s, niini.st«'rs and laity. Iniluence of mission.s in Nevvfuundland on otlier countries, .... I'aye W
CONTKN'ia.
CHAPTER IV.
MKTHOhISM IX THK LOWKR I>R(,VIXCKS, from thF DfSTRKT fOXFKRKNCK OK l,si.{ TO THAT OF 1,sl>o.
The War of ISl^ Annual Al..,,in^. IVinc. F.luanl Island. Low.r Utnjula \Vo.-k,nmnvkK.aliti..s. Arrival -f Mi„ist..,s. F-nnation o Mr.s.onary ,S,..u.ty. Candidates for Ministry. (J.n.ral Af-.-tinus
1 age uo
CHAPTER V.
MFTHODISM IN THE LOWER PROVIXrFS, FROM THF
DISTRICT MKKTIX(; OF 1820 TO THE DIVISION
OF THE DISTRICT IX IHLX;.
ofMaHsters ^Vork „, .s.-veral Circuit.s. (George Jack.son. Con.
A^<i'xTT; V'r ''■^'••'^''^•- ^^''^ ^''-"--land Circuit. Arthur McNutt . ohn P.akcr, Janu. (J. H^nni-.u- and Thon.as H
Dav.es. Pruu-e Edward Island. Priestly ,t St. J..hn. M-ndH.: snip, - - , .
I'iige DH
CHAPTER Vl
METHODISM IX I'.ER.MIDA, FROM 1S1.{ TO THE CEN- TEX.VRV CELFI!R>ATlON OF lS.Si».
.TaUH. Dunhar .nd oth.-r nd .sionaries. St. iU:r,.'s and Hailev's Pav D-stunony tow..,.kof n.issi.nari,.s. Willian. Sutclitfe. Con-'rega- nonahstsatSt (;....rK..-s. T.n.p.st-tossed Missionaries. K >g ^r
1 dheulfes through slavery. Progress und.r danu. Horne. John Cro ts. A worthy lead..-. Thon.as Snn-th. St. David's. The Dockyard. Kn.aTinpation. dohn P.arry and others. - Page 133
CONTKNTS.
XI
CHAPTER Vn.
MKTIIODISM IN .NKWForXDr.AXI), FJJOM TIIM DISTRICT
MEKTINi; OF ISit TO 'J'HK C'KNTKXAHY
r'KLKIiRATroN IX \K¥X
Arriviil (.f iniiiist.Ts. Williiuii (;r.)sc(,iiil.c and St. .Fulnrs. Visits to nrglfctcd (listrirts. Kcvivuls. I'tTils in tnivdling. K..ni;in Cutlu)- lic violence. ( 'liiuigcs in the ministry. Death (.f William Kllis. 2Sc\v missionary ctfort. I'atff 103
CHAPTER VIII.
METHODIS>r IX THK XOVA SCOTIA AND I'HIXCK EDWAKD
ISLAXD DISTRICT, FROM IS-JC TO TIfK CKX-
TEXARY CKLKRRATIOX IX is.Sit.
Division of the District. Chang.'s in list of ministi^rs. A i)]. ointments to till- West Indies. Cuyshoro". Cape Jireton. Halifax. Young ministers. Shuljei\acadie and Truro. - - . l>ag(. 18(J
CHAPTER IX.
MKTTIODISM rX TUKNOVA SCOTIA AND TRTXCK EDWARD
ISLAXD DISTRICT, ERO.M ISUO To TlIF CEXTEXARY
CELKRRATIOX IX is:«i. ((',n,r/u>fr,L)
(ilance at ..Ider circuits. IVincr Fdward Island. ]iil,le Christian Church. Ministerial chan-es. Xot ices of Matthew Ridley, William
Black, and other ministers.
CHAPTER X.
METJIODISM IX TIIKXFW I'.RCXSWrCK DISTRICT, FROM
ITS EOR.MATIOX IX Isjf, TO THE CKXTEXARY
CFEEHRATIOX IX ls;5l>.
Changes in tlie ministry. Duncan McColl. Arrival of ministers. Sus- sex Vale. Arthur McNutt and I'etitcodiac. Arrivals of English ministers. T'rovincial candidates. St. Andrew's, Miramichi, IJichihucto, Hathurst, Woodstock and Andover. - Page 244
X" CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
METHODISM IN THK NEW BRUNSWICK DISTRICT FROM
ITS FORMATION IN 182G TO THE CENTENARY
YEAR, 1830. [Concluded.)
Changes in the ministry. Humphrey Pickard, Samuel D. Rice, and others. Arrival c,f English preachers. Protracted meetings. St John and Frederict.jn. Lemuf^l Allan Wihuot. Sheffield. Cir- cuits on the American l)order. Westmoreland. Charles F Allison and other laymen. Petitcodiac. Annapolis and Bridgetown. Visit' ing missionary. Failure to enter open doors. - . Rage 26G
CHAPTER XII.
CELEBRATION OF THE CENTENARY OF METHODISM
IN 1839.
Preiiaratory action in England. Generous enthusiasm there. Provincial
Celebration. Retrospect.
Page 303
Chapter xiir.
METHODISM IN THE LOWER PROVINCES' DISTRICTS,
FROM 1830 TO THE FORMATION OF THE EASTERN
BRITISH AMERICAN CONFERENCE.
\ new era. Improvements. Pre-miUenial discussion. Millerite delu- sion. Wesleyan Reform agitation in England. Secession of colored menibers. Political unrest. (Jeneral business depression. Mem- bership. Ministerial transfers and accessions. Notes on circuits. Attack on character of missionaries. Asiatic cholera in St John Destruction of church property at Fredericton. Riot at Woodstock" Camp-meetings at Sussex Vale. Secession of part of Society and destruction <,f church at Milltown. Bible Christians in Prince Edward Island. Work among British soldiers. William Mar- jouram. Deceased preachers. Death of Stephen Bamford. Brief sketches of several other 8ui)ernumerary ministers. . Page 311
I
CONTENTS.
xm
CHAPTER XIV.
METHODISM IN NFAVFOUNDLAND, FROM THE CENTExV-
ARY CELEBRATION TO THE FORMATION OF
THE EASTERN BRITISH AMERICAN
CONFERENCE.
Political unrest. Friendliness r)f Sir .Tolin Harvey. Cluiirni.an of that I)eriod. Changes in itinerant ranks. Progress on circuits. Revi- vals. Auxiliary Missionary Society. New missions on Western Shore and Bay of Notre Danie. Interesting incident. Death of William Marshall. Sound Island. .... {^age 300
CHAPTER XV.
METHODISM IN BERMUDA, FROM THE CENTENARY
CELEBRATION TO FORMATION OF EASTERN
BRITISH AMERICAN CONFERENCE.
New church at St. George's. Causes of depression. Arthur H. Steele. W. E. Shenstone. Visiting ministers. Yellow fever. Joini Baxter Brownell. The " Black Watch." George Douglas. Thos. M. Albrighton. Bermuda a part of the Nova Scotia District. Isaac Whitehouse. Fever ei»idemic. Decrease in menibership.
Page 374
CHAPTER XVI.
THE EDUCATIONAL AND LITERARY WORK OF METHO- DISM IN THE EASTERN PROVINCES PREVIOUS TO THE FORMATION OF THE EASTERN BRITISH AMERICAN CONFERENCE.
The Methodist movement originates in a University. Educational dis- advantages of Provincial Methodists. Educational movements in other churches. Unsuccessful attemi)ts by Metliodists. Andrew Henderson's Academy. Wesleyan Day-schools. Offer ))y Charles F. Allison. Erection and opening of Academy. Appointment of Humphrey Pickard as Principal. Progress of school. Ladies' Academy. Charles F. Allison and H. Pickard. Resvilts of their
XIV
CONTENTS.
work. Meth(i(li.st (education in Newfoundland. Ncwfitundland Schocjl Society. ^iiinday-schools. Widtcr i'roiidey. Methodist literature. Publications by Preachers. Methods of diss«'inination of literature. Depositories. Lack of a J'rovineial Methodist paper. Friendly editors. Magazine of IS.'VJ. Ihitish North American Wesleyan Methodist Magazine. " Weshyan "' of bS4!». Page oS;")
CHAPTER XVIJ.
METHODISM IN THK .MAIHI'I .M K i'iJOVIXf'KS IN KKLA
TFON TO TME STA'I'K AND TO OTHKII KELKilOlS
AND PHILANTHROPIC MOVEMHNTS OF
THE PERfOD.
Methodism in relation to the State. Kpiscopal domination in early days in the several Provinces. Struggle fnr the right tn solenniize marriage. Opposition at Fredericton. Susi)ensii)n of J'lnoeh Wood's connnission. Coin-ti^sy of Sir John Harvey. I''irmness of (Jeorge Cubitt in Newfoundland, iioman Catholic .'..ssistance. State Aid. InHuence of other churches on Provincial Methodism. Liturgical forms and Church milliner}'. The Prayer-book in Newfomidland. The (4own. Influence of Methodism on other Provincial churches. Influence on Calvinistic teaching. Practical influence on others. Methodism and Temperance effort. ... - Page 412
CHAPTER XVJII.
'i
oroanization of eastern biutish american conferI':nc1': in 1855.
Policy of Wesh'van Missionary Society. Assistance. Missionary scheme. Strong opposition to it in Lower Provinces. Various proposals for Union. Views of Districts in 1843 on the subject. Outline of plan proposed in 1847. Siibsecpient imjpositions. Arrival of Dr. Beechani in 1855. Formation of Eastern British American Conference. Return of Dr. Beecham to Britain. His early death. Page 431
CONTKNTS
XV
('HAPTER XIX.
SKETCH OF PH()(;i{KS.S 1)ITHJ\<; KXisTKXCK OF KAS'IKKN
BRITISH AMKHICAX CONKKHKNCK, WITH \OTKS
OX Sl'HSK(^l KNT UNIONS.
Kngli.sli I'msidciits. Fiiiiuicia] iiiTiu,<r.'nici.ts. 71 c :srissi.,ii Society.
Juhilcc cv]<.l>r;iti..ii. 'I'mitoiiul Kmwtli. r.;il.ni(l..r. St. I'uvrv. Death ..f s..i,i,,r iniiM\t..rs. Ku-li.^li ininist.Tial nrniits. Joseph Laumic-f. MniilxTshii-. Mount Allison ("oil,-,.. |'.,,.,k K'ooui und "\VcsI..y:in." M,,vfni..nts to\\;,nl I'ni.^n \vi li tlit- ('.in.'uiii.n Coiifereiice. C..n.sniinnati,.Ti of Tnion. Kuitli.r T 'm'on in 1SS;{.
I'age 451
inSTORY OF .MFTnODISAI
IN EASTERN BIMTLSH AMERICA.
CHAPTER I.
FOinrATlOX OF WESLKN AX MKTHOJ^ST MIH«mXAUY
HOCIKTY.
Mcthiidi.st Mission Wmk in •i,lv.,,„„ , t ■ , ,
iiiati.m ,,f l)i«trirt \L"/,Z u '^ "I'-l''"' '"■'■.'"'■ H"' I'li-t. I-',,,-- '■:<:.r:a AlissiJ/.^vy «;;;:;"'"' l^'.^^'Ji'^'f^;,',-' ""f >'•-'■ i" tl,..
Tho war in wind, (.i,vat liritain was o„„a^.,.cI with Ftanco a.,<l America i„ 18l;( did not prov.nt liritish Methodists from dev.sn.g liheral thinys for tho extension of tl.e l;in„- dom of then- Lord. They were not satisfied only to susta^, the messengers previously sent forth ; they turned fron, an Mcitnig national contest to u,ake provision for the occu- pancy of new Holds " white already unto harvest."
1'" friends of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, founded
■n Ibl.), cannot clann for it priority on the list of soeietie.,
ot kuKlred ch.aracter. It n.ust, however, l,e borne in mind
hat, wlnle before the year nan,e,l no steps ha.l I.een taken
tow-a,x s t ,0 forn,ation of a n.issionary society under general
Meh„.l,stn,an,.gen,ent,thenun,berof,nission.ariesen,ployed at that per,od under the auspices of British Methodism was greater than that of the agents of several associations for son,e years known to the religious public. Methodist n.is- ons d,d not owe their origin to a n.issionary society ; on the contrary, tho Wesleyan Missionary Society was called
18
lllSTOUY OF METHODISM.
into existenco for the supj)ort and extension of missions already establislied. The liritish c'oh>nies in America had first (iiiga^jjed the attention of Kn^^lish ^lethodists. Tlie ministers assemhled at Leeds, in 17G!>, s(!nt Richard Board- man and Josepli Pihiioor to America, and, "in token of hrotlierly allection," gave seventy pounds from tlieir own slender resources to pay for the passage of tlu; missionaries and to assist their brethren in New York in the removal of the debt on their '' pi-eachiug house." A few years later, when nearly all those magiiitict-nt colonies had become inde- pendent of the mother-country, and a rapidly ex})anding Methodism had entered upon a distinct career, the eyes of Wesley and his co-laborers were turned toward England's oldest transatlantic possession, Newfoundland, and also toward Nova Scotia, in which province many thousands of Loyalists from the revolted colonies and large numbers of disbanded troops had had lands allotted to tluMu. John McCJeary, who ai-rixed in Newfoundland in 17''^;'), and James Wi'av, who reached Nova Scotia in 1787, crossed the ocean as unconscious leadei's of a long procession from Britain to the remaining British American provinces. Three mission- aries, intended by tlieir brethren to aid these leaders, but turned aside by Him whose path is in the great waters, in 178G reached xVntigua, whence two of them proceeded to the islands of Dominica and St. Christopher. These were soon followed to the West Indies by others, sevei'al of whom prosecuted their work at the peril of life on islands where petty tyrants and slave-holding legislators reigned almost supreme. Thus in 1813, when the first steps were taken towards the formation of a INIethodist Missionary Society, .sixteen missionaries were travelling in the British North American provinces and the Bermudas ; twenty-four were to be found in various parts of the West Indies ; and two others, like lonely sentinels, were stt^tioned, the one at the
roRMATius OF MissioxMiY sociiyrv. Kt
military fortress of (lil)raltar, arul the otlirr in the distant African colony of Sierra Leone.
These missions, as well as the neai'er Irish missions, Mere for many years vii-tually cariied on l»y a connnitt«.'(i of one. J)i. Coke superintended them, and, m a larj^e measure, sus- tained them, [n <loing this he stoojted to tiie vei-y di-ud- i^ery of charity, and beij;ged from door to door tln^ funds necessary to their maintenance. lAjr a task so ditlicult, his native ardor and pleasing address admirably Htted him. From his fre<juent voyages across the Atlantic he had deri\ed further ([ualilications for a work which few coveted. While on the American continent he had listened to the modest i-ecital of the toil of the heroic Asbury, and the noble band of pioneers in the far West and in the British provinces; and when in the West Indies he had witnessed, durinu; the darkest days of slavery, the sufl'erings of cap- tive Africans, to whom it was beyond Ids power to give any physical I'elief. J I is appeals for financial aid, pre- ferred in the s})ii'it of a Christian and with tlit; dignity of a gentlenuvn, were not always ht»ai'd with patience ; but for occasional tebuHs he was in some degree compensated l)y the appreciative i-eception given him by the thoughtful and benevolent. The names of Wil))erfoi'ce and the Thoi'ntons were fre(juently found 05i liis listft, and on these rolls of honor titled names were by no means rare. Some worthy ministers of the National Church, from one of the parishes of wliich Coke had been driven for his godliness, proved their interest in his new departure by financial aid. Deficiencies were sonu'times nuide up by the zealous collector from his private purse. In 1703, when he gave to the Conference an account of a six years' stewardship, more than <£' 2,000 was due him. This large balance, he said to his brethren, in a spirit in harmony with his whole career, " will never again be brought into
20
IirSTOin' OF METHODISM.
account ; it is my subscription to the great work." Fn subsccjuont yo;ii-s the suj)oriMteiHlonts of circuits were ordered to take uj) coHections on Ix-h.'ilf of niis.sions, and coniniittecs were api)ointed to assist Coke -in part, per- haps, to control his iiii{)ulsiv(! spirit : yet the missions remained unch'r the virtual mana[,'ement of the one man, whether designated " Superintendent of Missions," or " Pr(!sident of the Oonnnittee."
During the summer of 1801, Coke sailed from America on his eighteenth and last Atlantic passage. His hi-ief, enthusiastic note to William l>lack, called forth l>y Black's acceptance of the Hernmdian mission, and dated, " On the Delaware, June .'5rd," was j)roi)ahly his latest etlbrt to serve his Master on the American continent.' The ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of whicli he had been appointed a superintendent by \\'esl»*y, had only lent him to their English brethren. They never, however, saw fit to as.sert their right to recall him, certain correspondence between him and a l)ishop of the Protestant Ejjiscopal Church having awakened some fear of " Church " tendencies on his part. Mis services, nevertheless, were most grate- fully remembered. Any errors in judgment they regarded as tho.se of an impulsive Englishman who could not clearly appreciate American character and circumstances. " The effects of these errors," an American Methodist historian has writteji, " were slight and only temporary ; the results of his virtues were grand and enduring. In all circum- stances he maintained an unsullied rei)utation for integrity and an eminent character for piety."
Freed thus from all transatlantic tie.s, and satisfied that the missions in behalf of which he had spent years and for- tune were in successful operation. Coke turned an earnest gaze toward the distant land of the Indus and the Ganges,
1 Vol, I., p. 467.
FOIiMATIOX OF MISSlOXAliY SOCIKTY. '1\
or
To him tlio study of tliat vast (tounti-y ami of its lioary systems of hratlitMiism was not new. As oai'ly as in \1^\ lie had wi'ittou to a <,'Oiith'mau in India for infoi'ination rospcctin*,' the stat(; of the (.'Oimtiy and tht; pro'tahlo dilHcultif's, exprnsc and success of a mission at some point witljin its tei'i'itory ; and t}n'oui,di suhserjuent ycai-s he liad eagerly embraced all oppor-tunities for sccutini; additional knowled^M' u})on a favoi-ite suhject. At length - nearly thirty years after the idea of a mission to India had first been entertained the project took dellnite shape. The touching story of the manner in which he silenced his remonstrant brethren has often been told. To his teai'ful entreaty for permission to proceed to tln^ I'^ast, objection was vain ; and the v(!teran, with consent oi the Conference, entered upon linal arran<,'ements for the dejiarture of him- self and seven yount^ colleagues upon a long contemj)lated errand of love.
For some time Ix'foi'e the rleparture of Coke for fndia, the necessity for mor<' general etfort under systematic man- agement had become evident to the friends of Wesleyan missions. It had been'felt that no one individual, whatever his wealth in gifts, could j)()ssil)ly continue to survey alone the vast foreign Held, and to beiu- the chief responsibility of selecting suitalde agents antl obtaining means for their transport and maintenance abroad, in the abscMice of any general denominational scheme, warm-hearted Methodists had been contributing to the funds of societies ali-eady in existence, while Methodist youth, i-ipe and eager for mis- sionary service, found no fair scope foi" lioly enterprise under auspices they deemed most satisfactory. One of such young men, a class-leader in an English village, entered the service of the London Missionary Society, and as Robert Moffatt, the " apostle to Africa," won a prominent place among the nun)ber whose zeal, first kindled at Methodist
•>Q
lirsrOUY OF METHODISM.
altars, lias buriKul Ijiiglitly in otlior temples, to the f^lory of our common Lord.- It was uiHU^r tlio biu'den of the new respoiisihility rolhul upon the (hmominatioii by (.^ok(»'s aj)})j'oaohinf; (h!i)artur(% and in the; etlbi-t to Mvoid any step backwai'd in work abi'oad, that several Methodist ministers took sueh measui'es as «,'ave deliuite dir(!otion to tin; /^'rowing enthusiasm of their people in the evangj^li/ation of tlu; woi'ld.
The distinction of leadership in the new line of ellbrt belongs to the Leeds cii'cuit ; though, accoi-ding to an authority on IJritish INrcthodism, the place of honor was nearly won by the Vji-ethren at Edinburgh, (ieorge Morley, 8uj)erintendent at Leeds, convinced that the Conference which had just authoi'ized the expensive mission to Ceylon had niadt! no adeipiate ])rovision for the maintenance of that and the previously estal)lished missions, re.solved on his return to his cii'cuit to put forth ellbi-t for increased and continuous linancial support. He was fortunate in having as a colleague, .fabez iJunting, a junior preacher who had sometimes assisted Dr. Coke in his missionary correspon- dence; and to the bold and prompt, yet judicious, measures of Morley's colleague, the great success attending the move- ment at Leeds and in other parts of JJritain may in good measure be attri' uted.
Few days in the history of Methodism have been »nore fruitful in blessing than a certain day in October, 1813, On the Gth of that month the meetings announced at Leeds took place. Their smallest details had been i)lanned in much anxiety, and with earnest prayer. At six, before the sun had risen upon the earth, men from several parts of Yorkshire were on their knees in united prayer ; and at half-past ten, Richard Watson's memorable sermon on Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones was preached, but
'i "Wtjsleyan Methodist Maj,Mj;iiu'," 18S4, pp. 4!)-54.
FOiniATloX OF }f/SS/f>XA/n' SOCIKTY. 23
tlu' special •^'atlicriiii,' was tliat of tlio aftoniooii. It waH hold ill the oli.q>(!l wlicnct', nearly fifty yeaj's before, Kiehard Hoardinau and Joseph Pilinoor had j^one foith as the j)ioneers of a great missionary hand. Thoinfis Thompson, ^^.P., took the chair, thiity foui'speaker-s, nineteen of whom were la 'men, siipj)ortin,Lf him. One of the ministers present was wont in later days to tell his junioivs of the timidity with which his brethren and he entei'cd uj)on their woi-kon that occasion. They " nu^t in the \esM'y a little hefoi-e the time, and on looking; into tlie chapel saw it densely crowded. There was no platform, and the chair was placed in the singers' place under the pulpit. When the titne cauie no one seemed dispo.sed to loav*-! the vestry. ()n(^ and another .said, 'I know not what to say, \ was never at such a meet- ing before.' At length Mr. lUinting, in the fulness of his heai't, e.\claim(vl, ' And I am at a loss what to say, l)ut I am willing to be a fool for (Mu-ist's sake," and walked into the chapel, the rest following." One of the most attractive addresses was given by William Warrenei", one of the three missionaries who, many yeai-s befoi-e, liad sailed with Coke for Halifax, and had been driven with him by a tempest off tlie Banks of Newfoundland to the Island of Antigua. The sisters were allotted that day a place in the gallery, but Jabez I3unting even then predicted for them their present noble share in missionary service. No collections were takeji, but the ii^terest awakened gave pDinise of large financial results, and justified the immediate appointment of a treasurer. Richard Reece preached to another crowded audience in the evening, and thus concluded the services of the day from which British Methodists date the hLstory of their missionary society — but not the beginning of their missionary work.
The purpose cherished by George Morley originally em- braced only the Leeds circuit, but at the first public meet-
w
}\'
24
HISTORY OF METHODISM.
ing it was resolved tliat a niissionavy society for tlie Leeds district sliould be organized, with local branches in the several circuits. This course was soon followed in other districts, though for a time several influential ministers and laymen stood aloof -the ministei's thi'ough fear of an undue power likely to be given l)y the new movement to the laity ; the laymen through fcome clerical action dictated by this foolish jealousy. A work so beneticent could not, how- ever, long be impeded in its pi'ogrcss by a cause so trivial. "A new and mighty impulse," says Thomas Jackson, "was given to mission work in the connexion. Othci" places in quick succession followed the noble example of Leeds, till the Methodist congregations from the Land's End to the Tweed cau;[dit the sacred flame. Collectors ofl'ered their services in all directions ; the hearts of the people were everywhere impressed and opened by just reports of the real state of the heathen, and bv the communication of authentic missionary intelligence, and money was from year to year poured into the sacred treasury beyond all formei" precedent. In less than three years each district — a very few only excepted — had its missionary society. At the Conference of 1S17 these were united. In accordance with the proposal of a committee charged with an examina- tion into missionary finances, the Conference directed that all district or local associations should be connected witii oneCeneral Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, that a public meeting of that society should be held in London in May of each yeai', and that an annual report of proceedings should be issued. At the first ainiual meeting, held in May, 1818, the general treasurer reported an income for the year of more than twenty thousand pounds. The society thus launched and placed under the direction of the ablest ministers and laymen of English jNIethodism, soon became one of the foremost missionary institutions of tlie
FORMATIOX OF MlS<inXARY SOCIETY.
•1'^
world. Its receipts in the course of a few years far ex- ceeded the most sanguine expectations of its founders, and its agents proved second to none in the promotion of its higli aim, the glory of God in the exaltation of men.
Coke, the "father of our missions," oidy learned from human voice or pen the earliest results of this movement. '' The Lord reward you a thousand times : "' he wrote to Bunting from the Cabnlca Indiaman, in a note carried to the shore by the pilot. On the passage to the East he found a grave in the depths of the Indian Ocean— the first of the three Insiiops of the Methodist Episcopal Church to whom have been given interment in Asiatic .soil or sea. Towards evening, on May 3rd, ISII, an awning was spread on the deck of the ship as though for Sabbath worship. The cotHn containing Coke's body, which that morning had been found lifeless on the floor of his cabin, was slowly bi'ought uj) the gangway and covered with signal flags. The soldiers were drawn up on deck, the crew, at the tolling of the ship's bell, gathered in silence, and the passengei-s, deeply affected, stood near the body of their late companion. William M. Harvard, one of the seven young volunteers for India, and, subsequently, a prominent man in Canadian Methodism, read the burial service. " Just then," says Coke's biographer, Etheridge— "and a fit end)lem and accompaniment was it of the dis- appearance from among men of one who had been the means of enlightenment to myriads— the sun went down behind the Indian Hood. The rapid tropical shadows gathered like a pall on the scene, and the ocean, who.se waves he had so often traversed in fulfilling the grand labors of his life, now opened an asylum to his remains till the sea shall give up its dead."
V.
CHAPTER II.
MI:TM()DISIVI in XFAVFOUNDLAND, from 1813 TO THE DrSTKICT MKI':TlX(r OF 1S24.
Eiig'lisli interest in evaii<,'<'liziiti()ii of XewfoinulluTul. Arrival of Saiiipsoii Bus))y. Kstablisluiient of Churcli at l'>ona\i.sta. \'isit.s of Mills to other liai'liors. Arrival of Ijcwis and I'ickavant. Esta- blislinient of church at St. .lolnTs. The l)rothers Ifickson. First Colonial Missioiiai'y List. Ijoss of church proix'rty at St. John's and Carlionear. I^einforceinent of staff. Distress in Colony. Ueorge Cul)itt. Other ministers.
Am 'Tig the first to sliare in the benefits resulting from the formation of the Wesleyan Missionary Society were the numerous settlers scattered along the shores of Newfound- land, the tenth in magnitude of ti)e islands of the glol)e. The laudable but diflicult task of saving these thousands of the descendants of Eni^lish Protestants from the errors of Roman Catholicism, and of instructing them in Gospel truth, for niany years devolved almost wholly upon Methodist agents. Generous offers by the Rritish Government, so far from availing to inci'ease the number of the ministers to whom tiaditional influences led the neglected sheep to look as their proper spiritual shepherds, failed to maintain the list at the previous standard. The colony, on the appoint- ment in 1787 of a Inshop to Nova Scotia, had been made a part of that large diocese, l)ut attention to its pressing spiritual necessities was either forgotten or postponed to a convenient season, which was long on the way. Forty years had passed, during which the first bishop of Nova Scotia had died without a sight of its rugged coast line, and a second had resigned his ofHce without having touched its shores, when Bishop Tnglis reached the chief town of the
IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
27
colony in an .English frigate, and, conveyed along a part of the coast by the same means, visited a number of settle- ments for the performance of e})iscopal duties. It was fortunate, under tliese circumstances, that the managers of Wesleyan missions could command the services of a number of men who were not less willing to cross the ocean for the salvation of their fellows than were otlieis who sought gold through the wealth of the waters. These men came cheer- fully to a country then represented to be pre-eminently one of fog and of frost, and there diligently pursued their lioly work in the entire absence of that sensational element in toil which commands the attention and enlists the sym- pathies of a large and enthusiastic class of observers.
The latest missionary sent to Kewfoundland under tiie direction of Dr. Coke was Sampson Busby, who reached the island early in 1813. His parents were members of the Church of England, but the son, awakened and converted through sermons preached in the humble Methodist sanc- tuary of his native Yorkshire village, sought fellowship with those who had held out to him the light of life. His first evangelistic essay.s, put forth at home, might have dis- couraged a youth less ardent than he. The son's words failed to touch his father's heart ; and a farm laborer, to whom he had appealed, unable to account for the zeal of the young convert, offered a solution similar to that which occurred to the Roman Fostus. " Whoy," said the rustic, in Yorkshire dialect, " young measter's goan' mad." Having been ordained by Dr. Coke and others, he was appointed to the Island of Nevis, but, during a lengthened stay at Luton, where he awaited the sailing of the convoy rendered neces- sary by war, his appointment was changed to Newfoundland.
Towards the end of August, 1813, William Ellis took advantage of Busby's presence at Carbonear, and proceeded to Bonavista. He found there more than seventeen hundred
28
niSrORY OF METHODISM
inhabitants, twelve hundred of whom were Protestants, for whose religious necessities but slender provision had been made. The frame of a little cha}>el, raised a few years before by persons blessed under George Smith's ministry, remained a weather-beaten skeleton. The single place for worship was the small Episeoj)al church, in which prayers were read on the Lord's-day morning by the store-keeper of a large mercantile firm who locked uj) his olUce for the pur- I)Ose, and whose life, in some other res[)ects, lent no force to his religiou.s utterances
Ellis found a iiome with Charles Saint, under whose friendly roof both liemington and Ward had been sheltered. In the course of a few weeks, a class of thirt}' members was formed, nearly all them knowing whom they had believed. At Christmas, twenty-three persons })artook of the Lord's- suppei', nineteen of whom then tirst engaged in the hallowed service. On the last evening of the yeai", a meeting was held at the house of a Mr. Oldford. A near relative, indig- nant at this use of his kinsman's dwelling, expressed a wish that Satan might be there, but " this prayer," Ellis wrote in his journal, " was unanswered, for Jesus was there." From this gathering twenty persons went to the house of Charles Saint, where, at half an hour before midnight, they knelt to renew their covenant with (jod. The more frequent meetings for prayer, which the failure of Ellis' health dur- ing the earlier months of ISII rendered advisable, enabled that minister to observe with pleasure that several of the members had leai-ned to pray in public in a "sober, devout and rational manner." " I believe," he afterwards remarked, " that (iod, in answer to their fervent prayers, both public and private, continued me in the land of the living." Of Charles Saint he remarked that he was " able to exhort and even to preach a short sermon," and that his zeal was in happy proportion to his knowledge. A " warm
IN NEWFOUNDLAXD.
29
exhortation," by Benjamin Cole, induced the belief that he also was "designed to be of use." Charles Saint's career has been briefly sketched in a former volume ; fifty-tive years after Ellis had penned his impression of Benjamin Cole's relative value, death suddenly summoned the latter from a faithful service to Cod and his own generation in the several positions of day-school teacher, class-leader, and local preacher.
The society having covered in the frame which had so long been unclothed, Ellis preached for tiie first time within the walls of the little church in February, 1814, and on a visit during the subsequent summer found the building completed. Progress on other lines was at the same time reported, in spite of the opposition of the lay reader and his associates. It was then, or but a little later, that Charles Saint met with firm face an attempted interference. At the out-harbors it was the custom to hoist a flag an hour before the time for a religious service, the flag to be dropped at the end of thirty miimtes, and fully lowered as the minister entered the pulpit. On the erection of the indispensal)le flagstaff beside the little Methodist sanctuary at Bonavista, the resident magistrate uttered a threat that the use of a flag as a signal for service would l)e followed by the immediate desti'uction of the pole. On the follow- ing Sunday morning a constable received orders to remove the obnoxious stick, but the word " advice " from Mr. Saint's lips acted like a charm upon the magistrate, who recalled the order and contented himself with threats which were never fulfilled.
From Bonavista, during the winter of 1813-11, Ellis made several visits to neighboring harbors. Two were paid to Catalina, ten miles distant, where several families from Island Cove had found a new home. At Bird Island Cove, where were twenty families, he preached in April to nearly
;k)
HISTORY OF METHODISM
ii
all the Protestants the first sermon heard in the settlement. In February serious disease led him to Trinity for medical aid. There the agent of a large firm, at the instance of employers, met him on his arrival, provided him with a home, ukI gave notice for a sermon on tiie Lord's-day. By this and other acts of kindness ho was in part compen- sated for the toil of a journey unattended by any physical benelit. A conversation with a young Irish clerk, wiio had been convinced of the errors of Roman Catholicism by the reading of the "Dairyman's Daughter," was remembered with especial pleasure.
In returning to Conception Bay, in September, P^llis narrowly escaped death. The large boat in which he crossed Trinity Bay was cauglu at night by a gale, during which the sails were rent and a man was washed overboard to be seen no more. A few weeks lat(M', when entering a boat at Adam's Cove for Carbonear, where he was to preach a funeral sermon, he was in more innninent danger. Five men had taken their seats in the boat, when, just as lie wis stepping on board, the swell caused her to strike a rock and turn over. All nnist have gone down had not two men on the rock made dexterous use of a rope left there by apparent accident. One of the boat's crew was lost, as was also one of the rescuing party. On the death of the latter, Ellis, a few weeks after the event, })reaclied a funeral ser- mon ; but the preacher's head had been so injui'ed and his side so bruised by being beaten against tlie rocks, that to the end of life any close mental application continued to be a dirticult task.
During the autumn of ISl I, several changes took place in the list of workers. Samuel McDowell, who returned to Britain at the end of a six years' service, had so lived as to be missed. His good natural gifts were increased in efficiency by his possession of much of the spirit of his Mas-
IN NEWFOI'NDLAXl).
31
tor. It is said tliat his earnest expostulation with an err- ing colleague in the colony had led the guilty man to reply by a blow, when McDowell at once turned the other cheek to the smiter, who reiuenibered certain words of the Lord Jesus, and burst into tears. In his iiative land, in 1855, this godly man closed an ainial)le record. About the time of his departure from Newfoundhmd two younger men crossed tlie ocean in a contrary direction. John Lewis was a native of Wales ; John Pickavant had been a convert dur- ing a remarkable revival in a Lanca,shire village, and in the local ranks had done service marked by " more than ordinary zeal, acceptance and success."
Methodism in the colony, in 1815, wore a cheering aspect. A new church had been opened at Blackhead, a site had been procured and thirteen hundred pounds had been sub- scribed for a church at Carbonear ; and several other places of worship had been commenced in the adjoining circuits. To their report the four missionaries appended a strong appeal to their English brethren for more lal)orers, making special mention of need at 8t. John's and Bonavista. At 8t. John's no Methodist society had been established. Koman Catholic immigrants, from the most beniglited and priest-ridden districts of Ireland, had, after the fashion of their class, lingered in the neighborhood of the capital, and had thus given Roman Catholicism complete ascendency ; yet two thousand live hundred persons — one quarter at least of the whole population — were Protestants, for wiiose religious training the two churches, Congregational and Episcopal, atlbrded insutHcient provision. The presence at St. John's of the excellent John Jones, who, as a soldier in the artillery, had been in 1775 one of the original members of the Independent church in the town, and after his discharge from the army had been ordained its pastor, seems for some years to have prevented any direct Methodist effort there.
!♦ 1
32
HISTORY or METHODISM
By successive Methodist missionaries he had been highly esteemed, and during his pastorate, whicli ended only at his death, in 1800, he had been occasionally visited md assisted by them. William Black, on arriving at St. .John's, in 1791, called at once on him ; and in May, 1797, William Thoresby, who had charge of the Conception Bay missions for nearly two years, spent three Sabbaths with him and his church of sixty members, the singing of some Methodist hymns with several soldiers and their wives (quartered at the barracks being the only distinctively Methodist incident of his visit. In subsequent years, liowever, it had become evident that the absence of a jNIethodist minister from the chief town of the colony, a place of semi annual resort for great numbers of out-liarbor fishermen, must alFect the missions at other points ; and for this reason the English Committee had, in 1811, asked their agents to pay " particu- lar attention " to St. John's. Definite action was, never- theless, delayed until the autunni of 1814, when those who had been awaiting the appointment of a preacher, strength- ened by the arrival of several families from Conception Bay, resolved to proceed during the ensuing spring with the erec- tion of a small church.
To the appeal for more helpers a prompt response was given. The first step taken was the formation of the sev- eral circuits in the island into a separate group, as their previous rrlation to the Nova Scotia District liad been a merelv nominal one. William Ellis was appointed chairman of the new district, and two additional ministers were se- lected for St. John's and Bonavista. Delay in the arrival of these ministers led to the removal of Pickavant to St. John's in October, but only a month had been spent by him there when they appeared on the scene. They proved to be the brothers Ilickson, who had just entered upon missionary life after a severe struggle between conviction of duty
I
IN NEWFOrNDLAND.
\V,\
highly at his tssisted nl791, oresi)y, nearly church hymns at the ident of become roni the 1 resort iFect the English particu- never- lose who trength- ion Bay, ;he erec-
)nse was the sev-
as their been a lairman
were se- rrival of John's m there o be the ssionary of duty
abroad and attachment to a widowed mother. At the end of a fortnight, spent ^at the liome of a gentleman who proved the sincerity of his assurances of pleasure and profit in their Hociety hy immediate union vviuli tlie small church just formed, the brothers parted, James to sail for Catalina, on his way to lJoua\ ista, and Thomas for Blackhead. The first preached on the evening of arrival at his station, when a young man was converted, to whom, as the first-fruits of his ministry at J^onavista, he ever remained deeply attached. The brethren F^llis and !>usbv stood on the beach at Black- head to greet Thomas Hickson ; but the warni Irish heart of Ellis would not allow him to wait until the young mis- sionary could step on shore, and so, forgetful of the chill of northern waters in December, he waded in and first grasped his hand. On the evening of that day Hickson preached at Adam's Cove.
In January, 1810, an important meeting took place at Carbonear. Sermons were preached on the Sunday, and on Monday evening John (Josse, Es(|., presided at a gathering of the ministers and leading laymen. These unanimously recommended the appointment to Trinity of a minister who should visit the several harbors in Trinity Bay ; of a second to Fortune Bay, where the inhabitants, about five thousand in immber, and nearly all Protestants, had never had a minister or teacher ; of a third, to take the oversight of a large number of neglected Protestants about Burin, in Placentia Bay ; and of another, for the inhabitants of Bay Roberts and Spaniards' Bay. Attention was also called to the gross spiritual darkness of several other districts of the island. As a proof of interest in the issue of their repre- sentations, several laymen forwarded nearly thirty-one pounds to the Committee, with a list of subscribers, which appeared in the report for 1817 as the first ever forwarded from a British colony.
r I
3i
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Some (loj^rec of sadness was felt l)y the ministers at their district meeting, held at St. John's, in .June, 1H16, The erection of the church at St. John's liad \\k\m\ a sub- ject of g(^neral interest, and l)ri;,'ht hopes had heen enter- tained respecting the giowth of the society there. These exj)ectations had in part heen realized, A spii-it of love and unity had pervaded the little Hock, and si.Tlcen j)er.sons had been add(!d to their nund)er, but during tlie tiery visitation of February 12, 181G, when a thousand human beings had been turned into the streets, the newly erected church had faliei, in the endjrace of the flames, and former worshippers within its walls had thought them.selves for- tunate in being able to oljtain, through the kind offices of the rector, the use of the Charity school-room. Reports from other sections of the island were more encouiaging, and from Britain wei'e tidings of intended additions to the missionary staff", and, therefore, despite the loss at St. John's, and the presence of ominous clouds about the finan- cial horizon, the expectant reapers went forth in faith and hope to their sacred work. The single exception was that of Ellis, the chairman, who, after a long illness at Island Cove, was denied the privilege of continued labor, liy the Missionary Committee he was that year assigned a station in the milder climate of Bermuda, l)ut, acting on his own convictions, he remained as a supernumerary in Newfound- land.
At the English Conference of 1816 no less than six ministers were selected for service in the colony. With the announcement of this fact in the report for the year, contributors to the Society's funds were informed that " there were not less than twenty tliousand persons there without religious instruction," and were reminded that "to prevent Christians from becoming heathens " was a duty as imperative as that of rescuing a pagan from darkness and
IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
36
ors at
1S16.
a sub-
eiiter
These 3f love pei'soiis
e tiery human erected former i-es for- tUces of Reports a raging, IS to the P at St. le finan- lith and as that Island liy the station lis own iwfound-
han six With le year, ed that ns there that "to duty as ■ness and
\
supei'stition. Of the six ministers despatched, John Hell —successor to Mllis as chairman — (Jer)i'ge Cuhitt and .John Walsli, had secMi some ser\ ic(i at home. Ninian Rarr, John liaigh and Ilichard Knight were to r(>ceive their ti-aiiiiiig in the colony.
A glance at this giouj) of young ineii will sjiow the various cjuartei'S whence Methodism at tluit pei'iod dr(!w hei* minis- terial recruits. J(jhn IUjII, from Y'orkshire, luid of Kpisco- palian parentage, had hecome a Mt.'thodist in hoyhood. George Cubitt, a native of Norwich, had, by removal, been placed under the ministry of the able occupants of the pulpit of the Carver street chapel, Shetlield, and hatl by them l)een led at an early age into the meml)ership of Methodism. .John Walsh, of Ormskirk, had been trained a Roman Catholic, but his mothei', a Protestant before marriage, had returned at her husband's death to tlu; services of the church of her childhood. The marriage of a relative led the son to attend a Methodist church, and at the age of nineteen he resolved to abandon Roman Catholicism, ffis refusal to continue the payment of a certain sum for masses in behalf of his deceased father brought him into conflict with his previous instructors, and caused liim to leave his native place. At Liverpool, under ha})pier surroundings, he threw off the trammels of early training, and after a severe men- tal struggle accepted with his whole heart the Scripture doctrine of justification through faith in the atonr'nient of Christ. The })arents of Ninian Barr, of Clasgow, belonged to the Church of Scotland. At the age of fifteen, during a revival among the iNIethodists of Glasgow, he became a seeker of salvation. The Holy Spirit's assurance of liis acceptance as a child of God, at the end of two years of anxious doubt, was so cleai' that he ran off to some fields to give vocal expression to his joy. John liaigh belonged to Leeds. His parents attended a ministry which was
36
msTOHY or MirriionisM
ji I'
"not ('\im<^<'li<,'al, and tlicrrt'ore not soul s;ivin<^." Tim son, hiippily, was induced to listen to tr-utii in-cdchcd else- wliero, and tlie t'.'ir famed iMethodist local )»reacli«M', })<)pu- larly known as " Hilly" Dawson, was pei-niitted to lead liini to Christ. Tli(^ fathei- at first opposed tne union of his son with the Methodists, but in the course of a few weeks i)otli the fatlwi- and the mother r<'j(>iced with him as partakei's of the comnjon salvation and as n.end)ers of tin; same section of the Cluirch of th(^ I'edeenier. Ilichai'd Knight, whose colonial service was to end only with his life, was a native of a Devonshire villaji^e. For some years his pnijudiees as a "Churchman'' kept him aloof from the IMethodist itiner- ants who visited his native })lace. The death of a fiiend who first accompanied him to a Methodist service, and the impression tnade by an alarming dream, led him to serious thought and more frequ nt attendance at the sanctuary. From a prayer-meeting, at which he had found relief from deep mental distress, lie went homo to set up the family altar in his mother's house, to the astonishment of friends not then able to a})preciate his motives. His steadiness in his new path was observed, and he was soon joined in it by his widowed mother and younger brother, the latter of whom became a useful class-leader.
Thi.' j.-ain anticipated through the arri\al of these young minister;-, was soon lessened by the departure of Sampson Busby. The mission at Carbonear had prospei-ed under his care, and the new church had so nearly ap})roached comple- tion that he had preached in it, wlien the sudden death of his zealous wife so affected i»im that ho asked permission to return to England. An opportunity of sailing thither having been otiered before he could hear from the Com- niittee, he engaged a passage and went on board. But his plans were frustrated. Just as arrangements were made for immediate departure, a strong head-wind arose, which
/.V NEWFOUNDLAND.
37
continued fcr several days. IMoanwhilo letters reached liini, inforniini^ hin» of a ti'ansfcr to Prince I'Mward Island. As his luij^'ai^e was taken on shoi'o the wind changed so suddenly that befoi-e he could enter the preacher's I'esidence the shi}) had rt;acli(>d the open water of Concep- tion Bay. 'J'hiough lif(! the hatlled niissionai-y was wont to think of himself in the case as a .Jonah, and to infer that the captain, from the hearty mannei* in which he i)!'onK)ted iiis departure from the ship, had eai'lier than himself ariived at a similar conclusion. In November, 1810, tiie lonely young preacher took a linal farewell of Newfoundland.
Four new circuits wen? at once formed. ( )nc was it Western Bay; a second included Island Cove and Pcrlicii the headquarters of a third was at Trinity; and the centre of a fourtli was at IIarl)or Grace, a town second only in importance to St. John's. Early in the following spi'ing Richard Knight, who had remained at St. John's during the winter, sailed for Fortune Bay, where he was the first, and at the time, the only minister; and immediately after the district meeting of 1817, John Lewis proceeded to Burin, in Placentia Bay, wlience an Episcopal minister, the only one in that bay for sixteen years, had taken his departure after a verv brief residence.
This extension of mission woik took place at one of the darkest periods in the financial history of Newfoundland. During the war with Fi'ance and the United States the colony had enjoyed a monopoly of the fisheries, for which successive seasons had been most favorable. The inflation of trade had attracted thousands of immigrants, developed extravagant habits on the part of the dependent classes, and put immense sums into the hands of capitalists to be invested abroad. At the close of the war came the inevitable col- lapse, throwing business everywhere into confusion, and plunging the colony into almost universal bankruptcy_
38
HISTORY OF METHODISM
French and American fishermen, encouraged by national bounties, resumed their places on the Banks, and prices of the products of the sea — smaller in quantity than for several years— were (juoted at less than one-third of previous rates. As a natural consequence of the total neglect of agricultuT-e, and the entire dependence of the population u])on imported supplies, multitudes were soon reduced to destitution. At Christmas, 1816, the gaunt famine spectre haunted the minds of many. George Oubitt, stationed at St. John's, after having been without "bread, ilour and potatoes" for some time durincr tliat winter, thou'^ht himself fortunate in being able to obtain a half-barrel of potatoes, "frozen and not us large as walnuts, by sending eight miles for them, for fourteen shillings."' In some places tlie authorities were obliged to use aruied volunteer corps for the protection of warehouses, and to empower relief committees to distribute small (piantities of food at stated })eriods. The unusual gloom was deepened by tlie failure of the seal fishery of 1817, yet greater troubles were in store for one section of the island. Late on a November evening of 1817 a second fire broke out at St. John's, and raged until property valued at half a million of dollars had been consumed. A fortnight later, a third great fire destroyed a large part of the business section of the city left untouched by previous conflagra- tions, and made two thousand persons homeless. Only the unusual mildness of the winter, permitting the prompt arrival of vessels harried ott' fi'oin Boston, Halifax, and other places, for the relief of sufferers, removed serious danger of famine.
Of the distresses of these dark years the Wesleyan mis- sionaries were not mere spectators. No one of the number felt them more keenly than George Cubitt, at St. John's. One of his earliest duties there was connected with the re- building of the church. On September 17, i81G, after prayer
IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
39
itional
ices of
several
, rates.
ulture,
1 ported
n. At
:ed the
John's,
)es"i;or
mate in
zen and
hem, for
Les were
(ctiou of
istribute unusual
of 1817,
\\ of the
second
I valued
fortniglit business ontlagra- Only the prompt fax, and :1 serious
syan mis- e number t. John's, th the re- ;r prayer
by Busby, Ellis laid the foundation stone, Cubitt preaclied, and Ellis and Pickavant concluded the religious services, the governor of the colony, Vice- Admiral Pickmore, having been present during a part of the time. The new church was opened on Ohristmas-day, 1816, the outlook was grow- ing encouraging, and geiieral attention was being turned to the cultured and earnest young Methodist pastor, when the first of the fires of November, 1817, swept over the town, and a heavy cloud, beneath which there seemed to be no silver lining, overshadowed the pleasing prospect. The new church was not burned, but the congregation was so scattered and financially crippled as to be powerless to aid the trustees in meeting obligations, which included a debt of nearly two thousand dollars on the church burned in 1816. At this crisis the financial aflfairs of the district were further complicatf.d by the destruction of the large new church at Carbonear, soon after the annual meeting of 1817 had been held in it. A burning shingle, from a build- ing the inhabitants were trying to save, was borne forth by a high wind nearly half a mile, to a pile of shavings in the churchyard, and in a few moments the townsfolk were sorely startled as they saw their new sanctuary, built almost wholly by themselves at a cost of more than tw o thousand pounds, in the relentless grasp of the flames.
The succession of misfortunt-s at St. John's hastened the return of Cubitt to Britain. Foi' a time he bore up bravely, receiving public mention among those most devoted to the relief of the suflering. At leng' h, however, he found the load too heavy for a mind more apt at intellectual pursuits than in the adjustment of financial difficulties. Public duties of a special character, tiie necessity for repeated calls upon the missionary tr*^i,sury, the embarrassment of circuit affairs, the losses and removals of friends, with the constant state of alarm in which through their belief in tlie presence
if I
!l I
40
'1 i
I
HISTORY OF METHODISM
of incendiaries, the inhabitants lived, all had their effect upon a sensitive mind. Under the combined pressure health at last gave way, severe and long-continued head- aches obliging him carefully to avoid all mental effort, and in the summer of LSIS to become a supernumerary. Having resumed his ministry a year later, in England, he continued for sixteen years to occupy several most im[)ortant circuits. Subsequently he was elected to the post of connexional editor, for which he was admirably qualilied. Severe per- sonal suffering and fondness for literary labor Ird him in later years to become a recluse, but in his o\<a cA- -^u way he continued to work for tiie public good, uuiii, Id ih-iO, he rested at once from manifold labor and suffering. To the severe mental and physical strain of that period mav perhaps be attributed the comparatively short colonial ser- vice of two other ministers, John Lewis and John Bell. The first of these at the end of six years returned to Britain, where in 1866, a faithful laborer, he expired in the deadly grasp of Asiatic cholera ; the second, after mary years' service in his native land, departed in equally tiru) reliance upon the atonement of the Redeemer.
In 1819 the district meeting was held under happier i-ir- cumstances than in the preceding years. The re* lO' iil from the colony of a large part of the superabundant popu lation, the successful fishery in 1818, and the improvement in prices, gradually caused trade to return to its former channels, and thus dispelled the general gloom. Through the efforts of Pickavant, sent by his l)rethren to England, and of George Smith, wlio heartily entered into the effort to assist the colony in which he had once beci. a mis.'^i "fny, a sum exceeding two thousand pounds had been col ; o.ed. Through aid thus obtained the church at Carbonear had been rebuilt, and the trustees of that ri St. John's relieved from a heavy burden and ena- led (r- hpffin the erection of
■M
AV NEWFOUNDLAND.
41
■ effect ressure I head- irt, and Having itinued ni'cuits. lexional J re per-
him in
rn way
Lb 30, he
To the od mav mial ser- lin Bell, irned to >d in the er mary xUy tiru>
Dpier 'U'- re! lO ill nt popu jvenient former Tlirough H^ngland,
he effort si^i.' !>ary,
oil', o'.ed.
near liad
relieved
ection of
a parsonage. To the nienibersliip at St. Jolni's the assist- ance seemed of special value, for in a letter forwarded in July, 1819, in acknowledgment of the aid rendered by Briti.sh Methodism, the otlicials reported the occurrence, eight days before date, of another heavy tire, by which the principal supporters, several of whom Jiad been sufferers by previous fires, had Ijeen brought to the verge of I'uin.
In spite of the fhiancial crisis in Newfoundland, the Missionary Committee allowed no dimiimtion in the number of its agents there. Of young inen sent out, one was William Wilson, a youth of short, slender figure and active temperament. In his native Lincolnshire village, a pious mothei" had led him in childhood to respect religion, but after her death he had entered into the follies common to his age and circumstances. In London, he lieard the truth preached at Lambeth. chapel, and visited one of the classes. From a faithful leader he learned two facts of interest — the first, the possibility of a knowledge on earth of the forgive- ness of sins ; the second, the privilege of the immediate possession of such assurance. One 'ay, when at his daily work, peace was bestowed upon him m " indescribable mea- sure." Some of his earliest addresses were given during visits to the inmates of a well-known London })rison. In 1819 he was recommended for tne ministry and placed on the president's " list of reserve." The necessary examina- tion before the London ministers and his introduction to the General Committee led him into the presence of minis- ters and laymen whose names have been lovingly embalmed in denominational records. The interview with the General Committee was one of much interest. Ten years of mission- aiy life in India, and forty otliers of varied service in Britain, did not ellace the scene from the memoi-y of Elijah Hoole, a fellow candidate, who, when he had heard of William Wilson's deatii, recalled it as a "specially solemn occasion."
42
HISTORY OF METHODISM
One ev^ening in March, 1820, Hoole was despatched to Lam- beth, to notify Wilson tliat he was required for immediate service. Two evenings later he received ordination at Chelsea, and on the following morning took a seat on the stage for Liverpool. Thence, after a fortnight's detention, he sailed with John Bell, chairman of the Newfoundland District, who was returning to his post after a short absence. On a Sunday morning in May they landed at Harbor e, where, when the signal iiag had been hoisted and if • ed as usual, Williain Wilson began his colonial minis- try, which also ended on a Sabbath, nearly fifty years from that time. At St. John's, as the colleague of Pickavant, he soon after welcomed another young missionary, John Oliver, whom failure of mental health soon, however, obliged to return to Britain, and after the lapse of a year or two, to retire from the ministry.
Two other young men who came out at this period were foster-sons of Methodism. John Boyd, who arrived in 1823, had been led to religious decision by a sermon to the young by Dr. Raffles, the eminent Independent preacher. When twenty- five years had elapsed he heard Dr. Raffles once more. At the close of the service he sought an inter- view with the preacher, and told him of the influence which his sermon on a certain Sunday evening had exercised upon the life of one of the hearers. As the venerable man raised his hands, with the exclamation, " Let us magnify the Lord together!" both shed tears of grateful emotion. A pious cousin had led the awakened youth to a Methodist class-meeting ; and there, surprised and blessed by the several relations of religious experience, he had said : " This people shall be my people, and their God my God." A simi- lar determination had been reached by Adam Nightingale, who was sent out in the autumn of the same year. Metho- dist preachers had found him in a Northamptonshire
IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
43
[1 to Lani- tii mediate lation at at on the letention, 'oundland t absence. b Harbor )isted and lial minis- ears from *ickavant, ary, John jr, obliged eir or two,
;riod were brrived in lOn to the preacher. 3r. Raffles ; an inter- ;nce which cised upon •able man s magnify lotion. A Methodist ;d by the id : " This " A simi- ightingale, r. Metho- mptonshire
village, and explained to him the meaning of the fear which, despite liis unfavorable associations, the Holy Spirit had awakened in his heart; and some pious men of a militia regiment, guarding French prisoners, had strengthened his resolution to obtain the peace which follows forgiveness. That power in prayer, which, more than ability in preach- ing, became a n)arked characteristic of his ministry, soon attracted attention. One prayer, otFered by him in the Independent chapel of his native village, made a deep impression upon many listeners, one of wliom subsequently became pastor of an Independent church in a large English town. When age and infirmity had caused the latter to retire from the pastorate, and similar causes had led Adam Nightingale back to England after forty years of service abroad, a meeting took place in some respects resembling that between Dr. Raffles and John Boyd. At the end of a two years' employment as a home missionary in an English village, Nightingale was ordained for foreign duty, and in a few days was on the ocean in a little vessel of oidy seventy tons, bound for Newfoundland. A passage of sixty- seven days, attended with almost constant illness, did not prevent him from preaching twice on tlie Sunday on which he landed, or from accompanying, on the following morning, some men who had come twenty miles in an open boat in search of a minister to perform the last Christian rites over the body of a deceased neighbor.
CHAPTER ITT.
METIIODISAF TX XKWFOUXDLAXD, FI{()>[ 1S1.3 TO TUP] DLSTKTCT MEKTIXti OF 1S24. (Conci.ii.kd.)
X'^ativc Tiuliaiis. Mission to Liil irador. Hindrances to work in X^ew- foiindland. Notes on circuits, ministers and laity. Influence of missions in Newfoundland on other countries.
The aborigines of Newfoundland were not forgotten by the Wesleyan Missionary Committee in its plans for the evangelization of the island. In 1809, at the request of Dr. Coke, John Remington had gone in search of these real " natives," but through lack of preparation for a difficult and dangerous task had failed to find any representatives of a rapidly vanishing race. Eleven years later, when the story of their misfortunes was attracting the attention of English philanthropists, they received special mention in the " instructions " forwarded by the conunittee to their missionaries in the island.
The story of the Beothuk Indians is a sad one. By the whites they were known as the Red Indians, from their use of. red ochre as a paint for their bodies and their wigwams. Nothing thoroughly satisfactory in relation to their connec- tion with the Indian tribes of the American continent has yet been determined. When Cabot first reached Cape Bonavista, in 1497, they roamed over the island at will, the undisputed possessors of its rich fisheries and hunting grounds. The act of Cabot, in car.'ying away thrje of their tribe, was a fitting prelude of their treatment by numerous successors. Their fate was no less sad than that of the Indian tribes on the broad continent, where, to the American
a ^
!N NEWFOIWDLANI).
45
ro THE
k in Nfw-
otten by 5 for the 3st of Dr. hese real b difficult ientatives vhen the Bution of ntion in to their
By the their use tvijiNvanis. r connec- ineiit has led Cape at will, hunting e of their numerous it of the A^merican
colonist, the earlier occupant of the prairie seemed too often only an impediment to progress —the Imman counterpart of forests to be felled, of mountains to be tunnelled, of rivers whose broad currents were things to concjuer — an obstacle to be swept away. The Beothuks, according to earlier navigators, were disposed to be tractable, but their petty and repeated thefts led to attack and reprisal, and then, on the part of the European, to a policy of extermination. At length the life of the lied Indian came to be held at no higher value than that of the animal in whose skin he wrapped himself. Before the brutal policy that a dead Indian was the best Indian, the original possessors of the soil could not long retain their position, Tiiey soon re- treated from the coast to the islands which dotted the large lakes of the interior, as the implacable foe of the European, an occasional visit to former haunts being announced by the destruction of some unguarded boat, or the discharge of a shower of arrows at some luckless fisherman. In their remote retreats, however, they found no rest, for the Micmac Indians, who made their way from Nova Scotia to New- foundland about 1765, followed them with firearms into the interior, and soon lessened their numbers.
Early in the present century these unfortunate natives were placed under protection of British law, but it was soon learned that justice had raised her shield over them too late. Efforts to win the confidence of the remnant of the tribe proved utterly fruitless. Lieutenant Buclian succeeded, in I SOI, in reaching their encampment at the head of the River E.Kploits, and inducing two of their number to go on board his vessel ; but on his return to their camp he found that its occupants had fled, having first beheaded the two marines left with them as hostages. On reaching his ship, he found that his two Indian visitors had .ilso made their escape, and had eluded all attempts at discovery. Subsequent efforts
46
HISTORY OF METHODISM
at conciliation were not more successful. A tishernian, prompted by an ofPerof reward, in 1804 captured an Indian woman and carried her to 8t. John's. There siie was most kindly treated and laden with presents, l)ut it was supposed that on her way back to her tribe she was murdered for the sake of her possessions by her already liberally rewarded captor. In 1819, some trappers surprised two men and a woman at Red Indian Lake. The men, resisting, were shot down ; the woman was cai'ried to St. John's. She, too, was treated with all kindness and sent back to her people, l)ut on the passage was cut down by disease. Her coffin was placed at the side of a lake, whence, as was afterwards learned, it was taken and placed beside the bodies of relatives. Four years later three other women were caj)tured and treated in a similar manner, but when placed on shore near their native haunts they ran back into the water, refusing to be left. Two of them soon died, but the third survived two years. In answer to inquiries, she was understood to say that her people had been reduced to a very small number, who would have killed her companions and herself had they attempted to return to them from the Europeans. Since then no Red Indian has been seen, the tribe having only a burial place on the large island over which they had once roamed unchecked. It was, therefore, to little purpose that, in 1820, the Committee of the Wesleyan Missionary Society assurv-d the public that, should any opening to the " long isolated aboriginal inhabit- ants of the interior occur, the brethren are directed to avail themselves of it to attempt tiicir instruction ; " and to even less purpose, so far as they were concerned, that the chair- man of the meeting held at St. John's in October, 1823, for the formation of an Auxiliary Missionary Society for the Newfoundland District, urged support of missions, with a special view to the enlightenment of the " aborigines of the
IN NEWFOryDLAXn.
shernian, n Tudiau was most supposed k1 for the rewarded icn and a lag, were ii's. She, ck to her ^ disease, hence, as 3ed beside iree other inner, but they ran them soon answer to eople had lave killed ) return to ndian has 1 the large ecked. Tt Committee ublic that, al inhabit- ed to avail nd to even the chair- ■, 1823, for ity for the ns, with a ines of the
island." The real aborigines of the island, with perhaps a few exceptions, were even then sleeping the sleep of death.
For the spiritual welfare of some members of other Indian tribes it was not too late to devise plans. The occasional presence of small bands of ^licmac or Labrador Indians had already lent variety to the religious services at some of the missions, and had awakened a belief that some ste])s might be taken for their benefit. In the autumn of 1819, Ellis had baptized, at Bfireneed, six Labra- dor Indians of one family. The employer of these en- trusted Ellis with their instruction, and that minister resolved to devote one evening in each week to their special welfare. This ca.se and several others led the Missionary Committee, in 1S20, to make inquiries relative to the establishment of a mission on the coast of Labrador, where, as usual, Europeans had carried many of the vices of civilization, with but few of its virtues.
About fifty years earlier the Moravians had succeeded, after one or more fruitless attempts, in establishing a mis- sion on that inhospitable coast. In 1771, the British Government granted them land for a mission station in 57" north latitude, which they called Nain. Five years subsequently they formed a small settlement at Okkak, one hundred and fifty miles north of Nain; and, in 178*2, a third, to the southward of Nain, known as Hopedale. Many of the residents at these stations had added to a theoretical knowledge of salvation that personal reliance upon Christ's atonement which divine love has made the indispensable condition of its possession ; and to these Eskimo believers the British and Foreign Bible Society had already given the Gospel according to John and then the completed New Testament in their native tongue.
With these Moravian missions no interference was con- templated by the Wesleyan Missionary Committee, when,
^m^ni^^mr'^^m
48
II I STORY OF MirrilODISM
ill IcSl'O, il tui'Mcd its iittcMition to tlie coast of Lalnador. Jietweoii JIojxHlale, tlie most southeily Moravian sottle- iDent, and i\\v Straits of Belle Isle, lay a coastline of thi-ee hundi'od miles, alonjjj wliicli the Kskinio roamed in savage wildness. This tract of h<;athendom liad been a source of sorrow to the Moravian teachers. They had complained that "a number of the baptized, particularly from llope- diile, were seduced to the south, where they purciiased tire- arms, associated with the heathen, and plunged themselves not only into spiritual but temporal ruin." It was to the southei-n point of this dark district that the Committee requested Adam Clarke Avard, a devoted young minister, then stationed at Fiedericton, X.li., to proceed, in 1821, to connnence there the Society's mission.
A brief sketch of the suicessive eH'orts to establish this mission needs not be deferred. Avard never saw the rocky headlands of Labrador, foi", before the date fixed for his removal thither, his short but useful career on earth was ended. The connnencement of tlu; mission was then en- trusted to the ministers of the Newfoundland District, by whom, in consecjuence of the many appeals from v.arious parts of their own island, any definite actioti was deferred for three years. At length, Th(jmas Hickson, aljout to return to England, went to the coast for a few weeks, accompanied by a special pilot. Brief observation con- vinced him that missionary effort was not more necessary among the "poor, l)enighted Escjuimaux '' than among the European population, many of whom were leading Tflost abandoned lives. On July 11, 1824, at a point on the shore of Hamilton Inlet, where, as far as he could learn, no Christian minister had before been seen, forty Euro- peans heard him explain and enforce "The kingdom of heaven is at hand ; repent ye, and believe the Gospel." Twenty Indians, present at the time, behaved with great
IX XEWFOUXDLAXD.
49
Lhi'iidor.
settle- of three
savage ource of 11 plained 11 Uope- ised tii-e- eiiiselves IS to the )iiinuttee uiinister, in 1821,
l)lish this the rocky d for his !arth was then en- strict, by n various deferred aVjout to w weeks, tion con- necessary niong the ing fllost t on the lid learn, •ty Euro- gdovn of Gospel." •ith great
jiropriety, although unable, in the al)senee of an inter- preter, to understand the purpose of the pi'eacher's appeal. At another place, with the assistance of a lialf-hreed inter- preter— the wife of a Canadian — he several times addressed a band of Eskimos, who listened with apparent interest. Of his dark-hued congregation Hickson wrote, on the morrow of one Lords-day : "They went home and spent the Sal>bath evening in a much better way than some pro- fessini; Christians do." Among them were several who had learned to read at the IVIoravian settlements, and who frecjuently spoke of their former teachers and their simi- lar lessons of truth. At the end of ten weeks, during which he married several persons, baptized some adults and their children, and preached to largo numbers of New- foundland and American tishermen, Hickson returned to Newfoundland to t;ike passage for England.
During the summer of 1825, Richard Knight sailed from Brigus for Labrador, to spend a short time there. At his second service lialf of his hearers were Indians. On visiting their camp, he found that the occupants belonged to a superior class, much indebted to Moravian influence. Their singing of a hymn was nev(-r forgotten by the missionary and his friend Cozens, of Brigus. " 1 have heard," said the former, "singing scientitieally performed, but this ex- ceeded all. 8uch melody T never before heard : from the most aged to the child of ';<"ii- or live years all moved in the sweetest unison." After having preached frequently in the southern district, and made all possible inquiries in rela- tion to the proposed mission, Richard Knight returned to the colony, as deeply convinced as Thomas Hickson had been that a Labrador mission should be immediately undertaken.
The agent selected for the isolated post was George EUidge, a most worthy man. He, however, accepted the mission wholly as a matter of duty, and sailed for his
50
HfSrORY or METHODISM
destination with a dogren of reluctance wliicli was not overcome by a closer Jic(|naintance with the «rinj rocks and giant clilFs of the deso''te coast. Late in the autumn' he visited St. John's, in «. of building matei-ials and
winter stores for his station at Snooks' (Jove, Itut dui'ing the following year he returned to the colony, l)ringing with hini the proceeds of such property as he had been able to sell, and opposing any fui'ther attempt in the same direction. William Wilson, then at JJurin, volun- teered for the vacant post, and the Connnittee accepted his offer ; but, though his name appeared in the Minutes of 1828 as appointed to the "Indian Mission, Esquimaux Bay," his presence was never required there. The views of Charles liate, sent there u'ttil the pleasure of the Com- mittee could be known, w in accordance with those of EUidge ; the chairman, t.^ ^lore, advised abandonment and sent Wilson back to J^urin. A final reference appeared in the report of 1829. "The Labrador mission," it was there said, " is for the present abandoned ; principally in consequence of the removal of the Esquimaux tribes from the coast into the interior of the countrv, and their general dispersion."
Some special hindrances to progress lay in the path of the missionary to Newfoundland. Schools were few in number and low in grade. Suitable lay helpers were, there- fore, often sought in vain, and evil flourished as the com- panion of ignorance. To the alarming prevalence of Sab- bath desecration and drunkenness wearisome allusion was made in the letters of that day. Other serious hindrances belonged to the list of misfortunes rather than to that of faults. Chief among these were the long absences of the fishermen from their homes and from public worship — a misfortune not peculiar to that day. In the northern pai'ts of the island, the lengthening days of departing February
IX M'JWFOrXDI.AXn.
r.i
was not im rocks B autumn' rials and it during
bringing had beon pt in the in, volun- cepted his iinutes of isciuiniaux le views of
the Com- tli those of andonnient 3 appeared )n," it was incipally in
ribes from
leir general
he path of lere few in were, there- is the com- tnce of Sab- Uusion was hindrances to that of Inces of the worship — a •thern parts U February
warned the minister to prej)aro the "sealers' sermon," and reminded th(r tislierman to make ready for tlie })ursuit on the ice of his hazardous and cruel calling ; and the bright dfiys of early summer saw many who had thus been engaged leave, often with their families, for the main-land, to remain there till the shadows of ajiproaehing winter should liasten their return. To the thoughtful pastor, the sight of the vessels crowded with their human freight was a sadly suggestive one. To him it meant, at home, shrunken con- gregations, shattered classes, weakened Sunday-schools; while, in reference to those al)0ut to sail, it led to fears of sudden death in the pursuit of a perilous employment, or of moral danger on the crowded \essel oi- busy shoi'e, invoh ing loss more sad than that of gallant vessel -the shipwreck of the soul.' On the southei'n coast, with the excej)tion of occasional visits with fish or for })rovisions, the fishermen were at home only about four months in the year. In some parts of the island, also, when early winter frosts had set in, many of the people were accustomed to resort to tilts, or teinporary homes in the woods, selecting such spots as the (piantity of material for hoops, staves and fuel rendered most atti'acti\e.
In spite of all hindrances, however, faithfi.! labor had not lieen in vain. In the chief town Methodism had been per- manently esta])lished. At first it could claim few adherents by hereditary descent. jNIost of the Protestants were Englishmen from counties in which Wesley's followers were
' Fii tlic most d»'iii()ra]iziii}^' pursuit of tlic Xcwfoundlund tislicrman — the seal-hunting men wlio have feared (Jod liave found opportunity to work ritrhteousness. Tlie career of the hite Hon. Kdward White, long one of the most successful sealiTii,' captains of the colony, [U'csents a case in point. The determination of tliis faithful Metiioclist to keep the liOrdV-day holy under all circumstances is widely known. One other case may he mentioned. A few years ago a sealing vessel, in which were one hundred and twenty men, became a place of salvation. On her return to port a thrilling scene took place at tiie first Methodist ser- vice, as five men arose in succession to tell of conversion experienced through meetings held on the vessel by the captain's sun.
HISTORY OF METHODTSM
\ I
v >■
less numerous than in some other parts of the Kingdom. The customs of the place had been strongly antagonistic to a religion affecting the heart and thence controlling the life. Observance of the Lord's-day was a matter of mere convenience, and drunkenness called forth slight remark, though fifty sudden deaths in 1823 were ascribed by John Walsh to the use of spii'ituous liquors as a direct cause. Nevertheless, under the ministry of Pickavant and Cubitt, at a time of peculiar ti-ial, and under their successor Walsh, a church of seventy members had been gathered in the town and its vicinity.
Of several circuits in (Conception I^ay, Oarl)onear was the most important. The new church was first used in 1821. That church, built to seat one thousand worshippers, and eidarged by successive additions, until its original style could with diiliculty be detei'mined, continued to be the "cathedral"' of Carbonear until 1876, when a new and very fine church was dedicated as its successor. Harbor Grace, in commercial impoi'taiice second only to St. John's, became a separate charge under Ninian Barr, in 1817. In 1820, steps were taken for the erection of a church to occupy the place of that built manv vears earlier by John Stretton. In the old church, the fii'st at Harbor (jrrace, one of the latest conversions — under the luinistry of John Walsh - was that of David Rogers, a, young Englishman trained under Independent auspii;es, who gave to the church of his adoption a long and useful personal service as class leader and local pi-eachci", and also a gifted son, now an ex-presi- dent of the Nova Scotia Conference.
Of the two thousand inhabitants of the l^lackhead and Western Bay circuit, three-fourths were Protestants, who received no other religious instruction than that given by the Wesleyan missionaries. Port de Grave, at William Thoresby's return to England, in 1798, had seemed bright
J
/T XEWFOUXDLAXD.
53
angdoui. niistic to ling the of mere
remark,
by John ict cause. kI Cubitt, or Walsh, iA in the
onear was it used in orshippers, ginal style to be the ^v and very •bor Grace, n's, became In 1820, occupy the II 8tretton. one of the n Walsh - lan trained urch of his class leader !in ex-presi-
with promise, but, in spite of the presence of some excel- lent members, under the leadership of George Vey, growth there failed for many years to correspond with tlie labor Ijpstowed. " The people of Bay Roberts," a part of the Port de Grave ciicuit, Thoresby wrote in 1707, "■lo\e tlie (iospel of Christ," From that place, in 1824, when a church had just been opened, the ]rastor reported a '" lively, zealous society." By the earliest itinerants from Bi'itain Brigus I'eceived frequent vis:its, but the Jiame tiist appeared on the Minutes of 1819 as that of a circuit, under Thomas Ilickson, the only Pi'otestant minister in the picturesque village. The church then used had once been I'ogardcd as the common jtroperty of Episcopalians and Wesloyans. For n)any years the Weshiyans of Brigus found a true fiiend in the late Charles Cozens, for many years the })rincipal merchant of the place, and subsequently its stipendiary magistrate Though an English Independent, at his request a Methodist minister was sent to the harbor; his plensant dwelling was always at the disposal of visiting itinerants ; his purse was readily unclasped for the support of the work, and for many years as superintendent of the Sunday-school he conferred a great benefit upon the community. In 1824, Cupids, a cove near Brigus, became a part of the cii'cuit, and a pi-o- posal to erect a small Methodist church received, a few months later, general sanction.
The Island Cove and Perlican circuit reacheil from Lower Island Cove, in (Jonce|>tion l>ay, io the scene of
llosk
vnis ear
]y lal
)ors in J rini
T
itv P
■ly
At Island Cove
were the Garlands, in whose home the itinei-ants found a welcome ; at Grates' Cove was John Iloskir.s, son of the cirly evangelist of that name, at Old Perlican. Fearing the loss of his services as teacher and lay reader, for yeaj-s gratuitously given, the inhabitants had in 182:5 asked the ^Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to grant him the
I :
i
54
IHSTORY OF METHOD IS }f
usual salary. At Old Perlican, under the ministry of John Bell and James Hickson, many were led into the way of peace. F^cjually precious results attended continued services at Island Cove, where on one Sabbatli Hickson spent seven hours " without intermission "' in the old church. From Island Cove, wliere William Cnrland, sen., rendered valu- able service in the pastor's alk ,ce, Hickson, with six newly converted men, carried the revival flame to Hants Harbor, a part of the circuit. John Barbei", one of Hoskins' earliest converts, had removed thither and had become leader of a number of converts through the ministry of John Lewis and John Bell. After a tryinp journey, Hickson reached the hospitable home of John Tilley, i^lad to rest his wearied limbs and care for his frost bitten feet. Throui^di this visit fifty per- sons were added to the list of members.'- Several years later, Richard Knii^ht was glad to find that at Hants Harbor no man needed either of two tracts of which he carried a large supply. These were "The Swearer's Prayer," and "A Word to a Drunkard."
The securing of a foothold at Bonavista was followed by a serious struggle for I'oom for growth. Persistent protests against prevalent evils were by no means acceptable to the majority of the merchants, or of those of humbler position, who were glad to be able to plead the example of the more
-John Tilley wus a soiufwliat remarkable man. At the age of twenty-six, in intervals of work as a tishi'rman, he tauf^'ht himself to read and write, aiubthen inchuled in his list of reading hiogiajihy, his- tory, jioetry and theology, attaining also protieii'iicy in s(!veral sciences. At the age of fifty he had accunnilated a large and well-selected library. When a small child he had liear<l (leorg** Smith preach at Perlican, his native ])lace, and iiad comprehended enough of the sermon to i)roduce a lasting imi)ression. At Hants Harbor, where he si'ttled soon after his marriage, he maintained a steady Christian conrse. Tin nee, in later life he removed witii iiis family to Random Sonnd, in Trinity J>ay, where earnest toil placed him at lengtli in a position of comparative in- <lei)endence. Increased k'isiu'e there permitted him to carry ont a pro-
ject lonj.
kept
m view
th
le pro(hiction of a poetical narrative (
.f th
introduction of Methodism into his native village. Occasional lines of considerable beauty and force occur throughout the long maiuiscript. Mr. Tilley closed a long life at Uandom Sound.
IX XEWFOVXDLAXD.
55
wealthy in justification of their own evil acts. At Catalina, a small church of twenty-one members met with little oj)position, but at 1)1 rd Island Cove, another part of the Bonavista circuit, the darkness lon^ lin<^ered. Of the dis- persion of that darkness under the preaching of James Hickson, Wilson has given some interesting incidents in his " Newfoundland and its Missionaries." To counteract llickson's influence, a lay reader was appointed and a special choir selected. One after another of the members of the choir left tlieir post through interest in the forbidden services. Included in the number was a lover of the bass viol, who, on the arrival of an instrument intended to as- sist the lay reader's choir, presented it to the Methodists by a deed, which a few years ago was preserved in the Bonavista parsonage. Then the lay reader became anxious, and true to the instincts of an awakened nature, found his way to the camp of Israel. Double duty, not altogether free from ditlicultv, now devolved upon the reader at Bonavista. One Sunday morning a thoughtful woman, determined to obtain assurance of pardon and to remain a " churchwoman" withal, took her usual seat. The " captain," an unbeliever in a religion of tiie lieart, read words of blessing to the inquirer, as the raven, an unclean bird, carried food to the prophet. At once she arose to tell how prayer, just oftered, had been graciously answered. Full of the theme of eternity, she paid little heed to a prohibition, which was soon therefore peremptorily repeated. On the next morn- ing, a written message assured her that a second and simdar interference would oblige the " captain " to " bind her over to keep the king's peace," and she, too, took the track so many neighbors had already trodden.
At the beautiful harbor of Trinity, the Milford Haven of Newfoundland, John Haigh, in 181 G, found seven or eiglit hundred persons. George Smith, in -1795, had gath-
"gwwpi
I
I
M
{•:
56
HISTORY OF METHODISM
ered a little flock at Trinity, and William Ellis had paid a brief visit there in 1814?* John Clinch, the aged Episcopal minister of the place, after a service of thirty years, had become too infirm for his duties, and his son in his stead read prayers and a sermon on the Sabbath in the old church, which, for fifty years, had stood in mute protest against the sin of the place. The old clergyman, with a versatility frequently developed and most convenient in early colonial life, had been at once clergyman, physician, collector of customs and merchant. Of tiie character of his preaching no record remains, but of a serious lack of power indication is seen in the fact that, at the end of a thirty years' ministry, the .several large business establish- ments then flourishing at Trinity were never closed till noon on the Lord's-day.
John Haigh was sent to Trinity at the instance of (ieorge Skelton, a medical man trained among the Methodists of Yorkshire, and business partner of the venerable clergy- man. As acting 'Magistrate, he placed the court-house at the preacher's disposal, and in other ways promoted the interests of the mission. Haigh's successoi', b^Uis, somewhat depressed on his arrival, resolved to begin with the youth. His proposition to establish a school foi" the scores of chii dren who roamed at will on the Sabbath, met witii general approval. To the estabHshment of this school may be traced the change which caused a leader in the gaiety of the village to become an "elect lady " in Christian circles. Jealous for the credit of the place, this lady, wife of William Kelson, merchant and magistrate, became a teacher. A sermon by Richard Knight, who one evening landed from a fishing boat when on his way to Bonavista, led her into more extended service from holier motives. Her husband, several years later, followed her example, and the service of both ended only with life. Of the total membership of
IX XEWFOrXDLAXD.
id paid a Episcopal ears, had his stead
the old e protest , with a Buient ill jhysician, ter of his s hick of
end of a establish- jlosed till
of (xeorge :hodists of jle clergy- t-house at loted the somewhat le youth. :!S of chii \\ general )1 may be gaiety of ;ui circles, af William acher. A ded from a d her into r husband, ^he service bership of
the circuit in 1824, the larger number were residents at English Harbor, where previous to tlie ariival of Wesleyan missionaries, James ] vamey had road prayers and a sermon twice on each Lord's-day in his own dwelling. Brief ])iograpiiies in successive \olumes of the "Wesleyan Methodist Magazine ' have preserved some I'ccord of the unspeakable blessings which camo to Ivameys family through the welcomed visits of William Ellis and iiis suc- cessors.
The despatch of John Lewis, in IS 1 7, to LJui-in has been mentioned. After a dreary and dangerous })assage from St. Johns in a large open boat, Lewis landed at Odearin, an island three leagues from Burin. A merciiant lodged him, and announced for a sermon in his own store, where the Protestants of the neighborhood, some of whom had never listened to a pi'eachei', heard him and in\ ited him to repeat his visit. On July "JOth, he entered the tine land-locked harbor of Burin, and went on shore a perfect strangi^r. He lirst called u})on a merchant, by whom he was invited to his residence ; and then waited upon the magistrate, who cour- teously received him, offered him the use of tiie court-house, and introduced him to several of the inhabitants. Encour- aged by this reception, Lewis spent three busy years among the Protestants scattered about the many iiarl^ors and islands of Placentia Bay. His first convert, under whose husl)and"s roof he found a home and class-room, died nearly lifty years latei-, having left an example which children and grand-children have not forgotten tofo'low. L'^nder Lewis' ministry it is probable that the late John Hallett received preparation for the useful service at Sound Island, which, as early as '825, according to the published testimony of an Episcopal minister, had " evidently had the good etlect " of bringing the many families at that place " to a proper
^^Tr'
^
58
HISTORY OF MET HOD IS }[
' 1
F< I
observance of the Sabbath."'' Under Thomas Ilickson's ministry tlie meml)ership ,i^rew, in 1823, to the number of seventy, aiul some opponents consented to recognize the benefits received by the district through Methodist agency. Ilickson's final sermon at l>urin was never forgotten by at least one listener. This young man, near the outset of a chequered career, had been wounded by a ball from the deck of a French privateer, when on his way to join a regiment, under Wellington, in the Peninsula. Some time later, he joined a party engaged for work in Newfoundland. In the colony, where busy hours lasted from dawn until dark, and business days embraced the whole seven, the prodigal came to himself. Just then he heard Thomas Ilickson, under Ins teaching entered upon a new life, and during a membership of more than iifty years served the church at Burin in several capacities.
The Grand Bank and Fortune circuit, one of the most isolated on the island, lay over two hundred and thirty miles to the westward of St. John's. When Richard Knight went there, in 1817, no Protestant place of worship could be found in the extensive district surrounding For- tune Bay, nor were any Protestant services held, except such as were occasionally conducted by an ignorant man, under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. jNIost of the Sundays were spent in dancing and drunkenness. Some hardeiied men were not ashamed to express a wish that the young missionary might be drowned on one of his passages from harbor to harbor. In spite, however, of strong prejudices and bitter enmity, he, in a single year, saw a small church built and a Sunday-
'' Many years after ^Fr. Tlallett had ()|)eneil his dwellinj,'' for services coiulucted by himself, the hite liishop Feild sent him autliority tuactas lay reader. The old gentleman, who had virtually acted in that capacity lonj? before the bishop had known anything of Placentia Hay, treated the connnission so nnich in the light of a [ileasant compliment that even the clergyman who bore it had to smile at his own errand.
IX NEWFOUNDLAXI).
69
fickson's mber of nize the agency, en by at set of a the deck osjiment, later, he In the ark, and jal came inder his inhership jurin in
the most d thirty Richard
worship ing For- , except .nt man, ;ation of
dancing ashamed night be bor. In
iiity, he,
Sunday-
)V services y to act as vt capacity ly, treated that even
school established at Grand Bank, and learned of the conversion of eight persons. Three of the number soon left for England ; the others so lived to a good old age as to be lamented at death in the household, the church, and the community. During a two years' residence at Orand Hank, John Haigh, the second pastor, paid three or four visits each year to Harlior Briton, Jersey Iliirbor, and Little Bay, the headquarters of several large mercantile establish- ments. At these business centres; he had the opportuni^^v of preaching to many iishermen whom he could not have reached at their own homes, and of counteracting the schemes of Roman Catholic priests, who studiously insisted that all children dying unbaptized must be lost, and then refused baptism to the children of parents who would not openly abjure Protestantism. Unable co visit the regions beyond, he followed with prayer a number of tracts for- warded thither as silent messengers of trutii. From his extensive charge he reported fifty-six members.
The membership of the societies in Newfoundland in 1824 was ten hundred and thirty — an increase of nearly seven hundred in twelve years ; and at the same time twelve hundred adults and children were receiving instruc- tion in Methodist Sunday-schools. These figures, however, afford no correct estimate of the spiritual results of Meth- odist agency. The losses to be met each year in annual returns were not only tiiose tlu'ough deaths, or departure from God, or neglect in removals. Determined hostility to the ministry and measures of ^Methodism sometimes led to the forced removal of converts to districts wiiere no pastor could take annual enumeration of them. A young minister who, at a more recent period, preached the first sermon in a certain dwelling in the Bay de Verds district, furnishes an illustration in point. The early married life of the heads of the family had been spent at Bonavista.
n^mmt
:h.
■ I
CO
HISTORY OF METHODISM
There, about 1818, the wife had thoughtfully listened to a gospel sermon, and a renewed heart had caused an altered life. Her husband, irritated by her abandonment of former follies, and her faithfulness to new convictions of duty, resolved to strike out for some spot beyond the reacli of the hated Methodist inlluences. (iathering up his household goods, he took liis family across Che mouth of Trinity Bay, and settled at Bay de Verds, where Roman Catholicism held almost unquestioned sway. Beyond the I'each of pastoral help or Christian sympathy, the wife steadily clung to a Fatluu-'s promises, waiting, meanwhile, for the morning, Yeai-s passed with but faint promise, but, at length, Methodism so far expanded its circles of toil that a day's journey secured to the patient watclier the opportunity of attendance at its services. 'J'hen she received an occasional visit from one of its ministei'S, whose lirst sermon in an adjacent settlement was followed by an attempt upon his life. Finally, in Lord's-day services, held in her own house, in which her husband and other mem- bers of her family took part, the faithful woman saw a joyous recompense for forty years of patient, prayerful waiting. Many other converts, natives of Britain, found their way to their native land soon after conversion. In some cases they were sent home by employers, to whom their presence had become a constant rebuke and annoy- ance. The removal of such members, though a loss to Newfoundland, often proved a blessing elsewhere. Ceorge Morley, a Wesleyan Missionary Secretary, while visiting the mission stations in Ireland many years ago, was enter- tained by one of them, a former lloman Catholic, con- verted under the preaching of John Lewis, at Burin. " Thus," wrote the grateful Secretary, " the labors of a missionary in Newfoundland have opened a door to us in Ireland."
In '!'
/X NinVFOrNDLAXn.
61
Biied to altered nent of tions of le reach up his louth of Roman ond the vhe wife amvhile, promise, ircles of watcher 'hen she rs, whose d by an ces, lield er mem- n saw a )rayerful n, found ion. In ,0 whom annoy - loss to George visiting is enter- lie, con- Burin. ors of a to us in
Not a few persons, who elsewhere might have been beyond the range of directly evangelical })rea(?hing, learned of Christ as a Saviour in Newfoundland. Several Jiritish ollieers l)ecame decided Christians through attendance on John Walsh's ministry at St. John's. The name of another officer, converted while in garrison at St. John's, is better known to the religious world through the short but bright career of his excellent son. The otHcer in (question, Lieu- tenant Richard John V^icars, of tlie Royal Sappers and Miners, had been trained according to a strongly Calvinistic theological standard, but, having revolted against the views of his teachers, had begun to cherish serious doubts lespect- ing the divine origin of Christianity. At St. John's lie became accpiainted with George Cubitt, the popular young Methodist preacher, and the two soon entered into deeply interesting conversations on the docti'ines of the Gospel and the evidences of the heavenly origin of the whole Cliristian system. Through these discussions and the study of books suggested by Cubitt^ the young officer became thorougldy convinced that the Gospel is of God. Assured also of a personal interest in the benefits flowing from the atonement of Christ, he at once entered upon a new career. Having found little sympathy with his higher aims among the clergy and congregation of the Episcopal church, he with- drew from them, and sought more spiritual companion.',hip among the Methodists of St. John's. No less fearless in the social circle than in the face of the public, he made use of all the opportunities atibrded by his position to introduce the topic of personal religion among groups in whose pre- sence any reference to it was rarely made. Tho.se who heard his ttrst sermon in the Methodist church at St. John's, the pulpit of which he frequently occupied until prevented by the prohibition of a superior officer, long remembered the pleading earnestness which drew tears from many eyes,
V
G2
nrSTORY OF Mi:TlfODIS.\f
An attempt to grapple with the scepticism then so prevalent at St. John's soon brought him into more prominent notice. Anspach, in his "Jfistory of Xewfounfllaiul," wiitten in 1815, tells us that such was then the character of the intel- lectual portion of the inhal;itants of the capital that Paine's most blasphemous volumes liad more authority among the inhabitants of St. John's than the Sacred Scrip- tures. " Intidelity liad taken fast hold of the public mind, and the most detestable opinions upon these momentous subjects were unblushingly espoused and advocated by individuals holding some of the most important positions in society." One of these persons, a leading physician, whose influence had been most perniciou.^, prosecuted the young officer upon a charge of defamation of character, but against this charge he successfully defended liitnself. In efforts to do good, his own men were not forgotten. At Signal Hill, where his company was stationed, he had a room fitted up, in which the Methodist minister preached once in each week, additional addresses being given by himself ; and through the.se means more than eighty soldiers entered into Christian fellowship. Some of the more devout men in Vicars' company of Sappers and Miners were known by thoughtless comrades at St. John's as " Vicars' saints," long before the story of the Indian Mutiny had made the world familiar with " Havelock's saints," as a current desig- nation in military circles of the gallant 78th Highlanders. After George Cubitt's return to England, his friend Vicars remained a few months in the colony. The two had spent some pleasant hours in each other's society at the residence of an evangelical Episcopalian of good social posi- tion. In the case of the young officer, the intimacy ripened into an attachment to one of the daughters, a young lady of Christian principle and pleasing promise, to whom he was married just before his return to England, in 1819, Re-
IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
63
specting the weddini,', ho wiote to Air. (jubitt : "It was a Methodistical one. We were at the sacrament on Sunday, at the love feast on Monday, and wore married on Tuesday morning. We had a l)reakfast for tliose who attended us at churoli, after which we were alone till evening, when John Bell, iNIr. and Mrs. Walsh and Mr. Pii'kavant came in, and we had our hymns, etc."'
On his retuin to Britain, Lieutenant Vicars began to entertain serious thoughts of the ministry—at one time, there is reason to believe, under the direction of the Wes- leyan Missionary Society — but after some months of study he resolved to retain his connnission.* In the Mauritius, whither he was ordered, his son liedlcy was born. The establishment of a Weslevan mission in that island was the result, in great measure, of his etlbrts to boneKt tiiose around him. On their arrival there, the first two missionaries were welcomed V)y him, introduced to the governor, and entertained for some time at his residence. In 1835, he returned to Britain, and received a military appointment at MuUingar, Ireland, where he died, in 1830. During his last illness he was visited by Walter Oke Croggon, the General Superintendent of Wesleyan Missions in Ireland.
True goodness does not pass by natural descent, but the " effectual fervent prayer " and pious example of Christian parents avail much in behalf of their children. In dying, Richard John Yicars laid his hand upon the head of his son, a lad of twelve, with an earnest prayer that he "might be a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and so light manfully under His banner as to glorify His holy name." That prayer was answered twelve years later, when the son, then with his regiment in Halifax, N.S., said, as an open Bii^le lay before him : " Henceforth 1 will live, by the grace of God, as a man should live who has been washed in the blood of Jesus
* "Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, "1856.
64
UlSTOliY OF METHODISM
i i^
Christ." The flyinj,' father's pniyor received a still more satisfactory response when, sixteen years after its utterance, the world learned throufjh Miss Marsh's " Memorials,"' of ITedley Vicars' service as a "good soldier of Jesus Christ," througli the temptations of a military life, and the constant alartns, frequent separations and intense sufferings of Crimean trenches.''
Trace we a stej) further the stream of Christian inlluence. A letter to Lady Kayleigh, a sister of TIedley Vicars, writ- ten by a Prussian nobleman, may afl'ord a gleam of light. "I am a man of the world," he wrote, " which is, in other words, to say T am an unhappy man, weary of amusement, and yet unal)le to tind any peace. 1 do not, and cannot believe in the universality of such experiences as that of Captain Vicars, ))ut this 1 know that this little book is the first book on religion which in long years I have been able to read, and that I have not laid it down without — yes, I will own— without tears. Tt was by accident I took it up — 1, a stranger, a foreigner, almost an enemy to England. I was wondering what pleasure I should llnd for myself in London. As a matter of the war it interested me, and as a matter of the heart it has touched me, and I am this
■' Thi' son was also indebted to AEetliodist iiiflueiices. From Chobliam ('amp lie wrote, in 1854, to his mother a letter describing a period of deej) depression. " 1 cannot lell you m hat 1 sutt'ered then. At last, I thought, 'Oh, for some Christ' ui fr 'i'' to converse with!' I jumped up and saw Mr. Kiglev. he missionary, whom I had seen at the tent on Sundays. I in\it . and we sat side by side on the straw for
more than an hour, i .i;^' on tliose ' -lightful sul)jects, the .Sinner's
Friend and the Cliri- - Home. Oh, lie comfort of meeting with a
child of (jod when Sai., has be i ashsaulting you, and tempting you to despair I We knelt on llie gi und, and leaning against tlu; tent-pole, prayed together." This welc('ine visitor was Edward Ivigley, whose life was sketched some years ago in the Irish Erawjili^t. At the time of the above interview, he was a worker iinder the au- , ices of the London City Mission, specially charged by that society with the visitation of soldiers, for which work a ten years* service as a Wesleyan evangelist in Cork had been a good prejiaration. The acquaintance did not end here. From the camp before Sebastopol, in March, 18.55, Vicars wrote to his sister: "I have had a beaut if ul letter from Mrs. 0' ens .... also from Mr. Rigley, Chobham missionary,"
IN yi:]VFOI\\I)LAXl).
05
ill more itorance, ials,' of Christ," constant ■ings of
iitlueuce. irs, writ- of light, in other Lisenient, I cannot , that of ok is the ;een able t— yes, I iok it up England, iiyself in e, and as am this
1 Chobham iod of deej) At last, T I jumped at tliotent
0 straw for he Sinner's ting with a ting yo\i to
1 tent-pole, , whose life the time of ;he London isitation of ^angelist in it end here, vrote to his . also from
night at least a bettf • man for reading it. What sliali come of the reading, who knows?"
WJio knows, indeed! ]iut in eternity, there can be no doubt, similar linos will be traced from tlie conversion of many others, led to Newfoundland l)y trade, as was Le Sueur, or on military duty, as was Vicars, and there directed to Christ by Wesleyan missionaries. It is the little we know; the great remains unknown. The day shall declare it !
\Vr^
'I .
CHAPTER IV.
METHOriSM IX THE LOWER PROVINCES, FROM THE DISTRICT CONFERENCE OF 1813 TO THAT OF 1820.
The War of 1812. Annual !M«'i't]'ng. Princo Edward Island. Lower Canada. Work in new localities. Arrival of Ministers. Formation of Missionary Sofiiety. Candidates for Ministrj". (ieneral Meetings at Annapolis. The Southern Shore.
The outbreak of war iti 1812 was an unwelcome event to tlie people of British North America. In the Maritime Colonies, /lowever, tlie evils most dreaded were never en- dured. More than one monumental pillar marks localities in the Upper Provinces where armies then met in the shock of battle, but no such mementos of that period exist in the Lower Colonies. On the soil of the latter no foeman, an occasional privateer's crew^ excepted, ever attempted to set foot.
The war was known to be unpopular in New England, because it was regarded is a triumph of Southern influence. In view of this fact, Sir John Sherbrooke, of Nova Scotia, issued a proclamation forbidding any molestation of Ameri- cans residing on the frontiers, or interference with goods found on their coasting vessels. About the same time General Smyth, administrator of the government of New Brunswick, taking advantage of the peaceable disposition shown by the people of Maine, published an order prohibit- ing to all persons under his command any interference with the inhabitants of the United States near the provincial boundary. Soon after the issue of this order the magistrates of St. Andrews and the neighboring Maine officials ertered into a mutual agreement to abstain from all hostilities. So
li
IN THE LOWER PROVIXCES.
G7
well was this compact observed, tliat Duncan McColl wrote on the return of peace : " Not one dollar's worth of property was taken by violence from any man on the ' lines,' neither was there any killed, wounded, or taken ririsoner amoncrst us ; but in room of judgments we had wonderful works of grace, such as we never saw in this country before."'
There was, nevertheless, even in the rural disti-icts, an excitemoit unfavorable to religious growtli. Though the sc.ittered farmers were busily employed in the production and conveyance of the extra supplies required by the forces, theirminds wereoftenpre-occupied by vague rumors and start- ling reports. At the seaports tlie excitement was ten-fold greater. The arrival and departure of ships of war, the condemnation and sale of pi-izes, the intelligence of some victory or rever.se, or the c;ipture by the press-gang of some luckless stranger, all combined to maintain a state of feeling in marked contrast with, the previous quiet of colo- nial lite. In New Brunswick, the general excitement was increased by the despatch of the 104th regiment, raised in that province, to the assistance of the troops defending the more northern frontier. The relation of the mid-winter march of that regiment across Lake Temiscouata and of its shire in the sanguinary midnight conflict at Lundy's Lane, bshngs to the pen of the secular historian. At the period reviewed such events, with tidings of conflict elsewhere, occupied, in a great degree, public attention, leaving little of special interest to Ite reported l)y the isolated pastors, ]McColl alone excepted. Early in l.'^l.'^ that minister thought he saw indications of i-evival, and a few months later he concluded a ffrateful entrv in his iournal bv the
V
1 McColl's well-known Inyalty 'lid iint wliully ]ii'()tcc't him from siis- icinn during' his efforts to preserve peace. Humors of a compromisiiifjf
icinn ature
were whisi»ereil s(j loudly by some wlio would ^dadly luive seali'd his lips, that they received attention at headcpiarters, but on learuiup of their existence throuf,di a gentleman who held him in lii^^h esteem, he wrote a letter which covered the author of the slandcr.s w ith confusion.
SB
mm
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III STORY OF METHODISM
li
remark that ho might till a volume with narratives of conver- sions. In the interval between March and December, one hundred and twenty persons were added to the meml)ership of the St. Stephen circuit through a revival which continued to afford accessions tliroughout the two subsequent years.
Other and more humble effort for the Master's sake secured at the same time lieaven's rich approval. At Halifax, some devoted Methodists sought to l)enetit the American prisoners whom the fortunes of war had led into the prison at Mel- ville Island. In the number of the visitors was an English woman, who, during a previous residence in Boston, had opened her humble dwelling for religions meetings. On her approach to a room in the prison, a voice, to iier great surprise, hailed lier as "Mothcn-." flaving turned, she saw at the gratini; a sailor lad in whom she at once recocrnized a former worshipper in her dwelling, of whose movements she for some time had heard nothitig. The young man's story was soon told. The cruise of the privateer Black I/mvk, on board which patriotism and profession together had led him, had been short,a British war- vessel having captured her and taken her into fTalifax. The good woman procured for him some necessary clothing, and furnished iiim and his comrades with a Bible and several other books. Many years later, when he had reached a widely-known position in Boston, he met an aged local preacher who had removed thither from the British Provinces. I]i the course of conversation the latter spoke of his wife's earlier residence in Boston. The listener asked for her former name. As he heard it a strange im- pulse seemed to seize him ; he inquired for her residence, then hurried away, and soon after, with his whole family, drove up to the door. The interview there was not soon forgotten, for the visitoi- was Edward T. Taylor — " Father Taylor," of tlie Seamen's Bethel, and the aged woman to whom he now, in his own peculiar way, introduced his wife
IN THE LOWER PROVIXCES.
GO
and children, was the humble widow to whom lie could say in no tigurative language : " F was in prison, and ye came unto me."
It was at ]Melville Island, Edward T. Taylor once re- marked to a Provincial visitor, that Providence pointed out his path of service. To the impi-isoned Americans the forms of prayer used by the clergyman detaileil for prison duty were distasteful, while certain petitions, strong in British sentiment, were highly objectionable : they, there- fore, recjuested the commandant to allow Taylor to conduct prayer services for them. Emboldened by the compliance of the official, they asked the young man to undertake a further duty, for the chaplain's sermons were not more satisfactory to them than his prayers. The youth protested that he could not read, and that to preach would be impos- sible. They replied that he could talk upon his feet as well as upon his knees, and at length he yielded. A shipmate read passage after passage from the Bible, until one had arrested his attention. It was repeated and made the subject of an address that gave indicatioTi of the unec^ualled pulpit strength which, when his Ijelief in Christian truth had l)ecome a more vital power, gave him world-wide fame. Successive addresses followed, and the young man, after captivity in Nova Scotia and in England, went forth com- n)itted, uidearned though he was, to a woi'k in which he was to have no peer.-'
-" FatluT Taylor, the Sailor I'r.achcr," p. ;r>. Of this iiiarvflloiis Mt'tliudist pn-ac'luT, Dr. ( '. .\. Hartol, of Boston, in a recent articlf in "The Century," after iiavinj,' reealled the },n'eat Anieriean orators, re- marked, "lint ill none of tlieni was a power to fuse, blend and kindle so divine as that of Taylor." Walt Whitman, in the same perindical, speaks of the most brilliant lij^dits of liar and staire, a'Idint,'; " Tiiouj^di 1 recall most marvellous effects from one or other of them. 1 never had anything in the way of vocal utteiance to shake me throuj^di and through, and become fixed with its accompaniments in my memory, like the prayers and sermons of Fatlu'r Taylor." And a late leading Methodist layman of lirooklyn. in describing liis own conversion vmder Father Taylor, said : " It seemed as if Isaiah and David and Daniel and Paul and Christ all spoke through him."
70
HISTORY OF METHODISM
I I
1
Through lack of preachers the societies at Fredericton, Nashvvaiik and Sheffield were all placed in charge of the minister at St. John. On his arrival at that place in 1815, William Croscouibe went up to Fredericton, and found there Thomas D. Stokoe, an English local preacher of some ability, to whom he assigned the care of the societies in the neighV)orhood of the capital. Stokoe remained at Frederic- ton two years, having as a successor James Armstrong, whose stay was equally short. At St. John, Croscoinbe found full employment. With abundant pulpit and pastoral work, a " series of conversations " in his study, which led a number of youth into church fellowship, the circulation of eleven hundred dollars' value of English Methodist publica- tions, the erection of a parsonage, and occasional visits up the river, his two years at St. John seemed to pass with unusual rapidity.
In 1814, an official visit was paid to Px'ince Edward Island by \Villiam Bennett, chairman of the district. As a result, the name of James Bulpitt, the only Wesleyan minister for some years on the island, appeared on the Minutes of 1814 and two subsequent years as that of a supernumerary, and then ceased to have any recognition. For some years Bulpitt continued to travel at intervals through the ishmd as a preacher without ecclesiastical relation. In death, at the age of ninety-two, the sacred employment of his better days engaged his thoughts. Having addressed an imagi- nary coi\gregation, he dismissed it after the usual form, lay back exhausted, and soon after died. His wife, Hannah, to the last a faithful member, was for many years a school- teacher in Charlottetown.
John Hick, Bulpitt's immediate successor, during a single year established for himself a place in the grateful recollections of many worthy persons. Though his circuit was ninety miles in extent, invitations reached him from
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
71
settlers beyond its limits. In August, 1815, he preached the first sermon in a new church at Murray Harbor. At Charlottetown, the Methodists still continued to worship on Sunday evenings in the old church in which in the morning the rector conducted liturgical services, though several years before a lot had been purchased and timber collected for a church of their own. In November, 1814, the frame of such a church was raised, special assistance being given on the occasion by Britisli soldiers. l\\ this building, only partially finished, Hick had the pleasure of preaching the first sermon, in June, 181 G. He htid hardly, however, resumed his work at the close of the district meeting of tiiat season, when a letter from the chairman directed him to effect an innnediate exchange with John Bass Strong, a young minister at Montreal.''
Of John Hick's sons in the Gospel, at Charlottetown, two became widely known. One was Albert Desbrisay, the fourth son of the worthy rector. The young man's determination to serve his Lord in fellowship with the JNIethodist Church, was, at first, somewhat distasteful to his venerable father, whose eldest son had previously taken
3 An incident connected with Mr. Hick's ministry in Montreal is sug- gestive. Qne Sabbatli lie pivachedon the observance of the Lord's-day. An official of his church, meeting him on Monday morning, exjjressed some surprise that a person profiting ))y transgression of Sabbath law should preach on such a toi)ic. He then informed the perjjlexed preacher that the Montreal Steamboat Company, of whose stock ^Irs. Hick held shares, was in the habit of receiving and discharging freight and des- patching boats on Sunday, and that the liipior bars on board were open on Sundays as on other days. The astonislied preacher at once admitted that those who shared in the dividends i)f the cmnpaiiy were partakers in the evil ; and after some consultation with Mrs. ITick, presented him- self at the office of the conii)any. The agent listened to his reasons for the proi)osed sale of the stock, and then, with a smile, declared that he would dispose of the shares in (piesi ion to the very person whose criticism had disturbed his conscience. Sti'pping over to the office of John Mathewson, the agent offered him the stock on easy terms, and urged him to avail himself of a rare ()[)portunity. The Metliodist business man, however, firndy refused to accept tlie offer, and others, less scrupu- lous, became possessors of the coveted stock. Mr. Hick died oi cholera in (.2n«-'bec, in 1834. His wife was a grand-daughter of Philip Embury.
FT
T
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
a similar step, but a consistent life soon won tiie parent's sympathy and approval. Adam Clarke Avard, at six years of age, had crossed the ocean with his fatiier, Joseph Avard, and had become an intimate friend of young Des- brisay. A student at law, he had been li\ ing only for the present world. The removal of his parents from the island, in 1814, weakened the circle of religious influences about him ; nevertheless, his friends perceived that he was losing some of his relish for former companions and plea- sures. While conscious that the changed life of his friend Desbrisay was increasing the distance between them, he one evening observed jNlrs. Chappell, the wife of his father's friend, Benjamin Cliappell, leave lier home for the prayer- meeeting. Almost instinctively he followed her, to return from the little gathering with the conviction that in heaven's sight he was a sinner. His interest in the preach- ing of John Hick called forth grateful remarks from friends, who, in a few weeks, had the greater joy of hear- ing his declaration of conscious personal salvation through Christ Jesus.
John Bass Strong arrived at Charlottetown from Mont- real in the summer of 1816 — if summer there could be said to be during that phenomenal year.^ A fishing ^essel landed him and his wife at the extreme end of the island. Thence they sailed along the coast in an open boat, and at the end of the fourth day went on shore within four miles of Charlottetown, travelling thither on horseback. The young preacher, a native of Nottinghamshire, had entered
^ The year 181G was long reinemViered by the old folks as " the year without a Bininner." But little rain fell. The wind blew almost Hteadily from the north, cold and fierce. In the New England States Hnow fell in June, in various places, from three to ten inches in depth. In Nova Scotia, in the middle of that month, the ground was frozen (sufficiently hard in moist jjlace," to carry horses. There were a few warm days, but on .September 12th a frost destroyed nearly all the grain.
IN Till': LOWER PROVIXCES.
73
the itinerancy in 1813, and had been appointed to Shel- burne, N.S., but an earnest appeal from Lower Canada liad caused him to be sent to that pro\inc"e as the first English Metliodist preacher in the Canada of that day. The serious difUculties respecting tlie jui'isdiction of the Englisii and Amei'ican preachers which, in 1815, ()l)liged William Bennett, as chairman of the "Kova Scotia, New Brunswick and Canada District," to visit Lower Canada, and, in 181(1, with William Black, to attend the Ceneral Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Balti- more, having rendered necessary at Montreal the presence of a man of greater experience, he was transferred to Prince Edward Island, where, more than fifty years later, lie finished his course. For a few weeks he was unassisted, but towards the close of 1810 Sampson Busby i-eached the island from Newfoundland, and pitched his tent at Murray Harbor, remaining there until the ensuing district meeting. In the official Minutes of 1815, the Lunenburg circuit first found mention, with a membership of thirty persons. At the district meeting of the previous year, at Newport, George Orth, a German school-teacher, who had become a Methodist in his adopted country, liad l)een present as the first representative of the German- speaking population of the province. Previously popular Ijecause of a fine voice, eloquent address and good education, his ministry was attended with a good measure of success. In 1817, seventy five members were reported. The exterioi- of a church forty five feet in length had then been completed at Lunen- burg, but the interior accommodation was of a somewhat rude kind. The term "Newlight," which the children had shouted after him in the streets, at his first visit as a Meth- odist, had not been wholly forgotten, but his message had come to be received with greater respect, and many had become visitors at the new sanctuary who had declared with
fp
74
HISTORY OF METHODISM
an oath that they would never enter its doors. Some persons, at (irst ashamed to cross its tlireshold, had learned to kneel at prayer, and to defend the doctrines they had once derided.
The arrival in April, If:^lG, of two missionaries from Eng- land, enabled the chairman to make provision for another section of countiy, which had appeared on the Minutes of 1815 as " Manchester and the Eastern part of the Province." John Fishpool, the young minister sent thither, would have been at home with Peter Uartwright and other representa- tives of " muscular Christianity " in the Far West of that period. Once, while preaching in a provincial village, two young men noisily entered the church, and, on being re- proved, as rudely walked out. The preacher instantly fol- lowed them, and soon re-appeared with them, each with an arm in his powerful grasp, and placed them like children in the seats they had left. But whilst, in each of the circuits occupied by him during a short provincial ministry, some were ready in later days to recall his name in connection with some brilliant mental effort or eccentric word or deed, others, who long adorned the doctrine of God their Saviour, remembered him as a messenger whose utterances had been to them the "savor of life unto life." His fellow-voyager over the ocean, Thomas Catterick, a man of different tem- perament, was removed to Lower Canada after a few months' residence on the Annapolis circuit.
The district meeting of ISIG was held in the "Stone chapel " at Point de Bute. An unusual interest attended its religious services. Tlie presence of eleven itinerant minis- ters and two or more local preachers attracted visitors from all parts of the immense Cumberland circuit. Stephen Bamford's second term there had been the means, as had also the tirst, of leading into Christ's service sons and daughters of Yorkshire Methodists, whose subsequent lives proved a blessing to that section of country. So large was
IN THE LOWER PROVIXCES.
75
the gathering at the services of the Lord's-cUiy that it was remarked that "the ciiapel was in the congregation, and not the congregation in the chapel." Thomas Catterick, who then for the tirst and hist time met the ministers of the Maritime Provinces, wrote to the Missionary Secretaries : '* In ahnost every house we entered theie were some crying for mercy. There appears at this time to be an abundant iiarvest, but where are tlie reapers to gather it in ? "
The loss feared by Catterick was in some measure pre- vented by the judicious appointment of James Dunbar as Bamford's successor. Under his direction local laborers
were usefully employed ; the "Jirick chapel " was opened at Sackville early in 1818, and a smaller church built at Tantramar; and visits were paid to several distant settle- ments. Bale Verte, where several of the numerous sons and daughters of Daniel Goodwin, a New England soldier under V/inslow at the reduction of Fort Cumberland, had found a home, and where the Chappells and Aliens, and others from the revolted colonies had made themselves farms, had previously been visited by the preacher but once or twice in each year. Dunbar now preached to theuj once in each fortnight, and saw the society grow to twice its previous number, with comfortable accommodation in a neat little church.
One of the more distant sections of the Cumberland circuit visited by Dunbar was Wallace. Separated from headquarters by hfty miles of road scarcely meriting the name, the people there could only be visited by the preacher once in six months ; the membershi}), nevertheless, had con- tinued to grow in numbers and in activity. Four societies had been formed, eight or ten dwellings had been opened for religious services, and a small church at Wallace, built about 1808, had been made the property of the Connexion. From the leaders and members of this section a sti'ouir
jr
!
i
t
1 ■ 4.
I ' i \
f -t
I ''
76
//rsroin' or MirnionisM
appeal had been made to the ministers assembled at Point de Bute, for more satisfactory pastoral supervision. Late in tiie autumn, Thomas Payne, just from Kngland, reported at Sackville. whence Dunbar sent him on to Wallace. Dur- ing his eighteen months' stay in that jiart of the country, he receiv(;d into church fellowship several pei'sons whose inHuence, with that of their descendants, has been of great value to the Methodist Church in various parts of the Lower Provinces. To William Fulton and his wife, whom he found at Wentworth in deep anxiety ; and to William Tuttle, a member of a family who had bestowed their hospi- tality upon the earliest visiting preachers ; as well as to several others, he proved a true guide and an agent of bless- ing.
Another earnest request for the prescMice of a preacher was forwarded at the same time from Yarmouth. This memorial was prepared by an Englishman who had pur- chased lands and begun the erection of a largo dwelling in that township. To Anthony Landers —for this was his name — belongs alike the honor of having introduced Methodism into Yarmouth and of having been a pioneer in that foreign trade which Yarmouth business men of a later generation have prosecuted with singular enter])rise and ability. Landers was a native of Monkwearmouth, near Sunderland. His father had sailed his own vessel, and the son essayed to do the same, but misfortunes robbed him of his property and sent him into the forecastle. After various adventures, and a nairow escape in Holland from death as a spy, he at length crossed the Atlantic in a vessel of his own. In l!^08, at Halifax a .second time, he in- tended to sail for New York, but thwarted by the embargo put upon British shipping, he engaged a cargo of timber at 'Yarmouth, and went thither to take it on board. " It was a place," ho wrote, " where no ships frequented but their own
IX TIIK LOW Eli PliOVIXCES.
1 1
'oint Late orted Dur- intry, \^hose jxreat Lower •in he 'illiaiu hospi- as to t bless-
•eacher , This id pur- ling in as his ■oduced iieer in a hiter se and near ind the him of After "Id from vessel he in- liibargo nber at It was ;ir own
small vessels." On his return to London, he hecanie the purchaser from a person there of lands at Yarmouth, of which he neither knew tlie exact location nor precise extent, Imt wiiich proxed to he of much larger area than he had supposed, and to be situated in several parts of the town- ship.
Through varying fortunes. Landers had not licon careless of heavenly pilotage. He liad first visited a Methodist church in a spirit of ridicule, but bett<'r impulses soon led him in th<' same direction. IMie light of truth, slowly dawn- ing upon hiu), was followed in time by " noonday evidence.' In Halifax, he met with Joshua Marsden and Alexander Anderson, and during succeeding vLsits there, found a wel- come in a pleasant and pi'ofitable circle of friends. Believ- ing that an opportunity to pay his debts awaited him in Nova Scotia, he took up his residence near Yarmouth. In the autunni of 1812, he 1 lunclied the J\'fer Waldo, the first of a number of vessels built by him at Plymouth. As occasion permitted, he had been paying otl' his former credi- tors, but on a certain day in March, 1812, he settled in full the last claim against him, regarding his ability to do this as one of the " peculiar mercies" of his life. He then resolved to .secure some religious care for those among whom he had made his liome. A Baptist chui'ch, in which he had sometimes worshipped, stood at a distance of five miles from Hebron, near which there seemed to be a suilicient number of settlers to form a distinct congregation ; he concluded, therefore, to build a church and bring a preacher across the ocean. When at the Orkneys, in 1813, he thought he had found a suitable man in a '" missionary preacher who appeared to hold the doctrine and discipline of the Metho- dists, though not united to them," but overtures to him were not received with favor.'' A year or two later he com-
■'' "Narrative of the Travels and Vovages of Captain Anthony Lan- ders," etc. New York, 1815.
78
HISTORY OF METHODISM
H,
nienced the erection of a larcjo churcli at Trel)ron, find made a pressinf? appeal to the as.soinl)lo(l Wesleyan ministers for the appointment of a preacher.
The arrival at Ifalifax of three youn,<4 ministers, sent out by the Committee during the autumn of ISIO, enabled the chairman to give an early response to the appeal from Yarmouth. RolxM't Alder, the lirst to arrive, was selected for that post, to which he proceeded after a short delay at Newport. Alder was a young man of most pleasing ap- pearance and clocjuent addi'css, who, at the previous Con- ference, had been appointed to a West Indian station, but had subsequeiitly been ordc^red to Nova Scotia, in conse- quence of the pressing appeals from that quarter. The township of Yarmouth, at the time of his arrival, con- tained about four thousand inhabitants, among whom Harris liarding, of the Baptist Church, was the only min- ister, though a small Episcopal church, organized about ten years before, had erected a place of worship and secured, to the general dissatisfaction of tlie inhabitants, the lieavy tract of land reserved by the government, in 1707, for church and school purposes. AV)out 1799, Harris Harding and a number of his flock were baptized by im- mersion. At the close of an extensive revival, in 1806. the pastor and members adopted a new platform, having decided that no believers refusing to be immersed should be considered members of the church. Unable, however, to "swallow" at once the "camel" of close communion, they voted that "such believers as the church has a fellow- ship for, who walk circumspectly, may be admitted by the voice of the church to occasional communion." Only after the lapse of twenty years and more could a majority of the members of this church so far harden their hearts as to exclude from the Lord's table other believers in Jesus, and pilgrims to the same Father's house.*"'
8 See "Memoirs of Harris Harding," by J. Davis.
sh
gl
IX Till- LOWER PROVIXCES.
79
nade •s for
it out >(1 the
from lected 'lay at ng a\v s Coti- in, but
conso- '. The nl, con- Nvhom ily min- r\ about
ip and )itants, icnt, in Harris
by im- in 1806, having 1 should lowever, imunion, a follow- V)y the ily after
ijority
of
hearts as In Jesus,
Durincj the few months of AMer's rosidonce at Yarmouth Captain Landers was in ICnj^danrl, and tlio younji; minister, utidor circumstances so novel to him, was forced to rely almost wiiolly upon his own judi^nient. lie preached his first sermon at the dwollini,' of Waitstiil licwis. \\y some of the inhabitants he was kindly received, hut from the " Newli<,dits" he met with warm opposition. Tiioui^di not less anxious than the settled pastor " to exhibit Christ as the Refuge and Saviour of sinners," the earnest young pi-eacher was condemned as one who undervalued the right(>ousness of Christ and sought salvation by the deeds of the law. As the church connnenced by (japtain Landers was only tit for use during summer months, he preached in a lai'ge room fitted up with pulpit and henches in the second story of ITebron House, the captain's residence, and sometimes in a dwelling in tl.^ village of Yarmouth. Visits were also paid by him to Plymouth and Tusket. A few, at least, of his hearers were convinced that the " new way," as some were pleased to call God's message by him, was in reality the old way of the Gospel ; and others, who did not then accept the truth "in the love thereof," woi-e subsequent- ly aided by recollections of his teaching. Twelve persons only were received ])y him into church fellowship, but in the short list were the names of men and women worthy of remembrance. In the number were Waitstiil Lewis and his wife, of whom all the families of the name in the county are descendants. Mr. Lewis, a Xew Englander by birth, had removed from Halifax to Yarmouth. The circum- stances of his conversion are unknown, but the date of it the good man marked with chalk on a beam in his work- shop, wliere for many years it served to cheer him as he glanced at it in any moment of despondency. For some years he had been in communion with the " Newlights," but when they accepted a Calvinistic creed and made im-
80
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Mi'
i\
niersioii ;i ooiiclitiou of Christian fcillowship ho withdrew from them. On Alder's arrival, he and his excellent wife welcomed him, and j^ladly attended his ministry. The wife earlier entered the rest that romaineth, to he followed thither by hor hushand at the end of a long pilgrimage. Intimately associated with them was Thomas Dane, from ^Massachusetts, a settlor ahout 17<'^0 at Upper Milton. Thoughtful always, he had profited by the teaching of a Scotch school-master, who fre(|uently preached in the vicinity of Yarmouth. Ills early removal into the village was a cause of much satisfaction to the few Methodists there, among whom, as a man of active temperament and attractive character and a good singer, he bore an im- portant share of responsibility until his death, in 1828.
In the absc'ice of an immediate successor to Robert Alder, Captain Landers, on liis return from J*]ngland, fitted up a dwelling, and invited TJiomas D. Stokoe, of Frederic- ton, to remove to Yarmouth as a preacher and school- teacher. For a time Stokoe's ministry proved a Ijlessing. During the autumn of 1817, William Croscombe, then at Liverpool, visited the little church, i)aptizing ten persons and administering the Lord"s-su[)per. On the arrival of Thomas Payne, in 1818, arrangements were made for the purchase of a building previously used as a workshop. The minister visited the socijties in the western })art of the province, and carried home eighty pounds ; the Wesley an Missionary Society, at the suggestion of Captain Landers, added a grant of fifty pounds sterling ; and, with these sums and local contributions, the building was provided with a pulpit aid iT»ugh seats. In this sanctuary, enlarged in 1819, and sul>s(M{uently furnished with pews and galleries, the Methodists of Y^'armouth continued to worship, until increased numbers and wealth enabled them to substitute for it the larger and more elegant Provich'nce church.
/.V 77/ A' 1.0 WEi: /'/:nl'/M'/:s.
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Hon.
of a tl\e iUage odists it and n ini-
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Robert
, fitted
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Ipersons iviil of for the ). The of the esleyan liinders, \\ these rovided Kdarged a\lv;ries, Ip, until bstitute
h.
The iianio of \Villi;nu lUirt, w ho aii'ivcd in l^K;. recalls an intci'cstini,' cliaptci' in the histoi-y of an iMi^li.sli village. Hurt was a native of Cornwall. In his tiftiM-nth yeai-, when apprenticed to a ship-huilder at Turnrliapel, IMymouth, he found a home with a- family n.-imcd l*oi)e, also from Corn- wall. The father of this family had taken his rliildren to Methodist services, and had begun lo give tlirm sucli reli- gious instructii II as he could, when tlcath leinoNcd him. His first wife, a pious woman, had pr'ay "d, as she passed away, that her four young children miijht he "l)oin again." in tlu; immediate neighborhootl noCiospcj meetings were held ; Sabbaths were profaned and saKation was neglected. The j)urchase from a hawker of Haxter's "Saints" Kest " by the second son, Henry, was an imj)orta!it inei(h'nt in the history of the family. Intluenced l)y the preaching of the Wesleyan ministers whom \\v, went to heai- at IMymouth, Henry soon decided u{»ou a Christian life, ;iiid urged upon his i)rothers and young Burt the adoption of a similai- course. Ilichai-d and -John l*ope, and a young half-brother, William, soon felt the force of truth, and William Uurt, a little later, yielded to the same intlucnce, all hecdming mem- • ers of the first society class in the \ illnge. of which Ileni'y was early made leader. These five young men were to de- clare the (lospel of the grace of God in Ibitish North Amer- ica— four of them as successful itinerants, the tifth foi' a time as an able local preacher. " They were," to use the words of William I-Jurt Pope, I). !>., in a sk(>tch of his fathei-. who was one of th(! group, " l)ut specimens of a great nundjer throughout the land, to "■•hom ^lethodism came with the triple power of a spiritu I, mental and .social icsurrcct ion. Methodist preaching, as the instrumint of Cod's grace, gave them a new being, and ojx'iied to tliciii a new piospect, lioth for this world and the next.
Of this band <A young mtn, Ibirt was ih«' lir.st to j(o
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/
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82
nisTonY OF MiyriioDrsM
II
sfii
abroad. Towards the autumn of ISIG lie hastened to London, at the call of the Connnittee, to prepare for depar- ture for Nova l:Jcotia. As passengers in the Victory^ beside Thomas Payne and liimself, wei'e Dr. Tnulis, afterward bishop of Nova Scotia, and three military and naval otlioers. The cler<fymen, " to say the least," treated them "civilly," but they felt themselves obliji^ed to reprove the oihcei-s, who swore at the contents of some religious tracts, which the crew accepted from the young preachers in more courteous style. On tlie day of tlieii- arrival tin; young men met William Black, and accom[»anied him to his liome, and in the evening Burt began his eventful piox incial ministry.
At Newport, Burt's first appointment, the outlook was not cheering. One of his earliest duties was a visit to the aged supernumerary, John Mann. For two years th't niinis- ter had been confined to his dwelling by a complication of disordei's. His friends, who had feared that the influence of domestic and other trials had in some measure lessened the light in which he had once walked, were cheered by the assurance of the hope of eternal life which, at the approach of death, he gave to the youthful pastor. On a wintry day, early in 1817, the aged man lifted a hand in token of ex- pectation of rest, then placed it across the other and fell asleep. From the grave of this pioneer of Provincial Methodism Burt turned away, feeling "almost alone in the great wilderness." He had no settled home, but was entertained in turn by the leading Methodist families of the place. A little while only, however, elapsed before evidences of the divine bless.- ihg upon his efforts liecame visible. Conversions took place at (Oakland, large numbers entered the societies at Kempt and Kennetcook, and seveivil persons, throughout a long period pillars in the churches at Windsor and Fal- mouth, claimed him as their guide into the path of life.
The three young preachers Aider, Burt and Payne re-
/K 77/ A' LOW Eh' rnOVTXCES.
83
( 'US-
ou of ponce ened the oach (lay, 3t' ex- leep. lUivt less." y the ^vhile blesfv- took OS at out a Fal-
ve
ceived a cordial welcome at the district meeting at Jlalifax, in 1817. One of the evenings of the session was devoted to tlie formation of the " Methodist .Missionary Socioty for the Nova Scotia, New ih'unswick and Prince Kdward Island District." A large aiuiienco was pr(>s(Mit in the old A I'gyle-strect church. Kightccn nidiiths ptexiously, the congregation, assisted l)y the contriliutions of (!o\-ei'noj' Sherbrooke and some lending citizens, had made an exten- sive addition to that huilding. William j>laek occupied the (|uaintdooking round pulpit and pi'esidcMl o\-ei' the meeting ; William r.ennett conducted the earlier devotional exercises ; an<l the other ministei's addi'cssed the audience from the gallery in the rear of the pulpit. The speakers, clerical and lay, moved and seconded Hfteen resolutions. The General (younnittee then a})pointe(l consisted of aP the preachers in the district, with all the stewards and more than tifty othei- laymen. Messrs. .John A. I'aii-y and Hugh Bell were the secretaries, and John Starr, l'iS((., the trea- surer. Local committees wei-e to Ix; formed in each circuit. At tlie nex-t annual meeting thi-ee hundrtnl and sixty-six pounds wei'e reported, of which sum one-half had l)een con- tributed in Halifax. Each minister'- had subscriWed one guinea, with the exception of William Ulaek, wlios(( more ample private resources had enabled him to cast a larger sum into the treasury, ami then excite some innocent curi- o.sity by a further donation of fifty jvninds in the name of " A friend."
At this uuHi'ting of ISI7, two young men appeared as candidates for the ministry. ( !erirge Millei", whos(^ long life made his face and fiwm familiar to a later generation, was a descendant of one of thos(> Palatines who, about the beginning of the eighteenth ce'itury, had crossed from (Jer many to Ireland, ant! settled in the county of Limerick, where John Wesley often \ isited tliens and their ch'ldren. Miller
84
HISTORY OF METHODISM
t?:
had entered the local ministry in his native land. An uncle, resident at Halifax, had encouraged him to cross the ocean ; on his reception into the bj'otherhood he also fur- nished him with the necessary outfit. The other candidate, Adam Clarke Avard, crossed the Straits of Nortliumberland with Sampson Busby, who till then was unknown to the ministers on the main land, save by report. Sevei-al months after conversion, Avard had abandoned the iden of law as the business of life. At the outset of a new path, he had encountered some discouragements, a somewhat bruscjue trus- tee, on the occasion of one of his earlier essays at preaching at Charlottetown, having ordered him down from the pulpit. On the invitation of Busby, he had removed to Murray Harbor to take charge of a school, and from the otlicial mei)il)ers of that circuit he had brought the requisite recom- mendation. By the district meeting he was ])rovisionally accepted, as was also his fellow-candidate, and was sent to Shelburne.
One short year at Shelburne rendered Avard's name very dear to the little tlock in that interesting old town. An excellent woman, who a few years ago left earth, dated her better life from the hour in which she first heard him read a hymn in the old chuix;!!. Ueneral regret was expressed at his I'emoval to N<>vvpoit, l)ut there, too, the ^Master had work for him. A faded journal, in which, more than eighty years ago, a (Christian mother made note of life's joys and sorrows, tells in grateful words of the conversion of her four sons and a nej)hew through his ministry there. Of these four sons of Anthony Shaw, one entered the ministry, and, afti'r a ln-ief service at home, went by appointment of the Missionary Oojumittee to the AVest Indies, wlience at a comparati\ fly early age he returned to die; and another become a useful local [ireacher in his nati\c> township. The nephew, Robert Salter, the latest survivor of the group — a
IX THE LOWER mOVINCES.
85
to
of
it a IIhh- irho -a
part only of those; who then l^elieved — was a more youth engaged as a teaclior. Soon after his conversion, liis pastor pkxced in his hands a list of members at Newport, on which his own name was the twentieth, with an intimation that he must forthwith assume the position of leadei*. Foi'ty-six years of faithful attention to the duties of chat and several other otiices in tlu; church at Carleton, N.l)., his place of residence from 18'_H>, fully justified that early selection by his pastor. iSooii after the conversion of tliese young men, Avard became the assistant of Bamford, at Annapolis,
At the close of the annual meeting of I^'IT, William liurt set out for the Fredericton circuit. In crossing the bay he nar- rowly escaped drowning in a leaky vessel, which was beached at Parrsboro', only in time to save the lives of the passengers and crew. His regular circuit journeys led him to the west- ern side of the Grand Lake, where Daniel 8tilwell, an American Loyalist, and two or three pious friends, who, with him, had maintained the religious services of the set- tlement, welcomed the itinerants on their too ran; visits. The winter travel over the rivers and lakes perplexed the young Englishman. Oil his first drive to Sheffield over the great icy highway of the St. John, he had gone but two miles when he induced a friend to try the depth of the ice. When this had been cut as deep as the axe-handle would permit, and without appearance of water, he drove cheerfuly on. Real danger once attended an attempt on his part to guide a " dug-out "' acioss a passage near the head of the (xrand Lake during a summer visit. But for any hardships there soon came compensation. The meml)ership at B^'eder- icton, though small in numbers, was not without influence. Among elect women was Catharine Dayton, who, with her mother and brother, had found her way thither from Xorth Carolina. Intelligent and pious, she was associated with Mrs. Thomas Taylor in the organization and early manage-
m
86
JiTSTORY OF MF/nUlDIHM
nient of tlie Frederictoii Sunday-scliool.' To the iMflueiice of Miss Dayton aiul her l)r<)tlier, Burt attiibuted tho con- version of a family on the opposite side of the river, a son and several daughters of which he received into uieuil)ership soon after liis ari'ival. The father, an American Loyalist, whose wife iiad perislied amonjjj the many exiles lost in the transport Martha, in i78.'3, took exception to his children's course, and meetin,i>; Burt in the; street, charged him with having " injured his family." A kind reply secured for the niinistcn- an invitation to preacli in the dwelling of the aggrieved father. Catharine Gill, tlie latest survivor of several " remarkable sistcn-s " of this family, and a cheerful, consistent Christian to her latest hour, joined her earlier friends in the Paradise of God after sixty years of fellowship with the church l)elow. To the agency of Miss Dayton may also be ascribed, in part, the conversion of Cliristoi)her Joseph Gaynor, long a leading Methodist layman. A clerk in Fredericton in IS17, he became thoughtful respecting personal salvation, and early in tin; following year withdrew from Episcopalia.n associations to join the small church of which Burt was the pastor. For forty years the Head of the church pmiiitted hini to remain with the Methodists at Fredericton, aits a happy illustration of a godly life, and then crowned His servant's departure with a most hallowed sun- set scene.
Early in 1S18 a i-evival took place at .ShetUeld, where some of the r(!sidents at Burton, on the opposite; bank of the St. John, were also worshippers. One Sunday evening Burt preached as usual and retired wearied to his lodging- place. Thither, to his surprise, he was followinl by as many persons as tin; house could contain. Prayer was
7 Catliiiriiic I );iytoirs iiid was ojici' iiivipkcd liy a youiip st»utfnt vrtio ainust'd liiuisflf with a irw"s-har|i while slic |iif|iait'(l his thiiiic, which, ou tht) followiiiL;' iiioniiu^', t'licitnl from Dr. Jaculis the remark : " No yuuug mail in New Urunawick has writ leu this I''
IX Till': unvKU rnovixcEs.
87
L-CNV
OI
OI
■; at
uui-
liere. of lung liug- as was
w no Ihich, No
off'ered in their helialf l)y the pastor aiul an exhorter. In the room where tht^y knelt nine ])erson.s bore witness for the liist time to the presence with them of the Holy
Spirit as the Comfortt
Oi
nto
'IJ^
mg room, tne pastor touiul sever.il young men pleading tor assured forgiveness, and with tiiem he remained until they too testitied that prayer had l»een answered. To the tifteen who then became believers in Jesus, iifteen others were soon added. Such successes were accepted as a satisfactory reason for iJurt s absence frcjm the annual meeting of 1818 at Halifax, and were deemed a sufficient cause for sending Robert II. Ci'ane at (j!U'(! to his aid. On the arrival of his young colleague, the senior preacher visited Jemseg, at the mouth of the (I rand Lake, and thence crossed the river to Gageto wn, where, uninvited to the parish church, he stood on a cut in the front street of that Loyalist village and preached to its people, "Jesus and the resurrection."
From the position then gained at the capital and in its vicinity Methodism has never receded. At Fredericton> valuable mendjers were added and church accommodation was increased ; at Sheffield, the membership was enlai-ged to twice its previous number and a new cliurch was completed; and at Nashwaak, where a few aged Highlanders looked to James Stewart as their header, Burt went into the woods with several of the congregation and aided them in cutting a frame for a church to be erected on ground given for that purpose by tlie widow of Colonel Campbell. J3ut isolated facts and dry statistics convey no adequate idea of the work accomplished. Tiie, tones in which the young minister's name has been uttered by the few who could bear memories of his presence across the billowy sea of a half a century, have show^n how deep was the respect and lo\(! then ac- corded him. One morning in June, 181 'J, he left Fred- ericton, watching on the way his " beloved Sheffield," until
88
llisroi:)' (iF METIlOhlS.]'
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t\w pro;L,'r('.ss of tlu; l)Oiit anil a sad incident cli;uig(;(l tlu' current of thought. A warning against the conse(iuences of dai'ing profjinity liatl been addi-essed by hiin to tiie car- penter' of the 1)1 )at, but had been followed by a repetition of blasplienious language, A little later, in drawing a bucket of watci- from the J'iver, the {)oor man lost his balance, and the niinisf(,'r, glancing around at the moment, saw his heels going ovei" the side of the steamer. Stunned, no doubt, by repeated blows from the paddle-wheel, the man never re- appeared, and the steamer passed on.
At the district meeting at Halifax, in 1818, two young men ottered their services as preachers, both of whom went forth to be successful workers. Robert H. Crane, one of the two, was the iirst native-born youth to find his way into the Methodist ministry in the Lower Provinces. His mother, one of the earliest ^Methodists in the western part of Nova Scotia, had seen an answer to prayer and a se([uel to effort, when, through a revival in the vicinity of her home at Aylosford, nearly all tlie members of her family had l)ecome partaktns of " like precious faith." Beside him, during the usual examination, stood a young Yoi-k- shire man — John Snowball. Though opposed Vjy both parents and employer, he had persisted in seeking a home in the Methodist Church. Having abandoned an inten- tion to otter in England for mission service abroad, he sailed for Nova Scotia, and landed at Halifax during the annual meeting of 1817 ; and through the persuasion of several ministers attended the meeting of the following year. Thence he was sent with Sampson Busby to Ann- apolis, and a year later, to Yarmouth.
Within the Annapolis circuit, 1817-19, two religious gath- erings took place which were long remembered. Colonel Bayard suggested them, with the intention of promoting the salvation of his neighbors and of lessening the pi'ova-
/.V 77/ A' LOW El: I'HOVrXCES.
89
ily
i-k-
)iue
ben- he I the of Jing Inn-
tth- )nel
•va-
lence of ii spirit of l»i^()tiy. IJotli meetings app^u' to have Ik'cu uiuU'i' Methodist in;in!i,i,'erMeMt, tlioii^di held in I5aptist
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)ecaiiKe o
f tl
len- iaii,'('f size.
Th
lirst,
^till
spoken of ;is tlus "<^reat meeting at Xictaux,"' but me tioned bv Avard
n-
th
th
leu hy Avard as tlie "genei'al tlianksgivnig meeting, was held at Nictaux Plains on tin- last Sunday and Mon- day in September, 1817. Five Methodist ministers — Ben- nett, Croscombe, I5usl)y, Priestley, and Avard, witii two Baptist brethren, Thomas Handley Chipman and Thomas Ansley — met at the eomuiencement. Two Bajitist exlior- ters and two INlethodist local preachers were also present. Joshua Newton and ilobert i>arry, with se\-eral members of their faiiiili(>s, crossed the country from Liverpool. William Bennett commenced the services of tlu; Lord's- day, at which fifteen hundred persons are said to have l)een j)resent. His sermon was followcnl by others from Ansley, Croscond)e, and Htokoe. "A most blessed inilu- ence," wrote Croscombe, "followed the services." In the evening, Avard preached at Coloind 13ayard's n^sidence. nearly on Monday, Kol>ert Alder cind George Miller joined tiieir brethren. In the morning Alder jjreached, and Priestley and Miller followed with impressive discourses, Priestley's sermon being heard in almost l)reathless silence. The more public services of this gathering we"e ended on Monday evening by a sermon from Busby and addresses by several others. The next day was spent by several of the ministers and other visitors at Colonel Bayard's hospitable home. To the great joy of the heavenly-minded host, three persons then under his roof were persuaded to accept the salvation which had become his constant theme. One of these was a beloved daughter, who became the esteemed wife of a worthy minister ; another was a daughter of Peter de St. Croix, an Annapolis ^[ethodist who died many years later in New Jersey.
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Tlu! iiu'iitiiii,' ()t' the following.' yefirwHs held in tlii' naptist church at (iraiivilh'. Public services wt'ic; continued for three days, liesides the circuit proacliers — l>usl»y and Snowliall — were Croscomlje and a small ''train' from Liverpool ; Payne, from Yarmouth ; and. diirini;' the later services, Avard, from Newport. (Jn tlu; Sunday morning, nund»(M's of heavy farm waggons and " gigs innumerable " were moving in one dii-ection. Thi'ce hundred vehicles of all sorts were counted on the gi'ounds near the church, and two thousand persons were believed to be present. Thonwis Jlandley (Jhipman, the only Jiaptist preacher there, com- menced the .services by ui-ging his hearers to "give all dili- gence to nuike their calling and election sure." Only a part of those present heard him, for 'I'homas Brady, a local preacher from Petite Kivicre, seeing that the church could not possibly contain the approaching crowds, volunteered to preach in the open aii', as he had often done in Ireland. Croscombe followed Chipman with a discourse on the "ten virgins."' The intervals, beyond the brief space used for refreshment, wei-e occupied with singing, prayer and religious conversation. Twelve persons, Croscombe be- lieved, were that day saved. Each evening tlie ministers and leading laymen held a special meeting f(jr prayer. That held on Monday evening, in the dwelling of Joshua de St. Croix, was a memorable one. Croscombe's pen grew eloquent as he wrote of it after the lapse of many busy years. The interest of the public services reached its highest point on the following morning, while Avard dwelt upon the fact of the Christian's " conversation " or citizen- ship being in heaven, whence he " looks for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." In all parts of the church ministers and leaders were busily aiding, l)y counsels and prayers, those whose hearts had been touched. " Hundreds," Avard wrote, " will have cause to bless God that they visited
r.V THE LOWER EROVIXi'ES.
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Gniuville." A third and similar meeting was held in 1811) at Nictaiix Plains, under the manai^ement of iiamt'ord, iJusby's suecessor at (iraiivilic. William lUirt, from Horton, ami (others, both Methodists and baptists, took part in the scivii-es. lUirt says that "a vast concourse of p(!oplc " atteiidt'd. " Many souls were converted ; and after continuini; totjether for several days, the people returned to their scattered liomes, full of faith and the Holy ( ihost, to tleclare what great things the Lord had done for thenj.""^
Fi'om his luNul([uai'tcrs at Granville, Sampson Busby, to whom, in liSlS, an assistant was given, paid more frecjuent visits to Digby and other settlements near it. l>y some earlier laborers Digby had been regarded as an unfruitful Held. Josliua Marsden had concluded that " Jesus Christ had not a foot of ground " there ; and another minister, who subsequently entered the old Loyalist village to preach in a blacksmiths shop, had, it was said, exposed himself to some danger by the act ; but William Croscondje, sent to Oi-anville, in 181.">, had been gladly received when several times he visited the village, and thence went on to the Neck. The court-house, through Colonel J>ayard's influ- ence, had now been placed at the disposal of the ministers as often as they could occu])y it; nevertheless. Busby, be- fore his removal in 1819, had conunenced the Iniilding of a small church in the village on a central site. At Broad Cove, a small settlement on tin; shore of the Bay of Fundy, where evil had held contnjl in spite of earnest eftbrt on the part of his predecessors, he left a large and convenient
** TlicsL' iiu'ctiii;4s (1(1 not seciii to liaxc iiK^t witli iniivcrsul ;q»iirova1. But few Biiptist ministt-rs utti'udcd tlicin, and tlic Methodist luiiiistta'J, at tlifir aunuiil nu't'tin^ at Liverpool in IS'JO, passed, for reivsoiis not given in the records ])reserved, a resolutu^n tliat "no more great meet- ings, so called, lie lield by onr preachers without the jireviou.s consent of the district ni»'etiiig. "
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IIISTOin' or METllOhlHM
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building', iiitendod for tlio iloublo purpose of a place of worship and school-room.
At other points on the soutlun-ii shore of Nova Scotia than those already noticed, progress niei-its remark. On the Shelhurne circuit, for several years })revious to the ap- pointnujnt of Avai'd, the conf,a'egations had been in a great degree dependent upon such sei-mons as James Mann, in his supei-numerary yeai's, could give them. The fourth church in the circuit was built at Barrington, in IS 16, on a site given by Matthew Donaldson, an heir of whom attempted, on some alleged legal informality, to hold both land and building. It was in the line of action necessary on the eve of dedi(!ation to defeat that unworthy attempt that one first meets with the late Winthi'op Sargent, then in his twentieth year.
AVinthrop Sargent's father, John Sargent, had been a merchant of Salem, Mass., but at the close of the revolu- tionary strife he had settled at Barrington, as the only mem])er of the family faithful tu Britain. New England religious prepossessions and [)rejudices long retained their sway over him, but through fortunate influences he was led in his last years to take an active interest in the busi- ness of the church of which his wife was a devoted mem- ber, and into connnunion with which all their children sooner or later followed her. Winthrop, in boyhood, be- came a Christian, and through a long life, whether among early friends in his native place, or in puldic life as .a suc- cessor of his father in the representation of the township in the Provincial legislature, adorned his profession. Dur- ing a period of nearly forty years, he fre(|uently stood in the Methodist puli)it at JJarrington, and to the last ad- dressed congi'cgations second to none there in numbers and intelligence. A son, the inheritor of his father's pulpit abilities, entered the itinerancy, and soon attracted atten-
!X THE LOW Eli rnovrxcEs.
93
of
mong
suc-
iship
Dur-
in
It ad-
anc
Ipit
ku
Itten-
tion as ;i proadior and pastor of much pi-omiso ; l)ut con- smMi)tion, liefore wliosc f»'U inlluciicc sevcr'al of his f;ith»'r's family droopod and died, closed a useful (.'an'ri' much too soon, it seemed, to human eyes.
The Ijiverpool circuit was, in IS 17, placed under tiie care of William (Jroscomhe, who remained there two years. His duties call(>d him to the westward as fai* as Sable River and T-iittle Harbor ; in tlie opposite direction lie visited .Mill \'illa<,'e, and three oi' four times in each year the more distant settlement at I'etite Ili\ icre. Knowlan, his pre- decessor, had opened a new church at Port Mouton, and had seen another ('((nnnenced at Mill \'illa<;e. At the latter place had been a solitary member of the Methodist Church, a woman of deep piety and much enei-^y. Human agency could not be traced in her conversion, but on becoming a child of (Jod she souLfht communion with tlie Methodists at liiverpool, and opened hei dwelling for worship. He!" husband, a Roman Catholic, consented to her gift of a sit(^ for a cliurch ; and the wife, in tlu^ lirm beli<'f that hei- J^ord would raise uj) a peopl(> to praise Him, set out to secure tlie erection of a small s.mctuarv. h^ai'lv in l^jS, Croscomb(! i'e|)orted the compK'tion of t\w exterioi' of the building and the addition of seven persons to th«! membership. At Petite Riviere tlu; propiietors of a neat chapel and small dwelling conveyed them to the Confei'enc(; eai-ly in 1817, on the condition that a preachei' should be sent as soon as possible. For these premises the Methodists weic; indebted to Richai'd Taylor, who, upon his unfortunate failure as a minister in Newfoundland, had made his way to Nova Scotia. James Knowlan, dui'ing a merelv tem- porary rest from cii-cuit iiircs, in IS 17, sj)ent a few months at Petite llivici-e, and on his removal, 'I'homas Itrady, tin? Irish local pre iclier, dischaigt'd for sonu' U\\\*>.
3'i
w
94
HISTORY or METHODISM
II
i. T »fl
tlio duties of pt'pachor and p;istf)r.'' At Livorpool, Cros- coinl)o oiulod liis first term ot' provincial service. A fever, th(! result of exposure, allected his lieariuf,', and prepared tlio way for the painful deafness of his later years- Through this illness, and the ellects of an accident, his health had bi^conie seiiously impaired. Havin;j; received jH'rmission to return to iMigland, he made his way back to Liverpool from St. John, the place of the district meet- in i,' of I tS 19, and early in .July sailed from Port Medway for liritain.
.Jolni 1>. Strong', at ( 'harlottetown, and Jolm Kishpool, of IU>de(|ue and Tryon, exchancjed circuits in IMS. The last-named places had been made i-et^^ulai' aj)j»()intments of the ('harlottetown circuit in ISl."), by John Hick, by whom a society of six persons had been formed at I)ede(|ue. John 1>. Stronijj's tirst sermon at that place was preached in Nathanael Wright's barn, and was followed by one visit to that section of the island in each six weeks. In Decem- ber, 181(3, lie took steps towards the building of a small church at J^edeque, and of another at Tryon. By the district meeting of the next year these places were consti- tuted a new circuit, and in 1818, through the eflbrts of John Pope and his few associates, the church at liede(iue, previously planned, was put up. Fishpool, on his ari'ival at Tryon, in 1817, found a partially finished building on a site given by John Lord. Taking advantage of an ex- change in the autumn with Payne at Wallace, he visited several other parts of Cumberland county, whence he carried liome some money and materials for preparing the church for winter use. Some years, however, elapsed Ix- fore the interior was completed, its ])ulpit having been put
^ Tlioinas P.rarly bad eomc to Xova Scotia almiit ISU'.I. A year oi' two after ('roscoiulH'"s n'tiini to Kugland he witlidicw from the Mctliodist Cliurcli, and siil^socjut-ntly cntcrt'd th<' Free w ill liaiitist niiiUMtiy. He tiled at Yarmouth in 186(5, at the age of eighty -two.
/.v THE ijnvEi: rnovfxcus.
!);")
all the sti- of lue, iv.al n a ex- led ho the br- pub
two )(list He
up at the exjionse of a Roiiiati Catholic j)riest, who was not on the island (liiiiiii:^ l-'ishpool's residence tlicre.'"
The report from llcdctiuc and Tryon in 18 1 S was indic- ative of spiritual success ; in that from Charlottetown the niinistei- wrote of nuich kindness on the pai't of his people, hut of personal depression throu,<j;h the unlinished state of tiie church. Of dillicuUies incident to ti-avd in a new country \\v. had had a ijjood share. " Sonietiuies," he wrote to the Cotnniittee, " I have liecu lost for liouis in the lonely woods and knew not wher(> to i^o ; sometimes very much expo.sed in crossint,' rivers and creeks, and twice I have l)i'oken thi'oui,di the i(;e when the water has heen two or three fathoms deep. Hut hitherto the T.oid hath hel])ed me.'" I'oth ministei's wim'c removed fi-om the island in ISID, their places l)eini,' lilled by tiie appointment of liobert Ald«M- to Charlottetown, and (ieor^e Miller to Piedecjue.
The societies on the Island w< re at this peiiod also favored with the presence of .John and William Pope, two etiicient local pi'eachers. Henry and Richard Po])e had sailed as missionaries to Canada about the same time that their friend l>urt had taken his departure for Nova Scotia, and their brothers, in the course of the next year, liad followed them over the ocean with Prince Edward Fsland in view as a place of business. At tlu! close of a successful year at Bedeque, John l'()|)e yielded to the desire which had been "uppermost since conversion," and oHered his services to the .Missionarv (committee, by whom, on account of
'"'I'iif " t'lu'ftidiis " Fiitlit-r Fit/^'craM, an tldcrly Franciscan, readied the islantl frnni Newfoundland al)out l.SL'2. He intofnied William 'I'eniiilc, when that niinistcr was stationed at ('hailnttetow n in ISl'S L'!t, that he iiad known Mr. Wfsli'V " \try well." Mr. 'I'l injile says of him : '■ lie Kindly oHViid iiie the loan of any of his hooks, which, however, with the wiirksof St. Thomas in batin. did not ammint to more than a .sorry fifty volumes, h'ather Fity,(,'erald is, however, a liberal num. He huilt tiie jiulpit in our chapel at Tryon at his own expense, and offered me twenty shillin^'-s towards a hell foi- our chapel here, as he thought we ought to iiave due." The chapel in Tryon was used till lS;iil.
IK)
iiisrouY or mhthodism
scanty funds, ji previous (»ir<M' had Itccii declined. His second oll'ei- tliey accepted, and placed his name with that of AUier at ( 'h;u'lotteto\vn. '-'
Some facts i-es})ectin_i,' the i-eli<,Mous state of Prince Kdward Island at this time are tjiven in a pamphlet pub- lished on his I'etnrn to jliitain liy one Walter Johnson, a Scotchman, who ari'ived at the ishmd in May, 1S2(), and spent a year \\\vv(.\ " with a (lesii;n to (>stal)lish Sai>l>ath- schools and investi,i;at(! the i'eli>;ious state of tlie country." Over the state of his countrymen in the colony, amoni; whom John Keir was the only niinistei", he was ^'rieved. Amoni^ them were; men who feared <!od, hut who wei'e prevented from impai'ting such knowledge as they possessed to any ignorant neitfjihors hy a di-ead lest they should "sinfully encroach upon the ministeiial ollice and therel)y put an uidiallowed hand to the ai'k of (Jod.' In tin; work of the (.'hurch of iMinland he ccmld see little to praise. Jn favor of that ehurch numerous lai-^e i-esei-vations of land had lieen made, upon which others ''must not set a foot or put an axe," yet so cai'eless had its authorities heen that until three yeai's previously the veneiahle i^arrison chap- lain, Oeshrisay, had heen its .sole representative on the island. lioman Catholicism, when such wei'e its surround- in<;s, had little reason to seek disguise. One Sunday after- noon, while the visitor was in the nei>j;hliorhood, a horse- race took place near the liftman Catholic chui'ch, on the Hillsl»orou,i.jh Kiver, whence a i,n'eat multitude went to the race-course, the bishops attendance being necessary to pre- vent riot and bloodshed ! To the Uaptists and Methodists Johnson <j;ave i^eneral commendati(Mi. Meetings for Sab-
'- A ydiinn't'i' lu'dtliir <if Williaiu l'u|if. kiiduii lal<r as the Hon. .loscpli l'<'|><', .ii>in(<l tlic ntln'is at lli'dtiiui' in ISl'i. and aftci' tlicir removal canifil (III luisincss for many Nrars on liis own account. 'V\w. late lion. .lanu'N < "oll('<,ff I'djic, for some years Mlni>ter of Maiine imd Fislifries iindtr Sir •lulm A. Macdouald's adniinistiation, was Iuh second sun.
I
/.V rilE LOWICI; ri!f,\ISiKs.
!i7
Lath >v,„.sl„p „.„,, |„.,,t „,, ,,,. ,,„. ,„.„,,.,. ^,^ ^,.^,,^^ ^
;. -"I, of «.|,i..|, ,|„. "iif,. of .vli,oo„ ' w;,s ,„,,i„Ui„,d.
I.™- P.V.U .,.,■, (.'nuvfonl, wl,o I,.,, „„ .,1 ,!„■ s,.,ni,„>,y
"f tie lral,la,„..s ,„ S..otk,„l, was ,1„. „„ly (l.u.li,. ,„.,.a,.l,e,.
on tl,o ,.la„c. A,„o„s. ,l„. M,.,: ists ,1,. visitor found
.s n,o,t , ,, ,.^ ,,, ^,,,,.^.,^^. ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
a Motl,„,l,.t |,„.al ,„,,,. , ,|„.,.a,,eai„ of tl„. sn.all c-aft
it '••'''7','"""'""-f'-""-|l— 'fiv-,as,.n„o„
winch ,,. n..a,,l,,l as a •■,..,,• ,,i.i„ „„| s,.,io„s ,iis..„ur.o ■" and ot ),„ .■.,|d .,.tt,„,, „ ,., ^,,„ j,,^^„ ,„. ^^.,.^^^^_ ^^^.^^^ 1^^^^ . .
t.-.k.M> pa,tKu,ia,- „oti,.„ ■■ of th..,n, that I,,- was " a«,veal,lv
-.-pnsod to find tl,at l,,,th in s, .|, and i^havi,:,,,. they
exh,„t«l many pl,.asin,i; f,.atu,vs of ^..nuin. pi.'tv " Thf.
of th„ Mothod.sts atCharlottetown, the teachers of which m -I-ly to his expressions of sarprise at the presence o^
so„,e very you n. eh ■ inf,.,. d hin, that thov n.ust
al<e then, or none, as they ,.o„id .-etain no scholars "hevond the .go of ten o,- twelve. In a elosin,, sunnna.y, .lohnson
-narks of the .Met lists: "They have so n.ant excellent
oeal p,.each,.rs that they .sehlon, want f„,. sen'uons in all
the,,. ,.e«ul.a,. places of wo,.sl,ip ; a t „,„st l,o acknow.
lecl^ed that wl,e,-e,er the Methodists ahoun.l vice and •n„„o,-al,ty a,-e ,„ade to hide their heads, and ev,.rv ,na„ and wo„,a„ ,s taught to ,„.ay. The ,„en,be,-s of their ,.)„„.ehes are ,nostly f,-o,„ ICghunl „,- the island of Uue,„sey "
IW
CHAPTER V.
METHODISM I.\ THK LOWKIi IMJOVINCKS, KI{()M TllK
DISTKKJT MKKTINC OK isjo '|"o 'I'lIK |)I\ISI(JN
OF 'rilK DJSTKKT IN is.'i;.
i
District Nfcf'tinf,' of 1HL'(». Miittlnw liiclicv. IJi viv.il iit TiivfriMtol. William \V. Aslilrv. .lulm Marsiiail andWilliaiii Tniipl.'. D.-aths of Miiiistf-rs. Work ij» st-vcml Circuits. (itor;,'c .lack son. Con- troversy on I'.aptistii. Aliici't hcslirisay. Old Cimiltcrland Circuit. Artliur McNutt, .loliu I'akcr, .lames (J. Hftinit,'ar ;iiid 'riiomas H. J)avie.s. Trinco Kdward Island. I'riistlry at St. .lojin. Mcinlicr- ship.
In 1820 the annual moetini,' was for tlio first time held at Liverpool. One of the most iiiterestini,' services took place at six o'clock on the fjord's-day mornin<^. It was conducted hy a youth of seventeen year.s, who, as a candidate for the ministry, had accompanied .James Priestley from St. John. While preachinu; at a haltini; -place on the way he h.ad shown some nervousness, but on the mornin;^' in (jues- tion he arose in the puljiit with apparent s«df-possession, and in due time announced as his text tlu^ enif)hatic counsel to the exile at Patmos, " Worship God.'" Charlotte Ann Newton heard him, ajid recordctl in a private journal .some of the impressions made upon herself and others. The youthful appearance of the preacher had at first excited sympathy, but .soon, relieved from all anxiety, his hearers had full opportunity to discern in him that rare cond)ina- tion of the elements of pul])it power which in a few years made him a preacher never to be forgotten by any who listened to him. The fair critic remarks that the .sermon " was delivered in a most pleasinij, systematic and devout manner, and without apparent efTort ;' that his thoughts
IX THE LOWER rROVINCES.
09
were clothed in " very superior laiif^uago," and that " both voice and manner were in unison."
Matthew Itichey, the preacher of that niorni
nj
had
d th
His childhood
assed tJu'rtu^'h some varied experieiices had been spent in the district of Kathiuelton, a " very wild " part of the county ])one«^al. His parents were members of the Irisli lieformed Presbyterian Church, popularly known as "Covenanters." ]|(> was being trained for the ministry of that church, when a young friend proposed a vis't to a Methodist prayer-meeting, and thus unwittingly gave to his fellow-student's life an altogethei- new direction. The meeting was one of a series which tlie f<^w scattered Meth- odists of the place were maintaining in the absence of an itinerant preacher. Pleased with the hearty singing of the simple worshippers, the young man rei)eated his visit. A new element of interest now arrested his attention. The prayers to which he had at first listenf^d in a spirit of criticism became a subject of serious consideration. It seemed to him that the minister who had led the petitions of the worshi{>])ers in the church of his boyhood had learned to regard the Most High as so glorious and <'xalted, and so little in symi)atliy with the suppliants at His footstool, that no direct immediate answer could be expected by them ; whilst these humble Christians, to whose faith he had till then been a stranger, had been taught to regard th».' High and Holy One as one who ''in very deed" dwells with men, interested in the recital of their wants and ready witli fatherly love to supply their real needs. An. apj)eal to the teaching and spirit of the Holy Scriptures convinced liini that his new associates had been the more fully taught of God. In the train of this discovery came another — that of the privilege of assured acceptance by heaven, enabling him who has complied with the conditions stated in the inspired Word to rt^joice in tlie convHction tliat hejs a child
w
100
lllSToliY OF MiynioDlSM
of (I()(l ; l/ut of tho way l»y vvliioh a sinner can obtain justification witli (Jod he had yet to learn. Tliis indis- j)ensal)le knowl(>(l<,'o the Holy Spirit was pleaseel to ;,'ive hiai aa he read Fletcher's " (.'oneluding Address to the Serious Header," a co}>y of which had heen placed in his hands, llavini,' taken the little l)o<)k where lie nii<4ht read it with- out interruj)tion, his attention was arrested hy that impres- sive passa<^e at the conclusion of which the author exliorts his reader, " wluui th(; arrows of the Word fly ahroad," to " drop the shield of unhelief, make hare the breast, welcome the blessed shaft, and remember that the oidy way of con- 4uei'in<^ sin is to fall wounded and lielpless at the lle- deemer's feet." These words led the youthful reader, in hund)le submission, to the cross of his Saviour. 'I'he emphasis and ener<;y with which, nearly sixty years later, the wjiole passage which they conclude was repeated by him from memory in his study at Windsor, rendered them more beautiful to tlie ear of the single listener than any quoted words that had ever fallen from his eloijuent lips.
Among the hund>le Metiiodists at Jiathmelton, Matthew Richey at once sought a s])iritu.al home. His new associates were not slow to open pathways of usefulness for theii- gifted young brother From one of his earliest sermons, preached in a small dwelling, a young girl went to \wx home to make a consecration of life to her Saviour, a consecration never forgotten by her during a sul)sequent pilgrimage of si.xty years in Ireland and New ]3runswick. The active effort of the young local preacher, with tliat of an associate who like himself had l)een in training for the ministry of another section of the cliurch, gave much encouragement to the Irish Wesleyan mi.ssionary who had gone to his Confer- ence ap|)ointment in the "'dreary wilderness in tlui county Donegal and the wild mountains of Muckish, ' in the face of gloomy representations, and luid pursued his work with
I
/.V 77/ A' LOWKR moVINCKS.
101
of
ive
■ite
of
to
or-
ith
" trouljlcd iK'iirt." " These vouii'' iim'Ii," lie wiutf (o the Coiiiinittee in London, "arc truly conv«'rte(l to (Jo<i iind are very useful anionic the people. 'Ihey are not to In; ex- celled l»y many for tiieir ^'ift in prayer, sound undiu-staud- '\i\^ and upriLjIit walk and c(>nversation."''
Matthew iiioliey soon found a j)laco on th«i list of olo- (juent men whom insland haa a^'ain and a^'ain nourished only to gracM; and hless other lands than their own. Ilis father could n(jt be r(!conciled to tlu^ j>urpos(^ of his proniis- in<^ son to enter the ministry of another communion than his own ; the son, theiefoi-e, the more readily allowed iiim- self to he drawn into the current of emii,'ration which had then hegun to set steadily from the United Kingdom in tin; direction of the Ihitish American Provinces. On his arrival at St. John, N.I)., he obtained a situatioji as a wiiter in the oilice of a leading lawyer, and a little later became an assis- tant to Dr. I'atterson, of the (.Jj'amm.ar scliool. Meanwhile he had commenced in tlu; Clermain-street church j)ulpit his long colonial career as a preacher. From Liverpool, where his brethren gl;\dly accepted hisoU'ered services, he was sent, in responst! to an earnest appeal for help fi-om iJuncan McColl, as the junior preacher on the " St. J-)a^■id's, St. Steplien, and Magaguadavic " circuit. After the lapse of some years, his father and other members of the family followed him to New JJrunswick. In their adopt(,'d country the father so far acknowledged the hand of (iod in tlie course of the son as occasionally to listen to him, and a younger son became a worthy member of the M(;thodist church at Fredericton.
The i-eli^ious services of the annual meeting seem to have prepared the way at Liverpool for tlie remarkable revival of that year, though in the earlier gatherings of that season
' First Ktimrt, of tin- ( Itiit rai Wcslcyan M»ithodiKt ^l!sHi(mivrv S(ici»'ty, 1818, i.j). 4«;, 47.
103
insmiiY OF METIinniSM
of ItU'ssiiij,', U'iiliaiii W. Ashley, an clorjUJ'nt prcvdier of the " (Iciicnil " or "open-coiimmiiion ' section ot" Uaptists, was the j»riiifi|ial a<,'ent. This iniiiister, whose name was lon;^ recalled on the southern coast of Nova Seotia, l)eloni,'e(l to a t'ainily which ;,'avo thnu? other i)reachers to other relii,Mnus denominations, .and at on(i time a lieutenant •governor to the state of Soutli Cai'olina. - At the present day he would ha\(! been rcigarded by religious leaders in gcsneral as an evangelist of tiie most a|){)i()ved ty[)e. Aft«!r a ministry of four years in tin; United States, he visited Livei|)ool. His liist meetings were held at Milton, but an invitation soon led him into John Pay/ant's pulpit in "Old Zion.'' His moi'e thoughtful hearers thei't; enjoyed his sermons, though for a tinu; they took excej)ti(Mi to the enthusiasm of some who iiad followed him from Milton ; but at length they discerned beneath eeitain ebullitions of feeling a woik bearing the seal of the Holy S{)irit, and for that reason enter(^d zealously into its advancement. Ashley and Sampson IJusby cond>ined tiu^ir ell^jrts, and eoiducted services alternately in the Methodist and Congi^'gational churches. In November, Busby became ill thiough over- work, and William Hurt left Hoi'ton and travelled through tl»« woods by way of JiUnenburg to suj>ply the plact; of his atllicted brother. " I often preached," JJurt wrote, "on the foreiH>ons of week-days, and three times on the Sabbath, with nioi-e or less conversions at every service."
Memorable results attended tliis combination of effort for successive months. The innuediate efiects were visible throughout a largo section of country. Nearly every dwelling at Liverpool became a place of prayer. Requests from several settlements led Burt as far as the Ragged
"ino'-
2 William W, Aslilcy's own fiimily Iu'Cjuhh in soinc respects a more rcnwirkaliU' one. Of eigiit sons, six were Jiaptist jireacliers, one of whom, however, (lied in tlie ministry of the I'mtt'stant Kpiscopul ("hiircli.
/.v '/•///•; A oil/; A' i'i!()Vi\(i:s.
(»;{
Islands, wlicic tliirf liisli Ivniiian (/atliolics \v('r«> iiiii<»i»;; the coiivcits. The incarjit'i- ;^i('\\ a little litTVous (tiic day, wIh'Ii several Indians, "t'idly armed," entei-ed the preai-hini; room, luit Itet'orc! the close of the s«;rvic'e theii- leader fell upon his knees, |trayed t'or inoce than twenty minutes in his native Micmac, and then rose to his feet, with the (leelaration, " I'll |iray to (lud as lonif as I li\e," Of tlur ha[)])y death of this Indian, Ihirt some years later heard with deep satisfaction. Ihishy's visits to IMeasant Ki\t'r were also rewarded. An interesting' class there was placed hy him luider the care of his hnttluM", Ualph lUisby, \\\o, ufter conversion in his natisc land, had endijrated to N^va Scotia, wlinc faithful seivic«^ as a leader and local preacher was cut short liy sudden death, in \^'1'.\.
The la|»s(> of vea;s I .n-v precious testimony to the worth of this r(\i\al. It was then that James 'iarss comn.eii. ed a forty-thi e years' st»Nadfast ser\ ice, and then, t(Jo, that llu-^h Houston, whose loiiL,' and useful work as a local preacher inoi'its 1,'rateful remark, entered upon the path of life. Jn the lon!4 list of those whose " ;,'oin^s " were at the same tim(^ established, wej-e also two othei- youn;j; men, both of whom liecame widely kncnvn in l'r«jvincial Methodism. Arthui" McXutt, one of them, was a native of Shelburne His father was a rii^id Presbyterian ; his mother, one of that grou[) of Methodist women who.se names became as oint- ment poured forth in that old Loyalist I'etreat. To the patience with which Rebecca McNutt bor(i the trials which befell her Ijecause of her religious associations, and to her readiness to give " with meekness and fear a reason of the hope " that was in her, the son traced some of liis earliest religious convictions. At Lynn, Mass., whither the family had removed in 1810, he was led to decision through a ser- mon by Klijah U. Sabin ; but in a short time, through dis- obedience to a call to the ndnistry and association witii
KM
IllSTOnV OF METHODISM
PI,,
'111
I
thouglitless conip.-iinons, lie lost relish for spiritual pleasures. Oil returning to Nova Scotia, lie entered into business, but his Master would not jierniit him to prosper in any other sphere than that nssigncd him liy Himself. Meanwhile, a sermon hy William Croscomlje, while that minister awaited at Port Medway the sailing of the vessel which was to carry him to Engla'id, aroused the wanderer, and at Liverpool, during the great revival there, he returned to the " Shepherd and liishop of Souls."
llie other young man, between whom and Arthur Mc- Nutt there then began an eternal friendship, became pro- minent in business, political, and religious circles, and at a good old age of unusual beauty died at his native village. His father, a leading man at Wolfville, was an Episcopalian of liberal ideas ; his mother, like a number of other early converts of AVilliam Black in that section of the country, had embraced Calvinistic views; but their house was a home for visiting ministers of all names. The son, Thomas Andrew Strange Dewolf, was accustomed in later days to say that at twelve years of age he was a Christian, and that often at that period, w hen at prayer in some secluded spot ill the tields, heaven seemed very near. Once in particular it seemed that with him were the "spirits of just men made perfect," only hidden from him by a very thin veil. "That, brother," said Theodore Harding, of the Baptist Church to him one day when the long-attached friends were com- paring personal experiences, " was the communion of saints." The early days of the revival at Liverpool found him fond of gay society and lacking the comfort of religion, though he had not wholly thrown oti' its restraints. During the progress of the services he one day, in thoughtful mood, met Arthur IMcXutt, and the two, alike interested in a topic so engi'ossing as to exclude for weeks nearly all at- tention to secular liusiness in the community, talked with
fX rUE LOWER PROVINCES.
105
liat.
of md
m, lug
a
th
eacli other, niul on a certain evening knelt side by side at the communion railinj; of tiie Methodist church. Both obtained forgiveness of sins, united with the church under Busby's pastoral care, and both in the course of a few weeks became class leaders. ■'
Najnes now familiar appear for the first time in the Min- utes of 1820. One was that of John Marshall, of Peter- borough, England, who in 1818 had been sent out to Tortola. His health having failed there, he sailed according to in- structions for Halifax, which place he reached in such weakness that he was unable to report at the district meet- ing at Liverpool. His first year of provincial life was spent as a supernumerary on the Jiorton and Windsor circuit. Another new laborer was Willian Temple, pre- viously intended for Newfoundland. Nearly all his relatives were Independents, but the salutary influences of a Metho- dist employers home predisposed him at conversior to a church home among that employer's friends. The " Chris- tian Community,"' a London organization for evangelistic and gener.il religious work upon an unsectarian basis, had for some years been in existence, and the life-service of a number of successful Wesleyan ministers and missionaries had been commenced under its aus|)ices. William Temple, in 1812, became a member of this society, of which for four years he was tiie secretary. Early in 181 (5, an intimate friend, Thomas Catterick, then under orders as a Wesleyan n)issionary for Nova Scotia, persuaded him to offer his services for the same field. The connnittee, regarding a
3 Jo'ni liuniytat. the Kpiscdpul visiting' missionary, wrote in Xonciii- ber, IS'JO, to liisliop \uy([\s : "Tlif 'awakfiujig.'as it is tfrnictl by siiine, or 'eiiiotioii of ^'race ' Ity otlu-rs, wliicli arose at tlie time I was in Ijiver- I)()()l tliro\i.i:li tlie instrumentality of a l^aptist teaelier from the I'nited States, will liereafter form ai: im]Mprtant event in the history of the church of Nova Scotia, and at jiresent affords matter of curious specu- latiun in its hearing,' 'ipon the foundation of the mission about t(( be established there." William Twining,' was then about to ^n to T.ixerp' ol as Episcopal minister.
I Oft
IIISTOItV OF METHODISM
%
li
i
1
lameness caused by accident in childhood as a disqualifi- cation for foreign service, doclin'id his offer but engaged him as an assistant in th(!ir otlice. A four years' service there, and the activity displayed by liim in the out-door duties connected with the frecjuent departure of mission- aries, led the Committee to I'econsider their decision, and to propose to him missionary work under their direction in the North American Provinces. Having accepted the proposition, he and Mrs. Temple landed late in the autumn of 1820 at 8t. John, wlience he at once proceeded to the assistance of Avard at Frederiction.
During that Conference year two beloved ministers entered into rest. The first to depart was the venerable supernumerary, James ]Mann. In accordance with an oft- expressed wish to "cease at once to work and live," heaven's messengei- gave him brief warning. The winter of 1819-20 was s>pent by him at St. John and (J rand Lake, whence in the spring he leturned to his favorite (juarters near Shel- burne. During the summer he was frequently unable to preach, but in the autumn he rallied a little. On December 3rd, he preached an earnest sermon from Hosea viii. 12 — his last sermon - at IJarrington, where many years before Freeborn (Jarrettson, as the human agent, had called him into the ministry. Christmas-eve found him at North-East Harbor, his place of preaching on the following morning. On that morning he complained of pain in the left arm, but went on n. sled through the deep snow of the previous niglit to the dwelling selected for preaching, and at the close of the sermon performed the marriage ceremony. That after- noon the spirit broke away from the clay tal)ernacle. A grave had been opened at Cape Negro and Robert H. Crane had. preached a funeral sermon thei'e, when Robert Barry, who had hastened from Liverpool, ap})eared on the scene, to claim the body of the deceased minister for Shelburne. The
IN THE LOWER rROVINCES.
lo;
but ight e of
Eter-
■ane |rry, to iThe
corpse was then placed upon a sled and drawn towards its destination by young men. At various points on the route a halt was called, to give friends an opportunity to take, through the glass pane, a last look at the face so familiar. At Sholburnci the body, attended by six ministers of several denominations, was carried into the church, and was after- wards deposited as nearly beneath the pulpit as the rocky site would permit.
The name of James Mann is worthy of a prominent place in the records of the; church he loved. Few of the early provincial pr(\ichers were better known than he ; few held a warmer plac(; in the hearts of the good and tiue. He was of large stature and dark com})lexion, preserving generally the old costume of " short clothes," and attending with scrupulous cai-e to the details of dress. Those who knew him well saw beneath an apparent sternness a tenderness which sti'ongly attached them to him. His letters to his young friend, Winthrop Sargent, show the aged man to have retained a young heart. He was not, there is good reason to believe, a bachelor to the last altogether by choice, as some have supposed. One "sweet, familiar face," that of a lady converted in New York dui'ing his brief ministry theie, is reported to have long haunted him at his studies and during his long and lonely walks. A determination to seek a nearer relation than ordinai-y friendship at length led liim to New York. Some persons who sailed with him divined his purpo.se, aiul knew that he was too late, but left him to learn his fate from the lady's own lips. His brethren often smiled as they s})oke to each other about his unsuccess- ful ei-rand, but took good care not to mention it in his presence. From his first provincial home he could not tear liimself finally away. M :)re than once he bade its people farewell, and then found his way back. The attachment was mutual, and in families of all classes and denominations he was ever a welcomed guest.
i
I
108
HISTORY or METHODISM
%
|ih :" 1
Of the pioneer preachers of the Lower Provinces, James Mann was one of the most able. The American preachers showed their apprecifition of his talents when \\\ 17D1, the only year of his ministry in the land of his birth, they placed him in the city of New York as tin; colleague of such men as Thomas Morrell and Richard Whatcoat. The discourses of his later years an; said to have been " chaste, edifying and usually unimpassioned ;' sometimes upon th»love of Calvary, but more frequently upon the terrors of the law. As a pastor, his influence was of the highest character. " No frivolity or mirth," says Winthrop Sargent, ' could appear in his social intei'course, yet he was clieerful and hapjty. Exceed- ingly prudent and circumspect in all his associations with saints and siinu>rs, no speck of moral delinquency ever attached itself to his character." " Even the ungodly," wrote a minister who visited the southern coast a year or two after his decease, " would not allow an insinuation against his memory, but would fight for him."
During his more active years, James Mann endured much hardship. The routes he travelled were generally passable only on foot. Long after he had ceased to frei[uent those paths, aged men deemed it .an honor that they had sometimes carried his saddle-bags. Some of his journeys involved much danger as well as fatigue. Ste})hen Humbert once accom- panied him on a visit to the Long Reach on the river St. John, when both narrowly escaped death in making their way from Major lirown's to an a})pointment at three miles' distance. As they left the shore, the storm burst upon them with great violence. While the snow blinded them, the wind carried them over the ice, at its pleasure, for two or three miles. At length, a slight lull permitted them to see the shore .and re.acii an uninhabited building. Having broken open the door, James Mann, who h.ad lost his li.at in the unwilling race, covered Ins head and frost-l^itten face
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
109
St. eir cs' L'ln :he or see
in lee
witli tlie contents of his pack, and tlien paced tlie floor at a vigorous rate till a clearer sky permitted them to find their way back to the hospital)le home they had left. Tliere the portly preacher, wearied out by his unusual speed, threw himself down and groaned till sleep came to liis relief. Still more imminent danger once threatened him on the road from Port Mouton to Liverpool, when he lost his way in the deep snow and wandered on until overtaken by night. Faint with fatigue, he sat down beneath a tree, with little hope of lieing able to endure the cold till morning. Fervent prayer, however, was at once followed by an impulse to " rise and go forward," which .seemed to electrify his whole system. His spirits revived and strength returned, and in the course of an hour or two he thankfully greeted his friends at Liverpool.*
At the district roll-call of 1821 the name of Adam Clarke Avard received no personal response. His sun had gone down ere it was noon. In 1820 he had been removed from Annapolis to Fredericton, and about the .same time the Committee in London had selected him as their first mis- sionary to the Esfjuimaux near the Straits of Belle Isle. Repeated colds, caught during winter travelling, termi- nated in ]March in illness which so(jn ended in death. The day before death, his colh^ague. Temple, prayed that the sick man might once more be enaliled to testify of salvation. Awaking from stupoi*, he asked the {)urport of the prayer. "That," ho remarked slowly in reply, "is the blessing of eternity — of eternity ;" and soon after the elotjuent tongue lost its cuniiing. On the following Lord's-day a sermon suited to the occa.sion was [)r('ached by James Priestley, and
< Thomas lilnyd, ;i iiiinisttT sent i.wt hy tlic SDcicty for tlic PidpaRa- tioii (tf tlic (IdsiH'l, perished in Kehruary, ITiT), iilmiit fourteen niih'H from ('hester, on his way to Windsor. He was accttmi)anie(l liy a ^nide, but a .storm of snow, hail, and rain olili^'-ed him to send the j^niith- l)ack to (/hester for assistance, whieh reached the spot many hours too late. The rescuers found tlm liody lifeless and frozen hard.
110
HISTORY OF METHODISM
m,'
then the Methodists of Frederiction in deep sorrow placed the body of the beloved younj:^ preacher beneath the pulpit of their church. Thence in 18158, on the traiisfei- of their property to others, they removed his dust and placed it beside the grave of Joseph Alexandei*. " A more useful preacher, perhaps, of his age," said William Temple, "America never saw."
Several weeks in the autumn of 1821 were spent at Lunenburg by William Black, at the request of his brother ministers. Twice on each Lord's-day he preached in the neat little church which Orth had built almost wholly by his own efforts. For the benefit of hearers familiar only with the German language, the preacher repeated several of the visitor's sermons and concluded the services with a hymn and prayer in their own tongue. On one Sabbath morning Black administered the Lord's-supper to about one hundred communicants. Ten of these were residents of the town. There Orth had still to endure much opposition. Only a few months after Black's visit, when a " sorry liorse " had prevented William Temple, to his great dis- gust, from reaching the town in time for an appointment, a " wicked rabble " marched through the streets with a trumpet, to the annoyance of the disaj)pointed pastor and congregation. Several of these disappointed ones had come fifteen miles to meet the visiting preacher. "You will form some idea," wrote Black, " of the evident desire with which the people hunger after the W^ord of grace, when I inform you that men and even aged women would again and again, during the whole of my stay, cross rivers and, regardless of the badness of the roads, walk six or eight miles to the preaching and return the same evening, in some instances completely wet and weary." A single Sabbath was devoted to sermons at Petite Riviere, where in the small membership, included in a single class, the visitor found several persons "alive to God."
IN THE LOWER riiOVIXCES.
Ill
,'ers or
jigle [ere Ithe
From Shelliurne, Robert H. Crane, in 1821, reported success. Summoned from Yarmoutli for the purpose, he had preached a sermon on the death of James Mann, and in so doing had become the agent in leading into the path of life a young hearer in whom the deceased minister had taken a deep interest. Alexander Hood Cocken had been rendered thoughtful by letters received by liini during a fifteen months' stay in New Yoi'k by James Mann, but a deeper impression had be(Mi made upon him by the bearing of his clerical friend during a storm whicii threatened the destruction of a vess(>l in which they were fellow-passetigers. From McNutt's Island, hi^ crossed to the shore to take part in the burial of the aged minister. During that short absence, a turning-point was reached. Soon after, to the unconcealed surprise of some former friends, he sought membership in the Methodist Ciiurch, and to the end of a long life gave proof of satisfaction with his choice by generous support of the schemes of the church, intelli- gent .sympathy with her ministers, and useful service as a local preacher. Having been recjuested by the chair- man to remain at Shelburne, Crane had the satisfaction of receiving as members a number of young peoph; who had been led to serious thought by the sudden death of a gay girl. A few months latei-, Sampson Busby visited the place, and carried home the impression that he had never met with a " more sensible, humble, lively people." Jolin Sprott, of the Presbyterian Church, about the same time wrote to his friend, Duncan Mc(.'oll, tliat this "pleasing revival seemed to extend to Presbyterians, Methodists and Episcopalians."
Under the care of John Pope, sent to Shelburne in 1822, the aspect of the circuit gave even brighter promise. At that very time, howev(>r, the Committee in London were making arrangements for the minister's removal to the
y
^
*]■■:
112
IflSTiHn' OF METHODISM
r
r
(1
West Indies. On receivinjj; an intimation to that ofFpct, he i-enionstratod as earnestly as a due ie<,'ard for constituted autliority would permit ; the circuit olHcials forwarded an appeal for his loni,'er stay in a place where he was so use- ful ; and William Temple, then at Livei-j)Ool, sustained their appeal most forcibly, but all was in vain. The decree was not chani,'(Hl, and to the work in the town, where the interior of the church had just been Hnished, as well as to that in the surrounding settlements, a lamentable check was given. A year later, the death of the excellent Elizabeth Hoose, sister of Robert liarjy, and a mother indeed in the Shelburne Israel, left a serious blank in religious circles in the old town.
'i'he Iforton circuit, of which Windsor was then a part> was placed in charge of W^illiam Burt in 1810, It had grown in importance under the previous management of William Bennett and his young colleague, Alder. They had established regular apjiointments at Cornwallis, where Joseph Starr, a son of one of the early New England set- tlers, on the return home of a daughter who had become a Methodist in Halifax, liad invited them to preach at his own house at Starr's Point, and afterwards in an old dwell- ing from which he had removed the partitions for the accom- modation of the increasing congregations. Burt, during a three years' stay, established other appointments in the same township, and began the erection of a church, which was used until the dedication of a new and neat church in Canning in 18r)4. At Lower Horton, on the last Lord's- day in May, IS'Jl, a new church was opened, the old one having been drawn across the road to be converted into a parsonage. At Wolfville, then known as Upper Horton, he frequently preached in tlie dwelling of T. A. S. Dewolf, who sometimes assisted him as an exhorter ; and at Horton Coiner, as Kentville was called until 1820, he found the
/.V 77/ a; iJtWiai /'A'or/.VfAX
11.?
ig a
the
liich
in
I'd's-
lone
to a
jton,
rolf,
[ton
the
fi'aine of ;i cliiuvh, wliicli, bofoi-c his rciiioNal, was foriiially ()|i(Mi('(l for worship. ( )f tii(> wliolc circuit, liOW(»r Morton was tlic head, ami to that plact*. in iSi'l, John Popo was sent as a colloagueof lUirt. At lloftoii. Wiljiaia Burt Popo, |). 1)., one of the most (listiiii,'uish(>(l th('ol(»(rians of the present day, and in l^^TT 7S pr«^sidellt of tiic liritish Wesleyan ('onf<'rei\ee, was l)orii and hapti/.cd.
At Windsoi', during the earli(>r months of |Sl'"J, lUirt noticed amouLC interested listeners several students at Kings As they were desirous of a, coiaersat ion with
college
him, an int(Mview took ])lace in a Held m^ar th(^ \illage. H(> found the young men deeply interested in the suhject of personal salvation, and anxious to attend his ministi'v, hut prohil)ited liy a college statute from presenc(^ at any religious services t»ut those of the l-'piscopal Church. " It is painful,' said tlu! chief speaker of the group, in reference to the preaching to which they were compelled to listen, '' to ha\<' to feed on husks when our souls desire the chil- (h'ens hread." ( )n tiood I'riday, Uurt again met them, and iield a long and interesting convei'sation with theii- leader, whom lu> regarded as a " xcry pious young man." The turn of the itinerant wheel a few weeks later, and Ihirt's remova] from the province, prevented him fi-om giving fuilher aid to tiiese young men, hut after some years had elapsed, he learned with much j)leasure of the piety of sonu' of their
num
her, and in jiai'ticular of their lead(M-, .Mr. .M.
In a letter in the Christ inn ritiiti>r in ISfii;, havid Nutter.
time pastdr nf the Uaptist clnnvii at Windsor, tin
l)<)nt that
(iws siiMie
liwht
l)se(|uent histoi'V of at least one of these youn;,' men jiroliaiily the
>u the
ir
le;u
ler.
n oiii' season," says the writer, "the iiiHueiu-e of the tiMith
extended to the collefje. Several of the students werv- ileeply impressed, and olitained hope in Christ. Anion^'st the nuiulier was oui- much-
heloved and lamented Frederick Milt
These \dinm' men hud i
nection with u
ley used to come to our meeIln^^s, oci';isionallv (
io enn-
ui
Sunday eveniuKsand at other times, hut I think it was like Nicodennis, hy stealth. ■■ Frederick Miles, i>. A., Iw-came a hi^'hly estccnied minister of the liaptist Church in New Brunswii'k.
8
l!
Ill
IIISTOliY OF MirrilOhiSM
]'
V m
'■m
MS
ti
Tlu> first iniiiistor statioiuul ;it Wiiulsoi-, wliidi in 1S22 became the head of a circuit, was (leori^t^ .lavksdii. On his arrival at St. Joliii from th(^ West Indies diirin<,' the pre- vious autumn, he liad ^(one \o Cumberland, \vhei«- Im re- mained throui^hout the winter. Dindnutive in stature, he was not surpassed by'any of his prosinciai t'eilow l;ilioi-ers in intellectual power. Soon after his ai-ri\al at Windsor he sent to the press a series of letters entitled, " An Hum- ble Atttuiipt to Substantiate the Ii"L,dtimacy of Infant Baptism, and of Sprinklini^ as a Scriptural mode." These letters, issued in a pamphlet of eii;lit and twenty lari,'e and closely printed pa,i,'es, wei'e wi'itteu at Sackville and ad- dressed to Priestley, the chairman of the district, at whose instance they were written. A pamphlet on the same sub- ject by |)uncai\ Ross, a Presbyterian minister at Pictou, had appeared in lSll,and had been followed by a bulky volume from the }»en of dames Munro, l^resbyteriau pastor at Antigonish. The })urpose of these writers, like that of Jackson, had been defence and not attack. " The advocates of the immersion theory," said Jackson in his preface, " have refused to gi\'e us credit even for sincerity ; and because we do not preach a 'baptizing sermon' on the occasion of each infant bapti/.ed it is very generally re- marked by them that we know our practice cannot ])e justiHed by the Scriptures and, therefore, we choose to pass on in silence. Thus the very peace of our nussionaries has been urged as an ai-gument against their proceedings, and they have been branded with an inconsistency which I liope they abhor. Tn addition to these things, a succession of covert attacks — chiefly in fannly and private conversations with the members of our societies, and by the lending of books on the point in controversy between them and us — have been incess;
itly repeate
ap
pear
e(
1 indi
isi)ensa
bU
I m
/.v TiiE i.nwFJ! rnnvfxcEs.
115
re- be ass las Liid )pe of
(feori,'t> JMrksoii's p,iin])Iil('t called forth aJi (virly reply from t\v(» (|iiirt('rs. ( >f tlir iirndiictioii <»f "a iiiceliaiiic of New llniiisw ic|< " lie t'lok no iioticr, ln'caiise of its "scur- rility aiid inr|c\-ii,cv to the ,sul)iect in dispute;" l.ut to William Mldrr's *• Infant Sprinkling wriLflifd in the 1)h1- anct's and found uantiuLC Iw rrjilicd in ;i second series of letters, wliieh tilled a \«tlum(' of two hundred ]>aL.M*s, entitled, " A {'"urtliei Attempt to sul)st!intiati' the legit- imacy of lnf;int {'ajitism. etc. Of the contro\«-rsy thus continued few details must here he L(i\en. .Many pens, \vi<d(led hy men of no mean -^kill. were wnrn out in tlu; cont(>st. In it I'reshvteri.in, l-lpisci-palian and .Methodist on tlie one side and r)!ij)tiston tlu' other took part with pen or \(iice through a hmi,' series of years, while numy persons who were searrejv caj)ahle of compreheiidinL; clearly all the points at issue, IIuiil;' aliout them uid)rotherly epithets with a freedom sometinu-s shameful.'' In a certain Nova Scotia villai,'e, when a l'.a[»tist aiul a Methodist min- ister had closed a discussion on haptism, the schoohhoys of the place undertook to decide the (|Uestion for themselves hy a tii,dit with snow lialls I
Some \('ry ijood people, sick at heart of the constant din of clashing; ecclesiastii-al wcajxms, lia\(' wearily asked whether the opinions of a single indi\idual ha\(' e\er heeii aflected hy these unwelcoine contests. In relation to .lack- sou's eontrihutions to this class of litcratui'c an atllrmativo answer may readily l»e ^ivi-n. They led to a most dei-ided change in the vi(>ws of one at least of their readers - that one the minister who had h.tstened into the lists as an opponent of their author. William Mlder, a inemlier of a
'• 'riic |iriiR'i|iiil writers (III the r>;i|iti>t -idc were Ivliimnil .\. ('rawlrv, Charles Tmi'!"''' '""' Alcxainier ( 'r.iwfnrfl. .\iiinii^ iiiiiiisteis eii the f)tlier side were Mutthew Kiiliey. MetiiiHlist ; I. W. I ). (Ir,i\ and .lainc.- lidherlsou, l']|(isc(i[)aHa)i : and William Seiiu i\ ille. nf the lit^fenned PresbyteriaiLs.
llfi
IIISTOIi'Y OF Mt/rHOI)lS\f
'■
Pi'c^sbytcriiiti family which had rcinov*^! from the north of Ireland to Kahnouth, N.S., had at his con version Itecome a memher <»f the llaptist Church, and later a much esteemed minis*^erof th/it hody. ( )n a cahn review of his own |iam- pldet in I'eply to that of Jackson, he h(>(;auie convinced that some of tho arguments advanced liy himself were " incon- clusivo. " Then came (htuhts resjtectinL,' the ,i,'eneral correct- jiess of the vi«!ws he had for years l)een settini^ forth, and as thes(Mh)uhts increased in force his mind remained in a " lluctuatin<^ state." At h'ni,'th, (hirintj; the wintei' of I s:}.")- .'51, lieiu'aNc tlie subject careful thouL(ht, and thus liecame clearly convinced that lie could no loni^'ei- "conscientiously continue to l)a|>ti/,o per'sons l)y immersion who had previ- ously lieen l)apti/,ed by sprinklinL;; or jioui'inj,'.' ' Hiscon- if|'(>L;ation at I)rid;,'etown, as soon as he had informed them of his changed views, sununoned a "council of advice." On appearint,' l)(;fur(i his hrethren, he asked to he treated l)y them as a council of Con<^rf^'ational miriisteis had treated Dr. Oliapin, when on his adoption of Uaptist principles, tluiy <,'ave him a regulac dismission from their own hody and a I'ecommendation to tlui ministei's of the I'aptist Associa tion. His l)retln'en, liowcver, met this i-easonal)le I'ccjuest by a prompt denial, with tlie explanatory statement that the cases w(!re by no means parallel, I >i'. ('haj)in having renounced ej-ror for truth, whereas Mr. I'^lder was <fuilty of abandonment of the truth lla\ini; failed in edbrt to con- vince! their pastor of his "erior," the members of tlie church at iiridifetown accepted tlu? advice of the council, ami excluded him from further " fellowship " with them ; and to this action the nuMnbers of the next Association saw tit to j^ive a unanimous appi'oval. Acceptance of an otVer of the services of the (excluded minister havinuj been regretfully
^ Sec [ircfiH't' to KIdcr's " IJc-isdUs for rfliii(|iiisliiii<4' tlic pi'iju'iiilcs of Adult iJaptisiu and embracing thuse of Infant Baptism."
IS' run Law Eli ri!()V!X('HS.
doclincd hy tli(! Methodist ininist(!rs of the district, in eon secjuenec; of restrictions imposed by the KnLjlish Cyoiniiiittpe, he took i-h!iri;e for Ji year of the Coiij^regiitioiiJiI ehureh at Liverpool, and at a lat<!r period entered the ministry o*' the episcopal (!hurch, in eommunion with which as the tii-st minister at Sychiey Mines, Capo JJreton, he died after somo years of faithful service.
At (Juyshoro' and in its nei<j;hl)orhoo(i, Artljur McXutt may at this period Ik^ said to have l)ei,am iiis Ion;,' itiiKM-ant service. \\ ith reconxcrsion eai-lier conxictions of duty had returned in force. Prevented l>y linancial endiarrassment from ^'oin,<; forth as a fully authorized minister, he sub- mitted to l»e led 11 l,y slow and short ste])s. A xisit in the autumn of \^1\ to tiie eastern pait of tin' province, durin*,' which he held relii,qous meetings at sev(!ral .settle- ments on tli(! coast, was ])i'onipted by busine.s.s, but a second, which took him to the head of Chedabucto IJay, was wholly evan.t;elistic in pur])ose. No Methodist minister had l)cen st^nt there after the removal of Armstron<; in 1817, and lack of pastoial care had interfered with the permanence of the revivals wliich had taken place durinf,' the presence of that minister and his predeces.sors. A faithful few had, nevertheless, continued to hold occasional services in several dwellings; and in 1819, a small church had been built at Cook's (Jove, near which several oNIethodist families named Cook long resided. In 1821, the little band of believers was strengthened by the arrival of Charlotte Ann Newton, a d(!vout woman who had for years enjoyed the rare Chris- tian influence of a home with her uncle, Joshua Newton, of Liverpool. The announcement, early in 1822, of Arthur McNutt's arrival cheered tliem .still more. Numerous meet- ings were held with such results that the young man re- turned to Halifax to represent the spiritual need of the district to the assembled ministers. They heard his state
US
ffrSTORY OF METHODISM
t^
\m
■y ffi:i
ments, exanuned him in reference to his doctrinal views, and, having given him a local pr-eaciier's standing, sent him back to watch over the work and extend it. There were fields nioi'(! attractivi! to a young man just putting on the harness, l)ut, cheered by his seniors, and in particular by the kind interest taken in his })rogress by William l>]aok, he returned to ()!uysi)oro' to prosecute for two years a mission which often tried his energies to the utmost. Two weeks out of six were spent at Guysl>oro' ; the remaining four weeks were devoted to journeys, generally on foot, along the shore between CJuysboi'o' and Canso. When health had yielded in some measuie, William ^lurray, just accepted as an itinerant on trial, was appointed in his place. About the same time, Albert Desbi-isay also entered upon his itinerant life. When his friend Avard and he had met at the district meeting of 1818, Avard had urged him to become an itinerant preacher, but he then seemed to have little idea of ministerial labor excerpt in a local sphere. At the annual meeting of X^'l'l, however, as if in the room of the dead, he asked a place an\ong the ministers and went with Priestley to the Cumberland and Petitcodiac circuit. JUit few preacheis were then to be found in that section of the country. Betw^^en Sackville and Sussex there was no Kpis- copai minister. Tn the settlements along the banks of the Petitcodiac, William l>lack had made some early and suc- cessful essavs in Christian work : but duriuL; the long absences of himself and his few helpers, others had entered into his labors. Alline's successors had taken part of the ground, and in IT'.tS, Theodore liai'ding, strong in the influ- ence of an extensive re\ival at Horton and Cornwallis, had gone thither and gathered a number of "Newliijhts" into Baptist fellowship. An annual visit was all that the Meth- odist preacher at Cumberland was able to pay the people scattered over this distant section of his charge ; and it is
rX TltE LOWKU PROVIXCES.
119
al views, sent him 3 re were ,' on the icular by n Black,
years a ;t. Two smaining on foot, When i-ay, just is place, ed upon bad met
liiia to to have i-e. At n of the nt with :. iiut
of the o Epis-
of the id suc- e loni; entered
of the
e influ-
is, had
into
Meth- people i it is
not pr()l)al)lo that the adherents of other denominations received any uicator amount of pastoral oversight. Ueor<'e Jackson, after a visit tlierc in the spring of 1Sl'2, gave the Missionary Connnittee a sad picture of the moral condition of the majority of the iidiabitants. Some wlio had been members of ^Methodist societies before their removal thither, and many of the children of these, were being " abandoned to neglect.' The people, he reported, liad become "quarrel- some and litigious to a proverb — .so much so that the courts of the county wei-e generally protracted to an unusual length by cas(\s of assault from that neighborhood." Here and there, ne\ertheless, the visitor found p(;rsons who, with Wdliam < 'hapmaii, a nephew of William Black, had been "faithful among the faithless." A part of these had lived in the district for many years ; a few others were English Methodist emigrants who, on their passage in the Trafahjar in 1S17, had suflered shipwreck at the mouth of the Bay of Eundy. These new settlers felt deeply the spiritual desti- tution of the counti-y, and through their representations, added to the appeals of William Chapman and other earlier residents, Petitcodiac was placed upon the Minutes of 1822 as a pai-t of the Cumberland circuit, to be cared for by Albert Desbrisay. Thence he was transferred duiinsr the following sunnner to anotlun- branch of the old Cumberland circuit, known as " Parrsborough and Maccan." Robert H. Crane, his only predeces.sor in that particular district, had left a church in course of erection near Parrsboio', another nearly finished at Maccan, and a society of twenty- seven members. Thiougiiout the circuit, in which Nappan was included, an Ei)iscopal ininisfer was the only other resident pastor. An extensive revival during the early months of 1824 led to the foi-mation of new classes at Mac- can, Parrsboro' and Nai)pan. At Amherst there was then neither Methodist church building nor oi-ganized membership.
120
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Several circuits were at this time favored with visits by John I5aker, a youn*,' Kn,<,'lish missionary, whom service in Western AtVica and the West Indies had obliged to leave St. Vincent in 1822 for the British American Provinces, After some months' stay in these he went to the United States and sailed from Boston for England, but at Sable Island the vessel went ashore. The rudder and .some of the nearest timbers liad been torn off, and the passengers had been expecting speedy destruction, when the vessel, unusually strong, righted and drifted off the shoals. At the end of twelve weary, wintry days on the floating wreck, and after the young n)inister had been twice washed from the rigging, a passing vessel took ofl' the ship's company and landed them at Lixerpool. During the subsequent five months he remained in that part of Nova Scotia, rendering important assistance to William Temple at Liverpool, and also to his neighbor, Oi-th, at Lunenburg. In July he sailed from Port Med way for England, accompanied by a young lady from Mill Village, who had consented to share his future lot.**
This minister, while at St. John, became the agent in the conversion of a youth greatly beloved in Provincial Metiio- dist circles in subsequent years. James Gilbert Hennigar had been thoughtful as a child. When John Baker found a temporary home under his father's roof, the son was pre- paring to take a situation near his father, on the civil staff of the engineer department. The ministerial guest, frank, open and well-infoi'ined, won the attention of the youth, and thus prepared him to listen to counsels till that time unheeded. The voice which said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee," soon whispered, "(io, work in My vineyard." Just then the
•* Aftor tilt' (Iciitli (if .lolin Bilker, many years later, in an Knglisli cir- cuit, his family came to Nuva Scotia. One of liis daiiji^liters liecame tlie wife of the late (J.N. A. F. '!'. Dickson, and a second that of .Fohii Waki'tield, hoth esteemed Methodist ministers inOntarii-.
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
121
fatlior obtained a coveted place for Jiis son, l)ut throu-h tlie influence of a Cluistian wife he yielded to the sons convic- tion of duty, with a request tiiat he should not be sent to preach without some further preparation. Jn view of this, he placed him und(;r the care of James Priestley, then at St. John, but such at the time were the exigencies of the work that at the district meeting of 1824 the'ministers sent young Uennigar to Sheffield, as the successor there of his cousin, Thomas H. Davies.
Thomas H. Davies had gone from Annapolis to St. John an attached adherent of the Cliurch of England. A piou« aunt adn.ired his blameless life, but regretted his ignorance of vital godliness. Her conversations with liim removed some of his prejudices, and the reading of a little book led him to seek forgiveness of sin. During his searcJi for li<.ht he received such assistance from the sermons lie heard'on Sunday evenings in the Germain-street Methodist church tliat lie judged it his duty to unite in membership with true worshippers there. A little later he became involved in a severe mental conilict respecting a call to the ministry i^reed, howcNcr, in a providential way from obligations whicii might have blocked his path to the pulpit, he set himself to preparation for his life-work. Early preposses- sions led huu toward the Episcopal Church, but in that direction he theii saw no open door ; and when at a later date one was presented, he had learned to regard a Meth- odist preacher's position as " more honorable than that of a bishop elsewhere." The removal to the AVest Indies of John Pope and Thomas Payne, who took farewell of their brethren at the Mnnual meeting of 1823, having rendered •special measures for the supply of vacant circuits an im- mediate necessity, he was sent as a local preacher to Shef- held, where ]u> commenced a long and iionorable service "iiere.n is that saying true, one soweth and another
122
II I STORY OF METHODISM
: i
reapctli." Such was the message sent to Thornas H. Davies by James (J. Tfeiuiigai- soon at'tei- the an'ival of the latter at Shcflicld. To Davies tlie yeai- at ^liefHekl had been one of much mental conflict, weak health and lack of visible success having led him sonietitnes to (juestion the wisdom of his course. I)Ut such years, like those of much V)rig]iter aspect, have an k'^wiX ; and one Sunday evening the discour- aged young preacher gave a farewell sermon at Sheffield, and at dawn of the next day left that place for Wallace. Through that farewell address the accumulating influences of months of preaching and piayer seen)ed in ])art to find developn)ent. One Sunday mo»-ning in June, ii^24, James (t. Heiniigar stejiped on shoie at ShetHeld fi'om a small vessel, and in the afternoon began his ministry there. In a field " white unto harvest " many sheaves were soon gathered, o\f'r which sower and reaper rejoiced together. Among thosi! who then placed tliemselves under pastoi'al caie was AN'iliiam Harrison, who a year or two later entered the ^Methodist itineiancy, from which, after short service, he retii'ed on the giound of ill-health, to (ind from subse- quent wanderings a long icst in a foi'ty years' rectoiship of of St. Luke's Kpiscopal church, Portland, N. B.
At the animal meeting of 1824, the ollice of chairman passed fj-om James Pi-iestley to Stephen Bamford. The connection of the cause of this transfei- with the liistory of the St. John cii'cuit foi-bids absolute silence respecting it, while justice at the snnie time demands that it should be looked upon in the light f)f other dnys. At a time when the absence of intoxicating beveiages in any home was a confession of pov(M"ty or an insult to a guest, and the refusal to take them was an aflront to the host, a terrible danger thi-eatened him in whose constitution there lay dormant any inherited thirst for stimulants. For such a man there was no middle course between an unceasing light with a
IN THE LOWER PEOVIXCES.
123
universal hal.it and a rapid advance to laiin." To this class belo.iy.Ml the .i,^enial, eloquent Priestley. .Mistaken friends aided him downward; a few tiuo friends saw his danger and admonished him, hut only when a pleasant habit had beconn.' a vih; tyrant.'"
Rarely liavc; men in the dischai-ge of duty found them- selves in a more unenviable position than that occupied by the ministers wlio met at St. John for disciplinary action in this painful case. The popularity of the erring pastor, whom one of these ministers, nearly fifty years later, de! scribed as the speaker "most worthy of imitation " of all whom he h;uj known in I'ngland and the colonies; a wide- spread public belief in his innocence ; and the sympathy called forth by the illness and death of his wife, which caused a biief postjH.nement of the trial, rendered the dis- charge of duty most diliicult. They were, hooted in the streets, scurril.jus notes were addressed to them, their names appeared on placards at the street corners, and a once prominent .Methodist rushed into the press to fan the flames. To such a pitch, accoi-ding to a young minister of that day, was public feeling wrought, that ..ne evening while a sermon was being preached, a pistol shot was fired through a window of the old ( Jermain stre<-t church. Thus sustained by public sympathy and misled by popular applause, the erring ministei- refused to admit his amenability to the
nf fh" ',V"'';i'f VT' 'i" ^'"' '''"-''''"" •■'■^'■'"'■. l>;tvi.l Nutter, u i-atriardi of th.. hapti.t (Innd, wrut,., a f, w y-ars ago, r..s,H.ctinK n i, is .rs• ^V hat a u.m.l.r u,. .Ij.i „„t all luruuH. .Inu,ka;.ls: ' f lunk Id , '^i' tlietnn,.tat,on. through ui,al, I ami otlaTs hav. ,.a>s.,l uith aslnuM!'':"
;"_I)iiu as iiiay have l,.....n tl,,. li;;l,t ,,f utlirr ,iavs, tl„. course i.ursu.vl l,v
tile liquor rv,l ua.s cone.TUr.l a uivsr.rv. At the Vn^^urW\,\\^^\^^ iHeet.ng. ot iSlS, ,t was aske.i, not without snuu- n J> ^ '' Shi ' J i t uous hquors he n. -eneral use anion- the pn^a.•h,.^sv- an 1 t e l , . K.jKl.slnnen, „Mhe face of U'^sley's en,pha,i|. rule ou 'thJ^" 1 e^tf^.n ^ l.lacr.l Ml their .M mules the .vasue answer: '■ lr is n.qiu.sted t uit .-v rv preacher give attention to this .lue.stion, that no otfencJ be .^ven." ^
124
IIISTifRY OF METHODISM
n
special meeting, and by his own action severed his connec- tion with the ministry of .Methodism. His former brethren had therefore to remove Alder from Windsor to >St. John, and make the earliest possible report of their action to the Comniittee in London.
The opponents of Methodism in 8t. John were not slow in predicting from the housetops her total extinction in that city; and to some of her friends the prediction seemed not unlikely of fullilment. Not more than twenty persons listened to Uamford's sermon in the Germain-street church on the Sunday morning following the oliicial meeting, while crowds awaited Priestley's appearance at a lai-ge brick building secured for his use. Numbers also approached the latter preacher with otiers of tinancial assistance. Among these were some conscientious persons who could not be per- suaded of the justice of the charges preferred against a minister so genei-ally este^ nied ; there were also some Irish Primitive Wesleyniis, or " Clonites," who had been but a short time in the city ; and rallying around the same stand- ard— sad omen — were a large number of persons making no pretensions to religion, some of them even notorious for inteiiiperate habits. By this combination, poi)ular]y known as the " United Primitive Methodists,' a large brick build- ing, long called the " Asylum Chapel," was commenced in August, and pushed on with such vigor that early in Decem- ber, 1824, it was opened with the usual ceremonies for public worship.
The existence of a congregation formed under such auspices and composed of such elements was naturally brief. Even before the occupation of the new building, evidenc;; . f the power of an unwelcome conviction and of a declit' ' .forest was observed. In the meantime, too, the eloqi. ■ ct Alder, a previously popular minister at St. John, hid i^oved a counter attraction. Early in
/.V TIfK fjnVEH rnOVINCES.
1-25
Novemhor, 1821:, in roply to somo uufouiuled statomonts sent foi'tli tlu'ou^jfh a city })ai)oi-, t!i<> otiicial l)oard of the church issued a cii'cuhir. Throuyli this niodiuin they inforiiKKl their friends that liut one of the circuit orticials had al);uidoned Ins post ; tliat eiLjhtv i^ood niemhers, livincr in thot'ouf,di harmony, were in their society ; and that on the previous two Sunday evenings nearly six lumdred hearers liad listened to the sermons of their })astor. This circular, owing to the extent of the misrepresentations made, was followed by the puhlication, in P'ebruary, 1825, of a more elaborate statement from the pen of Alder, which, on tlie eve of its ])assage through the press, received as a postscript a copy of a note addressed to the preacher at the "Asylum Chapel," forbidding him to conduct any further services in that building, and bearing the signature of the person who had defended him in the legislatui-e, and had circulated the statements wliich had i-endered Alder's " Defence " a necessity.
A part of those who had wavered l)etween adherence to the church of tlieir childhood or ado})tion and thcur i-egard for a favorite pi-eacher soon found theii- way back to former asso- ciates ; but of the many wlio had openly espoused the side of the erring minister few ever again availed themselves of the privileges of church-membership. A larger number became outer-court worshippers. The unfortunate man wlio had caused the strife applied in vain to the British Conference for reinstatement. After the lapse of some years, during which he had been practising at a distance as a physician, he appeared in Montreal at the time of a dis- trict meeting. The assend)led ministers, charmed by his bearing and encouraged by his assurances of reformation, gave him a cordial greeting, and permitted him, at Matthew Hichey s solicitation, to preach dui-jng their session. Tlie congregation heard him and urged his appointment to their
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HIHT(UiY OF METHODISM
I ' H-
j ulpit, the (l(>k'<^;itfi fi'oiii l^'iij^flaiid proiiiisod a favorable represontation of liis casc! to tlie Dritish Conference, and everything seemed to iiidicate a reinstatement in liisfonner position, when the ohl liahit, aided hy the presence of temp- tation on a hot d;iy on a St. I^uwrence steamer, reasserted its power- ;ind lutldessly trampled tlie eloquent preacher under its feet.
I'he pulpit of the " Asylum Chapel " had many subse- (juent occupants. A INIr. West was, for a few months, a sort of idol tliei'e, but at the end of that time his congrega- tion called liim bittei' names and (juarrelled among them- selves, till one ev(>ning constables were called in to preserve order. An Irish Primitive \Vesley;iii, invited to occupy the pulpit, neai'ly took the property out of the hands of the trustees, who f>idy learned the wily preacher's plans in time to thwart them. In 1 S.'')0, William W. Ashley, previously of Liverpool and Yarnmuth, occupied it, as he informed his fi-iend Arthur INIcNutt, for " the purpose of establishing the ancient order of things," according to the formula of Alex- ander Campbell. At a later period, Episcopalian services were held for a time on Sabbath evenings in the same l)uilding ; Williaiu T. Wishart, a Presbyterian minister, also preached in it ; and in 1849-50, it was used by Dr. Burns and the FrtM' Church congregation under his pastoral care. At length "St, Stephen's Hall," as it had been named by its Presbyterian owners, was sold, and the pro- ceeds used in the erection of St. Stephen's church ; and the place having lost altogetlier its ecclesiastical ch?"acter, be- came familiar to the public as the " Medical Hall. '
During a part of the period under review three ministers were stationed on Pi'ince Edwai'd Island. P>urt and Jack- son, on their \xn\ thither in 1823, w^ej-e accompanied by John Pope, about to leave for tlie West Indies. Unable to find a vessel at Uaie Verte, they hired two men to take them
/.V 77/ A' LoWKli rUoVLXCKS.
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;iloii«( the sliort! in a hoat. A,uiiin disMppointed, tlirou.i^li the non-aii'lsal at C.'apo ToriiMMitiiic of an cxfjeetccl V('ss<'l, tliey resohod to cross the Straits in the same llat-bottomcd hoat. At a short distance from the shore the sea proved roii<di hut \ lien midway, tlie hoatinen lieeame helpless lhroni,di fear, and the ministers, in serious doultt whetliei' thev shoiihl ever reach tlie shore, iiad to take soh; char«;e of the frail craft. At len,<,'th they succeeded in reachin-r Cnpe Traverse, and thence they found their way to liedeipie on horses.
AtChai-lottetownand th(^ adjacent settlements Hurt found a memhership of seventy-eioht persons, .s(>vc.al of whom, suhsecpiently standard-bearers, had hut recently arrived from Enoland. Tlie memhei-s outside of the town wei'e at Lots 48 and 49, and Little Yf)rk and Cornwall. Pastoral duties and the er-ection of a parsonage, for wliich his prede- cessor, Bamford, had made preparation, allowed him few idle moments. Success, however, soon made labor seem light. At Little York, where sonui Yorkshire villagers had found a home, a revival led a numljer into society, and a few mouths later resulted in the building of a new church. Several, who at Charlottetown then also first apprehended Christ as a personal Saviour, were long associated with Methodism in Pi-ince Edwaixl Island, while others were trained for useful service in spheres far distant. A call from an P:nglish IVrethodist, employed at ('aml)ridge's ship- yard at Souris, led Hurt to that place in 1824. The good man had fc^t so grieved over the absence of i-eh'gious ser- vices in that part of the island that he had walked to the capital, a distance of sixty miles or more, becoming so crippled by the journey, that for several days he was unable to return. As soon as the winter travelling would permit, Burt set off for Souris, accompanied by a gentleman who had volunteered as guide. At the head of Souris harbor they called at the home of a Mt-thodist brother whose wife
IL'H
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liad poi'sistcntly op[)()Sf'(l his i-cli^ious opinions aiul [)i'<actic('s. Th«? wife, wlio was nursini^ an appai'ontly dyinrr child, j^ave thd visitors a cool i-cci^ption ; hut words of synij)athy and a praycf odcrcd for niothci' and chihi soon and forover dis- pelhul tlio evident prcjudict;. The chihl at once l)('i,'an to improve, and the mother, seeini,' in this t'aet an answer to the pr.'iyer of th(! nnw«'lconied pi-eaeher, ceased, to the ;^i-eat Joy of lier husband, to show any further ojtposition. At Soui'is he found several persons who had anxiously awaited the arrival of a mimster; and with these and their neijjjhbors he spent nearly a foi'tni<j;ht in preachini,', visitini,', l)aj)ti/in;,' their children, and forming a class. On the evening of Christmas, IS'il, an auxiliary missionary soci(!ty was organized at Charlottetown. Williiim Pope, Ks(|., liigh sjierifl', was chairman, and other sj)ealvers were the ministei's — hurt and Jackson, with Cecil W. Townshend, (J. iJinns, l^^sq., and Isaac Smith. So successfully was the work of this auxiliary carried on that for tlie yeai- ending in May, 1S27, a larg(M' sum was reported for missions from Chai-lottetown tiian from any circuit in No\a Scotia or New Brunswick, St. John alone excepted.
For some time (ieorge Jackson met with little to cheer iiim on the liedeijue circuit, but during his last year of i-esidence he was permitted to see at some settlements sucli results as might have been expected fi"om his able and judicious ministry. From Tryon, in ISl'C), he was able to report a large increase in the congregation ; and at Crapaud, wliich [)lace he had almost determined to aban- don, the spirit of incjuiry and healing had spread, tlui con- gregations had become large and deeply attentive, and a site for a church had been promised. In 1824, Robert H. Crane succeeded J(jhn Snowball at Muriay Harboi-. Of the two classes there, one was conducti'd in the French language ; there was also a small English class at Three liivers.
/.v 77/ A' /jny/'Jh' i'ii()VL\ci:s.
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Tlic ;;ro\vth of the mt'inboi'slii}) ot' Mt'tlKjdism in tlm Maritiiiiu Provinces tlurinj^ the twchc^ yoacs, ciKliii;:; in 1S'J(), was fihout one tliousand. Towards tlic end of this pci'iod an unusual nuudtcr of losses had hecn raused hy renio\als. Tht! reaction which fcjllovved the c-lose of the war in ISl.") was heini,^ se\-ei'ely felt in all (jua iters. An unj»!'0- ced(uito(l activity in business had Ix'cn caused hy the con- flict. .Money was alnindant, ami pi'oduce of all kinds was sold at exofhitant prices. Iv\tiava<j;anct^, especially in the. use of intoxicating li(|Uors, had l»een chei'ished to an extent passing present lielief. The inevilal)le conse([uence of the cessation of the sources of an artificial prosperity, and of the extra\agant hahits induc(!d hy tlu^ temporary intlation of husiness, was a I'caction producing an almost universal gloom. Under its influence, some families from the farming districts were attractiid to Upper (.'aiiada, whither many had gone during years preced ng the war, but the general decline in business led larger numbers from the towns and villages to other British colonies or to the United States.
In not a few cases the local losses to provincial churches proved a gain to weak societies cdsewhere. At St. Eusta- tius, a speck on the Carribean Sea, a negro slave, converted in America, had introduced the Gospel with much success among his fellow Africans, when the slave-owjiers became bitterly opposed to liim. In no West India inland was a warmer welcome extended to Coke by Clu-istian Negroes ; in none did l*e meet with a more hostile reception than from the Dutch governor and authorities. In spite of the relent- less cruelty and banishment inflicted upon the heroic coloi-ed leader, known in INlethodist histoiy as " Black Harry of St. Eustatius," and the passage of a law enacting the inflic- tion of thirty-nine lashes on any colored man found [)raying, large numbers of slaves became converts ; but so late as in
1821, though the storm of persecution had passed ovoi', no 9
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130
rflSTOIiY or MKTUODl^M
whiter resident li.-ul l)('('(»nit' .-i, Mjitlindist. \\\ tli;it ycnr a youiii^ wiiitc man, adistant rclutivt* of the tKiincr tyniuiiical governor, led tlio way, soon to Ix' followi'd liy hkmi of |iositioM and intlut'iicc. This t'lian,if<; was tlic result of the removal to the island of a family fi'om Halifax, (he mothei- of which, familial" with the ministry of William iJlai-k and his (;ol l«}a<^iies, had proved faithful thrcni^h all vicissitudes to her (iod and to hm- reliijious convictions. Tln'ou^di intimacy with this Provincial family, the youni,' man had formed an undcsired ac(|uaintance with iho W'esleyan missionary to the island. Convei'ted throu,i(h Methodist ai^ency, In; l)roke throu.ii;h social barriei-s and i^ave himself to the Methodist Chui'ch. Having enteied the service of the (Committee in London, and later, that of the American Methodist (Jhurch, lie preached the (lo.spel in the West Indies, among the Oneida Indians, and in LiWeria, and th(!n returnetl to the home work of American Methodism." At a recent date the Methodist was the only Protestant Ijody in St. Kusta- tius, and was libei-ally aidtni l»y the Dutch government.
It is, nevertheless, probable that losses in mejnbership through removals were more than counterbalanced by ar- rivals from abroad. That restless rush which seems to have been a part of the (Jreator''s plan for jieopling the world had passed its earlier stages. The stream of emi- gration from IJritain, which, before the outbreak of the second war with AuuMic-a, had been tlowing westward, at the termination of the contlict began to nio-.'o with bioader current. Directed principally towards the United States and Upper Canada, the human tide, iiext'itheless, touched our shores. Some of the wanderei's found homes on the parcelled-out acres of Prince Edward Island ; others sought tracts of land in the newly opened farming districts of the
" " Hciniiiisct'iiccs of the West Iiiilics." liy ;i MttliudiNt Treacher, MetlKKli.st liuok Concern, New York, iy4!l,
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othfT pi'oviiK'cs ; wliilo not a ffw fMitci'iNl upon foriuor pursuits in tlir sc.-i j)Oft towns, wlicrc tlirii- i,'t;in(lsons are now in nijuiy cases Icadin"; citizens. At the port of St. Jolm alone nearly si.K tlif)usan(l persons affived tVoni (Jreat llritain and Ii-eland durinj,' the three years eiidiiii,' in ISlMJ, and these were hut the .(d\anc(! <,'uar(l of a ;,'reMt procfKSsion. Occasiouid i-eference is yet ni;i(h' to the hardsliips en(hircd hy th(vs(^ enu,!j;rants, hut a great nund>ef of their (h'seen- dants enjoy the fruits of their i^iandsii-es (;()n([uests oxer th«; unhrok(Mi wiMerness, wliile they know litth; of the story of their physiinal toih mental conflicts and n'lii,'ious priva- tions.'-'
From tlie.se emigrants Methodism in l»ritisli Xorth America received valual)h> accessions. Sci^tch settlei-s in Ontario, early visit(>d hy Canadian itinerants at their hack- woods homes, gave to Methodism in the irpp(M' Pi'ovinces hoth numtirical and intellectual sti-ength, hut from the same class that church in the Maritime I'l-ovinces recei\ed a much smaller numher of adherents. Many of the l']nglish emigrants, Wesleyans in their native land, hecame pioneers of the denomitiation in their adopted country. Their small, rude dwellings, encircled by the forest, fre([Uently otl'ei-ed a home to the itinerant and furnished him with a preaching room, until through combination of (^tl'ort in more prosperous davs, neat and comfortable churches dotted the various dis- tricts. No less valuable has been the lu^lp derived from the Irisli^'emigration of former years. Gi'eat nund)ers of
'- In ;Miirfh,""lSL*3, 'Jdliii Spn.tt, rrcsliytcnun pastur jit Windsor, wrote ill his journal : "Tiiis is tlic .Saliliatli-day. 'V\\v roads arc so liail T fajinot j^'o to NfWport. Hard is tlic lot of many i nii^'rants who liavi; hitcly liccn I't-niovcd fmni tlic full li^iit of rflij^duus insiitutioiis to tho darkness which spreads its ^dooniy shades lieyond tiie western main. 'I'lii'ir children, relieved fmni f 'hi'istian restraints, a>'e daily riiieninj,' to he outcasts from (Jod. 'I'lie Sal )liath returns, hut whei'e are its wonted jo>'s? No temple is there, liu messen;^er of salvation, no son^' of /inn ushers in this Messed morning'. The \(iice of desotion is not heai'd, except in the \\his|iei's of a lirokeii heai't, and the ciiildren are not l.uiptizt'd except hy a ni(jther"s tears,"
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IIISTOIiY OF METHODISM
Irishmen had already been seeking in transatlantic regions better iionies than their nati/e land, enchained by Uoman- isin and impoverished by absentee landlordism, could give them, when the famine fever of 1817 came to tuni the movement into a sweeping tide. INIany of these; emigrants had be(m comfortable farmers, small tradesmen, and mechanics, representatives of a class which constitutes the strength and muscle of any population. Numbers of them, as tliey tore themselves from the land where lay the dust of their fatiiers, left blanks in the leadership and closed doors to the itinerant.
Fortunately for all, the various national elements in our growing population have become so hajipily blended as to render impossible any close analysis of the present influence of each upon Church or State in our several provinces. In the wide Canadian Dominion descendants of each of the various races represented in her aggressive population are playing an honorable part, all having worthy representa- tives in the ministry and laity of our gi'eat church.
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CHAPTER VI.
.\iKTri()i)is>r r\ nKUMimA, from isi.i to tkh f:EX.
■nO.VAliV CHLKliRATfOX IX I,H3!i.
James Dunbar spent two busy years in Bcr.nu.Ia. Jlur- ing the temporary absence of Sir James Cockburn in lSl:i. U, ,e saw ti.e revival of persecution at Hamilton in a dec,de< orn, and l,e, therefore, in aecoirlance with the Engbsh Act of Toleration, made application for a license for the church at tl<at place, as well as for the new one in course of erection at St. George's. The attorney-^eneral questioned the application of the Act to the colojes e.- pre.ssed a belief that by previous enactn.ents the .Methodi.sts were secured from any undue interference, and for these reasons declined to grant the requested licen.ses. For relief however, fron. ail ,loubt,s, J)u,.bar w.ited on the ,,ove,no; on h,s return to the islands during ,he succeeding sun.mer. Ihat ofhcer assured hiu, that he would take pleasure in putfng the .Metho<Iists in possession of „ny privile.-e i n li^
Dunbar, who ound then, of value .as safeguards against in- terference With ,H'blic worship
reatel't f " '"'""T '"■""'' "" '-^^r""- "' -' ""--i'l equest for a second preacher, Wiili.am Wilson, a vou.„
Insh nnssionary, son.ewhat debilitated by residence i„ tl,;
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West Indies, became his colleac^ue. The two ministers, in August, 1814:, conducted the opening services of the first Methodist cimrch at St. (George's. This building, forty feet in length and thirty in breadth, was erected at a cost of a thousand pounds.' Two aisles, running through it, left a narrow row of pews against each side-wall, with a third row of large pews in the centre, directly in front of which stood the tall tub-shaped jmlpit. The thirty-five pews and a number of free seats proved insufficent for the numerous applicants, and a gallery across the front of the church was therefoi'e soon after provided. As a wooden building, it soon yielded to the intluence of the Bermudian climate ; and fourteen years later the trustees reported that " if it Iiappen to rain when tlie congregation is assembled, they have nmch dilHculty by moving about to keep themselves dry." The Methodists of St. Georges, however, continued to use it for worship until the autumn of 1839, when a tremendous hurricane l>roke over the islands, unroofing dwellings, destroying wharves, and driving shipping ashore. Then the already decayed place of worship, precious to many in Bermuda as the cradle in the new life, and to numbers abroad as the spot where they learned of personal salvation, was levelled to the ground.
In accordance with instructions from England, Dunbar sailed for Nova Scotia at mid-winter, 1814, accompanied by his wife as the first representative of Bermuda JNlethodism in the wide mission field. Wilson, left in charge, was joined in March by Moses Rayner, a young Englishman, of whose subse(pient long service as a missionary his feeble health during a twenty months' residence in Bermuda permitted but slight hope. On Jiayner's arrival Wilson proceeded to
'Tlu' cMirrciiey of tlu' islands wa-s at tliat tiiuo at the rate of twelve .shillings sterling to the innind. TiilMl, llieeurreiieyof tjieinotiier CdUiitry was intrixliicecl.
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occupy new ground, ^eivicos were held and a small mem- bership gathered at Bailey's Bay. Some of these earlier services among "a pleasure-loving people " were conducted with diliiculty. ''Every door seemed to he bolted /igainst us," said Wilson, "and the only place that could be procured was the lower room of an old house in which every window and door is in a shattered state. Tn this ruinous place 1 have often preached when the wind l)lew in on every side, and tlie ungodly who wished to annoy us, entering the house at another part, have got over our heads, and by walking to and fro, talking and laughing, disturbed the congregation and prevented others from attending." After some time, t1)0ug!i alternating between hope and despair, Wilson resolved ;o attempt the building of a small church. The lady to whom he had been indebted for the use of the deserted dwelling, gave him a site, and some other persons, from horn he had not even expected good wishes, gave him such liberal aid that in February, 181G, he authorized workmen to proceed with the building of the small sanctuary. Just then, Rayner, under instructions from London, sailed for Antigua, while William Ellis, a sutlerer from toil and exposure in Newfoundland, made no movement toward the more genial climate pi'oposed to him by the Committee. Left thus witli-'ut a colleague, and on a mission where only a man of h* rcuuau strength can long presume to attempt the work which i', , ■• idence has designed for two men, Wilson, who had alreud} ^"-jm advised to seek an early return to Britaiii, could give little further attention to the newer and smaller congregation.
The expectation of ivmoval, early in 181;^, led to a review by Wilson of his own and his predecessors' work. Jn spite of the excitement during the war and the departures at its termniat. ■; t!ie leading congregations had giown, the mem- bership had iureased, and the acceptance by Richard M.
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Hi<:;gs of the oUiee of local preacher had added a valuable helpei- in pulpit woi'k. I'y the Missionary (Jonniiittee, too, in reply to circulars sent by them to the colony, warm com- mendation of the work of the successive missionaries had been received from such men as the senior associate judge of the islands, tlie mayor of Hamilton and several other gentlemen of prominent position.^ A still higher and a holier satisfaction was that which came from the happy manner in which several of the earlier converts had finished their course. 'J'hese departures, so frequent in tlie history of our larger churches as to call ' v th only brief remark, were rich in blessing to the pastor -• ur-score members
in Bermuda., who nevertheless seriousij elt the absence of each successive delegate to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn.
Wilson's successor, William Sutcliffe, a former missionary to Nova Scotia, arrived from England in November, 1817. Late in the following month Wilson, witli his wife, a wortliy Bermudian, sailed for Antigua, and thence soon returned to Ireland. Rest, with the bracing air of his native country, so far improved the young minister's health that in 1819 he was appointed to a circuit, but on his way thither he was seized Ijy a fever, from which he died. His successor's stay in the islands was shorter than his own had been Few men were better prepared than Sutcliffe to meet by a gentle but faithful prosecution of duty the revival of a spii'it of persecution of which there wore too evident indications, but his days of active endeavor were nearly ended. In 1819 yellow fever invaded the islands and spread with great rapidity. None of the membership fell
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2 Tlio circular, to which theso gHiitlemon, and a nnniber of others in >he Wt'st Iiulies, funiislicd mo.st «itisfactory rejilics, was called forth by the activity (tf «'veral English piil)lications in niisreja-t'scnting theoi)t>ra- tions of missions in the colonies, those esjiecially of the Wesleyan Mis- sionary Society.
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victims to the P})idoniic, l)ut the pastor, and his wife as well, narrowly escaped death. The Coniniittee ordered him to Nova Scotia, but after a short delay he sail(>d for Canada, and thence soon returned to En<,dand. In suhsecjuent years his faculties became somewhat enfeebled. Ifis wife, a worthy heljjer in his several missions, died in 183'^. Over her remains he prayed that he also might be taken home. Foui- days later his prayer \is answered.
Declining health having obliged James Duidjar to take flight in the winter of 1S19 from Halifax, he reached liis former station ^fter serious danger- through a heavy gale and a lee shore. His three years' residence proved a period of true spiritual prosperity. " ]Many,*' said the official members in a letter to the Committee at the end of his term, "have been the subjects of sound, saving conversion, the congregations have increased in nund)ers and in serious attention, prejudices have disappeared and many have been added to our society." A pleasant address, agreeable man- ners, and a deep interest in young i)eoj)le gave Duid)ar greater influence among the white population of Bermuda than any minister had had since the departure of Marsden. The same (jualities had aided him during his absence in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. "A dear little man was James Dunbar,'' said an aged lady, the widow of a well- known minister, when in recalling the scenes of her child- hood in her home at Wilmot she remembered how he had then talked with her in his pleasant way about Christ and salvation. Under his direction an auxiliary missionary society was formed at Hamilton, in 1820, when the excel- lent H. H. Cross, Independent pastor at St. George's, preached the special sermon. After his return to his native land Dunbar labored with equal success, ending a useful service in ISGO, in the eightieth year of his age.
'J'he Congj'egatioiial or rn(Iep< ndcnt diurch at St.
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George's merits ;ipprociative mention because of the impulse given by its formation to evangelical religion in that town, and the assistance received by Methodism from several of its menib(!rs at a later period. Included in its membership — never hu-ge — were choice spirits, successors of a little remnant who had preserved un<|uenche(l the coal which had been kindled in the islands under the ministry of Whit- field ; and with these weie associated a few others of kindred sympathies from abroad. The light had shone dindy for some time, but when the struggle to worship God according to other forms than those prescribed by the National Church had been successfully fought, its presence became apparent. Then the faithful few, whom doctrinal diflerences and, perhaps, social considerations had kept aloof from the earlier Methodists, united in a small band and maintained stated services, ,u wmch some one of their numl)er generally read a discourse from some standard volume. Mary Winslow, the grand-daughter of a gentle- man who had cordially received AVhittield at 8t. George's, and an earnest Christian, as her memoir by her son, Octavius Winslow, D.D,, abundantly '^^stities, made use of her position when in England as the wife of a military of^'> ^^■•, to secure for the little company the erection of a church and the appointment of a pastor. Through her untiring elibrts H. i\. Cross was sent to her native town as a spiritual under-shepherd. From several causes the church organized under his direction had only a brief existence. In the course of a few years the pastor was removed by death, the roof of the wooden sanctuary fell in, and the members were gradually scattered. The few who remained in lier- muda for several years visited the Presbyterian church at Warwick at communion seasons, )>ut at length became men)bers of the Methodist church or congregation at St. George's and welcomed attendants at its nearer sacramental services.
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A prominent member of this choice group was William Samuel Ti-ott, whose name is yet dear to some l>ermudian Methodists. Early training and a preference for the Con- gregational form of church government led him to unite with those who had adopted it. Home time after God had called the pastor home, and the chuT-ch had ceased to e.xist, Mr. Trott became a regular worshipper with the Methodist congregation. Though an independent in principle, his assistance in public religious services, and his financial aid, were freely gisen to the Methodist ministers a,nd people. For more than forty years he and his pious wife conducted at their own residence the " Home Sabbath-school," which was continued for years after his deatli by several ladies who had been trained in the school, and was then trans- ferred by them to the Methodist Church. JMary Seon, who in her girlhood, and in the face of strong opposition by relatives, had also united with the Independent church at St. George's, became in 1847 a Methodist class-leader at Bailey's Bay.
During the early months of 1821, the Methodist and Independent pastors received unexpected assistance from two storm-tossed brethren. The story of theii- rough pas- sage to a quiet haven adds an interesting page to the numerous narratives of missionary journeyings. One of the two— Duncan Dunbar, a Scotchman, sent out to Shellield in 1811 by the London Missionary Society — had gone back to Britain from New Brunswick as a Baptist minister, to obtain workers and funds for the " Evangelical Missionary Society " of that province, by means of wliich a ruimber of Presbyterians, Ctjngregationalists and Baptists, united under that name, were seeking to promote the religious improvement of the more destitute settlers and the India IS. Having partially succeeded in his mission, Dunbar, in the autumn of 1830, sailed from Liverpool
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for New York in the Halifax Packet^ an old and unsea- worthy vessel provisioned for eight weeks. With him were his wife and three children ; John Gray, Presby- terian minister, and wife ; Josiah West, a pious teacher, and nearly fifty other passengers. At the end of a month violent winds liad driven the vesseil liack towards the Irish coast, and the whole company had been put on short allow- ance. At last a day came when the captain had to convey to them the unwelcome intelligence that the last of their stores had l)een eaten, there ••being between them and starvation only some potatoes which he had previously taken on board in Ireland as ballast, because stone for that purpose could not be obtained. To add to the terror of their situation, tiie captain could give no detinite idea of his position, his only compass having been washed over- board. The potatoes, by no means improved by long storage in the liold, wei-e brought up, and four of these and a gill of water per day apportioned to each passenger and seaman. So pitiful were tlie cries of the children for water that the missionaries scarcely tasted their allowance of it for three weeks. The crew at length became unable to work the ship, and passengers from the cabin and steerage were obliged to take their turn at the pumps. Suddenly, however, the leak ceased, and the crew, on rowing around the ship, found the sides and bottom covered with bai-nacles as with a coat of mail, On one of the last days of March the captain an- nounced that the potatoes would only supply their wants for twenty-four hours longer. The statement was received in silence. Just then a cry broke from the sailors on deck, to be echoed through cabin and forecastle — -the welcome cry of " Land ahead ! " The land, unknown to all on board, was Bermuda. A signal of distress had been float- ing for many weeks, and lest it should fail to attract at- tention it was supplemented by bright-colored clothing belonging to the sailors and children. Some pious women
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of the liKlt'iKMideiit cimrcli, in their loving watch for an expected minister, saw the signal from the hill at St. George's and hastened to i-ei)ort it. I'ractised ey.'s soon gazed intently at the vessel, whicli was sometimes approach- ing the breakers and at others passing out lo the deeper water; and then a number of men went out to her, to find her a rudderless, partially dismasted .ship, drifting wher- ever wind and current might carry her. A day or two later the passengers were taken on shoi-t; and made the guests of residents of the town. The long, dreary passage had not been without its bright side, for the helpless hulk had become a place of salvation to a Roman Catholic sea captain, and through tlie pei-ils of the passage several other persons, among them the wife of the Presbyterian minister, had been led to the exercise of a persojial trust in Christ not previously enjoyed. During their tletention at St. (^leorge's the ministers gave ready assistance to the resident pastors. Duncan Dunbar preached for James Dunbar the annual Wesleyan missionary sermon and assisted him in the usual anniversary meeting, and each of the visiting ministers took part in the opening services of the little Independent church. On Cood Friday they sailed for New York, Dun- bar carrying with him, besides clotliing and comfoi-ts for the voyage, sixty pounds Bermuda currency, contributed by Bermudians towards the funds of the "Evangelical Missionary Society of New Brunswick."
Names of prominence in Bermudian and West Indian Methodism meet the eye among the signatures to tlie official letter carried by James Dunbar to England. There is that of the faithful Thomas S. Tuzo, of Hamilton. Early associations liad led him to avow his preference for Metho- dist teaching at a period when such avowal in\-olved a strain upon reputation. At the call of the church, lie tilled olHce after oHicc, performing the duties belonging to each with all thoroughness. During several of his later
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years ho had tc» b(> content with fovin!^ alon;^ tho sea- side walks (»!• thiouj^h tlu^ .shady i^movcs of his own (juiet estate. Then, in l>'*<7i, \\h('n (h'c-line(»f the mental faculties had followed the partial dee.-iy of physical powers, caine gentle hut rej)eated strokes of paj'alysis, and the once vigor- ous man fell asleep. Tlicic is also the name of James Cox, who, though " leader nnd local preacher," was then a lad of scarcely eighteen years. At that early age, his perform- ance of official duties had given such ])iomise of usefulness that during the year the Missionary (Joinmittee called him to leave his native colony for a wider sphere. Late in 1823 he sailed for Antigua, to l)egin a thirty-six years' service in West Indian mission work, foi- which his place of birth and strong constitution had given him a peculiar tltness. For a number of years he was chairman of the Antigua District, where he performed an amount of la])or of which few men in that climate have been capable. The clo.se of his career was deeply felt by large numbers of persons whom he, as the Holy Spirit's agent, had led to God or editied by diligent pulpit and pastoral etlbrt.
A third name was that of Edward Fraser, leader of a class of colored members. Fi'aser was a native of JJarbadoes, born there about 1798. Though a slave, he had few clearly distinctive marks of African descent, his mother having been a "mustee," and his father, whose name he bore, a native of Scotland." From his third year he had been the " property " of Francis Lightbourn, Esq., father of Joseph Fraser 1/ighbourn — for many years the rector of Devonshire and Peml)roke parishes, Berumda. During the absence of his niaster from Barbadoes, the young man was apprenticed to a shoemaker, whom he served as both apprentice and
•'' 111 the West Indies, "a mulatto is the <)ffs|)riii,<;- of a l)lack woman by a white man ; a quach'oon is the otfsprinjjf of a muhitto woman by a white man ; and a mestizo or mustee is the offsprinjj: of a white man and a tjuadrooii." — Godet's History of Bermuda, \>. 141).
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cltM'k. Ill ISIS his owiior leiiioNrd to r>(M'iim(la, wlicre, until his iii.istcr's business (U'cliiicd, thr(tui,'ii chiinues in triulc, lie wiis ciiyaiicd solely as his assistant, haxinLj heconie an excellent accvtuntant Ivvrly ieli<;ious tendencies had heen developed Ity the inlluence of a Seoti-h i,'cntlenian and hy th(^ death of a friend m ho had shown an inteicst in his eduf/ation. In r>ai'l)a(h)es he had listened to several .Meth- odist sermons, and had hecome a coniniunicant at the parish church, hut according to his own statement he left that island a " hlameless I'harisee." Secret dissatisfaction, after his arrival at iJermuda, letl him to the Preshytei-ian church at Warwick, and into communication with Enoch Matson, the pastor. The sann^ motive also led him to call upon William Sutclitl'e, at Hamilton, by whom he was kindly received and encouraged. Thr-ough tlie cond)ined counsels of these ministers he was guided into the way of peace. Dunbar, in 1S21, })laced him in charge of a class of colored mendjers, and, having heard that he liad been asked to lead a ]»rayer- meeting, more than once said to him, " You may preach to them." He liowever read sermons, until an "' accunmlation of motives " led him to attejnpt original discourses. Divine sanction seemed at once to be given. A small Methodist society was formed at AV^arwick, and s(neral per.sons awakened under his preaching wei'c; i'ecei\ed into com- munion with the Presbyterians. Ife then, with James Cox, solicited subscriptions towards the ei-ection of a small sanctuary at Warwick. In 182"), the Methodist slaves in that part of the islands spent their Christmas holidays in working upon this building, which, through the geiier'u,s assistance of Chief-Justice Esten, was finished in 1S27.'
•* This was tlic first Mctliodist cliiircli in l'>i'nim{l:i wliicli cuiild beast of a si)in' — an appeTidfi^^f l)iiilt in 1S('»(). V\)v this reason, pnliaps, it was that of the nine MetlioiHst chuivhi-s in the' islands twenty-five years a.i^'o, the locahty only of that at Warwick was indicated n])on a niaj) pub- lished under the patronayt' of the governor, Maj.-( len. .1. II. befroy, on wliich iuai» the sites of the p > n-est parish ciiurcln's were plainly pointed out.
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William Dowson rcacluMl rx'rniudfi from tht! West [ncli(^s ill IS2.'?, and left at tlu; end of two years, to he .sucL't'('d(!d in a few weeks l»y liogeM' Moofe, from Nassau. l''i'om tlit;s(! ministers l^'rasiM' I'ec-eived dui^ encoui'Mifement. Mooro was unable to induce; him to enter tlu; |iuli)it Moore's successor only led him thither l»y tlu; distinct announcemi'nt that " Kdward Kraser will piinich fi'om tlie pulpit " — yet pT'(n'ious to the arrival of the first of these tw(» ministers the ser- mons of the ditlident youn<^ local {)reacher had so far atti'acted attention that the chief-justice— Ksten, and the attorney-f^eneral-- Duttertield, had l)een amoii<^ his heai-ers. The chief-justice took occasion to introduce Fi-aser's name to the general Methodist public when, as one of the speakers at the annual meeting of tlu; Wesleymi Missionary Society, in IS'Jf), in London, he made extended reference to the young man's mathematical studies, extensi\e theological reading and fervent piety, and placed a. sernion from his pen in the hands of the chairman of the meeting.
l>is]iop Inglis, of Nova Scotia, of whose diocese JJermuda the]i formed a part, during liis first visit to the colony in 1825, called upon Fraser with a proposition that he should accompany him to Nova Scotia, to Ije tiained for the minis- try of the Episcopal Chui'ch, The bishop's proposal must, of course, have included the further ofler of manumission on the part of the master. Less attractive oilers have some- times proved young men to be unworthy of a Methodist lineage, than which, according to heavens heraldry, none can be more noble. Tried by a most severe test, Edward Fraser, though under no human obligation save that of gratitude, was proved to be every inch a man though in law a slave. " Sii-," he said to the bishop, " the Wesleyan min- ister in this colony has been as an angel of light to me, and I can do nothing without his consent." Having learned from l\ogei- Moore that that minister liad already made a
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repi-escutation of his ease to I he S.-,ivtafi.-s in LuikI.im, Iw addressed a ivs|t(>ctful roply to tlu' l.islioi), d.vliiiiiii,' to rRceive any further ovcMturcs. 'V\n> hishop was afterward heard to say that no youn<; man at Kin-^'s eollci^fc, Windsor, could have prestMited a better piece of composition. A year or two hiter, when Ki-aser's name came hefoi-t^ (},(> En^ulisli Conference of lSi>7, Richard Watson, who had read the doctrinal statements forwarded hy him, remarked in the j)resence of the assembled ministers that no more promisiiijL,' oamlidate had appeared for many years.
Incredible as it may seem, this youn.i,' man. throui^h all these years, had been a slave in a Hritish colony. That he could be held as "property," in connuon with "goods and chattels," and subject like them to the accidents of fortune, under the .sanction of Jiritish law, made slavery, mild as it usually was in Bernuida, a hideous fact.'' To be the "owner" of such a man, from a Christiai; standpoint, was a dark crime. Happily, this " story of a crinK; " has a ter- mination alike credital)le to the slave and the owner. The former of the two had keenly felt his jjosition. Though knowing nothing of the rigors of bondage, th.- very thought that he was a slave often came over him, in his own words, as "a mildew and a frost." He could not think "freely," his mind was in " bonds." He was unwilling, nevertheless, to sever these bonds in any rash or summary way. To the Missionary Committee he wrote : " The oijstacle of a state of bondage is not, I think, insurmountable. T have made no attempt to remove it previous to this application to you,
•'■' Many years ago, a slave-holder bnnight a runaway slave before a Vermont court, presenthig wliat heconsidfred indubitable evidence that the victim was his lawful property. Tlie judge demurred, and wanted ot^ier i)roof. At last, tlie slave-owner j)assionatelv demanded to know what evidence would satisfy him that the slavt- reallv belonged to the liannant. "^ biU of naif from ilud Ahmahttj!" was the memorable reply. As no such title coidd be produced, tiie'treml)ling negro was by order of the court, set free. ' '
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because, ohlij^ed in gratitiulB as I am, I know not how to excuse a willingness to leave my mast<'r and his family until your verdict makes my call to liigher duties unques- tionable." The Conference acce[)ted him as a candidate for tlie ministry on certain conditions, but his name could not legally appear in their published official documents. The only obstacle to this was, however, soon removed. At the request of the ('onnnittee, Mr. Lightbourn gave him his freedom, and forwarded a certiticate of manumission couched in terms which did great honor to the freedman, while reflecting mucli credit on himself.
The expectations cherished in reference to Edward Fraser were fully realized. Having become his owii master at the age of tliirty years, he because an assistant to Roger Moore's successor in Bermuda ; and in Decendier of that year sailed for Antigua, under orders for Dominica. His first appear- ance in England was in 1837, at the request of the Mis- sionary Comn\ittee. Five thousand pounds had been granted the Wesleyan Missionary Society by the British Government for the erection of school buildings for the colored popula- tion of the West Indies, on condition that the Society should expend half that amount from its own funds for the same purpose. The Committee, having resolved to raise the necessary sum as a special fund, requested Fraser to spend a year in Britain : with his wife, a lady of color, he sailed for England early in 1837, and at once entered vigorously into the proposed schen\e. William M. Bunting heard him preach a missionary sermon in Great Queen-street cliapel, London. Bunting's biographer tells with what " intense delight and astonishment " that cultivated preacher listened, and how, " as he stood behind the liberated slave in the pulpit of that church, the expression of triumph on his face amounted almost to raptui'e." Eraser's address at the annual meeting in K\e<er Hall '• fully authorized hiu),"' said
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huw to family anques- late for lid not i. The At the lim his touched I, while
I Fraser r at the Moore's ir sailed appear- bhe Mis- granted Brnment popula- Society 3 for the raise the to spend he sailed gorously jaid him b chapel, " intense listened, e in the 1 his face J at the ini, " said
a most competent judge, " to stand side by side with Robert Newt' n himself, not merely as a man and a Christian brother, but as an orator." Charles Dewolfe, of Nova Scotia, then a theological student at Iloxton, heard him a year later on a similar occasion, and on his return to his lodgings wrote in his private diary that "Edward Fraser and James Parsons n)ado the best speeches." James Par- sons, with whose name Fi'aser's was thus bracketed, was the great English Congregational preaclier of that day. Near the end of October, 18,'38, Fraser closed a successful mission in Britain by an address to .several newly ordained missionaries, and soon after sailed for Antigua. At a sub- sequent period he visited England as a West Indian delegate to the annual meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, His min- istry and his life terminated together in 1872. A colleague, near him at thehour of departure, reported that "his death, like hi.s life, was serene and beautiful." Tlie late Henry Bleby, a fellow-laborer in Jamaica, in an interesting volume on West fndian mission work, has said of that life : " He was an endjodiment of our .Methodist doctrine of Christian perfection and a minister fully in accordance with the New Testament pattern."
Kogor Moore returned in 1827 to England, where he lived to a very old age, a willing worker to the end. His successor, James Home, was one of the many good men whom Methodism has drawn from the 15ritish army for a nobler service. His l)irthplace lay among the Grampian Hills of Scotland. Tn a (piiet home he had received such religious training as Scotch Presbyterians were then accus- tomed to give their children. When but a youth lie was called forth by the " sound of tlie trnnq.et aiul the alarm of war" which Napoleon would not allow to he hushed. Among his comrades he was a favorite, his good conduct and line appeaiancc commanding general admiration, His
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regiment was stationed in Ii-eland, wliere Gideon Ouseley, the Methodist evangelist, was pursuing his vvondei-ful career in winning souls, while his younger brother, Ralph, after- wards Sir Ralph, was in the Peninsula, beginning to win medals and stars. 'IMie evangelist, a son of an Irish gentle- man of Oonnaught, had tirst hkunx rtMidered thoughtful through religious services conducted l)y the t|uartermaster and several other Methodist soldiers belonging to a detach- ment of an liish cavalry regiment statioiunl near his fathers residence ; and when the light of (led had shone into liis soul, and life from above had furnished him with new inii)ulses, he in turn became a true spiritual guide to many British soldiers, of whom James Home was one. It was during one of Ouseley's missionary tours thiough (ial- way and Clare that the conversion of the young Highland soldier took place. Such evidence of the possession of gifts and grace was at once given by the young soldier that arranL^ements were soon made to secure his discha!-<'e from the army. In the country of his spiritual l.)irlh he entered the ministi-y, and after four yeais of gospel work in li'eland otlered his sci'\ices to the Missionary Committee, who sent him to Jamaica. At the end of tlu; stipulated term there he resolved to leturn to the Irish Conference, but at the request of the Comriiittee he deferred his teturn, and arrived in Bermuda in April, KS28.
On taking cliatge of the work in the island the new j)astoi' found four churches, and one Imndicd and thirty names on the roll of mend»ership. Kifty one of the mend>ers were whites ; twenty-four others were free pecjple of coloi- ; the remaining forty-nine were slaves. The laiger number of these slaves belonged to estates at Paget and Warwick. Many others, though under Methodist teaching, were not included in numerical retuiiis. Some slaves who had com- I lied with the conditions of n.emliei ship as far as was
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149
possible, and whose lives were consistent with their pro- fession, wei*(^ passed by the minister at the (|iiartei"ly dis- tribution of tickets, in accordance with his insti-uctions. In some cases they were living with partners with whom they had associated in their darker days, and in the way of tlieir marriage or otlier release from an unlawful connection lay serious ditHculties. The man or woman in some instances was unwilling to marry because uninfluenced by rc^ligious principle, and the existence of a family, neither head of wliich was permitted legal self-proprietorshij), rendered sejiaration an almost impossible alternative. In other cases, whei'e V)oth were willing to be legally married, their owners, from a fear lest their hold u})on their slaves should be weakened, detained them in an unrighteous position by refusal of the certificate required by law. In the j)resence of these dilliculties religious teachers could only pei'sist in teaching the right and protesting against the wrong, looking, as they did this, for a day Avhen the Goi'dian knot should be severed, and all unjust restrictions be remo\*ed. 'Ihat day was nearer than some dared hope.
Under James Home's superintendence 1 Sermudian Metho- dism assumed a new aspect. Early in 18.'50 neaidy two Imndred members were reported. Two-thiids of those newly added were whites, most of them residents at 8t, (xeorge's, with a few at Harris's Bay. The wise pastor, who was no triller with discipline, wrote respecting his flock to the l.V>mmittee : " Such a state of things T have longed for, l>ut ne\'er in my experience, taking the society as a whole, have I witnessed the like until now,'' It was dui'ing those years of blessing that, at St. (Jeorge's, William Arthur Outei'liridi^e and his vounij wife burst the barriers imposed by early training, worldly friendship, and apparent personal interest, and gave themselves first to the Loixl and then to that branch of the church which had led them to
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
Christ Jesus. Thenceforward William Outerbridge proved a faithful olHcial in the society ; and in the legislature of a colony where Nonconformists received no special favor, his principles were never sacrificed to policy or self-interest Precious, too, were the memories cherished by Bermudian ministers of the winsome woman who presided over his home. "For them," wrote George Douglas, LL.D., of Montreal, thirty-five years after he had left Bermuda, "her home ever stood with unlatched door, and for their comfort her choicest ministries were generously bestowed." It was in 1829 also that William Gibbons, who in indecision had reached middle age, gave himself to the Lord, and entered upon long and eflective service as a leader of classes and superintendent of the Sunday-school. Two excellent women at Hamilton, to a good old age respected leaders, also believed in Jesus through the preaching of James Home. Througli fhe agency of the same minister, James Richardson and his wife. Independents on their arrival at Bermuda, were led into the fellowship of the Methodist Church, in which both became living epistles, the husband being long a sweet-spirited leader.
Thomas Smithy a convert at Harris's Bay under Ja"- s Home's ministry, entered the itinerancy, and under the direction of the Missionary Committee preached the Gospel in the West Indies, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. In 1835 he was sent to Nova Scotia, whence, after a three years' service, he returned in ill-healtii to his native islands, to go forth again to liis work, with intervals of rest, in the heat of the torrid /one and in the cold of more nortliern latitudes. His earlier ministry in Nova Scotia was the "savor of life unto life" in the experience of a casual hearer who became a leader of rare usefulness. This hearer, a young woman from one of the rural districts, one week- evening went into "Old Zoar" chapel, Halifax, where he was
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to preach. In her coiuiti-y home slie had been so power- fully iuiiuenced by the IJoly (Spirit that she had suddenly withdrawn from former vain amusements. Thoughtless friends declared lier a INlethodist, but though lier deceased father had adopted and honored tliat name, she disclaimed it. In the city, abstaining from frivolities of friends, she had visited church after churcli, not excepting the Roman Cath- olic chapel, in vain endeavor to find the peace of God on her own terms. In Zoar chapel, a sacred spot she had avoided until that evening, Thomas Smith pressed the appeal, "How long halt ye between two opinions T' in such a way as led her to regard herself as tlie object of a personal attack. Irritated though she was, she accepted a friendly invitation at a critical moment from a Christian woman and remained at the class-meeting. "I ought to know you," said the preacher after several inquiries about her homo and friends. " I think you do," was her character- istic reply, " for you've told the people here all about me." The preacher then assured her that the personal appli- cation of the text was the act of the Holy Spirit, and she, in continued services, found on God's terms the peace for which she longed. At a gay party at which she was sub- sequently present through the stratagem of friends, a Bermudian sea-captain rallied her upon being a ]\Iethodist. Her ready avowal of lier church relation led to a confession that his own relatives were Methodists, and to a conver- sation which resulted, it was believed, in his conversion. The captain was soon after lost at sea, but the young woman whose simple avowal of her faith had been of bene- fit to him, lived to become a trusted leader in Halifax Methodism.
The work of another of the converts at this period was ended in a more distant held. Benjamin F. Jenkins, in later years Dr. Jenkins, had come to Bermuda from his
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native island, Newfoundland, wlien a mere lad as an ap- prentice to th(; pul)lisher of the Royal Gazette. During his apprenticeship he became a member of the Methodist Church, and on the attainment of his majority, several of his Methodist friends assisted liim in securing a printing establishment, fi'oin which he issued the Bermudian news- paper. That journal met with a promising reception, but an opening for a business of another kind soon led him to retii-e from its management and remove to the Southern States, taking with liim a wife chosen from a Methodist family at Hamilton. Having failed in his plans, he soon resumed pi-inting in a Southern city. A few years later, when the Methodist Episcopal Church South resolved to open a mission in China, the ability of Benjamin Jenkins as a local preacher, his singular aptness for the acquisition of languages, and his knowledge of printing, attracted the immediate attention of the Missionary Board, who in April, 184S, sent him with Charles Taylor, M.D., to Shanghai as their first missionaries to the vast Chinese empire. There, in charge of the mission press, he at once took rank among the missionaries of several societies as a man of much ability. Ill-healtli on the part cf Mrs. Jenkins obliged him to sail for America in 1852, but during the passage the invalid died and found an ocean grave near St. Helena. ]n 1854 Dr. Jenkins returned to China, and after fourteen years of further missionary service entered the United States consular service at Shanghai, where, in 1871, he died. An inscription on his tomb in the new cemetery at Shanghai brielly tells the visitor of the life-work of a man " highly respected by a wide circle of fi'iends as a Christian of earnest and uriassuming piety, and a scholar of large and varied attainments," His widow, from her arrival in 1854 a valuable member of the missionaiy staff' at Shanghai, became tlie wife of (IrifHth John, a prominent minister at Hankow of the London Missionary Society.
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Throu^li the ai-rivu] at St. (Jeorgo's in 1830 of Jolin Crofts, Sunday sermons were planned for Somerset, Tuckers- town and St. David's. At the last named place services were held in a room where some Independents had or;L(an- i/.ed a Sundav-school. Somerset for .some time gave little promise of success. Christian women from Port Royal, members of "the chui'ch that was in the house" of l>oaz Bell, walked thither every Lord's-day to maintain a school, but four years after the establishment of this school none of the whites had united with the society and the class of colored members had grown but slowly." Tuckerstown, a colored settlement four miles from St. Cieorge's, had previ- ously been unvisited and the sway of evil had remained unchecked. In the late Samuel Trott, of that settlement, the ministers early found an earnest hel})ei". i^y day or by night, for many years, his cedar boat was ready for the con- veyance of the minister across the harbor ; and the owner, assisted by willing sons oi' neighbors, was seldom absent from its helm.'
'' The latest survivor of tlu'S(! Christian woiiuni, Miss Hetty Bell, fiiiislied a faithful Christian t-arcer in iSSli, at tiie ripi' -.v^v of S'.t years. hi hci' seventeenth year she had cnunti^d " the reproach of ('lirist^i'eati'r riches than the treasiu'es in Kyypt," and allied lierself with tlu' little Alethodist church. The Christian woi'k of herself anti her friends among the slave [)opulation yet receives grateful mention.
" On one of thes<' occasions an incident occurred which, ha|)i)ily, had an amusinijc termination. During the visit in 18(11 of I'rinee Alfreil to the islands, ( lovernor Orel, a. High ("hurcliman, treated thi' Methotlists with great injustice. His refusal to allow them to address tlie prince, and his reservation for Kpisco[);il Sunday -scholars of seats jiroxidcd at thepul)lic exjjense — to the exclusion of six hundred Methodist scholai's called forth a written protest from Fredi'rick W. Moore, the Methodist superintendent nunist<'r. Before corri'sponileiuM- on the subject iuid ceasecl. Mr. Moore on a Sunda\' afternoon was passing from 'I'uckerstown to I'ailey's Bay under Mr. Trotfs charge, when, during a stpiall accompanied hy he;i,vy rain, the owner of the boat ol)served a yacht in a very dangerous posit ion and altered his course to re.'ich her. On rumiing u]) alongside, the yacht was found to contain the governor, his lad>' and young son, and an aide-de-camp, all drenched hy the w.aves which wei-e washing int(» their stranded ci'aft. 'I'lie whole jjarty was soon taken into the skiff, which, dangerously laden, passed (»ver the mile and a half between the reef and tlie landing place' in safety. On stejjping ashore the governor
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HISTORY OF MFTIIODlSAf
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James irovue's delay in returning to Ireland led to the entire a^aiKlonnient of his purpose, in compliance with re- quests from tiie people, the Committee permitted him to remain five years in Bermuda. At the end of that period the membership was nearly three times larger than the num- ber reported l)y his predecessor. The continued revival there, "calm, steady and clear as the starry canopy of the West Indian night," gave the Beiinudas an attraction to him which never lost its force. In April, 1833, he sailed for Tui'k's Islands to recommence his West Indian service. At the termination of his active ministry he returned to Ber- muda, and thei'o spent the remaining vears of life. In frequent occupancy of tlie pulpit, the gathering of a class of wanderers from the (Jhristian pathway, and in pleasant intercourse with his brethren, among whom he counted the venerable rector of the parish, tlie earlier years of super- numerary life passed pleasantly away. Then came a change, succeeding months bi-inging increasing weakness and frequent sufi'ei'ing. On one of the earlier days of July, 1856, Isaac Whitehouse, whom he had welcomed to the West Indies thirty years before, and Whitehouse's young provincial colleague, Robert Duncan, stood beside his bed and heard him speak of his " hous^ and portion fair." On the morrow he entered into rest. His body was placed in the parish churchyard at Hamilton, but was subsequently removed to the new Wesleyan cemetery. His son, the late J. Wesley Home, speaks of the father as " a man of superior parts,
said, "Trott, call at govcrnniciit house to-morrow, and I will give you fivo luninds for your troulilc and hravfry," "Your Excellency," re- spondtui the j^^ood man, " I re<niire nothing for doing my duty. Indeed, it has })een the greatest pleasure of my life to serve you, but we are building a little ^letliodist chapel at Tuckerstown, where 1 live, and if your excellency i)leases, 1 will gladly accept your gift as a donation to our building fund." The good-nature and lionesty of the man were so ap])arent that, averst? as the governor may havt; l)een to the extension of Methodism, he could not resist tlu- apjieal, and as the sail bore the boat away his voice rang out : "All right, my good fellow; I would rather you should keep wliat I give you, but do as you please with it."
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who liad about liiin tho mental and moral strength and firm- ness and conscientiousness of liis Scottish ancestry." Isaac Whitehouse, less likely to be suspected of undue regard, be- lieved that had he enjoyed the advantages now provided for candidates for the ministry he would have been "one of the greatest mei\ of the age.""
In 18.'54 John (vrofts forwarded to England a report indi- cative of progress. At Hamilton there liad been a "pleasing addition of young persons." At Tuckerstown the Christmas holidays had revealed a surprising improvement in moral conduct. No class had been formed at 8t. David's, but a "gradual preparation had taken place," and "one jx'rson " had been received on trial. To the mode.st girl tlius received at St. David's, Crofts' ministi-y had been as cold water to a thirsty soul, but the question of church relation- ship had been one of nmch peiplexity. No one on the i.sland yet bore the name of Meth(jdist, and the school she taught owed its existence and continuance to Episcopal patronage. After brief hesitation, and with the prospect of the loss of her situation, she entei'ed into communion with the people whose teaching had given her light. When she became mistress of a home, a room in her dwelling was set apai-t for years for public worship and Sunday-school work ; and then by a perseverance, of which few seem capable, she
** Few families liave liad siicli a missionary iceonl as that (if James Home. His Hrst wift? was a sistiTof oiu; of tlie seveji Wesleyaii mission- arit's lost in the Maria mail boat otf Antig'ua, in ISjCi. One of their (laughters marrii'd a \\'t.'sleyan missionary to tlie \\'est Indies, and gave a son to ^V^esleyan mission woi'k in the south of l''ranc<.'. A second dauvditer l)ecanie the wife of J'x'ujamin 'I'regaskis, a W'eslevan missionary to the West Indies and afterwards in tlie Sierra Jjeone and (iamliia dis- tricts, of the latter of whieli he was general suiierintendent. A (hiught^; of Mrs. 'I'regaskis hecame the wifi' of the g^■nl■l•al sujierintendent of mis- sions on the (iold ("oast. (Jeorge White, a son of -lames liorne, for several years a Wesh'van missionary in the West Indies, died a Protest- ant Kpiscoiiarmissionary in Lilu-ria ; and -James Wesley Home, another son, after graduation at ■Nliddletown, Conn., spent five useful years as superintendent of the Metliodist Academy in liilit.'ria. After his return to America, he lived tor many years a beloved minister of the Methodist Episcopal Ciiurch.
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irrSTORY OF METHODISM
sncceoded, aided l)y a pious ufighbor, in ohtainiiig (;ontribu- tions for the orootioii and substHjuciit cularijoinoiit of a neat little church on a site willini^dy ^dven Wy her husband. A witty provincial minister once i^iive h(M' the desi^'nation of " hisliop of St. David's, " a title only honored by its applica tion to the frail but ener<:;etic Christian woman who was the "one person" received on trial at St. David's in IS."].").
One island only of the group was at this period closed to Methodist ministers, but it was Ireland Island, the extreme island of the chain to tiie westward. There liritish troops were quartered, and thousands of convicts and numerous civilians wei-e employed u})on the naval wor^s. It Avas under strict naval discipline — an appendage and extension in fact of the gnardship. In 18,'5*2 several Methodists held religious meetings and a Sunday-scho(jl in a room fitted up for the pui'pose by the oHicer in charge. Thirty pounds sterling for missions had been contributed in Bermuda in 1830 by non-connuissioned ollicers and men belonging to two companies of Sap})ers and ]Miners and the 81st regiment of the Line. On the transfer of one of the two companies of Sappers to Ireland Island in 1833, a courteous request for permission to the Methodist minister at Hamilton to preach in the room previously fitted up was met by the commissioner with a lefusal. Two pious and long-ti'ied sergeants, with several sappers, then made the best arrangements they could to supply the lack of ordinances. Several persons were converted and added to the small class through the preaching of Sergeant Teate, who conducted worship twice in each week in a private dwelling. The missionary, meanwhile, had to content himself with occasional quiet visits, during which he renewed tickets, administered the Lord's-supper, and visited the families. With the presence of these pious soldiers the islands were favored for several years.
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A pui'o gem in Britain's cii'clet of renown was the aboli- tion in 18.'U of X(?gro slavery throughout her doininions. The ceaseless and couiltined eilurts of Oranville Sharpe, Olarkson, Wilherfcirce, liu.vton ami certain kimlied spirits, was l)r,i\-ely aided in its middle and later stages hy the iii[)idly growing influenee of Methodism. Ueeords of the denouiinat ion show the policy pursued hy Watson, lUmting, and otliei- leaders, and lier literatui'e preserves the story of the suH'erings endured hy lier missionaries for the sake; of the bondmen; butjjurely independent testimony establishes the fact of her great iulluence in removing tlx^ shackles from the enslaved, ''it is astonishing," wrote Chailes V. Ore- ville. Clerk of the Pi-ivy (/ouncil, in August, 1820, " it is astonishing the interest the people generally take in the slavery (juestion, which is the woi-k of the Methodists, and shows the enormous inlluence they ha\e in the country." This influence Thomas Fowell liuxton i-eeognized in its strictly denominational sense, when, on the approach of the memorable day in May, 1833, named for the introduction of the great abolition measure, he forwarded to leading Meth- odist otlicials an earnest i'e(|uest for prayer in all their churches. Combined efibrt resulted in the passage through parliament during the summer of a bill by which, in lan- guage dictated in the white heat of popuhu" feeling, the enfran- chisement of the slave throughout nearly the whole of avast empire was positively declared. Wilberforce, who had long and bravely conducted the struggles in })arliament, died almost in the hour of triumph. '• Thank Cod that T have been suffered to see this day," he said, as he received a message that the bill under the charge of his friend Buxton had passed its second reading, and three days later he passed out of a world to Avliich he had been a blessing.''
'■' The liitt'st imhlic .-icts nf Mir 'I'liumas l<'i)\\cll IJuxtoii and 'I'Imhiuus ''liirkson were in lielialf of tlie Wesleviin Missionary Society, .lust he- fore rlcjitli. in 1844, tlie former gentleman commenied a list of sjieci.il contributioutj for a mission to tlie Gold Coast aud other parts of (jiiiiiiea,
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insroiiY OF METHODISM
III l)(!i'inucla, as in Anti;i,'ua, tlie le<^islatur(; would not entortain the idea of aj){)rontico.slii[), (l('si;4ne(l by tlie l»riti.sli governnuMit to relievo the planters in some nieasuro and to prei)ai'e the slaves for full freedom : the death- strug<,do of slavery was therefor(! hrief. On the approach of Auf,'ust 1, IS,'} 4, the day ap[;ointed for tlui emancipation of the bondmen, it was thought necessary to allay the anxiety felt in some (piai'ters by the use of any plans likely to induce the slaves to receive the boon of fi-eedom in a spirit of moderation. The governor of the colony issued a proclamation directing the religious observance of the eventful day, and the ministers in tlu^ islands readily co- operated in the proposed ari-angements. There is no record in Jiermuda of such watch-night services as were held in Jajuaica and Antigua, where in the churches, as the bells announced the last moment of duly .Slst, 1834, there arose from men and women who had sprung to their feet fi'om bended knee a murmur of thanksgiving which grew into a song, and then into a shout ; but on tliat memorable 1st of August every place of worship in IJermuda was crowded by the former masters and the newly emancipated Negroes. A sermon preached in the Methodist church at Hamilton on the succeeding Lords-day morning by the resident min- ister, John Barry, and based upon the apostolic counsel, " Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called," was heard by many of the princi})al iidiabitants and })y hundreds of colored people, and at the re(|uest of several leading gentlemen was publislied for gratuitous distribu- tion. More than four thousand slaves were that day set n liberty in Bermuda alone, and as their proportio*' ' ,o twenty millions of ])Ounds sterling granted by th' .iish
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with a sviin of iiwu'ly a tliousaiid dolbu's, tlu- last of several ^'ifts m tl' Socit'ty ; to wliicli liis family aiMcd a further sum of fixe limidrcd dollars. To a practical expression ot ^food-w ill 'riiomas Clarksoii also atlded a l)ami)hU't specially ?icommendiiig' the (iuld Coast mission l<> the support of friends of \ frica in wneral,
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govcrimioiit as romponsfition, Ijcnniidiiui inast«'r.s received one huudrrd and twciitv-ciirlit tlidusand throe huiitlrod and fifty })Oimds.
It was not strange that in l>ernujdii, in the prospect of a general emancipation, all eyes weie turned, as John (^i-ofts repoited, toward the Methodists. Thon;;h Archdeacon Spencer, aftei- his ai-rival in l8L'!t, had (iikcti a deep inter- est in the religious insti-uction of the coloied p('0})le, they had been indebted almost wholly to the Methodists for such religious knowledge as they possessed. A colored woman, who in haniel Mel liroy's cottage heai'd .loshu.i Mai'sden at one of his earlier .services, oiu^ day in tlu; strcM't caught tliat minister's coat-skirt and kissed it, thanking (Jod that he had sent Mar.sden to be her "eye-lid opener." This utter- ance was no mere compliment, for thi'ough the light which liad shone into her soul she lived a consistent life and died a triunipliant death. In i'eferenc(i to many of her race the good woman's remark was an apt one. Methodist minis- ters had gone down to the slave in his bondage and had taught him in darkest days to look up, and in looking up he had found the all-surpassing sympathy of the "man" Christ Jesus. They had connselled him to obey his legal master, while they had also sought by all lawful means to ovei'throw the system which authoi'ized one man to be the owner of another. Their counsels meanwhile had Ixme- tited the ujaster through the more faithful service of the slave : they had been a blessing to the slave from a spirit- ual point of view, and fi'om a tempoi-al standpoint as well. Such facts were recognized by both masters and slaves — by the one with respect, by the other with gi-atitude ; but when a critical period had been passed and great numl)ers of human beings who had been slaves at sunset had gone forth as freedinon at sunrise, without any manifestation of
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'" Of luindrcfls of Hfriiiudiaii sl.'ivcs sold in .Iaiii;ii<'a, a divadcd shive- iiiart, in 1825, not one was a nifiiilxT nf tin' Mftluidist socictius.
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pent-up anger or attempt at revenge, the message and min- istry of Methodism were accorded no small measure of credit. The necessity for further eti'ort was no*-, however, removed by the abolition of slavery : it was increased by that event. Tru*; freod(Mn is not a product of acts of parliament. Fetters upon the spirit are not removed as readily as are shackles from the body. A few strokes of a pen held by William IV. gave effect to the action of a nation upon whose conscience a great moral duty h.'^d taken a stern grip ; but no man. no nation, ever possessed the magic wand which could at once tit the freedmen for their new position. The Gospel, indeed, was scarcely less necessary to the former masters than to those who liad been their slaves. "Slr.very," said James 0. Esten, "is twice cursed — a curse to the master and a curse to the slave." Words of similar meaning fell a f(?w years ago at Middletown Wesleyan University from the lips of a Southei'n senator ; "Slavery is gone, and I aui glad of it. I feel that T myself am libtn-ated." John Crofts remained in Bermuda to take part in the religious observance of a day which he and his pred icessors iiad wearily awaited, and then sailed for the Bahamas to continue there, and sul)se(piently in Englai'd, a useful ministry. His innnediate successors were John Barry and Thoiiias Richardson. The former of tlu^se was a minister of experience. ]'2piscopal parents had intended him for the ministry of their- own church, but a sermon heard 1 y him in a sti'et^t of I'x'lfast from Andrew Taylor, led to a change of relationship to(!od and to an oH'er of himself as a laborer under the direction of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. Ill-health prevented him from going to Asia at the call of the Gonnuittee in ISIG, but some years afterwards he re- newed his oiler and in 1825 went to Jamaica. The period was an eventful one. The Methodist ministry and m Muber- ship in Jamaica, in spit(^ of a scrupulous avoidance of inter- ference between the planters and their slaves, were made
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the objects of a most l)itter attack. 'I'he death of one young missionary was caused by imprisonment in a loath- some jail ; the lives of two other men were only saved through the legal knowledge and perseverance of John Barry and Peter Duncan. The subsecpier.t exposure of the interrupcion of a missionary meeting by an alderman of Kingston, and a reply to a most violent attack upon the Methodist missionaries in the columns of a paper of which that official had control, took Barry in 1829 before the court on a charge of libel. He employed no counsel and called no witnesses, but defended himself in a speech of such eloquence that the jury, though composed in part of planters, brought in almost instantly a verdict of acquittal, which a crowded audience received with applause, and a multitude outside caught u[) with equal enthusiasm. Durinjj a visit to England he was summoned to <Ave evi- deuce before committees of both Houses of Parliament con- cerning the condition of the Negro population in .Famaica. During the chase of the vessel in which he had sailed by a supposed pirate, he had, by the captain's advice, destroyed his journal and all papers containing any ivference to slavery ; nevertheless, the evidence given by him before the committee of the House of Commons occupied forty-two pages of their closely printed report. The Mission iry Com- mittee then sent him out to Toronto, whert; Canadian Methodists had asked for a preacher under liritish Metho- dist jurisdiction. On the unio.. of the two sections, Barry so warndy espoused the cause of protesting AVesleyans at Toronto and Kingston that he was ordeied to relieve John Crofts at Bermuda. Tiiif- decision caused such n^gret that William Oroscombe, chaii'man of the district, oU'ered to resign hih station at Quebec in iiarry's f.-ivor, but the Missionary Secretary then in Canada proved inexorable. Friends of the oU'ending minister suggested an iiiilfpcudent 11
162
HISTORY OF METHODISM
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congregation, but giving no heed to them he with his family hastened to Bermuda, which he reached in time to witness tlie general emancipation of the slaves. Few men, as preacher or pastor, have wielded sucli an influence over the intiilligent people of that colony. During the second year of his residence, however, the rupture of a t)lood-vessel proved the wisdom of the protest against his appointment to an isolated station. The Committee gave him the privilege of in)m(;diate return to Biitain, but in t!ie absence of a supply he I'emained at his post, and too soon resumed pulpit duties, exliaustion from which obliged him to leave soon after the expiration of the second year. From Guern- sey, on the way to wliich he was shipwrecked, a relapse again sent liim across the Atlantic in search of health. Canada, Jamaica and Bermuda were all revisited. Beruiu- dian Methodists did their utmost to promote his comfort, but in sadness they saw him depart after a few weeks' stay. A little later, in 1838, he fell asleep at Montreal, at the early age of forty-six.
Thomas Kichardson, during the winter of 1836, was joined by Samuel Stuart Johnson, from Nova Scotia, who in the following spring sailed for his native place. Harbor Island, where he soon after died. Just before the young minister sailed, Theophilus Pugh, a vigorous and energetic man, of Welsh descent, arrived from the Bahama District to prosecute a ministiy which endeared him to many hearts. Personal experience and close observation had prepared him to be a keen discerner and a wise adviser in things pertain- ing to salvation. In the autumn of 1827 he had sailed as a missionary to the West Indies, in tlu; vessel which then also carried John B. Brownell to his iirst foreign station. Fifteeen months after his arrival at Bermuda he was joined by Thomas Jeffray, from St. Kitt's, who with his family took up his resitleiice at St. (Jeorge's, their home while in the colony.
CHAPTER VIL
MHTHODISM IN NKWFOrXDLANI), FROM THP: DISTRICT
MEETlNd OF 1S24 TO THE CENTENARY
CELEBRATION OF is;}').
Arrival of initiistHrs. William CroHcoinhc, at St. .Trim's. Visits to neglected districts. R<'vivals. J'erils in travelling. Roman Catho- lic violence. Cluuiges in the ministry. Death of William Ellis. New missionary effort.
During the autumn of 1824- three ministers arrived at St. John's from Europe, the eldest of whom w.is William Cros- combe. A remark by that minister, after he had spent eigh- teen months at Nottingham on his return from No\ a Scotia, had led the Committee to ask him to go under their direc- tion either to the Cape of Good I Tope or to Gibraltar. Having accepted the mission to the latter place, h(» left England on a second term of foreign service in March, 1820. During his third year at (xibraltar several interviews with friends from British Xorth America took place, leading him to ask reappointment to Nova Scotia. To a request to that efFect the Committee gave a favorable reply, stipulating, however, that on liis way he should spend three years in Newfoundland.
Some persons who rememljered this genial-spirited minis- ter as the " white-headed boy " who had twelve vf^ars before preached to them, and several merchants to whom he pre- sented letters, united with the members in giving him a cordial reception. Gn the Sunday after his airival, while lie was preaching the second of the three sermons which the congregation then demanded on each Lords-day, George I'JIlidge and Simeon Noall, two young ministers, arrived
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from England, bringing notice of his appointment as chair- man. The very courteous treatment received by him from the governor, Sir Thomas John Cochrane, during the cere- monies connected with the promulgation of the constitution for tlie colony, was not without its value, as it gave him a certain social standing which he was careful to use for unsellish purposes. No revival, in the popular sense of the term, attended his earnest ministry, but popular prejudices gave way, the congregations l)ecame larger, the members grew in numbers and in grace, and several causes of finan- cial einl)arrassment ceased to perple.x the office-bearers. "A more affectionate and united people" his successor wrote that he had never seen. " No whispering, no tale- bearing, no ])ack-biting is found here," But the work done by him could not be tabulated in the denominational records. Even Frish Roman Catholics afterwards met him in other colonies with bright face and cheery r(.'membrance of his presence in Newfoundland. To some members of other Pi'otestant congregations he was permitted to be a trusted guide. One of these was a Scotch merchant, who under his direction during a severe illness learned to rest eternal interests upon the atonement of Christ. Six years later the preacher, when stationed in Montreal, received a letter written by him from the interior of the State of New York, in which he had become a resident, thanking him as the human agent in his conversion and assuring him of steady perseverance in the Christian pathway.
\\\ few mission fields have Methodist ministers been more truly itinerant than in Newfoundland at this period. Those wlio were in charge of the moi'e remote circuits were in fact visiting missionaries. In 1S26 John Corlett, an energetic young preachei' sent from England during the previous year for the station at Trinity, sailed across Honavista l>ay to (Jrecni's l*ond, sometimes called from itsSabVmth deseci'ation
IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
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and immorality the " Sodom of the North." Five hundred Protestants and one Imndred llon)an Catholics lived there, and a numl)er of Protestants had homes in the nei'dibonn<^ coves. A small church had been erected and a man engaged to read prayers. Corlett landed early on a Sunday morn- ing, and at once called upoji the principal residents to ex- plain the purpose of his visit. Of the little tlock gathered thirty years earlier l)y George Smith he seems to have found no special trace. On the Sunday morning all the places of business were opened and purchases were being made of pro- visions, fishing materials, and other aiticles, though the people were not so abandoned as with one consent to prose- cute the fisliery on the Lord's-day.
Having l)een denied permission to preach in the church, Corlett resolved to adilress the people at the door at the conclusion of prayers, but the lay reader failed to appear. At an evening service, held in a store, the young preacher became thoroughly perplexed. He had never seen a " more tumultuous company." In spite of his commanding pre- sence and powerful voice, he for a time despaired of securing their attention. At length he was able to proceed with his address, but not without several interruptions and some blasphemous threats at its close. At the end of another week, spent in visiting and the distrilmtion of tracts— where tracts could be read —the visitor entered upon the services of the second Sabbath. Only ten persons were present in the morning, but in the afternoon about seventy heard the preacher, and in the evening attentive hearers filled the room, some of whom trembled and wept while he reasoned with them on "judgment to come." During two other days spent at the place, Corlett observed an almost complete absence of the profanity which had sorely grieved him dur- ing the previous week. While he was wondering at this change, a man volunteered the remark that he had not
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known the like, having hofird no oath during the two days, and that the quiet departure of the fishermen on the Mon- day morning had heen in marked contrast to the quarrelling and profanity usual on that day. The visitor left, no mis- sionary appeared in his jdace, and evil, after a brief check, resumed its sad sway.
Wlien thirty-six years had passed, and few of those whom Corlett hud addressed were to be found, the name of Green's Pond first appeared on the INIinutes of the Eastern British American Conference, under the charge of John S. Allen. Joseph Todhunter, Allen's successor, just then from England, met with such op]»osition as few places on this side of the Atlantic have ever offered to a messenger of the Gospel. His success in leading several violent opponents into the ranks of zealous workers called into action the hatred of some persons calling themselves Protestants. From the offering of successive insults these persons ])roceeded to the infliction of personal injuiy. Efforts were made to punish those who favored the j\[etliodists by refusing them employment, but INFethodist merchants of St. John's saved faithful men and their families from being sufferers by this intolerance. Then a further step in evil was taken. On an evening in February, 1863, when young Todhunter and four friends were on their way from a service at an island lying at three miles' distance from Green's Pond, they were met on the ice near the former place ])y a mob of sixty men, by whom they were severely beaten and driven towards an opening in the ice, which they narrowly avoided. The heaviest share of the blows fell upon the head and back of the young preacher, whose nervous system received so severe a shock that he was soon obliged to return to England, where for yeai's he remained unequal to the full work of a minister. Legal punishment was inflicted upon the visible leaders in this outrage, but the more guilty instigators
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of it probably escaped. In this case, however, overdoing proved undoing. Under t'aitliful successors of the injured missionary the Word of God so grew and prevailed that in 1875 the congregation at Green's Pond entered a new church containing sittings for seven hundred persons; that harbor being the centre of a circuit iifty miles in extent, with a rapidly increasing population of live thousand persons.
During the autumn of 18l'6 (Jorlett also visited the southern coast of Trinity .I>ay, now the island terminus of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company. Some discoverer, sailing along in a happier mood than those who gave hideous names to other parts of the coast, had called the harbors in this district by such [)leasant designations as Heart's Desire, Heart's Content, and Heart's Delight. Occasional visits had been paid to the settlers on this shore by other itinerants, but for some time they had had no oversight. Four men, who rowed Corlett from Silly Cove to New Per- lican, told him with tears that they had been Methodists, and earnestly asked him for Gospel ordinances. At New Perlican nearly all the inhabitants then at home attended the first service held there on the Lord's-day for many years. The three hundred inhabitants of Heart's Content w^ere nearly all Protestants, and favorably disposed towards a Methodist pastor. For a long time Episcopalian .services only were held at Heart's Content; a Methodist church was not dedicated there until tifty-two years after Corlett's visit.
Nearly a month of the sununer of 1827 was spent by Simeon Noall, then in charge of Grand Bank and Fortune, in visiting places to the westward of his extensive circuit. At St. Jac([ues the people had " no prayers, no preachin^j, no Gospel ordinances ; ' at I3elloram, a young man read prayers and a sermon once on each Sabbath, and the standard of morality was therefore perceptibly higher. The
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latter place was also visited once in each year by the Methoflist and Roman Catholic inissionaries. Noall was the first Protestant minister to spend Sabbath hours at Hermitage Cove, where he preached twice. Thence he hastened back to (Jaultois, where residents and some visitors from a distance were awaiting him. A number of lloman Catholics, among them a band of Micmacs who had come to meet a priest, joined his congregation and listened atten- tively. A man who the next day rowed Noall to Round Harbor told him that his children, seven in number, had never seen th(^ face of a parson. On the pj-eacher's arrival, two women set olF in a l)oat duriiig a heavy rain to announce his presence to the fishermen, for thirty years had passed since any act of public worship had been performed in that settlem(;nt. An annual visit was all that Noall's successors were for twelve years aljle to pay to the six or seven hun- dred Protestants scattered about Hermitage Bay.
No better attention could be given by the missionary at Burin to the two thousand Protestants divided into small groups at the various harbors and coves of Placentia Bay, although it was well known that they were falling a prey to the subtle schemes of Roman Catholic priests. A live weeks' tour of this bay by Thomas Angwin, in 1837, was made in a small fishing boat. A half century later the venerable minister spoke with an unusual glow of feeling of the deep religious interest everywhere shown during this visit by these neglected people. At Odearin for some years religious services and a Suiiday-school were conducted by Mr. and ]\Irs. J. M. Hamilton, afterwards of Halifax, N.S.
In the growth at this period — ^through which the mem- bership reached nearly twice its previous figures — each circuit had shared, but none to so great an extent as those which bordered Conception Bay. Of new members reported in 1S29, fifty six had united with the church at Harbor
IN XEWFOJ'XDLAXI).
ir.9
Grace, under Corlett'.s care. Ainoni? them were men whose ability and wise judgineiit fitted them for loach^rsliip, atul gave to ^[(>thodism a position not previtjusly hcKl l)y it in that town. The hirger numl)or of new nuMuhcrs reported in 1830 were residents in tlie lilackhead and ('arl)onear eir- cuits. An awakening:; liad begun at lUackhead during tiie prcivious year and s|)read to the nearer coves, so tliat at tlie annual meeting Richard Knight had reported sixty evident conversions. On his return he had found other hearers interested in personal salvation, some of whom had entered into the rest of faith. Sei'vices wei'e continued by the pastor with the assistance of his brethren, until, despite his well-known physical vigor, he was becoming a worn- out man. In his account at the ensuing district meeting of this rare spiritual visitation, with its addition of three hundred and forty persons to the mem))ershij), he was al)le to report the absence at all stages of its progress of those excesses which sometimes marred the work of revival at that day. Of the depth of the woi'k siitisfactoi-y evidence was given by his successor, Ellidge, in his report for a sub- sequent year. The llame of revival also reached Western Bay; and Adam Nightingale, who in 1830 had been placed in charg(; of that and some other settlements pre- viously included in the Blackhead circuit, imported an addition of one hundred and tifty-eight member.s within his pastoral charge.
Of deep interest are some details of the revival about the same period at Carbonear. There the smallness of the number of men included in the membership made the main- tenance of a prayer-meeting, as at Brigus, a ditlicult task. So large was the attendance on John Haigh's ministry dur- ing the winter of 1829 that the erection of a " portico " became necessary to render every foot of space available in a church built for a tliousand hearers, and y(;t the pastor
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could iiieet in ;i siiit,de pew all tho men in full nieinhership in his society ! iJuiing tin; winter lie paid close attention to pastoi-al visitation and cottage prayer-nuM^tings, and with pleasui'e obserNed indications of increasing interest. At length, at one of the services on Kaster Sunday, a young Knglishman, unable to control his emotion, cried out in bitterness of spii-it. He had been regarded as one of the most thoughtless young men of the place, and liis deep dis- tress made a strong impression upon the minds of others. Ecpially powei'ful was the influence of tho joy which fol- lowed his entrance into the liberty of the Cospel. On the Lord's-d;iy preceding the district meeting the " richer energy" of the Holy Spii-it was dis})layed, and during the succeeding year the woik was carried forward with such power that nearly two hundi'ed persons, of whose real con- version the juistor was able to entertain satisfactory belief, were adtled to the membersliij).
George Apsey, the " tirst-born child of the revival," as he was wont to style himself, proved worthy of the help of watchful pastors. 'I'lie restiveness of youth had early led him away fi'om a godly father's care. In the employ of Slade, Klson k, Co., a lai-ge mercantile house at Carbonear, he had risen from a subordinate position to a seat at the principal desk. The day on which, while engaged in his usual duties, the peace of God Howed in upon his heart, was thenceforth a red-letter day. So clear was his assurance of salvation that no doubt ever seemed to trouble him, and so changed was his life tliat his nearest friends never had reasons for misgivings respecting him. The energy which had often led him to sit up throughout the night that he might be at liberty to attend some scene of revelry on the following evening knew no abatement under the influence of loftier aims, and his singleness of purpose gave him a power over others never attained by a man of divided
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heart. " 1 hav{» often thought of his conversion," says Samuel W. Spraj^^ue, (Ik-u a junior follow clerk, "as liting as reinarkahle as any in the jjihlc. The (ixtensivc ctlei-ts of it only eternity will tclh"
On th(! consecjuences (jf (}eoi'g(! Apsey's conversion a bright ray of lii^rht is turned l)y a letter written iiini in 1S08 l)y the late Thilii) Ifeiiry (lossc, KR.S., tln^ well- known naturalist and author, from his pleasant hoii ■ at Torcjuay, lvii,daud. lM)i"ty yciirs before \\w, dat*^ of this letter, this fellow-clejk had been prosecuting his early morning studies of jiature at the Ixiidv of a poiul in the vicinity of Carl)onear, and showing an interest in captured insects to an tixtent soni<>tinies whimpered to his disadvan- tage by his business seniors. "How indelibly," he wrote in 18G8, "is impressed on my memory that day when you came to the (jounting-house door and amazed us by saying that you were going to metiting ! Was Saul then among the ])rophets "? Yes, indeed! God the Holy (ihost had then begun that blessed work in your heart which presently united you to a risen Jesus, which has licen your joy ever since, and which will be your song of praise. A few months after the Lord was pleased to bring me to himself, as I made known to you before I sailed for En<dand in July of that year, and while in iOngland it was from you that 1 received the first letter which called me by the sweet title " lirother in (Jhrist." After that dear Sprague joined himself to the Lord in a perpetual covenant; 8t. John, too, became the Lord's ; and after 1 had left for Canada in 1835 I heard that Newell liad followed the same blessed example, and that poor John Lush had died at Poole in the Lord. So of what a chain of blessings to our house was your conversion the first link ! "
Several of these young men gave life-long .service to the Church of Christ on Methodist lines. George Apsey died
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in ISfU) at the place of liis second Itiith. I' ray er and praise had been tli(> passion of his lifci ; they were also l.us "last employ." On Good Friday, thirty nine; years from the day when he had '* amazed " his brother clei'ks, he visited the familiar f)Id church for the last time. A week later, after a two days' tenancy of his bed, he was heard to say in a low tone, "Thy nanu! shall be called Israel, for thou hast had power with (ilod, and hast prevailerl," then he repeated his favorite hymn, "Jesus, Lover of my soul," and soon after, when lie had otlered earnest petitions for his family, his classes, the church and the world, the "tirst-born child of the revival " entered heaven by prayer. Few local preachers have been more popular ; few men have ever left so rare a reputation for saintliness. Samuel W. Sprague, a young Knglishman, who was led to serious thought by the conversation of his senior fellow-clerk, Gosse, was re- ceived into church fellowship by James (I. Hennigar, and in 1^<38 was recommended to the Fnglish Conference as one of the Hrst two candidates for the ministry from Newfound- land. On the Grand Eank and Fortune circuit he com- menced an itinerancy which led him into several of the leading stations of the I'^astern British American Confer- ence, and from which lie some years since retired as an esteemed supernumerary minister, having left an eloquent son, Howard Sprague, D.D., in the active ranks. William Charles St. John, son of a former surrogate judge of the colony, became a local preacher. After having for some years published the Harbor Grace Standard, he removed to the United States, where for some time he held a place on the start' of Zions Herald, the Methodist paper for New England. Several years have passed since his entrance into rest.
Philip H. Gosse, a nephew of John Gosse, the early and steady friend of Newfoundland Methodism, remained in the
U
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uul pi'aise » bis "last in the day •isited tlie iter, after say in a thou hast B repeated and soon ;iis family, born child Few local e ever left . Spra<,'ue, hought by se, was re- nigar, and nee as one ewfound- lit he coni- lal of the n Confer- red as an 1 eloquent William [ge of the for some amoved to place on for New entrance
[early and led in the
colony only a few years afttjr his conversion. At Carhonear
illy to
lie was a nienibtM- or the choir, leaving it occasiona occupy the pulpit as a local j)reacher. When in 1839 he returned to I'^ngland, after having spent some time in Canada and the United States, he contemi)lated entering the itinerant ministry, but the pul)licati()n of his first scien- tilic work caused delay. A year or two later lie fell in with some Christian friends who had withdrawn from the Churcii of KuLcland, and under a new influence ho severed his coii-
;li
at(
d b
of
nection with formcu' religious assoc the IMymouth Ih-c-thren. A distinguished position in society lay within his reach ; tlu^ (piict and unobtrusive life of which h(! wrote to his old friend, Apsey, was his choice. In the neighborhood of his residence near Tor(juay \\(\ built at his own expense a chircli and school-room, and by public addresses, the publication and distribution of tracts, and in other ways, he gave himself to active eflbrt for the benefit of his iKUghbors. The long life of this convert of the revival at Carbonear came to a p(;aceful clo.se in 1888. "His reli- gious opinions, ' said the London Athe.ntmiia, in announcing his d(!ath, " were extremely strong and unljending, and his character more resembled that of a devout old Covenanter than is usual now, even among the straitest body of Non- conformists." Another English paper, the British Weekly, a leading organ of the Nonconformists, remarked, in its notice of the eminent scientist's decease : " Mr. Gosse's peculiar views may not be accepted by many of our readers, Ijut he himself was a man of deep piety, real knowledge and ability, and much personal charm. "^
A second revival at Oaibonear took place under the min-
' Anna Shipton, in her little book, "IVU .leHUs, or Recollections of Knuly (Jossc," has ^'ivt-n to the world a description of the lovi'ly charac- ter and (^n'istian faith of 1'. II. (iosse's first wife, a woman of intellec- tual [Miwer and a good classical scholar. Their accomplished son, Kdinund AV. (Josse, widely known in the literary worM as a poet and critic, was in 1S80 chosen (.'lark Lecturer at Ti'inity Cullego, Cambridge.
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istry of John Pickavant, and during the eighteen months ending at midsuninier, 18."39, led one hundred and fifty per- sons into church fellowship. One convert of that period was tiic late Joseph P(;tets, for many years stipendiary magistrate at Harbor CJrace, wlio had come to the colony as schoolmaster on one of the king's ships. Tn his case, as in that of iiis friend Apsoy, th(^ prayers of parents in England were answered in Newfoundland, the Christian sympathy and counsels of Jolni Pickavant at a time o{ bereavement being used to lead him to Christ for salvation and into the Methodist Church for nurture and for useful service as a local preacher.
At Bonavista also the growth of the societies in numbers and in grace gladdened the hearts of the watclnnen. Dur- ing the earlier months of 1834- one hundred and twenty persons were taken into membership, and the corresponding months of 1839 were rendered memorable by the mani- fested presence of the Holy Spirit in the same circuit. The bitter opposition to Methodism, because of its interference with Sabbatii-breaking customs long sanctioned by Episco- palians as well as by Roman Catholics, had at the latter period lost somewhat of its force. Worship had been dis- turl)ed and the opproljrious epithet of " Crawler " frequently applied to the worshippers, when the sad experience of a leader in sin furnished a note of warning. The oU'ender, on his way home at the close of a term of imprisonment for the crime of breaking into the jNIethodist church and carry- ing off the pulpit books and cushion, was caught in a severe storm, and so frozen as to lose both feet. For some years he literally crawled about the street.s, sometimes asking charity at the door of the parsomige, and alike reminding friend and foe of Methodism of the epithet once used so freely by himself and liis associates.
Tiie peril encountered l)y the missionaries in iVcwfouud-
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months ifty per- t period pendiary e colony his case, irents in Christian
time o( sa! vation or useful
numbers n. Dur- d twenty 'sponding )>e mani- jit. The erference y^ Episco- he latter been dis- •e(^uently 'uce of a euder, on ment for id carry- a severe [lie years asking iuiiiiding used so
'wfound-
laiid when on their way from harbf>i" to harbor was sometimes very great. I»oth sea and land had tlieir peculiar dangers. The ))y,\.t in whicli John W <ilsh once sailed from 8t. John's for one of tiie outports was wrocktHl, and all but the captain and himself were lost. When removing from liurin to Brigu.5 in 1S.'^6 James (I. Hcnnigar and his family, seven in all, were packed into a cahin scarcely lai'gc enougii for three persons. After the boat iiad left St. Mary's, a gale arose, with a heavy sea, thick fog, and ice in all direc-tions. In spite of breakers visi))le fi'om the deck, the c.iptain resolved to make the land at nil hazards. The minister looked at his lielpless family and lifted his in art to God. A few moments later a glance from the deck showed the little vessel to be making as fair a course through the narrow entrance into Trepassey harbor as if some nobler hand had guided the helm. "I ran," the minister wrote, " with the Joyful intelligence to my dear wife, and if ever we wept with gracitude to our Clod it was then." Quite as great had been tlie peril of Richard Knight and John Tompkins, who narrowly escaped a snowy winding sheet during tlie winter of 1832-33, when travelling from Heart's Content to ("arbonear. As the jou.iiey usually required but a few hours, and tliey sav/ no indications of a storm, they left Heart's Content without guiJ.c, /un or rackets — the latter a sort of wooden snow shoe — and with a scanty supply of provisions. When nt .it' tlie barrens a mist arose, followed by a sligiit shower of snow, the prelude to a heavy storm. Bewildered and out of tln'ir course, they wandered on until the younger man coukl go no farther. Fooci was exhausted, and they were without means of kin- dling a tire. Having found a level spot in the snow, already ^ery deep, tliey paced to and fro on their own track of thirty feet for more than twelve houis, while the storm liowjed around, and the scattered trees fell through its
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violence. Toinj)kins, tlie younger and less vigorous of the two, repeatedly sat or fell d )\vn, entreating his companion to let him rest, if only for a moinent. The latter, of stronger frame and great [)hysical power, knew that rest in such cir- cumstances would soon l)e followed by " the sleep that knows no waking," and he therefore persisted in shaking the weary man, rul)l)ing his limbs and dragging him along. Just as thf dawn appeared the crowing of a cock told them that they were near .some human habitation, and plunging through tlie snow and thicket in the direction of the sound, they reached a tilt or winter hut about eight o'clock, just as the storm was al)ating.'- Sonie of the hardships suffered in removals were never forgotten by those who endured them. Nearly thirty years of sorrow and suffering came to the worthy wife of one minister as the result of two tedious voyages in small tishing craft, rendered necessary by a removal in lb'37 from Grand Bank to the Island Cove and Perlican circuit.''
There wrre also other perils. More than once Roman Catholics saw tit to render the harsh utterances of their priests into the more emphatic language of deeds. Twice they obliged Richard Knight to put forth all the strength of his muscular form in self-defence. During the wintei' of 1S30 Adam Nightingale, at whom some enemy of the truth had
- Of similar fxpfriencrs, sanic interesting details are given in Wil*jn's " Newfoiuulliiud and its INIissionaries."
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2 Ni) Wcsleyan minister in tlie ct>l()ny lias lieen lost at sea since the death of William Ward in ISl'J, but the losses to the inenih>fcr.<hip, orticial and ordinary, l)y drowning, have been terribly numerous. Kach einniit has its own record of disasters. A memorial tablet U-hind the pulpit at Old Perlican preserves the names of nineteen men and two women, most of them niem'oers of our church, and several of them office- bearers, who perished one nit,'ht on their \\ay from St. John's, in May, 1S71. in tile graveyard at ('upi<ls. side by side, are interred the Ixxlie.-* of nine iiHu, part of a shipwrei:ked crew belonging to the village. Sev«!ral of these men had been avowed discii)lesof Christ. A record kept by the late William Harding of liurin, shows that the greater numkxr of deaths of male adults in that di.-.trict were caused by drowning.
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us of the oiiipanion f stronger 1 such cir- leep that 1 shaking im along, told them I plunging the sound, >ck, just as mtfered in I red them, me to the AO tedious sary by a 1 Cove and
ice Roman es of tiieir
Twice they ngth of his
ei- of 1S30 3 truth had
■u in Wil*jn's
sea Hince the ineuiVx;rship, lerous. P^ach t b»-hiiicl the UH'ii and two .f thoia otfice- hns, in May, ed the lxxlie.s the village. A record kept ■tatt-r nunibf-r iwuin^.'.
I
already lirod a shot, liiid a second uiirrow escape. A re- quested visit to a sick man liaving taken him to Bay de A^erds, he spent a part of tlic day in calls upon sojne other persons. An evening service at tlie house of th(> sick man was most rudely disturbed, and at its close the preacher was advised l>y a messa"(> from a fricndlv Roman Catholic not to leave tlie house tliat evening lest he should be murdered. Very eai'ly in the morning, soon after the death of the per- son, visited, \\o, left th<' dwellim:', accompanied by two men aimed foi' his protection. At a certain spot several men were awaiting liis ap})roach, but drowsiness having over- come them, tlieir intended \ictim ])assed on mdiarnied. Tiidaunted by this treatment, Xiglitingalo procured an ofHcial license to preach in the same dwelling, and u.sed it without serious interruption. A part of those concerned '\n the plot came to an untimely end, and their lu^'gidjors, iiiij)i'essccl by that fact, became passive witnesses of evan- gelical effort, and in rare instances partakers in its benetits. The publisher of the St. John's Piihlic Ledyrr, if. W. Win- ton, Es(|., w]ios(} courage in the exposure of the ])olitical schemes of the Roman Catholic j)riests h.id rendered him oflious to them, was less fortunate. Business having called him to Conception Bay during the winter of b"^.";."), four men rushed upon him and a gentleman accom})anying liim over the hilly road Ijetween Harbor Grace and (Jarbonear, bound his companion to a ti'ce, and then, ha\ing dragged the otl'ending publisiier, nearly senseless, from his horse, cut off both ears close to his head. IMr. Winton lived to continue his exposure of priestly schemes, but five years later the foreman of his otlice was treated as his employei' had been ; larjie rewards being unaNailim; in eithei' case for the dis- co\ cry of the perpeti-ators of the vile deeds.
At the close of the })eriod under review, the number of ministers in the colony remained the same as at its lK\gin- 12
I I
ws'samm
ITS
insToin' OF MFTiionisM
III
\ !
I.J
\-'%\
m
H :i
u
1 1
ning, l)ut f)nly two of those pi-f'seiit ;it the district meeting? of lS2-t took {>;irt in tlic siinilai' untlicriii^ of ISTti*. Soon after tlio earlier meeting,', Tlioinas and dames llicksoii liad taken a farewell of the island. To the end of a long ser- vice Thomas Ifickson hore the cliaiaetef of a man "full of the Holy (ihost and of faith. ' His lnother James linished his work much earliei-. It had Item iiis constant aim to make his hearers "not only almcjst l)ut altogether" Chris- tians. At IJonavista, his miiustry hail hecn specially eti'ec- tive. At one service there, continued for several hours, forty persons are said to ha\e found peace with (jiod, and about thii'ty others, present at the meeting, to have subse- quently obtained the same great blessing, dohn Walsh, whose record to the last was oiu-. of much usefulness, had sailed for England in \^'1~). His passage aci'oss the ocean proved an etei'nal l)lessing to more than one fellow-passenger. One of his latest pleasures was the collection and despatch of articles for a sale in aid of the building fund of the Gower-street church, St. John's. Kinian Barr, long remem- bered as one of tlie sweetest yet most powerful singers ever heard in the island, followed Walsh a year later to Britain. As an original, impressive, successfid preacher he was above the average. A constitution unequal to the hardships of missionary life obliged Simeon Noall to leave Newfoundland at the end of a four years' service. Inthat rock-girt isle kind hearts remembered him as allable to youth, attentive to pastoral visitation, mighty in prayer and earnest and evangelical in the pulpit. Desire for a more genial climate led the gifted John Coi-lett, in 18.")(), to the West Indies, where a ministry of unusual vigor and length proved the wisdom of the transfer. One aftei- anotln'i- of his junior colleagu(!S fell theie, but lie survived to forward their latest messages to frietuls at home, and to retire as a supernumerary at the end (tf .1 fifty yeais" service. Three
IX SEWFOUNDLAXI).
179
[ meeting i*». Soon ksoii had loni; scr- 1 '-full of 's linislii'd it aim to ■r" Chiis- ially etieo- I'al hours, (j!od, and ave subse- hn Walsh, dness, had the ocean passenger, d desjtatch nd of the ng reniem- nuta\s ever to Britain, was above rdships of foundland :k-girt isle ittentive rnest and Hal climate st Indies, |)i'oved the his junior ai'd their tire as a H. I'hree
years latei- Charles Bate, after a nine yeai'.s" ministry in the colony, was i(Mn()\ed to St. Kitt's. At the end of an v\'j}\{, years" itinerancy in the West Indies he died atTortola, " in great peace." About the close of the period John l>oyd turned his face honx'ward. \\i' had Ixhmi a general fa\(iritc, and when some others had regarded their ]i\-es as in dan^^er through the Roman ('atholic disturbances he had jiassed fearlessly through hostile groups. A subse(iuent ministry, rich in blessing, was followed by an old age to which an all- pervading j)eace is said by his friends to ha\e gi\(Mi a b(>au- tiful aspect. Of permission given John Haigh, in ]><.'U>, to return to England, that minister did not a\ail himself till six years later, when, the JMiglish (conference! having ap- pointed him chairman of the lialiama District, his medical adviser warned him of probable danger fiom the proposed change. Ever prominent in his recollections was Carl^onear, the scene of the revival described on a previous i)age, the remembrance of which frecjuently exerci.sed a " vivifying power" in moments of depression. In 18.'58, aftei- a ten years' useful ministi-y, John Smithies also left the colony, and in ISM) sailed for Western Australia, to l)egin there a new mission. Eour only of the ministers removed found a new field on the main-land. The senioi' of these, liichai'd Knight, was requested by the Missionary Committee, in 1S.')3, to take the chair of the Nova Scotia District ; in the same year John Tomkins, a minister of only six years' colo- nial service, was sent to the city of Quebec, to spend in tiic province of that name a ministerial service whicii ended in 18S1 ; and in the following yeai' William Wilson and Richard Shepherd were removed- the first to I'rince Etlwaid Island, the second to New Brunswivk.'
'The aciH'ptancf (if S;muu'l W. SpniKUf, as a faiidiilatc, in l.s;i,s, for tltc iiunistry, has hecn imtind on a lu'cvions |>a|;c. At tin- di'^rric^ niiftiny: <>f that year .Fosias K. Hmun was also unaniiiiMiisly ncmi- iiR'iult'd as a caiididati'. Brown was a young Scotrhnian, wlm liad s|icnt
r 5
SO
II I STORY OF METHODISM
■i- i
\ \
I- t!
I . ;;
With the iiJiMioK of scNcral othor iiiiiiisttM's who thon (Mitcrcd tlio colony iiiiiiiy readers of tliis vohiine ai-e familiar. William I'^iulkiier, foi' years a j)opular and useful meiiiher of tlie district, reached the island in 1 S:!0. in 1S;52 Thomas Ani,'\vin, a son of Cornish Methodism, and four years later. )ohn S. Addy, a Methodist of the fourth genera- tion, reported to the cjiairrnan ; and in the autumn of IS.'}" James lMii,dand left P>ritain to commence a life-long colonial woi'k. The passages of 'I'homas Angwin and James Eng- land were exceedingly perilous. The former minister sailed from Poole in an old vessel which had been carried as a prize into Halifax during th(^ war of 1812. After most iiiniiinent danger from iee she reached her destination, a fact which seemed little less than a miracle to those wdio saw her frame exposed on her return to an English port. James I^]ngland, who had been ordained with Thomas 1>. Freeman, and had expected to lie sent to South Afi'ica, sailed for Xewfoundlaud in an e(iually unsea worthy vt\ssel. After a three months' conllict with wind and waves, she was driven 1 ack fi-om the IJanks to Ireland, her crew and f^ingle passenger haxing been saved from starvation by several ])ai'rels of iloui' picked up fi'om the sea. The young missionary saw the vessel a wi'eck in an Irish harbor, re- turned to his home in Yorkshire, and iu the following spring made a second and successful attempf to reach his allotted field. During the following autunni William ISIar- shall also ai-rived to (•dinmcnce a, biief, devoted career.
Severjil other ministei's were during the same period
tics ( 'ill
•car.-' Ill a iiicix-aiitilc liniisc a
r St. .Idl
111
liaviiiif licsitatt'd tu aocfiii
Ins service
iiccansc of suiiii
f
.ii'^'lisli aiitlion-
VIlll>*tll' tciidcncic;
he \\i
lit to I'aiu'laiK
^iipi
)( )8t'(
calJc'i (I
II tllClll.
and so
fi
ivoralily impressed tlieiii tliat tiny phu'cd liim in tin 'I'licnldLrical Iiisti-
lutidii a
t 11.
iixtdii. and sMoii after sent liiiii tu the West Indies. Ila\iii;-'" caujilil tlu' spirit of " lieforiu," lie in 1S4.S withdrew frnm the itiner- ancy, liecanie a local preacher ami went into Imsiness in an l"]iiy:li.sh
town.
W
e IS s
:iid to have snl)se(|nently identified liinisclf (|nile proini
iiciitly with the " Wesleyau lUfoiin" [larty,
IX Xi:WFOUXDLAXI).
isl
who then 0 faniiliiir. il incnilxM- In 1S;}L> find four til ^ciicra- m of 1 J^"')? ig colonial ames Eng- ster sail(!(l xrried as a ^ftor most tination, a tliose who iglish port, riionms l>. th Africa, thy vessel, waves, she ' crew and vat ion l»y The young arbor, re- following reach his liani Mai'- ireer. ne period
lisli :mtlinri-
S\l|l|)( ISt'll
1(111. and sii ]i;j-iciil I list i- lliiviii!.' llii- itiiK'V- liiii I']n^-li>li jiiitc [iiN.ini-
ti'ansfen-ed to th(^ colony from oth(>r Uritisli Ameiiraii ]irovinces. James (J. Ilcnnigar, tlrst on the list, arri\ed from Nova Scotia in iS.'i."), hut through serious illness was obliged to lea\e Hrigus in IS.'UJ for his natixc i)i()\ im-e. In 1S31 Joseph V. Ilent and William Murr;iy, both from New Ih'unswick, took cliarg*' of circuits, hut remained in the islam! a year or two only, the latter l('a\ iiig it in rajiidly declining health. .\l)out the same time I ngliam Sut- clillc, a young hlnglish minister, who had been stationed a year or two in C^niadn, took charge of another N<'wfoun(b hiiid circuit. These ministeis were followed in 1S.'»7 by John Snowball, and in IS.")'.) l)y ,b)liii McMurray, both fr()ni No\a Scotia.
The first Wesleyan mission;) ry to find a grave on the island was Wildam j'^ilis, whose dust rejioses near the fiont of the chui'cli at llarl'oi' (irac". I'^rom ilonavista. one of liis most suci'cssful llclds, he look his departure in 1S.">."). I''ew tearless eyes were to he se<'n in the church in which he pr(>ached his last sei'inon tlier<'. That summer, on account of his enfeebled health, he was placed by his hrethreii at Trinity, the least laborious post at their dis[)osal. During a visit to l>onaventur(^ he preached several times in a small chui'ch from which tli ■ ice had been cut by hatchets, and in this way took a. s(,'vei'(> cold. After a tliice months' silence he visited St. .rohus, to meet his lu-ethren at their annual
gatl Th
lerniL' m
■ >(
hut Ix'came too ill to attend their sessioi
IS.
■y sa\
that
his work was done, atu
I
)lace(l his name on
race.
Then
their Minutes as a supernumeiary at HarlxM- <
seftier having liiigennl a few months, \\{\ iiiiishecl his course
in the full assurance of liope.
By the' twelve Wesleyaii ministers, assisted though they wei'c hy useful lay helpers, not more than ten or tweUe thousand licai-t rs could lie reached with any fi(M|uency.
Othei' I'rutestant bodi
es, unfoi tunattdv, wei-e doing less in
i i
'I
r
182
n I STORY OF MEriIODI><M
the way of Gvaiit^olizatioii. TIk; C^on<:,'i'<'<,'atioiialists had ceast'd to maintain the t'(!W missions at tlic outports at- tempted l)y tliem in tlu; (^ai'ly yeai's of tlio cfutury : the Episcopalians, with a consich;i'al»h' numhci' of hiy roach'rs and tfacheis, had oidy eight oi'chiincd nicMi ; and no other sec- tion of tli(! Protestant ('hiii'ch had any organized congrega- tion in th(* colony. In the meantime the Iloman Catholics, un<h'r the direction of an aggressive hislioj) and assisted hy foreign aid, had for some years being doing tluur utmost to secui-e conti'ol of the population. ' In \i(nv (»f the estahlish- ment of a representative legislatui'e, the lii'st session of which was opcmed in 18.'5;}, the; numl)er of priests was I'apidly eidarged. In 1830 there were sm'en priests, only three of whom, however, wei'e fully effective ; but tiiese wer-e joined early in 1S;U by six othei's, and in 1S3."'» by a further rcunforcement of tive, the lattei' luiving been accom- panied by a small nund>er of Presentation nuns from (lal- way. The political aml)ition of the l)ishop soon involved th(! colony in serious domestic trouble. It was seen that his will determined the retui'u of candidates for the legis- lature ; and that a Jloman Catholic elector who ventured to claim liberty of action soon furnished a forcible illustra- tion of the fact that Rome reduces the whole man to politi- cal as well as to religious serfdom. At tlie same time it was sadly significant that in those metropolitan and other districts where Roman Catholicism most flourished and her dignitaries wielded the strongest influence, the wretched- ness and poverty of the masses were most distinctly marked. The consecjuences of Papal aggressiveness had become visible to the scattered Wesleyan ministers long before they were apprehended by Protestants at large. Perversions from
•"' Ac'CDnliiiy to u ot'uwus taken in 1X25, thi' jxipulation of tlie whole island, not incliidini,' tiif few inhabitants of the Frencii shore and Labra- dor, was (iO,OS8, of whom 24,S22 were Konian Catholics.
J
^m
■f '€
l! \
If \
IN i\EWFOUM>LAM>.
is:;
sts had lorts !it- ry : tlu' U.TS and \\{'V s«'c-
atliolics, listed Ity tinost to stablish- ^ssiou of :^sts was sts, only Lit these S;3;? Uy a n accoiu- roni Oal- involved eeii that lie le-^is- /entuied illustra- o politi- tinie it d other vnd her etched- mai'ked. become ore they )us from
tile wliolw ii(i Lalira-
Protestauti.sm. act'oi'diii<i[ to iJoiniui ('atliolii- ret urns, num- licrcd not less than tisc liiindfed diirinij the two years IS.'J,")- ,'5(». It was towai'd the close of the period undrr review that a genei'al awakiny' on the pait of the Protestants took place. To })rotect their people against fui'thei- p(;rversion tlif? l']piscopalians soll^dltth(! formation into a new bishopric of tli(> islands of Newfoundland and IJcrnnida. both pre- \ iously ini'Iuded in the diocese of Xo\a Scotia. Their elToil led t(» tla^ consecration of Aubrey Spenser, I ).!>.. \:~, bishop of the new diocese, and to an early enlarijeinent of the staff of the colonial cler<,'y. Lack of means threatened to prevent any inimediat(; extension of Methodist eilbrt. The finances of th(! \\'(>sleyan Methodist Missionary Society were at tliat time in a stati; of serious end>ai'rassment. Sevei'ai of the missionajies then in the colony liad been sent thither in the expectation that a part at l(>ast of the circuits would soon l»ccome self-sustaining, but financial disastei' and thechrc^nic poverty of many of the fishermen had pr(>vented the antici- pated development. Thus disappointed, ham})er(!d by <h'bt, and pi'essed by Macedoiuan calls from \arious distant (juai'ters, the missionary authorities had with difliculty been induced to keep up a statl" they were unable to increase.
Proffers of assistance were made, however, from an unlooked-for direction. Thouiih the chairman had been ol)liged to send John S. Addy to (Jrand liank, he endeavored to carry out in part the wish of the INlissicmary (Jonunittee that he should be employed as a visiting missionary, by instructing him to travel extensively through the more dis- tant settlements in Fortune Bay, and as far lieyond a,s ndght be possible. In the following spring the comndttee reipiested the same ministei- to \ isit the JJay of Islands and report to them the state of tlu; population in that section of the ci)lony. Adam Ni'ditinirale had also beeu instructed a few months earlier to visit the more needy places in liona-
$
II , It t
IS '
!
!■*
t
18 1
IIISTonV or METHODISM
vista Ijiiy, juid, if possible, some of those in the more northern disti'iels. Th('S(! cflorts wcri^ oltserscd with .satis- faction hy others than Methodists; and in particidar by the Con<,'regationalists of St. John's. Isolated Oongrega- <i;ationalist.s had rendered valuabh; aid at several of the stations, and soiiu^ influential members of the main l)ody at St. John's had befMi i,'enerous eontributors to Mothodist funds ; but now, inlhuMiced l)y lioman Catholic intolerance and CiuHvh of lOngland (^\chlsiveness, they resolved to oiler to their ^Fethodist bi-ethren more systematii; assistance in the extension of missions which they declared to be tiie "grand bulwark " against Home's encroachments. Among these Congregationalists were seveial I'jiiglish merchants, men of intelliirence and monev. Tin; first i)ublic e\i(lence of their growing fraternal sympathy w.is given at the mis- sionary meeting h(»ld during the annual gatluu-ing in St. John's in li^.'iT. At that mec.^ting Robei't Job, Ks(j., a leading Oongregationalist, proposed the formation of a dis- tinct fund for the sup[)ort of missionaries to be con- stantly engaged in visiting destitute sections and scattered settlements; and aflirmed his l)elief tliat through moneys collected in the colony, and with the aid of a large London firm liaving several branches on the southern coast, a suflicient amount would be raised to sustain, without further burden upon the English Committee, two additional mission- aries, the one to travel on tlie northern and the other on the southern shore of the island. Pleased with this offer, the members of the district meeting in their annual letter to the Committee asked the concurrence of the authorities and the despatch of two young men suited for the intended work. The Connnittee assented to the scheme, and in their next general repoi't announced their intention to secure for the colony, if jiossiljle, the additional missionaries, and thus do their part towards exhibiting " to their neglected Fi'otes- tant brethren there the doctrines of tlie cross of Christ."
/.V \J'JWl'(>UXI>LA.\l>.
1 Sf)
Fii\'()i';il»l(' tidiun's fioiii I'!iil;1;\ii(1 led (o tlic adoption ot' actixc incasiircs, in wiiiidi William Faulkner, a( St. .Iclui's iVoni IS."»7 to I "^10, w.i-, (,)!(' of the Iradin;,' spiiits. Anionic the lay nicHilxTs of the tirst conniiit (cf of t lit' St. .) olm's Au.xiliarv Wcslcvan Mis.sionarv Socit-tv wfic fouf ( "()n<'i'«v gati()na,lists and oni' Presbyterian. Sonic delay look place >f tlie uiis.sionarics, and several of the minis-
lu
tl
le an'i\'
ters present at the annual uicctiii!;' of ls;;s Noluntccred thei'ef(»r(> to spend se\(!ral nioiitlis. at distant jx.ints, l>ut it was not thought, wise to take llieni from their circuits in the -'l'' 'iU'(^ of snitahle lay helpers. \ year later, ho\ve\er, when tive hundi'cd pounds had licen placed in the hands of the ehaii'Uian of the district, he and his colleaijucs assumed
tl
le responsiliility of sendin
\\'
llliam
.M
irshall as a \isitin,!4
missionary to Ilerndta;4e Www and other sections of the southoi'n coast, althouyh they had to lea\(; the Old I'erlican cir<.'uit with its thirteen liundred Protestants, one thousand of wiii)m wei'e Methodi-,ts, without pastoral superxision.
t the same time made for an e\tensi\e
A
rranii'einents were a
visitation of outlyiui; districts hy se\-eral other ministers, their travelling e.v})onses l)eing pro\ id(,'d hy the newly organized society.
At the close of the annual meeting of ls:V.) the chair- man. .John Pickavant, sailed for Xova Scotia. At Halifax,
iccordini; to appointment, he met Rohert AUUm-, one of the ssionf
]\I
ipp ary Secretaries, and a nu nd).M' of tin; ministers of the Nova Scotia aiul Xew r»runswick Districts. "Help, iuunediate and ethcient help is needed," they said when they had listened to Pickavant's description of tlie moral condition of a lai-ge part of the population of Newfound- land and of the schemes of lloman (Jatholic airents, and
tl
th
the Mi
len tliey unanunousiy resr>l\(Ml t(^ ask the .Missionary Committee to send thrcM? or four additional missionaries to that priest-ridden colony as soon as possihle.
IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3)
1.0 lifi
28
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M 1.8
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1.25 1.4 |
1.6 |
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VI
A
7
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, NY. MS80
(716) 872-4503
C/j
:|
CHAPTKM VIII.
MKTIIODISM IN 'IIIK N()\ A SCO'IMA AND I'lMNCi: KDW AIM) ISI.ANI) DIsriMcr, I'KO.M is:!(i To I'lll': ("UN TKN AKV CKLKHKATION IN ]s:\'.\.
i
fl'"
iJivisioji of t lie I )istrict. riiaii^Ts in tlif list nf ministiTs. A|i|niiii1ni<'iits to tlif West Indies. ( ;u\ sImid". ( ';i|M rirt'tiiii. Iliilifax. \ Oiinj^' iiiini-'ters. Siiuliciiafiuiic and 'I'luro.
At the llrilisli Conforenc*; of l.S'i.'), the luissioiis in tin; .M;iritiiii<' Provinces wero (lividcnl into two sections. Of these on»>, with StepiuMi IJanifoid as chiiiiiiian, was (l(^si<^- nated the Nova Scotia and Prince b^dwaid Island District; the other, under the directi(»n of liicliard Williams, was known as tlu; New Piunswick District. The division lines were at first di'awn with little rcjLjard to provincial bound- aries, Kven aftei' some readjustnu'iit, tlu^ extensive Ann- apolis Valley and a section of the township of Cornwallis continued to he a ))art of the New Hi'unswick l.>istrict. The formal separation took j)lace in IS'JC), when the min- isters from tlu; three })rovinces met in Halifax, and there formed two district organizations.
Several changes in the list of ministers followed the n(!w arrangenuMit. At the close of the meeting at Halifax, William JJurt sailed for New York on his way to Canada. A dense fog led the (frumil S(<ir/>- into the h-ii-bor of Port Hehert. There IJurt arranged for an eaily Sunday service at the house of his friend, Tilley Richardson, hut a nu>ssage received as he was altout to announce a hymn, only piM'- mitted jiim in prayer to commend the littU^ company to God. Two years later he returned to Kngland, to pursue a most
/x jXova scot/ a.
is;
:i)w.\i{i)
MJlIldlMIltS
IS in tlif
3ns. OF
IS (l(\si«,'-
District ;
-ins, was
ion lines
honiul-
e Ann-
n wall is
>isti'ict.
le niin-
k1 tlnu'e
the iu)\v lalifax, Canada, of Port sfu'vice nessage ily pei'- to God. a most
nseful ministry. In IS IS Im was made chairman of an I'liglish district, and in 1S.')1 was elected a memb.M" of tlu; " lit'gal J[un(Ii'ed." At the a^(^ of seventy he Iteeaine a supernumerary, and in his seventy ninth year enteied u}>on eternal r<'st. When his naine was read fron» the death-roll (»f the Conference of 1871, Dr. Osborn rose to remai'k that he had l)een "one of tli(^ tinest illiistiations of the fact that a Methodist pi'eacher with n(!ither e.\tensi\e yifts nor \)VO- foiind learning,' may neverthehvss <^et a congre<(ation and keep it. if is deceased friend had done this eveiy where." " If ever a man used his talent conscientiously in the (Ireat Muster's i-ause, it was William IJurt," said a nephew who had li\ed undei- his uncle's roof and witness(>d his careful study <»f the ancient and modern classics and his delight in i-eadiuL? the works of the hest Puritan preachers and wi-iters. Such statement^, with a remark of Dr. Oslmrn upon Mr. r>urt's ([ualities as a " house-goiiiLf "' minister, prepare us t'(ir the I'emark of a second nejdiew, W. I>, Pope, D.D., who speaks of his uncle's journal as "monotonous in its recoj'd of refreshing seasons and instances of usefulness." In (>ach of his coh^nial circuits men converted und(U' his ministry iH'came esteemed local standard hearers.
Henry Pope, William Bui't's early friend, succeeded him at (Jharlottetown. As one of the earliest English pioneers in the Up})ei' Pi'ovinces he had travelled the circuits of the Canada District in the saddle-hags hi'igade ; and had heen the lirst English Wesleyan missionary at York, now Toronto, tlien a place of lifteen hundi'ed inhahitants. 'I'he late Di-. (^irroll in liis boyhood one day caught a glin)pse of him as he passed in his "light waggf)n," while he and some other lads were at l)lay uiuhu" the shade of the oaks which skirted the banks of the Toronto l>ay, and never lost the impi'ession made upon him by the simpU; elegance of the young Methodist preacher and tiie woithy wife he had
TT^^^
1^
1.S8
iiisroh'Y or METHODISM
<■'
h M
found iiciu- Utica, on the Mohawk |{i\('r. During tlio jKM'iod of i'i\aliv Ix'twccn llio .Methodists of iJritish and Aincii" can oriifin h<' had occujiicd souh' adxanccd posts as no nici'*' spcctatof of an unfortunate str'ife. in lS2r», uuih-i' instfuc- lions from the C'oniuiittce, he reich<'d (.'hai lottctown, where two ))h;asant ami prolital)le years wer<' sjieiit l)y him.
|)urini( the same year Koliert N'ouni( also entered the district. .\t the t h)S(> of (die of his earlier essays at pleach iny, an injudicious ciicuit ollicial had advised liim to '• i^o liome and never attempt to preach a^ain ' a piec(> of CO insej which, fortunately for the <'ternal interests of th(»usands, he found himself unaMe to follow. A sermon l»y Uohert Newton had helj>ed him to respond {o an inward call to forei<,oi Work. Soon aftei' compliance lie was selected to l»e the companion of Samuel Leii,di, the pioneer in .Aus- tralian W'esleyan missions, hut an unexpected occurrence led to his despatch to the West Indies. .\t the end of six years" residence there the health of his family demapided a cooler climate, and he recei\tMl an ap))ointment to Liuien- huri(, hut through delay in the ari'i\al of the .Minutes he was sent to Windsor, where he remairunl. That liappy comltination of talent and tact, whiili led l)r. danu\s I)i.\on more than once to say that Koheit Youni; could "manage men," proved of gie.it advantage to a circuit where the ex- istence of ''high j)arty spirit " had foi- some time l)ecn iioutrali/ing the ('ll'ect of all pastoial ethirt. A long con- tinue(l i-evival Ix^gan, sixty pei'sons were receivivl into church fellowsiiip, the chui'ch which in ISTJ had heen removed into the village was twice eidarged and the par- sonage finished, and at the end of a three years' term pei'- fect hai-mony was leported. Special permanence was given to this work l>y the pastors intei'cst in the young men of his charge, some of whom, to the end of a long life, wei'e wont to mention his nanu' in words and tones of allection- ate reverence.
IX XOVA SCOTIA.
180
Illtlio .Miiiutt's of the t'olldu iiii; yt'.Mi' thicc new iiiiint's tippcarcd. William W'clili iiikI Willi. ini Smidi w ci <■ t't-llnw |);isseiii,^('rs from l'!iiL,'laii(l. 'Ilir failiff year.- of William Weld) had hccii spt'ut at jiatli. Mis j)ariMits w cic Mjiisco- piilians, hut his rai'ly associations were with the ( 'oiiLiici^fa tionalists, in which Itody his only luotlici' liccainc a miiiislcr. For Williiim Jay, ujioii whose ministry he had liccn for somo timo an attendant, he cntci'taincd a |>rofonnd respect. .lonathan Edniondson, the human a^ent in leadini,' him into the path of life, aided him in preparation for that <all to tnissionary service in Nova Scotia which reached him in the autumn of lSi.*7. William Smith had l)een trained in the path of wisdom hy a widowe<l inothei- in a (piiet I'ji^lish home. Both youu'' men on theii- arri\al at Halifax were sent to Prince Kdward l.slan<l. Wehli, who to the last was a close observer of the personal s})iritual (•(didition of the members placed uiulei- his care, was depressed on arri\al at Murray Harbor, but in the course of a few weeks was alile to send a pleasing i-epoi't from his then isolated chari^'e. A sinnlar I'eport was presented by his friend, who had uone at the same time to l>ede([ue and Tryon. The thii'd youn«^ man, .lames Melvin, had preceded Webb for a few months at Murray Harbor. He had accompanied llobeit L. i-ushei* from the Liverpool circuit to the annual met^tinu', and had there passed a very satisfactory exandnatioii. His l»rethren sent him to liittle Harbor on the southern coast, liut I)y order of the Kn<j;lish Confei-ence he left that place for Prince I'idward Fsland, whence he soon withdrew to leturn to Xo\a Scotia.' But, as was too often then the ease, the ari'i\al of
' At a stiliNc(|iifiit (late Milvin prfaclnd fur llic l''rrc-\\ill Ilaptists at I'mt Mcdway. lie tlicii. >i|)c)ii the let ircnicut nf Williaiii I'.Mer tVuni tlie ( '(Pii^'rej,rati(>iial cliiu'eji at la\ei-|ii"il, ■n|i|ilie(l the |iiil|>it tlieie, and aftel'Uai'd.s aecejited a call to tlle paNtdfate >>f the ^(lll,L(^e;,^•^l imi. Ill IS.'id he appeared hefnre the pill llic as plain tin' ill t he w ideiykimw ii < Jnriiani will case, ilavin^' estalilislied his claim to the liecpiest fur the niainten- iuu'e of a r'on^rre^'atiniial minister at lii\er|iiMil, h*-' reliiiipii^Ueil a part of the auHjuiit and retired altogether tn>m pastoral duty.
190
JUSTOIiV OF METHODISM
youn^ ;ui(l earnest woi-kcrs was followed liy the rcmoMil lo other points of men of experifnice Jind well-tiiod 'oitli. On the Jippointnient of the man Just named, IJolx'it L. liUslie!-, wliit as superintfMuh'nt of tlie Ilalifnx and Liscipool circuits had l)«'en lii<ddv esteejiied foe his aniiahh^ and <'<'n- th'manly bearing and his faithful preai-jiini; of tlie (iospel by word and by life, sailed foi- l''nL,dand. I)ul•in^' his previous residence in Canada he \\\A lalxtred with much success in ^fontreal, where under his direction a second cliurch had been erected. In lS."i7 Ik^ retui-ned to Canada as chairman of the East(Tn District, in the circuits of which lie spent all his subse({uent years.
'Plie Missionary Committee, aljout this |)eiiod, made several attempts to bring about more fre([uent exchanges between tlieir missionaries in the Bi'itish American Piovincesand the West Indies. The fii'st Provincial to go southward in re- sponse to the call of the Committee was John Shaw, of Newport. As a local preacher he had followed Webb at INIurray Jlarboi-, and thence, at the call of the chairman, had gone to Wallace. While there lie had received intelli- gence of his acc(>ptance as a preacher on trial, with appoint- ment to tiie Hahamas. The rupture of a Itlood vessel a year or two later sent him back to Nova Scotia to die. Soon after the sunset houi", calm and clear, had come to this young man, another native-born provincial minister, of more matui-e experience, sailed for the West Indies under direction of the Committee. The intended transfer of William If. (afterwards Dr.) Rule from St. Vincent to Nova Scotia, and the subsequent des[)atch in his stead of William Dowson from St. Eustatius to Halifax, had led the Connnittee to recjuire a removal in the opposite direction. Thomas II. Davies, whose nami; had appeared on the INIinutes of 1830 as a minister in Antigua, was permitted to i-emain at home, and the name of Matthew liichey, who had pre.
JX .\()VA SCOT/ A.
IDl
\ ioiisly spent
\\
i liter ;it the south t'(»r tlir bciu'lit of an
invalid wife, \v;is siiltst it ntcd. Tliat minister's reasons for (leelinini; ;t West ln(li;in iijijioint incnt were also aecoptod
wild, liDWcver, forwarded p('i'(Mn|ttoi'y
liv the ('(ininiittee
(iidei's that, another minister should Ito chosen 1)V the dis-
tiiet and sent southward withou
t d( 1
IV,
^ppc
ial meetinir
was held at Windsoi", the names of Crane, llcMiniijar aiul McDonald, as sui,'ifested l)y the C!onimitteo, were* discussed, and Kolici't II. (Irano was chosen foj* the distant ])Ost. lla\in!4 settled the allairs of the I'arrshoro' and Maccaii circuit, he saile(l with his family from Halifax on a Sun- day afternoon in June, IS.'i-J. In the jj;atherini^ <ilooni of (ncninit^ and in somewhat melancholy mood lie watched the r«'ceding slu)res of his native land, even the " l)ald rocks of Samhro Head"' se(Mnin<^ to have an attfactiveness seldom ascribed to them as lie looked upon them for the last time. In the islands of St. X'incent and Tobago lie secured the love of the ministers and the societies. With deep interest he witnessed the abolition of African slavery, and awaited the removal of its lasr legal vestige, the apprentice- ship .system. Even after he had seen the ravages of yellow U'wv in Toliago, and under his own roof, he was anxious to remain in the islands until the year 1840 should liave arrived. " I sliall then," he wrote to a friend at home, " yladlv visit you to tell vou that all the slaves of these islands are free." Failing health, however, re(|uired him to seek a somewhat earlier return. The Committee notified him of an api)ointment to a new provincial chai'ge, but while l)usied in settinu his circuit in order for his successor and in making preparations for the annual meeting, he fell in the grijt of lierce fevei', and on the evening of the following Sal»bath ceased to work and live. The first duty of his brethren from the neighl>oring islands, and of his successor from New Brunswick, as they met at Kingstown at the end
I*^
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102
IIISTOHY OF METHODISM
of traiui.'uy, \s:\\), was (o fdiiiiiiit )<> tlu; cai'tli tlio ictnains of tlio late siijM'i'iiitciHh'iil nt'tliat cirruit. I'liijlit ^^'esl('ya^ inissioiiai'ics caiiicd, ami t'nur thimsand pcrsdiis followed, Ills liody to (li(! ij;,'a\cyaid at Kingstown. \\li('i'(> his dust roposos near tlir finiit of the lar^'i' stone clmrcli eiHH'ted soon aftei" his decease. A white maflije taldet. placed on one side of the puljiit, tells in hrief the stoiy of the life and death of the lifst nati\elioni No\a Sc(;tii.n .Methodist itinerant.
In I Sl'S a fufthei' effort was mule foi- the extension of Methodism in the east(Mn part of Xo\a Scotia. "William Webl> wiis instructed in the summer of that ytar to take his station at llixcf dohn. In .Inly he \ isited Albion ^Mines and spent one l.oidsday there. Under the morn- in<' sermon manv "seemed to feel the nowei' of the AVord." Tn the afternoon he worshipjicd in the I'i'eshyteiian churcli, in which lie was to preach in the evening. 'J'he candid ]*resl)yterian lnother amused him hy an announcement of tli(^ intended sei\ ice, to w hich he appended the remark that he "did not like it nciv well, though in \ iew of th(^ kind- ness sliown him hy the .Methodists lie could not deny it." Early in August, with -lames (J. llenni,<,'ar, he \ isited (Uiys- boi'o', the ]>ost desii,nied foi him liy the Committee when he left England. William .Munay, Arthur .McXutt's successor there, had been a zealous worker, but lack of ordinatio i had been pei-sistently urucd against him and not without efl'ect. "These iire not ministers," it was said of him and his predecessor ; " we do not acknowledge; them as such, and the law i-e(|uii'es e\-ei'y man to pay toward the support of some I'egularly oi'daincnl minister." The practice of the l]|>iscopal minister who sj)ok<' thus was in accord with his precept. A general wairant of distraint was issued at his instance, and in more than om; cas(! taxes for his support were levied on persons who had been mendjers of the
/.v mjva scot/ a,
11)3
M(;tli()(list C'liui'fli for several yours. ( )f this coiKluft on f!u! part of the rector several Kjtiseopalians who li.'ul shown iiiucli kiiidness to the young preaeh(M\s weic not slow tr)
tl
cxiircss tlioir Hisaiuirova
ipj.
( )n the (lepartui'e of .Muri'av for the annual nio^'tiri'' I'^rancis ('o(»k hail written to William j>la<-k ur'^nj: a fuither suj»|ily of preaching, liut the ministers were unahle to SLMul a favoraljle reply. In the; following year Cliarlotto Newton \ isited Halifax to plead with the assenddefl preachers for the pi-esence at (luysl)oi'o' of one >,i tlieir niimbei", l)iil her pleading was \ain. Disapjtointejl though she and lu'r fiMcnds were, they resolved steadily to sustain their social icligious services and tlu' small Sunday- st;Iiool commenced by Christian women in L'^L'^. Theso faithful ones saw with pleasure the ariival in l^ilS i,i the ministers, lleuni''ar and AN'ehl). Sermons were
pr<'
10
JH-d
on the Sunday, and during the ensuing week a me<'ting wa.s called to consider the proposal to erect a .Methodist church. Sul)scrij)tions were readily otl'i-red, a suitaV)le site was given, and at the end of eight days the young ministers l«?ft the \ illage. The chairman recei\ed a favorable report, and in a few weeks instructed Welti* to take up his residence at (iuysboro'. On Noveml)er 1, IS'JO, the dedicatory .services wei'e conducted by the young pastor, a.ssisted by Hennigar and Matthew Cranswick. I'revious to that date twenty })ersons had been enrolled in membership, to whom, under the ministry of Matthew Cranswick, ninety otiiers were added during the early months of li^.'U.-'
Further hostility was aroused by tliis success. Offensive
remarks r
espei
•tin"' tiie riirht of Methodist minist^r-rs to
■-' 111 tlic list (if tlif lattfi' wtTf .Idscpli ainl « Miai'lntti- Jlait. from wli<r.-«». tiicsidc tlirtc sons and diii' (ia>i;,'iit(r went into the itiiuraiicy, .-i fourth -ou liccoiniii;^' a Incal prcaclier. Oik- of tlicsc, the iictivf and «-n<-n,'»-tic .Insiph Ilai't, an cs-prfsidcnt of thf Nt \v lirunsuick and I'ritK:*- K'lward Island (-'onfenncc, died in IS.SO, at tlic <'arly age of forty .-i\fn.
13
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JIISTOUY (H' MinilOlHSM
arliiiiiiistcr the sacnmit'iits liaviii-^ Iici-ii marlc hy tin- rector to mciiilM'rs ot' tlir society, and repeated l>y liini in a note to AlexandtM- W. McLcod, appointed to the ciiciiit in IS;>7, tlio latter ndnister in |S;5S pulilished a series ot' letters in a small v(»hiinf' eiit 'tied, " The Methodist Ministry JM-fended,'' etc. This little \oliinie, eleai' and concise in statoinent, rcc'(M\('d in ISIO. tVoin the rectoi- (»f ( iuvshoro , a carefullv pr'epared r<'j)ly of similar lenj^th, containing,' the usual ar^^'u- iiKMits in fa\(ir of diocesan episc'oj>aey. A second xolume from the pen of the Methfxlist pastor ended another of those controversies fi'om which theChurch cannot lie wholly deliv- ered while any ministers of the (Jospel shall assume the unwarranted exercise of lordship nscr others.
The estalilishment of .Methodism at duvshoro' was soon followed l»y its extension to the island of Cape IJreton. After the destruction of Louishurir, the I'^rench fortress and tJK? wint<'r port of Canada, little notice had been takcMi of the island until the commencement of Scotch emigi-ation t hit hei-. Thoui,di a separate colony, the ])opulation of Sydney, the capital, in 171)8, did not exceed one hundred and twenty ])ersons. In ISOl*, a shi]) a?'rived at Sydney with eini grants from the Scotch Highlands and islands, and from that date until IS.'VJ a stieam of ]>opulation continued to How fi'om the same (juai'tei' until the island had liecome as Gaelic as any part of Scotland. Included in tlie population, com})uted about 1830 at nearly twenty thousand, were also a good nundier of Acadian Fi-ench. At least thice fifths of the inhabitants of the island weie Iloman Catholics, nearly all others were Pi'esbyterians. Sevei-al Roman Catholic j)riests had watched over their ]>eoj)le, but no body of Pro- testants; on the face of the continent had been so sadly left to themselves. An l^)iscopal minister at Sydney, where government ollicials and a detachment of troops were posted, and a Presbyterian minister at Mabou and Port
IN NOVA SCOTIA.
19;
llood, wluTO Ji few Prot«'.st;int t'.iinilics wcic scit tcicd aiiiDiii,' a lari,'<' Koiiiaii Catliolir |»o|(ulatioii, li.id lircn tin- <»iily iTsi(l«'iit |)i-eacli('is of tlio island, and ot" tlirst- iiritlin- had any ac(|uaiiitaiu'f' with th«- (Jaclir, the only lanmiai;** spoken or nndci'stood hy niin'tfiiths of the I'l'otrslant. {lopiilation of the island.
Jn (^ipc l5rcton, as in sonn- inoir «'.\tcn>i\t' regions, the first .M«'thodist workers weic laymen. John Watts, the dev(tut Methodist ser^it'ant, was at Sydney in IT^^l* with a
detfic])nnMit of tlie 'J 1st re;(inient. .\l»out twcnty-t wo years jatei- William Charlton, a Inindde lay worker, reached the island on a holy errand. This ^^ood man, an i'jii,dishnia?i from Kx(»tor, had spent some time on the coast of r.altiiuhn' anioni; some Koman Catholic lisheinien. When his com- panions had insisted that he should ceaf-e to i)e a Protestant, he left them aiul found his way to ('ap«! |5reton. Thence, .sooji after his njarria^'e at Louishur*,' in |S(i.">, he remoyed to tlie ITnited States. While tryin;,' to obtain the mastery o\('r intemperance and other evils he also sou<,dit niemhership in the Methodist church in iJoston, then und<'r the clia»'«j;(! of I'ilijah l[ed(lin<j[. One day the [>efice (>f (Jod i^daddened his heart as ho \yas walkinj^ the road, and on his return home he found to his further joy that his wife, whose Ljood jud^^ment liad saved hitii from the snare rif Cniyersalism, had about the same hour become a ])ai'taker of '' like; pr'\ious faith." Soon aftei- conversion lie became a prayer- leader and exhorter. On recovery from a seyeiT illness he resolved to return to Cape J>reton, with a sj)ecial view to the relit,dous interests of friends there. In a short time, in spite of persuasion to the contrai-y, he had commenced liis mission at the qtiiet tishinLj settlement on th*- shore of the historic (Jabai'us J>ay. At his first s«'i'vice one j)ei'son pro- fessed to have found salvation ; on the followini,' Sunday sixteen otliers made a similar j)rofession ; and the levival
I! T'
'r ',:
1 or,
ifisToiiv or MhrriKnusM
|iro»'C((I»'(| until till' Mfiiiics of foits li\(' jifiNous li.nl Imth rccuHJccI MS l)"lir\ci s iii(Miri>.t, It \\;is |intl»;ilil\ at Clinfl- toiis siilicit it ion lliat llilihcit lliriiify. rrttor and militaiy »lia|ihiiii at Sydnry, and tin- Hist ininistcr x-wv Men at (ialtaiiis, \isitrd tlic latter srttlenicnt in .liinr, Isl'.i, and l)a|it i/('(l sixty two |M'rsriiis of all ai,'<'s.
Wlicn ten more ycais luul ]>assc(l William W'cldi cioss* d tlicSlcait of('anso on liis way (o Sydm-y. His journey tliitlit-r was taken at tli(! instanee (»f John (ieui'Lje .Marshall, l'iS<|., chief Justieo of (Jape T.reton. This gentleman was the son of .lose} h Marshall, captain of a Loyalist corps, tho Kin^''s Cai'olina Ivani;crs, and snlise»piently a settler at ( Juys- l>oro'. The son, on icceixin;,' his judicial appointment in iSil,'), had I'enioxed to Sydney and had hecome intimately associated with the relii^dous interests of the town. About the time of his arrival at Sydney, lliljhei't Ilinney, the only Episcopal minist(!r of tho island, and the fathei- of the late hishop of that name, took his farewell of the plac<'. His ministi'v, as well as that of his predecessor — William Twin- inf^, had been evan,uf(dical in character. While a candidate for "orders,'" he had spent a summer \acation at Li\er|iool as a lay I'eader. With Joshua Newton, a relatixc, lie had attended special services in the INIethodist church, and had Iteen so far benefited by their inlluence that on l)ecomin<^ rectoi- and military chaplain at Sydney he fearlessly a\ow('d his lielief in those doctrines which (,'hristians in i,'enei'al hold to be essential to spiritual life, and under h' ninistry several conscrsions took place.' The preacliinj:; of his suo- eesM>r, of a vei-y dillercMit chai-acter, led thou;,ditful hearers one aftei- another to des(;rt the chui'ch. .Vmon<^ the latest tolea\t' ha 1 been .ludge Marshall, llislei^al duties had not prevented study ai the Scrij)tures, and the entrance of the
■■■ K. A, CrawlfV, D. D., in " .Vcadia ('nlli'j,'f and llurloii AciKleiiiv,*' 111.
/.V \()VA SCOTIA
in;
llll ^t'lUTil
Woi'd ii;i(l i;i\<'ii Iii;lil, uliifli in I
:_ li;ui it'sii
It.'.l
111 MIS
(•(»ii\ cisioii. I*'nr tivf vcais atftr liis wit lidiaw al t'lKiii the I'ljiiscojial s('i'\ ic«'s, he liad liccii t'ciii<liict iiiLf rcliyioiiH nici't iiii^s (111 flic Lni'd's-day at |iii\atr rfsidciicfs, Imt iiiu^t t'lM'M'K'litlv at tlif linusc of I'cttT di- Li^Ir, a .Icrscy hut cliaiil. I''tr<irts had in the mcaiitinir Imth ip idc to scfiirc tilt' srr\ ict'S of an (•vaii;;cliral iniiiistiT. A siiial
■llllirh
was
l)uilt and a tT(Hi(',st was forwarded to hr. l!al
Knuland. for tin- sclfction of a ( 'oni,'i'('i(atioiial pastor. This aiiplicat ion, with aiiotlifr to |i('rsons in Scotland, was uiisurccssful. A third ;iii|t('al, ti> the inana^'crs of Andovrr 'riicoloi^dral Scminarv, hrouuht to the lit tic
soi-n-tv
dol
in
('. Al.liott, sii
ICC
siiown 111 literary
ciivlcs as an historical writer, l»iit the youiii,' student ^. >\\ returne(l to his friends a!id hooks. When I>oiial(l A, l''raser, of the I'res' '* ian ('hurch, \ isited the island ie iSi'd, he pi'cai'hed twice at Sydney to a cf)iii,'rei,ation which in \aiii ur-'ed iiim to remain. Finally .ludye Marshall and his associates resoKcd to in.ake application to the Methodist (listriet ineeliiii;'. To the .Metlnxlists the Jud^e was not altogether a strani^ei'. He had listened to several of their preachers, itinerant and local, and when in attendance at the legislature liacl made the acciuaintance of se\"eral other
•tl
worrny memoers
.f tl
le society,
Karl
y in
IS:
( , a re(|iiest
1'
or
from Sydney for the apjiointmeiit of a minister was f warded to the ('ommittee in London, and was followed hy
I resolution in its ra\(jr from the asstMii
fi
th
ihled
iniiust<'ri
\
o
iiinnediate action Iia\iiig lieen taken, .lud'je Marsliall ap- peared before the niiiiisters in JIalifax, in May, 1Sl>!>, to urge the instant appointment of one of their number. In
\iew of this recjuest, .lames (
11
cnnigar was .sent to
Sydney to await there the arrival of a minister from England. On the appearance of Matthew (JraiiL "ick, Ifen- nigar left the work at Sydney in his care and removed to
198
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Ship ITaibor. Some rivalry had arisen through the fornia- tion of a Baptist church, but soou after arrival Cranswick rej)ort('d a ineinbersiiip in the several sections of the circuit of thirty six })ersons, with crowded congregations and pleas- ing prospects.^ In the following spring the field was placed under the charge of Webb, from Ciuysboro'. The pages of that mini.-.ter's journal soon grew ciieery with such minutes as also find a place in heaven's record. Winds were not always fair, opposition was sometimes ottered, but he satisfied himself with vindication of the truth and moved on. Travelling was ditticuit, the old French roads having become forest atiain, while the newer I'oads were scarcelv deserving of the name, yet visits were paid by him to several settlements where some from his lips ttrst heard the message of salvation. A convert under his ministry at Sydney Forks made use of his command of the Gaelic language for the benelit of his countrymen, one or more of whom became thus prepared for eldership in the Presbyterian Church in the island ; and a second, at the same place, lived to see two of her sons esteemed ministers of that sectiori of the Church, through whose agency she first was blessed. At the close of the year he reported eighty-two members, who, in accordance witii the readiness of the circuit oHicials to make provision for a married preacher, were transferred to the pastoral care of John Marshall. At the end of three useful years that minister was followed by John Snowball, During the residence of the latter preacher the.church at Sydney was enlarged, and more than fifty persons, some of
N Abe)ut tills time, or {K'rliaps a litth' earlier, tuok place the conversion of John McKinnon, a Hentenant in the 104th regiment (luring the second American war. His father, William McKinnon, for eighteen years I'rovincial Secretary of Cape 13reton, died at Sydney in 1811, n-om wonnds received during the attack oji Sullivan's Island, Charles. on, during the war of the Uevolution. John McKinnon passed away in 18().S, having first been called to part with a son, William Charles McKinnon, who, in a nine years' service in the Methodist ministry, had proved a fitting pattern of a consecrated servant of Christ.
IX XOVA SCOTIA.
I'JU
whom li.'ul 1)0CM violent opjxtsci-s, wcrt' added to the societies at Sydney, (jral)ai'us and elsewhere, hut the loss of forty of the "best" nieinl>eis Ijy I'enioval to the I'nited States seri- ously depressed Wel)l) on ins i'eaj)|)ointnient, though his eontfipgation at Sydney was the largest in tlu' town. A church coinineneed at Sydney Mines in ls;»7 leniained un- tinislied until 1S40.
At Ship Jfarhor Andrew le P>roe([, agent of a CJuernsey linn, with several others, had in ISl'S hiiilt a small church. This church they had ollered to the W'eshnan Missionary Society on condition that a minister should at once be sent to occupy its pul})it. Ifennigar on his ariival was otl'eied a home at the pleasant residence of Nicholas Paint, whose wife, an Ej)iscopaliaii, as was her husband, was deeply anxious for the religious teaching, under any auspices, of a sadly neglected people. ' In the little church llennigar preached to good and attenti\e congregations, from which in a few months lu; gathered twenty members. To duty at Ship Harbor he added visits to several adjacent .settle- ments, but to many urgent calls it was not in his power to respond. In the spring the auth(jrities called him else- where and placed another in charge. A parsonage was pro- vided in 1S.")2, but the l>i'eaking up ab(jut that time of the pi'incipal business establishment of the place, and the con- seijuent removal of several mendiers io other parts of the world, led to a partial al)andonment of the mission. The riame remained on the list of circuits, and for some years the small society recei\ed at times the steady care of proba- tioners or local preachers, but at othei's only an occasional visit from the one minister on the island at Sydney.
' A yiiiiim- liuly from ( lucniscy. of ^'imkI family ami cultvirt'cl mind, while rcsidriit w ith .Mrs. I'aiiit, luul ofttii rcud tin- Scii|)tuics in the linmes of the ill and ij^iKirant, and h.id ('(Midncti'd the first Snn<luy-schiHjl in the [)lacu. Thoiiyli nut at the tinu- a " |)rofe^ <t>v" of religion, she was made a hlessiji;,' to her neiLrhliois. .\ few years later her \\(irk was crowned by a ileatli of triinnph in her nativi' island.
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
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iJislioi) Inglis, who proacliod in the Methodist cliurch in li^l.'J, observt>s in ilie report: of his visitation tour that the l)uil(liii,i< was in a "state of dei-ay," and that no Metiiodist minister had resided in the ])Uiee for six years. In ISjS the cliurcli was loaned to the Congregationalists, but on the formation of the Kastein British Amei'ican Conference the mission was ix'sumed under the name of Pfirt Hawkesbury, to be steadily continued. From Margari'e an earnest I'e- (juest was forwaided in IS:'),'] for the api)ointment of a minister to that i)art of the island, V)ut the Committee could give no i-esponse to this ap{)eal until 183G, when a minister was directed by tli(^ chairman to s])end two-thii'ds of liis time at Ship Harbor and Arichat and the remaining third at Mai'garee. lOven this anangement was but temporary.
The small amount of effort put forth in Cape Breton Ijy Methodism was not wholly in ^ain. ^lany were led to Christ — among tlumi some Jvoman Catholics — but the religious state of the ])opulation at large, in 1S30, was sad indeed. I Respecting it, Samuel D. llice, a young minister sent to Sydney near the close of that year by special arrangement, wrote to a friend: "We have classes in the island which meet regularly, but liave not seen a missionary for two years. There is no such destitution in New Bruns- v.ick, with all its wants." And a Presbyterian missionary, then on the island, might with ti'utli have I'epeated, in 1S39, woi'ds which he had written on his arrival in 1834 : " I really ijelievc, from what I have seen and learned, that thei'e is not a place in the whole world, professing Chi'is-" tianity, whei'e there are so many families so near to eadi other and so utterly destitute as our poor countrymen in this island are."
Important successes, varied by reverses, marked the his- tory of jNlethodism in Halifax at this period. William Temple, \ylien giving in 182G an account of his steward-
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.•hureh in r that tlio Metliodist In IS 18 )ut on the ^rence the vvkcshury, jirnest re- iient of a ttee could a minister iids of liis ning third eniporary. Breton Ity re h-'d to —but the ), was sad minister y special s in the lissionary ■w Ih'uns- ssionary, ,in is;^9, 11 18:U: led, that ng Clii'is-" to eadi lymen in
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sliip, reported an addition of thii-ty-nine members. 'I'hat number mi:;"ht have been increased had theri^ been a dispo sition on the pastor's part to make certain concessions to some of those eNani^elical men and women \viio had followed John Thomas Twining upon his dismission from the curacy of St. Paul's." [""nder the ministry of Stephen Uamford and his young colleague, llennigar -the latter aj)pointed for the country districts — a number of members wei-e quietly added to the society. Uamfoi'd's ([uaint but powerful exhortations more than his sermons, attract(Hl many persons to Zoar cha})el, some of whom continued their visits from a deep religious interest. Among the mercies of whicli the good man made "rateful note at the end of his lirst year in the*city was the presence in his church of a choir, "nearly all the membei-s '' of which were "pious." "Thei'cfore,'' said he, in his child- like way, in his report to his l)rethi'en, " their hearts are in harmony with their voices."'
''The st'i'iiKiiis of Isaac Teuiiilf, Lunl Dallinusic's private c-liai)laiii, liail prnvcd a lilt'ssiii^' to soun' iiifiulxrs of St. I'aiil's. To liiiii in iiart, it is prolialilf, .Nh'. T\s iiiiii^' was iiidchted t'l-r that fvaii|,'fliciil tcacliiii^' which lit' in turn j^a\c to otlitrs. On the aiP|M(intnunt liy the r>rili>li "■ovcrnnu-nt of l{i)lMrt Willis, prtviously a na\al chaitlain ami at tiiat time r('Ctt)r of Trinity I'hurch, St. .lohn, to tlic cliari;-f of St. Paul's, and the ri'l)ortfd dctfrniination of the ^ovcrinncnt to place him in the new- position l>y military force, if necessary, the evanjifelical section of the con^'rej^ation, including' several peixuns lienefited liy ^he preachin;,'' of llihliert liinney at Sydney, estalili^hed separate services (.'onducted l>y 'Twinin"' in Mai'chin^^ton's oh! tha|iel. They then proceeded to liuild an " Independent I'lpi.-cojial cliapil ;"' Imt liefore it conM lie completed .Mr. Twiniu"", who was garrison cha]>lain as well as principal of the gram- mar scliool, yielded to some official jiressure and <liscontiniied the sepai'- ate services. A part of the seceders returned to St. Paul's, some \inited with St. (ieor^e's, and others Joined in worship with other city conj^re- "ations. The ('alvini>tic tendencies of tiie e\an<,'elical I'lpiscopalians stood somewhat in the way of their vniion with the Methodists, while t he V could scarcely lie satisfied with the low spiritual standard of the Provincial I'restiyterianism of that day. I'nder these t'ircumstances thev were led, mainly throu^^ii the influence of (tne of their ninnlier, tow'ards the liaptists, with whom most of them united as the ori;^'inaI memliers of tlie ( Iranville street P>ap ist church. The imtinished liuild- in^ was purchast'd l)y them, and used for more than a half century. Thi'se seceders from St. J'aul's hecame leaders in the several educational and Uiissionary movements of the Jja[)tists of Nova Scotia.
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In the list of those quietly added to tlie church in Hali- fax at this time was xVrchibald Morton, in later yeais a city missionary. This son of Scotch parents had grown to manhood when the visits of some Methodists to the Poor's asylum led, as he believed, to the conversion of his })arents, who were in charge of the institution, and to a determina- tion on his own part to be a Methodist whenever he should be a Christian. A sermon by AVilliam Black at tlie funeral of one of the visitoi'S took him tirst to a Methodist church ; a second discourse by Stephen Bamford, followed by an invi- tation from a friend, led to his connection with a class ; and under another discourse, by William Cioscombe, Bamford's successor, th» Holy Spirit aided him in the exercise of that reliance upon the atonement of Christ which marks the definite point of departure upon a life of faith. JJuring a brief residence in Philadelphia he was ordained a local preacher, in accordance with the usages of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was solicited to enter the itinerant ranks ; but, returning to Halifax, he resumed his place in choir and class and Sunday-school, and during nearly a half century proved himself a wise guide to young Chris- tians, some of whom became preachers and leaders in the provincial churches, while others of them bore the lamp of a holy profession beyond the range of our vision.
During the one short year that Robert Young was the colleague of Croscombe at Halifax, that minister rendered important service. His sermons .ind speeches were exqui- site in finish and point, and were full of Christ. His nume- rous hearers he first impressed by his anxiety for their spiritual welfare, and then sought to k^ad into the fellow- ship of the Church. Judiciously managed i)rayer-meetings served as a rallying-point for those who responded to his warm invitations, and aided such young men as John McMurray, Edward Jost, Jeremiah V. Jost, and others, in
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reacliin<; a docisiou tlirough wliich numbers liave been blessed. l)uriii<f that year tifty-nine persons were received into nieinbei'shipand others were reported on trial. At the close of the year the junior preacher sailed for Kngland, and there as a rarely successful preacher, a Conference rej)resentative to distant mission tields, and a president of the IJritish Conference, his abilities found a wide sphen?. A son, born in Halifax and baptized by William Black as Robert Newton Young, was in 1880 chosen president of the liritish Conference.
William Ci'oscombe's second colleague in Halifax was William McDonald — a promising young minister sent from the Canada District, but a native of Guernsey, where he iirst breathed the vital air while the regiment to whicli his father belonged was under canvas. The ministry of Henry Pope and llichard Williams at Quebec had been instrumen- tal in his conversion. At the end of a few months he was sent from Halifax to Charlottetown, and Thomas Taylor, who had just arrived from England for Shubenacadie, was detained in his place. So abundant in blessing were the winter months of 1830-31 that the superintendent an- nounced in the spring that seventy persons had been accepted for membersliij), while an equal number had been retained on probation. No abatement of interest was observed under the superintendence of William Dowson, transferred from the West Indies as Croscombe's successor. Sabbath out-door services were held by Taylor, and occa- sional conversions during the summer and autumn were fol- lowed by richer manifestations of spiritual influence on the earlier days of the new year. During continued services, more than two hundred persons were believed to have been made partakers of salvation. Among them were a number of the soldiers of the 34th regiment. The colonel of that regiment, though making no personal profession of a religi-
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J/ IS TORY OF METHODISM
ous life, had ol)sorve(l tho consistent conduct of several Methodists in his ivi^inient, and, with the ajiproval of the j^arrison chaplain -Twining, had issued orders that any of his men desii-ous of attending the meetings at the Methodist church should have leave until ten o'clock of each evening. This thoughtful act on the part of a JJritish officer was higldy appreciated by his men, thirty-nine of whom, as members of the ^Methodist Chuix'h, bade farewell to the society at Halifax when the 'Mth regiment left for New iJiunswick in tlie followini-- autunni.
One of the numerous meetings then held in the school- room in the rear of Zoar chapel seems invested with special importance. At that meeting two young Irishmen, tr.ained as l^oman Catholics, knelt near each other as peni- t(uits, and before its conclusion rejoiced as partakers of pardon. One was Robert Cooney, of Dublin. His mother, a Protestant in girlhood, had so fully eml)raced the creed of her liusband that to see her son a priest had become her liighest ambition. When his elevation to that otlice seemed probable, her letters reported earnest prayers that she might see him celebrate "one mass at least " before she should die; but the death of her husband so affected the family finances that the idea of the priesthood was abandoned, and the son was sent out to New l)runswick. ]>y way of preparation for leaving home the youth attended the monthly proces- sion of his " sodality " in the Carmelite Friary, obtained absolution, and, to "leave no unguarded place,'"' received a blessed missal and the habit and surplice of the " scapular of our Lady of Mount Carmel." While employed in a barrister's office at Miramichi, his way to the priesthood was again opened and he resumed the necessary studies. Already, however, the influences of new-world freedom had in some measure prepared tlie young Irishman to look upon Roman Catholicism in that spirit of reasonable criticism
IN NOVA SCOTIA,
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which hci' (lii,Miit;ii'i('s so hittt'riy coiuloiiiii. In an at tempt during an (Section contost to play a double i;ani(^ his bisliop was outwitted, and lie thci'i't'orc shai-ply i-elniked the young aspirant to tiie priesthood, not liecaus(^ lie liad espoused the interests of the successful candidate, hut because he had espoused them too vigoi'ously. This duplicity sent the young man foiward in the })ath of in- ([uiry, and soon caused him to leave his station at JJartibog, and to witlulraw from the lloman Catiiolic communion. A Protestant now in principle, he yet lacked those strong spiritual convictions which impart to princi})le its proper power; the veil was still upon his heart. Some degi'ee of light was gained through frequent attendance at the Pres- byterian and Episcopal churches. The rector of Chatham opened a coi'respondeuce respecting him with Pishop Stewart of (Quebec, but the young man respectfully declined the proffered assistance of both rector and bishop, and found special help in a careful study of the Holy Scriptures.' The late Joseph Sp)ratt, a local preacher at Chatham, lirst approached hiin upon the subject of pei'sonal salvation ; and ^Michael Pickles, the first Methodist pastor at .Miraniichi, took a deep interest in him, as did that minister's successor, Knoch Wood. During the special services in Halifax, the publication of his "Histoi-y of New Brunswick ' called him to that })lace. While attending the meetings conviction of sinfulness l)ecame clearer and de(»})er, and finally induced compliance with the invitation to kneel as a pcuiitent seekei* for pardon. On a subsecjuent Sunday exenjng he assisted Thomas Taylor in i\\o [>ulptt, and from time to time I'en-
■ At an ciu'lit'i' prrii 1(1 at Miraiiiiclii Ifolicrt ( "nnncy liad aciiiiii|iaiiic(l l''atlu'r, afterward I'lslmp, I Jullanl. as lie t'dllnweil in the tiaclc of tlic aj^'rnt (it tlic Ih'itisli and Fdrci^ii llililc Society, to secure coiiies of tlie Scriptures wliidi liad l>een distriluited anion^' liis iieople. and had known that the conscience of tliat. aniiaMe priest liad allowed him to put the collected cojiies in u stove, withoiit, however, having |)ennitte(l hiui to hum them.
206
HISTORY or METHODISM
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dered such appreciated service, that in \9>'S'l the iniiiist<M-.s of the district gave him a iiTiaiiinious recommendation to the Englisli Conference and a conditional appointment to Murray Ifarboi/
Robert Cooney's young fellow countryman knelt, as did several others that evening, in the uniform of a I'l-itish soldier, and with Archibald Morton near him as a counsellor. At the time he was a bugler in the 'Uth I'egiment. His father was a Roman Catholic, and his mother a Protestant ; the son had been trained according to his father's creed, and his name had been entered on the regimental roll as a llonian Catholic. He had, however, at one time attended a Sunday school, at which he had received the gift of a New Testament. An elder brother liad become a Methodist, but the bitter persecution of relatives had driven him across the Channel. His subsecjuent life could not be traced, but his forbearance under trial left an impression upon the younger brother not to be effaced in his most reckless days. AVhile in quarters at Georges Island, near the close of 1H31, he became involved in a street fray, and received such injuries as placed him in the military hospital. The injured soldier was fortunate in meeting there a chaplain who was careful to speak kindly to the erring and wayward. On his return to regimental duty he was further cared for by a ^Iiithodist bandsman. The latter, finding in him an interested listener, sometimes led him out of the barrack-room to a gun, under the shadow of which they found a secluded s[)ot for reading and conversation. The late Samuel Chittick, anothei" ]Methodist comrade in the 34th, believed that it was beside that gun that Francis Johnson was converted, but it was probably the place of decision only. Foster then led liis friend to the iMethodist church. At the close of a sermon the latter said to the preacher : "I am a poor ignorant
^ " Autohiugrapliy of a Wf.slcyan MinistiT," \)\). l!(-27.
IN NOVA SCOTIA.
20:
Catholic ; vour sprinoii has touc-lied me ; I want voii to teach me to do iH'ttiM'."' On tlie evening of January \'l\h, \^'.V1, ever after called hy him his "second l^irthday," while he and others were kneelint^ at prayer and the con;,'rej^;ition were singint,' a few lines of a iiynni, the peace of OkI filled his heart. At his uww retjuest, his reasons havinjj heen frankly gi\en, liis name was transfei-r-cd to the list of Protestant soldiers; a liome was sought in tlie .Methodist ('hui'cli ; and on the removal of the regiment in the autumn to Fredericton, he made himself known to the Methoflist preacher there, through whom he found warm friends. Earnest efibi't after mental improvement was at once enteicd u})on ; the use of intoxicating drinks was abandoned, and the imi)ortance of total abstinence from them pressed ujK^n the attention of his comrades. He soon became a leader among Christian associates ; and in the hospital lie d'.-veloped in the visitation of sick soldiers, with quiet encouragement from the connnanding oliicer, that peculiar tact which made his presence in sul)se(pient years to be an.xiously awaited in any afflicted home, or by any incjuirer after siilvation. It is believed that by his wis(! use of tlieir own prayer- l>ook, in which he readily discerned the wheat among the chaft", not less than a hundi'ed Roman Catholic soldiers were helped while in hospital to trust in a pi-eviously unknown Saviour, In \^\0, when the regiment was ni Toronto, his time of ser\ice expired and he at once returned to Halifax. From tiiat day he never lacked Christian work. Onf; of his eai'liest efforts was a mission school at Point Pleasant for the children of ai'tillervmen stationed there, S4^>riietimes through the presence of the parents turned into a nieeting for })rayer. A non-comnn'ssioned otiicer, then blesserj, gave a son to the ministry who has passed the chair of one oi the Mai'itime Conferences. John Marshall gave a class- book to the willing workei*, whose classes were rejx-atedly
208
insT(nn' of metuodihm
(lividcil iiiid subdivide.]. A t.ililct in tlic .school looin of tlio IJruiiswicU-sticct cliiircli (ells in few words the s(oiy of hi.s ni;ir\('lioiis success ;is suiicrintcndcnt of \\\v Siin(hiy-scliool gathei'ed tliere. Thi'oULfh that und (tlhcr clianin 's a juety which was thoiou^hiy s[)ontane()Us in utteraiiei^ came into contact with lives which ha\(' proved an untold Idessinijj to the Mr-thodisiii of these j)rovinces, and in an even wider sphere. In the list wei'e such men as the late (leorge H. Starr and .lames W. Morrow, who were not slow to confe.s.s theii- indehtedness to him for earlv L'uidance and continued encoura<^enient in tlie path of life;.
TJirough these revivals came the erection of a newcliurch in tlie noi-th suburb of the city. After a delay of several years, some persons having,' wished a lar,i;('r church on tlie old site, a lot was purchased on Uiunswick-street, and the new sanctuai'y erected on it was opened for worship on September llth, 1(S.'>|, by sermons preached by James Knowlan, Ivicliard Knight and MattJK'w llichey. Tliis church was supposed to furnish accommodation tor one thousand hearers, ;uul was regai'cUid as one of the most ek\!Ljant places of worship then in llritish North America.
The dedicatory services of the new chui'ch took ])lace during a season of sadne.ss. On the 1 Ith of August several cases of the dreaded Asiatic cholei'a had been reported from the poor-house. A few days later the military were attacked, after which all classes of citizens began to fall victims. Neighbors met, passed a few words in reference to the illness and death of ac(|uaintances, and then suddenly moved on as if there might be mutual danger in the brief- est interview. During a special fast-day service in Zoar chapel on August 21)th, a person was seized by the fell disease, and was carried away in agony, to die on the after- noon of the same day. A combination of rainy and hot weather, beginning on Sunday, September Gth, caused a
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sudden iiioi't'iise ol cases ;iiid dcutlis. In the list <»t' tliDsc who tlicii I'cccivcd tlifir <l('iitli-\vai'i'iiiit was \\\v smir.iMr William Ular-k, wIid yielded to tlu; force of the disease om the following day, (Jidy fi\e days Ix lore the opciiiiii,' of th(! now chufcli, to the Ixiildiii^j fund of which he h;id hceii one of the most i^eiierous eontiihiitors, dc\dut men caiiieil him to hi.s huriah At ;in eaily date llichaiil Knight, then in cliargo, preached a memorial sermon jiiid dischari^ed the last tluty impoised upon him l»y his vemTiililc fi-irnd that of ^iviu^ to the nuMnl)ei's of the society his farewell messa<J[(^ Of tlio tweiity-f(nir other u»fMiih(Mvs on the (h»ath-roll of that year in the city, the larger iiundtei- fell victims to the same dread disease.
A period of success was followed hy a season of s«>rious trial. In Octo])er, IS.'Jl*, William .Jackson, a former iMiirlish Wesleyan local preaclx'r, arrived fiom V'iri^'inia. This singular man, who had not a little natui'al a.l)ility, possessed the boldness necessary for a self imprtsed mission without either the prudence or the education re(|uisite to give it peruuiuence. On his arrival he called himself a .Methodist minister, l>ut when pressed i»y William I'.lack to producer his credentials he admitted his connection with the Metho- dist Pi'otestants of the United States.' ITis first puhlic appearance was on a Suntlay afternoon on the Market- scpiare, where his singular garl> and long, Ihnving hair attracted a motley crowd of attentive listeners. Some Wesleyan Methodists desired to see him in the pulpit of their church, but the ministers wisely hesitated to invite him thither. This hesitation oidy gr-atilied the eccentric stranger, whose earnest and evangelical add res.ses soon drew
'•'The MctluKlist ]*ri)t<'stiuit Clnnvh \v;i-. (>rj,';iiii/f(l in the I'liitcd States ill 1S2!I. 'I'lu- ri'foniier.s or "nt'licals," ;i.s tlu-y were called, liaviiijj^ failed in their etForts to secure certain lay ritrlit> in tiie Methodist I'^pis- copal Clmrcli, withdrew from it under the lead<r'-hi|) of some ulile men. The Methodist Protestants iiave now a menili'-r.-.hi|> of nearly l;V>,(MMl, with a book-cuuceni, periodicals, college-^ and llieological schools.
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to him mimcious ;i(lli('i('iits, l)y whose iiid he secured the (.'Oiitl'ol of a |tul)lie hall. I)uiiii,'4 the foUowin;,' spriiii; he comiiuMU'ed {\\i\ erection of a |)hi.iM! of worship, and preached in it as soon as it all'orch'd protection from sunshine and showei'. 1'his hiiihlinij; he named the " Mhcnc/*'!' Methodist Protestant Churcli." He liad oidv on joyed its ucconiinoda- tion for a few months when a content ion hetween some of his adherents and himself caused se\eral \\'esleyan sece(hM's to return to their former associates, and led Jackson to annouue»> an int<'ntion to return to tli(! I'^nited States.
In his search for a successor at "Khenc/cu* church," Jack- son found a man whose infhtenc(i seemed likely to exceed liis own. 'I'liis was Thomas 'i'aylor, tlie pre\ ious coUeas^ue of Ci'oscoinbe and Dow-son. Taylor had been sent to Jiiver John, with instructions to commence a mission at Pictou, whiM'e the visits of a Methf)dist minister had he(>n desired ; and th(!nce had hcuMi removed to Shul)enacadie. Under the influence of deep niental (h'pression lie had h'ft the hitter pLace for Halifax, and hy aii act involving a breach of con- tract in I'^nghand had placed himself under the ban of the Committee in London, who positively forbade his appear- ance in the city pulpits. His seniors, as they met at Liver- pool in 1834, grieved moreover the changed position of this popular and useful young minister than over the death of the beloved McDonald, whose remains Jiad but a few^ weeks before been laid in the graveyard adjoining the church in which they werci assend)led. Hoping for reinstate- ment, the young preacher for some time retained a private position, but at length grew restive under the restrictions imposed by the Committee. In this state of dissatisfaction he was approached by Jackson, who persuaded him to accept the charge of Ebenezer chapel.
Taylor's new venture proved satisfactory to himself for only a short time. Jackson, in professed accordance with
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IS course as a
breach of faith, provoked a war of ])aiii|ihleis, eondiicted oil lioth si(h's with son:*' al)ility l)iit more l)it teriie<s. Jack- son faih'd ill his attempt to hiiild ihe second chiir<'h and returned to the I'nited States, his uutinished Ituihlinuj linally heeoniint; St. Pati-ieks Koiuan ('atholi(; chajxd. Tayh'r for some time < mhined with his pulpit duties th<^ Itusiness of a hookseller and editor of the /''-iir/, a weekly literary joui'iial, Ijut his l)usiness ventur(;s proNcd uiiremu- nnrative. Towards the end of IS.'IS the Methodist Protes- tant chapel hecauie the " Wesleyan Ass(tciation " place of worship, of which ahout that time J{ol»inson IJrearo, " Wesley.an Reform missionaiy frotn Manchester, hint^dand," took charge," but at a later date the building jiassed into Presbyterian ownership.
These movements, conducted hy men l)earing the name of Methodist, cost the Methodist Church in llalifa.x some loss in numbers and in prestige. Some former attendants, unsettled in opinion and weakened in attachment, were prepared to drift with any current. Prom this class the earliest city advocate of LTniversalist views, a former Wes- leyan local preacher, gained a few adherents ; (,'thers found no permanent denominational home. It was fortunate for Methodism in Halifax that the strong-minded and judicious J^ichard Knight had been called in 1833 from Newfound- land to preside over the Nova Scotia District. J)uring the winter of 1834-35 his ministry and that of his elocjuent colleague, Ricliey, resulted in an extensive revival. In one
fT
mm
mmm
mm
•2 1 2
IllSTOIiY OF METHODISM
(-■■■'■
J 1
wfM'k sixty pcrsfjiis \v«n'o l)i'liev(.'(l to have found the peaci.' of ({o(l, and during that year al>out thirty of the soldiers in garrison were reeeivfid into Cln'istian fellowsliij). A nuin- l)er of th<; comrades of th(! latter were made partakers of the l)l«\ssing which attended a similar revival dui'ing the succeeding winter. Yet so serious had been the losses that the additioii^s through these revivals were not sufUcient to maintain the meml)(U'ship at the figures pj-eviously re- ported. The att(!ndanc(i on Sunday evenings was also lessened hy the adoption by other denominations of the system of Sunday evening services. ]Jishop Inglis, having ascertained what iiis predecessors had failed to discover, that such services were authorized by the Scriptures and the practice of the early Church, opened St. Paul's for evening worship on the first Lord's-day of 1835, Other pastors availed themselves of the ligiit which had dawned upon the worthy bishop, and in a short time the open doors of Hve churches invited the entrance of the church-going families and individuals of whose presence on Sabbath evenings the Methodists and Baptists had until then en- joyed a monopoly. Just at that time the trustees of the new church found themselves responsible for a del>t of three thousand pounds, the interest of which the amount avail- able from seat-rents was insutlicient to meet. A year later the Missionary Committee gave the district meeting leave to use a small portion of the annual missionary grant towards the payment of interest, and in the autumn the supei-intendent, John P. Hetherington, with Hugh Bell, Esq., went abroad for assistance. They proceeded by separ- ate routes through New Brunswick and met at Woodstock, whence the pastor returned home, the layman going for- ward to Quebec, Montreal and New York. The amount thus obtained, with the six hundred dollars received from the military authorities for the use of the church as a
TN NOVA SCOTIA,
213
i^arrisou cliapol on Sunday niorniiii^'s for a year, rclitnrd the trustees from j^i-eat pcri)lexity and savrd a heautiful sanctuary from becoming a sacrifice.
These years of anxiety were followed hy a season f)f com parative prosperity in the city, l)ut it was unfortunate that a morVjid appetite for three sermons in each chuich on the Sabbath should have l)een gratified at the cost of the small societies near the capital."* On the eastern side of tlu> harbor were Dartmouth, Cole Harbor and Lawrencetown, and on the western, Mambro and St. Margaret's I>ay. Sam- bro, settled originally l>y fishermen from Cape Negro, most of whom were INIc^thodists, had been visited in IS'JI by William ]>lack, who formed a class of eighteen peisons, some of whom had been members of a class previously dissolved V)y the removal of theii- leader. Karly in the century the same minister had preacrhed at St. JMiirgaict's Bay, where some families of Ifuguenot descent had found a liome, but no systematic attention had been given them until the appointment of Robert L. Lusher to the city. At St. Margaret's ]»ay a neat little church was built as early as in 1824, and at Sand)ro another was put up in 1S30; and in 18132 these places were set off' as a distinct circuit, but years elapsed before the number of [)reachers permitted any proper supply. After the erection of the second city church the ministers were obliged to lea\e the out[)osts almost wholly dependent uj)on the local preachers, and when the latter were removed or were passed into the itnierant ranks some of the settlements near the city for years received no visits from any agents of Methodism, clerical or lay.
'" For tlic waste of i)r('acliiiif( power in former days the iireachers were in i)art responsihle. A yoi.ii>? preacher wrote from tlie disti'ict meeting at Morton in IS'JT : " Last Siimlav we iiad live sermons. At • ia.m., Mr. Snowball, at 11 a.m., .Mr. Williams aid .Mr. laisher, at .'V.'iO I).m., Mr. Pope and Mr. Voung. Mr, Young incached a \ try great sermon on 'What think yeof Christ?'"
214
IIlSrORY OF METIIODIS.U
d;
li" I;?
Several of these local preachers subsequently tilled hoinr- able posts. Hugii F. Houston obtained a good report on tlu! southern shore of the province ; and a conteniporai'v, (jeorge Stirling, died in 1870, having been for twenty-one years paf::tor of the Congregational churcli at Keswick Ridge, N.n. Among their successors in Halifax was Charles bewolf, of Wolfville. While a student at law in the city, a sermon by Kdmund A. Crawley, then pastor of the Cran- ville-street Baptist church, was the means of his conversion. After careful investigation into the doctrines and polity of the Baptist Church, with which he had been the more nearly associated, he became satisfied that the standards of Metho- dism were more in hai'mony with the teachings of Holy Scripture. Against the class-meeting he had some preju- dices, but these Archibald Morton soon dispersed. Soon aftei' his ijaptism by llichard Knight, and union with Archibald Morton's class, he was appointed a local pi'eacher. Early in 1S.'}() he gave up the study of law, and at the district meeting of tiiat year underwent the (examination prescribed for candidates for the itinerancy. A few months later he sailed foi' England, to spend a year at the Theological Insti- tution at lloxton. Jieside him, during the chairman's examination in 18;JG, stood two others, one of whom, Jere- niiah V. Jost, commenced his ministry in the following year on the Liverpool circuit. The service of the second, Jesse Wheelock, of Bridgetown, was brief. After fragmen- tary periods of employment, the health of this excellent young preacher utterly failed, and he went home to die.
A revival at Windsor called into permanent exercise the (Miergies of John (now Dr.) McMurray, another young local preacher. At the age of five years he had left his native place, an Irish village near Dublin, with his pai-ents. One day in January, 1833, William Crosconibe, detained in Halifax by business, requested him to take the services of
ft
IN XOVA SCOTIA.
215
the Sabbath at Windsor. On the Lord's-day evening, at a cottage prayer-meeting, three persons recei\ cd assurance of salvation. Sul)se([uent meetings having proved still more rich in blessing, the pastor delayed the return to the city of the young local preachei', and with his assistance continued special elloit until the beginning of spring, when eighty persons had professed experience of conversion. At this busy period Croscond)e received notice from England of his appointment to Montreal as chairman of the district, and a ixMpiest to })roceed thither as soon as ))ossible : Stephen Uamford was therefore aj)pointed his successor at Windsor, and John McMui'ray was persuaded to remain there to con- tinue his studies and quietly aid in the pastoral care of the numerous converts.
Early in the following winter the young local pi-eacher was called away from Windsor to fill the \acancy caused at Shubenacadie by the withdrawal of Thomas Tayhji'. The settlements in that cii'cuit, previous to IS.'iO, had formed a part of the pastoral care of the minister at N(!wport. Nearly all the oiiginal settlers in the township of Douglas were Pi'esl)yterians, but soon after the beginning of the century several ^lethodists had removed thither froui Newport and Tlorton, and a few other j)ersons had lieen converted under the preaching of one or more of the early itinerants. l>y these persons John Snowball, then at Newport, was asked to visit them. A serinon preached by that minister at the house of "Colonel " William Smith, an iiish settler on the Kentuitcook, was heard by a fellow "Churchman'' from the (lore settlement, who for the sake of a INlethodist wifeoll'ered his own dwelling to the j)reacher as a temporary chapel. in J)ecendier, 1821, the same minister formed a small societ" near M;vitland : and at their next annual meeting his brethi'en rcMpiested him to \ isit the settlements in that section of country at least four times in
216
in STORY OF METHOUIHM
t )
i-A
tlie year. At llfiwdon roi^'ular sorvicps had boon hold by Episcopal ministers, but Mc^thodist itiiiei'aiits liad several times visited the place. A leading settler there, John Bond, a Loyalist, had had some ac(juaintance witli Methodism in the Southei-n States : wlicn, therefore, his wife one day remained to a communion ser\'ice in the little Ei)iscopal churcli, he too grew thoughtful, and asked for a visit from a Methodist preacher. A daughter of his was the first meml)er of the class fornx d by Snowball at the Gore. In l(S27-'28 these settlements received welcomed attention from John Shaw, then a local preacher at Newport, but subse- ({uently a missionary to the West Jndies ; and for a longer period the congregatiojis nearest Newpoi-t listened to liis brother, Arnold Shaw, who also, as a local preacher, "labored much in the Lord."
Of the eleven children of William Smith three sons became ]\[ethodists. Nathan Smith and his wife united with the first class formed at Maitland. llichard Smith decided to be a Methodist after an unexpected interview with Matthew Bichey. In response in part to the request of Richard and Nathan Smith, who had commenced a small church near INIaitland, 'J'homas Crosthwaite was sent in 18.30 to the Shubenacadie circuit. There this devoted young I]nglishma)i found a Held forty miles in extent, a small and scattered membership without proper leaders, and a people generally prejudiced against his teachings by early training and subsecjuent influences. The candid old Scotch lady in that disti'ict who declined to " break the Sawl)ath " by compliance with a neighbor's imitation to listen to the young preachei' was by no means singular. Crosthwaite nevertlieless persevered, and at the end of a two years' term reported two new cliapels, one of which liad been opened in May, 1885, and the addition of fifty-four meinl)ers, witli some others upon proV)ation. To that Held John McMurray
Ml,
IN NOVA SCOTIA.
21;
in 1(S.'M returned, after liavinif l»een ueoepted as a ciuulidato for the ministry. In the autumn a I'evival took place- at Maitland, at tlie elose of wliieli the eonverts were phxeed under the care of llichard Smith as leader, for whicli posi- tion the revival had been to him a precious preparation.
In July, 18."JI, .John Mc^[urray extended his line of appointments into Colchester county. At Truro were several persons who had i)een connected with the member- ship in Ifalifax and elsewhere, and a few others whom opportunities of lieariiig the preaching of Methodist doctrine had disposed to regard it with favor. An occasional sermon had been given in th(^ court-house by John Snowball, Robert If. Crane, and other passing ministers. On his tirst visit to Truro, John McMurray, who was ac 'ompanied by Richard Smith, spent one Lord's day there. Flis sermons were preached to large congregations in the Baptist church, which had first been opened for woiship on the preceding Sunday ; and were given at hours which permitted the attendance of mend)ers of the several congregations of the village. Some of his hearers returned iiome in })erplexity, for tlie ideas prevalent in Presl)yterian communities respecting Meth- odism had been generally accepted at 'J'ruro. A INFethodist, according to the opinion of many at that day, was one who robl)ed Christ of the glory of salvation, and sought eternal life only through the merit of human deeds. To the sur- {)rise of some who entertained that opinion, the young Methodist preacher had not only pres(Mited Christ crucified as the sole ground of hope for a penitent sinner, but had set forth that great fact with a f('r\eney to which they were unaccustomed. On that day the tiuth reached the heart of young Samuel Scott Nelsoi. — later a [trominent local standard-bearer -as he sat in tin- coi-ner of the gallery, feai'ing tiie reproach connected with his ^Methodist mother's denominational name.
93^B
218
HISTORY OF METHODISM
'1
i I
Just Jit this time Arcliibald Morton, of Halifax, on his recovery from Asiatic cholera, spent several weeks at Trui'o, and gave willing support to the young minister's efforts. In the course of a montli sevei-al persons professed conversion and became members of a class held at Green- field. After the Baptist church had several times be(?n occupied, the Masonic hall was hired foj s(n'vicos on alternate Sundays ; visits being also paid to Greentleld, North Kiver and Onslow. In January, 1835, James Buckley, a young local preacher of li-ish parentage, who had made his first essay at preaching in his father's house near lieiwick, and who, at the district meeting of 1835, was accepted as a candidate for the ministry, was called from his studies at Kentville and sent to tiie assistance of John McMurray, whose health seemed likely to yield under excessive labor. Thirty members wei'e gathered during the year, and reijuestj for the ministry of Methodism were received from various sections of the district surrounding Cobequid iiay. These requests were forwarded with an appeal to the Missionary Committee for the appointment of a missionary to Truro, but in the absence of any practical res})onse, Truro and the surrounding district remained through several precious years a part simply of the un- wieldy Shubenacadie circuit. In the charge of this wide field Thomas Smith, from Bermuda, became John Mc- Murray's successor.
! t
CHAPTER IX.
.mi;thof)is.m in thkxova scotia axdpiuxck edward
ISLAM) DISTRICT, FROM ISl'C, TO THK CKXTKXAR V CKLKRRATIOX IX ],s;^!». (ConchuUd.)
(Jlann. ut uhVr c.i.vuits. I'rince Edward Island. Hihl.. Christian i-nvl.. .Mnnsfria] .hanyvs. Xotics „f Mattlx-u- Rici.ev, Wiiiian. Maek, and ntlicr ministers.
Throiigli tiie s.nall.iess of tiie number of ministers at this IKMiod, any marked advance in several of the older circuits was scarcely possible. Tempted by repeated calls beyond reasonable hmits, tiie preacher too often became liable to the charge of imitating the farmer in the questionable ex- pedient of clearing more ground than it was possible for him properly to cultivate.
One minister only could be allowed to the immense Parrs-
boro' and Alaccan circuit, which was one hund,-ed and
twenty miles in length. Scarcely less unwieldy was the
Wallace circuit, to which Pugwash had been added in IS'M
and U.ver John in 1S23. There, too. after successive
changes, all the Methodist congregations between lliver
Plnl.p and the Albion Mines-and through the predilections
ot the people, few ministers of other churches were on the
ground -were in charge of one overworked preacher.
L nder such circumstances "the presence of some active lay-
Hion was of special value. For some years T A. S Dewolf
while engaged in business at Parrsboro', gave to the work
the assist^uice of his influence and ability; and for more
than a half-century John Lockhart bestowed upon that and
adjacent sections of the county a service which was of great
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I I I ; I
f,
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2l>0
JflSTORY OF MKTI101>ISM
■ I
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bonofit. Ainon^ roj)r<'sont.itivo inon at Wallace was Stophou Kultnn, coincflcd uikUt .James ir«Mini<,'ar's luiiiistry, who, as cliiof ina^isti'ato of liis natives ooiinty and hor representa- tive for many yeai-s in the leijjislatui'e and for a period in the f,'ovei'nment, as well as in various positions in the church, was in all circumstances faithful to the law of his God.
An extensive revival took ])lace at Parrsboro' in l83f)-36, the first by wh'ch that place was visited, thou<^h a few excellent members liad resided there for many years. Thout,di givin<f its name to the circuit, the village was thii'ty miles distant from jM.'iccan, where wei'e the principal church and the paj-sonage, and it therefore otdy received a visit from the circuit preacher on each third Sunday. The first church stood near tlie Cross Roads, about two miles from the site of the present sanctuary. Early in the autumn of 183') a poor settlement near that church was visited by two colored Methodists from Halifax, one of whom was a man of unusual power in prayer. Meetings held by these men were attended by several conversions and by a wide- spread interest in ])ersonal religion. This increasing interest became so apparent to William Smith, the preacher in charge, that on his next visit he set himself earnestly to its further promotioii. Kach visit for several months was marked by the salvation of some persons, and in the intervals Sabbath services, with two or more meetings in each week, were maintained by John Lockhart, the leader, assisted by senior members and new converts. One service held by ilie pastor in December was remembered with special interest. The meeting for prayer, by which the evening sermon was followed, could not be closed until the dawn of the next day. Of the eighteen persons who then entered into the liberty of the sons of (lod, one was Christopher Lockhart, son of the pious leader, and subsequently a most successful
/X XOVA SCOT/A.
provincial itincranl. Aiiioiil; the uiic liuii(li<'<l «,'oiiVfrts wccf
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ho hail hccii (h'liiikards, hla^pjii'iiii'ivs aii'l
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vcs iiiiuh! ii .ahit.iiy imjJiTssioii on ;ill then
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voc'it*'
led to the f)ri;aiiizatio:i of a. <-linrch ;it rh ii lAmu
uoor
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Will
lain
W
ilsoii,
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at M
iccan.
A vcar carli'-r a class
had be<Mi formed at Five Islands, when; Utv some tini»' a place for worshii) was found in the hctuse of .John Kilmer, at wliose suLC^estion Rohert Cooncv lirst \ isit«'d tlie settle.
•on
ment.
Early in ls;}8 William Croscoinl)(; retuiiK-d to .\o\a Scotia. His ministry in the Canada District had heeii suc- cessful, hut his views respecting the union at tliat time consummated had not been in harmony with tho.se of cer- tain leaders in the movement, and he had therefore sought a release from his otHcial position. On his arrival he took charge of the Hortou and Cornwallis circuit. When a few months had elapsed he went to the assistance of Peter Sleep, of the New Brunswick District, in special meetings at liill-town. A call on his way home at the house of Sarah Davidson, at Greenwich, led him to hold similar WTvice.s at that place. Mrs. J)avidson was the daugliter of Peter Martin, a convert of Henry Alline. At a me».'tiMt,' of the Horton liaptist church, in 17i).'5, it was "agi-eed that Ijrother Peter Martin is blessed with a gift that lie ought to improve as the Lord shall call him," In the good man's conserjuent and frequent absence his daughter Sarah, though little more than a child, was accustomed to gather her motherless sisters at the domestic altar. With the adoption of the system of close communion by the Jjaptist chui<-h at Horton, Sarah Martin's membership in it ceased, but in the absence of special ordinances she sought all the moi-e by reading and prjxyer, and by an occasional Sunday with Kebecca Crane at Lower Horton, to keep the Hame of devotion bright. Robert
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2-22
HISTORY OF METHODISM
\\. Oriiiic had bpoii the lii-st to ciitcr {\n\ door which she opened iit (Jre(uiwich to tho Mothodist itinerants. I'lKh-i' his ministry sho entered into a eh'ai- v spiiitual atmosphcie, and with hci* hushand and several othei- persons liecame a nieiidier of a chiss held in her own dwellini,'. ('Iiielly thi'oiiL,di her exei'tions a small church had been luiilt on hind tjixt-n l»y her husband. As imw she heai-d Croscondie relate; what ho had witnessed at JJill-town, she told him that fcuir years before, during an illness supposed to be lun- last, she had fallen into a gentle; shu'p during which she received from a heavenly messenger an assurance that four years should Ije added to lier life, and that her })rayers for friends should be answered. " I beg of you," she now said to the hesi<ating preaclier, " to make ai'rangements for similar meetings, for T know the time is at hand." Three weeks from that day William Oroscond)e and Peter Sleep met at (jlreenwich. Disaiireeable weather and bad roads tested the coura<;e of the workers, but the faith of the invalid who was j)raying at home never yielded to fear, and soon received an open reward. Progress was constantly reported to the interested woman, who, in case of any negative answers to hci* (|ues- tions respecting individuals, had a single i-esponse. •'They will come,' she said : " They will come, they have been on my mind for years ! " One JiOrd's-day, at her own request, she was taken to the church, whence she was carried to her bed as she repeated the words of Simeon of old. Ten days hiter the hour of departure came. Three days before death, as the pastor was about to leave her room, she asked to be raised in her bed, and then in a voice of unusual strength recounted the goodness, past and present, of her Lord. Then, turning to the listening minister, she gently chided him for his lack of faith, counselled him to go on in expec- tation of still greater results, and with words of triumph lay back upon her pillow. " This," wrote Croscombe, some
IX NOVA SCOTIA.
223
years sifter tin; ini-idcut, '-was ccrtaiiily one of the most .soU;liiri intciN it'ws I cscf had with a fellow iiioftal, and though I stood i('[»n)vc(l l>y it, I uas <,'i"('atly blessed. It was
a voieo from the tomli
A sermon over tlie romains of the
deeeas(Ml woman iciidered suhscfjuent moetiii^s more impres- sive. Through tliis revival, attendant upon nieetini^'s which the superintendent had planm.'d with some relucta' ce, about
Hft^
y meml)ers, some »f whom became piUai-s ot sti'ength to the church, wei-e recei\ed into (Christian fellowship.
A request for similar .services at Lower Jlorton, jir«»fei'red by a few |)ious sisters, again involved the pastor in per- plexity. Ifa\ing, however, received a {)i"omis»? of assistance from Peter Sleep, upon whom he leaned heavily, he made an announcement for a " protracted meeting." The notice was heard as an annoyance- by .some, with pity (ov a foolish pastor l)y others, and with a degree! of unbelief by some of the most faithful members, but the event proNcd a keen rebuke to all these classes. After a few days even the holy tact of Peter Sleep seemed f>f slight necessity to a work which went on with rai-e steadiness. Tlie Hrst convert of the revival was Robert K. (Jrane, subseipiently a useful and beloved preacher and pastor. It was dui'ing that season of grace also that Isaac Armstrong, long in request at similar meetings in that and neighl»oring circuits, gave up a vain search for rest in the tenets oi I'niversalism and found peace through the merits of (,'hrist as set forth in the Gospel. On the eleventh day of these .seivices the ol>ligations of church membership wei'e explainefl, and the names of one hundred and twenty candidates for its [)rivileges were gratefully recorded.
The ministry at Newport of Henry Po})e, whose three years' term there was commenced in 18.'}.'3, was one of much usefulness. When the shadows of fourscore vears had fallen over his path, he spoke of his residence at Newport
L'L'l
iiisroin' or MirriKHHsM
; «.«
'Hv-
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as aiiioMi,' tlu! j)l('as;iiilc.sl tniiis ot' a wvy \o\v^ scivic'c. S«'V('iity liaiiKfs were (Iicii added, liy a 1,'iadual revival, to the Kevciity previously on the re^'istei's of the classes. One of the later converts was Nicholas Mosher, sen., \\ln» heard Henry j'ope's sernmn from '" 1 1 iiider me not," etc., and broko throiiLfli the harriers which t'ni' some time had prevented him from inakiiii,' an open avowal of himself as a disciple of Ciirist.
I''or some years tlu; care; Ix'stowed upon the Yanuoutli circuit was inti.'rmittent in (diaractei-. I5y <leor«^(^ Miller in IS'Jl' it was pi'onounced "poor i,'r(jiind," ai\d no provision was that year made for its supply. Just then William W. Ashley, previously of Liverpool, removed to Yarmouth and preached in tlu; small .Methodist chui'ch. It is said that the Methodists lifid for some iciison declined to receive liim as a nnnistcr of their body : whether Ik? took charge at Yarmouth under the. chairman's direction is uncertain. Crowded coni^a-egations hea^d liim, u;ay piirties were sup- plc'inted l)y ij;atherings at the church, and several young persons, wliose names are yet gi'atefully treasuied, then beiian their Chi'istian career. l''or nearly seven years Ashley r<Mnained in charge. At the end of that period William Smith was sent to the circuit. For a time his position was an end)arrassing one. Ashley had professed to be carina,' foi- a Methodist fold in accordajice with Metho- dist discii)line ; during his presence pews and .;alleries had been placed in the churcli and a tower added to its roof ; a useful ministry had endeared him to some of the senior, and more of the junior, mend)ers ; it was not therefore strange that at a period of some interest parting should on both sides be somewhat unwelcome, or that a piirt of the number ])lessed through his nnnistry should have wished him to form an independent cluirch. A call from Eastport, ]Me., how- ever led him for a time to another field, and the wise
?r#
/.V .VOIM SCOTIA,
'2 2 a
-clVUM'.
, totho
()M(! of
1 1 hroko t<'(l him ciplc of
iniiouth tlillcr ill (Tovisioii liiiin W. )ulh aiul that the e him as hiU'go at ncertain. ore sup- \ young •('(1, then '11 yoars it period time his Drofessed II Mctho- ;ries had roof ; a |uior, and strange lon V)oth number 11 to form le., how- Itlie wise
(Oil
iist'ls; of Thomjis hanc, llolicrt (Jin-st
and
iciiiovcd dissat isfjict ion and
(•<in\ iiic('(
I (.1
i^('r\ t'i's
tthci's, that
Mctliodi.siii in ^^'^l'llloutll was not, as the ciiiliariMsscd young prcarhtT had at lirst lit-cn disposed to regard it, "'a rope of sand." The young iiiciidx'i's soon learned also, to their great ph-asuiv, that uii(h'r the I'higlish reser\-e of Ashh'y's suceessoi' was ;i wanii and true heart, sincerely (U^sirous of their spiritual ami intelleetual devdopnuMit. At the end of his two years" term, Yannoutli, as ii part of the IWirrington eireuit, recei\cd the visits of Thomas II. |)a\ies on eaeli third Sunday until, in the winter of 1SJ)|, William Menonald was sent tliitli(>r tVoin Charlottetown. On his removal at the end of eighteen luonths, the ineiid)ei's, dissatisfied with an arrangement w liioh gave them services only on alternate Sundays, secured the presence of William I'adman, a useful l''nglish local preacher, wlm afterwards went to the United States. Another English local preather, who had been in America, in r(>turning to I'jigland called at Yarmouth, and in the absence of a ministei- remained there a year. A captain bolonging to the place, and bound for England on his own vessel, then gave him and his wib; a passage home ; the ca]»tain was con\erted through their iniluence, and was thenceforth a faithful member of the Methodist society in his native town. Fruin this period the interests of Yarmouth M<'tliodists were jealously guarded l)y Lvobcrt AkU;r, their earliest ortlained preaclu^i', who aftei' his return to I>ritain from Canada had been chosen one of the (jencral Secretaries of the W'esleyan ]\lissionary Society. In 183;") he proposed the removal of a niinist(!r from another circuit for the benefit of the people of his earliest cliarge. "'At all events," he wrote, '-'you must lind an eflicient supply for Yarmouth this year and c(jntinue it whether you
remove the })reacher from or elsewhere." And wlien
less sanguine men hesitated to act in accordance with liis 15
22G
HISTORY OF METHODISM
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instructions lie emplmt'cally insisted that tlie chairman "must not give up Yarmouth to any local preacher, how- ever excellent." In accordance with such charges John jVlcMurray was sent to the circuit. Several conversions during his tvvo years' residence gave promise of a riclier in- gathering, but his successor, Jesse Wheelock, had only become familiar with his duties when illness demanded liis immediate removal. In his stead arrived Cliarles Dewolf, who after neai'ly two years at the Theological Institution in London, had been in September, 1838, oi'dained in City- road chapel. The English t'onnnittee had proposed Char- lottetown as the young preacher's first station, but in view of vacancies at both ]}ai-ringtoii and Yarmouth, the chair- man exercised liis discretionary power and sent him to Barrington. Having reached that part of the province, he concluded that the case of Yarmouth was the more pressing, and therefore secured permission to remain at that place.
The old Jjai'rington circuit in 1828 presented a prosperous api)earance. JNIatthew Ilichey, at the close of an extensive revival, had welcomed a number of young persons into mem1)ership, and had encoui'aged Alexander II. Cocken and Winthrop Sargent to oiter upon local preachers' ser- vice. Lack of itinerant preachers, however, seriously alVected the interests of this old circuit. Thomas II. Davies, Matthew Richey's successor, in 182*J, found himself ol)liged to give supervisioii to Yarmouth and its ntighborhood. Through this division of lal)or over scattered districts, IJarrington suffered loss, but at Shelburne the visits of the superintendent grew to be like angels' \isits, "short and far between,'" and services under local leadership gradually declined, and then for some years the doors of the old church were locked, only to be opened when some passing minister could tarry long enough to favor the inhabitants with a sermon.
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hairnian ler, how- ;es John iversions •iclier iu- lad only nclecl his i Dewolf, istitution 1 in City- ;ed Cliar- t in view the chair- t Inni to )vince, he
pressing, t place. )rosperous
extensive •son:-; into 1, Cocke n cliers' ser- seriously H. Da vies, elf obliged ^hhorhood. districts, isits of the ' short and ) gradually
of the old ne passing inhiihitants
For the Liverpool circuit pastoral oversight was seldom lacking. The death there of William McDonald in IS.'Jt has been mentioned. Exposure during tlie winter journey from Charlottetown to Yarmouth had given a blow to a con- stitution never very vigorous and severely tried l)y close study and liard toil. Further exposure during attendance at missionary anniversaries in the autumn of \^:V.\ developed pulmonary disease, which ended in death in the following spring. His brethren lield their annual meeting that year under the shadow of the pulpit in which he last had preached. Several persons were converted during the services of that gathering, but the most extensive revival took place under the ministry of Matthew Cranswick, sent to the circuit in is:];"). At its close seventy persons were re})orted to have l)een led into a better life at Liverpool, and thirty others at Mill Village, In lS:]8-;5!j William Smith reported several conversions in the town ami a larger number in the western section of the circuit, where If ugh V. Jlouston, on his removal from TTalif ix, had found a home.
In the Lunenburg circuit was the viljag.' (,t' that name, with Petite Riviere, Lahave, Uitcey's Cove, .Mahone I5ay, and some smaller .settlements. Some excel h>nt mend)ers liad entered the cluirch through a revival in iSi':?, bu. prejudices on the part of the Lntheran population, and luisconduct on tlie part of the (Je- maii .\Iethodist pastor, 1 1 ad retarded progress in the '• iih.g,^ and sh)w subscpient growth under the care of an Lnglish-si)eaking pastor had more than once tempted the CJommittee to transfer thrir a-vnt to a more promising field. A few faithful nuMnbers, with good mission premises, in the \ iljage, and flourishing little societies i- some of the adj.-icent settlements, fortun"'- atrly availed to prevent such action. Thomas II. Davies, who followed Orth in a pulpit where Cermaii ha' !.. en' generally spoken, believed tlie use of that language io be on
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
the decline, hut the sons and gi'randsons of the German colonists were less ready to abandon either the lanajuage or the habits of their ancestors than the minister had supposed. For years after English had become the language of the pulpit, a part of the conversation at the circuit official meetings was at times no less mysterious to the chairman than are the records of some of those meetin<j:s to the minister who may give them a casual glance to day. Twenty- one members were added during r^ revival in 1831-35. Two years late?-, William E. Shenstone, an l^]nglish minister who liad spent nine years in mission service in Canada, arrived at Lunenburg, wiience he was removed in 1839.
The po])ulation of Prince Edward Island, twenty -eight thousand in 1825, had increased by half that number in 1839 ; yet, in the latter year, two ministers only were travelling the circuits in which three others had been busily employed at the earlier date. The growth of the mission, under the guidance of judicious pastors, and reinforced by emigrants from Britain, had, nevertheless, not been unsatis- factory. In 1839 the number of church members was six hundred and twenty-eight ; in 1841 the number of adherents, as shown by the census returns of that year, was three thousand four hundred and twenty. Probably in no part of the Maritime Provinces had the type of Methodism peculiar to thtj rural districts of Britain been more fairly reproduced than in Prince Edward Island. Albert Desbrisay the elder, in youth heard a triumphal hynni sung at the grave of a Christian woman at Charlottetown, "in con- formity to the custom observed by the Wesleyans," and to the end of life retained the impression then made. From year to year, laymen had been arriving from Britain, who, as class leaders and local preachers were not novices in either tlie doc^trines or discipline of their church, and were capable of giving practical aid to any superintendent who
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229
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ty-eight mber in ly were n busily mission, Dreed by unsatis- was six Iheronts, as three no part ?thodisni re fairly )esbrisay i^ at the ' in con- /' and to I. From lin, who, Dviccs in \nd were lent who
had been trained in the loose style of a new country.' In no provincial circuits have laymen from an early period taken a more active and intelligent part in the prJceodin-s of the local church courts. °
Of the ministers stationed about this period at Charlotte- town, fev,- remained longer than two years. Durin- a n^si- dence of a single year, William Temple had some pleasin- interviews with inquirers at the parsonage. Among these with whom he talked and prayed was a young Jloman Catholic whom a discussion between a Protestant and a Catholic had sent to the Methodist church and then to the pastor ; a minister of the Scotch Kirk, "whose mind seemed to bo iiuder the powerful influence of new and gracious percept;o.;s; and a school-teacher, educated in the same church, who, under the sermon of the previous Sunday had been n.ade to feel the insufliciency of a profession without a living ^rincipK, of purity reigning in the heart." Several persons were converted and welcomed as members at Little York in 1831, through the short ministry of William Mc Donald. Some serious dissensions vexed the soul of 'rood Stephen Bamford, but did not blunt the force of truth he uttered. That truth touched the heart of James Moore, a., Knglishman who ;iad been clerk and organist in the Episcopal church of the place, and who lived to give useful service in several official pu^.^tions in Methodism, and to see all the members of an um, usually large family in fellowship with the
nfH,T!!'' '■'"''!"'■."'•'>■ l'^-'" ^vitl» «"nH- surprise tl.at f..r tiuvuv vcars tlif ^thc.al .jMiir my iiiertiuK was ,.nkn..wn in Halifax Mi-tliodi* ,
N.pt,.,nl.er 1,SL",» wh..„ tlu. tntal n,..n.lH.rsIu,, „f tha nrc it "'is
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l'i..itiil\ iiuM.M t^s ,t was unaiiin..His]yi,.nclu(lr(l that '• tl'is UHTtiiK^
Uh^^cI^o""- '/''h ^^"t'-f ^t <iuart^.ly nu.,.ti„^s an- ll;^.'!;;.- ' til
.T,.f\r,tl -;'"r '-'^ ■''''^' '"' <J^'»'/t-.,.i that th..y ure an in.purtant
U ai U^e'u It* n! ;'•'' 'T"'""' -'J"^ ^'7 •"■ i"^titute,l in this circuit iiiu mat tne pi' int meeting be considered the first."
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
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cliuich of liis adoption, witli two of them in its ministry. Tliroui^li tlie sauetitieJ influence of anotlier preacher of this period, tlie beloved John P. Hetherington, the late Ralph Brecken was led into union with the church at Charlotte- town. The name of this devoted circuit oliicial, whose sympathies prompted him to noble contributions in aid of missions, and whose services as a local preacher always elicited expressions of satisfaction from listeners, is worthily borne by a son who has occupied several leadint^ Provincial Methodist pulpits. Several others were converted during the })resence of lletherington, b :" no extensive ingathei-ing took place until 1837, when i Ricliard Knight's
ministry two hundred persons in a pop. ation of two thousand five hundred professed conversion during a revival which connnenced on Easter Sunday. Of these, nearly all, wlien four years had passed, were reported to be walking worthy of their vocation.
During Matthew Richey's ministry at Charlottetown in 1829-30, the worshipjiers became dissatisfied with their church. It was a small l)uilding, with fifty pews, and was never thoroughly finished. After Stephen Ramford's arrival in 1831, a frame was raised and enclosed on anew site, but subsequent differences of opinion caused delay and the removal of tlie building a year or two later to a lot on Prince-street. The dedicatory services of the new church took place on a Sunday in July, 183;"), when sermons were preached l)y John P. Hetherington, William Wilson and Richard Knight. Of the original trustees the most widely known was Isaac Smith, an Englishman of most estimable character, good mental powers, and an acceptable local preacher, who at a later period became the travelling agent ii\ the Maritime Provinces of the British and Foreign liible Society. In association with him were his brother Henry who died at a i;ood old aije in New Zealand ; Robert Lon<;
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worth, of loyalist parentatfe, whom W'illiam lUirt had led into the Methodist Cliufch ; Thomas Dawson, son of the early local preacher of the same name ; and also John liov- yer, Christopher Cross, John Ti'enaman and William Tanton, faithful and zealous men. An addition was made to the length of this church in 1(S. 38-39, and some years later a spacious win,i,' was added. When thus enlarged the sanc- tuary could boast of no s; ecial architectural attractions, but the many occasions on which the Most High did in very deed dwell with men gathenul within its walls, and the rich church music for which it became famed, made it dithcult for any resident or visiting worshipper evei" to forget it.
The district meeting of 183S, which took {)lace at Char- lottetown, was the first held on the Island. Chai'lottetown was then but a village with a single wharf. The houses were of wood, the six or eight exceptions being of brick. Communication between the island and main-land was some- what uncertain, even in summer. From JJaie Verte small vessels occasionally carried cargoes of lumber across the Straits. ]>etweeii that place and Charlottetown William Tem})le spent four days on the water at a time of removal. A small schooner also ran as a packet between Charlotte- town and Pictou. To the latter place John 8haw, when leaving Murray Harbor in 18*2!), made his way in an open boat, reaching it after a passage of seven hours.
This first district meeting at Charlottetown was desci-ibed by William Wilson at the tinu! as "one of the most delight- ful " he had ever attended. Proceedings were i)egun on the 4th, and ended on the 1 1th, of June. In view of the disloyal feeling prevalent in Canada, addr(»s.ses to the governors of Nova Scotia and Prince Kdward Island were promptly prepared. That to Sir Charles Fitzroy was pre- sented by the ministers in a body, and was received with all due couitesy. On Monday evenijig, Ralph Brecken, Esq.,
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hi^'li shcriir of (Queen's county, ptosidetl at an interesting^ missionary meeting ; and on Tuesday evening fJolni jMcMurray and Tliomas Smith recei\ed ordination to the full work of the Chi'istian ministry. A farewell sermon was preached on the evening of Wednesday by Robert Cooney, under oi'ders for the Canada District. On Thurs- day morning the circuit otlicials waited upon the aKsend>led ministers with an address. "Tiie time was,' said these brethren in the course of their remarks, '• whcm all the members of our society could sit around the hearth of a pious brother and detail for mutual encouragement the mercies of a gracious Benefactoi-, ami when the congregation assem- bled ill a small apartment to hoar the (lospel i)reached to them, but now there are elev( n large classes in this town alone, which nundjei* in the aggregate two hundred and fifty nuMnbers, . . . and a-, the fruit of Christian liber- ality, accommodation is provided for a congregation of eight hundred peo})le in our lU'wly-erected chapel — which it is become notwithstanding necessary to enlarge —and a i-espectable residence is just completed for our minister, forming an establishment of miss" >n premises which are regnrded as at once a credit to the Christian liberality of the people and an ornament to the town."
In 1828 John Snowball vv^as appointed to r>ede(]ue. While superititending the transfer of his pi'operty to the shore, he fell ovei- the side of the boat, l)ut by grasping a Moating trunk ami then an oar flung to him by William Temple, he escaped drowning. The parsonage at I>edeque, into which he led his family, was a log liouse, a single room in which was finished. At the several settlements in the circuit sonu^ valuable accessions to the mend)ership had been received through emigration from 1 h'itain and removals from a provincial circuit or two. In this way Tryon and Crapaud liad Ijotli been l)lessed. At the second of these
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spiiii; a iVilliam
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places the erection of a little loij chapel, about the time of George Ja(;k.soii's renioxal, i,';ive iiuich satisfaction to some devout spirits, in that d.iy (^f small things. At Tryon and Bedecjue missionary meetings were lirst held in January, l<S2i), by William T<'mple and John Shaw as a deputation. " Such," says the latt(M-, " was the interest that Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and baptists, as well as ^NFethodists, became subscribers." A number of persons united with the society at Tryon dui'ing SnowbaH's lirst year of residenc(% but about foui' weeks Itefore he crossed the Straits on his way to the annual meeting of 1S30 a revival began in several parts of the circuit, and during a single week one hundred persons testified to forgiveness of sin. Snowball's successor, Webb, was specially calculated for the care of a lield thus blessed, so that William Wilson, on his arrival in 1834 from Newfoundland, was able to speak with satisfac- tion of the outlook. In the course of the three vt>ars' resi- dence of Wilson several interesting conversions took place. During an evening dance following a " hauling frolic,'' a man who had been awakened by a funeral address left the room in grief of spirit, soon to return and fall upon his knees. The dancers ceased, two others kneeled beside the awakened man, and a Methodist neighbor, in answer to an unexpected summons, arrived on the scene. At the next visitation of the classes the three men, eacli accompanied by his wife, presented themselves as candidates for mendjer- ship. At New London, where services liad been held in a dwelling, Wilson on a Sunday in July, 1830, preached twice in a barn, and at the close of the morning service ad- ministered the Lord's-supper to thirty communicants. The foundation of a ciiurch had then been provided.
Murray Harbor had been irregularly supplied. Thouias 11. Dav^'es went there in 18-7, and a year later John Shaw followed him. Both saw conversions durin<r their short
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
residence, but through the absence of an imniecliato suc- cessor the circuit suffered loss. Under Robert Coonev, subsecjuently appointed, some improvement was witnessed. That minister early in 1834 narrowly escaped death by breaking through the ice on the harbor, when on his way to visit some sick members of iiis congregation.
Two other Christian laborers of that period in Prince Edward Island merit appreciative mention. These were preachers of the Bible Christian Connexion, a body founded in 1815 by William O'Bryan, a Wesleyan local preacher in Cornwall. In doctrine the Bible Christians, or "Bryanites," were thoroughly Wesleyan ; unlike the Wesleyans at that time they admitted laymen to their annual Conference in equal numbers with ministers. They have always been mv:/St numerous in Cornwall and the West of England. Through the trade that had sprung up between the Island and some of the ports of that part of England, making the colony easy of access, a number of Bible Christians had found their way thither. Lack of religious care in the districts in which they became settlers at length led them to ask the appointment of a preacher of their own body. Scanty as were the finances of their missionary treasury, the Bible Christian Conference in 1831 decided to comply with the request, and also with another from Upper Canada. Francis Metherall, the missionary selected for Prince Edward Island, .sailed from Portsmouth in September of that year, but a leak having obliged the vessel to put back, he re-embarked in the following spring, and late in April landed at Bedeque. A walk of forty miles took him to the residence of the writer of the letter which had brought him over the ocean, and thence he returned to Bedeque for his family. Having found a home at Union Road for his wife and children, the zealous preacher at once began his work. A nine years' service in certain English circuits had been
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Island
a good proparation for service abroad. At the close of his first yeai- in the colony he reported a circuit eijrhty miles in length, a iiieinbership of forty-seven persons, and call.) from sevei'al ini}>ortant settlements. To obtain Wetter facilities for reaching his numerous a})pointments, he .sr>->n removed to Vernon River, h'arly in 1834 Phili|» Jarnfs, a second missionary and no less indefatigable worker than Metlin-all, made his appearance. In their large and unwieldy circuit, extending from Sturgeon at the east to Cascumpec and West Cape at the north and west, were thirty six preach- ing places. The work west of Charlottetown was assigned to James ; that to the east of the Hillsborough Kiver was undertaken by the senior minister. For three years the latter performed all his journeys on foot, in the heat of summer, the melting snow and mud of spring and fall, and the storms of winter, yet neither preacher, it is said, was ever known to disappoint a congregation. A small log church, put up on the Princetown road and occu[»ied for forty-five years, was the first Bible Christian house of wor- ship on the Island. Others were soon added, but some of thorn long remained in an unfinished state.-
Xumerous changes took place in the ministerial staff of the district at this period. In the list of preachers who took a filial departure from the country was Thomas Cros- thwaite, whose memory was long cherished in certain sections of the province. At Ship Harbor he became disheartened, and without due notice took passage in a vessel Ijound for I^ngland. Sonie mitigating circumstances, with warm testi- monials fiom brethren in Nova Scotia, saved him from the usual penalty of exclusiot\ from the ministry, and he went out under the Committee's direction to the West fnrlies, where, at Ijarbadoes, in 1836, he ended a useful service. \\ illiam Dowson returned to Britain from Charlottetown
- " Life of Francis Metherall," by uhu Harris.
23G
Iff STORY OF ^fETffODfS^^
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in 18.'}t, but .sul)S('(|iuMitly went back to the West Tiidies, dying at New Providence in 1816. Tlirough ill-health IMiitthew Cranswick, of whom loving recollections as preacher and pastor were long chei'ished in Nova Scotia, returned to J"]ngland in 183G. Among the abler men of that period was John P. Hetherington, a former member of the Irish Conference, who recrossed the ocean after a minis- try of two years at Charlottetown and one at Halifax, His presence was imposing ; his pulpit style clear, concise and forcible ; and in social life his whole bearing rendered religion attractive. Intensely liritish sympathies had placed him in opposition to the union between the INIetho- dists of l^ritish and American origin, and had led to his transfer to the JNlaritime Provinces. From England he returned to Canada, whence, after some years, he sailed for his native land in declining health. His spirit returned to God while he was upon his knees, his hands clasped as if in prayer.
The names of some other ministers who then left Nova Scotia were to reappear in our Methodist records. Of this list was Thomas Smith, whose injuiies through a fall from a carriage at the time of the annual meeting at Newport in 1837, led him back to Bermuda, to remain there as a supernumerary. Another temporary departure was that of Robert Cooney, who was transferred to the Canada District, where — at Odelltown — he saw his church turned into a fort as a strategic point in one of the severest fights of the rebellion, and found its doors, pews and pulpit perforated by bullets, and its floor stained by the life-blood of loyal Canadian militia.
A third name on the same list was that of Matthew llichey, who early in 1835, on the death by cholera of John Hick, was directed by the Committee to leave Halifax for IMontreal, as the colleague at the latter place of William
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Lord. AftcM" haviii;^ filled niost iinpoi'taut posts in CiUiiuU, he returnod iii IS')! to Xov;i .S(;oti;i, luid for years main- t.ained his raro [nilj)it reputation ; hut a leap fri)iii a t'arriai,'e drawn hy a runaway lio!-se, durini,' his ahseneo in tli«^ Upper Provinces, had inflicted permanent, thoui^di at fiist iniperceptii)le, injury upon the elfKpient preacher. Of all that group of Methodist niinistejs who on a late autumn day of 1883 met at Government House, Halifax, the resi- dence of Lieutenant-Governor Kichey, to accompany tlm remains of the revered father to the i^'rave, only one had heen pi'ivileged to know and to listen to the deceased preacher previous to the time when the injury caused hy tlu^ accident had hecome evident to his more intimate friends. Before his removal to Montreal his name had hecome kiiDwn heyond Provincial houndaries. Jn 18.')0 li(> had taken his invalid wife to South Carolina, and theie, thouijh unheralded hy any .antecedent repufation. he had soon attained a iiDpu- larity proh.ahly unequalled hy any j)reacher who has evei- visited Charleston. None of the M(;thodist or other churches in wjiich he pieadied would contain tin; conj^rega tions which followed liim. '• It was no unconnnon thing, ' wrote a distinguished Southern Methodist j)reacher only a few years ago, " for persons to go in the afternoon to the church in which he was to pi each in tin; evening, and to remain, supperless, to hear the .sermon.'" It was his presence which called forth from the rector of the Protestant ICpis- copal church, later hi shop of the diocese, a printed address to his paiishioners on the suhject of "fre([uentor occasional neglect hy memhers of the Church of its olHces for tho.se of other places of Christian worship." In recognition in part of this attractiveness as a preacher, the otlicial memhers of the Halifax circuit in March, |iS;}2, successfully asked that he might he seat to the city as the junioi- preacher, pi'omising the Committee to he i-esponsihle for any e.xtra expense caused by the proposed arrangement.
238
lIISTOIiY OF METHODISM
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It must, however, be borne in mind tliat in tlu^ pulpit Matthew Hicliey was not inerely attractive ; he was hiijjlily effective, "ilis discourses," said Dr. Whitefooid ►Sinitli, of Charh'ston, who heard him during the winter f)f lS,S(j-;il,
0
were not more "distinguished by their splendor of diction and rhetorical beauty than by their evangelical sentiment, their deliniteness and clearness of JJiblical exposition, their full presentation of Christian privilege, and tlu'ir faithful enforc* ment of Christian obligation." The ( iospel system, as interpreted by Methodist theologians, he had accepted without any reservation, and from the church of his adop- tion no otter of place or emolument could ever tempt him. Fi'om his depth of personal conviction came his power to convince others and thus fit them to be leaders. The late John Lockhart, of Parrsboro', had been converted, but, bewildered by teachers of Calvinistic theories and close connnunion, had been unable to make choice of any cluii-ch liome. One day he listened to Matthew liichey's exposition of Gotl's plan for saving men, and at once said to himself : " If this be Methodist doctrine, I am a Methodist I " A litth; later, Richard Smith, of Maithuid, met him one Saturday afternoon at Schult/'s, on the Windsor-road. The j)reacher was in perplexity, because it seemed impossible that his wearied horse could carry him that evening into the capital, where he had an appointment on the following morning. Having learned the facts of tlie case, the farmer made a i)roposal that the minister should take the stronger horse and go on to the city, leaving himself to bring in the wearied animal after a ni«iht's rest. Gratefullv accepting the offered assistance, the preacher invited the young man to listen to him on the morrow, and drove otK On that Sabljath Richard Smith, whose antecedents were not Wesleyan, was won for a life-long service in the raid<s of Methodism. Equally great was the service done when
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Wiiithrop Sari^'ont was sent forth at r.arriii,<,'t()n to a l(»cal iniiiistry of rare leii,t,'th and eircctivoness. Thcso tliree men, all of whom became well-known leaders in their respective neighhorlioods, may be assumed to l)e oidy occasional illus- trations of tiie influence of an able minister of the New Testament, with whose sermons the Mt^thodist people at least of nearly all sections of the liritish American Provinces were to some extent familiar.
The names of Williatn I5ennett, James Knowlan and Stephen IJaniford, are found in the Minutes of 18:31) as those of supernumeraries. William Bennett, in consequence of impaired health, had at his own recjuest been placed on the retired list as early as in 1S2(). Stephen Jiamford with- drew from the active list in 18;};"), at the end of twenty-ei^dit years of active service, but in consefjuence of the lack of effective ministers remained in charge at Windor for an additional year. The name of James Knowlan had been placed on the superannuated list in 1S.S2. During jiis term of office? as chairman of the (Janada District, some serious differences of opinion had arisen between the Committee in London and himself on tinancial points. In consequence of these the dcterminojd Irish minister was placed in the supernumerary ranks, and through some further misunder- standing his name was in a few years omitted from the published denominationa! records. For a time he travelled through the province as a temperance lecturer, but failing health soon obliged hi u to retire from all pulilic engage- ments. Jn the early years of the century he had been one of the strongest men of the Provincial itinerancy. His mental strength, aided by a good education and an extensive stock of general knowledge, caused him to take a wider range in the pulpit than some of the preachers of his day; and his great interest in public affairs led him at times to make a use of the press of which his brethren did not
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always ap})rove. As a platfoi'in speakor he had tho advan- tage of a good stock of Ifisli wit, so dealt out in general as to avoid any interference witli ministerial tlignity. An early abandonment of a pathway to worldly honor, and a long missionary service in .Jamaica and several of the British American provinces, render this able and possibly wayward [rish minister deserving of honorable mention in any history of the church he served.
The death of the venei'al)le William Black, already men- tioned, demands more than a passing reference. He had generally be<'n al)le^ until 1S29, to preach one of the three sermons with which the more devout Halifax Methodists of that day wrr«^ wont on each Sabbath to ta.x. their mental digestive powers, ))Ut soon after that date he had been obliged to cease from all pulpit efVoi't and resign his leader- ship of a class. ])uring the eai'ly autumn of 1831 liis friends saw indications of approaching departure. To Richard Knight he j)leasantly said, when conversing with him about the prevalence of Asiatic cholera, "It does not matter ; I must soon go ; whether by cholera or by this dropsy. It is all the same ; I leave it to my Master to choose." To the same iuinister, wIhmi he had been called to witness tlu; closing scene, he said in reply to a (juestion : "All is well, all is peace ; no fear, no doubt ; let Him do as He will. He knows what is best." After this he sank rapidly. " (tive my farewell blessing to your family and to the society," and "God bless you ; all is well," were the last words heard by Richard Knight from this venerable apostle of Provincial Metho- dism.
The familiar title of " Bishop," pleasantly applied by his friend? to William Black, was by no means inappro})riate. His coiuiection wiih the Methodist Church in the Lower Provinces was neither incidental nor partial. He was her first solitary laborer, using his own energies to tiieir utmost
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extent, and seekin<,' to l.ring to liis ;i.s,si.s(iinc<' sucli workecs as he coulci ol)tain hy visits to the rniK-d States or (Jreat Britain, oi- discern among the eai'ly convtTts ;if home. Ills etTorts were not conliiKMl to Nova Scotia; in Prince Kdward Island he preached the first M(>t)iodist sermons : in Xew Brunswick he gathered sheaves ; in Newfoundhmd he organ- ized the cliurch(>s in th(^ neiglihorhood of Conception Bay, whence their influence spread to other disti-icts of the island ; and if in liermuda he won no spoil for his ^Faster it was because some unworthy sons of that beautiful cluster of islets, not knowing the "day of theii' visitation," turned the Gospel messenger back when -'his face was as though he would go" thither.
As a Christian ministei-, Williiun lUack was better quali- fied for his work than many who have had greater privileges. Through a diligent use of such advantages as were within his reach, he was able to read the saci-ed oracles in the languages through which they were revealed to men. His reading in theology and ecclesiastical history was also exten- sive and Judicious. With a piety " deej), growing and uniform" were combined a good acquaintance with human nature and the possession of such other (jualifications as serve to make a minister respected and useful. Robert L. Lusher says of him : " His ministry was neither declamatory nor rhetorical ; but being convincing and persuasive, and generally attended with a gracious influence from above, it was at once popular and useful. The benignity of the Divine charactei' rather than the ' tei-rors of the Lord,' the pleasures and rewards of piety rather than the eternal conse- quences of sin, were the topics on which he seemed most to delight to dwell." As a j.astor he was watchful and judi- cious in discipline, always avoiding the harsher way when the necessary ijupi-ovement could be ett'ected by more gentle means. Francis Asbury, the heroic apostle of American 16
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Methodism, in conversation with St(>:ph<;n Jj.iniford, once used forcible words in reference to wliat ho deeuKMl his friend JJlack's too early retirement from itinerant lal)oi's; l»ut it may Ije (juestioned whether, alter a thiity years' servic(! in Jiritish North Anierica as it then was, an ap})eal cou'd not have been sustained a^'ainst tlie judgment of the wortliy bishop, one of tiie rare workers not of a centuiy only, but of the world's long lifetime. In William Jilack's case, retire- ment was not idleness. " Wherever he was," says a minister, just quoted, who was appointed to the Halifax circuit some years after his aged friend's superannuation, " whether in the parlor or in the pulpit, he seemed to regard it as his business to save souls." Of his loving and practical sympathy and wise counsel, the young men who were putting on the liarness as he was about to lay it oil' were wont often to speak when they too had reached advanced age.
The personal appearance of " Bishop" JUack in his late years, says the Hon. S. L. Shannon, who remembers him well, " was very prepossessing. He was of medium height, inclining to corpulency. In the street he always wore the well-known clerical hat ; a black dress coat buttoned over a double-breasted vest, a white neckerchief, black small- clothes and well polished Hessian boots completed his attire. When he and his good lady, who was alway.s dressed in the neatest Quaker costume, used to take their airing in the summer with ])lack Thomas, the bishop's well-known servant, for their charioteer, they were absolutely pictures worth looking at. In the pulpit the bishop's appearance was truly apostolical. A round, ro.sy face, encircled with thin, white hair, a benevolent smile and a sweet voice were most attrac- tive. Whenever my mind cari'ies me back to those scenes, the vision of the apostle John, in his old age addressing the churcli at Ki)hesus as his little children, comes u}) before me as I think of the good old man, the real father of Methodism in Halifax."
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ord, once eiiied his Jjors; hut •s' service eal cou'd le worthy only, but se, retire- minister, •uit some hether in it as his sympathy tig on the t often to
1 his late hei's him m height, wore the ed over a ik small- bis attire, sed in the ig in the 1 servant, es worth svas truly in, white st attrac- 36 scenes, ssing the jefore me ethodism
In accordance with a suggestion of Richard Kni-dit the papers of his venerable friend were placed in the l.iuuls of Matthew Jlic-hey. Tn ].v;59, a volu.ne of three hundred and s,xty-hve pages, enriched by extracts from the deceased 'Ministers manuscript journals and son.e previously unpub- lished letters fron. Wesley, Coke, and Carrettson; as well as bnet notices of sevc-ral of the early Methodist itinerants and laynien of the Lower Provinces, was printed at Halifax 1 us volun.e was a valuable addition to general Methodist Iiterattire , though the removal fron. Nova Scotia of the author, who at the time of publication was pnncipal of the I^pper Canada Acaden.y, at Cobourg, cause.l it to be less .-.ch in incident than it might have been. A work so valu- able should long ago have reached a second and enlar^^ed
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CHAPTER X.
:^lETIIOr)lSM IN THE NEW BRUNSWICK DISTRICT, FROM
ITS FORMATION JN l.S2() TO THE CP]NTENARY
CELEBRATION OF 1830.
Changes in tlie ministry. Duncan McCoU. Arrival of ministers. Sus- sex Vale. Arthur McNutt and Petitcodiac. Arrivals of English ministers. Provincial candidates. St. Andrew's, Miramichi, Richiliucto, Bathurst, Woodstock and Andover.
The (irst meeting of the niinisters of the New Brunswick District was hekl at Halifax in May, I82G, under the direction of llichard Williams, whom the Missionary Com- mittee had summoned from Canada, as chairman. This minister had been trained by Episcopal parents, but under the Methodist ministry had been led to look up, believe and live. After two years of circuit work in England, he had been directed by the Committee to join John B. Strong, their single agent in the Canada of that day. At the end of a ten years' itinerancy there, he was placed as chair an at St. John, where his firm and judicious management tended to allay the excitement caused by the previous secession, and to give a new impetus to the work of the denomination in that part of the province.
On the arrival of Richard Williams at St. John, Robert Alder proceeded to Montreal. The latter minister, who was regarded as a young man of deep devotion to his work and of a high order of talent, sailed in the autumn of 1827 for England, and in his native country soon rose to a promi- nent place in Methodist councils. During the year after his return, he represented the Connexion on the plat-
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form of the British and Foreign Bible Society, where were some of the leading ministers of the kingdom ; and about the same time he appeared before a connnittee of the House of Commons to give information respecting the trans- atlantic operations of the Methodists, whom IJishop 8ti-achan had so rashly misrepresented in liis eflbrts to secure the sole use of the vast Clergy Jieserves of Llpper Canada for the Church of England. During the Sheffield Conference of 1829 the standard-bearers of English Methodism, who in succession were his guests, could not fail to mark tlu^ courtly bearing of their host, and to treat him as a man likely to stand in high places. In 1832 he was sent to Canada to t^ke part in the arrangements for the union of the Wesleyan missions and the circuits of the xMethodist Episcopal Church in the Upper Provinces. A year later he was elected one of the Missionary Secretaries, and to his special consideration as such, during an official service of eighteen years, nearly all subjects relating to Wesleyan missions in British North America were submitted. In 1851, when the agitation of that sad period was placing the public services and private habits of the ministers under a tierce light, Dr. Alder wisely withdrew from the Conference. Having found an open door of refuge in the Church of England, he became canon of Gibraltar, and remained such until his death in 1873. To the last he is said to have retained intere;> in the progress of the Church respecting which in 1830 he had written to William Temple; '• I be- lieve Methodism is to save the world.' A less prominent place awaited George Jackson, who reached England about the same time as Alder. In 1826 ill health obliged him to leave Fredericton for the Carolinas, whence he returned so enfeebled that an innnediate passage to his native land be- came a necessity. Four years later he recommenced his useful ministry, and pursued it for a lengthened term.
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On the Minutes of 182G the name of the vencrabh' Duncan Mc(>'oll appeared in the list of supernunieraiies. Mis position had been an anoniaU)us one, for his na!ne had in succossi\e years been printed in the list of itinei'ant^-, though he had been virtually a settled pastor and the church property at his several preaciiing places had been under his couttol. For years he had faithfully served his own geneiation by the will of dtod, but at length, undei* the rush of numerous years, the continued pressure of work and care, and the loss of his excellent wife, a stalwart frame began to yield. In 1826, when Richard Williams visited St. Stephen, McOoll expressed a wish to place in the Com- mittee's charge the sevei'al societies as well as the church property under his control. Until that time he had been dependent for support upon the voluntary contributions of his hearers and the proceeds of his own property under his wife's management ; he therefore asketl from the Co-iimittee an annuity for his support in his declining years. The Committee acceded to his proposal, and on the transfer of the property to trustees, granted him a small annual allow- ance. In 1817, during these negotiations, a young preacher was appointed to St. David's, and in 1829, when the minis- ters met in annual convention at St. Stephen, they were asked by McCoU •\) appoint one of their number to take the charge at St. Stephen he till then had sustained. To Richard Williams, selected for the post, he then surrendered the whole care of the societies in the county of Charlotte, though he continued to the end to give such assistance as his strength would allow.
The period of the venerable minister's diminished service was short. He rated himself " useless," nevertheless the Master when He came found his servant at work. On November 28th, 1830, he preached twice at St. Stephen with much comfort ; on December 2nd had a " good class "
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at his own dwelling, and tlireo days luf-r, with trembling liand, made his final entry in his diary. The pain with which he then wrote indicated the " beginning of the end," which after twelve days took place. Large numbers from various parts of the country and the neighboring sections of Maine attended his body to the grav(>, and ministers re- presenting all sections of Protestantism listened to the appropriate words with which Kichard Williams enipha- •sized the occasion. By friends desirous " to show their appreciation of his faitliful labors " a very substantial gray granite monument was erected in 1885 in the St. Stephen and MiUtown Protestant cemetery, in memory of the vener- able minister and his wife ; and on arbor day of tlie same year a tree was planted in the public school grounds at St. Stephen for the same purpose.
Py Matthew Picliey, his colleague in 1820-21, Duncan McColl was regaided as second to none of the earlier Pro- vincial itinerants in mental power. J lis eo)i version was clear and evident; the manifestation in iiis life f f a perse- vering and well regulated piety was constant ; and the proofs of a real call to the ministry were abundant and con- vincing. Large numbers of those saved through his agency preceded him to the heavenly world ; many of his converts thougiitfully walked in the long procession which followed his body to the grave ; and not a few otliers, wanderers from the place of their spiritual birth but not from their Saviour, heard of liis death by the slow news' despatch of that day with deep emotion.
^ The preacher .sent in 1827 to St. David's was William Smithson, one of two young Englishmen who ariived at St. John early in the summer of that year. In his nineteenth year he had listened to Methodist ministers ami had given himself to the Lord. An independent congregation in Dublin had invited him while a local preacher to become its
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pastor, but lie liad preferred a place in the church whose iniuisters had jointed out to him the way of life. The }>illar of cloud and of fire soon led him along the right path. A year in the Shetland Isles was followed by an appointment to a circuit in the London District, and thence after a short residence he sailed as a missionary to New Brunswick.
For fellow-traveller over the ocean William Smithson had another young Yorkshire picachei-. A Methodist mother had gently guided Michael Pickles, and Episcopalian teacliers had shown a warm interest in his studies, and while at school he had attended the Sunday morning services con- ducted in the sombre old parisli church by tlie "perpetual curate," Patrick lironte, father of the gifted sisters, Char- lotte, Emily and Anne lii'onte. This much-discussed clergy- man was described by Michael Pickles in later years as a " person of reserved habits, but of extensive learning.'" Through a revival at a village neai* Haworth, the youth was led to decision for Ohi'ist. Fears that his detei'mination to be a Methodist would cost him tiie good-will of both teacher and incumbent proved groundless. One by one hindrances were removed, and he was soon found preaching in the humble Methodist chapel which William (rrimshaw, the friend of Wesley, and a pi-edecessor of Patrick Bronte, had built for his Wesleyan friends on the road leading to the monotonous moor. To the two young missionaries neither the weather nor the associations during the passage to St. John proved congenial. One of the owners read prayers on Sunday — when he felt so inclined, and studiously ignored the ministerial character of his passengers. These, however,
' Patrick lirontc, \\.\., was the first ('xaniiiuT at tlic Kn^lisli Wt'sleyan sc1iu(j1 at Woodliousc (rivjvf. llis wife, Miss Braiiwcll, lifldiis^t'd to a Icadiiijif Wcslcyaii family of Cornwall, of w liii'h Mrs. (laskell says: " Tlu'y wore Mt'thodists, and h(» far as I can gatlior, a j,^'ntle and sincere piety gave refinement and purity of character." Exception has frequently been taken to Mrs. (Jaskell's description of the eccentric Irisli clergyman.
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t'ouiul in tlio forecastle willing liearei^, who thankfully received tracts, the otler of which in the cahin called forth angry protests.
Soon after arrival at St. John Micha*-! I'ickles visited llphani, and after a day or two thej-<; moved on to Sussex Vale. At I'phani he found William Tweedale, an English local preachei-, who had formed small societies there and at Plampton, the care of which, in the ab-ence of a ciicuit preacher, iiad kept his zeal in lively exercise. In a few weeks the voung itinerant was cheered by a visit from two of the nearer brc^thren. William Temple, at the close of a Sabbath's duties on the Westmoreland circuit, liad proposed to All's. Temple a visit to the " new Englishman." J>y their invitation Artiiur McXutt, on whom they called at Petitco- diac, accompanied them. As they drove up to the door of the young j)reacher's home they saw no signs of his presence. " Brother AIcNutt," shouted William Tenjple in his brus(|ue, impulsive style, " he's a stiti' Englishman. We'll be sorry he came I " Scarcely had he given utterance to that most unwarranted remark when the diJiident young preacher, who iiad learned the errand of the visitors whom his host had gone out to welcome, made his aj»peai-ance with tearful eyes and extended hands. The friendship that day begun was only interrupted by death.
Sussex Vale had been settled by a disbanded corps of New Jersey Loyalists, many descendants of whom are found among the present population. At a latf^r [>erirxl settlements were formed in adiaceiit districts bv emigrants from Eni;-
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land and Ireland. Tlu; only resident minist<-r in the ext<!n- sive circuit entered upon by Michael Pickles in b^*27 was Oliver Arnold, who for forty years had U^en rector of the parish, but by the young preacher a large majority of the inhabitants were regarded as " IJaptists or Newlights," by whom strong prejudices against Methodist teachings had
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heoii <^eiieriilly enteitained. With a few Provincial Meth- odists, auion<,' whom was George Hay ward, a coiixcrt uiuh-r William [Hack's miiiistiy, wore some immigrants who had been Methodists in homes across the ocean. A nund)er of these, with some persons converted under his early ministry, were soon formed hy the young preacher into classes in several settlements. Calvinist sentiments of a pronounced type being very prevalent, the "doctrine of necessity " was sometimes oflensively assei'ted by persons with whom he njet ; but by others, who moui'ued over their exile fiom foruier piivileges, he was welcomed with much emotion. Previous to the annual meeting of 1828, ei'ditv-two members liad been gathered into classes, exclusive of those on trial ; several Sunday-schools had been organized ; and arrange- ments liad been made for the erection of a church in the Dutch Valley ; but for some time the expectations of dili- gent laborers on this large circuit were not realized, as from the whole tleld, twelve years later, only one hundred and thirty-live members were reported.
On the Minutes of 1828 the name of Arthur McNutt appeared. In 1826, after two years at River John as a local preacher, he accompanied William Temple to West- moreland, to be successor to William Murray at Petitcodiac. Financial hindrances having been removed, the Committee in 1828 accepted his offers of service when their delay had turned his face towards the United States so fully that oidy the pleadings of his brethren availed to retain him. In anticipation of the Committee's action, his brethren placed his name on their list as a minister at Digby, but through the late arrival of the English INIinutes he remained a third year at Petitcodiac, where abundant success followed his laVjors, nearly one hundred members having been added to the twenty-seven previously reported.
The remarkable revival of that year began at Upper
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Covcrdalo. At that phirc, towards tlie oloso of William Muri'iys two years' t^Miii, the frame aiul othor materials hul ln'cii collected for a small chui'ch. The ertu^tion of this IjiiildiiiLC, the lirst M<;thoflist place of worship between St. John and I ><)rcln?ster, li;ul iieen connnenced in Aui^'ust, JSiM), and three weeks later William Temple had preached under- its roof. At the i-losf; of a Sunday evening service in XovtMiihei-, iSiis^two conversions took place. Daring the week, through the agency r)f sin.'cessive meetings, twenty persons found })eace in the e.xercise of faith in Christ. Soon visitors from adjoining settlements ci-owded the little church and shared in the blessings of the season. In each family at Coverdale (;ould he found one or more than one rejoicing soul, hut the households of William Chapman and othtM's, who had i)i'ovided the church and maintained a small piayer- meeting in the jdace, were .seen to he to a special extent partakei's in the gifts bestowed. The revival continued throughout the winter, and attracted visitors from Dor- chester and Sackville anrl Susse.x Vale, who carried home with them some measure of its precious influence. At Dor- ciiester alone llfty peisons profes.sed conversion. Towards the termination of the more special work, Michael Pickles, from Sussex Vale, who in December had spent a few days at Coverdale and Ijaptized fifteen persons " really converted to God," made a thi'ee weeks' tour of the Petitcodiac cir- cuit, and baptized more than eiglity adults and children.
A personal experience during this revival is told by a venerable minister now in retirement at Horton. George Johnson, when a child, had accompanied his parents from Yorkshire in the Tr(i/iil(fai\ and in his new home near Coverdale had experienced conversion, but through un- hall'iwed associations liad so far wandered from tlie path of the just as to seem proof against all religious influences. Arthur ^IcNutt, grieving over the youth, resolved to seek
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his I'oconversion. Fifty ve.'irs latoi* the lad in (luostiou told how prayer in his Ix'hiilf had been answered : " I was then a |)Oor, unhajipy backslider. . . Foi- more than a week
I wa5) deeply convinced of my sinfulness, and sometimes felt like slnkin;,' into utter despair*. On the evening of Novem- ber 2'J, 1S'J8, Mr McXutt preaelied from 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor,' etc. At the close of that sermon I fell powerless on the lloor as if dead, and continued in that state for somt; time. Wiiile they were praying for me I had a most singular manifestation of (Jhrist, and was enabled to b(;lieve on Him with my lieart unto righteous ness. I now felt, I knew, that all my sins and l>acksli(lings were pardoned. You may well suppose that while I am blessed with my nuMital faculties I cannot foi'get this glorious revival."
At this period the missions in the district were rapidly reinforced. Two of the preachers who then arrived had been in the West Indies. One, l*lnoch Wood, reached St. Jolni in August, 1829, to enter upon a half century's career as a leader in IJritish American Methodism. A native of Lincolnshire, lie had been a school-fellow and then a Chris- tian worker with Thomas (*ooper, afterwards a prominent Chartist, and author of the " Puigatory of Suicides " and some other well-known volumes. \\\ 182G lie and several others were sent out to the We,st Indies to supply the places of the five Wesleyan missionaries who had been lost through the wreck, near Antigua, of the Marin mail boat. From the West Indies also, in 1830, came Samuel .Toll, a native of the same English county, wlio landed at St. John and re- mained for a time at Portland.
Two other young ministers about tlie same time sailed from England for New Brunswick : Henry Daniel, now an ex-president of the Eastern Biitish American Conference, whose face and voice are pleasantly familiar to the Metho-
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dists of St. Jolm. li.ul coimiK'ncfd liis miiiistry in ii London ciivuit. His fellow j)Jiss(Mij,'«'r, Itoln-rt .1. Siicl<r|(,\(>, who never readied his drstinatioii, h;i 1 \\vv\\ sclfctcd Ity the Committee for their mission in Sweden, l)ut as he shrank from that position, had heen appointed to Woodstock ; fieorge Scott, afterward a presich'nt of the I'la^tern I'.ritislj American (.'onferenee, haviny; been sent in his stead to Stockholm. One day, during a i;ale oil' the Hanks of Newfoundland, Snelgrove took a seat upon one of the coops wdnch lined the Itulwarks. As he sat there, i^a/inpr at tin; wild waste of waters and listeninj,' to the roar of the wind through the rigging, tiie a})proach of a wave of unusual si/.e led him to leave his .seat for a more secure position. At that moment the IliJie took a lurch into the trough of the sea, and the young preacher, having missed his aim, shot past the com})anion-way, plung(Ml into the sea, and dis- appeared forever from human sight, leaving Henry J)aniel to land at St. Andrew's alone.
By permission of the Committee several local preachers in the provinces were about this time transferred to tiie itinerant roll. Arthur McNutt's case has received mention. Tn 1828 the name of Joseph Fletcher Bent also appeared on the otiicial list, and in the followini' year that of Richardson Douglas. J. F. Bent was one of a family of ten children whom pious parents had seen led into the Methodist Church. Sampson Bushy, who in 1826 had received him into membership, took him two years later to Fredericton as a candidate for itinerant service. His work as a local preacher had been confined to the extensive Annapolis circuit and to occasional visits beyond, in one of which, to Yarmouth, he had walked the whole distance of one hundred miles. The services of George Johnson, of Coverdale, were also accepted by the English authorities. Subset ^aently to his restoration his studious tendencies had
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becoMio a suhject of general remark. With .Josef)h V. Bent, Arthur McNutt's successor at Petitcotliac, he had made several tours through that circuit, and had occasionally visited other sections of the country. Having taken charge of the Wallace circuit for a short time, during the absence of James G. Flennigar, he was recommended by tin? minis- ters of the New Brunswick District to the Connnittee as a suitable candidate for the Provincial work. The Com- mittee at the same time also availed thensolves of the offered services of Alexander W, McL?od, of St. John, son of the worthy layman of similar name. The legal studies upon which he had entered prior to his conversion in 1829, hal not been discontinued when his first essays at preaching the Gospel were being made, sometimes near the city and at others before the congregations under the charge of his brother in-law, Desbrisay. The name of William Bannister first appeared on thb ofiicial lists in 1833. Aji Englishman by birth, he had resided some time in 8t. John when liis name was submitted to the circuit boai'd for recommenda- tion to the higher courts, l)ut this recoinmenc'ation the circuit ofhcials, unable to discern liis qualifications for use- fulness, declined to give. In 1833, afte;' a two years' residence at Granville Ferry, where he had been assistant to Micliael Pickles, his case was brought to the notice of the assembled ministers and the English Committee, and he was sent to the Petitcodiac circuit. After five years of service in New Brunswick, where he was threatened V)y pulmonary weakness, he was asked by the Committee to take the place at St. Vincent's of Robert H. C^-ane, who was about to leave for the Mai-itime Provinces. On landing at Kingstown he found his predecessor on his death-bed. Dur- ing the cholera epidemic at Barl)adoes in 18r)4, Bannister put forth indefatigable efforts to alleviate the sufVerings of tne sick and dying and then fell a victim to the pestilence,
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winch also carried off two of his children. For the last ei^dit years of his life he had b,.e„ chairman and c^eneral supenntendent of the n.issions in the St. Vincent's and J emerara Districts. Ffis brethren in their oihcial n.inute of his death speak of hin, as a "respected and beloved servant of Christ," whose munstry was "everywhere highly valued and useful." ^
With an increased number of preachers new ground was a once occupied. For the Hrst time ministers were placed at fe t Andrews, Woodstock, Miramichi and Bathurst. At bt. Andrew's, where occasional sern.ons had been preached arul Richard Williams had gathered a few members in l83o' Henry Daniel was first posted. On his arrival he found no organized society, no place of worship, and but six persons upon whom he could look as members. Upon the younc. nunLster's departure, at the end of a year which had tested his faith and patience, his successor found a new church and two classes of fifteen members each. Subse.uient progress was slow, and for several years sermons were irregular, appointments being Hlled as far as was possible by ministers from St. Stephen and Milltown.
In 1830 a minister was sent to the settlements on the Miramichi River. Attention had been called to that section of the province by Roberl Tweedy, the faithful le.der of a •small band of Irish emigrants who had not left their reli.don behind them, in August, 1828, John B. Strong, then at l^redericton, left that ,.]ace to visit them. After a day in the saddle he reached Boies', over roads "Hlled with water and the roots and stun.ps of trees." On the afternoon of the third day he came in sight of the broad river and numerous ships-a pleasing sight after the monotonous inurney through the woods. The parish of Chatham, containing with the village of Nelson fifteen hundred inhabitants, had three places of worship, no one of which, however, was in the
256
HISTORY OF METHODISM
M
town ; whil(! at Newcastle and Douglas, on the opposite bank of the river, the seventeen hundred inhabitants, whose number received large additions in the spring and autumn by the arrival of «hip]>ing, iiad no Fi'otestant church and no stated ministry. One half of the population at least was Roman Catholic. At Newcastle, on Sunday morning, the visiting minister preached in a lai-ge school-house, and in the afternoon lie crossed to Chathaui. At the latter place he was most kindly entertained by a gentleman from Eng- land, whose parents were jMethodists. Of the evening service at Newcastle, the preacher wrote : " Many were without with hats off and as still as the night. After the service was ended, and before I could get out, the people Hocked in in tears, telling me that th(^y were children of Methodists, that they had never seen the face of a Methodist preacher since they had left their native land, and begging me for their sakes ;ind for the sake of their children to abide with them or use my influence to send them a missionary." On iNFonday morning the visitor proceeded up the North- west Branch. The leader of the Irish settlement, whom he met on his way, seemed almost overcome with surpi'ise and joy, and at once led him to his humble dwelling. The wife, on their arrival there, struggled to suppress the rising tears as she exclaimed : " Have I once more tixed my eyes on a Methodist preacher ! '' In this log dwelling, the home of the husband and wife and their eight children, these Irish Methodists told their guest the story of their trials in their adopted country, while the children were sent otl'to dwellings, of which the stranger liad caught no glimpse, to give infor- mation of his arrival. During the settlers' tive years' life in the woods their faith in (lod and their attachment to the church of their childhood had been well tested. Persistence in a religious life had been aided by their class-!neeting ; and by similar means they had encouraged each other to await
m
IN NEW nRUN,'^WICK
257
the arrival of a miuistor of their own tlenoiniiiatiou. Imiiier- sioiust theories had in vain been urged upon them witli zeal worthy of a more important cause while they thus looked for a messenger of the churches. With no little emotion tlic minister preached to twenty and mon> listeners, and ad- minstered the Lord's-supper to members of the class present. Of wine there was none, l)ut water sufficed ; Christ's presence gave real joy. The service ov^er, the minister mounted his horse, visited the homes of a few settlers, reached the kSoutli- west Branch, and, preaching at several places as he proceeded, returned to Fredericton.-'
- Tsalxl McLean, a sister of l^nliert Tweedy, was tlie "little \vif(>'' to whom reference is made in an incident w iiicli the late John lirewster was wont to use with thrilliuj,' effect on Colonial and r>ritish missionary platforms : " 'And have you ever .seen the Shannon ?" said the old man to that minister, 'and do you know the river?' 'No," was the reply, 'I don't know it.'" 'I'he old man then told the story, how he had left the hanks of the Shannon, and how when all were sad and sighing as they parted from friends, liis " 'little wife' sanir,
' .\\vay with our sorrow and fear, We soon shall reco\er oiu' home ;" ''
and then how they started on their journey ; how when they came to the shore and were ready to emliark and leave the old country liehind, the tears came, hut his little wife sang again, "Away with our sorrow ajid fear!" They dried their tears and were soon on lioard. I*y-aiid-i)y came a storm and all was terror. The captain and sailors gave up all foi' lost, hut the littlti wife liegaii to sing, " Away with oui- sorrow and fear I " The captain plucke(l up courage, tlie sailors went to the pumjis, the storm i)assed and all was well. They landed at length, and when they found themselves in the wilderness their hearts were sad and heavy, hut the little wife sang again, " Away with our sorrow and fear !" and they then bestirred themselves, lnult their cahin, and soon got over their difiic\dti<'s. " r>ut," said the old man, "and have you never seen the hanks of the Shannon'.'" The family grew up, and then the little wife sickened, and while they were aroiuid her dying l)ed the hynui she lo\-ed so well was on her lijis, and she died singing "A\\ay with our sorrow and fear. " — N. W. ( 'Iwixtuph >>•'.•< J'<t(tK of M(fh()(Hsin, p. \U). liy an error of the compiler the scene of this incident is placed in Newfoundland, prolialily hecause .Mr Ihew.ster spent the earlier part of his ministry in that island. 'I'he hymn was known l>y the family as ".lohn Ihown's hynm," liecause a favorite hymn with their leader of that name in Jre
iiyuui, oei-ause ;i i;i\ oi lie n\ inn \\ lui iiieir J' ii'ier m iiiai. iiaiin' iii jn--
land. Tsahel .McT^ean wiis a memher of the class in Williamstown. Three sons of Kohert Tweedy have occupied the pulpits of numerous circuits in tlie .Maritime l'ro\inces ; a grandson tills a professor's chair at Mount Allisiiu. Joseph 'i'weedy. the last of the original Irish settlers at W'illiamsfow n, passed to iiis linal Ikiuk^ in 1S7."), at the end of a long and \iseful life.
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UISTOliY OF Ml'JTIIODIS.V
At Chatham and Newcastle several persons awaited with interest the arrival of the expected minister. Among them was Robert Morrow, manager at Miramichi of the large estahlishment of Joseph Cunard, and son of a Methodist at Newcastle on Tyne Daring a previous residence at Guys- boro', Charlotte Newton had found him a willing and interested hel|)er in her Sunday-school work, and in the for- mation of a Ladies' Bible Association. There was also Joseph Spratt, from Chester, England, who in his native land had filled the offices of class leader and local preacher, and who, removing about 1830 from Bay du Yin to Chat- ham, after a time resumed his official religious duties and continued them stendily until death. These and other friends of Methodism welcomed Michael Pickles on his arrival in 1830 to commence a mission. For a time the young preacher was bewildered by applications for sermons at various settlements, some at a great distance ; l)ut us services were to be held on each Lord's-day at Chatham and Newcastle, liis movements were limited within a six days' range. Previous to his arrival subscriptions had been solicited for a church at Chatham, and soon after the dis- trict )neeting measui'es were taken for the erection of another at Newcastle. In November a service was held in the latter building, and during the year societies were f'trmed at several settlements. One of the earliest duties of Michael Pickles' successor, Enoch Wood, was to open the new church at Chatham, which place became the head(|uai'ters of the new circuit. No regret was felt at removal from the hired room in the "Old Hotel," though neatly fitted up with a pulpit and seats, to a chuivh with accommodation for six hundred persons and inferior to no Metlu)dist house of worship in the province. On the oi'iginal board of trustees of " Wesley chapel " were Robert Morrow and Joseph Spratt, James A. Pierce, for n any years pub- lisher of the Mirajnichi (/leain'v; Josej)h Dutton, who a few
AY XEW BRUXSWICK
•259
years later went to Ontario ; Jolin Ilea, who subsequently removed to another part of the province, with several others. The new church at Newcastle was used for worship a few weeks after that at Chatham. Among the special religious services of tiiat autumn were the meetings held on October 8th, the anniversary of the terrible tire of 1825.' All the churches were opened and sermons were preached in each ; and by some of the inhal>itants the day was observed as one of fastinLj. The abandonment by l^obert Cooney of Roman Catholicism was one of the most interest- ing incidents of the period. Much bitterness of feeling was for a time manifested by the Roman Catholics of that sec- tion of the province, but by the judicious action of Enoch Wood and the early i-emoval of Cooney to Nova Scotia, this was at length allayed. \\\ 1830 .'31, several families from Devonshire, among whom were some Wesleyans, formed a settlement about twenty-miles up the North-west Branch. Humphrey Pickard in 1837 visited the place, and Hichard Williams a few weeks later formed a class described in the following year as a " ha})py little .society of eighteen members."
From Mii-amichi other tields were entered. In response to a request Enoch Wood spent the last Sunday of Septem- ber, 1832, af Richibucto, preaching twice in the court-house to large congregations, and on Monday to an interested audience at a settlement six miles up tiie river. At the latter place an offer wa-, that day made of an acre of land for .a church and burying-ground, at the junction of the
■' This tcrril)]*' event could not sotm he fdrK'otteii. Winn the fiital iiii^lit li;ul passed, the tlirivin<r s«'ttleinents, farms and tiniher lands over an area of five thousand sfjuare miles were a charred aTul lilackened (lesolation. A million dollars' worth of projierty was consumed, and the loss of timhe'r was incaloulahle. ()n^' hundred and sixty persons perished and hundreds were injui'ed for life. The smoke from the fir<> was very dense as far as Yarmouth. For many yean* the anniversary of this terrible event was observed by c«'ssation from business, and public religi- ous .services.
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260
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Nicholas and Richibucto rivers, and numerous offers of support for a minister were proffered. Two months later Henry Daniel, Wood's colleague, visited Richibucto and formed a class of twelve members. Near the end of 1838 monthly visits to Buctouche were commenced, and a year or two later a fresh impulse was given to the work at Richibucto by the erection of a church.
In 1832 Joseph F. Bent was appointed to Bathurst, which had several times been visited by the ministers at IMiramichi. In August, 1830, Michael Pickles first reached the village, the j)opulation of which, chiefly Presbyterian, was said not to exceed one hundred and tifty persons. By Ricliard Dawson the visitor was taken down the Bay Chaleur to New Bandon. Most of the settlers there, from Cork, had been Methodists in their native land. Soon after their arrival in New Brunswick, and nine years before this visit, they had asked for the presence of a Wesleyan minister, but no satisfactory response could be given. They had not, however, lost sight of their personal responsibility. Meetings were held at the house of Richard Dawson, a small class was organized, and a sermon was read by one of the settlers to his neighbors on each Lord's-day. John McLean, Presbyterian minister at Richibucto, had preached for them one Sunday morning in 1827, during a tour through that part of the province. "Instead of standing in time of prayer," he wrote, " they all kneeled, and many of them left the house with tlieir cheeks bedewed with tears." Their Sunday-school had been closed, but they promised the visitor that it should l)e re-opened. By these Irish Methodists Michael Pickles was most cordially greeted. One good sister threw an arm around the neck of the modest young preacher while slie told_ him how patiently and long she had waited to see the face of a Methodist minister in their neighborliood. Though it was after nine
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261
1st
he
o'clock on a Saturday evening when the news of the preacher's arrival was circuhited, a number of neighbors went at once to hear a sei-nion. After a second sennon, on the Lord's-day morning, tlie preaclier left for Bathurst, where he spent several days and preaciied in tlie couit- house. His visit was followed by several others from Enocl. Wood and Arthur McXutt. In ls;i2 a frame of a church was raised at Bathurst, and in 18."i.'i a circuit of that name, with a meml)ership of tliirty-six persons, was recognized in the Minutes. The arrival, during the latter year, of William Stevens, an English Metliodist of much experience, gave an interested supporter to the society, a superintendent to the Sunday-school, and a home to the appointed preacher, but for some years the unfinished state of the church and the slow growth of tlie society depressed the spirits and tried the faith of successive pastors.
Tn 1(S32, after long and unfortunate delay, a minir;ter was sent to the village of Woodstock. A small village had grown up where fifteen years earlier there had been a single dwelling. As early as 1821 William Temple had visited the district, and on his return to Fredericton had forwarded to England a description of the surrounding country and of the religious condition of the settlers. The peo[)le received him kindly and promised to support a young preacher if one could be sent. After another visit to Woodstock and Wakefield, paid by John B. Strong in 1828, the Comtnittee resolved to occupy the ground, but further delay arose through the loss at sea of young Snelgrove. From Metho- dist teaching the settlers at Richmond, comprising the Watsons, McBrides, and others who had followed James Kirkpatrick from the north of Ireland in 1822, were for- tunately not wholly cut off. To his countrymen at Rich- mond the presence of James Killen was a blessing. That good man had been a member of the Irish Conference, but
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262
HISTORY OF METHODISM
having been I'liarged with a wrong of which he was sub- secjuently proved to be innocent, he liad withdrawn from tlie itinerancy, and with his wife liad crossed the ocean to Miraniichi, and liad thence at the end of two years removed to Carleton countv, his home until his death in 1849. At Richmond he acted as a local preacher for twenty-three years, extending his services to Woodstock also during the delay caused by the death of Snelgrove.
Several visits by F2noch Wood, Sampson Busby and Arthur McNutt, having fostered the desire for a Methodist pastor, an acre of ground was deeded to the Missionary Society in due form in March, 1832, and a generous sub- scription list was deemed a sutHcient warrant for the im- mediate erection of a Methodist churcli. The spot selected was near the " Lower Corner," some distance below the Meduxnekeag stream, along the bank of which only two or three houses then stood. Soon after tlie annual meeting of 1832, Arthur McNutt made his way to the place, where he received a warm welcome from several leading men. The only church member resident in tiie village was a woman, but many other persons, weary of the lifeless ministry at tlie parish church, were ready to listen to the preaching of the truth elsewhere. At the close of the year the busy minister reported seventy members from the various settle- ments in his scattered field, wliich extended as far north as Andover. Nearly all the services at Woodstock were con- ducted by him in a school-room, but, a short time before his removal in 1833, at the request of the relatives of a person who had died in the Lord through attention to the counsels given V)y the Methodist pastor, the floor of the unfinished church was swept, the workmen's benches were pushed aside and a very impressive funeral sermon was preached to a crowded congregation, to several members of which it was believed to have proved the " savor of life unto life."
{ '.
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I.Y NEW HRUySWICK.
263
S.amuel Joll, appointed to W<Kxlsto<;k in 1833, remained there two years. During' the winter of l'S33 34 he crossed the national boundary line to assist w^veral Ainoricaii Methodist brethren at a four days' untftuw' at Holton, a military post on the frontier. At the conclusion of the meeting the ministers crossed to W'ltfA^iocV, whither one of their number, Mark Trafton, had preceded them on Satui'day. This minister, who lodged wjtli the family of Dr. Kioe, a physician of the village, and preached on Sunday morning, was struck l^y the devout a{)p('arance of the congregation. "Great results " were years afterward said by Dr. Trafton to have attended the week of special services at Woodstock. At the close of a love-feast in August, 1834, twenty-eight persons were received into meuibership, some of whom became pillars of strength. At the close of his term, in 1835, Samuel Joll reported a large increase in the number of menibers, and a parsonage in course of erection. During the autumn of that year, when Henry Daniel had been but a few months in charge, the church, which only two years before had been built at a cost of eight hundred pounds, was burued to the ground. This blow, which drove a growing congregation to a school- room, was a severe one, but the absence of debt and the wise ])rovision of insurance robbed the stroke of some of its keenness. Steps were at once taken to secure a second church on the same site, and the new building was opened for worship in December, 1836, by sermons by William Smithson. The circuit, of which Michael Pickles was then in charge, had at least twelve preaching places. In 1838 the Sabbath congregations in the village of Woo<^Jstock contained about one hundred and seventy- five persons ; there were two classes at Woodstock and one at Northani{;ton.
For a number of years but little attention could be given to the more distant parts of this extensive mission, which, as
264
JIlSTOnV OF MKTIIODIHM
i«
'! i!
siipoi-iiitoiulod by Sainuol IVlcMastci's in iS.'iS, extciulf^d from tlu! Il;i,y S(^ttl(Mnont to AiuIonci'. The oiijuMiial sottlL'ivs on the banks of the St. .John, Ix'twc-n Wooclstork and the Grand Kails, a distance of ncarl}' t'iglity niih s, wtTO dis- banded soldiers. Many of tbenieked out a bare subsistence for their families, i-ultivating' as best they ef»uld the lands granted them, and drawiii'' aloii'' the shore n«'ainst the sti'ong current by ropes across tlieir shoulders the boat which conveyed any necessaries from the lowei- liver sec- tions. For many years no m:in cai-ed for these <'xiles. Tlie Episcopal minister at Woodstock in ISH) stated tliat above that point ther(,' was no minister of any denoniination. A justice of the peace, wlio had pre\iously visited them to administer tlu; oath necessary to secure their annual pension from the government, report(Ml that it was with the utmost diiliculty and after a half-day's stvirch that a liil)le could be found. In view of this fact, the Society for the Propagation of the (lospel sent out a number of copies of the Scriptures, prayer-books and tracts, and made a graiit of fifteen pounds each for two school-masters — the cnly pi'ovision for their spiritual and intellectual wants for many years. In course of time, otlier settlers, from the l)anks of the Lower St. John, were attracted up the stream by the fertile lands and fine timber growth. Among these Arthur iNIcNutt in 1830, on the first visit of a Methodist minister as far north as Andover, found scattered disjiples who had been converted under the ministry of his predecessors at Fredei-icton and Sheffield, and who welcomed him to their homes. At their request he preached at Wakefield, Andover, and other points ; and on his return in 1832 they became the iirst members of local societies which have grown into the vigor- ous churches of the present day. A pious Scotch woman, Janet Johnson, removed with her husband from Fredericton to Andover in 1833, and by her establishment of a Sunday-
1'
school of whid, sl,e wa, u,n principal nuMa^cM-, tl,e ci.cula- t.on of t he Sc,-,ptu,-,.s, a,„l cllbrt with i,Klivi>lual consciences, p.-epa,-ed ,h„ „ a,- !.„■ the We.le.aa n.i.sionary, for whose .ecc.pt,on he- door vvas always open. At Andover services could for s™,e years be hehl only on each fifth ot sixth feabbath. In l.s;i7 a s.nall church was built there, and a year later a eon;;reoation of one hundred was reported, of whou, fourt,.,,,, „,,.e in counnunion as nm.nbe,^ In the itt e ehurch liritish troops were billete,! during the n.arch to Canada at thethne of the rebellion, and the stove which or n,any years „ave eo.nfort to the congregation was left there by the nnlitary authorities. Early in 1839 Arthur Me^ utt spent e.ght days at the place and its neighborhood and thence n,ade an earnest appeal to the Oonnnittee fo," the appo.„tn,ent of a missionary for that section of the county of Cai'leton.
CHAPTER XI.
METnoDis.Nr IX TiiK XKW r.i{r.\s\vrf;iv distiuct fro>[
ITS FOK.MA'IMOX IX ISi't; TO TIIK CKXTKXAIiY YKAK, 1S;«». (r'onrliKlnl.)
I 1
■' ) tl
CliaiiK^''* in th<' ministry. Iluuipliicy Pickard, Saiinu'l 1). Rice, and otlicrs. Arrival of Kurdish prcaclifrs. i'mtraftcd iiifftin^^s. St. .riilni and Frt'dcricton. Ijcnnu-l .VUan Wilmot. Slu'tticlcl. Cir- cuits on tile .Vnicrioan l)or(lfr. Wcstniort'laiid. ('iiarlcs F. Allison, and otln-r laymen. Ft'titcodiac. .Vimapolis and HridK<'t<i\vn. Visit- ing' missionary. Failure to enter open doors.
The further changes in the ranks of the ministry at this period were of much importance. Several men of tried worth took their departure for other spheres of service, but among the recruits of the time were worthy successors, some of whom saw a lirief Init hallowed career, while others through effective and extended service became men of mark in Colonial Methodism.
Repeated attacks of illness obliged Samuel Joll to sail for England in the sunnner of 183G. His genial spirit and successful work had made him a favorite with preachers and people. After a fair test of ^ his physical ability for itinerant service, he withdrew from it and entered into secular busi- ness, at the same time giving faitliful assistance as a local lielper. In the Alinutes of 1865, his name reappeared as that of a supernumerary, and in that honorable list of enfeebled workers he retained a place until his death. For a time .also the New Brunswick District suffered the absence of John B, Strong. Having visited England in 1836, he sailed again for New Brunswick, but after a narrow escape was driven tack to an Irish port. A previous inclination
IN XKW n RUNS WICK,
207
e
al
le In
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to reinaiii at lionie liavin*,' becMi strengthened by this experi- ence, he rectdveil an appointment to the Xewark ciicuit, and sent for his family. After a residence in l'inj,'land, how- ever, of a year or two, he resolved to return to the Maritin^e Provinces as a ])ei'manent home. On his a{)pointnient to an Kn^lish cii'cuit, the otiice of chairman of the disti'ict had been ti'ansferred by the Committee to William Temple. At the meeting of \^'M , .Fohn Snowball, under direction for Newfoundland, also took leave of the ministers of the New Brunswick district.
A farther reduction of the list was caused by tiie retire- nicnt of one minister and the death of anotlier. Tn the autumn of ISIifj Albert Desbri.say Hnislied his itinerant ministry, his early retirement being in great measure the result of overwork during the revival in the previous autumn at Shetlield. For the three years ending with 1842 he acted as " sup{)ly " at St. Andrew's, and then left that place to take a post at the new academy at Sackville. The retirement of William Murray was followed l>y early death. That minister, with Jose})!! F. lient, had in 1834 left New Brunswick for Newfoundland. His residence in the latter colon V was short, failure of health having obliged hiin to leave it in 183G. After a visit to England, he became a supernumerary at Barbadoes, but change of climate availed nothing. His death in New lirunswick, in January^ 1840, was probably hastened by the earlier decease of a be- loved wife. ^
1 A young nuiii named I'rice, from the upper South-wesst brancli of tlie ^liramichi, wlieu on liis way to an academy at Keadtield, Me., with a view to preparation for the Methodiwt ministry in tlie provinceH, was a I)assenf,'er on tiie RdikiI 'Titr when that steamer was burned in Penob- scot Hay, on her way from .St. John to Porthmd, in October, 183G. Forty of her passengers were rescued by an American reverme cutter, but tliirty-two others, in consequence of one of the boats liaving been carried off by an escaping party, were either burned to death or drowned. In the hst of tlie latter was young Price. The preaching of this young man in numerous settlements along the South-west branch of the Mivaniichi had broken down much of the prejudice against Metho- dism.
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268
HISTORY OF METHODISM
I Bl
M P I
:'!
Oil tlio Minutes of 1834 appeared the name of Richard Shepherd, a minister of some years' experience in Newfound- laud, and that of Peter Sloi'p, wlio had been preaching on the Annapolis and Bridgetown circuit. The second of these was sent as .a colleague of Richard Williams to Miramichi, of the extensive outlying districts of which circuit he took the principal charge. Of two young men who were accepted in 1835 as candidates for the ministry, neither died in con nection with the ministry of Methodism. One was Wesley Charlton Ueals, a member of a respected family in the Bridgetown circuit, who began his itinerant service on the Petitcodiac mission ; the other was William Martin Leggett, of Sussex \^ile, whose earlier usefulness cannot be ignored because of subsequent failure. Ijeggett's father had been aii officer in a Southern lioyalist corps ; his mother was a well-educated and unusually clever woman, from whom a son, a portrait painter of some celebrity, and the younger son, William, in whose published " Forest Wreath" were lines indicative of true poetic genius, were said to have inhei'ited their ability. For some years the elder Leggett conducted a school on the Madras system, and at the same time taught Indian youth, at the "Indian College" at Sussex, and there they pleasantly received the young preachers sent to the circuit.'-' The son ascribed his conversion to kiampson
- The " Indian OdlU'gf" :it Sussex luis an interesting history. It was the first J'rotestaiit attempt in the Maritime Pnivinces to "proijagateand advance tlie (,'liristian rehgic. i" among tht; Indians. fSoon after the Loyalist settlenjent in Xew I'rnnswick the New ihigland Society, incor- porated in Ijondon in KKJl', resolved to fonnd an institution in the pro- vince to be called an "Academy for instructing and civilizing the Indians." S\issex Vale, as the Indian rendezvous for starting i(.)V and returning from the chase, was selected as die place for the institution, the management of wliich, with ample funds, was entrusted to a B(jard chosen from the leading men of the province. Years of effort, however, onlven<led in discouragement. In spite of the expenditure, the .'ndian.s returned to their migratory habits, and again became subject to the in- fluence of Roman Catholic priests. The Society then sought to effect its purpose by ai)prenticing the Indian yi)uth to farmers, who were to train them in agriciiltural pursuits, while their edvication was to be at- tended to at the academy. IJut this scheme proved equally abortive.
IX NEW lUiUNSWICK.
269
Jilt
tlie or- )n)- the lud on, ird ]«-r,
liu-
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Ive.
Busby as the liuiuiiu agent. Oiio week evening, during the winter of 1^34-35, he visited the ohl ( Jennain-strect church, St. John, and while listening to the sermon felt tic ihhmI of a better life. At a subse(|uent service in the same place, and after weeks of anxiety, he professed to ha\e found peace of mind. On being accepted as a candidate at the annual meeting of 18'5.") he was phiced at Aylesford, as a collea<i[ue of (Jeorge Miller in the extens"\3 Brid<'etown circuit. In that and in more than one otlur circuit, when he had left friends and counti'v as a w.mdcrer, \w was re- memVjered by many for l)rilli;uit impromptu ctVoi-ts and erratic tendencies, but by others, among v.hom were men and women of worth and intelligence, l)ecau.se that to thcin the Gospel proclaimed by his lips had been the " powei- of (iod unto salvation."
A more satisfactory recoi'd belongs to two other young men who at this period ga\'e the/nschcs to tin; Church of (lod. Humphrey Pickavd's parents wtu-e members of Pui itau families who, before the war of the Kcxdhition. had left New l<]ngland to take possession of those vieh inter\ales which skirt the St. John at Maugerville and Shetlield. His mothei*, under the ministry of William iJennett. had l)eeoiiie a Methodist in hei- giiiiioo'' ; aiifl through hei" intluence Thomas l*ickard, after their marriage, became one of the snuill gi-oup of Methodisis at Fredericton, and as eaily as 1817 an othcial UKMuber of the (;hurch there. In theii- home Methodist itinerants of that day fouiul the pleasant greeting with wliich their successors were familiar. With a praise-
Tlic Indians (li>likc(l it and it piovcd injininus to tli>ir nioi •' ,. 'I'lif Society finally rctnu-ited .lol.n W'fst. ,in l']|«iM-o|ial niinist" ■ ,>iio wa-- sent ont to ll\idson \Va\ in \K\.), to \i>it tin- Indians in No\a .-icotia and New Brnnswiek and look into tlif state of affairs at Su>'^c\ \ a\>\ I'imhi I'eei'ipt of liis rfpoi't tlic dirictoi's rrsohcd to ln-eak ii|> tlif estalili>lnii<nt and to " seek in the aji|ili(al ion of tln'ii funds for furtl'rr yood than they fiave hitlifvto met with ainon;,'' oui' red lirtthiiii of ilic w il derm 'ss," A very lieasy sinu had been expeniied on the experiimnt.
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
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wise a})preciatiou of true culture the woi-tliy pair resolved to give their sons a good education. Tn the autumn of 1829, when in his sixteenth year, Humphrey was taken to the Wesleyan academy at Wilhraham, JMass. Accjua ntance with several ministers — with William Jiurt and (iforge Jackson in particular — had had a fortunate influence upon the 'lad, who had not, however, before leaving home, given any evidence of religious decision, though even then his observant father had written to Arthur McNutt : " Hunr phrey, I think, is under the silent drawing of God's Holy Spirit." Wilbur Fisk, of saintly memory, who a few years later declined consecration to the P]pisco|)al ofKce because he believed that he could render better service to Cod and his fellow-men as an educator than as a bishop, was then principal at Wilbraliau). Few students who came within the range of his Influence could fail to feel the [)Ower of goodness associated with true greatness of character. His ability as a teacher secured respect from his students, while his sanctified spirit threw a radiant light upon each day of life. At the date of Humphrey Pickard's arrival a deep and extensive religious work, of which lie had had some intimation, was in progress at the academy. At a class- meeting held on his first Satui'day evening there, he announced his intention to yield himself alive unto({()d. For- giveness for sins which are past he found under a sermon at a week-evening service. Among his school-fellows were Osmon C. Baker, afterwards a bishop of tlu^ Methodist Episcopal f'hurch; and Cln'istian Keener, now a l)ishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The second of these was a fellow- student with him in 18.'Jl-32at the '\^'esleyan university at >ri(l(ll(>toNvn, (.\ni!i., of which Dr. Fisk had been chosen the first presid<'nt. About this period thoughts respecting the ministry of the (Jospel frequently occupied his attention. At length, after a three years' (Migagement in nieicautile
IX NEW BRUNSWICK.
271
he lilo
•
pursuits at lionie, the reading of an address by Dr. Fisk led him to resolve to seek adn)ission to tlie ministry of tiie Methodist Kpiscoi)al Church. I'rom .^oin^ abi-oad Knoch Wood succeeded in turning liini for a time, and then sent him to ShetHeld, where Albert Desbrisay was in gi-eat need of assistance. While there, his experience in the great revival of 1835 removed any lingering doubts in relation to the path of duty. Having been accepted in 183G as a candi- date, he was sent as the colleague of Richard Williams to Miramichi, whence, late in the autumn of that year, in conse- quence of the failing health of George Miller, superintendent at Fredericton, he was called to assist Henry Daniel, secord preacher on the circuit. In 1837 he resumed his studies at Middletown, and in 1839 reentered the Provincial ministry, f' -»ugh at the close of his college course three invitations to r-H: torates in the United States — one of them from Provi- dence, R.I. — had reached him.
The other candidate became, like Humphrey Pickard, a leader in the educational work of Canadian Methodism, and after honorable occupancy of numerous posts of ti'ust and responsibility, died while senior General Superintendent of the Methodist Church of tiie Dominion — an ajiostolic bishop in all but the name. This was Samuel Dwight Rice, the son of an intelligent physician, who at the time of the son's biith in 181;") was in practice at the frontier village of Itoulton, Me. The father was a i-elative of a family of the same nanu» which in Massachu.'^etts has attained considerable distinction : the mothci' was a Putnam, cousin of the patii- otic American farmer and daring general, Israel Putnau). In ISIO the family crossed th(> boundary line and settlet! at Woodstock. At their home, Mark Trat'ton, then a young minister at Orono, Me., when he crossed the fionticr to Woodstock with his pi-esiiling (>lder and two otht-r American INIethodist preachers to assist Samuel Joll in his " pi-otracted
1 ' I
H:'; i:
272
HISTORY OF METHODISM
meeting," found " most ugreeable entertainment." One of the two sons, who had previously l)een a Congregationalist, conferred a benefit uj)f)n his younger brother, Dwight, wlien he carried to him from Ai'thur McXutt an invitation to the chiss-meeting, a privik^ge the lad liad wished to enjoy. The elder brother subseijuently became a convert to the tenets of Emaimel Swcdenborg; the younger, when nearly hn If a century had passed, s])oke as a Methodist preacher of his great obligations to the class-system of Methodism. Between the latter brother and Artluu' ^NIcNutt there ever existed a strong attachment. The seni^'r of the two always re- garded the junior as his son in the Gospel, and the younger was often heard to say to his spiritual fathei' : "If 1 am not all I ought to be, 1 am what you made me." A year or two after conversion young Riceattended an academy at Leicester, Mass., and afterwards prosecuted his studies at Bowdoin col- lege, where Ifenry Wadsworth Longfellow was at the same time a student. During a short subsequent residence at Fred- ericton.his Christian life became more vigorous, while through conimercial pursuits he was prepared for the performance of duties for which many of his brethren were note(jually apt. Soon after his acceptance fur the itinerant ministry by the British Conference of 18.')7, liis health seemed to decline, and in August of that year, his intimate friend, the late JFenry Fisher, wrote of the man who nearly lifty years later ceased from his labors: " I )\vight's health is still precarious; it is a niiitter of serious doubt with me whether he is able to travel, except for a short period."' He, howevci-, entered upon his work in the extensive Miraniiehi circuit, and in 1889 had nearly mad(> his arrangements for winter travel- linjj at Batluu'st, when th(> members of in extra distriet meeting rei|uest(Hl him to remov»> for the winter from that extreme point of the New Brunswick District to Sydney, C.B., the most distant circuit of the Xo\a Scotia District.
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in tli(^ county of Annapolis. Tliou^li cdnxcrtfd tlii()U<^li tlu^ a,L,'('ncy of the early \\'esleyaii itinrranvs. they had continued to profess tiie {)rinciples and to adhere to tla^ practices of the folh»\v*'rs <»f (l*'or;,'e I'ox. Tlirou^h the reading of th(^ New Testament at home the terrors of the Lord took hold upon tiie son, hut wIumi, a few weeks later, business railed him from his home near .Ma r;.,fareL\Mlle to St. John, and Ik^ found his way to a Methodisi prayei'-meeting, hope sprang up, and on the following e\ening in a siirdlar meeting peace tilled his heart. Ivarly in iSll'.', after having pushed his way through doubts studiously suggested by others, lie was baptized and received into ('liiistian fellow ship l»y Albert J)esbrisay.
Of four English inirdsters who in lS.;s reached the Maritime Proviiu-es, two remained in the New Brunswick L>istrict ami a tliird suttsecpiently joined it. ( 'harles Churchill and Ki-ederick Smalhvood arri\ed at Halifax in l(S;5S l)y the same vessel. The tirst named nduister, after a business life of several years, had been led by a strong con- viction of duty into the itinerancy, lie was prepossessing in manners, and liis style of pi-eaching, which in sentiment was richly evangelical, was calculated to please the most fastidious. His nussionary companion, Fredvi'ick Small- wood, at once commenced a highly ]>o})ular and iseful colonial service, unfortuiuitidy shorten«'d liy an ea.rnestness which too long declined acceptance of medical t-aution re-
274
HISTORY OF METHODISM
A.i
specting rest. The inothcM' (jf this young minister had in her earlier days been an attendant at tiie services of the General Baptists, but liad subsecjuently Ix'eonie a member of Jolui Angell James' chur'ch in Birmingham. Her son might have follov/ed her thither, but no one in the congre- gation showed any special interest in the lad, wlio from cliildhood had been "feeling after God.'" A diti'erent recep- tion on his first visit to a Methodist church prepared the way for closer association with the devout worshippers within its walls. At his first essay as a local preacher there stood beside him John Collins, a man who meiited regard on account of his pers(Hial character, but who is only known to the Methodist public through the life-story of his devoted son, Thomas Collins, as told by the facile pen of Samuel Coley. At Halifax Frederick Smallwood took leave of his fellow-voyager and moved on to Bridgetown, where he remained. His intended destination had been Wood- stock, hut William Temple, whose conunission as chairman he had brought across the ocean, detained him in the Annapolis valley and sent another to Woodstock. 'J'he two ministers who arrived at St. John in October, 18."58, were George M. Barratt and Charles Dewolf, the latter on his way to Nova Scotia. George M Bai-ratt had been trained under Episcopalian auspices, but after ojuversion through Methodist influences had oti'ered his servieses to the Mission- ary Committee, who at tirst assigned him to South Africa but subsequently sent him to New Brunswick. Both young men had been in attendance at the theological institution at H(-xton — Charles Dewolf for two years, his companion on the voyage, for one year. William Marshall, appointed to Newfouridland, and a, number of other young men, several of whom Ijecame distinguished in Austi-alasian mis- sion Helds, were ordained with them in City-road chapel, London. John H. .Huiid)y, one of these, hail in 1835 been
iMtaa^ k, i
IN NEW nia^NSWICK.
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jU Wood- lainnan in the The two ',8, were r on his I trained through Mission- h Africa ,th young .stitution ;)iupanion appointed ng men, lisian uiis- 1 chapel, S :.).') been
asked by the (Jouiiuittee to go out fo i'.ritish Noi-th America, but in view of liis attaclunent to the pastoi-al work at home tlie Secretaries liatl not pi'essed llieir request. Tln-ee years later, lie concluded to sail for the new continent with the earnest John Waterhouse, a former superintendent, and in th(i mission tield ended a most ell'ective service.
Throu^liout tlie ohler circuits of the disti'ict some deifree of growth at this period took place. in If^.).") tht^nission- ary secretaries in their annual letter to tlu; chairman of tlie X(»va Scotia and New JJrunswick Districts su«'<rested the holding of " ju'otraeted meetings."' The proposed meetings involved less wear and tear than those of a subsequent period, which, though productive of untold benefit, often lessened tlie active years of the most successful toilers. The "protracted meeting " proper, or " four chiys' meeting " of that period was during its continuance a busy time. Several itinerant and local preachers wen; invited ; preaching at ten each morning was followed by singing, exhortation and prayer, and by a similar ser\ic(! in the afternoon ; while the evening was regarded as tiie principal harvesting jteriod of the twenty-four hours. Such meetings were seldom con- tinued beyond a week, but during that time visitors were numerous and hospitality was unlxiunded. Tluough general action upon the Committees suggestion several circuits re ceived powerful impulses, though in cei-tain sections of the Lower Provinces they were l)y no means a novelty.
Steady improvement iti the St. John circuit was followed by an e.vtensive revivjd in ISl".). A iiieml)ersliip of two hundred and thirty-five jiersons was that year reported from the city and PoTtland ; and to that nuiid»er eighty-Hve others were added during the subse([uent twelve months. In I83;i Albert I>esl)risay went into the streets with the <}o>.j«el message. To one of his earliest addresses an infidel who had determined never to enter a church listeiied, and
27(;
II I STORY OF METHODISM
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tlirii tui'Med to ( Jod ;iii(l iiiiit('(l with the society. Kear of Asiatic ('hoh'ia, which was raL,'in,!j; in Halifax, lent a. soleiim interest to iclii,'! mis services in the autumu of IS.'M. 'I'luj utmost {)recauti<)ns, hy tin; fimii^ation at th(! Marsli Uridge of all pfM'soiis ,'iikI pni'cels from Halifax, and of any i)ers(tns who had l»e(!ii in vcliiclcs witii such, did not prevent the breaking out of the ])(\stilence, hut happily so delayed its appeai'ance that it was checked l)y tlie cooler weather wlien only foi'ty-scAcM deaths had heen caused hy it. In gi-ati- tude for this (hdivfuance the 18th of December was pro- claimed a day of general thanksgiving throughout the province.
In tlu! city pro[)er spiritual growth led to financial expan- sion. An addition in I S.'}."^ to the ( Jermain-street church made tliat sanctuary a building of eighty feet in length with a gallery on four sides, and with no unoccupied pew. Karly in \^'-'u the larg(^ two-story schoolroom adjoining the church was formally opened. Jn its second-story room — the largest in the city — the pi'incipal public gather- ings of satisfactory (diaracter took i)lacc for several years. In November, IS.);"), Trinity I'jpiscopal church was first used for kSunday evening services, with " [)e\vs open and seats free, ' yet the old Methodist church continued to be '' too stiait ' for worshi{)[)ers. This fact dcjpressed Knoch Wood on his re appointment to the city. To pray for the enlargement of the society l)y the conversion of sinners seemed, under such circumstances, to be folly, if not mock- ery ; he, therefore, with the aid of several earnest laymen, but in the face of the strong opposition of some othei-s, resolved to secure the pre.sence of a second church. Three lots were purchased and a foui'th was gixcn ; plans were obtaiiu'd, a se{)ai'ate board of trustees was formed, and witliout a dollar in the treasury the erection of the church was commenced at tiie corner of Wentworth and St. <Teorge
IN KEW Iiin'y>\\'!rK
-I I
streets. On a Sunday at't('in<»r)n iji July. |s">S. |%ncirli Wood preached fi'om tlie lloor of the l^uiKiini^ to nliout two thousand licarer.s a sermon fioni 1 Cor. i, l'.'>, '_M. A larii,'(^ company, gathered on th(^ grounds the next day. witnessed the laying of the corner-stone l)y John fVrtruson, I'lsij., ont; of th(! earliest Methodists of the city, lo whom, more tiiiin any other layman, the l)uilding of the old churr-li in (ler- main-street was due'. This buildi)jg was ♦•reeted ;it a cost of nearly four thousand pounds, the sit«f included. 'J'he dedicatory sermons were preached on Suinday, August IS, 1839 ; in the morning by Matthew liichey, in the after- noon by William (*roscoml)e, and in the ev*?ninir l»y Robeit Alder. In ISII the school-room and cla^s- rooms weie finished, and on the morniiur of Christnj-'i-s of tliat yeai- the new bell, the heaviest in the city, rang out in iti rii-h, d<'ep tenor its first joyous })eals. For a f<^w years the trustees felt a large del»t to b(; a sevei-e burden, but in Isfo the IMissionary Conunittee consented to grant them five hun- dred pounds on condition that on*^ thousand should be raised by the people, and the trustees, inspirited by the offer, succeeded in raising much moie than the sum required by the Committee. Shortly before tlie gr**at fire of 1S77 extensive repairs and alterations were Uiade, but the whole building was swept away by the resistless flames which in a single day not only destroyed the j>la<;e of holy convoca-
•' .lolni Fcr^'usoii caiiu' to St. .loliii in 1~X'.t a- a |<«y>»-r;r»init in tlic Koyal Artillery. Jlf was a native of Ai-nia;rlj. Ii<-!ai»i'l, fn St. .lohii hf was a irieixl of ^\'illianl Colilictt. yianmjariaii nu'\ r*'fonner, wlio was stationed at l''ort Howe as ser^eantniajor >)i t|j<- .%4rli ret,'inient. Afr. l^'er^'uson is lielievetl to lia\>' lieen eon\ei-t«^l thr"«ijrh t,h»- [■reaeliin^f uf .fames Mann, who in 17!'- was on a visit to the ci'.y nud the up ri\er settlements. In tliat year he joined tlie church. Ii«-f'>r<- r,T>n version his lirincii)les and jiractice were usually correct : aft'-r f.'rmvfrsion his career was an eai'iiest Christian one. 'I'he ini]<'irtari» a"i-r.infe in his power he readily pive ; the completion of tiie ori:riii;iiI • ierrnain street church he lai'jj;ely hastened liy undertakinvr the n—jn'rii-ibility of the debt. As trustee, leader, Sunday-school teacher, in- «a* always at liis post till age and weakness prevented, and l)y his lif«- }j«- •♦•*;tir»*d general esteem, fie died in f'^'liruarv. 1S41.
27S
II T STORY OF MF/rifODfSM
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tion, hut witli scarcely an oxcpption rohhcd tlic lu'wholders of either lioiiic or place of Itusiness in iiiaiiy cases of lir)th — and scattered tliciii so widelv that it iiiav h(\ presumed that thepr(!vious worshippecs iievef all met again foi' praise undei- any one roof.
In |S.'{(S Poftliuid and Cafleton became a separate circuit, known as St. .John North. Oceasioiwil services only had been held at Portland previous to t\w arrival of J{ichard Williams in IS^C) : more fre(|uent sei-mons wei'c iircached l)y that minister, for whose aj)pointments the hous*- of John Owens was always ready. A little later tin; Hon. Charles Sirnonds gave a site for a church, the building of whicii was readily undertjikcn.' The nH!ml>ership in. June, ISl".), when the chui'ch was opened foi- woi-ship, was repoited to l»e thirty-two ; a year later it had i isen to eighty. With the rapid increase of pojndation during the next decade, the circuit grew in im])Oi'tance. ]n IS.')() a parsonage was built, and in 1 838 a large and expensive addition was made to the house of worship. Kor many yeai's services were irregularly held at Carleton, but in 18;)0 preaching on the Sabbath afternoon was commenced, for which, aftei- a time, morning and evening sermons were substituted, A class organized in 1832 by Samuel .Foil was placed in charge of David Collins, an excellent Irish Methodist, who had emigrated from the county Tyrone in 1824. At the close of the period undei' review Methodists held their services in the " free meeting-house," no church under their own control having then been built."'
* Tilt' orijriiial trustees of this c'lnircli were representative men in St. Jolm MetluKJisni iit tlie time. 'I'he.N' ucre .Alexaiidei' ^IcLeod, Siinmel J I. AlcKee, (ieor^'e W'iiittaker, \VilliiUa Neshit, Henry Henni^'ar, Robert (yhestmit, Hobert Koln-rtson, (Jilliert T. Hay, .lolm B. (iaynor, (ieor^e Lockiiart, .lames Hnstin, .lolm Owens and l*"ran('is . Ionian. The nanies of tiiese and of otlier hitmen with wiiose i)resenceSt. .lolm Meth- odism iiiis at various times hi'cn Messed, should at least find preservation in some adecjuate record of hx-al history.
'' A plan of Sunday services for the St. .lolm circuit in \KM includes the followinK" ])laces : (Jity chapel, Portland, Carleton, Lower Cove,
r.y xi:iv uni-xswicK.
270
At Ki-odorii-toii, /luritii,' Jolm 15. Stronj^'s rosidfMicc in 1S-JS.2II. it \v;m ff-k that the old rlnirdi, Unlit tluontili uood DuiK-an I Jliiirs exertions. li;id ln'cuiiic too small. In IN.'IO st('])s wf'i'c thcnffon* takfn tof the ciTction of a larifcf ono on lilt' inofc cliLfililf; sit*- ociaipicd l>v tlic uiacct'ill cdilicc of the ]ii'»'K('nt (lay. I n .januaiy, I X'.Vl, after simic dfla y 1 hioti^di a partiiil destruction of laiildinL; material l»y lire, the dedi- catory ser\ icf's of thf now church wei'o conducted l»y Arthur McNutt and Samjmon iSushy. A few months later the latter minister reporterl tli;it inei-e;ised accf>mmodation had nearly (ioiil)led the nundjer in atten(hince.
in ls;];i I'jioch A\'ood was placed in chaise at l-'redei-ic- ton. His pulpit ability and <;f!nial .spirit soon attracted to the Methodist church numerous hear(>r.s pi-eviously unac- customed to its .services. Amonj,' tliese was Lemuel Allan Wilniot, a younj; lawyei' of Loyalist descent. Kaily r-eli- gious interest, awakened rjuring a revival amont,' the l>ap- tists, among wliom his father was a prominent man, had been dissipated by attention to study and by al)sence from home. When tirst brou'dit within the i'an<ire of Enoch Wood's influence, sunshine and shadow were; being alter-
Aliushousc, ( liiii(li)];i I'oiiit. .Mi-|>t;ck, ;niil Loeli I^eiiioiKl. The ordainocl ])reiicliers were S.uiiijsou liu-hy and Williiuu Smitlisoii ; the local pi'eachcrs wen- William Till, SHiiiiiel iianfnrd Mc-Kee. Muttlicw Thomas, Peter Sjicji, 'J'homa.-i Hiitchini^s, — Fiiniess jiiid M. I). It was in referenc"' to tln.-.-e and -ome other woi-thy members that AHiert ])esl)risiiy in that year wrote to Arthur McN'utt, when congratulating him on a ))ros])eeti\<- a[»|>ointineiit to the city : "The praying' brethren there will make you pre^w-h whether you will or not." 'J'lie staiior lr)cal preacher, William Till, a native <A New lirunswick, was a conNcrt of Josiiua Marsden, at St. .lohn. and to tlie day of his death, in iSdi', was an earnest woi'ker for hi- Lord, of whom he was a coi sistent follower. lMiou,t,di in his eaily C'hri-tian course he had strong' convictions rtspect- injjf a call to the itinerant mini-try. personal fear and unfa\dral)le coun- .sels led him to continue in th»- narrower track of the local i>reacher, to his subsequent f,'rief. "< Jo," he one day said to .lames Jtenjii^^ar, "if (iod calls you," us the younj^ man -jioke to iiimof the ministry, and then he gave emphasis U) hi- c-oun-el Wy a clia|(ter of pei-sonal exjieiience. Of liis several colleagues in the I'j'.-al ministry at St. .loim- all good men and true— may be written: "They rest from their labors and their works do follow them."'
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natcd ill his cxpc'lciicf;. Jic luul 1)(h;omi(' cfinscious of the f^r()\viii<j; personal pojiuhirity which won him an oh'ction to the House ot' Assciubly in IS."}!, .md had secui'ed the suj)- posed life eonipanionship of an ainiahU; Lcicl ; l»ut (h'atli had chiinied th<' youiiwf wife foe his prey, thoui^h fortunately not until lier abundantly pri>\»'d trust in (Jlirist had made a permanent impression upon hci- soirowini^ husWand. Ahout this time the .Metlntdist piistoi-, aware of an increasing,' icli- Ifious interest in his coii'irei'ation, nnxi^ notice; that at a certain hour he would nuM't in»iuirers in the vestry of the chui'ch, and organi/.c a class for their special henefit. Of the first three persons who waited upon him in the vestry, one was Allan W'ilmot, and amjther the late Jlenry Kisher, afterwards superintendent of education for New lirunswick. The young lawyer's course was watched by the wise pastor with much solicitude. With jileasure he saw his mai-riage to a young lady who lu'ought him into connection with \)V0- nounced Methodist antecedents, and whose (piiet personal iidluence .-uded him ii. the avoidance of the snai'es which lieset the Christian man in political life. One incident at that period gave Knoi-h Wood pjiculiai- satisfaction. Two sets of associates were to iiUM^^t in Fredericton to spend tlie closing hours of 1^31. One was to hold tlu; watehnij'ht service at the Methodist church ; the otiier to engage in a ball, one of the great social events of the year, given at the governor's n^sidenr-e. Mr. Wilniot, who held the local mili- tary appointment of Judge-advocate, received the usual invi- tation from Sir Archibald Campbell. Mr. Wood, though informed at a late hour of the fact, .sent his young friend an atlectionate Christian message of caution. A decision iuul at lirst l>een reached on the ground of otlicial duty, but on the appointed evening the pieaeher, as he glanced nervously down the aisles, saw his friend, accompanied by his bride, making his way to the minister's pew. .\t the last moment,
iiiglit iu a
it the inili- invi-
lough
lU
I an
liad
it on
ously
njride,
IN NEW IIRUNSWICK.
o>
SI
and when tlip co/ioh was at the door, a faithful fr-icud, who liad home icpr-oaeh fof Christ, had wliispeced : " Mi-. Wihnot, if Christian priiicipUi he woith anytiiini;, it is woith » vtrv- thinjj," and this truthful and timely remark hud instantly awakened a n-'w aiid nohler resolution, and had i-cndered a ju'rilous iiioiiKMit, oiH! of those crises in early manhood at which m»Mi ;iit maimed oi' made strong, a wondrous aid to a holdly a\(iw('d Christian life.''
This incident was soon followed hy connection with the Methodist (yliurch. K.\cessi\e I'epetition of immcrsif)nist views in his childliOod, he !'(Mnarked only a few weeks hcfoi'e his death, had created a strong prejudices against those wjio placed un(hie stress upon a mere mode ; from the length of time which elapsed before his baptism by liichard Williams, it seems not improl)al»le that some prejudice may liav(! been awakened against tlu; ordinance itself. In decision resj)ect- ing a church home, any struggle, if struggle there were, lay in another directif)n. To stem the tide of dominant and domineering ecclesiastical intluences of that period, through winch Provincial revenues were placed at the use of a single religious body, anil rights now common to all were limited to a chosen few, was to a young and rising man who in boy- liood had been drawn into tlie current of tliose influences, a serious risk, from the standpoint of the worldly wise. The cost, however", was counted, and the dictates of conscience del i 1 )eratel y fol lowed.
Forty years later, when Lemuel Allan Wilmot had estab- lished a brilliant legal reputation, with one or two othei's had guided his native v>rovince into an era f)f constitutional lil)erty, had been for years a judge of the suprerne court, and had tilled with honor the position of lieutenant gov- ernor of New lir'unswick, he addi'essed for the last time the minist(M's of the New Biunswick Methodist Conference. To
Hi
■nt,
" liiiijfraidiical sl<itrli nf .IikIk"'*' Wiliimt," liy |{i'\ . .Inliii L.tt lifiii, I >. I ).
^ii'
2S2
irrsroiiY of mktiiodism
his aiuliciK-o ho that eveninjj; remarked tliat lio " owod evorytliiii;^ to Metliodisni under (Jod. Tlie <ir;icc of (lod, conferred iiistrunientally liy liei\ had been a u:i'eat Messini,' in all diipartnients of service. In political contests— and lie had seen lierce ones in his day- and upon the floor of the Ici^dslature, lie had liy that <j;race been enal>led to do and to defend the rii,dit. His attachment to the institutions and polity of Methodism were increasint,' with his increasing; years." He had then been foi- twenty-live years leadei' of the choir at l''i'edei'icton, for more than a (piartei' of a cen- tury su[)erintendent of the Sunday-schotil there, and in the class and j)rayer-meetin,u[s liad taken a ])rominent part. In 1S78, a few months after he had thus spoken of his olili<;a tions to one branch of the (.'hui'ch below, he was sudd(Mily called to the fellowshi]) of the Church <^rium})hant.'
Methodism in Krederictoji has at all sta«^es of hei- history been l)lessed with intelligent and devoted leaders. "* The growth of her society rendered an enlargement of the church an absolute! necessity in 1S39. On the iirst Sunday in Januaiy, 1840, reopening services were conducted by Sampson Jiusby, John li. Strong and Frederick Smallwood. A peculiar consecration was given to the place hy the pre- sence at the evening service of men and women pleading for
" < )iily a few wt'cks licforc (Icath .bulyc Wiliiiot spuke to tin- writer with ^'•liiwiiij,'- couiiti'iianct! of IiIh lon^ coiiUfction with the Ab'tliodist C'hui'cli, and of inmicrous instances of convt'i'sion anionj^ sdioliirs iii his Snnday-si-iiool. At iiis fnncral tiic scliolai's led the procession, then formed a line on either side of thi; main v.alk of tlni cemetery, and san^ a favorite hymn of the deceased as the hearse and monrners passed on. At the close of the Imrial service, each niemlier of tlie school, from the yonnj^est ciiiid of the infant class to the eldest teachei', filed past the grave, each casting' a flower npon the casket. An interestinjif l)io<^ra]»h- ical sketch of one of New Hninswick's most j^dftt'«l sons lias lu'en [inb- lished liy his intimate friend, .lohn JjatlKTii, I). |).
** Of the earliei- of these some have l)e<'n named. Associated with them, among others, were Robert Chestnut ami .Fohn Simpson, tW(j \\(trthy Scotchmen. The first, a native of Ayr, had in ISL'li joined the Wesleyans in St. John ; the second liad left Scotland in ISIK, an ac- credited meml)er of tlie Methodist Church. Of worthy associates and successoi's many pages might be written.
fx NKW /{Rrxsw/r/c
'js:^
I writer iKxUst ill liis , thru 111 saii^ led (in. [n\ tlie ^st tlie L'riii)li- \\ [>ub-
\vit\i »i, two ■I'd tiie lau ac- [es ami
forgiveness of sins, and by the i^athei-iui; of nearly three hundred others to i-eceive the «Mnl)hMns of Christ's love. Through tlie eidar^'euienf of the church additional accom- modation was atlbi'ded for nearly foui' liundred persf)ns, the cost of M-Jiicli was met at once by the sale of jiews.
In IS',\'2. Slietlield and the adjoining s(>ttlements became a distinct circuit. ]*recious revivals had several times been witnessed in that section of tiie old Fi-ederi(;ton field, but through absence of pastoral care much loss had been suf- fered. In 1Sl'(), during All)ert I )esbri.say"s superintendence, a revival which commenced in a, reujote part of the Shef- 6eld section gave to the menibershij) forty-three converts, whose subseipient lives confirmed the sincerity of their pro- fessions ; and a similar revival in 1('^2!>, commencing at Shellielfl and extending to the Kt-ench ami Mahpiapit lakes, resulted in numerous conversions. At the latt<'i- period the old church at Shellield, which had been finished in ISIS, was abandoned for a i\ew one, the dedicatory services of which w«M*e conducted in November, 1S"29. Increased in- terest was at that time reported fiom (irand Lake, where for years visits had l)een paid by the itinerants, and in their absenc(! a sermoii had been read by Daniel Stilwell, a Loy- alist, who had heard INIethodist preaching in N(>w ^'ork, and in conformity to a resolution then reached, had become a member of the first class formed at Urand Tiake. The "protracted meeting " held in IS.lo by Alljert hesbrisay, assisted by Humphivy Pickard, proved an era in the jiistory of the circuit. The venci-ablc Congi-egationalist pastor and many members of his church gave heai-ty co-operati(;n in the efloi'ts tf) .save neighbors, and many scores professed conver-
sion, among whom were men
and
women whose
hall
owe
influence was not limited to the short day of earthly life.
In is;i<) the section of Charlotte county once travel li'd by Duncan McColl had been divided into three cii'cuits.
! i !
«■
28i
HISTORY or MKTUODISM
\i ^
I
Disease <»f a virulent kiiul ha<l in 1S2S-29 ivMnoved from eartli aUout twenty-five inlluential members ; and the at- tempt during tlu? following yeai- by a superintendent, so tejiaoious of law as was Richard Williams, to introduce strict Methodist discij)line had not unnaturally developed "some unexpected dilKculties." In 18.'}3-.'U an extensive revival caused important numerical growth, especially at Milltown, where the preacher resided. A second revival, two ycMrs sultsecpiently, worked an almost marvellous change at 8t. Stephen, and led to separation of the old field, ali-eady lessened in area by the formation of the St. An- drew's circuit, into two parts, the one known as the St. Steplien and St. David's, and the other as the Milltown, circuit. The latter was first occupied as a distinct charge in 18."{8 by Sampson Busby, who found in the brothers Ab- ner and Stephen Hill and other converts of McColl cordial and generous helpers. A new church, then one of the finest Methodist sanctuaries in the province, had been built in 1836, and had become the home of a fair congregation. In 18.38 the preaciier found a pleasant reception in the pai-ish of St. James. On his first visit he preached in a new settlement of nineteen families the first sermon heard there. A site near the settlement and a good list of sub- scriptions for the erection of a church were ofl'ered him. A few weeks later he reported from that point a society of twelve mcndters.
In the Westmoreland circuit, which in 1839 was divided into two, there was in 1827 a membership of one hundred and seventeen persons, Pi-eaching was given at regular intervals at Sack vi lie, Tintramar, Point de lUite, Fort Lawi'enc(>, .lolicure, Dorchester and Baie Verte. From Dorchestei-, the liome of several of the original Yorkshire settlers and of the children of others, numerous accessions were reported in 1829. On a Sunday morning in the
TN NEW ItRfXSWK'K.
•1>^U
nird sub- A of
autmmi of that year, as Joseph A\;ii(l was alxnit to preach ill the (»kl Metliodist chuiH-h theie, a liic lucikc out aiul destroyed the huilding. Il was then (lie only eimicli in the place, for in the villa<^e and for some distance around it other denoniinations liatl few representatives. In I >(;com- ber a new cliurch was opened for woisliijt with serni(»ns by Sampson lUisby and Joseph Avard. A re\ ival under Wil- liam Temple's ministry in 1S27 led a niimlier of the chil- dren of tiie Yorkshire settlers at Point de I'.ute into th<' way of salvation, and at Bale Verte occasional accessions glad- dened both the itinerant and local laborers. At th<! isola- ted settlement at Cape Tormentine few Methodist sermons had been heard before 1830. About that ])ei'iod, owing to the rapid growth of evil influences at the Cajie, Ivlward Wood and a few others resolved to establish i-eligious ser- vices tliere, and their etforts led in a short time to the organization of a small society by Sampson J>usby.
Numerous accessions to the niembershi]) of the circuit took place during the residence of William Smithson, which ended in 1833. Three years later, under the ministi-y of •Fohn B. Strong, fifty persons were received into fellowship, many of whom had for years been outt^r court worshippers. The protracted meeting through which such I'esults were oVitained was held in April, ISoO, in tlie "' lirick cha]>el " at Sackville. Through the fresh interest awakened by this revival a lu^w church was commenced near the old one in the autumn of 183S. With an additi<in to its length and the provision of side galleries, a few years after its com- pletion in 1840, it accommodated seven hundred hearers, and held its place as one of the most convenient churciies of the district until it was supplanted after nearly f(jrty years' use by the present more elegant structure.
When more than a half century had passed, an aged Methodist had finished a recital of incidents respecting the
'!l|
:|;.
I!
L'8G
IIISTOUY OF METHODISM
revival at S.aokvillo in 18.'iG l)y giving an iiite rested listener a thump on the shoulder, acconjpanied hy the emphatic remark, " It's going on yer> I" As he did this, the old man was casting a mental glance at the .Mount Allison college and academies, and was connecting their existence with the conversion of an old friend, Chai-les Frederick Allison. I he name of this gentleman had Ix-cn placed u\\ the membership roll by William Smithson l)efore that minister's removal. He was a son of .lames Allison, of Cornwallis, and by training was an Episcopalian. After several years' <'.xperi- ence in the establisliment of Klisha liatchf(jrd at Parrsboro', he in ISIG settled at Sackville, and soon after entered into partnership with the Hon. William Crane.'' During a serious illness, which threatened the ge!»eral failui'e of his never vigoi-ous health, he had in vain souglit satisfactory spiritual gnidancM^ from the rector of the parish, when he was visited by William Smith.son, with whom he had be- come personally ac«juainted as a fellow worker in temper- ance effort. As a Judicious and .sympathetic counsellor in the sick-room that minister had few efpials. In response to his inquiries the sufferer tearfully admitted his sincere desire for conscious salvation, and gratefully listened to proffered counsel. Having resolved to enter into com- munion with the Methodist Church, lie in 1833 joined Richard Bowser's class, and at the next visitation of the society received from the liands of the man who had pointed him to the Redeemer his first token of membership. On the day on which W^illiam Smithson left for the district meeting he placed in his liands, for the Wesleyan Mission- ary Society, the sum of twenty pounds, accompanying the
'•' Klislia Hiitcliford's cxiunple |)r(il)al)ly stimulated ("liarlcs F. Allison in his earlier fjifts, as his words had f'nonurat,'ed T. A. S. Dt-wolf in |Kr- sistt'iire in Christian work. It was of tliis trentleman that an Kiiiscopal minister at Parrsboro' once remarked, "We have his head, Init the Methodi8t8 have his heart."
|)
IN NEW llRfrxswiCK,
2S7
Uison
It tllH
gift with ^'nitcful words. It was not, liowcvci-, until tho revival in \^'M] that the witness of the Holy (Jhost was iliviMi as an aliidinu source of iov. As he knelt a thii'd time with othei's at tht! coniiniinion railinij during the special services, the longed-for measure of light and life came. The decision of character seen at the outset was again e.Khil)ited. In tin; family with which he had a home — for he was then unmarried it had heen his custom to ask some of the visiting brethren to lead tli«^ household de- votions, but on the evening of blessing, tha' he might at once commit himself to duty, he modestly undertook to till the place of doniestic chaplain. Again there went into the pastor's hands a special sum of money foi" the [X'omotion of the woi'k of (Jod, as a thank-otiering for spiritual blessings ; and into other hands thei*e also passed a certain amount to satisfy some conscientious scruples at which business men generally might hav(^ smiled. How in the adxaiHcment of (Jhi'istian education on .M<'thodist lines Ik^ used tluuisands of pounds and occupied precious years will be told in part on a subsetpient page;. I^'rom the unpretentious mar-ble slabs which appropi'iately mai'k, in the old Methodist ceme- teiy at Sackville, the last earthly resting-place (»f (Jharles Y. Allison and his sweet-spirited wife, .Milcah Trueman, an intelligent visitor turns his gaze almost involuntarily u[)on the educational institutions erected by his liberality and that of generous successors, utteiing nu'anwhih^ the words whic'h appear on Sir Christopher Wren's tomb in the crypt of St. Paul's : " If thou re(|uirest his monument, look around."
Charles F. Allison's Chiistian life of a (|uarter of a cen- tury came to an end in 1S5S. His service had been a con- secrated one. He had recognized (Jod's claim upon his wealth, and for this reason tlie man who could scaic<'ly count his thousands of pounds by ti ns* had felt himself
'i
%
i
I-*-*^-^
m
I
•2f<S
mSTOh'Y or METHODISM
l)()iiM(| til (lit wliiit IK) iiiMii ill liritisli AiiKM'ic.'i ulio i-oiild coiiiif Ills tliuMsiuids liy IiiiiiiIi(m1s had had the ^(lul t<» \\X f«Mii|tt. He had admitted (Ind's lii^dit to say. '• \v arc not yoiir (»\\ II," and thcict'orc had ('iKh'aNor d lo act in such a way as to him seemed l»cst cah-idatcd to *';,d(iiit'y t!od." When oU'ered the sullVa^t's of the cdiiiniiinit v is a reprcscn- ta.tiv(> in jiarliamcnt, he declined acce|itaiice ; and when in IS;")! tlie '^ew llrunswick ^'oveniiiient appointecl him t<» a scat in the h'lfishit ive coiincil, h(! declined that Imiidr, and lemained amonu; iVieiids as "one that serxcth.' Twcj w»;eks hefoi'c his deatli Im welcomed to his Iioiih' I)|'. and Mrs. I'alni' r, of New ^'orl<. During the services held at Sackvdie I )y those Christian workers, their host ol»tained such a. measure of the haptism of the Holy Spirit, as liecanu! evident to all his friends. At the dost; of a inoi'iiinLC meet- ini,' he remained with the se.\toii to jmt tluMdiuich in order, then hastenecl away to piay at the hedside of a sick and poor old man to whose necessities he had l»een iiiinlst<!i"in^', and foi- the last time returned to his pleasant home. At the taltle his quests observed that \w seemed unusually weak, a fact which he explained to he the result of a chill. The closiiii^ scene, which came only a w<'»dv later, was in l)(;autiful harmony with his days of service.
At Baie Veit'i were two local preachers, upon whom de- volved woik which the aij;ed Joseph Avard could no lon<i;er pursue. (Justavus Hamilton's name was placed on the cir- cuit {)lan soon aftei- his arrival from Iieland in 18"24, and there it found a place until his removal, in 18r)4, to (Jranil Falls, in the county of Carleton. Ivlward Wood, also of liaie Verte, was an evangelist i-athei- than a local preacher. This grandson of a Y^orkshire Methodist was a most labor- ious worker. In 18.'U he was recommended by the minis- ters of the New lirunswick District to the London Commit- tee for a fellow^a borer, but Ids age and position ^s a
/.V A'A'ir /!h'f\su/'h\
•2^\\
ituld . at
not' eh it iod.
•t'St'H
en in 1 t«» it •, and
Two I', and eld at itaint'd (ccanu*. f^ nK'ot- » ordt'T, j-k iuid
trrinj;, lie. At
usually
a, chill- was in
h(»n» de- I) lonj^er the cir- [24, and (Irand also of reacher. It la\)or- b utinis- r^ouunit-
1)11 ^ '^
widowr-r with rhildivn, h'd (li.it l.udy <<» dtMlinc sciidini,' liiin iiitd tlic it iiiffancy. I''itr .1 halt" icntnrv Ik- irndrit-d meat scrvicr to Met liodisiii in sc\cral i'(iunli<'s "t" llif t w n pro vincrs. S(» sci'ious were t lit' li.irc|slii|»s and 1 In' |M'cuniai'y losses caused liy liis tVe«|Uent aliscnce tVoui liis lionn', that some of his ffieitds \\fi-e inclined to accuse jiini ot' iin|iiai dence. 'These numerous call^ aluoatl were ilue in some moasui'e to his peculiar aliility in I he nianaL«'enient ot" sjiecial r«dii(ious meetin;^s. "• Ills |iia\ets at suth times." remarks ii minister who knew jiim well, '' were wisely ajtpropriate, fervent and hrief. At an awkward cii^is in a i'elit;ious ser'vice it was Ji(hniral»l(! to see this e\perien<'e(| leader with such I'are tact come to th<' rescue. l-'ew men could lay the finfi'er witii mor<! sensitive toucli u|)on the pulse of a meet in^, " In any memorial of l*ro\incial lay jalioicrs a sketch of liis services durini' a. sixty years' walk with (iod would fill i!»terestin<f pa,<;<'s.
Tho lVtit(;odia,c circuit in IS.")',! included IN-t iti-odiac, CJovei'dale, Mom-ton, Hillshoi-o'. Iloj.cwcll and Harvey. Some of William lilacks early conxcrts had emWiaced the views of the l>aptist fatluu's who snliseipiiMitly \ isited them, but othei's had proxcd less pliable. 'These dillerences f)f opinion had for some time pre\ented the constant pi<-senee of a j)astor of any denomination. At Cpjier ( 'oxcr-dah^ lived William Chapman, a. nephew of William IM ick, who some years after marria^'e i<'solyed to " lead a new life," and at tlu^ first service at his family altai' received the Spirit's assuraiu-e of for,i,'iveness. ( )n land Ljivcn by him stood the church in which continued services .weic held in 1829 with memorable i-e'sults. Undei- Joseph V. iJent a log chapel was opened at Xortii Jlivei- in IS.'Wi, and owards the close of 1S29 a class was foi'uied at N«'w^ Ireland, and two others at Hopewell. .Vt the latter place, where a zealous little society had been establishe<l in 17>^l\ Methodist
19
r. k
290
I/ISTOh'V i)F METHODISM
services liad for some years l»cfii wholly ahjiDdoned. In 18.'^'^ a lot of hiiul iUKJ a sinall sum of imoim'V witc left l»y will for a Mrtliodist cliurdi on tlit? c-on<lition that tho Metiiodists should he th(! lii'st to huild. '\\w ;;ift was ac- cepted, hut the church, which was the first iu the newly formed county of Alheit to hoast of a sjiiic, was not for- mally opened for worsiiip until an early J^ahhath in 1^47. In the pai'ish of Hopewell, in 18.'}!), though two thousand persons wei-e scatter«!d over its tw(Mity miles of country, there was no resident minister of any denomination. Altout that time .Samuel MoMarsters l)e^an to i^'ivc the jkiirish one- half of his Sunday lahor. A little later \w reported in- CHiasin^' con^'ivgations at J! illslx/ro', l»ut wr-ote thiit at Hopewell persons were slow to unite in .jiuich fellowship because of unwillin^'»\ess to submit to church discipline. In 18."i8 a second revival atCo\ei(lale led a numl)er of per- sons into memljei'sliip. I' nusual facilities for attendance, through tlie fi-ee/in<^ over of 'ue river, which has never been thus l>rid,ued in subsecjuent year's, were freely usetl by interested men and women. As one i-esult (jf increased numbers, a pai'sona;,'e was built in IS.'VJ at (/o\erdale, wliich for years had l)een the head(|uarters of the circuit. At that j)leasant settlement an old l^aptist church had Ijeen purchased, and, with the assistance of Ciiai'les V. Allison, had been put in satisfactory order for worshiji.
The remaininj^ circuits of the New Ijrunswick District, in disregard of political division lines, lay in the rich Ann- apolis valley of Nova Scotia. As lat(; as in 1833 the Ann- apolis circuit, undei" care of two ministers, covered almost the precise extent of country now included in the Annapolis District. In some parts of this vast circuit the Methodists were few com})ared with others, and iu none were they nuuierous. An)ong the New England and Loyalist settlers and their children who had accepted the teachings of
W
/x N/cw /!/:f'Xs\v /('/(,
iwi
I. In
rt't \>y
it the ^•as ac- newly i..t t'oi'-
lOUSilllcl
-ountry, A^iout
i-isli oue-
that Ht
rWoNVshil'
liscipliue-
IT of per-
tendaiKV,
las never
V vised by iuor«'!tsed 'ovfiilule, n' circuit. J had been Allison,
iDistiict, in rich Ann- I', the Ann- Ired ahnost Annapolis Methodists were they hist settlers achings of
VV'illiaiu lilack and others of the earlier Metiiodist pn-ai-heis were, however, elect men and women, with wIkmm were associated somt? emigrants ot' inlluencc and sterlini,' piety. At Nictaiix, as a useful leader and local jirraclicr, was William liolliind, wiioliad sailed frttm Ireland in ISl'Jwith his wite and child and otlici' relati\t's, in an American vessel which, on her way to the I'nited States, was captured by an l^jnglish warship and taken with her j)assenf,'ers into Halifax. .More extended was the in'luenet? of his fellow- countryman, Andiew HendersMi, who ii;nl an-ived at St. .John in ISIS, accompanied by his wite and on«> ihild. His fath(!r had for a short time been an iti / rant j)reacl" r. Tiie son spent a year or two in New llrunsw iclv, and then cro^Kr-d tl'.e Jiay as a school teacher to \\'iliiiot. Chi-istian communion was at times e.iioved with the niend»ers of Colonel iJayard's class in the leailer's pleasant home ; at other times he met with Christian bi<;thren at Lawrence- town. At the latter village in iSiM he taught a Sunday- school, said to hav(! been the tii\st opjuied in the coujity. In April, I Si I, when he removed to Ib'idgetown, no Meth- odist resided there. Soon aftei- his arrival, he secui'ed the use of the Baptist church for Sampson Ihisby, and a little later saw the erection of a Methodist church and formation of a society. Prayer and class meetings were held in his own dwelling, under his own management. From liridge- town, in 1S32, he removed to Anna})olis, the sphei-e of his higher usefulness as a teacher and active circuit otlicial, find his final place of residence.
Some notes from the hand of Michael Pickles, the colleague of Sanmel JoU on the Annapolis circuit in the autumn of 1831, atibrd a glimpse of the tj^ld they were appointed to tmvel. From Annapolis a request had l)een sent to the district meeting for a minister who should reside in the town. On the young preacher's lirst \isit there he found an
W •' aJ
HISTORY OF METHODISM
V
I
f
old chapel with aoconunndaiion for three hundrorl hearers, hut no f.'Miiily with whom Aaron ?]aton, who accompanied him, could leave him for a nii^dit's lod,<;in<j."' The only real members wei'e Sert^eant ]\Iclntosh, II. A., and his excellent wif(% hut these, whom lie had numbered among the "most holy, zealous Methodists of these parts," a few months later sailed for Kui^dand. A lariije congreijation heard the depressed preacher's first sei-mon at Annapolis. At Granville Ferry the people filled the " house that had been boui'lit to preach in, " and three months afterward they resolved lo buiUl a church. In an old chapel ready to fall a few hearers listened to the preacher at Granville, At Ifanley Mountain a church accommodating three hundred people sadly needed repairs. A new and V)etter church was in use at IJi-idgetown, and !i ])arsonage was ready for the use of the senior minister and his family. That village liad sprung up with the rapid growth of modern western towns in the neighborhood of the bridge which spanned the Annapolis River at the head of sloop navigation. Where but a house oi- two liad stood in 1S2(), a village of fifty or sixty dwellings was to be found in 18l*4 : and in 1831 three churches-Baptist, Episcopal and Methodist- -were open to the increasing population. At Tupperville the itinerant preached in the house of (Captain Willett, a church being in course of erection ; at Clements, where no church was built imtil 183;"), services were also held in a dwelling. Two hundred persons listened to a sermon at Bear River in a
'" .\;ii'(iii Kaloii was sii1>stH]\ifiitly a Icndint; Mt'tlnxlist <if St. .Idliii. He liad iii'(ilial)ly l>ut n'ct'iitly fi-.teri'd ii|i<in a ("hristian life, having' Ix'cii led to tliDUiilitfuliifss 1)\- a sti-imis illness and l>v tlie saliitarv intluciices
diici
1 sui'fiiuni
led I
liui lU ( Jranvillf.
I't'vidus
to liis I'tMnoval .; 1S41 he
had tilled almost every post in the church at I'lridtret
own.
The late (;ili.ert T. Kav, another
■Ilk
nown o
tficial in St. .lol
m
Mctho(lisni. left l>ij,diy in ISl'.), and soon took a leading ])Iace in the
society 111 tile t'ltw
His I
lerson;
-ervice and hnancial assisrance wero
ever at the disposal of the church he so steadily loved. For several otiier U'adiiiij hniiieii. and for a
)f
nunilH'r oi ifodiv \v<
mien, St. .Tohi Methodism has iieeii iiidehted to the circuits of the Ann^ipolis N'allev,
.
IN NEW /Uif'NSWICK
293
l)arn which had aeconiniodjited conf^frogatioiis through the suininer. On the eveiiiuij; of the saiiio day a s(U'vice was held at Siuitlis (^)ve. At J)ii,d»y the chiircli was in an unfinished and disrej)utable state. In conso(juence of the irreguhirity of niinistefial visits, tht; congregation had dwindled and the members had Ixiconie scattered, hut measures wt;re at once taken to tinish the building and maintain more regulai' services. A visit was at the same time paid to J^ighy Neck. At Nictaux, where was a churcli partially finished, there seemed hut little disposition on the part of tlu; people to com])lete it. Kegulai- visits had only been paid foi- a brief })eriod to Aylesford Kast, but twenty meml)ers had been gathered and a churcli nearly finished there, while at AVest Aylesford another church had been set on foot. An extensive revival during the winter of 18*29 had brought into the church at Aylesfoid several persons who became light-bearers for a long period. The same revival hud reached the eastern district of Wilmot, to the great joy of the devout Colonel JJayard, in whose dwelling sermons were fretjuently preached. Just then the medici- nal (qualities of the ''Spa Spi'ings,'' situated near the base of the North Mountain, were attaining the I'eputation which, in ISilO and the several succeeding year^, filled every farm-house a»id tavern within a radius of several miles with invalids from the two provinces and Maine.
In some parts of this large circuit the year 1S.")L' proved a year of blessing. At Ib'idgi^town several persf)ns joined the society who soon became effective helpers ; and at .\nn- apolis thirty-four persons professed conversion. The first of the converts at Annaj)olis died near that place nearly forty years later, after a consistent pilgrimage. Over tidings of the conversion of Samuel liayard, his fatl-.er, the venerable Colonel Bayard, uttered words of praise as he lifted his hands heavenward. The son, a physician at
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HISTORY OF MEriJODTSM
Annapolis, had, with characteristic decision, risen in the congregation, and frankly avowed his changed purposes, and thus commenced a new life in which he adorned the doctrine of God his Saviour in that town and in subsequent years at St. Stephen and St. John. In many families a complete overturn was made, tlie conversion of the mem- bers of one of these leading to the closing of a tavern of unusually baneful influence. At the close of the district meeting of l'S32 Michael Pickles removed to Annapolis and secured the aid of William Bannister ; and in 1838 a division of the circuit with its three hundred and ten members took place ; the Annapolis and Digby circuit extending from Annapolis to IHgby Neck, the Bridgetown charge from Tupperville and Granville to Cornwallis West. To the latter circuit in IS.ST) a second minister was appointed.
The results of a " four days' meeting " held in October, 18.36, in the church at West Aylesford were far-reaching. Nearly fifty members were added to the societies previously formed near that church. Through this meeting the little flock at Nictaux received a special blessing. Several members there had died, and the survivors had feared that upon their OMjn departure the " candlestick " would be *' removed out of its place.'' From a group of young men who drove together from Nictaux to the " West chapel " came several successful workers. Whitfield Wheelock died a missionary in the West Indies ; William Allen for a number of years rendered excellent service as a Methodist preacher ; Samuel McKeown became a Free-will Baptist preacher in the United States, but at a later period, at the head of his congregation, entered the Methodist Episcopal Church; William Holland, jun., became an acceptable local preacher ; and Dennis Bent and the two brothers Foster became pillars in the small society at Nictaux.
tN iVA'ir niwxswiCK.
•295
img. iously little ieveral d that Id be / men apel " k died for a hodist :)aptist at the scopal e local Foster
In 1838 .similar services were held in the same church V)y Peter Sleep, a successor of William Leggett, assisted by George Johnson, Richard Shepherd, and young men converted in the revival of 1830. Among the earlier conversions was that of a blatant rniversalist, whose hold avowal of his views had wrought serious injury to his neighl)ors. Throughout the autumn and winter the work continued to extend in a remarkable mannei- in Aylesford and also in Cornwall is, whence the sacred fire was cai-ried over the border into the Nova Scotia District." Special meetings were also held at Pine (irove, Wilmot, in the home of Henry Vroom, leader and local preacher, who had just removed thitlier. Fi'om that neighborhood, where there had been no class, thirty-nine memhers were reported in March, 18.39. Another happy result of these s»-rvices was the building of a neat jM«^thodist church at Pine (irove, the first in that part of the township.
Equally successful meetings were held inthelower section of the Annapolis valley during the winter of 1838-39, the superintendent, George Johnson, having called to his assistance the young brethren Allen and Wheelock. Among numerous converts at Tupperville was a man of ninety-seven years, who was awakened througli fireside descriptions of the revival, and was enal)led to depart in peace after the lapse of a single year. Six weeks' services at Granville were rich in results. Among the converts there were men of experience and sound judgment, some of whom were long associated with tlie church. A young man named Bent subsequently entered the ministry of the
'I Hish(.|i lii;,'lis liad aii inviilid i^i\n residing' at AylesfonJ wlioiii Peter Sleej) visited. Tlie son liecanie so attached to the youii^' preaclier that wlieii tile hisliop came to see liiiii he insisted iii)on inti'oducin<j his friend to liis father. Diffidence hitvin^' prevented Mr. Sleep from calling' at the l)ishop"s farm, the son took his fatlier to the preacher's hoarding- ])lace. The father seemed very grateful ior the interest taken in his Bon.
!
1
29 G
in STORY OF METHODISM
Aiiif'iic.-in Methodist Clmrcli ; and Robert Ainslie Chesley died many years latei- in Newfoundland, as superintendent, of the St. .lolm's circuit. One practical proof of the power of the icvival was the early erection of a new and l»etter place of worship. Towards the end of March, 1831), the sui)etintendent reported the addition of more than two hundred persons t(j the societies in the Bridgetown circuit during the year. Conversions were also witnessed at several points in the Annapolis and Dighy circuit. At George Miller's reijuest, Williani Allen, then at Andrew Henderson's academy, visited Digby, and there twenty- tive persons pr(jfessed to have received assurance of forgiveness.
An important step taken in 183(S was the appointment of a " visiting missionary." In IS.'JC) the Secretai'ies in London had written to the chairmen of each of the two Lower Provinces Districts in reference to such an appointment, suggesting that it might be well for the chairman, by calling to his aid one of his brethren, to undertake the task, and combine with his attention to "remote and neglected places" visits to some at least of the regular circuits. In conse- quence, however, of local demands for ministers no action on the subject was ever taken in Nova Scotia, and none in New Brunswick until the sunnner of 1838.
The minister chosen for the work was Arthur McNutt. Towards the end of June he visited Grand Manan. That island, thirty miles in length and six in breadth, had then a population of aljout twelve hundred persons. In 1835 the Missionary Committee had appointed a minister to the island, but he had not reached it, and the Episcopal minis- ter supposed to have it in charge had spent most of his time on the inain-land, so that the only resident preacher was one of the " Christian Band," described as a " Unitar- ian Baptist." xVn Irish Methodist couple, on the island
IN NEW HRUN.'UVICK.
•'<»■;
aiu
liie 111
rutt. IThat 1 then 11835 the
mus-
his
iher
[itar-
nine years, had never in tliat period heard a Methodist ser- mon. At Grand Manan tlie missionary spent a week in visiting, tract distribution, and preaching.'' At ^Nlilkish he found twenty-six families, most of them attached to Aletli- odism, who seklom heard a sermon ; and near the Long Reach he met with a nundjer of Methodists, most of them from Irelajid, who were ghid to see again the face of an itinerant, an occasional sermon from a city local preacher having been the extent of their privileges. Late in Sep- tember he preached at Pattekeag, in a neat little church whicli Enoch Wood had formally opened only a week before. At U})liam, a place occasionally visited l»y the St. John preachers, William Tweedale still conducted regular Jjord's-day services. At the Mulligan settlement twenty persons listened to the first Methodist preacher who had visited the place. Passing on, he preached at Salisbury, where the industrious McMarsters could only take the pul- pit once in six weeks, and thence the visitor moved on as an evangelist through the neighboring districts At Cover- dale and other sections of the Petitcodiac circuit he spent a short time in " contirming " Christian friends of former days and converts of a more recent period, after the true apostolic mode. On his way to the Upper St. John he ob- served on the steamers a great improvement in conse(i[uence of the temperance movement. At Woodstock he noted pleasing growth, and there one afternoon licard Frederick Smallwood preach at a street corner. The flourishing class at Upper Wakefield had been weakened by the death of its leader. At the end of .several busy days at Andcner and the settlements in its vicinity, he returned to Fredericton. In his diary he noted the fact that since he had first visited
'-' For some yi-ars (Jraiul ManaiiWiis visited occ^asidiutlly li.\' Mftlmdist pi-facliei's .statiuiuHl in Cliarlottc county. In 1H74 a tlaMjlo^ncal student spent hi.s vacation there; hut it was not until 1W4, when its ^rrand cliff and seashore seenery had begun to attract visitors, that it lieeaine a regular station.
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tf /STORY OF METHODISM
the capital tlio monibers of the church and congrej:;ation had been "more than d )iibled." The closinr^ weeks r)f the year were spent in visits to the numerous settlements in Kiuj^'s county. Kaily in the new year he attended missionary mecjtiuL^s in the Miramichi, Fredericton, St. Stephen, and adjacent circuits. While at Nashwaak, he pr(>ached in the chui-ch near the 'Pay, "be^un while Mr. lUirt was at Fred- oricton and since Hnished," and then went on to lioiestown, "a most destitute place, where they had not heard a sermon from ;iny minister since last summer." Thence he found his way to the various settlements around the Grand Lake. The state of society around the W.ishademoak Lake was "j)ainful "a result of tlie absence of an evangelical minis- try. At Jerusalem he enjoyed the spirit of Primitive Methodism amoni^ the small flock who were about to build a church for themselves and theii" neighbors. At St. An- drew's he preached in the place of Albert J)es))risay, who, for some months had been unable to enter the pulpit. Con- cerning tlu! year thus spent Enoch Wood wrote to his friend Temple : "The labors of this brother have been very arduous and his exposures many — far more so than they would have been on any circuit in the district."
Such labor, it may be asserted, could not be in vain. Large mimbers had welcomed the visiting minister, many depressed ones had received comfort through his counsels and prayei's, discouraged men and women had been strengthened in their allegiance to Christ and His Church, and the sacraments had been administered in neighborhoods wliero they were seldom if ever enjoyed. The missionary had also been prepared to furnish to his brethren an intelli- gent report of the religious state of the country. " It is truly distressing," he said, " to see whole families and neighborhoods without any of the ordinances of the Gospel, and this not only in a few instances, for a great part of
rX NEW BRUKSWrCK.
200
lain, any isela Seen
ch, )ods ary lelli- It is md )el, It of
New Brunsw ick is in tliis state. . . . One or two visit- ing missionaries, what are they ainoni,' so many 1 We want a numbei' of young men full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. Ten at least should he employed in this province at once. . . . The land is hc^fore us and all we want is men and means.'
The me.ms, unfortunatcily, woi'e not focthcoming. Dul- ness of trade and scarcity of money had pi-evented the older provincial missions from becoming s(>lf sup{)(irting, while a rapidly-growing deht was already so fettering the action of the Mis.sionarv (Jommittee in Kngland that three years later they declined to send a single agent abroad at their own expense. Even tin; one visiting missionary could not be contiimed as such a second year. He had re-com- menced his work of general visitation when changes in the district obliged him to take immediate charge at Westmore- land. The work thus laid down was not resumed, but efforts were made, with the help of a salaried local preacher or two, to place one or more sections of the province under the best supervision possible. Samuel McMn.rsters, an itinerant, was .sent in 18.39 to a lield in which at best he could be little better than a visiting missionary — the North- west and South-west branches of the Miramichi. The im- portance of this field was enhanced by the prospect of an early and rapid .settlement of an immense tract of land in the county of York, which at a very low price had passed into the pos.session of the New IJrunswick I^and Company, incorporated in England in 1834. Through this great tract of a half-million and more acres were (lowing the Miramichi, Taxas and Nashwaak rivers. In various directions the company had laid out roads and built mills, and used other inducements to encourage the removal to their lands from Britain of an industrious cla.ss of settlers. Another impor- tant section of country for which provision was also
wssam
ii
'M){)
III STORY OF AfETHODIHM
attetiipted was tliat bordering on the Long Reacli of the St, John River. To that section went David Jennings, whom John Carroll, who knew him in later days in Ontario, has (Jesci'iljed as a " large, athletic bachelor and a great pedestrian. '•"■
It is nevertheless true that through delay at this period a rare denominational opportunity was lost. The period was one of religious unrest throughout the province. Many members of the Church of England were dissatisfied with a generally lifeless ministry, which made no efibi't even to attract them by the churcli millinery, vain forms and multi- plied communion services of the present day. For some years a reaction against the Calvinistic teachings of the professed successors of Henry Alline, and the practical Antinomianism which too often sprang from those teach- ings, had been taking place. To longing .souls, who in search of an (ivangelical ministry recoiled from the pronounced Calvinistic preaching of the time, there seemed but two directions in which to look. On the one hand were, the Methodists, whose emphatic reiteration of the great fact that Christ had died for all had had an important part in producing the reaction ; and on the othei- was the small but active body of Free-will Baptists, who in February, 1832, with two ordained elders and six churches, were organized in-Carleton county into a distinct religious society to protest with vigor, in the first place, against a " man-made minis- try," and in the second, against the higher Calvinism of the age. Of the two religious bodies Methodism had the earlier,
'•'• Ihivid .It'iinings had conu' from Hiif^land in childhood. He had be- \:,nu U, pn'acli among tlic l}aIltist^i, hut whfii at Horton acach-my he heard a sermon from William .Somerville, after which he could never doubt the validity of infajit l)aptisni. Introduced to Kichard Knight by Charles I )e\volf, he was sent as a paid local preacher to I'urt liawkes- iiurv, and afterwards to (Tuysboru'. Though not accepted bj' the Eng- lish Conference, he preached at the Long Reach, Su.ssex and Batlmrst, and afterwards wt nt to Ontario, where he was received into the itinerant ranks, in which he nndered long and lalxirious service.
IN NEW nitJ'NSWICK
301
|/ed
test
kns-
It)
le
jer,
1 be- hc
her ,'ht ces-
|ng- Irst,
and thorefore more favorable, opportunity. As early as 1827 Albert l)esbrisay liad written from the St. John Kiv(M-, "The harvest hero on this river (it heinc; settled l>y the English for two hundred and twenty miles) is verv L'rent, and the inhabitants in general give Methodism a favorable reception. At times I am ready to lly and pursue FiOi-enzo Dew's plan. Three single men might, I am pei'suaded, obtain a comfortable living without being a shilling's bur den to the society." The open door was not entered, as under more flexible management it might have been, and the sequel may be learned from a letter written by a minis- ter stationed at Woodstock in 1S.">S : " lUit f(nv of the wealthy, " he wrote, "are in any way friendly to the cause, partly in consefjuence of non-compliance with the request made by them in 1821. Tt is thought by some that if it had been attended to \\\ time this would have been a Methodist country." In the absence of a Methodist ministry the Episcopal Church no doubt i-etained its hold upon many once faint-hearted adherents ; while the Free-will l»apti.sts, who with immersionist \iewson the subject of baptism com- bined an Arminian creed and an open-communion prac- tice, attracted many earnest souls, not a few of whom with opportunity would have readily accepted the Wes- leyan interpretation of New Testament doctrine and church polity."
"Of tlu' Hiiiall but active strtidu of the Cliurch of C'lirist, now known as Free liaptists, Henjaniin Ivandall may be retrarflcd tht; founder. Randall was converted under <!eoi';,'e W'liittield. and was an evanf,'elist of considerable success. Opposed to infant buptisiu, lie N'ft theCon^'repational connuunion and lieeanie a P>aptist. I'ut liisdoctrines were too " free ■" for those days, and lie was called to account for the Arminian character of his teaching'. Havin^r boldly avowed liisdisbelief in the Calvinist doctrine of election, he soon found himself practically, tln)Ugh not fornuilly, separated from tlie liajttist ministiy. Trobably the earliv'st advocate of the principles of the Free l^iaptists in New Ihnins- w'ick was Samuel llartt, who withdrew from the Calvinist Piajjtist liody and preached for several years in an independent relation, {,''athering and instructing congregations of persons who like himself liad re- nounced a Calvinist creed. Several of the early Free Baptist i>reachers of Nova Scotia— Asa McGray, Thomas Brady, and Edward Reynolds — had been Methodist local preachers,
11'
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// /STORY OF METHODISM
Any expression of regret at such a result would now be most ungracious. Let thanks iath(;r t>e given that so many of tliose for whom Mtfthodism faihd to care came under the influence of preachcsrs who taught witli empliasis an atone- ment for all, and recjuired a p(Msonal and active faith in Christ as an indispensah!e condition of salvation. Had such teachers not been near, it is (juite possible that a greater number might have fallen a prey to the teachings of llni- versalism, into which the reaction from Calvinism led not a few, or to those of Annihilationism — Carlyle's " gospel of dirt" — which about lb.'55 began to be propagated in New Brunswick.
m
d now lie so many uuler the an atone- faith in Hail such I greater ;s of Uni- led not a gospel of 1 in New
IN 1n;{<). J'n.|.arat..ry;u,.ti..Mi„ Kn-lt..,! c
-^■^^::^:::il'::^;:rjt7''-^ ■ ■
I" that wvtrthe \F M ^''^'Ji a j.oint as in Isyj
Mienjoration n><"ill...l „ • , P-^'tul centejiiuai com-
«-.t e„-,„ae't e ": ; ;™ ;""'-' "^ ''^ ''out.,,., ,. ,,„
;'^-«i t.o,j:::.:::jit J- ^^'-''"''-". '-u,. .*
ta,„ous Deed of I,,.,,.,,,,,,,,, H,','';:^™' ''"•'.»'■ ">e
liki'ly to stand as Ion-. ■„ ,1 '"""ilat.on as is
t'- second, t„„ o. 1. , :,;:V"" "'°"" »""■■" r- and A."eHcan eontinen't a^t, rC J^: t;] ^7 ^f '"«'- - *'- It; l.owever, in 17S4 M,.., "''"'"'*''"■'«''"'•« *'"nfo,o„cc.
f".- l.er as a ol.uroh tile I f ' '"'"'*">■ '""' «'™--«
Methodists i„ the L ^ *'" g™" '^""'ly of
portant epoch "i^i'ked it as a most in.-
■"- at ....Lte,.;:'re:h,rs,;t:''^ ''-.-■'■
7 »^^>o, as a committee
??ES
•M)\
nrSTOHY OF }rKT!ini)rs.]t
(■liari;t'f| with the iiiT!iM«^'(Mii(Mit of a ;:;('iUM'!il [)l;ui. As .successive speakei's iickliowlod^^'ed (Im l)lesKiii^s wliicli tlif! (Jospel tliruu<,'li the <a«,'eiicy of Methodism had l)ioiii,dit to th«! country and to themselves, the thice specified <hiys seemed to pass too rapidly. An alto;,'ether unlooked for spirit of iiliei'ulity pervaded the <,'atherin<^ and led to finan- cial oHerin^s not dfcamod f)f. .lahez lUintin^' had <,Mven an opinion that ,t'S(),000 nii<(ht l»e secured l)y the niovement, while the veiierahlo Hichard Keece liad j)r(»\rd darin<,' enouL'h to nsk for £1 10,000. Hut "grateful heai-ts smiled at these limits and soon overleaped them. At (his j)reparatory ^'athering .£.'}(),()00 was promised instead of the third of that amount, as exf)ected hy Hunting, and when the list was printed a fortnight later, its total had reached the sum of £45,000. The fiist note had been struck l»y a communi- cation fi'om a widow, wlio announced her intention, in acknowhuigment of the great benefit tiirough Methodism to herself and family, to contribute one thousand guineas. The progress of the movement throughout the kingdom cannot here be described. A re-perusal of the narrative as given in Smith's or Stevens' "History of Methodism" would prove a means of grace to .'iiiy thoughtful reader. Central conventions and circuit meetings were held, until more than a million of dollars had been secured for special denomina- tional ]>urposes. At the same time the ]\lethodist P^pisco- pal ('/hurch of the United States gathered )!?f)00,000, which it used for similar objects. Such great fi?iancial results were, however, only secondary in value ; the moral influence of the mr)vement was incalculably more impoi'tant. y\s Abel Stevens has remai'ked : "The almost incredible liberality d the denomination, during a year of almost unparalleled commercial depression, demonstrated its vast resources. The aHection of the people for their great cause was shown to be profound and universal. A salutary feel-
As
■1, tllf!
^ht to (lays f(l for . tiniin- ven an eincnt, daring' iiilrd at, laratory <.f that list was > siiin of )inmuui ition, in odism to ouinoas. kingdom li-ativo as i" would ( '(Mitral ()r(^ than ■noniina- Episco- |0, which results ntluen(.'e
,ut. As leredible |f almost its vast ^at cause ary feel-
CHXTHNARY OF MKTUOhlSM.
'M:^
ing attended generally tlieir juhilatic coreuionieH ; their sui'|)risiii<; donations, pourin;; into the treasury from all parts of the world, \ver(^ in thousands of instances accompiinied by significant and touchini^ sentiments. . . . Ueyond, as well as within tlu; den(Muination, the extraordinary (hMuonstration could not fail to produce a profound impres- sion, for the whole Christian, tlu^ wliolc civilized, world saw more distinctively than e\er that after a hundred years of 8trug<,des and triumphs, the <^i'eat movement was more demonstrative and more prospective than it ever had heon."
Of th" total amount rej)orted fi'om the mission tields of liritish .>I(^thodisu», £''J,810, or njore: than one (piai'ter of the whole, was contril'uted hy that part afterwards known as the Conference of bjastern British America. Of this amount tiie Nova Hcotia and Pi'incti Edward Island District gave £1,231; the New lirunswick District, t'OC)') ; New- foundland, £187 ; and Bei'muda, i'lT)?. A ^'(3od propor- tion of these amounts was contributed by tin; missionaries, who in Newfoundland tjave more than one-(iuarter of the whole sum sent from the colony. It should not, however, be forgotten that under the stimulus imparted by the great centenary movement, even at its earli(M' stag(\s, churches were built and local efforts of otlier kinds j»rojectod, not to speak of the edu(^ational departure wiiich has led up to the Mount Allison University and its kindred institutions, with their precious records of progressive work. The anujunts named were tiu^se contributed to the English fund in the belief that in the benefits from the centenary sul)Sfrii>tions the foreign missions would obtain a pro})ortional share.
The earlier centenary meetings in the Lower Provinces were attended by Robert Alder, who as a missionary sec- retary had been present at the Upper Canada district meet- ing, and by Matthew Richey, another welcomed visitor.
After some delay on Dr. Alder's account, the meeting of the 20
^1
ft'^
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306
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Nova Hcotia and l*riiice Edward Island District was opened by Richard Knight, the chairman. At the close of the business, the secretary reached the city, where he was met, beside others, V)y John Pickavant, chairman of the New- foundland District, and by William Temple, chairman of the New Brunswick District, accompanied by Richard Williams. A district centenary meeting, similar to those held in Eng- land, took place in Halifax on August 8th. Circular letters to ministers and leading laymen had previously been issued, inviting their presence and co operation. At tlie meeting an address of elaborate information on the movement, given by Dr. Alder, awakened nmch interest. Two ministers, John Marshall and Charles Churchill, then in charge in llalifax, with ^Messrs. Daniel Starr, John H. Anderson and Samuel Leonard Shannon, were appointed secretaries, and Martin Cay Black, treasurer, for the district. Several speeches by ministers and laymen enlivened tlie occasion, and orterings exceeding £900 currency pleasantly ended a rare meeting. Sectional meetings were soon after held at Horton, Charlottetown and Liverpool, as centres for sur- rounding circuits.
The general meeting for the New J»runswick District was \.i\i\ in the Germain-street church, St. John, on the evening of Saturday, August 17th. Messrs. Alder and liichey had been accompanied from Nova Scotia by Messi-s. Bennett, Croscombe and Knight. A most liberal subscription list was being enlarged when an alarm of tire suddenly called the audience out to witness on(^ of the most destructive of those conilagrations by which St. John has so often been visited. On the following day the new Centenary cliurcli was formally opened, and on Monday evening a second and memorable centenary meeting was held within its walls. From St. John, on the following day, several ministers went up to Fredericton, where they and the object they had in view met witli a generous reception.
CE.YTJ'JXAh'V or METHODISM.
307
opened ! of the as met, le New- ,n of the Williams.
in Eng- i,r letters n issued,
meeting at, given linistei's, harge in irson and ,ries, and Several
occasion,
ended a held at for sur-
itrict was |; evening clu^y had Bennett, ition list [ly called luctive of [ten been ■y church Icond and its walls. ;er3 went ly had in
The reijuest of the l>ritish Conference that on Friday, October 2.")th, a{)])ropriate religions services should be held in all Weslcyaii churches, received general attention, not only in Ureat Britain, but on all the mission stations and in the United States of America. On the morning of that day John McCliutock, then at Carlisle, Pa., wrote : "This day a million of hearts will keep as the Sabbath ! This day a million of voices will unite in singing the high praise of Cod in Methodist chapels ! " in the larger Provincial towns the l']nglish programme was generally adopted. At seven in the morning a prayei'-meeting was iuild, sermons were preached morning and evening, and in the afternoon atldresses, followed by refreshments, were given to the pupils in tlie Sunday schools. On this day James Mont- gomeiy's hymn for the occasion, " Oiu' song of pr.iise, one voice of prayer,'' etc., and Charles Wesley's " St^e how great a ilame aspires I" svere almost universally used.
In Newfoundland tlu^ mei'tings were not less enthusiastic. John Picka\ant, having attended some of the eariii-r gather- iuLfs in Nova Scotia and New IJrunswick, reiui'ued home to stir up the minds of his brethren. ( )ii his ai'ri\al he calltnl to St. John's all the niiui.-^ters within rcacli, aiul with thfir assistancti held a pu!)]ii' meeting, at whieh a soeial tea was followed l»y addresses. Tin' ministfrs then proceeded U) the dillerent ciriuiits on the shores of ('oncfption Bay, in each of which similar mcetiiiLjs took place, so planned as to per- mit each pastor on Octolier L'.ltli to l)e with his own Hock.'
'All interest i 111,' incident i.~ Inld of the eiNiuiled niei'tin.LT .-it ( ';»rl">ne;ir. In^diani Suteliffe, in tiie eMiu>e of un e.-iinest address, made reference to a |»i|iular |iictnie in wliicli a nnmlier nf cardinals w»'re seen seated ai'onnd ; taMe, where they were in \ain eiideaMirin^ to extin;-''uish sevei-al ii;,dited candles, which re|iresented the IJeforniation. Then, suitin",-- the action to the word, the sjieaker lifteil a candle from the chairman's talile to Mow jit it in imitation of the cardinals, Imt in the attempt he ajiparently l)iew it ont. .\ \oi(e fmni the i^Mllery cjilled out, "That's ont, anyhow I " and the yonn^,' pnacher, in view of the many Komaii Catholics present, felt as if the roof were criishint,' liim. \ peculiar way of lioldinj.r a candh' uIhh it i.> iiein^ Mown out
308
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Thei'e was iniich to call into exercise the spirit of praise which pervaded the celebration of 1839. The moral effects of .Methodisiii, as a revival of spiritual Christianity, in its influence upon the masses and upon contemporary religious bodies, were, of course, incalculable, but certain facts then naturally brought into prominence were not only calculated to surprise the most sober-thoughtcd, but to stimulate the general gratitude, joy and hope of its people. Wesley had died in 171)1, at the head of an organized host of five liundred and fifty itinerant })reachors, and forty thousand church niendx'rs in Europe and An)erica. At the celebra- tion of the centenary of the fo»'mation of the .society at the Foundeiy, nearly a h;df-c(Mitui"y later, that host had grown in (Treat J>ritain and the Tnited States to a great army of 1,171,000, including about r),200 itinerant preachers, or, enumer-ating the various bodies bearing the name of Metli- odist, a vast body of more than 1, 100,000 mendxM'S. Its missionaries were about three hundred and fifty in numbei-, with a large staff" of other paid and uu})aid agents, and iiavini; under tluui' charije in their mission churches more than seventy thousand communicants, and in theii" mission schools about fifty thousand pu})ils.
In the limited s[»here in which Provincial Methodist ministers uiovimI, thei-e had been much cause for thanks- giving. Witiiin the previous twenty-five years growth had been remaikable. Tlit; n\end)ei'ship, it is true, had been eidarged by immigr-ation, but gain in this way had been diminished by !-emovals to the United States and to Upper
\i-'\
will iirt'\('iit the wick fi'oiii siiKHildci'iii^'' (iuwii. l'\)i'timiitt'lv, tlic ri^lit tliin,y: liiid lu'cn doiii', and so the hiijjflit wick, luidtT a sli;j;-lit hn-atli, burst ;is,'ain into Haiuc, and tiir sjicakcr, defiantly slioutin.i,'', "It's not out I ItsnotouM" took' occasion in ('lo<|Ucnt words to show how trutli aitparcntly ('\tiny:uisli('d l)y iicrsccution shall again shine forth in all its beauty and power. riohn Mc.Murray, D.I)., then on the platform, «l»eaks of the incident as one of the most tlii'illing wliich ever came under
hi
s notice ni tl
course oi any pulilic adiln
CENTfJNAnr OF METHODISM.
309
llpper
y ri^lit [ii'i-atli, 's iu>t trvith all its Itfunn, inuli'i"
«
Canada. A comparison of the returns made in 1839 M-ith the ligures for 1813 is instructive. The increase in Nova Scotia between these two periods had been in ministers from seven to fourteen, and in members from 773 to 2,285 ; in New Brunswick, from four to eighteen ministers and from 359 to 2,658 members. During the same period in Prince Edward Island two preachers had taken the place of one, and the number of members had giown from fifty to 559 ; while in Newfoundland in 1839 twelve missionaries were watching over about 2,000 members wh(ue 310 had l)een in charge of three under-sheplierds at the earlier date. In Bermuda an additional missionai-y was at work, and the membership, 134 in 1813, was reported in 1839 at nearly 500. At the later date, there were in tlie Sunday-schools in Nova Scotia 920 scholai-s ; in New Brunswick, 1,G62 ; in Prince Edward Island, 349 ; in Newfoundland, 1,839 ; in Bermuda, adults included, G78.
In the review suggested l)y the services of the Centennial period, the Methodists of Newfoumlland and Jkn-muda found some special causes for satisfaction. In the former colony, in the general thanksgiving for the blessing given to the agencies of one branch of the church, leading men of other sections took part. Their gifts and promised aid, in view of Methodism as a bulwark against the en- croachments of Roman Catholicism upon political rights and individual freedom, indicated that she had proved to the satisfaction of keen, practical business men her right to the designation of " Christianity in earnest," given her by Tliomas Chalmers. Bermudian Methodists knew — a few of theui by personal recollection —how John Ste})henson in 1800 had left the islands a virtual wreck through persecu- tion ; and how, seven years later, Joshua Marsden, after a visit to the only IMethodist of whom lie could hear, had re- turned in extreme depression to the Mary Ann in the liar-
;ll'i
. *|ii>i«a»
■a^
SIO
tllSTORY OF METHODISM
bor of St. George's, arid tliey could therefore see good cause for tlie grateful utterances of their pastors at the Centen- nial celel (ration. They also knew that the statistics of menihership and Sunday-school attendance presented only a part of the results of continued labor "in the Lord." In them no reference was made to the numbers who in the colony had learned of Clu'ist, and had then, through the frequent changes in civil, and the still more numerous removals in military, life, borne the savor of His name to other lands. Nor in these returns was there any reference made to the salutary religious iniluence of Methodism upon the dominant religious body of the colony. Her presence had demanded a higher standard of morals on the part of the Episcopal clergy, and her teachings had led many mem- bers of their flocks to a highei* level in the religious life, though not a few of those thus blessed had been so inconsis- tent as to avow that their knowledge of salvation was wholly due to the teachings of the Wesleyan ministers, while they nevertheless continued to sustain by their influ- ence an ecclesiastical organization whose weakness in the great purpose of all church arrangements they had not scrupled to declare. As a proof of the sincerity of theii- grateful utterances, J'erniudian Wesleyans that yeai" contri- buted four hundred pounds to missionary funds and Cen- tennial schemes, although they had pi'eviously committed themselves to the erection of a small church near Hamilton, and of a larger churcli at St. Georgia's - the latter yet one of the finest buildings in that pictures([ue old town.
CHAPTER XIII.
'f:
METHODISM IN THJ] LOWER PROVINCES' DISTRICTS
EROM 183!» TO THE EORMATION OF THE
EASTERN BRITISH AAFERICAN
CONFERENCE IN 1855.
^ dZsio,?' w:'r''''"p"*/- P''«-"^i."^>nni'^l dis,.„.ssi„n. Milk-rite '>k^ r mend S^'^l^S eal^;:^^ "' ^n''"'^" «---- ^
Can,p-,„eeti.igs at Sussex Vale. Seces iu of n- t of ^^ '"f ^^cck destruction of church at AI llt(,vni ] ] r'-'"L '^*'?^''^T /^"^ Edward^IshuHl Work anu.n, BhI^;,, sS-r :'''w.n "m "j.n rim
The earlier chapters in the history of any great move- ment must almost invariably treat of individuals; but as that movement gathers force and volume, and its pern.a- nence becojnes established and its inHuence acknowledged separate persons gradually cease to stand forth in promi- nence, and events naturally fail to find conspicuous public record except as they emphasize or illustrate some in.portant step or some departure of unusual signiHcance.
Of such an era in Provincial Methodism the Centenary celebration of 1839 may be said to have marked the arrival. William Black and his earlier associates had ''fallen on sleep," several of their immediate successors had retn-ed from itinerant toil, and the very few survivors of the early official menibership had handed over their special duties to men of fewer years and greater vigor
ii'
i '
mm
T
h \
312
///STORY OF MET//01)tS\r
Only here and thore could a person be found who had had any Hcquaiiitance with Methodism in the colonies afterward included in the United States ; while such settlers as could remember the hills and dales o^^ Yorkshire, and recall the faces of Wesley, John Nelsoii, and other early itiner- ants, were as scarce as the shrivelled and bleached leaves which clin.a: to the tree after the frosty blasts of a Canadian winter. And around these lonely men and women, relics of the past, in })lace of the scattered few with whom they once worsiiip})ed were sons and grandsons and those of deceased neighbors, with thrifty innnigrants and their families of more recent arrival, as well as some others, who, enlightened through the preaching of the itinerant's, had said : " This people shall be my people, and their God my (Jod."
Of the benefits arising from the general development of the period, the churches enjoyed a fair share. More rapid transatlantic communication by steamship was about being opened ; inter-provincial travel by stage and steamer was becoming more general ; and the roads throughout the country wei'e year by year being rendered more worthy of the name. These improvements in travel, to the ministry of a denomination whose itinerant system had justified its designation of " The Church upon wheels," were of special advantage, while from a financial point of view they were not without benefit to general denominational funds. And in respect to places of worship, still known as chapels — a term unconsciously adopted by English Wesley ans from other Nonconformist bodies, yet implying ecclesiastical in- i priority — and unattended by school and class-rooms, some n. itcrial itnprovement in architecture, convenience and comfoit could also be reported'.
^ No stove wjxa placed in t\w Slielburne Methodisst church until 1825. lu cast' of an occasional sermon there in the winter the worahipijcra
IN THE LOWER PROVIKCES.
313
in-
lonie and
1825.
rs
bpi
By the theological and ecclesiastical unrest of the period Provincial Methodism was but slightly aftected. Through the Oxford movement, whose leaders sought to push the church and her ministry between the .sinner and his Saviour, by the placing of a special emphasis on the doctrine of the saving efficacy of the sacraments as admin- istered by men in reputed direct succession from the apostles, the laity at least of the Church of England in the colonies had not then been sufficiently influenced to render a general protest on the })art of others a real necessity. The discussion of a favorite toncit of an Evan- gelical leader in the hhiglish Church did, however, at this time threaten to assume in one or more ciicuits serious proportions. The doctrine of the Pre-millennial advent and personal reign of Christ on earth, to which Richard Watson and later Methodist theologians have given little or no attention, led at Charlottetown, where it had been accepted and publicly taught by several local preachers and leaders, to a strong protest on the part of the pastor and a majority of the official members. Greater publicity was given to a local contention by a letter from one of the lay preachers to Edward Bickersteth, the catholic-spirited rector of Watton, Herts, whose endorsement of Pre-mil- lennial views in his published works had given those theories special prominence. Mr. Bickersteth, as requested by the writer of the letter, forwarded a eo[)y of it to the
carried a foot-stove or a lieatt'd 1 nick or l)lofk. Tii 'riinity l<'ij»isc'<i|)al cliurch, St. John, no stovf was seen until ten years after its opening' in Y!\\\. In winter the rector and some of his hearers kept on fur coats. Of a Sunday morning stfrvice in 17!t7 at lilackhead, Newfoundland, William Thoreshy wrote: "'J'hough I had two pairs of worst(>d gloves on my hands, two pairs of stockings and a pair of buskins on my legs, it was with difficulty 1 escaped being bit witii the frost. After preacii- ing I baptized three childrt-n and then held a love-feast. The water for the loVe-feast was taken hot to the church in a tea-kettle, yet it froze as I tcK)k it round to the people." In spite however of the cold the; meeting proved such a "refreshing season" that the minister had some difficulty in bringing it to an end.
m
t'li
!
c i-
I
'J *
1
;U4
HISTORY OF METHODISM
English Methodist authoiities. In accordance with instruc- tions from tliese the chairman of the district and two other ministers had an interview in June, 1843, with the officials of the Charlottetown circuit, which proved most satis- factory. By the conclusions readied the superintendent, William Smitii, was exonerated from the charge of arbitrary action, the spirit of discipline was maintained, any appear- ance of conflict M'ith the right of private judgment was avoided, and the way was opened for tlie general return to their previous posts of the silenced local preachers and leaders.
Through the Millerite delusion of the period some injury was inflicted upon the societies on the Upper St. John, and in the western section of the Annapolis valley. The origi- nator of that delusion, William Miller, was an American farmer and licensed Baptist preacher — a somewhat remark- able man and fond student of Daniel's prophecies .and the Apocalypse. As soon as April 15th, 1843, had been an- nounced as the day for Christ's appearance for the final judgment, a number of men of varied reputation caught up the cry of doom and traversed the country with stick and chart, explaining Datiiel's visions and the mysteries of the llevelation of St. John with an apparent skill, which on a certain class of hearers made a deep iin{)ression. Several of these Millerite heralds sorm found their way into the liritish Provinces. Tn certain districts of the Upper St. John meetings were lield evening after evening, about which, through the vagaries of dupes and tricks of scoffers, strange stories were long told. As the diiy of predicted doom appioached the excitement of Miller's followers grew intense. When, however, that day had passed .after the (juiet fashion of its innnediate predecessors, October was pronounced by the prophet to contain the day "for which all other d.ays were made." "The Lord," said Miller, *' will
i
an- tinal it up and )f the on a eral the V St. ibout ffers, [icted fj;i"evv Ir the was rhich will
1
/iV T//E LOWER PROVIXCES.
315
certainly leave the mercy-seat on tiie l.'Uh, and a}>pear visibly \\\ the clouds of lu'aveii on the 22nd." Durinij the allotted ten days' interval l)usiness was generally suspended by INIiller'a followers, and the final number of their paper, The Advoit Herald, was issued with a valedictory. On the 23rd, when the sun had risen as usual, the perplexed inter- preter of " the times and the? seasons " wrote in a newly- acquired spirit of wisdom ; " 1 have iixed my mind upon another time, and here F mean to stand until (Jod gives nie more light, and that is to-day, fo-dai/." To not a few this delusion proved a snai-e ; through it religion sultered re- proach ; and some persons wandered, never to return to a humble walk with (Jod.
Of the unha[)py sti'ife in British ^Fethodism in 1819-51, which in five years cost the church the loss of nearly one hundred thousand members, Colonial Methodists were in- terested observers. A very few copies of the anonymous and vindictive "Fly Sheets" crossed the ocean, and to any injurious intiuencefrom these or fi'om the efforts of unkindly local critics the Wesleyan, under the aV)le management of Alexander W. McF^eod, supplied an ellicient antidote. Of the necessity of some since-conceded reforms Provincial Methodists in general knew little ; with the clandestine and cruel means employed to secure such i-eforms they could have no sympathy. A more conciliatory spirit on the part of Wesleyan leaders, it is now evident, might liave confined a sad strift^ within narrow limits ; to those leadei's the authoi'itative policy of early Methodism then seemed an iiidispensable one. The ministers of the two Lower Provinces' Districts secMn to have contented thcnnselves with official assurances of unabated confidence in the manage- ment of the Missionary Society, which had been most bitt(>rly assailed by the " Reformers," and l)y resolutions of appre- ciation of the friendly aid atFbrded for years by Koljert
, t'. .^ny,;. „ „ IgggBBSggBBBBBBHHB
nic
insrORY OF METIfODTSM
i
Alder and Jaboz nuii*^ing, as those ministers retired from the missionary secretariat. A series of resolutions, appre- ciative of the British Conference and its Missionary Society, moved at a meeting of the Halifax official board by John H. Anderson, Esq., and seconded by Martin Gay Black, Esq., and unanimously adopted, appeared at the time in the London Watchman.
The only seceders of the time from the Methodist ranks in the Maritime Provinces were a number of colored brethren. In several towns the local churches had always included some worthy men and women of African descent. For the use of a ])ody of two hundred and fifty residing very near Liverpool, a small church, to be used in part as a school-room, had been built in 1841, by their own efforts, aided by subscriptions secured by the chairman of the dis- trict, and a grant of a hundred dollars by the legislature. A desire for independence, long cherished by the colored section of the membership in Halifax, became a determina- tion in 1845, when the superintendent declined to admit a West Indian local preacher nam(;d Gerry into his pulpit. Whether the visitor produced the necessary credentials is unknown ; but the colored members, deeming themselves aggrieved, withdrew from their white brethren and hired an old hall, in Avhich for several months they listened to sermons by Gerry. On his departure they secured the ap- pointment of a minister of the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States. Several years later, under somewhat sin)ilar circumstances, a secession took place at Liverpool, the colored })eople having agreed to purchase the rights of others in the little church, in the i)ulpit of whioli they placed a preacher of their own race from the United States.-
i,
- Several v(?ars later both tlie.se clmrchea severed their relation with the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, and after an interim of seme
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
317
from iippre- Dciety,
John Black, in the
ranks 3olorecl always tjscent. esiding irt as a efforts, the cUs- slature. colored ennina- idinit a pulpit, tials is iselves hired ned to the ap- iscopal under lace at ase the which United
tion with of seme
The years now under review were years of political uinvst throughout the Lower Provinces. Intense excite- ment was caused in the several colonies in 1831) by threat- ened conflict on the borders of New Brunswick and Maine, averted only by the .•imical)le arrani^ement between Sir John Harvey and (Jeneral Wintield Scott, which threw the settlement of the dispute itito the rej^ion of diplomacy, .-md ended in the well-known " Ashl)urton capitulation." During these years the battle for responsible government in the three provinces was fought and won. The determination to secure a larger mcasuie of power, fostered by the cele- brated despatch of Lord Durham and sti'engthened by the advocacy of some of the ablest political leadeis whom Biitish America has known, achieved its purpose in full, when, in 1851, Prince Edward Island, longer denied the boon than others on the ground of her comparative smallness of popu- lation, rejoiced in the possession of the I'ight of government according to the well understood wishes of the peoj)l('. In New Brunswick religious strife, for some time foreseen, broke out in 1847, when a l»loodthirsty attack by armed Roman Catholics upon an Orang(i procession took place at Woodstock, ending in the defeat of the aggressors and the trial and imprisonment of several of their leaders — a stern lesson, which unfortunately fjviled to prevent a similar out- rage two years later, in St. John. Throughout the Pro- vinces, but more especially in New Brunswick, altered trade relations and successive scanty harvests caused, about
yciirs rt'(nu'st»'(l ii visit from Hishoji Nazivy, of tlif Twitisli Mctliodist Kpiscoj^il (,'luiivli, 11 body of ( 'aiiadiiin colored Mctliodists wlio, in ISali, liad from nutional ri'asons st^ccdcd from tlie African Mt-tliodist Episco- pal Church of the li^nited States. J)uriiig the bishop's visit, in 1S72, the two local churches, with one or two others in New IJnniswick, were organized into the Nova Scotia Conference. It was then that the ma- jority of the colored Methodists in St. John withdrew from the whites there and formed a congregation of tlieir own. In 1884 the Canadian colored cluu'ch again became a part of the African MetluKlist Episcopal Church of the neighboring republic.
i
318
UISTOUY OF Ml'lTHODlHM
1H49, ;i <lt'pr('.s.si()ii in l)usiii('.s.s circles and a coiiseHiucut j^eu- enil ^'looni sucii as the country had not before known.
The earlier years of this period were nevertheless years of unpr(!C('dented spiritual prosperity and rapid numerical gi'owth in )>()th districts. I'etwoen the years l«S3l) and 1845 the increase in tin; nunil)erof members exceeded three thousand. Then, howev(,'r, proi^rcss received a serious ciieck from sevei'al causes. A leadin*,' layman in Nova Scotia wrote early in ISJ;") that societies with which he had been long associated had been '' r«nt to their very centre by political strife." " Hundreds of our meudn'rs," said a report of the Xew IJrunswick District, in 184U, "have been compelled to seek in other ])urts a subsistence denied them here." While these and others in the neighboring pro- vinces were thus being driven away, not a few wei'e being drawn abroad by nuirvellous stories of the golden treasures of California and Australia. It was wot strange, in view of these facts, and of tlu; secession of colored members in Nova Scotia, that the numerical growth in membership in the several provinces during the ten later years of the period under consi(l(M'ation was only thirtetm hundred.
The transfers of the various years involved im|)ortant chang(>s in the list of minist«irs. Into the three provinces came, in 1844, Richard Weddal!, from Honduras ; in 1848, Kphraim Evans and l^jdmuud Pv,tterell, from Canada ; in 1850, William T. Cardy, frrni Hayti ; in 1851, Matthew Richey, D.l)., from Canada ; and in 1854, John B. IJrownell, from IJei'muda. From the same piovinces there went, in 1847, to Canada, Enoch Wood and S. 1). {{ice ; in 1848, to Canada also, Charles Dewolf ; in 1854, to the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Suited States, Alexander W. McLeod ; and in 1855, Robert Cooney returned to Canada. The embarrassed state of English Wesleyan missionary finances kept several young men for some time at the dooi' of
IN THE LoWF.n I'liOVlXCKS.
319
M-iod
•tjint
liiices S48,
kda ;
Itliew
iiell,
t, ill
IcS, to
lodist W. lada. [nary )rof
the district nici'tiii^'. liolaiid .Morton, .laiiics How*; Narra- way, llii'liaid Smith and otlu'r's had l)C'tMi doini,' hil)Oii(nis and most satisfactory cirx'uit scrvico for two oi- three years when their names tlrst obtained j)ul>!ic otliciul rec'o;,'nition. Wlien, howe\('r, linancial ohstach's had heei» lemoved, and the Connnittee had resolved upon th«^ foi'mation of th<! four Maritime Histi'iets into a Conference, theii- i-eluctance to receive youn<^ men en(hKl,a!id the numlier of accepted candi- dates rapidly increased.'' During the whole period, iS.'ii) to 1855, forty young men wei-e received on trial for the niiiiistiy, of whom oidy John S. I'hinney and 'I'homas Harris are now in active ciivuit work in the Methodist ('hurch of the dominion. Two others— Charles Stewart, D.D., and George S. Milligan, ]jL. I), an; leaders in Methodist educational work, the first as theological professor at the university of ^Nlount Allison, the second as snjierintendent of INlethodist schools in Newfoundland hy government appointment with consent of the (.*uMf(H'(;nce. Sixteen are numbered with the dead in Christ, among whom were ukmi so blessed and honored as Holxnt V\. Crane, Christopher Lockhart, William Mt;Carty, Joseph Hart, William C. McKinnon, Samuel Avery, ITezt'kiah McKeown and Robert Tweedie, with the equally esteemed Uobei-t Ainslie Cliesley and Thomas Gaetz, both of whom found a final earthly resting-place in Newfoundland ; and George Whitfield Wheelock, who was deeply mourned at his deatli in IS If) in the Bahamas, a few months after liis ai'rival there by direc- tion of the English Committee.
Under the chairmanship of Kphraim b]vans, I).])., several steps toward tlie consolidation of the work in Nova Scotia were taken. In lS-t9 the ministers made arrangements for the immediate formation of a Contingent Fund, and two
3 Tlie Neva Scotia District iiad Ik-cii dividtd in 1852 into the "Nova Scotia West," and "Nova Scotia JOast and J'riiicc Kdward island," Dis- tricts.
. 1
320
HISTORY OF METHODISM
years later they resolved to take collections and make appeals in classes and congregations in behalf of a Supernumerary Ministers' and Ministers' Widows' Fund. As no disburse- ments were to be made from the latter fund earlier than 1856, the sums collected were transferred to the treasurer of the fund of the same name formed in 1855, at the organiza- tion of the Eastern British American Conference. Among the Acts to which, in 1851, the lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia gave his assent at the close of the session, was one for the " Incorporation of certain bodies connected with the Wesleyan Methodist Church," enabling the INIethodists of the province to protect their temporalities, whether in the form of district oi* trust funds. A similar Act was passed in 1853 by the legislature of New Brunswick.
Many precious facts relating to the years under review, abundantly prove that " labor is not in vain in the Lord." In some cases the rewards of such labor were seen in the gradual and steady growth of the local churches, in others they were observed in the more rapid development atten- dant upon seasons of special inteiest. Revivals in Halifax in 1811, in 1843 and in subsetjuent years, strengthened the membership there. One of the later of these revivals, like that in 1811, had its origin in the Sunday-school connected with the old chapel. Among the lads who during the special services of the season accepted a Saviour's guidance was the late James Bain Morrow, in subse([uent years a loved and trusted local preacher and class-leader, a man of symmetrical character, lofty aims, pure motives, great catholicity of spirit, and unostentatious benevolence.' Extensive revivals in 1852 also aided the development of the circuit. In June of that year dedicatory services were held in a new church at the south end of the cit^, whithc ihe greater number oi
^ Tlu' nu'tnoir of tliis Imsy iiuTcliiuit and /.t'iiloiis Christian worktT, l>y A. W. Nicolson, is a h'rai»liio sketdi (»f a iiohk' diaracU'r and an envialih- life.
IN THE LOWER VROVIKCEH,
321
Is,
review, Lord." L in the otliers atten- iilifax ed the like uected special 'as the d and etrioal spifit, als in June church ber oi
worktT, and an
the worshippers at the old sanctuary transferred their attendance.'' The erection of this church, jmuI, after its destruction by lire, of a successor on the same site, was lai<;«-'ly aided by the late (Jeorge llerl)ert .Starr, then one of the junior but most successful West India merchants of tho city."
At Dartmouth a chui-ch was dedicated in 1853. For some years tiie few Methodists of the place, who looked up to the faithful Nathanael Russell as leader, had heard occa- sional sermons on tiiat side of the harbor in a school-house ; but in 1847, when the Sunday afterr\oon sermons in the city Methodist churches had been finally abandoned, the hour thus placed at the minister's disposal was given to them. In the erection of the church a deep practical interest was taken by George H. Starr and G. C. M. Roberts, M.D., a local preacher of Baltimore, Md., by the former of whom half of the whole cost was contributed, and such generous guarantees for the support of a n\inister were given that in 1856 the name of the town appeared as that of a cir- cuit. Under watchful cai'o other places in the neigh))or-
■'' In 1S<)2 tht' old sanctuary in Ar^'vlf-sti-fct, having' sewed well its intended i)uriMise as a cliurcli, and having' then liei-n used for some years as a lieadtiuarters for ('hri*i,in etfurt of several kinds, passed into lK)Ssessu)n of the Kinscopal l.islnqi, Ilihltert Hinney. Finding; himself unable to make of the venerahje church the use intended, that minister sold it to other parties, 1 v wliom, to the great grief of surviving worship- pers within its walls, a j art of it was for some time devoteil to the sain of intoxicants — a sa<l fact, for which it is said the l»isho|» should not be held resi)onsible.
'■' Soon after conversion in 1S4S, Mr. Starr began to contribute to religious ])uriM)8cs after a fa.^liion ijuit<' m-w to his friends, th' ugh his bnsniess pn "tits had been lessei"! '_,■ his detei-niijiation to abauiioii the im])('- ' 'on of West India spirits. In LSol, when he was worth tlL'.<MK) and 1.! ousiness was subject to all the Huctuationsof an uncertain trade, he gave t'l,(MM> in rouncl munliers to religious and charitable olijects. This course he continued until ISSd, when his estate, Jiothw ithstanding his increased giving, having re.iciied the value of .**_'<>(', iiM» iie resuhed to accumulate no more, but to devote himself more mlly to advance his Master's work by botii income and i)ersoir.il intlunce. I?y a Christian life, quiet, unobtrusive, but most consistent, Mr. Starr adorned tiie doctrine of (Jod his Saviour. 21
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hood of the capital showed such pleasing iiiipro\'einent, that in 1849 they were constituted a separate circuit. At Musquodoboit Harbor some Methodists of German descent, converts under Orth of Lunenburg in 1822, had settled in 1827. In their new home they had sought to benefit irreligious neighbors, and Heaven had smiled on their efforts. After some years of isolation a monthly visit from a Meth- odist preacher was secured, and in January, 1855, a small church was dedicated.^ During the same year the popular young preacher, Hezekiah McKeown, introduced Methodist services at Middle Musquodoboit, where in a few months the erection of a church was undertaken.
Extensive revivals during 1839-43 gave strength to the four circuits in the two counties of Hants and King's. During the first of these years the superintendent at Wind- sor, assisted by a young colleague, had charge of the field extending from Half-way River, now Hantsport, to the limit of the Shubenacadie circuit, while his fellow-laborer at Horton had the oversight of all the congregations in King's with the exception of one included in the New Bruns- wick District. All over these large fields special services were held during the earlier years, and large numbers were led into Christian fellowship.** Under the successful effort of Henry Pope, sen., in 1840-41, the Methodist societies in
7 The long-tried leader, Leonard Gaetz, passed away in 1S(}4, his wife and their eleven children having all professed allegiance to Christ, three of them having also entered the ministry of the (K)spel.
"During a revival at Newport, under Roland Morton's early ministry, 1841-43, a young Episcopalian, (ieorge W. Hill, now rector of a parish in Derbysiiire, England, was led into a new i)ath. At the time he was residing with James Allison at the " Mantua " farm, with the intention of becoming a farmer. In Methodist class and i)rayer-meetings at New- {Kjrt his first essays in Christian work were made. Unlike many Epis- copal clergymen who have thus been aided by Methodist influences at the outset, Dr. Hill retained his evangelical principles, and, during his long rectorsliip of St. Paul's, Halifax, was always found ready to stand witli bretliren of other sections of the Christian Church in efforts to advance the Master's work,
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
a23
Cornwrtllis received a vigorous impulse. Two of tlie con- verts at that period are at present esteemed supei-numerary ministers. The hiter years of this period in these circuits, under more numerous pastoi-s, were marked by frecjuent revivals and by the erection of new and better church editices.
A second .attempt to erect a cluirch at Amherst, made in 1839, proved so successful that in January, 1841, William Wilson, the preacher in charge of the " Parrsboro' and Maccan " circuit, reported the opening, free from debt, of a neat little sanctuary. In 18-13, under the very successful superintendence of William Webb, the erection of a parson- age was begun in the village, and in 1847 Amherst became the head of the circuit, a distinction from which, however, it reaped slight advantage. The occupant of its parsonage was still superintendent of a circuit which covered a large section of Cumberland county, assisted sometimes by a junior preacher at Parrsboro' ; at other times dependent upon the visits of the earnest local preachers, Edward W^ood and Edward Dixon, of Sackville, or the readv !<elp of the tireless and always-welcomed Matthew Lodge, of Maccan Mountain.
Trnr ) had for a time been without the presence of a Meth.dist v>reacher, when in 1843 Roland Morton -^esumed preacinir.- there, and visited Onslow, Londonderry, and other neighborhoods. At Truro the rector, John Burnyeat, gave the young minister a friendly reception and urged him to secure a church. Siibsci'iptions were obtained, including a generous one from the rector, a lot of land was purchased rid a contract for a building concluded. The building was ' -'hiporarily occupied in 1844, but was not formally opaned Ui;iil 1848. A majority of the more constant worshippers were not residents in the village, but so attractive was the eloquent presentation of truth by James li. Narrawav,
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appointexl to the place in 1847, that on Sunday evenings numbers from other congregations filled all vacant seats, some of them becoming strongly convinced, with many in other sections of the circuit, of the Scriptural character of the Arminian system of theology. So numerous were the calls from other parts of Colchester county that in Decem- ber, 1847, George O. Huestis, then at Maitland, preached at Truro, and continued monthly appointments there until the following sunnner. ,■' t.newhat later, James Buckley, during a year of enforced i s >nt fronj full circuit labor,
rendered eflicient aid in the a elopment of an interesting field.
From 1848 to 1855 Truro and River John formed one circuit. The latter place, as an appointment for years of the vast Wallace circuit, had been somewhat neglected. Ministerial visits to All)ion Mines, a part of the River John circuit in 1828, had also been irregular. A strong desire for the presence of a Wesleyan minister at " The Mines " and Pictou had for some years been finding expression, when in 1845, in response to an ofler from the General Mining Association, among whose employes were a large number of married Englishmen, Richard Weddall was sent as missionary to Albion Mines. At Pictou, in 1868, after an unsuccessful attempt or two to place a minister there, an offer of the members of the Morisonian or Evangelical Union church led to the appointment of another preacher, the transfer of their property to Methodist trustees and the organization of a small Methodist church and Sunday- school.
Seven circuits are now found within the boundaries of the old Wallace circuit of 1830. Of the frequent waves of religious power which have swept over that section of Nova Scotia, few in the magnitude of their results have equalled that experienced during the ministry there of
h
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325
fay-
of Ives
of lave
of
Wesley 0. Beals. The outlook, at the commencement of some special services in March, 1848, was well calculated to depress any timid worker, but so great was the reward conferred upon a determined persistence that, at his depar- ture in 1851, the preacher could speak without rashness of nearly six hundred professed conversions during his four years' charge of the circuit. A great number of the added members became active helpers and libern^ supporters, and several of them, or of their children, entered the itinerancy. During those years a church had been opened at Pugwash and a new one at Wallace, both without debt. In the same wide field the subsequent ministry of Richard Smith and William McCarty proved rich in such results as are tabu- lated above. A new church was dedicated at Wentworth by Richard Smith in 1851 ; in 1854 another was opened at the "Head of the Bay." At the close of continued services, which gave to the first-named church an emphatic consecra- tion, all difierences in religious opinion were so thoroughly forgotten that Presbyterians and Baptists — deacons among the latter — bowed together at the table of their common Lord. River Philip, another section of the circuit, appeared on the Minutes of 1851 as a separate field, and in 1852 Joseph Herbert Starr was sent there to take charge of a circuit extending from Westchester to Maccan, with a visit to Londonderry once in each month. In 1855 a church was opened at Oxford, then known as the " Head of the Tide."
The more distant settlements of the large Guysboro' cir- cuit, during the earlier of the years under review, received only partial attention. Nearly all parts of this extensive charge were blessed during the awakening under the minis- try in 1851-52 of William McCarty, and about that time new churches were built at Oanso and the Intervale, and also at Manchester, where services bad for years been held
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in a dwelling, except wiien the larger congregation of some Sabbath of summer softness might tempt the preacher into the open air. In 1855 an ingathering of members took place at Guysboro', and the circuit, then in charge of James R. Narraway, received that year a third preacher.
The unprecedented revival of 1842-43 left no circuit on the shore between Halifax and Yarmouth untouched. For many years, through the strength of Lutheran prejudices, the society at Lunenburg had remained weak in numbers, but in other sections of the circuit there had been encouraging development. In 1842 nearly one hundred and seventy persons were added to the membership, and good congrega- tions were found in coi^ifortable churches at Petite Riviere, Broad Cove, Lahave, Ritcey's Gove and Mahone Bay. A church commenced a few years later at New Germany re- mained for many years unfinished. Petite Riviere, a place greatly blessed through William Webb's ministry in 1842, was made the head of a separate circuit in 1853, under the pastoral care of George W. • .ttle.
The Liverpool circuit in 1854 reached to Mill Village, "a colony of Wesleyans," ten miles to the eastward of Liverpool, and in another direction included the Caledonia settlement, where in 1818 a single Scotch family had plunged into the forest primeval. To the westward it reached to Sable River and Little Harbor. In 1840 Henry Pope, stationed at Liverpool, secured an effective helper in Richard Smith, then awaiting the Committee's action re- specting iiis offered services. Special effort began at Mill Village. The junior preacher, as he one afternoon rode into the place, invited all whom he met to the contemplated meetings. Forty years later the first convert of that re- vival was living, the mother of seven children who were walking in the way of righteousness. Similar services were held at Liverpool and other points with equally pleasing
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IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
327
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consequences in conversions. When seven years had passed, John McMurray, then ending his four years' residence, also rejoiced with the joy of harvest. In 1854 a comfortable parsonage was added to the previous church property at Mill Village, and in 185.') that place was made a new circuit under Frederick W. Moore.
Many sheaves were garnered in the old Barrington cir- cuit during the presence there in 184.'V4G of John McMur- ray, That minister, who had been obliged to leave New- foundland in the autumn of 1842 in rapidly failing health, had received such benefit from the homeward passage and subsequent rest that at the following district meeting he resumed active duty. For many years at Barrington there had been no very unusual interest. In January, 1844, the circuit preacher, assisted by Hugh F. Houston, commenced special effort at North East Harbor, which with brief intervals and aided by other local preachers, was repeated at various appointments, the meetings being thus continued until May, when hundreds had professed conversion. Further results were seen in the erection of .several new churches at an early date. Of the subsequent revivals of the period the most important was that in 1852, under the ministry of Jeremiah V. Jost, when seventy persons asked admission into the societies. At Shelburne, for several years previous to 1839, the only services held in the old church had been conducted by laymen, among whom was the late worthy Peter Spearwater, but in 1839, in accordance with an earnest request from a family which had removed thither from Halifax, William Shenstone made arrangements for a visit once in each six weeks.'
^ In March, 1830, tlie traiis])()rt l)an(m', EIi:<th(t/i^ from Halifax for St. .Tolin, put into Shelburne in «listre.sK and landed tlien^ tlie lieathjuar- ters of the ()9th regiment, which remained on shore for some little time. As many of the men were Roman Catholics, Priest Kennedy asked for and obtained the use of the Methodist churcli for one or more religious sfitvices.
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HISTORY OF MICTIIODISM
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Witli the centenary services of 1839, Methodism at Yar- mouth entered upon a new era. Charles Dewolf, having called to his aid William Allen, of Nictaux, held on October 25th the meetins^s appointed for that day. From a prayer- meeting on the following evening, the work of conversion went steadily forward for some time, both in the village and at Milton. In November a number of persons were baptized and received on trial, and in December the dedicatory services of the cliurch at Milton took place. Through the agency of services held in a school-house, and then in the new church, a neighborhood which had been regarded as the most indifi'erent to practical religion of any in the town- ship, became like the garden of the Lord. Tn the autumn of 1841 the membership of the circuit was reported as being one hundred and fifty ; three years earlier it had not reached one-third of that number. Similar progress con- tinued during the three years' term of Charles Churchill, who in 1844 left a list of two hundred and ten members for the guidance of his successor. Religious meetings were at that time held in the two churches of the town, and also at Chebogue, Lake George, Carleton, and Beaver River.
Much excitement was caused in 1845 at Yarmouth and in the nearer circuits by an attack upon the financial in- tegrity of the missionaries in the Nova Scotia District. The assault was made through an eight-page pamphlet, bearing no name of printer or place of publication, but entitled, " A candid inquiry into the lawfulness of the various methods resorted to by the Methodist preachers of Nova Scotia for the purpose of obtaining large sums of money f Dr their support. By Scrutator." In it were garbled statements and misrepresented items from the general re- ports of the English Wesley an Missionary Society, the sums received by the ministers being grossly exaggerated, and even their personal contributions to the mission fund
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IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
329
at
et,
but
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of
of
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being ascribed to motives of self-interest. The authorship of this scurrilous pamphlet, which was tirst circulated at Yarmouth, was soon traced to a former member of the church there ; and it was futher ascertained that in its pre- paration assistance had been obtained from William W. Ashley, who after a several years' absence had found his way back to the township. To avert threatened injury, Richard Knight, chairman of the district, appeared in per- son at Yarmouth, and confronted the accusers of the brethren at a public meeting in the court-house. The chairman had not concluded an historical sketch of the Missionary Hociety and an explanation of the items quoted in the pamphlet when the satisfaction of his hearers became evident, and the position of his opponents was felt to be most humiliating. From the English Missionary Secretaries, from "members of the local church and other inhabitants of Yarmouth," and from the Free-will Baptists of Barring- ton, Mr. Knight received written congratulations upon the promptness and ability with which he had met and refuted the slanders of " Scrutator."
In the circuits of the Annapolis valley, which, until the organization of the Eastern British American Conference, remained a section of the New Brunswick District, the repeated removals of young men of piety and promise often discouraged the pastors. In the Aylesford circuit, under George M. Barratt and a successor, Christopher Lockhart, a deep interest in Gospel truth had spread through the greater part of the townships of Aylesford and Wilmot, From the Annapolis and Bridgetown circuits some measure of spiritual and financial prosjjerity had reached the annual meetings. A new church was opened at Bear River in 1841 ; another was commenced at Law- rencetown in 1844, and a serious hindrance to progress at Annapolis was removed by the purchase of a satisfactory
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site, on which in 1846 a new church Avas sot apart for wor- ship. At Di<^by, a section of the Annapolis circuit, tiie arrival in 1842 and subsequent residence for ei<^lit years of the venerable supernumeraiy, Stephen Haniford, proved an advantage. In 1851, however, when l^igby had become a village of seven hundred inhabitants, among whom James Taylor was appointed to reside, that minister found only fifty -four Methodists, the Baptists at the time numbering ninety-nine, and the Episcopalians four hundred and fifty- seven. The gift, six years later, by the late (Gilbert Kay, of an acre of land in the centre of the village, proved most opportune. Towards the close of the period churches were erected at Sandy Cove and at Weymouth.
In the city of St. John and in its vicinity the period under review was one of much prosperity. A religious interest, first observed in a young men's prayer-meeting, grew under the wise guidance of Enoch Wood, Frederick Smallwood, and their colleagues, into a broad stream. The two city churches were attended by large congregations, upon the numbers of which the removal from the city in 1842-43 of thousands, through the disarrangement of trade, seemed to have but a slight effect. Large companies of sailors and visitors were also listeners to occasional sermons preached on the decks of ships belonging to John Owens and others. Not less satisfactory were the four years, 1849-53, under the superintendence of Richard Knight, Enoch Wood's successor as cliairman, when in the wake of spiritual prosperity came financial advance in the payment of church debts and expenditure in church improvement, enlargement of missionary contributions, and in the move- ment for church extension which, in 1855, led to the ap- pointment of Charles Stewart to the city, and to the com- mencement, in the Benevolent Hall, of the mission which found its development, a year or two later, in the Exmouth- street church and congregation.
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IN TltE LOWER PROVINCES.
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H
in
om- lich ith-
A shadow like a pall was thrown over the city in July and August, 1854, by the presence of Asiatic cholera. The several shipyards at Courtenay Bay and the Straight Shore, where almost two thousand men had been employed, soon became as silent as a graveyard. On an afternoon in August, a visitor from the city to Portland, by one of the thoroughfares where thousands of people and vehicles of all kinds were usually to be seen, counted at four o'clock, in the distance of a mile and a half, only six human beings, and of more than two hundred shops found only two open. During this melancholy visitation five thousand persons were attacked by the disease, of whom fifteen hundred, or about fifteen per cent, of the population, were carried off. The Methodist ministers, James G. Hennigar, William T. Oardy, and George B. Payson, in the city, with Richard Knight at Carleton, and William Smithson at Portland, where the epidemic raged most virulently, bravely dis- charged their duty during those sad months, and with the other ministers and the fourteen physicians went in safety through the terrible strain.'"
The destruction, in 1841, of the church at Portland was a serious loss. Bishop Inglis, who had frequently held ser- vices in Methodist churches in Nova Scotia, when asked for
1" Tlio s((xton of the (Jormain-street Methodist church, William Muinford, an old soldier of the l()4th, or New Brunswick, Kegiiuent, seemed to bear a charmed life. In 1S47 he kept up connnunication for the authorities between the city and Partridge Islaii , ' here many hundreds of emigrants were dying througlrthe terrible n\) fever;" and on the outbreak of cholera, in 1854, his services were sought by the board of health in behalf of the dying and dead. George E. Fenety, Es(i., in a lecture in St. John in 1888, said of him : " If there was a hero, that ])erson was one in the true acceptation of the word. He was at work everywhere day and night. Death had no terrors for him. Rough wooden coffins were going about the streets by cartloads, and Mumford, often unassisted, would place the dead in coffins and have them carried away tor burial. Persons in a dying state, deserted by friends in sheer terror, had in Mumford a ministering angel, doing what he could to afford relief. The Victoria Cross, not then instituted, has never been bestowed upon a more worthy hero. He worked and lived through the whole plague, and came out more than conqueror."
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the use of the old Episcopal church at the suggestion of the rector, Harrison, declined to give permission because the building had been consecrated. On the Lord's-day suc- ceeding the fire the congregation worshipped in the open air, but for future services succeeded in procuring the Madras school-room, where they enjoyed a share in the revival influences of the period.
Carleton, previous to 1842, when it was a place of four- teen hundred inhabitants, was a part of the Portland cir- cuit. For thirtj' years it had been visited by the itinerants, whose more recent sermons had been preached in a "union" church. Wearied at last by the apathy of the people re- specting a church of their own, the city ministers declined longer to cross the harbor. A twelve-months' suspension of services produced the intended result. Two lots having been secured from the corporation, a church was dedicated near the close of 1841. Almost immediately the new build- ing received its highest consecration by the presence of the Lord of Hosts as a "just God and a Saviour." In 1842 "Carleton and Long Reach " appeared on the Minutes as a distinct circuit, which six years later received the appella- tion of St. John West.
To the settlements to the westward of the Long Reach David Jennings was sent in 1839. A part of his hearers were the child »'en of settlers who had listened to the Manns, Fidler, Jessop and others, but many of them were Irish Protestant inmiigrants, whose love for the religion of their fathers had not been quenched by their separation from its visible fellowship. To a number of both classes Jennings and his successors, as well as self-denying local preachers from St. John, proved messengers of salvation. A church at Jerusalem was opened in 1841, and another at Coote Hill in 1845, two others at the later date being in an unfinished state. A salaried local preacher was also placed
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IX THE LOWER rnoviNCEs.
;Ki3
in 1843- 1} in ili!ii-<^o of several |)l!it'(!s included in tlie St. Jf)]in South circuit, of which St. Martin's was tliou^ht the most iuipoitant. Sixty-seven menil)ers were at that tinu! reported from St. ^Nfartin's, IJarnesville, ITpham, Hampton, Passekeag and Salt Springs, but through a neglect often illustrated in the neighl)orhood of our larg(M' Provincial towns, half that number of meml)ers could not be found in the same localities a (juai'ter of a century later.
Numerical growth in the long-established ShelHeld circuit was effectively checked by the removal of numerous families to the up-river districts, and of a large proportion of the young men to the nearer towns. A church was built and a society formed at Oak Point in 1842, and an additional appointment or two was taken up on the opposite side of the Grand Lake, near its junction with the St. John, but no very marked revival took place until 1858, when Richard Knight and hiseainest helper, He/.ekiah McKeown, rejoiced over many anxious incjuirers.
At Burton, a previous occasional preaching-place of the Sheffield pastor, a small church was opened in 1852, and in 1854 Geo"ge S. Milligan was placed in charge of the Burton circuit. At Oromocto, a part of the new circuit, local preachers from Fredericton had for some years rendered faithful service, but the unfinished state for a long period of a church commenced in 1840 had depressed interested workers and checked real progress. In a few months Gagetown was added to the new charge. Early occasional services at that Loyalist village had been abandoned, and a small society had been dissolved. The young minister's first sermons at Gagetown were preached in a "union" chapel ; but opposition to his presence there soon aroused a determination to secure a denominational church. In this effort he found most efficient assistance from friends whom harsh conduct on the part of the rector had driven from
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the Episcopal church, and from some well-tried Irish Methodists.
A sore trial befell the Methodists of Fredericton in 1850 in the destruction by fire of both church and parsonage. At the final service — a prayer-meeting — held in the church, the hallowed influence felt far exceeded the measure for some time enjoyed. In less than eighteen hours from that time a congregation of eleven hundred persons and a large Sunday- school had no longer a place for united worship. A spark from a workman's tobacco-pipe had been the agent in the destruction of property spread over many acres and estimated at a value of eighty thousand pounds. "Some of our friends," the superintendent, William Temple, wrote, " who saw their own uninsured residences in flames without an expression of sorrow, sat down and wept when they heard of the destruction of the beautiful building in which for years they had worshipped." The organ was with great difficulty saved in a slightly damaged state, and was placed in the later church, whence in 1881 it was transferred to a Roman Catholic chapel in the province of Quebec. Throughout 1851 services were held in accordance with a kind ofi'er in the Presbyterian church, and subsecjuently in the Temperance hall. In December, 1852, a few months after the arrival of Charles Churchill, the new sanctuary was formally set apart for worship. It still stands, its uplifted hand with index finger pointing heavenward from its lofty and graceful spire— an attractive sight to every visitor approaching the town. It had cost a little more than five thousand pounds, all the members of the congre- gation at a time of serious financial depression having put forth the utmost effort. On a cloudless day in September, 1851, Judge Wilmot, who had taken a prominent part in the erection of the new church, threw open his beautiful grounds at Evelyn Grove for the first of a succession of
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IX 77/ E LOWER PROVrXCES.
335
trom
hiore igre- put iber, rt in tiful
)ii
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public t,'atlierinij;s in behalf of the building fund, the first two of which enabled hiiii to place nearly nine hundred pounds in the hands of the ti'ustoes.
The seijuel of this trial was a pleasant surprise to the sufferei's and sympathizers ; to those who had looked ujx)n the destruction of the church building as eijuivalent to that of the denomination in Freder-icton it proved a severe dis- appointment. No revival in the history of the town has exceeded in importance that which early followed the com- pletion of this work of self-denial. The influence of con- tinued meetings begun early in March soon pervaded the town. Ball-rooms were emptied, dancing-clubs were broken up, and even in work-shops and places of business where noise and profanity had been the rule, solemnity and serious feeling became evident to all. Early in April more than two hundred persons had been received on trial, and besides these nearly a hundred attendants at the Sunday-school had been placed in church classes.
A second preacher, sent to the circuit in 1841, tixed his residence at tirst at Douglas and then at Nashwaak. Ihence he visited Irish Methodist settlers at Tay Creek and also crossed the river to Kingsclear. Subsequently he limited his travelling to the eastern side of the river, appointments on the opposite bank being left to the care of the superin- tendent and a zealous band of local preachers. A church at Prince William was 0})ened by Enoch Wood in 184G. In the new church opened at Nashwaak in 1842 a special work took place early in the following year, the gracious influence of whicli reached other settlements and led many to decision for (iod. A subsequent period of depression and partial absence of regular gospel ordinances was followed by a restoration of prosperity under the earnest ministry of Robert Tweedie.
At Woodstock and throughout the county of Cai^etou
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1
I i!
the exciting influoiices of these years were felt in large measure. The unusual presence for a time of a regiment of British troops for the defence of the frontier ; the agitation caused by tlie industrious circulation of false predictions by Millerite preachers; and the local unrest which preceded and followed the outrage upon the Orangemen, leading to an immediate and wonderful increase in their numbers ; could not fail to affect a section of the coutitry wliere disturbing influences had been few." Nevertheless, a special work of grace, fraught with general benefit, gladdened the members of the little church in Woodstock, in 1842, under the pas- torate of George Johnson. During fifty successive evenings that minister, aided by judicious local helpers and visiting local preachers, held meetings at which awakened men and women sought that forgiveness of sins which had filled others with joy. A similar revival also took place in the town in 1850 under the ministry of John Allison and William Tvveedie. For several subsequent years the giowth of the town in an opposite direction left the church at some distance from the centre of population, this and some other circumstances retarding growth. At South Richmond, a place which had shared in the revival of 1850 at Woodstock, a church was commenced in 1853 ; in the same year steps were taken for the erection of one at Northampton.
In the Minutes of 1851 Andover appeared as the head- quarters of a distinct circuit, under the care of John S. Phinney. Robert A. Chesley had been sent thither in 1840
11 On July 12tli, 1S47, as about two hundred Orangemen, displaying no l)anners, wen- returning to Woodstock from .lacksontown, where they had listened to a sermon by a ]ia])tist minister, they were attacked by three iiundred Roman Catholics armed with guns, scythes, and other dangerous weapons. When two of tlie Orangemen had been wounded, their friends rushed to a waggoTi in wliich arms had been i)laced for de- fence, and returned the tire, wounding several of their opi)onents, and driving tlie whole body down the hill to the Meduxnekeag creek. The precis*' res\ilts of their onset were never fully known. Among the ()rangemen of the county were a number of Irish Methodists.
fc^
AV THE LOWER rROVINCES.
337
as the first of a stoady succession of preachers, and there in 1S48 John Prince had seen an extensive revival. In 1S47 a small church was coniinenced at Williamstown, a "most promising place," and at FlonMiceville, in IB;")!, meetings were held in a log scho.l-house, fronj which John Allison on a Sahhath during revival services withdrew to a position on the bank of the river to preach in the open-air to more than a thousand persons. In l<Sr)2 a small society was formed at V^ictoria Corner, where services were held in the Oi-ange hall. Tht^ first regular appointments at Grand Falls were established in iS47 l>y John Prince. Through the appointment of a second preacher to the Woodstock circuit in 18.^).'?, the development of Methodist influence on the Upper St. John became more rapid.
The Miramichi cirtniit, extending in 1810 from IJoies-* town, on the South-west Miramichi, to Shediac, on the Sti'aits of NorthumV)erland, was at that time travelled by Arthur IVIcNutt, Humphrey Pickard and Samuel Mc.Mar- sters. Of these ministers the second devoted his labor principally to liichibucto and the surrounding .section of counti-y. The third undertook the arduous duty of caring foi' the scattered settlements along the South-west branch. To the work in these several disti-icts a happy impulse was given by a I'evival of which the eai'liest indication was seen at a love-feast on the first day of 1811, at Newcastle, whei'e members from Chathau) and Willi.unstown were pre- sent. Through services held in several central localities the societies in the circuit received an addition of more than a hundred mentbers. Th(! history of the circuit foi* some years was, nevertheless, one of stern str-uggle. Removals and failures in business seriously aflected that section of country, and at Chatham threatened at one time the loss of the church property. In the general panic which about 181*2 brou'ditthe firm of Sanmel (Junard A' Co. to the ver<re
'Hi
^" ;
•)•)
338
HISTORY OF METHODISM
of bankruptcy, several hundred men were thrown out of employment, and the local manager, llobert INIorrow, a firm friend of the ministers and their mission, was led back to England. The mission property, then barely saved from the auctioneer's hammer, and narrowly rescued from de- struction by tire in 1815, remained in an embarrassed state until John Snowball, a determined enemy to church debts, stationed there from 1832 to 183G, succeeded in freeing the four churches on the circuit from all encumbrance. Through the consequences, in part, of these financial re- verses, the settlements on the South-west branch, at one time of great pron)i.:e, suti'ered long and serious neglect. At Richibucto, in 1840, Hutnphrey Pickard found about twenty persons, gathered into membership by his predecessor, Sanuiel I), Rice, who were attempting the building of a small church at the shiie-town. In the autumn twenty others, most of whom were residents of IJuctouche, were added to the circuit list. At the formation of the Richi- bucto circuit, in 1841, there were two classes at IJuctouche and one each at Richibucto and Nicholas 'Mver, with a church at Richibucto, which had been opened in May of that year. A year later there were churches at Buctouche and Nicholas River.
In 1846, after an absence of a year or two, Robert A. Chesley was re-appointed to the Bathurst circuit. In 1843 he had visited Dalhousie and Campbellton, the former place fifty-four, and the latter .seventy, miles from Bathurst, and had then crossed the provincial boundaiy line into the county of (iaspe. Among the Protestants of the extensive district visited, of whom a Presbyterian njinister was the only pastor, were several consistent Methodists, who gladly learned in 184G that they were thenceforth to be regularly visited by the minister at Bathurst. Earlier reports fronj \\\h \w\s tract were encom aging iu character, and ia 185-1
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
;39
out of TOW, a 3d back ed from roin de- sd state [1 debts, 3iug the ibrance. icial re- i, at one neglect, d about rlecessor, ing of a 1 twenty le, were e Riclii- ctouche with a May of ctouche
bbert A. it. In former kathuist, I in to the x tensive Iwas the gladly -gularly •ts from Iju W)\
Dalhousie, Canipbellton and several smaller settlements were set apart as a separate Held under the charge of James Tweedie.
Within the Sussex Vale circuit the itinerants for some years pursued their work in the face of oppositio)i from more than one (juarter. After a time, however, Meth- odism, like the streams which flow through the pleasant valleys of that section of the province, (juietly pursued its onward course of blessing, (quickened at times in its progress by showers from above. By such a shower the circuit at length was blessed in the winter of 1845-40, during the presence of William Allen. In 1849 the meml>ership had reached the number of two hundred and forty, nearly one hundred of whom had been accepted dui-ing the previous three years. There were three churches at Pleasant V^alley, Smith's Creek, and Millstream, with other preaching ap- pointments at live school-houses and as many private dwell- ings. From camp-meetings subse(|uently held within its limits the circuit derived im[)ortant benefit. At the earliest, held in July, 18')!, at Sussex Vale, nearly two thousand persons were at one time present, and within three months from the date of its commencement one hun- dred and twenty-five persons were received into member- ship. A still larger number was present at the meeting of 1854, at Smith's Creek. Within a month fi'om the begin- ning of this meeting John Prince reported more than two hundred conversions.
Of the Petitcodiac circuit, Monctoii in 18.'i9 was only one of the numerous places to be visited from Coverdale. It was then a rjiere village, known as "Tin; Hend," where stages halted on the great highway between St. John and Halifax, (vnd where goods were landed to be distributed l)y teams to tl^e surrounding country. The subsequent develop- jTJ^ut iu sliip-building by tlie Salters and others gave it
miB
1!
340
HISTORY OF METHODISM
ni
fui'ther prominence; hut it saw, like most Provincial towns, alternations of advance and reversje, until it received a permanent impulse as the oiiicial headfjuarters of the Inter- colonial Railway. Previous to 1824 a small church, f lee to all Protestant ministers, had been erected by a few families then in the neighborhood. In 1S2 1 an Episcopal clergyman informed his superiors that the inhabitants, disappointed in the quantity and quality of the preaching heard by them, were purposing to add a steeple to their little church, and then place tlu; property under episcopal control, but the cherished dream failed of realization. Michael Pickles, when visiting the circuit in 18'28, formed a class at "The Pend," and successive Methodist ministers preached in the union chapel there. At the division of the Petitcodiac tield in 1S4S into the Petitcodiac and Harvey circuits, Moncton became an inqxn'tant section of the former charge. A lot of land was purchased in 1H[ 1 and in .lanuai-y, 184'J, Ji jNIethodist church was dedicated, which for- several yeai's was the lai-gest and finest in the village. One hundred pounds above the total cost of the church having been left in the hands of the trustees through the sale of pews, they resolved to build a parsonage. In 1853 the growth of the population and the influence of a revival rejulered necessary an enlai'gement of their church. In 1847 a church was opened in the large parish of Harvey, and in 1819 anotiier at Salisbury. Extensive revivals in 1841) and 1851 were reported from both Harvey and Hopewell.
A division of the old Westmoreland circuit was made in 1839. In 1851 an extensive addition of members at Sack- ville was reported, but from Dorchester came tidings of sad declension. There the unsatisfactory site of the church, and the gradual alienation, through the worldly influences of a county town, of the youth of JNIethodist families, re- sulted in a loss which earnest efi'ort failed for years to
ill
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
341
Icule in Sack- lof sad [lurch, lences les, re- liis to
arrest. The general hlessing wliich in 1841 attended special meetings in the Point de lUite and r>aie Verte sec- tion of tiie old circuit, rendered it very pi'osperous. At Bayfield in 1848-49 many persons were led to decision for God, and by similar subsecpient revivals large numbers in other settlements were guided into church-fellowship.
Varying results had attended labor on tlu^ circuits near the Maine frontier. In that section of New J^runswick Universalism had long been prevalent, and in 1835 a preacher of its doctrines had established himself at ISlill- town, where a church was provided in 1841 for Ins use. A further difticulty in the way of successful efJbrt lay in the fact that a certnin section of the membership in the b/ovder circuits was at that time not only imperfectly acquainted with the history and spirit of Methodism, but was also impatient of its discipline.
From 1844 to 185.'} tlie five churches and several other preaching places of the St. Stephen circuit, including the St. David's section, had been cared for by ct\w. busy itinerant. The outlook, pleasant at the end of those years, has grown brighter with the lapse of time. In 1840 prospects were equally pleasing at Milltown. The minister sent thither preaclied in one of the finest Methodist churches in the province, and liis large congregation inchided earnest mem- bers, not a few of whom had been saved under the ministry of McColl. Some secret dissatisfaction, however, arose, and soon after the district meeting of 1844 culminated in the withdrawal of fifteen members, several of them men of influence, who sought to carry with them tlu? congregation and Sabbath-school. The destruction of the cb.urch during a night in September seemed for a moment to render possible the success of an unworthy scheme, but only for a moment. On the morning after the fire, and very near the smouldering ruins, a meeting was lield, at which generous sub.scriptions towards a new building were offered by faitli-
. ^
i '
i
i '
: ,if
U2
HISTORY OF METHODISM
ful men. From a fragment of the burned pulpit Bible, the pastor, George Johnson, preached on tiie following Sunday morning, and soon after left home to solicit assistance in several Provincial towns. One morning in January, 1846, a new bell of rich tone summoned worshippers to the new sanctuary. Under earne.st effort the interest of the circuit assumed a brighter aspect, but toward the close of the period progress was seriously checked by the decease of staunch and generous supporters. The seceding members, who had formed themselves into an independent Methodist church, under a pastor from the United States, finally fell into line with tlie Congregationalists of Milltown, among whom they became leading members.
An addition of forty-four persons in 1841 more than doubled tlie memljersliip at the shire town, St. Andrew's. In 1846, in spite of some painful circumstances, reports respect- ing the little society were cheering in character, but subse- quently the sad decline in the trade and population of the place seriously abridged their number and financial ability. A minister, stationed there in 1850, wrote that it was " melancholy in passing down the front street to notice the large wharves and warehouses, with other stores, which were once the promising localities of respected merctantile establishments, now unoccupied and hastening to ruin." One half of the circuit membership in 1853 was to be found at the country appointments of Bocabec and Digdeguash.
Tn Prince Edward Island, at the close of the sixteen years under observation, a membership of nine hundred persons was being watched over by five pastors. A devoted staff" of lay-workers had been kept up to its previous standard by recruits at home and arrivals from abroad.'' The two vears'
4/
1- Of tlu! society classes led l)y tlif Hon. Charles Young, a lirother of the late Sir William Young, chief-justice of Nova Scotia, more than seven hundred persons have lieen members, while three hundred have been members of his Bible-classes. (Jf the latter nmnber forty-nine, during one "happy winter," professed conversion.
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
34:^
term of Edmund Botterell at Charlottetown was marked hy much prosperity. Tlie erection of school and class-rooms, with well-attended services and several accessions to the membership, a growing Sunday-school, and contributions to the foreign mission fund much in advance of any other circuit in the Maritime Provinces, called forth thanksgiving on the part of the superintendent and his colleague, Henry Pope, jun. But the season of special reaping came at the beginning of 18r)l, when Frederick Smallwood had been placed in charge. A response given to an invitation on a Sunday evening in January, proved an introduction to services continued evening after evening for three months, at first in the commodious school-room and then in the church. Among the great numlx'r then professing conver sion were members of each of the Protestant congregations in the town and a few Roman Catholics. Oi the three hundred persons added to the church, nine at various dates entered the itinerancy. A building tjien f)ut up at some distance from the church for a second Sunday-school was used for that purpose until the opeiiing in 18G4 of the new and larger church.
The growing importance of the societies in the settle- ments near Charlottetown led to the appointment, in 1845, of a second preacher. The principal places on the list were Lot 49 or Pownal, Cornwall, and Little Yoik. At all these places the congregations j)articipated in the revival influences at Chai-lottetown. In that year Pownal became a distinct circuit, a second preacher having been appointed to (Jharlottetown. These and other places were also blessed through the revival at Charlottetown in 1855, under John McMurray and his colleagues.
Other societies of the Lsland were included in the liedecpie circuit. In that field, in 1844, Alexander W. McLeod and George Whitfield Wheelock were permitted to gathei' many
t ■*
;U4
HISTORY OF METHODISM
..
sheaves. Special displays of saving power were seen at Crapaud and Tryon, but at Jiede(iue and Mar,<,'ate also many were blessed. A similar work was reported in 1854, when tije circuit, extending' from De Sable to New London, was in charge of (jleorge Oxley Huestis, assisted by a junior preacher. Regular visits were first paid in l8r)3 to Green's Shore, whei-e the town of Sunnnerside has since been l)uilt. In 1850 several business men bad renjoved to what had been only a scattered settlement, and had given it an impulse which, after a few years, made it the pi'in('ij)al shipping port of the western end of the island. Early in ISHIi, the pro- prietor of the farm on which the principal part of the town now stands, laid off the front in small lots, one of which he oftered to George (). Huestis as a site foi- a Methodist chui'ch, which a little later was placed thei'c.
During a part of these years the IJible Chiistians met with much success. In October, 1 8 1'J, a spc^cial work began at Vernon Rivei'. Some saving influences felt at Lower Montiigue and Stui'geon, soon reached Murray ilarbor and Three Rivers, where for several years Wesleyan services had been discontinued. To meet the increased recjuirements of an enlarged membership, two missionaiies arrived from England in Septeniber, 184-1, when West (Jape, Cascumpec, and some adjacent settlements were placed under the care of William Harris, a promising young preacher who early fell at his post. An attempt to form a I^>ible Christian society at Charlottetown was lirst made in 181.5, but in a few months it was abandoned, not to be repeated for twelve years. Elsewhere in the island the impulse given by tlie revival of 1842 caused geneial growth, but in 1847 signs of decline became evident. The age of the superintendent— Metherall, the fre(juent changes in the ministerial li.st by death, removals, and withdrawals; as well as the heavy losses by emigi-ation to Ontario and the United States, con-
IX THE LOW 1:11 PROVLXCES.
am
jower and es had tsof from npec, le of fell )ciety few kvelve tlie US of
lit—
St by
eavy
con-
tril)utod greatly to the reduction of numlters. Sultsequent speoial elTort in old circuits and entrance into new localities again (Milarg(!d the nieiiiheiship, hut at the time of the final union of all the Mc^thodist bodies of Canada, the accredited members of tlu; iJible Christian societies in Prince ICdward Island did not exceed five hundred and sixty in number.
On the removal of ffolin jMcNfurray, in the autumn of 18;}9 from Sydney to Newfoundland, th«» chairman found himself obliged to appeal to the New Iirunswick J)istrict for a temporary supply for that station. In response to his call, a special meeting of ministers selected Samuel I), liice, of iJathurst, for the distant post.'' During his sjiort stay in Cajie I»reton he preached to large congregations ; visited Cabaius, where wei-e about forty members, sixty miles from Sydney, and reached principally on foot ; and having added several members to a goodly fellowship, transferred his trust to Thomas H. Davies, his successor. The subsequent decline of Sydney, through various causes, and the fre(|uent removals of members, interfered in some measure with the develojiment of jVIethodism in the island. Tn \H'}A the one circuit included the town, the " IMines," the " Forks," Louisburg, Gabarus and Ingonish, while other settlements awaited with all possible patience the appearance of a preacher. A year later Margaree appeared on the Minutes
1" As Ml'. T\ ice wrote Mil liis nrriv.'il at Sydiify, hv "cduIi! liavc ixuue to the W'fst Indies or NfufniiiidliUKl " witli less fxiiensc ami exiiosiirc. 'I'ill lie rcai'licd I'ictou by a loii^'' land journey, "all was very wi'll." 'I'liere a cold and severe coiifjch sei/.ed liini. .After lia\iiij,' walke<i about on Tuesday evening' till ini(liii>,dit lie went on boani a shallop for .Aricliat. and in tlie midst of dirt and in a \>\iivi: wlieie lie could scarcely tiiid riMdii to lie down s])ent two ni^dits and a day. < )n 'riiursday lie went on board a sc;liooiier foi' Sydney, and lay almost freezin^^' on two lioai'<ls \\ itli a ni^ o\ei' liim till nine on i''iida}', wlieii tlirou;.;li stress of weather the \essel oaine to anchor in the place whence she had started. Then lie hired two Indians to take him to Sydney by St. Peter's liay and the I'ras d'Or T^ake, and started in their bark canoe in a snow-storm, and pushing <>n thi'ou^di snow, rain and fair weather, with onlj- straw for ;i bed and an overcoat for a covering, arrived at his destination on the Monday night following.
I \
i[ 1
34G
HISTORY OF METHODISM
as the ho.'i(l(niartor.s of a second circuit, under tlie care of a junior preacher.
Little has ycit been said respecting the work done among British soldiers at several stations. Not less than three thousand Hve hundied of these were for many years divided among several |»osts in the Maritime Provinces. For some few years after the close of the Crimean war the Methodist soldier had no denominational status. A " Protestant " at enlistment was assumed to be either an Episcopalian or a Presbyterian, and, in the absence of any claim to the latter designation, was marched to the Sabbath morning })arade service of the hjpiscopal cha{)lain, though sup[)Osed to be left at liberty to attend what services he pleased on the Sabbath and other- evenings." Tin; warm greetings often given on such occasions by Christian men and women in Jiritish American towns to the soldier-sons of Englisl) Wesleyans and others, led many a man to a better life and rendered the place of his conversion ever after an attractive spot. Not a few British soldiers in other lands long re- membered the prayei-ineeting at St. John in the house of William Poi'tmoie — himself in earlier days a soldier — and similar memories of hallowed places in other towns accom- panied others to life's close, to be even be<iueathed in some instances to the corps in which they served.
" 'I'lii.s lijwl not iilways bcfn the case. TiilSOS, at atiiiif wlu'ii AFitli' (list soldif'i's in garrison at (!il))'altar lia<l by tlicir sncct'ss in I'vai lizinf: thoir cdiniadcs awakened hitter i>erseeuti(>n, two ct)r])f>ral " might have gone into any den of infamy witli impunity, wei i to the
ranks and imnisiied with two huniired lashes eaeh erime of
attending a Metho(Hst meeting. Much, even at a hiti
ioil, d oen-
(h'd u|>on the officer in commaiuL In Halifax, alMiut i Mi, r ,onel Smith, of the Hitle Brigade, aft«'rwards known as Sir Harry Sm i, the hero of Aliwal, was accosted one day by a man of his regiment, who asked i)ermission to attend the Methodist prayer-meeting that evening. A peremjitory refusal was given. The next day the otticer and private again met, wlien the former asked the man if he had attended tiie meet- ing. The private reminded him that lie had refused the requested per- mission. "'Oh," said the colonel, " I was in a i)et then, but you never need ask me ; go when you j (lease, and I will take care that all will be right." The man thanked him, ajid availed himself of the coveted l(rivilege.
IN TIIK LOWER riiOVINCHS.
M
In cases where cotiversion had not resulted from tlie in- terest taken in him, the soldier did not forget the kindness shown. When Dr. IJule, in that stru^^le with the military authorities and the chapiain-p-neral, (ilei^', for the posses- sion of ecjual religious privileges hy the Wesleyan soldier, which should win for him grateful regard, first visited Aldershot, soon after the formation of the camp there, he learned this fact. "Not a few," he wrote, "betrayed a feel- ing that th(;y had heen heartlessly neglected since tndist- nient- I'hey who had l»een in Canada conti'asted the can^ for their souls manifest(;d by Canadian Methodists with the negligence, as they believed, of the English." So numerous, as the result of this interest in the soldier's wel- fai'e, had tlie Meth(»dists become in the reginrents .s«!nt from iJritish North America to the Crimea, that the (.anadian Conference entertained at one time the idea of sending one of its ministers to the stiat of war to attend to the spiritual intenists of these sons of English Wesleyans and others.
In numerous instances converted soldiers became a bless- ing to the land of their second birth or temporary residence. In St. John, John Ferguson, a sergeant in the Royal Artil- lery, became the leading lay-helper in the building of the old (jrermain-street church, and in 18.39 laid the foundation stone of the second and larger church in that city. Of Francis Johnson, whose service has ])een described on a previous page, Edmund iJotterell wrote, in .some private notes, as a "dear friend," and the " most useful layman " it had ever been his " privilege to know." At Annapolis, the presence of Sergeant Mcintosh, R.A., and his excellent wife, much encouraged Arthur McNutt and Michael Pickles in the day of small things there. Newfoundland and Bermuda — the latter in particular — have also theii- own records of precious men converted there or led there through the agency of War oftice orders.
ill
348
HISTORY OF METHODISM
In Halifax, espocially, where during lialf a century three regiments of tlie line and corresponding numbers of other branches of the service were stationed, many gallant fellows entered a higher service than that of their king or queen. At a love-feast, during the revival of 18+3, in which many of his comrades were blessed and made a blessing, Sergeant Stewart spoke of the city as a " Bethesda " for the army, and remarked that one hundred had been converted while in the garrison, most of whom had remained faithful.
During the revival of 18.").3 in Halifax a young soldier was saved, with the record of whose godly life the religious world was made ac((uainted by a follow sergeant whom he had led to Christ.^' William Marjoui-am had landed at Halifax with his battery in 18.")1, as a gun ler, having been reduced from the rank of sergeant through di'iinken- ness. During the revival of 18.")2 a sergeant of the bat- tery, wliose determined hostility to i-eligion had niarkea him to human eyes as the least likely man to be converted, had become emphatically a "new" man. Through the influence of this sergeant tlie gunner one evening went to the lirunswick street church and stole up into the unlighted gallery. Thence, later in the evening and after a severe struggle, he went down and approached the communion rails as a penitent. From that spot he arose, when nearly all had left tlie chui'ch, with a feeling of safety, and the next morning, after severe con-
'"' " ]\rt'ni()rial.s of Sci'^'cant \Villi;uu Miirjounuii, K.A.," .lames Xishet &, Co., London. Of this voliMiit', thf prffiu-c to uliicli was writicn l»y the autlior of " jMcinorials of llcdlcy N'ii'iU's," tlif ctlitof of the Wts liiKin Mftlnx/ist Miiinrjiiii, lias said : "This l)ook lias liad a \vid<' run in military I'iix'lcs and descrM's to lie ]<iio\\n Itcyoiid them. In our puj^cs at Ifast tilt' ^'ood scr^'cant shall hfannomufd as a Weslcyan Metho- dist. Why this ajtpt'ars so dimly in ihe ' Mfi'.orials,' v hich U'c edited hy a member of th«' s une communion, deponent showeth not. Th'Te may have lieen a {,'ood reason, and we impute no blame. 'The Dairy man's I )auj,diter," and ' 'I'he She|>lierd of Salisbury IMain." are instani'es of a similar kind. It may lie that the influence of their names has sjiread the more widely beca\ise the fact has been suppressed. . . Oh, for a hapjiier day !"
I
IJ THE LOWER rROVIXCES.
349
flict, received the Holy Spirit's assui-auce of acceptance as a child of God. Havinj^ united witli the Methodist Church, he soon took a part iji social services and availed himself of all possible helps. During the few months preceding hi.s return to England in l^o.'J, those painful tests which are peculiar in great measure to army life won for him from his conu'ades the reputation of a genuine Christian and go.xl soldier, and three years later his olKcers restored him to his former I'ank. On his way to New Zealand in ls."i4, a three days' expei-ience on a burning ti-ooj)-ship brought out the nobilitv of the (Christian soklier. Duiing those davs of peril, when imminent danger had unnerved theolliceis who had performed the duties of cha[)Iain, the Methodist soldier obtained permission to i-ead tin; Sci'iptures and lead the prayers of his fellows in jeopardy, and, on a stoi'my night with a heavy sea, volunteered to be one of the party U) remove the women and children to the rescuing ship at a half-mile's distance. Nine months after his rescue, he was again on tlie way to New Zealand, having declined tempting inducements elsewhere, under a strong conviction that bin Master had woik foi' him to do in the southern woj-ld. ibis work he found in overflowing measure in New Zealand, in day and evening .schools and Sunday -schools, in dii-ectly religious and temjiei-anci^ etlbrt, and th^'n in abridged foiiii after the outbreak of the unsatisfactory Maori war. At length disease no longer permitted him to mount the liniV>er- box as he had done to be drawn to tlu^ scene of action, and a medical board ordeied his innnediate return to l>iitain, to the great regiet of the troops, many of whom had been converted through his intluence. " Well and invariablv.' wrote two of his higher v)tiicers, "you have combined the duties of a Christian and a soldiei'. Your example to the men under our Cf)nnnand, both in the Held before tlieeneniy and in the camp, has Ix en most beneticial. They have seen
w
350
HISTORY OF METHODISM
i
ii-t-
how well you have done your duty under all circumstances of difficulty and danger, and how, while never obtrusive in your advice, you have sincerely and wisely endeavored in proper seasons to turn them towards their Maker." During a several weeks' detention at Auckland, he continued Christian work, and on his embarkation for Britain, resumed it. With services on the Lord's-day l)y request of the officers and passengers, worship with the men in the fore- castle, a Bible-class, and a school for children, the Robert Lane became a veritable Betiiel. Then, at the end of a four months' passage, he went into hospital, there on a Sabbath morning to close a short, rich life with fragmentary but significant words^" ilappy — ^ Rejoice — Amen ! " That during a life thus ended he should have written to Archibald Morton, of Halifax : "I often look back with a heart full of gi'atitude to the place of my second birth," is not at all strange. "'
During the years under review several standard-bearers had fallen. The amial»l(? Jesse Wheelock had l)een the first to depai't. In 1841, after several attempts at labor, witli intervening periods abi-oad, he gently fell asleep in Jesus. Dui'ing the succeeding year two junior preachers fell in harness. Peter Sleep had seen eight years of itinerant service. His preaching had been neither eloquent nor pro- found, but it had l)een accom})anied by a special degree of power. His presence was in such demand at "protracted" meetings that William (Jroscombe, when at Horton, made an announcement for special meetings dependent upon his young brother's ability to be beside him. A lady then
'' DvifiiiK tlic pn'scnct' of a large (Ictai'limcut of Koyal Artillery at Woodstock, (luring the houndary ditiiculties, a young Koniaii Catholic soldier was awakened through a visit to the Methodist chureh there. On his ret\U'n to St. .loim, he was led through the ministry of Hichard Williams into dearer light, and after a puhlic recantation of former error, wa.s reot'ivcd into church-fclloMship. His early ileath, the result of an accident whih' on military duty, was marked by uushakfu WJntj. ^h'nQ<' in his R»!d«emer.
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
351
converted asserts that at the moment he rose in the pulpit she was conscious of an influence not previously felt. At such times he declined to go from house to house, but tjjrough quiet thought and private prayer sought a prepara- tion which became evident in public. His death, at Cover- dale, was caused by a malignant fever, which swept away numerous residents in tljat section of the province. Oidy two months later his brethren were startled by the death of the vigorous and zealous Samuel McMarsters. While in charge of the societies on the Nashwaak and upper part of the South-west Miramichi, he had been suddenly struck down by a disease to which in a few days he yielded. Devout men bore his body from Nashwa.'k to Fredeiicton, where they laid it beside the dust of Adam Clarke Avard.
Two ministers of more extended servi(!e — William Wel»b and Sampson Busby — also passed within the veil. The foi'mer preacher had been removed from Amherst to Char- lottetown in 184(5. The presence of workmen preparing to enlarge the church led him out of the parsonage early on<; morning in June, lS-17, when a se\ere cold suddenly scii/ed him, develo{)ing into a rapid consumption which in a few weeks ended in death. Mis genial disposition and unim- peachable integi'ity liad given him a degr(!e of influence which made his death a seiious loss. A happy combination of the special <|ualilications for success in the pulpit and the pastorate had made his ministry the ''sa\or of life unto lift;" to many, while it had also bi'en a means of editicatioii to numerous converts under tin; preaching of his predecessors in his several circuits. Samj)S(»n Busby, in e(|ually liini reliance upon the Gospel which both had preached, died on Easter Sunday, 1850, at Portland. In the numerous cir- cuits on which he had labored he had proved a spii'itnal helper to many. A commanding form, pleasing address, attiible manner and devout spirit, witii an un(juestioi)ec| reputation, had made him a general favorite.
352
lirSTORY OF METHODISM
The venerable Stephen IJanit'ord entered his final rest in 1848. Tlie Missionary Connnittee, on relieving him fi'oui the duties of circuit superintendence in 1835, gave him leave to return to England ; he therefore crossed the Atlantic and attended the JJritish Conference of 1836 at liirnungliani, wher-e, at a special gatlieiing of returned mis- sionaries, lie was fornmlly " receivid into full connexion." The changes of numerous years in his native land had by that time rendered his list of former acquaintances so short, that in his loneliness he turned his face towards friends beyond tlie s(!a. He had twice l)een stationed at St. John, and thither on his return he and his wife again directed their steps. Some years later he removed to l)ig))y, where he continued to pi'each, ev(Mi when a broken limb, caused by a fall frouj his carriice, obliged him, for a time, to gather neighboi-s into his own dwelling, and afterward, on partial recovery, to address congregations from a seat in the pulpit. His death took place at J>igby in 1818, and his body found a resting-i)lace l)eside the dust of his worthy "Jane," in the JNIethodist cemetcM-y in St. John. A few weeks beff»re death he had furnished the authorities at the Hoi-se (Juards with replies to some in(|uiries i-especting his military services ; iu consequence of which, only a few days after his decease, two medals reached his home. '^
One cannot dismiss in haste the name of this venerable man, so eccentric and so widely beloved. Among his brethren in the ministry he was unicjue. Of his nn'litary erectness and neatness years of travelling over rough roads never robbed him. " Who is that tine looking man!" said the colonel of a llritish regiment one day, as the pi-eachei' stood on the {)arade watching some military evolutions.
'" One of tlicsf was the '* I'ciiiiisular .Medal" wliicli, tlioiiKli confcrrt'd for services iciidereil fi'oiii 17!K5 to ISlt, was not issued until 1S4S, wlieii nearly all those entitled to it were in tlieir ^TaNcs. Tlie otlier would lie the medal issue<l at the same time for similar sei'\ ice liy tiie uaAV. 'IMie •J!tth re^dnieiit had at ohc ti:u.' ser\ed on hoard <hi|i ;is niirines, prohalily on the (icca ion of Ijord I low c's j^'reat \ iclory on dune Isi, 17'.M.
i
'-'<■ ,
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
353
And a minister who oalled upon him at Digby, when a venei'ahle supernumerary, describes liim as then, thougli in his seventy-sixth year, tall, tinely-proportioned, and as erect as a statue, and as in all respects one of the most beautiful specimens of old ago ever seen by him,"*
It was not, however, only the military bearing of Stephen Bamford that led a stranger to look a second time at him. A quaint, broad face, that beamed with happiness as if his heart were overflowing with Joy, was even more attr.active than a finely set-up frame. The haj)pine.ss of his iiome, presided over through most of his manhood by an excellent woman some years his senior but not; less child-like than liimself, about which his intimate friends were wont to tell many pleasant incidents, seemed everywhere to follow him, Two young collegians met him one day in a street at Windsor, and asked him how lie was. " Oh," was the emphatic reply, " I am so happy I don't know what to do with myself," an answer of which th<; meaning was better understood in later years by at least one of the listeners. " Can't you laugh, John 1 " he one day said to the excellent but grave John Marshall.''' This characteristic joyousnoss, with the quaint utterances always falling from his lips, made him the life of any social circle. Even at the annual meet- ings of the ministers sonie sudden hit of his has been known to convulse the meml)ers with laughter, or some quickly occurring reminiscence giving an unexpected turn to a prayer, to cause more than a smile upon the countenances
'** " lictsy," hf cmce said to tlu- lat«' \rrs. .lames (J. Ht'iiiiij,''ar, in allti- sion to a i'«'huk(' for cai'dcss appcai-ancc from "my .Jane," as lie famili- arly tt'rmt'd tlit^ first A[rs. Haiiiford, " f straiKlitcticd mysflf up tliat momt'ut. A Christian (Hi^dit to look up. \\v has nothing,' to he ashamed of. A Christian look down 'i No 1 "
■'■' In 1S4.3, at a time when he was walkiny^ on crutcht's, ln'caiisc of the dislocation of his hip through an aeeident fifteen weeks before, he wrote from Dighy, with the heart of a child : "They carry me to the chai)el and (!o(l blesses n\e (in preaching). O religion I O Methodism, what do 1 owe you? What I never can repay I ! 1 "
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
of usually grave men, and yet all were accepted by the listeners as the natural outflow of the heart of one of the most artless of men, who was nevertheless possessed of a rare power of penetration into human nature. "If ever," it has been said, "humor was sanctified and employed in the furtherance of the Cluspel, it was in the preaching of this rare man," whose life-long aim was the avoidance of any shadow of reproach upon the character of the ministry.
Of Stephen Bamford's preaching it is not easy to give a definite de-scription. Charles Dewolf, when at Hoxton, heard tlie celebrated " Billy Dawson," and that evening wrote : " I would rather hear Stephen Bamford." James G. Hennigar once remarked that his sermons were truly peculiar and abundantly characteristic of his oft-repeated assertion, "They are my own." The Hon. 8. L. Shannon, who heard him in boyhood, speaks of him as most eccentric and uncertain in the pul})it. Sometimes lie seemed to have reached the land of Beulah, and to have heard sera})]iic strains which he imparted to his delighted hearers, and then again he seemed to go down into tiie valley of humiliatif)n, and so lose the thread of his discourse as to be unaltle to recover it, and yet he was very popular. Before he came to Halifax the official members were almost alarmed at his appointment by the Committee in England, but l)efore iiis three years were out they almost idolized the man." That ministry whicii could move to alternate smiles and tears a congregation of soldiers at Fredericton and another of sailors at Parrsboro', proved the power of God unto the salvation of men and women of thoughtful minds in leading circuits, of whom he was wont to say, as of all saved through his ministry, in words not known ever to have been called in question by his brethren, that " none of them ever became backsliders."-"
-'* One of liis coiivort.s, wliose death was annoiniced in tlie Wfshf/(tn Methodixt Matj(t:in( ior IH^r, was a daughter i»f Major-! ieneral Miller,
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
Whb
1 ■'"
At the close of the period under review several of the active men of earlier years lingered among their brethren as venerable supernumeraries. To one of them, Richard Williams, residing at Bridgetown, a midnight call to depart came suddenly in 1850, after a retirement of five years. His brethren speak of liim in their post-mortem tribute as a man who was irreproachable in character, a preacher whose sermons were rich in evangelical truth, and an ad- ministrator who was firm and inflexible in his attachment to every part of Methodist discipline. As a minister he magnified his ofhce, and as a leading official of the Metho- dist Church lie allowed no word or act directed against her interests to pass unrebuked. In Newfoundland a promi- nent member of the government obliged him to call again and again for the title to a promised grant of land. When at length delay seemed to imply indifference, the stalwart preacher drew himself up to his full height, and, in his most decisive tones, bade the official "Good morning," assuring him that in case of any further delay he would meet him at "Downing-street." The official wisely recognized the evident determination of the man with whoin he had to deal, and lost no time in the preparation of the required document. A natural brusqueness sometimes involved him in difficul- ties, occasionally to the regret, and now and then to the amusement of his brethren. To these his literal interpreta- tion of Methodist law and usage was not always satisfac- tory, but, in words used by Enoch AVood at the time of his retirement in 185*J, " INlethodism in New Brunswick,"' where a number of his most vigorous years were spent, " is deeply indebted to him for his intelligence, decision and single- mindedness."
and widow of Beiijainin Sliillitto, Ks(]., of tlic Royal ^^ariIll' Artillf-ry. Wliil»^ resident at Windsor she was invited to tlic Mrtliodist cliurcli by an Episcopalian family holding a pew there, while Mr. Hamford was in charge. iSnlweq^nently in .fersey she nnited with the Methodist Church, in fellowsliip with which the remaining years of her life were spent. During ten of these years she was a faitliful class-leader.
A
356
in STORY OF METHODISM
m
On a Sabbatli morning in INIay, 1857, after a short ill- ness, Albert Desbrisay, another of the retired ministers, happily finished his course. After his final retirement, in 1844, from circuit responsibilities, eleven years were spent by him at Sackville as chaplain of the academy there. On leaving that position, the duties of which he had discharged with great fidelity, he sought a final earthly residence in his native place. At Charlottetown the previous deep devoted- ness marked his declining days, and his love for pastoral visitation rendered hiin highly useful. The " law of kind- ness," ever "on his lips," and the success of his compara- tively limited ministry, long rendered his name very fra- grant in several circuits.
In the following November the venerable William Ben- nett peacefully ended a life of eighty-seven years. His ordination by the American Methodist bishops, Asbury and Whatcoat, seemed to connect him with the earlier and more heroic age of the denomination. His itinerant service had been comparatively short thougii most useful, but during its continuance he had been charged with serious responsibili- ties. As successor of William Black, he had been from 1812 to 1820 general superintendent of the Nova Scotia District, during a part of which time the Lower Canada circuits were under his jurisdiction, and in 1816 had been, by appointment of tiie British Wesleyan Conference, a dele- gate with William Black fiom that body to confer with the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church upon the peculiar relations of English and American Methodism to the missions in Lower Canada. Believing him- self to be lacking physical vigor for the circuit work of that period, he in 1820, at the age of fifty, asked a supernumerary relation, and, though unacquainted with farming, settled at Newport, continuing his ministry there as occasion per- mitted^or required. In 1840 he visited his native land, and at the British Conference of tliat year was received with
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
357
liil
all due respect. His later years were spent in Halifax, where for some time he was chaplain of the Provincial penitentiary.
At Windsor, in 1859, the venerable William Croscombe ended a precious ministry of a half-century in length. At his decease he was the senior Wesley an missionary in the British North American Provinces, having served under the Society's direction as chairman of the Newfoundland^ Nova Scotia and Canada Districts, and having spent three years on the (libraltar mission. During a five years' residence in Halifax, 1851-55, he continued to preach and at the same time to take charge of the Methodist JJook Depositary until a stroke of paralysis prevented further service. Subsequent years at Windsor were years of weak- ness, during which, however, friends were often permitted the sight of the small, white-haired old minister tottering on the arm of his wife to the church, where, too deaf to hear a word from the preacher's lips, he sat with opened iiible thinking over the text, which doubtless often recalled ser- mons and "Scenes of more vigorous years. His preaching had been awakening, saving and edifying, his pastoral visiting that of a man of God ; in his character hu- mility and dignity had been beautifully blended ; and thus in the course of fi long ministry his name had be- come dear to great numbers. Final days of waiting were patiently borne, the things of God affording favorite topics of conversation.
John Marshll, who had been obliged to retire from circuit cares in 1851, died at Lunenburg in 1864. The thirteen years of his supernumerary life were years of trial, through his inability during the greater part of the period to take any charge of the services of the sanctuary. There is reason to believe that his early association with the Methodist Church had cost him the alienation of relatives, who with his decision could have no sympathy.
!• .
I ;'
LI;
358
HISTOIiV OF METHODISM
Mil
I
He was dillulont, retiring, exceedingly gruve in deport- ment, and liis preaching, which was above the average order, was often accompanied hy a special unction. "I have constant peace with (iod," was his testimony modestly given at a love-feast in Halifax. He was emphatically a man of one book and of one work. "Few men that we have known," says (ieoige (). Huestis, "had so little of earthli- ness and so mucii of iieaven as John Marshall. He had trials, but he bore them like a Christian. Ho had his intir- mities, but they were not so prominent as to mar the symmetry of his spii-itual character."
George JVIiller's su}ternumerary life of twenty years was closed at Bridgetown in 1869. A strong mind and a retentive memory had been consecrated to his holy employ- ment j and a diligent study of the Word of God, with care- ful reading of the best English divines, had made him a logical and lucid expositor of Scripture truth. A sermon on the Atonement, })reserved in the Britislt North American Wen/eyan Methodist Mnffnzi7ie for 1(S42, illustrates his style and power, and aflbrds indication that a volume from his pen would have been of much value. Soon after lie had uttered the words : " I have a house above," he passed away to his eternal rest. He had reached the good old ago of eighty- one years.
In 1870 John Bass Strong, in the eightieth year of his age and lifty-seventh of ins ministry, received the call to go up higher. He only had preceded Richard Williams as an English Wesleyan missionary to the Upper Pi'ovinces. Through a part of a twenty years' retirement he had preached nearly as often on the Lord's-day as in the period of itinerant service. His last days were spent among his children in Prince Edward Island, where they were pro- minent workers in religious circles. A friend to childhood, a beautiful singer, popular preacher and successful pastor, he had been everywhere beloved. Old age, in the absence
IN THE LOWER PROVINCES.
359
of cynicism and the pi-cscnco of a genial synn)atliy with the spirit and pursuits of youth, has seldom heen seen under a more attriictiv<> aspect. "Tell them all," he said to a visi- tor, as a dying message to his hrothei- ministers, "That I am going well. ' Not a cloud doth arise,' " etc.
Henry Pope, who had become a sni>ernumerary in l(Sr)4, surviv(>d his l)iethren on the list until 1S77. laying in his eighty-ninth year, he liad been a solitary link between the past and ])resent. John Wesley, during one of his later visits to Cornwall, had seen him in his mother's arms and invoked heaven's l)lessing upon him. VVIkmi a young man, he had attended tlu! first W(!sleyan missionary meeting lield in the city of I'i'istol. At one time it liad seemed that his minist(!rial life would be brief. In 1829, when engaged in the administration of the Loi'd's-supper at Fjiverjjool Im was seized l)y apoplexy, and was probably saved fiom fatal results l»y the presence in the church of a physician. His brethren, a])prehensive that his work was finished, it their meeting in tiie following spi-ing insisted on his retirement as a supernumerary, but on his return in the autumn from a visit to England, he resumed work and steadily continued it. Several years subse(piently to this illness, he asked reappointment to (Janada, but the Committee, unable to comply with his r(M|uest, olFered him permission to return to lOngland, a privilege of which lu; did not avail himself. ])uring the greater pint of his supernumerary life he was chaplain at the Provincial })(>nitentiai'y at Halifax. Jfis blameless life, singleheartedness of purpose, and Christian charity, were evident to all. Hundreds had l)een con- verted through his ministi'y, and several who had been guided by him into a new life liad, at the time of his de- cease, taken prominent positions in the ministry of the church he had faithfully served. By his wise lessons as a class leader, and his faithful ministry to the convicts in the penitentiary, his usefulness was continued to the last.
£1'
CHAPJ I:K XIV.
MKTHODISM TN NEWFOUNDLAND, FI{().M TIIK CKNTKN-
AKV f'KLKIiHATION TO TDK ()K( JAN IZATlON OF
TDK FASTFI5N MKITISII A.MKUIf\\N
(!ONFKI{KNCK IN 1855.
I'uliticiil unn'st. Friendliness of Sir .Inliii lliirvcy. Cliairnifn of tlio period. Olian^'cs in itinerant ranks. I'ro^'ress of circuits. Revivals. Auxiliary Missionary Society. New missions on Western Shore and Bay of Notn* Dame. Interesting incidents. Death of William Marshall. Sound Island.
Several of the years now under notice .vcre marked, in Newfoundland, by serious political unrest. The new charter had not proved an unalloyed blessing. An elective legis- lature, in the absence of sufficient precaution, had thrown the government practically into the hands of the Roman Catholic priesthood, who, as usual, were prompt to use political power for their own purposes. At length, in 1841, Captain Prescott, governor of the colony, dissolved the House, and in consecjuence of subsecjuent riotous proceed- ings at a bye-election, declared the Constitution suspended. In the course of the following year, through an amendment by the Imperial Parliament, the " Amalgamated Assembly " was established ; seven years later the Constitution was restored ; and in 1855 responsible government was granted. During the suspension the Methodists of the colony had no cause for complaint. The assistance given them in their educational work called fortii, on the contrary, from the Missionary Secretaries a warm tribute to Sir John Harvey, the governor, who on several occasions had expressed him-
IN NEWFOUXDLAM).
;iGi
'KXTHX OK
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The chair of the disti'ict at tins time was occupied by men whose ability and wisdom commanded for tliem gen- eral resp«;ct. John I'ickavant, who had long pi-csided over the animal gatherings, left in IHt.'J for l^iigland, w1um(^ he died in 1S48. A colonial coUcagur has (lescrib(,'d him as "a 'master in Israel,' atlectionatt', gentle and gentlemanly, and in his own pulpit, where Ik; was ahv.iys most at home and happy, an oi-ator at (»nce cliarmiiig and sultduing." Richard Williams reached the colony in time to preside at the district meeting of 18(1. In 18 111, in consecjuence of serious illness, his name aj)peared as that of a supernumer- ary at Ilar-bor Grace, whence h(; returiunl to the New Jirunswick District. Etjually dignitied in bearing and most courteous in intercourse with all was his successor, I'idnmnd Rotterell, who arrived at St. John's in 1850. Towards the close of a five years' term in that town he received fi-om the English C(jmmittee the appointment of general superin- tendent of their missions in the Bahama District, but ob- tained permission to remove, in 18'),"), to the more suitable climate of New Brunswick.
Of the ministers who had taken part in Centennial ser- vices in Newfoundland, only fcnir were ^ound in the colony on the formation of the new Conference in 1855. John Pickavant, William Faulkner, and Geoi-gt! Ellidge, after long colonial service, had returned to England ; John Snowball, Ingham Sutcliffe, John ^NIcMurray and James England had been transferred to circuits in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ; Adam Nightingale, Samuel W. Sprague, John S. Addy, and Thomas Angwin remained still on the island. In the interim Jabez Ingham, John Brew- ster, James Norris and William P. Wells, had each spent a few years in Newfoundland. Of the ministers of a half-
i
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36'2
HISTORY OF METHODISM
century ago, only the venerable John 8. Peach, sent thither in 1840, yet remains in the colony.'
The period was not one of marked general progress, although several of the older missions wei-e favored with seasons of Messing. At St. John's and in its vicinity the societies received numerous accessions, but to the settlements somewhat more remote from the town the one n)inister could not give the attention demanded. In addition to his duties as superintendent of an impoi'tant circuit, to which were frequently added those of clmirman of the district, much of the business of his brethren at the outposts with the ca{)ital had to be transacted l)y him. \\\ such acceptable local preachers as Christopher Vey and David Rogers, and one or two others for a time, he had vakiable assistants, but the third Sabbath sei'mon in the town, which the circuit officials as late as 1848 deemed a necessity, lessened in some measure their sphere of usefulness. In 1840, in view of the calls fi-om places near St. John's, at one of which thirty Protestants, wearied with waiting, had become Roman Catholics, and others had threatened to follow their example, the a})i)oint- nient of a second preacher for the circuit was asked by the district. So great, however, was the end»arrassment of the
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• 'I'lic fiiiuls of tlic Wcslcyjin ^iissionavy Socifty wrrc fn'cuuntly n-- licvcd liy the <,'('iici-(isity of iiu'i'cli;ints in ^in iii^' fire passages to iiiis- sioiiiirit's h(nr,(l foi' \«'\\foini(ll;inil. Of oiu- oi- two tiriiis inciitioM I., is already hci a made. The Missionary Secretaries, in their report for IS.V), say: "Our excellent friend, .lolm Miinn, Ks(|., of Harlioi' (Jrace, li;is already iustructed Mr. Tarhot, of Jviverpool, to ^^ive free passa.ures to Wesleyan missionaries coming' to Newfoundland, and tlie liouse of liowriujjf I'rothers, of the same poi't, has eni^'a-u'ed to do the san\e." None of till' nieniliers of these houses were Metlioijists. in niori' than one report, the Missionary Conunittee also jieknouled^'es -liniilar assistance fjciven l>y I'eter Koirersoii & Son, of whicli tir' i the I Ion. danies .1. Ko^^'rson, of St. .lohnV, is the surs ivin;j: inenil>er. In 1855 the Chtwlin, a \essel owned l>y that house, called at Torcpiay. when on tlie ))assa),''e from lla,ml)Ui'<j:, for theex|iress purpose of lirinying out Messi-s. ("onihen and Dove, then under appointment to the colony. Amon^^ the many to whom the missionaries were at that time iiidelited for fri'cjuent pas.sa^'es from the capital to other places in the colony, tlits McsHrs. Knight, of St. John's, deserve special mention.
IN NE W FOUND LAND.
363
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Ndtlf
an diu' • istaiK!H
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Valid ill, passayfc '(•iiiIm'ii laiiy to iissiiyfcs :. of ^t.
missionary treasury, that no favorable response reached the cliairnian until four yeai's later, when a satisfactory tinancial guarantee had been given by otlicials at St. John's.- Then — in Nov(Mnber, 1845— a young missionary, arrayed in a heavy boat-cloak and cap, befitting a driz/ly atniospliere, knocked at the door of the St. John's parsonage, and, in response to the pu/zled countenpi'ce and somewhat bluJf intjuiry of Jlichai'd Williams, announced himself in un- abashed tones, as -John Brewster, " the missionary apjxjint-e-d by the Committee in London to help you, sir."
The intention to erect a second church in the capital in 184G on a site given by the government, was thwarted by the events of a most calamitous year. Through a lire
which broke out on a morning in June, three-fourths of the place became a mass of ruins, making twelve thousand persons homeless. More direct loss to the fishernjen was caused l)y a terribh' storm in September, which strewed the shores with the wreckage of their pro})erty, and by the subsequent destruction of the pot.ito crop by disease and early frosts. When in April, 1847, Sir (Jaspard Le Mar- chant landed, us 'O^ei-nor of the colony, tiie starving poj^u- lation of out harbors was being driven by famine into the capital, ad government iiouse was being daily thronge-d by petitioners for relief. On the evening of a day generally observed by the Protestants, at the request of the governor, as one of humiliation and jn-ayer, a (luantity of fish sulli- ci<mt to meet all innnediate demands was taken on souje parts of the shore, but the general result of the seaiion's
'-' Delay in tlif apii'iiutiiiciit of a second in-eacl r ami in tin- erection of a second chnrcli, liastened, it is [n-olialile, in some measure tlif oryaui- zation of ii J'reslivterian con^'re^Mtion in St. .lolm's. In 1S4L', th* J'resliyterian resi(l<'nts of that town, who had i>revio\isly woi'shii>]MMl witli other Protestant con<^i'e^ations, were Kiithered int<i adistinct liixjy. whose new church was opened for pnljlic worship near the close of tlj" next year. Dm-iiif/a jiart of ISll, .lames Kn^^land. iiy the chairmaut* permission, tilh'<l the |)ul|iit of the Conacre ^^ational cinn'ch in St. .lolju"*;, the pastor of which, Daniel S. Ward, was in I'hi^dand.
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fishery obliged tlie population in some sections of the colony to sound lower depths of misery than those previously reached. In 1852, no seats could be obtained in the one Methodist church of the town, and measures were therefore taken for the erection of a second, but iinancial reverses caused a further delay of live years.
The destruction by tire in h'ebruary, 1850, of the neat and newly-repaired church at Harl)or (irace was a serious t'st of the faith and financial ability of the membership there. At a critical moment, however, John Munn, Esq., a leading merchant, encouraged the hearts of his financially weaker neighbors, and the trustees entered into immediate arrangements for the erection of a larger church, of which the congregation took possession just a year from the date of their loss. ^
In certain neighborhoods, where Wesleyan ministers had long been busily engaged, the appointment of E})iscopal ministers of the more exclusive tyj)e awakened a degree of denominatio)ial rivalry by no means conducive to the highest interests of the population, but in other settlements the hindrances arisinc; from this and other causes were less formidable. Of older missions, blessed by extensive revivals of religion, the Grand Bank and Fortune circuit was one. The ministers on the island, unwilling to desert a field where much of their labor had apparently been in vain, sent thither in 1848 Thomas Fox, a teacher and a local preacher of sixteen years' service in the colony. Through diligent visitation, that preacher won the hearts of the })eople at their own firesides, and by his interest in their welfare led them to wonder at their lack of interest in themselves.
3 Til the late Jolm Munn, a Presbyterian, Wesleyan ministers found a staunch friend luul tiicir financial sciu'ines a ready cimtrilmtor. Even after tlie establishment (if a l*resl)j'terian ciuu'cli at Harbor Grace, his hand ofteji aided Methodist enterprises. For many years he was one of the trustees of the Methodist church property at Harbor Grace.
IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
365
colony viously ,he one lerefore everses
le neat serious il)ership n, Esq., ancially mediate »f which the date
ters had |)iscopal ?m'ee of highest ■nts the sre less |i(!vivals 'as one. Id where |n, sent (readier diligent [ople at lare led II selves.
found a Even jraco, his lis one of
Just then some Chi'istian death-bed scenes, Avitli faitliful testimony and counsel given fi'om the verge of eternity, strengthened tlie previous general interest, and at length there came the answer to accumulated prayers in the testi- monies of hundreds to the conscious assurance of divine for- giveness. At (Irand Bank, where, as at Fortune^, there was already a commodious church, the erection of a larger one was immediately commenced. Similar .seasons of grace were enjoyed at Carbonear and Bonavista, and at other places in le.ss abundant measure. At Carl)onear, where John Snowball had the assistance of able local preachers, many names were added to the membership. Neaily as extensive was the revival at Bonavista under the ministry in the new church there of Thomas Smitli, during the winter of 1854-55. An early agent in the work was a fi.sherman, who had been converted while at St. John's in the })revious autumn. Many persons at Bonavista, who subsecjuently became leaders or prominent members, were then led to Christ. Not a few of these, when years afterward John Goodison announced from the pulpit the death of Thomas Smith, dropi)ed a silent tear to the memory of a good man and faithful pastor.
The expected extension of Methodist missions along the sea-line of the island, through the intluence of the New- foundland Auxiliary Missionary Society, was oidy realized in part. This society, whose j)urposo was the raising of "a fund for increasing the number of Wesleyan missionaries for preaciiing the (losjiel in those places which are .scarcely ever visited by the missionaries of any Protestant detiom- ination, and for the estal)lisinnent of Sunday and day schools," was under the management of a general committee composed of all the Wesleyan ministers of the island, and a number of laymen, several of whom were Oongregationalists and one a Presbyterian. The EngUsh Commitlee gave their
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HISTORY OF METHODISM
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sjiaotioii to the scheme, l)ut l)y their subso(jueiit attempt to combine the money raised for a special work with the annual missionary grant, and l>y their demur to the expen- diture of a part of the sum raised in the colony in the en- couragement of schools, placed their ministers in an embar- rassing position. The latter informed the London Commit- tee that, " having fre(juently stated in pulilic that the increase of travelling missionaries would be in proportion to the increase of funds," they could not " honestly sanction " the appropriation of the receipts of the auxiliary society "to the support of the missionaries on the older circuits without breaking faith with the public," and at the same time they justified their expenditure for schools by the pre- vious practice of the English Connnittee itself. For a time they thus averted a threatened difficulty, but three years later Richard Williams took the chair of the district, and for reasons unsatisfactory to many, })robably to the majority, of his brethren, adopted such a course as left non-Methodist members of the committee no option but withdrawal, and virtually ended the distinct effort of the new society.
Several advance steps had fortunately been taken during the maintenance of this united effort. Prior to tlie arrival, in 1840, of John S. Peach and Jabez Ingham, foi- the sup- ply of two new stations to be " form.i'iy and permanently taken up by the Society," nearly twenty places in the Bona- vista, Placontia and Fortune P»ays had been visited by the nearer preachers, and William Marshall had been sent as a " visiting missionary " to the Westei'ii Shore. From his liead(|uarters at Hermitage May, ^farshall in the autumn of 1839 visited nearly every hai-bor and cove as far west as Cape Kay, and would have pushed on to Bay St. George had it been possible to return fi-om that district before the winter. " Fifty two coves and harbors have been visited," said the repoj-t for 18-10, many of tlu' settlers about these
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IX XE WFO UND L A XD.
.SO 7
npt to X\\ the expen- the en- embar- oininit- lat the rtion to iction "
society circuits le same the pre- • a time se years let, and lajority, f'thodist
al, and
during arrival, ;he sup- anontly i<; liona- Uy the Mit as a I'om his [lutumn 1 west as l(ieorge tore the lisited," t these
having never heen visited before by any minister in tlio memory of the ohU'st iidiabitant. Along the whole Western Shore there is not even a school of any description except one at Hermitage Cove, established by your missionary during the year. Tluire aic harbors where not a single individual can read at ail, and whei-e a copy <jf the Sacred Scriptui'es cannot be found ; and these ai"e Pi'otestants, chiefly the children of English parents. " Among these neglected and scattered people, in number not fewer than two thousand five hundi'ed, Marshall sj)ent three years, having liis residence at Hei'mitage Co\e, where a man had built him a mere cabin as a shelter. Pri\ate hitters to a brother minister tell of hardshijis and exposure not made known to the public. Six months sometimes passed witii- out tiie arrival of letters from his native land, and he often grew depressed through the absence of intelligent Christian conversation, 'i'ln'ough the Sunday-school and somewhat irregular day-scliool at his place of residence, a good propor- tion of the thii'ty and more children in attendance learned to read, and ccjinmitted to memory the first Conference catecliism. At Durgeo, when; on one occasion he spent sixteen days among an "affectionate peo)»le,'' who long i-emembt'red him, he opened a second Sunday-school of thirty-four scholars. ( )f eight persons who met at his room at Hermitage Cove one day in March, 1S4l', in i-esponse to a public invitation, he wrijte as " a{)pearing earnest but sadly ignorant." Thi-ee months later he handed oxer his work to John S. Peach, who at the eiul of a vear was with- drawn, to liave no successor until after the t\)riiiation of the Eastern British American Confei'enee.
In a northern district, entered by Marshall a year or two later, more immediate results were witnessed. Several Methodist families had removed from Conception liay to two or tliree of the islamls in tiie m;ii?iijticent Uay of Notre
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308
JIISTORY OF MirrifODISM
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. 'Si
Damp, popularly known as (rroon Jiay. At Twillin^ate — . properly Toulinguet — an old settlement on an island of the same name, was a population of three thousand persons. A Congregational minister \\iv\ been placed there early in the century, and after his departure services had been conducted for a time in his church by a man who liad been converted during a several years' ca}itivity in France, whose followers appear to have been I3aptists. Previous to 1825 the Pro- testant Dissenting congregation had ceased to exist, and its members had so generally become absorbed in the later- formed Episcopalian congregation, that at the taking of the census preceding the Methodist occupation of the place not more than ten or twelve persons had been independent enough to avow themselves " Dissenters " The oldest resi- dents could oidy remember four sermons from the li})S of Methodist preachei-s, one or all of which had probably been given by John Pickavant when on his way in 1830 to con- sult French physicians at White l>ay. In iStl John S. Addy, under instructions from the district meeting, left Trinity in a trading vessel and reached Change Islands on Sunday, in time to preach in a house used for religious sei'- vices by some Methodist jisfiermen from Cupids, After services had also been helifd by him during the next two weeks at Shoe ( 'ove, Ni])per Harl)or and one or two other points, he reached Exploits, tlie inhabitants of which had been visited once rr twice in each year by the Episcopal minister of Twillingate. Only a fortnight before, at the conseciation of a church built in great measure through the exertions of the tiiree Methodist families of the place, an announcement had been made, to the general surprise, that no other minister than such as were appointed by the bishop should be permitted to preach witiiin its walls ; the three "precious" services held at Exploits on the Lord's-day were therefore held in a school-room. After an " interesting sea-
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sou '" at Mort'ton's Ilarlidi', the \isitoi' rcaclu'd 'rwillinirate on Wednesday, and th(;it' and at Him ting Neck held several services previous to the Sahhiith. Ou the Sunday afternoon he attended the Episc(/pal chuich at T\villiii«,'ate, and lelt it with deep regret that the only Protestant niiuister in the great JBay of Notre Dame should teach an isolated people that a strict compliance with tlu^ prescribed rules and forms of the Church of England is to Ix; '"in the Lord," in the Scripture sense of a great fact. I'he purer Gospel preached by the visitor on the morning of that day was not without its promised influence. During the sermon the repentance which precedes salvation came to the heart of the man who had opened his house for the preacher's use, and a few weeks later, as the schooner on which he was returning from St. John's was entering the harl»or, the peace of Uod took possession of his lieart.' Several cheering incidents tempted him to prolong his visit, but even work for Christ out of an appointed sphere has its limits, and he therefore, after a seven weeks' absence, returned to an impatient flock at Trinity, never to r('\ isit the settlers about Ureen Bay.
At the close of the district meeting of 1812, William Marshall and his young wife sailed from St. John's for Creen Day. Some generous promises had been made towards the erection of a church at Twillingate, and a frame had been secured for a second at Exploits, but rumors which had reached St. Johns caused the young missionary to approach his destination with some mi.sgivings. Earlier weeks at Twillingate were certaiidy depressing, but at
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* Siumu'l Wlu'llcr's I'cliginii was sikhi suhjcctfd tuasurc test. On the tirst fvcninij' of tlif tk'W Vfiir. lie and a yniin^- Cliristiaii associate lainlfd on an uninlial)itc(l island from an ui)turnc(l tisliinj,' l)oat, and son^lit in vain a slu'ltcr fr'oni rlic fniy of the stonn. 'I'he yonn^er man, after thirteen hours of exposure, died adeath of triumpli ; hut W'hi'ller several liours later was diseovered alive and taken home, where the frozen parts of his feet were removed l>y tiie i'ud<' sur^'ical aid of a hatehet. Some months after this lie became the tirst class leader at T\\ illiiif^'ate.
•24
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370
HISTORY OF MI'JTIlOniSM
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ChaiiLfe Tslaiuls wore a few foi'iiici- iiuMiiltcrs, and at some other points th<* outlook was pleasing;, b^ai-ly in IS 4.") the joy of harvest bei,'aii to lie felt l)y the patient ('\ aiij^'elist ; but tlien, also, opposition it T\villin,i,'ate, previously contined to unfriendly reniai-ks from the pulpit and i-idicule by written posters, commenced to take the form of interrup- tion in worship, the instii,Mtoi' of tlu? (lisi,'raceful conduct being a leading merchant of the place. An app(\al l)y the young minister to the local magistrate oidy elicited tlie taunting reply that the appli(;ant had no authority to preach, and must, therefore, take care; of himself. The work, however, went on; the ten or tv/ehe families Avho formed the original congregation at Twillingatt^ had by May been joined by twtMity others, and at that time more than thirty persons had been gath(M'(Hl into mend»ership nearly all of whom were l)elieved by their spii'itual guide to liave experienced forgiveness of sin.
An interesting incident has l»een told al)out the beginning of the church opened at Twillingate in May, ISjIi. On a certain Lord's-day the lucii l)elonging to the congregation were recpiested by the pr(>acher to meet on the next after- noon to set u]) the franie on a vacant lot on which he had received permission to build. In tlie coui'se of the Monday morning, the ho.stile merchant with several others entered the house of tiie collector of customs, a bigoted "Church- man," to announce a new scheme for the annoyance of the Methodist preacher. '' You know," said the merchant,
" that Marshall's going to put up a building on 's lot.
I find we've a claim on it. We'll let them go on, and then we'll take it." It had so happencMl that the current of air caused by the opening door at the moment of entrance by the party had nearly closed the door of a closet in which the mistress of the house, utdvuown to her husband, was busy at the moment, and the good woman, unprepared to
IX NEWFOUXDLAXI).
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S 13. On a
seo visitois, liiul (|ui('tly rcnuiiiiecl iu her place of (.'onct'iil- iiient. As the plotteis chuck led over their unri;;hteoiis scheme, the wife, whose Methodist antecedents luid ])ie- possessions were well known, trembled lest a call for the usual moi'iiin*,' glass should I'eveai her presence. At that moment, fortunately, one of the group, ha\ing glanced at the window, announced the ariival of an expected vessel, and the whole party suddenly withdrew. On gathering at the pi'oposed spot, in the afternoon, the men were told, to their great surprise, as well as to the chagrin of their opponents, that the frame was to he })ut uj» on another spot. A (isherman upon couNcrsion ccjiifessed that he and others had j)laced a keg of powder under the little church, and that only fear of personal injury had picNcnted its destruc- tion. Opposition, however, became by degrees less keen; and Methodism, when the merchant first l(>arned with cer- tainty how his purpos(; had l)een revealed, had ceased to be the "very unfashionable'" form of i-eligious belief which ]\Iarshall in iS-tl declared it to b(>. It is said that, a year or two after his mischievous call at the collectors house, the merchant was driven by a heavy hcad-wintl into the harbor of Carbonear, and was then taken by a friend to the JVfetlio- dist church, and that after listening to Marshall, to ids surprise the pi-eacher on the occasion, he exclaimed : "Is it possible that this is the man that 1 have so opposed I " ft at least is certain that he gave to Mai'shall's successor per- mission to build a pai'sonagc on land <tf which his firm had control. His neighbor, the bigoted " Churchman, ' died a Methodist, as did m.uiy of the gainsayei's of thos(! days, and found his tinal earthly i'esting-plac(! near the grave of Marshall, in. the Methodist cemetery at Twilliugate.
Tlu! reports from tin; several sections of the circuit in 1845 fundshed a partial fuliilment of Marshall's pi-ediction of the importance of the Ureen Bay mission. One hundred
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372
HISTORY OF METHODISM
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and four persons wore Www in nienibiM'ship with tho Metho- dist Church ; tlu! estiiii.'ited iuinil)er of attendants u[)()n her sei'vices iu the mission was eii^ht hundred. For the further tillage of this fruitful Hekl Marshall was in lc'^45 sent hack, but the added months for reapin<j; or sowinf^ by him proved to be few. On one of the earli«;st days of 184(5 lie was attacked by severe illn- ss which \ery soon (>nded his earthly work. " In the judgment of his brethi-en,"" it is said in tho Minuses, his excessive labors and privations injured his con- stitution and hastened his end. His earlier successors in the mission wei'e John S. Peach, John Bn^wster, Thomas Fox and Paul Prestwood. ]n no section of the colony has the denominational <j;i'()wth been so wonderfully ra})id. In the District of i^'oi^'o and Twillingate in IS.'U) there were forty-li\e Methodists ; at the census-taking in 1S")(S there wer(! two thousand adherents of Methodism ; and according to the otHcial leturns of iSSt more than ten thousand were enrolled under the same denominational standaicl. In other words, the gcmeral population during seven and twenty yeai's had grown to rather more than twice its [)revious tiffures ; in the same ])eriod the adlierents of Methodism liad become live times as numerous as they previously had been.
Towards the close of ISTjO a useful lay agent was sent to Sound Island, in Placentia Pay, about thirty leagues distant from JJurin. It had been beyond the power of tlie minister stationed at the latter place to make more than one annual visit to Sound and Woody Islands, where were small churches, and to other and smaller islands where their visits had been asked ; and even these rare visits were attended by sei'ious danger. In 1841 James England, con- trary to his usual custom, left his boat at S])encer's Cove, having arranged to meet the boatman on the followinsf day at a certain point, where at the hour named he found the
JX KKWFOUXDLAXI).
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Unfortunat(Mniin (lead in the w reck ot' the bo.it. When a year oi- two liad seen no succps.sor at Sound island to .John llalii'tt, .John lirewstcr heard tlic voice of a stianj^'ei in a prayer-ineetini,' at St. Johns. On in(|uii'y lie found hiiu to h(^ CharU^s Downes, who liad eoine out to take a .situation in an establishment in w hich he liad found with reifn^t that a Christian character was not rei'arded as an advaiitajje.
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abandoned his intention of returninu^ to i'lngland, and went instead to Sound Island as a Methodist lay agent and teachei-. From Sound Island he visited the numerous islands and co\'es in that part of the bay, and many of the inhabitants derived j^reat profit from his teachings. Ilis usefulness was increased by tlu^ authorization to perform the rite of baptism given him by the chairman, and by the license to celebrate marriage granted him l)y (iovei-nor Bannerman, at the in.stance of Lady I'annerman, who had talked with him at lengtli about his isolated work. Tlu; people became strongly attaclied to him and to liis eijually zealous wife. Tn 1874 a young preacher ai-rived at Sound I.sland and the venerable lay agent, after a twenty-five years' service there, removed to St. .John's, to sj)end in that town the quiet evening of life.
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CHAPTER XV.
MKTIIODISM IN P,i:i{.Ml DA, KI{()M TIIK CKNTKNAHY
CKLKIiKATION OK is;?'.) 'lO KOIJMATION OF KASTKHN
J5KITISU AMKHK'AX ( 'ONKKIiKNCK IN IS.V).
Nfw Clnifcli iit St. ( if(irp''s. r'aiiscs of (lc|irfssiuii. .\rtlnii' 11. Stfcle. W. \']. Slifiistdiif. V'isitiii),^ pnaclins. \'cl!<iu- fcvrr. .Inliii l>. I>n)\viifll. 'I'lu' *' lUiick W'alcir' i('t,'-iiiifiit. (icdiy^c I )i)ii^,'las. 'riidiiias M. Allirii^'litdii. I'x'niiuda in.-ulf a part of N(>\a Si'otia District. Isaac Wliitcliousf. l''t\('i- cpidfiiiic. hccrcase in iiiciiilicrsliip.
Throui^li tlie ti-enuMidous liunicano of 183D, which covered the IJei'inudas with wreckiige, the worshippers in the dihipi- dated Methodist churcli in St. (leorge's were at length left without any *.A)ernacle. Tims forced to seek shelter for the congregation elsewhere, the trustees fitted up a huilding at the head of one of the wharves for teniporai-y use, and a few months later purchased one of the largest and best lots in the centre of the town, once used as a rose-garden, as a site for a new place of worship. Plans were pre})ai'ed by a gentleman connected with the military establishment in the island for a church, to be built of the soft white sandstone found in larg«» (juantities ui^on the strata of the coralline mass which forms the base of the islands ; in June, 1840, upon basement walls of suthcient thickness for the sides of a fort, the corjier-stone was laitl l)y the two missionaries, assisted by the architect ; and on Januaiy 1st, 184"J, the church, still one of the linest buildings of the town, was opened for pul)lic worshij) by a sermon by the Presbyterian minister — Moriison, and another l)y Theophilus Pugli.
The outlook of the Jiermuda mission, at the time, .showed
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serious cause foi' anxiety. At Somerset, a room rented for years was taken from the congre<j'ation and a ^ood Sunday- school \v;is scattered ; and services at one or- two points were discontinued because' of the superintendent's inability to maintain them. At St. (leorge's, tlie increased accommoda- tion alloi'dcd l»y tlie new church jtroved for some time of little service. While the liuildinif was in coui'.se of erection, Thomas .letlVey, wiiose health had been seriously impaii-ed by residence in the West Indies, was ol)liLred to retui-n to Knifland, and for four years no successor was named. The absence; of a second preacher was the more deeply felt at St. George's because of the secession, during the progress of the new sanctuary, of a leading layman, who withdrew from the chun.'h of his adoption in conseepierice of discij)linary action, taking with Jiim his family and a few personal friends. This loss of an inHuential leadei-, al^l the irregularity ©f religious sei\ ices, proved a severe trial to a small society upon whom the (lel)t of their partially used church was beginning to press as a heavy bui'den. .lust then, sever-.al of the colored n)embers of the society, dissatistied with the allotment of pews in the lu^w church, put into circulation a printetl appeal for aid in securing a " meeting-house" for a .se[)arate Methodist cong'regation. No consultation having been held with the circuit authorities, those ollicials reepiested the superintendent to give notice through the public journals of the islands, of their repudiation of "any such proceeding," and under this pressure a colored leader, kiu)wn to be the principal al)cttoi' of the scheme, pi'omised liis influence against any further divisive ell'ort.'
For a short time Tlu'ophilus I'ugh received much-pri/ed assistance fi'om Ai'thur H. Steele, a popular and proiuising
' 'Iwciity-scvfii years Inter tliis |km'«^iiii licc;uiic tlic iiriiiiipiil lay-lcadcr of tliiisr ( 'oldicd Mctliipdistsu ho, w itii ;i iiimilxi'df ( 'oldrcd Miiix'uiPiiliiiiis, fdriiicd ill licniiuda a liiiuiclinf till' IJritisli Ab'tlindist, Kiiiscupal ( 'liiircli, a ( 'aiiaiiiaii ( "iildicd ui'^'iiuixatinii.
37G
II I STORY OF METHODISM
young man of niin'tccn ycai-s, (;f)n verted uiHlcr liis ministry. His seniors, awarf! of his natural <,nfts and of their improve- ment l»y cultivation, soon felt that special woi'k lay heforc him; and his father in the (los)»el, unassisted hy any col- league, calUnI him at once into harness, and during a few weeks' absence left to liim tin; whole pulpit and pastoral chargf! of the mission. In Januai-y, 184.'», young Steele, under instructions fi-om the English Missionai'V Committee, sailetl for Nevis. The (\'irly months of his residence there awakened on the p;irt of his brethren bright anticipations of a useful cai"eer, but these wei'c suddenly st't aside l)y his death, from malignant fe\'ei", in less than a year after his removal fi'om jiermuda.
During the summei' of |S):5 Tlieophiius I^iigh was suc- ceeded by William Iv Shenstone, from No\a Scotia. 'J'he departing miin'ster, an earnest preachei-, a faithful, warm- hearted pastor, cai'eful disciplinarian, and ac-tive temperance worker, left behind him numy proofs of his ajiostlesliip, a few of wlK)m lived to listen with emotion to the announce- ment of his death, neaj-ly thirty years later. As a "happy old man "' he wrote in 1800 to a fi'iend in Jiermuda : " Here I am, waiting,, as I sometimes did for the boat at St. David s, for the Master's call." Th(! three years in Bermuda of his successor were years of severe toil. On reaching his station he found himself without any helper in j)ulpit voik. A few weeks after his ai-rival yellow fever broke out, and soon made lierce havoc amoiig Europeans. Though most fatal to tlie troojts and to the convicts, many others fell victims to it. 'J'lie Methodist pastor was seiz'd by it at St. (ieorges,. and obliged to remain thei-e until I'ecovery, when, as one of his earliest duties at Hamilton, he united with official mem- bers of the circuit in an address congratulating tiie gover- nor— Kead, on liis survival of a similar attack. On resum- ing circuit work, he marked the absence, in home and
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.)/ <
cliureli, of sonic cstciMiicd friciKls, Imt a circuit plan dc- niandiiig sc\(mi sermons in cacli week, and a, vast amount of pastoral duty, left l)ut little time t'oi- thoughts of the de- pirted. ( )ccHsionally, lio\ve\ei-. the monotony of wotk was varied l)y the arri\al of a nnnister on a West India mail steamei", and aft«M" a time its st'vei'e sti'ain was less(Mied l>y the arrival, from London and l*'diid)uri,di. of two excellent local ))rea''hers.
Two of these occasion;il \ isits wer(» wortliy of remark. William Moister, for many years a missionary in Western Africa and the West Fndies, spent some days on the islatids in April, 1844, when on his way from St. Vincent to tiic ITnited States. i)urinif the time lie accomjtained the pastor on lioard the tiaii; ship III nst rinHs^ in cnmpliance with a refjuest of the leader of the .Methodist class on that vessel. With eii,dite(Mi hardy sailors, gathered in their usual place of meeting, the l)oatswain's store foom, Kelow tlic^ fourth deck, into which tiie light of day ne\er ^'eiu-tratcd, the minister had a most interesting conversation. l>y tiic light of a lantern suspended from a heam, lie read the hymns, wrote the names on the tickets, and mark<'d the attendance on the class book, as a minister in Jamaica liad previously done. The religious exj)erience of the men was clear and definite, and was stated in the earnest and ingenuous man- ner characteristic of their class. With sailor like generosity they also {)laced in the minister's hands a small hag of money collected during tlu; (piarter foi' the spread of the (iospel, and also a copy of the rules and regulations of the ship's total a])stim'in"e society, of which they all wtM'c mem- bers. A lieutenant, who politely otl'ered to })Ut the nuji- isters on shore, reniarked in the boat that the ''sobriety, industry aitd steady conduct "' of the sailors visited maile them men in whom the utmost confidence could be jilaced in any time of emergency, aiul addtul that he had often
."578
niSTOnV OF METHODISM
'
II jl
ii
" stf>l«Mi down " to tlicir little meetings, led l>y the hojit- swiiin's mate, uiid li.id much enjoyed tlieiii.- 'J'hi'ee or four niontiis were about the sMine time spent in tlie islands liy the somewiiat hi'illiant l)Ut erratic William lJe,l;^'ctt, on liis way from a West Indian circuit to New llrunswick. 'I'he attrfictiveness of his sermon'; and the j)ul)lication of sevtMal letters asci'ihed to his i>on, ant! al)oundin;j; with sarcastic criticism upon the authorities of a mudi-j^'overned colony, caused his name to l)e mentioned with interest by senior Wesley;ins in subse(juent years.
In 1817 two ministei-s were once more stationed at the same time; in the islands. Thomas Smith reached Hamilton early in the yeai-, but through failure of health remained there for three subsecjuent yeai's as a supernumerary. J lis place, on retirement, was tilled by William Ritchie, then from the West Indies, but previously a missionai-y at Sierra Leone. Two cpiiet years were spent by him at Hamilton as a diligent and useful preacher and pastor. .John B. lirow- nell, who at the same period was stationed at St. Georgt^'s,
- Tlu'si' Mctlmdist clnirc'lit's at'nuit \\\\\\' l)ccii Irss nirc tliaii sonic liavc siipposi'd. Tilt' EviiiKjdIriil Miii/(i:iiii for 1S(»7 j,''i\fs tin- tfstiiiioiiy of a profaiu' otfictT who was plcadiiii,' that no otticer could live at sea without BWcai'ing. as notont' of liis nif'U would oltt-y in the aWscncf of an oath. "F ncvfi' knew l>ut one cxct'ption," said tlu- otHcir, "and that was rx- traordinary. I dt'i-iarf, iM'licvc nic, it's tnu'. Thfre was a set of fellows called Metiiodists, on lioard the Virturii, Jiord Nelson's siiip (to l)e sui'e in; was a ratlier re]lj,'ious man himself), and those men never wanted HWi'arin^ at. Tlie dogs were tiie best seamen on lioard. J'iVt'ry man knew his fluty, and esei'v man did his duty. They used to meet toKetiier and sing h\inns, and nohoily dared to molest them. The conunander would not have suffered it had they attempteil it. Tliey were allowed a mess to themselves, and ne\ei' mixed witli tlie other men. I have often lieard them singing away mys< If ; and 'tis true, I assure you, hut not one of them was either killed or wounded at the battle of Trafalgar, though they.did their duty as well as any men." In a letter pulilished in tho A nniiiiiiii Maii(i:iiii of the same year, tlii' leader of tlie Methodist c^las.s on II. M.S. L( 7n/M//(/ wrote : " We iiad on<' of our people killed at 'I'ra- falgar. . . . Another iia^ died hapjiy since then in IMymouth hos- jiital. Some are gone into otiier siiips, so that you see the little lea\cn still spreads. ( )ur numlier is now ahout twenty-four. . . . Men of foreign nations have here found redemption through tiie hlood of ('iirist
a Portuguese, a Swede, a I )ane. and a Dutcliinan, who, 1 lieliese, will bU':!s the liord forever for coming into an Knglish sliii)."
I
IX l\ Ell Mr DA.
:57i>
Hi
l)y the hoat- riiivc or four It' islands l)y ',:.',i;<'tt, on his iswick. 'J'he on of st'scral ith sarcastic rned colony, 'st by senior
:ione(l at the ed Hamilton 1th remained neraiy. J I is liitchie, then lai'V at Sierra Hamilton as )hn I), lirow- St. Ueoi-ge's,
liui sdiuf liiivc
tfstiiiioiiy uf a
at sea without
iicf of an oath.
il that was t-x-
a set of fellows
iii|i (to Ix' siirc
TK'Vcr wanted
]"]vtiv man
( nii'ct tof^'ft her
ic connuandfi'
Ufi'f allowfii a
I have often
lU. lint not one
fal^ar, thouj,']!
lilished in th(^
lethodist class
• killed at 'I'la-
'lynioutii hos-
■ little leaven
. . M»'n of
lood of ( Mil'ist
I Itelieve, will
had had a moic varied experience. I'.y hirth, nam(». and service Ix; was a missionary. 'I'lie son of a WCsjevan missioiiai'y whose siiMei'inns in lielialf of West Indian slaves had helped him into a jirem.iture i,M;i\e, he was horn at St. Kitt's. At liitj)tisni his parents had i,d\en him the n.ime of .lolm Baxtei'. the pious lay pastor who h.id welcome)! I )r. (yoke to Antitfua, when winds and w;i\es jiud driven him thither ai^ainst ins will. Havini,'. after i-onversion in lOnic laiul, ofl'ered his s<'r\ii'es to the Missionary Society, he had heen .sent out in l.^L'lJto the West Indies. I )r'iven thence hy ill-health, he had soon after- heen appointed to Malta, but, hampei'cd by I'estiictions put upon the cbculat ion of the Scriptures by the liritish i;overnment in accordance with certain tr-eaty reijidations. he could accomplish little in be half of a })riest-ridden p<'ojile. AmoriLj the ollieers of tjie army and navy. howe\t'r', his work proved both pleasant and profitable. Evenings were spent in l>ible study and pr-ayer* in iiis home by ;i number of them, and f!'e(|uently sixty or more men of both bi'anche.s of the ser'\ ice wer-e present at communion seasons. Not less pleasant was his inter- coui'.se with missionaries of \arious churches ami other* visitors calling at Malta on their- way to mission stations beyond. George 0. Hur-tei*, wiio as a missionary at l>eirait managed for many years the pi-ess of the Amei-ican l>oai'd of For"eign ^Missions, was converted under his ministry, and was for a time a mend)er' of his class at N'aletta; and Joseph Woltf, the eelebr-ated Or-iental traxcller' and missionary t<i his .Jewish bri^thren in Asia, wat<;hed by his lied dur'ing a nightofjdanger'ous illness. Kr-om su(;lr service at Malta, of whielihonoi-ablemention is made in "The (Miurchin tiie Aruiy and Navy," an interesting little volurru" published by the London IJeligious Tract Society, he returru-d in IS.'57 to England, and in the following year- went out to Canada. Thence, after he had occupied several of the principal cir- cuits, the ill-health of a son led him to a milder climate.
380
iffsro/iv or metiiodis.u
Soon aftei- this minister's arrival at St. (loor,t,'o's, his duties were iiici'eascd hy a reijuest fi-oin an uiK'xpected (|uarter. On the disembarkation of the t'Jnd Ili;,'hhind re<^iment the sf^cond battalion went into garrison at St. George's, With the exception of forty only, tlie live hun- dred otKeers and men of tiie battalion were Presbyterians. On the Sunday niorninii; afte'' their arrival they were marched to the Episcopal ciiurch, where an Episcopal chfip- lain awaited their appearance, but on theii* declining to enter that chui'ch they were ordercnl back from its dooi- to their bairacks. They then, in the absence of a Presl)yterian minister from that pai-t of the colony, askeil the Methodist minister to undertakt; the duties of chaplain to the battalion. Witli this i-eijuest h(; thought it his duty to comply, though the extra labor of a special Sunday service, of hospital and school visitation and visitation of families and an occasional funei'al address, during a period of eighteen months, for all of which the War-otHce subsequently refused any remunei-a- tion when asked by the circuit olHcials, severely overtaxed his strength, and, with serious domestic atiliction, laid the foundation of disease which undoubtedly weakened his strength and shortened his days. A few of the men placed themselves temporarily under his special direction, a good number of them attended the voluntary services of the Sabbath evening, and on the death of several of them their comrades received permission to inter their bodies in a corner of the mission property, where their dust yet reposes.'"
Towards tlie close of 1849 the Committee again decided upon a reduction of expcuiditure in liermuda ; they there- foj-e sent William Ritchie back to the West Indies, removed John B. Brownell to Hamilton, and in the place of the
■' 80 exemplary was tlie conduct of the men of this famous regiment during their four years" stay in the island, that not a man was ever cun- victed before the civil authorities of a brtacli of law.
•SfSmSSSBi
iiBaiaaii
'^,— -'r-r^---,raftae
(J('ort,'o's, his ri uiu'X|)ect«>(l liul lli^'hland rrison .at St.
the five hun- ^resbyterians. il thoy were pi.seoj)al t'hap- • (U'cliniii<^ to •Ml its dooi" to
PrfsV)yterian lie .M(!thoclist the battalion, iiiply, though
hospital and an occasional onths, for all ly remunei'a- ly overtaxed :ion, laid the eakened his ! men placed •tion, a good 'ices of the them their
jodies in a yet reposes. "■ ,Min decided
they there-.
es, removed
lace of the
umn ri'{,'iinent was f\ t'l" cull-
/.V HER Ml' DA.
;{s I
lattei', at St. (»eors;(?'s. appf)int('d (Jrorije I^ouL,'las, a junior preacher, from the Wesh-yaii Theoloi^'ical Institution at llichmond. This youim prcaeluM', to wliom thousands have since listened with thrilled spirit, and to whom ids (.'anadian bretlwen have evei- deliyhted to <,mv(! h(»nor, had been care, fully trained in his Scotch home, but in Montreal, in his eighteenth year, under the ndnistiy of William Scjuire, he had Itecome a l)eliever in .Jesus as a persorial Saviour, and a member of a class of which the excellent John .Mathewson was leadei". Aft<'i' having j»re;iched as a local preacher to the profit of congregations accustomed to the nunistry of men of distinguished ability, he had, in his twenty-thii'd year, been n^ceived on trial foi' the itinerancy, and a year later, on the recouunendation of his bi'cthren, had been accepted as a student at the I'iiiglish theologii-al institution. l[ar<lly, however, had he conimenced study at that "school of the prophets, ' wh(;n the missionai'v authorities sehuited him and specially ord.iined him for the vacant post in Hermuda. Much to the regret of IJeruHidian Methodists, and of members of other congregations in the colony who ('([ually })rized his ministi-y, his residence among them proved brief. About eighteen months after his arrival his health gave way, and in the earlier part of 1852 he found it necessary to leave a [X'oph^ who long treasured pleasant memories of his j)i'esenee among them, and to make his way to the cooler climate of Canada. After the lapse of several months his place at St. George's was taken by Thomas M. All)righton, a young and attractive Knglish pi'eacher, also from the theological institution at Kichmond. Assistanci; was at this jieriod also given by .lames lloi-ne and Thomas Smith, supernumeraries, and by John McKeen, a local })reacher, connected with the military establishment.
In 18.^)1 the Bermudian mission became a part of the Nova Scotia District. For several years it had been in-
:\X2
uisroh'Y or ]ii:rii()i>isM
11 I*
I'ludcd ill Hie Antimia I )i.stiict, .iiid liud tlicii l»c«'ii ;iiiiic.\<'(| to tlic iiiissioiis ill tlif l)aliaiii!is ; the sulisctjiit'iit traiistVr to the Nova Scotia I)istiict Ity tlic ('oiniiiittt'C was prompted 1>V tln' ^icatt'r t'acilitics of foiiiimiiiifatioii l)»'twtM>ii the two places. To N(»\a Scotia, therefore, .loliii l». iJrowiiell found his way in IS')!, after sexeral months in l'jii,dand, his phico at Hamilton havin;,' Ix-en lilh>(l liy Isaac W'iiitehouse, a missionary of many vears' ser\ ice in the West Indies, and iit the time of his remo\al general superintendent of mis- sions in the llahamas.
Soon after the arrival at Hamilton of the new sujx'riii- tendent another visitation of yellow fe\ei-, introduced, it is believed, l>y the washiiiL; ashore of a j)ackaye of infected clotiiiiii,' thrown from the deck of a West, Indian mail steamer-, spread consternation throuiih the islands. Fearful havoc was made amoiii; the troops and the convicts, under whose physicians, ii,fiiorant of the disease and unwillini,' to accept local advice, hospital losses speedily proxed moi'e severe than the ordinary slaui^diter of the liattlelield. ( )f one company of Koyal iMii^ineers, sixty in nuniher, fifty tiv«! died within one month ; several othcers also fell \ictims to uhe [)lamie. Amon<^ the lattf:r was the actiiii; tjoNcrnoi', Colonel IMiilpotts, a lirotherof the well-known "Tractai'ian" bishop of Ivxeter, hut a man of much hroader Christian synipathii'S. One day in Septendier, before I'eturiiinii; to St. (Jeor^e's from a nieetin:.? of the council, he called at the Methodist parsonaye to impiire after the health of Mr. Whitehouso, and exiu'cssed his pleasure at learninii; tiiat that niinistei's temporary indisjiosition was not indicative of fever. On the following; day ('olonel Philpotts was attacked by tiie disease, throuiih which, li\e days later, he died ; his latest othcial act havinj,' been his sanction of a proclanuition foi- the observance of a day of humiliation and prayer. The next otiicer in coniuiand died before he could
!li!l..-lll-.tl.l—^.>
/.V llEUMlhA.
.•583
l)e sworn into oilier, and a tliiid, who nndi-ftook to ad iniiiistrr tlir i,'o\i'iiiint'iit, nai low Iv «">caj)iil tlic tut*' ot" his j)r('(h'L'('ss()is.
No Wcslryau iiiissionai it's in llciinuda ha\<'r\cr taUcn victims to yrUow trvft. thoii^li sc\cial ha\<' lice:' attacked l>y it. The scidor ministers therein Is")."?, Isaac \Vhit(>hoiise and .lames lloi-ne, had Itecn thoron^hly "seasoned' dnr'ini^ a lontf \N est Indian ser\iec,' I'lcvious to the out lireak of the pestih'iice, Tliomas M. A ilti'ii^diton had sailed t'of New York to recruit weakened enei'i,des, and his letur'n into the jaws of (h'ath had liccri |ire\cnte(l hy e.\|iosMi'c to daiii,'er' apparently <niite as j)erilous. On the mornirii; aft«'r' a fur'ioiis hurricane not a mast was h'ft in the catth'huh'n vessel in which he had sailed from New "N'ork, and thtee- foiu'tlis of the cattle placed Leneath the iipjier deck had l)eerr destr'oyed liv its wreck. When foiirteerr da\s had been spent on the disahled vessel, she was disco\cr'e(l hy a stearrrer' and carrit-d liack to New ^'or•k, where, hy th«^ counsel of his friends at St . ( ieor^tes, the youni;- mirnster remained f(»r' a time.
The outlook in IS,"),') for- iJerriiudian .Methodisrrr was not (|uite satisfactor-y to its friends. I )ur'irii^ the second year- under- r'eview a very slii,dit incr'ease had taken place in the po[)ulation, while th(; earlier' ruimhers in the Methodist societies Irad not heerr maintained. Two sever'(i epidenrics h.'id render'cd removals and deaths unusually numer'ous, and the fr'ecjuent rrrovements of the tr-oops, anionic whom mem hers of tlio Methotlist C'hureh wer-t^ sometimes nutrrerous,
'if
. I
'! I,
'■I
' Diiriiif,' ii similai' scasdii in tlic N\'t-;t Iiiilics, .Mi-. \\'liit(ln(ii>" \\m\ i)\\»(l liis life t(i tlif pcfsistfiK'f of Mrs. W'liitcliousf, uIki IkkI Im ;,';,'! ■(! till' luitluii'ilirs to (iiliiy till' iiitfniiciit of the si pposcd dcjul liody of licr liusli;in(!, and had liarrrd tlir door a'^.iinst tln-ir a^^nts at tiif dffii'i'cd I lour, w hi if she. w itii the lie! p of native nurses, was usiii^' every effoi't to I'e.store sus[)eiided animation. Tliouf,di at vai'ions I'eceiit pei-inds yellow fever has ra^'ed in fh<' West Indies, no epidemic hus liroken out in liermiula within the hist tweuty-si.\ years.
n
I
m
1
i
;{s \
iiisTiun' or MK'nioinsM
jiiid sMiiictiiiics fart', liad catiscd some tliictuatinii in iiuiiiIhts, luit tln' most |i(itcnt dt' all causes t'oi' drcliui* had been tlui iir'«'i,'idafity in iiiiin>.tt'iial sii|>j)ly. TIm' I'cpciitfd alisciicc of !i second pi'caclicr had left at tent ion tose\eial appointnuMits a (pu'stion of con\ cidenc*! on the part <»f a sini^de ovci"- woi'ked niinistef. and had served as a temptation to Trac- tat'iau rectors, wliose ranks were kejit up to thi; stanchird nund»er l»y u'rants from the colonial treasury. hut for the etlbrts of worthy lay helpers, and the intellii,'(>nt attachment of Bermudiau Methodists to the Church whose mossenijfers had lirouyht to theii- fatheis a ])urer ( Jospel teaching,' than they had before known, niore seii(»us numerical h)sses must liav(H)eeii suH'ercd. Happily a ciearor day was ahout to dawn.
"^1 mm
ss
ill iiMiiilifrs,
L(l llCCll iUv 1 ilhs(Ml(M' (if »|toilltlllt'Mts <iMi,'l»^ OVCf-
iii to Ti'.ic- lu! staiidiird I Jut foi- tlit^ attfichmciit
lll(fSS»'UJL,'(M'S
icliin^ til. in losses must i.s about to
CIIAITKH XVI. KDrC.VTiONAI, AM) MTKKAHV W()|{K <)F M KTIK )l )ISM
IN 'iiii; si;\ i:i{Ai. i'Kovincks i-kkvioi s to i iik
K()|{MA'n(>N OK 'I'lIK CONKKKKNCK IN IHiV..
'I'lif Mttliddist i;i\i\iil ami Kdiicatidii. I ►is(i(|viiiita^,'c (' I'mviiifi'l .Mttlnxlists. K(liic:.ti<>iiiil iiiiivi'iiM'iifs uf otlitT rhurclifs. Ciisuc. c'<'s.sf\i| Mt'"'i (st I't^'mts. Andrew llcndi'isnn's acadMny. Wes- l<\aii diiy-Hflnii>ls, ( 'liailfs V, Allismi's |ini|H)sal. I'!:i i'( mil iind (i|M":'M>,' of acadt'iiiy. .Appiiiiitiiii'iit uf jdiiiciiial. I'm ^ifss of schnol. Ladies" acadi my. Cliarlts K. Allison and lliii ; liicy I'icKaril. IJcsults of tlicir worU. Mctliodift ediiciition in NfN\- foundlaiid. New foundland Sdiool Sooifty. .Sunday- schools in the several |>rovinces. Walter Hroinlev. I'rosiiicial Metliodist litera- ture. I'lililications of ministers, hissemination of lifeiatiire. I)e- positories. l-aik of a Trovincial Metliodist i<inrn;il. l-'rieiidly editors. Ma<,'a/.iiii' of ISXl'. '• Weslevan "' of IS.'V.l. .MaKa/ine lif 1S4<». "Wesleyan " of ISI'.I.
ISIetliodisni .started out froiu tin; ^'ates of a leiiow iied I'^u'disli university on its work of savin;; !nen. Ihe Wcslevs were educators befoi-e tliev liecanie evan^'elists, and the (!arly Wesleyan itinerants, tliouji^h often lacking in a liheial education, wciv nevei- disjiosed to (juestion the wis- (hini of tlie nin.\iui of their h-acU'i's, tliat, wink? to l»e a Christian was a man's lirst need, to lie a " schohir ' was his consecjuent neces.«ity. On lioth sides (jf ihe ocean the Metliodist Churoli and Methodist schools were contempora- neous in origin. Tn IT.'V.), the hirth-year of Mt;thodism, .lohn Wesley laid the foundation of Kingswood school. Methodism in America took organized form at the Christmas Conference in 17i^-t ; and in the following year the corner- stone of Cokesbury college was laid by Thomas Coke at Al)ingdon, Virginia,
25
i
386
UlSiOUY OF METHODISM.
m
■^ I
\. ^
The educational aspirations of Wesley and Coke were much in advance of many of their contemporaries. At his first Conference in 1714, Wesley called attention to the need of a " seminary for laborers," but the exacting nature of the itinerants' work, and the extraordinary f:;rowth in number of the societies formed by them, rendei-ed the foundinf( of such an institution at the time impracticable. Further evidenc*- of Wesley's educational zeal was given by his introduction in 1774 of a measure for the training of the daughters of his preacheis at some boarding-school of high literary cliaracter, but in this attempt he also found himself in advance of his age. Tlie founders of Cokesbury College — called thus in lionor of Coke ;uid Asbury, Wesley's first superintendents in America -aimed at a high grade in study, and endeavored to combine with it, in the way of recreation, some features of the " technical " education so much desired in the picsent 'day, but the destruction of the building by fire a second tiim; in a ten yeai's' history, ended a bold venture, worthy to be classed with the much- lauded founding of Haivari College by the Massachusetts Pilgrims in the wihh-rnes,, of Uoston.
The Methodists of 'the Maritime Provinces were later in their entrance upon educational wor-k than were the adhe- rents of some other sections of the Chuich. " A brief human life," it has been saifl, '• counts its epochs by years ; institu- tions and nations bv c«'nniries.'" Our educational institutions, judged by this standard, have not neai'ly completed a fii'st sta"e in their historv. In the altsence (f such institutions an earlier generation of Mt'thodists was placed at a serious disadvantage. From King's College, Windsor, aided by large Imperial and Pnjvincial grants. Nonconformists were for many years excluded by its condition, adoi)ted against the wish of Bishop Inglis, that all candidates for matricur
itlHTlli'lrrni'aiiriiiri ■ iiinliin
ED J 'CA TIOXA L WORK
387
Coke were ies. At his ition to the jting nature f grow til in ■endr'red the II practicable. Aits given by aining of the hool of high ound himself iry College — Vesley's tirst ijih <'rade in I the way of education so destruction 'eai's' history, th the niuch-
assachusetts
were later in ■0 the adhe- bvief human ars ; institu- iiistitutions, lU'ted a tirst institutions at a serious )r, aided by ormists were )pted against for matricur
lation sliould si^n the Thii'tv-nine Articles, as well as bvtlie rf-f'ulation that "no nuMuber of the university should fre- quent Romish mass, or the meeting-houses of Presbyterians, }'a[>tists or Metliodists, or the conxonticles or places of worship of any other dissentei'S from the Cluncli of I']ngland, or when; divine service shall not be performed according to the liturgy of the Ciuirch of Kngland." No religious tests were imposed upon young men entering King's (.'ollegc) Fredericton, under which title the collegiate school of 180;") was re-opened in 1821), in ac(.'ordance with the provisions of i\ royal chartei-, but the college was by its constitution Kpi.scopalian. With th(^ bishoj) of the diocese as "visitor,' ex officio, the president necessai'ily a clergyman of the National Church, and idl the members of the governing board subscribers to theThirty-nine Articles, its pr'onounced denomi- national charactei- was beyond ((uestion. This character-, in »|>!te <jf the constant public irritation caused by its liber-al *rr»dowment and fi'eciuent grants fr"om Provincial funds, and the despatch by the legislature in 1833 of two delegates to Kngland to obtain a modiiication of its i-har'tei', it r-etained until shorn of it by a l)iil intr-oduced into the legislatui'e in \f^^T} by the Hon. L. A. W'ilmot, and cai'ried after a long and stormy debate. Kven then, for several years, it remained practically an E))is(.'opalian institution.
Such restrictions, in favor- of a section of th<! (.'iiur'ch whose adher-ents in Nova Scotia at least in 181';") did not iiuinl>er orre-fourth of the whole population, natur'ally led to th#r establishment of other- educati(jn;d institutions. Pictou a^-ademy, fouruhd by Dr-. McCuUoch in 1817, was modelled n\Kixi the Scotch colleges, but without tests or- degr-(;e-con- f'-rring powers. Three yeiu's later haihousie College was 'rfttablished at Halifax by the Ivirl of Dalhousie, who, with the sanction of the Bi-itish government, appro) >i*iate(l to that
[•:»■
\
\i'
vlj
i
ir
li
388
II r STORY OF METHODISM
purpose the sum of £9,7r)0, a part of the funds collected at the port of Castine, Me., durinj^ its occupation in 1814 by Sir John Cope Sherbrooke, but no educational work was done within its walls until 1838, when important grants from the Provincial chest had been bestowed upon it. The further recognition of the denominational principle, given in 1838 by the rejection of the application of Edmund A. Crawley for tiie chaii- of classics at Dalhousie, gave serious umbrage to the iJaptists, who for several years had been cari-ying on an academy at Wolfville. So vigorous was the action of the Baptist Education Society that in January, 1839, college classes were commenced at Wolfville with twenty matriculated students — a larger number than any college in Nova Scotia could then claim. Three years later, after much opj)osition in the legislature, and an unsuccessful effort to secure for the institution the name of Queen's, the royal assent to an act of incorporation was secured and Acadia College was successfully launched upon an honorable career. In New J>i-unswick, the JJaptists in 1835 erected a building for a seininary which had been established a year or two earlier. For five successive years the House of Assend)ly voted a grant of four or five hundred pounds in aid of the seminary, but their purpose was as often defeated by the Legislative Council on the ground that it was a recognized principle that })ublic money should not be " given in aid of religious or literary institutions for the dissemina- tion of the peculiar tenets of the denomination by which they are established." This pretext must have been deemed most flimsy by men who were aware that the sum of £2,200 was being annually bestowed upon King's College, where the theological chair and all religious teachings were Episcopalian in character, and that a further sum of four hundred pounds per year was being granted to the Madras school, of the regular teaching in which the '' Church" catechism formed an
■i'.
"■"^W'^mi «■■»■«'«
EDUCATIONAL WORK
380
ol Ice ted at 1 1814 by
work was mt grants n it. The iple, j^iven (huuud A. ive serious 3 had been us was the n January, fville with [• than any )^ears later, iisuccessful (ueen's, the ^cured and 1 honorable
5 erected a
^hed a year
House of
pounds in ^n defeated : it was a
be " given
disseniina- n by which
len deemed
X of ,£2,200 where the
piscopalian ed pounds
lool, of the formed an
important branch. Tn Nova Scotia still more determined opposition had been shown to Pictou academy, for in that province the l^^^xecutive Council for eight successive years had refused to that most etUcient institution the grant annually recommended by the popular branch of the legislature.
Nothing in the meantime had been accomplished in the way of direct educational work by the Methodists of the Maritime Provinces. To any combined and persistent work, the restrictions of trans-atlantic management, and the frequent removals from the country of leading men, were unfavorable. A subject so important had not, how- ever, been wholly overlooked. In ISl'8 the ministers of the Nova Scotia District resolved to estal>lish a seminary competent to atlbrd a thorough classical education, and in the following year forwarded circulars on the subject to all parts of the country, but the popularity of the scheme proved the cause of its failure. Clentlemen from Halifax, Horton, Bridgetown and Amherst claimed for the proposed school, a location in each place, and by the urgency of their claims perplexed the Committee, who sought refuge in delay. In 18."5.') a proposal foi the establishment of an academy for each of the two districts received tlie sanction of the Missionary Committee, who at the same time stated their inability to furnish any pecuniary assistance, or to allow any of their missionaries to become tinancially respon- sible for its success. Special eltbrts to carry out this plan were put forth in the New Ib-unswick Distiict, by Enoch Wood in particular. A site was selected at Fredericton, and arrangements to ])uild as sdon as one thousand pounds should be subscribed were reached, but when a part of the purchase-money of the site had been paid, and six hun- dred pounds had been subscribed, the project was post{)oned. This failure may have been a second result of divided aims, for a gift of the necessary land and a subscription of one
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390
HISTORY OF METHODISM
tliousand pounds were rece'ved from I'ridgetown, as v,fiiie similar offois from other places, but in some measui-e the apparent apathy in ellbi't on denominational lines may have been due to the existence at Annapolis of a widely-known and po})ular school under the charge of Andrew ]ienderson. That worthy teacher had removed from Bridgetown to Annapolis in 18;V2, taking with iiim several pupils. At Annai>olis his school grew rapidly, and young men met there from various parts of the two provinces. Opposition to him as a Methodist having driven liim from a county building, he accepted })r()(li'red assistance, and built ;in academy at " Albion Vale." \\\ this building he taught the " combined granunnr and connnon school," ;ind in it Methodist itinerants sometimes j>reached. Tn aid of its erection the Nova Scotia Assendjly voted one hundred pounds, with tifty pounds annually for some years in sup- port of the school. ])uring those years pupils were con- stantly going forth fron\ Albion V^ale, who in later davs in prosperous positions, and in distant as well as in colonial homes, were ready to acknowledge in most respectful terms their obligations to this ^lethodist teacher.
On the failure of the earliest scheme for a denominational academy, efforts were made in one or more (piarters to establish We.sleyiMi day-schools. An essay of this kind in Halifax in 182!) pi-oved unsuccessful : a second attempt, in 1839, gave some satisfaction for a time ; and a third effort, in 1849, led to the maintenance for three yeai's of a school by the late Alexander S. lleid. One or two eflbi-ts in other places were less satisfactory. The Varley Wesleyan day- school of St John, N. B., opened in 1854 in a large brick building designed for the purpose, had a more successful history ; funds for its establishment having been provided by a becjuest of Mark Varley, an Englishman resident for many years in St. John, to which a grant of one hundred
E DUCAT fox A J. WORK.
391
n, as wp.ui oasure tlie
may have e]y-known leiiflerson. f^etown to Lipils. At
luoii met )l)j)Ositioii
a covmty built an
lie taught and in it aid of its ! hundred irs in sup- were Con- or days in II colonial tful terms
ninational larters to s kind in btempt, in ird effort, school by s in other 7 an day- irge brick successful provided sident for ) hundred
pounds was added by the legislature of the province. \o successful attempt at the ('stal)lishment of a similar school was made in Prince Kdward Island pr-evious to 1871. Eai'ly in that year one was opened in a building erected for the purpose, and known is the Methodist Academy. After a shoi't history, the school was i'(H)ig;iiiized under the title of the "(Jeneral Protestant Acadc'iiiy." At present, the ])uil(ling, like the Varley school building in St. dohn, is in the ot-cupation of the city st-hool Ijoard. In Permuda pi'oprietary schools under Methodist auspices ha\e l)een maintained for a time at sin'cral pei'iods, with some mea- sure of satisfaction.
The epproach of the (Jeiitennial ycai- of Methodism .'-•een^s to ha /e suggested successful educational action. The benev- olence of Chai-les Frerlcrick Allison, a member of the Scotch-Irish family of that name first establisjied at (,\)rn- wallis, had assumerl an active form u[)on his union at Sack- vill(> with the Methodist ( 'hui'di, but upon hist'learei' realiza- tion of divine forgiveness, a disposition to do yet larger things liad been dexeloped. In. January, IS.'VJ, he n,d dressed a letter to the chairman of th > New Prunswick histrict. "My mind," he wrote, "has of late b(>en much impressed with the great imjiortance of the admonition of the wise man : 'Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depai't from it.' The establishment of schools in which pure; I'digion is not (»nly taught but con- stantly l)rougl»t l)efore the youthful mind and represent,<»d to it as the basis an<l groundwork of all the happiness which man is capable of enjoying here on earth, and eminently calculated to foi-m the most perfect character, is, I think, one of the most efticient means in tlu; ordcM* of Divine l^-o- vidence to bring about the happy result spoken of by the wise man." To these remarks he appended a statement of his intention to " purchase a suitable site, and on it provide
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392
HISTORY OF METHODISM
buildings at a cost of four thousand pounds, for the estab- lishment of a school in which not only the elementary, but the higher branches of education should lu; taught, to be altogetlier under the management of the liritish Conference in connection with the Wesleyan missionaries in the pro- vinces." With these proposals he connected a furthei' olFer of four liundred dollars per year for ten years in aid of the current expenses of the proj)osed academy. A pi'eference had been expressed by some persons, on the fii'st intimation of Mr. Allison's purpose, for a site near St. John, but all discussion ceased when it had been distinctly stated that the donor's scheme had reference to the wants of Metho- dists in all the Maritime Provinces and not least to those of Nova Scotia, his native province, and that in his opinion, Sackville, as a central point, easily accessible to all who might wish to avail themselves of the proposed advantages, was the more suitable place.
This oiler, which had been gladly accepted by the mem- bers of the New Brunswick District at their annual session in 1839, was laid by Mr. Allison, in person, l)efore those membei's of the three districts, who in the summer of 1839 met at Halifax for conference with Robei-t Alder upon the Centenary movement. His statements on that occasion made a deep impression. Having renewed his oti'er, he remarked: "The Lord hath put it into my heart to give this sum towards building a Methodist academy," and then, after a short pause, as though he had spoken too confidently, he added : " I know the impression is f I'om the Lord, for I am naturally fond of money." On receipt of official infor- mation, the London Committee gave their warm approval to the scheme, and with a unanimous vote of thanks asked his acceptance of presentation copies of the Centenary volume and the missionary report for the year — ^a smaU but satisfactory acknowledgm nt of a sum greater than
TT»
EDUCATIONAL WORK.
303
r tho estab- Dutary, but .n;,'ht, to be Conference in tlie pro- lU'tlici' oiFer 1 aid of tiie
pi'cference
intimation )lin, l)Ut all stated that s of Metlio-
to those of liis opinion,
to all who idvantaj];es,
^ the niein- ual session efore those lerof 1839 r upoji the it occasion
otl'er, he :art to ,s,'ive ' and then, ontidently, Lord, for I icial infor 1 approval inks asked Centenary
—a sniaU sater than
;";
had ever then been olfei-ed for educational pui'poses l)y any ISIethodist in IJritain or Anictica.
Seven acres of land havini;' been secured, a connnittee chosen rroni th(; ministers of the two districts met at Sack- ville on January 1 7th, IS 10, to delilK'rate upon matters connected with the inception of the movenitMil, A vounsr man, subscMjuently a leading,' ai'chitect in S.in l'''rancisi'o, was sent to the United States to visit se\eral academic institu- tions ; a plan prepared by iiim was adopted, with the ex- ception of a single architectural detail ; and on .luly Oth a lai'ije luunber of ])ersons assembh-d to witness the lavinj; of the foundation stone. Devotional exei'cises were conducted by William Temple and liichard Knight, and addresses were <^i veil by Messrs. Temple, P.usby, Croscond)e, Miller, and Wilson, the stone bein<.( laid Ijy Mr. Allison, who to the formula usual on such occasions added the words : " And may the education evei- to be furnished by the institution be conducted on Wesleyan principles, to the glory of God and the extension of His cause."
Mr. Allison, having withdi'awn from business at the beginning of 1840, gave his personal oveisight to the new building, which became ready for occupation early in the summer of 18 42. It was capable of accommodating eighty boarders, and was tlien superior in adaptation to its pur- ])0ses to any academic building in the Lower l*rovinces. Prior to the connnencement of educational work, about thirty thousand dollars had been expended for buildings, furniture, etc. Towards this sum the site and sixteen thou- sand dollars had l)een given by the founder, two thousand dollars had been contriljuted in the three provinces, chiefly through the etforts of Samuel D. Kice, and a grant of two thousand dollars had been made by the New Lrunswick Legislature ; a debt of b(,'tween seven and eight thousand dollars remained on the building wlien formally opened. In
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HISTORY OF }fETIIODfS}f
aid of current expenses ii;rant.s were obtained from both Provincial legislatures. The deputation to the Nova 8cotia Assembly obtained the able advocacy of Joseph Howe, who claimed that the location of the college; on the Provincial border was at once a pi'oof of the wise judgment of its pro- moters and a guarantee of its greater cfliciency.
Home delay in entering upon work was caused by ditH- culty in securing a principal. 'J'lu; managers, unable to obtiiin the services of Matthev Hichey, M.A., previously principal of th(^ Upper Canada Academy, with whom the venerable William I5ennett was to iiave lieen associated as governor, deemed it necessaiy to ]>ut on their most j)owerful ijrlasses for a careful look aci'oss the ocean. While most of them were thus engaged, one of the number, an Englishmau like themselves, turned his gaze upon his neighbor, Humph- rey Pickard, then in St. John as a junior preacher and at the same time manager of the book depot there and etlitor of the Connexional magazine. \\\ this young minister, traim'd at Wesleyan University, Middletown, under that prince of Christian educators, Wilbur Fisk, who had given him high commendation for general attainments in scholar- ship and tact in government, Enoch Wood discernefl the man for the hour, and at a meeting held at St. John in Noveml>er, 1812, nominated him for principal at Sackville. By some the nomination was leciuved in grave doubt, if not in a spirit of opposition, and by a few the wisdom of the choice continued to be cpiestioned until the young principal's success forced them to dismiss any lingering uncertainty.
Educational work was commenced in an informal way on January 19th, 1843. On the morning of that day Messrs. Williams, Shepherd, Wilson and Puce — ministers, with Mr. and Mrs. P Uison, the principal and his wife, and Joseph R. Hea, met seven students in one of the smaller rooms of the building, where appropriate selections of Scripture were
EDUCATIOXAL WORK
nor.
read and fervent thaid<si,d\ in^^'s and prayers wore ofVerod. Tlie more formal opcninj,' was dcfoi-rcd until the licyin iiing of tlio summer term. ( )n June 'JiKli, mimei-ous visitors met in the large lecture-room of the l)uilding to listen to the inaugural addi'ess hy the principal, and to several speeches l»y others. A highly successful year fol- lowed, the names of eighty students appearini^' in the annual catalogue under those of a highly elli(nent stati', to which Albert Desljiisay and Thomas M. Wodd, had been added — the former as governor and chaplain, the latter as a teacher of much repute. At the end of the eleven and a half years wiii(;h preceded the building of the Ladies' Academy, tiie first pcM-iod in the history cf the institution, an average annual attendance of one hundred and eleven pupils was gratefully reported.
Early in the histoiy of the first academy its friends became convinced that their purpose was only partially accomplished so long as they were unable to offer e(iual advantages to the youth of V)oth sexes. At one of the sessions of tlu; united disti'ict meeting at 8ackville in 1817, at which several leading laymen were present, a resolution that "an academy for females, similai- to the one now in existence for the other sex, is a necessity," and that the jNIethodist Church is under obligation to meet that necessity, was unanimously adopted. Karly in the following year Mr. Allison made an otter of one thousand pounds towards the erection of an academy at Sack villa for ladies, to which other residents of the township proposed to add nine hun- dred pounds, but four years and more passed before the amount deemed necessary by the board of trustees for the erection of the required buildings was placed at their dis- posal. In 1S.")2 tenders wfjre invited, and in July, 1854, a new building for a second academic household was pro- nounced ready for occupation. In the meantime the circuits
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396
mSTOHY or METHODISM
of thfi tliree districts had beoii carofully fativassed by min- isters sel(;ct(Kl for that duty. The biiildiiii^'s, when ready for use, had cost J?22,400 ; towards wliich 81,000 had l)eoii provided by Mr. Allison, and ^l-i,-"*"' had l)eeii securefl by subscriptions and the .sale of scholarsliips, thus leaving a debt upon tiio new academy of a little more than $1,000.
The doors of the new establishment were thrown open to Lidy students on Au^'ust 17th, 1S.")1. Intended public exercises were postponed in conse(juence of the j)re valence in St. John of Asiatic cholera, but the abridged proceedings of the day were most interesting. At eleven in the moi'ning, Humphrey Pickard, A.A[., principal of the two academies ; Ephraim Kvans, I ).!)., governor and chaplain; Charles F. Allison, treasurer; Thomas Pickard, A.M., lecturer on natural science in both academies ; Mary K. Adams, chief preceptress of the new school, with her associate instructors; and some other friends, were met by eighty pupils — -a num- ber much l)eyond expectation. An hour was then spent in devotional exercises and remarks by the principal, intro- ductory to the organization of the first set of classes, and the instruction of the one hundred and sixteen pupils of that term. In January, 185.^, Lingley Hall, which had for some time been in proce.ss of erection, was dedicated to the work of education on Ciiristian principles. The fine organ, and full-length portraits of Charles F. Allison and John Beecham, D.D., were placed there in subsetjuent years.
To some yet unrevealed hand will belong the task of tracing out with minuteness the later history of the educa- tional institutions at Mount Allison. \\\ Humphrey Pickard, Charles F. Allison found a man whose development of the work he had originated and cherished gave him the highest satisfaction that may be gained from consecrated and wisely- used wealth. The sums given by their founder and treasurer to these institutions during his lifetime were estimated at
/■:/)f'('A77()\AL WO UK
5Pfl by inin- whoii roiifly
0 had beoii secured by
IS leaving a n $1,000. )\vii open to idcd public ^ prevalence
proceedings .he inoi'ning, ) academies ;
Charles F.
lecturer on ^dams, chief
instructors ; )ils— a num-
then spent icipal, intro-
classes, and
n pupils of hich had for
cated to the 3 tine organ,
n and Jcjhn
t years.
the task of
)f the educa-
rey Pickard,
ment of the the highest
1 and wisely- nd treasurer stimated at
twenty seven thousand doUai's, to which aic to lie ;idded three otluM' thousands in bftpiests to the acadt'niies and college. His last and crowning act, as r'ecoi'dcd in tlie minutes of the annual meeting in .lune, lsr)S, was tin; moving of a series of resolutions designed to ensin'(^ the (!stal»lishment of tlu; college which now l)ears his name. To the succ(!ssful pi'incipal, to whom Mr. Allison's death was no ordinary trial, there remained eleven othei- years of con- stant toil and responsiljility, with subsecjuent services in the securing of endowments and in the general management, such as few otluMs at that j)eriod could have rendered. As treasurei', he so faithfully continued Mr. Allison's work that, on his retirement from the president's chair in the colUsge in 1SG9, the property invested in the sevei'al (ulucational branches was valued at eighty thousand dollars, though a serious loss had been occasioned by tht; total destruction by fire of the original academv. t)f the benefits of his influence as a Christian teachei- upon the great number of Provincial youth who passed undew his care during his twenty-six years' service as principal and president, even lapsing years can give no adeipiate idea. " The day shall declare it."
Tn some brief notes, on a scrap of paper now yellow with age, a clerical speaker at the opening of the original academy thus outlined the purpose of its founder : " This building, it was said, is to be resorted to for those accjuinunents which will furnish men pr()i)erly (jualitied for any station in life. Here the teacher will be fitted to take charge of youth, the; minister to instruct his fellow men, the magistrate to enforces human law, the judge to decide upon legal cases in dispute." That the good man then indulged in no mere flight of fancy, but that he rather saw "through a glass darkly," will be felt when some alumnus of Mount Allison .shall, for love's sake, have prepared a life-record of her early pupils and her graduates ; for these are to be found in the ministry of
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iiiSToin' OF MirriioDisM
our own luid of other sections of the ('hiireh, ainont; the pi'esich'nts and professors of Prf»vint'ial (•<ill(>^r(.s, ainoni,' the lituitenant-'^overnoi's of th(^ Dominion, in the senate and lower house of the; ( 'anadian h'Lfisl;ituie and in the Provincial lei^dslatures, aMu»n;j; the sujterintcndents (»f Provincial educa- tion, on the hench of the hii,dier courts of the I )oniini(Ui and of tiie separate provinces, on th<? list of winners of the cov(!ted (Jilchi'ist scholarship, and in all those professions whicii society sees tit to entitle " learned." They are found also anion^' the leading,' men in business circles and a^n-i- cultural pursuits, and. last hut not least, anioni,' that eidar;.,'ing (dass of wouiaidiood whose true repiesentatives lind no dis(|ualilication for womaidy duties in the fact that from an educational standpoint they are at once the peers of their hushands and the guides of their sons. {''or their educational enfranchisement such women in the Maritime Provinces will ever be grat«'ful to the Methodist educa- tionists at Mount Allison, who enjoy the distinction of beins^ the first in the British enii)ire to»!,'i\e to woman the j-i<,dit of arlnussion to the vai-ious degrees of a college course.
In Newfoundland education has always biicn under denominational control. The earlier W'esleyan ministers saw with sorrow the almost universal ignorance in many populous settlements, and did all in their power to les.sen it by the establishment, as eai'ly as 1S14, of Sunday-schools. Defe(;ti\'e as such means were, through the lack of compe- tent teachers, hundreds were indebted to them for ability to read their l:>ibles and hymn books. These ^lethodist Sunday-schools had become so numerous in \>>'1\ that nearly twelve hundred childi'en and a large number of adults were availing themselves of their help. To meet in some small measure the educational needs of their missions in the colony, the Wesleyan Missionary Society decided to jnake a small annual grant towards the support of day-
l)il
KDI'VATIOSAL WORK.
.T.M)
aiiioii!^ tlu'
Keiwito aiul
! Provincial
loial educa-
iiiiiiioii and
lers of tli«;
proft'ssions
s' arc fouiul
s and a<,n'i-
iiiont,' that
esoiitatives
!' fact that
(' the ])t'('rs
l''()r tlicir
e Maritinio
dist cduca-
ou of Ix'iiig
1 tlie ri<,dit
ourso.
(!('U under
I ministers
' in many
-o lessen it
ay-schools.
of compe-
for al)ility
^lethodist
IS 1)4 that
lumber of
'o meet in
r missions
lecided to
t of day-
I
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scliools, three of which were in operation in iS'J.'i. These three schools and the thirteen others under the auspices of the Society for the l*roj»;ii;at ion of the ( Io><peI, furnished, with the cxcepti(»n of Siilihath-schools. the only educational facilities for the s(!\('nty thousand persons scattered o\er the colony.
In \ iew of this dearth of schools, the W'esleyan nnnisteis in general hailed with ph'asuic the ent ranee into the colony, about this period, of the ai,'ents of the Xewfoundland School Society.' Accidiiii; to the i-onstitut ion of that Society, tiie teachers weie to lie uicndiers of the Xal ional Church, and the si-hools were to lie conducted as niin-li as possilile on Dr. hell's " .Madras system, " lait manat^M-rs were en joined to avoid a too strict interpretation of their denominiitional chai'acter. So lil)eial and evanifelical was the charactei' claimed for the new society, l>y its lii'st a;.;ents and in its earlier reports, that the W'esleyan Missionary Society made a small tyrant from its treasury towai'ds its supp(ti't, and seveial Wesleyan niissionai'ies took a deep interest in its woi'k. I>ut denominational pai'tnerships seldom prove satis- factory, especially when the fuKilment of verbal j^uarantees is wholly dependent upon the tempers and tendencies of ai,'ents and sub au;ents. Several of the teachers, in exjH'cta- tion of deacon's "orders,"' found in that pi-ospect an in centive to such proselytism as broke; up se\'eral W<'sleyan Sunday-schools, and '.inder IJishoj) Sjiencer's manai;ement the teachers became such useful auxiliaiies that he at lenj^th spoke of the school as his " I'ii^dit arm." 'riienceforwaid all but Episcopalians were excluded from their manat,fement,
' Tlii.s Kn<^1isli Society ewcd its (iri<,'in to tiie etfoits in ISi.*.'{ of Saiiniel C'odner, a retii'cd NcwfdiiiKllaiul iiiercliant, u ho had w itncsscd tlie itciie- raiice of many of the colonists, and hail resolved to rescue tliejr childicn, as far as lay in Ids power, from a similar fate. I'rom liini tlie Soiiety re(.;eived pulilic advocacy and large {jfifts of money. The I'.ritisli govern- ment acknowledged tlie utility of this institution hy giving it liberal aid.
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IIISTOnV OF METHODISM
and iMothodists wero soinetiTnos (li-i\ou to a (lef«Misive atti- tude in tlie iiiaintcnauco of tlioii* i'it,dits.'-
luiti'itoiy action for tlio jjroniotion of education was taken by the colony in \^\'-\. in that year the h'<,Mshiture resolved to grant an annual sum of live thousand pounds, one-half of which shouifl he apfnopi-iated to Protestant, the other half to liornan Catholic, schools. Educational dis- tricts were defined, and school-boards were appointed for each. In any district \vhei-e the niajority of the iidiabitants were Protestants, the schools were placed under a Pro- testant board ; wliere lionian Catholics were most numerous the schools were given in charge of a Konum Catholic direc- torate. Certain anjounts were at the same time placed at the disposal of the denominations previously embarked in educational work, the W«'sl('yans receiving two hundred and iifty pounds annually as their share. With this sclieuie, involving a recoi^nition of their denominational status, the Wesleyans of tlie colony weri' satisfied, but tiiey neverthe- less failed in the attainment of their anticipated success ; in part because of delay in the foi'mation of an educational society in conseijuence of heavy losses through the St. John's fire of \^\C), and in j)art through the impossibility of ol)taining properly trained tc^achei'S.
'-' 'V\w N«'\\f(mii(llaii<l Si-lii«il Sofifty. now known, after two changes of name, as the " ( "olonial aii'l ( 'onf inental ( "liurcli Soriety,"" is still at work in se\t'i'al |iart> of !'.riti-li .\i>itli Anieriea. The eoui'se aliovc (Icsci'ihed would justify none in w ithholdin",' from its a^^ents, in },^'neral, the trilnite due to their i-tforts in Newfoundland. Man\' ha\e lin-n tau^dit to rt-ad who would have remain»'d in i^iiorance, and lar^,'e numbers of Jiihies jvn<l other reli^'iou> puMii-.-itions have Itcen circulated Ity its agents, who have also often eomfoited the ^ick and dyiis;^'. 'I'lie steady maintenance of evau'/elical iii'in'-i|)le-. liv the Society ^'ave the late liishoj) Keild "in- finite troulile," and. in tiie uords of his liioi^q-aplier, "constantly thwarted his action and lii.^ wi-hes." " l'nhaii|iily," the hishop wrote to a friend in Kn<rland. " I c-annot act witii the Newfoundland School Society, for they will toh-rate only 'evangelical" men, and they have decided, I know not Ky what means, that [ am not one. " I'erliaps no better certificate of the truly I'rotestant character of the Society could be desired, than tlr-s*- statement- from the pen of the hard-workin^ir, seif- denyiiiK, but narrow-minrled, bishop of Newfoundland, and liis bioj^ra- pher, the assistant-secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the CJospel,
i....?-.. i.JJ5.-l,Jl^.i.-l».J
ED UCA TJONA L WO RK.
401
'(MKsive atti-
icatioii was legislature lul pounds, testaiit, the atioiial dis- pointed for inhabitants ider a PfO- 5t nunierous tholic direc- le j)laced at inharked in vo hundred this scheme, status, the y neveithe- success ; in educational s^\ the St, ossihility of
wo c'hiUit^cs of
s still iit work ivc (Icsci'ilied
il, tlir trit'Ut<!
ui^^lit to n-ad
rs of Hibles
> ap'iits. who iiiiiiiitcnuiice !> Krild "in- constantly liisliop wrote Hand School (1 they have IVrhaps no vK'icty could s-orkin^f, st'if- 1 his hiogra- ^ation of thf
Tlirou!:;!) an (effort to aid the several denominations in ohtainiiii,' suitahle teachers, Newfoundland statesmen first UTirned the ditheulty to he encountei-ed in the application of an unsectarian scliool systein to the peculiar circunr stances of the colony. In 184.S the sum of three thousand f»f>unfls was voted for the establishment at St. John's of an ar.-adeiny for the higher education of youth, whether I'ro testant or Itonian Catholic. So gieat, howevei", was the sfrUish pressure from a cei-tain (juarter that the scheme soon proved a failure. In IS^O thn>e academies were founded V»y the government, oi\e for tiie Episcopalians, another for the Roman Catholics, and a third, or General Protestant a/^rarleniy, for the Methodists, Congregationalists and Pres- byterians. In a short time the ISEethodists, who were op- [j<osed to a subdivision of the Protestant grant, found it ne'cessary to protest against the merging of their interests in the General Protestant academy, and to ask by petitions from various circuits for a sum in proportion to their equi- tfihle claims for the support of a classical school to be placed under Wesleyan management. Non-compliance for 'WR'veral years with the request served to give unity of ])ur- [•-rj«e to Wesleyan (^llort. As a result a society was formcc. in 1851 under the designation of the Newfoundland Wes- leyan Metliodist School Society, which under a later desig- nation of School and Agency Society, became a useful factor in the work of education and evangelization. Under its auspices tlie Wesleyan Normal day-school was opened in l8r>2, and placed in charge of excellent teachers from the Gla.si.'ow Normal School.
In accordance with action taken in ISTT), when the New- foundland legislature secmeil to i-egard the passage of a fr*^, unsectai'ian school measure as beyond the region of practical politics, Kpiscofialians, Wesleyans and Konuui Catholics receive an amount for their own soliools from the 2r»
: I
-,r-*i'-^-
402
HISTORY OF METffODlSM
public treasuiy, in j)ropo!'tioii to tlieii- nuiiilters ; sepamto tjoai'ds of education control the schools of each denomina- tion, and a, supei'intendent, aj)pointed l)y the goxeinnient, watches over the schools of the r<'li;4ious l)ody of which he is the representative. Tlie ■Methodists of the colony, de- feated in theii' opposition to the subdivision of the Pi"otest- ant urant by the stron<j;(M' intluence of the Episcopalians, resohed to niov(^ tarnestlyon in the track prescribed for them. Their academy at St. John's and grammar-schools at (Jarl)onear miuI H;irbor tJriue ha\e been fortunate in their principals and teac hers : their nomination of (Jeoi'ije S. Milligan, LL. D., for superintendent of their educational work has been ecpially satisfactoiy to the government and to the INlethodist pulilic ; and a college at 8t. .John's has been in etlicient operation for three years under a superior stall' of educators.
At an eai-ly pt'i'iod in I'roviiicial history the Sunday- school was an innioi'tant factor in general elementary educa- tion as well iis in I'eliijious knowledge. The numb(>r wholly indebted to such aid in rudimentary insti'uction would now seem beyond belief. Ilci'c and there in the Lower I'rovinces a school of the kind might have Ikmui found vei'v early in tlie century, but about 1817 an important impulse was given to theii" numeiii-al growth l)y the intluence of Walter ]>iom- ley, pi-eviously ca])tain and paymasti-r in the 'l'.W(\ regiment (lloyal Welsh Fusilier's), w1k)S(^ measures in behalf of r<'ligi- ous and secular inst ructiun in No\a Scotia render his name worthy of [lions memory. The puic inthiences of a Chris- tian home had fcdhtwccl hiui into a gay, thcuightless life as an otficei', and at a time of especial dangei' in Halifax, int'> which excesses at the mess had le<l him, had lirought about a partial reformation of life. In IS 10 he had sailed with his regiment for I'ortugal, and while in that country, through
an interview with a young priest, w ho hopetl to lead him t
ho h
to
El) UCA TIOXA L WO II K.
IO:i
sopiirate ienounna- ernuieiit, which lie )lony, cle- :i Protpst- copaliiins, •libod for nr-schools •tunate in of (Jcoi'ge (lucatioiml imeut and fohn's has X superior
[0 Suuday- iviv t'duca- ll)i>r wholly vould now Provinot'S ■V fiirly in was tiivi-n Iter IW'oni- 1 rt'jj;ini('nt f of rcligi- !• his iiiuiie )f a Chris- It'ss life a-^ ilifiiN, into iH'ht about ailt'd with y, throuj^h ad him to
I
■'i
an espousal of Roman Catiiolieism, he had learned the value of the reiii^qous traiiMii<; wliic'h enabled l)im (o instruct the young priest in a purer crcid whicli deeply impressed him. Tlirough the recall of early teachings the iiisti'U(;toi- reaped a blessing, and during tlu^ study of a borrowed I')ili](> entered U}»on a new life. Soon aftei- his retirement fi'om the army in ISl,'] on half pay, lie returned to Halifax. 'I'iiere in the same year he established the lloyal Ai'adiau school, conducted on Joseph Lancaster's unsectarian system and held attirst in the Duke of Kent's theatre. Leading .Meth- odists among others gave their patronage to the school.
w
hich
1 soon pro\('d most success
ful.
Lntliusiastic and
energetic in his work, Bromley asked for no day of i-est. In liis school-room, reduced in >\/.v by the use <jf the old stage scenes, a Sunday-school was als(» cai'ricd on under iiis super- intendence. At the third annual inspection of his cstal)lish- ment he informed his \isitors that more than one humlred a}»prentices and others had availed themseh es of the instruc-
tion iiiven in his Sun(hiv S( eai'uest wt)rker than the two
•liool.
M
olc
plea.sing to the
hunih'ed ponnds granted him by the legislatuie in ajipreciation of his ser\ices was (lit;
imitation of his Sabliath laliois in other
la
It
s o
f th
le Dl'o-
vince, especially l)y tlie l'r(^sl)yterians at J'ictou.' In ISlT) lilar schools were in operation in most of the tow n.s and in several of the c-ount ry settltMiients of the Maritime Pro- vinces. At Livei'pool in the suniiiier of that year, ninety scholars were being taught ; in St John, where a Sunday- school union had l)een formed in I Sl'l' •_'."
sni
itf
suitei'in
<J f
r<tm
tl
le secession o
t
hat
.•), tlie scliiiol was lerioil, whii-ji ha<l
reduced its pupils to eighty in number ; at Fredericton a
school of si\tv-tive children w
IS gi\ inu proiiii>e of its u.seful
^inKliiA-sclioDis
hull
('aiiadii tliiit tlic If^Mslatui
t this pfriiid wi'i'i' su lii'_dd.\ rruardcd In rpiicr
pdUiids fer the use and ciic pi;ra,L;ciii(iit uf suilj sflii
tue Near tiraiiU'd mif liiiiKliid ami titty
ase of lidnks and tracts Un the reiiiiitf and iiidlL-'cnt si'ttlciiitnt
lid for till' pur-
"I
iij
■ 1 1
f 1^
404
HISTORY OF METHODISM
; i'i.i
future ; cat Charlottetowiv and the neighboring settlements one hunched and eighty scholars were receiving religious instruction ; while in Halifax, where previous to 1824 the children of the congi-egation had heen catechised on Satur- day afternoon l»y the pastor, llobert L. Lusher, the attend- ance at the Sunday-school, as reported at the first anniver- sary, in 18'25, had I'eaclied one hundred and sixty se\ en, for the acconnnodatiori of whom the room erected at the rear of the church had become too small.' In Newfoundland and Bermuda, where such schools had for some year.i oeen in existence, many of the scholars were adults.
No section of the church has made a larger and happier use of literatui'e than the Metliodist has done. Its eaily days in the Lower Provinces were l)eset by special dilhcul- ties. It was at variance theologically with other denomina- tions, its usages were different from those of others. The literature previously inti-oduced into the country had been almost wholly Calvinistic in teaching; there was a pressing need, therefoie, for a literature of its own, for purposes of explanation, defence, propagation and education. Initial steps in this direction have been described in a former volume.'' They had reference to the introduction of a dis- tinct class of literature, and not to its preparation. That the earlier jNIethodist fathers in the Provincial ministry were ignoi'ant men, as has sometimes been charged, cannot be admitted ; that they were not as a class, in the popular sense of the term, a leai-ned ministry, may readily be con- ceded. The pulpit was their throne, and from it, believing themselves loved with a great love which made them too strong for the narrow logic and contracted exegesis which
It is jn'ohiililc tluit tilt.! Suiulay-s(.'li(»()ls cdnductt'd by Walter IJrom-
ley, and, for a slioit time,
by (
leiH'ial lifckwitli, later known by IiIm
religious labors in tlic Waldensian valleys, had delayed the formation of a Weslej-an school.
5 Vol. I., pp. 1S4-1SJ).
m
EDUCATIONAL WORK.
405
btlements
religious
1824 the on Satur- he attend- t auniver-
se\en, for tlie rear of idlaud and v.i oeeii ill
.ud liappier Its eai-ly L;ial ditlicul- i- denoiniiia- thers. The ry had been ,s a pressing purposes of on. Initial in a former ion of a dis- ition. That iiil rniniBtry rtred, cannot the popuhir adily he con- it, beheving ide them too cegesis which
, WaltiT Bnnn- r known by hi« till- fonnatiou of
■'\
denied the possibility of mercy to any human creature, they set forth, with all the force of a detinite conviction, the doctiines of fi'ee grace and full salvation. They became itinerant preachei-s for a single object, and, concentrating their whole time and force antl stern connnon sense upon it, they frequently "rose by the upward gravitation of natural iitness " to the possession of a pulpit power beyond the expectation of early admirei's. A nund)er of published sermons attest possession of literary force too rarely put into exercise, in part becau.se of their unsettled life as itinerants. In spite, however, of this nomadic life, the literary ventui'es of former jNlethodist ministers in the Maritime Provinces were neither less rare nor less success- ful than tho.se of ministers of otiier churches. From a literary standpoint, Joshua Mar.sden's " Narrative of a Mission," to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and J>ermuda, during the years 1804-12, in a series of letters to James Montgomery, is above the average of the publication.s of that day.*' In biography Matthew llichey's " JNIemoirs of William Black,'' is of acknowledged value and ability ; and in polemics, George Jackson's volume on the subjects and mode of baptism, if somewiiat repellant through the rude- ness of the dress in which Anthony Henry's establishment in 1824 clothed it, is l)y no means unwoi'thy of study, though subse(pient volumes upon the sanuj topic are legion. No less worthy of honorable mention were the several tractates on controversial subjects from the ready pen of
" .loshua Marsdcn |nililislic(l six ll'nio xnlMincs and one ()fta\o, some of which had a wide circulalion. 'i'iif pri'MUt acfoniplishcd fditoi' of the Kjiglish " Wcslcyan Mctliodist, Mii^'azini'/'licnjaniinl Irf^ory, M. A., at the end of a ^ratcfid triliutc to the intinory of .lushna Maischn and A^,'nes IJnhntT, two piM'tical contiilmtors to thf nia^ra/ini' in f<irini'r day.s, n'Uiarks : "And 1 am far from hein^,' thcmdy oni'whoowts mni'h to these Methodist poets. ,\ distin^niished meml)er of parliament as- sured nie that he traced to .loshna .Mars(h'n's ver.ses tlie awakening of his inteUectual hfe, and tlie creation of liis taste for literature; and ho thoroupun poured forth .some rich (piotations."
I!
''I
!«
!
i 1
I. ;
. it
406
HISTORY OF METUODlSyt
Alexander W. Mf^Leod, nwX tlie graceful " ^Nloniorials of Missionary Life in Nova Scotia," by diaries Churchill.
For many years *^he nieth.vis used for the dissemination of Methodist literature were of the most unpretenti(^us kind. Alexander Anderson had, no doubt, a successor in some Halifax merchant who devoted two or three shelves in his establishment to important English .Methodist publi- cations and a few otluu' books of a religious character, but the agents most relied upon were the circuit preachers. By some of these this l)ranch of their work was most faith- fully attended to, as the number of very old volumes of the Arminian or Wesleyan Methodist ^Magazine, oi of the other anu somewhat latei- Methodist serials still to be found in some sections of the, country clearly testifies.' At length, in 1839, in accordance with a suggestion from Knglaiul, a depot for the sale of English ^lethodist and other publica- tions was opened in Halifax at the residence of Cliarles Chui'chill, who promised personal attendance to business until eleven of each moi-ning. In addition to the stn.ndard theological works in the first list advertised, were a few " novelties," among which were classed Bari'ett's " Essay on the Pastoral OH'ice,'' lulmondson's "Elements of Revealed Religion," the works of John Ifai'ris, author of " Mannnon," and those of Krummacher. 'i'his depository ceased to exist after the la{)se of a few years, the high prices asked by John Mason, of tiie London Ijook-room, having i-endered a profit impossible. A second attempt was made in 1852, which through arrangement of the district meeting was
' 'riu' Hclij^'ious Tiiict Sooif'ty, of J^diidoii, at oni' time detenniiH'd to pliict' a iHTiniiiieiiL lilirary of its imldicatioiis in tlic |iai'soiiiigt's of each of the leadiiij,' stations o(vii|)i('<l hy tiie Knglisli Missionary Societies. In 18.SI) that .St)ciety sent a selection of its issues, witii a jironiise of fntnre pnl)lications to sevei'al of tlie stations occu|)ie{l l>y Wesleyan Mission- aries in the Maritime Provinces. 'I'hese libraries were lonj,' since scat- tered. Tlio St. .lolin lielij^'ious 'Tract Society, formed in liS;U, and supplied wholly hy tracts of the London Society, was for some years actively supported by the Wesleyan ministers of the city.
EDUCA TIOXA L WORK.
407
\"
loriala <>f
hill, luiu.'ition
otentitjus :cessor in B shelves tibt publi- icter, hut Dreachers. lost fiiith- olumes of , oi of the ) be found At length, h'ngland, a er publica- of Chailes (> business e standard were a few b's " J'^ssay ,f Revealed Maunnon," ceased to rices asked i«- rendered e in 1852, leeting was
(letenuined to
Hires t)f i':vi;l> "f S(icit'ti»'s. Ill „iisc of fiitm-f cyan Mission- (liifJC sinc»> scat- , in 1S;U, and for sunie years
"i
lianded cner by Alcxaiuhn- W. McLeod to tiic venerable Williiiia Croscoiube, under whom it became an agency for ordci's rather than a depot for sales. A simihir de})ot for the sale of Meth<jdist books was established at St. John in 1840, but it languished after a time and in iS47 had ceased to exist. A year after the organi/ation of the Eastern British American CouferiMice, a l)Ook-rooni on a more ex- tensive scah? was established in Halifax, with a t)ranch in St. Jolin.
For a long period the Methodists of the Ijower Pi'ovinces' Districts \vei'(; placefl at some tlisadvantage in the dis- seunnation of denominational intelligence. The I'nglish "Missionary Notices'' jtroNided a \cry limited and exceed- ingly circuitous medium of conuuunication ; the ministers stationed in the larger towns weri' ol)lige(l, thei-efore, to make the best j)Ossil)]e arrangements with tlic pul)lishers of tlie few Pr(t\'incial journals of tlie day. Of the T-eligious department of the I'hila nthrop'isf, a weekly pajier com- menced by Edward A. Moody in Halifax in 1Sl'4, William Temj)l(> had chaige ; and of the /i>'h'(/t<)ns (im/ /Jh'rtn'i/ JoN.i'Hai, issued weekly in St. John in ISiM), Alexander McLeod was the compet(Mit editor. Jn IS.I^. howevei', the ministers of the two districts, d(\sirous of a more otlicial aiul untrammelled medium of t'ommunication with their churches, resolved to publish a magazine of their own. As it was a j)rivat.e risk, the sanction of the Missionary C(^mmittee was not deemed necessary, and in Maix-h, iS.'i'j. the liist ntniibei' was issuefl, under tlu^ title (^f i\w. " X()\a Scotia and New Ih'unswick Wesleyan Methodist Magazine."' It was a (piar- terly of sixty-four pages, neatly prii.ted liy the late Jacob S. Cunnabell. The appearance of the magazine innnediately aroused opposition on the part of the ^lissionary Committee ill London, who feared at once an injurious elfect upon the sale of English Oonnexioj: il periodicals, and an entangle-
I r
i;.
\h
|i:
li
^'1'
•: f
I<«l
408
IIISTOIiY OF METHODISM
!: ■
inont in any possihle financial loss ; the Secretaries for these reasons jjronounced the action of their missionaries uncon- stitutional, and demanded tin; immediate discontinuance of the magazine. In cons((]uence of orders so imperfitive four numbei-s only aj)i»eared — few enough to involve the manager, \^'^illiam Temple, in some anxiety and a little tinancial loss, V)ut quite sufficient to indicate to Methodists of later years the wealth of Christian record and l)iograpIiy which, through such a medium, might have Ijeen })reserved. The Provincial ministers, unwilling to abandon a periodical they had found to be beneficial to their people, subsequently placed the matter l)efore the Committee in a constitutional way, but only received an evasive reply about lack of time for proper consideration. Such action seemed the more unwarrantable because, through the eidargemetit of the mission field, the space devoted in English Wesleyan publi- cations to any one section of the work, in particular an old and familiar sphere, could be but very limited ; and because English Methodism had not at that time any official or semi-official weekly newspaper.** Thus i-epressed, the leaders in Provincial Methodism found themselves again under special obligations to the secular press, as well as to the general religious papers, among the managers of which tiiey had numerous influential friends." Of the religious columns
** Tlirt'c years later Knocli Wood, whoso judgnietit on thin Kul)ject will h(^ regarded as conclusive, wrote to William 'iVuiple : "The suj)- pression of the magazine was impolitie, to speak in the mildest terms. . . . It would have lived and heeii a great hlessing. In education and puhlieations we are much l>ehind-ha.nd. We have iuHuenee and means sutiicient to su])iK)rt a press and l)ook-rooni of our own."
!• Among" those belonging to this list may he nam(>d : .Tolin Spai'row Thom|>son, of Halifax; Alexander McFiCod and William 'I'ill, for years puhlisiitM's of wei-kly journals in St. .John ; .John Simpson, (Queen's printer in Frederieton, and, somewhat later, James Hogg, from 1S44 l)ublisher of the Frederieton Ji(/ii)rt(r, and .lames A. fierce, of the Miramichi (ilcuntr. 'V\\v names of most of these, all of whom were INK'thodists, have appeared in jirevious pages, .lohn Sjjarrow Thcnip- soii, fr.mi the NortJi of Ireland, was a consistent C'hi'istian, and an
eanie.st Metiiodist.
s editor of tin- J'<<irl, as in previous connection
EDUCATlvSAL WORK.
4U9
; for thesfi ies uiicon- nuance of ative four ■ iniinag(!r, ,ncial loss, ater years ly which, ved. The idical they isequently stitutioual ck of time
the more lit of the yaii puhli- ilar an old ul because official or
he leaders liii under
as to the v'hich they IS columns
tliin subjt'ct "The svip- Idcst tcnus. n fchicatiou iHiii'iic'i' iuul 11.
iliii Sparrow ill, for years )ii, (.^Ufcii's <:, from 1S44 crcf, of the wlioin were (iw 'rii(>iii|i- ian, and an s coiuu'Ctiou
I
i
of the Clit'lstinn Rppordw and Te))i))('i'(i)ici' Journal, com- menced in 1831 by William Till, and continued by liim until its discontinuance in IS 10, lOnoeh Wood, for a part of that pei'iod at least, had chart^c.
After some fuithei- communication lietween thcMihairman and the English Committee, thi'ough which no definite arrangement was reached, the first numlier of tlie Wfis/ei/itn, a neatly printed paper of eight small pages, was issued in February, 1S38, from the press of William Cunnabell, Hali- fax. With the fourth issue it was enlarged to sixteen pages of the previous size. This jiaper, conunenccnl under the management of Alexander W. McLeod, assisted by Charles Churchill, was published once a foitnight. At tl:e ensuing meeting of the Nova Scotia District, it was placed under the charge of a committee who became responsible for its character and financial management, and in consecjuence of the removal of tlie original proprietor and editor from Windsor to Guysboro', Chai-les Churchill was placed in charge as editor, with John H. Anderson, a young merchant, as general agent. This well-conducted paper ceased to appear in 1840, in consequence, it is said, of influence exerted by the English Committee, who, however, gave their official sanction to the publication at St. John of a magazine for both districts. So great was the dissatisfaction caused by the intended discontinuance of the Wesh'ijan, that in its final issue a proposition appeared for the publication of a pajier to be called the Christian, ll>'rahi, to be "devoted to the interests of science and religion, and of \V(\sleyan Meth- odism in particular."' The Christi'i.u 1/ e ra / d secuvoA a .'iome-
witli other papers, he rendered useful service to Methodisiu. His early advaiita^'es had lieeii few, lint by sheer effort he had iiroUj^dit himself up to a highly respectable position. .loseph Howe often consulted him on literary subjects, and Mr. Thompson re|>orted Howe's jj^reat speech in the ceU^brated libel case in IS.S."). .lames Hofjg, a fellow -c-ountrymaii of • lohn S. Thomitson, was a vigorous writer, of good iiterarv taste, and a faithful Methodist.
M'
. II
410
llISTOIiY OF MKTIIODlSM
wliat largo and dcsorvcf] circulation in Nova Scotia, l)ut the Coniinittcc liavinj^ forhiddcn tlicir- jx'cachers to "encourage or in any wny coinicct" th«}nis('lv<'s with it, it ('oascd to be issued dining tlio following autumn, ;ind its puljlislior, William (JunnabcU, turned his attention to the j)ul>lication of the MorniiK/ llirahl, a triweekly, and the first penny pajjei- od'ered in Nova Scotia. Thus it came to pass that Methodism alone, of religious bodies in Nova Scotia, had no power to speak through a paper of its own.'"
The "Ib'itish North American Wesleyan Methodist Maga- zine" made its appearance in Septoud)er, IS 10. Any tiiumcial loss was to be met by the preachers of the three provinces ; any prolits were to l)e! d(>voted to the spread of the work of (ilod. 'J'he lirst funds were (»btaiued in the way of loans from the various nuiiistei's, ranging in amount from five to tifty pounds, 'i'he place of puldication was St. John ; the earlier editors wci-e i'^noch Wood and William Temple, of both of whom llumjdirey Pickard became the successor. Aftei- a discontinuance of a year, the publication of the magazine was resumed in ISb") and continued until 1847, the final volume having t»een printed by Janu^s Hogg, at Fredericton.
'J'he conviction that a weekly paper was an imperative necessity to Provincial Methodism had now become general. PTumphrey Pickaid, while in Ihitain in 1818, approached the Seci'etaries and secured a promise of their sanction of such a paper. M]>hraim lOvans, a former editor of the CIn'isfi((ii a uavdid II, who had been transferred to Nova
'" 'I'lic Mpjiiin'Mtly uiii>f'<'()niit;ilil(> fear, on tlu- part of llie Coniniittee, of a |ia])('r luulrr (!oiiti'ol of tlu'ir missionaries in tiic Lower Provinces, was the evident result of their faihire to control the utteriinees of the Christ ill II (1 iKinliiin, the Metliolist i)aper in tliel'p|>er I'rovini-es, whose bold, independent editor. I'^^crton Kyerson, would not i)e silenced. It is only justice to the Coniniittee to say that some of tliat editor's own friends feared that his m.anly utterances in his strife with the High Cluirch party in l'{)per (Canada nn'ght he imderstood to favor a .spirit of rebellion.
ia, Imt the oneoufivgo used to be j)ul)lislior, )ul'lieiitioii rst penny ) pass that ■t'otia, had
(list Maj^a- ly financial provinces ; if tlu' work h(^ way of Kjunt from ; St. John ; .ni TtMiipU', successor. on of the mtil 1847, Hogg, at
liniperative no ixonei'al.
lipproached sanction of or of the to Nova
('omiinttft', ■r Proviiu'cs, hiu'i's of the •iiu'e'S, \vli().'<e Isili'iict'd. It
editor's own th tlie Higli [or ;i spirit of
EDJ'CATIOXAL WORK.
411
Scotia as chairman in IS IS, also felt deeply the need of a denominational organ. A littif later, Alexander W. McLedd, prevented from g'ung to Newfoundland as eliairman Ity the declining health of his wife, and awaiting further instructions from JMigland. was ads ised liy I'ljihraini l'>\ans to comnienre the puhlii-ation of a Methodis* pajier-. The rcsponsihility of the mo\-einent lia\ing lieen assumed l)y Messrs. l^^vans and Pickard, the lirst ntnulier of the Wi'slrjiini. appeai'ed in April, IS ID. Se\-en fortnightly numl>ers met with such appro\al that, with the somewhat reluctant eon- .sent of tin; I'higlish authorities, it was eontinurd as a weekly [)a])erfor Maiitime Methotlism, with A W.iNlcIjOod as editor. Of this j)aper Dr. .McT^eod eontinu'd iu chargt; until his regretted remo\al in ]S,")| to the I'nited States, In. Inly, IS,")"2, under his management, it heeame a large foui- page j)aper, with the extended title of Tin' /'roriiirln/ IVt's/ri/mt.. On tlu? remo\al of its eailiest editor, Matthew II. Iiichey, Ks(j , (ddest son of .Matthew liiehey, l).l)., and in latei' years, lieutenant-governor of Xova Scotia, took tin; editorial cliaii', retaining it until ISGO, when (-harles Churchill, previously book-steward, undertook the additional task of editor. In ISTo, under the control of Alexander W. Nicol- son, the Wexh>ij<(ii re-appeared in its eiglit page form, and in 1879 its editorial management became a separate depart- ment
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C HAITI: II XVII.
METHODISM IN TMI-] MAKITI.MK I'HOVIXrKS TN KKLA-
TION TO TlIK STATE AND TO OTIIKK liKMOlOl'S
AND I'HILANTMKoriO MOVEMENTS OF
THE I'EHIOD.
Motliodisiu in rdiition to tin- Statf. Episcoiuil <l(Piuiniitii)ii in t'lii'ly diiys in tlu' sL'Vt'i'iil provinces. Strn^'ulc for tlic ri^,'lit to solcnmizf niiii'- riage. Oi)i)osition at Ert'dcricton. Suspension of Enoch Wood's coniuiission. Courtesy of Sir .lolm lliii'vey. Fii'inness of ( leor^'e Cul)itt in Newfoinidland. lioiuan ( 'atiiolic assistance. State aid. Influence of otiier cluuvlies on Provincial .Methodism. Eitur^'ical forms and clnu-cli millinery. 'I'lie prayer-l)ook in Newfoundland. The gown, influence of Methodism on other Provincial churche.s. Methodist effort in tlie tem|)eranco reform.
In no part of the world has tlie Methodi.st Church sought to secure any special advantaf^e from the State. The motto, *' A fair field, with no favor," has been descriptive of the highest earthly ambition of her sons, few of whom have ever been contented in the absence df the realization of that idea.
In the Maritime, as well as in the Upper, Provinces, for many years after the arrival of the Loyalists, it might truthfully be said that a man lost caste by being a Noncon- formist, in tlie English acceptation of that tei'm. Though as early as 1812 the members of the House of Assembly in Nova Scotia informed Sir John Cope Sherbrooke of theii' determination not to make provision fi'om the Provincial revenues for the support of the Church of England in the colony, tliat section of the Chui'cli long retained its hold on privileges denied to others. Through the generous gifts of
IX THE MA HIT I ME riiOVINCES.
\\:\
lufch sought
tlio Hritisli !uul Pi'o\ incial LiovcniiMciits at vai'ious poricidi', Htid l»y means of its presti<,'(; as the cliui-cli of the autliori- tics, and tlic lar;,'*' amount of jt.'itronMi,'<> at its disjK)sal thfouL,di tlic old "Council of Twelve," it had obtaiiu'd a ]Knvei' which was Ion;,' used for- the restriction of the riL,dits of those beyond its communion, altliough at the .-iliolition of the Council in ls;^7, the adherents of other sections of the churcli constituted foui" lift lis of the iidiahitants of N(»va Scotia, as they ff)r some time had done. From an eai'ly period to the yeai- just mentioned, that Council had viitu- ally ruled the country, notwithstandini:; tlie existence of a repi'esentative assembly. Its members, amoni,' whom were the bishop of the l^ipiscopal Chui'ch, the chief-justice of tlio province, and the collector of customs, resided at JTalifax, and, holding their seats ff)r life, ti'cated the people, atid fre(|uently the people's representatives, with a lofty indif- ference. In New Brunswick, tlirougli a sonu'what similar " Family Compact," the domination of the Fpiscopal (^Mnii-ch had from the first been most oppressive. For th(^ establish- ment of that body in the scleral parishes Provincial rev- enues were fi'eely used, though most promptly denied to the adlierents of other churches. Al)out 18 IS a law was passed which in a short time unseated Joseph Crandall, a I>a.ptist minister representing the county of Westmoreland in tlie Provincial Assembly, because he sometinies preached at Fredericton, while an Episcopal minister, known oihcially as " the Honorable and Reverend " Joiuitlian Odell, died in 1818, holding at the time the otiices of Pr-ovincial Hecr-e- tary and Clerk of the Ccuneil. In Prince Edward Island similar appropriations of property and exercise of power took place, in view of which the colonial legislature in 1830 adopted a })etition to the liritish government, asking permission to use for the support of schools the one hundi'ed acres of land set apart in each township for the maintenance
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of a minister of the Gospel, to which lands, in the absence of any specifications, the l']piscopal Church claimed an exclusive i-ight. In suj)poit of this petition, the representa- tives alleged that the K{>iscopali;uis formed a very small proportion of the pr»jnil;ition of the island, having at the time but two churches, to one of which members of the Church of Scotland possessed a joint right, while on the other hand numerous other places of worship were scattered over the Island.
In New Urun.swick alone Nonconformist ministers were obliged to take out special licenses to preach Several of the Methodist mi.ssionari<'s to that pi-ovince, who had duly appeared before the Loixl .Mayor of London, and fi'oni that functionary had received documents authorizing them to preach the Cospel in any jiait of the Jhitish dominions, were nevertheless oliliged on their airixal in X<'w liruns- wick to tike out special licenses, the injustic(; of the act gaining a deepe-r color fi-om the bitt(n' spirit shown by the otiicials in its enforcemenr. ( )n one occasion, when Richard Williams had introducfd scxcial ministers at the secretary's office foi- the purpose of taking the oaths and receiving licenses, theii- insoh-nt treatment by the ollicial drew from the dignified chaii-man of the district words of rebuke, and caused the more gentle Michael Pickles tolea\ethe otlice in disgust.'
The final [nant of contention with th(; State, on the part of the Meth(»dist and certain other non episcojtal churches in the sevci-al provinces, was in I'eference to tlu^ solemni/a tion of marriage.-' Of the miuisfcis of all tln^ I'eligious
' Mr. I'ickltM w;i« ti»l<l 1)\ :i Pii'sliytciiaii iiiiiiistt r tliat i." liad |«'''- sisted in |in'iicliiii).' witlioiit ;i licfusi- on tlif plc-i thii* tin- wilting' >t a Meriui'ii tliriditili the we«-k :iu<l tin- ifiiiliii^' nf it on Sui.day could not lie coiLsidcred preuuliiiijr.
'-' III tlif .Muiitn-:d //</•'»/'/ ..f ,\ii;,'ust L'Cttii, IS'JO, tlicre appeared tlic follow ill^' : "At tliela.-t ('.,i,it of Assi/.f, al ('oiinvall, I'.C, .losepli Sawyer, a Metii«Klist preacher of Maltilda, was convicted of iiaviiif,'
IN THE MARfTIME rUOVIXCES.
115
tl»e absence claimed an ! representa- very small vinu at the ibers of the an the other attei-ed over
listers were Several of ho had duly ul from that iiif; them to 1 dominions, New r>runs- e of tiie act hown by the hei> Richard o secrc^tary's id receiving \\ di'cw from rebuke, and the olHce in
on the part ial churches soU'mni/.a Ihe religious
it I." li:i(l p he uiitiiif-"'
>r a
Iv cDUul not III-
ii|i|K'iir('(l the
U.C., Joseph
Itcd (if liaviiiK
iKidies in the seveial provinces, only those of the Churches of England and Scotland, Quakers and Roman Catholics were permitted to mai-ry by lic(Mise. In Pi'ince lulward Island, in 1832, ])ermission was given to all ministers in charge of churches, without i-esti'iction, to perform the marriage ceremony, though marriages had occasionally heen solenmi/ed at an earlier jxu'i^xl hy .Methodist ministers, probably by ])ublication of hanns. In Nova Scotia also, marriages had thus Ix en performed Ijy Metiiodist mission- aries, but many years of eftbrt were necessary to secure the reriiov.il of invid'ous distinctions. To an Act gi\ing to ministers of all denominations the right to many Ity license, |»HHjied by both branches of the legislature in IS lit and sent horrje l)y I.oi'd |)alhousie ^ith a susjiending clause, the I'nnce Regent ref'.sed his assent, alleging, as the last and UKYht forcible of several silly reasons, that (he Act, if assented to would entirely pass by the i^stablished Church, impo\ crisli its* revenues and degrade its authority."' J^or'd JSathuisf, not content with the disallowance of (he measui'e, lecpiested the governor also to disallow any future bill lia\ing the same object in view. Tn IS.'^L' a similar Act was passed, to conie into operation v/sen tls'' royal assc.t should be rd'ceiverl, which assent its ;id\()cates sectii-ed t wo years later. iJy this measure, however, Nonconformist ministe.>'s were only peiiiiitted to olliciate in cases wlieje both the persons to Jh" mariied were adherents of the denomination of which the minister was a icpicsentatise. With some uninipor-
•""i-l'-mrnzff' inarriai^'c. Tliisai't ii.»t licinj; If^al in .a ^b'tlmdist picaclicr iiK dtrar ,it' iiK'c. he was scntriu'cil to fuiirto'ii yt ars" liaiiisliiin'iit. and to ic-a4#' x.\u' iirovim't' w itliiii scxcii (i:i\ s uftci- liis sciitcMCi'. .\biy lliis u Imlc- f^^ntif *-\Mu\>\i- lif iinivtisally fulldwi'd fur il,c salcc of His .\bij(',-ty"s licf^n mli'Jt'ctji." If this iti-iii (if news were corrcot, tlic iiuius'uiK 'it iimsl havtt H*-*'!! r»'niitt»'(l in wlidh' (ir in part. Dr. ('armll refer- .n .loscpli Sawyer at Hhi.-t rime at ('(innvall, as a "Idcated " picaciier and fdcnier piesidinj.,' '-5c5>-f, hiir makes iKi reference t(i this arrest. The extract willalh'ast **'t\*- to ilhistrate the spirit (if the jieridd. In IS.Ti, nfler a stru^^de (if ^^•'nr.y-Hve ye.-irs. it liee.ame le,",al hir the Metiiddist mnisters (if I'jiper Canaria to celeliratc the rite of marriage.
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UlSrORY OF AfETHODISM
tant changes tliis law remained in force until 1847, when all unjust restrictions were swept away, and the ministers of the several denominations were placed on an equal footing. In New Brunswick a measure similar to that passed in 1832 in Nova Scotia n'ceived the royal assent in 183-i, It had only been carried through the two branches of the legisla- ture by the mos^. strenuous effort on the part of Charles Fisher and Lemuel Allan Wilniot in the lower house, and of Edward B. Chandler in the legislative council, successors in this line of effort to Stephen If und)ert ; and it was not allowed to go into operation without all possible annoyance to the ministers enfranchised by it. Questions were con- tinually raised respecting the pi'oof necessary to entitle applicants to receive a commission to celebrate the rite of marriage by license. One day a contest on this point, between Richard Williams and Enoch Wood on the one hand and the pi-ovincial secretary on the other, led the first named minister to stretch out his brawny arm to its full length as he looked the official di recti v in the face and exclaimed : "The iNIinutes of Conference, sir, is the highest authority in the world." In some cases, ministers found themselves obliged to travel to Ercdericton to visit the secretary's otiice in person, in others they were made to wait for months for the legal commission, for which they were charged the sum of thiity shillings. The proceedings throughout were a practical connnent on the statement made by the secretary in his own otiice to oiie of the VVesleyan ministers — that if the issue of the commissions were dependent upon his disposition tlu? matter "would soon be settled."
A new difficulty then ai'ose. The first marriage per- formed in New lirunswick by a Methodist minister was that of the late Samuel J)uncan McPherson, of Freden^ton, Enoch Wood officiating. When the mai-riage h J Vren
7, when all iiiiiisters of aal footing, ed in 1832 U. It had the legisla- of Charles • house, and [1, successors [1 it was not B annoyance is were con- j to entitle ie the rite of this point, 1 on the one her, led the y arm to its he face and s the highest listers found to visit the made to wait ch they were proceedings 10 statement ;-» one of the commissions " would soon
uarriage per- minister was Freder'"^ton,
IN THE MARITIME PROViyClCS.
417
g«
3 ha V.
postponed for a month, in consequence of the delay in the delivei-y of JNlr. Wood's comniissiou, Mr. Wood and Mr. McPh(irsoii together called upon the secretary, who even then evinced his lack of courtesy by advising the younger man to take time to think of tlie step he was about to take. When, at length, the marriage had taken place, fault was found by certain parties, who asserted that the young hidy concerned was not a Methodist, because her parents were Epis- copalians, although for a year she had attended services in the Methodist churcli, in which her father held a pew. On lieai'ing the complaint the provincial secretary sent for L. A. Wilmot, and informed him that r>Ir. Wood was liable to be sent to jail. " He is ready to go there," replied the young lawyer, but to that intimation he added the sugges- tive assurance that any attemj)t to send the minister to prison would raise such a storm about the otticial as would land him elsewhere. The secretary soon, however, found his opportunity. The Methodist ministers in the province in general made common cause with their brother at Fred- ericton, who chunked that the words, "being of that d o- mination," which had been introduced into their connnis- sic!i-; by Mie executive council for the })urpose of limiting tl ii' sol Munization of niarriage to Metliodists oidy, were contra! / to the spirit and wording of the law, for which reason he resolved to set the limitation at detiance. Soon after his removal in 18."i6 to St. John, he found opportunity for carrying his resolution into effect, and followed his action by a protest to the issuer of licences against that official's repeated (juestioning of persons wishing to be t;,. rried by him. On the facts of the case having been n ;ru> known to the e:cecutive council, that body withdiew Ml. Wood's commission by proclamation in the Royal Gazette. The attorney-general, when asked why an action had not been brought against the ottending minister in the
27
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418
HISTORY OF METHODISM
<l .
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ii
courts, significantly re[)liecl that, "it was of no use doing that, for no jury in the country would he found to give a verdict ajjainst him." Durinf' the session of 1838 a Decla- ratory Act, removing the ofiensive clause, passed V)oth houses, but with a sus])ending clause, wliich for some time delayed its effect ; and the determined preacher at the end of thirteen months again secured his commission. In an address of the period to Sir John Harvey, lieuteiumt- governor of the pro 'lie ministers assembled at their
annual meeting grate.
/ recognized
that gentleman's
courteous treatment and successful etlbits to secure tliem their due rights in refei'ence to the marriage laws. In l.'^+G the adherents of the several denominations whose ministers were obliged to procure commissions to perform the mar- riage ceremony- — at times at the cost of no little expense and inconvenience- — petitioiied the law makers of the pro- vince for tlie abolition of the recjuirement as an unjust dis- tinction, and also a reflection upon the loyalty of their ministers, but several years ela})sed before the unrighteous demand was swept from the statute-book.
In Newfoundland, previous to 1817, notwithstanding frequent representations to the British government, no marriage law expressly adapted to the scattered population of the colony had been received. The few Episcopal minis- ters in the colony, in accoidance with English training, considered themselves as alone authorized to perform the marriage ceremony, and alfected to treat such unions as were solemnized under other auspices as of doubtful validity. The great majoi'ity of tlie inhabitants, on the contrary, had been accustomed to regard all marriages performed by any ministers or magistrates as of full legal obligation. In 1816 the point was raised by David Rowland, Episcopal minister at St. John's, who addressed a memorial to the governor, Sir Francis Pickmore, \n which he informed him
use doing 1 to give a J8 a Decla- Lssed both
for some eher at the ission. In lieutenant- ed at their n;entleinau's ecu re theui s. In 1.^46 Mi ministers rm the mar- :,tle expense ; of the pro- 1 unjust dis- ty of tlieir unrighteous
itiistanding nment, no popuhition L'opal niinis- h training, jerform the 1 unions as Iful validity, lutrary, had Ined by any Lation. In |], Episcopal nial to tlie formed him
/iV T/fE MARITIME PROVINCES.
119
that " tlie INIethodist ministei's have lately taken upon them- selves to solemnize the rite of niarriage in that town, con- trary to the laws of the realm and to the irreparable injury of the persons concerned and their iiniocent ofl'spring ;" and requested him to ad )pt measures to prevent the recurrence of a so grievous abuse. Sir Francis, on rt^ccipt of the memorial, sent for JNIessrs. Cubitt and Sabine, the Methodist and ('ongregational ministers at St. John's, to reason with them upon the impropriety of their course l>oth ministers, in reply, stated that there was no law to pre\(>nt them from doing as they had already done. The governor then endeavored to secure fi-om them a piomise that no marriages should in future be performed by them in any [)lace in the colony where an ]<2piscopai minister might be found, but with praisewoi'thy independence they refused to submit to any restriction, and assured him of thcnr readiness to abide by the consequences. The result of their action was soon seen. During the following year an order reached the colony which, virtually limited the right to celebrate marriage to the ministry of the Episcopal Church, under rules similar to those in force in the United Kingdom. 'J'he conseijuences of this unrighteous law, the piomoters of wliich lost sight of the small number of Episcopal ministers in the colony, were soon observed in the ijreat nundjer of illegal unions in various sections of the island. By a change in tln' law, made by the legislature is 1821, all ministers and I'eligious teachers, not engaged in secular business, wci'c authorized to pei'form the marriage ceremony in any case wheie the contracting parties could not J'each '" some church or chapel belonging to the Established Church without inconvenience " — an arrangement most beneticial to the more remote .stations, but continuing the total prohibition of mari'iage by Weslcyan ministers in such Methodist centres as St. .John's, HarV)or. Grace and Carbone:;r. Under its restric-
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420
HISTORY OF METHODISM
tions an Englisyi lady, who came to the colony to be married to John Smithies, a Wesleyan missionary, found it necessary to take up her residence for a time at Blackhead, where no Episcopal minister had been placed, in order that the marriage ceremony might be performed by a minister of her own comnmnion. Roman Catholic priests could secure pernn'ssion to officiate by payment of a certain tax to the Episcopal authorities, but Methodist ministers in the more populous districts could in no way obtain the coveted liberty.
This state of atfiirs soon came to an end under the new constitution granted the colony. During the tirst session of the elected legisla:i./e, lu consequence in part, it has been claimed, of strong Roman Catliolic eflbrt, a new law was passed, which rendered all marriages performed within a certain period legal, removed all restrictions upon non- episcopal ministers, and gave the governor of the colony permission under cert:'»i circumstances to authorize the solenmization of matrimony by magistrates, teachers and even private individuals. In the petition of Dr. Fleming, the Roman Catholic bishop, reference was made to the "painful condition in which a large and respectable portion of fellow-Christians, the Dissenters of the country, are placed," and a request was preferred for the repeal of the "un-Cliristian and unwise law" which denied to "the Dis- senters and Methodists of the Island the privilege of olernnizing marriage in their own church and by a clergy- man of their own establishment." By the strong Roman Catholic majority in the legislature Dr. Fleming's request was well understood to have all the force of a command, and was interpreted accordingly. Several years after the passage of this mensure, some eflTort was made to secure such a construction of its provisions as would abridge the liberties of Methodist ministers, but in securing favorable
ll.J
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IN THE MARITIME PROVINCES.
421
opinions from liij^li legal authorities, and resolving at all costs to maintain their rights, those ministers piovcd that, in a case of endangered liberty, as well as in one of threatened national conflict, "the surer way to maintain peace is to be prepared for war."
In Bermuda, in 1835, John Barry, with the consent of the attorney-general of the Islands, performed the first marriage ceremony recorded in the denominational register. At a much earlier date, however, other Wesleyan ministers had officiated in a similar way, probably after publication of banns and without any further restriction, so far as is now known. During the three years ending with Decem- ber, 1838, thirty marriages found a record in the Methodist register. At a subsecjuent date some doubt respecting the validity of these and certain other marriages seems to have arisen, in consequence of which the legislature in 1847 passed an Act confirmatory of all marriages celebrated in the Islands by ministers of the Presbyterian and Methodist congregations, and by *' other Protestant Dissenting minis- ters or teachers." A second Act, passed during the same session of the legislature, gave express permission for the performance, either by publication of banns or by license, of the marriage ceremony by ministers of any denomi- nation.
Direct aid from the State, for the support of the Meth- odist Church in tiie Lower Provinces' Districts, has been received in Bernmda alone, and there only to a limited extent. The sums granted in other colonies in aid of higher education have been regarded by the recipients simply as a just and only partial return for educational service which the State must otherwise have undertaken at a much larger cost, or have allowed to remain undone with great injustice to its youth. Money expended on Meth- odist education in Newfoundland has been given by the
Ml
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422
jnsTonr OF MF/niODi^u
colony wholly iji accorrlance with the general principle of education under denoini national auspices, which the govern- ment, under pressure fi-oni Koniau Catholicism and then from the Episcopal CJImi'ch, found its(»lf oljliged to adopt. In Bermuda, in 1851, where for more than a century the ministers of the Episcopal Church had been receiving their whole support from the colonial treasury, and the single Presbyterian minister in the Islands had for tliirty years been receiving an important part of his stipend from the same source, the Wesleyans of the colony, in response to petitions for a sliare in tlio legislative gi-ants, received aii allowance of one hundred avid twenty pounds pei- year to- wards the support of their churches. In 1867, the Meth- odists and other Nonconformists, so-called, were exonerated from all liability for church rates and grants were profes- sedly made payal)le to tliem at a fixed rate according to numbers. By Episcopalians in Bermuda these treasury grants ai'e regarded as indispensable to the support of their church ; to Wesleyans, though much less numerous and also less wealthy as a class, they are only a supplementary sum.
In the Maritime Provinces the JNIethodist Church has exerted an important influence upon other .sections of the Church of Christ, while it, in turn, lias been to some extent affected by their presence. From the Baptist fathers, Methodist ministers, at some cost of numbers, learned something in evangelistic work. The earlier English mis- sionaries were second to none as sowers of the Gospel seed,, but as reapers of the harvest they were less skilful as a class, there is reason to believe, than their Baptist contem- poraries, who were better acquainted with the peculiar characteristics of a scattered popidation than any stranger could possibly be. As a consequence, not a few of those who were converted under earlier Methodist agency, even
AV THE MARITIME ntOVlNCES.
423
riiiciplo of he i^overn-
iinfl then . to adopt, ^ntury the ving their the single lirty years 1 from the esponse to •eceived an lei' year to-
the Meth- exonerated ,^ere profes- jcording to 3 treasury 3rt of their lerous and jlementary
mrch lias
ons of the
onie extent
st fathers,
•s, learned
iglish mis-
ospel seed.
skilful as a
1st contem-
e peculiar
ly stranger
w of those
ency, even
under the ministry of William lilack, were led into the fellowship of the Baptist churches. To the greater pro- ficiency of the early Methodist itinei'ajits in Ontario in shepherding their converts is due, in large measure, that rapid and vast growth which at the present day gives to Methodism in the Dominion its preponderance in numbers. In no other respect was thei-e any necessity to learn from early Baptist neighbors. Immersionist theories have never taken any serious hold upon the Methodist churclus of the Lower Provinces. Several of the eailier Wesleyan mission- aries, acting in accordance with the principle, universally recognized in Methodism, that the true advantage in any religious rite is dependent upon the aim of the recipient rather than upon tlie position of th«; aduiinisti-ator oi- the precise form of administration, were accustomed to l)aptize by immersion when earnestly desired so to do by the candi- date, but their successors, at some risk of being chargeable with inconsistency, have been less willing to be "all things to all men." It is scarcely necessary t > say that the causes for this unreadiness, an explanation of which is not a necessity, are by no means of trifling importance. The influence exerted by the Provincial brandies of the Churches of England and Scotland upon the earlier Methodism of the Lower Colonies tiirough the adherents they gave her was highly salutary. '^^Flie lack of evangelical religion in the first, and the piesence of Moderatism in tlie second, of these churches, were so evident at the time that persons belonging to these communions, when seriously influenced through jVIethodist preaching, frecpiently thought it neces- sary to withdraw at once from previous denominational associations. Through this cause the INfethodist Church received for some years an accession of members whose early religious training was well calculated to counteract any serious tendencies towards indulgence in extravagances of "Newlight" origin.
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424
JUSTOIiY OF MET 1101) ISM
Methodism on this side of the Atlantic lias been but slightly affected by the liturgical forms and church millinery of the Old World. Most of tie early Wesleyan missionaries to the British American Provinces came from parts of England where the simpler order of Methodist services prevailed. It is not prol:)able that in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, the liturgical service provided by Wesley was ever used in an ordinary Sunday service. In Newfoundland, some sixty years since, the prayer-book was in general use at Sabbath-morning seivices at the outports, at least, of the colony. With many of the people of English descent it was associated with memories or traditions of better days, and its use was in some measure beneficial. Here and there some fisherman, mv^ie intelligent and more thoughtful than his neighbors, read from its pages on the SabV>ath in his family, opening his door to any would-be worshipper, and thus protesting against surrounding wickedness and forming a little company by whom the Methodist itinerant was heartily welcomed. When the visitor had passed on, similar meetings were resumed, with the addition in some cases of a few extemporaneous words, or the reading of a tract or a sermon. It was not strange, under such circumstances, that a minister, to some extent acquainted with liturgical forms, should have adopted in growing congregations a style of worship with which both preacher and people were in some measure familiar. Less than a half-century ago, several ceremonies prescribed by the " Book of Common Prayei," were observed in Methodist congregations in several parts of the colony, but they, with the book by which they were authorized, are no longer in use. In ordinary public worship in Bermuda, liturgical services have been unknown. Abridged or varied forms of the Episcopal ceremonial observed at baptisms, marriages and deaths, it will be understood, are used by Methodists throughout the world.
tN THE MMilTIMK PR()V/\CKS.
425
utslightly ery of the ries to the [ England prevailed, iswick and ovided by ■■rvice. In :r-book was Le outports, of English ■jiditions of I beneticial. b and more iges on the \y would-he surrounding whom the When the 3unied, with leous words, not strange, ;onie extent adopted in which both liiliar. Less •escribed by n Methodist t they, with no longer in a, liturgical •ied forms of is, marriages Methodists
In liritisli North America tlie use of the pulpit j,'o\vii has obtained to a very sli^'lit extent in Methodist cireh's ' Only
church — tlie leadi
til
m one churcli — the leadnii; one in .Montreal -has the black or Geneva gown been ste;ulily worn. Tlie spirit of Methodism is not generally favorable to an artificial dignity, by no means necessary to a sacred otlice when occupied by a true man. Some disposition toward its use on mission stations led tiie Secretaries, in their printed circular for 1S;U, to say to their missionaries: "After seriously con- sidering the su))ject, we have also to enjoin upon you the laying aside of the fi-ippery of gowns and bands. Your brethren at home do not deem them necessary to their usefulness ; and men of the first-rate talents among us regard them as useless appendages to the dress of a minister of the Gospel, and inconsistent with the rules and spirit of Methodism." Several years after this deliverance, .lolin Pickavant, chairman of the Newfoundland District, surprised the greater part of the St. John's congregation on a certain Sabbath morning by entering the pulpit arrayed in a black silk gown. Several young men, by whom he was nmch be- loved, had observed their pastor in simple ministerial garb on one or more occasions when his Gongregational and Episcopal neighbors had been present in a more ample cos- tume, and, in the belief that an attire implying ecclesiastical equality would promote his influence, liad ascertained li^s willingness to wear a gown, and had presented him with one on the Saturday evening. The black robe then went into use in some other parts of the colony, but not for any long period. In 1847, at the gathering at Halifax of the representatives from the Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
3 An American writer has said of the early American Methodists : "At first some of the old 'Churcli ' forms affected tliem. Kveu Asl)vu"y essayed for a while a surplice, gown and l)ands; Init all tliis frippery soon fell off. Crape and lawn— poor symbols of saintship anyliow — wt're rather in the way in the holes and dens and caves of the earth tlu^y sought out."
M
420
ni^TOUY OF METHODISM
i
wick Districts, a discussion arose upon the introduction into the Fredericton puljiit of the jL(o\vn by In;^d>ain Sutclilfe, who had used it for a sliort time at Montreal and afterwards in Newfoundhmd. Mattiiew liichey, then on a visit from Montreal, favored its use, but Humphrey Pickard, wliose Puritan tendencies had l)een aroused by some sarcastic allusion by a previous speaker, sj)oke vigorously against its introduction, and easily carried with him a majority of the ministers then present.'
The intluence of Methodism in the Lower Provinces upon other sections of the Christian Churcli has not been less healthy than in other parts of the woi-ld. In the lease and occupancy by Episcopalians of pews in Methodist churches in several Provincial towns, previous to the opening of Episcopal churches for Sunday evening services, may be found one explanation at least of tlie noteworthy fact that advanced Ritualists have hitherto found their most deter- mined opponents among the members of certain older Episcopal families. In a letter to the English Committee from Windsor^ in 1827, llobeit Young makes reference to the influence of tlie Wesleyan missionaries upon the general religious public, and upon tlie special danger by which the Iiapti«t churches were threatened. He had at first regarded liis necessary removal from Jauuiica to Nova Scotia as a "most afflicting ])rovidence," but a closer
4TIH' use of the bla'-k gown has been the .suliject of some serums dis- cussions in tlie Britisli ('onference. At Newcastle, in 1S40, the announce- ment that Methodist ladies of that town had provided a silk rol)e for the list! of tile Presidt^nt during his year of office called forth an excited con- versation, which Dr. limiting ended by moving the juvvious (juestion. The great majority of the ministers were ojjposi'd to the accejitance of the gown. The ajipearance, a few months later, of Samuel Waddy in a gown in the puljtit of the Waltham-street chapel, Hidl, led to a protracted discussion. At the end of three montiis the jireacher laid his gown aside at the request of his sui)erintendent, but popular feeling had been so aroust'd that both ministers were removed at the end of tlie year. The Conference of 1.S42, after a warm discussicm, voted, with oidy six dis- sentients, against the use of the gown and bands in all their churches, tliose ill Scotland only excepted.
IN Till': MAlilTIME r ROV I XC l-!^.
42:
SutclilVe, ftcf wards visit from u'd, whoso , sarcastic a"ainst its »,.ity of the
,'iiicos upon t been less ,e U^ase and st chvn-ches
opening
of
ces, may be ;hy fact tliat most deter- ertain older , Connnittee OS reference s upon the
I danc;er by He had at
iiica to Nova ,ut a closer
iniu! serious dis- 1) tlu* iUini)\ii»co- Isilknibf for the
I an exciti'd cim- IvioUM (nu'stiim. Iio accfptauct' t)t luel Waddy "» ^
II to a ])rotractea
II his gown aside ins had bcH-u so
Jf the year, ine
Itli only «^x 5"^' ll tlieir churches,
acquaintance with the sahitary inlluencc of AN'cslcyan effort in liis xw.w fiehl hiid greatly niodilicd his \ icws. " It is true," he wrote to tlie Coniniittee, "that our nuuilx-r of nuMnh«'i-s is not V(>ry great, yet it is ('([Uiilly tiue that tlio iVFethofh'st ministry is liighly l)en(^licial to many wlio from various causes are not recognized as inendjcrs, and tliat it operates as a sovereign antidote against Antinoniianism, a (h'leterious weed that vegetates in tiiis soil, and wliich would, I feai-, soon overrun the whole land, were our missionaries to be withdrawn."
'J'he fllfct of Methodist t(>aching upon i-cligious ])odi«'S holding a (Jalvinistic creed lias been very ;ipparent. The pi'ecise measure of influence may not Ix; so evi<lent as in the American republic, where, after long discussion of the " five points" in pulpit and press, New England theology first modified somewhat the ofl'ensiveness of its positions, and then, later, permitted grim Oiiigrcgational cluuvhes to swing their doors both ways, until their pul})its pro- claimed a salvation for all, and their congregations adopted a new platfoj-m, respecting which the best opinion has said : " The new cree.l contains no Calvinism.'"' If the pleaching in the T.ower Provinces of a full and free salvation has not yfjt led to a call for a new creed, from the adherents of Calvinistic branches of the Christian Church, it has awakened on th*^ part of many of them a strong symi>athy with those who are elsewhere seeking such a revision of doctrinal standards as shall not relegate an un(pialified declaration of the love of CJod to mere " foot- notes." This doctrine of a divine remedy as far-reaching in its provisions as is the curse it is designed to remove, and limited only as to extent of oi)eration by the choice of a moral agent, has at least so permeated other denomina- tions that the theories of predestination, election and reprobation are no longer heard as they a half-century since
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428
HISTORY OF METHODISM
ii
'"i
were in several sections of the Maritime Provinces. The military autliorities who, to preserve unquestioned the ownership of Imperial property, put a sentry on a certain day of each year at the entrances of certain paths, shov/ a keener regard for vested rights than do certain theologians for the possession of ground once boldly trodden and firmly held. As has V>een said : " If the religious history of the past reveals anything, if the theological drift of the Chris- tianity of to-day portends anything, they go clearly to show that Arminianism and not Calvinism — the Arminianism of Arminius himself and of Wesley, and not the Pelagian- ism that unhappily has sometimes been known by that name — is to be the orthodox creed of the future." '' Many Presbyterians of the Maritime Provinces will have no hesi- tation in accepting, with a local application, the .sentiments of Howard Crosby, D.D., as given in a note addressed by him to the chairman of one of the most important Metho- dist gatherings of recent years in New York. Said Dr. Crosby : " The blessing of the Lord has been with the Methodist Church from the beginning, and all who love the Lord will pray for its continued prosperity. Its influence on our Presbyterian Church has been most beneticent, helping us to a more just view of divine truth and a more active zeal in its preaching." In this statement may be read a guarded reference to the change that has taken place in thousands of Presbyterian churclies, and to the processes of assimilation— not wholly contined to one side — by which as an English Wesleyan theologian has remarked, " Our theology is becoming one, and the basis for a closer com- munion between these separate branches of the Christian Church is being laid."
But the influence of Provincial Methodism has not ended
5 It is said tliat Dr. Chalmers, in refuting some of the tenets of Arminianism, was accustonifd to say to his students that he did not mean the Arminianism of John Wesley.
IN THE MARITIME PROVINCES.
429
with the modification of tlie pulpit teachings of other sections of the Church. Its evangelistic methods have pervaded and modified and uplifted other branches of the Church of Christ. The bell calling for attendance at the solemn watch-night service of the closing year is rung in the towers of Episcopal churches; meetings of young (Hiristians, similar in some respects to class-meetings, are held in Presbytei'ian churches; mission and revival services, such as once attracted towards Methodism onlv the finger of scorn and the smile of con- tempt, are now l)eing adopted by others with all the zeal of a new departure ; and methods of Christian work, once peculiar to her, are becoming so common to all that she no longer occupies the isolated })Osition of earlier days. In her liistory the Cireat Head of the Churcli has been pleased to fulfil the patriarchal prediction : " Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose l)ranches run over the wall."
In the advocacy of philanthropic agencies and reforms Provincial Methodism has not fallen to tiie rear of other denominations. Her ministers, in relation to the great temperance reform, have led their English Methodist brethren by a half-century at least. The latter, with some noble exceptions, have been a century and more behind their great leader. Wesley it was who, in 1739, demanded of the members of his societies a pledge as strongly prohi))i- tory of the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as any that has ever been presented. It was he, who, in a letter to the itight Hon. William Pitt, on September 6th, 1784, most vigorously denounced the trallic, charging it with the death annually of twenty thousand of the " king's liege subjects," and who, with an unwonted vehemence wrote to the same -Statesman: "All who sell these licpiors to any tliat will buy are poisoners-general. They murder His Majesty's subjects by wholesale ; neither do they ever pity or spare." " Blindness in part " must have " happened to Israel " when
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430
HISTORY OF METHODISM
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American Methodists for a time relaxed Wesley's rule respecting intoxicants, and i^higlish ^letliodists unblush- ingly transgressed a law they had not courage to expunge or grace to observe. A better record, blurred, it is true, in the earlier, and occasionally in the later stages, may be claimed for Provincial Methodism. Those eight courageous pioneers, who, in April, 1828, at JJeaver River, in tlie county of Yarmouth, formed, as is believed, the tirst al abstinence society in Canada, and attached to their pledge a prayer for divine aid which they never dishonored, soon found earnest and able advocates of their principles in several Methodist ministers who had broken loose fr'om the trammels of 12nglish iutluence. The results ui early e Vort in this direction must have added t<j the satisfaction idth which John 13. Strong, Michael Pickles and several oti ers reviewed at a good old age their labors in the country of their adoption. A similar stiind was taken in Pernuida by Theophilus Pugh. So sad had been the influence of drink- ing habits in those beautiful islands that a leading man there a few years ago informed his pastor that, of the several young men included in the earliest society class of which he was a niember, he only had escaped ruin through them. To Jngham Sutclitle belongs the credit of having, soon after his arrival in Newfoundland, protested success- fully against a continuance of the custom of using wines, etc., during the sessions of the annual gathering, a practice which, in spite of the presence of such whole souled and successful temperance workers as Charles Garrett, T. J-5ow- man Stephenson, D.D., and many others, prevailed in Eng- land until ISSSj when a committee of the leading ministers and laymen of the Cornwall District, in making arrange- ments for the Conference of that year, to be held in their county, unanimously decided that no other than non-intoxi- cating beverages should be procurable on the Conference premises,
IL.
ey's rule unblush- 1 expunge t is true, s, may be ourageous r, in tlie tirst al eir pledge ored, soon Luciples in e fi'oni the ?arly eTort Lction -,ath eral otl ers country of ierniuda by ;e of drink- fading man lat, of the ety class of lin through of having, ed success- sing wines, I, a practice souled and Itt, T. Bow- Jled in Eng- Icr ministers [ng arrange- leld in their uon-intoxi- Conference
CHAPTER XVIII.
ORGANIZATION OF KASTKKX liKlTISII AMKIUf'AN CONFERKNCK IN 1S.V).
I'olicy of tlu' WcKlcyaii Missionary Society. Assistance. Missionary S'.ilifnie. Strong.,' opposition to it in Lower I'rovince.s. V'arions ])ro- posals for union. V'iewsof I)is(i'icts in 1S4.S on the subject. Outline of jilan proposed in 1S47. Suhsecpient propositions. Arrival of Dr. Beecliani in IS.V). Formation of Kastern British American Oon- ference. Keturn of l)r. Heecham to Jiritain. His earl}' (h-ath.
In 1855, in accordance witli arrangements made by the English Wesk?yan Missionary Committee, the Metliodist Churcli in the Mai-itiine Provinces entei'ed upon a virtually independent caieer, the beneficial results of which were soon to be made evident.
A word of criticism upon a policy so generous as that by which the ^Missionary Committee had for more than forty years been guided in its operations in liritish North Amer- ica must at tirst seem ungracious. The importance of the help given to the Methodists of tlie sevei-al provinces, and indirectly to the population at large, is beyond computation by the arithmetic of earth, but even from values only to be comprehended hereafter the idea of proportion is not to V>e excluded. Any careful student of Provincial Methodist history, keeping this fact in view, may with the deepest gratitude recall the genei-ous treatment received by Provin- cials of two generations fr^m the managers of tlie Wes- leyan Missionary Society, while he may at the same time, with thorough sincerity, question the wisdom of a policy which kept their agents in tightly-held leading-strings until
t!ii
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432
HISTORY OF METHODISM
tliey had sunk to a position of dependence, and which at the end of a forty-years' tei'ni presented the Wesleyan Method- ism of the Lower Colonies in the light of a fourth-rate divi- sion of the religious element of the country. Of this policy it may be said that its ado}>tion was perhaps only a natural result of the changing conditions of J^ritish Methodism, when the era of evangelization was giving way to that of organization, when her financial institutions were being created, and the complicated machinery of her modern denominational life was assuming much of its present form. Previous to the formation of the Wesleyan Missionary Society aid had been given to the scattered societies in the colonies, but the genera) managenient had been in great measure entrusted to the agents sent from Britain, or called into the work in the missions. ' With increased assistance, however, there came the exercise of a control previously unknown, which so hampered the Society's agents that even missionaries sent from Britain suljuiitted to it with reluc- tance.' In the endeavor to secure a thoroughly economical expenditure of the funds entrusted to them, '>e Committee for many years demanded from each station an account in detail of expenses, and then allowed a sum, including the income from the station, adetjuate to meet the annual ex-
1 As late as 1820 the stations of the itinerants in the Lower Provinces were arranj^ed by themselves at their animal district meetings. About that period they were ordered to send to lOng'land a station-sheet for the following' year, wliieh ttius appeared in the pulilislied Kn{,dis]i Minntes, with such alterations as the (Jommittee mig'ht see fit to make, a year in advance of their actual residence on the circuit. The heart-hurningsand jealousies to whicli this system gave rise, and the impossibility of strict adlierence to it in all cases, led to so much hesitation in adopting it that the Committee, in 1825, in their general "Circular," called attention to tlK'ir rule, emphatically asserting that " No district has the power of definitive stationing, wliich lielongs wholly to tlie Conference." This j)ractice of pulilishing, a year in advance, aj)pointments for the whole nuHsion field, a great number of which, through the illness or deatli of missionaries or from other causes, never took effect, was ccmtinued until the organization of missions into conferences. Through it, the printed official Minutes, as far as the foreign stations are concerned, are not only unreliable for liistorical purposes, but are positively misleading.
ORGANIZATION OF CONFERENCE.
4^3
ich at the \ Method- rate divi- ihis policy a natural letliodism, to that of vere being er modern 3sent form. Missionary ities in the ■n in great in, or called assistance, previously ts that even with reluc- economical Committee account in hiding the annual ex-
iver Provinces int:f.s. About -slu-et for the lish Minutes, [like, a year in Imvningsand jility of strict .oi>tinj? it that \\ attention to
the power
H-ence.
rii
of is
Ifor the whole Is or death t)f Kntinued until It, the ])rinted
d, are not oidy
Lding.
penditure, thus estal)lisiiing a direct relation between the General Missiou Fund and each circuit, and challenging a growing dependence ; wiiile by their insistence upon the right to station each individual nnssionaty, they assumed a more complete responsibility for any financial losses in- curred by him at th« point at which they had placed him as their direct agent. This miimte control by a conniiittoe — sometimes, in fact, by a single secretary — resident at a dis- tance of neaily three thousand miles, had, in that day of slow postal connnunication, serious disadvantages. The intimate acquaintance of certain Wesleyan Secretaries with their distant charges has indeed been remarkable ;' but acquaintance with locality is but one, and perhaps the most simple, branch of knowledge necessary to the judicious direction of a mission in a new and distant country. 'I here are, in all such cases, prepossessions and prejudices, local peculiai'ities and jealousies— in a woid, a thousand subtle yet powerful influences which can never be described by the most subtle analyst of human nature, nor understood by the wisest of men at a distajice. It would be a base libel upon the excellent men who, with the highest and most unseltish motives, then stood at the head of Wesleyan mission work, to compaie in any way their management, as some have done, with England's former plan of governing India by a committee sitting in London, to the sore grief of that dis- tant land ; but certain it is that no one thoi-oughly familiar with the policy of the Wesleyan JNlissionary Society in British North America can deny that, in spite of a certain
'^ It is said that a returned missionary from Africa could with difti- culty heiieve, as he talked of his station there u ith .lolin Iietehuui, that tliatcjfhcial had never seen tlie shores of the "Dark ( 'ontiTient." Nor was that secretary singular in his ac(iuaintance witli forei^Mi fields. Pre- decessors of liis are re'^iorted to have mapped (jiit other distant missions with an exactness sinnlar to that with wiiicli the Prussian Von Moltke traced out the roads over which tlie (ierman army was to carry destruc- tion and death into the very capital of fair France.
28
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434
HISTORY OF METHODISM
discretionary power allowed at times to the chairman of a district, tlie fettered action of the Society's a;^ents, the fre- quent and apparently arbitrary removal of those aj^ents to other tields, and the spirit of dependence developed on the part of ministers and conj^regations, seriously lessened the sum total of the results which might have been attained through equally generous aid, under a policy permitting a larger degree of local management.
Another serious result of this strict transatlantic manage- agemer\t lay in its tendency to check the growth of a native ministry. More than one young man, whoso life service proved of great advantage to the Mcithodism of the Lower Provinces, was only prevented from giving his best days to another country by the strong persuasion of those who had discerned his worth ; but others, confident of a call to the ministry, yet unwilling to be subjected to a tedious and uncertain process of admission to the work, and to be kept in waiting for severt;! years after the commencement of itinerant toil for an ordination conferred upon the youngest missionary sent out from Britain, quietly sought a sphere of Christian servrce elsewhere. Still another serious result was delay in the occupation of fields white unto harvest. More than once, while correspondence involving weeks and even months in transit was taking place, and the Committee, embarrassed by claims for the deficiencies of long supported circuits, .and by calls for an increase of agents in fielciS thoroughly heathen, were hesitating to increase financial responsibilities, other bodies, more Uhlan-like in their movements, stepped in and took possession of sections of tl-e country whence the cry, "Come over and help us," had first been addressed to Methodism, In the cour.se of some strictures o'l the foreign mission work of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, a Southern leader has aptly t'e!)]i\rl?ed that " wl^eu ^.w^ricuu Methodism wfts directed
ORGANIZATION OF CONFERENCE.
435
man of a bs, the fre- ayents to )ed on the ssened the n attained ii-initting a
tic numage- of a native lifeservice the Lower )e.st days to 3se who had call to the tedious and I to be kept 'ncement of he youngest t a sphere of i-ious result nto harvest, weeks and Committee, iig supported iits in tiekis ,se tinancial Ike in their sections of elp us," had rse of some |e Methodist has aptly was directed
by letters fi-om London — though John Wesley wrote them — Ashury was a crippled and little-regaided deputy-superin- tendent. When Ashury wiis a real superintendent^ repre- senting tlie Church, tiiere was power and progress." This remark, with some accommodation to circumstances, would not be wholly inapplicable to Methodism in the past in the Lower Provinces.
Tn Justice to the distinguished nuMi who guided tlie aftairs of the INlissionary Society during the eai-lier yeai-s of its history, it should l)e said that they soon foresaw the danger likely to attend their policy, and endeavored in some measure to avert it. hi LSiM, lliehard Watson, tiion one of the Secretaries, wrote to William 'iVmple : "You nmst all exert yourselves to excite the people to support their own ministry and feel compassion for your neighbors. You must not let the spirit of /)au/)erisni and dependence on the Comn)itte«; get ascendency among them. W"e have it from yourselves that some of the stations which are now very dependent might sup[)ort themselves." Four years later, upon the division of the old Nova Scotia District into two distinct sections, the Committee informed the minist(n"s of both districts that they had deemed it " desirable to fix a sum yeai' by year beyond which they cannot make any grant to missions." A policy of Provincial Methodist " home-rule " might then have hastened the era of self- support ; but the opportunity was not embraced, expenses, as before, were increased by the distant management, missionaries clung more closely in a sj)irit of deptuidence to the Committee which had sent them across the ocean or called them out from the mission ciicuits, and the corres- pondence for thirty years between the secretaries and the chairmen of districts became painfully monotonous in its repeated importunities on the part of tlie chairmen and expostulatory yieldings on the part of the Committee,
if
436
HISTORY OF METHODISM
}\
From attempts by the Committee, during tlie later years of that period, to regulate their grants in accordance with the contributions of the districts to the general fund of the Parent Society, occasional misunderstandings arose, to the pain of ardent friends of missionary enterprise and to the checking of liberality. Beset thus with difficulties, the missionary authorities kept a jealous eye upon any move- ment which might in any way increase the financial respon- sibility of their ministers, and not once only painfully, and perhaps unnecessarily, fettered them in attempts to develop a Colonial Methodist literature or to found denominational educational institutions.
An expedient adopted by the Committee, in the endeavor to lessen their financial burdens without contracting the spiiere of their work, was the extension to the ^Maritime Provinces of the "Assistant Missionary " system, originally designed, it would seem, for purely heathen countries. The "assistant missionary,'' according to a "Compendium of Instructions and llegulations," published in 1832 for the private use of missionaries, had not, " under any circum- stances, a claim to labor in Britain." He could not be a n)ember of the "Legalized Fund." Such missionaries could have no claim upon the regular allowances ; but as their cases would vary, the sum for their support was to be mat- ter of negotiation, to be confirmed by the Committee. Their "real wants, according to their habits and former situation, were, however, to be economically supplied.'' They had no claim on the Conference Funds, but "their care in sickness and age, and that of their widows and children, would be kindly considered by the Committee as they should occur." With the consent of the superintend- ent and chairman of the district, they were at liberty when in full connexion to administer the ordinances of baptism and the Ijord's-supper " in places where a regular mission^
I
V _
ORGANIZATION Of CONFERENCE.
437
years of with the d of the je, to the id to the dties, the my move- [\,1 respon- fully, and :o develop iiinational
3 endeavor icting the Maritiiue originally countries, nipendiuni 1832 for nv circum- [d not be a iries could t as their to be mat- i'onimittee. Ind former supplied.'' ut ♦' their dows and nnittee as perintend- lerty when f baptism ,r mission-
ary could not be present," but this privilege was *' to be allowed cautiously, especially in India and other heathen countries." In all cases tliese assistant niissionari(;s had the right of appeal both to the district mooting and to the Committee. It w.as at the same time in the power of "foreign district meetings" to recounnend any one em- ployed for four years or more as an assistant missionary to be received as " a regular preacher," the years of his employ- ment as an " assistant " to be counted in case of his recep- tion as if ho had been received on trial as a " regular mis- sionary." To the Committee, in view of this condition, it appeared advisable that " not only those should be received on trial as assistant missionaries who were likely to remain througli life in that capacity, but also all candidates for the ministry, without exception, who should be raised up on foreign stations." The intended application of the system to the Provincial work may be learned from a letter from Robert Alder to Richard Knight in 1834, in reference to the reception on trial of a certain young preacher. " The Head of the Church," the Secretary wrote, "appears to be making plain our way in British American Districts by raising up a native agency, and it is probable that instead of incurring the expense of sending out regular missionaries from this country to those provinces and supporting them there on the English scale of allowances, the Committee will employ a greater number of agents raised up on the spot, who, because they are inured to the climate and familiar- ized with the circumstances and facilities of tiie country, will be able to live with equal comfort at a much less expense than persons from this country can. And then by employ- ing assistant missionaries only we can avoid what is becoming a most serious consideration — bringing additional burdens U])on the Legalized Fund."
From the beginning, the attempt to introduce this system
4.18
History of MEfiwDtsM
i
into the Lower Provinces was earnestly withstood by the leading English ministers in the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Districts. Richard Knight and William Temple, chairmen, made no secret of their opposition to it ; and Enoch Wood, no less influential than the^y, expressed sur- prise that "any one out here," as llobeit Alder had been, "could for a moment indulge in such a theory." The Pro- vincial probationers at lirst made no very serious demur, but when, on the arrival of the ^[inutes of 18.S7, i^ was found that Robert Cooney of Nova Scotia, and William Bannister of New Brunswick, who had been the first to bear the new title in the North American colonies, had, with a native Ceylonese brother, been received into " full conne.xion at the Conference of that year as assistant missionaries only, deep dissatisfaction was expressed, especially by the junior men of the New Brunswick District. The agitation was increased by the arrival during the autumn of that year of two English brethren, fully prepared by ordination at the very beginning of their ministerial career for the perfor- mance of all required duties. In view of the general dissatis- faction, William Temple, chairman of the New Brunswick District, forwarded to the Committee, in March, 1838, a most able paper. Through this document he informed that body that the proposed scheme might do for the missions in India, Africa, and some other quarters, " where the natives cannot but accord to Europeans the sincerest deference on account of character, intelligence and oflice," but that " in this country, whose natives apprehend no such superiority, and where a general wish prevails to foster native talent, supposed to be fully equal to any importation," the case was widely different. "Already," he added, "we are beginning to feel the consequence of Brothers Bannister and Cooney appearing on the Minutes as received into full connexion as assistant missionaries only." Persistence
OUGANIZATIOX OF COXFEREXCE.
439
id by tlie incl New II Temple, ) it ; and •essed sur- hiid been, The Pro- lemur, but was found Bannister XV tlie new 1 a native inexion at aries only, the junior tation was hat year of lion at the ,he perf or- al dissatis- Brunswick h, 1838, a 3rmed that missions in he natives 'erence on t that " in uperiority, ive talent, " the ease " we are Bannister eived into ersistence
in such a course, lie assured the Ensjflisli authorities, must be followed by inevitable disaster, tlir-ou^'h the depar- ture of young minist(;rs to the Methodist Kjjiscopal Church in the United States, or to the niinistrv of other denomina- tions nearer home. "The anomaly," he went on to say, "of restraining ukmi fully devoted to the ministry of Christ, and our equals in piety and usefulness, from administering the sacraments excepting in special cases, would be exceedingly burdensome, if not impracticable. , . . In such cases we might anticipate division, and the synipathies of our people would most generally accompany the class that would be con- sidered as unneces.sarily degi-aded, and degraded merely because not sent out by the Committee " In ecpially strong terms he also assured his British fathers and brethren, as the Nova Scotia chairman had pi-eviou.sly done, that no assistant missionary could be more economically supported than the " Regulars," whose salary, in the face of expenses not borne by ministers in England, was smaller than that received on the poorest English circuit." In Newfoundland alone the measure was entertained with satisfaction, for there it seemed to open up the way for the full and permanent em- ployment of several excellent men who had been engaged in the colony for some years as local preachers and teachers of Wesleyan day-schools. This it, however, failed to do, the name of one candidate only from the colony — of another class — having found a place upon the JNIinutes under the new designation.
To earnest protests against the proposed system no very definite replies were received. Under these circumstances the .senior ministers hesitated to recommend young men ; young men previously accepted, protested against the posi- tion they weie forced to occupy ; and morf* than one intending candidate sought entploymeiit in other fields. In January, 1840, S. D. Rice wrote from Sydney, C.B., where his
440
11 1 STORY OF MKTItODISM
^
. I
in'cseiicc iin(l(!r peculiar oii-cuiiistauces was a very stroiif; proof of (l(Miominatioiial loyalty, that Ih^ was '' (let<u'iiiiiM'(l to niaiiitaiii tlic point until " his "life's oiul a;,'aiiist th<^ al)OiMinal)le appoiulaj^o." The ohjcnrtioiiahlo " appcuda/^c,' nevertheloss, contiinuHl to he used for s«'veral years, a}»pear- in<^ for the last time in tlie Minutes of 1H4G, wIumi three youiif; ministers in the Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and two in the New lirunswick, District, received the aj>pellation, which at that p(M-iod had come to lie scarcely more than anotluM' name for " probationers "' or "preachers on trial." Of those who, at ditlercMit periods during the ten years' use of a dt^si^gMiation generally understood to imply inferiority, bore the title of "Assistant Missionary,' one died as senior "general superintendent of the Methodist Church of the Dominion, Newfoundland and l>ermuda ; two became presidents of the Conference of Eastern British America, both having loeen also elected to the otlice of book- steward and editor ; while a fourth filled the chair of co-delegate in the same Conference. Another was also mourned at liis departure as a most successful chairman and superintendent of missions in aWest Indian District. Among them were men who became leaders in the Methodist educa- tional work in the Provinces, and who more than once stood on the platform of the English Conference as representa- tives of Provincial or Dominion Methodism. Others als- occupied leading circuits in the several provinces.
The only alternative before the Committee now lay in i promotion of a scheme for the organization of their missions in the British North American provinces into one or more comparatively independent Conferences, at the earliest pos- sible period. Such a scheme had already received some attention from the Missionary Committee. The arrange- ment of a union, to embrace the whole of the British North Auiericau Dis ricts was,, it can scarcely be doubted, one of
oitiiAxr/ATios or ('(^s^FPJiExci:.
Ill
etormined
ifJlillKt tlio
:)p(Mi(lii<,'(',' i-s, !il>l>eiu-- vliou three le Edward i^ceived the )e scurcoly " preachers ill'' tlie ten I to imply nary," one jMethodist luuda ; two eru Britisli ce of book- 3 chair of • was also airman and ct. Among (dist educa- once stood representa- 3thers als(
lay in ti»<* kir missions lu! or more larliest pos- liived some le arrange- Itish North
bed, one of
the princij)al oUjocts contemplated in Kohert Alder's visit to Canada in IS.'i'J, and in the way of its aciMHiiplishmciit. the editor of the Cliristimi (ritardutu, tiiu org.'in of I'ppcr C-anada Methodism, saw tli<Mi no ditlicuity. At that pfiind the legislative etlorts previously made for tin- pi-omotion of intei'-provincial communication and trade seemed likely to be crowned with success, as the steamer lioi/nl William^ built specially for tlu; purpose, had been j^laced on the route betw(!en Halifax and Quebec, with instructions to call at some intermediatf! ports. The experience of a year or two, however, proved the project of a closer commercial relation between the Upper and Lower Provinces to be premature, and the abandonment of elFort in that direction s<'ems to have been followed by a relinquishment of the ecclesias- tical aim.^ The efforts of the Missionary Secretaries in 1835, to secure; a triennial meeting ot the ministers of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Districts, in which purpose they were thwarted by some of the missionaries on the ground, were believed to be by way of preparation for a confederation of the districts. In December, 183;), Enoch Wood wrote to a brother minister : " The plan of indepen. dency is not new to my mind. It has been plain enough
3 The political imiun of tlie British North American colonies had long I'cen €'1 (lisciiisst'd (lue.stion. In 1S08, Richard John l-niacke hiid intro- diiced the .sul)ject before the legislature of Nova Scotia; and in 1824, Chief Justice Sewall, the Rev. John Strachan and the lion. .). H. liohin- son, of the Upper Provinces, presenttnl to the Colonial Minister a plan for the union of the several liritish American provinces, l)Ut .lames Stuart, to whom the plan was njferred hy tlie Knglish otticial, reported against it. A year later the legislature of Lower < 'anada authorize(l the government to offer the sum of tl.oUO per year as a sul)sidy for a steam .service l'<'tween <.2iii-''«'-' ''■'"^ Halifax, to which the Nova .Scotia legisla- ture ad d an offer of half that amount. As a result the Jtoi/nl Wi/liuni \vas bvult in (.^ueljec and furnished with machinery constructed at Mont- real, and was placed on the 1 imposed route. After having run between Halifax and (2uel)ec for the two .seasons of lH8li and IHIW, she was with- drawn from the route "l)ecauseof insufficiency of business." On their reiiiov. 1 from Windsor to Lower Canada, in 1833, William Croscombt! and hi iamily took passage in the Roiial WiUinrn. A [lolitical union of several provinces was also recommended b}' Lord Durham, in 183li, in his report to the British goverunient.
442
HISTORY OF METHODISM
from the Conirnittee's own communications that they have been aiming at this for a long time." After liaving asserted his belief that a union with Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Quebec was not likf ly to result in any direct benefit to Methodism in \(iw lirunswick, the far-sighted writer went on to say : "And yet I like the idea of being free 'mighty well.' Some of the Con)mittee's regulations retard ratlier than advance the work. Their prohibition about new circuits — see this applied to Miramichi and Grand Manan ; against any official puijlications l)y us— see their fiat about the ' Nova .Scotia and N'ew lirunswick Magazine'; and then their interference alxjut the appointments. . . . If it can be adjusted you may depend upon it our people would be more interested in the work, and we should generally increase. A general superintendent would be of 'immense advantage' to us and our cause." Difficulties in Canada caused further delay in the considtM-ation of the larger scheme, but at the meeting of representatives of the two districts in Halifax, in 1S39, Dr. Aldc^r submitted the subject, among others, of the uniop. of the missions in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island into one Conference, consisting of three districts, but lefi the minis- ters free to report their views at the nrxt annu.al meetings- In 1841 it was airain understood by leading Provincial ministers that a North American Conference, with trienniil sessions, was to be established, but it was not until 1843 that a pro[)osition for " the consolidation of the whole of our work in Jiritish North America" reached the ministers of the sevtM-al di.stri<;ts, Xewfoumlland included, with a request for oi)inions and suggestions uj-on it, for the "infor- mation and guidance " of the Committee. The replies from the districts were not reassuring; the " magniiicent distances" and absence of communication between the several points weighing not less heavily against the ecclesias-
ORaANIZATWX OF CONFERENCE.
443
tical, than tlio political, union. In addition, the members of the Newfoundland District found adverse reasons in the " peculiar tinancial reverses " to which that colony was suV)ject, and in " their judgment, founded on experience," that " scarcely any of the changes with other North Ameri- can Districts had worked well, owing to the varied unfitness of the Ijretliren who have come from them, to engage in the toils and self denial attendant on this mission." The minis- ters of the New Jiruuswii-k District, while disapproving of an annual Conference of the several North Amei-ican provinces, gave it as their opinion that it might he advisable and expedient to divide Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island into at least four districts, and to holfi a triennial oi" (juadrenniiil Conference or Convention, to }>e composed of members from the various district meet- ings, when such interchanges could l)e effected between ministers of various districts as might be deemed necessary, and general Inisiness could be transacted, all arrangements and decisions to be subject to the control of the British Confer^mce.
At a meeting of the members of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Districts, held at Sackville in June, 1S47, a j)roposal from the Secretaries, in accordance with the reso- Jutions of the New F3runswick brethren in 184.'?, came up for discussion Fortv-six ministers met at Sackville from the tliree provinces to confer, upon the topic of consolidation, with Robert Alder, who had just succeeded in the tinal re- e^itablishment of union between the iiritish and Upper Canada Conferences. Having transacted the usual annual business, and awaited for a time the ai-rival of the Secretary, they discussed the proposition, expressed their cordial ap- proval of it, promised to any basis of union laid before them their " most serious and pi-actical attention," and having been in session nearly a foi'tnight, separated for their vari
444
11 I STORY OF METHODISM
i
I i
ous appoiiitnients. On July 1 9tli, in accordance with a call from Dr. Alder, eighteen of their number, from both dis- tricts, with Matthew Richey, A.M., from Canada, met in session at Halifax, where Dr. Alder had arrived on the previous day. In tliis list were Richard Knight and Alex- ander \V. McLeod, ciiairniau and secretary of the Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island District ; with Enoch Wood and William Temple, holding the same offices in the New Brunswick District. Over the two days' business Matthew Kichey presided at the request of the visiting Secretary, who was unequal to the performance of duty. In accordance with the wish of the latter, who desired a more definite expresssion of opinion than that given at Sackville, the assembled ministers unanimously decided it to be expedient that preparatory to the formation of a "Convention or Conference the work should be thrown into subdivisions," and then proceeded to form the forty-two circuits in the three provinces into four sections, under the names of the Halifax, Liver-pool, St. John, and Charlotte- town and New Brunswick North Districts, the several annual meetings to be held in .May, and the first session of the " British North American Conference " to be com- menced in St. John, N.B., on the first Wednesday in July, 1848, at ten a.m., in accordance with a notice appended to tlie printed list of circuits and appointments. This plan, with an earnest appeal for a stated annual sum for the maintenance of the work, as well as a grant for past deficiencies, and a proposition foi" the establishment of a Contingent Fund, the ministers submitted to the Mission- ary Committee for their consideiation, asking, in case of its favorable reception, that, " whenever possible, the person who should be appointed as president of the Canada Con- ference might also preside at the Conference recommended.'' After an unexplained delay, communication was re-opened
n
ORGANIZATION OF CONFERENCE.
445
with a call (1 both dis- ci a, met in k^ed on the b and Alex- ' the Nova ivith Enoch (ffices in the ys' business the visiting ce of duty, lo desired a lat given at y decided it ination of a ! thrown into |he forty two IS, under the ,d Charlotte- the several Irst session of to be corn- day in July, appended to This plan, sum for the ,nt for past shment of a Ithe Mission- in case of its I, the person anada Con- lonimended.'' as re opened
in 1849 with the chairmen, whose views were asked re- specting a " North American Conference, witli Federal Conferences, embracing Eastern Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Western Canada," with a " view to ren(U3r our colonial missions more independent in action and more entirely self-supported." In ]\Iarch, 1850, at a nuseting of the General Committee in London, the Secretaries were requested to prepare a sketch of a plan for the organization of such a conference. Matters at last seemed ripe for a union of the circuits in the Lower Provinces' Disti-icts at least, when the teri'ihle disruption in English Methodism, in 1849-52, assumed its greatest propoi'tions, and the attack upon the management of the Missionary Society, ending in the necessary withdrawal of one leading olHcial, and tlie subsequent and legi'etted I'etirement of another, caused for a time the suspension of all })roposed arrangements icspect- ing the foreign Held not demanding instant attention. I'he only changes in I'lastern British American territory during this period of strife, were the transfer of l>ermuda in 1849 to the Nova Scotia District, and the division of that district, in 1852, into the Nova Scotia Western District and the Nova Scotia East and Prince Edward Island District.
In 1855 a long deferred measure was in pai't matured. The scheme of a general union of the several mission sec- tions in Bi'itish North America-^a pet purpose in all prob- al)ility of the amlntious mind of Robert Alder — was for the time abandoned, and a special delegate, sent out by the Committee to assist in the consolidation of Methodism in the Upi)er Provinces, was authorized to visit the Lower Colonies and give assistance in the foi'mation of the circuits in the several districts in those provinces and in Newfound- land into a separate Conference.
The delegate chosen foi" the performance of these impor- tant duties was John Beecham, D.D., senior Missionary
•w
446
HISTORY OF METHODISM
0
Secretary. A detailed statement of his services to Meth- odism, subse(|uent to liis appointment as a secretary in 1831, would recjuire reference to ahnost every event of impor- tance to tlie denomination in Britain and her dependencies during the twenty-four years of his official service. Tlie West Indies had been hii-gely indebted to him for that direction of their missions during the period immediately preceding the abolition of slavery which had won for him the regard of Thomas Olarkson and Thomas Fowell Buxton; to his intelligent and repeated applications to the War- office, New Zealand had owed the maintenance of the treaty of Waitangi, the Magna Cliarta of the Maoris and the colonists; while by his f?;eutlemaidy and candid intercourse with the officers and committees of other religious societies a sincere respt^ct had been secured for the principles and position of that section of the Church of which he was a i-epresentative. Of the regard entertained for him by his nearer brethi'en, adequate proof was given by their choice of him in 1850 — a critical period in the denominational historv— as chief officer of the British Conference,
On May 24th, 18.");"), Dr. Beecham landed at Halifax. There, on the following morning, he met the ministers of the Nova Scotia Western District, and a day or two later held a lengthy conversation with a numb(;r of the official members of the Methodist churches in the city. Thence he proceeded with l)r. liichey to Amherst, to meet there the ministers of the Nova Scotia East District. On .lune 1st he explained his mission to the ministei's of the New Brunswick District, assembled iti St. John, and on the following day addressed forty and more laymen upon the same topic. In each place he received a hearty welcome. On his return from Up})er Canada he was accompanied by Enoch Wood and John Ryerson, president and co-delegate of the Canada Confer- ence. Delegates from the several sections concerned met in
I
ORGANIZATION OF CONFERENCE.
\\\
BS to Meth- ry in 1831,
b of impor- epeudencies
rvioe. The ini for that [luuiediately won for him veil Buxton ; to the War- of the treaty oris and the cl intercourse ious societies ,rinciples and hich he was a )r him \)y l"S y their choice nominational
nee.
^alifax. There, ;s of the Nova later held a cial members I he proceeded the ministers the explained Avick District, |day addressed In each place |n from Upper ,od and John :inada Oonfer- .cerned met in
Halifax, among them Thomas Angwin, John S. Addy and Samuel W. 8prague, from Newfoundland, and the venerahle Isaac Whitehouse, from Bermuda. The sessions of the Conference were commenced on July 1 7th in the Rruns%vick- street ciiurch, when the chair was taken bv Dr. Beecham, and William Temple was elected secretary. The chairman of this provisional Conference then laid upon the table the unanimously adopted resolutions of the several district meetings upon the object of his mission. Addresses having been given by Messrs. Wood, Ryerson, Knight, and the veneral)le William Bennett, and the resolutions of the dis- trict meetings having rendered unnecessary any discussion of the general question, the Confei-ence then proceeded with business according to the order observed by the parent body.
By this Conference the " missions in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Cape lireton. New Brunswick, Newfound- land and Bermuda " were constituted a " distinct but, affiliated conntxion, to be called 'the Wesleyan Meth- odist Connexion' or 'Church, of Eastern British America.'" The plan adopted — with some modifications in detail to adapt it to local circumstances — was that on which the English Conference in ISoL' had formed its missions in Fi'ance into an atliliated Conference. The tei-ritory of the Conference was divided into seven districts, known as Hali- fax, St. John, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Sackville, Ann- apolis and Newfoundlantl, the Bernuida mission being included in the Halifax District. In accordance with the recognized right of the British Confeience to appoint year l>y y Jir the chief officers, as long as it should see tit so to do Dr. Beecham became president, and, by election of the Confer- ence, Matthew Ricliey, D.D., became co delegate, and William Temple secretary. The auxiliary lelation of the societies in the .several districts to the English Missionary
448
HISTORY OF METHODISM
Society remained unchanged, and the British Conference maintained tlie right to disallow any measure passed hy the new Conference, provided that such right were exercised with- in twelve months from the passage of the measure. As far as possible the financial systen» of tlie Parent Confcirence was adopted, arrangements heing made for the organization and support of several special funds— the Contingent, supple- mented by any English grant, to meet deficiencies of poorer circuits, extend the Avork of God, and as its name implies, to pro\ide for any peculiar exigencies arising through the year — I he Children's, to equalize the burden of large families upon the circuits, and thus remove a serious difficulty in the allotment of stations — the Supernumerary, for the aid of enfeebled ministei's and ministers' widows — and, finally, a fund for the education of ministers' children. In order to enlist the sympathies and active co-operation of the laity, the committees having the management of these funds were constituted of equal numbers of ministei's and laymen. Circuit stewards were requested to be present at the annual district meetings during the transaction of financial busi- ness, and also at the newly-arranged financial meeting in the autumn. The Provincial Wesleyan, previously published under the direction of the Nova Scotia District, was adopted as the official organ of the Conference, and a committee was appointed, with a view to the establishment of a Connexional book- room, in the placr; of tiie small branch office previously in existence. For the information of the circuits, in rela- tion to the new departure, the reports in the WcsJeyan were supplemented by the printing of a large edition of " Minutes," and the circulation of four thousand copies of the " Pastoral Address."
Under wise direction the Conference reached a prompt and pleasant ternunation. On July 2r)th, tlie president, accompanied by the co delegate, the chairmen of districts
Jonference
5ed by the
cised with- As far as
i>rence was
zation and
n\t, supple-
-s of poorer
! implies, to
«^h the year
rge fannlies
culty in the
I- the aid of
id, finally, a In order to
of the laity,
e funds were ,nd laymen.
,t the annual
tiancial busi- meeting in ily published was adopted immittee was Connexion al pe previously [uits, in rela- 'sleyan were edition of ,nd copies of
-A a prompt
Ihe president,
of districts
ORaANIZATlON OF COiVF/'JIiA'iM'h'.
449
and several senior ministers, waited upon Sir J, (laspard Le Marchant, lieutenant-governor of Kova Scotia, and pre- sented hiin with au address wiiich elicited a most courteous renly ; and on the following day the Minutes of the first Conference of Eastern British Auierica received the official signature of the president and secretary.
fn British America l)r. Beecham fully sustained the reputation so well earned at liome. In private intercourse he had endeared himself to all by his manly simplicity and unaffected kindness ; as a preacher he had im})ressed his hearers by his lucid and instructive exposition of sacred verities ; and throughout the sessions of the Conference he had shown himself to be wise and deliberate in advice and decided in action — a presiding officer at once digiiitied, discriminating, patient and courteous, and a thorough master of all questions connected with his mission. A visit to Newfoundland had been a part of his original design, but tliis purpose he was unable to fulfil ; the Conference there- fore deputed INIessrs. Richey and Knight to proceed to St. John's in his place. Having sailed on one of three steamers, which at the same hour left Halifax with Wesleyan minis- ters for England, Newfoundland and Bermuda, he reached Leeds on the last day of a long-protiacted Conference, only in time to render an account of his successful mission to his English bi'ethren. On that mission he had entei'ed in a spirit of self-sacrifice, and in its completion, with his usual devotion to his work, he had, it was believed, exerted him- self to an extent unwarranted by his physical health. On his arrival in England his friends urged rest, but he paid little heed to their advice until the following spring, when, at the urgent request of his medical attendant, he left official duties to seek the needed relaxation. That step, however, was taken too late, and the end was nearer tlian was supposed. On April 22nd, 1856, he closed a most use- 29
w
tt'
if
1[
450
HISTORY OF METHODISM
ful life-service with a triumphant assurance to watching friends of "perfect peace ! perfect peace ! " A full-length portrait of this first president of the Eastern British American Conference, painted soon after his return to England, adorns the platform of Lingley Hall, Sackville, occupying a place opposite to that of Charles Frederick Allison.
jvatching ill-length British 3turn to ^ackville, Frederick
CHAPTER XIX.
SKETCH OF PROCRKSS DURlN(i KXISTKNCK OF EASTERN
BRITISH AMERICAN CONFERENCE, WITH NOTES
ON SURSEt^UENT UNIONS.
Englisli Presidents. Financial plans. Home Mission Societj'. Jubilee celebration. Territorial <^r()\vtli. Labrador. St. Pierre. Death of senior ministers. English ministerial recruits. Josej)!! Laurence. Membershij). Mount Allison College. Rook Room and " Wesleyan." Movements towards union with the Canadian Conference. Con- summati<jn of Union. Further Union in 1883.
For a period of nineteen years the Methodism of the Lower Provinces retained the form of organization secured in 1855. Throughout those years, the latter of which were marked by pleasing development, the new Conference received important financial assistance from the Parent body, and derived valuable counsel from several of the more prominent men of English Methodism, The chair of the Conference was taken in 18G0 by William B. Boyce, previously a distinguished missionary to South Africa, and tirst president of the Australian Conference, who in 1861 was elected one of the General Secretaries of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. In 1864 the business of the assembled ministers was guided by William Lockwood Thornton, con- nexional editor, and that year representative from the British Conference to the General Conference of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church of the United States and president of the Canadian Conference, as well as president of the British Conference. The occupant of the presidential chair in 1866 was George Scott, D.D,, a former very sue-
■!
I
I
452
HISTORY OF METHODISM
cessful minister to Sweden, whose interest in the work in Eastern liritisli America ended only with his life ; and in 18G8 by VV'illiam Morley Punshon, English Methodism's most gifted orator, and in some respects the foremost man in the Methodist Church at large, who through husy years in England and in Canada, and through the possession and loss of beloved friends in eacli, became bound to botii hemi" spheres. Of the fifteen other Conference sessions, six were presided over by Matthew liichey, D. D., two by Humphrey Pickard, D.D., two by John McMurray, and one each by Charles De Wolfe, D.D., Henry Daniel, Henry Pope, Jun., James G. Hennigar, and Charles Stewart, D.I) , the session of 18G2 being the first to be presided over by a provincial- bom president and co-delegate.
In a new and semi-independent position tiie financial interests of the denomination demanded the exercise of nmch judgment and tact. At the outset, while assuring tlie Conference of an extension for a time of the aid previously given by the Missionary Committee, Dr. Beecham had impressed both ministers and laymen witli the attainment of a position of self-support as an ainj to be steadily kept in view, in order to leave the Conunittee thoroughly free to devote undivided efibrt and funds to the promotion of missions in purely heathen countries. With a view to the wishes of the Committee, the several Wesleyan missionary societies in the provinces were in 1856 formed into one general association, designated the " Missionary Society of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Eastern British America, auxiliary to the Wesleyan Missionary Society," to be under the management of a conunittee, ten members of which should be laymen. Under this arrangement, a sum seldom larger than the grant from England, was annually contributed to the general fund, any material enlargement of the Provincial receipts being checked in great measure by the rapid growth of a highly popular Home Mission Society.
yt.
SKETCH or ruoaREss.
453
work in ife ; and hodism's lost n\an iisy years ssion and oth hemi- , six were luniphrey } each by ope, Jun., the session provineial-
» financial (xercise of ssurin^ tlie previously cliam had ttainment ly kept in ly free to amotion of sriew to the missionary I into one Society of h America, ^o be under ; of which ium seldom contributed ent of the ure by the Society.
Much importance was attached to tlie development of a Contingent Fund, " oiu^ of the oldest and most excellent charities of the British Conference," intended to meet the deficiencies of poorer circuits, and to extend the woik of God, as well as to provide for any unforeseen exii;<'nces in yearly service. Its sources of income were the annual missionary gratit and the subscriptions and collections in the congregations and classes.
In 1858, to render the purpose of this fund more intelli- gible, the name of " Home Mission " was prefixed to its previous title. A minute of the Prince Edward Island District in 18G0, respecting the urgent necessity for some arrangement for the extension of the benefits of the Wes- leyan ministry to destitute portions of that island, led to a long conversation upon the desirableness of some general plan for the systematic extension of the work in all sections of the Conference territory ; the subject was, in consefjuence, referred to the Contingent Fund Committee foi- more care- ful consideration, and with instructions to present any feasible plan for the accomplishment of an end so important. No decided action, however, was taken until six years later, when, under the pressure of a proposed large reduction in the grant from England, and repeated deficiencies in min- isterial salaries to the extent of five thousand dollars per year, the Conference resolved that at the ensuing financial district meetings arranjjements should be made for the hold- ing of a Home Mission meeting that year on each circuit. At the same time a financial classification of circuits was resolved upon, in accordance with which all circuits raising less than four hundred dollars per year for circuit expenses, inclusive of the claims for the Children's Fund, should be rated as Home Missions. In 18G8, when deficiencies in salaries had reached the alarming figure of nine thousand dollars, the Conference further decided that
'' w
454
II I STORY OF METHODISM
the Home Mission and Contingent Fund should be divided into two distinct funds — the, one to bo known as " The Home Mission, ' and the other as "The Contingent," Fund. The issue of this action proved most forcil)ly that the use of the word " Contingent " liad caused misapprehension of the real purpose of the fund, and had iiidden to some extent its vital importance to the Church. An immediate increase in the receipts led at the next Conference to some further adjustment of the relations of the two funds. The objects of the "Circuit Aid and Contingent Fund" were decided t(^ be tiie " maintenance of the church on estab- lished but dependent circuits, and the defraying of certain expenses necessarily incident to the operations of the Con- ference," its sources of income to be the subscriptions and collections in classes and congregations, and the amount of the grant by the Missionary Society to aid in the " susten- tation of the work formerly carried on under its immediate direction." The purpose of the " Home Mission F'und," as defined in the Minutes, was the " sustentation of the work on those more recently occupied fields of labor, which may with propriety be regarded as mission stations ; and its extension to destitute portions of territory yet unoccu- pied by our agencies." The income for such effort was to be sought in annual collections at puljlic meetings to be held at all the principal preaching-places throughout the Con- nexion, donations made for the promotion of the objects contemplated by the fund, and interest on moneys invested. A committee for the management of the new fund was composed of leading Conference officials, the chairmen of districts, two laymen to be appointed by the Conference, and one to be elected by the circuit stewards of each dis- trict. In 1870 the income of the fund amounted to nearly two thousand five hundred dollars, enabling the Conference to pay more than fifty per cent, of the deficiencies on a
divided as " The ,," Fund, i the use siisioii of le extent 1 increase e further is. Tlie lid " were on estab- jf certain : the Oon- (tions and le amount e " susten- iunnediate on Fund," ion of the jbor, which [tions ; and et unoccu- :brt was to to be held It the Con- lie objects s invested, fund was airmen of lonference, if each dis- |d to nearly Conference Incies on a
SKtlTcn OF VROaRKSS.
455
number of comparatively recent missions, and eliciting many inspiriting expressions of approval, oral and written, from influential members of the donomination. Iht^ Con- ference that year> at the suggestion of several laymen belong- ing to Halifax, orgjinized a Conference " Homo Mission Society," the annual anniversary to be held during the Con- ference session of each year. Through the recei})ts of the year, double in amount to those of the pre(;eding year, circuits which had becui cri{)j)le(l and embarrassed in pecuniary resourc(!S, weie furnished with timely aid ; lifilds which had been partially or wholly abandoned tor want of laborers were re-occupied ; and new stations were formed as centres of evangelistic ellort in thinly-pef)pled and spiritually destitute localities, while many straying souls were led to theii- Sa\ lour. The remaining years of the period saw only increased liberality and corresponding success. In 1^73, an ex- ecutive committee was appointed to nuike arrangements respecting new workers and new tields in tlu; interim of Conference sessions, and the autumn district meetings were charged with the duty of having any unsupplied circuits visited not less than four times in each year. At the end of tlie period under review, when the fund was about to be closed as a distinct source of income, its success had be- come most apparent. Its committee reported, at the final gathering of the members of the Eastern British American Conference, an income, including a large balance from the previous year, of fifteen thousand dollars ; a commendable interest on the part of the aided missions in the f'nancial work of the Church, as shown in the erection of churches and parsonages, repairs, and removal of debt on Conference property ; and, better than all, great spiritual prosperity, manifested in the large increase of membership on various stations.
The " Educational Fund for Ministers' Children," based
VI
i 'n
456
HI STORY OF METHODISM
^P
upon tlie Kiii;^.swood s^.-IkkjI scheme of the Hritisli Coiiferencej was never |)0})ular, and tlie force of ;iny rtjason for its exis- tence was lessened hy the adoptioti in several proviiices of the free-school system. Its funds had been derived from sub- scriptions of ministers and collections in the congregations, and a considerable amount had l.>pen disbursed, when in 1870 it was merged in the Kducational Soci((ty of the Conference, the principal objects of wiiich were the financial aid of young men in preparation at Mount Allison for the ministry of the (.^hurch, and the keeping more fully before the public of the rising educational institutions of the Connexion. The Children's Fund, unlike that just named, was closely con- nected with the tinar.cial constitution of the Church. Its purpose was to e«jualize the buiden of the larger families and to remove a .s*M-ious ditliculty in the allotment of stations; and its allowances were secured by a tax upon the circuits in accordance with the numbers in membership, the amount of which Ix'caine an imper.-itive demand upon the superintendent of each circuit.
A more popular fund was that known as tlu^ Supernum- erary Ministers' and Ministers' Widows' Fund. At the outset it bore tlie name of the " Worn-out Ministers' Fund," the support for whicli was to be derived from an annual appeal to vhe classes and congregations. \\\ 185(5 the name was changed, and in l''^57 it was enacted that each minister and preacher on trial, not connect<'d with the Annuitant Fund of the English Conference, should })ay the sum of ten dollars an?iually. in advance. Other ministers were permitted to become members of the fund by a similar J)ay- ment, and the niendjersof the Church in the various circuits were urged to contribute through class cc itributions and chuich collections a sum e<jual to an average of ten cents per member. Certain sources of income were to be reserved for the formation and increa.se of a ca{)ital stock, wliile
|
! |
SKETCH OF riUXiUKSS.
4;")7
iferencc,
its exis- vhicrs oi troin sub- cgations, uiulSTO .iifereuce, [ of younj; linistry of
public of .(.n. The osely cou- irch. Its ;r families otinent of c upon the
u'ship, the upon the
upenium- At the n-s' Fund," an annual |G the name 1 minister Atmuitant he sum of isters were |imilar pay- )us circuits lotions and If ten cents It' reserved ,ock, while
others were set apart as curivnt income. Tlui fust lay treasurer oi this fund, (lilbert T. Kay, Ks(|., of St. -lohn, berjueatlied to it the sum of twelve liundri'd and lifty [><>unds, and made it a residuary legatee, and during the years IHO^-OT) it rerei\'e(l two legacies of one thousand dollars each from Martin (iay P>lack and the lion. William A. niack, sons of the pioneer nnnlster of h<uiored memory, as well as h'gacies of smaller amounts :!; various dates. Through the annual disbursements of tins fund, under the careful management of Humphrey Pickard, I ).])., and suc- cessive lay ti'easurers, not a few families of ministers who had spent their hest days in the service of (iod and for the highest inten'sts of their fellow men have been saved from actual need ; while othei's, possessed of liuuted means, have \>y its assistance been en.ihled to secure comforts wiiich must otherwisf^ liave been beyond their reach.
In 1800 a committee was appointed to impure into ami take into consideration the state of Conne.xional [uojieity in general. A yeai- later the Conference decided that no [>arsonage sliould be built without peri.ussion from the district meeting, and that plans for model residences for ministers should be obtninf^d. Tn 1S()12 a Parsonajre Aid Fund, baseil upon a special grant given for that and several successive years by ti,e {'English Committee in aid of the erection of parsonages in Nova Scotia, New l>runswick and Prince Edward Island, was successfully launched. Duiing the next four years, by a cjireful administration of the moneys at the disposal of the nuinagers, the building of twelve new parsonages was pi-omoted, tiie purcliase of live dwellings for parsonages was secured, and six oi u's were relieved from the burdeii of debt. Subsefpiently the u.se of mrAfA plans was made oliligatory u[)on all beueticiaries, except in case of })urchase by special })ermission.
J!5everal of these Conference schemes received imjMntant ,is
M
Ri If
i I
458
HISTORY OF METHODISM
sistance from the jubilee celebration of the organizing in 1813 of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. That movement, which called forth from the Wesleyans of (ilreat Britain and the foreign missions unconnected with the athliated Conferences grateful gifts amounting to one hundred and ninety thou- sand pounds, was taken up in J:5ritish America in 18G4. The presence at the Conference of that year of William L. Thornton, A.M., president; Robinson iScott, of the Irish Conference, and of John Allison, A.M., principal of the Ladies' Academy at Mount Allison, liy each of whom deeply interes..iig repoi'ts of English gatherings addressed by them were given, created much enthusiasm. After the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars had been subsci'ibed by the ministers present, the Conference resolved that a num- ber of its members should accompany the president to Halifax to confer with friends in that city respecting ar- rangements for several meetings to be held there before the departure of Messrs. Thornton and Scott. Tlie niinistei's of the Conference delegation were also authorized to associ- ate with themselves such laymen as they could, the whole to constitute a committee to make immediate plans for central Jubilee gatherings in St. John, Fredericton, Char- lottetown and St. John's, Newfoundland, to be hekl at the earliest possible date. At the same time a number of ministers and laymen from all parts of the Conference ter- ritory were named as a general committee of the " Aux- iliary Jubilee Fund ' of the Eastern British American Con- ference, of which the Hon. John H. Anderson and H. Pickard, D.l)., were appointed the treasurers. Arrange- ments for meetings to be held in the various circuits of the several districts were left to the judgment of the financial meeting of each district. The occasion called forth grateful and devout acknowledgment of past blessings, of the sin- cerity of which gifts amounting to the sum of twelve thousand dollars attbrded practical evidence.
Iff in 1813 ;ut, which u and the Duferences lety thou- a in 18G4. Villiam L. the Irish pal of the lom deeply (d by them he sum of )scribed by hat a num- L-esident to ipecting ar- ! before the i ministers d to associ- the whole plans for ;ton, Char- leld at the numV)er of erence ter- ,he '* Aux- rican Con- lu and H. Arrauge- liits of the |e tinancial th grateful If the sin- of twelve
SKETCH OF PROGRESS.
459
Througli the divine blessing u})on ellbrts in various depart- ments the territorial growth of the Conference became .some- what rapid, especially when a s<^mewliat vigorous stimulus had been received from the Home Mission Society. At the organization of the Conference in 1855 the names of seventy circuits found a place on its otlicial Minutes; in 167-1, at the division of the Conference, Is ova Scotia proper alone contained sixty-eight circuits and missions. At the same time lifty-live were reported from Kew Brunswick, and twelve, instead of the previous three, from Prince KtUvard Island. During the nineteen years the nine circuits of the Frederif'ton District had become nineteen, and the seven of the Sackville District had become twelve. Urowth in the number of stations in Newfoundland had also been very rapid, the fourteen of 1855 having become thirty-seven in .c87 i, nineteen of which were under Home Mission auspices. New gi'ound had been occuj)ied in Placeutia l>ay, and devoted young men had been posted at various points of the coast between the older circuits and the Straits of Belle Isle.
Labrador, on the opposite side of the Straits, was one of the tirst points placed on the list of Home missions. Most of tlie settlers on tlie southern section of that neglected coast had been drawn thitlier l;y commercial interests from various parts of Newfoundland, but with these were others, wlio had been driven from various parts of the colony Ijy failure and misfortune. A part of them had been favored with Christian teaching by the Wesleyan ministers stationed on the island, but in their later resort they were deprived of nearly every mark of Christianity, if not of civilization. Roughly estimated, the number of settlers and of others who remained to watch over tisliing property during the winter was between three and four thousand ; but ir\ the summer these were joined by the crews and passengers of
460
HISTORY OF METHODISM
\V
more than throe hundred over-crowded vessels of various sizes fron^ the cok)ny or elsewhere, making; the total number of inhabitants, permanent and temporary, at that season, twenty thousand and more. '* We came in contact," said a young preacher, who labored tliere fifteen year;, ago, "with men of all sorts and from all lands. During the summer we met with Methodist converts from Canada and two of Moody's New Zealand converts in an English vessel, while the writer, being a Welshman liiniself, had a real good time with a Welsh sailor, who sang a few Welsh hymns." Large numbers of Nova Scotian and American lishermen were also drawn to the same bleak coast by its extensive herring and salmon fisheries.
In care for these numerous strays and wayfarers Methodism had certaiidy shown no undue haste. Both Roman Catholic priests and Ritualistic clergymen had left more numerous footprints on that rude shore than her preachers had done, and in some cases had led families which had been cradled in Methodism away from the truth so necessary to their safety. Twice only, as far as is known, had any Methodist missionary found his way to that deso- late yet sometimes busy shore during the long period after the abandonment in 1826 by Ceorge Ellidge of the mission to the Eskimos. This was when the minister at Harbor Grace visited a number of fishing posts in 1 845, and when John S. Addy, of Brigus, followed liim in the succeeding summer. It must not be su{)posed that all the pious fisher- men who found their way thither had hidden their light under a bushel ; many excellent men did what in them lay for the general benelit, but pressure of work on busy days and lack of stated services tested sorely aTul often sadly, the youth whos(> professed conversion dui-ing the previous winter had iiladdened some Christian mother's heart. There was sad significance in a statement of a Newfoundland
.1!
:)f various ,al uuuiber at season, bct," said a 120, " with be summer nd two of issel, while [ good time IS." Large irmeii were ,ive herring
wayfarers aste. Both en had left 'e than her led families m the truth IS is known, that deso- jeriod after the mission at Harbor , and when succeeding lious tisher- their light |n them lay busy days
SKETCH OF PROGRESS.
4G1
In sac
liy, ti
le
previous lirt. There 'found land
Methodist, wlio said that " on some of the Newfoundland circuits after a r(n-ival it is found necessaiy to keep the new converts 'on ti'ial ' for at least one summer, to see if tliey survive the temptations of the Labrador lishing voyage." Of the spiritual loss befalling those who were not pi'ivileged to have any of the religious advantages enjoyed during tlie winter by many of the colonial iishermen, none could form an idea but those who subsecpiently carried the Gospel message from house to house, preaching it to groups as they found opportunity.
In accordance with a reconnnendation for the appoint- ment to Carbonear of a second }>reacher, who should s[)end the summer months at Labrador, the English Committee in 1857 sent out James A. Duke, who had volunteered for Labrador service, l)ut his late arrival prevented entrance upon his intended work during that season. A year later, John S. Peach spent several weeks on the coast; in 1859 Charles Cond)en willingly undertook similar service and in the short space of three months visited and preached at various places between Cape Ray and a distant })oint to the northward ; and for a number of years, with an occasional intermission, the shore received visits from one or other of the ministers as long as he could be spai-ed from some New- foundland circuit ; but such a mode of oversight was soon found to be unsatisfactory and inetlicient, even when the visiting missionary was accompanied by an experienced pilot and conveyed by a whaleboat, in acooi'dance with arrangements made in 18'')0. At length, in 1878, encour- aged by a promise of three hundred dollars per year from the Methodist tSunday-school committee at St. Joim's towards the support of a married minister, the Newfound- land Conference sent John B. Bowell to Red Bay, where in 1862 a church liad been built. Westward of Bed Bay lay a coast line of more than fifty miles in length, including h
462
HISTORY OF METHODISM
iff
number of settlements inhabited by numerous permanent settlers and visited by a large transient class during the summer. The summer travelling northward involved a voyage of several hundreds of miles, with visits to hundreds of harbors and coves. A boat, provided by voluntary sub- scriptions, and equii)ped and manned by a grant from the General Board of Missions, greatly added to his opportuni- ties as a missionary, and gave him accommodation in places where a shelter could not easily have been found on shore. Six years after the appointment of a minister to Red Bay, a second missionary, a young man, was sent to Hamilton Inlet, around which there was a lai'ge resident population of whites and half-breeds connected with the fisheries, or the trade in fur carried on by the Hudson Bay Company. For these isolated missions, with not a mile of road, and cut off from communication with the busy world for eight months of the year, the Newfoundland Conference has always found incumbents, of whose heroism and exposure even Canadian Methodists have only had mere glimpses.
A mission, deemed at the time one of the most important of the newei' stations, was opened at St. Pierre in the autumn of 1873. That island, one of a siumall group distant about fifteen miles from tlie southern f.oaiiMt of Newfound- land, and owned by France, was inhabited ehieHy by French Roman Catholics, Ijut among them were a number of Eng- lish and American settlers, who had long desired the ser- vices of a resident Protestant minister. In 1873, by ar- rangeuient with Ceorge S. Milligan, A.M., chairman of the St. John's District, Joseph Parkins, a Methodist minister who could preach in tiie French language, was sent thither. His congregation, which on Sunday evening filled a building fitted up as a temporary church, was composed of PresV)y- terians. Independents, a few Wesleyans, and a larger num- ber of Episc()])alians, in view of whose presence it had been
SKETCH OF PROGRESS.
463
ermanent jriug the volved a lumdreds itary sub- froin the ->pportu ni- dation in found on ninister to IS sent to e I'esident with the udson Bay i a mile of l)usv world Conference id exposure inipses. important re in the up distant Newfound- by French er of Eng- |d the ser- 3, by ar- lirman of t minister t thither, a building ,f Presby- rger num- had been
arranged that the Episcopal service should be read once on each Sunday. The earlier services were also attended by several French Protestants from the adjacput island of Miquelon, who invited the preacher to visit them also at an early date. A 8unday-scliool, in which for a time the min- ister and his wife had no helpers, was attended l)y nearly all the Protestant children of the place. In 1 874 and 1875 the same minister was re-appointed, but soon after his return in the latter year he was informed by the committee control- ling the building used for worship, that the Episcopalians, the most numerous section of the Protestant inhabitants, would require the room for services to be conducted by an Episcopal minister, obtained through the bishop of New- foundland. As no suitable room was available for Metho- dist services, the Newfoundland Conference, after much deliberation and some criticism respecting the good faith of certain individuals, decided to suspend operations for the time l)eing in a place in which they nevertheless felt that an im- portant work remained to be done. Awaiting the arrival of a more auspicious period, the Conference placed some four- teen hundred dollars in conti-ibutions towards the erection of Methodist misvUon property at St. Pierre in the hands of the trustees of church property in St. John's, in whose possession it remains, subject to the call of the president of the Conference.
The pushing out of ecclesiastical pickets in various direc- tions, involving promise of a belt of missions soon to be clasped about Newfoundland, was not witi\essed with pleasure by all observers. Some who l)orp the name of Protestant could not look upon it with equanimity, and in occasional cases sought to strengthen a waning power by obtaining possession of resting places of the dead. At Ureenspond, as described in a previous chapter, hostility reached a point so bitter as to prompt an attack upon a
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464
If I STORY OF METHODISM
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young niissionaiy, endangoring his life and obliging him to return to England incapacitated for years for full minis- terial service. Even the earlier aggressive steps were marked by the watchful eyes of the ]loiiian(Jatholic hierarchy who, at that period, were being dis(juieted by the general reaction against the political powe?' of Home, the influence of which was reaching Newfoundland from other Jiritish American colonies. With the dismissal of the Kent niin- istry by Sir Alex. Bannerman, and the sanction of that act given by the people at the subse(juent election in 1S61, hos- tile feeling on the part of the Roman Catholic })opulation became so intense as to lead to a succession of outrages against law and order in several (quarters, and to a conflict at the capital with the troops, i^y a vijlley from whom three of the rioters were killed and many others wei'e wounded. At Carbonear, after a desultoiy discharge of firearms by a Roman Catholic mol) and a party of Protestants gatliered for the defence of the stipejuliary magistrate's residence and of the adjoining Methodist church, Christopher Lockhart, the Methodist pastor, was followed by a shower of stones as he entered the stipendiary's dwelling, and the magistrate himself, Israel McNeil, obnoxious to the Roman Catholics because a successor of an otticial of their own faith, was fired upon, a heavily wadded coat only saving him from serious consequences. This riot, quelled finally by a detach- ment of soldiers from Harbor (jJrace, taught the salutary lesson thiit Protestants would arm themselves in self-defence, and checked for a time the tendency to mixed marriages, by which many young Protestants had l)een alienated from the religion of their fathers. The intolerant spirit shown by Roman Catholics throughout the island, and the continued perversion of Protestant families on the long-neglected west coast, also served as a stimulus to the ministers and leading Methodist laity of the colony to push evangel-
SKETCH OF riiOdUESS.
405
t\\\\* him to full minis- steps were ic hierarchy the jreneral
10 iiiftuence her J'ritish ( Kent niin- L of that act
11 18G1, hos- 3 po}>ulation
of outraf^es to a conflict , whom three ere wounded, i rearms by a .nts gatliered esidence and ,er Lockhart, [ver of stones le magistrate ai\ Catholics u faith, was g hin\ from by a detach- the salutary self-defence, iiarriages, by Ited from the t shown by lie continued iig-neglected lie ministers lUsh evangel-
istic etlbrt more vigorously year by year. Of the eftect of their etlbrts some idea may be obtained from the census i(?tui'iis of JSTb which, after an examination of the most completer chai'acter, against whose correctness the minute mcmoi'anda in the pockets of the Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy in certain districts encouraged no protest, i-evealed the startling fact that dui'ing the previous ten years the Methodist Church had added forty per cent, to its share oi the population, and tin; Church of England had made a gain of twenty per cent, while Roman Catholicism had liarely held its own, even though as late as in lS()(j the fui'ther per\t'rsioii of a luindjerof Protestant families on the west shore had Ijeen reported by the chairman of the distiict.
For the tilling of numerous vacancies in the list of min- isters througli su})ei'anii nations, deaths, removals, and for the supply of the numerous new missions, a large number of recruits became necessaiy. Three of the elder men and several of the junior preachers fell in harness. William Smith and William Wilson, two of the seniors, so suddenly i-ested from their labors as to be unable to add in deatii anything to their long life-testimony. William Smith had been a theologian of unusual attainments, a preacher of much ability, a faithful ])astoi', and an earnest wrestler in prayer. A short illness in his home at St. Andrews, in 18()3, was followed bv removal in the " twinkling of an eye." William Wilson, whose life below ceased in 18G9, had been a man of much general information, Avell- tested loyalty, and intelligent zeal. He had had a (piick scent for heterodoxy, and a power to deal with certain forms of it which has not yet received proptu- recognition. As the sun of a Septe'mber Sabbath evening was setting, he had droj){>e(l on his knees in his waggon when on his way from an appointment on the Point de Jiute circuit, the
30
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46G
IIIHTORY OF MliTIIODISM
I )
lines had fallen from his powerless fingers, and lie had ceased "at once to work and live." The death of the third, the venerable Imt niilitary-lookinj^' Richard Knight, was nearly as sudden. He had left home to attend a meeting of the Academic Board at Hackville, where removal from earth took place at the end of a week's illness. Just before he ceased to breathe, a friend, observing him to have been ap- parently absorbed in heavenly meditation, heard hiin say, " I see His glory f Hallelujah!" In all parts of the Conference he had rendered service unsurpassed by tluit of any of his fellow- laborers, and to every post of duty, whether as circuit preacher or Conference co-delegate, he had carried the same high principles of incorruptible integrity. Duty had been perform, d with the strictness of a soldiei-, yet with the spirit of a child ; and pulpit services at three score and ten had su<r<;ested to his hearers no thou<iht of the unwelcome "dead-line."
Several of the senior ministers who during the period had become supernumerai'ies had also, before its termina- tion, entered upon the "rest that remaineth." Of the venerable James Home, and others of the earlier preachers, mention has already been made. Arthur McNutt, in 1864, after live years of supernumerary life, had entered into rest. The record of his more active life had been sustained to the end by his abiding interest in his brethren and in the suc- cess of their work. Throughout a short but painful illness peace had abounded, and the consolations of the Gospel he had faithfully preached had steadily sustained him. Shortly before death he had remarked to a friend who had been looking out at the evening sky, "The Star of liethle- heni shines brightly upon n;e." John Brownell, who died during the same yeai", had reluctantly retired in 1869. His qualifications for his work had been of a high oj(l<r. In pulpit and pastoral labors he had been a pattern of excel-
; I
■l'l.
SKETCH OF PROGRESS.
467
id lie had f the third, ni<j;ht, was a meetinf^ noval from Just before ive been ii})- liini say, *' I inference he f his fellovv- as circuit I'd the same by had heen ft with the core and ten 2 unwelcome
tlie period its termina- 1." Of the r preachers, itt, in 1864, ■ed into rest, ained to the ;1 in the suc- inful iUness
the Gospel
tained him.
lend wlio had
ir of liethle-
:11, who died In 1869. His
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lence, and ill various circuits his effective teaching had been gratefully acknowlodgt^d. On Kastcr Sunday, as the sun was I'ising, a six months' painful illness reached its limit, and he entered within the veil. Tn 186;'), after superannua- tion for one year only, Williaui Siiiithson had ended a career marked by great singleness of purpose and unwearied zeal. He had been stationed at Portland, Ht. John, at the time of the cholera visitation in IS'M. By a remarkable coinci- dence, when the cholera again raged in St. John, tw<'nty years later, he had held the same ap{)ointment, and without intermission, by day and by night, he had " braved the pestilence and tracked tin; plague; stricken city, whenover and wherever duty called him, to the houses of tin; rich or the poor, of the people of his own charg(^ or of those of strangers." At the close of a pi-ayer-meeting in Frederic- ton paralysis had attacked him, rendering him speechless ; and on the following morning lie had ([uietly fallen asleep in Jesus. 'Vo William Cardy, whom his brethren, in their latest tribute, tei-!ned a " saintly man," the call to enter rest had come in 1871 at Chicago, where his last years had been spent. Fifteen years of West India mission work had, in all pro])ability, shortened his term of labor and caused the distressing malady of his last few years. He was followed in three months by John Snowball, for eight years a retired minister at Sackville. This venerable man had been known in his more vigorous days as zealous and painstaking in the performance of duty, and watchful over every department of work. True to his conclusion that "debts on circuit property ai-e like sin on the soul — a con- stant and painful pressure," he had been unusually success- ful in the removal of such burdens, but in direct evangelistic effort had also been much honored. During his illness, which terminated very suddenly, he was blessed with the peace of God, and his spiritual horizon was unclouded by
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468
HISTORY OF METHODISM
doubt. The noxt to reach the "better world" had been the aged William Teiiipl(% to whose rcjjief the angel of death had coino, as to a wcaiied child, in 1S7.'?. He had occupied in the Maritinio Provinces some of the most im})ortant positions at the disposal of the Missionary (Committee or of his l)rcthren. For a time after his i-c^tiicment in 1859, he had been able to assist his brethren, Ijut througli the death of Mrs. Ten)ple, in 18G1, he had i-eceived a severe mental shock. When, however, the most familiar faces had l)ecome strange to him, and sul)jects of former great earthly interest had faded from his memory, the name of the Lord Jesus had maintained its early charm and had called forth fervent ejaculations of thanksgiving and recommendations of redeeming love. After months of feel)leness, Thomas Smith had also rested from his labors. He had been a good man, who.se highest aim was to preach Christ .lesus the Lord. Foi' a few d;iys only he stood at the bi-iiik of the river, which he ent(M-ed with assurances to friends of heavenly guidance and of an outlook on glory beyond. On the roll of the "dead in (Jhrist " at this period, had also been placed the names of others, whose fall in the prime of life was as "when a standard beai-er fainteth." \\\ the list of such were Robert Ainslie ("heslcy, Robert K.Crane, William C. McKinnon, Samuel A\-ery, Alfred W. Turner, Thomas (Jaetz, aiid s(>veral olhei's, who had scarcely entered fully upon their ministiy.
For th(» suj»ply of the places of these, and of other luinisters who were returning to I'^nglaiid, or removing to Canada and th(> I'nited Stiites, the nund)ei- of candidates ottei'ing their services from I'rovincial circuits was utterly insuthcient. After the organization of the Fastern IJritish American Conference, few young men were sent out by the Missionary Committee, and those despatched were under- stood, with rare exceptions, to be intended for service in
SKETCH OF PROiUiESS.
469
ad been the el of death lad occupied t important miittee or of in 1859, he ifji the de.ath !vere mental i Lad become 'thly interest ' Lord Jesus called forth Tumendations iiess, Thomas ;l been a good ist Jesus the I bi-ink of the ,o fi'iends of )ovond. On iod, had also the prime of In the list rt H. Crane, 1 W. Turner, ircely entered
md of other reniovinu; to of candidates ts was utterly listern P)ritish hit out by the were under- [or service in
Newfoundland and l>i nnuda, wliich ishmds were regarded, from their isolated position, as having a special claim upon the Committee's etFoi-ts. It was foi-tunate, under such cir- cumstances, that the well-tilled ranks of iJritisli ^Methodism left a good number of intelligent young men of the denomi- nation free to seek abroad a sphere of service in the work whereunto they believed themselves calud. Prc^vious to 1870 a few of these had lieard of tlie lack of men and had crossed the o»-ean, but during lliat year several landtd at Halifax, wIk) in tlir succeeding years of the period vvere joined by others in incirasing numlicrs. I'lior to the UJiion with the Canadian (Conference mjt less than sixty young men had been accepted as candidates, forty of whom are yet valued ministers in Canadian Met1i(j(iism, tliive or more having; returned to iCntrland. ten ha\ in*' ''one to tlu^ Tnited States, ami four ha\ ing died in the Lord.'
For their ser\ ices as agents in treating with these young men the Confereni;(! was indelited to smcral I'higlish minis- ters— Dr. (ieorge Scott in particular -and to s(.>vei'al Pro- vincial minist(!rs who were \isiting I'higland, l»ut by none was grateful praise so much merited as by .loseph Laurence, Esij., ,\n Knglish Methodist layman, of l<]ast Keswick, Wetherby, Yorkshii'e. Though lu; had never seen the British American Provinces, he «'ntered with ardor into the etioi't to secure candidates for the ministry of Methodism there, and in some cases, at no })ersonal gain, he gave young men of limited meitns and educatifui ;ul vantages at Ids academy which they e-ould not otherwise* have obtained. In the evangelization of Newfoundland he was especially interested, and one of the latest (questions of an intensely
' In lS7t, wlitn the su|)|ily nf vaiimis pdsts in Ncu fimnillanil l>y ynunj^ Kn^lisli prcaclitTs liiul piit iin t-ml t(» tlic iicivcrsion <>t' Mftlindist fami- lies, i\ Iciulin;,' Kpiscopal niinistcr in the cdlony wan a.skf<l wliy a similar effort was not nsfd to meet the more successful ett'nrlsof Roman Catlioji- cisjii rtuioiiK Church of Kn^land fainihcs. 'I'lie minister replieil that they were unablw to get the men,
: : !
470
HISTORY OF METHODISM
painful and fatal illiifss had reference to the arrival of the mail from that colony ; it seemed therefore most Ijelitting that a part of the service at his grave, in October, 188G, should be conducted, as it was, by the ex j-resident of the Newfoundland Conference, then visiting England, to whom it was a privilege to be able to pay the onjy tribute then possiljle to one with whose name he had for years been familiar, with whom he had had a long and intimate cor- respondence, and in whose letters he had marked a " sim- plicity, a saintliness, and a self-forgetfulness well nigh apostolic." It seemed no less befitting that a much esteemed minister from Nova Scotia, one who had left England for the Maritime Provinces during the period under review, should have the opportunity, highly prized by him, of taking part, in 1800, in the laying of the founda- tion stones of a Lavvreuce Memorial chapel at East Keswick.
The numerical growth of the membership, previous to 1871, was not very rapid. At that date the number of members reported fron Newfoundland had not advanced five hundnid beyond the returns of 1855 ; the total increase throughout the Conference territory up to the lirst-named year was about two thousand two hundred and fifty. A part of the period had been marked by sei'ious lousiness depression in Newfoundland, and it is not improbable that both in that colony and in tlie main-land provinces the establishment of an important fund maintaiiied by a direct tax on circuits, in strict proportion to the number of mem- bers reporttul, had led to a close paring of returns, through which the actual influence of evangelistic eflbrt was rather disguisevl than over-estimated. The figures quoted cannot, however, be accepted as a thoroughly cori*ect estimate of the results of years of earnest labor and of a generous out- lay of funds. The effort of Provincial Go.spel laborers lias
1 (
SKETCH or PRO<niKSS.
171
for more than a half century entered hirj^'ely into the up- building of congregatiouH in the New England States and in New York, and to a smaller extent in other parts of the American llepul»lic ; and during that period has given the first impulse in the direction of the pulpit to a numl)er of young men now holding prominent and useful places among the ministers of the American AJethodist Church. More than twenty years have passed since a Methodist minister from Nova Scotia worshipped in a Methodist church in Boston where a large majority of the mendiers was com- posed of peisons who had removed from the southern coast of his native province. The same minister has more than once in subsequent years grown sad at heart as convert after convert, gathered in during some special season of grace, has gone from his sight, bearing an introduction to some unknown pastor and congregation in the neighboring country ; and through similar experiences scores of his brethren have been prepared to sympathize with him. Subsetjuent to 1871, happily, the Provincial workers in general seemed to receive a new impulse. In Newfound- land alone the accessions for the two years 1873-74 were beyond thirteen hundred, and the total increase throughout the Conference in the latter of these years, in spite of the continued determination of Provincial youth towards the republic, was sixteen liundred, with a large number of persons on trial for meml)ership. The total nund)er of fully recognized members in the Eastern Conference at the time of union with the Canadian Conference was seventeen thousand five huiuhed and eighty, an increase of nearly four thousand six hundred and fifty during the nineteen years of the existence of the Confere ice. In 1874 there were also nearly three thousand four hundred persons on probation for membership.
At an early period in the history of the Eastern British
472
HISTORY OF METHODISM
:l I
■A \
Ameilean Couferonce an earnest effort was put forth to secure a more thorou^'h literary and theolo^^ical training for candidates for the ministry. In this movement non»' were more deeply interested than those veneraWIe men whose; own opportunities in relation to classical and sacred litentnie had been seriously limited hy early and imperative' demands upon them for exhaustive Christian labor. This more thorough intellectual training of young men cU'sigjicd to occupy the pulpits of the denomination was one of tin; objects at which the Conference aimed when, in l'^.");, it re<juested tlie board of trustees at SaL-kvilh; to talvc into consideration the measures necessary lor the establishment of a college proper. In April, 1858, a. charter i'oi- such a college at i\[ount Allison was granted by th<' New IJruns. wick legislature. At the ensuing Conference a ri'solution was j)assed expi'essive of pleasure at the pros[)ect of the accomplishment of an object so important to tin; W(,'lfare of the young men of Alethodism in genei'al, and (»f coidial sanction to a proposal to obtain colh^go scholarship sul)srrip tions. The members of the Conference also rcsoUcd to raise a fund for the promotion of suitable educational tiain- ing for candidates for the ministi-y, the occupant of the theological chair to be the nominee of the Conference, and candidates designated by that body from year to year to be entitled to certain advantages in instructiot). The gcnei-al business depression of the period led to some postponement of the atten)pt to establish the college, but the ("onferenee, in 1859, deemed it imperative tiiat immediiite provision should be made for the organization of tiie thcolo'dcal department. An endowment fund for the maintenance of the " Charles F. Allison Professorship " having received during that year encouraging promises fiom several dis- tricts, Samuel Avery, a young minister, was sent out in ]860 to prosecute a more thorough canvass, and the supcriri-
SKirrrii or ri{(n;Ri':ss.
i7:i
)ut fort 1 1 to trainin;,' for it TioiK' wore ti whose own {m\ litf-riture tiv«' (l('iii!in<ls This iiu)re (h'si'Micd to s one of the , ill 1>^"»7, it to take into [^stalilishiiicnt rtcr for sucli ' N»'w IJrmis. ' a icsohitioii osjMH't of the tli«! W(,'lfar»' of 11(1 of coidial .shi[) snl)srii|) ) I'csolvcd to ■atioual tiaiii- upaiit of the nferetire. and to year to he 'l'h»' i^'ciK'ral
lOStjlOlM'llKMlt
(.'oufereiiee,
ite jiiovisioii
th<'olo;j;ical
linteiianco of
liiiir received
severa
1 d
is-
sent out ill the sup-rin-
tendent of the SackviHe oirniit, ('harh>s Dewolf, A.M., was asked to take the ^>\ rsii^dit of such candidates for the ministry as wer(! then pursuing,' their studies at the academy. A year hiter that minister was appointed theol.)<^ical pro fessor, and all student probationers were placed under iiis j^overnnient. A committee was also appointetl for the aj'rangement of a suitalde coui'se of study for young men utuh'r theologie d ti'ainin;^ and pi-oljationers on circuits, upon wliich should lie hased all exuminations at the a'iniial district meetings. At this s( ->>iMti of iSlil. the ( 'ontei-cnce als(^) gave full s.uictioji to a pr«>}io^itioii of the Mount Allison trustees. ha\ing referfiicr to th<' estalilisliment in Ni'W ]>runswick of a ''projter l'ro\ incial I ' nivcrsily, dis tinct from all tea<-hing associations, upon t li(> plati,".->Neiii iall\ , of the liondon rni\ei\-,ity in England, and the <^)ueen"s University in Ireland. '* and at iIk- ,>ame time it appointed several of its leading otllcers to a't with (he e.\ecuti\'«; committee of the academy in itringing a proposition to this efVect under tlui noti(.'e and .-onsideration of the govern- ment and legislature <if New I*>i-unswick.
ICtlVn t in that direction liavint,' aviiled nothing, the trus- tees, in 1S()2, ell'ected tin- full college organization at iMount Allison, with the llev. Hum[)hrey F'ickard, D.l)., president, and Thomas l*i(.'kar<l, Ks(j., A.M.. the i{e\. ,lohn Allison, A.M., I)a\id Allison, l>'|., A.M.. the Hev. (leorge S. ]\lilligan, A.M., and .lames \{. huh, !']s(j.. iiieud)ers (tf the faculty. In .January, l^'>.'', a <'ollegiate hall, luiilt almost wholly by contributions ribt.iined at Sack\ ille and supplemented by tlie Charles V. .Allison beipiest of oni' thousand dollars, was fijrmally set apait for educational uses. On the close (jf the term, Howard Spiague and Josiah Wood, both of whom had been pursuing the college course of study in tin; iicademy, w(;re admitted to tlie bachelor's degree.
I I
474
HISTORY or MF/llIODlHM
liy the iiuMnhnrs of the Confei-fMice of If^O-^ unecjui vocal exju'cssioii was i,'iveu to their strong dissatisfaction with the action of the legishiture of Nova Scotia in rehition to Dal- housie College. That action, thoy asserted, had made " that college professedly Provincial, wholly denominational, giving its emoluments to one hodyof Christians, theiehy enlarging greatly the educational influence of the denomination by tlie prestige of its provincial j>osition, and also inflicting a grave injustice upon the other Churches of the province." They also took exception to the "course pursued by the governors of Dalhousie College, in initiating and perfecting the scheme for tlu? resuscitation of the i-oUegiOjy consulting the views and wislu^s of the Presbyterian Church courts and those oidy;" as well as to that of the legislature, because of its '' tendency t(> unsettle the principle of denominational colleges, long since atlirmed by the people and legislature of Nova Scotia, and in the faith of which souk? of the exist- ing and denominational institutions had been Ijuilt uj> and heavy expenditure incurred, involving responsibilities which efl'ectually pr(,'cluded all })ossibility of acceding to the terms offered by the present J)alhousie Act." These statements, with others similar in tenor, were embodied in a pi-otest for- warded by the Conference to the Nova Scotia legislature. Other denominations took similar action, in consequence of which, after a time, grants were gi\en for a period to the several denominational colleges by the legislature, which, however, left the one favored body the sole possessors of pro})erty owing its origin and maintenance to moneys upon which all had an ecjuitabie claim.
In 18G9 Dr. Pickard resigned his position as president at Mount Allison. For the twenty-seven years of his con- nection with the institutions he liad stood at the head of the whole, except when for seven years John Allison, M.A., had had charge of the Ladies' academy. At the retire-
4 une(iul vocal ction with the ihition to Dal- ,(1 made " that utional, giving,' rehy enlarging loniination by Iso inflicting a th(! province." )ursue(l by the and perfecting c V)y consulting irch courts and ufc, because of denominational ind legislature in«^ of the exist- Mi built up and sibilities which u' to the terms |cse statements, n a protest for- Itia legislature, [consequence of li period to the llature, which, le possessors of moneys upon
11 as presiilent lars of his con- it the head of Jlison, M.A., Lt the retire-
sKETCii OF r una HESS.
\
7r)
ment of that princi[)al he had resuuKMl the charge of the academy, with James R. fnch, li.A., the present highly successful head of Mount Allison University, as vice- principal. On his resignation, he welcomed as his successor in the college and the boys' academy David Allison, A.M., previously professor of classics, whose high record as an educationist during a nine years' management at Mount Allison prepared the way for his transfer to his present position of superintendent of education in Nova Scotia. In 1872 the governors of Mount Allison gave to ladies permission to take collegiate degre«^s, thus imitating, after an intei'val (»f thirty-one years, the example of OlxM'lin, where in ISU ji new chaptei- in the history of woman in Amei'ica was begun, by the gi'aduation of thre«; woinen from the classical course. The cessation in 1872 of the N(;w Brunswick annual gi'ant of $2,400 in aid of the institutions caused the board of man.-igenient again to avail themselves of Dr. l*ickard's services. Jlaving concluded an endow- ment of at least sixty thousand dollars to be indispensal»le to the .ulministration of tlu^ several departments in accord- ance with their pi(!\ ious progressive policy, they asked foi" his re-Mppointment as agent. A promise of twelve thousand dollars from the pi'eachers of the Conference having pi'e- pared his w.ay, he entered upon the pursuit of a task, which in 1870 had resulted in a pi-oductive endowment of tifty-tive thou.sand dollars.' In 1870 |)r. Dewolf retii'ed from the
' fn the coiirsf of ;i ri'i't-nt aildrt'ss, 1 )i-. liicli, I'rfsiilfut nf .Mmmt Allison I'liivcrsity, stated that (liiriii;.^ tlir fnity-scvfii years of the e.\isteiK'e of the Mount .Vllison Institution:^ . '11.0111 five tliousand students liad attended tlieni for a loiij^'er or shorter jieriod. and that of this nunil)er almut fifteen liundreil liail lieen ladies. Not less than two hundred ministers of the(}ospel had been ed\icated in whole or in part at Mount .\llison, some of whom are connected with other Churches in the I'^nitcd States and elsewhere. In the forei(,Mi missionary field in South America, in India and in .Fapan, Mount Allison students of both sexes are among the most sticcessful missionaries and tea<'liers. A reference to the pro»ninence of other students in business and profe.ssional life will have been found on a previous page.
470
HISTORY OF MKTUODISM
\
\.
:i
tli('i)I()Lric;il cliiiir, ('li;u]es Stcwiict, D.I)., ln'c(jiiiiM<( liis sue ct'ssor. < )f the I,;i(li('s' ariidciiiy, Jiiincs K. Iiu-li, It. A., fi|tj)()iiit('(l j)i"in(ij»;il ill 1 Stilt, rciiiaiiH'd in cliar^'c until suniiiioiicd ill |S7S to tlic liiL^licr jiost of pfcsidcut of tlie collf;,'*' : from tlic iiiaiiiii,'«'iii('iit of tin- oIImt academy, ("rjiiis- wick .I(tst, M.A., rctiiM'd in 1S7", to he .succeeded as viee- priiicipa! l>y .lohii liufwash, M.A., at the .saiii(» time pro- fessof of iiatmal scieliee at the colle«,fe.
Duiiu^' tht> existence of the Confei-ence of Kastern liritisli America (he operations of the Hook room were ijfeatly ext(Mided. In iS.'iO the ('oiifeience ^a,v«> it the advantas^e of (Ik; husiness skill and e.xjierieni'c of Cliai'les Churchill, who in 18<)0 also took the post of editor of tiie irt'nlt;i/ii,u, then \ai;at<,'d liy .Matthew II. iiichey, lllscj. (Jii (,'harles Churchill's return to I'ji^dand, in 18()L', John .Mc.Muri'ay was elected his succe.s.sor. In 1 Ndi*, llumplirey l*ickar<I, I). I)., on retiring,' from his loni; ser\ice at the Sackville educational institutioiLs, liecaiiu! hcjok-steward and editor, permission lia\ iiiLj l»et>n gi\en him to avail himself of the a.ssistance, in th<> editorial c(.lumns, of the al)le and practised pen of .lames U. Narraway, of St. John. Under the active manai^eiiKMit of Ah'xander W. Xicolson, chosen for the post ill 1S7.'>, tin; growinj,' establishment was removed from the din^y premises on Aryjyle-street to a more satis- factory position on ( Iranville-street. This <le{»artinent <if Conference woi'k, though placed in cliar^'e of a succession of the ablest financiers of the ( 'onference, failed to attain the success which some liad anticipated, and yet proved a ^'reat benefit t) tiie Church throu<»h its ditVusion of denomi- national and ifenei'al reliijious literature. tn view of the too fretjuent delay in payment of accounts, the apathy of ministers whose individual interest in the success of the concern seemed in many cases to be wholly forgotten, and the iuunense aniount of almost inevitable arrearaj-'es on tlie
\f
()iiiiii<^ his suc- {. hu-li, l'..A,, I clijir^'f until resident of tlu- iciulciiiv, Crjiiis- ceedcd as vice- ^alln^ timo pro-
vp' of Kiistern Jook-iMoiii were ice i;av«; it the eiice of ("liarles >f editor (»f the cliey, I'^sij. (.)ii ill 1S()-J, John SOO, Ilmiiplirey ^ ser\iee at the rjok-steward and ) iivail himself f the able and John. Under S'icolson, chosen nt was removed > a niorti satis- department of of a succession 'ailed to attain I yet proved a isiou of deiionii- n view of the the apathy of success of the forgotten, and ?arages on the
SKKTCII OF /7.Vy^•A'A'.s'.S^ 477
Wesff't/an., in addition to the ordinary limitations of an estahlisinnent of the kind, and in the aWsence of anv very extensive local patrona;,'e, a much i^reater de;;i'ee of sui-cess fiom a purely financial standpoint coulil scarcely have been expected.
A few years after the orj,^ani/at ion of the Jvisteru ( 'on- ference whispers were lu-.^rd respectini,' th(> wider union which had lieen a day-dream of Missionary Seei'«'taries for more than a (juarter* of a eentui'v. Several delectations (if leadinu; men had passed btitween the ("anadian and lvisteri\ British American ( 'onfercncf-s before any pulilic refeicnce lo the sul)jeet was heai'd in the Lower l*rnvinc<'s. in t he ( 'anudian Conference it had been discussed and dismissed Iieciiuse of tl»e reluctance <»f the ministers to l»e dixided into three annual Conferences. A delej^ation from the ('anadian ( 'on- ference, consist in^f of \\'eilin<.;t(in .lellers, !>.!)., and Ivicliard .lones, first addressed their Mastern bi*ctliien on the (piest ion at the Conference held in iStW] in St.Jolm. These minis- ters " had been deputed,"' said tlu» IO;istern brethren in their "Pastoral Address," ''to ascertain the mind of the Con- ference in reference to, and to institute any such, incipient measures as may be deemed most desiral)le for a closer union of the two Conferences in one vast connexional Church, includin<jf the whole of JJritish American territory."' In response, the ministers of the Kastern Conference j-e- (juested Drs. Kichey and Pickard to attend tht; Canadian ('Onference of the foUow'ini^ y(>ar, for the puipose of " recip rocatini^ the assurance ;.,d\cn l)y our Canadian brethren of 'warm emotioes of common l>rotlierhood," to acknow- ledge their eourt(sy in inxitinij; our attention to the proposed ' organization of one consolidated W'esleyan Church throughout tlie (Mitire of IJritish North America,' and to assure^ them that a suitable plan for the aeeom- plishment of what seems to us so desirable an object, shall.
1
478
niSTOUY OF METHODISM
wliciu'vci' suldiiittcd to us, receive our l)est eonHiderition." No iiiinie(liiit(^ rcMult atteiKled i\n\ visit in ISOT of the Kastei'i) (lele;^'!itioii. Uespectin^^ it, Dr. Anson (Ireen has said, in his " liife and Times": "I had the ph>asure of introducing to the ( 'onf(M'enc(; our old fi-i(!nd, Dr. liichey, wlio, with Dr. Pickard, came ur^'ini,' a union between tlieir Conference and ours. This would involve a division of our hody ; and tliough discussed freely, the measure failed." In tlu? address of that yeai- t"* the iJritish (conference, after a reference to the visit from Canada of Dr. Lachlin Taylor and William Stephenson, who wei'c merely authorizfid to convey frii'ndiv j,M^'etini;s, the memh rs of t'l ( 'onftrence said : "We can liut hope their inteicours*^ with us will con- tril)ut«> to th(? early consummation <)i that closer union which, owing to circumstances, must, wo re<;i'et to say, he for the pi'esent delayed.' The appointment to the chair of hoth Conferences in I SOS of William Morley INinshon, M.A., h.'id, there can l)(> no doul)t, an intluence favorable to the proposed union. •' We cannot but feel," said the minis- ters of the youngei' Confei'ence in their addr<'ss to tlieir Canadian brethren, after mention of the harmony and hallowt'd interest of the .session, " that under the same presidency we are liid<ed into closer union."
Jn 1871, four years after tiie political confederation of several of the IJritish Xortli American colonies had been accomplished, nej^ot iations foi" a union of the Methodist Churches in all the provinces were resumed. The bitter- ness with which the measures used for the promotion of political union were received by a large section of the people of the .Maritime Provinces had in some degree subsided ; and the objection of the members of the Canadian Confer- ence to a division of their body had been dissipated by the imperative necessity for their separation into two or more sections. Meanwhile, the Western advocates of union had
\I
('(MiHiderition." II 1S07 of the jsoii (irren has fne pleasure of lid, Dr. Ilichey, I hetwcpn their I division of our lire failed." In iference, after a Lachliu Taylor y iuithorized to t'l ( 'onftrencc vitli us will eon- iit closer vinion •euret to sav, he lit to the chair jlorley Vunshon, lu'o favorable to sMJtl the minis- dress to their harniojiy and nder the same
onfederation of >nies had been the jNIetiiodist 1. The bitter- promotion of n of the people gree subsided ; Inadian Confer- ipated by the o two or more of union had
Sh'A'Tc// or r noun ESS.
179
b(>en eiitertiiiniii^ thoughts of a more compi'chcnsive scheme. '* You have, no doubt," said the Canadian ministers, in an address brou;,dit to the Kast by Dr. S. D. ilice, as a dele- <;ate, " watched with <,'r«'at interest the initiatory steps wjiich have been taktMi toward a union of the dillerent Methodist bodies in Ontario and (.Quebec; and w(? hope the day is not far distfint when, upon a basis broad and stroi.i', that union inay be consuminated. And while, by the aid of (/onfederation, the ministers and pef)ple inbr;i('ed w"' nin the boundaries of your Conference are now subjects with us of one Dominion, we confidently look foi-\vtr<l to the time when, beiu^ath the llai,' of that Dominion, there will be but one mighty Methodist organi- zation, with the \()ice of praise and prayei-, and tin; procla- mation of a free and full salv;ition by a lising ministry, reaching from tlie sliores of the Atlantic to the .shores of the Pacific Ocean ; and we have great pleasure in informing you of the appointment of a committee to confer- with a de))utation from your (Jonference, with the vie^-- of accom- plishing so de8iral)le an object." This message secured a hearty response, the appointment of a committee to confer with the membei-s representative of the Canadian Conference, and a promise of prayerful considei'ation of any detailed plan for the accomplishment of an ol»ject so grand in pur- pose. I>y the Conference of 1S72, after the members had listened to elo([uent and able addresses from Drs. Punshon and Ephraim Evans, a committee was ap})ointed with the more definite aim of acting with a similar committee of the *'^anadian (Conference in the preparation of a plan of federal union, and in the drafting of a constitution for a United Church, to be submitted to the Conferences at their next annual session. H. Pickard, D.D., D. D. Currie, Charles Stewart, D.I)., Henry Pope, jun., James Taylor, John McMurray, Stephen F. Huestis, and Alexander W. Nicolson,
r5lii
li
480
IlISTOIiY OF Ml-yniODl^M
\\
I
■^
wero elected Uy ballot as nioinbcrs of the Kastern coinmittee. At a iiioetiiig held in Moiiti'eal in (Jctobcr, at whiL-h the members of the Canadian and Ivistecn IW'itisli American committees wei-e pre-ent, a draft of a constitution was prt!pared, to be printed in the annual Minutes of lS7."i, and to b{> submitted to the ^Farcli quarterly meeting of all tiie circuits, in the event of its hasing received the appro\al of the Hi'itish Conference.
The twenti :'th and tinal annual session of the Conference of I'lastei'n Ih'itish America was comnuMiccd at Charlotte- town, on Tii'.irsday, dune '-'otli, and closed on Friday, July 3rd. It took place under pleasant auspices, though over the asseml)led nnnisters occasional shadows passed, as tlie discussion of common interests called forth necessary refer- ence to coming separation. The appeal to the (juarterjy meetings in relation to the proposed union had bet.'ii answered by an almost unanimous vote in favor of that measure ; a visit of Dps. Pickard and Stewart to the British Conference foi' consultation respecting matters of financial importance had proved highly satisfactory ; and returns of very numerous additions to the membership throughout the bounds of the Conference had awakened a spirit of devout gratitude.
The cordial concurrem-e of the ]:>ritish Conference in the plan for a United Methodist Church which should span the continent from ocean to ocean gave much satisfaction. That Conference in 1S7.'} gave to a large and influential committee' tiie consideration of the snbiects broucrht to tluMr no: ice liy .^^essrs Pickaril and Stewart and the Cana- dian C'o'iference (hdegates and adopted with entire unan- imity the r. port of that committee, advising removal of the terms of affiliation, approval of such plans for the govern- ment of the n«!W Conference as its members should see fit to arrange, and the transfer to it of all trust property in their keeping ; and combining with this
/
ern conunittop. , at which the itish Aiiiei'k'iui •nstitutioii \v;is es of IS'.'i, and ting oi all the the approval of
tilt' L'onfeience d at Charlotto- lu Fi'iday, 'luly (>s, though over s passed, as the necessary refer- 0 the quarterly ,d been answered hat measure ; a itish Conference iicial importance If very numerous iiouuds of the gratitude, inference in tlie houM span the h satisfaction, and iutluential ts brought to and the Cana- |h entire unan- 1 removal of the )r the govern -
SKETCH OF rnoaREss.
481
■rs sl\ou
Id
■st^e
of all trust tiiT with this
an expression of warmest wishes for the true prosperity of tiie n<nv Conference. A furtlier practical proof of unchanged interest was the cheerful consent to assist for some time the missions in Xtnvfoundland, Bermuda and Labrador. 'JV) the verbal acknowledgment of the great obligation of the ^Fethodists of the .Maritime Provinces to I)ritish Methodisu) for more than a half-century, made by Dr. Pickard from the platform of the Uritish American Conference in 1873, tlie Kastei-n British American Confer- ence of the following year added unanimous resolutions expressive of sincere gratitude and continued interest. A final reference to the movement may be (pioted from the General Report of the W'esleyan Missionary Society for 1874. "Arrangements have l)een completed," it was then stated, "for the linancial and ecclesiastical independence of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Can.ada. It has been agreed on our part to defray for the present certain expenses connected with the missions in Newfoundland and the Bermudas. With this exception all payments from the Society's funds on account of the liritish Dominions in North America will cease ; and the widely-extended mis- sions to the native Indians, and to the immigrant settlers throughout those vast regions, will be carried on by the Canadian Methodist Church exclusively. These arrange- ments have been ellected in a spirit of perfect harmony ; and the Parent Society, looking at the wonderful growth and develo[)ment of this her giant child of the West, in- voking the Lord's continued smile and blessing upon Cana- dian Methodism, may well thank Ood and take courage."
ITpon some other hand must devolve the task of tracing the history of the three sections into which the Kastern British American Conference, at the union of 1874, was divided. That union was not iinal. When on the morn, ing of September IGth. 1874, His Honor Lemuel Allan
31
p
482
HISTORY OF METHODISM
5u, .
Wilniot, of New Brunswick, as temporary cluurman, called the delegates to order, the ministers and laymen over whom he presided were representative only of the former W esleyan Methodist Conference of Canada and Eastern British America, and of the former New Connexion ]\Iethodist Church in Canada.
The hope of 1871 received its realization in 1883. On September 5th of that year representatives of the Metho- dist Church of Canada, the Episcopal Methodist Church in Canada, the Piimitive Methodist Church in Canada, and the Bible Christian Church in Canada, met at Jielle- ville, Ontario, to merge their previously divided interests, and to prepare to go forth with the united front of one con- solidated, influential and aggressive Church, the largest in the great Canadian Dominion, with thf noble aiiM of spread- ing Scriptural holiness throughout a vast territory, and with the high honor of having vanquished obstacles to a general union for the pursuit of that grandest human pur- pose which Methodists in other lands have hitherto deemed insurmountable.
/>S'J/
Y chairman, called ayinen over whom i former Wesleyan Eastern British lexion Methodist
on in 18S3. On Rs of tjie Metho- hodist Church in in Canada, and I, niet at Belle- livided interests, front of one con- ', the largest in le aim of spi-ead- t territory, and I obstacles to a est human pur- liitheito deemed
I N DKX.
Ahbot, Joliu S. (■ ii ,,,-
Alb.on Mines, ii., ijio'- "
A bnghton, Thomas .M ii ou, ^.., A'ler, Robert, D.I) [[' -^f}:^^^' Alexander, JoUpb, i" "4:,;''' -"' '-'^■*. -t44, 445.
Tu. ' Wenry, i , (),j ,,,4 ,,., ,.,„
Am«,;.,„r,;;'i.f-,';,«-.-.^7;<..7.,47,, ^..f .so,;, AKvk;::; ,-f 7^ -"^ .ih "». --lii
Anderson, Hon J„l„> u' •• ' ^' •^^•*-
t."":^ii:^s/^i;^t^^^-?^ ■"'"^•"^•^'"• Annunanisni, i ;j.s . jj / 4^0
381), 41!). ' '"'^''■""^ i'ovuic.al JVead.ers, i 007 ,,, ,.,
Assistant Mission. .v<^,' -' .-"' '--'*' -^-'y. attacks iiiu. I. \f,i.i ,. .' ."■*•
^m
Avard. A.Jn /.":'>' '^''^''^^ty, St. Jo|
Avard, J
A<lani Clark
A^lesford
f>«epli,
«. n., 48.
>-, 122
I., 41
j; n., 28;
'2, 84, ion
.-{28. '"'«- ii., 18
<\ 'Mii
•> »■- 293, :ioo.
i- i
II
{}'[
484
INDEX.
Baie Verte, i., 3:'.n ; ii., 7."), I '26, :UI.
l]ak
or, .loiin, 11.
I "20.
Bainford, Stephen, i., :5S0, 400, 410; ii., 74, l'J2, 201, 215, 229, 2:V.),
H.'iO, :?.V2. Uiinnistcr, William, ii., 2r)4, liaptisni, I.oiii,' ( 'oiitrovcMsv on, ii., 11."). Tiaptist.s, Kaily, in I'lovinies, i., 104, 110 ; ii., 422, 420.
)er
,!()1
11), 1., 2N.) ; II.
lUrl
Bcarr, Ninian, ii.. .*<."), 17S.
l*>arratt, (leoru't' M., ii., 274.
Uariinu'ton, i.', 107, lOS, 101, 407 ; ii., !»2, 220, S2:
liar
ss.
,r
ime.s, 11.
10
T>airy, .McxaiKU'r. i., 144, .SO.").
Barry, .loiui, ii., MS, UiO.
Barry, .Tohn A., ii., S,S.
Barry, Robert, i., 132, 1,S."), 1.S7, .'W'), 440 : ii., 100.
Bate', Charles, ii.. ,")0, 17S.
Bath iir.st Circuit, Tl\e, ii , 200. :>:!S.
B.ayard, Saiiuiel, i., .■iS7, 400, \-\\ : ii., 201, 20:5.
ikiy lie N'erds, ii., (iO.
Bay Koherts, i., 2S2 ; ii., S!!, ,'.;{.
Ba.xter, .lolm, i., 1S.>, 400.
I'.eals, Wesley C., ii., 20S, .S2."».
Beaeham, John, \).\)., ii., 44,">. 440.
Hear River, i., :{07 ; li., .■-;20.
Be.leqiie Circuit, The, ii., 94, 12S, 232, 233, 343.
Bell, Hugh, i., 434; ii., S3. 212.
Bell, -John, ii., 35, 40.
Beuelit of Cleruy. i., ISO.
Bennett. NVilliain, i., 30S, 3S4, 417, 427 ; ii., 72. 230, 3.10. 394.
Bennis, Kliza, i., 02.
Bent, .lobeph F. , ii., 181. 2.13, 207, 2S9.
Bermuda, i., 2 54, 303, 410, 439, 4().") ; ii.. 133. 310, 374. 421.
r>eiuiuda bei'omes part of the Nova Scotia District, ii., 381.
Rermuda, Karly clergy in, i., 47.").
liihle Chii.>^tiauH in Prim e JMlward Island, ii.. 234. 344.
R.inney. IlibOort. it., 100. 2(11.
iiishop, Abraham .1., i., 219, 224, 22(5, 2.")7. 2.".9, 400.
Rishop of London refuses ordination to Wesley's preachers, i, 71,
290. B)lack, Hon. U illiani A., ii., 4.">7. Black, -lolni, i., 19S, 2.")9. 437. Black, Martin (lay, ii., 310, 4r)7. Black, XVilliam, sen., i., 90. RIack, NVillium, jun.. appointed Ceneral Superintendent, i., 209, 298
308. .390 r>lack. William, jun., and Bermuda, i., .393, 39."), 410, 407. Black, William, jun., and Dr. (,4)ke, i., 14."). 149. r)lack, William, jun , asks Wesley for missionaries, i., 120, Black. William, jun., at St. .lohn. i., 222, 22"), .32."). Black, Williuiu, jun., becomes supeniumeiary, i., 427.
U'DBX.
485
'•^01, 21.-), 22n, 2;i!),
2, 420.
0, 3.jG, 394.
374. 421. ii., .381.
344.
reachers, i , 71,
lent, i., 209, 29.S ', 4()7. i., 12U.
W«ck, Willi,, ■■ ." "' '-'• "■■ -'"». ^-111.
|'l«<^k, Uillil ■ ■• i','^' '■"'■':'» "f.«l..oa.l. i.. .,, Ill
l>''^^k, Ui||i„,„' ■ ' ",".' ''l>S<"n. cirm-t „l, j ,,, " ''
Jilair, Duncan i •>•>- ., ; ' "•' •^'' •>-. J'i!».
»''"iy. Ihonias. ii % <>■} ' ^' -'^"^' •^'^'•
J^rulgetowti, ii., 291 •>().> J'iy"«. ii., 49, ,y,i, ' "■""'■ JM-o,nley, Walter, .:.,244 40-^ J 'onte, Patrick, ii.,'24S
'Urclitoiv,,, i., 14;j r-; - ■ , IJuigeo, ii., .-Jo; '"-• "'•■
Ijurwash, John, |).D ii 4-/;
^f y,Kaipi,ii.,Vo,; "•'■*' ^••
i-l^y,«u,np«on,,i.,27,3(>,73.S4,]02,3;i,. CalviuLsm, InHuencc of, i S9
C^r^S;':^:!!-:-^ ^^^^'-'^^t Teaching upon, i,, 427 tanipbelJton, ii., :i:is, '
M:
« ■ !
i i
486
INDEX.
ii., 27, :{1, .'i(), 3s, r,-2, W.), :5«]-"i.
Canfield, Stephen, i., 240.
Cape Breton, i., !()(►; ii., 194, 200.
Carboiiear, i., 47, (i.'i, 277, 283, 3(52
Canly, William, ii., 4157.
Carleton, i., 419; ii., 8.'), 278, .'W2.
Catalina, ii., 29.
Catteriek, Thomas, ii., 74, 75.
Centenary Celebration, ii , 30.3.
Centenary Church, ii., 277.
Champion, Samuel, i., 2sri.
Chapman, William and .Mary, i., 2S.").
Chapman, William, ii., ll!»,"2.')l, 289.
('happell, Benjamin, i., 14U, 302, 343; ii., 72,
Charlottetown', Circuit, The, i., 140, 142, 302, 413; ii., 71, 9."), 97, 127, 230, 313, 343.
Chesley, Robert A., ii., 29(J, 338, 4()8.
C'hesley, Samuel, i., 121.
Chipman, 'J'Ikw. ilandley, i., 90, 104.
Cholera, A.><iatio, in Halifax, ii., 208.
Cholera, Asiatic, in St. John, ii., 27(5, 331, 4(57,
Chrisflau ffna/d, The, ii., 409.
Church of England in Nova Scotia, i., 101 ; ii., 412.
Churchill, Charles, ii., 273, .328, 40(5, 409, 47(5.
Clark, Ifcaac, i., 384,
Clements, i., 340; ii., 292,
Cochrane, (Jov., ii., 1(54,
Cockburn, (Jov,, ii., 133,
Cocken, Alex. H,, ii.. Ill, 12(5.
Coke, Dr., i., 14(5, l,-)0, ir)3, 180, 182, 192, 208, 275, 3(}8, .371, 393;
ii., 19, 2.1. Coke, Di'., his care of missionaries, i., 3(5!. Colored Methodists, i., 143, 157, 1(J1, 1(52, 1(5(3, 239, 2.10, .340, .380;
ii.,.30:, Comben, Charles, ii,, 401, (/Onferenoe, Christmas, i , 145,
(Conference, British North American, Proposed, ii,, 444. Conference, Kastera British American, ii. , 44(5. Conference, Eastern British American, Growth during its existence,
ii., 459, 470. Conference, Eastern British American, Presidents of, ii., 451. Congregationalists in Bermuda, ii,, 137.
Congregationalists in Newfoundland, i,, 67, .351; ii,, 182, 184. Congregationalists in Nova Scotia, i,, 102, 10(5, 173. Contingent Fund, i,, 181; ii,, 319, 448, 453, 454. Cooney, Robert, ii., 204, 232, 234, 235, 259. Cooper, John, i., 218, 219, 254, .327, 330, .393, .394, Corlett, John, ii., 1(54, 1(50, 178.
Cornwallis, i,, 114, 121, 122, 15(5, 1(54, 190, 306; ii., 112, Coughlan, Laurence, i,, 43.
Coughlan, Laurence, arrives in Newfoundland, i., 45. Coughlan, Laurence, great revival under him, i., 48,
INDEX.
. 3*^. '»-2, loy, .mi.
<: •■•.71, JJ.-), 1)7,
. .'iOS, :}71, ;{93. '-^''O, 340, .380;
44.
i its existence, ii., 451, 182, 184.
Coverdale, ii 2r>l .nj, '"' ^ ^'^ngland, i., 55. CWdeil, Tiio,„as. i.:;^;:. J^ox, .James, li., 142, 14;^ J^ozens, Cliarle.s, ii., 49 5-^ Crane, Jonathan, i. jfu
Crosconibe, \\',n i ir. j.,'- ''1' '^j^'- '•". n)5. :--. H. H., ii.;;,':''"' ■''' ' "•' '«. «^'^ 93, 94, 1G3. 221. 357 C^ros l.waite, Tl.os., ii., 216 '''M Cumberland Cirom> rl, ■' T-
,, , ii 74, ,;r"' ""=• ' • "'^. I*'. 192, m, •.,.,, .,.,„, ,,3,, ,„„ .
^•■■•pi<'»,M,i',i.,"3M:-it'a' ''•■""■
Dalhousie, ii,, ;j3f}
Dalhousie University. ii.,;i,s7, 474 'ane, iliomas, ii., 80, 22.-> J^aniel, Henry, ii., 252. 2.-m 4.V> fWtmouth, i., Hj-i; ii. ;{.>,' ^"''•
^>avison, Sarah, ii., 22J ' ^' •*^'''
^Huson, Thos..8en.,i.,'4l2 l^ay schools, -Methodis , ii -^.,0 l^ayton Catharine, i., 42. ".' is-,
l^esbnsay, Alberf if -in..... [>-l.nsa^;The:^;i^;//' ^'^y-^^6,395.
i>ewolf, Chas., D 1) i Vi ? o . ^ ' "' •*<'
SstrainVw'' ''''-^''^'^"''^'^^^''^HO; ii t^ 000 oo^ J^istraint, Warrant of, airainst Vf/fi 1 .' "•• ' •^•^^■ Ditmar., Douw, i., 387. 388 ^ ^^^^^thod.sts, a., 194. D|vjsjo„ of N, ^,^^^.^. j^. «^
A^ixon, Kdward.'i., 401 • ii -vyt ^oa.,e, Samuel 0.,\., 169 sWP- IJorclcster. ,.,iiiji 285 .340 I^ouglas, George, LL.D., ii' i"o 3si f>ow, Lorenzo, i., 371 •' "' ^•'*^' 38J- ^Uownes, Charles, ii., 372 J^owson, Wm.ii., H4 190 901 9-^^
f^"ke.Jaj^esA,ii.,4UI '^^^'^•^'• l^unbar, Duncan, ii, 139 i-'unbar, Jas.. i 4.8« ^oii •• ^^
' '" ****** ^^^i "•- 75, 13.3, 137, 141.
487
4b8
INDEX.
I
,'■ 1
III
♦•^'':'
Kagleson, John, i., 85, H8, 89.
Kastern British American ('onfuronce, Organization of, ii., 445.
Eirly settlers, Hanlshipa of, ii., \'M.
Early, Wm. !'., i., "218, 23H, 'iOli, '208.
Katun, Aaron, ii., *292.
I ^ucation, Methodist, early attempts in Provinces, ii., J{Sl).
Education, Methodist, in Newfoundlanil, ii., 898.
Education, Wesley and, ii. , ;-{84.
Educational efforts of other denominations, ii., .S8G.
Educational Fund, ii., 456.
Educational Institutions at Sackvillle, ii., 3t)I.
Elder, William, ii., 117.
Ellidge, George, ii., 49, 163, 301.
Ellis, William, i., 359 ; ii., 28, 32, 34, 50, ISI.
Embury, Philip, i., 130.
Juigland, James, ii., 180, 301, 373.
England, lieligious State of, in Kighteenth Century, i., 17.
Episcopal domination in Lower Provinces, i , 223, 200, 420 ; ii. , 113.
Epworth Rectory, i., 20, 32.
Esten, James C , i., 459, 401, 402, 473 ; ii., 143, U4.
Evans, Ephraim, D. 1)., ii., 318, .390, 410, 479
Excitement, Political, in Nova Scotia, i., 201 ; ii., 317.
i;
It
II
Falmouth, i., 114, 115, 155, 434 ; ii., 82.
Faulkner. William, ii., 180, 185, 301.
Fawcett, John* and William, i., 87.
Ferguson, John, i., 409 ; ii., 277, 347.
Fidler, Daniel, i., 271, 305, 315, 323, 325, 327, 406.
Finances in Early Days, i., 181.
Firmage, William, i., 158, 174.
Fisher, Henry, ii., 272, 280.
Fishpnol, John, ii. , 74, 94.
Fisher, Benjamin, i., 218, 219, 239, 290.
Fitzgerald, " Father," ii., 95.
Five Islands, ii., 221.
Fletcher, John, Works of, i., 180, 187, 388; ii,, 100.
Fort Lawrence, i., 92, 122. 237.
Fortune liay, ii., 33, 37, 58, 167, 360.
Fo.K, Thomas, ii., .304, 372.
Eraser, Edward, ii. , 142.
Eraser, Simon, !., 318.
Fredericton, i., 222, 220, 256, 260, 208, .320, .321, 384, 425; ii., 70,
279, .334. Freedom, Religious, in Nova Scotia, i. , 82.' Free Baptists, ii., 300, .329. Fulton, Stephen, ii., 219. Fulton, William, ii., 76. Fund, Contingent, i., 183 ; ii., 319.
a ibirua, ii., 196. Gagetown, ii., 87, 3.33.
..-.^ ^^.. ----.-..»— ^p-vwr-v-.-T-saai
ion of, ii., 445.
23, ii. , .'iS9. 16.
y. i., 17.
-'<'<!. 420; ii., mi
4. .317.
t, 425; ii., 70^
INDEX.
489
^anl„er .A.lmiml, i.,;r,2. <.;ulan,i, William, ii. r,4
,. "»^ ' ''•'''■•"■'•'^. '•'•'.!<-, Kit;, Ivi, iiM, jyo
<'ay, Martin, i., i];} ' '
J-'iyiior, ,l(,st.j)h, ii.,",s(i
beor^/e, JXivid, i •>•)■)
♦•ill Family, The.' ir'sfi C.o.8e, ./ol,„, i., ;{,;4 .J,.- jj
♦^osse, Philip H., „■., 170 172
Wn U,eof, ii.,4L>r,. '
(^raml IJankumll-Wtune ii v\ -i- >v ,<-
t^raiul .Manan. ii 2«l(; ' ' '^' -'•^' ■-^"' -»i", -'';;{, :j;5|
(^reeu Hay, ii., ;^(;7.
<'«y«boro' Circuit, The, i., 4/h ! ii;^-:^;';'^;^ iSi^ 'l;^'"'
Haigh.John, ii.,;r,, ;it5 ,7j,
Hahla.x Methodism, i. j.)-, ,on ,,-,. ,■.,
Hants Harbor, ii.', 54
Hantsport, ii., ;^22.
Harbor (J rafp i j" /••> /.- ^-
Hanlin,,^.;;:^:;;^'^->.27f),281;ii.,,.
Harding, Theodore 8., i ,soo • if ,nj i> Harrison, William, ii. -V, ^V-' ' ^' "'•
Harvey, Sir Jol.n.ii., 418" Heart s Content, i.,06. i( ,.- Heck, iWbara,i.,i;i,,•"•'^^'• Hender8on, Andreu-, ii.,2!II S'W Hennigar. James (I., ii lo/)' -!-'• ,., ,,._ Hermitage Hay. ii., 'hjs,' .U' ' ' '"' '"'■ ''' Hetherington, Jolin ]>., ij o|.) .v^a .,o- Hick, John, ii., 70, !>4 "•"-'-' *-^<>'-''^'»- "ickson. Jam
Hi!», ;{(i4.
Hicl.
es,
Hick H
vson. Thorn
son, Woolm
"•, ■^2, r.4, 178. =i«. 'i . '^2, 4>S, .-).•{,
m, 1., 1!)6.
•■>^ 17S.
fggs, Richard .M., i. ' 4^^ ' ' ' 'Gorge W., ii., .S22.
Hill, ( Hillsb
oro
Hillyard, Joh
»-, 111,23
Hogg, J
n, 1., '.i.
' ■> ii., 290.
);>.
'^'"V.^.'. "•' -t^'"*, 410. iairi, ii , 291.
Holland, Will....... „
Holy Club, i.,21,23
490
INDEX.
If
..J,,
' ' '<■}'.
I i i ti i
1 m >i
:--H
Home Mission Society, ii.,4r)3.
Homer, Mary, i., I ON
Hooatt, Klizaltetli, i., '.ili') ; ii., 112.
Hopewell, i., n:{, 2'M ; ii., '2cS«».
Home, James, ii., 147, ir)4.
Hortoii, i., 11"), 121, I'M), 104, 190, 27'), :W7, .•W(i, .'WS, 418, 4;{.') ; ii.,
112, 221, 22;{. Hoskiiis, John, i., (58, 7.1, 77, 78, 278, 2s:{, 2S.). Hoskiiis, .Joliii, Hitter persecution of, i., 7'"j. Hoskiiis, John, jun., i., (IS, .'?.")8 ; ii., ."»;{. Houston, Hugh K. ii., KCJ, 214. Howe, John, i. , I8(). Hnestis, (Jeorye O. , ii., .'124, .^14. Huestis, Stephen F. , ii., 479. Huestis, Thomas, i., 240.
Humbert, Steplien, i., 220, 2")'), 2()3, 268, 32.3, ; ii., 108, 41G. Huntingdon, Lady, i., 174.
Immigration, ii., 130.
Inch, .lames 11., LL. 1)., ii., 473, 47').
Indians, Micmac, ii., 4."), 103, 108.
Indians, Milicete, ii., 130.
Indians of Newfoundland, i., 36J ; ii., 44.
Ingham, .labex:, ii., .301, 31)0.
Inglis, Bishop ('harles, i., 131, 172.
Ireland and .Methodism, i., 43.
Island Cove, i., 74, .3()2 ; ii., 37, r).3.
Islands, Kagged, ii., 10.3.
Jaokson, (leorge, ii., il4, 110, 24.'), 40.').
Jackson, William, ii., 200.
.Jeffrey, Tiiojnas, ii., 102, 37.').
Jenkins, Benjamin F. , ii., l'>2.
Jennings, David, ii., 300.
Jessop, William, i., IOC), 217, 219, 2.39, 254, 275, 290, 304, 310.
Johnson, Francis, ii., 20(), 347.
Johnson, (leorge, ii., 251, 25.3, 320, .342.
Johnson, Samuel S., ii., 102.
Joll, Samuel, ii., 252, 203, 280.
Jolly, (ieorge, i., 143.
Jones, John, i., 281, 355; ii., 31.
Joat, Cranswick, ii., 476.
Jost, Edward, ii., 202.
Jost, Jeremiah V., ii., 202, 214, 327.
Joat, John, i., 240.
Jubilee Celebration, ii., 457.
Justification by Faith, Doctrine of, i., 29.
Kennebeccaais River, The, i., 238, 268. Kent, Duke of, i., 248, 390. Kentville, ii., 112.
INDEX,
491
98, 418, 4;« ; ii.,
0,S, 410,
;^04, 310.
Killeii, ,Janu-s, if., ^(il
Knight, llkrliard.'ir ;{.-) T 40 ■;-. -^ ,_. .
Kaowlan.Jamus, i.,4lS; ii. »;{, OQy, .vjj,
Ubrador, ii., 47, 4(11.
J-aity, The, and .Methodism, i '{4
Landers, Anthony, ii., 7(3,;;, •'•'*•
Lathern, John, D.lK, U .>s->
Uwre.ice, .lo.se),h, ii.,4(il»? ""
Lay 1 reaehers, Wesley \s first, i., 07
Lee, .Jesse, visits \ew Hniusvvic.k ' -n i
Leggett, William M., jj .>,is ' "s
LeSueu^IMerre,(Werdo'ofV\7
Lew.8, John, ii.,.S|,..{;, 4o.;l7,60 Lewis, Waitstill, ii., 7<) ' ' "'^•
J ;j"';"^ ^y'"'^ "*' '^f^thodism, i., |,S4 404
Lifn4^:[!^rLl:7r^-'i^i;^'-"^^' ^''- ^^: '^7. 2.., .43.
-'27, 32(i. '"' •'^*'' •^-' •"•^' -^'^'N .•<!':, 400 ; ii., .j;,, 9,s, 10),'
Lloyd, Thomas, ii., |09 Lockhart, Christopher] ii 21') Lockhart, John, ii., 21«) '^j.s Lodge, Matthew, ii., .S23 ~ "
LongReach, The, i.,22i;;m Losses through Removals, ii., 471
l-iost Uppoi-tunities for Viofi. i- " •• . I nur..., I ^"'"^"'*' lor .Methodism, ii., 2(»0 J-ovvry, James, i., ;{01>, 371, 37U 4(0 "
Loyalists, Arrival of, i !•>'() '' Loyalists, Clergymen among, i , |;m Lunenburg Circuit, The, ii,"73 1 n •>•>- -ior Lunsford Isaac, i., 271, 310 ' '' •^■^•
Lusher, Robert L., ii., isQ, jy,,, o,;j^ 40^
Magazine, Arminian, i , I8.1 . if 40..
wS^t H:,"2l'r" ''°"'' •■^"-'- «--''y- Al^thodUt," ii 410 M.o„, J.„,e3, i., „o, ,,, ,„,^ ,^^.^ .^,^^ ^^^_ 200,.T,,37«,393;
"^Vr 1°: k""' '^«' '«• '«•■ "'^. '«3, !«., .07, 2<0, 2.,, 32,,
Manning, Edward, i., 240 SSO
Marchinton, Philin i 1 'ik 1 qq 1 k , . --,
Marchinton P liZ* Chaf 1 1 ,V V^"^' ■^^^' '^-0' ^^4, 233, 242 249
Marriage, S ruSfo?iiL . " 'T' '•'•'^•^' -'«' ^^2' '^^''^-
Marsden. Joshua i 187 -[ri '° ?"'f'"'"^«' "•- -tl^.
405. ' '•' ^^'' •^^^' -^'^^ ^72. 374, 398. 410, 409. 486 • ii
I
11)1]
hV/J/CX.
\\.ir;j,iWA\ ii.. '2l»l), ;{»."). MirjoiiiMrii. Will., ii., .'US.
Miiisiiiiii, ,iuim, ii., i(tr>, I'.is, _'os, ;{.'»:{, uru.
Maishiiil, .lii'l-.', ii., I'.KJ,
Mirshiill. Willi, nil, ii., ISO. IS."., -JTI, :{(i(».
MaLsiiii, Miiocli, i., II', 4lS; ii., U;{.
.M iiit(ucvillc, Kiithiisi.i.Hni at, i., "JllU.
Ma.\liol<l, 'riiuinas, i., '2H, UT, I 111
Miiliioy, Duiii.l, i., 471, 177, ISl,
.Nkiviii, .laiiH'.i, ii., is'.t.
MeiiilMM-sliip. i., :U1, ;i74 ; ii., r.'.l. I 'ill, i:{(), 47<>.
MiMiiraiinooli. i., '21!).
Mi'tiiitilisin ami tin; I.aity, i., .'14.
.ML'tliixlisiM ai)d Woman, i., ."U.
Methoilisiii an l)ut^'l•()\^tll of a revival, i., U).
.Mtitliodisiii, { tMitt'iiary of, ii., IWA.
Mctiiodisiii, (Jiowtli ut, i., ;»."), .'^7.
.Mfttlic'lisiii. liilIiKMiio of, oil ntlier ( 'hiiniho.H, i., .'{.'i ; ii., 4'2(l.
Mi'tliodisiu. ItitliKMii'L- of otluT Cliiirchii.-i ii|)i)i), ii., 4"-''_*.
Mt'tiiodisiii ill Kraii'C, i., .">S.
Mctiiodi.siii, i.iti'rai-y norkuf, i , l>Si, iSli ; ii., 401.
.Mctliodisiii. l.,(i<;al 'uiiii.stry of, i., h\l
Mctliodi.stii ill New York, i , l."{|.
Mcitliodisiii, I'r.iviiicial, it.s iiilliRMHi' in othui" lands, i., Oli, 1 tO,
ii., (iO, 01, I'J'.i. Mi'thodist l''pisco|ial (Muirdi, ivirly tendency toward it, i., ;U'>, .Metiiodi.st i..iteratiirt', I )i.'s.seniiii:ition of, ii., 70, 40(5. .Mt;tli(Kli.st Reform in lOn^dand in KSll)-;')!, ii., .■{1,'>, 41."). .Motliodi.st, 'I'lio nanu! of, i., '2'i. Metliodi.sts, Attacks upon, i., IMO, 407 ; ii., .'{"i"'. .Metiiodi.sta, Colored, i, I4;{, ir)7, 101, HL>, 1 0(), •J:^i), -jriG, .'UO,
ii., .'517. Miller, (ilcorge, ii., M, 2v»4, ir.S. ,\Iilieri.siii, ii., .'{14.
Milli^an, (leorge S., LL. I)., ii. , .'US), 4()l', 47;{. .Millinery, Church, ii., 4'24. .Milltown, ii., •JS4, :U1. .Mill Village, ii., !):?, .'{2(). Ministerial Kei'iuits from Britain, ii., 400. .Mini.sters, Kpi.scopal, in Xewfoundlaiid, i., 'AM\ : ii.,'20. Aliramichi Circuit, The, ii., 'J.')."!, 'M~. Miramichi, Creat fire at, ii. , "J.")!). Miramichi in early days, i , 17.">. .Missionary List, i''irst foreign, ii., .'{,S.
Missionary Society of E istorn liritish American Conference, ii., Missionary Society for Lower Provinces, l^'ormation of, ii., H'S. Moncton, ii., 3.'}!). Moore, James, ii., 2'2i). Moore, Ri)ger, ii., 144, 147. Moravian Missions, ii., 47. Moravians, The, i., 21, 22, 23, 24, 2(5.
2.J.S ; .S74.
.380;
4r)2.
11., 4'2().
it, i., ;Jt"), ;i74.
^")0, ;uo, ;{8i.»;
oni'e, ii., 4r)2. ii., S3.
1 •-'<;, •iin.
rx/)/';x.
M-...nt .\lli.un (•..He,... an.l rnivorsity. ii. •{.): 17
> "Ills, Hiittn,,, i., ;j;{,j.
•M'niow, JiiiiKis M., ii , oos •{.)()
•Nlnrrow, k„l,o,t, ii., -i.-.S, .'Wn' "
Norton, A.rhil.Ml,], ii .._>()._. ._,,„; .,, , . .,
;' MosoH. OM," i., ,,;{_ ■ - ••-'•
Alo.slitT, Ji-lm, i.. Ki'j.
Mo«lu'r, .N'icliol.is. ii., •_>•_'}
^Jtiiin, .lolui, Ks,,.. ii.'.liij.j, ;{,)4^
^ un;iy Ijarl.or, i...||;{, 41 J; ii., 71
Murn.y, \ illi,u„. ii.. | | r, |«l, l'(;7;
.Miis(|ii(„|,,|,oit, ii., ;{•_)•_».
•Mi'Caliuin, I'ctcr, i., :\\u,
MfCaity, \Niii., ii., .'{•j,-,. '
•M<< '"II, ihiiicaii, i.. -J'J!) •).-,; .„;,, ..,, .,.,,. ... .
>;^i;".-M, wnii.n^u;r;;K^r>;^i''-^
Ad>o\vell,.Sa,Muel, i, .V,!,; ij.,;.,,. '"
^H-oMiy, .l,.|,n, i.,27.i, •J7!l, l.'si.-Js.-J -Mi'Kiiuioii, .)„||,i, ii., |!)s
McKinnoM \\,n. ('.,ii., n,s, 4(!S.
>'cxutt.Aniuusii.;,o:,',i7::i^l*':;;i;',;,:::;;;;i:'
493
i., lifi, -Jtii.
4(»!l,
fll, iH. 47'J.
-'■-'.•{; ii., n:{, H4.
Nanaway, ,Iani<:.s R., ii., ;}|() ;.J4 4-,.
>./tvy, .MoLho,li,sn. in, i., ,147 4s: . u' Vr -'-S
Nc-leot near lar^^,, tow„.s, ii , ;A:. '•' '^ '"•
Noyro, {'ape, i , k;;^ i,;,, ,;„,
New .anKsw.cl., J.:pi.,.>pal .lon.u, .ti. , i'u ■ Aew Ki. Inland .Settlcr.s, i 81
-Ncwfuu.iclla.i.) an,] .M,.tho.li.s„, iu Jersov i V
New oun. an. District,- Ko,,nation If, .'^; "•' ""' •""'• ^ oun. an. , ello.t to k,...p it a v.ii.U-r ess i 41
tj"'" "'"I. Ht'ligiou. Stat,.. ,f'i..:,ii. ,•;-,.,. „ .,-
Xeu-foiui.lland Sdi,,,)! .Soi-ietv ii 'iO't JVew .nui.lland, Trying Period in, Vi.V.S7 IWi
uesle^an .School and Agency Society, ii., 401.
494
INDEX.
I I
•' Newli'^hts," The, i., 104, 157, 158, 167.
Newport, i., 114, 115, 188, 'ilO, :«H, 486; ii., 82, 84, 223.
Newton, Charlotte A., ii , 98, 117.
Newton, Francis, i., 815, 816, 81 'J, 823.
Newton, John, of ('uinberland, i., 87, 91, 92.
Newton, Jolui, Vicar of Olney, i., 176, 177.
Newton, .loshiia, i., 244, 802, 816, 819, 823.
Nicolson, Alex. W., ii., .820, 411, 476, 479.
Nightingale, Adam, ii., 42, 169, 176, 361.
Noall, Simeon, ii., 168, 167, 178.
Norris, James, ii., 861.
Notre Dame Bay, i., 854; ii., 368.
Nova Scotia District, Division of, ii., 32, 186, 445.
Nova Scotia, Religious Freedom in, i., 82.
Nova Scotia, Religious State of, in 17S1, i., 101.
Nova Scotia, Settlements in, in 1781, i. , 97.
Old Perlican, i., 69, 78, 288, 285 ; ii., 37. Olivant, Thomas, i ,868, .871, 392. Orangemen, Attacks upon, ii., 817, 336. Ordinations l)y Asbury, i.,207, 318, 374, 889, 419. Ordination, Wesley on, i., 44. Ortli, (ieorge, ii., 78, 110. Outerhridge, Wm. A., ii., 150. O.xley, (Jeorge, i., 88, 91, 92.
Pallas, Peter, i., 457, 472.
Pajr, Governor, i., 155, 220, 224.
Parrsboro' and ^laccan Circuit, The, i., 166, 377 ; ii., 119, 219.
Parsonaire Aid Fund, ii., 457.
Payne, Thomas, ii., 76, SO, 8_>, 121.
Payzant, John, i., 104.
Peach, John S., ii., 362, 866, 367,;372, 4()1.
Perfection, Christian, Doctrine of, i., 80.
Perkins, Simeon, i , 278.
I'ersecution in Bermuda, i., 453, 4(i5.
Perversions, Roman Catholic, in Newfoundland, i., 858 ; ii., 59, 168,
182, 862, 465. Peters. Joseph, ii. , 174. Petite Riviere, ii., 93, 110, 227, 326. Petitcodiac C;ircuit, The, i., 96, 111, 112, 128, 124, 189, 236, 238;
ii., 118, 250, 289, 340. Pickard, Humphrey, D.I)., i., 885; ii., 269, 3.87, 394, 410, 424, 452,
478, 474, 475, 47!>. Piokard, Mr. and Mrs. Tiiomas, i., 385. Pickles, Michael, ii., 205. 248, 258, 480. Pickavant, John, ii., 81, 32, 40, 172, 185, 361, 368. Pickmore, (iov., ii., 89, 54. Pictou, ii.,210, 324.
Placentia Ray, i., 854 ; ii., 57, 168, 866, .372. Point de Bute, i., 86, 95, 377 ; ii., 74, 341.
t!l !
^4, 223.
, 119, 219.
>-^; ii.,r)9, 168,
39, 23G, 2.S8 ; 410, 424, 452,
INDEX.
f^p'*,H,T^«^ »•' 317, 361. Polly," ihe.i., .3,3.
ope, Henry, jun., ii., 343 4-., ^-g
ope, John, ii., 81, 94, y.>, ']] :'jir,.>, Pope, K.chard.ii.,8l,<J5. ' ^' ' ^•^' '-'• Pope, \\ 1 ham, ii., 81, 96. Pope, W , Hum Burt, JJ.U.ii y, ....
ottle Ihomas, i., 61, 68, 78. Pre-millemiial theory. The ii '\y\
Prestwood, Paul, ii., ;i72.
1 nestley, .James, i.. 420, 4.S4 • ii 19.?
l'':"?s,'i;^;^ts!. Sriii^ '^"-•^- ^^-"«. ». ^»Ma «T
j'nnce, .John, ii., ,s;{7, 331),
Innee, W illium, i., 316.
irotracted Meetings, ii., 27.5.
Pmi.hun, William Morley Lf 1) ii ai«
Pugl.Theophi.u..ii.,i6C'3Y4;'376;'4;/o!'-
(,>uarterly xMeetings, ii. , 2.30.
Rankins, The, of Bermuda, i., 478 Katchford, Klisha, i., 377 • ii '4" Hay, (jilbert T i oq.) rv, ',"-'- '•
Hayner,Alo4ii i;r4'^''''^''"'- Kectory, Epworth, i., 20 3'?
Kegan, John i., 218, 219,' 236, 296
Ke hg.ous privations of new ^e tiers i S68 • H
Kichey, iVIatthewH., ii 237 411
H.ohibuotoCircuit,lC'ii,259 337 Kiokards, Walter W., i 2.14 rl
Rjtchie William, ii. 378. to. '• Kiver,John, j;,, 192, 21(J. River Philip, ii., 320. Rogers, David, ii.. 52, 362
49.J
II.,
231.
|
u |
w^ |
|
1 |
1 '1 |
|
1 |
11 ^ |
|
*.-' |
I « |
|
■». |
i |
|
'1 |
49G
INDEX.
RoLCorson, James J., ii., 'MS'l.
Kuinau Catlicjlic outrages in Newfoundlaiul, ii , 177, 404.
Kosewav, i., 107.
Kule, \V. Ii., D, 1)., ii., l!)0, ;U7. '
Itusli, Ur. Benjamin, i., 1S7.
i
Sable River, i., '.)1X
Sackville, i., S,"), S7, i»0, 111, ;{.'?() ; ii., 'JSo, ;U0
Sackville, Ivirly Raptist ('hur(.;h at, i., SS.
Saint, Cliarks, i , 21CJ, '1\Y,\ • ii., -28.
Salter, Robert, ii., N4.
Sanibro, ii., '21 8.
Sanctiticafci'M), Doctrine of, i., .'iO.
Sargent, Thoma.s P., i., Ih7.
Sargent, Winthrup, ii., ^lN;, -202, '239.
Scarr, 'I liomas, i., S7.
Scott, Oeorge, D.D., ii., l.ll, 405).
Scott, Mrs. Henry, i., llS, 21S, '2.")4.
""Scrutator,"' Rani])lil(.'t by, ii., 3'29.
Seabury, David, i.. '240.
Sellon, Samuel, i., 247, ^S,"), 409.
Sermons, .Morljid appetite for, ii., '2\',i.
Sliannon, James N., i,, 104, 160, *2ll, 377.
Shaw, Antliony, sen., ii., .S4.
Shaw, John, ii., 190, 21(5.
ShetHehl Circuit, The, i., 22:], '2-20, 2'^&. 203, 310, 342, 380, 385 ; ii.,
70, 87. 121, '2S3, 333. Shelburne Circuit, The, i., 134, 130, 143, 159, 102, 195, 239, 3'23, :i35,
395 ; ii., 92, 111, '2'20, .3'27. Sliellnirne, Settlement of, i. , 129. Shelburne, William lUack at, i. ,' 134. Shenstone, William K., ii., '22S. 370. Shillito, Mrs., ii,, .3."">4. Shubenacadie, ii., '20.3, 210. Sierra Leone, i., 14,3, 222. '251. Simpson, John, ii., 2S2, 408. Skelton, (^<eorge, ii., 50.
Slavery in Bermuda, i., 445, 150; ii., 143, 145, 148, 157. Sleep, 'Peter, ii., 221, 2'23, '208, 350. Slot'ombe, John, i., 380. Smallwood, Frederick, ii.,273, 343. Smith, (ieorge, i., '290, '292, 300 ; ii., 40. Smith, Isaac, ii., 230. Smith, John, of Newpoit, i., 115. Smith, Richard, ii., 210, '238. Smith, Richard, jun., ii., 31'.>, 3'25, ,3'20. Snnth, Thomas, ii., l.">0, 218, '235, 305. 378, 408. Smith, William, u , 189, 2'20, "224, 405. Smither.s, John, ii., 179, 420. Sinithsun, William, ii., 247, 280, 407. Suelgrove, Robert .1., ii., 25.').
', 4G4.
i'2, 380, 385 ; ii., ^'>, -2^, 323, 835,
157.
I^^DtJX.
«o":ni:t?i 'Vf ■ '^^. '»«. ^' '. «.. .v ,,s ..,.,
Jpi'-it, Witness of tho W i • «P''^igue, Howard D ,> •^' .'l' •^'• :^Pr^gue, Samuel Ivii" '/-V'V-->
^Ktn^i'f^ ' "'"^■ Jtarr, Joseph, ii., 112
5.t^t«a.d,ii.,4,2/4Vj'^-'^- ^Jeele, .Arthur H.ii"'v.. Sfceeves, Christian i \ '
4!»7
'"• -'•' -«-■ *-. -m, m, ;,o.s.
'^t. John, ,., 220. boo wit -.
OQ
^*0o, 40i), 425
^•2, 22s. o.^
«t- John, pi' ttrM'-'J^' '-<'- i'-'V'>7 St. JohnR; !'* -\l«tliudist CI
■)(i, 2({;i 268, .'{h-,
St. John.lvi //^i^'^^^^^^..> -^
lurch th
St. Joh
'■) 3;i(j. ore, i.
■^-'^ 3.S(J, ;{<j.-.
398,
lamC, ii., 172
-^It'thudist
'•2n.
St. John' ' rV' '^'"^■*' '^^
!•, 342
n's, C
onxr
St. Margaret's ^
40, 51, G2.
; 11., ;joi.
St. Pier
f egahonal Church
3()2.
St.
Step I 341,
^'e. 11., 402.
"•, 213
'"' '■' «7; ii., p,i_
^«°' '•. 234. 236. 256. 2
-*^'^, 314, :i
^*h 312.
395
Tayl
''•-67,284.
^'lyior, Kichard. . •ir.r. t-y.
Taylor. Tho...., Baylor, Mrs. T,
32
' ' . ^Q'^, 43-' 'n^s. ii., 203, 210.'
». ii., 68. n., 93.
I-, 425,
11., Sii.
498
INDEX.
I.
11
fl I
.< 'iiii
Temperance, ii., V2'2, 12.S, 420.
Temple, Willi.im, ii., 10."), 21'.), -K)7, 40S, l.SS. 414, 447, 4(JS
Thomey, Artiuir, i. , (il, (12, 7^^, 77.
TlKJinpsDii, .lohn S., ii.. 408.
Thoresl.y, William, i., 2!)1, 204 ; ii., 32, :>?,.
Tliornton, Williiuii L , ii., 4ol, 4.")S.
Till, William, ii., 279, 400.
Tilley, John, ii., r>A.
Tomkins, .John, ii., 17"), 170.
Todhunter, Jo.seph, ii., Hifi.
Trinity Circuit, The, i., (iS, 74, 70, 20Q, 202, 3!)2 ; ii., 30, S.i, .")
Trott, Samuel, ii., 1 ").S.
Trott, William S., ii., 139.
Trueman, William, i , S7 ; ii., 106
Truro, ii., 217, 323.
Tryon, i., 2()4, 302 ; ii., 04, 120, 233.
Tattle, William, ii., 70. „,
Turzo, Thomas, ii., 142.
Tweedale, William, ii., 240.
Tweedy, Robert, sen , 'i., CoO.
Twillini;ate, i., 354; ii., 30.S.
Twillingate, Interesting incident at, ii.. 370.
Twilling, John Thomas, i., 330 ; ii., 201, 204.
Twining, William, i., 338, 388.
United District Meeting <if 1847, ii., 443. Universalism, ii., 211, 341.
Venning. John, i , 419 Vey, Christopher, i., 288 ; ii. . 30 Vey, George, i., 283, 287 ; ii., 53. Vicars, Hedley, ii., 03 Vicars, Richard J., ii. , 61. Vicars' "Saints," ii., 02. Visitation, Pastoral, Wesley on, i Visiting Missionary, ii., 200.
Waldegrave, Admiral, i., 352
Wallace (Circuit, Phe, i., 230, 250, 3U), 407 ; ii., 75, 325
Walsh, John, ii., 35, 01, 175, 178.
Walter, Dr. William, i. 150.
War of 1812, The, i., 43(), 437; ii., 17, 60.
Ward, William, i., 360, 3()2.
\\ atson, Robert, i., 323, 320.
Watts, John, i , 248; ii., 105.
Webb, Captain, i. , 130, 1.37, 335.
Webb, William, ii., 180, 106, 109, 351.
Weddall, Richard, ii., 318, 324.
Weldon, John, i. , 88.
Wells, William and Margaret, i., 85, 92.
Wells, William V ,ii., 301.
302.
41.
reslf>; I ' ^'"^ ^'itio'iHl Church i
•1, r^.' .'\^"' f ^>'>VtT8io„ of. ,'._ 0| ' ~ ■ •
f'.t')
W
.'^7. :\M).
>>es c>, .John, Convoraion of
\\esey, John, De.thof, i ;,4'-• \\esley, Susannah, i ,~21 •>: Y esley an Missionary- Soc'iVtv p ^,es ey^„ Missionary S< ^ e^' ^l^ili"^'"^ ^^' '' • ''•
iicenead, i houias, i., -Jl.S 0(.,; .,n- ..n- \\lutel,ouse, Isaac, ii , 3S- 41- ' -'*' ' •^^' '
\\i son, Willinm, ii , 4! h r^u-^'^'
^j«on, Willi,,,: ,fHX,:,''^ '•;:;, ,„^.
^Vtnossof ffuly Spirit, i './,"' ^'^^' ' "•' ''''^' l''^- "4, 214. ^J/>...an ami Metho'.Iisni, i.', ^4
Wood, Jcsiah, ii., 47;V ' ~''^' •^^^•*' '^"4- 400, 4I(!, 4:iS. u 00(1, 'J'honuis M
"».'!, .■)'()
ii., m
Ufodstock (.;iroiut, Tlie
ii;;-^6I,:mi,.^Sn, .S.S7.
ii , 94.
viZ-'^'l'/'il"*^^' '•' ~<*^^ 212, '214
Yarmouth, ii., 76, 224, 328 Yorkshire, Settlers from i' K'\ on 11- , - \oung, Robert, ii., I sj '2 ,> '^.'.f ' "^'- l'"«. '•^^S. loung, Kobert N , ii., 20.3."'
Zion Chapel, Liverpool, i i;-^. n ,,.., ZoarGhape,,HaiifL.i:.247;2};;',!"ios..2,.