| Title: | From Thomas Radcliff, Esq., Upper Canada, so the Rev. Thomas Radcliff, Dublin. |
|---|---|
| ID | 4554 |
| Collection | Authentic Letters from Upper Canada [Rev. Thomas Radcliff] |
| File | radcliff/12 |
| Year | 1833 |
| Sender | Radcliff, Thomas |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | soldier |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Adelaide, Upper Canada |
| Destination | Dublin, Ireland |
| Recipient | Rev. Thomas Radcliff |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | son-father |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 2538 |
| Genre | religion in the colony |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Adelaide, January, 1833. My dear Father, A sketch of the state of religion in Upper Canada, may not be unacceptable to you. Episcopalian, as I am, it grieves me to observe that our number of Church of England Ministers is lamentably insufficient; and that unless prompt and energetic arrangements be made, to meet the wants and desires of our rapidly increasing colonists, there will be, with the absence of sound religious principle, a proportional accession of sects, or total indifference to, and ignorance of, any religion. Many districts are in a deplorable state in this respect; and, what is the worst feature, some of the settlers themselves seem careless about it. There are young families which have never been baptised; and, I am credibly informed, that there are fathers and mothers, nay, grandfathers and grandmothers, who have never been received by baptism into the Church of Christ. When prayer-books, catechisms, and tracts have been offered to them, even without price, for the mere trouble of calling at a clergyman's house to receive them, that trouble has not been taken; the Canadians do not like to lose time, even for such an important object as that of spiritual instruction; and, as to wishing for clerical attendance on the sick and dying, there are many professing Episcopalians who would not spare a messenger to request their pastor's services. There are, however, some gratifying instances of the delight with which, even from a very considerable distance, whole famines come to meet the Church of England clergyman, who will, in his periodical visit, have perhaps twenty or thirty communicants, and will baptise ten or twelve children, besides reading the churching service for their mothers. In a Mission or Parish, where I stopped some time on my journey, there is to be found in a certain small portion of it, the following variety and classification of religionists and free-thinkers. Out of 360 souls, Episcopalians . . . . 130 Presbyterians . . . . 102 Methodists, Baptists, Menonists and Roman Catholics . . . . 73 2566694208280Without any form of religion . . . 55 360 Of Roman Catholics there are comparatively very few in our province. The number of Methodist Missionaries is very considerable. Wherever a settlement is formed, there they are to be found. Many of them are excellent men, and all of them are really or apparently zealous; and from all I can hear they have done infinitely more among the Indians in promoting a knowledge of Christianity, than our clergymen have been able, or anxious to effect. I know that there exists, at this moment, a demand, (in mercantile phraseology,) for thirty, or forty Church of England clergymen. If care be taken to select able, zealous and active men, the happiest results will follow; but if a swarm of Drones be sent among us, attracted merely by the temporal advantages of a settlement, without higher motives and anxieties, the degradation of our religion and the general contempt of inefficient ministers, must be anticipated. That a considerable change is likely to take place in this respect, I have every reason to expect from the zealous attention of our excellent governor, Sir John Colborne, to all the best interests of the province; and especially as the selection of clergymen, and their appointment to the rectories of the new townships, will be, as I am informed, at his disposal; and, being a man of great correctness, he will strictly scrutinize the testimonials of those who may offer themselves, and who will, no doubt, be required to produce strong recommendations from their respective Bishops. But I much fear that the government of the parent country has let the time pass by, when good might have been effected through the instrumentality of our clergy. The Methodist dissenters have obtained an ascendancy over our infant population. Their habits of domiciliary visitation, their acquaintance with the tastes and peculiarities of the Canadians, their readiness to take long and fatiguing rides, in the discharge of their self-imposed labours, render them formidable rivals to our more easy going clergy. I repeat, that it is of the utmost importance to send us men of character and high religious attainments, deeply convinced of the responsibility attached to their calling, and determined that every other pursuit, and care, shall be secondary to the great purpose, for which they are designed, and to which they should be principally devoted. I mean not to say that there are not here spiritual, and earnest ministers of our own church, but unquestionably, on a fair comparison with the sectarian preachers, on the single point of zeal and ministerial industry, they do not occupy the first place, however they may have the "vantage ground" in other particulars. How delightful would it be, in this great and improving country, rising so rapidly into a state of civilization, which is extending every hour, through the medium of British emigration, to have this numerous body fully supplied with pastors of their own church?—and how cheering would it be to have their respective settlements anxiously superintended by a zealous, well-educated, and well-informed body of clergy? In a political point of view, also, it would be important, as here the Episcopalians are, one and all, attached to the British Constitution. In the democratic principle, (wherever it appears,) in the instigation to discontent, and in disaffection to the laws, may always be traced the absence of Church of England principles. In this fine province, where a single grievance does not really exist, where there are neither rents, tithes nor taxes to pay, nothing seems wanting but a resident and regular clergy, to go frequently in person among the people (who are inclined to quietness and good order,) to encourage diem in their moral duties, and to inform them in the spiritual doctrines of their religion. Thousands in many parts of Canada have never seen the face of a Protestant clergyman (of the Established Church), and many thousands have been lost to our Church from the want of regular pastors and the consequent influence of itinerant teachers of innumerable creeds. The forms of sectarian worship are very simple; they generally commence with a prayer, (the congregation sometimes kneeling) then a hymn, the people standing; and a very long sermon concludes the service. The dissenters here, as elsewhere, find great fault with the frequent change of posture at our service. A Methodist lady lately told a friend of mine, between jest and earnest, that a fugle-man would be necessary in our churches. The opinion here is that our liturgy is too long, and consequently fatiguing to the attention;—that the Lord's prayer is repeated too often, and that some other prayers might be, at least occasionally, omitted. In the marriage ceremony there are, (as they complain,) parts that are objectionable, for instance the length of the preamble, and the indelicacy of part of it. Some persons, I understand, have been disposed to go away unmarried, from the man's refusing to say, "with my body I thee worship"—. One, contending that worship was due to God alone, was induced to comply with the Rubrick only by the positive refusal of the clergyman to proceed with the ceremony, unless the form were acquiesced in. A woman from the STATES, in the true spirit of independence, left a church in this province, unmarried, from her refusal to say "obey." She had previously determined never to give the solemn promise required, and preferred living with her intended spouse, unshackled by the yoke of matrimony. She now has three children, and lives happily with her mate. You remember the old song— A maid there was who did declare, That if she ever married were; No pow'r on earth should make her say, Amongst the rites, the word Obey: When this she at the church contest, And when she saw the angry priest Shut up hia book to go away, She curtseying cried, Obey—Obey ! ! The first verse critically applies in the present instance; but, it is to be regretted, that the dame in question did not permit the second one to be equally in point. In this region of Sectarianism, it would perhaps be prudent to make some concessions as to mere points of Form, which, when they do not involve any vital principles of our religion, might be abandoned without injury to our liturgy. The Bishops in the States have authorised many alterations in it; and have shortened the ceremony of Baptism, in which the Creed is not repeated—a simple assent to it, only, being required. For my own part, on the old-fashioned principle, I dread innovation, lest it should encourage too sweeping a reform. Being a true Church of England man, I have been led into these remarks from what I had an opportunity of learning upon my journey hither, and from having been, since our arrival, without any clergyman, which engaged my brother and myself (though laymen) in the duties of the Sabbath, and we have had a congregation of the chief part of the infant settlement in our own log-houses. But this will be no longer necessary, as a church is about to be built in Adelaide, and a Mr. Cronin, as I understand, a correct, talented, and zealous clergyman, is appointed to the situation. Those clerical appointments are now called Rectories, and will become most desirable settlements for zealous and unambitious clergymen. I believe it is not yet precisely ascertained to what extent the fund, arising from the sale of the clergy reserves, can be made available, as to the number of Rectories to be formed, or the particular emolument of each; but it is the intention to equalize them as much as possible. It is said that one half of the land which the clergyman is to have, is as glebe for his life, and the other half in perpetuity; of this, I am uninformed, nor do I believe that the arrangements are as yet permanently made, or they would have more publicity; but I believe it is so far determined, that a clergyman appointed to a new township, is to enjoy the following benefits at the least:—Glebe, 200 acres, 50 of which are to be cleared at the expense of government; Glebe-house, at first a Log-house, to be replaced, in a year, by a Frame-house of suitable dimensions. Cash income, £100 a year. This is all that has come to my knowledge; but other advantages may be added. It is said, for instance, that surplice fees will be received, which, in a populous township, might add considerably to the clerical income, and would be a fair and fit remuneration for pastoral attention. In our case, at Adelaide, a church is to be erected as soon as convenient, probably within a year, and in the mean time, a school-house is to be formed in the log-way, to be used for Divine Service till the church is prepared. The Archdeacons in the towns of Canada, I suppose from the absence of higher Dignitaries, affect the episcopal appearance as much as possible, observing the costume of the standing collars, short cassocks, and rosettes in the shovel hats. They have, alas! but one superior, the amiable and truly religious Bishop of Quebec, whose extensive duties are observed, with as much zeal and accuracy as any one person can accomplish in a diocese of two immense Provinces, which it is altogether impracticable for the most anxious and devoted Prelate to visit within the year, much less to regulate and superintend. We hear that in Ireland you are striking off ten Bishops; I wish you could send some of them to us—we have much occasion for them. The humbler clergymen of our church, when riding through their parishes, in travelling dress, resemble the Irish Methodist Preacher. They carry a valise, containing gown, surplice, books, communion elements, chalice and cup, with a great coat and umbrella strapped over it. Indeed you never see an equestrian traveller leaving home for a couple of days, without a valise before or behind him, for no one here is grand enough to have a servant riding after him ; and, as to travelling in a waggon, it is often utterly impossible, from the condition of the roads, which render wheel conveyances insupportable. The quantity of mud which a waggon has to encounter is inconceivable; the useless trouble of washing it never takes place.—The usual mode of clearing the wheels of the adhesive mud being to strike them, when dry, on the rims, with a heavy hammer, which, causing the dirt to drop off, restores them, in the eye of an American, to a perfectly dandyish appearance. But this is a digression from the main point of my letter. As connected with religion, I mus.t not omit a remark or two on the subject of education in this country. As there is a want of clergymen, so, I believe, there is of schoolmasters. Those settled in townships generally receive two dollars per quarter for each pupil (badly paid,) and may have, perhaps, thirty pupils during the winter months. They complain greatly, I am told, of being too dependent on the whims and caprices of a few leading persons around them. It would be desirable, if practicable, to render correct and valuable teachers somewhat independent in this respect. I have just heard, however, that some arrangements to promote education have lately been made, with the particulars of which I am not acquainted. The school-houses are frequently used as places of worship for the different sects. In a country where the labour even of children is valuable to the colonist, it cannot be expected that they will be left at school beyond the age of ten or twelve years; it is, therefore, of supreme importance that, previously to this period, they should have all the advantage which sound and uninterrupted education can confer. The Sabbath is shamefully desecrated in many places, even by those who might be expected to observe it. A clergyman in a certain township, finding that drinking and Sabbath-breaking were prevailing offences in his district, had a petition drawn up, and signed by the respectable inhabitants about him, to have fishing on Sundays prohibited by law: a point which happily has been accomplished, and in that neighbourhood, once remarkable for the most disrespectful negligence of the Lord's day, there is now a strict observance of it. Future generations will bless the memory of Sir John Colborne, who, to the many advantages derived from the equity and wisdom of his government, has added that of a magnificent foundation for the purposes of literary instruction. The lowest salary of any of the professors of this institution is £300 per annum, with the accommodation of a noble brick house, and the privilege of taking boarders, at £50 per annum. I have given you a sufficiently "lengthy" detail of those matters, in which you as a clergyman must feel peculiar interest, and as the limits of my closely written paper are now filled up even to the minutest point of margin, I shall conclude. Your's THOMAS RADCLIFF |
